Wow, what a difference four weeks makes...

Almost effortlessly Harris handily wrapped up s has brought the heat to the floundering Trump campaign, and poor little Donnie two-scoops can't believe that he's not running against Biden. Waah.

I am beginning to like the built in AI image maker on Substack

Four weeks ago today, I was standing in line at my local grocery store, when the push notification that Biden was stepping aside and terminating his presidential campaign, bowing to the titanic pressure that the media, the right, the left, and pretty much all the pundits had been heaping on him in the aftermath of the (admittedly) awful debate performance on June 27th.

And on that day, it looked as if Trump was invincible, just a week earlier he had avoided being murdered during a campaign stop, but his cunning lizard brain kicked in, and he was able to create a triumphal image that seemed like it would seal the deal. Then followed the RNC, where Trump — riding high — felt that he could take a victory lap, ignore wise counsel on his choice for veep (as it never really matters), and he tapped the abhorrent JD Vance.

For fuck’s sake, the powers at the top of the campaign, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita¹, were beginning to position themselves for plumb administration assignments, Chief of Staff, or perhaps an ambassadorship to some choice country.

Yep, on the morning of July 21, it seemed like the race was done and dusted.

But Biden had a twist.

In the background, there was a mountain of bullshit being flung, the media at large, the pundit sphere (and most irksome the vitriol that the left of center outlets were spewing) was unified, and the most vocal assholes of all were the motherfucking Never Trump twats.

No, they all were sure that Biden didn’t have the juice.

For three long, painful weeks, the pressure was set to “crush”, the cacophony of voices howling, the torrent of leaks from staffers, and Democratic party insiders kept eroding the public opinion.

And frankly, this fed the confidence of the Republicans and Trump’s campaign team a diet of cotton candy and Jolt cola. They could smell blood in the water, and they were ecstatic at their good fortune. It didn’t seem to matter that Trump was visibly dissembling in front of everyone’s eyes, that his rants had become even more unhinged, that his grievances were getting more ridiculous.

Heady stuff indeed.

And I was resigned. This was inevitable. Yes, I believed that Biden could win. That he should win. That it shouldn’t even be close. But what the fuck do I know. I am just a product manager managing the training and certification portfolio for an IT equipment and solution juggernaut. I am a nobody.

Thus, I just assumed that I would get through the next 4 years. Being a middle aged, upper middle class white dude makes me impervious to many of the worst of the MAGA world. But goddamn it, I have a LOT of friends who are not like me. Women, people of color, neighbors of Hispanic ancestry, family members who are part of the LGBTQ+ ecosystem. They would be devastated, persecuted, hunted, and harassed by the MAGA fuckers. Just the thought of that skeevy fuck Stephen Miller rubbing his hands whilst he watches the jumper-cables being attached to the genitalia of migrant children was enough to send me into a tailspin.

Then it all changed …

As I mentioned above, I was at a nadir when the notification hit my phone. And it was just the “Biden is dropping out”. As I stood in line for my groceries, mood deflated, I was thinking that the fucking turkey vultures in the press and the pundit cesspool, especially the so-called Never Trump “allies” who were giddy with the prospect of a contested convention.

Theories about a jungle “mini” primary, a 4-week sprint to Chicago², with the public getting to see their preferred fighter mix it up for advantage. Who would be the face? Who would be the heel³? All of them were furiously jacking their semi-erect pundit boners over their favorite.

Would it be Josh Shapiro since he could help pull Pennsylvania over the line? Or how about Big Gretch (Gretchen Whitmer). Maybe they would pull in a “centrist” like Joe Manchin. Some liked Pete Buttigieg, and more than one was licking their chops for Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

Sure, they all “said” that naturally Kamala Harris, you know the SITTING FUCKING VICE PRESIDENT, should toss her name in the ring, but all of them (and I do mean ALL those fuckers) assumed that she was a lightweight and that surely the better candidates would all just climb the fuck over her back whilst muttering some platitudes.

I mean, that is what I feared the most. That all the great work that Biden did to defuse the shit-show that was the Trump administration, navigating the rollout and ramp up of the Covid vaccinations, execute an almost unheard-of gentle landing instead of a massive recession, passing significant legislation on rebuilding infrastructure that also includes the most aggressive action to date by ANY country on the climate crisis.

No, all that would be flushed down the oubliette, just to get their favorite pretty face, their preferred pet Democrat at the top of the ticket.

And it would likely have worked if a half hour after the initial announcement Biden hadn’t sent another clear message that he fully supported Kamala Harris.

Alas, suddenly, all the pet Dems that these outside bad-faith actors were itching to send to the mosh pit quickly got in line to support Harris. Whitmer, Shapiro, Moore, and others all toed the line⁴. Suddenly the exciting 4 week mini-primary with a coronation of <insert your favorite talking head here> was gone.

And they didn’t take it too well. As I sit here today, we are learning that many of the elite Democratic power players (cough - Pelosi - cough) were not happy, but publicly they have acknowledged that their power play went poorly. Even the Obama’s took about a week before they got in line.

Boo fucking hoo.

I need to point out that Joe Biden timed this to a T. He waited until after he had the negotiations to release the Russian hostages before pulling the trigger.

Furthermore, he also timed it so that the knuckleheaded mouth breathers who bloviate on the Sunday morning news programs were done, so no shit-takes from the MAGA twats.

And the short delay between the announcement and the endorsement of Harris? Just chef’s kiss, 13/10, no notes.

In the last four weeks, we have seen Harris hit her stride. She’s become a much more natural campaigner, and she has some political instincts that are serving her well. Many of the doubters point to the 2020 primary where she dropped out before a vote was cast. But that was her trying to mold herself into the mold of a progressive warrior, and that is not who she is. Never has been, never will be. She got targeted in 2020 for being a tough on crime DA and AG, so naturally that was uncomfortable to watch.

However, against the 91-times indicted, 34-times felony convicted con man Trump, her strengths shine like a supernova.

So what did the Pundit Douche-rati argue for? Well, if Whitmer, or Shapiro, or Beshear, or Buttigieg couldn’t be at the top of the ticket, surely she would choose one of these rising stars for Veep.

When I learned that she had picked Tim Walz, a normal dude with a normal background, no fancy political royalty origins, or aspirations, my heart swelled tremendously, even as I waded through all the disappointment being tossed into the blogosphere and media by the trained seals behind the news desks.

And you know what? Tim Walz’s assertion that the MAGA players are weird that has hung around the necks of the MAGA largely because any normal person hears that someone called JD Vance “weird” and says “yeah, that nails it”. To this day, the media and the MAGAt army continues to cry foul that such a simple descriptive adjective has stuck to them like molten sulfur.

If the stench fits, wear it - assholes.

I mean, a simple (incorrect) tweet⁵ claiming that JD Vance lost his virginity to a lubed up latex glove tucked in between couch cushions took off like wildfire. Not because it is true, but, c’mon, tell me JD Vance doesn’t look like he might have fucked a couch?

Tell me that he doesn’t look like a grown-up Cabbage Patch Kid doll…

No, JD Vance was a terrible pick, but we know for goddamn certain that while the campaign tried to tell The Donald that Vance had more skeletons in his closet than the local potter’s field they let “Trump be Trump” and select the binky of JD Vance, probably because he wanted the Elon Musk and Peter Thiel adoration.

That is the worst fucking reason to select a running mate, but compared to the daily “this fucking guy” activities by Trump this is middle of the pack.

Regardless, whilst Trump was largely correct that Veep’s rarely help the ticket, they are getting a master class in how a fucking terrible selection can backfire spectacularly. I will not get into the “cat lady” comments, his bizarre beliefs around abortion, and lately his chewing on his kneecap over his insensitive comments on “post-menopausal women’s purpose in life”, let’s just say that if Trump could fire him without the tacit admission that selecting Vance was a huge unforced error, a lap taken in glory when he felt invincible.

Oh, how a month has changed the world. Even the Washington Post today had to admit that Harris is now leading in nationwide polls, and the momentum is on the upswing, while the Trump campaign seems unable to land a single punch.

I have a few words to say about the media…

The media is really bad

For literally decades I have been bathed in the right wingers griping that the Mainstream Media, you know the NY Times, The Post, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, and countless national news magazines were all lefty run hell-holes, that they were in the bag for Democrats so that the Right had to build their own echo chamber first with AM Talk Radio, then with the launch of Fox News on Cable to “balance” the message.

That was a lie.

No, the mainstream media bent over backwards to be fair (unreasonably fair) to the ever-nuttier right. The Tea Party began this trend, but they’ve prioritized access to people and policymakers over the truth, and in the process they have completely fucked America.

Now you have borderline traitorous vixens like Maggie Haberman, the Trump Whisperer, and an editorial board that seems to have “both-sides that motherfucker” at every step.

Just look at the focus they put on every gaffe that Biden made (and I will admit that Biden has ALWAYS been a gaffe-machine), while poo-pooing Trumps daily unhinged outbursts with the caveat “well, that is all baked in”.

Bullshit. If you fuckers would have latched on to every insane thing Trump dribbles out of his mouth-anus, then he wouldn’t be normalized.

No, the editorial boards (and their uber rich industrialist owners) want to be the preferred media when Trump ascends the steps to the White House again. They made their Faustian bargain, and especially after the disastrous debate in June, they decided they wanted a slice of the future “state media” preferences they would reap.

Fuck the NY Times, Fuck the Washington Post, double fuck The Atlantic, and CNN? That shit needs to be nuked from orbit. Beyond redemption, but not for the reason that the MAGAts argue, no because they routinely put their fingers on the scale to make the Biden administration seem as poorly run as the Trump administration was.

Fuck all of that shit.

I mean I just fucking read an Opinion that the Democratic Convention will not give the Harris/Walz ticket a bounce, because they have gotten all the bounce the last four weeks.

Are you fucking kidding me? They are SLAYING at each event, she’s handling the Pro Palestinian protesters with elan and flair, Tim Walz continues to needle Trump and Vance where it hurts, and the media continues to look for chinks in their armor so they can gain back the news cycle and the resultant clicks and eyeballs that leads to.

Fuck all the way off.

As a last fuck off to the press, it turns out that the Trump campaign’s emails had been hacked (the delish part is it seems to have started when Iran spear phished Roger Stone), but unlike in 2016, where they went wall-to-wall with coverage about the Clinton Campaign, they’ve sat on this trove for over a month. Fuckers!

Wrapping up

I checked the stats and I am currently at 2,037 words, possibly my longest post, and I realize that I have a lot more to say.

For now though, I will say that I have cleansed my subscriptions from people who really were on the wrong side (Chris Cilizza - you are the epitome of bad faith in the media, and I was GLAD to unsubscribe and abandon the balance of my annual subscription. You are a hack, and you deserve to crash and burn). No, I still have some contrary voices in my feed, but the bad actors have all been culled.

I am also looking forward to the convention that starts tomorrow. Yes, I know there will be a vocal and visible protest by the far left against the Gaza violence by Israel, but really, are they going to vote for Trump?

No, I am watching the polls head in the right direction, I am seeing the enthusiasm of the electorate, Harris is hitting it out of the park, deftly handling the transition from Biden to herself, raising truly stupendous amounts of cash, and Trump keeps whining about how unfair it was to Biden to “push” him out, and how he spent $100M fighting against Biden, now that was wasted.

Poor widdle Donnie, he really needs his comfort blankie in this difficult time.

I know it is not a done deal, but damn, it feels fucking GREAT right now to be a Democrat!

Thanks for reading this far. If you liked this, do me a favor and share it. I am not on any of the major social media platforms, so if you can just share this, I would be most appreciative.

If you hated it, please comment below, I do want to hear your thoughts.

If you are a MAGA waste of a sperm and an egg, sit and spin.

1. Is it me, or does “La Civita” sound like a trendy townhouse development for upwardly mobile trash?

2. More than one of the media members were giddy with the possibility of violence at the convention a’la the 1968 convention, also in Chicago. No bueno mi amigo.

3. The heel and the face are references to the recipe for WWF players/actors

4. For fuck’s sake, Aaron Sorkin, the writer behing West Wing, advocated for a Mitt Romney/Joe Manchin ticket. What the fuck was he smoking?

5. I will always deadname Twitter. Fuck Elon Musk

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