1/6 Reflections, Electoral Count Act, The Fed & Inflation, State of the Judiciary, MTG Twitter Ban

Mike & Jay start the first Politics Guys show of 2022 by looking back at the events of January 6th, 2021. They discuss how they viewed the Capitol riot then, how they see it now, the value of the House January 6th Commission, and how much of a hold Donald Trump and “The Big Lie” has on the Republican Party. January 6th happened in large part because of Congress’ role in certifying presidential election results. Mike & Jay move on to discuss how that process works and whether it’s time to clarify or even repeal the Electoral Count Act. Next, they turn to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s December meeting, which were released this past week. Mike & Jay agree that it’s good that the Fed is moving to moderate inflation, but they disagree on how quickly inflation is likely to fall. After that they discuss Chief Justice Roberts’ year end report on the state of the federal judiciary. Roberts acknowledges problems with transparency and discrimination in the judicial branch, but argues that these problems can be dealt with internally. Mike is skeptical about the ability of the branch to police itself, and even Jay thinks there may be a role for Congress to play here, though he’s more cautious about regulation than Mike is (which is generally the case). They move on to talk about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Twitter ban and the larger issues of Big Tech censorship, free speech, and the marketplace of ideas.  The show closes with Mike & Jay responding to listener questions on workforce development policy and the future of the Republican Party. We’d really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes for The Politics Guys 2022 Listener Survey.  Mike’s Recommendations Chief Justice Roberts’ 2021 Report on the Federal Judiciary The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6. Miles Davis & John Coltrane The Politics Guys on Facebook | Twitter Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the podcast, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-politics-guys/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesThe Politics Guys on Facebook | XListener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys.The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.