Air Date 10/13/2023 Understanding the historical context of the civil war within the GOP as they have just fought their way out of being able to govern at all with an empty Speakership in the house that is grinding congress to a halt. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Shutshow - Today, Explained - Air Date 10-2-23 The US government is open for business at the cost of Ukraine aid. Semafor’s Jordan Weissmann explains how we got here. And White House communications director Ben LaBolt explains how the Biden administration is justifying the compromise. Ch. 2: Far-Right Republicans Look to Oust Speaker McCarthy After He Averts Government Shutdown - Democracy Now! - Air Date 10-2-23 “It’s a crisis entirely of Kevin McCarthy’s own making,” says our guest Sasha Abramsky, the West Coast correspondent for The Nation. Ch. 3: AOC Explains Why Democrats Voted To Remove Kevin McCarthy From Speaker Position - Forbes Breaking News - Air Date 10-6-23 At a virtual town hall, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) spoke about the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the Speaker role, which every Democratic lawmaker in the House voted for. Ch. 4: The House that Newt Built: The Rise of Matt Gaetz Part 1 - UNFTR - Air Date 10-7-23 Max struggles to understand exactly what Matt Gaetz is after, but has his suspicions. Regardless of the right-wing endgame, this week’s fiasco was made possible by Newt Gingrich in the 1990s. Ch. 5: Through the Gaetz of Hell - Straight White American Jesus - Air Date 10-6-23 Brad begins with an analytical discussion of political nihilism in order to provide a window into the chaos in Congress created by the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Ch. 6: The House that Newt Built: The Rise of Matt Gaetz Part 2 - UNFTR - Air Date 10-7-23 MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S) Ch. 7: Why Our Politics Are Stuck In 2016 - FiveThirtyEight Politics - Air Date 9-25-23 In this installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, Galen Druke speaks with American politics professor Lynn Vavreck to help make sense of how we got here. Ch. 8: Who Will Replace Kevin McCarthy - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 10-6-23 Since a faction of far-right Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy as speaker, Luke Broadwater, congressional reporter for The New York Times, talks about the candidates vying to replace him. Ch. 9: It's Now Or Never For The GOP Candidates - FiveThirtyEight Politics - Air Date 9-28-23 The crew reacts to the second Republican presidential primary debate in this late-night podcast. FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 10: Final comments on what divides the parties from each other and from within MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) SHOW IMAGE:  Description: A caricature of former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy standing in front of the seal of the U.S. House of Representatives. Credit: “Kevin McCarthy - Caricature” by DonkeyHotey, Flickr | License: CC By 2.0 DEED | Changes: Cropped   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com