National Review’s Jim Geraghty With “Riley & Scot” [AUDIO]

Riley & I are huge fans of National Review's Jim Geraghty, who is about to release his new book, "The Weed Agency". It's a work of fiction, but with a plot too easy to believe.

I've been reading Jim for most of the decade that he's been writing at National Review, first at The Kerry Spot and more recently at The Campaign Spot. And both of us don't consider the morning complete unless we read Jim's morning newsletter, The Morning Jolt. He's a fantastic writer with keen insights on political campaigns of all stripes and often offers a humorous take on the day's events (Train Wreck gifs never get old).

As for the book itself, Amazon tells us The Weed Agency "showcases a world in which federal budgets balloon every year, where a career can be built upon the skill of rationalizing astronomical expenses, and where the word ‘accountability’ sends roars of laughter through DC office buildings." You know, just like real life.

We asked Jim what makes the federal government such a perfect crucible of waste and unaccountability:

"Even a state government, at its worst, has competition because people can always move somewhere else. The federal government has no competition unless we want to go off in exile in Belize. Without competition, and with it being very difficult to fire people, it becomes very hard to get the institutions to work efficiently, responsibly, [to] really care about getting things done on time. And that's how you end up with healthcare.gov"

We had an absolute blast with Jim and plan to have him back soon. Here's the full audio of our conversation: