To pick up on Ken’s analysis, I just happened to catch the PBS News Hour last evening https://www.pbs.org/video/july-1-2026-pbs-news-hour-full-episode-1782878401/, in particular the segment beginning at 24:14, in which Lisa Desjardins of PBS interviews Mo Elleithee, former Director of Communications for the DNC, now head of the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service.
That alone right off the bat should tell you something, that somehow a pol, basically an operative and a functionary, gets highly placed within academia, his principal qualification for the slot being… that he is pol, a known, vetted quantity within the MICIMATT-SH (Military-Industrial-Congressional-Intelligence-Media-Academia-Think Tank-Sports-Hollywood) complex (Ray McGovern’s updating of Eisenhower, the “SH” being William J. Astore’s (Bracingviews.Substack.com) nice touch in keeping up with the latest permutation).
So he really doesn’t know anything of substance, doesn’t have any knowledge to impart or to mull over, he’s basically a spokesman for the powers that be.
But note also that the producers (or whoever) at PBS who secured this guy (or were told to secure him) deemed him to be an authoritative, informed, disinterested source to offer commentary, specifically here the victories of “anti-establishment” Democratic candidates over long-term “centrist” incumbents, and then sequeing to how Israel will now figure into the Democrats’ foreign policy stances.
As to the first part of the discussion, note – and bear in mind this guy’s background in “communications” – the subtleties in the words, phrases, and narrative he chooses. I took it all as pretty much a qualified acknowledgement of the wins of Melat Kiros et al., but with an inevitable absorption into a tweaked but still largely static and complacent Democratic party. The cluelessness of his position was inadvertently revealed when he made reference to the nonsensical, inherently contradictory, mind pabulum of “the bold centrism of Clinton and Obama.” Jeesch.
But wait, there’s more! (or less, as the case may be) with the segue to Israel beginning at 29:20:
DESJARDINS: I need to get in a big question for Democrats, which is Israel. We saw… How does the [Democratic] party move forward? Can it both support Israel and also so sharply criticize it?
ELLITHEE: Democrats need to figure out how to be anti-Netanyahu and pro-Israel—some of them have struggled. Some have figured out. That’s where we can be. We can be for Israel and its role in the region and its relationship with the United States, while denouncing Netanyahu and the way that he waged this war.
DESJARDINS: Mo Elleithee, thank you for an important conversation.
Huh? Important conversation? Well yeah, I’d say important, but not in the way you think. Instead, it revealed the sordidness of the MICIMATT-SH, with two pickleball players on the “Media” court volleying vapidities of historical ignorance, hackneyed rationales, tired talking points, and shall scripts, all wrapped up in the parchment paper of self-satisfaction for having done their jobs well... or baked well done, whatever.
With performances like this treating vital issues facing the nation, with this Saturday marking the country’s 250th birthday, it won’t be much of a surprise when we don’t make it to the 251st.
YES! I am 70 years old, but I am all for the progressive movement, the young people will save this democracy....trump and his cult have ruined our country by lies and grifting....and with the help of the progressive candidates, we will stand for the people! Might doesn't make right.
SAME! I'm 62 and I can't get enough of these terrific young progressive candidates standing up against billionaire PACs and for working-class people. Let's goooooo!
You feel HOPE, you see their shining eyes....not the dead eyes of smug fat cats who dismiss us . I retired from the Army and thank God because soldiers are like toys to trump and his cult....they do not possess caring and empathy for our people...only money gets their attention.
Wouldn't it be something if this second Gilded Age is in turn met with a second Progressive one, resulting in a major shift in power to the PEOPLE and better protections, infrastructure, and lives for all those who actually make the country work?
YES...and I hope this change is coming...is inevitable...I am so sick of smug ultra rich men who think their money gives them the right to rule us....as they continue to rape our social services, our constitution, our country.
I think so too...at some point the obscene conspicuous consumption of the billionaire class and their trampling on the constitution, the ecosystem and social safety nets is going to cause a backlash. The progressive candidates are very brave.
Grown tired of the explainations of why things are impossible (beginning with Medicare for All). The DNC needs to have its drivers license revoked. Put the DSA behind the wheel.
I live in CO 1 and there was not 1 sign for degette but signs on every block in my neighborhood for kirios. People voted for change, but they also gave a shit and voted in the primary.
Here’s to hoping that the New Guard doesn’t slowly become the Old Guard. I love what she’s said and some of what she’s done but Ilhan Omar for example, who represents the Minneapolis district immediately across the Mississippi from mine in St. Paul, is at risk of falling into that tar pit (to latch on to your fossilization metaphor), as many energetic, optimistic, “fiery” congressional predecessors have before. I say all that with cautious optimism as a a guy who cast his first vote ever for Jimmy Carter. Little did I know that would the best Presidential candidate I would ever vote for.
Ken, your metaphor pen was ablaze and oh so spot on! I’m 83, and I hope to live long enough to see all the bums, in both parties, kicked to the curb.
I won’t support anyone who doesn’t denounce the genocide and/or takes money from Israeli-based PACs. I laughed sardonically when I read that Kamala Harris wants to meet with Mamdani. If he meets with her, I hope he gives her an earful and sends her on her way.
The Israeli settlers who are ethnic cleansing the West Bank of Palestine get Universal Healthcare. We don’t. So why do we give them billions $$$ every year to commit genocide?
In the US, Medicare for All is Cheaper than the system we have now. So why not?
These people are not extremists, the difference is they cannot be bribed, like the R and D leadership.
I don’t think the old party is dead yet. Yes we are seeing some Progressive victories, but they are in areas that Progressives have done well in the past. Nobody accuses NYC as being moderate territory. Now when the DSA wins in Texas, then maybe we will see the end of the old party, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
"Dinosaur Democrats Meet Asteroid"
Gonna keep it brief. The metaphor is exquisite.
To pick up on Ken’s analysis, I just happened to catch the PBS News Hour last evening https://www.pbs.org/video/july-1-2026-pbs-news-hour-full-episode-1782878401/, in particular the segment beginning at 24:14, in which Lisa Desjardins of PBS interviews Mo Elleithee, former Director of Communications for the DNC, now head of the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service.
That alone right off the bat should tell you something, that somehow a pol, basically an operative and a functionary, gets highly placed within academia, his principal qualification for the slot being… that he is pol, a known, vetted quantity within the MICIMATT-SH (Military-Industrial-Congressional-Intelligence-Media-Academia-Think Tank-Sports-Hollywood) complex (Ray McGovern’s updating of Eisenhower, the “SH” being William J. Astore’s (Bracingviews.Substack.com) nice touch in keeping up with the latest permutation).
So he really doesn’t know anything of substance, doesn’t have any knowledge to impart or to mull over, he’s basically a spokesman for the powers that be.
But note also that the producers (or whoever) at PBS who secured this guy (or were told to secure him) deemed him to be an authoritative, informed, disinterested source to offer commentary, specifically here the victories of “anti-establishment” Democratic candidates over long-term “centrist” incumbents, and then sequeing to how Israel will now figure into the Democrats’ foreign policy stances.
As to the first part of the discussion, note – and bear in mind this guy’s background in “communications” – the subtleties in the words, phrases, and narrative he chooses. I took it all as pretty much a qualified acknowledgement of the wins of Melat Kiros et al., but with an inevitable absorption into a tweaked but still largely static and complacent Democratic party. The cluelessness of his position was inadvertently revealed when he made reference to the nonsensical, inherently contradictory, mind pabulum of “the bold centrism of Clinton and Obama.” Jeesch.
But wait, there’s more! (or less, as the case may be) with the segue to Israel beginning at 29:20:
DESJARDINS: I need to get in a big question for Democrats, which is Israel. We saw… How does the [Democratic] party move forward? Can it both support Israel and also so sharply criticize it?
ELLITHEE: Democrats need to figure out how to be anti-Netanyahu and pro-Israel—some of them have struggled. Some have figured out. That’s where we can be. We can be for Israel and its role in the region and its relationship with the United States, while denouncing Netanyahu and the way that he waged this war.
DESJARDINS: Mo Elleithee, thank you for an important conversation.
Huh? Important conversation? Well yeah, I’d say important, but not in the way you think. Instead, it revealed the sordidness of the MICIMATT-SH, with two pickleball players on the “Media” court volleying vapidities of historical ignorance, hackneyed rationales, tired talking points, and shall scripts, all wrapped up in the parchment paper of self-satisfaction for having done their jobs well... or baked well done, whatever.
With performances like this treating vital issues facing the nation, with this Saturday marking the country’s 250th birthday, it won’t be much of a surprise when we don’t make it to the 251st.
Yes, I loved the title!
YES! I am 70 years old, but I am all for the progressive movement, the young people will save this democracy....trump and his cult have ruined our country by lies and grifting....and with the help of the progressive candidates, we will stand for the people! Might doesn't make right.
SAME! I'm 62 and I can't get enough of these terrific young progressive candidates standing up against billionaire PACs and for working-class people. Let's goooooo!
You feel HOPE, you see their shining eyes....not the dead eyes of smug fat cats who dismiss us . I retired from the Army and thank God because soldiers are like toys to trump and his cult....they do not possess caring and empathy for our people...only money gets their attention.
Wouldn't it be something if this second Gilded Age is in turn met with a second Progressive one, resulting in a major shift in power to the PEOPLE and better protections, infrastructure, and lives for all those who actually make the country work?
YES...and I hope this change is coming...is inevitable...I am so sick of smug ultra rich men who think their money gives them the right to rule us....as they continue to rape our social services, our constitution, our country.
Just a note: there are also smug ultra rich women--if fewer in number.
Yes, I should have said that....melania comes to mind.
And if a major Progressive shift does not occur in this volatile transitional era, well, then: Le Deluge.
We might see a revolution in our lifetimes. I am 70, too.
I think so too...at some point the obscene conspicuous consumption of the billionaire class and their trampling on the constitution, the ecosystem and social safety nets is going to cause a backlash. The progressive candidates are very brave.
Also 70. Hope I live to see it.
Go Asteroid!
lol
Grown tired of the explainations of why things are impossible (beginning with Medicare for All). The DNC needs to have its drivers license revoked. Put the DSA behind the wheel.
I'm old & yes please!!! Keep those asteroids coming! Keep up the great work, KenKlip!
Barista power!!!
One of your best headlines yet, I love it.
I live in CO 1 and there was not 1 sign for degette but signs on every block in my neighborhood for kirios. People voted for change, but they also gave a shit and voted in the primary.
It’s probably better for electoral races like hers not to get a lot of national attention which would attract a lot of counter-funding
Yesterday they just certified that the DSA candidate in my area beat the almost 30 year incumbent for my state's legislature
Mayor Pete has said we can’t go back. Ezra Klein and the abundance movement have said we can’t go back. Schumer and the dinosaurs need to go
Here’s to hoping that the New Guard doesn’t slowly become the Old Guard. I love what she’s said and some of what she’s done but Ilhan Omar for example, who represents the Minneapolis district immediately across the Mississippi from mine in St. Paul, is at risk of falling into that tar pit (to latch on to your fossilization metaphor), as many energetic, optimistic, “fiery” congressional predecessors have before. I say all that with cautious optimism as a a guy who cast his first vote ever for Jimmy Carter. Little did I know that would the best Presidential candidate I would ever vote for.
Ken, your metaphor pen was ablaze and oh so spot on! I’m 83, and I hope to live long enough to see all the bums, in both parties, kicked to the curb.
I won’t support anyone who doesn’t denounce the genocide and/or takes money from Israeli-based PACs. I laughed sardonically when I read that Kamala Harris wants to meet with Mamdani. If he meets with her, I hope he gives her an earful and sends her on her way.
Logged in to substack just to heart for that title. Made me LOL for reals.
RIP smoothgroins.
Ahahahahah!
The Israeli settlers who are ethnic cleansing the West Bank of Palestine get Universal Healthcare. We don’t. So why do we give them billions $$$ every year to commit genocide?
In the US, Medicare for All is Cheaper than the system we have now. So why not?
These people are not extremists, the difference is they cannot be bribed, like the R and D leadership.
I don’t think the old party is dead yet. Yes we are seeing some Progressive victories, but they are in areas that Progressives have done well in the past. Nobody accuses NYC as being moderate territory. Now when the DSA wins in Texas, then maybe we will see the end of the old party, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
No it's certainly not. But remember that dust cloud!