S5 Ep22: 'This Country is Effed' (with Jonathan Cohn)
Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill is moving through Congress, and you may be surprised by some former Trump voters' reactions. Bulwark in-house policy wonk Jonathan Cohn joins Sarah to talk about the bill's negative consequences and why healthcare has been such a political albatross for the Republican Party. We also learn that plenty of voters are irritated by Congress only seeming to pass 'big' bills these days.
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S5 Ep21: New Jersey's (Very) Odd Year (with Amy Walter)
The Democratic primary for New Jersey governor is crowded, and Democratic voters all over the map. But as always, they're united in wanting a candidate who can fight the Trump administration effectively. So which candidate can do it? Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report and the podcast The Odd Years makes her sixth appearance on the show to discuss how these off-year elections in New Jersey and Virginia can change the political environment.
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S5 Ep20: Democrats on Biden's Decline
Sarah had a busy travel schedule this week, so we're bringing you some raw audio. With the recent revelations about Joe Biden's mental state during his term, we asked a couple of groups of Democrats what they thought during (and after) his presidency, and how it might inform their thinking going forward. These voters liked Biden but supported his decision to withdraw from the 2024 race. The excerpts of these groups were edited for length and for participants' privacy.
Donald Trump is looking to pass his Big, Not-So-Beautiful Bill through Congress. To do it, he needs to get it past congressional Republicans. So what do Republican voters think of congressional leaders, and whether this bill is as big and beautiful as it seems? New York Times congressional reporter Annie Karni joins Sarah.
By Annie Karni:
Mad House: How Donald Trump, MAGA Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man with Rats in His Walls Broke Congress
Go to https://surfshark.com/thefocusgroup or use code thefocusgroup at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!
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S5 Ep18: Liberal Order Elegy? (with Ian Ward)
JD Vance is one heartbeat away from the presidency, and he's a big part of the Republican Party's future. It turns out, his ideas are also part of the reason the second Trump term has been a lot more pure MAGA than the first. POLITICO's Ian Ward returns to the show to recap Vance's first few months in office, his political future, and go deep on some of the New Right's major intellectual influences.
By Ian Ward:
The Spiritual Case for Greenland
There’s No Need to Guess. JD Vance Is Ready to Ignore the Courts.
Curtis Yarvin’s Ideas Were Fringe. Now They’re Coursing Through Trump’s Washington.
The Seven Thinkers and Groups That Have Shaped JD Vance’s Unusual Worldview
Go to https://surfshark.com/thefocusgroup or use code thefocusgroup at checkout to
get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!
Unfiltered, uncompromising, unexpected—The Focus Group is a look into what the average voter thinks about politics, policy, and current events. Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, has conducted hundreds of hours of focus groups all across the country. She and a series of special guests will take you behind the glass to hear what real focus group participants have to say.
https://www.thebulwark.com/podcast/focus-group/
USA