The Al Smith Dinner was the End of the Business
By Crashing Vor
Thursday Oct 20, 2016 · 10:10 PM PDT (Chuck Todd said, he didn't know it was even possible to lose the Al Smith dinner in addition to 3 straight debats, but Rump managed it, lol)
Himself’s presentation at the Al Smith dinner signaled the end of not only his presidential campaign, but his residency in New York and his ability to ever borrow money again from anyone but the loansharks he’s frequented of late. What is saddest is that he doesn’t even know
which of the wrong people he pissed off, let alone how.
First, he pissed off the “mildly political” voters, the millions of people who don’t know quite as much as a Beltway wonk (or DKos reader) but whose neighbors come to them for voting advice as the day draws near. They watch debates, of course, even some primary debates, and they know the candidates’ positions, at least in note card form.
And they look to events like the Al Smith dinner and the White House Correspondents’ dinner as a respite, a palette cleanser, a
Daily Show after a CBS Evening News. Tonight, they were denied their one night of vacay. And if any of them were inclined to give Himself a chance before this evening, they aren’t now.
Secondly, he horrified the Right People of New York. The
Times’
account of the evening was masterful both in understatement and understanding, particularly of the import of certain audience members and their reactions to the presentation.
Before the candidates spoke, Alfred E. Smith IV, the chairman of the dinner, which benefits Catholic charities, seemed to offer a preview of what may await Mr. Trump as he tries to return to New York society life should he not win the White House in November.
The
actual Establishment, vaguely and distantly related to the one Himself demonizes to his rally audiences, was not amused this evening. It is unlikely that a flunky on a phone brandishing Himself’s name will secure reservations in his adopted home town soon. Or loans and partnerships. Or polite nods, let alone handshakes. I hope for his sake that Vladimir has secured nice, luxurious digs in Sochi for Himself and all the Selfies.
There is a third group, so far unmentioned by the puditsphere, who told Himself, “You’re fired” tonight: working and middle class Catholics. Like the “mildly politicals,” they don’t follow every twist and turn of campaigns and policy debates, nor swear reliably by one party or another.
But they, too, look forward to the Al Smith dinner as a brief time off from the serious strife, an evening where both sides can appreciate a good laugh over a clever nut-busting.
I suspect these voters--the Roosevelt-Reagan-maybe-Obama Democrats--are most disappointed and angry over Himself’s performance tonight. The Al Smith Dinner is
their night to brag, bust some chops but show the love and, above all, salute the Cardinal and the tradition of the Church in America.
They’re angry tonight. He took one of their proudest moments and made it about his own, petty, hateful self.
They’re not going to forgive that.