I have some experience with this phenomenon. I inadvertently turned the tables on Obama and the Left by ridiculing them in this cartoon from 2011. The response was amazing and ferocious. Ridicule, especially in the electronic media, is the exclusive domain of the Left. How dare I make fun of Obama and the Left on YouTube and have it go viral!
I doubt Clint Eastwood intentionally borrowed a page from the Left's tactical bible. In "Rules for Radicals", Saul Alinsky states:
Rule 5: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It’s hard to counterattack ridicule, and it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.I have no way of knowing if Mr. Eastwood ever read that rule. That's not important. The undeniable fact is that he somehow understands it. That anyone on the Right does not get this after all these years is beyond disappointing.
The reality is, Clint Eastwood's bumbling razor-sharp improv will be watched by millions of independent voters over the next few weeks and that is pure genius. He has gotten under the Left's skin like no politician ever could. He made my day.
This is the video that went viral for me:
Here is the Eastwood improv in case you missed it:
