Current thing: we are being played (con't)

The Democrats' New Normal

Note: when I put “current thing” in the title of a post, I am signaling that I may be reacting too quickly and too emotionally to an event that is receiving excessive attention relative to its long-term significance.

Matt Yglesias writes,

Trump really is very weird, and the fact that he won in 2016 created, I think, a sense that if he can win, then Democrats can let their freak flags fly. And to an extent that’s true; he’s a very unpopular guy and his presence on the ticket lets Democrats get away with more policy hijinks than they could if the GOP ran better candidates. But I think it would be better for Democrats to walk the walk on non-weirdness to an even greater extent than they do.

Later, I want to talk about the origin of the phrase “freak flag fly.” Now, I just want to rant.

I will grant that Mr. Trump is a bizarre individual relative to the politicians I grew up with. Who else would have put Amber Rose and Hulk Hogan in the spotlight at a party convention? To Mr. Trump’s credit, he has a genuine affinity for Jacksonian America. To his detriment, his narcissism is out of control. If you are loyal to him, he sees you as automatically good. And if you doubt him, he sees you as automatically evil.

That said , I am not willing to cede the ground of “normal” to Yglesias’ friends in the Democratic Party. Their idea of “normal” is to play “hide the candidate.” They did it with Joe Biden in 2020, pleading COVID as the excuse. They are doing it again this year. Kamala Harris also is taking no questions and revealing no policy preferences. As the clock ticks down toward election day, she has not defined her mission or declared a sense of purpose for her candidacy. You just see her smiling like a queen at crowds who adore her because she is not Donald Trump.

We know that the Trump-Vance platform is about border enforcement, tariffs, dialing back support for Ukraine, and rolling back DEI. The Harris platform is a blank slate.

So far, the Democrats’ campaign strategy is to prove their case by using the shape and color of Ms. Harris’ genitalia. Here is how their play works:

1. Do not reveal anything about what Ms. Harris wants to do as President. Instead, emphasize that she is a BLACK WOMAN.

2. Point out that to criticize Ms. Harris is to criticize a BLACK WOMAN.

3. Therefore, any criticism of Ms. Harris is racist and sexist.

   QED

The way things are shaping up, in November we will see a historic number of people vote for a Presidential candidate while having no idea what they are voting for. “None of the above” has been polling very well for many years, and the Democrats are finally putting it on the ballot.

The Biden entourage does not see a problem with this. My guess is that they are used to proceeding without have to worry about what the party leader is thinking. The joke will be on them if it turns out that Ms. Harris actually has policy preferences and expects to see them carried out. Wouldn’t that be a surprise?

In fact, the whole country will be surprised if it turns out that Ms. Harris has an agenda. No one, least of all the candidate, wants to tell us what it is.

What the freak? the origins of “freak flag fly”

In 1969, Neil Young joined with David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash to form what Rolling Stone dubbed a supergroup.¹ Their first album included a composition from Crosby, “Almost Cut My Hair.” Melodically, it was ugly (“Almost wrote a song,” quipped one of my high school classmates). I don’t believe that it was ever issued as a single, and even if you listen to classic rock stations you probably will never hear it.

In those days, a male’s long, unkempt hair was a clear cultural signifier. (A few years later, long hair was more widespread, so you could not tell a hippie from a straight based on appearance.) You were making a statement about which side you were on, and inviting animosity from police, blue-collar workers, and other straights. Crosby sings defiantly of “feeling like letting my freak flag fly,” by which he means his hippie hair.

Back then, I would have not guessed that the phrase “freak flag fly,” coined a dozen years before Matt Yglesias was born, would have such stickiness. It goes to show you the durability of memes from the Woodstock era.²

substacks referenced above:

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The politics of weirdness

1. The other supergroup, meaning a band formed by veterans of other successful bands, was Blind Faith, which included Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Stevie Winwood.

2. Speaking of Woodstock, my mother’s maiden name was Yasgur. One of her cousins was Max, who owned the farm where the famous music festival was held.