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New polls: MI
Dem pickups: NC
GOP pickups: AZ GA MI

Sorry it's late. They aren't kidding when they say COVID slows you down mentally.

Debate: With the Benefit of Hindsight... Harris Is Still the Hands-Down Victor

The presidential debate is, at least for those of us who write about politics, the gift that keeps on giving. Let's take a look at a dozen debate-related storylines from the past 24 hours or so, nearly all of them speaking to Kamala Harris' success on Tuesday evening:

Please be clear, we did not cherry-pick here. The coverage, across the spectrum, is overwhelming: Trump got thumped, and now he's reaping the harvest. And we still have one more debate post today, plus we'll have one next week (with the bingo material). He's gotta hope that this doesn't last TOO many more cycles. (Z)

Debate Memes: Bravo, Internet!

On Wednesday, in our debate write-up, we included the observation that, in our view, there weren't "any meme-y moments that will enter the annals of presidential debate lore, like 'There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe' or 'binders full of women' or 'There you go again.'"

Oops. Clearly, we were wrong about that. And really, we should have chosen our words more carefully; what we meant is that there were no game changers. Thanks to the "dogs and cats" thing, it might also have been wrong to say that. But it was definitely wrong to suggest there would be no memes. There are all kinds of them. To make up for our error, we thought we'd run down some of the best and most ubiquitous ones:

Scheisskopf?: Even other countries were piling on Trump after the debate.

A tweet from the German foreign office that
says: 'Like it or not: Germany's energy system is fully operational, with more than 50% renewables. And we are shutting down-not 
building-coal and nuclear plants. Coal will be off the grid by 2038 at the latest. PS: We also don't eat cats and dogs.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Orange Fish: Dr. Seuss may have been dead for 30 years, and yet...

It's a cover that looks like
a Dr. Seuss book called 'They're Eating the Dogs, They're Eating the Cats'; it also has a Trump-looking orange figure
on it

Save the Animals: There are literally thousands of these out there. And they are being posted by both Republicans (un-ironically) and Democrats (extremely ironically).

A picture of Trump carrying
a cat and a goose and running away from a group of Haitians, a cat with an AK-47 and a MAGA hat, Trump riding a giant tabby 
cat, a picture of a big-eyed baby duck, dog and cat holding signs asking you to vote for Trump to save them

What Would Franklin Do?: We think this is a more effective version of the previous bit.

It's a parody of the
'Don't Tread on Me' flag that has a kitten and the phrase 'Don't Snack on Me'

Our Mistake: Several readers wrote in after the debate to point out, quite rightly, that there is one very well-documented example of an alien eating a cat.

Alf the alien, from the
1980s show Alf, with a live cat on a hoagie roll

Otto and Flash Disapprove: And it's not just cats.

A live dachshund 
puppy wearing a hot dog bun

D'oh!: The Simpsons has a meme for all occasions.

Bart Simpson, in
one of the standard pre-episode vignettes, writing 'They're eating the dogs.'

Snoopy Also Disapproves: This video is making the rounds; it's remarkable how well the piano from the Charlie Brown theme lines up with Trump's cat and dogs remarks:



A Song of Ice and Fire?: There are a lot of variants of this bit to be found. We liked this one, with George R.R. Martin (who has been promising to finish the book series that inspired Game of Thrones for years) best. (Though we very nearly went with the one featuring the Tesla truck.)

A tweet quotes
Trump: 'I have the concepts of a plan and you will be hearing more in the near future.' and has a picture of Martin

Phone Home: This one pretty much speaks for itself.

The tweet says 
'illegal transgender alien' and has a screen capture from the scene in E.T. where the alien character tries
to hide by dressing in drag.

Anger Translator: This video, from the Lincoln Project, is sort of reminiscent of the old Key and Peele "Obama Anger Translator" bit. Note that it's PG-13, but that it will also please fans of late-20th-century pop culture.



Thanks, incidentally, to readers R.E.M. in Brooklyn, NY, M.G. in Augsburg, Germany, L.S.-H. in Naarden, The Netherlands, J.L. in Los Angeles, CA, S.A. in Seattle, WA, R.L. in Oakland, CA, M.A. in Albuquerque, NM, B.C. in Richmond, VA and C.S. in New York City, NY for sending in many of these examples. We hope we did not miss anyone. (Z)

Today in Ballot Shenanigans: RFK Jr. Is Working Hard to Have an Impact in November

You don't often see "Robert F. Kennedy Jr." and "win" in the same sentence, but he got a pretty big win in North Carolina this week. The state Supreme Court, which has been stacked with far-right justices, ruled that he must be removed from the ballot.

This ruling runs contrary to multiple laws, federal and state. Starting with the latter, Kennedy missed the deadline for removal, and according to North Carolina statutes, he could only be removed if it was "practicable." It wasn't, because more than half of North Carolina's counties had already printed ballots. Oh, and the state will not begin early voting on the date required by state law (September 6). As to federal law, the state is required to send ballots to servicemembers no later than September 21. Election officials say they probably won't be able to make the cutoff, because they have to redesign hundreds of ballots.

All of this has two effects that are desirable, as far as Team Trump is concerned. First, there will obviously be less early voting. Since early voting tends to favor Democrats, this is a win for the Republican ticket. Second, with millions of non-valid ballots to be destroyed, and millions of valid ballots to be quickly designed, printed and distributed, it will create chaos. That jibes well with future plans to claim fraud, deceit, trickery, etc. And, of course, North Carolina could well be the linchpin of the whole election.

Kennedy has been a sleazeball for decades. But now you can add "antidemocratic" to his list of sobriquets. (Z)

Endorsement News: Manchin, Gonzales Both Tango across the Aisle

Politics makes strange dance partners. At least, we think that's the saying. In any event, there were a couple of high-profile, cross-aisle endorsements yesterday.

First up is Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV). Since he's now an independent, maybe this doesn't count as crossing the aisle anymore. Maybe he's standing IN the aisle. In any case, he announced his support for Larry Hogan (R) in the Maryland U.S. Senate race. Manchin explained that he's supporting Hogan because "he's the white person." Er, wait, no. It was because "he's the right person." Our error.

We continue to be mystified as to what Manchin's long game is. He's clearly not planning a future in West Virginia politics; this year was his last chance to run for either the U.S. Senate or for West Virginia governor prior to becoming an octogenarian. We guess he sees himself as some sort of future elder statesman, serving as the guru of bipartisanship. If so, he's in the wrong era, and he's also the wrong guy. Republicans disdain him because he used to be a Democrat. Democrats disdain him because he's Joe Manchin.

Meanwhile, another high-profile Bush administration official has thrown his lot in with Kamala Harris. That would be former AG Alberto Gonzales, who was way up there with Dick Cheney on Democrats' "naughty" list 20 years ago. Yesterday, he wrote an op-ed for Politico in which he observed that he has a unique perspective as the only person to serve as both White House counsel and AG, and then warned:

As the United States approaches a critical election, I can't sit quietly as Donald Trump—perhaps the most serious threat to the rule of law in a generation—eyes a return to the White House. For that reason, though I'm a Republican, I've decided to support Kamala Harris for president...

Power is intoxicating and based on Trump's rhetoric and conduct it appears unlikely that he would respect the power of the presidency in all instances; rather, he would abuse it for personal and political gain, and not on behalf of the American people.

Perhaps the most revealing example relates to Trump's conduct on Jan. 6, 2021, when he encouraged his followers to march to our nation's capital [sic] in order to challenge the certification of Joe Biden's electoral victory. Trump failed to do his duty and exercise his presidential power to protect members of Congress, law enforcement and the Capitol from the attacks that day. He failed to deploy executive branch personnel to save lives and property and preserve democracy. He just watched on television and chose not to do anything because that would have been contrary to his interests. Trump still describes that day as beautiful. And as for those subsequently convicted of committing crimes, he describes them as hostages. He also has promised to pardon the convicted rioters if elected. Why? Because they were acting in his interests.

Gonzales also notes that it's dumb to blame a sitting VP for the state of the economy.

We continue to expect a commercial featuring all these high-profile Republicans making the pitch for Harris. Although, at this rate, it may need to be a series of commercials. (Z)

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Whatever Happened to the Quebec Nordiques?

Yes, we know what actually happened to the Nordiques; they became the Colorado Avalanche. It was a rhetorical question, along the lines of "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?"

Anyhow, last week, we gave the clue that the headline theme was "probably a lay-up for many readers. Or a can of corn. Or... a wrist shot." On Saturday, we added "Ice, Ice baby." And now, courtesy of reader C.B. in Lakeville, State of Hockey, er, Minnesota:

Looks like you've got some NHL team nicknames there:

The Nordiques, from today's headline, are a (former) hockey team as well, as we note above. Oh, and a lay-up is an easy play in basketball, a can of corn is an easy play in baseball, and a wrist shot is an easy play... in hockey.

Here are the first 50 readers to get it right:

  1. C.W. in Atlantic Beach, FL
  2. J.U. in Chicago, IL
  3. R.C. in Eagleville, PA
  4. M.F. in Goshen, KY
  5. J.C. in Oxford, England, UK
  6. C.B. in Lakeville
  7. G.W. in Avon, CT
  8. J.N. in Zionsville, IN
  9. D.L. in Springfield, IL
  10. R.D. in Cheshire, CT
  11. D.D. in Highland Park, IL
  12. A.S. in Fairfax, VA
  13. M.T. in Wheat Ridge, CO
  14. J.S. in Somerset, NJ
  15. R.S. in Milan, OH
  16. R.G. in Bella Vista, AR
  17. R.R. in Lancaster, PA
  18. D.C. in South Elgin, IL
  19. M.W. in Frederick, MD
  20. G.M. in Gaithersburg, MD
  21. K.M. in Ypsilanti, MI
  22. M.M. in Manahawkin, NJ
  23. M.A. in Cornelius, NC
  24. M.K. in Rye, NY
  25. T.M. in New York City, NY
  1. C.G. in Pflugerville, TX
  2. J.P. in Fredericksburg, VA
  3. H.K. in Berlin, Germany
  4. W.L. in Los Angeles, CA
  5. D.S. in Layton, UT
  6. D.S. in Jackson, MN
  7. M.J.S. in Cheshire, CT
  8. R.R. in Camden, DE
  9. J.C. in Long Beach, NY
  10. Z.K. in Albany, NY
  11. E.K. in Arlington, MA
  12. D.K.M. in Grand Rapids, MI
  13. B.K. in Mystic, CT
  14. S.M. in Exton, PA
  15. D.K. in Chicago, IL
  16. C.B.L. in Warwick, RI
  17. C.J.R. in Boston, MA
  18. R.H.O. in Portland, ME
  19. J.M. in Eagle Mills, NY
  20. B.W. in Boston, MA
  21. T.K. in Kirkwood, MO
  22. L.D. in Bedford, MA
  23. J.F. in Fayetteville, NC
  24. B.U. in St. Louis, MO
  25. G.L. in Manchester, MO

R.D. in Cheshire also wonders: "Did someone from the north infiltrate this site?" No, we would never countenance such behaviour. Plus, a Canadian could never produce content of this calibre, eh.

Other hosers also expressed their suspicions.

For this week, the theme relies on one word per headline. The Trivial Pursuit theme would be "In the News," although that's not a great fit. As to a hint, we'll say that we doubt Donald Trump could figure out this theme. But if he did, he'd really hate it.

If you have a guess, send it to us at comments@electoral-vote.com, ideally with subject line "September 13 Headlines." (Z)

This Week in Schadenfreude: Thugs in Uniform

We admit that the schadenfreude here is a little limited. But we think it's a pretty important story, so we'll have to be satisfied with what little schadenfreude we can get.

The central figure in this story is Thomas Perez Jr., who lives in the California city of Fontana with his father (Papa Tom) and his dog. One evening, back in 2018, Papa Tom left home and did not return for many hours. Perez eventually called the police, who came to the house and asked him to return with them to the police station.

Initially, Perez' participation was voluntary and the police were cordial. What he did not know is that the officers were buying time so they could get a warrant and search Perez' house. Once they did so, and found some evidence they considered definitive (for example, a cadaver-sniffing dog alerted in one bedroom, suggesting the possibility that human remains had been in the room at some point), the visit with the police became no-longer-voluntary and not at all cordial.

Over several days, Perez was subject to lengthy interrogation sessions. The police denied him food, water and his prescription medications. They required him to strip. They told him they'd found his father's dead body, with blood all over the house, and Perez' fingerprints in the blood. They even put him in a squad car and drove him around Fontana, pointing to the spots where they said Perez might have committed the crime. Eventually, Perez confessed.

Presumably, you know where this is headed. Perez was not guilty of killing his father. Nobody was, in fact, because Papa Tom is still alive. He had flown to Oakland to meet his daughter, and forgot to mention it on his way out.

The good news here is that Perez was eventually freed (of course), and received a $900,000 settlement for his ordeal. The bad news is that others, in his situation, aren't usually so lucky as to be completely exonerated. If Papa Tom had been dead, then that plus the confession would have been enough to put Perez away for a long time. On top of that, while the city paid the price for its officers' behavior, the officers did not. In fact, of the two lead detectives in the case, one just received an award for exemplary service, while the other has been promoted to chief. As noted, the schadenfreude here is limited.

There is no question that police have a very difficult job, and often deal with very difficult people. It is equally true, however, that there are lots of mistakes and lots of abuses. Unfortunately, "crime" (and, in particular, "urban crime," which really means "minority crime") have been turned into such bugaboos that it's virtually impossible for politicians to engage with this issue. Yes, "Defund the Police" was very poor branding. But even absent that phrase, any politician who dares suggest that there may be a problem, and that maybe we could be doing better on policing, risks ending their career. It's really a shame. (Z)

This Week in Freudenfreude: Yankee Ingenuity

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield don't actually own the Ben & Jerry's ice cream brand anymore. But they still have big-time name recognition, and they still know a thing or two about making ice cream. They are also latter-day hippies and well-known supporters of the Democratic Party. Though their very favorite politician is their fellow Vermonter Bernie Sanders (who is not actually a Democrat, of course), their leanings mean it is no surprise that they are all-in on Kamala Harris.

The duo have come up with their own special way to rally support for civic engagement and for the Democratic ticket. Starting in Philadelphia on September 16 (the day early voting begins in Pennsylvania), and aided by MoveOn, the duo will mount what they are calling the "Scoop the Vote" tour. Over the course of a month, they will visit 20 cities in battleground states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona, in addition to Pennsylvania.

At each stop, Ben and Jerry will be joined by activists, local politicians, and other guests, and will talk to attendees about how to make sure their vote is counted. There will be giveaways, including—of course—ice cream. For this purpose, they have done what they do, and created a special new flavor called "Kamala's Coconut Jubilee." It's coconut ice cream with a caramel swirl and star-shaped sprinkles. And in case you are wondering, they also created a flavor for Sanders in 2020, called "Bernie's Back." It was described as "a hot cinnamon ice cream with a chocolate disc on top and a butter toffee backbone going down the middle." No star-shaped sprinkles, though.

We choose this, in part, because we strongly approve of creative efforts to get people to vote. However, it's also because with all the corporations and fat cats who achieve their political goals through lobbying and giving cash to politicians, it's nice to see Ben and Jerry making a different choice. As a bonus, an item about people making their own ice cream will presumably be less controversial than the item last week about people making their own mifepristone.

Have a good weekend, all! (Z)

Today's Presidential Polls

For Kamala Harris, Michigan is the most doubtful of the three upper Midwest states. That said, Harris has led by an average of 2 points or so, which means this poll could be a bit of an outlier. (Z)

State Kamala Harris Donald Trump Start End Pollster
Michigan 48% 49% Sep 11 Sep 12 Insider Advantage

Click on a state name for a graph of its polling history.


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