Listen to “McConnell’s SCOTUS Strategy, Minimum Wage Woes, NFL Re-Reviews Anthem Policy” on Spreaker.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America give credit to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for countering Democratic demands for a million pages of documents on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh by suggesting the Senate vote on him may come just days before the election. They also mourn the impending loss of many entry-level jobs at places like McDonald’s due to minimum wage hikes and technological advancements. And they roll their eyes at the NFL’s inability to enforce a policy on kneeling during the anthem just days after the Miami Dolphins threatened to suspend players for not standing.
NFL
Trump Cancels Summit, Trump’s Anthem Excess, Clapper’s 2016 Delusion
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud President Trump for backing away from next month’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, proving he is not desperate for deal and keeping Kim off balance. While denouncing kneeling during the national anthem as the time or place to make a protest, they also slam Trump for suggesting maybe NFL players who kneel for the national anthem “shouldn’t be in the country.” And they unload on former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper for randomly concluding that Russian efforts to meddle in the 2016 campaign definitely made the difference in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania and flipped the election results from Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump. Jim points out that Clapper and other Trump critics simply refuse to believe that voters made a choice they don’t like.
NFL Waving White Flag? Twitter vs. Free Speech, Hannity vs. Sasse
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to see the NFL concluding that the national anthem protests need to move to an actual effort to improve community-police relations and that the players ought to stand. They also slam Twitter for the second time this week, this time for suspending the Twitter account of actress Rose McGowan, who was assaulted by Harvey Weinstein and has called out actor Ben Affleck for not admitting he knew of Weinstein’s past. And they shake their heads as Fox News host Sean Hannity hammers Sen. Ben Sasse for being critical of President Trump’s call for licenses of media outlets to be challenged over “fake news.”
Bongino Sounds Off on Hillary, NFL Protests, GOP Failure on Obamacare
In a week full of of political frustration, former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino is blasting Hillary Clinton for blaming racism and uninformed women for her defeat, NFL players for not standing for our national anthem, and the latest failure of Republicans to address Obamacare.
Bongino served 12 years in the U.S. Secret Service after spending multiple years before that with the NYPD. Since retiring from the Secret Service in 2011, Bongino ran twice for the House of Representatives and once for U.S. Senate. He is also a conservative commentator and author of the new book “Protecting the President: An Inside Account of the Troubled Secret Service in an Era of Evolving Threats.”
Bongino served on the protective detail for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In 2000, he was part of the detail protecting First Lady Hillary Clinton as she campaigned for U.S. Senate in New York. He says it was a nightmare as Mrs. Clinton, through her staff, made it clear they were to protect the candidate but never be visible so the public would see her as “approachable.”
As Clinton makes the rounds promoting her new book on the 2016 campaign, Bongino says he is infuriated by Clinton’s attitudes towards those who did not support her. As an unsuccessful candidate in a very close race, Bongino says he knows how tough it is to lose, but he says Hillary is taking her frustration to a different level.
“Now it’s not that she lost and she’s blaming people. It’s that she lost because we’re all racists and women who voted for Trump are all unacceptable examples of females. It’s so personally condescending that I felt the need to tell people who Hillary really is,” said Bongino.
On Monday, Bongino tweeted, “I worked with Hillary. Hillary is an obnoxious, rude, condescending, fraud who cares about ONE thing-herself.”
He doubled down later in the week.
“I’ve seen her behind the scenes. She’s not a good person. She’s condescending. She’s rude. She’s obnoxious. She’s fake. She’s a fraud. And the fact she gets to go out now on this national scale on this book tour and basically indict every single group or person who didn’t vote for her is really grotesque,” said Bongino.
The new book is the first time Bongino has spoken out on his experiences as a Secret Service agent. While acknowledging the culture of remaining mum about while on detail, Bongino says speaking out is warranted in the case of Hillary Clinton.
“I get it. There is an omerta in the Secret Service. I opened up with this. I understand that, but I think there are times it’s more appropriate to set the record straight, and the record on Hillary is clear. She’s a fraud and she’s a fake. Don’t believe a word she says,” said Bongino.
After putting his life on the line as a police officer and Secret Service agent, Bongino is also appalled at the extent of protests taking place by NFL players during the national anthem.
“I think these guys are a disgrace. They’re a total disgrace to this country, to our veterans, to our police officers, to people who put out everything. That flag means something to them. It’s not a tablecloth. It’s not a curtain. This isn’t some joke and it’s really an absolute disgrace that these guys are able to kneel and embarrass our republic like this.
“This is an issue that really hits me deep beneath the skin. These guys should be humiliated and yet the far left celebrates them as heroes. It’s a joke,” said Bongino.
During his congressional campaigns, Bongino, like virtually all other Republican candidates, promised to repeal Obamacare if elected to office. Senate Republicans failed again this week to advance a bill, this one to block grant federal dollars back to the states.
Bongino says the GOP’s inability to get something passed when it controls all the levers of legislative power in Washington is unacceptable.
“This is probably the greatest political disaster and broken promise of our generation. Is there another way to frame this thing? Every single Republican in the House or the Senate – outside of Susan Collins, who’s not a Republican, she’s literally a Republican in name only – ran on the issue of repealing Obamacare. Yet when it came time to do instead of talk, what did they do? They all folded like cheap suits,” said Bongino.
He fears this series of failures on Obamacare exposes the weakness of Republicans but suspects President Trump won’t take as much heat on this as Congress.
“This is going to have ramifications long past this election. I think this hurts Republicans. It doesn’t hurt Donald Trump. I’m not a Trump acolyte. I support the president. I just think this isn’t going to effect Trump. He’s managed to distance himself from this really pathetic shell of a party we have now,” said Bongino.
Trump’s Solid Court Picks, NFL to Stand? Crazy Left Targets Melania Over Books
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud President Trump’s nomination of Don Willett and James Ho for spots on the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. They also are cautiously optimistic that this NFL weekend might actually focus on football as three teams announce they will be standing for the national anthem. And they throw up their hands as a anti-Trump elementary school librarian publicly rejects the donation of Dr. Seuss books from First Lady Melania Trump, while also slamming Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and falsely accusing Dr. Seuss of racism.
Trump’s Firing Offense, Ugly Anti-Trump Backlash, McCain Breaks Promise Again
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America agree with President Trump’s disapproval for national anthem protests but also believe it is wrong for the president to suggest anyone be fired for their constitutionally-protected beliefs. They also unload on those who took a knee during the anthem, which turned into a referendum on Trump – a fight Trump is sure to win. Thy hammer three NFL teams for refusing to take the field for the anthem, blast the Pittsburgh Steelers for condemning their own player who is an Afghanistan war vet for defying the decision and honoring the anthem, and shake their head as Bob Costas frets that the anthem is only used to honor military instead of teachers and social workers. Finally, they slam John McCain for once again breaking his promise on health care reform and planning to vote against the latest Senate bill. They also question Rand Paul’s decision to oppose it.
Rudderless Dems, Kimmel vs. Health Bill, NFL Activism Month?
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are pleasantly reminded the Democrats are also deeply dysfunctional as former Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. says he doesn’t know what his party’s economic agenda is. They also sigh as late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel suddenly becomes the media’s benchmark for whether the latest GOP health care bill is a good idea. And they groan as four NFL players want to institute a month dedicated to social activism, similar to how the league devotes a month to breast cancer awareness.
GOP Obamacare Debacle, Scaramucci’s Loose Screw, Politics Plunge NFL Ratings
The Three Martini Lunch is on vacation for the week and will return on Monday, September 11. Please enjoy this encore presentation of a recent podcast.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America condemn Republican Senators John McCain, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski for failing to deliver on their campaign promises to repeal and replace Obamacare during a vote late Thursday night, while also stressing the mistakes made by GOP leaders and the major flaws in the “skinny repeal”. Jim mocks new White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci for threats and vulgar comments about his colleagues, underscoring already fractious conditions in the new administration. In an attempt to end the week on a good note, Jim and Greg discuss a new poll showing that more fans stopped watching the NFL last season because of the national anthem protests than for any other reason.
GOP Obamacare Debacle, Scaramucci’s Loose Screw, Politics Plunge NFL Ratings
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America condemn Republican Senators John McCain, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski for failing to deliver on their campaign promises to repeal and replace Obamacare during a vote late Thursday night, while also stressing the mistakes made by GOP leaders and the major flaws in the “skinny repeal”. Jim mocks new White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci for threats and vulgar comments about his colleagues, underscoring already fractious conditions in the new administration. In an attempt to end the week on a good note, Jim and Greg discuss a new poll showing that more fans stopped watching the NFL last season because of the national anthem protests than for any other reason.
Three Martini Lunch 3/9/17
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America discuss the latest revelations surrounding former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and breathe a sigh of relief that he’s already gone. They also lament FBI Director James Comey’s admission that there is no longer any such thing as “absolute privacy” anymore. And they discuss Pres. Trump’s decision to nominate former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman to be U.S. Ambassador to Russia.