Speaker 1: Hey, there're folks. It is Monday, March thirtieth, and Kenna
Speaker 1: brother get a vacation. No, if you're a high profile
Speaker 1: US senator and the government is still shut down, and
Speaker 1: of all places you want a vacation is Disney World.
Speaker 1: With that, Welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ.
Speaker 1: What in the actual hell is going on with Senator
Speaker 1: Lindsey Graham right now? Robes.
Speaker 2: It's not a good look. It's first of all, it's
Speaker 2: not a good look. I'm just gonna say this, and
Speaker 2: maybe I'll get some hate for this, but a lot
Speaker 2: of people would just question in general, why a grown,
Speaker 2: single adult man would spend a weekend at Disney World. Now.
Speaker 2: I get it. Sometimes it's fun to ride the rides
Speaker 2: and to go to Epcot and all of that, but
Speaker 2: it is a little question.
Speaker 1: Wait a minute, he's there with friends, is he not?
Speaker 1: Isn't he there with people? He's just not there on
Speaker 1: with a ticket on his own? I have that right,
Speaker 1: don't I.
Speaker 2: I mean, he says he was meeting friends, but in
Speaker 2: all the photos I just see him by himself, writing
Speaker 2: rides and holding a bubble Wand Okay, there reportedly were
Speaker 2: other people with him, but still it's not a good
Speaker 2: look when the government shut down.
Speaker 1: Okay, this, folks, maybe you've seen it, but Republican Senator
Speaker 1: Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has been spotted over the
Speaker 1: week Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Yes, pictures started emerging of
Speaker 1: him at Disney World in Orlando. The first one I
Speaker 1: saw was of him dining and Minnie was nearby.
Speaker 2: Mickey was nearby. Yes, I think Mickey was nearby. So
Speaker 2: it's a kind of a funny photo.
Speaker 1: It's okay, that was one, and there's another one that
Speaker 1: comes out.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it seems like he's standing by himself holding a
Speaker 2: child's bubble wand in his hands.
Speaker 1: Okay, yes, then there's another one. You tell me.
Speaker 2: He's boarding Space Mountain. He stood in line, and of
Speaker 2: course the jokes were made. They were much shorter than
Speaker 2: the TSA lines to ride Space Mountain. Oh yes, Well,
Speaker 2: his constituents and other folks here around the country are
Speaker 2: waiting in four hours long lines and missing flights while
Speaker 2: he's waiting to ride Space Mountain. It's not a good line.
Speaker 1: Okay, before we break all of that down, give me
Speaker 1: an idea. You went through more so than I do.
Speaker 1: Just give an idea of the heat he's taking and
Speaker 1: the things people are saying about these pics.
Speaker 2: Don't we know how snarky social media is so Twitter
Speaker 2: or I guess X, sorry, still call it Twitter, but
Speaker 2: X is probably the most brutal there are. Just there
Speaker 2: is so much like just headed his way and it's
Speaker 2: low hanging fruit. It's easy obvious things to say about him,
Speaker 2: people questioning, calling him creepy, calling just a bad look,
Speaker 2: but just it runs the gamut. Are there are a
Speaker 2: lot of comments.
Speaker 1: Okay, all those comments, and he's not the only one.
Speaker 1: We have seen this over the years in times of crisis.
Speaker 1: I think the first one that comes to mind, folks
Speaker 1: famously was during the ice storms and Texas. Ted Kruz
Speaker 1: was a video where he was going somewhere tropical actually
Speaker 1: was I can't.
Speaker 2: Remember, Costa Rica or something, while Texas was being inundated
Speaker 2: and his constituents were losing their home.
Speaker 1: An emergency, it was an absolute emergency down there. I
Speaker 1: remember that one comes to mind. Now we're talking about
Speaker 1: Lindsay Graham, but we want to mention and we'll explain
Speaker 1: the whole story. But another congressman, Democrat from California, A
Speaker 1: Robert Garcia was also spotted. Now I just saw the
Speaker 1: picture first rose before I saw his explanation, and I
Speaker 1: think it allows for some context.
Speaker 2: Look, so representative Robert Garcia from Long Beach was seen
Speaker 2: at a Vegas casino over the weekend. Again, probably not
Speaker 2: a good look when people are are struggling to pay
Speaker 2: their rent payment, to put food on the table, living
Speaker 2: out of their cars, taking second and third jobs, getting
Speaker 2: eviction notices, he's gambling in Vegas. It just isn't a
Speaker 2: good look. However, so here's the deal. I did point
Speaker 2: this out. TMZ actually put out a car like a
Speaker 2: citizen journalist call if you see a member of Congress
Speaker 2: out and about enjoying their spring break, we want the photos. So,
Speaker 2: of course that is now going to create a I
Speaker 2: don't even know, but a large number of folks who
Speaker 2: are going to be on the lookout for to catch
Speaker 2: members of Congress. And I say catch because that is
Speaker 2: what is being implied here, that they're doing something they
Speaker 2: shouldn't be, which is questionable. This is their recess. However,
Speaker 2: given the circumstances, they should probably be aware that people
Speaker 2: are watching them. So it's interesting. So Robert Garcia gets caught.
Speaker 2: I say that with you understand air quotes in a
Speaker 2: Vegas casino, He says, Actually, I don't mind what TMZ
Speaker 2: is doing here. Like the story says, my dad has
Speaker 2: lived in Vegas for fifteen years and I had just
Speaker 2: finished lunch with him. I try to see him whenever
Speaker 2: I can. And like I said a few days ago,
Speaker 2: Speaker Mike Johnson, should never have sent us all home.
Speaker 1: Okay, all right, I want to go back to something
Speaker 1: you just said, Robes about the TMZ putting out almost
Speaker 1: a bounty if you will, They have saying keep be
Speaker 1: on the lookout, and folks are almost hunting. Are congressmen
Speaker 1: and women at least in the sense of taking pictures?
Speaker 1: But Rose, you said caught as if they're doing something
Speaker 1: they shouldn't be. I want to stop right there. If
Speaker 1: a member of Congress right now is enjoying himself, enjoying
Speaker 1: herself with family out public, are they doing something they
Speaker 1: should not be doing right now given the circumstances.
Speaker 2: I think so, Yes, Damn, I do think so. I'm sorry,
Speaker 2: but I just do because your job is to keep
Speaker 2: the government running at its basist level and to pay
Speaker 2: government employees. And if you've had six weeks to figure
Speaker 2: it out, and you still couldn't for whatever reason. Point
Speaker 2: the finger at whoever you want. I don't care. You're
Speaker 2: a part of the problem if you weren't a part
Speaker 2: of the solution. And then to go out on this
Speaker 2: two week recess not having fulfilled your job and enjoy yourself,
Speaker 2: spend your money with the paycheck that you didn't miss. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that is a rub That is like rubbing salt in
Speaker 2: the wound of a lot of folks who are having
Speaker 2: to quit positions to pay the bills because you won't
Speaker 2: to do a job because you aren't doing your job.
Speaker 2: But while you're not doing your job, you go ahead
Speaker 2: and ride Space Mountain, You go ahead and gamble on
Speaker 2: whatever you're doing blackjack. It. It just is a are
Speaker 2: you technical doing something wrong? No? But visually and like
Speaker 2: from like an emotional level, are you doing something wrong? Yeah,
Speaker 2: you are.
Speaker 1: You could almost even say ethically yes, I mean okay,
Speaker 1: I'm trying to find a way in defense of I
Speaker 1: really am. I'm trying to find a way to defend
Speaker 1: They have a right and they should be able to
Speaker 1: in this. But you get a break from work when
Speaker 1: you do your job right. They're taking a two week recess.
Speaker 1: You're right, It's just I don't know how to sit
Speaker 1: with this and be okay, I don't know, and I'm trying, trying,
Speaker 1: try and try and try and trying.
Speaker 2: I'm also going to take issue with Robert Garcia because
Speaker 2: I just think.
Speaker 1: That, oh, I didn't know if this was going to
Speaker 1: hit you. Go ahead, well it's.
Speaker 2: Going to hit me that he's using it to point
Speaker 2: fingers at the other side and not take any responsibility
Speaker 2: and say, yeah, I'm here in Vegas cause because Mike
Speaker 2: Johnson sent me home.
Speaker 1: Okay, do not not.
Speaker 2: Take responsibility for your part in the game of Chicken
Speaker 2: or whatever it is you want to call it that
Speaker 2: you all did for the last six weeks. So to
Speaker 2: just completely and totally abdicate any responsibility and say, would
Speaker 2: me I would have stayed, but they sent me home,
Speaker 2: And so I'm just here in Vegas visiting my dad. No,
Speaker 2: you're not. You're in a casino gambling. After you visited
Speaker 2: your dad.
Speaker 1: I didn't want to mention. I thought the direction you
Speaker 1: were going to go, and I didn't want to mention
Speaker 1: it because you were so hot when you were talking.
Speaker 1: I said, I'm not going to add too. I swear
Speaker 1: to you, I didn't add this because you might have
Speaker 1: gotten hotter. He's in a casino gambling with whose money
Speaker 1: they paid him?
Speaker 2: Yeah, the American people, damn, so don't salary didn't knowledge it.
Speaker 2: Don't just point the finger at man. Go ahead and
Speaker 2: own up to your part too, And I would have
Speaker 2: actually given you a little bit of a break. But
Speaker 2: I don't like the fact that you didn't take any
Speaker 2: responsibility for it whatsoever. And frankly, neither did Lindsay Graham
Speaker 2: with his statement.
Speaker 1: Okay, we have to go and we're going to read
Speaker 1: the Lindsay Graham statement here in a second, But we
Speaker 1: have to go back to this ropes. I don't know
Speaker 1: exactly what or did he say. He was there for
Speaker 1: a meeting. Initially even said Steve Whitcoff was down there
Speaker 1: for a luncheon. He was invited to this lunch and
Speaker 1: he ends up. Yes, he's he's literally and clearly hanging
Speaker 1: out at Disney World and enjoying himself as a patron,
Speaker 1: even riding rides robes does this the fact that he's
Speaker 1: at the happiest place on.
Speaker 2: Earth without his family. There's even not on time. If
Speaker 2: you had kids who were dying to go when you
Speaker 2: had you had bought months in advance, and this recess happened,
Speaker 2: and you didn't want to disappoint your kids. I would
Speaker 2: say that was a valid reason being there, grandkids, kids, whatever,
Speaker 2: you you owed it to them because you would promised
Speaker 2: them months ago.
Speaker 1: And we could say, okay, that is why I point that.
Speaker 1: We see why he's there. We can't understand. We can't
Speaker 1: understand why he knew he was going to be photographed.
Speaker 1: I was this important enough. It seems almost a middle
Speaker 1: finger to the country. It almost some of this stuff
Speaker 1: Robes seems like not only did we not care enough
Speaker 1: to do our jobs, we don't even give a damn
Speaker 1: what you think about us, Like we think so little
Speaker 1: of you that I don't want to even respect your
Speaker 1: situation enough not to pour salt in the wound of
Speaker 1: your unemployment, of your lights being cut off, of you
Speaker 1: sleeping in the car. I don't even care. I have
Speaker 1: a child's wand in my hand hanging out at Disney
Speaker 1: World getting photographed, and that's okay. Given what other people
Speaker 1: are going through, I cannot. I'm trying to give them space.
Speaker 2: Robes where you said space all I can think of
Speaker 2: is space man, let me see that, like hands up
Speaker 2: having fun.
Speaker 1: You said he was boreding, he was boring? You sure
Speaker 1: it's him?
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, absolutely, show this picture. He's right there, standing
Speaker 2: in line. He's about to get on. Oh I can't
Speaker 2: tell that's him. Yes it is. There's another picture of
Speaker 2: him getting on a young kid.
Speaker 1: So yeah, maybe he's family.
Speaker 2: He guess maybe. And according to folks who were nearby
Speaker 2: who took the picture of him holding the little bubble
Speaker 2: wond it was for a little girl who was using
Speaker 2: the restroom, So maybe it's friends of the family. Whatever.
Speaker 2: I'm not saying there isn't a genuine reason for him
Speaker 2: to be there. But the point being is it's tone
Speaker 2: deaf as f af like you have to know that
Speaker 2: on any other year, in any other time. Fine, go
Speaker 2: enjoy your family, your friends, whomever you choose to be
Speaker 2: with during this time, but also recognize that you have
Speaker 2: chosen to leave your job without doing it, and you
Speaker 2: have left people penniless and you are having the time
Speaker 2: of your life at Disney World. That is a terrible look,
Speaker 2: people have said, even folks for the people who aren't
Speaker 2: getting paid, but the people who have missed flights, missed
Speaker 2: time with family, missed important business meetings, and you're off
Speaker 2: jumping on rides, throwing your hands up saying wooo ooh.
Speaker 2: That is a major pr problem. And I remember someone
Speaker 2: saying in line, I'm going to remember in November.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, there, right.
Speaker 2: Do these folks, yeah, Like that's like a slogan I'm
Speaker 2: gonna remember in November. It has a ring to it.
Speaker 2: And are these congressmen and women? Did they get it?
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I feel like this is something that the American voters
Speaker 2: won't forget.
Speaker 1: Here is the thing that I think Garcia and Lindsay
Speaker 1: Graham and every other member of Congress who's having a
Speaker 1: good time somewhere right now can say that'll help them
Speaker 1: sleep better at night. It's not my fault I'm here.
Speaker 1: It's the other side's fault that we're in this position.
Speaker 1: I tried to do all I could to keep the
Speaker 1: government open. This is not my fault. So why should
Speaker 1: not be able to enjoy myself be.
Speaker 2: Respectful of the folks who can't, who can't afford to
Speaker 2: because of your indecision and your inability to compromise.
Speaker 1: Now, actually that is that shuts it down. You make
Speaker 1: it good point. Even if you can make that argument,
Speaker 1: you're still not being decent to your fellow American that
Speaker 1: it is absolutely, at least partially your fault that they
Speaker 1: are struggling, not just folks struggling without the job. We
Speaker 1: talked about the TSA workers, and we forget about FEMA,
Speaker 1: we forget about the Coast Guard, all these other folks.
Speaker 1: But Rose, the other part of that, you are devastating.
Speaker 1: How many stories have you read about people missing flights,
Speaker 1: important flights, going through hell day in day out, in
Speaker 1: already hard lives because there's a five hour line at
Speaker 1: the airport.
Speaker 2: And when they miss a flight, they can't necessarily afford
Speaker 2: to book a hotel room or extend wherever they are.
Speaker 2: This is actually incurring costs for folks to who have missed.
Speaker 2: I don't know what the airlines are doing if you
Speaker 2: get stuck in a TSA line, if you have to
Speaker 2: encourfe or you have any issues. But for folks who
Speaker 2: sometimes like I even had it with like, look, you
Speaker 2: get rebooked the next day, the day after, what are
Speaker 2: you doing in the meantime? This is serious and de dating.
Speaker 2: So yeah, that's where we are in the world, and
Speaker 2: so to see members of Congress who didn't act, who
Speaker 2: couldn't get there, you know what, together, and couldn't put
Speaker 2: aside politics to come together to help the American worker,
Speaker 2: the American federal worker. It's lay low, dudes and women,
Speaker 2: lay low right now. I actually think they should lay low.
Speaker 1: Okay, Well, that was gonna be my question going into
Speaker 1: the break. I will ask what are they supposed to do?
Speaker 1: Sit under a rock, stay at home. I'll get a
Speaker 1: ROBO's answer to that question. And we told you we
Speaker 1: let you hear Lindsay Graham's statement. Well it wasn't much,
Speaker 1: but we'll let you know how he explained what he's
Speaker 1: doing at the Happiest place owner. All right, we continue
Speaker 1: here on Amy and TJ. We were just having to
Speaker 1: discussion do they make a distinction? Are both Disney World
Speaker 1: in Orlando and Disneyland in la still both referred to
Speaker 1: as the happiest place on Earth? Does it matter which one?
Speaker 2: I don't think it matters if Disney's involved, It's supposed
Speaker 2: to be the happiest place on Earth. So yes, I
Speaker 2: mean Disney Paris, Tokyo. Yes, yeah, I caught that too late,
Speaker 2: probably for the best.
Speaker 1: Lindsay Graham. What did he say?
Speaker 2: He said, I was invited to a lunch in South
Speaker 2: Florida on Friday where Trump official Steve Woodcoffe and many
Speaker 2: others to discuss or to talk about the possibility of
Speaker 2: normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel. I went to Orlando
Speaker 2: to meet friends after I got back to South Carolina
Speaker 2: on Sunday, I voted seven times to fully fund the government.
Speaker 2: Call the Democrat. So you've got the Democrat pointing fingers
Speaker 2: at the Republicans, and you've got a Republican pointing the
Speaker 2: fingers at Democrat. Wow, it doesn't matter where they are
Speaker 2: in the world, and even if they're at the happiest
Speaker 2: place on Earth, they're still partisan af and still pointing
Speaker 2: the finger at the other guy, which just infuriates those
Speaker 2: of us who have to watch our elected members of
Speaker 2: Congress just completely takes zero responsibility. And that is what
Speaker 2: is so infuriating. And look, we're not even people who
Speaker 2: have been financially impacted, Like, can you imagine if you
Speaker 2: haven't been paid for six weeks? Can you imagine if
Speaker 2: you're the person who missed a flight trying to get
Speaker 2: to your grandmother's funeral, whatever the situation, so many people
Speaker 2: have so many more reasons to be personally offended and
Speaker 2: upset by what they're seeing and the fact that they
Speaker 2: actually feel so insulated that they feel so secure. I
Speaker 2: cannot imagine showing my face at one of those places
Speaker 2: after not doing my job. And yeah, you can blame
Speaker 2: whoever you want, but you are still a part of
Speaker 2: the problem, and to not take responsibility is the biggest
Speaker 2: problem of it all.
Speaker 1: To your point about right, or to our point earlier
Speaker 1: in the conversation, you asked a Democrat and they asked
Speaker 1: a Republican. Why are you in a casino? Why are
Speaker 1: you a Disney World call a democrat? Is their fault?
Speaker 1: The other side, I'd love to be here, But ask
Speaker 1: the Republican speaker. They're both can justify why they are
Speaker 1: where they are, and they're saying it's somebody else's fault
Speaker 1: that put them there.
Speaker 2: Okay, But to not understand it collectively, you're still a
Speaker 2: part of a law making body, ropes that chose not
Speaker 2: to act, and chose not to find common ground, and
Speaker 2: chose to play politics at a time where people's livelihoods
Speaker 2: are at stake.
Speaker 1: You sound hopeful, I was gonna say idealistic, But no,
Speaker 1: that sounds that's the way things should go. You're right,
Speaker 1: I was saying, all she's You're right. That's not a
Speaker 1: high bar that you just set. That shouldn't be. That
Speaker 1: should be the basis, the basis. But ropes, what are
Speaker 1: they supposed to do? Should they all be sitting at home?
Speaker 1: Should they all not be showing their face other than
Speaker 1: town halls? Is it inappropriate right now for any of
Speaker 1: the five hundred and thirty plus members of Congress to
Speaker 1: be out and about enjoying themselves these two weeks?
Speaker 2: Yes, it is, And I don't think they should be anywhere.
Speaker 2: But DC, what do you think?
Speaker 1: Damn? Now that's a good call. Shouldn't have left in
Speaker 1: the first place. Now that is the point there, you go.
Speaker 1: Shouldn't have left in the first place. So that is
Speaker 1: probably where I land with you. I just I know
Speaker 1: what I would as a PR person or as the
Speaker 1: the PR campaign person for I would recommend, No, you
Speaker 1: are not going to be going out in public. You're
Speaker 1: not even gonna go out to dinner. I don't want
Speaker 1: you to be seen enjoying yourself in any way that
Speaker 1: even looks like you're spending money.
Speaker 2: I actually would appreciate you doing something to help those workers.
Speaker 2: I'd like to see you at an airport handing out
Speaker 2: visit check cards, or providing lunch, or doing something to
Speaker 2: at least knowledge your role in these folks not getting
Speaker 2: paid and having had to suffer. But to do something
Speaker 2: to give back because you acknowledged that the place where
Speaker 2: you work. And fine, you can try to say one
Speaker 2: me wasn't my fault. I voted in favor of the funding,
Speaker 2: and sure there I get that. That is a valid
Speaker 2: explanation if you voted to fund each and every time,
Speaker 2: I'll give you that. But you're still a part of
Speaker 2: an entity that failed to act and so by default, sorry,
Speaker 2: you're a part of the problem. So do something to
Speaker 2: make other people's lives better that you've impacted in a
Speaker 2: negative way. Spend this time giving back in the spirit
Speaker 2: of Easter, in the spirit of Jesus Christ, do unto others.
Speaker 1: Amen.
Speaker 2: I'm fired I don't know why I'm so fired up,
Speaker 2: but I am fired up to it's maddening to see that.
Speaker 1: We're gonna have fun later when I'm gonna explain to
Speaker 1: y'all what our backup topics were for this episode of
Speaker 1: the podcast. We actually chose this one because we were
Speaker 1: a good mood and thought it would be lighter. You know.
Speaker 1: Lindsey Graham at Disney World, what a wand that's funny,
Speaker 1: And all of a sudden, it's hot in here, so
Speaker 1: one of the two of us probably needs to go
Speaker 1: take a walk. And that's all right. Good to see you,
Speaker 1: good to see your fire. Baby. It's gonna be a
Speaker 1: rough two weeks, ain't it.
Speaker 2: Yes, And I I really do hope that Lindsay Graham
Speaker 2: and Robert Garcia. I hope the other fellow lawmakers see
Speaker 2: what's happening. You know what, we have been kind of
Speaker 2: fans a TMC. Gonna be honest here, which is unusual
Speaker 2: for us. We're not what. We don't love some of
Speaker 2: the tactics of certain news outlets or media entities. But
Speaker 2: I have to say I don't hate that they have
Speaker 2: asked people to go find congressmenaline and enjoying themselves. These two.
Speaker 1: I don't think they asked anybody to hunt us. People
Speaker 1: just started sending them.
Speaker 2: Stuffs right, right, But no, And I we like Harvey
Speaker 2: he almost always gets it right. But I actually I'm
Speaker 2: gonna say I want to say I am in support
Speaker 2: of Harvey Levin's mandate to find commerceman of women like
Speaker 2: living it up during these two weeks. Okay, while the
Speaker 2: government is shut down.
Speaker 1: Let me publicly split with my fiance right now. I
Speaker 1: am not in favor of any outlet putting a bounty
Speaker 1: of any kind on anybody under any circumstance.
Speaker 2: As long as they're in the public eye doing something
Speaker 2: on a public street, they're a fair game.
Speaker 1: You can do about that, all right, folks. Well, at
Speaker 1: least we're smiling at the end of this thing. We
Speaker 1: always appreciate you spending some time with us. For my
Speaker 1: dear hot heeded, fired up, dear fiance, Amy Robot, I
Speaker 1: am TJ. Holmes. We'll talk, fols.