AMAC Exclusive – By Aaron Flanigan
For several consecutive election cycles, Democrats and the mainstream media have elevated a spirit of performance over a spirit of public service, replacing substance and integrity with hollow talking points and liberal doublespeak. As a result, the country has often been left with vain, inexperienced leaders who see their jobs not as an opportunity to serve their fellow citizens, but instead as an exercise in personal branding, marketing, and self-promotion.
The obvious example of this phenomenon in recent history was the ascendancy of Barack Obama, who began his political career as a little-known state senator with virtually no accomplishments or meaningful experience. Obama’s elevation to the national stage in the 2008 Democratic primaries was not the result of impressive resume or compelling policy platform, but rather mere stage presence. For a generation of liberals weaned on Aaron Sorkin’s West Wing, Obama fit the part.
As even left-wing NBC News acknowledged in the early months of the 2008 primaries, Obama “began his campaign facing the perception that he lacks the experience to be president, especially compared to rivals with decades of work on foreign and domestic policy. So far, he’s done little to challenge it. He’s delivered no policy speeches and provided few details about how he would lead the country.”
In the years thereafter, other Democrat phenoms followed Obama’s lead. During the 2018 midterm elections, little-known Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke—who lacked any notable achievements in Congress—was hailed by the entire media apparatus as a “rising star” during his campaign to oust Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
Unlike Obama, however, O’Rourke lost his Senate race. But the media continued to fawn over him, including a ridiculous feature on the cover of Vanity Fair ahead of his 2020 presidential run that was roundly mocked on social media. O’Rourke lost that race too, and completed the trifecta with a humiliating defeat in the 2022 Texas gubernatorial race– all while still being hailed by the media as a generational talent.
Another example of this pattern can be found in the political stardom of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who rose to national prominence as the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana – a liberal college town that USA Today in 2018 ranked as one of the worst cities in America. During Buttigieg’s time in office, South Bend saw its highest spike in violent crime in years. And among South Bend residents, Buttigieg’s tenure as mayor was known as ineffective, and at times even outright destructive.
Yet nevertheless, the national media did not hesitate to crown Buttigieg as “the future of the Democrat Party” even in spite of his inexperience and lack of any unique vision. But to the left, none of this mattered. Once again, Buttigieg seemed to look and fit the part for a Democrat Party obsessed with identity politics, and thus he was thrust to the forefront of national Democrat politics and hailed as a transcendent figure.
As political commentator Kyle Smith wrote of Buttigieg in 2019, “He gets the juices… of idealism flowing through liberal veins. He speaks in the language that they don’t merely respect, they revere—the language that hushes them up and makes them knit their eyebrows in sympathy.” Buttigieg would go on to be trounced in the 2020 presidential primary, and has since had a disastrous tenure as Secretary of Transportation.
But perhaps the most obvious example of identity politics manufacturing a narrative of a “rising political star” is Vice President Kamala Harris.
Despite being forced to exit the 2020 Democratic primaries before even a single vote had been cast, Harris made the shortlist for Biden’s vice presidential pick purely on account of her race and sex. Perhaps unsurprisingly given that even Democrat primary voters rejected her, Harris has gone on to become the single most unpopular sitting vice president in at least the last half century.
Incredibly, however, many Democrat leaders still insist Harris is the heir apparent to Joe Biden, and believe that she could win a general election.
Other notable figures like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (who worked as a bartender before her election to Congress), twice-failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, and 2018 Florida gubernatorial contender Andrew Gillum have also been subjects of seemingly endless mainstream media fawning for no discernible reason.
More recently, New York City mayor Eric Adams appointed Laura Kavanagh as commissioner of the New York City Fire Department, touting her status as a woman but notably failing to mention many specifics about her qualifications. Only a few months into the job, she has already wrought havoc on her department and staff, highlighting her lack of proper experience and credentials.
As a recent essay in The Atlantic put it, “Democrats Keep Falling for ‘Superstar Losers’” who have become well-known “not by winning big elections,” but “by losing them.”
In other words, for many Democrats, politics has been reduced to a popularity contest in which running for office is more important than governing, and image cultivation is more important than building a record of achievement.
Although some leftists might be eager to point out that former President Donald Trump also rose to prominence as someone with no prior government experience, it is important to note that—unlike figures like Obama, O’Rourke, Buttigieg, or Harris—Trump succeed in spite of media coverage, not because of it. Even supposedly conservative outlets like Fox relentlessly bashed Trump during the 2016 primary. He won by winning an argument.
Trump also went on to become a historically productive president who delivered some of conservatives’ most prized policy goals—including reshaping the federal judiciary, withdrawing the U.S. from meaningless foreign entanglements, and delivering security on the southern border. To this day, Trump remains the most powerful figure in conservative politics and continues to advance the priorities and popularity of the Republican Party in unprecedented ways.
Ultimately, the left’s elevation of public image over political acumen has cost them an astounding number of critical races—and if they continue to double down, their standing in the eyes of the American public is only likely to fall further.
Aaron Flanigan is the pen name of a writer in Washington, D.C.
ALL of the above covered a certain base, black, woman, gay, or in Beto’s case stupidity. I mean the man went to New Mexico and ate dirt, and he was being pushed and hailed as a Latino, when in fact he’s Irish. Both Harris and Buttigieg are the offspring of immigrants, and it sounds like when they speak, they’re not too fond of the county their parents came to.
Amazing how 2 on the bottom of the Iowa primaries in 2020 could rise to a level of stupidity no president and admi has even achieved.
The names mentioned and so many others, are the largest collection of Godless, socialist, losers in the history of America. These bums are proof that we are in the end times. There will be no leadership here. Just completion of their one-world agenda with the Anti-Christ at the head. Their goal is to destroy America by destroying our educational system, our military, our religious systems, and our economy. They already have the government in control along with our military and ed. system. They will never be able to destroy our religious beliefs. Joyfully, God will prevail in the end. Keep looking up. A King is coming.
This is a planned, engineered tear-down of the United States. Soros is one of the leaders. He goes into whatever State or group that he wants to destroy next or use to destroy another. Right now Michigan because of our corrupt, evil Whitmer, Nessel and Benson, they and the Michigan Congress have made it ‘legal’ to do Ballot Harvesting, so Soros is helping them. This stuff happens behind our backs, and the RINOs are assisting. So, yes, there is a lot of incompetence, but it is on purpose. As far as AOC goes. People can say she was ‘just’ a bartender, but the spoiled little girl comes from wealth, and cares only about herself and will do whatever she wants to get whatever she wants.
Biden, requirement for VP was fulfilled in Harris ,he also had the same requirement for supreme court justice.
Although Reagan was a celebrity, he also had gravitas, governing experience, and most of all, character (not to mention a conservative agenda). How far we’ve fallen since then may be the fault of media personalities who want to become well known. I may not live long enough to see the pendulum swing back, but it’s a hell of an interesting ride!
SAiunce he is a gayblade, call him Buttsore. Kyle L.
No they won’t as long as the MSM is the propaganda outlet for the democrat party nothing will change. We the voters have to vote these people out.
If not America will become a third world country run by a bunch of nincompoops.
The Democrats do not have to worry. Since they control the media, academia, and the bureaucracy, all they have to do is continue to rig elections. With the dead, and illegal aliens voting for them, they have forged an unconquerable coalition.
BIDEN IS GOING TO CHOOSE DYLAN MULVANY FOR 2024 RUNNING MATE
(“For several consecutive election cycles, Democrats and the mainstream media have elevated a spirit of theatrical performance over a spirit of public service, replacing substance and integrity with hollow talking points and liberal doublespeak.”) that’s been going on all my 50 voting years, unfortunately by both parties. Trump’s Presidency impact is still being felt and he needs another term fighting the marxist swamp if the U.S. is going to survive. the stress of defeating marxism in America is multiples greater than Trump fighting to save American capitalism and democracy; punchlines to marxism. DRAIN THE SWAMP FOR A FREE AMERICA!!!!! VOTE FOR TRUMP!!!!
Buttigieg is malleable and doesn’t need to know squat for the Dems to run him. Malleablehell, he’s clay.
This trend lead the way to the end of merit which, particularly for the young in education, is a disaster for America. Merit is the basis of all that has worked well.
Excellent article.
There isn’t space in an article to list all of the left losers!
But uninformed voters keep voting for them all the time
Satan picked these fools for his purpose and God allowed it.
LOSERS ARE LOSERS NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT THEM!
I never voted for obama. I still don’t understand how he got two terms or how biden got elected. I hope for the sake of this country that President Trump will get a second term.
disaster after disaster after disaster, the lefts A team is truly a clown circus of undeniable gall and deconstructing of america.
Wow. Pass me that joint. Obama won two elections convincingly in spite of being a no nothing. He wouldve won again if not for the amendment limiting presidents to two terms. His wife can probably have the office if she feels like it. We are currently being ruled by a mob and i see no reason they will be sent packing in two years. We barely won control of the house, owing in large part to abortion restrictions rushed into place in red states. We need a dose of reality, not conservative pot smoke. As it stands now we’re going to lose big time, perhaps like the whigs in the 1850s. These left wing ‘losers’ hold the white house, the senate and swing states. Gloating over pete b and beto is not the point.
That’s the reason why I believe that the Democratic party are the Devil party.
I was just in my early teens when Ted Kennedy drove off the bridge and his female passenger was killed. If he would have reported it quickly, her life might have been saved, instead he waited until morning. I remember thinking then that Kennedy’s political career was over, that nobody would ever vote for him again. Boy was I wrong. How many more terms did he get re-elected to? I realized then that democraps don’t give a damn about the morals, or qualifications, of the people they vote for. No matter how bad or unqualified they are, as long as they have a D in front of their name, they will vote for them. It’s no surprise now that things have got as bad as they have.
Why does our Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttgiggles still have a job in the Federal Government? After his non action on EVERYTHING perhaps worst well after the disaster in W. Palenstine….the creepy pervert should be run out of town on a rail after being tarred and feathered.
ALL libs = CANCER AND ARE THE ENEMY OF OUR NATION. DEPORT ALL libs, illegals AND THE ONCE HONORABLE, fbi, STAT, TO MAGA
All scum! Obama, Obiden and the crack hoe!
Ship of fools.
WOW! That article says it all. Obama, Harris, Buttigieg , O’Rourke and finally Biden are all failed losers who are in positions of power only due to their skin color, gender, sexual orientation, not any political experience or accomplishments. These examples demonstrate why our country is in such a mess. A prime example of “Swamp creatures.”
Good article with the most notable, and true, observation being that the left has made politics a “popularity contest”. A vast number of ignorant voters chose our elected “leaders” based on image and popularity rather than policies and qualifications. Biden over Trump was a prime recent example of using personality as the sole criteria and it is destroying our nation. Using the Trump/Biden contest as an example, Trump’s actual policies were outstanding, making him a truly great president. But his personality which is often abrasive and incendiary, which the media and left constantly condemned, gave us the worst president in my 80 years and destroyed the best. The falsely negative perception of Trump today makes his re-election bid in 2024 difficult in spite of Biden’s massive failures for the nation yet the nation’s survival depends on the Democrats being defeated. For that reason alone, I would support DeSantis in the primaries because I think he is more electable than Trump, but should Trump win the nomination he gets my vote.
They are big looser to us the people buy they are great winners for the entities they work for.
Remember, a democrat politician is an individual that does a foot job to their constituents to make feel they are working for their benefit, when in reality they are working for the benefit of their masters.
Another very pithy piece of journalism! The 44th President is a very talented orator, a silver tongued pied piper, who wooed the many, who could not stop to think for themselves! That he managed to fool the masses once is bad enough, but to have done so twice puts P.T. Barnum to shame! His foreign and domestic policies opened the doors for Marxism to take root in a Country that fought against his brand of ideology, in the Second World War, in the opinion of this writer. The policies he espoused have come home to roost. You can see it in the cities of New York, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco and California respectively. The question that begs to be asked is this, how does America recover from this? The answer lies within ourselves, if the Ship of State is ever to be righted. There isn’t much time left for us to act!
Democrats enter politics for one reason–to get rich! They do not care about our country nor the people who live here and make this country great! They are narcissistic idolaters! They love power and completely disregard responsibility! “When the wicked rule, the people mourn.”
Superstar losers???? Great view of reality!!! Add education to inform the left’s masses so they see reality and the demos will defeat them self’s..No one likes to be hustled especially with promises given while actual results few and seldom.Lived in Chicago 35 years know the game and final results. Article said it all and backed it up!!!
Stormy Daniels former lawyer (now in jail), AOC, Liz Cheney…….There’s a lot of
candidates here. We should have a sunday night award show for lefty losers and
Rhinos . They’re both the same.
But this could be said about 3/4 of Athe Rino crowd as as well.
Obummer’s net worth after leaving the Presidency was $1.3 million. Today it’s over $70 million and reports say it could go up over $200 million in the not to distant future. The DNC, Soros, Obummer, Biden, Clintons and a whole host of U.S. politicians were messing around in corrupt Ukraine LONG BEFORE 2015, when Trump even decided to run for President. The big wealthy elite corrupt globalists were over there rubbing shoulders, making deals and tons of money hand over fist.
What the author fails to reflect on is that despite all the correct points he mentions, the Progressive-Socialists have gained control and forced their subversive, destructive agenda on the nation, with the predictably disastrous results we see today.
It is not out of incompetence, as too many “experts” have claimed, that the security of our southern border has been dismantled. It was a deliberate, planned event concomitant with the rise of sanctuary enclaves for the ensuing Illegals, issuing DL’s(for legit ID purposes) along with automatic voter registrations for them, and the multitude of outrageous benefits tossed to them at taxpayer expense. The goal for all that, of course, was to build a reliable voter base to ensure the grip on power will be cemented now and for the future. This outrageous plan is at the heart of the Progressive-Socialists’ strategy to advance their agenda, despite its anti-American policies.
With unnamed controllers calling the shots, it matters not that the “leaders” they surreptitiously install are competent or properly credentialed. It matters only that they pledge allegiance to the Marxist Progressive-Socialist cause, check the right race/gender/sexual id boxes for identity politics exploitation, and agree to do exactly as they’re told to ensure their continued support.
This explains everything the author alluded to.
Yep, they are definitely losers. What’s worse is the damage they do to the USA. These people are “delusionistas” who think the sun rises and sets on their every word. However, little of what they say makes any sense at all. As time passes and these losers counts his/her days in office we see the USA becoming more of an idiocracy. Hopefully when The Losers are replaced in 2024 things will make more sense again? Hopefully!
“Obama’s elevation to the national stage in the 2008 Democratic primaries was not the result of impressive resume or compelling policy platform, but rather mere stage presence.”
Very profound. Even coming from a conservative family our daughter voted for Obama twice. The only reasons she could give me for doing this were “he was a community organizer” and “he looks presidential”.
There’s a person not mentioned here because she has not yet reached national prominence and God help us if she ever does. Her name is Lina Hidalgo. She is the County Judge for Harris County, Texas, winning the position by defeating a fabulous conservative judge who held the position for years only because after President Trump’s election people decided to make sure we didn’t have too many Republicans in office. For Houston voters that was no stretch since they tend to vote Democrat anyway. She has absolutely no credentials for the office whatsoever. Even now that she’s been in the position for several years I still feel the same.
I live in Texas but thankfully not in Harris County, but my son and his family does. This woman has no experience whatsoever for the office she holds and was like a ship without a rudder during COVID. Or maybe more like a jellyfish because she was manipulated totally by a strong bunch of Democrat handlers pushing her wherever they wanted her to go. My son was disgusted with her insistence that the schools stay closed even after the governor said they were to open fully and she was a strong advocate for continued mandatory mask wearing and keeping COVID protocols on businesses. She acted like she would personally be blamed for any COVID cases.
Since that time she has been in the crosshairs of Governor Abbott for several reasons. One because she bought into the defund the police movement and started by eliminating constable positions – which Abbott told her to reinstate post haste. She would be another Kamala Harris or Beta O’Rourke except that she can actually get Democrats to vote for her even though they don’t like her. But that in itself is why we’re where we are. Michigan can’t get rid of Governor Whitmer, New York can’t get rid of Hochul, NYC ended up with something worse than DiBlasio and California can’t get rid of Newsom. And that’s just to name a few of the people who win mostly by Democrats not paying attention and the excessive cheating of the Democrat Party. People who have credentials, have platforms with real planks in them, love this country and are true patriots don’t seem to stand a chance against the power of the Democrat political machine along coupled with the MSM. And I can’t even say it’s a Democrat v. Republican thing because they’re treating Robert Kennedy, Jr., just like they do President Trump because he won’t knuckle under to their authoritarian desires.
The host of the NBC show “Hardball,” Chris Matthews explained it best. During a panel discussion he proclaimed that the very thought of Barrack Obama becoming POTUS would cause “tingles’ to “run down his leg.” More than enough said about liberals being in a state of mental disorder.
My wife’s description of the mainstream media: Enemy of the People.
I don’t know what voters were thinking in the last few governors races in states like Michigan, Oregon, Kansas, New York, Arizona, and New Mexico. However I do know that had 3rd party voters in Oregon and Kansas voted Republican that would have made a difference (check the breakdown). Republicans are going to have to figure out how to attract the Independent voters.
I have taken New Mexico off my retirement list and don’t know how Lujan-Grisham got a 2nd term (she seemed to have a worthy Repubublican challenger too) and I thought Dixon would win Michigan since I heard many Democrats were upset with the way Whitmer handled the lockdown.
As for Arizona I thought Kari Lake was “robbed.”
Anyhow the Republicans need to find a better way to attract the Independent voters. Youngkin seemed able to do that in Virginia (same with Sears) in part due to concerned parents using their thinking caps.
Obama’s win was due to his superior stage presence and the fact that he is from a minority group at a time when it was a favorable thing to be so. Once he won, his reelection was inevitable, because his theatrical abilities overwhelmed his Republican opponent and more importantly because the Republicans lost their base by acceding to the demands of what their leaders thought was what would get them elected. In other words, the Republicans lost their way. This still seems to be the case today and the Republican brand has the smell of a decaying human body.
But why? It’s because the average Democrat voter is vacuous and emotion driven, just like their preferred candidates. Merit, competence, experience, hard work, … are racist colonialisms. Democrat voters revile these old school virtues.
Donald Trump may not have had any political experience, but he spent 40+ years as a businessman running a large company. Most of these political “super stars” have little real world experience and it shows. Democrats, including Biden, look for people who check a box, gay, lesbian, gender. black, transgender, etc. instead of experience and qualifications for a position.