Can a President shut down the Senate. Legal scholars agree on an answer "Yes but..." President-Elect / President Trump has invoked an obscure section of the Constitution that has never been used, in order to prod Senators on his appointments. Is it a true power? What is the clause, why is it there, what does it mean, and what might a Supreme Court do? The answer may have to do with a can of Pepsi.

We look at three stories from history. How did Bismarck North Dakota retain its name? Is there really a Stockholm Syndrome, and Lincoln's pardons and commutations, as seen by a supporter.

In case it's interesting, here's some of what Bruce said back in 2016 when President Trump won his first full term.

From the early attempts to depict Washington, to the first Congressional attempts to block Confederate statues, to today's debate.  In this episode Bruce examines the history behind statues in America, and Bruce looks at every debating point and...

A look at the Neo Nazi rally in Skokie, IL in 1977 and the resulting Supreme Court Case and the ACLU's role. In recent days Skokie has been brought up; and a look at the history of events is useful. We look at Louis Brandeis's great speech on the First Amendment, Chief Justice Robert's view of it recently, Alito's other take. Finally Bruce wonders about the consequences of these rights in a social media world.

It wasn't supposed to be close. Then new strategies, a speech and a surprising foreign policy event completely changed the election between Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. Two vice presidents battled it out. One major poll said Nixon had a lead, the other said Humphrey. Both by only a couple of points. The candidates do their Telethons, and the nation votes. Who will win?

Savior or scoundrel?  We look at the case of one of the most celebrated heroes of Presidential impeachment.  And in the course of that - we look at the  Chase, Clinton and Johnson precedents for attempted impeachment, we attempt to...

As we discuss with David Priess of Chatter Podcast (and the author of books on national security and presidential history) - it's tough to run for President when you are the sitting VP. It hasn't worked that often. Just twice since the 12th Amendment changed the election rules surrounding VPs, a vice president has won the big job. David goes into why this worked. And why on many other occasions, it did not work.

The "bone and sinew" in Pennsylvania, the voters there would elect Zachary Taylor or not. So said the candidate himself. In the final part of our two-party series on the 1848 Presidential Election, we look at stump speeches, the third party Free Soilers, Stephen Douglas speaking for Democratic candidate Lewis Cass and Abraham Lincoln touting Zachary Taylor. We hear stories from newspapers and a budding author starts to ply his trade with a diversion into political satire. We have a Patreon - www.myhistorycanbeatupyourpolitics.com We are part of Airwave Media Network

In Part 1 of our two-parter on the 1848 election, American politics is experiencing its greatest tumult. To long-time politicos the world is upside down as Whigs are working with Democrats, Democrats with Whigs. Writers are declaring a new Young America and an out with the old. America's territory is about to expand greatly, and there's arguments about how. Into this mix, almost as a relief to Whigs, is a new national hero. But is he the right choice for the highest office?

Only one person has been elected President twice in non-consecutive terms. But it was not easy. To do it Grover Cleveland had to pass a few difficult tests. From Goody-Goodies to Anti-Snappers, to Anti-Egoists and Scarecrow Festivals; from entering opposing party contests in secret ways to placing bets for your own candidate, to pretending to run in states and letting a third party win, to taking forceful honest stands, 1892 had everything. It was a triumph of navigating complex steampower politics. The first being, did he really want to run again? We are part of Airwave Media Network. www.airwavemedia.com Our sponsor is Money Pickle. Try out their FREE financial advisor service today at MoneyPIckle.com Do you wish to advertise - contact advertising@airwavemedia.com Donate- www.patreon.com/mhcbuyp

'The public and the public papers have been much occupied lately in placing us in a point of opposition to each other. ' So wrote Jefferson to Adams about the 1796 Presidential Election, America's first with two candidates with true campaigns. ... Before it was over there would feature negative ads, misconstructions of candidate statements, foreign interference and backlash to that interference, and election count disputes.

When President Kennedy inspired the nation to put a man on the Moon, he did so at a time when the word "inflation" was not on the mind of most Americans. Why should it have been, the rate was a paltry 1.1%. And we needed to beat the Soviets to the Moon. Once we did, and as the cost of goods, materials and rocket fuel rose over time, The United State's space dreams were limited. Inflation didn't kill space, but it sure changed what the goals of going to space became. We look at the trends of inflation and space exploration on this episode.

Bunch of topics Want more - there's a 4-part series on the 1864 election on Patreon - check it out at www.myhistorycanbeatupyourpoltics.com We are part of Airwave Media Network Check out Triviality, Plodding Through the Presidents, American Revolutionary War cast, For the Love of History and others!

A look at the Senator who tried to end the Electoral College and the original reasons for it. It has as much to do with 1969 as it does with 1787

A bit about an obscure procedure that can mean everything, from a 2011 episode.

Bruce was on the Useless Information Podcast Fascinating True Stories from the Flip Side of History go on Useless Information Podcast at - https://uselessinformation.org/

In this episode, I talk to fellow Airwave Media podcaster Will Clark of Grey History about the French Revolution and how it shaped American history, how American politicians reacted to it at the time, 100 years ago, and today. We also get into 'grey areas' of the French Revolution: things that we think about it that may be wrong, exaggerated, or even right on target. ABOUT GREY HISTORY Grey History is a podcast dedicated to exploring the ambiguities of the past. Too often history is presented as black and white, and Grey History seeks to examine the area in between those two extremes. Why? Because it’s in the grey that history has its beauty, its intrigue, and, most importantly, its lessons. In order to explore history’s ambiguities, the podcast makes a deliberate point of comparing differing experiences, perspectives, and conclusions. By incorporating testimonies from a wide variety of participants, contemporaries, and historians, we can better understand the lessons of the past. https://greyhistory.com/ Both of our shows are members of the Airwave Media Network www.airwavemedia.com

Through most of American history, calling someone a Cicero was the highest democratic honor. John Adams wrote of the Roman orator, that “as all the ages of the world have not produced a greater statesman and philosopher united in the same character, his authority should have great weight.” Thomas Jefferson said Cicero was “the father of eloquence and philosophy” John Quincy Adams dramatically said that if he did not have book of Cicero at hand it was having to live without "of one of my limbs.” And a young Abraham Lincoln reading from a borrowed library benefited greatly from his works, as well as others. We talk to Ryerson University professor of politics and author of Words on Fire Rob Goodman about these topics. Through close readings of Cicero – and his predecessors, rivals, and successors – political theorist and former speechwriter Rob Goodman tracks the development of this ideal, in which speech is both spontaneous and stylized, and in which the pursuit of eloquence mitigates political inequalities. For cicero, speech was essential. More than just talking or Cicero referred to speech as “what has united us in the bonds of justice, law, and civil order, this that has separated us from savagery and barbarism”. Speech was to Cicero a sign of humanity’s inherently communal and cooperative nature and one of our greatest tools in creating a prosperous life for ourselves. "Be no Atticus," John Quincy Adams told his good friend Charles Sumner when he thought he got to reclusive and too bookish and didn't get out there in the debate. He almost could of said, be more like Atticus's friend Cicero. Cicero got out and spoke, took controversial positions in defense of republic and eventually was executed. Rob Goodman's book Words on Fire is available here - https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/words-on-fire/FEB517ABF09F8A067773B2F563F45150 We are part of Airwave Media Network. Check out the other shows there - airwave media.com

We look at the Anti-Masonic Party of the 1820s and 1830s from backwater movement to national stage and its lasting influence on one of the two major parties today, and on political conventions. Was it truly a conspiracy theory-based movement? What can it say about today's politics. And a candidate who didn't want to run for President. We look at all that.