Episodes

Trump finally says it out loud: he’s open to being a dictator, but only admits to wanting to be our fuhrer for Day One. This comes as Atlantic magazine devotes an entire issue to the potential end of democracy under a return of Trump, and Liz Cheney warns that if he’s reelected he’ll never leave. Elsewhere in the political ecoshere: There’s another Republican wannabe in the race for U.S. Senator from Michigan – someone with a big personal bank account One potential candidates says “no thanks”, ...

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Governor Whitmer may have just that by now as she signs dozens of bills passed in the closing days of the legislative session. Jeff and Mark offer their take on how the successes … and delayed initiatives … of 2023 could impact 2024. They also update the nationally significant congressional race in Michigan’s 8th district in the aftermath of Dan Kildee’s retirement announcement. Also in this week’s chat-fest: Donald Trump continues to spend a lot of time in court. In bet...

The latest polling in Michigan is bad news for Joe Biden … and adding to his woes, word that left-wing third-party candidate Cornell West is targeting Michigan. To make things even worse, he had another birthday! This Thanksgiving weekend also brings bad news for embattled Michigan Republican Party chair Kristina Karamo – her days with that title may be numbered. And Peter Meijer’s top campaign opponent in the U.S. Senate race appears to be the Republican Party. Governor Whitmer has set an ambit...

The big Michigan political story this week: the stunning decision by Flint Congressman Dan Kildee to retire from Congress. We’re joined by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Stephen Henderson to discuss the end of a mini-political dynasty and what it means for 2024 in Michigan. The heat keeps building in Republican politics: Trump refers to Americans who disagree with him as Communists, Fascists, Marxists and vermin – rhetoric that mirrors the words of Adolph Hitler 90 years ago; Republican memb...

Christmas comes early for the now-departed Michigan Legislature, but only after an unprecedented year of major legislation. Ho ho ho! The Legislature is taking an early (and extended) holiday break. With two House members set to resign after being elected Mayors of their hometowns, Democrats and Republicans have a 54-54 split in the state House, meaning an end (for now) of Democrats’ state government trifecta. Adding to their early holiday joy, good tidings from Republicans in the form of guaran...

“I know nothing, I see nothing, I hear nothing!” We Know Nothing sums up the testimony so far from Don Junior and Eric Trump in the New York civil trial over business fraud … a trial that could put the Trump Organization out of business. In coming days we’ll likely hear more pleas of ignorance from one-time White House aide Ivanka Trump and her Daddy, as the former President testifies in court under oath for the first time. And it comes one year from Election Day 2024. 365 days after we set our ...

This episode is sponsored in part by EPIC•MRA Public Opinion Research Nick Pigeon leads the non-partisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network – Lansing’s “follow the money” non-profit. In Georgia, three of Donald Trump’s attorneys have flipped – pleading guilty, getting no jail time, but agreeing to testify against the 15 remaining defendantsin the state’s RICO conspiracy case … including Donald Trump. In Washington, Trump’s chief of staff has reportedly flipped in exchange for immunity from federa...

This episode is sponsored in part by EPIC•MRA Public Opinion Research Rep. “Gym” Jordan – the latest to fall in the U.S. House “Who Wants to Be Speaker” Reality Show Jim Jordan keeps going downhill in his quest to win the worst job in government. He’s now lost 3 votes and 1 closed-meeting secret ballot with more Republicans opposing him each time. Jeff and Mark do a deep dive into the political implications in Michigan for the 2024 federal elections in our state. Also this week: Trump lawyers S...

This episode is sponsored in part by EPIC•MRA Public Opinion Research The ultra-right-wingers in the U.S. House tried to shut down the federal government and failed … but they have managed to shut down the House of Representatives. As we record this podcast, nobody can muster up the votes to take what’s the worst job in government: Speaker of the House of Representatives. Also this week: A new court filing says Michigan’s fake electors were operating under orders from Donald Trump … and they kn...

This episode is sponsored in part by EPIC-MRA Public Opinion Research 7th District Congressional Candidate Curtis Hertel Jr. talks about GOP Chaos in D.C. and his campaign in what could be the most expensive congressional race in the U.S. Thanks to Bidenomics, there are help wanted signs everywhere, and now, there’s even a help-wanted sign at the House of Representatives to fill a sudden vacancy for Speaker. Qualifications: an ability to get along with certifiable crazies AND get laws passed wit...

This podcast is sponsored in part by EPIC-MRA Opinion Research This week’s guest: Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint) on the mess that is the House GOP An alternate title for this week: the “We All Feel a Little Dumber” edition of A Republic, If You Can Keep It. We are dumber for having listened to 2 hours of 7 people auditioning for 2nd place in the Republican presidential rankings – a race that looks like the 1973 Belmont Stakes when the second-place horse finished 31 lengths behind Secretariat. We’re r...

This podcast is sponsored in part by EPIC-MRA Opinion Research This week: Economist Dr. Charles Ballard on twin challenges – the UAW Strike and pending U.S. government shutdown Michigan’s economy is staring down the business end of a double-barrelled shotgun: the UAW strike which is causing huge losses for the state’s signature industry, and a looming shutdown of the federal government. We take a deep dive into the political and economic impact on Michigan with our guest, senior economist Dr. Ch...

A foundation of our democratic system is that we elect the people who run our governments. But there’s an ominous trend developing in Republican-run states: elections only count when they win. We be focus on examples of this growing menace to the world’s oldest democratic government. The worst example (out of so many): Wisconsin. The highly gerrymandered GOP majority has: Stripped Governor Evers and Attorney General Paul of many of the powers held by their predecessors; Openly discussed impeac...

This podcast is sponsored in part by EPIC-MRA Opinion Research The bargaining between the prosecutors and various Trump-related defendants is ratcheting up, even as Trump’s numbers in the GOP nomination race also are moving up. But will Donald Trump even appear on the ballot if there’s a Republican presidential primary in Michigan? That question is up in the air with a potential lawsuit challenging Trump’s eligibility, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson stuck in the middle of a very sticky an...

This week’s podcast is underwritten in part by EPIC-MRA While assorted Republicans are getting booked, arraigned, found liable for slander and generally spending millions on defense attorneys, Joe Biden and Gretchen Whitmer are talking about “what’s next.” For Biden – what’s next is a battle with pharmaceutical companies over prices; for Whitmer – an ambitious agenda for a fall legislative session where she has the smallest possible majorities in both chambers. Michigan’s new congressional and l...

The battle for 2nd place in the Republican presidential campaign gets launched … with nobody winning. While the GOP’s Wannabe Eight gathered in Milwaukee, the Defendant in Chief appeared in two new prime time specials, “Live at the Fulton County Booking” and “Conversations with a Fired Talk Show Host on a Failing Website.” Representative Julie Brixie (D-Meridian Township) Also this week: the MAGA-inspired effort to recall a half-dozen state House members bogs down; and the UAW negotiations with...

In December 2020, Rudy Giuliani brought his Big Lie circus to the Michigan House Oversight Committee in a session that was quickly mocked on Saturday Night Live. That appearance and what he said is part of the 19-defendant criminal racketeering indictment issued in Georgia, part of a major Michigan presence in the latest criminal proceeding against Donald Trump. With 19 defendants and 30 unindicted co-conspirators in the latest indictment, the obvious question is: will any of them flip? But ther...

Bridge Michigan state capitol reporter Jonathan Oosting Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty, not guilty: it’s being said so much by Republicans these days, it might have to be included in the platform of the onetime “law and order” party. We update the status of various investigations and pre-trial activities of the once Grand Old Party.with Bridge Michigan reporter Jonathan Oosting who has been looking at some questionable sweetheart funding for a buddy of former Michigan House Speaker Jason Wen...

This has been a very very very very very bad week for Donald Trump … and Matt DePerno … and former Representative Daire Rendon … and the Michigan Republican Party. Spoiler alert: it’s another week of our true-crime podcast. But for six state House Democrats who were targeted for recall It was a pretty good week with the state Board of Canvassers rejecting the proposed recall petitions (all of them ably represented by their lawyer, Mark Brewer!) The podcast was recorded minutes after Donald ‘Jail...

We’re on indictment watch again this week. By the time you are listening to us, Donald Trump could be completing his 2023 “indictment hat trick”, this time for his leadership of efforts to steal the 2020 election. In addition to his two already issued criminal indictments, he’s also facing a court date in the continuation of his losing civil battle with rape victim E. Jean Carroll … and he might get the indictment grand slam as Georgia prepares to step in. Sam Inglot – Executive Director, Progre...

What a week: Donald Trump on the cusp of another criminal indictment – if you’re keeping score, it would be his third… 16 of the more prominent names in the Michigan Republican Party are indicted for the Fake Electors plot… And Marjorie Taylor Greene appears in a Biden campaign commercial – supporting his record of accomplishment. As much as we wanted to focus on BarbenHeimer, we’re also look at possible criminality by still another former Republican state House speaker … and a brazen attempt ...

For a second time, physical violence breaks out at a Michigan Republican Party leadership meeting … this time, complete with criminal charges pending. And speaking of Republican criminals, the federal investigation into Trump’s efforts to steal the 2020 election now involves testimony from Jocelyn Benson as the investigation spreads to Michigan, Arizona and Georgia. Donald Trump’s apparent “get out of jail free” strategy is to get elected President or, at worst, get one of his MAGA wannabes elec...

This week’s guest: House Ethics Committee Chair Erin Byrnes (D-Dearborn). Michigan has some of the weakest government ethics and openness laws in the nation. After years of empty promises, Democrats in the Legislature are moving on a comprehensive reform package. Joining the podcast is the chair of the state House Ethics Committee, Dearborn Representative Erin Byrnes. After weeks of a U.S. Senate race with just one prominent candidate, both parties are seeing some movement. Detroiter Hill Harper...

This week’s guest: Trygve Olson from the Lincoln Democracy Institute on growing violence in politics. We now have an audio tape of Donald Trump committing a felony: sharing classified military information that he stole from the White House and giving the details to people with no security clearance. Despite that, Oakland Republicans hand him a certificate for a made-up award as “Man of the Decade” which Trump immediately “humbly” included in a fundraising email. Back in the real world, the admin...