As we approach the Nov. 8 midterm elections, races across the country seem to be heating up. Whether they’re truly heating up or the traditional media is making it sound like things are heating up is debatable. However, like most elections, the No. 1 thing either political party can do at this point is convince its registered members to vote. That’s the whole game, in a nutshell.
To that end, Democratic Party leaders are out and about, giving stump speeches to various crowds in support of their candidates. Former President Barack Obama has been hitting the circuit, giving big speeches in Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, and now Nevada. Democratic incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is in a tight race for the Senate against former state attorney general and oil lobbyist Adam Laxalt. Laxalt’s stances on the climate change and women’s rights are exactly what you would expect from a GOP candidate. Both are fictional things to Laxalt, who appeared in Nevada just one year before first running for governor (and losing) back in 2018.
Say what you will about former President Obama, there is one thing he does better than any other politician in recent memory: He can bring it when speaking into a microphone in front of a crowd. On Tuesday, in Nevada, Obama brought it and brought it hard.
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In the clip below, the former president reminds the audience that 14 members of Adam Laxalt’s family have publicly announced that they are endorsing his opponent, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto. That’s the second time his extended family members, the ones who are actually from Nevada, have come out against him. Laxalt joins Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar as a person disliked most by the people who know him most intimately.
Obama gives beautiful context to this harsh condemnation of Adam Laxalt. “If you've got a full Thanksgiving dinner table and they're all saying you don't belong in the U.S. Senate; when the people who know you best think your opponent would do a better job, that says something about you.”
You can check out more of Obama’s speech below.
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On The Brief podcast we discuss what the polls are saying—and what the polls cannot predict. The traditional and right-wing narrative continues to champion polling that downplays Democratic candidates’ successes, while ignoring polling (including their own, in some cases) that flies in the face of that narrative. Either way, it does not change the fact that you need to get out and vote! And after you vote, make sure to encourage others to get out and vote—especially those younger folks in your life.