Give the Dylan Mulvaney Issue a Rest, Conservatives

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | August 17, 2023 |

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | August 17, 2023 |

Newsnation used to be WGN, but now it’s a cable news network owned by Nexstar—the folks behind the Tribune and the new CW. That’s not particularly important, except that their publicist sent an email of an interview that I would normally ignore — but I was vaguely curious to hear what Anheuser-Busch Heir Bill Busch had to say about the Dylan Mulvaney issue. It’s important to know, however, that besides being a billionaire, Bill Busch is not a particularly noteworthy person. The family lost Anheuser-Busch in 2008, and the only real connection Bill Busch had was all the wealth he inherited from his family plus a little-heard-of MTV reality series where he and his family tried (and failed) to launch their own beer.

Again, his words are meaningless, and InBev Anheuser Busch is never—ever—going to sell the brand to him, and yet, his comment about the Dylan Mulvaney controversy irritated me.

NewsNation: I’m gonna play a soundbite from the new CEO of InBev Anheuser Busch talking about the Dylan Mulvaney episode, shall we say, take a listen.

CBS anchor: Given the moment we’re in, this moment in America, with trans issues at the top of the Republican social, or conservative political agenda, knowing what you know now if you could go back would you send this can to this one person again?

CEO: There’s a big social conversation taking place right now and big brands are right in the middle of it, and it’s not just our industry or Bud Light, it’s happening in retail, it’s happening in fast food.

CBS anchor: Was this a mistake?

CEO: No, Bud Light has supported LGBTQ since 1998, so that’s 25 years and as we’ve said from the beginning, we’ll continue to support the communities and organizations that we’ve supported for decades.

NewsNation: Okay, what do you understand about Bud Light and Bud Light drinkers that he appears not to?

BB: I understand that the Bud Light drinker is your blue collar, mainly your blue-collar, hard-working American who really doesn’t want that kind of message pushed down their throat. I just think what he’s not understanding really, is yes, there is a population out there for transgenders and gays, and, you know, to target those discriminately in a way that targets that community is great, I mean, sure, be inclusive, but don’t put it on the can that everybody is going to be drinking and expect that the true Bud Light drinkers, well not the true Bud Light drinkers, let me put it this way, the core Bud Light drinker is going to react favorably to it.

This is probably not worth getting bent out of shape over, but InBev did not “put it” (“it” being Dylan Mulvaney’s face) on the can that “everybody is going to be drinking.” It was on one six-pack that only she received, which was revealed in a 45-second TikTok video for her followers.

But I get what Bill Busch — a nobody person with a ton of wealth — is saying because I grew up hearing a variation of it everywhere I went: (In a deep, Arkansas redneck drawl) “I don’t care what you do in the privacy of your own bedroom, just don’t shove it down our throats!”

First of all, redneck Tommy: No one wanted to see Gina give you an over-the-jeans handjob at the Whitesnake concert, either, but that’s not even the point. The point is that it’s the conservative culture warriors who are shoving it all down America’s throat. Dylan Mulvaney’s 45-second influencer ad would have been just that if Kid Rock hadn’t decided to shoot up a case of Bud Light, and if Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh, and every other conservative knuckle dragger hadn’t chosen to spend the next six months talking about it nonstop. Leave trans people alone, you freaks, and stop shoving your hatred down our throats.

A few years ago, we took the kids to a Drag Queen Story Hour. It was a blast. They had a lot of harmless fun. But now it’s almost impossible to hold another Drag Queen Story Hour event because we’re worried about violence at a children’s event and security costs are prohibitively expensive. So, we’re out of luck because conservatives are trying to force their beliefs down our throats, and all we want is to be left alone. Instead of keeping their beliefs hidden in the privacy of their bedrooms, the free speech advocates are impeding our freedom of expression. You can’t prance around screaming “freedom freedom freedom” while denying it to those who disagree with you. You parent your kids, and I’ll parent mine.

The point is: The rest of us didn’t lose our minds every time a beer commercial promoted incest between twins. People just want to live their lives, but these people spend all their time trying to meddle in the lives of others instead of paying attention to their own issues, like the daughter who complained that she experienced “neglect and abandonment” from her father or the 11-year-old that Bill Busch assaulted.

And “be inclusive” but don’t offend the “true Bud Light drinkers!”? GTFO. And trans people are blue-collar, too, asshole.

Source: NewsNation | On Balance With Leland Vittert