One Picture, A Thousand Words (Take IV): Some Last Blasts From The Home Stretch

 <Kamala Harris Continues Making Her Case...>

<A Harris flyer with a specific mission, namely, give the last-minute voters whatever nudge they still need, to get to the polls -- and, of course, cast their ballot for her. All the necessary details are right upfront (above), with the final kicker of encouragement on the back (below).

As strange as it sounds, there are still people out there who haven't committed themselves either way, as they wrestle with the various issues preoccupying them -- the cost of living, the slaughter in Gaza, whether Harris can muster the necessary juice to capitalize on her campaign promises, and so on.

As one comic (whose name escapes me) said, on "The Daily Show," "What could there possibly left to find out about these people, how they stack the inside of a dishwasher?" But I honestly wouldn't dog people who identify that way -- when it comes to politics, we all have varying levels of comfort, and/or discomfort. Everyone has to decide what level they can live with, in their mind.>

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<Michigan Supreme Court, Reproductive Rights>

<Nowhere has the Democratic ground game seemingly invested more effort on any issue than -- surprise, surprise -- abortion, which paid such dividends in the 2022 midterms after the infamous Dobbs decision. 

The pundits, as they often do, seem dismissive of a repeat, but the comments that I've read -- of articles focusing on uncommitted and undecided voters -- lead me to think otherwise.

After all, images of Republican-leaning women getting just as queasy as their Democratic counterparts about the idea of an America committing itself to forced birth don't seem that much of a stretch, right? In any event, this mailer showcases Harris's efforts to link herself with reproductive rights, via Michigan's Supreme Court candidates who embrace them, while throwing plenty of shade on their counterparts (O'Grady, Fink).>

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<Example of another mailer, this one making a more explicit connection between the Republican nominees for the Michigan Supreme Court, and their counterparts on the national stage (Mike Rogers, Donald Trump). The implication here is obvious ("They're all on the same team, so -- AVOID!")>

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<State Representative (38th District):
One Positive, One Negative Snapshot>

<Example of a more upbeat flyer from Democratic State Representative Joey Andrews, complete with the obligatory family shot (above), followed by a quick rundown of his more relevant policy stances on the rear (below). What a contrast this effort makes from the one that follows, as you'll see...>

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<Once again, this mailer hammers Andrews's Republic opponent, South Haven area money manager Kevin Whiteford, for taking an overly punitive stance against abortion, and -- as the other bullet points suggest -- a bit too much enthusiasm for other aspects of his party's program. Add a photo made to look distinctly unflattering, and you're good to go, or so it seems. Another snapshot of how national issues find expression at the down ballot level.>

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<Jill Stein Returns For An Encore>

<For all the fuss made over third party candidates this year, it seems fair to say they haven't made much noise, presumably due to so many locking in with the major party nominees (Harris, Trump), and a conscious desire, perhaps, to avoid the fallout of 2016 -- when some blamed Stein, the Green Party's nominee, for helping to siphon enough votes from Hillary Clinton, enabling Trump to slither across the finish line.

This time around, like her cohorts (Cornel West, Oliver Chase), Stein's return is playing out to a more muted response, while RFK Jr. is faring slightly better, due to his full-throated support of Trump (having dropped out, where else could he go, right?).

How much drawing power Stein still commands remains to be seen, but this mailer clearly shows where she expects to try and find an opening, taking dead aim at Harris's stance on Gaza.

This being the only one I've seen from her, it's fair to say that Stein is running a shoestring campaign -- well, maybe more like a shoelace, perhaps -- so give her points for trying, I suppose. I have yet to see mailers from Chase, West, or any of the other third party upstarts.>

<Coda: Randall Terry, Eyebrow Raiser>

Now that the big day has arrived, I felt tempted to write some type of suitably apocalyptic, seemingly all-encompassing editorial, most likely as an addition to our "Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow" creeps series, but ended up ditching the idea, for the usual boring reasons.

First of all, considering all the angst over the darkness of a potential Trump restoration, anything I'd say would seem repetitive, and not terribly useful. It's not like there's an upside to the potential imposition of a Trump police state, right? That is, unless you count numbered uniforms and the lack of needing any to-do lists -- because those will come straight from the Dear Leader, right?

Second, you can only outrun so much, handicap so much, and futureproof so much. Although it's natural for the commentariat to draw whatever parallels it can, between the latest race and the last one, every election ends up differing -- sometimes, in small ways, other times, with a more significant twist. At times, there's no rhyme or reason (for further reference, see "How Is It This Close?", below).

As a friend of mine pointed out recently, even if Trump and his shock troops attempt another all-out assault on the Capitol, "there's plenty of people doing time in prison because of it, (over the January 6, 2021 attempt), and the cops and the military will be ready for it." True enough, I agreed; I think it's more likely that Trump's legal team tries to send some sort of made-up case to the Extreme Court (excuse me, the Supreme Court).

After all, they've already carved a potential glide path for him to dictatorship, out of thin air; what's a little constitutional origami among friends, right? Especially when Trump appointed three of them. Or maybe, just maybe, the pollsters are wrong, and Harris's showing will prove strong enough, that the Extreme Supremes sit by their phones, waiting for the call that never comes. We'll see soon enough.

Lastly, though, is the notion thar real life apocalypses are way scarier than anything we could ever second guess, or conjure up. I got a reminder Sunday night, as I sat here, pecking away, when a voiceover cut in, after the 10 o'clock news. I'm paraphrasing from memory, but it sounded something like this:

"The following presentation contains extremely graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised. WXYZ is obliged to give air time, to whatever candidates request it, and takes no control over their content. The following views aired do not reflect those of management, or staff, at WXYZ."

For those reading between the lines, the inference isn't hard to miss: It's a political ad, okay? This wasn't our idea, either, so don't flood the station with calls, if you toss your cookies, or get really upset. Whatever happens, don't blame us. Before I could ponder the point any further, the political ad flickered to life, flashing image after image of dead, mangled babies, each one seemingly more twisted and misshapen than the last.

Constitution Party candidate Randall Terry was making his case for a presidential promotion with all the subtlety of a brick upside the head -- though I imagine he lobbed a few, during his '90s heyday as the leader of Operation Rescue, as it carried out its relentless intimidation campaign against abortion clinics, doctors, and women nationwide. 

Terry's face flickered into view amid all these disturbing images -- shaggier and hairier than I remembered, from his '90s heyday, yet brimming with all the determination that only the truly unhinged can muster, as he gravely intoned: "This is the last bastion of free speech. The only place that you can still have free speech is on a licensed station as a qualified federal candidate."

Then, he went right into his pitch: "A vote for Kamala is a vote for continuing the apocalypse against these babies." And so on, and so forth, wash, rinse, repeat. Nothing that we haven't already heard before, but will undoubtedly some disturb some, just the same (see the WTHR link below, to find out how you can weigh in on the ad).

Seeing Terry's ad reminded me, though, that for all the relentless gazing directed toward Trump, there's always a fresh nightmare lurking around the corner, ready to take his place. At some point, Trump will eventually, finally, mercifully, fade from the public square. For the two major parties, it's an outcome that will undoubtedly scramble the script - yet, as the likes of Terry make amply clear, there's always someone who may leave us wishing, "Hey, remember when Donald Trump was all we had to worry about? Boy, those sure were the good old days."

For me, the biggest takeaway of this particular election cycle comes down to one major realization. We've all heard the oft-quoted cliche, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." That same verdict, it's safe to say, goes double for our allies, though.

As I've told people, over and over and over again, throughout this campaign season, Batman, Superman, and James Bond aren't coming to our rescue, to make things right. Only we can save us, from us, even if that doesn't happen to be the advice we want to hear. Like it or not, a refusal to do the required heavy lifting isn't optional, if we really want a functioning democracy. And keep it in sound condition, too.

In the end, we are only as good as the vigilance we exercise -- and if we rise to the occasion, there's no telling what we can do. If we check it at the door? Then we have no one else to blame but ourselves, for whatever chaos that such a dereliction of duty unleashes. Let us hope, after today, that it does not become the epitaph that eternally defines us. --The Reckoner

Links To Go (Hurry. Hurry, 
Before All Those Fake Electors Scramble Your Brain):

The Atlantic: How Is It This Close?:
https://archive.ph/Dk6qT 
(Read the other relevant pieces on the page, too, for additional context)

The Guardian: Nostalgic Trump Wheels Out The Hits:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/05/donald-trump-us-election-2024-last-day-campaign

The Verge: Why You're Seeing Those Gross Political Ads:
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/30/24283757/world-series-political-ads-anti-trans-abortion-dodgers-yankees

WTHR: WTHR Is Legally Required To Air Graphic Ad:
https://www.wthr.com/article/news/politics/elections/decision-2024/wthr-is-legally-required-to-air-graphic-ad-purchased-by-presidential-candidate-randall-terry-anti-abortion-advertisement/531-0ebf997d-eab6-4126-bc64-4b43f3aee910

One Picture, 1,000 Words (Take III): Harris And Trump Trade Punches, Counterpunches

<Example of Harris-Walz campaign's Spanish language outreach, though this flyer is actually the title one of this four-page effort, as you'll see below...>

<Pages two and three spell out the nitty-gritty of this mailer, which is probably among the more elaborately-crafted ones that we've seen crossing our mailbox...>

<...And, last but not least, a Spanish language 

dunking on Project 2025, and Trump's links to it -- 

just in case anyone's missed the message>

<Apologies in advance for the quality, but the main point of interest here lies in the headline -- as in, the same veterans he called "losers" and "suckers," presumably (per his former Chief of Staff, John Kelly)?>

<Rear page of above Trump campaign mailer, targeting what his campaign perceives as a weak spot on veterans' issues...>

<Two different Trump mailers targeting Harris's ties to the Biden administration, attempting to cement her association with the cost of living issues that have soured perceptions toward the White House -- and, indeed, most likely played a role in hounding the President out of the 2024 race...>

<Another example of a Trump mailer, this one taking a more positive tack in emphasizing his belief that, whatever else people say about him, he had a hand in the positive aspects they remember. Cynics say that he's trying to take credit for the groundwork laid by his predecessor, Barack Obama. We'll know soon whose view will carry the day. --The Reckoner>

One Picture, 1,000 Words (Take II): The Slotkin-Rogers Senate Slugfest

 

Continuing with our current theme, here are some flyers and mailers from the U.S. Senate slugfest between Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, and her Republican counterpart, Mike Rogers. In many ways, this race typifies what we're seeing nationally. Both are among the more notable faces of Michigan's Congressional delegation, looking to move up into the bigger job that opened, when veteran Debbie Stabenow ruled out running for a fourth term.

Since 2019, Slotkin has represented a district, variously numbered as the Seventh and Eighth, that stretches from Lansing, to Detroit's outer north suburbs. In contrast, Rogers served the Eighth Congressional District from 2001 to 2015, notably as chairman of the U.S. Permanent Committee on Intelligence (2011-15). Since then, he's put his credentials as a former law enforcement officer to good use, as a national security commentator on CNN, and executive producer of the network's program, "Declassified: Untold Stories Of America's Spies."

Unlike his more flamboyant former colleagues, Rogers isn't a screaming bomb thrower, nor a partisan performance artist. His lower-key style simply doesn't inspire the same animosity or pure gut level disgust as Scott Perry's election denying antics do. Yet Rogers's attack approach seems wearily familiar -- blame Democrats, in general, and their nominee Kamala Harris, in particular, for everything major and minor.

Cost of living going up? All roads lead back to Wilmington. Is the road closure that bottlenecks your complex taking weeks longer to unravel? Team Harris is leaning on those orange barrel guys. Got dinged by 50 cents, for an overdue library book? One call to the front desk sealed your fate. You get the idea.

The only problem, of course, with all this finger-pointing is that it doesn't offer any new insight, unless it's to suggest that Trump didn't get enough to work the magic tricks that eluded the adults in the room. And that's the basic problem with people like Rogers, who seems reasonably intelligent, but nevertheless, voted with Trump 95 to 100% on the time (FiveThirtyEight). 

It's a factoid that raises a reasonable concern, should we end up stuck with a Trump restoration. Slotkin has taken her share of knocks from progressives, which hasn't hurt her at the electoral box office. So far, polls show her clinging to a narrow lead (3-3.5%), a marked contrast from the picture painted in this recent Politi.com story:
https://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/32405/politico_internal_republican_poll_shows_slotkin_with_sizable_lead_over_rogers_in_michigan_senate_race

If the story is accurate, and Slotkin really has opened up a wider lead against Rogers, it might explain the flood of literature we're seeing from him lately. Carpetbombing your mailbox doesn't seem like the sign of a candidate who's on a winning track, but maybe Rogers is trying to make up for lost ground and time, having lagged consistently in fundraising throughout the race. (Current figures show war chests of $80 and $62 million for Slotkin and Rogers, respectively.)

At any rate, here are some relevant images from the flyers and mailers we have seen, with relevant comments, as needed. With just over a couple weeks left till Election Day, the frenzied carpetbombing of all those mass mailings is likely to only heat up -- as ever, we'll present the most notable ones that catch our eye. And yours, too, perhaps. --The Reckoner

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<An atypically sunny, positive ad from the Rogers camp, serving as a reminder of what candidates --- particularly incumbents -- used to do, before the "ready, aim, splat!" approach took hold as the go-to campaigning mode nationwide...>

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<I don't see my overdue library book nor clogged local road among the list of failings enumerated here, but give Mr. Rogers time -- I'm sure that he'll lob one, soon enough, to a mailbox near you...>

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<Back to Mike Rogers Playbook 101: Vote for those, like him, who marched in lockstep with the "Swamp Drainer." That should fix everything that ails us, right? 

The verbiage here ('big spending Democrats...like Slotkin") makes us wonder if there's some fill-in-the-blank computer program, deep in the dark heart of the Republican National Committee, that helps candidates whip out these sorts of mailers -- like some twisted political game of Mad Libs, isn't it?>

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So far, the only Slotkin mailer that's crossed our threshold (maybe our fellow tenants have pitched theirs), aimed from the other side of the equation, with a knock against Republican hegemony firmly in the crosshairs ("We deserve to buy a home, build wealth, and start a family, just like every generation has been able to do before now").

One Picture, 1,000 Words (Take I): The Latest Campaign Mailers

 

It's no surprise that lately, I've been hearing people saying, "I'm so f#cking sick and tired of living through historic events." No surprises there, as we either sleepwalk towards disaster, or prepare to snatch America back from the kudzu weed grip of MAGA Inc., depending on which forecast you're reading at the moment.

Which is why, in that same spirit, we're posting whatever distinctive campaign mailers land on our doormat -- precisely because of their soon-to-be historical nature. I mean, let's face it -- campaign literature is some of the planet's most disposable reading material, something meant to be skimmed quickly on the bus ride home, or the toilet, then forgotten. 

But that doesn't mean it lacks interest, especially when you consider what the particular piece of literature is trying to accomplish, which is why we led with the above image. The artist obviously went to great lengths to make Trump look as cartoonish, yet menacingly over the top, as he does here. 

It's the same tactic as you'll see on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" segment -- pick the most unflattering photo you can find of the subject whose piss you're taking, and run with it. What follows below is a fair sampling of the snapshots that darken our doorstep, as it were, with relevant commentary, wherever it applies. Let the games begin, as they say. --The Reckoner

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Flyer for the Michigan Supreme Court race, pitting the Democratic Party's nominees (above) against Republicans Andrew Fink -- who joined a local "Stop The Steal" protest on that infamous day, January 6th (2021), among other career lowlights -- and Branch County Circuit Judge Patrick O'Grady, who vows to follow a hardline textualist, originalist slant toward the law, in keeping with someone who views Clarence Thomas as an "incredible man."

For a quick rundown of his lowlights, click here, since we won't have a link section this time around:
https://gandernewsroom.com/2024/10/02/5-things-to-know-about-conservative-michigan-supreme-court-candidate-patrick-ogrady/

We've all seen this movie before, though, right? As John Roberts studiously reminded his Senate questioners, on getting his promotion to the US Supreme Court -- just the facts, ma'am. Just an umpire who calls balls and strikes, if I recall his wording correctly.

We know what that means in practice: the umpire who only calls balls and strikes for what the Republican Party's wingnut faction wants crammed down our throats. And we all know how that movie ends, as well.

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<State Rep. Joey Andrews (D-St. Joseph),
taking his Republican opponent to task...>

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<Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris
takes aim at Trump's links to one of the far right's most notorious passion projects...>

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<More greatest hits from Project 2025, which may well become the gift that just keeps on giving -- and giving -- and giving...>

<Yes, a gift that keeps on giving...and giving...>

<...And giving! Peace out:
We'll see what else the mailman drops.>