Beyond Politics

Matt Robison and Howard Monroe explore not only why things under Trump may not be as bad as they seem at first, but why it's so critical for people to feel better, more upbeat, and more positive about politics.

Trump Appoints Matt Gaetz as Attorney General: Political Comedy or Crisis? Hosts Matt , Paul, and Alicia discuss Donald Trump's controversial decision to nominate Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, examining the political, ethical, and conspiratorial aspects. They also delve into the qualifications of Trump's other nominations, including Marco Rubio and Tulsi Gabbard, and the implications for a closely divided, Republican-controlled Congress. And we close with a genuinely inspirational, historic moment, plus an ironic comeuppance for one of the right-wing's most loathsome figures.

This is a post election essay that I'm calling "Blue Linings Playbook: the Game Plan Democrats Need After a Disaster." The message is that the election WAS a disaster, but we can manage it. And if you look hard, there are even some upsides for the long term.

00:00 Introduction: Blue Linings Playbook

There's no sugar coating that it was a terrible night. Matt, Paul, and Alicia discuss not just why voters decided to bring Donald Trump back, but also why there are good reasons to believe that we can mitigate the worst damage from Trump's return, and that if Democrats can face some painful truths, they can chart a course back.

Matt Robison discusses why Kamala Harris is more likely than not to win, even if he (and we) can't feel confident about it. And no matter what happens, after a difficult November to come, why there's hope ahead.

For our last pre-election round table panel we explore whether the unhinged racist rally from Donald Trump over the weekend really will make a critical difference in the election. Also, we each took a swing at giving our closing arguments in the campaign. And finally, we give our tips for what to look for on Tuesday night to get a sense of what happened and who's going to win.

This week we're talking about the factors that are going to tip the election one way or the other in the final few days, as we're down to a very, very few voters who ultimately hold our fate in their hands. To try to get some insight I wanted to ask my friend, Sam Harris, who hosts one of the fastest growing and most popular psychology podcasts on earth. It's called Growth Mindset and it's a really interesting dive in each episode into a different idea from psychology and how you can apply it to what you do. So what is REALLY going to push the final undecided voters in the final days?

We are about to find out if Kamala Harris' biggest advantage is going to make the winning difference: a subject I cover in depth in my new column in Newsweek today.

One person who knows quite a lot about it and who believes that the answer is yes is Matt Wiley, a Republican political consultant and former executive director of the Massachusetts Republican party who has managed many Senate campaigns. He lays out the case for why he not only thinks Harris' advantage is going to make a difference, but why he feels confident that Trump is going to lose. He also explains how Trump has destroyed the party that he believes in and how both Republicans and Democrats might change course after the election.

Right now the F word is all over the news. Donald Trump's longest serving chief of staff, retired four-star Marine general John Kelly, said that Donald Trump is literally the dictionary definition of a "fascist" and Kamala Harris agreed. So is this going to be the Harris campaign's closing argument in the final 10 days? And should it be?

Also, the quiet campaign that Democrats are starting to whisper into the ears of Republican women, especially women in Republican areas.

Where are we with two weeks to go? That's what my good friend, legendary radio broadcaster, Howard Monroe wanted to ask me on his show yesterday. And so we ran through all of it. Where do things stand? What could they turn on in the end? And is there hope for Democrats, as the polls have seemed to shift very slightly in Donald Trump's direction?

And before we got into any of that, Howard wanted to talk about texting. What is the effect of all of these fundraising texts and emails that we're all constantly getting, do they work? And I suggested that they might be working kind of, but they might also be having a really destructive long term effect that no one is really talking about.