Posts
It might be too little, too late. It might be the perfect retort. For those who are keeping score or keeping track, Ted Cruz
issued a statement on New York values yesterday. Ed Driscoll reprinted it on Instapundit:
I
apologize to the hard working men and women of the state of New York
who’ve been denied jobs because Gov. Cuomo won’t allow fracking,” Cruz
continued. “I apologize to all the pro-life and pro-marriage and pro-Second
Amendment New Yorkers who were told by Gov. Cuomo that they have no place in
New York because that’s not who New Yorkers are. I apologize to all of the
small businesses who’ve been driven out of New York City by crushing taxes and
regulations.
I
apologize to all of the African-American children who Mayor de Blasio tried to
throw out of their charter schools instead of providing a lifeline ot the
American dream. And I apologize to all the cops and the firefighters and
9/11 heroes who had no choice but to stand and turn their backs on Mayor de
Blasio because Mayor de Blasio over and over again stands with the looters and
criminals rather than the brave men and women of blue.
And then there was Trump’s interview with Tim Russett in
1999, posted here without commentary:
4 comments:
I didn't know a nonapology-apology was a thing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-apology_apology
So the way it works in cases like this is to recognize or remind people of minority grievances that you don't really care about, but it distracts attention from your own otherwise asshole behavior.
It doesn't seem very presidential. But I guess all partisan trash talking, and feigned offensive, its all just distraction, some bizarre status game.
And Trump's bring up 9/11 to defend New York Values is the same feigned offense to deflect attention from his own social liberal circles.
And the whole concept of "pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-Second Amendment" Identity politics is ultimately just a political ploy that shuts down rational thinking.
Symbolic sacred cows make all of us so easy to manipulate. Obama got in trouble before he was elected for his own "values-judgements", trying to have "sympathy" for people he disagreed with, and when challenged he had to offer his own nonapology-apology.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2008/april/obama-they-cling-to-guns-or-religion.html
--------
Barack Obama is backtracking on remarks he made about working-class voters.
A political storm is brewing over Sen. Barack Obama's recent statements. Last Sunday, Obama was explaining his difficulty with winning over working-class voters in Pennsylvania and the Midwest, saying they have become frustrated with economic conditions:
"And it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," Obama said.
...
"Obviously, if I worded things in a way that made people offended, I deeply regret that," Obama said in a phone interview on Saturday with the Winston-Salem Journal. "But the underlying truth of what I said remains, which is simply that people who have seen their way of life upended because of economic distress are frustrated and rightfully so."
He continued, "People feel like Washington's not listening to them, and as a consequence, they find that they can only rely on the traditions and the things that have been important to them for generation after generation. Faith. Family. Traditions like hunting. And they get frustrated."
----------
Apparently this is called a explanation apology:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-apology_apology#As_a_tactic
--------
Explanation apology—when a person accused of wrongdoing offers an apology that is merely a gesture that is meant to counter an accusation of wrongdoing. In fact, it may be used to defend the actions of the accused.
--------
It works for me. An apology for what he said being mis-characterized.
It's too late. The damage has already been done and his statement only makes it worse.
Trump' s positions have changed over the last seventeen years, although his pride in his city hasn't. After 9/11, it's impossible to forget what happened to New York or how brave and resilient New Yorkers behaved during that horrible time.
It was a stupid move of Cruz to take a geographical dig, rather than go directly after Trump. Very stupid. And it's going to cost him everything.
Also, that video clip of Trump was seventeen years old. Eighteen MONTHS ago, Cruz was still a Canadian.p
Post a Comment