Thanks to everyone who tuned in to my Substack LIVE today with Bill Scher from The Washington Monthly.
We kicked things off by asking the question no democracy should have to ask: Could Donald Trump’s chaos and incompetence actually protect us from his authoritarian streak?
Spoiler: Maybe. But don’t get too comfortable.
From there, we dove into Bill’s latest column, “Budget Reconciliation Could Be the Beginning of the End of the Republican Party.”
His thesis? The GOP has a narrow majority, and they have some fundamental disagreements. Making matters worse, the one thing that used to bind Republicans together — tax cuts — doesn’t even do that anymore.
Trump, in a TIME Magazine interview making the rounds today, said the quiet part out loud: maybe it’s time to tax millionaires.
Naturally, he walked it back with a tired line about rich people fleeing the country. (They won’t. There are easier ways to dodge taxes than packing up your Gulfstream.) But he’s not alone. Steve Bannon likes the idea. JD Vance is does, too.
Low taxes used to be the GOP’s holy grail. Now it’s just another bargaining chip on the table — one that’s splitting the party down the middle.
The math doesn’t work without tax hikes, and everyone (including the deficit hawk “Freedom Caucus” knows it.
So instead, Republicans talk about tariffs — sales taxes with a flag wrapped around them.
The donor class seethes, the working class pays more for eggs, and somewhere Dick Cheney is muttering, “Deficits don’t matter,” between sips of something expensive.
Menstrual Classes + Mass Deportations = Peak Stupidity
Next, we talked about Bill’s piece on pro-natalism — the fever dream that if women just get a little more education about their uteruses and a check for $5,000, they’ll start popping out babies for the good of the republic.
Trump wants a “baby boom.” Vance wants “more babies” (preferably raised by married parents who go to church and don’t own cats).
But beneath the flag-waving and faux concern for declining birth rates is the usual agenda: roll back women’s autonomy and keep the country demographically “familiar.”
Never mind that immigration has been quietly holding up America’s population numbers for years.
You don’t fix a demographic crisis with vibes and slogans. You fix it with child care, health care, paid leave, and actual support for families.
This isn’t policy. It’s performance. It seems pretty clear that real goal of a lot of folks pushing these policies isn’t more “babies” — it’s more white babies.
Anyway, we barely scratched the surface of a fascinating and frustrating conversation. If you missed it live, I highly recommend catching the replay.
Bring snacks. And maybe a stiff drink. You're going to need it.
Thanks again to
, , , and many others for tuning into my live video with ! Join me for my next live video in the app.
Talk soon! —
Matt
Share this post