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.
Is it the dawning of a new era or are we continuing the one we’re already in? The answer was not clear when we assembled today at 9AM Pacific Time (the best time zone, as everyone knows), but we do our best to pundit all of the facts we knew when we rolled tape clicked record. But before we start that, Rob Long has a statement he’d like to make. And Peter Robinson has some thoughts on why the race may not really be over. On that topic, we are lucky to have John Yoo, Esq. back on to take us through the myriad election laws on both the state and the Federal level. Then, Arizona native (and Ricochet Editor-In-Chief) Jon Gabriel calls in from his car to explain the finer points of voting with a Sharpie and why that matters and offer his theory on how that state’s Presidential race is going to wind up. Finally, we go across the pond to Budapest to tap the mind of one the most cogent political observers we know: John O’Sullivan. From his perch in Budapest, he has a perspective and a point of view that is perceptive and unique. And he sounds so urbane when he delivers it, we can’t resist. Finally, wind up with some thoughts and insights on polling and why it was so off this cycle.
That’s a wrap on the 202o election cycle, folks. We thank you for sticking with us. We know (boy, do we know…) that you didn’t always agree with what you heard on this show, but we hope you weren’t bored and that once in a while you gained an insight or two. We have some interesting plans for the show going forward (including offering members the ability to watch it –warts and all– live on Zoom as we record it) and some very cool guests. The future starts now.
Music from this week’s show: That’s Life by Frank Sinatra
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.
DonorsTrust
DonorsTrust is the community foundation for the liberty movement. Any donor-advised fund will simplify your giving and offer great tax benefits. Only DonorsTrust shares your principles. Visit donorstrust.org/ricochet to get your free prospectus.
Mark Levin was saying something like this. The GOP made huge gains wherever they weren’t fighting this. Trump got killed by it. It’s like a 100% match. This goes along with that other comment I made above. A political scientist or somebody has to explain this.
These people are fools. All of them are 100% thoughtless or simply acting in some venal self interest.
The GDP is going to keep going down and the share of discretionary income is going to keep going down for the middle class while it also shrinks. Then all of this debt will stop being serviceable.
Is Kelly Loeffler a good Senator? On paper, she’s just another ruling class parasite.
Does Doug Collins just evaporate?
All of this seems really messed up to me.
For years, I was a faithfull listener of the Ricochet podcast. But lately, I find myself going to the comments first to get an idea if it’s something I want to give my time to, or skip it.
On this one, I’m going to skip it.
“voting software”. WTF.
So, vote COUNTING software? Is that better?
Although the voting machines might have software too.
Chip Roy beat Abortion Barbie by seven points.
Roy went on Mark Levin to make it sound like the whole thing was in jeopardy.
I think I’ve said this before, but if you want to learn something watch any interview of Chip Roy Daniel Horwitz.
I don’t know if this makes any sense, but I would really like to show dedicated to all of the Trump “scandals” and the Biden scandal.
Makes me sick how much Trump got harassed. It also makes me sick that there are Republicans that don’t think the bureaucracy or the deep state is a big problem.
There’s an idea out there too late to help the current situation but could almost eliminate fraudulent mail-in ballots in the future. Require people to provide a thumb print when they register to vote and put a thumb print on the mail-in ballot. A smart phone can recognize a thumb print, so it should be no great technological leap to make machines that both validate and count ballots very quickly.
The time for complaining after the fact ended decades ago. Yet we are still here with no plan and no action like we are still in the 60’s.
What is the election policy that we need to champion? What are the means for getting it done within a power structure set to kill it? Don’t waste my time with any more tears.
To provide cover. And so they won’t be forced to look everywhere this software was used. (13 states?)
I’m more worried about foreign policy under Biden than domestic policy. Watch Biden get us back in bed with Iran, kissing up to China, cozying to Qatar, shunning Israel and the brand new alliances taking place in the middle east. Although a unified middle east centered on a Saudi/Israeli partnership facing down an Iran/U.S. coalition will be pretty interesting, don’t you think?
Either way, expect more of our soldiers to be sent to some foreign meat grinder under Biden. The military-industrial complex must have its wars.
When they’re half-baked, you just pass them along to the consumer to finish the process.
Less accurate, it seems.
I confess that while I normally look forward to the podcast, I was slightly dreading it this time, fearful that it would be more than a bit Pollyannish. It started 0ut well, with Rob Long forthrightly admitting that he had been wrong in his predictions. The great John Yoo’s comments, though, of course, astute, were not entirely surprising, as a retired law school brother of mine has likewise told me that legal challenges are unlikely to succeed. (My own common sense, for what it’s worth, told me much the same thing.)
Yet even if one assumes that despite the astoundingly sloppy system (I live and vote in a country where, despite inevitable human imperfection, the “irregularities” of which we are now hearing are inconceivable), Trump came as close to victory as was possible, the issue of fraud and deception surely runs deeper.
At the risk of sounding ever so slightly unfair, the argument seems to be: Yes, the foxes are now in the hallway of the chicken coop, but, never fear, we think we have a lock on the inner door, i.e. in the form of the Senate, which we hope we’ll still hold. The further, at least implicit assumption seems to be that, having seen their final push stymied, the same foxes will settle down and order out filet o fish from McDonald’s.
Donald Trump Jr. has apparently called for “total war” over the election results so far…The European media have predictably gone bonkers over that. A German friend reminds me quite indignantly that in Germany such talk is “undenkbar.” When I told him of the American media commentator who said that those who voted from “racist, misogynist, homophobic Trump” are despicable and unAmerican, he shrugged.
Conservatives don’t believe in Obama’s “arc of history,” but they may be tempted to be a bit like Charlie Brown: “How can we lose when we’re so sincere?” I very much hope that Trump fights on, but I am not optimistic. The next months and years promise to be quite unpleasant.
How can I share a country with people who treat me like this? After 12 years of Democrats treating conservatives as worse than Nazis, all of Joe Biden’s talk of unity is as hollow as his empty head.
Rob was wrong. The question is, “Why?” I submit that the answer is he listens to the mainstream, left-wing media and gives it way too much credence. When are some conservatives going to realize that they are being lied to on a daily basis?
Rob is right if Trump ultimately does not prevail. A small, but obviously not insignificant, number of voters surgically cut Trump out like a cancer. There is no doubt about that when you look at the discrepancies between Trump and down-ballot Republicans. Conservatives who can’t see that are lying to themselves.
I’m going to cut out the middle man and switch to sending my Thatcher fee directly to James Lileks, I think. Oh how eagerly I once waited for the latest Ricochet and GLoP; now that pleasure has been taken from me. Can’t make it more than 15 minutes in, most times. I may occasionally stick around just to hear James’s responses and when he’s nearly silent it’s a wasted hour. Good luck to those who think the coming years are going to require only small adjustments and don’t mind too much about Trump’s “surgical removal.” You’ll see.
@jameslileks I recommend a James Lileks-only podcast. Make it so.
Why are Trump supporters the ones who must learn the lesson? Trump increased votes, brought in more minorities, and withstood the Democrat attacks on his judges. No other candidate the party has produced has drawn the crowds Trump has. Four years after he won the nomination, his Republican opponents have yet to figure out why he won.
No, the lesson to be learned is refusing to defend your President when he wins enables the media to lie without consequence and leads to defeat. The Democrats defended Biden knowing he was a corrupt, addled old man unable to even campaign, and they won. Democrats know how to win. Republicans know how to lose. They practice it to perfection.
If the Democrats secure the Senate, we are toast. If Romney and Murkowski stab us in the back, we are toast, and so should they be. I would announce in the next month every Senate and House seat we will work to pick off, start building the dark money war chests like the Democrats did, and be ready to run ads in vulnerable districts.
As to the choices mentioned over the outcome, believing he was cheated out of his win or believing half the country voted for a corrupt, addled old man because they hate us and Trump, neither choice will give me comfort that the nation is not about to reach its expiration date.
Would love to see Trump run for Mayor or Governor of NY but didn’t he change his residency to Florida? If I were the Trump family, I would pull out of NYC, sell my assets, reinvest in Florida, and embrace riot free existence.
There is/was one, but I think it’s just an overview of the latest podcasts. Which doesn’t sound all that interesting, since nobody likes the podcasts anyway.
We must learn that we are deplorable and need to be purged from the body politic. Thus it has always been. It’s a dangerous thing when our leaders hate those they wish to rule. But hey, we’ll gladly return the sentiment.
Former “Anonymous” nobody Miles Taylor made some comment about the increasing divide between DC and the citizen class — which is true — but his view was that the citizens are the problem here.
Would it not be easier
In that case for the government
To dissolve the people
And elect another?
Listening to the Ricochet podcast on this Saturday morning, I was left wondering when Rob and Peter walked back their Rush Limbaugh comments ? We Missourians have to stick together in times like these, when Lacy Clay can lose his family’s seat to a marxist in St ( hungarian abbreviation of Soros) Louis.
The Flagship podcast has become Team Soy. Perhaps we can add some Tofu to the cheese eating surrender talk for those of us lactose intolerant.
The Limbaugh remark was based on a series of Tweets that came out as we were recording the show. Rush did clarify his statement later in his show and said that he is NOT conceding the election and that he thinks Trump has legal options. “I’ve not conceded anything. All I’ve said was that the cable networks were waiting for Fox to do it!” But by the time we saw those Tweets, our show was over.
We’ll issue a formal correction on next week’s show.
I think that line is just a nervous tic he has developed over the past four years because he clearly contradicted himself later in the podcast about adding these voters. He can’t help himself. At least he admitted he is dumb.
Parkinson’s Joe doesn’t have a sniff.