Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America have now passed the midpoint in the six-podcast series of Three Martini Lunch Awards. In this installment, they begin with the best idea of 2017. Jim chooses a journalistic decision while Greg selects a policy choice. They also unveil the worst ideas of the year, with Jim focusing on politics and Greg going with a legal decision. And they reveal the boldest tactic of the past 12 months. They actually agree on this one, but still discuss two major developments worthy of the award.
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Awards: Significant Passing, Rising Star, Fading Into Political Oblivion
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America unveil their choices in three more categories for Three Martini Lunch awards for 2017. They begin on a somber note by honoring figures they were sorry to see pass away in 2017. Jim chooses a peacemaker on the international stage and Greg highlights a joyful and faithful conservative in Washington. They also reveal their choices for rising political star, with both selections coming from the U.S. Senate. And they discuss the political characters who exited the political stage and are likely to soon be forgotten.
Trump Slashes Regulations, Tax Bill Drama, Net Neutrality Hysteria
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud President Trump for making good on his efforts to eliminate and postpone costly and burdensome federal regulations. They also tense up as five different Senate GOP votes could be in jeopardy as vote nears on tax reform. They shake their heads as liberals lose their minds and predict an internet wasteland after the Federal Communications Commission votes to return internet regulations to where they were two years ago. And Jim offers a spoiler-free look at the new Star Wars movie.
Moore Winds up with Less, GOP’s Bleak 2018 Outlook, Moore Refuses to Concede
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America react to liberal Democrat Doug Jones winning a Senate seat over Republican Roy Moore in Alabama but see a silver lining in that it will be tougher for Democrats to link Moore to every GOP candidate in 2018. They also see some troubling parallels between 2017 election results and the ones in 2009 and 2010, suggesting Republicans may be on the brink of a Democratic tide similar to the Tea Party wave of 2010. They roll their eyes as Roy Moore refuses to concede the Senate race despite trailing by more than 20,000 votes, but Greg and Jim also get an idea from the Alabama Senate race that could boost the Senate GOP and solve Jim’s NFL woes at the same time.
Tax Cut Momentum, Kim’s Ominous Missile, NBC Fires Lauer
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are very cautiously optimistic about tax reform getting done after the Senate Budget Committee approved the Senate bill and several of the likely holdouts now seem ready to pass it. They’re also concerned following the latest North Korean missile test, which seems to indicate the communist regime could hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear-armed ICBM. And they react to NBC firing longtime “Today” host Matt Lauer over sexually inappropriate actions.
FBI Informant Cleared to Testify, Sandy Hook Shooter Warnings, Kid Rock Bails
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America enjoy a late lunch today as they cheer the Justice Department for allowing the FBI informant to testify about his knowledge of a massive Russian bribery scheme to influence U.S. nuclear policy. They’re also exasperated as FBI files show people warned authorities about the Sandy Hook shooter’s fascination with mass killings and pedophilia and his specific statements about killing his mother and students. And they react to Kid Rock announcing he is not running for Senate and never had any intention of doing so, but Him explains why he thinks that explanation is bogus.
Dossier Twist Points to Dems, Jeff Flakes Out, Fact Check Flop
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America discuss the Washington Post revelation that the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee provided some of the funding for the infamous and largely discredited Trump dossier that involved significant collaboration with officials in Russia, and they shake their heads as Democrats insist this was just simple opposition research. They’re also unmoved by Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake’s denunciation of President Trump or Flake’s decision to fight back by retiring from the Senate, when it’s obvious the real reason he ended his campaign was because he can’t win. And they get a kick out of the Washington Post fact checkers making a big deal out of determining that Virginia GOP gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie was wrong by claiming there were 2,000 MS-13 gang members living in one Virginia county when the best guess of law enforcement is there are just 1,400 violent criminals from that gang roaming area streets and neighborhoods.
Trump Decertifies Iran Deal, Health of GOP Senators, Media’s Giant Blind Spot
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America welcome President Trump’s refusal to certify that Iran is honoring its part of the 2015 nuclear deal but wonder whether the deal will eventually be scrapped or be allowed to stick around. They also approach the delicate issue of aging Republicans missing considerable time in the U.S. Senate and when the right time is to decide another term is not a good idea. And they shake their heads as Chuck Todd of MSNBC rightly castigates the rise of activism cloaked as journalism but cannot see or admit that’s what his employer does on a daily basis.
Clinton & Obama Silence, Twitter Censors GOP Video, NFL Madness Gets Worse
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America give credit to the mainstream media for calling Democrats to account for their silence over the sexual assault and harassment allegations lodged against Hollywood mogul and prolific Democratic Party donor Harvey Weinstein. They also fire back at Twitter after the social media service censors a video from Tennessee GOP Senate hopeful Marsha Blackburn because her efforts to stop the sale of aborted baby body parts were considered inflammatory and likely to elicit negative reactions. And Jim and Greg sigh as the latest NFL protest chaos includes ESPN host Jemele Hill getting suspended for encouraging Dallas Cowboy fans to boycott team sponsors, Al Sharpton vowing to boycott the NFL unless Hill is reinstated, and President Trump gloating over the Hill suspension.
‘They’re Furious at Our Senators’
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Arizona, is fully behind President Trump’s demand for full congressional funding for a border wall and both he and his constituents are exasperated with the state’s two Republican senators for offering no solutions of their to overhaul or repeal Obamacare.
Gosar is a member of the House Freedom Caucus who fended off a primary challenger backed by national party allies in 2016. He says the GOP Senate is a major disappointment, with the failure to address Obamacare as the prime example of its inability to get things done.
“What has the Senate done? They copped out on Obamacare. And to my senators (Republicans John McCain and Jeff Flake), if you didn’t like what the House put forward, where are your ideas?” said Gosar, a dentist who first ran for Congress as part of the tea party wave in 2010.
He says while politicians are posturing, people in his state are suffering from Obamacare.
“We’re catastrophically moving down this pathway where we’re seeing Americans getting a 40-90 percent increase in their premiums coming up. Obamacare is failing. There’s not enough money to fix it. We’re seeing Medicare being implemented in all the group plans, so it behooves us to be big boys and girls and have that conversation,” said Gosar.
Gosar says the anger of Arizonans towards McCain and Flake is palpable everywhere he goes.
“They’re furious at our senators. There isn’t one meeting I don’t have where people are going off on our two senators. Leadership comes at a price and that means you have to put solutions on te table. That means that ‘No’ can;t be your answer, it’s going to be what it takes to be ‘Yes,'” said Gosar.
In addition to hearing his constituents vent about their senators, he’s also hearing about their hardships created by our current health care system.
“I have represented most of the rural parts of Arizona. They’ve got a piece of paper that says they have health insurance but they can’t afford to pay the co-pays and deductibles. It’s a travesty. They see no job growth out here. They don’t see opportunity. Those were all the things they were promised,” said Gosar.
Gosar says Trump has done what we can to improve conditions but Congress needs to do the heavy lifting.
“Whether it be tax breaks, tax cuts, getting government out of the way, this president has done his fair share with the Congressional Review Act and with executive orders to streamline the regulatory process. Now Congress has got to respond. It can’t continue working in a broken, dysfunctional fashion,” said Gosar.
Dr. Kelli Ward, a former Arizona state senator, is already running against Flake in next year’s GOP primary. Ward challenged McCain last year and lost badly in the primary, leaving some conservatives to push for Gosar and other conservatives to enter the fray.
Gosar says he’s thought about but is not close to any decision.
“We’ll see. That’s as good as we can say at this point in time,” said Gosar. “We want to make sure that we’re doing the right thing at the right time for the right reason. I don’t need another title, I’ve got four titles above congressman: that’s a husband, a father, a citizen, and a doctor,” said Gosar.
Just a few days ago, President Trump held a campaign rally in Phoenix. In addition to sparring with the media and defending his response to the chaos in Charlottesville, Trump demanded Congress fund his central campaign promise of a wall along the southern border, even vowing to shut down the government to make it happen.
Gosar says no one should be surprised by Trump’s blunt tactics.
“This gentleman is not built as a politician and that’s why America voted him in. He’s a disrupter. The business as usual has got to stop. We’re $20 trillion in debt,” said Gosar.
He also says not approving the money would be a huge mistake.
“I don’t think I would cross the president and I don’t think I would cross the American people. This is something the American people want. So far the Senate has let them down in regards to promises they made on Obamacare and so I think they’re getting restless. They don’t see solutions but they see a man that’s struggling to make sure that he honors the promises that he made to those people,” said Gosar.
Gosar also asserts that the controversy over the wall is only a creation of the past decade.
“The wall was authorized over a decade ago and it was a bipartisan effort. A sovereign country has a right to defend and dictate it’s borders,” said Gosar.
So how did this become such a political lightning rod?
“It’s because the political correctness in the media has gotten into people,” he said.
Another hot-button issue is the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. He says all contracts ought to be renegotiated every few years and NAFTA has been on the books for more than two decades. He says the issues of border security and trade are very closely linked.
“I think these are all interwoven and I think the president has a good thought process about how to drag all these together to get what he believes the American people want because they voted for him. He made no qualms about border security and building the wall,” said Gosar.
Gosar also applauds Trump sending more border patrol agents and immigration judges to stem the tide of illegal entries and to adjudicate cases much more quickly. He does, however, urge the president to make more personnel nominations in the Justice Department and elsewhere to improve the effort even more.
But with Trump in a very public battle with members of his own party about blame over Obamacare and other issues, will any big ticket items on the GOP agenda actually get done when Congress returns next month?
Gosar says they have no choice.
“Winston Churchill made the famous analogy saying, ‘You can always count on Americans to do the right thing when they’ve exhausted everything else. Well, here’s our sign looking at Congress.. We’ve exhausted everything else, at least from the House. We’ve got over 200 bills over there waiting on the Senate to take a look at,” said Gosar.
While he can’t say for sure what will get done, Gosar says if one big thing can get to Trump’s desk, other major priorities will fall like dominoes.
“The atmosphere is going to be very confrontational. It’s going to be very high stakes. But once that first brick falls, a lot of this stuff is going to fall right in line,” said Gosar, who personally hopes Obamacare repeal is the first brick to fall.
“I would hope that it’s health care, because I think that sets the stage for tax breaks [and] the budget and that looks at a positive influence for the American people to move forward,” said Gosar.