WEBVTT - The partial Government Shutdown comes to an end 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:03.760 Welcome to today's podcast sponsored by Hillsdale College, All Things 0:00:03.800 --> 0:00:06.440 hillsdalet Hillsdale dot ed or. I encourage you to take 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:08.920 advantage of the many free online courses there, and of 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:11.280 course I'll listen to the Hillsdale Dialogue all of them 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:14.560 at hugh for Hillsdale dot com or just Google, Apple 0:00:14.920 --> 0:00:19.279 iTunes and Hillsdale Born in Gloria and Emangrace America. I'm 0:00:19.320 --> 0:00:23.000 to hewittt. Earlier today, the House of Representatives passed the 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:27.480 Senate approved Mini Buss, five appropriations bills and a two 0:00:27.520 --> 0:00:31.120 week extension of the Department of Homeland Security funding. So 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:33.280 the government has reopened. I'm going to talk about that 0:00:33.560 --> 0:00:36.440 and a few other things. Was Texas Senator John Cornyan 0:00:36.520 --> 0:00:39.080 to start this hour. Senator, good to see you again, 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:42.159 and I hope you're not as cold as DC looks. 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:45.400 I'm glad the government's reopened. Can I begin, though, in 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:48.559 the lone Star state, sir, with what happened over the 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:52.199 weekend in the United States Senate district or A district 0:00:52.240 --> 0:00:55.680 that went by seventeen points for Donald Trump got won 0:00:55.760 --> 0:00:59.120 by a Democrat by fourteen points. What's that all about, Senator? 0:01:00.760 --> 0:01:03.320 Well, we're all scratching our heads and trying to learn 0:01:03.560 --> 0:01:06.080 the lessons that the public is trying to teach us. 0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:09.560 But to start with, only about fifteen percent of registered 0:01:09.640 --> 0:01:16.120 voters participated. Special elections are notorious for unpredicted, unpredictable results 0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:20.920 because a small minority of voters have a disproportionate impact. Fortunately, 0:01:20.959 --> 0:01:24.360 we'll have another shot at this in November. But I 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:27.720 think what it also says is that candidate quality matters, 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:31.039 and we can't take things for granted, even in deep 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:35.560 red Texas and so as you know, that's why I'm 0:01:35.600 --> 0:01:37.959 concerned about this coming November. 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:41.800 Yeah, yesterday on the commentary podcast editor, I'm not a 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:44.600 member of that, but they were talking about you and 0:01:44.680 --> 0:01:49.000 Attorney General Pakistan and the congressmen. They think it's nuts, 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:51.440 just like I think it's nuts that you've got a primary, 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:54.040 because I think you got a layup in November. Now 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:55.800 you might have to have you might have to use 0:01:55.840 --> 0:01:57.440 your shoulder a little bit on that layup, but you 0:01:57.520 --> 0:02:00.120 still got a lap. And none of us think that 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:03.120 the Attorney General can win. Is that sort of dawning 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:03.680 on people? 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:10.480 Yeah, Well, the most recent polling shows that James Taller Rico, 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:14.440 who seems to be leading in the Democratic primary, would 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:17.600 be tied as of today with the Attorney General if 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:22.520 he were the nominee. Of course, that's before he's carpet 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:25.080 bombed the Attorney General, if he were the nominee, with 0:02:25.120 --> 0:02:28.600 all the negative baggage that he's been carrying, the scandals 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:31.760 that he's been at the center of for a long 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:36.000 time now. So I think two things could happen. One 0:02:36.080 --> 0:02:37.639 is he could lose, and the. 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:39.840 Second it would be, even if he could win. 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:42.880 By the skin of his teeth, it would cost hundreds 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:45.560 of millions of dollars that we could use to spit 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:49.400 to pick up Senate seats in Georgia, in Michigan, in 0:02:49.400 --> 0:02:52.720 New Hampshire, and save our Senate seat in North Carolina, 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:55.399 which will be a very expensive seat. So I think 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:59.720 that's what I would call the business case for my candidacy. 0:03:00.400 --> 0:03:01.600 It's a lot bigger than just me. 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:04.440 The business case for your dandency is you're one hundred 0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:07.200 percent with President Trump, you're one hundred percent with the Republicans, 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:09.359 and you've been there a while and you've got seniority. 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:11.880 The business cases, it makes sense for Texas, and that's 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:14.080 why I've endorsed you and everybody else with sort of 0:03:14.080 --> 0:03:16.760 common sense, as John Corny should win. But can we 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:20.320 run through the dates so that this audience at least 0:03:20.360 --> 0:03:22.680 knows to turn out and vote on the right dates. 0:03:22.720 --> 0:03:24.280 There's going to be a primary, then there's going to 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:25.880 be a runoff. When are both of those? 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:30.720 I'm glad you asked. So the primary is March the third. 0:03:30.800 --> 0:03:34.560 It's the earliest primary in the country, and it's important. 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:36.760 Like I said, with a special election, it shows what 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:40.680 a small turnout can do in terms of unexpected results. 0:03:40.960 --> 0:03:41.680 Early voting. 0:03:41.840 --> 0:03:44.480 We have a very generous early voting period that starts 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:48.480 February of the seventeenth, so February the seventeenth. 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:49.800 With the primary on March the third. 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:52.880 If nobody gets the majority, which is likely to happen 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:56.280 with three candidates in the race, the runoff is in May, 0:03:56.720 --> 0:03:59.760 ten weeks later, May the twenty sixth, and that's even 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:02.160 probably with a smaller turnout. 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:04.480 So we're encouraging everybody we. 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:08.880 Can to vote, and I hope all your listeners will. 0:04:08.480 --> 0:04:11.920 Join us in voting on March third. If not before, well. 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:13.360 We're all over to Texas and we want to make 0:04:13.360 --> 0:04:15.400 sure they turn out. I also will send you to 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:18.920 Senator Cornyan's campaign website. I don't think he can say 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:20.800 it unless he's out of the Senate. But it's John 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:22.800 Cornyan dot com. I can tell you where it is, 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:26.159 Johncornan dot com. Now, Senator, tell me a little bit 0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:30.640 about this Safe Act. That's the Safeguard America's Voter Eligibility Act, 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:34.400 And it became a subject to controversy on the House 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:37.360 FLOORI today, and I don't know why. Can you explain 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:37.960 what's going on? 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:39.880 Well? 0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:43.039 I don't understand why it's controversial either, because for a 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:47.920 long time there's been a bipartisan consensus that voter ID 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:52.760 is a legitimate tool to use to protect the integrity 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:55.839 of the ballot, to make sure that only qualified voters 0:04:55.839 --> 0:05:00.320 can vote. So the SAVE Act is a design to 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:03.760 basically put that into federal law. Now, there's some folks 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:07.680 who believe that the federal government doesn't have any roles, 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:11.880 shouldn't have any role in state run elections. I believe 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:14.120 the states should run elections, but I think at a 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:17.359 very basic minimum, it's not too much to ask that 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:21.880 everybody be an American citizen and have a voter ID. 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:24.840 But I think the debate in the House was whether 0:05:24.880 --> 0:05:29.080 they ought to attach it to this temporary appropriations package, 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:33.520 and Senator Thune, at my urging and others, I believe 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:35.520 we'll put that on the floor here in the. 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:38.120 Senate soon, and so we'll have a shot at it. 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:40.400 Then, all right, now I want to switch over to 0:05:40.440 --> 0:05:42.760 the Department of Homeland Security, which is on a two 0:05:42.800 --> 0:05:45.200 week ticker. Then it runs out of money, except it 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:47.760 doesn't run out of money. Sentator Cotton told us yesterday 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:50.960 that in the one Big Beautiful Bill last year, you 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:52.920 gave him a big dollar of money. So ICE is 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:56.000 not going anywhere. So once again the Democrats have walked 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:59.240 themselves into a corner. And I'm wondering, is there any 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:03.040 part of the caucus that wants to use this as 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:07.800 an occasion for some votes on things like the dreamers. 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:11.080 Make sure the dreamers get in, but meanwhile keep administrative 0:06:11.080 --> 0:06:16.039 warrants for deportation. What is the conversation around the DHS bill. 0:06:16.080 --> 0:06:18.400 It's the last appropriations bill. Are we going to turn 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:19.839 it into a circus or are there going to be 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:21.360 serious legislating here? 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:26.320 Well? This is really this is more performance are like 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:29.640 you pointed out in the Working Family Tax Cuts Act, 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:33.919 Work Big beautiful bill. We funded the Department full Land Security, 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:37.120 Border Security, the border wall, and so this is not 0:06:37.240 --> 0:06:40.880 about whether ICE is going to be funded. It is 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:44.240 going to be about whether FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:48.640 Agency TSA, the Transportation Security Agency, whether they will be 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:51.640 funded or whether we'll have to go to a continuing 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:55.200 resolution through the end of the year. We have come 0:06:55.240 --> 0:06:59.719 a long way to actually pass almost all the appropriations 0:06:59.720 --> 0:07:02.279 bill this year with this hiccup. But of course the 0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:06.480 Democrats couldn't refuse to take advantage of any opportunity to 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:10.600 try to try to put on a show over ICE 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:17.040 and what's been happening in Minnesota and Minneapolis tragic outcome. 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:20.880 But there's two lessons to learn. One is sanctuary cities 0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:24.440 are bad. Sanctuary states are bad because this transfer could 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:28.560 incur out of public view in the county and local jails. 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:32.400 And secondly that it's a big mistake to interfere with 0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:36.040 the federal law enforcement operation because bad things can happen 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:38.800 if including by accident CENTA. 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:42.480 I've written at length today for Fox News that a 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:44.600 deal o lot to be presented at Democrats in this 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:49.120 two week window, which is we'll get the Dreamers done well, 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:52.960 we'll give regularization, not citizenship. They don't ever get the vote, 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:56.000 but we'll give regularization to the dreamers if you give 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:59.559 us rules that shut down sanctuary cities and sanctuary states, 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:02.120 in other words, funding cutoffs. I don't know what the 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:04.400 Democrats are asking, but I think you guys got to 0:08:04.440 --> 0:08:07.280 really jam them on the fact that they've brought the 0:08:07.480 --> 0:08:12.680 spotlight to bear on sanctuary cities, because that is not 0:08:12.960 --> 0:08:15.200 a winning issue for them. 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:15.680 No. 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:19.560 Well, but they seem sort of well, can I say this? 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:23.400 Can I say they're kind of stuck on stupid. They're 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:26.800 not really interested in solving a problem, and that's the problem, 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:31.040 whether it's the enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:34.359 I mean, we're happy to work through those issues. Obviously, 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:37.960 President Trump was elected on border security. The border is 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:40.960 now secure, but we've got to get people who came 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:43.679 in during the four years of open border policies by 0:08:43.679 --> 0:08:46.960 the Biden administration out of the country, especially the criminals 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:52.160 and people have exhausted their appellate review of their legal 0:08:52.200 --> 0:08:55.960 avenues or relief. But I don't know really whether the 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:58.760 Democrats actually want to solve that problem, particularly for the 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:02.160 Dreamers that they talk about out for you know, all 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:05.520 the time, and then when an opportunity is presented to 0:09:05.559 --> 0:09:07.640 them to do something about it, as it has been, 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:11.160 including during President Trump's first term, they blow it by 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:14.560 asking for the sun and the moon and turning down 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:19.120 a perfectly good negotiated product. So I'm not optimistic, but 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:20.480 you know, we got to keep trying. 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:22.520 Now. I want to I hope you guys do offer 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:26.640 them the Dreamers in exchange for some crackdown on sanctuary cities. 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:28.400 I want to close by asking you about the one 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:31.040 thing I don't think you can give. They want to 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:36.440 get rid of administrative warrants issued for deportation, which has 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:38.680 been in the law of the land forever you were 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:41.719 a judge, you were a justice. You know that they're 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:45.320 only seven hundred District court judges will never deport even 0:09:45.679 --> 0:09:48.079 one hundred thousand people. If we've got to get district 0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:50.960 court judges to sign these warrants. Is that? Is that 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:54.559 an insane ask on They can't be serious, are they? 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:55.600 Well? 0:09:55.640 --> 0:09:57.640 I think again, they're trying to put on a show 0:09:57.679 --> 0:10:00.520 for their base, which basically is the same people who 0:10:01.120 --> 0:10:04.960 brought you defund the police and abolish ice, and they 0:10:04.960 --> 0:10:08.559 want to put any obstacle in the path of legitimate 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:12.480 law enforcement of our immigration laws that they can, including 0:10:12.520 --> 0:10:15.240 making them, you know, take them up their masks so 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:18.520 they can be docksed and harassed by these people that 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:20.760 we've seen on the news. 0:10:21.280 --> 0:10:24.680 And this is an unnecessary step. 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:29.079 As you knows as a lawyer, these are administrative proceedings 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:32.160 to actually get an arrest warrant. It's not a criminal 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:35.760 proceeding per se. It's people who've exhausted all of their 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:38.679 legal remedies and simply refused to leave the country. 0:10:38.679 --> 0:10:42.120 By Mark sand firm on that, and thank you, Senator Cornyan. 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:45.680 Johncornyn dot com remember those days. March third and in 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:49.199 May tenth, Johncornyn dot com, I'll be right back in America. 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:56.680 Stay two. Welcome back to America. I'm Hugh Hewett. I'm 0:10:56.679 --> 0:11:00.120 happy to welcome John Ashbrook, one of the fellas of 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:02.960 the Ruthless podcast. They've been on the road. They were 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:05.440 in Philadelphia last week. I want to thank John for 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:08.040 being kind to one of my friends, Jim, who I 0:11:08.080 --> 0:11:10.520 hope got to attend the event. And then I listened 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:13.559 this morning to them talking about the theater kids and 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:18.040 the Democrats. But John Ashbrook First of all, it's going 0:11:18.120 --> 0:11:20.440 to be ninety degrees in California tomorrow. Are you sure 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:22.600 you don't want to bring the Ruthless Podcast out west 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:23.040 for a while. 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:26.640 I'm on my way there as soon as we get 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:29.640 off the air right now, Hugh, I've had it with 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:31.679 the cold. You know, I grew up in the cold 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:35.480 in your home state of Ohio, and I just need warmth. 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:37.000 I need to go to Florida. I need to go 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:37.680 to California. 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:40.160 I got to go somewhere that is not going to 0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:42.960 be what it is right here in Washington. 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:45.920 A few weeks every winter out of DC. Is what 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:50.040 does the body and mind of a journalist? Good John, 0:11:50.080 --> 0:11:52.959 I want to ask you. I just had Senator Corner on, 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:57.319 great guy, and I asked him about the ninth Senatorial 0:11:57.440 --> 0:12:01.240 district in Texas, which went from being a Trump plus 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:06.240 fourteen district in November of twenty twenty four to a 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:10.480 Democrat winning it by seventeen over the weekend. Now, it 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:13.199 was a special election, but it's the state senate district. 0:12:13.240 --> 0:12:16.320 It's a bigger than the congressional seat. What do you 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:18.560 think that message is being sent? 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:23.480 Well, obviously he knows the state of Texas. Much much 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:27.520 better than I do. But I'll tell you, Hugh, every 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:31.800 single one of these special elections and the governor's elections 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:36.640 in New Jersey in Virginia in twenty twenty five should 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:39.440 serve as a wake up call to Republicans that these 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:43.640 midterms are for real, that every candidate has to run 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:45.960 their ass off if they want to be able to 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:48.520 get across the finish line next November, and if they 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:51.839 don't have a good campaign. It's based on the fundamentals 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:54.280 that it takes to win. It's not like who can 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:57.079 tweet the best, although that's part of it. It's not 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:01.439 who raises the most money, although that's part of it. 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:04.120 It's who has an organization that is built to win 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:05.600 in a difficult environment. 0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:08.040 And there is no way around the. 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:11.320 Fact that Republicans are in a difficult environment this fall. 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:15.960 I mean, it's historically difficult for any party in power, 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:19.800 and Republicans do not have Trump on the ballot in 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:23.319 twenty twenty six. Now the President is working over time 0:13:23.720 --> 0:13:27.080 to make sure that he is helping these candidates. You know, 0:13:27.200 --> 0:13:30.440 Maga Inc. His principal outside pack, I think raised three 0:13:30.520 --> 0:13:33.880 hundred million dollars or something like that. I may be 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:37.600 even like short changing that number, and he is going 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:41.200 to take this primary or I'm sorry, this midterm election 0:13:41.559 --> 0:13:42.559 very seriously. 0:13:43.200 --> 0:13:44.600 But that's not enough. 0:13:44.720 --> 0:13:47.640 You know, every single one of these candidates needs to 0:13:47.720 --> 0:13:51.000 find it within themselves to take what the president is 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:56.120 offering and complement that in a way that only they 0:13:56.160 --> 0:13:58.719 can on a local level. If they don't do it, 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:02.560 if they're not run hard, that's a recipe for disaster. 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:06.120 So one of two things is true. Either everything depends 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:09.319 upon the economy or it doesn't. And if everything depends 0:14:09.360 --> 0:14:11.600 upon the economy, were in good shape because four and 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:13.880 a half percent and then almost five percent growth, and 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:16.880 I think we have another great quarter. It's not the economy. 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:20.200 It's almost caught up with Biden inflation. But if that's 0:14:20.240 --> 0:14:24.680 not true, then immigration enforcement is driving that result. Do 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:28.840 you think voters are turned off by immigration enforcement. 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:32.800 I think there's some of that in suburban parts of 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:36.200 the country. But you have to remember the mandate that 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:39.280 President Trump was given. It's seventy seven million votes in 0:14:39.320 --> 0:14:42.040 twenty twenty four. People want safety, They wanted our borders 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:45.360 to be closed, and they want the criminals to be 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:49.200 deported from this country. I interviewed Tom Homan. I know 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:52.240 you've talked to him before, to Hugh, and I asked 0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:56.520 him a very specific question about sanctuary cities because it's 0:14:56.520 --> 0:14:59.280 on my mind as a guy who lived through nine 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:04.360 to eleven. Are these sanctuary cities becoming rendezvous points for 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:09.080 terrorists who found their way from the other hemisphere across 0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:12.720 the Mexican border and into our country during the Biden years? 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:16.720 Are these sanctuary cities turning into rendezvous points for people 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:19.400 who are fighting age men who really want to do 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:22.080 damage to our country? And he said the answer to 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:27.040 that was yes, And it's a terrifying thought, and it's 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:30.240 something that has to be solved. It's not a particularly 0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:33.480 part is an issue. I mean, it's seventy thirty, eighty twenty. 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:36.480 You have so many people in this country who want 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:39.320 to get the border under control. President Trump did that. 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:43.800 They want to get the terrorists, the murderers, people who 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:47.280 are here to do wrong. They want them out. And 0:15:47.320 --> 0:15:49.640 that's what I think Tom Homan is trying to do. 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:52.640 That's what our president is trying to do. And so 0:15:52.840 --> 0:15:57.160 I don't think that's a particularly I think that's a 0:15:57.160 --> 0:16:00.760 good issue for Republicans heading into the midterm. The economy. 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:04.840 You know, if you listen to Scott bessont, very smart guy, 0:16:05.160 --> 0:16:07.960 well respected in DC, well respected in New York, from 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:11.520 people of all political stripes. Scott Besson is very bullish 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:14.400 on the economy in twenty twenty six because this is 0:16:14.440 --> 0:16:16.960 the year that some of those tax cuts and things 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:20.480 that were in the Big Beautiful Bill come into play. 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:24.120 And so, I mean, he knows more about the economy 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:27.120 than I do. I'm going to rely on his judgment, 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:30.840 but I do think that those two issues, economy and 0:16:30.960 --> 0:16:35.960 safety are going to be the highly determinative of this midterm. 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:40.480 Now, John, I think the softest part of President Trump's 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:46.040 coalition suburban women who have incomes they don't want to lose. 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:49.400 They don't like grandma's being deported. They don't like children 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:52.560 being deported. They don't like mothers being deported, dropping off kids. 0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:55.240 They don't like it. They react viscerally against it because 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:55.640 they're mom. 0:16:55.760 --> 0:16:55.920 Right. 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:59.760 So my question is, is there an opportunities Democrats have 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:03.160 put themselves in the corner. They've held up funding for DHS. 0:17:03.680 --> 0:17:06.040 Can we give them the Dreamers Act in exchange for 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:09.640 cracking down on sanctuary cities, cutting off funding for any 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:12.160 sanctuary city or state. Do you think we can make 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:14.720 them an offer they can't refuse and at the same 0:17:14.760 --> 0:17:20.240 time somehow mollify that very uneasy part of the Trump coalition. 0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:24.320 Yeah, I'm skeptical Hugh, that Democrats are in a deal 0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:27.439 making mood on the subject of immigration. You know, they 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:31.040 have shifted so far in their party from where they 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:33.240 were twenty years ago when they were saying that they 0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:36.639 wanted our borders to be controlled, that they wanted criminal 0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:40.760 illegal aliens to be deported. You remember that Obama himself 0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:44.520 deported three million people during his time in office. But 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:48.440 Democrats have completely shifted on this issue, and there are 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:53.680 so many reasons why. I'm not sure, given their sources 0:17:53.720 --> 0:17:57.080 of funding, given how tight they are with the hard left, 0:17:57.119 --> 0:17:59.920 and their own civil war going on within their own part, 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:02.760 I'm not sure they're in a deal making kind of mood. 0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:05.920 What should we make I turned down the dreamers, John, 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:08.439 everybody talks about the dreamers. I've been here literally on 0:18:08.440 --> 0:18:11.240 the road about it for twenty years. Can we not 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:13.879 offer that to them with something stabled to it and 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:16.960 make them turn it down or accept that plus dreamers 0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:18.520 plus X and we get the name X. 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:22.480 I mean, here's the thing. I think that even if 0:18:22.480 --> 0:18:26.520 Trump were to offer something like that today, I think 0:18:26.600 --> 0:18:29.159 Democrats would say, yeah, thank you, that's not going to 0:18:29.240 --> 0:18:32.440 get the votes. Here's I want more, and here's my more. 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:35.639 You know, I want the names and addresses of every 0:18:35.760 --> 0:18:38.480 ICE agent written on their chest so that we can 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:41.639 dox them and find them and intimidate them out of 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:42.600 doing their jobs. 0:18:42.840 --> 0:18:45.040 I just don't think that we're. 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:50.280 Capable Republicans being we capable of satisfying the left on 0:18:50.320 --> 0:18:50.920 this subject. 0:18:50.960 --> 0:18:52.159 I think they're in transigent. 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:52.520 You know. 0:18:52.600 --> 0:18:55.919 You look at how they're operating in some of these cities. 0:18:55.920 --> 0:19:00.240 Minneapolis is probably the most noteworthy example where they're dding 0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:01.240 up these checkpoints. 0:19:01.280 --> 0:19:05.560 I heard about that today, unbelievable checkpoints in Minia. I'll 0:19:05.560 --> 0:19:09.359 talk to Lilacs about that later today. John Ashbrook, get back, 0:19:09.920 --> 0:19:11.800 got a cam check on the heating. Make sure the 0:19:11.800 --> 0:19:15.560 homefront is warm. I appreciate both the Philadelphia Show and 0:19:15.600 --> 0:19:19.760 today's program, the Ruthless Variety program. You should like and 0:19:19.840 --> 0:19:23.520 subscribe over at YouTube. Many visuals today, so if you're 0:19:23.560 --> 0:19:27.360 not watching it, you're missing it. At Ruthless John Ashbrook, 0:19:27.440 --> 0:19:30.480 thank you. Follow John at John Ashbrook on x as well. 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:32.600 Stay tuned. I'll be right back on the Hewit Show. 0:19:33.480 --> 0:19:35.600 Welcome back, and I'm Joe Hewett. I want to talk 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:38.680 to politics with David Drucker, but first get a pulse 0:19:38.800 --> 0:19:41.440 on from the Beltway on what you think is happening 0:19:41.440 --> 0:19:45.399 in Iran today. Already a shaw He drone was shot 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:47.600 down by an F thirty five flying from the Lincoln. 0:19:47.680 --> 0:19:50.719 A second drone has been dispatched by Iran towards the Lincoln. 0:19:50.760 --> 0:19:53.480 No word yet on what happened there. And six Arenian 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:56.679 gunboats attempted to seize a US flagged oil tanker that 0:19:56.800 --> 0:19:59.879 managed to get under speed and under the protection of 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:04.760 the US Navy ship before boarding. That's not That's not 0:20:04.840 --> 0:20:08.679 the activity, David, of a country that wants to deal seriously. 0:20:10.160 --> 0:20:12.120 You know, one if they ever wanted to deal seriously. 0:20:12.200 --> 0:20:15.720 I mean, it's the Irian regime. And every president, one 0:20:15.720 --> 0:20:18.080 way or the other has found out that the that 0:20:18.080 --> 0:20:21.960 they negotiated bad faith and they're malevolent, and that's the 0:20:21.960 --> 0:20:23.760 way they want to be. Like I think, I think 0:20:23.800 --> 0:20:28.560 everybody in Washington generally is consumed by domestic drama. You know, 0:20:28.600 --> 0:20:31.159 whether or not the House and Senate we're going to 0:20:31.200 --> 0:20:33.919 get the US get the government out of a shutdown 0:20:34.000 --> 0:20:37.040 with a deal that the President brokeer with Minority Leader 0:20:37.080 --> 0:20:39.480 Chuck Schumer in the Senate. Looks like we're headed in 0:20:39.480 --> 0:20:43.000 that direction, but I think there's gonna be a lot 0:20:43.040 --> 0:20:44.159 more discussion about this. 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:46.960 I was talking to somebody who. 0:20:46.880 --> 0:20:48.760 Spent a lot of time a lot of his career 0:20:48.760 --> 0:20:51.280 in the intelligence community earlier this morning. It's something that 0:20:51.320 --> 0:20:59.560 came up in conversation. Usually Trump is very concerned about 0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:03.000 the credit ability of the military threats that he makes. 0:21:04.280 --> 0:21:07.719 A lot of his negotiating in other ways can be 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:13.120 blustering for effect, but he's usually been careful about when 0:21:13.160 --> 0:21:15.120 he threatens military action. And so I think a lot 0:21:15.200 --> 0:21:19.800 of people are waiting to see, with the hardware that 0:21:19.840 --> 0:21:23.160 we sent to the region whether or not anything is forthcoming. 0:21:23.920 --> 0:21:27.240 David, what is the expectation of the people that you've 0:21:27.280 --> 0:21:30.959 talked to. I believe he's going to rock their world. 0:21:31.240 --> 0:21:33.600 I don't have a timetable, but because of what you 0:21:33.640 --> 0:21:36.760 just said, he does follow through. I do believe he 0:21:36.800 --> 0:21:40.679 also like to have a legitimate diplomatic option on the table, 0:21:40.720 --> 0:21:43.440