Too Close To Call Podcast

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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.

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 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.

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

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 Barnette do?

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 >

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

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 Brown thinks 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.

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’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

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