Answering the email of a former colleague and poker-playing buddy - Earl C. - I had an insight I thought I'd also share with the blog audience. We commented here several days ago that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, NV) and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D, San Francisco) are a couple of losers. That, of course, is no insight but a commonplace.
The insight is that both represent places that are historically, or have become, deviants from the national culture. Nevada, which Reid represents, has historically been an outlier: think casino gambling, Mafia, legal prostitution, quick divorces, bars open 24/7, and Area 51. San Francisco had a gamy reputation in the Barbary Coast days, but particularly in the last 40 years has been a magnet for folks who don't fit in, one way or another.
Is it a coincidence that the two leading officials of the Democratic Party represent places of extreme cultural non-conformity? I think not. On the contrary, it appears that the Democratic Party has become exactly that: the refuge of those who don't fit in somehow, those who can't or won't make a comfortable life in this culture. If we view what Democrats do in this light, I believe we better understand their angst.
Of course the entire culture has become more like Nevada and San Francisco as a result of the actions of Democrats. Aren't you pleased? Don't you think it is an improvement?
