The Gin Is Up
Jun. 18th, 2008 10:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
randy_byersA while back I noticed what seemed to me to be a surge in the use of the term "gin up". It seemed so suddenly and mysteriously prevalent that I started collecting examples:
"Chuck Schumer's the best in the business at ginning up issues and headlines, albeit in ways that often seem designed to make him a one-man case for libertarianism."
--Matthew Yglesias, "Schumer: Guns for Oil", 15 May 2008
"But even by his standards, the point of that line -- and of the fury ginned up by House Republicans over an interview Obama gave to the Atlantic Monthly's Jeffrey Goldberg -- was pretty clear."
--Mike Madden, Salon, "Are the Jews good for Barack Obama?", 19 May 2008
"And when asked to respond to rumors circulating within political circles that the Bush administration was ginning up the possibility of war with Iran, the Senator even raised the specter of impeachment."
--Sam Stein, Huffington Post, "Chuch Hagel Takes on McCain, Repeatedly Praises Obama", 20 May 2008
"Especially as the Obama organization seems to be ginning up a national campaign based on the bizarre and radical notion of campaigning for President on actual issues and policies."
-- Jay C in comments on Obsidian Wings story "Music To My Ears, 29 May 2008
"While some have dismissed this as Obama’s Whitewater—a manufactured scandal, ginned up by political foes, but ultimately empty—it will still be a factor in the race."
--Chicago Fan in comment on the Slog story, " Obama, Rezko, McCain", 5 June 2008
"Snark will out, of course, and ginned up by the fumes of the smoking room and the sight of my Washington Nationals shirt, the imposing baseball aficionado feels obliged to comment upon my team's stunning losing streak after opening the season 3-0."
--Nic Farey, "Corflu Silver: Feel The LV", Banana Wings, June 2008
"Though the latest and most poisonous rumors about Michelle were ginned up by a pro-Clinton website, Obama knows that—notwithstanding John McCain's pledge that his own campaign will not engage in smears—more rumors can be expected in a general-election campaign."
--Karen Tumulty, Time, "Will Obama's Anti-Rumor Plan Work?", 12 June 2008
"But arguments can be made that, by historical standards, Clinton’s treatment of Obama wasn’t all that rough; that, far from weakening him for his tussle with John McCain, she made him appreciably stronger; that by fighting until the end, she helped gin up a fever-pitch level of engagement among Democrats that will redound to the party’s benefit this fall, rather than undermining it."
--John Heilemann, New York Magazine, "The Fall and Rise of Hillary Clinton", 15 June 2008
"But he ended up ignoring most whistleblowers and actually ginning up a bogus investigation of the Bush White House in order to shield himself from investigations."
--Josh Marshall, "Creeping Sockpuppetry", 16 June 2008
"As mentioned two days ago, the Mozilla organization, creator of Firefox, has been trying to gin up a world-wide effort to get as many people as possible to download the official version of Firefox 3 on its release day, June 17."
--James Fallows, "For nerds and Sinologists alike: the Firefox 3 snarl", 18 June 2008
I honestly don't remember this term being used so frequently in the past. What has caused this surge? The first time I remember running across it, in fact, was when Obama got into a little spat with Australian PM John Howard in February 2007. As CNN reported: 'The Democratic presidential hopeful said if the Australian prime minister was "ginned up to fight the good fight in Iraq," he needs to send another 20,000 Australians to the war. "Otherwise, it's just a bunch of empty rhetoric," Obama said.' Is that where it started, or has it been seeping in slowly while I wasn't paying attention? For that matter, has it been in wide use forever while I was oblivious?
"Chuck Schumer's the best in the business at ginning up issues and headlines, albeit in ways that often seem designed to make him a one-man case for libertarianism."
--Matthew Yglesias, "Schumer: Guns for Oil", 15 May 2008
"But even by his standards, the point of that line -- and of the fury ginned up by House Republicans over an interview Obama gave to the Atlantic Monthly's Jeffrey Goldberg -- was pretty clear."
--Mike Madden, Salon, "Are the Jews good for Barack Obama?", 19 May 2008
"And when asked to respond to rumors circulating within political circles that the Bush administration was ginning up the possibility of war with Iran, the Senator even raised the specter of impeachment."
--Sam Stein, Huffington Post, "Chuch Hagel Takes on McCain, Repeatedly Praises Obama", 20 May 2008
"Especially as the Obama organization seems to be ginning up a national campaign based on the bizarre and radical notion of campaigning for President on actual issues and policies."
-- Jay C in comments on Obsidian Wings story "Music To My Ears, 29 May 2008
"While some have dismissed this as Obama’s Whitewater—a manufactured scandal, ginned up by political foes, but ultimately empty—it will still be a factor in the race."
--Chicago Fan in comment on the Slog story, " Obama, Rezko, McCain", 5 June 2008
"Snark will out, of course, and ginned up by the fumes of the smoking room and the sight of my Washington Nationals shirt, the imposing baseball aficionado feels obliged to comment upon my team's stunning losing streak after opening the season 3-0."
--Nic Farey, "Corflu Silver: Feel The LV", Banana Wings, June 2008
"Though the latest and most poisonous rumors about Michelle were ginned up by a pro-Clinton website, Obama knows that—notwithstanding John McCain's pledge that his own campaign will not engage in smears—more rumors can be expected in a general-election campaign."
--Karen Tumulty, Time, "Will Obama's Anti-Rumor Plan Work?", 12 June 2008
"But arguments can be made that, by historical standards, Clinton’s treatment of Obama wasn’t all that rough; that, far from weakening him for his tussle with John McCain, she made him appreciably stronger; that by fighting until the end, she helped gin up a fever-pitch level of engagement among Democrats that will redound to the party’s benefit this fall, rather than undermining it."
--John Heilemann, New York Magazine, "The Fall and Rise of Hillary Clinton", 15 June 2008
"But he ended up ignoring most whistleblowers and actually ginning up a bogus investigation of the Bush White House in order to shield himself from investigations."
--Josh Marshall, "Creeping Sockpuppetry", 16 June 2008
"As mentioned two days ago, the Mozilla organization, creator of Firefox, has been trying to gin up a world-wide effort to get as many people as possible to download the official version of Firefox 3 on its release day, June 17."
--James Fallows, "For nerds and Sinologists alike: the Firefox 3 snarl", 18 June 2008
I honestly don't remember this term being used so frequently in the past. What has caused this surge? The first time I remember running across it, in fact, was when Obama got into a little spat with Australian PM John Howard in February 2007. As CNN reported: 'The Democratic presidential hopeful said if the Australian prime minister was "ginned up to fight the good fight in Iraq," he needs to send another 20,000 Australians to the war. "Otherwise, it's just a bunch of empty rhetoric," Obama said.' Is that where it started, or has it been seeping in slowly while I wasn't paying attention? For that matter, has it been in wide use forever while I was oblivious?
