Is Chelsea Manning the First Real 21st Century Politician?: Podcast
Like millions of Americans but with more emojis, the convicted/commuted leaker and would-be senator has views that don't fit neatly into our two-party mold.
Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst who served nearly seven years for leaking classified documents before being granted clemency one year ago tomorrow, confirmed on Sunday that she is running in Maryland's Democratic Party primary for the U.S. Senate seat held by two-term incumbent Ben Cardin.
"I think that the Chelsea Manning candidacy is pretty great, and it's a harbinger of other things to come," Nick Gillespie says a little past the halfway point on today's Reason Podcast, which also features Katherine Mangu-Ward, Peter Suderman, and yours truly. "Without her there is no Edward Snowden, there is no robust debate about FISA 702 and a wide variety of stuff….I don't agree with her at all on economic issues for the most part, mostly yes on social issues, [but] she represents a totally different way of slicing American politics."
Also under discussion: the ongoing White House/Congress policy wrangle over immigration, the pros and cons of merit-based vs. family-based migration, missile warnings gone awry, and Kentucky's new plan to make Medicaid recipients get a job.
Audio production by Ian Keyser.
Relevant links from the show:
"Chelsea Manning Showed Us the Consequences of War, and We Threw Her in Prison," by Scott Shackford
"Trump Is Offering the Country a Sophie's Choice on Dreamers," by Shikha Dalmia
"Of Course Most Immigrants Come from Shithole Countries. So What?" by Nick Gillespie
"Merit-based immigration is economically obtuse," by Shikha Dalmia
"Immigration: Beyond the Family Way," by Nick Gillespie
Subscribe, rate, and review the Reason Podcast at iTunes. Listen at SoundCloud below:
Don't miss a single Reason Podcast! (Archive here.)