January 22 - Which Side Won the Battle of Framing the Government Shutdown?; Progressive Senate Democrats Reject the Compromise Deal to Reopen the Government; A Progressive Democrat on What She Sees as a Cave-In By Senator Schumer

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the Senate vote of 81 to 18 to reopen the government after a brief shutdown which led to an intense blame-game that has pundits assessing who the winners and losers are. We will begin with Paul Light, the Paulette Goddard Professor of Public Service at New York University who was the founding director of the Governmental Studies Program at the Brookings Institution and is the author of “Government by Investigation: Presidents, Congress and the Search for Answers”. He joins us to discuss the broader political landscape rather than the issues under contention that led to the shut down, and that is how the showdown between uncompromising Republicans and frustrated Democrats was framed in the media and which side was more successful in spinning their narrative. With Trump claiming to act out of love for “Dreamers” he and the Republicans unleashed scurrilous racism and xenophobic charges against the Democrats implying they only cared about “illegal” immigrants, not the American people.   

Part 2

Then we look into the rejection of the compromise deal to reopen the government by leading progressive Democrats in the Senate with Senator Kamala Harris fuming  that is was “foolhardy” to believe Senator McConnell made “any commitment whatsoever” and that she is “disappointed with a conversation that suggests a false choice. You either fund the government or take care of the DACA kids. We can do both”. Longtime political organizer and strategist Robert Creamer, a partner in Democracy Partners and author of “Stand Up Straight: How Progressives Can Win”, joins us.

Part 3

Then finally we speak with Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee who has spent the last 15 years working on labor, electoral and advocacy programs throughout the country. She represents the so-called “Elizabeth Warren wing” of the Democratic Party and joins us to voice her disappointment at what she sees as a “cave in” by Senator Schumer and her concern that “these weak Democrats hurt the party brand for everyone and make it harder to elect Democrats everywhere in 2018”.