Politics War Room with James Carville & Al Hunt

The Biden era is finally beginning, and his cabinet and prospective agenda are already exciting people across the political spectrum.  Al and James are fired up, and talk to political maven Bill Kristol about the prospects for the Republican party, and why he’s a fan of Biden and the Democrats after Trump.  Then, journalist and author of Joe Biden: The Life, The Run, and What Matters Now, Evan Osnos, comes on to tell us about the real Biden and what we can expect from his administration internationally.  Verdict is, it’s looking good!

Evan OsnosTwitterAuthor of Joe Biden: The Life, The Run, And What Matters Now

Bill KristolTwitterConversations With Bill Kristol Defending Democracy TogetherRepublican Voters Against TrumpThe Foundation for Constitutional GovernmentThe Bulwark
Email your questions to James and Al at [email protected] or tweet them to @POLITICON.  Make sure to include your city, we love to hear where you’re from!
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As we get further from the election, it’s time for Biden to start putting together a cabinet.  Al and James take a look at how it might look and what to expect in the early days of a Biden-Harris administration before taking your questions.  Then they’re joined by Shane Harris, to talk about how President Trump could make the Snowden leaks pale by comparison to what he can sell or release, and Georgia expert Chris Huttman to give us insight into the fate of its Senate seats.  Will it go dark blue?

SHANE HARRISTwitter: @shaneharris

Books: @WAR, The Watchers

CHRIS HUTTMANWebsite: 20/20 Insight

Email your questions to James and Al at  [email protected] or tweet them to @POLITICON.  Make sure to include your city, we love to hear where you’re from!
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With Biden the presumptive President-Elect, James and Al take a moment to celebrate the win, despite wishing that the Democratic party had worked harder on its messaging.  They’re joined by Ed Luce of the Financial Times and Tom Edsall of the New York Times to discuss how the international order will change under a Biden Administration and whether the party can mend the growing schism between the work and moderate wings of the party.  Either way, it’s a whole new world...

ED LUCEThe Retreat Of Western Liberalism
TOM EDSALLThe Age of Austerity: How Scarcity Will Remake American Politics
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James and Al break down election law and court challenges with Cass Sunstein before being joined by an all star panel with Jill Abramson, Paul Begala, and Tara Setmayer to help us digest what we experienced on election day.  With no official call made, is it in the bag for Biden and McConnell?  It’s a whole new era.  Will we be stuck in the same battles of the last four years, or can we expect to build back bigger, bolder, and better in 2021? 

Jill AbramsonMerchants of Truth
Paul BegalaYou’re Fired: The Perfect Guide To Beating Donald Trump
Tara SetmayerHonestly Speaking With Tara Setmayer

Cass SunsteinHow Change Happens
Email your questions to James and Al at  [email protected] or tweet them to @POLITICON.  Make sure to include your city, we love to hear where you’re from!

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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Live Stream 'Election 2020

James and Al are joined by two political giants from critical swing states - Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan - to discuss the situation on the ground with only a few days to go until the election.  Which counties are make or break for Biden?  Will he be able to flip both states and expand the map?  And perhaps most importantly, when will we know either way?  Listen and find out what the War Room predicts for November 3rd! 
Gov. Whitmer’s article ‘The Plot to Kidnap Me’ in The Atlantic

Register for the FREE Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Live Event Thursday 29 Oct at 7:00 ET - James and Al will be talking to David Shribman live at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Election 2020 Online Town Meeting.
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Sarah Silverman is excited about the Biden campaign, but worries that we are losing the cause of progress to our cultural divisions.Meanwhile election day is only 2 weeks away, and over 41 million voters have already cast their ballots.  Michael McDonald of the United States Elections Project goes over how things look.  And so far, the early voting seems to indicate a groundbreaking year for Democrats, but in election season, anything can happen. Can we look forward to normalcy after November 3rd? 

LISTEN TO THE SARAH SILVERMAN PODCAST

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With only weeks to go, gigantic sums of campaign cash have washed over the electoral landscape, but when the country is this polarized does money still talk?  James and Al are starting to become optimistic about a Biden election, and think this might be his chance to expand the map.  University of Houston’s Dr. Richard Murray reviews the possibility of flipping reliably red states, while Founder and President of Democracy 21

Fred Wertheimer discusses the role of cash in 2020 strategy and where it comes from.  After listening to them, do you think this is the year that the Democrats shock in the south?

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TIMELINE:00:00 - Intro03:00 - Liberty vs. Democracy06:15 - The stain on Amy Coney Barrett11:00 - Remembering Roberta McCain15:15 - Taking Texas17:00 - The real demographics20:30 - An outstanding gerrymander23:00 - The Texas Republican dilemma27:30 - The most interesting county in the US30:00 - Election bellwethers36:45 - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Money40:00 - Unprecedented cash flow44:30 - Shining a light on dark money48:45 - The fight for the courts55:30 - Listener Q&A

The President and his team have been infected with the Coronavirus, giving new significance to the phrase October Surprise.  But even though James and Al think an electoral blow out is coming, it’s too early for Democrats to get comfortable— there are too many threats.  Guest Professor Kathleen Belew details the rise of white supremacist movements and their plans for overthrowing the United States, while former DOJ Fraud Section Chief Andrew Weissmann tells us that Bill Barr has downplayed the foreign plans to affect our elections.  Is our country at risk once again?
TWEET YOUR QUESTIONS FOR JAMES AND AL TO @POLITICON AND THEY WILL ANSWER THEM ON NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE!

Kathleen Belew: Bring the War Home

Andrew Weissmann: Where Law Ends

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TIMELINE:00:00 - Intro
01:30 - One incredibly long week04:00 - Disease in the White House08:00 - House and Senate predictions11:45 - Crunching the voting numbers19:00 - The hidden threat of white supremacy23:30 - Pent-up frustation29:30 - Oklahoma as a flash point34:00 - The post-war bump in hate38:30 - The banality of evil42:30 - Bob Mueller’s failures47:15 - Republican law and order54:45 - Why did you lie to Congress?1:00:45 - The Dunham investigation1:08:00 - Audience Q&A

The first presidential debate is over and James and Al declare Joe Biden the clear winner. Following favorable post-debate coverage across the platforms, and with mail-in ballot use breaking records and banking Democratic votes, it’s not looking good for President Trump.  Ben Ginsburg wonders whether he's running effectively as an incumbent or if the party will collapse after he leaves office.  Meanwhile Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman questions recent Democratic strategy in the Ohio battleground and whether the Biden campaign is repeating Hillary’s mistakes in misunderstanding the electorate there.
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Show Notes:

00:00 - Intro01:00 - Less of a mess than you think03:45 - Biden toughs it out08:15 - The Great Divider12:00 - No pardon without an admission of guilt14:30 - New York's finest prosecutors20:30 - The Ohio playbook26:00 - The persuasion zones28:30 - A post-industrial state30:00 - Campaigning like there's no pandemic35:00 - Buckeye Republicans42:45 - The truth about ballot fraud46:15 - A former strategy for the right48:00 - The future of a party in distress53:30 - The role of poll watchers