Abdul El-Sayed’s Democratic primary victory in Michigan proved a core progressive thesis: winning in a tough midterm isn’t all about persuading undecided suburban moderates—it’s about activating the disaffected.
While establishment voters turned out strongly for Haley Stevens, El-Sayed countered by expanding the electorate in campus and progressive hubs.
Early returns show a dramatic surge in voter turnout across key local communities and college campus precincts compared to past elections. High-propensity base voters alone cannot generate spikes like that. Mathematically, it requires dragging seldom-voting residents off the sidelines.
If El-Sayed simply retains standard Democratic midterm voters, he won’t need to dramatically moderate his message for suburban swing voters—he just needs to mobilize a fraction of Michigan’s 3 million disaffected voters to cross the finish line.
That doesn’t mean ignoring swing voters. But instead of awkwardly pivoting to the center to win them over, El-Sayed can win with a much smaller slice—those who actually resonate with his primary campaign message.
For the complete precinct data, turnout math, and model breakdown, read my full analysis at trailmix.cc/substack.
digging thru the dust bin of history, found this Cartoon about 1926 politics by W. Norman Ritchie of the Boston Post
“As Maine goes…” reminds me — WHERE’S NASH? We need those Maine reports.
Pog (and/or some other mixer on the trail who’s familiar with congress critter goings on legal-wise), about the Fauci mess what’s your take on why the senate committee didn’t make use of their power to grant immunity if they seriously wanted to hear from Fauci? At least your thoughts on why the committee Dems didn’t bring it up?
Immunity Statute (18 U.S.C. § 6002): Allows a witness to be compelled to testify before Congress, a joint committee, or a committee/subcommittee if they refuse on Fifth Amendment grounds. The statute requires that no testimony or information derived from it may be used in any criminal case except for perjury, false statements, or failure to comply with the order LII / Legal Information Institute.
and this argument
Kastigar v. United States (1972): The Supreme Court upheld such immunity statutes, finding they are a rational accommodation between the Fifth Amendment’s self-incrimination protection and Congress’s legitimate need to compel testimony LII / Legal Information Institute
also see 18 U.S.C. §§ 6001–6005
Attrbution: GOP HOLDS DR. FAUCI IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS by Adam Zyglis
(Image credit: Clay Jones / Copyright 2026 Claytoonz)
Craig, here’s a Maine musical moment until we hear from Nash
Ai Sayed tosses pizza
🤦
April Baer asked Mallory McMorrow about the road ahead for Abdul El-Sayed.
El-Sayed is the former health official who has beaten Congresswoman Haley Stevens in the Democratic Party’s contentious battle for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat. McMorrow was also in the race, but dropped out in early July.
Hear the full conversation on today’s episode (Thursday, August 6) of Stateside On Air :headphones:
(https://www.michiganpublic.org/stateside/2026-08-06/stateside-thursday-august-6-2026)
Murkowski is out…
More WSJ: Blanche’s fate now could rest with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.), an undecided senator who recently lost his re-election bid to a Trump-endorsed challenger. It isn’t clear when McConnell, who has been recuperating from a fall and a bout of pneumonia, will return, and he hasn’t announced his position on Blanche.
Murkowski is a NO on Blanche.
Patd, Tand and the asswipe critters were trying to leave open the possibility of prosecuting Fauci for something , anything that might fall through the cracks of Biden’s pardon. Look to the Tuber, who wants him tried in Alabama because Alabamans died while Warp Speed was getting off the ground.
Oh, and g’bye, Andy Ogle. Too bad ya jerkoff.
Ogles out of the House is a win for humankind
Tand = Rand (asshat)
pog, but why didn’t the dems attempt an immunity vote? If for no other reason than to underline that rand & gang were NOT interested in facts Fauci might be able to provide that he hadn’t in the multiple sworn testimonies he had earlier given congress.
It’s important for Rand Pail to rewrite history so it doesn’t look like he’s on the wrong side of it
If he fails, he’s still the guy with the medical education that got it all wrong
leopards ate his face
https://people.com/tearful-trump-voter-says-he-feels-totally-betrayed-after-fiancee-was-swarmed-by-ice-taken-away-this-is-like-the-gestapo-12036276
I was born there but PatD, I’m thinking maybe Kentucky just shouldn’t have any senators for a while.
Pog, I can say first-hand Tubby didn’t lift a finger or care when it was happening.
Today’s menu, 11am ET…
MAGA self-loathing?
“The U.S. lost 23,000 jobs in July, the Labor Department said Friday, an unexpected decline, and springtime job gains were revised sharply lower” — Wall Street Journal (Trailmix Free Link)
With Lisa out on Dodo’s personal lawyer, they no doubt will be wheeling a barely sentient Mitch down to the Senate Floor by whatever means possible.
maybe Kentucky just shouldn’t have any senators for a while
not so sure we have any now
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/08/06/tennessee-governor-marsha-blackburn-election-results/91203171007/
*Not to be out-pedophile protectored…TN
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn won the Tennessee Republican governor nomination on Aug. 6, 2026, becoming the heavy favorite to become the state’s first female governor, and will face Democrat Jerri Green in the November election.
Blackburn, 74, is the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Tennessee and is currently serving her second Senate term.
President Donald Trump did not endorse any Republican primary candidate, though both Blackburn and Rep. John Rose are strong Trump supporters.
Blackburn’s campaign emphasizes core Republican issues such as tax cuts, border security, anti‑illegal immigration policies, parental rights, and removing “woke” curricula from schools.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/07/doug-burgum-interior-department-pirro-01028360
“Burgum appears to combine arrogance with an utter lack of curiosity or humility to seek out the advice of people who have dedicated their professional careers to [Interior’s] objectives,” Irish said. “I think it shows his disdain for the rank and file.”
Some staffers were alarmed that some employees were asked to sign nondisclosure agreements, according to two former staffers. Former employees accuse Burgum of surrounding himself with a toxic leadership team, leading to staffers fleeing. Since Burgum came in, several top officials have left the agency — including the Senate-confirmed legal counsel, the secretary’s former chief of staff and Interior’s top energy official.
According to three staffers who witnessed it, officials have routinely shredded official documents and use disappearing Signal messages — even for mundane scheduling matters — to avoid communications being preserved, as is required by the Federal Records Act.
“They’re terrified of written records,” said one former official.
Eight former Interior officials and five industry lobbyists spoke to POLITICO for this story, and many were granted anonymity because they feared retribution for speaking out against Burgum and other senior staffers.
*The regime is selling off public lands, destroying nature, raping it for resources. Exactly what you’d expect a regime run by an adjudicated rapist and grifter to do.
https://www.newsweek.com/bulldozers-plow-through-big-bend-national-park-sparking-fury-in-texas-12295668
Bulldozers Plow Through Big Bend National Park, Sparking Fury in Texas
Bulldozers and heavy construction equipment have arrived in and around Big Bend National Park in Texas, amid a battle over the Trump administration’s plans to expand the president’s border wall across one of the country’s most remote national parks.
“This is the most heinous attack on an American national park in generations,” said Laiken Jordahl, national public lands advocate at environmental group Center for Biological Diversity. “The administration is preparing to blast hundreds of miles of destructive roads through the wildest place left in Texas and cut off public access to the Rio Grande, all to enrich private contractors.”
Texas state Representative James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, criticized the project after footage emerged, calling the project “a monument to corruption” and said local sheriffs, mayors and business owners had told him the project would not improve public safety.
“This week, over the objections of local leaders and communities, bulldozers showed up anyway, wrecking one of our nation’s greatest treasures to build an expensive wall on an already existing natural barrier. We need modernized surveillance technology and more Border Patrol agents, not sweetheart, no-bid contracts that waste billions,” Talarico said.
When all the stupid people gather on one side of the Ship of State, guess what—over she goes.
Talarico is right about how to patrol the area without destroying it: “modernized surveillance technology”
Umm, we have that. Flock cameras. Drones.
Ah, but there’s not much money in that.
Oh, and surveillance footage from Flock cameras is only to be used against folks. You can’t access it yourself show someone did something to you, law enforcement or not.
Oh, and Ai can change surveillance footage and forensic evidence.
I was a long time election official for my town here in NH… I registered people to vote. NHerites can register on Election Day. I really enjoyed being part of the process… as did all my fellow election workers. But things started taking a nasty turn with the election of W. People started accusing us of registering people from other towns… and god knows from where else. It got tiring.
I finished my last term with the town election after Obama won a second term.
Every time I see or hear someone accusing election workers of high jinks… I want to punch them in the face. They are just local people working to do the best they can with what has now become a very nasty job.
today’s meme…
Today in the Diner…
Where Is Ken Paxton? Senate Races & Senate GOP Votes
Senate Republicans confirm Todd Blanche as Attorney General, while Ken Paxton faces backlash and James Talarico gains momentum in Texas.
Senate Republicans officially confirm Todd Blanche as Attorney General following pivotal votes from key figures like Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, Texas Senator John Cornyn, and North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis. Meanwhile, Maine Senator Susan Collins faces mounting midterm pressure alongside Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski over key Senate confirmations. Over in Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton goes MIA as primary numbers shift and State Representative James Talarico surges in recent polling.
Between the GOP’s military budget fights and environmental backlash at Big Bend National Park over border wall expansion, the political landscape is shifting fast. From Michigan turnout trends boosted by Dr. Abdul El-Sayed to the latest news surrounding Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, we break down the most urgent stories shaping the midterm map. Join the conversation and dive into raw, independent commentary with the Digital Diner crew.
Live Chat: https://trailmix.cc/chat
Website: https://trailmix.cc
Alerts: https://trailmix.cc/alerts
00:00 Intro
01:00 Todd Blanche Attorney General Confirmation
03:18 Senator Bill Cassidy & Senate Votes
06:01 Senator Susan Collins & Senate Race
09:48 NewsNation & Fox News Media Coverage
13:36 Defense Budget & Pete Hegseth Spending
15:14 Dr. Abdul El-Sayed & Michigan Primary
18:12 James Talarico & Ken Paxton Texas Polls
20:44 Big Bend National Park Border Wall
29:08 Senator Mitch McConnell Health Updates
36:38 Ken Paxton Plea Deal & Texas Ad
42:41 Hillary Clinton Memes & Media Legacy
50:54 Maine Senate Race & Economic News
55:05 President Donald Trump & Media Attacks
01:01:30 Final Wrap Up & Outro
— Human Prompted and Edited. Machine Drafted. (Gemini Pro)
Mitch beats the reaper:
🍽️ From today’s Digital Diner menu
Well hush my mouth. WaPo
He’s too big a chickenshit to ask for an en banc hearing from the DC Circuit and wants a lifeline from SCROTUS. Shoot, Ready, Aim.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-white-house-helipad-construction-b3027416.html
Trump is already redoing his helipad after complaining it was slanted
Construction crews have spent weeks digging up the South Lawn of the White House to build a massive granite helipad to accommodate Donald Trump’s Marine One helicopter.
But the president has reportedly directed contractors to redo the work after growing frustrated by the lawn’s slope, which prevents the landing pad from sitting level with the horizon.
*FFS! The helipad wasn’t slanted, it just wasn’t level with horizon! Does that mean it will be slanted if they redo it to look right in tRUMP’s melting brain? WTF?
According to The Washington Post, workers have already started to dismantle the project, which includes taking apart a 100-foot-wide presidential seal.
The multi-million dollar project, which the president says is being fully paid for by Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky Aircraft, is among several “improvements” under an “ongoing project to best match the needs of the White House,” according to the White House.
“For years, the White House has desperately needed a proper Helipad on White House grounds that will allow the President to land safely and also protect the beautiful South Lawn grass from the fierce exhaust fumes of the incredible Marine One,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement to The Independent.
*So, he had the South Lawn torn up to protect the South Lawn???
CNN digs up ancient history:
From today’s Digital Diner
yeah and allegedly it’s a large severe slope so it’s a major project (maybe not even feasible) to level it, all because builder trump doesn’t understand land grading
it’s kind of funny his enablers are letting him literally destroy DC, like a Godzilla
your government does not work for you
media still insists on calling it trump’s “ballroom” and NOT “bunker” even though he has admitted publicly multiple times “it’s more about what’s underneath”
the “$400 million” cost is bullshit too
Now, I’m a little unclear on this, but if it’s in the same place as the prior landing spot….?
he doesn’t want just the helipad level, he wants the entire side of the property level with the white house which isn’t even possible, because he’s a Stalinist idiot that likes assigning impossible tasks
the’ll have to put stairs in or bulldoze the rest of the white house, i’m sure he will happily attempt the latter if he becomes anxious about his position
will be hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars or more before he is done
meme #2…
Seems like so long ago. This isn’t a surprise but now it’s official: DOGE was a scam…
GAO finds Elon Musk’s DOGE inflated claims of $110 billion in savings for federal government
— CNBC
Fox admits the grift:
▶
Jesse Watters begs a missing Ken Paxton to campaign. Fox officially drops the disguise and runs the GOP directly on live TV.
HA!
https://www.thedailybeast.com/stephen-millers-wife-katie-millers-relationship-with-disgraced-dem-eric-swalwell-exposed/
Today:
Right-wing commentator Katie Miller is said to have been seeing Eric Swalwell when she was working as a congressional intern in her early 20s. It is not known how long they were together.
According to the Sources Say website, Swalwell threatened to reveal his past relationship with Miller if the Justice Department released files about his alleged connections to suspected Chinese Spy Christine Fang, who had been cultivating relationships with California politicians on behalf of the Beijing regime.
It is understood that Miller had no knowledge of the relationship between her and Swalwell being discussed with the DOJ.
https://www.newser.com/story/386306/administration-orders-review-of-closed-eric-swalwell-case.html
From March, 2026 pre sex scandal
“FBI agents in California have been told to dust off a long-closed counterintelligence case involving Rep. Eric Swalwell, raising concerns in law enforcement that the material could be weaponized against a prominent opponent of President Trump. The Democrat is now a candidate for governor of California. Agents were instructed to pull extensive, partly classified files on Swalwell and Christine Fang—a suspected Chinese operative also known as Fang Fang…”
Dropping the troll bait:
🍽️ From today’s Digital Diner menu
What, he got no respect for the Visigoths?
almost as if the techlords designed it that way
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/07/donald-trump-texas-data-centers-greg-abbott/
Trump calls Texas’ data center opposition a “mistake”
The president’s comments to Punchbowl News come just days after Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide pause of approval for data centers trying to connect to the power grid.
“I think it’s a mistake. And I’m not taking positions, I just think it’s a mistake, because there are other communities that want it. When a community wants it, it means a lot of money is going to come into that community.”
*Move along, geezer. Nobody’s buying what you’re selling.
Abbott’s spokesperson in a statement Friday defended the policy move as necessary because
—-> less than 10% of data centers responded to the state’s requests for them to report their power and water usage.
“Many are unaware that [the Electric Reliability Council of Texas] is tracking a more than 500% increase in peak electricity demand. This unprecedented growth could endanger the reliability and stability of the Texas electric grid,” Andrew Mahaleris said. “The Governor’s pause requires data centers to provide [Public Utility Commission of Texas] and ERCOT with the required information for them to make fully informed decisions. Simply put, Texans must come first.”
center, and anything right of that, media covers almost none of what we discuss here
it’s very “Pleasantville”
everything is fantastic with puppies if you only consume their media
(hill, newsmax, newsnation, cbs, abc, fox of course, etc., which amounts to almost all media)
all presume trump’s legitimacy and ignore his criminality
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/06/sid-miller-republicans-elections-data-centers-abbott/
Sid Miller says Republicans will lose statewide elections due to rapid data center development, backlash
The Texas agriculture commissioner has openly criticized Gov. Greg Abbott for not taking a stronger stand against data center development. The governor has ignored him.
*Until now. The grid going down terrifies Greg…but it’s just temporary.
More than 300 data centers already operate in the state, and a Tribune analysis found at least 248 data center projects are planned. A majority of Texans in a new poll were against data center construction in their communities.
“Republicans should be on this issue and we’re not,” Miller said. “The Democrats are, and they’re right on the issue. I’m not endorsing any Democrats, but we’re going to lose some elections in the midterms because of this one subject.”
Since the legislature doesn’t come back in session until January, and any new laws wouldn’t take effect until next September, Miller said he thinks Abbott is buying time for data center companies to gain a monopoly over the competition.
“He’s given a wink and a nod to his data center people saying ‘Hey, you have plenty of time to get grandfathered in, then we’ll put the screws on all your competition,’” Miller said.
In January, Abbott endorsed Nate Sheets, Miller’s Republican primary challenger for the office who later won. Sheets has kept mostly quiet about data center development, while his Democratic challenger, Clayton Tucker, has been vocal about his opposition to data centers. Tucker has traveled to data center community events around the state, many of which Miller was in attendance for too. Miller has not endorsed either candidate, but Miller and Tucker both spoke at a data center forum in June.
Miller asked for a one-year moratorium, a special session, and for Abbott to return donor money from data center companies — but has not heard a response.
“I haven’t heard from him,” Miller said. “It’s not unusual, in the 12 years that we’ve both been in office, I’ve never got a meeting with the man. I’ve never got a phone call returned. Never got an email returned. Crickets.”
In the past, Abbott has welcomed data center development to Texas. Last November, he proclaimed Texas as the epicenter of AI development. Miller said Abbott’s latest actions are just political maneuvering to get Abbott through Election Day.
“Then he can do what he wants, so that’s just telling his data center supporters that they’re going to be OK,” Miller said.
In the meantime, Miller said other statewide officials and candidates are quiet on the issue out of fear of Abbott and his $100 million war chest heading into election season.
“They’re scared of Abbott, he’s a bully,” Miller said. “He spent $5 million against me. They don’t want the wrath of Abbott, so they’re staying quiet and hoping they can get by the general election.”
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/wrong-doj-claim-that-nothing-can-be-done-if-trump-suddenly-tears-down-statue-of-liberty-backfires-on-presidents-east-wing-project/
In one striking exchange, Millett asked Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Yaakov Roth if “So just move fast and break things and nobody has standing?” accurately summarized the administration’s position.
“Nothing can be done?” the judge asked, in a hypothetical situation where the government bulldozes the Statue of Liberty before descendants of immigrants could sue to block it.
“I think that’s right,” Roth answered.
The majority rejected the DOJ’s “cramped standing theory,” because it “would deem no one injured by a decision to raze the Statue of Liberty, to obscure the names on the Vietnam War Memorial, or to install a political billboard atop Mount Rushmore.”
“The Defendants’ argument, in other words, simply brushes off the signification, emotion, meaning, and particularized value to individuals of witnessing certain places where their history happened, looking upon architectural marvels, reveling in sweeping landscapes, and viewing buildings, memorials, and monuments that tell the American story,” the opinion concluded.
The lone dissenter on the panel was U.S. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee. She criticized her colleagues for appointing themselves supervisors of the president’s construction project.
By signing off on Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s “blatant abuse of discretion,” Rao said, the majority “elevated the aesthetic displeasure of a single passerby” over Trump’s determination that the “ballroom is necessary for the overall security of the White House as well as to provide a secure space for hosting large presidential events.”
“In deciding the ballroom construction ‘has to stop!’ the district court transgressed the equitable authority of the federal courts,” Rao wrote, taking note of Leon’s exclamation point usage. “The preliminary injunction is a clear abuse of discretion and must be vacated. I respectfully dissent.”
The D.C. Circuit stayed its Friday decision, however, giving the DOJ two weeks to “seek Supreme Court review” — “if they choose[.]”
Mindful of the “great weight and deference” it owes to the president on matters of safety and national security, the majority said “invocations” of these concerns are “not an automatic get-out-of-law-free card” — because “[e]ach President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House and its Executive Residence,” and Congress “exercises plenary control over the building and its surrounding land.”
*We, the people, are landlords to Dumbass.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/article/texas-comptroller-staff-cuts-email-22373718.php
*Update on the owner of Epstein’s Zorro Ranch:
Huffines was sworn in as comptroller Saturday and will get a three-month head start to serve as the state’s top financial officer as he campaigns to serve the job permanently.
Leaders at the Texas comptroller’s office received an email Tuesday directing them to create priority lists of employees they’d cut under potential staff reductions.
Huffines has campaigned on shrinking state government with his own version of the federal government’s Department of Government Efficiency…
The email mentioned that state leaders had asked state agencies last month to cut spending by 3% in preparation for their budget requests for the next two-year budget cycle.
“One of our largest objects of expense is salaries, so we must consider the potential need to reduce salary expenditures,” Apperley’s email said.
The email asked the directors to provide a list of potential “staff to reduce” and broke them down into three categories: low performers with documented discipline issues; people who may be leaving the agency soon due to retirements, resignations or transfers to other agencies; and involuntary terminations.
*Unemployment numbers going up in August, too, thanks to Republicans.
Now, why would a multimillionaire, who is refusing his salary as he did in the Senste, why would that guy want to seek office as TX Comptoller? ~Just a big-hearted public servant.~ The Huffines family has a big car dealership in North Texas. Cars. Oil. Texas. Real estate. Zorro Ranch. Shell company. Epstein.
Connect the dots, la-la-la-la, connect the dots.
The captioning on this has no more to give, either. LoL
The dumpster fire burned bright today. We served up raw political reality and a little absurdist optimism to save DEMOCRACY…
where’s Jambi when you need him
https://www.mundoamerica.com/news/2026/08/06/6a745659e85ece1e598b4590.html
Why Chinese intelligence believes Mossad may be behind the migration crisis in Ceuta
*What did I say. Not a question.
Beijing views the migration crisis in the Spanish city through the lens of geopolitics and hybrid warfare, while solidifying Morocco as one of its key strategic partners in Africa.
What if the massive arrival of migrants in Ceuta is part of an Intelligence operation driven by Morocco and Israel to destabilize Spain? This is the theory gaining ground in some academic and Chinese Intelligence circles.
This week, Egyptian political scientist Nadia Helmy, an expert in Chinese politics and Sino-Israeli relations, openly presented this thesis in an article published by Modern Diplomacy, an international magazine specializing in geopolitical analysis. The author argues that some reports from Beijing interpret the events in Ceuta as a hybrid warfare operation aimed at increasing pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government. According to this interpretation, the maneuver would have involved Mossad, the Israeli Intelligence service, interested in promoting a destabilization campaign against Spain.
*And their assets in Congress, as noted by Representative Massie bring up a vote about bothering Spanish-controlled areas of Morocco in a vote two weeks before the surge.
Who is Cory Burns? He’s spreading stuff about Josh Hawley…
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2631793837217345
NEW THREAD