Month: March 2024

Can Biden Pick up Haley’s Voters While Placating the Uncommitted Young Democrats?

We begin with Mitch McConnell’s craven endorsement of Trump now that he has the nomination all but locked up and whether, after Nikki Haley’s withdrawal, can Biden pick up the 20 to 30% of Republicans who are disaffected with Trump at the same time placate the “uncommitted” mostly young Democrats who voted in large numbers in Michigan and again on Super Tuesday in Minnesota. Joining us is Geoffrey Kabaservice, the Vice President of political studies at the Niskanen Center in Washington DC as well as the author of several books including Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, from Eisenhower to the Tea Party. He is a contributor to an expert roundtable at Politico, “Mitch McConnell: Hero or Villain?”

The Challenge the “Uncommitted” Vote in Minnesota Poses to Biden

Then we examine the “uncommitted” vote in Minnesota and the challenge it poses to Biden and speak with David Schultz, a Professor of Political Science at Hamline University and the University of Minnesota School of Law. He is the author of 30 books and various articles on American politics, ethics, election law, and the media, most recently American Politics in the Age of Ignorance: Why Lawmakers Choose Belief Over Research. His forthcoming book is The Role of Generations in American Politics and his latest article at Counterpunch is “How the Corporate University Killed Diversity.”

With $2 Trillion Being Spent on “Nuclear Modernization” of Dangerous and Unnecessary Weapons, Where is the Guns and Butter Argument?

Then finally we explore why there is not a guns and butter argument in the US given that up to $2 trillion is being spent on so-called “nuclear modernization” with $130 Billion about to be spent on the new Sentinel ICBM that is both unnecessary and dangerous. Joining us is Sharon Weiner, a professor of foreign policy and global security at the School of International Service at American University. She has held research positions at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Center for National Security Studies and her previous government service includes the Joint Staff’s Strategic Plans and Policy directorate, the House Armed Services Committee, and as an advisor to the office of a U.S. Senator. Her books include Our Own Worst Enemy? Institutional Interests and the Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Expertise and Managing the Military: The Joint Chiefs of Staff and Civil-Military Relations.