Month: March 2016

This week’s Ask The Politics Guys question is actually 10 questions, all submitted by loyal listener Emilie, who gathered up questions from her Year 13 A-Level Government and Politics Class at Bishop Ramsey School in Ruislip, UK.

1. Republicans and Democrats were once described by David Broder to be ‘two bottles, both empty’ – is this still the case in respect of the parties? (from Hemesh)

2. Do pressure groups dominate decision making in the US? (from Talin)

3. Do you think Obama should nominate a new justice? (from Ellie)

4. Clinton said that if elected, she would be interested in nominating Obama, what do you think of this idea? (from Taline)

5. Does money dominate the political process – and does the case of Jeb Bush prove to oppose this argument? (from Miss Robinson and Emilie)

6. Does the whole controversy over gun issues prove the Constitution is not suitable for modern America? (From Ellie)

7. Should the Electoral College be reformed? (from Hemesh)

8. Do you think Affirmative Action should continue? (from Carina)

9. Do you think that news coverage without opinion polls that focuses instead on policy would be preferential – or do you think opinion polls are actually valuable when deciding who to vote for? (from Emilie)

10. What is your opinion on Britain leaving the EU? (from Connor)

This week, Mike and Jay start things off by talking about the terror attacks in Brussels, focusing on how the three people most likely to be the next president – Clinton, Trump, and Cruz – reacted. Then it’s off to Cuba (and Argentina) with President Obama and his whole family. The Guys then take a look at the latest developments in the presidential primaries, and close by considering the anti-LGBTQ legislation recently passed in North Carolina.

This week’s question is a mash-up of two related questions asked by Andrew, from Kalamazoo, Michigan.

What one foundational thing would you most like to change about American politics, and which previous foundational change would you say has had the biggest unintended consequences?

This week, The Politics Guys lead off with the state of the Republican presidential nomination contest. The math says Trump might just barely get the delegates he needs. If he doesn’t, it should make for an interesting convention. Mike and Jay look at what good John Kasich thinks he’s actually doing by staying in the race, and whether or not his continued candidacy is helping Trump. On the Democratic side, the Guys once again pronounce Bernie’s campaign dead, though they think he might be able to keep his message alive. Finally, Mike and Jay discuss whether or not Judge Merrick Garland, who President Obama nominated to take Justice Scalia’s place on the Supreme Court, stands a chance of being confirmed by the Republican Senate.

This week’s Ask the Politics Guys question has come up a bunch of times from listeners. How do we keep up with political news, and what do we recommend for listeners trying to get a better big-picture understanding of American politics. (We’ll be posting links to all of the recommendations mentioned in this episode on politicsguys.com.)

The primary races are once again the top story of the week. Mike and Jay start by looking  at the state of the Republican race: Trump’s chances in Ohio and Florida, what happened to Rubio, and whether Cruz or Kasich have a real shot at the nomination. They also get into how a contested convention would work, and who might come out of it as the Republican nominee. On the Democratic side, they explain why Bernie Sanders’ win in Michigan – stunning as it was – doesn’t really change the race. After that, it’s a brief foray into the state visit of the highly photogenic Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Jay’s discovery of feminist glaciology.

This week’s Ask The Politics Guys question comes from Alexx, in Hastings, Minnesota.

Dear Politics Guys, Do you think our system would be more efficient if it were parliamentary system with proportional representation instead of a presidential system with winner-take-all elections?

This week, Mike and Jay start out by looking at where things stand after Super Tuesday. On the Democratic side, they agree that Bernie Sanders is effectively done, though they expect he’ll stay in the race until the bitter end. On the Republican side, they think it’s very unlikely that anyone other than Trump can get a majority of the delegates. It’s still possible that nobody will have a majority going into the GOP convention, and it seems that the last hope for the Republican establishment is a contested convention. The Guys also talk about a big abortion case out of Texas heard last week by a now Scalia-less Supreme Court.

This week’s Ask The Politics Guys question comes comes from Janet, in Silver City, NM.

Dear Politics Guys, Are current social safety net programs a sort of disguised socialism? Are these programs consistent with capitalism?