Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.
This week, From and Fuller examine a series of escalating controversies surrounding Donald Trump, including his racist attacks on Barack and Michelle Obama and his recent hostility toward Olympic athletes. They also discuss how much longer the nation can tolerate a president whom many observers believe is spiraling out of control.
This video podcast is approximately 12 minutes in length.
Background
While the Spy’s public affairs mission has always been hyper-local, it has never limited us from covering national, or even international issues, that impact the communities we serve. With that in mind, we were delighted that Al From and Craig Fuller, both highly respected Washington insiders, have agreed to a new Spy video project called “The Analysis of From and Fuller” over the next year.
The Spy and our region are very lucky to have such an accomplished duo volunteer for this experiment. While one is a devoted Democrat and the other a lifetime Republican, both had long careers that sought out the middle ground of the American political spectrum.
Al From, the genius behind the Democratic Leadership Council’s moderate agenda which would eventually lead to the election of Bill Clinton, has never compromised from this middle-of-the-road philosophy. This did not go unnoticed in a party that was moving quickly to the left in the 1980s. Including progressive Howard Dean saying that From’s DLC was the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.
From’s boss, Bill Clinton, had a different perspective. He said it would be hard to think of a single American citizen who, as a private citizen, has had a more positive impact on the progress of American life in the last 25 years than Al From.”
Al now lives in Annapolis and spends his semi-retirement as a board member of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (his alma mater) and authoring New Democrats and the Return to Power. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins’ Krieger School and recently agreed to serve on the Annapolis Spy’s Board of Visitors. He is the author of “New Democrats and the Return to Power.”
For Craig Fuller, his moderation in the Republican party was a rare phenomenon. With deep roots in California’s GOP culture of centralism, Fuller, starting with a long history with Ronald Reagan, leading to his appointment as Reagan’s cabinet secretary at the White House, and later as George Bush’s chief-of-staff and presidential campaign manager was known for his instincts to find the middle ground. Even more noted was his reputation of being a nice guy in Washington, a rare characteristic for a successful tenure in the White House.
Craig has called Easton his permanent home for the last eight years, where he now chairs the board of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and is a former board member of the Academy Art Museum and Benedictine. He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors and writes an e-newsletter available by clicking on DECADE SEVEN.
With their rich experience and long history of friendship, now joined by their love of the Chesapeake Bay, they have agreed through the magic of Zoom, to talk inside politics and policy with the Spy every Thursday.
3 Responses
Trump is a treasonous insurectionist allowed to a second disastrous term seeking revenge and corruption by the John Roberts Supreme Court justices in blatant violation of the Constitution that they all swore to uphold. Mr. Roberts, Trump, Noem and others are responsible for the many murders & deaths of innocent people.They should all be removed from office, tried, convicted & sentenced to prison.
Hello Gentlemen. Seems to me that Trump cares not a whit about his poll numbers. His “Trump Card” will be to create enough doubt nationally over election fraud (caused by his own de3bunked claims) that he will simply announce the 2026 election invalid or simply tell Mike Johnson to send Congress home until he can arrange for an “authentic” election (that he and Republicans) can win. That is, of course, if he decides there will be another election.
Trump will maintain this “reign” until his base rebels against him. And they are very far from that. These poor, deluded people excuse virtually everything he perpetrates(including that which is seriously harmful to themselves).
Certainly the Obama insults would be enough to create a full, harsh outcry among Republicans demanding a public apology. But there has, as usual, hardly been a peep of feeble public criticism, much less condemnation from Republican House and Senate members. Those members of the House and Senate would be able to end this in a week if they would all come out and threaten to cut off support. The question here is not really “How long can America Tolerate Trump?”. Its really how long will Republicans tolerate Trump? Democrats are long since ready to vote against him. Yet his supporters, er, accomplices in both Houses (and I’d add, in state governorships, state senates and assemblies) appear to fully support his atrocious actions and words.
All Trump’s efforts to undermine faith in elections, narrow the voting electorate through various disqualifications and nationalize the state election process are clearly aimed at remaining in power through coercive acts, as a 3rd world fascist thug would. “Deputizing” ICE thugs to “protect” polling places has already been suggested by the Administration.
Democrats can’t change this. Republicans can. They can do it tomorrow in the House and Senate, yet half of them have degraded themselves by falling from the category of “supporter” to the category of “accomplice” and already share in various aspects of Trump’s guilt. I think we are far deeper into the pit of authoritarianism than we want to acknowledge. Its equally discouraging as an American who understands the frailty of maintaining our constitutional rights and freedom, that Republicans have been part and parcel of every key step Trump has taken to drag America into an autocratic authoritarian state, based upon intimidation and violence. They have helped Trump egg on the “base” to where average Republican voters simply want to frustrate libs.
After Trump declared ANTIFA to be a terrorist organization, can we be that far from arresting anyone who stands opposed to fascism to be arrested and put in a detention camp? What is to stop him? Democrats? Trump is spending about $145 billion on detention facilities, even as he demands the Justice Department indicts leading Democrats publicly declaring them guilty for stopping his assault on our constitutional republic. Do you think Republican politicians are unaware of all this? I wish you’d talk candidly about this next week. Best regards.
Trumps, opponents want all criminal released and not enforce any federal laws, And demanding Men in girls sports and locker rooms. I think Real US citizen want nothing to do with this ideology at all, By allowing 22 million illegals in the country and lying daily to the American people the Democrats have really lost any credibility they could have had for decades. Unfortunately, American’s had to suffer painfully thru the Dementia Joe Biden Administration that showed just how low the democrats/democrat party have sunken in the swamp they created thru deception. ELECTIONS have consequences. Americans have not forgotten the last 4 years of lies nor has the world.