The Federalist Radio Hour

Senior editor David Harsanyi joined Ben Domenech on Federalist Radio to weigh in on the CBS documentary of JonBenet Ramseys murder, the entertainment industrys political activism, and the new season of Survivor. Harsanyi said its obvious that one of the parents was responsible for the murder of JonBenet Ramsey, but that they werent arrested because they were a powerful and wealthy family in Boulder. The problem was, not that there wasnt evidence, is that there was too much evidence... every single thing that was used in this kidnapping was found in the house, he said. A conversation about late night television comedians and their political influence surfaced on social media this week in response to Ross Douthats column about Clintons Samantha Bee Problem. I wonder if the people who would be affected by this arent already liberal anyway, Harsanyi said. Though I think they normalize things in culture that arent that healthy, like comparing Donald Trump to Hitler. Later in the hour, Harsanyi explained how the new season of Survivor pits millennials and Gen-Xers against each other. In the end, as with most Survivor seasons, even with the races and everything else, you find out that people in the same groups are very different from each other, and sometimes more similar to people in the other group. andnbsp;

David Frum, senior editor at The Atlantic, joined The Federalist Radio Hour to discuss the dangers of a Putin-Trump relationship, how the TV industrys left agendas hurt Clinton, and how politics of the 1970s have influenced our politics today. Frum said should Trump become President, he would govern with even more executive activism than the Obama Administration. [Russia] has provided [Trump] with a model of the type of President he wants to be, and that is a thing that Republicans, conservatives and people who are concerned about the abuse of government for private purposes... that is something they need to watch carefully. Late night talk show hosts and the majority of the entertainment industry have created a suffocating monoculture that has also enticed a rebellion against itself. Samantha Bee, yes shes Hillary Clintons problem, but shes also part of the array of forces that enable Donald Trump, Frum said. andnbsp;

ESPN has lost over 10 million subscribers in the last two and half years. At the top of the hour, Ben Domenech explained the death of sports networks and why they have taken a turn for the worse. What is it going to take for a sports channel to come along and offer a kind of break downs and analysis that we cant get by just stopping some random person on the street... Elan Journo is the Director of Policy research at the Ayn Rand Institute and author of the new book, Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism: From George W. Bush to Barack Obama and Beyond. Journo joined the Federalist Radio Hour to discuss fundamental problems with American foreign policy and how our leaders have failed to defend us and our ideas. America has incredible military strength, but what it lacks is moral self-confidence, he said. The source of that is certain ideas about morality and how to organize foreign policies that are in effect at odds with ourselves. Journo argued that there is good that would be done globally as a result of a self-interested foreign policy. Instead of going into all these countries with our welfare aid missions trying to push these ideals through programs, what if we actually stood by them and lived by and told people this is our standard? he said. andnbsp;

Today on Federalist Radio, Ben recapped his Intelligence Squared debate from last week on blaming the elites for Trump, and spoke to Salena Zito, national political reporter, about why Democrats in Pennsylvania are voting for Trump. Zito described the Western Pennsylvanian democrats who had never voted Republican in their life, yet are voting for Trump. What was interesting to me, is not that they love Donald Trump. It is more that they have this feeling that he has their back, Zito said. When he makes gafs or says things that are inappropriate, or politically incorrect, or awful, they dont hear that. What they hear is someone who talks in the same way that they do. There has been a focus this election cycle on struggling communities and how conservatives should respond to the towns hit hardest by globalization and the decline in manufacturing. The way the democratic machine has been able to put a stranglehold on these voters is by promising, not only that they were going to bring things back, but holding them captive by dolling out money, she said. But in the 30 years since Democrats have been doing that, that has changed and these are voters are starting to understand the economy doesnt work that way. andnbsp; andnbsp;

Julia Ioffe, contributing writer at Politico Magazine and columnist at Foreign Policy, shared stories from Russia, anecdotes about Putin, and how Russians view the United States and the 2016 election. When it comes to U.S. and Russian relations, Americans often misunderstand that Putins ploys are more about whats happening within his own country than internationally.  This song is not about us. Or at least its only partially about us, Ioffe said. Its mostly about whats happening inside Russia, and I think Putin wanted to show, both to people at home and abroad, that you could not change his regime. Ioffe shared stories of Putins background, his rise, and his control of Russian media. When he first came into office, was obsessed with TV and understood its power, she said. Russians, even though they spend the most hours out of anyone in Europe on social media, still get most of their news from TV, and that news is very tightly controlled by the Kremlin. Later in the hour, Ioffe and Domenech discussed the rise of online Russian trolls and the DNC hack. They do want to disrupt. They do want to troll. They do want to muddy the waters and that is a kind of old soviet ideological element... Ioffe said. But I think mostly its to show strength, to show the [Putin] can do this.

Months after the Supreme Court threw out Governor Bob McDonnells conviction, the Justice Department announced last week they would drop its corruption case against the former Virginia Governor. McDonnell opened up on Federalist Radio about his legal battle, his faith, and his path forward. I got a call at 1:45 with my lawyer just saying its over, McDonnell said. After a long road of heartache and suffering, it was just great news. McDonnell said he has a new and robust view of the meaning of freedom. I had two occasions during this trial and the appeal process last year where I was just a couple of weeks away from being ordered to report to a prison for a crime that I knew with all my heart that I did not commit. Throughout the last two years, McDonnell said his faith has been tested and strengthen. Truly I believe it was a supernatural display of Gods divine providence in my life, he said. To now be a criminal defendant when I spent most of my career enforcing the law, and standing up for the law and making the law...it was crushing, he said. I know now that all that was something that God blessed.

Sarah Westwood, investigative reporter at the Washington Examiner, joined Senior Editor Mollie Hemingway in studio to discuss this weeks House Oversight Committee hearings on the FBIs meeting with Hillary Clinton and Colin Powells hacked emails. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and the Oversight Committee were upset with how the FBI was selective in what facts they released about the Hillary Clinton email case. This representative of the FBI, Jason Herring, when he was pressed by the committee on when the FBI would provide additional details about the investigation, he suggested to Jason Chaffetz that Congress just file a Freedom of Information Act like the rest of us, Westwood said. After multiple excuses for Hillary Clintons apparent fainting on Sunday, the media seemed satisfied with her campaigns final reasoning: pneumonia.  You did get an answer from the Clintons, but it would be really nice to see journalists be a little bit more skeptical of a Clintonian answer, given the vast majority of Clintonian answers turn out not to be true, Hemingway said. Later in the hour they discussed Melania Trump, New York Fashion Week, and Donald Trumps health records. I think Dr. Oz even said himself a couple of days ago that he wasnt going to ask Donald Trump any questions that Donald Trump didnt want to answer, Westwood said. andnbsp;

Rebecca Berg, national political reporter for RealClearPolitics, and Mary Katharine Ham, senior writer at The Federalist, recap the dramatic season premiere of Dancing with the Stars, Hillary Clintons interview with Anderson Cooper on her health, and the latest news on the Donald J. Trump Foundation. The list of this seasons Dancing with the Stars contestants include Gov. Rick Perry, Ryan Lochte, and Calvin Johnson Jr. There are people who cared enough that Ryan Lochte exaggerated his story from Brazil, that they are willing to storm the stage at Dancing with the Stars, Ham said. Whats even more interesting to me are their anti-Lochte t-shirts. On CNN last night, Anderson Cooper asked Hillary Clinton whether her campaigns handling of her apparent fainting confirms voters suspicions about her transparency.  Can you believe she would say, I thought it wouldnt be a big deal, after everything weve seen with the Clintons and their intense need for privacy backfiring on them time and again on this campaign? Berg said. Of course it would be a big deal. Youre running for president and there are all these conspiracy theories out there about your health. andnbsp;

Robert Tracinski, senior writer at The Federalist, and Byron York, chief political correspondent at the Washington Examiner, discussed the weekend news surrounding Hillary Clintons health, Donald Trumps deplorable supporters, and the medias conflicting coverage of both campaigns. The media and the Clinton campaign have created a fog that actually raises more questions about why Hillary Clinton cannot be upfront about her health, Domenech said. The problem for the Clinton operation is now they have burned through a significant amount of trust with the people who like her the most and thats members of the media, who have been her defenders in the public square. More than once, the Trump campaign has shared content and memes generated by the alt-right on social media. This is a gaf-free election. Nobody can commit a gaf because theres nothing thats bad enough to actually impact the race, Tracinski said. Everybody is doing so many bad things that nothing stands out enough. Byron York said he expects the upcoming debate between Clinton and Trump to offer surprises and that the Commander in Chief forum didnt offer much of a preview. You have to weigh the obvious unpredictability of this race... against some of the solid, immutable factors we know, York said.

Nicholas Eberstadt, scholar in political economy at AEI, joined Federalist Radio to discuss his new book, Men Without Work: Americas Invisible Crisis, and the cultural and economic shifts that have led to a decline in the U.S. labor force. Eberstadts research examines the flight from work and the rise of young men who remain unemployed. You can draw basically a straight line from 1965 to the present, with respect to this flight from work, he said. In no other affluent industrial democracy has this collapse of labor force participation for prime age guys been this acute, as intense as in the United States. What may be more frightening is how these unemployed men are spending their time. Worship of the screens accounts for an average of over 2,000 hours a year. It is akin to full-time work. Eberstadt said. The huge problem here, of course, is what this may do to the suitability for reentry into the labor force. One debate to come out of this data will be how much of this is due to globalization and economic change, and how much is due to other factors. I also look at something which scandalously has been under examined which is the huge crisis for men who have felony convictions in their background, Eberstadt said.

Iain Murray, vice president of strategy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, discussed the aftermath of Brexit, its impact on global markets, and British politics on this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour. Despite what many commenters warned would happen to British economy, there has been a surge of confidence in the markets. All the indicators of a solid economy are there and as a result, the proposed recession has not occurred, Murray said. Britain is now confidently going forward. At one point, it looked like both the major political parties were going to be in chaos following Brexit, Murray said. In the end, [Theresa May] was actually the ideal candidate to take the reigns. The leadership election fizzled out as every other candidate withdrew and Theresa May was appointed Prime Minister very quickly, he said. Later in the hour, Murray and Domenech talked labor regulations and independent contractors. andnbsp;

Jon Ward, political reporter for Yahoo News, joined The Federalist Radio Hour to discuss masculinity, the influence of cable news, the altering of political parties, and other themes of 2016. Historically, Americans have chosen quieter, stronger leaders, rather than the outspoken, machismo personalities. I do think people see in [Trump] someone who has a knack for action, an instinct for action, Ward said. I dont feel like its the kind of manliness that comes from reflection and an inner life that leads you to principles. Many have tried assign blame for the rise of Trump to Fox News. Its easy to get distracted by the shiny object that this is the one conservative channel, Domenech said. The bigger issue is less what Eric Bolling was saying, or what Bill OReilly was saying, than it is the whole thing, the whole of the conservative media space. What are the lessons to be learned from 2016? For the Republican leaders? For the donor class? For the voters? One of the things you need to do to fix some of this, is you need good leaders and you need good ideas, and I do think part of the solution here might be that parties need to retrench and circle the wagons a bit to regain some control, Ward said. andnbsp;

Ashe Schow, writer at the Washington Examiner and columnist at the Observer, joined Mary Katharine Ham to discuss the latest safe space outrages on college campuses, Harambe memes, and how the SJWs have finally turned on Lena Dunham. Guy Benson also joined the conversation on the FBIs latest report on Hillary Clintons emails. The supporters of safe spaces and trigger warnings always go back to idealized definition that no one could disagree with...that a safe space is a place where people of similar backgrounds and experiences can get together and be free from being challenged, Schow said. Well thats a friend group. Go find friends. In other SJW news, Lena Dunhams comments about, and then apology to, Odell Beckham Jr. has finally turned some of her fans into her critics. Its actually real privilege to assume you can read peoples minds and know what their innermost thoughts and feelings are, Ham said. She feels entitled to say that Odell Beckham Jr. believes this about her. Later in the hour, Guy Benson of Townhall.com shared some of the most critical facts we learned about Hillarys Clintons July interview with the FBI. The FBI is confirming for the first time that there is actual evidence that an outside actor penetrated and breached the email system using hacking technology, Benson said. Yet we are told by our moral betters that it is just a right-wing obsession and its time to move on.

Mollie Hemingway and David Harsanyi, senior editors at The Federalist, discussed this weeks biggest outrages including: Pick-up artists, sexting scandals, pornography, boycotting the National Anthem, and movies that critics have overrated. Between Anthony Weiners sexting scandal and Pamela Andersons Wall Street Journal editorial on pornography, there are many conversations around sex going all directions. It is absolutely, obviously true that there is a problem with porn-use in this country, in this world, and that its related to the ease with which you can obtain it, and its effecting peoples ability to form relationships, Hemingway said. The media has shown little interest in showcasing Hillary Clintons corruption. I think journalism has completely failed America this election. You can hate Donald Trump and still investigate in an honest way whats going on with Hillary, Harsanyi said. Later in the hour they debate the ending of the HBO series, The Night Of, and some of the most overrated movies of all time. I like a lot of these movies than are art rather than just simply entertainment...but I think the best movies can be both, Harsanyi said.

Christine Rousselle, managing web editor at Townhall.com, joined Mary Katharine Ham in studio to discuss Trumps meeting with the President of Mexico on Wednesday, and to share a number of underrated Disney movies for parents who are sick of Frozen. Initial comments from Trump after his meeting in Mexico yesterday implied that they did not discuss who would pay for the much anticipated wall. It is unclear where he stands because it is unclear almost everyday. This is the one issue on which it was always fairly clear until the past two weeks when he decided to make it unclear, Ham said. Despite its animation, musical numbers, and complex plot lines that address racial and power structures, Disneys 2009 Princess and The Frog is one childrens movie that got overshadowed by the rise of Pixar. One thing I like about it versus Frozen is that the magic that drives the story is explained, whereas in Frozen its just there. Ham said. andnbsp; andnbsp;