In the Weeds: Immigration, the Senate, and climbing the Hill with Congressman Mo Brooks

Summary: There’s no question that Alabama’s Mo Brooks is one of the most outspoken Members of Congress, particularly on the issue immigration. He is relentless in his rhetoric, whether he is speaking from the House floor or appearing on Meet the Press or interviewing with your humble narrator.<br> For this “In the Weeds” podcast, I talked to Mr. Brooks about how and why he decides to “go full bore” on a particular issue at a particular time. Mr. Brooks also talked about the rise of Democratic Socialism and warned about the country’s growing debt and deficits – something you don’t hear from Republicans that much anymore.<br> <br> We also talked about the prospects of Brooks getting in the U.S. Senate race in 2020. A recent poll from The Club for Growth  showed Brooks leading the field in a three way race with Byrne and Roy Moore:<br> -Brooks 31%<br> -Moore 25%<br> -Byrne 25%<br> Of course, the field likely won’t be that small. When adding in additional candidates like Marsh, Secretary of State John Merrill, and Auditor Jim Zeigler,  Brooks’ lead gets much smaller and the differences between those three squeeze between the +/-4.4 percent the margin of error.<br> Is it enough to coax Brooks into running? He was non-committal, but he certainly talked about the Senate as being much more attractive than the House in terms of being able to get things done.<br> One of the more interesting exchanges came when I asked about what goals he had to still accomplish in the House (committee chairmanships, leadership, etc). His response about the role of campaign fundraising on Capitol Hill was, well, on-brand.<br> Enjoy.<br>