The Politics Guys

This week’s show starts with the tragic events in Charlottesville, VA where there were multiple clashes between white nationalist protesters and counter-protesters, the most horrific by far being a young white man deliberately ramming his vehicle into the counter-protesters, resulting in one death and 19 injuries. President Trump condemned the violence, but made no specific mention of white nationalists or other hate groups by name, instead pointedly saying that there was violence ‘on many sides’. Later on Saturday, the Justice Department announced that it would be starting a civil rights investigation into the the circumstances of the deadly car ramming.

Next, it’s a look at the situation between the United State and North Korea. As President Trump doubles down on his bellicose rhetoric in response to North Korea’s typical semi-lunatic public pronouncements, Mike and Jay consider whether President Trump has a strategy and what options the US has.

After that, the Guys discuss the opioid crisis, which President Trump has declared to be a national emergency, as well as a new draft climate report that government officials leaked to the media for fear that the Trump administration might downplay or possibly even bury their findings.

Mike’s Recommended Reading:
– The Political Abstract

Jay’s Recommended Reading:
– The Liberal Crackup (WSJ – paywall)

We hope you’ll check out the sponsors of this episode:
Blue Bottle Coffee. Go to bluebottlecoffee.com/TPG for $10 off your first coffee subscription order.

Casper. Politics Guys listeners get $50 dollars toward any mattress purchase by going to casper.com/tpg

Dollar Shave Club, where new members get their 1st month of the Executive Razor with a tube of their Dr. Carver’s Shave Butter for ONLY $5 with FREE shipping by going to dollarshaveclub.com/TPG

Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the show, go to politicsguys.com and click on the Patreon link.

In this listener mail episode, Mike and Jay tackle a bunch of questions including whether we’re spending the right amount of money on the right things for national defense, how to deal with a future in which machines are doing so many of the things people currently do, news outlets and columnists we don’t agree with but respect and recommend, why Americans pay so much for health care when American healthcare outcomes seem to lag those of other rich countries, and why we’re subsidizing the fossil fuel industry.

We hope you’ll check out the sponsors of this episode:
Blue Bottle Coffee. Go to bluebottlecoffee.com/TPG for $10 off your first coffee subscription order.

Casper. Politics Guys listeners get $50 dollars toward any mattress purchase by going to casper.com/tpg.

Dollar Shave Club, where new members get their 1st month of the Executive Razor with a tube of their Dr. Carver’s Shave Butter for ONLY $5 with FREE shipping by going to dollarshaveclub.com/TPG

Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the show, go to politicsguys.com and click on the Patreon link.

Mike and Jay start this week with an analysis of the shakeup among President Trump’s top advisors. First it was Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci being fired 10 days after he was named to the position and before his first official day on the job. The man behind the firing was new White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, who many conservatives hope will bring some order and discipline to the White House. Mike and Jay wonder if this is possible, given that so much of the chaos seems to come from the president himself.

Next it’s a look at the major restructuring of immigration policy for which President Trump signaled his approval. Neither Jay nor Mike think the move is advisable, but it’s clearly near and dear to the hearts of nationalists like top Trump advisor Steve Bannon.

After that the Guys take a look at some good jobs news, which President Trump quickly took full credit for, even though the pace of job creation over his first six months in office is actually slightly behind job creation during President Obama’s last six months in office. The larger point though is that presidents tend to get (and take) way too much credit for good economic news, and get way too much blame when the economy isn’t performing well.

Finally, Jay and Mike consider some actions recently taken by the Senate, particularly a move to shore up Obamacare, and wonder whether the Senate might be moving on from President Trump.

This Week’s Recommendations:
Mike – Global Dispatches (podcast)
Jay – Struggling Americans Once Sought Greener Pastures – Now They’re Stuck.

This week’s show is sponsored by:
ZipRecruiter, where Politics Guys listeners can post jobs on ZipRecruiter for FREE by going to ziprecruiter.com/politicsguy

Blue Apron. Check out this week’s menu and get your first THREE meals free with free shipping by going to blueapron.com/tpg

Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the show, go to politicsguys.com and click on the Patreon link.

This week Trey and Jay team up to take on a fast moving week in the world of politics! We start with the McCain and company torpedoing the so-called skinny bill in the Senate. It looks like Republicans are having a tough time passing legislation and both Trey and Jay agree that with any other Republican president the legislation would have passed. Then we turn to the profanity laced Anthony Scaramucci interview and Twitter fallout. It seems like the Twitter stream of consciousness is the new normal in the Trump White House – as Matt Drudge put it: “Priebus Out, General In.” Finally we move to talking about how Mitt Romney was right about Russia and the Senate’s sanctions on Russia plus the Russian response.

This week, Mike and Jay open the show with their thoughts on Senator John McCain, who this week announced that he has a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer. Despite their occasional policy differences with Senator McCain, both of the Guys agree that McCain is a genuine American hero and wish him all the best as he fights his cancer.

Next, it’s a look at the confusing case of the Senate health bill, or bills actually, as there are at least four of them out there. Neither Mike nor Jay think any of them are likely to pass, and Mike questions how much of a legislative mastermind Majority Leader Mitch McConnell really is. They also discuss how President Trump might force the Obamacare exchanges into failure.

After that it’s a look at the shakeup in the White House communications operation, President Trump’s lack of faith in Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whether Sessions talked with the Russians about policy matters during the campaign, and what to make of President Trump’s electoral integrity commission, which held its first meeting this week.

Mike’s Recommendation This Week:
– My History Can Beat Up Your Politics (Podcast)

Jay’s Recommendation This Week:
– Charles Dickens Makes Me Want to Throw Up. David Mamet

Interested in supporting the show and getting even more Politics Guys content? Check out our Insiders program at patreon.com/politicsguys

This week’s show is sponsored by:
Dollar Shave Club, where new members get their 1st month of the Executive Razor with a tube of their Dr. Carver’s Shave Butter for ONLY $5 with free shipping by going to dollarshaveclub.com/TPG

ZipRecruiter, where Politics Guys listeners can post jobs for FREE by going to ZipRecruiter.com/politicsguy

This week’s show starts off with a look at the latest iteration of the Senate health care bill. While there are some changes from the initial version, Mike is still opposed, Jay is still ‘eh’ and neither of them think it has the votes to pass – at least not without seriously sweetening the pot for some GOP senators and their states.

After that, it’s a look at the recent revelations about Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian government connected attorney claiming to have damaging information on Hillary Clinton. Both Jay and Mike agree that it was incredibly stupid for Trump Jr. to not only take the meeting, but to indicate his eager interest to take the meeting in email. The best possible light to put this in is that the Trump administration is, at the highest level – composed of rank amateurs. The more ominous interpretation is that top Trump campaign operatives knew what they were doing was wrong, but assumed they wouldn’t get caught.

After that, it’s a look at the confirmation hearing for FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray – both the Guys agree he’s a fine choice – and discussion of whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Mike’s favorite regulatory agency) is doing consumers a favor with a new rule banning mandatory arbitration.

What Jay’s Reading
– Windfall: The End of the Affair. William F. Buckley

What Mike’s Reading
– James Mattis Mercer Island High School interview
– Best of Enemies: Buckley vs. Vidal (documentary)

Interested in supporting the show and getting even more Politics Guys content? Check out our Insiders program at patreon.com/politicsguys

This episode is sponsored by Brooklinen – Mike’s new favorite sheets. For $20 off and free shipping, use promo code tpg at brooklinen.com