Month: January 2024

We're less than two weeks out from the first Democratic Primary in New Hampshire, and the mood among Democrats is grim. Joe Biden is polling behind Trump in almost every national poll. And the feeling among Democrats is well, there’s just nothing we can do about it.

Enter Dean Phillips: the one lone soldier Democrat trying to make a last ditch effort to stop the 2020 rematch from hell.

Dean is a moderate Democratic Congressman from Minnesota. He has political experience, but not the baggage of a long career in DC. He’s known as an incredibly bipartisan politician. He’s a philanthropist, a business magnate (who makes gelato of all things), a husband, and a father. But maybe, most importantly, he's a spry 54. By many metrics, he has what everyone claims to want in a Democratic presidential nominee.

He also offers an alternative for the American voter who feels alienated by both parties. As Peter Savodnik reported this week in the FP, “nearly half of Americans today identify as independents—not necessarily because they’re centrists, or moderates, but because neither party reflects their views.” Dean believes he can win over those voters. He’s already proven he will buck the Democratic party establishment, at great personal and professional cost. (As James Carville said, Dean’s bound to be treated like a heretic in Democratic circles from here on out.)

So, why is he doing this? And, can he actually pull it off?

On today’s episode, a conversation with Dean Phillips about his uphill battle to knock his own party’s nominee out of the way, his motivations for running in the first place, and how the Democratic Party has gotten to this pass. We also cover his positions on issues like the border crisis, education, policing, healthcare, Israel, China, his Jewish identity and his improbable friendship with Rashida Tlaib. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello!

I’m very excited to announce that Tyler Austin Harper will be our co-host for the next month or so.

Tyler was on the show last month and introduced himself then, but for those who missed it, he’s a writer at the Atlantic and a professor of literature in the environmental studies department at Bates College. He specializes in extinction literature and film.

For the next month or so, Tyler and I are going to talk to guests and to one another about a variety of topics, including literature and movies. In this episode, for example, you’ll find a “Book Corner” at the end where we talk about the rise of true crime podcasts and a recent op-ed in the Times.

Tyler also wrote a piece about the Claudine Gay scandal at Harvard, which we discussed at some length here.

As always, if you’re getting this email and want to support the show, please subscribe for $5 a month and you’ll receive access to our Discord server, where all these things are discussed at great length.

thank you!

Jay

Today, we are discussing the latest election news as we gear up for the Iowa caucuses. Claudine Gay is leaving Harvard, Fetterman breaks from the left, and one zoomer teaches us about economics.

Time Stamps:

14:45 Iowa

22:03 Secretary of Defense

31:48 Claudine Gay

45:15 Senator Fetterman

49:45 Golden Globes

57:11 Zoomer Economics

Watch this episode on YouTube

Want more Getting Hammered? Follow us on Instagram @gettinghammeredpodcast Questions? Comments? Email us at [Hammered@Nebulouspodcasts.com]