A Tale of Two Speeches (The Secret Podcast PREVIEW)

Hey there. It’s JBL. On the Secret Show with Sarah Longwell today, we talked about Joe Biden’s big speech, last night to the nation about Israel and Ukraine and also the absolutely nutball a crazy situation with the house speakership. Here’s the show. As Joe began shows later, there is a difference between a pro-ten and the acting pro-ten.

And right now, McHenry is the acting pro tem, which means that he can do nothing, except for gavilan and gavel out stuff.

Right.

And that the idea of making McKin like, just letting Mack Henry extending his stuff, that would require making him not the acting pro tem, but the real pro tem.

Right.

And that that seems to be dead on arrival.

Yeah. I was here, you know, it was funny. So I I did CNN yesterday, and, and I I was with Casey Hunt. We were talking politics. And we’re talking about the McKinry play, and I was bullish on it.

And, like, literally walked out of there and the whole thing had blown up. Like, everything, everything had changed. You can’t, poor Joe Bernacone had to rewrite his, like, newsletter five times yesterday because everybody thought the McKinery think I mean, Jordan was supporting the McKinery. Right? McCarthy was and then they all just abandoned it.

So what Joe what Joe said last night is that. This is why it’s so helpful to have him. So Jordan, supporting the Mack Henry play, was like Jordan supporting the scalise play. Right. Jordan after losing the the vote to scalise, then said, oh, I’ll introduce you and I’ll nominate you on the floor, but you have one vote in them coming for you.

And this McKinry thing was Jordan saying, oh, okay. I’ll say I’m withdrawing, and I’ll put forward the McKinry thing, and then also telling all of his people you guys gotta kill the McKinry thing. So it was not a real anyway, would Joe and A be suggested to me last night again had not occurred to me? Was that it is possible that there is no off ramp. There is nothing that can get to anything.

And that we could wind up actually rolling straight into the government shutdown and have the government shutdown because they there isn’t a speaker. And so in in a weird way, this gets the people who want a shutdown. This gets them to their shutdown vote without having to for the shutdown. If they just keep sabotaging the speaker vote and there is no speaker, then that will achieve a shutdown without them voting to shut the government down.

But isn’t this isn’t this maybe Jordan’s, I play though, is that You the closer you get to the shutdown, the more you have a gun to people’s heads, you don’t wanna vote

for you. Right?

That’s true. But those people are pro Jordan.

Right. This is what I’m saying. Like, it’s all you can see how

But I’m just saying, like, the moderates would come along. And, by the way, I I don’t even know why I just said moderates because they’re not moderates.

The anti Jordan types.

The anti Jordan. Yeah.

So, we could be looking at a real calamity here, like a a failure of governing of the likes of which I just don’t think we’ve ever seen in America. Now maybe somebody’s gonna say to me that actually, immediately following Civil War in during the reconstruction period, then the house of and maybe that’s true. But this is something that, at least in the last century, certainly within living memory, nobody has seen. And it’s crazy as shit. I mean, the idea that the republican party can simply fail to be able to govern, and I I would say to you, I don’t want anybody to alibi the Republicans by saying, well, their majority is so thin.

It is very instructive that Nancy Pelosi had the exact same majority. Yeah. And for the first two years of the Biden Administration, the house functioned perfectly normally, and they passed a bunch of legislation, much of it bipartisan. And, in the one of the many differences is that in the Democratic party, if you do business with the Republicans, Democrats don’t come after you and try to destroy your career. Whereas in the Republican Party, the single worst thing you can do is not not getting indicted, not attempt to coup.

Now the worst thing you can do is work with Democrats in any way or form.

Yes.

It’s insane.

It is insane. I don’t know.

Do you have any more Like, it’s nuts. Right? I feel like we’re living I feel like we’re taking crazy pills.

Yeah. Well, so wait. What else? I’m so I’m interested in the game theory here. Especially because I have to go do CNN again during this ten o’clock vote because we’re taping this at nine.

And I gotta do the whole hour where we talk to. So, like, they they they just think we I’m actually pretty skeptical of this idea that we go into I I do think that at some point push comes to shove.

For who?

I think for the not the governing wing, but the governing people on the Republican side.

I don’t know, man. I don’t know. I mean, it because also you’ve got so many different factions now. Right? It’s not just, like, faction a versus faction b.

Yeah. So I think this is right. So let me one of the things, somebody did something that, They put in the slack. They were like, I think, and I think you did it. They put in this, this political piece by Jay Mart where he talked about the pre trump Republicans and the post trump Republicans.

Now, If you go back, you will see that there’s a piece for me six months ago that talks about the Charlie Sykes split into this.

Before Trump and after Trump.

The before yeah. The before trump and after trump. And I think that the part of the fact like the factionalism is that there are functionally two parties within the Republican Coalition and that the coalition that they like They can’t stitch together. What you’re seeing right now is, like, they can’t stitch together their pre trump and post trump, people. And so, like, Why wouldn’t the pre trump people?

The people who are still take governing seriously or at least see it as like what they’re there to do? Why can’t you see them making a deal with Democrats? Because you only need five of them.

Because they all seem to be going out of their way to say, we won’t deal with Democrats. Don’t don’t we we will not deal with Democrats.

Yeah. Well, people say that until they do.

Maybe. Maybe. I don’t know. Another another factor in all of this is the personal factor which is, as Joe and AB pointed out last night, the Republicans in the caucus genuinely hate one another now.

Yeah.

And also distrust one another. Like, it’s one thing to just hate people, but also know that, like, you know, I this is my friend of me, but, like, you know, we can do business together. It’s another thing to hate them, to want to see them fail, but also to know that you can’t do business with them because you can’t trust them. Right? Once trust breaks down, then commerce breaks down.

And I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s crazy.

So I’m I’m really excited for this ten o’clock vote because I’m hoping that Jim Jordan Forty bunch of shots. Yeah. Here’s the thing. Did you watch Jim Jordan’s remarks this morning. Did you watch the conference?

I did not. What did he what did he say? So I’m

gonna I’m gonna transition us into the Biden speech by saying this.

Okay.

I got up this morning, and I watched both speeches. I watched Biden’s speech, and then I watched Jim Jordan’s speech. I watched them back to back because I was trying to catch up on both. And during Biden’s speech, I was extremely moved in a way one is not often moved by Joe Biden. By his commitment, an explanation to the American people about what it is we’re doing here.

And so he made a case for American democracy and he made a case for our role in protecting democracy abroad. Jim Jordan, he’s younger. He’s got more VIM. When he jumps up at this press conference, he made a case for himself, and he did it by holding democracy hostage. So he says, essentially, first he tells a really rambling self indulgent story about the right brothers.

That is supposed to be a payee on to, American greatness and ingenuity, I guess, how that connects to him. I was at a loss. But he was making the case that we can’t, you know, we can’t do these things for Israel that we need to do because there’s not a speaker. And so, like, his whole thing was like, make me speaker because we have these things we have to do. And

I’m holding the Israeli’s hostage.

It’s just it was just, you’d have to be looking at it through, like, a lens like mine. I think to see it exact. But, like, I was just like, what that is not a case for you. That’s just a case for somebody getting their crap together and and electing a speaker. That doesn’t make you qualified to be speaker.

The fact that we are now in this crisis and you guys get in fact you you did this You are part of the reason because you who’ve never built anything, but only torn him down. Right? Your whole demo this whole time has been one of these people who destroys things. And now as a result, you don’t know how to build a coalition. And you only know how to hold people hostage.

And I gotta tell you. I even when Joe Biden was kind of, you know, bumbling over words a little bit, whatever, The extent to which I was sure he knew understood completely, the thing it is we’re doing here as Americans in a way that Jim Jordan has no idea. Struck me very deeply.

I mean, the contrast couldn’t be clearer.

Couldn’t be clearer.

Right? And anybody in America who can’t see it Like, I’m at the point where I don’t know how to help you. Right. I I so can we talk? I I wrote a I wrote a newsletter for you yesterday.

I don’t know if you saw it.

Not yet yet. I’ll catch up over the weekend.

Oh, god. I love you so much. I wrote a newsletter for you headlined, can we just say that Biden’s doing a great job on Israel?

So I did see this. And I actually I read I read some serps of this. Across that walls.

It’s like, hey, mister words.

Well, so other people I retweeted it a bunch. Other people were, you know, grabbing it and quoting but and I was like, I’m gonna really enjoy reading this on Sunday morning when I go back through JBL’s newsletters.

So Biden has now given one great speech in the US before he left for Israel, two excellent speeches in Israel, one of the real speech, one just a set of remarks. And now what is last night One of the best speeches by an American president of my lifetime. Reagan esque is no joke, like the only comp I can come up with for it. It was, not overly long, It was fairly concise, but it was laser focused and had an absolute through through line connecting Ukraine and Israel and America, and the manga stuff at home, which he never said out loud. But he talked about, like, when you wind up with divisions, and hatred and violence.

Which is the market stuff at home. Bad things happen, and we all have to come together. And and here’s the trick he he pulled off in this. He managed to keep strength on emotion of the camera because we’re recording this now. Strength and love together.

Yeah. Knit totally together. You know, and he leads with the strength stuff, you know, American unshakable commitment to Israel, and and he then does and I’m gonna say both sides but both sides in the the absolute best sense of the word. Can I read a passage for you? Is that okay?

Yeah. Can I just say You don’t mean because the the thing that is was was clear? I want you to read this passage, but like, not both sides, like, but you can understand a little bit why terrorist might feel this way. Not both sides like that.

No. No.

Both sides on the humanity of the Palestinian of the Palestinian people and and the Israelis.

And in America. Right? So here let me just read. It’s like three quick paragraphs. Today, Jewish families worried about being targeted in school, wearing symbols of their faith, walking down street are going about their daily lives.

You know, I know many of you in the Muslim American community or the Arab American community, the Palestinian American community, the Palestinian American community, and so many others are outraged and hurting. Saying to yourselves, here we go again. With Islamophobia and the distrust we saw after nine eleven, just last week, a mother was brutally stabbed a little boy here in the United States, a little boy who had just turned six years old and was murdered in their home outside of Chicago. His name was Wadia. Wadia, a proud American, a proud palace in the American family.

And here’s here’s the part I wanna yeah. To all of you who are hurting, I want you to know I see you. You belong. And I want to say this to you. You’re all America.

You’re all America. He’s talking about, like, all of it. Right? The Jews who are, like, afraid and have to have extra guards at their schools and synagogues these days, to, Arab Americans, Palestinian American. So yeah.

And and all of this exists alongside the, like, We are unshakably committed to Israel, and this stuff can’t I mean, I it was just it was Great.

It was great. It’s the best speech that he’s given. And the reason that I liked it so much is that, you know, how You’ve listened to me now for years, beg for a kind of leadership that is a call to our highest selves. And our highest selves involves both knowing exactly who we are and what we stand for and knowing that included in that, right, with the in the included in the we are going to stand with our allies in democracy. We are going to also be the best example we can be as Americans of pluralism, of decency, of doing this thing that we do here where we all live together.

He talked about not. He like, this thing that he’s done now a couple times where he talks about look, I called net netanyahu and said, after nine eleven, like, we were we were broken and enraged. And, like, that rage, like, made we made some mistakes. Like, we did we did we did the right thing, but we also made some mistakes and, like, just sort of counseling this idea of don’t see don’t not he’s not saying don’t retaliate. He’s not saying don’t seek justice, he’s not saying don’t defend your people.

He is just saying, don’t let the rage force you to make mistakes. And that is a That is a this is this is what I mean about, like, that you know, Joe Biden may be old, but He you’re reminded in that moment that he’s a grown up. That he’s a grown up who says understand. Like, I just understand what you’re doing. Like, take a moment and, like, make sure we’re making the exact Right decision, but he’s not doing it as you point out by, like, equivocating or negotiating any sort of clear eyed morality, It is it was it was one of those, like, callings to our highest selves that we just don’t see that often.

It was fantastic. And can I say it takes a great deal of strength to talk like that? Right? This is only someone who’s supremely confident in America, can talk in such a clear eyed way about America’s mistakes. Right?

This is I mean, this is not a blame America first. This is not, you know, lefty who hates America and really what I mean, this is This is the most, like, quintessential form of patriotism, and it’s so so I wanna read another passage for it to you. I’m I’m sorry, but I was

Don’t be sorry.

He talks about me. Earlier this year, I boarded Air Force One for Secret Podcast Poland there I boarded a train with blacked out windows for ten hour ride each way to Kiev to stand with the people of Ukraine ahead of the one year anniversary of their brave fight against Putin. Here I’m cutting. But when I exited that train and met president Zelensky, I didn’t feel alone. I was bringing with me the idea of America, the promise of America to the people who are today fighting for the same things we fought for.

Two hundred fifty years ago. Again, this is Reagan could have read that. Right? This is this is in all of my Biden has at least on foreign policy. Biden has been the best and most successful conservative president since George H.

W. Bush. Could we say that at least?

Like I mean, Afghanistan is like a pretty big black mark.

So I don’t know. But It’s a it’s a look. Absolutely. A hundred percent. I’m with you.

Right? And we’ve written about this a bunch, and I say that whenever I meet my list of, like, criticisms of of Biden, That’s that’s cool.

I’m just saying that’s why I’m not gonna give him your, like, he’s the best. But I will but I but I

You can have a red contract. Right? I mean, they’re, you know, like, every everybody has even the good ones, have bad moments, and that was his his that was one of his his big fuck ups. But in the two big tests, Israel and Ukraine, I mean I just been excellent. So here’s my question to you.

Some of our anti anti friends

Yeah.

Who, who who primarily care about foreign policy, like, the the George w Bush type Right? Yep. Who love George w Bush in Republican circles, who hate Donald Trump, but have gone along with the Trump stuff and done all of the, you know, but what about AOC? This that sort of stuff. And a lot of these people, very, very hawkish on Israel too.

Trump is on the other side of them on all foreign policy stuff Biden is giving them everything they could ever hope for from an American president. Are any of them gonna gonna, like, hop off the bench and say, hey. Actually, Joe Biden, good presidenting. This is really good. And if Donald Trump’s the nominee, we should all support Joe Biden.

Because this one thing that we care about most in the world, American leadership, Biden is basically one of us, and and Trump is not. Or are they gonna just say, well, on the U Pen campus? There was a a terrible statement put out by a bunch of socialist twenty five year

there really has been some, like, pretty grotesque stuff on college campuses. And yet, I do find it a little silly to watch like the anti anti is just exclusively focused on college campuses while not seeing that the president of the United States who’s, is like rejecting all of that soundly and actually providing, better leadership than we’ve seen in quite some time.

But but also is providing the kind of leadership they want.

Yeah. I agree. That’s the

thing that I that drives me crazy. It’s like that by their own lights, This is their dream president. And they can’t bring themselves to just say it. Hey, Sarah. Do you know there’s there’s actually more of the show?

Oh, there is how much more.

There’s more so much more. All of the more it goes on for hours. If people want to get the rest of the show, you you know what they have to do. Right?

I think they have to go to Bulwark Plus. Do they have to subscribe? What do they do?

Yes. Yes. They have to pay us money. Oh. Pay that me and his money.

And go to the Bulwark dot com and subscribe to become a member of Bulwark Plus.

All the good stuffs on the other side.

Bye.