The Beltway & Beyond

Howard, Mark and guest Kaitlyn Martin engage in a spirited debate about the consequences of the vice presidential debate, the direction of the country in a post-Trump world and what’s to become of the Senate races.

Washington insiders and public policy strategists Mark Alderman and Howard Schweitzer are joined by friend Jerry Kilgore to debate the impact of Trump’s illness on Washington, speculation about a new stimulus bill and how conservatives have received a strong return on their 'Trump investment’.

Yesterday, the day after a divided Washington came together to honor Justice Ginsberg, President Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court. A law clerk to and mentee of the late Justice Scalia, Barrett is described as an "originalist" and a "textualist" and the polar opposite of the liberal icon in judicial philosophy. Trump, who calls himself “president of law and order,” says the nomination was the fulfillment of one of his constitutional duties, but how does that square with his refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power?

Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, and Jerry Kilgore discuss a partisan and ideological battle Barrett’s nomination has ignited and its impact on the final days of the presidential campaign.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court Justice and a liberal icon who dedicated her life to defying and dismantling institutionalized gender discrimination, died on Friday at the age of 87. This being one of the most polarized moments in our history, on the eve of an election in which the stakes were already extremely high, it was inevitable that the politics of replacing her would surge to the fore even before most tributes had been delivered.

As President Trump prepares to nominate a successor and Republican leaders move urgently to make the political and procedural case for bucking recent precedent in order to seize a monumental chance to solidify the court’s rightward ideological shift, Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, and Kaitlyn Martin discuss the maelstrom on Capitol Hill and its impact on the election, which is just 44 days away.

On the heels of Labor Day, when traditionally the most intense campaigning begins, Joe Biden continues to hold a lead over President Trump. A brace of new polls suggest a majority of voters don’t like the President or approve of the job he is doing.

Is the race then Biden’s to lose? Will Trump’s inflammatory campaign tactics be sufficient to alter the underlying dynamics of the election? The future is unpredictable. Data and polls certainly have its limits. As anyone who lived through the 2016 election or the first eight months of 2020 knows, surprises happen and things can change quickly.

50 days before the Election Day, Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer and Mark Alderman discuss the current state of the presidential race, as the public health and economic crises continue to grip the nation.

On today’s episode of Beltway Briefing podcast, Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, and Jim Schultz are joined by Congressman Eric Swalwell, the U.S. Representative in California’s 15th Congressional district and a U.S. presidential candidate in the 2020 Democratic primaries. Less than 70 days before the Election Day, they discuss the just-completed Democratic and Republican National Conventions, the continuing debate about police violence, use of force and the need to reform America’s criminal justice system, as well as the ongoing public-health and economic crises.

More than 170,000 people in the U.S. have died from coronavirus. Beyond the terrible death toll, the pandemic has wrecked the economy and interrupted everyday life. As a result, while Americans may be more politically polarized than ever, if there is one thing people on all sides of the political spectrum agree on, it is that COVID-19 has fundamentally disrupted the 2020 presidential election. On August 17, the general election season kicked off with back-to-back political conventions which, thanks to the pandemic, have taken an unconventional turn, swapping a week of festivities for each party with somber-toned, two-dimensional television shows, indicating the seriousness of the moment.

On the heels of the Democratic convention and on the eve of the Republican one, Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, and Jim Schultz discuss this year’s biggest political events and what to expect over the next 70+ days, as the turmoil in the country continues and the election nears.

On today’s episode of Beltway Briefing podcast, Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, and Jim Schultz are joined by Congressman Dan Meuser, the U.S. Representative in Pennsylvania's 9th Congressional district, who previously served as the Secretary of Revenue in Governor Tom Corbett’s cabinet. 79 days before the 2020 Election Day, they discuss the current state of the presidential race, including the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s historic choice of Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) as his running mate, President Trump’s recent executive orders on COVID-19 relief, and the ongoing twin public-health and economic crises.

Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer and Mark Alderman discuss the current state of the 2020 presidential race and the presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s candidates for Vice President.

N.B. Shortly after today’s podcast concluded, former Vice President Joe Biden announced that he has chosen Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), as his running mate. Harris, who previously served as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, is the first African American woman and first Asian American to run for vice president, representing a historic choice. Should Biden win, she would become the nation’s first female vice president.

In a matter of months, the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our society and changed our entire way of life. President Trump has said over the weekend that the virus is “under control as much as you can control it” in the U.S., yet infection rates, hospitalizations and deaths have been soaring in recent weeks. So far, more than 152,000 U.S. deaths and more than 4.72 million coronavirus cases have been reported nationwide.

The Administration’s response to the pandemic has been criticized for months, as it has failed to produce a coordinated, national strategy to contain the virus and set up national programs for testing and contact tracing. According to a recent poll, nearly two-thirds of Americans disapprove of President Trump’s handling of the pandemic.

91 days before the November election, Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, and Jim Schultz discuss President Trump’s response to the worst public-health crisis in a century, which stands to be one of the key issues that will ultimately determine who becomes President-elect on Nov. 3.