A “Weird” New Word Might Be Added To The Political Word Game

My first job with a public relations agency was with a political shop, which I joined after several New York City dailies I toiled for went bust. While there, when working on local, statewide and presidential campaigns, I learned important lessons. The most important ones were that being quiet as a mouse meant that the cat will eventually get you and that President Theodore Roosevelt's  "Speak softly but carry a big stick" comment hasn't worked in politics (or in the business world) for many years, if ever. So if you re being mistreated don't be afraid to speak out, but not in the rough and tumble way people in the political world do about their opponents – especially Donald Trump and his lackey JD Vance.

What happened those many years ago during my political agency days is not much different that what is happening on the political scene today: Political opponents defining the opposition by using a time-tested, but often deceitful advertising tactic -- repeating the same thing over and over until naive people believe the message.

The message then and now consisted mainly of two words --"liberal" and "socialist” (“communist” was occasionally used, especially when Joe McCarthy, the witch hunting U.S. Senator, not the same named New York Yankees manager) thought everyone was a communist but himself.

But “liberal” and “socialist” were the primary words Republicans have been using against liberal, middle of the road and conservative Democrats since at least the 1920’s, years before I knew that a donkey and elephant were symbols of the Democrats and Republicans. I always faulted the Democrats for not defending the words "liberal" and fighting back by using worlds like "radical" and "fanatical" to define Republicans candidates, instead of letting Republicans win the word game by default. 

A recent attack word added to the GOP lexicon is "progressive," which became a buzz word after the far left politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was elected to Congress on the Democratic line in 2019. Eventually, several other far-left politicians were elected on the Democratic line. They were known as The Squad, for what reason I don't know. A more accurate nickname would be The Outliers, because of their far left policies, which included many anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic statements.  

Democratic leaders made it clear that while The Squad supports many of the "liberal" polices of the Democratic Party, the party does not support what the socialist Squad wants. And neither do most Democratic voters, liberal, middle of the road or conservative ones. In my opinion, that's good for the Democratic Party, and more important, good for America.

Unlike the Republicans who spoke out against the extreme views and behavior of some GOP House members and removed them from committees, the Democratic leadership, probably because of their slim majorities in the House and Senate – which isn’t an excuse in my opinion, even though my political viewpoints are left of center – have been as quiet as a mouse about the continual anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements from some members of The Squad, who  accuse Israel of "genocide and ethnic cleansing" because the Jewish state  had the nerve of defending itself after being viciously attacked almost a year ago by various Palestinian groups and their non-Palestinians allies, who still say their mission is to wipe Israel from the face of the Earth, a position that members of The Squad have remained silent about. 

But luckily for the Democrats, the general public and most Americans do not agree with the radical agenda of The Squad. Liberal statewide office holders have primaried and defeated two prominent Squad member of Congress -- Rep. Cori Bush and Rep. Jammal Bowman. (I personally know some politically liberal unaffiliated voters who contributed to AIPAC for the first time and changed their registration from independent to Democrat just so they could vote against Bowman when he lost the primary to Westchester County Executive George Latimer.)

I'd be willing to bet my 500,00 acre farm against a glass of cold tap water on a hot day that the words "liberal," socialist"  and "communist" will be used by Republicans against Democrats throughout this election. Trump is doing so, which means his sheep and lackey Veep running mate will follow.

Oops. Don’t go away. I have to take this phone call. “What? I won my bet. Donald Trump has called Kamala Harris a communist," a tactic that has not helped Republicans win elections for decades.

But now the Democrats have added a new word to the political word game. It's “weird," that vice -presidential candidate Tim Walz has used to describe the team of Trump and JDVance. It seems to have caught on, perhaps because it's new and people are tired of the old attacks words. But the old attack words by the former president and convicted felon will still be used by Mr. Trump, because you can't teach an old dog new tricks, as the ancient adage says, and Mr. Trump, at 78-years-old, is not a happy puppy. Instead his words are more like the growls of an old demented dog.

The Democratic candidate for vice president Tim Walz is a former teacher, who comes from a family of teachers, most of whom married other teachers. So "weird" might not be the only new word he introduces to the political word game. 

Some media watchers say that “weird” is not the first new word to be added to the political dictionary in 2024. Technically they are correct. But it is the first new world said by a candidate. During this election cycle “felon” was added on May 30, when president Trump was convicted of falsifying business records. 

The convicted felon is scheduled to be sentenced on September 18. Will “jail” be the newest word added to the political dictionary, or will it more likely be “suspended sentence?”

No matter what the sentence is Mr. Trump will claim that he is the subject of a witch hunt, a phrase that correctly applies to women. In his case, he should say that he is the victim of a “warlock hunt.” “Warlock” is a word that applies to a male witch who is a "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver,” a perfect description of Mr. Trump.

PR people should remember: You might be the best wordsmith at your shop, but journalists will not be convinced by your exceptional writing skill.  Everything you write or say to them must be followed by actual facts, not made up ones like Donald Trump uses.