🪃 Revenge of the Normies!

What lesson does Leland Vittert take from the last 10 days of primary votes in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin?

“I think there’s a growing group of people now who are angry about the extremes and willing to do something about it,” Leland, who authors War Notes on Substack and hosts “On Balance” nightly on NewsNation, told me in a Substack Live Thursday.

As evidence, he cites the defeat of Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong in the Wisconsin governor’s race, Abdul El-Sayed’s razor-thin victory margin in the Michigan Democratic Senate primary and MyPillow founder Mike Lindell’s loss in the Minnesota Republican gubernatorial primary.

“I come back to the hope that if there’s enough angry people in the middle, maybe you won’t end up with… Republicans or Democrats normalizing, but a true third party.”

Which, well, intriguing! The radical middle is back baby!

Leland and I spent 45 minutes talking through the state of politics. We touched on:

• ⚖️ Why It Should Be Right vs. Wrong, Not Right vs. Left

• 🎮 The Concept of “Earned Fun” — and How It Explains Donald Trump’s Current Unpopularity

• 🇺🇸 Why, Actually, Things in America Are “Exceptionally Good”

• 🛠️ The power of a “Competence” Party

• 🗳️ How Kamala Harris Could Have Won the 2024 Election in a Landslide

• 🎯 Why Both Parties Want to “Underpay” With the Electorate

• 🎬 How Leland Thinks About Putting His Show Together Every Night

Like Leland? Follow his work at War Notes — and buy his powerful and deeply touching memoir of growing up with autism: “Born Lucky.”