Politix

It’s the final Politix podcast of Joe Biden’s presidency! Soon Donald Trump will be inaugurated president for a second, non-consecutive term. Inflation and crime and border crossings will fall, wages will rise, and America will be great again. Except…all those things already happened.

In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

* Why did the Biden presidency end in political failure, given the rosy macro picture?

* What connectivity is there between the Biden administration’s conception of itself—and its ensuing approach to policy—and its unpopularity?

* Would a younger president (even a younger version of Biden) operating under otherwise identical material circumstances have been able to spin the outputs of this administration into political gold?

Then, behind the paywall, what if anything have Democrats taken from Biden’s struggles, and are they applying those lessons to their early opposition? Why are they poised to help Republicans pass the Laken Riley Act? Do they really think holding Trump to bad-faith campaign promises will hurt him when, e.g., the cost of eggs doesn’t go down? Or is it likelier that, with Trump claiming credit for Biden’s economy, voters will stop citing the cost of living as their top political concern?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Brian can’t pronounce Baudrillard, but he did write about how Democrats should rethink the idea that delivering good macroeconomic conditions is the key to winning elections, and rethink their political strategies from scratch.

* Matt thinks Democrats can just follow Joe Manchin’s lead.

* Dylan Matthews argues that Biden did himself in by refusing to make hard-nosed decisions.

Multiple developments over the holiday break raise real questions about who will call the shots in Donald Trump’s still-forming administration. Elon Musk seemed to commandeer aspects of legislative strategy, immigration, and foreign policy. Republicans in Congress seemed to heed Musk over Trump, while leaving Trump wide berth to enrich himself and crack down on his enemies.

In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

* How Musk, an unelected immigrant oligarch, built so much sway over the GOP, and why he might be interested in Trump administration policy outside of DOGE and government contracts.

* Is Musk too rich and influential for Republicans too control, or is Trump simply too diminished to head the government and his party simultaneously?

* Whether a MAGA coalition comprising tech billionaires (who support certain categories of immigration) and grassroots nativists (who do not) can long endure.

Then, behind the paywall, what will this mean when it’s time for Republicans to fund the government, increase the debt limit, or enact substantive. Will Republicans, with a historically tiny House margin, be able to pass any meaningful legislation at all? Do they feel they have leeway over the details of policy, so long as they let Trump’s corruption run rampant? What are the tail risks of a corrupt executive branch with no clear leader, checked only by a paralyzed Congress?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Brian on Trump, tech weirdos, and the GOP’s seemingly successful quest for cultural dominance.

* Matt on the menace of Trump’s unapologetic political renaissance.

* Norm Ornstein on the mess Trump is preparing to dump on Mike Johnson and the congressional GOP.

The mailbag episode is here! Thanks to all who sent questions, and apologies to those who didn’t get answers. We hoped to get through more, but brevity isn’t our strong suit and we ran out of time. But the answers we DID deliver are choice, in our opinion.

We touch on:

* Ezra Klein’s terribly wrong ideas about the political impact of blue-state and blue-city misgovernance;

* What Donald Trump’s attempt at an unconstitutional third term will look like IF he tries;

* How Biden could go out with a bang, even without relying on presidential immunity (but probably won’t);

* Matt’s candid thoughts about Pod Save America (as Brian demurs).

This episode is free to all, a small token of gratitude to all of our subscribers this holiday season for making this podcast possible. We’ll do more of these in the coming year, and if you want your questions answered (or at least included in a lengthy Google document that we might not get through in the allotted time) you know what to do:

Further reading:

* Brian offers a new, important reason people should reset their relationships with social media.

* Michelle Goldberg on this great capitulation.

* Greg Sargent discusses the challenges of rebuilding in this climate with Ben and other DNC candidates, Ken Martin, and Martin O’Malley.

The mailbag episode will have to wait, but for good reason! An opportunity arose for us to interview Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair (and DNC chair candidate) Ben Wikler. So we jumped on it—and warmly extend an invitation to other DNC chair candidates to join us in the new year.

In this episode, Matt and Brian ask Ben:

* What he thinks happened in the election, and whether the lessons are actionable for a DNC chairman;

* What does the DNC and its chairman actually do;

* How to tell a good, effective political operative from placeholders and check cashers;

* If he’s prepared the dirty tricks and abuses of power that Donald Trump might direct at Democratic Party leaders, including him.

Then, behind the paywall, a lengthy exploration of and primal scream about Nancy Pelosi’s decision to whip votes against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, blocking her from becoming the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, in favor of 74-year old, cancer-stricken Gerry Connolly. Why would AOC have been a better opposition leader on this committee? What does the episode portend for Democratic infighting and grand strategery going forward? And most importantly, wtf was Pelosi thinking?!

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Brian argues that reprising the strategy that just lost Democrats the election (including sidelining more dynamic messengers) makes capitulating to Trump the path of least resistance for other people and institutions.

* Michelle Goldberg on this great capitulation.

* Greg Sargent discusses the challenges of rebuilding in this climate with Ben and other DNC candidates, Ken Martin, and Martin O’Malley.

Last week, a big public uproar forced the health-insurance carrier Anthem to backtrack on a plan to cut reimbursements for anesthesia. Then, an assassin—suspected to be a 26 year old ivy league graduate named Luigi Mangiano—murdered Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare.

In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

* Why there such widespread progressive interest in both of these stories;

* How the progressive backlash against Anthem, driven by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, underscores just how thorny the politics of Medicare for all would be in practice;

* Whether either of these developments would have played out differently under a better-conceived health-care finance system.

Then, behind the paywall, why the differences between public and private health insurance really do matter, both in policy terms and as lightning rods for public anger. Would people left of center have been angry at Medicare for cutting payments to anesthesiologists? (Spoiler: Medicare already did this.) How badly do the profit and brand-management motives private insurers operate under warp patient care, relative to public payers like Medicare? Is it fair to be angrier at private health insurance companies than public providers for rationing services?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Lisa Beutler, from the archive, on the solidarity-based case for Medicare for all.

* Matt Bruenig on why private health insurers actually are the worst bad guys in the health-care system, despite being middle men.

* Noah Smith on why, actually, no, it’s the doctors and hospitals and such.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden marked the weekend after thanksgiving with two big news developments that look a lot like chess moves in a high-stakes match between the revenge-obsessed far right and the outgoing liberal establishment. First, Trump nominated Kash Patel, an aggrieved loyalist with a literal enemies list, to run the FBI. Second, Biden pardoned his son Hunter.

In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

* Who is Kash Patel and why is his “nomination” to a vacancy that doesn’t exist so chilling?

* Does it justify a blanket pardon for Biden’s son, who really did engage in illegal activity, but who’s been the target of a years-long Republican harassment campaign?

* Should Democrats in Congress, caught off guard by Biden’s move, challenge Republicans to reform the pardon power?

Then, behind the paywall, what should Democrats do about nominees like Patel? Should Biden offer pardons to his full enemies list? Is strategic silence and working the inside game really the best way to guard against the corruption of the so-called “power ministries”? Should Democrats really concern themselves with insisting on the kinds of guardrails that protected Trump from the political consequences of his own corruption in his first term?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Brian’s 19 thoughts on the Hunter Biden pardon, and why there was a better option.

* Josh Marshall on the merits the YOLO, DGAF Biden pardon.

* An August Atlantic profile of Kash Patel.

* Jane Mayer’s bombshell investigative report on Pete Hegseth’s secret history.

A blustery Donald Trump statement threatening large tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports (plus increased tariffs on Chinese goods) raises the question of why the outgoing Biden administration, the lame-duck Congress, and the broader civil society have taken few proactive steps to create obstacles to coming Trump abuses.

Matt and Brian discuss:

* Is the opposition simply exhausted?

* Do Democrats and Trump-wary Republicans in Congress simply think he’s full of shit?

* Is it wiser to take a wait-and-see approach (will Pete Hegseth actually be confirmed? does Trump really intend to impose these tariffs?) than to push back before the damage is done?

Then, behind the paywall, a more detailed discussion of how the administration is battening down the hatches ahead of Trump’s presidency, and what more should be done. Is it better to frustrate Trump’s ambitions than to let him sweep in and do toxic, politically damaging stuff? Can institutional memory be preserved, outside the administration if necessary, so Trump can’t do irrevocable damage to stuff the government does well? And what’s a better, holistically: honey or maple syrup? Opium or cocaine?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Matt on why Trump’s stunt-based form of “leadership” might not work out under current economic conditions.

* Brian on why Democrats should start thinking now about how they’ll go about rebuilding, if and when they ever retake government.

* Flashback to 2000, when the George W. Bush campaign discussed its plans to reject the election results if won the popular vote but lost the lost the Electoral College.

This week, Matt and Brian take stock of Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Tulsi Gabbard—Trump’s Fanatic Four nominees to head the Departments of Justice, Defense, Health and Human Services, and the national intelligence directorate. They discuss:

* Why Hegseth’s personal mediocrity (C-list Fox News host) and depraved sexual conduct (pretty awful), combined with the complexity of running an organization as vast as DOD, might make him the worst of the four picks.

* But also why they’re all really bad and it’s hard to say who’s the worst!

* How career civil servants should respond (or not) when confronted with corrupt or abusive orders.

Then, behind the paywall, a longer discussion of why Trump has picked scandal-plagued individuals for these roles, and how Democrats in Congress can and should exploit their liabilities. Why are prominent Democrats like Cory Booker, Chris Coons, and Jared Polis setting the tone by kissing up to RFK Jr? Does Hakeem Jeffries really believe that Trump’s potential cabinet officials are distractions, not worth commenting on? Is the best we can “hope” for that these people shamble their way into crises that leave the administration discredited?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Brian responds to Jeffries: Cabinet secretaries are #actually kind of a big deal?

* Matt thinks Trump’s best bet for success is to not elevate fanatics and crooks, and just chill.

* So does Brian, FWIW.

This week, Matt and Brian review the incoming Trump administration as it takes shape, and what if anything Democrats can do, without official power or a real media arm, to limit the damage.

* Who has Trump nominated already, and who is he being gun-shy about, given that some of his loyalists would have a hard time getting confirmed by the incoming Senate?

* Can Democrats quickly shift gears into productive opposition, when so much of their infrastructure is built around intra-left discourse.

* How could Democrats (or how would Brian) go about building and reforming media to reach marginal voters who don’t tune in to mainstream organs or sophisticated political media?

Then, behind the paywall, Matt and Brian discuss the challenges progressive culture might pose to the establishment of a bigger tent, and more robust messaging. Would a new liberal media project tolerate elevating people who aren’t committed movement progressives? How can pro-liberal, pro-Democratic Party ideas better infiltrate non-political spheres of media, from pop culture to fitness to cooking? Given how much liberal funders already spend on “unhelpful” projects, is there any reason not to try?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Brian’s article pleading with Democrats to take their media deficit seriously, and do something about it.

* Matt on how Democrats can broaden their own tent (ideally while their new media works at shrinking the GOP tent).

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This week, Matt and Brian discuss the unexpected final (?) twist of the 2024 campaign: The immense backlash to Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden.

* Why did a bad comedian’s offensive comments about Puerto Rico break through, when he and other speakers made equally racist comments about black people, Jews, Palestinians, and others?

* After a campaign in which Democrats largely downplayed race politics in favor of cross-cutting democracy, abortion, and health care appeals, how did racism become the disqualifying thing that broke through the MAGA din?

* Are Democrats like Pete Buttigieg right that the Madison Square Garden controversy is “bait,” and a distraction from those other issues, when it’s visibly tearing Republicans apart, and they’re desperate to change the subject?

Then, behind the paywall, Matt and Brian take a comprehensive look at the immense, organic backlash to Jeff Bezos and the Washington Post after Bezos scuttled the paper’s endorsement of Kamala Harris to preemptively appease Donald Trump. To what extent was this a canary in the coal mine of for the country’s drift into authoritarianism? Is the boycott itself a leading indicator that the anti-Trump resistance is a sleeping giant awakened? Will campaign reporters push back against Bezos-style thinking by closing out the election with the kind of adversarial coverage that Trump deserved all along.

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Matt’s 27 takes on the election, one week out.

* Brian on the awakening of America’s pro-democracy majority.

* Kamala Harris, For Men! by Sarah Lazarus.

* Jeff Bezos “explains” himself.

* Michelle Obama’s plea to male voters.