(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . GOP social media freakout and how to make it worse [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-08-01 Since VP Kamala Harris was vaulted into the lead Democratic candidate spot and eroded Trump’s prospects, GOP panic and blame have grown on social media, which is, of course, a good thing for Team Kamala. I believe there are three things political posts on social media can do. 1. Pump your base up. We’ve been amazing at that, and let’s keep going. I believe one value of our recent series of calls is that they rightly identified our differences as strengths. From this perspective, we can see and feel that we each have a great family recipe to bring to the BBQ, and it’s going to be the mother of feasts. Honeymoons do fade inevitably, so if the urge to lash out at a fellow Harris supporter emerges, I challenge those who are thus tempted to count to three or how long it takes to think about the goal (win) and the strategy (hold the base). When able, I encourage that person to think with love and charity about the other person’s position and dialog from that perspective. Let's keep hugging our allies, and turn this romance into a good, lasting marriage. 2. Win winnable voters. Remember the gallery effect. When we take on a MAGA person, we have to realize that person is 99% likely to remain unpersuaded. We should still respond, because the value of social media argument is often in playing to the “gallery,” or those who are viewing but not engaging. For instance, this morning MAGA was prancing all OVER the place squawking about Algerian boxer Imane Khalif beating Italian boxer Angela Carini at the Olympics, claiming that Khalif is transgender and trying to hitch their political fortune to this new shiny star. I recognized this as bad for Team Kamala and Team Trans Rights and felt a shadow of demoralization. But then I noticed a post that argued that Khalif is not trans but has a condition that elevates her testosterone levels beyond what is ordinary for most women. I hastened to confirm this, and am emboldened once again because the right got caught in a lie and highlighted a dilemma that does them no favors: Either gender is not so cut and dried, or it is and you are what your birth certificate says, in which case there can be no problem with Khalif’s win. I’m Team Kamala, but I can imagine a wavering voter feeling uneasy about the Khalif/Carina bout, an unease to which posts like that one correcting the record on Khalif serve as an antidote. Keep those posts coming. They do matter. 3. Demoralize the opponent (and make the freakout worse). This is where understanding the fractures in the opponent’s base is useful. Often, when people post political stuff on social media, this is what they are trying to do without really knowing it. It helps to know that this is what you are trying to do, because you’ll save yourself the trouble of hollering “Trump is a racist” at your MAGA cousin on Facebook who does not view racism as a deal-breaker. Instead, you think of what might cool this cousin’s enthusiasm. This is why calling Trump “weird” is so potent. It robs Trump of his charisma, his mythos. If you’re a stormtrooper, you love the Ewoks calling Darth Vader “evil” and a “tyrant,” etc. It makes Vader look scary and badass. They falter once Calrissian gets the kill shot on the Death Star, and then when “Vader is Weird” starts trending with pictures of him with his mask off …..OK, I think I took the Star Wars analogy as far as it will go, but you know what I mean, I hope. “Weird” is for things you don’t respect and don’t fear, and the whole appeal of Trump for many is that he appears to terrify us. For more on this theory, Google “Stetson Kennedy”, “Superman” and “Klan”. It’s the best story you’ll read today. With that in mind, let’s look at what Republicans are fighting over, because those are the pain points that can demoralize them. Image 1. As Trump’s chances of losing appear to grow, a chorus of bitter Republicans are blaming Trump supporters for choosing an unelectable candidate. Pain point 1: Lingering internecine resentment over the selection of Trump as the GOP candidate. We are sadly all too familiar with this sort of thing. We know firsthand how it can get some voters to sit it out. Let’s get it working FOR us, for once. Pain Point 2. Cultural Irrelevance. If there’s one thing that my graduate research has taught me, it's that conservatives resent being culturally marginalized. In the Matt Walsh post (Image 3), Walsh recognizes the power of a sense of cultural irrelevance to demoralize and dampen enthusiasm. The more we pin Hulk Hogan and what’s-her-face from SlutWalk on them, the more ears and tails droop over there. They are flinching in advance of Taylor Swift’s entrance into the fray. Image 2. Trump ride-or-diers are getting a trifle snarly at DeSantis told-you-soers. Image 3. Matt Walsh started a firestorm with this post calling Trump rally guest choices into question. Pain Point 3. Efforts to demoralize us aren’t working. Image 4 shows Republicans fretting over the failure of questioning Harris’s race to demoralize us. I’ve also seen posts complaining that ridiculing her laugh didn’t work, nor did riffing on her childlessness. The more we remain impervious to their attempts to bum us out, the more bothered they get. You should hear them go on about Democratic unity right now. They are alarmed. Be aware, though, they are workshopping madly in right wing media world. Here’s what we have to look forward to, based on what I’m seeing in Right Wing Media world, and some thoughts on preparation. 1. She’s a radical. They are looking for old clips of her saying radical things, which they will make sound as radical as they can. This will be targetted at winnable voters, so the gallery effect will be important. Let's be ready to put her comments in context, clarify her meaning, correct shitty edits, etc. 2. She’s mean offscreen. They are rumbling about this and digging up a couple old stories about high staff turnover (it wasn’t especially high). Remember what happened to Ellen? They’ll try to do the same to Harris. One thing about lefties is we don’t like bullies or mean people. This one could really demoralize us. Let’s start finding examples of people who worked with her or met her and sing her praises and amplify them on social media. Any evidence that she is a kind, thoughtful person will be very helpful, so if anyone has such anecdotes to share, please do. Image 4: Republicans are dismayed that efforts to undermine Harris’s authenticity are more liability than asset. 3. Policy. This is a surprisingly loud drumbeat on the right. They believe if they can get Trump to talk policy and stay on message about it, they can win. Policy areas they raise include the border, inflation, guns, trans rights and drag queens, and the cost of gasoline, among others. We’re ready there, I think. Everyone has a role to play. I am finishing a PhD in political communication right now because social media fascinates me. If it fascinates you, these are my ideas for how to knock heads out there, and I’d love to hear yours! 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