Toughness Is Key, Tucker Carlson States

“Living in Washington, you cannot take politics too seriously,” said Tucker Carlson, guest speaker at the Tuesday, Oct. 12 Northern Virginia/RPAC Convention Day Breakfast.

A Fox News correspondent, editor in chief of The Daily Caller and former co-host of CNN’s Crossfire, Carlson offered an entertaining and humorous look into the current political climate at the special NVAR Convention event. Sharing his predictions of what is to come, he addressed more than 20 state and local legislators and about 100 NVAR members.

Carlson opened his remarks expressing his admiration for the personality tight-rope that Realtors® walk. “It is one of those professions that require an almost impossible combination of personal traits,” he said. “You have to be highly assertive and super charming at the same time, which is a combination that almost nobody can pull off effectively. Either you are highly assertive, like me, and everyone hates you, or you are highly charming and people walk on you.”

The Mid-Term Elections: What is in Store?

“In cable news, we build our hype typically around elections,” said Carlson. “The basic lie we tell is that ‘this’ election is the single most important contest in the history of democracy.” Pundits try to convince the public that everything hangs on the election, that the world would be different depending on its outcome, and that the listening public really needs to pay profound attention.

“Of course, most of the time that is completely false, and most elections are not pivotal, and do not change the course of human affairs,” he concluded.

However, this last election was significant, added Carlson, and had a direct effect on the way the country was run. He predicted that the November 2, 2010 election would also have a direct effect on businesses and people’s lives. According to Carlson, Republicans would do very well, taking over the House and possibly the Senate. “But this should be common knowledge to anyone who pays attention,” he said.

Previous mid-year elections, particularly the first following a presidential election, were a referendum on that president, he explained. “That still holds true, but there are some other dynamics going on,” he said.

“The unemployment rate is the single most important number in politics right now,” said Carlson. On October 8, unemployment was at 9.6 percent nationwide. History has shown that the unemployment rate and the presidential approval rate go side by side, but in opposite directions, he explained. As the unemployment rate goes up, the presidential approval rate goes down.

During the 1998 Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal, the media reported that this was, “the most profound constitutional crisis to hit Washington in many generations,” and “Clinton will be out by Friday.” In fact, Clinton’s approval rating increased during the next six months. A review of the unemployment rate reveals a direct correlation.

“The other dynamic,” said Carlson, “is that the Republican Party is in the midst of, depending on how you look at it, a rebirth or a Civil War.”  The Republican Party is rife with problems that will become obvious when they take over, according to Carlson.

What Is Brewing With The Tea Party?

 “Many Democrats or people in the media have assumed that [the Tea Party] exists to hurt President Obama,” explained Carlson. “The Tea Party is the single most powerful group in all American politics right now. They are really interested in an idea rather than a political party,” said Carlson. “They believe the government spends too much, is too powerful and has exceeded its constitutional bounds. They believe that both parties are in collusion to spend us into oblivion.” 

Carlson's view is that most Americans support the views of the Tea Party and its premise for fiscally conservative policies.  He noted that in every poll, more Americans fear debt more than they fear terror.

So why is this significant? According to Carlson, if the Republican Party takes control of the House, they will gain “subpoena power,” which could lead to investigations into questionable political or business actions.

“But all this is not clear,” commented Carlson, “because the Republican Party is more in flux than it has been in my lifetime. So you have the election, Republicans prevail and chaos ensues,” predicted Carlson.

Why Is This President In The Position He Is In?

President Obama appeared to have his fingers on the pulse of what people wanted, according to Carlson, but that proved to be only semi-true according to the polls. Obama wants great change while many Americans want incremental change, he explained. “Not one time in this country have people wanted radical change,” said Carlson.

So what happened? Carlson attributes this administration’s challenges to several factors. One of those factors, he explains, is that Obama has experienced a political career unlike all past presidents.

 “He has never failed in his political life,” said Carlson. “Every other leader at that level has had a soul-crushing failure. The only good thing about failing in public is that it forces you to stop lying to yourself. What am I actually capable of doing and not capable of doing? Failure forces you to answer these questions.”

In his opinion, toughness develops from adversity. Carlson cited Hillary Clinton as one example of a tough public figure. “Hillary Clinton has failed and she knows firsthand about the sting of public censure. She has been through a lot.”

If it is true that “when the going gets tough, the tough get going,” the mid-term elections should confirm Carlson’s belief that toughness is the single most important trait in politics.

Amy J. Larrabee, NVAR Marketing Manager/Associate Editor, has more than ten years of professional experience implementing communications and marketing strategies for associations/non-profits. In addition to NVAR, she’s been a contributing writer for print and online publications for a variety of organizations including the National Association of Home Builders. She has been employed at NVAR since January 2010. You can read more articles written by Amy here.