The Politics Guys

Mike & Jay open the show with a discussion of the deal to keep the federal government funded through mid February, which turns into a much more philosophical argument between Jay’s Machiavellian pragmatism / realism and Mike’s liberal idealism. Next is a discussion of oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which involves Mississippi’s ban on essentially all abortions a...

Mike and Jay start off this week’s show with late-breaking news about the emergence of the Omicron COVID variant. Jay brings up the inherent non-political nature of viruses, whereas Mike argues that responses to viruses are inherently political, and that the US and other wealthy countries can and should be doing more. Next, they discuss President Biden’s release of 50 million barrels of oil from t...

Trey and Ken get deep into the details this week starting with the Kyle Rittenhouse case. Did the jury get the correct verdict? What are the implications for self-defense in states with both open carry and stand your ground laws? Next they turn to another case: the indictment of Steve Bannon. They talk next steps and the history of executive privilege. Finally it is a discussion of Representative...

Mike & Jay open the show with a look at a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that halts implementation of the Occupational Health and Safety and Health Administration’s rule requiring vaccinations at businesses with 100 or more employees. Both Mike and Jay agree with the ruling, which makes it clear that the OSHA rule would be highly unlikely to succeed on the merits. Mike was disappointed th...

Mike & Jay start off the show by discussing the flurry of last-minute activity that led to the eventual passage of the infrastructure bill, with House progressives (at least enough of them) agreeing to support it in exchange for a commitment from Democratic moderates that they’d support Build Back Better as long as the CBO cost analysis - due in the next few weeks - largely mirrors White House...

This week Trey and Ken tackle the Wall Street Journal's opinion piece by Trump. Trey grapples with the rule by which to hold opinions in a liberal society while Ken thinks the WSJ should have contextualized the Trump piece. Next the pair discuss the DOJ Memo on potential violence at school board meetings and the subsequent grilling of Garland in Congress. This leads to a conversation on whether th...

This week the Republican (Jay) and the RINO (Trey) take over the show. The pair start discussing the Supreme Court's refusal to uphold the lower court stay on the Texas abortion ban. Next they discuss the political and ideology of the Supreme Court and the recently released draft findings of the Biden Supreme Court Commission. Next, they move to foreign policy and the recent war of words between B...

Mike talks with Eric Posner, the Kirkland and Ellis Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, about his latest book, How Antitrust Failed Workers. In this discussion, they cover: monopolies and monopsonies labor market concentration why there are so few labor-focused antitrust actions important differences between labor markets and product markets the use and abuse of no...

Mike & Jay open the show with a discussion of the 5th Circuit overturning a federal district court judge and allowing Texas’ abortion law to remain in effect. Neither Mike nor Jay believe the law is constitutional according to current precedents, but Texas’ clever crafting of the law has made it more difficult for federal courts to enjoin it. Jay wonders when there will be a high profile case...

Trey & Mike open the show with the recently passed debt resolution keeping the government open until December 3. The two pick up where Mike & Jay left off last week on the topic of the debt ceiling and its historic origin. Further the two discuss predictions for what December may hold. Next, they discuss the interconnected issues of Whistleblower Frances Haugen and the recent revelations a...

Mike & Jay open the show with a look at the last minute continuing resolution that keeps the government going until early December, as well as prospects for a default when the debt ceiling is reached on or around October 18. Mike agrees with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that the debt ceiling should be eliminated (or at least set at one quattuordecillion dollars), whereas Jay believes it’s a...

Today, on a very special Politics Guys, Mike and Jay talk cancel culture, shared values, and why they started the show. Listen with the whole family. Then its the COVID update, and when is it OK for a political appointee to challenge "The Science"?  And the immigration mess — the Senate Parliamentarian reaches the conclusion that overhauling immigration policy is a policy change, and down in the w...

On this week's show Trey is joined by Ken. The duo discuss COVID vaccine efficacy in light of last weeks show's disagreement between Kristin and Trey. The pair also talk AUKUS, the technology sharing agreement between the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. Finally, the two discuss the upcoming moderate Freedom to Vote Act and the excerpts from the upcoming book Peril. The Politics Guys on Facebook | Tw...

On this week’s show, Mike and Kristin are joined by Trey. They discuss the Biden Administration’s sweeping vaccine mandates as well as the DOJ suing Texas over its most recent abortion ban. Finally, the three hosts look back on 9/11 and 20 years of policy since - as well as the future of Afghanistan and the ramifications of Taliban leadership there. The Politics Guys on Facebook | Twitter Listener...

This week, Mike & Jay start off by discussing the Supreme Court’s refusal to halt Texas’ new abortion law, the strictest in the nation. They both agree that the law has serious constitutional problems, but Jay believes the majority got the ruling right, and that the correct course is to let things play out in the lower courts. Mike sees this as the Court’s conservatives (minus Chief Justice Ro...

Mike and Ken open the show with a discussion of the situation in Afghanistan. Ken believes the withdrawal has gone very well all things considered, but is at least open to the argument that withdrawing might not have been the right call. Mike is similarly conflicted about withdrawing, but feels that the Biden administration has botched the withdrawal. After that they turn to FDA approval of the Pf...

Its been a tough week. Mike and Jay discuss the Afghanistan debacle and how we get our people, and the people who risked their lives to help us, to safety. Then it's the state of COVID--booster shots, breakthroughs, and Biden. The Politics Guys on Facebook | Twitter Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the podcast, go to patreon.com/politicsguy...

On this week’s show, Mike and Kristin talk about the politics of COVID, FL Gov. DeSantis and his latest executive orders, and the latest vaccine studies. They also discuss the Senate’s passage of the $3.5T budget proposal and objections from the GOP and moderate Democrats as the proposal will face scrutiny later this year.  Kristin’s Recommendations Shop App The Salisbury Poisonings Mike’s Recomme...

Mike & Jay kick off the episode with a discussion of the CDC’s eviction moratorium. Jay thinks it’s clearly unconstitutional whereas Mike feels that it’s only just barely unconstitutional. Following that, they get into rising COVID numbers and whether Florida governor Ron DeSantis is putting his presidential ambitions ahead of the health of Floridians. Then it’s a look at the almost certain to...

This week Trey is joined by Jay. They start the show discussing the recent developments in the January 6 Committee, but they disagree over its importance. Jay considers the lack of true Republican representation as a major issue and Trey argues Republicans missed their opportunity to engage. They also disagree over the extent to which certain Republicans violated their trust with the public. Next...

Trey and Ken open the show by discussing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi striking down two Republican picks for the January 6 commission. Neither disagree with the move, but both speculate about what happens next. Then it's back to the bipartisan infrastructure deal and its merit. Trey isn't sold on another large package and Ken thinks a completely partisan bill is the right thing. Next the pair...

Mike and Jay open the show with a discussion of a federal judge ordering a halt to DACA - which they both agree was the right call, although they’d likely support a similar policy were it passed by Congress. Then it’s a discussion of Senate Democrats $3.5 trillion budget framework (pre-framework?), whether Fed Chair Jerome Powell is being too cavalier about inflation (Jay thinks so, Mike disagrees...

This week, Trey joins Mike in a discussion of the-multi state lawsuit against Google alleging anti-competitive practices in the Google Play Store (as Mike takes more than a few shots at Trey’s beloved Apple). They stick with the lawsuit theme as they move to a discussion of Donald Trump’s bizarro-world 1st Amendment argument underpinning his lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and Google - an almo...

On this week’s show, Mike and Kristin discuss the recent indictments of the Trump Organization’s embattled CFO and the organization itself, as well as several big legal rulings from earlier in the week. They unpack two SCOTUS decisions, one upholding Arizona voting rules and one striking down donor reporting in California. Finally, Mike and Kristin talk about the dismissal of the federal antitrust...

In this special midweek episode Trey interviews author Seth David Radwell on his new book American Schism which is coming out this week. The pair discuss the major theme of his book: how the enlightenment informs contemporary American politics. The Politics Guys on Facebook | Twitter Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the podcast, go to patre...