-Today marks 100 days Election Day 2024, and the question on everyone's mind is ... can you feel the Kamala-mentum?
-Yes, that phrase is now in use by some pundits to describe the phenomenon of the last week after Joe Biden stepped aside and Kamala Harris won the delegate support needed to become the Democratic Presidential nominee. And the numbers alone continue to stagger. The campaign reports over $200 million has been raised from small donors just this week, with 2/3 of those donors first-time for this election. Plus, over 170,000 people have signed up nationally to help with the campaign, and over 2300 local events have already been scheduled in battleground states alone for Harris and down the Democratic ballot.
-The numbers beyond the campaign are pretty wild, too. A series of Zoom calls have already been made for various constituencies looking to support Kamala - Black women, Black men, the AAPI community, white women, and tomorrow possibly the biggest one in terms of numbers: White Dudes for Harris, which will include a call-in from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
-The polling has upticked for Harris, with whatever losses that were being sustained by the Biden campaign in the aftermath of the June 27 debate appearing to have been wiped away, and Harris' national and swing state numbers strengthening even before her announcement of a running mate and the now-hotly-anticipated Democratic National Convention coming up in Chicago.
-The news is so good that there even seem to be positive developments in the Democratic dream-killer known as the state of Florida. There, donations to Harris are among the top three nationally - a surprise (or IS it?!) given the GOP stranglehold on the state. That surprise translated to The Villages, a normally rock-ribbed senior community in south Florida that saw a 'parade' of over 500 golf carts putt-putt their way around (sorry, couldn't resist!) to support Harris' campaign. And, with a competitive Senate race featuring an unctuous MAGAt (Rick Scott) and both abortion rights AND legal marijuana on the ballot ... gulp! ... might FL be on the map?!
-Cutesy title aside, Harris continues to ride the momentum and working to solidify and expand her support. Her next and biggest decision will be the announcement of her Vice Presidential running mate, which should be completed no later than August 7 in order to get the final nomination made for the states. Multiple reports now claim there is a Final Three that Harris will choose from: AZ Senator Mark Kelly, PA Governor Josh Shapiro, and MN Governor Tim Walz. Harris has reportedly said she wants a Veep with "managerial experience" to run as a kind of co-legislative leader as she did with Biden and as Biden did when he was Barack Obama's VP.
-I know what you're thinking - what a segway to talk about the Veep from the other party - and don't you worry, we will be talking about him soon enough! BUT FIRST ...
-... we need to talk about the other Party’s Presidential choice first, because, well, GOPMAGA Nominee Convicted Felon Ex-President Trump (R-apist) continues to do what he does - only now without being able to use Biden as a binky, not that he doesn't continue to invoke Biden even if Biden is no longer the nominee (as elders with cognitive decline issues are wont to do) ...
-Trump actually appeared in pubic this weekend - at an event near his Mar-a-Lago compound and in MN, a state Trump claimed was winnable before Harris stretched the lead back out for the blue team. Sounding sleepy, literally putting people to sleep, and slurring and stammering as he has been for at least the last two years, Trump continued to flail and grope for a consistent message to use against Harris. And it's not going well.
-At one point Trump tried to compare Harris' laugh with the reported laugh of Margaret Thatcher, the Reagan-era Prime Minister of Great Britain (because current?). At another, Trump again sang the praises of fictional mass murdering cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lechter. At still another, Trump implored the crowd that they needed to "defeat KuhMAHLlah Harris ... by a land slade!" And he even reflected on his assassination attempt (while announcing he will return to the site of the shooting for a rally, because macho alpha male?) by saying "People say it must have changed you ... Maybe it changed me for the worse!?"
-But it was his remarks Friday before a group of evangelical Christians that caught the attention of Democrats, social media, and a scattering of news journalists across the country. Speaking in a crazier-than-normal unmodulated singsong voice while weirdly pulsing and moving his body, here's Trump's quote: "...and again, Christians, get out and vote. Just this time. You won't have to do it any more, four more years - you know what? It'll be fixed, it'll be fine. You won't have to vote any more, my beautiful Christians - I LOVE YOU, Christians, I'm (not?) Christian, I love you! Get you, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, yo don't have to vote again, we'll have it fixed so good, you're not gonna have to vote!"
-As of this writing, only one Republican was asked to respond to this comment, NH Trump lickspittle Gov. Chris Sununu, who blew it off and was not followed up by CBS' Margaret Brennan.
-At least we can continue to note that, one week after Biden's exit, the Trump campaign remains utterly flat-footed and unable to respond to any of Harris' statements, much less attempt to respond in the clear racist sexist manner we know they are likely to ultimately respond to - in large part because the Trump campaign apparently thought their Convention went so well, and Trump's marathon lunatic snooze of an acceptance speech was so strong, that campaign leadership was openly discussing a Trump landslide and making plans for 2025 beyond Project 2025 - and they did no planning whatsoever for anyone other than Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate.
-But again, we knew this, because one of the other fundamental jobs of a Presidential campaign is to vette any potential Vice Presidential candidate so as not to be surprised or embarrassed by anything in said candidate's background - and THAT BRINGS US to J.D. Vance!
-Oh, you thought the cat lady comments and couch-fking were weird enough but there was nothing else about ol' J.D.? Well, THINK AGAIN!
-First, a story emerged over the weekend of Sofia Nelson, a transgender student at Yale who was Vance's undergraduate roommate. Newsweek reports Nelson (now a public defender in MI) told a tale of an extremely compassionate and sympathetic roomie who helped Nelson through transitional operations, even having Vance and now-wife Usha bake and feed Nelson during recovery. Further, the New York Times reported on over 90 email exchanges between Nelson and Vance in which Vance decried police violence after the Michael Brown killing in 2014 ("I hate the police" Vance wrote to Nelson) and denouncing Trump as a demagogue ... in 2016. But by 2021, Vance had flipped and became a GOPMAGA darling, which destroyed the friendship and led Nelson to come forward.
-For something slightly less depressing but both offensive and, in the words of Gov. Walz, "weird," there was an interview Vance did with washed-up commentator Megyn Kelly in which Vance attempted to defend his "cat lady" comments (for the record, Vance - along with many of his tech-bro sponsors - believes people without children should pay more in taxes in order to support more babies for the population) (that's a paraphrase, but frighteningly not that far off). In the interview, Vance was asked about attacks made on him by super-right MAGA over his wife, Usha, who is Hindu but was born in San Diego. Vance defended Usha thusly: "Obviously, (Usha) is not a white person ... but I love Usha, she's such a good mom!"
-Oh, but there's ONE MORE THING we need to discuss about Vance, and it involves ... TRIGGER WARNING to anyone who loves marine mammals ... yes, marine mammals! ... sex between humans and dolphins.
-Remember that need to investigate your potential Vice Presidential candidate? WELL, had Trump or one of the failsons or Peter Thiel done that, they likely would have found a Tweet and search history from this past February (because Raw Story did!) and discovered that Vance asked about, and then searched for, videos online that featured dolphins swimming with human women and acting aggressively towards them in a way that suggested the aggression was sexual and that the human women ... may have liked it.
-Is it any wonder that rumblings continue that Trump, whose reported first Veep choice was former Governor Doug Burgum (R-some Dakota), is reportedly wondering if Vance should be dumped - especially since it is now admitted the Vance choice was one made when the campaign genuinely thought Trump was about to win in a landslide and now is an EXTREMELY different race - and replaced by a woman like NY's Elise Stefanik or even former SC Governor Nikki Haley. If Trump does that, it needs to be done by August 7 since ballots are already being printed, and then the campaign would have to absorb the hit the mistake took and whatever additional damage that would be done by the error.
-Or, Vance stays and gives Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin a run for Worst Veep Pick EVAH! This Substack is cool either way!
-More tomorrow, including news on an attack on Palestinian refugees in Gaza that are stoking fears of Hezbollah becoming involved the Israel/HAMAS war, trying to keep tabs on again-mounting Russian casualties in Ukraine (SLAVA UKRAINI!), the Supreme Court reform bill still-President Biden may reveal tomorrow, and Rappers for US Olympians. (Along with whatever the Hell happens next in this bonkers Presidential race!)
-And now, the fun trivia part of the update!
-On this date in 1868, the 14th Amendment ending slavery and giving equal rights and citizenship to African Americans entered into force. On this date in 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia over the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, starting World War I in the process. And on this date in 2005, the Irish Republican Army ended its armed campaign and vowed to work for change politically.
-Debuts on this date: the foxtrot (1914), the first zombie movie (WHITE ZOMBIE, 1932), the singing telegram (1933), ON THE WATERFRONT (1954), the American Indian Movement (1968), NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE (1978), LIFE'S RICH PAGEANT (1986), WHAT'S THE 411? (1992).
-Happy Birthday to Beatrix Potter, Marcel Duchamp, Charles William Mayo, Rudy Vallee (the recipient of the first singing telegram!), Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Jacques d'Amboise, Alberto Fujimori, Robert Hughes, Phil Proctor, Riccardo Muti, Marty Brenneman, Bill Bradley, Mike Bloomfield, Jim Davis, Sally Struthers, Georgia Engel, Gerald Casale, Vida Blue, Doug Collins, Carol Higgins Clark, Terry Fox, Jonathan Gold, Alexis Arquette, Elizabeth Berkley, Hannah Waddingham, Huma Abedin, Manu Ginobli, and Harry Kane.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Thomas Cromwell, Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, Maximillian Robespierre, William James Mayo, Charles William Mayo, Frank Loesser, Eileen Brennan, John McNamara, Dusty Hill, and Ron Popeil.
-Feed the Worms: January 7 insurrectionist and Trump sycophant Mark Meadows and UFC muscleheaded Trumper Dana White entered Earth on this date.
-Hugo Chavez, Lori Loughlin, Liz Cheney (R-Still a Cheney) and Soulja Boy were born on this date. You decide if they get Happy Birthdays or if they Feed the Worms.
-The Number One Song in the U.S.A. on this date ... in 2024, "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozey ... in 2014, "Rude" by Magic! ... in 2004, "Confessions Part II" by Usher ... in 1994, "I Swear" by All-4-One ... in 1984, "When Doves Cry" by Prince ... and in 1974, "Annie's Song" by John Denver.