Thanksgiving Saved Again — Francesca Hong Lost

It has, but of course, been in the news. Again.

The “It” in question is the business of canceling Thanksgiving. (RELATED: Is ‘Cancel Thanksgiving’ Really a Winning Message for Democrats?)

Here’s a sample headline from Mediaite: “Should Thanksgiving Be Canceled? Socialist Candidate Can’t Give CNN a Straight Answer.”

The Mediaite story reports:

“Do you still believe that Thanksgiving should be canceled?”

It seemed like an easy enough question from CNN’sKaitlan Collins to answer. But not for Francesca Hong(D).

Instead, the democratic socialist candidate — who is running for governor in Wisconsin — gave a rambling 46-second response on Monday night, touching on her professional restaurant experience, her claim that Thanksgiving is “incredibly painful” for many Americans, and her views on the holiday can “evolve.”

Got that? The holiday that celebrates Americans of the day coming together — Pilgrims on the one hand and Native Americans on the other — is so controversial that its very existence is an issue in a Democrat election for a nominee to be the next governor of Wisconsin. A candidate who claims the holiday celebrating peace and making thanks for that peace is “incredibly painful.”

Perhaps the candidates should study up on the history of the state they wish to govern.

Wikipedia records this of early Wisconsin history: “The first known inhabitants of what is now Wisconsin were Paleo-Indians, who first arrived in the region in about 10,000 BC at the end of the Ice Age.”

Over at The Wisconsin Examiner is this bit of Wisconsin history:

Wisconsin’s first official observance of Thanksgiving was in 1830, when it was still part of the Michigan Territory. Gov. Lewis Cass declared that a day of Thanksgiving be observed on Nov. 25.

…“I recommend to the inhabitants of the Territory that, refraining from all labor, inconsistent with the duties and solemnity of the day, they repair to their respective houses of public worship,” he proclaimed, “and unite in suitable acknowledgements to the ‘Giver of every good gift.’”

That said and done, Wisconsin’s leaders joined the parade of states who had made a point of celebrating what had already become a national American holiday. A holiday that picked up considerable steam as time moved. During that time, with the invention of television, Americans well developed the now-national celebration that, among other things, has Americans settling in to watch the televised Macy’s parade as the family turkey cooks.

This being the case, there is reason to understand headlines like this one that is focused on Wisconsin’s Democrat Assemblywoman Francesca Hong’s loss in the recent Wisconsin Democrat primary. (RELATED: Poor Francesca Hong, a Victim of Milwaukee’s Missing Election Results)

Over at the HuffPost is this headline: “How Thanksgiving ended Francesca Hong’s hopes.”

The story reported:

It’s the easy punchline after Assemblywoman Francesca Hong’s loss in Tuesday’s Democratic gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin.

“Well, it appears Thanksgiving may be saved this year,” cracked Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor, at a campaign stop on Wednesday.

…But while invocations of the country’s favorite reason to eat turkey and watch football are an easy way to mock Hong, a democratic socialist who came within 3,500 votes of defeating Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, her failure to explain old social media posts suggesting she wanted to cancel the holiday also played a not-insignificant role in her downfall.

Long story short, the message for politicians running for office is as simple as it is basic. Which is to say, millions of Americans look at various individual American holidays, and perhaps the collective of those holidays, as close to sacred.

They are distinctly individual, with a boatload of tradition accompanying them. While some — Christmas or Easter, for example — may be celebrated globally, others, Thanksgiving notably, are purely and uniquely American. With a long history of decidedly American ways to celebrate them.

In the case of Thanksgiving, as noted, that specific last Thursday in November involves turkey, a televised Macy’s parade and the inevitable televised football game (or games!) that follow.

Which should send the obvious message to any aspiring politician. Namely, don’t mess with any of this. Let the country celebrate in peace, surrounded by family, friends, turkey and the inevitable alcoholic beverage.

Quite obviously, Wisconsin’s aspiring Democratic gubernatorial candidate — Assemblywoman Francesca Hong — didn’t get this message. And, with all the predictability of the sun rising in the morning, Hong essentially targeted herself for all kinds of negative headlines as a result of her comments on Thanksgiving.

Will Hong have a political career after this going down the road? Who knows? But whether she does or does not, the lesson she and other would-be politicians should learn is to leave America’s decidedly unique American holidays alone.

As it were?

Don’t touch the turkey!

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