DOGEfight: Why Democrats Should Steal the GOP's Efficiency Playbook
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Release Date: 03/24/2025
Are Democrats Having a MAGA Moment?
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
With only 562 days until the 2026 midterm elections, pundits have begun making predictions, and the Democrats' progressive wing has been very publicly asserting itself. In recent weeks, AOC and Bernie Sanders have held a series of high-profile rallies across the country, and activists have threatened primary challenges against centrist incumbents. Some see this as the bold shift the party needs to reconnect with young and working-class voters. Others worry it could push moderates away at a critical moment. In this episode, Dan and Shawn discuss how a progressive shift could help Democrats...
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Trump's Trade War: When Bad Economics Makes Good Politics
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Last week, Americans witnessed President Trump's "art of the deal" in action as his administration imposed sweeping tariffs on global trading partners, only to roll them back after markets cratered and bond yields spiked. Economists largely agree the Trump administration's tariff policy will be bad for the economy, with many fearing it will push us into recession. But are the politics behind it just as bad, or do they work to Trump's advantage? In this episode, Dan and Shawn explore how the most important counties in the past three election cycles have been the ones most affected by trade with...
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Conservatism: Not Dead, Just Homeless | Josh Lewis of Saving Elephants
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Trump's takeover of the GOP turned a buttoned-up party focused on small government and a cautious approach to change to a raucous, populist group made for the social media age. Some welcomed the shift. Others—like this week’s guest—have been trying to pull the party back to its conservative roots ever since. Josh Lewis, founder of Saving Elephants, joined me to talk about where the GOP stands in 2025, what real conservatism actually looks like, and whether there’s still a political home for it in a party that’s more reality show than institution. We talk about his break from the...
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Jeffrey Goldberg Has Left the Chat: Signalgate and the Slow Death of Accountability
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Most of us know what it feels like to send an embarrassing text to the wrong person, but only a select few know what it feels like when that embarrassing text includes details of an impending military operation and that wrong person is a journalist. While the Trump Administration attempts to handle the fallout from this latest mishap, a bigger question looms: Has today's partisan era made it impossible for America to learn and adapt from its mistakes. In this episode, we dive into the history of America's biggest foreign policy and military debacles, how prior incidents were used to...
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DOGEfight: Why Democrats Should Steal the GOP's Efficiency Playbook
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Last week, a new front opened up in the Democrats' war against themselves when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer backed a Republican-led budget deal to avoid a government shutdown, prompting outrage from House Democrats, threats of a primary challenge from AOC, and renewed questions about who actually leads the Democratic Party. While Schumer's stated intention was to prevent the Trump administration from cutting the federal workforce and government programs even further, is there evidence that voters even care—or trust government enough to want it preserved? In this episode, Dan and...
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Fusion Voting Was Banned. Some Republicans Want it Back.
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Former Kansas House Speaker, Republican Don Hineman, voiced his support for fusion voting as a way for moderate Republicans to push back against the party’s rightward shift. Banned in the early 1900s, supporters say fusion voting gives minor parties more influence and puts power back in voters' hands. But would it actually reduce division—or just benefit a certain faction of the GOP? Dan and Shawn break down how fusion voting works, why it was banned, and whether it’s the key to fixing elections—or just another half-measure in a broken system. Would fusion voting help fix our elections...
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Is Donald Trump All That Unprecedented?
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Donald Trump's address to Congress last week is the latest in a string of highly partisan moves designed to please his base and needle his opponents. While his divisive approach seems unusual by modern standards, have we been here before? In this episode, Dan and Shawn plumb the depths of American history and find a president not all that dissimilar from our 45th/47th, discuss whether Trump is leading a lasting transformation of the GOP, or one that will fade like past populist movements, and what Democrats (and disaffected Republicans) can learn from history to mount an effective resistance....
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Have Democrats Lost Touch with Voters?
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Since their losses in November, Democrats have begun to reassess their approach, with some members openly questioning if their party has lost touch with voters. At the same time, Republicans have spent their first month in power indiscriminately firing government employees and canceling food aid to starving nations while seemingly forgetting the economic issues voters put them in there to address. In this episode, Dan and Shawn look at recent polling and explore whether one party is guilty of being out of touch with the majority of Americans or whether either party is speaking to the majority...
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NATO, Ukraine, and the Cost of America's Four-Year Foreign Policy
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Over the past two weeks, JD Vance blamed European Allies for stifling free speech in their countries, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth blamed them for not spending enough on defense, and President Trump blamed Ukraine for starting Russia's invasion of their country. In response, European governments appear to be preparing for a future without America's support. Many have attributed this to Trump, whose brash style and isolationist tendencies are a mismatch with the traditional postwar order. But is this a Trump issue, or something deeper? In this episode, Dan and Shawn explore how the growing...
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Beyond the Lesser of Two Evils: How Cities Are Reforming Poison Politics
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
A poll conducted by FairVote in December found that 47% of respondents felt they chose between the lesser of two evils in at least one election last year. What does that say about the state of our democracy? And more importantly, what can be done about it? This week, Dan speaks with Will Mantell, Director of Communications at FairVote, to discuss the poll, what it could mean for voter turnout in the long run, and how America’s cities are leading the charge to offer choices their voters can actually feel good about. Looking to get involved? Learn more at Also - don't forget to submit...
info_outlineLast week, a new front opened up in the Democrats' war against themselves when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer backed a Republican-led budget deal to avoid a government shutdown, prompting outrage from House Democrats, threats of a primary challenge from AOC, and renewed questions about who actually leads the Democratic Party.
While Schumer's stated intention was to prevent the Trump administration from cutting the federal workforce and government programs even further, is there evidence that voters even care—or trust government enough to want it preserved?
In this episode, Dan and Shawn discuss how the status quo wing of the Democratic Party is at odds with voters' growing belief that the federal government is inefficient and wasteful, and how co-opting the GOP's "efficiency" narrative might be the key to rebuilding after their losses in 2024.