Back in 2020, J. McVay and Joe Virgillito did a regular series of discussions on the previous incarnation of this podcast, leading up to that year’s election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Now that the looming specter of a depressing rematch between those two is behind us, they’re now embarking on hopefully the first of a new series of chats leading up to this November’s election. So, here;s the state of the race so far: 1) Joe Biden did terribly in his June debate with Donald Trump; 2) Trump was shot at a rally; 3) JD Vance was announced as Trump’s running mate; 4) The Republican National Convention happened; 5) Democrats managed to convince Biden to drop out of the race and Vice President Harris immediately became the heir to the nomination; 6) Tim Walz was picked to be Harris’ running mate. With all of that as table setting, along with the looming possibilities of Project 2025 if Trump is elected, and the “uncommitted” movement showing Biden’s weakness in Democratic primaries earlier in the year, Joe and J tackle the following questions… How surprising was Vice President Harris’ quick ascension as Biden dropped out of the race, and how does she seem as a candidate now as compared to 2020? Where does JD Vance fall on the Palin Scale – is he more or less of a drag on the Trump ticket than Palin was for McCain in 2008? How does Tim Walz stack up as a running mate for Harris as compared to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shaprio and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly? With Democrats adopting the messaging that the GOP is “weird,” and the Harris/Walz team seemingly presenting themselves as something like a “return to normalcy,” what are their prospects as they head into a Democratic National Convention where they’re probably going to be largely selling the idea of “Normcore 2024?”

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Episode Credits:

Producer/Host - J. McVay

Guests - Joe Virgillito

Music - Hansdale Hsu

Produced by Stereoactive Media