The Daily Signal - #312: A Female Senator Explains Her Vote for Kavanaugh

Episode Date: October 7, 2018

On today’s Columbus Day edition of the show, we feature an interview with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, about the military, Syria, trade and Justice Brett Kavanaugh. She recently spoke at The Heritage Foundation about the newly released 2019 U.S. Index of Military Strength.Also on today’s show:• You'll also hear from communications expert Dee Dee Bass Wilbon about how conservatives can win the battle of ideas, and her upcoming conference, GrowthComms. • We feature your letters to the editor. Don’t forget, your letter could be featured next week; write us at [e-mail] or call 202-608-6205.• And on this Columbus Day, some wise words from President Ronald Reagan about the man who discovered America.The Daily Signal podcast is available on the Ricochet Audio Network. You can also listen on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts.If you like what you hear, please leave a review or give us feedback. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Monday, October 8th. I'm Rob Blewey, editor-in-chief. And I'm Jenny Malta Bono, contributor to The Daily Signal. On today's show, we'll feature an interview with Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa. She'll talk about U.S. military strength and Brett Kavanaugh. We'll also hear from communications expert, D.D. Bass-Wilbin, about how conservatives can win the battle of ideas. And, of course, we'll share some of our listeners' letters and some wise words from President Ronald Reagan. on Columbus Day.

We're here today with Senator Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa. Thanks for being with us. Thanks, Rob. It's good to be here. You're here at the Heritage Foundation to talk about the release of the 2019 U.S. Index of Military Strength. It's an assessment of how our military is doing, really. And it shows, you know, some gains that we've made under the Trump administration, but also some areas of improvement.

I want to ask you, what are your priorities as a member of the Armed Services Committee for our military? Well, overall, I think everyone that sits, on the Senate Armed Services Committee has the same goal, and that's to make sure that we are manning, training, and equipping our service members to the fullest extent possible. So we want a strong military. That's very top line. But as far as drilling down to actual priorities, making sure that we're able to meet or exceed those near-peer threats and make sure that we are also combating other types of threats like terrorists or non-state actors. Now, you yourself,

spent 23 years in the U.S. Army. You're the first female combat veteran to be elected to the U.S. Senate. So based on your own personal experience, what kind of perspective does that give you as a member of the Senate? Well, a very unique perspective, I think, when you compare to other members that have not served. So 23 years between the Army Reserves and the Iowa Army National Guard serving as a citizen soldier, and, of course, during a time of war deployed overseas. So actually wearing those boots, being a leader on those transportation missions through Iraq, really gives you an at-the-ground experience that many of our other members of the Senate will never experience.

So understanding the hardships that our men and women in service go through, I think, is extremely important. Getting a look at the operational level, the tactical level is very important, too. We make a lot of top-line decisions in the Senate that affect our military members, understanding how they trickle down to the actual sailor or soldier or Marine. I think that's really important. Well, and I know that is a big focus of yours, obviously looking out for the troops and veterans as well. Why is it so important for our country to have a strong military? And how does this index that the Heritage Foundation creates help achieve that? Well, it is important that we focus on our men and women in service because without a strong

military, what do we have? We have a nation that can't defend itself. We have a nation that can't project its values and ideals around the world. And so we rely very heavily on that strength. And I love Ronald Reagan, President Reagan, for the fact that he focused on peace through strength. It's a deterrent. And so we need a strong military. So the heritage, when they come out with their index of military strength, I pay attention to that.

I think it's very important because we have a lot of very smart people involved in sorting through a lot of the information, our appropriations bills, our authorizations in the Senate, and they are determining are we able to meet our goals as a nation in deterring those threats. So I think it's a brilliant thing to do every year we all should pay attention to the index of military strength. Well, thank you for that. And one of the hotspots that you've been focused on recently is Syria. I know you recently wrote Secretary Mattis about the U.S. situation there in Syria. What are top of your mind when it comes to that particular country and that region of the world?

Well, again, that we have an AUMF that is about 17 years old or so. And does it include the types of actions that we are seeing in Syria? So Ambassador Bolton had told everyone that we intend to keep troops. in Syria as long as we have Iranian threat there. But is that part of our AUMF? I don't know that it is. So we need to have that open, honest discussion with the Secretary of Defense

and really see what is the reasoning for keeping American troops there. The original goal to have those troops there was to combat terrorism. That is covered under the AUMF, pushing back maybe against an Iranian an Iranian influence that we maybe need to have a discussion about. Shifting topics, we just recently saw the text of the U.S., Mexico, Canada free trade agreement.

I know you've said positive things, what it means for Iowa. A lot to go through, obviously, but what are some of your initial reactions? There is. And, of course, I do focus heavily on agriculture, and NAFTA for agriculture was very good. And so our guidance to the president was, as you're negotiating through these trade, deals, make sure that you keep agriculture in mind, and he did. So the U.S. trade rep, the president, they did a great job in maintaining a presence with agriculture. But it goes even further now because with Canada, we've had trouble getting poultry, eggs, dairy products into the country,

and now we have gained new access points into Canada with those products. Well, we'll certainly be following it closely as the Congress takes its next step. Well, You know, I can't let you go without asking about what everybody's focused on in the Senate, and that's obviously the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Your colleague from Iowa, Chuck Grassley, who is chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has been in the spotlight. I want to ask you about somebody that you serve with, his leadership of that committee, and how he has handled that situation. Senator Chuck Grassley is an amazing leader, bottom line, amazing leader.

The fact that he is chairing the judiciary at such a contentious time, I think, is a benefit to the United States Senate because he is such a calm, reasonable, caring, thoughtful leader. And we've seen that through the confirmation process, not only through the initial hearings of Judge Kavanaugh in front of the committee, but then the follow-on hearings that he brought up as well when we had Dr. Ford that came forward with some accusations. He allowed her the opportunity to come in and provide testimony and allow the judge to be able to rebut some of those accusations as well. He's done a very thorough and thoughtful review of all of the information. I'm very, very proud of him, and I'm so glad that he is leading the Judiciary Committee. You've stated your support for Judge Kavanaugh. Why do you believe that he should be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court? Well, he is an incredible jurist.

We know that from his many, many opinions, his writings through the past number of years. He has served his country admirably. He served here in the D.C. Circuit Court. So we know that he is well qualified. He's more than well qualified to serve on the United States Supreme Court. So I do believe that there has been some trauma that Dr. Ford has experienced in her past. but it cannot be corroborated or tied to Brett Kavanaugh. So we have to look at the facts as presented, and the facts as presented is that there is no connection between the two.

So understanding that, we need to move forward. Look at his wonderful career. Look at the fact that he is an upstanding man in his community, and I think move forward to confirm him. Again, I'll be reviewing the information from that supplementary. investigation, but if Dr. Ford's story cannot be corroborated, I will be supporting Judge Kavanaugh. Senator Joni Ernst, thanks so much for joining the Daily Signal. Thank you very much. You bet. Are you looking for quick conservative policy solutions to current issues? Sign up for Heritage's weekly newsletter, The Agenda. Each Tuesday in the agenda,

you will learn what issues Heritage Scholars on Capitol Hill are working on, what position conservatives are taking, and links to our in-depth research. The agenda also provides information on important events happening here at Heritage that you can watch online as well as media interviews from our experts. Sign up for the agenda on heritage.org today. We're joined on today's Daily Signal podcast by D.D. Bass Wilbonne of Bass Public Affairs. D.D. Thanks for joining us. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here. Now, you have a big event coming up on Saturday, October 13th here in Washington, D.C. at the National Press Club. It's called Growth Coms. I want you to begin by telling us what it is and why you're doing it.

We are so excited about growth comms. My sister, Dina Bass, and I started growth comms about five years ago. And we started growth comms because we wanted to do a, it's a community, it's a communications conference for conservatives. And we wanted to have a boot camp style communications conference. And that's exactly what it is. And so we have some amazing speakers lined up. some amazing communicators, I should say, lined up to speak with our guests and we're really excited about it. It has been something that we've wanted to do and as a conservative, we really

believe that the conservative voice is sometimes not portrayed the way that we would like for it to be portrayed in our brand. And so that's one of the topics that we'll be talking about at Growth Coms on Saturday, October 13th, is your brand. Your brand is your calling card, it's your image and making sure that your brand is portrayed in the media the way you would like for it to be portrayed in the media. Well, and certainly we've benefited here at the Daily Signal and the Heritage Foundation from working with Bass Public Affairs. So we are looking forward to that.

How do people find out more if they want to sign up or attend? They can go to www.ggrowthcoms.com and they can register there. D.D., as a communications professional, what are some of your biggest pieces of advice to people who are trying to communicate conservative ideas? One of my biggest pieces of advice would be that in doing and working with Bascovic Affairs, we have always had the policy of attacking policy and not people. And that's with anything, whether you're in business or just in your relationships, personal relationships, never to attack that person because everyone's beliefs and thoughts are going

to be different. And that's what makes us so great as America. My sister always says the marketplace of ideas. And we, Abbassovic Affairs, truly believe in the marketplace of ideas. And so everyone has different ideas. And so you can't attack a person because their ideas aren't in line with yours. And so that's one of the biggest things, that we just want people to make sure that they are speaking truth and that they are not attacking an individual. You know, I agree with that wholeheartedly.

And I think one of the things that conservatives sometimes struggle with is they do have superior policy solutions. They just struggle to communicate them. It's one of the reasons we created the Daily Signal to try to attach personal stories and reflect how these policies help people lead better lives. So what advice do you have for conservatives, whether you're a candidate out on the trail or somebody working in Washington, D.C. on policy issues on how they can break through and reach people and maybe reach new audiences that conservatives have a candidate out on the trail or somebody working in Washington, D.C. on policy issues on how they can break through and reach people and maybe reach new audiences that conservatives haven't been able to reach in the past. To be open-minded and to understand that with every situation, everyone's going to have a different view and to be really able to just come to the table and to listen to those different views

and to agree in some cases to disagree, but to do it in a positive and a positive, politeful way. Our mother has always taught us to treat people the way we would want to be treated. And I think that goes across the board in everything that you do. Treat people with respect, whether you're a Democrat, Republican, independent, whatever the case may be. And I think if we, if we do that as individuals, we can, we can break barriers and we can be able to communicate whether it's a conservative view or liberal view. And we would be able to come to the table and make and actually make some things happen. And I think if we keep that in mind, things will work out a lot better.

That is some great advice right there. Well, D.D., you mentioned you've been hosting growth comms for several years now. I wanted to ask, what changes have you noticed within communications over the years? One of the segments of growth comms, my sister and I were actually going to be doing this segment, and that is you're smarter than your smartphone. And so over the years, and it's only been five years, but over the years we've seen with how media, how social media, Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and those types of things, and people are using those tools to communicate a lot more.

Our kids are using those tools to communicate. And so we've seen that that has been, we want to be able to show people how they can better communicate by doing quick, short video tips and things like that. And with the at Growth Combs, it goes the gammon in terms of the age. And so we want to make sure that in terms of the millennials and people like myself with four kids that we're communicating very, very well with each other. And so we've seen that over the last five years that the communication has grown in terms of different venues and how we do communicate with each other.

That's so true. And we had a guest on this show, Clay Saylor, who worked with The Daily Signal over the summer, And, you know, he talked to us about Snapchat being such a popular platform for high school students. And it's a place where conservatives really are not engaging. So I think that we need to take probably a closer look at some of those platforms that are emerging and figure out how best we can get our message out to young people in that way, too. And we will be discussing all of those. And some of the communicators that we have are media mogul Armstrong Williams,

journalist Benny Johnson, media mavens, Lynn Patton, and Katrina Pearson. So we're really excited about the list of people that we have that are going to come and speak with our participants. And I think they're going to be really excited. So if you have not registered, I encourage you to register today. There's still time at GrowthCom.coms.com. We can't wait to see you and explore and have a really good conference. And Speak Up. That's our hashtag for the conference.

It's hashtag Speak Up. Didi, I also wanted to ask you, with the 2016 election, have you noticed young people showing more of an interest in politics? I have. I have a 16-year-old. I have a 16-year-old, two 16-year-olds and a 19-year-old. And my 16-year-old son, he is really, I'm very excited and very impressed with him because he's been asking more questions about what's going on with the elections and my thoughts and just the world in general.

So I'm very excited. I think in hearing him talk about it with his friends has been very interesting, too, because they all have different views. And you can tell that some of their views. or from what they've seen on television or what they've seen on Twitter or from their parents. But it's very good to see that they're forming, they're forming their own opinions as well, but different things that they're hearing. So I'm excited. I'm really excited.

You mentioned some of the big names speakers that will be coming to growth comms. I want to ask if there's one individual out there, maybe it's somebody who's coming to the conference or maybe it's somebody entirely different, who you really think gets it. Is there a conservative out there who is a master communicator that serves as a role model that others could emulate? I'm going to be a little biased because because, and I didn't call this person, but I think my sister is. Yeah. Dina Vass Williams, I think she's absolutely amazing. She does a really, really good job.

If I had to go outside of family to name someone, let's see. I would say Armstrong Williams. I think he's excellent. And we also have, and I didn't name this person, Dr. Ben Carson, he's amazing. And we're really excited that he's going to be there because he has such a calming way of speaking to people and getting his points across. And he's very, very warm. And I think that's very good. And so we're really excited to have Dr. Carson to be there as well.

He's going to be our guest speaker. So we're very excited. We had Dr. Carson at a Heritage Foundation event and interviewed him for the Daily Signal earlier this year. And I agree with you completely. He is somebody who, as Armstrong, William told us on this podcast, has also had a positive influence on President Trump. Yes, he has. And I think that you see that in some of Trump's actions.

You really do see that coming across. Absolutely. Absolutely. D-D., thank you so much for joining us. Thank you so much for having me. Again, if you'd like to sign up for the conference, go to growthcoms.com and sign up today. Did you know you can now listen to all of our events through SoundCloud

or just by visiting our events page on heritage. You now have access to hundreds of events and compelling discussions on policy issues from your car, on the train, or the comfort of your own home. Visit heritage.org slash events for more information or search for the Heritage Foundation on SoundCloud. Thanks for sending us your letters to the editor. Each Monday, we feature some of our favorites both on this show and in our Morning Bell email newsletter. Ginny, what do we have this week? Well, first up, Brandon Edwards writes, the charade is shameful. the Democrats are doing to those female activists what they're accusing an honorable judge of doing.

Sadly, it won't impact the lives of the female Democratic operatives or their coaches, the Democrat extremist. But it will make the lives of real victims more complicated. It will be judicially harder to convince a jury of peers that there's a legitimate case. And Dale Broch adds, quote, The Daily Signal represents the true American belief in truth and justice. This belief held by our founding fathers, as expressed in the Bill of Rights, will likely fade away if the cowards in the Senate do not seat Judge Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. Our way of life is based on truth and moral justice. This self-serving, me-first in any cost generation, must not prevail.

As Bible teacher Woodrow Kroll says, the heart of the problem is the problem with the heart. Your letter could be featured on next week's show. send an email to letters at daily signal.com or leave a voicemail message at 202-608-6205. The second Monday of October was declared as a federal holiday in 1934 to honor Christopher Columbus and the Discovery of America. In celebration of Columbus Day today, we're going to leave you with a speech from President Ronald Reagan. We're here today for the signing of the Columbus Day Proclamation. It's on this day. we revisit the enduring lessons of his courage and leadership. Columbus, of course, has always held a proud place in our history, not only for his voyage of exploration, but for the spirit

that he exemplified. He was a dreamer, a man of vision and courage, a man filled with hope for the future, and with the determination to cast off for the unknown and sail into one charted seas for the joy of finding whatever was there. Put it all together, and you might say that Columbus was the inventor of the American dream. Of course, we recognize others besides Columbus today. For Justice Columbus, a son of Italy, inaugurated the age of European exploration in this hemisphere, so too have millions of Americans of Italian descent contributed to the building of this nation of aspirations on this continent of hope.

Over the years, millions have left that country for these shores, often carrying scarcely. more than the prayers in their hearts and the determination in their souls. And as they've come, they've brought with them the richness of the heritage of their homeland and given its richness and strength to our land. Spain also claims Columbus and his achievements, and millions of Americans of Spanish heritage have also followed in his wake. Like immigrants from all over the world, they have lived the American dream and made it a reality for themselves and their children's and the generations that followed.

Yes, Columbus Day is an American holiday, a day to celebrate not only an intrepid searcher, but the dreams and opportunities that brought so many here after him and all that they and all immigrants have given to this land. We're going to leave it there for today. The Daily Signal podcast is broadcast from the Robert H. Bruce Radio Studio at the Heritage Foundation. You can find it on the Rikishay Audio Network along with problematic women and the right side of history.

All of our shows can be found at daily signal.com slash podcasts. You can also subscribe on iTunes SoundCloud Stitcher or your favorite podcast app. And if you like what you hear, please leave us a review or give us feedback. Be sure to follow us on Twitter at DailySignal and Facebook.com slash the DailySignal News. Rob and I will be back tomorrow. Have a great week. You've been listening to the Daily Signal podcast, executive produced by Kate Trinko and Daniel Davis, sound design by Michael Gooden, Lauren Evans, and Thalia Rampersad. For more information, visitdailySignal.com.