McConnell on Trump, COVID Bill, Equality Act, Neera Tanden, “Fake News” Hearings

The show opens with Mike asking Jay to help him understand how Mitch McConnell’s pledge to “absolutely” support Trump if he’s the 2024 Republican nominee squares with McConnell’s blistering denunciation of Trump in the aftermath of the Capitol takeover. Mikes sees it as McConnell putting party over country, whereas Jay believes it’s political strategy that we shouldn’t read all that much into. Next is discussion of the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package passed by the House with no Republican support. Jay wouldn’t have supported it either, believing that it’s too much, especially to states. Mike disagrees and question’s Jay’s commitment to progressive taxation - which, as it turns out, Jay isn’t as committed to as Mike assumed. They move on to the opposition to Neera Tanden’s nomination to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Jay takes issue with claims of racism and sexism, and thinks that it’s reasonable to vote against Tanden. Mike believes that racism and sexism, while not the key factor, may play a role in opposition to Tanden. While he’s troubled by her deleting over a thousand of her tweets Mike believes Tahden would vote to confirm her. The show closes with a look at hearings by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on misinformation in conservative news, as well as letters two Democratic members of the committee sent to a number of service providers. This is of deep concern to Jay, who believes it’s a step down a path that leads to government censorship. Mike isn’t entirely unsympathetic to this view, but feels that in light of the lies many outlets seemed happy to knowingly promulgate so long as they were profitable, some action is reasonable *Mike’s Weekly Recommendation* Connected: A Search for Unity ( https://montyfmoran.com/ ). (documentary series) Monty Moran *Jay’s Weekly Recommendation* COVID One Year Ago ( https://twitter.com/YearCovid ) ** (Twitter) *The Politics Guys* on Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/politicsguyspage ) | Twitter ( https://twitter.com/politicsguys ) *Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible*. If you’re interested in supporting the podcast, go to patreon.com/politicsguys ( https://www.patreon.com/politicsguys ) or politicsguys.com/support ( https://www.politicsguys.com/support ). On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-politics-guys/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy