Month: November 2021

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Mike and Jay start off this week’s show with late-breaking news about the emergence of the Omicron COVID variant. Jay brings up the inherent non-political nature of viruses, whereas Mike argues that responses to viruses are inherently political, and that the US and other wealthy countries can and should be doing more.

Next, they discuss President Biden’s release of 50 million barrels of oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve in coordination with oil reserve releases in other countries. They agree that this move is both political and largely symbolic. Jay believes the administration should make it less difficult to extract fossil fuels, while Mike focuses more on what he believes to be the significant negative climate ramifications of fossil fuels.

Then it’s a look at the verdict in the Ahmaud Arbery case. Mike & Jay both support the jury’s verdict, and agree that there may be widespread issues with favoritism and even corruption in local law enforcement. But they differ on hate crime laws, which Mike supports and Jay believes to be unnecessary.

After that they give two cheers to President Biden’s nomination of Jerome Powell to continue chairing the Federal Reserve and of Lael Brainard to serve as vice chair. Mike is more supportive of the nominations than Jay, largely because Jay takes issue with the Fed’s reluctance to taper asset purchases and raise interest rates. They both agree that while Fed independence may rankle presidents and members of both parties in Congress, it’s a good thing.

Next is a discussion of Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s “Patriot Purge” video. They both see it as egregiously misleading propaganda and lament that some valid points about federal power are buried beneath a mountain of hyperbole and atrocious logic. Mike sees the video as further proof that even if Donald Trump fades from the scene, toxic Trumpism isn’t going away anytime soon and, if anything, may be gaining power. Jay is more hopeful and points out that when similar films were made by Michael Moore, he was praised – Mike agrees, but feels that it’s a false equivalence.

They end the show with listener questions on whether Joe Biden is more like Jimmy Carter or Gerald Ford and why The Politics Guys listeners skew left.

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Trey and Ken get deep into the details this week starting with the Kyle Rittenhouse case. Did the jury get the correct verdict? What are the implications for self-defense in states with both open carry and stand your ground laws? Next they turn to another case: the indictment of Steve Bannon. They talk next steps and the history of executive privilege. Finally it is a discussion of Representative Paul Gosar’s meme attacking the southern border resulting in a vote of censure.

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Mike & Jay open the show with a look at a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that halts implementation of the Occupational Health and Safety and Health Administration’s rule requiring vaccinations at businesses with 100 or more employees. Both Mike and Jay agree with the ruling, which makes it clear that the OSHA rule would be highly unlikely to succeed on the merits. Mike was disappointed that his preferred policy outcome – requiring workers to get a COVID vaccine or undergo weekly testing – doesn’t seem to be within OSHA’s and possibly even Congress’ legal authority.

Next, they turn to the worsening inflation situation. Mike argues that despite recent increases, there’s good reason to believe that inflation is transitory and that Build Back Better won’t make a meaningful contribution to inflationary pressures. Jay wonders how long inflation has to last before it’s no longer considered transitory, and questions the wisdom of more massive governmental spending in light of recent inflation numbers.

The show closes with a look at a federal appeals court decision to block the release of Trump administration documents to the House January 6th Committee. They both think this was the right decision, with Jay arguing that in the end, he believes that Trump’s claim of executive privilege should be rejected by the courts, and that the committee should get the documents it requested.

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the podcast, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys 

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Mike & Jay start off the show by discussing the flurry of last-minute activity that led to the eventual passage of the infrastructure bill, with House progressives (at least enough of them) agreeing to support it in exchange for a commitment from Democratic moderates that they’d support Build Back Better as long as the CBO cost analysis – due in the next few weeks – largely mirrors White House projections. Mike and Jay both support the infrastructure bill (Jay less enthusiastically than Mike) while Mike is more confident than Jay that Build Back Better will also head to President Biden’s desk in the near future.

After that they turn to Tuesday’s elections with a special focus on the Virginia gubernatorial election. Jay believes that Democrats erred in playing the race card in the governor’s race, and that things look good for Republicans in the next year’s midterm elections. Mike focuses more on structural factors which he believes will almost inevitably lead to Democrats losing control of one or both chambers after 2022, and Donald Trump being well positioned for another run at the presidency in 2024.

Mike Recommendation
– Democracy in America. Alexis De Tocqueville

Jay’s Recommendation
– Big White Ghetto. Kevin WIlliamson
– “The Tuesday” Newsletter. Kevin Williamson

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the podcast, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys 

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