Tolbert got some video this week of Joyce Elliott speaking to the Political Animals Club in Little Rock. Now, truth be known, when I originally skimmed the account on it in the course of my busy day I thought I was going to have to write a completely different post than this, but more on that later. When I actually watched the video though, I have to say I was wowed by what I saw:
Yeah, whatever it is that gives people that thing called charisma, Senator Elliott’s got it, and she really seems to have wowed the crowd.
Now, Republicans are going to take just one thing away from that whole moment. This:
They’re already crowing about it. That’s why I was afraid I was going to have to write a post on how Senator Elliott might need to get better as messaging…mercifully I was wrong. No matter what Senator Elliott says or does, Republicans are going to take it out of context. Right after she said that Senator Elliott explained that saying Washington is broken is “like saying rain is wet”, and yeah, any pinhead can say that because it’s true and a common realization. However, the distinction Elliott drew was that it took a real public servant to get things done, and it went over well with the crowd. Through the whole thing she sounded incredibly optimistic and inspiring, and gave a nice account of who she was and what makes her tick. And I loved the line about the fire fighter! The whole “I’m not a politician” line always bugged me. If you run for office, you’re a politician, that’s how it works, and Elliott made a long overdue distinction that we needed someone who was a “good politician” in the sense that they make good promises, deliver on them, and never forget about the people they represent. It was a good speech, and Republicans are learning fast that the only way they’ll be able to draw blood is by cutting her with quotes taken out of context. That’s where we come in by setting the record straight.
After the speech came the Q&A session:
Again, there are a lot of Republicans that are clutching the pearls over her response about American exceptionalism. You know, because she didn’t say that America was the best place ever ordained for glory by Jesus Christ himself with no flaws worth mentioning whatsoever. But again, she didn’t say anything all that bad. In fact, she gave a pretty good response, saying America is different because of the ideas the country was born from while stressing that it could be taken to extremes. (By the way, for those that don’t know, chauvinism is defined as- excessive or blind patriotism or undue partiality or attachment to a group or place to which one belongs or has belonged as well as : an attitude of superiority toward members of the opposite sex by Webster’s dictionary.) They’re also fretting over her defense of beneficial earmarks, but again, her response makes sense. It’s one thing when you’re funding a needed highway or a hospital in a district that can’t get funding some other way. It’s another thing when you’re building the “Bridge to Nowhere”.
All in all, Joyce Elliott gave a good account of herself, and she even got a good swing in at Tim Griffin’s horrible economic philosophy. I’m glad Senator Elliott made it clear that she will swing a punch when she has to. In her interview with Politico for instance, she nailed his attachment to Karl Rove, and that’s not the only unsavory connection Griffin has to hit. Tim Griffin has Joe Barton and BP, along with any half truth or lie the Republicans can up with. Joyce Elliott has us. The Republicans are counting on us backing down to them and not calling them to the mat, but Senator Elliott isn’t backing down and neither are we. So show Senator Elliott that you’ve got her back. Make a contribution to her on our ActBlue page.
