Dirty Donald Gets His Due
I've never been a prophet, but that doesn't mean I'm any more respected in my country.
So I check in on Twitter this morning and I see that #DirtyDonald is trending in the United States.
Chris Cuomo apparently said it.
But guess who said it almost a year ago?
I’m not saying I should get credit for it — I doubt I was the first or only person to say it. There are advantages as well as drawbacks to my weird and particular mix of professional (in)visibility. Also, I didn't make any attempt to make it stick, as I was making an observation, not leading a campaign.
But everything I said in that thread, I stand by here eleven months later to the point that I don't really have more to say about it now. It's got everything it needs to have legs, and it's going to hurt him. I hope it stays around, and I'm glad that someone with a bigger platform and more traditional visibility is pushing it.
Some would say that it's demeaning to stoop to his level instead of fighting on facts and issues. Well, we can't just stoop to his level, no more than we can just do anything. Just is a four-letter word; there are no causes with one effect and no effects with one cause, and Mostly The Sith Deal Predominantly But Not Exclusively In Absolutes.
The facts are on our side and against Donald, but facts on their own don't do anything. The Republican Party is very active in shaping narratives and setting frames were their "alternative facts" matter more than the actual truth of anything. We in the reality-based community need to be more deliberate in our messaging. This is a good step.
We shouldn't abandon the facts to sling insults, but there's nothing wrong with using a pithy phrase to drive those facts home.