The downfall of Bud Light is widely documented and well known. Through transparent virtue-signaling and shameless outreach to the progressive elements in our culture and society, it managed to sever a generations-old relationship with America’s beer drinkers. Who would have believed that a simple promotional campaign using a guy dressed up like a girl would turn blue collar beer drinkers across this nation against a brand that had basically become second nature to a majority of them? And try as they might…and they have tried mighty hard…Bud Light has not been able to repair the damage wrought by this foolish marketing effort. I am rural; I am blue collar; I am a beer drinker; some might call me a deplorable; and I can assure you this: I will never again buy a Bud Light unless I am in a desperate situation and it is the only choice available. And even then…I will probably choose to remain thirsty.
Here’s
the deal. There are actors and actresses
that have pissed me off because of their stupid political statements and
stunts. There are bands and musicians
that take advantage of their celebrity to espouse their personal political
beliefs and most people are offended by it; we don’t go to concerts to be
lectured. There are elite athletes who
confuse their physical ability with innate wisdom and are sometimes
insufferable. Perhaps I am weak and
malleable, but I always seem to come back to the movie or the music because it
is just…so…damn…good. Somehow, I am able
to separate (perhaps rationalize?)
the performance from the politics because I realize how shallow, privileged,
and uninformed these people are. I can
forgive their ego indulgences for the value of the product they produce.
I
am a NASCAR and NFL fan; those organizations have sold a big chunk of their
souls to the progressive urges that have permeated our country over the last
few year. I step away in disgust over
these actions and displays of fawning and catering; but I always come back
because the management of the
organization does not match the substance
of the organization. Most of the drivers
in NASCAR and most of the players in the NFL are not woke; they are blue collar
just like me and are simply pursuing their dreams and ambitions in their own
ways. They want to go to work, focus on
their jobs, and leave the politics out of it.
Amen to that.
But
a talented actor/actress; a gifted band or musician; a professional athlete who
soars above his or her competition…these are unique items on the shelf of things that we, the ultimate consumer,
have a choice to select. If we choose to
cut them off, then we are giving up something that is actually
irreplaceable. Sometimes it does come
down to that. But most times, we
tolerate the madness for the sake of the product. This is where Bud Light screwed up. It is not
unique. It is not special.
Through
a perfect storm of product marketing, consumer tendencies, and many other
intangibles…it became the number one beer in America. But Bud Light forgot that they were not the only affordable beer on
the shelf. They forgot that they
were extremely fortunate to occupy their marketing position. Largely through no fault of their own, they
became the beer du jour for many consumers.
They conflated good fortune with super intelligence and overestimated
their true value. There are many good,
affordable beers that can be chosen as an alternative to Bud Light and when
Anheuser-Busch jumped the woke shark, it severed a connection with its faithful
consumers and opened their eyes to the many alternatives that were
available.
And
even then, Anheuser-Busch thought they were so smart…so slick…that they could double down on their progressive babble
and either convert their rebellious
consumers to their opinions or else count on them overlooking their political adventures. It did not work. In fact, once they realized the
conversion/overlook strategy was inadequate to stem the plunging sales, they
pathetically reached out to celebrities and inauthentic masculine messaging in
an attempt to entice their lost consumers back into the Bud Light tent. Once again…it did not work. The breach…the affront…to their ages-old and
faithful drinkers was so arrogant and presumptuous that it, combined with the
plentiful field of alternatives, resulted in what appears to be irreparable
damage to their brand. The simple truth
is that Bud Light is not that special to begin with.
In
many ways, the path chosen by the Democrat Party to create, manage, mitigate,
aggravate, and recover from their decline that began with the initial
inauguration of Obama as president has eerily mirrored the same path taken by
Anheuser-Busch’s marketing faux pas and attempts to reclaim their Bud Light followers. The Democrat leadership became monolithic in
its policy and ideals. It has allowed
itself to be taken over by a radical element which does not represent the
majority. This mutiny is sufficiently
successful and complete so that the leadership now exists in a political bubble
that is thick and durable. It effectively
insulates itself from the massive disillusionment of its party members.
Instead
of reaching through that bubble to
those party elements that disagree with the leadership, it shuns and seeks to
destroy any voice that deviates from the leadership’s edicts. Magnifying this privileged and egotistical
attitude, they adopt an inexplicably-irrational resistance to all things Donald
Trump; resulting in a political knee-jerk reaction to essential political
issues that interest the American public.
Oftentimes, this knee-jerk reaction is on the wrong side of an 80/20
policy. If Trump or the Republicans support it, then it must be bad and it must
be resisted. The net effect is that
they are not for anything; they are
simply against most everything.
Both
of our reigning political parties have leadership issues. The Republican Party…overall…has a blind
loyalty to Donald Trump that overlooks and forgives serious character flaws and
ego-driven political actions. But the
simple truth is that there exists within the Republican Party a small sliver of
moderate party members. The strength,
vitality, persistence, and tolerance
of this element within the Republican Party effectively pull it towards the
middle when the policy cake is baked.
The
Democrat Party’s leadership has become so exclusive and powerful…so hell-bent
on what they perceive as their own infallibility in all things, that they have
essentially eliminated any voice of dissent or moderation within their own
party. The result is that while the
Republican Party veers to the right extreme of the policy spectrum but gets
tugged back to the center by its moderates…the Democrat Party has no such governor
on its ideals and policies; allowing itself to freely slide out to the very
extreme left on most issues.
Consider
the issues that are foremost in the minds of the American citizenry: taxing,
spending, deportation of illegal immigrants, law and order, our local/national
education structure, trans foolishness, international free trade, the use and
state of our military capacity, international diplomacy, the madness that is
called Diversity/Equity/Inclusiveness, the simple concept of peace through
strength, the common sense of America first with adequate consideration and
compassion for regulated entry into our citizenship, and the basic premise of
shrinking the federal government and redeeming the philosophy of states’ rights
through the concept of federalism. Donald
Trump has chosen the common-sense political
side on most of these issues that is backed by an overwhelming majority of the
voting public.
The
Democrat Party knows this; they undoubtedly have the resources to gauge the
state of the voting public and get a feel for the political environment. But what do they do? They inexplicably continue to shun the voices
within their own party that want to pull them back to the center. They vilify any voice…within or outside of their own party…that dares to disagree with
their party leadership, and they blindly drive off the progressive cliff fueled
by arrogance, privilege, power, greed, money, influence, and bald-faced
ambition.
I
was raised as a conservative Republican, but have been a registered Independent
for the last fifteen years or so. I grew
up in a time when Kentucky was a blue state dominated and controlled by what
were called Blue Dog Democrats. These Democrats were the ones who elected
Bill Clinton and cheered when he had the good, common-sense in his second term
to move to the middle with Newt Gingrich and actually balance the federal budget. Today, Kentucky is a reliably red state with
the strange exception of preferring Democrat governors. The continued movement of the Democrat Party
to the extreme left has cost them the support of life-long Kentucky democrats https://nypost.com/2025/05/30/us-news/kentucky-senate-democrat-switches-parties-to-gop-in-major-blow-to-dem-gov-andy-beshear/
.
Just
as the Democrats have ignored John Fetterman, Harold Ford Jr., Josh Shapiro, and
the few other brave Democrat souls who dare speak out against their party’s
leadership…they have also abandoned their loyal members across rural America by
their dramatic and ideological shift to urban-centric and progressive policy
ideals. I have neighbors who are
generational Democrats…who would vote for
a dog versus a good man as long as the dog was a Democrat…who are now
embarrassed by their party. They don’t
want to talk politics. For a while, I
think they simply chose not to vote instead of voting for a Republican. Lately, I think they have broken over and pulled
that lever for the red team…although they would never admit it. At first, they hid their disillusionment with
their own party by attacking all things Trump.
Now…even that is wearing thin
and they are slowly…but surely…warming
up to the practical policy ideals of Trump.
We need a vibrant and healthy
two-party system in our government. Whether it be Republican or Democrat
Administrations: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I fear the autocratic tendencies of Donald
Trump and suspect that he has not yet
fully appreciated the fundamental differences between the private sector and
the public sector. Unlike the corporate
world or the commercial universe…for our government to constitutionally
function, it must have bi-partisan interaction.
The blind opposition of the Democrat Party to Donald Trump simply feeds
and supports his dismissal of them and their political input. They are nourishing their own demise and irrelevance.
The
Democrat Party has lost itself and has given over to radical and nonsensical
leadership that does not reflect the policy desires of most Americans. It is on the verge of making the same mistake
as Anheuser-Busch. Its recent efforts to
rethink its messaging, its masculine image, its coolness, and its general
profile are simply desperate and lame.
Consider: https://amgreatness.com/2025/05/31/democrats-and-men/
and https://www.facebook.com/reel/1363141734692240
.
Just
as I could easily switch from Bud Light to Coors, a moderate Democrat can
easily switch to Independent or Republican.
The Democrat Party is not unique. It does not possess that rare musical talent
of the Dixie Chicks or the acting ability of Robert DeNiro. If it fails to burst the ideological bubble
that surrounds its current leadership and reach out to find moderate leadership
for itself, it runs the very real risk of estranging a huge portion of its loyal
membership and losing them to the viable, political alternatives that are
actively pursuing their support.
= = = = = = = = = = =
The
Supreme Court of the United States is the ultimate arbiter of constitutional
law in America. They have been out to
lunch. It is time for SCOTUS to step up,
speak up, grow a spine, and lay down some law.
https://nypost.com/2025/05/26/opinion/courts-infected-by-injunctivitis-tempt-trumps-defiance/
https://amgreatness.com/2025/05/25/due-process/
The
Trump Administration is spoiling for a fight with America’s premier Ivy League
university. For whatever reason, Trump
has decided to take on Harvard in the opening round of his quest to put some
common sense back into our national education system; but there are many more
opposing teams on this playing field. This
is going to be a battle royal.
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/harvard-is-illegitimate-a-reply-to-steven-pinker/
https://amgreatness.com/2025/05/28/americas-dead-ed/
https://www.commentary.org/articles/noam-blum/covid-school-closures-david-zweig/
I
am not sure what Trump is up to with his handling of the Ukraine War. One thing is obvious: It was not as simple to
end as he thought it would be. How long
will he dally with Putin and what is the next move when his patience runs
out? Iran, Gaza, China, India/Pakistan …
choose your global conflict. Foreign
affairs are on the buffet table.
https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/war-ukraine-russia/2025/05/28/id/1212593/
https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/days-not-weeks-israels-imminent-attack-on-iranian-nuclear-sites
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21644/iran-death-to-america
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21650/two-state-solution
A good man in the right place at
the right time: https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/05/a-word-from-secretary-rubio.php#google_vignette
The
credibility of the mainstream media is gone.
No one trusts them, they continually embarrass themselves with their
partisan TDS rants, and they have given up on trying to project any semblance
of professionalism, ethical reporting, or objectivity. They are so far out of sync with the majority
of Americans that they might as well get in a room and simply talk to
themselves… Wait! That is precisely what they do.
Consider the way things are…
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/poll-right-track-50-percent/2025/05/27/id/1212576/
https://mrctv.org/blog/charles-kohlhaas/reorganizing-world
Now consider the way the mainstream
media presents it…
https://mrctv.org/blog/craig-bannister/lesley-stahl-its-hopeless-i-dont-see-path-out
Only
in the progressive liberal universe of the mainstream media are things today
worse than they have been over the four years of the Biden Administration.
https://amgreatness.com/2025/05/24/joe-biden-the-mainstream-media-and-the-republic-we-couldnt-keep/
The
housecleaning at the Department of Justice is apparently well underway. The FBI is as good a place as any to begin
the process.
https://amgreatness.com/2025/05/19/the-fbi-washington-headquarters-wont-be-missed/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14760053/FBI-director-Kash-Patel-January-6-findings.html
Some
quick hits on the way out…
The federal budget prospects:
https://www.city-journal.org/article/house-republicans-big-beautifull-bill-budget-spending-cuts
Could America learn some
responsible budget lessons from Denmark? https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/23/business/denmark-retirement-age-rise-70-intl-scli
Republicans in Kentucky could be
lining up a great replacement for Mitch McConnell’s Senate seat:
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/05/scott-jennings-uncut.php
