On Sunday's Up w/Chris Hayes, we'll talk about the latest self-imposed budget crisis in Washington, known as "sequestration," and ask whether Republicans have actually won, in effect, by losing. The fight has been devastating for the GOP brand, and fewer Americans approve of the way the Republicans are handling federal spending than the way President Obama is. And yet, all Washington seems capable of talking about is the deficit, rather than creating jobs. We'll ask if the Republicans have managed to achieve their substantive policy goals by allowing the Democrats to come out ahead politically.
Then we'll look at the hidden ways in which our tax codes favors the wealthy few, and ask whether tax code reform is the best way to reach a deficit reduction deal that makes all sides happy. Plus: We'll look at the achievements of progressive activists on issues like the death penalty and drug policy, and examine the tactics that made those victories possible. Are progressives acquiescing on important normative questions about what kind of society we want to live in by arguing on the Republicans' terms and making fights about social policy primarily about money? And finally: The Republican Party genuinely seems to be moving in the right direction on same-sex marriage. We'll ask what that says about the modern conservative movement. And Chris will follow-up on his response to the Conservative Political Action Conference's invitation to speak at their famous meeting this year.
Joining Chris at 8 AM ET on msnbc will be:
Josh Barro (@jbarro), lead writer for Bloomberg View's "The Ticker."
Mattie Duppler (@MDuppler), director of budget & regulatory policy for Americans for Tax Reform.
Jim Antle (@jimantle), editor of the Daily Caller News Foundation, senior editor of The American Spectator.
Stephanie Kelton (@deficitowl), chair of the department of economics at University of Missouri-Kansas City, contributor to New Economic Perspectives.
Bryan Stevenson, founder & executive Director of Equal Justice Initiative, professor at New York University School of Law.
Liz Mair (@LizMair), former online communications director for the Republican National Committee, political strategist & media adviser, founder & president of Mair Strategies.
David Sirota (@davidsirota), contributor to Salon.com, author of "Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explain the World We Live in Now--Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Everything."
Roberto Lovato (@robvato), writer for New American Media, contributor to The Nation, senior strategy fellow for Citizen Engagement Lab.
Jared Bernstein (@econjared), former chief economist & economic policy advisor to Vice President Biden (2009-2011), senior fellow at the Center for Budget & Policy Priorities, msnbc contributor.