Jim Antle, the magazine’s executive editor, brings to life the pages of the Washington Examiner’s magazine in the show Inside Scoop. Each episode features exclusive insight from the article authors.
On this week’s episode, Antle gives his analysis on the “political food fight” coming to a dinner table near you. As Thanksgiving approaches, Antle surmises one too many families are sure to get into heated arguments over divisive politics or “the outrage of the day.”
“Is there a better way?” Antle asked. “Certainly, before the internet, cable news, social media, we used to argue in a more civil manner, and we can idealize the past.”
Antle highlights how Utah State Rep. Jason E. Thompson wrote in this week’s cover article about debates between Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine, whose opposing ideas offer a historical lens on how political disagreement has been handled.
“They certainly were able to discuss things and debate in a way that is much more rarified than what we often hear today,” Antle said. “Certainly, families shouldn’t be split up over politics or whatever the outrage of the day is in the headlines. We can all be civil, get along, without necessarily abandoning our principles or not taking seriously our deeply held convictions.”
Next in the show, Antle sits down with editorial director Hugo Gurdon to discuss whether politicians have any virtues left. Gurdon explains he felt very put off by candidates’ demeanor, “dirty tricks,” and the use of F-bombs in the midterm election.
“The thing that I had in mind at that time was the extraordinary lack of self-restraint and decency that went into the dirty trick in Alaska,” Gurdon said. “It has been exposed as an extraordinary dirty trick, entirely connived by the Democrat campaign.”
Gurdon noted, if the behavior of President Donald Trump and the rest of his team is any indication, this type of crude campaigning is just the beginning as politicians and pundits now look toward the 2028 presidential election.
“I remember talking to sort of elections practitioner, and he said, ‘The reason there’s negative advertising is that negative advertising works.’” Gurdon said. “They’re trying to show that their opponents are dirty tricksters, immoral … and they are the shining beacons of virtue in American politics.”
Lastly, Antle is joined by attorney and Israeli writer Michael M. Rosen to discuss the inconclusive outcome of Israel’s first election since the Oct. 7 invasion. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party fell shy of the majority and the opposition, led by former Israeli military Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party, also came up short.
“This was a decline for Bibi and his coalition,” Rosen said. “In fact, it was the weakest showing for that coalition in more than a decade. At the same time, however, it was a major disappointment for the opposition that had hoped to unseat Netanyahu.”
Rosen believes the best solution would be to create a unity government. Netanyahu and Eisenkot could come to an agreement on a power-sharing arrangement where each would take two years as prime minister.
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“This has happened in the past,” Rosen said. “The challenge there is mostly an ego issue and mostly a campaign promise issue, because each side has vowed not to participate, not to ally with the other side, and they would both, all of these sides, would have to get over themselves in order for that to happen, and that’s a lot easier said than done.”
Tune in each week at washingtonexaminer.com and across all our social media platforms to go behind the headlines in the Washington Examiner’s magazine show, Inside Scoop.