Part Of The Problem – "A Response to Pathetic Ben Shapiro"

Date: March 6, 2026
Host: Dave Smith
Co-host: Rob Bernstein
Main Focus: A pointed rebuttal to Ben Shapiro’s recent attacks on Dave Smith and the anti-war right, examining the state of U.S. foreign policy (specifically escalating conflict with Iran), and critiquing the mainstream conservative media’s arguments and rhetoric.

Episode Overview

This episode sees Dave Smith and Rob Bernstein analyzing and responding to Ben Shapiro’s recent critical segment targeting Dave. The show uses the current U.S.-Iran conflict as context for a broader discussion about hypocrisy in foreign policy debate, the logic of interventionism, debates within the American right, and how establishment pundits deflect criticism.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The State of the Iran Conflict

• Wartime Euphemism and Confusion
  • The hosts open by mocking the political ambiguity in describing the U.S. involvement in Iran—officials refusing to call it a war, despite U.S. bombings and civilian deaths.
  • Repeated calls for clarity:

    “We are now a week into a war with Iran… Well, it’s not a war. But it’s been a war for 47 years, but it's not a war. It’s a war from them, on their side... On our side, it’s not a war, because it would be totally illegal if it was a war.” – Dave Smith [02:00]

• Arming the Kurds Parody
  • Satirical comparison to Iraq/Syria: Justifying the U.S. approach as "totally different this time," while pointing out pattern repetition and disastrous past outcomes.

  • "As we know, Rob, we've learned this in multiple different theaters. Whether it's Iraq, whether it's Syria, when you arm the Kurds, that's when the dying stops. OK, fine. Listen. In both of those particular examples, it led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and didn't slow down the bleeding. But it's going to be different in Iran." – Dave Smith [03:22]

• Civilian Causalities and Logic of "Liberation"
  • Dave highlights the hypocrisy in justifying intervention with civilian casualties:

    “Not the thousand that we killed. Like, obviously they don't get to be liberated… but the rest of them are going to be liberated.” – Dave Smith [05:38]

  • Rob points out the tragic repetitions of failed promises to the Kurds:

    “Are the Kurds the world's biggest bunch of suckers? Why do they keep getting involved in this stuff?” – Rob Bernstein [04:05]

2. Ben Shapiro's Attack and Dave’s Response

• Shapiro’s Core Arguments
  • Ben Shapiro accused Dave Smith of hating America for calling the U.S. and Israel "terrorist organizations" and refusing to see moral differences between state actors and terrorist groups.
• Dave’s Rebuttal
  • Points out the tactics mirror those of left-wing establishment media (e.g., dismissing dissent as “fringe” and unpatriotic).
  • Lampoons claims of "fringe voices":

    “It’s Brian Stelter telling you that Joe Rogan is this fringe figure… It's the exact same thing… Yes, Tucker Carlson represents a real fringe.” – Dave Smith [07:38]

  • Breaks down the “you hate America” trope as intellectually bankrupt:

    "It's the… like an 80 IQ argument… his argument, he's presuming you do in order to believe this line of shit." – Dave Smith [11:12]

• Euphemisms of War: “Collateral damage” vs. “deliberate”
  • Dave meticulously unpacks Shapiro’s distinction between “targeting” civilians (terrorists) vs “collateral damage” (nation states) and concludes it’s a hollow excuse for killing innocents in wars of choice.

    “You took an action knowing it would result in innocent people dying that you didn't need to take. And now those people are dead. … You are intentionally killing civilians. That's what you're doing.” – Dave Smith [22:45]

• Debate Dodging
  • Shapiro refuses to debate Dave, stating, “I don’t debate trolls who claim that America is the biggest terrorist state in the world, because that is idiotic.” – Ben Shapiro [31:40]
  • Dave calls this cowardly, highlighting Shapiro’s willingness to debate college kids but not formidable critics:

    “You only debate 19-year-olds confused about their gender. I’m a bridge too far.” – Dave Smith [32:00] “He’ll debate any of them. But yeah, no, he won’t debate a non-interventionist right winger. Of course not, because he’s getting his shit kicked in.… You guys have already lost the debate. Ben Shapiro lost it by default by being too much of a coward to debate.” – Dave Smith [34:05]

3. On Patriotism, Critique, and Consistency

• Rob notes their critiques come from a place of wanting a freer, more principled America, not hatred:

  “I don’t think we dedicated our lives to this show… out of a hatred for America. I think it’s a desperate call to make it a little better and more of what we think the founding fathers actually had in mind.” – Rob Bernstein [10:51]

• Dave points to the philosophical distinction between ‘society’ and ‘the state’:

  "As Frederick Bastiat pointed out many years ago, there is a difference between society and the state. There is a difference between our political class, the warfare machine... and the people and the culture." – Dave Smith [11:31]

4. Double Standards and the Language of Dissent

• The conversation addresses mainstream accusations (whether from the left or neocon right) that dissent means disloyalty, tying it back to tactics post-9/11 ("you're either with us or you're with the terrorists").
• Dave references the actual outcomes of U.S. foreign interventions and the enormous civilian body counts, asking for an honest conversation about what constitutes terrorism.
• The irony of Shapiro’s “debate me, bro” refusal is highlighted:

  “I’m not seething—Oh, debate me, bro! … It doesn’t really matter. … You’ve already lost. I win by default.” – Dave Smith [32:31]

5. Discussions of Legitimacy and Association

• Shapiro claimed Dave "legitimizes" controversial figures like Nick Fuentes and Candace Owens just by speaking with them.
• Dave points out the hypocrisy of the accusation, as Shapiro’s own network elevated Owens and his own confrontational style fueled Fuentes’ growth:

  “He called Ron Paul a vicious anti-Semite… Nick Fuentes was like a kid with like a thousand followers… and he started asking questions about ‘Why do we support Israel?’ … Shapiro quote-tweets him… happened with the absolute wrong person. … He didn’t legitimize him. He was always like… already had a big following on his own.” – Dave Smith [41:07]

• On debates and dialogue:

  “Remember conversations? Remember Ben Shapiro's whole brand? It's so important that we have these conversations, open conversations. The left wants to censor, but we want open conversations. Until you have a conversation with someone who's critical of Jews, then you're legitimizing them.” – Dave Smith [43:11]

6. Establishment Leadership and Congressional Cowardice

• Closing commentary zooms out to critique bipartisan congressional avoidance of a War Powers vote, exposing a desire for war without responsibility:

  “Why do they not want to go on record of who's for this war and who's against this war?… They want the war, but they don't want to be on record supporting the war.” – Dave Smith [59:55]

• Praise for rare dissenting voices (Thomas Massie, Ro Khanna), juxtaposed with institutional cowardice and the bloody consequences of perpetual interventionism.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Government Rhetoric:

  “It’s a war from them, on their side, it’s not a war on our side, because it would be totally illegal if it was a war.” – Dave Smith [02:07]

• On “Liberation”:

  “Not the thousand that we killed. Like, obviously they don't get to be liberated… but the rest of them are going to be liberated. That’s the whole point.” – Dave Smith [05:40]

• On Patriotic Dissent:

  “To imply that it means you hate your country is...the like an 80 IQ argument.” – Dave Smith [11:12]

• On U.S. Foreign Policy:

  “The total death count from all of that [U.S. interventions] is in the millions. Well, north of 4 million.” – Dave Smith [11:52]

• On Ben Shapiro’s Debate Tactics:

  “You only debate 19-year-olds confused about their gender. I’m a bridge too far.” – Dave Smith [32:00]

• On Motives:

  “You people worship death...You just will always promote and advocate for mass murder campaigns when they don’t have to happen. And then you’ll come around demonizing anybody who’s against them.” – Dave Smith [30:47]

• On Congressional Accountability:

  “They want the war, but they don’t want to be on record supporting the war. … That is just on a very basic level, such a profound betrayal of your obligations as a leader.” – Dave Smith [60:48]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Start – [02:55]: Satire of the current U.S.–Iran war narrative.
• [05:31]: “Liberating” Iran and civilian casualties.
• [08:55]: Ben Shapiro audio and Dave’s rebuttal start.
• [11:07]: Dave and Rob address the “hating America” charge.
• [19:25]: Dissecting semantics of “deliberate” vs “collateral damage.”
• [24:32]: U.S. alliances with “opium dealers and child rapists”—Afghanistan
• [30:47]: On “worshipping death” and war hawk motives.
• [31:40]: Shapiro refuses Dave’s debate challenge.
• [34:05]: Dave’s response to recurring debate dodges.
• [41:07]: Ben Shapiro’s role in “legitimizing” Nick Fuentes and Candace Owens.
• [59:55]: Congressional cowardice on war votes.
• [64:10]: War with Iran sparks fear of renewed Jihadist retaliation.

Episode Tone & Takeaways

• The episode is a mix of sardonic humor and impassioned criticism, blending personal anecdote with rigorous philosophical argument.
• Dave Smith, bolstered by Rob's quips, coalesces anti-war arguments with cultural critique, exposing the hollowness and hypocrisy of mainstream right-wing pundits and their unwillingness to debate on substance.
• The hosts stress that critique of U.S. militarism is a patriotic act rooted in classical liberal traditions—not hatred for America—and that establishment tactics to smear dissent are failing.

For listeners seeking sharp libertarian critique, with biting satire and a play-by-play evisceration of Ben Shapiro’s anti-antiwar messaging, this episode delivers a thorough, engaging, and provocative discussion.