How did Jon Ossoff come so
close to winning in the Georgia 6th congressional district? As a thirty year old Democrat who does not
live in the district, his near victory was a miraculous as he portrayed
it. In fact, he has a very real chance
to win in June.
There can be little doubt
that Ossoff is a canny politician. Not
only has he, as a novice, raised millions in campaign funds, but he waged, and
continues to wage, a shrewd effort. His
opposition research against Karen Handel is nothing short of expert.
So who is Ossoff? His political experience is clearly
slim. He has served as a congressional
aide and was apparently trusted in this position. He also received top-secret clearance—but
only for five months. Otherwise, much of
the last decade was devoted to him completing his education.
Nonetheless, he is obviously
very smart and energetic. He is also
plainly ambitious and unusually articulate.
In this respect, he is reminiscent of Barack Obama. Ossoff too is a shooting star who exudes
charisma from every pore.
There is also something else
he has in common with Obama. He is an
ardent Democrat. Ever since high school
he has been immersed in liberal politics.
This should have precluded political success in north Georgia, yet he
defied the odds. Again, the question is
how?
When Obama first ran for
president, his platform was ambiguous.
It was difficult to tell whether he was a moderate or progressive. The slogan “hope and change” was so vague
that almost anything could be projected into it. It was, therefore, not until Barack’s first
address to Congress that we learned he would promote an extremely left-wing
agenda.
Ossoff too has been
studiously equivocal. He proposes to cut
waste and fraud out of the national budget and to bring jobs back to the Atlanta
Metropolitan area. He also implies that
he is prepared to work across the aisle on bipartisan legislation.
But how can he possibly
achieve this? As a Democratic
backbencher, he will not be introducing bills that have a chance of
enactment. Instead, he will be forced to
go along with the anti-Trump program that has become the crux of current
liberalism.
Lest we forget, Nancy Pelosi
runs a tight ship. Apostasy from her
progressive line is not tolerated. Were
Ossoff to try to be an independent voice, he would soon find himself cut off
from the national funding that enabled him to get this far.
Ossoff knows this. He is no dummy. So why has he implied otherwise? As one of my students at Kennesaw State
University observed, he did so because he knew that he could not get elected dogcatcher
if his dyed-in the-wool liberalism were too obvious.
This was undoubtedly a
prudent strategy. And yet it was
blatantly dishonest. Because the truth
would have hurt, it was assiduously avoided.
This made sense if the goal was to win at any cost. It did not if it was to be candid and
trustworthy.
So why did so many voters
cast their ballots for Ossoff? The Ga 6th
is a wealthy district. Its residents are
well educated and politically sophisticated.
They must have known what was readily apparent to a twenty-something
college undergraduate.
We, however, seem to be
living through a time where appearances mean more than reality. People are impressed by eloquent words,
especially when uttered in a mellifluous voice.
Who cares about the actuality behind those words? That a candidate is manifestly erudite counts
for more than the policies he endorses.
So here is the bottom
line. If Ossoff squeaks through in June,
he will send the message that being anti-Trump is more important than being
pro-American. That may not be what most voters
intend, but it is the way it will be interpreted by the national media.
In any event, an Ossoff
victory is apt to be short lived. Once
he has established a liberal voting record, he will have to run on it to get
reelected. Then again, being in favor
of ObamaCare and against tax cuts may not prove very popular—not in the Ga 6th.
Melvyn L. Fein, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Kennesaw State University
No comments:
Post a Comment