Politics Is Everything

Should we rethink State of the Union addresses, which have become pretty formulaic? This year, President Joe Biden touted bipartisan accomplishments and focused primarily on the economy and domestic issues. He didn't really delve into some of the cultural issues on which the parties differ, which was in stark contrast to Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' response for Republicans. Even in his discussion of policing, he centered the voices of the parents of Tyre Nicols and the talks that Black parents must have with their kids. But, President Biden also discussed the strains that law enforcement are under. What did the content of Biden's speech reveal about where he and party are headed as we look to 2024?

Kyle Kondik, Managing Editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball, joins Carah Ong Whaley for a discussion of President Joe Biden's State of the Union address and the state of his 2024 campaign.

Links in this episode:

• The State of Biden's Next Campaign
• Transcript of President Joe Biden's State of the Union Address

In Chile, a special assembly spent more than two years writing a new constitution to replace the current one that dates back to the country's military dictatorship. The proposed constitution, which some called the world's most progressive, would have put a focus on social issues and gender parity, enshrine rights for the indigenous population, and address climate change. In September, Chilean voters rejected the proposal, and on January 11, 2023, Chile's Congress passed a bill that starts a new process to replace the country's Pinochet-era constitution.

In this episode, His Excellency Juan Gabriel Valdés, Ambassador of Chile to the United States joins Carah Ong Whaley and Caterina Perez Siino for a conversation about the state of democracy in Chile, Latin America and around the world, and discusses the importance of institutional accountability to protect from authoritarianism. "To defend democracy is very important," says Ambassador Juan Gabriel Valdés. He also discusses solutions to a wide-range of challenges facing Chile and the world - from migration to policing reform to health system access.

His Excellency Juan Gabriel Valdés was sworn in most recently as Ambassador to the U.S. in spring 2022 and previously served as Ambassador to the U.S. from 2014 to 2018. In addition to Ambassador to the U.S., he has served as Chile's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the U.N. and Minister of Foreign Affairs, among other positions. He was a visiting professor at Columbia University in New York, Sorbonne in Paris, and served as Director of Institutional and Strategic Affairs at the University of Chile in Santiago.

Outcomes in the Senate races have increasingly become aligned with the presidential vote. Senate candidates frequently performed better a decade or two ago, with 40-point or more performance better than that of the presidential candidate occurring in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012. J. Miles Coleman explains this trend and what it portends for the 2024 elections.

Links in this episode:

• The Shocking Decline of Senate Ticket-Splitting

J. Miles Coleman, Associate Editor of Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, discusses the 2023 gubernatorial elections in Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi. Kentucky has a popular Democratic governor, and Republicans will likely retain control of the executive branch in Louisiana. In Mississippi, Democrats have not won a gubernatorial contest this century, but a credible Democratic candidate joined the contest last week. Miles also shares an early forecast of 2024 gubernatorial contests and predicts that North Carolina will be the most contested election.

Links in this episode:

• 2024 Governors Races: A First Look
• The 2023 Governor Races

The biggest impact of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attacks was on public understanding to realize that it wasn't just a single day, says Luke Broadwater, a Congressional reporter in the Washington bureau of The New York Times. Broadwater has written hundreds of articles covering the causes and consequences of the January 6, 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol and the House Select Committee's investigation.

Prior to joining The Times, Luke worked for nearly a decade at The Baltimore Sun, where he covered the Maryland State House and Baltimore City Hall. He broke a story last year about a self-dealing scandal at the state's largest hospital system that resulted in the resignation of Baltimore's mayor and top hospital officials and the passage of sweeping reform legislation. That series of investigative articles won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting and a George Polk Award for political reporting.

Links in this episode:

• Jan. 6 Transcripts Detail Failures in Surveillance and National Guard Response
• January 6 committee wraps up, withdraws Trump subpoena
• Jan. 6 Transcripts Reveal Disagreements That Divided Trump Camp
• Jan. 6 Committee Withdraws Its Subpoena of Trump
• Jan. 6 transcripts shed new light on how Trump considered blanket pardons
• With Detailed Evidence and a Call for Accountability, Jan. 6 Panel Seeks a Legacy
• Inside the Jan. 6 Committee
• Jan. 6 panel's final report blames riot on 'one man:' Trump
• The Capitol Police and the Scars of Jan. 6
• How the Jan. 6 committee used TV tactics and dark humor in its case against Trump
• House Select Committee Archive (links to Final Report, Witness Testimonies and Hearings)

For the second anniversary of the violent attacks on the U.S. Capitol, we spoke with Sandra Garza, a clinical social worker, veteran, and partner of Private First Class Brian Sicknick, a U.S. Capitol Police officer who died of injuries sustained during the insurrection on January 6th, 2021.

Ms. Garza shares her experiences attending the House Select Committee hearings and what more needs to be done to achieve justice and accountability. She says everybody has a responsibility to ensure this never happens again. Ms. Garza is the plaintiff on a lawsuit filed on January 5, 2023 in the United States District Court in the District of Columbia against Donald J. Trump, Julian Khater and George Tanios for the wrongful death of Pfc Brian Sicknick. The lawsuit includes claims for relief for 1) wrongful death; 2) conspiracy to violate civil rights; 3) common law assault against Khater and Tanios, 4) Negligence Per Se against all defendants; 5) Aiding and Abetting Common-Law Assault (against Trump).

On January 6, 2023, PFC Sicknick was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for having made "exemplary contributions to our democracy" and shown "courage and selflessness" around the events of January 6, 2021. The medal is one of the country's highest civilian honors, given to American citizens deemed to have "performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens."

PFC Brian D. Sicknick served with the United States Capitol Police from July 2008 until his passing in the line of duty on January 7, 2021 due to injuries sustained during the attack on the United States Capitol. PFC Sicknick spent the majority of his career with the department's First Responder Unit, where he served as a mountain bike officer as well as a member of the Civil Disturbance Unit.

Links in this Episode:

• Trump Is Sued in Death of Capitol Police Officer After Jan. 6
• 06/09/2022 Select Committee Hearing
• H.R.6943 - Public Safety Officer Support Act of 2022
• I can't forgive the people who won't admit my partner, Brian Sicknick, was a hero
• The adverse childhood experiences questionnaire: Two decades of research on childhood trauma as a primary cause of adult mental illness, addiction, and medical diseases
• Cult membership: What factors contribute to joining or leaving?
• President Biden Marks January 6 Anniversary

On the second anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol, we talk with Mark S. Zaid, an attorney with a practice focused on national security law, freedom speech, constitutional claims and government accountability. Mr. Zaid represents Sandra Garza, the partner of fallen Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, in a new lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court on January 5, 2023 against Donald J. Trump and two rioters. The lawsuit includes claims for relief for 1) wrongful death; 2) conspiracy to violate civil rights; 3) common law assault against Khater and Tanios, 4) Negligence Per Se against all defendants; 5) Aiding and Abetting Common-Law Assault (against Trump). Mr. Zaid also represents U.S. Capitol Police Pfc. Harry Dunn and Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, and represented Julie Farnam, the Acting USCP Director for Intelligence who warned in the intelligence assessment before the insurrection, dated January 3, 2021 that warned, "Bottom line. Protestors ... plan to be armed."

Mr. Zaid discusses the lawsuit, representing law enforcement, the politics of investigating the January 6, 2021 attacks on the Capitol, and the ongoing consequences of the attacks.

Links in this episode:

• Mark Zaid on Twitter
• https://markzaid.com/
• Whistleblower Aid
• Capitol Police intelligence official says she sounded alarm about potential violence days before January 6 riot
• Inside the Capitol Cops' Jan. 6 Blame Game
• Democrats' pick for the top staffer on the January 6 Capitol attack investigation sends an ugly message to potential witnesses
• Whistle-blower advocates call for a top aide on the Jan. 6 panel to be removed.
• Aide to Capitol Riot Inquiry Is Accused of Whistle-Blower Retaliation

There has not been multiple ballots in a speaker election in 100 years, as Kyle Kondik wrote for the Crystal Ball earlier this week. On Thursday, January 5, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California offered new concessions to a group of conservative Republicans that have prevented him from winning the majority of votes needed to secure Speaker of the House. Mr. McCarthy has not yet been able to lock in the 218 votes he needs to win the Speakership. In the seventh, eighth, and ninth rounds of voting, held on Thursday, 20 Republicans voted for other candidates, and one voted "present."

In this episode, we discuss what the House election for Speaker and McCarthy's detractors tells us about the Republican governing coalition and what might be in store for the 118th Congress.

Links in this Episode:

• The Political Profile of McCarthy's Detractors
• McCarthy, Santos, and a Tenuous GOP Majority

From the authentic to the hyperconstrued, from taking serious public issues and concerns to the utterly nonsensical and absurd, Kyle Kondik, Miles Coleman and Carah Ong Whaley share what they think are the best and worst of campaign ads, campaign moments and candidate moments of the 2022 midterm elections. What made your best and worst political moments of 2022? Share them with us by email [email protected] or Tweet at us at @Center4Politics.