Podcast 248 – Jason Lewis

Jason Lewis. National Talk Radio Star Jason Lewis joins the Bob Davis Podcasts. My talk radio colleague and I talk about the recent 2014 midterm election results; What does the election mean for Republicans and Democrats, and what to expect. Jason has an unrivaled perspective on local Minnesota politics, so his insight on the election results in Minnesota is invaluable. How was the Minnesota Republican Party able to elect 11 state representatives, to win back the state-house, but fail to win a single state wide office? Is it the candidates, the voters, or something else less visible from the outside? What mistakes did the state party make in selecting candidates for statewide races, and running those campaigns. How are Minnesota politics different from neighboring rival Wisconsin, where Governor Scott Walker won by 6 points, and maintained Republican control of the state Assembly in Madison? How significant was money from liberal PACs in Minnesota and what about Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts, where republicans won in democrat dominated states? Minnesota party leaders and national media believe voters are sending a message they want politicians in Saint Paul and Washington DC ‘to work together’, does Jason Lewis agree? What should the strategy of Republicans in the Minnesota House and the US Congress be after they’re sworn in? Did Americans vote for the party of Graham, King and McConnell, or Cruz, Paul and McCarthy? What’s the response to the President’s post election press conference today? Meanwhile, what mischief will the lame duck congress get up to, between now and January of 2015. Jason also has some great stories from his KSTP days, what he refers to as the ‘halcyon days’ of talk radio in the 90’s and early 2000’s; A time when creativity and local talk radio flourished across America. With talk migrating to weaker AM signals, and sports replacing more and more talk stations, what is the future of broadcast talk radio? With the advent of the ‘digital dashboard’ and the capability for individual broadcasters to stream and podcast, broadcast radio is two steps behind newspapers on the disruption highway. As radio fades, Jason’s main focus these days, aside from Golf, is Galt.IO, which is fully explained for those who do not know what it is. Galt.IO will provide an online capability for the politically disenfranchised to crowdsource fundraising for candidates and causes, allowing individuals to amplify their causes, without having to go to the wealthy to fundraise, and will empower conservative causes in their effort to compete with left wing fundraising institutions like Alliance for A Better Minnesota, and “RINO” republican organizations; something that has never before been possible on this level. Stay tuned in this podcast for a never-before-heard announcement regarding Galt.IO. Sponsored by Xgovernment Cars, and by Depotstar. 

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Podcast 245

Election Eve. The first of two podcast over the next 24 hours to get you up to speed on the spin, sandbagging and screeching in the final hours of the 2014 election cycle. Podcast 246 will take an in depth look at the polls and will be ready for Tuesday morning. Podcast 245 is in a little more relaxed setting, and calls attention to some of the things people are writing and saying the polls say, which have no basis. Meanwhile, the next two days are the most difficult for the punditry and the media as campaigns wind down, few new polls are released, and we wait for the votes to be counted. Some people are already sick of the election coverage, especially if you have been watching the news channels (mainly because the incessant political advertising is driving people over the edge), yet others are just starting to pay attention. Most of the polls at this late hour are all within their statistical margin of error, and therefore not conclusive about which candidates and parties have the edge or momentum. While there are one or two notable exceptions, the networks and pundits drive ahead with story lines and claims that the Republicans will take the Senate. While the GOP will gain Senate seats, whether they gain a majority is an open question. Stories this weekend about the Democrats predicting big wins for the Republicans, may actually be an effort to galvanize Democrat supporters to vote, especially when they come from The New York Times, and the Washington Post. In Minnesota, where the races are tightening to within less than ten points in the Gubernatorial Race (and more ominously a tie in the Northeastern part of the state, which is very unusual), and ten points in the Senate race, the Star Tribune runs a story about Senator Franken’s Net Neutrality cause, with little mention of opponent Mike McFadden, on a day in which the two candidates debated. The truth? This may turn out to be one of the most unusual, and therefore historic races in US Political history. The reason? Almost no one can predict what restive voters will actually end up doing. Election returns and final results may be delayed well into the night, and until January 6th at the latest, if run off elections are called for, or if recounts are demanded in close races. Another interesting development is the sudden appearance of pundits either blaming the President (from right and left) for the democrat problems, or making excuses for him. While the President has raised a lot of money for Democrat candidates, many campaign managers feel it was a mistake for some candidates not to distance themselves from the President, earlier and more loudly. And now the sudden predictions of how the White House will become interested in negotiation and compromise. While that is a possibility, President Obama may dig in his heels, and try to rally progressives for a future Elizabeth Warren presidential run. For all the talk about how the President is surrounded by bumblers, it seems like his obstinance, resistance to debate and diversity of opinion, postponing decisions or making outright mistakes can only be blamed on him. How President Obama deals with a Republican House and a newly Republican Senate (which is by no means guaranteed) will be the biggest political story of 2015. Sponsored by X Government Cars and Depotstar. 

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Podcast 244

Halloween 2. The second of 2 Halloween podcasts. This one is a final, relaxed analysis of the political landscape before we head into Election Day next week. Now the election ‘moneyballers’; so called analysts who have been predicting a ‘republican wave’, or not predicting a ‘republican wave’ have begun to hedge their bets as the polls and races tighten. This is a continuing disservice to Americans, because we are being set up to believe the polls show a specific outcome. The 2014 election cycle is 435 local congressional districts, one third of the Senate in statewide races, scores of state legislature races (for example the Minnesota House, but not the Senate.) and races for the Governor’s mansion. The idea that any poll or any number of polls can be predictive of this disparate election terrain is and always has been ridiculous. Did you know, for example, that Colorado’s entire election this year is being conducted with mail in ballots, almost 2 million of which have not yet been received. Meanwhile opinion polls are too close to call across the country, and races that were republican ‘locks’ have flipped, and races that were democrat locks have flipped. And here come the sandbaggers. People who are still sour grapes because they predicted Romney would win in 2012, and have never lived it down. (Editor’s Note: I said all along Romney would lose, and the polls never showed he would win.) Republicans are criticized for talking about ‘momentum’ which seems like a pretty harmless thing to claim, less than a week before election. And then there is Tom Steyer, the turn-coat fossil fuel hedge fund gazillionaire who has put over 50 million dollars into various midterm campaigns and is now the largest contributor to candidates in this cycle. Hey! What about the Koch Brothers? Nope. Steyer and the Unions, pulling a Ben Bernanke, dropping money from helicopters at the last minute in an attempt to win tough senate and house races, and beat people like Wisconsin’s Scott Walker. Finally, a general discussion of how the podcasts intend to cover election night, and the next podcast on the polls. Waiting now for the last spate of polls in the pipeline to be released before election day, and we’ll see if there are any hard and fast ‘predictions’ that can be made. The media continues to set people up emotionally on both sides of the political spectrum to believe predictions that you can’t factually make, and the result is a sense of futility, frustration and disenfranchisement when the expected scenario does not materialize. Elections throughout American history have always been unpredictable, even before 24/7 cable news coverage, screaming roundtables, table pounding talk show hosts and polls. Before the election, a prediction about what democrats will suggest to President Obama after the election, whether the Republicans win the senate or not. Finally a few words about the state of Minnesota Politics, after a visit to the Eastern side of the Saint Croix River, in Wisconsin. Sponsored by Baklund R&D. 

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