'Let's go, Brandon' is much more than a cheesy nickname for Biden
In a recent Salon article, Matthew Rozsa attempted to fold "Let's go, Brandon," into the long history of "insulting presidential nicknames." Aside from telling the risible falsehood that NBC's Kelli Stavast mistook a quite clear chant of "F--- Joe Biden" for "Let's Go, Brandon," Rozsa would have us believe that this is just another derogatory insult directed solely at the president, irrespective of what he stood for. That seriously underestimates the broad reach of that slogan, born from a desperately unhappy year for Americans.
In fact, "Let's go, Brandon" and its predecessor chant, "F--- Joe Biden," are directed to the core of D.C.'s central control of most everything that's gone wrong since January 20, 2021: inflation, regulation, taxes, debt, government policy failure, COVID mandates, wide-open borders, abortion, the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, Critical Race Theory, trans/gay this and that, and all the other assaults on America, both large and small. It's America's response to pervasive D.C. control.
You really can't say "F--- Joe Biden" very effectively outside a sports stadium. But the euphemism that one hapless NBC reporter created while she was trying to protect Joe Biden is classic. It fills a vacuum, and it has long legs. It isn't going away.
Why is the slogan so powerful? Partly, it's powerful, as noted above, because it's a reaction to Biden's "central government gone wild," with all the inevitable terrible results. The other reason is that it's slipped loose from Democrat control over American institutions. Hollywood, the media, and the political class — all leftist dominated — can't stop it.
Image by Andrea Widburg.
When I place my three-inch sticker with Joe smiling, pointing, and saying "I did that!" next to the price on the gasoline pump, I have a feeling of Americanism surge through my body. When I put the larger "Let's Go Brandon" sticker wherever I wish, I feel I have struck a blow for America as a constitutional republic.
It's possible that other, similar slogans will suddenly appear, for these powerful populist phrases are an American phenomenon. Whether they will be as strong as Brandon remains to be seen.
In addition to a good slogan, there are (thankfully) numerous other impediments to the D.C. control of everything down to the size of the handle on your commode. The economy will strike back. Constitutional lawyers and judges will make an impact. Independents may see the light. RINOs may be cast out. Even some Democrats may reform or be soundly defeated. All is not lost in America, and Brandon has come to our aid in our time of grave need.
When you frame "Let's go, Brandon" in this way, it seems very much like a somewhat dystopian, 21st-century version of "I like Ike." While Irving Berlin coined that slogan for Eisenhower's 1952 campaign, it too encompassed a whole set of values greater than a single person, for it spoke of optimism, prosperity, national security, and moving away from decades of Depression and war. Let's Go Brandon isn't about Biden; it's the people's cry about the failure of an entire administration.
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