My Fox-watching father-in-law took up the chant in July at my dinner table:
Rew Dee! Rew Dee! Rew Dee! Rew Dee!
I said to myself: Just wait until the Republican National Convention. You're gonna get real sick of hearing Ruuu Deee. Ruuu Deee. Ruuu Deee. Ruuu Deee.
That's when I realized that every time anyone calls Rudolph by the nickname Rudy, Rudolph gets a nice boost of brand reinforcement.
"Rudy" may sounds silly to his political opponents, but it sounds endearing to his political fans.
Earlier today, in a comment on a kos diary, I bluntly proposed we call Rudolph by his real name.
Here's why:
-- It diminishes his brand-building efforts.
-- It might make Fox-based voters realize Rudolph has something to hide: a communist-sounding name!
-- Or is it a fascist-sounding name?
The post in question was video of a MoveOn retaliation ad aimed at Rudolph, but the attack ad made a tactical mistake, in my judgment, by calling Rudolph by his brand name rather than by his real name.
Every time we call him Rudy, we add value to Rudolph's campaign. And Fox is already doing an excellent job of reinforcing Rudolph's campaign. I know because my f-i-l was extraordinarily well-versed on Rudolph's talking points and Hillary-hitting comparisons with Rudolph.
Of course, plenty of genteel Democrats don't think we should call Rudolph Rudolph. That's just not very grown up, I guess.
we're playing that game again?
It was childish with "Felix" and it's childish here.
People should be called whatever they want to be called. In this case, the man has chosen Rudy.
This isn't an appeal to playground tactics. This is an appeal to counter marketing. Rudolph is branding himself as Rudy. We shouldn't help.
Should we?