S22.E23: Pete Buttigieg, Larry Wilmore, Byron Donalds

[ottoDbusdriver]

I thought Pete Buttigieg did a really good interview.

I was surprised how long Bill let Larry and Byron go on -- but it was a good discussion.
Byron kept trotting out GOP talking points and Larry kept shooting them down.
 

[Medicine Crow]

2 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

I thought Pete Buttigieg did a really good interview.

I was surprised how long Bill let Larry and Byron go on -- but it was a good discussion.
Byron kept trotting out GOP talking points and Larry kept shooting them down.
 

He always does a great interview IMO.

[aghst]

I was surprised, didn't think the show was coming back for a couple more weeks.

Was only paying half attention though.

[iMonrey]

I have not watched this show in about a year. I only tuned into this one because I mistakenly thought Tim Miller was going to be on it. (Not sure what he was talking about on The Bulwark - maybe he went on Maher's podcast.)

In any event, I was struck by the repeated and resounding applause Byron Donalds got for every right wing talking point. That really speaks to what kind of studio audience Bill is getting these days. Granted, Larry and Mayor Pete got equal applause, but still. The audience seemed to be split about 50/50.

[Hanahope]

I appreciated Larry holding his own against Byron, especially on abortion.  i just wish he and others would quit calling the gop the "pro-life" party because they are not, they do not care about the life of the mother or the baby after it is born.  Larry needed to point out how these so-called exceptions are meaningless and that if the gop control the government in January, there will be a nationwide ban.

 

[Mr. R0b0t]

Best ep in a long time.  

[DoctorAtomic]

I thought the discussion went on way too long. Larry had good arguments, but they weren't the arguments to refute what the congressmen was talking about. 

While I appreciate the congressman speaking in good faith, he was also disingenuous. I don't think he really grasps the overall narrative on the issue. First, Trump pledged to nominate scotus justices who would overturn Roe.  He did. Three times. Second, yes, RBG said Roe was a bad decision, but because she thought women's right to choose was protected under the Fourteenth. So it's not like she was against protecting this right in the constitution. Third, Roberts himself said the ruling in Dobbs did not require overturning Roe. Fourth, *every* time abortion is on the ballot is passes. We leave it up to the states, right? Well, 60% of Kansans said yes, so it's not only liberals, and then why did the attorney general try to throw the results out? 

He's correct in that Dobbs didn't overturn abortion, but let's not pretend outlawing abortion hasn't been the motivation since Roe. It's literally been in the party platform for 50 years, until now. So which is it? You can't take off your helmet or just not show your face? Because the goalposts move around a lot on this issue to suit the situation. 

You look at any poll from anywhere and a majority of Americans are in favor of abortion with reasonable restrictions; basically, like it had been since 1973. 

I take Bill's point about why the issue seems harder than it needs to be, but it's really not.