CNN's John Sutter has been covering conservative politics for two decades. He says he was surprised to see a grassroots movement pushing the Republican Party to the right, and away from democracy. 'I'm going to tell you flat out and let me back into this just by observing instead that I've been coveringconservative politics for over two decades,' said Sutter. "What I did not expect to encounter was a real grassroots movement"
In kicking off the midterms, Joe Biden talked about American democracy as a shared value, enshrined in the country’s founding — a value that both Democrats and Republicans should join together in defending. But there is another possible view of this moment. One that is shared by two very different groups: the voters who propelled Biden to the presidency … and the conservative activists who are rejecting democracy altogether.
“The Run-Up” is a new politics podcast from The New York Times. Leading up to the 2022 midterms, we’ll be sharing the latest episode here every Saturday. If you want to hear episodes when they first drop on Thursdays, follow “The Run-Up” wherever you get your podcasts, including on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and Amazon Music.