The Unimportance of Being Ernst
Welcome to a new edition of Apology 101.
I received a note from Nell Minow, my partner in the Apology Institute of America, about the apology that MAGOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa gave for a comment she'd made at a town hall the other day. As Nell rightly suggested, Ernst's -- I hesitate to use the word "apology," but the senator does include that word in her statement -- apology deserves to be in our Institute's Hall of Shame. Adding, "This one's a lulu." Oh, my, it is, indeed. And does, indeed. Though may deserve not just being in the Hall of Shame, but have its own wing for public officials.
Before we get to the apology, let's first go back a few days.
The deeply problematic response by Ernst occurred at a town hall event in Butler County, Iowa, on Friday, where she responded to outrage from her constituents about deep cuts to Medicare and Medicaid -- and someone yells out that "People are going to die!"...to which she wearily responded, "We all are going to die..." Which, it will not shock you to learn, provoked even more outrage from her constituents.
Yes, it was pretty awful. An incredibly dismissive response about death to the people she represents and seemingly hopes to in the upcoming Mid-Term election. When, like all senators eventually, her term expires.
If this had been during an interview, I could see the questioner saying something along the lines of, "Well, yes, we're all going to die, but that's why we have doctors and hospitals, to save lives and prolong them as much as possible. Do you think doctors and medicine are valuable to society, or are they unnecessary since, as you say, we are all going to die?" And after she figured out a way to answer by perhaps attacking the interviewer, say "I have a follow-up. How would you react if you went to your doctor because you had a troubling growth, and were told simply, 'Don't worry about it, we're all going to die'?"
Of course, we're all going to die. But most people do all they can to not speed up the process.
(Side note: I'm reminded of my favorite "final last words" by the author William Saroyan. This is real, not apocryphal. I'd read it in the newspaper in an article announcing his death and describing his long, admired career. He'd been in the hospital with a serious illness and wrote his final words to be read after he passed away. It said -- "We all know we are going to die. It's just that in my case I was hoping there would be an exception.")
Needless-to-say, Ms. Ernst's brittle, pure-MAGOP response about her constituents and others dying got a great deal of news coverage. And so, a couple days later, she and her staff and outside advisers got around to realizing she should respond and apologize.
And I know this is going to sound amazing, but she made it worse. Indeed, not just worse, but overwhelmingly worse. So much worse that I wouldn't be surprised if she has to offer -- well, I won't say "an apology," since I'm not sure if that concept is actually in her toolbox, but -- a response.
But first, for perspective, here is that exchange from Friday, to put things in perspective.
And here is the "apology" she posted on Sunday. It appears to have gotten an even bigger negative reaction than her original statement. In fact, as brittle-hearted as that original comment was, it appears that she would have been far-better served to leave the unwell-enough alone.
And no, this isn't a sketch from Saturday Night Live. This is really Sen. Joni Ernst (MAGOP-IA).
The problem with writing about this here is not only knowing where to begin, but deciding whether it's even necessary to say anything. It's abundantly clear how bad her response is.
But I think it's even worse than it appears. So, let's dive in. After all, that's the service we provide here at the Apology Institute of America.
[To pause for a moment: Lest anyone think I'm being too critical in my AIA analysis of this "apology" and going into far too much detail, just know that I have embedded a bonus video at the end from journalists Tim Miller and Sam Stein as they shred with scathing ridicule and near-disbelief Joni Ernst's "apology" for 15 minutes.]
As for Apology Institute of America standards, to start with, I get the sense that she's not actually "apologizing" all that much here -- if at all. It's like she is only using the word "apologize" as a snarky, snide put-down of her critics. Though for all I know, given how tone-deaf Ms. Ernst appears to be, starting with her initial "We all die" comment through the video response, this might be what she considers the most limited "apology" she feels she can offer. If so, she made things much worse. But to show how bad this video is, even if it's not meant to apologize for anything, it's still worse. And worse for many reasons, starting with that it's a Really Bad Thing for a U.S. senator to not apologize for a huge cut to healthcare because her constituents, after all, are going to die anyway. But her video goes beyond just that. Whether it's an "apology" or not.
Keep in mind that Ernst doesn't say that she merely apologizes, but rather, with her heart seeming to break, so emotionally explains that she "sincerely apologizes." Now, constituents might not care if she apologizes, but voters do most definitely care if their representative is sincere or not, if they can at the very least trust her. So, if a senator wants to quip around and lie about what they are so "sincere" about, it raises the question in their minds if Iowans can ever believe what she says, whenever in the future she tries to explain what she "sincerely" means.
Then there's her wandering around as she emotes, almost weepingly, to the camera. When someone apologizes to you, even if not sincerely, most people want that person, at a bare minimum, to focus on the issue and show that they mean it. Strolling around when "sincerely apologizing" tearfully is the equivalent of a shrug and rolling your eyes, and says, what the hell, you really don't care much about your apology, that you were told you had to be there and say something. But further, when the subject is death, even if you don't want to apologize, wandering around says how much a bother it is for you to discuss your nihilism.
And then to record this in...a cemetery??! It's just seriously ill-advised and creepy. What, was the crematorium booked? And if you mean it to be snarky, well, that's fine for an edgy comedian doing a dark humor bit, but for a U.S. senator? Especially one up for re-election? It transcends empty-headed. Unless this was meant as an audition tape to get on the bill for amateur night at The Laff Hut.
Yet Joni Ernst chooses to go downhill from there. After all, attempting to throw in a sarcastic insult about the "tooth fairy", no matter what on earth your desperate intent, is just a misguided, really dismal look for a U.S. senator who is peering straight into a camera and talking to her constituents about death. In a cemetery. While saying she's apologizing. Sincerely.
But oddly, she hasn't reached rock bottom yet. Because perhaps her worst comment is when Ernst says that everyone who was actually at the town hall understood what she was saying. Trying to put the blame for the controversy on the media and The Libs. The problem is, there is video. And she knows there is video. And the video has been seen all over! And it shows clearly, blatantly, openly...that her constituents at the town hall are reacting angrily and loudly, in outrage. So, by saying something that everyone, including herself, knows is completely untrue, she's not only telling those she represents that she's not sincere, not apologizing and not concerned about them dying, but also that she's a bald-faced liar and that she believes her voters are, screw you, too stupid to know that.
And then, she stops even that. For her big, slam-bang finale, for reasons know only to her, she ends it all with her Come to Jesus moment. Sticking her face right into the camera, filling the frame and going All Evangelical. Asking her constituents and everyone watching to embrace her Lord and Savior. If her "apology" or ridiculing put-down of the media and the Libs and her unbelieving constituents hadn't done so by then, it went off the rails and over the cliff right there.
I will only add, in a bit of whimsical coincidence, that to make her efforts even worse -- and yes, that's possible -- yesterday (when Ms. Ernst released her video) baseball held its annual celebration of...wait for it, are you ready?..."Lou Gehrig Day." Yes, really! Honoring the "Iron Man" legend who tragically died at the height of his career of ALS, and for whom the disease is now known.
Although, hey, it might not have been all that tragic. After all, as Joni Ernst says, "We're all going to die." Even those who don't believe in the Tooth Fairy. And do believe in Jesus.
Finally, as mentioned, just as a bonus, and for added perspective, here are journalists Tim Miller and Sam Stein in near-disbelief as they shred in scathing ridicule Joni Ernst's "apology" for 15 minutes.
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