Podcast 393

Live From EAA. Road trip to Osh Kosh, for the Experimental Aircraft Association Air Show and Convention. Sunday night is set up night, providing an opportunity to review recent trips to Waukesha and Davenport to cover political events, and to talk a little about the difference between political events and shows like this one. Maybe it’s as simple as the differences between tribes; People who are in the political tribe after certain characteristics, and people in the aviation tribe have certain different characteristics. What started as an experimental and individual builder get together has turned into a technology, history, and aviation show with exhibitors big and small. In some ways it compares favorably to the big state fairs across the country this summer. Somehow talking about politics doesn’t feel as good as talking about planes, and technology, here in Eastern Wisconsin, at the peak of summer. Still, some points need to be made before we head off into the wild blue yonder. Again the point is made that television news in particular magnifies and amplifies events that used to be state by state almost private affairs; self selected delegates and caucus attendees ‘interviewing’ potential candidates, and figuring out who they might support when a state’s primary election or caucus is held. Now these affairs are conflated with news events on a national or international scale. Are they news? Is it news when Donald Trump says something silly in a meeting of a few hundred (at most), a third of which are national media? Is it news if Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley are forced off a stage somewhere at a meeting of rag tag leftists? Maybe its statewide news, maybe its political news, but ‘go-to-live-coverage’ and ‘breaking news’. Not yet. The ideas that will drive 2016’s presidential election are still forming, so commenting on them, trying to define them, is almost pointless when you can hear the corn growing if you stand real still in a field in Wisconsin, or Iowa. Whether or not any of the score of declared candidates can rise to the level of being able to connect with people who aren’t political groupies remains to be seen. Meanwhile, there is a B-52 and a Ford Trimotor warming up on the runway, and that seems more interesting. Sponsored by X Government Cars. 

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PODCAST 392

Real Iowa Politics Live. I decided to cover an additional Scott Walker event in Iowa for two reasons. After covering the Walker announcement in Waukesha, Wisconsin in podcast 391, I have a reference point for Walker, so covering on additional appearance by the Governor, especially in Iowa would be a good pair of companion podcasts. So, it was off to Davenport, Iowa from Minneapolis. The road trip started at midnight, arriving at Davenport’s Modern Woodmen Park, home of the ‘Bandits’, a minor league baseball team at about 5:30 AM. After a short nap, I would be covering Scott Walker’s appearance later in the day. There’s a big difference between watching an event on live television and actually being there. Modern media amplifies, magnifies and distorts reality. It was amazing to see the network cameras set up for the live shot, or to tape, with no reporter. I’m assuming someone in another city slices and dices the speech. When you have video, who needs to be there. This is why I decided to come to a political event in Iowa. I learned a lot. Most of these events at the present time are pretty small ball, but I was shocked to learn that one presidential ‘candidate’ after another has trooped through, sometimes two or three a day, to rub noses with Iowans, just because they cast the first votes in caucuses and primaries in 2016. Iowa Republicans do not trust the media — even podcasters like me — and they’re perfectly content with a status conferred upon them by virtue of their caucus date, the media and the politicians trooping through these rooms all over the state. Walker is a disciplined candidate, delivering exactly the same speech, in exactly the same way, except for a moment of prayer for the recent victims of the Marine Base shooting. Still, the ‘reporting’ on Walker tends to be long on snark, and short on actual analysis and illumination of what he has done in Wisconsin and what he is proposing on the campaign trail. With a track record of actually doing what he says, you would think the media might actually want to put some effort into analysis. But no. Mostly snark. And, there’s a train in this podcast. Put headphones on and experience what an Iowa political event feels and sounds like. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul. 

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Podcast 391 – Walker’s Announcement

Walker’s Announcement. The Bob Davis Podcasts first official campaign 2016 coverage, and now from here it’s on to Davenport, Iowa, where the Walker campaign starts an RV trip through the state. Why Scott Walker? Because it is a neighboring state, and its close. Why Davenport? Same reason. This was the first time covering a presidential announcement for someone who is considered a ‘front runner’, in the Republican Party, if such a thing exists, given the score or so politicians running on the Republican side. This was a campaign announcement loaded with red meat for standard republicans, but the three thousand or so supporters in Waukesha — a strong Republican suburb of Milwaukee — loved every minute of it, from the Lieutenant Governor, to Congressman Sean Duffy’s wife, Rachel Campos Duffy, who threw barb after barb at Hillary Clinton. It’s way more fun to be inside the story than to watch it on TV. You’ll hear the whole gamut in this podcast, from the handful of protesters with bags over their head because they are ‘ashamed’ of Walker, the media trucks, local and national media segregation, and how hot it was in there, to the Mobile Podcast Command Unit 8’s Diesel idling for eight hours while its owner connived to get press passes. While the left loves to hate the Wisconsin Governor, both Republicans and Democrats would do well to take him seriously. As his campaign likes to point out, he has beaten what he calls ‘big government special interests’ three times in the last five years, after they have thrown everything they had at him. He might just be the wild card in this republican primary season. Then again … The most fun? Watching a major CBS reporter melt down with the guys in New York, while the First Lady of Wisconsin was introducing her husband. “I don’t care, I’ve got to have that cut!”, he shouted at one point, provoking laughter from the folks in the back row. Reporting live from these events is kick ass. More to come … from Davenport, Iowa. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul.

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