The Politics Guys

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This episode features Mike and Jay’s responses to the following listener questions:

Jay says he’s pro-choice with it comes to people choosing their own health care. Is he also pro-choice when it comes to a woman’s right to choose whether or not to end her pregnancy?

Jay suggested that President Trump’s hardball negotiating style brought North Korea back to the bargaining table. But President Trump was the one who initially cancelled the summit, meaning that Jay’s comment is factually inaccurate. Can Jay explain this?

How can both parties energize voters to participate and turn out in 2018 and beyond?

Aside from judicial nominations, is the Republican Party too short-term oriented in its thinking?

What’s the justification for free trade with emerging economies, especially if the result is lost American jobs? Don’t emerging economies need the U.S. more than the U.S. needs them?

Government regulation ended child labor, provided us with a safer food supply, and has led to many other societal goods. Does Jay really oppose government regulation? Can he explain his position on regulation?

Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the show, go to politicsguys.com/support.

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Mike and Jay open with a look at the G7 meeting in Quebec, Canada. They agree that President Trump’s protectionism is bad policy, though Jay still thinks that the president might be using his tough talk as a negotiating tactic and may not impose long-term tariff barriers. Mike says that President Trump’s call to readmit Russia to the group is a horrible idea because, unlike the G7 countries, Russia is not a real democracy.

Then it’s a discussion of the Supreme Court’s 7-2 ruling in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case. The Guys agree that this was a very narrow ruling (in scope, not vote split) and that the Court should have addressed the key free expression issue that was raised. Although Mike is a strong supporter of LGBTQ rights, he thinks the concurrence of Justices Gorsuch and Thomas, which argues that forcing the baker to create a cake for a same-sex wedding is a form of unconstitutional compelled speech, makes some strong points.

After that, it’s immigration – first the move by House GOP moderates to force a vote on allowing Dreamers to stay in the country legally, and then a discussion of rising illegal border crossing arrests, the wisdom of the Trump administration’s ‘family separation’ and ‘zero tolerance’ policies, and a big-picture look at what U.S. immigration policy should be.

Finally, Mike and Jay talk about President Trump’s commutation of Alice Marie Johnson’s sentence and his view that he can pardon himself, if he so chooses.

Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the show, go to politicsguys.com/support.

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This week, Mike and Jay start with a look at the Trump Administration’s announcement that it would be imposing hefty steel and aluminum tariffs on U.S. allies Mexico, Canada, and the European Union on ‘national security’ grounds. The administration is also considering a major tariff on imported cars (also ostensibly for national security). Both Mike and Jay think this protectionism is one of the worst things to come out of the Trump administration, though Jay is more hopeful that it’s more bluster from the president that won’t end up as set policy.

After that, they discuss the off-again, on-again summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jung Un. Mike says that President Trump is exactly the sort of person least suited to carry out the sort of careful, patient negotiations that could defuse the threat posed by North Korea. Jay feels that the president’s show of strength is the right approach for North Korea, though both he and Mike wish the president understood the importance of dealing with U.S. allies differently than he deals with adversaries.

Next is a look at the extremely good jobs report. Mike points out that while the U.S. is in the midst of the second longest expansion in modern history, wages are still somewhat stagnant and economic growth is far slower than it’s been at many points in the post World War II era. Both Jay and Mike agree that President Trump can’t claim responsibility for the expansion any more than President Obama could, and they lament the tendency of the media to overemphasize the importance of government when it comes to economic growth.

Then they turn to the Supreme Court’s decision to not hear a case involving an anti-abortion law from Arkansas. While Mike and Jay differ on the wisdom of abortion rights restrictions, they agree that the Court was correct on procedure. In the end, they expect Arkansas’ law to be overturned as unconstitutional, as the Court did with a similar Texas law in 2016.

Finally, the Guys discuss President Trump’s pardon of conservative provocateur Dinesh D’Souza, and whether the president is using his pardons to send a message to people Robert Mueller has indicted in his Russia investigation. Mike doubts it, believing that it’s simply President Trump being his impulsive self for the most part. Mike somewhat surprises Jay by favoring the president’s pardon of D’Souza, who Mike says is an awful person, but who was unfairly singled out by the Obama administration for prosecution. Jay points out that it’s the awful people who are most in need of protection – and sometimes pardons.

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What Mike’s Reading
Mind Control: Barbara Ehrenreich’s radical critique of wellness and self-improvement.

What Jay’s Reading
Worried About Incivility? Start With Yourself.

Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the show, go to politicsguys.com/support.

Mike and Jay kick off the show by discussing a federal court ruling that President Trump was violating the 1st Amendment by blocking some critics from his Twitter feed. Neither of the Guys is exactly comfortable with the courts telling people how to run their social media lives, but they agree that because President Trump is using Twitter as an essentially official presidential communication tool, different rules might apply.

Then it’s a look at the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling permitting companies to require employees to settle disputed through individual arbitration instead of banding together. Jay says it was the right call and a good policy, and while Mike agrees that the conservative majority made the right interpretation of the law, he absolutely hates the policy outcome and wishes Congress would act to make things less unfair to workers.

After that, the Guys discuss the move by around 20 moderate House Republicans to force a series of votes on immigration, in the hope of giving permanent status to Dreamers. They’ve been opposed by the House GOP leadership, which doesn’t want to risk a politically dangerous vote before the November elections, as well as the House Freedom Caucus, which wants nothing to do with even an indirect path to citizenship for Dreamers.

Finally, Mike responds to a listener who says he’s too easy on Republicans like Paul Ryan who support policies that will hurt and potentially even kill Americans.

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This week, Mike and Jay start off with a look at the North Korea summit, which President Trump canceled, but later suggested might be back on after all. The Guys discuss why the president canceled, what his plan is, and whether we’re moving in the right direction.

Then it’s a domestic policy bonanza. First is a look at a rollback of the Dodd-Frank law passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Mike and Jay agree that smaller banks needed some regulatory relief, but Mike argues that the rollback does much more than that, and its loosened restrictions on larger banks put us in danger of another financial crisis. This is followed by discussion of the ‘Right to Try’ Act, which allows terminally ill patients to try largely unproven treatments, and a major VA bill that will give veterans more options for private care. Mike argues it goes too far down the road to privatization. Jay doesn’t disagree, but he supports further privatization.

Finally, Mike and Jay discuss the latest developments in the Robert Mueller investigation, particularly the ‘Spygate’ claims coming from President Trump and some of his supporters.

What Mike’s Reading
The Hedges of the Garden of Liberty.

Why does Trump get away with corruption? Because Bill and Hillary Clinton normalized it.

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the show, go to politicsguys.com/support.

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This week Trey and Mike begin the show with the tragic news of a school shooting in Santa Fe Friday. Mike argues briefly that it is the immutable American gun culture that leads to these kinds of tragedies. Trey argues that the right ignores the possibility of lowering the current levels of gun violence with data from other countries while the left ignores that these rates are extremely low forms of death.

After Santa Fe, the hosts transition to two foreign policy topics. The first of these is the United States moving the Israeli embassy to Jerusalem. The move, started by Congress under Bill Clinton but delayed since then, occurred on Monday and led to violence in Gaza and a border conflict. Trey and Mike have different takes on the ability to take sides, but agree that most ignore the long standing historical forces — and immorality — that has led to the ongoing violence. They also arguing the timing was ill advised.

In other foreign policy news Trey and Mike look at the recent harsh words between the U.S. and North Korea as we approach the June 12 summit. Neither host finds the issue shocking and both suggest that it is par for the course for North Korea despite the unfortunate comments from John Bolton.

Turning from foreign to domestic policy Trey and Mike discuss the Senate confirmation of Gina Haspel. Mike argues that she is qualified save for her role in the 2002 torture involvement. Trey is more disappointed in the Senate for the vote and argues that her move to destroy evidence in 2005 disqualifies her from the role and makes it impossible to ever accurately asses her success or failure as CIA head given it is hard to know if she would revert to those kinds of coverups again.

Next Trey and Mike move on to the Senate Intelligence Committee endorsing the evidence that Russia was involved in influencing the 2016 election and, further, it was doing so in favor of Donald Trump. Trey argues that the conclusion is straightforward, but that the likelihood it resulted in changing the election is tiny.

Finally, Trey and Mike discuss the 2,500 pages of material released by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Both hosts offer insights into what the material means and offer a voice of support for continued investigations.

Bonus Show! Supporters were treated to a second bonus show this week. If you are interested in hearing more from Trey and Mike head to www.politicsguys.com/support/ and unlock the bonus show.

What Trey is Reading
Endure: Mind, Body and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. Alex Hutchinson.

What Mike is Reading
Sam Harris and the Myth of Perfectly Rational Thought. Robert Wright.

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This week’s show opens with a look at the Iran nuclear deal that President Trump pulled the U.S. out of. Both Mike and Jay agree that it was an imperfect deal, but Mike feels we should have stayed in and worked to improve it. Jay feels that the deal was far more imperfect than Mike does, but he agrees that the president’s propensity for walking away from international agreements isn’t the best way to handle things.

The Guys next turn to the historic summit meeting between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jung Un, which President Trump announced would be held in Singapore on June 12. Jay sees this as a potential step in the right direction and though Mike has plenty of doubts about President Trump’s diplomatic ability, he agrees that after decades of stalemate, things could possibly be changing for the better. Even so, it’s still very early days, and the U.S. is dealing with an incredibly secretive and untrustworthy country, so expectations should be very low.

After that Mike and Jay discussion Gina Haspel, President Trump’s nominee to lead the CIA. Mike acknowledges Haspel’s experience and expertise, but agrees with Senator John McCain that Haspel’s position on torture / ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ is disqualifying. Jay disagrees arguing that much of the outcry against Haspel is simply due to her being Donald Trump’s nominee.

Next is a look at the Senate primary elections in Ohio, West Virginia, and Indiana. Neither Mike nor Jay saw much to surprise them, with Jay pointing out that there seemed to be a move away from extreme Republicans.

Finally, Mike and Jay talk about former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen raising millions peddling his connection to the president. Mike says that while this sort of thing goes on all the time – in Republican and Democratic administrations – he’s troubled by yet another Russia connection. Jay sees things more or less the same way, and in discussing the topic he clarifies his position on Trump, Russia, and collusion.

What Mike’s Reading
Why the specter of Marx still haunts the world.

Rulers of the world: read Karl Marx!

Happy Birthday, Karl Marx. You Were Right!

What Jay’s Reading
I’m Not Black, I’m Kanye: Kanye West wants freedom – white freedom. Ta-Nehisi Coates

Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the show, go to politicsguys.com/support.