After Thanksgiving, we’re all stuffed…enjoy a bite-sized BIMBO Memo this month!
THE WINNER
“We’re not some demonic cult like we’re portrayed to be,” said Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., when commenting on his recent 20-point loss to Republican Tommy Tuberville. (Jones described his frustration with the Democratic Party’s struggle to fully counter Republican narratives and lines of attack saying, “I was fighting the same battle that Jaime Harrison was fighting, that Mike Espy was fighting, that Cal Cunningham was fighting, that Steve Bullock was fighting. And Democrats have not been able to fully counter the Republican narrative.” This was a classic BIMBO comment and a prime example of what not to say. Predictably, Jones’ comment became the headline.)
Politico, “‘We’re not some demonic cult’: Democrats fume over faulty messaging,” Nov. 10, 2020
THE RUNNER-UP
“Like, we’re really actually not criminals,” was the defense made by a White House official declining to explain the details of the Trump Administration’s compliance with the Presidential Records Act. (This law, passed after President Nixon lost or destroyed the infamous White House tapes that led to his demise, requires a sitting president to preserve and, ultimately, make public all records relating to the performance of his or her official duties. However, because there is no real mechanism to enforce the law, a president’s compliance with it relies on good-faith efforts. Each president is able to determine for him or herself what constitutes a presidential record. Specifically, the reporter pressed the official on whether or not anything was deleted from the National Security Council’s system in which some transcripts of President Trump’s calls with foreign leaders were reportedly hidden. Like so many examples, the White House official’s initial quote, “We preserve everything we have to preserve,” was fine, but the official’s subsequent denial of criminality destroyed the credibility of the explanation.)
Politico, “Biden may have trouble unearthing Trump’s national security secrets,” Nov. 9, 2020
THE POWER OF A WORD
William Faulkner famously said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” An Ellis County constable, the only Black, county-wide elected official, found himself assigned to share an office in the courthouse basement after a vote on an office relocation plan. To add insult to injury, the word “negroes” remained painted on a wall in a stairwell outside this office. The sign was uncovered two decades ago during courthouse renovations and is a relic of the segregation era. The good news is that Constable Curtis Polk Jr. and Ellis County Judge Todd Little quickly reached a resolution—the sign was covered up, and its permanent fate will be decided later by the county’s historical commission. Polk was then assigned a private office previously reserved for Judge Little.
The Dallas Morning News, “Ellis County constable whose office was moved near segregation-era ‘negroes’ sign is getting a new space,” Nov. 18, 2020
WRONG THING TO SAY
President Trump’s lawyers appeared to back off the claim that Republican ballot monitors in Pennsylvania had been illegally prohibited from observing ballot canvassing. During a hearing, Federal Judge Paul Diamond, appointed by President George W. Bush, asked one of President Trump’s attorneys if there indeed were observers from the campaign in the room, to which lawyer Jerome Marcus replied, "There's a non-zero number of people in the room." We think that meant yes.
ABC57, “Trump and GOP lawsuits challenging election flail in court,” Nov. 6, 2020
The BIMBO Memo is a reminder not to repeat and deny a negative word because of how the listener hears words. When you repeat and deny a negative word, the listener is likely to overlook the denial and hear the opposite of what the speaker is trying to say. It’s named for the young woman who was caught with a high profile, but alas married man. She held a press conference and announced, “I am not a BIMBO,” thus causing everyone to think she was.
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