The debt limit deal is good for the country -- i.e. default is bad -- and great for Republicans, who won on nearly every single important issue. There will be modest spending caps; there will be work requirements for welfare; and the president will co-own the resumption of student loan repayments this fall.
Democrats "won" on issues that were never really issues. Medicare and Social Security were never at risk, for example. President Joe Biden claimed that the GOP were going to kill grandma, cut law enforcement, etc. These were always lies and the claim that Democrats "protected" these priorities is laughable.
On the one hand, Biden created room for himself to reach a deal by creating these false compromises. On the other, by talking up the parade of horribles that would ensue if Republicans failed to capitulate, he also made it impossible for his party to exert any leverage. Refusing to negotiate at the start also hurt.
Republicans "won" in circumstances when they have usually lost -- i.e. having control of just one house of Congress -- because they united around the conservative leadership of Kevin McCarthy, and because -- let's be honest -- Biden is a terrible negotiator. Not the guy you want making deals with China.
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!
...
