Politix

This week on Politix, Matt and Brian discuss:

* The Robert Hur report, and the fire storm the special counsel ignited with his rule-breaking, partisan attack on Biden;

* How Biden could in theory alleviate concerns that he’s too old to be both president and candidate simultaneously—and why his advisers haven’t really tried;

* The extent to which Biden’s age really is limiting his ability to throw his weight around in the partisan mosh pit, even if it isn’t limiting his ability to govern at all;

* Whether polls on this question, and on the question of how well alternate candidates would fare, are useful at all;

* The Kamala Harris factor—is her consistently weak polling against Trump freezing a dysfunctional situation in place?

* How Biden’s politics of restoring norms and magnanimity has compounded (and in the case of the Hur appointment, created) his old-man woes.

Since this is a news-pegged episode about a consequential and unexpected development in the campaign, we’ve made it free to all subscribers.

Further reading:

* Matt says seeing more of Joe Biden would make his totally ordinary memory flubs seem unremarkable, and would remind Americans of his moderate instincts, but his advisers are worried that his moderate positions will make party activists angry.

* Brian demands candor from the party and the Biden campaign about why they think things are going so much worse than they anticipated when they put their strategy in motion.

* He also argues that most fears about what would happen if Biden stepped aside in favor of an alternate are misplaced.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.politix.fm/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm

This week on Politix, Matt and Brian discuss:

* How we reached the point where Republicans wrung a bunch of immigration-policy concessions out of Democrats, then reneged on their own deal.

* What was actually in the deal and why?

* Would the provisions of the bill have actually succeeded at the nominal goal of creating more order and better asylum screening at the border?

Then, paid subscribers hear a more open ended conversation and debate over whether the concessions Democrats offered were wise politically and substantively, whether they needed to engage this issue on Republican terms in the first place, and whether the GOP’s turn to sabotage will allow Democrats to seize and hold the center on immigration in a way that lastingly hurts Donald Trump. Plus, Matt gratuitously slags Tracy Chapman, forcing Brian to take a brave stand on behalf of Good Music.

Further reading:

* Matt argues that bureaucratic obstacles to implementing a working border policy, like ineffective polygraph screening for would-be agents, should be done away with—and would make implementing a border deal before the election very hard.

* Brian on how Biden can win the ensuing infowars over GOP border sabotage, but only if he browbeats mainstream news into covering Trump and the GOP’s dirty dealing forthrightly.

* The Democrats should fully embrace both halves of the old border-security-for-Republicans/legalization-for-Democrats consensus.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm

This week on Politix, Matt and Brian discuss:

* The $83.3 million a New York jury ordered Donald Trump to pay E. Jean Carroll for sexually assaulting then serially defaming her.

* The related GOP freakout that America’s most influential person (Taylor Swift) might not like Republicans very much!

* Why Democratic Party leaders seem uninterested in pressing their “not led by a rapist” advantage.

They also put a pin in the issue of immigration, and the simmering nullification crisis Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) is stoking along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Then, paid subscribers hear a conversation with Leah Greenberg, cofounder of Indivisible, about whether it’s important to mobilize street protests against Donald Trump before the election (like the recent marches against the German far right), and the extent to which policy activism and policymaking contribute to the demobilization of the resistance.

Further reading:

* Dara Lind on how the Senate border security bill won’t actually fix the problem Republicans claim to want to fix.

* Brian on how the judgment in the Carroll case explains Trump’s desperation to run Nikki Haley out of the GOP primary instead of letting her flame out.

* Jonathan Chait on whether the anti-Trump coalition has irretrievably splintered.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm

This week on Politix, Matt and Brian discuss:

* Ron DeSantis’s humiliation.

* What policy literalism and pandering to base activists (as opposed to grassroots voters) has to do with both DeSantis’s failure, and the underperformance of some high-profile Democratic Party politicians.

* Is there an optimal middle ground between detailed policy laundry lists and Donald Trump-style bullshitting?

Then, paid Politix subscribers get to hear Matt’s mea culpa for setting progressive politics on its course to litmus testing Democratic candidates, Brian’s theory that the Democrats’ policy-forward appeals are sometimes necessary—particularly after long stretches of Republican rule—and what Democratic activists can learn about politics from rich, greedy tax-cut seekers like Jamie Dimon. 

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm

This week on Politix, Matt and Brian discuss:

* Donald Trump’s predictable, big (but not actually all that big) victory in Iowa

* Why leading Republicans (who know Trump is an electoral liability for the party) are trying to end the primary as quickly as possible, even with a semi-viable alternative who could make it a real race.

* Whether the media screwed up by calling the caucuses for Trump minutes after they opened, or whether it marks a return to the ratings and profit-driven mania of their 2016 Trump coverage.

Then, paid Politix subscribers get an in-depth look at a report by Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, which proves Trump accepted payments from foreign governments (including millions from China, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) throughout his presidency. Matt and Brian debate:

* The political significance of Raskin’s findings.

* Why Democratic leaders seem uninterested in flogging or building on the report.

* What’s changed between 2006, when Democrats saw political value in exposing Republican corruption, and the Trump era, when they have more often than not downplayed it.

This week on Politix, Matt and Brian discuss:

* Was Joe Biden’s January 6 speech a good speech? (No spoilers.)

* Was Joe Biden’s January 6 speech good politics? (No spoilers.)

* Was Joe Biden’s January 6 speech true? (Spoiler: Yes.)

* How the truth of what Biden said affects the question of whether liberals should support Nikki Haley in open-primary states.

* Glenn Greenwald’s imputation that Haley is worse than Trump, and only Democratic party hacks would prefer her to him.

Plus, a Politix first: Twitter’s Will Stancil joins Matt and Brian as the show’s inaugural guest to discuss and debate the role of vibes in politics, and what if anything liberals, progressives, and Democrats can do to improve public opinion given the fractious nature of the center-left coalition. 

Further reading:

* Brian on Biden’s pivotal speech.

* Matt on how Trump will make material conditions (and thus maybe vibes?) worse.

* Will on the social layer of politics (vibes).

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.politix.fm/subscribe

Thank you for listening to Politix. (Or for watching it, if you’re some kind of eccentric.)

In our pilot episode, we discuss:

* The state of the race as we kick off the new year: A dead-heat rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and a greater-than-usual level of uncertainty, given the candidates’ ages and Trump’s legal issues;

* Why the early race is so tight, given how disastrously Trump’s single term ended;

* Republican buy-in on Trump’s corruption, how it insulates him from what would otherwise be terminal scandals, and what more Democrats could do to exploit it anyhow;

* MERRY CHRISTMAS/ROT IN HELL-GHAZI and whether Biden’s made a safe bet that Trump’s looming nomination will upend the race, as Americans remember just how unpleasant he is;

* Nikki Haley’s SLAVERY-GHAZI scandal—does it say more about her or the party she wants to lead?—and whether Democrats in open-primary states should cross over and vote for her;

* Our New Years resolutions.

We hope you enjoy it, always appreciate constructive feedback, and look forward to bringing you more (slightly shorter?) newsy episodes every week.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.politix.fm/subscribe

Politix will be a weekly podcast about the 2024 election hosted by Brian Beutler of Off Message and Matthew Yglesias of Slow Boring. We'll bring you good-faith disagreement, points of consensus, brilliant guests, and do our best to maintain a consistent focus on what's really at stake in November. Subscribe for new episodes each Wednesday.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.politix.fm/subscribe

What's up Positively Dreadful fans, it’s me Brian.

I know this feed has been quiet for a couple months now, as I’ve been getting my new venture Off Message up and running. (Come check it out!) But I’ve got something exciting in the works, and I want all of you Dreadheads to be the first to know about it. 

So hopefully you can stay put just a little bit longer. Keep your eyes and ears on the feed. And I’ll share more details here in the coming days. Until then I also want to thank you all for listening every week, and for staying subscribed even after we posted our last episode. 

So more to come very shortly. Thanks again for listening.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.politix.fm/subscribe

Don’t smile because it’s over. Cry because it happened! In this final episode of Positively Dreadful, host Brian “Maverick” Beutler answers listener’s questions with the help of his trusty producer copilot, Emma “Rooster” Illick-Frank. It’s less of a goodbye than a see you later—so don’t unsubscribe from the feed! Brian shares what he wants listeners to take away from the show, explains his theory of politics, and reminisces about that one time he skewered John Boehner with a well-worded question.