Ask Chuck: campaign money and influence

Chuck Todd opens with a grim inventory of an administration besieged on every front as the Iran war enters its twelfth day with no exit strategy in sight. He then pivots to the SAVE Act — the Republican voting bill that has 50 Senate votes but faces a filibuster John Thune admits he likely can't break. He walks through the details that go well beyond simple voter ID: the bill requires documentary proof of citizenship to register, treats women who change their name through marriage as first-time voters, and Trump is demanding additions including a near-total ban on mail-in voting — turning what polls show is an 80%-popular concept into a toxic package that could disenfranchise millions. He notes that John Cornyn flipped his filibuster position to chase Trump's Texas endorsement, warns that if Republicans nuke the filibuster and Democrats later win the Senate they won't restore it, and argues that Republicans are essentially writing legislation to make Trump's false fraud claims real — while Trump is already setting up the SAVE Act's inevitable failure as his preemptive excuse for midterm losses that have nothing to do with voting rules and everything to do with an unpopular war, a tanking economy, and a completely unserious leader running the Pentagon. Ultimately, he argues that partisan changes to voting rule destroy trust in democracy, whether it be the SAVE Act, or Democrats efforts to pass HR1.

Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and celebrates the start of March Madness.

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

04:30 There’s no easy way for Trump to get out of Iran

05:30 It’s become clear US responsible for bombing Iranian school

06:15 FBI warns California law enforcement of threat of Iranian drone strikes

07:15 The fallout from the war is complicated & Trump can’t just turn it off

08:30 Drone attack that killed US soldiers far more serious than initially reported

09:15 Republicans in congress are demoralized & don’t know what to run on

10:45 Pentagon bars press for publishing “unflattering” photos of Pete Hegseth

12:00 We have a serious war and a completely unserious leader of the Pentagon

12:45 Republican senators knew Hegseth was unqualified & confirmed him anyway

14:15 It’s important to explain the details of the Republican SAVE Act

15:00 John Cornyn flipped position on the filibuster to try to earn Trump endorsement

15:30 Republicans likely don’t have the votes to kill the filibuster

16:15 Contrasting and comparing Democrats HR1 vs Republicans SAVE Act

18:15 SAVE Act requires proof of citizenship to vote

19:00 Trump wants a total ban on mail in voting and all voting on one day

20:00 If GOP kills filibuster & Dems win senate, Dems won’t restore it

20:45 If passed in a partisan vote, SAVE Act would delegitimize democracy

21:45 If rules change based on who’s in power, the public will lose faith in process

23:30 We’re seeing a collision of two partisan visions over who gets to vote

24:30 SAVE Act makes voter registration a “show your papers” event

25:30 There’s a massive gap between bill passed in house & what Trump wants

26:00 Trump is demanding a bill loaded with culture war items

27:30 If Republicans jam through the SAVE Act, it could juice Democratic turnout

29:00 Voter ID isn’t controversial with the public

29:45 There’s 80% support for proof of citizenship when registering to vote

30:15 Republicans believe it should be harder to vote, Dems think it should be easier

31:30 Trump is taking popular ideas and packaging them in a bill that is toxic

32:30 Stability in a democracy doesn’t come from a 51% majority

33:45 34k people in Arizona were barred from state elections, but had federal carve out

35:00 Almost no voter fraud has actually been found

36:00 If you change name or get married, SAVE Act treats you as first time voter

37:30 America already makes life harder on women, SAVE Act makes it worse

38:15 The SAVE Act goes WELL beyond voter ID

39:00 Republicans are writing a bill to make Trump’s bullshit real

39:45 Trump will blame failure to pass SAVE Act for election losses in midterms

41:00 SAVE Act would disenfranchise or add barriers for millions of voters

42:00 Individual citizens have no constitutional right to vote

42:45 State constitutions provide voting guarantees, SAVE Act contradicts that

44:15 Changes to voting rules need bipartisan public consensus

50:00 Ask Chuck

50:15 How is the psyche of the American people able to handle constant crisis?

55:30 Are the war and Epstein files just distracting from importance of midterms?

59:00 Have larger sums of money started to become irrelevant in elections?

1:03:00 At what point does fundraising advantage stop matter?

1:07:15 Chances of false flag blamed on Iran to provide pretext to mess with elections?

1:13:00 Thanks for giving me hope while feeling like we’re living through fall of Rome

1:16:30 How can a future president reverse course on tariffs?

1:19:00 Thoughts on March Madness

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