This Forthright Radio is devoted to digesting the results of the 2022 mid-term elections. Days after the election, there are still many crucial races that are too close to call, and it is too early to know which parties will control either chamber of congress. However the predicted Red Wave – or what some were projecting as a Red Tsunami – has not occurred. So, we were delighted to welcome back two distinguished guests, David Daley and Paul Pierson.

Dave Daley was our guest in June of 2020, when his book, UNRIGGED: HOW AMERICANS ARE BATTLING BACK TO SAVE DEMOCRACY, came out. His earlier book, RATF**KED: THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE SECRET PLAN TO STEAL AMERICA’S DEMOCRACY, did much to educate us about the nationally organized, anti-democracy efforts to seize political control from the majority of voters via gerrymandering, and what citizens across the country are doing to wrestle majoritarian democracy back. His articles appear in many outlets, including The Guardian, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, among others.

Paul Pierson was our guest in July of 2020, when his book, co-written with Jacob Hacker, director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies and a Political Science Professor at Yale University, LET THEM EAT TWEETS: HOW THE RIGHT RULES IN AN AGE OF EXTREME INEQUALITY, came out. Paul is is the John Gross Professor of Political Science at U. C. Berkeley. They have many earlier books, including, WINNER-TAKE-ALL-POLITICS: How Washington Made the Rich Richer and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class; and Off Center: The Republican Revolution and The Erosion of American Democracy.

Articles pertinent to this interview:

Will this Ohio judge’s retirement spell the end of fair elections in the state? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/26/ohio-judge-maureen-oconnor-republicans-gerrymandering-elections

Midterms bring major constitutional wins for abortion rights https://www.axios.com/2022/11/09/abortion-election-results-midterm-constitution-amendment

‘I never doubted it’: why film-maker Michael Moore forecast ‘blue tsunami’ in midterms https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/14/us-midterms-film-maker-michael-moore-blue-tsunami

Mike’s Midterm Tsunami Truth #41 https://www.michaelmoore.com/p/midterm-tsunami-truth-41?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=320974&post_id=83466690&isFreemail=true&utm_medium=email

Critical Maine Congressional Race Heads To Runoff https://www.huffpost.com/entry/maine-race-runoff-golden-poliquin_n_636bea42e4b04925c8939612

Marijuana Is About to Be Legal for Half of the U.S. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/marijuana-legalization-midterm-results-1234628966/

‘Canary in the Coal Mine’: Did Elissa Slotkin’s Win Reveal Trumpism’s Self-Defeating Toxicity? https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/11/11/elissa-slotkin-michigan-election-00066278

Let’s talk about Republicans losing more than the youth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QOwb_7cTf0

Young voters hailed as key to Democratic successes in midterms https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/11/young-voters-us-midterms-democratic-youth

Hispanics could make more historic gains in U.S. House https://www.axios.com/2022/11/10/midterm-elections-latino-democrat-republican

New York Democrats spoil House party https://www.axios.com/2022/11/10/new-york-democrats-house-majority

Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin admits interfering in US elections https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/07/putin-ally-yevgeny-prigozhin-admits-interfering-in-us-elections

See Which 2020 Election Deniers and Skeptics Won in the Midterm Elections https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/09/us/politics/election-misinformation-midterms-results.html

Trump Is the Republican Party’s Biggest Loser https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-is-the-gops-biggest-loser-midterm-elections-senate-house-congress-republicans-11668034869?mod=hp_opin_pos_4#cxrecs_s

The Fever Is Breaking https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/opinion/the-fever-is-breaking.html

Young Voters Helped Democrats. But Experts Differ on Just How Much https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/12/us/young-voter-turnout-election-democrats.html

The Biggest Election Wins And Losses For America’s Public Lands https://www.huffpost.com/entry/public-lands-wins-losses-2022-elections_n_636eb9aee4b002e88211aa66

The Supreme Court’s Hands Are All Over The 2022 Midterm Election Results https://www.huffpost.com/entry/2022-midterm-supreme-court_n_636ea0f2e4b002e882118a88

A Running List Of All The Election Deniers Heading To Congress In 2023 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/election-deniers-congress-big-lie_n_63694188e4b0eb51ab12d3cd