Tuesday on the RealClearPolitics podcast, Tom Bevan, Carl Cannon, and Andrew Walworth spoke with author and Marine John Waters about the state of the Corps on its 250th anniversary. They also break down President Trump’s recent interview with Laura Ingraham and how rank-and-file Democrats are reacting to eight of their senators agreeing to work with Republicans to reopen the government. Plus, a look at the growing influence of the Democratic Socialists of America in local elections. You can listen to the show live each day at 11:00 a.m. on SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly Channel 111 and then on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and here on our website. *** The program opened with a Veterans Day conversation about the future of the Marine Corps with John Waters, whose new piece is featured on the RCP front page today: “A Life Worthy of Marines’ High Standard” “The piece itself is about the last reunion of a group of Marines who served in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969,” Waters explained. “About 200 of them deployed under Capt. Paul K. Van Riper, who went on to become a three-star general.” “He gave me 500 pages of oral histories to read and spent eight hours talking with him and his daughter as he prepared his speech for their final reunion,” Waters said. “The Marine Corps is not a John Wayne outfit. It’s an outfit of ordinary men and women who come together and are made into an extraordinary unit that never quits,” he said. “The spirit of the Marine Corps is decided by those who sign up – not by someone in Washington, D.C.” *** After that, at minute 22, the guys discuss President Trump’s interview last night with Laura Ingraham, where the FOX News host pressed him on his claim that “we have the greatest economy ever.” Trump cited positive statistics and blamed the Federal Reserve and President Biden when necessary, but at what point will he “own” the situation himself? “Every president blames their predecessor as long as they can get away with it. Barack Obama blamed Bush well into his second term,” Tom Bevan commented. “Citing statistics to prove it’s great is what Biden did, and it didn’t work. I don’t know that it’ll work for Trump either.” “Laura Ingraham did a real interview – tough, fair, not agenda-driven,” Carl Cannon said. “When the president said things that were abject nonsense, she pushed back. That’s old-fashioned journalism at its best.” *** About 37 minutes into the program, the panel discusses the split inside the Democratic Party over ending the government shutdown. Rep. Ro Khanna says Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer needs to resign for allowing eight Democratic senators to vote with the Republicans. Is that sentiment widespread beyond the progressive caucus? “I’ve never heard a House member publicly call on his own party’s Senate leader to step aside,” Cannon commented. “These young progressives think they have the passion and energy within the party, and there’s some evidence they’re right.” “But they never say what their endgame is,” Cannon said. “How long should Americans go without food stamps or federal paychecks or air traffic control because the Democrats want to fight Trump? It’s incoherent and irresponsible.” “If Schumer didn’t want this deal to happen, he would have said so. That’s not what he did. He made a statement on his own that he’s not voting for it,” Tom Bevan concluded. “Schumer’s in trouble. If Democrats have leadership elections in ’26, someone will likely challenge him for his leadership position.” *** At minute 46, the group discusses reporting from the Washington Examiner about how the Democratic Socialists of America are seeing massive success in local elections. Roughly 250 DSA members have been elected to offices like city councils and small-town mayors, 90% of whom have been elected since 2019. Is this the future of the Democratic Party? “If there’s one thing about socialists, they do know how to organize themselves,” Andrew Walworth commented. “These are young, idealistic people, and very good at social media. Mamdani is sort of the model here.” “In low turnout elections, where people aren’t paying a lot of attention, it’s not that hard to get enough votes to get onto these city councils and school boards. Next thing you know, they’re off and running,” Bevan added. *** Don’t miss a single episode of the RealClearPolitics weeknight radio show – subscribe at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
RealClearPolitics Videos