Dolly Parton was America. She was kitsch to the point of avant-garde art, mastery of craft paired with humility, and pure show business. She understood that the wigs, rhinestones, and boobs got you into the tent, but her wit and musical mastery made you stay. She resisted the pull into our entirely polarized world and remained firmly on the side of people. All politics were local for Dolly, whether she was helping Tennessee students graduate, giving disaster relief directly to families, or building Dollywood to employ her community and show people where she came from. She pledged allegiance not to the endless machinery of political persuasion, but to us — me and you.
Darlene Graham proved me wrong in South Carolina, defeating Ralph Norman 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent. I thought Norman had the momentum and that Graham wasn’t built for the low-propensity turnout operation a special election requires. Instead, Donald Trump came to South Carolina, held a tele-rally, and MAGA Inc. poured nearly $1 million into the race when it mattered. Granted, it was only a five-point win in a special election where Trump remains very popular, but I was loud wrong. I thought I was going to be the clever boy calling her loss, and I got smoked like a pancake.
