• JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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    6 months ago

    It’s not that revisionist. I definitely remember “have a beer with him” being said.

    In retrospect it was probably a phrase coined by the media to lure the lowest common denominator to GW. But it worked and it stuck.

    Lin Manuel made a reference to this in “The election of 1800” in Hamilton:

    Talk less! (Burr!)
    Smile more! (Burr!)
    Don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for! (Burr!)
    Shake hands with him! (Burr!)
    Charm her! (Burr!)
    It’s 1800; ladies, tell your husbands, vote for Burr! (Burr!)

    I don’t like Adams!
    Well, he’s gonna lose, that’s just defeatist
    And Jefferson?
    In love with France!
    Yeah, he’s so elitist!
    I like that Aaron Burr!
    I can’t believe we’re here with him!
    He seems approachable?
    Like you could grab a beer with him

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      I remember the “have a beer with him,” too. But that wasn’t why people voted for Bush instead of Gore. Conservatices voted for the conaervative candidate. Moderates split their vote because both sides the same. Progressives didn’t vote, or voted for Nader, because they didn’t have a candidate.

      Surely some moderates voted for the guy they wanted to hang out, but that’s not why Gore lost.