Tim gets the job done!
October 2, 2024
Tim Walz got the job done in the vice-presidential debate, but the most significant domestic political news of the day was made in a pair of unhinged, incoherent, listless speeches and a follow-on press conference by Donald Trump that raise the urgent question of whether he is mentally competent. During the speeches and press conference, Trump insulted wounded war veterans, accused Kamala Harris of murder, and claimed that teachers are administering sex change procedures to children during the school day. More on that later. First, to the debate.
Tim Walz gets the job done in an evenly matched debate
In general, the debate was evenly matched—because Tim Walz was nervous (at first) and unable to allow his affable personality to shine through while JD Vance tried to be normal as he lied through his teeth. As a made-for-television spectacle, it was a draw. On substance, Tim Walz clearly won.
Tim Walz had several strong segments—abortion, immigration, climate change, healthcare, gun safety, the “care economy,” and January 6—but his nervousness frequently got in the way of his ability to deliver a knockout punch. Walz got stronger in the last third of the debate—when many viewers had tuned out. And the strongest knock-out line that Walz delivered came 2/3rds of the way through the debate.
JD Vance surprised on occasion, admitting that the American people do not trust Republicans on abortion and that the party needs to do a better job of convincing the American people that it is pro-family. He expressed sympathy for a female acquaintance who obtained an abortion as a young woman who felt she had no other options. But Vance spent most of his time revising history and avoiding tough questions about Trump. When he wasn’t doing that, he was lying.
The debate dynamic was shaped, in large part, by JD Vance’s effort to escape the claims that he is a weird white supremacist who wants to monitor women’s menstrual cycles. Tim Walz, on the other hand, seemed too nice to speak the truth about Vance and often spoke too quickly to highlight Vance’s lies. Oddly, the result was a debate that was more focused on policy than the Harris-Trump debate.
Given that the debate was effectively a draw, it does not seem likely to influence the election. Both sides will declare victory, but Vance may be the candidate who most regrets answers given during the debate.
First, Vance said unequivocally that he has never supported an abortion ban. The internet is aflame after the debate with proof that JD Vance did, in fact, propose a national abortion ban. See CNN Politics (July 17, 2024), JD Vance said in 2022 he ‘would like abortion to be illegal nationally’.
Second, if there is a “sound bite” that will define the debate, it is when Tim Walz said that JD Vance gave a “damning non-answer” in refusing to acknowledge that Donald Trump lost in 2020. See below.
There were several strong moments by Tim Walz, including:
Giving an opening salvo in which he noted that the people closest to Trump believe he is “unfit for the nation’s highest office.”
Pointing out that Trump claims climate change is a hoax and would result in “more beachfront property.” As Walz noted, people in the South are currently devastated from the aftereffects of Hurricane Helene.
Saying that Vance gave a “damning non-answer” by refusing to say that Trump lost in 2020 and that the violence on January 6 was reprehensible and should be condemned. Tim Walz challenged Vance on his evasion about January 6 and Trump's loss, saying, “You really can’t answer that question?” It was a great moment that came too late in the debate. See, e.g., Politico, Vance refuses to admit that Trump lost the 2020 election.
On Vance’s attacks on Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Walz said, “This is what happens when you don’t want to solve a problem. You demonize it. You dehumanize and villainize human beings.”
On Vance’s claim that Democrats are “pro-abortion,” Walz said, “We are pro-women. We are pro-freedom to make your own choice.”
And kudos to the moderators, who did fact-check JD Vance on his claim that the Haitian populations in Springfield are illegal immigrants. Moderator Margaret Brennan said to Vance, “Just to clarify, Springfield’s Haitian migrants have legal status.” JD Vance responded, “The rules were we weren’t going to fact check . . . .” Pathetic!!
If you want more detail on soundbites, this “live analysis” by the NYTimes’ news staff is helpful. See NYTimes, A Tense, Policy-Heavy Debate Ends With Clash Over Democracy. (Accessible to all.) Note the reference in the headline relating to the January 6 “non-answer” by Vance
I also invite you to read the real-time comments by the readers this newsletter, which can be accessed here: Today’s Edition Comments (10/1/24)-- Inviting comments on the VP debate.
Perhaps the acid test of who “won” the debate is the after-debate commentary on Fox and MSNBC. The anchors on Fox were whining about the moderators, claiming they were biased against Vance while the anchors on MSNBC were saying that Walz won on substance.
Trump gives a truly unhinged speech before the debate
If it were not for the debate, Trump's atrocious speeches and press conference before the debate would be leading the headlines. The full videos of the speech are here: President Trump Gives Remarks in Waunakee, Wisconsin - 10/1/24 and Trump holds news briefing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as vice presidential debate kicks off.
Among Trump's unhinged statements are the following:
Public school teachers are conducting sex change surgeries on students during the school day without parental consent.
Cartels that smuggle immigrants into the US have an “app” on their phone (supplied by Kamala Harris) that tells them when and where to smuggle immigrants into the country. Trump then said of his own comment, “It’s not even believable.”
Trump dismissed the injuries to hundreds of US troops who sustained traumatic brain injuries during a missile attack in Iran in 2020, saying they were merely complaining about “headaches.”
Apparently referring to US national security reports that Iran is trying to assassinate Trump, Trump said that “North Korea is trying to kill me”—confusing Kim Jong Un and the president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Trump claimed that Kamala Harris “murdered” Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old Maryland resident, who was killed by a Venezuelan immigrant who entered the country illegally.
See NJ.com, Unhinged Trump accuses Kamala Harris of ‘murder’ and conspiring with ‘cartel heads.
Remember the good old days—before Trump—when a presidential candidate accusing the other presidential candidate of murder would be front page news on major media outlets? And remember that time, less than three months ago, when the major media demanded that Joe Biden drop out of the race because he spoke in a “halting manner” (read: stutter) during a debate? Where does confusing whether it is Iran or North Korea trying to assassinate you rank on that scale?
But the worst part of Trump's speech is that he was bored, listless, and low energy for ninety minutes. See this clip: Aaron Rupar on Twitter:
This speech Trump is delivering right now in Milwaukee is the lowest energy speech I have ever heard from him. Here's a more than 2-minute clip where he gets 0 response from the crowd other than a stray cough here and there.
The Washington Post covered the pathetic performance by Trump with this headline: Trump mixes up words, swerves among subjects in off-topic speech | The Republican nominee appeared tired and complained about his heightened campaign schedule. (Accessible to all.)
Per WaPo,
He spoke of “a million Rambos.” “Turnarounds” and “gotaways” and “dead-head spending.” He mixed up Iran with North Korea and strained to pronounce United Arab Emirates. He marveled at Hurricane Helene coming so late in the storm season, which typically runs through November. He falsely claimed government agencies can’t name the U.S. population, and he compared the conflict between Israel and Iran to “two kids fighting in the schoolyard.”
Given the above, it is no wonder Trump has declined a second debate against Kamala Harris—a blow to his ego that his advisers demanded he endure to prevent further damage to his candidacy.
But it gets worse—for Trump. CBS 60 Minutes traditionally interviews the major presidential tickets before the November election. Trump's campaign previously agreed to the interview but has backed out, in part, because CBS said the interviews would be fact-checked. CBS issued a “programming note” on Tuesday that said the following:
This year, both the Harris and Trump campaigns agreed to sit down with 60 Minutes. Vice President Harris will speak with correspondent Bill Whitaker. After initially accepting 60 Minutes’ request for an interview with Scott Pelley, former President Trump’s campaign has decided not to participate. Pelley will address this Monday evening.
Georgia Judge rules that election certification is required by date certain despite new rule
In a significant victory for voting rights, a Georgia judge ruled that local election officials must certify election results by November 12 under state law, notwithstanding a new rule by the Trump-friendly Georgia election board that permits “reasonable inquiry” before certification. See Atlanta Journal Constitution, Judge: Georgia election certification is required despite new rule.
Per the AJC, Judge McBurney said the following from the bench:
“The deadline is the deadline. Get done what you can. What is reasonable to one person might be not reasonable to another. But you make your inquiry and then it’s wheels up at 5 p.m. on the 12th of November.”
McBurney also said that if a local board refused to certify by November 12, then a court could order certification.
While the decision may be appealed, Judge McBurney’s “bench ruling” is the only permissible conclusion on the facts and the law. While many readers are understandably concerned about efforts to prevent certification at the local level, Judge McBurney’s ruling is a harbinger of things to come.
But . . . we should concentrate on winning by commanding margins. The bigger the victory, the less temptation there will be for courts to scrutinize bogus claims that would not make a difference in any event.
Opportunities for Reader Engagement
Today’s Edition / Senate Circle fundraiser for Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Colin Allred
In response to reader requests (after the fundraiser for Senators Jon Tester and Sherrod Brown), I coordinated with Senate Circle to host a fundraiser for two US Senate candidates who offer the possibility of expanding the Democratic margin in the Senate (and defending Democrats’ current control).
Please join me on October 11 at 6 pm Eastern / 3:00 pm Pacific as I talk with Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Colin Allred about picking up new Senate seats by defeating GOP Senators Rick Scott and Ted Cruz! As with the Tester / Brown fundraiser, the event is beign organized and hosted by Senate Circle and co-hosted by Today’s Edition Newsletter. The official invitation text from Senate Circle is below. Note that I will sign-on 30 minutes early to chat with attendees in advance of the official start time of the Zoom:
On October 11, 6:00 p.m. Eastern / 3:00 p.m. Pacific, I will be moderating an event sponsored by Senate Circle for Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL) and Colin Allred (TX). Both started as underdog challengers whose campaigns have greatly benefited from the burst of enthusiasm surrounding the nominations of Harris & Walz.
Their victories would solidify a Democratic majority in the US Senate. Mucarsel-Powell and Allred have their sights set on defeating the two most endangered Republican Senators, Rick Scott (FL) and Ted Cruz (TX). The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is now investing in these states, and a groundswell of donor support can help reach the many voters who are still undecided or unfamiliar with the Democratic nominees.
The Zoom fundraiser will take place on Friday, October 11, at 6:00 p.m. Eastern / 3:00 p.m. Pacific, and I will sign on 20 minutes early to chat with readers who join the call. Please RSVP or donate now on the ActBlue page. The minimum donation to participate in the Zoom is $100.
Senate Circle is an all-volunteer group with a multi-year, state-based strategy for holding a Senate majority. We invite donors to invest in the toughest, winnable races by connecting them with both grassroots groups and the candidates themselves. To learn more about Senate Circle, visit their website.
Spanish language video tutorials for social media
I received this note from Swing Left Peninsula offering a vital resource to help encourage Spanish-speaking voters to vote early. The materials are tailored to each state. If you are involved in “get out the vote efforts,” please check out the terrific materials described below! They will be helpful in turning out Spanish-speaking voters. Here is the note I received from Sylvia Salazar:
A colleague of mine (Laura Gottsman) from Swing Left Peninsula and I led a team that created a set of videos in English and Spanish about voting early, with date-specific videos for all the states and some general info videos about how voting early helps Democrats win.
There is an English-language website with every video in English and Spanish and paper collateral in English: VoteOnDay1There is also a Spanish-language website with every video and paper collateral in Spanish: https://www.votaeldiauno.org. Votaeldiauno
There is a download button on each video’s page—they can be downloaded to a hard drive and then uploaded to any platform. There’s also the option to get them from Swing Left Peninsula's YouTube channel: SwingLeftPeninsula/playlists.
Concluding Thoughts
Tim Walz did his job and we should be proud of him. The vice-presidential debate was a “gating event”—an obstacle to be cleared that posed downside risk and little reward. In an evenly matched debate, Tim clearly won the media-relations battle. Several hours after the debate, the “news” is that JD Vance doesn’t know (or won’t say) who won the 2020 presidential election. And it was Tim Walz who went on the attack to force JD Vance into that corner.
So, breathe another sigh of relief over imagined disaster avoided and continue to concentrate on the vital work of getting out the vote. After two months, Kamala Harris still has the momentum—and the “honeymoon period” is still going strong! The race remains close—within the margin of effort. Once again, we have every reason to be hopeful but no reason to be complacent!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
Three photos below give a hint of the scale of space. The first image shows an apparently lonely galaxy—NGC 7331—hanging in space like a gossamer. NGC 7331 is 49 million light-years from Earth.
The second photo is a cropped version of the first image. If you look closely, you should be able to spot four additional galaxies in near NGC 7331. In fact, those galaxies are located much farther away from Earth than NGC 7331. The three galaxies “nearest” to NGC 7331 in the image are all more than 300 million light-years from Earth.
The image below highlights the NGC 7331 and the four other galaxies. For those of you who might remember my images of Stephan’s Quintet, NGC 7331 and the four galaxies shown below are a different set of five galaxies that can be captured in a single field of view.
I believe Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is an outstanding, brilliant woman and would be a superb Senator. Colin Allred is a forceful advocate for voting rights and I hope he will be able to join the Senate. Both Florida and Texas are huge states in which it is difficult and expensive to run campaigns that reach every potential voting group.
I have donated my little $100, which for the record I cannot afford ... but I cannot afford to leave a climate apocalypse and second class citizenship to my daughter, nor to your daughters and sons.
As a geriatrician over forty years I have previously commented that trumps worsening display of vile language with disgusting attacks may be signs of frontotemporal dementia FTD escalating over the paranoid arrogant hurtful elements of his narcissistic personality disorder. Poor sentence structure, slurring and poor word usage, loss of all empathy and insight, and inappropriate behaviors will all continue to escalate despite his followers media and enablers denial. Supporting Harris is the only rational decision . Republicans covered for Reagan’s Alzheimer’s his last year in office but trumps neurocognitive declines will be unmasked further in the coming months as it deteriorates further .