Democratic National Committee
Melissa Byrne serves on the Democratic National Committee's transition committee. She is a former state director for MoveOn.org in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, and served as New Hampshire digital director for Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign.
Gunfire brings calls for unity on Capitol Hill A shooting spree targeting Republicans practicing for a charity baseball game this morning in Northern Virginia, brought a declaration of unity from House speaker Paul Ryan. "An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us." But as the Era of Donald Trump gets underway, Democrats are divided. Liberal activists dream of impeachment and enacting a single-payer health system, while party regulars just want to get back to governing. Yesterday, the primary election for Governor of Virginia was a test for both factions. When they get back to business as usual, can Democrats formulate a common strategy for upcoming elections? We hear what happened as both parties call for unity — at least for the moment.
Where Democrats go from here As the Trump Administration starts to build for the future, the Democrats are faced with re-building after last week's disaster. In the Senate, New York's Chuck Schumer is now Minority Leader, and he's added Vermont's Independent Bernie Sanders to his leadership team. On the House Side, long-time minority leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco faces a challenge from Tim Ryan, a relative newcomer from Ohio. As the Democrats try to pick up the pieces, will they try to use some of Trump's campaign promises to divide the GOP? Can long-time Democratic leaders survive calls for new blood after last week's unexpected disaster?
Still feeling the Bern: Hillary's troubles with millennial voters Hillary Clinton still leads Donald Trump in most polls, but she's having trouble exciting a key demographic group: The younger voters who flocked to Bernie Sanders. Why is that? Why doesn't the idea of the first female president generate more enthusiasm? Sanders' campaign forced Clinton to adopt what even he describes as the most progressive Democratic Party platform in history. But that's not good enough for some Sanders supporters, who now look to third party candidates. And in a close election, millennials could tip the balance. Guest host Todd Purdum examines whether there's anything Clinton can do to change that dynamic in the weeks ahead.
Third parties: voting your conscience or wasting your vote? For millions of voters, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton present an agonizing choice between the lesser of two evils. Libertarian Gary Johnson offers an alternative for fiscal conservatives who won't vote for Trump but can't stand Hillary. The Green Party's Jill Stein speaks to disappointed and angry supporters of Bernie Sanders. But third-party candidates always pose a moral quandary: can they be anything but spoilers? Do they take votes away from the least of the perceived "evils" and help to elect the worst? We look at this year's competition for the Republicans and the Democrats.
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
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.
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
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.