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We were going to take this week off, but the opportunity to do a special holiday weekend edition of the Ricochet Podcast with just The Founders *and James Lileks, of course) proved to be too tempting. The guys talk about Presidential tweets, what to do about health care, what they like to do on the 4th, and life in the ten years since the iPhone debuted. Enjoy the weekend, everyone.
Music from this week’s podcast: Saturday In The Park by Chicago
The all new opening sequence for the Ricochet Podcast was composed and produced by James Lileks.
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Boom, @EJHIll
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Another masterpiece of artwork, EJ!
So what I glean from Long is that, should Trump stop tweeting the lame-stream media will begin to cover the administration’s policy initiatives? Let us all hold our breath on that. I underestimated Trump by a country mile during the primary and later, election. And two or three fellas on this podcast continue to do so. I find it difficult to listen and watch people who are consistently wrong.
Robinson’s take on the three governors was useful. I’m not renewing membership.
had it occurred to ANYONE on this podcast, which needs to be a bit more ideologically diverse (peter tries but there is no one with any enthusiasm) that Trump MAY have learned from previous administrations that allowing these media criticisms to sit there without fighting back has not necessarily been beneficial to that administration. Look at Bush, Reagan and the golden ticket for the media Nixon. Trump might have realized that allowing these thing to sit and fester might not be good for him in the long run, best to fight back to show the media he won’t let take it laying down. Now I am all for criticism of the president but the media has not been rationally critical it has been personal, insane attacks and he’s responded. I don’t know how would you handle this? In my 38 years in this country I have never seen this kind of reaction before. Chris Matthews equated Trumps son in law and Ivanka to saddam hussians kids and said that Mussolini might have been on to something in killing his son in law. I don’t know I’m not thrilled with his tweeting but the media has been so insane I kind of like the smackdown. I think this needs to be done. The media does control the narrative and the country needs to be red pilled.
Eggsactly right. It’s time for the “never Trumpers” and the ‘offended conservatives’ to understand the essence of our struggle. We on the right get that Trump is flawed. Ok? We get it. But, we also get he’s the only one that even remotely cares about the US. The Left, in all its incantations, is not only wrong, it’s dangerous to this great Republic. In this culture clash, this battle for the soul of this “last, best hope on earth” means that threat prioritization matters. Period. Why can’t you get that?
The only one who cares about the United States?
Joe and Mika are not a top priority target in the battle for the soul of America. Imagine Reagan, at the height of the controversy over putting medium-range nukes in Germany, ripping off six tweets about how Sam Donaldson has a comb-over.
The Ted Cruz – healthcare part and all of the analysis on it was great.
I’d have gone with Sam’s government-subsidized sheep ranch in New Mexico, because Donnie shouldn’t be criticizing other peoples’ hair.
And as an aside: if you dance through an airport nowadays, you’re going to pick up a TSA tail.
Bet that would have been hilarious.
Seriously, y’all need a Trump moratorium. Take six months without mentioning him unless it’s to give an attaboy for something on the level of getting Justice Gorsuch on the Supreme Court. You are not required to comment on everything the President does. CNN will do that. Just let him go his way for six months and see what happens.
Ok let’s imagine Reagan tweeting about Sam Donaldson’s crappy combover during the IMF treaty negotiations. Now, let’s imagine a conservative web site devoting most of its commentary to the “comb-over” tweet instead of the treaty. Thanks, that was kind of enlightening. Happy 4th.
As one who was no fan of Trump, I find myself deeply split over the issues that were discussed in this podcast. I do find Trump’s tweets somewhat adolescent. I spent nearly 45 years in middle and high school classrooms trying to teach kids the old Buddhist axiom that: if a man creates a great feast and nobody comes, what happens? The answer, of course, is that he eats it himself. The message is that you don’t have to respond to ever provocation. At the same time, I do sympathize with and share the feelings of many that the endless barrage of vitriol directed toward Republicans, and most especially Donald Trump, needs some response. That the MSM focuses on the most miniscule faults of the Trump administration while it ignored totally the endless abuses of the Clinton and Obama administrations is only unknown to those who do not want to know.
As a real Trump skeptic, I am unquestionably seeing a change in the country for the better since he has taken office. The permanance of any of those changes is, of course, dependent upon maintaining a Republican presidency. So far, other than Gorsuch, there is nothing that can not be overturned as easily as Trump has overturned Obama’s EOs. Much of the disruptive noise that is so disconcerting is a product of the MSM and an infantile Left.
Unquestionably, Trump’s behavior lowers the standards of the office of president. That is not to ignore the invitation of third rate celebrities and rap artists to White House functions that occurred under Obama, or Clinton’s disgraceful behaviors in the Oval Office. I am old enough to remember that Ronald Reagan would not remove his jacket or loosen his tie in that office, and that John F. Kennedy had such performers as Pablo Casals to the White House. The diminution of the dignity of the People’s House by Clinton and Obama does not, however, justify its further decline by Trump.
I have said it before, I repeat it here, I want the Trump administration to be successful, not for him, but for the country and the Republican party. I would like to be proud of our president. I would like him to be a role model for young people, a positive role model. That he does not drink nor, apparently, use obscene language are both good things. If he could use the same level of self control in the language he uses to address his critics, not sinking to their inane level of insults, I would have no problem with his using Twitter to express his views. As he himself stated, it is the voice of the modern presidency. Let it be so, but let it also be a reflection of a mature individual answering his critics in witty bon mots appropriate to his position, not the locker room silliness comparable to attacking someone’s mother.
I find Trump/anti-Trump as tiring as the next guy but the vast majority of this podcast wasn’t about Trump. It was about culture and ideas and technology and wonderful non-Trumpy stuff.
Why not make your own podcast?
True, but where did they begin? One had to wade through Trump to get through the good stuff. Ew!
For the people chronically unhappy with the Flagship Podcast, I offer a suggestion. Instead of asking Rob and James to change their natures, perhaps people should instead listen to one of the many podcast series on Ricochet that either don’t ever talk about Trump, like LadyBrains, or to one hosted by a Trump defender, like The Classicist or Radio Deplorable. The HWX podcast may make fun of The Donald occasionally, but they make fun of everybody and generally tend to be supportive of the Trump administration. I’m sure there are others but these are the first to come to mind. There are more podcasts on this site than anyone has time to listen to, so maybe be more selective in which you listen to.
Among the groups affected by bans on state-funded travel to certain states are state university teams going to competitions (athletic, engineering vehicle, debate and speech, etc.). Also affected are professionals employed by the state who would attend educational or professional development conferences.
Fourth of July celebration for us is attending a citizenship naturalization ceremony at a regional living history museum (Genesee Country Village). The museum also reenacts Independence Day ceremonies from past eras (usually 1826 and/or 1876), sometimes including a reading of the Declaration of Independence, and usually culminating in launching an anvil into the air :-) . There’s participatory games and contests, and a brass band playing historic patriotic songs.
Their nature changed with Trump. So, let’s remove what changed their nature, and perhaps they’ll change back and the show will improve back to what it used to be. I’m with Peter, I’m tired of hearing about Trump’s tweets. It won’t change anything to talk about it, so leave it alone. Don’t bore us with what everyone else in the world is talking about and what makes the hosts cranky anyway.
THIS.
My nature hasn’t changed at all, but of course I’d be the last to know.
But here’s the thing. Trump wants you to talk about his tweets. If this is his way of getting his message out to the citizens, isn’t it strange not to talk about what the President is saying? These aren’t caught-on-mike misstatements, they’re bullhorn-in-the-public square pronouncements.
And?
To quote from a source which is one strong basis of our culture, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” I realize Ricochet has a political basis, but when did it become a gossip column for what our village idiot is doing today? How about making the case for conservative things that our very non-ideological President is unlikely to make? How about praising good ideas? How about praising success on the state level, as y’all (Peter, anyway) did a bit of in this podcast? Can we have more of that?
Following along with and focusing on our pro-wrestling heel of a President and his antics is draining and, quite frankly, the lazy way for the podcasters. Let’s find ways to build up the conservative movement. Let’s find ways to get conservative ideas out and convince more people so they will tell their Senators and Representatives to do the job we want done. And most of all, let’s make it fun while we do it. If you absolutely think you have to talk about Trump’s every tweet and flatulence, save it for the very end of the podcast. That way, we won’t have to slog through the ooze and the muck at the beginning to get to the good stuff. At the end, you can announce that it’s Trump tweet time, and we can eject. Just get all the sponsors’ copy in first. Is that fair?
As a non American can I say thats its good that Donald Trump lowers the quality of the Presidency. You treat the Position like a Monarch and are shocked when you get them.
As someone who has a Monarch its unhealthy.
Also as someone who works to help get people elected I have to say I have seen no polling data or any other data that shows the Republicans losing the house. As someone who successfully predicted the election of Trump (you can go look at my post before election day), I have better track record of anyone on this podcast. My bet is you might lose half a dozen close seats in the house and will likely pick up senate seats. Maybe not to get the 60 votes but the majority will increase.
The democrats are being crushed. They are showing some glimmers that they might get a clue. But those people are few and far between. I doubt they will be able to put anything together in time for 2020. Its going to be a big loss in 2018, Pelosi gets kicked out and then the Sanders/Warren wing runs in 2020. They will lose. Trump is a good campaigner. He also has coattails. Things are getting better in the hinterlands where they dont watch the lamestream news sources.
I also have seen demographic evidence that the house wont be in play till at least 2022.
But what I do know I only get people elected. I dont write tv shows and I dont report the news.
I really wish we had some people on the podcasts that were actual politicians and party volunteers. People who went to the conventions and worked polling desks and managed campaigns. None of them ever got into the hospitality suites wearing a press badge.
That’s not a bad idea. I certainly appreciate that on The Conservatarians podcast, they always wait until the end to talk about whatever obscure music they have been listening to.
I think part of the problem for some people is that this is the Flagship Podcast.
Yeah, but you can’t please everybody. Some of us like it as it is. I think the Law Talk podcast would be more interesting if they talked less about the law and more about science fiction and sports cars, but they would lose a lot of listeners who hold the opposite view. Plus, the professors wouldn’t really be doing the show they wanted to do and maybe wouldn’t do it as well.
I would like for our ordinary lives to be sufficiently apolitical that we wouldn’t need to care so much who was President or what he was saying/doing.
Quite a while back someone posted a picture of the front page of the New York Time from sometime in the mid-1960s. The headline for the nomination of a Justice to the Supreme Court was a small headline below the fold.
We’ll probably never again get to that level with the President, but it’s something to aspire to.
All very good to hear. Thank you.
Science Fiction and Sports Cars sounds like an interesting podcast. So does Science Fiction Sports Cars. ;)
Get @garymcvey to host?
Like building a time machine out of a DeLorean?
Not what I was thinking, but it certainly works.