Who is competing in JD Vance’s Dipshit Olympics?
Gavin Newsom in the mix, Kash Patel is a fixture ... maybe I’ll throw my hat in
As soon as I heard Matthew McConaughey say “I’m more of a poet-philosopher” than a politician on “The Megyn Kelly Show” yesterday … I knew something had upset the balance. At the very least, the comment section was littered with gratitude that he will not be running for governor of Texas.
I remember when I thought every post for this project was going to be a deep-tissue massaging of my comedic writing skills. In reality (where I reside on occasion), I should’ve recognized that there are weekly shootings to cover. But this is America, so people always get their jokes off anyway.
Below you can find: how both sides took on the ICE shooting, Jacks Posobiec & Cocchiarella, Davids Rubin & Pakman, and much much more.
FROM THE RIGHT WING:
PIN THE TAIL ON THE DONKEY: “This dude might as well have been an NPR reporter” — in a world where words don’t have meaning, sure! The first line of offense on the right was that the Dallas ICE shooter was, say it with me, a radical leftist member of Antifa. The second line of offense conveniently overlooked or all out excluded the law enforcement update that Jahn was determined to be unaffiliated with any group. But creators1 instantly united around a figure to blame. Who else but “the devil incarnate” himself, fresh off his anti-authoritarian advocacy on Colbert: Gavin Newsom.
DETAIL THERAPY: I kept seeing and hearing this acronym in response to Kimmel’s return, especially from podcast host Jack Posobiec: “Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender — DARVO playbook.” I consulted my therapist who pointed me to an explainer on how narcissists utilize this tactic when people try to hold them accountable. Kimmel’s tears and his dodging of the specific word “sorry” played to the conservative crowd as self-victimization. We’ll see if this therapyspeak sticks.
THE DEPARTURE LOUNGE: Dems may hate to see them go, but MAGA loves to watch them leave. There’s literally no way I could give you an accurate estimate of the amount of “I’m leaving the left” videos with 100k+ views I’ve seen in the past week. Here’s a 40-minute compilation of them. Videos recapping the exodus videos. Videos advising people thinking about making exodus videos. FWIW, most of them are women or people of color.
FROM THE LEFT WING:
BEFORE THE INK DRIES: Liberals continue to pull the skeptic card. Their first line of offense: “Immigrants were killed by a white guy” and we’re supposed to believe he’s a leftist? YouTube streamer Vaush pushed that the shooting was a “false flag” or “psyop” (got a little confused between the two)2. Ken Klippenstein published another shooter-in-his-friends-words profile. But for the left, the pen remains mightier than the sword. No one — like actually no one — is believing the “anti-ICE” writing on the bullet.
UNORGANIZED CHAOS: Both Jack Cocchiarella and Farron Cousins called Republicans bitches in their YouTube videos about the looming government shutdown. Adam Kinzinger put out an explainer of how this shitshow tends to go. This is an indication to me that liberal creators are finally starting to think about messaging in the BC period instead of AD (you know, when it’s too late). But I can’t say I’m seeing a united front — between going after leadership for pre-caving, attacking the GOP for cowardice, or debating whether Dems should even shut it down at all.
UNSETTLED LAW: On the theme of liberals growing increasingly conspiratorial, 7 months ago, David Pakman posted a video entertaining election denial claims. But those claims weren’t enough to sell him. This week, he brings on a statistician from the “Election Truth Alliance” to share heat maps that apparently reveal that there was ballot stuffing or switching in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. I’m not sold.
THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE:
A DUNK CONTEST: Start talking with your doctors about what precautions you need to take in preparation for how ridiculous the 2028 election is gonna be. JD Vance called Pod Save’s Jon Favs a “dipshit” and told Gavin Newsom to go to hell. So Newsom tweeted “I certainly feel like I’m already there” listening to Vance speak. Might I interest you boys in a hobby?
OLD DOG, NEW TRICKS: A moment to feel the Bern. Sanders’ social strategy is leveling up once again. He hit 1M subscribers on YouTube and raked in almost 5M views in the past month. And it’s not just his own content — the team is making really smart choices on what content they say yes to.
PUTTING THE BIBLE DOWN: Oklahoma’s superintendent — the one with all the Trump bibles — is stepping down so he can “destroy the teachers unions.” Good luck, babe!
LOOSE ENDS:
📝 Word I learned today: stochastic
1 : random, specifically : involving a random variable — “Much like “fascism” has forever threatened to descend upon America but somehow always and only lands in Europe, so too does the stochastic terrorism predicted by the left seem to really affect only themselves” (via Jeffrey Blehar, National Review)
📰 Something you should read today: The 22 Very Online Upstarts Changing the Face of Politics — WIRED (why am I not included!!!)
🕵️ Someone you should know today: AdviceFromLouis … I am obsessed. There’s not much advice happening here — he started as a fitness creator and has slowly gotten into political commentary. But these face-to-cam explainers of current events are so creative and make me truly lol.
🥹 Something to make you smile today: Immediately enters the pantheon of best Seth Meyers Day Drinking videos, after Rihanna (drunkest Seth has ever been) and Julia Louis Dreyfus. Bowen and Matt forever.
Stephen Miller, Benny Jonson, Riley Gaines, Steven Crowder, James Woods, Mark Morse, Dave Rubin, Ben Shapiro, Ruthless Podcast, Adam Carolla … is that enough?
https://www.britannica.com/topic/false-flag