Former Senator, Tennessee Governor, and Education Secretary Lamar Alexander joins the Chuck Toddcast to discuss his new memoir The Education of a Senator and an offer his extraordinary perspective on American politics shaped by five decades in public life — including the surreal experience of being sworn in as governor under emergency circumstances because his predecessor was openly selling pardons for cash and eventually went to prison for selling whiskey licenses. (For listeners absorbing the news of Trump's modern pardon market, the historical echoes are impossible to miss.) Alexander shares stories that capture an entirely different era: how he had to govern in a bipartisan manner from day one to handle the scandal he inherited, how an inquiry surfaced about springing MLK's killer from prison, and how Southern governors of his generation had to drag their states out of the 1950s and into something resembling modernity. Alexander argues that style matters enormously in politics — and reveals that he predicted Trump's presidency years before it happened, because he saw clearly that American politics was being consumed by money and media in ways that disincentivized actual legislating. He walks through his theory of education reform, defends "No Child Left Behind"'s standards-based approach, and offers the wonkish but fascinating idea he once pitched to Reagan: have states and the federal government swap administration of Medicaid and K-12 education.

The conversation broadens into Alexander's diagnosis of what's gone wrong with American politics and the path back. He argues that partisan primaries have created more ideologically extreme candidates than the system can absorb, and that people will always find ways around campaign finance limits — meaning the real fix has to be structural. Alexander offers a remarkable assessment of recent presidents: governor is the best preparation for the presidency, Carter didn't understand Washington when he arrived but Clinton did, and George W. Bush was the most "normal guy" of the modern era. He reflects on his famous healthcare debates with Obama (both gave each other notes afterwards rather than playing for spectacle), shares his concerns about state budgets becoming dangerously reliant on vice taxes, and asks the question no Republican can answer honestly anymore: could you propose raising the gas tax in today's GOP? Alexander is candid about Trump's mixed legacy — the party had become ossified and Trump did break it open, but pardoning the January 6th rioters was a profound error because the peaceful transfer of power is the single most important element of American democracy. He warns that we lack genuine two-party competition right now, that the next Republican nominee needs a fundamentally different temperament than Trump, and that the lack of character and morality in modern politics may be dissuading exactly the kind of people we most need to run. 

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Sen. Lamar Alexander joins The Chuck ToddCast

01:30 Being a senator vs. being a governor

02:30 There are always 8-10 senators that are better than the rest

03:15 Ted Kennedy was an incredibly effective senator

04:45 The governor he succeeded was selling pardons for cash

06:30 The prior governor eventually went to jail for selling whiskey licenses

08:15 There was an inquiry about springing MLK Jr.’s killer from prison

09:30 Had to work in a bipartisan manner on day 1 to handle the scandal

10:30 Southern governors had to bring southern states out of the 50’s

12:45 How would you update & modernize public education?

14:15 Mississippi has had great success emphasizing phonics

15:00 Schools are best governed community by community

15:30 Don’t need a Dept. of Education for higher ed

16:00 Federal money should allow money to follow low income students

16:45 You need advocacy but not management from Washington

17:30 Hard to argue with standards created by “No Child Left Behind”

19:00 If you’re entering politics it should be to accomplish something

20:00 Goal isn’t necessarily bipartisanship, it’s to get a result

21:00 Style matters in politics

22:15 Politics has become all money and media - Predicted Trump as president

23:00 The digital democracy doesn’t provide incentive for legislating

24:30 Money has consumed our politics, how do we fix it?

25:45 NC senate race could be the first billion dollar senate race

26:15 People always find a way around campaign finance limits

28:00 John Kerry was first pres. candidate to spend huge sums of personal $

29:45 Why couldn’t John Baker get traction but George Bush did?

31:00 Governor is the best job to prepare you for the presidency

32:00 Carter didn’t understand D.C. when he got there, Clinton did

32:45 George W. Bush was the most “normal guy” out of recent presidents

34:30 Debate with Obama over healthcare gave both sides a platform for their views

35:45 Didn’t want to over debate Obama for spectacle, give him notes afterwards

36:30 Proposed states swapping Medicaid admin for K-12 admin to Reagan

37;45 Medicaid was cramping states ability to effectively manage public ed

38:15 Vice taxes have been relied on as a way to pad state government budgets

39:30 Are we too reliant on vices to fund state budgets?

40:45 Could you propose a raise to gas tax in today’s GOP?

42:15 Where is the Republican party headed in the post-Trump era?

43:00 Partisan primaries created more ideologically extreme candidates

45:15 Most national politicians from Tennessee came from eastern TN

45:45 Elements of Trumpism were emerging in early 2000’s GOP politics

47:45 GOP needs to nominate someone with a different temperament than Trump

48:30 Lack of character and morality in modern politics

49:30 Politics has caused ruptures in families, might dissuade good people from running

51:00 Trump has been both good & bad for the GOP - The party had become ossified

52:00 Trump made a major error in pardoning the J6 rioters

52:45 The peaceful transfer of power is the most important element of democracy

54:00 Washington shouldn’t operate on a pay to play basis

55:45 When did you first connect with Doug Bailey?

57:45 What advice did you get from Bailey when you were governor?

1:00:00 Purpose of memoir was to explain the goals he had as a public servant

1:01:15 The republic will survive, but we have work to do to make it survive

1:02:30 We suffer from a lack of two party competition