Month: August 2024

Background Briefing: August 27, 2024

How Many Disaffected Republicans Can Kamala Harris Peel Off in a Center Left – Center Right Alliance?

We begin with a letter signed by more than 200 former aides to McCain, Romney and the Bushes endorsing the Harris/Walz campaign and look into how many disaffected Republicans Kamala Harris can peel off from Trump’s GOP in a center left – center right alliance against chaos and fascism. Joining us is Rick Wilson, a renowned political strategist, infamous ad-maker, writer, speaker, and political commentator. A 30-year veteran of national Republican politics, he got his start in the 1988 Presidential campaign of George Herbert Walker Bush. In December 2019, he co-founded the Lincoln Project and his books include Everything Trump Touches Dies and Running Against The Devil – A Plot To Save America from Trump And Democrats From Themselves.

Could Jack Smith’s Appeal to the 11th Circuit Result in Judge Cannon Being Taken Off the Case?

Then we assess the likelihood of Jack Smith’s appeal to the conservative 11th Circuit overturning Judge Canon’s dismissal of the documents case against Trump which seems all but certain as well as the possibility she might be taken off the case. Joining us is someone who recently argued on behalf of the Special Counsel before Judge Cannon, Matthew Seligman, a non-resident fellow at the Stanford Constitutional Law Center. He focuses on election law, with a particular emphasis on disputed presidential elections and prior to his academic appointments, he practiced Supreme Court litigation at a firm in Washington, D.C. and clerked for the Honorable Douglas H. Ginsburg on the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. He is the co-author with Lawrence Lessig of the new book, How to Steal a Presidential Election.

 

Is the Current Crisis in France Politics as Usual?

Then finally we examine what is being described as a political crisis in France but may in fact be a continuation of politics as usual in a country with political parties that range from the far left to the far right. Joining us is David Andelman, twice winner of the Deadline Club Award, and a chevalier of the French Legion of Honor. He is the author of A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today and A Red Line in the Sand: Diplomacy, Strategy, and the History of Wars That Might Still Happen. Formerly a correspondent for The New York Times and CBS News in Europe and Asia, he runs the Substack blog Andelman Unleashed.