Welcome to Beg to Differ, the Bullworks Weekly Roundtable discussion

featuring civil conversation across the political spectrum, from center left

to center right. I'm Mona Charon, syndicated columnist and policy editor at the Bullwork.

I'm joined by our regulars Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution and the Wall Street Journal,

Linden Chavez of the Niskanin Center and Damon Linker of the week.

Our special guest this week is Sarah Longwell, founder and publisher of The Bullwork.

Thanks one and all, it's great to be with you in this holiday week we're recording a day early and

we were all set to discuss what seemed to be life getting back to something resembling normal

in the nation's capital, the passage of a big relief package, and the sort of omnibus spending bill, which was trumpeted as a great accomplishment.

But then, of course, the orange man did a huge cannonball into the pool and we don't know where we stand now.

So Sarah Longwell, I'm going to start with you.

What do you, you know, do you realize that if he pocket vetoes this,

the government will shut down. It will affect the election in Georgia,

the runoff. It will prevent people from getting their checks before the holidays or you

know I mean it is it's it's unbelievable the military will not be funded?

Yeah, we didn't think we were going to get through the year

without one last big temper tantrum

in which the president does what the president does best,

which is make it all about him.

You know, I actually can't tell what the game is here.

Is it that Joe Biden has been getting too much attention and people are starting to turn the page and he just wants to show people that he can do this, that it all comes down to him and that he can blow this up if he wants.

What's interesting is that, you know, him sort of saying, well, you know,

...