A Republic, If You Can Keep It Podcast Por Michigan Citizens for a Better Tomorrow arte de portada

A Republic, If You Can Keep It

A Republic, If You Can Keep It

De: Michigan Citizens for a Better Tomorrow
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Analysis and commentary on Michigan politics from former Democratic Party chair Mark Brewer and former Republican Party executive director Jeff Timmer.© Copyright 2025 Michigan Citizens for a Better Tomorrow, a non-profit social welfare corporation Ciencia Política Política y Gobierno
Episodios
  • JD’s Very Bad Week

    JD’s Very Bad Week
    Apr 17 2026
    The Trump Economy On our political radar this week…
    • J.D. Vance went 0-for-2 on his European trip. Victor Orban, campaigning with Vance at his side, got dumped as President of Hungary…despite ringing endorsements from Donald Trump and his BFF Vladimir Putin. Then Vance led negotiations with Iran over ending Trump’s Middle East War and struck out, calling it quits after all of one day of talks.
    • Facing multiple allegations of sexual improprieties, Eric Swalwell has resigned from Congress and pulled out of the California gubernatorial race while denying the accusations. There was bipartisan condemnation of Swalwell’s behavior but, when asked if the same standard should be applied to pussy-grabbing Donald Trump, Republicans suddenly had a problem answering. Also resigning in disgrace: Texas Republican Tony Gonzalez, like Swalwell facing allegations of sexual misconduct against him. Republicans are worried that a special election to replace him could result in a Democratic flip thanks, in part, to the new GOP gerrymander of the state.
    • The Trump politicizing of the Justice Department continues. Two federal civil rights prosecutors in Detroit who secured convictions against a group of Christian protestors accused of blocking access to abortion clinics were fired as part of a Trump administration crackdown on what it says were politically motivated cases under former President Joe Biden.
    • Donald Trump is redirecting his demented rage at Pope Leo, who had the temerity to note that Jesus wasn’t a fan of war or genocide. All that’s been missing so far: Trump calling the Pope “Low IQ”. And then, there’s that AI image of “Dr. Jesus of Palm Beach” which was quickly deleted from Trump’s Truth Social account.
    • The field is effectively set for Michigan’s U.S. Senate race. On the Democratic side, Haley Stevens, Mallory McMorrow and Abdul El Sayed each submitted their nominating petitions to the Elections Bureau in the last few days. Republican Mike Rogers’ campaign says he has his petitions ready to go and will file shortly. All four candidates are submitting around 30,000 signatures, the maximum allowed under state law.
    • John James has joined with all the Republican candidates for Governor making a campaign promise they can’t keep: repealing the state income tax. The repeal would basically eliminate the entire General Fund budget. Since Michigan has a flat-rate tax, the biggest winners with repeal would be the state’s wealthiest taxpayers.
    • Attorney General Dana Nessel has blasted on one of the many offsets that’s raising your cost of living: utility rates run amuck. She joined with other Democratic and community leaders to deride the state’s Public Service Commission for rolling over on behalf of the state’s two major utilities.
    • Michigan Democrats are holding their candidate endorsement convention this weekend. The events can be seen as a prelude to the 2028 national campaign with potential presidential candidates Kamala Harris, Andy Beshear and Cory Booker all doing some speechifying in the Motor City. The Dems are focusing on growing inflation brought about by Donald Trump’s Mideast War, and his obsession with tariffs. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell led a news conference addressing the most fundamental “kitchen table” issue: the cost of living, noting that tax cuts in the Republicans’ Big Beautiful Bill are more than offset by the cost of groceries, gasoline, electricity and healthcare. It’s a mantra we’ll hear a lot between now and November.

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    35 m
  • Another TACO Tuesday (Guest: Representative Ranjeev Puri)

    Another TACO Tuesday (Guest: Representative Ranjeev Puri)
    Apr 10 2026
    On our political radar this week… Pam Bondi joins Meat Loaf, Joan Rivers, Dennis Rodman, Sinbad, Dionne Warwick, Andrew Dice Clay, Omarosa … and Kristi Noem: “You’re fired!” VIDEO: Bye Bye Bondi (A Tribute) Senator Elissa Slotkin – speaking in Iowa – confirms what we’ve been saying for weeks: she’s open to running for President. Two more special elections this week, two more sharp turns to Democrats: –In Wisconsin, liberal candidate Chris Taylor cruised to an easy victory over her conservative opponent in the state Supreme Court race with 60 percent of the vote, expanding the liberal majority on the court to 5-2. – Georgia, Democrat Shawn Harris lost by about 12 percentage points in the race to replace Marjorie Taylor Green, but he shifted the district 25 points to the left. Trump won the district by 37 percentage points in 2024. A national Republican group said Monday it’s dumping $45 million into Michigan’s open U.S. Senate race as an initial investment to help presumptive GOP nominee Mike Rogers flip the seat from Democratic control. The operative word is “initial”, meaning even more millions will flow into Michigan Republican sources.Trump is calling on Congress to give Pete Hegseth a staggering $1.7-trillion dollars over the next year. To fund it, Trump wants to cut virtually every other federal program including a 23% cut for NASA even as four astronauts take a first-ever-for-humans trip to the far side of the moon. One item calling for a major increase: White House repairs and renovations. Trump wants to spend 377-million dollars on fixing up the place, an 860 percent increase.Two more major league grifts from Trump: –The Justice Department has settled for roughly $1.2 million a lawsuit from Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser to President Donald Trump who pleaded guilty during Trump’s first term to lying to the FBI about his conversations with a top Russian diplomat and was later pardoned. Bottom line: if Trump likes you, taxpayers will pay you to lie to the FBI. –Semafor is reporting that Trump has directed the State Department to send $1.25 billion – without any Congressional appropriation or authorization to do so – to Trump’s Board of Peace. The transfer effectively places the money directly in the hands of Trump, the board’s chairman. Trump and the board’s executives control funding for the Board of Peace — and Trump selects the executive board — and the president will continue to do so even after his second term ends in January 2029. In the race for Governor – John James is ducking still another candidate debate, this one set for the end of the month in vote-rich Oakland County. James has seen his once overwhelming lead for the GOP gubernatorial nomination shrink as septuagenarian Perry “Quality Guru” Johnson dumps millions into an effort to spend his way into office.Governor Whitmer says she will not endorse a candidate for U.S. Senate or Secretary of State. She earlier ruled out an endorsement in the race for the gubernatorial nomination. It’s pretty easy for Democrats to be critics of Donald Trump, his policies and his corruption. More important to most people is answering the question: “so what are you going to do?” State House Democrats have answered, releasing their Vision for a Brighter Michigan. We’re joined by House Democratic Leader Ranjeev Puri who led development of the plan. The son of Indian immigrants, Leader Puri made history in 2020 as the first person of color to represent his Canton Michigan district and the first Sikh-American in Michigan’s legislative history. In his second term he served as majority whip, making him the highest-ranking South Asian in state government nationwide. Remarkably, he is one of two first-generation Indian-Americans in top legislative leadership: Senate Majority Floor Leader Sam Singh is also the son of Indian immigrants. Leader Puri’s leadership has earned national recognition, including being named to the Council of State Government’s “20 Under 40” Leadership Award Class of 2023 and receiving the MIRS Legislator of the Year Award in 2024.His leadership has earned national recognition, including being named to the Council of State Government’s “20 Under 40” Leadership Award Class of 2023 and receiving the MIRS Legislator of the Year Award in 2024. (Jeff) First question! A personal note from producer/co-host Walt Sorg April is Michigan Donate Life month, a recognition of the state’s organ donation program. Four years ago I was the recipient of a donated kidney. It changed my life … and probably saved my life. A part of you can live on after death through the simple act of saying “yes, I want to pay it forward.” And you can go a step beyond through a living donation of a kidney, or portion of your liver. My donor was my brother and he’s just as healthy today with one kidney as he was before the surgery. The Michigan Organ Donor Registry...
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    54 m
  • It’s Not a War … It just looks like one (Guest: Jack Ebling)

    It’s Not a War … It just looks like one (Guest: Jack Ebling)
    Apr 2 2026
    On our political radar this week… Michigan Republicans have turned their backs on the craziest of the MAGA crazies with hopes of at least one upset in November. But the leader in their race for Governor had a bad weekend. John James had some of the delegates booing him as he was introduced for his speech … much to the delight of septuagenarian perpetual candidate Perry Johnson.Volunteers manning a Rank MI Vote booth at the Michigan Republican Party’s endorsement convention this past weekend were asked to leave by party leaders and security after Rep. MAGA Matt Maddock told them their presence wasn’t welcome…and called them Communists. Rank MI Vote volunteers said they had paid the party for a booth under the name of the ballot question seeking to establish a ranked voting system in the state and wanted to talk with people who are politically active about their objective.The Michigan Court of Appeals which ruled that 37 absentee ballots for Mayor of Hamtramck should be counted … in an election that was otherwise decided by 11 votes. National Democrats have targeted two Michigan Republicans in Congress for retirement. “House Majority Forward” is running ads on the TSA mess at airports – pointing out that Bill Huizenga and Tom Barrett blocked legislation paying TSA agents … even though the bill they opposed was unanimously approved by the Senate. A new tabulation from the Huffington Post shows Donald Trump’s nearly weekly golf trips to Florida have cost taxpayers $100-million in the last year. He is on track to hit nearly one-third of a billion dollars by the end of his term. The latest in the Trump ego-massage campaign: Trump shared the first images of his planned presidential library in downtown Miami, posting a short video that depicts a skyscraper which appears to be about 50 stories tall and filled with reconstructions of parts of the White House, military vehicles and at least two gold statues of Trump. Also included in plans for the gaudy Miami high rise: a hotel, golden escalators, gold doo-dads everywhere, displays attacking Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and the Boeing 747 given to Trump by the oil sheiks of Qatar. Probably missing from the high-rise library: books … and any mentions of Jeffrey Epstein.Another Trump stroking comes by way of Florida. Travelers in Palm Beach soon will be able to drive down President Donald J. Trump Boulevard to catch a flight at President Donald J. Trump International Airport, all in the shadow of nearby Mar-a-Lago, owned by President Donald J. Trump.Trump had a hat-trick of losses in court over the last week: construction on his half-billion-dollar ballroom has been paused, with the judge saying it needed congressional approval, another judge ruled the defunding of NPR and PBS was unconstitutional, and still another judge ruled that presidential immunity did not shield Trump from lawsuits growing out of the January 6 insurrection. And the Supreme Court seems poised to reject Trump’s abolishing of birthright citizenship.Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson calls bullshit on the latest Trump executive order which turns control of elections to the Post Office, Department of Justice and Homeland Security. Her immediate reaction: “States run elections, not the president. This executive order is illegal on its face.” Expect to hear from Dana Nessel and other Democratic state attorneys general about a lawsuit in the near future. There’s seemingly no end to politics in our lives. It has even infiltrated sports. As we approach this weekend’s Final Four in men’s basketball, we take a deep dive into the intersection of Sports, Politics and Money with three-time Michigan Sportscaster of the Year Jack Ebling. He has covered college sports dating back to the days when Jim Harbaugh was the University of Michigan’s quarterback and Earvin Johnson was a magical MSU freshman. Unlike ESPN’s Stephen Smith, Jack’s take on political issues actually make sense … and he doesn’t start screaming to make his point! A two-time graduate of MSU, the former English teacher and coach spent nearly a quarter-century as a beat writer and columnist for the Lansing State Journal and won 21 major writing awards before entering broadcasting in 2002. In addition to the sportswriting honors, Jack was named 2017 Michigan Broadcaster of the Year and was a 2006 inductee into the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame. He has received 21 major state and national writing awards, authored or co-authored eight books and contributed more than 125 articles for national publications. He has hosted sports and news talk radio shows for nearly a quarter-century, including The Drive with Jack Ebling. Every Sunday evening since 2013, he has hosted Press Pass with Jack Ebling on FOX 47 in Lansing, the state’s longest-running hour-long, year-long sports TV show. We’re now on YouTube every week! Click here to subscribe. A Republic, If You Can Keep It is sponsored by © ...
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This is a newer podcast that covers politics in the State of Michigan. The two hosts are a former head of the state republican party and a former head of the state Democratic party. They discuss current topics and news stories, and how these impact Michigan politics and Michigan residents. Weekly, they interview a local politician, journalist, or leader. I get a lot of value out of this podcast, and I hope they keep doing it! I listen weekly and will continue to do so!

Engaging, Informative, Important - Must Listen

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I used to be a democrat before I knew any better. If you’re a Trump hating leftist this is the show for you. I didn’t find it informative. It’s just a vehicle to bash the right, conservatives, Trump supporters. You can get that from CNN, MSNBC mainstream media. I’m tired of it. I couldn’t make it through the whole episode. It’s sickening. Just the usual liberal bias with no proof. No wonder Michigan is such a hell hole in distress.

Commentary that leans left

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