Jim DeMint replies to Putin
I don’t know tons about Jim DeMint, but what I do know I like.
Back when the candidates were throwing their hats in the ring for the 2012 race (it seems like eons ago), he was one of the people I thought might enter, and the prospect pleased me. I didn’t know whether he had a chance of actually winning—he was not exactly a household word, or Mr. Charisma. But I wanted him to run, and I thought the more exposure he got the more popular he’d become.
Didn’t quite turn out that way, did it? But I continue to like his conservative principles and he has a certain amount of flair and cojones—which are all on display in this letter he wrote to Putin in response to Putin’s op-ed in the NY Times.
In fact, DeMint’s reply is almost as clever as Putin’s was, which is saying quite a bit. And it has a lot more integrity and—dare I say—truth.
In writing it, DeMint not only shows up Putin (although of course his reply won’t get anything like the coverage Putin’s original did), but he shows up Obama as well. It’s what Obama should, but never could, have written.
That’s probably because Obama’s ghost writer, Ayers, would have a slight problem talking to the original communist nation’s leader.
is the pen mightier than the sword?
The sad part is that there’s no one on the Times editorial board who could or would write a letter like DeMint’s. With just a few changes, Putin’s piece could have been written anytime during Bush’s second term by Krugman, Friedman, or any other bien piesante member of their stable.
G6loq,
Not by itself, no. But the pen does often impel people to take up swords for a cause and thus indirectly changes the course of history.
A pope or other spiritual leader may not have any real military divisions to his name, but the greatest empire would do well to watch the ideological stature and inventory of its enemies, as well as its own, just as much as it would monitor defense statistics.
How difficult can it be to ‘show up’ Obama? Left to his own devices (sans henchmen) Barry is no more than a walking ‘kick me’ sign — he’s ruthless when others are ruthless for him.
Having been ushered through life, having gotten to the mountain top by being carried to it in a sedan chair, hardly prepares one to contend with someone who’d gotten to the top by surviving putsches, purges, and the daily calisthenics of high stakes politburo backstabbing. I don’t care how many exotic countries you’ve lived in or how extraordinarily unscrupulous you are in your own skin.
DeMint got the perfect tone in that letter.
A new tone in Australia:
http://spectator.org/archives/2013/09/16/a-winner-heard-round-the-world
I’m thinking Cruz, here, of course. Rush, today, was strongly stating the forces that have aligned to crush Cruz today are composed of the RINOs and Democrats. Those voices mimic the voices that declared Tony Abbott would ruin Abbott’s liberal party. (note: the liberal party in Australia is akin to our conservative party)
Didn’t happen in Australia. Won’t happen here.
Excellent. excellent response by DeMint. I too like his principled stands. IMO, American exceptionalism is not the result of any genetic or inherent superiority. I suspect that when foreigners hear of American exceptionalism they think we are talking of an inherent superiority over other peoples.
American exceptionalism is the result of a system that encourages people to strive for and attain all of which they are capable. American exceptionalism is what happens when people are free to pursue their own individual happiness governed by the rule of law that respects individual rights and private property.
I still find it mysterious and even ominous that DeMint would resign from his Senate seat — with FOUR years of his term left — to go into any think tank. That’s crazy, and makes me wonder who twisted his arm.
Also, he was supposed to speak at the New York Meeting tonight: but the Senate Ethics Committee met and forbade him to do so, on the grounds that he is NOT allowed to “discuss policy” in a public forum for TWO YEARS, per Senate rules. So how is he going to “influence the debate” if he’s muzzled?
Note that the [excellent] letter doesn’t actually touch on policy.
Beverly,
Policy matters, but so does (popular) culture, values, norms, and as the Left has perfected, The Narrative.
I found Putin’s article much more pleasant and clear eyed to read than anything from America’s Leftist aristocrats.