Yes, Donald Trump is still leading in the national polls, but, after that, we turn to slightly more serious topics on today’s BradCast, as a nuclear deal is finally struck between Iran, the U.S., China, Russia, France, Great Britain and Germany.
But, of course, those heads you hear exploding are (mostly) Republican Presidential candidates who, it seems, are either talking about another deal entirely or they haven’t a clue how foreign policy actually works or maybe they’ve been living in a cave over the past 15 years. (Particularly the years from 2000 to 2008.)
Scott Walker, a very serious candidate for the Republican nomination, is particularly daft on the issue, opposing the agreement with Iran on absolutely ridiculous grounds. But his domestic policy is quite a different and far more disturbing matter. It includes a legal/political/Constitutional philosophy that, while once rejected by the courts and largely left for dead, is now “ascendant within the Republican coalition,” as my guest, constitutional law expert Ian Millhiser explains on today’s show.
“One thing that has transformed amongst the American right in the last several years is a desire to implement their agenda through any means necessary — and if that means bypassing the democratic process and just getting their friends on the Supreme Court to implement it, they’re happy to do that,” Millhiser tells me while discussing one key dog-whistle offered during the Wisconsin Governor’s announcement of his 2016 GOP candidacy on Monday.
“What they’re doing here is they’re trying to effectuate a wholesale transfer of power from the two branches of government that are elected to the one branch of government that is not elected,” he says. “And I don’t care what your agenda is, that’s not something that should be done.”
Not a dime’s worth of difference between the two major parties? We discuss that laziest of knee-jerkisms — you decide…
Download MP3 or listen online below…
[audio:http://bradblog.com/audio/BradCast_BradFriedman_IranDeal_IanMillhiser_071415.mp3]
(Snail mail support to “Brad Friedman, 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594 Los Angeles, CA 90028” always welcome too!)
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The mp3 link goes to yesterday’s bradcast.
Urg! Thanks, Alex! Fixed!