Kamala Harris v. Taylor Swift’s ‘Swifties’
Plus: Do Bernie's Campaign Staffers Make More than You?
Debate Night Round 2 guides, fundraising fights rip apart pop fandoms, plans and policies, censored radio interviews, testosterone, and alligator boots. This is the Pre-Debate Policy Power Hour edition.
I’m Chris Erik Thomas. Welcome to Issue 13 of Rubber Chicken Circuit, the weekly election newsletter from Study Hall. Read more about us, subscribe here, and forward us to your friends!
Headliners
A Brief Guide to Next Week’s Democratic Debatocalypse 2: Back 2 tha Stage.
If you’ve been waiting for a chance to see what ridiculous things Marianne Williamson will say or just want to play Guess That White Guy bingo, you’re in luck. The July debates are nearly here. After a ridiculous CNN live PowerBall of Democracy drawing last week, the lineup has been set for the big battle to be America’s Next Democratic Superstar. Here’s what you need to know.
What days? Tuesday, July 30 and Wednesday, July 31.
What time? 8 PM ET on both nights.
Where to watch on TV? CNN, CNN International, and CNN Español.
Where to watch online? On CNN.com and on CNN's iOS, Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, and Roku apps. Also probably any sort of social media platform.
Swifties, Scooter Braun, and a Fandom-Breaking Fundraiser
In a true sign of the apocalypse and proof we live in a simulation, this headline landed with a thud over the weekend: “Taylor Swift Block Vote May Be In Jeopardy For Kamala Harris, Thanks To Scooter Braun Fundraiser.” Yes, KAMALA HARRIS now has to worry about losing the Swifties — or Taylor Swift fans for those above the age of 20.
Apparently, Taylor Swift is in a feud with mega-manager Scooter Braun over the ownership of her back catalog, and Kamala’s fundraiser with him was a slap in the face to Swift’s fanbase. Also a slap in the face? The attendance of Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato. Please note that Perry also had a feud with Swift but ended it recently in a gay-baiting music video that ends with the two hugging while wearing hamburger and french fry costumes. I wish I was joking.
Will any of this fan drama have an actual impact? Let’s look at last year as a test case. Swift encouraged her 112 million Instagram followers to vote and singled out Tennessee candidate Marsha Blackburn for an “appalling” voting record in Congress but, a month later, Blackburn won the election. I don’t think Harris has to sweat upsetting the Swifties, but she may want to tone down the big-dollar fundraisers if she wants to appeal to progressives.
KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND: Still Being Blamed for Al Franken’s Problems
A year and a half after Al Franken left office in the midst of sexual misconduct allegations, Gillibrand is facing new scrutiny slathered in a thick layer of sexism for being the first person to call for him to resign. Franken said he “absolutely” regretted his decision not to fight the charges, which led Gillibrand to call out the sexism of attacking a woman for standing up for other women. “Who is being held accountable for Al Franken’s decision to resign? Women senators, including me. It’s outrageous. It’s absurd.”
Have feedback or want to slip us a tip? Reply to this or email chris@studyhall.xyz with your scoops and suggestions.
The Pack
JOE BIDEN: Trying to Fix the Criminal Justice Mess He Helped Create
The best way to understand Biden’s attempt at saving face with his big new criminal justice plan came in the form of a clapback from Cory Booker: “Biden had more than 40 years to get this right. The proud architect of a failed system is not the right person to fix it.” The plan is basically just Biden backtracking on all of the positions he championed for four decades and doesn’t even get marijuana legalization right—the plan would only legalize cannabis for medical purposes and leave recreational use up to states.
ELIZABETH WARREN: Student Loan Destroyer
The candidate with a Plan For That introduced a bill yesterday that would do a one-time cancellation of $640 billion in student loan debt. Like Thanos’ snap deleting the Avengers but instead it cancelled all the binge drinking and skipping classes you engaged in during college while your debt skyrocketed. It’s like Bernie Sanders’ debt relief plan but without the inclusion of wealthy people who don’t need it; Warren wouldn’t allow anyone making more than $250K to get debt relief.
PETE BUTTIGIEG: A Censored Country Radio Interview Sparks Backlash
An interview with Blair Garner, the host of a nationally syndicated country radio program, never made it to the airwaves and the reason is as flimsy as you’d expect. Garner’s employer, Cumulus Media, cited FCC “Equal Time Rules” as the reason for not airing it, but the explanation doesn’t match with reality. The interview dropped on SoundCloud like the hottest new mixtape in the game though, so if you want to hear Buttigieg appealing to the country music crowd with his “I’m gay but normal just like you” schtick, it’s all there.
BETO O’ROURKE: Fighting With Meghan McCain Over “Extremism”
Beto became the latest target John McCain’s daughter this week when he called Trump supporters at a rally chanting “send her back” about Somali-American Rep. Ilhan Omar “almost an impromptu Nuremberg rally.” McCain, who is the daughter of John McCain (never forget that) disagreed with calling Trump supporters Nazis and said that doing that is just as extreme as Trump supporters being racist extremists.
BERNIE SANDERS: Campaign Staffers Fight For $15
One of the foundations of running a campaign is treating your staffers well and when one of your main campaign goals if raising the minimum wage to $15… you see where this is going. The Sanders campaign followed up the feat of becoming the first unionized presidential campaign of 2020 with another achievement: a $42,000 annual salary, a 50-hour work week, and 100% health care coverage. Your move, everyone else.
MARIANNE WILLIAMSON: Late Night Shows and Sam Bee Shade
The walking SNL skit Marianne Williamson was invited onto Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal show to drop out. Her response? Posting a photo from backstage at The Late Show before her interview with Stephen Colbert saying “Ha ha. Thought I should do Stephen’s show instead, and stay in..,and win...:).” Her interview was heavy on the Department of Peace, and light on questions about her skepticism of vaccines.
CORY BOOKER: 2020’s Testosterone Dude Wants to Punch Trump
If you were holding out for a presidential candidate that says his testosterone levels sometimes make him want to punch the president, Booker is your man. How did he go from calling him out for racism to attacking him as a “physically weak specimen?” Rosario Dawson, come get your man.
The Leftovers
ANDREW YANG: “The candidate of Silicon Valley.” AMY KLOBUCHAR: Made the September debate polling requirement, but still needs 130K donors. JULIÁN CASTRO: 74.3% of his donations were from small-dollar contributions, beating every other candidate. WAYNE MESSAM: His campaign raised $50K in the second quarter, which is $49,999 more than I expected. JOHN DELANEY: His staff literally begged him to drop out because he’s spent $11 million of his own money. TULSI GABBARD: Raised Negative $20 for her House reelection campaign. TIM RYAN: Thinks appealing to “yoga moms” and blue-collar workers will take him to the White House. MICHAEL BENNET: Mad Libs of the week: “NYU marketing professor calls milquetoast poster boy Michael Bennet a “gangster” on Twitter.” BILL DE BLASIO: 34% of his donors do business in New York, which is also called a “conflict of interest.” JOE SESTAK: “If you have an Android phone, everything you say is sent back to China.” #TeamApple4Life TOM STEYER: The literal billionaire “doesn’t see himself as rich,” which is a level of denialI can only dream of reaching. SETH MOULTON: His “ ideas are stronger than his campaign.” JAY INSLEE: “The sun has set on Jay Inslee's presidential bid.” JOHN HICKENLOOPER: Very passionate about equal pay and hot dogs being classified as sandwiches. STEVE BULLOCK: He’ll be in the second debates… but will he wear the boots he made from an alligator he killed?
The Trump Check
Racism is a Salve for Trump’s Republican Base.
If the chants of “send her back” weren’t enough evidence that Trump’s base is full of racists, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll might help. In the days after his racist tirade against four Democratic congresswomen of color, his support among Republicans rose 5%, to 72%.
Trump has done and said a lot of awful things in his presidency but throughout all of it, his base has largely remained at his side. Ready to fight and spew hate at a moment’s notice. The only silver lining is that among independents, his support fell from four in 10 supporters to three in 10 supporters. But again, that’s a small silver lining when we remember that we’re talking about how racist our president was this week. At least now we have Boris Johnson to compete with Trump for most awful leader of a country
Get all your snacks and popcorn ready for the next round of debates. See you in a week for another serving of Rubber Chicken Circuit.
