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 discuss the interesting results from Tuesday’s Florida primary, which saw another progressive Democrat, Angie Nixon, beat moderate Alex Vindman for the party nomination for the Senate, and a former Republican win the Democratic nomination for governor. Al and Craig also discuss whether the Democratic Party is pulling financial support from certain races in the South, opening the door to independent candidates.
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 ten years, where he now chairs the board of the MPT Foundation. He is a former chair of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and is a former board member of the Academy Art Museum. 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.
One Response
What these results show is that when Democrats, indeed csndidates front any party, have a message that addresses voters’ concerns and needs, they can win. The message for Dem candidates should focus on our current economics beyond the high interest rates, slow hiring and out of control national debt ($40 trillion is absurd!). The message should focus on trump cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in order to give billionaires (such as himself) and trillionaires large tax cuts. Many “red” and “swing” states have a percentage of their populations receiving these benefits greater than the national average. Florida, WV and Maine have the 3 highest percentage population in the US on Medicare (>24%, US average 20%); WV, KY, AR, and LA have the highest percentage on Medicaid (>35%, US average 21-22%); and WV, Maine and VT have 25-×7% of their populations receiving Social Security (US average 21%). While the percentage differences may be small, they represent millions of people affected by trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”!
While the cuts in the BBB themselves are bad, trump’ bill scheduled them to occur after the mid-term elections. If trump and the GOP felt they were good policy, they would have pushed to have them enacted upon passage. Voters of any affiliation should be insulted by this subterfuge and vote against any Representative and Senator who voted in favor of the bill as written. Rep Harris knew this tactic was not right as he voted “present” when it fist came to the House floor. However, when it came back for a new vote he voted “yes” confirming his lack of courage, and lack of concern for his constituents. All of us in MD-01 have a chance to send Rep Harris a message come this Nov 3rd. Time for him to go home!