Mike is joined by a new host, political scientist Michael Levy. They open with the political and constitutional fallout from Charlie Kirk’s murder, focusing on government crackdowns on speech. Michael stresses the deeper problem of weaponizing government against dissent, while Mike argues this shows the split between Trump loyalists and constitutional conservatives like Ted Cruz.

Next, they turn to Trump’s deployment of National Guard units to cities like Memphis and proposals for tougher sentencing in D.C. Michael emphasizes that these measures are often more about optics than addressing root causes of crime, while Mike worries about performative politics without clear objectives and the loss of bipartisan reform momentum.

After that, the discussion moves to the looming government shutdown. Michael predicts a shutdown is likely, given the lack of cross-party negotiations and high stakes over ACA subsidies, while Mike highlights that majority parties almost never win shutdown battles and sees Democrats trying to leverage their strongest policy terrain—healthcare.

The guys close with reflections on polarization and leadership. Michael doubts Schumer has leverage to force concessions, while Mike stresses that Democrats cannot afford to fold on ACA subsidies despite the risks of shutdown politics.

Listen to Mike’s appearance on the What Do We Do Next? Podcast

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