In Defense of Harvey Weinstein? One New York Times columnist steps into the breach.

Do Donald Trump Republicans even SUPPORT free speech?

Bye Bye Boy Scouts, hello anti-science gender insanity.

And what the heck is happening with Bob Corker and Tennessee? We get a report from the senator’s home town talk host, Brian Joyce.

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Published in: Culture

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  1. Patrick McClure Coolidge

    Ah, more Trump voter disparagement. Apparently Marsha Blackburn will win in Tennessee because the Trump voters are cult members who are too stupid to see what Brian Joyce sees.

    • #1
    • October 12, 2017, at 5:09 AM PDT
    • 3 likes
  2. Michael Graham Contributor

    Patrick McClure (View Comment):
    Ah, more Trump voter disparagement. Apparently Marsha Blackburn will win in Tennessee because the Trump voters are cult members who are too stupid to see what Brian Joyce sees.

    It’s an interesting take, I thought, from a guy on the ground in Chattanooga. I think Brian overstates his case a bit (part of the fun of being a talk host, believe me I know) But that’s why I have a weekly “Pro-Trump” guest segment. In fact, I’ll have one tomorrow!

    • #2
    • October 12, 2017, at 5:40 AM PDT
    • 2 likes
  3. cdor Member
    cdorJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    Bob Corker would have been considered a firebreather a few years ago? Now he has no place in “Trump’s” Republican Party. I had to look for this. So in Sept, 2017 Trump encourages Corker to run again. But this was after Corker ran to the media claiming Trump was not fit to be POTUS in August of 2017. I do not know with certainty how this got started. Trump is known for not taking criticism lightly, to say the least. But Corker has had a blemish in my mind because the infamous Corker Bill pretty much cemented the Obama Iran deal by eliminating the Senate’s ability to challenge constitutionally Obama’s right to end the sanctions with an EO. The sanctions were previously passed by the Senate. Corker claimed publicly that Trump was heading us into a war. Not really the kind of talk one would expect from a Senator of one’s own party. And then the Republican Governor with a 75% approval rating wouldn’t run for the Senate because he couldn’t get elected because of “Trump Cultists”. It kind of sounds like 11:30 PM bar talk rather than 9:00 AM radio interview.

    • #3
    • October 12, 2017, at 6:18 AM PDT
    • 5 likes
  4. Profile Photo Member

    Michael, I listen to your show every morning and I generally agree with you. But your conversation with Brian Joyce left much to be desired. It was insulting to conservatives who don’t want to put up with awful Senators like Corker any more. No conservative should consider supporting Corker after he sponsored the bill that required a 2/3 vote of the Senate to reject the catastrophic Iran nuclear deal that destroyed the economic sanctions against Iran and gave Iran over $150 billion to fund Hezbollah, Hamas, nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development, and the joint North Korean-Iranian nuclear weapons and missile programs, for that matter.

    • #4
    • October 12, 2017, at 6:37 AM PDT
    • 4 likes
  5. Michael Graham Contributor

    Jase (View Comment):
    Michael, I listen to your show every morning and I generally agree with you. But your conversation with Brian Joyce left much to be desired. It was insulting to conservatives who don’t want to put up with awful Senators like Corker any more. No conservative should consider supporting Corker after he sponsored the bill that required a 2/3 vote of the Senate to reject the catastrophic Iran nuclear deal that destroyed the economic sanctions against Iran and gave Iran over $150 billion to fund Hezbollah, Hamas, nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development, and the joint North Korean-Iranian nuclear weapons and missile programs, for that matter.

    And if I only had people on the show you agree with? Zzzzz….

    PS–Thanks for listening and for taking the time to comment.

    • #5
    • October 12, 2017, at 6:43 AM PDT
    • Like
  6. Michael Graham Contributor

    cdor (View Comment):
    Bob Corker would have been considered a firebreather a few years ago? Now he has no place in “Trump’s” Republican Party. I had to look for this. So in Sept, 2017 Trump encourages Corker to run again. But this was after Corker ran to the media claiming Trump was not fit to be POTUS in August of 2017. I do not know with certainty how this got started. Trump is known for not taking criticism lightly, to say the least. But Corker has had a blemish in my mind because the infamous Corker Bill pretty much cemented the Obama Iran deal by eliminating the Senate’s ability to challenge constitutionally Obama’s right to end the sanctions with an EO. The sanctions were previously passed by the Senate. Corker claimed publicly that Trump was heading us into a war. Not really the kind of talk one would expect from a Senator of one’s own party. And then the Republican Governor with a 75% approval rating wouldn’t run for the Senate because he couldn’t get elected because of “Trump Cultists”. It kind of sounds like 11:30 PM bar talk rather than 9:00 AM radio interview.

    If it truly sounded like a late-night bar conversation, then my work here is done.

    • #6
    • October 12, 2017, at 6:44 AM PDT
    • Like
  7. Arahant Member

    How to put this. Most of us who voted for Trump in the general did not vote for him in the primary. Most of us, whether primary supporters or not, knew several things:

    • Donald Trump was a Democrat until last Thursday.
    • He had supported the Clintons, among others.
    • He was not a conservative.
    • He had been pushing a more nationalist agenda for years, that was also pro-business, although not pro-illegal-immigration.
    • He was uncouth and not a man of character.

    Every time you and others like you bring this up, we are left to say, “We know all that, but Hillary Clinton is still not President.”

    But what you and Mr. Joyce are missing here is that Donald Trump has a very different audience he is targeting than the Mitt Romneys of the party target, and he is building a larger coalition through his targeting of that audience, which has not been targeted by Republicans since Reagan did it.

    Class has nothing to do with wealth. It may have been you or it was more probably Andrew Klavan who recently referred to Trump as our Rap Star President. Rap is music of the lowest common denominator. It appeals to the basest levels of our society. Likewise, Donald Trump is basically a lower-class working man from Queens who happens to have a fat bankroll. He’s got the bling, but not the pedigree of the Bushes or Romneys or Grahams. His family weren’t large land owners in the South at the time of the Revolution. He’s a jumped up son and grandson of immigrants. He appeals to those lower-class working men whom he identifies with. His badinage, whether of Rosie O’Donnell or Rex Tillerson, is the sort of badinage one finds among the lower classes. The way to gain respect is not to turn up one’s nose and deplore the badinage. It is to return fire. You may say that is going down to Trump’s level, but what his target audience and Trump would see is a spark of life and something to respect. Trump is targeting a different culture in America, one that sees the world differently and evaluates everything differently.

    So, every time y’all misunderstand that cultural appeal, everyone in that under-culture is looking at you funny and whispering to each other, “This is why Trump.” (Those who aren’t shouting it in your face, of course.)

    My family antecedents were posh (FFV, among other things), but I grew up in a steel town, and I got to know a lot of those people and got to know how they thought. I also have an Italian-American friend from Leominster, Massachusetts. Different state, different history, but that same culture and that same appreciation of badinage that I encountered in that steel town or that one would find in Queens.

    I’m willing to bet that Trump is laughing behind the scenes at Corker’s daycare comment.

    • #7
    • October 12, 2017, at 6:48 AM PDT
    • 4 likes
  8. Profile Photo Member

    @michaelgraham Thank you for replying to my comment. I do like that you invite guests on your show who I do not agree with. What I did not like, and what was not as interesting, is that you seemed to be pretty much in agreement with your guest on everything. I’m just saying that one does not have to be a Trump supporter or an extreme fire-breathing conservative to have real problems with the record of Bob Corker, and it might have been good to bring up some of these issues (such as the Iran Nuclear Deal) with your guest. I am glad that you addressed the shoddy treatment of Jeff Sessions by Trump though.

    • #8
    • October 12, 2017, at 7:08 AM PDT
    • 3 likes
  9. cdor Member
    cdorJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    Michael Graham (View Comment):
    If it truly sounded like a late-night bar conversation, then my work here is done.

    I’m so sorry @michaelgraham, I didn’t mean to insult you. The last sentence was a reference to your guest’s statement that because of Trump cultists, a sitting Governor with a 75% approval rating didn’t think he could win the Senate seat from that same State. It just seemed on its face ridiculous…something one might say after too many drinks and by a person who had very little fondness for Trump.

    • #9
    • October 12, 2017, at 7:22 AM PDT
    • 1 like
  10. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra FractusJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    What did Bob Corker do to deserve voters’ wrath?

    Two words: Iran Deal.

    • #10
    • October 12, 2017, at 7:32 AM PDT
    • 4 likes
  11. Bishop Wash Member

    The Gloria Allred prediction that Harvey Weinstein has a future in Hollywood made me chuckle. Adam Carolla is fond of playing a discussion he had with her shortly after the Michael Richards stand up fiasco. Adam posited that Mr. Richards was finished and would never work again. Gloria was adamant that Mr. Richards would bounce back and grilled Adam about where his crystal ball was. This lead Adam to retort that he had a crystal brain and Michael Richards’ career was over.

    • #11
    • October 12, 2017, at 7:34 AM PDT
    • 1 like
  12. cdor Member
    cdorJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):
    The Gloria Allred prediction that Harvey Weinstein has a future in Hollywood made me chuckle. Adam Carolla is fond of playing a discussion he had with her shortly after the Michael Richards stand up fiasco. Adam posited that Mr. Richards was finished and would never work again. Gloria was adamant that Mr. Richards would bounce back and grilled Adam about where his crystal ball was. This lead Adam to retort that he had a crystal brain and Michael Richards’ career was over.

    Who is Michael Richards and when did his career ever start?

    • #12
    • October 12, 2017, at 7:51 AM PDT
    • 1 like
  13. cdor Member
    cdorJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    cdor (View Comment):

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):
    The Gloria Allred prediction that Harvey Weinstein has a future in Hollywood made me chuckle. Adam Carolla is fond of playing a discussion he had with her shortly after the Michael Richards stand up fiasco. Adam posited that Mr. Richards was finished and would never work again. Gloria was adamant that Mr. Richards would bounce back and grilled Adam about where his crystal ball was. This lead Adam to retort that he had a crystal brain and Michael Richards’ career was over.

    Who is Michael Richards and when did his career ever start?

    Oh…Kramer. Now I remember.

    • #13
    • October 12, 2017, at 7:53 AM PDT
    • 1 like
  14. Patrick McClure Coolidge

    Michael Graham (View Comment):

    Patrick McClure (View Comment):
    Ah, more Trump voter disparagement. Apparently Marsha Blackburn will win in Tennessee because the Trump voters are cult members who are too stupid to see what Brian Joyce sees.

    It’s an interesting take, I thought, from a guy on the ground in Chattanooga. I think Brian overstates his case a bit (part of the fun of being a talk host, believe me I know) But that’s why I have a weekly “Pro-Trump” guest segment. In fact, I’ll have one tomorrow!

    Also, don’t forget, the objective is to elect the rightward most conservative candidate possible. What you consider conservative will, of course, vary. So, although you may think Trump voters are not conservative or electing conservatives, they may have seen Corker as the most electable conservative at the time, but now want a more conservative, by their definition, candidate. And neither Corker nor the Governor fill that bill right now.

    • #14
    • October 12, 2017, at 7:58 AM PDT
    • 2 likes
  15. Michael Graham Contributor

    cdor (View Comment):

    Michael Graham (View Comment):
    If it truly sounded like a late-night bar conversation, then my work here is done.

    I’m so sorry @michaelgraham, I didn’t mean to insult you. The last sentence was a reference to your guest’s statement that because of Trump cultists, a sitting Governor with a 75% approval rating didn’t think he could win the Senate seat from that same State. It just seemed on its face ridiculous…something one might say after too many drinks and by a person who had very little fondness for Trump.

    Not insulted at all! I hope the podcast sounds like we’re just sitting, having a cup of coffee (or in my case, Irish tea) talking about what’s up in the day’s news. I’m much more into conversation than lectures.

    • #15
    • October 12, 2017, at 8:09 AM PDT
    • 1 like
  16. Patrick McClure Coolidge

    Michael Graham (View Comment):
    (or in my case, Irish tea)

    Dude, I’m a culture, not a costume! Wait, I mean I’m a culture not a vague reference to alcohol laced coffee which may or may not be appropriate here as a reference. (Sorry. I’ve been PITing)

    • #16
    • October 12, 2017, at 8:26 AM PDT
    • 2 likes
  17. Arahant Member

    Patrick McClure (View Comment):

    Michael Graham (View Comment):
    (or in my case, Irish tea)

    Dude, I’m a culture, not a costume! Wait, I mean I’m a culture not a vague reference to alcohol laced coffee which may or may not be appropriate here as a reference. (Sorry. I’ve been PITing)

    He may mean something like Irish Breakfast Tea, which has the strength of Samson and the caffeine of a large industrial coffee brewer. No alcohol involved. Or, he might mean tea with booze. We’ll see what he says.

    • #17
    • October 12, 2017, at 8:31 AM PDT
    • 1 like
  18. cdor Member
    cdorJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Patrick McClure (View Comment):

    Michael Graham (View Comment):
    (or in my case, Irish tea)

    Dude, I’m a culture, not a costume! Wait, I mean I’m a culture not a vague reference to alcohol laced coffee which may or may not be appropriate here as a reference. (Sorry. I’ve been PITing)

    He may mean something like Irish Breakfast Tea, which has the strength of Samson and the caffeine of a large industrial coffee brewer. No alcohol involved. Or, he might mean tea with booze. We’ll see what he says.

    I’m betting he saves the booze for his guests…loosen ’em up a little by spiking their drink.

    • #18
    • October 12, 2017, at 9:02 AM PDT
    • 2 likes
  19. Arahant Member

    cdor (View Comment):
    I’m betting he saves the booze for his guests…loosen ’em up a little by spiking their drink.

    Did Harvey Weinstein try that?

    • #19
    • October 12, 2017, at 9:04 AM PDT
    • 1 like
  20. cdor Member
    cdorJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    Arahant (View Comment):

    cdor (View Comment):
    I’m betting he saves the booze for his guests…loosen ’em up a little by spiking their drink.

    Did Harvey Weinstein try that?

    Exactly what I thought after I posted it. OOps, don’t want to get Michael in trouble.

    • #20
    • October 12, 2017, at 9:12 AM PDT
    • 2 likes
  21. Arahant Member

    cdor (View Comment):
    OOps, don’t want to get Michael in trouble.

    No, if we wanted to do that, we’d invite him to the PIT.

    • #21
    • October 12, 2017, at 9:14 AM PDT
    • 2 likes
  22. JuliaBlaschke Coolidge

    Arahant (View Comment):

    How to put this. Most of us who voted for Trump in the general did not vote for him in the primary. Most of us, whether primary supporters or not, knew several things:

    • Donald Trump was a Democrat until last Thursday.
    • He had supported the Clintons, among others.
    • He was not a conservative.
    • He had been pushing a more nationalist agenda for years, that was also pro-business, although not pro-illegal-immigration.
    • He was uncouth and not a man of character.

    Every time you and others like you bring this up, we are left to say, “We know all that, but Hillary Clinton is still not President.”

    And I say I know all that but Donald Trump IS president and that is not a good thing under any circumstances. We avoided electing completely unfit Hillary and elected completely unfit Trump.

    • #22
    • October 12, 2017, at 10:22 AM PDT
    • Like
  23. Arahant Member

    JuliaBlaschke (View Comment):
    And I say I know all that but Donald Trump IS president and that is not a good thing under any circumstances. We avoided electing completely unfit Hillary and elected completely unfit Trump.

    And are getting about thirty good Federal Judges by now? And also getting some other good things. Perfect? Not by a long shot. He’s more Nixon than Reagan or Coolidge. We are also getting the media exposing themselves like Harvey Weinstein in front of an ingenue. I’ll take all of that over President Hillary Clinton, which is where we would have been and where most of us thought we would be on election day.

    • #23
    • October 12, 2017, at 10:27 AM PDT
    • 5 likes
  24. Patrick McClure Coolidge

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Patrick McClure (View Comment):

    Michael Graham (View Comment):
    (or in my case, Irish tea)

    Dude, I’m a culture, not a costume! Wait, I mean I’m a culture not a vague reference to alcohol laced coffee which may or may not be appropriate here as a reference. (Sorry. I’ve been PITing)

    He may mean something like Irish Breakfast Tea, which has the strength of Samson and the caffeine of a large industrial coffee brewer. No alcohol involved. Or, he might mean tea with booze. We’ll see what he says.

    Speaking up for my people, I don’t see why it could not be both.

    • #24
    • October 12, 2017, at 10:31 AM PDT
    • 1 like
  25. Michael Graham Contributor

    Arahant (View Comment):

    cdor (View Comment):
    OOps, don’t want to get Michael in trouble.

    No, if we wanted to do that, we’d invite him to the PIT.

    Allow me to set the record straight, gentlemen:

    While I live by the rule “Never turn down a free drink,” I am by nature Eire-bibulous.

    I start every morning with a pot of Irish tea–strong and black. (Like my men?)

    Lunch is Guinness.

    Evening drinking is Bushmills Irish whiskey, the greatest fluid ever crafted by man. Black Bush when I’m smoking (maduro-wrapped Padrons) and 16-year “Three Wood” Bushmills when I’m celebrating and/or someone else is buying.

    My reasoning is simple: The Irish are the World’s Greatest Drinkers. Why would I drink anyone else’s spirits?

    If an Irishman, and Frenchman and an Italian are walking down the street, which one do you follow into a bar? The Irishman, of course. You follow the Frenchman into a restaurant, and Italian into a bordello and an Irishman into a bar.

    A simple life lesson. Simple, but profound. Slainte’!

    • #25
    • October 12, 2017, at 12:37 PM PDT
    • 4 likes
  26. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra FractusJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    Michael Graham (View Comment):

    My reasoning is simple: The Irish are the World’s Greatest Drinkers. Why would I drink anyone else’s spirits?

    If an Irishman, and Frenchman and an Italian are walking down the street, which one do you follow into a bar? The Irishman, of course. You follow the Frenchman into a restaurant, and Italian into a bordello and an Irishman into a bar.

    A simple life lesson. Simple, but profound. Slainte’!

    I’d follow the Italian into the restaurant, but otherwise, sláinte to you too.

    • #26
    • October 12, 2017, at 1:22 PM PDT
    • 3 likes
  27. JuliaBlaschke Coolidge

    Arahant (View Comment):

    JuliaBlaschke (View Comment):
    And I say I know all that but Donald Trump IS president and that is not a good thing under any circumstances. We avoided electing completely unfit Hillary and elected completely unfit Trump.

    And are getting about thirty good Federal Judges by now? And also getting some other good things. Perfect? Not by a long shot. He’s more Nixon than Reagan or Coolidge. We are also getting the media exposing themselves like Harvey Weinstein in front of an ingenue. I’ll take all of that over President Hillary Clinton, which is where we would have been and where most of us thought we would be on election day.

    Early days, my friend. Don’t “misunderestimate” just how venal and stupid Trump is capable of being.

    • #27
    • October 12, 2017, at 3:31 PM PDT
    • Like
  28. cdor Member
    cdorJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    JuliaBlaschke (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    JuliaBlaschke (View Comment):
    And I say I know all that but Donald Trump IS president and that is not a good thing under any circumstances. We avoided electing completely unfit Hillary and elected completely unfit Trump.

    And are getting about thirty good Federal Judges by now? And also getting some other good things. Perfect? Not by a long shot. He’s more Nixon than Reagan or Coolidge. We are also getting the media exposing themselves like Harvey Weinstein in front of an ingenue. I’ll take all of that over President Hillary Clinton, which is where we would have been and where most of us thought we would be on election day.

    Early days, my friend. Don’t “misunderestimate” just how venal and stupid Trump is capable of being.

    Better hurry and drink up, @juliablaschke. There’s not much left in that half empty glass of yours.

    • #28
    • October 13, 2017, at 6:10 AM PDT
    • 2 likes