Is This Democracy

Lilliana Mason and Thomas Zimmer
  • 4.9 (336)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Is This Democracy

Welcome to Is This Democracy, the podcast where we discuss the ongoing conflict over how much democracy, and for whom, there should be in America. Hosted by Lilliana Mason and Thomas Zimmer

  1. FEB 21

    39. The Path to Authoritarianism

    Exactly one month into the Trumpist regime, we reflect on what has happened since Trump returned to the presidency, what might be coming next, and what we have learned about America along the way. We start by discussing Trump’s declaration that the law doesn’t apply to him because he is chosen to “save his nation” (and because he seems to believe he is a king): Such assertions of unchecked power are not just distractions – they are manifestations of what MAGA really is as a political project. We then dive deep into the much-discussed essay “The Path to American Authoritarianism: What Comes After Democratic Breakdown,” written by political scientists Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way, published in Foreign Affairs last week. We talk about what the authors get right and where we might disagree – which helps us crystallize some big-picture thoughts about the current state of American democracy. Finally, we each bring up One Big Thing we have been thinking about lately: Lily sees reason for optimism because the corrupt bargain between the Trumpist regime and NYC mayor Eric Adams led to a mass resignation of top Department of Justice officials; Thomas worries about crumbling state capacity as the Trumpist sabotage is destroying the state’s ability to tackle the collective problems we face as a society, which will rapidly make all our lives more dangerous.   Show notes: Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way, “The Path to American Authoritarianism: What Comes After Democratic Breakdown,” Foreign Affairs, February 11, 2025 https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/path-american-authoritarianism-trump Follow Lily Follow Thomas Follow the podcast on social media Read Thomas’ weekly newsletter Democracy Americana

    1h 11m

  2. FEB 7

    38. Is the Constitution Still in Effect?

    We take stock of our rapidly escalating constitutional crisis and how our interpretation has evolved over the first few weeks of the Trump regime. We talk about the role of Elon Musk, the political project the feudal tech barons are pursuing, and how Musk’s side coup relates to what the other MAGA factions have been up to: the Project 2025 crew, the America First nativists, and Trump himself. We also zoom in on what the stakes are in the fight over the agencies and departments the Trumpists want to eliminate – specifically USAID: If the regime can just shut down whatever part of the government they don’t like, dissolve agencies created by Congress, ignore existing law, then constitutional government is over – then we are no longer in a constitutional crisis, but in a situation in which an autocratic regime has suspended the constitution and ended democratic self-government. We end with a discussion of why the response by the nominal opposition party has been so fundamentally inadequate so far – and how we might finally be seeing signs of life from a Democratic Party that must abandon politics as usual and instead find ways to make the constitutional crisis visible for the American people. Follow Lily Follow Thomas Follow the podcast on social media Read Thomas’ weekly newsletter Democracy Americana

    1h 5m

  3. JAN 24

    37. Into the Trump Regime

    Is This Democracy is back! And what a time to be discussing the conflict over how much democracy, and for whom, there should be in America. We reflect on the Inauguration and the first 72 hours of the Trump regime: What stood out from the transfer of power on Monday and Trump’s speech(es)? Most importantly: What have we learned from the onslaught of presidential executive orders and proclamations? We try to establish a framework for how to think about what is happening around us: This is not merely a presidential transition, but an attempted regime change. The Trumpists want to change the rules of how the system works and how power is being wielded; they seek to roll back the post-1960s civil rights order; and they aggressively set out to redefine the boundaries of who gets to belong in America, who has a right to be part of the polity. This is an inflection point - a test for the Constitution, the courts, the system. In the regime’s early initiatives, MAGA has, once again, revealed its true face: An ideologically driven project seeking to roll back much of the racial and social progress of (at least) the past century. Follow Lily Follow Thomas Follow the podcast on social media Read Thomas’ weekly newsletter Democracy Americana

    1h 6m

  4. 04/16/2024

    36. From Reagan to Trump: A Conversation about “Landslide” and the Transformation of American Politics since the 1970s – with Ben Bradford and Seth Cotlar (Part II)

    We continue our conversation about “Landslide,” the fantastic new NPR podcast series – and about the transformation of politics in the 1970s, the emergence of a new kind of populist politics, how the Republican Party was taken over by rightwing radicalism that ultimately rose to power with Ronald Reagan in 1980, and how all that relates to what we are experiencing today.   In last week’s Part I, we already talked about the process of partisan sorting and party realignment – certainly one of the key stories in recent U.S. history; about the reaction of the Republican establishment to the Reagan-led rightwing insurgency that oscillated between arrogance, helplessness, and complicity; we discussed Reagan as a radical figure in U.S. history and why we can only understand the rise of these rightwing insurgents if we focus on the racial and cultural grievances around which their political project was organized.   In this Part II, we start by tackling the question of how to reconcile individual agency and structural contexts, presidential politics and grassroots activism, the contingencies of the political process and broader cultural and ideological shifts when we think about and try to explain history. We also reflect on the question of how to relate Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump – on the relationship between the political styles, promises, and projects they embody: Reaganism and Trumpism; on the similarities and echoes, but also the differences between these two brands of reactionary politics. And finally, we reflect on the lessons we ought to learn (or not learn) from the 1970s for our own political moment, and whether the story of Gerald Ford and is best interpreted as a role model for a more moderate politics oriented towards compromise – or as a cautionary tale of what happens when the Republican establishment tries to appease and harness, rather than oppose, the forces of rightwing extremism.   Show notes: “Landslide” at the NPR podcast network: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510376/landslide   Nuance Tales – Ben Bradford’s podcast production studio https://www.nuancetales.com/home

    55 min

  5. 04/11/2024

    35. “Landslide”: How the Radical Right Took Over the Republican Party and Transformed American Politics in the 1970s – with Ben Bradford and Seth Cotlar (Part I)

    “Landslide” is a new NPR podcast series that tells the story of American politics in the 1970s, specifically of the 1976 and 1980 presidential elections, of Jimmy Carter’s unlikely path to the White House and, most importantly, of how Ronald Reagan and the New Right rose to power. And as you will hear in our conversation with our guest Ben Bradford, the man who created, hosted, narrated, and produced “Landslide,” it is also so much more. For this episode, I recruited the help of Seth Cotlar, professor of history at Willamette University (and our first returning guest on the show), who is currently writing a book about the relationship between establishment Republicanism and far-right activism in Oregon since the 1950s. Together, we discuss the story of “Landslide” with Ben Bradford – and the many questions of fundamental historical and political importance it tackles. We investigate the Republican Party’s radicalization to the Right and the role Ronald Reagan played in this process; the emergence of a new kind of politics and political culture; the relationship between Reagan and Trump – and between the political styles, promises, and projects they embody: Reaganism and Trumpism. And we reflect on the lessons we ought to learn (or not learn) from the 1970s for our own political moment, and whether the story of Gerald Ford and is best interpreted as a role model for a more moderate politics oriented towards compromise – or as a cautionary tale of what happens when the Republican establishment tries to appease and harness, rather than oppose, the forces of rightwing extremism. If you are interested in the pre-historie(s) of our present and how we got to where we are today, I promise this conversation is for you. We actually had so much to talk about that we are releasing the conversation in two episodes – look out for Part II early next week.     Show notes: “Landslide” at the NPR podcast network: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510376/landslide Nuance Tales – Ben Bradford’s podcast production studio https://www.nuancetales.com/home

    55 min

  6. 03/19/2024

    34. What Today’s Republican Party Is Made Of – A GOP Primary Post-Mortem

    Have we learned anything new about the Republican Party, its base, and MAGA America from the GOP primaries? We talk about why Trump was always going to win, why he is the dominant force in Republican politics – but also, even though too many people pretend he is electoral magic, a relatively weak general election candidate. We also discuss what is animating the group of self-identifying conservatives who do not like MAGA, but still overwhelmingly vote for Trump. And we examine the role of the Republican establishment: Nikki Haley’s primary campaign can tell us a lot about the trajectory of conservative politics; the way Mitch McConnell’s career ends perfectly encapsulates the dangerous combination of reactionary ideology and cynical opportunism; and the fate of Mike Pence is a reminder of how Republican elites have tried – and failed – for decades to harness the rightwing populist energies of the base that are now fully dominating the party. Finally, we end the episode with some thoughts on Biden’s State of the Union address, Robert Hur and Merrick Garland, what the liberal justices on the Supreme Court are up to, and why, so far, what the political system has offered in response to the Trumpian threat is, at best, a whole lot of handwringing – and, quite often, a whole lot of complicity. Follow The Show⁠ ⁠Follow Thomas⁠ ⁠Follow Lily⁠ This episode was produced by ⁠Connor Lynch

    1h 19m

  7. 02/23/2024

    33. The Many Blind Spots and Pitfalls of the “Biden Too Old” Discourse

    Joe Biden is “too old” and should step aside – at least that is what many of the nation’s most prominent commentators are telling us. But do their arguments actually hold up to scrutiny? Is Joe Biden too old and unfit to be president? Is he incapable of campaigning and defeating Donald Trump in the 2024 election? And if he were to step aside, what should be the plan going forward? Specifically, is an open convention in the summer, as Ezra Klein has argued, the best path towards a Democratic victory in November? We discuss why this discourse, although frustrating and exhausting, matters; we evaluate the arguments of those who describe Biden as manifestly unfit; and we explain why, even though we are concerned too, we remain staunchly unconvinced by the arguments and suggestions the “Biden too old” camp has presented. Finally, we reflect on the case against voting for Biden that is coming from the Left, where “Biden too old” is often seen as merely a distraction from what are supposedly the much more significant reasons to reject the president, especially his stance on Gaza. We offer our thoughts on how people should approach an election in which we are confronted with a binary choice between either, in all likelihood, Joe Biden – or Donald Trump as the extremist leader of a party fully controlled by a radicalizing anti-democratic movement that is seeking to impose a vengeful authoritarian order on the country.   Show notes: Ezra Klein, “Democrats Have a Better Option Than Biden,” New York Times, February 16, 2024 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/16/opinion/ezra-klein-biden-audio-essay.html   Perry Bacon, “Biden’s Democratic Party is to the left of Obama’s. Thank a progressive,” Washington Post, July 13, 2023 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/13/why-progressives-winning-inside-democratic-party/   Thomas Zimmer, “What the ‘Biden too old’ discourse is really about,” Democracy Americana, February 13, 2024 https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/what-the-biden-too-old-discourse

    1h 23m

  8. 02/01/2024

    32. “Project 2025”: What the Right Plans to Do Once Trumpism Returns to Power

    What would a second Trump presidency look like? We dive deep into the detailed plans that have emerged on the Right for what they want to do immediately upon getting back to power. Almost two years ago, “Project 2025” was launched under the leadership of the Heritage Foundation. Different factions on the Right are preparing separate plans, but “Project 2025” stands out because it unites much of the conservative machine behind the goal of installing a much more effective, more ruthless rightwing regime. We look at the people behind these plans and what animates them – specifically Kevin Roberts, the president of Heritage, who embodies the siege mentality, self-victimization, and grievance-driven lust for revenge that is fueling the Right. And we dissect the plans and proposals “Project 2025” has to offer, department by department: The goal is to vastly expand presidential power and transform American government into a revenge machine, purge tens of thousands of federal employees and replace them all with loyalists. Already, “Project 2025” is engaged in an unprecedented headhunting operation to ensure ideological conformity. We discuss the tension between the goals of weaponizing the government while dismantling the “deep state” at the same time, and how it is indicative of a larger conflict on the Right between a “traditionalist” and a more rightwing-libertarian wing. Finally, we reflect on why a second Trump term would be much more dangerous, as it could rely on a fully Trumpified GOP in Congress, on a supermajority on the Supreme Court, and on the prospect of escalating violence as the ubiquitous threat against anyone daring to defy Trumpism.      Show notes: Project 25 https://www.project2025.org/   Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative promise https://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf   Inside the Heritage Foundation’s Plans for ‘Institutionalizing Trumpism, NYT, January 21, 2024 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/21/magazine/heritage-foundation-kevin-roberts.html   Don Moynihan, Trump Has a Master Plan for Destroying the ‘Deep State’, NYT, November 27, 2024 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/27/opinion/trump-deep-state-schedule-f.html   Don Moynihan, The risks of Schedule F for administrative capacity and government accountability, December 12, 2024 https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-risks-of-schedule-f-for-administrative-capacity-and-government-accountability/   Sam Adler-Bell, The Shadow War to Determine the Next Trump Administration, January 10, 2024 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/10/opinion/shadow-war-trump-transition.html   Chris Geidner, On Trump's "deep state" attack plans and where they would lead in a second term, November 27, 2024 https://www.lawdork.com/p/trump-deep-state-attack-v-admin-state-attacks

    1h 24m
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4.9
out of 5
336 Ratings

About

Welcome to Is This Democracy, the podcast where we discuss the ongoing conflict over how much democracy, and for whom, there should be in America. Hosted by Lilliana Mason and Thomas Zimmer

Information

  • Creator
    Lilliana Mason and Thomas Zimmer
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2025
  • Episodes
    39
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Lilliana Mason and Thomas Zimmer
  • Show Website
    Is This Democracy

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