We come to a moment of regular politics with irregular politicians. The Republican Florida gubernatorial candidate has done a control ‘f’ search and removed the name “Trump” from the website.

But. 1994. Ted Kennedy is in a somewhat close race against Mitt Romney. Bill Clinton needs to be seen campaigning somewhere, so he is campaigning for Kennedy in Massachusetts. In 2010, Barack Obama is keeping a closed circuit, needs to campaign somewhere so he has Connecticut cornered.

We have J.D. Vance in North Carolina — the no-hope Republican Senate candidate needs someone over there and Vance needs to get out for 2028. This will always be remembered for J.D. Vance trying to laughs by referring to fighting the “fart left”, then doubling back to point out his play on words. J.D. Vance is out in Kansas — the salvage operation is on, lose Kansas and lose everything.

Trump did that whole midterm convention — not much for delegates to do, but he has a couple speeches to do. I don’t know that he can much campaign hustling, what with everyone scrubbing the name from their websites and not naming him in their ads. For corollary, I am thinking the equivalent is the big Biden speech against “Ultra Maga”, stage lights blood red. Pops in, does the bit, has not much to say and when he does say anything it is rambling and everyone tried to ignore it.

Bill Clinton was always there for a snap appearance in various rural states. A “Hey, Kentucky and Arkansas — remember when you voted for me?” , even as you are not voting for the current guy. It all ran aground as Tom Cotton beat Mark Pryor in 2014. Ironic, he was not much anywhere in the midterms of his presidency. Today we see the re-emergence of George S Bush, standing to fundraise and provide a hoped for other center of Republican power for a batch of Republican candidates — excepting Paxton. We meet the the shadings of a Busy rehabilitation program — dumped since 2008 and trashed in 2016, I wonder if the party orbit floats him around back in in a post Trump presidency world. Not like Romney is getting anyone anything — he seems to be even fewer places than Kamala Harris who … Sayed in Michigan sees the need for her to pop in, and a bunch of candidates see a good use to publicly shove aside. I will have to look up if anyone is tapping Romney or Mike Pence as a substitute for Trump and Vance.

In the haze of quick passing news and political shenanigans, something flew right past which ought be recorded and highlighted for posterity. The President of the United States accused the Democratic Party of an assassination attempt. There are a whole lot of things with this administration that I don’t know fully seek in, and that is one of them.

Of course, it is likely he does not even really remember doing so. Or at least possible.

Watching the tea leaves — well, I guess the bipartisan endorsements are lining up against the Democrats. The Democrats have lost Joe Manchin. He is thrown his powerful endorsement to Susan Collins. And if one doesn’t think that is worth anything much, he did endorse Lisa Murkowski last time out, and she won! If this isn’t enough, Jared Golden has endorsed Michael Lawler — and I guess that is one Congressional district won by the Republicans now.

I guess? It all comes down to the Lobsterman Protection Act.

I wait for Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington to endorse some Republican or other — surely she finds Oregon’s gubernatorial candidate to her liking against the far left socialists. And to withstand, in a fort-night, the coming Elon Musk as dump on her wailing against her as a far left socialist.

I thought I saw a blip that John Fetterman endorsed, like, the Republican candidate in Michigan, and maybe someone or else other. But if that were the case, I would spot the headline — instead it is just him and his friendly message to the Republican Party at the convention, double Trump speech thing, and how much he loves his Pennsylvania Republican colleague.

Some of this is worthwhile in consideration because it is possible that the “Democratic Tsunami” will sweep in… well, though the Republican is widely running as though his opponent, one time Democratic candidate for Senate, is a Democrat. And there is a world where the Independent endorsed by the Democrats and the defacto Democratic candidate in Idaho will get across a “I ain’t a Democrat and I don’t know if you notice but — gawd the incumbent is old!” message within general discontent will get in. Then. They, like the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Kansas since 1932 — will need to establish and re-establish not Democrat bonafidas. Are there any Republicans remaining that they can endorse (not Democrats after all!)

Maybe the bunch can come together to push for an Epstein inquiry on one hand, and an inquiry into Trump’s Democrats on the other.

The weird election horse races as a spectator sports gambit comes into the foreground, And obscures more than illuminates a “what the hell is going on.” A smash and grab operation on many directions from the administration, a doddering old man with a techno utopian vision of ai based on being shown the dystopian view of it and loving it, a whimsical launch of a mideast forever war – – it all fades away to a bunch geographical studies and personality clashes downballot.

The Senate map. The road to a 52 Democratic voting Senate, to get past Fetterman, in a pile of cross currents (gas costs a lot but everyone hates trans-athletes) on a batch of states the Trump carried by ten thereabouts. Some priors need to be tossed aside. Or. Fun fact: Harris had a smaller margin of defeat in Kansas than she did Iowa. And did better in Alaska than Ohio. These are noteworthy in considering the Senate prospects of the Democrats running about — Iowa being a Gore-Bush-Obama-Obama-Trump-Trump-Trump state and Ohio a Bush-Bush-Obama-Obama-Obama-Trump-Trump-Trump state. Kansas gets in a Democratic governor, where Ohio spit out its Democratic Senator from the class of 2006. And an Iowa pollster famous for putting out off the wall outlier poll results that turn out to be right had to call it quits after an embarrassing one in 2024 that suggested Iowa was running back to when they may elect a Democrat.

The total effect is this weird sense that that great wheelchair bound war veteran athlete may go to defeat — the Republicans in Iowa able to scratch a non-partisan itch with a wholly non-partisan Democratic gubernatorial candidate and waiting for a follow up on “so, you are a veteran with disabilities. And–?”, where then in Kansas … A Democratic Senator is elected for the first time since 1932. Yeah, they scour his pastoral sermons for a church gone woke, but this man’s no Tallerico. So we are back to a vote winning sanctimonial “tsk tsk” message against a confused “why is this an isdue?” answer on the compound interest bearing bill collecting chase for medical non-payments, and ” what would Jesus do?” He should be the best Democratic vote getter in a Senate race in 1974 at least.

The polls are a landmine. There is an arms race for bs poll number dumps, the gambits Republicans pulled which probably gave them the House in 2022 by lending a margin of front-runner voters coming with a sense of a Republican storm. The Democrats have a poll for you in Nebraska — the “wink wink, Independant” up by four. And, no one believes it, but the good news for the Democrats is the probable Democrat victory the non bs polls suggest is large enough

I feel like I was standing closer to Gloria Steinem than I had any right to — both in terms of bigwig status and my interest level of standing in the proximity of this person in particular. It wasn’t much– it was the year 2000, she was filing about the city for events in her role of surrogate talking Al Gore up by knocking down Ralph Nader. And this had to be the least important piece of the itinerary — it is a small crowd at Pioneer Courthouse Square — and I, interested just enough but not much more, stand alone, right behind her, closer to her than it seems I should be allowed to stand.

She has a top ten list, a nod to Ralph Nader’s appearance on David Letterman. Nader’s lust, whether it was or was not, was humor — crowd applauses at turns of phrases and satiric jibes. Steinem wasn’t attempting to be funny — it was strident against Nader — there is apparently a phrase Nader once used that downplayed abortion politics which… in a very real way was what kept Steinem supporting Clinton. I half mused — what is the use of having a top ten list if it is not funny?

The nature of Steinem’s political job — this singular public appearance is pretty pointless, except in a broader sweep of appearances that are pointful… to the task. Al Gore wants her here, but he wants her at the other campaigning and political points more — you wouldn’t even blame her for phoning this particular item in. The sign of its lacking is that I was standing closer to Steinem than it seems like it’s make any sense.