Podcast Summary
Disappointing Election Results and Moving Forward: Despite setbacks, find inspiration in words and strategies to move forward. New info in Obama-Gate and valuable firearm practice tool.
Despite the disappointing election results in Pennsylvania, it's important not to panic and there are ways to fight back. Connor Lamb, who won the congressional race, was described as having "lambasted" the Republican candidate, Sean Parnell. However, Dan Bongino encouraged listeners not to react like liberals and instead, offered inspirational words and strategies for moving forward. Additionally, there were significant developments in the Obama-Gate spying scandal, with new information being released. The I Target Pro system was also highlighted as a valuable tool for improving firearm accuracy through dry firing practice.
Suburban voters turning against Republicans: Republicans must adapt to shifting suburban voter sentiment or risk losses in future elections
The recent election loss in Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district, although not yet decided, is significant because it's a Republican-leaning district (R+11) and the slim margin of victory by the Democrat, Connor Lamb, indicates a shift in suburban voters turning against the Republican party. This trend, known as the suburban network effect, is a concern and requires attention, as it was not a major issue during the presidential election. The quote "The victor is not victorious if the vanquished does not consider himself so" highlights the importance of maintaining a strong presence and not considering ourselves defeated, even in the face of losses. We must continue to fight back electorally and understand the changing political landscape to adapt and succeed.
Suburban network effect in elections: Anti-Trump sentiment in cities can influence suburban voters, motivating them to turn out for anti-Trump candidates, even if not explicitly Democratic.
The suburbs network effect plays a significant role in political elections, particularly in districts that touch suburban areas. This effect is driven by the intense anti-Trump sentiment in cities, which can influence the opinions and voting behaviors of suburban residents. Many Trump voters do not have a strong allegiance to the Republican Party, but rather to Trump himself. In the absence of Trump on the ballot, anti-Trump sentiment and anger can motivate voters to turn out for candidates perceived as anti-Trump, even if they are not explicitly affiliated with the Democratic Party. The excitement to vote for the Republican Party is waning, as the primary motivator for many voters is their opposition to Trump.
The Importance of Cultural Power for Political Victory: Anger alone isn't enough for political victory. The left often uses cultural power to maintain influence when they lose political power, and the right should learn to do the same.
Anger can be a powerful motivator for people to take action, but it's not enough on its own to ensure victory. During the Obama years, people felt their rights and livelihoods were under attack, leading to intense anger and motivation to vote against the status quo. However, there wasn't enough excitement on the other side to match this anger, resulting in losses for the Democrats. The speaker also mentioned that the district in question is likely to disappear in the upcoming election, making the victory tactically irrelevant. However, messaging-wise, it was significant for the left. The left often exchanges cultural power for political power and vice versa. When they have political power, they use it to decrease individual power, and when they don't, they seek cultural power through means like shaming and media manipulation. The speaker suggests that the right should emulate this strategy and start focusing on cultural power when they lose political power. The Christian theme movie mentioned in the discussion serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of cultural power.
Supporting Christian theme movies as a strategy to challenge Hollywood's influence: Buying tickets to Christian movies is a strategic way to financially support these productions and weaken Hollywood's cultural dominance against conservative values.
Supporting Christian theme movies can be a strategic way to challenge the cultural dominance of Hollywood, which is often biased against conservative values. The speaker encourages buying tickets to Christian movies, like "Let There Be Light," as a way to financially support these productions and weaken Hollywood's influence. This idea is based on the business concept of SWOT analysis, which suggests identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and leveraging opportunities to mitigate weaknesses. The speaker sees the Hollywood's bias against conservatives as a threat, and buying tickets to Christian movies as a way to take advantage of this opportunity and mitigate this weakness.
Engaging in the culture wars: Leverage strengths, mitigate weaknesses, support Christian movies, boycott liberal media, and wear down opponents to emerge victorious in the culture wars
In the face of potential political losses, it's essential to shift focus to the cultural realm and engage in a guerrilla war against opponents. This means leveraging strengths and mitigating weaknesses, particularly in areas like culture and academia. Consumers have the power to impact change by supporting Christian movies and boycotting liberal media. By making opponents fight on multiple fronts and wearing them down, we can ultimately emerge victorious in the culture wars. It's crucial not to get discouraged by political losses but instead to channel that energy into taking action and staying engaged in the fight.
The importance of confronting issues in the long term vs. short term metaphor of dirty air filters: The speaker criticized Democrats and liberals for avoiding long-term issues and promoted FilterBuy, while also revealing Victoria Nuland's role in the ObamaGate case, raising questions about her knowledge of Christopher Steele's political affiliations.
During the discussion, the speaker criticized the Democrats and liberals for lacking the courage to confront issues in the long term, using the metaphor of dirty air filters. He then promoted FilterBuy, a company that sells HVAC filters, emphasizing the importance of maintaining clean air at home. Another key point was the revelation about Victoria Nuland's role in the ObamaGate case. Nuland, a former chief of staff to a high-level diplomat in the Bill Clinton administration, reportedly facilitated a meeting between the FBI and Christopher Steele, who was working for the Clinton campaign to gather dirt on Trump. This connection, according to the speaker, raises questions about Nuland's knowledge of Steele's political affiliations.
Clinton Campaign's Role in Generating Anti-Trump Dossier: The Clinton campaign's involvement in creating negative information on Trump, through Sid Blumenthal and Christopher Steele, highlights the lengths some will go to protect their interests and manipulate political outcomes.
The origins of the anti-Trump dossier and the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election can be traced back to two sources: Sid Blumenthal, a longtime Clinton associate, and Christopher Steele, a British spy hired by the Clinton campaign. These sources provided the information to the FBI through a network that included Victoria Nuland, a former State Department official, and Cody Shear, who worked with both Nuland and Blumenthal. This intricate web of connections suggests that the Clinton campaign was involved in generating negative information on Trump to cover up scandals and protect their interests. Another shocking revelation is that during the Obama administration, Fusion GPS, the same company that produced the dossier, was hired to conduct opposition research against Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential race. This further illustrates the extent to which these organizations and individuals were willing to manipulate information and influence political outcomes.
Stay focused on broad ideas when debating liberals: When debating liberals, avoid getting lost in specific details or studies, and instead, argue from first principles and challenge their assumptions.
When debating liberals, it's essential to keep the conversation focused on broad ideas instead of getting lost in specific details or studies they may present. Betsy DeVos' interview with Leslie Stahl on 60 Minutes is a prime example of this. Stahl questioned DeVos about her focus on school choice and the potential impact on public schools. DeVos could have debunked Stahl's claims about funding, but instead, she got sidetracked. The liberal approach is to use cherry-picked studies and statistics to lose opponents in the details. To counter this, it's crucial to argue from first principles and challenge their assumptions. In the case of education, the assumption is that more money equals better results. However, data shows this is not always the case. To effectively argue against liberals, one must stay focused on the big picture and not get bogged down in the wankery.
US education spending vs academic results: Some countries with lower education budgets outperform the US, debunking the notion that more spending equals better results.
Despite increased education spending in the United States, academic results have not significantly improved. Meanwhile, some countries with lower education budgets per student have achieved better academic success. The debate around gun control was also discussed, with the argument that less guns do not necessarily equal less crime being challenged by statistics showing less crime in areas with more guns. The interview with Betsy DeVos highlighted the issue of school choice and the importance of allowing parents to remove their children from failing schools. The claim that education scores have significantly improved due to increased spending was debunked, as 12th graders' reading and math scores have remained stagnant since the 1970s. Overall, the conversation emphasized the importance of focusing on the big picture and prioritizing individual needs and choices over government control.
The impact of choice on education performance: Choice matters in education, and while funding is important, it doesn't guarantee better results. Attracting students through competition drives success, as seen in universities compared to public schools.
Choice matters in education, as seen in the contrast between the University of Maryland in College Park and the public schools in Prince George's County, Maryland. Despite both receiving government funds, the University of Maryland consistently performs well because it must attract students, while the public schools struggle due to a lack of competition. Additionally, money does not guarantee better educational results, as shown by the significant increase in education funding since the 1970s without corresponding improvement in test scores. The importance of choice and the fallacy of the money-equals-results equation are crucial concepts to understand in the ongoing debate about education reform.
Potential end of Obamacare with Supreme Court ruling: The repeal of the individual mandate tax in the Trump tax plan could lead the Supreme Court to rule against Obamacare, potentially ending the legislative abomination
The repeal of the individual mandate tax in the Trump tax plan could potentially lead to the demise of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) if the Supreme Court rules that the absence of the tax makes the entire law unconstitutional. This is based on a previous Supreme Court ruling where Chief Justice John Roberts deemed the penalty for not buying health insurance as a tax, saving Obamacare. Now, some states are challenging this in court, and there's optimism in Republican circles that the Supreme Court might rule against Obamacare due to the absence of the tax. This could be a significant development as the Democrats are reportedly caught off guard by this turn of events. If the Supreme Court does rule against Obamacare, it could mark the end of the legislative abomination, as the host believes.
