Posted on 02/21/2014 7:30:17 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Politics is often like war. Unfortunately, politicians, the media, and the voting public seldom have the same degree of realism and discipline with which professional soldiers fight wars. You can indulge your emotions and base your decisions on wishful thinking in politics in a way that you are not likely to when your own life is on the line in battle.
One of the most dramatic and heartening events of World War II was the miraculous evacuation of British troops trapped on the beaches of France in 1940, at Dunkirk. And its lesson is still relevant today.
The British troops were in France to help the French fight off the invading army from Nazi Germany. But the sudden collapse of the French army left the Brits stranded on the beaches, with the German army closing in on them.
The British navy’s ships in the area were too large to move into the shallow waters close to the beaches so as to evacuate the troops. Instead, hundreds of British civilians headed for Dunkirk in their fishing boats, recreational craft, and practically anything else that would float.
These civilians, who risked their lives going into a war zone, helped nearly a hundred thousand British soldiers get back home across the English Channel.
How does this tie in with politics, especially with politics today?
Many Republicans wanted their party to fight the Obama administration before agreeing to raise the debt ceiling, in hopes of extracting at least some concession — on spending, on the Keystone pipeline, or whatever.
Unfortunately, the Republicans had no more chance of winning that fight than the stranded British troops had of winning a battle against Hitler’s army.
Whatever the Republicans threatened, President Obama could call their bluff. They would either have to back down or have a second government shutdown for which they would be blamed. Another shutdown could doom their chances of winning the Senate in the 2014 elections, and perhaps even cost them the House of Representatives.
In a war, you do not fight battles that you are certain to lose, if only because you will need your troops to fight later in battles you can win. The British troops who escaped from Dunkirk came back to France four years later, as part of the massive invasion forces that stormed the beaches at Normandy, liberated France, and pushed on into Germany for the final defeat of the Nazi regime.
In politics, as in war, you need power to win, and you don’t dissipate your forces fighting battles that you are sure to lose. Symbolism and emotional self-indulgence are just not worth it.
None of this says that the Republicans’ leadership had a great track record prior to the most recent confrontations with the Democrats. For that matter, the British government had a terrible track record in the years leading up to the desperate situation on the beaches at Dunkirk. But that was no reason to sacrifice troops who would be urgently needed for later battles, where the odds would be different.
There would not be a United States of America today if George Washington had followed the tactics being urged by people like Senator Ted Cruz and his supporters. The army under General Washington was no match for the British army, in either military experience or firepower. The American army repeatedly had to withdraw, retreat, and even flee to avoid being annihilated. George Washington did not have to fight futile battles in order to prove his courage. He was already well known for being in the thick of battles, with bullets whistling around his head. But he had to wait for situations where he had the enemy at a disadvantage, and then strike.
When Washington made his celebrated crossing of the Delaware, he was headed for a dramatic victory, using soldiers he had saved for just such a moment. Wars are about winning, not futile symbolic gestures that leave you worse off. Politics must be the same, if you are serious about the issues.
— Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Fantastic post and SPOT ON!
I agree.
It is the MSM that will blame the Republicans for any shutdown. Mr. Sowell is saying that the MSM is too great to overcome. Really? Ronald Reagan would differ with that if he were around.
I agree up to a point. The important thing here is knowing what the battle is. Because of the media white wash of Communist Democrats, there are still people who are clueless that we are, in fact, in a war with communist infiltrators.
Part of the value of what Cruz is doing is to get the attention of low information voters that there is a war and it is close to being lost already. . . the real "battle" Cruz is fighting, the one of voter awareness, is one that we cannot afford to lose. If Cruz "loses" a "battle" on some issue that any reasonable human being thinks he should win hands down, it raises eyebrows, and he actually wins the "battle" for awareness of what the Communist Democrats are doing. It exposes them to the light of day. They will not be successful without deceit and stealth. THAT is the most important battle Cruz is fighting.
Thomas Sowell is about as solidly conservative as they come. I don’t understand the purity police who quickly demonize anyone on the right who presents a different view. One can believe in different tactics without being a so called GOPe traitor.
Isn’t Sowell being reasonable when he points out one shouldn’t necessarily fight battles one has no chance of winning? One may not agree with that, but I haven’t been able to figure out where Senator Cruz was going on the government shutdown. Was he fighting simply to fight? Again, that may be a valid tactic as others here have pointed out, but who says one isn’t a conservative if one doesn’t agree with that particular Cruz tactic?
They can flame away at me if they wish, but I’m an ally just like Sowell. Does anyone really, really believe Sowell has been co-opted by the GOPe? That’s ridiculous.
One can be a good conservative and believe in using different tactics to win political battles. It’s the end goal that defines who is or isn’t a conservative. We should respectfully agree to disagree on approaches used to achieve the end goal.
While I remain a BIG FAN of Ted Cruz,his facts are wrong.In all,about 350,000 British,French,(and some Polish)troops were “Rescued”during”The Miracle of Dunkirk”!Dunkirk represented the first of Hitler’s Major Military Blunders because The Germans could have prevented this had they been allowed to press home their assault.
“Thomas Sowell has sold out his integrity and conservative credentials to carry the water of the GOPe with his participation in this most recent ORCHESTRATED (see Anne Coulter et al) attack on Ted Cruz.”
Bingo. They want to neuter him well ahead of the primaries, because they know he could actually win over a Christie or Jeb Bush-type candidate.
At what point, Thomas, do we stop compromising, in the empty hope that tomorrow we’ll be stronger and better?
Apparently appeasing evil and fellating leftists while attacking the TEA party is “grown up”
lol
“Name one who won national office”
No one of which I am aware but GOPe is out of the question, period.
Flame away? No thank you. I will just ask a question, if there is a supreme court justice seat that opens up after 2014 based on previous senate votes with the Republican “grown-ups in charge” how has the country faired in their votes? How many supreme court judges did the Republican controlled senate vote down under Clinton? How many “grown-ups” have even made an effort under obama when he has nominated a supreme court justice to vote no, even when it meant absolutely nothing considering the democrats were in control.
The “grown-ups” left Washington around 1989... Sadly they are not wanted and in most cases not even being considered this election cycle aside for a few races.
“Instead, [Sowell] advocates we choose our battles.”
Which battles?
What I thought was obvious in my first response is that, if we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot AGAIN, then the republican senate majority will be greatly enriched with TEA Party candidates. I reasonably expect them to behave more like Ted Cruz than Linda Graham.
I hope you like Harry Reid in charge because that’s the attitude that will keep him there. I will happily accept a TEA flavored GOP senate majority
Sure, isnt it your nap time about now?
Please see number 75
Please see numbers 56, 59 and 60.
Is Sowell now a race pimp?
***
Gee, can we just have a disagreement with Sowell on strategy without resorting to name calling?
The man is usually reliable, but I see a lapse in judgment here.
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