"Who Let All These People Into My Basement?"

By Zamboni

Whatever the results of the election on Tuesday, we cats have been giving some thought to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the Democratic campaign. It's been an interesting exercise. We have to say that when it became clear back in the spring that COVID was going to seriously cramp Democrats' style, we felt a little panicked. But much to our surprise, things have turned out rather well.

Here are some of the reasons. (We reserve the right to update this list as more occur to us.)

1. Biden is 77 years old — among the cohort of people at higher risk if they contract the virus. Therefore, we're pleased that he acted responsibly and stayed "in his basement," as Benedict Donald likes to say. But there was an extra silver lining: Staying off the traditional campaign trail helped reduce opportunities for classic Biden "gaffes" — which, as we all know, the media were primed to pounce on. So, screw you, media. No gaffes to cover.

2. Staying off the trail gave Biden more time to fundraise, and in ways he was comfortable with, like Zooming. Trump, meanwhile, doesn't like virtual stuff, so he lost a lot of opportunities.

3. At the virtual Democratic Convention — which was fantastic, by the way — Biden and Kamala Harris both gave excellent speeches that, without screaming crowds, really resonated. You see, when you don't have a raucous audience, your words penetrate more. People have to listen to what you're saying. (Similar case in point: Has John Oliver been hobbled by a lack of studio audience? We think not.)

4. Biden's socially distanced events have ably demonstrated his sense of responsibility in the pandemic. Conversely, Trump's idiotic shitshows have only accentuated his foolhardiness.

5. Finally, here's something we never thought we'd discover and love: car rallies. The honking instead of applause? Just great! Let's keep doing these even after the pandemic. We cats PURR.

Scary Cat Tales

 Happy Halloween! We cats PURR.

"Bond. James Bond."

A dangling cigarette is rarely a good look. Only Sean Connery could make it sexy. Goodbye, great Scot.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: "The Friday Before" Edition

By Baxter

Can we agree that we're all overdosing on poll numbers, and finding stuff to freak out about on cable news or social media? Yes. So here's what to do: Pour a drink of something (we don't care what), fire up the Jøtul, put your feet up, and relax for a while. And consider these random feline thoughts:

Benedict Donald cut short his shitshow in Rochester, Minnesota, tonight after only 21 minutes. Was he discouraged at the small size of the crowd? Or after a busy day of shitshows, is his COVID acting up? Intrepid journalists, please figure this out.

Voter turnout in Texas is astounding. Yes, people are motivated there as they are across the country. But a lot of it is due to the very hard work of former Congressman Beto O'Rourke, who's been registering and turning out folks like crazy. If Texas turns blue this year, that will not only elect Joe Biden President — it will put Beto in the catbird seat for the Texas gubernatorial race in 2022.

Wow, lots of guys who like sports have come out of the woodwork and thrown up all over the Trump endorsements by Jack Nicklaus and, especially, by Bobby Orr. (Boston Bruins, pffffttttt! We Florida Panthers fans remember 1996.) The question is, however: Why is it okay for athletes to endorse Trump, but not okay for athletes to endorse Biden or support Black Lives Matter or take a knee? (And for those of you who say "Well, Nicklaus and Orr are retired" — what about Tom Brady? We smell hypocrisy.)

It is very clear that the Republicans don't think they can win on Tuesday. Not only has Benedict Donald canceled his victory party at the Drumpf Hotel in DC that night, but the GOP is going full throttle on suppressing — or not counting — the vote. Court decisions have been all over the map on this. The Supremes issued a couple of decisions favorable to voters in Wisconsin and North Carolina, but another decision in Minnesota has screwed anyone mailing in a ballot, big time. These rulings don't occur in a vacuum — they're handed down because Republicans have sued. Why doesn't the GOP believe in democracy?

So, on that note, listen: It's possible that the bottom is falling out of Trumpworld the way that the bottom fell out from under Carter-Mondale in 1980. Yes, the situations are vastly different. There was only one Presidential debate in '80, and there was a robust third-party challenger in the race, and the Iranian hostage crisis was still going on, and interest rates were 15 percent. But even with all that, in the last week, it all came apart — and it fell to pollster Pat Caddell to tell Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter that their support had collapsed. The Carters surely weren't happy, but they took it stoically — because they're Americans and they believe in our political processes.

Today, we're wondering who is telling Benedict Donald the same thing. Stepien? Meadows? Miller? And if that conversation is taking place, are they talking about messing with the vote, or filing suit, or staging another Brooks Brothers riot? Who knows what they're up to? Because these are people who are anti-democratic and anti-American to the core. The system that Madison and Jefferson set up is only acceptable to them if it keeps them in power — that much is clear.

If this worries you like it worries us, here's what to do: 1) VOTE, either on Election Day or by dropping your ballot off at a polling place or at your local Board of Elections. 2) Give money to Democrats in races across the country. 3) Volunteer to get out the vote for Democrats in your state, Congressional district, city and town. 4) Be ready for whatever happens after November 3. Because we're sorry to say, something will. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

(PHOTO: Pumpkin carving, Orange, New Hampshire)

Stormy Weather

By Sniffles

A hurricane hit the US today — Louisiana's third named storm, in fact — and there was hardly any coverage of it, outside of The Weather Channel. That's 2020 for you. But what little we saw of Zeta reminded us of something we cats learned when we lived in Florida: Every hurricane is different. Andrew wasn't David, and David wasn't Floyd, and Floyd wasn't Wilma, and Wilma wasn't... you get the idea.

They all behaved differently. Presidential elections do, too. We Democrats need to concentrate on that even though the trauma we endured four years ago has made us hyper-vigilant and ever-nervous. Here are a few reasons 2020 isn't 2016.

First, whatever the pollsters were doing wrong last time around, they've corrected. Actually, we're willing to go one step farther and speculate that they may have over-corrected. It could be possible that they're over-sampling Trump supporters. We don't know this, we're just saying.

(On that note, have you noticed how when talking heads say "Biden's lead is within the margin of error," they always assume that the MOE goes in Trump's direction? Why? If Biden has a three-point lead and the MOE is four points, why couldn't Biden really have, for example, a six-point lead? We wish somebody would point this out.)

Second, the race has been stable for months now. If you look up the word "stability" in the dictionary, you'll see a graph of Biden's lead since he wrapped up the nomination.

Third, Benedict Donald was lucky in 2016. He's been spectacularly unlucky this year. On top of the COVID epidemic (which of course he could have mitigated had he taken it seriously), smaller misfortunes keep piling up — from tweeting "I just won" about a debate before it happens, to freezing temperatures in Omaha, to a rained-out rally today in North Carolina (thanks, Hurricane Zeta).

Fourth, those district-level polls that the Cook Political Report's Dave Wasserman has been eyeballing for months now are ringing alarm bells for the Republican side this year, not the Democratic one.

Finally, we have a pandemic. It's affected everyone in the country, and not in a good way. Especially Benedict Donald.

Obviously, it's going to take us years to recover from the shock of 2016. But the best medicine for that would be a Biden-Harris victory next week. If you do one thing between now and then (aside from going to the polls yourself), encourage everyone you know who's filled out an absentee ballot to drop it off, not mail it in. And then let's sit back and watch Hurricane Voter roll in. We cats are looking to PURR.

Biden-Harris Tough

There are only two degrees of separation between us cats and the actor/wrestler Dave Bautista. Although we've never met him in person, if we did, we would rub up against his ankles for this Biden ad. So refreshing to see guys like him and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson pushing back on Benedict Donald's warped brand of masculinity. We cats PURR.

69 Million And Counting

More Americans have already voted in 2020 than voted for Donald Trump* in 2016. Or, for that matter, for Hillary Clinton**. Incredible. We cats PURR.

*62,979,879

**65,844,954

One Week To Go

Okay, kids — Election Day is a week from today. If you were discouraged by what the Senate did last night (and who among us wasn't), here's what you can do for the next seven days: Volunteer, give money, and most of all, either early or on the day of, VOTE.

"Hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It's not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it, and to work for it and to fight for it.

"Hope is the belief that destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by the men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, who have the courage to remake the world as it should be."

—President Barack Obama

Lest We Furr-get: When "Non" Beat "Oui"

By Hubie and Bertie

Ninety-four percent!

No, that's not the turnout in this year's Presidential election — although if the line we stood in this morning is any indication, it's going to be pretty high. That was the percentage of Quebecers who, back on October 30, 1995, showed up to vote either "Oui" or "Non" to separate from Canada. ("Non" won, in a squeaker.)

Three days before the vote, 100,000 people from across the country had jammed Place du Canada in Montreal for a Unity Rally in support of "Non." There were also, as proven by the final percentages — 50.58% to stay in Canada, and 49.42% to break away — not only Francophones who crossed over but many Quebec federalists who would have felt stranded in a new nation if "Oui" had won.

"Those of us who remained behind would lose [our country], becoming exiles in our own homes," said reporter Don Macpherson, reminiscing in The Montreal Gazette. "Never has anyone more appreciated being Canadian."

Twenty-five years later, Quebec separatists are pretty much yesterday's news. Yes, there are still divisions, but nothing like the fevered pitch of 1995. Which maybe goes to show us that there can always be hope for unity, even in the wake of angry, bitter politics.

Today. Americans are, in the words of Biden-voting Republican consultant Frank Luntz, "caffeinated and cataclysmic." Each side in the 2020 election sees the other's victory as the end of the world. (Spoiler alert: If Benedict Donald wins, it would be.)

The question is, if it's Joe Biden who wins on November 3, will the MAGA crowd — who can't be more than a third of us — roll with it? Or would they feel like men without a country? (Biden would surely do everything he could to make sure they don't.)

Trumpster behavior is unpredictable. But here's the good news: If Biden wins, his margin is going to be a lot bigger than 50.58% to 49.42%. The thousands of early voters we've seen standing in line for hours are not doing it for Donald Trump. We cats are certain of that, and we PURR.

Plain Truth

By Miss Kubelik

We cats showed up to early-vote this morning and were not defeated by the line (which was very long), but by computers that were down. We sicced our New York State assemblywoman on the case, and will try again tomorrow. But gosh, it makes you paranoid.

So we needed a pick-me-up. Here's one! Take a moment to appreciate these billboards in Times Square. "Jared" and "Ivanka" are so upset about this that they've sued the ads' creator, The Lincoln Project. (Which is a little amazing, since a favored Trump tactic is to threaten to sue but never actually go through with it.)

Well, be careful what you wish for: Via their attorney, the Lincoln Lads have responded with a letter so brutal, so unforgiving, and so rapier-sharp, that you fear for the future — when these erstwhile Republicans will once again be working against candidates from our side.

In case you need confirmation, though, here's testimony from former Homeland Security employee and Mike Pence adviser Olivia Troye:

"These billboards are FACT and Jared Kushner knows it. 'Cuomo didn’t pound the phones hard enough to get PPE for his state. His people are going to suffer and that’s their problem.' I heard these and other comments repeatedly. Anyone in the White House who says otherwise is lying." We cats thank Olivia, and we PURR.

It's Time.

By Zamboni

Tomorrow is the first day of early voting in New York. We cats are planning to stand in line, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, at 9 AM. If the wait is too long, we'll come back and stand in line again. The future of the country — and of the planet — depends on it.

To us, defeating Donald Trump means having the coronavirus pandemic handled and being able to travel to Canada again. Down the road a bit, it will mean the saving of our democratic form of government and preventing our slide into autocracy. Only after this nightmare is over will we be able to read Philip Roth's The Plot Against America. Until then, it cuts too close to the bone.

Meanwhile, last night's debate did nothing to change the trajectory of the race. Yes, Republicans think that they can get some traction from Joe Biden's commitment to clean energy. But with the horrible fires in the West, the hurricanes in the South, and the melting glaciers in Greenland, most Americans are more concerned with climate change than with losing a few oil rig jobs. Joe Biden has always been very clear, that we need to move away from a fossil-fuel-based economy. 

There's so much opportunity ahead — and why doubt America's ability to tackle tough problems and succeed? The United States has famously stepped up to the plate and gotten the job done. We won World War II. We beat polio. We landed on the moon. Who's to say that, with the right leadership, we can't stop climate change?

Republicans, that's who. Why entrust our future to them? Vote Biden-Harris. We cats PURR.

Auguries

 

By Baxter

Wow! The Trump Hotel Chicago was struck by three different lightning bolts at 2:14 this morning — at the same time. An omen? There is that last debate tonight.

Of course, the smackdown in Nashville might not make much of a difference. As historian Michael Beschloss points out, more than 47 million Americans have already voted. That makes it tougher for the debate to change minds the way the Reagan-Carter meetup did in 1980.

But everyone's on the prowl for Presidential portents anyway. Nevertheless, there's actually some interesting stuff going on at the Congressional district level — none of it good for Republicans.

Back in 2016, the Clinton campaign saw the same worrying signs for Democrats in CDs across the nation. Now, the situation is flipped. As Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report explained, "Trump is underperforming his 2016 margins by eight to 10 points in most competitive districts. If Trump won a district by three last time, he’s probably losing it by six this time. It’s a pretty consistent pattern."

This trickles down to other races. Take just one state as an example: In Iowa, Republicans were confident they could flip two and maybe all three Democratic seats in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Congressional districts. Today, though, Monmouth has the Democrats — Abby Finkenauer, Rita Hart and Cindy Axne — comfortably ahead. The pollster also notes that while JD Scholten trails the Republican nominee in Steve King's soon-to-be-former district, it's only by six points. It was 20 points in August.

And of course, Joni Ernst is in trouble in the Iowa Senate race.

These are numbers you see in a butt-kicking election from the top down. Yes, we haven't won yet. There are 12 days to go, and the Russians are out there. But Team Trump has to be wondering how to dodge lightning bolts. We cats PURR.

(PHOTO: Barry Butler Photography)

And Here's The Sam Elliott Ad

 

It ran during the first game of the World Series. Brilliant.

The 2020 Election, In Eight Words

We've been meaning to post this ad from Republican Voters Against Trump for about a week now. Don't miss Michael Hayden's simple yet eloquent closing message. We cats PURR.

Big Money, Big Ads

By Sniffles

Here's a pick-me-up for your Monday. It looks like Republican Senator David Perdue from Georgia made a gigantic mistake on Friday with his intentional mangling of Senator Kamala Harris's last name. Thanks to that, Democrat Jon Ossoff raised $1.8 million over the weekend.

And as the math-whiz human in our household has pointed out, Ossoff's haul in just over two days is nearly a third of all the money ($5.6  million) that Perdue raised in the entire third quarter.

Money isn't everything, but money is important. Check out this POLITICO story about how the cash-flush Biden campaign, instead of focusing on targeted local buys, is smartly funding national advertising across the country — even if the ads run in red states.

"Biden's national buys are seen as a key ingredient in making former swing states like Ohio and Iowa look like battlegrounds again," POLITICO reports. "The campaign is advertising heavily on shows such as 'Wheel of Fortune' and 'Jeopardy,' which are popular among seniors, and older people especially are watching more TV during the pandemic."

They're even advertising on Animal Planet!

Team Biden is doing a 50-State Strategy with ads, and we cats approve. It makes us PURR.

(IMAGE: A couple of our relatives.)

MEOW-vah-lous

 

Sixteen days left... let's keep working to get out that vote!

We Want This Feeling Back

 

Have you ever seen Trump and Pence laugh together?

The Bad Luck Bears

By Hubie and Bertie

Republicans' fortunes haven't been going so well lately. Not only is Benedict Donald down in the polls to Joe Biden, and not only are Americans breaking early-voting records across the country — which, since we know how hard Republicans try to suppress the vote, can't be good for them — but cringe-inducing stuff keeps happening, sometimes within days of each other.

For example, here is embattled GOP Senator Joni Ernst, who sailed to victory in 2014 by portraying herself as a down-home, pig-castrating farm girl, unable to quote the price of soybeans in a Senate debate. "Yeah, certainly..." she fumbled, clearly stuck for an answer.

Bitch tried to weasel her way out of it — but there was no getting around the fact that she didn't know her fat ass from soybeans, while Democrat Theresa Greenfield quoted the price of corn to the penny. This is a career-killing moment, kids — and Ernst is already behind Greenfield by four points.

The other cringeworthy moment came courtesy of Republican Senator David Perdue, who appeared at Donald Trump's hatefest in Georgia yesterday. Never mind the fact that Benedict Donald felt he had to go to Georgia less than three weeks out from Election Day. He should already have it well sewn-up. But he doesn't. Apparently the Republicans are feeling a little stress over that, because Perdue decided to channel his inner George Allen and act like a racist over the pronunciation of Kamala Harris's first name.

As Senator Amy Klobuchar said of Perdue on Twitter, "He knows her name. There are only 100 of us."

As soon as we cats heard about this, we marched straight over to Act Blue and made a contribution to Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff. We'll be interested to hear how much Ossoff raised last night.

You could say that the Republicans are just terribly unlucky these days. On top of Ernst and Perdue, the pandemic is spiking again, Biden beat Trump in the ratings on Thursday night, Ben Sasse's anti-Trump call to donors was outed, the Democrats keep raking in the money, and the nomination of Amy Coathanger Barrett isn't playing as well as the GOP hoped. But it's probably not a question of good fortune. It's just what today's Republican Party is: racist, sexist, clueless, hapless, hating. They're in a lot of trouble, and we cats PURR.

Wish We Were There

Two town halls on competing networks on the same night, all because Benedict Donald chickened out of a virual head-to-head with Joe Biden and demanded his own forum instead. We're treating it like the Oscars — not watching, but will find out all the details in three minutes tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, here are some red pandas, hanging out with friendly humans. Enjoy!

If Only Our HOA Allowed Yard Signs

 

De Adder Du Jour, Part Deux

 

Perfect commentary for a difficult week.

(IMAGE: Michael de Adder)

"Advancing Transparency, Building Trust"

By Miss Kubelik

The Carter Center, which we cats enthusiastically support, has observed elections around the world under its Peace Program, which works to advance democracy and governance consistent with universal human rights. It's done this for more than 30 years in places you'd expect need a little help — Panama, Liberia, Myanmar, and even the Cheyenne and Arapaho Nation in Oklahoma.

Now, for the first time, they're turning their attention to the 2020 US Presidential election.

Wow — that's the shame of Trump's America: We need The Carter Center to build confidence in our electoral process.

And why not? In Virginia, voter registration has been extended for two days after a fiber-optic cable to the online system was mysteriously cut. ("Accidentally"? Hm.) In Orange County, California, the GOP is putting out illegal fake drop-boxes for ballots. So don't tell us fishy things aren't going on.

This, like the election going to the Supreme Court, is the kind of crap that we worry about when we wake up in the middle of the night. It's good to know that Team Jimmy is on it.

They've started with this very simple video informing voters of their choices for November. In addition, they say, "The Center is also working to mitigate possible violence in cities in the days surrounding the election by partnering with grassroots organizations to offer conflict prevention training and disseminate messages supporting a peaceful electoral transition."

 In other words, Benedict Donald: You're on notice.

You know what could solve all of this at the outset? A Biden landslide. The scenes of resolute voters standing in long lines to early vote in states like Georgia, Texas and Virginia are reassuring (although of course, no voter should have to wait hours to cast a ballot). Let's hope that massive early voting tallies continue for the next three weeks.

Since those folks are surely not waiting hours to vote for Donald Trump, it will help hasten the end of this nightmare we've all been living. We cats can't wait for that to happen, and we PURR.

Tweet From The Front Lines

 

It shouldn't be this hard to vote in America, or to be black in America. We cats hope for better days, and we HISS.

Happy Not Columbus Day

By Zamboni

It's Canadian Thanksgiving! We cats sure wish we could be there to help celebrate, but the border's been closed to nonessential traffic since March and Benedict Donald has rendered our US passports worthless. Maybe we can go for Christmas? We're not optimistic.

In fact, today it's tough to feel anything but sadness and rage. The farce that's taking place on Capitol Hill is utterly depressing, and not just because of the Republicans' revolting hypocrisy. It's a stark reminder that America lost RBG. Not feeling very thankful about that.

But there are a few things that can still uplift us.

There's the Democratic base, which since RBG's death has made zillions of dollars in contributions to fund a blue tsunami in November. In South Carolina, Jaime Harrison raised $57 million this past quarter, the most of any Senate candidate in history. Harrison's a great candidate, but you know that a lot of that is because people hatehatehate Lady Lindsey Graham, who is presiding over the Judiciary Committee hearings today. Look for more Democratic fundraising totals as a result.

We're also pleased that Joe Biden is holding his leads, both nationally and in the battleground states. POLITICO has him at more than 270 electoral votes, and FiveThirtyEight declares him "favored" (as opposed to "slightly favored") to win. Team Biden is playing on offense: Joe's in Ohio today, and Jill is going to Texas tomorrow. Twenty-two days to go.

So enjoy your turkey, Canada, and hang on — we Americans may, just may, be on the verge of going sane again. That would truly be something to be thankful for. We cats send our best, and we PURR.

Randy And Patti, Fired Up

Broadway will stay shuttered until at least through next May, but in the meantime, we still have Randy Rainbow (and the legendary Patti LuPone). May Donald indeed get fired! We cats PURR.

When The Trump Act Stopped

 

By Baxter

"That summer [of 1923] another President took a train trip west.

"Haunted and frightened and muttering to himself and asking what you should do when your friends betray you, President Harding went across the country playing cards twelve, fourteen, sixteen hours a day. Cabinet officers spelled each other at the table. The President said he was off liquor, but he needed it now, and his aides collected bottles from the reporters.

"He was distraught, gray, collapsing, trying to fight off the fear by dealing cards hand after hand. He fell sick and in San Francisco he was sicker. He died in a room of a hotel where his predecessor spoke for the League of Nations in 1919."

Reading Gene Smith's brilliant 1964 book about Woodrow Wilson, When the Cheering Stopped, we cats realized for the first time that a President — in this case, Warren G. Harding — could be nuts. Or that a President, like Wilson, could hide illness and debilitation from the nation. It was a novel concept until, of course, 1974, when Richard Nixon ended up placing squiffy calls to Henry Kissinger and talking to Presidential portraits in the White House late at night.

Now, Donald Trump has clearly bought a one-way ticket on the Crazy Train. He's seen the polls, so he's calling up FOX Business anchors, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh — ranting for hours, dropping the "F" word and threatening to arrest Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. It got so bad that Limbaugh basically hung up on him today. Trump's campaign is unraveling under the weight of his nutsiness, no money and lots of COVID, and now the Commission on Presidential Debates has officially canceled the October 15 meetup in Miami.

Things will change a hundred times between now and Election Day — but we can't help feeling that Benedict Donald is hurtling toward some sort of Harding-Nixon ending. He might not die in San Francisco or lift off in a helicopter from the South Lawn, but he will end nevertheless. The only question is whether his right-wing, white supremacist, so-called "militia" boys will try to tear the country apart either before or after he does. We cats wait and worry, and we HISS.

Cats For Biden

The campaign video "Dogs For Biden" got 2.7 million views. Horrors! We can't let canines win the day. If you have cats who support Joe and Kamala, share them with Sara Pearl, supervising producer for Biden-Harris. They could be stars! We cats PURR.

"Very Fine People," 1970 And 2020

By Sniffles

In October 1970, Canada was having a crisis. A violent separatist group, the FLQ — the initials stand for the Front for the Liberation of Quebec — had spent a few years bombing official and military targets (and if we're remembering this right, a mailbox or two). Then they kidnapped and held hostage a British diplomat, James Cross. Then a few days later, they kidnapped the province's Deputy Premier, Pierre Laporte, from his front yard on the South Shore of Montreal — and killed him.

Fast forward 50 years, and we have the FBI foiling a kidnap attempt by the "Wolverine Watchmen" against Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. The Canadian October Crisis is a chilling reminder of just how badly things could have gone if the Watchmen's plot had succeeded.

What Canada didn't have in 1970, though, was a head of government egging the terrorists on. Au contraire: Pierre Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act, suspending habeas corpus and arresting nearly 500 people. His actions are still controversial today, but they did manage to put down what his government called an insurrection. Mailboxes stopped blowing up. James Cross was released. And any sympathy the FLQ would have gotten from Ottawa's heavy-handed response was wiped out by chilling photos of Laporte's body in the trunk of a car.

Contrast that with Donald Trump, tweeting "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!" back in April and telling the Proud Boys in the Presidential debate just last week to "stand by." As Governor Whitmer said today, "When our leaders...stoke and contribute to hate speech, they are complicit."

The FLQ were domestic terrorists. So are the Wolverine Watchmen. So is Donald Trump. We cats HISS.

A Different Question For Debate Night

By Hubie and Bertie

We cats are dipping in and out of the Vice Presidential debate because, gosh, we hate to see a grown man cry. Speaking of crying, has Mike "Poonce" started already? If so, did he read today's polls? Or does he have — gasp! — pink eye? Check out the left one. Did you know that pink eye can be an early symptom of COVID?

Senator Harris, please keep your distance.

Meanwhile, let's talk about something completely off-topic. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania will not run for re-election to the Senate in two years. Sounds like a mundane, Inside-the-Beltway story, but there may be more to it than meets the eye (or the pink eye).

The timing is odd. Toomey has not only taken himself out just as Moscow Mitch McConnell's current majority is teetering on the brink, but he also took himself out of the 2022 Governor's race against the incumbent Democrat, Tom Wolfe. Obviously he was going to face a QAnon primary challenge in either race. But why announce this now? Why not be a good Republican and wait until after November 3?

Maybe he took himself out because he has a surprise coming — an electoral, career-killing surprise.

Is it an endorsement of Joe Biden? A change of heart on the Barrett nomination? And if it's the former, is he hoping President Biden appoints him Ambassador to Ireland? We cats wonder, and we PURR.

Healing The House Divided

 

Joe Biden gave a terrific speech in Gettysburg today. It's 20 minutes well spent if you want to feel cleansed of the perfidies of Benedict Donald and you're ready to take our government back. We cats PURR.

De Adder Du Jour

You'll never see this cartoon in the United States, so here's the quick back story: Canada's Atlantic provinces have basically walled themselves off from the rest of the country and therefore have very low COVID case levels. And the White House reference is fun! We cats PURR.

(IMAGE: Michael de Adder)

Calling Out The Idiocy

By Miss Kubelik

Donald Trump has damaged and besmirched so many American institutions that Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was maybe the only one left. And now it, too, has been sullied by a four-day stay that President Superspreader is rumored to be ending tonight. We can hear the deep sighs of relief all the way from Bethesda.

Sean Conley, the clueless, lying dude in the white coat who briefed the nation on Trump's condition over the weekend, is a White House doctor. But because he lied and dissembled while standing in front of the imposing doors of Walter Reed, lots of Americans probably thought he was representing it — not 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. 

We can only imagine how the Walter Reed clinical staff gasped in horror as they watched. And once Trump took his infamous drive past his lamebrain supporters on Sunday, somebody had to take the reputation of the medical center back.

That task apparently fell to James Phillips, a Walter Reed attending physician and GWU emergency doc, who tweeted late yesterday afternoon with indignant fury. "Every single person in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary Presidential 'drive-by' just now has to be quarantined for 14 days," he said. "They might get sick. They may die. For political theater. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theater. This is insanity."

(Secret Service agents were pretty unhappy, too.)

Longtime civil servants and others who work in the US government's Trump-abused departments and agencies must be on tenterhooks for November 3 to get here. After that, they'll hopefully only need to hang on until January 20, when, we all fervently pray, sanity will return. In the meantime, pushback to the Trump madness from people like Dr. Phillips is a joy to behold. We cats PURR.

(VIDEO: Watch Jill Biden show the Trumpsters how it's done.)

Shield Us

By Zamboni

The Biden-Harris campaign just announced that Joe Biden has tested negative for COVID-19 for the third time since the Presidential debate in Cleveland. This is good news, but Biden's not out of the woods yet. We'll feel better if he keeps testing negative through the coming week.

Meanwhile, we haven't been able to contain our rage at Benedict Donald endangering our candidate by spewing saliva at him for 90 minutes on Tuesday. And we hope Kamala Harris can borrow South Carolina Senate contender Jaime Harrison's plexiglass shield when she and Mike Pence debate this week. (Harrison's shield was not only hilarious, but considering how recklessly the GOP has been acting, very smart.)

Perhaps Trump's and the Republicans' cavalier attitude toward infecting people is all America can expect, considering how badly they've screwed up the pandemic. But wouldn't you think that they'd want to at least protect themselves if they're letting the peasants die? Au contraire: White House staff, Trump donors and campaign people who are worried about exposure have been left adrift, not getting any information or guidance on what to do next, reports The Wall Street Journal (which we note is not exactly a wild-eyed, liberal paper).

According to the Journal, Trump had a rapid COVID test that came back positive, after which he needed a second, more reliable one. And he went on FOX "News" and attended his New Jersey fundraiser in the meantime without saying a word. He "also asked one adviser not to disclose results of their own positive test. 'Don't tell anyone.'" One source, identified as "an administration official," said he'd heard nothing from the West Wing and was resorting to "Twitter and TV." 

There's more. New York magazine reports that the larger White House staff is in an uproar. "Since this whole thing started, not one email has gone out to tell employees what to do or what’s going on." And Rick Wilson, Steve Schmidt and their fellow Lincoln Lads have tweeted that they're hearing directly from members of Team Trump. "There is real panic and rage at Trump and the leadership of the White House and campaign," Schmidt said. "There was a mutiny at the campaign. People will not, and should not, show up for work."

All that was before Trump took his obnoxious little joy ride at Walter Reed today. And there's just one month until Election Day.

We cats are never overconfident — we're Democrats, after all. But it really sounds like Trump World has descended into Titanic-level chaos. Can we spend the next four weeks keeping our candidate healthy and our voters turning out? Will the election be safe from Vladimir Putin and the Proud Boys? Is there a plexiglass shield strong enough to protect America from the threat of Trump? We cats HISS.

Words Of Wisdom

By Baxter

While Trump is in the hospital with the coronavirus, let's discuss his disgusting performance at the Tuesday debate once more. Specifically, his shot at Joe Biden about Hunter Biden's drug addiction.

Why does Trump think that folks would not view Hunter's problems with understanding and compassion? Easy-peasey. Trump is not only a monster, he doesn't understand the American people.

If we cats weren't so outraged by the fact that Trump put our candidate in danger of COVID on Tuesday, we could devote equal fury to his shot at Hunter. Thankfully, Biden turned it aside with grace. We don't know how he found the patience, but he did.

Here is Molly Jong-Fast in Vogue magazine, writing about how important this moment was. Thank you, Molly, for your insight. We cats PURR.

"Trump thinks he can win by shaming Joe Biden with his son’s struggles with addiction. But Hunter is just one of millions of Americans who have struggled with addiction and alcoholism.

"Neither alcoholism nor addiction is a moral failing. It’s not the 1940s. We understand that alcoholism is a treatable disease. Which is good, because we live in a country riddled with alcoholism and addiction. When this pandemic is over and we start mourning our dead in person and not over Zoom calls, we will likely be confronted by more loss, more addiction. We will have to find a way to serve these people, and we will start by not shaming them for their genetics."

Lest We Furr-Get: "I'm Still With Mel"

(NOTE: This post has been updated.)

By Sniffles

This photo of Larry Kudlow struggling to put on a mask perfectly summarizes the Trump approach to the coronavirus pandemic: Way too late, totally clueless, a thing that inspires both derision and rage. We cats have felt both those emotions today.

Not only did these vile Trumpsters put our 77-year-old Presidential candidate in danger on Tuesday night, we are outraged because more than 200,000 Americans have died on their watch for no reason. No reason. When you've served in government as we have, even for a short period of time, you come to appreciate how deeply politicians' bad actions — or worse, criminal inactions — can damage the country. 

Americans may not like government (thanks to Ronald Reagan), but they depend on it nevertheless. The Trump Administration should be sued for malpractice.

So that's our initial take on what's happened so far. What about the future? Benedict Donald has been helicoptered to Walter Reed. The White House is doing the Happy Talk dance. But the country needs to be prepared for anything. What if Typhoid Donald is sick from now until November 3, or even checks out?

Since we're seeing MAGAts and Russian bots frantically tweeting that the 2020 election should be canceled or postponed, let's put this in a little context. Back in 2000 — which feels like 100 years ago — Democratic Governor Mel Carnahan of Missouri died in plane crash on October 16, as he was running for Senate against Republican John Ashcroft. It was too close to the election to remove his name from the ballot. Carnahan — the dead guy — beat Ashcroft by two points. His widow, Senator Jean Carnahan, served in his stead.

In 2002, Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone died, also in a plane crash, in late October. Former Vice President Walter Mondale ran in his place and was beaten by the execrable Republican Norm Coleman. Ugh, those were dark days.

Long story short, the fate of American institutions like our elections — in which we exercise our most sacred right, the vote — is not determined by the fates of the people running in them. Sorry, Russian bots.

Our country doesn't need any more chaos, so we're not exactly keen on the thought of Benedict Donald succumbing to the virus he admitted to Bob Woodward he downplayed. The only thing we care about right now is the health of Joe Biden. Who thankfully is negative (for now). We cats send good thoughts to him, and we PURR.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Typhoid Donald Edition

By Hubie and Bertie

Does anything drive home how egregiously irresponsibly the Trumpsters have handled the coronavirus pandemic than the fact that Benedict Donald, plus Moose & Squirrel, have apparently tested positive themselves? What is most crucial now is complete and total transparency from the White House — not just going forward, but retracing steps backward, so that everyone who came into contact with these Trump idiots can take steps to protect their health.

A few thoughts:

How do we know it's true? A matter of national security like this cannot rely on a single middle-of-the-night tweet from a lying sociopath. Release the medical records now. (And the tax returns.)

So they knew that Hope Hicks was sick yesterday morning, but they still trotted out Kayleigh Mendacity to hold a briefing in the afternoon without saying anything? What does the White House press corps have to say about that?

Somebody needs to smuggle a photo or two out of that fundraiser in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Well, this gets the Melania "I Hate Christmas" tapes, Baker-Acted Brad Parscale, sexual harasser Kimberly Guilfoyle and the Proud Boys out of the news for awhile. But only for awhile.

MAGAts gonna be mad. They're going to have to wear masks now.

Let's roll the tapes of Trump's and the Republicans' reactions when Hillary Clinton came down with pneumonia during the general election in 2016. Surely they were all kind and empathetic. Riiiggghhht..

You can't help but wonder this, since Team Trump has been evasive to the point of endangering people: Did Trump time the news to overwhelm this morning's crappy jobs report and Biden's upcoming record-smashing fundraising numbers for September?

We'll sign off for now — because obviously today is going to be a news tsunami, and we have to gather our strength for more posts. But we're sending constant good wishes for the health and well-being of Joe and Jill Biden, and everyone from Team Biden who had to attend that disgusting Trump super-spreader event Tuesday night. Please everyone, vote. Let's end this nightmare. We cats HISS.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Debate Week Fallout Continues Version

By Miss Kubelik 

The polls are looking good (check these new ratings from Larry Sabato), so everyone who wants Donald Trump out of the White House can spend more time worrying about people being able to vote and the integrity of the election. Some shenanigans turned up on that front today that we're not keen on. Greg Abbott is limiting ballot drop-off locations in Texas to one per county — and the Russians are still at it.

Still, it appears to be another lost week for Benedict Donald. Here are a few thoughts.

Trump must have decided that the Hunter Biden-Burisma thingy wasn't going to fly any more. After all, it's too complicated to hurl across a debate stage in a three-second soundbite. So Tuesday night, as Joe Biden was talking about his late son Beau, Trump yapped: "Hunter got thrown out of the military. He was thrown out, dishonorably discharged for cocaine use." Funny that he picked drug use to go after, seeing as how Kellyanne Conway hasn't solved the opioid epidemic yet.

While we're talking addiction, it was amusing yesterday to see news flashes about Brad "Weird Beard" Parscale deciding to "step away" from the Trump campaign. Gee — in our experience, five weeks out from Election Day, campaign staffers are working their tails off 24/7. So if you're home in Florida, drinking a case of beer every day and beating up your wife, you've kinda "stepped away" already.

Finally, it took a little while for us to realize that it was Joe Biden — not Chris Wallace — who said the name "Proud Boys" on the debate stage the other night. Which means the fallout that's been so damaging for Trump (have you seen the photos of the Proud Boys founder sitting behind Trump at his rallies?) is thanks to Biden. Not bad for a guy who's supposed to be "sleepy."

In fact, if you look back on Joe's national debate performances — 2008, when he had to walk through the minefield that was Sarah Palin; 2012, when he had to right the ship after Obama's bad outing against Willard; and now, 2020 — he's done pretty darn well. We cats PURR.

Happy Birthday, President Carter!

"A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It is a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity."