Trump and Harris Economic Plans, Presidential Prediction Models Jay, Justin, and Mike open the preview of this supporters’ midweek episode with a discussion of the recent economic speeches by Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Jay is unhappy with what he’s hearing from both sides, and Mike makes the case that if you like Biden’s policies, you’ll like Harris’ even more. Justin points out that much of what we’re hearing from Trump isn’t new, but it’s the first major policy speech from Harris. As such...
Aug 20, 2024•18 min
Jay, Justin, and Mike open with a discussion of the X conversation between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. They consider the ties between Musk and Trump, Musk’s move from left to right, and whether the event was a violation of campaign finance law as well as illegal worker intimidation. This moves into a conversation of Elon Musk’s recent lawsuit alleging that an advertiser boycott of X violates antitrust law. Jay points out that it’s a strange claim in that there’s no apparent harm to consumers. Ju...
Aug 17, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Travis talks with political science professor (and mom!), Dr. Lindsey Cormack about her new book, How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It’s Up to You to Do It), in which she encourages parents to learn more about politics, civics, and government, and to take on a more active role in providing that education to their children. Topics Travis and Lindsey cover include: Key features and functions of American civics that parents need to know and to teach their children How to talk to kids about controvers...
Aug 14, 2024•57 min
Mike and Jay open the preview of this supporters’ midweek show with a look at Judge Amit Metha’s ruling that Google is a monopolist in online search. Both Mike and Jay are torn on this, though for slightly different reasons. Jay has a problem with any one company controlling so much personal data, while Mike’s concern is more with Google’s practices that lock in its dominance through multi-billion dollar “default search engine” agreements. Next, they discuss Rep. Cori Bush’s primary loss. Bush i...
Aug 13, 2024•18 min
Mike and Jay open with a discussion of Kamala Harris’ choice of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. While neither Mike nor Jay believes Walz will make much of a difference, Mike argues that he’s more of a “regular person” than Trump running mate JD Vance, and that Harris has a reasonable shot at winning without running with a battleground state running mate. Then they turn to the state of the presidential race. Jay points out what he sees as the hypocrisy of Democrats' “coronation” ...
Aug 10, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Mike talks with historian Anthony Gregory, author of multiple publications on national security, constitutionalism, and legal theory. His latest book is New Deal Law and Order: How The War on Crime Built The Modern Liberal State. Topics Mike & Anthony Discuss Include: - the origin of the “war on crime” - how the war on crime paved the way for the modern liberal state - FDR’s “creative constitutionalism” - J. Edgar Hoover and the creation of the modern FBI - the war on crime and the Civil Rig...
Aug 07, 2024•53 min
Trey and Ken continue their deep dive through the U.S. Constitution with the 12th Amendment. Topics of conversation include: The divided government of 1796 The contested election of 1800 The timeline of presidential elections The Presidential Succession Act Chiafalo v Washington Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 06, 2024•16 min
Trey, May, and Ken commence the show with an in-depth discussion on former President Donald Trump’s comments at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention (NABJ) in Chicago. The debate becomes contentious as Ken and May dispute Trump’s engagement with racist groups. May contends that Ken’s remarks unfairly characterize conservatives as racist, while Ken clarifies that Trump’s outreach to white supremacists does not implicate all conservatives, only a segment of his coalition. Next,...
Aug 03, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Mike talks with Zee Cohen-Sanchez, Founder and Executive Director of Sole Strategies, a political organization building grassroots campaigns across the US for candidates who are passionate about change. After Bernie Sanders' 2016 campaign, Zee committed to helping Democratic candidates win seats across the country. Since founding Sole Strategies in 2020, Zee and her team have worked on hundreds of nationwide campaigns. Topics Mike and Zee Cover Include: - the weirdness of politicians - flipping ...
Jul 31, 2024•50 min
Mike and Ken open this preview of the supporters' midweek show with a look at Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress. They agree that the US doesn’t have a lot of leverage over Israel given America’s strategic interests in the region and concerns about Iran. Mike argues that members of Congress who are stridently anti-Israel are actively hurting their party’s chances in the upcoming elections. Next, they turn to a discussion of the Supreme Court, first focu...
Jul 30, 2024•21 min
Mike, Ken, and Trey open with a discussion of President Biden’s decision to leave the race and the potential running mates and policies for presumptive nominee Kamala Harris. Ken argues that Biden would have done just fine against Trump and that Harris will also win in November, whereas Trey and Mike are far less bullish on her chances. They all agree that a potential Harris administration would be somewhat to the left of what we’ve seen from Joe Biden. They close the episode by looking at the S...
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Mike talks with Berkeley political scientist Steven Fish, author of the recently released book, Comeback: Routing Trumpism, Reclaiming the Nation, and Restoring Democracy’s Edge. Topics Mike & Steve Discuss Include: - if Democrats are spoiled whiners - low-dominance liberals vs high-dominance Trump - why ignoring polls is a good thing (at times) - pathologically risk-averse liberals - high-dominance politics in a global perspective - how Kamala Harris can project strength against Trump - why...
Jul 24, 2024•1 hr 12 min
We’re releasing this second “not actually a midweek episode” episode following President Biden’s announcement that he won’t be running for reelection. That was all we covered in the preview of the midweek episode that dropped earlier today, and now that events have overtaken our analysis, we thought you deserved more than a suddenly very dated analysis of whether or not Biden would leave the ticket. Next week, we’ll be considering all of the potential implications of Biden’s exit, but for now we...
Jul 21, 2024•36 min
Mike and Jay open the preview of this special early-release edition of the midweek supporters’ show with a discussion of the Democratic National Committee’s plan to hold a virtual roll-call vote in the first week of August to nominate Joe Biden. Mike hopes that doesn’t end up happening, but is skeptical of the press reports saying that it’s almost a foregone conclusion that Biden will bow to pressure and end his reelection campaign. Jay, who hopes Biden is the candidate, seeing him as more beata...
Jul 21, 2024•18 min
Mike and Jay open with a discussion of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. While there’s a lot we still don’t know, it’s clear that the Secret Service failed to do its job. Mike and Jay agree that Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle shouldn’t still have her job, though Mike contends that those on the right blaming what happened on “DEI hires” are engaged in rampant speculation to promote their ideological agenda. Next is a look at Ohio US Senator JD Vance, who Trump picked as his r...
Jul 20, 2024•1 hr
Mike talks with educator, researcher, and writer Sarah Towle about her latest book, Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands. Topics Mike and Sarah Discuss Include: - the historical roots of our current immigration issues - the connection between trade policy and immigration - why prevention through deterrence hasn’t worked - if “remain in Mexico” is a viable approach to asylum seekers - immigrants, crime, and American jobs - helping border communities cope with the flow of migrants...
Jul 17, 2024•53 min
In the preview of this midweek supporters’ episode, Jay is joined by Justin Holmes from the University of Northern Iowa (whose opinions, as always are his own and not reflective of his employer, the people of the great state of Iowa, or its 20 Million head of hogs). They open by taking up the failed vote to hold Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over Robert Hur’s recordings of his interviews with President Biden. They discuss the legal merits of contempt, the challenge...
Jul 16, 2024•19 min
Jay is joined by Justin Holmes from the University of Northern Iowa (whose opinions, as always are his own and not reflective of his employer, the people of the great state of Iowa, or its 20 Million head of hogs). The show kicks off with a discussion of the ongoing calls for President Biden to end his campaign. They start with a divide over how bad of shape Biden is in cognitively and mainstream press coverage (Jay thinks it’s about time the mainstream press picks up on Biden’s problems, Justin...
Jul 13, 2024•1 hr 30 min
Mike and May open the preview of this supporters’ midweek episode with a discussion of the Supreme Court decision allowing municipalities to deal with homeless encampments by bans on outdoor camping. Mike is all over the place on this one, finding something to like (and dislike) on all sides, while May believes that the majority got it right. Next, they consider the Court’s ruling in Moody v. NetChoice, involving efforts by Florida and Texas to regulate social media they believe is biased agains...
Jul 09, 2024•19 min
Biden Defiant, Presidential Immunity, Overturning 1/6 Convictions Mike and May open with a discussion of the fallout from President Biden’s debate performance, including his defiant (and some would say delusional) determination to stay in the race and beat Donald Trump. May thinks the Democrats should have seen this coming and doesn’t expect them to force Biden out, while Mike holds out hope that the mounting pressure from party leaders and donors will end up with Biden stepping aside. Following...
Jul 06, 2024•59 min
It’s mostly Supreme Court on the preview of this midweek supporters’ episode, with Mike and Jay discussing whether the EPA can force Ohio to be a “good neighbor” to downwind states, when a bribe isn’t a bribe, whether the Purdue Pharma OxyContin settlement should have been thrown out, and – in a non-court discussion, their thoughts on the Julian Assange plea deal. The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Check out Mike’s other podcast - Sustainable Planet, and the Sustainable Planet Substack. Listener ...
Jul 02, 2024•20 min
Mike and Jay open with a discussion of President Biden’s disastrous performance in the first presidential debate. Mike was actually hoping for a worse outcome that would all but force Biden from the race, which he doesn’t think will happen, despite multiple calls for Biden to step aside. Jay wonders how Biden’s closest confidants and top advisors allowed things to get to this point. Mike suggests that Biden may still be able to handle the non-public-facing parts of the job, which Jay doubts, par...
Jun 29, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Mike talks with attorney, author, and historian Talmage Boston. His books include Cross-Examining History, Raising the Bar: The Crucial Role of Lawyers in History, and most recently, How The Best Did It: Leadership Lessons From Our Top Presidents, which is the focus of their discussion. Topics Mike and Talmage cover include: - the “Great 8”: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, TR, FDR, Ike, JFK, and Reagan - key leadership strengths of those 8 presidents - the main weakness of each of the 8 presiden...
Jun 26, 2024•56 min
Trey & Ken discuss the meaning of the 11th Amendment including: Chisholm v Georgia Hans v Louisiana Ex parte Young Fitzpatrick v Bitzer Seminole Tribe v Florida Central Virginia Community College v Katz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 25, 2024•14 min
Trey & Ken open by delving into President Biden's proposed path to citizenship for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens, analyzing its potential impacts and political ramifications. Trey argues the timing is a political bone to the left in the wake of his tougher border policies. Next, they tackle the implications of three major Supreme Court cases. In the first, Moore v. United States, upholding foreign asset taxing, Trey and Ken agree with the majority but Trey disagrees with the policy i...
Jun 22, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Mike talks with Liam deClive-Lowe, co-founder and co-president of American Policy Ventures. APV is a group that works with people and organizations across the ideological spectrum to make it easier for policymakers to effectively solve critical policy problems. They sponsored the Georgetown Battleground Civility Poll that came out not too long ago, which is the focus of their conversation Topics Mike & Liam Discuss Include: - the mission of AVP - the value of Democrat and Republican pollster...
Jun 19, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Mike and May open the preview of this supporters’ midweek episode by discussing the House of Representatives holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over audio of Special Counsel Hur’s interview with President Biden in the classified documents investigation. They agree that this is political on both sides, and that while the Biden camp may not have strong legal ground to stand on, it’s not likely the audio will be released before the election. Followi...
Jun 18, 2024•20 min
Mike & May open with a discussion of the guilty verdict in the Hunter Biden gun trial. They discuss Biden’s defense, the possibility of a pardon or commutation by President Biden, Donald Trump’s reaction, and how this may all play out politically. Next, they turn to two big Supreme Court decisions. In the first of these, a unanimous Court found that the group challenging the FDA’s loosening of restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone didn’t have standing to sue. Mike agrees, but May fe...
Jun 15, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Political scientist Travis Taylor talks with law professor Joshua Douglas about his new book The Court v. The Voters: The Troubling Story of How the Supreme Court Has Undermined Voting Rights, in which he writes about the U.S. Supreme Court's recent history of prioritizing the power of states to regulate elections over the rights of voters. Topics Travis and Josh Cover Include: · how the Court has changed the standard by which it reviews voting rights cases · combating election fraud and maintai...
Jun 12, 2024•50 min
Trey and Ken finish the Bill of Rights by delving into the origins and significance of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Topics covered include: Federalist and Anti-Federalist debates during and after the Constitution's drafting, addressing concerns that listing specific rights might imply that others were not protected. Does the Ninth Amendment make textualism pointless? The conflict between the philosophic origins of the Ninth Amendment and why legal scholars abandoned i...
Jun 11, 2024•15 min
