March 23 – Don’t Underestimate Cruz’s Opportunism and Demagoguery; Ted Cruz’s Presidential Chances; A Conversation with Barney Frank

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the announcement at the late Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University by freshman Senator Ted Cruz that he is running for president, and speak with Robert Jensen, a professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas. We discuss the danger of underestimating this cynical opportunist whose intelligence and demagoguery could prove effective on the campaign trail.   

Part 2

Then we speak with American University political historian Allan Lichtman who has studied both the American right and the presidency and is the author of “White Protestant Nation: the Rise of the American Conservative Movement”, and “The Keys to the White House: A Surefire Way to Predicting the Next President”, a system which has correctly predicted the outcomes of all U.S. presidential elections since 1984. He joins us to discuss Ted Cruz’s presidential chances.

Part 3

Then finally Congressman Barney Frank, the former Chair of the House Financial Services Committee who is the co-sponsor of the Dodd-Frank financial reform act, joins us to discuss his new book “Frank” and his concerns that the political left like the occupy movement, would rather demonstrate than engage in a political battle against the right wing who dominate American politics.