The Politics Guys

Trey and Ken host this episode of the Politics Guys. The duo begins by talking about the increasing U.S. deficit. Trey explains the what the deficit and the national debt are. Then Trey gives some historic context before asking Ken his opinion on the rising deficit under President Trump. Ken argues that Democrats, as Keynesians, would better manage the budget without Republicans. His basic argumen...

Mike talks with Rep. Thomas Massie, who represents Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District. Massie attended MIT, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering. Prior to serving in Congress, he was an inventor, an entrepreneur, and Judge Executive of Lewis County, Kentucky. In Congress, he serves on the House Committee on Transportation & I...

This week’s show starts with a short tribute to U. S. Congressman Elijah Cummings, who died this week. Both Mike and Jay have positive things to say about Cummings, who was a great fighter for important causes. Next, they turn to Turkey’s invasion of Syria and the cease fire deal in which Turkey got more or less everything they hoped for in exchange for token concessions. Mike believes this showed...

Will talks with Tom LoBianco, author of Piety & Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House.  Topics Will and Mr. LoBianco discuss include: The role of Mike Pence's faith in his politics The process that led to Pence landing the Vice Presidency The impact of Pence's wife Karen on his political career The difficulties in transitioning from a news reporter to writing a biography Listener...

Will and Brian begin by discussing President Trump’s decision to pull troops for Northern Syria and its potential impact on the Middle East and America’s battle with ISIS. Will points out that even Trump’s typical allies are openly questioning this decision—including Graham, McConnell, Netanyahu, and Saudi Arabia. Brian is concerned with the impact this could have on the Kurds—even projecting that...

Trey talks with Nick Tomboulides, an Executive Director of U.S. Term Limits. Under his leadership, USTL launched the Term Limits Convention, a campaign to obtain a congressional term limits amendment via the state-directed convention. Nick also serves as a policy advisor with a national think tank and is on the board of directors for a local political caucus in Florida. Topics Trey and Mr. Tomboul...

This week, Mike and Kristin unpack the current hot topic of Ukraine/Trump/Biden and impeachment inquiries. Mike kicks things off with a detailed list of the facts. Both note that it’s far too easy to tread into conjecture and opinion, which is why the conversation gets muddled.  Mike and Kristin then dive into each of the points, discussing recent subpoenas and text messages, whether Trump’s actio...

Mike talks with Bruce Ackerman, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale. Dr. Ackerman is one of the world’s preeminent scholars in the area of comparative constitutional law, with his ideas having been the basis for constitutional reforms in multiple countries. He’s the author of 19 books, the most recent of which is Revolutionary Constitutions: Charismatic Leadership and the Rule...

Trey and Ken are joined this week, in a Politics Guys first, by Mike! The three begin the episode discussing President Donald Trump’s potential pressure on the Ukraine and the fallout of impeachment. Mike thinks the process must move forward as far as investigation is concerned otherwise presidents will simply assume they get a pass later in a term. He is hesitate, however, to remove a president w...

On September 20, Mike and Jay recorded a live show before a room full of attorneys at a Federal Bar Association Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. Given the audience, this episode focuses on judicial issues, including judicial filibusters, the demise of 'Blue Slips' in the Senate, President Trump's historic rate of judicial confirmations, Mike's Big Ideas for changing the Supreme Court, and highlights...

Will and Brian begin this week’s episode discussing the drone attack on Saudi Arabian oil sites. Both argue that they would like to see definitive evidence of Iran’s involvement. Brian believes we should take more diplomatic measures to attempt to improve relations while Will argues that it’s time to launch concentrated, strategic air strikes if Iran truly is to blame. The conversation turned to p...

Mike talks with sociologist, author, and documentary filmmaker Jen Schradie. Dr. Schradie is an Assistant Professor at the Observatoire sociologique du changement at Sciences Po in Paris. Her research focuses on the empirical study of digital democracy, digital activism, and the digital divide. Her latest book is The Revolution That Wasn’t: How Digital Activism Favors Conservatism. Topics Mike &am...

This week’s show kicks off with Mike & Jay talking about the third Democratic presidential debate. They both see it as a continuing struggle between centrists, led by Biden, and the progressives, most prominently represented by Warren and Sanders. Neither Mike nor Jay expect any big changes in the relative standing of the candidates any time soon - at least not prior to the Iowa Caucuses. Mike...

In this listener mail show, Trey & Ken respond to questions on: how a libertarian-conservative can like Cory Booker the feasibility of penalizing candidates who break campaign promises if there are alternatives to polarized parties if hackers make using social media hard for government whether the politics of policing effect African American communities   Listener support helps make The Politi...

Trey & Ken start the show by talking about the Democratic Climate Change Town Hall. Ken doesn’t think the differences between the primary candidates matters. He just wants someone who thinks climate change is important, the details will come later. Trey is not convinced that the Democrats have any sound climate change policies. In his view their inability to focus on issues like nuclear power...

Mike & Will kick off their ‘Reforming Democracy’ book project with an overview of the book, topics they’ll be covering, and a discussion of Mike’s first proposed reform: changing the Supreme Court nomination process so that every president gets at least one nomination that the Senate has to vote on within six months. Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested...

Mike & Trey kick off the show by talking about a big opioid verdict against Johnson & Johnson in Oklahoma as well as a pending mega-settlement between Purdue Pharma and nearly 2,000 litigants. They agree that opioid abuse has had disastrous and tragic consequences, but neither Mike nor Trey are convinced that the Johnson & Johnson verdict will hold up on appeal. Purdue Pharma, having a...

In this listener mail show, Mike & Jay respond to questions on: calling the Democratic Party the ‘Democrat’ Party the conservatism of nationwide judicial injunctions pros and cons of ranked-choice voting how small-d democratic Mike and Jay really are whether Jay tries to speak for the GOP or for himself on the show what issues Democratic presidential candidates should focus on why conservative...

Jay and Mike kick off the show by discussing President Trump’s tweets in response to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments at the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole symposium. Jay says that the tweets, which led to an over 600 point drop in the stock market, take him close to a breaking point with President Trump. Mike points out that this is yet another indication that the presidency is not a job...

On this episode, Will and Brian respond to listener questions. Topics covered include:  The lack of ideas being publicly announced from the Left and its impact on American politics today Allegations of racism against Republicans and how it feels different today The impact of media coverage of the Mueller investigation on the impact of his report How senate majority leaders obstruct the legislative...

Will and Brian kickoff this week’s episode by discussing the death of Jeffery Epstein, the fascination with Clinton conspiracy theories, and the potential need for prison reforms across the United States. Will posits that the Clintons seem to have really bad luck with their acquaintances and sudden deaths. He does, however, firmly believe Epstein’s death shows a drastic need for both transparency...

Mike talks with Jennifer Rauch, Professor of Journalism and Communication Studies at Long Island University Brooklyn. Dr. Rauch is an award-winning writer, educator and researcher whose work focuses on alternative media, media activism and popular culture. Her latest book is Slow Media: Why 'Slow' Is Satisfying, Sustainable, and Smart. Topics Mike and Jennifer discuss include: Neil Postman’s Amusi...

This week, Mike and Kristin discuss news of the tragic shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. As the nation sinks deeper into political divide, what transpired was a conversation about white nationalism, whether political parties are “responsible” for hate and tragedy. Mike thinks President Trump should be held accountable for his ramped-up rhetoric, while Kristin says that both parties mus...

Trey welcomes David Hawkings to the show to discuss his latest media project The Fulcrum. Topics discussed include: What is the current fundamental problem or problems in the American system? Why do we need a news outlet like The Fulcrum? What makes The Fulcrum different? The problems with Congress. The problems with Congressional transparency. Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possibl...

Trey and Mike begin the show by discussing the Democratic primary debates. Mike outlines his rubric for picking the best candidate, listen to find out who, and then rank orders the options. Trey, an outsider to the party, argues that Democrats are not running strongly enough against a powerful presidency and are unfortunately embracing the trade policies of President Trump with better packaging. N...