Theories

  1. Its literally just because Hillary Clinton sucks so hard and people didnt want to hear that shit from her
  2. Deplorables is too much of a vocabulary word, weird is a word everyone knows. So deplorable just comes off more elitist, from a woman who is already seen that way. To quote a friend I asked "I think deplorable has a negative connotation that speaks to core personhood, in a way that comes off as both mean spirited and elitist"
  3. The GOP hadnt gotten unhinged enough yet, so America wasnt ready for a campaign that is dismissive of them and still expected bipartisan respect and shit, but are now because the "weird" shit is so out there all the time
  4. "Weird" is simply a more effective word to describe the situation at hand
  5. Deplorables would have worked fine with the young people who can vote now but couldnt in 2008.
  6. Kamala and especially Walz are better representations of "not weird" than Hillary was a representation of "not deplorable".
  7. "Weird" hits them harder, insults them worse, and thus makes them spiral more in a way deplorable didnt
  8. Deplorable would have worked fine if it wasnt just a one off comment but a sustained campaign message (this one im thinking probably not)
  9. The Vance effect, he's just that weird.
  10. People who are tired of Democrats being respectful like weird a lot
  • LocalOaf [they/them, ze/hir]
    ·
    3 months ago

    All good, but 2, 7, 9, and 10 ring really true. (Long ass effort post reply)

    spoiler

    I think (generic Dem that's less wooden than Hillary) probably could've landed the equivalent of the "deplorable" thing better in 2016 by just calling them despicable or disgusting, something that comes off less like "I'm 60 something and remember my SAT score exactly" and message in boosting shit like the shirtless chud screaming at the Univision (Telemundo? don't remember which) reporter "build that wall and make a taco for me" like frothing at the mouth and roid raging and having the candidate stay on the message of "hey fuck these guys, and fuck Trump for riling them up and then pretending he doesn't know anything about it or tacitly approving of it."

    7 and 9 are both really strong points in the libs' favor, being called "deplorable" by Hillary fuckin' Clinton of all people let them spin and embrace that and made them giddy to get to play the heel and wear it as a badge of honor among their fellow shitheads. Being called "weird" just points out that they're gross deranged creeps instead of being marginalized antiheroes in their own minds. Reactionaries by and large can't stand being belittled or mocked instead of being treated as "serious threats with dangerous ideas." Bullying works. Their ideology fixates on social cohesion and violently upholding rigid norms, so being called freaks and being excommunicated from "polite society" by "normal libs" really hits a nerve for them.

    9 is pretty self evident, Vance was grown in a lab by Peter Thiel and is a step removed from being that Molyneux guy talking about Taylor Swift's precious declining Aryan egg count or talking about phrenology. Him being in group chats with underage groyper neofash 4chan boys could really flip the "groomer" shit on chuds if libs had the guts to go there.

    10 is big too, after eight years of Trump thrashing through every "sir have you no decency" norm and every "ah well nevertheless" legal scandal, a lot of regular lib voters are sick of milquetoast DNC messaging and want them to get mean and go on the attack. Even a weak gesture towards taking the gloves off from them like calling fascists "weird" energizes that part of the Democrats' base a lot, especially after them being near catatonic about their chances after Biden's debate and Trump almost dying and just getting a wittle booboo and a great PR picture out of it. Trump's shot himself in the foot constantly since the assassination attempt and seems completely out of juice, while the Dem ticket seems spry and energetic compared to Trump and the shambling corpse of Biden they were previously trying to get excited about.