2409 - Trump, Democrats, & Democracy w/ Osita Nwanevu
Happy Friday! Sam and Emma speak with Osita Nwanevu, contributing editor at the New Republic, columnist at The Guardian, and author of the upcoming book The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding. First, Sam and Emma run through updates on Trump’s felon status, California’s wildfire crisis, the growing global climate crisis, Meta’s new speech regulations, Gaza’s still-growing death toll and the likely extent of its undercount, the House’s bill to sanction the ICC, the Senate’s bill to deport unconvicted migrants, the death of Anita Bryant, the death of the Chevron Doctrine, and TikTok’s case at the Supreme Court, before diving a little deeper into the unparalleled dangers of climate change as seen in the wildfires rampaging around LA. Osita Nwanevu then joins, jumping right into the late developments of Trump’s myriad legal woes over this last year, and the overwhelming feeling that our next president will be completely unaccountable while feeling completely untouchable, also touching on the genuine recognition of Trump as a problematic felon by the public, and why that simply didn’t matter when it came to their open-faced rejection of the Democratic Party’s institutionalist centrism. Expanding on this latter element, Nwanevu, Sam, and Emma walk through the Democrats’ inability to act as a capable opposition party, never presenting any semblance of an alternative when it comes to rhetoric and policy around the GOP’s key issues (immigration) or their own (healthcare), and often preferring to jump on board with the right in the hopes that it will legitimize their role in politics. Dissecting even deeper, Osita explores the dearth of any party identity around vague institutionalist careerism, failing to manifest any changes to their image in the decade since Trump’s threat arose, and often refusing to fund any wings of the party that challenge its floundering status quo, before shifting to the importance of the world of labor in pushing for that alternative image of progressivism, with unions – the core of labor – providing political education, communication, and socialization for their workers, with the institutional power to push political parties around. Wrapping up, Nwanevu explores the importance of revitalizing spaces for building and exerting worker power, be they unions or other forms of democratized workplace, and how we can help make that happen. And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma watch Fox’s “The Five” channel what funerals are really about (shaming Hillary Clinton), touch on the death of Anita Bryant, and talk with Steve from KC about his experience working with One America News. Molly from Brooklyn extends an invite to WikiCon, Kelcie from Austin unpacks conservatism’s hypocrisies, and Mel Gibson – noted bigot, freak, and conspiracy theorist – tells Joe Rogan about his cure for cancer. Smokey the Bear from Texas tackles the vulture capitalism around the California Wildfires, and Bill Maher accidentally admits that Trans rights are Civil Rights, plus, your calls and IMs! Find all of Osita's work here: https://www.ositanwanevu.com/ Check out Osita's upcoming book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/704686/the-right-of-the-people-by-osita-nwanevu/ Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Follow us on TikTok here!: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here!: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here!: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here!: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! https://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: https://majority.fm/app Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 10% off your purchase! 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