WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:04.719
Dive into the political world of threats
and violence leading up to the twenty twenty

2
00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:11.679
four elections. As Vox's Zag Beauchamp
unfolds this new reality, threats against public

3
00:00:11.720 --> 00:00:16.879
officials are soaring, with the mega
faithful leading the charge. Trump's hardcore base

4
00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:22.920
turns challenging him into a personal hazard, shaping American politics like never before in

5
00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:29.719
the twenty twenty four election cycle.
Trump's return brings authoritarian rhetoric and escalating threats,

6
00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:35.119
making standing up for electoral integrity a
very perilous endeavor. Welcome to the

7
00:00:35.159 --> 00:00:40.159
side show of American democracy, where
violence is the new political currency. This

8
00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:45.039
show is from Vox by Zach Beauchamp
on January second, twenty twenty four.

9
00:00:45.320 --> 00:00:50.000
Yeah. So this is a tricky
article, you know, because we want

10
00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:55.159
to abide by the laws that we
are held to and not cross any lines

11
00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:58.880
to try and affect anybody's political decisions
one way or the other. And so

12
00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:02.439
I kind of want to start,
aren't there, right While I am in

13
00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:07.159
agreement that political violence, threats,
et cetera are kind of running rampant right

14
00:01:07.159 --> 00:01:12.000
now in America, I want to
relate this to atheism or relate this to

15
00:01:12.040 --> 00:01:15.640
the separation of church and state,
if you will, because I think it

16
00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:19.079
fits in quite well. We don't
talk about this enough. So we at

17
00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:23.959
the Atheist or the Yeah, the
Atheist Community of Austin ACA are a five

18
00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:29.200
to' one C three nonprofit organization,
right and we are supposed to refrain from

19
00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:34.599
engaging in any kind of politicking or
electioneering, not endorsing or disparaging a candidate.

20
00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:38.200
And while we do our best to
abide this rule, is that a

21
00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:42.840
bye by this rule? Is that
something that's really being respected by other organizations

22
00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:47.719
that share our nonprofit status. I
have to say, you know, this

23
00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:53.280
article relates a lot to the presidential
election and candidates and their followers, et

24
00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:56.560
cetera. But I'm not going to
necessarily go down that route. I want

25
00:01:56.560 --> 00:02:00.159
to ask the theists though, the
people that don't want to hear us,

26
00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:07.400
or don't want to hear nonprofit organizations
start getting all into elections, maybe maybe

27
00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:10.800
disparaging or or speaking out against their
candidate. Is that the same thing that

28
00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:15.360
you hear coming from your pulpit or
is that being abused? Do you go

29
00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:21.080
to church on Sundays and hear your
clergy kind of break these laws? While

30
00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:23.159
the rest of us are kind of, you know, beholden to them.

31
00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:29.479
And why is it in this country
we give so much credence to religion,

32
00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:35.759
so much credence to this peddling of
a fairy tale, and we allow them

33
00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:38.120
to skirt the rules, but the
rest of us kind of have to remain

34
00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:42.080
silent and just abide by them.
So I want to I want to kind

35
00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:45.759
of just posit that at all of
you who are listening and and kind of

36
00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:50.919
don't really understand the dynamics there,
but it really fits in well because these

37
00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:57.400
maga cultists that I believe are behind
a lot of these political violence or or

38
00:02:57.520 --> 00:03:01.120
or this political violence and their associated
threat are often associated with Christianity. In

39
00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:06.039
fact, they claim to have the
moral high ground in a society of very

40
00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:09.240
diverse backgrounds and beliefs. And so
I think it's a very ambiguous claim,

41
00:03:09.400 --> 00:03:15.759
being moral but threatening violence. And
while you know, I think that it's

42
00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:20.400
hypocritical, I can actually see where
it makes sense to some of these people,

43
00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:24.280
because that is exactly what their Bible
pedals. It's what is exemplified throughout

44
00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:30.000
the Bible, and probably they're under
the impression that they have to abide by

45
00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:34.159
the commands of their deity, and
so I think that's where we're at currently

46
00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:36.960
right now, and those are my
thoughts. I kind of wanted to relate

47
00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:43.879
this problem of political violence with,
you know, the pulpit, the pedestal

48
00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:47.360
that Christianity and other religions are allowed
to rest on while the rest of us

49
00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:50.599
kind of, you know, just
have to take what's given to us,

50
00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:53.879
so infidel, How did I do
both? I have to say that I

51
00:03:53.599 --> 00:04:00.479
definitely mirror a lot of what you're
saying about certain parts of our society that

52
00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:08.080
politicians they capitalize on this, they
feed off of this. But that's what

53
00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:14.039
politicians do. The truth is is
that the pawns are the people who allow

54
00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:17.240
themselves to have a Don't confuse me
with the facts. My mind is made

55
00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:23.959
up mentality. They're symptomatic of something
that, in my opinion, is essentially

56
00:04:24.279 --> 00:04:28.519
boils down to a blueprint on how
to subvert or republic. Know, we've

57
00:04:28.519 --> 00:04:31.279
talked about Project twenty twenty five on
this show, but when it comes down

58
00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:36.279
to it, just the basic threat
of a free and fair election, I

59
00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:42.120
mean, without that, really what
do we have? You Know, it

60
00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:46.800
doesn't help that we've been left with
more of an illusion of choice for decades

61
00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:51.439
rather than actual choices, and I
think that that's part of what has caused

62
00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:58.399
people to have this knee jerk,
all or nothing fight to the death over

63
00:04:58.680 --> 00:05:02.600
every little issue. And I think
it does feed right into corporate politicians who

64
00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:08.319
are essentially shilling for their supper,
just like benefic benefactors of the past.

65
00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:14.600
Right now, as I've said before, you know this delusionment has we're so

66
00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:19.800
busy screaming past each other that we
can't even look to see that playing along

67
00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:26.480
with the other side in this sham, while hardly optimal, is a better

68
00:05:26.519 --> 00:05:31.839
option than absolutely destroying the basic premise
of a republic. If we can't or

69
00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:36.240
enable or unwilling to guarantee the safety
that those that are in business are running

70
00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:41.240
our elections, you know, those
boring parts, not the ones that get

71
00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:45.079
in front of cameras, but the
ones that actually do something day to day

72
00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:47.959
to help make sure that our elections
are fair. If we can't guarantee that,

73
00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:53.360
then honestly, we don't have a
republic. And phoebe, I'm going

74
00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:56.399
to let it run it on a
little bit about me. When I was

75
00:05:56.399 --> 00:06:00.720
in England, I have been an
election official. I have been the person.

76
00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:03.560
You walk up to a opolling station
and go hello, I'm so and

77
00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:05.920
so and I live at such and
such, and I go, thank you

78
00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:10.079
very much. Here is your ballot
paper and new counting. I just did

79
00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:13.079
the handing out the ballot papers,
making sure that it was all set up

80
00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:15.920
and roughly, and there was three
of us and it was great. But

81
00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:19.720
I didn't set out to commit fraud
on that day. And I don't know

82
00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:25.600
anybody that I worked with that's set
out to commit fraud. Who on this

83
00:06:25.639 --> 00:06:29.600
panel knows what the fraud triangle is. I'm just surprised that you that you're

84
00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:34.279
from England. I mean, but
anyway, who here knows what the fraud

85
00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:42.360
triangle is? So fraud triangle says
that there are three elements towards what constitutes

86
00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:47.000
how somebody will undertake fraud. It's
motive, opportunity and rationalization. I have

87
00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:53.160
never in my life when I worked
for the elections in the UK, met

88
00:06:53.199 --> 00:07:00.839
anybody motivated or anybody who even had
the opportunity to undertake It's just not built

89
00:07:00.839 --> 00:07:04.759
into the system, system, built
in such a way that that's not possible.

90
00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:10.360
And I'm going to have people screaming
at the screen saying, but it's

91
00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:14.000
different in America. Fine, I'll
grant you that it's different in America,

92
00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:16.560
but I don't think it's that much
different. I'll grant you yeah. From

93
00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:20.360
England, Ye different system. We
use a pen and a bass paper we

94
00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:26.240
put in a box whereas you pull
funky levers and push screens and have our

95
00:07:26.319 --> 00:07:30.920
papers that are twenty five miles long
and stuff that's beside point. Never in

96
00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:34.120
my life have I ever met an
election official, be they somebody who went

97
00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:39.879
off to do the counting of the
votes, opening up absentee balance, going

98
00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:44.399
to a polling place that had the
mentality of today, I'm going to see

99
00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:48.959
how I can commit fraud. Never
ever have I met anybody, And it's

100
00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:55.160
just something that just doesn't enter into
your head because why are you doing it

101
00:07:55.199 --> 00:08:00.160
in the first place. I don't
know any public official that goes in the

102
00:08:00.199 --> 00:08:05.279
outset and says my goal in life
is to look at the next election and

103
00:08:05.319 --> 00:08:11.800
I'm going to select somebody and I'm
going to decide how I can commit fraud

104
00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:15.920
so that I can get my candid. Just doesn't work like that. It's

105
00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:22.600
just bonkers, absolutely bonkers for that
kind of mentality to be of somebody that's

106
00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:28.800
going to put themselves in the public
and face serious long term jail time if

107
00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:33.279
they're caught. I mean, this
is a conspiracy that election officials wake up

108
00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:37.360
that larger than the moon Nan didn't
happen, and the Earth is flat and

109
00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:43.000
JFK is still living somewhere in Dallas. Too bad. There's a guy in

110
00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:48.600
Michigan that they've gone after. About
the two part I don't think anything in

111
00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:52.440
this article is a surprised to anyone
that follows politics and isn't the follower of

112
00:08:52.559 --> 00:09:00.240
Trump. I am surprised often at
the excuses and the abfustigations that come from

113
00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:03.879
these people to explain why their violence
is good but the other violence is bad,

114
00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:09.240
or that that other violence is unwarranted, but our violence is warranted,

115
00:09:09.559 --> 00:09:13.120
or even worse, that their violence
is what God wants them to do.

116
00:09:13.639 --> 00:09:18.120
And these people are positive that what
they are doing is correct and they believe

117
00:09:18.200 --> 00:09:24.080
the ends justify the means. There
I encourage every to read the article.

118
00:09:24.120 --> 00:09:26.240
There's a lot of good figures in
there. There's a lot of good math

119
00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:30.759
or Scott Dickey when you need them
right, and it shows plainly that there's

120
00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:35.080
been a huge rise in this type
of violence, and it is overwhelmingly coming

121
00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:41.200
from the far right supporters of Donald
Trump. Many of you out in the

122
00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:45.360
audience probably already suspected this to be
true, but if you'd like to see

123
00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:48.399
the numbers behind it, I encourage
you again to go back and read the

124
00:09:48.519 --> 00:09:54.759
article. It gives a really good
insightful look into win and how this trend

125
00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:58.200
started and where it's going to.
It's a really scary trend too. It's

126
00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:05.879
trying to create a pure Republican party
where every member has to fall into the

127
00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:11.159
line with the leader or they reface
rejection at the best on one hand,

128
00:10:11.320 --> 00:10:15.399
and on the other hand, the
end of their political career or even violence

129
00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:18.360
at the other end of the spectrum. Now, these are the same people

130
00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:20.679
that are calling for violence in the
form of a civil war too. I'm

131
00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:26.360
sure you've seen it. People being
interviewed at Trump rallies that honestly think we

132
00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:30.840
are headed to a civil war and
this is what they want if they don't

133
00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:35.720
get their way. In many ways, we're already in a cold civil war

134
00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:39.960
with both sides ratcheting up the rhetoric. Many of these people are actually planning

135
00:10:39.960 --> 00:10:43.960
on the civil war. Actually happening
right now. They're stacking up ambo,

136
00:10:45.720 --> 00:10:50.320
stocking up mers, they're doing whatever
else. They're fantastical rambling mind can think

137
00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:54.399
of, Hey, people, don't
forget raincoach. You're going to need raincoats.

138
00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:58.120
The most dangerous thing that I find
about this whole movement, though,

139
00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:05.360
Kelly hat yeah, please. And
the most dangerous thing I find about this

140
00:11:05.399 --> 00:11:09.720
whole movement though, is that so
many people think that think that Trump was

141
00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:13.759
anointed by God and also believe that
we're living in the end times, and

142
00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:20.120
they seem to be willing to overlook
all rationality to make those times happen.

143
00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:24.639
Nothing can get in your way as
long as God is on your side and

144
00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:28.879
he wants you to start the violence. He wants you to get the apocalypse

145
00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:33.000
on the fast track so you can
finally bring Heaven to Earth. It's freaking

146
00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:37.600
scary and we need to stand up
to it. Witnesses, eat your heart

147
00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:41.440
out, I'll say, is Jehovah's
witnesses your heart. I wanted to drill

148
00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:45.799
down on something that really got me
in the artacle. Was the senator for

149
00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:52.840
Utah. Mister Willard knit Romney pays
five thousand dollars a day for his personal

150
00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:56.200
security. That's a lot of money
for anybody. So what I wanted to

151
00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:01.600
ask was in a climate where we
have seen rising political violence, and we

152
00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:07.879
have seen actual politicians be shot one
under comquestion of baseball game one in Arizona,

153
00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:11.600
one in Arizona, I'm talking about
the Gabrielle Giffens. For those of

154
00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:15.840
you who don't remember that, should
the tax paper be footing the bill for

155
00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:22.399
personal security for politicians up and down
this country because they have gone into public

156
00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:28.399
life to serve public I know that
certain politicians do have personal security, Mitt

157
00:12:28.440 --> 00:12:31.080
Romney being one of them. I
don't know if it's subsidized for him.

158
00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:35.759
I also know that Marjorie Taylor Green
has personal security. I also know Alexandria

159
00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:41.320
Racasio Cortes has personal security. Should
the taxpayer be footing the bill for the

160
00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:46.720
security of politicians up and down this
country in the same way that we foot

161
00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:52.320
the bill for the personal security of
the executive branch and the cabinet. Well,

162
00:12:52.679 --> 00:12:56.200
I want to say something about that. I would be surprised if Mitt

163
00:12:56.279 --> 00:13:01.200
Romney had subsidized security. He is
a very very well off man, and

164
00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:05.720
I think that threats to him are
a little bit more significant or significantly higher

165
00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:11.440
than other Republicans, if you will, or other politicians. I mean,

166
00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:15.919
this is the first man that stood
up and spoke out against Trump as the

167
00:13:15.919 --> 00:13:20.679
Republican nominee. And I admire him
greatly for that because it's not because I

168
00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:24.639
you know, again, I don't
want to get into this realm where I'm

169
00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:28.759
disparaging Trump or supporting him, but
I will say that it was a very

170
00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:33.759
steep hill for Romney to climb,
as a Republican and as a former Republican

171
00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:39.960
presidential candidate, to come out against
the new Republican presidential candidate. And you

172
00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:41.200
know, for the reason of saying, you know what, history is going

173
00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:43.679
to judge me for what I did
not do, and I have to stand

174
00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:48.039
there and show my children that I
stood up and did everything I can for

175
00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:52.320
what I believe in. And so
while we're on the position or the subject

176
00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:54.679
of Mitt Romney, I want to
throw that out there and just remind everybody

177
00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:56.759
that while I don't, you know, exactly agree with his politics or his

178
00:13:56.840 --> 00:14:01.440
religion, I can respect that.
Now, the short answer to this question

179
00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:05.960
is no, I don't think that
we should be subsidizing security for our elected

180
00:14:05.960 --> 00:14:13.200
officials. The president is one thing, But to go beyond that, I

181
00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:16.759
think that you just have to take
the consequences of the job, you know,

182
00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:22.960
and just accept your role in society
as a politician. Well, the

183
00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:26.519
flip side to that then is are
we only going to have people who are

184
00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:33.360
wealthy enough to assore security, wealthy
enough to pay for their own security for

185
00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:35.120
example? And where do you draw
the line at too? I mean,

186
00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:39.879
is the mayor of my small town
that if we do pay for security,

187
00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:43.519
and the mayor of my small town
of fourteen hundred people going to get security

188
00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:46.039
because one crazy guy who lives outside
of town made it that threat. You

189
00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:50.080
know, where do we draw the
line on who gets that money and who's

190
00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:56.200
going to pay for it. One
of my issues about this is it is

191
00:14:56.240 --> 00:15:00.240
an uncomfortable situation because party says,
Okay, we want to make sure we

192
00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:03.840
protect the credibility of our electoral system, and when people are threatening it,

193
00:15:03.879 --> 00:15:09.960
that does potentially disrupt that balance very
significantly. And on the other hand,

194
00:15:09.159 --> 00:15:15.679
if we pay for security, unfortunately
oftentimes we are paying for security for the

195
00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:20.519
exact people who are fanning the flames. So it's almost a catch twenty two

196
00:15:20.600 --> 00:15:24.039
because if we pump in security for
them. How much worse would it get?

197
00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:28.639
How much more willing would some of
these people be to go out there

198
00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:31.879
and say absolutely unhinged things. On
the flip side, there are people who

199
00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:35.480
are saying things that I may agree
with, who are going to fall prey

200
00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:39.120
because they don't have that access to
money. But that's going to be something

201
00:15:39.159 --> 00:15:43.480
on both sides. So short answered, no. But my biggest problem is

202
00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:50.240
is that all these conspiracy theories fall
under one simple problem, and that is

203
00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:54.279
three people can keep a secret if
two are dead. And so the whole

204
00:15:54.799 --> 00:16:03.840
concept of conspiracy theory of the election
being stole is just absolutely absurd. People

205
00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:07.000
can't keep secrets. We should have
learned that by now. People run their

206
00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:11.000
mouths and trust somebody. So I
say it all the time. I can't

207
00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:15.879
get ten people to keep a surprise
birthday secret, birthday party a secret,

208
00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:18.000
and I don't know how you can
get thousands of people to keep a conspiracy

209
00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:22.960
a secret. It's ridiculous idea.
But exactly you want to throw this out

210
00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:29.200
there, though the article speaks very
clearly that what the article discusses did influence

211
00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:33.919
people standing up for what they thought
was right. It is that in an

212
00:16:33.159 --> 00:16:38.519
is that the kind of society we
want where people can have not a Heckles's

213
00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:42.200
veto, but a threatening veto in
the same way that you have the Heckler's

214
00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:47.600
veto in the First Amendment. Do
we really want politicians to be having a

215
00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:52.879
threatening veto hanging over them? Really? We already do? We already do.

216
00:16:56.159 --> 00:17:02.320
Should be should be losing your seat
at an election me a threat to

217
00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:06.400
your vio It shouldn't be a violent
threat to your personal security. And I

218
00:17:06.440 --> 00:17:11.079
think the article was trying to focus
that some of these threat to political futures

219
00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:17.200
has gone from a result of a
ballot box to what is, quite frankly,

220
00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:22.160
in my opinion, the unhinged minority
running around saying I don't want you

221
00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:25.880
to do this, so I'm going
to make down Well sure you don't do

222
00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:27.960
this? Well, you know you
have to ask yourself. One very important

223
00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:33.200
question is is that what motivates someone
to stay in the office to vote the

224
00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:37.799
wrong deliberately the wrong way. Okay, yes, it may be for immediate

225
00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:42.359
safety, but the bottom line is
maybe it's time that they consider that their

226
00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:47.039
motivation for being in the jobs wrong. Because for me, when it comes

227
00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:49.119
now, and I'm not talking about
people who are running day to day elections.

228
00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:52.759
I'm talking about the people that we've
talked about, like Mitt Romney's and

229
00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:57.680
not against him, but people in
higher positions. What are they doing?

230
00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:02.880
Why are they that off? It's
if it's not to serve the people my

231
00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:06.720
opinion a lot of them, it's
financial or some other sort of gain.

232
00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:11.440
And if they're willing to lie to
people and vote against their own conscious for

233
00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:14.279
that reason, I don't have a
lot of sympathy for them. But when

234
00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:18.400
it comes down to local workers and
poll workers, these people need to be

235
00:18:18.440 --> 00:18:22.920
protected because they're not politicians. Politicians
though, if you don't want if the

236
00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:27.039
job's too bad for you, regardless
of whether I think it should be or

237
00:18:27.079 --> 00:18:32.519
not, consider stepping down. Consider
your family first. But when it comes

238
00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:36.160
down to these pole workers, yes
we need to step up our game there.

239
00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:38.680
But on the other side of that, I understand what you're saying about

240
00:18:38.759 --> 00:18:44.160
doing what's right. But if you
are unable to do what is right,

241
00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:48.200
even if it's your last political act, because you want to be able to

242
00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:52.279
wake up the next day next to
your spouse and see your children again,

243
00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:59.519
I think that's a very dangerous society
that we're living in. Even if you

244
00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:04.799
say to people public life isn't for
you because Frederick Wackerdoo and his Second Amendment

245
00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:08.200
friends has kept you out of it. That's not what we should be doing.

246
00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:14.720
In my opinion, representative republic is
representative of everybody, and everybody should

247
00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:18.480
be able to stand up in a
representative republic. Nobody should be keeping the

248
00:19:18.519 --> 00:19:22.680
head down because Frederick wackerdou and his
friend Smith and Wesson is running around with

249
00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:27.240
him. But that that's a function
of a failing society and not necessarily like

250
00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:32.519
a failing government. You know,
and even with increased security measures, we

251
00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:37.400
still lost We've we've lost presidents.
We just had Martin Luther King Junior day

252
00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:41.839
and you know, we lost a
great man there. And we've had security

253
00:19:41.839 --> 00:19:48.079
in these situations. Malcolm X was
was assassinated amid a pretty heavy security detail.

254
00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:52.599
And so we make these efforts,
and you know, violence still seems

255
00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:56.119
to find a way. I'm all
for, you know, protection and mass

256
00:19:56.160 --> 00:20:00.119
protecting centers of gravity like our Capitol
building, our White House, poll workers,

257
00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:04.000
uh, you know, areas where
people are under high threat. But

258
00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:07.319
uh, you know, I think
it gets into kind of a different situation,

259
00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:11.480
a different conversation as far as economics
is concerned and things like that that

260
00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:15.839
I really don't want to go down
right now. But when it comes to

261
00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:18.440
kind of providing that kind of security, that is a very in depth.

262
00:20:19.480 --> 00:20:23.079
I think overhaul of our of our
financial arm