Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are pleasantly stunned to hear Saudi Arabia’s crown prince publicly state that Israel has a right to live in peace on its own land and wonder if things are truly changing in the Middle East or whether this is a temporary thaw in order to confront Iran. In the wake of the very public feud between Fox News host Laura Ingraham and gun control activist David Hogg, they also discuss how the rise of populism leads to political debates becoming a referendum on the people in the debate rather than the ideas involved in the debate. And they wonder why President Trump is spending so much time blasting Amazon and the rate it pays to mail packages, suspecting it might have something to do with another business venture headed by Jeff Bezos.
National Review
Shulkin Shown the Door, Sinclair’s Script, Hillary’s New Excuses for Losing
Jim Geraghty is back! Today, he and Greg Corombos of Radio America agree that it was time for VA Secretary David Shulkin to leave after months of ethical woes – but also a year of some progress at one of government’s biggest and most important bureaucracies. They also take on the identical script recorded by dozens of anchors at Sinclair stations, noting that the commitment to reporting facts is good but making every station say exactly the same thing looks really bad. And they slam Hillary Clinton for adding the Supreme Court decisions on Citizens United and the Voting Rights Act to her endless excuses for losing in 2016.
Booming Economy, Intolerant Left’s Purity Test, Disney Princesses & Abortion
David French of National Review and David French of National Review welcome more good economic news, including weekly jobless claims at the lowest level since January 1973 and the highest consumer sentiment in 14 years. David fights back against the intolerant liberal mob that wants former National Review columnist Kevin Williamson ousted from his new position at The Atlantic in the latest example of demands for ideological purity in journalism on the left. And they fume at a Planned Parenthood chapter in Pennsylvania for not only tweeting that Disney needs princesses that have had abortions, are undocumented, are union members or transgender, but they unload at the radical social justice warriors who insist pushing an extreme agenda in the face of small children.
NOTE: There will be no Three Martini Lunch on Friday, March 30, in observance of Good Friday. Jim and Greg will be back on Monday, April 2. Happy Easter!
Pence Hammers Heitkamp, Heidi’s Lame Abortion & Guns Parallel, Wolff vs. Truth
Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer Vice President Pence for going to North Dakota and hammering Sen. Heidi Heitkamp for her liberal votes on health care, taxes, abortion, energy and more – in a sign the Republicans are getting on message early in the states with the best pickup opportunities. They also take aim at Heitkamp’s attempt to look strong on the second amendment after the senator makes a pathetic attempt to liken passion for gun rights similar to passion for abortion rights. And they slam “Fire and Fury” author Michael Wolff, who is now admitting he is an observer rather than a journalist and says his job “has nothing to do with the truth.”
Dems Tied to Hillary, Stevens vs. Constitution, NYT Discovers Pro-Life Goal
Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America enjoy watching new Republican ads tying incumbent Senate Democrats to Hillary Clinton’s trashing of Trump voters. They also respond to former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who says individual gun rights should have vanished at the same time as state militias and that the second amendment ought to be repealed. And they get a kick out of the New York Times breathlessly revealing that state laws designed to limit abortion are all part of an effort by pro-life activists to reverse Roe v. Wade.
Trump Boots Russians, Two-Faced Gun Control March, Obama’s Boundless Ego
David French of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud the Trump administration for evicting dozens of Russian officials from the U.S., many of whom were intelligence personnel posing as diplomats. They also dissect the March for Our Lives, as the Parkland teenagers insist one moment that they’re not after anyone’s guns and the next minute blame the NRA for the deaths of children. They also discuss how the gun control push may be the one thing that saves the GOP from a midterm election disaster. And they react to former President Obama’s saying he wants his foundation to be a way to connect activists and innovators and create a million more Barack Obamas in the process. David and Greg then discuss how de facto worship of politicians is bad for America on both sides of the aisle.
Bolton Replaces McMaster, GOP’s Ugly Omnibus, Millennials Love Doing Taxes
Teddy Kupfer of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer President Trump’s selection of John Bolton as National Security Adviser and look forward to his tough stance on North Korean nukes and the Iran nuclear deal while liberals fear that Bolton will start bombing everyone. They also unload on the bloated $1.3 trillion omnibus that the majority of Republican representatives and senators approved, much to the delight of Democrats and the fury of fiscal conservatives. Teddy and Greg understand the desire of Republicans to rebuild the military but find the reckless spending in other areas unacceptable. They scratch their heads trying to figure out why more than half of millennials actually enjoy doing their taxes. And they offer a champagne toast to the late Democratic Georgia Gov. and Sen. Zell Miller and reflect upon his memorable keynote address at the Republican convention in 2004.
Wray of Sanity in McCabe Flap, Facebook Under Fire, Carson Blames Wife
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to see FBI Director Christopher Wray conclude there was no political agenda at work in the firing of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. They also react to Facebook’s weak explanation for how user data ended up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica and Jim details how the right and left are furious with social media outlets for very different reasons. And they shake their heads as HUD Sec. Ben Carson tells lawmakers his wife helped pick out the $31,000 dining set after he had rejected expensive furniture.
Austin Bomber Dead, Fiscal Conservatism is Dead, Congratulate-Gate
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America briefly grouse about D.C.area drivers in inclement weather before sipping their martinis. Then, they welcome the end of the Austin mail bombing horrors as the suspect apparently blows himself up as police close in on him. They also fume as the GOP-led Congress pursues yet another omnibus spending bill with virtually no fiscal restraint in sight, leading Jim to declare that “fiscal conservatism is dead.” And they sigh as President Trump defies his staff to congratulate Vladimir Putin on “winning” his election and because a disgruntled Trump staffer then leaked classified information to the media.
Maryland School Shooting, Driverless Disaster, Nixon Challenges Status Cuomo
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are horrified to see another high school shooting, this time in Maryland, but they are gratified to see the school resource officer intervened quickly to neutralize the shooter. They also react to the news of a driverless vehicle killing a pedestrian in Arizona and explain why humans behind the wheel will always make more sense than a computer. And they pop the popcorn as “Sex and the City” actress Cynthia Nixon mounts a liberal primary challenge to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.