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 failure of the sweeping bipartisan border security compromise bill after both House and Senate Republicans pulled out of the deal at Donald Trump’s urging. Al and Craig also discuss the unsuccessful House GOP majority to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and the D.C. Circuit’s decision to reject Trump’s effort to gain absolute immunity from prosecution as he gets closer to securing the Republican nomination for president.
This video podcast is approximately sixteen 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.
David A Turner says
How are millions of undecideds viewing this snapshot moment of Biden at the Border? Whither from here?
Deal’s dead. Now, is there a next option for the President — besides upping his anti-GOP rhetoric? That would probably not go over well with us great unwashed. More typically, just whining about an insiders’ broken deal in Congress will mostly go over our heads. We’d rather the President opted for a solution — action.
Here’s the option, a Big Ask. President Biden’s language this past week has been jaw dropping. He’s suddenly saying all the right things. Talking about blocking the Border. He made us reconsider our mounting disillusion with his Administration. We’ll even give him nine more months to ease unbridled migration. This would be a good thing.
Of course, such magnanimity by him is beyond consideration by maga-liberals and liberal influencers (media). But he’s the President, our President too. We can ask.
Like Peanuts’ Lucy and the football, we will give the President one more opportunity not to pull the football away. If he chooses to yank the ball on the border, the reaction against him in November could be justifiably fierce. I doubt any No Labels candidate — including Manchin — will co-endorse Biden’s previous open-borders policies. That third-party gives undecideds a candidate to adopt. Such a moderate could win a plurality of votes in a three-man race. Sadly, electoral rules then throws the election to a Congressional vote. Not so good for Democrats.
Nevertheless, the President’s reasonable hints earlier this week earned my full attention. And winning in November provides a meaningful incentive for him to go ahead and act on the Border. Do everything he can. Of course, Democrats and their (currently shaky — Gaza) progressive allies can try to elect Biden with just their votes. Remember Michael Dukakis?
Is there anything in my approach that benefits rank-and-firebrand liberals? A few hundred thousand fewer illegals in their blue cities over the course of this year. Even better, a second term for a liberal-to-progressive president? Sweet enough?
Do you not see how this transformation makes Biden a more attractive national candidate?
Al, I deeply appreciated your remembrance moments. Jack Kemp was a lovely man and a good friend of my economist/journalist father. And I remember two annual trips to Montgomery Co. to Tip’s big birthday party held by a friendly lobbyist. I disagree with your 10-year-ago memories of McConnell. He has ever been a pain in the Republic.
David A Turner says
Dave, Al and Craig, it’s Thursday night and I just watched President Biden’s “Mexico” press conference about the special counsel’s report on his classified documents and mental acuity. My above suggestion about rooting for Biden to do the right thing re. the border for the rest of this year, and gaining undecided-voter support in November does not extend so far as to transfer that good will to Kamala Harris. Should she “fail forward” into the Oval Office prior to the election, then we’ll need to have a far, far different discussion.