The opening of an AP article about GOP candidates in Michigan who are vying to take on Governor Gretchen Whitmer — whoa:
WASHINGTON (AP) — A leading contender for the Republican nomination for governor in Michigan was sued in the 1990s, accused of using racial slurs about Black people in the workplace and sexually harassing his employees.
One of his rivals pleaded not guilty in federal court on Thursday to misdemeanor charges after authorities said he rallied Donald Trump’s supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. Another candidate is a chiropractor and self-help guru who hawked supplements he falsely claimed treated COVID-19.
And even the contender who has garnered mainstream support had an “admittedly lame” hobby acting in low-budget horror pictures, one of which included a zombie biting off a man’s genitals.
The first batch of Republican gubernatorial candidates in Michigan got kicked out for submitting petitions with fake signatures, so this is the second string. Michigan Republicans, y’all. Looks like the zombie junk biter might be the best of a bad lot.
In other news, a chorus of “mainstream” Republicans are rising up to denounce criticism of Ron DeSantis as hysterical overreaction that is objectively pro-Trump. Sounds like the Murdoch memo has been received. Look for more hagiography and indignant hissing in the months to come.
In international news, so far, we still don’t know what motive was behind the assassination of former PM Shinzo Abe of Japan. The Times has a still photo of the moment the assassin was captured, and the homemade gun he used is visible. It looks like two metal tubes wrapped up in duct tape.
Open thread.
On The Road – PaulB – A visit to the Olympic Peninsula 10 of 10