The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

A Sunday Blessing in South Carolina

Posted on | March 24, 2019 | Comments Off on A Sunday Blessing in South Carolina

“May this pittance help as you go to look madness in the face. It should make for some very interesting reading. Remember, as a wise man hath said, crazy people are dangerous. Be careful out there and God be with you.”
— Roger C., who hit the tip jar this morning

GEORGETOWN, South Carolina
To “look madness in the face” is a fair description of my job, I guess, and it’s true that crazy people are dangerous. Readers have warned me that Bill Schmalfeldt is somewhere in this vicinity, so your prayers on my behalf are certainly welcome. Typing away here at my undisclosed location (hint: they serve crispy golden french fries and the wifi is free), I might not even notice that neckless freak if he came through the door, and who knows what might result from such a confrontation, especially if the deranged cyberstalker catches me by surprise? God forbid!

The Lord’s protection is always helpful when you’re out on the campaign trail, and so it was that I found myself in the pews of historic Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church on Broad Street, which is right across the street from the historic Jewish cemetery.

 

There were Jews in South Carolina before the Revolution, and Abraham Cohen was on the committee that welcomed George Washington to this town in 1791, to give you an idea of how highly esteemed that prosperous merchant was. In a largely agricultural society like the Old South, the skills possessed by Jewish settlers made them valued citizens. The effect of the color line was such that Southern Jews (mostly of Sephardim ancestry) were both better integrated into their communities and, generally, far more conservative than their northern kinsman (mostly Ashkenazi) so that, for example, Judah P. Benjamin became a U.S. Senator from Louisiana and served in Jefferson Davis’s Cabinet. And that’s today’s Southern history lesson, boys and girls . . .

Marianne Williamson in the pulpit at Bethel AME Church.

Did I mention Marianne Williamson is Jewish by birth? “Should she win the presidency, Williamson, 66, not only would be the first woman president but the first Jewish one,” reports New York Jewish Week.

So she’s got that going for her, and all she needs to qualify for the first televised debates, according to the Democratic National Committee’s official criteria, is 65,000 unique donors. Her campaign is driving steadily toward that number — they say they’re already past 25,000 — and if she gets her spot on the stage, she’s got a natural appeal to those Democrats who are deeply disillusioned with the status quo.

While I don’t want to say much here about her sermon at Bethel AME this morning — you’ll get that in tomorrow’s American Spectator column — it is fair to say that Ms. Williamson speaks for the Religious Left. She is against the military-industrial complex, and mentions U.S. support for the Saudi war in Yemen in every stump speech. If the Bernie Sanders voters in Iowa and New Hampshire lose faith in their hero and start looking for a fresh face, a lot of them will like Ms. Williamson’s message.

Marianne Williamson talks to a local Democrat at Sunday’s luncheon.

Meanwhile, there’s the grassroots retail politics side of the operation. The Williamson campaign’s signup table at the after-church luncheon collected names and contact information from about 40 people, and her state campaign chairwoman, Dr. Gloria Bromell Tinnubu, is an experienced political professional who has twice gotten 100,000+ votes in congressional elections in South Carolina’s 7th District. Oh, and here’s a look at the candidate’s campaign literature:

 

You can click that image to enlarge and read it, e.g., “Politics . . . should be, as everything should be, an expression of the heart.” My conservative readers will shudder in horror at such gooey emotionalism, but this is about Democrat primary voters, remember? There’s plenty of policy talk out there among the 16 or so candidates running for 2020, and also plenty of anti-Trump rage. While there is no shortage of anti-Trump rhetoric in Ms. Williamson’s stump speech, her campaign is offering voters something very different than the rest of the candidates, and she’s aiming to own a particular niche overlooked by the various senators and governors and a Certain Former Vice President running for the Democrat nomination. Did I mention she’s been called Oprah Winfrey’s “spiritual guru”? My hunch is that’s gonna count for something.

Also, my hunch is I’d better get cracking on that column for Monday, which I’ve got to finish before either (a) this fine dining establishment closes for the evening or (b) the deranged cyberstalker Bill Schmalfeldt comes staggering through the door. Pray for me, and please remember the Five Most Important Words in the English Language are:

HIT THE FREAKING TIP JAR!



 

Category: Democrats, Election, Shoe Leather Fund, South Carolina

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