Jiu-Jitsu Red to Blue: Crushing MAGA Under The Weight of Their Own Arguments

On a spring-break trip to Spain, host Tish Durkin hopes to swap her obsession with current U.S. politics for  a crash course in Iberian history…only to find threads of current U.S. politics running all through Iberian history, from the trashing of Muslim-built aqueducts by the followers of the "Catholic kings" to the smashing of Spanish social advancement by Francisco Franco...

Yes, we have already moved on to Louisville — but host Tish Durkin is still processing Nashville via an all-too-typical MAGA interview given right after Uvalde. With an assist from similarly gun-glorifying Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and a super-friendly Fox interviewer, Rep.  Tim “we’re not gonna fix this” Burchett runs through the usual pretend excuses  (The Constitution) and problem-plagued solutions (arming teachers, deifying school doors) that have long enabled Republicans to sound concerned about gun violence without being so. Now, though, the GOP is working diligently to make it harder for troubled young people to obtain mental health care, yet easier for them to obtain all kinds of weapons. Just how many graveyards can one political party whistle past without itself getting buried?

Host Tish Durkin schools MAGA Congressman Tim “We’re not gonna fix this” Burchett — and, by extension, the NRA-bound GOP — on the facts about mass shootings. In the first of two episodes devoted to parsing one short, sadly-typical interview that Burchett gave Fox in the wake of Uvalde, Durkin delves into the latest irony around Republican calls for improved mental health services (it’s not just about funding). She also questions the wisdom of citing the Oklahoma City truck bomb as an argument against regulating firearms (the chemical component used by Timothy McVeigh is now heavily regulated, and McVeigh didn’t get his start by fixating on fertilizer).

Another school, another shooting. There are no words for the massacre at Covenant School in Nashville, but host Tish Durkin tries to find some. Her main political question: which party should be viewed as out-of-touch and crazy? Democrats, who agree with the vast majority of Americans — and gun owners — that there is nothing unconstitutional about restoring the gun-safety laws that worked just fine for most of American history? Or Republicans, who treat Black History Month and gender-neutral restrooms as mortal dangers, but greet the serial murder of schoolchildren with the attitude, calmly voiced by Tennessee’s own GOP Congressman Tim Burchett: “We are not gonna fix this." 

Host Tish Durkin analyzes the MAGA reaction to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, particularly on the parts of presidential hopeful Nikki Haley and her all-but-declared rival, Ron DeSantis. Whether blaming the mess on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,  the imaginary recklessness of SVB depositors, or Joe Biden’s supposed love for coastal billionaires over good, plain flyover folk, the GOP nominees have got it spectacularly, comically wrong — so wrong as to beg the question: if this is what young, vigorous minds come up with in response to a crisis, is ole Biden the one whose mental acuity we really ought to be worried about?

January 6, 2021 was a bad day for America, and a worse one for the GOP. Yet, by releasing thousands of hours’ worth of footage of that event to Fox firebomber Tucker Carlson, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has blown the whole thing right up again. But will it blow up in his face? Host Tish Durkin analyzes why this is a strategy for MAGA — and a travesty for everybody else.

Host Tish Durkin sets the stage, and the terms, for another round of political JiuJitsu. Her goal: expose, explain and ultimately explode the myth of real-life, “real American” policy competence that the MAGA-bound GOP has spent years effectively spinning about itself. From crime to COVID to the constitution; from education to the economy…the myth of GOP superiority is only as powerful as Democrats allow it to be. Let’s not wait for 2024 to take it down — one Thursday, one issue, one ludicrous irony at a time.

A mini-episode today. It's a quick hello and welcome if you've landed here by way of Tish's current piece in the Oprah Daily. With 2022 behind us, we're also in the process of rebranding the show to "Jiu Jitsu Red to Blue." And yes, we're STILL crushing the GOP under the weight of its own arguments.

Against all odds, the midterms have left Democrats – and democracy -- in shape to fight another day. And with Republicans in firm control of Florida, Texas, Ohio, and the House of Representatives, there will be plenty of fighting to do. Nonetheless, this Thanksgiving, host Tish Durkin serves a heaping platter of Thank The Lord, with a generous side of That Could Have Gone So Much Worse and a big fat slice of “we just might be OK.”

What’s a rookie political podcaster to do when her recording slot falls on the afternoon of the election, before any results are known, but the episode won’t drop until two days later, when (much of) the outcome has become clear? Host Tish Durkin tries to focus on truths worth telling no matter who’s won what on November 8. But mostly, she pigs out on Halloween candy and panics.