Kmele Foster's Sympathy for Joy-Ann Reid and Disinterest in Kanye's Politics

Latest Fifth Column also features qualified Matt Welch defense of Rand Paul's Pompeo flip, plus a cautionary tale about a racist chew-toy.

Less than 24 hours before rap/footwear supernova Kanye West melted down the internet by tweeting about his love for fellow dragon energy–haver Donald Trump, showing off his autographed #MAGA hat, scheduling meetings with Peter Thiel, and retweeting Chance The Rapper's observation that "Black people don't have to be democrats," I was in a small podcasting booth with the one person I'd want to hear talk about Yeezy's politics, superfan Kmele Foster.

On the latest dispatch of The Fifth Column, our mostly weekly, often slurry podcast, Foster provides insight into West, black-conservative identity politics, red-pilling YouTuber Candace Owens (who Kanye recently complimented), and the Joy-Ann Reid controversy. Also of potential interest during the discussion are my racist choice of infant toys, qualified defense of Rand Paul's flip-flop on Mike Pompeo, and unified theory of Trolls vs. Bouncers. You can listen to the whole thing, including a cameo by Kat Timpf, here:

Comments

[loveconstitution1789]

Kayne is a lyrical genius, so of course he for MAGA.

KANYE WEST
?Verified account @kanyewest
13h13 hours ago
Obama was in office for eight years and nothing in Chicago changed.

[Get lit]

He's all yours.

[Leo Kovalensky II]

I hear he likes fish sticks

[loveconstitution1789]

Do YOU like fish sticks?

[Nardz]

I do not like fish sticks.
Gross

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

Disappointing to hear him talk like this. I learned in college that negative references to "Chicago" are right-wing code words and dog whistles for "black people." He's basically saying "black people in Chicago are violent" which is what you'd expect from Richard Spencer's Twitter.

[loveconstitution1789]

Thanks for translating what a black man says into lefty jargon.

Some of us thought that Chicago not changing after 8 years of Obama means that Chicago is still a corrupt Democrat shithole.

[Get lit]

Some of us thought that Chicago not changing after 4 years of a Republican governor means that Chicago is now a corrupt Republican shithole.

[loveconstitution1789]

How does a governor have any chance to change a city the size of Chicago that is run by socialist Democrats?

To be fair, Illinois is a shithole.

[loveconstitution1789]

Every time I cross the Illinois state line, I think "What incompetent bureaucrats keep this state in the 1960s"?

Everything looks like the roads and buildings behind the Iron Curtain.

[FlameCCT]

It's just one of many government run Progressive Plantations. Progressive Democrat controlled since the days when Progressive Democrats instituted Jim Crow laws.

[Scarecrow Repair & Chippering]

Illinois has some kind of home rule crap whereby even state judges can't tell Chicago what to do/

[loveconstitution1789]

I saw that the other day after it was mentioned in some off part of a Reason article.

Even NY City does not have that kind of power to rule all that state from a single city.

[Just Say'n]

Have you been to Chicago recently? Chicago has lost over 100,000 black people during the 2010 census. Rich white liberals have destroyed Chicago, along with its middle class, it's immigrant communities, and its black neighborhoods.

[Citizen X - #6]

Bear in mind that Kanye is an adjunct Kardashian.

[loveconstitution1789]

...and Kardashians are adjunct Simpsons.

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

Reid was totally framed by hackers. It's terrifying what they're capable of these days. But if a US presidential election can be hacked, maybe it's not surprising that a blog, as well as the Wayback Machine, can be too.

[loveconstitution1789]

You know what other elections were hacked?

[Eidde]

The 1876 Presidential election?

[Inigo Montoya]

Hackers' powers are limitless and out of control. Remember poor congressman Wiener? Hackers got into his social media accounts and started sending nude Weiner pics to underage girls simply to discredit the rising star. And now their poor victim sits in jail and is perceived as a pedo.

[Eidde]

"the rising star"

I see what you did there.

[Citizen X - #6]

YES THANK YOU FOR LINKING TO THIS.

[Mongo]

Latinos and African-Americans are mostly conservative. You'd think the GOP would wise-up and welcome them into their club.

[loveconstitution1789]

You used to not be able to get much free stuff when Republican and that has changed recently.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Did the chew toy at least taste like watermelon?

[Ken Shultz]

The fact that Pompeo has established a personal working relationship with Kim Jong-un ahead of critical negotiations with North Korea over their nuclear program--mere weeks from now--should be more than enough to guarantee Pompeo's confirmation. Back during the Cold War, we used to say that politics ends at the border--meaning that whether you like or dislike President Trump, Democrats, Republicans, and, yes, even pompous libertarians should all want the president to be wildly successful in getting North Korea to abandon their nuclear weapons program through peaceful negotiations.

As a practical matter, if Trump can't even get who he wants confirmed as his secretary of state, why should the North Koreans think Trump will be able to deliver congress' approval for whatever concessions Kim Jong-un makes through negotiations? Understand what I'm saying here: Why should the North Koreans show their hand or make any concessions at all when the guy on the other side of the poker table doesn't even have the congressional authority to be in the game?

[Eidde]

In this particular context I agree, but sometimes politics needs to be intruded beyond the water's edge. Just not where N. Korea is concerned. Not yet anyway.

[Scarecrow Repair & Chippering]

if Trump can't even get who he wants confirmed as his secretary of state

I wonder what the Constitution says about that?

... and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States...

It should be damned clear that the founders did NOT envision an all-powerful President, that Congress was expected to have a say too.

[Ken Shultz]

Undermining the president's position ahead of the summit in June by denying him the secretary of state he wants would be a much bigger drag on the cause for liberty than letting someone like Pompeo become secretary of state. In fact, anybody who undermines the president ahead of these negotiations on this issue--even for legitimate reasons that are of less importance than eliminating the threat of nuclear ICBM's from North Korea--has no business being president of the United States. Leadership requires different skills from throwing rocks at slavers and statists from the peanut gallery, and if Rand Paul didn't get his shit together on this issue, it would clearly indicate that he's still not ready for the big leagues.

[loveconstitution1789]

The left just wants to fight Trump on everything. Plus, technically NK is a socialist state, so they are probably conflicted about wanted the USA to best a utopian socialist paradise like NK.

Trump's cabinet members are not staying in office for very long (which is another good point that Reason does not admit much). Pompeo being confirmed, then making a good deal with NK happen, then leaving his position after a few years is worth it.

Part of me thinks the lefties know that Trump might pull a great deal with NK out of his ass and completely show Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Obama, and Carter to be the diplomatic hacks that they are.

NK seems to be already posturing to act like an angel and get free shit, so these talks might not work out. War with NK is coming soon if a good deal cannot be reached.

[Chipper Jones]

It puts the war boner back in its pants or it gets the hose again.

[Libertymike]

Should not North Korea be able to defend itself from Yankee aggression?

Who is the United States to forbid North Korea from having a nuclear capability?

Does North Korea have military installations all over the world?

Does North Korea have a record of meddling in the internal governance of other nations like the US?

Is North Korea the nation that has murdered thousands of women and children with drone strikes over the last decade?

Is North Korea the nation that has nuclear weapons on the southern border of the US as the US does with North Korea?

Does North Korea have 30,000-50,000 troops on the US border as the US has on North Korea's border?

Was North Korea behind the attempted coup in the Ukraine and the effort to blame the Russians for the Ukrainian mess?

How about the "chemical" attack on the former Russian spy in England? Was North Korea behind the plot to blame the Russians in order to bang the war drums?

Is North Korea's foreign policy beholden to the evil Neo-Cohens?

Is North Korea's foreign policy beholden to the apartheid state of Israel?

How about the effort to overthrow Assad? Was it the North Koreans who have continuously banged the war drums, even to the point of claiming Assad gassed his own people without any evidence to prove it so?

[Cynical Asshole]

Is North Korea the nation that has nuclear weapons on the southern border of the US as the US does with North Korea?

We haven't had nuclear weapons deployed to S. Korea since 1991.

[Eidde]

But I suspect we have nukes which can be pointed in N Korea's general direction.

[loveconstitution1789]

North Korea is not a situation where it is a friendly nation that seeks nukes.

The USA is technically still at war with North Korea and NK has threatened to nuke various parts of the USA and then launched missiles to show they are trying.

NK agents routinely commits acts of sabotage, kidnapping, and other crimes and they are all sanctioned by the government of NK.

NK has invaded the peaceful nation of South Korea in the past and has said they would do it again.

In other words, this is not a NAP violation by the USA.

[JoeBlow123]

NK invaded SK with Soviet and Chinese assistance. Don't let facts get in your way though.