Day: October 7, 2021

Background Briefing: October 7, 2021

 

Intra-party Democratic wrangling is Hurting Biden and the Chances of Holding the House and Senate

We begin with how much the Democrat’s intra-party wrangling is damaging the Biden presidency whose poll numbers have recently dropped by 13 points making it unlikely the Democrats will hold the House and Senate in 2022. Joining us is Simon Rosenberg, the President and Founder of the New Democrat Network, a leading progressive think tank and advocacy organization. Previously, he worked on the Dukakis and Clinton Presidential campaigns where he was a member of the 1992 Clinton War Room and he joins us to discuss his article at the New Democrat Network, “Memo: Time for Dems To Come Together.”

 

China’s Escalating Military Pressure on Taiwan Could Get Out of Hand

Then we speak with Shelley Rigger, a Senior Fellow in the Asia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and a Professor of East Asian Politics at Davidson College. She is the author of Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse as well as two books on Taiwan’s domestic politics, Politics in Taiwan: Voting for Democracy and From Opposition to Power: Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party. Her latest book is The Tiger Leading The Dragon and we discuss the escalating intrusions by Chinese warplanes in Taiwan’s airspace and the warning from Taiwan’s Defense Minister that an accidental war could break out.

 

While Arms From the U.S. Flow to Mexican Criminals, the U.S. Sells Guns To The Mexican Marines

Then finally we speak with Ryan Devereaux, an award-winning investigative journalist covering criminal justice, immigration enforcement, and national security for The Intercept. He has reported on the drug war in Mexico and was a lead reporter on The Intercept’s award-winning series the Drone Papers. He joins us to discuss the visit to Mexico by the heads of the State Department, the DOJ and DHS and his latest article at the Intercept, “THE U.S. IS ORGANIZING A $5 MILLION GUN SALE TO MEXICAN FORCES ACCUSED OF MURDER AND KIDNAPPING.