Background Briefing: August 12, 2026

The Call For Unity After David Crowley’s Narrow Win in Wisconsin 

We begin with an assessment of David Crowley’s narrow victory in yesterday’s primary election for governor in Wisconsin and whether it means that Democrats will unite against an increasingly dangerous and demented rogue president bent on staying in power. Joining us is Aaron Regunberg, a contributing editor at The New Republic, a climate lawyer, and a progressive organizer. He is the co-host of the Fighting Fascism podcast, director of the Climate Accountability Project at Public Citizen and previously served as member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. He has an article at The Nation, “Will El-Sayed’s Centrist Opponents ‘Vote Blue No Matter Who’?”

 

Trump, Miller and Mullin’s Sadistic Pleasure Has Haitians in Ohio Facing a Cruel Fate

Then we examine the latest example of the sadistic pleasure that Trump, Stephen Miller and Markwayne Mullin get from their increasingly cruel treatment of immigrants, even those here legally. Joining us to discuss the fate of Haitians in Ohio Trump and Vance accused of eating cats and dogs is Brian Concannon, a human rights lawyer and the Executive Director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti. He lived in Haiti from 1995 to 2004, where he served as a Human Rights Officer with the United Nations and Co-Managing Attorney with the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux, a public interest law firm in Haiti.

The Reality of the Real Economy is Biting Republicans 

Then finally we look into the real economy instead of the one Trump says is the hottest in the world and speak with Helaine Olen, managing editor at the American Economic Liberties Project. She is the author of Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry and a co-author of The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated. An MS NOW contributing columnist, her latest article is “A ‘$20 burrito’ debate shows the right’s struggles with Trump’s economy.”