Center Left Radio

No More Games

CLR Show 1860. Air Date October 20, 2023.  The political gamesmanship of the republican party is, literally, all they have left in the tank.  If Americans can be convinced to embrace any tentacle of the demented republican political beast, they may be foolish enough to imagine it is capable of governing and, even more incredibly, improving the lives of Americans. It cannot and will not. America must again assert itself as the sole credible remaining world leader. To fail to do so under the mantle of decency and reasonably projected strength is to encourage the worst of the tyrants and dictators and those who follow them to assert their destructive strength on the world stage, with predictable globally disastrous effects. We cannot and must not let this happen.  With Friday Co-Host, David Bach.  

Until We Face Our Fears

CLR Show 1859. Air Date October 10, 2023. There is no shortage of analytical skill being demonstrated of late, offering detailed descriptions of the events and perceptions that have lead to our current state of domestic and international conflict. But there are fewer and fewer realistic long-term strategies for defeating or even diminishing the other side. To discover those, we must consciously and collectively identify and suppress our fears, and elevate our collective hope and love. The nature and pathways to practical, lasting solutions will present themselves as soon as we do. It has been this way throughout human history.   

Speaker-less / Rudder-less: The Friday Show

CLR show 1858. Air Date October 6, 2023.  The House republicans have once again done the unprecedented and unimaginable. With McCarthy booted out of the Speaker slot, the ever-certifiable Jim Jordan has tossed his jacket into the ring and gotten the predictable support of panic-stricken, racing-to-the-bottom Donald. The only problem is, on Earth 1, the republicans will need democratic support to elect a new Speaker, just like they needed it to get rid of the old. And they won't get that support until a rational contender emerges. Which would suggest, unless enough republicans come to their senses, we are in for a long government shutdown once the current CR expires, and may still be Speaker-less when it does. With Friday Co-Host, David Bach. 

Losing Faith

CLR Show 1857. Air Date October 3, 2023. Evangelical Leader, Pastor Russell Moore, eloquently and thoughtfully describes the problems of a politicized religious movement that is currently 'using Jesus as a means to an end' in an interview with Carol Martin. His description of the church's problems track perfectly with the larger political problems of the country and particularly with the grievance-based cult of Donald that both motivates and spiritually diminishes the far right. While we can't solve it all overnight, we can understand it now and prioritize our actions. Priority 1: Keep Donald out of the White House.     

The Clown Car Reaches the Cliff: The Friday Show

CLR Show 1856. Air Date September 29, 2023. While the democrats refine their messaging for 2024, Donald and the MAGA republicans appear committed to writing the best of their material for them. Between a transparent 'impeachment inquiry' sham that totally backfired, an inter-mural republican squabble that is about to result in a government shutdown and Donald being stripped of his ability to do business in New York, the republicans are rapidly transcending the capabilities of their own spin machine and proving to even their most ardent supporters that they neither desire, nor are capable of governing in a Constitutionally-based America. They can only tear it down. With Friday Co-Host, David Bach.     

Let’s Get Real

CLR Show 1855.  Air Date September 26, 2023. We can no longer content ourselves with preaching to the democratic choir, or reminding ourselves that we are on the right side of the Constitution. Trumpians have convinced half the electorate that a vote for Donald is a consequence-free pathway to their fondest imaginings. It's a damnable lie. To enter the White House under any circumstances, Donald would have to first destroy the Constitutional order and all belief in it. The Biden Administration and the democrats must immediately begin messaging that fact, and do it with an unprecedented sense of urgency, by creating the most all-encompassing and effective political messaging campaign in all of American political history.  

’Houston, we have a problem.’: The Friday Show

CLR Show 1854. Air Date September 22, 2023. The disproportionately powerful House Trumpians have given every indication that no amount of appeasement will divert them from their apparent goal, viz., to incapacitate from the inside a government they see as inherently evil and openly hostile to them and hardcore MAGA types.  And having shut the place down, it's uncertain what it would take for them to allow it to open again. The easy solution would be to have Kevin McCarthy lead his way out of this crisis. But McCarthy has proven himself incapable of leadership. Yes, this is happening in America. The question is: How much longer will Americans of good faith put up with it? With Friday Co-Host, David Bach.   

The Uncomfortable or The Unthinkable: Choose One

CLR Show 1853. Air Date September 19, 2023. If Donald remains the official candidate of his party through the 2024 election, the result will be either a Constitutional crisis––triggered by his self-pardon to avoid prison––if he wins, or a protracted series of mini-insurrections among his most ardent sycophants, if he loses. The only possible way to avoid national paralysis will be to encourage the Judges who have current control over him in his criminal cases to fully enforce the sanctions he has already earned by violating the terms of his parole and taking him off the political playing field, post haste. It will be difficult and contentious, but will result in a mere fraction of problems that will ensue if his is allowed to 'run wild' to and through the 2024 election.  

Red Meat By Any Other Color: The Friday Show

CLR Show 1852. Air Date September 15, 2023. With the Hunter Biden indictment rapidly evolving into a non-event and, still, no impeachable material discovered after five-plus years of investigating Joe Biden, the republicans are left with inference as their sole tool for attacking democrats as the Trump criminal trials move forward. Lacking the fresh red meat their base has been conditioned to demand and consume, they will invariably turn to the last ready source of that meat––themselves. Matt Gaetz's painful excoriation of Kevin McCarthy on the House floor can be viewed as the first of a new round of intra-mural excisions of trumpian flesh. With CLR Friday Co-Host, David Bach.  

The Desperados Return To Town

CLR Show 1851.  Air Date September 12, 2023. With the return of the House, its Trumpian leadership now sets its eyes on an unfounded impeachment of Joe Biden and shutting down the US Government. Their audience remains the sycophantic base and their true and only goal remains the maintenance of power. The good of the United States of America and all its people is an unthinkable irrelevancy. It's time for the democrats to begin pushing back in earnest.  A document eviscerating any basis for an impeachment, to be released today, would appear to be a reasonable first step in that effort.