The Rachel Maddow Show Blog

Ron Reagan hosts TRMS tonight

logan — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:02:01 -0400

From Ron Reagan:

Unfortunately, 'it’s the economy, stupid,' and I’m speaking with Bob Sullivan, who writes the popular blog The Red Tape Chronicles for MSNBC.com.

I'm talking "The week that was” with Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter. His latest book is "Between the Lines: A View Inside American Politics, People, and Culture."

Later in the show, the real differences between Obama and McCain’s healthcare plans with Richard Kirsch, Health Care for America Now’s National Campaign Manager, followed by an advocate for single payer plans, Geri Jenkins, Co-President of the California Nurses Association and National Nurses Organizing Committee.

The Nation’s John Nichols has an update on Trooper gate, including a report to be released today on the story and the McCain campaign’s claims that Sarah Palin was never contacted for testimony.

And Harry Shearer shares the many voices of Sarah Palin and why he thinks you can judge candidates by how they walk (not how they talk).

Open Thread

Tim Einenkel — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:31:24 -0400

....

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:29:08 -0400

Rachel Maddow is live tonight with her pre-debate show. She will be talking to former Labor Secretary Robert Reich about the bailout bill that passes the Senate last night. Then David Bender joins Rachel to debate the debates. Why is it that everyone thinks Palin will fail when she is considered a superb debater in Alaska by the many people who've had to go toe-to-toe with her in the past? Do the negative trends mean that people are now inclined to see the worst? Is it even possible for there to be a winner tonight?

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:07:53 -0400

Matt Yglesias, Senior Editor at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, joins Rachel today to talk about the politics of the bail out bill. What do Republicans really want? Is the GOP as disorganized and fractured as it seems? Are Republicans just trying to hang this albatross around Democrats' collective neck?

Also, Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, talks to Rachel about efforts to make it easier for veterans to vote and why there wasn't a single question about veterens' benefits at last week's debate.

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:53:59 -0400

The bail out bill has failed. Why did it fial? Well, according to Republicans it's because their feelings were hurt by that big ol' mean Democrat, Nancy Pelosi. So on today's show Rachel will be talking to economist Dean Baker about why he thinks the crisis doesn't warrent a bail out of this magnitude. And then David Bender stops by to talk about the McCain-Obama debate last week and the upcoming Palin-Biden debate on Thursday.

Rules for tonight's debate drinking game!

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:03:20 -0400

NOTE: you can of course drink something non-alcoholic but if you do choose to go the booze route Rachel suggests beer or a half-strength high ball: one ounce of booze in an eight-ounce glass filled with ice and topped with seltzer.

drink once...

if mccain says:
prison
vietnam
table
chair

drink twice...

if mccain says "marie the flame of florida"

drink once if obama says...
anything about protecting main street and not just wall street

drink once if either candidate...
uses jim lehrer's first name in an answer

drink once if obama...
uses the phrase mccain-bush or bush-mccain

drink once if mccain says...
my friends

drink twice if...
obama displays his most presidential ability -- being able to do two things at once -- by patting his head and rubbing his tummy at the same time

drink twice if...
anyone says "first dude"

drink twice if...
anyone's cellphone goes off and it's giuliani's wife calling

drink once if...
obama references that in order to capture bin laden you have to go not to the gates of hell but rather to a country that rhymes with shmakisatan

drink everything in the house if...
governor palin shows up in mccain's place

quit drinkin forever if...
mccain declares war on someone new (iraq, afghanistan, russia and iran don't count since he's already done the deed with them)

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:25:34 -0400

Boy oh boy do we have a show for you today! Rachel will be joined by David Bender, her political guru, who will explain the spin surrounding the debate this evening and give his take on whether John McCain's gamesmanship these last 10 days has been effective. Then Rand Beers, the president of the National Security Network and a former adviser to the Kerry-Edwards campaign, talks about the national security issues the next president will have to face in January and the candidates might have to discuss tonight.

Also? Rachel welcomes Austan Goolsbee, senior economic adviser to the Obama campaign. They will talk about the pending bail out bill and why John McCain hasn't exactly been super helpful in getting the legislation passed.

And finally, Anthony Lappe is the author of one of Rachel's favorite books, Shooting War. It's now out in paperback so Anthony is coming back on the show to talk about which of the book's prognostications have come true and what he might write about in the sequel.

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:44:11 -0400

What do you think of the McCain campaign's political stunt, proposing a postponement of the debate on Friday? David Bender is filling in for Rachel today and he is taking your calls. Get on the line now! (866) 303-2270

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:22:33 -0400

On today's show Rachel will be talking about the proposed bail out-- crafted in three teeny tiny pages of legislation-- with Alex Blumberg, a producer at This American Life and the NPR series Planet Money. And then Time magazine's Amy Sullivan reports on early voting. It begins in earnest this week.

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:33:25 -0400

On today's show Rachel will be talking to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll of the New Yorker Magazine and the New America Foundation about the Bush Administration's efforts to arm the world to the teeth. Do more weapons mean more peace? And then Dave Zirin joins Rachel to talk about his latest book, The Peoples' History of Sports in the United States, and about the controversy currently swirling around one player for the Dallas Mavericks who got caught refusing to sing along to the National Anthem.

Highlight from Ithaca: Are you on the No Fly List? One man finds an unusual workaround...

Andrew Dunn — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:47:50 -0400

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:47:30 -0400

On November 4th people across this country will go to the polls to elect a president. And some will also go to elect governors, senators and dog catchers. That is, if they can find them on the ballot. Eric Kleefeld from Talking Points Memo joins Rachel today to talk about what Mississippi Republicans are doing to hide one Senate race in which the Democrat is winning.

Also, Bernard Finel from the American Security Project talks to Rachel about what lessons about Al Qaeda can be learned from yesterday's deadly bombing at the American Embassy in Yemen.

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:25:26 -0400

Pakistan, our great ally, our great nuclear-armed ally, has ordered its soldiers to fire on US troops entering into the tribal regions to carry out anti-terrorism missions. What does this mean for our troops and what does it mean for our policy? Steve Clemons from the Washington Note joins Rachel to talk about that changing relationship.

Also, is Bob Barr changing the electoral map for John McCain? He is on the ballot in Pennsylvania and Montana and other swing states that may have a real impact. Pollster Craig Crawford will dissect the numbers and tell us just how big a deal this insurgent campaign really is.

Lying as a campaign tactic?

Andrew Dunn — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:15:34 -0400

Rachel discusses the McCain campaign's use of lying as a campaign tactic.

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:49:59 -0400

You cannot talk about the economy in an election year without talking about Ohio. Wages are down. Unemployment is up. Factories are closing. So today Rachel will be talking with Betty Sutton, the Congresswoman representing Ohio's 13th district. And then Huffington Post's Sam Stein phones in from the campaign trail John McCain isn't exactly attracting the crowds these days.

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:29:15 -0400

On today's show Rachel will be talking to the Wall Street Journal's Sudeep Reddy about what people are already calling Black Sunday, the day two major financial instutions and a giant insurer went to the brink of collapse. Cut to John McCain on the campaign trail: the fundamentals are fine!

And then Rachel will be talking to Bill Scher from Liberal Oasis about the horrendous clean up effort down in Texas. It took FEMA four days to get in there and some parts of the state won't have electricity for a month. So how have we changed since Katrina?

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:46:57 -0400

The Rachel Maddow Show is LIVE in downtown Ithaca, NY at the State Theater! We are expecting over 1,200 people tonight and we couldn't be more excited. On tonight's show Rachel will be talking to Carry Carrigan from our affiliate in Alaska, KUDO, who used to employ Sarah Palin as his intern. And then Rachel and Ari Melber from the Nation magazine debates whether or not Obama should be more aggressive. Does he risk coming across as too angry or is offense the key to victory in November?

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:29:17 -0400

Today is the seventh anniversary of 9/11. Seven years since the World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon were attacked killing three thousand Americans. Memorials are taking place all over the country and the WORLD. So however it is you have chosen to acknowledge the day, good for you. It deserves commemoration and sadness and, for some of us, anger.

On today's show Rachel will be talking about how McCain reacted in the hours and days following 9/11 and what he said then about Iraq. And then she talks to David Bender and Paul Begala about the politics of lying.

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:45:49 -0400

On tonight's show Rachel will be talking to our favorite nuclear weapons expert Joe Cirincione about the report released yesterday giving the Federal Government a C grade for preventing nuclear, biological and chemical weapons attacks.

And then Princeton professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell talks to Rachel about the politics of biography in this election and how Barack Obama should fight back against the latest McCain campaign attack ad on education spouting the lie that Obama favors sex education for kindergarteners.

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:30:18 -0400

On today's Rachel Maddow Show Mark Benjamin from Salon.com will be here talking about Governor Sarah Palin's fondness for shooting wolves from planes. And then Paul Rieckhoff from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America talks about the latest step toward suffrage! You can now hold election drives at veterans facilities.

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:15:31 -0400

We are still in St. Paul at the Republican National Convention. Things are picking up today-- there are actual people walking around! Yes, so darn exciting. Our big celebrity sighting today? Jon Voight.

On today's show Rachel will be talking to Libertarian presidential candidate and former Republican congressman Bob Barr! Rachel is so jealous that he's been to the Ron Paul convention. Maybe he'll sneak us in? Fingers crossed.

And then Rachel welcomes Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak back to the show.

Mayor Bob Weinstein of Ketchikan, Alaska and Maddow

Tim Einenkel — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:13:35 -0400

Rachel interviews Bob Weinstein, mayor of Ketchikan, Alaska, on of the towns linked to by the so-called Bridge to Nowhere. He tells the truth about Sarah Palin's flip flop on the bridge

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:57:01 -0400

Rachel Maddow will be coming to you guys live from the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnessota! There is no Race for the White House tonight so Rachel will be on for 2 hours, 6-8pm ET.

The big stories this week are obviously Hurricane Gustav and Sarah Palin. Rachel will be reporting the latest on Gustav and discussing why and how Palin was never properly vetted.

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:50:45 -0400

The Rachel Maddow Show has its tissues ready; we're execting a tear-jerker of a speech from Obama tonight. Not only is today the anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech but it is also the first time in almost 50 years that a candidate has given his acceptance speech in a venue like Mile High Stadium.

And on the other end of the excitement spectrum there is the John McCain campaign! The campaign is confirming that a running mate has been selected and supposedly it's down to Mittens Romeny, Tim "Nice Hair" Pawlenty and Tom "Bulldog Face" Ridge. So tonight Rachel will be talking to Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak about Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota, about their contentious relatonship and whether or not Pawlenty is a good choice for McCain. Oh, and we might even ask him for some bar recommendations for when we are in St. Paul next week.

VIDEO: TRMS Headlines - 8-27-08

Dorsey Shaw — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:16:41 -0400