Chuck Todd

I think that's why Medicaid itself is going to be considered a third rail. But what about the opposite of third rail issues? I'm going to call these issues. These are issues you can ignore, abuse or exploit even and suffer no political consequences. It's issues that voters barely notice unless you ask them about it. and they end up eventually shrugging them off. I call these dead rails.

You can touch it all you want. You can sleep on that rail and nothing's gonna buzz you. So I'm gonna talk about two of them. And there are two issues that actually should be urgent priorities. There are two issues I get a lot of questions about, one from one side of the aisle and one from the other. But I would argue they have bipartisan blame written all over them.

You can touch it all you want. You can sleep on that rail and nothing's gonna buzz you. So I'm gonna talk about two of them. And there are two issues that actually should be urgent priorities. There are two issues I get a lot of questions about, one from one side of the aisle and one from the other. But I would argue they have bipartisan blame written all over them.

You can touch it all you want. You can sleep on that rail and nothing's gonna buzz you. So I'm gonna talk about two of them. And there are two issues that actually should be urgent priorities. There are two issues I get a lot of questions about, one from one side of the aisle and one from the other. But I would argue they have bipartisan blame written all over them.

One is mostly championed by the left, one mostly by the right. And both are really about right and wrong, not left and right. But both are stuck in a permanent cycle of neglect. I'm talking about campaign finance reform and the debt or fiscal responsibility. So let's start with campaign finance reform. When I first started in this business, a big conversation was all about soft money and

One is mostly championed by the left, one mostly by the right. And both are really about right and wrong, not left and right. But both are stuck in a permanent cycle of neglect. I'm talking about campaign finance reform and the debt or fiscal responsibility. So let's start with campaign finance reform. When I first started in this business, a big conversation was all about soft money and

One is mostly championed by the left, one mostly by the right. And both are really about right and wrong, not left and right. But both are stuck in a permanent cycle of neglect. I'm talking about campaign finance reform and the debt or fiscal responsibility. So let's start with campaign finance reform. When I first started in this business, a big conversation was all about soft money and

This was the unlimited donations you could give to political parties. Everyone was trying to figure out how to limit it. Boy, donors were having too much influence on the two political parties. There were efforts to clean up the system, close loopholes, cap donations, increase transparency.

This was the unlimited donations you could give to political parties. Everyone was trying to figure out how to limit it. Boy, donors were having too much influence on the two political parties. There were efforts to clean up the system, close loopholes, cap donations, increase transparency.

This was the unlimited donations you could give to political parties. Everyone was trying to figure out how to limit it. Boy, donors were having too much influence on the two political parties. There were efforts to clean up the system, close loopholes, cap donations, increase transparency.

And yet every single time a law was passed, McCain-Feingold, the most prominent, that was intended to reduce the influence of money in politics, it actually ended up increasing the amount of money and most importantly, pushing that money out of sight. It was no longer transparent when it was inside the parties. So new loopholes popped up, new vehicles for influence.

And yet every single time a law was passed, McCain-Feingold, the most prominent, that was intended to reduce the influence of money in politics, it actually ended up increasing the amount of money and most importantly, pushing that money out of sight. It was no longer transparent when it was inside the parties. So new loopholes popped up, new vehicles for influence.

And yet every single time a law was passed, McCain-Feingold, the most prominent, that was intended to reduce the influence of money in politics, it actually ended up increasing the amount of money and most importantly, pushing that money out of sight. It was no longer transparent when it was inside the parties. So new loopholes popped up, new vehicles for influence.

Suddenly money started pouring into places we didn't even think of as political, super PACs, 501c4s, 527s, shell organizations, all of it designed to move large sums of money with minimal transparency. Brie McCain, Feingold, all of that was transparent. And here's the thing, both parties do it. Democrats have built massive dark money networks. Republicans have their own versions.

Suddenly money started pouring into places we didn't even think of as political, super PACs, 501c4s, 527s, shell organizations, all of it designed to move large sums of money with minimal transparency. Brie McCain, Feingold, all of that was transparent. And here's the thing, both parties do it. Democrats have built massive dark money networks. Republicans have their own versions.

Suddenly money started pouring into places we didn't even think of as political, super PACs, 501c4s, 527s, shell organizations, all of it designed to move large sums of money with minimal transparency. Brie McCain, Feingold, all of that was transparent. And here's the thing, both parties do it. Democrats have built massive dark money networks. Republicans have their own versions.

And each side says the same thing when you question them about it. We don't like the system, but if we don't play the game, we lose or can't go to a campaign with one arm tied behind our back. So it's not reform. That's arms race logic. Our campaign finance system today is like late stage baseball before the pitch clock, hyper optimized, hard to follow and totally alienating to the average fan.

And each side says the same thing when you question them about it. We don't like the system, but if we don't play the game, we lose or can't go to a campaign with one arm tied behind our back. So it's not reform. That's arms race logic. Our campaign finance system today is like late stage baseball before the pitch clock, hyper optimized, hard to follow and totally alienating to the average fan.

And each side says the same thing when you question them about it. We don't like the system, but if we don't play the game, we lose or can't go to a campaign with one arm tied behind our back. So it's not reform. That's arms race logic. Our campaign finance system today is like late stage baseball before the pitch clock, hyper optimized, hard to follow and totally alienating to the average fan.

It's become less about voters and more about who's got the best finance shop, who's got the best new vehicle to move money before the other side sees it. Now let's talk about my other dead rail issue. It's the debt. This one's even easier to track. You can basically set your watch to when people start pretending to care about the debt.