“Pointing and laughing”: Democrats leaned in on “weird” and experts say it’s working
https://www.salon.com/2024/08/03/pointing-and-laughing-democrats-leaned-in-on-weird-and-experts-say-its-working/
“Pointing and laughing”: Democrats leaned in on “weird” and experts say it’s working
https://www.salon.com/2024/08/03/pointing-and-laughing-democrats-leaned-in-on-weird-and-experts-say-its-working/
38 comments
A bit from the commentary:
> As it grows in popularity — and goes viral on social media — the “weird” branding appears to have offered Democrats a hold over far-right Republicans that the party rarely saw when President Joe Biden led its ticket. The new attack line also reflects a departure from the rhetorical strategy of President Joe Biden’s campaign, which experts told Salon could prove to be an effective change in bolstering Harris’ bid for the presidency.
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> “I haven’t seen a rhetorical strategy this good, effective and fun in a long time. This was really sharp,” David Karpf, a professor of strategic political communication at George Washington University, told Salon. Much of that sharpness, he argued, can be attributed to the “intervening eight years” between Trump’s 2015 political debut and now, when “all the normies have been driven out of the Republican party.”
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> “When Democrats are now saying, ‘These guys just sound a bit weird,’ it’s because they’ve all been talking to each other for long enough that if you’re not part of the Republican cinematic universe, none of it makes any sense,” Karpf said. “When you take a step back, their policy proposals are serious and dangerous, but they’re also just so off-putting and ridiculous.”
Why are the Trumpanzees so triggered??
Republicans are immature, playground bullies that require Nelson from the Simpson level insults for them to understand. If you meet them with reason and logic, they’ll just repeat “define it, define the word”.
The best attack on fascism is ridicule
Of course it does. They’re bullies.
Weirdo McWeirdface
Nothing makes rednecks and shitbags more uncomfortable than being laughed at. They’re already so insecure… Looking down noses at them just solidifies their stance. Laughing at them will make them run and hide.
It would have worked in 2016 as well. Commercials featuring people simply saying “Donald Trump?” and then laughing their asses off, would have made him just another dumb ass who tried to run for president, instead of the existential threat to society that he has become.
I’m convinced that Republicans have been taken over by collective narcissism and psychopathy. Hypersensitivity to criticism is the calling card of narcissism. It’s trademark insecurity.
Even calling them dangers to democracy is affording them power that bolsters their self-image, playing into their savior complex. Plus, it’s a criticism that, though accurate, does not highlight their insecurity. Anyone would reasonably be offended by such criticism.
But saying that they are weird is such an innocuous statement to some, yet it highlights how hypersensitive they are when they perceive it as criticism. Norm violation is a sin on the right, and when they react to any challenge to their “normalcy” in such an apoplectic fashion, it makes you see just how insecure and childish they’ve become.
Claiming you’re a Christian who supports family values and then worshipping a thrice married, serial philanderer and sexual predator, is freakin’ weird!!
I get that it’s effective, but every news site publishing daily articles on why it’s So Good just comes across as very smug and pleased-with-yourself.
Really it’s nothing more than an insult. Dems had to take themselves down to Trump’s level to score points – the fact it’s effective isn’t something to be celebrated… it indicates the state of political discourse in the US now. Not saying they shouldn’t be doing it btw
We should have been doing this from the start. How did we allow a washed up reality TV star who happens to be a sex pest with the mind of a child sell himself as an alpha male? He literally thinks exercise will kill you. Such a big strong guy!
Weak men are afraid to be laughed at.
It’s not that weird that weird is working against a weird old man
> Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said on X, falsely, that the vice president and her supporters were “weird” themselves for “trying to gaslight everyone into thinking the shooting was staged,” a reference to the attempt on Trump’s life last month (Harris has never suggested the attempt was “staged”).
What a weird thing to try to gaslight people into believing.
It works because its based in truth.
Another reason weird is so effective is that Trump has spent his life trying to get in good with the upper crust elites and celebrities. The elites didn’t give him the time of day because he wasn’t a serious person. He’s been a two bit huckster and conman all his life willing to plaster his name all over any old tat if he thinks he can make a buck on it. Trump is a try-hard narcissist who takes out his insecurities on anyone who dares mock him. He’s a snowflake and a bully. And his downfall has been glorious.
I point and laugh at people driving cybertrucks. Same demographic I think.
Can’t wait to see “weird” flags on the back of these people trucks.
It’s so weird to me.
“Hey, your cult leader is a rapist”
Crickets
“He’s also a convicted felon”
Crickets
“He’s all over Epstein flight logs”
Crickets
“He’s weird”
*loses their fucking minds*
Maybe it’s just my godless leftie shamelessness, but if someone called me weird I would be… fine? Like, ok, you think I’m weird, moving on. It’s just the tamest of insults and it’s just so hilarious that it pisses conservatives off so much. Seems weird to care so much about not being perceived as weird while doing weird shit.
It is absolutely mind-blowing to me that it took the Democratic Party almost a decade to realize that constantly living in 10-alarm freakout mode wasn’t the best way to attack Trump and MAGA.
George W. had the perfect response when, after watching Trump’s RNC speech in 2016, turned to a friend and said, “That was some weird shit…”
Edit: to add a bit more depth to the convo here… this reminds me of the GOP’s approach to the 2000 presidential campaign being “We need more adults in the room.”
It was such an effective, subtle jab at the whole Lewinsky situation without naming it directly. Yeah, the American people were turned off by the GOP going after President Clinton for having an affair, but you can’t deny it was an immature and irresponsible thing for him to be doing.
Also, it undergirded the painting of liberal policy proposals as “pie in the sky”.
So where are the bumper stickers and flags that just say “Their weird” on them?
Get ready magars this ain’t stopping anytime soon.
Its working because it gets under their skin. And it gets under their skin because they know its true. Everyone knows they are a bunch of weird people saying and doing weird things.
They have gotten so used to nobody calling them out on it that now that its finally happening they dont know what do to.
Which means they flail around and do/say even more weird things which just makes people call them weird even more. Its a downwards spiral and they deserve every second of it.
It’s weird we never tried this before. Weirder more that it working so well
Why have I noticed so many articles saying that “weird” is working? Like, sure, but why are media outlets meta-analyzing it so much relative to other campaign strategies? That in itself feels kinda weird. Guess media is just really happy that democrats are getting in the mud too for once?
There’s weird and I’m a weirdo but trump and his followers their Charlie fucken Manson weird they would carve swat stickers on their foreheads if trump did
Someone else suggested in another thread that an even better expression is to call them abnormals. Firstly, it’s bloody true, they are in the minority, especially globally, and their backward ass ideas, hate, and cultism is truly abnormal.
Secondly, inline being proud to be called deplorables, there’s no way they are going to enjoy leaning into it lol
Lastly, so much of their hate is directed at those “different” to them – gays, trans, foreigners, immigrants, intelligent people with functioning brains and moral codes, those who aren’t Christian, that making them out to be “abnormals” is going to complement destroy their psyche – and I’m fucking here for it.
When they go low, kick em in the teeth – bunch of weird abnormals.
I love how this is a parallel of Doctor Who’s “Doesn’t she look tired” line. So simple, yet so effective at exposing how immature the GOP are.
I don’t know if it’s working necessarily but it is funny with how weirdly he gets worked up over it. Such a weirdo.
Reminds me of Paul Bettany in A Beautiful Mind: “you watched a mugging…that’s weird.”
One of the most effective parts about the weird attack (besides it being true) is that weird can mean anything and everything all at once. It’s really up to the individual to interpret.
Like is it their policies that are weird, their behavior, their ideas, their attitude, etc. Yes all of them are weird! But maybe you’re someone that doesn’t think their ideas on gay marriage are weird, but you do think their racism is weird. Well that weird message speaks to you, while not alienating you either.
It is the perfect attack and I don’t know why it took us all so long to start it, but thank God for Kamala bringing it out!
Back in the ‘80s I had a teacher that said to stop the racists marching was to stand on the side and just laugh at them. No yelling or screaming at them just laughing. That stuck with me.
I think the word creepy should be used as much as weird too. A woman can call a guy an asshole or a jerk and he will just roll with it. But call him creepy and he can’t handle that
So it’s the “Something Wicked This Way Comes” strategy.
Ridicule and bullying is totally acceptable if done against other bullies.
Especially if those bullies are the GOP.
I am starting to feel the more it gets talked about how “it’s working” the less effective it will be.
It resonates because ultra-MAGA has taken over the GOP. They don’t have John McCain’s anymore. They have Lauren Boeberts giving handjobs in theaters and then quoting Bible verses at you. Margerie Taylor Greene. Enough said. J.D. Vance and his mattress proclivities. All of it is weird.