Otago professor on Ginsburg's death and implications

Professor Robert Patman from the University of Otago talks with Pat Brittenden about the death of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Ginsburg's death on Friday from cancer after 27 years on the court has handed President Donald Trump, who is seeking re-election on November 3, the opportunity to expand its conservative majority to 6-3 at a time of a gaping political divide in America.

Prof Patman and Pat Brittenden discuss what the 87-year-old's death means for the US election and the Supreme Court.

 

Comments

Is this something new for the ODT? It's great commentary, probably the best I've seen here in a long time, maybe ever. Dunno who the other guys is, but Rob Patman is excellent and together it's a really interesting and pertinent conversation.

At least Pattman isn't passing himself of as a political commentator this time.
He is hard left, as is the interviewer.
Raises the question as to whether OU or any university has a hard right Prof employed under tenure and why that might be?
Hard right and hard left, have both produced genocidal outcomes so why not have them fight it out in academia ?
Do intellectual ideas produce wars and the populous are just the fodder ?

NYT 31-01-20 "Trump administration said Friday that it would bar entry by most foreign nationals who had recently visited China and put some American travelers under a quarantine as it declared a rare public health emergency."

The Hill 10-03-20 "Republican leaders are calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to pull a bill that would rescind President Trump’s controversial travel ban, arguing it could hinder the administration’s ability to limit the number of individuals entering the U.S."
Who is acting to stop the virus ?
Who is following WHO advise to allow travel ?
When did NZ stop travel ?
NBC 26-08-20 "Hillary Clinton says Biden should not concede the election 'under any circumstances'"
Civil war, anyone ?
The swamp is big !!!

I'd be interested to know 'Eyes Wide Open' what is said in the conversation that makes you identify the commentators as 'hard left'?

Patman's previous interviews in the ODT.
The panic over Trump appointing another SCJ
At 4:22 Patman says "some commentators said he has already cast doubt that he will accept the outcome of the forthcoming election".
See my previous post. There are many other examples of the Dems trying to undermine this election. Postal ballots from the electoral roll is the most blatant. US states have a very poor history doing this.
At 14:05 Brittenden "I think politically shrewd and Donald Trump don't go hand in hand".
Looking at NZ media you'd think Trump has done nothing right in 4 years. Not only did he win 2016 when all the polls said he wouldn't, he has kept his promises. You've got to be shrewd to do that in the US. Apart from bring the troops home and the first ME peace deal in 26 years, he got $5 billion for education on the TikTok deal. Clever!
At 16:34 Patman "you're either with us or against us and Trump operates on that basis"
"Trump to Black Voters: What Do You Have to Lose?" That sounds like an invitation to me.
Biden "If you don't vote for me, you ain't black"
These guys push the far left agenda.
There is no balance.
The message was settled before they started.

Respectfully I think your comments show us more about you than the two on the clip.

There are many people from the far left to the right who think Trump is not shrewd, McCain, Romney, George Conway...all republicans...all think he's an idiot...whether he is or isn't 'hard left'...calling Trump not shrewd is not a sign of that...I don't know who Brittendon is, but having a look at his podcast which I found from this clip, he has all sorts of guests including many the far left would shun like Megan Murphy, the journalist who was banned from twitter for her views on gender.

Other than that, whether Patman is 'hard left' or not, again nothing is said in this clip to confirm that. Not only commentators, but Trump himself has already said they might question the outcome of the election. https://time.com/5868739/trump-election-results-chris-wallace/

The 'with us or against us' comment is what Patman i saying his contacts in the US are saying, not himself.

Your desire to demonise these two as 'hard left' demonstrates your position in politics, and how you think anyone that doesn't agree with you is the worst of the worst...in this case and in your opinion 'hard left'