The Red Shoes

In the “big on style, but short on substance” department comes Kimberly Klacik, candidate for Congress in Maryland’s 7th District. Her much-hyped campaign video makes this abundantly clear. Overflowing with the same old tropes that excite Republicans without showing any understanding of Baltimore’s underlying problems, the two minute video served as a springboard to an appearance at the Republican National Convention.

While Ms. Klacik appears to be speaking to Black citizens of Baltimore, encouraging them to walk away from the Democratic Party, it seems pretty clear to me that hers is a message tailor-made for affluent whites in the other part of District 7. Hardly a month goes by when I don’t cringe at a letter in the Sun from someone in Howard County opining on what’s wrong with Baltimore and how to fix it.

All of this serves as a prelude to what irks me the most about Klacik’s campaign video. Her shoes.

(Still photo from Klacik campaign video.)

These are not the shoes you wear if you are going to get something done. These are the shoes of cocktail parties and photo opps. Frankly, these are the shoes of someone visiting from out of town. If Ms. Klacik were truly ready to jump in and address the long-entrenched issues that plague Baltimore she’d hardly be wearing red stilettos.

She’d be wearing sensible shoes.

Sensible shoes don’t make headlines, they don’t go viral, and they don’t earn you a spot on a nationally-televised political convention. But sensible shoes get things done. When you are wearing sensible shoes you can go farther, work longer, and you’re less worried about getting dirty. No, they’re not sexy. But serving as a member of Congress is not a modeling opportunity. It’s hard work.

In one truly hilarious bit of camera work in the campaign video, Ms. Klacik declares, “This is what Democrats don’t want you to see,” and the next immediate shot is of her shoes. Her shoes!

How that got through the editing process I’ll never know.

Frankly, as a Democrat, I think potential voters should look long and hard at those red shoes. They take up more time and space in the video than actual citizens of Baltimore.

As an aside, I thought I’d mention that I did reread the Hans Christian Anderson story, “The Red Shoes” in preparing this post. That was probably a bad idea. I can tell you it only served to reinforce my feeling that sensible shoes will serve you better than the stylish red ones. (And don’t read it right before bed!)

I’m interested in someone who has actual credentials, not simply a fashionable wardrobe. If you think I’m being too simplistic here, consider this: Ms. Klacik could have put her credentials front and center in the video. She didn’t. She chose to let her shoes be the star.