MARCANO: Let’s play a game of “something or nothing” with recent headlines

Ray Marcano

Ray Marcano
Ideas & Voices
2 hours ago
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So much of what happens in the news today is subject to spin, making it hard to tell what’s something and what’s nothing. Events are either momentous or cataclysmic, depending on the partisan lens, with no reasonable in-between.

Recent news has been filled with such examples, so here’s a little game. I’ll provide a synopsis of a story, and you determine whether it’s something or nothing. My take is below.

  1. The U.S. Secret Service raised the water level of the Great Miami River so Vice President J.D. Vance and his family could go kayaking on his birthday. Critics ripped the move as a waste of taxpayer money in the age of government cost-cutting. Vance’s team said it didn’t know the water was raised. Something or nothing?
  2. The Trump administration announced it had terminated union contracts at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Veterans Administration, which impacts local workers. Unions criticized the move as authoritarian. The administration said it’s supporting President Trump’s March executive order to cancel collective bargaining agreements. Something or nothing?
  3. A small group of protestors demonstrated in Fairborn, saying they want U.S. Rep. Mike Turner to hold public town halls. Turner said he won’t because, “I’m not going to participate with these radical groups who are only interested in promoting themselves and not our community.” Republican lawmakers across the country have faced hostile crowds they claim have been hijacked by Democratic agitators. Something or nothing?
  4. Democrats vying for the presidency in 2028 are starting to move away from policies unpopular with independents and wavering Trump supporters. Progressives say such a strategy won’t work, while centrists say it’s the only way to regain voter trust. Something or nothing?
  5. Shedeur Sanders, in his first appearance as quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards, and ran four times for 19 yards in a preseason game against the Carolina Panthers. Some sports commentators said the performance is proved the rookie Sanders, drafted in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft, should have been the first overall QB taken. Something or nothing.

Here’s what I think:

  1. Pundits criticize the opposing party anytime they have a little fun. Republicans ripped Barack Obama for taking too many vacations at the taxpayers’ expense.  Officials raised the level of the Connecticut River for Vice President Al Gore in 1999, and he took Vance-like heat. What’s good for the goose … This is nothing.
  2. Several unions have sued over Trump’s executive order, and an appeals court ruled Trump’s order could move forward while the case proceeded, so that’s why the administration moved quickly to end the contracts. I don’t see this as an argument for or against unions, but rather one of contract compliance. No one should be able to use a specious argument, in this case, “national security,” to tear up a contract. Otherwise, these agreements mean nothing. This is something.
  3. Mike Turner’s right when he says he’s accessible and responsive to his constituents. I have first-hand experience with his office, which expertly helped me with an issue a year ago. But refusing a public town hall based on alleged “radical groups” rings hollow. I don’t doubt there are agitators or that some non-MAGA Republicans are also voicing their frustrations. Lawmakers have a responsibility to face all of their constituents, not just the friendly ones. This is something.
  4. Democrats have drifted too far left and embraced positions out of the mainstream (think, all-gender bathrooms) that turn off voters. The party needs someone who can pull it toward the center without abandoning marginalized groups. It’s the only way for DEMs to rebound. This is really something.
  5. Sanders had a good game. A good preseason game. The NFL graveyard is littered with the cleats of quarterbacks who had a terrific preseason and never made their mark. Remember Todd Marinovich, the Oakland Raiders’ first-round pick in 1991 who was supposed to be a generational talent? The QB had a terrific preseason and played eight games over two NFL seasons. This is nothing.

Ray Marcano’s column appears on these pages each Sunday.

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