Mike and Trey kick off the show by discussing the 12 Russian intelligence officials indicted this week for hacking into Democratic Party systems. Mike says that despite the fact that these Russians will never face trial in the United States, the indictments point to the importance of allowing Robert Mueller to complete his investigation, which is not at all the pointless ‘witch hunt’ some claim. Trey says that these indictments make the idea of President Trump meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin an even worse idea than it already was.
Next is discussion of President Trump nominating Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Mike and Trey agree that Kavanaugh is a fairly mainstream conservative choice who will almost certainly be confirmed. Trey points out that a few Senate Democrats facing tough reelection fights may end up voting in favor of confirmation, which seems far more likely than any Republicans defecting.
After that, the Guys talk about the NATO summit and President Trump’s first official visit to the UK. It was a story of two Trumps - the public side, where the president engaged in his usual over-the-top bellicosity, and the private side, where by most accounts he was downright reasonable.
Trey believes that President Trump’s view of NATO and trade relations with the UK is bound up with his larger zero-sum view of trade, which is currently playing out in the escalating trade war with China, which the Guys turn to next. They both agree that imposing additional tariffs on Chinese goods is a truly awful idea, and while a majority of Congressional Republicans agree, they lack the political will to do anything substantive about it.
Finally, Trey and Mike discuss the bipartisan grandstanding at the Congressional testimony of FBI agent Peter Strzok. Mike laments the GOP’s continued effort to destroy the credibility of the FBI in support of the president, and Trey agrees that the greater tendency to discredit accusers, rather than focus on the facts, is a very disturbing trend.
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Looking Back at 2021, Predicting Forward to 2022
Meadows Contempt, Jan 6 Revelations, Texas Lawsuit, Newsom, Russian Threats, Omicron
Texas Abortion Law, Debt Ceiling, Ukraine, Olympic Boycott, Racial Gerrymandering, The Future
Shutdown Averted, The Supreme Court & Abortion, Amazon & Unions, Mike’s Privilege
Omicron Variant, Oil Reserve Release, Arbery Verdict, Biden’s Fed Nominations, Tucker Carlson’s “Patriot Purge”
Rittenhouse, Bannon, Representative Paul Gosar
Federal Courts Block OSHA Vaccine Mandate and Trump Document Release, Worsening Inflation & Build Back Better
Infrastructure Passes With Build Back Better Delayed, Republican Electoral Gains
Trump's Opinion, DOJ Memo, Virginia Gubernatorial Race
Supreme Court Stay, Supreme Court Commission, Biden on Taiwan, Manchin's (Lack of) Spending
Eric Posner on How Antitrust Failed Workers
Texas Abortion Law, Jobs & Inflation, The Nobel Price & Minimum Wage Increases
Debt Agreement, Facebook Whistleblower, Abortion Injunction
Government Funding & Debt Ceiling, Biden’s Big Bills, Presidential Approval
Values, Cancel Culture, and The Politics Guys; COVID Vaccines; Immigration
COVID, AUKUS, Freedom to Vote, Peril
Biden Vaccine Mandates, DOJ Sues Texas over Abortion Law, 9/11 - 20 Years Later
Abortion Ruling, Texas Voting Law, Afghanistan
Afghanistan, Vaccine Mandates, The House Narcissist Caucus, Eviction Moratorium
Afghanistan, COVID
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