१० जून, २०२४

"During the N.B.A. finals that began on Thursday, the Biden campaign ran a TV ad titled, 'Flag,' which really mirrors a strategy..."


"... that senior officials described to The New Yorker earlier this year. It’s highly focused on “freedom” conceptually, through the prism of abortion, voting rights and a few other issues. While the issues are definitely longstanding Democratic priorities, if you watch it, the solemn patriotic tone of the ad feels a little old school Republican to me — it’s an interesting artifact of how things have changed. Biden is running to preserve rights and freedoms, or, through another lens, conserve the old ways."


This gets my "left-or-right ambiguity" tag. 

Where was I just reading that displaying a flag by your front door was the equivalent of a sign saying We're voting for Trump

Here's the ad:


Did you notice how opposition to gun rights fit the rhetoric of freedom? It's "the freedom for our children to be safe from gun violence."

The New Yorker article, from last March, is "Joe Biden’s Last Campaign/Trailing Trump in polls and facing doubts about his age, the President voices defiant confidence in his prospects for reëlection" by Evan Osnos. I started to read it, and when I got to the line "Biden, always a little taller than you expect," I knew I'd blogged it at the time. Here. Before reading my old post, I was getting ready to make a large-boulder-the-size-of-a-small-boulder joke, but then I saw that's what I did at the time:
I paused over "always a little taller than you expect." It had a bit of a large-boulder-the-size-of-a-small-boulder feeling about it. It gets my favorite tag: big and small. I love these conundrums of size. Osnos is using "you" to refer to himself. He's talking about his subjective experience, and he — unlike, probably, you — has been in the vicinity of the President on multiple occasions. But what is this taller and taller effect? It must be that when he's around Biden, he's struck that Biden is a little tall, and, afterwards, Biden shrinks in Osnos's memory, setting him up to be struck once again, at the next encounter, by the slight tallness of Biden.

But here's the part of the New Yorker article about the Biden campaign's high concept of freedom:

Mike Donilon... the “high priest of Bidenism”... has worked with Biden off and on since 1981, longer than nearly any other member of his inner circle. In the 2020 election, it was Donilon who spurred Biden on, helping to shape the campaign around the concept of a “battle for the soul of a nation.”.... That experience fortified his belief that this year’s campaign should center on what he calls “the freedom agenda.”.... 
It’s easy to miss how unusual a “freedom agenda” is for a Democratic Presidential campaign. Since the nineteen-sixties, Republicans have held fast to the language of freedom—from the backlash against civil rights to the Tea Party to the Freedom Caucus. But Democrats have been trying to convince the public that the Republican Party under Trump has transformed into the “maga movement,” an authoritarian crusade bent on dominion. Donilon said, “At its heart, it doesn’t believe in the Constitution, doesn’t believe in law, embraces violence.” He sees an opportunity for Democrats to be “in a place where they usually aren’t.” They can lay claim to the freedom to “choose your own health-care decisions, the freedom to vote, the freedom for your kids to be free of gun violence in school, the freedom for seniors to live in dignity.”
The idea of wrapping the 2024 campaign around this kind of high concept is divisive in Democratic circles. “I’m pretty certain in Scranton they’re not sitting around their dinner table talking about democracy every night,” David Axelrod told me. “The Republican message is: The world’s out of control and Biden’s not in command. That’s the entire message—Trump, the strongman, is the solution. I think you have to be thinking about how you counter that, and how you deal with fears about Biden’s condition.”...

It's 3 months closer to the election, and the party is going with Donilon's idea and the NYT is damning it with the faint praise "an interesting artifact."

Donilon is undeterred.... 

६७ टिप्पण्या:

Temujin म्हणाले...

While in the actual streets of American cities, and- oh yes- surrounding The White House on Sunday- we have Democrats dressed as Palestinians or Hamas draftees, burning the American flag and shouting for the end of both Israel and the US.

And on the actual borders of America, well...there is no border for America because this guy parading an ad in front of a highly Black audience wants people to forget that HE forgot about his country. Flag and all.

He can run all the ads with flags he wants, but the reality of his stink is all around all of us. Even the audience watching the NBA finals.

mindnumbrobot म्हणाले...

I suppose this may appeal to the 40% of voters who will pull the level for the lost-old-man-who-screams-at-clouds, but Democrats spend so much time lambasting America as horrible and racist (not to mention half of its population), this patriotic schtick rings hollow. Actually, it's kind of insulting.

Aggie म्हणाले...

Huh. How Americans treasure their freedom, eh? Sometimes, even including freedom from thinking. All Republicans have to do is keep driving the state of things - in particular, the changing state of things over the past 4 years. Crime. Foreign adventures, ill-advised and richly-funded with tax dollars. Uncontrolled borders. More crime. Inflation. National debt. Government censorship. Political show trials on political rivals. All things we didn't have, or had less of, 4 years ago.

doctrev म्हणाले...

Absolute idiocy. I know the Biden campaign is still high from D-Day, but as the country is flooded with illegals this Hollywood patriotism is barf-worthy.

Only the truly committed chuckservatives like Rich are still buying it, but I think it actually pisses off everyone else.

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

Hilarious.

The party of 'We will regulate everything in your life from cradle to grave' is now the party of 'Freedom.'

That fucking Orwell gets another win...

Lloyd W. Robertson म्हणाले...

Matt Yglesias says the European right is doing so well, if the American right adopted the "European" view of abortion and health care (guaranteed abortion up to x number of weeks, far short of "term," some kind of guaranteed access to a suite of common health care services at a reasonable cost), they might win 50 states. In other words, immigration and crime are winners for the right these days. Insofar as people outside the academy and large organizations think about wokeism, they are probably against it.

Open borders and the groundless prosecution of political opponents are both attacks on American democracy. Diluting the vote by accepting fraud denies the right to vote of legitimate voters. Silencing speech that is critical of the Dems and the woke is an attack on democracy.

For improving health care, all the Dems can think of is abortion? The left would want trans rights. Is there no public support for fixing Obamacare?

Chris म्हणाले...

Yes, democrats are running on freedom! Freedom from having to vote in an election: (we'll make the choice for you!). Freedom from the burdon of cash: (with these prices, you wont have any spare cash to carry around weighing you down). Freedom from having to defend yourself: (Don't worry, you don't need to defend yourself from anything except racist republicans, and you can't take on the government because we have F16s!). Freedom from having to choose where you want to go: (You can't afford gas, you cant afford an electric car - no worries you can vacation at home!). Freedom from the burden of obesity: (when you can't afford to eat, weightloss is easy). Freedom from employement: (let's call it funemployment). The list goes on.

RideSpaceMountain म्हणाले...

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/connecticut-democrats-use-pride-flag-honor-state-trooper-killed-duty

A Connecticut Police Officer who was killed in the line of duty was honored not only by a refusal of his city council to use the Thin Blue Line flag, they didn't even raise the stars and stripes as opposed to that hideous rainbow rag we all know they secretly worship.

Not. Even. The. Stars & Stripes. When these people show you who they are, believe them

NorthOfTheOneOhOne म्हणाले...

I never truly understood Dr. Johnson's assertion about patriotism and scoundrels, until now.

That was because until now I'd never really encountered a true scoundrel.

Wa St Blogger म्हणाले...

We seems to have a problem of properly defining what a right and a freedom is. Without a common lexicon words have no meaning.

Being "free from" is a mis-use of the concept. It usually means that your perceived benefit imposes a cost on someone else. The thing we should be "free from is government imposed restrictions to grant someone else a "free from" condition. I think that's the intent of our freedoms.

Both left and right are guilty of freedom abrogation.

Paul Zrimsek म्हणाले...

Dangerous rhetoric. People might get carried away with the freedom talk and start thinking they can go on driving cars that run on gas if they want to.

n.n म्हणाले...

Nationalism is not a significant attribute to distinguish left and right-oriented ideologies.

Limited blogger म्हणाले...

So now Biden's approach is to be Trump-lite?

I'll take the real thing.

Gospace म्हणाले...

Other slogans soon to be adopted"

War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength


And I must point out that the middle one was just about a DemoncRAT reason for supporting secession. Those darkies were much more free with a benevolent master then they ever would be struggling on their own with their inferior intellect. Come to think of it- the same party today is the one that says blacks are too stupid to get voter IDs...

n.n म्हणाले...

that hideous rainbow rag we all know they secretly worship

The transgender spectrum is progressive and albinophobia is celebrated with pride in parades and mounted on buildings in a demonstration of liberal bigotry.

Paul Zrimsek म्हणाले...

Just because it's a free concert, it doesn't mean you can do anything you wanna do, now. It means you gotta do what you're told.

gilbar म्हणाले...

preserve rights and freedoms, or, through another lens, conserve the old ways."

preserve rights.. to vote without being registered.. or a citizen.. or even exist AT ALL
freedoms.. to murder innocent children.. That are "inconvenient"
conserve the old ways.. of the confederacy

n.n म्हणाले...

Six weeks to perform abortion rites. Self-defense through reconciliation thereafter. #NoJudgment #NoLabels

Affordable medical care through mitigation of progressive prices forced, sustained through single/central/monopolistic solutions.

Emigration reform to mitigate progress at both ends of the bridge and throughout.

Go green, expect reliable, environmentally friendly energy, stop the spread of the Green blight.

Repeal "Respect for Marriage Act". Civil unions for all consenting adults. #LoveWins

Diversity of individuals, minority of one.

RCOCEAN II म्हणाले...

The MSM and the American liberal/left have gone whole hog on the "Accuse them of what you're doing" trick. The commies are the ones who thought it up.

You throw your political opponents in jail and run show trials? Accuse Trump of being an Authoritarian who will break all the norms and jail his oppponents.


You steal elections and lie constantly? Accuse your opponents of "supressing the vote", colluding with Putin, and spreading misinformation and disinformation.

The other MSM/DNC trick is Gaslighting. The D's get away with it because they control the media. So, Biden is really in favor of controlling the border. There is no inflation. Biden is "taller then you think", handles the tough questions, and is super fit.

Breezy म्हणाले...

I’d be happy with a free and fair election. Promise us that, Joe. No mail-in ballots unless out of state or infirm. No ballot harvesting.

Enigma म्हणाले...

EVERYTHING from the Democratic Party since 2020 has been a conscious effort to relabel, mislabel, and spread disinformation in a shell game that disguises old-school FDR-LBJ-Jimmy Carter Big Government strategies as Trumpism, populism, and patriotism.

This includes Biden's 2020 unity theme, the absurd Jan. 6 show trials, the ironically named "Inflation Reduction Act," characterizing overt racism and racial preferences as "Equity," trashing biological women in favor of male sex predators as "feminism," and now pretending to be patriotic. Nothing new. But maybe more people are catching on.



gilbar म्हणाले...

just to Be Clear..
The Biden residency feels that they HAVE TO advertise to black people of color??

what's NEXT? the Biden residency advertising to Affluent White Women?

JZ म्हणाले...

“While the issues are definitely longstanding Democratic priorities, if…” what a crock. What might an actual long-standing Democratic priority be? Free abortion maybe?

Narr म्हणाले...

The National Bar Association Finals?

Gusty Winds म्हणाले...

"It's the freedom not not be part of a mass medical experiment."

"It's the freedom to not have your five-year-old march in a rainbow pride parade."

"It's the freedom to use fossil fuels, knowing green energy is a control mechanism."

"It's the freedom provided by blind justice and non-political courts."



tim maguire म्हणाले...

Joe Biden
For Freedom

Freedom from the burden of making decisions about your own money
Freedom from the burden of appliances that work
Freedom from the burden of results for your efforts
Freedom from the burden of protecting yourself and your family
Freedom from the threat of going to jail for your violent crimes
Freedom from confidence about the future
Freedom from world peace

Joe Biden
For Freedom

n.n म्हणाले...

The White House on Sunday- we have Democrats dressed as... or Hamas draftees

Hamasidol maniacs.

Palestine refered to an unincorporated territory including Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt... Jordan, the second state, until an attempted Jordanian Spring.

Old and slow म्हणाले...

"defiant confidence" indeed. Why wouldn't he be feeling confident?

Birches म्हणाले...

Wow they're desperate.

Iman म्हणाले...

Nearly every issue/problem that America currently faces was either created or extremely exacerbated by the P0TATUS Biden administration. As they wipe their asses with Old Glory.

They’ve got some nerve…

Gunner म्हणाले...

If the "flag" represents tranny story time, open borders, and criminal prosecution of only Conservatives, the flag ain't worth much.

Clyde म्हणाले...

It’s good to know that people like Mike Donilon are living kickass lives. Maybe he can be a pilot in the next one.

Iman म्हणाले...

The old traditions of affordable housing, food, energy, etc. don’t matter much to these New Traditionalists.

deepelemblues म्हणाले...

This strategy has not been effective, so I think the Biden campaign should continue it.

Quayle म्हणाले...

The big lie is "freedom from consequences."
The other big lie is give us control (i.e. surrender your freedom) and we'll fix all wrongs, prevent all suffering, remove all pain and heal you from all sorrow.

imTay म्हणाले...

Voting rights is simply cover for making voting so easy that fraud is impossible to detect.

mindnumbrobot म्हणाले...

This strategy is a sure loser. Leftists are repulsed by patriotism, and most middle of road types will find this pitch disingenuous. If I were advising Democrats, it's as easy as three words: Abortion, abortion, and abortion. That's how you scare weak-kneed women to the voting booth.

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

Just saw a well-respected poll that has Joe at an all-time low 37.4% approval rate.

How can 37 of 100 people approve of the shit show that is American domestic and foreign policy?

I get it that really rich people are still doing OK. But there can't be that many really rich people.

John henry म्हणाले...

War is peace
Freedom is slavery
Ignorance is strength
Brandon is truth
Brandon & Co are fascists

One of these statements is true

John Henry

Kevin म्हणाले...

It's "the freedom for our children to be safe from gun violence."

Big Brother is willing to protect you.

Sometime he doesn’t even wait to be asked.

JIM म्हणाले...

"Freedom for our children to be free from gun violence" - but no freedom or life for inconvenient unborn babies.

Hassayamper म्हणाले...

A Connecticut Police Officer who was killed in the line of duty was honored not only by a refusal of his city council to use the Thin Blue Line flag, they didn't even raise the stars and stripes as opposed to that hideous rainbow rag we all know they secretly worship... Not. Even. The. Stars & Stripes. When these people show you who they are, believe them

Wait, not even the American flag, at a cop's funeral? Only a Pride flag, for a heterosexual family man who fell in the line of duty? If that's correct, that is one of the most contemptible and hateful things the perverted left wing scum have ever done, which is really saying something.

If this poor man's family wants to properly punish the demonic filth that is responsible for this outrageous insult, they should invite Trump to come to Connecticut for an event where they will appear as the guests of honor and give him their endorsement. Trump loves bold forays into enemy territory and will be sure to honor their fallen hero with both the American flag and the thin blue line flag.

We've seen polls showing Minnesota, Virginia, and even New Jersey are coming into play for Trump, why not go for Connecticut too?

Two-eyed Jack म्हणाले...

Speaking of iconography, the "Freedom to vote and have your vote counted" is represented by a polling station, not an envelope with a postal stamp. We had polling stations in my state a few election cycles ago, but Democrats decided that switching to all-mail-in elections would expand voting opportunities.

tommyesq म्हणाले...

If they didn't want a strongman to be the solution, they shouldn't have installed an empty husk as the President.

Sebastian म्हणाले...

"Biden campaign ran a TV ad titled, 'Flag,'"

But as we were reminded recently in CT, the thin blue line flag is still racist and divisive, correct? Trying to keep up with the prog vanguard.

Mason G म्हणाले...

"Biden, always a little taller than you expect,"

300 pounds of shit in a 175 pound bag- such a deal.

michaele म्हणाले...

Odd that those large Trump flags representing violence were blue in color. And in the scene for a woman to make her own health decisions, the lady seems to be staring at a trash can...I guess for where the aborted fetus can be thrown away.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

False flag.

JMS म्हणाले...

No way that tagline by Biden was recorded recently. He hasn't sounded that energic when speaking for years. Today when he thinks he should sound vigorous or powerful all he can do is yell.

JK Brown म्हणाले...

"The sun shall never set on this flag"

So Biden's going for a global empire or just having American legions encircling the globe?

Richard Dolan म्हणाले...

If a voter is thinking in terms of "The world’s out of control and Biden’s not in command," more Biden can't possibly be the answer. And no one is likely to believe that the behind-the-scenes Biden is somehow different from the pathetic character we all see in public. The Dems only choice is to change the subject, which doesn't seem to be working for them.

Steve म्हणाले...

Biden already has the dead voted locked down. Now he is going for the stupid vote. Biden's personality is attractive to both personalities.

Rusty म्हणाले...

Joe Smith said...
"Just saw a well-respected poll that has Joe at an all-time low 37.4% approval rate.

How can 37 of 100 people approve of the shit show that is American domestic and foreign policy?"

Have you read the nonsense our resident lefties post here? Now you know.

Jupiter म्हणाले...

"Where was I just reading that displaying a flag by your front door was the equivalent of a sign saying We're voting for Trump?"

Hmmmm, tough one. Wouldn't be WaPo or NYT, or The New Yorker. Or New Republic, or, actually, any of the Commie propaganda rags you quote from incessantly. Probably a meme.

The Godfather म्हणाले...

Remember Reagan's "Morning In America" ad from 1984? I just watched it again. It worked because it was true. Oh, sure, not everything was perfect, but most things for most people were better than they had been four years before, and the policies Reagan pushed, and sold to reluctant Democrat Congressmen and Senators, as well as Republicans, were responsible for much of the improvement (and, yes I confess, his predecessor Jimmy Carter wasn't all that bad as a Democrat President, we now realize, compared to his successors).

Four years ago, just before the Biden Inauguration, my wife and I got our first Covid vaccine shots. The vaccine didn't turn out to be the golden bullet we hoped, and the most valid criticism I can make of Trump's policies is that he followed his expert advisors' advice, but Biden's been President for almost 4 years now, and he hasn't cured Covid. He hasn't fixed the economy; it's worse. He hasn't reduced crime; it's worse. He has opened the flood gates to illegal (and more importantly UNCONTROLLED) immigration. I hear he's going to allow the Trump tax cuts to expire.

I don't think 2024 is morning in America. If Biden is reelected, it may be sunset.

Lem Vibe Bandit म्हणाले...

A political ad during big games feels like intruding. I’m not a basketball fan but if they put up a political ad during the World Series, with my team playing, I wouldn’t like it.

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

'Have you read the nonsense our resident lefties post here? Now you know.'

What are the odds that the AA blog gets the liberal audience 30 IQ points below the mean?

You have to be really fucking stupid to think things are going great.

mccullough म्हणाले...

Trump was 6’2” when he was younger. Biden was just over 6 foot.

Trump is down to 6 foot and a half inch. Biden is down to 5’11 and a half inch.

Obama is taller nowadays than both Trump & Clinton.

Maybe Obama will be like Jimmy Stewart. He’ll hold his peak height into his 80s. Biden has held up pretty well. He hasn’t lost even an inch yet from his peak height.

Mason G म्हणाले...

" and the most valid criticism I can make of Trump's policies is that he followed his expert advisors' advice"

And the most valid criticism I can make of Trump's policies is that he followed career bureaucrats' advice.

FIFY

Tina Trent म्हणाले...

Wa Street Blogger: Wha? Maybe smoke less pot.

Josephbleau म्हणाले...

"Did you notice how opposition to gun rights fit the rhetoric of freedom? It's "the freedom for our children to be safe from gun violence."

It all comes down to the fact that Americans need freedom from freedom.

Mikey NTH म्हणाले...

The true desperation is when a Biden ad starts playing "Proud to Be an American".

hombre म्हणाले...

We all know when we see a house flying the Stars and Stripes that it's Democrats prepared to preserve the "democracy" by voting for QuidProJoe. Bwahahahaha!

Ralph L म्हणाले...

In the 2020 election, it was Donilon who spurred Biden on

Is that what they used? I thought it was puppy-uppers.

wendybar म्हणाले...

What Godfather said @ 6 pm!!

Great analogy!!

Rusty म्हणाले...

Joe Smith said...
'Have you read the nonsense our resident lefties post here? Now you know.'

"What are the odds that the AA blog gets the liberal audience 30 IQ points below the mean?

You have to be really fucking stupid to think things are going great."

There it is.

RMc म्हणाले...

I don't think 2024 is morning in America.

It is if you spell "mourning" with a U.