Podcast Episode 200: Trump’s Emergency Powers

Does Donald Trump have emergency powers to build the wall? This is an important legal question, but one with a simple (but unpopular for many people) answer: No. If we are going to say the Constitution needs to be upheld, then we need to be consistent. I discuss my thoughts on Trump’s wall, the Republicans, and presidential “emergency powers” in this episode of The Brion …more

Podcast Episode 199: Carlson vs. Shapiro

Tucker Carlson gave perhaps the most important political television monologue of early 2019 last week in response to Mitt Romney’s op-ed critical of Donald Trump. It was bold, meaty, and it ticked off establishment Republicans like Ben Shapiro. That’s why it was great. I discuss both the monologue and Shapiro’s response in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.

Podcast Episode 198: Generation or Culture?

The Millennials have taken over the building, or so it seems if you watch the news. “AOC” is the media darling and everyone is jumping on board. But this isn’t the whole truth. We are seeing a slight generational shift in the United States Congress, but the Generation Xers have more seats than the Millennials and the Boomers still run things. Regardless, don’t be fooled …more

Podcast Episode 196: No Slavery, No War?

I get this all the time: “Okay, Lincoln didn’t go to war to free the slaves, but without slavery, the South wouldn’t have seceded and therefore Lincoln would not have gone to war to prevent secession. No slavery, no war.” This is an important and nuanced argument, but one that misses several important pieces, most importantly the long view of American history. I discuss the …more

Podcast Episode 195: The Donald, Nancy, Chuck, and Mike Show

December 11, 2018, a date which will go down as one of the single greatest examples of modern political stupidity but perhaps the best example of political theatre in the modern age, the Donald, Nancy, Chuck, and Mike Show. This episode episod of the Brion McClanahan Show covers the glorious meeting, including Pence’s silence, Trump’s “manspreading” and “mansplaining” and what the meeting really exposed.

Podcast Episode 194: Heavy Metal and Western Civilization

Heavy metal music was invented by Western Civilization. I know to some people this might be sacrilege, but it’s true. It could not have been made without it, and it embodies urban white working class society. It also was a hearty reaction to the Cold War and the prospect of mutual assured destruction. I discuss these issues and more in this episode of The Brion …more

Podcast Episode 193: Abolish the Senate?

Former Representative John Dingall recently wrote an op-ed for The Atlantic in which he proposed to, among other idiotic measures, abolish the Electoral College and the Senate. Yes, because Progressives really believe in “minority” rights. But this is instructive. We should know who these people are and what they really want. Dingall, as a cranky old man, is just willing to say it. I discuss …more

Podcast Episode 192: The Elected King

George H.W. Bush is dead, long live George H.W. Bush. Might as well say it. We have an elected king. The overkill in our public mourning proves it. This was created and now perpetuated by the Republican Party, and we have strayed so far from our republican principles the founding generation would be spinning in their graves. I discuss this headlong rush to monarchism in …more