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Mike & May open the episode with an in-depth discussion of the latest indictment against Donald Trump. Neither of them sees the case against the former president as particularly strong, with Mike expressing discomfort for using the criminal justice system to punish a political opponent who has done things that may be bad, dumb, and even unethical, but not clearly criminal. May thinks that, contrary to some theories on the right, special counsel Jack Smith is acting about how one would expect any special counsel to act.
Next, they move to the 2024 election and a recent NYT / Sienna College poll that has Trump and Biden in a dead heat. May doesn’t believe Donald Trump has much of a chance to return to the White House, and while Mike hopes she’s right, he has his doubts after thinking the same thing in 2016.
They close with a look at the recent downgrade of the US credit rating by Fitch. Mike argues that there aren’t likely to be significant short-term consequences, which both Mike and May see as a long-term problem for a political system that doesn’t have anything approaching the political will to address unsustainable spending. (May makes the case here that deficit spending is immoral.)
What if We’re the Bad Guys Here? David Brooks, New York Times
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I’ve listen to this podcast on and off for about a year and I’m frequently disappointed. While I lean Left, I’m also a “Bulwark” fan and feel I have many middle of the road positions. But this is not a thoughtful Left vs Right podcast. It is thoughtful, but decidedly center or center right vs polite MAGA. This show was a great example of that, where there was more “concern” for the trampling of the criminal law instead of concern about ending 235 years of the peaceful transition of power in the country. (I obviously disagree that criminal law is being trampled, rather it is being upheld…buth that argument was never presented.) You had one “side” repeating unsubstantiated claims about Democratic collusion between Smith and Biden (via Garland) and Mike gives this charge credibility by not asking for factual back up. (And both mindlessly speculated that Trump would fire Smith if Trump is elected, forgetting that the President can not directly fire a Special Prosecutor). I have to stop listening to this podcast because I’m so frustrated that I have the retorts to the weak arguments put forth by the polite MAGA people, while Mike sits back and takes their BS as gospel. Strong, sound, left leaning opinions do not exist on this show.
Sorry to hear you won’t be listening anymore, but thanks for being a listener in the past. You’re absolutely right that when I’m on the show it’s going to be center-left / right. But when Trey & Ken do the show – which typically happens at least every third week, and sometimes more often (like the three weeks in a row when I was away in Europe), it’s center-right / left. That of course doesn’t entirely balance things out overall, but I thought it was worth mentioning. As for Jay & May being “polite MAGA”, while I love the moniker, I don’t think it fairly describes either of them. But again, you’re right that if someone wants a consistent strong progressive voice week in and week out, this isn’t the podcast for them. – Mike