Brandon
If, somehow, you missed this “code word” lesson from MAGA-world, let me fill you in. At a NASCAR race back in 2021, the winner was a twenty-eight year old driver named Brandon. He was doing his post-win interview, live on television, when the crowd behind him began to chant. The interviewer did his best to “cover” what was going out on national television, and told Brandon that the crowd was chanting for him, “Let’s Go Brandon!!” But it soon became clear that they weren’t. Their cry, for the National audience was: “F##k Joe Biden!!”
So when you see a “Let’s Go Brandon” bumper sticker, you’re seeing a MAGA follower profanely declaring their public dislike for the current President of the United States.
And, for a while in 2022 and into 2023, everything that went wrong in the world was followed by “Let’s Go Brandon”. Gas prices went up: “Let’s Go Brandon”. Troops withdrawn from Afghanistan; “Let’s Go Brandon”. Russia invaded Ukraine – “Let’s Go Brandon”. In fact, every negative thing that happened was appended with the epithet. And since it was in a “code” that only MAGA-world understood, it became their cute little secret.
Tack to the Middle
But the code-secret wore thin in 2023. Gas prices were down. The Dow Jones Industrial Average set new record highs, protecting American retirement investments. Inflation rates are now under control. Russia is bogged down in World War I style trench warfare in Ukraine – estimated Russian deaths 120,000 (more than all the US deaths in all of the wars since World War II). Over $136 Billion of student loan debt forgiven. Health insurance reforms include capping the cost of insulin at $35/month.
Sure, President Biden is walking a steep path in the Middle East. He’s supporting Israel, while trying to temper Netanyahu’s politically motivated blood lust against the Palestinians. Meanwhile, he’s using US military force to prevent the rest of the region from breaking out in war (the success of that effort is still unclear: finger’s crossed). We are spending dollars instead of blood to support democracy in Ukraine against Russia. And the United States, right or wrong, has learned to “live” with Covid, though 1500 are still dying from the disease each week (ABC). (One of the big “causes” of Covid death: only 21.4% of American adults took the new vaccine (CDC)).
MAGA-world, and even the few remaining old-school Republicans; like to characterize President Biden as a moderate being driven by the “far-left”. But the reality is that Biden, a well-seasoned, master politician; tacked left as the Congress and the Courts veered right. Ultimately he’s charted a “middle” course. There’s a lot that the “left” wanted: voting rights protections, abortion and LGBTQ rights, environmental protections; left on the table. If you’re “left” (like me), that’s unfortunate. But it not Joe Biden’s fault.
Thanks Joe!!
There was another little “secret code” of MAGA-world. When gas prices were soaring in the post-Covid recovery, little stickers of President Biden appeared on gas pumps with the words “Thanks Joe” on them. It was MAGA sarcasm: gas prices were going up – thank Joe Biden for that (just after you get done with the Brandon thing). But those stickers went away soon after gas prices recovered from the post-Covid shock.
I think we should bring them back. I paid $2.53 at the pump last week, down a full dollar from last year; thanks, President Biden. My stocks have never been higher; thanks President Biden. And while the world remains a precarious place, I feel confident in the decision-making process of Biden, Harris, Blinken, and the rest of the Biden National Security team; thanks President Biden.
And the apparent ideological alternative, as we enter (so soon?) the 2024 Presidential election year, remains unable to govern. MAGA Republicans can’t get anything done in the House of Representatives, threatening to shut down the government rather than reach a political compromise. If the new Speaker (“meet the new boss, same as the old boss”) does reach a deal, it may well take Democrats to keep him in the Speaker’s chair. And the apparent Republican Presidential nominee is doing all he can to close the government. He needs inflation, economic ruin, and international disaster, so he can claim that “only HE can fix this” – again.
Binary Choice
As President Biden often says – “Don’t compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative”. Republicans are Hell bent to re-nominate Donald Trump. This despite his facing 91 felony charges in four different jurisdictions, including attempting to disrupt the peaceful transition of the Presidency and failing to secure classified documents. And for those voters who are put-off by Biden’s age, and see Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis as an alternative: it’s time for a childhood “fable”. It’s the one about a wolf in sheep’s clothing. While Haley or DeSantis “package” the Trump program in “nicer” way, they haven’t moved an inch from MAGA-world.
They can’t. The Republican Party IS MAGA. There is no way to get around that: ask Chris Christie. And why should MAGA take “sheep’s clothing candidates”, when they can have the real, battered, stinky, growling and groveling old orange wolf himself?
So you don’t want these alternatives? Are you thinking about sitting out the most important election (or the re-boot of the most important election) since 1864? I hope not. America is faced with a choice in November, beyond just two old white men on the ballot.
So make it.
