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It’s the middle of the month and that means it’s time for Jonah Goldberg, Rob Long, and John Podhoretz to take another tour through politics and pop culture. In this episode, they cover why the Trump campaign is like Grey Gardens, dissect the big battle scene on this week’s “Game of Thrones,” ask if sequels are killing Hollywood, and share thoughts on the dump Trump movement gathering steam before next month’s Republican convention.
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Brother Rob truly has a line for the ages:
“It’s cat food, people! It’s cat food on toast.”
Listen to the episode and tell me whether you agree.
To be so lucky. Trump isn’t even cat food.
GLoP is supposed to be on “Culture.” I’ve listened to every episode, many of them twice. Enjoyed them, generally.
I suffered through the first 13 minutes minutes of this sad, smug, poor audio-quality, bi-coastal, Washington corridor, anti-Trump mockfest and heard nothing on Culture, which usually ends up being about some obscure pay-for-view cable TV fare or NY happening I never watch or care about.
Then, for the first time, I shut it off. With snickering friends like these, who needs MSNBC?
I’m now logged in to
Voice of National ReviewRicochet, at 10:40 pm, so I can cancel my autopay annual membership at PayPal. I’ve had enough from my thought “leaders.”I invested in Ricochet. I bought the Harrys. I bought a king-sized Casper. Both are remarkably average, like Ricochet, and easily forgotten. I’ve already given up commenting at Ricochet for the most part, because the comments section is so poorly laid out, the block quotes so painful to endure, and “conversation” so disjointed. It’s simply not an enjoyable “must visit” website.
National Review/Ricochet did to itself what the left could not do: separate itself from its own audience, at least me.
So, so long, GLoP, and Ricochet. And thanks for the fish.
Can we amend the Ricochet CoC to forbid any discussion of Game of Thrones?
That would be great, thanks.
The commentary on Trump’s pathetic FEC filing was spot on. Keep up the great work, guys!
That food dish would be much better if it had a three printed on it.
I’m totally with you, brother…I stopped listening to the podcasts many months ago and haven’t looked back. I’ve always known that Ricochet was a form of mental masturbation (i.e. accomplishing nothing), but in recent months I’ve started to understand why “conservatives” are such losers…our thought leaders are not as smart as we (well, I) thought. I am still a member because I enjoy the contributions of a few members (e.g. TKC, BDB, Franco, Brent, anonymous), but I generally skip over the rest…I just don’t need the aggravation.
Same here. The GLoP podcast is once a month and I usually enjoy it as an alternative. Why would you guys waste so much time on Trump, especially when he gets plenty of your time on the main Ricochet podcast? Are you guys running out of ideas for GLoP or what?
That said, making fun of people at this stage in the game for supporting (or even tolerating) Trump is repellent. We went through the primaries, everybody followed the rules, and this is what he have to work with. Those of us that can’t/won’t swim in the froth of Presidential candidate minutiae for 10 months straight – what would you have us do?
How about instead of poking fun and plowing the snark you guys come up with another plan at the Convention. Trump might be a disaster, and if all you can do is wallow in self pity and told-you-so commentary, I can get that anywhere. Offer a way out or just let it go. The off-putting, low-brow, any other hyphenated term stuff isn’t helping Ricochet. I’m about 60/40 against Koblog – I’ll keep my sub for another year since it’s up soon. But casts like this bring those odds closer.
Very well put, Mr. Kwhopper!
I have to admit the hand wringing from people at any criticism of Trump’s pathetic FEC filing is most amusing. The Republican electorate chose this disaster of a candidate and now they are going to get it good and hard.
Loved the podcast, keep it up.
Don’t discuss politics.
Don’t discuss popular culture.
Gosh – what else are they going to talk about on a pop-culture-themed-but-not-strictly-pop-culture-limited-podcast? The latest episode of America’s Got Talent or Dancing with the Stars?
Those shows suck – at least as far as a discussion piece goes.
Some people don’t like Game of Thrones. I get it. It’s violent, frequently profane and sometimes crude – but it’s also right up there with the best shows on TV, and many people do like it and watch it. It is driving the media-cultural zeitgeist right now – especially given that the major networks are on summer scheduling. Perhaps they could discuss Hamilton some more? That’s a bit too coastal elite, I suppose.
They spent $10 million to film an episode of a television show and it was well worth it. More GoT discussion, please. And while we’re at it, could we please get some discussion of The Americans?
Whine, whine, whine, bitch, bitch, bitch… poor little Trump and his sad supporters. You want someone to blow smoke up your rear side about Trump just listen to Hannity. Its on for 3 hours every day plus one hour on TV. I don’t think Kim Jong Un gets that much propaganda.
I for one love the Trump hating, and the Game of Thrones discussion, if you don’t, just listen to a different podcast. Or maybe you can just get Trump to suck less.
I must say that I am terribly offended by the depiction of Donald Trump in the image above as a homeless person apparently begging for funds. The man is worth $10 Billion (give or take several billions here or there). How dare Ricochet make light of this man! Shame on you and that Photoshop hack Hill.
Please stop the smug mock fest. Please stop the criticism of a great American.
Hating for its own sake gets old. Offer an alternative path out of this mess. I’m with Peter Robinson – right now it’s Trump or Hillary, as bad as that sounds. Go ahead with the hate I guess, but it will consume you – and make sure of who you’re really hating on.
I’m just one Republican/Conservative looking for leisure in Ricochet and can’t change anything about the race. If you’re conceding the candidate on our ticket will be Trump, offer no alternative route to an actual Conservative, and then demean both Trump and me as a voter for a situation beyond my control – sad times indeed.
If Trump’s ineptitude at the basic blocking and tackling of running a national campaign continues, would you concede that the option of ousting him at the convention would begin to look at least credible – even if it’s not preferable?
That’s what we’re getting at here: The man needs to put up or shut up. If he wants to run for President he needs to act like it or allow somebody who wants to do it to be the party’s nominee.
I don’t want Hillary and will vote for Trump.
However, discussing the notion that Trump looks to be quite a predictable disaster as the Republican Presidential Nominee is something that should not make people shut their ear holes and demand their money back.
Trump is, always has been, and predictably always will be, a narcissistic huckster. The concept of blowing up the system is interesting and arguably desirable, unfortunately Donald Trump is not the way to accomplish that goal.
Donald Trump is for “Donald Trump” and for millions of voters he is even a really terrible advocate for “Donald Trump” (ie: He’s not up to speed and/or cannot articulate his position on important issues, has been a Democrat all his life until Obama 2008, and he’s basically an unlikable human being who is obviously full of it(ie: himself)).
What’s so bad about discussing the obvious?
Whats most shocking to me about the picture accompanying this post is that Homeless Jonah can apparently afford pants.
I’ll concede every word, but we need a name. Commentators are stuck in the mud of trying to one-up each other with Trump ‘wisecracks’ for lack of a better description. It just seems silly that it has gone on this long.
National Review (and Ricochet in large part it seems) were able to agree full-force that Trump isn’t who we want. The strategy feels like it has failed because they couldn’t also agree on an alternative. We need a name to rally around against him, and a consensus needs to come from these publications. Why were they able to go NeverTrump so easily but can’t pronounce a unified alternative?
This whole thread is a big divergence on a routine podcast. But that’s what struck me when the grand opener was more rudderless Trump snark. Snark all you want – as long as you convince me there’s somebody out there that 80%+ of conservatives can rally around at the convention — and not be picked apart like these sites did to the primary candidates. We didn’t get Rubio or Cruz because of that stuff.
I think that’s the big deal. You have three people here whose joy on the microphone is to mock other people who talk about these political affairs. I suppose you could say, they do not care about people who disagree with them, not even members; or that they do not realize anyone’s listening except their admirers. But it’s a remarkable irresponsibility–short-sightedness–being gleeful that they can mock people of no importance.
There is a strong contingent of the membership which apparently desires Ricochet to be a safe space. It’s disappointing, but not surprising. Progressives aren’t the only ones who don’t like hearing things with which they disagree. Hard truths are hard.
‘Other people are so far my inferiors they cannot hold their ears open without their brains boiling!’
I’m guessing you believe there is a substantive criticism of Sal’s comment buried in this somewhere.
I’m not getting paid to expatiate & I don’t always feel like it–so I’m especially thankful your guesses are getting so much better all the time! I hope the next level is Ryansplainin’–after all, I can’t do it alone!
Likewise. Please excuse my similar attempts at amusing myself while disagreeing.
Ridicule is the appropriate response to the ridiculous.
You said it, brother-
Nah – many desire Ricochet to be an interesting place. I’ve heard the Trump ridicule. I’m generally amused (and dismayed) by it. It’s old now, and feels like grasping if not paired with a way out. Is there an alternative plan brewing at the convention or is ridicule all we have? Are we seriously going to belittle our way to November, or put on the rally caps and find somebody to get behind?
As a NearlyNeverTrump, I actually agree with some of the criticisms of this episode.
I do think the commentators should be open about their positions and feel free to say what they think. But with two major caveats:
—
Frankly, this is where Steyn’s absence from the podcast is most deeply felt. It’s not just that he would have brought a different opinion to the table. Rather, he is a master at anticipating conflicts in opinions among people who would otherwise be allies, and using wit and sensitivity to playfully skip through the minefields.
Sometimes ridicule is the only option available to you.