The Politics Guys

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Trey & Ken continue their dive into the U.S. Constitution by overviewing the origins, history, and importance of the Bill of Rights. This episode sets up the next arch of the Constitution episodes as Trey & Ken go through each portion of the first 10 Amendments.

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In this deep dive episode Trey & Ken take a longview look at the conflict in the Gaza Strip. This includes a history into the formation of both Israel and the Gaza Strip, along with the key moments that led to the terrorist activity on Saturday. The pair discuss the current crisis, the likely next steps, and the response internationally and in the United States to the crisis.

As a second story the guys look at the collapse of Scalise as the next U.S. House Speaker, likely next steps, and the possibility of a coalition Speaker with votes from House Democrats.

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Mike and Jay open the show with a discussion of the ousting of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, with every Democrat joining eight Republicans in voting to remove McCarthy as Speaker. Mike asks Jay to explain what’s going on with his party, and whether he thinks this will hurt Republicans in 2024. Jay thinks there will be electoral consequences, but Mike doesn’t agree, at least not if an extended government shutdown is avoided. They have a lot to say about Matt Gaetz, none of it complimentary. (Though Mike gives him credit for solid political positioning.)

Following that is a discussion of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s appointment of Laphonza Butler to fill the seat held by the recently departed Dianne Feinstein, a Supreme Court case hinging on whether the word “and” might actually mean “or”, and Donald Trump accusing a court clerk in his civil trial of being Senator Chuck Schumer’s girlfriend and helping to “rig” the case against him.

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Trey and Ken continue their deep dive into the U.S. Constitution with an examination of Article VII. The pair discuss the government bypassing nature of the ratification process, what the ratification process was, how the anti-federalists brought us the Bill of Rights from the ratification battle, and set up an introduction to the Bill of Rights.

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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.

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After a brief discussion of the death of Diane Feinstein, including her legacy both positive and negative, Trey and Ken discuss the GOP debate. Trey just doesn’t see room at the GOP table for anyone other than Trump. Ken thinks that the nominees should have gone after Trump sooner, but now have no way to pivot. They then discuss the possibility of a Trump victory next year in the general election.

Next, they turn to the ongoing shutdown. As the show went live McCarthy lost his vote for a continuing resolution. Trey argues that a smaller faction of the House Freedom Caucus simply want McCarthy out as speaker for symbolic reasons. Ken argues that the Freedom Caucus wants to effectively burn the house down.

They then turn to the ongoing civil trial in New York over the valuation of Trump’s properties. Ken explains the nature of this kind of trial and what it means moving forward. They pair close the show discussing the U.S. Supreme Court’s unwillingness to allow Alabama to use its current electoral map.

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After a brief look at the recently announced federal corruption indictment against New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, Mike and May discuss the politics of the looming government shutdown. With less than a week to go before the end of the fiscal year, a shutdown looks almost inevitable. Mike and May discuss the political and policy motivation of the key players and how they think things will play out.

Next, they turn to Attorney General Merrick Garland’s recent testimony before Congress, where he was asked tough questions about DOJ investigations, naming David Weiss a special counsel, alleged anti-Catholicism at the FBI, and targeting of parents protesting at school board meetings.

They close with a discussion of Governor Josh Shapiro’s announcement that Pennsylvania would be implementing automatic voter registration, making it the 24^th state with an automatic registration process. May raises concerns concerning the legality of the move and the registration process itself. Mike agrees that there could be a legitimate legal challenge to Shapiro unilaterally making the change, but he has fewer concerns with the process and argues that it doesn’t benefit Democrats nearly as much as partisans on both sides may think.

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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.

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Mike and Jay kick off the episode with a discussion of Hunter Biden’s indictment on multiple federal gun-related charges. While the guys don’t see Biden ending up in a cell next to Donald Trump, they think it’s pretty clear that Hunter is guilty, but that the gun law he violated may be unconstitutional under the current Supreme Court’s view of the 2^nd Amendment.

Next is a look at Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s announcement of a Biden impeachment inquiry. They discuss why McCarthy broke his word on having a vote of the full House to authorize such a move, the role of the House Freedom Caucus, and how the ongoing budget negotiations may or may not fit in.

Then they turn to the United Auto Workers strike against GM, Ford, and Chrysler, analyzing the union’s demands for higher wages and benefits versus the automakers’ need to invest in new electric vehicle technology. They discuss the political and economic tradeoffs around moving to EVs, including potential job losses that governments have failed to adequately address through retraining and transition programs.

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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.