Zorn: Sofa so good for the rollout of the Harris campaign

The veep has changed the conversation about the presidential election

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Eric Zorn is a former opinion columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Find a longer bio and contact information here. This issue exceeds in size the maximum length for a standard email. To read the entire issue in your browser, click on the headline link above. Paid subscribers receive each Picayune Plus in their email inbox each Tuesday, are part of our civil and productive commenting community and enjoy the sublime satisfaction of supporting this enterprise.

Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. I talk with WGN-AM 720 host John Williams about what’s making news and likely to be grist for the PS mill. The WGN listen-live link is here.

Mid-summer break

I’m in the middle of a three week vacation period so posting will be lighter than usual.

And dots the way it is …

Friday I sent this email to Chicago Tribune editor Mitch Pugh, along with a similar letter to Sun-Times editor Jennifer Kho and, since she is on vacation, the deputies her out-of-office reply directed me to:

I've noticed that the Tribune, like nearly every other news organization, is going along with JD Vance's preference not to use initials (as in J.D. Vance).   In a story about that this week, the AP noted  "The AP, whose industry-standard AP Stylebook advises to generally call people by the name they prefer, honors his request to go by JD with no periods."

   So why does the Tribune continue to refer to Gov. Pritzker as J.B. when he has clearly expressed a preference for JB -- no initials?

No answer. But I did hear back from Tribune Editorial Page editor Chris Jones when I sent him this query:

Blame AP for no-initial JD Vance. I guess J.B. was already settled lore!  I don't like no periods, frankly. But I guess there is a political payoff in terms of approachability or whatever. I honestly think it was all about timing; AP has become a lot more "let the people decide" over the years.

When I was at the paper, editors told me that the style was to refer to people how they wished to be referred tov— hence the ridiculous practice of writing “Illinois House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch” even though I’ve never heard anyone in real life refer to him as Emanuel. He reportedly prefers the formality, so we in the media defer to him.

Fine. But consistency demands writers use JB.

Let’s settee this once and for all: No. JD Vance did not write that he had pleasured himself with a couch

A social media wag was just trying to be funny recently when he posted that JD Vance had admitted in his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy” that as a youth he had masturbated between couch cushions. He even cited the page numbers where Vance told this story — 179- 181. A few people may have believed it at first, but it wasn’t at all true. The citation was false and the story was quickly and widely debunked.

The Associated Press posted a fact-check headlined, “No, JD Vance did not have sex with a couch,” but then withdrew it, for reasons that are unclear, though it’s common for news organizations to print nothing about baseless rumors because even in refuting them you give them oxygen.

The fact checks there and at Snopes.com didn’t stop social media from exploding with JD/couch jokes:

• What’s JD Vance’s favorite city in Iowa? Davenport.

• When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the cushion. You can do anything.

• When I get that feeling I want sectional healing

• I don’t really care what JD Vance did or didn’t do. I just hope it was a committed relationship with furniture and not one nightstand.

• The reason you find coins between sofa cushions is because JD Vance always leaves a tip.

• JD sure is homophobic for a man who’s bisectional.

One that was at once particularly funny and particularly alarming was this Artificial Intelligence-generated “interview” between Lara Trump and Vance. The lip-syncing is clumsy enough in places that any careful viewer can tell it’s fake, but in many other places the lip-syncing is eerily good, and it augurs the day not far off when a fake video on a topic far less silly could end up amplifying a damaging falsehood about a politician or celebrity.

I’m not the first to say this, but I repeat it often: Democracy itself depends on the ability of the public to tell truth from lies. Even without AI we are dangerously close to a political arena in which partisan hacks are able to spread lies easily and cheerfully.

Meanwhile, at Slate, Luke Winkie writes, “

When the false reports about JD Vance masturbating with couch pillows started to circulate, it was the only time Vance appeared even mildly relatable to me since he secured the V.P. slot. Seriously. … Yes, it is objectively hysterical to imagine such an imperious self-proclaimed striver being reduced to a state of frantic sexual desperation, but my God, at least I can identify with that plight. Reminiscing on the bizarre ventures of pubescent horniness is a universal rite. It is empathetic. It’s human! It’s, dare I say it, charming. It is evidence that you have lived a life, and are beholden to all varieties of vulnerabilities and instincts. That you know how weird it is to be a preteen, how confusing sexuality is when it decides to rear its head.

The mockery itself is unlikely to change any votes, but it’s part of a pattern we’re seeing where the Democrats have emerged in the past week from the defensive, dispirited crouch they were in while President Joe Biden was still their nominee. There is now a lightness among Democratic voters, a sense of being on offense and having seized the momentum from MAGA nation.

In “Trump just had his worst week ever,” at The Bulwark, A.B. Stoddard writes;

Within days, the vice president had captivated the nation, united her party, upended the campaign, raised record sums, tied up the race in polling, and seen a bounce in her favorability ratings.

In the same stretch of time Trump had backed out of a debate, watched JD Vance become a meme, fielded concerns about what a failure it was to pick Vance, and seen his own approval rating erode under Harris’s attacks.

Democratic surrogates and online critics have gleefully adopted the adjective “weird” to describe Republicans, which prompted one former presidential hopeful to launch this desperate post:

Trump’s entire campaign these days seems to be dumb, juvenile crap-slinging name calling, but whatever.

The Associated Press reports

(A) wide swath of voters who were disillusioned or dissatisfied with having to choose between the same two men who waged a bitter national fight four years ago … are expressing a renewed interest in the campaign and are eager to see Harris take on the Democratic Party mantle in place of Biden.

Harris’ favorability rating is rising and she appears to be closing if not eliminating the gap between her and Trump in key battleground states.

Harris still trails in Arizona by 5 percentage points but now appears to be within striking distance in Georgia.

Notes and comments from readers — lightly edited — along with my responses

The ShotSpotter controversy

David Leitschuh — Thank you for the very informative and interesting discussion on the ShotSpotter system. If you examine where the opposition to ShotSpotter comes from, it is the hard left, and it’s not a coincidence that this is the defund-the-police crowd. They are ideologically opposed to policing, and they are reflexively opposed to any type of tool that aids policing, such as ShotSpotter, police canines, drones and mounted patrols.

Thus far it is very apparent that Chicago Mayor Johnson is controlled by his former employers at the Chicago Teachers Union and by his hard left progressive base. It would be much better governance if he would listen to the alderpersons in the high-crime wards who are begging to continue ShotSpotter, saying it results in quicker emergency response for the victims of gunfire if nothing else. But, thus far in his mayorship, Johnson seems to value ideology and ideological solidarity the most, and that is sad.

Garry Spelled Correctly — The CWBChicago news site has been reporting favorable stories about ShotSpotter, including “Cops responding to ShotSpotter alert arrived so quickly, they saw the gunman drive away, officials say.”

Zorn—-I am hoping to post a response to that podcast transcript from StopShotSpotter, but the folks I’ve been in touch with have not yet been cooperative. Meanwhile, I was disappointed to see the local GoodKidsMadCity anti-violence organization posting with the hashtag #AbolishThePolice.

Why Kamala?

Randy Curwen — Republicans complain that Kamala Harris was a “diversity, equity and inclusion” pick for vice president four years ago. But nearly every vice presidential candidate for the last 200 or so years has been a DEI choice to some extent. Except we used to call it “balancing the ticket.”

Zorn — There are some exceptions I can think of. Bill Clinton, a young white male presidential candidate from Arkansas in 1992, chose Al Gore, a young white male running mate from Tennessee. And I gotta say JD Vance does little to balance the 2024 Republican ticket, though I suppose you could argue that he helps Donald Trump get extra votes (he probably won’t need) in Ohio.

Kumba-ya or Kumba-nah?

This internet meme and the poll I conducted about it drew a divided response.

I was in the disagree camp, but here are some other views:

Jenni Roberts — I do love and respect and vehemently disagree with my dad. For the past 35 years we have shared very few views and are frequently polar opposites. But love should transcend politics. He uses very different sources than I do for information, and if we can’t agree on a reliable source how do we manage to have a basic understanding of a different viewpoint? But I’ll always love my dad.

Skeptic — Before love and respect there has to be understanding. There are a lot of reasons why someone might have preferred Trump over a Democratic nominee. Some of those reasons are based on good intentions. It is also possible that things you find repulsive about Trump are what his voters find attractive about him. (NOTE: Skeptic writes to say that I inaccurately paraphrased him, for which I apologize: I wrote "It is also possible that things you find repulsive about Trump find a shared sentiment with many Trump voters". That is terrible phrasing. I meant that your repulsion of some of Trumps attributes is a sentiment shared by many Trump voters. That is, they agree with you.”)

Zorn — Apologies for the inaccurate paraphrase

Ken Bissett — I have a friend who is an ardent Trump supporter. We get along fine and in many cases agree not to discuss politics. We’ve had too many good times to let this get between us. The far right has used divisiveness as a way to power. I refuse to let them win.

Marc Martinez — The quote in that meme refers to friendship, not acquaintance-ship. I have only a few people that I would call friends. There are many reasons that they are friends, including trust, confidence, and the knowledge that I could call on them if I was in need. I accept them as they are, as they accept me. It would take a major sin to break that bond, and supporting the wrong candidate does not rise to that level. I try to keep an open mind; understand their reasoning and I try not to judge others for their opinions.

Marty G. — We can stay away from friends or acquaintances with whom we have strong differences, but family is forever. I will lose respect for and see family members differently over politics, but walk away from them? I won't do that. To me, that's letting Trump or Trumpism get too far into my head.

Jake H. —Trump support makes me angry too, makes me mutter to myself or indulge in expressions of disgust among the like-minded. And yet, I find that such feelings tend to vanish in the face of one-on-one interaction with the contemptible creatures themselves, when one is overwhelmed by the specificity of the other person and all their aspects that make them friends or beloved family members in the first place. Sure, contempt feels great — it's self-congratulatory, it makes you feel superior. But bridging divides or even just putting them aside feels better. And, if what you care about is the future of the republic, bridging divides is the far worthier and far more beneficial aim. After all, disowning friends and family over politics isn't going to convince them they're wrong. It's going to do just the opposite — prove to them that they're right.

One could even argue that this attitude, increasingly held by both sides of the political divide, is absolute poison and a greater threat to our "fundamental civic character" than Trumpism itself.

D. Dale Walker — At a basic level I agree about respecting people who differ in politics. But then what is the nature of the disagreement? Keynesian economics? Aspects of a social safety net? National defense? Estate tax? Foreign policy? I can see reasonable disagreements. But there are limits. You want to persecute LGBTQIA persons? I have no respect for that position. You want women having a difficult pregnancy to suffer? No respect. No compassion for rape and incest? No respect. You want to exploit any economic opportunity that presents itself with no regard for consequences? No respect. Wipe out species? No respect. Cut down centuries-old trees? No respect. Don't want to lift millions of children out of poverty? No respect. Don't want to fund schools for black children? No respect. And all my Christian friends who vote for a total dirt-bag? Deep sadness and no respect. But often these are co-workers, so we still have to get along. I may question their moral compass, but I still have to be civil and collegial. And family is family. My mom watches Fox, and I hold my tongue. I love her dearly. Life is complicated.

Mark K. — In normal times political differences were really more like Coke v. Pepsi. But not these days. I can't be friends with someone who can overlook how Trump mocked a disabled reporter, how he disparages women, demonizes immigrants (of whom I am one), etc. The policies he and his party promote have caused real suffering to real people. Refusing to normalize the MAGA views is not similar to starting a religious war, it's more similar to trying to stop one. This sounds a bit like the Tolerance paradox - if as a society we are forced to tolerate hateful and intolerant views as valid opinions, ultimately the intolerant will come to dominate.

Mark Jacob — I reconnected with my old college roommate a few years ago, and he told me he was a Trump supporter. I told him that was a dealbreaker for me because Trump wanted to become a dictator and steal my grandchildren's ability to thrive in a free country. I wasn't exaggerating. Those are exactly the stakes.

Bob Ryan — I wrote off a long-time friend during the run-up to the 2016 Trump win. He was so vehemently against everything the Democrats wanted that all we did was argue. I finally walked when I realized that our principles were so disparate that I couldn’t separate the man from his principles. I can disagree about how to address some issues, but the divide became the Grand Canyon. Pretty sad

C Pittman — I certainly disagree with many of the Democratic and left leaning policies and I understand many different views on issues, but the whole Trump thing is far beyond policies. I remain shocked that so many Americans and people I thought were "nice, normal, and intelligent" could support someone to lead our country and represent the U.S. to the world that is so openly mean, hateful, misogynistic, racist and crooked! It must be how the Germans came to accept Hitler, including all the atrocities of the Holocaust.

DanFred — I cannot love or respect hardcore MAGA followers. Anyone who believes the last election was stolen from Trump is too delusional and dangerous to spend time with. Ditto anyone who believes the events of January 6 were anything but an insurrection and an attempt to steal an election, doesn't believe in democracy, in our republic and is a traitor — and why would I want to spend time with them.

The week’s best visual jokes

In the spirit of summer reruns. I’m posting here some of the best visual jokes from the early days of this feature, which started in late 2021:

Vote for your favorite. I’ll share the winner in Thursday’s main edition.

There’s still time to vote in the conventional Quip of the Week poll!

Why the new name for this feature? See “I’m rebranding ‘Tweet of the Week’ in a gesture of contempt for Elon Musk.”

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