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DumpsterFire45’s cyberhandle pretty much gives it away.
‘Dear liberal Twitter, I am a white male in a red rural area of a red southern state. I wear wrangler pants from Walmart to work, I drive a 4×4, I own a firearm.’
In other words, he explains, he’s just like the typical Trump supporter that he comes across in his everyday life — except for one thing: He’s a fiscally conservative and socially liberal Democrat.
From there, DumpsterFire45 launched into a viral tweetstorm based on seven insights he has gleaned on the ground — rather than, say, in a roadside diner with a cable-news camera — in MAGA country.
Here’s a breakdown:
1. The talking points are all-pervasive: “Decades of faux and talk radio in combination with conservative social media have ingrained right wing talking points into even casual viewers. It’s everywhere. On every TV at the doctors office. In every gym. On every radio. Everywhere.”
2. Right-wing views are rarely questioned in public: “Even the folks that are starting to (only just now) realize that something is ‘wrong’ about Individual-1 are actively shamed if they question [President Trump’s] actions openly.”
3. Potential Democratic voters are swayed culturally: “I’m sorry. I don’t like it either and I wish it wasn’t so. But if everyone around you is claiming that the dems are out to destroy the country … it’s a goddamn stretch just to vote blue. And if done, will mostly be done in secret to avoid ridicule.”
4. It’s still about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton: “They can’t get past it. These folks are so radicalized against Obama, he is literally seen as a usurper and foreign agent that took the presidency with the help of the deep state (Hillary) and tried to bring down democracy.”
5. Those willing to change must be convinced: “We want them and we need them. If crossing over will result in more shame folks will stay where they are. We can teach them all about embracing progressive values after we get em. … Wars are won one battle at a time. We need to take any victory we can get.”
6. Democrats need to embrace reality: “I’m uninsured right now and it’s scary. I can’t afford the [Affordable Care Act’s] marketplace and I’m cash-n-carry at the doctors office. I want a progressive. Badly. But if a centrist gets the nomination I’m all in. This is about democracy.”
7. Maybe it’s better we don’t get our top pick: “Twitter is not our country, and we have to accept that. Not everyone has the same understandings we do and we all still need each other to stay intact as a democracy. Vote for the dem that can win and encourage/help others to do the same.”
DumpsterFire45’s thread rapidly drew tens of thousands of likes, shares and comments, most of them, like this one, cheering his observations:
To be fair, when it comes to grabbing media attention, the I-am-the-exception formula seems to work on both sides of the aisle.
Just ask Bryan Dean Wright, the prolific “I’m a Democrat, but …” guy, who, as you can see from this tweet, appears to be a regular on Fox News.
