Missed The Solar Eclipse? Here You Go.

We cats witnessed the amazing eclipse in April of 2024, but we still wish we could have seen the one today. Let's PURR anyway.

Carted Away

The whole world is laughing at us, including our friends — that is, when they're not petitioning their government to expel our ambassador. Nice work, Trumpsters. We cats HISS.

(IMAGE: Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

How Unpopular Is Donald? Very Unpopular.

By Sniffles

There's a satisfying symmetry in the results of two recent Democratic primaries in the Midwest. In Michigan, Bernie Bro Abdul El-Sayed defeated a so-called "establishment" candidate, Haley Stevens, while in Wisconsin, the "normie" David Crowley beat the progressive-but-non-Bernie-endorsed Francesca Hong. Both races were unexpectedly close, and both ended with Democrats coming together in unity. Nice!

Meanwhile, in Trump World, things aren't going so hot. Donald-endorsed candidates Andy Ogles (Tennessee), Amir Hassan (Michigan), and Mike "MyPillow" Lindell (Minnesota) all got beat in their respective races — with Lindell refusing to concede, which is great. Darline Graham Nordone in South Carolina fell well short of avoiding a runoff. She has to face bonkers Rep. Ralph Norman on August 25.

These were GOP primaries, so it's interesting that Benedict Donald's blessing didn't help candidates coast to victory. And the Republicans who did win will come up against strong headwinds in November, headed by Trump's simply terrible poll numbers. Check out the latest results from The Economist, whose tracker lands him at minus-27 net approval.

Trump has a positive rating in only three states: West Virginia, Wyoming, and Idaho (see above).

But what really worries Republicans is Trump's underwater approval in states that have key House, Senate and gubernatorial races this year: states like Maine, where's he's minus-31, Minnesota (-42), Michigan (-27), Georgia (-31), Wisconsin (-28), Iowa (-24), Texas (-22), Arizona (-23), Alaska (-18), and Nevada (-27). We cats are proud to note that here in New York, Trump is down by minus-36. 

How bad is it for them? Well, there's about 12 weeks left until Election Day. For Trump to pull even in Iowa, for instance, he'd have to move up two points per week, every week. He'd have to improve three points a week to be even in New York. He'd have to move 1.5 points each week to catch up in Alaska. Ain't gonna happen. Somebody get Mike Johnson and John Thune some smelling salts. We cats PURR.

Iran Marks Its Calendar For 2029

 (IMAGE: Theo Moudakis, The Toronto Star)

Sending Good Thoughts

We cats PURR.

That Long National Nightmare

By Hubie and Bertie

We cats have been around for a while, which means that we vividly remember August 9, 1974, when Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency, gave that weird malignant-narcissist speech, and left the White House — after which Gerald Ford was sworn in as President. What a day.

Sadly, it must be pointed out that the thing that did Nixon in was his comment on the White House tapes about telling the CIA to keep the FBI from investigating Watergate. "Don't go any further into this case, period!" That smoking gun alone was able to torch Nixon's presidency — as it should have. It was clear obstruction of justice.

Now, 52 years later, we have a Watergate-and-beyond Trump scandal every single day. And nothing happens. The Trumpsters are very good at "flooding the zone" with a firehose of outrages. But if the Democrats take control of the House and/or the Senate — which is growing increasingly likely — there will be some hell to pay.

There has to be, actually. Back in 1974, Republicans had enough respect for the Constitution to march down to the White House and tell Nixon his goose was cooked. Today's Republicans wouldn't even bother. Which means that Barry Goldwater, John Rhodes, and Hugh Scott are all spinning in their graves. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

Cracking Up

By Miss Kubelik

On top of all their other troubles, the Republicans' Senate contenders are suffering from the Bad Candidate-Bad Campaign Syndrome.

We already know that Mike Collins in Georgia and Michael Whatley in North Carolina are — because they're both getting their asses whooped in the polls by Jon Ossoff and Roy Cooper. (And they're getting wiped out by the Democrats money-raising-wise, too.) And certainly Ken Paxton, the most toxic and corrupt candidate the GOP could have ever nominated in Texas, has been driving Republicans to drink as he vacations in London with his mistress and stonewalls questions about his 15 zillion-dollar properties. (Man of the people, that.)

Aside from those guys, you could credibly add to the list Ashley Moody of Florida, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, and Ohio's Jon Husted. All have been running lackluster efforts, or have been surprised at the strength of their Democratic opponent, or both. In the case of Darline Graham Nordone in South Carolina, her late entry and name change are weird, and polls show she's not a lock for the GOP nomination in next Tuesday's primary. Nebraska's Pete Ricketts has his own problems, running against an Independent, Dan Osborn (Democrat Cindy Burbank dropped out of the race to give Osborn a clear shot).

So, yeah, not a good situation for them. And on the House side? Check out what district the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee just added to its "In Play" list: Elise "Elsie" Stefanik's own NY-21! The DCCC thinks that the bombastic and repugnant Anthony Constantino is volatile and silly enough to give a thoughtful listener like dairy farmer Blake Gendenbien a chance. We cats agree, and we PURR.

Kiss And Make Up

By Zamboni

Republicans must be so disappointed about the speed at which Democrats coalesced around their candidates in Michigan today. The winner in yesterday's Senate primary would not have been our first choice, but although Haley Stevens ended up making it a race, it was probably better for the sake of the party that Abdul El-Sayed pulled it out. As we learned to our dismay in 2016 and 2024, Bernie Bros (and Broettes) are not dependable in a general election.

Meanwhile, the so-called Democratic "establishment" prevailed in other races. US Rep. Wesley Bell beat former Rep. Cori Bush (again) in Missouri's first Congressional District. It wasn't close: 70.7 percent to 25.8 percent. Shannon Taylor won in Virginia's first CD with 53 percent of the vote, while former Rep. Elaine Luria waltzed to victory in the second CD with 80 percent. And Rep. Don Beyer defeated Mo Seifeldein in VA-08. We are noting these wins even if the media don't.

Back in Michigan, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson romped to victory in the Democratic gubernatorial primary with 84.6 percent of the vote. She will headline a party unity event on Friday in Detroit, with El-Sayed, Stevens, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Mallory McMorrow, and special guest and famous Michigan resident Pete Buttigieg (above). We cats are looking forward to it, and we PURR.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

"America has changed over the years. But these values my grandparents taught me — they haven't gone anywhere. They're as strong as ever, still cherished by people of every party, every race, every faith. 

"They live on in each of us. What makes us American, what makes us patriots, is what's in here.

"And that's why we can take the food and music and holidays and styles of other countries, and blend it into something uniquely our own. That's why we can attract strivers and entrepreneurs from around the globe to build new factories and create new industries here. That's why our military can look the way it does — every shade of humanity, forged into common service.

"That's why anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadists or homegrown demagogues, will always fail in the end."

—Barack Obama, born August 4, 1961

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Republican Troubles Edition

By Baxter

We've had our usual firehose of news these last few days. Here are a few items to help us all sort through the chaos.

How many pundits smugly said not too long ago that the 2026 Senate map was way too big a climb for the Democrats? All of them, right? Well, now we're seeing language like this: "Senate Republicans say they see Trump as a growing political liability as they try to hang on to control of the Senate in the 2026 midterm elections" (emphasis ours). The list of seats the GOP is worried about is a fun read — it includes Alaska, Ohio, Maine, and even Nebraska. Wow! What a difference 18 months of Donald Disasters make.

Former Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) has finally crossed the Rainbow Bridge. She's the House member who didn't show up for votes for ages and whose staff ultimately admitted was in an ALF memory care unit — presciently similar to Tom Kean Jr.'s and Mitch McConnell's recent disappearing acts. We know this is a broken record, but can you imagine if a Democrat tried to pull that off?

Looks like Congressman Max Miller isn't the only abusive personality on the Republican side of the aisle. The House Ethics Committee lowered the boom today on Chuck Edwards of North Carolina for creating a hostile and harassing work environment. "A member of Congress should not single out a staffer and isolate them from other staff, make frequent comments regarding that person’s appearance and weight, send messages in the middle of the night, text staff deeply personal and seemingly romantic thoughts, intrude on personal occasions without invitation, pay for personal vacations, and spend thousands of dollars on gifts," the committee said. Ew. (The good news is that Sabato's Crystal Ball has moved Edwards's race from "Leans Republican" to "Toss-Up.")

Finally, it's not clear why Jeanine Pirro left a White House meeting dragging a white box this afternoon. Joke of the day: That's a pretty big box of wine (but maybe not for her). We cats PURR.