The Story Behind the GOP's Latest Beef
The GOP's latest criticism of Joe Biden is both incredibly dumb and smart politics
I’m Michael A. Cohen, and this is Truth and Consequences: A no-holds-barred look at the absurdities, hypocrisies, and surreality of American politics. If someone sent you this email - or you are a free subscriber - and you’d like to subscribe: you can sign up here.
What’s Going On?
I’m just going to leave this here:
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took a major step on Tuesday toward coaxing Americans into a post-pandemic world, relaxing the rules on mask wearing outdoors (italics added) as coronavirus cases recede and people increasingly chafe against restrictions.
The mask guidance is modest and carefully written: Americans who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus no longer need to wear a mask outdoors while walking, running, hiking or biking alone, or when in small gatherings, including with members of their own households. Masks are still necessary in crowded outdoor venues like sports stadiums, the C.D.C. said.”
During the pandemic, I found walking to be one of the best exercises for losing weight and staying in shape. Indeed, I didn’t put on the dreaded COVID 15 (lbs, that is) until the winter, and I stopped getting out as much. So this piece in GQ promoting the virtues of walking really resonated with me.
If only there were a simple “black and white” explanation for why Americans see Joe Biden as more progressive than Barack Obama.
The NRA’s Wayne LaPierre is a bad shot and a horrible person.
Great Mark Leibovich profile of the flailing House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy.
Progress in developing a vaccine against malaria is gathering steam. If successful, it has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives.
Rudy Guiliani is in trouble.
Happy Ed Balls Day!
“Know Your Audience”
As a young speechwriter, the first lesson you are taught is “know your audience.” In simple terms, that means write a set of remarks that your audience actually wants to hear. If your principal is speaking to a meeting of small businessman … don’t talk about housing. If the event is a human rights conference … don’t write about tax policy.
I bring this up because “knowing your audience” is the single best explanation for why the Republican Party is currently talking about meat.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with what I am referring to … I am deeply envious. In recent days, a bizarre lie has taken root in the conservative fever swamp: President Biden, as part of his strategy for fighting climate change, wants to stop Americans from eating meat.
The story originated in a Daily Mail article titled, “How Biden’s climate plan could limit you to eat just one burger a MONTH.” The article cited a University of Michigan study, which found that if Americans were to eat less meat, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Daily Mail then baselessly suggested that the four-pound restriction could become a requirement if Biden is to meet his climate change plans.
Quite obviously, this is ridiculous - and no clear-headed and rational person would ever believe that President Biden would try to forbid Americans from eating meat.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the modern Republican Party (from the Washington Post).
“Larry Kudlow, a former top economic adviser to Trump, warned on his Fox Business show Friday that Americans would have to forgo meat on the Fourth of July if Biden gets his way.
“You got that? No burgers on July Fourth. No steaks on the barbie. I’m sure middle America is just going to love that. Can you grill those Brussels sprouts?” Kudlow said. “So get ready: You can throw back a plant-based beer with your grilled Brussels sprouts and wave your American flag. Call it July Fourth green.”
Several Fox News hosts also picked up the false claim. The network even ran an “Up In Your Grill” graphic, featuring a burger on one side and several false claims about Biden’s climate plan on the other, including, “Cut 90% of red meat from diet,” and “One burger per month.”
Burger-gate kept spreading through the weekend. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) dubbed Biden “The Hamburglar,” while Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) tweeted that Biden should “stay out of my kitchen.” Donald Trump Jr. retweeted the Fox News graphic, writing, “I’m pretty sure I ate 4 pounds of red meat yesterday. That’s going to be a hard NO from me.” And on Sunday, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) tweeted that “Not only does Emperor Biden not want us to celebrate the 4th of July, now he doesn’t want us to have a burger on that day either.”
Both Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Idaho Gov. Brad Little shared the Fox News graphic on Twitter, with Abbott proclaiming, “Not gonna happen in Texas!” and Little writing, “Idahoans also have beef with this agenda and for dinner!”
Haley, meanwhile, retweeted a meme that her Stand For America political action committee pushed out, featuring Texas’s iconic “Come and Take It” flag, now repurposed to show a burger dripping cheese instead of the cannon. “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought this was America,” read the caption on the group’s tweet.
I’m fairly confident that Nikki Haley, Greg Abbott, and Larry Kudlow know that Joe Biden is not about to stop Americans from eating meat (I’m less sure about Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and Madison Cawthorn). What they definitely know is that this is precisely the kind of off-the-wall, fact-free, conspiratorial notion that appeals directly to Republican voters.
In short, they know their audience. This is why, with 100 days of Joe Biden’s presidency in the books, Republicans have failed so miserably to negatively define his administration, except to their own voters. It’s not simply that he is boring … though that’s part of it. It’s not just that Bidens’s policies are relatively popular … though they clearly are. It’s that the GOP’s focus is on placating its Trump-loving, Democratic-hating base, and the messages that appeal best to that group of voters are ones about canceling Dr. Seuss and ludicrous suggestions that Democrats want to take away your meat.
It’s certainly possible that Republicans could attack Biden for the usual sins of Democratic politicians: trying to spend too much, raise taxes too high, and be too radical or socialist. And certainly, that’s been part of the criticism of his administration. But these haven’t caught on the same way that GOP attacks on cultural issues have appealed to Republican voters. It creates a bit of dilemma for Republicans: focus more on the former, and the GOP might be able to win over a few middle-of-the-road voters turned off by Donald Trump and the party’s turn toward political extremism, but not necessarily on board with Biden’s progressive agenda. But ignore the latter, and it risks keeping the Republican base less enthusiastic about hating Biden and less angry about politics in general. Since Republicans know their audience (or voters), they know what they want to hear - and it’s not complaints about the deficit getting bigger.
For most Republican politicians, the base is all that matters. If they are House members, those are the voters who put them in office last November. For Senators up for reelection in 2022, their path to victory is paved with rabid GOP voters.
Consider the case of Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, the only Republican incumbent up for reelection in a state won by Joe Biden last November. While it’s still not clear if Johnson intends to run again, he’s spent the first 100 days of Biden’s term spouting conspiracy theories, playing down the January 6 insurrection, and publicly questioning whether people need to get vaccinated. If Johnson runs for reelection, he’s clearly made the political calculation that he has more to gain by playing to the far right than he does by moderating his image.
This is what makes any Republican effort to moderate the party’s politics basically impossible. It’s far easier and effective for Republicans to play to the conservative fever swamp with asinine suggestions that Joe Biden wants to take away people’s hamburgers than it is to try and persuade non-Republican voters to abandon the president. And for most Republican politicians in ruby-red districts and states - or those intent on winning over GOP primary voters in 2024 - it’s the far smarter political strategy. Republican politicians might act pretty stupid, but they’re not dumb. They know what resonates with Republican voters, and they have every incentive to, um, keep feeding them red meat (sorry, but you knew this was coming). To normal, rational Americans, the GOP’s fixation with Biden’s alleged meat-stealing strategy makes no sense. The problem is if you’re a rational Republican politician intent on winning reelection, you need to keep your base of supporters in a perpetual mode of anger, aggrievement, and resentment. From that perspective, talking about Biden’s alleged meat thievery plans makes perfect sense.
Correction
Last week, a reader wrote to me complaining about my reference to 16-year old Ma’Khia Bryant, who was shot by police in Columbus, Ohio, as a Black woman. She noted that “16-year old" and "woman" do not go in the same sentence.”
This is correct. I should have referred to Bryant as a girl. I have corrected the mistake.
Today In History
April 28 is the 232nd anniversary of the mutiny on the British ship Bounty, led by Fletcher Christian. Here’s a fascinating article I tracked down about the mutiny and eventual settlement by the mutineers of Pitcairn Island.
Here’s a longer Vanity Fair piece about the allegations of sexual predation and assault that rocked the tiny society.
Musical Interlude
I don’t know many good songs about mutinies, but I think this will work.
One Clash song deserves another.
This will always be my favorite one of their tunes.