New Hero

Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland, Oregon, said it plainly this weekend: Benedict Donald needs to go away. Addressing Trump directly is also a nice touch (which Joe Biden did as well, in his terrific speech this afternoon). We cats PURR.

Bad Ad.

By Sniffles

Joe Biden put out a powerful statement today that basically reminded America that Benedict Donald is the same guy who took out this 1989 ad against the (later proven innocent) Central Park Five.

Thirty-one years later, the nation knows that the ad was a piece of crap, and so is the person who paid for it. Problem is, that person is the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And just like back in the day, he's tossing gasoline on a national fire — and now, armed yahoos in pickup trucks flying Trump flags are heading into places like Portland, Oregon, to shoot people.

"What does President Trump think will happen when he continues to insist on fanning the flames of hate and division in our society and using the politics of fear to whip up his supporters?" Biden asked. "The job of the President is to lower the temperature... Donald Trump has been President for almost four years. The temperature in the country is higher, tensions run stronger, divisions run deeper. And all of us are less safe because Donald Trump can't do the job of the American President."

Expect more of this tomorrow, when Biden travels to Pennsylvania for a speech — or maybe we should say, when Biden holds an event and continues to act more like a President that the cretin who currently is.

We all just have to hang on until we can end this nightmare on November 3. In the meantime, in the words of a favorite tweep: "This [statement] is exactly right by Biden. It's also exactly what polls show most Americans think, and only people who spend too much time on [social media] don't realize this. Fortunately for Democrats, Biden is not one of them and consistently speaks for the country instead of Twitter." We cats PURR.

Here's What We Can Do

By Hubie and Bertie

Maybe you've heard that the office of the Director of National Intelligence has stopped briefing Congress on election interference? This is the kind of thing that happens in an autocracy.

Thankfully, the United States is not an autocracy — yet. But since Congressional Republicans appear to be okay with protecting Trump and the Russians, here's what we all need to do.

Call your member of Congress. Every message that hits members' voice mailboxes tells them their chances of winning re-election. The phone number is (202) 224-3121. You will reach the US Capitol operator, so just ask for your member by name. When you reach the office, be polite. Tell them you want the DNI to brief Congress on Russia's attack on this election.

Also, find your Congressperson's and both your Senators' USPS addresses. They take written letters very seriously in an election year. If you can, send a fax as well. Those count, too.

If you live near your Representative's or Senator's office (state, district or DC), walk in. Be polite and well-dressed. Inform the staff you want to leave a personal message: You want Russian election attacks briefed to Congress and our elections to be protected. This will matter to staff.

Then, write a letter to the editor in your local newspaper. Say that you want Russia's attacks on democracy investigated, but that it appears that some elected officials are derelict in their duty. (Hint, hint.) Campaign staff will absolutely see those, and local media will likely cover the issue more.

The most important point here is that all politics is local. Your member of Congress wants to keep his/her job, and so does his or her district staff. If you're in a swing district, you'll have even more sway. But even if you're not (like us), they know that in a blue tsunami year, anything can happen. Get your vote heard. We cats PURR.

42, Gone At 43

 

Advice of the day: African-American friends, we know you don't trust the medical establishment. You have good reasons. But please, insist on getting screened for cancer. We love and need you. Thank you!

Hairball Hacking Time

By Miss Kubelik

Everyone who has the White House on his or her résumé, as we cats do, was appalled at what happened on the South Lawn last night. And every American should be, too.

Trumpy tweeps, particularly the FOX "News" crew, tried to claim today that it was A-OK for Trump to use the White House as his political backdrop because Joe Biden had accepted his nomination "from his house." Except that Joe Biden didn't — he spoke from the Chase Center in Wilmington. And Joe Biden would never dream of sullying the Executive Mansion with huge Biden-Harris signs.

But here's the most important point, and media, please take note: What Benedict Donald's been doing is not a "blurring of the lines" thing. It's a violation of everything the United States stands for. We do not have a king. It is not l'etat c'est moi. The White House belongs to the American people, even those who didn't vote for its current occupant. It does not belong to that current occupant, no matter who he/she is.

Every President has understood that, until now. The fact that Trump rushed to violate that, and that so many Republicans were willing to go along with it, is sickening.

We used to think Benedict Donald wanted to be Vladimir Putin, but we were wrong. He wants to be a freaking czar. (When it comes to interior decoration, et. al, he's got the taste of one.) Word of warning to Trump and all his complicit minions: There are no more Russian czars, and there's a reason for that. We cats HISS.

Prebutting In

By Zamboni

What's the chance of rain in DC tonight? Could the skies possibly open and drench all the maskless fools who are gathered on the South Lawn in violation of federal law? Or have we used up all our God points with Hurricane Laura knocking down that Confederate statue in Louisiana?

The Trumpsters are betting too much on the rape of American pageantry. In a few days and weeks, tonight's sh*tshow at the White House will be a fading memory, as parents across the country try to send their kids to school. In too many places, in-person learning will have to be suspended as more and more COVID cases pop up, and chaos will ensue. Heck, chaos is already here. We cats don't have kittens, but it's not difficult to imagine how furious and frustrated Americans with school-age kids will be. (Hint: They won't be taking it out on Joe Biden.)

But there's one thing you can predict about tonight: With her blistering prebuttal speech today, Kamala Harris burrowed deeply under Benedict Donald's thin skin, raising the chances that he'll abandon the teleprompter, go off the rails and call her "nasty" and worse. Check the headlines tomorrow and see. In the meantime, we cats give Senator Harris an ankle rub, and we PURR.

"Build Bark Better"

Okay, yes, it's "National Dog Day" (we cats are not amused), but this is pretty cute. We're good sports, so we'll give it a PURR.

Completely Predictable

 Kyle Rittenhouse, the Kenosha shooter, attended a Trump rally in January, because of course he did.

High Volume, Low Substance

By Baxter

Contrary to the old saw "It's all over but the shouting," the Republicans kicked off their whatever-it-is convention with a lot of... well, shouting. (Is that why Gavin Newsom divorced Kimberly Guilfoyle so many moons ago? She was breaking his eardrums? Thankfully, Americans are taking up the #GuilfoyleChallenge.)

Republicans also have no party platform this year beyond fealty to Benedict Donald. We knew the GOP was on its last legs, but that's pretty astonishing. They have no plans for the pandemic, for getting the economy back on track and people back to work, for anything. They're not even pretending. That rumble that folks in Springfield, Illinois, are feeling is Abraham Lincoln, spinning in his grave.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden has put out plans for the economy, race relations, clean energy, healthcare, education, and yes, the pandemic — plus more. They're all here.

Democrats are taking democracy seriously and giving voters the respect they deserve. Maybe that's why they got three million more viewers on their convention's first night than the Trumpsters did. We cats PURR.

(IMAGE: Michael de Adder)

Inauspicious Start, Part Deux

By Sniffles

Is it just us, or is the day going badly for Benedict Donald?

New York Attorney General Tish James is after Eric Trump's testimony on the Trump Foundation — by subpoena, if necessary.

California Congresswoman Katie Porter got Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to admit that he doesn't know the cost of mailing a post card.

The Conway family is blowing up.

Joe Biden just received his first newspaper endorsement of the general election, from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

In response to the horrific shooting of Jacob Blake, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers is calling a special session of the state legislature on policing accountability. (Just because you look like Wally Cox's first cousin doesn't mean you aren't tough.)

Looks like Jerry Falwell really won't be able to campaign for Trump-Poonce this fall.

A judge has sided with the Florida teachers union and has granted a temporary injunction against Ron DeSantis's order to reopen schools, safety be damned.

Somebody yelled "Monkey!" when Trump mentioned President Obama in his "acceptance speech." In case you thought African-American voters weren't already motivated to turn out...

We may have to update this later. Meanwhile, we cats PURR.

Inauspicious Start

By Hubie and Bertie

Is it just a coincidence that this is the date the British burned the White House in 1814? The place sure has been a dumpster fire since Benedict Donald moved in.

And today starts what the Republicans are passing off as a party convention. We don't exactly know how they're convening (in person? via Zoom?) or even what their platform is (it's Trump, Trump and only Trump). No Republican heavy hitters from years past are showing up, like a former President or a former party nominee. And the list of Republicans endorsing Joe Biden keeps growing.

What's really getting our attention, though, is this whole Kellyanne Conway resignation thingy. It's a tremendously odd story that involves her husband, who is one of the Lincoln Project lads, and their 15-year-old daughter, who posted a video to the interwebs that, well, let's just say isn't very flattering. And it's happened hard on the heels of Mary Trump releasing that blistering audio of Trump's sister to The Washington Post. Family values!

Here's the thing about Kellyanne, though: What about the opioid epidemic????

Few will remember — because the so-called press has no institutional memory — that nearly three years ago, Benedict Donald appointed Kellyanne to combat the opioid scourge. You would have been forgiven for wondering how someone like her, a political pollster with no drug policy or law enforcement experience, would succeed. 

The answer: She didn't.

So who will take her place, heading up this you've-never-seen-anything-this-amazing coordinated national strategy that, even without the COVID-19 pandemic, still kills tens of thousands of Americans every year? Jared? Vice President Poonce?

Somebody needs to ask this question, since one of the "themes" of the Republican "convention" appears to be "promises kept." We cats HISS.

Speaking Up For Biden

 

 

Before we begin a week of Trumpian awfulness, let's look back on two minutes of courage, decency and hope. We cats PURR.

The Veeps

 

In case you need a second look at the video that Joe Biden and Julia Louis-Dreyfus made for the (GURK!) 2014 White House Correspondents' Dinner, here it is. Sure hope they got new "46" tattoos. We cats PURR.

Different Words, Same Spirit

The final few paragraphs of Joe Biden's acceptance speech last night reminded us of Jack Layton's last letter to Canadians. Anybody who calls upon this kind of spirit to lead our country gets our vote.

"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world." We cats PURR.

DNC Wrap-Up

By Miss Kubelik

Before we start on our recap of the Democratic National Convention, let us just pause to note: The Biden campaign reports it raised $70 million this week. Congratulations, team!

Meanwhile, Benedict Donald has spent $1 billion, and he's 10 points behind. Hmmmm. Since wisely conducted Presidential campaigns depend upon the judicious allocation of scarce resources, we'll just say that we don't want to switch places with Trump-Poonce.

Now, on to the best and the worst. Or actually, just the best.

The virtual format — A total winner. It reinforced our suspicion that the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic benefit Joe Biden much more than Donald Trump. Biden is a grownup who doesn't need the adulation of a crowd. Also, he can spend the rest of his time between now and November 3 putting out policies and plans, raising money, and prepping for the debates. None of this is bad.

Hurray for nuns — Sister Simone, you rock. The fact that you befuddled Laura Ingraham? All the better.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus — JLD once again proved that she is one of America's funniest comediennes, ever. And she made us wish that Joe Biden would call us if anything really bad happened to us.

Beau Biden — Including him felt right. It reminded us of Joe Biden's to Barack Obama and his link to Beau's fellow AG Kamala Harris. Importantly, it underscored Biden's understanding of what America is going through right now. If we're not mourning individual loved ones, we're mourning the lives that we've had snatched from us by Donald Trump's incompetence. America can relate.

Stuttering kid — The only person in America who has more guts than Gabby Giffords. Way to go, Brayden (and Gabby, too)!

Pressure on the Repubs — Thanks to Benedict Donald's dilly-dallying, the GOP has had much less time to plan their TV extravaganza. Surely they have some production-quality expertise at their disposal — but their late start plus Trump's meddling will ensure that they'll all end up in rehab before their 2020 convention is over. We feel no pity, by the way.

The acceptance speech — Joe Biden decimated the Trumpsters' "cognitive decline" charge (and remember, every accusation is a confession). Do you know how hard it is to deliver a speech with that much conviction and enthusiasm to, um, nobody? Benedict Donald isn't capable of it, that's for sure. Joe pulled it off with aplomb.

Biden was passionate and angry, and yes, he connected. Without a crowd, it felt very personal and intense. This is the Biden we feel we've always known. From the first time we ever saw him as a young Senator, we knew how ably he could veer between wry humor, a desire to educate and inform, and raw passion. Forty-four years later, he hasn't changed. We're ready to put the country in his hands, and we PURR.

Meacham The Magnificent

 

By Zamboni

What was best about the final night of the all-virtual Democratic National Convention? Everything. We'll be back with more analysis — but in the meantime, if you only have time to watch one thing in your busy day, make it this: four and a half minutes of quiet, searching reflection from historian Jon Meacham on the meaning of the American experiment and the nature of the American soul. We cats PURR.

Roll Call Of The Wild

 

 

By Baxter

Can we do virtual roll calls forever now? Last night's was such crazy fun, it's hard to imagine going back to the old way. But yes, we know that at some point the pandemic will be over and future Democratic delegates will be together in one room (sigh). Can they still have a video and just cheer it from their seats? We vote for that.

Everybody was great, but we particularly loved Parkland, Florida, dad Fred Guttenberg, Matthew Shepard's parents from Wyoming, the IBEW dude from Ohio who said that workers who trusted Donald Trump "always get screwed," the little kid in Louisiana who held up the sign with the Bidenesque aviator glasses, the New York nurse who proclaimed, "It's Joe Time!" — and, of course, Rhode Island's calamari guy. We cats PURR.

A Really Good Show

By Sniffles

We cats have watched (or attended) pretty much every Democratic convention since 1972. This year's DNC sure is different! But we think this virtual stuff works.

Why? Because most people aren't junkies like we are. They don't love watching delegates milling around on the floor, chatting each other up, and they're not into picking out political celebrities in the crowd. (C-SPAN is particularly good for this.) They don't get giggles from the signs, the buttons, the balloons, and the speeches, many of which are, let's face it, deadly dull.

But people do love watching videos. And with the occasional live address from a prominent office holder (think Governor Gretchen Whitmer), last night's debut of the Democratic convention was one big, fabulous, get-the-popcorn-and-the-box-wine video bingefest.

From the singing of the national anthem and the reading of the preamble of the Constitution, to the woman from Arizona who lost her father to COVID (and blamed Donald Trump), to John Kasich's surprisingly eloquent testimony for Joe Biden, to Michelle Obama's epic takedown of Benedict Donald, the evening's festivities — which were, thankfully, only two hours long — were A) well-paced, B) not boring and C) even moving.

Okay, they could have added some cat videos, but still.

Are the Trumpsters watching and taking notes? They must be feeling a little panicked, since their late move to a primarily virtual convention leaves them with precious little time to put together a dazzling package. And of course Benedict Donald will be endlessly meddling with the content. We sure wouldn't want to be them! We cats PURR.

And It's Only Monday

By Hubie and Bertie

There are only 11 weeks left until Election Day. And Benedict Donald has already lost this one.

Honest! Just think about everything that's happened today, and the kickoff of the Democratic Convention hasn't even begun. Here's our list:

Benedict Donald threatened anew not to leave office on "Fox & Friends." (And he paid tribute to his brother, who just died, by praising himself.)

Trump's former DHS Chief of Staff endorsed Joe Biden with a brutal video. "I'm confident Joe Biden will protect the country," said Miles Taylor, who is, BTW, a member of the GOP. 

The lads over at The Lincoln Project also released a pro-Biden ad. Gosh, who'd have thought we'd ever see such lauding of a Democrat by Republicans?

Speaker Pelosi is bringing the House of Representatives back into session for hearings on the raping of the post office.

NBC/The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post-ABC released polls showing Joe Biden leading Trump by nine points and 12 points, respectively.

Rush Limbaugh called Kamala Harris some names that will not go over well with "suburban housewives" — and Twitter guffawed over Melania's refusal to hold Benedict Donald's hand when they deplaned from Air Force One yesterday.

And best of all, Randy Rainbow is back! We cats PURR.

Sunday Night Quickie: Donald Trump Mourns His "Best Friend"

 

Benedict Donald's younger brother Robert died last night. Oh, well!

Worried About A Fair Election? Here Are Some Things You Can Do

 

By Miss Kubelik

If you're like us and millions of other Americans, you're having nightmares about the USPS and ballots not being counted. Maybe you're envisioning Benedict Donald claiming victory on Election Night before all the early and absentee votes roll in. It's a scenario that many pundits are warning about, which means that Biden-Harris needs to have a task force at the ready to fight back and make sure every vote is counted.

They probably already do. (They're running things pretty well so far, so we have confidence.) In the meantime, the best antidote for anxiety is action. Here are some steps you can take to do your part:

Contact your US Senators (call 202-224-3121 or email them) and tell them they need to get back to Washington and provide emergency funding for the US Postal Service and for states to hold fair and safe elections. This is funding that the House voted on three months ago, but which Moscow Mitch has been holding up.

Contact your member of Congress and tell him or her to demand immediate answers (via a subpoena if they have to) from Trumpy Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and to hold him accountable for what he's doing. Apparently there are House hearings scheduled for September 17. This is too late. They need to happen now.

Call your state's Secretary of State or your county election official and demand drop boxes. You can find contact information here.

Register to vote (that goes without saying). And check your registration often. Click here for more information.

Whether you think you'll vote in person or by mail, make a plan to vote. Do it early if you can. Click here to get details about early voting in your state.

Volunteer to be a poll worker. Many are older and retired, and may be hesitant to work in the pandemic. If you're young, furloughed, out of work or can otherwise devote the time, this job's for you.

Volunteer for Biden-Harris or your Congressional candidate. Campaigns are still doing voter outreach, mostly via phone and computer to keep everybody safe. So you won't even need to leave your house. And who knows? Maybe by October we can go door to door again.

Let's all pitch in. We have to. Democracy's on the line. We cats PURR.

Comma-La!

 

By Zamboni

We cats wanted Kamala Harris to be the 2020 Democratic nominee, but we understood when she dropped out of the race in December 2019. After that, Biden-Harris was the ticket we were hoping for. So we're feeling pretty good.

The Trumpsters are clearly terrified. They didn't want to run against Biden, and they definitely didn't want to run against Biden-Harris. They're flailing — and their inability to counter Harris proves it. 

This time, a woman didn't need to be added to the ticket to rescue a white man. This time, a woman was added to the ticket because black women have worked hard in Democratic politics and demanded their due. And this time, it's very clear how petrified the Trumpsters are of Kamala Harris — because they immediately started with the racist birther crap. It's not going to work.

Democrats are excited and energized. That's why Benedict Donald is trying to sabotage the post office. Let them try. We cats will stand in line for hours to vote for Biden-Harris. As will thousands of voters across America. Take that, Trumpsters — we cats PURR.

Pence, Eagleton?

By Baxter

In the human house that we cats live in reign over, there's an interesting gewgaw in the dining room hutch (kept away from prying paws). It's a souvenir bowl commemorating the 1937 coronation of King Edward VIII — in short, the British equivalent of a McGovern-Eagleton button.

Our humans have kept this because it's a fun historical oddity, but also — well, Nazis are a hot topic these days, aren't they?

Anyway, since the Biden campaign's masterful rollout of Kamala Harris, with nary a hint of what was coming and a pair of speeches that suffered not one iota from the lack of a crowd*, we've been thinking about the respective Presidential tickets and have pondered anew the question of whether Trump-Pence will continue to be Trump-Pence.

Will Benedict Donald be so rattled by the polls and by the excitement (and money) that Kamala has generated that he'll give Mikey the heave-ho to shake things up? Picture a Republican, a woman of similar Asian-American descent, like Nikki Haley, waiting in the wings. But see, here's the thing: For many reasons, despite her ambition, taking Pence's place on the ticket might not be good for the Nikster.

The Trumpsters are no-way, no-how capable of a flawless Veep debut like the one Biden-Harris pulled off. Nothing leaked out of Wilmington, whereas we all know that Benedict Donald's White House and campaign have more holes than a giant sieve. If Pence were in danger, his people would, in fact, probably be the first to slip it out. That would do Haley no favors, whether or not Trump backtracked: Either she'd be jumping squarely into an environment of anger (Pence people), frustration (Trump allies) and paranoia (Trump himself), or she'd be saddled with an unforced Trumpian Veep error going into 2024.

That's just one scenario, and we obviously have no idea what Haley would do if Trump called on her. (Pence is such a toad, he would probably campaign for Trump anyway.) But they need to act fast: There are campaign gewgaws to produce. We cats PURR.

*Speechifying with no audience makes you focus a lot more on what the candidate is saying — which puts Benedict Donald in big trouble. No wonder he's insisting on a crowd.

State Of The States

 By Sniffles

The whiz kids over at FiveThirtyEight have outdone themselves. They've rolled out a very nifty website with their 2020 forecast. It has lots of graphics, fun stuff to click on, and tons of polling info, nearly all of which falls under the category of "What's Not To Like?" Take a few minutes to visit it and play with the bells and whistles — but here's a quick summary of the current situation:

Joe Biden has a 71% chance of winning the Presidential election, with 323 electoral votes to Benedict Donald's 215, and 53 percent of the popular vote (compared to 46% for Trump). Check back for updates over the next 83 days.

If you do, you'll immediately want to check the status of the battlegrounds that everybody always talks about. But interestingly, there are plenty of states that were 2016 Trump wins but which, according to FiveThirtyEight's current ratings, could flip to the Democrats this year. In Tier One, for example, you have North Carolina and Ohio, of course. But you also have Georgia (yes, really) and Maine's 2nd Congressional District (hey, every electoral vote counts). Tier Two is — don't laugh — Iowa, Texas, South Carolina and Alaska. Tier Three is Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Kansas, Indiana, Arkansas and Nebraska-01. (Okay, we might be getting greedy with Tier Three, but if you have a blue tsunami, anything could happen.)

Here's what caught our eye about those states: With Kamala Harris on the Presidential ticket, there's an expectation that she could drive one or two points to Democratic candidates, up and down the ballot. Three of the four Tier One states — North Carolina, Georgia and Maine — have hotly contested Senate races. In Tier Two, all four states do. In Tier Three, three do (Mississippi, Montana and Kansas).

So, Team Biden should run hard not just in the classic six battleground states — Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — but also in Georgia and Maine. They should run almost as hard in Iowa, Texas, South Carolina, Alaska, Montana, Kansas and Mississippi.

Or they could just take the billions of dollars they've raised since Kamala joined the ticket and run hard everywhere. Fifty-state strategy, ya'll! We cats PURR.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Biden-Harris Edition

 

By Hubie and Bertie

Today, the world is witnessing something not often seen in politics: Joy. Democrats everywhere seem to be ecstatic over Joe Biden's selection of Kamala Harris as a running mate.

Count us in. Senator Harris was our candidate for 2020, so we're perfectly happy to crown her the Biden heir apparent. Now, of course, we just have to knuckle down and win this thing. In the meantime, here are a few observations as we soak in the news.

Biden picking Kamala shows what a manly man he is: He can take a punch and not hold a grudge. Unlike someone else we know.

Speaking of that person, Benedict Donald immediately called her nasty, as we knew he would. He also referred to her as his "number-one draft pick." That's what they said about the possibility of running against Susan Rice. They just take their tired old talking points and paste them onto whomever, don't they? (P.S. With the Big Ten canceled, maybe Trump should avoid sports metaphors for awhile.)

Will "Mother" Pence allow her husband to participate in the Vice Presidential debate in October? After all, Kamala is a (GASP!) woman. Mikey might have to get a "please excuse" note from her. Because Harris will destroy him.

Memo to Jaime Harrison: Biden's selection of Harris just increased black turnout in South Carolina by 2 to 5 percent.

Here's a Kamala fact you may not know: She used to live in Montreal, when her mom did research at the Jewish General Hospital and taught at McGill University. She graduated from Westmount High School there in 1981. Gee, maybe if she becomes Vice President she can help us get back into Canada. We're missing the True North a LOT.

Finally, the Biden campaign has just reported that they had their best fundraising hour ever, between 4 and 5 PM today after Harris was announced. We just chipped in a few bucks, too, and will keep our eyes peeled for more Biden-Harris swag in their online store. If you'd like to donate, click here. We cats PURR.

#BlameTrump

By Miss Kubelik

Benedict Donald told the White House press corps today that the 1918 flu epidemic happened in 1917, and that it helped end the Second World War, which ended in 1945. 

 But it's Joe Biden who has the cognitive decline?

Trump is looking and sounding awfully wobbly these days. Watch the video of security escorting him from the Briefing Room when Monday's shooting outside the White House took place. He's like your doddering uncle. And since every accusation this Administration makes is a confession, it's clear: All the stuff they've been hurling at Biden means that it's Trump whose synapses are no longer firing.

His political position continues to be precarious, which is why they're desperately trying to sabotage the Post Office, among other ploys. The "right track-wrong track" polling question sits at 72 percent wrong, 22 percent right. (Who are those deluded 22 percent?) The generic Congressional ballot is Democrats plus-six. And the University of Wisconsin has released three new battleground state polls: Biden is up 49 to 43 in the Badger State, 47 to 43 in Michigan and 50 to 41 in Pennsylvania. And that was before college football announced that, thanks to COVID-19, it might not have a season.

It's hard to imagine what would make voters in those states madder than having to lose the Big Ten. The impact on school revenues will be huge, but local businesses in the college towns and the TV networks will suffer bigly, too. Not to mention the beer industry. And it will be all Trump's fault for letting the coronavirus run wild.

Yes, America is very cranky, and if schools open and then shut down, and if there's no Big Ten football, and maybe not even an NFL, we'll get crankier. Voters who are annoyed tend to take it out on the guy in charge. You know, the one who thinks the 1917 flu epidemic ended World War II. We cats HISS.

This Is Ridiculous.

By Zamboni

More than 250,000 bikers have descended on Sturgis, South Dakota, to superspread the coronavirus. That's not what they'll tell you they're doing, but it's the truth.

The world won't learn the full extent of this unparalleled recklessness until a few weeks from now, when these idiots develop symptoms and, eventually, have to be hospitalized. We pity for the poor healthcare workers who will have to take care of them when that happens. We have no pity for the stupid bikers or for South Dakota's repulsive Republican governor, who didn't lift a finger to stop any of this.

Meanwhile, New York just had the lowest single-day COVID positive test rate since all this began — just 0.78 percent. And soon, schools here will open — carefully — for in-person instruction. 

We may not have any biker rallies here, but even without a pandemic, that makes the Empire State a way better place to live. We cats PURR.

Happy Tricky Dick Anniversary

 

By Baxter

Back in 1974, when we cats were kittens, the person who we thought was the worst President ever, ever, ever, resigned his office in disgrace this night. Little did we know what horrors later awaited us: first George W. Bush, and now, Benedict Donald.

Nixon's resignation was the result of intrepid reporting by The Washington Post, and yes, The New York Times and others. In short, a free press brought down a lawless President. That's how America works.

Today, things are a little dicier than even the Nixon years. The perfidy of Benedict Donald (and his minions, Bill Barr chief among them) makes Tricky Dick look almost statesmanlike. But the press, such as it is, is still free. Chris Wallace and Jonathan Swan have recently revealed Trump for the fraud that he is. Swan's Axios interview, in particular, demonstrated the benefit of checking Trump's lies in real time. And Paula Reid from CBS drove it home further today.

It was about the Veterans' Access to Care Through Choice Act — which Barack Obama signed into law in 2014, but which Trump insists on taking credit for. "Why do you keep saying that?" Reid asked Trump at Bedminster today. "It's a false statement, sir." Cornered, Trump ended the press conference and left with his tail between his legs.

Nixon never had a bunch of cheerleaders applauding his every line, as Trump did this afternoon. But even that couldn't obscure the humiliation of being fact-checked by a journalist. Keep it up, team. We cats PURR.

The Torch Has Been Passed

 By Sniffles

That new generation of Americans that John F. Kennedy talked about nearly 60 years ago? It keeps stepping up. This time, it was a high school student outside of Atlanta, who posted a terrifying photo to social media of her school's crowded hallways — hardly anyone masked, nobody social distancing. She was promptly suspended.

Hannah Watters, in other words, got into "good trouble." Like the late John Lewis, who advised Americans to put themselves on the line for the greater good, Hannah was willing to take a bullet in order to alert her fellow Georgians about the coronavirus risks that kids were facing in the schools. Turns out that her suspension didn't last.

"This morning my school called and they have deleted my suspension," Hannah tweeted. "To everyone supporting me, I can’t thank you enough. If I’m not responding it’s because my life has been somewhat crazy the past few days. Once again, thank you."

We cats have to come clean and say that we fully expected Hannah Watters to be African-American. But it turns out that she's not, which gives us all sorts of extra hope. If a white girl from a northwestern suburb of Atlanta can embody the spirit of John Lewis because she's worried about someone other than herself, there's hope for America. Way to go, Hannah! We cats PURR.

Cat Fight! Brianna Keilar vs. Mercedes Schlapp

By Hubie and Bertie

Mercedes and Matt Schlapp are the most irritating — and, on the husband's side, closeted — couple since Michele and Marcus Bachmann.

It's a wonder that any respectable news organization would have either of them on at all. But at least when CNN booked Mercedes for Brianna Keilar's early-afternoon show, Keilar was not letting her get off easily. When Schlapp tried the now-tired GOP saw that voting by mail is rife with fraud, Keilar gave her the heave-ho with, "This is pointless. I get it, you’re just saying a bunch of crap! Okay. You’re saying a bunch of crap...very nice to have you."

Schlapp must have been smarting from that, because to retaliate, she went after Keilar's husband on Twitter — but got the wrong guy. Oops.

You know, it's just the latest, albeit small, example of how bad the Trumpsters are at all this. We had just been musing about why they let Jonathan Swan's Axios interview sit in the can for an entire week without even attempting to get out ahead of it. They knew how bad Benedict Donald had been. Why didn't they try a little pre-emptive damage control? Trot out some Trumpy healthcare statisticians to talk about how important deaths-per-cases is, for example? They're not shy about having their trade representative talk about medical matters, so what stopped them?

So why wasn't Mercedes Schlapp smart enough to tweet correctly about Brianna Keilar's husband? Because she couldn't pass a cognitive test? Had to pay someone to take her SATs? We cats wonder, and we HISS.

A Milestone

Just a quick note from NY-21: Tedra Cobb's campaign for Congress logged its one-millionth call to voters this past weekend. That's a lot of outreach for a small army of North Country volunteers dialing from home, thanks to the Trump virus.

Our district is not on anyone's top-tier list for flipping from red to blue, but with the polls as bad as they are for Republicans, maybe it should be. The GOP might be foolish to underestimate upstate New Yorkers' desire to dump Trump fan girl Elise Stefanik. We cats PURR.

The Axios Falls On Trump

By Miss Kubelik

Jonathan Swan's Axios interview of Benedict Donald is shaking the interwebs about as thoroughly as that explosion in Beirut is rattling Lebanon. (Which apparently officials are saying was not a terrorist attack, thank goodness. It sounds like it could be Halifax 1917 Redux.)

We cats haven't been able to watch all 35 minutes of Trump sitting across from Swan on a tiny chair as if, as is his wont, he's perched on a toilet. He's either so depraved or so demented (or both) that we hope we can pick up all the hideous details from social and mainstream news media and just hang on until November 3. But it was packed to the brim with truly Trumpian awfulness. The families of more than 150,000 Americans might disagree that the COVID-19 death rate "is what it is."

 It may have been another milestone in the destruction of Benedict Donald, one that — assuming he gets wiped out in November — people will look back on and say, "Here's where the bottom really dropped out." Of course, you could point to any number of previous incidents that way: saying the coronavirus will disappear, injecting bleach, "It's one person coming in from China," or the previous iteration of "It is what it is." But nice of Trump to remind people that he said it the first time.

The interview might also signal a change in the way the media cover Trump. Swan pushed back, corrected him, and was more combative than any reporter with a President since Dan Rather with Richard Nixon. Very satisfying — although probably only a white male journalist with a British-y accent could get away with it. But on the other hand, now that Swan has done it, will the floodgates open for everyone else? Will reporters feel free to push back against Trump's lies in real time, even if they have to interrupt him to do it?

We vote yes, in the hope that journalism — and the Presidency itself — can return to normalcy once Joe Biden's elected. That would make us cats PURR.

Trump Is Nuts

"My visits last week to Texas and Florida had massive numbers of cheering people gathered along the roads and highways, thousands and thousands, even bigger (by far) than the crowds of 2016. Saw no Biden supporters, and yet some in the Fake News said it was an equal number. Sad!" —Benedict Donald on Twitter, August 3, 11:27 AM

P.S. In his original tweet, Trump spelled it "Frorida." Tsk!

Sunday Night Panda

Sometimes, things just seem so grim that the only antidote is a handful of baby red pandas. Hang in there, everybody. We cats PURR.

Stuart Stevens's Mea Culpa

By Zamboni

In contrast with his fellow Lincoln Project lads, longtime Republican political consultant Stuart Stevens has just owned up to decades of GOP racism, hate and white grievance — and his part in letting it happen. (Funny how more than 150,000 dead Americans, a shattered economy and people marching in the streets will concentrate one's mind.)

Benedict Donald, Stevens says, "is the logical conclusion of what the party became over the past 50 or so years, a natural product of the seeds of race-baiting, self-deception and anger that now dominate it." And he draws parallels with the present-day GOP and the Soviet Communist Party, which collapsed in 1991 — pretty interesting, considering that Vladimir Putin basically runs the joint now.

If there is a blue tsunami this fall, will it cause the Republicans to implode? It is devoutly to be hoped. Our theory is that the party will split into two factions — one peopled by Bush types, the other by the Trump base, modern-day Know Nothings who need to slink back to the fringes where they belong.

"I've given up hope that there are any lines of decency or normalcy that once crossed would move Republican leaders to act as if they took their oath of office more seriously than their allegiance to party," Stevens wrote. "Only fear will motivate the party to change — the cold fear only defeat can bring." We cats PURR.