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When it comes to endorsements, it's now put up or shut up time. And so, there have been a whole bunch of them in the presidential race in the last week or two. We thought we'd run down some of the more interesting ones.
To start, The Atlantic has bestowed its endorsement on Kamala Harris. That is more newsworthy than it might seem, because the publication usually tries to stay above the fray, and has only endorsed five times in its history. The first endorsee was Abraham Lincoln, who was running against guys who were pro-slavery. The second was Lyndon Johnson, who was running against a guy who was anti-civil rights. The remaining three were the three opponents of Donald Trump. Perhaps you sense a theme in what is required to get The Atlantic involved.
Harris has also picked up the support of some notable conservatives. Former Secretary of Defense and Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel has not only endorsed her, he's helped create a group called "Republicans for Harris." Former Pennsylvania representative Charlie Dent not only gave his endorsement to Harris, he's already cast his ballot for her. Susan Ford Bales, daughter of Gerald Ford, jumped on board yesterday, explaining that she believes Harris can heal the nation the way her father tried to do. Also yesterday, often obnoxious New York Times columnist Bret Stephens announced that he's going to hold his nose and vote for Harris. He explained:
Kicking and screaming, I'll cast my ballot for Harris.
I really would rather have just sat out Election Day. But Jan. 6 and election denialism are unforgivable. And as my friend Richard North Patterson likes to say, "Donald Trump is literally bleeping crazy." And what crazy brings in its wake is JD Vance, whom I find worse than Trump, because he's just as cynical but twice as bright. And what it also brings in its wake is Tucker Carlson and the Hitler defenders he likes to platform.
Fortunately for the Democratic nominee, a reluctant vote counts just as much as an enthusiastic one.
There has also developed, between the campaigns, a competition for the support of... Pittsburgh Steelers. We suppose that makes sense, since it's something of a double-whammy; not only is Pennsylvania a swing state, but all the Steelers who have endorsed so far are Black. In any case, Harris has the backing of Jerome Bettis, Mean Joe Greene and the family of Franco Harris. Trump, by contrast, has landed Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell. For those who don't follow sports, the three Harris supporters are all NFL Hall of Famers, and have nine Super Bowl rings between them. Brown, meanwhile, has a reputation for both sexual assault and mental instability, and he literally quit the NFL in the middle of a game (throwing his pads and helmet into the crowd). Bell is not markedly better in terms of his reputation for being erratic. The two Trump supporters have one Super Bowl ring between them.
In addition to the football players, the Trump campaign has also bragged about the support of nine more celebrities (for those who need more than Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock):
Most of these names are probably not familiar to readers, since most of them would need to move up a letter or two just to qualify as C-listers. Probably the best known are the Nelk Boys, Canadians (uh-oh) who host a far-right podcast; Cyrus, a one-hit wonder whose one hit ("Achy Breaky Heart") was 30 years ago; and rapper M.I.A., whose appearance on the list (as a pro-Palestinian woman of color) is quite a surprise, to the point that many people suspect she's trolling. If she's playing it straight, well, then the M.I.A. cheese is pretty far off the M.I.A. cracker, because in her endorsement she said she looks forward to 4 years of President Trump followed by 8 years of President Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
There is also one endorsement that you might expect Harris to have that she has NOT picked up. That would be the endorsement of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the sorority she joined in college, and has been closely affiliated with ever since. While many members of AKA are campaigning for Harris, the sorority itself is a 501(c)(7) nonprofit, and so is forbidden from endorsing candidates for office, at risk of losing their tax-exempt status. That said, most people can presumably guess what side an organization composed of 360,000 college-educated Black women is probably on. (Z)