Dispatch Live: Speaker Who? 

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First off, our apologies for the delay in today’s Dispatch Live email and link—it has been quite the news day. 

Kevin McCarthy has waited a very, very, very long time for the day he (might) be elected speaker. And today, it turns out, may not even be that day. We don’t know whether there will be a new speaker of the House by the time we do Dispatch Live tonight. But, Sarah, Jonah, Audrey, and Harvest will be ready for a full update on what happened throughout the day, why it matters, what it was like inside the House chamber, and what it means for the future of the GOP. 

And, as some of you may have heard, our friend and colleague David French is taking his considerable talents to the New York Times, where he’ll be a columnist. David has been one of the most important members of The Dispatch team and we’re sorry to see him go. But we’re happy that we’ll still have him on the Advisory Opinions podcast with Sarah and we’re confident that he’ll be hanging around these parts long after he assumes his new position. 

Tune in on January 3 at 8 p.m. ET on YouTube. Come with your questions, grab a drink (or a few), and settle in for a meaningful conversation. 

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Comments (24)
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  1. Avatar photo
    Nancynhac

    Sarah, you said Chip Roy is a True Believer in the things he says, but Ted Cruz is not. What do you think Cruz truly believes?
    I've been following Cruz since 2015 (which is relatively recent, I know), and my own impression is that he's more comfortable with the NR/intellectual elite crowd than he is with the TPUSA gang. As his former body man observed, he's just a nerdy lawyer who's still a little amazed that people want to hear what he says. His wife says he's a little bit shy, which he sort of confirms when he talks about his family life.
    I do think we'd be seeing this "true self" from him if he'd won the GOP nomination in 2016. All the things that are so irritating to me now are, as I see it, a result of him pandering to the Texas GOP and its "ultraMAGA" embrace since Cruz dropped out in May 2016. I think he's the same person at heart that he was then, but he's allowed his ambition to change his behavior and rhetoric for the worse. Still, he hasn't become a complete Trump shill, despite what so many anti-Trump zealots claim.
    He should have listened to Chip Roy about his J6 objections. As Ben Sasse says, that was nothing more than a political stunt.

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    John Ives

    IMO, it is not a surprise that David has moved on from The Dispatch. Completely predictable. Somebody from The Dispatch can ask me why.

    In the short term, this is a loss for The Dispatch. I suspect that I will unsubscribe from AO podcast.

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      Reading451

      Why do you think it isn’t surprising?

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        John Ives

        If DF is sticking with AO, then my hypothesis is blown. I felt as if his contribution to AO was being squeezed down by Sarah. Sarah's communication style seems to come at the expense of David's airtime.

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          Reading451

          I do agree with you on your last statement. It's quite frustrating. I try to make a point to leave a comment about it every time it happens. I also think the newer staff members that do field reporting get cut off with alarming regularity too. It's just really offputting and makes me want to yell out loud to STOP INTERRUPTING.

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            John Ives

            Ditto! Interrupting is not polite and significantly limits the quality of the dialog. There was a Dispatch Podcast several weeks ago, maybe around Thanksgiving that did not include Sarah. While I missed her prospective, I felt David, Jonah and Steve made progress on several issues with strong continuity of thought.

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    SeanM76

    Thank you so much for giving us podcast access to the Live show. I can’t always make it to log in. This makes my membership more valuable.

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  4. Rmcmahon

    What a surprise French goes to the nytimes,who would have thought,now that trump is on the downside

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      Seth B

      ?

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  5. Avatar photo
    Bill Dyer (aka Beldar)

    Mr. Hayes isn't listed among tonight's contributors, and my question would have been directed to him in particular; but in lieu thereof, I'll direct it to Mr. Goldberg.

    At 8:20 a.m. (not sure of the time zone), Mr. French tweeted that he was joining the NYT as an opinion columnist.

    At 8:35 a.m., Mr. Hayes tweeted, "Thanks, David, for all you've done to help build The Dispatch. We're sorry to [see] you go but glad that NYT readers will be exposed to your thoughtful conservatism."

    (I'd provide links, but I already feel filthy for having dived into the cesspool that is Twitter and I'm disinclined to send any clicks, eyeballs, or revenues to Elon Musk. Twitter delenda est.)

    Yes, I know it's been a busy news day! But the email containing the text of this posting about tonight's Dispatch Live hit my inbox at 5:36 p.m.

    My question is:

    What should we Dispatch members make of the fact that we were left to learn about this from Twitter — or in my case, from another Dispatch member who posted a link to Mr. Hayes' tweet in comments on today's TMD — a full business day before it was announced via The Dispatch Media's own media platform?

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      DougAz

      The wonderful Nancy French mentioned it first. Family pride. They also announced their cross country trip to take their son Austin to college at U of Santa Cruz. 6 hours ago.

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  6. Sbswitzky

    Will David be able to boomerang back when the entire Times opinion staff feels “unsafe” and threatens to quit?

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      Seth B

      They don't do this with Ross Douthat, David Brooks, Bret Stevens, or John McWhorter, all of whom will be David's colleagues at the NYT...

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      1. Sbswitzky

        They did with James Bennett and Donald McNeill. How long did Kevin Williamson last at The Atlantic?

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          Seth B

          Indeed they did. I make no claim that they don't have some serious problems over at the NYT.

          But for what it's worth...

          James Bennet didn't *write* for the Times.
          (I wouldn't necessarily bet on David lasting there as an editor.)

          McNeill "lasted" at the NYT for nearly 50 years.
          (But yes, what happened to him there at the end was shameful.)

          David writes for the Atlantic now, and to my knowledge, no one has tried to chase him off. Also, I don't think David has ever suggesting hanging women for having abortions (as Kevin has), but if he has done that then, ok... all bets are off and I'll wait with you for the boomerang to come back around. 🙂

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          JohnM.

          Those two were not opinion writers.

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    Leslie

    Looking forward to listening to the House analysis.

    I’m also wondering what happens to the Good Faith podcast now, with David leaving. I haven’t seen this addressed anywhere.

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    Reading451

    Any way for paying members to get ad-free feeds for the other Dispatch podcasts?

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      Seth B

      I hope so. Eliminating ads is one of the usual advantages of being a paying subscriber for online content. Strange that that's not the case at the Dispatch. It makes them look a little down-market, which is unfortunate, since the product here is so good.

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    Kevin Johnson

    Please use David’s departure (sad) to explain when writers and podcasters can have multiple homes, and when they can’t. This has long confused me. David has long written for The Atlantic (why did TD let him? Is it that a monthly isn’t a direct competitor?). Sarah and others have tv gigs, Chris has a podcast outside TD and a full time news job with Chris Cuomo😎

    Note I’m not objecting to this. I think I get it that it is good for TD to see their troops around the media landscape. I’m just curious as to the rules, ethics, norms, etc. is it just a jumble of orgs with their own rules about sharing talent? Does NYT forbid it while others don’t?

    Thanks

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    1. Conner

      My understanding is the NYT doesn't allow it. As for what is/isn't allowed that would probably be determined by each organization and the contract they had with the writer.

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        Seth B

        That seems likely. One point of evidence: When John McWhorter began writing for the NYT, his association with the Atlantic ended.

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        Kevin Johnson

        Thanks. I’m hoping Jonah or another vet will put it in context of how the business works and how TD handled it. Appreciate your input.

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          JohnM.

          Jonah has a syndicated column in the L.A. Times that is widely distributed, and he usually reprints the piece here the day after.

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