Wednesday on the RealClearPolitics podcast, Tom Bevan, Carl Cannon, and Andrew Walworth discussed which side “won” the 2025 government shutdown, Democrats’ strategy of immediately pivoting back to Jeffrey Epstein, and another Kennedy running for office. Later in the show, Reagan Institute chairman and former Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan joins the panel to discuss efforts to return civility to American politics and public life. The Reagan Institute has launched initiatives like the Common Ground Forums – which bring together people with opposing views to find consensus – and the Civil Discourse Project, a curriculum adopted by schools nationwide to teach students how to debate respectfully. You can listen to the show live each day at 11:00 a.m. on SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly Channel 111 and then on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and here on our website. *** The show opened with both sides framing the government shutdown as a political win for their party. “I understand the desire on the left to try to portray this as not a loss, or even to spin it into some kind of victory in the medium or long term,” Tom Bevan said. “But the reality is Republicans stood firm, Democrats caved, and we’ll see what happens when we do this all again in a couple of months.” “Nobody won, here’s who lost. The taxpayers, democracy, and the reputation of the United States. This was a disgrace,” Carl Cannon said. “Obamacare wasn’t supposed to triple your premiums without subsidies. It’s not called the Unaffordable Care Act.” “Barack Obama assured me that elections have consequences, you can’t get everything you want,” Cannon continued. “To think we’re going to do this all over again in a few months, it makes me want to go cover sports.” *** In the next segment, around minute 14, the newest member of Congress, Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva, will be sworn in today. She won a special election in September to fill her father’s seat and is expected to be the final vote needed for Democrats to file a discharge petition to vote on publishing a new tranche of Jeffrey Epstein documents. Is this good politics? “For the Democrats, in addition to trying to spin the shutdown from a loss to a victory, the other strategy is just to pivot immediately to the Epstein files, because that was and has been a very tricky issue for Trump,” Bevan explained. “Quite frankly, on the campaign trail, Trump promised total transparency on Epstein, and then suddenly was saying there is no list. It finally subsided, but now it’s back, and the Democrats are more than happy to play it up and play it to the hilt.” “They’ve impugned Trump’s integrity in every way, shape, and form for 10 years. Maybe this is something, but I’m jaded,” Cannon commented. “To have a person running around with underage women blackmailing politicians is a scandal. What I’m cavalier about is this newfound obsession of the Democratic Party about it, because when they were in power, they had very little interest in it. I’m cavalier about it being used once again to undermine a duly elected president of the United States. I did not vote for Donald Trump, but I think this way the Democratic Party for 10 years has gone about approaching this man is not how politics can function.” *** At minute 24, President John F. Kennedy’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, announced he is running for Congress as a Democrat to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler in New York’s 12th district. “He’s 32 years old. Six foot two, great hair – all the Kennedys have great hair. His hair was perfect,” Andrew Walworth commented. “He’s a man of the people. He took the bus to his private school… But not all Kennedys have done well. It’s not a shoo-in. And Nadler wants his chief of staff in the seat.” “Schlossberg endorsed Zohran Mamdani early – which, I think, is interesting. That tells you a little bit about where he thinks the energy is in the Democratic Party,” Tom Bevan added. *** Finally, 30 minutes into the show, Reagan Institute chairman and former Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan joins the panel to discuss returning civility to American politics and public life. First they discuss the chaotic scene at a Turning Point USA event this week in Berkeley, California. “Campuses are kind of the front line of where we’re seeing this unwillingness to accept opposing ideas – and a kind of violent response. This incident at Berkeley is just one of many that have happened over the last few years,” he said. “But I will say, we’re seeing a change in direction. Berkeley may be a laggard on this, but I think campuses across the country are becoming more open.” “Polarization and this lack of civility are beginning to pose an existential threat to the health of our democracy,” Ryan said. “We’ve launched what we call Common Ground Forums, where we bring together people with opposing views. We let them put their disagreements on the table, but then come back to the spirit of the Reagan–Tip O’Neill relationship – two people who disagreed on so much, yet worked hard to find common ground.” “We’re also building out the Civil Discourse Project, which we’ve made available to schools across the country. It’s been widely adopted and very well received. It basically teaches people how to engage more civilly – first in the classroom, and hopefully throughout their lives.” *** Don’t miss a single episode of the RealClearPolitics weeknight radio show – subscribe at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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