I love this new “back away, they are weird” narrative: it’s accurate and effective, and they had their chance in Milwaukee to seem reassuringly normal. They failed.
I see a video of Eric Swalwell calling Trump “weird” and “creepy” and how his policies represent the past, while Kamala represents the future (Kamala is fresh and inspiring while Trump seems like old news)
It looks like the Democrats have finally figured out how to get their sound bites out there consistently. Republicans have been doing this since forever. It’s refreshing to see Dems all on the same page.
This "Kamala removes stubborn orange stains" t-shirt is so funny 👇 🤣
Thomas Friedman is, well, weird. Much like James Carville he is out of touch, still playing by political rules the GQP abandoned long ago. There is no "high road" anymore, not with democracy itself on the line.
Thomas Friedman thinks the solution to everything is to find the center, and he is so unaware of how the Overton window has moved that he thinks somewhere between the Dems and Trump IS the center. No thank you.
I think it's so brilliant and deeply satisfying because it's all TRUE and for so long society has been acting like both sides are equally valid and equivalent when they really just aren't, man. We've been living in Crazy World and it feels like we just snapped out of it and can finally say how fricking weird it is that all their ridiculous crap has been treated like it's normal. IT'S WEIRD! My third grader knows to just say "whatever" and ignore ridiculous bullies that try to push their buttons. That's who we're dealing with. We've always had the numbers and power to be able to overcome the bullies, but we didn't believe it until this lightning bolt shook us out of it! Time for the grownups to be back in charge
I see the "weird" talk as an explosion of catharsis after dealing with the right-wing insanity of the last four years. It's a lighthearted way of calling out the bullshit and showing we're energized and not afraid of what's coming in the election.
FWIW, as a former weird kid, I don't find the word off-putting when used to describe MAGA. It's weird for a presidential candidate to ramble about Hannibal Lecter as if he's a real person. It's weird for adults to become obsessed with searching for any hint of sex in school libraries. It's weird to grope your partner at a showing of Beetlejuice. They're freakin weird.
He's still living in the 80's, and a bunch of washed-up weirdos are the only entertainment he seems to be able to get for his rallies. Has anyone even talked about "Silence of the Lambs", and Hannibal Lector since the movie one an Oscar decades ago? Does Trump regularly consume human liver with fava beans and a nice Chianti? That is the meal he is referencing in his speeches. https://brobible.com/entertainment/article/silence-lambs-fava-beans-joke-meaning/
He is still living in the 1980s…that’s 40 years ago, when he was a flamboyant, highly successful, glamorous developer, who was a beloved figure to the tabloid and gossip media.
I look forward to seeing more ads from Don’t PAC Down. Creepy, yes but also funny AF. Skeezy gold at its finest. The guy who looks like Darth Nosferatu (Stephen Miller) is particularly well cast. Thanks for calling attention to this.
Actually Thomas Freeman is very weird. Why would a normal person support the end of democracy, destruction of our climate, attacks on women, and bronze age biblical values replacing established laws? The Bible supports slavery, stoning adulterers, smart mouth kids, and blasphemers. All this is Un- American and definitely weird. Glad I dumped the billionaire supporting NY Times. Actually Billionaires seem to be very weird people who are totally out of touch with reality. Why should they be in charge?
This is such a smart piece, I have to wonder what the fuck is wrong with Thomas Friedman that he would make up out of whole cloth that they are pointing to a single voter with this strategy. If it is anything, Friedman’s hot take is..wait for it..weird!
I love that the dems are using MAGAts strategy against them. Namely, keep saying something over and over enough times that voters will assume it’s true (in this case, though, it is). The same message for the next 98 days, although refining it along the way.
Also, they using “schemas”, something prof Brian Klausser ( I think that’s his name) described. People vote on feelings frequently and pairing a positive “schema” with a candidate produces yes votes and a negative schema produces no votes or votes for the opponent. No matter how much you talk about issues and facts. KH is developing a positive schema for dems and MAGATs are enveloped in a negative schema, weirdness. A simplified version but you get the picture. Go KH go!
I am pleased as punch that my governor could contribute "weird" to the Harris campaign.
Since the days of Rush Limbaugh, the ultra right-wing has been giggling and snuffling as they pulled out each new fifth grade playground term to attack liberals with. "Libtard." "Snowflake." "Soy boy." The list is as long as it is tiresome.
The Obama-era strategy of "When they go low, we go high" didn't work any better than a teacher scolding the fifth graders on the playground did. It simply reinforced the stereotype of a liberal "Nanny-State" trying to tell people what to do.
In order for a torpedo to sink a ship, it has to explode BELOW the waterline.
Now to Tim Walz's use of the term "weird." It may be because I am from the Midwest to begin with, but one of the very worst things a kid could be tagged with in elementary school was "weird." I do not know if this is true in other parts of the country, but in the Midwest, a kid on the playground who was weird was someone you stayed away from. It is a black box term, really. They didn't fit in; they weren't quite right. Maybe that kid laughed too loudly, or at the wrong time. Maybe that kid would suddenly hit you for no reason. Maybe that kid talked to themselves. Maybe that kid tried to touch other kids in ways that didn't feel right. Maybe that kid doesn't like to play games, but only read books. Maybe that kid speaks with a strong accent, or has very unusual features.
From a liberal perspective, you may well perceive symptoms of autism, mental disorder, family troubles at home, developmental challenges, cultural displacement, or social disengagement. Kids don't break things down that way. They lump every last bit of it into "weird." Because of that, any kid in the Midwest Instinctively knows what it means to label somebody as weird. It can be very cruel, but it is what children do. We were all children once, and when confronted with this, we all instantly understand it.
It is a label that sticks like tar, and that is why it will work.
The one thing that I wish we would do a bit differently with the "weird" comments is to be sure we approach as VP Harris did: "What they are saying...that is just plain weird." That statement is about the statements Republicans are making or lies they are telling. Calling ideas weird is fine and quite accurate in this case; calling people weird is a bit different and not so crazy about it. And I'm hearing it take that turn, not by VP Harris, but by others. Not sure it's a long range win. I think it has potential to go in directions not intended. I like some of the other things circulating that are about US and embracing our role in creating the outcome we want: "I understand the assignment," "Our direction is forward, we won't go back..." stuff like that.
I agree with your comment, "Calling ideas weird is fine and quite accurate in this case; calling people weird is a bit different and not so crazy about it."
A number of people I know who pride themselves on being "weird" feel that term is being misused. But it's become a tsunami on social media and seems to be drawing in the younger voters. And unless someone comes up with a different and catchier synonym, its use will likely continue unabated.
Both can be true though. And if you can get people to question their ideas with a much more accesible "weird" attack, perhaps that will soften them up when they ultimately make the case that they are legit fascists. But point taken.
Very true. You have to work with the level of understanding out there in your audience...fascism -fascist would be perceived as mere nasty name calling with an audience unaware of what defines it.
I think it does work if he's actually in the room. Our passing memes around to our friends doesn't work. But watch him backing and filling to try to explain his Hannibal Lecter stuff. The media's "Huh?" has gotten under his skin. Or, if you can bear it, watch the bit at the end of the debate where Biden says "He's just a whiner." Everything shifts. Trump purses his lips and looks really tense. He's incredibly easy to bait. He loves to be feared, he loves to be hated, but he hates to be belittled. And when he is mocked to his face, he loses it. ("Not a puppet, not a puppet!") It's great strategy, and I really hope Harris will be able to debate him, because unlike Biden, she will execute it.
Most Americans, including most Democrats think that calling someone a fascist is just name calling. When they need to know that Trump and Project 25 ticks every box on the list that defines fascism.
As Todd has said, the Harris campaign can “walk and chew gum at the same time.” They can have substantial conversations about fascism, loss of our democracy, loss of rights that were codified 50 years ago, etc. AND talk about just how weird and out of touch their ideas are.
And frankly, the scare-mongering RE “the end of democracy as we know it” isn’t really getting people interested, as that phrase has been misused over and over again, to the point at which the average undecided voter has no idea what it means. Trump regularly calls Democrats “communists”, “socialists”, and “fascists”, which are 3 VERY different political philosophies. His completely incorrect usage of those terms has totally blunted their effectiveness.
I’d *far* prefer to have fun with “weird”, and there’s NO question that the under-35 voter “gets” it. And if we can increase the youth vote for Harris by even marginal amounts, particularly in swing states, we have a chance to win.
Put it in perspective, as I believe Todd and The Big Picture have.
In this case, we have weird fascists. I mean, fascists ARE weird. They hanker for the awful days when white men were in charge (I mean, more than they are right now). They scapegoat people instead of actually addressing problems. To choose that over creating a freer, happier nation is weird.
But if you're more motivated by anger than disgust, you do you. The Harris campaign is activating all sorts of reasons to elect her, not just mine and not just yours. All power to them!
I love this new “back away, they are weird” narrative: it’s accurate and effective, and they had their chance in Milwaukee to seem reassuringly normal. They failed.
I see a video of Eric Swalwell calling Trump “weird” and “creepy” and how his policies represent the past, while Kamala represents the future (Kamala is fresh and inspiring while Trump seems like old news)
It looks like the Democrats have finally figured out how to get their sound bites out there consistently. Republicans have been doing this since forever. It’s refreshing to see Dems all on the same page.
This "Kamala removes stubborn orange stains" t-shirt is so funny 👇 🤣
https://libtees-2.creator-spring.com/listing/votek
Vote Blue down the Ballot and text Trump & Vance are weird everyday until Kamala becomes president! 💙
Thomas Friedman is, well, weird. Much like James Carville he is out of touch, still playing by political rules the GQP abandoned long ago. There is no "high road" anymore, not with democracy itself on the line.
Agree. He's still striving for relevance though!
I'm not even sure why he's quoted, just to denounce what he said. Ignore him, if he is that out to lunch. He isn't worth the bandwidth.
Thomas Friedman thinks the solution to everything is to find the center, and he is so unaware of how the Overton window has moved that he thinks somewhere between the Dems and Trump IS the center. No thank you.
I think it's so brilliant and deeply satisfying because it's all TRUE and for so long society has been acting like both sides are equally valid and equivalent when they really just aren't, man. We've been living in Crazy World and it feels like we just snapped out of it and can finally say how fricking weird it is that all their ridiculous crap has been treated like it's normal. IT'S WEIRD! My third grader knows to just say "whatever" and ignore ridiculous bullies that try to push their buttons. That's who we're dealing with. We've always had the numbers and power to be able to overcome the bullies, but we didn't believe it until this lightning bolt shook us out of it! Time for the grownups to be back in charge
"Time for the grownups to be back in charge" should go into the Democratic catch phrase aresenal.
I see the "weird" talk as an explosion of catharsis after dealing with the right-wing insanity of the last four years. It's a lighthearted way of calling out the bullshit and showing we're energized and not afraid of what's coming in the election.
FWIW, as a former weird kid, I don't find the word off-putting when used to describe MAGA. It's weird for a presidential candidate to ramble about Hannibal Lecter as if he's a real person. It's weird for adults to become obsessed with searching for any hint of sex in school libraries. It's weird to grope your partner at a showing of Beetlejuice. They're freakin weird.
It's weird to want to get rid of divorce so wives being beaten by their husbands can't leave. What kind of weird bully has that as a campaign goal? 😳
Why didn't anyone call the Bloated Yam "weird" decades ago?
I knew he was a nutball when he burst onto the New York scene in the 1980s.
Instead, he was just "flamboyant" and "colorful."
i was living in manhattan then and i so agree.
He's still living in the 80's, and a bunch of washed-up weirdos are the only entertainment he seems to be able to get for his rallies. Has anyone even talked about "Silence of the Lambs", and Hannibal Lector since the movie one an Oscar decades ago? Does Trump regularly consume human liver with fava beans and a nice Chianti? That is the meal he is referencing in his speeches. https://brobible.com/entertainment/article/silence-lambs-fava-beans-joke-meaning/
He is still living in the 1980s…that’s 40 years ago, when he was a flamboyant, highly successful, glamorous developer, who was a beloved figure to the tabloid and gossip media.
They are his “good old days.”
I look forward to seeing more ads from Don’t PAC Down. Creepy, yes but also funny AF. Skeezy gold at its finest. The guy who looks like Darth Nosferatu (Stephen Miller) is particularly well cast. Thanks for calling attention to this.
Oh yeah, it's a great ad, creepy in the best way because it rightfully calls out Trump's and Vance's creepiness. And Johnson's!
Of course we all know that old saying, if the shoe fits. If Trump and Vance weren't weird this would have no impact. Personally, I love it.
Right, it lands because it's so obviously true.
Actually Thomas Freeman is very weird. Why would a normal person support the end of democracy, destruction of our climate, attacks on women, and bronze age biblical values replacing established laws? The Bible supports slavery, stoning adulterers, smart mouth kids, and blasphemers. All this is Un- American and definitely weird. Glad I dumped the billionaire supporting NY Times. Actually Billionaires seem to be very weird people who are totally out of touch with reality. Why should they be in charge?
This is such a smart piece, I have to wonder what the fuck is wrong with Thomas Friedman that he would make up out of whole cloth that they are pointing to a single voter with this strategy. If it is anything, Friedman’s hot take is..wait for it..weird!
Haha yes indeed.
Thanks!
How about WYG-WOG (weird young guy-weird old guy)?
I love that the dems are using MAGAts strategy against them. Namely, keep saying something over and over enough times that voters will assume it’s true (in this case, though, it is). The same message for the next 98 days, although refining it along the way.
Also, they using “schemas”, something prof Brian Klausser ( I think that’s his name) described. People vote on feelings frequently and pairing a positive “schema” with a candidate produces yes votes and a negative schema produces no votes or votes for the opponent. No matter how much you talk about issues and facts. KH is developing a positive schema for dems and MAGATs are enveloped in a negative schema, weirdness. A simplified version but you get the picture. Go KH go!
👏👏👏
Secretary Pete on The Daily Show Monday 🤗👏🤸♀️🤣🎉
Holy crap, he was amazing.
I am pleased as punch that my governor could contribute "weird" to the Harris campaign.
Since the days of Rush Limbaugh, the ultra right-wing has been giggling and snuffling as they pulled out each new fifth grade playground term to attack liberals with. "Libtard." "Snowflake." "Soy boy." The list is as long as it is tiresome.
The Obama-era strategy of "When they go low, we go high" didn't work any better than a teacher scolding the fifth graders on the playground did. It simply reinforced the stereotype of a liberal "Nanny-State" trying to tell people what to do.
In order for a torpedo to sink a ship, it has to explode BELOW the waterline.
Now to Tim Walz's use of the term "weird." It may be because I am from the Midwest to begin with, but one of the very worst things a kid could be tagged with in elementary school was "weird." I do not know if this is true in other parts of the country, but in the Midwest, a kid on the playground who was weird was someone you stayed away from. It is a black box term, really. They didn't fit in; they weren't quite right. Maybe that kid laughed too loudly, or at the wrong time. Maybe that kid would suddenly hit you for no reason. Maybe that kid talked to themselves. Maybe that kid tried to touch other kids in ways that didn't feel right. Maybe that kid doesn't like to play games, but only read books. Maybe that kid speaks with a strong accent, or has very unusual features.
From a liberal perspective, you may well perceive symptoms of autism, mental disorder, family troubles at home, developmental challenges, cultural displacement, or social disengagement. Kids don't break things down that way. They lump every last bit of it into "weird." Because of that, any kid in the Midwest Instinctively knows what it means to label somebody as weird. It can be very cruel, but it is what children do. We were all children once, and when confronted with this, we all instantly understand it.
It is a label that sticks like tar, and that is why it will work.
I was that weird kid. And know that the bullying that the Republican party needs to be dealt with to tear down the bully, not placate them.
I was the one who preferred reading books to playing sports.
The one thing that I wish we would do a bit differently with the "weird" comments is to be sure we approach as VP Harris did: "What they are saying...that is just plain weird." That statement is about the statements Republicans are making or lies they are telling. Calling ideas weird is fine and quite accurate in this case; calling people weird is a bit different and not so crazy about it. And I'm hearing it take that turn, not by VP Harris, but by others. Not sure it's a long range win. I think it has potential to go in directions not intended. I like some of the other things circulating that are about US and embracing our role in creating the outcome we want: "I understand the assignment," "Our direction is forward, we won't go back..." stuff like that.
I agree with your comment, "Calling ideas weird is fine and quite accurate in this case; calling people weird is a bit different and not so crazy about it."
A number of people I know who pride themselves on being "weird" feel that term is being misused. But it's become a tsunami on social media and seems to be drawing in the younger voters. And unless someone comes up with a different and catchier synonym, its use will likely continue unabated.
Excellent. So simple yet so powerful.
Weird undermines the fact Trumpism is FASCIST
Both can be true though. And if you can get people to question their ideas with a much more accesible "weird" attack, perhaps that will soften them up when they ultimately make the case that they are legit fascists. But point taken.
Very true. You have to work with the level of understanding out there in your audience...fascism -fascist would be perceived as mere nasty name calling with an audience unaware of what defines it.
The fight isn't against weirdos its against fascists.
One of the best ways to defeat a fascist is to laugh at them, nothing irritates them more. They are all bullies, and bullies are always cowards.
Yes laughing at Trump sure worked.
Try it sometime, maybe you'll fee better.
I think it does work if he's actually in the room. Our passing memes around to our friends doesn't work. But watch him backing and filling to try to explain his Hannibal Lecter stuff. The media's "Huh?" has gotten under his skin. Or, if you can bear it, watch the bit at the end of the debate where Biden says "He's just a whiner." Everything shifts. Trump purses his lips and looks really tense. He's incredibly easy to bait. He loves to be feared, he loves to be hated, but he hates to be belittled. And when he is mocked to his face, he loses it. ("Not a puppet, not a puppet!") It's great strategy, and I really hope Harris will be able to debate him, because unlike Biden, she will execute it.
Most Americans, including most Democrats think that calling someone a fascist is just name calling. When they need to know that Trump and Project 25 ticks every box on the list that defines fascism.
As Todd has said, the Harris campaign can “walk and chew gum at the same time.” They can have substantial conversations about fascism, loss of our democracy, loss of rights that were codified 50 years ago, etc. AND talk about just how weird and out of touch their ideas are.
And frankly, the scare-mongering RE “the end of democracy as we know it” isn’t really getting people interested, as that phrase has been misused over and over again, to the point at which the average undecided voter has no idea what it means. Trump regularly calls Democrats “communists”, “socialists”, and “fascists”, which are 3 VERY different political philosophies. His completely incorrect usage of those terms has totally blunted their effectiveness.
I’d *far* prefer to have fun with “weird”, and there’s NO question that the under-35 voter “gets” it. And if we can increase the youth vote for Harris by even marginal amounts, particularly in swing states, we have a chance to win.
Put it in perspective, as I believe Todd and The Big Picture have.
In this case, we have weird fascists. I mean, fascists ARE weird. They hanker for the awful days when white men were in charge (I mean, more than they are right now). They scapegoat people instead of actually addressing problems. To choose that over creating a freer, happier nation is weird.
But if you're more motivated by anger than disgust, you do you. The Harris campaign is activating all sorts of reasons to elect her, not just mine and not just yours. All power to them!