Despite his total lack of recent responsibility, and despite his total failure as recent prognosticator, James Carville remains one of America’s most popular political gurus. His heyday as Democratic consultant was the heyday of Bill Clinton. But because of his over-the top good ole’ boy demeanor, and his over-the-top good ole’ boy speech, Carville remains a media favorite. Just yesterday MSNBC anchor Ari Melber gave the man airtime.
Carville’s last major foray into the public debate was in October, shortly before the presidential election. The New York Times published his guest essay, memorably titled, “Three Reasons I’m Certain Kamala Harris Will Win.” Well, give the man credit for sticking his neck out. But OMG was he wrong! Not only did Harris suffer an ignominious electoral defeat, but the reasons why Carville calculated she would win even then seemed a bit ridiculous. (Reason # 1 she had lots of money. Reason # 2 Trump had been a “repeat electoral loser.” And Reason # 3, feeblest of all, “It’s just a feeling.”)
Still, here is Carville again, this time advising Democratic elites, primarily elected officials, to do nothing. To do nothing no matter what President Donald Trump or his sidekick Elon Musk does or says.
Carville seems not to object to ordinary people doing something, specifically demonstrating against the administration. But he is in no uncertain terms telling Democratic politicians to “Play possum. Just let it go. Don t get in the way of it. Or as we like to say, don’t just stand there, do nothing. Let this germinate…. We don’t need to get in front of it. This freight train is moving. Let’s just get out of the way and then we’re gonna have time.”
Let’s be clear about who here are the leaders and who the followers: Trump and Musk are the leaders. It is they and only they who are driving the “freight train” to which Carville alludes. Everyone else is a follower, both top Republicans and top Democrats. The very same Democrats who have been driving many of their constituents crazy because they have seemed spineless. Crazy because they have seemed to lack even a pulse. Crazy because they have seemed pathetically weak in the face of overweening strength. When Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer recently told journalist Mara Gay that he finally understood that what the American people wanted from the Democrats – “They want us to beat Trump and stop this shit.” – Gay’s reaction was to write, “It was a welcome sign of life.”
I’m in the same camp. It seems to me that Carville is on the wrong side of history. It seems to me that he’s as wrong about this as he was about the outcome of the presidential election. It seems to me that he should either retire or be retired. It seems to me that the longer we wait to stand up against any tyrant, or any would-be tyrant, the heavier the lift. Finally, it seems to me that what threatens the United States of America is less a crisis of leadership than of followership.