This is an opinion column.
Something significant is happening with Democratic Party politics, and maybe politics generally. And to see what I’m talking about, let’s consider J.D. Vance and the couch.
Two weeks ago, I wrote that Vance — and other political shape-shifters like him — would say whatever it took to sit next to Donald Trump, so they could dig through the sofa cushions after he left the room.
I did not know at the time — and do not know now — how Vance feels about living room furniture. But today, that analogy means something different, and that something is way more interesting.
Did Vance get dirty with a sectional sofa? Probably not.
Is there any proof that he did? None that I’ve seen.
Did I scroll through hundreds of jokes and memes while killing time at my parents’ house last weekend? I couldn’t help myself.
Because it’s funny.
I’ve seen a few folks getting uptight and accusing Dems of dabbling in MAGA-like misinformation. But something different is happening here. Something we haven’t seen in quite some time.
Democrats are having fun.
And it’s the kind of fun that’s contagious.
Minnesota governor Tim Walz has risen to be a VP contender after he mocked Trump and his sycophants for being weird. He turned one word into a political weapon with a million ready-made targets.
Now, Democrats and never-Trump Republicans don’t have to make up JD Vance couch jokes anymore — because of how many Republicans left themselves exposed to weird attacks. A party that seats Marjorie Taylor Green at the grown-up table?
Weird.
And gives Hulk Hogan a speaking role at its convention?
Very weird.
The GOP set itself up for this.
Maybe it smacks of junior high Mean Girls or middle school boys pranking substitute teachers, but it has been so long since I’ve seen Democrats have fun, I had worried they’d forgotten how.
Trump Republicans will complain that being called out for MAGA weirdness is divisive, which only redoubles their weirdness.
And divisive? Democrats are now sharing memes quoting George W. Bush.
When Democrats turn to Dubya for their political messaging, we live in weird times, indeed.
When Joe Biden withdrew from the race [checks calendar] a week and a half ago, I tweeted offhand “Let the games begin” (I do love the Olympics) only to be swarmed by a mob of uptight Twits reminding me that this isn’t a game and don’t you know democracy is at stake.
The last time I was called to the AL.com principal’s office was for telling a commenter how to remove a stick and from where, so this time I replied as kindly as I could: They should have more fun.
Because fun matters. People like fun. And voters like fun people.
Fun is powerful stuff.
There’s a saying in politics that, if you’re explaining, you’re losing — because try as we might, people don’t vote by logic or reason, but rather, with emotions. We pull levers and bubble in ballots for who we like, not for who has the most sophisticated plan for balancing foreign trade.
It’s easy to lament the shallowness of it, and it will be easy for Democrats to backslide into their default anxiety …
But … but … climate change!
Remember the wise words of the sergeant from Stripes: Lighten up, Francis.
For much of the last ten years, America’s favorite emotion has been outrage, and Donald Trump seized on that. He rode outrage into the Oval Office, and when it was time for him to leave, he used outrage to kick in the Capitol doors and terrorize his enemies.
But maybe American outrage peaked?
Emotions have limits and it’s showing.
When a New York jury convicted Trump of felonies, where was the outrage?
When a major political memory-holed January 6, where was the anger?
When a candidate promises things that sound like a dictatorship, where’s the fear and fury?
I suspect Americans are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Our capacity for outrage has been depleted. What we need now, more than anything else, more than ever before, is a good hearty laugh.
And a minute to relax on the couch.
