One sure sign that you're about to disrespect someone is to preface your comment with "I don't mean any disrespect." This is a close relative of "with all due respect"—I'm about to show you minimal, if any, respect—and a first cousin of "no offense." No one in the history of the English language, from Beowulf to Lil Pump, has ever said "no offense" and followed it with an inoffensive comment. It's like a neon sign blinking, "Offensive Comment Arriving Now." These intros are some weird combination of self-absolution, verbal tic, and winking barb.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

We were treated to an example of primarily the latter Wednesday night at a rally of Great American Patriots Who Are Down With Other Countries Meddling in American Elections If They Back the Right Guy. The Donald Trump rally was in Louisiana, on the home turf of the Duck Dynasty guys—who made an appearance—and United States Senator John Kennedy was invited. The Republican bills himself as a no-frills, common-sense type who's just trying to make sense of the highfalutin activities in Washington on behalf of the everyman back home. Sometimes, it's led him to actual common sense—like when he voted to defend net neutrality. But in this political age, you can only keep the 'R' next to your name for so long until you are forced to embrace—or do so gleefully—the aesthetics of Donald Trump, American president. Kennedy was proof of that last night.

"I don’t mean any disrespect," the senator said, referring to the Speaker of the House, "but it must suck to be that dumb."

This is remarkable for a number of reasons. First of all, Kennedy deployed the "I don't mean any disrespect" in textbook fashion. Secondly, it's a perfect illustration of how, in the Age of Trump, The Base now demands the performance of bludgeoning the various Enemies. At every one of these traveling arena shows, there's a list of heels that folks on stage are expected to mention and bash until the crowd can join in with lusty boos and, possibly, a chant demanding extrajudicial punishment. Kennedy is well aware that if he sticks to talking about the tax cut or gutting Obamacare, it's no longer enough. People want a show—the uglier the better, in order to reinforce who's Us and who's Them.

And then there's the third reason: this is completely absurd. The left may think Nancy Pelosi is too reliable a friend to entrenched corporate power. The right may think she's a San Francisco Commie. But nobody can seriously contend she is an unintelligent person, particularly when it comes to navigating political disputes and the parliamentary machinations of Congress. Chuck Schumer is routinely outmaneuvered in the upper chamber, where Mitch McConnell can command a similar kind of respect as Pelosi might—as a master operator. But the way Pelosi wipes the floor with Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on a routine basis—not to mention the way she will, without fail, get what she wants out of White House summits with El Jefe—indicates that, while you might not like her end goals, she is very adept at reaching them.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Then again, this is the same Kennedy who called four sitting members of Congress "wackjobs" who are "the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse," then made a complete ass of himself trying to defend the comments on CNN the next day, so what do you expect. The point is not to make arguments that your policy platform is superior to the other party's in order to win majority support. It's not even to criticize your opponents based on their political choices. If you are a Republican in the Year of Our Lord 2019, you are required to bludgeon the Enemies. Whatever you must say to do so, regardless of facts or reason or basic decency, will suffice. As a reward, you get to feel the roar of the crowd.

Oh, and remember this the next time we hear all the whining about how people booed the president at a sporting event.