A Republic, If You Can Keep It

Festivus is the make-believe holiday invented on the Seinfeld show. Festivus “creator” Frank Constanza proclaims that Festivus observances include the “airing of grievances” and “feats of strength.” Donald Trump is doing both every day. Trump is also tens-of-billions of dollars wealthier, on paper at least, than he was a week ago thanks to the latest and biggest...

This week’s podcast… The editors of the Washington Post (owned by Jeff Bezos) refused to run this cartoon by Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes. She resigned. See her work now at www.anntelnaes.com For Donald Trump, this really is a Dickensian week: these are the best of times and the worst of times. Even as his second-chance administration falls into place, Trump officially...

Mike Luckovich – Atlanta Journal Constitution This week offers a stunningly sad contrast in America. We recorded on Thursday, just hours after the funeral of a good and humble man, President Jimmy Carter. The humanitarian from Plains was praised by a parade of family and friends, led by President Biden. In contrast (unless he gets a last-second reprieve from his puppets on the Supreme Court)...

Sequels are all the rage for Hollywood, and the same is true in Washington D.C.  We’re two weeks away from the official launch of the Trump-Musk administration and even before inauguration, chaos and lies return to D.C. The chaos: an intra-MAGA war over immigration , with co-president-elect Musk raging over the possible loss of the right to import lower-wage tech support for his companies whiles M...

Matt Davies – NY Newsday The two biggest stories in our opening list are Trump’s campaign of intimidating the media , which seems to be working … and the apparent ascension of the world’s richest man to the unelected position of Acting President-elect .  Also as we recorded on Friday morning, we have: Congress in chaos as the Musk-Johnson budget bill dies a quick death, opening the door to M...

Michael Ramirez:Las Vegas Review-Journal On our agenda this week… The best is yet to come … at least for newly anointed U.S. Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle. The now-spurned former finance of Donald Trump Jr. is headed halfway around the world compliments of The Don, but only because “Ambassador to Mars” isn’t a thing yet. And there’s so much more: Gold...

On our agenda this week… Another Trump cabinet nominee is barely hanging on, with alleged sexual offender and alleged alcoholic Pete Hegseth on the ropes for Defense Secretary – ironically, on the 91st anniversary of the repeal of prohibition. Trump reportedly is talking to Meatball Ron De-Sanctimonious as his backup choice for DOD … possibly in a deal where the Florida Governor first names...

Mike Luckovich – Atlanta Journal Constitution On this week’s agenda —  Donald Trump’s strategy of avoiding prison by returning to the White House works – as special counsel Jack Smith drops the federal charges, and the sentencing for his 34-count New York conviction gets delayed. Trump refuses to allow FBI vetting of his top appointments, the first time that’s happened since Wate...

On our agenda this week — Matt Gaetz gives in to reality. The most disliked member of Congress’s nomination for Attorney General lasted less than a Scaramucci – just 8 days. Are accused sexual predators Pete Hegseth or RFK Junior the next victims of past allegations? Michael Ramirez/Las Vegas Review-Journal A growing list of Red states are working to turn public education into Christian educ...

Let the crazy begin in earnest! Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin called Lincoln’s cabinet the “Team of Rivals”. Aretha Franklin’s classic could well be the title of a new book about the Trump team as Trump loads up his administration with mostly unqualified toadies. As of recording time, Matt Gaetz stands at the top of the mountain of WTF nominees with Pete Hegseth , Tulsi Gabbard , Kristi Noem , Mi...

That was the week that was… In the main event, the Prosecuting Attorney loses to the convicted criminal. On the national undercard: Republicans are winning on points, with the possibility of a full takeover in Washington depending on a dozen or so congressional races. Closer to home: Michigan provides a mixed message: Trump carries the state by 80,000 vote Elissa Slotkin shows how to buck th...

The Final Argument We are recording on Halloween, going into the final weekend. There’s lots to unpack as candidates up and down the ballot make their final pitches…and we look forward to saying goodbye to endless text messages and breathless emails begging for money. T rump recreates a 1939 Nazi Rally at Madison Square Garden, while Kamala Harris attracts 75-thousand to the staging area of Trump’...

Dave Whamond, Canada, PoliticalCartoons.com On our political radar this week: This week’s guest: General William Enyart. Before his election to Congress,  Enyart was Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard. General Enyart served 43 years in the Air Force and National Guard. Donald Trump’s increasingly bizarre behavior peaked at a bizarre campaign town hall in which he only answered 4...

We’re joined this week by Delaware Senator Chris Coons, chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee. This week in our battleground state… Michigan TV stations are raking in the cash with campaign spending well over $200-million , fueled by close races for President, U.S. Senate and congressional districts and control of the state legislature. The Harris campaign reports it has raised a sta...

“Make Them Riot!” Some of the stories on our radar this week: Jack Smith’s blockbuster court filing on Defendant Trump’s criminality leading up to the January 6th insurrection includes revelations about the election night chaos at Detroit’s counting center The Trump campaign is all-in on lying in paid advertising as well as at his increasingly boring rallies Republicans for Harris offi...

Rick McKee, CagleCartoons.com This week in our crazy, insane Trump-infested world — Don Trump continues his magic touch in endorsements, hanging tough with North Carolina Black Nazi Mark Robinson even as the gubernatorial candidate’s campaign staff bails out. Robinson is the latest Trumper in a pantheon of bizarre losers that includes Dr. Oz, Herschel Walker and our very own Tudor Dixon and...

When he’s not venting about his debate debacle or doubling down on cats-and-dogs recipes, Donald Trump is offering empty promises of tax cuts for the masses: no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime and even overturning a law he signed which gutted tax deductions for wealthier residents of high-tax states . He’s running scared as the polls consistently show him slowly slipping...

It was a good great week for the Harris/Walz campaign: Tuesday night was a Wipe Out for Donald Trump – a one-on-one confrontation just as one-sided as the earlier debate that ended Joe Biden’s reelection bid. Days earlier they picked up the endorsements of arch conservative GOP icons Liz and Dick Cheney, followed by support from George W. Bush’s Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez ; infl...

David Horsey – Seattle Times This week’s agenda: Michigan in late summer is looking like Iowa in the winter: presidential candidates everywhere except the very weird RFK Jr. who is on the ballot despite his best efforts. We’re days away from what may be the only Harris-Trump debate, with Trump previewing why he’ll lose the debate … it’s rigged. Can an endorsement make a real difference? We m...

This week’s agenda is Presidential Politics in Michigan: New polling shows Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in a statistical tie. We’ll be joined in a moment by EPIC-MRA’s Bernie Porn. The candidates are focusing on Michigan. Trump makes two visits, saying we’re on the verge of World War III . Kamala Harris will revive a longstanding tradition of a Democratic candidate Metro Detroit rally on Labor D...

We invade Chicago for a little convention time. Instead of our usual Zoom chats, Jeff and Walt go face to face as they meet up on the left side of the lake. Between performances by Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Lil’ Jon, Pink, The Chicks and Patti LaBelle there’s some political speechmaking going with the Obamas, the Clintons, Oprah, Tim Walz and (of course) Kamala Harris bringing down t...

This week’s agenda: The Second City becomes the news center of the nation for a week as Democrats gather on the left side of Lake Michigan for their national convention . While the Harris-Walz ticket continues to draw massive crowds at rallies, J.D. Vance comes to Michigan and again draws a crowd numbering in the dozens. The latest polling from the New York Times shows a turnaround in three critic...

An estimated 15,000 packed a hangar and out the door at the Harris-Walz Detroit Metro rally The Harris-Walz ticket launches with crowds matching Obama 2008 and Trump 2016 Hours before the new Democratic ticket attracted 15,000 to a hangar at Metro Airport, JD Vance enthused a crowd of several dozen in Macomb County. Donald Trump spent the week mean-Truthing , holding a bizarre and distortion/lie-f...

This week’s agenda: Donald Trump has a 30-minute tantrum with black journalists … and he didn’t exactly stick the landing . In the least surprising news of the week, the UAW has added its endorsement to the Harris campaign New polling shows the battle for the White House has become a tossup A long court battle ends with Michigan’s minimum wage increasing … just as voters wanted, but a Republican L...

Still another amazing week in our nation’s 248th year, with Michigan right in the center of it all. This week’s agenda: The Harris campaign comes together in a matter of 2 days: we focus on a week that will go into the history books (except history books in Florida schools) Next up: choosing a running mate , with just 2 weeks to make a decision Republican panic begins as the GOP grapples wit...