Democratic strategist Fox News contributor
Democratic strategist and pollster and Fox News contributor; Chairman of Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, a market-research company headquartered in Washington, DC; research and strategic consultant to President Bill Clinton during his 1996 reelection campaign
Democrats, Fox News and the Internet With caucuses scheduled for early next year, Nevada's Democratic Party scheduled a presidential debate on the Republican-leaning Fox Cable News Channel this coming August. National Democratic Chair Howard Dean said that was a way of reaching a large audience of disgruntled conservatives who might be looking for a new place to go. Internet activists complained that Fox News is "a mouthpiece for the Republican Party," and now the debate has been cancelled . MoveOn.org is one Internet voice telling the Democrats to freeze Fox out all over the country. Is that good strategy or "political suicide?" Who decides what's "fair and balanced?" What's the lesson about the impact of the Internet? We hear from journalists, watchdogs, political activists and political scientists. NOTE: For those who were listening to today's program about the Nevada Democratic Party and Fox News, guest Doug Schoen was identified as a Democratic strategist, which he is. Doug Schoen is also a paid commentator for Fox News, which we did not know until after our broadcast was over.
Can Congress Be 'The Decider' on Iraq Troop Surge? President Bush says he's "the decider" when it comes to Iraq, but even many Republicans disagree. While such dissent has generated a raging battle in Washington over the Constitutional separation of powers, what clearly matters most to both parties is politics. For the moment, Senate Democrats are unified behind a resolution criticizing the increase of troops in Iraq. Republicans are divided over at least five different measures, amid predictions that their party will be politically damaged for generations. If Democrats don't come up with a more acceptable alternative for Iraq, will they still be able to capitalize politically? We get perspective from Democratic consultant Doug Schoen and Republican strategist John McLaughlin. (An extended version of this discussion was originally broadcast earlier today on To the Point.)
Who Really Is "The Decider?" The dispute over sending more troops to Iraq is becoming, in part, an argument over the Constitutional separation of powers during wartime. Even Republicans dispute the President's claim that he is the sole "decider," insisting that Congress has power over more than just money. Can the Congress tell the President what to do in Iraq, presuming it wants to? Members of both parties are threading their way between opposition to an unpopular war and support for American troops in the field. We speak with political strategists, pollsters, and legal experts about the Constitutional issues and a political battle that’s setting the stage for the 2008 elections.
School Shootings Prompt Call for Gun Control From September 27 through October 2, from Bailey, Colorado and Cazenovia, Wisconsin to an Amish schoolhouse in rural Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, separate school shooting incidents left several students and one principal dead. The tragedies have barely raised a response from beltway politicians, while the outrage over former Congressman Mark Foley's obscene text messaging to junior pages has grown to a roar. With the November elections looming ahead, why have Democrats not seized the moment to call for tighter gun control? Have we ceased to believe that gun control is not the answer to stopping violence, especially in our schools? Should we be looking to other countries, such as Australia and Canada, where there are both tight gun laws and low gun crime? (An expanded version of this discussion originally aired earlier today on To the Point.)
School Shootings Prompt Call for Gun Control From September 27 through October 2, from Bailey, Colorado and Cazenovia, Wisconsin to an Amish schoolhouse in rural Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, separate school shooting incidents left several students and one principal dead. The tragedies have barely raised a response from beltway politicians, while the outrage over former Congressman Mark Foley’s obscene text messaging to junior pages has grown to a roar. With the November elections looming ahead, why have Democrats not seized the moment to call for tighter gun control? Have we ceased to believe that gun control is not the answer to stopping violence, especially in our schools? Should we be looking to other countries, such as Australia and Canada, where there are both tight gun laws and low gun crime?
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.
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.