Monday, April 07, 2008
Ellen Craswell RIP
This is a bit uncharitable ... not supposed to speak ill of the dead and all that ... but it's a point that needs to be covered, and the obit provides a chance to cover it.
Ellen Craswell, who was the Brand-R candidate for Wash Gov in 1996, died yesterday. I presume Craswell was a nice grandmother and a nice neighbor, but she was utterly unqualified to run for Governor. I can't imagine why she was even considered.
Describing Craswell is easy.
Four words: Dana Carvey's Church Lady.
No, it was worse than that. If you didn't know better you'd assume Craswell was an amateur comedian trying to run a clumsy over-the-top re-parody of Carvey's parody.
Craswell's primary opponent that year was Nona Brazier, a successful businesswoman who held all the right conservative positions, and could explain and sell all of them with depth and coherence. She had no scandal in her background. She was easy on the eyes and easy on the ears. Best of all, Brazier was an electrifying speaker. The best living orator. If Brazier had said Global Warming was real, I would have followed Algore to the ends of the earth. (Yes, I'll admit to having a crush on her.)
Let's try a metaphor. Say you have a choice of two lottery prizes.
One is a 1971 Chevy Vega, dented on every panel, spitting oil and pistons with every painful mile, capable of going 10 MPH downhill with a tailwind if you feed it a gallon of oil and STP beforehand.
The other is a new Mercedes with custom-fitted leather upholstery and every possible accessory, capable of winning the Grand Prix, capable of gliding down a rocky slope without spilling a glass of wine.
Which would you pick? Which would you rather be seen driving? Which would impress your friends and rivals?
Yeah, me too.
Not the Wash state Republican party.
They only saw one thing.
The Vega was white and the Mercedes was black. So they picked the Vega.
That was the first time I'd ever seen an unquestionable, unarguable, unquibble-able example of pure strict outright racism.
So, RIP the Church Lady. I don't know why she allowed herself to get into such a ridiculous position... party loyalty, I guess.
She did accidentally provide a perfect litmus test for a corrupt and stupid party. ¶ 1:39 PM
Ellen Craswell, who was the Brand-R candidate for Wash Gov in 1996, died yesterday. I presume Craswell was a nice grandmother and a nice neighbor, but she was utterly unqualified to run for Governor. I can't imagine why she was even considered.
Describing Craswell is easy.
Four words: Dana Carvey's Church Lady.
No, it was worse than that. If you didn't know better you'd assume Craswell was an amateur comedian trying to run a clumsy over-the-top re-parody of Carvey's parody.
Craswell's primary opponent that year was Nona Brazier, a successful businesswoman who held all the right conservative positions, and could explain and sell all of them with depth and coherence. She had no scandal in her background. She was easy on the eyes and easy on the ears. Best of all, Brazier was an electrifying speaker. The best living orator. If Brazier had said Global Warming was real, I would have followed Algore to the ends of the earth. (Yes, I'll admit to having a crush on her.)
Let's try a metaphor. Say you have a choice of two lottery prizes.
One is a 1971 Chevy Vega, dented on every panel, spitting oil and pistons with every painful mile, capable of going 10 MPH downhill with a tailwind if you feed it a gallon of oil and STP beforehand.
The other is a new Mercedes with custom-fitted leather upholstery and every possible accessory, capable of winning the Grand Prix, capable of gliding down a rocky slope without spilling a glass of wine.
Which would you pick? Which would you rather be seen driving? Which would impress your friends and rivals?
Yeah, me too.
Not the Wash state Republican party.
They only saw one thing.
The Vega was white and the Mercedes was black. So they picked the Vega.
That was the first time I'd ever seen an unquestionable, unarguable, unquibble-able example of pure strict outright racism.
So, RIP the Church Lady. I don't know why she allowed herself to get into such a ridiculous position... party loyalty, I guess.
She did accidentally provide a perfect litmus test for a corrupt and stupid party. ¶ 1:39 PM
