An Unspeakable Disaster in a Time too Political

Democrats and the GOP are in the middle of (another) self-examination about messaging, strategy and the always-elusive soul of their parties. Better to take a moment for these poor children in Texas.

Originally, this post was going to (cautiously) praise this new “Majority Democrats” group for at least getting the thesis right: “How do Democrats reconnect to everyday Americans? How do we do that from the top down? How do we do that work in an all-inclusive way? How do we reconnect our purpose to the things Americans care about?”

Credit where credit is due: what they’re talking about feels like more than just a re-brand. From the New York Times article at the link above:

But the roughly 30 elected officials at the federal, state and local levels who have so far signed on to the group broadly agree that the Democratic Party must better address the issues that feel most urgent in voters’ lives — the affordability crisis, for example — and that it must shed its image as the party of the status quo. Many of the group’s members have, at times, challenged the party’s establishment, something the organization embraces.

“If we don’t build this big-tent party that can win majorities,” warned Representative Angie Craig of Minnesota, a leader of the initiative, “we’re on the path of being the party of the permanent minority from a national-election perspective.”

Being the anti-Trump party “might win a midterm election,” Ms. Craig, who is also running in a competitive primary for the Senate, added, “but it’s not going to build lasting majorities. We’ve got to lay out the case for what we’re for as a party.”

And, as we learned, Democrats need to figure all that out now more than ever.

This week, I was also going to take a look at Elon Musk’s efforts at a new political party:

The polarizing billionaire had been a close adviser to President Trump, but began floating his idea for the America Party after their very public falling out and Musk's criticism of Trump's newly enacted domestic policy bill, largely because it's expected to add trillions to the national debt.

Hey, take it from a guy who worked on the Clinton/Gore Campaign of 1992 where there was a third party candidate: those third parties are really, really tough to get off the ground.

And while I wish Congresswoman Craig and her fellow Democrats the very best in their efforts, I hope they know that the Democratic Party Establishment is quite entrenched. Most of the elected leaders we have don’t like change. Most of the big-ticket consultants don’t like doing things differently (would you, if you made a bazillion dollars every election cycle, even if your team lost?). Democrats have been chasing the political middle ground for a long, long time, now. It’s where they feel safe.

I wanted to take a deeper dive into all of that stuff. But there was a disaster in Texas on the 4th of July — the flooding of Camp Mystic, near Kerrville, Texas — and it hit a little close to home for me. Political infrastructure feels a little silly right now.

My 6 year-old and her mother were with friends in Texas — Dallas, far from the flooding — leading up to the 4th of July through the weekend. I knew they were safe, and was in touch with them as this tragedy unfolded in real time. Still, they were in the same state, only around five hours away from where these young campers and counselors were swept away by raging floodwaters.

My 13 year-old son was in North Carolina at Boy Scout Camp at the same time. Even further away from this tragedy, sure. But I was reminded of the hurricane-driven flooding of North Carolina last year, and honestly, it was tough being out of communication with him while he was at camp. His mother and sister were on their way to get him, and he is fine and they are all fine. And I am grateful.

I’m really lucky, in fact. I have the privilege of being able to think about writing a dumb piece on our terrifically broken politics in America, knowing my children are safe and enjoying their well-earned summer break.

One of the worst manifestations of Trumpism in America is that everything is political. And of course, this unbearable tragedy — close to 200 dead, at last check — was no exception. The video at that link is nothing short of inexcusable.

Hey, everyone who is sick and tired of making everything political since, oh, about 2016: You want to get out of the (political) hole? First thing you got to do is put down the shovel.

There will be blame to go around. Questions about whether there was an early warning system and if it worked. Questions about why the camp was built in a flood zone. Questions about how climate change contributed to this nightmare. Questions about how to prevent similar disasters in the future.

The kids are all back home next week. I am packing them up and heading up to New Orleans, where my sister and her family live. My father and his friend are coming down — we’ll all get together and have a great time as the second half of summer begins to wind down and we think about the transition into a new school year. I am grateful we can do that this year, grateful my babies are safe.

And I am just so sorry for the parents and families of those campers who can’t say the same thing.