Those on the online left are easy marks for memes like “Let’s go Brandon” and Pepe the Frog because progressives have increasingly embraced a philosophy of language that rejects Trumpian postmodernism. The MAGA movement has emphasized saying whatever is necessary to incite a reaction, from the staggering pace of lies expressed by Trump to the deadly Covid-19 denialism still plaguing certain GOP strongholds.

Meanwhile, liberal Americans and many Democratic politicians embrace the idea that words have moral power. In other words, how something is defined matters. To those Americans, words don’t just have the capacity to offend: Left unchecked, antisocial speech can cause real-world harm.

But right-wing rabble-rousers don’t care about some high-minded discussion of language and meaning. They’re out to cause a distraction that keeps Democrats from focusing on their victories. Democrats just passed a broadly popular $1.2 trillion domestic spending package that will improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people across party lines, racial divides and geography. Republicans are hoping that Democrats will distract themselves with over-the-top condemnations of the “Let’s go Brandon” boosters — allowing the GOP to spin the Democratic Party as more focused on shaming NASCAR fans than addressing the kitchen table issues that matter to regular people.