Who told Joe Biden that yelling, lecturing and threatening were effective communication tools?
By Gary Abernathy
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Biden needs to drop being the Lecturer-in-Chief
No one ever accused Joe Biden of challenging Ronald Reagan for the title of “The Great Communicator,” but through the years Biden has seemed to do okay in the realm of speech making, or during interviews. Where did that guy go?
Ever since assuming the presidency, every time Biden addresses the country it could be introduced by an announcer saying, “And now, Joe Biden yells at America.” Not only does he yell at us, he lectures us, too.
Now, you may be among those who think America needs yelled at or lectured. But even when the country needs it, every effective communicator in the world understands that those things never work. People don’t respond positively to being yelled at, lectured or belittled. Jimmy Carter didn’t yell, but he often lectured, admonished and blamed Americans, and we know how that presidency ended.
And when Biden said last week, discussing unvaccinated Americans, “We've been patient, but our patience is wearing thin,” it sounded like a threat — another tactic that never works, and one that does more harm than good. Who’s “we?” His administration? The ruling class? Blue America? It was a poor choice of words.
Biden’s mandates — which are as yet undefined and will very possibly be unconstitutional — perhaps reveal that Biden indeed has a bullying, authoritarian streak. Maybe his public remarks, rather than just being examples of poor communication skills, actually reflect who he really is.
But if he wants to start changing the minds of people who disagree with him on covid or any other issue, someone needs to tell him that his approach isn’t working. Americans don’t respond well to a Lecturer-in-Chief.
Bad blood between Bush, Trump on display Saturday
A lot of Republican establishment figures have long had no use for Donald Trump. The Republican Party belonged to them lock, stock and barrel before Trump came along and made it his own. And countless of those old school Republicans were connected to the Bush family, not hard to understand when you consider that the father and son combo of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush — aka “41” and “43” — served as president for a combined 12 years, their administrations separated only by the presidency of Bill Clinton. That’s a lot of time to appoint, employ and empower a lot of Republicans, and build a lot of loyalty.
As you recall, 2016 was supposed to be Jeb Bush’s turn. He had the endorsements and the money — money raised from countless GOP donors who were lining up for Jeb. But then along comes Trump to crash the party and turn the political world on its head. Not only did Trump interrupt the continuation of the Bush dynasty, he also managed to regularly insult the Bushes.
I’ve always had a lot of respect for the Bush family. My one-shot personal encounters with them — which started with Prescott Bush Jr. (brother of “41”) in the early 1980s to Jeb at the GOP convention of 2000 to George and Barbara at a fundraiser in 2004 — have always left a good impression, one of dealing with genuinely nice, down-to-earth people despite their status and wealth.
So when W used the opportunity on Saturday to commemorate 9/11 by making comparisons to the Jan. 6 incursion of the U.S. Capitol, I saw it as both a sincere belief that it’s reasonable to equate 9/11 and Jan. 6 as attacks on our democracy — one from outside, one from within (a sentiment with which I agreed in a Washington Post column last month) — as well as a chance to take a shot at Trump, who broke up the Bush dynasty and insulted them along the way.
Hoppy Kercheval invited me on his show on WVMetroNews Monday morning to discuss Bush’s remarks, and you can listen by clicking above.
Another sign that the end is near
Actress Rose McGowan — who is always, well, interesting — on Monday endorsed Republican Larry Elder for governor of California against Democrat Gavin Newsom in the recall election that’s wrapping up today.
According to the Los Angeles Times:
McGowan, a vociferous personality in the #MeToo movement and a longtime listener of the Republican frontrunner’s show, appeared Sunday in Brentwood at a campaign rally for gubernatorial hopeful Elder. She claimed that Newsom’s wife allegedly tried to bribe her to “suppress” McGowan’s allegations against convicted movie mogul Harvey Weinstein in 2017.
The alignment of the duo of Larry Elder and Rose McGowan is another sign that the end times are near.
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Very strange duo - Elder & McGowan!
You’ve got it lecturer-in-chief! SMH we are not your kids!