Politics with Amy Walter

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Democrats Divided Jul 13, 2019

Show notes

The ongoing migrant crisis is getting worse, as the Department of Homeland Security is running out of room to house the increasing number of migrants detained at the border. And when evidence of the conditions dominated the news cycle earlier this month, the outrage prompted lawmakers to get involved. But how that involvement played out became the latest point of contention between factions within the Democratic Party.

The Senate passed a spending bill aimed at alleviating what the Trump administration said was a lack of funding to properly house detained migrants. But the Democratic-controlled House, wary of writing a blank check without strict limits on how that money would be spent, sent a revised bill back to the Senate. But when that bill died with Mitch McConnell, the conservative-leaning "Problem Solvers" caucus of the House Democrats signaled that they were willing to pass the Senate's no-strings-attached bill, with or without the support of Speaker Pelosi.

When Pelosi ultimately sided with the Problem Solvers, it set off a backlash among the party's progressive wing, most notably Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar, known collectively as "The Squad." And the outrage breathed new life into a long-simmering division between The Squad and Party leadership.

This week, Amy examines how deep these divisions go, and whether or not party unity is possible heading into 2020.

Also, Representative Seth Moulton from Massachusetts, who's running for the Democratic presidential nomination, joins Amy for her Candidate Talk series. And Eric Liu discusses his new book, Become America: Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy.

Guests:

Ryan Grim, the DC bureau chief at The Intercept, and the author of We’ve Got People: From Jesse Jackson to AOC, the End of Big Money and the Rise of a Movement

Seth Moulton, Represents Massachusetts's Sixth District in the House of Representatives, Democratic presidential candidate

Heidi Heitkamp, former Senator from North Dakota

Steve Kornacki, National Political Correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC, author of the book The Red and the Blue

Eric Liu, CEO of Citizen University and executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship and American Identity Program, author of Become America: Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy

Candidate Talk: Seth Moulton Jul 12, 2019

Show notes

Amy sits down with Representative Seth Moulton who announced in April that he is running for president. He's one of the few combat veterans seeking the Democratic nomination, having served as a Marine in Iraq over the course of four deployments.

Moulton has been a vocal critic of Democratic leadership, wanting to see a new generation take the helm.

Unpacking the Democratic Debates from the Aspen Ideas Festival Jun 28, 2019

Show notes

At this year's Aspen Ideas Festival, Amy hosted back-to-back post-debate discussions with a panel of influential writers. We'll hear excerpts from the conversation, in an effort to provide analysis of the first Democratic debates of the 2020 presidential campaign.

We also talk with two academics to discuss how their policy work could be used in tandem with politics to bring about change in areas of technology and inequality.

Finally, Amy reflects on the LGBTQ movement, on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.

Guests:

Kristen Soltis Anderson, co-founder of Echelon Insights and author of The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials Are Leading America (and How Republicans Can Keep Up)

Rich Lowry, editor-in-chief of National Review

Jonathan Capehart, opinion writer for The Washington Post and a member of its editorial board; he also hosts the “Cape Up” podcast

Raj Chetty, professor of economics at Harvard University, and the director of Opportunity Insights

Ramesh Srinivasan, professor and director of the Digital Cultures Lab at UCLA

Ilene Chaiken, co-creator of The L Word and executive producer of Empire

Digital Ads and the Wild West of Political Campaigning Jun 22, 2019

Show notes

As U.S. voters increasingly spend more of their lives online, political campaigns and other outside groups are trying to figure out how best to meet them on these digital spaces.

But in the rush to perfect the effectiveness of digital ads, regulators have been slow to catch up. Will the lessons of 2016, and what can happen when nefarious actors hijack those platforms to spread disinformation, prove an effective warning for 2020 and beyond? And will Democrats be able to catch up to the Trump campaign's robust online operation?

Also, continuing with our "Candidate Talk" series, Amy talks with Senator Michael Bennet about trying to break out in a crowded Democratic field.

Guests:

Patrick Ruffini, Republican digital strategist, partner and co-founder of Echelon Insights, a polling and data analytics firm

Guy Cecil, Chairman of Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC

Kevin Roose, tech columnist for Business Day at The New York Times

Young Mie Kim, professor at the school of journalism and mass communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ellen Weintraub, Chair of the Federal Election Commission

Michael Bennet, United States Senator from Colorado, Democratic Presidential candidate

Candidate Talk: Michael Bennet Jun 21, 2019

Show notes

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet rose to national prominence in part, due to the 35-day federal government shutdown in January. On the 34th day, the normally mild-mannered Democrat gave a fiery speech that went viral, and rumors about a Bennet 2020 bid began to circulate. Bennet officially announced his candidacy on May 2.

Amy Walter spoke with Senator Bennet to discuss his campaign, his 10-year Senate career, and his vision for the nation.

Democratic Socialism is Having a Moment; Will Voters be Receptive to its Message? Jun 15, 2019

Show notes

Throughout most of the 20th century and beyond, the term "socialism" has carried a lot of baggage in U.S. political history. Socialism itself has deep historical roots in the U.S. But the ideology became a toxic brand thanks in part to the Cold War, as Soviet republics and their imitators around the world saw authoritarians seize power under the guise of socialism.

But almost 30 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, socialism is once again having a moment in mainstream U.S. politics. As politicians like Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pitch their Democratic Socialism to a generation not familiar with Cold War rhetoric, skeptics remain unconvinced about the promise of sweeping social reform.

Guests:

Bernie Sanders, United States Senator from Vermont, Democratic presidential candidate

Peter Beinart, contributing editor for The Atlantic and professor at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism

Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Congressional Correspondent for The New York Times

Ilya Somin, Professor of Law at George Mason University

Candidate Talk: Bernie Sanders Jun 14, 2019

Show notes

The reason the term “socialism” has become a ubiquitous presence in our current political discourse is because of Bernie Sanders:

"Democratic Socialism means to me requiring and achieving political and economic freedom in every community in this country. Let me be very clear, as well, when I state that the only way we achieve these goals is through a political revolution.”

On Wednesday, at George Washington University, Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders laid out his vision of Democratic Socialism.

The speech also came at a time when his campaign seems to have stalled. He trails Vice President Joe Biden in national and early state polls. Meanwhile, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg are eating into his support among liberal voters. The speech was an opportunity for Sanders to reset the terms of the debate - and, he hopes, his position in the race.

Amy Walter sat down with the senator in a conference room at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee near Capitol Hill not long after he finished his speech.

The Impact of Black Voters: “When We Show Up, We Transform How Power Operates” Jun 07, 2019

Show notes

When it comes to elections there’s always a key voting bloc that gets the media attention. If candidate X wins the FILL IN THE BLANK they’ll win the election.

Over the past few years, we’ve heard a lot about the Latino vote.

The white working class vote.

The suburban women vote.

But a core constituency of the Democratic electorate, since Barack Obama was elected has not gotten the same level of attention: African Americans.

Will this change before 2020?

According to the strategists we talked to, if Democrats want to win back the White House, it better.

Guests:

Alicia Garza, a founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, and the head of the Black Futures Lab

Bakari Sellers, former South Carolina state representative and a CNN contributor

Thelisha Eaddy, South Carolina Public Radio reporter

Theodore R. Johnson, Senior Fellow at the Brennan Center

Aimee Allison, founder of She the People

Celebrating One Year of Amy Walter May 31, 2019

Show notes

Five times in history, the candidate elected president of the United States was not the winner of the national popular vote. With two of those five elections in recent memory, and a demographic shift that will likely continue the trend, the electoral college is facing increasing criticism and calls for abolishment.

On the one-year anniversary of the launch of Politics with Amy Walter from The Takeaway, the show takes a look back at the history of the electoral college. Amy moderates a debate for and against the institution, plus an exploration of the public’s shifting support for the electoral college.

Guests include The New York Times columnist and CBS News political analyst Jamelle Bouie, Carrie Dann, political editor for NBC News, Ruy Teixeira, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and Lina Newton, associate professor of political science at Hunter College.

The Evolution of the Executive May 24, 2019

Show notes

Every president leaves their mark on the office of the presidency.

The office of the presidency also leaves its mark on every person who holds it.

This week, we broadcast from the Presidential Ideas Festival, hosted by the University of Virginia’s Miller Center in Charlottesville. It’s a three-day festival attended by presidential scholars, journalists, political junkies, as well as politicians and administration officials.

We spent our time here talking to people who have worked closely with former presidents, on both sides of the aisle, to get their perspective on how the office changes those who serve, and on how those who served have changed the office.

Guests:

Barbara Perry, Professor and Director of Presidential Studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center

Andy Card, White House Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration

Kathleen Sebelius, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services during the Barack Obama administration

Karl Rove, Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration

Susan Rice, U.S. National Security Advisor during the Barack Obama administration

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