Podcast Host Comfortably Smug And Congressman Pat Harrigan Kick Off NCGOP Convention
Last week, the North Carolina Republican Party held its annual convention in Greensboro to conduct the Party's business. To kick off the event, the Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, Jason Simmons, kicked off the festivities with a conversation with two conservative leaders, conservative podcast host from the Ruthless Podcast, Comfortably Smug, and Congressman Pat Harrigan from North Carolina’s Tenth Congressional District.
Simmons opened the conversation by praising the “Ruthless Podcast” as a must-listen that’s also funny and asked Smug why the podcast started.
Smug explained that back in 2020, his friends, Josh Holmes, John Ashbrook, and Michael Duncan, spent a significant amount of time during the lockdowns betting on horse races and drinking bourbon. When the conversation turned to politics, they noted that there are a lot of shows that lecture about politics rather than having fun. And that's the way to defeat the Democrats, who are all communists now, is simply to laugh at them and make fun of them. It's impossible to argue with a communist; that’s why it's important to mock them. That is why they started Ruthless.
Smug continued by saying they chose the name “Ruthless” because they were ruthlessly funny. But then Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, and there was a concern that there would be some negative press. Smug revealed that his cohost, Michael Duncan, reframed the situation, saying, “No, that’s the great part of it. Because they’re all going to accuse us of it. We’re going to get free media.” And when they launched, according to Smug, every journo and liberal was offended by how they dared to make fun of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, generating substantial attention for the show.
After five years, it has cemented itself as one of the most influential podcasts in American politics, and it recently signed a deal with Fox News.
Then the conversation turned to why Smug was invested in North Carolina. Smug recounted that he was born in Denver, then his family moved to North Carolina, where he attended Cary High School and graduated from North Carolina State University before moving to New York City to work for a hedge fund.
When he was ready to start a family, Smug moved back to North Carolina with his wife because North Carolina is “the best place in the world to raise a family. I experienced an incredible childhood here.”
The conversation then turned to Congressman Harrigan, who (unconvincingly) said that he enjoyed going to White House more than appearing on the Ruthless podcast. Harrigan then went on to detail the Republican successes on the federal level and what they plan to do next.
Harrigan pointed out the enough difference between the Trump administration and a potential Harris administration. He then went on to tout the Republican reconciliation package that funded federal immigration enforcement through the remainder of President Trump’s term, something Democrats are utterly opposed to.
Harrigan then previewed the Republican message in the midterms and compared it to the Democrats. Republicans want to unleash the economy, secure our nation, and restore government integrity. He pointed to the Working Families Tax Cut passed last year as a key component of setting the economy in the right direction. Harrigan then highlighted the Republican efforts to combat fraud, which first entered the public consciousness through Nick Shirley’s reporting in Minnesota. He then went on to highlight the potential issues with Democrats’ ActBlue fundraising platform and the problems with misleading Congress.
Harrigan finished off his comments by talking about conservatives’ superpower: “our faith.” Harrigan said, “It is our faith. It is what separates us from the other side. If you look back and I get to with the privilege and honor of walking the halls of our Capitol, when you sit in the chamber, you look above the diocese, and it says, ‘In God We Trust.” And that was actually put in by Ronald Reagan during the Cold War, because he wanted every single American to understand what the difference was between an American and those godless communists. And the outcome of our faith has a very practical outcome.”
Harrigan continues, “Whether you’re in the Old Testament, whether you’re in the New Testament, or both, our faith is our superpower because it gives us the ability to have wisdom and discernment. And without wisdom and discernment, we cannot decipher what absolute truth is. And we cannot see the truth or the falsehoods of the narratives that are being played out in the traditional media.”
The conversation then turned to North Carolina and the important U.S. Senate election. Smug offered his analysis, saying, “Well, I think a lot of voters have seen this playbook before. It’s Biden in the basement. Probably just as healthy. That’s the thing I hope to hide from the voters. So, the voters can sense when they’ve seen a pattern. They’ve seen this show before. A compliant media that doesn’t go after the Democrats. A lot of folks are saying he’s not in the best shape, which is why he is handled and why you do not want him out there. Why is he not taking questions? Why isn’t he talking to voters? He is in witness protection.”
