Dionne Remembers Molly Ivins

The best way to honor a really good writer who's no longer with us is to remember their writing. I enjoyed E. J. Dionne's paean to Molly Ivins and could hear her Texan drawl as I read the column:

She explained her views on gun control this way: "I am not anti-gun. I'm pro-knife. Consider the merits of the knife. In the first place, you have to catch up with someone in order to stab him. A general substitution of knives for guns would promote physical fitness. We'd turn into a whole nation of great runners. Plus, knives don't ricochet. And people are seldom killed while cleaning their knives."

(snip)

More than just about any other columnist I can think of, Molly was a genuine populist, to make proper reference to a word she couldn't stand to see misused by charlatans. She believed in lifting up the underdog and hated it when the wealthy made excuses for injustice.

When the victims of layoffs and downsizing complained, Molly said some years ago, they were met with "a more sophisticated version of 'So what.' This is the gig where you make yourself look wise by tugging your chin and opining, 'Well, yes, there is a problem, but there's really nothing we can do about it. Blah, blah, economic globalization, blah, blah, technological change, blah, blah, only long-term solutions.'" To Molly, this was all self-interested nonsense.

That last part reminds me of Alan Greenspan being passionate about deficit reduction until he was against it and supported George W. Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy. Greenspan let himself become a hired gun for Republican donors with deep pockets instead representing the majority of Americans. Well, speaking of guns, gun control isn't a big issue at the moment (getting AK-47s off the street turned out to be useful though) but I loved the way Molly Ivins could turn an issue upside down.

I'll be keeping my eyes out for more material on her.

Molly Ivins Is Gone

I'm going to miss that wit. And that big heart. Molly Ivins died today at 62; she'll be sorely missed but remembered fondly by many of us.

Here's the news from Austin, Texas:

Liberal Texas newspaper columnist Molly Ivins passed away Wednesday after her ongoing battle with breast cancer.

Ivins, 62, was a sharp-witted liberal who skewered the political establishment and referred to President Bush as “Shrub.''

(snip)

... She regularly provoked conservatives across Texas and the nation. She often used her humor to lampoon those she saw as self-seeking.

She was a remarkable journalist who used wit to get to the heart of the matter; I wish there were more like her.

The Good Molly Ivins in Hospital

It's recently been revealed that Molly Ivins is on her third recurrence of cancer since 1999; we wish her a speedy recovery and hope she can continue her columns but the truth is that it's not certain what her state of health is. Here's the story from Editor & Publisher:

Her assistant Betsy Moon says she may be able to go home Monday. She adds that those close to Ivins are ``not sure what's going to happen, but she's very sick.''

The 62-year-old columnist had taken an earlier break from her syndicated column, but resumed writing earlier this month.

Last October she had suggested this headline to an E&P interviewer: "Molly Ivins Still Not Dead."

E&P wrote then, "The third recurrence of the breast cancer she has been battling since 1999 (and which recently claimed her good friend, former Texas Gov. Ann Richards) has left the 62-year-old Ivins with precarious balance, minimal hair, and no illusions about the redemptive quality of life-threatening illness. 'I'd hoped to become a better person from confronting my own mortality,' she laughs. 'But it hasn't happened.'"

In the Jan. 11 column, which opposed the troop escalation, Ivins wrote “We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war....If you can, go to the peace march in Washington on Jan. 27. We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, 'Stop it, now!'"

If nothing else, Molly Ivins is a fighter. Six years ago, I wrote a fictional story about a savvy reporter by the name of Maggie McIvers and I didn't try very hard to hide that I modeled the character after Molly Ivins. Get well, Molly. We need you back.