Political Theater

Before the late Sen. Ernest “Fritz” Hollings was elected to what would become a distinguished congressional career, the South Carolina Democrat reversed himself on the defining issue in Southern politics: segregation.  Running for governor in 1958, Hollings opposed integration of public schools, a keystone battle in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision desegregating...

Washington might be Hollywood for ugly people, but every once in a while Hollywood pretties the place up. That was certainly the case when the cast of “Queer Eye” came to the Capitol to advocate for the Equality Act, to the delight of many staffers, members and tourists. Jennifer Shutt discusses how the celebrity advocates used their powers for policy purposes.  Learn more about your ad choices. V...

The Senate has changed its rules again and it will result in less debate on many judicial and executive nominations. Who cares? The public should, if it wants a responsive government at least. James Wallner of the R Street Institute and CQ Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski discuss the ramifications. "No one can be bothered to care about the rules, '' Wallner laments. Learn more about your ad choices. V...

CQ Roll Call senior political reporters Bridget Bowman and Simone Pathé explain the political ramifications, if any, on the conclusion of the Russia election interference report of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Ben Masters began the 1,200-mile journey along the Rio Grande to film his new documentary “The River and the Wall,” he had no idea the border wall would dominate politics the way it does today. Nor did he think, as he spoke with such locals as Beto O’Rourke and Will Hurd, that their voices would resonate so far beyond the border. Now the movie, making festival rounds and set for a May 3 relea...

When the president of the United States labels you the enemy of the people, what’s a young, aspiring journalist supposed to think? While recognizing that journalism is in a crisis, Christina Bellantoni, a professor of journalism at the University of Southern California and a former editor of Roll Call and at the Los Angeles Times, says the era of fake news is actually bringing out the real value o...

Democrats love it. Republicans hate it. K Street really hates it. The White House wants to veto it. Everyone’s talking about HR 1, House Democrats' overhaul of campaign finance, election and lobbying laws. CQ Roll Call’s Kate Ackley says Democrats “ran on this messaging” in 2018 and are arguing it deserves to be a top priority “so that we can unrig the system.” Republicans across the board have ra...

The Apollo 11 Moon landing is one of mankind’s iconic stories. So how, with the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing coming up, does the documentary “Apollo 11” tell the story in a new way? For director Todd Douglas Miller and his team, it started with archival footage, some of it never seen, at the National Archives and other audio and visual files around the country. Miller discusses his new fi...

Sure, as one cable news talking head says, Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony on Wednesday is “very, very explosive” and spread out over “several, several hours” but does it change the political parties’ 2020 strategy? Roll Call political reporters Simone Pathe and Bridget Bowman discuss.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Take one congresswoman from Hawaii, one tech entrepreneur and one South Bend mayor, add in 7 percent of the U.S. Senate and you still don’t have even half of the potential Democratic field of presidential candidates. Why is everyone running for president? And what kind of effect will that have on down-ballot races for Congress, state houses, and governor’s mansions, not to mention the legislative...

Last year, Julian Ha of Heidrick & Struggles said the swamp was “constipated,” as the lobbying world continued adjusting to the Trump administration and Congress. And now? Things are starting to flow again. Ha and CQ Roll Call lobbying reporter Kate Ackley discuss the state of lobbying, 2019 edition.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump's State of the Union address touched on familiar themes and not so familiar ones like bipartisanship. Yet, the goal of many politicians Tuesday night was a 2020 campaign snapshot, complete with fundraising appeals and messaging. Roll Call senior political reporter Simone Pathé explains.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to both chambers of Congress on Feb. 5, he will not be the only star of the night. The Democrats seeking to replace him — and there are many —  could end up stealing the limelight, says Nathan Gonzales, publisher of Inside Elections and Roll Call’s elections analyst.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and former Vice President Dick Cheney have in common? In addition to being political power brokers, films about them have now been nominated for Academy Awards, for the documentary “RBG” and feature film “Vice,” respectively. So politics, which has gotten a bit of a bad rap lately, (see shutdown, 2019, for more), can be both interesting, entertaini...

Politics never sleeps, not even during a government shutdown. That is especially true of Senate campaigns, because the unique nature of that chamber and its election cycle means folks need to be on their toes. Nathan Gonzales, the publisher of Inside Elections and Roll Call’s elections analyst, discusses which senators are the most vulnerable as the 2020 cycle ramps up, and how things like the cur...

“Decide what kind of member of Congress you want to be,” says Tom Davis, the former congressman from Virginia. “Voters see through phoniness pretty quickly.” Davis, who chaired the Republican campaign committee and House Oversight panel and currently plies his trade at Holland & Knight, has a reputation as one of most principled and savvy politicians around. He has a few pointers for new members o...

If it’s a new year in an odd-numbered year, then you’ve got yourself a new Congress. As the 116th Congress is sworn in, things are going to look and operate differently: A record number of women in the House and Senate, new ethics rules, divided government and hats — maybe— on the House floor! Also, amid it all, the 2020 presidential race is already well under way. Roll Call staff writer Katherine...

Whether it was a cramped schedule, the funeral of a president, changes to the tax code or overall crankiness, the holiday party scene this year seemed a little, um, meh. Niels Lesniewski, Kate Ackley and Peter Cohn crash the party that is Political Theater to discuss the wine, song and and tax deductions of the Washington holiday party circuit.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....

There might be no better example of “political football” than what the Washington Redskins are doing by working with Congress, the White House and the D.C. City Council to secure a new stadium in the capital. And that’s just one of the political issues facing professional football, says Brandon Wetherbee, managing editor of the culture website Brightest Young Things and host of the podcast You, Me...

In her new film, director and producer Alexis Bloom examines the life of the late Republican Party kingmaker and controversial Fox News leader who, before his death, was forced out amid multiple sexual harassment allegations. "He was a heat over light kind of guy,'' Bloom tells Political Theater of Roger Ailes. "He dealt in psychological tropes very deftly. He was ruthless.'' Even conservative pol...

The results of the Mississippi Senate runoff election were not surprising. The Republican won. The Democrat lost. It is a Republican state. But the fact that we were talking about Mississippi at all in the late stages of the 2018 election season was a surprise. It also brings up questions about political trends in the South, race, history and culture. There is even a Clinton angle! And the not-ove...

What’s my Representational Allowance? Why can’t I take pictures on the House floor? Where are the bathrooms? Newly elected lawmakers are participating in freshman orientation this week, and while it has a first day of school vibe, they should pay attention. It could save them some embarrassment, and maybe even avoid getting into hot water with the Ethics Committee or even federal authorities. Roll...

Every campaign season is defined by moments when the big picture starts to come into focus. A parade outside Kansas City where Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder is confronted about gun violence. A pizza parlor in New Jersey becomes an overflow town hall. Roll Call politics reporters Simone Pathé and Bridget Bowman and elections analyst Nathan Gonzales discuss such moments during the 2018 midterms, as we...

At a time when journalists around the world face threats and are characterized as the enemy of the people, the new movie "A Private War" arrives at delicate point. Director Matthew Heineman and star Rosamund Pike discuss their picture on the latest Political Theater Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Praising violence against reporters. Sending pipe bombs to public figures. Threatening political opponents. The fiery rhetoric is in full swing as the nation enters the homestretch of the 2018 midterm election. Is any of it changing voters’ attitudes or behavior? Roll Call senior political writer Simone Pathe and Inside Elections editor Nathan Gonzales discuss the effect of all the bad vibes on th...