The Federalist Radio Hour

After another night of controversial speeches and crowds chanting for justice, Mollie Hemingway and Bre Payton recap RNC Day Two on todays Federalist Radio Hour. M.G. Oprea, Federalist senior contributor, also joined to report what she has seen and heard on the ground in Cleveland. In writing the speech for Donald Trump Jr., Frank H. Buckley essentially plagiarized by quoting from his own published writing. I do think that media are overreaching here, Hemingway said. I dont think people care even about whether Melania lifted words from Michelle Obama, much less whether a speechwriter was quoting himself. Later in the hour, Hemingway and Payton discussed the medias coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of police shootings. Black Lives Matter has not been well served by some of the more extreme rhetoric coming from some of its leaders or proponents, but at the same time I think communities really do care and do want their to be a healthy interaction between police and the people they serve, Hemingway said.

Mollie Hemingway and David Harsanyi recap the first day of the RNC convention, including Melanias plagiarism, the benediction that made Christians cringe, and insanity that on the floor yesterday afternoon. Over time conventions have become elaborate televised productions and speeches, while the actual roles of the delegates are continually diminished. I think it was 10 states filed petitions with the RNC to have a roll call vote state by state over the rules, Harsanyi said. I think this turned out to be worse for Trump...I think having Mike Lee out there yelling, imploring the chair to give them a vote was a pretty big story. Hemingway explains why Pastor Mark Burns benediction was off putting. You really shouldnt mix politics and religion, she said. You can speak at a higher level about these things than to bring them down to partisan politics. Although her speech was at first praised as the best one of the night, the media quickly noticed that Melania Trumps speech plagiarized Michelle Obamas speech from the 2008 DNC. This was so unnecessary and it just speaks to how ridiculous the Trump campaign is and the people who run it. How could something like this happen?

Mary Katharine Ham and Mollie Hemingway break down Donald Trumps Veep pick, the aftermath of the coup in Turkey on Friday, and the latest drama unfolding between Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. Lee Smith, senior editor at the Weekly Standard, joined the Federalist Radio Hour to explain what was happening within the Turkish government and what position should the US take. What were seeing a large part here is power politics, Smith said. Erodgan has been looking to purge as many of these people, as many of the Gulenists as possible. Ham and Hemingway preview some this weeks RNC convention and what we can expect with the addition of Mike Pence to the Trump ticket. It just seems so boring and off-brand, Ham said of Pence. I suspect that the Pence pick was indeed the kids and the more conventional thinkers in [Trumps] camp, Last night on SnapChat, Kardashian posted videos of a phone call between her husband and Swift, completing out Swifts claim Kanye never had permission to rap about her in his new single. Its been a string of bad PR that makes Taylor Swift seem like a hyper-manipulative Regina George, Hemingway said.

This episode of The Federalist Radio originally aired on March 10, 2016.  Nancy Jo Sales spent the last two and half years traveling across the United States, talking to over 200 girls, ages 13 to 19. She talked to them about social media, texting, sexualization, and how all of it has impacted their lives. Sales joined the Federalist Radio Hour to talk about her new book, American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers. Sales, author and journalist for Vanity Fair, talked to girls about their concerns with social media. “Girls are being exposed at a very young age to a lot of explicit content,” she said. “Social media sites and pornography sites are kind of conjoined at the hip...and if you have a kid on social media, it’s pretty likely that at some point they are going to see pornography.” Even in the girls she spoke with who hated social media, Sales said she found they had anxiety about being on it all time. “I really wondered what this is doing to their brains, and even our brains,” she said. “The way that it’s all changed sex and love and intimacy--I don’t think anybody over the age of 20 has any idea what it means to be coming of age now and trying to figure out what it means to have a relationship. It affects our whole notion of intimacy.” Later in the hour, Domenech asked Sales about how her findings relate to hook-up culture. “Being behind a screen, certainly makes boys bolder,” she said. “Girls tell me that hook-up sex is unsatisfying...because they tell me young boys just want to do what they see in porn.”

Daniel Griswold is a senior research fellow and co-director of the program on the American Economy and Globalization at the Mercatus Center. Griswold discussed the implications of Brexit, of immigration, and how trade really impacts US workers. Theres no doubt some people are disadvantaged by global competition and competition generally. There are far more Americans who benefit from our engagement in the global economy than who lose out, Griswold said. The decision for Britain to leave the EU is a leap in the dark for their country, Griswold said. This is going to jeopardize some foreign investments, he said. Britain is the worlds 5th largest economy, Europes second largest economy, theyve never a country withdraw, never mind one as big and and important as Britain. Immigration is an issue that has proved easy to demagogue, both in Europe and America. I think we have to have some kind of intelligent, well-crafted path to legalization for those who are here illegally, he said. The only alternative to illegal immigration I believe is to expand channels for legal immigration. andnbsp;

Shaun Rieley, policy analyst at Concerned Veterans for America, joined the Federalist Radio Hour to talk VA reform, political philosophy, the Iraq War. Part of the VA scandal in 2014 included the deaths of veterans who died while they were on secret waiting lists for care. Essentially you have a situation set up where there are perverse incentives and there different interests that are all looking out for themselves, Rieley said. There is a debate about whether veterans care should be pushed to privatization or kept to specialized veterans doctors. Our intent is not to privatize the system, to blow up the system, our intent is to make sure veterans get the care that they need however that looks, he said. As a veteran of the Iraq War, Rieley said it taught him about US military force in the world and whether the goals of the war were really attainable. A more prudential approach rather than sort of an absolute abstract approach to what the United States role needs to be is warranted, he said. andnbsp;

Scott Lincicome, trade attorney and Cato Institute Adjunct, joined the Federalist Radio Hour to add to the ongoing conversation of free trade, circulating myths and backlash against trade, and the free market aspects of Pokémon Go. The actual polling on trade in terms of support or opposition is always right around 50 percent... so its an issue that is ripe for the political taking, Lincicome said. Free traders deserve a lot of the blame for where we are now Lincicome said. Their message revolves around mercantilist arguments, he said. Not only are they economically ignorant, they play right into the primary, fundament arguments of the protectionist side. The recently popular mobile game Pokémon Go has not only gotten players outside and walking around their neighborhoods, its even acting as a revenue source for local businesses. Here you have a great example of a free app made by a giant corporation... and it is actually stimulating economic activity even at the local level, Lincicome said.

Steven Teles is an associate professor of political scientist at Johns Hopkins University and the author of Prison Break: Why Conservatives Turned Against Mass Incarceration. Mary Katharine Ham, senior writer at the Federalist, interviewed Teles about transpartisanship, the story of Texass state criminal justice reform, and what the crime debate looks like in 2016. In his book, Teles provides background on how the conservative party has changed their position on criminal justice reform, but also who influenced them in doing so. The reason why Republicans start switching is that sense of disorder, at least where crime was concerned, went down. We had this absolutely gargantuan decrease in crime, he said. That really created an opening for Republicans who for their own reasons wanted to change the partys position. Emotional energy and the heat from the media covering crime stories over the last year forces conservatives into their corner Teles said. What I worry about, especially on the police side, is theres a lot we can do to improve the quality of policing that also improves the treatment of African Americans and minorities, he said. But its hard to have that conversation when everyone is getting their tribal energy and emotion up.

Michael Tanner, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, joined Federalist Radio to talk about how economic policy and poverty has impacted African Americans and their communities. He also discussed globalization, the national debt, the entitlement crisis and his new book, Going For Broke. A web of criminal backgrounds, lack of employment opportunities, out-of-wedlock births, have serious economic impacts in inner cities. In terms of social welfare policy, we need to recognize the over criminalization that goes on in America has a real impact on poverty in this country, Tanner said. Despite years of frustration with entitlement reform, deficits, and Americas debt, there has been a lack of concern coming from leading presidential candidates. We had made some progress for various reasons. The deficit had actually fallen last year to about $430 billion or so, Tanner said. Basically we had a little respite and we forgot about it and now you have two candidates on the trail who both reject any sort of reform to entitlement policy.

Mary Katharine Ham, senior writer at The Federalist, and John McCormack, senior writer at The Weekly Standard, discussed FBI Director James Comeys testimony on the Hill today, Donald Trumps bewildering inability to attack Clinton, and the latest partisan politics. Donald Trump could have easily picked on Hillary Clinton and her email story this week, but he is instead ranting about his Star of David tweet and the dishonest media. Its not the biggest outrage, but it becomes a larger outrage when he continues to talk about it, when his other option is Hillary, Ham said. Rep. Trey Gowdy challenged James Comey on the truthfulness of Clintons email defenses. [Comey] even said in his original presentation that yes, a normal person would be punished for this, but shes essentially too big to punish, Ham said. Shes found this great loophole whole which is being the president. McCormack explained the Democratic Partys new abortion extremism and how Democrats in Congress are making false claims about the Zika bill for purely partisan reasons. Planned Parenthoods stranglehold on the Democratic Party cannot be set aside for anything, Ham said.

Sarah Westwood, investigative reporter for the Washington Examiner, joined todays Federalist Radio to explain this weeks news surrounding Hillary Clinton and the FBI. Westwood also discussed the perception of Washington corruption and the biggest scandals coming out of the Clinton Foundation. The fact that this announcement came just a few hours before President Obama and Hillary Clinton were set to appear on stage together for the first time...clearly nothing about the way this was handled suggests that impartiality was a priority for the Justice Department, Westwood said. Westwood shared several examples of questionable coincidences associated with the Clinton Foundation continue to leak. This is the type thing that people are angry about. They think the system is rigged and you couldnt fabricate a better example of a rigged system of a non-profit whose donor network whose donor network overlaps almost seamlessly with the candidates political campaign donor network, she said. andnbsp;

This episode of The Federalist Radio Hour originally aired on July 3, 2015. More than a day off for barbecues and fireworks, Independence Day will forever mark the beginning of an American era, the anniversary of our first birth of freedom. Today on the Ben breathes life into a historical anthology of the Fourth of July. The people who made up the rebellion within the American colonies, a rebellion that turned into a revolution, were animated by a strong degree of courage, but not necessarily a clear understanding of what is was they were fighting for, Domenech said. It was through the words of their leaders that they came to understand what they were really fighting for and that this was more than just the appreciation of their rights a English subjects. //

Kim Strassel, Wall Street Journal columnist, joined the Federalist Radio Hour to discuss her new book, The Intimidation Game: How the Left is Silencing Free Speech. Strassel breaks down corruption surrounding campaign finance laws, political scare tactics, why Americans feel the government is inept, and the Presidents constant politicizing of federal agencies. Strassel explained how the IRS targeting scandal set off widespread harassment against conservative politicians. The targeting is not done. There are still groups that have not received their 501c3 status which is astonishing because we are talking about 5-6 years into the process, she said. This week Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch created a media firestorm this week after privately meeting together. First of all, that is an abdication of [Lynchs] responsibility, Strassel said. Shes in essence saying, I screwed up to such a degree that now I can no longer do my job, so this is one reason she shouldnt have met with him. andnbsp;

Christopher Kimball is a chef, author, and founder of Americas Test Kitchen and, now Milk Street Kitchen. Kimball shares his Fourth of July weekend menu, the best tips for the grill, and how Americans have drastically changed the way we think about food. I have no interest in ethnically replicating a dish from Bangkok, but I am interested in ways of doing things that are simpler, easier and have bigger flavors, Kimball said. There are ways of thinking about cooking where the flavors are bigger, they use more spices, they use stronger ingredients...and it turns out its actually easier. Kimballs newest project, Milk Street Kitchen, is based in downtown Boston and will include a cooking school, TV set, and of course, a kitchen. Im more excited about cooking now and I do more cooking at home than I ever have and I just think thats a wonderful thing to teach people, he said. andnbsp;

Randy Barnett, Georgetown law professor and author of the new book Our Republican Constitution, joined Ben Domenech in studio to discuss this weeks SCOTUS cases, how Republicans should view the court, and the two fundamentally opposing views of the Constitution. Barnett argued that the reason we now have Donald Trump is because of Justice Roberts. John Roberts, among other people, was basically responsible for the demise of the constitutional conservative wing of the Tea Party, he said. He changed the law so that he could uphold it. Yesterdays case ruled on the Texas abortion laws and their unconstitutionality, but also addressed the courts levels of scrutiny . I was very sympathetic with both the majority opinion and also Justice Thomas dissenting opinion, Barnett said. We cant even keep the levels of scrutiny straight within the levels of scrutiny.