A clarification concerning mistermix and Darcy Burner
by David Atkins
Mistermix at Balloon Juice is strongly objecting to my earlier post in defense of Darcy Burner, and taking issue especially with my characterization of his original post.
First, I should note that I am a regular and long-time Balloon Juice reader, and have admired the work of most of the contributing editors there for years. I read the Balloon Juice article before I read the Seatlle PI piece riffing on it.
Mistermix’ central argument is that he never called Darcy too extreme on abortion, but rather said that she didn’t connect well with the audience, particularly compared with Elizabeth Warren. Here’s what he actually said:
I was at the Burner keynote that Anne Laurie posted, which was followed by Mazie Hirono and Elizabeth Warren. Now, don’t get me wrong—I think it’s fine for a politician to stand up in front of a gathering of core supporters and ask for big things, and I’m not going to fault Burner for that. And women have been enduring a retrograde assault on what should be settled rights over the last couple of years, and maybe the ERA needs to be revived. All that said, by the time that keynote was done, it was clear to me why Darcy Burner can’t win an election, and it was clear the minute that Elizabeth Warren stood up to talk…
You can watch the speech and call out the highlights, but the net of the whole thing is that Warren talked about real issues that are excruciatingly relevant to the election a few months away, she did so in plain language, and she connected the Democrats’ progress in the past to a future of more progress. Good politics looks simple when someone with real talent does it, and Warren is an exceptionally gifted politician.
For example, pay close attention to Warren’s body language if you do watch the speech. She’s open and inviting to her audience. When she gestures to make a point, she never points her finger at us. Darcy Burner’s most-used gesture during the Q&A was a pointed finger because she was lecturing us how it should be. Darcy Burner says “You Must” when Elizabeth Warren says “We Can”…
Finally, Warren’s voice is hoarse because she was at parties talking to actual human beings. Hell, my voice is still hoarse from the conference, and I’m a goddam misanthrope. Warren could have helicoptered in and out of Netroots and nobody would have been the wiser. Instead, she did what good politicians do: she talked to supporters to energize them to get out and work for her. Burner’s voice is crystal-clear, as it will be next year when she attends Netroots to lecture that group about her next sure-to-fail run for office.
What Mistermix is saying is that Darcy is too aggressive in talking “at” her audience, her approaches are useless, and her issues aren’t “relevant” at this moment. He isn’t calling her too extreme in her views but rather impolitic in her assertiveness and myopic in her choice of issues. He then moved from that position to declaring her an unskilled politician.
With all respect to Mistermix, all of those are false and frankly insulting positions. Most people I know who were at Netroots Nation were thrilled with Darcy’s speech. Regular readers here know that I spend the vast majority of my time talking about economic issues, but nonetheless I also think it’s long past time that men and women stood up and fought back aggressively on the subject of abortion. And not just to insist on “my body my choice” for the ten thousandth time, but to stand up and declare “I am Spartacus!”, removing the shame and reminding regular Americans that they probably know more people who have had abortions than they even know gay people. The familiarization and destigmatization that worked so well in the LGBT movement can apply and should apply just as easily to abortion rights.
Moreover, while Warren’s speech as an excellent example of framing economic narratives, Darcy’s speech offered examples of direct action that could be taken quickly and fairly easily. We’ve all heard great framing. We’re short on direct action. Further, the given the President’s inept handling of economic messaging (often overlooked by bloggers at Balloon Juice) combined with the revanchist conservative attacks on women, it’s entirely likely that the President’s reelection will hinge just as much on mobilizing women on social issues than on anything done on the economic front.
I do owe Mistermix one apology, though: on re-reading my post it seemed that I was lumping Mistermix in with the Seattle PI writer as an uncomfortable defender of patriarchal power. That was not the intent, and the blame lies squarely on my poor and shorthand writing. I simply think Mistermix misapprehends the rhetorical and tactical necessities of our particular political moment.
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