Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
We go long on this show (and we’re not just talking about one of our hosts, either). First up, the mayor of New York City wants to be your President. That’s good for the city (keeps him away for long stretches of time), and probably good for the current occupant of the White House too. Then, our good pal and co-podcaster Andrew Klavan joins to discuss his recent adventure at Stanford University and then sticks around for a detailed discussion about the pro-life bill that just passed in Alabama. Then, we remember architect I.M. Pei, and when James heads to airport, Peter and Rob talk more about the pro-life issue and its place in American life.
Music from this week’s show: You Can’t Be Too Strong by Graham Parker
Subscribe to The Ricochet 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.
@roblong, I love the wisdom teeth story. Of course I had mine removed. Damn it – I was scammed!
Why are you guys talking about overturning Roe V Wade like it would outlaw abortion? It will just send it to the states, at least temporarily – and most Georgians can get to Florida if not New York where it will still be legal.
Andrew Klavan is a genius. He should be at the Hoover Institution alongside Peter.
By the way, when you play the album backwards, it says “Klaven is spelled with an ‘E'” . . .
Pretty much the dream podcast…who could ask for more? Thank you!
I agree the pro-life movement has made tremendous advances outside the court system to convince Americans abortion is not just “a woman’s choice”, but an attack on the most defenseless human beings on the planet. That being said:
How come Republican majorities in the House and Senate, with a Republican President, cannot pass a spending bill which defunds Planned Parenthood?
Perhaps because, as I pointed out elsewhere, too many Republicans maybe especially in the Senate are “all hat and no cattle.”
Vin Scully is also a Yale architecture professor.
That man can do anything.
A big part of it is that, unlike the Democrats, the Republicans have never had a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.
Second, the Republican Senators aren’t unanimous on the issue, either from personal predelictions or because they come from blue states. While the few “moderate” Democrats follow the party line (unless, sometimes, when they’re facing reelection).
Third, the media promulgate the Planned Parenthood party line, that they’re really all about women’s health, successfully muddying the waters.
But the third part doesn’t really hold up when it comes to legislation to just stop abortion funding, but keep the rest. Planned Parenthood cries that they can’t get by with that, which is clearly false IF they were really about women’s health. Bur many so-called Republicans won’t even vote for THAT.
The media include abortion in “reproductive health services“. Thus, they’re not even lying when they say the kind of bill you describe is “cutting reproductive health services“. They just carefully avoid clarifying what they mean.
But Planned Parenthood claims that they don’t make money from abortion, it’s a tiny fraction of their “business,” it’s mostly referrals to others anyway… And yet when offered full funding EXCEPT for abortion, they say no.
In other words:
Some Republicans lie because they do support Planned Parenthood, or are afraid to defund it because of political cowardice;
They use the “we don’t have the votes” argument as political cover;
The Republicans are so inarticulate, they cannot challenge the media narrative as successfully as the right-wing media has (think Rush) . . .
To be fair, though, I’m not sure if a lot of the voting public could be made to understand some realities. Many people seem to end up believing whatever they heard last, and since the Left and the Media are basically the same thing, it’s far more than just an uphill battle.
Hmm. That’s pretty much the opposite of what I said.
Given the dominance of the media by the Left (Rush, bless him, is barely audible), Republican politicians often have to decide “which hill to die on”. It would be deeply satisfying to take Federal subsidies away from Planned Parenthood, but it would probably not prevent a single abortion.
One step at a time…
The “right to privacy” is procedural, the police can “break down your door and find out what you’re doing” if they have a warrant and/or probable cause.
That’s not the point. The point is Federal funding for abortion makes all of us complicit, as does Federal funding for any program or agency. Pacifists don’t like Fed dollars going to the military, but it was a defined purpose to kill those trying to do us harm. Babies in the womb are the most inncocent of innocents . . .
How much do you think Planned Parenthood drops on K Street?
#AbortionQuotas
Absolutely. The abortionists see Federal funding for Planned Parenthood as a means of mainstreaming abortion, of treating it as just another form of health care.
This is not entirely symbolic, either. A judge could treat it as additional evidence that abortion is no different from other forms of health care.
The question remains, is this the hill you want to die on? Or are there other areas where the media has a harder time confusing the issue?
This may be why Republicans don’t act. They perceive it as “not a hill to die on”, when it’s nothing of the sort. Just do it, then watch as the sun rises the next morning like it always does.
In some ways it’s like the government shutdowns. The average citizen doesn’t notice unless someone takes action to force them to notice, like Obama did by closing off static displays under the guise of “Those nasty Republicans don’t want you to see Mount Rushmore.” We should never be afraid to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences.
Ah yes, the consequences. Timid Republicans have no hill they want to die on, knowing their chances of re-election are pretty good as incumbents . . .
Lord save us from purists! Lose the Republican Senate moderates and you lose the Senate. Say goodbye to all those great judges you were hoping for. And welcome another wave of Democratic hearings and investigations.