The Politics Guys

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Mike and May open with a discussion of the 2^nd attempt (that we know of) on Donald Trump’s life, which turns into a broader consideration of extremist rhetoric on both sides and political violence. May believes that Trump has been targeted more than any other figure, suggesting more of a problem on the left. Mike thinks that things will get considerably worse, no matter which candidate wins in November.

Next, they consider how events have unfolded in Springfield Ohio, in the wake of Donald Trump’s lie about Haitian migrants in Springfield stealing and then eating family pets. May believes that the real focus should be on the problems associated with immigration, while Mike argues that Trump and Vance have crossed an important line – from spinning and exaggerating to having seemingly no concern for truth, if baldfaced lies serve their cause.

From there it’s a look at media avoidance by Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. May and Mike agree that it’s a smart strategy, and Mike is more curious as to why JD Vance has been so prominent, given how much of what Vance has to say may turn off undecided voters (at least that’s Mike’s take).

They close with a discussion of the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate cut since 2020. Mike doesn’t buy the argument from Trump that it’s either a sign of a bad economy or that it was politically motivated. May points to how the cut is likely to help people hoping to buy a home.

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The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

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Mike and Jay open with a discussion of the first (and possibly only) debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Jay agrees with the conventional wisdom about the debate hurting Trump, and Mike agrees that it’s not likely to make a huge difference. But as Jay points out, in a race almost certain to be as close as this one is, a few thousand votes in the right places could mean a lot. Mike argues that Donald Trump’s untrue comment about Haitian migrants eating family pets is a disgusting dehumanization of migrants. Jay isn’t that worked up about it, and argues that Springfield, Ohio has had understandable difficulty handling the number of migrants it’s seen in the last few years.

Next, they move to endorsements of Harris by Dick & Liz Cheney, a number of prominent Republicans who say they can’t support Trump, and ‘childless cat lady’ Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris. Mike believes that all these Republicans either endorsing the opposition or refusing to support their party’s nominee is unprecedented. Jay reiterates that he’s likely to follow the lead of Romney and Pence, who aren’t voting for Harris but won’t vote for Trump either.

They close with a look at the state of the presidential race. Mike is a lot less confident in Harris’ chances than either Ken or Trey (both of whom last week felt that Harris will win). Mike believes that Trump will once again outperform his polling and figures his chances at winning to be around 60%. Jay largely agrees, wondering if Harris has peaked.

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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.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

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Trey is again joined by Ken and they start the show looking at the U.S. Justice Department’s recent indictment of, presumably, Tenet Media. Ken argues this demonstrates the Justice Department is taking Russian election interference seriously, while Trey suggests this kind of revelation can be a place for considering one’s media content consumption.

Next, the duo dives into Montana’s U.S. Senate Race between Republican challenger Tim Sheehy and Democratic incumbent Jon Tester. Ken believes there is a chance that Democrats pick up enough seats to offset probable losses, but agrees with Trey that that the better odds are on Republicans taking the Senate by one to two seats. Trey and Ken differ though in the end because Trey believes Republicans will hold the House and Ken argues New York is enough to tip the scales to the Democrats.

After that, they move to Hunter Biden’s last-minute guilty plea. Trey finds Hunter Biden’s commentary to come off as whining and Trump-like and, ultimately, a win for justice. Ken believes the deck was stacked against Hunter and has more sympathy for the aggressive prosecution.

Then it is a quick conversation about U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro’s violation of the Hatch Act. The hosts overview what happened and the history of the Hatch Act. They also delve into Trump’s attempt via Executive Order at circumventing the Hatch Act by creating a new level of employee: Schedule F.

The pair close the show by discussing the SAVE Act. Here Trey muses that asking for ID, although not necessary, is not an undue burden in modern society. Ken argues that it would increase disenfranchisement. Trey counters by suggesting it would follow to eliminate ID requirements in other areas, especially in banking.

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Check out the Sustainable Planet podcast, as well as the free Sustainable Planet Substack.

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.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castbox | PocketCasts | Overcast

Trey and May begin by analyzing Harris’s CNN interview. Trey posits we have entered a new post-position political age. Both discuss the evolution of Harris and whether she has stayed true to her values while shifting her policies. The pair delve into the respective promises of both Harris and Trump on using opposing party members in their cabinet and their transition team respectively.

Next the pair dive into Trump’s evolution on abortion and his use of pro-choice phrases in his Truth Social Posts along with his rhetoric about wanting to extend abortion windows and his comment on Florida’s six weeks being too short. This leads to May asserting that the pro-life movement was not ready for a win while Trey contends that the common goal of ending Roe hid the deep disagreements in the pro-life movement.

They close by looking at the Trump indictment which attempts to separate his public and private actions. May believes that his actions were justified and will not meet the scrutiny of the Supreme Court and Trey sees a petulant child who could never accept election results that had not tended Trump’s direction.

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Check out the Sustainable Planet podcast, as well as the free Sustainable Planet Substack.

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.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castbox | PocketCasts | Overcast

Mike and Jay open with a discussion of the recently concluded Democratic National Convention. Mike notes that the tone of the DNC was far more upbeat and optimistic than the RNC, and attributes that in some part to the basic nature of Donald Trump. They also get into a discussion of the Democrats’ celebrity advantage and Jay’s theory as to why that’s the case.

Next up is RFK Jr. suspending his campaign and endorsing Donald Trump. Mike argues that in some ways RFK Jr. and Trump make strange political bedfellows, but that RFK Jr. seemed determined to leverage his small but potentially significant support into an administration position in either a Harris or Trump administration. Jay thinks RFK Jr is a long-time nut and that he’d be a horrible choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

They close with a look at the House Oversight Committee’s report on the Biden impeachment inquiry. Jay thinks Biden likely committed serious ethical and possibly legal lapses while vice president, whereas Mike is less certain and argues for the weirdness of even considering impeaching a president for things he allegedly did when he was vice president. That said, Mike feels that it’s good for Congress to look into credible accusations of favor-currying from presidential friends and family. Mike’s hope is that this impeachment-mania will end when Trump and Biden have left the scene. Jay isn’t as hopeful as Mike on that.

The Politics Guys on Facebook | X

Check out the Sustainable Planet podcast, as well as the free Sustainable Planet Substack.

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.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.