Beyond Politics

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Is the Biden Dropout Saga Coming to an End? Jul 12, 2024

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Is the turmoil surrounding Joe Biden's potential dropout from the presidential race wrapping up, or ramping up? Is it even possible that the media is simply fueling this narrative for drama and traffic, obscuring where their focus should be on Donald Trump's controversial plans for America? Check out Matt's newest Newsweek article on the exceedingly dangerous Trump plan for a second term. 02:47 The Media's Influence on Public Perception 04:39 Internal Democratic Party Tensions 07:00 Public Sentiment and Polls 10:51 Strategic Dilemmas for Democrats 18:45 Media Criticism and Public Backlash 21:17 Media Bias and Math 30:06 Project 2025: A Blueprint for Trump's Second Term 35:38 Pornography and the RNC

What Will America's 71 Million Centrists Do? Jul 09, 2024

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It's one of the biggest questions looming over American politics: what will the centrists do? There are as many as 71 million self-identified centrists in America - people who don't feel entirely comfortable with either major political party, and largely agree on most issues - and these are the people who are probably going to decide which of two very different paths America follows. So why can't either party nail them down? And which way will they go? Former Republican Congressman and centrist Scott Klug, host of the podcast Lost in the Middle joins to explain.

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***Subscribe to Lost in the Middle! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lost-in-the-middle-americas-political-orphans/id1706739467*** 02:21 Centrists and the Trump-Biden Debate 09:47 How the Middle Got Lost 24:16 The Rise of Independents and Future of Politics 32:43 Ticket Splitting and Political Trends 37:42 Democratic Party Dynamics 48:30 Favorite Funniest Moments in Congress

Why "Will Biden Drop Out" Is The Wrong Question Jul 05, 2024

Show notes

President Biden's candidacy is in what's increasingly looking like a death spiral. But "should he stick it out or should he drop out" is the wrong question. There is a much better and a much more important question that Democrats really need to ask. Also, is the Supreme Court's presidential immunity decision as bad as it seemed; should Russian athletes should be banned from international athletic competitions; and why sometimes scientific advance can be downright disgusting. 02:24 The Biden Question: Will He or Won't He? 04:05 Democratic Party's Internal Chaos 10:39 Polling and Public Perception 19:05 The Future of the Democratic Party 24:40 Debating Kamala Harris's Role 30:44 The Supreme Court's Immunity Ruling 39:54 Politics in International Sports 45:17 The Creepy Robot Face

A Supreme Court Ruling That Shakes America to Its Foundations Jul 02, 2024

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"The president is now a king above the law. With fear for our democracy, I dissent." Those were the words of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor about yesterday's Supreme court decision conferring what the press described as "partial immunity" on Donald Trump and future presidents for crimes they may commit in office. But the reality goes much deeper than that. Legal scholar Kim Wehle -- a former US Attorney who regularly explains rulings like this on ABC news (subscribe to her substack here)-- explains the stark reality of what this ruling could mean.

01:29 Implications of the Ruling 03:42 Motivated Reasoning and Judicial Philosophy 09:37 The Role of Intent and Evidence 12:58 Political and Social Ramifications 22:08 The Importance of Voting and Democracy 25:36 Conclusion: Reflecting on the Future

The High Stakes Fork in the Road Dilemma for Democrats Jun 29, 2024

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BONUS EPISODE: There are two paths in the road ahead for Biden and the Democrats after President Joe Biden's rough debate. There is a roadmap for how he can recover--but can Biden pull it off? And if he can't, what does the unprecedented pathway of him dropping out look like? CHECK OUT MATT'S NEWSWEEK ARTICLE COVERING THIS ISSUE IN DEPTH: https://www.newsweek.com/disastrous-debate-biden-leaves-path-forward-democrats-opinion-1918957

01:44 Analyzing Biden's Debate Performance 03:38 Media Reactions and Public Perception 08:47 Strategic Pathways for Biden 10:40 Potential Replacement Scenarios 24:36 Concluding Thoughts

Debate Disaster for Biden. What Happens Now? Jun 28, 2024

Show notes

The debate went very badly for Joe Biden. And whether it's fair or not, the reality is that Biden's path to stopping Trump has gotten much harder. Matt, Paul, and Alicia delve into the key question of what happens next. Can Biden recover? What would that take? And if his team concludes that he can't, what would that look like?

01:32 Analyzing Biden's Performance 04:13 Media Perception and Reality 09:11 Debate Performance vs. Presidential Capability 12:12 The Elephant in the Room: Biden's Future 14:07 Strategies for Biden's Campaign 19:44 Political Campaign Strategies 24:40 Potential Democratic Candidates 26:51 The Chaos of an Open Convention 29:44 Democratic Party's Path Forward 36:33 Closing Thoughts -- Just in Case It All Goes Wrong

How To Win the Long Fight for America's Soul Jun 25, 2024

Show notes

We're in the middle of a fight, as president Biden put it, for the soul of America. We face diametrically opposing visions of the future, and a ton of difficult questions. Even if we win the election, do we just have the bigger threat of everything Donald Trump has unleashed looming ahead of us? What about the way we're waging this fight? I just wrote an article in Washington Monthly arguing that the way we fight in American politics simply may not work in most cases anymore. So if the stakes are really that high shouldn't we be doing something else?And what about the big issue of the nervous breakdown that we seem to be going through as a country? We talk to Dimitri Mehlhorn, political advisor to Democratic donor Reid Hoffman, and one of the Democratic Party's deepest thinkers, about these questions. 02:28 The 2024 Election: What Are We Doing Right and Wrong? 04:14 Trump's Criminal Record: New Information for Voters 09:20 The Challenge of Swing Voters and Polling 13:32 The Permanent Fight Between Good and Evil 14:41 The Democratic Party's Messaging and Strategy 21:56 Challenges of Political Advertising 24:22 Innovative Campaign Strategies 27:29 Authenticity in Political Messaging 35:30 Urban vs. Rural Political Divide 38:50 Trust in Institutions and Government

Biden's Blistering Attack Shifts the Campaign Jun 21, 2024

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Why did the Biden campaign decide to launch a blistering new line of attack right now? And what does it tell us about what his closest advisers are seeing from the inside? We connected a few dots to try to figure out the answer. Also, a flood of big news from the tech and political world, including. And, has the Trump campaign figured out how to manipulate the media as laziness and in attention. And we close with a really delicious story, which ends up with me asking: Is Alicia Preston a French RINO traitor. But we had to start with the news yesterday of a sweeping new investigation into MAGA Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, and an unprecedented broadside from the House Ethics committee.

00:59 Matt Gaetz Under Investigation 06:37 Biden Campaign's New Strategy 10:18 Ground Game Importance in Elections 16:01 Hi-Tech Hijinks and Social Media Concerns 20:13 The Surgeon General's Warning on Social Media 24:29 Trump Campaign's Media Manipulation 31:40 Soccer Predictions and Politics

Sentencing Trump: What Should We WANT to Happen? Jun 18, 2024

Show notes

With Donald Trump's sentencing in New York rapidly approaching, we ask, what should we want out of the judges sentencing? It's really not that clear cut, since the answer invokes issues of justice, precedent and practical politics. What will this mean for the 2024 election? How would different sentences change voters' perceptions and each sides' message?

03:38 Trump's Legal Troubles and Political Implications 15:22 Sentencing Possibilities and Ramifications

An Insurrectionist [Trump] Returns to the Scene of the Crime Jun 14, 2024

Show notes

So what happened when Donald Trump went back to the scene of the crime? We're talking of course, about his visit to Congress, the independent branch of government that he urged his supporters to attack as he inspired them to attempted insurrection. We also got into the hunter Biden verdict, and the question of whether Members of Congress really misplayed the political messaging about it. We also talked about the abortion pill ruling and how the media handled that. And then today is Donald Trump's birthday. And we took the liberty at the very end of the show of proposing our very own set of birthday presents for him. 01:00 Trump's Capitol Hill Visit: A Bizarre Return 06:36 Trump's Influence and Republican Sycophancy 12:08 Nikki Haley and the Future of the Republican Party 19:34 Supreme Court Ruling on Mifepristone 24:57 Hunter Biden's Legal Troubles 30:21 Justice System and Political Influence 38:02 Trump's Birthday

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