Slate News Political Gabfest - Tough It Out, Pregnant Ladies!
Sep 25, 2025
Beverly Gage, a historian specializing in 20th-century American politics and author of a Pulitzer-winning biography of J. Edgar Hoover, sheds light on McCarthyism and the Red Scare. The discussion reveals the complex origins of anti-communism and its chilling effects on free speech. Gage also draws parallels with today’s political climate, emphasizing strategies for resisting political intimidation. Insights are shared on how past struggles for civil liberties can inform current battles against executive overreach.
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Politics, Not Law, May Be The Main Check
- Legal safeguards are limited when the president controls the executive branch.
- Political responses—Congress, voters, and public pressure—may be the main check on politicized prosecutions.
Brain Drain Harms Legal Institutions
- Mass resignations and firings of career DOJ attorneys erode institutional capacity and public trust.
- Weakening these custodians of legal norms damages the law's role as a stabilizing democratic force.
Use Political Pressure To Restore Norms
- Political coalitions inside the president's party can still act as a brake on abuses.
- Use elections, midterms, and intra-party pressure to restore norms and accountability.
