We'll comment quickly here at the top that we seriously doubt anyone from "Meet The Press" actually reads this blog, but either someone really did listen to us or the scheduling gods are just placating us because this week's program was in much finer form. In addition to an interview of one of the more intriguing candidates in the Republican field, Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), the program covered New Orleans 10 years after Katrina and just as important, ISIS and U.S. strategy to fight them. All three main topics provided insight and perspective which is why one should be tuning into "Meet The Press" in the first place.
With that...
Setting aside Gov. Walker's utterly stupid statement that there should be a wall on the Canadian border, there were topics that really caught our attention. [A wall on the Canadian border, really? That would include increased security, and how would the good people of Wisconsin and Minnesota living on the border get their prescription drugs conveniently and cheaply if they can't cross the border easily?] It was Gov. Walker's answers with regard to the new arena deal he made for the Bucks and he comments on the deal with Iran that provided the insight.
He said that one of the reasons the new arena will be publicly funded is because the pro athletes on the Milwaukee Bucks payment $6 million a year in taxes for the state implying that that was money the state couldn't afford to lose. Hmmm... The arena is going to cost $250 million, so if you do some quick math it would take that yearly tax revenue about 42 years to break even on the arena. And when he was being asked the question he gave that politician, forced smile - the one where he knew the question was going to hurt, that he didn't want to answer it at all. With the 'Canada' answer and this logic on the public funding, one has to wonder what in the world is Gov. Walker thinking, or is he thinking at all when answering these questions? This brings us to the Iran deal where he said he'd tear up on his first day in office. The Iranian nuclear deal will be well in place by the time the next president takes office so what he's saying is that he would break the terms of the deal, essentially reneging on it which will cause a great fracture with our allies' allegiances when we start talking tough with military threats - it's a de facto green light for Iran to resume its nuclear program.
Or there's the more reasonable explanation that Gov. Walker is simply feeding 'red meat' to his Republican base attempting to score political points knowing full well that once this deal is in place, it has to go forward, while the United States has keep up the intensity of those inspections. Another promise that he would not be able to keep without eventually going to war with Iran.
Either way, Gov. Walker seems at worst, a poor performing 'yes' man, but certainly... ultimately... He's a follower.
We are self-aware enough to realize that that is quite a harsh take down of Gov. Walker's candidacy, but if he really wants to win, he has to stand firm on his answers and in doing so they first have to be thought out carefully. The better student example is Marco Rubio who understands this dynamic thoroughly and has it down.
Even on Islamic terrorism, Gov. Walker's comments seemed canned, political and without serious depth. In the fight against ISIS, Gov. Walker explained that 'political' restrictions have to be lifted on the 3,000 U.S. troops that are in country and they need to be free to go out in the field to provide coordinates for air strike targets. Describing the decision to move those troops into a forward area where armed confrontation with ISIS would be inevitable as political doesn't seem to take into account the value of U.S. assets, namely our soldiers. Put the troops in a forward area and run the risk of one of them getting caught, ending up in an orange jumpsuit on Arabic TV. Again, Mr. Walker needs to choose his words more carefully; he's running to become the commander in chief. Even given what The New York Times Helene Cooper said about her experience on an aircraft carrier where planes were returning from missions without dropping any munitions due to lack of targets. To that we say, so be it. But dipping your toe into a battle with ISIS with only 3,000 troops is a potential disaster.
And speaking of ISIS, the program provided perspective in understanding that the ISIS 'brand' (We have a distaste for that description, but what can you do?) and ideology is spreading globally more quickly than Al Qaeda ever could. That may be so but cutting off the head - the caliphate in Iraq and Syria - would go a long way in stifling that growth. While the U.S. has to stay vigilant for its own protection, it is ultimately for the Muslim governments to act together to eliminate ISIS. It will happen but unfortunately the tipping point will not come until ISIS overreaches and attacks Hezbollah in Lebanon or Turkey in Ankara or something of that nature. As the man in Richard Engel's report explained, he left ISIS because they kill too many Muslims.
At this point, if anyone thinks the neoconservatives were right on Iraq and your name isn't Cheney, Bolton or Kristol, that individual shouldn't be running for president. Mr. Bush? Mr. Graham? Mr. Walker?
And while we're mentioning presidential candidates, Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) is disqualified. If we haven't stated that already, we're making it official here. The poverty rate in New Orleans is 27%, Louisiana is 18.5%, both over the national average of 14 percent. The state ranks 49th in a list of 51, the second poorest, finishing only ahead of Mississippi. Our source - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_poverty_rate - so take it for what you will, but do you want to vote for the governor who presides over the second poorest state? Melissa Harris-Perry made a significant point. The governor dissolved the teachers union in New Orleans and two things are happening. One, despite Malcolm Gladwell's opinion on the size of the sample, New Orleans schools are performing poorer post-Katrina when the union was in place. And two, unions ensured a good wage for New Orleans teachers, predominantly African-American. So by getting rid of the union, people are making less money and the students' education isn't as good. We're not saying that unions are perfect, by no means, but they can be a very positive force for working people.
Today's program measured up to the standard.
Panel: Matt Bai, Yahoo News; Helene Cooper, The New York
Times, Steve Schmidt, Republican Strategist; Melissa Harris-Perry, MSNBC
A few more things...
Steve Schmidt was priceless during the program. The visible contempt that he has for the incompetent Republican presidential field and the Republican-led Congress was on full display. Mr. Schmidt explained that the Republican electorate has "complete contempt for Republican politicians in Washington." Speaking the truth right there.
Mr. Schmidt, sadly (our word), used the term 'intractable' when discussing the NRA hold on the Republican party, and many Democrats as well. Once again, you could empathize with his disgust as we keep racking up mass shootings in this country, the latest killing a reporter and her camera man on live television. Where does it end?
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