I watched an interview of the author of What the Fon Smerconish, a news show that airs on CNN Saturday mornings. Leading up to the interview, a video was shown of supporters of Illinois’ Lt. Governor, Juliana Stratton, who is running for Illinois Senator in the upcoming midterm election. The video was an ad the Lt. Governor was running, which consisted of about a half dozen people saying, F Trump. So the ad was mostly F Trump, F Trump, F Trump. The conversation between Michael Smerconish, host of the show, and the author, was whether the ad was effective. The author, Benjamin Bergen, who is Professor of Cognitive Science, UC San Diego, said that type of ad may be effective for someone who supports Stratton or her policies, but probably not for someone with different views. The f-word was bleeped out, so for me, it lacked the punch I think they were going for. When asked what cussing does to people, the Professor responded that it causes adrenalin to be released and that people are more tolerant of pain, a kind of fight or flight response. I’m not sure I buy that, because in my case, if I use the f word, I’m pretty mad about something, I don’t use the word casually. So before I say the f-word, adrenalin is probably already flowing. For me it’s adrenalin first, f-word next. The author also said that some people believe another person is being honest if they react to a situation by cussing. Maybe that’s what the ad was shooting for, but he also said that if the cussing appears to be planned and not authentic, it probably won’t have the same impact. It didn’t have a positive effect on me at all. In fact, it reminded me of many other comments I have heard from Democrat politicians who bash Trump but don’t tell me how they are going to do things better. I want to hear their policies. How are they going to make things more affordable? Are they going to keep our borders secure? What are their plans for healthcare? Do they support forever wars? Do they support a pathway to citizenship, or a pathway to legal status for immigrants? Do they support the concept of DOGE, finding fraud and waste? Is there solution raising taxes? And so on. I’ve heard enough of Trump bashing, that only tells me that person doesn’t like Trump and/or his policies. That line of politicking has gotten old for me. I want to know a politicians policies and plans for the future.
Last year a poll showed that 43% of people polled identified as independents, and just recently that number is now 44%, leaving the rest, around 28% each, identifying as a democrat or republican. Which means, anybody running for office is going to have to appeal to at least some independents if they want to win. I’m an independent and simply calling Trump names won’t win this independent over.
I’m not sure if I gained any useful knowledge from listening to Professor Bergen talk about the benefits of cussing or using foul language, other than I might be more tolerant to pain. Should I start cussing when I’m about to get a flu shot? How would that work at the dentist when it’s almost impossible to talk with your mouth wide open? I don’t mean to belittle the professor’s work or his book. Maybe if I took the time to read the whole book it may turn out to be useful, or at least entertaining.
The main point I’m trying to make is, if either a democrat or republican is running for office, and all members of their party vote along party lines, and if they get half of the independents to vote for them, they will be at 50% of the votes, probably not enough to win. 28% plus half of 44%, which is 22%, equals a total of 50%. It’s the independents who are the swing votes. This isn’t rocket science, but I haven’t seen either party embrace this idea and target independents. Preaching to the choir probably won’t be enough. And my other point is, basing strategy and ads on hate and anger and name calling probably won’t get my vote, and I wonder how many other independents feel similarly to me?
