Latest / Brian Thomas / The Price of Purity - Big Picture with Jack Atherton

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The Price of Purity - Big Picture with Jack Atherton · Brian Thomas

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  Speaker 1: Seven oh six here at fifty five k see de
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  Speaker 1: Talk station. Always a special time here on the fifty
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  Speaker 1: five Cars Morning Show because we get a dose to
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  Speaker 1: the brilliance of Jack other and it's called The Big
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  Speaker 1: Picture with Jack Avian And every Wednesday it's seven oh five,
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  Speaker 1: it's seven oh six today the Price of Purity. Jack Athan,
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  Speaker 1: welcome back to the fifty five KRS Morning Show. My friend.
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  Speaker 1: Always look forward to this segment. I know a lot
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  Speaker 1: of my listeners feel the same way.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks for having me back now, and we're all pulling
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  Speaker 2: for your upcoming cancer treatments. But you're getting better and better.
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  Speaker 2: Amesley is now a ten year survivor and you've got
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  Speaker 2: decades to come of waking up at two am.
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  Speaker 1: That's very kind of you. Yeah, pray for me for
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  Speaker 1: a cure for boredom tomorrow. Six hours with the drip.
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  Speaker 1: I just you know, I'm happy that I've got the drip.
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  Speaker 1: I'm happy that I've got doctors. I'm happy that I
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  Speaker 1: can access medical care in this country. He was joking,
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  Speaker 1: if I was in vent as well or a cube,
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  Speaker 1: i'd be dead by now. But the idea sitting in
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  Speaker 1: that room for six hours, he's just really got me
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  Speaker 1: a little depressed. But you know what sucks to be you, Thomas,
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  Speaker 1: and I'm not worthy of any pity. I'm just not
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  Speaker 1: looking forward to it. I'm taking my laptop though, so
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  Speaker 1: at least a bit of watch movies and maybe prepare
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  Speaker 1: for the morning show for Friday.
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  Speaker 2: We're just happy to have you, thanks man. Let's talk
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  Speaker 2: this week once again about conservatives whose unbending principles would
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  Speaker 2: leave our country paralyzed. They follow in the footsteps, Well,
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  Speaker 2: footsteps actually is not the way to put it, because
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  Speaker 2: they don't get anywhere, and they stand right next to
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  Speaker 2: an ancient Greek philosopher named Zeno, who famously proved that
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  Speaker 2: we can never get anywhere because first you need to
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  Speaker 2: go half the distance, and to go half the distance,
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  Speaker 2: you first have to go one quarter of the distance,
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  Speaker 2: and before that one eighth, one sixteenth, smaller and smaller distances,
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  Speaker 2: until finally you're stuck standing still, paralyzed. In political terms,
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  Speaker 2: if your country is paralyzed and there's an emergency, you're
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  Speaker 2: unable to defend yourself. Now at the opposite extreme way
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  Speaker 2: of thinking, the Greeks also had Alexander the Great, the
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  Speaker 2: kid Conqueror, was confronted by a puzzle a hank of
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  Speaker 2: rope tied into a knot. This so called Gordian knot
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  Speaker 2: was so complicated it was prophesied that anybody who could
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  Speaker 2: undo it would rule all the known world. Well, Alexander
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  Speaker 2: had never been a boy scout, and it didn't know
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  Speaker 2: how to untie complicated knots. So instead he took out
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  Speaker 2: his sword and cut the knot in two. Again, Alexander
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  Speaker 2: conquered the know world known to him. The Gordian knot
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  Speaker 2: today is our constitution. We don't want to cut it,
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  Speaker 2: but we also don't want to be tied up in knots.
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  Speaker 2: Adopted by our founders ing time of divine right monarchs
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  Speaker 2: and other autocratic rulers, the US Constitution, this miracle of
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  Speaker 2: state craft, presents a framework for limited, decentralized, divided government. Still,
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  Speaker 2: the founders never wanted the Constitution to paralyze us, so
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  Speaker 2: Madison and the other framers included a way to amend it.
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  Speaker 2: A constitutional amendment can be proposed by two thirds of
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  Speaker 2: both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or an
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  Speaker 2: amendment can be proposed by two thirds of the state legislatures.
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  Speaker 2: Then the amendment must be ratified by three fords of
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  Speaker 2: the state legislatures or by conventions held in three fourths
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  Speaker 2: of the states. Easy pasy, right, No, This tough ratification
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  Speaker 2: process explains why we have so few constitutional amendments, just
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  Speaker 2: twenty seven and actually the first ten amendments, what we
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  Speaker 2: call the Bill of Rights, they were adopted right. So
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  Speaker 2: Congress and the states have since then ratified just seventeen
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  Speaker 2: constitutional amendments, all since our founding. And that's a good thing, Brian,
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  Speaker 2: as you know, because making it so tough to amend
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  Speaker 2: the Constitution has preserved our basic rights. For instance, millions
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  Speaker 2: of leftists today would gladly scrap the right to bear arms,
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  Speaker 2: especially after a school shooting. It took the Supreme Court
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  Speaker 2: ruling just seventeen years ago in the Heller case to
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  Speaker 2: finally affirm that under the Second Amendment, the right to
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  Speaker 2: bear arms belongs to individuals, not just state militias. But
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  Speaker 2: that Supreme Court vote was five to four. The Heller
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  Speaker 2: decision could be reversed any time if the Supreme Court
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  Speaker 2: becomes more liberal, just as Roe v. Wade was reversed
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  Speaker 2: when the Court became more pro life. This raises the
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  Speaker 2: thorny issue of judicial interpreter. We like to think the
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  Speaker 2: courts are impartial, just following the law, but sorry, your honors,
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  Speaker 2: they are not. Ever since the eighteen oh three decision
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  Speaker 2: Barbary versus Madison, we have accepted that laws, including the Constitution,
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  Speaker 2: mean whatever a shifting bare majority of Supreme Court justices
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  Speaker 2: say they mean. Still having to propose an amendments of
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  Speaker 2: the Constitution and then having to get it ratified, and
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  Speaker 2: then getting the US Supreme Court to agree on an interpretation.
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  Speaker 2: All that makes the United States a comparatively stable republic
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  Speaker 2: of laws, not whims, passions, and referendums. However, it also
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  Speaker 2: means that America is not the most agual government. It's
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  Speaker 2: often hard for us to take quick emergency action. As
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  Speaker 2: Zeno would say, we cannot get from point A to
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  Speaker 2: point B even if we need to dodge a bullet,
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  Speaker 2: even if Iranian new plans may have been weeks away
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  Speaker 2: from being weaponized. Donald Trump's answer was to launch secret
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  Speaker 2: lightning fast airstrikes without a congressional declaration of war or
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  Speaker 2: even prior notice to Congress. This strike followed a long tradition.
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  Speaker 2: As we discussed last week, we noted that only thirteen
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  Speaker 2: years after the Constitution was adopted, Thomas Jefferson, on his
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  Speaker 2: own deployed US Marines to the shores of Tripoli to
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  Speaker 2: free Americans from barbary pirates in Libya. More recently, Democrat
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  Speaker 2: and Republican presidents have claimed the constitutional power as commander
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  Speaker 2: in chief to fight without a congressional declaration of war
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  Speaker 2: in I'm taking a big breath now, Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Granada, Panama, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Libya, Iran,
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  Speaker 2: and now Venezuela. Each time presidents declared national emergencies. In response,
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  Speaker 2: Congress has sometimes appropriated funds after the fact, or it's
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  Speaker 2: attempted to place constraints on presidents, as with Vietnam the
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  Speaker 2: War Powers Resolution. However, since nineteen seventy three, presidents have
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  Speaker 2: argued that this resolution is primarily about notifying Congress before
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  Speaker 2: or after the fact, and have claimed that under the
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  Speaker 2: separation of powers, an Act of Congress cannot diminish a
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  Speaker 2: president's own constitutional powers. So the debate continues. But folks,
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  Speaker 2: the real problem is that in twenty twenty six, we
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  Speaker 2: have no more debates. In the past. Many Republicans, however,
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  Speaker 2: reluctantly supported Democrat presidents from Harry Truman and Korea to
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  Speaker 2: Barack Obama and his five hundred and forty drone strikes
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  Speaker 2: in seven countries. On the other hand, Richard Nixon fought
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  Speaker 2: an undeclared war in Vietnam with help from Democrats like
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  Speaker 2: Scoop Jackson and Ronald Reagan. He was able to gain
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  Speaker 2: so much support a whole wing in Congress came to
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  Speaker 2: be called Reagan Democrats. Today, this kind of bipartisanship is unthinkable.
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  Speaker 2: That Democrats' chief campaign strategy is polarization chaos, Trump derangement
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  Speaker 2: syndrome Exhibit A Minnesota. Today's Democrats have no agenda, and
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  Speaker 2: when I say no, I mean no agenda they can
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  Speaker 2: admit to. In their quest for power. They favor big
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  Speaker 2: state socialism, corruption dependency, open borders to swell their base,
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  Speaker 2: and shipping jobs overseas to win support from multinational corporations.
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  Speaker 2: On these issues, they will not compromise. So, given this
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  Speaker 2: legislative paralysis, what we have to rely on now is
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  Speaker 2: not our doing in front of a shifting majority on
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  Speaker 2: the Supreme Court. Not with Democrats once again threatening like
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  Speaker 2: FDR to expand and pack the High Court with Liberals.
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  Speaker 2: If they win, we must win elections, however rigged they
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  Speaker 2: may be. In blue states, we still do have congressional
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  Speaker 2: elections every two years, including this year. Voters will have
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  Speaker 2: the power to follow Trump's agenda or change the country's direction,
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  Speaker 2: and this spring will also have the power to primary
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  Speaker 2: incumbent lawmakers, including Republican members, who would stand in the
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  Speaker 2: way of fellow Republicans getting things done because these mavericks
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  Speaker 2: cannot persuade their own colleagues to see things their way,
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  Speaker 2: and failing that, they refuse to compromise even to just
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  Speaker 2: keep the government from shutting down. These gadflies proclaim their principles,
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  Speaker 2: but in effect they vote for paralysis. To some up,
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  Speaker 2: governing is a messy business. Lincoln ignored habeas corpus, Franklin
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  Speaker 2: Roosevelt threw innocent American citizens of Japanese descent into internment cabs.
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  Speaker 2: I am not proposing that presidents become dictators. I am
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  Speaker 2: arguing for principled compromise because our constitution is not a
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  Speaker 2: suicide fact. It's not a Zeno trap that keeps America
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  Speaker 2: from moving from point A to point B. If Republican paralysis,
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  Speaker 2: lets Democrats win in November, much less twenty twenty eight,
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  Speaker 2: they will pack the court. They will try making Washington,
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  Speaker 2: DC and Puerto Rico states, they will outlaw free speech,
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  Speaker 2: and the Constitution will go the way of the Gordian
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  Speaker 2: Knot each exercise of power by a president, Congress, and
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  Speaker 2: even the Supreme Court has to be judged on its
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  Speaker 2: own merits, ultimately at the ballot box, because for now, thankfully,
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  Speaker 2: voters still had the final say if they show up
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  Speaker 2: to say it. What do you say, brother?
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  Speaker 1: I say, the latter part is a big challenge. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: this is a common reoccurring theme here everywhere, certainly here
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  Speaker 1: on the fifty five Casey Morning Show. These complex issues
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  Speaker 1: in this gridlock, and these other issues behind which they
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  Speaker 1: should be talking about and maybe compromising that it's all
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  Speaker 1: lost in the American people generally speaking. And I don't
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  Speaker 1: mean to paint with so large a brush. It includes everyone,
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  Speaker 1: but so many people are not inclined to even pay
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  Speaker 1: attention to politics. We're all victims of social media, getting
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  Speaker 1: our political ideology from memes as opposed to thoughtful analysis.
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  Speaker 1: Something like a meme can push people like to think,
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  Speaker 1: oh my god, iceer a bunch of Nazi you know,
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  Speaker 1: Gestapo thugs, when any measure of thoughtful analysis would reveal No,
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  Speaker 1: they are enforcing federal law. Law that's on the books,
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  Speaker 1: and that was passed by Congress and enacted by a
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  Speaker 1: prior president. That's the law they're enforcing. That was the
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  Speaker 1: political process in place back when the laws wanted to
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  Speaker 1: effect that they disagree with them. Currently, that's going to
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  Speaker 1: require some political process and perhaps compromise by our elected
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  Speaker 1: officials in Washington, d C. None of which is happening
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  Speaker 1: right now. But you know, people who don't pay attention,
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  Speaker 1: who prefer to be you know, I just I don't
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  Speaker 1: pay attention to politics, they can easily be duped. But
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  Speaker 1: going back to your prior you know, illustrations of compromise,
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  Speaker 1: I think a Tip O'Neill. You know, I didn't like
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  Speaker 1: Tip O'Neil at the time, but ultimately he did reach
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  Speaker 1: across the island worked with Ronald Reagan to get some
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  Speaker 1: stuff done to our collective economic recovery benefit. No one's
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  Speaker 1: in the mood for working together because I think it's
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  Speaker 1: a consequence of this radical leftward shift in the Democrat Party.
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  Speaker 1: Democrats aren't just a party of you know, the little
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  Speaker 1: guy in fighting for big government programs anymore. Although they
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  Speaker 1: still do that, they seem to be made up in
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  Speaker 1: large part, at least the predominant wing of the party,
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  Speaker 1: or the loudest voice of people who do not wish
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  Speaker 1: to continue the constitutional framework we live in. So this
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  Speaker 1: concern of yours, legitimate as it is, over the eradication
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  Speaker 1: disappearing constitution, that's a desired thing by many members of
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  Speaker 1: the left. We're going to rise like phoenix from the
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  Speaker 1: ashes once we get rid of that pesky constitution and
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  Speaker 1: there's stupid protection of rights, individual rights like the right
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  Speaker 1: to keep them bare arms. Once that's eradicated, we're going
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  Speaker 1: to have something new here that is a level that
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  Speaker 1: this country I don't think has ever seen before. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: there were always fringe elements screaming for that kind of
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  Speaker 1: thing back in the day. But you know, even going
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  Speaker 1: back to the turn of the century in nineteen hundreds,
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  Speaker 1: we had a lot of socialists and communists running around,
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  Speaker 1: a lot of bomb throwers. We had, you know, back
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  Speaker 1: in the sixties, the Symbian Litleanese Limionese army and the
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  Speaker 1: weather underground, you know, planning bombs in the Senate. You know, bathroom,
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  Speaker 1: I mean big things like that, But they were such
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  Speaker 1: a minority. The social media has caused these minority groups
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  Speaker 1: that hate America to look like they're much stronger than
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  Speaker 1: they are, or they become a lot stronger. So any
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  Speaker 1: compromise by that winging the Democratic Party is going to
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  Speaker 1: be a betrayal of what they ultimately run, which is
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  Speaker 1: the downfall of America.
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  Speaker 2: Jack. Yeah, the primary process may ultimately bring us a
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  Speaker 2: Democrat nominee who, like Joe Biden, pretends to be a moderate,
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  Speaker 2: but the Democrat Party has presently constituted has no future.
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  Speaker 2: What I'm talking about right now, because this is what
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  Speaker 2: we're facing during our primary season is maverick Republicans. And
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  Speaker 2: you might say, well, there's just a few of them. Well,
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  Speaker 2: we don't have much of a margin to give up
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  Speaker 2: a few votes. And I can't blame these mavericks. Ideological
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  Speaker 2: purity makes life easy. The Constitution gives Congress the right
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  Speaker 2: to declare war. That's it. Well it's not it. As
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  Speaker 2: we've been trying to show, problems cannot be reduced to
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  Speaker 2: a formula. As every lawyer, judge, and congressman knows, the
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  Speaker 2: is the saying we learned in law school, hard cases
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  Speaker 2: make bad bad facts, yeah, and bad executive orders. Sometimes
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  Speaker 2: that saying does not mean we can stick our heads
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  Speaker 2: in the sand and ignore the hard cases. It means
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  Speaker 2: in the real world, the world of Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR
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  Speaker 2: and Trump, if you're going to be not an academic
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  Speaker 2: but what Teddy Roosevelt called the man in the arena,
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  Speaker 2: you have to balance black letter law with life and
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  Speaker 2: remain as principled as possible given circumstances. Then in America
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  Speaker 2: you have to face the voters, and we voters have
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  Speaker 2: to turn out.
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  Speaker 1: Have to turn out, and hopefully we turn out informed.
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  Speaker 1: Jack added in The Big Picture every Wednesday at seven
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  Speaker 1: o five beginning. Love your commentary, Jack, and I and
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  Speaker 1: my listeners love it as well. Share the link with
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  Speaker 1: your friends. Podcast up at fifty five Cares dot Com.
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  Speaker 1: Jack until next week, Best of health and love to
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  Speaker 1: your better half, and you appreciate your willingness to talk
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  Speaker 1: with us every week. It's all