A new candidate has emerged.
It was a fairly quiet summer. Although Trump's numbers are low, no significant Democrat has shown up. Indeed, I saw an idea floating around that suggested the Dems should run no candidate and support John Kasich (This didn't work in 1872 and seems like a worse idea now).
In the meantime, there are the annual party fundraisers and this is where those who want to run for President seem to gravitate to.
One of those was August 10 in the rural Northern Iowa town of Clear Lake, and it's called the Wing Ding.
Michael Avenatti, who is a prominent attorney and media presence, and at this point, is best known for being Stormy Daniels's attorney- stole the headlines.
"
When Trump hits low, we punch harder" was Avenatti's message. Popularly received despite two years of Democrats calling for civility.
Avenatti likely is leaning toward a Presidential run. He's loud, polarizing, camera-seeking and is not a Politician. I mean, there's no way he would be a viable Presidential candidate. Oh wait.....
Ostensibly, Ohio congressman
Tim Ryan was
the headliner. Ryan seems to be working towards a Presidential run, taking Nancy Pelosi to task for not being the leadership the Party needs. He has hired Bernie Sanders advisor Pete D'Allesandro to get a feel for Iowa. His politics likely would follow within Sanders's footsteps. He has also made legal marijuana part of his campaign. He was one of the Democrats who headlined the Polk County Dinner fundraiser last year, which I covered at the time.
John Delaney is considered the one prominent Democrat to be officially in the race. Because of that fact, I mention Delaney a lot. I odn't have much to add, but I will say I see him popping up occasionally in conversation and social media. It's a bit Quixotic, but to his credit, he seems to be marching towards his goal.
Andrew Yang is the fourth speaker and is an interesting addition. Yang is most well known as an investor in company startups. He is also officially in the race, though as a non-politician usually doesn't get the media's respect as such. Yang's big issue is an interesting one-
Universal Basic Income. In a Yang administration, everyone gets $1000 from the Government every month. This would relieve fears of job loss or remove disincentives to get more education. It's an interesting idea.
So while we are on the topic of Avenatti- it also is worth it (for the clicks!) to share the very politically relevant news that the Stormy Daniels visited Des Moines on her recent tour.
This particular tour did get some big headlines in some of the towns she visited as she took The Donald to task. Also, to clarify, the tour wasn't the local Barnes and Noble, it was at a place just down the street called Big Earl's Gold Mine, and the tour is called "Making America Horny Again".
The Des Moines Register reports:
Elizabeth Leonard drove nine hours to see porn star Stormy Daniels in the flesh.
Leonard arrived at Big Earl’s Goldmine just after Daniels wrapped up the first of two Friday night performances at the all-nude strip club just north of the Des Moines city limits. She is fascinated by Daniels public feud with the White House and her surprising emergence as a champion of women among many supporters.
"I just want to see what happens," said the 37-year-old from Detroit. "And I want to see where she goes with her activism
The Register recalled how her tour brought out MAGA fans in Florida and Trump protestors in Madison, Wisconsin, before getting into that Pulitzer-winning journalism.
After her Friday performances, Daniels is scheduled to take the stage again Saturday at 8:30 and 11:30 p.m. at Big Earl's. Tickets cost $50 at the door with an extra charge for autographs and photos.
Big Earl’s owner Melvin Bryson said Daniels is the most famous person to ever perform at the club. Few regulars filled the red velvet chairs inside the venue. But people were there to watch a strip show, not attend some political lecture, he said.
The loudspeakers played a pre-recorded introduction that went over Daniels’ resume: She has appeared in more than 150 adult films. She’s the top-rated performer on pornography site Pornhub. And hers was the most-watched "60 Minutes" interview in the last decade.
A crush of security guards and handlers rushed the star to the stage while “American Woman" played in the background. She smiled broadly as she comfortably marched around the stage in sparkling high heels.
She wore a red, white and blue cape over lingerie of the same colors. Long, blue sequined gloves covered her forearms.
The DJ urged those in the crowd to open their wallets: “If you want her attention, hold up some money,” he said.
She lost the cape and gloves and swung around the center brass pole. With encouragement from the announcer and the crowd, she tore off a bustier emblazoned with two stars. And soon, she wore only heels and a thin, blue garter.
She pressed her chest into men and women in the front row and knelt on her knees leaning out across the crowd as her entourage swept up the ones, fives and 10s that flew across the stage.
"Remember, the bigger the bill, the bigger the thrill," the deejay instructed.
A handler passed her a blue fleece blanket, which she spread out on the dance floor. Daniels sprawled out, posing on her stomach and back. She squirted a water bottle out into the crowd, then turned the nozzle to herself, spraying her chest and backside.
The DJ encouraged fans to come up and stick a bill on her wet body.
As a political reporter, that beats spending your afternoon driving from one Pizza Ranch to another, amirite?
The 50 or so people who filled the first show Friday night hooted and hollered during Daniels' short appearance. Many stood up during the performance to get a better look.
One of the club’s regular dancers grumbled that the show was only “decent.” Her poses were tantalizing, she acknowledged, but she hardly worked the pole.
A husband and wife in the front row enthusiastically handed over singles during Daniels’ performance. The woman, who declined to give her name, said she didn’t care much about the star’s conflict with the president. She was just there for the show.
"I don’t know if I have an opinion either way," she said. "It’s Des Moines. We have no entertainment here."
Counterpoint: Des Moines has other entertainment options to offer.
Cases of Busch Light and Bud Light covered the tables at Big Earl's, a bring-your-own-beverage establishment. The local dancers sipped boxed white wine out of QuickTrip cups as they waited to get back on stage.
"I thought it was a great show," said Brent Bialas, a Windsor Heights resident who mows lawns for a living.
The 42-year-old hadn't heard much about Daniels' feud with the president before Friday. He only came after winning a raffle for a free ticket to the show. She was a natural on stage, he said, and he planned to get an autograph afterward.
"If it doesn't cost too much," he said.
Daniels charged $20 for photos and autographs before taking a break in her giant black tour bus out front.
She later returned for a second strip show, this time wearing a spandex leopard print suit, complete with a black tail and ears. "Cat Scratch Fever" played over the P.A. as she peeled off her outfit.
"How'd you like to wake up Christmas morning with that under your tree?" the DJ said.
We see how economic policy comes into the discussion, though their is some irony surely in using future cabinet member Ted Nugent's most famous song.
While I did not attend, others had no qualms. You see this is all about the politics.
Jaime Bernal sat at a small table near the front row. He wore a sky blue Raygun shirt that read: "America Needs Nasty Women," a reference to a Trump insult about Hillary during a 2016 debate.
Bernal, a 38-year-old who works in sales in Des Moines, described himself as a "lifelong Chicago Democrat." He's no fan of the current president and admires Daniels.
"At least she’s got the courage to stand up," he said.
While there, he paid up for a photo with the star. He had posted it on Facebook before he even left the building. And the show wasn't bad either, he said.
"I figured, why not?" he said. "Might as well come out on a Friday night and have a good time."
Besides, if I did go, I could always play "I just wanted to see an important person in American history" card.
Lobbyist Nate Gavronsky folded wings into single dollar bills and wrote "Air Force One" on them.
Gavronsky, dressed in a black suit, wore a checkered pink tie, which he flipped around to reveal a Trump label.
"She caught the tie," he said. "She thought that was kind of funny."
Gavronsky was impressed with the performance. He said she should write a book — not about her escapades with Trump, but about making it big in the adult entertainment industry.
"She's actually been successful in this industry," he said. "There are a lot of women who go into it... Write a book about how to do it right."
A registered Republican, he said he didn't have any strong feelings on the porn star. He just likes to meet famous politicians and celebrities. He said he's met every American president since Richard Nixon.
"People don't believe you can just go do that. But you can," he said. "Forty years from now people will be like 'That was crazy.' And I'll be like, 'Yeah, I was there.'"
You know I have shaken hands with two Presidents, the Speaker of the House, and other prominent American politicians, but he's got me at Stormy Daniels.
In any case, while I am not saying I can come out to support the MAHA tour, it's at least nice to see both sides agree on something.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Pence by Tom Lobianco
