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‘Nils, We Need to Talk!’ Are We Headed for Electoral Disaster in November?

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Are we possibly headed to a complete electoral and political meltdown in November, complete with riots in the streets and threats of secession by some states? Last week something called the Transition Integrity Project (TIP) made huge news with a 22-page report on a simulation exercise of scenarios of what might happen in the event we have a contested election in November. A bipartisan groups of political luminaries, including former RNC chair Michael Steele, former Michigan Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm, and all-around liberal potentate John Podesta, conducted the simulation, and it set off a media frenzy over the prospects of either Trump or Biden contesting the election result right up to inauguration day, with potential riots in the streets, and "Seven Days in May"-sounding concern over what the military might do!

Nils Gilman

Amidst all the handwringing and near-hysteria about a report projecting possible hysteria, few news stories (or podcasts for that matter), bothered to talk in depth with the two leaders of TIP, Rosa Brooks of Georgetown University Law Center, and Nils Gilman, vice president of programs at the Berggruen Institute in California. As it happens, I know Nils Gilman! He's a very smart lefty, though he might quibble some with my description of him as such, and I like him personally, though we obviously disagree about a great many (though not all) things. So I decided to ring him up and talk through the TIP report and several related matters, and the result is this fast-paced hour-long show that barely scratches the surface of the many issues that deserve exploration. (So we may need to do a sequel! Let me know what you think.)

For exit music this week, since I try to find something that fits the show's theme, I decided to use Molly Hatchet's tune from the 80s, "Flirtin' With Disaster," and it certainly fits!

We're flirtin' with disaster, Ya'll know what I mean And the way we run our lives, It makes no sense to me
I'm travelin' down that lonesome road Feel like I'm dragging a heavy load Yeah I've tried to turn my head away, Feels about the same most every day
Host:
Steve Hayward

Discussion (13)

  • Dr.Guido@DrGuido
    Edited

    "Chutzpah' explodes in my mind as I listen to a fellow of The Left---you remember them---the LEFT that, minutes after the glass ceiling stayed up in the Javits Center, was party to and created and reveled in 'The Resistance". It was concocted before then as is now clearly shown in the Steele/Russiagate obscenity releases. The Left was Party TO an espionage adventure vs Candidate Trump and then POTUS elect Trump and then President Trump---and THEY still cannot accept that they lost. So they are projecting the next 'what if' and dragging in a Trump Admin which has shown NO inclination to destroy the Office of The Presidency NOR to thwart the peaceful transition of power--- as they did--- and now project that onto a 'What-If Trump...?'...scenario.

    The Left has no marker that tells them that they went too far...As has been noted, WF Buckley told the KKK/John Birch types to take a hike in the mid-1950s....there was no room for them in the Conservative/Republican Party. Clearly, given the encouragement of and tolerance for AntiFa and BLM, and pals, there are still no such markers on the Left.

    (Shorthand? They still proudly wear their Che T-shirts....what does the MainStream Right in 2020 wear? MAGA hats.)

  • Richard Easton@RichardEaston
    ReplyingtoDr.Guido

    Dr.Guido (View Comment):

    “Chutzpah’ explodes in my mind as I listen to a fellow of The Left—you remember them—the LEFT that, minutes after the glass ceiling stayed up in the Javits Center, was party to and created and reveled in ‘The Resistance”. It was concocted before then as is now clearly shown in the Steele/Russiagate obscenity releases. The Left was Party TO an espionage adventure vs Candidate Trump and then POTUS elect Trump and then President Trump—and THEY still cannot accept that they lost. So they are projecting the next ‘what if’ and dragging in a Trump Admin which has shown NO inclination to destroy the Office of The Presidency NOR to thwart the peaceful transition of power— as they did— and now project that onto a ‘What-If Trump…?’…scenario.

    The Left has no marker that tells them that they went too far…As has been noted, WF Buckley told the KKK types to take a hike in the mid-1950s….there was no room for them in the Conservative/Republican Party. Clearly, given the encouragement of and tolerance for AntiFa and BLM, and pals, there are still no such markers on the Left.

    (Shorthand? They still proudly wear their Che T-shirts….what does the MainStream Right in 2020 wear? MAGA hats.)

    Agreed. I’ve listened to about 20 minutes of it. Where’s his condemnation of what the Obama administration did before and after the 2016 election. The abuse of FISA is just one of many examples. The CIA’s spying on Congress and the targeting of Flynn are other examples. He strikes me as being a particularly slimy leftist. There’s also the widespread attacks on Trump supporters. Nils can pretend to be a pious citizen worried about Trump may do. He should spend some time cleaning up the rot on his side first.

  • Al Sparks@AlSparks

    Steve and Nils assume that Nancy Pelosi will be Speaker of the House on January 20th, 2021.

    Her term ends at noon on January 3rd, 2021. If members of the House know that who they elect as Speaker on January 3rd (or I've heard January 5th, which could be set by statute) will become the next Speaker, will they really vote Pelosi in?

    Keep in mind that the Constitution does not require that the Speaker be a member of the House of Representatives. They could install anyone in that seat.

  • Dr.Guido@DrGuido
    ReplyingtoRichard Easton

    Dr.Guido (View Comment):

    “Chutzpah’ explodes in my mind as I listen to a fellow of The Left—you remember them—the LEFT that, minutes after the glass ceiling stayed up in the Javits Center, was party to and created and reveled in ‘The Resistance”. It was concocted before then as is now clearly shown in the Steele/Russiagate obscenity releases. The Left was Party TO an espionage adventure vs Candidate Trump and then POTUS elect Trump and then President Trump—and THEY still cannot accept that they lost. So they are projecting the next ‘what if’ and dragging in a Trump Admin which has shown NO inclination to destroy the Office of The Presidency NOR to thwart the peaceful transition of power— as they did— and now project that onto a ‘What-If Trump…?’…scenario.

    The Left has no marker that tells them that they went too far…As has been noted, WF Buckley told the KKK types to take a hike in the mid-1950s….there was no room for them in the Conservative/Republican Party. Clearly, given the encouragement of and tolerance for AntiFa and BLM, and pals, there are still no such markers on the Left.

    (Shorthand? They still proudly wear their Che T-shirts….what does the MainStream Right in 2020 wear? MAGA hats.)

    Richard Easton (View Comment):

    Agreed. I’ve listened to about 20 minutes of it. Where’s his condemnation of what the Obama administration did before and after the 2016 election. The abuse of FISA is just one of many examples. The CIA’s spying on Congress and the targeting of Flynn are other examples. He strikes me as being a particularly slimy leftist. There’s also the widespread attacks on Trump supporters. Nils can pretend to be a pious citizen worried about Trump may do. He should spend some time cleaning up the rot on his side first.

    @Richard Easton I thought AG Barr put it perfectly tonight in an interview. What the Obamunists did before, during and after Trump(and I think The Donald has an awful persona!) was very much a 'Doomsday Scenario' in which the Party in power, aided and abetted overwhelmingly by a hyperpartisan MSM, worked assiduously to destroy a political opponent. Nothing less defines what they've done....I can see a scenario wherein the ultra-cautious Durham does not bring any indictments until said indictments are too late to affect the outcome. Not because of some nefarious motives on his part but simply because they are SO focused on the rule of law and will not move to indict until they are convinced they can get a Grand Jury to move and that they can prove their case beyond a shadow of a doubt.

  • Bishop Wash@BishopWash

    It was cute when Nils was talking about transitions around the fifty minutes mark. He claims that Trump wouldn't make it easy for a Biden administration to take over in January. Payback maybe? He says that Bush did a good job handing it off to Obama and Obama stayed out of the way. Did he forget the Office of the President-elect that Obama created, complete with a seal? As others have noticed, he has no mention of the abuses of Obama in 2016. Steve started to pushback but said it would take things astray and in his introduction said he likes to let his guests talk.

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