Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Kamala the Seductress

When they write the history of the current presidential campaign, special plaudits should be bestowed on the marketing genius who took a candidate who giggles like a drunken schoolgirl and cackles like a witch and transformed her into the embodiment of Joy.

Evidently, Donald Trump has not yet figured out how to run against Joy. So, he appears to be floundering and his supporters, beginning with the Wall Street Journal editorial page, are trying to help him out of his current muddle. Yet, if you read Gerard Baker in the Journal this morning, Trump supporters are dismayed as they watch him throw it away. 


One might claim, not without reason, that a country that takes Kamala Harris seriously as a presidential candidate is not a serious country. One might counterargue that the strong virile Tim Walz, aka tampon Tim, is a real man, though his military history and his propensity to lie about it contradicts the claim.


If we are going to judge fathers on a manliness scale, we could just as well extol the virtues of one J. D. Vance, or even of one Donald Trump. 


As for Mamala herself, a woman who has gained fame by promoting abortion rights, the reality is that she has never given birth. Promoting abortion rights and embodying motherhood-- the two do not exactly conjoin.


Then again, some have suggested that Kamala got her start as a high scale courtesan but that would be unkind. So no one points it out. 


However unkind it is, the truth is, Kamala did not become the mistress to one of the most powerful politicians in San Francisco because he loved her mind. Surely, her seductive quality might not be today what it was back then, but still. She appears to be a natural born seductress. 


If we are dealing with true love, then it makes some sense, psychologically, that we are also seeing rampant idealization. When you fall in love you do not see faults. You only see virtues. And you are horrified that certain people do not see your beloved the same way that you do. 


What but amorous idealization could have persuaded the country that Kamala Harris, a failed vice president, needs to be elevated to the top job.


Now that we are on the topic, and at the risk of being even more inelegant than usual, no one ever accused Hillary Clinton of being a seductress.


Roger Kimball suggests that Kamala is running a feminine campaign. It’s all about emotion and mood, not to mention theatrical performance. It is not about policy or competition, issues that even Trump now has put to the side.


Instinctively, when men are facing a seductive female, their first instinct is not to compete in the arena. I trust that I do not have to explain that one.


So, down with competitive striving. Up with seductive theatrics. If the country has been thoroughly girlified, that implies that we are no longer capable of competing in the world, but that we want the government to care for us. And, of course, to entertain us. It used to be called: bread and circuses. 


So, the Democrats are promoting the Nanny state. Not just for the citizens of the Republic, but for anyone who finds a way to be physically present within its borders. Democrats offer sanctuary, food and clothing and medical care. And, they believe that coddling criminals will produce less crime.


They are offering unconditional love, the kind the mothers often show toward their offspring. Offering it to the people of the world, the oppressed and the downtrodden, is quite the trick.


The eternal feminine might be the eternal mother. But it might also be a tempting seductress. As you like it.


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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My Dear Stuart, Thank God, you seem to be remembering some of your Freud here. I believe He would be pleased for you, and those of us who are fortunate enough to share in your wisdom. We met decades ago at a Jacque Lacan conference. The paper you presented at the conference was outstanding. “Anyways, “ as you might say, it seems to me that there is no longer a repression barrier or a proper conscience, rather, all fantasies, even the most perverse can be believed if the pre-oedipal mother (Kamala, or the culture she represents attempts to destroy the paternal structure of reality, that is to say, “No, Kamala, nor Bernie Sanders or never-never land can make the world a fair place nor give you breastmilk the rest of your life. You must embrace the structure of reality, ‘you’re not in Kansas anymore’ nor The Garden of Eden.” Pre-Oedipal mothers have their place for awhile, but if they overstay their welcome, don’t they become femme fatales?

Phil Layshow said...

Who would have ever dreamed that a total ignoramus could rise to become President of the U.S. because she doesn't spit?

Anonymous said...

"No children."

^^^campaign poster.