She'll pass, but narrowly. She's personable and brilliant. But she can't quite explain her ideas because she's never had to do so: like many Ivy Leaguers, she thinks saying the right words makes it so.
Let me be more specific: she is telling the Senate she's against judicial activism, even that she's an "originalist," and yet she can't bring herself to define the word "woman" or to tell us how many unenumerated rights might yet be found to exist that aren't in the text.
The child porn stuff is toxic to Republicans and will guarantee there isn't much of a crossover. The question isn't whether she's right about the need for more lenient or flexible sentences for sex offenders -- that's a policy debate (the kind of debate she says she doesn't want to have on other topics, as a judge). The problem is that the public was told that Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) was lying. It turns out he was telling the truth about her record, and the only defense the Democrats have is to claim that she's right on the substance of the issue. Yes, Hawley is making them die, proverbially, on the hill of child pornography. (Normally Republicans aren't quite that clever or adept -- so, well played.)
She'll be a reliable liberal vote on the Court, and will not have much of an impact, except perhaps as a role model, for which purpose we are to be reminded that she is a certain kind of "woman," whatever that outdated term might mean.
This is my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.
Topics:
- The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
- The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
- The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
- The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
- The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival
And more!
Special guests:
- James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
- Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
- Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
- Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.
I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”
This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.
I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?
The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.
The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!
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