The first COMMENTARY podcast of the week finds us (me, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman) discussing the weekend of knee-taking and Trump-tweeting about patriotism and the NFL and blah blah blah while North Korea threatens hydrogen bomb-testing and Puerto Rico reverts to a state of nature. And we enjoy the decline and fall of Valerie Plame. Give a listen.
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Welcome to the commentary magazine podcast today is Monday September. Twenty five, twenty seven team, I'm John POD words the editor of Commentary magazine
the seventy two year old monthly of
legal analysis, intellectual property and cultural criticism from a conservative perspective, join Us
Commentary magazine dot com, where we give you a few free reason than asking to subscribe. Nineteen
any five gets you a digital subscription, twenty nine, every five gets you and all access subscription, including our beautiful monthly magazine in Europe.
Box eleven times a year
if we, as always a green while their senior editor halo, Abe, high John and
act with us. After sustaining a popcorn oil related injury last week that kept him on the sidelines no arrangement or associate ever high. Now I make sense a heroic. He is bloodied, but not bowed. He is
He is
what else or other burned but not say alliterative. I think you should go yarn burned, but not bad
out? He is singed, but not soulless or something
animal welfare,
judging from your twitter feed this weekend. That is debatable. Since many people have accused you have all sorts of terrible things for the fact that you took above,
the presence of the United States and his liberal critics to task for engaging in culture warrior ism over the deeply.
Important central issue of our time, which is how one should behaved on this
I'd lines of a football
during the playing of the national anthem. As
almost four million Americans in port
We go are subsisting in ninety five degree- heat
with no electricity people mired in trapped in buildings.
Island proper, the United States. It has largely been destroyed by a hurricane that may be six months without power. The present
It states spent the entire weekend getting into ridiculous fights about how multi million dollar football players and billionaire NFL
Team owner should behave similarly, just as he spent
days last week,
going to the? U N, giving a good speech
talking about the threat, the work global threat posed by North Korea and the
the simple model of deterrence that says that any any imminent threat from North Korea to the mainland of the United States fundamental and means that we will destroy the country, which is what nuclear deterrence is
and then simultaneously undercuts his own efforts and his own effort to rally the world against this unique and unprecedented threat by using a belittling, silly nickname, calling Kim Jong on rocket man or little rocket man, thus making him seem like a puny, insubstantial and silly figure, as opposed to you know a potential threat to hundreds of thousands of South Koreans
millions in Japan and tens of millions in the United States. So the behaviour of the President United States is baffling unless you think that what's really most important is that he engage in and indulge in these spiritual exercise of
polarizing America along culture lines, for the benefit of his party, has caused his effort to the last ditch effort to get Healthcare Pastore to push tax reform. How any of that and to rally the world against North Korea to deal with the aftermath of the of the
natural disasters of the last month. How any of that is strengthened by his efforts in this regard? Elite.
Me. So maybe no up you can lay out for us what happened this weekend and and then we can go.
Ok, so the president was in Alabama Fer a rally Friday, my round and round in a rally for his embattled candidate to replace Jeff sessions in the Senate, formally currently serving as on a temporary basis. Luther strange he's
real trouble, and so the present went down there and said rallying for
with their strange, I might have made a mistake, and you also should just go out and vote and vote all declare victory, no matter
but while he was basking in the adoration of his fan base, he stumbled on too
the notion that NFL players should stand for the national anthem, recalling column Cabinet who, famously to protest. Police violence against African Americans, took a need,
on the field or any many many many months ago. He is not in the end. I fell. He his contract collapsed in March. No other team signed him he's currently unemployed. This has not been an issue. This season really
much of an issue last season at least has been a year pretty much, and the president sort of
exude to this issue from its grave ripped, open the old wound and
had so much fun doing this and enjoyed the satisfaction of watching the left and the right go to their familiar corners and indulging in other performative aspects of fun.
This issue that they ve been doing for the last year that he spent the weekend attacking proof, professional sports players, but black professional sports players, who have done similar things,
protesting excessive police violence. When vessels lay ass, rational source flares, not only calling cabinet whom I think he mentioned by name, but he did mention stuff from Korea used to be the golden stay warriors. I can remember what the team it not not having them come to the not having the team come to the White House, because Stephen Curry
express some doubt about whether or not he wished to do so so that, with the issue that was raised was the president is polarizing country along racial lines because is attacking black athletes.
Four for, protesting police brutality and
You have this bizarre either
everyone retreated into their into their natural tribal camps right, so we had
the broad twitter, let's say Twitter, now being the place to gauge this most readily, which simply presumed that what the president had done here was so unspeakable
so horrible, so monstrous in every pulse and so politically inept and so people, and that it was politically and after it would cost him. What is he doing? This is crazy, failing to take account of the fact
that in nine national poles measuring sentiment on this issue, the public
opposes protest.
During the national anthem during sports events.
By a margin somewhere of twenty to forty percent against
and clear majority. Supporting the notion that you should not do this so
far from the President being inapt and having awaken the sleeping giant he's the one who is playing to two majority public opinion not day, and they think that their
playing the majority public opinion because they are living in this ludicrous. You know of live
oh bubble. That is more impermeable than the conservative bubble, though they love to talk about the conservative bubble. I just
actually more and more real quick. It's not just the issue that it, but I do think there is consensus on the issue when it comes to race and police violence, but also that they believed that making adversaries out of a professional athletes was just simply a bat
tactical manoeuvring, I dont believe that's right. I mean I
an exchange with my old colleague John Cassidy, who was twenty years
the business better than your posters now is now one of the is this are chiefly.
I'm a writer for the new Yorker,
The government of the United States, a very smart guy, very, very left wing, so he said the president, as done who has been so stupid.
And I said to him: will you John? Were you talking about, like that's? Retain his leg, he's
the majority side, this issue and said: oh really, well, you know
When you have column Capron, Nick and Robert Craft,
the owner of the New England, Patriots, an John Myra, the owner of the New York Giants against you, you're, making a big mistake. I'm like a really so you're talking about professional athletes.
In problematic odor in the United States number one and then
and I fell team owners. Who are
its team owners are popular, are dry,
There is popular opinion that states that thing people like sports team owners,
here. Does anybody like a sports to? As far as I am aware, sports team owners are probably the one among the least popular people, the United States, so he thought wow,
all these institutions are coming out against tromp and that's ridiculous. Now. What is the real issue here,
Why are we horrified by trumps behaviour able at what is it that we're? What's he doing that
said so bad element, which is bringing the answer to the dutch presidency down so low. He just further polar.
Rising that that cut the countries not taking seriously the be enormous threats that we now face, a some of which you ve you ve covered
already lean on terms of this natural disaster and portray
hunters of Kim Jong on its chest,
a disaster and defend the thing about it is that he is he's my
Pew nearer than his enemies give him credit for for being rather inclined to say that
is sowing chaos and that that he's further diviners
it's true and away, but he's he completely piggy backs off long.
Andy or even in this case, dormant cultural issues, just just to just two to two
gotta, get it get a rise out of the entire country and watch importer.
Inducement to him, is it he sees that everyone in the country react
so exactly as they can be expected to it.
It is such a huge master switch that he can throw to watch at both sides and the media completely respond to.
What he wants in the in the way he runs also he is Pavlov and we are all the dogs right. Hee hee
He is the unease, peas, what Pavlov's rugs, also in his own way
because he has also responsive to the whatever's until the sugar, pellet or whatever else, whatever. Whatever comes down the shoot that Pavlov used to get the dogs to celebrate.
I would say that the other of the issue- the real issue here- is show the present United States be complaining when citizens of the United States-
freely and non vile. We decide to express themselves in protest. The answer is no. The presidency should not do that. The present states, the public, is perfectly capable of making its mouth.
Up on its own about whether or not what column compromise was doing by taking in me with something that is supported or did not support, and, I would say, Capron EC paid for his cabinet
it's something and he paid for his for his choice, I mean granted. I think you, if you were the grey squirrel back in the world. I followed
very much anymore. But you know I'm in here: if you were the reservoir back in the world would matter, and they would do now. Michael Vick got a job back after being in prison for sponsoring dog
fighting and all that, but you know obviously
teams feel like they can do without em. They can do them for two reasons, one of which is that they can they can. They have other way
Relax they can rely on the one hand, on the other hand, they dont need him sewing dissension are making fans angry,
and that, whatever positives that he may present, the negatives are worse. So he expressed his opinion and the market kind of responded
disincentives for others to do what they did. So, if trumpet kept his mouth shut, people
wouldn't have been taken, the knee on Sunday, the Sunday to express
solidarity with the idea that they should be allowed to express their political opinions freely. Yet you know such a skirt me so
now that everyone is taking a knee in solidarity with with these guys is
that normalizing, something that we were overwhelmingly horrified by only a few years ago. So disrespecting the flag disrespecting nationally
invisible. I mean this is coming from beside side. It doesn't want an normalize, aberrant behaviour. Will that's that's why concern,
I have taken their belief that this is good for Donald Trump manoeuvres examine it in a hoarse race sense, and I think that there is some emotion attached to that, because the right has been bitterly aggrieved by the cultural consensus on them left in turn
sports media in entertainment, media regarding issues like police brutality and pervasive racism in America and general over policing, etc.
And they consider Donald Trump by supposed to be a medium by which they can communicate. These concerns to the press, even though
but he's doing here is nakedly to his own benefit and has no interest in in the nation. He sees only got the most tenuous grasp of patriotism and, in general, so they're just grasping at whatever flotsam they can in a shipwreck. I suppose, but what why had such an of
frustrating, weakens weaken why it was called racist rather repeatedly is the notion that was really
granted by the left that there is a culture war to vote for them
people who are all the sudden embracing common Capra neck, who had no interest in wrapping
Arms around him until Friday evening. This is an existential threat. This is about bloodletting in this
rates and for you to minimize that my calling it a culture war
existential threat here, being police brutality and
however policing and general over policing and general right. So, but we rightly what's what makes it a culture war, and we
understood this when Barack Obama waitin on it in which he did and twenty fourteen now he was tech talking to people magazine
Talking about how Lebron James was really smart and courageous to be wearing a shirt with the alleged last words of air Garner, a man who is choked it had been in white, PD officer in Staten Island for allegedly selling cigarettes. When you
the been wearing these last words on a t shirt. He was calling a courageous and sang, and this has been the legacy of Mohammed Ali in when our athletes have an impact on our politics.
Conservatives are remembered that that was inappropriate because it open bitter wounds and it didn't do anything other than sate. The demands of liberal commentaries to hear Barack Obama talk about the sort of stuff because he had no legislative remedy. There was nothing the president or the federal government could do to address local police brutality, save for enforce existing laws which they did and which they do it was.
Culture war because it was only about hearing the president invoked about something there wasn't anything on the table to address it legislatively under isn't now, but
I mean I usually it's. It's rightly falls in the Catalogue of Cultural, because it's it's Sunday that emerges from the culture I mean there are issues that their that that have that are also. You know. Things like abortion are also part of the cultural war, but there are they have legislative,
opponents. I mean it's just I don't think things need. A legislative rights ought to be part of a culture where you're totally LE literally about the spiritual condition of the country that is
beyond simple political measures right. So what.
The things is so frustrating to me about. This is that everybody has the free speech that they like and then the free speech that they dont, like so conservatives now like free,
each on campus, but they don't like it. They don't there. They want consumers to be free to protest on campus, but football player should protest on a field. That's ridiculous that
That is a ludicrous double standard. It's just that you like what concerns are saying on campus and you'd, and you did you think by the weights more important. Obviously
there we free speech on campus, go that's where free Green free thought take place and are supposed to be at their free US
in order for intellectual activity to take place, but you know you
can choose your favorite spot. So you know, except expressing horror at political and justice when it
when it Gore's you're, when it doesnt Gore your rocks, but you don't like it what it does gory rocks like that is
nature of where we are now. That's a classic emotional
policy that all human beings engage in, but not to this naked and vulgar were fashion right. Maybe we
just come off.
Sort of season of conservative, saying, look unless
you. You are right to be disgusted,
a white nationalism and by and and and by NEO Nazis rhetoric, but don't get
this crazy idea in your head that you have to stifle free speech because of it that that
that has been exactly where we will her up until up until this weekend, so that that's my that's my particular aside from the fact that it's ridiculous for the present the United States to be indulging in this kind of fighting. I mean ok, so damn
EL mentioned Murphy, Brown and people talk about violence on tv in programming, and there is talk about
all this stuff and of course you can't divorce. What went on from the from the talk over the last month about the proliferation of sports journalism, writer sports television journalism, in which you have commentators on the SBA, an essentially climbing up on soap boxes and yelling at every bay. The way comedians now do on on television
thereby turning their perches into you now secular pulpits, at which they declared. I wish they'd declaim speak about their virtue and horror of the world in which in which we live,
all of which is very tiresome is driving everybody insane because, like there is no respite, there's no escape from the
Einstein, politicization of everything and the
simplification of everything? It is an interesting aspect of our culture war that the left g
Liberals in the left genuinely believe that the participation of everything is a conservative disease that give they collective politicized women's bodies, America, rights of women and they politicized they place as at an inn out from we looked at in it in another fashion. Ah, you know you can't watch you can't watch a football game without becoming were becoming a giant political issue. Now again, let's talk about hypocrisy here for a minute
The right on the left, if they were defiantly, not taking me or if they were
her singing the national anthem twice as loud, because something had happened, you know,
after nine, eleven or some whatever that, wouldn't that would be fine
he's, though, if they eggs for most people, if
if some less I'm on the left will call it chauvinism.
Celebrities and athletes are supported when they support are supported by politically minded people when they express themselves and ways in which people would move that that support
your views and new are contemptuous of them.
They're, not in my view is that there are mostly idiots and they may have the perfect right to speak and they should be ignored. You know,
George Clooney has the perfect right to speak and he should be ignored.
Why do we listen just cause he's handsome like? I don't need to listen. He he's a director of bad movies and unrightable screenplays, so he's maybe
marginally more intelligent than many actors, because he can at least put words to paper, but that doesn't mean that he is not an idiot. Similarly, most professional athletes have to point. It have one point: three Grey
point averages and they can shut their mouth and not talk about things about which they don't know. The country is gifted the they have gifts. They work at meritocratic situation,
which they make lots of money and they threw their threatened with terrible.
During all that they should just shut their mouths because they don't have to do there.
Perfectly free that too, but I dont need to listen to them, and the problem is the Donald Trump is making me listen to them, and the Democrats and liberals are making me listen to them and they are driving me crazy. There
me crazy. I would rather listen to people who know what they're talking about so people don't know what you're talking about. I don't need to go
Jimmy Kim Old, to hear him give a speech about health care that was written for him by Chuck Tumors office. I can listen
the truck Sumer give a sweet. That's what he's, therefore,
we Kimmel is supposedly, therefore, these guys are in theory. Therefore, baking s laugh not not giving us lectures and the
version of all of these spaces into, as I described them like secular
churches, in which in which these performers either athletic or celebrity performers act like they are
spiritual leaders is spiritual and political leaders is horrifying. I have a question about it. Why? Yes, it's not rhetorical agenda a genuinely to another
So we are talking about areas of the culture. There are completely infused with politics and strikes me. Bazaars of left wing dominated areas of the culture were talking about entertainment, industry, primarily, but now what about those parts of the country we spent some time and in pass podcast talking about sort of there being to popular cultures?
about right, dominated popular culture link, for is that politicized in the same way, for example- and I don't know the answer at All- for example, now far right right:
Is it always has ruined Irene early? If your can, from a conservative perspective, its politicized you're not allowed to engage in these kind of protests that we're saying in the inner fell at precisely as a response to the end,
That's right, I mean I would say that my way you know this is a budget preachy is it is it I don't know. I don't like the joke,
Advanced car was always the politicians with job at the Darlington County, five hundred and get booed in a dead matter who they were they could be. They could be George Bush, George Bush Junior George Bush Senior, any
they would get outta. There are five hundred thousand people there and their their role was. The blue rather politician not like that
petitions are the audience is largely libertarian. I want to go back something Noah said about Trump and patriotism Trump won the election.
By explicitly running as a non patriotic candidate in this regard, which was
Who are we to go around and lecture? We invade countries? We do all this stuff. Our government were treating our people terribly our countries and terrible shape. Things are awful and
You know our system has brought everything is bad and gave a speech
the Publican convention in you now and twenty
Sixteen that was
Denunciation of the United States, so
I would say that having him lecture me on what patriotism is is a little offensive. I mean it's fine, his that that hee hee
represented a body, he represented
body of radical right wing opinion that says that the country has been take
away and is no longer a great and is problematic in our system, has broken that's fine, but that he doesn't get to wrap himself in the flag. He that that is by specifically his effort to wrap himself in the flesh
It is an effort to convert this view of the United States into the patriotic veal, the United States, into the notion that we are not a force for good in the world that we are not the freest country on earth.
And that we do not have the system that represents the greatest political achievement of humankind and out to enter to pretend that
now this is the higher patriotism is to pretend. Similarly, that promote that that being nasty about the national anthem is the higher for patriotism.
They're just mirror image marriages of each other, which is perhaps why they sell resent one another, because you ve really only see the differences and in
most resemble right. I mean Donald Trump Pooh said when Bill O asked about the Russian in February
present infirmaries resident said what are we so great
We didn't we, don't we don't kill people. Will you know yelling, Michael Corleone, talking to talking to his girlfriend K. Atoms like this is ridiculous, but you know it's not ridiculous. You guys I'll tell you it's not ridiculous.
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watch it without. Where will you know not? Yet you know trumpeted knock out of the news. What's especially especially entity, twitter sphere. Here was that Valerie plain
val, replace Valerie, Plain Valerie
Plain Wilson so as
as you may or may not have noticed, Valerie Flame Wilson, former
averts Yea operative working in the headquarters of the agency in
thousand until married two former ambassador
Joseph see, Wilson. The aid for the sixteenth, the twenty seventh or whatever pretensions pompous number. This sorry misbegotten excuse for a pompous human being. Has
was sent by
the CIA, to investigate the question of whether or not there was yellow cake that IRAN, Iraq had discussed, yellow cake with new share.
Found in fact that Iraq had discussed, yellow cake with these air, then turned around Aroun, told Nicholas Christoph of the New York Times that he had found no such thing and then wrote a much discussed up bed in the New York Times in the summer of two thousand three saying that there was no iraqi trade in nuclear fissile material and
This would have meant had them at the White House had known this because he had reported to the CIA, which he had not as the Senate Intelligence Committee uncovered. In fact, at the opposite,.
But then he, but therefore the White House had deliberately lied to the american people. This was the beginning really of the we like we're being lied into war, deliberately
wine and enraged Richard Armitage number. Two guy to Colin Powell, the State Department told a reporter that Wilson had been sent to measure because his wife Al Reclaim had been the person that soon sent them. Her name came out in public. It turned out that she was a covert agent and then it was against the law to reveal the name of covert agent public. A special prosecutor was appointed Patrick Fitzgerald, with the end result that Us Scooter, Libby, the chief of staff to Dick Cheney, was indicted and convicted of having lied
about a meeting with TIM of NBC News, mind you no one. It is now clear that were Libby, never named Valerie blame. It was Richard Armitage Scooter, nothing
It at good is a friend of mine. I would state that stipulate that at the top- but he wasn't
convicted and George W Bush commuted to sentence, and he did not serve any time. Jail did not part. Member did commuter sentence.
Joseph Wilson lied. Valerie blame then went on to do whatever it is, is Valerie Plain did for living. She was photographed and vanity fair. They wrote a book together,
doubtless Lyman made a movie out of it and which Naomi Watts played Valerie Plain and Sean PEN played Joseph see Wilson. The eighty seven
and
That was all we heard about a rather buoy tanked and they were would no longer useful because George W Bush is out of office, and everybody understood that Wilson was a fraudulent idiot and by plane was useless.
And then out of nowhere, this law
last week, she starts
tweets out a piece,
about how Jews start all the wars in the world by one Philip gerardi filter.
Ali who writes often for the american term and other places as a former see age in himself, a conspiratorial list anti so
might slime bucket
the lowest possible character,
and whose material is often really the vile and virulently anti semitic and neck than that specific conspiratorial away
and then it turns out you ve been doing it over and over again. She died three or four or five times. So. What do we make of this
I've already, probably all Jews
the bad news is bad news, and you know anybody what it will go back over their frustration with antipathy, with the NEO conservative elements of the Bush administration and their frustrations over the prospect of the Iraq war and the impetus behind the Iraq war. In light of the notion that they are most likely harbouring,
symmetric there is, I mean besides us. Will there is a little bit of it? I mean, I have to say everybody, everybody
Twitter acknowledged that what Valerie Plain had done was
discussed including military, might enable she apologized she apologized fifty times. I had no idea that this article, no they're, not how then do they run, should have known. She didn't know that by the way after she had tweeted Abt knows further defenses of saying
Don't the please it's very flay, read it all away through dont. Let don't let your own biases
get in the way of assessing the with the view of he's on its merits,
but if we look there's always it an element of the of the the those who are against are going to Iraq. That talked about it being a war for his
well yeah, I am ended and that have basically that this jewish cabal, let us into war. The jewish cabal made up of Colin Powell, famous famous Jew
congolese rice, famous Jus Donald Rumsfeld, all legal acts is pulling everyone's try now.
George, W Bush. He big Jew
Dig, Dick Cheney daily. You know praise three times a day with her Tollison villain dimension Rumsfeld
yet all Rumsfeld get out were recently moved to the West Bank, with his nineteen children too were enough to live on a settlement I mean yes
there was Paul Wolf wits staying there
phone as undersecretary of defence, and you know
the Jews Lighters into war, because basically, you guenaud the gentle
we're just robots working for Paul, Wolf, woods, politics,
commentary. Very fine person varying tell.
Person knows a lot about a lot of things. I would not describe Paul Wolf words as the most horrifying Lee manipulative. You now serve like
figure of such deep charisma and am in sight
power that his ability to mow down people like
His box tile Rumsfeld, who
That is not exactly a person easy to intimidator to control. It's just was to always just preposterous and ludacris, and and and the fact that this was the line that was proffered was itself evidence of you know deep seated, you know a kind of deep seated Anti Semitism in certain quarters because it was so insanely ludacris that I'm the one had you had this most evangelical administration ever be in control,
by and by the Jews but were but but you know, revenge is a dish. Best serve cold of humiliation and brought break. Bringing down low of Valerie Plane is at least a tiny bit of attack.
Any ray of light and a deeply gloomy?
a political point of view I enjoyed and related mass jive. So what are we forget? Ok, so north great
anybody can can either of you guys explained to me or come up with
area according to which try
Decision to call you Kim Jong on Little rocket man is logical,
what what why he would do it if he's trying to make the case, and yet he may be this in
or Miss threat. That brings us inevitably into a giant conflict,
I have a theory, but it's your theory, you you. You had said that sort of trump bats off the cuff. Without any for thought
just says what feels good at the moment and, what's likely to to,
produce some sort of reaction. Anyone get in a process. It is precisely the same thing that brought him up to an unstable
in Alabama, worry resurrected. This controversy, this racially send inflammatory controversy that had no other objective other than to inflame the audience inflame. The country for
everybody and redound to his benefit he's got good political instincts when it comes to that like how he gets himself in a position that is marginally beneficial among the p,
who voted for him, but everybody else he doesn't quite undressed,
and how to appeal to- and he does make the effort quite frequently to appeal to people on the left. The international community
can't quite understand that he knows how to play his court unquote base like a fiddle and that that's instinct jewel, and when you listen to his instincts, he does really good, but he D can't quite figure out how to make that apply to any one else right. Well, you know he actually had a good couple weeks, every Paul home, taking up
Nepal, which it was forty three which would have the highest peace, because he was elected by gradually
doing away with the main political and be, most importantly, he was out of the news like this. For a week, basically, we were following storms and so have tramp of crises like that
That's why he's president is to be the dominating figure in the world that says, you know ceaseless hunger,
you know we also didn't discuss the collapse. The third apparent collapse of the health care were told it made out of collapse were told that there is no new version. It could possibly
loaded on. This does feel like some existential Charlie Brown Football thing, though right I mean so they lost ones.
They lost once in the house, and they brought it back and say that it was twice in the sand, and this is the third, so they're really gonna run up to the ball again they're gonna vote again, I guess there knock, I will vote through a cause which Macao will operate, analyse our cascade
observe objections right well and we don't even know I mean that there is no bill. That's of course, the joke years of the bill is just ok, the states all get it. You know enough. Zag isn't here you go you take it. You'd see, would have
stu it. The liberal attacks on this notion that you block Grant healthcare. The states are hilarious. It seems to me this notion some
organization announced, the thirty four million people would lose their health insurance which, by the way is, is insane because all that would mean is it
formerly people would choose under this. Under the these terms, would choose not to pay for health insurance, not that they would not that they would lose that they would still have access to it. If you have there been their states what Afric, as I would have all this money, to put it up ass if they would choose not to pay for it, which is the loss? That's that's! It that's a deliberate choice, but why? Why is this happening again? I I'm kind of at a loss. Charles Grassy was putting honest when he said that we need this promise
has less to do with the building. The fact we have this promise to gain. We gotta keep dry and the prisoners of their own words. Now I will say that there are a couple of its not as though this is not interrupt you it's not as if this isn't the pressing public policy issues and that go beyond the cares super great and it's not having.
Ordinarily distorting effects on the insurance market economy. Moreover, baby
Maybe they are going to run in twenty eighteen. By saying, look, we got the house, we have to sign up. We got the presidency, we are ready to move and we couldn't pull it off because we needed you know we, you know we didn't, have total unanimity among Republicans
and we need sixty seats, and I do this or we neither. We need democratic
to our side or we tried, we tried, we tried and tried, don't say we didn't try. Maybe
it's better than then saying that they gave up. I don't know
I will say that one of the interesting data points is that the generic ballot, that is, when you ask people who, though, vote for the next election, the Democratic Republic of the generic ballot, is not looking like it should given trumped unpopularity the fact that it's a mid term elections involving the out party and
that looks like Democrats are up by about eight points. You would think based on all the data that they would be up about fifteen points of a generic, and maybe maybe but the pantry really doesn't like the democratic hurt you know, and so, if, if they can't rally, I mean what is it going to mean? They can't rally to win sufficient seats to take those? They don't need that many new twenty four seats, its it still so premature. To start handicapping November of next year, especially based on generic ballot, I mean you didn't. You know, really
You can see what then landscapes gonna look like for another six months. We don't you know the candidates are right, but but I mean we do know that there is there of their general secular trends that happen over course of time, and that you know the at leverage. Net victory of the out party in MID term election is thirty. Six seats Democrats should expect.
When thirty six aids, which will give them the house, is that average sent a century because the centuries had a lot of wild swings. Now it's like seventy. Seventy four, it's like the last forty forty two years. I believe so Hemi Election, that's house elections, that's twenty one house elections like that's up now that it's always buffet by the fact that there are elections that are huge swings. You know said before is a huge swaying. Eighty was huge swing. Ninety four, as a huge swing, two thousand six was a huge swing. Two thousand ten was
and so so. Some of that is a little distorted unless that's still a lot of elections, even their national elections. It's six or seven day, two points, it's not a huge amount, but at least it does represent a trap,
I don't know. It's very continue level that man it will mean that the Democratic Party has a debilitating brand issue that they will be unable to address
Well, look at me because to address it would be to frustrate anybody else who call themselves members of the democratic base. This point read them have to make start decision me. Lou, take take stale,
the issue of health care. What a world where are they add or they are they
single player, although I know
what are they matter? They are they talking about fixing Obama Karen
smaller. What I wrote about this on Wednesday, I think it was with regard to Joe Biden coming out against them
morning, just something that really animates the left and also the kind of libertarian technocracy that wants to see the welfare state dissolve in favor of this more choice, oriented form of of the public sector charity. But the caveat is that we're going to dissolve all these welfare state programs in the form of moving, you know pushing out in a minimum income and that's never going to happen. If Democrats will never never allow that to happen,
I'm Joe Biden comes out against this in favour of the traditional liberal opinion, which isn't really an argument against the right as an argument against the left, but it for for different reasons when, when I was examining whose really
but this thing on the left who favour a minimum,
and come by the way that you can live on, not just like a supplement, not eleven grand, but something really substantial that they do this, because they want to move
past the Labour era, where you had a backbone of the democratic coalition that represent that was represented by white working class people, and this is big method that Donald Trump one white working class voters. He didn't he just one more than Republicans, usually get and the far left resents have
to even appeal to those members of the coalition. They don't want Donald Trump voters back. They regard them
heretics backward
those yardstick for the liberal project, people to be jettisoned.
Abandoned, shunned and labelled. As
right so essentially you're saying that this notion, which is the which is that the government will supply every person in America with a guaranteed income.
Charles Murray, among other people, that you want something highlighted, ran,
thirteen grand and the idea is that you will remove all all welfare programmes and every American it over. The age of eighteen will have a check for thirteen thousand dollars a year from the guy,
comment meant totally up to them. How they spend it and whether they work to sweat that this should be enough to feed them
close them and house them. That's that's the idea that they
be able on thirteen thousand dollars a year to have a subsistence life in which they do not starve and in which they are not here.
Was the train I, which Emma Democrat used to give some feet. Nephews ability to at least lip service was that we would scale back the entitlement stay right now and Charles was pointed, then you there's only works if you were move all welfare on the grounds that you need. This is such a disincentive to taken care of yourself that, if you have, if the safety net is broader than this, thirteen thousand dollars per person it will destroy. The countries will save the countries will. But his point about this, which is an interesting philosophical point, is that the the move towards higher levels of productivity, in particular this notion that we're gonna move to driverless of vehicles that are controlled by apps makes is
will will drastically limit the amount of unskilled work in the United States. The driving vehicles, for example, employs people who are employed driving vehicles make up about six million people in the world. I don't know what that is in the workforce. It's about three and one slash two to four percent, and if driverless vehicles come in this this
particular category, which is the most profitable form unskilled labour, will disappear than what happens to those people
which only six million people United States who will be unemployable because they, this is what they do and they can't do anything else, and so this is an effort to look ahead and try and creatively about how to fix it. But you are right,
what we have here. Is this notion that the radical left, which
seems to be largely starting to drive the cultural and political conversation among women.
Crap is moving towards a an anti labour world in which, of course, that private products of labour euins aside from government unions, are polluting and destructive the environment right
all steel, automobiles things that where there is actually a a working class labour world that is represented by mere, is unionized, so that's destructive their bad thee.
What is structural inequality? United States means that you're a sucker if you work because you're just working for some hedge fund, that you know I was taking all your money away anyway, and that you have this lot.
Inevitable logic is somehow that you know we. All we do is push people into working until they die and and that you know we should be more like marks, thought, which is that we should farm in the morning and
paint and write poetry in the afternoon, and that was one of the liberal critics rights taken from Jack of a magazine, which is precisely what the left
We were all it says its as it's exactly as its name confers, if you remember what the Jacobin were all about, but yet her
gesture. Was that once we take away those adopt the labour element of this whole thing men, we reignite the debate over the the nature of productive capital and who owns widen,
We should then dissociate the the working class from the ruling class in all this marxist prattle, but
indicative of a little bit
ITALY elevated thought process on the left, which, as you say, does see, work as exploitive, exploitative,
and so to tie this whole the podcast thoughts together, we have a left wing that is being dominated by a cultural that is strangling were include, inclusive, increasingly guided, let's say month dominated yet but Morgan
did. I suppose they are the animated ethos behind and a culture that says we can say that the flag is patriotic, because that would alienate and offend people for whom that is not their truth. We can't say that
Work is not a four let her word that the american ethos of labouring to you,
on benefit an end is not an exploitative process, because for some it is. We can't say that police are good because they're not for everybody
you ve, got down from couldn't ask for better adversaries. If you think that this is this, this presence he's gonna be on
and by that sort of cultural myopia animas I got.
I got news for you, then you know Stanley Green Burg, who was built Clinton's pollster, Gruber Rosson Research has a remarkable piece in the american prospects, called how Hilary lost or why Hilary lost that. I urge you to read. You can just google Stanley Green burnt, how
or why Hilary Lost- and you can read this said, discredit description both of her book and largely of this book shattered by Java Alan and Amy partners about the disasters of the hill
a campaign in what he says is that there was an institutional hostility to the idea that what Hilary needed was to generate votes among the white working class. This was not the idiot logical approach that this campaign wished to take. It wished to believe,
It could knit together. Women voters, driven by vice, were very poor
women and feminist tendencies, and african American and mine,
pretty voters and that they would then pocket as much of the white working classes they would, but by by even by even
by leaning and waving in that direction, that they would somehow alienates this new base, this new Obama Base and that this was the malpractice that day they.
Brought into this idea that the country had changed before it had changed and before it
even change and that the appealing to the white working lesson as AIDS is still the secret to winning national elections period. That's what green breeks as its when he said. It's elbow, Clint One, it's urgent
which one is how Obama One and its, how Trump One, and if you don't do it, you cannot win and if the Democratic Party is doubling down on policies that go exactly in the opposite direction:
This thing that you and I know I wrote about you- know right after the Trump victory
hollowing out of the Democratic Party, because the increase of the general public does not believe that the work that the Democratic Party represents its interests will continue a pace. How I like that that the left is hostile to the white Working class and to manual labor,
and to the top one percent sources of pollution. Are we or run for that? Therefore, the chattering classes? That's right! War, the therefore public sex,
the workers that are therefore narrow, the app culture or the redistribution capital, and when only traditional marxist ethos right, but in the bed them
traditional marxist ethos. Was he redistribute capital to help the white to help the working class right not to help
turning now to help that's professors who cared union and that's why? Deep down the minimum income offends most traditional liberals because it is not targeted because it is blanket and you can't take your little constituent groups and benefit them disproportion right anyway, so interesting,
larger and larger political dynamic. That is was not particularly illuminated by this by this ridiculous kneeling or not kneeling an anthem mama.
Stuff was by the way that that in twenty twelve Barack Obama's coalition or not, I his his campaign ever really ostentatiously flirted with the idea of jettisoning the white working class from the FBI.
Based new deal coalition that had enemy of the Democratic Party they didn't, but they made big gestures in the direction of it and that really jazzed up the activists class to an extent that there actually doing something that they probably
shouldn't have every down which is taken seriously right now I will say one thing: I watch last night: Ober win, freeze, first appearance as a contributor on sixty minutes, speaking to a focus group assembled for her by Frank once in Michigan of you, no voters in Michigan, and it was her in a room with twenty people talking about their various views and everything.
And- and I said it jokingly- I said it not jokingly asked if she doesn't run. She is a fool, because if you watch the sixty minutes segment, you will see somebody who is the perfect trump antidote who can speak to people who and hear people and and make it appear as though she listens to people enough that she can take the other side of his bat. Give it give it give it a go, go find it on CBS News, dot com
then take a watch and see. If you agree with me, I you know he's going to have to be he's going to have to face down. If the Democrats are serious about dating on the twenty slash twenty he's going to have to face down a personality that can be in the arena with him. He cannot be a larger big.
More sizeable more you now, while grander more controversial figure than the person that he is facing, without in any way, if they want to win, they need they meet somebody who can take him down and like a mild, the governor of Colorado,
it's not gonna, be that guy is my anyway. We are
roasting Jonah Gilbert Commentary magazines annual roast comes up November. Seventh, here in New York.
If you want to look into it and see if you want to come cheap ticket, but it's a great event,
gotTa W W W Commentary magazine that comes lash tickets. That's W W W
commentary magazine dot com, slash tickets for a remote and harassment, I'm John Words
keep the camera warning.
Transcript generated on 2019-12-13.