Perspicacious Punditry

"I'm tempted to go on a long spiel about John Dewey."

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Jonah finds himself unable to resist the allure of rank punditry on today’s Ruminant. He begins by describing how little he cares about the upcoming midterms before diving into a lengthy rant on that very matter. Next, he tackles the state of Trump’s continued influence on the Republican Party, the ills of the modern legislative process, and the undermining of confidence in elections by both parties. After a brief foray into John Dewey’s “screwed up” view of democracy, Jonah finishes the show with commentary on Putin’s rejection of liberal democratic capitalism, the hypocrisy of his attacks on America, and why Francis Fukuyama was right all along (again).

Show Notes:

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  1. GregS

    Jonah your argument about Biden's speech boils down to:
    Democracy isbnot under attack because even Putin says he is for Democracy. Sure Putin murders his opponents and rigs the elections but he still pays lip service to Democracy. Therefore, Biden is wrong, and Democracy will always survive.

    Do you see how ridiculous this argument is?
    Yes, even Putin says he is pro Democracy. Do you think Democracy actually survived in Russia?
    You say it is undemocratic to ask people to vote on the democracy question and ignore the inflation question.
    Do you really believe this?
    Do you think that if inflation is still high in 2024 and Trump is on the ticket running an "elect me and I will prosecute and purge all Democrats, and the GOP will have a permanent majority forevermore" campaign, it would be undemocratic to ask voters to ignore inflation and fight for our democracy?
    Do you think people like Kari Lake, Tim Michels, and the various SoS candidates in swing states weren't saying versions of exactly that?

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  2. Rcroxton

    Far be it for me to disagree about whether democracy is on the ballot.
    But Tim Michels disagrees, and he is on the ballot.

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  3. Very Old Grumpy Guy

    May I ask for a fact check on "Fiscal Responsibility"? Republicans' position on fiscal responsibility was not one of the reasons I was "in" the party, but it was an attribute for some. If Republican's are fiscally responsible explain this? Debt/GDP increase/decrease under president Reagan +18% Bush +12% Clinton -7% Bush +7% Obama +34% Trump + 32%. For those who worry about this, (I don't) the problem now is that the Democrats have realized they might as well be fiscally irresponsible as they don't get any credit for being fiscally responsible. If both parties are going to increase the debt to GDP ration, I do not think this is a legitimate differentiator. Happy to hear from anyone with a different view.

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    Rdbarris

    I liked Jonah's rant about too much democracy - are you listening, primaries? - but he missed a golden opportunity to quote the dumbest thing ever said in politics. This is from Al Smith who ran for the presidency in 1928: "All the ills of democracy can be cured by more democracy."

    Ummm, no.

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    Ben Connelly

    Annoyance absolutely is one of the best muses for writers!

    Admittedly, I find that it doesn’t often lend to clarity and subtlety, but it certainly does cause inspiration.

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    KP

    The Dewey Decimal System was invented by Melville Dewey in 1876. Melville was also a founding member of the American Library Association.

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    Anne W (Raw5254)

    It’s nice to have you back, Jonah. I enjoy listening to you meander, and then latch onto something that really pulls me in. Also, I do hope you’ll get Nick on your show—his newsletters are topnotch, and I think the majority of subscribers would love hearing him have a discussion with you. Personally, I know it would be entertaining and interesting because that’s you, and I see the same in his writing!

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  8. Phillyex1

    Please don’t use “Jesus” as an exclamation point, it’s offensive.

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  9. Pohl

    Good pod. I’m always down for an anti-commie or anti-Putin rant. I also seem to find it easier than Jonah to vote Dem when the alternative is a Trumper, which I will do all day long. But I’ve advocated for lesser-of-two-evils voting elsewhere, so I’ll spare the repeat.

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    Mkapnick

    Just for level setting, I am with Jonah in wanting President Mitch Daniels and I voted for the Oregon candidate for governor (Christine Drazen). So, I am no partisan Dem. That said, I think Jonah misses a few, very key points:

    • Stacy Abrams falsely claimed she did not lose the governorship in 2018. She had no followers. At least no one of consequence. Donald Trump falsely claimed he won the Presidency and took action to steal power and inspired the controlling faction of the Republican Party, including many, many imitators running for office, to disbelieve any Republican election loss. These are of such categorical differences, they are hardly comparable in my view.

    • Putin, Xi, Trump, Mastriano, and Kari Lake all give lip service to believing in democracy. I suppose one can chalk that up as a “win” but I don’t see how it really benefits those of us who are willing to live by the results of democracy when said messengers are not. Trump and his ilk do not accept election results that do not result in them winning. Thus, they support democracy in name only. I just don’t see why that should make the rest of us rest easy when said people are trying to ascend to power in our country. Or, if nothing else, it certainly makes the Dems, as awful as they are, seem more palatable. No? What am I missing.

    • Republicans perceived threat to democracy is based on a lie: That there is widespread election fraud. Their fear is unfounded. Dems perceived threat to democracy is based on actual events: the last Republican President tried to steal the Presidency and inspired the controlling faction of his Party to disbelieve election results where Republicans don’t win. Thus, while the Republican fears are unfounded, the Dems fears seem to me to be well founded. The Dems incompetence in speaking about this accurately does not lessen the threat from Repubs.

    I generally agree with Jonah about the need to de-catastrophize our politics but there is a fine line between not being an alarmist and ignoring a real threat and I sort of think Jonah is not adequately concerned about a real threat. I would love to be proven wrong.

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      Rickschwartz711

      Abrams had a number of followers on the Left. Her followers weren't violent and abusive, but she was cheered on and encouraged by many for never conceding the election in 2018. She set up a fundraising company and raised over $100 million and helped flip the Senate in 2020. She is set to raise $90 million on a campaign for Governor this year in which she has never been close. I'd say her and Beto have the most followers of anyone on the Left today.

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