New Map

By Sniffles

The run-up to the midterms is starting to solidify, and for the Trumpsters and the GOP, not in a good way.

Larry Sabato and his Crystal Ball just moved a few more races in the Democrats' direction: the open Senate seat in Iowa from "Leans Republican" to "Toss-up," Roger Marshall's quest for re-election to the Senate from Kansas to "Leans" from "Likely" Republican, and — maybe the most dispiriting for them — the Michigan Senate race between Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed from "Toss-up" to "Leans Democratic."

That's even as Sabato and other analysts still expect El-Sayed to underperform what a Democrat "should" get in Michigan in a year like this. But a win for him would be one of the biggest "F yous" to Republicans that we can think of at the moment. The GOP has worked hard to make him a bogeyman for silly reasons, appealing to people's worst instincts (which, to be sure, they're very good at).

Meanwhile, Republicans are reading the writing on the wall and starting to distance themselves from Trump — pusillanimously and hypocritically, as you'd expect, since they've all enabled Donald for years. They include Rogers and Senate candidate Ashley Hinson in Iowa, both of whom have suddenly decided that an Iran war they've consistently supported is a bad idea. Even gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds of Florida has — gasp! — removed any mention of Trump from his campaign website. And of course Maria Elivra Salazar started the trend by launching an ad against Trump's immigration policies.

Benedict Donald has helped these ratings changes by behaving like the disgusting idiot he is. Nobody is controlling him. Maybe a lot of voters don't get the ins and out of how the White House press pool works, but they definitely know what they're paying at the pump, and are rightly insulted when Trump tells them the cost of gas is just an "inexpensive price to pay" for corralling Iran (which, by the way, he's not doing).

"Inexpensive"? Maybe to him and his billionaire family of grifters. But not to truckers, farmers, exurban commuters, soccer moms, Door Dashers, and folks trying to make some extra cash driving for Uber. Keep being tone-deaf, Donald — you're doing our work for us. We cats PURR.

Journalists Find Their Balls

 

By Hubie and Bertie

Well, this only took six (cumulative) years. The networks have suspended pool coverage of the White House after Benedict Donald banned CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on Friday. It's either a case of "About blankety-blank time" or "Too little, too late." (Probably a little of both.)

"This is to advise that, effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” current TV pool chair Bryan Boughton wrote. "This follows the White House's position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place."

Bad timing for Trump, if he was banking on getting images of his Monday trip to the United Nations on the airwaves. CNN was scheduled to serve as the television pool today, BWAAHAHAAHAA — providing video to the participating networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox, yes, Fox). Don't these Trumpsters think any of these things through? Imagine how much more damage they'd do if they were competent.

This is a developing story, so we'll keep our paws on it. But meanwhile, we're willing to salute the networks for finally locating their spines (or other parts of their anatomy). Yes, it's a delicate balance between covering legitimately important stories — like the UN — and First Amendment rights, but the press has needed to push back on this authoritarian, antidemocratic crap for a long time. We cats PURR.

Hmmm, What Will They Do?

By Miss Kubelik

The polls are so dire for Trump and the Republicans that they can't possibly win the midterms unless they resort to what a political acquaintance of ours politely calls trickery. The thought recurs anew as the GOP sends Benedict Donald to campaign in North Carolina. Why? Vanity, stupidity? Or did the underfunded Michael Whatley campaign fork over big bucks to bring Trump there? Whatever the explanation, it seems like a phenomenal waste of resources.

And Vance goes to Ohio... and Iowa... and other states that should be reliably red. They know they're in trouble.

So, what batshit crazy stuff will the Trumpsters pull between now and the election to make sure they don't get taken to the cleaners? Let us imagine the ways.

• Declare a national emergency
• Put ICE at major GOTV rallies
• Use nukes against Iran
• Up his $5,000 voter bribe to $10,000
• Fire the entire Federal Reserve Board
• Nominate three right-wing judges to replace Justices Sotomayor, Jackson and Kagan, and demand that the Senate come back into session and approve them
• Raze the Kennedy Center
• Rename Dulles International Airport
• Threaten to rename Lake Michigan if Abdul El-Sayed and Jocelyn Benson win their races
• Demand that Canada hand over Newfoundland for national security reasons
• Order the Treasury to buy back $100 billion in Treasury bills
• Demand that the Bank of Japan take back their announced rate hike and cut another 1 percent

See, you can make this stuff up. Sadly, with Trump, none of these possibilities are completely off the wall. We cats HISS.

Hamilton (Yes, Hamilton)

By Zamboni

We cats don't usually post about races like this, but let's talk about Kansas.

Republican Senator Roger Marshall has already admitted that, as a medical doctor, he sued patients for payment, some for as little as $129. (On top of that — he's facing allegations that he doesn't really live in Kansas. Could be a problem.)

Just $129? What a POS. Really!

So, couple that with a recent poll that shows Democrat Adam Hamilton leading Marshall by two points. Want to show Hamilton some support at a crucial time? Click here. We cats PURR.

The Meaning Of The Kennedy Center

 "When at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us...our success or failure...will be measured by the answers to four questions.

"First, were we truly men of courage? Secondly, were we truly men of judgment? Third, were we truly men of integrity? Finally, were we truly men of dedication?"

—John F. Kennedy, 1961

Not What A Leader Does When Things Are Going Well, Just Saying

By Baxter

Benedict Donald has banned media from the White House Press Corps before, and nobody really noticed or cared. The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal... it was all Inside Baseball. Until today.

Now, Trump has banned CNN, MSNBC, and POLITICO. Really? These are news outlets whose banishments people will notice. "I don't get fair press," Donald said. "There may be others to join them."

So, we cats have one question, and it's an important one.

"THEN NONE OF THE PRESS CORPS SHOWS UP AT ALL, RIGHT?"

Right? We cats HISS.

Beatty Rips Trump Down

By Sniffles

We cats admit that we're not necessarily up to snuff on the arts. We became vaguely aware of some kerfuffle involving Robert Kraft (whom we, ugh, know), Ed Sheeran (haven't got a clue), and someone named Macklemore (ditto). Since Kraft was involved, we figured the other two guys were... football players? Boy, were we wrong. (Cats are only occasionally wrong, mind you, but honest when we are.)

Turns out Sheeran and Macklemore are a British singer/songwriter and an American rapper, respectively. But okay, the arts encompass all sorts of disciplines, so we can work with this. Whatever their current troubles, Sheeran and Macklemore are being messed with by a billionaire Trumpster who got off the hook for paying for sex at a massage parlor and whose name appears in the Epstein files.

In short, MAGA world doesn't have a lot of respect for the arts. Especially Benedict Donald, who was photographed through a window on Bribe Force One last night reading a document with the headline "Kennedy Center Demolished." The New York Times figured that was a stunt — Trump trolling the commie liberals and bleeding hearts. But when you recall his rush to tear down the East Wing nearly a year ago, you know with dread that with him, anything is possible.

Especially now that he's suffered multiple humiliations in one week — on Iran, voting by mail, Canada, the EU, and the Federal Reserve Board. But did any of those top the fact that he was also taken to the verbal woodshed by a Black woman? Trump is a racist, so the answer is no.

Trump "went into a tantrum" at this week's Kennedy Center board meeting on Zoom, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty said. "I mean, let me just make it simple. It was the most unprofessional thing that I've ever witnessed or been a part of. He went into name-calling, everything from trying to say that I was an obstructionist, I was dumb. He said, 'I think you're incompetent.' And I said, 'I know you're incompetent.'

"I reminded him that he had more bankruptcies than anybody in the room," Beatty said. "I mean, it really went there, because I was not going to let him bully me, intimidate me."

So, it appears Tantrum Trump has sent his goons to put fencing around the Kennedy Center and is moving in heavy equipment, even though Judge Christopher Cooper has forbidden any demolition or construction work without 30 days' notice. (Trump doesn't care.) It's amazing that he would risk such bad optics seven weeks before the midterms, but in his current cognitive decline, he's ruled by his emotions and cravings, not logic. The President of the United States, folks. We cats HISS.

A Message From Maria Shriver

"And so here we are. This statement from Trump blows my mind. That a sitting President would not let any renovations to a public building go on unless he gets to first put his name in the said building...What a sad state of affairs. What a tragedy.

"Actually, how small-minded, how narcissistic.

"Actually great men, devoted to public service and the public good, do not act like this. It seems that this man will not rest until his name is permanently connected to the name of a great President, whose memory this building was dedicated to. Imagine spending your time and your days focused on this, as everyday Americans struggle with healthcare, gas prices, rent, and food. Imagine spending your days focused on this, while a war rages under your leadership.

"Enough said. Thank you for your attention to this matter."

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

By Hubie and Bertie

Well, whew, everybody. The Supreme Court just blocked Benedict Donald and his anti-democracy storm troopers from messing with mail-in voting this year. (This year, mind you. Stay vigilant.)

However, this is a big win, and a load off our furry minds. Not that there aren't still crazy possibilities out there — ICE at the polls, voting machines swiped, Mikey Johnson refusing to seat new members, to name a few — but this SCOTUS decision was the big enchilada for us. Because a third of the electorate votes by mail, it was the scariest threat to the election prediction that Larry Sabato made earlier today.

"Fifty days til November 3," Sabato wrote. "Keep in mind that most of what happens now doesn’t matter a whit. Operatives and media whose jobs are to exaggerate every jot and tittle will insist otherwise. Yet the path is basically set." 

Except for GOP money, though? Could it make a difference?

"In very tight races, sure," Sabato replied. "We can disagree about how many there are, but it's clear there are far fewer even vaguely competitive districts than there used to be. No way does money move masses of people late." (And you could credibly argue that Trump won't spend a dime of his war chest to help his party, anyway.)

A blue wave, Sabato concluded, is "the path we're on." Updates as they develop. Meanwhile, we cats PURR.

"The Response To Darkness Is To Reach Out"

Because America didn't have a national leader who was capable of expressing how we're all feeling on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, we have decided to look elsewhere for inspiration. We cats salute Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and we PURR.