When Odysseus was sailing home from Troy, he knew he would encounter the siren songs of the harpies. He had the men on his ship tie himself to the mast and commanded all of the crew to put wax in their ears so they would not fall for the song of the harpies. Above all else, Odysseus ordered his men, no matter what he said, to not untie him.
The song of the harpies was a sweet, gentle song with an irresistible pull that beckoned ships to the shore where they crashed on the rocks and were eaten by the harpies.
The siren song of the harpies implores normally reasonable men and women to run for President only to have their campaigns bashed into pieces. Will Hurd is a respectable figure with an impressive resume. A former clandestine CIA intelligence officer, Hurd ran for Congress in the swingiest of swing districts and held the seat for three terms before retiring.
Now, spurred by a gang of MSNBC “conservative” contributors whose identity is wrapped in their hatred of Donald Trump, Hurd hears the siren’s song and is embarking on a doomed candidacy to defeat Donald Trump. Consultants will get rich and pseudo-conservatives will get “their man” while voters will laugh at the spectacle of another no-name candidate polling well below one percent.
The anointed big family candidate in 2016 was Jeb Bush. Trump pushed him out of the running. The Bush family hated him as well as the Chaney family.
Free trade didn’t only kill jobs here. How many people in Mexico were unemployed since American produce was cheaper?
When the governor in California was recalled and another (The Arnold) was voted in, there were more than a dozen candidates. The majority had no experience running anything and couldn’t organize a two car funeral. But it was a legacy enhancer. Something else to add to your obituary. That hasn’t changed.
Wonderful analogy. Oi have seldom thought of the harpies and their siren song since I graduated from college 60 years ago. Thanks Erick , for reminding me of the wisdom and insights of the ancients.
I was wondering who on earth he was and why he was doing this stupid thing.
Am I the only one who thought of O Brother Where Art Thou?
If the Greek harpies were singing "Go to sleep, you little baby", that would have been awesome!
With China in Cuba, why are we messing around at this point? Do we have to wait for daily cyber attacks before we wake up? Do we need another Durham to not subpoena the players behind Crossfire Hurricane. Seriously, these are far from remotely normal times. Why are we playing games when all the chips have been pushed to the center of the table?
Having been a young child during the Cuban Missile Crisis, I'm astonished no one has drawn the parallels to China hanging out in Cuba spying and hacking the US.
Amazing. This is far worse, but no one seems to care. Least of all the media. They’re either complicit or their morons. Or maybe, corporate media needs those CCP $$ which are essentially ours. Your pension funds and 401(K)s at work…
As Rush said “ Now Comes The Anal Inspection of his Life.”
Love the analogy.
Related, I love the story of President George Washington and James Garfield... candidates that did not want the job, but who were eventually convinced that they were the best choice to serve. Today I laugh when I hear the rabid rhetoric of "Trump the narcissist" because every candidate for President is clearly a narcissist and frankly most people cannot tell the difference between confident conviction to serve and narcissism... the former being in short supply and the latter the more common trait we see with our modern political game.
Trump knows he can. How many of us let our fears stop us?
Rationalization: the action of attempting to explain or justify behavior or an attitude with logical reasons, even if these are not appropriate.
To run for President you have to have an ego, you have to believe with conviction that you are necessary and best for the continuation of the country.
Egotists want others to admire them while narcissists expect to be showered with affection and will use people to attain this kind of attention.
Trump is no different from the liberals who are trying to burn down the SCOTUS because it no longer serves their agenda.
Trump has shown himself to be a narcissist. He does not have a motivation of conviction, he is motivated by the need for affection and attention and will say and do anything to get it. This is the man that says he only hires the best people and has insulted, berated, and derided all of them.
I don't think you read it correctly. But yes, he does like to criticize and fire people. Frankly, there needs to be a lot more of that in American government and politics.
This was 1988: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BJYbn4MppM
Not sure what that is or what I misread.
I am referring to your comment
"Today I laugh when I hear the rabid rhetoric of "Trump the narcissist"."
And this this...
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/fox-news-trump-bret-baier-best-aides-b2360613.html
There are levels of narcissism. I doubt if Tim Scott has much.
I think voters are very hungry for authentic politicians attracted to positions because they are truly motivated to be public servants. I frankly don't know enough about Tim Scott, but in general, that is a very rare case for national politicians today.
I like Will Hurd a lot but being loved by the MSNBC crowd makes no difference. When push comes to shove, the progressives will almost always vote for someone with a D next to their name. See how love from online liberals worked out for John McCain’s presidential campaign.