Don't Be.......Gavin?

Shocking incompetence on national TV

(Note: Today’s article wanders a bit, but it all ties together — promise!)

While I find most TV offerings these days to be crap, I have a soft spot in my heart for Survivor. The show has competition, drama, backstabbing, and an ever-changing dynamic that comes from a variety of people playing the game. Over the years I’ve seen some brilliant moves, as well as some….not so brilliant ones.

(Major spoilers for the show’s latest episode ahead. You’ve been warned!)

This season of Survivor features Bruce:

Bruce. Who else would it be?

As we pick up our story in this week’s episode, Bruce has a hidden immunity idol — and everybody in the game knows it. The tribe has been trying to get rid of Bruce for a while, but he’s won the immunity challenge twice in a row, leaving the tribe unable to flush out his idol and eventually get him out of the game.

But in this week’s episode, Bruce DOESN’T win the immunity challenge. He’s fair game, and the tribe’s obvious plan is to vote for Bruce and make him play his idol to remain in the game.

This is where Bruce comes up with his own plan — he tells everybody he gave his idol to Kellie, who is no longer in the game. (Along with Bruce’s idol.) This way, Bruce explains, he can get everybody to vote for him, then surprise them by playing the idol he still has in his pocket.

If you’re following along, this means that Bruce’s strategy “changes” the tribe’s plan from voting for Bruce to……voting for Bruce. Even if he gets everybody to believe his lie, their plan doesn’t actually change. (Of course, by the time the vote rolled around, everybody KNEW it was a lie — but that didn’t change anything, either.)

I was flabbergasted. This guy concocted a half-baked story attempting to convince the tribe to do something they were already planning on doing. There was no upside to his strategy at all — worse, executing this plan deprived Bruce of time that could be spent on a good one.

At tribal council, Bruce compounded his mistake when he ultimately DECLINED to play his immunity idol and the tribe — exactly as they were always going to do but were MORE happy to do if he was idolless — put a majority of votes onto him. Now instead of being in the game but down an idol, Bruce is out of the game with the idol in his pocket.

Bruce suffered from an almost-perfect misreading of his situation and paid the price for it. Minutes after the episode, I was planning on writing an entire article about this titled “Don’t be Bruce.”

One of the most important things about making a plan is understanding the position it puts you in if it succeeds. If you don’t actually gain anything from your strategy, you shouldn’t do it and should instead work on a strategy that moves you forward.

Don’t be Bruce - understand your strategy.

I thought about this a lot yesterday while waiting for the Red State vs. Blue State Debate. Don’t be Bruce. Don’t be Bruce. Don’t be Bruce.

Then I watched Gavin Newsom go out and be Bruce on national TV.

In a near-perfect misreading of…..just about everything, Newsom attacked Ron DeSantis as a lockdown governor who supported “The Science” and vaccines and wore a mask:

Now obviously this is a laughable attempt to re-write history, but let’s say that Gavin Newsom is successful with this line of reasoning. Suddenly all the FOX News watchers realize agree that lockdown governors were bad.

What’s the logical next step in that thinking?

Well, Gavin Newsom (and the rest of the Democratic party), what is YOUR record on lockdowns and closures of businesses and mask mandates?

I don’t think Newsom really wants to go there. (At least he understands that and doesn’t actually defend his record?)

In a similar vein, Newsom later attacked DeSantis as being for “amnesty” and “immigration reform.”

Although blaming open borders on Republicans is laughable, Newsom implies that supporting amnesty or immigration reform are obviously disqualifying when it comes to border security. And if he “wins” the argument and gets people to agree…….then what?

Somebody points out that California is literally a sanctuary state?

That New York City and Chicago are sanctuary cities?

Maybe somebody brings up this clip?

If Gavin Newsom convinces anybody of his argument, IT ACTUALLY HURTS HIM IN THE END.

Before last night, I thought Newsom was a slick-talking salesman with just enough brains to be dangerous. Last night he was exposed as an empty shell stuffed with memorized talking points and little else.

And worse, Gavin Newsom is Bruce!

Don’t be Gavin.

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This is too good not to add: