Will the Tea Party Find a Second Act?

Making News

Michigan Right-to-Work Bill Heads to Governor's Desk ()

In Michigan, long considered a stronghold of organized labor, the state legislature today approved a right-to-work bill limiting union strength in the public sector. Another bill focusing on the private sector was approved last week. Republican Governor Rick Snyder is expected to sign both as early as tomorrow. Hundreds of protestors gathered at the state capitol today, shouting, "Shame on you," even though the outcome of the vote was considered a foregone conclusion. Micheline Maynard is senior editor of Changing Gears, a public media project exploring the re-invention of the industrial Midwest, and a contributor to Forbes.

Guests:

• Micheline Maynard: Changing Gears, @MickiMaynard

Main Topic

Will the Tea Party Find a Second Act? ()

In the 2010 midterm elections, members of the Tea Party swept into Congress with the fervor of true believers, vowing to cut spending and government regulation. But this year, voters sent some of them packing. Representatives Allen West and Joe Walsh -- two leading Tea Party figures -- lost re-election bids. Jim DeMint, a Tea Party leader, is resigning his Senate seat to take a job as the head of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank. Several who remain in Congress have been kicked off coveted committees after not going along with Republican leaders on key votes. The movement is still a force within the GOP, but the 2012 election has weakened their position. According to polls, the Tea Party is experiencing record lows in public opinion. We look at what’s next for the Tea Party. Can it remain an influential force in American politics?

Guests:

• Kate Zernike: New York Times, @kzernike
• E.J. Dionne: Brookings Institution, @EJDionne
• Jeffrey Lord: American Spectator, @AmSpec
• Chris Littleton: Littleton and Associates, @clittleton

Links:

• Larry O'Brien's 'No Final Victories: a Life in Politics from John F. Kennedy to Watergate'
• Zernike's 'Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America'
• EJ Dionne on the Tea Party and how the right wing lost in 2012
• Dionne's 'Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent'

Reporter's Notebook

Michael Connelly on 20 Years of Writing about the LAPD ()

One of Los Angeles cultural exports has been its crime fiction, and the latest to wear the Raymond Chandler mantle is Michael Connelly. A former LA Times crime reporter, he's the author of 25 best-selling novels, which have sold more than 40 million copies. Eighteen of them feature his tenacious homicide detective Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch. Now Connelly has published his latest book, The Black Box. The detective is reaching the end of his career, and is charged with re-investigating a cold case -– a murder that took place during the Los Angeles riots of 1992. Michael Connelly dropped by the KCRW studies last week to talk with Warren Olney.

Guests:

• Michael Connelly: author