The Conversation with Dasha Burns

Ben Terris is a feature writer at The Washington Post, where he’s carved out a unique role: reporting on what he calls, “the weirdo beat.” While Ben’s colleagues focus on what’s happening on the main stage in politics, he keeps an eye on the freak show that’s happening just out of sight. This week, Ben published his much-anticipated book “The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind.” “The Big Break” has a novel argument: that if you want to understand how American politics works in the post-Donald Trump era – then you really, really have to understand Ben’s field of expertise: weirdos.On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, Playbook co-author and Deep Dive host Ryan Lizza joins Ben to discuss the rise and fall of the influential oddballs chronicled in “The Big Break,” and what their stories say about the future of politics.Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Ben Terris is a feature reporter covering national politics for The Washington Post.Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Deep Dive, Playbook co-author Rachael Bade joins House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and Chief Deputy Whip Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.) just hours before final passage of the debt ceiling bill they shepherded through the House.This is the behind the scenes story from inside the Republican whip's office of how Kevin McCarthy's leadership team convinced House Republicans to raise the debt ceiling for two years and embrace his agreement with Joe Biden, which many on the right decried as a betrayal of the base. It's a story of how Emmer and Reschenthaler pulled together a divided and fractious conference, dodging a ballooning effort to oust McCarthy from the gavel, and ultimately putting the ball back in the Democrats' court.Rachael Bade is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Tom Emmer is the House  Majority Whip and the representative for Minnesota's 6th district.Guy Reschenthaler is the House Republican Chief Deputy Whip and the representative for Pennsylvania's 14th district.Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the rumors became reality as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott announced their long-awaited presidential campaigns. The contrast between the two events foreshadowed all of the big questions for next year’s Republican primaries.Tim Scott, who is a favorite among his senate colleagues —  but who is mostly unknown outside of his home state and the Washington, D.C., fundraising circuit — preached optimism and unity while sharing the stage with his mother.Ron DeSantis, on the other hand, did something a little different. He announced his campaign on Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk. But for many, the event’s glitchy start was more memorable than DeSantis’s stern message to fellow Republicans.It was the perfect setup for the choice Republicans will have to make in Iowa, New Hampshire, and beyond: Do they want a president who follows in Ronald Reagan’s footsteps – one who is optimistic and driven by ideas – who shakes hands and kisses babies? Or do they want someone like Trump: a leader who uses the Internet to press the attack on the cultural issues that have divided the country.   Now, Scott and DeSantis join a crowded GOP field that includes former governors Nikki Haley and Asa Hutchinson; entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy; and of course, the dominant frontrunner, Donald Trump.This week on Playbook Deep Dive, Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza talks about Scott, DeSantis, and all things 2024 with Jonathan Martin, POLITICO’s Politics Bureau Chief; and co-author of the best-seller, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Jonathan Martin is politics bureau chief for POLITICO.Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the last year, a lot has changed in Washington for progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).In 2021 and 2022, with Democrats controlling the House, she and her allies could block any piece of legislation if they held together. Their big fights were with moderate Democrats over how many trillions of dollars to spend on President Joe Biden’s agenda. And they had easy access to the White House with Ron Klain as Biden’s chief of staff.Now they are in the minority and far from the negotiating room where Joe Biden is trying to make a budget deal with Kevin McCarthy to get him to raise the debt ceiling. Their main fight is trying to stop the president from caving to McCarthy on what they view as draconian budget cuts and policies that would weaken the social safety net.And over at the White House, it’s not really clear who they should call anymore. AOC is keenly aware of these changed circumstances. She’s been carefully watching the debt limit debate play out and she has a clear view of what it’s all about: power, not policy. In this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez tells host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza how House progressives can flex their muscles right now; and how she’s learned to use her unique influence to affect legislation, even when she’s not at the table.Finally, she has some advice – and a warning – for Joe Biden as we approach the endgame of the debt limit.Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the representative for New York's 14th district. Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, after years of criticism from immigration rights activists and many progressive Democrats, President Joe Biden has ended the use of Title 42. That’s the public health law that Donald Trump first used during the pandemic to expel millions of asylum seekers arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border.Biden’s decision has drawn predictable outrage from Republicans. But perhaps more worrisome to the president is the growing list of critics from within the Democratic Party who are concerned that Biden’s border policies could trigger a humanitarian crisis and perhaps an electoral backlash. Rep. Henry Cuellar is one of those Democrats. And he’s this week’s guest on Playbook Deep Dive.Cuellar knows the issue of immigration better than most of his fellow Democrats. He was born to immigrant farm workers in Laredo, Texas, went to college and law school, and eventually jumped into Texas politics, and then the U.S. Congress, where he’s served since 2005 representing Texas’s 28th Congressional District, which stretches from San Antonio to Laredo and includes 200 miles of the southern border.The left does not like him. He received a lot of attention in the last two election cycles when he was targeted by national progressives and barely survived two primary challenges.One reason for those challenges: immigration, where Cuellar is well-known for being to the right of many of his Democratic colleagues. On the other hand, he voted against the border security bill that House Republicans put on the floor this week. Cuellar is a lonely centrist on an issue that has become much more polarized over the last decade. And, as he tells Playbook co-author and Deep Dive host Ryan Lizza, he thinks Joe Biden should join him in the middle and stop taking advice from the left, as the president prepares for the coming aftershocks of his Title 42 decision.Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Henry Cuellar is the representative for Texas's 28th district. Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you talk to Democratic strategists about the 2024 presidential election, there is a certain type of Republican nominee who they fear: Someone who knows how to speak in the language of inclusion; who can discuss abortion and guns without alienating suburban voters; who stands up to the GOP on some of the most fraught issues of the culture wars; who can argue that he or she has almost as much government experience as Joe Biden himself, but is still younger; who handled the pandemic in their state in a way that avoided some of the most unpopular decisions of both Democrats and Republicans; and who spends a lot of their time explaining to Republicans why they should leave Donald Trump in the past. Asa Hutchinson — who sounds an awful lot like that imaginary candidate that Democrats fear —  is here on Playbook Deep Dive this week to tell us why you shouldn’t count him out.Hutchinson got his start in politics as a U.S. attorney during the Reagan Revolution, when his home state of Arkansas was still run by Democrats. He served two terms as governor and shortly after stepping down this year, he announced he’s running for president.If there’s one thing that makes him stand out so far, it’s that he’s willing to say things about Trump that other Republicans aren’t. Hutchinson recently wrote that the former President “has led us astray,” “undermined the fabric of our democracy,” and is emblematic of bad leaders who are, “focused only on themselves or on settling scores with political opponents.”In this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host Ryan Lizza speaks with the former Arkansas governor after his first official trip to Iowa. He opens up about why he’s running, how he thinks he can take down Trump, and why his record – which is among the most conservative in America – is full of surprises.Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Asa Hutchinson is the former governor of Arkansas and a GOP presidential candidate.Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This past week, luminaries from politics, media, and Hollywood came together for the annual White House Correspondents' dinner in Washington. Playbook co-author and Deep Dive host Ryan Lizza joined forces with Major Garrett, CBS News’s Washington correspondent and host of the popular podcast, The Takeout, at the POLITICO-CBS News reception to bring you this very special live show. The show features guests such as Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.); Asa Hutchinson, the GOP presidential candidate and former Arkansas governor; comedian Roy Wood, Jr., who provided the entertainment at the dinner; and many other big names in the world of politics and media. This originally aired live on SiriusXM, but it’s just so good that we had to put it out here for all of you to enjoy. Follow The Takeout with Major Garrett wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen ad-free on the Amazon Music or Wondery app. Visit the The Takeout’s page here: https://link.chtbl.com/CBSNewsTheTakeout Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week in Washington – more so than anytime in Joe Biden’s presidency – the news has been all about… the news.To start, it’s the weekend of the White House Correspondents Association Dinner. But outside of the brunches and parties, a different type of media intrigue has been dominating politics. BuzzFeed News, the colossus of yesteryear’s viral reporting and the entity that published the infamous Steele Dossier about Donald Trump, announced that it was shutting down for good.On Monday, Fox News fired Tucker Carlson, their top-rated host. Within an hour, Don Lemon announced he was parting ways with CNN, where he had worked for 17 years. On Thursday, Vice News, another struggling pioneer of 21st century digital news, became the latest media company to lay off some of its best known reporters. These are all isolated events with circumstances specific to each newsroom. But in an excellent new book called Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral,  Ben Smith argues that we are indeed at the end of an era in media, but that the next one might be something to look forward to. That’s a forceful prediction coming from Ben, who was a longtime reporter at POLITICO, the top editor at BuzzFeed News, a New York Times media columnist, and now is the editor-in-chief of Semafor. He’s also this week’s Playbook Deep Dive guest.Ben’s book and this interview with Deep Dive Host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza do their best to answer the questions we all have about why our political culture is so fragmented, and whether there is any hope that we can return to a place where Americans agree on simple things — like facts.Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Ben Smith is the editor-in-chief of Semafor.Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On May 1, the hotly-anticipated HBO series White House Plumbers will premiere. The 5-episode series takes viewers along on a darkly funny ride with the fumbling ex-spooks and misguided “patriots.” E. Howard Hunt, played by Woody Harrelson and G. Gordon Liddy, played by Justin Theroux. The duo — along with some helpers — use any means necessary to secure the 1972 re-election of Richard Nixon, including breaking into the Democratic National Committee's headquarters at the Watergate Office Building. Of course instead of saving Nixon, Liddy and Hunt end up destroying his presidency.The show is a warped version of a buddy comedy that explores one of the most relevant issues in politics: what happens when true believers lose their integrity and moral compass in pursuit of their cause.David Mandel, the director of White House Plumbers, is a man who knows more about the intersection of Hollywood and Washington than just about anyone. Mandel has had a storied career as a comedy writer and producer. He’s a veteran of Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He went on to lead production of Veep —  one of the funniest and most accurate shows ever made about Washington — for its final three seasons.On this week’s episode of Playbook Deep Dive, Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza talks with Mandel about lessons he’s learned translating Washington for Hollywood, first with Veep and now with White House Plumbers —  and how a certain president elected in between these two shows changed everything about what makes politics funny.Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.David Mandel is the director of White House Plumbers. Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Florida’s statehouse cleared the way for Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign a six-week abortion ban. The man who shepherded the bill, House Speaker Paul Renner, joins Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza for this episode of Playbook Deep Dive. You might not know Renner’s name – but you definitely know his work:  A bill to ban surgeries and prescription treatments for transgender minors, which has passed the state Senate and Renner will soon push through the House One of the most comprehensive new school voucher laws in the country Legislation removing books with sexual content from Florida public schools A major tort reform bill, big tax cuts And if he gets around to it this session: a bill aimed at over-turning the 1964 New York Times v. Sullivan decision, the most important First Amendment ruling of the last century All of this is aimed at Renner’s other project: helping Gov. Ron DeSantis build a record of accomplishments in Florida on which he can base his presidential campaign. While Republicans have created a legislative assembly line that is spitting out laws to change seemingly every aspect of life in Florida, a big question suddenly hangs over their project: Are they building a record of accomplishments that can launch the DeSantis rocket to the White House? Or are they weighing down the governor with so much right-wing baggage that he crashes upon liftoff?Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Paul Renner is the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices