| | | | The case for crying in politics |  | | Over the weekend, at a forum in gun control in Iowa, Andrew Yang cried.
Here's what happened: A Las Vegas woman whose 4-year-old daughter was killed by a stray bullet in 2011 asked Yang what he would do about unintentional shootings as president. Yang went into the crowd and hugged the woman. As he returned to the stage, he said, "I have a 6- and 3-year-old boy, and I was imagining..." before he choked up and put his hand over his face to wipe away the tears.
This is a good thing.
I've long advocated that politicians showing emotion is something we need more of (not less of) in our politics and our culture. (I initially wrote about it following then-President Barack Obama tearing up in 2016 while recounting the murders of 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.)
The reason is simple: We, collectively, need more empathy, more humanity and more authenticity in our world -- and especially in our politics. Genuine emotion from a politician is a reminder that they are not all that different than us. They get overwhelmed. They are faced with sorrow and tragedy that the rational mind simply cannot comprehend or compartmentalize. And to react to those moments that in an emotional way is a sign not of weakness but of realness.
Unfortunately, there remains some stigma surrounding politicians crying. For female politicians, it has long been unfairly regarded as a sign of over-the-top emotion -- and been used to play into sexist stereotypes about whether women are "balanced" enough (or some similar crap) to handle the job as the nation's chief executive. For male politicians, crying in public (or even in private!) can be seen as an unacceptable lack of toughness and fortitude.
The current President has done much to continue that outdated stereotype. Asked whether he had ever cried by Christian Broadcast Network's David Brody in the 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump responded this way:
"No, I'm not a big crier. I like to get things done. I'm not a big crier. I'm not someone who goes around crying a lot. But I know people like that. I know plenty of people that cry. They're very good people. But I have not been a big crier."
And as anyone who even casually follows Trump's Twitter feed knows, dismissing his political opponents as "Crying" -- most notably Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (New York). Trump has also used "crying" as a put-down for, among others, Glenn Beck, Omarosa Manigault Newman and John Boehner.
This is, in a word, dumb. And in two words: Dumb and (badly) outdated. (Yes, that is technically three words.)
The Point: More humanity, not less, is what we need from our politicians -- and from our fellow citizens. The more we can be reminded of what we all share, the better our country and our politics will be.
-- Chris (and yes, I am a crier. In public and private. When happy and when sad.) | | "You don't have to buy my dog food, but I'm hopeful that over time people will."
-- Republican presidential contender Bill Weld, using a unique metaphor for growing his base of Iowa voters at the Iowa State Fair. | | | TICK-TOCK ON THE DEBATE QUALIFYING CLOCK | | There are 16 days left for candidates to qualify for the September debates -- and so far, only nine have met the higher threshold to do so.
They are Cory Booker, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang.
Two candidates are within striking distance in the polls: - Julián Castro only needs one more poll to qualify -- he's already met the fundraising requirement.
- Tulsi Gabbard needs three more polls showing her at or above 2%. She has also already met the fundraising requirement.
🎧 Lauren has more on the Democratic field's dash to the debates in today's Point podcast. | | Why being the frontrunner in Iowa is a curse via Amy Walter
A good list from WaPo's Aaron Blake on 23 conspiracy theories Donald Trump has elevated
An incredible piece of journalism on how many pain pills went to your pharmacy
What the El Paso killer borrowed from conservative media
How James Daunt is trying to save Barnes & Noble
An oral history of the 1994 baseball strike
Salmon cannon! | | | RESOLVED: It should be a national holiday when Bon Iver releases a new album. (And here's Pitchfork's glowing review of it.) | | THAT'S ONE WAY TO PROVE A POINT | | The DNC is so concerned about deepfake videos -- and artificial intelligence-powered fraud within the 2020 election -- that the party deepfaked its chairman at a hackers convention.
Donie O'Sullivan has more:
People in the room for a presentation were told that DNC Chair Tom Perez was supposed to be there, but was unable to make it. They said he going to connect by Skype instead. Then Perez came on screen and apologized for not being in attendance — except that he'd said no such thing.
With the cooperation of the DNC's chief security officer Bob Lord, experts in artificial intelligence had altered Perez's facial expressions to make it appear as if he was apologizing. Then they'd used Lord's voice to put the words in Perez's fake mouth.
Speaking in Vegas, Lord told CNN Business that the Perez deepfake was a demonstration to warn about what could possibly happen in 2020. | |
LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL LATEST | | Andrew Yang: Has the support of Elon Musk, at least according to a tweet from Musk.
Kirsten Gillibrand: Is the latest Democratic contender to take to the airwaves, launching a $1 million ad buy on TV and online in a bid to qualify for the next round of debates.
Beto O'Rourke: Could return to the campaign trail "potentially later this week" following a shooting in his hometown August 3, according to the NYT.
Joe Biden: Says he will push to ban assault weapons if elected in 2020. | | | It's not all deep-fried and on-a-stick at the Iowa State Fair! John Hickenlooper and Kirsten Gillibrand show they can handle the heat while flipping pork chops at the fair. Check out more snaps from Iowa's biggest gathering. | | | | | | |
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