Feehery Podcast Ep. 5: La Plaza, Comey and Corbyn, Oh My! | Feehery, Belmar, & Brown
Posted on June 9, 2017
Transcript
John Feehery:
The Feehery Theory Podcast brought to you by EFB Advocacy. EFB. Excellent for business. I'm your host John Feehery. I'm speaking to you from EFB Worldwide Headquarters, right down the street from La Plaza. An excellent Mexican joint owned by excellent Salvadoran immigrants. They have great queso and even better margaritas. I'm joined by my colleagues from EFB. Adam Belmar and Chris Brown.
Mr. Belmar, what can you tell us about La Plaza?
Adam Belmar:
Oh my god. I love this joint. And you just talked about the queso. They call it 'Chili con Queso.' I said, "No, I want the queso." They said, "No. It's the Chili con Queso." I said, "Bring me the Chili con Queso." It is so good. And I go in there for dinner at least once a week. I love the people. I love the energy. And apparently, a lot of people around Eastern Market love this place so much that they order for take out. Very robust take out [crosstalk 00:00:54].
John Feehery:
Yes. I do a lot of takeout. Chris, have you been there?
Chris Brown:
I have. I am a big fan.
John Feehery:
So, you know, I've been going there for 11 years. We went there two weeks after our son, Jack, was born. That was his first restaurant. Great place. Great local place. Great margaritas and the margaritas actually make ya eat more chips. And you know what else? People of really good value. I feel like for the dollar spent, sustenance and joy are both gained. The format of this show is very simple. I offer theories, and my colleagues respond to them and offer their on.
Theory one. The liar versus the leaker. Or to put it another way, "Hell hath no fury than a former FBI director's scorn." James Comey let President Trump have it with both barrels yesterday. He is obviously angry he got fired, and he's more angry in the way he got fired. He called the President a liar. The President's people fired back, focusing on Mr. Comey as the source of classified leaks. I think this whole debacle didn't move the needle one way or another. If you like Trump, you think Comey is an ingrate. If you hate Trump, you hate him even more.
Adam, you watched this whole thing, gavel to gavel. What are your impressions?
Adam Belmar:
This was a remarkable day of political theater in Washington, D.C. Not since the impeachment hearings have so many people been focused on a hearing like this. I think that the deference that the former FBI director got from members of the Senate of both political persuasions indicates what we were walking into yesterday. Comey enjoys a great deal of credibility, a close working relationship with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
And a much broader audience of people are inclined to believe the contemporaneous memos that were written by Comey. He was given every opportunity being [answer 00:02:45] questions about Flynn, about Russia, about his interpersonal communications with the President. And boy, was it a damning hearing about the President, about the way the FBI director thought about him as a human being, his credibility and his ability to even trust the President in having one-on-one meetings.
There's no doubt in my mind that anybody who watched that hearing walked away feeling like this is a President who was, and probably still is, out of depth in terms of understanding how things work and what is appropriate, John. I do agree with the theory, however. If you hated Donald Trump, then you were just gonna be more along those lines after hearing what you heard yesterday. If you respect the President, respect the presidency, and believe that Donald Trump did not do anything wrong. I think you found, as I did, that there was nothing in that hearing that spoke to me about a criminal level of malfeasance. What it really did was pointed up that we have a huge, I mean enormous, iceberg that we have hit as a country. And it is rushin' aggression against this country and our democracy.
That it what it pointed up yesterday, and that it where the story will go.
John Feehery:
Hey, Chris. Let me ask you this question just about the atmospherics around this whole event in Washington, D.C. There were bars that were opened early to watch as where people are doing shots based on presidential tweets, which is unfortunate because the President didn't tweet at all during this. Do you have any friends that went to any of these bars? What are the atmospherics around it?
Chris Brown:
Yeah. I think this is more a matter of restaurant publicity more than anything else. People around the country don't really believe us when we say that in D.C., we go to bars on State of the Union night. We watch presidential speeches with the volume up at our favorite watering holes. Yeah, you mentioned Union Pub over on the Senate side. "We're offering free drinks anytime the President [inaudible 00:04:35] tweeted." Probably fortunate for their bottom liner, he didn't. But, it's a party atmosphere. Especially on Capitol Hill particularly.
But throughout Washington in general, this was the big show. This is our Superbowl. This is as big as it gets this year.
John Feehery:
And like Superbowls. Many Superbowls. It really wasn't all that exciting. It was not something that ... I guess if you watch it gavel to gavel, you got some of the drama.
Adam Belmar:
Well, I'm a forward journalist and I have logged hearings since 1997 as a working journalist. And so picking bites and hearing and understanding the elements of a hearing and what makes news, it was a very high content hearing. There were other sidebar stories and certainly Senator John McCain appeared to be discombobulated during his questioning conflating to investigation.
John Feehery:
You know what he did. He blamed watching the Arizona Diamondbacks late night for the fact that he could not get a question out, which I thought was interesting. 'Cause lot of times when I'm tired is when I'm watching the Nationals or on the West Coast kind of drives my sleep lock crazy, but that was a big snore story. What was John McCain saying and why couldn't he get his story straight?
Adam Belmar:
Well, McCain was really, if you just take him on his word, trying to essentially defend the President by saying that the FBI director and his investigation into Hillary Clinton and the email investigation finished with the decision that there would be no charges brought against her. And yet, this was an open investigation where you couldn't say the same and it was hard for me to actually conflate the two because I just don't think that they were the same thing. That was the problem for the former FBI director I think, Chris.
Chris Brown:
Yeah. I'm a huge fan of John McCain. I have been for a long time. He's an American goddamn hero and has been an extraordinary public servant for a long time. But there are voices within the party, the Republican Party, that say, "It's time for him to go." And I'm not willing to go there just yet, but he certainly looked like he was out of his depth yesterday. He was confused. He was tired. And as Adam said, he was conflating two completely separate investigations.
John Feehery:
Let me ask you this question, Chris. Before you move on. As far as social media, this was a triumph of the networks. Live TV. Tell us a little bit about how the social media reacted to ... At the beginning of this hearing, before it even started, I put out a headline. 'Fired Employee Complains About Crazy Ex-Boss.' And it got a huge response from the world of social media. Lot of people hammered me, which I thought ... Especially from the left. But social media was on this thing. How did they react? How did you see it?
Chris Brown:
As it pertains to your social media, you're usually winning when both sides are attacking you and I think that was probably happening yesterday. Yeah, this was a complete tweet storm from all sides. I think people were using this hearing the same way that [a drunk 00:07:22] uses a lamppost for support, not illumination. Anything that you believe beforehand you were going to be able to amplify and throw a fun, snarky spin on. But nobody learned anything. It wasn't just the facts that we learned mostly from his prepared testimony.
Adam Belmar:
If there's anything to learn from yesterday, and I hope the President can learn that there's no indication tat he has ... But, my father told me this story many years ago when I started working professionally. He said, "There once was a bird who decided, unlike his other birds, that he wasn't gonna go South for the winter. He said, 'I love it where I am and I'm really really good.' Well, winter started to come. The ice and sleet came and he said, 'Gosh, I made a mistake. I need to fly South for the winter.' Well, he started flying but the ice started accumulating on the bird's wings. And before she knew it, he was falling out of the sky like a stone. He thought he was gonna die but he landed in a pile of cow shit. And when he realized that he was okay, he was so excited that he stood up and started squeaking and tweeting. Tweet. Tweet. Tweet. Tweet. Tweet. And then the barnyard cat came only and ate him."
You know what the moral of the story is, John. If you're happy and warm in a pile of shit, keep your mouth shut. That is exactly what the President of the United States needs to remember. No more tweets. He's interrupting himself. He destroyed Infrastructure Week. He is destroying his credibility in terms of Washington and leading on enacting his agenda. And that is exactly his greatest strength. He's gotta stop forcing these errors.
John Feehery:
Theory 2. May be not. Theresa May called for a snap election two months ago, betting that she could easily beat Jeremy Corbyn, the Anti-Semitic socialist who leads the Labor Party. Oops. Corbyn's party once [seats 00:09:07] Theresa May's Tories lost their majority and the result now is complete chaos. My theory is that Theresa may lost this election because of her lackluster response to the terrorist attacks in Manchester and in London over the past couple weeks. She didn't look like a strong leader and I think that's why the voters sent her a strong vote of no confidence. Chris, taking a look at this election, what are your thoughts of what this all means for America and what it means for the future of Great Britain?
Chris Brown:
Oh boy. If you thought polling was bad over here, it continues to be bad over there. Yeah, she made a terrible fumble in calling for this election. She misread the electorate. I think the biggest problem, as folks have said, is that she expected some of the Ukippers to break for her, and they didn't. So that was really unfortunate. But look. Yes, she did lose seats. She does not have a majority. But she still is in power. She's gonna from a coalition government with the DUP. Brexit will continue. I think that Scottish Independence referendums are off the table for another decade.
This is not as big as loss as it might seem. Yeah. It hurts. It stings a lot for sure. And I think they're doing to be much more sober in trying to call for something like this in the future.
John Feehery:
Aren't you concerned that someone like Jeremy Corbyn, who is a nut job, can lead a political party based on the crazy things he said in the past and gain seats in election?
Chris Brown:
That could never happen. There's a funny meme that's circulated a couple of times over the last few years. But it's two photographs juxtaposed. One is ... They're both in black-and-white. They're both from 1988. One is Jeremy Corbyn being arrested in anti-apartheid protests. The other is David Cameron chumming it up with his buddies in formal wear at the Oxford or something. But I think that the Brits, much like the Americans are looking for some honest leadership. And Jeremy Corbyn wasn't at this time around, but he's certainly made his point.
John Feehery:
I think that's right. The populous stuff is working. And it's not populism as much as this idea that, "I'm mad as hell. I'm not going to take it anymore. And I'm going to vote for the craziest SOB I can get my hands on." It worked in America and it worked for Corbyn. He didn't win the Marjory, but boy, it was close.
Chris Brown:
I'll give you three to two Vegas odds that Boris Johnson's Prime Minster six months from now.
John Feehery:
I think that's what's gonna happen too.
Adam Belmar:
Well, I would just add that our cup runneth over with crazy here in Washington and in the United States. We didn't, for the most part, put an eye on the British elections. But, what an unbelievable debacle on her part not only should she have never made the snap election decision, but she played it poorly. And she behaved poorly. [Events of 00:11:40] day came back to point up some of the worse problems with her leadership as Home Secretary. So if President Trump can learn anything, it's that action and results will tell the tale of tape for him in 18 and again in 20. Without that, he's nothing.
John Feehery:
I think that's exactly right. I also think that the one thing that Theresa May did not have during this whole terrorist attacks, evidence of strong leadership. Her rhetoric wasn't strong. She didn't look strong. And I think when people feel fear, they want strength.
Adam Belmar:
Dogs and bees can smell fear.
John Feehery:
Yeah. That's exactly right. Theory three. Congress is busy at work while the national media focuses on Russiagate. The House passed a major revision of Dodd-Frank this week. The Senate is inching ever closer to a deal on healthcare before the July 4th recess. I talked to members and they aren't really caught up in all this Russia nonsense. They are busy legislating. My theory here is that the Republican Congress in both the House and the Senate is undervalued as a stock price. I would buy Republican [futures 00:12:47]. What say you, Adam Belmar?
Adam Belmar:
[Bye, bye, bye 00:12:49]. There's no doubt in my mind that the upside potential for the Republican majorities in the House and the Senate is enormous. Huge, you might say. I think that they just got to get to it. I see the Dodd-Frank repeal as being something that a Republican majority with a Democratic President, they could have pushed. They passed before. Could it get into law? I sincerely hope that Mitch McConnell and [speaker 00:13:14] Ryan can get on the same page and figure out how to actually do the one thing that escapes this majority, which is enact a new legislations and of real substance.
John Feehery:
Well, I don't think that Dodd-Frank thing is going anywhere 'cause it's not gonna pass the Senate. The one thing they could focus on is tax reform. We work with RATE coalition. They're trying to get the corporate tax rate more competitive with the rest of the world. That's the one thing that's gonna boost economic growth. I don't think they'll be able to do that though until they get to healthcare, which I think they're working diligently on.
Chris, what are your thoughts? You've been someone whose been a little bit of a Republican skeptic given what the President did on the Paris Climate Accord. You also were really negative when it came to the initial healthcare vote. What are your thoughts on the futures of the Republican Party? You think that they have a chance to keep the majority or are you think they're doomed?
Chris Brown:
I don't think anybody's doomed. I do think they have a chance to keep their majority if they can get through healthcare in a way that pleases the base and they do get the tax reform in a way that shows some real dollars coming home to real Americans. I'd be willing to upgrade them from a 'sell' to a 'don't buy.' I think that everything that happens here in Washington, that is the real business of the governance and the legislating, is incredibly important and it's what they're here to do.
But, from the heartland, nobody cares. It's not sexy. It's not national news.
Adam Belmar:
I think that you bringing up that the fact that EFB Advocacy works from on behalf of the RATE coalition is a great thing. We have been seeing, in our work for this coalition for years, of American companies who pay actually do pay an effective federal tax rate above 32 percent and are not, by any measure, going to leave the United States. But want to be competitive in the world. That there is an increasing body of evidence that people here in the country, who are focused and are started to become focused on tax reform, are willing to speak up.
And we have some experience with that this week. I think, Chris, you'll agree that even though the prospects for immediate uptake of this and seriousness in the Senate isn't there, more Americans are starting to focus on, "We need to win and the tax reform is really gonna spell a boost to jobs and wages."
Chris Brown:
Yeah. Tax reform in this context is not about rich people. And that's such an easy thing that Democrats always want to point to. This is about everybody. If you have a pension or a 401K, you are a shareholder in big American corporations. It's your interest to see them competitive with the rest of the world. This is especially gonna help small and family owned business, more than anybody. They've gotten hurt so much over the last 30 years. It's time to shake the [Etch A Sketch 00:15:46], if you will.
John Feehery:
Well, and I do think at the end of the day, Republicans will be successful if the economy is growing and the people feel confident about the future. If economy falters, that could happen if Republicans fail the passed tax reform, then I think they're gonna be in serious trouble. I think a lot of this other stuff, for example, I don't think Russiagate has much of an impact on what most people care about. Now, some people do care about it. There's no doubt about it. Some people are worried that the Russians have somehow infiltrated the top levels of government and that Donald Trump is a stooge for Vladimir Putin.
But, I don't think that's where most voters are. I think most voters care about their daily lives.
Chris Brown:
I think that in the Summer of 2020. If we are at full employment with DOWS surging to or past 25 thousand, and there've been no major terrorist instance in the US ... Regardless of everything else, Donald Trump gets reelected.
Adam Belmar:
I think that's right.
John Feehery:
Well, guys thanks for joining us on this beautiful Friday morning in Washington, D.C. It's gonna be beautiful this weekend up until Sunday when it gets to be a 95 degree-
Adam Belmar:
Are you giving me the Storm team 4:40 forecast?
John Feehery:
I'm giving you the Storm team ... Yeah, exactly.
Adam Belmar:
Yeah. That's easy to say.
Chris Brown:
[inaudible 00:16:54] any baseball games this weekend, John?
John Feehery:
I'm gonna go to the game tonight.
Chris Brown:
I'll be there also.
John Feehery:
The Nationals were able to win last night against the Baltimore Orioles, which is always fun for the whole family. Thank you for joining us at the Feehery Theory Podcast, brought to you by EFB Advocacy. EFB means-
Adam Belmar:
Excellent for business.
Chris Brown:
Yeah, baby.