The Dispatch Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Mr. Meijer Goes to Washington Jan 15, 2021

Show notes

“I was proud that after the assault on the Capitol, we were back in the chambers a few hours later,” freshman GOP Rep. Peter Meijer from Michigan’s 3rd District tells Sarah and Steve on today’s episode. “There was someone’s blood drying, right? And we’re going back to work to send the message that our constitutional process—it got erupted—but you’re not gonna scare us away.” Rep. Meijer—who holds Justin Amash’s old seat—joined today’s show to discuss what it was like certifying the Electoral College vote, evacuating the House chamber on January 6 amid the Capitol siege, and undergoing impeachment proceedings just days after being sworn into office.

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A President's Final Days Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

“The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack,” said Rep. Liz Cheney late Tuesday afternoon. “Everything that followed was his doing.” This week, our hosts discuss the brewing showdown over impeachment between Cheney—the House’s No.3 Republican—and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. How does one party accommodate vastly different levels of acquiescence to a rogue president? What is the value of impeachment and conviction over censure? Should the president be pardoned after conviction in a concession to Republicans? To David, one thing is clear: “He needs to be so thoroughly defeated in the here and now that there is no possibility of a later,” he says. “He has to be deplatformed, he has to be defeated, and he has to be discredited.”

Show Notes:

-Take our podcast survey

-Amazon filing in response to Parler’s lawsuit, citing violent content

-Rep. Liz Cheney’s statement in support of impeachment

-Video from Capitol Hill riot

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Almost Inevitable Jan 08, 2021

Show notes

Wednesday’s storming of the Capitol should not have come as a surprise to anyone who has paid attention to Donald Trump’s election-related conspiracy-mongering in the weeks since November 3. Politico’s chief political correspondent Tim Alberta has been interacting with Trump supporters for months now and joins today’s show to explain why Wednesday’s Capitol siege was almost inevitable: “What we saw at every step of the way was a coordinated and deliberate campaign” by the president, high ranking Republicans, and far-right media personalities “to deceive the American public,” Alberta tells Sarah and Steve.

Show Notes:

-“Jan. 6 Was 9 Weeks — And 4 Years — in the Making” by Tim Alberta in Politico.

-American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump by Tim Alberta.

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No Such Thing as Rock Bottom Jan 08, 2021

Show notes

Was Wednesday’s storming of the Capitol by Trump rally-goers inevitable? Should President Trump be impeached? Where does the Republican Party go from here? Our staff members have been warning about the dangers of Trumpism long before The Dispatch was launched in October 2019. But as David says, “never has vindication felt so miserable.” After all, as he points out, “the vindication was while the republic was under direct attack.” On today’s episode, Sarah and the guys break down the series of events that led to yesterday’s violence. Andrew and Audrey join the show to discuss their on-the-ground reporting at the Capitol on Wednesday, where they spent all day interviewing rally attendees.

Show Notes:

-“The Storming of the Capitol” by Andrew Egger and Audrey Fahlberg in The Dispatch.

-“Impeach Donald Trump, Remove Him, and Bar Him From Holding Office Ever Again” by The Dispatch staff.

-“We in the ‘shallow state’ thought we could help. Instead, we obscured the reality of a Trump presidency.” by Sarah Isgur in the Washington Post.

-“A Day at the Million MAGA March” by Audrey Fahlberg in The Dispatch.

-“If He Loses, Trump Will Concede Gracefully,” by Mick Mulvaney in the Wall Street Journal.

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Sitting Here on Capitol Hill Dec 18, 2020

Show notes

House Democrats are heading into next year with the slimmest majority either party has seen in two decades. How might this shape intra-party relations among Democrats moving forward? “The new dynamic will force Democratic leaders to change their tactics, both in drafting bills and in reining in the rank and file,” Haley Byrd Wilt writes in her debut piece for the website. Haley joined Sarah and Steve on today’s show to forecast these shifting dynamics as we approach the 117th Congress. Stick around for a breakdown of the latest drama in the House Republican conference, Donald Trump’s NDAA veto threat, and whether Congress can avert a government shutdown.

Show Notes:

-“Democrats Grapple With Slim House Majority” by Haley Byrd Wilt in The Dispatch.

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Somebody's Wrong Online Dec 16, 2020

Show notes

In the weeks following November 3, a surprising number of state Republican parties have made it their mission to attack any high ranking GOP officials in their state who have certified or somehow acknowledged Joe Biden’s electoral victory over President Trump. How will this GOP infighting play out over the next few months? Declan joins Sarah, David, and Jonah on today’s show to discuss his new piece on the site explaining this strange phenomenon, with a close look at Arizona and Georgia in particular. Stick around to hear our hosts discuss the 2021 races they are keeping an eye on, all things Hunter Biden, and Joseph Epstein’s controversial Wall Street Journal op-ed about Jill Biden.

Show Notes:

-“Begun, the GOP Civil War Has” by Declan Garvey in The Dispatch.

-“Is There a Doctor in the White House? Not if You Need an M.D.” by Joseph Epstein in the Wall Street Journal.

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Mess with Texas? Dec 11, 2020

Show notes

How might the Supreme Court respond to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit contesting the results of the election? Why did so many House members and state attorneys general file amicus briefs in support of the lawsuit? Is Paxton’s legal effort just a political stunt? On today’s episode, Sarah and Steve are joined by Ilya Shapiro—director of the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute and publisher of the Cato Supreme Court Review—for the breakdown.

Show Notes:

-Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s new lawsuit against Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

-106 House Republicans sign amicus brief supporting Texas lawsuit and Chip Roy’s tweet thread explaining why he will not join Texas’s lawsuit.

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Norms! Dec 09, 2020

Show notes

The Supreme Court denied injunctive relief on Tuesday to Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly in a one-sentence order that unceremoniously ended the Republican lawmaker’s bid to overturn his state’s election results. “What distinguished this case was it actually had an interesting question of law in it,” David argues on today’s show, in reference to the Pennsylvania state legislature’s alleged violation of the state’s constitution in 2019. That Rep. Kelly brought this lawsuit after the presidential election was another question entirely, David concedes, as was Kelly’s requested remedy. On the menu for the rest of today’s episode: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s new Supreme Court election lawsuit, Biden’s latest Cabinet picks, and the origins of “believe-Trump-no-matter-what” syndrome among once-respected GOP figures.

Show Notes:

-Supreme Court’s one-sentence order denying injunctive relief to Rep. Mike Kelly.

-Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s new lawsuit against Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

-University of California-Irvine law professor Richard Hasen’s December 8 blog post on the Paxton lawsuit’s legal shortcomings.

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Politics is a Complicated Profession Dec 04, 2020

Show notes

After Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling asked GOP lawmakers to tone down the unsubstantiated claims of vote fraud in his state earlier this week, the Trump campaign shared a 90-second video on Twitter alleging another Georgia related election conspiracy theory. “Video footage from Georgia shows suitcases filled with ballots pulled from under a table AFTER supervisors told poll workers to leave room and 4 people stayed behind to keep counting votes,” the tweet said. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and other GOP figures have since demanded a signature audit of the presidential election in the Peach State.

Where do we go from here? Sterling joined Sarah and Steve on today’s episode to debunk election conspiracy theories about his state and offer a pathway forward for the GOP. “To me, this is the playbook that was run by Stacey Abrams in 2018 in Georgia,” Sterling tells Steve and Sarah of the Trump campaign’s claim that the election was rigged.

Show Notes:

-90 second clip of Georgia election conspiracy theory shared by the campaign on Thursday and Lin Wood’s rally on Wednesday excoriating Gabriel Sterling.

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It Was Always Going to End This Way Dec 02, 2020

Show notes

During an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday, Attorney General Bill Barr said that “to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.” In what seems to be a clever attempt to appease the president, Barr also said during the interview that he had appointed John Durham as special counsel to investigate the Russia-Trump probe in October. Will news of Durham’s appointment appease Republicans? Is there a legal defect in the Durham appointment? Sarah and the guys give us the breakdown. On today’s episode, our podcast hosts also analyze Trump’s election litigation madness, the ethics of COVID-19 vaccine prioritization, and last week’s killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

Show Notes:

-Attorney General Bill Barr’s interview with the Associated Press.

-“As Trump Rages, Voters in a Key County Move On: ‘I’m Not Sweating It’ ” by Elaina Plott in the New York Times.

-Statement from Sen. Ted Cruz urging SCOTUS to hear the Pennsylvania election challenge.

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