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Let’s just disclose this right upfront: we had some pretty big technical issues during the production of this show (Skype went down during the Andy McCarthy segment — Andy is preparing a criminal complaint against them on our behalf) and James Lileks could not get his computer to recognize his mic (he blames a cheap Chinese dongle — oh, the humanity), so apologies, this is another Lileks-defecient show (kudos to @hangon for winning the Lileks Post of The Week honors for his post The New Energy Economy: An Exercise in Magical Thinking). That said, as previously mentioned, we’ve got the great Andy McCarthy (you must buy his new book Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency) on all of the legal machinations around impeachment, and political consultant to the stars (and NR contributor) Luke Thompson on why Trump did nothing wrong in his phone call with Zelensky and some expert analysis on the Senate races coming up next fall. Also, Peter Robinson is worried about Liz Warren; and finally, does the window seat control the window shade or should there be darkness throughout the cabin? We hash it out, but tell us your thoughts in the comments. Special note to Ricochet members: don’t forget to vote in this week’s Long Poll to the right (or below if you’re on a mobile device) of this post. What? You’re not a member? JOIN TODAY.
Music from this week’s show: Shot With His Own Gun by Elvis Costello
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Surprised the picture doesn’t have James in the dress. 😉
It wouldn’t hide his Chinese dongle. Although, there are conspiracy theories (Code Alert!) that the reason the Virgin Queen was a virgin is that she was a he. And it was popularized by Dracula author Bram Stoker in his book, Famous Imposters (1910).
And it makes absolutely no sense, given that Henry VIII wanted a son so badly. But, of course, that is the particular version where Lady Elizabeth died as a child and a boy who looked something like her was substituted in her place.
Trump may have an opportunity to attract Bernie’s supporters if and when he drops out. Warren’s policies are not a good fit (open borders, gun control, globalism) for Bernie’s voters. Bernie and the Democrats know this, which is why he might want to stay in the race to keep his flock from straying.
We mock Warren as Pocahontas, but Warren is more like Mary Poppins—the first nanny of the new nanny state—here to infantilize everyone with democratic socialism. Just imagine how many wonderful rules she’s going force us all to follow!
Nuts to that.
I was driving while listening the podcast when the sainted Ronald Reagan name was invoked for Trump. I almost had an accident. Please be more careful with your language! There is nothing in common between the Greatest President of the Twentieth Century, and the worst Republican President in history.
Trump is the Greatest President of the Twenty-First Century, so there’s a common factor.
You mean Coolidge and Lincoln?
I think Dr. Long learned everything he knows from the old computer program Eliza.
The Twitter promo this week is for @garyrobbins…
Better options this time. But even those who say that the phone call is impeachABLE say (usually) that it still shouldn’t be done.
So the “Impeachable” option should be two options: “Impeachable, but don’t do it” and “Impeachable, and do it!” (Even in the latter case, it’s very unlikely to result in “conviction” and removal from office. But some people think they need to make a point, or something.)
I am laughing so hard here.
So did the worst Republican President in history not have Boll and Branch sheets? I think the number of Presidents with their sheets has always been three in the ads and didn’t change when George H. W. Bush died.
Yes, Warren has a message and a plan. A BAD message, and a FOOLISH plan.
And what if We Works was just a bad idea, no matter who might have been president? Indeed the latest GLoP spent some time on exactly why We Works is a bad idea. So maybe the IPO problems are due to Rob Long, not Donald Trump.
See? If you don’t follow the Twitter feed you’re missing out on bonus photoshops. It’s like having your own Ricochet decoder ring. (And always drink your Ovaltine!)
It was my worst fears coming true, that Trump could be confused for Reagan.
Where is the Lileks Member Post Of The Week?
I’m also not seeing any of the “Trending On Ricochet” stuff.
That widget doesn’t show up on podcast posts.
http://ricochet.com/680115/the-new-energy-economy-an-exercise-in-magical-thinking/
Look again.
Temporary lapse — replacing now.
Warren has lots of rules. Plans are just another way of saying she has a boatload of rules and and penalties in case you want to live your life your own way.
That wasn’t a request, Max. 😜
I think Luke was quite accurate around the 50 minute point when he noted that Arizona and Texas have huge suburban populations, which is quite problematic. . That’s where the Republican Party was slaughtered in 2018. We shall see what happens.
But Arizona’s congressional delegation (Senators and Representatives) is majority Democrat for the first time since the 1964 election. Texas 12 term Representative Pete Sessions not only lost, but lost badly in suburban Dallas District 32. There is a chill wind blowing.
Voter fraud. Ballot harvesting. Illegal aliens voting
Elizabeth Warren has baggage.
Her fake Cherokee heritage and how she used it to benefit from affirmative action is major baggage.
How many times will Trump call her pocohantas? One million times a day?
her socialist platform will turn off purple Democrats and independent voters.
Independent voters will decide the election as they almost always do.
The problem is that at this point, it’s all baked into the cake, as with Trump’s being Trump. If she establishes herself as the anti-Trump, she has an automatic floor. As your last sentence says, from there, it’s in the “independent” hands. (And the dead vote.)
Some state GOPers overreached in the 2017 Texas Legislature. Combined with the problems with Trump from both the Bush and Cruz wings of the party, they set up a situation similar to the 2006 midterm election.
But …. statewide candidates who were not outspoken on things in 2017 like the bathroom bill (which failed in the Leg) or had some ethics problems hanging over them did get the suburban Republican voters. Greg Abbott won by 800,000 more votes than Ted Cruz, which means if you assume the same pool of voters, 400,000 people who voted for Beto in 2018 also voted for Abbott. And George P. Bush and Glenn Hegar had about 600,000 to 700,000 vote victory margins in their Land Commissioner and Comptroller races in 2018.
The 2019 Legislature got the message, and pretty much stuck to business, and now we’re going into 2020, where presidential hopeful Beto has gone back on his promises from 2018 on fracking and gun control, and the other candidate from Texas, Julian Castro, has also targeted his campaign at best to Austin voters, but mainly to the Democrats’ bi-coastal base. Neither is likely to win, but if you have a Liz Warren at the top of the ticket who Democrats in state races have to defend (including whoever runs for Senate against Cornyn), my guess is the suburban vote is going to look more like Greg Abbott’s lopsided win over Lupe Valdez and less like the votes O’Rourke got in his narrower loss to Cruz.
I completely agree with this. My understanding is both she and Harvard majorly broke major EEOC laws. Harvard got to check off boxes and got money for hiring her.
I would think her bar ethics issues would be off the chart. it’s all documented. She also apparently has been practicing law in Massachusetts without a law license.
She’s done all kinds of legal work for all of the groups and issues that Democrats hate. Big Finance and things like that. She’s a house flipper, too.
How many people with her educational credentials end up teaching at Ivy League colleges?
Plus her whole scam is just embarrassing. There was a Native American at Harvard that knew about her scam and he would badger her to participate in Native American stuff. She wouldn’t do it of course. He’s running for Senate New Mexico .I forget his name. He was on Howie Carr. Really funny.
Her compensation has been absolutely insane.
You can be a more disgusting person in government but it’s pretty hard. One of the worst government parasites ever.
She reminds me of Ilhan Omar. Her primary thing is she just sees politics as a racket.
She plans to burn down Medicare, replacing it with something different she calls “Medicare for All”, and attack retirement plans with her “Accountable Capitalism Act”.
The former will scare senior citizens; the latter, the middle class.
Yes, I think we should consistently remind people that a President Elizabeth Warren will take most of your money and constantly be telling you what to do.