Center Left Radio

'Please Hate Her More' : The Friday Show

CLR Show 1963. Air Date September 6, 2024. Donald's campaign has boxed itself into a curious strategy. Unable to deal with policies, issues or facts of any kind and committed to simply tossing out red meat for the ill-informed MAGA masses, it has shifted its disinformation campaign to personal attacks on Harris and Walz––things like negative comments from a former Harris boyfriend or calling Walz before a congressional committee to answer questions about a long defunct state program. And the slurs and mis-facts are being tossed out so rapidly that none seem to be able to gain traction before the next false slur supersedes it. Donald is having no better success trying to co-opt democratic programs he neither understands nor cares about. All of which should make the September 10th presidential candidate debate a very memorable one––but for all the wrong reasons from a Trumpian perspective. With Friday Co-Host, David Bach.

Who In Their Right Mind...?

CLR Show 1962. Air Date September 3, 2024. The question must be asked: Knowing nothing more than Donald's (dis)qualifications for elected office––a convicted felon, insurrectionist, sex offender, congenital liar, etc.––who in their right mind would want him as president of the United States or in any other position of leadership? The answer, when all other possibilities have been eliminated, is people who have an emotional bond with Donald that supersedes their capacity to make rational decisions. Donald is the sublimated image of the 'unfairness' that pervades their lives, and the sole mechanism for making all things fair. His base has been driven to this unlikely emotional state by a constant repetition of lies and false promises directed to their basest fears. This tactic has worked to bring down functional democracies in the past. But it will not work this time. The vast majority of Americans are on to Donald. 

An Act Of Hope : The Friday Show

CLR Show 1961. Air Date August 30, 2024. The Harris campaign has embraced the notion of hope against the forces of hopelessness and the existential nature of that choice for the American electorate. The Trump campaign has no defense against this messaging. Instead, it will attempt to issue personal attacks, focus on candidate inconsistencies and even (in Clinton-esque fashion) attempt to co-opt democratic positions, much as JD Vance recently and unsuccessfully attempted to do with raising the child tax credit. For Donald and Co., it's an 'everything against the wall and see what sticks' strategy and its awkward execution is apparent in the polls as they shift further toward Harris-Walz. The trick for Kamala is to not be diverted from her core message of 'positive evolution through hope' as she negotiates the final two months of the campaign. With Friday Co-Host, David Bach.    

Lessons Learned

CLR Show 1960. Air Date August 27, 2024. The Harris-Walz campaign has done more than captivate America. It has proven to be a remarkably astute student of American political history and a brilliant avoider of political pitfalls. Rather than focusing on its differentiations from Joe Biden, it has elevated him to the status of American folk hero ('I love my job, but I love my country more') while assiduously avoiding every pitfall of the 2016 Clinton campaign, including the hubris and self-righteous presumptions of inevitable victory. This is the true genius of the Harris campaign and of the candidate herself. And it seems hard to imagine that the entire strategy and the tools of its seemingly flawless execution were only first conceptualized after Joe Biden retired from the race. We'll invariably learn more about that in the future.     

A Tale Of Two Candidates: The Friday Show

CLR Show 1959. Air Date August 23, 2024. After what was arguably the most successful political convention in recent American history, the democrats have not only redefined Donald as the antithesis of all that is American, but reduced him in stature as no one has been able to over the past 8 years. Then, as if to underscore everything the democrats said about him, Donald went on a bizarre texting rant during last night's closing ceremonies so far removed from reality that only the most fervent of Kool Aid drinkers could possibly embrace its disjointed, hate-filled, rambling messages. Kamala and the democrats have the wind to their backs and the possibility of a McGovern-like election result for Donald is within the realm of possibility. But, as Michele Obama eloquently and forcefully reminded us all, to make it happen, we must all "Do Something" between now and November 4th. With Friday Co-Host, David Bach.

A Simple Case Of Carts and Horses

CLR Show 1958. Air Date August 20, 2024. The first night of the Democratic National Convention was a reason for great joy and celebration, for love of country and love of Joe Biden. But more than anything else, it corrected a longstanding confusion within democratic circles. For too long, we have focused on the threat of Donald before focusing on the moral certitude of our own beliefs, the strength of our policies and the evolutionary promise of America. By focusing on what is good and binds us first, we wholly avoid the self-doubt and paralysis that comes with weighing the force of Donald's gospel of hate and fear. And our hope and joy is 'trickling down' to all segments of American society. The important thing now is to 'act', and to do everything in our power to bring out the largest possible vote for democrats up and down the ticket on November 5th. As Kamala says, "When we fight, we win." 

A Reset? Really? : The Friday Show

CLR Show 1957. Air Date August 16, 2024. Not surprisingly, Donald's campaign is quietly putting out predictions of a coming reset, presumably to be triggered by a resounding victory in his debate against VP Harris, and further bolstered by a strong performance by JD Vance against Tim Walz. Really? Is it even within the realm of possibility that the rambling 'weirdo' who has been doing multi-hour 'press conferences' will, suddenly develop the discipline and factual acumen to debate former prosecutor / VP Kamala Harris on matters of fact and policy? Or that he will be able to intimidate her, verbally or physically, as he once attempted to intimidate a far less forceful Hillary Clinton? Harris's performance will also be judged against the one that propelled her into the presidential slot and, there, she's already a winner. Donald will be relegated to 80+ more days of blustering and lying and doing re-runs of the Donald Show. All but the most loyal of viewers have already tuned out. With Friday Co-Host, David Bach.  

Donald's Last Stand

CLR Show 1956. Air Date August 13, 2024.  With all the positive energy flowing into and from the Harris campaign and the total antithesis being evidenced on the Trumpian side, it's easy to envision a Harris-Walz victory on Nov. 4. The Harris campaign is bringing out the best of our long-suppressed American optimism, our inherent can-do sense and the very best of the American political system. The problem lies with what happens between November 5th and the inauguration on January 20th. Trump and his minions realize this will be their final chance to destroy the Constitutional order and proclaim Donald ruler of the former United States. Moreover, his pending convictions and imprisonment could well portend their own fate. It's not unreasonable to envision a no-holds-barred effort to illegally seize power––until the strength of the American majority is fully asserted and American law blunts those efforts for good. But don't expect it to be clean or easy.   

Nibbling At The Edges : The Friday Show

CLR Show 1955. Air Date August 9, 2024. A wholly unscientific sampling of prior Trump voters is revealing a willingness to discuss the relative pros and cons of Donald vs. Kamla, at least on the part of the relatively small, rational republican fringes. Given the incredibly positive vibe of the incredibly effective early Harris campaign, this was to be expected. Harris is breaking through even the otherwise impenetrable Trumpian media wall and forcing the moderate fringes to question voting for a convicted felon. But it will not always be this easy for Kamla. The Donald forces will reassemble and begin the heaviest barrage of garbage attacks and outright lies in American political history, probably just after the Democratic convention and in the lead-up to the first (and probably only) Donald-Kamla debate on September 10th. And after that debate... the ultimate expression of Trumpian panic will be on full display. With Friday Co-Host, David Bach.   

The Easiest Of Choices

CLR Show 1954. Air Date August 6, 2024. Voters in November will have the simplest and most obvious of all of choices; the choice of hope over fear, of Kamala over Donald. But many Trumpians will still choose Donald and fear, largely because they have been bathed in Donald's fear for such an extended period that they are numb to the possibility that hope is an option for America and Americans. That will not be the case for democrats. Kamala has injected a level of hope into the campaign that has not been experienced since the first Obama campaign, and may very well exceed the levels of hope and participation experienced at that time. Her trajectory is upward and her constituency and resources continue to grow at an unprecedented pace.  Donald is throwing everything at the wall and nothing is sticking. The same old grievance-laden predictions of a 'stolen election' will soon become his vapid, beleaguered battle cry. And he will ultimately lose more supporters than he will gain.