By Hon. Robert J. Lunn
The Daily Record Newswire
Several months ago I wrote in a column that it was time to start channeling Howard Beale and, seriously, it was one of my more well received writings
I received multiple e-mails of approval — not just from immediate family members and my law partners. Well, the latter group doesn’t really send me e-mails, but we have conversations around the water cooler.
Nonetheless, I received genuine interest and positive feedback on my message that week, which was grounded in the Deep Horizon oil spill, the lack of action, all of the bureaucratic bungling. The 1976 movie, “Network” and its fictional newscaster Howard Beale (played by Peter Finch) includes Beale’s “over the top” moment when he urges viewers to follow his lead, throw open their windows and scream “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.”
This past weekend presented a great opportunity to reflect on that particular message. I had time — actually, a lot of time. My wife, Paula, ventured down to New York City with several female friends to visit our daughter, Nicole, and to shop. Shopping for women is much like a huge sporting event for guys. In fact, it is a sport for them — let’s be honest about that. A huge gender gap exists in that respect. We are so different. Men generally identify what they believe they need, go to a store, buy it and leave. We view shopping as a chore. Most women view it as entertainment.
For years physicians have tried to understand the origins of carpal tunnel syndrome and have often concluded that it is a repetitive wrist motion attributed often to work activities such as pounding a keyboard. Have they ever considered the phenomenon known as the “wrist flick”? That is the art of pouring over clothing racks and sorting through apparel with an amazingly quick flick of the wrist sliding hangers from one spot to the next.
Let’s get back to my “alone time,” when I began channeling Howard Beale. I thought about the recent elections, both locally and throughout the country. I thought about the Tea Party Movement. I have heard so-called political experts and party leaders from both sides of the aisle try to marginalize the movement, characterize its members as “kooks” and “fringe elements” and “right wing extremists.”
I’m not so sure. How does a political novice like Carl Paladino win the New York Gubernatorial Republican primary with fringe voters? Does 78 percent of the Western New York electorate really constitute “fringe?”
How does Scott Brown of Massachusetts, a Republican, capture that state’s Senate seat — formerly held by Ted Kennedy — in the Jan. 19 special election?
On May 8, Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, lost his bid for re-nomination in the wake of Tea Party opposition.
Rand Paul won the Super Tuesday GOP Republican primary in Kentucky with 62 percent of the vote.
Nikki Haley, a 38-year-old Indian-American state representative beat out three prominent Republicans for the South Carolina nomination for governor with 49 percent of the vote. She later won in a runoff election June 22.
On Sept. 14, Christine O’Donnell beat out veteran Republican politician Mike Castle for the Delaware’s Republican senatorial nomination. Within 72 hours, O’Donnell’s campaign reportedly received $1.5 million. All of the candidates I’ve named enjoyed Tea Party support.
I don’t think either major political party should be doing a touchdown dance in the end zone quite yet. In my view, the change is neither a Democrat nor a Republican phenomenon but rather an “anti-incumbent” “mad as hell” coalition of voters — hardly “fringe.”
It is interesting that the organizers of the movement chose the name Tea Party. Beyond the obvious reference to the Boston Tea Party of 1773, it also brings to mind the well recognized expression “tempest in a teapot” ... or much ado about nothing. The storm clouds are gathering and I can sense a real tempest, but is it about nothing? I highly doubt it.
Trust me: Both Nov. 2 and Howard Beale are lurking.
The Hon. Robert J. Lunn served for 14 years (1995 to 2008) on the New York State Supreme Court. He is a partner at Trevett, Cristo, Salzer and Andolina. He can be reached at rlunn@ Trevettlaw.com.
