Living in the USA

This week's impeachment hearings--esp. Gordon Sondland and Fiona Hill--leave the Republicans with no good arguments. Harold Meyerson comments, and takes up the question, why are they focusing exclusively on Ukraine when Trump has committed so many other crimes? Next up, Senator Sherrod Brown was reelected in Ohio by 7 points, a state Hillary lost by 8. We ask him: what are the lessons for 2020? Plus: Against Biden -- D.D. Guttenplan explains The Nation's "anti-endorsement" of the former vice-president.

Impeachment proceedings began yesterday--John Nichols comments; he has some doubts about "bribery" as a charge. Also: it’s an unhappy annversary: 100 years since the Palmer Raids. Adam Hochshild talks about deportations of people the government considered "undesirable" – in 1919--and also today. Also, Howard Rodman on his novel "The Great Eastern." Ricky Jay called it "A splendid and notable achievement."

This week we are one year away from the election where Donald Trump will be seeking four more years in power. He’ll be the first incumbent running for reelection after having been impeached –unless the Senate votes to remove him from office. Elie Mystal analyzes what it would take for that to happen. Also: Joe Biden may be the frontrunner, but he’s slipping, and big donors are pulling away from him. But do the so-called “moderates” in the party–-the Wall Street Democrats--have a Plan B? Jeet Heer will evaluate the possibilities—there are a lot of them, but none are very promising. Plus: Left politics can win in New York City and L.A. and San Francisco but what about Iowa and Ohio? Mike Lux says ‘Left Politics Can Win All Over the Country’ –he’s a longtime strategist for the progressive movement and Democratic candidates. And finally: Amy Wilentz reports on the recent street protests in Haiti, one of those countries about which Trump has made those disparaging remarks.

Christopher Leonard explains why the Koch Brothers did not want Trump to get the nomination - and how they got to be as wealthy, and politically active, as they are. His new book is "Kochland." Also: We all know Trump got famous on TV with The Apprentice – but how many of us ever watched The Apprentice? Reality TV was a key force in making Trump president. Tom Carson talks about “Audience of One” by James Poniewozik. Tom, a longtime writer on pop culture and politics, won two National Magazine Awards during his time as Esquire‘s “Screen” columnist; now he writes for BookForum. Pls: Ilhan Omar has endorsed Bernie for president – how does she deal with Trump’s vicious attacks? David Perry has spent the last few months with her in her Minneapolis district—he says he’s never seen a politician talk as little about themselves as she does in her town halls.

Trump says his favorite Supreme Court justice is Clarence Thomas – but Thomas is not a conventional right-wing thinker, Corey Robin says—he’s a conservative black nationalist. Corey’s new book is “The Enigma of Clarence Thomas.” Plus: The political promise of the abortion pill: Despite the fact that more than 75% of Americans favor Roe v. Wade, abortion rights face increasing jeopardy at the Supreme Court, and the right finally succeed at defunding Planned Parenthood. But there’s one immensely promising factor at work: abortion drugs, especially misoprostol, which is easily obtained on the Internet, despite the FDA’s attempts to prevent online pharmacies from selling them. Katha Pollitt will explain. Also: Our increasingly desperate president: even Fox News has become an inconsistent and unreliable defender of Trump’s actions. Sasha Abramsky will separate Trump’s efforts at distraction from the political reality he now faces.

Twelve Democrats debated for 3 hours on TV Tuesday night -- John Nichols says Bernie looked great--and Biden didn't. Also: The Supreme Court term began its fall term this week--and even though Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed at the start of last year’s court term, this year the Supremes’ decisions will be worse – a lot worse. Elie Mystal explains why—he’s the executive editor of Above the Law and a contributing writer for The Nation. Plus: a new episode of ‘The Children’s Hour’--stories about Ivanka, Jared, Don Junior, and little Eric. This week: who’s helping Dad fight impeachment? Amy Wilentz has our story.

Trump's base among white nationalists goes back to at least the Reagan era. The recent El Paso killings have been treated as an isolated event carried out by a loner. But the attacks in Charleston, Charlottesville, Christchurch, El Paso and elsewhere are connected; they are all part of the White Power movement, with roots going back to the 1970s. That’s what Kathleen Belew says -- she writes for the New York Times op-ed page, she teaches history at the University of Chicago, and she’s the author of the book “Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America,” it’s out now in paperback. Also: Your Minnesota moment:Trump comes to Minneapolis, home of Ilhan Omar, on Thursday night. Plus: The big question about impeachment is not the House -- there now seem to be enough votes there to pass at least one article of impeachment--the big question is about the Senate and whether some Republicans will abandon Trump. Former Republican Senator Jeff Flake says that at least 35 Republican senators would vote to remove Trump from office--IF they could vote in private. Joan Walsh comments.

Could the Republican defense of Trump in the impeachment proceedings open the door to a watershed victory for Democrats across the board? Even before Nancy Pelosi finally agreed that it was time to begin impeachment proceedings, the Democrats’ prospects for a sweep of the 202 elections were good. That’s what Stan Greenberg says -- he’s a longtime pollster and adviser to Democratic presidents from Clinton to Obama. He’s also a bestselling author, with a new book out – it has the wonderful title 'R.I.P. G.O.P.' Also: Jeet Heer of The Nation magazine considers the Republicans’ defense of Trump – that Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden really was corrupt in his dealings in Ukraine, and that he really did influence his father’s work as vice president, and so Trump was right to ask the president of Ukraine for more information. Plus: historian Eric Foner talks about voter suppression and the right to vote, about who gets to be a citizen, what rights undocumented immigrants have, and about the history of mass incarceration--and how they all relate to the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, part of the country’s attempt to redefine citizenship after the end of slavery. His new book is 'The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution.' how the New America is Dooming the Republicans. We spoke with him about the 2020 election BEFORE impeachment proceedings began—

After months of resisting calls for impeachment, Nancy Pelosi has authorized beginning the proceedings--and the whistleblowers' complaint became public today -- it's devastating for Trump. John Nichols comments on the latest. Next up: Edward Snowden has published an new memoir called "Permanent Record" -- for comment we turn to DD Guttenplan, editor of The Nation, which has published an excerpt. Plus: What should day one of the post Trump era look like? We talk with David Dayen of the American Prospect about the things that the next president of the US could do on the first day in office without passing any new legislation. For more visit: https://prospect.org/day-one-agenda/using-presidential-power-executive-authority/

The Working Families Party has just endorsed Elizebeth Warren – not Bernie Sanders. For comment and analysis we turn to John Nichols, host of the Nation podcast “Next Left”. Next Up: Fifty-thousand auto workers went out on strike Sunday night against General Motors – we hear from Jane McAlevey, the new Strikes Correspondent at The Nation. Plus: The Tories and Boris v. the GOP and Trump: DD Guttenplan compares and contrasts the two parties.