There's a new conventional wisdom emerging that the January 6 Committee show trial might be helping Republicans, in two ways.
First, it is showing just how grotesque this cohort of Democrats has become in its willingness to subvert the Constitution and basic principles of civil rights and due process.
Second, it is reminding voters -- including Republican primary voters -- that Donald Trump comes with a lot of baggage. That is the purpose of the whole charade, after all: to marginalize Trump. And some Republicans are glad -- even publicly -- that the Democrats are doing that job for them, or trying to do so.
I don't know if that's really the effect. I think Trump is marginalizing himself, by fixating on 2020 rather than talking more about the issues voters are facing.
But the committee probably has made it easier to criticize Trump, without fear of a backlash, not because of anything it is revealing about January 6, but because it is using Trump's former aides and even family members against him.
That is, no doubt, causing some consternation at Mar-a-Lago. And it is also providing cover for those -- and they are a growing number -- who want the party to thank Trump for his service but keep him out of the way in 2024.
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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