Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.
This week, after a summer break, From and Fuller kick off their 2022 midterm coverage with a discussion of President Biden’s decision to include the word “semi-fascism” in describing a number of Republican candidates running for office in states like Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Al and Craig also chat about the remarkable shift in independent voters towards Democrats in key races and the factors for such a dramatic change.
This video podcast is approximately sixteen minutes in length.
To listen to the audio podcast version, please use this link:
Editor Note: The Spy apologizes in advance for the video quality of this week’s edition. We are working with Zoom to resolve the issue for future broadcasts.
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 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.
Howard Freedlander says
Though I normally applaud Craig Fuller’s thoughtful and informed opinions, I’m afraid that, while I wonder about the meaning of “semi-fascism,” I agree with President Biden’s strong condemnation of the un-American tactics employed by Trump and his gang of followers. He has been passive too long. Al From adroitly analyzed the changing political winds this summer.
Reed Fawell 3 says
My view is precisely the reverse – Craig Fuller nailed it flush to the wall. Al From today is not of this world. Events now are moving fast,likely irrevocable so. Where will it end, what’s been in motion for decades, since the 1960s? It won’t be pretty, for sure. And most likely now a tragedy fueled by blind hate, anger and ambition, is ignited finally by a US President’s doomsday speech in front of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall lit red as if in hell, a scene reminding one of the riots in Seattle, Minneapolis and Portland. It’s surreal and frightening to know this scene afire was designed, built and orchestrated by a regime occupying America’s White House, but not surprising. This torching of America going on for years, its grand finale is now being forced on the nation.
Howard Freedlander says
Mr. Fawell’s comments epitomize President Biden’s “doomsday” comments. I wonder if Mr. Fawell listened with anything but a closed mind and pre-speech opinion. I think I know the answer.
Reed Fawell 3 says
Actually, I did approach this Presidential address with a open mind. But our Presidents words delivered to the entire nation at our taxpayer expense in front of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall dressed in reds and black lights as if the building was under siege while guarded by US Marines, were plain, direct, unequivocal, angry and extreme. Namely that 74 million Americans at the least were a fascist threat to American Democracy. Never in American history has a US President given such a extreme partisan Presidential address threatening his political opposition in an effort to intimidate them during and throughout upcoming elections through 2024.