Wednesday on the RealClearPolitics radio show, Andrew Walworth, Tom Bevan, and Phil Wegmann discuss whether Democrats have a chance in increasingly red Ohio and the increasingly heated rhetoric from Democrats like Beto O’Rourke about “breaking the rules” to beat Trump. They also look at the shakeup at the Bureau of Labor Statistics that’s unexpectedly gripping the nation and President Trump’s plan to audit the archives of the Smithsonian. Later, Carol Moseley Braun – the first African-American woman to serve in the U.S. Senate – talks about her new autobiography and the future of the Democratic Party, and Moment magazine editor-in-chief Nadine Epstein discusses where Jewish Americans stand politically in 2025. You can listen to the show weeknights at 6:00 p.m. on SiriusXM’s POTUS Channel 124 and then on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and here on our website. *** First, former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is reportedly running to win back his seat after losing in 2024. Democrats sound hopeful about the return of a blue-collar-coded moderate, but has Ohio shifted too far into the GOP column? “He lost in 2024 by about 200,000 votes, about 4%,” Tom Bevan said. “He ran ahead of Kamala Harris, but Trump won the state by 11 points.” “Brown is sort of an old big-labor Democrat, and if he loses, being from the moderate wing, what does that say to the rest of the Democratic Party, where it does seem like all the energy right now is on the far left?” Andrew Walworth asked. *** On the topic of Democrats’ strategy in 2026, around minute 7, prominent Democrats keep promising to do whatever it takes to beat Trump’s Republicans and “save democracy.” Is this just rhetoric, or are the rules about to change? “I’m not sure I want the attorney general of a major state saying we’re going to color outside the lines or break the rules,” Walworth commented. “That’s not what you look for in the highest legal officer in the state!” “One of the things I hate most about modern politics is how both sides complain the other side is so ruthless and fight so much harder,” Tom Bevan said. “Both sides believe we’re in some kind of existential struggle… It’s just how our politicians speak these days – because it’s what the voters want to hear from them.” *** Next, starting at minute 12, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has unexpectedly taken center stage this summer as President Trump asks for a new formula to produce more accurate monthly jobs reports. Phil Wegmann wrote about E.J. Antoni, the Heritage Foundation economist Trump has nominated to oversee the BLS: “WH ‘Plans’ and ‘Hopes’ To Continue Releasing Monthly Jobs Reports” “There aren’t a lot of numbers that matter so much to presidents as these monthly job reports,” Wegmann said, explaining that the White House told him it “hopes and plans” to continue publishing them but can’t say for sure. “Maybe we should just do away with the entire BLS. Why do we even have this organization?” Tom Bevan asked. “Why are we trusting any of the numbers the government puts out?” *** After that, at minute 17, Democrats are crying “fascism” in response to President Trump ordering the Smithsonian Institution to “remove divisive, partisan narratives.” Is history just another thing the two parties won’t be able to agree on? “If what is put forward now at the Smithsonian is above board consensus history, then yeah, there’s something to David Axelrod’s gripe that this is a fascist move,” Wegmann commented. “But on the other hand, if this has become another bastion of liberal and progressive thought that is outside of the mainstream, then maybe there is something to take a closer look at.” “If it comes out as something completely skewed and unrecognizable to half the country, then yeah, there should be a corrective,” Bevan said. *** And then, staring at minute 22, Carol Moseley Braun, the first African-American woman to ever serve in the U.S. Senate, talks to Andrew Walworth about her new autobiography, the fight over redistricting, Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, and the direction of the Democratic Party. Her new book is: ” Trailblazer: Perseverance in Life and Politics” Drawing on her own experience in a landmark gerrymandering case, she said this is “a subject that ought to be examined and paid attention to.” “The question is: Do the voters pick the politicians, or do the politicians pick the voters?” She said the kind of mid-cycle redistricting Texas Republicans are doing is “changing the rules after the game’s already started” and “undermines the confidence people have in our democracy.” “There are lots of better ways we could draw districts,” she said. “There’s always the proposal of having a machine do it – AI, right? Just call in the computers!” *** Finally, at minute 32, Carl Cannon talks with Nadine Epstein, the editor-in-chief of Moment Magazine, about what it means to be a centrist in today’s political environment. Moment is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a nuanced, nonpartisan voice for the American Jewish community. “The Democratic Party is in disarray. The Republican Party doesn’t even exist independently anymore; it’s essentially the Trump Party. Given those as the choices, they’re terrible choices for anyone,” she said. “We can’t live in these two corners… We’ve been trying to have conversations that don’t trigger polarization and invite nuance, to find places we can agree on.” About the 2025 political landscape, Epstein added, “I can tell you I know many people convinced Trump is great for the Jews, and many equally passionate that he’s terrible for the Jews. There’s no easy answer. It’s a much bigger question.” *** Don’t miss an episode of the RealClearPolitics weeknight radio show – subscribe at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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