The Circuit: Plagiarism, #Selfies, and a ‘Friendly White Man Politician’ Pop Quiz.
A crowded California primary, plagiarism scandals, selfie lines, “economic patriotism,” royal rumbles, Gloria Steinem, and an overwhelming chorus of boos. This is the Plagiarism and Patriotism edition.
I’m Chris Thomas. Welcome to Issue 6 of Rubber Chicken Circuit, the weekly election newsletter from Study Hall. Read more about us, subscribe here, and forward us to your friends!
Headliners
KAMALA HARRIS: Could she lose California?
The fight for California can be summed up with one meme: “Honey, you’ve got a big storm coming.” You, in this instance, is Kamala Harris. When she launched her campaign in her hometown of Oakland, the crowd that came to watch her was bigger than Obama’s back in 2008 and the state of California seemed all but locked up for her — but that was in January, before over a dozen people joined the rat race to the White House. Now that California’s voting day has moved from June to Super Tuesday on March 3 (with early voting starting on the same day as the Iowa caucus in February), the nearly 500 delegates awarded proportionally have made the state a battleground for the first time.
How is that playing out on the campaign trail? Look no further than the state’s Democratic Party Convention where 14 candidates jockeyed for attention (Joe Biden skipped it for a Human Rights Campaign event in Ohio). Suddenly, Harris’ home state isn’t hers for the taking anymore. If she wants to stick to her plan to do well in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada before breaking through with South Carolina’s black voters, she better go full “Senate hearing badass” at the debates through the rest of the year. People were excited about her last year for a reason; she just needs to remind voters that dusty old Biden isn’t the future America needs.
JOE BIDEN: Make Plagiarization Great Again.
The Amtrak Masseuse is up to his old tricks again. No, not massaging the shoulders of preteen girls — plagiarizing. After unveiling a seemingly progressive $1.7 trillion climate plan, sharp-eyed observers noticed that some of the language in his plan seemed extraordinarily similar to the work by the advocacy groups Carbon Capture Coalition, Blue Green Alliance, and the nonprofit American Rivers. When it got called out, Biden’s team added the proper credit to the lines it had lifted, but the plagiarism brought back strong memories of his 1988 presidential run.
Way back when I was negative 4 years old, he sunk his White House ambitions with a penchant for plagiarizing campaign speeches. He also inflated his academic record, lied about how much activism he engaged in during his youth, and said he marched in the civil rights movement (he didn’t). Now here we are, three decades later, and he’s apparently our best bet for taking on a president who has lied more than 10,000 times, because Uncle Joe is “likable.”
Have feedback or want to slip us a tip? Reply to this or email chris@studyhall.xyz with your scoops and suggestions.
The Pack
AMY KLOBUCHAR: Giving ‘Fight Song DNC 2016’ PTSD.
Step with me into the time machine of the 2016 Democratic National Convention where the biggest dramas included Bernie Sanders supporters nearly rioting over leaked emails, Hillary Clinton’s excited “balloon drop” face, and, of course, the “Fight Song.” You know the one that got called “miserable garbage” and rhymed "this is my fight song" with "prove I'm alright song.” Well, it came back to haunt our souls as the walk-out music for Amy Klobuchar at an event, prompting her to let everyone know that she “loves the fight song.” You thought we wouldn’t embed it here to give you PTSD? Think again, sis.
BERNIE SANDERS: The #Selfie strategy to win Warren voters.
Grandpa Sanders has discovered selfies. The candidate is doing organized, single-file selfie lines on the campaign trail for the first time ever. It’s an interesting approach that pulls directly from his closest progressive competitor, Elizabeth Warren, whose selfie lines led her to take her 20,000th selfie in May with supporters. As Biden pivots into a lane entirely his own, Sanders’ is fighting to maintain a second-tier frontrunner status that dipped as Warren surged throughout May.
ELIZABETH WARREN: Apollo, Marshall, and “Economic Patriotism.”
There’s no better time to release an economic platform than during a disastrous two-front trade war. As Trump was busy learning what tariffs are, Elizabeth “I Have A Plan For That” Warren unveiled a plan that brings “economic patriotism” back to the country. Among the biggest standouts of the sweeping plan is a $2 trillion spending package to create jobs focused on environmentally sustainable research, manufacturing, and exports over 10 years, as well as a “Green Apollo Plan” and “Green Marshall Plan.” Despite having names that sound ripped from action movies, the plans aren’t sending us to the moon. “Apollo” would create a National Institute of Clean Energy and “Marshall” would promote American-made renewable energy technology abroad.
PETE BUTTIGIEG: A surprise Al Franken apologist.
Remember when Al Franken got accused by eight women of sexual misconduct and inappropriate touching? 2020’s gay saltine cracker Mayor Pete wouldn’t have “applied that pressure” for him to resign because “it was his decision to make.” That pressure came mostly from women in the Senate but hey, letting an alleged harasser decide for himself whether to stay in a position of power that could lead to more potentially harassing behavior? Sounds like Joe “Amtrak Masseuse” Biden might’ve rubbed off on the young mayor. No, not in that way.
JOHN DELANEY: The boo that sank the ship.
One beautiful thing about presidential elections is watching a candidate dramatically explode in a viral video (see: the “Howard Dean scream”). We’re half a year from the primaries and we can already add John Delaney to that list thanks to his painful attempt at saying Medicare For All is “not good policy nor is it good politics," which went over like the Titanic sailing its maiden voyage. Sit back, relax, and enjoy watching him robotically say “we deserve universal healthcare” four times in a row as he’s drowned out by the booing crowd.
JULIÁN CASTRO: Can new policies really dismantle policing’s structural racism?
This week, Castro brought a focus back to America’s deadly, broken police system with his new “People First” policing plan. With the three-pronged plan to fight “over-aggressive policing,” the plan would tackle racially discriminatory practices, hold officers accountable, and bridge the divide between law enforcement and their communities. They’re lofty goals and while some of the details seem solid (a national public database tracking officers and police violence), many of the policies (body cameras and implicit bias training) already exist and haven’t been actually shown to work. To his credit, he knows that “it's not just a few bad apples” and wants “to fix [the] system,” but it’s one thing to create policies and a whole different beast to enforce them — especially when it comes to a system specifically designed to target minorities.
BETO O’ROURKE: Starting a necessary dialogue on environmental racism.
After a metric ton of policies focused on global warming, environmental racism is finally taking center stage (and surprisingly not in the hands of “climate candidate” Jay Inslee). Instead, it’s Beto whose climate plan directly confronts the issue, stating: “Race is the number one indicator for where toxic and polluting facilities are today.” Across America, communities of color have been the primary dumping ground for toxic, polluting waste from nearby factories. Think Chernobyl with less skin melting and more cancer and asthma destroying generations of impoverished people. Remember, there’s no progress towards a cleaner future if poor communities of color still bear the weight of living in “sacrifice zones” affected by pollution, contamination, toxic waste and heavy industry.
KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND: NRA is the “worst organization in the country.”
During a Fox News town hall, Senator Gillibrand called the NRA “the worst organization in the country,” which prompted the group to share a 2008 letter from her that includes this line: "I always have and always will believe the correct interpretation of the 2nd Amendment is that it applies to an individual's right to carry guns.” It would’ve been a sticky situation for the candidate if not for the fact that times and people change (especially over 11 years). Plus, the whole “F” rating from the NRA on her legislative record for the past decade isn’t exactly helping establish her as the gun rights advocate the old letter makes her out to be.
JOHN HICKENLOOPER: Taken down by the Red Flair.
Somehow, Hickenlooper ALSO imploded his campaign this weekend at California’s Democratic Convention before he could even poll past 1%. During a speech, he said “socialism is not the answer” and rather than Red Scare cheers, he got blindsided by the “Red Flair” sweeping progressive Democrats. You might be 67 but you’re not too old to read the room and realize socialist programs aren’t the political boogeyman they were when you were a child.
The Leftovers
FRIENDLY WHITE MAN POLITICIAN POP QUIZ!!!
Why are we having a pop quiz to differentiate between all the white male candidates in the race? Because we know you still can’t keep track of the difference between SETH MOULTON, ERIC SWALWELL, and TIM RYAN even after they all got a CNN Town Hall on Sunday. It’s our civic duty as Americans to know the difference. So, the challenge: What presidential nominee is this a photo of? Squint your eyes, take a guess, and check out the answer below.
(Answer: I found this man in a Google image search for “friendly white man politician,” and he’s actually a Republican named Kevin Nicholson. But could it be one of the Democratic nominees? Absolutely.)
MARIANNE WILLIAMSON: Wants you to stop eating white sugar. CORY BOOKER: Gave a great gun control speech, but fell apart discussing the topic on CNN. TULSI GABBARD: “I will protect whistle-blowers.” WAYNE MESSAM: He’s “doing what others are not willing or too afraid to do,” like scheduling literally only two campaign events for May. BILL WELD: The only Republican challenging Trump now that Larry Hogan (no relation to Hulk) isn’t running. ANDREW YANG: He’d still give everyone $1000 a month — even the bullies who called him a “skinny Asian kid.” JAY INSLEE: Got an A- from climate group Greenpeace for his environmental policies, while Joe Biden got a D-. MIKE GRAVEL: The teens in charge of his campaign (Make Elder Abuse Great Again!) said another snide thing yet again on Twitter this week. STEVE BULLOCK: Wrote an op-ed that wasn’t titled ‘Please Recognize Me in the Sea of White Men,” which would’ve been more helpful. MICHAEL BENNET: Also wrote an op-ed, which, again, should’ve been titled ‘Please Recognize Me in the Sea of White Men Part Deux: Electric Boogaloo.” BILL DE BLASIO: No op-ed, but he’s apparently the only man that (transphobic, outdated feminist) Gloria Steinem will vote for so... there's that.
The Trump Check
The “Nasty” Royal Rumble abroad and a revolt back home.
Donald Trump doing literally anything has become a game of mad libs. Going to the UK for a royal visit? He is going to call a royal family member [negative adjective], call a [government official] some kind of [childish insult], and generally just be a twat. Surprise! On this trip, he called Meghan Markle “nasty” in a recording (that he’s pretending doesn’t exist), called London mayor Sadiq Khan a “stone cold loser,” and has generally just been an idiot. But with Theresa May on her way out, it looks like Trump could soon be having tea with his UK equivalent, populist and probably next Prime Minister Nigel Farage.
All the royal drama abroad might look like another embarrassing, chaotic headache, but it is a good strategy for Trump. Keeping the news focused on his “nasty” diplomatic attitude almost makes you forget that the Republicans in the Senate are mulling a revolt against Trump over his attempted trade war with Mexico. As Oklahoma Senator James Lankford so cringingly put it, the administration "is trying to use tariffs to solve every problem but HIV and climate change.”
Everything might be turning to shit, but at least we can count on awful Oklahoma politicians using a virus that wiped out almost an entire generation of LGBTQ people for a joke about tariffs during Gay Pride Month. God bless America!
There are three weeks until the first debate destroys at least one candidate’s campaign. We’ll see you next week for another serving of Rubber Chicken Circuit.
