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 impact of reproductive rights in the midterm elections due to a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion suggesting that the landmark “Roe v. Wade” ruling will be overturned soon. We also ask Al and Craig if this issue might replace concerns about inflation as the pivotal issue that might improve the Democratic Party’s odds in November.
This video podcast is approximately 19 minutes in length.
To listen to the audio podcast version, please use this link:
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.
John Fischer says
In casting their November ballot, Americans will measure their concern about whether reproductive rights should be governed by supreme court fiat or by the will of the citizens by state.
Then, they will compare that concern with inflation, refusal to deal with illegal immigration, the absurdities of wokeness, CRT indoctrination of grade school children, the cancel culture, defunding police, resultant out-of-control crime and the collapse of societal order in Democratic governed cities.
We’ll await their judgment.
Howard Freedlander says
Sounds like a Fox TV screed, Jack.
John Fischer says
Not a Fox guy, Howard, nor an MSNBC. Somewhere with the seventy or eighty percent in the middle.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Inflation is global, are you not aware of that?
So no, the choice in November is between a
democracy or an authoritarian theocracy.
Sarah Oppenheimer says
This leak happens right on cue for riot season…Gotta fire up the elite liberal lady voter!