It’s all about the brand. There are two present examples that demonstrate the truth of this assertion. One has been where branding has been used to great effect, and this is by the bad guys – the Republicans. The other is where branding has been used to horrible effect, and that’s by the good guys – the Democrats.
I’ll start with the bad guys, their brand was created by their leader and the master of branding, our President. That man is an idiot in almost every other way, but he is a genius when it comes to branding. And it fits that he should be. Branding is, after all, designed not to describe the actual substance of a thing but to create an image of that thing. And what is Orange Julius (“O.J.”) after all if not all image and no substance?
Any biography of O.J. as a real estate developer describes how he failed at owning buildings – see Atlantic City bankruptcies – but then discovered that his path to fortune was not to own anything himself but instead to just to slap his name on what other people owned. Through bombast and bravado, he had developed his name into an image, a “brand”. He made his name into a symbol for success and brilliance. It mattered not that his name actually reflected abject failure. The brand he created appealed to people. He was a Winner. They flocked to his properties holding hope after hope that maybe the Man Himself may grace them with his presence. And if that glorious event should ever happen, then, at their next cocktail party at the club, they could say that they had touched Greatness.
All the while, the people really responsible for those properties paid him for this and paid him handsomely. What did it matter if this scam suckered some rich people into losing their money. To most, they could easily afford it. The world could live with that
Then he went a step further with that stupid TV show – “The Apprentice”. The show not only focused itself on his brand, but it also boosted it by portraying this bag of wind as forceful, decisive, and wise.
And what did it also matter if “The Apprentice” gave people the entirely wrong idea about its star? The world could live with that, too.
But then O.J. took the next step. He developed a brand that wasn’t just intended to appeal to condo buyers or Nielsen Ratings. This one was intended to appeal to voters. And that brand, as we all know, is: “Make America Great Again”, or “MAGA.”
The MAGA brand is so strong that it has become a cult. It has done for a political bloc what a religion does for a group of believers. O.J is more an evangelist than he is a President. His brand has cleverly lured Americans whose lack of self-esteem causes them to fear being taken over; who dread being left behind by progress (hence their hate of “progressives”); and who, most basically of all, decry the increasing power of “The Other” – the blacks, the browns and the foreigners.
“Make America Great Again” gives a brand to those who want to live in a country where they would again be seen as the cocks of the walk, instead of just walking like cocks.
Hence the dichotomy of MAGA. It is both a brilliant branding exercise and a ruinous social policy.
Then there is the other side – the good guys. How has their branding been working? Like shit.
First, there was the attempt to rally people in the wake of the George Floyd murder to support reform of police practices and avoid future tragedies like that one. Seems like a perfectly justifiable idea. But what brand did they choose to affix to that cause? A real beauty: “Black Lives Matter.”
Let’s imagine the discussion they must have had when they decided on that one:
“Hey,” their leader must have said, “obviously, the people we need to engage are the white people. We need to get them by having a brand that will appeal to their humanity; that will dramatically demonstrate how we are all in this together and how we will only improve our country if we stop seeing ourselves as better or worse. Any ideas?”
Then a tiny guy in the back of the room must have stood up and said, “I know, let’s appeal to their most racist instinct. Let’s say something that implies that it’s the minority who “matters”, not them. You see how well “MAGA” instilled pride in white people? Well let’s appeal to them by taking that pride away. That should work, huh?”
And that’s the logic they followed.
But the good guys weren’t deterred by that futile gesture. They pushed on and outdid themselves. Now, in order to defeat MAGA and its abhorrent politics, they have started to brand themselves as the party supportive of “Democratic Socialism.” Hell, what could be more attractive to voters who need to be convinced that Democrats are better suited to lead America, than to add the word, “Socialism” to their brand? That’ll get all those NASCAR folks waiving the Stars and Stripes won’t it?
This socialist brand is not only politically counterproductive, but also factually ridiculous. It’s as rational to call Bernie Sanders and AOC and Mayor Mamdani “socialists” as it is to call Stephen Miller “saintly”.
Those crazy leftists go so far as to propose public financing of medical care. My God, that would make us just like that Socialist stronghold, Canada.
But, of course, branding is about image not substance, so the abominable brand that the good guys chose will certainly stick, and the bad guys, being much better at this game than the good guys are, have already jumped on this moniker, lying about it, and making it even worse. Now, in MAGA land, Democratic Socialists are communists. Calling Joe McCarthy.
The Democratic Socialists have opened the door to the 1950’s all over again, just like MAGA wants it, and MAGA has marched right through. Great job, good guys.
It’s all about the brand.
We were right 