Interested to hear what you all think. I listen to the Pod Save shows to get the insider Dem/center left sentiment and appreciate their experience and feedback. And I love Lovett. But for me, I'd rather just listen to the Bulwark for center right stuff when I feel like it instead of the now regular appearances of Tim. Sarah Longwell I think is pretty good and Im fine with her in smaller doses when it's polls and focus groups, but otherwise would rather hear from Dan/Favreau there.

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Today, Tim, Jon and AOC spoke about trying to appeal or persuade to single issue Gaza voters. I honestly feel like I'm losing my mind reading some of the things I see people saying. I get this is all in part algorithmic and people are responding in part to the information they are being fed. Don't get me wrong, I despise the Biden Israel policy and history will not look kindly upon him. We can call it a genocide or not but the mass death of children is inexcusable.

However, there is an ego and bull-headededness about these protest voters that is making me want to pull out my hair. So has anyone had any success in persuading anyone otherwise? Or do you have a good TV show or book you've read recently that can distract me from social media this week?

Edit: After seeing Bill Clinton's comments, I'd like to change the topic to: how can we persuade old democrats to go away?

"I’m the opposite of a Nazi!" — Donald Trump, reassuring us that he is definitely, totally, absolutely not a Nazi.

Citizen Musk

Billionaires are running amok in the final phase of the 2024 election, vetoing newspaper endorsements and splashing out huge sums to influence the outcome. This is the American oligarchy, Bernie Sanders told Crooked Media.

• Is the Washington Post okay? This week, the paper seemed to embody the “this is fine” dog meme, doing business as usual while suffering through a red-hot-flaming scandal after billionaire owner Jeff Bezos blocked its editorial board from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris — prompting 250,000 subscribers, about 10 percent of its total, to bail. The newspaper — which famously brought down the Nixon administration and won Pulitzers for its work chronicling authoritarianism — appeared to fall victim to Bezos’s own capitalistic desire to stay on speaking terms with whoever becomes the next president… especially if its former President Donald Trump. The Amazon overlord has many reasons to cozy up to Trump, which is, ironically, explained in a TikTok… by the Washington Post.

• Bezos insisted there’s no quid-pro-quo here. At the end of the day, however, he still owns Amazon and space launch company Blue Origin, which compete for government contracts. (It’s especially fishy, considering Blue Origin executives met with Trump the same day that Bezos stopped the endorsement.) Bezos admitted the situation doesn’t look great, writing: “When it comes to the appearance of conflict, I am not an ideal owner of the Post.” That’s an understatement!

• Bezos isn’t the only billionaire throwing his weight (and shit-load of money) around. The Los Angeles Times, owned by billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, also snubbed a Harris endorsement last week. Billionaire conspiracy theorist Elon Musk splashed out $44 million to boost Trump in the first two weeks of October alone, after giving his pro-Trump America PAC $75 million over the summer. Musk had already been boosting Republican profiles and tweets more than those of other users on his X social media platform — and, lately, he’s been raising questions about the legality of his $1 million daily giveaway to swing-state voters who sign his PAC's petition. A group of just 150 ultra-rich families has spent a total of $1.9 billion to support presidential and congressional candidates in this cycle — 60 percent more than billionaires doled out in 2020, according to a new report by a group called Americans for Tax Fairness.

Rich people spending on elections isn’t new — but “we're now seeing it in a way we have never seen it before,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) told Crooked Media’s own Jon Lovett in an interview released today.

• The long-serving progressive senator (correctly) blamed the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court case, which declared that corporations can spend literally as much as they want on campaigns. Big money now owns the political process, Sanders said: “So it's Elon Musk putting in zillions of dollars and working very hard for Trump.”

• Other factors make 2024 feel new, too, like the rise of Silicon Valley and social media oligarchs; the decline of traditional media and digital media alike; and Trump’s self-interested, transactional approach to politics. Some billionaires just seem scared of Trump — who is, after all, yet another billionaire in this drama, with his own new social media company, Truth Social. Over the past two years, Trump has vowed to punish or prosecute his political enemies over 100 times. He threatened to imprison Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for “the rest of his life” if the recently-swagged-out tech bro plots against his rise to power. Trump has meanwhile floated giving Musk a job in his potential administration. The message is clear: Get on Trump’s good side, or else.

• Sanders says there’s not enough talk about getting billionaires and corporations out of politics. “The Democratic establishment has not been strong enough in saying, ‘You know what? We are going to stand with the working class of this country against big money interests and we're going to create an economy that works for ordinary people, not just wealthy campaign contributors,’” Sanders said. “That's the message … I need to be hearing.”

The rich have enough expensive toys. It would be kinda cool if they’d stop treating American democracy like their plaything.

Meanwhile On The Pod...

Trump’s MSG Rally Sparks Outrage After Offensive Puerto Rico 'Joke' Backfires (10/29/24)

Look No Further Than Crooked Media

For election week, we’re going all-in with daily coverage of every race, every count, and every legal curveball.

What A Day will be fresh in your feeds, with Jane Coaston breaking down what you need to know in 20 minutes.

Pod Save America will release new episodes with in depth analysis of the latest news every morning until the race is called.

And in case the Trump campaign is feeling loose with their legal challenges, Crooked’s go-to legal experts from Strict Scrutiny will stop by on shows across the network to unpack breaking news, plus drop bonus episodes on their feed for those who want more.

You can find all of this on your favorite podcast platform and YouTube!

The Struggle Israel

Israel is facing international criticism for banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) — the main aid group helping Palestinians in Gaza — from operating in Israel. The new law would “devastate” the humanitarian response in the territory, a senior U.N. official told What A Day.

The new law, if implemented, would allow the agency to operate in Gaza and the West Bank. But it’ll make it harder by blocking humanitarian aid routes, closing its office in East Jerusalem and restricting work permits for employees. Israel has long accused UNRWA of having ties to militant groups, which the agency has denied.

“As it stands right now, if the government fully implements the legislation, it will basically devastate the humanitarian response in Gaza,” Bill Deere, director of UNRWA’s Washington Representative Office, said in a phone call today.

UNRWA fills a massive void in the region. It’s the primary organization providing food, medical care and even housing to millions of Palestinian across the Middle East, including the West Bank and Gaza. UNRWA educates thousands of children, runs dozens of primary health care clinics, and provides social service support to over 100,000 people in the region, Deere said.

The law would hinder those efforts. There would also be no allowable contact between the agency and Israel, meaning that UNRWA employees wouldn’t be able to move around in Palestinian territories “without being subject to possible attack,” Deere added. Israel’s parliament ruled that exceptions could be made.

“You don't just wake up on Tuesday in Gaza and say, ‘I'm going to go here today. We're going there today.’ It all has to be de-conflicted before you go anywhere and that side,” he said. Asked whether UNRWA would be able to operate in Gaza or the West Bank: “Absolutely not.”

What Else?

Israel killed at least 109 people, including children, with airstrikes in the Gaza Strip overnight, according to local health officials. It’s Israel’s deadliest attack in weeks, as the military shows no signs of slowing its operation in the territory.

The Hezbollah militant group named cleric Naim Kassem as its new leader, almost two months after Israel assassinated its former head. Hezbollah has repeatedly attacked Israel since last year, pledging to stop once Israel ends its war in Gaza. Kaseem vowed to continue the group’s objectives “until victory is achieved.”

In an exclusive interview with Pod Save America airing Wednesday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said that she understands why some progressives are hesitant to vote for Kamala Harris because of U.S. policy toward Gaza. But she has a message for them: “You're just never going to find a politician that aligns with you completely in every single way … I do not believe in ascribing to a strategy of giving up the power that we have and allowing this decision to be made not by us.”

Elon Musk purchased a brand new Musk family compound to house his unusually large family. That includes his 11 known children and two of their three mothers, the New York Times reports. Is this just a signature weird publicity stunt considering how little time he spends with his almost dozen children? You be the judge.

The editor of Puerto Rico’s biggest newspaper today urged all Puerto Ricans to vote for Kamala Harris. “The entire world has been stunned by such a repugnant display of hate that evokes memories of the speeches of Nazism and Fascism, which aimed to eliminate minorities,” reads the editorial in El Nuevo Día, citing the MAGA rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. “Is this the great America we want?”

MAGA crony Steve Bannon was released from prison today and feels “empowered,” he said. The rest of us are feeling “unsafe.”

Barbara Pierce Bush, former President George W. Bush’s daughter, said that she’s endorsing Kamala Harris and hopes other voters will help “protect women’s rights.”

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Light At The End Of The Email

Nerds Gummy Clusters have boosted the candy company’s sales from $40 million in 2018 to $800 million last year, according to the New York Times. One day, these could overthrow Reese’s as America’s favorite candy, mark my words.

Travis and Jason Kelce were named the sexiest podcast hosts of 2024, followed by Penn Badgley, Josh Peck and T.J. Holmes. I know a few guys who would probably beg to differ…

Enjoy

Tommy Vietor on Twitter: "Yesterday, when my daughter vomited her entire breakfast on me as I was holding her, I realized that 20 years of waking up and reading political news had prepared me for that moment."

Voted early yesterday. Waited in line for about 45 minutes. While I was getting my ballot & heading to a table to fill it out, an elderly lady approached one of the poll workers & told them unfortunately she wasn't physically capable of standing in line.

They told her it would be okay if she wanted to skip the line, which she immediately scoffed at & said 'that would not be fair to the people who waited!' The poll worker thought for a second, then suggested they get her a chair & she can sit for the amount of time it would take to wait in line. She said that would be okay with her as long as she waited just like everyone else.

This has nothing to do with Crooked or even the state of the election. I just thought it was very sweet & wanted to share.

This is the place to share your thoughts, links, polls, concerns, or whatever else you'd like with our community — so long as it's within our thread rules (below). If you've got something to say in response to a particular episode of a Crooked Media show, it's better to post that in the discussion post for that specific episode because this general audience of all Crooked pods may not know what you're talking about. But you don't even have to keep it relevant to Crooked Media in this thread. Pretty much just don't be a jerk and you're good.

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Let me preface this with...I have listened to this pod for years. I completely understand that it is heavily left leaning, I don't turn on PSA expecting nonpartisan news/opinions! And for the most part, I really enjoy listening.

That being said, I struggle with how little they seem to understand disengaged and undecided voters at times. I feel like the data the guys see tells a different story than actual discussions with non-Harris voters? I've listened to interviews with Trump voters/canvassers, interviews with undecided voters, interviews with ppl who have chosen not to vote. I've also had discussions with people in my life who fall into these same categories. And very little of what PSA says represents what I hear from people outside of the deep liberal media sphere.

As an example, I know at least two voters who voted biden in 2020 and don't know what they're going to do this year. They don't feel motivated to vote, they don't like either candidate. Neither of these people are in deeply red or blue media spheres, they're mostly seeing things like AI images of plants or snoopy cartoons on fb lol. Politics just aren't breaking through to them. Discussions of threats to democracy are a turn off to them, they perceive it as fear mongering.

I love this pod and will continue to listen, I just feel frustrated at times by how echo chamber-y it feels, particularly when so many discussions revolve around undecided/trump voters. It feels like a disservice to their listeners to not provide more accurate representations of outside perspectives.

If anyone has recommendations of similar discussion pods that bring in more perspectives, I would love to hear them.

So of course, like they mentioned in the episode, it's just lazy work on Shapiro to suggest that Michelle Obama only exists to feel Disappointed in You. But did anyone else catch that Jubilee episode from a few days ago with Ben Shapiro going against the abortion debate with a transman? It was the first time in a long time that I saw what may possibly be considered shame on his face.

The guy totally ripped into Ben, absolutely used his own tactics against him, got everything off his chest and even said to his face, "you have a daughter don't you? What the f-ck is wrong with you?" I'm thinking he's been feeling shame for a long time and doesn't know how to redirect that feeling. All he's learned is how to point fingers and Mrs. Obama got caught in the crosshairs.

"You know something, Trumpmaniacs? I don't see no stinking Nazis in here." — Hulk Hogan at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden, which has been compared to a Nazi demonstration.

Sunday Night Scaries

Donald Trump is gambling that ramping up his racist, authoritarian rhetoric in the final days of the campaign will win him the election. His behavior shows that if anyone in America qualifies as the “enemy within,” it’s him, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told Crooked Media.

• Former President Donald Trump’s MAGA minions descended on Madison Square Garden in New York City last night, hosting a rally meant to serve as his closing argument against Vice President Kamala Harris. Instead, the event devolved into a demonstration of such racism and hatred that even far-right Republicans are distancing themselves from the speakers. One of his own former advisers compared it to a Nazi rally hosted at the arena in 1939. Speakers railed on immigration and migrants, with Trump adviser Stephen Miller mincing no words: “America is for Americans — and Americans only.” Trump played his hits from hell, once again calling his political opponents the “enemy within.”

• “Anytime he says something, he’s projecting his own self. He is the enemy within,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said in an interview with Pod Save America, conducted before the MSG rally. “He is vulgar, grotesque. He is unpatriotic. We know that he is demonstrating characteristics that can be considered fascist.” The interview will air on Tuesday.

• Long gone are Trump’s attempts to reach voters in the middle. Now, the MAGA playbook is in full swing: Appeal to people’s ugliest prejudices, stoke fear, and hope it's enough to drive high voter turnout. The rally “is absolutely something that is intended to, and is, fanning the fuel of trying to divide our country,” Harris told reporters today.

Trump’s racist carnival — which he described as “a great rally” today — gives Democrats a fresh way to sway progressives who aren’t sold on Harris.

• “I have two words to say to people who say she’s not progressive enough: Donald Trump … Everything that we have cared about or done would be obliterated by him,” Pelosi said in the interview. There would be no bipartisanship under a second Trump administration, she added, and he would only serve his wealthy friends who are boosting his campaign. Reminder: Billionaire conspiracist Elon Musk — who warns about elites taking over the world, but is himself the world’s richest man, owns a major social media platform, and basically controls America’s ability to launch into space — has donated $132 million to Trump and his allies this cycle. In a bizarre moment at the rally, Musk described himself as “dark, gothic MAGA.”

• “What Donald Trump stands for, the values that he brings, is not consistent with American values,” Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) told our friends at the What A Day podcast today. Instead of complaining that Harris isn’t far enough to the left, people should be focused on keeping Trump out of office, he added. “I just do not want anybody to wake up on November 6 and say, ‘I should have done more,’ or ‘I spent the last final week questioning a policy’” instead of working to elect Harris, Moore said.

If Donald Trump loses, his rally of hatred may be remembered as what led him to lose this margin-of-error race, *Politico&’s Adam Wren wrote last night. If he wins…

Meanwhile On The Pod...

Trump Accidentally Admits He Lost the 2020 Election During Rambling Interview with Joe Rogan (10/28/24)

Look No Further Than Crooked Media

You know what Donald Trump's America will look like - this is your LAST call to do everything you can to stop it. With less than 8 days to go until the most HIGH STAKES election of our lives, we’re not going to stop bugging you until you convince those around you to vote. Because the best messengers at this point aren’t us, it’s YOU talking to your friends and family. We need you to think of THREE people in swing states—Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia—and CALL or TEXT THEM NOW to confirm their voting plans. No swing state contacts? You definitely know three apolitical people who need a nudge to vote. Use Vote Save America’s LAST CALL tool for easy scripts at https://votesaveamerica.com/vote. Pause this podcast RIGHT NOW and text those three people. This is our final shot!

This message has been paid for by Vote Save America. This ad has not been authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

Climate Deranged

Donald Trump has pledged to entirely roll back the Biden administration’s landmark effort to address climate change, but good news! He probably can’t, according to legal experts.

The Inflation Reduction Act — aimed at combating climate change and other issues — could give over $1 trillion worth of tax credits over the next decade to people and businesses that invest in clean energy. If a Trump administration tries to change how tax credits are doled out, it could face lengthy legal challenges, according to Axios.

A large portion of the IRA’s money for loans and grants supporting clean energy initiatives have been “obligated,” a fancy government word meaning that contracts have already been signed. Trump would need Congress to get that money back, but it would be an uphill battle since even many Republicans have warmed to the IRA. Funds that haven’t yet been spent or “obligated” could be in trouble, however.

At a town hall earlier this month, Trump rambled incoherently when asked if climate change is a hoax, saying that “we can’t destroy our country over being forced to do things.” Katherine Hayhoe, a prominent climate scientist who teaches at Texas Tech, said that any arguments against addressing climate change “are just smokescreens for the real issue.”

Politicians “don't want to fix it because they're afraid the solutions threaten their identity, wealth, or influence. And in pursuit of that goal, they're willing to entertain any excuse,” she told What A Day, when asked about Trump’s stance.

What Else?

Most voters don’t believe Donald Trump will accept defeat if he loses the election next week, according to a new poll. The majority of voters also don’t believe the Supreme Court would make the right legal decision on any cases related to the election. What would give them that opinion? Did something happen?

Domestic extremists who believe election-related conspiracies pose the greatest threat of violence during this election season, according to a U.S. intelligence report.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner (D-PA) is suing Elon Musk over his $1 million daily sweepstakes that entices registered voters to sign a petition from his pro-Trump super PAC. “That is a lottery. And it is indisputably an unlawful lottery,” said Krasner.

More than 200,000 people have canceled their Washington Post subscriptions after billionaire owner Jeff Bezos blocked the editorial board from endorsing Kamala Harris last week. Democracy dies in darkness, Jeff! Get that through your thick skull!

Two ballot boxes were set on fire in Oregon and Washington this morning, damaging hundreds of ballots, according to local officials. In the Washington race last election, the incumbent Democrat won by only 3,000 votes, raising concerns that the incident could affect the race.

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Light At The End Of The Email

Puerto Rican pop icon Bad Bunny announced that he’s supporting Kamala Harris for president on Sunday, after known hack racist “comedian” Tony Hinchcliffe called the territory “a floating island of trash” at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden. That’s a huge win for the Harris campaign after trying to gain his support for months, which could help their efforts among Latinos and young men. More like Good Bunny, amiright?

Americans in the overwhelming majority of states favor Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Cups over other candies, marking yet another year in which the little salty-sweet foiled-wrapped guys reign supreme. Is this particularly newsworthy? No. Is it the correct opinion? Absolutely.

The United States ranks no. 7 in the world among top green energy producers per capita, according to a new survey. Let’s apply some of that famous American “We’re no. 1!” competitiveness to this competition and we’ll really be in business.

Enjoy

Sean O’Connor on Twitter: "There's something so incredible about seeing the worst comedian in the world bomb so hard he changes the course of US history."

This is the place to share your thoughts, links, polls, concerns, or whatever else you'd like with our community — so long as it's within our thread rules (below). If you've got something to say in response to a particular episode of a Crooked Media show, it's better to post that in the discussion post for that specific episode because this general audience of all Crooked pods may not know what you're talking about. But you don't even have to keep it relevant to Crooked Media in this thread. Pretty much just don't be a jerk and you're good.

​

Rules for Daily General Discussion threads:

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• This includes, but is not limited to: personal attacks, insults, trolling, hate speech, and calls for violence. Everyone is entitled to a point of view, but post privileges are reserved for users that can express their views in good faith.

1. Don't repeat bullshit.

• Please don't make us weigh in or fact-check grey areas in endlessly heated debates between to pedants who will never budge from their position. But if you're here to spread misinformation about anything that's verifiably not true and bad for the community, mods will intervene.

1. Use the report tool wisely.

• Report comments that break the two rules above (mostly the first). It's not modmail, that's here. Abusing the report tool wastes our sub's limited resources. We report it to admin and suspend the account from the sub.