The Circuit: Homophobic Hack Jobs! Spanish Shame! A Messy Millionaire!
Plus: Warren's Win at Netroots Nation
A lesson in gay reading, fights over the future of healthcare, America’s Spanish segregation policies, fundraising stumbles, white privilege, and Trump’s Twitter dominance. This is the Homophobia and Healthcare edition.
I’m Chris Erik Thomas. Welcome to Issue 12 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 “Homophobic” Hack Job Distracts From the Gold Star Truth.
Who knew the campaign to be the first gay president would turn out such a scorching read, honey? (heteros, please educate yourself here) Dropped like a sack of sparkling bricks, Dale Peck’s “My Mayor Pete Problem” was one big juicy, entertaining read of PETE BUTTIGIEG for all of the 24 hours it was online. But it was also a messy hack job, which is probably why it got officially pulled by the publisher and replaced with an apology for “the piece’s inappropriate and invasive content.” Don't worry, it still lives on forever and you can read it here.
The piece was messy, but it was important — and not just for the dialogue it opened up on labeling a gay writer’s takedown of a gay politician as “homophobia.” Beyond that and beneath the campy insistence on calling him “Mary Pete” (and questioning of whether he’s is a top or bottom), Peck’s piece held some kernels of a very real concern that needs to be discussed.
The problem isn’t (just) over Mayor Pete being the walking embodiment of white, privileged homonormativity, it’s that he’s become the darling of big-dollar donors. There’s a reason so many candidates are running on grassroots fundraising; the more money flowing in from corporate donors, the less likely you are to bite the hand that feeds. If Buttigieg wants to show his potential as a future POTUS (or, more likely, a VPOTUS), he should be working on connecting with more than just white voters and, most importantly, rebuilding his reputation in communities of color back home in South Bend who’ve been burned by his policies.
🏥 Health Care Free-For-All.
There are now two vastly different visions for the future of healthcare in America. On one end of the proverbial boxing ring is Medicare For All, the crown jewel of BERNIE SANDERS’ campaign, and on the other end, we now have JOE BIDEN’s fix: updates to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Raise your hand if you’re surprised Biden just wants to enforce the status quo… and then promptly hit yourself in the face with that raised hand.
Biden’s concept makes the cost of purchasing insurance lower by offering higher tax credits, adds a public option to appease Medicare For All fans, and toes the moderate ideological line that Biden’s entire campaign is based on. It also flies in the face of not just Bernie’s big plan, but the actual facts of the ACA. Biden is still promising that if you like your insurance plan, “you can keep it,” which was Politifact’s “Lie of the Year” in 2013 and still isn’t true. It’s no wonder Bernie went full shade queen and said that what Biden was doing “is what the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industries, Republicans, do.”
The big little lie could pay off for the moderate frontrunner, though. With all of his closest rivals leaning into Medicare-For-All, Biden’s moderate lane is wide open and, right now, aligns with most voters. The ACA still has 46% favorability among all voters and hits 79% favorability among Democrats — but among liberals, 23% want to hear more about Medicare For All versus 9% of moderates. With both plans now out in the open, expect a health care fight to cause some sharp spats at the debates this month.
🇲🇽 The Shame of Spanish in the United States.
Third-generation Mexican American presidential candidate JULIÁN CASTRO doesn’t speak fluent Spanish. It’s a fact that has confused a lot of voters, especially as other non-Latino candidates (Beto, Buttigieg, and Booker) have tossed in some español on the campaign trail and debate stage. Even before the presidential race, his lack of fluency in Spanish was brought up again and again; one 2015 investigation by NBC News even tried to answer the question, “Can You Be a Latino Politician If You Don't Speak Fluent Spanish?” The reality is that speaking Spanish in America is a matter of shame and privilege.
Since 1848, when the U.S. won the Mexican-American war, anti-Latino prejudice has shaped generations of Mexican Americans through forced deportations, segregated “Mexican schools,” and bans on speaking Spanish in schools. With that prejudice came internalized shame in Mexican American families that filtered down generation-by-generation. Among third-generation Latinos like Castro, less than a quarter are bilingual.
We’re in an era of American history punctuated by immigrants on the Southern border being caged, separated from their families, and denied basic access to soap and showers. Hate crimes against Latinos are on the rise and our president is as anti-Latino as it gets. So when criticism of Castro equates his fluency with Latino legitimacy, it's important to remember, as writer J.P. Brammer explained, Castro’s shaky Spanish makes him more, not less, authentic.
Have feedback or want to slip us a tip? Reply to this or email chris@studyhall.xyz with your scoops and suggestions.
The Pack
📣 KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND: Her explanation of white privilege deserves to go viral.
In a fair world, the video of Gillibrand talking to white voters about why they still have “so-called white privilege” would be going as viral as Beto’s national anthem kneeling speech, but alas. Here we are in sexist America. With her fundraising matching only half of what she spent in the second quarter, odds are high she’ll run out of gas and cash before the end of the summer, but I hope she at least jockeys for a Cabinet position.
📉 BETO O’ROURKE: Falling from the countertops of destiny.
Beto’s “Born To Be In It” Vanity Fair cover spread has aged as well as old milk left out of the fridge all night. The latest bad news for the Texan was that in the second quarter of fundraising, he raised only $3.6 million. That number would be impressive for lesser-known candidates but let’s remember that in the first 24 hours of his presidential campaign, he raised $6.1 million. That’s an embarrassing tumble down for a guy who loves standing on things. But if he stops embarrassing himself soon, he might still be able to salvage a Senate run.
🏆 ELIZABETH WARREN: Victory at Netroots Nation.
The best way to win over progressives is showing up at Netroots Nation, the largest gathering of these voters in America, yet the only top-tier candidate brave enough to show up was Warren. Even her progressive competitor, Bernie Sanders, didn’t dare show up after being shouted down by Black Lives Matter activists in 2015. For Warren, the trip was a big win; her merch was everywhere in the sea of activists gathered for the convention and after her speech, she got a standing ovation.
🌽 AMY KLOBUCHAR: Scrambling for donors one corny joke at a time.
With the Aug. 28 deadline to qualify for the third debates on the horizon, the Klobuchar campaign is in a full scramble behind the scenes. Despite raising a modest $3.9 million in the second quarter of fundraising, her campaign doesn’t have either of the requirements yet (130,000 donors and 2% support in four major polls) for the September debates. That isn’t stopping her from putting on a smile, making corny jokes, and throwing some not-so-subtle shade at one candidate’s habit of standing on countertops (who she’s now out-raised by $30K).
📈 KAMALA HARRIS: Surging to second place in New Hampshire.
We’re a long way from February 11, 2020, but the New Hampshire primary battle is heating up according to a new poll that puts Harris within striking distance of Joe Biden. The California Senator had 17.5% of the vote versus Biden’s 20.3% — and squeaking ahead of Warren by less than a percentage point. It might seem like splitting hairs this far out, but with a new quarter of fundraising starting and the next round of debates on the horizon, all the good news for Kamala should ease any fears of her losing her post-debate bump.
🚫 CORY BOOKER: Not winning the pro-Palestine vote.
Activists from the Jewish youth organization IfNotNow asked Booker whether he believes “the Occupation is a human rights crisis for Palestinians.” His response? “If that's your issue I would understand if you want to support somebody else but know I’m just as committed to that as you are.” The tepid swerve didn’t go over well with pro-Palestinian voters but it’s not surprising, given Booker has recieved. $434,326 in contributions from pro-Israel groups over a six-year span and texts “like teenagers” with the AIPAC president.
The Leftovers
🤐 An Update on the “Please Just End It and Run for Senate” Candidates.
Mitch McConnell is an obstructionist demon turtle and the best way to defeat him is to have strong candidates like STEVE BULLOCK and JOHN HICKENLOOPER run for Senate. The latest writing on the wall is a survey published last week showing Hickenlooper with 1% and Bullock literally not getting a single vote from the 800 voters surveyed.
💸 TOM STEYER: An ego-stroking, $100 million mess.
The latest white guy to try to manifest destiny his way into the presidential election is different from all the other no-names for one reason: he has $100 million to spend. I could talk about his policies but let’s just focus on the fact that $100 million could be used to help Senate candidates or restore the voting rights of 70,000 people in Florida who can’t register until they pay court fees, fines, and penalties from prison and probation terms.
WAYNE MESSAM: His first campaign event in nearly two months was... going running with voters. JAY INSLEE: His promise to make U.S. women’s soccer co-captain Megan Rapinoe his Sec. of State is as serious as his chance of winning the presidency. ANDREW YANG: 99.6% of his $2.8 million fundraising haul came from small donors. TULSI GABBARD: She sits on the ground at airports “just like any of us!” TIM RYAN: He’s only raised $895K from 13,000 donors, which... lol just drop out. SETH MOULTON: Didn’t hangout with Pete Buttigieg at Harvard because he was bustin’ open a cold one with athletes who knew how to have “a good time.” MIKE GRAVEL: Gave away a signed rock to his 65,000th donor (and might be in the July debates now). MICHAEL BENNET: The best candidate to defeat Trump, according to someone who must have hit his head and thinks the year is 1960. BILL DE BLASIO: 72,000 New Yorkers were affected by the blackout, which is roughly 71,999 more people than will vote for him in the election. JOE SESTAK: Drop out of the race, learn to roll your sleeves properly, and stop blocking the view of that beautiful hay bale. JOHN DELANEY: This Delaney meme is more memorable than anything he has ever said. MARIANNE WILLIAMSON: The Meme Queen’s reign continues.
The Trump Check
🤳 A Fifth of America at His Racist Little Fingertips.
When the Racist in Chief opened Twitter and told four women of color in Congress to “go back” to the countries they came from, it sparked an immediate outrage, united Democrats, and caused a new wave of condemnation from people in Trump’s own Republican Party. Of course we’ve known Trump is a racist and like his past outbursts, this one will probably not move the needle and cause anything other than words of rebuke.
The real story isn’t racism, it’s the insane reach that Trump’s tweets have. According to new research, 19% of US adults follow the president’s account, which has 62 million followers in total. The only politician with a bigger slice of American adults is Barack Obama, with 26% of U.S. adults following him, and he barely even tweets. Of Trump’s massive figure, Republicans and right-leaning adults account for 30% of his followers, while Democrats account for 13%. We’re living in a new reality and whoever wins the Democratic nomination needs to realize that defeating Trump means more than just winning over people on the ground. In 2020, the fight to take down Trump is going to be fought online just as much as it will be on the ground.
Tonight, CNN will do a live show to determine the July debate lineup. Next week, we talk about it on another serving of Rubber Chicken Circuit.
