Krystal and Kyle take on Congressman and Presidential candidate Dean Phillips for a wide ranging interview and debate. Should Trump be kicked off the ballot? Is Israel committing a genocide? What would Dean do as president?
For a country that prides itself on upholding democracy (don’t think about those overseas regime changes, please), the U.S. has also revealed itself to be a nation in which you might have to spend $2 million just to get on the ballot if you’re running for president. Anyway, that’s what’s happening to Dean Phillips right now, and he’s got a great analysis of how this system upholds a political status quo. It’s easy to see how candidates championing the interests of the working class — and opposing those of big business donors — can’t break out onto the national stage as easily, and often can’t mount a high-visibility campaign to the same degree as their establishment counterparts. It’s another level of anti-democratic that just getting on the ballot also might mean paying your way.
Phillips, who currently may not appear on ballots in MA, WI, FL, TN, and NC, is challenging these decisions, but says that it costs money to do so — and he may not be able to overturn all of them. Dean tells us that his time interacting with regular Americans led him to embrace more left policies like Medicare for All. We hope you’ll enjoy our debate with Dean on Israel, Trump and his explanation of what he has learned about the breakdown of American democracy. This episode is available on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, and more.
Episode 156 Audio: Dean Phillips