Good Sunday morning and
welcome to inside Tennessee.
I'm your moderator, John Becker.
My colleague John N enjoying a much needed
vacation and well deserved this morning.
A freewheeling discussion
of all things politics.
Typically we focus on the
local side this morning.
We focus on the national side with our
two veteran guests, Susan Richardson.
Williams is a Republican.
She runs her own.
PR firm Don Bosch is a Democrat,
runs his own.
Law firm and we are pleased to
have both of them with us and I
was trying to add up the years
but just take my word for it.
Both of them have been on this
broadcast for going on 20 years
plus and we normally lean on you
guys for what's happening in East
Tennessee in the state of Tennessee,
but we're going to move beyond
that for just a a fun discussion
about what's on your mind
politically on the national stage.
First though,
I want to talk to our viewers about
what you read on any given day.
It keeps you informed of what's
happening on the national stage.
Don. Let's start with you.
What's on your list of gotos every morning?
Well, aside from the local paper and
the local papers and your website,
of course, WB IR nationally? Really?
You know, I pay attention to NPR,
BBC, Bloomberg, Politico, MSNBC,
Wapo, Washington Post. I do follow.
I gotta say, I got to give a shout out to
my guys at Tennessee Holler and Ecompass.
Locally, I do pay attention to some
of the things on the right, too,
because I think that's important.
I think Susan will tell you
the same thing from her.
Perspective with the left, but I like,
I think balance on the right.
You find National Review in the hill.
I get a good perspective that I don't
think is is, you know, fox colored.
Let's call it that.
But or certainly Susan's favorite Alex Jones.
But I do pay attention.
I read a lot.
I know Susan and I talk a lot
during the week and we're like,
did you see this article or
did you see this and John?
You and I do the same thing and
it's good to bounce those things
off and get some perspective.
That's that's what I look
at to start to get a base.
I also really like fivethirtyeight.com
and I can't say enough good things
about if you're if you're a little
bit of a staff key and a fair one.
These guys almost always get it right.
Susan, let's move to you and one
thing I'll mention as as I do.
This is both you and Don spent a
lot of time on the phone as well.
Every time I call you,
you've just spoken with somebody
who's tied into something else.
We do that and my business
you have to do that.
You have to stay connected you have to know
what's happening on the national scene.
Politico is Don said that's that's
certainly my go to on the on the
national you know the news of the
day or actually it comes out several
times a day and you know if there's
breaking news they come out with that.
So Politico is is I think the best just
online instant information and and that's.
Generally correct,
and I think it's fair, fair and balanced.
I look at Fox News. Of course,
I also look at the Washington Post.
I look at the New York Times
on occasion in Tennessee.
I would say if people want a good,
fair perspective on what's
happening in Tennessee politics,
the Tennessee Journal,
it's online daily and it they also
have a print version of it that
you can subscribe to Republicans
like to look at the Tennessee Star.
Which was started initially by Steve Gale,
but he's not associated with it.
It's Michael Patrick Leahy.
Tennessee Lookout is one that
Democrats and Republicans will watch.
Don mentioned the Tennessee holler.
That's one that the is certainly
Democrat oriented a little bit
more liberal out there.
Another one that I like.
That's a good politician.
That that's what I would still call an
investigative journalist in Nashville.
And that's Phil Williams.
He's with news Channel 5 down there.
He's the one that had the video
on Hillsdale College recently.
The Arne that talked about dumb
dumb is places and dumbest colleges
and that kind of thing.
And Phil broke that.
He's very good at investigative
reporting and so I'll check in
on with him occasionally to see
if there's any breaking news.
He has WBR, of course, locally and and.
Campers are subscribed to it
as well as Don does,
so we I think we kind of do
some of the same things,
but I keep Fox News on running because
Senator Blackburn and Senator Haggerty
on it four or five times every day.
So so I hear her voice.
So I kind of keep up with what our
Tennessee senators are are talking about.
One other quick note on that I want to
stick on the media for just a minute.
Susan will stay with you and then get
Don's thoughts but you mentioned.
Senator Blackburn, Senator Haggerty.
What about social media?
They're both extraordinarily active when
it comes to their social media pages.
We see that with politicians across
the region and across the country,
how closely are you watching Twitter
Facebook, social media pages? Tik T.O.K.
For all all things politics, Susan,
I did look at that Twitter particularly.
And and Facebook is, you know.
It's certainly not as breaking news.
As Twitter is.
And and I think you have to watch that
because that's where you get your immediate
updates on something that's happening.
You know, I could sit all day and do
nothing but look at social media and
these online political venues so,
but it you know I try to do it in the
morning and see what's happening.
Then before I go to bed at night I'll
look over a quick Facebook and Twitter
to see if anything else has happened
and Don as I toss it to you.
Do you think that social media
has enhanced the political?
Experience or hurt it? I
think it's hard and I'll tell you why,
because my take on social media and
the way politicians on both sides,
but particularly the Republicans, use it.
They don't ever talk about
what they want to do.
They talk about what the other guy is doing.
That's bad, it's just criticism.
Criticism, criticism, Democrats do it too.
But I I see more Republicans using
it in that fashion. And so I,
I think it really becomes destructive.
It's like, guys, tell me what you stand for,
not how much you dislike.
What the other person stands for.
So I, I do look at it like,
Susan make no mistakes,
but I I roll my eyes and go, good Lord,
for once come up with something.
Marsha Blackburn, Tim Burchett,
somebody that did just isn't about how much
you dislike what the Democrats are doing.
Come up with what good are
the Republicans doing,
what do they believe in,
what do they want to do?
And so I don't think it's as
good as some of the, the, the,
whether you find them objective or not,
the news reporting that can go on,
even the opinion.
News reporting that go on
to give people fresh ideas,
or at least think about
perspectives like Susan.
Although I noticed she didn't say
MSNBC that I think it's important to
watch some of the other side and and
get it because every now and then and
I don't remember it was Howard Baker.
It was attributed to her what
every now and then the other guy
could be right could have an idea.
So
yeah, the guy might be right.
Yeah that was Howard Baker title of a book.
We're gonna take a quick break.
We've laid the discussion.
We're gonna come back to a little word
association with Don and Susan about
national headlines right after this.