author and former Republican political consultant
Former Republican political consultant, who served time in prison for a phone jamming operation during the 2002 New Hampshire elections; author of How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative
Can voters believe that all their votes will be counted? Donald Trump is already raising questions about the outcome of the November election, telling supporters, "I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged. I have to be honest." While experts discount Trump's claims about "voter fraud," they concede that electronic voting is vulnerable to hacking. One advisor predicts a political "bloodbath" if Trump should lose, while the Clinton campaign calls him "a reflexive conspiracy theorist." Will the dispute lead voters to lose faith in the integrity of the electoral system? Is that the real threat to democracy in America?
Voter Suppression, Voter Fraud and Dirty Tricks With the presidential election just weeks away, both parties have lined up thousands of lawyers. They're preparing for a massive crush of new voters, new voting machines and new rules designed to avoid the kinds of controversies that are still raging over the outcomes in 2000 and 2004. But in battleground states, including Florida and Ohio, disputes are already under way. This year's election is so close there could be a tie in the Electoral College . At best, the massive registration of new voters will mean long lines, equipment failures and confusion that could keep thousands from voting. Meantime, Republicans warn about voter fraud and Democrats worry that the young, poor and elderly could be systematically disenfranchised. We hear how trying to make things better could be making them worse.
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.