Abe, Noah, and John come together for the last COMMENTARY podcast of the week to discuss the retirement of Jeff Flake and his attack on Donald Trump’s violation of norms: Can you really say the man who wins the presidency is a political aberration. We then consider the schadenfreude of the Right at learning of the Clinton campaign’s hidden role in trying to dig up dirt on Trump in Russia—and wonder at the conspiracy theory that is being spun from it. Give a listen.

Subscribe to The Commentary Magazine Podcast in Apple Podcasts (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in Apple Podcasts or by RSS feed.

Please Support Our Sponsors!

Harry's Shave

Use Code: ricochet

Upside

There are 7 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. Patrick McClure Coolidge
    Patrick McClure
    @Patrickb63

    I made it to 15:29 before I turned it off.  You gentlemen have been telling us since the election how horrible all of this is.  I have yet to see it.  How about you join the rest of us?  Encouraging the behavior we want, and condemning behavior we don’t want.  Unceasing negative reinforcement is no way to train a dog or a President.  Equal parts praise and criticism work best.

    As for Flake, I agree with Andrew Klavan.  Flake’s speech boils down to “Someone should oppose Trump, it is our moral obligation.  But it won’t be me, I’m leaving.”  Hardly a stance of bravery.

    • #1
  2. Bill R Member
    Bill R
    @BillR

    “Harpoon yourself on your own bayonet”?

    or was it

    “Bayonet youself on your own harpoon”?

    • #2
  3. Bill R Member
    Bill R
    @BillR

    “Harpoon yourself on your own bayonet”?

    or was it

    “Bayonet youself on your own harpoon”?

     

    • #3
  4. JuliaBlaschke Lincoln
    JuliaBlaschke
    @JuliaBlaschke

    Patrick McClure (View Comment):
    I made it to 15:29 before I turned it off. You gentlemen have been telling us since the election how horrible all of this is. I have yet to see it. How about you join the rest of us? Encouraging the behavior we want, and condemning behavior we don’t want. Unceasing negative reinforcement is no way to train a dog or a President. Equal parts praise and criticism work best.

    As for Flake, I agree with Andrew Klavan. Flake’s speech boils down to “Someone should oppose Trump, it is our moral obligation. But it won’t be me, I’m leaving.” Hardly a stance of bravery.

    You have yet to see it? The rest of us? You seem to think Trump is like a dog that needs training. Well I think you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Also, if you lay down with dogs, you wake up with fleas. Flake has decided that he can’t beat him and won’t join him. I imagine he is hoping someone else will.  Me too.

    • #4
  5. LibertyDefender Member
    LibertyDefender
    @LibertyDefender

    Patrick McClure (View Comment):
    I made it to 15:29 before I turned it off. You gentlemen have been telling us since the election how horrible all of this is. I have yet to see it.

    I went farther than you did, Patrick, but it didn’t get any better.  In fact, there was plenty of recitation of Trump actions that the whining Commentary editors favor, e.g. reductions in the regulatory state, but somehow they managed to avoid giving Trump any credit for such action, and they certainly didn’t refer to it as “policy.”  The sky continues to fall, to hear JPod, Abe and Noah tell it.

    They were especially WRONG about the origins of the “Trump Dossier,” claiming that it started out as a Republican-funded operation.  They would do well to read Mollie Hemingway’s piece at the Federalist, which includes this point that ought to be obvious to any journalist:

    2) No, the Russian dossier was not initially funded by Republicans

    There is no evidence that a Republican donor or Republican campaign was ever involved with the Russian dossier. Fusion GPS claimed to reporters (though they did not provide evidence) that a Republican funded separate opposition research on Trump, dealing with his business interests. But as the Washington Post itself reports, the dossier did not exist until after the Democrats hired Fusion GPS[.]

    • #5
  6. filmklassik Inactive
    filmklassik
    @filmklassik

    Patrick McClure (View Comment):
    Unceasing negative reinforcement is no way to train a dog or a President.

    You do realize you’ve just placed Trump on the same intellectual footing as a canine, don’t you?

    It’s an apt comparison in my book, but I’m sure it wasn’t the impression you wanted to leave us with.

    One can despise Trump AND Flake at the same time, and yearn for the day when all GOP policymakers will be as morally courageous as Ben Sasse (a true dyed in the wool Conservative who is willing to slam left and right with equal vigor; in short, he is that rarest of unicorns:  The principled politician.)

     

     

    • #6
  7. Patrick McClure Coolidge
    Patrick McClure
    @Patrickb63

    filmklassik (View Comment):
    You do realize you’ve just placed Trump on the same intellectual footing as a canine, don’t you?

    It’s an apt comparison in my book, but I’m sure it wasn’t the impression you wanted to leave us with.

    Yes, I knew exactly what I was saying.  But how intelligent do you have to be, to not be influenced by positive or negative reinforcement?  The fact that the President, or any human, is influenced by doesn’t mean he’s on the intelligence level of a dog.

    • #7
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.