Congress returned from recess last week to two ongoing conflicts. One was Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s absence from the Senate, stalling the process by which Democrats can approve their judicial nominees. The other was what to do about the debt ceiling, which has already been breached and could lead to the U.S. government running out of money as early as June. In this installment of the podcast, the crew discusses the latest developments and what Americans think about it all.
They also dig into new data on America’s most and least popular senators and governors, and ask which animals American are and aren't willing to eat.
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This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
So what do we think? What do we? What do we think Tucker Carlson is is up to do anything he's running for president now I think he's enjoying being rich and the murdoch's are over it yeah, but you can be. President
Ok, it's the thunder. You know what is underrated, nathaniel, not being president, not being president number one, never to just being rich and out of the public eye
hello and made into the fire for the politics can cast iron galen drink as we
sit down to record on Monday morning political reporters around the country are on bite and watch. The expectation is that Biden plans on announcing his run for reelection this week likely on tuesday, so perhaps he has already announced by the time you are listening to this package.
but nonetheless we're going to wait to discuss that announcement until it actually happens. So today, here's what we ve got in store for you, congress
and from recent last week to at least two ongoing conflict. One was
diane fine signs absence from the senate stalling the process by which Democrats can approve their judicial nominees. The other was what to do about the debt ceiling, which has already been done
and could lead to the. U s: government running out of money as early as june, we're going to discuss what the latest developments are and what americans think about it. All then,
or America's most and least popular senators and governors morning consult released its updated rankings and you, dear listeners, how
questions about whether they are a good or bad use of pulling
I have some questions about a different poll, one in which you gov asked how many americans are down with eating elephants and other things as well. Here's me to discuss our editor in chief nate silver: hey, nate, uh, hey gail!
also are. Thus is politics reporter alexandrians, howitzer, hey Galen?
and senior elections, analyse nathaniel rake chain, Nathaniel,
hideel unhappy, Monday Harry you have you Monday, you know what I'm doing well, I went ahead. How do I know that the three of you
who are the real you you dont have a twitter checkmark anymore, whereas I
You have that's a real international me. Did you verify your phone number with with the idea of how you, if I know anyone with me,
no more followers living or dead. I think kobe, bryant, goddess checkmark back in and I'm living, and I did too
nay. I don't believe you haven't you actually period. I actually think it's like good comes.
cringe now. The whole discourse, I think it's like actually cringe you're not to pay,
It sounded like there's this guy is it
cringe here not to pay its cringe here, not to pay. We saw you
did I didnt pay, because I don't want to be enhanced.
I don't want to have more reach right. Only what the people I like to see my twitter now and when people
and then I'll pay when I have something to promote yeah, but no, it's like all these people were totally addicted. Totally addicted totally addicted to twitter right, like pretend like they're, too cool for school, I mean give me a break and my interesting
I disagree with you bought. Ok, my how take is that I would pay a dollars if it actually provided like a benefit, because I am definitely addicted to twitter and like if I got a bunch of cool features, though even asking for four years sure I'd pay.
like that, I'm not gonna pay twitter. This kind of vague devalued twitter for anyone is like it's either like plus
dollars or negative thousands of dollars right. It's not eight dollars a month either way,
but yeah. My view is like it's not really a good thing to be using very often and anything that would incentivize me using it more, I think is like I mean, especially because I'm not selling anything in particular on twitter is like not good for me in my life. I'd rather spend it in.
park or hanging out with friends. That's just me square Galen,
anyway, before this before this becomes a pike asked about twitter, which I have aimed over the course of this podcast's history to never do, although somehow,
you're too far into it. We are to move on and we're going to talk instead about eating elephants. So last week you gotta, published a survey that asked about the ethics
eating animals and the value of animals lives in comparison to humans, and, while I dont want this, podcast should become you gov pole spawn con either this one day
get me and to be there, it's a bit of a more comprehensive survey than just your one off kind of twelve pole trying to get people to respond to something audacious. So, first of all, I know that some of you have already seen this pole, but for those of you who haven't my guess, is that need you haven't what percentage of americans do? You think said that they would be open ethically. Morally to eating elephant when they pay.
Has anyone else not seeing the response to this? I didn't see the elephant number or what do you think it is alex? I want to say, like twelve percent, okay split kind of split the difference here. It is seventeen percent how about horse.
A thirty five percent. I mean horses aren't as smart as elephants and it probably tastes better. That's high and yeah. I want to see like around forty percent, for
I was gonna to say twenty five. I looked up elephant because you mentioned often, but I did not look up or specifically save twenty five. Twenty nine per cent would everyone on this package to be horse like it
is it not certain contacts, but not generally, you had been cherish wreckage. I think I would he ores
yeah I would eat horse come on. It's all a horse. I mean people.
horse, like that's normal to eat. I wouldn't like gold or like of garden in order a horse but like if I was in a con
asked where it was expected or normal to eat horse and like this was like part of the experience, then. Yes, I would do so you're saying it's all about peer pressure. Yes,
alex. No, I I agree with Nathaniel. I think you know it wouldn't be the first animal that I jump at the chance to nibble on, but I wouldn't say no I'll, try anything once so. Does that include elephant
Anything on scaling trap. We an cat and dog,
may. I draw the line, I'm sorry, I won't try and everything on toby's
guys, I'm only languages, a quivering being. I shall try anything once he's my lad. He wanted to hear you guys had to say about him and these answers.
Okay, so you draw the line. Judging us, you draw the line at dog, but not kind of a draw. The line at like domesticated animals, typically, which I think is where most americans kind of draw the line, but I think that's different. If you're asking people from america versus maybe people living in other countries right so, for example, in america, we domesticated guinea pigs, I'm like people just have them as pets in ecuador, where it's commonly eaten, would you eat it? Yeah? If I was in ecuador, they said
me some some guinea pig sure I think it I think dogs and cadmium is I'd nibble. Ok, we do nibble on a dog
yeah? I don't know somehow like somehow I have difficulty. I really have difficulty would talk. I don't think I should do
like wolf- I mean, even if you call it by a different name. If you like, this is what I'd be guy. Okay, I'll for me, sounds kind of not
as I we call pork, pork and not pig. The two main factors according to the pole did appear to be both intelligence and domestication, and so I guess what chimpanzee its intelligence cause. I don't think outside of the rare feature, film, not too many p.
what happened to own chimpanzees. It went in order or eighty six percent set its acceptable to eat check. In than eighty one percent cow, seventy nine percent sam
Seventy eight percent pay when all the way on down, like all, remains like it,
clear majority through octopus octopus, sixty percent
and then, when you got an optimist, a horse, it falls to twenty nine percent and dolphin twenty four percent cat. Twenty percent dog eighteen percent elephant seventeen percent-
chimpanzee fourteen percent. The main thing I disagree with here as more people would eat a dog than an elephant. Although you know it's within the margin of error, I would way eat an elephant before a dog anyway. Okay, this
is- has been fun. What I really want to ask is a different moral question that they posed to respondents in this pole.
Does that to understand how americans away the relative value of human and animal lives we adapted a simple
I'd version of a thought experiment initially conducted by a group of researchers in twenty twenty in our survey, half of respondents were asked questions about three scenarios.
Each scenario involved to sinking boats, one which contained a person and one which can
and one or more pigs in
three scenarios, the second boat contained either one pig, ten pigs or one hundred pigs for each scenario, respondents were asked to choose who they would save, either the person or the pigs. The other half of respondents were shown similar scenarios with a difference being
The second boat held dogs, not pigs in the scenarios involving pigs, only
one in ten people, so that they would choose to save the pig or pigs rather than the person. The number of pigs did not have much of an effect on responses. When there was one pig, seven percent say they would save it rather rather than the person when there are a hundred pigs, ten percent
say they would save the pigs. People who saw the dogs in areas where roughly twice as likely as people who saw the pigs scenarios.
Choose to save the animal or animals over the human. Unlike with the pigs, the number of dogs did have a significant effect. Fourteen percent sudden
save one dog rather than one person what twenty three percent say, what they would rather save one hundred dogs than one person. Ok, what did we learn from that Paul? I was
two shocked by the pig scenario, if anything like you said earlier, Galen the fact that there are people out there who would save one pig over one person, I thought was shocking because again, pigs are not really viewed. As
skated animals in the same way that like dogs are so I wasn't shocked that the numbers for dogs were higher. That said, I thought than hers for dogs would be
in higher than what you got found, may think one of the reasons why
maybe was a bit lower as because it didn't ask people like one person verses. Your dog is just like a generic dog
when its framed in that way, people are less likely to kind of. You know have empathy for that animal versus if it was like there,
snow tat. I think we also learned that most people
Let's say like the average person like places some amount of value on the life of a dog that is like a less.
Than the value of a life of a human, but it can be
It's applied enough that if you have one hundred
dogs are a thousand or something like that can exceed the value of one human, whereas for pig
it seems like maybe the average person of the median personal signs.
no value to the life of a pig, because, no matter how much you multiply the pig it didn't seem to make much difference,
anything, I'm zero still zira exactly with the actual thing that got me about this thought experiment is that it is like we keep talking about an eye on this podcast, and it is the kind of question that we don't necessarily have a gun.
The ponderous I mean there is a majority opinion, but there's not some kind of clear agreed upon morality.
And something as simple as like saving a human life like one humans life. That's, why
then I thought when I saw this pole. The other thing I thought when I saw this port with it, who are these seven percent of peace?
Worth saving one pig over one human is that an example of trolling pollster war
Is it really just like there is a segment of society that does not value human life, all that much
as an interesting question, gave him I'm always on the lookout for poles, that kind of our
so lopsided that you can kind of almost quantify like how many people are just like randomly answering online poles or or just showing the pollster, like you said, I feel like there, you could probably
got a person who, like you, is like a very strong
animal rights activist and thinks that humans are terrible for what they ve done to the plan
at who will genuinely value one pig over over one human. But it does kind of approaching that number, where maybe five percent of of people were trolling, the poster or just picking at random, and then two percent of people with genuinely wanted to save that pig or something like that.
well, but we should move on and get back to our regularly scheduled programming. So let's talk about what's going on in congress,.
as I mentioned at the top of the show. Last week, members of congress returned to at least two ongoing conflicts in washing
and one over diane fine, central role on the judiciary committee and her place in the senate in general. Also, the debate over raising the debt ceiling, so fine herself ass, to be removed from the judiciary committee, which republicans blocked and so far she's rejected, calls to resign. Of course, if she did resign should automatically be removed from the judiciary committee and she could be replaced with a different democrat. Who could help democrats pursue their judicial?
maintenance. House speaker, Kevin Mccarthy, for his part on the debt ceiling proposed a deal that would raise the ceiling while cutting federal spending, which Biden rejected upon arrival all right. Let's begin with the debt ceiling, so Mccarthy's proposal would do the following. It would raise the debt ceiling for about a year until march,
twenty two thousand and four or thereabout it would rescind around fifty billion dollars in unspent covert relief funds. It would enact about three point: five trillion dollars in unspecified budget cuts by freezing spending at twenty twenty two levels. It would roll back green tax initiatives in the inflation reduction act. It would roll back the increased funding to the I r s. It would put stricter work requirements on food stamps and medicaid recipients, and it would block Biden's student loan forgiveness
actually now put aside for a second. If democrats would ever agree to this. This is the first plan mccarthy has put out there. The only plan that mccarthy has put out there, and so now Democrats can basically campaign on it. As this is what republicans priorities I this is what they want to do. Could something like this be popular
No, I I think this would generally be pretty unpopular, so I pulled several polls that kind of asked about specific elements of the republican plan plan. Our latest costs I could come to
So first you have an ape he north pole. This is from march. That did fine
Sixty percent of americans say that government spending is generally too much overall, but when you asked
about specific things they actually
that no there's there's too little spending on that. So six.
five percent of americans thought there was too little spending on education. Sixty three percent thought that thought there was too little spending on health care. Fifty three percent thought there was too little.
border security. Even thirty five percent said there was too
spending on the military, which was the closest twenty nine percent thought there was too much spending in the military
When you move on to the inflation reduction act repeals according to morning, console back for one this past sixty
percent percent of americans supported the tax credits for renewable energy. Fifty percent supported the attack credits for electric vehicles. That's fifty percent, with thirty three percent proposed. So still a significant number are
in favour than opposed to that, and then when you ask about vitamins, are student loan plan? That's closer, but according to a you, have a survey. Fifty three percent of adults support the cancelling of up to ten thousand.
I was a student loans and forty four percent were opposed, but, however,
I should say that the the irs part conduct came, bringing back the funding for the irs. That probably would be popular. That seems like the most popular part of this republican plan.
Some morning, council also asked about this. This is from a poll in january and voters support
cancelling that additional iris funding, forty six percent, thirty six percent or very sore
We bridge that gap, the americans think actually biased.
never get majority americans think that the EU is government spends too much and that spending should be reduced, but that on every individual programme it sounds like there's not an appetite for reducing spending
wake up. Ok, then, whatever americans want good question yeah I mean, I think, part of this
it's probably just due to you. Americans, haven't thought all that part about it
When you ask people just in general it you know it feels, like the government probably spends too much money, but when you ask them to specifically kind of sacrifice, something and they're less on board. With that
In addition, of course, different types of people want to cut different types of things, so I couldn't legitimately you can ask someone
One person here, probably on the left to you, know, says: yes, there is too much. You know we do spend too much money. Oh
what what should we cut the military and then you ask them be on the right and they say yeah, we do spend too much money. What should we cut? Oh, we should cut. You know education and healthcare funding and when you put the
two people. In the same, obviously, they both count for america
too much money overall, but the the proof, the the kind of the difficulties, obviously or in the details. Yet I think those parties indifferent.
is that you can have alluded to. Nathaniel are really helping shape, at least how mccarthy is going about it.
Nations on their so
same ap- nordic survey republican said that too much is spent on assistance to cities about half said
too much is spent on the environment and republicans
Also more likely than democrats indicate that the military law enforcement in the border were under funded, but democrats by compare
San said that too little is spent on aid to the poor, the environment, childcare assistance, drug rehabilitation and scientific research. So I think that's one sticking point. I will continue to be a part of the negotiations both on violence and end on Mccarthy's, and I should also say that there is a trend in this AP north pole, but we ve been citing that far more americans today. I think that the euro should cut spending than did the month before the euro shut down over covert, sir. It sixty percent today save a u s shook
expanding. He was thirty, seven percent who said that the? U s should cut spending in february of two thousand and twenty, so I think there is some sense that, like we have spent a lot of money, I dunno, if it's the interest rates, aren't you said you know the public, an economist, but maybe there,
also aware that interest rates are rising or what have you at least that inflation has. You know sped up, although cooled off a little bit in recent months
there there does seem to be some awareness amongst the public about how our financial circumstances have changed over the past four years.
I'd also throw in thermostatic public opinion, though you know at at that time, in twenty twenty donald trump was president there was a republican president. People tend to think republican governments spend unless- and now you have are not now, but for the last two years. Basically, you had a democratic trifecta, which did, of course you know, pass a lot of new spending like the inflation reduction act, and so I think you know that
can be part of. It is well before we get to dine Feinstein. Does anyone have thoughts on all that? How this all plays out? Because Biden has said that he's not negotiating budget cuts? He wants a clean debt ceiling rays and, of course, mccarthy, who said no, we want to cut
and in exchange for, raising the dead ceiling in the past. You no one is how
and under obama, Democrats did agree to make spending cuts. We getting to a place where it seems like Democrats would agree to sums
It cuts well Galen. I aim,
I say I know how this will end, but I feel, like probably we're just in for a bunch of brinksmanship again one thing that we have seen in these kind of fights over and over again is that people wait until the last
to work things?
alton, really the only thing that can really force them to come to an agreement. As this impending deadline- and- and you know it does seem like at some point in june- and the
the us government's going to run about out of it's quote, unquote extraordinary measures that it's currently taking to to keep us from, hitting the debt limit and obviously, if we go past that it could have disastrous impacts on the economy. So at that point I I feel like the
will probably work something out, although I'm probably less confident and that now because of how kind of weak mccarthy's speakership and position as than I was beckoned twenty, eleven or whatever, but yeah
This is just the the opening salvo from Republicans and obviously I think that it is going to become
ma am, but you know at least that there's a start to the negotiations. He, I think tat republican said they wanted a vote on the four by wednesday or thursday.
of this week. What was confusing me is that seem, like members across the conference, expressed reservations about the bill for different reasons. You know conservatives wanting deeper,
its and stricter language and some of the areas moderates
I didn't want to go on record for spending cuts that are essentially going to be dead, on arrival in the senate
I think some members who are upset about cuts to green energy.
Ex credits and would oppose stricter food stamp language. So my
understanding. Is that european leadership does it intend to change the bill taxed and if they don't, then I mean just mccarthy, even have the votes to get this out of the house door. Archer algae urban reporting on the other stand off in congress last week, which was over whether die in florence on credit stepped down from the judiciary committee, while keeping her position as a senator vein,
basically unanimous consent in order to do that, Democrats did they didn't get it republicans objected, and so now Democrats are stuck because they can't get their judicial appointments approved, while fine sign is out on medical leave, essentially so what's happening. What's going on water
recital saying so some Democrats, you know amy clear, which are philips among others, have been more bold,
I'd say in calling for her fine sends resignation, or at least you know, they're talking about this subject more openly than I think they had in the past, but other democratic.
Diplomacy have said that you know she has essentially earned the right to be in the cedar as even suggested that criticism of her is sexist, so fine science vendors are correct. I think, in the sense that sexism plays a role in american politics, but I think one thing that distinguishes this particular situation from past situations where you ve had all people serving in congress argued
pass their prime, is what what is at stake here. Yet her absence, like you said, Galen, is blocking one of the parties
its priorities and democrats: don't have an easy solution to that problem I mean: can you flush
out a little bit more like why our folks, like Nancy policy, saying that this is calls for her to resign, are sexist.
you know I I don't know if I, if I quite agree with that- and I think you know- They'Re- also very old men who have used pressure to resign and refused to do so. I mentioned this in my piece.
said Kennedy from terms
Carl correll like the office, similar pressures to resign and
whether it be due to old age or because they were facing similarly debilitating illnesses? I'm so quite know if I buy the fact,
Thou were only calling out this one specific instance, because fine sign is woman. You know it isn't
like we're debate about like feminism and what that means and whether its elevating one individual senator versus the people she represents. So I think that's an argument that I don't.
by. But one thing we also mentioned in our story is that you know
calling on older politician.
She resign has been a particularly fraught topic for women. In particular, I mean it
Remember what happened with our rigi veto during her final years on the court, people who even dared to speak up against her ailing healthful, really
as sexist or grows, and you know those arguments of course did not age while, but I think there is a fear may be and how this looks when you're so openly calling for a woman tours
I think the opposite of that is what's leading some democrats to at least take a more measured approach to how they talk about this? What one of my pet peeves is like when people make a comparison, I need like a catchy name for the stripe could make a comparison to something, but the other thing is stupid
right and there like well such and such old man who had dementia wasn't as to resign. So why should Feinstein
The answer is: actually the guy should have
asked to resign right way with dementia.
In the u s senate, but in any event like it
better if we were like more age, aware again, there,
We like a hundred people in the
well send it right. Can we have like a standard of like basic mental competence for all one hundred of them? Does it seem like that higher bardic, clear at the bar, like actually much too polite about, like letting p
take their personal time when they are representing us, the people you now saw
Think it's a big. I think it's a big problem for
well vanya in general that we don't have a person representing them, fulltime, the. U S, Senate again, you can pick one from that state how many people, california, forty million people, pick one other person. So that's where that's where I come
on this. I agree with you. Need you know it's not like shit.
Should say in office, but like all these other old ben should have also enough it's it's like no, they all should have left once they had these like clear.
This isn't like things our preventing them from doing their jobs, but I think the difference in some of those past
Is it may be why we didn't see as many calls for their resignation to be clear. There were some calls, but may be the reason why wasn't overwhelming was because you know they weren't, that tie breaking vote in the same way that she is today yo. Philosophically, that should not matter it didn't matter. If you're, the fifty six vote or the fiftieth vote, if you're pass the age of or pass age in, prime of which you can serve, you should say
down. If you can't see your constituents, you should step down. But you know, senators are really face their voters as often once every six year or so you know,
you're really know the day to day of what their goal
through in you. Since you don't have to be in front of voters, I think they can sometimes get away with
is doing the bare minimum skating by doing votes essentially, but I mean fine einstein's I've been doing that, so I don't know how much longer she can go
maker and ambassador malter Malta, or something speaking of the voters in the situation. What do the voters thing? How do they feel about maybe Feinstein in particular or older or ailing
members of congress broadly well to preview our next segment diane
weinstein has only a plus seven that approval rating, which is not very good, considering she's a Democrat in a very blue state. In fact, she
has the lowest if you are just centres, approval rating for the partnership of their state. She has the low
Such a just at a poor rating of any democratic senator, so she's, not super popular in california are now is not as much as you would expect. In fact, she is outside of california, also not popular. You gotta contest pole, taken in mid april, while this has been playing out, show that sixty five percent of americans believe Feinstein should resign after being told that she's been absent from congress for more than a month for medical reasons, and that includes a majority of democrats of Democrats who believe old age brings wisdom and experienced members of congress even a whopping. Seventy four percent still say fines.
I should retire and if you look more broadly more than half of american support a maximum age limit for elected officials, so it seems, like americans aren't that divided on this americans. Don't think that we should be in such a way.
yeah, I mean you seen their spirit being issue in other contexts to write like making. Here we launched her presidential campaign saying that there should be a mental competency test. I think fur four presidents over seventy five but of course
an issue. That is something that that Alex mentioned in her article is there?
How do you design a mental competency test? That's kind of fair and unbiased is not even possible, so you know, I think it might be another issue where you
The vast majority of americans can agree. There is a problem, but a solution does not easily presented off. I had a nickel every time. I heard that a high and with that, since I dont have a solution, I gasped myself or get a move on and we are going to talk about what you just previewed, Nathaniel, the most and least popular governors and senators in america.
morning, council recently released its updated approval ratings for every senator and governor in the country,
This is a somewhat unique paul because it gives us insight into how every state wide lawmaker is doing according to voters in their stay in work
relatively uniform survey. It essentially allows for better comparisons than any other survey. We have amongst the different lawmakers, which is to say a lot of poles. You know stana college will pull maybe just new york, so we'll get a sense of how new york stay right. Lawmakers are doing, but that's
only according to that one survey and it can be harder to compare, say a Siena college poll to an emerson college poll or whatever you may want to do so. This is all one pollster looking at all the states in the country, looking at every senator and governor okay, so here are the results. According to how morning console
publish them. The most popular senators are brian shots from hawaii Bernie sanders from vermont.
And john browser from wiring top three, three least
popular our midst, Mcconnell from Kentucky Joe mantra from west Virginia and susan collins from mean the three most popular governors are fail. Scott from from
mark, gordon from my arming and christian, who knew from new Hampshire least popular, our tina kodak from organ jim pelon from nebraska and katy hobbs from arizona. So we got a couple. Questions from listeners about
The first is that morning consult when writing up their findings, didn't use net approval. They just use basic approval or disapproval numbers now. Oftentimes. We use not approve.
which is where you take the approval rating and subtract the disapproval rating in order to get a combination of both
things like someone may not have a very high priority, but maybe it's because they're not all that well now in any way, but then they have a pretty low disapproval rating. That's not approval! So
when trying to determine both or least popular.
But they maybe using net approval like how should they go about doing this? Did they do it the right way?
so I think they should be using nets approval you no matter what
Well, obviously, accounts both for how many people like you and how many people dislike you and approval rating can be nebulous in that regard. Right so, like let's look at Jim Pellon, he is the newly elected governor of Nebraska. He has a forty five percent approval rating which, as you mentioned, Galen puts him in the the bottom three, when looking at just approval rating
but its disapproval rating is just thirty percent and that
is basically a twenty five percent in nebraska, instead of an opinion of him yet which makes total sense because he was just like tat. He hasn't done that much yet so
like I'm, not sure he should be in the bottom three, when has not approval rating as plus fifteen, you know you get more information by looking.
Providing that, sadly, no net operating does strip out this. This question of how many people
I know who you are and so in that sense right, a it plus ten,
pervading can be very different. If you are you, a thirty percent approve twenty percent disapprove than if you are fifty five percent approve forty five percent approved. That's also important for patients are really you'd want to look at kind of all three, but if you had to kind of make a ranking, I would do it by another priority. The next question that we got on this right up was why republican governors appear to be more popular than democratic ones. So ten of the bottom fifteen governors are done
france and eleven of the top fifteen governors are republicans. So what are we meant to take away from this? That, basically, republicans are better at doing what voters want when it comes to this day.
Well, no so at this actually just kind of boils down to the simple fact that there are more like very red states,
then there are very blue states, and so, as I mentioned, I kind of have a a trick or a statistic that I that I do, which is that I subtract out the partisan lean of of these states from all these net approval ratings, and it comes up with a metric that I like to call popularity above replacement
there are governor- and it basically tells you like how much more or less popular is the governor or senator, then kind of a generic politician would be expected to be in that state. So, in other words, it measures the the strength or the weakness of their personal
Round and so when you do that, calculation and your order, the governors by park populated popularity above replacement, governor
Shelly ten of the of teen are democrats.
And so here- and that includes, I think, a lot of Democrats who have managed to have these arm. These special brands and conservative states, or, for example, Andy bashir of Kentucky, laura kelly of kansas, are the top two democrats and fell scott of vermont is the top republican. So these are obviously people who have built their own brand, separate from their their national party within their state, and so so now
Do you have to bear in mind that the context of the state before you make any pronouncements about like? Oh, you know the governor,
of is doing a great job. Of course he is because people in that state are republicans in their already inclined to like him. When you look at the bottom fifteen, according to park ward
You find yeah, there's less of a trend in terms of partisanship. You have six democrats and nine republicans in the in the bottom. Fifteen
But yes, you have some people you're not to get too. We see about specific state politics, but
absolute bottom by park is Kevin. Stead of Oklahoma he's had a kind of a lot of trouble kind of clashing with fellow republicans in the state.
Democrats, you have damage key of rhode, island and cathy hopeful of new york people, probably no gas,
alcohol has has clashed with democrats in her state for being too moderate. She just kind of had a big showdown with that. She lost with the with Democrats in the legislature about getting her choice for supreme court justice on their state supreme court, or it's called the court of appeals in new york, but it's their highest court. So we're going to call it the supreme court. I will then you're both too progressive and to moderate. So she also just lost going head to head against suburban state legislators trying to change housing policy in new york city to force suburbs of new york city to build a lot more housing in the coming five to ten years and westchester and long island state legislators said absolutely not interested. So.
I just really getting it from both sides of the democratic political coin. On that one knee and Alex you have thoughts on these ratings. Is this surprising? Do you think this is good data? Have you learned something from us.
mean. Obviously, people feel like it's a cliche but feel like washington is broken right and the fact that governors face,
Less person pressure than centres do because you are
beholden to the borders of your state and you're, not voting on national issues with not in another senators, and so there's more flexibility
There are some very rightly you're hobbling governors.
the democratic governors. But there is more flexibility to be like you know a bill, scott
a edwards in them
vienna right, where you we break them all a little bit and people actually
that right, the actual like the crew,
Sport is a moderate government governor template.
It's easier to do with it and then than if you're in the senate. If you aren't conservative governor working, let the conservative pledges
nature and you're giving conservative voters like what they want on fiscal and social issues. I think it would make sense
popular. I think a big reason why we be democratic governors, don't see those same results is because no seats can't really rack up debt. In the same way, the federal government can- which I think makes it hard
or for a blue state democrats to satisfy their voters in the same way? Republicans can, as it relates to like fiscal constraints and things like that? Hmm, that's interesting, yeah! You know one when it comes to these numbers. One of the things that modern console pulled out of this data itself in the write up of this most recent round of polling was looking at two of the most vulnerable incumbents in the senate in two thousand twenty four, who are both Democrats in this case jon tester and Joe Manchin, and they come to the conclusion from this data that jon tester is well positioned in his reelection bid, but that Joe Manchin is not looking at this data. Do you think,
I dont made a good case for why that is. I mean it's not surprising, exact glee right, I mean cause like I had I mean there's something about like mansion
gets himself in the crowd.
There's a lot right, cotton across errors and is a figure of national attention and tester is kind of like much more low key.
even though he's actually actually much more progressive dimension. Each kind of like doesn't like raise a big stink about things and like to percent of
keeping your head down and don't try to be. Like super viper
Does a man right, maybe there's something to be said, bird, for that, it's easier to
small stay oliver small states we have like a more
and with the voters and more constituent services and things like that, but not so
and gave him like, but by priors, where I guess, but it is interesting and of their respective approaches to to governance, but that's using collins.
kind of has mentioned mansion philosophy and and she you know she, when reelection my pretty comfortable margin
Oh, I don't know anything think not. I think what you have to be a hundred to here is how opinion of romance and has,
and so when he was mister by partisan and he was pretty open
ostentatiously being like no Democrats, I'm not gonna agree to your build backbiter plan, that's too expensive, etc. He was quite popular in west virginia, but its popularity fell off a cliff after he supported the inflation reduction act and so by a kind of
running up attention surrounding his position on all of these bills. He made himself popular, but then, when he actually caved, he made himself on popular and what I think maybe John telstra has done do
went from your mansion is essentially he makes his personal identity
as a farmer man of the people montana in etc, front and centre, and doesn't talk about the policy all that much so he tries to straddle the by partisan angle from an identity person.
Dave and it doesnt wasn't out there saying whether or not you are going to support the bill. Backbiter plan you know on of Sunday shows, etc, etc. That's it that year
since yeah I mean when you Nathaniel, consider partisanship of the state in the equation here. What do you find in terms of the differences between
faster and mention yeah, so west Virginia a lot redder than monti.
It is a test her, as we have mentioned, has a higher pervading, so so mantra is still significantly more popular than you would expect him to be. He has a pars score, repopulating above replacement, senator of plus nineteen,
but tester actually by far has the most the highest par score in the senate, he's at plus forty five, so he's at fifty eight percent approval and thirty three percent disapproval in a state with an hour postponed
presently so it does he might tester is, is is kind of how has the right strategy ear and her?
Like reelection prospects, I think you actually don't necessarily need something is fancy as pars. I think you look at the fact that Joe is
is under water in a state that is not the same partisanship right. If, if you are an underwater senator but you're in a friendly state partisanship lies
it'd be like okay, like partisanship, is going to carry over the you know the over the edge but like. Where is the
imagine going to find his extra voters if his approval rating is at thirty eight per cent and most you know, you've tapped out every Democrat, basically in the state. Maybe I mean that's not true, because probably a lot of Democrats disapprove of of him because of his his moderate positions, but but I think it's going to be hard.
him to get too to a victory there in twenty four, if even decides to run, whereas you
see John tester like he he's got? The fifty percent are proliferating. He can.
were to lose some of those people, the partisanship, not a ton, but but some of them it. So let me hard for him, but that I'd much rather be him. At this point, I any final thought before we wrap up this progress. We covered a lot of ground today,
after ground because of anyone talk about done. One hundred, oh yeah. Well now, even ok, now that you have more
breaking news, breaking media news,
durham, while rewarding those podcast, so don lemon announced that he has. He has been terminated. How does that change? The american media
landscape new york.
the new yours is war
the last time I saw him do new year's eve coverage. He was in new orleans like
draw out, we ve getting a tattoo were like a piercing or something,
since then, we'd like they ve, always leave their acres. They can't drink on new year's eve right, like me,
and I can make no judgments if I was alive
during an era. On new year's eve, I would have done the exact same thing, which was he was like talking about his dating history and threatening to get a tattoo. So that is exactly what I would do if you allowed me to be drunk
drunk on earth. We should, maybe maybe we should do it
We should do in your show, guys,
that will live for years. Podcasts. Ok! Well, I'm you know, I'm upkeep
open sea. If we hear any other interests
media news this week, but for now that's a so thank you alex need an offence.
thank you thank you guys so much you, my name is Galen druv attorney child is in the control room
also on video editing, you can get in touch by emailing us at podcast at five thirty, eight dot com. You can also, of course, tweet us with any questions or comments. If you're a fan of the show, leave us a rating or review
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Transcript generated on 2023-05-17.