Joe Biden stood with Zelenskyy in Kyiv. It sent a message.
Pete Buttigieg has not yet gone to East Palestine, Ohio. That sends a message.
Regular readers of this blog are familiar with one of my regular themes: Body language matters.
In fact, body language is nearly all that matters in political communication.
Non-verbal cues tell voters important things: Who a politician is and whose side they are on. The most blunt form of body language is where a politician goes and who he or she stands next to.
Pete Buttigieg is Transportation Secretary and there was a train wreck. The disaster was a political gift on a silver platter and he isn't taking it. A Norfolk Southern train of 141 cars, extending two miles in length, carrying hazardous material, derailed in a working -class Ohio city near the Pennsylvania border. The derailment is a hazard and tragedy for East Palestine, but it is a political opportunity almost too perfect to be true for Democrats.
***A railcar axel on Norfolk Southern's train was quickly diagnosed as the cause of the derailment.
***Norfolk Southern, a significant donor to GOP campaigns, had been lobbying for looser safety regulations. The Trump administration relaxed safety regulations on trains like this one. Prominent Republicans, including Marco Rubio, are on record having urged the Biden administration to further loosen train safety regulations.
***The accident directly affected White working-class people in the Upper Midwest, the area of the country with swing states most likely to determine the next president.
***There are emotionally charged visuals, including smoke, dead fish, and jumbled rail cars.
***There are concerns about the contamination of water, which offers clear reminders of other disasters, from Erin Brockovich's Hinkley, California to lead pipes in Flint, Michigan.
I don't know how it could be easier or better for Pete Buttigieg. The head of the EPA was already there, with people testing air, ground, and water samples. Good. But this isn't just an environmental issue. It is a transportation safety issue. Buttigieg gets to be on camera looking at train tracks and rail cars. He would be criticized for grandstanding and "taking advantage of a disaster." Of course. He gets to respond that the Biden administration cares deeply about the safety of millions of Americans who live near railroad tracks.
Buttigieg hasn't been to East Palestine. The mayor calls it a "slap in the face" that Biden is in Kyiv, not in his town. Buttigieg said he will go to East Palestine "when the time is right."
I am very interested in getting to know the residents of East Palestine, hearing from them about how they’ve been impacted and communicating with them about the steps that we’re taking. . . . But yes, when the time is right, I do plan to visit East Palestine. I don’t have a date for you right now.
Meanwhile, he wrote Norfolk Southern a stern letter telling them they must "demonstrate unequivocal support" for East Palestine.
Norfolk Southern must live up to its commitment to make residents whole — and must also live up to its obligation to do whatever it takes to stop putting communities such as East Palestine at risk. This is the right time for Norfolk Southern to take a leadership position within the rail industry, shifting to a posture that focuses on supporting, not thwarting, efforts to raise the standard of U.S. rail safety regulation.
A stern letter is worse than worthless. One demonstrates unequivocal support by showing up. Not showing up, and writing a letter, demonstrates that something else is more important. Meanwhile, the CEO of Norfolk Southern is there. Erin Brockovich is coming. Donald Trump is coming.
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| Philadelphia Inquirer |
Going there has political risks for Trump for showing up. The Philadelphia Inquirer points out Trump's hypocrisy. But the big, clear, body-language message is not hypocrisy. It is that Trump is in East Palestine and Biden and Buttigieg are not. Trump comes out ahead.
Of all the Democratic aspirants, Buttigieg is the most adept verbally. His tone is confident. He effortlessly slaps away Fox host critics who posit false narratives. But I suspect we are seeing a fundamental weakness in the Buttigieg political package, a weakness common to the very intelligent. They assume people are like themselves, affected by careful words. They underestimate the value of blunt wordless simplicity. Most of the time words are not action. They are the alternative to action.
To show you care, you show you care. You show up.
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9 comments:
Peter when someone kneejerks to blame Trump/GOP you have to do a little digging. By now you must understand so much hate for that guy and 50% of your countrymen that any chance someone gets to blame him/them, they will.
It was a DOT rule that did not apply to this train. NTSB secretary Jennifer Homendy even said that the change did not apply to this train. This is on the railroad company. Even politifact acknowledges it.
Throwing gop deregulation around an accident like this is political and ignores that Biden made no effort to apply the other rule back despite rolling back miles of Trump deregulation. Despite two years.
Why? Probably because it didn't make economic sense. Something even Biden and Trump agreed on.
You're right about Buttegieg, he's a chronic no-show.
"When the time is right"? The affected people of Ohio aren't grieving another school shooting, hearing the NRA attempting damage control. They're being poisoned by the chemicals released from that train wreck, and the time for Buttigieg to be on the ground in East Palestine was as soon as he could get a plane in the air. This is a major failure of Leadership during a time of crisis, and I , for one will not forget it when he runs for President, nor should anyone else. Shame on him.
Really?...Ohio? Ohio voted for Trump by 10 points, and elected freakin' JD Vance. I know I'll take some heat for this view, but politically this is a no brainer.
If the derailment was due to an equipment failure, then that's on the carrier and no doubt there will be consequences for them. Technically, this is not a transportation issue. It certainly is a health and environmental problem, and FEMA and the EPA are all over it.
The fact is if Buttigieg rushed to the scene he'd be criticized for pandering, in the typical no win scenario Republicans are so adept at. Also, he certainly didn't want to upstage the President in Ukraine. There's plenty of time for him to make the obligatory visit and make political points.
“Mayor Pete” has always impressed me as a soulless robot of a candidate. Watch him give a speech with the sound, turned off and you might as will be watching the incarnation of ChatGPT.
For the record: Ohio’s Republican Governor DeWine said he had been contacted after the disaster by President Joe Biden, who offered any necessary federal assistance. DeWine said: “Look, the president called me and said, ‘Anything you need.’ I have not called him back after that conversation. We will not hesitate to do that if we’re seeing a problem or anything, but I’m not seeing it.”
Trump says he’s going to East Palestine, but he lies a lot. If he does show up, maybe he'll toss paper towels to people like he did in Puerto Rico – unless he has to buy them himself.
It's true that the Biden administration isn’t very good at messaging. I can’t help wondering if it’s a function of age.
No, it is not "a function of age." The Biden Administration is diverse. President Biden is surrounded by people all ages. President Biden has people who work for him and who serve the American people. Secretary Pete is not "old" -- God forbid, the horror!
What we have is an adminstration more concerned with substance than showmanship. The Traitor in Chief's number one priority was putting on a show. For the Traitor it is all about the sizzle. The Biden administration is much more concerned about the steak.
Brian1 took issue with Peter’s ‘kneejerk’ blame of Trump because he pointed out that Trump relaxed railroad safety regulations. The fact is that Trump killed a 2015 rule that would have required freight trains to update the current braking technology that was developed in the 19th century. Now Republicans are faulting Biden and Buttigieg for not reinstating the rule. They truly do have no shame.
EPA and others are on the ground helping people.
There is no need for Buttiigieg to show up.
MikeAnon, the rule would not have applied for this train either way. Sorry the media isn't very helpful with this information. If the rule change was beneficial you'd think Biden/Buttegieg would have applied it back. Turns out, it doesn't improve much and makes it more likely to put diesel trucks on the road due to costs.
Sometimes you have to acknowledge not every single thing is Trump's fault. Sorry man. I wish I could help you with that.
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