Grift;
engage in petty or small-scale swindling.
Swindling what?
Money? For sure.
Reputation? Trying to rehabilitate themselves for what they helped foist upon the rest of us.
It’s not just the above named group, there are several former or current Republican groups expressing their displeasure with Trump. Altogether that’s not a bad thing. But they are trying to do it without accepting responsibility for Trump’s presence.
I’ve participated in spreading the “ads” of many of these groups as have many of us here, but I do it knowing that these people were/are part of what got us here. I put ads in quotation marks because with only a few exceptions these aren’t really ads, they’re videos. Videos meant to be shared, to become viral. Ads by most any standard definition or understanding are paid content as in someone purchases airtime on a program and runs the video. Making a video without purchasing airtime is just making a video.
The people who need to see these videos aren’t doing what you and I are doing right now. They’re doing what they always do whether there’s a Presidential campaign or not. Or, they’re watching Fox News. If these groups want to really have an impact they should be purchasing some airtime on Fox News or the Sinclair Broadcasting channels. Ads are meant to influence, put them where they have a chance to influence.
Without purchasing airtime to show these ads and only using social media (without purchasing ad space there either), the only people they’re trying to influence are Democratic/Progressive activists. Which begs the question, why? We know how horrendous Donald Trump is. We don’t need them to tell us. So why are you spending the effort? We know he’s an existential threat not only to the U.S. but the world. So what are you trying to tell us? Maybe you want us to forget your past transgressions. If you want forgiveness, you have to admit what you did. If you want forgiveness you have to ask for it. Out loud. With contrition in you heart and your voice. Otherwise you’re just running another con. Grifting us. Grifting us for our forgiveness (and money).
