As Twitchy reported last week, the media came up with a new variation on "Republicans pounce." Ben Panko said that "the Arlington GOP is really going to milk their brief moment of relevance here" after a racist sign was held up at a Winsom Earle-Sears rally. It turns out that the woman who made the sign was not "nowhere near elected office" … she was a member of "We of Action Virginia, an Indivisible group." The woman was a professional Northern Virginia protester as well as a door-knocker for candidate Abigail Spanberger.
From Sydney Sweeney to the Virginia gubernatorial race, Republicans have repeatedly tried to link Democrats to decisions made and opinions aired by liberals who are nowhere near elected office.https://t.co/hU1zT7xo2W
— Semafor (@semafor) August 25, 2025
David Weigel has written a piece for Semafor answering "why Republicans keep making anonymous liberals a problem for Democrats." Weigel writes:
Throughout the summer, Republican candidates and campaigns have repeatedly tried to link Democrats to decisions made and opinions aired by liberals who are nowhere near elected office. It’s all about capitalizing on the nervousness inside a party that’s increasingly concerned about being viewed by voters as over-educated culture police.
For instance: No Democrat with any power criticized American Eagle for a jeans ad starring the blonde actress Sydney Sweeney, which made a pun about her genes. None endorsed a re-brand by Cracker Barrel, a restaurant chain that hired a new CEO after its stock plunged in 2023. (The Democratic National Committee’s X account, reacting to anger at the re-brand, posted that it “sucks.“)
No Democrat with any power criticized American Eagle, just the entire Democrat base.
Funnily enough, Weigel touched on this same theme last month:
Nice, clinical NYT look at how thin the "Sydney Sweeney ad backlash" was when GOP influencers started hammering it. Just a handful of online weirdos who you would not otherwise use as the basis for a story. https://t.co/5VScmSHVjr
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) August 7, 2025
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When GOP influencers started hammering it? The ad was covered by the Washington Post, Yahoo, The Independent, NBC News, Fox News, Salon, ABC's "Good Morning America," and Newsweek, which gave us the headline, "Sydney Sweeney Fronts Ad Campaign for Jeans — Sparks Debate About Eugenics."
That's the democrat base. That's the term you're grasping for.
— Unplugged (@DeclansWallace) August 25, 2025
You don’t get out much, do you.
— Jon (@Jon097470946325) August 25, 2025
Like this guy who is nowhere near the levers of power… https://t.co/tdt2LK3Jv1
— DW (@vfx_dude) August 25, 2025
Wow... Wait till you hear about what democrats and their press (MSM) have done repeatedly to Republicans.
— 𝐿𝒾𝒻𝑒𝐿𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝒫𝒶𝓉𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓉 (@LL_PATRIOT) August 25, 2025
Democrats have done the same for years.
— Whiskey Insurrectionist (@ldiociesLeftism) August 25, 2025
Yeah, I mean, the Democrats would never try to make, say, I dunno, a bunch of rando assholes in white polo shirts and tiki torches a "problem for Republicans."
— GumSlinger (@GumSlinger) August 25, 2025
You create the social contagion, you get to own it.
— Tennisball (@Michael87718416) August 25, 2025
https://t.co/f5d41uWh4s
— Colonel Bijan Mustardson (@Tittlewk93) August 25, 2025
Just a bunch of "liberals who are nowhere near elected office"
But it’s what they believe, they encourage their supporters. The base is insane and must be placated.
— Rando Piloto (@pilotoincognito) August 25, 2025
So are elected Democrats going to openly, publicly, and explicitly tell left-wing racial activists "no" in order to differentiate themselves from the party's activist wing?
— ∴ Quantum Rift (@quantumdaybreak) August 25, 2025
Or...?
Y’all think this is so clever. Your “elected democrats” exclusively cater to these kooks
— Hugh Jass 🇺🇸 (@HughJass2k24) August 25, 2025
How dare Republicans notice how deranged the average Democrat voter is and call them out!!
— Brock Landers (@Brock_Landers_) August 25, 2025
We didn't notice the racist sign making the Washington Post, Yahoo, The Independent, NBC News, Fox News, Salon, ABC's "Good Morning America," Newsweek, and more.
Maybe if random liberals with hateful ideas didn't make up the Democratic Party's base, there wouldn't be a problem.
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