Substance Trumps The Show

Joyce Beatty is my new hero. Who?

U.S. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty represents Ohio’s 3rd congressional district. It was the lawsuit brought by Rep. Beatty and supported by lawyers from Democracy Defenders Action and the Washington Litigation Group, that led to US District Court Judge Christopher Cooper’s ruling reversing the unlawful renaming and halting the planned closure of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, reaffirming the rule of law.

Without showboating, grandstanding, witty social media posts, multiple tv show appearances, or marching in the street, Rep. Beatty systematically exercised the processes in place to deliver a positive, tangible result. Now that’s my kind of leadership.

U.S. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, photo: Alex Kent, The New York Times

As a former practicing politician, I recognize the fact that there is a certain show business aspect to politics. I don’t bemoan it. When I was in office, I was occasionally pretty good at it. But grandstanding was never my jam.

Regarding campaigning, I do subscribe to the quote of the late former New York Governor Mario Cuomo who once said, “You campaign in poetry, you govern in prose.” I interpret that to mean that, by its nature, a political campaign should be aspirational, and that painting a positive picture of future possibilities is appropriate. But the actual work or governing can be arduous, time consuming and frustrating.

The challenge for politicians of all stripes is to avoid the temptation of overpromising. Subsequently, when the realities of governing set in, the results can be under-performance and sometimes downright failure. Consequently, the often-repeated cycle of promising the sun, the moon and the stars and then failing to deliver, feeds what I call the “cynicism loop.” Lofty rhetoric can lead people to have unrealistic expectations, which can be a setup for disappointment.

Moreover, identifying the challenges that we face as a nation is not hard. In fact, pointing one’s finger at a problem and making a fuss about it is easy to do. It requires almost nothing in terms of careful consideration. Similarly, offering over simplified pie-in-sky solutions to complex challenges is almost as easy.

The late former New York Governor Mario Cuomo: “You campaign in poetry, you govern in prose.”

But I do not lay this tendency exclusively on the doorstep of our elected officials. We, the people, share that responsibility. Some people act as if politicians are alien life forms that have descended upon us from some alien land. They are not. Like most people, in most fields of endeavor, politicians respond to both incentives and threats.  If we the people continue to elect folks who put on a show and sell us the fairytale, we’re going to keep getting the show and the fairytale, rather than tangible results. Examples of this dynamic abound. And cynicism continues to grow.

I have long held the belief that for most people, voting is primarily an emotional act, rather than an intellectual act. This is not likely to change anytime soon. Therefore, I would simply suggest that we all practice a little more discernment when we make those choices.

For example, the next time we hear any candidate offering pie-in-the sky solutions, I propose that we apply the following scrutiny by simply asking the following internal questions: What in this person’s background or experience suggests that they can deliver what they are promising? Have they demonstrated that they could work with others to accomplish their goals? What have they ever delivered for anyone else other than rhetoric?

In these challenging times, when the way forward seems bleak, any of us can be seduced by the show and succumb to the siren song of easy solutions that sound good and feel good. But absent discernment, voting for “change” for the sake of change or “trying something new” for the sake of newness can be interpreted as acts of desperation. And acting out of a sense of desperation can sometimes lead to worse outcomes, instead of better. Consider filtering the previous sentence through the prism of your own life experience, to test its validity.

Perhaps we should start by bestowing political power upon those candidates who are straight with us. Not only about the challenges that we face, but about what it actually takes to achieve the desired outcomes. Now that would be a welcome change.

This brings me back to Congresswoman Beatty. The Trump era has induced in many of us the desire to counter his excesses with the demonstration of a show and the demonstration of a willingness to “fight.” Yet Congresswoman Beatty’s substantive and tangible act has dealt a seemingly small but operationally significant blow to the megalomaniacal desires of President Trump. I suspect that the removal of his name from the Kennedy Center is a source of tremendous embarrassment for him. Which probably explains why, as I write these words, the tarp from that scaffolding has not yet been removed yet. Maybe by the time this is published it will be. And that rebuke of President DJT will be there for all to see. Bravo to Congresswoman Beatty. I would be honored to meet her someday.

I end episodes of my podcast with the words, “Think for yourself, and don’t fall for the show.” I would simply add to that sentiment, now more than ever.

U.S. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty enjoying the fireworks, from her Facebook page July 4th, 2026