Although the Left loves to play with words, there are times when they’re played by words. Such is the case with the hot phrase making its way through the Right, “Let’s Go Brandon.” I haven’t seen Leftists this pissed off about three words since President Donald Trump.
I know I’m a little late to the party on this one, but seeing how the Left keeps getting their panties in a twist over it (and that’s not the only thing twisted here), I figured I might as well delve deeper into the phenomenon.
Let’s Go Brandon
What the Left thinks it means – a derogatory term to protest the Biden Administration
What it really means – a semi-organic phrase originating from an ill-advised attempt to protect the Biden Administration that has taken on a life of its own
In Leftist circles, Joe Biden is a popular President, and only a handful of misguided people think otherwise. In the real world, though, he’s only slightly more popular than sexually-transmitted diseases, a Hannah Gadsby stand-up special, and a nude pictorial by Rosie O’Donnell. And that’s even with a press slobbering over him more than the President does on himself.
While the Left struggles with why people aren’t worshiping the ground he walks on, it’s really not that hard to understand. For being in politics for most of my and his adult lives, it’s clear he hasn’t learned much about how to lead. Oh, he’s had leadership opportunities, but he hasn’t picked up on the simplest of basics.
Namely, don’t be a dumbass.
As a result of the President’s inability to master this, along with the ongoing allegations of voter fraud, people started to push back in small, but noticeable ways. Granted, these weren’t as extreme as knitting pussy hats or overtaking portions of Seattle and turning it into Beirut with Starbucks, but the effect was the same: it pissed people off.
And, hypocritically so, making Leftists clutch their metaphorical pearls because…there was vulgarity! The chant of “Fuck Joe Biden” became the go-to for people who didn’t like the President, and the same Leftists who got behind the “Fuck Trump” chants suddenly became Puritans. Or Im-Puritans as the case may be.
Either way, the point was made. Where the twisting of the phrase came into play was during a live interview with NASCAR driver Brandon Brown. Although it was clear the crowd was yelling “Fuck Joe Biden,” the reporter tried to pass it off as the crowd yelling “Let’s Go Brandon.” That one attempt to poorly explain away what was actually being said spread like wildfire on the Right. Everything from flags to hats to t-shirts, including face masks and a #1 song on iTunes, started popping up and spreading across the country.
Hmmm…apparently that small group of naysayers is a lot bigger than the Left believes.
Although there are a lot of reasons the Left hates “Let’s Go Brandon,” one of the less obvious ones is it didn’t come from the Left. The Left’s stock and trade is creating memorable phrases that resonate with potential voters and the party faithful. And let’s be honest, “Build Back Better” doesn’t exactly inspire passion in anyone but the hardcore Bidenites. To have something like “Let’s Go Brandon” catch on means the Left can’t control the narrative.
Which means they have to destroy it.
Recent articles by NPR, the Associated Press, and others attempt to peel the onion and mention the ill-fated turn of a phrase the Right co-opted, but fail to truly understand how and why it’s taken off. Instead, the Left tries to pass it off as vulgarity in lieu of political discourse. (Yeah, like “Fuck Trump” was the height of brilliant repartee.) And to be fair, that’s an accurate assessment, but it skims the surface without ever getting deeper than a mud puddle. So, let me fill in the blanks.
Joe Biden has made some horrible decisions as President that have negatively impacted people across the country. When this happens, people are going to get upset and look for ways to needle the powerful. That’s the way it’s been here since pre-Revolutionary War days, and it’s going to continue for many years to come.
The ultimate slap in the face, though, is the fact it’s protected speech, just like the Left’s tantrums over the past 5 years is. Even when we don’t like it. If the Left decides to go the legislative or regulatory route to stifle “Let’s Go Brandon,” it will only take until the next Republican President for it to backfire. Granted, no one said the Left was any good at long-term consistent thinking, but it’s still something to consider.
Speaking personally, I’m amused by the chant, if only because it pisses off the Left so much. It’s not something I would normally support because their brevity robs the ideas behind them of their power and intellectual heft, but I wholeheartedly support anyone who wants to use it because, well, I’m not a dick. Then again, sometimes the most impactful messages don’t need to be an intellectual masterpiece.
After all, they still sell Hot Pockets off the jingle alone.
