Sunday, October 31, 2021
Well, it’s Halloween weekend, with horror stories everyone, even in the world of politics. Look, politics is blood-sport and a business of sharp elbows, so it should come as no surprise how nasty things can get at times. It’s been that way for years, so let’s “brunch” on that this week.
“Donald Trump, Jr., said WHAT????” – This week actor Alec Baldwin fired what was supposed to be a gun with blanks on the set of the movie, “Rust,” being filmed in New Mexico. Tragically, the gun had a live-round and a camera person was killed, and the director wounded. Anticipating this would generate another heated Second Amendment debate, Donald Trump, Jr., had T-shirts printed up which said, “Guns Don’t Kill People; Alec Baldwin Kills People.” It sent social media a buzzing!
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“What’s Good for the Goose, is Good for the Gander” – Are the Trump T-shirts in bad taste and a bit “too soon” in timing? Of course, they are. But I’m not surprised. In the news business, “gallows humor” is a staple. On the other hand, Alec Baldwin has skewered President Trump multiple times with a funny, spot-on parody on “Saturday Night Live.” I know many a Trump supporter who thinks the impersonation is a hoot, as well as the Trump critics. Look, political satire and humor (even if it’s in poor taste), has been a staple of our democracy from day one. And it’s considered among the most protected forms of speech.
“Where was George?” – Nasty volleys are part of our political landscape. In 1988, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D) Massachusetts gave a scathing speech about Vice President George H.W. Bush’s role in the Iran-Contra scandal. While many top-level White House staffers were keyed in, Bush said he was “out of the loop” and not involved. That prompted Kennedy, to keep saying, “Where was George?” in his speech. Later that summer at the Republican National Convention, Sen. Paul Laxalt (R) Nevada, gave one of the Bush nominating speeches. Parroting Kennedy, Laxalt said, “Where was George? Where was George? He was dry, sober, and home with his wife,” a clear slap at Kennedy and his Chappaquiddick scandal. Ouch!
“Jefferson Versus Adams Smackdown!” – If you think modern politics is newly nasty, think again. The old-school meanness dates to our founding fathers. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams may have been – to this day – the most bitter rivals in American political history. The history books tell us that Jefferson once referred to Adams as a “hideous hermaphroditical character” (suggesting he had the genitals of both genders). Adams referred to Jefferson as “a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow.” And it went on for years as they were rivals for the White House, which both eventually occupied.
“Like Father; Like Son?” – The 1828 election was among the nastiest as John Adams’ son, John Quincy Adams, vied for a second term against Andrew Jackson. Jackson’s camp asserted that while acting as a secretary to the envoy to Russia, Adams procured a young woman to have sex with a Russian czar. The Jackson campaign referred to Adams as a “pimp.” Andrew Jackson married his wife Rachel in 1791. The problem was, she never got officially divorced from her first husband. The legal problem was resolved in 1794, and the Jacksons remarried. But that did not stop the Adams camp from referring to Jackon as an adulterer and his wife a bigamist. While Jackson won the election, Rachel died before his inauguration. He blamed the nastiness of the campaign for her death. “May God Almighty forgive her murderers as I know she forgave them. I never can,” Jackson said.
“Trump v. Biden” – In more contemporary times, President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden who succeeded him, often had choice words. Trump said, “Sleepy Joe, a Radical Left nonbeliever who wants to take away your religion and your guns… Sleepy Joe,,, Sleepy and very slow,” Biden teed off on Trump’s handling of COVID-19. “This is the same man that said the virus would be gone in April. By July, it’d be gone. By the warm weather, it’d be gone, like a miracle! And by the way, maybe you can inject some bleach into your arm!”
“Bush-Whacked” – In the 2002 Republican primary the campaign of George W. Bush used robocalls asking primary voters if they would be, “more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain if you knew that he fathered an illegitimate black child?” It wasn’t true, of course, prompting McCain to say, “There is a special place in hell for people like those.”
In the late 1940s four young congressman had offices in close proximity. Their names were John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford. All became president and collectively occupied the White House for 16 consecutive years. They were cordial, but sometimes were feisty rivals. Ford was an All-American football player at Michigan and was drafted by the NFL. Johnson didn’t think much of Ford’s intellect, once saying of Ford, “He’s a nice guy, but he played too much football with his helmet off.”
What are your most scary, horrific memories of politics as we enjoy Halloween weekend? Just click the comment button and, “BOO,” let us know!
Mark Curtis, Ed.D., is Chief Political Reporter for the seven Nexstar Media TV stations serving West Virginia, its five neighboring states and the entire Washington, DC media market. He’s a MINDSETTER™ contributing political writer and analyst for www.GoLocalProv.com and all its affiliates.
Related Articles
- No Cold War as Biden and Putin Meet – “The Sunday Political Brunch” - June 20, 2021
- Potholes Torpedo Infrastructure Bill for Now - “The Sunday Political Brunch” - June 13, 2021
- On the Road with American Politics: The Florida Factor – “The Sunday Political Brunch”
- More Fireworks in Congress Than in the Skies – “The Sunday Political Brunch” - July 4, 2021
- Campaign 2022 is in Full Swing NOW! – “The Sunday Political Brunch” – July 11, 2021
- Our Recurring Political Hodge-Podge Week! – “The Sunday Political Brunch” June 6, 2021
- The Inside World of Washington DC Politics – “The Sunday Political Brunch” – May 30, 2021
- A Surreal Joint Address to Congress – “The Sunday Political Brunch” – May 2, 2021
- On the Verge of a Republican Meltdown – “The Sunday Political Brunch”
- A Weird Week in Politics – “The Sunday Political Brunch” – May 16, 2021
- Why Election Years Ending in Zero are So Critical – “The Sunday Political Brunch” – May 23, 2021
- The Challenging Conservative Course Correction - “The Sunday Political Brunch” July 18, 2021
- President Biden’s First Six Months and Where We Are - “The Sunday Political Brunch” July 25, 2021
- Florida on My Mind (Sorry Georgia!)—“The Sunday Political Brunch”
- The Twitter and Email Wars of U.S. Politics – “The Sunday Political Brunch” September 19, 2021
- The Triple Crown of Congressional Spending – “The Sunday Political Brunch”- October 3, 2021
- Why the Debt Ceiling Is the Basement of U.S. Politics – ‘The Sunday Political Brunch”
- Handicapping the 2024 GOP Presidential Field – “The Sunday Political Brunch”
- The Labor Pains of American Politics – “The Sunday Political Brunch” - September 5, 2021
- Afghanistan Could Be Biden’s Achilles Heel – “The Sunday Political Brunch”
- A Crazy, Busy Week in Politics – “The Sunday Political Brunch” – August 1, 2021
- Of Sex and Politics – “The Sunday Political Brunch” August 8, 2021
- Oh No, Goes Cuomo – “The Sunday Political Brunch” - August 15, 2021
- Afghanistan Banana Stand – “The Sunday Political Brunch”—August 22, 2021
- The Politics of Race in 2021: “The Sunday Political Brunch” - October 24, 2021
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
"politic" - Google News
October 31, 2021 at 01:24PM
https://ift.tt/3br4M4J
The Scary, Spooky, and Nasty Sides of American Politics – “The Sunday Political Brunch” - GoLocalProv
"politic" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3c2OaPk
https://ift.tt/2Wls1p6
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/bostonglobe/VNG7YMZTRWJ5WBFTJ5NVETPCQI.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment