EMERGENCE: The Towel-Snapping of the Bros!

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2026

Creepy obstacle to an emergence: The towel-snapping topped the pile at Mediaite this morning. Grown men need to start telling these boys that it's time for them to shut the frump up:

We offer thanks to David Gilmour. His report starts like this:

‘How Is This Real?’ JD Vance Mocked for ‘Tone Deaf’ Opener to MAGA Voter’s Affordability Question   

Critics ripped Vice President JD Vance as “tone deaf” after he responded to a young supporter’s concerns about housing affordability for families by cracking a joke about Senator Jon Husted’s (R-OH) butt during a Fox News town hall.

The awkward exchange unfolded Thursday night when Texas Christian University student Kate White, vice president of the school’s Turning Point USA chapter, challenged Vance over how Republicans expect young Americans to marry and start families when homeownership remains out of reach for many. 

“How does the right and yourself expect us to start families young when you know the average price of a home in America now costs more than $415,000, which just feels out of reach for us,” she asked.

All in all, Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow! 

It wasn't just a "MAGA Voter," as the headline reported. The question came from a young woman whose values and understandings have led her to Turning Point USA, the movement Charlie Kirk built! 

We aren't fans of the bulk of Kirk's work, but Ow ow ow ow ow! The young woman had asked a serious question. 

Here's what the pair of Bros did: 

(Continuing directly from above) 
Rather than immediately addressing her concerns, Vance began by pointing out that almost nobody in the audience had asked about Husted.

“Well, first of all, again, thank you for the question and thanks for the support,” Vance said. “I want to point out that I think that I’ve been asked four or maybe five questions by my count, I’ve only been asked one question about Jon Husted’s a*s and it was by Jesse Watters.”  

Watters, who was moderator, laughed, insisting it was what people were talking about, before Vance quipped: “Maybe you should run for Senate on the Democratic side here in Texas, Jesse.”

The clip quickly went viral on social media, however, drawing criticism from commentators who questioned why the vice president had opened his response to a serious economic concern with an unrelated political joke.   

And so on from there. For the record, it wasn't just a "political" joke. It was a towel-snapping sexual side-trip of the type these underdeveloped men keep inflicting on this nation's failing culture.  

To see this creepy throwback "mutt culture" at work, click here for Greg Gutfeld's opening monologue on last night's Gutfeld! program. Meanwhile: 

In fairness to Vice President Vance, we've said it here several times in the past. Almost surely, someone who was abused in his childhood the way Vance was is likely to show the effects of that mistreatment later on, as a chronological adult.

Our view? It's time for grown men in this struggling nation to tell these creeps to shut up. That said, we know of no salaried Blue American journalist, male or female, who has ever said a word about the undisguised misogyny which rules the Gutfeld! show most nights.   

Yesterday, down in Texas, a young woman asked a serious question. Before her question was addressed, two classic frat boys had some fun. 

So it goes as candidates like Amy Acton and Annie Andrews try to let a saner day emerge—as a candidate like the Rev. Adam Hamilton threatens to win a Senate seat in Kansas. 

(Candidate Hamilton is "senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, the largest United Methodist congregation in the United States." It's beginning to look like he could snag that Kansas seat for the Dems.)

As you know, Candidate Acton (like Candidate Andrews, she's a doctor) was mugged by a campaign ad last week—by an ad which probably backfired. The ad came from the camp of Vivek Ramaswamy, one of our current collection of billionaire bros.

We thought we'd show you what stands in the way of a fuller emergence at this time for our badly endangered nation. The obstacle takes shape when people like this, from Trump on down, spread their gruesome values all through the culture—as Blue America's salaried "journalists" all run off and hide. 

Here goes:

The analysts loved Candidate Acton's messaging after Ramaswamy's ad appeared. We ran through that messaging in Monday's report, but this is some of the stuff of a badly needed emergence:   

Candidate Acton / Hints of emergence

Eric and I want to thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts for all the support, and all the love, you have shown us this past week, and every day on the trail. 

Thank you. Thank you.

[CHEERS] 

My name is Dr. Amy Acton—

[CHEERS]

I'm an Ohio girl through and through. I grew up in Youngstown.

[CHEERS]

It's the stuff of Bruce Springsteen songs... 

When I grew up, we didn't know what party you were in. We knew what union you were in!

[CHEERS]

We knew what branch of the military you served in, we knew where you worshipped. We knew what civic groups you were in. 

But the biggest thing we knew was that you had one another's back, and if it weren't for the tough, deeply resilient community I had, I wouldn't be here today

They had my back when I needed it most...   

In Ohio, we work hard and we watch out for one another. My opponent just doesn't get it. 

Mr. Ramaswamy, you are not just out of touch, you are out for yourself and you're a danger to my state. Apparently, there is no low to which you won't stoop. But look:

I'm a scrappy kid from Youngstown—

[CHEERS]

—and scrappy kids from Youngstown, we never back down from a fight!  

If you want your nation to stage an emergence, that is helpful rhetoric. 

She's inviting the churches and the military back into the tent, but also, of course, the unions. And with everyone back inside that tent, she's saying we have to look out for each other, that she'll never back down from that fight.  

("Eric and I," she says as she starts. An assurance is lurking there too. If you're inclined to flip out at this point, you may be a helpmate for MAGA.)   

We Blues are going to have to admit that we've been wrong in many of our attitudes and ideas. It will be good for us to admit that because it's a well-known fact that it's true.   

Needless to say, the billionaire nut-balls, the throwback males, rushed out to support that braindead ad. With that, we take you to last Saturday's broadcast of C-Span's Washington Journal.   

Mimi Geerges was moderator that day. To watch the program, you can just click here. 

As C-Span callers frequently note, Geerges has a superb disposition. She was also playing by C-Span rules, according to which moderators almost never offer their opinion about the matters at issue.   

The program started at 7 a.m. Eastern. If you click ahead to 7:36, you'll see Geerges play tape of Vance saying that Acton "is unfit to serve as governor of Ohio." 

If you click ahead to 7:40, you'll see Geerges play tape of the sitting president supporting "the terrible things the mother said" about Candidate Acton. He does so at great length.  

When powerful people behave in such ways, citizens do get misled. If you click to 7:36, you'll hear Sarah from Indiana saying, at considerable length, that Candidate Acton "is not a good person" and that she is "not fit to be in the office."

The next caller will be Roy from Cameron, Texas.  You'll hear him confidently cite the mother's claim that Acton is a liar. 

(Quoting: "Just because somebody had a traumatic experience when they were younger doesn't mean they have a right to be a liar later on in life.") 

As men like Vance and Watters and Gutfeld take their cues from the disordered Trump, our culture is in a dangerous downward spiral.    

These are the Bros who just can't adjust. Tell us when you see any Blue American journalist telling these apostles of an ugly, dimwitted throwback culture that it's time for them to grow up.

That it's time for them to stifle themselves. That it's time to shut the freak up. 

Emergence is struggling to be born. A lot of very helpful vision is coming from ministers and doctors and women.

The Bros—the fellows who can't quite seem to grow the f*ck up—keep fighting to push it on back.

THURSDAY: Candidate Turek on The Last Word!

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2026

In search of an emergence: "I'm a scrappy kid from Youngstown," Candidate Acton has said. We Blue Americans could surely gain from the emergence of some scrappy new blood. 

Senator Ossoff has emerged as a master of punishing but reasonable rhetoric. On Tuesday night, Candidate Turek went on The Last Word to offer a version of his closing campaign pitch.   

Josh Turek is the Democratic nominee for the Iowa Senate seat from which Senator Ernst is retiring. It would be a Democratic Party pick-up, but Iowa has seemed to be quite Red of late.

At present, the Iowa race seems to be roughly even. Here's a bit of the leading authority's overview:   

Josh Turek

Joshua Peter Turek (born April 12, 1979) is an American politician and wheelchair basketball player serving as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from the 20th district. He is the Democratic nominee in the 2026 United States Senate election in Iowa.

Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Turek played wheelchair basketball for Southwest Minnesota State University and professionally in Europe and competed with the United States men's national wheelchair basketball team, winning gold medals at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics.

Turek was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 2022 and reelected in 2024. He has been described as a moderate and a prairie populist.

[...]

Born with spina bifida, Turek underwent multiple surgeries as a child to improve mobility and has used a wheelchair since childhood. He has linked his spinal condition to his father's exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.  

We Blues could possibly learn a few things from a good solid "prairie populist." Here's part of what the candidate said when he appeared with O'Donnell:

CANDIDATE TUREK (10/27/26): My political North Star is actually a quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt where he said, "The test of our progress as a society is not whether we add more to those with  abundance, but whether we have enough for those with least." 

And I can tell you, I grew up with a lot of economic struggle. In my family, come from a working-class family, working-class community.  We went to the Goodwill for clothes, we shared clothes, had the wrong color lunch tickets. I know what it's like to worry about missing a meal. 

Also born with my disability, 21 surgeries by the age of 12. I say that most people in that circumstance, it breaks them. but the ones that come through that have a mental strength that can't be broken.

[...]

I think we have a lot of people that go to D.C. from wealth and privilege We don't have a whole lot of people that came from a place like Council Bluffs, Iowa with lived economic and health care experience—struggle.  

When you've experienced that struggle yourself, you'll have a different level of empathy, a different level of compassion, a different level of understanding, and a different level of fight. That's what we're missing right now in D.C., fighters for the working class, for the everyday Iowans, not just billionaires and large corporations.  

Turek seems to be finishing his campaign with fairly conventional Democratic Party rhetoric, tied to a stress on personal background and personal character.

People, we're just saying! We're hoping that Turek wins this seat, helping Dems take the Senate.

EMERGENCE: Spirits are using us as Tuesday nears!

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2026

Voices of outreach emerge: "Spirits are using me," Stephen Stills wrote. "Larger voices calling."   

In the famous song in question, Stills was discussing a marriage which failed. That isn't exactly this—what we're all dealing with now. 

Stills wasn't discussing this. But just for the record, here's part of the leading synopsis—and a key word is lurking here:

Southern Cross (Crosby, Stills and Nash song)   

"Southern Cross" is a song written by Stephen Stills, Rick Curtis, and Michael Curtis and performed by the rock band Crosby, Stills & Nash. It was featured on the band's Daylight Again album and was released as a single in September 1982. With a theme concerning the healing power of sailing amongst the natural world, it was a hit for the group and has received classic rock airplay in the decades since.

[...]   

Stills explained, "The Curtis Brothers brought a wonderful song called 'Seven League Boots', but it drifted around too much. I rewrote a new set of words and added a different chorus, a story about a long boat trip I took after my divorce. It's about using the power of the universe to heal your wounds. Once again, I was given somebody's gem and cut and polished it."  

Spirits were using him, Stephen Stills wrote, as he was trying to heal.  

We focused on the concept of healing a few weeks back. To our reckoning, spirits are floating around in the news as next week's elections draw near.   

This nation has a desperate need—a need to find a way to heal. Various spirits are lurking about as an ancient battle is fought. Let's start with the fury of Senator Bernie Moreno, (R-Ohio).  

Yesterday, Moreno spoke at a Republican rally in Chillicothe, Ohio. As reported by Mediaite, with videotape provided, some very familiar spirits seemed to be speaking through Moreno:  

[Moreno] Says Non-Christians Are Unfit for Senate: ‘Should Be Nowhere Near Washington’   

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) said on Wednesday night that anyone who does not believe that Jesus died for their salvation is unfit to serve in the Senate and “should be nowhere near Washington.”

Moreno spoke at a rally in Chillicothe, Ohio, where he was joined by President Donald Trump and Sen. Jon Husted, who is in a close race against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

During his remarks, Moreno turned his attention to Michigan, where Democrat Abdul El-Sayed is in a similarly tight contest with former Rep. Mike Rogers. If El-Sayed wins, he would be the first Muslim to serve in the U.S. Senate.   

“On Monday, I went up and campaigned with Mike Rogers because he’s in a race with somebody that just is an affront to me as an American,” Moreno said. “By the way, an affront to me as a naturalized citizen to this country.”

Did Moreno really say what Mediaite says he said? Did he really say that you're unfit to serve in the Senate unless you believe that Jesus died for your salvation?

It's hard to believe that he could have said that. But here are a few more of Moreno's peculiar remarks:

“This character, Abdul El-Sayed, can be nowhere near Washington, D.C.,” he continued before saying non-Christians have no business in the Senate. “Do you think he understands that concept? That our rights come from God Almighty? That Jesus came here for our salvation? He should be nowhere near Washington, D.C. And Mike Rogers is gonna kick his ass on Tuesday.”

Astonishing! On balance, we aren't fans of the prickly way Candidate El-Sayed has conducted his Senate race. At times, it has seemed to us, perhaps incorrectly, that his prickly ways might be costing him the Michigan Senate seat.

That said, does a person have to believe "that Jesus came here for our salvation" to be allowed to serve in the Senate? An ancient part of the war of the (human) world was playing out in those astounding prehistoric remarks. 

Ancient spirits of tribal conflict were in the air yesterday—and it isn't just Senator Moreno who has brought that prehistoric impulse to the ongoing campaign. In this report, USA Today describes intemperate remarks by the furious Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas):   

GOP makes Islamophobic attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan Senate race   

Republicans are ramping up Islamophobic attacks against Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, using recent campaign trail appearances to claim he would be a threat to American security if elected. 

At an Oct. 28 event near Detroit, Sen. Ted Cruz called El-Sayed a "jihadist leprechaun" and said he believed El-Sayed was a "passionate supporter" of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group the Democrat has disavowed. The Texas Republican said that if El-Sayed wins and is put on the Senate Intelligence Committee, there is a risk that "Americans will die as a result."

Cruz said he believed the Democratic candidate could use the panel to help terrorists avoid detection by U.S. troops or intelligence operatives.  

"We have every reason to believe that Abdul El-Sayed, if he found out, 'OK, they're about to apprehend these terrorists,’ that he would let those terrorists know," the senator said.   

Cruz’s comments are the latest escalation in Islamophobic rhetoric from Republicans against El-Sayed, who would be the first Muslim American elected to the U.S. Senate if he wins on Nov. 3. 

Can those remarks fairly be called "Islamaphobic?" It's hard to say that the answer is no.

Fear of The Other is bred in the bone. It's part of the way our imperfect species is wired. Spirits are using us as we proceed toward Tuesday's midterm elections.   

Up in Alaska, the Peltola campaign—and, we'll suppose, Peltola herself—has engaged in the kind of braindead behavior which may keep Democrats from winning control of the Senate. From the standpoint of Blue America, it would be a disaster if ridiculous conduct of that type allows the the sitting president retain control of that body.   

On the other hand, possibly this:   

Last night, Candidate Annie Andrews made a brief appearance with Lawrence O'Donnell on The Last Word. Earlier in the day, the New York Times had reported its new poll, in which Dr. Andrews was running even in the South Carolina Senate race.   

Could some such breakthrough really occur in the Palmetto State? As in Ohio, so too here—the Democratic Party has turned its hopes over to a female candidate who is a doctor—who literally is a healer. 

Last night, the analysts came out of their chairs when the healer in question said this:   

DR. ANDREWS (10/28/26): There is so much hope and optimism and energy on the ground because we've been building a campaign that's for everybody, not just the Democrats who are feeling hopeful in South Carolina, but for Independents who are ready for change and for Republicans, like my own Dad, who care more about South Carolina than they care about politics in D.C.    

The candidate was speaking the language of the healing of rifts! Soon, this exchange occurred:  

O'DONNELL: Your Dad is not the only Republican voting for you. You've got a former Republican governor of [South Carolina] endorsing you, in a kind of team endorsement with a former Democratic governor of [South Carolina]. What is your pitch to Republican voters?   

DR. ANDREWS: Yeah, I'm really excited to have the support of former Republican South Carolina governor and David Beasley and former Democratic South Carolina governor Jim Hodges....They ran against each other. They disagree on a lot of things, but they're coming together because they see in me a senator who will put South Carolina first, and that's what I'm hearing from the over one hundred Republicans across the state who have endorsed me... 

The spirit of outreach was again being voiced by the candidate on the Blue side of the aisle. Elsewhere, the spirit of civilizational war was being expressed.  

Spirits are using us as this prehistoric conflict is being played out again.  Elsewhere, the spirit of Puck prevailed:

‘Pitch Perfect!’ Critics Delight as Obama Mocks Trump’s Cheesecake Factory Joke ‘Tantrum’  

Former President Barack Obama took another swipe at President Donald Trump on Wednesday, days after the commander in chief’s furious reaction to his Cheesecake Factory joke, much to critics’ delight.

Obama reignited the bit on Wednesday night at a Democratic campaign rally in Atlanta, mocking Trump for apparently taking greater offense at being compared to the restaurant chain than to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

And so on, with laughter, from there.

Is Obama wiping the floor with the sitting president? Next Tuesday, we may find out. But larger ancient voices are calling as this struggle plays out once again. Spirits urging the end of war may be using Blue America's newest candidates. 

We Blues will have to cop to the ways we've been wrong. It can't just be the Reds. 

Tomorrow: Attention C-Span callers 

WEDNESDAY: Did Dems just lose the Alaska race?

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2026

Staffers strike again: We've been semi-wondering when some sch snowshoe might imaginably hit the fan. Mediaite sends in the sled dogs:   

Alaska Dems Spent Months to Find New Dan Sullivan to Derail Republican Foe...

Alaska Democrats working for Senate hopeful Mary Peltola engaged in a coordinated effort to find someone named “Dan Sullivan”—the same name as the Republican in the same race—in a bold bid to confuse voters, a bombshell New York Times report has alleged.   

The Times report, which is sure to shake up the closely watched Alaska Senate race, alleged Wednesday that Peltola staffers worked for months to find another “Dan Sullivan” who could draw votes away from incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan (R)... 

“The plan worked,” according to The Times, when they found Dan J. Sullivan (unaffiliated), who threw his hat into the ring earlier this year.

Ugh! 

"Name's-the-same" ballot misdirections have a long history in American politics. That said, they're always an unsightly, unattractive attempt to fool a helpful number of voters, possibly tipping the scale in a close election.

On MS NOW, obedient anchors have been rolling their eyes at the very thought that Alaska's sophisticated voters could possibly be so fooled. Unfortunately, a campaign doesn't go out and find a "name's-the-same" entry unless they think the unattractive answer is an unattractive yes. 

Amazingly, here we go again! Rather, here they go again. We refer to the hapless, self-involved Peltola staffers who were involved in the earlier New York Times report about the troubling way they were dragooned into the care and fee3ding of Peltola's pet iguana, Cricket—or was Cricket really a hamster?

Actually, Cricket was a chameleon, but these staffers are always the same:

The Times report cites Elisa Rios, Peltola’s former aide and campaign manager, who was fired in the summer.

“Alaskan voters need to know,” Rios told the paper. “There was a lot of speculation, and voters should get the full picture when making their decisions.”

While Peltola is “definitely aware” of the effort, she was not directly involved, Rios added.

Last week, however, Rios told The Times she no longer wanted to participate in the story, and said she wanted to retract her previous statements to the paper.

“As discussed on our call earlier today, I am confirming that I have retracted all statements made regarding the 2026 Alaska Senate Race in connection with any article you may or may not be writing,” Rios reportedly told the paper. “I am not willing to be a source for any story in any capacity.”

The firing may have been a mistake. That said, how did this person ever get hired to begin with?

(For the record, no. You can't unsay what you've already said to a major news org!)

Hopeless! This could help the GOP win the Alaska Senate race. Given the publicity it will create, it could conceivably help the GOP win elsewhere as well.

(Yesterday afternoon, we asked a version of this question: Could a Blue American player ever do something wrong?)

For the TIMES EXCLUSIVE itself, you can just click here.

EMERGENCE: The president's disorder is the curse...

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2026

...from which we need to emerge: "I'm a scrappy kid from Youngstown," the Ohio candidate said.

"And scrappy kids from Youngstown, we never back down from a fight!"

At this site, the analysts loved that bit of rhetoric. They liked it all the way down.

For the record, that self-proclaimed scrappy kid is sixty years old at this time. It's her first run for elective office. She's running for governor of her state, and she's expected to win.   

The analysts also like the cut of the jib of the rest of the rhetoric she put on display last weekend. Meanwhile, out in Iowa, a scrappy Senate candidate also offered some striking rhetoric as he spoke with Lawrence O'Donnell last night. 

Personally, we'll go with the rhetoric of Candidate Amy Acton in Ohio over that of Candidate Josh Turek in Iowa. But various forms of new rhetoric—new ways of challenging and inspiring the American public--are struggling to emerge as November 3 draws near.   

New ways of thinking are trying to be born! And from what nightmare do these new voices seek to let us emerge? 

Yesterday, in Corpus Christi, a thoroughly disordered person was seen making outlandish claims toa lrge group of people in a thoroughly public setting. The RealClearPolitics site offers videotape of some of the president's comments. 

Inevitably, the sitting president refers to Candidate James Talarico as "Talafreako" all through his remarks. Below, you see the transcript of some of his remarks, the evidence of a profound disorder. 

(We would recommend discussing it as an untreated medical matter.)

We include the headline from the RealClearPolitics site. Here's part of what this nation's disordered president said in this disordered session:

Trump on Talarico: "No Politician In History Has Been More Obsessed With Turning Your Young Boys And Girls Transgender"

President Trump launched a full-scale culture war attack against "James Tala-freak-o" during a rally for Ken Paxton on Tuesday in Corpus Christi... 

[...]

TRUMP: Talafreako wants to get rid of the guns. He wants to get rid of the oil. He wants to get rid of the meat.

But he wants to keep the transgender mutilization of your children, open borders. He wants to keep men playing in women's sports. Figure that one out.

This is what Talafreako stands for, and it's what he is, it's where he is...But no politician in history has been more obsessed with turning your young boys and girls transgender. I mean, he wants to—he said that recently.

I saw a thing where he said, "What do you like the best?" He said, essentially, "Transgender children." That was a straight— That was a straight—

You know, look. That's the way it is. You're not going to change it.

You know, it's like meat. He's going around to so many barbecues. That's probably why—either that or he has a mental illness. 

[...]

And not only did Talafreako state that God is transgender, he actually said that if Jesus Christ himself came and visited the Texas legislature, Jesus would be promoting sex changes for little children.

You know, just—I'm not an expert on it, but I will tell you, I read enough about it. I find it amazing, you know, many of those little children, as he says, when they turn 22 and 25, they say, "Who did this to me? Who did it to me? Why did you do this to me?" Many, many.

[...]

But the only man standing between Texas and this raging lunatic is a man named President Donald J. Trump. Thank you. And I need the help of Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate. I need a little help, please. I need help. He's the perfect guy. 

In the iconic film, On the Waterfront, Father Barry famously says this:  

Jesus Christ is down here on the waterfront.  

The sitting president has now disgracefully told a Texas audience thissss:  

Not only did Talafreako state that God is transgender, he actually said that if Jesus Christ himself came and visited the Texas legislature, Jesus would be promoting sex changes for little children. 

The candidate never made such ludicrous claims. It is from this manifest, undisguised madness that the rhetoric of a scrappy kid in Ohio is attempting to let us emerge.   

This morning, Morning Joe played tape of those claims by the sitting president. In response to this inexcusable madness, Joe Scarborough said this about what the Trump operation has done:

SCARBOROUGH (10/27/26): They've twisted and perverted the gospel. It's extraordinary. 

It's just extraordinary how much they've twisted and perverted it and created their own new religion. And they have! A completely new religion that lets them feel good about voting for people like Ken Paxton and Donald Trump. 

So said Scarborough, who runs the best policy and political discussions seen on American TV.   

Morning Joe played the tape of that insanity; Scarborough offered his view.  But the New York Times and other Blue orgs have been running away from this, an act of cowardice and incompetence, all through these past years. 

This madness needs to be reported and discussed on page 1. If the paper's journalists aren't up to the challenge of discussing what's going on, those journalists need to step down.

We badly need a type of emergence. Many are refusing to serve.

Tomorrow: Candidates Acton and Turek