In one of his many press events trying to cope with the bigotry fiasco, Republican Indiana governor, Mike Pence, inadvertently provided astonishingly clear insight into the problem faced by every elected Republican - perception. He claimed the brouhaha in Indiana was a perception problem.
That's always the answer for them, marketing, messaging, framing ... Never content. Never the essence of what they're doing.
More below the fleur de kos!
But it is not (as he would have you believe) a problem with the public failing to perceive what Republicans ’intended’ with their discriminatory legislation.. It was instead one of those rarer cases where the public (and not JUST selected Democrats) understood EXACTLY what Republicans intended, where they hoped to face no accountability for those intentions.
Yes, it was a slip-up, but it bespeaks his utter confidence that at worst it will have a one-time consequence. In its way, it is a withering criticism of the portion of the electorate that votes Republican, because normally they'll swallow anything 'their' politicians say and do, with little or no scrutiny, particularly if, as in this case, it ratifies and reinforces hatred and discrimination. It is a worse indictment of the media, whose JOB it is to pay attention. To notice. To point out. They have covered this story, but they don’t LEAD coverage. They follow. Even Walmart is out ahead of the media with this, hard to believe as that is.
Matthew Tully wrote eloquently about Pence in a 4/1 article at Indystar.
I like the article a great deal, even if I have to take issue with it.
Something else … is becoming more obvious with each new mistake: Pence was never meant to be a governor. A partisan and dysfunctional Congress that lives on bright line divisions was his home for 12 years, and that's where he belongs — in a place where a person can rise high by talking well and digging in and not really doing much. A place where, for the most part, you are not held accountable for results.
I disagree. Legislators can rise high doing nothing if they are REPUBLICAN. It can become their greatest recommendation to their constituents.
Then Tully wrote:
Diminishing this as a "perception" problem, as Pence did repeatedly during a news conference Tuesday, was a new example of leadership negligence. And it crystallized a thought that I've had for some time: He is simply not suited to be an executive branch leader. It is not his skill set. He is a talker, not a leader.
He is a talker, yes, but he is a REPUBLICAN. You cannot expect him to LEAD. You can’t expect any of them to. They want to undermine government, never make it work better. Nothing works better toward that end that talking. And doing nothing productive.
Leading is not what they do. It is not what they have any interest in doing.
Republican, through and through.
Best to you all tonight! Happy Kibitzing!
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