The Democrats Are Done Screwing Around
The Democratic ticket, for the first time in my lifetime, appears to be having an authentically good time.
by Bob Cesca
WASHINGTON, DC – As I write this, Kamala Harris has only been campaigning as the top of the ticket for 17 full days. All this in 17 days. I’ve ordered products online that have taken longer than 17 days to ship. The level of pure joy and electricity surrounding her and Gov. Tim Walz is unprecedented in terms of speed and magnitude, especially knowing how it developed almost immediately and has actually grown in subsequent days. We’re watching one of the most compelling elections in history, and there are still 90 days to go.
But one of the most astonishing changes to occur since Harris ascended to the top of the ticket and Tim Walz emerged as her obvious choice for vice president has been the change in electoral messaging. The gloves are off since Walz popularized the “weird” meme. One small word – one that I’ve been using to describe Donald Trump since 2017 with little success in terms of traction – has become, itself, a huge game changer not just in this campaign but for the entire Democratic Party. It simply works. It’s accurately re-framing the Republicans as ungainly creepazoids, while reinforcing the Democrats as a coalition of Normals.
Between “weird” and the couch jokes, gone are the days when Democrats embraced timid, wonky messaging – walking on eggshells for fear of upsetting undecided and centrist voters. We’re no longer cowering in the corner and begging “Please don’t hurt me!” as Bruno Gianelli lamented on The West Wing. At long last, we’re fighting fire, and we’re doing it without selling our souls or compromising our values.
We’re finally seizing the initiative rather than merely reacting to whatever Donald expectorates into a microphone at his sucker rallies. Now, the Republicans are reacting to us, and they’re not happy about it.
During his introduction as Harris’s running mate in Philadelphia, “Coach” Tim Walz joked about the obviously exaggerated rumors involving JD Vance and sex with couches.
"And I gotta tell ya; I can't wait to debate this guy. That's if he's willing to get off the couch and show up. See what I did there?"
Yes we did.
When it happened, you could hear people reacting across the country, “Oh! Snap!” and similar. Meanwhile, very serious political analysts jumped all over it, collapsing on their fainting couches at the mere notion of a stupid throwaway joke about Vance. Andrew Eggers from The Bulwark tweeted:
The JD Vance couch thing is a totally invented and arguably slanderous shitpost and I'm gobsmacked that the guy I've been hearing all day is Mr. Midwest Decency would pull it out at his introductory rally.
Lighten up, Frances. No one seriously believes Vance fucked a couch. I mean, I guess it’s possible. There’s a rumor that it was included in an early draft of his memoir, but I don’t know, nor do I care. It’s become more of a reference to a social media meme and not a genuine attempt to say he really took advantage of the gap between the soft cushions. Accurate or not, it fits under the “weird’ umbrella – it’s a way of saying Vance is a creepy, awkward poseur with a spotty background. The Democrats, including Tim Walz, are saying it with a wink and a nudge.
Since 2019, on the other hand, Donald has been saying into every microphone he encounters that Democrats want to legally murder infants. No giggling or satirical tone. I have no idea if Donald is even capable of winking. It’s a serious allegation from a deeply unserious despot. And it’ll eventually get someone killed.
To be clear, if a baby is born with catastrophic birth defects and will not survive, parents should have a choice whether to keep the doomed-to-die baby alive with painfully futile medical procedures, or to make it comfortable and as pain-free as possible while it passes on peacefully. We’re talking about palliative care. That’s it.
Read the latest on The Banter (free):
Donald has exploited this tragic, life-altering scenario into an obvious lie and a cheap attack line. And yet very few members of the press know how to push back or fact check the lie. During the nauseating June 27 debate, when Donald repeated the lie, Jake Tapper’s response was, “Thank you, let’s move on.”
This isn’t even in the same universe as a silly couch jab at Vance. And it’s something Donald does with other lies all the time. Most recently, he’s telling his fanboys that Kamala Harris isn’t even Black, and he’s deadly serious about it. The convicted criminal Republican nominee is a geyser of disinformation, but most of the news media has blown it off and normalized it – boys will be boys, Donald will be Donald, etc. That and flooding the zone with brain melting insanity has successfully muted the notion of pushing back against him.
But Walz mentioned the couch thing so he should be condemned? What? How indecent! Maybe he should’ve invented a lie that Vance got the couch pregnant then paid for the couch to have a late term abortion. Maybe he should’ve said it with a straight face over and over, insisting it’s a real thing – maybe get Liz Cheney to say it, too, since she happens to agree with Donald that Democrats want to legally strangle infants. Only then would it rise to anywhere near the level of just one of Donald’s thousands of heinous lies.
The Democratic ticket, for the first time in my lifetime, appears to be having an authentically good time – barnstorming and electrifying massive crowds across the swing states. It’s a wonderful time to be a Democrat, not just because of the palpable joy but because we’re done screwing around… unlike JD and his couch. Oh snap!
Read an excerpt from the latest for Banter Members:
The Tim Walz Gambit
Kamala Harris smells weakness in the Trump campaign, and that is why she picked Tim Walz.
by Ben Cohen
I must confess to being surprised that Kamala Harris picked Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate. My guess was that Harris would pick Josh Shapiro given the importance of Pennsylvania to the election this year (and the governor’s notable star power). Just take a look at how much money the Harris and Trump campaigns are pouring into the battleground state:
There are lots of factors that go into picking a Vice Presidential candidate, much of which the public won’t know about until after the fact. Generally speaking, a good VP candidate ‘balances out’ the Presidential candidate. Republicans lobbied Trump to pick a straight laced Christian in 2016 to ensure he maintained links to the evangelical vote. Joe Biden picked Kamala Harris in 2020 to make sure he would carry the black vote, and Harris is picking a straight white male in 2024 to pick off moderates and independents in crucial swing states. For Democrats at least, the candidates have to actually be qualified to hold the position, but there is no denying that identity plays a big role in the selection process.
So why did Kamala Harris pick a white dude from Minnesota, and not the charismatic Governor of Pennsylvania who would have helped Harris lock up the state? Tim Walz is an enormously popular governor and has a real folksy charm to him, but Minnesota is a solid blue state and won’t be going red any time soon.
I have a theory about this, but first we need to understand something about the psychology of electoral warfare, and more specifically, the psychology of Donald Trump…
This is an excerpt. To continue reading the full article, get 50% off a Banter Membership and go here:
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One thing that hit me with media coverage this week, it's all been about Trump/Vance angling for a way to attack Harris/Walz. Never once do those candidates talk about political agendas, policies, or platforms. Because they have none -- and the media never calls them out on it. They've even bought into the narrative that Project 2025 kinda just went away. Dems are supposed to be the adults in the room, the boring squares, the policy wonks, the people who will actually clean up the messes the GOP makes. The GOP are then given free reign to hit below the belt, spew likes, stoke fear, air grievances, and most importantly oppress 90% of the population -- and the media just lets it happen. If there is a hell, not only will it be packed to the gills with MAGA supporters, but also those in in positions of power who allowed the movement to happen and helped fan the flames.
I’m going to subscribe Ben. I love your reporting.