Because elusive swing voters wield outsized influence over elections, different candidates try different things to motivate and reach them. Democrats believe sticking to bread-and-butter issues is strategically optimal, while Republicans focus on fabricating spectacles that dominate the media ahead of elections. And the only thing we can say for sure is that some Republican spectacles, like the Ebola blitz, work like a charm. What can Democrats learn from their opponents? And how can they anticipate and neutralize Republican propaganda blitzes? Where should Democrats be trying harder to draw a ..read more

Tech billionaires like Elon Musk are surrounded by sycophants and think they’re masters of the universe. But what happens when the shine comes off and the public starts to question their ingenuity, their power, their social value? Or when men like Elon Musk decide they’re right and everyone else is wrong, and then start deploying their immense resources toward making sure nothing stands in their way? Musk’s on again, off again, on again, hostile takeover of Twitter is a live fire exercise, showing what happens when rich men try to exert more power over society on a whim. Longtime Big Tech skep ..read more

Over the next several months, the Supreme Court is poised to hear a ludicrous number of ominous cases that could destroy everything from free and fair presidential elections to what’s left of the Voting Rights Act, to Medicaid to the private right to censor Nazis and porn online. And we’re all spectators. Justice Alito and his allies in robes laugh their asses off knowing there are unlikely to be any consequences for commandeering the country on behalf of right-wing interests and shaping it to their personal and political whims. Who are the leaders we can turn to while the judiciary literally ..read more

President Joe Biden finally defined the MAGA movement for what it is, a form of “semi fascism”, and in turn ignited a debate about whether he was unwise, technically incorrect, or plain old offensive. The “F word” is complicated - it’s bandied about and stretched beyond meaning in some circles while others refrain from it to avoid seeming hysterical. Yet these elaborate rules and rubrics to distinguish what is fascist get in the way of clearly identifying the threats to our democracy. Historian and writer of the Lucid newsletter Ruth Ben-Ghiat joins to talk about this crescendo in the fascism ..read more

Inflation is down, Trump is on the run, Democrats are on the march. And out of the primordial stew of all this good news, Dark Brandon has risen—a new, viral depiction of Joe Biden as a relentless, remorseless political warrior who crushes his enemies and easily overcomes obstacles in his way. On the one hand, Dark Brandon is a fun, satisfying retort to years of unanswered right-wing attacks on the president as a confused, failing old oaf. But on the other, it’s a real-time demonstration of the irrational ways conventional wisdom forms, changes, and spreads—and of how both good and bad actors ..read more

Democrats are having a good month. The Inflation Reduction Act passed the Senate, Republicans are paying for the Dobbs decision, and the January 6th committee is reminding Americans that Trump and the GOP are a bunch of lying insurrections. And this recent sharp turn of events makes Democrats all the more hopeful that there won’t be a wipe out in November. But what is the lesson here? Is it that consensus-building is always the wisest course? Or that Democrats would be better off heightening the contrasts between them and Republicans more often? Faiz Shakir joins to talk about the party’s theo ..read more

This week on Rubicon, host Brian Beutler talks to writer Matthew Yglesias about President Biden's pledge to forgive student loan debt, the debate over how much debt should be forgiven, what authority Biden has to do it -- and the political and economic risks and benefits. Beutler and Yglesias take different sides on the importance of loan forgiveness - and debate whether Biden should follow through on his promise quickly or wait until other Congressional scores are settled. For a transcript of this episode, visit crooked.com/rubicon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com ..read more

This week on Rubicon: Brian Beutler talks to John Dean, the former White House counsel for Richard Nixon who got swept up in the Watergate conspiracy before turning on his boss and helping end the Nixon presidency. They discuss the fallout from the impeachment hearings, whether Democrats have the stomach to truly hold the Trump Administration accountable, and how commissions, select committees and subpoena power can be wielded without Republican votes. For a transcript of this episode, visit crooked.com/rubicon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices ..read more

This week on Rubicon, Brian Beutler looks beyond Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial to the broader question of what post-Trump accountability should look like across the federal government. He asks author, historian, and culture critic Ruth Ben-Ghiat about the common tactics modern authoritarian leaders use (and have used for the past century), how other countries have tried (and often failed) to stop them, and whether the early steps President Biden and his majorities in Congress have taken suggest they will do what needs to be done to stop resurgent authoritarianism in the U.S. For a t ..read more

This week on Rubicon: Brian Beutler talks to climate science writer Emily Atkin about the predictable first steps President Biden has taken to fight climate change, and the exciting but under-the-radar ways that Biden has woven climate science into offices throughout his administration. They discuss the more difficult, lasting steps that have tripped up progressive officials and activists for decades (carbon tax, legislation, regulations, it's all here!) Learning from the Obama years, they survey the roadblocks Biden will likely encounter in the Senate and the courts, and hunt for ways ar ..read more