The Ultimate Lesson of Election 2014: “Nothing’s Free”.

Stripped down to its barest bones, that’s the takeaway. The “Republicans” won because they invested in things that could help them win, and the Dems lost because they didn’t invest thus. Not saying it’s fair, not saying it’s right, just saying that smart investing pays dividends, and un-smart investing loses shirts.

And what was the GOPee investment? Why, ’twas in propaganda media. 24/7, all across the TeeVee, radio, Internets, billboards, you name it, the Elephants paid millions upon millions to hammer their message home. And even though the bulk of said message was a pack of lies, the repetition of it over a period of years proved effective – lots of gullible nitwits believed it. The ‘Phants bought the media and used it to brainwash the masses. That was a huge investment, and it resulted in an enormous return.

In contrast, the Democrats invested in smart public policies (like the ACA), and then tried to pretend they hadn’t. They invested in the election of a truly historic President, and then tried to pretend he wasn’t there. Dems invested a lot in holding back the most cray of the Repubs’ cray-cray ideas, and then pretended they hadn’t done that either. Many Dems actually did a very good job in office, but got scared of seeming too, well, non-Republican. They invested and then tried to un-invest. Small wonder they got bupkis for a return, innit?

You can’t get ANYTHING for free. Even the air we breathe and water we drink requires investment to keep it clean enough to use. Hell, even love requires an emotional investment, does it not? Gravity isn’t free, for that matter – ask any physicist. NOTHING COMES FROM NOTHING. Ya gotta do something, pay something, sweat, speak, take some kind of action, if you want to get something in return.

The Democrats, Greens, and the Left in general need to treat this as a lesson in reality. If they want power, they won’t get it by being virtuous; by being right; by having a “D” by their name; kicking and braying; or any of the other stupid, lazy, disorganized, inconsistent methods they employed in 2014. And they can look to their own ranks for proof. Minnesota Dems invested in candidates, media, turnout, message, and did much better than the party as whole. They invested wisely and profited thereby. Something the rest of American Democrats did not do.

One phrase common during this writer’s youth was “the marketplace of ideas”: the notion that quality ideas would, like quality goods and services, rise to the top via free and vigorous debate. The willingness to invest time and effort in the debate was part of how well an idea succeeded in the “market”. The Repubs invested in control of the debate instead of quality policies, but have succeeded because, 9 times out of 10, the public hears only GOP talking points. Sadly, because of this unscrupulous (but competently executed) strategy, the GOP is winning the battle of ideas, at least when it comes to how it shakes out at the ballot box.

Non-Repubs needn’t opt for the criminal methods employed by the GOPee; but they DO have to invest in good ideas and policies, courage, consistency, and learn to aggressively promote themselves and their “products” if they are going to succeed. Based on this year’s election cycle, Democrats have a f*** of a lot of work to do.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

There is a Foundation that We All Build Upon

Mr. Blunt and Cranky, as many of you know, is a musician/composer of sorts, and has been educated in the history of music. He is fully aware of the essential contributions made by Pythagoras, Mozart, Leo Fender, and manymanymany others who have gone before him, creating the mathematical and sonic body of knowledge upon which he bases his work. He does not for an instant think that he invented the western scale and other music theory, devised and built the instruments he plays, or invented and constructed the equipment used to record and reproduce the music that he writes. He is equally happy to take credit for the music that he writes, because that is his original work, built on the foundation created by others over a millennium or so.

Sounds pretty reasonable, yes? It is an attitude based on historical fact, and gives credit where due, both to Mr. B & C and those who came before him. Indeed, you’d be hard pressed to find a sane individual who would care to argue the point.

But if one changes the word “music” to “business”, oh my, what shrieks will emerge from some parts of the business community and their bought politicians. Evidently, the centuries of innovation and decades of publicly funded infrastructure, research and investment that facilitate and enable a prosperous business community don’t exist to these blinkered yahoos.

When one lets ego, talking points, or political philosophy distort their view of historical and contemporary reality, one is no longer living in the real world. For Mitt Romney to claim that he was successful in business solely because of his own brilliance and work ethic would be like this writer claiming to have invented the Fender Bass he uses: flattering to the ego, but a complete fantasy when looked at objectively.

We work best when we face cold, hard reality and deal with any resulting hits to our egos: all of us are to some degree dependent on those who came before us, and to those who share the world with us at this time. This does not in any way add to or diminish our own work ethic, intelligence, talent or other character traits. It just means that others play their part, too.

America is a great place to do business, due to our long tradition of social, regulatory and economic policies that provide infrastructure, educated workers, and tax incentives designed to encourage business success.  Anyone who favors a totally independent environment might want to consider doing business in Kenya, Ethiopia, certain Pacific Ocean islands, or other nations with less law and public investment. This writer predicts that once you see the alternative, you’ll agree with what the Prexy said last week (even though he said it poorly).

Mr. B & C