Serious Thrills

Determined to reclaim his Remnant throne from Chris Stirewalt, Jim Geraghty returns to the program ...

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Determined to reclaim his Remnant throne from Chris Stirewalt, Jim Geraghty returns to the program to discuss his new thriller, Gathering Five Storms. The novel also provides a launch pad for some exceedingly rank punditry on Russia, the midterms, and the state of the Republican Party. Earlier in the year, it seemed certain that the GOP would make significant gains in November, but is that still the case? For that matter, why does the foreign policy establishment seem to get so many things wrong? How does writing fiction compare to writing about politics? And can any pundit match Jim’s Trump impression?

Show Notes:

– Jim’s page at National Review

– Jim’s new novel, Gathering Five Storms

– Jonah and Yuval Levin’s first Remnant encounter

– Jim: “Control of the Senate Is Still a Jump Ball”

– Jim: “Does AOC Want to Be Anything More Than a Celebrity?”

– Jonah: “Principles vs. Partisanship”

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Comments (34)
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  1. Catherine Call

    Jonah. I would love to hear you talk more about why you regret your decision to vote for McMullin. I’ve tried to do google searches to see if you’ve written about it but I can’t find anything. I have been closely following his race against Lee. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Anybody else know more about this??

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  2. GregS

    This is just sad. Geraghty will vote for the fraudulent quack talk show host in PA over the former Lt Gov and Mayor of a city (i.e. a guy with actual legislative and executive experience) because that will hamstring Biden? He thinks Herschel Walker's biggest issue is that he isn't *well spoken*?
    This just proves the point I have often made: as long as Republicans are willing to go along with MAGA types, there is no difference between voting for a MAGA candidate and a "normal" Republican. It seems that "normal" Republicans are indistinguishable from MAGA in their public actions - their objections are confinrd to private assurances, worth less than the paper they are (not) written on.

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    Peregrinus

    Where’s today’s pod? It’s integral to my Saturday routine! Hope everything’s okay…

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      Ken Spell

      Where was the other Remnant? Or the Dispatch Podcast on Friday? I'm going into withdrawal..No Ruminant? What will I listen to while I have my waffles?

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  4. Andrew George

    Here’s what I don’t understand: Jonah and Jim still talk about people like Herschel Walker and Doug Mastriano and Kari Lake and J.D. Vance as if their main problem is that they are not very strong candidates and therefore hurt team R.

    Herschel Walker is not objectionable as a prospective Senator because he is not a strong candidate (“well spoken” as Jim says) but because he is a violent, mentally-disturbed person who also knows absolutely nothing whatsoever about governance or policy.

    Doug Mastriano is not objectionable as a governor because he is “too fringe” or “too Trumpy” but because he is campaigning against having free and fair democratic elections in Pennsylvania.

    I simply don’t understand this mindset. You vote for the sane person who believes broadly in preserving liberal democracy, not the fascist or the lunatic or (looking at you, Mr. Vance) the fraud who pretends to be a fascist or a lunatic. Period.

    The great thing about liberal democracy is that while “elections have consequences,” the mechanisms of the administrative state and the judiciary empower people to resist policies they object to and advocate for policies they desire—even when their elected representatives differ. There are also terms of office and future elections.

    Objectionable but sane office holders who fundamentally respect rule of law are always preferable to unhinged, incompetent frauds and grifters speaking the language of authoritarianism, regardless of whether they’d make Mitch McConnell or Chuck Schumer majority leader.

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    Anne W (Raw5254)

    I love both of them (Chris and Jim). Both are enthusiastic, have a great sense of humor, and I do love Jim’s imitation of Trump! 😂

    What I really want is the book Jim Geraghty still hasn’t written. I want to know about all those real conspiracies!

    Also, it was interesting hearing what the two of you had to say about voting for Republicans. I really have to think about that one.

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    Dale C Smith

    Plan, go to work today

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  7. BSamuel

    Can we hurry up the poaching of Kevin Williamson and Jim to the Dispatch? Those two would be great additions and the rest of NR can merge with their compatriots at First Things. Win-win.

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      CynthiaW

      Cooke.

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        Anne W (Raw5254)

        Yes!

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      2. William Brady

        Andrew C. McCarthy, Ramesh Ponnuru, Alexandra DeSanctis, Madeleine Kearns, Rich Lowry, Philip Klein, and of course, Charles C. W. Cooke.

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        1. BSamuel

          No, yes, no, no, no, no, and maybe

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            Anne W (Raw5254)

            I have not been a fan of McCarthy, but his latest has been pretty good. I really like Kevin Williamson, and I’ll admit that I don’t always agree with Charles Cooke. However, I do appreciate the fact that he came here because he wanted to be a U.S. citizen, and he probably knows more about how our government works than most people born here, including a lot of politicians.

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          Anne W (Raw5254)

          Andrew McCarthy has been doing a series on what’s going on with Trump and the Justice Department. It’s fascinating.

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    Joe Schueller

    I enjoyed this conversation, always good to hear from Jim.

    What I did NOT enjoy was hearing nOw lETs tAkE A sHoRt BrEaK tO TaLk AbOuT bReAkFaSt for the millionth time. I hope Mickey D’s is paying you guys well… lol.

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    Mkapnick

    I love me some Jonah. For real. Ok, maybe love is too strong of a word given I have never met the man, but I really enjoy hearing what he has to say about this, that and the other thing. And, the vast majority of the time, I agree with his point of view. I too want President Mitch Daniels (I mean who doesn’t, really?? All the cool kids do!).

    That said, I really think Jonah has a major blind spot when it comes to Bill Kristol et al and their support for Dems. Just for level setting, while I consider myself more or less part of the Remnant, I am nonetheless a reluctant member of the Democratic coalition as it is currently configured. I am so simply because the Republicans have debased themselves to the point where they, as a whole, are unqualified to hold political power, in my opinion.

    Does Jonah really think Bill Kristol et al support the Dems simply because if you are not going to be part of the Republican coalition you might as well be part of the Dems? If so, he really has not listened to much of what Bill, Mona, Charlie et all have been saying for oh these many years.

    What Bill and his ilk have made clear is the reason they are a part of the Democratic coalition is because they consider the Republican coalition to be a threat to liberal democracy. I agree with them, and I think the facts are on their side, mostly.

    Jim and Jonah brought up Blake Masters. In 2022, the reason to oppose Blake Masters is not because he changed his view on abortion. In 2012, maybe but in 2022, the reason to reject Blake Masters is because Blake Masters does not believe in liberal democracy. Full stop. In his rejection of the 2020 Presidential election, Blake Masters makes clear the only elections he believes are legitimate are the ones that provide his desired outcome. This is sort of a first principles issue, is it not?

    I think what Bill Kristol et al would say is the defense of the liberal democracy is their first order of business and everything else is subservient to that. I don’t think that is “weird” as Jonah says, I think it is logical. Jonah, what am I missing?

    If the Republican Party is a threat to democracy, what tools does one have to combat said threat. The most obvious answer is the Democratic Party. Do I like the public policies that the Dems do? No! Do I think that bad policy outcomes are preferable to torching the constitution. Yes! So does defeated Republican Anthony Gonzalez. While this is a crappy choice in my view, it is not a complicated one.

    Is it possible that Bill Kristol and JVL and Michael Kapnick and overstated the risk to democracy? Maybe? But our view of the Republican Party is shared by Michael Luttig, Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney among others.

    Let me put it this way: The public policies of the Dems largely suck, but at least they believe in elections.

    In a response to a critical opinion piece written by Mona Charen, Jonah said that he had an open invitation to Bill Kristol to come on the show so they could discuss their different points of view on this matter. I hope that invitation is still extended and Bill take’s Jonah up on it. It would be, if nothing else, an interesting conversation.

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  10. Jon

    Great episode.

    You and Jim had a great and needed discussion

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