Noah Rothman, Abe Greenwald, and I sit down for the latest COMMENTARY podcast in the wake of the French elections to explore the extent to which the French elections represent a triumph for optimism and hope about Western democracy or merely a pause in the forward march of nationalism. We also wonder whether the Democratic party is overplaying its hand after the House vote on the health-care bill and whether it needs a wave election to win back the House in 2018. Give a listen.
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Welcome
Monetary magazine podcast today is Monday. May twenty seventeen I'm John put words. The editor commentary magazine seventy two year old monthly of
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Well, gentlemen. Last night, the french people handed a never before elected man, the second largest,
victory in french political history, a male macro.
Thirty nine years old will be the youngest leader of France since Napoleon Bonaparte one with sixty six percent of the vote over.
Marine Le Pen, the career politician head of the national front, the party founded by her father, Jean Marie Le Pen, free
clean nationalist openly race
this now less openly racist and anti semitic than it was, but that so
I'd say only partially openly racist and anti semitic, and there was
a great deal of enthusiasm in this country and elsewhere in Europe, in the precincts of the let's say Trump being right at the possibility that Marine Le Pen would
surprise and show the poles all to be wrong in charge
into a victory is part of a general anti globalists wave. In fact, the appalling was wrong, but in Marine Le Pen's favour because she lost by thirty four
Thirty two points- and I didn't call Larry four percent right in the polling- was had her losing my twenty four. So in fact it was a huge pulling feeling, epic polyfill, but actually actually in the direction of the Trump being right. So the so the
The hope that somehow the institution
of the west that were supposedly conspire,
to uphold the possibility of a manual mccrone? Winning were were in fact bending over backwards to try to make sure that they didn't miss the non existent le pen wave that not only didn't materialise but which I think handed her pretty humiliating defeat.
Although, as were hearing of course, is still the best showing that she or any one of the national front has ever had her fathers best showing was in
one thousand nine hundred and eighty two when he was in a runoff against Jacques Chirac and lost eight thousand two hundred and eighteen.
So she doubled less than doubled, her her fathers great tat biggest.
Another thing that has happened, and ninety two that did not happen here is that the far left did not, unlike as it might take to the far left through in its hand with Shiraz.
Keep Jean Marie Le Pen from winning and this time the far left seems to have decided to sit out or be mildly sympathetic to her, so that that helps explained why Mccrone only got two thirds of the fund.
One of the few times of history here, that a two thirds landslide wasn't in fact the wasn't in fact the historic victory yeah. I just for clarity. I think I was two thousand and two I may say two thousand to eighty two, oh sorry, two thousand and two I was but yeah. I do
two fronts I'm in IRAN was present in France. I acknowledge a you know, something that we ve been seeing, which is there's two to reactions to the bodies with the right. The trumpets right is depressed.
But those who are either harden faster sort of lukewarm opponents of that ideology or are of two minds. One is that this is something to celebrate this. As you know, we were on the brink of a proper precipice and stepped back and too
is sort of forlorn depression over the general direction of political development in the West, because well LE pen lost by rather substantial margin.
It quite a bit better than her father did, and this is, if you you know
A couple of fallacious straight line projection, eventually the national front becomes. The governing party of France
problems with that and, first and foremost being that they don't hold a lot of seats in the National Assembly. It's like two seats and when you had per
When voting in France, they used to have like thirty some odd seas around from birth,
and the time when, when Jean Marie Le Pen was actually a force in politics, so I think this is a bitter.
But a hand wringing, but does
I get it sells Ella relevant sentiment so that there was no arrangement or associate better talkin to you, because I didn't introduce them,
There is going to be an election for the assembly. Next month- and it's very unclear, what's gonna happen because Mccrone, the new president has no party, he is- was the head of a non political arena, Non Party movement, and so,
There are no candidates running on the mccrone line, so it's not clear, what's gonna happen and how he will constitute a an assembly government that said, the President of France is maybe the most powerful statutorily. The most powerful executive in the western world has almost total dominance over all decisions having to do a foreign policy and quite a lot having to do with domestic policy. So here's what interesting so there to turn to everyone with this. So the two lines of discussion, I think, are ably represented on the
one hand by an apple Bouwman, the Washington Post, rower, very optimistic piece about how Mccrone won an extraordinary victory. He was never an elected politician. He only started this movement and twenty sixteen. He benefited from the fact that the centre right collapsed because there was there was a scandal over the family, employment of
France will feel the Canon of the centre right and the Socialist Party completely collapse unless gave him a servant. Interesting centrist angle, to run from because
You had the socialists and the serve centre right, both based
the mentally unrepresented in this election, and so he could cut cobbled together. This weird he's kind of a politician from the TED Talk stage. You know he goes around with a hologram. He talks and platitudes about the internet. He he himself was a banker and helped structure a big, bye, baby food by out so he's
capitalist credit, but he also tongues a socialist game and so and says this is terrific. He made an incredibly optimistic
she understands the challenges against him. He needs to help improve France's economy and restore its
sense of national identity. Without it being a nationalist lip,
an identity and he has a lot of room to manoeuvre and then there's Jamie Karadzic. Our friend Jimmy Carter contribute commentary as an apple, Burma, contributor commentary, saying
this is really just delaying the inevitable that Macrones doesn't have that much chance succeed, because his electoral coalition includes people further to the left of him who are going to object to any economic reforms that he may want to make. He will see what the left and, at some point in the next decade, Marine Le Pen will be the President of France and that will be followed. The theme of his book, the end of Europe that Europe has done for and that we're just delaying the inevitable here.
Able to wear a green. What would you sure what? If what? If neither is exactly the case? What, and by that I mean how dare you,
By that I mean
using all reject all choices. I exactly ok, some people wanted it, but.
People are anticipating buying
into the idea that there is this global populist. All
righty far right trompe in come. You know political wave. I think
is a paradigm shift, I think, but what? If this
Isn't this shift? What if this is part of the beginning of what, if we're not at the other end, in other words,
it's not a shift from from liberal
listen to populism, bribery
did we're taking a brief, so stop through populism on the journey to something else, I mean, I think that is possible that that's
this election suggests to me because it's something different.
In France. He's he's a unique candidate
But it's not he's not he's, not the popular.
One. So I think I think things are shaking up, but not
exactly in the ways that people are anticipating. If it will look back on this as a sort of
evolving period. Why
there's something to that in a sense which is as delineated, you had a kind of collapse of the institutional pillars of the Fifth republic right that serve the two leading parties collapsing. The Shamrock Party in the MID Iran Party- let's say the so you Know- serve the two poles of french politics, which warrant that polar I mean you know. Mid arrive, became far more conservative in power in the course of his presidency, and Chirac became far more of a kind of night. You know to conventional you pan european politician in the course of his presidency
In so they collapse the way, they're so old and tired, and don't have any answers to anything the way Hillary Clinton was old and tired and didn't have the answers to anything until the server Hurst. Whatever messages there were, that met her parties, history and then you have bread
which is a very interesting story, worthy nominal person who should have led the leave campaign. That is the Tory Prime Minister, David Cameron called the election,
who see whether or not we should they should leave the European Union and then led
A rib stay in crowd band.
He led the stadium crowd, anvil and leave one. His party has essentially
revolutionized from the inside and
some may took over and is now has a snap election she's call that there will be an election for in June that will drive estate through the heart of labor. It will dry house
I will drive estates of hard labour, which of course, also the weirdness
here is that that the Labour Party, which should have been the party of remain because it is the leftist party in the country,
me. Corbett and the head of labour should have been a lever. Let you in emotionally spiritually and everything that he was more aligned with the? U is himself an anti globalists, but from the left, and so there you have a kind of weird man.
Some which Teresa may, who was nobody's idea of a right wing. Eddie Log is nonetheless going to take advantage of this serve populist assertion
of british sovereignty, to strengthen her hand, strengthen the Tories him for drivers, stake through labour and presumably create a new
kind of consensus about
English and british sob
tea and cultural afore in us of cultural forward. Looking efforts to be independent country, that is an under the yoke of of
larger European Union and isn't necessarily under the aegis of the United States, either at Mormon. All british consensus that, rather than new opera
Well, it's a new british consensus because, having traveled down this route,
oh, where, ah, the Labour Party moved right, the Tory Party moved laugh,
The these moves have turned out to be insecure
I want to explain where the country, which was to go in the future
but where aid by think as onto something is this is the very big
killing of a new structure in western democratic politics, where people where the
common consensus, on the one hand,
urban, stronger, culturally. That sad and think that I think that you know we live in a time in which everyone a lot of people.
Trump, winning or not, are still afraid to say things like affirmative action,
is bad. You know, identity, politics are bad. This is not the way we want to live. You know this kind of car, cultural hatred of western norms, bad trust
than the United States and you'll lose your job and a lot of places, and yet there is a lot of juice behind this. These feelings and ideas that are gonna be given voice.
And if you know, if Teresa may and a manual micron and whoever leads the Democratic Party, let's say continue to play into the hands.
Of that cultural consensus, then maybe it will go the way of Jamie Karadzic and the end of Europe and indeed the end of the United States, but if a new political reality is formed in the twenty first century that both acknowledges that we live in a global economy, because not acknowledging it is to do now is to be no attempt to act like the buggy whip,
fill a viable commodity in a world of automobiles, which many do. I am increasingly of the mine that we're
Having so much trouble classifying this moment in which weary, and which is clearly a moment,
Vox is because we're lending so much intellectual have to something that is purely reactionary, that does
and have a direction and is relatively leaderless by the way you mean you should say the word reactionary is not your political, reactionary, but literally
a reality reaction yesterday, but but a heedless one, there was a quote from a french voters that was making the rounds on twitter yesterday that kind of ice
because it was very familiar. The sentiment was in voting for Le Pen, because she's gonna quote piss people off, I don't,
You gonna do anything I really want done. I just think she's gonna make a lot of people angry. It was transgression for transgressions sake
and to that you know what sprang to mind there was, while the monologue from Fight Club
We are the middle children of history, we were all promised, we were gonna, be rock stars and it never materialised and we are angry and we want a break things at such an intellectual movement is not one that sustainable politically, so you have Trump who became president who managed against all odds, to become president and has no
running agenda. I think, however, it may be a mistake to assume that, because a movement isn't intellectual, that it that it can do some real damaging and
actually what's really can shine some power and can break things. But what can I wrote? Well? Well, that's right,
question is whether out of such chaos, something febrile you know some can something that that can actually plant routes and grow
wouldn't be strong can come, and I'm I'm more with Noah. I do think that it's very hard for something that is entirely reactive and as a way of saying
Republican Party, prove this from twenty ten onward, like they're the election of twenty ten, where the Republicans one hundred and sixty three seats. As I said during the time, was a way of the country saying stop to Obama. Stop it's too much spending it's too much. Government growth is too much your philosophically moving the country to a place
do not wanted to go, stop but didn't say much more than that and Republican spent six hears basically claiming trying to claim a forward. Look,
mantle from what was a stop election and could not structure one properly and therefore, despite winning the house and despite winning the Senate and the spy
all of that. This protest candidacy emerged from part of that looked, very strong
That was the weird thing. Remember all, but twenty fifty look at all these candidates are so greatly of all these fantastic candidates and into a it's like go it's like eyes, Likud, the nineteen. Eighty four olympic. Back? U S olympic basketball team, which was no fourteen. All stars like this is fantastic, and then this guy comes down escalator becomes president were sitting here, going yeah he's thou who put out a tweet.
This morning in which he missed spells. The word: why did the Council Whitehouse Council is spelled seal? You answer balance of seal USC owners and presently United states some more
How, however,
There is clearly
this sense, that the old political styles and methods and voice and approach does not speak to people.
Right, and we just. We know that that day, the gay and end. The argument for that, I suppose, is that these people, who
angry or angry at the political class around them. Among many other things, because they were promised quite a bit
that never materialised, and that's a reflection of incompetence and form of the validity
class, and there is something to be said that on Friday last Friday came out, you know the monthly jobs, that's right, so according to
the bureau, labour statistics. We are as close to full employment in the United States, as we have ever been in the history of the United States. We are four point: four percent unemployment. Now, if you do,
Republicans did for years and say well that unemployment rate is not really the unemployment. The unemployment rate after you have to use the lady of the under employment rate mortally employ. Read you six as opposed to you for its closer to April
However, we don't really know what that rate was when we were at full employment either I mean ok. Granted there wasn't a lot of job. Mobility of people stayed in the same jobs in the nineteen sixties and all that, but we have a protest president who came to office saying with the unemployment rate was close. It affords
percent that we were in it. We were being destroyed by trade wars that art the deal's were terrible and everything was awful and we couldn't have any immigration cause. It's killing. You know it's killing. Jobs in America and take of immigrants are taking jobs.
If the americans- and this is especially not true- now- there's a problem,
as there are there's a weird breakdown. It appears. That is that, if we're at full employment, the there should be massive pressure on salaries and income like income should be rising, because there should be a moment. There should be massive job competition inside the United States for this
employed workforce, and we don't see much evidence that yeah, we see some evidence but not evidence of significant increase. Having said that, the portrait of the United States, the dog
from drew does not resemble the actual United States, except in one capacity, which is some weird spiritual understanding that country in which there is an opium epidemic that is now killing more people in traffic accidents that is actually has actually caused. It appears a decline in the mortality age mortality for the first time in american history outside of war, and that we are, you know we are challenging and certain, and we have a suicide epidemic among people between the ages of forty five and sixty that something has gone wrong in the american soul spirit and psyche, but is not a public policy issue or it's very hard to see it as a public policies, unless you think the up here,
but then it can be addressed with better public policy which I'm sure it could. I just don't know what it is but who I think that's of a piece with the fact that Trump supporters in american populists generally aren't very
big on policy
two thousand and dont even care much. If
They don't see the things that he promised that they just want. They. They just want that voice
in the mix. They just want that to protest and obnoxious
a voice to upset everything because it is it is. It is a
you say a problem of the soul. It's a cultural problem it in its in its
to pin down I'm gonna, be very controversial here and ends has, as we were wont to do and say that is also a problem of agency. We have stripped these people of their agency in their lives and their capacity to address the conditions which they find them.
Which may or may not be of their own making. They want to hear that this is not their fault, that there are other than the rises of deaths of despair, as you call them in any way affecting only a particular class of Americans, especially the the much discussed white working class.
Liver disease overdose. Suicide. These things are absolutely on the rise, but life expectancy on the whole is not falling, no
still less clapped just in the safe and it's just in this particular group of people- and I think John you directed me to this one, which is Kevin. Williamson, has a really good column on this works. He's pissed
and spent some time into the landlord tenant court. Where he was evicting somebody and he spent so it's a complicates that we should go into the store
It's amazing piece: you can find it over all the theme and we can go into a right now. The theme is that he is surrounded by people for whom their lives are not their own conditions are not their own. They are prisoner to events buffet by events.
And that is that the condition that we pander to at our own detriment right. Well, so what he says interested you have is the grammatically. When you talk to people in this condition, they use the power
the voice in referring to themselves, they say,
You know I became disabled. I
I you know I was evicted or I was
move firmly. I this happened to me, and this is how they perceive life now Kevin himself. As the son of a teenage mother
the story here is that his father's fourth wife or something like that hit way then die. Then it
somehow woman to whom he has no relation whatsoever. Who was the wife of somebody to whom his mother was?
very recently that ended up.
Being in the house that his mother owned his
their died and this person's bill,
We in the house ten years, rent free and he finally said you have to pay me rant or leave and she refused to pay rent. And so he added initiate eviction proceedings because it's his property and she acted as though she
deserve to this house was hers. She deserved to own it and he was being mean to her because.
Now you want extrapolate from mousing. He just said he sat innovation court for four days and the eviction court has now become a major subject: subjective american sociology. There's this book, my Matthew, Desmond, called evicted, which won the Pulitzer Prize International Book award in as this portrait of
how essentially the underclass lives in a state of permanent instability, because they are constantly moving into proper remedies where they cannot pay the rent. And then there are victims of note kid can sink roots down, no knows where they're gonna live and they live in this.
Kind of perpetual Natalie loss of agency. But this perpetual world of movement end and instability for which method.
Desmond blames capitalism in which and for which covered Williamson blames this moral crisis of of of lack of agency.
And it is a very limited in lisbon- is a symptom of lack of agency? Will, of course, but I mean New Matthew Desmond is a socio just to Harvard. So what what is it? What's? He gonna do blame who's, gonna blame! You have to blame anybody, that's the point,
with the problem, with judge giant societal tragedies of their multi determined, and you cannot. You know you cannot find a single answer and capitalism
can play a role in it? In some sense, selfish, be Buller. But of course not,
When owns a building and runs, it manages it for the Euro in order to provide housing for the poor, except the government. That is not the job of
vigils anyway, I wanted to move on to discuss the continue fall out.
From the passage of healthcare bill last week and the kind of gleeful assertions on the part of life,
frozen Democrats that this is the way that Republicans have written their death sentence in passing this bill. Now we talked about the sum and last podcast.
There have been articles all weekend about how democratic recruiting
her house, races- and you know, and.
General line that the Democrats are taking the Republicans committing mass murder by attempting to reform a broken system that was is gonna collapse. Without some change is, you know, gaining purchase them, and I think there is a terrible danger to Denmark, I'm giving advice to people. You know that I often don T agree with, but as a matter of political strategy. Look at this and you think you know a never catch your chickens before their hatched, which democratically learned from the twenty sixteen election. More than any other lesson, you could possibly learn and be don't you know. The fact is that the echo chamber in which Democrats and liberals live in which every assertion that they make every thought they have as then magnified
I and displayed on the front page of the paper and the voices of every late, my comedy talk show host, and you know in the dominating world of social media that this is gonna. This leads them to
I'm a like triumphal ism that is totally unearned and that will is-
a dangerous for them if they actually want to but buckle down in women,
me ten and twenty eighteen,
unlike shot trump down, yet
forcing the walls of the bubble
utter a bubble, has walls but reinforcing the by like a good bubble. What yeah, I think, it's a cabinet,
True I mean in, and I think the american public dozen lie
Having the evils of conservatives,
lane to them any more. I think they don't surveillance or by it in the same way, and obviously there's there's a huge group. It does, but I think I think, but when the media becomes there, the mouthpiece fur for one side now it's it's. It's treated
more sceptically, well, John. Your point earlier on this was that he can be as self reinforcing, as you said, and that you know that
the press gives you a false sense of confidence, and I guess we were kind of talking about this earlier on
You said you could kindness he that I suppose in twenty. Sixteen with, as you said,
amid the rise of Donald Trump, which became sort of visible well before him,
came the nominee Democrats believe that, even if he wasn't the nominee, which didn't look likely for quite a long time, his effect on the Republican Party would be enough
tainted for the general election and resulted in some really good recruiting on the part of Democrats and none of them benefited at the end of the day.
Though it knows talking about- is that there was this sum on rush in
Senate races, in particular by by leading Democrats who, like veterans, you know, like also like, was like old timers day right, rust, Feingold in Wisconsin TED Strickland in Ohio
Evan by in Indiana? There were a couple of other cases, including in house racism because they fought ok I'll get in because, like obviously republican Party is greater in
and all three that I just mentioned lost and by Feingold loss to RON Johnson, who was considered the most vulnerable republican and twenty sixteen. But maybe markert was concerned. More vulnerable loss by me Johnson was thought to be a goner. He was such a goner in October. In Wisconsin, not unknown tongue met. They was thought to be a goner in in in May or June, but was running a really good race and it was unexpectedly close, like I don't think anybody had Wisconsin in the republican category
Twenty seventeen in the Senate charts, including on election day, and that on election day theme, is pretty familiar cause. It's precisely what happened two years prior and twenty fourteen there was a pause.
Republican wave, that no one saw
Even the night of there were, but I was in a very few very:
famously watching him assembly sea, and then they did a big post on this fur hot air at the time where they were talking about how this is not a wave election, the night of right up until I forget who lost somebody very important lost and it was a shock and it was Chris Matthews Shock and of his was just
delicious do in indoor by everybody, some twenty ten coming along a long ways way, because we had generic ballots
demonstrated republicans we're doing really well in the fund, raising, was doing really well for the European. They were recruiting and Democrats were exposed and they knew what they had just one to waive elections.
Secondly in previous years, so already saw that one coming so everybody kind of assumes the Republicans over exposed in that they are in the same position. That Democrats
earn twenty ten. So there should be a way of election, but we
see that really yet, in the form of at least fundraising. Republicans are joint, pretty well in fund. Raising Democrats are recruiting, but it could be. You know you're a premature exuberance, see some weathered budget with regard to
Healthcare bill also enabling Europe, if it if it gets to the president's desk at its go, it's going to look different than it does now
so so so we don't know exactly what kind of objections are gonna be organ be levelled at it, and then they had another point to make. Let him well, it's ok! What's that money
when I get those who are going on. So I m sorry, I just really up and also in every discussion that eventually gets round to how evil the Republicans our firm for doing this comes the poverty so well
to whomever the tormented too to have whatever democratic is being interviewed. This will you do it
that there are big problems with Obamacare right that needed to be fair?
So they say yes, of course, as it means before, so it it
at the same time as as its as its being used to to take down trump.
It's a constant reminder of the huge failings of of Obama
That, of course, is the real ironic question here is report
and those when twenty years, not touching healthcare and Democrats, keep touching it and getting, and even though they had this huge legislative triumphant, its passage get.
Burn bite over and over again, and now we have Republicans putting their fingerprints all over it and you could say, like you know, but he's crazy, like don't touch this,
they like it kills. Everybody gets near it and let them,
would be the case. I think the interesting thing about it
eighteen is the Democrats would be better off, not looking for a grand global glorious wave that will wipe out the wool
clean the stables and women wash Washington Clean, because they dont need to win that huge victory like it's a twenty? What what they need is twenty four seats to take over the house. Now there have been shifts in the house of numbers like that and will elections that were clearly not waive election
for example, in nineteen. Eighty, two in the middle of a recession, after a huge republican victory in nineteen. Eighty Democrats, one twenty succeeds in the house,
they only one one seat in the Senate. It was not a waiver
shouldn't they already had a majority in the they already had a majority in the in the house, and they will Jordy grew to almost a hundred seats. They were like have two hundred and sixty seven, two hundred and sixty six or something like that. But
If the Democrats recruit wisely and go into the races where they can win and so
why resources everything that and run local races, I mean based
believe that this is the test. In this George Especial Election, which is the Janos offers raised ten twelve fourteen million dollars or is about to raise that an election.
He's raises money because of national hatred of Trump. He is
running and Anti Trump race in the district at all
That is not his messages and, what's more, the Republicans and are running a pro Trump Karen Handle, who is his rival after the run off is not running up
tromp race Trump is not the issue. Trump is the issue. Here is a giant shadow over everything, but they're not hitting it and focusing on it
That's the real question. If I was to have prevailed, you got almost fifty percent got forty percent of the vote. If you only if you can grab another two percent or do you know two point, one percent he'll win and he will. It will demonstrate that what what Democrats need to do is win district by district. Here's, where I
I think, that's probably the worst case scenario for Democrats, because they have not learned any of the lessons that Republicans had to struggle.
If, over the last eight years, there were running for this on apocalyptic rhetoric.
Donald Trump is a fascist. He is the worst possible came
we could ever deal with in. There can be no compromise with him whatsoever. If they were to retake the house, they will experience what Republicans experience, which was they had to compromise with the president. They did pass a lot of things with the president's signature, and that was anathema to Republican Bay.
Which had been primed to believe the tunnel. The Brok Obama was the worst possible thing that could happen to America, that he was a communist and a socialist and that he was trying to fundamentally remagen reshape Amerika, and the party was rent asunder by it. Democrats are campaigning on these weird myths about the GNP is so they ve kind of misunderstood. The Republicans are out there
like cursing in public as though that renders them useful and interesting and like they're, trying to emulate the worst aspects of Donald Trump in order to sort of Combat Donald Trump like but become him to fight him.
And there they ve internalize. This idea of the GNP is that it was forever standing athwart every piece of legislation. Hopefully, herbs hopelessly obstructionism
every possible way really unthinking in heedless over the course of their of their years and in power.
And so they didn't internalize how this civil
you're within the Republican Party, really started, which was because they had the compromise with the rub, the Democratic Party in the Senate and in the White House. So Democrats,
become the majority party in the house and they have to pass budgets and they have to pass see hours and they
to put their continuing resolutions of CR visual is the thing that isn't that budget is. This is the bill, the last budget and the last minute, and rather but so they have to pass a bunch of tax. After put there, they have to put legislation through that trumpet get his signature on. There won't be any big Gran reform.
Arms, but there will be compromises living high. No compromise is downright right, but here's the interesting thing. So what they can do is stand athwart Trump ISM. The thing is,
there wasn't Obama is a man. It's likely. There is a Trump ISM, Brady Obama ISM was this kind of total mad rush to
who european eyes the United States the extent possible and the republican victory in twenty ten put paid to all. That is far from clear that there is a trump agenda,
there is a Trump legislative agenda. We know what it is all it is now is passed.
Much of this health care bill to give them enough money:
to pass a giant tax cuts with the hope that a giant tax cuts will lead.
To a sustained period of larger than expected economic growth that will help you now. Basically
steady, the country provide more jobs for the Trump voter and everybody else and lead to
Reagan like period of.
The muslim and buoyancy that will propel Republicans into more victories and trumpet inferior somebody like Trump or whatever, to win and twenty twenty, but that
it it's not like. He is a relentless pushing agenda. Where he's gonna wanna write seventy five pieces of legislation and get a past. That is Democrats. That's what Democrats are. They want to use government power to push through change, and that is not Republicans and it's not.
Tromp and, as you know, I think, responding to to what they now see. More you just described in trouble
Democrats and liberals have come to tone down, be fascist rhetoric, tv, BB, creeping fascism, rhetoric and, if need be,
Ex now are more about the GEO pay. The heartless GEO p the mean cruel
of ashes, they just want to kill millions of people with pre. Can this rapporteur them sprouted right passively
But they re will be responded. They don't even say passively they're gonna pay millions of deaths. This bill will cost millions of deaths. Yes, it is a difference really between what but we're seeing from Democrats in positions of authority in elected power who are out there being in a kind of juvenile island and weird. But there is real. You know apocalyptic garment rending on the part of the base like they're they're they're, the ones out there saying the Democrats and Republicans are gonna kill all of us in that
There's an jack booted fascists. There are still saying that sort of thing in its is proven a windfall for them. There was a daily coasts. The rays like a ridiculous amount
a million dollars in twenty four hour ass, it a health at her male gas and that there are literally saying we're not making this up bad. This is Republicans just kill you they're going to kill, you won't, kill you and, of course
You know when they said the same thing about Republicans by the way, with the whole death panel thing that that they were being silly, and you know it
excessive and draw the donations were well look if it's not that it's global climate change right, that's the other thing we're going! Republicans are gonna, kill you,
is a very good I'll, kill your grandchildren. Go you children. There is no other there's no other side. There's no argument. It's all prove in there. Just try it out.
A bizarre thing about this argument. I'll just go into this then we can maybe conclude here is the act as though,
it settled signs that no one could possibly disagree with that. The world is going to be destroyed and fifty years by by climate change, then why wouldn't evil capitalists? What what? What are they
Why, like everybody, everybody would be for a total revolution in the in the you know
economic system of the world. If we knew of certainty that that everything was going to be destroyed, that
there's a terrible irrationality here that people are
so, greedy that they don't care that the planet is going to be destroyed in fifty years. It's insane factors that we don't know that
lives can be stored in fifty years. We don't know what the effects of of anthropogenic climate change
are we don't know to the extent to which things? Just we don't know how much change there has been, because we don't have records dating back ten thousand years on what the what the temperature of the earthquake?
and all that. So the
the arguments, the apocalyptic
each of these arguments. There is some point at which the rubber has to meet the road. Now you can make a rubber me
The road in in horror stories about Deston pre, existing conditions, but the alaskan happiness of the bill passes with without
with with these waivers that will potentially allow people to, and you know I don't know what state is like chomping at the bit too
this regulation is not the only problem. You are talking about a very small population that it was going to be affected by these things, whereas the vast majority of the public is in short through their employer, and they were here,
it, would their insurance and allow them art and the Obama Correira right, but I'm just saying like whose chomping at the bid to make sure
people with pre existing conditions don't get covered by Obamacare. It's like I'm sorry
excited. This is the best news. Ever we can
pre existing condition coverage yet like
everybody who would go. Who would implement such a thing as an elected politician? This is not.
We did not, but fine, ok. So this is political warfare in our time and
question is whether the rhetoric is over heated, whether boomerangs? I think it doesn't, because I think now everybody understands that Republican, say Democrats want to enslave you to government to end in an Democrats say that Republicans want to kill you so that business can feast.
Your corpse like the exit are the two Paul. This is what is now the expected view
Colleagues, I think other side. Here's my take. I think that that got institutionalized a good deal by the presidency of Barack Obama. I think he's the first president that that constantly threw up
Us Miss characterizations of of his opponents ideas just so he could refute them, and I think that became just then that web was echoed every learn. Clinton to be fair Clinton, did it to em and remember that the Oak Loma City bombing was the result of way. I'm talk, radio I mean you know and an effect it was effective. So you can't say that you know that was a sort of what I mean by a bomb framed every issue in which we will be.
Thanks to know he never approached. He never approached the actual argument for what it was well and here we are now so we have so, and we have a president now who every argument is in bad faith.
One boy up. I would say that he's responsible right and he's response will never be democrats cursing. You know and publicly
recent research in their own way. They lived, they brought up our political sphere. We still don't.
Oh, whether you know that from the administration is now going into court today to defend the travel ban executive order. Does it really believe it needs the travel ban executive order, or is it just making an argument in bad faith because it just wants to win a political victory?
I having it like you know, do we really need it now
tire thing is disingenuous or a symbolic, or something like that. I think so. Anyway,
So we come to an end of another commentary magazine podcast, please
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Transcript generated on 2019-12-14.