"She Not Busy Being Born Is Busy Dying"
There's always a new opportunity to seize ... especially if you're working for a certain Republican candidate in the state of Georgia.
I’m Michael A. Cohen, and this is Truth and Consequences: A no-holds-barred look at the absurdities, hypocrisies, and surreality of American politics. If you received this email - or you are a free subscriber - and you’d like to subscribe: you can sign up below.
Carpe Diem
Last year when Truth and Consequences was but a few months old, I received an email from a subscriber who was canceling their subscription to the newsletter. He wrote there was “simply too much narcissistic ‘look at me’ that gets in the way of my learning something new and insightful.” At the time, it struck me as a weird complaint since, after all, it is my personally branded newsletter! But I try to take reader criticisms to heart, so I started depersonalizing newsletter posts. Well, today, that’s going out the window because I have a pretty cool personal story to tell.
My mother, who turned 81 years old this past March and has never lived in New York City, is, as of today, a resident of the borough of Brooklyn! As a parent, you usually feel pride for your children, but today that pattern is reversed — I’m proud of my mom and what she’s doing is downright inspiring.
It’s never easy to push against your comfort zone, especially when you’ve been toiling on this mortal coil for more than eight decades. My mother is moving to a city where she’s never lived, where she knows maybe a handful of people (granted, three of them are her son and grandkids), and where every day is going to present a new set of obstacles to overcome. But as a good friend of mine likes to say, “she called the fuck-it.”
I tell this story today, not simply because I’m kvelling, but because it’s a brief but important reminder that no matter how old you might be (or might feel), there’s always a new adventure and opportunity to embrace.
It’s so easy to fall into a pattern of inertia and convenience and follow the path of least resistance. I’m as guilty of this as the next person, and indeed, a two-year pandemic doesn’t help break old patterns or seek new challenges. The impulse to hunker down is a powerful one. But there’s always a unique opportunity out there. Always. Some are small, and some are transformative. For years I’ve wanted to learn how to scuba dive, and Thursday, I’m finally getting certified (if you don’t hear from me by next week, you can assume that it didn’t go well, and I only ask that you avenge me). On a much more significant note, I’m sitting on some professional news about a new project I’m starting up, which I’ve been trying to get off the ground for almost a year (I’m dying to announce it now but can’t quite yet).
But the larger point here is that sometimes we need a kick in the ass and a reminder that life is for living. As a wise man once sang, “he (she) not busy being born is busy dying." So apologies to those readers who’d rather I stick to politics, but today is a day for celebration in the Cohen family — and I hope that my mother’s journey inspires each of you to take that first step down the road to your next adventure.
Holy Macaroni
The pictures of our universe emerging from the Webb Telescope are simply mind-boggling.
Oh Herschel …
Amazing reporting by the Daily Beast on GOP Georgia Senate Candidate Herschel Walker’s inability to tell the truth:
When Herschel Walker’s campaign aides approached him this winter to discuss whispers that Walker had a secret child, the Georgia GOP’s Senate candidate told his campaign the rumors were false.
Walker’s aides already knew he was lying.
They had expected him to lie, and had obtained documents in advance of that conversation verifying that Walker did indeed have another child, The Daily Beast has learned. They handed the documents to him, and after some more back and forth, Walker finally admitted it was true. His aides asked if there were any other children they needed to know about. Walker insisted this was it.
When the Daily Beast learned about the existence of that 10-year-old child in June and went to the campaign for comment, campaign manager Scott Paradise prepared a statement. But first, he went to Walker with a question: Be honest—are there any other kids?
No, Walker said.
Paradise then put out a statement insisting that Walker—who at that point had only publicly acknowledged one child, his adult son, Christian—was “proud of his children.”
“To suggest that Herschel is ‘hiding’ the child because he hasn’t used him in his political campaign is offensive and absurd,” Paradise said in a statement.
The very next day, The Daily Beast reached out again, asking about yet another undisclosed child, a 13-year-old. The campaign approached Walker and asked again. This time, he acknowledged the teen was his.
Not only was Walker lying to the voters he hopes to one day represent, but he was also lying to his staff. Yet, it’s even worse than all that. According to the Daily Beast, internal emails show that Walker’s advisers have “zero” trust in him, believe he spouts lies “like he’s breathing,” and regularly call him a “pathological liar.” In addition, they have significant concerns that Walker lacks the mental acuity to do the job of US Senator.
Aides have secretly derided Walker for months, according to this person and internal communications seen by The Daily Beast. They have ridiculed his intelligence. They fear his mood swings and instability. And staffers worry he could embarrass himself at any moment, setting the campaign back yet again and burning energy on damage control.
“A campaign’s worst nightmare. It’s like a shitshow on a train in the middle of a wreck,” one source told the Daily Beast.
Yet, it doesn’t appear that this has led to an exodus of staffers from Walker’s campaign. Like their boss, they are propagating a fraud on the voters of Georgia — but it’s worse than the one perpetrated by Walker. Unlike the candidate, they are fully aware that he’s not qualified for the job he is seeking. They know he’s not honest or trustworthy. But for reasons of ambition or perhaps partisanship, they continue to spend their days helping him get elected. Not only is that unfair to voters, but it’s also unfair to the candidate, who needs an intervention, not blind loyalty. Bottom line: if you think that the candidate you’re working for is a liar, unqualified, and mentally challenged you have a responsibility to speak out against him, not help him get elected. Having worked for political candidates in the past, I can’t imagine the thought process or level of rationalization that would allow you to continue working for someone like that.
This is not a new story in today’s Republican Party. We know those around President Trump had deep misgivings about his temperament, truth-telling, and qualifications. Yet, they justified their decision to work for Trump by convincing themselves they could rein in his worst impulses (how did that work out?). In the process, they enabled Trump and, through their efforts, elected him president. He continues to represent a blight on our national politics because, in part, of the decisions they made.
I can’t say the exact reason why Walker’s aides are sticking with him, but their loyalty to a clearly unqualified candidate is how we got Donald Trump and a bunch of other unqualified Republican members of Congress. It’s a sickness within the Republican Party, and it is leading the country down a very dark path.
What’s Going On
Your daily reminder that we are in the midst of a gun violence epidemic:
According to the Washington Post, “Guns are used in most suicides and are almost entirely responsible for an overall rise in homicides across the country from 2018 to 2021.”
This is a beautiful story about friendship and redemption.
Monica Potts has some interesting thoughts on Democratic appeals to the white working class.
This is a great (and distressing) look at how the conservative majority of the Supreme Court is systematically taking down the separation of church and state in America.
Musical Interlude
This story about your mom is so inspiring - I'm glad you shared it. I hope she has a wonderful experience in Brooklyn and builds a new community in addition to her family that brings her much happiness in this next chapter of her life. I remember traveling abroad with my daughter a few years ago and realizing how much I missed putting myself in situations where I got to meet people and experience new cultures which I'd done before I had kids. It was my wakeup moment.
And, IMHO, this newsletter perfectly hits the sweet spot between news, politics and life. It's actually why I subscribe - keep on!