electoralism

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Why has "weird" had such an incredible punch to it, but "Deplorables" flopped hard and made things worse? There are several theories, probably all contributing lol, but I just think its interesting. (hexbear.net)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Theories

Its literally just because Hillary Clinton sucks so hard and people didnt want to hear that shit from her
Deplorables is too much of a vocabulary word, weird is a word everyone knows. So deplorable just comes off more elitist, from a woman who is already seen that way. To quote a friend I asked "I think deplorable has a negative connotation that speaks to core personhood, in a way that comes off as both mean spirited and elitist"
The GOP hadnt gotten unhinged enough yet, so America wasnt ready for a campaign that is dismissive of them and still expected bipartisan respect and shit, but are now because the "weird" shit is so out there all the time
"Weird" is simply a more effective word to describe the situation at hand
Deplorables would have worked fine with the young people who can vote now but couldnt in 2008.
Kamala and especially Walz are better representations of "not weird" than Hillary was a representation of "not deplorable".
"Weird" hits them harder, insults them worse, and thus makes them spiral more in a way deplorable didnt
Deplorable would have worked fine if it wasnt just a one off comment but a sustained campaign message (this one im thinking probably not)
The Vance effect, he's just that weird.
People who are tired of Democrats being respectful like weird a lot

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago

My theory is that deplorables is based on outrage, and was part of the 2016 strategy of the dems making a show of how shocked they were at all the norms trump was breaking, which was completely ineffective. Weird has an air of just pointing out the obvious, and can be done in a detached way when appropriate, and that's spreading much better.

And I think 3 is a big part of it. Not that the chuds weren't unhinged in 2016, but at the time the moment they were having was getting to say the extreme parts of standard conservatism out loud. What was a fringe position then still generally had a short pathway back to well worn conservative talking points if it got too much attention. But they've been chasing the feeling of taking the presidency for eight years, and they've spun themselves out into positions that they really can't explain to anyone who didn't go on that journey with them, so weird works now in a way it wouldn't have then.