Whitmer's "Get Shit Done" Message Would Contrast Well With Trump's "Me Me Me Me ME!" Message
Trump's speech was a reminder that Democrats aren't dead yet
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Trump’s speech last night — like most things Trump does — was strange. It was strange because Trump had a pillow from the Barbie Dream House taped to his head. It was strange because at one point, Trump walked over to a jacket and helmet put on stage to represent slain firefighter Cory Comperatore and gave the clothes a kiss, which was meant to invoke Trump’s love for his supporters, but kind of invoked Trump making out with a dead guy. But more than anything, it was strange because in a speech in which Trump was supposed to lay out his vision for the nation, he mostly just talked about himself.
The speech started late. It got pushed because Hulk Hogan went long, making this the first presidential speech delayed by a pro wrestler since McKinley had to sit through a lengthy deconstruction of the free silver movement by The Abominable Irishman. Trump took the stage after 10:30 ET and told the long version of the assassination attempt story, which included the aforementioned makeout session with a ghost. It was after 11:00 in the east before Trump touched on any non-Trump topic. And by that time, most Americans had probably opted for sleep, a Seinfeld rerun, or Grand Theft Auto V rather than watch an old man rant about immigration.
Democratic strategist David Axelrod called the speech “the first good thing that’s happened to Democrats in the last three weeks.” I agree; I think that Trump missed an opportunity. We can toss out any thought that Trump might have undergone some sort of Scrooge-like transformation after the shooting; this was the same “I’m perfect and my enemies are crooks and losers” Trump as always. Trump’s speech wasn’t even really about America — it was about Trump. And that creates an opening for a candidate who can talk to voters about what matters in their lives.
Gretchen Whitmer became Governor of Michigan running on the slogan “fix the damn roads”. She’s also said that she wants to “get shit done”, so the messaging formula for Whitmer seems to be: no-nonsense proclamation plus a mild curse word. I look forward to Whitmer vowing to “kick inflation’s ass”, “bitch-slap the deficit”, and “skullfuck high prescription drug prices”, though that last one might be a bit too salty for marginal voters.