Too Close To Call Podcast: Recent Episodes
Too Close To Call with David Catanese
Mostly politics. With a side of personal. Always #profound, perhaps problematic.
davidcatanese.substack.com
With just over three weeks from Election Day 2024, Too Close To Call will be entering the sprint with a busier posting schedule, offering razor-sharp analysis and prescient reporting on the key questions and data that will determine the HarrisVTrump contest.
And as always, probing the conventional wisdom.
Tonight’s video post — which raises the question of whether Arizona and it’s 11 electoral votes are falling out of reach for Kamala Harris — is free to all subscribers. But future hits will be paywalled for the paid family.
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“But if the New York Times, the best pollster in the business, has Kamala Harris down by five points... My question is, will you see Democrats draw back in Arizona at all?
In 2020, Joe Biden won that state by three tenths of a point …He only won it by 10,457 votes…Arizona is, I think, the toughest battleground state for Kamala Harris to hold. And we we will be watching if Kamala Harris decides to cut loose there or if there's any other movement.
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The opening month of the year was awful for the journalism industry. The 2024 presidential campaign — media’s quadrennial premiere event — also kicked off with a whimper. Dave talks about how the twin slumps are intrinsically linked and what declining public interest in both means for the political mediasphere going forward.
Also, has anyone else felt sc…
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I began formulating this #Rant with the premise that Nikki Haley would very likely beat Joe Biden in a 2024 general election match-up. But then I thought through all four quarters of what 2024 will look like if Haley — or any Republican — was able to upend Trump in the primary. Fair and square.
And that scenario smells like a boatload of chaos — and an …
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Just because an interview is conducted, there’s no obligation to ever run it. Just because off-the-record groundrules are requested, there’s no requirement to agree to them. In this latest #Rant, Dave talks about recent tussles with political flacks from Capitol Hill to the campaign trail — and offers predictions on Tuesday’s gubernatorial elections.
It’…
Ron DeSantis dismissed Republican rivals Nikki Haley and Mike Pence on Monday as candidates who won’t be able to win the persuadable pool of GOP presidential primary voters necessary to defeat Donald Trump, according to audio obtained by McClatchyDC and published, in part, above on #TooCloseToCall.
Speaking to about 30 members of the Virgin Islands GOP committee virtually, DeSantis said his campaign estimates that 20% of the 2024 Republican electorate will definitely vote for the former president, with 35% having ruled Trump out completely. That leaves about 45% of Republican voters who are still considering their options.
“They’re not going to vote for people like Pence and Haley. I respect them, they’re just not,” DeSantis told the Virgin Islands group, referring to voters in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire. “They will vote for me, because I have a record of being a very strong leader.”
Continue reading the full piece on The Miami-Herald.
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Do you tip before or after tax?
If there’s a 7% service fee tagged onto your bill, how much are you tipping?
Where did all the servers go?
And where can I get the best plate of rigatoni in Washington, D.C.
Washingtonian Magazine’s Jessica Sidman joins the podcast to answer these questions and more in the increasingly tension-riddled battle between restauran…
Rep. Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts and a combat veteran, has established a uncompromisingly hawkish position regarding U.S. aid to Ukraine’s war with Russia.
“We have every moral obligation in the world to stand with Ukrainians — no matter how long it takes,” Moulton tells me in the latest #TooCloseToCall podcast.
In addition to Ukraine Q&A, Dave dives into the possibility of a government shutdown, the impeachment inquiry centering around the president and his son’s business dealings and attempts to measure Moulton’s enthusiasm (get pumped!) for Biden 2024.
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More popular #TCTC PODS:
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Dave lays out the three most likely scenarios to play out regarding Mitch McConnell’s deteriorating health, based on reporting he conducted this week for McClatchyDC.
He also breaks down the top contenders to succeed McConnell in Kentucky if Republican Daniel Cameron wins this November’s governor’s race — or not. And then Dave places odds on the next Sen…
The body language. The smirking. The rapid-fire quips.
Vivek Ramaswamy was certainly the story of Wednesday night’s Republican presidential primary debate … but did his hyper-aggressive posture do him more harm than good in the long-run? Or was his fiery approach just what the GOP base is looking for in 2024?
Aaron Kall, the director of debate at the University of Michigan, who was on the ground in Milwaukee, talks through some theories with Dave.
This is a free podcast … but if you’d like access to all #TooCloseToCall content, including more personal, no-holds-barred #Rants, consider upgrading to paid.
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This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe
Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign has tried to cling to the impression that the fight for the Republican nomination remains a two-man race.
But with his campaign shirking in size and strength and falling further behind front-runner Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy is moving expeditiously to stamp out that impression for good.
The 37-year-old biotech investor is beginning to make an argument similar to that of the Florida governor: It’s a two-man race, but it’s he who is emerging as the No. 2 candidate to the former president.
“I think functionally I am in second place,” Ramaswamy told McClatchyDC in an interview. “I’m in second place by a wide margin in the metric that matters.”
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This week’s #pod pokes behind the curtain on how my 6-week dive into Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign got made.
The 2,400-word story published Tuesday in McClatchyDC markets after a long, slow negotiation with the DeSantis campaign and featured character, campaign manager Generra Peck, a push-and-pull with surrounding allies and supporters and some i…
For now, Twitter remains the central town square for noxious political debate, but Instagram (and increasingly Threads!) is where cultural disputes are being hashed out.
Hence, a few weeks ago when the @washingtonianprobs account weighed into the eternal silly argument pitting life in New York City against Washington, D.C.
In this #TooCloseToCall #rant, Dave jumps out of the wine-soaked comment section to deliver the unvarnished truth about the food culture in the nation’s capital, takes on Luke Russert’s misguided assertion that NYC “isn’t open late” and places a phone call to premiere D.C. restaurant that underlines his entire point.
TheRant is available above by simply pressing P L A Y or …
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Marianne Williamson is a candidate for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination. In this #TooCloseToCall podcast, we take up psychedelics, rumblings of a debate with Robert Kennedy Jr., whether she thinks Vice President Kamala Harris is up to the job and who she’d rather run against, Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis.
The full pod is available to PAID subs…
Austin Nasso is a 28-year-old comedian and social media influencer who began incorporating Ron DeSantis into his sketch repertoire at the behest of The Howard Stern Show.
He describes his caricature of DeSantis as “elongated and nasally” as he integrates him into a routine that already includes Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
What’s his process for learning a new character? Who is the hardest pol to do? And are even fans of comedy getting sick of Trump?
Enjoy this fun, free pod by listening above, or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
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Adding a certain word to a request can make people 50% more likely to say “yes.”
Certain words predict if a relationship is on the rocks or the race of a suspect in an alleged crime.
“Language reveals a lot — even if people don’t intend it to.”
Level up your #TCTC subscription.
That’s the mantra of Jonah Berger, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and author of “Magic Words.”
Berger joins the #TooCloseToCall pod to take us through the key words that can change the trajectory of outcomes in everyday life, as well as the specifically worded questions he uses to form bonds more quickly.
The language you use not only affects the person receiving it, but reflect things about you, like your skill-set, confidence level and true intentions.
Enjoy the free pod by listening above, or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
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Bo Seo, a two-time world debate champion, couldn’t bring himself to analyze a 2016 presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
He rendered it more a spectacle than an exchange of ideas.
In this #TooCloseToCall pod, I ask him about that experience, how he thinks American political debates should change and the four core questions everyone can use to evaluate the merits of an argument. We begin the conversation with how a poor student and self-described introvert transformed into one of the most skilled debaters on the planet.
Listen ABOVE, or enjoy on Spotify or Apple Podcasts … and toss some stars to reflect your liking.
THEN: Consider going #paid to receive call podcasts, #RANTS and paywalled columns and content.
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On this free edition of The #Rant, Dave broadcasts from his new digs in a new Washington, D.C. neighborhood, reflecting on how moving has made him think about consumption and the potency of crime as a real-life issue.
Listen ABOVE, or enjoy on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and toss some stars to your liking.
Then consider going #paid or donating to the #TooCloseToCall cause.
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Dave rants on the Ron DeSantis 2024 rollout, why successful presidential launches are rarely helpful in evaluating a campaign’s long-term mettle, what will matter most for the Florida governor over the next week and the key factors that will determine whether he can overtake Donald Trump.
Listen ABOVE, or enjoy on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Honest, unvar…
Rep. Mark Pocan, progressive Democrat representing Madison, Wisconsin, joins the podcast to discuss why an Addams Family-styled Congress is thwarting the chances at any major legislation, the debate over banning TikTok, Trump vs. Biden Round 2 and what happened to Wisconsin Democrats in the 2022 U.S. Senate race.
Listen ABOVE, or enjoy on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
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In a special consumer edition of #TheRant on #TCTC, Dave takes a tour through his less desirable experiences with D.C. restaurants and how he’s learned to leverage the power of the Google Review.
Upgrade to hear the full #rant >
Plus: A revelation that #Rants are more popular with listeners than interview podcasts. Of the 10 most trafficked Too Close To C…
Oliver Heldens is an Netherlands-born electronic music producer known for toggling between the House and Techno music genres, frequently performing as his alter-ego HI-LO, in which he displays a darker more underground European sound.
In this #TooCloseToCall pod, Heldens and I discuss the laborious process of song-making and why one jam took more than six long years to be finalized, the burdens of touring, the most amazing venues he’s performed at — (hint: China’s very big Wall) and what acts he’s listening to right now.
Watch an INSTA preview here.
As always listen ABOVE, or hit it onSpotify or Apple Podcasts.
Like and subscribe …. Subscribe and like.
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“People try to compare me to Kari Lake”
Democratic Rep. Eric Sorensen’s political launching pad sat in local television news in northwest Illinois, where he furnished weather forecasts and tracked storms. In November, he secured a seat in Congress by a 4-point margin in a district that feels more Iowa than Chicago.
The freshman Sorensen is already on the target list for Republicans in 2024. But he doesn’t give off the air of someone bracing for gray clouds. In this #TooCloseToCall pod, Sorensen trades local TV news tales with Dave, describes how he held this Peoria-based seat, who his ideal dinner date would be and which Republican he’d most like to run against in 2024.
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Instead of a pol for this week’s pod, I present a party promoter, with international cred.
It’s #MiamiMusicWeek and I’m traversing the 305 to cover all the festivities for The Miami Herald and of course, #TooCloseToCall.
You can read my preview of the six days of electronic dance music nirvanaHERE.
On this breezy, fizzy 15-minute free #pod, Juan Arnau, founder and CEO of ElRow, talks through how he developed an audience-immersive electronic music party that is as much about the aesthetic and interactions as it is about the slate of DJs spinning beats.
If you’re in Miami for Music Week, take a peek at the #ElRow party as it’s one of the most unique experiences on the roster. If not, indulge from your couch on my Instagram story, which will showcase the party’s bounty on Thursday night and into Friday morning.
As always, listen above or throw some stars to the #pod on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
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With Miami Music Week upon us (running March 21-26), EDMTunes president Scott Lombardo joins #TooCloseToCall to provide his picks for shows outside of Ultra, the mega electronic music festival that anchors the week in Bayfront Park.
Lombardo explains why the Afterlife event next Wednesday night could dominate the week. He delves into the shift in sound at this marquee music affair and recommends the best hotel for a pool party and top spot for a cocktail.
It’s a breezy digest for all of you music birds flocking south for sun, sound with a side of sin. And even if you’re not — it’ll make you think why.
Stay tuned to this space for more #MMW previews and reviews.
&
Get EDMTunes 2023 day-by-day guide HERE.
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Dave #rants for paid subscribers on his latest ghoulish assignment of combing through a politician’s long history to prepare an obituary, the delicate politics of age and frailty and why he (tries) to keep his phone outside of his bedroom on odd days of the week.
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On this #Rant for paid subscribers, Dave explains why reporters aren’t always obligated to include responses from figures in their stories — particularly when the responses fail to address the substantive point in the story or are more intended to distract from the thrust of the journalism attempting to be conveyed.
He also mulls reader mail and a critiq…
I asked veteran blogger, pundit, podcaster, friend of Ann Coulter and border security hardliner Mickey Kaus to join the #pod after a tongue-and-cheek tweet tossed at me following my description of South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace as “increasingly compelling.”
Kaus says he was just joking, of course. But the point is that he recoils at Republicans who talk out of both sides of their mouth on immigration. For instance, while Nance ran a hardline TV ad on immigration during her 2022 primary campaign — “Enough is enough. Finish the wall, secure our border, once and for all,” she declared. — she’s now warning the GOP against passing any legislation that is border obsessed.
Kaus calls her an “incipient sell-out.”
I brought him on to talk about why he believes so strongly in a policy that first focuses on the border before granting any more amnesty or citizenship. We also take a tour through the 2024 GOP hopefuls of Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump and evaluate how much they can be trusted if you’re a fellow hardliner.
Aside from Kaus’ immigration report card, I think this pod helps illuminate why a Democrat — a Democrat from California who is sympathetic to the economic strife of the middle class — has established such a hardline position that is often politicized and misunderstood.
This entirety of this podcast is free, but I’d blow you a kiss if you’d consider a subscription or upgrading to paid.
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Democratic Rep. Lori Trahan represents Massachusetts’ 3rd Congressional District, which is anchored around the city of Lowell, which is about a 35 minute drive northwest of Boston.
In this #pod, Trahan fields questions on the southern Border, how to best pitch President Biden’s goodie bag of legislative successes and why most of the party faithful want a…
Mark Jacob is former editor at the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, freelance author and avid tweeter of media critiques.
It was his thread on “dirty secrets of journalism” that commanded my attention as I’ve long kept my own list of hidden tactics of the trade.
Might you indulge for more?
In this #pod, Jacob and I dissect a few “secrets,” volley back and forth on dependency on anonymous sources, reveal why Rahm Emanuel was the champion manipulator in Chi-town and tussle over political bias in the press corps.
The top begins with a riff on POLITICO Playbook’s menacing need for urgency every morning, but because I love you, this entire POD is #free.
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Rep. Anthony D’Esposito is part of the New York success story that helped propel Republicans back into the majority — a story that’s been substantially submerged by the saga of George Santos.D’Esposito,a former Brooklyn detective, isn’t happy about it and believes Santos’ political expiration will come in under two years when the next Republican primar…
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Don’t get fooled by calls for decorum. American politics should be spicy and the State of the Union needs an Adderall lift. The rowdier vibe that permeated Tuesday night’s pageantry with Joe might be a step in the right direction, argues Dave in the latest version of #TheRant.
What a beautiful day to upgrade to paid >
It buys me lunch or a cocktail, whic…
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“Off the record” is easy. “On background” is trickier.
These are the main two ways sources converse with reporters.
And surprisingly enough, a lot of political figures don’t get the nuanced differences and find themselves out over their skis on a cold hard mountain once the story pushes live.
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“Even the way we talk about it right, you’re just friends, if you’re not in a relationship together,” says Marisa Franco, a Washington-based psychologist who explores the bonds of friendship in her book, “Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make — and Keep — Friends.”
As someone who has placed deep friendships at the highest priority in …
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Sacha Haworth was hired as a communications director for Kyrsten Sinema as she prepared for her U.S. Senate run in 2018. She lasted just five months.
Now as Sinema pursues a political future as an independent with a potential re-election in 2024, Haworth opens up on the #pod about her time in close proximity to the mercurial Arizonan.
Haworth describes Si…
Shwirl is a 22-year-old electronic producer from Arizona who began making music his freshman year in high school when he could swipe away his parents computer. His songs have been picked up by the electronic label #BitBird, which is topped by San Holo, a progressive DJ from Holland.
In this #pod, Shwirl talks about his #hyperpop music, how he pitched himself to his music hero, why he now hates his most popular song and his decision to drop out of school to pursue his artistic ambitions. Plus a sample of one of his songs.
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Rep. Josh Harder, a third-term Democrat from Central Valley California, kicks off #TooCloseToCall’s 2023 podcasts with a view from the mess on the House floor and a critique of his party’s 2022 political decisions in close House races.
“In 2022, last year, there were a lot of districts that were very close that were decided by less than 1 point that the Democratic Party all but ignored … If you look at the outside polling and the inside polling in a lot of those districts, it was pretty clear that they were going to be decided by just a point or two one way or another and I think it’s inexplicable that we didn’t put up more resources to make sure that those candidates got across the finish line.”
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Dave returns from Christmas family time with an observational #Rant about the choice to rear children and what’s lost in the midlife years when offspring are old enough to walk and talk but not think for themselves.
Free Substackers get the 1:21 tease; Paid subscribers get the nourishing full 12-minute rant.
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Could the blue bird’s demise actually reinvigorate journalism?
This week, on #TheRant, Dave delves into the spiraling storyline of Elon Musk as moderator in tweet, why his frenetic reign is both expected and confounding, and the most likely outcomes for social media use in the world of journalism going forward.
Free Substackers get the 1-minute tease; Paid s…
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On this #TooCloseToCall rant, Dave reviews the LCD Soundsystem show in Brooklyn, serves up two NYC cocktail bar recommendations and details his experience lunching in true Americana-style at Margaritaville inTimes Square.
A free snippet is available for everyone; the full rant is for paid subscribers.
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On this #TooCloseToCall rant, Dave takes paid subscribers into Holiday Party season in Washington, D.C. where banal conversations reign, lobbyists beat their chests, white Russians are spilled and Off the Record rules are in effect.
Here’s how to survive a party when you had a Twitter spat with its host.
Stephen Lawson is a Republican operative who has worked for Govs. Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis in Florida before moving to Georgia where he signed on with Kelly Loeffler’s 2020 Senate campaign.
He’s now working on behalf of the super PAC that is trying to pull Herschel Walker across the finish line in Tuesday’s Senate runoff.
On the final installment of Georgia week’s series of #pods, Lawson chats about the different dynamics between the 2021 and 2022 Georgia runoff, the yawning gap between the popularity of Donald Trump versus Brian Kemp and whether another Republican would’ve been a better option than Walker.
PLUS:
My newly dropped piece on McClatchyDCon where Democrats flagged Warnock’s problem areas.
“There was a lack of presence of showing up and there was also a feeling that this is kind of metro Atlanta Warnock and metro Atlanta [Stacey] Abrams and our issues aren’t as front and center to some of those folks,” said Garrett. “The funny thing is that Herschel Walker is such a historically bad candidate that a lot of those people didn’t show up the first time around, because … there was some disbelief that he could win.”
Read it HERE.
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More #GApol POD listening:
The embarrassment vote boosting Warnock
The risk of Herschel Walker
The future of Georgia’s runoff election
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Georgia-week on the #pod continues with Cyrus Garrett, the Democratic strategist who ran Southern states for Joe Biden in 2020 and is now advising outside entities trying to lift Raphael Warnock to victory over Herschel Walker in next Tuesday’s U.S. Senate runoff.
Remember, Cyrus told loyal listeners back in early October where this was heading.
Listen: Georgia is ‘going to head to a runoff’
In this pod, Garrett chats about why Warnock fell just short of avoiding a runoff on Nov. 8, why brand new young voters are showing up to vote in this runoff and what the runoff’s outcome could mean for 2024 in the Peach State.
“They’re embarrassed by Walker, they are completely embarrassed by the image of him being a state representative or him being a male, him being a father … They didn’t believe that this guy who could barely put a sentence together could actually win,” says Garrett.
Also, note when I’m referring to southeastern counties in Georgia, I’m actually talking about southwestern counties. My (repeated) mistake in the audiocast, as you’ll hear. Geography fail, but the point is we’re talking about outstate voters south of ATL.
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Nabilah Islam is the first Muslim woman and the youngest woman ever elected to the state Senate in Georgia, after winning her Democratic primary by 77 votes and then surviving the closest state Senate general election contest in the state this year.
In the #pod, the 32-year-old Islam chats about how suburban minority communities have gradually changed Georgia’s political composition, what happened to Stacey Abrams and why Raphael Warnock is the favorite in next week’s runoff election against Herschel Walker.
“I don’t think we have enough inspired Republicans to come back out during a runoff election,” Islam says. “I think that if they had picked a different candidate, instead of Herschel Walker, this might not have been a runoff.”
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Molly Jong-Fast, the host of the Fast Politics podcast and Vanity Fair special correspondent joins the #pod to comb through the aftermath of the 2022 midterms and then walks the bridge to 2024.
We cover whether the media whiffed on its 2022 coverage, dive into whether the result is truly validating for Joe Biden and then peak around the corner to whether Democrats should welcome another run with The Donald.
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If you’re here, you know where the results of #Election2022 stand, you’ve read the takes, refreshed the results pages and combed through the initial finger-pointing and excuses. So I wanted to take Friday to zone in on a single race that hasn’t yet been called but has immense consequences for the country’s politics.
Listen above.
Also on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, where you can leave me some stars. Or click play above.
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I first met Billy Long 13 years ago when I was a local television reporter covering politics and he became a candidate for Congress in southwest Missouri.
Long is now retiring after six terms as a U.S. House member representing Springfield, Mo., a place I called home for five years before venturing to D.C.
He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate this year and in this #pod, the former auctioneer talks about the challenges of a multi-candidate primary, his challenge in chasing an endorsement of former President Donald Trump, the friends he made on the Democratic side of the aisle, his relationships with Sens. Rick Scott, Josh Hawley and former Speaker John Boehner, and of course his 2022 and 2024 election predictions.
It makes for perfect Election Day listening as you sit around and wait, wait, wait … for results.
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Toss the polls aside, people are early voting in droves.
As of midday Thursday, 476,000 votes have been reported in battleground Nevada, per King Jon Ralston’s analysis, with Democrats holding only a 1.5% lead statewide.
Chuck Warren, a Republican operative, radio host and the managing director of the September Group, says that’s a flashing red light since Democrats are more inclined to vote early while Republicans hold back until Election Day.
“Those early voting numbers are poor for Democrats,” says Warren. “About half your GOP vote is going to show up on Election Day … So if the Democrats don’t have a high single-digit lead, or low double digits, they’re doomed, they’re done.”
There are still five days of early vote that can still be tabulated, so there’s always the possibility of a Democratic surge, but the early indications don’t look good for incumbent Gov. Steve Sisolak and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.
Also in the #pod, we chat about the possibilities of ticket-splitters, whether Sen. Mark Kelly can survive a wave if Kari Lake is cruising in the governor’s race over Katie Hobbs, andif Hobbs could’ve done anything differently as she looks headed to a likely loss in Arizona.
“Kari campaigns with her fist out, punching you in the face…Katie Hobbs is an intellectual lightweight.”
Listen above or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, where you can leave rave reviews. As always, share if you enjoy.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe
Marjorie Taylor Greene isn’t as crazy or stupid as you think she is.
Robert Draper, author of “Weapons of Mass Delusion: When The Republican Party Lost Its Mind,” learned this after chasing an interview with the provocative Republican Georgia congresswoman for more than a year.
His persistence proved successful and Greene sits at the center of his latest book on the ascendant set of characters that have spawned out of Donald Trump’s movement.
“She has shown a level of strategic savvy that’s been hiding in plain sight,” Draper tells me in this #pod that examines her expeditious rise within the MAGA universe.
Now, as Republicans sit on the doorstep of reclaiming the U.S. House, the incendiary Greene is positioned to become one of the most dominant voices of the next two years whether Kevin McCarthy likes it or not.
How McCarthy handles Greene and vice versa will go a long way in explaining the story of the GOP in 2023 and into 2024, when Greene would love to be selected as Trump’s new running mate.
She even acknowledges that’s unlikely. But the incentives to pay homage to the king sit in plain sight.
Also in the #pod, Draper dishes on how Greene reacted to his book, her surprising media diet and how she could impact Mitch McConnell’s reign as Senate GOP leader.
Listen above or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, where you can leave ratings. As always, share if you enjoy.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe
Ye, or the artist formerly known as Kanye West, is my favorite artist of all time and has been one of the most powerful forces in my life. His music moves me, his design wows me, his ambition inspires me and his raw authenticity impresses me.
It’s always been tough being a Kanye fan and trying to defend him and rationalize his outbursts and meltdowns as the musings of a misunderstood genius.
But the latest anti-Semitic eruption crossed a rubicon that has bled his brand, stained his image and left even his most loyal, rabid fans wondering if it’s still possible to place him on a pedestal.
Before I spoke to anyone else about Ye’s fulminations, I wanted to convene and commiserate with Kanye fans. I found two in a Twitter group — one from Canada and another from Wisconsin — who wanted to share their conflicting thoughts and talk through whether Ye — and we — can survive this moment.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe
Prognosticators have ticked up their assessment of potential Republicans gains in the U.S. House to two dozen seats, and some GOP operatives believe it could even extend beyond that, producing a true “wave” election.
But even if Democrats sustain those losses in 12 days, Democratic operative Kelly Burton doesn’t believe all is lost for her party. The president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and former executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee joins the #pod to explain why she thinks a slate of redistricting battles has made House seats more fair and competitive over the long run.
Burton also discusses early Election Night bellwether House races to keep an eye on, how the Republican cash advantage in the House is expanding the 2022 map and ticks off the states that could see their House districts revised again ahead of 2024, keeping the House scrambled, and as I put it, #chaotic.
Listen above …. or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, where you can generously assign a beautiful rating.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe
Adrian Fontes, the Democratic nominee for secretary of state in Arizona, joins the pod to talk about a downballot contest that is attracting more attention than usual given the prospect of election denialism plaguing outcomes in 2022 and 2024.
Fontes is in a tight contest with Republican Mark Finchem, a full MAGA warrior who has already stated he won’t be offering a concession speech.
Fontes talks about his path to victory if Katie Hobbs loses the governor’s race to Kari Lake, the future of mail in voting in Arizona and debates the merits of requiring voters to show identification to cast a ballot.
Listen above …. or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe
Phil Cox is a senior adviser to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial nominee Tim Michels and Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Arkansas, as well as an adviser to the Republican Governors Association, a committee he used to run.
In this #pod he chats about >
-
why Gretchen Whitmer looks primed for re-election in Michigan
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the two tightest gubernatorial contests in the country
-
the narrative that DeSantis isn’t people friendly
Listen above …. or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe
Colm O’Comartun is the founder of 50 State, a D.C. consulting firm that works with governors of both parties from across the country. He previously directed the Democratic Governors Association from 2010 to 2014.
In this #pod focused on governors races, Colm and I cover …
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what it’s like to lead a party committee in the final month before an election and how to say no to both candidates on the way to losing and those on the way to victory.
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which Democratic governor is the most vulnerable to defeat in 2022.
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if Katie Hobbs’ is blowing it be refusing to debate Kari Lake in Arizona
-
And the 2024 Democratic stars that will emerge out of 2022
Get all podcasts, rants and rankings by becoming a paid subscriber. Just $5 a month.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe
Democratic strategist Cyrus Garrett, who ran point for Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign in Georgia, has a wealth of knowledge on the purple Peach State and a b**t-free approach that offers a clear-eyed sense of the state of play in both the governor and U.S. Senate races a month out.
I hope you’ll listen to every minute of this one — it’s worth it if you want to understand Georgia from a man who has worked its trenches and seen what was coming there before most everybody else.
Included in this #pod are Garrett’s thoughts on:
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the likelihood that Raphael Warnock or Herschel Walker gets to 50.1% of the vote on Nov. 8 to avoid an extended Senate runoff campaign
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why the Black male is the new swing voter
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where Stacey Abrams’ has failed to succeed as a candidate
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how Raphael Warnock is carving out a different message than most other Democrats
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the key difference between Georgia and Nevada this cycle
You can also listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. And if you like it, I’d appreciate you tossing Too Close To Call a star-filled rating.
And: If you become a PAID subscriber today, you’ll get a bonus POD with Cyrus’ analysis of the map beyond Georgia and a bold prediction about a particular Democrat and 2024.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe
Beto O’Rourke assembled an A+ debate performance against Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday evening, turning Texas’ high-voltage issues of immigration, gun rights and energy reliability into a referendum on the incumbent during the hour affair.
At the same time, O’Rourke didn’t score a knockout or game-changing moment that could harm Abbott’s high single-digit lead in the race for Texas governor.
What O’Rourke did do is put forward a substantive case for a different governing vision in still-red Texas. And he even cleverly deployed an argument on gun laws that could flare up in a future Republican presidential primary debate for Abbott.
**Listen above****
or
Search: Too Close To Call on Apple or Spotify
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Don Bolduc, the newly minted Republican U.S. Senate candidate in New Hampshire, begins in a hole.
READ: Where does New Hampshire fall in my monthly Senate rankings?
He’s hustling to cobble together Republicans after a razor-thin primary victory, needs to bank cash fast and has to draw Sen. Maggie Hassan into a debate on economic issues rather than being mired in abortion.
Last week, veteran GOP figure Tom Rath declared on #TooCloseToCall that Bolduc could not win, due to a litany of past statements viewed as outside the mainstream.
WATCH: Has New Hampshire fallen off the Senate map?
So it was only fair to grant Rick Wiley, Bolduc’s senior adviser, equal time to articulate a counter argument.
In this swift 11-minute POD, Wiley fields questions on
how the Bolduc campaign plans to deal with Hassan’s relentless focus on abortion and how the general would vote on a national abortion ban.
whether Bolduc wants fundraising help from GOP leader Mitch McConnell
whether Bolduc will unequivocally accept the election results of his race.
**Listen above****
A similar opportunity to POD has been offered to the Hassan campaign. If a representative agrees to appear, you’ll see it here.
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A quick check-in to alert you that #TooCloseToCall rants now appear on Spotify & Apple Podcasts me some stars won’t you?
Pro tip: It’s easier to search my name, David Catanese, than #TooCloseToCall to located me in these pod engines. And Substack video doesn’t automatically transfer to these platforms, so figuring that out is a work in progress as I explain in the #Rant.
Secondly, do you prefer audio only, video — the option for both — or written posts? Send me your preference as I’m continuing to experiment.
Thirdly, lots in the tank to come for the final 50-some days before E-Day. What topics, people, horse races would you like to see explored? Reply to this email to let me know. Specificity sings.
Finally, thank you to the paid folks out there; I appreciate ya, truly.
Just $5 dolla/dolla a month.
Now, go slam stars
Spotify Apple
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Can we go off the record for a moment?
If you’re a political operative or a reporter, this phrase will resonate with you deeply.
If you’re a normal person who just happens to follow politics, this may be illuminating.
In this #Rant, I pull down the curtain that shield the conversations that take place between reporters and their sources every day across the country.
I’m eager to hear your feedback, questions and critiques of what I missed/got wrong.
And if you enjoyed this Rant, consider sharing it and becoming a paid subscriber to get double the posts free subscribers receive. Appreciate each one of you who has come aboard.
Are you ready to join the Too Close To Call paid family?
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#PRIDE has become the church preaching to the choir, a hyper-sexualized parade of safe expression, choreographed to stamp out decades of oppression. The events are concentrated in highly urban areas that are already on board. If the #LGBTQ+ movement is truly interested in progress, there’s a more valuable way to strip down in the streets with shots on weekends in June, while lending a hand to the next generation that doesn’t live in a neighborhood where the rainbow flag is as common as the stop light.
A 15-minute #Rant for your listening pleasure.
Learn more about Too Close To Call >
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Jamie Bilica Carroll, who I met in 1998 during an internship at CNN in Washington during college, visits #The Rant for a special edition to debate the choice of lifelong marriage versus the more radical option of long-term singlehood.
At the start of #TooCloseToCall, I said I’d sometimes dip into personal quandaries outside of the political realm. Since Jamie is in town for a quick visit, I’m taking advantage of the opportunity to talk with one of the most enthralling conversationalists on the planet on a topic we’ve grappled with constantly in nearly 25 years of friendship.
Some of the most fulfilling conversations in my life have been with Jamie, who is introspective, self-aware and holds an earnest zest for confronting life’s big questions, as I believe you’ll find in listening to our gab.
A topic we keep returning to is the purpose and value of relationships, what makes us want to seek and cling to lifelong partners, abandon them or choose to go it alone altogether. Is marriage a necessity for happiness, particularly for heterosexuals? Is it really healthy to be with the same person for 40+ years? Or is singlehood unfairly stigmatized due to traditional and religious norms as well as reproductive incentives?
Can a coterie of fruitful friendships truly replace a single dedicated partnership? What happens if the relationship you’ve put everything into goes bust? And who has the courage to make that choice years in after all?
I, a homosexual single male, debate the topic with Jamie, a heterosexual female in her second marriage, for nearly 50 minutes (!), before prudently deciding against a late night pizza order.
As always, I encourage your feedback, critiques, questions and … if you’re so inclined … a *paid subscription to support future posts like this one.*
Thanks for playing.
This is a free post. But Too Close To Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive exclusive posts, consider a paid subscription.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe
This is a free post. But Too Close To Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive additional exclusive content, consider a paid subscription.
Jim Rubens is a Republican in New Hampshire who has run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate nomination twice; in 2014 against Scott Brown and in 2016 in a challenge to incumbent Sen. Kelly Ayotte.
After posting my piece on The Power of a Simple Response, which defined the three different types of political communicators, Rubens replied with his own response and lament about the lack of substantive policy discussion included in most campaign coverage.
Rubens wrote:
Echoing your critique of ghosting but this time from the candidate / politician side. I've twice [been] then a second-tier candidate for US Senate but one with a serious idea based policy agenda. What's immensely frustrating is that reporters seem interested in covering only candidates who are polling well or whoever raised or have access to competitively large sums of campaign money. The result is concentrated coverage of gaffs, personal squabbles, horse race stuff ... but next to no coverage or treatment of alternative means to address major policy questions. One result is a completely cynical voter. Another is pervasively issue free campaigns focused on attacks against other candidates. A third is policy gridlock.
As someone who writes a lot about horse racing humans, I quickly realized this was a fair critique given that three main criteria drives coverage of candidates: 1) Polling 2) The ability to raise money 3) Celebrity/notoriety (having held higher office).
If I was honest, I had to confess that a candidate’s policy rarely drove coverage plans or story ideas in the political campaign context. Political reporters are programmed to write pieces about who is running, which candidates have a chance to win and what the metrics are to support that case for victory. If a candidate flubs or blurts out a falsehood, that attracts coverage too.
But policy?
But are most voters even looking for deep dives into policy details? Or are they programmed to cast their ballots based on personality, charisma and … familiarity?
Rubens and I jumped on a Zoom to discuss this conundrum, his struggles against “celebrity” candidate Brown, and how he’d reform campaign coverage.
Please give the episode a LISTEN and let me know what you think.
This is a free post, but 2 weeks ago I launched a paid subscription feature that will provide more in-depth reporting, monthly 2022 Senate candidate rankings and special Rants and podcasts … for $5 a month/$50 a year. I hope you’ll consider one.
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A halftime report on the #2022 primary season, as well as a gentle plug to become a paid subscriber to #TooCloseToCall, where you’ll get spicier #Rants, exclusive Senate race rankings and other special features on how the sausage of political journalism gets made in Washington.
Join the movement.
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A couple genuine questions to my listeners as you chew on this #Rant:
How long after a mass murder is it appropriate to debate policy changes that attempt to lessen the chance it happens again?
If ambushing a press conference is pure “politicization” and “disgusting politics,” how would you describe attending a campaign fundraiser for financial contributions in the hours after a massacre in the state you govern?
I await your answers, feedback and unvarnished critiques.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe
Former NFL star, Georgia Bulldog and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker officially clinched the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in the Peach State Tuesday night, setting up a fierce fight with first-term Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock this fall.
Walker has united both Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump around his candidacy, no small feat in a cycle caught between a post-Trump era and a MAGA resurrection.
Walker is a unifying nominee because he’s a celebrity, a sports star most Georgians know and many remember fondly for making an indelible mark through his sheer athleticism.
But as much as we attempt to with our puns, the U.S. Senate is a very different body than Sanford Stadium. And the more clips I see of Walker, the more he appears to be a risky candidate for Republicans in a state they badly want to flip.
In this #Rant, I ponder >
The smartest Democratic strategy to run against this famed running back.
The chances of Walker flaming out a la Christine O’Donnell or Sharron Angle.
How Trump’s zealous loathing of GOP Gov. Brian Kemp will complicate GOP unity in Georgia, with the 2021 Senate runoff elections as a template for ruin.
Digging the Rant? Do me a solid and share it.
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In this week’s #Rant, a look at the possible outcomes in Pennsylvania, where the Republican Senate race is in slow-rolling overtime.
Who do the remaining 20,000 uncounted ballots favor: Oz or McCormick?
Can Trump stomach another absentee ballot defeat and support McCormick?
What does Kathy Barnettedo?
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe
I debated confessing my sin, but I also promised you I’d try to be transparent as possible in this #Substack.
I wrote a piece for The Atlantic about the Ohio Senate race and in the process I violated an agreement with the source. You’d never know by reading it but it was a significant breach to the source. This is my apology, and explanation — and a window inside into how stories are made.
Let me know if you think I should lose my license to journalism.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe
A special #Rant from the desert, where I review the first day of the second weekend of Coachella, the world’s most renowned music festival.
In this Coachella #Rant >
Why the desert weather is tricky for festival-goers
The peculiar alcoholic beverage policy on the grounds
Who won the first day
Listen, enjoy and #share >
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Who would be the optimal Republican nominee in #OHSEN?
Or, who would be the bigger wild card — and potentially slip on the banana peel — in the general?
Related: We’re inside the #RedZone in Ohio, which holds its primary on May 3.
Related: Sherrod Brownthinks things will get better.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe
The post that was supposed to be here is no longer here. An explanation.
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I’m late, but I’m tan.
This week, The Rant dives into Florida’s pond to gab about why festivals are about much more than just the music and how different our national political rostrum would be if Andrew Gillum had beaten Ron DeSantis in 2018.
Links to my coverage of the #Ultra2022 music festival, if you’d like to culture yourself.
Ultra PREVIEW.
Ultra REVIEW.
VIDEO DIARY
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This is Too Close To Call, my musings on politics and more. Sign-ups make me happy.
I’m ranting again — a day earlier this week to recap what happened in Texas, which kicked off 2022 primary voting.
This #Rant will cover 3 races: The Henry Cuellar-Jessica Cisneros Democratic primary congressional runoff (767 votes!), the Ken Paxton-George P. Bush Republican primary runoff for attorney general and the governor’s race, which is free of a runoff and is set for a general election between Beto O’Rourke and Gov. Greg Abbott.
Pollster and strategist John Couvillon helped inform this conversation. You can follow his work here.
MamaCat told me to tighten The Rant up, so I capped at 15 minutes. No excuses.
Apologies for the abrupt pull-out but I value your ears!
Let me know if you like or dislike what you hear and why.
And if you like, be a dear a share ————>
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I’m trying a ‘lil experiment this week — a Rant, via the audio function here at our Substack HQ.
I wrestled with how to go about this. One topic for 10 minutes? 3 topics over 30? Is 10 minutes too short, 30 too long? I still don’t know, but now you’re here to tell me.
I ended up settling on a single topic: A court case in Texas over a provision of a new voting law there that opens up public officials to potential prosecution if they solicit people to vote by mail.
That’s right: Simply encouraging people to vote by mail could send a local election official to jail. That’s the heart of the case, but also emblematic of the voting rights battles brewing all over the country. If you’d like to read the text of the Texas’ legislation (S.B. 1) yourself, click HERE.(You’ll find the relevant provision on solicitation on Page 19.)
I chose to zone in on this case (Longoria vs. Paxton) because Texas kicks off our 2022 election season, with early voting beginning Monday for their March 1 primaries. This audio RANT is a raw 21 minutes, unedited, imperfect; mostly stream-of-conscious, but hopefully genuine and informed.
Let me know whatcha think.
If you’re already a subscriber, thank you. If you aren’t and like this post, please consider signing up. And as always, sharing and liking my work is always helpful for the cause.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe