Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams looks thoughtful in in the lobby of a beachfront hotel on a sunny Thursday afternoon as he tells me that the phrase “jobs not mobs,†which he suggested on Twitter six days before, would be catchy — though he adds that Republicans had not yet used it.
Literally minutes later, President Donald Trump tells a rally in Montana: “Democrats produce mobs. Republicans produce jobs.†The president tweets soon afterwards: “#JobsNotMobs.â€
It is a measure of Adams’ astonishing influence on popular and political culture, as he has emerged from the world of humor, publishing, and business advice in the past three years to become one of the most insightful political commentators on the planet.
Republicans, he suggests, have a stronger message, in pointing to the “mobs†that the left have mobilized in protest around the country over the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and other issues. Fear is the most powerful persuasive force, he argues. That — and the sheer fun of winning bigly — could drive GOP voters to the polls.