{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/9a03fe9e-1ff0-4dcc-b3f6-50bd1f016ea4/cad6f9a4-9d9b-4149-9024-e1448575b7f8?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Biden Begins","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/6195701f2eacc3a36070252a/619570bccb3c660012e3ce59.jpg?height=200","description":"<p>David, Helen and Gary reflect on what lies ahead for American politics and for the Biden administration.&nbsp;Does Trump pose more of a threat from inside or outside the Republican party?&nbsp;Is immigration about to become the central partisan dividing line once again?&nbsp;How much good can calls for unity do in such a fractured country?&nbsp;Plus, we look at Trump's list of entrants for his garden of national heroes.&nbsp;From Emily Dickinson to Hannah Arendt to Woody Guthrie - but no Bruce Springsteen.&nbsp;What's going on?</p><p><br></p><p>Talking Points:</p><p><br></p><p>Many in the Republican Party, including McConnell, have never liked Trump—are they now breaking with him?</p><ul><li>Attempts to establish new parties can shake up American politics, but they rarely succeed.</li><li>The Trump candidacy was a disaster for the Republican establishment from the beginning.&nbsp;</li><li>McConnell is willing to consider impeachment because Trump still represents a threat to the mainstream Republican Party.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Success in American party politics requires party organization in all 50 states.</p><ul><li>This is not the kind of work that generally appeals to Trump.</li><li>He will probably want to influence the political process from the outside, to make the existing system ungovernable.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>The Biden administration wants to be much more ambitious on immigration.</p><ul><li>Previous attempts at immigration reform have failed.</li><li>Biden has an opportunity to demonstrate government competence by focusing on vaccinations.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Biden has made clear that climate is a priority.</p><ul><li>This is politically useful for holding together the Democratic party.</li><li>Biden has already pledged to cancel the Keystone Pipeline; at least on some issues he’s willing to take on the oil and gas industry.</li><li>This quickly gets into foreign policy issues, especially re China.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Biden’s initial window is really two years, not four.</p><ul><li>Democrats should not be counting on a majority in the 2022 elections.</li><li>They need to demonstrate the competence of the federal government. Though it may be difficult for any government to appear competent these days.</li><li><br></li></ul><p>Mentioned in this Episode:</p><ul><li><a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/18/donald-trump-national-garden-american-heroes-statues\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">‘The Garden of American Heroes’&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/a-story-about-fred-trump-and-woody-guthrie-for-the-midterm-elections\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">On Fred Trump and Woody Guthrie</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/01/20/956922884/bidens-inaugural-address-annotated\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The text of Joe Biden’s inaugural address</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>Further Learning:&nbsp;</p><ul><li><a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/20/biden-immigration-reform-trump-executive-order\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">More on Biden’s immigration plan</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/blog/2019/145-green-new-deal\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Green New Deal?&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/blog/2019/211-monopoly-and-muckraking\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Talking Politics American Histories… Monopoly and Muckraking</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>And as ever, recommended reading curated by our friends at the LRB can be found here: </strong><a href=\"http://lrb.co.uk/talking\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>lrb.co.uk/talking</strong></a></p>","author_name":"David Runciman and Catherine Carr"}