Podcast 496 – The Bob Davis Podcasts Radio Show – 25

The Bob Davis Podcasts Radio Show – 25. This weekend’s radio show in crystal clear, digital audio. The radio show includes excerpts from podcasts through the week as well as original content for radio affiliates. In The Bob Davis Podcasts Radio Show – 25, the tumultuous developments in American Politics this week take center stage, so this show focuses on these developments. First, Donald Trump’s victory in Indiana has the media and elements of the republican party crowning the New York developer as the ‘presumptive nominee’. Certainly, without opposition in primaries from here on out, delegate count isn’t as much of a problem. Trump’s biggest obstacle to the nomination now is the fracturing of the Republican party. Mitt Romney says he can’t support Trump while decrying ‘populism’ in American Politics (whatever that means). It was reported this week that both former Presidents George H.W Bush, and George W. Bush will not attend the RNC in Cleveland. Paul Ryan says he hasn’t decided on whether to support Trump, Trump says he isn’t sure whether he supports Ryan’s ‘agenda’. Down Ticket senators in vulnerable seats are complaining about Trump, and not just ‘any’ senators; Former Republican Presidential Candidate and senior senator John McCain says a Trump nomination puts his seat in question. There, then, is the rub. With no clear indication yet on the plan for Cruz, Kasich and Rubio delegates, it might be suggested Trump’s new ‘presumptive nominee’ title might be, well, presumptive. In this podcast – The Bob Davis Podcasts Radio Show – 25 – state Cruz organizer Mandy Benz joins me to talk about her raw reactions to the Cruz campaign suspension announcement. After a New York Times article late this week that says news outlets often reprint press releases without editing, don’t ask questions, don’t do any real reporting and the story is controlled from places like The White House, it’s not surprising that talk show charlatans, pundits and personalities seem to be addicted to the attention that comes from endorsing candidates. Being disgusted with the whole process and not liking any of the candidates seems to be the best thing a podcaster do, to provide objective analysis. No one else is, apparently, so Namaste, Bitches. Sponsored by Brush Studio in the West End and Hydrus Performance.

Podcast 489

New York Primary Results. The results of the New York Presidential Primary are in. Now sit back and watch the story lines change. Surprise! After a day of voter confusion and typical New York statements from election officials about investigations, the New York Primary Results are in. Donald Trump won roughly 60 percent of the Republican votes, and Hillary Clinton managed about 57 percent of the Democratic votes in a slightly closer race. The most interesting outcome of this presidential preference poll is which republican candidate came in second. While Trump celebrates a win large enough for him to control a lion’s share of the delegates from the Empire State, Ohio Governor John Kasich ran a good second, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz came in a distant third, which should be enough to change the media story lines from ‘Ted Cruz is posing a strong challenge to Trump’, to whether or not John Kasich could be the nominee for the republicans in a contested republican convention this summer. The next primaries favor Trump and especially Kasich. Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island will hold primaries on April 26th. While most analysts expect Trump to win most of the delegates, many will be keeping a close eye on Kasich. Is the republican establishment working for Trump opponents in states that favor them? Recent polls from Wisconsin suggest that might be true. More establishment figures as well as candidates seem to be pointing toward a contested convention. With the establishment concerned about the so called ‘down-ticket’; the US Senate and House, chances are Trump and Cruz — who don’t poll well against Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders in a head to head match ups — may not be able to get the nomination if they can’t get the required 1237 majority of delegates on the first ballot. This is the main thing to pay attention to in the next few weeks. Ignore the pundits and the exit poll nonsense and focus on the next spate of primaries. Finally, the New York Times reports voters ‘disillusioned’ by primary races that depend on delegate elections, not the popular vote. Are they being sidelined or were voters always sidelined in these state primaries and caucuses? Sponsored by Brush Studio and X Government Cars.

Podcast 487

Confessions of a Delegate. As commentators, political junkies, your next door neighbor and just about everyone speculates about the number of delegates garnered by candidates in the 2016 primary race, I thought it was time to actually talk to one of the delegates to a past convention to get an idea of what it’s like. Thus, Confessions of a Delegate. Mark Johnson was a republican activist supporting Texas Congressman Ron Paul for president in 2012. Johnson was part of the storied Minnesota Delegation, one of five state delegations pledged to support Paul. We’ve all seen the shots on TV from the convention floor. What was it really like to be on the floor at the convention? What was it like to experience the power of the establishment first hand, a republican establishment bound and determined not to allow the Texas Representative a chance to speak to the convention or have his name entered into nomination from the floor. What did the establishment do? They changed the rules before the convention (the now famous rule 40b) and prevented a so called ‘minority report’ on the rules committee from being entered into consideration and voted on, making sure Minority Report author Morton Blackwell’s bus didn’t make it to the convention in time for the vote. The establishment also disqualified the Maine delegation and replaced them with Romney supporters. Why is this important. This fight is nothing compared to what could happen if none of the candidates reach Cleveland with enough delegates pledged to them to achieve a nomination on the first ballot, an outcome which appears more and more likely, an outcome all three remaining candidacies appear to be preparing for. Now ‘retired for the time being’ Johnson talks about his experience and has some advice for the delegates elected to their conventions in 2016. Sponsored by X Government Cars and Pride of Homes and Luke Team Real Estate. (Editor’s note; At one point I refer to what happens when delegates get to ‘Tampa’, since we were talking about Tampa and 2012. I meant to say Cleveland, where the GOP convention will be held in 2016.)