DNC Chairman Tom Perez’s new habit of peppering public speeches with swear words is drawing criticism from more than just Republicans.
While some say it’s uncouth, others have argued it’s hypocritical after Perez’s party routinely condemned President Trump’s crude language on the campaign trail.
Sure, it may be hypocritical, but it isn’t stupid.
In defending his coarse language Perez explained, “I grew up in Buffalo. We’re a blunt community. We tell it like it is. I think folks want to hear the straight skinny; they don’t want double-talk.”
In the wake of Trump’s victory in November, Democrats seem to be realizing that their more sterile or polished rhetoric has not been resonating with people in the interior of the country. Perez’s answer to that question indicates his decision to start sounding more Trump-like. His swearing in public speeches may be a calculated part of his efforts to reach out to voters.
Last June, believe it or not, Time published a research-based analysis of Trump’s swearing. The author explained:
Studies have shown that people who swear are more likely to be believed. In 2005, Dutch psychologists found that legal depositions containing swearwords were thought to be more credible than those without. Italian researchers investigated the effect of swearing in political campaigns, when Beppe Grillo—a comedian turned political activist known for his embrace of bad language—led his party to unexpected electoral success in 2013. These psychologists had study participants read political blog posts with and without obscenities, and found that people had more favorable impressions of—and would be more likely to vote for—the cursing candidates.
Because swear words are connected to the brain’s limbic system, “When we hear people swear,” the Time article stated, “we often assume that their words spring from a deep well of real feeling.”
“‘I believe that strategic carpet bombing of selected targets in Syria is the best option’ comes from the head; ‘We’re gonna knock the shit out of ISIS’ comes from the heart—or at least appears to,” the author wrote.
Camille Paglia made the same observation recently, commenting at a New York Times event last week, “The way [Trump] talks is genuinely non-elitist.”
For all the speculation, it seems more likely than not that Perez’s newly-discovered penchant for public swearing is nothing less than a veiled attempt to appeal to the working class voters his party is losing to Republicans.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
