Donald Trump may be a jerk, but he’s a compelling jerk. Jeb Bush may be the closest anyone can come to a rational Republican, but he’s a bore. Understanding this distinction clarifies the Republican primary process, which otherwise might seem even weirder than it is.
Candidates’ behavior on the stump falls into three neat piles: linguistic, paralinguistic, and extra-linguistic. The linguistic behavior is what shows up in the printed transcript of a speech: the words and grammar alone. Paralinguistic behavior is everything else that emanates from the vocal cavity: intonation, pitch, speed, loudness, and more. The extra-linguistic part of a message includes facial expression, gestures, and stance.
Professional commentators see the purely linguistic part of a message as the only important part, the one that is worthy of analysis and comment. There is a good reason for this. It is quotable, while it is often impossible to quote an intonation pattern or a facial expression (we don’t have names for most of these in ordinary language). Without lapsing into turgid academese, it’s hard to talk about them so that your audience knows what you’re talking about and can decide if it agrees with you.
But in fact, it is the unexamined parts of a message that matter the most, even if hearers are unaware of them. Para- and extra-linguistic factors are the carriers of emotion, in contrast to the purely linguistic message, which bears the purely intellectual content (though it also carries emotions). So if a discourse is one in which emotional connection with its audience is of paramount importance, hearers will respond first to the emotional triggers, and then use quotes pulled from the linguistic message to justify their para- and extra-linguistic based responses.
On this analysis an otherwise bewildering primary race begins to make sense, however perversely. Why is Donald Trump so successful, powerful Republicans wonder. Most thoughtful pundits see him, exasperatedly, as a buffoon, a man of no weight and no real accomplishment who has never held public office. How can he be outpolling and outdrawing the party’s presumptive heir, Jeb Bush, who has actually done things and won things? Who appears thoughtful and intelligent, at least in comparison to Trump? Republicans have traditionally been orderly and predictable in selecting their candidates: the choice normally falls on the one whose turn it is, the one with the dynastic history, the familiar and conventional one is the Republican choice. What’s going on here?
Start from the assumption that Americans, especially those apt to be voting Republican, are angry and frightened. They want to hear words that are reassuring and at the same time pugnacious – able to drive the scary things away. In comfortable times, people feel calm and want to hear calm orators telling them that everything is just as OK as it seems. But when frightened and bewildered, they want razzle-dazzle to conceal their terror, and they want big, flamboyant, and strong rhetoric to convince them that the speaker is a manly man who can save them from whatever they need saving from.
That explains something otherwise inexplicable. Voters traditionally hate the flip-flopper (remember how Republican hordes attacked John Kerry in 2004 by waving flip-flop sandals in his face?). But The Donald is the biggest flip-flopper ever. He has changed party affiliations from Democrat to Independent to Republican and back again; he has been pro-choice but is now anti-abortion; he assailed Mitt Romney in 2012 for his suggestion that undocumented immigrants “self-deport,” saying that Romney “has a crazy policy of self deportation which is maniacal,” but Romney’s proposal was far less extreme than the roundup Trump is currently advocating. In the past he heaped praise on Hillary Clinton, calling her the best secretary of state we have ever had; now she is the worst, “a criminal.” He has advocated a single-payer health care plan; now he rejects anything remotely similar, including the ACA. But his supporters don’t care. Why?
Trump rhetorically gives them what they want and more; Bush is incapable of that.
Trump has a loud voice, a confident approach, and stylistic flamboyance; he makes big, exaggerated statements (which, looked at closely, disintegrate into clichés, but no one’s looking closely); he has great variety in his intonation patterns and pitch; he often speaks fast, as if he had too much to say and too little time to say it; his gestures are large, his arms flailing far away from his body; and they are staccato, sharp, and angular. His face is mostly steely and unchanging. His whole message conveys control and machismo: he occupies the entire space allotted to him and goes for more. He is hard and tough. His dress, too, conveys authority and masculinity, a crisp suit, tie, and white shirt: the modern American formal male mode. The very fact that he dresses formally, when so many of his competitors have abandoned the suit and tie, is a gesture of respect for his audience: it says that he takes them seriously. It also reminds them that he is the boss, he is above them, he could fire them if he wished, and he doesn’t care if they know that. Everything he does and says conveys: I don’t care what anyone thinks. I am The Donald. I don’t need to talk down to you, or up to you. You need me. I don’t need you, and I won’t toady to you – or any of the people you fear.
Bush, on the other hand, adopts the standard candidate posture, which makes him invisible. He speaks in a low voice; he slumps a bit; he hedges and stammers. He has very little paralinguistic variety – he speaks in a monotone, ordinarily a male marker but next to Trump’s command of a wide range of options, Bush’s voice lacks authority and gumption. He speaks slowly, as if (in comparison to Trump) he didn’t have much to say and was running out the clock. His gestures are small, within the scope of his body, and they are gentle, round, and flowery: women’s gestures. He wears a pastel shirt and tie, no suit, and after a short time in the hot sun or the hot lights of an auditorium, the shirt starts working free of his pants. He rolls his sleeves up just below the elbow, a motif that has in recent years become part of the politician’s uniform, meant to convey, “ready to get to work.” But precisely because he dresses like a typical twenty-first century politician, in contrast to Trump, his costume marks him as conventional, old, and ho-hum. Moreover, it is not macho at all – it is even somewhat effeminate: fuzzy at the edges. Because it is so conventional, it announces that Bush is not a daring person, not someone we can elect to run great risks to solve our problems for us. He is languid. He is, in fact, a lady.
While stylistically Trump and Bush are very different, in one way they are identical: both are internally consistent – their linguistic, para- and extra- linguistic messages are all in sync. In that respect, Bush could be successful – if Trump were not in the room sucking up all the oxygen. Even if their linguistic messages don’t make much sense, the fact that they are consistent with their para- and extra-linguistics gives them a kind of “rhyme” that transcends any need for “reason.”
And this internal stylistic self-consistency may, for Trump’s supporters, render his flip-flopping innocuous. If he appears consistent, he is consistent. What happened in the past stays in the past.
Moreover, Bush may have begun to make things even worse for himself. Egged on by his team, he has begun hitting back hard at Trump – linguistically. As reported in The New York Times (8/21):
Mr. Bush, contrasting his own background with Mr. Trump’s, offered a machine-gun burst’s worth of differences.
“I cut taxes every year; he’s proposed the largest tax increase in mankind’s history, not just our own country’s history,” Mr. Bush said. “I have been consistently pro-life; he until recently was for partial-birth abortion. I’ve never met a person that actually thought that was a good idea. I believe we need to reform our health care system to make sure we stop the suppression of wages and allow people to have access to insurance; he’s for a single-payer system.”
The danger, for Bush, is that by adopting a hard-edged linguistic style but not changing the rest, he is compromising his one rhetorical strength, consistency: his linguistic message has shifted, but the other two parts remain the same. He will sound confusing and confused to his audiences.
This rhetorical struggle for the hearts and minds of the Republican Party is of both theoretical and political importance. We are witnessing a seismic shift in public self-presentation, offered or thrust upon us, ironically, by a non-politician. You may not like what he says, and still less the way he says it, but – depending on where the Republican nomination finally comes to rest – you may well be witnessing the start of something, as he would say, BIG.
Pingback:
Pingback: credit repair
Pingback: natural therapies
Pingback: successful fitness and diet changes that lead to weight loss
Pingback: practical pet care tips
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: Tomatensuppe von little Lunch
Pingback: A thu Z ebooks for immediate download
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: ingyen tanfolyamok
Pingback: online karate classes
Pingback: have a peek at this site
Pingback: Booking
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: CCTV installer Wolverhampton
Pingback:
Pingback: shop beauty products online
Pingback:
Pingback: metal seated ball valve
Pingback:
Pingback: hp drivers
Pingback: hydroquinone
Pingback: safelist
Pingback: Punjab Government Jobs
Pingback: iphone repair service in london
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: distributor semen indonesia
Pingback: movers in boston
Pingback: Mathematics
Pingback:
Pingback: biohealth nutrition
Pingback: bahis siteleri
Pingback: kona coffee beans
Pingback: 100% pure kona coffee beans
Pingback: miniclip.com
Pingback: miniclip games
Pingback: air swimmers shark
Pingback: cheltenham horse racing
Pingback: bahis siteleri
Pingback: bahis siteleri
Pingback:
Pingback: Donegal Tweed
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: Morgellons Cure
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: imoti
Pingback:
Pingback: PHP script installation service
Pingback: Sandskädda
Pingback: Website99 is a best website designing company in Delhi
Pingback:
Pingback: safety tips for international traveling
Pingback: solgar
Pingback:
Pingback: high-end wedding photographer in Houston
Pingback: online counselors can help with anger management, addiction, parenting, and anxiety issues
Pingback: ladies online shopping Mall
Pingback: moms bundle
Pingback: How to treat morgellons
Pingback: illuminati how to join
Pingback: online jobs
Pingback: video maza zone
Pingback: what do you have to do to join the illuminati
Pingback: matka result
Pingback: Top Compras
Pingback: jageze
Pingback: West Palm Beach Homes For Sale under 200k
Pingback: online dating
Pingback: Add URL to 128 search engines for free
Pingback: Morocco like, follow and share
Pingback: One way link building
Pingback: dental treatments
Pingback: Sterling Silver Jewelers
Pingback: Ban ghe hoc chong gu chong can
Pingback: Psychic Christopher Golden
Pingback: money
Pingback: cursos gratis
Pingback: isis pakistan
Pingback: Create a photography website
Pingback: Scuba Diving
Pingback: Bandar
Pingback: Tatuaje Pecho
Pingback: powh3d
Pingback: youthfulforever
Pingback: Phone Repairs
Pingback: psychic christopher golden
Pingback: MOUNTAIN HIKE
Pingback: https://www.bestspiritualpsychic.com/
Pingback: Instagram unfollow
Pingback: psychic
Pingback:
Pingback: psychic
Pingback: Fastest Ram Processor
Pingback:
Pingback: New York City Escorts
Pingback: African online forum
Pingback: mining schweiz
Pingback: gps tracker
Pingback: mesa tile removal
Pingback: a spell for those keen to make a move
Pingback: drivers
Pingback: San Pedro
Pingback:
Pingback: youtube converter
Pingback:
Pingback: Computer City
Pingback: دستگاه ليزر
Pingback: سرور مجازی
Pingback: egel a
Pingback: prayer
Pingback: golf terms
Pingback: brazilian hair
Pingback:
Pingback: remy hair
Pingback: managing long distance relationships when on deployment
Pingback: Indian hair
Pingback:
Pingback: energy sources during emergencies
Pingback: lingerie sets and nighties
Pingback: natural health special offers
Pingback: malaysian hair
Pingback: peruvian hair
Pingback: dīvānu tīrīšanas serviss
Pingback: Face cream with snow algae.
Pingback: 100% pure kona coffee beans
Pingback:
Pingback: free powerful lottery spells
Pingback: travel news
Pingback: sữa bột ensure 397g
Pingback: https://medium.com/@buygifts24/spring-2018-fashion-trends-44ab2427f033
Pingback: holiday day
Pingback: cricket today match predictions
Pingback: universitémentouriconstantine
Pingback: affordable project management software
Pingback: tolkovaniya snov
Pingback: pubg merch
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: Atorvastatin
Pingback: Hydroquinone
Pingback: Hydroquinone
Pingback: how to build a pc
Pingback: Airbnb coupon
Pingback: وی پی ان ایفون
Pingback: خرید vpn
Pingback: professional ceramic hair straightening brush
Pingback:
Pingback: طلا و جواهر
Pingback: diy unicorn
Pingback: Los Angeles Escorts
Pingback: web designers scotland
Pingback: general sf
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: reliable
Pingback: برش لیزر
Pingback: Accelerated Business Degree
Pingback: slovari vse
Pingback: Americab.net
Pingback:
Pingback: PEAR
Pingback:
Pingback: Entertainment
Pingback: prazdniki v belarusi 1947
Pingback:
Pingback: trah_net_621
Pingback: prazdniki noyabr
Pingback: دوربین مداربسته
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: digital marketing
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: Access Denined
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: Subscription Box
Pingback:
Pingback: Film izle
Pingback:
Pingback: http://www.loeldeal.com
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: website testing jobs
Pingback:
Pingback: testi canzoni
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: aerobics training
Pingback: the beauty and meaning of birthstones
Pingback: exclusive shopping for extraordinary men
Pingback:
Pingback: photos
Pingback:
Pingback: soccer prediction
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: 13 iyunya 8249
Pingback:
Pingback: DraftKings NFL
Pingback:
Pingback: Tire Pressure
Pingback: friv
Pingback: forumy seksa
Pingback: Electronics spy gadgets
Pingback: Brisbane painters
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: trah_net_621 porno sport
Pingback: NFL DFS
Pingback: Take my online class for me
Pingback:
Pingback: trah_net_621 perdos
Pingback: College Sports Overload
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: سكس
Pingback: how to
Pingback: hilo home inspection service
Pingback:
Pingback: Sexy cam
Pingback: Hardscape Brick Pavers NJ
Pingback: best portable vaporizer
Pingback: kalendar prazdnikov
Pingback:
Pingback: aflamsex
Pingback: سكس مترجم, سكس محارم, سكس
Pingback: frases de feliz cumpleaños para un hijo
Pingback: Cryto curency
Pingback: rottweiler puppy
Pingback: Live cams
Pingback:
Pingback: black coffee traduzione
Pingback: Sexlive
Pingback: Jumpstar car
Pingback: hawaii real estate inspections
Pingback: Live sex girls
Pingback: inspections commercial kona
Pingback:
Pingback: Freexxx
Pingback: Porn videos
Pingback: Tranny cams
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: سكس
Pingback: سكس مترجم
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: IPhone bulk
Pingback: سكس
Pingback:
Pingback: سكس مترجم
Pingback: 2018 NFL Schedule
Pingback: see through panties
Pingback: pcs
Pingback: Dr Kassabian
Pingback: SEO service toronto
Pingback:
Pingback: criminal lawyer
Pingback: CHEVY
Pingback: kakoy segodnya chislo
Pingback: summer camp china
Pingback: cerco hacker
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: mp3 songs
Pingback:
Pingback: aflampornhd
Pingback: djpunjab mp4
Pingback: adult tube websites
Pingback: dog memento
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: chicago house dj
Pingback: best inspection service
Pingback: best licensed home inspectors
Pingback: looking for sexy lingerie and sexy costumes
Pingback: iPhone
Pingback: Inspections Hawaii Inc
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: poker88
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: Laverdaddesnuda.com
Pingback: mp3juices
Pingback: tubidy mp3
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: Air Excellence Air Conditioning and Heating Ellisville Missouri 63011 636 980 0998
Pingback: php user management script
Pingback: ebooks for resale
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: forum znakovstv
Pingback: قیمت اسکوتر برقی
Pingback: netflix free
Pingback: iPhone 7 Cable
Pingback: iPhone Charging Cable
Pingback: traveling packages
Pingback:
Pingback: beginner golf guides
Pingback: hireahacker.net reviews
Pingback: free full download for windows
Pingback: free apps for pc download
Pingback: apps for pc download
Pingback: pc games for windows 10
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: pc app free download
Pingback: app download for pc
Pingback: apps for windows pc download
Pingback: pc games full version download
Pingback: full apps free download for pc
Pingback: pc games for windows 8
Pingback: app for laptop
Pingback:
Pingback: pc games free download for windows 10
Pingback:
Pingback: pozdravleniya
Pingback: free download for windows pc
Pingback:
Pingback: apps download for windows 7
Pingback: yoni masseur paris
Pingback: massage tantra paris
Pingback: masaje naturista barcelona
Pingback:
Pingback: japanese fukui datumou
Pingback: بهینه سازی سایت
Pingback: security guard
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: auto taxi
Pingback:
Pingback: datumoufukuiken
Pingback: latest news big island
Pingback: Rechnungswesen
Pingback:
Pingback: pure kona coffees
Pingback: interracial porn
Pingback: Play Yard
Pingback: campervans campervans
Pingback: Freemason Gifts
Pingback: jourhavande veterinär
Pingback: Laboratory equipment
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: slovari dalya
Pingback: دانلود آهنگ جدید
Pingback: iPad wholesale
Pingback: emotional support animal letter
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: سكس
Pingback:
Pingback: mp3
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: bazooka sour straws eliquid
Pingback: Ear Reshaping Surgery
Pingback: apps download for windows 7
Pingback: cancun airport transfers
Pingback: m88th
Pingback: Kona coffee brands
Pingback: Download Latest Naija Music mp3 songs and Zip Album file
Pingback: Buy kona coffee
Pingback: bail bond
Pingback: Buy kona coffee
Pingback: cash for junk cars
Pingback: Pure kona coffee store
Pingback: pc games free download full version for windows xp
Pingback: animal feeds
Pingback: hualalai pure kona coffee
Pingback: hualalai 100% kona coffee
Pingback: Abraaj
Pingback: Cream with snow algae.
Pingback: hualalai estate coffee
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: hummer hoverboard
Pingback: AYMES International
Pingback: Cbd
Pingback: محامي قضايا وقف مكة المكرمة
Pingback: عقود صيانة نظافة تشغيل شركات
Pingback:
Pingback: pc apps for windows 8
Pingback: free download for windows 7
Pingback: free laptop games download
Pingback: Iptv reseller panel
Pingback: seo service
Pingback: Managed Services Michigan
Pingback: buy hoverboard
Pingback: موقع الحق والضلال
Pingback: business transformation
Pingback: plastic bag
Pingback:
Pingback: Roof Racks
Pingback: Lego vergelijken
Pingback: hulu cards paypal
Pingback: denver limo airport
Pingback: Save the ocean
Pingback:
Pingback: http://jerseycity-exterminator.com
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: music news
Pingback: Malaysian peruvian indian remy Brazilian Hair wigs extensions wholesale quick delivery discount price
Pingback: IT Support Michigan
Pingback: djkhan
Pingback: Prazdniki s 17 noyabrya po 6 oktybrya
Pingback: jesus ring
Pingback: m88 ทางเข้า
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: rottweiler puppies
Pingback: best bean
Pingback: 100% kona coffee store
Pingback: Bachata
Pingback: happy games
Pingback: custom patches
Pingback: learn the fundamentals of detoxing
Pingback: Bestecktaschen Modell Doubletto
Pingback: Drug stores Near me
Pingback: pets
Pingback: bilancio d'esercizio tesina
Pingback: hair styling courses
Pingback: nail art courses
Pingback: pravoslavnyj kalendar segodnja
Pingback: free download for pc windows
Pingback: Telefonu remonts
Pingback: سكس
Pingback: https://saham.news/berita/sektor-industri/industri-dasar-kimia
Pingback: Rockstar
Pingback: Trill
Pingback: gourmet kona coffee brands
Pingback: free pc games download full version for windows 7
Pingback: gourmet kona coffee store
Pingback:
Pingback: kona gourmet coffee beans
Pingback: kona gourmet coffee beans
Pingback: Prada
Pingback: Stella Mccartney
Pingback: vídeos xxx
Pingback: brinde pesonalizado
Pingback:
Pingback: custom portrait
Pingback: pillows
Pingback: Informative Marketing & SEO Articles
Pingback:
Pingback: free download for windows pc
Pingback: free android apk download
Pingback: massage website theme
Pingback: سکس ایرانی
Pingback: sla 3d printer
Pingback: prazdnik segodnja kakoj
Pingback: beauty tips before wedding
Pingback: career transitions for foreign medical graduates
Pingback: mansion88
Pingback:
Pingback: freshamateurs319 abdu23na2697 abdu23na93
Pingback: latestvideo sirius551 abdu23na9345 abdu23na21
Pingback: voyance immediate
Pingback: embroidery designs
Pingback: latestvideo sirius497 abdu23na6452 abdu23na7
Pingback: freshamateurs585 abdu23na9698 abdu23na12
Pingback: fuji, proforce, bold, mizuno,century
Pingback: Alexander McQueen
Pingback: Bottega Veneta