15 January, 2020
At least I didn’t think so. I didn’t intend it to be.
I was looking for a transcendental phenomenological description of contemporaneous political appeal. Just as “Quisling” now includes non-Swedish traitors, and “Fredo” refers to more than just Italian supernumeraries, I thought that “Gaybama” was just as portable.
What do I know?
Imagine a candidate who not only satisfies your orthodox Democrat criteria, but is also an “X.” You may not be an “X” yourself, but you’re also no bigot. “X”-ness won’t stop your vote. In fact, it’s an additional appeal – you could be a part of the historic movement that put the first “X” into the Whitehouse. How cool is that?
Now, for “X” substitute the words “Person of Gender™” or “Cool Black Guy™.” By 2008 I realized that, after generations of dragging their stupid bigotry in the mud, most of America had finally caught up to me and decided that neither a vagina nor a permanent tan should be considered automatic DISqualifications for the Presidency. Unfortunately (for me and humanity) that particular “PoG” and that particular “CBG” were orthodox Democrats, and therefore unworthy of my vote. Nevertheless, Cool Black Guy won his race — a signal cultural triumph AND a painful political disaster. In so doing, like Fredo Corleone and Vidkun Quisling, he has stamped his name onto a broader generic concept.
I still don’t care how Squeaky Pete™ (“Gaybama”) might swing his wing wang, but I’m confident that thousands of Americans do. I expect that their concerns will move a great many more of them to vote FER’im than AGIN’im, just as the original “Obama’s” electoral “defect” worked more in his favor than not.
Many of the chattering chooms on teevee have referred to Squeaky Pete as “the next ‘Obama’,” yet delicately decline to explicate his appealing cache. I thought that “Gaybama” nailed it, without rancor or revile. It is a convenient political portmanteau that betrays neither judgment nor condemnation.
Or it is homophobic and racist.
predate 200110 (Clowns in Conflict): “Alfred E. Neuman will never be President of the United States,” says President Ronald McDonald.
update 210307: Despite his political shortcomings (according to Cool Black Guy™ himself: “He’s thirty-eight, but he looks thirty… He’s gay. And he’s short.“) Former Vice President Biden and President Select Harris have appointed him to their cabinet, so these so called shortcomings are more likely political assets at this point.