Fed Up

Roy, Eleanor, and Tom welcome 27-year old Wisconsin legislator and rising Democratic star Greta Neubauer to the show. Greta relates her optimism for a new progressive agenda and a turnaround in Wisconsin in 2020. The Cocktail Guy joins from Jerome, Arizona , where he discovered a special twist for the venerable Manhattan. And the group completes the 2020 Democratic Presidental Bracket. Guess who wins?Finally, Roy discusses the upcoming fresh look for FedUp!, with special programs on key historical political events that changed history. Transition 1992-93? The Travel Office mess? Monica? G.H.W. Bush's snub of Reaganites? Small mistakes lead to monumental outcomes!Stay tuned for the New FedUp!

Roy, Eleanor, and Tom rake Trump over the coals for the ongoing federal shutdown and his blatantly conflicted EPA appointee, a former coal, oil, and chemical lobbyist. They deal with the Trump-Pelosi battle, and review This Day in History! Meuller's sword of Damocles draws nearer to Trump's head!Former senior Biden advisor Jared Bernstein discusses his solution to the revenue crisis, and Roy leads Eleanor and Tom through the 2020 Democratic Presidential Bracket to get to the semifinals. Look who survives!

Roy and Eleanor are joined by former WH CoS  John Podesta to review the catastrophic damage Trump and his lackeys are doing to the world’s efforts to curb carbon emissions. Podesta, one of the architects of the Obama WH leadership on the climate crisis, blasts Trump and his nominal negotiators at the Poland climate talks. As world leaders grappled with solutions to the worsening climate situation, the Trumpsters trotted out a presentation touting the benefits of coal. Would be unbelievable if we hadn’t had two years of this horrific behavior.Roy, Eleanor, and Claude make their first round picks in the FedUp! 2020 Democratic Presidential Sweepstakes. Hillary gets a bye, but will she run?Stay tuned!

In this pre-holiday episode, Roy and Eleanor are joined by long-time WH reporter Tom DeFrank and welcome Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Washington Post associate editor David Maraniss.Maraniss discusses his new book about the madness of the Joe McCarthy witch hunts of the 50’s, and his father and uncle’s entrapment by the power-mad Wisconsin Republican Senator. The threads of that era’s cruelty and political madness run straight through to Trump and his rabid followers.Wisconsin resident Maraniss reviews the pathetic record of Paul Ryan as the outgoing Speaker delivers his pablum farewell address to Congress.Third Wave founder Matt Bennett weighs in with his organization’s efforts to nurture a center-left political rebirth, designed to give Democrats a stronger position for the 2020 elections.

General John Kelly is forced out by Javanka and a 36-year old snubs the POTUS offer. White House madness continues! Roy and Eleanor welcome former WH CoS John Podesta to the podcast to discuss the job and why no sane professional would join this White House. The potential for impeachment hearings grows on the eve of the Democratic takeover of the House. Nancy Pelosi pulls of a total smackdown of Trump in the Oval Office.

Roy and Eleanor take on the Trump administration's alarming report on the growing climate crisis and Trump's rebuke of his scientists. He trusts his gut more than other people's brains!You can't make this stuff up! Sally Hardin, climate specialist at the Center for American Progress, describes the severity of the report's findings. Mississippi steps backward toward the Confederacy as it elects Cindy Hyde-Smith to the Senate, she who spoke glowingly of pubic hangings and suppression of black votes during her campaign.FedUp! broadens its generational participation and welcomes American University political science student Joel Saklad to explain where the youth vote is headed. Republicans will not be pleased.

The Democratic committees are poised to start REAL oversight into the Trump administration, while the President threatens to attack anyone who questions his authority or his administration's countless scandals. Roy and Eleanor are joined by Ron Elving to consider the meaning behind the mid-term elections.Tennessee Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper, senior, newly majority member of the House Oversight Committee joins the show to discuss the Committee's agenda. And what happened in Tennessee, once a shining prospect for a Democratic Senate takeover?The Question of the Day asks: What the Hell do Committees Really Do???

Roy and Eleanor are joined by veteran NPR political editor Ron Elving to dig into the mid-term election results, and Trump's off-the-wall press conference. What changes are on the horizon with so many new women in office at every level? Is Beto O'Rourke the new Obama? Can Trump use his new tacky at Justice to shut down the Mueller investigation? Ron Elving dissects the new political dynamic in his home state of Wisconsin, which dumped the conservative darling Scott Walker on Tuesday.And the Cocktail Guy brings classic insight into the venerable cocktail! Which, of course, we all need to withstand the ramped-up madness coming out of the White House.

With five days until the critical mid-term elections, why are they so important? Democrats are poised to take the House, and the Senate is still up for grabs, but what difference does it make?Roy and Eleanor look at the numbers, the historical importance of the election, and how Democrats in the House might hold the Trump madness at bay for the next two years.And why are elections important? It's about Trump's race-baiting, insult-tossing behavior, but also about how Republican policies can strangle future generations.Heat up the chili! Chill the beer! Get ready for a long night next Tuesday!

Roy opens the show with a withering blast at our Chickenhawk in Chief, who used numerous suspicious medical conditions to dodge military service during the Vietnam war era. Worse, Dick Cheney, who cynically obtained five deferments because the military was "just not convenient for him". Yet he enthusiastically used his raw political power to lead the U.S. into a senseless invasion of Iraq. And Gingrich? Don't get Roy started!!Eleanor Clift and Tom deFrank join Roy in welcoming longtime congressman, and decorated, wounded Korean War veteran Charles Rangel to discuss his many efforts to create a program of universal service for young Americans. Current Minnesota Congressman Nolan closes the show with his own efforts to attack senseless military spending.

We get the latest assessment from key observers. The critical Tennessee Senate race has tightened, and Marsha "Trump-Before-Trump" Blackburn's scorched earth campaign has gotten a Trump bump. TN moderate Republican heavyweight Tom Ingram lays out a coherent picture and predicts a narrow Bredesen win.UVa's Larry Sabato surveys the mid-term landscape and veteran Washington Post political reporter Dan Balz revisits his extensive WP essay on the lack of a compelling Democratic message. Predictions: the group continues to envision a Democratic takeover of the House, but struggling to win back the Senate. Your host demurs: both the House and the Senate will flip, and Trump's irresponsible, corrupt Administration will face withering investigations in the coming Congress. No impeachment, but also no more Trump SCOTUS nominations.Stay tuned!

Roy, Tom, and Eleanor are joined by renowned pollster Peter Hart as Brett Kavanaugh mounts an angry defense of his reputation after Dr. Christine Blasey Ford convincingly accused him of sexual assault earlier in the day. Kavanaugh melts down, blames everyone from the Clintons to nefarious left wing groups for his situation, showing bizarre judicial temperament. Do we really want this guy on the Supreme Court?Nan Aron, Pres. of Alliance for Justice, lays out the case for Kavanaugh’s rejection.Peter Hart reports on growing potential for a possible blue wave, IF women turn out to vote in November. He reports that the gender gap has never been so great, in large part because Trump is reviled by such a large margin of women. GOP senators, whipped up by Lindsay Graham’s wild, foam-at-the-mouth remarks, try to turn the hearing into a bash-Democrats affair. And to make matters even weirder, Sen. Jeff Flake forces a delay in the floor vote to complete a new investigation into the charges by Dr. Ford and

Roy, Eleanor, and Tom convene after the morning Senate Judiciary Comm. Hearing to discuss Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s moving, damning testimony: 100% certain Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her as a teenager. Case closed, Kavanaugh the accused sexual predator is gone, right? Not so fast.

Esteemed political analyst Charlie Cook joins Roy Neel, Eleanor Clift, and Tom DeFrank for a snapshot of the mid-term elections. Trump's historic low approval ratings reflect the dramatic Democratic energy flowing into the November election cycle. Yet many Republicans recruit Trump into their states and districts to rally the right-wing political base.The Texas Senate race is becoming the nation's most intriguing race, as the Senate's most disliked member, Ted run, faces an unexpectedly strong Democratic opponent in Beto O'Rourke.John Geer, nationally recognized expert on negative advertising, joins the conversation.Roy, Eleanor, and Tom make their predictions for the November election outcome.

Trumpworld explodes at Woodward's book and the anonymous NYT op ed. Roy and Eleanor are joined by veteran White House journalist Tom deFrank to figure out the bizarro events of the past week. The "I" word looms larger, though Congressional Republicans continue their disgraceful defense of Trump's grotesque behavior.Will the Cabinet invoke the 25th Amendment and dump Trump? Tune in...

In the last show before the August break (Congress takes a break- so can FedUp!) Roy and Eleanor welcome longtime White House reporter and author Tom De Frank to recall his personal experiences with President Gerald Ford and his decision to pardon Nixon. Elaine Kamark of the Brookings discusses her study of potential GOP defectors if an impeachment process reaches the Senate next year. It's not as far fetched as you thought!We reach out to an entrepreneurial political activist in Florida who has created an unusual PAC to defeat incumbent congressmen. 

Roy and Eleanor dive into the Trump-Helsinki debacle with longtime senior House aide and author John Lawrence. SCOTUS observer Ken Jost and legendary Bork battler Rickie Seidman take on Brett Kavanaugh and how Democrats might slow or stop the nomination.

Veteran White House correspondents Carl Leubsdorf and Ken Walsh join Roy and Eleanor to dissect Trump's continuing assault on the media."I do it to discredit you so when you criticize me no one will believe it!" Trump admits.

Roy and Eleanor welcome Jim and Deborah Fallows to the show. Their new book, "Our Towns" chronicles their four year travel to check in on America. It's a NYT best-seller and their comments are a soothing antidote to the content assault of TrumpNation.