He was edgy, ethnic, and on the rise — a standup star on the cusp of pop-culture superstardom. His TV show was already a smash hit on Comedy Central; he was backed by one of the most powerful talent agencies in Hollywood. Soon, he’d have it all: feature films, blockbuster comedy tours, international fame and fortune, and more Emmys, Oscars, and Tonys than he could count.
Carlos Mencia was on top of the world.
His comedy was fearless: No topic was off limits. And his sketch comedy show, “The Mind of Mencia,” averaged 1.4 million viewers. He was hilarious — and that’s not just my opinion; that’s also what he put in his own press release:
Known for his unflinching and hilarious opinions, Mencia is able to connect with a diverse audience by pointing out society's hypocrisy, which has made him one of the most successful comedians in the country.
And then, almost exactly 18 years ago — Feb. 10, 2007 — a lesser-known comedian named Joe Rogan confronted Mencia on stage and accused him of being a joke thief. Here’s the video:
At the time, Joe Rogan wasn’t a ubiquitous presence in media or the world’s most influential podcaster. He was just a sitcom actor and reality TV host who was paying his dues at L.A.’s comedy clubs. But while he was performing, Rogan noticed that Carlos Mencia was (allegedly) stealing jokes from other comedians, and the club owners were turning a blind eye because Mencia was such a big star.
Rogan wasn’t a big star. Not back then. In fact, his talent agency — which also managed Mencia — fired Joe Rogan(!) for embarrassing Mencia. The comedy club even banned Rogan for over a decade.
Didn’t matter. Carlos Mencia’s career was destroyed.
Some wounds are fatal.
Different industries — and different brands within each industry — have different vulnerabilities. That’s why some transgressions are career-killers in one case, yet mere speedbumps in another. For Mencia, being “outed” as a hack, a thief, a fraud, and a phony was a lethal injury. His jugular was sliced and diced; his credibility was in tatters; his career was no más.
But it didn’t happen right away. “The Mind of Mencia” was still getting great ratings on TV. It was even renewed for another season. Carlos Mencia was still selling out comedy shows (while poor Joe Rogan had to relocate to a different comedy club). It took a while for everything to settle in place.
Reputational bloodletting is a slow, methodical process. But eventually, if you lose enough blood, you’re dead in the water.
And this brings us to today’s Democratic Party.
Still licking their wounds over Election Day, the Democrats are trying to make sense of “The Mind of ‘Murica,” utterly baffled by what went wrong. They’re like a golf ball in tall grass: lost.
The giveaway is in the interview Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) gave today to Politico. The article — “A Top Democrat Speaks Out on How the Party Will Fight Trump” — gives us a sneak peak of the liberal playbook to stymie Trump, defang MAGA, win back Washington, and return to power.
More or less.
As Politico described him:
The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and a former constitutional law professor, Raskin has been tasked by Democratic leaders with serving on their “rapid response and litigation working group,” where he’ll help lead the party’s effort to slow down Trump’s agenda in the courts.
Got it? Rep. Raskin is the Democrats’ point man. He’s the clear-thinking, cool-headed political strategist who’ll deftly outplay the GOP. Let’s see his masterplan:
Politico: …When I talk to folks now about what [Democratic] resistance actually looks like, I hear a lot of frustration that people feel like there’s no strategy of the Democratic side. Are you just still getting your ducks in a row?
Raskin: I think it’s fair to say that the strategy is evolving, but I think it’s very much coming into focus.
TRANSLATION: When politicians say the “strategy is evolving,” it means there is no strategy.
Politico: So what is [the strategy] now?
Raskin: Overall, we have to work on a short-term, daily basis to defeat and block every authoritarian, fascistic move against the rights of the people, against the separation of powers, against legislative supremacy to be the lawmaking power. Mid-term, we have to be focused like a laser beam on winning back the House in 2026 and cutting this reign of terror in half. And long-term, we have to be building international democratic solidarity to defend freedom against all of the autocratic, plutocratic, theocratic, authoritarian threats against the democratic world.
That’s the strategy that I see unfolding, but there’s the boxing motto: “You get punched in the face, your strategy changes.” We’ve got to roll with the punches here.
TRANSLATION: Raskin’s last paragraph should scare the [EXPLETIVE] out of every Democrat, because it’s absolutely, completely, 100% wrong! The (mis)quote is from the renowned American philosopher, “Iron” Mike Tyson, but Raskin botched both the words and the meaning.
Mike Tyson was a short, compact heavyweight, and early in his career, opponents tried to use his lack of height against him. Sometimes they’d brag about their “masterplan” to beat Mike Tyson — which would usually mean jabbing on the outside and clinching on the inside.
Iron Mike didn’t care. He was so fast and explosive, he’d walk ‘em down and knock ‘em out anyway. So when he learned that yet another fighter had a plan to beat him, Tyson shrugged and said, “Everyone has a plan until they’re punched in the face.”
The quote referred to people panicking under pressure and abandoning their game plan. Raskin so thoroughly misunderstood the meaning that he thinks it’s advising him to vacate his strategy when attacked!
He literally couldn’t have gotten it more wrong.
Politico: We were both here in Trump’s first term when there was a protest every single day. People would walk past what was then the Trump Hotel, and protestors would be there, or out in front of the White House, and the Capitol — the rallies could be humongous. Why isn’t that happening now? Are people just exhausted?
Raskin: No, they are humongous. I don’t know if you’ve been going to them. I’ve gone to every one. There are thousands of people who came to the Treasury Department, who came to USAID, the Department of Education. They’re all over the country.
TRANSLATION: With all due respect to Rep. Raskin, trying to convince a D.C. reporter that protests are breaking out all over the country — it’s just that nobody can see them(?!) — isn’t a viable argument.
It makes you look like a delusional weirdo.
Politico: Does so much of this fall under the category of elections have consequences?
Raskin: Of course they do. The problem is that we’re in a Super Bowl-style fight right now. The real fork in the road is between —
Politico: Are the Democrats the Kansas City Chiefs in this scenario?
Raskin: No, we’re the Commanders. We’re going to win next year.
TRANSLATION: Here it is folks. The Democratic masterplan in all its unfettered glory: Their plan is “evolving.” Everyone is out protesting, but they’re all invisible. Their strategy is to get punched in the face and try something new. But rest assured, they’ll win the big game… next year.
Hmm.
As far as masterplans go, this one’s not so masterful.
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