Dem
47
GOP
53
Let's take a look at some stories that don't quite merit a whole item, but do merit a mention.
That'll Go Over Like a Lead Zeppelin: The Republican Party has been using hatred of the Clintons to whip the base into a lather for more than three decades. And Rep. James Comer (R-KY) tried it yet again, with last week's testimony on the Jeffrey Epstein matter. Yesterday, Comer and his committee released video and transcripts of the Clintons' appearances.
We intended to give this news its own item, but there's no "there" there. Certainly, there's no smoking gun out of which Fox will be able to create its next 3 weeks of programming. Basically, Hillary said she didn't know anything, and she got pissed off when Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) broke the rules and posted a picture of the hearing to social media. Bill said he was once friends with Epstein, but they had a falling out long before Epstein became a known criminal, and that he himself had no knowledge of the criminal acts. In other words, this whole stunt came crashing down with a loud thud.
Our Take: The Clintons are approaching 80, and one of them has not held public office in 25 years, while the other hasn't held public office in 13 years. Maybe, just maybe, all the blood has been squeezed from this particular turnip. Meanwhile, one wonders how Comer feels about the fact that the Iran War stole all his thunder. On one hand, it took all the attention away from the mini-scandal he was trying to create. On the other hand, it took all the attention away from the fact that he went on a high-profile fishing expedition, and came up with nothing.
Lucky It Never Rains in Southern California: U.S. Senate candidate Michele Tafoya (R), whose qualification for that job is that she used to stand on the sidelines of football games and interview jocks, was on Fox last week and revealed a startling "fact": On any given night, 28% of Californians are homeless. Even the Fox entertainer who was hosting the show, Greg Gutfeld, had trouble accepting that with a straight face.
Our Take: Using California to illustrate everything that is wrong with "the libs" is a Republican tradition that dates back at least 40 years. In fairness, Democrats do the same with Texas and "the cons." Tafoya is not likely to win that election, or even that primary, but given her grasp of math, she'll be a prime candidate to be appointed to some post in the Trump White House, we imagine. Incidentally, the correct figure is a shade less than 0.5%, not 28%. Oh well, what's an error of 5,600%, among friends?
Unconventional: The Democrats had intended to revive a somewhat brief 1970s custom of holding a midterm convention. You know, get some publicity, try to get on the same page heading into the elections, etc. However, the Democratic Party has limited money right now, and so really doesn't need to be spending what it does have on extras. Consequently, plans for the 2026 Democratic National Convention have been scrapped.
Our Take: What if you gave a convention and nobody came? When we first heard about this idea, we thought it was potentially interesting. But it's hard enough to get people to tune into the presidential conventions. If this one went forward, and the ratings were anemic, there'd be a lot of egg on the faces of the Democrats.
Big Surprise: Speaking of the Democrats, it turns out that the primary issue with the 2024 election autopsy, which the party leaders promised to release, and then decided not to release, was that it said that the Gaza issue dealt a fatal blow to the Kamala Harris campaign.
Our Take: "I'll take 'No Sh**, Sherlock' for $200, Alex." It is hardly a revelation that Gaza split the Democratic coalition in a way that was ultimately fatal to Harris' presidential hopes. So, releasing the report would reveal nothing meaningful, while at the same time risking the possibility of re-opening those wounds. Better to keep the focus on ICE, a source of aggravation on which nearly all Democrats are unified.
Make Sure Not to Invite Barack Obama: There is a school of thought, one that is not at all outside the realm of reason, that the thing that really caused Donald Trump to go all-in on birtherism, and the 2016 presidential race, was when he got mocked by Barack Obama at the 2011 White House Press Correspondents Dinner (WPCD). Trump seethed that night, because he hates to be the butt of the joke. And since then, he has invariably taken a pass on the WPCD, because he doesn't want his fee-fees to be hurt. But this year, for the first time as president, he will attend.
Our Take: It cannot surprise anyone to learn that, instead of the (usual) stand-up comedian, the headliner at this year's event will be a mind-reader, Oz Pearlman. Trump might not give him much to work with, but at least Pearlman is not likely to mock the President.
Speaking of Black Politicians: After Jesse Jackson died, his family asked that he be allowed to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol. Though this honor was granted to Rosa Parks, among others, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said no, since Jackson is not
whitenotable enough. This despite the fact that, by virtue of having served as a U.S. Senator for Washington, DC (a post that comes with no power, but IS elected), Jackson was an alumnus of Congress.Our Take: At the moment, Jackson is instead lying in state in South Carolina. Congrats, Mr. Speaker, you are less respectful toward Black history and civil rights activism than... South Carolina.
Speaking of Racism: Every decision that Mike Johnson makes is undertaken with an audience of one in mind. And it's not too hard to guess how that audience of one would have felt about Jesse Jackson lying in honor just a mile or so from the (very, very) White House. In case you're having trouble figuring it out, though, the new YouGov poll might help. According to their numbers, 47% of respondents think Trump is a racist, versus 24% who think he isn't.
Our Take: What, exactly, are those other 29% waiting for before they are going to be able to form an opinion?
And that's the rest of the story. (Z)