#1731 Raw Power, the Presidency, the Courts, and Democracy in the Balance

Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

Jay Tomlinson

Marx, Political, Feminism, Jacobin, Left, Hightower, Politics, Counterspin, News, News Commentary, Maddow, Hartmann, Democracynow, Antiracism, Marxism, Socialism, Capitalism, Ezra, Liberal, Intercepted, Hayes, Progressive, Intercept, Intersectionality, Wolff

4.6 • 3.4K Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2025

⏱️ 235 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Air Date 8/20/2025

There's been a faction of conservatives who have been trying to instill king-like powers into the presidency for a long time, so it shouldn't be surprising that Trump is getting so much help from the packed court and the apparatchiks in the states who are more than happy to turn their precious federalism on its head as long as their king is in charge.

Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected]

Full Show Notes

Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)

Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience!

Join our Discord community!

KEY POINTS

KP 1: Justifying Democracy w/ Osita Nwanevu - The Majority Report - Air Date 8-11-25

KP 2: Texas Hold Dems - Today, Explained - Air Date 8-7-25

KP 3: Fighting Fire with Fire with Texas Rep. Cassandra Garcia Hernandez - The Practivist Pod - Air Date 8-7-25

KP 4: Bruce Bueno De Mesquita The Five Rules of Power Politics - Big Think - Air Date 5-13-12

KP 5: When Unaccountable People Come for Your Vote - Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick - Air Date 7-26-25

KP 6: Executive Lawlessness w/ Leah Litman on the Supreme Court Enabling Presidential Overreach Part 1 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 7-18-25

KP 7: Leah Litman on the Grievance and Conspiracy Theories That Run SCOTUS Part 1 - Straight White American Jesus - Air Date 8-11-25

(00:50:56) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On how fascists run interference

DEEPER DIVES

(01:03:07) SECTION A: GRIFT AND FORCE

A1: Trump's Presidential Library Grift. Plus, the Hacker Behind the NYTs Mamdani Story. - On the Media - Air Date 7-25-25

A2: Trump Threatens National Guard Deployment to DC - DSR Daily - Air Date 8-11-25

A3: Loyalty Over Competence At Trump's Justice Department - What A Day - Air Date 7-31-25

A4: Trump Deploys National Guard - HasanAbi - Air Date 8-14-25

A5: Trump Press Secs Weird Fawning Rant Goes Awry as Poll Slide Worsens - THE DAILY BLAST - Air Date 8-1-25

A6: U.S. Profoundly Changed by Authoritarian Leader; 'We're Beyond Waiting and Seeing Now' - The Rachel Maddow Show - Air Date 8-4-25

A7: How Today's Tensions Mirror Pre-Civil War America - Why, America? with Leeja Miller - Air Date 8-8-25

(02:00:53) SECTION B: GERRYMANDERING

B1: Republicans Ramp Redistricting Fight up to a 10 - No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - Air Date 8-10-25

B2: Fighting Fire with Fire with Texas Rep. Cassandra Garcia Hernandez Part 2 - The Practivist Pod - Air Date 8-7-25

B3: TEXAS HOLD DEMS Part 2 - Today, Explained - Air Date 8-7-25

B4: Republicans Ramp Redistricting Fight up to a 10 Part 2 - No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - Air Date 8-10-25

B5: U.S. Profoundly Changed by Authoritarian Leader; 'We're Beyond Waiting and Seeing Now' Part 2 - The Rachel Maddow Show - Air Date 8-4-25

B6: Justifying Democracy w/ Osita Nwanevu Part 2 - The Majority Report - Air Date 8-11-25

B7: How Today's Tensions Mirror Pre-Civil War America Part 2 - Why, America? with Leeja Miller - Air Date 8-8-25

(02:52:39) SECTION C: COURTS

C1: Stacking the Bench with Creeps and Kooks - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 8-4-25

C2: Leah Litman on the Grievance and Conspiracy Theories That Run SCOTUS Part 2 - Straight White American Jesus - Air Date 8-11-25

C3: When Unaccountable People Come for Your Vote Part 2 - Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick - Air Date 7-26-25

C4: Stacking the Bench with Creeps and Kooks Part 2 - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 8-4-25

C5: Executive Lawlessness w/ Leah Litman on the Supreme Court Enabling Presidential Overreach Part 2 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 7-18-25

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Image of a king of diamonds playing card with a king with orange skin and blonde hair, and a nervous expression on his face, against a dark American flag.

Credit: “king-card-casino-diamond” via Pixabay | Pixabay License

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!

Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at [email protected]

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You've been through one diet after another, maybe for years. You've counted calories, pushed
0:07.1	through workouts, cut carbs, and still the weight came back. It's exhausting. You've been told
0:14.6	it's about willpower, but really, it's about science. With Voie's weight loss program, we combine medication with expert support to help you reach your goals. We don't believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. Voiz medication is personalized based on what's right for you. You'll have a full care team behind you from Voie's clinicians checking in on you
0:38.5	to a personal coach keeping you motivated. And with the Voie app, your team is always just a tap
0:44.9	away. Anytime, anywhere. Join over 100,000 people across the UK already seeing results with
0:52.2	Voie at joinvoy.com slash podcast.
0:56.1	Unsure if it's right for you, check your eligibility today at joinvoy.com slash podcast.
1:02.9	Treatments will only be prescribed if deemed appropriate.
1:09.8	Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of a Life podcast.
1:13.5	There's been a faction of conservatives who have been trying to instill king-like powers into presidency for a long time.
1:19.6	So it shouldn't be surprising that Trump's getting so much help from the packed court and the apparatchiks in the states
1:24.9	who are more than happy to turn their precious federalism on its head,
1:29.0	gleefully giving their power away to the federal government as long as it's their king in charge.
1:34.1	For those looking for a quick overview, the sources providing our top takes in about 50 minutes today
1:38.4	includes the Majority Report, Today Explained, the Practivist Pod, Big Think, Amicus, the Intercept Briefing,
1:46.5	and Straight Light American Jesus.
1:48.8	Then, in the additional deeper dives have the show, there will be more in three sections.
1:52.7	Section A, Grift and Force, followed by Section B, gerrymandering, and Section C, The Courts.
1:59.7	But first, a reminder to check out our new show solved on the Best
2:03.0	Left YouTube channel. We are really proud of the show we're making there. We think we'll get real
2:07.1	value out of it. And conveniently, there was a recent episode about how to live under fascism,
2:13.0	sort of the nuts and bolts understanding of what life is like, what it looks like, what it feels like,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jay Tomlinson, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jay Tomlinson and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.