On Wednesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Michael Patrick Leahy spoke with special guest former Breitbart colleague and Washington journalist Neil McCabe.
During the second hour, McCabe described the Joe Biden win as being manifested by the “invisible hand” of Barack Obama citing the quick endorsements of Pete Buttigieg, Beto O’Rourke and Amy Klobuchar. Furthermore, McCabe explained why it was time for Michael Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren to drop out.
Leahy: We are joined on the line now by Washington journalist Neil McCabe. Good morning Neil.
McCabe: Hey, good morning, Michael.
Leahy: Well, Super Tuesday.
McCabe: Yes.
Leahy: Joe Biden wins nine races there. I was so surprised by that. How about you?
McCabe: I think what was the big surprise for me was that President Barack Obama decided to get involved. And I think he was really the invisible hand here. And I think that the best example of that is the fact that Beto O’Rourke, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar would basically step up and endorse Biden.
Then Klobuchar put out the word, usually, when a presidential campaign shuts down they are all upset and sort of go home. But Klobuchar and her organization pulled out all the stops to deliver Minnesota for Biden where he hadn’t even visited. And that was a real show of force.
I don’t think anybody was really trying to impress Biden. They were trying to impress Obama. This is interesting to me because agenda wise President Obama is more closely aligned with Bernie Sanders.
But it’s the approach that is different whereas Bernie Sanders says, “Hey I’m a democratic socialist. This is what I’m about.” He makes no bones about it. He doesn’t apologize. Whereas Obama prefers to work for the democratic socialist agenda while pretending to be doing something else.
Leahy: A very insightful comment. Again, I think you’re absolutely right. If you look at those three endorsements by the three presidential endorsements of Joe Biden that came bam, bam, bam. Pete Buttigieg is aligned more with Bernie Sanders ideologically than he is with Joe Biden. Now Klobuchar would be more aligned with Biden.
But Beto O’Rourke? Beto O’Rourke is definitely more aligned with Bernie Sanders and yet there he was in Texas pledging fidelity and loyalty to Joe Biden. And it looks like in Texas it really paid off. Joe Biden one with 30% over Bernie Sanders. I was surprised by that actually Neil. Where you?
McCabe: I was really taken aback by the fact of those three endorsements. I wasn’t sure how it was going to play out because one of the problems with early voting is that I cast my ballot a month ago for Elizabeth Warren (Leahy laughs) and she didn’t even get in the top three.
She ended up literally throwing things away. And then the other big story, of course, is Michael Bloomberg. My friend is a comic and political commentator columnist Kim Young, he tweeted out last night that if Mike Bloomberg wanted to waste the money he could have just bought the Mets. (Leahy laughs)
Leahy: That’s a good line. It’s not a total waste because unlike Tom Steyer who spent 160 million dollars and got zero delegates. Bloomberg, I think he spent about half a billion dollars so far and he does have 38 delegates.
McCabe: Right.
Leahy: So I don’t know. What’s that work out to? About 10-15 million bucks a delegate? At least he got some.
McCabe: Yes, but they are from the finest families. (Leahy laughs)
Leahy: Of course he won American Samoa. (Chuckles)
McCabe: Yeah. Maybe we’ll see a separatist movement going on from American Samoa.
Leahy: So Neil McCabe, put on your advice hat right now. You are a counselor to Michael Bloomberg, and he’s waking up this morning and it’s not a pretty sight. Here in Tennessee, for instance, he finished in third place spending $36 million.
He spent $7.6 million and got 17% of the vote. Joe Biden didn’t show up in Tennessee. And spent $178,000 and won it going away with 41% of the vote. Bernie Sanders in second with 24%. You’re Michael Bloomberg and you are way behind on delegates. What do you decide to do this morning?
McCabe: Well, I mean I think he should just hang it up. I can’t imagine how that conversation goes this morning when Bloomberg goes to his political consultants, and he says you told me you guys were geniuses. Look at this! And they say, yeah we are geniuses we only spent $100 billion.
Leahy: (Laughs) It’s true. It’s capitalism. Well, and of course, I think one bad debate performance and one kind of bad debate performance by Bloomberg didn’t help him at all. That may not have been the ultimate deciding factor, but he’s just a stiff. I mean he’s a bright guy, but he’s just not warm and fuzzy and inspiring, is he?
McCabe: Well I do want to talk about Elizabeth Warren briefly. I will say about Michael Bloomberg that once and for all, he has solved that riddle. With his whole campaign finance thing. Because it really doesn’t matter how much people spend.
The idea that we would regulate campaign finances at all is just absurd when you look at what goes on with Michael Bloomberg. Because conceivably he could have spent $3 billion and he would not become President of the United States.
And of course, my hometown heroine, Elizabeth Warren raised $80 million in 2019 alone just to get less than 10% in New Hampshire. And I think you may have it in front of you. When I went to bed she was in third in Massachusetts?
Leahy: Third place in Massachusetts. I think under 20%. Third place in her home state. And then in the state where she was born, fourth place. The people that know her well don’t like her apparently.
McCabe: They have their reservations. (Leahy laughs)
Leahy: Oh! That is a great line! (Laughs)
McCabe: Thank you. Flip them in before she walks off the stage.
Leahy: What’s your advice for Elizabeth Warren this morning?
McCabe: She has to position herself for a cabinet position or something in the Biden administration. This was Klobuchar, Buttigieg, and O’Rourke were basically auditioning for the Biden cabinet.
I just don’t think that Warren has a future in national politics because she doesn’t get along with people. And she’s abrasive in the Senate. And I think she’s just going to ride this thing out. And basically in Massachusetts, she has a Senate seat for life. She’ll never pass a bill, and she’ll just be there.
And it’s not even worth Trump’s time anymore. We see over and over again in not only when people go up against Trump bad things happen to them. Chris Matthews is the latest example. But Elizabeth Warren thought she could take on Trump. And he just destroyed her.
Leahy: Would you advise her to endorse Bernie Sanders? Would you advise her to endorse Biden or drop out? What would your advice be to her this morning?
McCabe: I think the smart play is to endorse Biden because that’s going to be what the party regulars want. The Bernie Sanders movement is really going to develop into a third party. I’m waiting for that split to happen.
The Bernie Sanders movement is very close to what we saw with the Tea Party on the Republican side. But the Republican leadership and the Tea Party basically were able to sort of fold it in right?
There’s no more Tea Party but Trump is the President of the United States. And Trump is that spirit of the Tea Party. I don’t think there is anyone who exemplifies that spirit of the Tea Party more than Trump.
But Bernie Sanders is never going to be able to break in. When Ocasio-Cortez said, in another country Biden and I would not even be in the same party. I think she’s really speaking to a deeper truth. Bernie Sanders actually hates Democrats right?
Leahy: Exactly.
McCabe: He ran as a socialist when he was the mayor. I think he was a socialist
Leahy: Neil McCabe. Our friend and Washington journalist.Thank you for that excellent insight. Neil McCabe thank you for joining us this morning on The Tennessee Star Report.
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Photo “Neil McCabe” by One America News Network.
