Senior writer at Commentary Magazine.
Today’s podcast takes up the collapse of the Jussie Smollett hoax before going on to discuss whether it’s illegitimate to discuss the 25th amendment. Give a listen.
More Today’s podcast takes up the candidacy of Bernie Sanders and his problem with identity politics Democrats, and the case of Jussie Smollett, who told a cockamamie tale that we were ordered to believe. Also: Trump’s emergency. Give a listen.
More A Senate investigation concludes that there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign in 2016. Will Trump’s opponents accept it? Also, Andrew McCabe claims the Justice Department tried to trigger the 25th Amendment, and the Green New Deal’s dream of national high-speed rail hits the rocks in California.
More On today’s episode, we look at how the Democrats failed to build on the political success they had holding Donald Trump to account for the government shutdown—instead of melting down in Virginia, with their Green New Deal, and with the continued inability of Elizabeth Warren to escape her own lies about her background. Then we talk about the party’s anti-Semitic breakout star, Ilhan Omar, and the plagiarism scandal affecting the highest-ranking woman in the history of the New York Times. So much pleasure! Give a listen.
More On today’s podcast, we ask whether Donald Trump’s specific attack on socialism in the State of the Union address—and the strange Democratic response to it—will prove a key issue in 2020. Did he hoist them on their own petard? And is that what is going on with the political meltdown among Democrats in Virginia? Give a listen.
We also discuss Eli Steele’s article “From White Supremacy to Identity Politics.” Give it a read.
More The Commentary podcast discusses Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s blackface scandal and his party’s calls for him to resign, the death of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty, and dystopian futurism in Super Bowl ads.
More Today’s podcast takes up the question of the Howard Schultz candidacy and whether it’s frightening Democrats more or thrilling conservatives more. And then we bring up the brave new world of surrogacy, parenthood, and partial birth abortion and wonder whether what we need is an updating of the Oral Law. Give a listen.
More The government shutdown is over. Did Donald Trump “cave?” What does Roger Stone’s indictment by the Special Counsel’s Office indicate about Robert Mueller’s investigation into Donald Trump’s campaign and the “collusion” narrative? And the United States and the Taliban come to terms on a post-conflict agreement. Has the war in Afghanistan been lost? All that and more on the Commentary podcast!
More So the data are in, and they show Donald Trump has hurt himself with the shutdown. Period. The question is, why have the Republicans who have withdrawn their support in recent polls done so? And we go into the Venezuelan political crisis and the deft leadership America has shown this week. Give a listen.
More Is social media evil? Can there be any doubt after this weekend’s disgusting display? And is the online media titan BuzzFeed behaving in ways that enhance media credibility or damage it? Guess! Give a listen.
More The Democratic Party should be on a roll, but it doesn’t seem to be benefiting from the government shutdown, some of its hot young stars are getting into trouble on anti-Semitism grounds, and the rollouts of its presidential contenders have been rocky. We talk about that and about Christine Rosen’s important February COMMENTARY article, “The Psychological War on Masculinity.” Give a listen.
More The New York Times reports that the FBI opened an investigation into Donald Trump’s personal ties to Russia under dubious circumstances. Does this demonstrate the truth in the claims made by the president’s defenders about the arrogance and recklessness of the permanent bureaucracy? And, as this becomes the longest government shutdown in history, is anyone “winning” the messaging?
More Donald Trump’s Oval Office address was a dud because he is not a persuader, and that’s all such speeches are designed to do—to persuade those who can be persuaded. So what happens now that the government shutdown is really starting to bite? And what does the number 42 tell us about the future? Give a listen.
More Will anyone benefit from the government shutdown, or is this just brinksmanship politics that makes no sense? We discuss this on today’s podcast, as well as the question of whether female politicians are being mistreated when the question is raised about their likability. Give a listen.
More Mitt Romney inaugurates 2019 by firing a shot across Donald Trump’s bow, but did he miss his mark? And with the government still shut down and with neither Democrats nor Republicans having any reason to compromise a way out of the conundrum, does it ever open again?
More The last podcast of 2018 finds us discussing the latest Facebook scandal and wondering how long it will be until the big-tech companies are broken up. And we discuss just how bad the president’s week has been (it’s been bad, I’m sorry to say). Give a listen.
More Today’s podcast features an explanation of and peroration on the demise of the Weekly Standard, how the magazine fit into the world of conservative intellectual publishing both now and when it was created in 1995, and the evolution of magazines from keeping a long-armed distance from politics and parties to the present-day demand that they serve as the cheerleaders for movements. Give a listen.
More The National Enquirer admits that it paid off Trump’s paramour to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. Between that and last week’s revelations regarding Trump’s alleged complicity in campaign finance fraud, the president’s legal exposure is increasing. How do Republicans in Congress react? Also, Theresa May narrowly survives a vote of no confidence, but her government is crippled.
More Donald Trump is personally implicated in potential criminal misconduct in the memo related to the sentencing of his former attorney, Michael Cohen. What impact will the latest revelations out of Robert Mueller’s probe and the Southern District of New York have on his presidency and his reelection campaign? Also, the tide of populism that crashed over Europe in 2015 and 2016 is rising again. Can its bloodless centrist technocrats survive?
More The COMMENTARY podcast explores the nearly universal outrage over the Wisconsin GOP’s effort to reclaim power from the incoming Democratic governor, which, while tawdry, falls short of a “coup.” The hosts diagnose the lack of recent historical perspective that led political observers into apoplexy. Also, signs the Democratic 2020 primary will descend into the intersectional Olympics.
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