By refusing to concede, President Trump is not only disrupting the peaceful transfer of power, a cornerstone of American democracy, but he’s delaying the Biden administration access to pertinent information. The formal transition process we know today came to exist after the 9/11 Commission Report found that the delay in installing President George W. Bush hurt his administration.
Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a senior fellow at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center and senior research director at the White House Transition Project, describes the impact of a truncated presidential transition.
President-elect Biden is attempting to assemble members of his senior team while the current president seems determined to do the opposite. With just about two months left in his term, President Trump has fired a number of high-profile members of his administration. This includes Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration Lisa Gordon-Hagerty.
Lisa Rein, a reporter covering federal agencies and the management of government in the Trump administration for The Washington Post, describes why the president would pursue this avenue at the end of his tenure.
This week, newly elected members of Congress convened on Capitol Hill for freshmen orientation. Although Democrats speculated that they would expand their majority, they ended up losing eight seats. In the days since, some moderate members of Congress have speculated that progressive issues like Medicare for all cost Democrats a supermajority. Congressman-elect Mondaire Jones and Congresswoman-elect Carolyn Bourdeaux share what it’s like to be joining Congress at this moment. This conversation is part of a continuing series on the freshmen members of the 117th Congress. You can listen to extended interviews here.
If President-elect Biden holds his lead over President Donald Trump, it would mean that Georgia has moved from red to blue for the first time since 1992. For years, southern states like Georgia have sat reliably in the Republican column, but voters in cities like Atlanta and the surrounding suburbs played a definitive role in moving the state to the left. Georgia’s competitive political landscape is emphasized by the fact that the state will soon hold two runoff elections that will determine which party controls the senate. Andra Gillespie, an associate professor of political science at Emory University, describes the state’s changing electorate and the future of state-wide races.
After every election members of the media and politicians attempt to understand patterns that emerged among voters. One element of the 2020 election cycle that stood out to many is how in South Texas, President-elect Joe Biden underperformed when it came to predominantly Latino counties that typically break for Democrats by wide margins.
While Biden won the majority of support in predominantly Latino precincts in El Paso County and Dallas county, in counties along the border including Hidalgo, Zapata, and Starr, Biden’s standing slipped considerably from where Hillary Clinton stood four years ago.
Arelis Hernández, a reporter covering the U.S. southern border, immigration, and Texas for The Washington Post, explains how President Trump made gains within these communities.
Not immediately knowing which candidate won the White House has long been a reality of a world changed by COVID-19. What campaigns, pundits, and pollsters failed to predict was the distance that would separate the results from the expectations. Tim Alberta, chief political correspondent at Politico, Sahil Kapur, national political reporter for NBC News, and Clare Malone, senior politics writer at FiveThirtyEight, analyze the incomplete election results and what Congress could look like when the dust settles.
President Trump has consistently and falsely asserted that losing reelection would mean that the White House was stolen from him. Meanwhile, election officials across the country have been working diligently to maintain free and fair elections. This year, their jobs include responding to a pandemic and refuting conspiracy theories. Election officials from across the country describe how Election Day 2020 went and how things could improve for future elections.
As Joe Biden gets closer to winning the electoral college, the Trump campaign is taking to the courts in an attempt to challenge the results. In the past few days, states like Michigan, Georgia, and Pennsylvania have all seen lawsuits calling into question their process of counting ballots, though there’s no evidence supporting the president’s claims of voter fraud. While some of the lawsuits have already been dismissed, others are still in play. Toluse Olorunnipa, a White House reporter for the Washington Post, breaks down the Trump campaign’s recent legal action.
In the Trump era, political polarization has reached a level not seen since the Civil War. Though this polarization didn’t start with President Trump’s campaign and subsequent administration, it has brought the deepening divide to the surface–and to the ballot box–with voter turnout this week reaching record numbers. Lilliana Mason, professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland and author of “Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity,”walks us through the widening political divide in the U.S. and what it means for how the country moves forward, regardless of who wins the 2020 election.
Amy’s closing thoughts:
“The political profession. No other career as prosaic has been glamorized more. In movies and on TV, everyone who works for or as a politician is beautiful, smart, and ambitious. All are doing super important work that is changing the world. Even the interns are drafting amendments that protect our way of life.
In real life, of course, politics is messy. And, more important, boring. For every election night balloon drop victory party, there are a million days filled with the crushingly tedious work of voter contact and fundraising and town hall meetings filled with cranky and angry constituents.
But, as we learned this week, it is the people who do the non-glamorous work, those who spend almost every single day of their entire career in relative ambiguity, who help keep our democratic institutions steady. I’m talking about the elected officials, poll workers, and office staff, who ensured that this election – an election taking place in the middle of a health pandemic and with record turnout – was conducted as fairly, smoothly, and judiciously as possible. They are doing this work under great duress and stress. They continue to do their job even as the president of the United States – without any evidence – takes to the White House briefing room to question their integrity.
When the election is over, these folks aren’t going to get a sweet cable TV gig or their own podcast. Instead, they are going to go back to their offices and prepare for the next election.
For all of you who are cynical or anxious about the sturdiness of the guardrails protecting our democratic institutions, look no further than the local officials in charge of voting. They are not bowing to pressure from the president. They are not abandoning their posts for fear of political reprisal. They are doing their jobs. And, doing them well.
At the end of the day, it is regular people who are responsible for our democracy. And, the regular people are saving it.”
Perhaps, no state better embodies the polarization and partisanship with which we approach election administration than Georgia.
After a messy primary in June with long lines and shuttered polling locations, election officials in the state have been working to improve and restore faith in the process for what is certain to be a contentious election in November. And, in a little over a week, they’ll get another try. On August 11th, more than half of Georgia’s 159 counties will hold runoff elections giving voters and election staff another test run prior to the election.
Efforts to recruit and train more poll workers are underway and more early voting locations are open in Fulton County, the epicenter of Election Day problems. Situated in metro Atlanta, Fulton County is also the state’s most populous. 45 percent of the population there is African American. It is also heavily Democratic. Hillary Clinton carried the county with almost 70 percent of the vote and 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacy Abrams won it with 72 percent.
Guests:
Robb Pitts, Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners
Evan Malbrough, a 2020 graduate of Georgia State University and founder of The Georgia Youth Poll Worker Project
Stephen Fowler, a political reporter, Georgia Public Broadcasting
How Political Identities Have Become About What We Hate Instead of What We Love
Individual reactions to the coronavirus pandemic and the public health restrictions that have accompanied it have underscored how powerful negative partisanship can be in the formation of political opinions. In past crises, national shocks have urged partisans to put aside their personal grievances in pursuit of the greater good, but today, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
A look at how the perception of risk influences our political behavior and the impact it has on public opinion.
Guests:
– Jonathan Haidt, social psychologist and Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University’s Stern School
– Lynn Vavreck, Hoffenberg Professor of American Politics and Public Policy at UCLA and contributor to The Upshot at The New York Times
Georgia’s Reopening
Last month, Georgia became one of the first states to begin easing restrictions associated with COVID-19. The decision was criticized by health officials as moving too quickly and risking a potential surge in cases.
Across the state, citizens, business owners, and mayors hold mixed feelings regarding how Governor Brian Kemp has approached the public health crisis. While many governors across the U.S. have seen a bump in approval for their handling of the crisis, just 39% approved of Governor Kemp’s handling of the pandemic.
A look at how Georgia residents and business owners are navigating the reopening and what they need to see before they decide to participate.
Guests:
– Andra Gillespie, Associate Professor of Political Science at Emory University and Director of the James Weldon Johnson Institute
– David Bradley, President and CEO of the Athens Chamber of Commerce
Back to School
Parents can’t go back to work if they’re also responsible for co-teaching and childcare throughout the day. Any return to normalcy for families across the U.S. will be impossible without schools reopening. And while online learning has become the norm, it’s exacerbated inequality as having a computer and reliable internet access have become precursors to learning from home.
A look at how schools in Colorado are approaching what a return might look like and the steps that would be necessary to get students back in the classroom.
Guest:
Katy Anthes, Commissioner of Education for the State of Colorado
How Transportation Can be a Means for Segregation
Voters will decide whether to add a train line from Atlanta to Gwinnett county, a suburban area northeast of the city. The referendum raises issues of race and access.
Protests Seek to Upend Algerian Politics
Young people have been leading protests against Algeria’s ruling government for weeks. The longtime president has agreed not to run for a fifth term, but has canceled the elections.
Netflix Cancels Cuban-American Family Sitcom “One Day at a Time”
Netflix decision to cancel “One Day at a Time” has been met with criticism and a renewed discussion of the lack of representation in film and television.
Guests: