Tag: conservative

Join Jim and Greg as they welcome former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s decision not to run for the GOP presidential nomination. They also cheer Lee Zeldin for imploring Republicans to go fight for every vote by going into every precinct (even the deep blue ones) and sharing conservative ideas on crime, education, economic growth and more. Finally, they enjoy watching Sen. Bernie Sanders sit dumbfounded as Bill Maher asks him to explain the difference between equality and equity. It’s a revealing moment because they are very different ideas that the left tries to use interchangeably to confuse people.

Join Jim and Greg as they discuss major news from three different spots around the globe. First, they are cautiously optimistic as new British Prime Minister Liz Truss promises to govern as a conservative and that means cutting taxes to grow the economy. They also cheer the people of Chile for overwhelmingly rejecting a new far left constitution that looks an awful like the goals of Democrats in the U.S. And they brace for a very rough winter in Europe as Russia says it will restrict energy exports until “the collective west” backs off its sanctions towards Moscow.

We love our listeners and we love hearing from you! So we decided to ask what questions you’d like us to address.  Today we start with a great hypothetical. If conservatives won control of the House, Senate, and White House (with a supermajority in the Senate), which president from the past 100 years would we want setting the agenda and what would we want him to focus on. Then they take on a question asking what margin Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis needs to win re-election by to have real momentum for a 2024 presidential bad – and how damaging would it be for him if Sen. Marco Rubio wins by a wider margin?  Finally, they tackle a Terminator-themed political question in a crazy but intriguing final martini.

As the the nation pauses for Memorial Day, Jim and Greg also take time to honor the brave Americans who gave their lives for this nation and their families who have sacrificed so much. They also take some time to give you the background on how this podcast began and how each of them became conservatives

 

Do You ‘See Red?’

 

Denzel Washington is famous for saying,

“It is easy to spot a red car when you’re always thinking of a red car. It is easy to spot reasons to be mad when you’re always thinking of being mad. You become what you constantly think about.”

If you’re always looking for it, you’ll find it. If you think the worst of some person or group, that’s all you’ll see. I am constantly concerned about the one-sidedness of viewpoints.

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There is little I can add to the encomiums that have poured in for Rush Limbaugh. He pioneered conservative talk radio at the national level, paving the way for countless others to follow. He was wildly funny and entertaining as he skewered the absurdities of liberalism, all with “half my brain tied behind my back.” […]

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Join Jim and Greg as they explore some of the ideas on China that ought to unite conservatives, moderates, and even some Democrats. They also shudder as Bernie Sanders is about to become chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and plans to use the reconciliation process a lot to avoid Senate filibusters. And they unload on Don Lemon for demonizing all Trump voters because some repulsive figures supported him too.

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I heard President Trump responding to a question about not getting his payroll tax cut. I understand why the Dems oppose it; they are socialists, racists, and rather than caring about working people they really only care about controlling working people and destroying the family and creating dependency. The Dems want all of your money, […]

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‘Twas the Year Before College

 

Among many people my age there is the expectation of pursuing a college education. Understandable, as college is supposed to improve career opportunities, monetary success, social status, and general edification. In some regards this holds true, however the cost of attending university to obtain these things has proven to be greater than the ever-increasing price tag. 

My opinion is in no way indicative of a generation, or of the population of peers with whom I attended university. 

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So I understand this Joe Walsh fellow is out of the race, no longer competing against President Trump for the Republican nomination. I’d never heard of Joe Walsh until he announced his exit this week; what I’ve heard from him since then makes me glad he’s gone. I know there’s a strong feeling among a […]

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As America pauses for Thanksgiving Day this week, join Jim and Greg as they each list three things for which they are politically thankful.  They both start out discussing encouraging signs in the judicial world.  Then Jim explains which Democratic presidential candidates he’s thankful for and which figure he’s thankful for doing just about everything the wrong way. Greg discusses the political figure he thinks is setting a good example for conservatives to follow while in office and which groups he finds encouraging in a time of great cynicism and polarization.

It was a long night, but we’re here and we’re glad you could join us!  Today, Jim and Greg unpack disappointing election results as Democrats win control of the Virginia legislature and Kentucky GOP Gov. Matt Bevin appears headed to defeat.  But they perk up as they see conservative policy ideas like protecting taxpayers, rejecting sanctuary city status, and tapping the brakes on affirmative action winning in moderate to liberal parts of the country. And they have zero use for a Kamala Harris proposal that would keep create a 10-hour school day (8 a.m.-6 p.m.) so it lines up with the work schedule of parents.

Universal Basic Income and the Alaska Dumpster Fire

 

Every now and then a think piece shows up from conservative writers considering whether providing a Universal Basic Income (UBI), or a fixed payment to everyone, no strings attached, might be a positive alternative to Great Society-type programs.

I urge all of those considering these arguments to take a look at the cautionary tale of Alaska.  As a condition of statehood, Alaska has no private oil and gas rights owned by the state, and the state invested the royalties in a Permanent Fund.  Eventually, the money flowing in was so much more than state expenses that the state income tax was rescinded, and a dividend on the fund earnings are paid every year to every resident (depicted here in the Simpsons movie).  This Permanent Fund Dividend, or the PFD, is essentially a UBI.  The Permanent Fund has ~$60 billion in it, and historically the PFD has been in the $1-2K range.  With the natural gas boom going on in the contiguous U.S., royalties on current oil production in Alaska plummeted around 5 years ago, so the previous governor (a left-leaning independent) reduced the dividend, expanded Medicaid by fiat, dipped in to the state’s savings to make the state budget, and proposed reinstating the income tax.  Last year, the current Republican governor was elected promising to restore the full dividend (and more), cut nothing of significance, and have no new taxes.

“Make America Great Again”

 

I never much cared for the slogan, mostly for the obvious reason that I think America remains great and has never not been great. I never much cared for the hat, either: I don’t wear hats, and I’m not a big fan of Trump the man, however much I like his performance in office.

But it seems to me that there’s a serious problem in need of a serious solution, and wearing the iconic orange red cap is, oddly enough, a useful tool for solving it.

Rob Long of National Review Online and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for sending Jussie Smollett a bill for more than $130,000 to cover the costs of the police to investigate his hate crime hoax.  They also shake their heads as the supposedly moderate “Economist” magazine labels Ben Shapiro a “sage of the alt-right” but then changes it to call him a “radical conservative.”  And they have a lot of fun with the news that Illinois State’s Attorney Kim Foxx didn’t really recuse herself from the Smollett case in the legal sense, just in the “colloquial” sense.

All Things Being Equal: Amy Coney Barrett for SCOTUS

 

“This year will be remembered as an especially auspicious time for the Supreme Court. President Trump is in a position to pick the next Justice from a list of extremely qualified jurists.” So says Leonard Leo, who was a key person putting together the list for President Trump. In an interview, he made clear his requirements and expectations:

What is important is that we have a judiciary occupied by individuals who understand … they have a duty and a moral obligation to enforce the structural Constitution. They have a duty to make sure that limits on government power are respected and enforced, and when they carry out that duty or obligation, they are in a myriad of ways preserving the worth and dignity of every human person. Because if you have a system where government can do anything, if you have a system where rights that aren’t in the Constitution can be created and things that are in it can be ignored, no one is safe.

The people on the qualifications list meet those requirements at a minimum. In fact, they are so well-qualified that many people are making their recommendations for Trump’s pick to separate the golden wheat from the less golden chaff. There is one person who has a unique combination of qualifications that no one else has, and that is Amy Coney Barrett.

“You Can’t Be Taxed Before 18” and Other Lies My Child Believes

 

The other night while driving to see Thor: Ragnarok, my daughter and I ended up having a conversation about money. It’s open enrollment at work and since my daughter is 14, we discuss my income and costs much more openly. She wondered how much I make and where all of the money goes. Since I’m pretty open about this, I asked her why she was asking and reminded her that it is rude to ask people how much they make.

Given that her question was in good faith, I told her that I would answer it and we could talk about it on the 30-minute drive to her father’s town.