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America’s most beloved podcasters return for another dose of politics, pop culture, and predictions. This week, in the effort to defend ObamaCare, if everyone is a RINO, who’s actually a Republican? Also, Breaking Bad’s almost over, should kids have smartphones, iOS7 mini reviews, and will there be a live GLoP in New York City next month? Tune in to find out.
The walrus was EJHill.
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Delusion of a national movement? Many things libs have crammed down the nation’s throat did not have national movements, but they created the appearance of such. For example, as I recall “Campaign Finance ‘Reform'” was claimed by Annenberg as their doing. Everywhere politicians turned in the late 90’s they heard people saying that CFR was absolutely necessary. But it was a PR job. “The People” didn’t want it. There is no “American People.” At least Jonah writes pitch perfect on that.
Cruz and Lee aren’t perfect, maybe even good, strategists….so what? 23 minutes, now 30… into this podcast and you all are still carping. And JPod is giving us a “the sky is blue” lecture on the American gerrymandered electorate. Seriously bad pod.
Now why is it that I should renew for a 4th year? The worst “What Can’t Adam Complain About?” is 1000x better than what this podcast has become.
*fyi…i can’t stand listening to FoxNews…except maybe a youtube of Jonah saying something…because it went to hell in about 2006….about the same for The Corner. i ain’t in any echo chamber….well, carolladigital, but….other than that.
Wow…on 41st minute and back to whining about cheap shots someone took at you on Twitter. Weren’t you all going to talk about culture or “Breaking Bad” or anything else than your bitterness of being unfairly criticized?
Horrible pod.
I’ve been a paying member since the beginning and just canceled my membership.
I was very disappointed with the joyous, self-satisfied vitriol hurled at the only people in the GOP showing any kind of leadership. This was not respectful, civilized conversation. Proof? Would any of them say this to Ted Cruz’s face?
Finally, I guess John got over his worry about talking to much.
Good luck, Ricochet!
The conservative talking heads are badly misunderstanding the mood of the conservative grassroots on this.
For a while now, I’ve noticed an increasing ideological divide between our podcasters and members. As usual, I both enjoyed and agreed with the points made on GLoP. But I think the Cruz Marathon appeals to the GOP electorate as political theatre – in a good way, like a tent revival – a “come to Jesus” moment that resonates with Republicans in the South and Heartland that may not with Coastal Wonks like our guys. I love it. All of it. Our party should be the party of the Ivy-league lawyer and the car mechanic. The blue-blood and the immigrant. The idealist and the pragmatist. We are the party of opportunity, but that means we won’t always agree. Whether you favor a political strategy more like checkers or chess, we have to keep playing. And if we lose, clear the board and set ’em up again. As much as people dis DC, and rightly so, our Nation’s Capital cradles the last best hope for the world. I’m inspired by Cruz’s conviction and iron bladder. Let’s not forget our cause is just and our efforts worthy, and we’re in this together.
mmmm…killing Hank could be seen a necessary catalyst to throw Walter’s family into ultimate chaos…precipitating the final end….and getting to that end over a few episodes is good tv.
i do think Jonah is off-base with his “this-show-or-that-show is really a small c conservative lesson” argument, which he stated again in the NRO article. i don’t think normal people experience these shows like this. unless someone directs their energies in a productive direction (by…let’s say setting up emotionally charged, simplistic dramas in the Senate or House), they won’t even experience Obamacare’s destructive implementation as a “small c conservative” lesson.
my guess: Walter may just as well kill Schwartz.
AND Todd is not a manifestation of afamilial tribalism…or however Jonah said that….but, he is clearly the archetypal Ginger Kid with NO SOUL. duh.
Good points, but the 50% metric, while valid, doesn’t take into account Perot. And we have to acknowledge that comparisons are not equivalent becausefreakingObama was reelected with more than 50% of the vote. Unfortunately, we seem to be living in a much different world than the mid-90’s.
Look, I see myself as witnessing history. There’s nothing we can do to alter the outcome, as much as we like to feelwe can. I’m interested in seeing how this all plays out. State your bet, but it does nothing to change what will happen. We’ll see who’s right. ·27 minutes ago
Edited 20 minutes ago
Honestly, I see little chance of Obamacare being repealed, ever. This is a last ditch effort to stop it and it probably won’t succeed. As it stands now, we will probably see a disappointment showing by the GOP in ’14, followed by a narrow GOP win in ’16.
The momentum of the Tea Partyu landside has been squandered and I really doubt Sen. McConnell’s and Speaker Boehnor’s ability to recapture it.
You mean there’s a Ricochet Establishment caucus of Ivy grads, National Review writers and former White House speech writers?
I am shocked — shocked— to find that gambling is going on in here! … I came to Casablanca for the waters.
These comments are hysterical. Virtually every podcaster on Ricochet completely disagrees with the vast majority of the posting members, and they can’t stand it.
I for one find most of the members stalwart defense of Cruz’s grandstanding, designed purely to elevate himself and position himself as the conservative standard banner, but not acutally accomplish anything really childish. Cruz is manipulating you and your frustration. You are being played and won’t listen to anyone speaking sense.
Like I said, hysterical.
The idea of Dexter wandering into Portlandia reminded me of the Pettycoat Junction/Greenacres crossovers.
Disappointing to hear all three criticize Cruz.
We might as well throw every delay, every impediment we can at Obamacare. Anything to chip away at the idea that it’s a done deal and we should just get used to it.
Maybe it will create a movement. Who knows unless someone tries?
If we’ve really lost the people and can’t stop Leviathan, then we might as well go down swinging.
Matede, read your private mail. ;-)
So in other words: Obamacare is here to stay so get over it. ·1 hour ago
Obamacare is here as long as Obama is in office. He’s not going to let his signature accomplishment be repealed.
The real battle begins in 2016. Everything until then is just jockeying for position. ·9 hours ago
This is the undeniable fact: Obamacare stays as long as Obama or a Democrat successor (God forbid!) are in the White House. Strategy that fails to take that into consideration might actually be harmful to the cause.
Patrick – Hate to see you go. Bon chance, mon ami!
Yes, but the frustrating part for Lincoln was that there was no reason to avoid the fight – the Union had the leverage and better than even odds of winning. Delay meant allowing the rebels to improve their strength and position.
The defund Obamacare effort is different, though. There’s nothing we can actually do, for now, to achieve our objective over the objections and leverage of our opponents. It’s not a matter of additional effort, more elbow grease, or brilliant tactics. The only way this can happen is if we take the Senate, the Presidency, or both. Furthermore, while Cruz’s symbolic effort is undeniably stirring (especially to those of us who have been “stirred” for some years already) it’s implausible that it will succeed and it may end up harming the defund cause.
It seems to me that American voters (inexplicably but undeniably) value compromise or the appearance of such over substantive argument. What is the Republican response to “mend it, don’t end it” type offers of compromise? Unless we’re willing to work with the Dems to make Obamacare better or unless we have a substantive and immensely popular alternative ready to replace Obamacare then I don’t see how forcing the issue this way doesn’t harm our cause.
So in other words: Obamacare is here to stay so get over it. ·1 hour ago
Obamacare is here as long as Obama is in office. He’s not going to let his signature accomplishment be repealed.
The real battle begins in 2016. Everything until then is just jockeying for position. ·10 hours ago
If it makes you feel better to believe this, then fine. But the battle is now. If Obamacare is implemented, it is here to stay.
Go back and listen to this podcast.
Pay attention to the mocking, sneering, condescending tone. Do you really believe that will go away just because of a couple of elections?
And these are supposedly people on our side!
Immediately after the shut down, in the ’96 election, the GOP lost two house seats, both of which were in Dem. leaning districts. This is after gaining the House in ’94 for the first time in 40 years. So after thedisastrousshut down, the GOP held the House and Senate but lost the White House.
Then again, it was Clinton vs. Dole, with a strong economy, relative peace, and no other divisive issue on the table.
And with all that, Clinton couldn’t crack 50%.
Where exactly was the GOP disaster? ·14 hours ago
I’m 50 years old, with clear memories of the shutdown that agree with what billy wrote.
As a result, the recent GLoP version of the shutdown (leading to a Clinton victory) felt to me to be historical revisionism. I don’t mean to denigrate or et cetera anybody who honestly holds such a view, especially those who have had such a notion since the mid-1990s. I only mean to say that it is so divergent from my sense, my experience, that it feels revisionist. Another stick in that pile: Why am I only learning this now? (“Newness” points toward “revisionist.”)
I for one find most of the members stalwart defense of Cruz’s grandstanding, designed purely to elevate himself and position himself as the conservative standard banner, but not acutally accomplish anything really childish. Cruz is manipulating you and your frustration. You are being played and won’t listen to anyone speaking sense.
Like I said, hysterical. ·1 hour ago
So in other words: Obamacare is here to stay so get over it.
People keep saying “it’s the law.” Well, the employer mandate is the law, and that’s not happening. A chuck of our immigration law is on the books but not being enforced.
We’ve established the principal that laws can be put on ice for indefinite periods of time. Let’s take advantage of it.
I was very disappointed with the joyous, self-satisfied vitriol hurled at the only people in the GOP showing any kind of leadership. This was not respectful, civilized conversation. Proof? Would any of them say this to Ted Cruz’s face?
Finally, I guess John got over his worry about talking to much.
Good luck, Ricochet!
Apparently conservatives cannot handle disagreements. Obtain Ball, return home.
God forbid a discussion site have…you know…discussion. different view points.
I was very disappointed with the joyous, self-satisfied vitriol hurled at the only people in the GOP showing any kind of leadership. This was not respectful, civilized conversation. Proof? Would any of them say this to Ted Cruz’s face?
Finally, I guess John got over his worry about talking to much.
Good luck, Ricochet!
Apparently conservatives cannot handle disagreements. Obtain Ball, return home.
God forbid a discussion site have…you know…discussion. different view points. ·20 minutes ago
I am happy to have Obamacare talked about. I am less happy of some of Cruz’s statements about other senators. I am unhappy about some of what they have said too.
They’re also the majority party, and have been ever since FDR and the New Deal. They have more members than we do. In a democracy, the party with more members tends to win the elections.
I suppose, and I appreciate that there are real problems here, because if it’s true (and I really think it is) that social conservatism is the heart and “energy source” of the most authentic and vibrant conservative culture out there, then you have to deal with the fact that social conservatism is still counter-cultural and doesn’t have the mass-population-swaying resources that liberal progressivism has. I think committed liberal progressives and committed social conservatives are actually pretty closely matched in terms of numbers, but the former definitely have more influence, and that’s a huge problem for the GOP.
Still and all, conservatives have got to do better at harnessing and using the resources they do have. The GOP is leaving their best horses in the barn, and that’s just not a winning strategy. They need that cultural confidence, and it’s the social conservatives that have it.
I was very disappointed with the joyous, self-satisfied vitriol hurled at the only people in the GOP showing any kind of leadership. This was not respectful, civilized conversation. Proof? Would any of them say this to Ted Cruz’s face?
Finally, I guess John got over his worry about talking to much.
Good luck, Ricochet!
Apparently conservatives cannot handle disagreements. Obtain Ball, return home.
God forbid a discussion site have…you know…discussion. different view points.
Yes, I think that ending your membership based on one podcast is a little misguided. I too, was really disappointed in this podcast (or more accuratly a whine fest) but we have a comments section to let them know of our disappointment and start a dialogue. If possible I think he should rethink that decision, unless he was going to cancel it anyway and is just saying this is his excuse.
I mean, at the end of the day, it’s hard to win all those folks in the middle if the other guy is clearly projecting a fuller and more robust picture of the bright future he’s going to create for them. Democrats are giving people the sense that they really have something going on in their party, while Republicans seem to be scrambling to assemble a more disjointed collection of pieces. That makes Democrats more attractive to the politically uninformed.
But the thing is, we do have something going on on the conservative side. We have our own culture, and it’s actually a pretty appealing and functional culture in its own right, but our politicians are too afraid to sell it because a lot of them are mildly ashamed of that culture, or just not very comfortable with it.
Why is this? I think it’s because the two parties have pursued different strategies of late.
I’m not necessarily saying that the GOP would win if they tried to follow the Democrats in this regard. Secular progressives (the liberal “horse”) have a level of cultural influence that social conservatives (the conservative “horse”) don’t. ·6 hours ago
They’re also the majority party, and have been ever since FDR and the New Deal. They have more members than we do. In a democracy, the party with more members tends to win the elections.
They have a built-in advantage in every election. To win, we actually have to persuade their members to vote for us, e.g. the “Reagan Democrats.” They can win just by holding their coalition together.
Their horse is faster than our horse. Our horse only wins when their jockey makes too many mistakes, and we find a way to capitalize on them.
So in other words: Obamacare is here to stay so get over it. ·1 hour ago
Obamacare is here as long as Obama is in office. He’s not going to let his signature accomplishment be repealed.
The real battle begins in 2016. Everything until then is just jockeying for position.
I kicked in for a year subscription during the Great Ricochet Crisis, so I’m still a member for awhile yet. My disappointment with the discussion lately is with those on our side who are behaving like Democrats. How so? Arrogance. Sanctimony. Attacking intelligence. Questioning motives. Feigning incomprehension. Debating straw men. Quite simply, I expect better from our side. Especially when the argument is internal. Doubly so when the conversation involves a Ricochet co-founder. I’m not leaving Ricochet because I can’t handle opposition. I’ll be listening to the podcasts as much as ever. For free.
Good points about how pro-shutdown conservatives are deluding themselves that they have a slam dunk case or that they are not playing with fire.
Anyone who says they are even pretty sure it’s a good idea are living in a different universe.
That’s not to say some crazy thing couldn’t happen, but you’re being irrational to place bets on it.
So, to summarize:
a) Obamacare is here to stay so get over it.
b) Whenever Democrats don’t get their way, they can threaten a government shut down and Republicans have to give in because they will be blamed for it.