Chutzpah
Chutzpah is a Yiddish word meaning "impudence or gall." If you have chutzpah, you say what you think without worrying about hurting someone's feelings, looking silly, or getting in trouble. As the midterm elections near, there are several contenders for political office who demonstrate great, honest chutzpah.
Among those seeking office with this quality is Kari Lake, a former Fox news anchor in Phoenix, who is the Republican candidate for governor of Arizona. A hostile media is horrified along with elite political mavens and the establishment swamp that she might cruise to victory on November 8th over the current Arizona Secretary of State, Katie Hobbs. Her opponent is a well-known political hack, having served in the state legislature as well. Kari on the other hand has a 27-year career in local media that has honed her superior communication skills to a fine point, giving her an edge when dealing with the duplicitous MAGA hating reporters. If you watch her answer questions, she is a straight shooter and takes no prisoners. Refreshing at the least in a candidate. No question that her chutzpah is her best asset.
Reporting the news for over a quarter of a century has given her more than an adequate background with respect to the pressing issues facing the citizens of Arizona. Her campaign is unconventional, without the usual trappings of a run for major office. Kari hasn’t hired what she refers to as “big, high-priced D.C. consultants”. In an interview with Politico she stated, “I don’t need a pollster or a consultant from D.C. or another big city to come into Arizona and tell me what Arizona is about.” Instead she has assembled enthusiastic volunteers and workers new to the campaign process. She is fearless, doesn’t dodge questions and will call out the media when asked leading or baited questions. Her authentic approach has given this newcomer a slight edge if the vote were held today.
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis is running for reelection against current Congressman and former Governor Charlie Crist. Based on the current polls, DeSantis is going to beat Charlie like a rented mule. He’s been straight shooter from his first day in office. Guiding the state through the pandemic, he ignored how states like New York and California reacted to the China Flu. His unconventional approach garnered him a load of scorn at the time, but now it is becoming increasingly evident that he was smarter than those Governors. While Cuomo and Newsom shuttered their states, DeSantis didn’t keep businesses or schools closed for an extended time. Fact is, he saved the state tourist industry. Because he kept schools open, children in Florida recently tested higher than those in California and New York who were stuck in remote learning.
DeSantis doesn’t give any quarter to the media who constantly tag him as a Mega MAGA Republican, Joe Biden’s new derisive term for those who don’t kowtow to his insane spending and energy policies. He spends his time on the relevant issues such as, keeping the state economy strong, refusing to subsidize illegal immigration, ensuring that Floridians get value from government for their tax dollars while keeping Joe’s feet to the fire over high energy costs. The latest example of his leadership was how his team preplanned their response to Hurricane Ian. That planning led to power restored far faster than expected and roads and bridges repaired in record time. His opponent even complemented the effort.
Not to be outdone, on the other side of the political spectrum is Sandy Cortez, better known as AOC, who had the gall to dance while folks were chanting “Hey Hey, Ho, Ho, AOC has got to go” at her recent Town Hall meeting. That’s known as bad chutzpah when you mock your own constituents. Sadly, there’s a good chance that, despite her bad behavior, the former Bronx bartender will be reelected. She offers nothing remotely close to cutting edge leadership but instead remains a clueless progressive nitwit. No wonder there’s a growing number of citizens who distrust their elected officials.
Another great example of bad chutzpah is found in the Golden State of California, in the person of Gavin Newsom. This entitled elitist is still pushing the boondoggle bullet train and last week said so. Costing billions of dollars, this testimony to out-of-control spending and political stupidity has only enriched unions and construction companies. There is no pressing need for a 150-mph train from Fresno to Bakersfield and yet this numbskull is still endorsing it. One can only imagine what that money, effectively used, could have done to clean up the sewer that is now San Francisco or house the homeless in the state’s major cities.
So the current and future Governor of California runs ads that assure Californians that he will save the state from the Mega MAGA Trump Republicans who are a threat to Democracy. This from a man whose autocratic, dictatorial Covid response damaged the state’s small business economy that is still struggling to recover. The overdone school closures are reflected in the recent test scores that find children far behind those in Florida.
No candidate should remain silent about high energy costs, rampant inflation, increased crime, woke school administrators, smuggled drugs, homeless people defecating on the streets, or the invasion of illegal immigrants. That’s the real threat to a civil democratic society and practicing chutzpah honestly on those issues is a key to winning voter trust.