Mike, Jay, and Justin open with a look at the life and legacy of the recently deceased Joe Lieberman, agreeing that the Democrat turned independent is the sort of solutions-oriented moderate we don’t see much of in national politics anymore. Next is a discussion of oral arguments before the Supreme Court concerning access to the abortion drug mifepristone. It seems like a stretch to argue that those challenging the FDA even have standing, but there is a case to be made that mailing any drug to e...
Mar 30, 2024•58 min
Trey talks with constitutional law professor Maxwell Stearns about his new book Parliamentary America which argues the U.S. needs to adapt the U.S. House to include proportional representation. Topics Trey and Max Cover Include - how the median voter theory is inaccurate - why American parties are tending in extreme directions - proposals to double the size of the House of Representatives - proposals to transform the selection of president and vice president - proposals to change how to remove a...
Mar 27, 2024•59 min
Mike and Jay open the preview of this midweek supporters’ episode with a discussion of Texas’ SB 4, which allows state judges to deport migrants. Mike argues that it’s plainly unconstitutional and Jay largely agrees, though he makes the case that legislation should be given a presumption of constitutionality. They also discuss how this has moved through the federal court system and the slowdown at the Fifth Circuit. Following that they take a look at the latest presidential fundraising numbers (...
Mar 26, 2024•19 min
Mike and Jay open with a discussion of bipartisan agreement on a budget that averted a partial government shutdown. Jay thinks it’s good politics, emphasizing once again that Republicans don’t win government shutdowns, and pointing out that Speaker Johnson has a tiny majority to work with. Mike notes that Republicans got a number of things they should like, though he expects that we’ll be in a similar place in just over six months, when the deadline for passing next year’s budget comes up. Next,...
Mar 23, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Mike talks with George Laws Garcia, a former acting director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration and Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Statehood Council. Topics Mike and George Cover Include: - how Puerto Ricans aresecond-class US citizens - Puerto Rico and federal income taxes - independence as opposed to statehood - how Puerto Ricans feel about statehood - US domestic political considerations - what making Puerto Rico a state might cost - short and medium-term prospects for s...
Mar 20, 2024•55 min
Trey & Ken continue through the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights by diving into the 3rd and 4th Amendments. The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 19, 2024•16 min
Trey & Ken start the episode with a deep dive into Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s Senate speech on Israel, Hamas, and Benjamin Netanyahu. This includes a discussion of the norm breaking nature of calling for a vote on a democratically elected leader, if the Biden administration is giving in to more leftist voices, and the extent to which the U.S. may change its behavior in relationship to Israel. Next is a conversation on a series of orders from Judge McAfee on Trump’s cases, includi...
Mar 15, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Kimberly talks with Mary Chung Hayashi, national healthcare advocate, former California State Assembly member, Principal of Public Policy & Advocacy Solutions, and author of Women in Politics: Breaking Down the Barriers to Achieve True Representation. Topics Kimberly & Mary discuss include: Why we’re still having the same discussions about increasing the number of women in politics, even though not only women—but Americans as a whole—benefit from having women in elected government positi...
Mar 13, 2024•57 min
Mike and Jay open the preview of this supporters’ midweek episode with a discussion of Speech First, Inc. v Sands, a Supreme Court case in which Jay submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Court. They get into whether the Court was right to dismiss the case as moot (Mike says yes while Jay has his doubts) as well as the underlying issue of whether bias response teams on college campuses necessarily chill speech (Jay says yes while Mike thinks possibly, but not necessarily). After that, they resp...
Mar 12, 2024•18 min
Mike & Jay open the episode with a look at the results of the most uncompetitive Super Tuesday ever, considering Nikki Haley’s position and whether the 2024 Presidential race is Donald Trump’s to lose at this point. They also discuss Senator Mitch McConnell’s endorsement of Trump in the context of McConnell’s remarks concerning Trump in the aftermath of the January 6th Capitol riot. Following that they consider the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling that states can’t remove Donald Trump from t...
Mar 09, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Kimberly Weir, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Northern Kentucky University talks with Martin Daunton, Professor Emeritus of Economic History at the University of Cambridge. Professor Daunton is a former president of the Royal Historical Society and author of The Economic Government of the World From 1933-2023. Topics Kimberly & Martin discuss include: Why considering the economic events of 1933 is necessary for understanding the multilateral policies and institutions that emerged...
Mar 06, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Mike, Jay, and Justin open the preview of this midweek supporters’ episode with a discussion of the maneuvering over the schedule for Donald Trump’s documents trial. Jay argues that Trump’s actions aren’t all that unreasonable, a position with which Mike and Justin don’t agree, with Mike arguing that removing or destroying documents is never a legally justifiable response to a document subpoena. Next, they consider the recent southern border visits by President Biden and Donald Trump. None of th...
Mar 05, 2024•17 min
Mike, Jay, and University of Northern Iowa political scientist Justin Holmes open the episode with a discussion of the Supreme Court’s decision to hear Donald Trump’s ex-presidential immunity case. While they all agree it’s an important issue that needs to be ruled on by the Court, Mike and Justin are more concerned about the Court’s schedule than Jay is. Next, they consider the results of the Michigan primary elections and what they might suggest about the near-inevitable Biden-Trump rematch. M...
Mar 02, 2024•57 min
Mike and May open the preview of this midweek supporters' episode with a discussion of why Nikki Haley is staying in a presidential primary race she has almost no chance of winning, as well as considering who Donald Trump might choose as his running mate. Following that, they address a question from a listener who asks if May denies the existence of trans people, getting into a larger discussion of gender-affirming care both for minors and adults. Next is their take on the most recent Presidenti...
Feb 27, 2024•22 min
Mike and May open with a discussion of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the latest US sanctions as the war reaches the two-year mark. May is unclear as to the US's goals and argues that this is reflected in declining public support for Ukraine. Mike believes the lack of support breaks down more along partisan lines, with Democrats more supportive than Republicans, and that the US goal is clear - to prevent Russia from overrunning Ukraine and to send a strong message to our allies and adversaries...
Feb 24, 2024•57 min
Mike talks with Alexander Ward, a national security reporter at Politico and anchor of National Security Daily. He’s the author of the recently released book, The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore American Foreign Policy After Trump, which they discuss on this episode. Topics Mike and Alexander Cover Include: - why post-Trump foreign policy needed restoration - comparing Biden and Trump’s Secretaries of State - Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan - meeting the rising threat from China - Ru...
Feb 21, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Trey & Ken continue through the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights by diving into the 2nd Amendment. They cover the history of the right, how it was a compromise between Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and the current jurisprudence of the 2nd Amendment. The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys. Learn more a...
Feb 20, 2024•18 min
In this packed episode, Trey and Ken start by discussing the breaking news of Donald Trump’s civil judgment of $354.9 million in a New York court. Ken believes it will be difficult for the case to be overturned on appeal due to the need for a bond and because of the nature of the defense. Following that they move to the next breaking story: the death of Alexei Navalny in a Russian prison. Trey and Ken both agree there is no good response because in large part the normal responses are already eng...
Feb 17, 2024•59 min
Mike and Jay open the preview of this supporters’ midweek episode with a discussion of why the Senate’s bipartisan immigration proposal failed. Mike argues that the GOP is more interested in keeping the issue than improving things at the border, and Jay’s previous legislative optimism has now all but vanished. They go on to discuss prospects for standalone funding for Ukraine and Israel, followed by a look at Nevada’s presidential primaries and GOP caucus. They close by addressing listener quest...
Feb 13, 2024•18 min
Mike and Jay open with a discussion of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on President Biden’s handling of classified documents. Mike argues that Hur should have been more neutral in his wording, while Jay doesn’t see any significant problems with how Hur presented his findings. They also consider the broader issues of memory, verbal gaffes, and cognitive fitness. Following that, they consider the oral arguments before the Supreme Court concerning Donald Trump’s eligibility to run for president...
Feb 10, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Mike and Ken open the preview of this supporters’ midweek episode with a detailed look at why conservative former federal judge Michael Luttig believes Donald Trump is ineligible to run for president. They discuss both Luttig’s arguments against the Court ducking the issue and his substantive case against Trump as an insurrectionist. Following that, they discuss why MAGA world is so unhappy with Taylor Swift and consider the present state and near-future prospects for the Democratic Party. The P...
Feb 06, 2024•19 min
Mike and Ken open the episode with a discussion of the move by House Republicans to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. They examine the articles of impeachment and agree that they’re not very convincing, and consider how the Senate might proceed if the House votes to impeach Mayorkas. Next, they turn to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearings on online harm to children. While there’s a bipartisan consensus that more should be done to keep kids safe online, Ken points out t...
Feb 02, 2024•1 hr 7 min
Mike talks with David Stockman, a legendary figure in Republican circles. Mr. Stockman has served as a member of the House of Representatives, budget director in the Reagan White House, and partner in the private equity company Blackstone. He’s the author of many books, the latest of which is Trump’s War on Capitalism, which they discuss in this episode. Topics Discussed Include: - why Donald Trump has “all the right enemies” - Trump’s “hopelessly wrong” economic policies - how the financial cri...
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr 8 min
This week's special bonus show is our right-wing hosts: Trey and Jay! They start the show with a few items from last week: Peter Navarro's Sentencing and the new secret data courts formed by executive order. Jay is pretty firm that Navarro is a political prosecution. Where Trey and Jay do agree is that Trump will have a hard time continuing to find real staff as he steps back from those who supported him when it becomes convenient. Next, they discuss the new court designed to allow Europeans to ...
Jan 30, 2024•14 min
Trey and Jay open a special right-wing look at the week's politics! Next week the left takes over with Mike and Ken. Trey and Jay open the episode diving deeply into New Hampshire's Republican primary. This includes a look at the voter turnout, demographic shifts, delegate count, and what the exit of DeSantis means for the race. Trey is hopeful of a Haley victory and sees her easily defeating Biden on the most recent polling data. Jay is like sure and more sure that the race is effectively over....
Jan 27, 2024•1 hr 18 min
Mike and May open the preview of this midweek supporters’ episode with a discussion of a bipartisan deal to raise the child tax credit and reinstate some business tax breaks. Both Mike and May think it’s a good deal as there’s something for Democrats (the child tax credits) and something for the Republicans (those business tax credits) though Mike in particular expresses skepticism that it will end up becoming law any time soon. Next, they consider the Supreme Court declining to review a case in...
Jan 23, 2024•21 min
Mike and May open the episode with a look at Donald Trump’s decisive victory in Iowa and what may lie ahead for Trump, Nikki Haley, and Ron DeSantis in New Hampshire. Mike seems to be holding out some hope that Haley can mount a long-shot challenge to Trump, but May believes the race is all but over at this point. Next, they welcome political scientist Kimberly Weir for a discussion of the US response to Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. Kimberly discusses the factors influencing the Ho...
Jan 20, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Mike talks with Juliet Hooker, the Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence in Political Science at Brown University. Professor Hooker is a political theorist specializing in racial justice and has authored multiple books, the latest of which is Black Grief/White Grievance: The Politics of Loss, which is the topic of their discussion. Topics Mike and Juliet Cover Include: - the meaning of Black grief and white grievance - justified and unjustified political loss - why the context of a loss ...
Jan 17, 2024•56 min
Trey & Ken continue through the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights by diving into the 1st Amendment’s Free Assembly and Petition Clauses. This ends their discussion of the 1st Amendment. The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 16, 2024•12 min
In this special bonus segment, Mike is joined by political scientist and international relations expert Kimberly Weir (who also happens to be married to Mike) for a discussion of whether or not Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and why South Africa brought their genocide claim before the International Court of Justice. The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or pol...
Jan 14, 2024•26 min
