{"id":7280,"date":"2024-08-09T07:33:27","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T11:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=7280"},"modified":"2024-08-09T07:33:29","modified_gmt":"2024-08-09T11:33:29","slug":"truth-squader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/08\/09\/truth-squader\/","title":{"rendered":"Truth Squader"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Campaign 101<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cTruth Squad\u201d is part of any basic campaign strategy.   It\u2019s simple:  have a surrogate (a prominent stand-in for the candidate) follow the opposing candidate around, and contradict what they say.  So if the Blue candidate gives a speech in Pataskala on Monday morning, the Red surrogate shows up on the City Hall steps Monday afternoon to contradict it.  The Truth Squader rides on the press coattails of the opposition candidate. Since generally the press wants to show both sides of the campaign, the Truth Squad presents an easy balance.  Blue said this, now Red responds and gets \u201cthe last word\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s basic \u201ccounter-messaging\u201d, and in a Presidential campaign it often falls to the those who are not one of the candidates.  Senior Senators, and also-ran Presidential or Vice Presidential candidates all get their name and image out around the country.  They get a lot of local exposure, just countering the opponents message and doubling down on campaign themes.  Don\u2019t be surprised to see Josh Shapiro or Pete Buttigieg in the same role for the Harris campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s the grunt work \u2013 the daily grind that good campaigns try to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mud Sticks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Which leads to the question:  why is Senator JD Vance, the MAGA-Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, following Vice President Harris and Governor Walz around the country?  Why do we continually see the contrast of Harris and Walz with thousands of screaming supporters, raising the roof for their candidacy; while Vance appears before a hundred people and the press corps literally down the street?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is Vance the \u201cmud-slinger\u201d of the Trump campaign?\u00a0\u00a0Where are the Senators beholden to Trump:\u00a0\u00a0Lindsey Graham or John Kennedy or Marco Rubio or Tim Scott?\u00a0\u00a0Trump has plenty of surrogates to take on the task of smearing the Democrats.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Because when you throw mud, inevitably some sticks to you as well.\u00a0\u00a0And that\u2019s why it\u2019s the surrogates that usually do it, not the principals.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just Weird<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Vance has a compelling story.  A child of Appalachia, he lived a rags-to-riches career from Middletown High School through Ohio State University and Yale Law, all paid for through the GI Bill earned in the Marines.  He became a multi-millionaire who made his \u201cbones\u201d as a venture capitalist in San Francisco and as a bestselling author.  His life story became a popular movie produced and directed by Ron Howard.  He moved back to Ohio, and won a highly contested election against Congressman Tim Ryan to become Senator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why does the Trump campaign have one of their principals, the second man on the ticket, doing the dirty work?  Vance is \u201ctruth squad-ing\u201d, but it feels a lot like he’s stalking Harris and Walz.  That got even worse when Vance \u201cinvited\u201d himself to the Harris press corps, standing outside of Air Force Two waiting for her arrival.  It seemed creepy, almost designed to fit into the Democratic designation for Trump and Vance;  just plain weird. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-Grouping <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile Trump himself is hiding at his Palm Beach dinner club, Mara Lago.\u00a0\u00a0His only appearance was a Covid Era-like press briefing, where the ex-President ranted against his opponent. Other than that, the campaign visibility is all the Vance \u201cTruth Tour\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 Vance gets the limelight, but he also gets splattered with the mud he keeps slinging.\u00a0\u00a0(How good does it look for a former Marine to cry \u201cstolen valor\u201d about a career National Guard Battalion Sergeant Major?).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It looks like a Trump campaign stop-gap measure, while they figure out how they can counter the new Harris-Walz ticket.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps\u00a0the article written by Tim Alberta\u00a0in the\u00a0Atlantic<\/a><\/em>\u00a0is correct: the Trump campaign was completely designed against Joe Biden.\u00a0\u00a0With Biden gone, they are floundering, unable to come up with a clear message of their own.\u00a0\u00a0All they can do is lash out at the opposition, and hope that something \u201csticks\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile Vance looks small, and shallow, and, as we already said, kind of weird.\u00a0\u00a0His credibility as the \u201cHillbilly Elegy\u201d, former Marine, up by his own bootstraps guy is tarnished.\u00a0\u00a0He\u2019s even questioned if he\u2019s \u201chappy\u201d or why someone should join him for a beer.\u00a0\u00a0His compelling life story is lost \u2013 he\u2019s just another Trump lacky doing dirty work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strategy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Americans generally look at Vice Presidential candidates through a single lens:\u00a0\u00a0do we see him or her as President?\u00a0\u00a0Harris herself is quickly making that transition.\u00a0\u00a0Americans are growing to the idea that she could be President \u2013 the national polling shows it.\u00a0\u00a0But Vance doesn\u2019t look Presidential, sneaking up on Air Force Two or denigrating Tim Walz\u2019s twenty-four years in the National Guard with bogus claims.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Trump campaign people must know all of this.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it\u2019s intentional; they’re letting Vance get damaged for some unknown reason. Or they just don\u2019t care, and Vance will have to \u201cfill the breech\u201d until they can figure out something better to do.   Either way, it’s not good for Vance, and it\u2019s not good campaign strategy either.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Campaign 101 The \u201cTruth Squad\u201d is part of any basic campaign strategy.   It\u2019s simple:  have a surrogate (a prominent stand-in for the candidate) follow the opposing candidate around, and contradict what they say.  So if the Blue candidate gives a speech in Pataskala on Monday morning, the Red surrogate shows up on the City Hall steps Monday afternoon … Continue reading “Truth Squader”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nTruth Squader : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/08\/09\/truth-squader\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Truth Squader : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Campaign 101 The \u201cTruth Squad\u201d is part of any basic campaign strategy.   It\u2019s simple:  have a surrogate (a prominent stand-in for the candidate) follow the opposing candidate around, and contradict what they say.  So if the Blue candidate gives a speech in Pataskala on Monday morning, the Red surrogate shows up on the City Hall steps Monday afternoon … Continue reading "Truth Squader"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/08\/09\/truth-squader\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Our America - 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