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Our apologies for leaving you with Ricochet-less week! In order to make it up to you, we go big with a couple of our favorite recurring guests. First up is Ann Coulter to explain why she thinks the Republican Party is doing all it can to blow yet another election. Then Debra Saunders returns to take us through Dominion’s suit against Fox News and the outrageous biases therein.
The gang also touch on Robert Kennedy, Jr.’s challenge to Joe Biden (and the damage it could do to him!) along with Rob and Charles’ grand time in New Orleans meeting Ricochet members!
Song of the week:
- Sound bite is lead Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson announcing settlement with FoxNews
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Rob Long: “James Lileks is a broad”.
When did that happen?
I think it’s a matter of degree. It would be one thing to sue for something that one guest blurted out on one occasion, but Dominion’s argument was that Fox had the same zany people on over and over again saying the same false things. The talents’ private texts matter because it shows that they knew the claims were false and kept having the people back to repeat them. That said, I agree with Deb that there is a double standard and would love to get a look at those CNN texts!
Such a pleasure to hear the Fox News-obsessed Charlie C.W.A.B.C.D.E.F Cooke put in his place by a genteel older lady like Debra. And great call having the completely loony Ann Coulter on. Has she always been such a grifter? She sure knows how to pick winners. Also, not surprised at all to see that Rob wears a pinky ring. He went to Yale after all.
I had the exact same reaction.
Whenever he wants it too, of course1! Where have you been?
Geeze, Charlie. A contagious/communicable disease is not something you get from a vaccine.
Hang on, what?
We know that Dominion systems are A-OK?
Really?
When did they release their source code?
When did they allow their systems to be subjected to forensic audits?
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
This may be yet another milestone in the ongoing process by which Constitutional rights are gradually being taken away from conservatives, and reserved for progressives and progressive institutions only.
Compare the lackadaisical treatment of Antifa/BLM rioters to the relentless pursuit of the January 6 crowd. And note that serial killers but not Republicans have the right to a “speedy trial”.
Coulter is more than a little absurd, like the abolitionists who opposed Lincoln because he wasn’t hard-line enough. But she’s probably right that the six-week abortion limit is suicidal.
It’s quite likely Democrat dark money is going to Republican primaries to help abortion hard liners win.
Another thought provoking podcast.
Now I must see “Peter’s room”.
Unnecessary insanity. I can’t believe this is happening.
Drop the legal threats. All of them.
I think Coulter is wrong. DeSantis can say the people of the state of Florida have made a choice on abortion with a heartbeat law and that President DeSantis agrees that states can choose how to regulate abortion. He is pro-choice, when it comes to time and manner. Ann is hanging out with too many childless wine-aunts.
Au contraire, mon ami.
Even though it’s weakened, there’s a small risk (1 in 2.5 million) of getting sick from Oral Polio Vaccines. Rarely, OPV can mutate and spread from person to person like naturally occurring polio.
Ann Coulter!! My beefs
a. What does she think those who believe that abortion is wrong (period) and saw only one party that would listen to their concerns (and yes, accept their votes) would say when Roe v. Wade was overturned? “Ok now, you (i.e. Republican politicians)can take the ball and run with it however you choose.”
b. Her constant harping on the zealots and then constantly reverting back to her one issue, immigration. Hmmm, sounds like zealotry
c. Does Ms Coulter understand the history of the Zealots? They were the Jews who decided that the most important thing was defeating the Romans and removing them from Israel. They weren’t concerned about what Torah said; they were concerned about power and authority. “We need to win, not be right or righteous”. Sounds like Ms. Coulter.
d. Again, seriously Ann Coulter! Her arrogance and self-centeredness once again overwhelms. Note how when Rob queued her to discuss Substack IN GENERAL, she could only discuss HER substack. It’s all about Ann.
I hope Desantis takes that position. The people of Florida wanted this and it is now up to the States to decide. No federally imposed abortion rights.
He also should talk about what Democrats want which is abortion without any limits, a totally barbaric, extreme position.
Abortion may be “wrong (period)”, but that doesn’t mean all abortions should be illegal. After all, most people would agree that adultery is “wrong (period)”, but that doesn’t mean we should put adulterers in jail, or make them pay fines.
Most people think forcing a little girl to bear her rapist’s child is insane — which is why the Democrats are gleefully promoting Republican candidates who take that position. I’ve seen a few of the ads: they use the “useful idiots” to smear all Republicans.
So states have the “right to choose”; but individuals don’t. I think that argument would have played better in the early Republic than it does today.
In fact, Democrats are actually pro-infanticide, given that they refuse to protect babies born during botched late-term abortions. However, most Republicans are too afraid of the blowback to make that case. Blowback from the media, and from the “decorum Republicans”.
For some people, the purpose of politics is self-congratulation, not actually doing anything.
Individuals have a vote. They can move to a state where they can “choose” or stay or move to a state where abortions are limited. We moved to Texas because we have a right to choose to live in a state without a state income tax. State income tax laws should not be federally mandated and neither should abortion.
In general, most people like the idea of a heartbeat threshold. Most people want exceptions. It should be a politically safe take nationally, but very safe when he says it a state thing now. It did not help when Lindsay Graham proposed a national abortion bad the week after Dobbs. Gay (allegedly) politicians have the worst takes on abortion.
I’ll keep repeating this. We want a president the most conservative spouse available. Trump was always pushed to the left by his family. Ron DeSantis will pushed to right every night by his wife.
Yes, let’s make this impossibly complicated to adjudicate. That way we will get a lot of votes. Jesus.
You aren’t going to get any political power this way. Hand out Plan B pills instead.
I have kept my mouth shut for years. The ***evidence*** is in.
Six weeks is too fast for a mensuration threshold.
No kidding people want exceptions. Making it overly complicated is not going to work..
Hmmm. Could Ann Coulter BE a childless wine-aunt?
The exception that proves the rule.
Worth it to defeat polio.
India is on the cusp of getting rid of polio because of those vaccinations. Or they were before Covid hit.
Yes, Trump was so weak and easily influenced!
Seriously, I can’t think of a single issue on which his wife “pushed” him to the left. Maybe somebody can come up with one.
Graham had read the polls and came up with an abortion restriction scheme that he thought would be preferred by the majority of the electorate. Unlike the “ban everything” approach with which all Republicans were (and are) being tarred.
I sort of thought this weeks pod cast would be a little weak without James, I think he would have challenged Ann on some of her remarks. I always thought that Ann was no fan of conservative talk radio, or Rush in particular, even though without conservative AM talk radio she would never have sold the numbers of books she did, or be exposed to such a wide audience base. Her speaking with glee in her voice at the demise of AM radio just confirmed what I have always thought about her. Without the local and national conservative talk radio shows, she would have been no more then a second rate Peggy Noonan, and that’s not saying much.
But, she hangs with the same “pseudo” intellectual, cocktails-at-five, costal social/political elite crowd that Peter and Rob (and possible Charles) does, which means they belong to the special club. We all know that special club, It’s a big club and most of us are not in it. I found the the Fox News and Kennedy Jr. segments interesting however.
Ann has always had a good relationship with Rush as far as I could tell. She is not enamored with either of the two men who took his place, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton. And her fallout with National Review is well documented.
I listened to the Debra Saunders series on reporting in the White House. It was one of the best political podcasts I’ve ever listened to.
However, Debra Saunders is a fellow at the Discovery Institute, who’s primary cause is creationism, which is lying to people who want to be lied to.