Beto O 'Rourke can he swear relevance?

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"When the candidates say," At least Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell pretend to be interested, ***, that's not enough, "said the former Texas Congressman and aspiring to 2020 wrote on Twitter Sunday. "Polls do not test your message either Armed violence is a vital or deadly issue, and we must represent the bold ideas of the people of the entire country."

This comment is difficult to understand for a group of oaths by O. Rourke as a result of a series of massive shootings in recent months.

Following the assassination of more than 20 people in El Paso during a seemingly hate-motivated shooting of Hispanics, a reporter asked O & # Rourke he thought that President Donald Trump assumed some responsibility for these deaths. And he said this:

"What do you think of it?" You know the bullshit he said, he called the Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals, I mean members of the press.

Then, after another mass shot in west Texas, O 'Rourke doubled:

"I do not know how many armed men or how many people were shot," he told a crowd in Virginia. "I do not know how many people were killed, the condition of those who survived, I do not know what the motivation is, I do not know the guns that were used, or how they were acquired. But we know it's screwed up. "

And in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash the next day, O & # Rourke started again. "A hundred killed every day in the United States of America.We record an average of 300 mass shots a year, no other country comes close to us, so yes, we are screwed in the air" said O & # 39; Rourke.

O 'Rourke's blasphemy was so pronounced that before the third Democratic presidential debate in Houston last week at ABC, ABC and the Democratic National Committee sent an e-mail to the 10 candidates and their campaigns with a simple message: Do not curse.

"We will not broadcast any message, so there will be no possibility to remove foul language," reads in the e-mail. "Candidates must therefore avoid curses and swearing in accordance with federal law and FCC guidelines." (O & # 39; Rourke managed not to swear during the debate.)

While Beto seems to be leading the accursed charge, he is far from alone. President Trump himself regularly assumes the word "bullsh **" in his campaign speech.

Since taking office, Trump has been derisively referring to immigrants from El Salvador and Africa from the "most difficult countries". And let's not forget how Trump described his own behavior during an interview with "Access Hollywood" in 2005, which appeared in the final days of the 2016 race.
(Sidebar: Trump often challenges the profane use of his political opponents and allies.) Trump called the model Chrissy Teigen "musician John Legend". "woman with dirty mouth" on Twitter in September. In July 2019, Trump tweeted: "This should be a vote on the foul language, the statements and lies told by the Democratic women of Congress, which I truly believe, based on their actions, hate our country." You had the idea.)
In fact, according to GovPredict, a public affairs firm swearing all politicians – presidential candidates or not – has skyrocketed in 2019. Since September, legislators have sworn – and I do not mean "damn" – more 1,900 times on Twitter so far this year. It's almost 10 times more curses than the 193 GovPredict counted by lawmakers in 2016.

So, why all these profanations?

I have two theories.

1) The 2016 campaign and Trump's victory have fully marked the era of the reality TV of American politics. Politicians have been swearing in camera since, well, we had politics. A notable exception? George Washington. The first president established a "general order" during the independence war, condemning "the insane and perverse practice of swearing and swearing profane".

But what Trump did, is take private personalities from politicians and make them public. He has managed to be exactly what you are at all times. And that includes cursing!

2) It is difficult to break into this political climate. One of the last tools a politician has to do it is to curse. Because people are – still – so used to hearing politicians talk, they tend to sit and pay attention so they do not do it differently.

Swearing is also perceived as a genuine expression of emotion – a goal sought by all politicians of our time. Imagine O 'Rourke saying, after the last mass shoot, "it's wasted." Not exactly the same power, right?

What O 'Rourke is trying to do by leaning into his curse – not to mention his support for a mandatory buy-back program for the AR-15s and the AK-47s – is a very clear signal that on this issue, the status quo is not enough anymore. Adopting new policies or offering hope and prayers, or even condemning opponents to increased gun control by using traditional and accepted political rhetoric, is not appropriate for the depth, breadth and seriousness that the scourge of mass shooting poses our culture.

Will it work? Honestly, who the hell knows?

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