Biden campaign sells ‘Dark Brandon’ shirts to mark re-election kickoff

President Biden’s re-election campaign is re-embracing its dark side.

Like a case of political gonorrhea, the cringeworthy “Dark Brandon” meme co-opted by the commander-in-chief’s supporters appeared on merchandise Tuesday after Biden announced he will seek a second term in 2024.

A T-shirt featuring an image of Biden with red laser eyes nestled between the year “2024” goes for $32, and is “best worn while vanquishing malarkey,” according to the Democrat’s campaign website.

Also available for purchase is the “Dark Roast Mug” featuring the same ironic image of Biden’s alter ego, for $22.

The meme — a play on the anti-Biden slogan “Let’s Go Brandon” — co-opted images by Chinese illustrator Yang Quan meant to portray the president as an evil ruler.

“Dark Biden” is also meant to parody “Dark MAGA” memes, which depict an authoritarian vision of former President Donald Trump — also with laser eyes — exacting vengeance on his political enemies, according to Insider.

In the run-up to last year’s midterm elections, Biden supporters adopted the images to tout his supposed policy victories, Politico reported at the time.

Everyone from White House staffers to Democratic lawmakers flooded Twitter with the “Dark Brandon” meme in August to celebrate several of the president’s legislative objectives passing through Congress, most notably the Inflation Reduction Act.

“Dark Brandon is crushing it,” deputy press secretary Andrew Bates wrote on Twitter Aug. 7, along with a picture of a red-eyed Biden captioned, “Your malarkey has been going on for long enough, kiddo.”

“Let’s Go Brandon” emerged as a popular conservative slogan in October 2021 when a TV reporter mistakenly claimed a NASCAR crowd was chanting “Let’s go Brandon” to celebrate a win by driver Brandon Brown — when they were actually yelling “F— Joe Biden.”

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https://nypost.com/2023/04/25/biden-campaign-sells-dark-brandon-t-shirts-in-reelection-campaign/

Colorado becomes 1st to pass ‘right to repair’ for farmers

https://apnews.com/article/colorado-right-to-repair-farming-equipment-1da00ea957fd1057bf522cb4725e62d4

DENVER (AP) — Colorado became the first state Tuesday to ensure farmers can fix their own equipment with the governor’s signing of a “right to repair” law, which forces manufacturers to provide the necessary manuals, tools, parts and software.

Colorado, a state partly blanketed in ranches and farmland, took the lead on the issue following a nationwide outcry from farmers that manufacturers prevent them from fixing their own machines — from behemoth combines to thin tractors — when they break down. Farmers say it forces them to wait precious days for a servicer to arrive, a delay that could mean a hail storm decimates a crop or a farmer misses the ideal planting window.

Lawmakers in at least 10 other states have introduced similar legislation, including in Florida, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Texas and Vermont.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, signed the bill Tuesday afternoon, after the legislation advanced through long committee hearings, having been propelled forward mostly by Democrats even though a Republican lawmaker cosponsored the bill. The proposal left GOP lawmakers stuck between their farming constituents pleading for the ability to repair their equipment and the manufacturers who vehemently opposed it.

Manufacturers and dealerships raised concerns that providing tools and information to farmers would allow equipment owners to illegally crank up the horsepower and bypass emissions controls — putting operator safety and the environment at risk.

They also argued that the law would expose companies’ trade secrets.

The bill’s proponents acknowledged that the legislation could make it easier for operators to modify horsepower and emissions controls, but argued that farmers are already able to tinker with their machines and doing so would remain illegal.

The law falls into the broader “right to repair” campaign, which has picked up steam across the country and applies to a range of products, from iPhones to hospital ventilators. Independent mechanics and car owners have access to tools and parts due to a 2014 memorandum of understanding signed by the automotive industry.

Two years ago, President Joe Biden directed the Federal Trade Commission to beef up its right-to-repair enforcement.

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Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.