Hi Everyone.
Hope you are all well.
These post debate ads from the Harris/Walz Campaign and the Lincoln Project speak for themselves.
Get out the popcorn and enjoy.
These may be cooler, funner, and definitely more inspirational than the new Beetlejuice Movie.
They are all must watch.
Photo by David Gordon.
Speaker after Speaker and guest after guest all stressed the same themes at the Republicans and Independents for Harris Rally at the home of former State Legislator and Republicans for Harris Co-Chairperson Robin Shaw.
Country over Party
Character over Cult.
Unity over Division.
Kamala Harris will be a President for All Americans.
Get out the vote and make sure Donald Trump NEVER sits in the Oval Office again.
In all of their minds and hearts, Vice President Kamala Harris, unlike Donald Trump, is the one candidate in this Presidential race who has the character, would provide competent leadership, and would be a President for all Americans.
Before the featured speakers Robin Shaw, Mesa Mayor John Giles, former Pence National Security Advisor Olivia Troye, and Representative/Democratic United States Senate Candidate Ruben Gallego spoke, several guests offered their perspectives on why they were supporting Harris over Trump.
John Martinson said he felt Harris, unlike Trump would provide "good leadership" if elected President this November.
Gail Smith called Trump:
"A terrible candidate who's a convicted felon and an adjudicated sexual assaulter." She reaffirmed "I'm not voting for someone like that. Character does matter...We cannot elect a man with no character, no morals, as President of the United States."
Saying why she was supporting Harris, Roberta Voss, a leading member of Republicans for Harris and former Arizona State Legislator, offered:
"She's the only one who is educated and capable whether it's on policy issues or actual demeanor. She is the only one capable and competent to represent the United States and capable of taking the country forward."
Another former State Legislator, Steve May said:
"Trump is a great danger to our Democracy. A danger to the country. A danger to our culture...I think Harris is developing a coalition that includes conservatives like me. I think after she gets elected, we can fight over policy differences but step one is we have to treat Trump and Trumpism."
Another former State Legislator Doug Coleman on why he was supporting Harris over Trump:
"Character counts and that's that's really my number one thing. The policy is temporary. It comes and goes. I may not agree with the Vice President on everything but I don't think she'll arrange to have the Capital stormed (like Trump on January 6, 2021,) So that's my concern. If you start attacking our institutions and the very foundation of our Republic, I can't support that."
Michelle Olsen on why she is supporting the Vice President:
"I believe that she is what our country needs right now. She is a good example for our young people, especially young women and girls. I think that she could be a good blend of both sides, both sides (Republicans and Democrats.)...I want to see her policies beyond abortion and immigration.
As a follow-up, I asked what she thought of Harris's plans for an Opportunity Economy with programs like an expanded child tax credit (and child care/Universal Pre-K) and additional opportunities for affordable housing. Ms. Olsen relayed:
"I think it's phenomenal. They're needed in every state in the Union. My children are 30 years old. When I was a young mother, we paid for daycare so that I could keep a career. And that would be helpful to young mothers everywhere so that they can do both."
Before the main speakers spoke, Ms. Shaw played a recording of the former New Jersey Governor and Bush II Environmental Protection Agency Director Christine Todd Whitman.
In her recorded remarks, Governor Whitman said there was no longer a Republican Party. She called it "A Cult of Trump" and stressed to all the attendees that "for this election cycle if you love our country, it's not about party. It's about patriotism."
In her remarks, Robin Shaw conveyed the urgency of Republicans and Independents banding together to support Harris, relaying:
"We need to come together and we really need to get the word out. We cannot endure another four years of Donald Trump...We have one job and that is to hand Harris Arizona's 11 electoral votes..."
"...Even if you don't agree with the policy, understand that her Administration will abide by the laws of the land. She will not try to gut the US Constitution. And let's face it. She's not a convicted criminal and sexual abuser..."
"...To cross party lines to vote for a Democrat and it's hard to believe me, I know. You know anyone who's been out there talking about this day and night night and day for weeks and weeks and weeks. Now we know the backlash. It hurts. It's painful. And sometimes it's scary. But you know why you're doing this? Because right here in Arizona, we have the ability to change the election. You sitting right here. Your votes and your friend's votes will hand those 11 electoral votes over to Kamala Harris and we have to do that. We have to do that. It is our job here. Nothing else. Right now, we need to focus on that and get as many people as we can to cross over and vote..."
Mesa Mayor and Republican for Harris Co-Chair John Giles spoke next and echoed many of his fellow co-chairs sentiments on why getting fellow Republicans and Independents to vote for Harris over Trump was a righteous mission, saying:
"I think silence is not an option when you're confronted with these types of moral dilemmas in life. If I were to be silent on this and I know, I think you feel the same way, how do I look my children in the eyes? How do I look my grandchildren in the eye and say sorry, good luck with that country? I think we all need to be reminded that there's a higher law, and that's really where, where our Allegiance lies, not in what used to be an admirable political party."
Probably the most important part of his comments was his assertion that on issues like the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, Border Security, and Infrastructure, "Kamala Harris was more of a Republican than Donald Trump."
On the Bipartisan Border Security Bill in the Senate, for example, Giles noted that:
"Republicans, love to talk about the Border, don't they? Did you hear that? Comes the answer a couple of nights ago when she (Harris) spelled out this bipartisan immigration and border control legislation that our Senator Sinema and the very conservative Senator Lankford from Oklahoma worked on for months and months that was greenlighted by both parties. There was a done deal until Donald Trump decided that he wanted that issue to be exploited for his own personal political gain and not be treated as a problem that could be solved and that is where we had consensus among both sides to make you know real progress on that... So which one of those candidates is the better Republican."
On legislation like the CHIPS Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Giles heaped a lot of praise on the Biden/Harris Administration, stating:
"These (measures) brought billions and billions of dollars of infrastructure from the Federal government to local cities and towns. And again, speaking as a mayor, I got to say that the Biden Administration has learned how to govern from the Middle. And Vice President Harris has already said that is going to be how she will govern. She has already said she will take that bipartisan immigration Bill, and start with it (after entering office.)"
Former Pence National Security Advisor Olivia Troye probably had the funniest line of the night, reminding people of the absurdity of Trump's claims that Haitian illegal immigrants were eating pets when she yelled "Protect the dog" as the Shaw dog came into the room. Towards the end of her comments, she said she might start a Pet Owners for Harris group.
In her remarks, Troye described an unhinged Trump who, when President, would come into the Situation Room more concerned with negative remarks Sean Hannity made about him on Fox than the national or international crisis of the moment.
She also mentioned that she, like many in the room, missed John McCain and his emphasis on country over party, commenting "This isn't the party that I grew up with... It certainly isn't the party of John McCain."
When talking about the war in Ukraine, Troye remarked that Trump would "do, whatever Putin wants him to do."
Furthermore, she was flabbergasted that Trump cited only one leader who he admired at the recent debate, Hungary's Authoritarian Viktor Orban.
On Harris, she said:
"I mean regardless of your political leanings or however you feel on the issues about Kamala Harris, she was Presidential up there (during the debate.) She was ready to lead. She was actually talking about policy issues and her vision for the future, which I think is greatly needed; A Better Way Forward for our Country."
On Trump, she added:
"What Donald Trump would do. He showed us exactly who he is and remains and I see that because as I watched it, You know, I reflected on it and I said, I'm glad actually that he's back on the debate stage and doing this right now even though I hate what it does to the Republican Party because it's exactly who he was when he was in the White House...I've watched his trajectory and he's gotten worse...he doesn't have a moral compass... He doesn't have a strong sense of being able other than, as long as it glorifies him. As long as he's in the spotlight. As long as he's making money off of it. As long as he looks good. That's good with him...They (Trumpists)want us to hate each other... They want us to be each other's enemies because that's how they win. I mean, they're going to exploit that. They want us to turn on each other..."
On supporting Harris in 2024, Troyes justified it by stating:
"I know she is going to protect our freedoms and she's going to represent those values. I don't have to agree with her on everything. I think that's healthy. It used to be healthy that we could do that in our politics."
After Troye's comments, the people gathered to take a group video clip. Please see below.
Representative and Democratic Senate Nominee Ruben Gallego was the surprise and final speaker of the night and he stressed the unity of purpose in putting country over party that the other speakers and guests relayed. He also made a point of framing how Trump Republicans could never understand or be like the McCain Republicans who put the nation first.
Among his remarks were:
"We are all here to protect the Constitution of the United States. We do that not as Democrats or Republicans, or as independents. We do it as Americans."
"The people in this room have done amazing things for this state and not because you're Republicans, because you are all great servants to Arizona."
"The people (MAGA Trumpists like Trump and Kari Lake) that dislike people like John McCain; Inherently inside their souls, they can't understand the idea of putting the country before the self. They cannot understand it. And if anything it frightens them, and there's a certain level of jealousy to it...it creates instant hard flashes because it makes them take reflection upon who they are, and what they've done for this country and they realize that they have fallen short...They should be better Americans. But they can't. It's not in them. And that's what you saw on the debate stage. You saw someone (Trump) who is a lesser American, could not be a better American, compared to Kamala Harris who was, at the core, really reflecting what the McCain family is..."
After Ms. Troye finished her comments, I was reminded of a similar political realignment that occurred when Ronald Reagan became President in 1981. Many hawkish Democrats, known historically as Scoop Jackson Democrats, named after the late Washington Senator who, like Reagan, was distrustful of the Russians and leery about Detente, felt their party had become too soft on national security and flocked to Reagan's banner following Jackson's death in 1983.
I asked Wes Gullett, a former aide to John McCain, who was at this evening's event if a similar realignment was possibly taking place in 2024 with McCain Republicans being today's Scoop Jackson Democrats with the Republican Party descending into a Cult of Personality over Trump. He said that was "an accurate" analogy.
With the help of Scoop Jackson Democrats, Reagan's political legacy lasted for close to 30 years.
Imagine the legacy a Harris Presidency can forge if she builds on President Joe Biden's dynamic centrism (and legislation like the CHIPS Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) that appeals to both the center-right and center-left.
A coalition that builds on what is right with America by adopting pragmatic progressive measures, strong law and order positions, and an internationalist global worldview that takes this country forward and lifts all the American People up.
The 550-person crowd at the Mesa Convention Center Harris/Walz Debate Watch Party definitely got their money's worth this evening.
In one of a hundred debate watch events across the Grand Canyon state, the 550 people repeatedly cheered the Vice President, jeered Mr. Trump, and applauded the ABC Moderators who, unlike the CNN team from the June debate, fact-checked numerous lies from the failed former President.
The crowd also benefited from a warm-up semi-rally from Vice Presidential Nominee and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz that juiced their enthusiasm.
From the beginning of the debate when the Vice President, pulling a Reagan, went across the stage and shook Trump's hand and making a point of telling him the correct pronunciation of her name to Mr. Trump's Global Carnage-Apocalyptic closing statement, she owned the failed former President.
From the first question on the economy, Harris had the 550 attendees affection and cheers when she talked about her middle-class upbringing and her plans to institute an Opportunity Economy including designs to expand affordable housing and the child tax credit.
Also, from the very beginning, Trump had the contempt of the audience and jeers with his lies and lowest hits about inflation, the influx of criminal elements swarming across the border, and the decline of the country.
Among the lines, the Vice President said that generated the most applause and cheers were:
Among the lines that earned Mr. Trump the most laughs, boos, and jeers were:
The audience really loved the fact-checking from the moderators when they pointed out Trump's falsehoods like:
Individual Reaction to the Debate.
Following the debate, several attendees offered their views on the debate.
Arizona State Senator Eva Burch said:
"I'm proud of the VP. She drew the comparison that people needed to see. I think we saw more of the raving rhetoric from Donald Trump that we've grown to expect. I think she has proven herself to be worthy of this race and I hope for the best.
Nora Nunez commented:
"I think the debate went really well for Kamala Harris. She was extremely articulate. She always had an answer and she just knew what to say about Donald Trump. I was a little disappointed that it appeared that the interviewers were allowing Trump to speak a little bit more than Kamala Harris."
LD Eight State House Candidate Janeen Connolly offered:
"I thought the debate went really well. It was kind of what I was hoping for, that Kamala would speak to the people. And it would be very, very clear that Donald Trump wasn't concerned about our concerns, but I'm really proud of the way she stayed on task in the way she considered normal debate decorum. I thought she really, really outshined the former president tonight."
Kelsey Files relayed:
"What I appreciate about the debate was Kamala Harris took the time to address Donald Trump for what he really is. One of the things that's really frustrating me about the past debates is all the niceties of the business as usual around Trump, but she took the opportunity to call him out for the lies. The moderators also took the time to fact-check him and set the record straight. That's something that the American people have not had in too many of these events. She got her points out. She outlined her plan and she countered and asked what his plan was, and he's never had a response for these things. And I just really appreciated that she took the time, effort, courage, and strength, to put her foot down and said the nonsense stops here."
Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said of the debate:
"I thought she did an incredible job. He was on defense the entire night. Many times from my perspective, it amounted to incoherent rambling on the former president's part. I thought she was clear. She was concise. She presented a forward-thinking plan on behalf of the American people. I'm confident she's going to carry Arizona and I'm confident she's going to be the next President of the United States.
On Trump coming across like we are all going to die tomorrow:
"It was the typical American Carnage American decline. It's just, as she said, we're not going back. It's time to turn the page from that kind of divisive negative leadership to forward-thinking and proactive leadership, that's going to be leading for the next 5, 10, and 20 years. We need Kamala Harris in the White House. With our next President, we cannot go back to the chaotic years of the Trump Administration."
To the crowd at the Mesa Convention Center, the debate was a great event for the Harris/Walz Campaign.
The endorsement from Taylor Swift following the debate was icing on today's cake.
Both should only intensify the enthusiasm for the Harris/Walz Campaign as they head to the November 5 elections 56 days from now.
Photo from the Economist
It is starting to feel an awful lot like Christmas for the Harris/Walz Campaign.
Over the last 48 hours, the Campaign has received major endorsements from Liz Cheney, Goldman-Sachs, and the renowned predictor of Presidential Elections, historian Alan Lichtman.
Earlier, Jimmy McCain, son of the late Senator and 2008 Presidential Nominee endorsed the Harris/Walz Ticket.
Cheney announced her support at Duke University yesterday.
In her comments, she said:
"Because we are here in North Carolina, it is crucial to recognize not only what I said about the danger Trump poses something that should prevent people from voting for him. But I don't believe we have the luxury of writing in candidates names, particularly in swing states. As a conservative. As someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this and because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris."
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs has endorsed the Harris/Walz and Democratic economic plans, saying theirs would contribute to larger growth for the economy over Mr. Trump's one that would impose price-busting tariffs on consumers.
Finally, it is here.
Historian Alan Lichtman has unveiled his prediction for who will win the 2024 Presidential election based on his 13 keys.
He sees, largely based on the economy, no internal squabble among Democrats following the Biden withdrawal, no major third-party challenge, and Mr. Trump's catering to his MAGA base, a Harris Victory this November.
Please click here to see the New York Times video where he explains his findings.
While these are all positive developments for the Harris/Walz ticket and the trend lines are pointing North for them and Democrats in just over 60 days, it is important to avoid complacency.
The Vice President is right when she tells her supporters that they are the underdogs and not leave anything to chance.
In a rambling and widely perceived incoherent and fantasy-based speech, Donald 'Really Not a Stable Genius' Trump told members of the New York Economic Club:
"For four straight years, I fought for American workers like I would fight for my own family. I took care of our economy like I would take care of my own company."
As President Joe Biden would say, here's the thing. As the below post attests, everything Trump touches has resulted in either bankruptcy, closure, or court-ordered receivership.
Mr. Trump also did not distinguish himself when asked about funding child care in his second term giving a response that started off fine but then deteriorated into a rambling and incoherent mess.
Trump's current Vice Presidential Pick, JD Vance added fuel to the out-of-touch fire by suggesting at a Turning Point sponsored event in Arizona that the key to solving child care is for grandparents to do more.
As Laurie Roberts of AZ Central said, "Way to snag that senior vote."
Keep going boys.
Trump also suggested that sanctions on rogue nations like Russia and Iran were bad for the dollar and he would remove them after a short while.
Meanwhile...In the world of reality...
Bidenomics is still working.
President Joe Biden journeyed to Rural Wisconsin yesterday (September 5, 2024) to announce a "$7.3 billion for Clean, Affordable, Reliable Electricity for Rural America; The Largest Investment in Rural Electrification Since the New Deal."
This move is possible thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation Vice President Kamala Harris secured with a tie-breaking vote because no Republican voted for it.
This Rural Electrification Program, according to a White House Press Release would:
"...deliver clean, more affordable and more resilient electricity to approximately 5 million rural co-op members representing 20 percent of rural households, farms, businesses and schools. These 16 cooperatives will benefit rural residents across 23 states, serving farmers, small businesses, and rural communities in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming."
In comments to attendees at his announcement in Wisconsin, President Biden mocked Trump and his broken promises to fix America's Infrastructure, including in Racine, Wisconsin.
Also, the economy added 142,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent. Wages also rose.
AUGUST MAKES 42 STRAIGHT MONTHS OF JOB GROWTH.
In other words, the entirety of the Biden/Harris Administration has been marked with job growth.
Can not say that about the Trump Administration.
Finally, the Harris/Walz Opportunity Economic agenda, with its emphasis on affordable housing, expanding the Child and Earned Income Tax Credits, and small business assistance with measures including a $50,000 assistance tax credit, is getting good reviews.
Goldman Sachs has already forecast that the Harris/Walz Economic policies will better the economy over the Trump/Vance plans.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance's remarks over the last couple of days probably did not help their cause on that score.
Investor Mark Cuban praised her in comments to CNBC, saying that she has spoken more about helping small businesses than other recent Presidential candidates.
At Phoenix and Tucson events of local leaders in Arizona, they also praised the Harris/Walz Economic Agenda.
State Representative Seth Blattman commented:
“The Vice President is giving entrepreneurs $50,000 in tax relief so folks can realize that dream. But she’s not stopping there. She’s also going to cut unnecessary red tape so we can help spur 25 million new business applications in her first term. This election, we all have a choice to make. We can choose an economy built for Donald Trump and the ultra-rich, or we can choose an economy built for you and me, for the hardworking, middle-class families who make up the backbone of America.”
State Representative Betty Villegas offered:
"This election is a choice between standing up for workers, small business owners, and everyday Americans – and hurting the American people in order to prop up the richest of the rich. That’s why I’m voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Walz who have a plan to cut red tape and provide $50,000 in tax relief to Americans who want to start a business, which will spur millions of new business applications across the country."
Buendia Breakfast & Lunch Café owner Julio Garcia relayed:
"We started this business in 2021 as a dream between my wife and I to serve not only food but to provide an experience to all families. Vice President Harris' proposal will help small business owners like us continue to achieve our dreams and strengthen our businesses."
CO+HOOTS owner Jenny Poon said:
“Vice President Harris is making it clear that she knows that small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and is committed to taking down the hurdles that prevent local entrepreneurs from getting their businesses off the ground.
When President Lyndon Johnson gave his first address to Congress following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, he uttered these three words that conveyed to the American People and the Citizens of the World how he would govern.
Those words were "Let us Continue."
From this address, Lyndon Johnson built on the successes and unfulfilled promises of President Kennedy's New Frontier and launched the Great Society and War on Poverty Programs that gave the American People modern civil rights, voting rights, Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start, and PBS or in other words, all the progressive programs Trump Project 2025 supporters would like to purge from the national memory and fiscal ledger.
Tonight, in a joint interview with Governor Tim Walz on CNN, the Vice President did her own version of "Let Us Continue" in praising President Biden and the Biden/Harris Economic Record while asserting she would build on those successes.
In this excerpt after Dana Bash asked the Vice President to address those voters who liked lower prices under Trump, Harris replied:
"Well, let's start with the fact that when Joe Biden and I came into office, during the height of the pandemic, we saw over ten million jobs were lost...We were all tracking the numbers. Hundreds of people a day were dying because of COVID. The economy had crashed, in large part because of mismanagement by Donald Trump of that crisis. When we came in, our highest priority was to do what we could to rescue America, and today, we know that we have inflation under three percent. A lot of our policies have led to the reality that a lot of our policies have led to America recovering faster than any wealthy nation around the world."
"But you are right. Prices, in particular for groceries are still too high. The American People know it. I know it. Which is why my agenda includes what we need to do to bring down the price of groceries. For example, dealing with an issue like price gouging. What we need to do to extend the Child Tax Credit to help young families to be able to take care of their children in their most formative years. What we need to do to bring down the cost of housing. My proposal includes what would be a tax credit of $25,000 for first-time home buyers so they can just have enough to put a down payment on a home which is part of the American Dream and their aspiration. But do it in a way that allows them to achieve that goal and that dream."
When CNN's Dana Bash challenged Harris on why the Biden/Harris Administration has not adopted her proposals already, the Vice President skillfully pushed back on the question in the below excerpt, saying:
"Well, first of all, we had to recover as an economy and we have done that. I'm very proud of the work we have done that has brought inflation down to less than three percent. The work that we have done to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for seniors. Donald Trump said he was going to do a number of things including allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Never happened. We did it..."
When Bash followed up by asking the Vice President if she thought Bidenomics was a success, Harris responded:
"I maintain that when we do the work of bringing down prescription medication for the American People, including capping the cost of the annual cost of prescription medication for seniors at $2,000. When we do what we did in the first year of being in office to extend the Child Tax Credit so that we cut child poverty in America by over 50 percent. When we do what we have done to invest in the American People by bringing manufacturing back to the United States so that we created over 800,000 new manufacturing jobs. Bringing business back to America. What we have done to improve the supply chain so we're not relying on foreign governments to supply American Families with their basic needs. I'll say that it's good work. There's more to do but that's good work."
In this final clip below, the Vice President praises the legacy and character of President Joe Biden, saying:
"I think history is going to show a number of things about Joe Biden's Presidency. I think history is going to show that in so many ways it was transformative be it on what we have accomplished around finally being able to invest in America's infrastructure, investing in new economies, in new industries. What we have done to bring our allies back together and have confidence in who we are as America and grow that alliance. What we have done to stand true to our principles including one of the most important international rules and norms which is the importance of sovereignty and territorial integrity."
"And I think history is going to show that, not only has Joe Biden led an Administration that has achieved those extraordinary successes but the character of the man is one that he has been in his life and career, including as a President, quite selfless and puts the American People first."
To quote President Lyndon Johnson from November 27, 1963:
"Let us Continue
Hi Everyone. Hope you are all well. These post debate ads from the Harris/Walz Campaign and the Lincoln Project speak for themselves. Ge...
