On Friday’s RealClearPolitics podcast, Andrew Walworth, Tom Bevan, and Carl Cannon discuss President Donald Trump calling on Senate Republicans to get rid of the filibuster in order to reopen the government. If they don’t, federal food stamps payments are scheduled to start running out this weekend, and ACA enrollment will begin without major subsidies. Next, the group looks forward to next week’s elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City. Plus, a look at Alvin Bragg’s campaign for New York District Attorney, where candidates have been largely silent on the unsuccessful outcome of his case against Donald Trump. After that, political scientist and author Charles Murray joins the guys to talk about his new book, “Taking Religion Seriously,” a personal reflection on the nature of God, nature, and existence. You can listen to the show weeknights at 6:00 p.m. on SiriusXM’s POTUS Channel 124 and then on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and here on our website. *** First, the group discusses President Trump calling on Senate Republicans to break the logjam in Congress and get rid of the filibuster to reopen the government. Does Trump realize the long-term implications of making this change? How does it change the conversation about who is to blame for the shutdown? “Richard Porter wrote and told this podcast last week that to nuke the filibuster would be a huge mistake for the Republicans, and that is basically what the Democrats want,” Tom Bevan explained. “It’s almost like this has been their plan from the beginning, to bait Republicans into doing away with the filibuster, and then, of course, the next time they have 51 seats in the Senate, they can jam through all of their things. Make D.C. and Puerto Rico states, pack the Supreme Court, whatever they want!” “Saying this is the dumbest thing Trump could have done,” Carl Cannon concluded. “Public opinion was finally starting to turn. I know the polls don’t show that yet, but the Democrats caused this shutdown. They did this. That’s not my opinion. And then they turned around and said the Republicans did it. And journalists were starting to say that… The government employees’ union came out with a statement. The Democrats milked this strategy for 30 days. To shut down the government and blame Republicans. And the ice was finally starting to crack.” “Now Trump has completely reset the dynamic!” Cannon added. “Now people are going to say the Republicans aren’t listening to the president.” *** Nine minutes into the show, the conversation turns to the impact of the shutdown on the American people. Health insurance payments and food stamps are in the balance starting this weekend. Will that make Congress act? “Obamacare wasn’t supposed to raise your premiums so greatly that the government had to subsidize it,” Cannon said. “It was supposed to be less costly by squeezing out middlemen… But there are people who have come to rely on this subsidy for their healthcare.” *** In the next segment, around minute 14, the group looks forward to elections on Tuesday in New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City. What are the chances of an upset with one weekend left to campaign? “Mamdani still has a double-digit lead in New York City,” Tom Bevan explained. “There have been 20 polls since the middle of July, and he has led by double digits in every single one of them. It could have tightened a little bit, but if all these polls are wrong, it would be the biggest poll miss in history.” “New Jersey is a lot closer, Democrat Mikie Sherrill’s lead in the race for governor is down to low single digits. Republican Jack Ciattarelli lost by about three points in 2021, and he’s right about there this time,” he continued. “In Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger seems to have survived the Jay Jones text message scandal. It hurt him a lot, but she’s still comfortably ahead by high single digits and appears headed for victory. Winsome Sears has not been ahead in a single poll.” *** After that, around minute 27, political scientist and author Charles Murray joins the guys to talk about his new book, “Taking Religion Seriously,” a personal reflection on the nature of God, nature, and existence. Murray is known for his thought-provoking political books, including Losing Ground, The Bell Curve, and Coming Apart. “I am typical of tens of millions of people who are well-educated and successful professionally, and religion hasn’t been an important part of our lives,” Murray said. “And that was true of me from the time I went to college to 20 years ago.” “Subsequently, I have had a very haphazard change in my view of God in general and Christianity in particular. And I had to do it not by spiritual revelation but by more indirect means, and I thought this is a story worth telling-just to tell other people it can be done and it’s worthwhile,” he said. “This whole book is brought about because of my wife, who had exactly the same experience going to college that I did: we learned that smart people don’t believe that stuff anymore,” Murray said. “And then we had our first daughter, and my wife said to me, in what’s since become a fairly well-known line: I love her far more than evolution requires.” *** Finally, starting around 37, the guys share this week’s You Cannot Be Serious roundup of unbelievable headlines. *** Don’t miss an episode of the RealClearPolitics weeknight radio show – subscribe at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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