The estimable Michelle Goldberg, writing in the op-ed page of the New York Times, about right-wing tech bro and GQP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's appeal to the right:
"The question is what Ramaswamy’s supporters see in this irksome figure. Some Republicans, clearly, appreciate the way he sucks up to Donald Trump, whom Ramaswamy has called “the best president of the 21st century.” But that doesn’t explain the roughly 10 percent of Republicans who tell pollsters they’re planning to vote for Ramaswamy instead of Trump. It can’t only be his shtick as Fox News’s “woke and cancel-culture guru,” as one anchor called him, since at this point even the Florida governor Ron DeSantis has learned that railing against wokeness is a losing message. Nor is Ramaswamy’s appeal tailored to the downwardly mobile Trump voters who appreciated the former president’s pledges to protect their entitlements, since Ramaswamy’s promise to “dismantle Lyndon Johnson’s failed ‘Great Society’” makes Paul Ryan look like a social democrat.
Instead, I suspect that Ramaswamy’s fans are drawn to him for all the reasons his critics find him insufferable. Conservatives love being championed by representatives of groups that they think disdain them." (our emphasis)
Think of past candidates for their presidential nomination like Herman "999" Cain, Dr. Ben Carson, and Alan Keyes and you'll see Goldberg's point. It's the political variation of "some of my best friends are black / Jewish / etc." to shield bigots from criticism, especially when the "friends" mimic your views and philosophy. Read her whole column to see how Ramaswamy fits the mold with his obnoxious and opportunistic style.
BONUS: Rapper Eminem tells Rama-smarmy to stop performing his songs at campaign events (as he's pictured above) or face legal action.
