Mike and Trey kick off the show by discussing the 12 Russian intelligence officials indicted this week for hacking into Democratic Party systems. Mike says that despite the fact that these Russians will never face trial in the United States, the indictments point to the importance of allowing Robert Mueller to complete his investigation, which is not at all the pointless ‘witch hunt’ some claim. Trey says that these indictments make the idea of President Trump meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin an even worse idea than it already was.
Next is discussion of President Trump nominating Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Mike and Trey agree that Kavanaugh is a fairly mainstream conservative choice who will almost certainly be confirmed. Trey points out that a few Senate Democrats facing tough reelection fights may end up voting in favor of confirmation, which seems far more likely than any Republicans defecting.
After that, the Guys talk about the NATO summit and President Trump’s first official visit to the UK. It was a story of two Trumps - the public side, where the president engaged in his usual over-the-top bellicosity, and the private side, where by most accounts he was downright reasonable.
Trey believes that President Trump’s view of NATO and trade relations with the UK is bound up with his larger zero-sum view of trade, which is currently playing out in the escalating trade war with China, which the Guys turn to next. They both agree that imposing additional tariffs on Chinese goods is a truly awful idea, and while a majority of Congressional Republicans agree, they lack the political will to do anything substantive about it.
Finally, Trey and Mike discuss the bipartisan grandstanding at the Congressional testimony of FBI agent Peter Strzok. Mike laments the GOP’s continued effort to destroy the credibility of the FBI in support of the president, and Trey agrees that the greater tendency to discredit accusers, rather than focus on the facts, is a very disturbing trend.
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Nord Stream Sabotage, Russian Annexation, Special Master Overruled, McConnell, Old Joe
Trump’s Legal Troubles, Putin’s Nuclear Threat
Special Master, Inflation, Migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Graham’s Abortion Ban
Bill Kuhn on the GOP as a Threat to Democracy
Special Masters, Trump Rally, Removing Insurrectionists, Labor Laws
Gorbachev, Biden on MAGA, Trump Search, Alaska’s RCV Election
Student Loans, Primaries, 4th Amendment
Trump Raid, Espionage Act, Alaska & Wyoming Primaries
Michelle Wilde Anderson on Reimagining Discarded America
FBI Trump Raid, Good(ish) Inflation News, Protecting Veterans
Kansas Abortion Vote, Midterm Primaries, Codifying Roe, Finland and Sweden in NATO, Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit
Legislative Bonanza, Monkeypox Response
Bryan Caplan on Evil Politicians
Secret Service Text Messages, A Good Guy With A Gun, The Sound of Screaming Has Been Removed, Police Shooting, Members of Congress Arrested
Abortion Battles, Inflation, COVID, Joe Manchin, Brittney Greiner, Moore v Harper
Joe Zammit-Lucia on The New Political Capitalism
Post-Dobbs, WV v EPA, Biden v Texas, 1/6 Committee
Jan 6 Update, School Prayer, Dobbs and Guns Part 2
The End of Roe, Gun Rights, Funding Religious Education
That’s Not Funny: Matt Sienkiewicz on Right-Wing Humor
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