Right Thing for the Right Reasons

On the coronavirus stimulus package front, Biden has refused to compromise on his commitment to ...

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On the coronavirus stimulus package front, Biden has refused to compromise on his commitment to sending $1,400 checks to Americans. Is it wise for the president to push such a bill through Congress in spite of Republican opposition? As Steve argues on today’s episode, “If Joe Biden’s intransigence this early is pissing off people like Rob Portman and Anthony Gonzalez, that’s a tough place.” Also on the menu for today: GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy’s intra-party spats with Rep. Liz Cheney, the media’s obsessive fixation on Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and the United Kingdom’s decision to welcome Hong Kong citizens.

Show Notes:

-“The Challenge of Going It Alone” by Amy Walter in the Cook Political Report.

-“An Interview With Sen. Rob Portman” by Steve Hayes in The Dispatch.

-“Can We Have (Another) Conversation About Cancel Culture?” by David French in The Dispatch.

-“Republicans Are Playing a Risky Game in Elevating QAnon” by Jonah Goldberg in The Dispatch.

-“The GOP’s Conspiracy Theorist Problem” by Audrey Fahlberg in The Dispatch.

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Comments (67)
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  1. Avatar photo
    BWG

    Sarah, I feel your fury. But if you ignore people like MTG, not only do they NOT go away (look at Steve King, in congress for years), they take it as tacit permission to keep slinging fecal matter. You have to take some action that makes clear that their behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated if they wish to remain within the party.

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    Sykohring

    Thank you! Insightful and entertaining - a great combo. Plus, it's so refreshing to see humans disagree and still really like each other. And ... I've never said this in my lifetime but ... I want to see a win for Tom Brady.

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  3. Brooklyn Expat

    Sarah's rant was wonderful because it started a great, passionate analysis by the whole Dispatch team. (Although it seems like the Kobayashi Maru of American politics at the moment.) Great episode.

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  4. Sally Tilden

    Whoppee!! I am so thrilled that Chris Stirewalt is joining The Dispatch team. What a super decision on everyone's part.

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  5. Jon Prastein

    This week has convinced me that I want to join the Sarah Isgur Fan Club. I think she is right on the mark in that the more free air time you give folks on the fringe the more power you give to them an their abhorrent ideas. I was also really impressed with her research on Trump's new legal team that she brought to the Advisory Opinions podcast earlier this week.

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  6. Dave Tenn

    David --You now have enough time to start a run against Scott Dejarlais for 2022. He keeps being elected because he has no credible opposition, other than 2014 where he won his primary by less than 40 votes. A good candidate might have a chance against him.

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  7. Rohde, Chris

    Can we acknowledge that David slipped when talking about Hong Kong and said "the Free Navy"? Someone had the Expanse on the mind...

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    Josh Rieger

    This was a great discussion! Thanks for the continued good content.

    David asked why we’re not giving visas to those from Hong Kong, like the UK is? I’d like to point out, as a UK resident, that they are simply giving to those from Hong Kong the same visas that everyone over a certain age in Hong Kong has. Hong Kong was a part of the empire, so when it reverted to China the citizens had access to special visas from to the UK. The UK has now simply expanded this right to all people in Hong Kong, and not merely one group, based on age. It’s also definitely easier because Brits still think of Hong Kong as a part of the commonwealth, with many Brits working there.

    This probably makes it more palatable from a politics of immigration standpoint than it might be in this country. I would absolutely be in favour of the US doing something like this, but it would be harder to accomplish here.

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    Emerson

    This episode was everything, mostly because of Sarah's rant and her setup of the SNL question. I don't even want to watch the clip because I don't think it would top what I heard.

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  10. Avatar photo
    CP

    This was a real joy to listen to. I am not sure whether I agree with Sarah or the guys on this one. I definitely agree that Trump would not have become the nominee (and eventual president) without the free media coverage. And I think I would be on precisely the same page as her if MTG were running for president. I'm not sure all the (gleeful, smug) press coverage is spreading her ideas, though. They seem to be spreading anyway, regardless of what we do.

    I have no idea what to do about this sort of (anti-) philosophical "contagion," beyond wringing my hands and quoting Yeats and Matthew Arnold. I also think of Bertie Wooster's Uncle Tom Travers: "[E]xpecting Civilisation to take a toss at any moment had caused Uncle Tom, who always looked a bit like a pterodactyl with a secret sorrow, to take on a deeper melancholy."

    I know how you feel, Travers. We are all sad pterodactyls now.

    I wonder whether loving our enemies--on both sides of the aisle now, because the Trumpists aren't "our" side anymore, are they?--would effect any change. I guess those of us who are Christians have to anyway, even if it wouldn't. Not sure how to, other than prayer.

    Good for Britain. That's how you save Civilization. I may have to start spelling it with an "s." I think we've lost the right to alter that word.

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