Podcast 283 – Craig Westover

Craig Westover. Long time editorial writer for the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, and political activist in the Twin Cities and Minnesota, Craig has the chops to be able to discuss the lack of principle underpinning right wing politics these days. Previous podcasts have discussed the so called discourse on social media and our society. Craig sat down with Bob Davis for lunch at a local ‘power-breakfast/power-lunch’ diner, and the result is a dynamic, freewheeling discussion in this podcast. It’s a great companion to the other podcasts decrying a lack of intellect when it comes to some posts and discussions on line, on talk radio and on cable television news services these days. This is a pronounced problem on the right, although it exists on the left as well. So, where does one start to sort it out? Craig starts with arguing from basic principles rather than what might be referred to as ‘issue advocacy’, progresses to Libertarianism, Republican politics, the US Constitution, the Tea Party, the Declaration of Independence, natural law, with some anecdotes about Minnesota politics thrown in. Craig ends on a somewhat positive note, suggesting government may not be necessary after all! If you’re involved in republican politics, job one is going to be figuring out the principles underpinning everything else. You can’t answer the question ‘What IS a Conservative’, or ‘What IS a Republican’ without first articulating some basic principles and working from there, rather checking boxes next to issues, or platform planks. If you want some answers, Craig Westover is a good person to start with. You’ll also end the podcast with a lot of questions. (Editor’s Note: The final podcast of 2014 also includes a shout out to sponsors, listeners and people who have made generous donations, but I did not have my list of names at the restaurant, so I will thank you guys now, both in the podcast and here and name you later. The Bob Davis Podcasts would not be possible without all of you.) Sponsored by Depotstar

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Podcast 282

Live From The Living Room 2. Here comes the flu! States across the East and Midwest are starting to see a high number of cases for this year’s flu, which may or not be covered by this year’s flu vaccine. Advice? If you get the flu embrace the suck, get yourself some Mexican Coke, and settle in. This New Year’s Eve may be ‘marred’ by protesters seeking to deny Americans the pleasure of celebrating a fresh, clean New Year. So after a high pressure Christmas with the relatives, the one night you want to spend with your friends having a good time is going to end up being ruined by a bunch of idiots in Guy Fawkes masks? Oh Hell No! This is a move that will backfire on so called protesters, who do more and more dumb stuff in an effort to continue grabbing attention and media after two police in New York were assassinated by a criminal, in support of the protests. Meanwhile the most visible Ferguson protester Joshua Williams (is he even from Ferguson?) has been arrested for arson in Berkely, Missouri. Another shining example of the virtue of a protest movement rapidly losing its credibility. Speaking of Credibility, The Communist Pope has now decided to take up the ‘Climate Change’ cudgel in an effort to remain relevant despite all the robes and opulence in the Vatican. Just forget about all that brocade and architecture, diamonds and silk, he’s Argentinian, you know, which means he’s down with the people. People like Castro, and old Uncle Joe. The Pope will soon ‘issue’ a large heavy document, for which many trees will die, in which he will lecture all of us on the dangers of global warming and the need to have a radical change in our economic and social system. Sayeth ‘Pope Che’, ‘These systems are based on the worship of money’ and God is against that. No sir, our system is supposed to be based on our Liberty and personal sovereignty, which is God given, and subject not to the whims of any Pope in Rome. And now we see why. And an addendum to Podcast 280, which focused on social media and political discourse. A professor says Washington has been dumbed down, because America is dumbed down, and what we can do about it. Step one; Don’t expect politicians to become academics or intellectuals. Sponsored by Baklund R&D.

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Podcast 269

Torture. Budget. Washington struggles with the release of a damning Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Enhanced Interrogation Techniques, and democrats appear to be willing to shut the government down over language in the budget bill concerning Dodd/Frank. These issues show how the contours of ‘partisanship’ and the causes of ‘gridlock’ will change after the new congress is sworn in, in January 2015. The Senate Intelligence Committee investigation and report was conducted and written wholly by democrats, offers no suggestions on what to do about what it called torture in the future, or for curtailing the CIA when it runs amok, and none of the accused parties were interviewed for have had the chance to defend themselves. As former Democrat Senator and Senate Intelligence Committee member Bob Kerry suggests, this does not bode well for the objectivity of the report or win any friends at the CIA. Even President Obama has been put in a difficult situation, since current CIA Director Brennan is furious that the report paints a one sided picture of what happened at the agency after 9/11. Maybe it is a good thing this information is released now, maybe not. One thing is for sure, neither party has come up with a foreign policy that addresses asymmetric warfare going forward. Libertarian, Interventionist, Neoconservative, Neoliberal, or whatever you want to call them, these policies aren’t going to be effective in future conflicts where it is likely potential state enemies of the US will use asymmetric methods because they strike at our weaknesses. On the budget front, Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren threatens to block passage of the budget bill because of changes it makes in Dodd/Frank regarding how derivatives are regulated. Which party is ‘obstructionist’ now? What will the minority party do after Republicans take over the majority in Congress? Expect a return to ideas like increasing gas taxes and ‘rebuilding’ America’s ‘crumbling infrastructure’, and to the idea that – since we can’t prove ‘inequality’ hurts the economy – we now have to deal with the ’empathy gap’. This is the idea that the working poor are just unfortunate and that we have to have laws to make the economic system ‘fair’, since hard work and brains have nothing to do with success. The founding documents talk about being created equal and having unalienable rights to life and liberty … not a ‘fair’ economic system. What you do with your liberty is your choice, rich or poor. The good news? All of these stories will be swept from television screens because of the storm-of-the-century in California. Finally, out of nowhere a movement we can all get behind, or in front of. “Free The Nipple”. Sponsored by Baklund R&D.

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