In this week’s podcast interview, I spoke to Eric Rauchway, a distinguished professor of history at the University of California, Davis, about his new book “Why The New Deal Matters.”
In our conversation, we discuss why the New Deal was about more than saving the US economy. It was also about preserving and revitalizing American democracy. We talked about why the New Deal was such a revolutionary moment in US history; how it changed the relationship between citizens and their government; its tangible and political legacy in American history; what role bipartisanship played in getting the New Deal through Congress, and what lessons Joe Biden should take away from Franklin Roosevelt’s success in passing his agenda. I hope you enjoyed the conversation as much as I did, and I highly recommend picking up the book!
What’s Going On?
I also highly recommend reading Eliana Johnson’s recent piece in Politico on what is motivating Republicans to throw Liz Cheney overboard. It’s not that she is refusing to embrace the GOP’s Big Lie; it’s that she is saying the quiet part loud.
One obvious assumption about the fact that Republican’s continue to lie about the 2020 election being stolen is that, as Greg Sargent put in the Washington Post, they “may be unshackling themselves from any obligation to acquiesce to future presidential election outcomes they don’t like — that is, liberating themselves to overturn those outcomes by any means necessary.” I’m not so convinced. As Johnson’s piece points out, Republicans are ticked off at Cheney not because they think she’s wrong about the election but because she won’t shut up about it.
What matters most to Republicans, it seems, is getting on the same page with the former president and playing down the party’s deep divisions. If that means playing into the lie that the 2020 election was stolen and further misleading their own supporters about what really happened last November, so be it. Don’t get me wrong, this is cynical, gross, and anti-democratic, but it’s likely more pathetic than purposely insidious.
The latest terrorist attack in Afghanistan is simply horrific. Even as the US prepares to bring troops from that war-ravaged country, we should not look away at the horrors that the Taliban are perpetrating against innocent civilians.
Interesting essay by Nathan Brown on where the Arab-Israeli conflict is headed.
Musical Interlude
For Friday’s “This Week in History,” I somehow forget to mention the most important musical moment of the 1970s - the May 8, 1977, Grateful Dead show in Ithaca, New York. It’s arguably the greatest live concert the band ever played - and features the best version of “Scarlet —> Fire” the band ever performed. As great as the second set is, don’t sleep on the first set, particularly the epic jam on “Dancing in the Street.”
This weekend I picked up Khruangbin’s first album, “Con Todo El Mundo,” which features the fantastic track “Maria También (featured below).” Khruangbin is a three-person band, and I’ve seen their music described as a cross between Thai funk and Hawaiian surf music. Who wouldn’t want to listen to that?
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