Wanted: Two Conservative Communicators

[mystery-ak]

http://spectator.org/articles/64244/wanted-two-conservative-communicators

Wanted: Two Conservative Communicators

The lesser pulpits under Messrs. Boehner and McConnell were put to no use at all.

By Larry Thornberry – 10.5.15

It is nowhere written on the heart of man by the finger of God that the presidency is the only political bully pulpit. But John Boehner and Mitch McConnell don’t understand this. (Neither does Reince Priebus, but this is for another day.) This is why Boehner was obliged to give up the Speakership, and why a Rasmussen poll last week showed that only 22 percent of Republican voters want McConnell to continue as Senate Majority Leader.

Sticking with Rasmussen, another survey last week showed only 14 percent of Republican voters say Boehner’s resignation in a bad thing for congressional Republicans while 45 percent say his departure is a good thing. A third of those polled say it’s a wash. No surprise, Democrats are much more fond of the tan man from Ohio, with 34 percent of them saying Boehner’s departure is bad for the GOP.

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[andy58-in-nh]

Two effective GOP communicators would be terrific, but the truth is that it's hard enough these days to find even one.

Democrats enjoy a natural advantage in being the Party of Government, and the Party of Whooooopiee!!! Here's Another Bigass Load of Whatever You Want, and It's All Gonna Be Paid For By That Guy, Over There.... The Bastard.

It is always easier to talk about what kind of (perceived) free goodies you are going to give away to people to satisfy their perceived needs. It's equally simple to tell them that they are free to behave any way they like without having to worry about the consequences, either on Earth or in Heaven, because whatever problems they are experiencing are someone else's fault, or no one's fault at all.

Being a Republican, on the other hand is so....unfair. Only a Republican would never say that.

It is always going to make you less-than-universally popular if you see it as your duty to tell people that they must be more self-sufficient and industrious,  less jealous of others' success, and that bad behavior comes with a price that ought not be borne by your fellow citizens. It can be a rotten job, but someone has to do it, or at least be honest about it. 

The secret is not to talk about the what, but about the why. Don't lecture people about what virtues they must aspire to, or what behaviors will hurt them, but why it matters. Most adults already know what's what. They just conveniently like to forget why. Especially when bad feels good.

Also: it really wouldn't hurt for a GOP leader to smile, laugh, and generally appear to be enjoying him or herself. I know it is possible, because Ronald Reagan was an uncommonly cheerful fellow who still managed to tell essential truths with a wise anecdote and a wink and a smile.  Honestly, and by way of contrast, Boehner, McConnell, and so many other Republicans tend to look on the podium like a guy who's about to get a colonoscopy with a segment of the Trans-Alaska pipeline.

[GourmetDan]

It is nowhere written on the heart of man by the finger of God that the presidency is the only political bully pulpit. But John Boehner and Mitch McConnell don’t understand this. (Neither does Reince Priebus, but this is for another day.)

Well... normalcy bias leads us to assume that Boehner, McConnell and Priebus 'don't understand this'... but it can easily be that they understand it very well and simply choose not to invoke it...