After all the drama in 2016, the Democratic National Committee has reformed the nomination process. Today on Politics with Amy Walter from The Takeaway, a look at the new rules and what impact they could have both intended and unintended. Tom Perez was elected as chairman of the DNC in 2017. Perez's mission is to insure that 2020 isn’t a repeat of 2016. That doesn’t just mean winning, it means re-instilling faith in the system for Democrats. And the DNC has done a lot of work on this front. Amy ...
Mar 22, 2019•47 min•Ep. 27
Two things happened on the Hill this week. The most high profile of course came on Thursday when the Republican-controlled Senate voted with Democrats , in a rebuke of President Trump’s national emergency declaration for funding of the border wall. But here’s something that might have gotten lost: The day before seven Republican senators voted along with Democrats to end U.S. support of the Saudi led war in Yemen. What does this split tell us about President Trump’s relationship with Republicans...
Mar 15, 2019•47 min•Ep. 26
Divide Over Israel Remains After House Passes Generic "Anti-Hate" Measure After initial plans to condemn anti-Semitism more specifically were scrapped, the U.S. House of Representatives' Democratic leadership opted for a more generic "anti-hate" measure. Amy's Take: Where Have Bipartisan Priorities Gone? Amy Walter examines why Democrats and Republicans no longer agree about which issues demand the greatest urgency. Citizenship Question Defies Purpose of the Census, Says CA Sec. of State "Is thi...
Mar 08, 2019•47 min•Ep. 25
Amy Walter talked to Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi , a Democrat from Illinois, who serves on both the Committee On Oversight And Reform and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, he was in both the public Cohen hearing on Wednesday and the closed door hearing on Thursday. Congressman Krishnamoorthi told Amy he does not believe that now is the right time to start impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. He wants to wait until after the Mueller investigation is over. Yoni App...
Mar 01, 2019•37 min•Ep. 24
Stacey Abrams is the former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and was the Democratic Party’s nominee in Georgia’s 2018 gubernatorial election. We check in with Abrams to find out about her work on election reform, plus to ask her what she thinks about the 2020 race, and her role in politics going forward.
Feb 23, 2019•17 min•Ep. 23
Pete Buttigieg is the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana - population 102,000 . Back in January, “Mayor Pete,” as he’s known at home (let’s face it, he has a hard last name to pronounce) launched an exploratory bid for president of the United States. When Amy Walter sat down with Buttigieg she was curious to find out what he thinks distinguishes him as a candidate. "I think I distinguish myself as a millennial midwestern mayor at a time when my party has struggled to connect to the industrial midwest,...
Feb 22, 2019•41 min•Ep. 22
Ahead of the Presidents Day holiday, Amy Walter talks to Dr. Barbara Perry about the role of of the executive and how it has changed over time. Dr. Perry is a professor of presidential studies at the University of Virginia. She says to understand how the president’s role has changed and developed over the course of history we have to go to the beginning, like the real beginning.
Feb 18, 2019•17 min•Ep. 21
On Friday, to avert another government shutdown, President Trump signed a bipartisan spending package that he argues did not include enough funding for a border wall. To secure that funding, he declared a national emergency . In advance of Trump’s official announcement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke out against the idea of an emergency declaration. Is declaring a national emergency in this situation allowed? Unprecedented? To get a better understanding of this use of executive power Amy Walte...
Feb 17, 2019•7 min•Ep. 20
How Does the "Blue Wall" Look for 2020? Amy Walter's latest Cook Political Report: Ambivalent voters who disliked both presidential nominees. Tepid enthusiasm from Democrats for their nominee. Tremendous support and energy from Republicans for theirs. Those were the three most important factors in Trump’s success in the three blue wall states. As we look to 2020, we know that Trump continues to enjoy solid support from his base, but the Democrats are at least equally energized to get out and vot...
Feb 16, 2019•5 min•Ep. 19
How Does the "Blue Wall" Look for 2020? Amy Walter's latest Cook Political Report: Ambivalent voters who disliked both presidential nominees. Tepid enthusiasm from Democrats for their nominee. Tremendous support and energy from Republicans for theirs. Those were the three most important factors in Trump’s success in the three blue wall states. As we look to 2020, we know that Trump continues to enjoy solid support from his base, but the Democrats are at least equally energized to get out and vot...
Feb 16, 2019•5 min•Ep. 18
When do we give politicians and public figures the benefit of the doubt? When do we forgive them for their past transgressions? And when do force them to step down? These are questions we’re asking today and they are the questions the people of Virginia are wrestling with right now. The governor of the state, Ralph Northam, has been embroiled in a scandal since earlier this month when photos of his medical school yearbook surfaced, showing one person in blackface, another in a Klu Klux Klan robe...
Feb 15, 2019•24 min•Ep. 17
As the 2020 campaign season kicks off many of the declared and likely Democratic candidates seem to be throwing their support behind "Medicare for all." But what does "Medicare for all" actually mean? And is it achievable? Sarah Kliff , a health policy journalist for Vox, defines the term. Julian E. Zelizer , a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton, gives us a historical look at how healthcare reform has worked in the U.S in the past. Neera Tanden , the president of the Center for...
Feb 08, 2019•46 min•Ep. 16
We are still one year away from the 2020 Iowa Caucus, and already we have ten Democrats who have officially announced their candidacies, plus another dozen or so who are seriously thinking about it. The latest to announce: Cory Booker , the Senator from New Jersey. This week’s episode of Politics with Amy Walter begins with an interview with Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand , who’s running for President. Amy speaks with Sen. Gillibrand about her views on Medicare for All and comprehensive i...
Feb 02, 2019•25 min•Ep. 15
This week, top U.S. and Chinese officials met again for another round of trade talks, aimed at ending the trade war. The deadline for a reaching a final deal is March 1st. Just two days before the trade talks began this week, the US Department of Justice unveiled criminal charges against the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei. The DOJ accused the company of stealing trade secrets, committing wire fraud, breaking confidentiality agreements, and violating sanctions against Iran. Jiayang Fan...
Feb 01, 2019•24 min•Ep. 14
Like it or not, the race for 2020 has begun. Day by day the democratic field grows, with more and more presidential hopefuls throwing their hats into the ring. It’s a well-worn script. But there’s something else noticeably different this time around, the candidates are apologizing for past policy positions. This week on Politics with Amy Walter, the art of the political apology, who offers them, what makes them work and what happens when they fall flat. We start with James Hohmann of The Washing...
Jan 26, 2019•37 min•Ep. 13
Roger Stone, a political operator and longtime adviser to President Trump was arrested after being indicted in the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. Stone is charged with seven counts, including one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements and one count of witness tampering, according to Mueller’s office. These are all connected to the 2016 election interference. Aaron Blake is a senior political reporter at The Washington Post....
Jan 25, 2019•7 min•Ep. 12
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history was triggered by an impasse over border security. In this hour, Politics host Amy Walter asks, is comprehensive immigration reform impossible? From the summer of 2001 when a bipartisan agreement looked hopeful through today, a look at why compromise remains out of reach. Shari Robertson is a documentary filmmaker. Back in the early 2000s, she and her filmmaking partner Michael Camerini embedded themselves within this reform effort, driven by Presid...
Jan 19, 2019•47 min•Ep. 11
A BuzzFeed report claims that President Donald Trump instructed his lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen to lie to Congress in 2017 about talks to build a trump tower in Moscow. If true, this may be the strongest indication yet that President Trump criminally tried to obstruct justice in connection with the Russia investigation. The report cites "two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter.” Politics host Amy Walter talked to Anthony Cormier , a Buzzfeed investi...
Jan 18, 2019•16 min•Ep. 10
Since the midterm elections, we’ve seen a number of examples of hardball tactics. In Wisconsin, Republicans stripped power from the newly elected Governor Democrat Tony Evers. Republicans in Michigan tried a similar maneuver, but the bills were vetoed by the outgoing governor, also a Republican. But it’s not just Republicans using aggressive political tactics. Democrats in New Jersey proposed a constitutional amendment for redistricting that would essentially solidify their party’s control of th...
Jan 11, 2019•46 min•Ep. 9
Congressman Steny Hoyer from Maryland takes over as Majority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives in the midst of a government shutdown. Congressman Hoyer spoke with Amy Walter to discuss the new Congress, President's Trump's demand for border wall funding and the comments of Freshman Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib who said she wanted to "impeach the motherf----r," referring to the president at an event Thursday night. You can connect with The Takeaway on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram or on...
Jan 05, 2019•14 min•Ep. 8
The 116th Congress was sworn in this week and Democrats regained control of the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in eight years. It also marks the first time that President Trump will face a divided Congress and the intense scrutiny, oversight, and push-back that comes with it. This new Congress is the most diverse in U.S. history , and on Thursday the first former refugee, the first Native-American women, and the first Muslim women were all sworn into the House of Representative...
Jan 04, 2019•49 min•Ep. 7
There are countless political dramas and comedies to choose from, but with Washington D.C. feeling a bit like a reality show is there still room for political fiction or are Americans feeling the fatigue? This week on Politics with Amy Walter from The Takeaway we talk to showrunners and screenwriters to see why they think there’s still a role for political fiction. Guests: Paul Redford is the writer for The West Wing, Designated Survivor, Alpha House, and Madam Secretary. Barbara Hall is the sho...
Dec 22, 2018•25 min•Ep. 6
Democrats won with women by 19 points in the 2018 midterm elections. Efforts to recruit new women candidates to the Republican Party have faltered and w hile a record number of women will be serving in the next Congress come January, most of them are Democrats. There will actually be fewer Republican women on the Hill in 2019 than there were this year. So does the GOP have a gender problem and what might that mean leading up to the 2020 presidential election? This week on Politics with Amy Walte...
Dec 21, 2018•35 min•Ep. 5
It's been a rapid fire few days in special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into Russian collusion during the run-up to the 2016 presidential, with sentencing memos for Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen last week, followed by Cohen's sentencing this week. Also this week, we learned from federal prosecutors that the National Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc. has admitted to paying hush money to silence a woman who alleged an affair with Donald Trump in “concert with” the ...
Dec 14, 2018•46 min•Ep. 4
The military budget is at its highest level since World War II, but where exactly does all that money go and what wars are we even fighting these days? In this episode, Amy Walter finds out how much is being spent and how the money aligns with the military's strategic goals for the future of warfare. Plus, a look at how active duty service members feel about their commander-in-chief. And one retired colonel raises concerns about the way President Trump is politicizing the military. Guests: Staff...
Nov 30, 2018•48 min•Ep. 3
We are less than a month away from the Midterm Elections. And that also means we are two years out from the 2016 campaign, when then-candidate Donald Trump ran on a series of promises to the American people: creating millions of new jobs, revitalizing manufacturing, renegotiating NAFTA, and of course, building the wall. For this hour of Politics with Amy Walter, we analyze President Trump's top promises that he made in his campaign, and whether or not he's followed through on them. We break thes...
Oct 12, 2018•54 min•Ep. 2
Over the last 20 years, American politics have reached apparent historic levels of polarization and partisanship, at least for the modern era. Today, this polarization feels more personal and intractable than in recent memory. Insults abound with blame and scorn for those perceived to have contributed to this environment. The Republican Party has received its share of denigration from, what has come as a surprise to many within their own party, Republican officials criticizing the direction thei...
Sep 14, 2018•53 min•Ep. 1
As Distrust Grows, Who's Going to Lead? An hour-long look on American leadership begins with a look at just how dire the leadership and trust crisis is, and the historical analogies. How Grassroots Leadership is Changing America As trust in national leadership wanes, local leaders are filling the void, says one activist. Jelani Cobb on Shifting Leadership Voices Conversations about race are perhaps more honest than they have been in decades, but how does talk translate to a shift in behavior? Th...
Aug 31, 2018•48 min0
