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 comment on the current divide within the GOP with Trump on one side and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on this other. They also talk about current efforts to kill the filibuster option in the Senate, which many see as the cause of gridlock in Washington.
This video is approximately twelve minutes in length. To listen to the podcast version, please use this link:
And once again, we continue with our additional content with a short discussion of the political implications of the Texas snowstorm on state politics below:
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.
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 five years, where now serves on the boards of the Academy Art Museum, the Benedictine School, and Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors.
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.
Darrell Parsons says
Great idea!
Bob Parker says
This is an interesting, and insightful, discussion by Mr.s Fuller and From, although the 2 topics covered – the future of the Republican Party and what to do with the Filibuster being ones that are totally out of the control of anyone who is not in Congress at the present time. I agree with Mr. From regarding the future of the Republican party in that none of the current leading actors – trump, McConnell, Graham – represent a forward looking contingent, and if the GOP is to be salvaged, it will have to look forward away from trumpism and power politics as practiced by McConnell. However, as pointed out, who in today’s GOP has a voice that would move the party forward and re-establish a collaborative “loyal opposition” party? I believe that 2022 will be informative on that issue. In regards to the filibuster, on this I agree with Mr. FUller, although I have no illusions that the Republicans in the Senate will actually act in a bipartisan manner. McConnell will say that they want, but he is still the Grim Reaper when it comes to legislation that he doe not endorse and will bide his time hoping to re-take the Senate in 2022. Biden and the Dems need to accomplish many of his goals, particularly on immigration, criminal justice/police reform and climate change, if they are to make a strong case for the 2022 mid-terms and a Dem administration in 2024. Consequently, if the Republicans do not show evidence of material cooperation, I suspect the filibuster will be history. The only saving grace in such a decision is that the public does not understand how Congress functions and they always blame the Senate rules that preserves but weakens the filibuster, I suspect it will be history. I thoroughly enjoy these conversations between Mr.s Fuller and From and laud the SPY for continuing this forum.
James T. Barry says
These are great discussions with Craig and Al. Love the balanced perspective, often lacking in most channels today. Well done.