Author: Michael Baranowski

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Mike & Jay open the episode with a discussion of whether the Supreme Court was right to issue a stay in the mifepristone case, a decisions that allows women to continue to have access to the abortion drug as the matter winds its way through the appeals process. Mike & Jay both agree that a stay was the right call, though Jay argues that Justice Alito makes some valid points in his dissent.

Then they turn to the party-line passage of a debt ceiling increase (among many other things) by House Republicans. They agree that this bill isn’t going anywhere, and that President Biden will eventually negotiate with Republicans, even if he doesn’t quite admit that that’s what he’s doing. Mike argues that this could potentially hurt Biden’s reelection chances, but Jay feels that debt ceiling fights typically end up making Republicans look worse.

They close by discussing Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other top state officials. It seems almost unquestionable that this is a case of government retaliation, but whether that’s a violation of Disney’s 1^st Amendment rights is less clear. Disney might have a better argument when it comes to the Contracts Clause, but even there it’s far from clear that Disney will prevail in court. Politically, Jay argues that DeSantis miscalculated in his battle with Disney and now finds himself stuck.

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Ryan & Mike kick off the show with a discussion of Fox’s $787 million settlement with Dominion over claims that the news network defamed the voting machine company. They get into why Fox felt compelled to settle, what this may mean for other defamation lawsuits, and if it will have a chilling effect on defamatory speech by the news media.

Next they consider whether 89 year old California Senator Diane Feinstein should resign her seat after being away since February recovering from shingles and for several years showing clear signs of cognitive impairment. This leads into a discussion of Feinstein’s important role on the Senate Judiciary Committee and President Biden’s judicial appointments.

They end by looking at Groff v. DeJoy, a case in which an evangelical Christian former USPS employee is arguing that the Postal Service discriminated against him because of his religion. Based on past precedent and oral argument before the Supreme Court this week, Mike expects the Court to rule for the Postal Service but to do so in such a way that may expand religious protection. Ryan wonders what sort of effect the ruling will have on protection for other religious practitioners and if media reports fearing the worst are overstated.

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The 400th Episode of The Politics Guys!

Trey & Ken start the show with a long investigation into Justice Thomas’ undisclosed gifts from Harlan Crow. Trey, who was initially skeptical of the claims of impropriety, finds there is good reason to find issue. Ken agrees but goes further in his arguments for curruption.

Next they turn to the recent rulings on Mifepristone by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeal. The focus is primarily on what, if anything, the FDA can or should do in response to the rulings. Ken sees no functional difference between deference and ignoring the ruling. Trey sees a key difference in that one is a constitutionally consistent principle and the other is not.

After that is a long conversation on the papers potentially leaked. Ken floats a novel idea: that the leak is a bit of counter espionage. Trey probes the idea to see if it holds up and works out what would have to continue to be found empirically for the thesis to be true.

Then the pair turn to the expulsion of two African American Tennessee House members. The conversation between both focuses on the rightful, if any, action the legislature should have taken given that the rules were violated by three members of that body.

Trey & Ken end the show discussing Trump’s latest legal appeals.

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Mike, Jay, and Ryan open the show with a discussion of the dueling district court rulings on the FDA-approved abortion pill mifepristone, with a federal judge in Texas ordering a nationwide injunction against the drug and a federal judge in Washington State ruling the opposite way the same day. Because the story broke just before the show was recorded, the guys didn’t get into the specifics of the rulings, focusing their discussion on forum shopping and nationwide injunctions.

Following that, Ryan clarified his remarks from last week on net neutrality, which led to a discussion of the pros and cons of the Obama-era FCC policy that was revoked in Donald Trump’s FCC.

Then they turn to the 34 count indictment against Donald Trump, agreeing that legally it’s awfully thin. While it may make it harder to successfully prosecute Donald Trump in the future (Mike is less sure of this than Jay and Ryan are), it may help Bragg’s career and give Trump a boost in the GOP primary – which could be exactly what Joe Biden wants.

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Mike welcomes a new co-host to the show: political scientist Ryan Teten. (Jay’s not going anywhere – he’s working on a special project for the podcast we hope to unveil sometime this spring.)

Mike & Ryan open with a discussion of Donald Trump’s indictment on charges related to hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels. Neither Mike nor Ryan expect a conviction, and consider the wisdom of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg seeking an indictment in the first place.

Next they turn to the tragic school shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee and why it seems so unlikely that this time will be any different when it comes to meaningful gun safety legislation.

Following that they consider calls to pause development of AI, the ever growing gap between technological change and government’s response to that change, and whether the future will be the dystopian hellscape some are suggesting or if there might be more optimistic possibilities.

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Trey & Ken continue working through the U.S. Constitution working through the entirety of Article I, Section 9. This section of the constitution, coming immediately after the powers of Congress, outlines the limits on Congressional power.

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Trey & Ken open discussing the major investigations into Trump, focusing on NY’s grand jury and recent developments in the crime and fraud exception for Trump lawyer Corcoran. Relatedly they discuss Ron DeSantis’ commentary on Trump. This leads to a discussion of the Republican primary.

Next is a conversation about Xi Jinping and his visit to Russia and Vladimir Putin. Here Trey & Ken discuss the evolution of U.S. foreign policy in relation to China and how the hostility there has seemingly brought Russia and China closer.

Then the focus turns to the TikTok hearings with CEO Shou Chew. This leads to more conversation about the emergent bipartisan support for a version of isolationism.

The pair end the show with a brief conversation on the ongoing pension crisis in France.

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Mike & Jay open with an extended discussion of the recent failure of three banks, focusing on the largest of the three, Silicon Valley Bank. They discuss why depositors were made whole, banking regulation, and the importance of risk in capitalism.

After that they turn to the growing threat of a US ban of the hugely popular TikTok app due to national security concerns. Jay has his own concerns that this might run afoul of the 1^st Amendment whereas Mike is less inclined to see a platform ban as restricting speech.

Mike’s Recommendation:
Triangle of Sadness

Jay’s Recommendation:
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 (Cleveland Orchestra)

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Mike & Jay open with a discussion of the use Fox News personality Tucker Carlson has made of the exclusive January 6^th footage given to him by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. Carlson did exactly what Mike & Jay predicted he would on the show several weeks back – the guys discuss how much it potentially matters.

Next, they move to President Biden’s recently announced budget for FY 2024. Like most presidential budgets it’s more a political than a policy document, but it does give us some sense of what it says about the priorities of the Biden administration.

Following that is a look at the February jobs report, the state of the economy, and why a number of states are attempting to relax child labor regulations.

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Trey & Ken continue their exploration of the constitution by exploring Article I, Section 8 and Article I, Section 9. What is the extent of Congress’ spending power? What are its limits?

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