* Freedom of Speech: You guys didn’t mention one of the most important difference between the Dems & GOP. One party wants to get rid of the first amendment! They want to sensor “misinformation/disinformation lol while the Dems decide what is misinformation/disinformation.
*. Changed to the Supreme Court: Another difference is one party wants to pack the courts (I don’t know if they used that terminology). But they have promised to add at least 13 to the Supreme Court and to get rid of lifetime appointment.
* Electoral College: Walz has said he wants to get rid of the electoral college. That would make middle America lose their voice! People don’t understand how it works. So the “majority” (the popular vote) will choose who president and guess where the majority of people live - In big cities. So how would middle America get represented?
*. Transgender issues: one party promotes transing children and wants taxers to pay for transgender surgeries for the incarcerated Ie. Kamala. WTF!!! All of the horrid consequences of giving children hormone blockers is hidden from the public and now it’s just coming out that these hormones (tons of estrogen) is causing thyroid cancer in men.
* Open Borders - OMG this is freakin crazy!!! The Dems have let everyone and their mama into this country! We can’t vet all those people!
* Not America first: have either of you heard of all the freebies the ILLEGALS are getting??? Free boarding, free food, free health care, an enormous stipend! All paid for by us taxpayers!!!
There are way too many different vets to list here - I left the Democrat party because it’s lost its collective mind!
Agree with all your points. This election IS pivotal. I want to see the Kennedy influence in a Trump 47 in a big way, MAHA2MAGA. Also, for me, the Constitution is teetering over the abyss at this point, as it has been pushed there since the 1990s. I have never been so inspired to inform myself over who and what to vote for and against, local, statewide and nationally. I feel prepared.
I am amazed that you don't see this election as important!
We have a choice between endless wars, censorship, uncontrolled immigration, and energy/economic policies that have devastated the working class & much of the middle class, or a return to no new wars, efforts to control the border, & an improved economy.
Maybe you are both so well off that you have not been hurt financially by Biden/Harris policies, but everyone I know is hurting financially.
I think it’s a great idea. I have only two suggestions for podcasts. Don’t talk over music, and keep it concise. Judge Napolitano gets a lot of information into about twenty five minutes. Of course he does about fifty a week. Taibbi and Kirn go two hours but that’s mostly because Walter is fighting off savage rodents up in the North Pole.
I see your first one is 50 minutes and that sounds perfect. I don’t know if this is folded into my subscription or if there are ads, but I would also prefer a paid option. Good luck, and I look very much forward to it.
I find it disappointing to have two guys I respect think that this is an election with trivial differences between the candidates. I am a paying subscriber to Lee's Substack. The long comment of @nancydelvalle above lays out some of the reasons this election seems to matter: for me it's endless wars, endless debt, borders, and the near term prospect of more than half of the working pop being employed by government or near government entities. I grant you that Trump has to make better HR pics this time around, but I am betting that he will. Either I'm dead wrong, or you guys disappoint by throwing up your hands and sort of saying, "What can we do, so who gives a shit?" Am I wrong?
Why only focus on black “men”? Could it be that black men are not supporting Kamala? So desperate for the Dems to have Obama scold black men and accuse them of misogyny!
Quite an un-ceremonious debut. But a good start for two bright guys who sound like you're trying to show both sides of issues, which is good. I am conservative but have never joined the Rep party. I voted the first time for JFK. Nixon, Cater, Region the second time, Clinton once, Bush both times, Obama then Trump. Agree this is a boring campaign. Four years of Trump campaigning is overboard, but I'm still voting for him. If RFK had been the Dem nominee, maybe him. The Dem shenanigans are way overboard and would think it would turn off more voters, but the MSP has demonized Trump so much that the liberals hate the man so much they won't even use his name in a conversation. But hope you'll keep on with this effort. Kinda following in Matt and Walter venue.
The working class ditched the Dems because their party abandoned them by 1) spending their taxpayer dollars on wars and coups to control resources for U.S. corporations instead of investing in health care, infrastructure and public education; 2) failing to reform or adequately enforce tax policy and antitrust law (supposedly to make U.S corporations globally competitive); 3) failing to protect unions while promoting immigration to drive down wages; 4) wrecking agriculture by running real farmers (and traditional eco-friendly farming practices) off the land and destroying rural America's small businesses by replacing them with Walmart; 5) failing to educate ordinary Americans about climate change, thus ensuring a pushback against any meaningful climate policy (this was to protect the interests of its billionaire donors); 5) outsourcing manufacturing jobs to China and other low-wage nations in the name of "free trade;" 6) bailing out Wall Street predators who should have been sent to jail in 2008 and sending ordinary Americans' homes into foreclosure instead; and 7) deliberately distracting Americans from these root causes of their misery by encouraging racial scapegoating. I could go on. . . . Grist for another podcast?
Loved the debut and Lee’s empty chair at the end. That is a good ending. Also appreciated the content. We get a wider view of who you guys are in a more casual setting. So, do it again!
I consistently am impressed with Lee's work. He focuses on cogent issues that are less noticed on Substack and by the other commentariat e.g San Fran's local elections that are important because the issues are representative of the changes happening at the local level that provide insight into the larger issues. Leighton is new to me, but both represent to me the younger, insightful writers that promise to keep actual journalism alive as legacy media fades with their credibility in tatters.
The current political situation in San Francisco and California feels like New York in the 70s and 80s. After years of a strong boom, a major change happened (Pandemic/WFH). Now the state is grappling with the change, and all the shenanigans that were easy to sweep under the rug during the boom times (NGO complex, drug markets, widespread graft, corruption) are out in the open in broad daylight and impossible to ignore.
New York almost went bankrupt in the 70s and lost a million residents by 1980. New York responded by taking a turn to the right with Ed Koch who ran as a "liberal with sanity", and then an even harder turn with Giuliani and Pataki.
If California's current leadership doesn't pull together with the myriad of crises we face, I see us waking up with a Republican Governor in January 2027.
First I want to say that I am very glad that you two did not cancel/delete this podcast. While not necessarily agreeing with everything that was said, I did find your topics of discussion and opinions interesting. My biggest disagreement is your position on the importance of the upcoming presidential election, but that difference I think is primarily due to a generational thing. I am a lifelong mid 60's registered democrat that has voted for various parties throughout my adulthood and I truly feel that this election is without question, at least for me, the most important I have ever voted in. Regardless of who the victor and due to the deep division neither candidate will have a clear mandate on how best to move the country forward. With all the dangerous upheaval going on in the world the direction of our foreign policy is vitally important and domestically I have deep concerns about the protections of our constitutional rights (free speech, title IX, due process, etc.) and what actions might be taken to disrupt the balance of the supreme court who protects those rights. As I can no longer recognize or support so many policies of the democrat party and sitting an election out is not an option I am willing to take, I see no other choice, but to vote for Trump, as I fear if the democrats win, they will perhaps take drastic steps to ensure that their hold on power is never again challenged. Again, I enjoyed your podcast and am looking forward to the next installment should there be one.
I agree that we are facing an election that could serve as a decisive critique of electoral politics - a uniParty is a proper definition of what we have as a choice on the most meaningful issue before us. This is the Spectacle made whole, made total.
It would be interesting to hear what you both think are the consequences of the outcome? What would be the shape of a future politics after Nov.?
My view is that if Harris wins, the Dems will be triumphant and further smash grassroots dissidents. If Trump wins, the Dems will be en masse repudiated opening the space for, I hesitate to say this, a (semi?) radical alternative. Obliviously, the Republicans cannot be the vehicle for that opposition.
Lastly, Lee's analysis of the ngo cabals that dominate Mission politics also define the method and practice of the larger such ngo cabal, the Yimbys who suck up developer financing, drive a constituency in favor of a righteous cause -- more housing -- to overrun local city meetings all over the Bay area, and provide the shock troops for a run-away development of market-rate housing.
Empty store fronts? Is that a sign of success for anti-gentrifiers? Or is it a lack of municipal support for new businesses? Have you ever visited Punjab Burrito in Mill Valley?
I look forward to a podcast on the realignment of US politics. "Mr. Smith" takes Nebraska, e.g.?
That turned-out really well. With several Substack subscriptions, a few Locals. 3 Patreons and Whitney Webb, where they're all podcasts, there's too much Lee Fang to read. Not exactly "too much" because I always get something new when I read a Lee Fang article. Lee Fang I believe is the best writer and intellectual, for lack of a better word, of all my pods. Albeit Matt Taibbi is more of a journalist than intellectual, and he's far more prolific. Matt Taibbi is by far the most bang for the buck Substack, and he makes sure to have lots of video.
A couple of Lee Fang expozays I've read were total bombshell, where I said to myself, ". . . . dang, everybody needs to know about this . . . .", so podcasting is a no-brainer.
A couple of weeks ago or a month ago was a prime example of a Lee Fang article I wanted to tell people about, but now I've forgotten what is was about. Whereas I would have just texted a video.
David, you are right. I, too, have wanted to share Lee’s articles, but in today’s world, most people prefer to listen to a podcast rather than read an article. Kinda sad, really. I still enjoy reading, maybe that’s why I am not one of the “cool kids”. 😊
Wow, you said what I wanted to say way faster, and without any "to be's". Very smooth, which is cool. So I figure my Name-Dropping makes me more cool, that's all. As you get older you'll see. Matt Taibbi is over 50 now, compared to the 30-something Lee Fang.
* Freedom of Speech: You guys didn’t mention one of the most important difference between the Dems & GOP. One party wants to get rid of the first amendment! They want to sensor “misinformation/disinformation lol while the Dems decide what is misinformation/disinformation.
*. Changed to the Supreme Court: Another difference is one party wants to pack the courts (I don’t know if they used that terminology). But they have promised to add at least 13 to the Supreme Court and to get rid of lifetime appointment.
* Electoral College: Walz has said he wants to get rid of the electoral college. That would make middle America lose their voice! People don’t understand how it works. So the “majority” (the popular vote) will choose who president and guess where the majority of people live - In big cities. So how would middle America get represented?
*. Transgender issues: one party promotes transing children and wants taxers to pay for transgender surgeries for the incarcerated Ie. Kamala. WTF!!! All of the horrid consequences of giving children hormone blockers is hidden from the public and now it’s just coming out that these hormones (tons of estrogen) is causing thyroid cancer in men.
* Open Borders - OMG this is freakin crazy!!! The Dems have let everyone and their mama into this country! We can’t vet all those people!
* Not America first: have either of you heard of all the freebies the ILLEGALS are getting??? Free boarding, free food, free health care, an enormous stipend! All paid for by us taxpayers!!!
There are way too many different vets to list here - I left the Democrat party because it’s lost its collective mind!
Agree with all your points. This election IS pivotal. I want to see the Kennedy influence in a Trump 47 in a big way, MAHA2MAGA. Also, for me, the Constitution is teetering over the abyss at this point, as it has been pushed there since the 1990s. I have never been so inspired to inform myself over who and what to vote for and against, local, statewide and nationally. I feel prepared.
Three letter agencies and a three letter person to take them on.
The most uninspiring election?
I agree.
I am amazed that you don't see this election as important!
We have a choice between endless wars, censorship, uncontrolled immigration, and energy/economic policies that have devastated the working class & much of the middle class, or a return to no new wars, efforts to control the border, & an improved economy.
Maybe you are both so well off that you have not been hurt financially by Biden/Harris policies, but everyone I know is hurting financially.
I think it’s a great idea. I have only two suggestions for podcasts. Don’t talk over music, and keep it concise. Judge Napolitano gets a lot of information into about twenty five minutes. Of course he does about fifty a week. Taibbi and Kirn go two hours but that’s mostly because Walter is fighting off savage rodents up in the North Pole.
I see your first one is 50 minutes and that sounds perfect. I don’t know if this is folded into my subscription or if there are ads, but I would also prefer a paid option. Good luck, and I look very much forward to it.
Hearing more from you Lee is always a good idea! I will take a listen (and watch)!
I find it disappointing to have two guys I respect think that this is an election with trivial differences between the candidates. I am a paying subscriber to Lee's Substack. The long comment of @nancydelvalle above lays out some of the reasons this election seems to matter: for me it's endless wars, endless debt, borders, and the near term prospect of more than half of the working pop being employed by government or near government entities. I grant you that Trump has to make better HR pics this time around, but I am betting that he will. Either I'm dead wrong, or you guys disappoint by throwing up your hands and sort of saying, "What can we do, so who gives a shit?" Am I wrong?
Why only focus on black “men”? Could it be that black men are not supporting Kamala? So desperate for the Dems to have Obama scold black men and accuse them of misogyny!
Quite an un-ceremonious debut. But a good start for two bright guys who sound like you're trying to show both sides of issues, which is good. I am conservative but have never joined the Rep party. I voted the first time for JFK. Nixon, Cater, Region the second time, Clinton once, Bush both times, Obama then Trump. Agree this is a boring campaign. Four years of Trump campaigning is overboard, but I'm still voting for him. If RFK had been the Dem nominee, maybe him. The Dem shenanigans are way overboard and would think it would turn off more voters, but the MSP has demonized Trump so much that the liberals hate the man so much they won't even use his name in a conversation. But hope you'll keep on with this effort. Kinda following in Matt and Walter venue.
The working class ditched the Dems because their party abandoned them by 1) spending their taxpayer dollars on wars and coups to control resources for U.S. corporations instead of investing in health care, infrastructure and public education; 2) failing to reform or adequately enforce tax policy and antitrust law (supposedly to make U.S corporations globally competitive); 3) failing to protect unions while promoting immigration to drive down wages; 4) wrecking agriculture by running real farmers (and traditional eco-friendly farming practices) off the land and destroying rural America's small businesses by replacing them with Walmart; 5) failing to educate ordinary Americans about climate change, thus ensuring a pushback against any meaningful climate policy (this was to protect the interests of its billionaire donors); 5) outsourcing manufacturing jobs to China and other low-wage nations in the name of "free trade;" 6) bailing out Wall Street predators who should have been sent to jail in 2008 and sending ordinary Americans' homes into foreclosure instead; and 7) deliberately distracting Americans from these root causes of their misery by encouraging racial scapegoating. I could go on. . . . Grist for another podcast?
Loved the debut and Lee’s empty chair at the end. That is a good ending. Also appreciated the content. We get a wider view of who you guys are in a more casual setting. So, do it again!
I consistently am impressed with Lee's work. He focuses on cogent issues that are less noticed on Substack and by the other commentariat e.g San Fran's local elections that are important because the issues are representative of the changes happening at the local level that provide insight into the larger issues. Leighton is new to me, but both represent to me the younger, insightful writers that promise to keep actual journalism alive as legacy media fades with their credibility in tatters.
I'm all in.
The current political situation in San Francisco and California feels like New York in the 70s and 80s. After years of a strong boom, a major change happened (Pandemic/WFH). Now the state is grappling with the change, and all the shenanigans that were easy to sweep under the rug during the boom times (NGO complex, drug markets, widespread graft, corruption) are out in the open in broad daylight and impossible to ignore.
New York almost went bankrupt in the 70s and lost a million residents by 1980. New York responded by taking a turn to the right with Ed Koch who ran as a "liberal with sanity", and then an even harder turn with Giuliani and Pataki.
If California's current leadership doesn't pull together with the myriad of crises we face, I see us waking up with a Republican Governor in January 2027.
Great job Leighton and Lee. I thoroughly enjoyed your podcast!
First I want to say that I am very glad that you two did not cancel/delete this podcast. While not necessarily agreeing with everything that was said, I did find your topics of discussion and opinions interesting. My biggest disagreement is your position on the importance of the upcoming presidential election, but that difference I think is primarily due to a generational thing. I am a lifelong mid 60's registered democrat that has voted for various parties throughout my adulthood and I truly feel that this election is without question, at least for me, the most important I have ever voted in. Regardless of who the victor and due to the deep division neither candidate will have a clear mandate on how best to move the country forward. With all the dangerous upheaval going on in the world the direction of our foreign policy is vitally important and domestically I have deep concerns about the protections of our constitutional rights (free speech, title IX, due process, etc.) and what actions might be taken to disrupt the balance of the supreme court who protects those rights. As I can no longer recognize or support so many policies of the democrat party and sitting an election out is not an option I am willing to take, I see no other choice, but to vote for Trump, as I fear if the democrats win, they will perhaps take drastic steps to ensure that their hold on power is never again challenged. Again, I enjoyed your podcast and am looking forward to the next installment should there be one.
Yes, we in the working class have glommed onto a dismal outlook, because we can't afford anything!
Americans are hurting, & our "leaders" are unconcerned.
American citizens should never have to compete against people in the country illegally for jobs.
I agree that we are facing an election that could serve as a decisive critique of electoral politics - a uniParty is a proper definition of what we have as a choice on the most meaningful issue before us. This is the Spectacle made whole, made total.
It would be interesting to hear what you both think are the consequences of the outcome? What would be the shape of a future politics after Nov.?
My view is that if Harris wins, the Dems will be triumphant and further smash grassroots dissidents. If Trump wins, the Dems will be en masse repudiated opening the space for, I hesitate to say this, a (semi?) radical alternative. Obliviously, the Republicans cannot be the vehicle for that opposition.
Lastly, Lee's analysis of the ngo cabals that dominate Mission politics also define the method and practice of the larger such ngo cabal, the Yimbys who suck up developer financing, drive a constituency in favor of a righteous cause -- more housing -- to overrun local city meetings all over the Bay area, and provide the shock troops for a run-away development of market-rate housing.
Empty store fronts? Is that a sign of success for anti-gentrifiers? Or is it a lack of municipal support for new businesses? Have you ever visited Punjab Burrito in Mill Valley?
I look forward to a podcast on the realignment of US politics. "Mr. Smith" takes Nebraska, e.g.?
That turned-out really well. With several Substack subscriptions, a few Locals. 3 Patreons and Whitney Webb, where they're all podcasts, there's too much Lee Fang to read. Not exactly "too much" because I always get something new when I read a Lee Fang article. Lee Fang I believe is the best writer and intellectual, for lack of a better word, of all my pods. Albeit Matt Taibbi is more of a journalist than intellectual, and he's far more prolific. Matt Taibbi is by far the most bang for the buck Substack, and he makes sure to have lots of video.
A couple of Lee Fang expozays I've read were total bombshell, where I said to myself, ". . . . dang, everybody needs to know about this . . . .", so podcasting is a no-brainer.
A couple of weeks ago or a month ago was a prime example of a Lee Fang article I wanted to tell people about, but now I've forgotten what is was about. Whereas I would have just texted a video.
David, you are right. I, too, have wanted to share Lee’s articles, but in today’s world, most people prefer to listen to a podcast rather than read an article. Kinda sad, really. I still enjoy reading, maybe that’s why I am not one of the “cool kids”. 😊
Wow, you said what I wanted to say way faster, and without any "to be's". Very smooth, which is cool. So I figure my Name-Dropping makes me more cool, that's all. As you get older you'll see. Matt Taibbi is over 50 now, compared to the 30-something Lee Fang.
I like both Lee and Matt equally … actually, maybe Lee a little bit more. 😉
Matt is a great journalist. He’s very smart. He’s just not good at the spoken word. And, he knows it. Hence, his inclusion of Walter.