This began life as a malaka of the week post before morphing into another variation on The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly theme. I’ll explain why directly.

I rarely use other people’s nicknames, but I make an exception in this case: Tater Tot is a wonderfully derisive nickname for a 48 year old who looks like a weak-chinned teenager in an ill-fitting suit.

Tater Tot’s real name is Tate Reeves. He’s running for a second term as Mississippi governor. This governor is truly a goober.

Tater Tot kicked off his reelection campaign last week. He’s deeply unpopular so he decided to cosplay as Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The video is embedded in this tweet from Team Tater Tot:

We’re back. #msgov pic.twitter.com/sLzpwsqThq

— Team Tate! (@TeamTateReeves) May 2, 2023

Clint was The Good in that spaghetti Western. Even his supporters wouldn’t call Tater Tot The Good. He’s the worst.

Tater Tot appears determined to shoot his way to reelection. Does he shoot white liberals? Nope. He shoots what appear to be Mexicans. Tater Tot probably pronounces it Meskins like Joe Bob Briggs. Joe Bob, of course, is kidding at least I hope he is.  Tater Tot’s idea of  humor is to make jokes about the water crisis in Jackson. The state capitol. But the municipal government is run by Black people and they don’t count for wingnuts like Tater Tot. I told you he’s the worst.

Tater Tot of course looks nothing like Clint Eastwood:

He’s a pasty white boy with a weak chin and tiny fingers like the Indicted Impeached Insult Comedian. He’s no Clint Eastwood. I do, however, wonder if Gov. Tot has ever speechified to a chair:

That was a truly creepy moment, especially as it evoked Neil Diamond’s maudlin and mawkish song I Am, I Said: “And no one heard at all, not even the chair.”

Tater Tot’s reelection bid is in trouble as the fog of scandal settles in over his administration. One of which is the scandal that led to Bret Favre’s stint as malaka of the week.

Meanwhile, Magnolia State Democrats have gotten their shit together, gone to the lab, and created a John Bel Edwards clone by the name of Brandon Presley. He’s this guy’s second cousin:

Presley is a conservative Democrat, but it’s been 24 years since Mississippi elected a Democratic governor. Cousin Brandon has a chance to win. But there are still suspicious minds in the Black community. Here’s what former Congressman/Clinton Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy told the NYT about the Presley candidacy:

“I think he can win. He’s very likable, a good retail politician, and Tate Reeves is so very, very unpopular. But he’s got a big job. He needs to raise the money and do more Black outreach.”

Is Brandon Presley the one to lead MS Dems out of the political ghetto they’ve been in for decades? What would Elvis Presley say?

I don’t know what Elvis would say about Cousin Brandon or Tater Tot. He was mostly apolitical except for the time he met with Tricky Dick:

To balance the scales, Gret Stet Governor Edwin Edwards gave Elvis some sort of award:

Edwin wasn’t exactly a liberal, but he was a few steps to the left of Cousin Brandon Presley.

Back to the Mississippi goober race. I hope the voters will regard Tater Tot’s Cosplay Clint as preposterous as the rest of us do but they elected this dipshit in the first place, so who knows? I wish Brandon Presley well and Tater Tot ill.

Here’s hoping that Mississippi Dems can mount a comeback comparable to Elvis’ way back in 1968.

The last word goes to Elvis with the song that closed out the comeback special. It’s the most overtly political song he ever recorded:

UPDATE: TPM’s David Kurtz has compared the ad to another Clint Eastwood Western. His title is A Fistful Of Doofus. It’s a good one but I stand by mine. Kurtz also neglected to call the doofus in question, Tater Tot. Talk about ugly.