December, 2019. The headline for a Guest Post by Tony Farrell:
"I believe the only winning ad strategy is to signal empathy for non-college whites in swing states who remain on the fence."
Tony Farrell, Brand Strategist
Guest Post by Tony Farrell
 |
Is It Time for Biden to Sell Like Trump?
In some worlds, it seems flattering to be told one is “ahead of your time” but, in my world, that’s about the worst slur ever tossed at a marketer or salesman. Being right on timing is everything; ahead or behind is not valued at all. Now is not the time for Biden to be selling.
Biden is correct to stand back and let the Republicans wrestle with their much more difficult issues. As of now, Biden has no opponent!
I believe Biden is doing a masterful job as President, from guiding NATO in support of Ukraine to swiftly enlisting bipartisan support for his infrastructure bill. His State of the Union address proved he can credibly convey empathy for the white working class that, today, supports Trump. Diehard Trump supporters are largely intractable but nonetheless should not be demonized. Polls are disappointing, but no matter. Biden has a great team (compare State and Justice to what was there before!) and there’s time enough for selling. The question is, sell what to whom?
The time will be ripe when the Republican team is chosen. And what a mess that choosing is going to be! I assume the nominee will not be Trump because of legal troubles and, more importantly, Trump the salesman is no longer able to credibly promise anything, now that he’s had his four unproductive years as President, plus the 2020 loss. In 2016, his brilliant selling skills (e.g., “making no small promises” and “speaking plain, understandable language”) worked to run circles around marketing-challenged Hillary. I doubt Trump will get another bite at the apple, but if he does, Biden can relax and Republicans will be wiped out in the general.
For the sake of this post, let’s assume DeSantis wins the nomination; let’s say Haley joins him as VP candidate. Once nominated, that’s when the ghost of Roe v. Wade will dominate to an overwhelming degree. Many have commented that the abortion ruling was the ultimate “dog catching the bus” event, and now, for Republicans, such a losing hand. Not every election turns on a single issue but I believe 2024 will turn on how the new morality state intends to enforce and punish those who engage in anything touching abortion.
It’s not a good look. Pressing questions on abortion directed at Republicans will generate an embarrassment of riches for Democrats. Regardless of the deep, serious questions about the morality of abortion, most Americans (and certainly a majority of women) will see this election as a singular referendum on the actions of the state in this realm. The turnout to fight for abortion rights will be huge, while the MAGA crowd (without Trump) will sulk at home, and not vote.
If it’s Biden who’s running, he just needs to keep doing what he’s doing and make it as clear as possible to all reasonable voters what the stakes are.
Taking off my marketing hat and putting on my bloviating-blogger cap, I believe Biden is too old to run again, despite his brilliant success as President. I also believe Harris is a losing proposition, especially if voters believe she’s likely to assume the Presidency before the term ends. I’m one of those rare voters (I guess) for whom a candidate’s choice of running mate can be determinative. The VP choice reveals judgment, and picking a Sarah Palin or a Dan Quayle is fatal, to me…unless the alternative is clearly horrible. So, ease Harris into another job before Biden steps aside for a stronger Democratic candidate, like Gavin Newsom.
Meanwhile, let’s just watch the Republican food fight. Democrats need to know their opponent, and there is time enough.
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36 comments:
Assuming Trump is not the Republican candidate seems like a poor starting point. I hope he is not the candidate but look at the polls and how can one conclude otherwise?
Tony Farrell’s optimism that Trump won’t be the Republican nominee because of his legal troubles is unwarranted. The more he’s indicted, the better Republicans like him.
Mr. Farrell says he “is no longer able to credibly promise anything.” In fact, he is promising to eliminate executive branch constraints on his power, such as an independent Justice Department, an independent civil service, etc. His plan would substitute loyalty to him for loyalty to the Constitution. Already thrilled by his contempt for the rule of law, Republicans are eating it up.
Biden should promote all that he’s been able to accomplish in spite of Republicans and not only dwell on abortion, but on Republican sabotage of the democratic process. Having Gavin Newsom do it would be even better, but I won’t hold my breath.
Democrats have a very long-standing problem. Once someone asked Will Rogers if he was a member of an organized political party. He said, “No, I’m a Democrat.”
I agree that Biden stepping aside is the right thing to do. But, the timing is not right yet. Let the Republicans target him and fight among themselves. Then, at the Democratic Convention, that's the time to step aside and let the convention make that decision. The announcer will say "they're having a caucus in the rostrum." Sounds more like a bathroom break! On the other hand, sometimes that's where the best ideas are hatched.
Next November is a long way off. A lot of things can happen between now and then. Let it play out.
“For the sake of this post, let’s assume DeSantis wins the nomination;”
If that were to happen, then abortion won’t be the only losing hand Republicans hold. Under DeSantis, Florida is trying to rewrite history, insisting that Blacks benefitted from slavery. His obsession with “woke” will undoubtedly win some friends among the far-White and solidify the GOP’s standing as the White Nationalist Party, but it won’t win them votes from anyone with critical thinking skills. It’s another example of Republicans putting their foot in their mouth and then shooting themselves in the foot.
DeSantis’ campaign slogan is, “Make America Florida.” Let’s not.
Under DeSantis, Florida is trying to rewrite history, insisting that Blacks benefitted from slavery.
Not exactly. Not even approximately. Here’s the relevant text from the Florida curriculum document:
——————
SS.68.AA.2.3
Examine the various duties and trades performed by slaves (e.g., agricultural work, painting, carpentry, tailoring, domestic service, blacksmithing, transportation).
Benchmark Clarifications:
Clarification I: Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.
——————
Not exactly an assertion that all, or even most slaves benefited from slavery. But clearly something that Democrats can make political hay out of.
I am reminded of the book Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa by Keith Richburg, a former NY Times editor. At one point in the book he reports with some chagrin that after touring Africa he had come to the conclusion that he was better off and living a better life than he would have if his ancestors had not been taken as slaves to America but had remained in Africa instead. He, of course, was not making an argument in favor of slavery, but being very honest about something he noticed. I admired that honesty. The statement in the Florida document is honest in that same way, regardless of its usefulness to Democrats as a rhetorical weapon.
The Florida document contains many mentions of positive aspects of black/African American history in this country. It’s not anything like the extreme expression of racism that some Democrats are trying to paint it as.
——————
link to the Florida curriculum document:
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/20653/urlt/6-4.pdf
The country will be much better off if neither Biden nor Trump is running in 2024. Fingers crossed…
In case you haven't noticed the Republicans will be having their convention in Milwaukee on July 15th-18th. The Democrats are holding theirs in Chicago on August 19th-22nd. That gives the Democrats a whole month to plan. That could be a huge advantage if done right.
The last time they were in Chicago it didn't go very well. Mayor Daly and his thugs ruined it for everybody. Hopefully, things go better this time.
At least Rahm Enanuel is no longer Mayor of Chicago. Grateful for small blessings.
The Florida standards say that middle schoolers should be instructed that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” I think Vice President Harris’ comments on it were insightful and appropriate:
“How is it that anyone could suggest that in the midst of these atrocities that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?”
This platform doesn't let me give you any method of expressing Kudos.
Thanks for saying it.
Michael T
I recognize this is an imperfect platform for discussing certain topics. With all due respect, don’t you think you are defending DeSantis’s intentions by splitting semantic hairs?
His agenda is clear even as his supporters claim misrepresentation of his words. To me it’s a not so veiled dog whistle to the anti-“woke” crowd. “I’m with you”
I can only conclude that his public efforts to make sure people don’t feel “discomfort”about the sins of their (cultural) ancestors is purely a political calculus. I guess we’ll see how that plays out at the voting booth. Even my moderately right wing friends find his attempts at revisionist history to be pure nonsense.
I find your reference to Keith Richburg’s comment that as an African American he is better off than if he had been born in Africa - a bit morally perplexing. Can a marginally “better” (whatever that means) quality modern western lifestyle justify the systemic enslavement, suffering, death and dehumanizing societal destruction of millions of blacks and indigenous people over 350 years of the Atlantic triangular economic system (arms, slaves, plantation products)? What is the human price of economic betterment? It feels like it’s justifying horrific human tragedy, or trying to find a silver lining. There is none.
We’ve not had the benefit of an extended real conversation over a beer, but I get the sense you hold the view that economic, scientific and technological progress are defining characteristics of your idea of human advancement and that these are inherently virtuous. It would be fun to discuss your views on the moral boundaries of those pursuits.
Black Americans prefer America over Africa because Black Americans are American. Even so, some White Americans over the years since the Civil War have found this to be remarkable. It's really obvious to people who pay attention: Most Americans prefer living in America. I realize there are exceptions to this. But if an African American says he likes America, this doesn't mean he endorses slavery, Jim Crow, sundown towns, Governor DeSantis, etc. As Vice President Harris might say, why are we even debating this?
Trigoboff makes a great point about Blacks being better off for having been brought to America as slaves. Possibly he also feels that Jews worldwide are better off that so many of them were killed in Europe about time he was born.. It meant that the ones who escaped that fate, have the tailwind of less competition in school and jobs, plus the sympathy of the world in their establishment of a Jewish Israel. See how lucky Jews are? They should be happy about those death camps.
Trigoboff has a a deep-set resentment of Blacks that shows up repeatedly in these comments, which Peter publishes day after day. Trigonoff's dislike of "Black privilege:. It blinds him and leads him to think of reasons why Blacks should quit their bitching. Perhaps if he tries replacing "Blacks" with "Jews" in the mental category of groups that race prejudice, he won't call Blacks lucky for slavery or Jews lucky for Hitler.
Anonymous in the post of 7:56 missed the point. Trigoboff is defending DeSantis who wants it noted that Blacks learned lots of things and that sometimes Blacks fought back and therefore were "asking for it." DeSantis wants that in the curriculum.
Same as with Jews. Those were work camps as well as death camps. The Jews who were killed learned skills before they were killed. The ones that survived had lifelong skills, and that should be part of the record and taught in school. Fairness and balance. Lots of Jews were overwhelmed by the situation and were tractable in going to death camps, but some fought back, including in the Warsaw ghetto. They then faced consequences. It is only fair, in describing both sides of the Jewish holocaust, to teach school kids that some Nazis were killed, and by Jews, in their attempt to bring about the legal policies of the Germany, ie the Final Solution. This is a both sides deal, right??? For Blacks with slavery and for Jews with the holocaust? Right, Trigoboff???????????
Peter, let me address you. You allow Trigoboff to continue to post his not-subtle resentment about having to teach Computer Science to Black students. Or, if I understand it, his resentment at institutional pressure not to inflate their grades. Trigoboff seems dead certain he was a fair-minded grader. Maybe he was. But the drift of his comments here make me think he couldn't have been. He has poorly hidden suspicions of Black inferiority and very little insight into his own prejudices. He is not a trustworthy narrator of his own bias. One way or the other, he figures out a way to see himself put upon by Blacks. I doubt that translating anti-Black prejudice into the crimes against Jews will give him any insight into himself.
But he serves the purposes of this blog. He displays the subtle form prejudice takes, It can be half hidden and people don't see themselves. It is ugly, Peter, but it is "up close," as you put it.
MT is also a god example of denialism, and helps explain how difficult it is for many of us to break away from long held beliefs. Think modern Republicans' Trump dogma. Trump, the “real” POTUS!
I agree Malcom. I bet that not a single regular commenter here will ever slap their forehead and go “oh wow! That changed my mind! Thanks for enlightening me! How could I have been so wrong?” The modern social discourse is to assert (provoke), defend and counter-attack. It gets wearying.
John C,
I said in my comment that KR’s quote was not an argument in favor of slavery on his part, and I certainly wasn’t making an argument in favor of slavery on my part. I quoted him as part of advocating for a higher-resolution and more nuanced view of issues having to do with race. I don’t view this as “splitting semantic hairs“; I view it as trying to think very carefully about these things.
DeSantis has a political agenda; so do the Democrats. Somewhere in the midst of the rhetorical warfare is the actual truth.
I am part of the “anti-woke crowd“, for what I consider to be very good reasons.
It would indeed be fun to discuss human advancement with you, and how that advancement could take place in a virtuous manner. In college, I unofficially majored in philosophy/value theory, with an emphasis on things like the nature of “the good”.
Anonymous,
First of all, I didn’t make the point about blacks being better off due to slavery. That was Keith Richburg, the black American journalist, who wrote the book I read. And that wasn’t even the point he was making.
In the aftermath of the Holocaust, the world decided that it would be a good idea for there to be a Jewish state. So yes, the Jewish people “benefited“ from the Holocaust in that way. But I doubt that there are any Jews who are glad the holocaust happened, just like I doubt that Keith Richburg is glad that slavery happened.
(If I had access to a time machine, one of the first things I would do would be to go back and assassinate Hitler in 1930. Mao and Stalin would be next on the list, and then Pol Pot. It’s not clear to me how to use that time machine to stop the slave trade, but if there were a way, I would be happy to do that too, even though we would lose the blues and jazz as a result.)
I do not have a “deep-set resentment of blacks”. I am opposed to policies that work against excellence and competence, like affirmative action.
You would probably do better to ask me what I think instead of projecting your preconceptions and prejudices onto me.
Peter,
Your post about me is amazingly wrong. You are caricaturing me and putting words into my mouth that I would never say. You really should be more careful when you characterize other people. Like I said to Anonymous, maybe you should ask me before assuming you know what I think.
With regards to how I graded students in my classes:
Part of it was multiple choice questions that were taken via computer and were auto-graded. I graded their code by running it through scripts that checked to make sure that the output of the code was expected and correct. The scripts also checked for things like the absence of memory leaks, how fast their code ran, and how much memory their code used. And then I would look through their code for things like consistent formatting, mnemonic variable names, useful comments, and general readability.
Is that objective enough for you?
Your comment about me is almost to the point of irresponsible slander. I am really surprised and quite annoyed that you posted a comment like that.
John C,
Online discussions tend to go off the rails. In part, it’s due to the lack of facial expressions and tone of voice.
But who knows? Maybe we can accomplish something better than what usually happens on the Internet in this place.
Very nice tries, folks, but pointing out the obvious to the “anti-woke” is like trying to convince a MAGA-hatter that Biden won the 2020 election.
Folks, Do yourself a favor and ignore the gadfly. Life is too short and we already know what he thinks.
Anonymous –
In discussing differences in test scores between Blacks and Whites on Tuesday, Michael made the point that “we do not know one way or another, whether there are genetic differences in intelligence.”
When I pointed out that ‘race science’ – the notion that race is a factor in determining intelligence – is long-discredited, his response was: “Discredited” in this context means that a social taboo has been erected around the idea, enforced by condemnation and ostracism. What it does not mean, is that the idea has been disproven by any valid and verifiable scientific investigation.
Race isn’t even a valid scientific concept, but that doesn't matter to him. I suppose he's entitled to his delusions, but if he shares them here, we're also entitled to point out how shallow they are.
The last time in Chicago you had Nixon's goons stirring up trouble. The Proud Boys of 1970s.
The Nazi camps had “kapos”: Jews and others who had personalities and “skills” (at violence, for instance) that made them useful to the Nazis for supervising/controlling their fellow Jewish prisoners. Kapos benefited from their “skills”; they got better food, clothing, and housing.
This is part of the history of The Holocaust. Am I committing an act of antisemitism by mentioning this? Is it OK to include this fact in the discussion? Am I somehow justifying The Holocaust by doing so?
If I am willing to acknowledge this aspect of The Holocaust, can Florida’s curriculum document acknowledge that some black slaves got some advantage from skills they acquired as slaves? Is Florida any more guilty of justifying slavery than I am of justifying The Holocaust?
Here are some other excerpts from the Florida document:
SS.912.AA.2.1
Describe the contributions of Africans to society, science, poetry, politics, oratory, literature, music, dance, Christianity and exploration in the United States from 1776-1865.
Benchmark Clarifications:
Clarification 1: Instruction includes contributions of key figures and organizations (e.g., Prince Hall, Phillis Wheatley, Benjamin Banneker, Richard Allen, the Free African Society, Olaudah Equiano, Omar ibn Said, Cudjoe Lewis, Anna Jai Kingsley).
Clarification 2: Instruction includes the role of black churches (e.g., African Methodist Episcopal [AME]).
SS.912.AA.2.3
Compare the influences of individuals and groups on social and political developments during the Early National Period.
Benchmark Clarifications:
Clarification 1: Instruction includes the varied experiences of Africans in the United States. Clarification 2: Instruction includes the consequences of Lord Dunmore’s actions in 1775, while serving as Royal Governor of Virginia.
Clarification 3: Instruction includes how African men, both enslaved and free, participated in the Continental Army (e.g., 1st Rhode Island Regiment, Haitian soldiers).
Clarification 4: Instruction includes the contributions of key figures (e.g., Crispus Attucks, Salem Poor, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, Lemuel Haynes, Phillis Wheatley, Richard Allen, James Armistead Lafayette).
SS.912.AA.2.9
Explain how early abolitionist movements advocated for the civil rights of Africans in America.
Benchmark Clarifications:
Clarification 1: Instruction includes leading advocates and arguments for civil rights (e.g., John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Rush).
Clarification 2: Instruction includes the abolitionist and anti-slavery organizations (e.g., Pennsylvania Abolition Society [PAS], New York Manumission Society [NYMS], Free African Society [FAS], Maryland Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and the Relief of Free Negroes and Others Unlawfully Held in Bondage, Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery).
SS.912.AA.3.10
Describe the Harlem Renaissance and examine contributions from African American artists, musicians and writers and their lasting influence on American culture.
SS.912.AA.3.11
Examine and analyze the impact and achievements of African American women in the fields of education, journalism, science, industry, the arts, and as writers and orators in the 20th century.
SS.912.AA.3.12
Analyze the impact and contributions of African American role models as inventors, scientists, industrialist, educators, artists, athletes, politicians and physiciansinthe19thandearly20thcenturiesandexplainthesignificanceof their work on American society..
Such a racist document…
What do you think, Peter????????
I would consider German politician who insisted that curriculum describe the European holocaust must include the benefits of the holocaust and the collaboration of some Jews to be an effort to win neo-Nazi support among voters. It would be an effort to excuse -- normalize-- the holocaust. It would be a signal that the real persecuted people of today are not the Jews who were killed, nor the survivors, but the current voters who are "supposed "to feel bad about it. But they shouldn't. Because the holocaust was really a "both sides" deal and Jews have whined about it long enough and now they are playing the sympathy card when the REAL victims are the put-upon Germans.
My sense is that this would be an effort to re-arouse the deep-seated historic anti-Semetism that has existed in Europe for centuries, a sentiment that persists underground, but which emerges from time to time.
I consider DeSantis to be doing the equivalent, attempting to end "White guilt" by repositioning slavery, the color-caste system, Jim Crow, prejudice, into a not-so-bad part of our history. I see its appeal. Whites -- including me -- dont feel guilty about the racism prior to my birth. But I participate in the consequences of it in the form of advantages my parents and grandparents had versus those of others who were kept in a discriminated against underclass. My grandparents had real property. Other grandparents were allowed to start a business. All my grandparents could vote. None of my grandparents were at risk of getting lynched if they showed ambition.
I understand that many White Americans are tired of hearing about the oppression and prejudice experienced by Blacks. They consider it the long past. Quit whining, they think. Quit looking for recompense. Shape up and compete fair and square.
My sense of cultural baggage and the weight of history--when combined with capitalism, our laws regarding inheritance, our housing patterns, our linkage of housing to educational opportunities, and the reality of cycles of generational wealth and poverty, lead me to think that it isnt that easy to say, "whining is over. It is a fair game now. Shape up."
Or, actually, it is easy to say it, but it misunderstands and underestimates the effects of history and ongoing prejudice. It looks fair and objective to people who feel comfortably entitled to their inheritances, both financial and cultural, but it isn't fair. It is they system, and the system locks in the advantages and disadvantages.
Back to DeSantis. He knows what he is doing. There is White resentment of presumed Black privilege. One way to appeal to that resentment is to tell Whites that slavery was a two-way street. Blacks weren't really harmed and prejudice agains, and fear of, Blacks is objective and rational, not racism. You aren't racist. You are OK. You are the REAL people of this country, the forgotten people, the people who really belong here. Not the other.
It is the playbook of the European anti-Semite, too. Minimize the former crime. Reverse the polarity of guilt and privilege. An important step in that is to adjust the history so that Jews (and Roma and maybe some others) were, in fact, dangerous and illegitimate and Communist and had it coming. And to tell people they aren't racist for being suspicious of Jews or resentful of them because they aren't really victims, but they are different, and "other."
People do not like to think of themselves as unfair or illogical in their prejudices. There in fact were lots of Jewish Communists and Socialists. A subtle anti-Semite does not need to overtly praise anti-Semitism. Just keep mentioning George Soros. People get it. DeSantis does not praise lynching and whipping slaves. People know who are his real friends and who are the other. People get it.
Florida’s rewrite of its African American history standards comes in response to the “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” a 2022 law signed by DeSantis which prohibits instruction that could prompt students to feel discomfort about a historical event because of their race, sex or national origin. The only way to achieve that goal and still teach the history of slavery and the oppression of Blacks is to whitewash it. If anyone can read Black history and not feel discomfort, there’s something seriously wrong with the reader or the history.
Mike said:
Race isn’t even a valid scientific concept …
… says our very own local advocate ov applying racial preferences to things like college admissions, and of illuminating racial “disparities“ by insisting on what amount to racial quotas.
If there’s no such thing as race, scientifically speaking, what’s this all about?
Peter‘s latest post is what happens when you read way too much into what might be the second-order implications of what someone says, and ignore the meaning of the actual words they said. Doing this leaves Peter (and others who practice this dark art) free to project is his own fears and underlying ideology onto the matter at hand.
That’s how you can take one sentence out of a large document and create a huge rhetorical weapon out of it. Maybe it works politically, but it’s bad logic. I prefer not to speculate about unknowable motives; I am apparently more comfortable with “don’t know” than many of the people around here.
But among many other things, long experience as a computer programmer has taught me the potentially catastrophic difference between actually knowing something versus only thinking that you know something.
All you have to do is look through the Florida curriculum document to see that it is nothing like an attempt to “whitewash“ black history. What the words say actually matters, unless you’re doing political rhetoric instead of honest analysis.
Michael, please show me “the words” proving there’s no whitewashing in the curriculum. Otherwise, it surely feels like YOU are doing some whitewashing.
Interesting article from Orlando Weekly, one of those liberal rags from Floriduh:
https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/what-do-floridas-new-whitewashed-black-history-standards-mean-for-the-state-of-education-34680094
TITLE: “What do Florida’s new ‘whitewashed’ Black history standards mean for the state of education?
An interview with UCF Professor Robert Cassanello, who specializes in Florida’s civil rights history“
Malcolm,
I posted a number of excerpts from the Florida curriculum document in a previous comment on this thread. They do not look anything like “whitewashing“ to me. In an earlier post, I included a URL to the entire Florida document. Read through it yourself and see what it looks like to you.
We have the original source, available for anyone to look at. There is no need to trust opinionated commentators. Let us know what you think…
Michael asks, "If there’s no such thing as race, scientifically speaking, what’s this all about?"
That's a question you should be asking yourself. Since there's no such thing as race, scientifically speaking, there's really no basis for your obvious bigotry.
But don't take my word for it. All you have to do is Google: is races a valid scientific concept. But watch out - you might learn something you don't want to know.
I read everything from floriduh dept of eddication. I still think you’re whitewashing things. Sorry.
Thanks, Malcolm. At least you read it. Different people can come to different conclusions in good faith.
Malcolm,
What do you think the Florida document left out regarding slavery? What makes it a “whitewash“?
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