1 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,280 Welcome back everyone to a new episode. If you're wrong with me, David 2 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:24,239 Harsani and Molly Hemingway. If you'd like to email the show, please do 3 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:29,359 so at radio at the Federalist dot com. Molly, how's it going great? 4 00:00:29,359 --> 00:00:32,679 And how are you doing? I'm okay. We're back, just like 5 00:00:32,759 --> 00:00:37,679 Mitch McConnell is back, just like John Fetterman is back on our step, 6 00:00:38,079 --> 00:00:42,200 that's right, but not like Diane Feinstein is back? Is it Feinstein or 7 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:47,479 Finds Stein? I think it's Stein. So I actually don't understand why she's 8 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:49,920 gone. I know people keep like, I'll read stories and I'll be like, 9 00:00:50,399 --> 00:00:55,119 she needs to come back or resign, and I don't know where she 10 00:00:55,359 --> 00:00:59,119 is or why haven't we had Well, first of all, she's old as 11 00:00:59,159 --> 00:01:02,039 dirt, so she's like ninety five years old. That's why she's not back. 12 00:01:02,079 --> 00:01:04,920 But can I quickly say that haven't we had people in comas who don't 13 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,120 show up? And Santa keeps going? I mean, why does she get 14 00:01:08,439 --> 00:01:12,680 there? My ideal Congress would have everyone in a coma, believe it or 15 00:01:12,719 --> 00:01:18,319 not. Well, actually, I think she's asked for something. She's asked 16 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:21,239 for someone to take her place. Temporarily on the Judicial committee, was it 17 00:01:21,359 --> 00:01:26,040 or shary committee? She wonts someone else named, or so her office claims. 18 00:01:26,719 --> 00:01:29,840 And so the debate is whether Republicans should go along with this plot in 19 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:34,920 order to help the left confirm more of its judges. And perhaps shockingly, 20 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,040 perhaps because Mitch McConnell has also been absent, no, he would be good 21 00:01:38,079 --> 00:01:42,439 on this too. They're saying they're not inclined to help out Democrats with this 22 00:01:42,599 --> 00:01:47,159 effort. Guys, first, say about Diane Feinstein. I know she's a 23 00:01:47,159 --> 00:01:51,560 crazy lefty liberal all that, but when Carrie Savorina and I were writing the 24 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:57,560 book on Justice Kavanaugh, we got really interesting information about her, and more 25 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:02,120 than that, her office. So there's widespread belief that her office was involved 26 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:07,680 in the orchestrated like takedown plot of Justice Kabanaugh. You know, they they 27 00:02:07,719 --> 00:02:14,039 had knowledge of this letter, this some sort of like Clarence Thomas Anita Hill 28 00:02:14,159 --> 00:02:19,240 style letter that the left had planned for Kabanaugh. They were involved in the 29 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:24,560 rollout of that. But all the all the senators we spoke to on the 30 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:29,919 right, the Republican senators said that they actually enjoyed working with Diane Feinstein a 31 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:34,039 great deal they found her to be a woman of her word. Reasonable, 32 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:40,080 you know, you take something like even I think Chuck Grassley was negotiating with 33 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:46,400 her about just precisely how much paperwork the Judiciary Committee had to review of Justice 34 00:02:46,479 --> 00:02:52,000 Kabanas, and because he had been White House Secretary, his name was on 35 00:02:52,039 --> 00:02:57,280 like millions of documents that weren't that were more like a paperwork thing than a 36 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:06,840 this is Brett Kavanaugh's legal thinking. And so Chuck Grassley and Diane Feinstein had 37 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,719 negotiated how many papers had to be turned over, and it was like still 38 00:03:09,879 --> 00:03:13,560 way, way, way too many, like it was kind of absurd. 39 00:03:14,159 --> 00:03:16,960 Then her office came in and behind her back claimed that they needed all the 40 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:22,800 paperwork, and it was such an extreme view from her office that it ended 41 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:24,000 up just souring all the Republicans. And they were like, oh, we 42 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,439 thought we were dealing with sane people, and if we're dealing with insane people, 43 00:03:28,439 --> 00:03:30,400 we'll just drop it down to what we want more close to what we 44 00:03:30,439 --> 00:03:34,520 wanted to deal with anyway. And there would be stories like that all the 45 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:37,919 time, where Diane Feinstein was kind of like a normal person who could be 46 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:42,039 reasoned with and dealt with, and then her office was filled with the worst 47 00:03:42,039 --> 00:03:45,479 of the worst, most crazy left wing people. Her office is the one 48 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:50,599 that has been claiming for years that she's like not in control, and is 49 00:03:50,639 --> 00:03:53,960 absolutely true that she sun sets. You know, if you have a meeting 50 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:57,199 at night, she can't be part of it, like she's clearly too old 51 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:59,879 to do her duties. But on the other hand, they're always like, 52 00:04:00,319 --> 00:04:03,240 I don't know, there's something there's something weird about the extremism of the people 53 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:06,319 in her office and how they think that they're the Senator and not her. 54 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:13,719 It seems like that from the outside because she seems like she adheres to sort 55 00:04:13,759 --> 00:04:15,639 of send a tradition. She cares about them a bit, you know, 56 00:04:15,639 --> 00:04:19,160 when she's talking. But then the way her office acts, especially during the 57 00:04:19,199 --> 00:04:23,240 Kavanaugh thing, was very different from what you heard coming out of her. 58 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:26,240 So probably she might not be in control anymore. I don't know, But 59 00:04:26,319 --> 00:04:30,120 I did want to just touch on one thing I constantly hear, especially from 60 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:34,319 younger writers, about the gerontocracy that runs DC and how it's problematic, and 61 00:04:34,399 --> 00:04:41,839 I it's off putting to me as well many times. But the idea that 62 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:45,040 if we got younger people and there, things would be better, or they 63 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:48,560 were bringing a fresh set of ideas. That is insanity. Have you seen 64 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:53,839 the young people? I mean, is illan Omar better than whoever came before 65 00:04:53,879 --> 00:04:57,920 her? Is you know any of these people? And the writer left? 66 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,199 There are a lot of young people there there there, they're no better than 67 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:04,319 the older people who are there before them. Now, at some point you're 68 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:10,279 too old to function and do your job. But this idea that younger people 69 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:14,240 are going to do a better job or be more effective, or negotiate better 70 00:05:14,399 --> 00:05:16,879 or get you more. I think that maybe they'll be more energetic, But 71 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,680 other than that, I just think that that's a myth that people have believe. 72 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,639 Yeah, you're probably right, but I mean it is It is interesting 73 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:29,160 just how old some of these people are, and even the young ones aren't 74 00:05:29,199 --> 00:05:32,240 in great health. Like John Fetterman just returned to the Senate after taking a 75 00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:38,720 few months for mental health reasons. And wish him the absolute best. With 76 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:44,079 that, I wish him the best, I just want to quickly say, 77 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:46,600 and says that I wish him the best personally, I don't want anything. 78 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,199 But it is irresponsible. It was completely irresponsible of him to run for the 79 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:55,720 Senate and the people around him, were completely irresponsible to put him in that 80 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:59,040 position, and they did it all for political power. So it's very difficult 81 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:00,480 for me to feel bad for him, I'm sorry to say. I mean, 82 00:06:00,519 --> 00:06:03,600 obviously I don't want anything bad to happen to him, But if we 83 00:06:03,639 --> 00:06:08,360 had a similar situation on the right, and I think in some ways the 84 00:06:08,399 --> 00:06:12,399 similar situation might be who's that guy? Who's that guy from New York who 85 00:06:12,439 --> 00:06:15,240 made up his whole life story? George Santos my favorite Santos. Yeah, 86 00:06:15,319 --> 00:06:20,439 so I'm not saying it's exactly analogous or anything like that, but that's another 87 00:06:20,439 --> 00:06:24,480 situation of a person who probably shouldn't be there for long, but in any 88 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:29,480 event, they make a gigantic story about one or the other. You were 89 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:35,360 about to defend, George Santos, hold on about your supposed demonstration of Republican 90 00:06:35,399 --> 00:06:41,079 Democrat partisan bias in the media. I don't think it's Republican Democrat. I 91 00:06:41,079 --> 00:06:45,240 mean, we just had Mitch McConnell out for many weeks and nobody really knows 92 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:51,439 why. Like the claim was that he fell was a very very long recovery 93 00:06:51,519 --> 00:06:55,560 from the fall. Nobody said a word. I didn't even say a word. 94 00:06:55,639 --> 00:06:59,120 I was like did he have a stroke or like what I didn't know, 95 00:06:59,199 --> 00:07:01,160 and it just seemed towards although I did, I have been hearing so 96 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:05,319 he came back. I won't read it word for word, but I just 97 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:12,759 got a note. Yeah, basically I got some some sometimes I chat with 98 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:19,519 members of Congress or the Senate, and I got word that the Republicans really 99 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:26,639 enjoyed Mitch McConnell's like six week absence. I thought everything ran very smoothly, 100 00:07:26,759 --> 00:07:30,839 like really smoothly. Everything was great. There was like less of the petty 101 00:07:30,959 --> 00:07:40,439 vindictiveness, but without his dark, brooding omnipresence. Everyone thought the conference ran 102 00:07:40,759 --> 00:07:45,920 much smoother and healthier, like they all just got a long better. They're 103 00:07:45,959 --> 00:07:48,879 definitely like widely different views in the Republican conference in the Senate. You know, 104 00:07:48,879 --> 00:07:54,160 you have like hardcore right, hardcore left, and all the mushy metal. 105 00:07:54,279 --> 00:07:57,040 But they said that they all just seemed to like get along better and 106 00:07:57,079 --> 00:07:59,680 be more open and honest with each other about what they wanted to do. 107 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,639 Well, Mitch McConnell was gone, for whatever it's worth. That's a good 108 00:08:03,639 --> 00:08:09,680 example. For instance, where Mitch McConnell is is elderly and but who's going 109 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:13,040 to replace him when he leaves? I mean, is the replacement going to 110 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,720 be any better? It seems likely to me, actually, but let's have 111 00:08:16,759 --> 00:08:20,160 a chat about it. So I've been thinking about this a lot, Like 112 00:08:20,199 --> 00:08:24,839 I don't know why I felt this way, because in November, when he 113 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:33,080 won his eleventeenth term as Leader of the Conference, there was something about it 114 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:35,240 where you were like, oh, this guy's on his way out. I 115 00:08:35,279 --> 00:08:39,600 mean, they'd had a bad perform they had, they'd had just a bad 116 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:43,960 few years. They didn't exactly have stellar years during the Trump era. They 117 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:48,519 seem to be more like fighting the Republican president than working with him to get 118 00:08:48,519 --> 00:08:52,639 as much accomplished as possible. But then the first two years of the Biden 119 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:56,600 presidency they were they were just more like helpers too. I'm sorry, the 120 00:08:56,879 --> 00:09:01,039 first two years the Biden presidency, if it's not what I said, they 121 00:09:01,039 --> 00:09:07,600 were helpers to Biden, as opposed to what you saw with Senate Democrats during 122 00:09:07,639 --> 00:09:09,200 the Trump presidency, where they're like, we're going to make this guy's life 123 00:09:09,279 --> 00:09:15,200 a living hell. From Russia collusion hoax to fighting every single person he nominates. 124 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:18,840 Republicans were sort of limp and weak, and how they bought him. 125 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:22,879 They had no coherent message going into the election. Miss McConnell famously said that 126 00:09:22,919 --> 00:09:26,399 they would have no message, like they didn't think they needed one. They 127 00:09:26,399 --> 00:09:31,399 thought that Biden being awful was sufficient to reclaim the majority. And then in 128 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:35,960 addition to not having a message or reason for people to vote for Republicans, 129 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:41,320 Miss McConnell also said that Republican voters were the worst people in the world and 130 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:46,399 that they were nominating bad people and just like it was a mess. But 131 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:52,840 after the election, he wins yet again as leader. But I don't remember 132 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:56,120 how many people voted against him. It was like ten or twelve or something 133 00:09:56,159 --> 00:10:01,200 like that. It's actually not nothing to have that level of rest in you 134 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:05,720 know, less like one fifth of the conference. And so you could kind 135 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:09,440 of just tell his power was weakening, and he cracks down on people. 136 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:16,279 He starts punishing people who had criticized him for some of his less wise decisions, 137 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:20,919 you know, like Rick Scott or you know, he kind of was 138 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:24,480 like sniping at him in the press, and he was removing people from committees 139 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:28,440 just out of spite to try to like secure power. And whenever you're doing 140 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:33,679 that is sort of like a weak move, and then he has this fall. 141 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:37,320 We're told fall, we get no details on the fall. He's out 142 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:39,799 for six weeks. I think he's probably on his way out. Maybe not 143 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:46,720 today, maybe not this year, but I would say this might be his 144 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:50,240 last run as leaders. So then you see who's been jocking, and you're 145 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:54,919 right that the three big names who've been jocking for it are just like him, 146 00:10:54,120 --> 00:11:00,200 Barosso, corn In, and Thune, particularly with the last two are 147 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:03,399 just like not It's like, would you like Mitch McConnell, but with less 148 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:07,639 charm and less skill. You know, it's not like great ideas there. 149 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:11,360 But if I were the Republicans, I would pick someone who's kind of in 150 00:11:11,399 --> 00:11:18,679 between that class of Republican and the more exciting new Republicans, someone who can 151 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:26,039 work with both and think about how to execute on the Republican voters desires. 152 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:31,200 I think they're pop. I would love to hear an example of an exciting 153 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:33,440 Republican in the Senate that you think would be good at this job. Well, 154 00:11:33,519 --> 00:11:35,720 let me just say quickly say no, no, yeah, okay, 155 00:11:35,919 --> 00:11:41,159 hold on. I was saying, someone who can work with both the base 156 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:48,200 and the squishes. That's what I'm saying, I I think it's good to 157 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:50,759 have a charismatic leader in the Senate, but it's more important to have someone 158 00:11:50,799 --> 00:11:56,080 who's effective in dealing with the parliamentary you know, process and all that stuff. 159 00:11:56,159 --> 00:12:00,600 Right, It's important to have someone who who thinks long term comes, 160 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:03,399 you know, can I don't know. There are many skills you need to 161 00:12:03,399 --> 00:12:09,960 be a Senate leader more than charisma, right, So we've been existing without 162 00:12:09,519 --> 00:12:16,080 someone. Oh, I just gotta know that a friend is pregnant. That's 163 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:24,279 very sorry. Okay, um, So we've been dealing without charisma for a 164 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:28,879 long time now, long long time. And really, you know, in 165 00:12:28,919 --> 00:12:31,840 a perfect world, you wouldn't need the top Republican in the Senate to have 166 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:37,720 any charisma at all. But given the hostile media environment, I do think 167 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:43,759 it's important that your leaders are able to articulate a compelling message to voters that 168 00:12:43,799 --> 00:12:46,360 they're able to engage with the media. The only time Miss McConnell engages with 169 00:12:46,399 --> 00:12:52,159 the media is when he's like working with them against his Republican foes. That's 170 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:56,559 not really appropriate. So I think someone who has basic media skills so that 171 00:12:56,559 --> 00:13:00,759 Miss McConnell doesn't have, is important. That's not like in any way the 172 00:13:00,799 --> 00:13:05,159 most important. You need someone who understands how to play Senate ball on a 173 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:09,840 wide range of issues, how to be ruthless but like effective. And so 174 00:13:11,399 --> 00:13:16,159 I don't know exactly it's to me, it's almost like you need someone with 175 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:20,840 that desire more than anything else. Like one good thing about miss McConnell. 176 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:24,840 He came to DC as a bureaucrat and all that political pointing, kind of 177 00:13:24,879 --> 00:13:31,879 wanting to eventually become Senate Majority leader. Like he had that vision. He 178 00:13:31,879 --> 00:13:35,679 didn't want to become president, he didn't want to become a judge. He 179 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,120 wanted to become Senate Majority leader. And so he set about on his goal. 180 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:41,159 A lot of these guys in the Senate want to be president, and 181 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:45,759 they are not going to become president. They might run for president, but 182 00:13:45,759 --> 00:13:48,960 they're not going to become president. So the sooner some of those guys accept 183 00:13:48,039 --> 00:13:52,480 that reality, I think the better, and it could start jockeying to replace 184 00:13:52,559 --> 00:13:58,919 Minch McConnell. I mean, it's going to happen soon, right, So 185 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:01,759 at some point, I don't know, he's like eighty one. I think 186 00:14:01,759 --> 00:14:03,799 he's around the same McConnel. He's going to be here forever, and he's 187 00:14:03,799 --> 00:14:09,360 in perfect health and it's great. And he released a video showing himself shuffling 188 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:18,039 through the Senate Joe Biden style. So, um, all right, since 189 00:14:18,039 --> 00:14:26,480 we're on the topic of effective messaging and charisma and making good, solid arguments 190 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:31,080 and compelling arguments, I wanted to talk about um Ron de Santis and the 191 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:37,879 issue of abortion. Now. He just signed a six week abortion restriction in 192 00:14:37,919 --> 00:14:41,879 Florida, and the medium informs me that this is it, this is it 193 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,240 for him, He's finished. The country is against it. There was a 194 00:14:46,279 --> 00:14:50,320 Wisconsin election for a judge and she won and she was pro abortion, and 195 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:54,440 that tells us everything we need to do. But the national you know, 196 00:14:54,480 --> 00:15:00,480 the national mood on abortion, I think that that that's not the case. 197 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:05,759 I think that when you when you, I think that a lot of Republicans 198 00:15:05,159 --> 00:15:09,240 run away from the issue. They're kind of cowardly on it, they don't 199 00:15:09,279 --> 00:15:11,639 want to engage on it. I think this is a huge mistake. So 200 00:15:11,679 --> 00:15:15,799 I'm not denying that abortion has hurt Republicans in certain places, but we should 201 00:15:15,799 --> 00:15:24,360 remember that what's his name camp in Georgia signed a six week abortion ban years 202 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:31,279 ago and he won rather easily. That Juncn was targeted on abortion relentlessly in 203 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:35,720 Virginia and he won that. Dwine in Ohio signed a six week ban and 204 00:15:35,759 --> 00:15:39,919 he wanted jd Vance ran, you know, from an abortion ran he won. 205 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:43,720 Like so there are many instances of people doing if Abbott ran this time, 206 00:15:43,799 --> 00:15:48,600 he signed the same thing he ran one. Yeah, exactly. So 207 00:15:48,639 --> 00:15:52,440 abortion wins in many places in the country. And I don't know how. 208 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,840 I mean people that we know, we have people from Wisconsin, you know, 209 00:15:56,960 --> 00:15:58,639 on our staff and stuff like that, and they tell us that, 210 00:15:58,759 --> 00:16:02,480 yeah, abortion was a big part of that run, but it was an 211 00:16:02,519 --> 00:16:07,039 off year race for judge. Thirty six percent of people voted. I don't 212 00:16:07,039 --> 00:16:10,919 think that tells us everything we need to know. I don't think that DeSantis 213 00:16:11,039 --> 00:16:15,039 is somehow undermined by this at all. And maybe I'm just fooling myself because 214 00:16:15,039 --> 00:16:18,039 I'm pro life, but I don't know. I have a lot of thoughts 215 00:16:18,039 --> 00:16:21,200 on this issue. I just so anyway, I wanted to bring it up. 216 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:26,200 What do you think? So? I do think abortion is a tough 217 00:16:26,519 --> 00:16:30,120 issue, and it's like always been a tough issue, and it's one where 218 00:16:30,159 --> 00:16:34,159 the advantage went to the people who were fighting against Roe v. Wade. 219 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:41,600 That was such extreme juris prudence that it was just like very easy to argue 220 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:47,759 against allowing abortion through all nine months of pregnancy with no ability for the people 221 00:16:47,799 --> 00:16:52,440 to weigh in, and with the DABS ruling it returning to the people, 222 00:16:52,799 --> 00:16:57,360 the issue of abortion law returning to the people. It's just it's a much 223 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:03,119 more complicated, complicated issu you and the sort of like energy and passion right 224 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:07,200 at this moment, like this particular year and last year, and you know, 225 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:11,039 maybe in the next couple of years, is really with the radical pro 226 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:18,119 abortion type people. But I think it's easily brought to a draw, like 227 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:25,519 easily brought to a draw even now by simply joining the game. So all 228 00:17:25,519 --> 00:17:30,200 these examples you have of people in the radical pro abortion left having wins, 229 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:34,319 they were outspending pro lifers in some cases I'm not even exaggerating here, like 230 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:41,079 fifteen to one. And in political campaigns, money is everything and messaging is 231 00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:45,839 everything. And so you had pro abortion radicals claiming that all they wanted to 232 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:49,759 do was like allow hardship abortion or something like that, and in response, 233 00:17:49,759 --> 00:17:56,720 you were getting basically nothing from the pro lifers, and you cannot win this 234 00:17:56,759 --> 00:17:59,920 issue. You can't even get it to a draw if you don't play the 235 00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:06,079 game. So Number one is Republicans who happily took pro life money and votes 236 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:10,440 for years. But maybe some of these people didn't actually believe what they were 237 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:14,680 saying. They need to get some help immediately on how to talk about it, 238 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:17,039 and then they need to talk about it. They need to be forced 239 00:18:17,039 --> 00:18:19,480 to talk about it. Their current approach of like let's bury our heads in 240 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:26,720 the sand and hope it goes away is political malpractice. But your examples are 241 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:30,359 great. Are there are things that are so pro life it's like unbelievable. 242 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:34,720 They've passed that caused nothing but political benefit to the people who did them. 243 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:41,519 And that does not happen in a world that the media has created of like, 244 00:18:41,599 --> 00:18:44,759 oh, if you want to protect babies, we're you know, that's 245 00:18:44,759 --> 00:18:48,200 a political nightmare. It's not. The vast majority of Americans support at least 246 00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:53,920 some protection for unborn children, Like it might be all the way, it 247 00:18:55,039 --> 00:18:59,440 might just be in the third trimester, but it's like, the vast majority 248 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:06,119 support at least some protection for children. That's a Republican position. Democrats support 249 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:11,839 not one Sintilla of protection for any child, like if your mom wants to 250 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:14,119 kill you because you wanted a boy and you're a girl, or you're a 251 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:17,759 girl and you wanted boy and it's nine months in. They think that that's 252 00:19:17,799 --> 00:19:23,359 fine. And that's not like a radical Democrat position. That's everybody, every 253 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:26,920 single Democrat thinks that's okay. So if you can't message in this kind of 254 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:32,759 environment, you should not be in politics. I agree completely, and I 255 00:19:32,759 --> 00:19:36,720 don't think there's an issue none zero. You might disagree that the media is 256 00:19:36,799 --> 00:19:41,680 more invested in misleading people or obtu skating the truth than on abortion constantly, 257 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:47,079 and that includes posters who constantly ask idiotic questions like do you believe there should 258 00:19:47,079 --> 00:19:49,720 be access to abortion? Like a twenty week or a fifteen week band doesn't 259 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:52,839 give you access to abortion you. I'm saying that the poll questions themselves are 260 00:19:52,839 --> 00:19:57,119 misleading, and I just want to go through the Democrats voted. Every single 261 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:02,559 Democrat in the Senate voted for a bill that a lot allowed abortion unrestricted for 262 00:20:02,599 --> 00:20:06,480 any reason into the ninth month. It's a position that aligns with places like 263 00:20:06,599 --> 00:20:11,279 North Korea, China, Vietnam. That bill would have banned states from banning 264 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:19,440 sex selective abortions, from instituting parental notification, it let non doctors do abortions. 265 00:20:19,559 --> 00:20:25,200 And on another end, Democrats are trying to undermine conscious rights of people 266 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:30,359 who don't want to participate in this, eliminating the High Amendment, all this 267 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,440 stuff. Jenny Yellen said, we need abortion because they're, you know, 268 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:36,880 too many poor people are having babies and the one you know, and we're 269 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:40,119 going to have too many unemployed people. I mean, this is like nefarious 270 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:45,319 stuff. It's just Malthusian, you know, an immoral So I just want 271 00:20:45,319 --> 00:20:48,839 to say, even if we lost, and we even if Republicans lost every 272 00:20:48,839 --> 00:20:52,160 single race in the entire country over this, it doesn't change the facts of 273 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:56,640 what abortion is and what Democrats believe. So I just I agree with you 274 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:00,680 that I don't Publicans don't know how to speak about this. They are scared 275 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:04,000 to speak about it. I think that more Republicans were more horrified by Dobbs 276 00:21:04,039 --> 00:21:07,880 than anyone else in this country, including the pro choice Democrats. Honestly, 277 00:21:08,079 --> 00:21:11,480 the way they act, you know, they just raised money on it. 278 00:21:11,519 --> 00:21:15,920 They pretended to be pro life because there was never any consequence in doing so. 279 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:18,039 And now they actually have to do something and they basically all hired, 280 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:22,319 so not all, some don't obviously I just mentioned them. But on a 281 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:26,880 national level in the Senate, you know, when Lindsay Graham wanted to pass 282 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:30,400 that, we're not big fans of his generally, I am not. At 283 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,759 least when he wanted to pass that twenty week ban, it was obviously just 284 00:21:34,759 --> 00:21:40,039 to contrast against what Democrats were passing in a national level, and everyone had, 285 00:21:40,079 --> 00:21:41,839 oh, it's a states rights thing. I agree, but I mean, 286 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:47,000 what you can't fight a battle. They're fighting a war and you're fighting 287 00:21:47,039 --> 00:21:51,119 some small scale battle. It doesn't work that way anyway. No, so 288 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:56,680 yeah, Lindsay Graham offers up a twenty week protection and the idea is, 289 00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:00,599 well, if Republicans can at least say they support it twenty weeks, which 290 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:03,720 is like so overwhelmingly popular, it's unbelievable. This will change the debate at 291 00:22:03,759 --> 00:22:07,640 the national level. And instead of getting behind it, Miss McConnell was like, 292 00:22:07,759 --> 00:22:14,240 oh, don't know what, who wants to talk about babies? Don't 293 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:18,799 news is a good? Do you like? He sabotaged his own member, 294 00:22:18,799 --> 00:22:22,799 who's not even like, I mean, it's just unbelievable, and everyone knew 295 00:22:22,799 --> 00:22:25,880 it wasn't going to pass. Joe Biden's not signing that bill. It would 296 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:30,480 just gave Republicans a national position that is popular. When you actually ask people 297 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:34,440 what they believe in. Specifically, when it comes to abortion, most people 298 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:40,920 are for saving babies who are unborn, babies who are viable. It is 299 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:45,759 we are in the Democratic position is extremist, like North Korea and China. 300 00:22:45,839 --> 00:22:48,839 It just boggles my mind that you get and listen, let's say most people 301 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:52,039 disagree with Republicans, you know, a long time ago, and once upon 302 00:22:52,079 --> 00:22:56,480 a time in politics, you went out there and you convinced people to change 303 00:22:56,519 --> 00:23:00,480 their minds. You didn't just chase voters everywhere, the little bit poll everywhere. 304 00:23:00,559 --> 00:23:03,039 Yeah yeah, And this is why and in general populism doesn't appeal to 305 00:23:03,079 --> 00:23:07,319 me. Sometimes you need to change people's minds, not just to follow them. 306 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:11,400 And so anyway, I do want to mention, like Marco Rubio in 307 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:17,160 the midst of this midterm elections, the media we're going after him for being 308 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:19,799 pro life. I think it was Marco Rubio. I think this is right. 309 00:23:19,839 --> 00:23:23,039 Okay, So he responds with like a questionnaire that he were going to 310 00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:27,039 require them to fill out before he answers their questions, and it was just 311 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:32,759 like, please list every time you've asked a Democrat to defend abortion on demand 312 00:23:32,799 --> 00:23:34,960 through all nine months of pregnancy, and it had like you know where you 313 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,680 could fill it out and then like once you sat, once you answer this 314 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:42,799 to our satisfaction, we'll go ahead and respond to your questions. And the 315 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:48,559 reporter like posted it on Twitter. They were like, we don't understand what 316 00:23:48,599 --> 00:23:52,960 he thinks he's doing here, and it was hilarious, like they were so 317 00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:57,759 stupid and so I don't know, so a partisan that they didn't see the 318 00:23:57,799 --> 00:24:00,640 brilliance of saying, Okay, yeah, i'll answer your question about my views 319 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:03,880 on abortion as soon as you show me that you have asked. You know, 320 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:08,480 like one Democrat a tough question on abortion and they couldn't do it, 321 00:24:08,519 --> 00:24:12,440 and so he didn't respond. Yeah, I mean they never asked that question 322 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:15,559 because fact checkers go out and pretend that that's not the case. Oh you 323 00:24:15,599 --> 00:24:21,680 can't, that's not the democrat's position. Well, ask a Democrat what limitation 324 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:23,720 do they support any on abortion? And they will tell you that it's none. 325 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,400 Do you remember Philip Bump, who's this left wing activist at the Washington 326 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:32,880 Post who like came from left wing politics union, some kind of union dude. 327 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:36,960 Yeah, Now I think he like resents as if he's a political analyst 328 00:24:37,079 --> 00:24:41,519 or something. He once tried to fact check Marco Rubio because Marco Rubio had 329 00:24:41,559 --> 00:24:45,359 said something about like, oh, you these people who claim they believe in 330 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:49,880 science, but like human life begins at conception. It's almost like a tautology, 331 00:24:51,079 --> 00:24:53,119 right, like human life begins when it begins, and he was like, 332 00:24:53,480 --> 00:25:00,519 actionilling, it doesn't a lot of people think it happens like some time 333 00:25:00,599 --> 00:25:04,480 later. And it was hilarious, like he literally didn't know where babies came 334 00:25:04,519 --> 00:25:07,119 from. I think he's married, I think he might have kids. That 335 00:25:07,119 --> 00:25:11,720 I was like, this dude literally doesn't know how babies are made and he's 336 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:17,759 a functional human being. Kind of well, they do this all the time. 337 00:25:17,839 --> 00:25:21,119 They change the science to match up with their politics. The science changes 338 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:22,759 politics. I remember there was a big piece in the New York Times like 339 00:25:22,799 --> 00:25:26,920 where does life? When does life begin? You know? And basically the 340 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:30,680 answer was whenever it's convenient for us to decide when it begins. But how 341 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:37,160 many people think that life doesn't begin after vibe? You know? Viability meaning, 342 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:40,559 and viability keeps getting earlier and will for you know, for a long 343 00:25:40,599 --> 00:25:44,559 time. But twenty five weeks, let's say, like no one thinks that 344 00:25:44,559 --> 00:25:47,240 that's not a viable baby or not a life, and yet they still want 345 00:25:47,279 --> 00:25:49,000 abortions for that. So I don't understand why no one ever asks them. 346 00:25:49,039 --> 00:25:51,960 I mean, I do understand why no one asked him that question. You 347 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:56,079 remember those T shirts and bumper stickers and like the eighties that said life begins 348 00:25:56,079 --> 00:26:00,920 at forty That's still a bump, you know, but like actually takes it 349 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:04,440 literally, life begins at forty Actually, I mean it is, it is. 350 00:26:06,519 --> 00:26:11,920 It just boggles my mind. And anyway, so I don't think this 351 00:26:11,039 --> 00:26:15,000 is First of all, de Santis could take the position very easily if you 352 00:26:15,079 --> 00:26:18,079 felt like it. And I don't think it's a terrible position. That every 353 00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:22,480 state is different, and Florida, the third most populous state in the country, 354 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:26,480 wants a six week band. I think the vote was seventeen. California 355 00:26:26,519 --> 00:26:30,200 wants to get in your womb and kill your baby eating exactly. So I 356 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:33,640 don't want to I would like I am four pro I'm a pro life candidate, 357 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:36,039 but I think that every state's different, but we should be pushing for 358 00:26:36,079 --> 00:26:40,759 a pro life stuff. So did you happen to watch Elon Musk on Tucker 359 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:48,279 last night? No? I only if I know Molly hemingways on while I 360 00:26:48,319 --> 00:26:52,400 watch right and even then, No, Um, we don't even have cable 361 00:26:52,599 --> 00:26:57,079 TV. I don't know if I should say that. I think I do 362 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:00,640 on like Sling or one of those things, but don't know how to get 363 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:03,559 there. Yeah, I mean I feel like there are ways to watch them 364 00:27:03,599 --> 00:27:06,799 anyway. Yeah, I'm actually traveling. So I was out last night, 365 00:27:06,839 --> 00:27:10,400 but I saw this clip from part one of the Elon Musk interview, and 366 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:14,880 I find Elon Musk so interesting and fascinating. And he has like a Twitter 367 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:18,039 gift. I know he owns Twitter, but like just as a person who 368 00:27:18,079 --> 00:27:26,119 tweets, he has like Donald Trump like powers with Twitter to say funny things 369 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:33,960 and anyway, but he was being asked by Tucker about whether Mark Zuckerberg's stated 370 00:27:33,039 --> 00:27:37,960 claim to not want to be too political was legitimate or not, and Elon 371 00:27:38,039 --> 00:27:41,039 Musk was just kind of ripping on Tucker for saying that he took him at 372 00:27:41,039 --> 00:27:47,079 it, took Mark Zuckerberg at his word, and he said, like the 373 00:27:47,079 --> 00:27:49,400 thesis of my book Rigged, how the media, big Tech, and Democrats 374 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:56,640 seized our elections. He said, it is my understanding that Mark Zuckerberg spent 375 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:00,960 four hundred million dollars ostensibly on get out the vote programs, but in actuality 376 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:04,079 to help the Democrat Party. By the way, I hated that he said 377 00:28:04,079 --> 00:28:07,160 it better than I say it. You know when I when I speak, 378 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:11,200 when someone does your job better than you do, it's always like kind of 379 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:15,920 embarrassing. But I'm so happy that the thesis of my book, my best 380 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:22,480 selling book, was said by you know this powerful wealthy man on national rings 381 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:29,119 now on sale at all reputable book outlets. I mean, is it's it's 382 00:28:29,519 --> 00:28:32,759 I think we've sold out all the copies. Just kidding. You can totally 383 00:28:32,799 --> 00:28:37,240 get um. Yeah, yeah, I did not watch that. I like, 384 00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:41,640 I like. I mean, I think, as far as Twitter goes, 385 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:45,519 Musk hasn't done as good a job as I hoped he would do. 386 00:28:45,559 --> 00:28:48,640 In many ways, I just enjoy it less than before. I feel like 387 00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:49,799 I have less reach and all that. But just as a person, I 388 00:28:49,799 --> 00:28:56,480 find him fascinating. Um, you know, so I'm happy that he I'm 389 00:28:56,519 --> 00:28:59,640 too bad he to mention your book Oh, I don't know. I mean, 390 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:02,960 I I actually write books to get the ideas out there, so I 391 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:06,920 mean it's great if it's worth the thing. But I really have done well 392 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:10,039 with it. And I do want to say really quickly that when I wrote 393 00:29:10,079 --> 00:29:14,200 that book, I wasn't particularly eager to write a book about election disputes, 394 00:29:14,279 --> 00:29:18,599 and I was sure that I would just anger all sides because it's an actual 395 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:23,759 reported look at like what really happened, and I have literally like a hundred 396 00:29:23,759 --> 00:29:29,319 pages of footnotes to back everything up, so it's real stuff. It's not 397 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:33,000 like I think maybe there was this algorithmic manipulation of a voting machine out of 398 00:29:33,039 --> 00:29:37,759 Venezuela, Like it's none of that. It's all just like how they actually 399 00:29:37,839 --> 00:29:41,319 did it. And I thought that would anger the right, who had been 400 00:29:41,319 --> 00:29:47,359 like trafficking in some of the more extreme conspiracy theories with voting machines, and 401 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:49,160 that it would anger the left because you're not allowed to say that the way 402 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:56,640 that we changed our elections to allow hundred million unsupervised ballots into the process, 403 00:29:57,160 --> 00:30:02,279 like that there was anything wrong with it. And I'm really happy with how 404 00:30:02,319 --> 00:30:04,119 it turned out, like nobody had any problem with any of the facts, 405 00:30:06,119 --> 00:30:08,720 which you know that there was probably like an army of people looking to have 406 00:30:08,759 --> 00:30:14,319 a problem with any fact in the book, and it was I definitely got 407 00:30:14,319 --> 00:30:21,599 some pushback about not being more open to the voting machine problems, but it 408 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:23,839 went well. Sorry, I just had to now since I had that, 409 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:26,279 you know, on this topic. I was thinking about something this week that 410 00:30:26,319 --> 00:30:30,599 I've written about in the past. It's that I see, you know, 411 00:30:30,599 --> 00:30:34,799 there were some stories in the news about big donors, big republic you conservative 412 00:30:34,839 --> 00:30:38,880 Republican donors, and I simply can't understand. And also this last week, 413 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:44,559 in the week before, pro Publica has been writing these this hit job on 414 00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:51,400 Clarence Thomas just areposterous, completely partisan. Why I just I know the Federalists 415 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:56,039 exists in others, but why I don't understand why these donors keep pumping money 416 00:30:56,039 --> 00:31:00,240 into think tanks that already have tons and tons of money and that you know 417 00:31:00,279 --> 00:31:03,640 are important in some ways, you know whatever, but not creating their own 418 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:07,640 pope pro public as, not creating their own media organizations that you know, 419 00:31:07,759 --> 00:31:15,039 not not giving money more to sort of the on the ground, Uh, 420 00:31:15,599 --> 00:31:21,440 you know, election infrastructure that that that you know Democrats have that you write 421 00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:25,839 about often it just perplexing to me, or even why they give so much 422 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:30,920 to lost cause candidates or candidates who are going to win rather than putting their 423 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:34,119 money where it matters more. And I'm not an expert on this stuff, 424 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:37,799 you know, I'm more interested in the ideas behind the stuff than than like, 425 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:41,160 you know, I wish I was more interested in the inner workings of 426 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:45,599 elections, but it's just it's perplexing to me, always has been. No 427 00:31:45,759 --> 00:31:48,720 if I if I had money to give, like big money to give, 428 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:52,720 those are the two areas that I would do it in election related efforts, 429 00:31:52,759 --> 00:31:56,200 because the Left has like just done so much to take over election systems and 430 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:02,039 like basically turn it from a person suasion contest into a ballad harvesting operation, 431 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:07,039 and so I would put money to counter some of that or to play on 432 00:32:07,079 --> 00:32:12,000 that same level field, and then it would be all media, like that's 433 00:32:12,039 --> 00:32:15,680 what moves things, that's what moves opinions, and we are in an information 434 00:32:15,759 --> 00:32:22,240 war. And so if anyone wants to take my advice, please do yeah. 435 00:32:22,279 --> 00:32:24,920 And I'm not even saying that we should that conservatives or people who believe 436 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:29,960 in the things I do should be out there creating pro public as in the 437 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:34,759 sense of outlets that just make things up or you know, cancoc, these 438 00:32:34,839 --> 00:32:38,119 hit jobs. I'm saying that you can use the facts to aim your fire 439 00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:43,279 at people who are given a free ride right now, certain people, certain 440 00:32:43,839 --> 00:32:46,200 industries, and etc. I just talked to someone yesterday who said that she 441 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:51,039 was asking about a publication what they'd done for the cause of election integrity, 442 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:54,480 and was given back like four op eds that they'd run from people who care 443 00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:59,480 about election integrity, And she was like, thank God that you guys actually 444 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:01,880 do report, Like we go on the ground and we look at what you 445 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:06,119 know. We'll hear reports of something happening in Pennsylvania and we will send someone 446 00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:09,359 there to look into it and report facts. Based on facts are what moved 447 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:14,319 these debates and discussions and what help in court cases, not an op ed 448 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:20,240 about how you feel elections aren't also important. They are also important. We're 449 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:22,839 happy to run those as well. But yeah, I mean, yeah, 450 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:28,279 I'm not diminishing the work people people do at the faros and elsewhere. Obviously 451 00:33:28,359 --> 00:33:30,720 I love what we do. I just think I'm not sure people understand how 452 00:33:30,799 --> 00:33:35,200 much money is behind these kind of organizations sort in the New York Times, 453 00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:37,559 where we have four byline stories that I took what you were saying to mean, 454 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:42,119 we do such great job with so little money that people can get more 455 00:33:42,119 --> 00:33:45,079 money so we can do more. Yeah. Absolutely, absolutely, And again 456 00:33:45,119 --> 00:33:49,279 I think the other parts important too. The war of ideas is super important. 457 00:33:49,279 --> 00:33:52,119 That's what I've been involved in my whole career, almost but reporting drives 458 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:55,160 that. It gives the ammunition to be able to have that kind of war 459 00:33:55,240 --> 00:34:00,279 of ideas. So let me move on to another. Media isn't really this 460 00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:05,000 is our bread and butter, and there's and we only cover a sliver of 461 00:34:05,039 --> 00:34:08,960 it. You know. Let's talk about this dude who's twenty one. He's 462 00:34:09,039 --> 00:34:12,440 I think he was a reservist. I'm not sure. I think his name 463 00:34:12,519 --> 00:34:19,519 is Jack Taschera. He leaked a bunch of Pentagons secrets classified documents on Discord, 464 00:34:19,599 --> 00:34:22,079 which is mainly know about because of one of my kids. Is sort 465 00:34:22,119 --> 00:34:28,519 of like a social media, and it called social media, I guess, 466 00:34:28,519 --> 00:34:31,800 but you know, it's just you know, there's social media. So anyway, 467 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:38,920 what's amazing to me about this story is that the media and I think, 468 00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:43,079 you know, the New York Times and other and maybe the Washington Post 469 00:34:43,119 --> 00:34:46,400 and others help basically the government and others ever in about this, but help 470 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:51,280 the government track down this guy, whereas if he had leaked to them, 471 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:55,519 they would go to jail to protect him. Now, obviously I don't think 472 00:34:55,559 --> 00:35:00,280 these people who release indiscriminately release documents are heroes all the time. But I 473 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:06,679 do think that those documents, whether classified or not, are the property of 474 00:35:06,679 --> 00:35:09,000 the United States and the people of the United States, and in the end, 475 00:35:09,039 --> 00:35:12,159 we should have a right to see all that stuff. There's stuff that's 476 00:35:12,199 --> 00:35:16,159 classified now for fifty sixty years that we haven't been able to see. So 477 00:35:16,400 --> 00:35:23,079 I just find that interesting because I can't remember another case. Maybe Snowden they 478 00:35:23,079 --> 00:35:27,280 did it too, but I don't think so. Where media actually helped the 479 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:31,239 government track down a leak or like this with such glee is the interesting thing 480 00:35:31,239 --> 00:35:36,559 too. I don't know. I'm not entirely sure what the overarching principles how 481 00:35:36,559 --> 00:35:39,280 they should guide people. So there was that New York Times reporter who flat 482 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:44,000 out said on Twitter before he deleted it, had this person leaked to us, 483 00:35:44,039 --> 00:35:47,679 we would protect him. But because he leaked elsewhere, we're going after 484 00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:54,480 him. But what is the principle that's being violated by that. How do 485 00:35:54,519 --> 00:35:59,039 you mean which why isn't that wrong? Why is that wrong for The New 486 00:35:59,119 --> 00:36:01,519 York Times to say if you came to us, we would protect you, 487 00:36:01,599 --> 00:36:07,840 and if you go somewhere else, we will destroy you. Well, I 488 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:12,920 think that the principle is that The New York Times wants as much information out 489 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:15,920 in the public or you know, if they were actually journalists there, they 490 00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:17,719 would want as much out there as they want. Like I am a big 491 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:22,719 believer in for instance, there was a story or if you remember during the 492 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:27,719 Iraq War where they where the government wanted to ban photographers from taking pictures of 493 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:31,239 caskets and things like that. I'm totally against any kind of limitation on journalists 494 00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:36,119 from trying to get to the truth. Obviously, there's sometimes a pipe price 495 00:36:36,199 --> 00:36:39,519 to pay because you're breaking the law, but I don't think that they should 496 00:36:39,519 --> 00:36:44,920 make it a top priority to out people who are guess so many people more 497 00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:49,800 informed. The New York Times purpose is to advance the Democrat political agenda. 498 00:36:50,079 --> 00:36:53,360 That it didn't seem hypocritical to me at all. No, I know, 499 00:36:53,639 --> 00:36:59,239 we're so the Overton window has been moved to a place where I don't even 500 00:36:59,239 --> 00:37:01,599 think we can remember or fifteen years ago a journalist used to be about, 501 00:37:01,719 --> 00:37:07,400 right, journalism used to be about I just think that the job of journalism 502 00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:09,920 is to bring as much information to people as possible. Now that you know, 503 00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:14,440 if you get too much information they call it misinformation or or they all 504 00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:16,559 say it's right. Even now, the Pentagon says, oh, this is 505 00:37:16,639 --> 00:37:21,440 just you know, concocted Russian distance, This isn't actually a Pentagon, and 506 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:25,599 the media just apes it rather than investigating to see if that is, if 507 00:37:25,599 --> 00:37:29,719 the Pentagon is lying or not, which it lies all the time. Right. 508 00:37:30,159 --> 00:37:35,599 So it's just such such a there's such a vacuum in truth, and 509 00:37:36,719 --> 00:37:39,400 when it comes to the media that we can't trust anything they say as if 510 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:43,679 you've pointed out if they say something, actually now you have to lean towards 511 00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:46,639 probably lying about it, so it's probably true when they say it's not true, 512 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:51,599 and that is really bad for the country. And the perfect instance of 513 00:37:51,639 --> 00:37:54,719 that just a week ago, just one week ago, Reuters ran a story 514 00:37:54,760 --> 00:38:01,639 saying that their sources in the Deep State said that the leaked material that that 515 00:38:01,719 --> 00:38:07,760 was probably a Russian operation. Yeah, I saw that story. How come 516 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:12,840 when your sources tell you things that make you look like complete idiots, Like 517 00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:16,519 Ruters looks like if you care about reality or facts or news, Ruters looks 518 00:38:16,559 --> 00:38:21,559 like the last place you would go to learn about that. They could preserve 519 00:38:21,599 --> 00:38:27,400 themselves by outing who their sources were who gave them bad information. Hey, 520 00:38:27,599 --> 00:38:30,159 not running a story if people aren't willing to provide any kind of substance to 521 00:38:30,159 --> 00:38:35,159 back it up would be rule number one. But if you put everything on 522 00:38:35,199 --> 00:38:38,039 the integrity of these sources you have and they misled you, and they did, 523 00:38:38,719 --> 00:38:44,719 then why not out them? Burn So I mean, they should have 524 00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:47,320 done that during the Russia collusion stuff a million times over, and they never 525 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:51,400 did, even though probably there were like two sources for like most of those 526 00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:53,920 stories. I'll give you some other examples, just since we brought up the 527 00:38:53,960 --> 00:39:00,760 medium we hate them so much, reading an apiece or yesterday that says the 528 00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:06,480 NRA had its conference even as there was just a mass shooting the other day, 529 00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:09,480 and yet the NRA is having a conference, as if the NRA is 530 00:39:09,559 --> 00:39:14,840 pro mass shooting or has anything to do with it. It's like the whole 531 00:39:14,920 --> 00:39:19,000 framing of every story is exactly how Democrats like it. I'll give you two 532 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,599 more quick examples. I read two stories this week I don't remember where, 533 00:39:21,639 --> 00:39:28,519 big big outlets. One is Republicans are really nervous about how or Republican leadership 534 00:39:28,559 --> 00:39:31,920 is really nervous about how Republican and the Republican base and other you know, 535 00:39:32,519 --> 00:39:37,519 congressmen and things like that are moving forward with abortion issues. You know, 536 00:39:37,519 --> 00:39:39,920 how many people were quoted in that story with their name is zero? Zero 537 00:39:40,039 --> 00:39:44,760 people. It could have just been one. Mitch McConnell aide saying this. 538 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:47,639 And there's another story about Club for Growth and how Republicans hate Club for Growth. 539 00:39:47,639 --> 00:39:52,559 Maybe it's true, maybe it's not, because they are demanding actual conservatives 540 00:39:52,679 --> 00:39:57,960 run for Senate in Montana and other places rather than some you know, how 541 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:00,960 many people were quoted? Zero people? I'm saying, Mitch McConnell, and 542 00:40:00,039 --> 00:40:04,039 these people aren't, you know, don't hate Club for Growth or whatever, 543 00:40:04,079 --> 00:40:07,760 which is this sort of anti tax group, which I happen to think it's 544 00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:10,840 fine. But it's just interesting to me that they basically have turned and this 545 00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:15,079 is I think also a Reuter's story. They basically have turned into just the 546 00:40:15,119 --> 00:40:19,320 pr PR for Democrats. It's just an you know, establishment Republican. I 547 00:40:19,320 --> 00:40:22,440 want to I was on a show at Fox last week where they give you 548 00:40:22,519 --> 00:40:27,440 the topic beforehand, and so it must be this ap story that they sent 549 00:40:27,519 --> 00:40:30,320 but it wasn't. I didn't see where the story came from. And I 550 00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:34,719 actually wrote back to the producer, like, what communist wrote this topic up? 551 00:40:35,079 --> 00:40:37,400 But I think the n Yeah, So let me tell this year's NRA 552 00:40:37,599 --> 00:40:43,800 convention is taking place on the heels of two mass shootings. Yet all of 553 00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:49,079 the major twenty twenty four declared or hopeful presidential candidates planned to speak at Friday's 554 00:40:49,119 --> 00:40:54,159 annual Leadership Forum. And then it gave like the details on who these people 555 00:40:54,199 --> 00:41:00,159 are, and say, this comes growing. This comes among growing questions from 556 00:41:00,159 --> 00:41:06,679 within the Republican Party over its strident messaging on gun control. So I wrote 557 00:41:06,719 --> 00:41:08,400 back, I was like, who wrote Like, seriously, whoever wrote this 558 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:15,280 needs a crash course in the Constitution and conservative politics because this person clearly has 559 00:41:15,320 --> 00:41:20,480 no idea about either anyway. Yeah, what's strident about it? I mean 560 00:41:21,280 --> 00:41:22,800 I can't even read it anymore. I forgot. I wish I could remember 561 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:25,639 what starts reading a New York Times story about something. And I just said 562 00:41:25,679 --> 00:41:29,119 to myself, I don't know why I do this to anymore. I don't 563 00:41:29,119 --> 00:41:31,320 know why I read these stories. I can't trust this. This is just 564 00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:34,840 it used to just be biased. I've read the New York Times since I'm 565 00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:37,239 a kid, you know, and I used to read it through the filter, 566 00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:39,360 knowing that they were biased in certain ways. Now I can't even trust 567 00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:43,599 the words that were saying at all. And it is how many times have 568 00:41:43,679 --> 00:41:45,480 I said this on our podcast already? I mean, I don't know why 569 00:41:45,519 --> 00:41:50,320 I'm do it to myself, but oh, I want to just mention really 570 00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:55,119 quickly. In Colorado, after the Columbine shooting, the n RAY was poised 571 00:41:55,119 --> 00:42:00,360 to have its national convention there like very quickly thereafter, and pretty much every 572 00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:07,880 major Republican political leader just backed out. And the Secretary of State of Colorado 573 00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:14,360 was this black woman, Vicky Buckley, was the top ranked Republican in the 574 00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:17,840 state who was willing to go to the convention, and she gave this amazing 575 00:42:19,559 --> 00:42:22,039 greeting to the people at the n Right. They had to walk through throngs 576 00:42:22,079 --> 00:42:27,199 of like far left protesters just to get to their convention, and she gave 577 00:42:27,239 --> 00:42:34,920 this greeting and it was about the Second Amendment and about the importance of gun 578 00:42:35,039 --> 00:42:38,320 rights. And she also told the story for the first time, so she'd 579 00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:43,960 run for office and this had not come out, that she had been the 580 00:42:44,039 --> 00:42:49,519 victim of gun violence, like domestic gun violence. And to have someone who 581 00:42:49,639 --> 00:42:54,280 was personally a victim of gun violence give this beautiful defense of the Second Amendment 582 00:42:54,280 --> 00:43:00,119 and do it when all these like cowardly Republican men couldn't you couldn't show her 583 00:43:00,159 --> 00:43:02,360 face. It was really impressive. I liked her a lot. That was 584 00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:07,360 the one where Charlton Heston said, like from Mike cold dead fingers or whatever, 585 00:43:07,599 --> 00:43:10,360 it wasn't Yeah, I think so, yeah, he was the president 586 00:43:10,440 --> 00:43:15,199 then, I believe or whatever. Yeah. I mean, you know, 587 00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:20,639 they just call the NRIA terrorist organization. I mean literally politicians do that. 588 00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:23,159 It is just so over the top, and it just shows that's you know, 589 00:43:23,199 --> 00:43:29,039 there's no real debate. It's just an incremental effort to ban guns. 590 00:43:30,800 --> 00:43:34,119 I had one other topic I wanted to mention, Actually, maybe you wanted 591 00:43:34,159 --> 00:43:37,480 to mention pomp Mike Pompeo. Yeah, yeah, so he's not going to 592 00:43:37,519 --> 00:43:40,199 be running for president. I think a lot of people expected him to do 593 00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:44,920 so, I don't I don't really know that there was any sort of big, 594 00:43:45,800 --> 00:43:49,480 you know, push from the base for him to run. That's what 595 00:43:49,719 --> 00:43:52,360 That's what's interesting though. Okay, So Mike Pompeo was widely regarded as a 596 00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:59,559 very good Secretary of State during the Trump administration, very popular member of Congress, 597 00:44:00,199 --> 00:44:08,079 very smart guy, probably one of the smarter people I've easily one of 598 00:44:08,079 --> 00:44:14,280 the smartest people I've met in Washington, d C. And enjoyable and great 599 00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:19,880 guy. But yeah, he tested the waters and his big lane push was 600 00:44:20,599 --> 00:44:25,280 foreign policy. He wanted to kind of capture that portion of the electorate who 601 00:44:25,320 --> 00:44:30,639 really cares about foreign policy. And what I think is interesting is that it 602 00:44:30,679 --> 00:44:36,320 failed completely because he as a member of Congress, he definitely had been in 603 00:44:36,400 --> 00:44:42,599 neocon so many Republicans kind of were unthinking in their acceptance of Neocon interventionism. 604 00:44:42,639 --> 00:44:45,480 So there's like a lot of forgiveness for people who went through that. But 605 00:44:45,559 --> 00:44:49,239 as a Secretary of State, he articulated a very good realist foreign policy. 606 00:44:49,679 --> 00:44:52,679 He took the Trump philosophy and really ran with it. But then as soon 607 00:44:52,719 --> 00:44:58,360 as Trump was out of office, I don't know why he ran back to 608 00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:01,960 the neo kon interventionism. It was a really foolish move, I think, 609 00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:05,159 and so he was kind of like, I'm going to be the guy who 610 00:45:05,159 --> 00:45:09,880 pushes the war in Ukraine, and there was like less than zero appetite for 611 00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:13,760 that. I know a lot of good people who are working on his candidacy, 612 00:45:14,079 --> 00:45:15,800 who really wanted him to run, who really have high regard for him, 613 00:45:15,840 --> 00:45:19,880 and in many ways I have high regard for him. But the fact 614 00:45:19,960 --> 00:45:25,880 that he could not gain traction, I think is yet another reminder that Neo 615 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:32,360 Khan, you know, Wilsonian progressive foreign policy that took over the Republican Party 616 00:45:32,840 --> 00:45:37,119 for that brief period, you know, like Bush era and a little a 617 00:45:37,119 --> 00:45:42,719 little after that, there's just no appetite for that among actual voters. Now, 618 00:45:42,880 --> 00:45:45,320 it could be the case, or it could be that I don't even 619 00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:47,960 if there was appetite, I just don't think he was. You know, 620 00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:51,920 if he's running, it's probably just to be in an administrator, in an 621 00:45:51,920 --> 00:45:54,039 administration VP or someone else, don't you think. I mean, I just 622 00:45:54,079 --> 00:45:58,440 don't see I think you're going to be president. Yeah, it's not going 623 00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:04,159 to happen. Sorry, all right, that's enough with that. Let's talk 624 00:46:04,159 --> 00:46:07,000 about culture. And I just quickly want to say that I sit here some 625 00:46:07,079 --> 00:46:10,280 days and I'm like, I need to watch more stuff because I have this 626 00:46:10,360 --> 00:46:15,119 podcast and I literally am not watching anything. I'm busy with, you know, 627 00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:20,480 doing other things or engage in really boring cultural activities that no one will 628 00:46:20,519 --> 00:46:25,760 care about. And I'm embarrassed. So I have to do more TV watching. 629 00:46:27,079 --> 00:46:29,440 I have one show, Yeah, I have one show this week. 630 00:46:29,760 --> 00:46:35,599 It's called I've been watching. It's called Lucky Hank. Have you heard of 631 00:46:35,599 --> 00:46:38,159 this? I never heard of it. It's with Bob oden Kirk, who 632 00:46:38,280 --> 00:46:44,800 was better called Soul and Stuff, and it's about he's an English professor and 633 00:46:45,119 --> 00:46:49,840 it's like I would like, you know, I don't know, you never 634 00:46:49,880 --> 00:46:53,159 like anything I tell you to watch, but I think you might. It 635 00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:58,599 is not it's sort of how can I say it's it's just a mellow show. 636 00:46:58,679 --> 00:47:00,920 It's not, you know, it's sort of funny. I like it. 637 00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:05,280 Fine. It's on AMC, I think, so I like that fine. 638 00:47:06,079 --> 00:47:07,400 Other than that, I don't think I've done anything. I'm watching. 639 00:47:07,440 --> 00:47:10,400 I'm rewatching The Expanse, which is a science fiction show. I don't think 640 00:47:10,400 --> 00:47:15,519 you like science fictions, so, but that's a good show. And that's 641 00:47:15,840 --> 00:47:21,840 all I have. How about you. I have seen two excellent films. 642 00:47:22,679 --> 00:47:27,960 One was a rewatch, but the first one is Black Narcissus. Have you 643 00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:31,400 ever seen this? I don't think so. From nineteen forty seven. Do 644 00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:37,880 you know who Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger are. There's like British directing duo. 645 00:47:37,480 --> 00:47:42,280 No so it's like their movie. I don't know how. It's funny 646 00:47:42,320 --> 00:47:45,559 because like when we started watching at the AMC, guy says at the beginning, 647 00:47:45,639 --> 00:47:50,119 like, technically, this is a film about English nuns trying to set 648 00:47:50,199 --> 00:47:53,679 up a school in the Himalayas, but that doesn't really describe it at all, 649 00:47:53,719 --> 00:47:57,679 and that's I would totally agree with that, Like technically that's what it's 650 00:47:57,679 --> 00:48:05,880 about. It's this really like compelling, powerful psychological drama about these five nuns 651 00:48:06,519 --> 00:48:08,159 who go to set up a school in the Himalais but they kind of like 652 00:48:08,239 --> 00:48:15,239 break down. And it is beautifully shot, like you're just right there. 653 00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:20,440 It's like the cinematography is amazing. I think it might have wanted an Oscar 654 00:48:20,519 --> 00:48:24,519 for that. And the acting is great. There's this one so it stars 655 00:48:24,559 --> 00:48:30,000 Deva Kurr and she's great, but there's this other woman. I don't know 656 00:48:30,039 --> 00:48:35,440 what her name is, and she gosh, I don't really, it's just 657 00:48:35,519 --> 00:48:38,079 it's just really almost want you to watch it. Just sweek. I have 658 00:48:38,119 --> 00:48:40,639 a few of your other movies on my list. I'm still going to watch, 659 00:48:40,639 --> 00:48:45,679 like The Triangle of Sadness or whatever, but I'll. It sounds terrible, 660 00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:47,599 but I will. I really wanted people to watch that so I could 661 00:48:47,599 --> 00:48:52,480 discuss with them. Weird. It was not because I loved it or even 662 00:48:52,559 --> 00:48:55,480 liked it, but it is. I think it got Oscar nominations and stuff. 663 00:48:55,559 --> 00:49:00,199 So yeah, that's like almost an argument against it. Others I'm gonna, 664 00:49:00,239 --> 00:49:04,079 Okay, I usually don't watch old movies, but I will watch this 665 00:49:04,119 --> 00:49:07,320 one. You should only watch old movies. No, they're terribly There's more 666 00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:13,800 female character development in Black Narcissis than in like the entirety of the twenty twenty 667 00:49:13,800 --> 00:49:19,480 two UVRA, like the skill, and like the fact that ninth Mark said, 668 00:49:19,639 --> 00:49:22,599 my husband says, I mean like Black Narcissis reminds me if The White 669 00:49:22,639 --> 00:49:28,360 Lotus were a movie in nineteen forty seven. All right, did you watch 670 00:49:28,440 --> 00:49:31,480 that TV show? No? I was hoping, Yeah, No, I 671 00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:35,119 know I need to watch that as well. It's on my list. Okay, 672 00:49:35,239 --> 00:49:40,559 So the other movie I watched was She's the Man. Holy Talito. 673 00:49:40,719 --> 00:49:45,760 Is this like from the eighties the two thousands find it's like a remake of 674 00:49:45,800 --> 00:49:51,679 twenty Yeah, they had they remake this movie like every few years, right, 675 00:49:52,360 --> 00:49:55,559 yes, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. What was the one in the 676 00:49:55,559 --> 00:50:00,440 eighties called That's Funny? They I don't know, I don't remember anyway, 677 00:50:01,119 --> 00:50:05,800 Yeah, it was interesting, and you know, it's kind of like sad 678 00:50:06,079 --> 00:50:10,360 how gender bending stuff was kind of like delightful in the Shakespearean era and now 679 00:50:10,360 --> 00:50:16,679 it is just like so fraught, Like it's pretty transgressive, no pun intended 680 00:50:16,760 --> 00:50:22,719 movie, but it's also just fun and funny. Well, the one in 681 00:50:22,760 --> 00:50:23,880 the eighties, it was like I was a kid when I saw it, 682 00:50:23,920 --> 00:50:28,280 a teenager, and I was like, no one would ever believe this woman 683 00:50:28,360 --> 00:50:30,719 is a man. This is an attractive woman, and this is just nonsense. 684 00:50:31,039 --> 00:50:36,480 It reminds me of movies that you know, every generation has where you 685 00:50:36,519 --> 00:50:38,320 know, girl meets boy and the girls a geek and she's a geek because 686 00:50:38,320 --> 00:50:44,920 she has glasses on. Yeah, so it's obviously an attractive woman. Yeah, 687 00:50:44,960 --> 00:50:47,239 who is glasses, which are not unattractive by the way to men. 688 00:50:49,199 --> 00:50:52,800 It's just stupid. But except for crying game, even though I did guess 689 00:50:52,840 --> 00:50:57,039 that movie early spoiler, don't give it anyway, I haven't seen it for 690 00:50:57,079 --> 00:51:02,559 real. He's serious. That's an old one. Yeah. Um, I 691 00:51:02,559 --> 00:51:06,039 guess I just gave that away. But I think most people, I think 692 00:51:06,039 --> 00:51:10,679 there's a ten a two decade limit on worrying about spoilers, right, yeah, 693 00:51:10,679 --> 00:51:15,400 okay, all right, that's it. I think that it's nice to 694 00:51:15,400 --> 00:51:21,360 speak to you. Hope we speak again this week. Everything goes well everyone 695 00:51:21,360 --> 00:51:29,480 else? Yeah, well, you drink shallow Pain and Natasis slack Coca co