It's largely a contest of also-rans, since it is missing Larry Elder (R), who currently leads the field of potential replacements for Gavin Newsom (D), and is also missing celebrity candidate Caitlin Jenner. So it will largely be about bashing Newsom. (Newsom is not showing up to the debate, either.)
Some of the candidates will take shots at each other, or at their absent competitors. But as I noted this morning on AM 870, the recall election works like a cycling race (hopefully without the doping). Republicans need to work as a team to put the vote against Newsom over 50%; only then will it matter which Republican candidate is the top vote recipient among replacements.
So I'm hoping for more focus on Newsom's flaws than the kind of internecine warfare typical of primary contests for races in ordinary, non-recall elections.
The recall debate is live on Fox 11 Los Angeles, at the following link:
https://omny.fm/shows/the-morning-answer/morning-answer-08-04-21-joel-pollak
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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