Category: Podcast

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On September 20, Mike and Jay recorded a live show before a room full of attorneys at a Federal Bar Association Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. Given the audience, this episode focuses on judicial issues, including judicial filibusters, the demise of ‘Blue Slips’ in the Senate, President Trump’s historic rate of judicial confirmations, Mike’s Big Ideas for changing the Supreme Court, and highlights from the Court’s upcoming term.

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Will and Brian begin this week’s episode discussing the drone attack on Saudi Arabian oil sites. Both argue that they would like to see definitive evidence of Iran’s involvement. Brian believes we should take more diplomatic measures to attempt to improve relations while Will argues that it’s time to launch concentrated, strategic air strikes if Iran truly is to blame. The conversation turned to potential electoral impacts of any action in the region and possible impacts on the American economy and consumer.

They then turn to a related topic—the appointment of Robert O’Brien as National Security Advisor. Will and Brian both argue that the person in the role is largely irrelevant in the Trump Administration. However, thy do find the O’Brien appointment interesting given his views and approach compared to John Bolton, who on face value appeared to align well with Trump. Neither believes that this appointment will have any noticeable impact on American foreign policy.

They then turn to The New York Times publication of additional allegations against Kavanaugh. Neither Will nor Brian believe Kavanaugh should be immune to continued scrutiny given what emerged from his confirmation hearing. Will though wonders about the idea of impeaching when he was just confirmed with much of this already being known. Brian, on the other hand, believes for the sake of morality and the Court that the scrutiny needs to continue. Both believe The Times will walk away relatively unscathed, although Will does question the credibility of reporting from the outlet.

Lastly, the Guys discuss the Lewandowski testimony. Will finds Jerry Nadler’s behavior as Chair appalling and questions why the hearing even occurred. With an Election coming up, he continues to argue that the better move for Democrats would be to focus on the party versus continuing to attempt to make something out of what is already widely known. Brian, on the other hand, believes Lewandowski was obstructing the hearing with his requests and wonders what the rationale behind the decision was. Both suggest the hearing is an encapsulation of everything Americans hate about politics today.

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This week’s show kicks off with Mike & Jay talking about the third Democratic presidential debate. They both see it as a continuing struggle between centrists, led by Biden, and the progressives, most prominently represented by Warren and Sanders. Neither Mike nor Jay expect any big changes in the relative standing of the candidates any time soon – at least not prior to the Iowa Caucuses. Mike laments Beto O’Rourke’s comment on ‘taking your guns’ and agrees with Sanders that Donald Trump is a very dangerous president. Jay counters that while Trump may be dangerous, the most dangerous leaders are those with far greater popularity than Trump has.

Next, it’s a look at the Supreme Court’s lifting of an injunction against the Trump administration’s asylum policy, a policy that denies asylum to almost all applicants who haven’t first applied for asylum and been rejected by Mexico. Jay gets into why injunctions are granted (or not granted), and explains that the Court has not ruled on the merits of the case. Mike argues that, on the merits, the Trump administration’s actions shouldn’t stand, as they contravene legislative intent. Jay thinks Mike’s argument is sound, though he’s not ready to definitively support it without more information.

After that, the Guys discuss John Bolton’s dismissal as National Security Advisor. Mike says that if Bolton leaked information (which Bolton denies) President Trump was absolutely right to fire him. Mike also feels that Bolton exemplifies the sort of emotionally-driven, seat of the pants staffing decision that President Trump all too often makes. Jay is a little more sympathetic to Bolton – at least in terms of policy – and argues that a clear, strong voice like Bolton’s can sometimes help focus an administration’s approach.

Following that is a discussion of the special election in North Carolina. While Mike is disappointed that the Democrats didn’t pick up a seat, he thinks that the results suggest that centrist Democrats can run well even in very conservative districts. Jay is reluctant to draw any conclusions about special elections given how different they are from general elections, a point with which Mike largely agrees.

Finally, Mike & Jay talk about the FDA’s ban on most flavored e-cigarettes. Mike feels that it’s a smart move and he’d like to see even stronger measures, such as the ban on e-cigarettes recently passed by the state of Michigan. Jay recognizes the authority of the FDA to institute the ban, but feels that restricting the personal choice of adults is almost always a concern.

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In this listener mail show, Trey & Ken respond to questions on:

• how a libertarian-conservative can like Cory Booker
• the feasibility of penalizing candidates who break campaign promises
• if there are alternatives to polarized parties
• if hackers make using social media hard for government
• whether the politics of policing effect African American communities

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Trey & Ken start the show by talking about the Democratic Climate Change Town Hall. Ken doesn’t think the differences between the primary candidates matters. He just wants someone who thinks climate change is important, the details will come later. Trey is not convinced that the Democrats have any sound climate change policies. In his view their inability to focus on issues like nuclear power makes their plans impossible. Trey pushes Ken for a favorite, but Ken again just argues for any candidate that has climate change on the agenda.

Next, Trey & Ken detour temporarily from American politics and discuss Brexit. The conversation centers on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s seeming inability to achieve a hard Brexit due to recent pushback. Trey is unsure, regardless of what happens in the United Kingdom, whether the European Union will want to have an indefinite, but never finished, delay of Brexit. Ken sees the likelihood of Brexit as low, although in his recent travels to Germany he recognizes that many Europeans see Brexit as inevitably eventually. Trey then discusses the unusual situation of elections in the United Kingdom since the Brexit process began.

After that they turn to the recent federal court ruling on terrorist watchlists. The pair discuss what the summary judgement means and government’s failure to have the case dismissed. Trey is skeptical that the FBI and Homeland Security will be willing to have the procedural protections in place necessary to satisfy the court. Ken believes the case will eventually end because government will meet the requirements of the court before the case actually proceeds. Both agree it is a win for civil liberties.

The show ends with a conversation on Republican primaries and caucuses. A number of states have, or are in the process of, canceling their primaries. Trey talks about the history of parties canceling primaries / caucuses, but worries that this is part of a larger new American ethos toward efficiency over deliberation. Specifically he points to how many recent primary contests have been canceled. Ken is more sympathetic to parties choosing their own candidates independently.

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Mike & Will kick off their ‘reforming democracy’ book project with an overview of the book, topics they’ll be covering, and a discussion of Mike’s first proposed reform: changing the Supreme Court nomination process so that every president gets at least one nomination that the Senate has to vote on within six months.

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Mike & Trey kick off the show by talking about a big opioid verdict against Johnson & Johnson in Oklahoma as well as a pending mega-settlement between Purdue Pharma and nearly 2,000 litigants. They agree that opioid abuse has had disastrous and tragic consequences, but neither Mike nor Trey are convinced that the Johnson & Johnson verdict will hold up on appeal. Purdue Pharma, having already admitted wrongdoing in previous cases (including a settlement with Oklahoma) is altogether different they believe.

Next, they discuss the 2020 presidential race, including a new Republican challenger to Donald Trump (one-term Illinois representative Joe Walsh), the Democrats who made the cut for the next debate, transparency of the Democratic debate rules, and who they see as the most likely – and most dangerous – general election opponent to President Trump.

After that they turn to the resignation of Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson and what it means for 2020. They agree that it’s good news for the Democrats, but Mike thinks the Republicans will still probably hold both seats, especially as Stacey Abrams has said she won’t run (which Mike thinks might have something to do with her hopes of being Joe Biden’s VP pick).

The show ends with a discussion of the border wall – first, allegations that President Trump has promised pardons to those who break the law to get the wall built, followed by President Trump’s keen interest in the aesthetics of the wall. Trey thinks that Trump probably did at least joke about pardons, and that it was either intuitively or strategically a smart move. Mike says that the focus on building a big, intimidating wall is largely empty symbolism, and characteristic of Donald Trump. 

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In this listener mail show, Mike & Jay respond to questions on:

• calling the Democratic Party the ‘Democrat’ Party
• the conservatism of nationwide judicial injunctions
• pros and cons of ranked-choice voting
• how small-d democratic Mike and Jay really are
• whether Jay tries to speak for the GOP or for himself on the show
• what issues Democratic presidential candidates should focus on
• why conservatives who want to ban abortions and drugs don’t want to ban guns

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

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Jay and Mike kick off the show by discussing President Trump’s tweets in response to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments at the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole symposium. Jay says that the tweets, which led to an over 600 point drop in the stock market, take him close to a breaking point with President Trump. Mike points out that this is yet another indication that the presidency is not a job for amateurs and that Donald Trump is in over his head.

Next, they discuss Trump’s comments on the ‘disloyalty’ of American Jews who vote for Democrats. Both Mike and Jay agree that this is an attempt by Trump to gain more Jewish support by painting the Democratic Party as anti-Israel. Mike says that while there are some Democrats who oppose Israel, they no more represent the bulk of the Democratic Party than right-wing extremists represent the Republican Party as a whole. Jay says that Trump’s remarks were stupid, but not anti-Semitic. Mike isn’t entirely sure about that, but suggests that Trump may be too self-involved to be anti-semitic.

After that, the Guys talk about the Trump administration’s attempt to dissolve the Flores Settlement, which puts a 20-day cap on the time that undocumented minors can be detained. Neither Mike nor Jay believe that the judge overseeing the settlement will allow this, and while they have their ideas on how to improve the broken immigration system, they agree that nothing significant can happen without congressional action, which neither sees coming any time soon.

Next, Mike & Jay consider President Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. buy Greenland from Denmark. Mike agrees with the Danish PM’s view that Trump’s idea was absurd, and points out that leasing would probably be a better idea. He also says that the president’s inartful remarks make any potential deal that much more difficult. Jay is more open to the idea of buying Greenland, or at least the idea that an American president can openly discuss it.

The show closes with a discussion of Planned Parenthood’s decision to no longer receive Title X funding, due to a Trump administration regulation that disallows Title X recipients from referring patients to abortion providers. Mike doesn’t think this is exactly a gag rule, but he argues that it’s anti-speech and anti-choice, and hopes that the next administration reverses it. Jay feels that the state can reasonably restrict information about abortion because it’s something a large number of Americans view as morally wrong.

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