July 14, 2019

I think I've written before that the best course I took in college was an epistemology and logic class. Forcing yourself to challenge why you know something is a good way to check your beliefs and not fall into biases and fallacies. I've been seeing a LOT of punditry of late that really has me wanting to emulate my former professor and just stand in front of them and demand, "HOW do you know that to be true???"

I'm especially over all these conservative Never Trumpers who have written way more column inches than liberal writers are ever given on how the Democratic Party can appeal to them in the upcoming elections. This notion--this "false consensus" bias--is particularly insidious. Why do these jokers think that the majority think like them? The hubris to believe that YOU, personally, are the center of thought is pretty breathtaking. I promise you, if we took David Brooks, Joe Scarborough, Andrew Sullivan, Bari Weiss, Bill Kristol, et al., and plotted them on a chart, they would be nowhere near the center, so expecting that they are the majority is just stupid.

To be fair, I'm not anywhere in the center either. But I don't have the fricking arrogance to insist that I do and that all conversation and political dialog should center around my values or they can count me out. I understand the stakes. I think about the larger bargain that needs to be made for the sake of this country, for democracy and for the norms and rules that previously kept this country together. And I think of all those being hurt and prioritize that over assuaging my ego (something that just never seems to occur to the pundit class). That's what being a responsible citizen does.

Let's see them advocate that for once.

ABC's "This Week" — Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; investor and liberal activist Tom Steyer. Panel: former Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J.; former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, D-Chicago; Rachael Bade of The Washington Post; and Alexi McCammond of Axios.

NBC's "Meet the Press" — Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; U.S. Women's National Soccer Team co-captain Megan Rapinoe. Panel: Politico Magazine’s Tim Alberta; former Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla.; Hallie Jackson of NBC News; and former Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Jeh Johnson, former secretary of Homeland Security; NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine; historian Douglas Brinkley. Panel: Ben Domenech of The Federalist, Paula Reid of CBS News, Toluse Olorunnipa of The Washington Post and Kelsey Snell of National Public Radio.

CNN's "State of the Union" — Cuccinelli; New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Panel: Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif; Scott Jennings, former special assistant to President George W. Bush; former Mayor Andrew Gillum, D-Tallahassee; and Amanda Carpenter, former communications director, Sen. Ted Cruz.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" — Ernest Moniz, former U.S. secretary of energy (Barack Obama administration, 2013-2017); David Miliband, president, International Rescue Committee; Thomas Friedman of The New York Times; human rights attorneys Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju.

CNN's "Reliable Sources" — Julie Anderson, editor-in-chief of the Orlando Sentinel; Mark Katches, executive editor of the Tampa Bay Times; and Alex Harris, climate change reporter for The Miami Herald. Renee DiResta, research manager, Stanford Internet Observatory; Oliver Darcy, senior media reporter, CNN; and Katie Rogers, White House correspondent, The New York Times. Panel: Jane Coaston, senior politics reporter, Vox; Samantha Vinograd, CNN national security analyst; and Robby Soave, associate editor, Reason.

"Fox News Sunday" — Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump; Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M. Panel: Juan Williams, co-host of “The Five”; Josh Holmes, former chief of staff to Sen. Mitch McConnell; former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah; and Jane Harman, former congresswoman, D-Calif.

So what's catching your eye this morning?

Can you help us out?

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