Jim Banks’ mad handing is no coincidence; it’s a modern, political aspiration

The term “glad handing” appeared in the American vernacular at the beginning of the 20th century, through the phrase, “to give the glad hand,” or extend a welcome. But that type of welcome has generally come with a twist, an intention, or an agenda.

Merriam-Webster defines the term as “a warm welcome or greeting often prompted by ulterior reasons.” It makes sense that the practice is most often attributed to politicians who are working a room. Even with ulterior motives, the practice would feature a pleasantness and happy charisma to audiences, much like an effective Instagram account would today. Not all politicians are great at it, even though most used to at least try to be.

Not Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana though. No, no. His communication strategy flips glad handing on its head. He doesn’t want people, voters, you know, Hoosiers, to see him being insincerely polite or jovial. Not even in a moment of weakness. He’s proudest of his public displays of meanness, or what should now be labeled, “mad handing.”

I’m in the words business, so I’m taking my shot at coining a phrase in hopes of making it into a credible dictionary someday.

ABC reported last week about the now infamous and viral video of Banks telling a man on Capitol Hill who identified himself as a recently fired Health and Human Services employee that he "probably deserved it" because "you seem like a clown." The freshman senator is proudly refusing to apologize and is even promoting the video himself as some sort of achievement.

Why? I went on a search to try to identify the phenomenon and there actually is some science out there that is helpful.

Dr. Mark Travers wrote “When Anger is a Strategy” for Psychology Today in 2022. The article reviewed a study published in the medical journal, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. The sports-based study found that low competitive status is linked with higher aggression. Dr. Macià Buades-Rotger of the University of Barcelona and co-author of the research said, “Put bluntly, losers are more aggressive than winners on average, and that makes sense: If your rival outperforms you, you must resort to aggression to try and stop them.”

Yes, it makes perfect sense and in so many ways. Not just on the playing field of sports, but in the constant jockeying for fame and favor in right-wing politics. In the Banks example from last week, he didn’t have the confidence or courage to defend the haphazard and mass firings that have decimated many vital federal institutions, so he defaulted to aggression. Not by mistake, but by design.

 

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Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com.

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