On political winning: a retrospective addendum

I am gratified and honored that my previous post on RI’s 2014 Democratic gubernatorial primary continues to generate such heated discussion. By all means, continue to have at. I’m sure my editor joins me in the satisfaction that this specific post has drawn at least two new commenters into the fray.

But from another perspective, it just proves my point that the left…Lefty…would rather be right than win. It seems worth saying again that the entire point of electoral politics is to win.

I leave being right to the churches; I’m perfectly satisfied with getting the best result I can…this time. In church, it’s one and done. In politics, we’re already raising funds for the next go-round.

Politics…you’re doing it wrong

In the commentary, one of the Pellies actually said something that roughly translates as “I thought he could win.” Full points for moxie, but demerits on politics. Pell could never win. NEVER. Only Pollyanna could think an unknown person with no record but a famous name could win in so tightly a fought space as Rhode Island.

But it wasn’t Pollyanna who convinced Pell to run, and good luck convincing me those who did convince him to run did so because they thought he could win. (Yes, Clay, they lied to your face. And you bought it. So who’s the worse) Honestly, Pollyanna, we’ve done this too many times to entertain such nonsense.

The upshot is that public school teachers have all but assured a gubernatorial administration that will try to enact the corporate education reforms that are worst for…no, not the teachers…the least-privileged students most dependent on the public schools.

There is a word for this, and that word is “losing.” Winning is another thing entirely; it’s the opposite thing.

Next time, let’s go for that.

Afterword

Fung is running an anti-Gina ad on this very website. Quod erat demonstrandum, Pollyanna.