Nancy Mace is a terrible, malignant narcissist. Her gleeful campaign against newly-elected openly trans Rep Sarah McBride is an attempt to become the main character in a caucus of main characters. Steve M:
They like winning. They like punching down. They like rallying their voters with manufactured rage, and they really like the votes and money they get as a result.
And most of their voters aren’t really angry either. You can see that at Trump rallies. It was very obvious at the 2020 boat parades, which, by definition, were attended by Trump supporters who were quite well off. […]
What’s the point of the Trump presidency? They’re happy. We’re miserable. That’s the whole point.
Sarah McBride’s response is interesting [sign-in required link*]:
House Democrats then had to have their leadership elections for the next term. The same lawmaker told NOTUS that before the elections started, several Democrats across the ideological spectrum approached McBride to tell her they would support her however they could.
The congresswoman-elect, the lawmaker said, reiterated that Republicans’ messaging was a “distraction” and that this isn’t “her first rodeo” dealing with anti-trans rhetoric.
Another House Democrat said they’ve personally talked “extensively” with McBride and “she doesn’t want to be seen as a victim.”
“She wants us to focus on the work we’re going to do and she nobly is saying, ‘Yes, dismiss it, but also … we got work we need to to do, don’t forget that,’ and that’s what she’s telling a lot of members,” the Democrat said.
From the same piece, I also like Rep. Jim McGovern’s response:
Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern, ranking member of the House Rules Committee, said Mace’s bill was “disappointing” and that he was “not going to react to every single crazy thing these people do.”
When asked if Democrats should respond if Mace’s bill were added to the rules package next year, McGovern, right on cue, said, “I don’t want to waste all my time talking about the shit that they’ve put forward on an hourly basis.”
I hope Sarah McBride’s strategy works in this specific instance. Like most narcissist bullies, Mace will dial it up to 12 when she doesn’t get the attention she wants from her target. And other shitbirds who see the attention Mace is getting will get into the act (as MTG has already done.)
In general, the “right” way to respond to malignant narcissists who hold power over us is never easy or clear. Not rising to every piece of bait is good general advice, especially since Steve Bannon’s tactic of flooding the zone with shit is in full effect, as evidenced by the latest clown car of appointments. Still, we want lower information folks to understand the hate and stupidity inherent in the coming administration.
Related to this, here’s Molly Jong-Fast on her strategy to deal with the next Trump administration and not get as distracted as she was during the first.
* This link goes to a site called notus.org which is a site funded by the former publisher of Politico. It seems like a training ground for Politico journalists, and from what I can tell, basically a bunch of interns going around covering Capitol Hill. You need a free sign-in to read it.
Dealing with Malignant Narcissists is HardPost + Comments (168)
