In 2002, John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira published The Emerging Democratic Majority (Scribner). Now the pair are back with Where Have All the Democrats Gone?: The Soul of the Party in the Age of Extremes (Henry Holt, 2023). In their new book, an essential guide to the trends that roil the Democratic Party and threaten its national standing, the authors forthrightly acknowledge that they had underestimated “the defection of the white working class” from party ranks. Our conversation focuses on a core reason for this defection: the rise of a “shadow party” of elite donors, activist groups and media voices that is alienating the white working-class vote with an unbending, culturally-left posture on hot-button matters like race, immigration, climate change and sex and gender. This self-appointed “vanguard” possesses a quasi-religious mindset of a neo-Puritan stamp—an outlook that many Democratic voters, and not only in the white working class, reject. The battle is on, Judis and Teixeira aptly warn, for “the soul of the party in the age of extremes.”
Veteran journalist Paul Starobin is a former Moscow bureau chief for Business Week and a former contributing editor of The Atlantic. He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and many other publications. His latest book, Putin’s Exiles: Their Fight for a Better Russia (Columbia Global Reports) will be published in January.
We're talking about the various accounts of what's happening at the largest hospital in Gaza and why it's hard to know what's actually going on.
Also, it looks like New Hampshire isn't willing to give up its spot in the presidential primaries, directly going after Democrats' plans.
And as expected, Congress took another step to avoid a government shutdown.
Plus, we'll tell you what a new report recommends to keep air travel safe, why some Starbucks workers plan to walk off the job today, and how to book an overnight stay at Martha Stewart's house today.
President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping met on Wednesday for the first time in a year. Following their private conversations, it was announced that the U.S. and China will resume military-to-military communications, and the leaders also reached an agreement to curb fentanyl production.
The Israeli military stormed Al-Shifa hospital on Wednesday and said they found guns, ammunition, protective vests and Hamas military uniforms at the hospital – claims Hamas called “fabricated.” Meanwhile, Hamas has agreed “in principle” to a tentative deal to release at least 50 hostages in exchange for pauses in fighting and the release of women and children held in Israeli prisons, among other things.
And in headlines: Donald Trump will remain on Michigan’s Republican primary ballot, New Hampshire announced that the state’s primaries will be held ahead of South Carolina, and thousands of the people took to the streets of Mexico City on Monday night to demand justice and a thorough investigation into the death of Jesús Ociel Baena.
Crooked Coffee is officially here. Our first blend, What A Morning, is available in medium and dark roasts. Wake up with your own bag at crooked.com/coffee
Every Senate Democrat voted in opposition to a stand-alone Israel aid package.
The package, which passed in the House Nov. 2, would have provided Israel with $14.3 billion and was set to pull funding from President Joe Biden’s IRS budget to do so.
On Tuesday, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., used a special motion to call for a vote on the Israel package on the Senate floor, taking his Democrat colleagues by surprise. The motion failed in a vote of 51 - 48.
“I've been trying to figure out this for weeks as well, maybe months,” Marshall said. “Why are Democrats so afraid of supporting Israel?”
Democrats have “lots of reasons why we should fund Ukraine, but they never will say why we should fund Israel,” according to Marshall.
“They say they want to support Israel, but their actions are different,” he says. “What I've found out is there's a significant portion of their base that does not want anyone in their party to support Israel.”
Democrats have advocated for an aid bill that includes funding for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and the border, but now that Democrats have blocked the stand-alone Israel aid package, Marshall says there is no path forward for the $14.3 billion bill.
Instead of a swift show of support for Israel from Congress, Marshall says it will likely take months for Congress to work through disagreements and pass a an aid package to support Israel.
Marshall joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain why he is so passionate about standing with Israel, and why lawmakers should support a stand-alone aid package for our closest friend in the Middle East.
Paris Marx is joined by Marwa Fatafta to discuss the ongoing Israeli campaign in Gaza, the importance of social media for sharing what’s happening on the ground, and what listeners can do to support peace and Palestinian rights.
Marwa Fatafta is a Palestinian digital rights advocate and researcher. She is Access Now’s Policy and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.
The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.
The biggest show on TV? It’s crime drama NCIS — The $8B TV show doesn’t win awards, but it gets rewards.
Today is Starbucks’ most profitable day of the year: “Red Cup Day” — But also today, Starbucks’ barista union is staging a “Red Cup Rebellion.”
And the startup making the biggest moves so far this fall: It’s Marc Lore’s Wonder – Wonder has pioneered a new category in food, “Fast Fine Dining,” by taking a Gap Year.
As Palestinian allies like Hezbollah and Iran voice their support, is there a danger of more countries being pulled into the war in Gaza?
Guest: Gregory Gause, head of the Department of International Affairs at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, specialist in Middle East politics.
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