Here's what we're thinking about this week...
What about you?
Hi! Here are some of the stories we’re thinking about at LRC this week. We want to know what you think as we put the show together.
Democrats could work with congressional Republicans to prevent a potential government shutdown. Whether they should is up for debate, as Ezra Klein writes in an opinion piece for the New York Times imploring them to use their votes as leverage when little else is slowing down Trump’s agenda.
Democrats will have to determine if they’re truly ready to make their big move despite their perceived lack of power. And what does the road back from opposition to political relevance look like? There are options - the center-left abundance movement popularized by Klein and Derek Thompson; the more populist, aggressive approach of Michigan's Elissa Slotkin or Gavin Newsom; and (maybe begrudgingly among the party establishment) the next-gen Bernie Sanders socialism spurred on by Zohran Mamdani's mayoral run. Do any of these key players have a plan that could work?
As of last week, football is back. Which means yet another platform where President Trump can use the playing field for a political advantage.
Want to weigh in on these or any other stories this week? Drop a comment below, shoot us an email or send us a short voice memo with your name and where you’re listening from at lrc@kcrw.org.
This is seriously what y’all are thinking about this week?? Donald Trump posted his Apocalypse Now tweet saying “I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago is about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” This racist, yes racist tweet is just wrong in so many ways. And to even joke about declaring war on an American city is beyond irresponsible. The issue is he does things like this all the time. I know Mo Elleithee doesn’t want folks to use words like “authoritarian” for Trump, but he is wrong. David Greene is correct to be continually concerned about the machinations of Donald Trump and should not shy away from that viewpoint. This man is a liar (he lies constantly), a narcissist, bully, racist, sexist and has zero empathy.
Yes, the Democrats need to get their own house in order. Our entire government apparatus is broken. Many senior leaders in both parties care more about power and money than they do about their actual job - service to the American people - governance. But that does not excuse the fact that Trump and his administration is damaging our nation in so many ways. Oh, and the Supreme Court on Monday “lifted a federal judge’s order prohibiting government agents from making indiscriminate immigration-related stops in the Los Angeles area that challengers called ‘blatant racial profiling.’” Football is the last thing on our minds.
With the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk, I have to guess that LRC will have to talk about political violence and the polarized political environment that is making at least half the country feel powerless and therefore fueling that political violence. We need to find a way to make politics and government work again and actually solve people's problems without alienating "the other side" so people stop feeling like they have to resort to violence.
I would love for the LRC panel to talk about what they think could really work to deescalate political tensions. I've started exploring a potential policy framework (see https://cooperativepolitics.substack.com/p/exploring-a-new-more-cooperative) that could help with deescalation by giving both parties a chance to show that their preferred policy solutions work by allowing those solutions to be adopted by states that want them. But I would love to hear more ideas.