Speaker 1: Our first December edition of the Sunday Roundtable is gone by too fast in some ways, but for some of us it's gone too slow. But joining us this morning are Democratic political analyst Marianne Marsh and Republican political analyst Rob Gray. You just heard Senator Warren. Will her progressive voice continue to have the same resonance and be the same megaphone over the next two years, do you think, Rob?

Speaker 2: Seems like it. I mean, does anybody care what Bernie Sanders says anymore? I don't think so. But really it's framed in whether she runs for president or not. And does Joe Biden run for re-election? Is she going to challenge Joe Biden? Is somebody else going to challenge Joe Biden? That's where the rubber meets the road on this. Now, she was one of 15 senators who voted against the rail settlement. So she is to the left of Joe Biden. Biden seems to be moderating. There's a place for her to speak out. Will she keep doing it?

Speaker 1: It's very interesting. And you heard what she said, that she would not run. Well, she basically said Biden's running. I'm not running. Biden's running. But I think it's a matter of whether. We'll see.

Speaker 3: We'll see. Right. I mean, so she's up for re-election in 2024, which is a presidential year. She committed that she would not challenge Biden if he were running for re-election. However, it's clear she's keeping her options open. Remember, two of her former top aides were in two of the top jobs at the DNC this last election cycle. She traveled around the country a lot trying to get other senators elected. That helped her in other states like Wisconsin and elsewhere. And she's always been ahead of the curve on many issues, as you heard today. Crypto, Twitter, student payments. And the technicalities of it, too. Yes. And so last point on this, I think that's one of the hardest places to be in politics is when you're ahead of everybody and you turn out to be right. She would do better to remind people that she's always ahead of the curve and to follow her sooner.

Speaker 4: All right. And to Rob's point, you also heard her on the rail strike just a few months ago. Former mayor, now Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, was praised for getting a contract negotiated, but several of the unions didn't agree. And that led to some last minute congressional Band-Aids to avoid a holiday disaster. Marianne, who dropped the ball here?

Speaker 3: So I think there are two. There's a great old saying it will take an act of Congress to get this done. And it did. Exactly. I think the thing everybody missed here is it wasn't about this part of the rail strike. It was avoiding one before the election. If there had been one before the election, that would have been a disaster. So that got avoided. If Christmas got disrupted and the economy got disrupted, that would be a disaster. But there's not an election for two years. So that was the win. And people kind of overlook that part.

Speaker 4: Rob, who do you think failed here?

Speaker 2: Well, I think that Marty Walsh failed and he succeeded. It was an extraordinary act of Congress. And so they told us it was settled. It wasn't settled. But he made the boss happy because everybody thought it was settled when they voted on election day. And that kept things quiet and Democrats did OK.

Speaker 1: And often perception is reality as far as politics are concerned. The worlds were in town and dominated traffic and news cycles for over three days. They were technically here to put a spotlight on climate change, but they're also trying to rebrand the monarchy in waiting. Did they succeed in light of continuing questions of racism cropping up around them or around the world, I should say, Rob?

Speaker 2: Well, yes, they succeeded because either nobody asked or nobody got close enough to ask them about it. Number one. And nobody asked the local politicians who glommed on to them for these past few days about it either. So it is working. They're very popular. People are very interested in what Kate's wearing. They're making a positive impact, I think, for the royals, even though their siblings or brother and sister-in-law on the West Coast are causing problems.

Speaker 1: Right. And they're coming to New York, I think, very soon. Marianne, what do you think?

Speaker 3: I mean, do they have to be held accountable for every relative and a godmother too? I mean, that's the issue here. It's not them. And they condemned it. Right. I mean, they're trying to focus on the thing, climate change, kids, youth at risk at Roca and places like that. And they're young. They're defining themselves. And they're right on the issues. And, you know, you go to a Celtics game, get a game ball, you know, you're doing OK. So I think they did just fine.

Speaker 4: All right. Well, it's official. Congresswoman Catherine Clark is now the second most powerful Democrat in the U.S. House. But with Hakeem Jeffries as the minority leader and an even younger than Clark, if Democrats win back control in the years ahead, isn't Congresswoman Clark's rise to speaker a long, perhaps never ending, winding road? Wait, no.

Speaker 3: I mean, you're not going to see speakers for decades anymore. And I fully expect the Democrats to win back the House in 2024. So yes, Hakeem Jeffries would be speaker, but he's not going to serve 10 plus years and no more. No. And Catherine has all the power. I mean, when you look at the portfolio she has, she's only going to keep getting more chits, more allies, more people supporting her. Catherine Clark will be the speaker of the House the next time, as soon as Hakeem Jeffries leaves and the Democrats are in charge. She's the next speaker.

Speaker 2: What do you think? I'm not so sure. I mean, she could end up like Steny Hoyer, right, pushing 80 and still not getting the number one spot. It really depends on Jeffries. Does he want to be the governor of New York? Does he want to be the U.S. senator of New York? If neither of those things are true, he'll stay right where he is. And Catherine Clark will have to wait.

Speaker 1: Great point.