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I, Elizabeth Burke, was the first person to write a guest post on The Clyde Fitch Report. At the time, it was a personal blog maintained by Leonard Jacobs. That was March 30, 2009, and I wrote about Eric Cantor, then GOP Minority Whip in the US House of Representatives. My, how time flies! Cantor was later beaten in a primary by a guy named Brat (of course his name is Brat!), and now, with the 2018 midterms in just three days, it looks like Brat may lose to a Democrat named Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer endorsed by VA’s distinguished former senator, John Warner, a Republican. I’m also an actor in NYC — and I’ve been involved in politics since my first campaign when I was 16.
My background — and having a glass of wine with Leonard — inspired me to produce the Burke’s Law podcast. Each month we’ll have lots of fun and informative segments like “News and Views,” with our take on day’s hot news. And “Show Me Your Pol,” an interview with an elected official or candidate. We’ll play “Fact or Friction,” where I’ll collect quotes and make someone (Leonard, I’m looking at you!) guess which is fact and which is fiction! “Are We Outraged Yet?” will be our inner id.
For our inaugural podcast, we discuss the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by the Saudi government. Since we recorded the podcast, the Saudis have admitted that he was killed, but they’re still trying to smear him. The Washington Post recently wrote:
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman described slain journalist as a dangerous Islamist, days after his disappearance in a phone call with President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and national security adviser John Bolton, according to people familiar with the discussion.
The Saudis further claim that Khashoggi was “a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group long opposed by Bolton and other senior Trump officials.”
For this episode, I also interviewed NY State Senator Gustavo Rivera, who represents a big swath of the Bronx and is poised to become the first Latino chair of the State Senate’s Health Committee. This important committee considers all bills that deal with New Yorkers’ health, including hospitals, doctors, Medicaid, and all pertinent state agencies. Sen. Rivera, who won election in 2010 ousting a scandal-plagued incumbent, told me of his proudest achievement to date — and his top three legislative items for 2019. I also asked him about the arts organizations in his district — and which musical instrument he’d like to be.
Leonard and I also talked about all the many, many get-out-the-vote ahead of Nov. 6, and I shared some links that will help you find out if you’ve been thrown off of any voter rolls, where to find your polling place, and who your candidates are.
We finish with a segment we call “Tell Me Something Good!” Because we need something positive to combat all the crap coming at us every day.
If you enjoy this podcast, please leave us a review or a comment, below, and share this episode on social media. To support this show, you can make a recurring donation to the CFR. On Twitter, you can follow me at @lizburke and the Clyde Fitch Report at @TheCFReport.
