What the tea party refuseniks can learn from Maurice Sendak
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by Nina Easton,
Here’s a story about a little boy named Pierre, who stars in Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s tale. Pierre is an obstinate brat who sits backward in his chair, pours syrup on his hair, and screams, “I don’t care!” at every kindhearted word from his parents. When a lion shows up and asks him if he’d like to die, Pierre ignores the obvious danger and blurts, “I don’t care!”
With midterm elections on the horizon, the Republican Party should be hyper-attuned to its weak standing among nonwhites, women, and young people. Instead, its Pierre wing — hard-right purists — insists that the GOP’s problem is a shortage of obstinacy. Block immigration reform and risk alienating Hispanics? “I don’t care!” Be seen as intolerant of gays and perform badly among young voters? “I don’t care!” Demand that moderates be purged from the party and continue to lose elections in swing states? “I don’t care!”
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