Get the Ricochet app

Ricochet will work fine in a browser on your mobile devices, but for the best experience please download our app.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Become a member.

Tired of the toxicity of social media? Why not join Ricochet for just $5/month? Think of it as an online bar. Come in, have a drink, hang out, say whatever you want. But don’t badger, bully, or berate the other drinkers. That's our only rule.

The Coming Political Crack-Up — with Mike Murphy

Subscribe to Call Me Back - with Dan SenorSubscribe

What have we learned so far about this election cycle, and what does it tell us about what’s likely to happen in the midterm elections of 2022, and the Democratic and GOP primaries for president in 2024?

Historically, California has often served as a movie trailer on our national political future -- 'coming to a theater near you.' Richard Nixon started there, turning the Cold War threat into an election theme in his early political campaigns; Ronald Reagan transformed what we now think of as movement conservatism during his two terms as governor; and Proposition 187 was a California state ballot issue in 1994, before immigration became a national political issue (it helped get then-Governor Pete Wilson re-elected on the issue of immigration).

Celebrity candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger got elected governor there a year before the first season of The Apprentice. The state’s size and diversity make it a political country within a country: a population of 40 million people, the fifth largest economy in the world, and a whopping 22 million registered voters.

Long-time GOP campaign strategist Mike Murphy has been on the front lines – and often the mastermind – of some of these California campaigns, as well as plenty of national campaigns too.

He's been thinking about what, if anything, President Biden and the Democrats can do to turn around their near-term electoral headwinds. Mike’s view on the political crack-up is sparked by the breakdown in quality of life for his fellow Californians, and Americans almost everywhere. He also has some analytical insights on everything from the impact of inflation to the future of 'Roe vs Wade'.

Mike has worked on 26 gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races across the country, including 12 GOP wins in Blue States – something that’s getting harder and harder to do. He was a top strategist for John McCain, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Murphy is a political analyst for NBC and MSNBC. He’s co-host of the Hacks on Tap Podcast, and he also pens a political newsletter (The Hacks On Tap Newsletter). Murphy is co-director of the University of Southern California’s Center for the Political Future.

Host:
Dan Senor

Discussion (2)

  • StChristopher@JohnBerg

    I just don't get this Murphy guy. He really lost me when he said he voted for Biden and then was surprised at the extreme leftism of the Biden administration. Biden has never shown any core beliefs other than what the Democrat party wants him to believe at the moment. He's been all over the map on issues such as crime and abortion following whatever the mood of the Democrats. Biden is not a man of good character and appears completely corrupt. This was clear before voting started in 2020.

    You are not a conservative if you voted for Biden over Trump. I can excuse not voting for Trump in 2016 when it was doubtful he was a conservative. After four years of the Trump administration watching how the Democrats went insane, how could Murphy think it's a good idea to turn the presidency over to them? He's an idiot plain and simple.

  • Pagodan@MatthewBaylot

    Mike Murphy, in terms of conservative anything, has the worth of a once steaming pile of crap. The guy idea that he’s disappointed in any way about the leftward tilt of the Biden admin. is a joke. He may be worthless, but he can’t be that brain dead.