I have to confess. My initial reaction to learning that Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Ill., will not be in Tampa, Fla., next month to attend the Republican National Convention was something along the lines of, “Who cares?”
 |
| WALSH: Passing on Tampa, Fla. |
Perhaps it is because I view Walsh (as in the one who can’t play a guitar worth squat) as a no-name political hack, I just can’t envision that anybody is going to miss him when the Republicans gather from across the country to officially make Mitt Romney their political party’s presidential nominee.
YET WALSH WENT out of his way to try to make it sound like the American public would be deprived of his presence by not showing up at the nominating convention.
Which makes me wonder if it is really the party leadership that would rather not be bothered with him and his nitwit ways. Causing Walsh to uninvite himself before he could officially be dumped from the roster of people welcome at the convention.
Officially, Walsh is not part of the Illinois delegation that is required to be present (unlike his Democratic challenger, Tammy Duckworth, who will be an official part of her political party’s gathering in Charlotte, N.C.).
But incumbent congressmen are never turned away. They are encouraged to show up and join the political gathering, which can also help them make even more contacts that will help them with the fundraising that boosts their chances of victory.
WALSH IS MAKING statements claiming he wants to show his independence of such people, claiming it will make it appear as though he’s a real person – instead of a political hack!
In fact, there probably are a few individuals who will want to believe such a ridiculous line of logic. Then again, these are the people who are so intimidated by the concept of government that they rant and rage against it.
These few crackpots, so to speak, already are inclined to vote for Walsh. All he’s doing is ensuring that his minority (as in numbers of people, not types of people) will show up and vote for him come Nov. 6.
Which means he may increase by 1 or 2 percent his share of the vote, making his eventual electoral defeat just slightly closer than it would be if he were to show up in Tampa.
BECAUSE WHAT WE’D see if Walsh were to show up at his party’s convention is just how out-of-touch he is with people who are serious about governing. The ones who are more interested in coming to consensus on issues.
The ones who appreciate just how stupid and irrational it is for ideologues to prevent any solution from occurring just because one wants to score partisan political points for themselves.
Even if they, in a truly offensive manner, use labels from our history to try to grant greater credibility upon themselves. Tea Party, my tuchus!
If anything, Walsh would find himself rather lonely if he were to venture down to Florida. He’d find that many of his alleged political allies wouldn’t want to be seen standing too close to him. Perhaps even those who have ever worn a military uniform.
SO PERHAPS HIS ego is less likely to be shattered if he stays in the newly-drawn boundaries of the Illinois Eighth Congressional District.
He can pick out a crowd or two of people who will chant on command for him and make him feel like he is special. Then again, that is all that any of the events he now does amount to. Staged chatter from people who will cheer him on and not listen all too closely when he starts sounding like a borderline loon.
In fact, I can already envision Walsh chanting over and over, to boost his own ego, “I am, somebody.”
I’d be willing to bet that none of the people who would show up at a Walsh event would have ever heard the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who uses that line all the time to boost the egos of those people around him.
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment