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On the first podcast of the week, John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman discuss the opening days of the Trump administration and why they were not so good, really, in their opinion—and they also argue over the meaning of the Women’s March and its possible ramifications for 2018. Give a listen.
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I too am put off by Trump’s thin-skinned, silly grousing over the weekend, but I’m not sure about a couple of John’s assertions about the women’s march. I have read that George Soros‘s group was behind a lot of it, which is one reason why big issues arose over there being too many white women, no pro-life women, etc. My twin sister (who was not able to go to Washington but did march locally) found out about the march long long ago, just a little while after the election. So, I just don’t buy that there was no organization behind it, whereas, at least initially, the Tea Party was totally grassroots. Also, the Tea Party did not fizzle out totally on their own; they were clearly thwarted by the IRS, certainly much more obviously than the Russians helped Trump win this election. Also, regarding Democrat voters, it is true that many might come back in 2018, but not by Democrat preaching against Trump. According to Salena Zito, 90,000 Pennsylvania Democrats switched parties in the primaries to vote for Trump. That represents a real and potentially long-lasting shift. So, if the Democrats in Congress thwart all of Trump’s economic reform efforts, those voters will not necessarily blame Trump and may permanently leave the party. And, finally, I believe that more people than not will be annoyed by Obama activism, especially if the economy seems to get better relatively soon.
Good podcast. The anecdote about Leonard Garmet and Nixon from 1972 was very telling.
Don’t over think the size of the protest crowds. I have several relatives who converted tickets to celebrate Hillary’s inaugural into a protest trip. They already had the tickets. I’ll believe this is a big deal when I see a sustained movement that actually wants something.
Knowing supreme Left organizational skills, I also intent to express my doubts about spontaneity of the March. I share your concerns about Obama eagerness to re-engage in Democratic politics – he is not the person to take defeat lightly – it is personal for him, he is too vindictive, and thin-skinned in his own rights. The hope is that Republicans will not rest on their laurels, secure Supreme Court, and remain vigilant. Democrats will not surrender – it is too vital for them.
Did you know it’s wrong to lie? I didn’t know that. I wondered why my life is such a wreck. Why no one trusts me. But thanks to John, I finally connected the dots. I have to stop lying.
Seriously, I turned it off after about 16 minutes. I’m not five years old.
By all means, John should tell us his opinion. But he should ratchet down the ranting a little.
Well…, more than a little.
I found JPod’s assertion that Christine O’Donnell was the most embarrassing Senate candidate of the last 40 years interesting. Initially I thought of Carol Mosley Braun, but the more I thought about it, Christine wasn’t even the most embarrassing candidate of that election. South Carolina had Alvin Greene running in 2010. Maybe JPod left off a Republican modifier, but Miss O’Donnell wasn’t the most embarrassing.
It’s hard to keep up with everything going on, but it would be good for John to do a bit of research before spending so much time on a topic. Regarding the protest marches last weekend, Monday’s Andrew Klavan Show podcast pointed out that the New York Times (if we are to trust them) reported that over 50 of the organizations involved in this most recent march are funded by Soros.
Biggest demonstration nationwide? I think you are forgetting the tea party rallies. There were easily half a million of us there 9/12/2009. And more at rallies back home.
http://blurbrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Tea_Party_March_Washington_2009.jpg
That is not to say that the women’s rally was unimpressive — just not unique — not unprecedented in number.
The tea party had a short list of goals and a core tenet that government was too big and intrusive. I don’t know that the women’s march has that core tenet and their laundry list is way too long to ever keep a huge, self-organized group together. Best thing they could do for themselves is to make sure that the Democrats nominate a decent, moderate candidate in 2020. Good luck with that.
What I found with the tea party is that half the people who showed up could not have recited the short list of goals (reduce the size and scope of government, promote free trade and eliminate “crony capitalism”, reduce government borrowing and pay off debt, promote economic growth). Like the women’s march, many came mostly to protest a president they did not vote for.
The tea party had enormous impact in subsequent elections. I seriously doubt the women’s march will.