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.”
Fire and Fury
America Backs 20-Week Abortion Ban, Wolff’s Haley Smear, Hillary’s Grammy Cameo
Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are deeply disappointed that the Senate is unlikely to pass a bill banning the vast majority of abortion past 20 weeks of pregnancy, but are heartened that most Americans support the restrictions, including a majority of Democrats and a majority of women. They also hammer “Fire and Fury” author Michael Wolff for his sleazy efforts to suggest that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is having an affair with President Trump and they praise Haley for her clear and dignified denials. And they roll their eyes as the Grammy Awards telecast shoehorns Hillary Clinton reading an excerpt from “Fire and Fury” into the show, a move made even more baffling in this #MeToo environment by recent reports that the 2008 Clinton campaign took no action against Hillary’s faith adviser for sexual harassment.
Gun Control Project Flops, Oprah for President Nonsense, Tapper vs. Miller
After a brief venting about the inability of people in Washington to deal with winter and their instinct to turn their misery into some sort of imaginary historical event, Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud the results of a Government Accountability Office report showing that all 72 attempts to privately purchase a firearm were rejected once the seller discovered the supposed buyer was legally prohibited from owning a gun. They also shake their heads as Oprah Winfrey’s well-received speech at the Golden Globes immediately prompts serious talk of her running for president in 2020. And they are less than impressed with both Jake Tapper and Stephen Miller after their Sunday morning interview devolves into shouting and controversy later ensues over whether Miller was escorted off the set after Tapper abruptly ended the interview.
Unshackling Energy, Trump’s Impulses Obscure Big Week, Gorilla Channel Parody
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke for taking steps towards allowing energy exploration and development on more than 90 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf. They also fume at President Trump for taking a week when he could be highlighting his support of Iranian protesters, the Dow crossing 25,000 and expanding American energy production and instead ranting about nuclear button sizes and trying to order a book publisher not to release a book critical of his presidency. And they laugh at the liberals in the media and beyond who believed an online parody – about Trump being obsessed with the “Gorilla Channel” up to 17 hours at a time – was actually in that new book.