The Double-Hater Voter

It's all about the margins, baby.

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Sarah, Jonah, Steve, and Mike dive into the latest punditry—Ohio’s primary, Trump’s trials, and the Middle East—before veering off into an Abraham Lincoln and 1619 Project cul-de-sac.

The Agenda:
—Bernie Moreno wipes the floor
—Jonah pushes back on reveries of self-congratulation
—Who are the double-haters in the 2024 election?
—An update on Trump trials
—The worst “win” you can have as a prosecutor
—Sen. Chuck Schumer’s speech on Israel
—Abraham Lincoln, worth our time
—Happy birthday Jonah!

Show Notes:
—The Collision on Fani Willis
—Original Jurisdiction on Judge Aileen Cannon’s clerks quitting
—The Remnant with Allen Guelzo

—Lincoln’s second inaugural address

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Comments (107)
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  1. Avatar photo
    Bryan Beaty

    I think we all really need to hear a viola/trumpet duet of Ashoken Farewell from Sarah and Mike.
    Perhaps Jonah could wistfully read excerpts of the Sullivan Ballou letter at the same time…

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  2. Kengauck

    I think it is an analytical error to regard the anti-Trump vote as the protest vote. The Trump vote is the protest vote, because they still don't have what they want because as Jonah observed early in the Trump era support for Trump was often a dyspeptic gesture, not a considered position based on policy. They will remain old-man-yells-at-clouds as long they are unhappy with the clouds, which will be forever, because they clouds are not interested in pleasing them, and their vessel, Trump, cannot influence the clouds, only rail against them as an avatar for his followers.

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  3. Avatar photo
    John

    Ashokan Farewell and the instruments I can play it on. You want obscure, Sarah? Two different instruments (no relation) both with the name "dulcimer" -- mountain dulcimer and hammered dulcimer. Also, the mandolin.

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  4. Clark.Monson

    I'm sure I'm not the only one to mention this, but no, Donald Trump has never declared bankruptcy. A solid number of his business ventures have gone bankrupt; he himself has not declared personal bankruptcy, nor has the Trump Organization (the holding company for his business ventures). I'm not sure whether a hypothetical Trump bankruptcy in 2024 would involve him or the Trump Organization, but neither of those has been bankrupt before.

    I loathe Trump with every ounce of loathing I can muster and will not under any circumstances be voting for him, but it's important to get facts right.

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  5. Mrjsfisher

    With all due respect to Jonah, Netanyahu has been actively playing in American partisan politics for a decade. None of you pointed to his republican invitations to speak in congress during the Obama and now Biden administrations or noted that they represent an active attempt to pick a side. One he views as more permissive to his policies towards the Palestinian question-specifically his settlement policies in the West Bank. Bibi very much was and is picking sides in American politics. He can’t have it both ways.

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  6. Nate

    The more I think about, Trump isn’t lucky in his enemies. He likely knows, (though seems to be unaware of his own flaw of the same nature), that if your enemy is prone to anger, irritate him. Anger inhibits good judgment. To paraphrase Jonah, when was the last time you made a great decision when you were blindingly furious? By irritating the prosecutors on the left, they desire revenge so badly that some of them make major unforced errors which cooler heads would avoid. And, even if irritation isn’t the exact reason for a particular error, someone who’s quick to anger likely has other skeletons in their closet that can be dragged into the light when it’s most beneficial to the defendant in the court of public opinion.

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  7. Beke

    Having taken a weird side trip down the Ashokan Farewell rabbit hole, it's worth noting the backstory. It was written by a talented musician from upstate NY named Jay Ungar. His love story with his wife and musical partner Molly Mason is so legendary it makes people misty. Molly named the song. There's an actual Ashokan Reservoir outside of Woodstock NY, a gorgeous, idyllic place. I saw Jay and Molly both last month at the Dance Flurry in Saratoga Springs, an annual February dance weekend that draws thousands of revelers. Jay and Molly are ubiquitous figures at the event, going back decades. Sarah gets a pass on the pronunciation of Ashokan because she's from Texas. And because we love her. Also remember folks: you can never go wrong with a waltz.

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  8. Avatar photo
    Detroiter

    Did I get choked up listening to Ashokan Farwell after listening to the pod while washing the dishes, thanks to the composition and the deep nostalgia from my childhood watching The Civil War? No, must have been the dust from, something

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  9. Avatar photo
    Rajeev

    With all due respect to Steve, Sarah & Jonah, I’m not sure that Chuck Schumer is calling for leadership change in Israel:

    “As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and we should let the chips fall where they may,” Schumer said. “But the important thing is that Israelis are given a choice.”

    He’s clearly calling for new elections but he doesn’t say he wouldn’t support whomever Israel chooses to run its government even if it was Netanyahu or another like minded Likud leader.

    Chuck Schumer has been very pro-Israel. He has every right to criticize Benjamin Netanyahu, who has meddled in US politics before, in particular with his run around of the White House during the Obama administration.

    And he is also well within his right to say he’s the highest ranking Jewish official in the US. Obviously you can parse out everything arguing who is above whom, but Senate Majority Leader is right up there. It’s not like an argument between Speaker and Majority Leader; Schumer is in a far more consequential position than a random governor. People who take offense at a statement like that are looking for something to be offended…ultimate microaggression.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Ellison

      Netanyahu has played with U. S. politics many times for the last 12 years but he has done it from the right so people like Jonah or Steve have not been irritated by it.

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  10. Avatar photo
    E7a56c3893

    Violin. Viola. Picayune. régime change. Paralipsis. In addition to the analysis, woulda never guessed the last ten minutes of the pod had so much trivia. nice.

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