March 25, 2023

"But of all the backward ass campaign cliches to be visited upon the American public, none is more pernicious than 'beer track/wine track.'"

"What an utter abuse of metaphor. Look, I'm a liberal who lives in Manhattan. In my fridge-right now---you can find a six of Red Hook. I love beer, and instantly distrust anyone who doesn't. In fact, in college, I refused to date any girl who didn't drink beer. None of that Midori Melon and a salad bullshit for me; Nothing says sexy like a Sam Adams and chicken wings. I don't think I have a single friend (who isn't a recovering alcoholic) who doesn't like beer. Most of them drink wine too, but the official drink of young Manhattan liberals is beer, no question. Moreover, I detect a hint of racism here. This false analogy leaves no place for the many tribes of black voters--'The Hennessey Track,' 'The Curvosier [sic] Track,' 'The MGD Track.' Once again the media conspires to keep black folks out...."

Wrote Ta-Nehisi Coates in 2008 (in The Atlantic). 

I ended up there after reading this new article at Politico, "Trump’s beer track advantage over Ron DeSantis":

Polls show Trump dominating his likely primary competitor among GOP voters in the so-called “beer track” — a shorthand for the cultural and socioeconomic characteristics of the bloc of voters with lower incomes and levels of educational attainment. While DeSantis is still the preferred candidate of high-income voters and those with college degrees, he is showing signs of bleeding there, too. In recent weeks, Trump’s numbers have been rising among all Republicans, including with GOP voters most skeptical of his candidacy in the so-called “wine track.” 

I hate this metonymy, identifying people using a stereotype about what those of their class might be drinking. It's somebody's idea of snazziness — drinking. But plenty of people object to drinking or have had problems with drinking. It doesn't help anyone to make wine the marker of higher education and income. As Coates indicates, there are some more elite beers, and there are also some very low level wines. Why, I remember when we used to call drunks on the street "winos." I couldn't find a corresponding word for a beer drunk. I googled "beero," only to learn it's used as a portmanteau for "beer" and "hero" (as in "You're my beero" aimed at someone who brought the beer).

***

Now, what about the dreary question of whether DeSantis can win the nomination? Sorry, I have given up. Every once in a while I see — out of the corner of my eye — something like this:


And I just think, yeah, the die is cast. I don't have to do what I did in 2004, 2007-2008, 2011-2012, 2015-2016, and 2019-2020. That was a lot of blogging in the run-up to the presidential nominations. It doesn't make any sense to follow the story this time. It was so ridiculous in 2020 that we ended up with a choice between Biden and Trump, but it's mind-blowing that we're going to have to do that again — and without the mystery that prevailed in the year before the nominations last time. During that time period, we mostly thought those 2 couldn't possibly be the ones. And now 4 years later — and with very old men! — we're pretty much stuck with the idea that we are fated to live through Biden vs. Trump all over again. 

It's enough to drive us to wine and beer, but please, hang on to your mental clarity. It might be good for paying attention to things other than the tragedy that is the American electoral process.

56 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

If you were a college girl, wouldn't you refuse to date a guy who refused to date any girl who didn't drink beer — even if you did drink beer.

It's a variation on the old Prohibition slogan, "The lips that touch liquor shall never touch mine," except that made more sense — because it's a way to select a mate who doesn't have a drinking problem.

But I do understand the concept of wanting your partner to drink with you if you're going to drink much at all.

madAsHell said...

"Where da Malt Liquor?"

Narr said...

"Lips that touch wine shall never touch mine."

I didn't always drink to oblivion, but when I did it was usually with beer. I don't get wine's mystique.

n.n said...

Diversity, really? Urbane dictionary, perhaps.

That said, beware progressives bearing scalpels
... liberals exercising license
... DIE deans wining and juicing
... back... black holes... whores h/t NAACP

wild chicken said...

When I was college age the word was beer is more fattening than say Chablis. And that was it.

But God I love beer.

Maybe Coates was suspicious of the fakery and pretentiousness of girls who say they don't like beer when they really do.

Mikey NTH said...

Beer track. Joe Six-Pack. Joe Lunchpail. Blue collar. All the same, just a different way of saying it.

And Tennessee Coates is just tedious.

Ice Nine said...

>"Why, I remember when we used to call drunks on the street "winos."<

"Used to"? Seems time has passed me by...

Yancey Ward said...

I wouldn't date a girl who thought Coates was insightful.

Michael K said...

Coates is as phony an asshole as Henry Rogers (AKA Ibrahim X Kendi)

John Marzan said...

LoL, who among the democrats wants to be a wartime president?

n.n said...

To paraphrase Andrea: It takes a rabid diversitist to infer diversity in others.

Hang up you liberal license, your progressive plannedhoods, your dark sarcastic expressions, your punch drunk humor.

Achilles said...

""But of all the backward ass campaign cliches to be visited upon the American public, none is more pernicious than 'beer track/wine track.'""

This comment section and particularly it's host will object to this analogy because it highlights their classism.

Ann whines about the beer track/wine track putting her condescension on blast and then follows it up with a bunch of whine track whining about Trump winning the nomination.

Classic.

The best part is that the wine track crowd can't really come up with any substantive disagreements with Trump. It is all snobbery and "not my kind" bullshit.

The only reason many wine track people have higher incomes is because they are being subsidized by the Regime. That is why the whine track, err wine track supports the regime.

gadfly said...

So - am I reading here that Trump supporters are boozers and winos? Most of the people that I know or knew that attained these designations could care less about politics. Life is driven by personal satisfaction and a desire for social acceptance. Buzzed drinking buddies are perfectly in line with this lifestyle.

AlbertAnonymous said...

That guy thinks everything is racist.

AlbertAnonymous said...

Plus which, if he’s drinking Red Hook and Sam Adams he’s clearly not much of a beer drinker.

Ice Nine said...

Never been a big beer fan. I drink probably a dozen beers a year. But I will say that when the circumstance is right - hot, sweaty, throat parched - there is nothing finer than an ice-cold beer.

I am mystified however by the attraction of sitting at a bar and downing one beer after another. Or more especially of going out and getting a 6-pack (or 12!) of brewskies and polishing it off in an afternoon. What are those all about? Do such people like being bloated to the gills...or enjoy peeing all afternoon and night?

BG said...

If you were a college girl, wouldn't you refuse to date a guy who refused to date any girl who didn't drink beer — even if you did drink beer.
No. Just as long as he was good looking and didn't drink himself into total oblivion. (A girl's gotta have SOME standards!) Unfortunately when I went to college, I was too busy working to pay my tuition and rent and didn't have enough time to check out the hotties. It was wonderful not having any debt, though.
I have always liked beer. As I've gotten older I prefer a good microbrew Oktoberfest or amber.
The weaker stuff I call p!ss water. Don't tell my kids I talk like that.`

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

I couldn't find a corresponding word for a beer drunk.

Try "frat boy". Plural is shorted to just "frat", although in some areas the term "bowling league" is also used.

Ambrose said...

Such a typical liberal - everything has to be either banned or mandatory.

Andrew said...

"Moreover, I detect a hint of racism here." - Coates

What a shock! Who would have seen that coming?

Kevin said...

I don't think I have a single friend (who isn't a recovering alcoholic) who doesn't like beer.

Coates might want to ask around, but I'm pretty sure recovering alcoholics LOVE beer.

Like, they LOVE LOVE it.

Mr Wibble said...

The problem isn't drinking wine, it's the douchebags who use it as a way to demonstrate some sort of esoteric knowledge or refined tastes. The bottle of cheap table red with dinner will get the sneer from a lot of the same folks who turn their nose up at a Bud Light.

Beer drinkers can be as bad as wine snobs. If you're drinking some overhopped microbrew made with organic heirloom grain, with a stupid pun for a name... you might as well be drinking some overpriced bordoux.

Rocco said...

Ta-Nehisi Coates said...
...but the official drink of young Manhattan liberals is beer, no question. Moreover, I detect a hint of racism here. This false analogy leaves no place for the many tribes of black voters--'The Hennessey Track,' 'The Curvosier [sic] Track,' 'The MGD Track.' Once again the media conspires to keep black folks out....

And apparently the many tribes of non-black voter, too.

Ta-Nehisi Coates said...
Moreover, I detect a hint of racism here.

Me too!

wildswan said...

Trying to lose my Covid weight gain, I switched to wine but my heart is still with beer. When I want a special treat I get some Corona. Some chips. I'm 65 again.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

I hate that too. Like “soccer moms.” Or “MAGA extremists.” I feel ya.

Mr Wibble said...

It was so ridiculous in 2020 that we ended up with a choice between Biden and Trump, but it's mind-blowing that we're going to have to do that again — and without the mystery that prevailed in the year before the nominations last time. During that time period, we mostly thought those 2 couldn't possibly be the ones. And now 4 years later — and with very old men! — we're pretty much stuck with the idea that we are fated to live through Biden vs. Trump all over again.

This kind of goes back to what I was saying the other day: the GOP establishment is largely upper-middle-class whites, and so they want to focus their efforts on appealing to that group as it comprises their friends, family, and neighbors. Meanwhile, they've allowed the party to become infested with grifters and parasites.

Over the past six years, they've fought tooth and nail against any changes to the party which might appeal to the Trump-supporting demographics, and the result is that the party is broken. Large swaths of the base simply don't trust the GOP leadership.

On the other side of the aisle, the Dems don't have much either. Setting aside the issue of electoral fraud for the moment, the Dems got very lucky with the pandemic. It gave them their own 9/11: an event which scared suburban white voters into their camp. Unlike the GOP, they're not likely to get a good six years out of it. They've already burned through any accumulated credibility.

mikee said...

Didn't drink much, even in college, but my test for a first date was to see if a girl would eat MuShu Pork rolls at the then-very-adventurous Aloha Restaurant in Greenville, SC. One was so obnoxiously anti-foreign-food that I told her the Hoisin sauce was made of pigeon blood. Best first&last date ever.

tim maguire said...

Coates’ disclaimer was unnecessary. Nearly all alcoholics love beer. They just can’t have any.

Christopher B said...

you can find a six of Red Hook.

I gotta noticed that in his fridge is a artisanal West Coast IPA and not, say, Yuengling.

Dude protests too much.

Gospace said...

21 years active duty in the Navy and I drink neither beer nor coffee. I can 100% guarantee that makes me an outlier.

My alcohol drink of choice? Dry reds. A month when I’m drinking heavy means I went through 4 bottles.

Most of the beer drinkers I know consider a six pack or more a day to me normal consumption. I consider them alcoholics. To date every gin drinker I know has been a problem alcoholic. All two of them…

As far as anyone knows- Trump himself is a complete teetotaler. No alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. Quite a few of our successful military leaders of the past would trust him because of that. Me? I consider it a plus. Alcoholics form an informal fraternity which ensures whenever one of them achieves a position of power and authority that henceforth only heavy drinkers and alcoholics will be promoted or rewarded. I’ve seen this in every bureaucracy I’ve been part of.

I still suspect both Trump and Biden will be sidelined by medical issues before primary season. When my wine drinking barebones BS In political science self votes, it will be for Trump in the primary if he isn’t sidelined, DeSantis if he is. And no matter who ends up with the Republican nomination I’ll vote for them over any DemoncRAT.

The idea that who we vote for is determined by what we drink is silly. Statistics don’t apply to individuals. Statistics are good at showing that people with some things in common tend to have other things in common.

Two-eyed Jack said...

Redhook is definitely the beer of the working man.

(The brewery is literally across the street from Chateau St Michelle winery.)

Kate said...

In 2008 Obama would've been the wine track candidate.

n.n said...

Merlot, medium-rare steak, full jacket potato, hold the fava beans.

Breezy said...

Based on current events, Biden won’t be the Dem nominee.

Ampersand said...

Electoral prognostication at the 12 month level can never account for the black swan. Assuming that Biden and Trump health is stable, we still face a world in which Russia, Ukraine, Iran, North Korea, China, Taiwan could get frisky. There could be an African Swine Virus outbreak in Asia that wipes out Chinese pork, or food shortages stemming from a cutoff of Ukrainian food (Russia's deal brokered by the Turks to allow exports will expire in May)and there's already a 40% shortfall in Argentina's soy and wheat exports. The world banking crisis isn't over. Inflation may prove to be more virulent than ever. Supply chains are shaky because they are being restructured as US money flees China. There could be another virus. There is always the chance that the American public will wake up and notice that the federal government seriously overspends, damaging the country regardless of whether the Dems or Repubs are in power. Now that would be the blackest swan I ever saw.

Jim at said...

(The brewery is literally across the street from Chateau St Michelle winery.)

Used to be. Closed in 2017, if I recall.

Leora said...

My husband bought "Don't Fauci My Florida" DeSantis beer cozies during his campaign for governor. DeSantis is a proud beer drinker who used to play college baseball and Trump's a teetotaler.

Lurker21 said...

"Winos" are usually drinking fortified wine, which is as different from real wine as a fortified election is from a real election.


The word for beeraholics should have been "hopheads," but that's taken on another meaning. "Beeraholic," though, is still available.


There was a "beer track" - the Germans and the Irish - when the WASPs were still drinking cocktails or abstaining from liquor altogether.


If you really want a hint of racism, try this on for size: "Lips that touch malt liquor shall never touch mine."

Milo Minderbinder said...

I'm supporting Trump until Biden resigns or withdraws. No reason to back down as long as the left insists on waging lawfare and pretending Biden isn't the most awful excuse for a president, ever, absolutely no frickin' reason at all. You first, Biden. DeSantis? Find a way to beg Trump to put you on the ticket as VP, and then prepare to be an advocate of the little folks come '28.

Mason G said...

"To date every gin drinker I know has been a problem alcoholic. All two of them…"

I'm typically a beer drinker but a gin & tonic is preferable (by a wide margin) to a glass of wine. "Problem alcoholic"? Not me.

Just sayin'.

n.n said...

assbackwards
bassackwards

Let us bray. Hee haw.

Narr said...

I drink less in a year now, than I used to drink in a weekend; in fact I don't think I've had a sip of al-kohl in over a year . . . no, I had a beer or two with dinner at some old friends' in October.

A couple of my prescribed meds warn against mixing with booze, and I'm happy to oblige, especially given the alternative buzzes available.

Our beer choices here were so poor back in the day that people considered smuggling a trunk full of Coors from CO a coup and a blow against The Man.

Drago said...

"To date every gin drinker I know has been a problem alcoholic. All two of them…"

Interestingly, LLR-democratical Chuck is a well known two-fisted gin and tonic swiller.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

I recall research that the most likely indicator of whether a college age female date would sleep with you was not tattoos or piercings, but whether she liked the taste of beer. I do love those clever psych researchers who get paid money to study questions like that. I mean, no one answers the question of why they went into psychology by saying "I wanted to ask college girls about sex for a living," but a good behaviorist will tell you that if that's what happens to you as an undergrad, it is likely to encourage you to repeat the action.

iowan2 said...

If you were a college girl, wouldn't you refuse to date a guy who refused to date any girl who didn't drink beer — even if you did drink beer.

As a college man I would have never considered shrinking the pool of potential dates.

Josephbleau said...

"Beer drinkers can be as bad as wine snobs. If you're drinking some overhopped microbrew made with organic heirloom grain, with a stupid pun for a name... you might as well be drinking some overpriced bordoux."

Try some Bell's two hearted ale from Kalamazoo. It's not bragging if it's true.

Michael K said...

I guess I was censored. I still think Coates is a creep and even Glenn Loury thinks Kendi is a "motherfucker." Oh well, some things are just too shocking for a middle aged white female coll]ege professor.

rcocean said...

I have no snobbery when it comes to food and drink. But i prefer wine to beer, and champagne to both. There's not only an element of "working class" related to beer, there's a sort of macho tinge to it. Who would you want to fight: a beer drinker or someone who sips white wine?

Jamie said...

Ignoring all the Trump/DeSantis stuff, this is, I believe, the first time I have ever come across something Coates has said that I agree with.

Jamie said...

Beer drinkers can be as bad as wine snobs.

No argument here.

If you're drinking some overhopped microbrew made with organic heirloom grain, with a stupid pun for a name... you might as well be drinking some overpriced bordoux.

Unless it tastes good to you. I like very hoppy beers, the more so as I get older - I hypothesize that my taste buds are jaded and need a good kick in the pants these days.

We drank a lot of Red Hook before Budweiser bought them, and then gave in to a combination of Seattle snobbery about the Bud connection and being spoiled for choice as craft brewery after craft brewery sprang up around us, and I don't think I've had one in close to twenty years now. But we liked them fine in the '90s. Now the one likeliest to be in our fridge is probably Karbach Hopadillo (overhopped - check; punny name - check) - plus Ultra, for our neighbor who drinks nothing else. Hopadillo isn't our absolute favorite beer but it's easy to find in the Houston area, not too expensive, and we like it.

Two Hearted is indeed delicious!

BudBrown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
boatbuilder said...

As far as I can tell, the younger cohorts now drink neither beer nor wine. Hard seltzers are the drink of choice.

Naked Molerat said...

Every beer drinking alcoholic I can recall treating told me they didn't like the taste. Of course they also told me they only drank a six-pack a day. Personally my choice is bourbon but an IPA hits the spot on a hot day and I have been known to try pretty much any beer that is a BOGO at Publix.

Biotrekker said...

Chronic drunks were called winos because they could often only afford cheap "fortified" wine - this was low, low-end wine with a high alcohol content. Beer's alcohol content is too low to maintain the EtOH levels required keep these folks lubricated.

Brian McKim and/or Traci Skene said...

Still stunned that neither Coates nor his editors cares little about the spelling of "Courvoisier."

Tina Trent said...

Mikee: after an apartment move fell through, I crashed with my all-Vietnamese carpet crew for two weeks. It was me, six guys, my lab, and an old couple in a two bedroom apartment.

To celebrate, they got two live geese from somewhere, cut their heads off (still alive) in the kitchen, drained the raw blood over lots of cilantro in a bowl, where it coagulated, stir-fried the rest pretty raw, and poured the raw blood over that. And as the guest, I got both heads. I thought I would die but was too polite to refuse and experienced no ill effects. There were also raw pork fat cubes with bird peppers embedded in them. Do hot peppers kill parasites and bacteria?

My Labrador had a very good time. The old lady stir-fried her dry dog food for her on the stove every morning with lots of fish sauce and oil and sent me to work with stacked tins of fried spring rolls. None of them spoke any English, so I just let her do it. I was young; it was fun, but I couldn't approach cilantro for a very long time.