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Notes -
A protest vote is a signal. Usually “X deserves this more than any of the leading candidates.” But just deserts aren’t really at stake here. Other uses of the protest vote include “Even X would be better than your guys,” which doesn’t fit either.
I’m left with something like brand recognition. Trump’s name is supposed to remind people how hip Gaetz is, even though he has no real connection to the vote. It’s like an applause light: content-free, but not without context. I can’t tell why it’s supposed to be a good thing, just that he expects it to work, and that makes me feel like I’ve been had.
Maybe an interesting comparison is land acknowledgments. They aren’t intended to right a wrong so much enshrine a certain level in the public consciousness. So you get a ceremony-as-advertisement.
Or, hell, the Kanye-Taylor Swift thing from a forgotten era. “Trump has the greatest political career of all time. Of all time!” We get it, Gaetz, you really want Beyoncé to know how you feel.
A protest vote doesn't men X deserves this more than all of you. I want to waste my vote just to say fuck you and fuck your whole system. Voting for Trump is probably the most effective choice to deliver that message of any options available in the last 30 years.
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