French Friday: What Happened to Checks & Balances?

David French brings us his thoughts on why the GOP is no longer the party of the Constitution. Have political party allegiances broken the system? What Constitutional guard rails can operate when people are worried about falling out of the President’s favor? Then, he talks about Carl Schmitt, a German political thinker who may have the key to understanding the difference between the politics we’re used to—and the emerging politics of the New Right.

 

David French’s article on Schmittian politics:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/26/opinion/trump-maga-schmitt.html

 

0:00 - Theme Song

 

0:17 - Show Begins

 

2:11 - Tiktok—banned or not?

 

8:10 - Does Trump obey the Supreme Court?

 

15:30 - Resistant Bacteria Analogy

 

24:26 - Senators Following the People

 

27:29 - Political Parties as Checks

 

34:45 - The Gingrich-Clinton Wars

 

41:28 - Schmitt and MAGA Morality

 

53:15 - The Moment for Courage

 

1:04:52 - End Credits