In rural America, he explained, Democrats have stopped grassroots organizing and party-building.

“Our politics became nationalized by a cadre of professional operatives,” he told me. “It has become a big industry.”

Cole explained that media consultants earn a percentage of all campaign advertising spending. It maximizes their profits when they spend money in pricey urban markets and ignore rural media. Predictably, Democrats get shellacked in rural America, and the same strategists then blame rural voters for being unreachable.

A grassroots campaign
Ty Pinkins is trying to reverse the Democrats’ failure.

Slim and youthful, the 50-year-old African American army veteran is the Democratic nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Mississippi. To defeat his Republican opponent, incumbent Roger Wicker, Pinkins is working with Cole to “build a grassroots pyramid.”

The Bronze Star recipient has put 70,000 miles on his Chevy Tahoe canvassing 67 of the state’s 82 counties. His goal is to have a campaign leader in every county and all 1,762 state precincts.

As Cole sees it, Pinkins’ grassroots campaign will last beyond the November 2024 election – and provide the key to a revived state Democratic Party.

But grassroots campaigning is not easy – and getting lost in rural Mississippi is is not always what one expects.

On a hot summer day, Pinkins took a wrong turn and found himself at a crossroads next to a rickety old house. After he knocked on the screened door several times, the 85-year-old Miss Maggie finally came out.

When Pinkins told her that he was running for the U.S. Senate, she smiled and laughed. Soon, the two shared steaming plates of fried chicken, brown gravy and sweet potatoes. She told the candidate, “Baby, now tell me about yourself.”

Once Pinkins finished, it was Miss Maggie’s turn, and the two talked until dusk. Before he could leave, Miss Maggie went back inside. She returned with a sack of coins.

“I don’t have much time left,” she told Pinkins. “I’m 85 years old. This is all I’ve got, and I’m giving it to you.”

For Pinkins, reaching rural voters is not an impossible dream – though sometimes it takes getting lost and hours of conversation to earn one vote.

Donald Trump limbered up for his debate with Kamala Harris by showing the extremism that risks playing into the vice president’s claim that he’s an “unserious man” who is an “extremely serious” threat if he’s returned to the White House.

Trump warned he will jail election officials he considers cheats; is complaining Pennsylvania’s voting is a fraud; vowed to pardon January 6 rioters; railed against women who accused him of sexual misconduct; and spent hours in recent days on sometimes incoherent rants that raised questions about his state of mind.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reflected on Harris’ challenge as she tries to engage Americans who want to know more about her while dealing with a sometimes-unhinged force of nature like Trump. “It will take almost superhuman focus and discipline to deal with Donald Trump in a debate,” Buttigieg said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “It’s no ordinary proposition, not because Donald Trump is a master of explaining policy ideas and how they’re going to make people better off. It’s because he’s a master of taking any form or format that is on television and turning it into a show that is all about him.”

Trump’s attacks on ABC illustrate his overall approach to debating.

Donald Trump is laying the foundation for a “rigged” debate on ABC News before he squares off with Kamala Harris.

In interviews, fundraising appeals, rallies, and posts on social media, the former president has repeatedly blasted the host network and accused its top talent of being biased against him. He’s even accused the network, without evidence, of providing the questions in advance to the Harris campaign.

“ABC is the worst network in terms of fairness,” Trump said during a Fox News town hall with Sean Hannity recently. “They’re very nasty, and I think a lot of people are going to be watching to see how nasty and how unfair they are.”

The vice president said she expects Trump to revert to personal attacks during their match-up on Tuesday.

Kamala Harris expects that former President Donald Trump is “going to lie” during their debate Tuesday and is prepping for those “untruths,” she said in a prerecorded radio interview released Monday.

“There’s no floor for him in terms of how low he will go,” the vice president said on “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show.” “And we should be prepared for that. We should be prepared for the fact that he is not burdened by telling the truth.”

Harris also said she believes the former president will revert to personal attacks during the debate, pointing to the “playbook” he used with former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Not great news for Kamala Harris.
The New York Times/Siena College poll came out Sunday. The big headline: The race is effectively tied with Donald Trump at 48% to 47% for Vice President Kamala Harris.

1. Just 28% of people think the country is on the right track while 60% think it is headed in the wrong direction.
2. Fully 3 in 10 voters (31%) said they felt like they needed to know more about Harris.
3. More than half of respondents (51%) said that Trump would represent “major change” in Washington while less than half that number — 25% — said the same of Harris.
4. The top issues on voters’ minds were the economy, abortion and immigration — in that order. On the economy, Trump has a 16-point edge over Harris on who is better equipped to handle the issue. Harris has a 17-point lead over Trump on the abortion question. Trump has an 11-point margin on immigration.

Donald Trump’s rhetoric has only ever really been constrained by one thing: His lizard-brain sense of what he can get away with.

As the election draws near, he seems to believe he can get away with more than ever.

Trump’s policy promises are getting wilder and his flirtation with authoritarianism more brazen. At a rally in Wisconsin Saturday, he made a new pledge to slap a “100 percent tariff” on countries that adopt reserve currencies other than the dollar: “You leave the dollar and you’re not doing business with the United States because we are going to put a 100 percent tariff on your goods.”

Poll question
Has Harris’ momentum stalled?
Selection of Smerconish Daily Headlines

Bracing for Election Chaos, Axios
The U.S. is facing the risk of unprecedented election chaos in 2024 driven by polarization, lawsuits, disinformation, and the possibility of Trump rejecting the results if he loses.

Cohn: Is Harris’ Honeymoon Over?, DNYUZ
Nate Cohn suggests Harris’s support has stalled after August, with a new poll showing Trump narrowly leading as voters see him as the candidate of change and her as “more of the same.”

No Debate Over Pennsylvania Primacy, Associated Press
Pennsylvania is a key battleground for both Harris and Trump, as the state’s swing status and narrow voting margins in recent elections make it crucial for winning the presidency.

Rethinking Ford’s Pardon of Nixon, USA Today
Richard Nixon’s pardon 50 years ago set a precedent that many say emboldened future presidents, including Donald Trump, to push legal boundaries without facing prosecution.

Walz and Vance and Facts of Life, Politico
Tim Walz criticized JD Vance’s comments on school shootings, stating, “It’s a fact of life some people are gay, but not that our children need to be shot dead in schools.”

A Recipe for Voter Confusion, ABC News
Changes in voting laws, fewer polling places, and high voter enthusiasm in 2024 could lead to confusion and challenges for voters, particularly with a shift back to in-person voting.

A Political Playlist Battle, CBS News
Campaign songs have shaped elections for decades, but in 2024, artists like Isaac Hayes’ family and Celine Dion are pushing back, while Harris embraces Beyoncé’s “Freedom” in her ads.