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Welcome to the Commentary Magazine Daily podcast today is Wednesday, July 20, 2022.

I'm John Potsport. It's the editor of commentary magazine with me as always executive editor eight greenwald high eight hi John media commentary columnist Christine rose and high Christine hi John and associate editor no rough and I know hi John.

Okay, so yesterday there was a fascinating scene at the Supreme Court.

36 people or 34 people were arrested for blocking traffic and a protest against the dobs abortion decision of those 34 people 17

were members of congress. I did the math so of course that's 50% of the arrestees are members of congress would you like to know the number of congressman in the United States versus the population of the United States it's 0.00001%

so 50% of the arrestees at a demonstration 0.001% of the population are congressman and about half an hour after the arrests I get a fundraising email from Carolyn Maloney the congressman from New York who is locked in a primary battle with her fellow Manhattan congressman Jerry Nadler as a result of redistricting

in 2020 a OC also sent out an immediate fundraising plea based on the so-called arrest.

So, so what we have here is and of course the the thing that went around the world was the invisible handcuffing of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez who put her arms behind her back as she was being arrested.

And they'll have no more and so both of them yes put their arms behind their backs though they were not actually being handcuffed.

And so they were mimicking the handcuffing and what do you make of it I have a sanguine take on this because there were a lot of journalists who looked at this display and took in exactly what.

Aoc and a little more wanted them to take in that they were being detained even though they were clearly not handcuffed and we're walking away from the scene unascorted by police is that journalists have a much more sanguine understanding of our of our social conventions are our social norms are so thick that you can arrest yourself you'll just wander off into custody unascorted because that's what's expected of you.

It's the it's a hopeful note on the state of the country and says a lot of good things about our future.

See I think it was I actually like that take because it's very counterintuitive I have a much more cynical take which is that they were all just doing it for the Graham right I mean this is just they were doing it to become instant social media stars yet again to mainly to fundraise in the case of aoc and Maloney and the others will put it out there.

They were taking selfies with the officers who were processing them who actually just escorted them over to the to a shady tree to make sure they were okay they were posing for pictures and the whole thing was obviously planned and they they're like civil war reenactors like they show up in their costume and they have they know the moves they know exactly what to do and and the media completely bought it they just like look at this is so so brave so stunning.

I think most people looked at it and just rolled their eyes because first of all the justices are gone for the summer there's nobody there so what it was clearly a publicity stunt and I I noted that at the same time they were doing that there a piece appeared in Washington Post yesterday or the day before people who live in Brett Kavanaugh's Chevy Chase Maryland neighborhood who are very very much concerned about abortion rights they're very liberal.

And they're sick to death of all the loud picketing often vulgar protests that have been going on in front of the justices house. So I to contrast those two things the one that was clearly modeled and created for the sake of social media cloud versus the real pro you know people who actually are turning up and harassing justices at their private residences even the abortion people are sick of that to be clear I was sure they I should say I should say all the words I shouldn't be level.

Okay I need to say because I forgot to say that this podcast has been brought to you in part by the good faith effort podcast about which more in due course.

Can I? Hey please come in here.

I think members of Congress protesting the government on Capitol Hill is the sort of the perfect image of the state of the Democrats and end of the hill generally these days.

You are you are the government it is it it would be like us writing letters to the editor of commentary.

Well you know you know this is an interesting point because there is a psychotic and I say that advisedly I say hot dick Twitter thread today or yesterday by the recent research one of the researchers are archivists at the New Yorker magazine Aaron over B.

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