WEBVTT - Josh Marshall & Malcolm Kenyatta

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, I'm Molly John Fast and this is Fast Politics,

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<v Speaker 1>where we discussed the top political headlines with some of

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<v Speaker 1>today's best minds and companies. Are now urging the Supreme

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<v Speaker 1>Court to quickly hear Trump's tearuff challenge. H I wonder

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<v Speaker 1>why we have such a great show for you today.

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<v Speaker 1>Talking Points Memo's own Josh Marshall stops by to talk

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<v Speaker 1>Trump overplaying his hand with an unpopular agenda. Ben, we'll

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<v Speaker 1>talk to the Vice chair of the Democratic National Committee,

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<v Speaker 1>Malcolm Kenyatta about the drama inside the DNC and his

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<v Speaker 1>vision for the organization. But first the news.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, Maya, let's start off today with like an

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<v Speaker 2>edition of that I like to call the Tyrant News.

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<v Speaker 2>Senator Alex Padilla called Trump a tyrant on the Senate

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<v Speaker 2>for today, and well, when you think of how a

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<v Speaker 2>tyrant rules, you would think of this picture that I

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<v Speaker 2>saw today of Comptroll Bradlander, who's the second in charge

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<v Speaker 2>of New York City for those not familiar, being choked

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<v Speaker 2>by an ICE official in a mask and another one

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<v Speaker 2>standing by in a really ominous mask.

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<v Speaker 3>And it really is just not giving freedom.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, let's talk about this. ICE has now arrested. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>our com troller Bradlander. Senator Alex Paedilla, Okay, we were

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<v Speaker 1>told Christy Noms said she did not know he was

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<v Speaker 1>a United States senator. This is not like members of

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<v Speaker 1>Congress couldn't fucking figure out who. By the way, I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>Alex Padilla has been on this podcast. We all know

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<v Speaker 1>who Alex Padia is, and we are not even elected

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<v Speaker 1>members of government.

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<v Speaker 2>One might say, Corey Lewandowski also knew who Alex Padilla was.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, So I mean, what the point here is that

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<v Speaker 1>there's video of Ice just completely roughing up Lander. There's

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<v Speaker 1>a photo of Lander looking like he's being choked. Again. Look,

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<v Speaker 1>nobody is ever going to want to come here. Number one, Like,

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<v Speaker 1>we are a service economy, we live on tourism, We

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<v Speaker 1>try to engage Taurus. They are not going to want

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<v Speaker 1>to come here. The few who do not have phones,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, who haven't seen what the fuck is going

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<v Speaker 1>on here, are not going to want to come here.

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<v Speaker 1>Second of all, this is a country where we don't

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<v Speaker 1>arrest the people we don't like. Like, that's not how

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<v Speaker 1>this works, or at least it's not how it's supposed

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<v Speaker 1>to work. So we have all of these visuals of

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<v Speaker 1>Ice just arresting democratic politicians, even if the democratic politician

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<v Speaker 1>is doing something stupid. It makes Ice look terrible. And

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<v Speaker 1>one of the things about trump Ism is that there

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<v Speaker 1>are always these unintended consequences, right, things that they didn't

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily mean to happen. And this is such a great

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<v Speaker 1>example of an unintended consequence. So now we're going to

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<v Speaker 1>have a whole news cycle about Ice arresting Bradlander as

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<v Speaker 1>opposed to anything else.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it don't think they are saying that.

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<v Speaker 2>Of course, mister Lander allegedly assaulted the officers. We've seen

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<v Speaker 2>this lie before, since my wife was a part of

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<v Speaker 2>the previous time they lied about this in New York.

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<v Speaker 1>City, where they went and arrested someone in Jaring Nadler's

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<v Speaker 1>office because they said Nadler was going against Ice. It

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<v Speaker 1>turned out none of that was true.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, so we can't really take these people out there word.

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<v Speaker 2>The other thing I should say is you could hear

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<v Speaker 2>the video. What of the officers literally say you sure

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<v Speaker 2>we want to arrest the second in charge of New

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<v Speaker 2>York City.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, let me tell you who the big loser in

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<v Speaker 1>this is, besides Ice and the Trump administration. You know

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<v Speaker 1>who the big loser is, Tell me Andrew Cuomo, because

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<v Speaker 1>nobody who knows who the fuck Brad Lander is and

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<v Speaker 1>being arrested by Ice may be the best thing that

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<v Speaker 1>happens to Lander and the worst thing that happens to

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<v Speaker 1>one Andrew.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I won't be crying eighty tears anyway. We now

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<v Speaker 2>have a bipartisan bill in Congress from Rocanna and Thomas

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<v Speaker 2>Messi to say Trump can't go to.

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<v Speaker 1>War with a run Yeah. I mean, by the way,

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<v Speaker 1>I am no Thomas Massey fan, but the Thomas Massey's

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<v Speaker 1>and also the ran Paul's. Okay, these are not people

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<v Speaker 1>that anyone particularly wants to agree with. But these guys

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<v Speaker 1>at least have acted in a bipartisan way, and so

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<v Speaker 1>at least they have principles. Like Massy and ran Paul

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<v Speaker 1>have said no, you know, they won't vote for trump Ism,

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<v Speaker 1>and I actually think, I mean this is because they

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to do regime change in Iran, which, by

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<v Speaker 1>the way, I just want to pause from it and

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<v Speaker 1>think about the many times in which America has tried

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<v Speaker 1>to do regime change and how well it's worked out.

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<v Speaker 1>There are some translators from Afghanistan who are being deported

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<v Speaker 1>right now. And so I want to tell you we

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<v Speaker 1>are not a country that can do regime change. We

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<v Speaker 1>can barely do our own regime okay change right, so

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<v Speaker 1>should we be doing regime change? Abs fucking insane. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>Massey goes with the Democrat that's in an effort to

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<v Speaker 1>require congressional approval before Trump attacks Iran. This is one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred percent. First of all, presidents should not be allowed

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<v Speaker 1>to do this unilaterally. This is like a vestige of

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<v Speaker 1>Bush too. You know that they should go. And I'm

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<v Speaker 1>sure there are somebody who listens to this podcast is

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<v Speaker 1>going to tell me the stories of ways in which

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<v Speaker 1>presidents have grabbed power from Congress. But this is another one.

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<v Speaker 1>He should not be able to do this now. Of

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<v Speaker 1>course it's Trump. So Republicans are even more cowardly than usual. Again,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know what Trump is doing, because no one

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<v Speaker 1>knows what Trump is doing because Trump is so erratic

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<v Speaker 1>and crazy. But Trump's people have been sending out the

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<v Speaker 1>word via the mainstream media that Trump wants to bring

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<v Speaker 1>a Ran back to the table. Who even knows if

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<v Speaker 1>that's what he wants, but that's what his people are

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<v Speaker 1>pretending he wants yeah fun stuff.

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<v Speaker 2>So, speaking of a little bit of Trump pushback in

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<v Speaker 2>the legislative branch, the Senate GOP is rethinking the tax

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<v Speaker 2>cuts and medicare overhaul in Trump's megabill.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. CBO releases a dynamic score of the House Past

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<v Speaker 1>One Beautiful Bill Act, finding it would add two point

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<v Speaker 1>seven seven trillion to the debt. This is worse than

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<v Speaker 1>the two point four trillion, and that's because the economic

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<v Speaker 1>growth revenue is outlighed by higher debt interest payments.

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<v Speaker 2>Somali, here's a thing I was not looking forward to discussing,

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<v Speaker 2>because we discussed it on Sunday and frankly, it's so repulsive.

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<v Speaker 2>But Senator Mike Lee has decided to leet the social

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<v Speaker 2>media posts where he lied about the motives of a

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<v Speaker 2>murder of a bunch of different legislators in Minnesota after

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<v Speaker 2>he was confronted by both a letter from a colleague,

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<v Speaker 2>Senator Tita Smith in person and reporters where he was

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<v Speaker 2>such a coward he wouldn't even answer the reporters and

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<v Speaker 2>he would not stand by this stupid based Mike Lee

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<v Speaker 2>account where he constantly trolls and makes a mockery of

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<v Speaker 2>our entire system.

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<v Speaker 1>So Mike Lee has this account called based Mike Lee

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<v Speaker 1>where he channels Don Junior, and in it he made

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<v Speaker 1>all of these posts about how the murderer, the guy

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<v Speaker 1>who murdered this woman and her husband the Democratic Minnesota

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<v Speaker 1>State House she had been the house state House leader

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<v Speaker 1>and murdered them in their beds while they were asleep

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<v Speaker 1>in the dead of night because he was a Trump

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<v Speaker 1>supporter and anti choys, Mike Lee posted all these things

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<v Speaker 1>about how he was a Marxist and all sorts of

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<v Speaker 1>really vile, disgustingness, and like so many keyboard warriors, when

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<v Speaker 1>Tina Smith, who is a member of the Senate for

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<v Speaker 1>the state of Minnesota, confronted him, he looked ashen and apologeic.

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<v Speaker 1>I do not think he saw this coming. Then he

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<v Speaker 1>actually deleted the tweets, which is okay, it's good that

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<v Speaker 1>he deleted the tweets, But no apology. No, I'm sorry,

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<v Speaker 1>none of that. No, let me correct the record. Just

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<v Speaker 1>some tweets deleted and now running from reporters. Look, is

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<v Speaker 1>it good to do the right thing? Yes? Is it

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<v Speaker 1>good to delete the tweets? Yes? I mean it's just ridiculous.

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<v Speaker 1>This person is a ridiculous person and this has been disgusting.

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<v Speaker 1>These people were murdered. There are two other members of

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<v Speaker 1>the Minnesota House who are in the hospital, still in surgery.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean the heartiest, the heartiest, Fuck that guy to

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<v Speaker 1>Mike lay who it's actually not moment of fuck Ray,

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<v Speaker 1>but I say it is.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, And we should say there's a industrial complex of

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<v Speaker 2>the right wing. Try to give your grandfather a reason

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<v Speaker 2>that they could argue at the dinner table and say

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<v Speaker 2>there's not right wing violence and the same reason elods

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<v Speaker 2>now correct it. Grock factually saying that the right is

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<v Speaker 2>more violent incidents than the left.

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<v Speaker 3>Is that they try to pretend this isn't the case

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<v Speaker 3>so they can keep getting away with it. But it's

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<v Speaker 3>not going to happen.

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<v Speaker 1>Josh Marshall is the editor of Talking Points Memo. Welcome

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<v Speaker 1>back to Fast Politics.

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<v Speaker 4>Josh, thanks for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>It was the best of times. It was the worst

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<v Speaker 1>of times. Last night when Donald Trump left the G seven,

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<v Speaker 1>I was like struck by this moment of like, oh, right,

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<v Speaker 1>we have real world stuff and a DoD that's run

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<v Speaker 1>by a weekend host from Fox News.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, you know. That was one of the features of

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<v Speaker 4>Trump's first presidency that until COVID, until the world like exploding,

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<v Speaker 4>there wasn't a lot of high stake stuff going on.

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<v Speaker 4>That's good for him, since he's not a manager of

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<v Speaker 4>things in any real way. This second presidency is very different,

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<v Speaker 4>partly because of all the chaos that he has unleashed,

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<v Speaker 4>but also because it's we now live in a more

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<v Speaker 4>chaotic world. And some of that's because of his first presidency.

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<v Speaker 4>Some of that's because we're still kind of in the

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<v Speaker 4>post COVID era. But yeah, I mean it's we see that.

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<v Speaker 4>I actually thought that that was something that was in

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<v Speaker 4>the backdrop to what you just mentioned, his deciding to

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<v Speaker 4>leave the G seven meeting. That in both Washington and

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<v Speaker 4>Jerusalem right now and what's going on in Tehran is

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<v Speaker 4>its own possibly similar, similar world. You have leaders who

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<v Speaker 4>you really don't know what their game is, and that

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<v Speaker 4>creates a lot of a lot of uncertainty, even beyond

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<v Speaker 4>the way that war is inherently uncertain.

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<v Speaker 1>I wrote this piece yesterday for Verny Fair from my

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<v Speaker 1>column about how the grown ups in the room I

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<v Speaker 1>truly believe, for example, during Trump's one point now they

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<v Speaker 1>all went on to write books who were like we

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<v Speaker 1>were the grown ups in the room. We were the

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<v Speaker 1>people who prevented Trump from going for Trump, and their

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<v Speaker 1>argument was that being the grown ups in the room

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<v Speaker 1>saved us all from what could have been something terrible. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>my theory of the case is that the grown ups

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<v Speaker 1>in the room actually just saved Trump, like made him

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<v Speaker 1>electable in a way that may reelectable. So like, in

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<v Speaker 1>some ways it's possible that we would have been honestly

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<v Speaker 1>better off had there not been any grown ups in

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<v Speaker 1>the room.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, that's possible.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I think it's insane, But.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, I mean I think it's both. When you said

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<v Speaker 4>before about they more saved Trump, I think it's both.

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<v Speaker 4>And that fits in with what you're saying by preventing

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<v Speaker 4>him from doing totally out of control things. They both

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<v Speaker 4>prevented damage to the country, certainly in a near term

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<v Speaker 4>you can argue long term, you know, even more damage,

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<v Speaker 4>but prevented damage to the country. But they also insulated him.

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<v Speaker 4>And this is what I have thought a lot, and

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<v Speaker 4>I thought this before the election. I thought it even

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<v Speaker 4>more after the election. That one thing that you know,

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<v Speaker 4>anti Trump people, Democrat, liberals, whatever, however, you know, wherever

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<v Speaker 4>you want to draw the diagram missed about the Trump

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<v Speaker 4>presidency is that because there were those I don't know,

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<v Speaker 4>adults in the room, guardrails, whatever you want to call it,

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<v Speaker 4>that if you just sort of looked away from politics,

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<v Speaker 4>you could say, what was the problem. You know, yeah,

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<v Speaker 4>he was weird and all this, he did all this

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<v Speaker 4>silly stuff, but the economy, again until COVID, remained pretty buoyant.

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<v Speaker 4>If you're not focused on politics and you're just living

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<v Speaker 4>your life, you could say, you know, that was just

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<v Speaker 4>the sort of the Washington Show and it seemed fine.

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<v Speaker 4>And if you're not tuned into politics, so you can

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<v Speaker 4>say he kept the economy going well. Well, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>I'm not sure he did it, but it did keep

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<v Speaker 4>going well.

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<v Speaker 5>And that's what I So.

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<v Speaker 4>I think this was a big blind spot for people

0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:51.160
<v Speaker 4>to some degree like myself, who figured, all right, people

0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:53.480
<v Speaker 4>are not going to lect that guy again, because you know,

0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:57.040
<v Speaker 4>it's it was really a fight over voters who were

0:12:57.040 --> 0:12:58.840
<v Speaker 4>not plugged in. And if you're not plugged in, you

0:12:58.840 --> 0:13:01.280
<v Speaker 4>weren't paying that close attention. It just wasn't that bad.

0:13:01.679 --> 0:13:04.120
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, we've seen more. I just saw a video of

0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:09.400
<v Speaker 1>a woman who voted for Trump and her father got deported, Like,

0:13:09.960 --> 0:13:12.160
<v Speaker 1>how do you make that? I mean, I guess you

0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:16.280
<v Speaker 1>watch him on Joe Rogan you think, yeah, well, you know,

0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:19.240
<v Speaker 1>why would Joe Rogan steer me wrong? Right?

0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:20.240
<v Speaker 5>Yeah?

0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:22.960
<v Speaker 4>I mean there's a lot of people we kind of

0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:25.840
<v Speaker 4>wonder about whether they're having second thoughts. It is a

0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:28.720
<v Speaker 4>little odd that you could have an immediate family member

0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:32.160
<v Speaker 4>who is undocumented and you could think bringing Trump in

0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:34.800
<v Speaker 4>was going to be a great idea that doesn't require

0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:37.800
<v Speaker 4>a lot of creativity. But you know, having said that,

0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:42.400
<v Speaker 4>they did certainly when it was opportune. They definitely said

0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:44.120
<v Speaker 4>this thing, Oh, we're just going to go after the

0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:47.160
<v Speaker 4>criminals and the bad guys and the rapists and everything, and.

0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:49.240
<v Speaker 5>Clearly some people bought that.

0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:51.120
<v Speaker 4>And you know, a lot of what it comes down

0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:54.480
<v Speaker 4>to is people don't think that hard about things, right

0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:56.679
<v Speaker 4>you say, well, didn't you figure it might happen to you?

0:13:56.800 --> 0:13:59.480
<v Speaker 4>People don't get that far down the decision tree. That's

0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:02.040
<v Speaker 4>how people exist in the world to a great extent.

0:14:02.400 --> 0:14:08.760
<v Speaker 1>So Trump comes back Israel and aarn in some kind

0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:12.920
<v Speaker 1>of war. Will America get involved? We don't know. But

0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:18.040
<v Speaker 1>a really interesting story about the right has emerged. So

0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:23.400
<v Speaker 1>we have Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Green again, you

0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:26.680
<v Speaker 1>know this crew does not want war or who knows

0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:30.760
<v Speaker 1>they have staked their ground as non interventionists sortid.

0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:36.120
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, So talk us through that well with Tucker Carlson,

0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:39.640
<v Speaker 4>there may be something to that. He's kind of moved

0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:42.480
<v Speaker 4>in a very far direction. But a lot of the

0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:46.960
<v Speaker 4>Trump people, you know, you hear Trump bomb someone or

0:14:47.360 --> 0:14:50.360
<v Speaker 4>or killed some super bad guy, they're all for it.

0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:54.400
<v Speaker 4>So in the whole Trump world, I think non interventionism

0:14:55.040 --> 0:14:59.320
<v Speaker 4>is very shallow. It's until Trump says otherwise, But they're

0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:04.200
<v Speaker 4>clearly is something with Israel here. That's a real cleavage,

0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:07.280
<v Speaker 4>and not just because a lot of Trumpers are big

0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:08.960
<v Speaker 4>time anti Semites, right.

0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:12.680
<v Speaker 1>Right, right right, that's right, an important data point. I

0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:14.360
<v Speaker 1>think that's a really important introduction.

0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:16.440
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, but not only that.

0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:19.840
<v Speaker 1>I think, right that's just a part of the tapestry.

0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:20.440
<v Speaker 3>Just a part of it.

0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:22.920
<v Speaker 4>I do think that in the Trump world what they

0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:26.400
<v Speaker 4>want is the sort of the one night stand version

0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:29.640
<v Speaker 4>of kicking ass. They want Trump to lash out and

0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:32.160
<v Speaker 4>bomb people, but they want it to be over the

0:15:32.200 --> 0:15:34.240
<v Speaker 4>next day, and they don't want to have to call

0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:36.200
<v Speaker 4>a few days later and check in and see if

0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:37.640
<v Speaker 4>you want to go on another date.

0:15:37.600 --> 0:15:38.960
<v Speaker 1>Right, right, I mean exactly.

0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:43.920
<v Speaker 4>They want to be super militarily strong and they want

0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:48.560
<v Speaker 4>to dominate, and dominating requires like outbursts of violence, but

0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:50.960
<v Speaker 4>they don't want it to be ongoing. I think that's

0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:52.360
<v Speaker 4>their non interventionism.

0:15:52.680 --> 0:15:55.000
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think that's a very good point. And there's

0:15:55.040 --> 0:15:58.320
<v Speaker 1>really a lot of anti Semitism, which I think is

0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:03.080
<v Speaker 1>an unspoken or I think spoken but not spoken nearly enough.

0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:08.359
<v Speaker 1>Because Trumpism wraps itself in being pro Israel, It's ultimately

0:16:08.560 --> 0:16:10.000
<v Speaker 1>not really.

0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:13.240
<v Speaker 4>Pro Israel beyond the fact that there's a domestic politics

0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:16.760
<v Speaker 4>angle for them. I think Trump and a lot of

0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:22.120
<v Speaker 4>trump Ism sees Israel as like a junior mascot of

0:16:22.200 --> 0:16:28.000
<v Speaker 4>trump dominationism, right, you know, young buddy sidekick. So there

0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:31.280
<v Speaker 4>is that aspect of it that is kind of you know,

0:16:31.400 --> 0:16:35.840
<v Speaker 4>killing Arabs basically, or in this case, killing Iranians. And

0:16:35.880 --> 0:16:38.240
<v Speaker 4>I think we're you know, where you have some of

0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:43.320
<v Speaker 4>that cleavage is that most American Jews, to the extent

0:16:43.360 --> 0:16:45.480
<v Speaker 4>that they are attached to Israel, are attached to a

0:16:45.560 --> 0:16:47.800
<v Speaker 4>very different version of Israel, and a version of Israel

0:16:47.880 --> 0:16:51.640
<v Speaker 4>that to a significant extent has been eclipsed over the

0:16:51.720 --> 0:16:55.000
<v Speaker 4>last twenty or thirty years. And the part of Israel

0:16:55.320 --> 0:16:57.800
<v Speaker 4>that the Trump folks are very attached to is the

0:16:57.800 --> 0:17:00.840
<v Speaker 4>part that they are uncomfortable with. That's a whole you know,

0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:04.719
<v Speaker 4>that's a whole thing. But one of the pioneers of

0:17:04.840 --> 0:17:08.040
<v Speaker 4>political anti Semitism, sort of not a hall of fame

0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:10.119
<v Speaker 4>you want to be in, is this guy who is

0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:12.760
<v Speaker 4>the mayor of Vienna at the turn of the nineteenth

0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:15.080
<v Speaker 4>twentieth century. His name is I think Luger, I can't

0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:17.080
<v Speaker 4>remember what his first name was. In any case, was

0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:21.000
<v Speaker 4>sort of the pioneer of populist anti Semitism. There's a

0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:23.840
<v Speaker 4>funny thing because in his own life he had Jewish

0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:27.320
<v Speaker 4>friends dine with Jews, and so there's this famous story

0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:30.400
<v Speaker 4>where he gets asked one time, you're the big Jew hater.

0:17:30.600 --> 0:17:33.320
<v Speaker 4>Why do we see you having, you know, dining with

0:17:33.440 --> 0:17:35.639
<v Speaker 4>Jews and your friends are Jews, And he has his

0:17:35.680 --> 0:17:38.800
<v Speaker 4>famous line he says, I decide who's a Jew? And

0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:42.000
<v Speaker 4>Trump is I think like that, right, He'll decide who

0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:45.359
<v Speaker 4>the Jews are. And you see that even where Asaurus

0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:47.840
<v Speaker 4>is bad because he's you know, he's a bad Jew,

0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:49.040
<v Speaker 4>and then they're good Jews.

0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:50.280
<v Speaker 3>And that's sort of the Trump world.

0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:55.119
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, cannot be stated enough. This is not actually about Judaism.

0:17:55.240 --> 0:18:01.000
<v Speaker 1>This is just about a kind of quoke of a

0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:05.600
<v Speaker 1>white nationalism or a fall right nationalism. You know, it's funny.

0:18:05.920 --> 0:18:10.160
<v Speaker 1>I can ask you about this because you are so intellectual.

0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:13.760
<v Speaker 1>I just realized, no, but seriously, because you know, you

0:18:14.440 --> 0:18:16.760
<v Speaker 1>come from academia, so I can ask you about this.

0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:18.919
<v Speaker 1>So I'm reading this book right now because I've been

0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:21.600
<v Speaker 1>on my book tour, How to Lose Your Mother. It's

0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:22.520
<v Speaker 1>available now.

0:18:22.960 --> 0:18:24.920
<v Speaker 4>You should be so proud of your success. It's just

0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:27.840
<v Speaker 4>it's it seems to be flying off the shelves.

0:18:27.640 --> 0:18:31.600
<v Speaker 1>It's actually sold out everywhere, which is making me completely crazy.

0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:33.840
<v Speaker 1>But it's amazing, and it is on the New York

0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:37.879
<v Speaker 1>Times bestseller list, hopefully to stay. I'm very superstitious, but

0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:40.160
<v Speaker 1>I'm reading this book on my book tour. The Anatomy

0:18:40.160 --> 0:18:42.760
<v Speaker 1>of Fascism by Robert O. Paxton. I don't know if

0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:46.280
<v Speaker 1>you know this book, And in it he's talking about

0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:50.280
<v Speaker 1>how fascism is very much a cult of personality and

0:18:50.320 --> 0:18:54.680
<v Speaker 1>that you can't do it with a non charismatic leader. Right.

0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:58.320
<v Speaker 1>You have to have a Mussolini. You gotta have a Hitler.

0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:01.040
<v Speaker 1>You gotta have even a pinochet, you can't. It doesn't

0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:02.280
<v Speaker 1>work with an al Gore.

0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:06.760
<v Speaker 4>Absolutely, And yes, that is absolutely part of it. And

0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:10.560
<v Speaker 4>the hero worship and oddly the kind of even the

0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:13.600
<v Speaker 4>eccentricities are kind of part of it, and the kind

0:19:13.600 --> 0:19:17.000
<v Speaker 4>of the operatic kind of personality are part of it too.

0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:18.560
<v Speaker 4>It's a weird aesthetic.

0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:23.080
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. So do you think that what happens is that

0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:29.600
<v Speaker 1>people are caught of guard by the humor? For example,

0:19:29.800 --> 0:19:32.960
<v Speaker 1>in trump Ism, there's a certain kind of humor right

0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:36.919
<v Speaker 1>like he's a ridiculous character, and that then they go

0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:39.880
<v Speaker 1>along with things they might not otherwise had it been

0:19:40.080 --> 0:19:42.800
<v Speaker 1>so like a JD. Vance is not going to get

0:19:42.800 --> 0:19:45.239
<v Speaker 1>away with stuff that a Donald Trump is, just like

0:19:45.480 --> 0:19:47.800
<v Speaker 1>Mike Pets was unable to get away with stuff that

0:19:47.880 --> 0:19:50.320
<v Speaker 1>a Donald Trump did. Do you think the humor tricks

0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:53.400
<v Speaker 1>constituents into going along with stuff or do you think

0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:56.000
<v Speaker 1>that it just is irrelevant and that they're in a

0:19:56.080 --> 0:19:57.160
<v Speaker 1>cultive personality.

0:19:57.800 --> 0:20:01.560
<v Speaker 4>Well, I don't think it's irrelevant. I think how these

0:20:01.600 --> 0:20:06.800
<v Speaker 4>cults of personality work are very complex, and it's important

0:20:06.840 --> 0:20:10.280
<v Speaker 4>for people who revile Trump, who just who despise him,

0:20:10.400 --> 0:20:14.320
<v Speaker 4>to see that in his own way. He is very charismatic.

0:20:14.680 --> 0:20:16.840
<v Speaker 4>He's funny in his own way. Now it's often a

0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:20.680
<v Speaker 4>sadistic kind of humor, but he does have this public

0:20:20.760 --> 0:20:23.240
<v Speaker 4>style that is very effective. And one of the things

0:20:23.280 --> 0:20:26.760
<v Speaker 4>about Trump is that he has these moments of self

0:20:26.760 --> 0:20:29.879
<v Speaker 4>awareness and even kind of self criticism in a way,

0:20:30.040 --> 0:20:34.280
<v Speaker 4>not self criticism exactly, but awareness of some of his craziness.

0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:37.680
<v Speaker 4>And I, like many other people, have given a lot

0:20:37.680 --> 0:20:40.679
<v Speaker 4>of thought to this. It's almost something that is not

0:20:41.400 --> 0:20:45.040
<v Speaker 4>susceptible to discoursive thought in the way that you might

0:20:45.080 --> 0:20:47.200
<v Speaker 4>write down in an academic book. It's a little more

0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:49.679
<v Speaker 4>like jazz in a way. You get a feel for it.

0:20:49.800 --> 0:20:51.960
<v Speaker 4>But I think all of those are part of it.

0:20:52.040 --> 0:20:55.560
<v Speaker 4>And when we talk about a cult of personality, the humor,

0:20:55.680 --> 0:20:58.400
<v Speaker 4>all of those things are part of it. Probably many

0:20:58.400 --> 0:21:00.960
<v Speaker 4>of your listeners have seen this too, that Mike Lee,

0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:03.960
<v Speaker 4>senator from Utah, the sort of the very degenerate senator

0:21:04.000 --> 0:21:06.240
<v Speaker 4>from Mutah, is maybe in a little trouble now because

0:21:06.320 --> 0:21:09.000
<v Speaker 4>one of the senators, Senator Smith from Minnesota, kind of

0:21:09.040 --> 0:21:12.439
<v Speaker 4>called him out about these terrible tweets. And one of

0:21:12.480 --> 0:21:15.800
<v Speaker 4>the many things that that episode shows is that people

0:21:15.960 --> 0:21:20.240
<v Speaker 4>play these online personas and it becomes a separate world.

0:21:20.440 --> 0:21:22.399
<v Speaker 4>And so we all have some experience of that, of

0:21:22.480 --> 0:21:25.600
<v Speaker 4>the performative nature of these things. In some ways we

0:21:25.760 --> 0:21:28.359
<v Speaker 4>live in that world. And Donald Trump is like a

0:21:28.480 --> 0:21:33.520
<v Speaker 4>master of that world, of creating this kind of distracting

0:21:33.920 --> 0:21:40.760
<v Speaker 4>alternative reality that is always on the move, always taking

0:21:40.800 --> 0:21:49.800
<v Speaker 4>things in another direction, is entertaining, distracting, mesmerizing, and that thing,

0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:54.600
<v Speaker 4>very hard to capture, is really central to his power.

0:21:54.840 --> 0:21:57.800
<v Speaker 4>Even though it seems sort of silly and distracting and

0:21:57.840 --> 0:22:01.600
<v Speaker 4>stupid and is all those things, it's central to it.

0:22:01.920 --> 0:22:06.480
<v Speaker 4>And yeah, that is at the core of his power.

0:22:06.520 --> 0:22:08.560
<v Speaker 4>And it's a weird thing to understand.

0:22:09.280 --> 0:22:13.000
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you know, it's funny because I watch him speak

0:22:13.040 --> 0:22:17.160
<v Speaker 1>a lot, unfortunately for me. I'll watch c SPAN and

0:22:17.200 --> 0:22:19.879
<v Speaker 1>you'll hear him do things like he'll say, well, we

0:22:20.560 --> 0:22:24.120
<v Speaker 1>like you. Wasn't much of a Trumper, but now they're Trumpers.

0:22:24.440 --> 0:22:28.040
<v Speaker 1>He's good to us the most mega he was so mega.

0:22:28.160 --> 0:22:30.600
<v Speaker 1>We didn't like this, but we do like what he

0:22:30.720 --> 0:22:34.200
<v Speaker 1>really thought about someone, which, if you think about it,

0:22:34.400 --> 0:22:39.720
<v Speaker 1>think about all of the very well meaning democratic politicians

0:22:39.880 --> 0:22:44.720
<v Speaker 1>who you and I really like are partisan favorites who

0:22:44.760 --> 0:22:51.000
<v Speaker 1>will absolutely not fucking tell you anything. Right, it's a superpower.

0:22:51.040 --> 0:22:53.600
<v Speaker 5>In a way, it is a superpower.

0:22:53.640 --> 0:22:55.679
<v Speaker 4>And that's kind of a version of what I was

0:22:55.720 --> 0:22:58.680
<v Speaker 4>talking about about the self criticism. It's not only self criticism,

0:22:58.760 --> 0:23:00.760
<v Speaker 4>but he'll kind of go into it his own internal

0:23:00.800 --> 0:23:05.280
<v Speaker 4>monologue sometimes, right, yep. And I do think that is

0:23:05.480 --> 0:23:08.800
<v Speaker 4>a big reason that he has a hold on some

0:23:08.840 --> 0:23:12.240
<v Speaker 4>people people's sense so like he's real and in a sense,

0:23:12.640 --> 0:23:16.080
<v Speaker 4>I think what is resonating with them is that he's

0:23:16.200 --> 0:23:19.640
<v Speaker 4>up there riffing and it's not planned, and he's kind

0:23:19.680 --> 0:23:23.160
<v Speaker 4>of it is kind of stream of consciousness. Now, most

0:23:23.200 --> 0:23:28.320
<v Speaker 4>of his stream of consciousness is nonsense and just making

0:23:28.400 --> 0:23:32.240
<v Speaker 4>things up. It plays as a kind of authenticity for people.

0:23:32.560 --> 0:23:36.080
<v Speaker 4>I want the next Democratic leaders to be on social

0:23:36.200 --> 0:23:39.840
<v Speaker 4>media a lot. Oh yeah, that was you know, one

0:23:39.880 --> 0:23:42.520
<v Speaker 4>of the things about not even his first presidency, but

0:23:42.560 --> 0:23:46.240
<v Speaker 4>his first campaign was everybody else is like, okay, should

0:23:46.280 --> 0:23:47.800
<v Speaker 4>we put out a press release for this? And he's

0:23:47.840 --> 0:23:48.720
<v Speaker 4>just going on Twitter.

0:23:49.080 --> 0:23:49.520
<v Speaker 5>Right. You know.

0:23:49.680 --> 0:23:52.600
<v Speaker 1>It's funny because it's like we have had the minority

0:23:52.680 --> 0:23:55.920
<v Speaker 1>leader on this podcast, and you know, they put out

0:23:55.960 --> 0:23:59.399
<v Speaker 1>press release after press release after press release, but nobody

0:23:59.720 --> 0:24:02.480
<v Speaker 1>cares because it's a press release, and if he just

0:24:02.920 --> 0:24:06.320
<v Speaker 1>would tweet out what he really thought. I mean, it

0:24:06.560 --> 0:24:09.480
<v Speaker 1>is an information desert, and if you tweet out what

0:24:09.520 --> 0:24:12.560
<v Speaker 1>you really think, people will respond to it. And if

0:24:12.600 --> 0:24:16.560
<v Speaker 1>you have something that's completely you know, run over by

0:24:16.680 --> 0:24:18.800
<v Speaker 1>legal six times, nobody gives a fuck.

0:24:19.359 --> 0:24:22.199
<v Speaker 4>It's not news. It's not news. Like look, I'm in

0:24:22.240 --> 0:24:24.959
<v Speaker 4>the news business. I never look at press releases. You

0:24:25.040 --> 0:24:27.520
<v Speaker 4>don't put out a press release to make news. You

0:24:27.640 --> 0:24:30.000
<v Speaker 4>put out a press release to be able to say

0:24:30.000 --> 0:24:32.159
<v Speaker 4>you said something. And so there's a part of this.

0:24:32.320 --> 0:24:35.520
<v Speaker 4>You know, it is not an accident that Donald Trump

0:24:36.080 --> 0:24:41.560
<v Speaker 4>was a creation of the tabloid newsworld of the New

0:24:41.640 --> 0:24:44.440
<v Speaker 4>York of the nineteen eighties. It's not an accident because

0:24:44.560 --> 0:24:48.200
<v Speaker 4>that is where that is sort of where our current

0:24:48.280 --> 0:24:52.359
<v Speaker 4>media culture was born, the beginnings of electronic media, the

0:24:52.400 --> 0:24:56.160
<v Speaker 4>tabloid culture, all of that stuff. And so it makes

0:24:56.200 --> 0:24:58.680
<v Speaker 4>sense that, you know, all the ability to just kind

0:24:58.680 --> 0:25:01.600
<v Speaker 4>of like, I'm going to keep in the news and

0:25:01.720 --> 0:25:04.280
<v Speaker 4>going to keep doing stuff that people have to react to.

0:25:04.640 --> 0:25:08.600
<v Speaker 4>And it's just critical for people who care about politics

0:25:08.640 --> 0:25:11.600
<v Speaker 4>to understand why he is powerful in that way.

0:25:11.800 --> 0:25:12.640
<v Speaker 5>You have to like it.

0:25:12.800 --> 0:25:15.840
<v Speaker 4>He does have this one superpower it's what I guess

0:25:15.840 --> 0:25:18.760
<v Speaker 4>people have recently started calling the attention economy. If you

0:25:18.800 --> 0:25:21.280
<v Speaker 4>want to move in the news world, it's like, you know,

0:25:21.320 --> 0:25:24.720
<v Speaker 4>improvisational jazz in a quintet. You've got to be able

0:25:24.800 --> 0:25:27.160
<v Speaker 4>to hold the stage for a little while, right. It's

0:25:27.240 --> 0:25:31.160
<v Speaker 4>very strange stuff, but these very kind of symbolist things

0:25:31.600 --> 0:25:35.439
<v Speaker 4>translate into hard power that get people's families torn apart

0:25:35.480 --> 0:25:39.040
<v Speaker 4>and sent to a gulag in El Salvador. So things

0:25:39.040 --> 0:25:44.800
<v Speaker 4>that seem very silly and fluffy translate into real power

0:25:45.000 --> 0:25:45.920
<v Speaker 4>and real violence.

0:25:46.320 --> 0:25:49.080
<v Speaker 1>Thank you, thank you, sayank you, thank you, Josh.

0:25:48.760 --> 0:25:50.760
<v Speaker 5>Marshall, thank you so much for having me.

0:25:52.960 --> 0:25:57.680
<v Speaker 1>Malcolm Kenyatta is a vice chair of the Democratic National

0:25:57.720 --> 0:26:02.199
<v Speaker 1>Committee and a Pennsylvania state representative for the one hundred

0:26:02.200 --> 0:26:07.440
<v Speaker 1>and eighty first district. Welcome to Fast Politics, Malcolm.

0:26:07.280 --> 0:26:09.359
<v Speaker 5>Allie, I'm so happy to be here, and more than

0:26:09.400 --> 0:26:11.840
<v Speaker 5>anything else, I'm going to start by plugging your book.

0:26:11.880 --> 0:26:12.760
<v Speaker 5>I can't wait to read it.

0:26:13.040 --> 0:26:16.600
<v Speaker 1>Oh, thank you, Yes, this is it, How to Lose

0:26:16.680 --> 0:26:20.480
<v Speaker 1>Your Mother Me plugging the podcast podcast. So now let's

0:26:20.600 --> 0:26:26.760
<v Speaker 1>talk about you. Are DNC vice chair again, yes again?

0:26:27.240 --> 0:26:30.720
<v Speaker 1>So what happened? Explain to us to your DNC vice chair.

0:26:31.200 --> 0:26:33.159
<v Speaker 1>I have known you for a long time. You're a

0:26:33.200 --> 0:26:38.600
<v Speaker 1>state representative in Pennsylvania. You're excellent. You ran against Fetterman

0:26:39.040 --> 0:26:43.159
<v Speaker 1>in the primary when Fetterman was not what he is

0:26:43.240 --> 0:26:48.040
<v Speaker 1>right now, which is totally not what I remember him

0:26:48.040 --> 0:26:50.640
<v Speaker 1>to be. You did not win that primary. You went

0:26:50.720 --> 0:26:55.200
<v Speaker 1>back to state legislature. You became a vice chair of

0:26:55.320 --> 0:26:59.520
<v Speaker 1>the DNC along with David Hogg. Now catch us up

0:26:59.560 --> 0:27:00.959
<v Speaker 1>on what happened next.

0:27:01.320 --> 0:27:06.399
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, what happened next was a series, you know, sometimes

0:27:06.440 --> 0:27:11.400
<v Speaker 5>an intentional and sometimes unintentional miscommunications about what happened next

0:27:11.480 --> 0:27:13.800
<v Speaker 5>is often spend a lot of time trying to tell

0:27:14.040 --> 0:27:17.760
<v Speaker 5>the facts here, long story short after the election, anybody

0:27:17.760 --> 0:27:20.760
<v Speaker 5>who's ever been in a long, annoying, fucking meeting knows

0:27:20.800 --> 0:27:24.000
<v Speaker 5>about Robert's rules of order, And effectively, one of the

0:27:24.040 --> 0:27:27.520
<v Speaker 5>people who was unsuccessful said back on February the twenty

0:27:27.560 --> 0:27:31.879
<v Speaker 5>eighth that Robert's rules of order weren't followed in her view,

0:27:32.320 --> 0:27:35.840
<v Speaker 5>and back in February she filed that challenge to the

0:27:35.960 --> 0:27:40.520
<v Speaker 5>election results. And because unlike this authoritarian administration, the Democratic

0:27:40.560 --> 0:27:43.720
<v Speaker 5>Party actually believes in due process, there was a process

0:27:43.720 --> 0:27:45.520
<v Speaker 5>where she got to file a complaint we had a

0:27:45.600 --> 0:27:48.440
<v Speaker 5>number of days to respond to her complaint. The committee

0:27:48.440 --> 0:27:50.760
<v Speaker 5>had a number of days to hear that complaint. Already

0:27:50.760 --> 0:27:55.080
<v Speaker 5>people's eyes are glazing over. But ultimately what happened are

0:27:55.720 --> 0:27:57.560
<v Speaker 5>I know, I'm in it. My eyes are glazed over.

0:27:57.680 --> 0:28:01.119
<v Speaker 5>But what ultimately happened was the Committee decided to hould

0:28:01.160 --> 0:28:03.840
<v Speaker 5>the election again, you know, which I did not think

0:28:04.119 --> 0:28:06.320
<v Speaker 5>was you know appropriate. I called it at the time,

0:28:06.600 --> 0:28:09.399
<v Speaker 5>you know, a slap in my face. But in this moment,

0:28:09.600 --> 0:28:13.520
<v Speaker 5>with everything going on, with a president that is so lawless,

0:28:13.560 --> 0:28:18.600
<v Speaker 5>so out of control, and so willing to throw away

0:28:18.880 --> 0:28:21.400
<v Speaker 5>all of the modern safety net so that they can

0:28:21.440 --> 0:28:23.960
<v Speaker 5>stuff the pockets of the wealthiest people the world has

0:28:23.960 --> 0:28:26.680
<v Speaker 5>ever seen, we need a strong democratic party. And a

0:28:26.720 --> 0:28:29.000
<v Speaker 5>part of what we need in this moment is not

0:28:29.040 --> 0:28:31.879
<v Speaker 5>for everybody who's ever been frustrated with Democrats to walk away.

0:28:32.160 --> 0:28:34.760
<v Speaker 5>I've been frustrated with Democrats. I'm chief among them. But

0:28:34.960 --> 0:28:36.960
<v Speaker 5>the question is what do we do with that frustration.

0:28:37.080 --> 0:28:39.480
<v Speaker 5>I decided to go into the building and try to

0:28:39.480 --> 0:28:40.120
<v Speaker 5>fucking change it.

0:28:40.480 --> 0:28:42.800
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, this is why I love you. So tell me

0:28:42.880 --> 0:28:43.840
<v Speaker 1>what happens next?

0:28:44.120 --> 0:28:46.960
<v Speaker 5>So what happens you know next? Does we have our

0:28:47.360 --> 0:28:50.920
<v Speaker 5>you know, Big Officers Retreat back in March on March

0:28:50.960 --> 0:28:53.920
<v Speaker 5>to twenty fifth, where Ken Martin our new chair. For

0:28:54.040 --> 0:28:57.280
<v Speaker 5>folks who don't know Ken, Ken was the guy after

0:28:57.360 --> 0:29:00.080
<v Speaker 5>the twenty sixteen election who led a lot of the

0:29:00.200 --> 0:29:03.520
<v Speaker 5>reforms in the DNC around minimizing the power of superdelegates,

0:29:03.880 --> 0:29:06.600
<v Speaker 5>trying to get the party out of the you know,

0:29:06.760 --> 0:29:09.520
<v Speaker 5>the gilded ages where people in smoke filled rooms picked

0:29:09.520 --> 0:29:11.840
<v Speaker 5>our nominees, and he laid out a series of like

0:29:11.880 --> 0:29:14.480
<v Speaker 5>twenty I think it is reforms to the party, including

0:29:14.760 --> 0:29:18.880
<v Speaker 5>officer neutrality. A month later, David Hogg announced that he

0:29:19.000 --> 0:29:21.760
<v Speaker 5>was going to do this primary thing with leaders we deserve.

0:29:22.040 --> 0:29:25.160
<v Speaker 1>You know what, let's stop for a second. Officer neutrality

0:29:25.280 --> 0:29:26.760
<v Speaker 1>explain to us what that means.

0:29:27.200 --> 0:29:29.160
<v Speaker 5>So back in twenty sixteen, and for some of the

0:29:29.240 --> 0:29:31.560
<v Speaker 5>people who were like jump in my comments and say, Malcolm,

0:29:31.560 --> 0:29:33.600
<v Speaker 5>what about twenty sixteen. Back in twenty sixteen, I was

0:29:33.640 --> 0:29:36.960
<v Speaker 5>not an electric official. There was a well known presidential

0:29:37.000 --> 0:29:42.240
<v Speaker 5>primary which we've never gotten over between ever ever, ever,

0:29:42.840 --> 0:29:45.120
<v Speaker 5>like I'm going to tell my grandkids about this. Yeah,

0:29:45.160 --> 0:29:48.600
<v Speaker 5>that's right, And out of that primary there was a perception,

0:29:48.680 --> 0:29:50.239
<v Speaker 5>and some could even say a reality. I'm not going

0:29:50.280 --> 0:29:52.640
<v Speaker 5>to Quipple over that. But at the minimum, there was

0:29:52.680 --> 0:29:56.160
<v Speaker 5>a perception that the party was not even handed in

0:29:56.200 --> 0:29:59.360
<v Speaker 5>that primary. And what we must all endeavor to do

0:29:59.480 --> 0:30:01.640
<v Speaker 5>is to make sure or that never happens again.

0:30:01.920 --> 0:30:04.760
<v Speaker 1>Right, And that was because of super delegates too.

0:30:04.720 --> 0:30:07.200
<v Speaker 5>Right now, because of super delegates and like just many

0:30:07.280 --> 0:30:10.920
<v Speaker 5>aspects of the process that people can point to. But

0:30:10.960 --> 0:30:14.560
<v Speaker 5>I want to be crystal clear, I don't want any people,

0:30:14.960 --> 0:30:17.800
<v Speaker 5>ten people sitting in a smoke filled room or no

0:30:18.560 --> 0:30:21.360
<v Speaker 5>smoke field room, in a room in DC, looking across

0:30:21.400 --> 0:30:24.280
<v Speaker 5>the country trying to pick our freaking nominees. I think

0:30:24.320 --> 0:30:26.760
<v Speaker 5>we trust voters to pick our nominees. But let me

0:30:26.800 --> 0:30:29.920
<v Speaker 5>make this point, because this has been sort of people's assumption.

0:30:30.360 --> 0:30:34.040
<v Speaker 5>The DMC, the Democratic National Committee, is not an incumbent

0:30:34.320 --> 0:30:38.560
<v Speaker 5>protection racket. My job is not to re elect incumbents.

0:30:38.880 --> 0:30:41.640
<v Speaker 5>My job is to elect Democratic nominees that are chosen

0:30:41.640 --> 0:30:45.640
<v Speaker 5>by Democratic voters in their districts. That's our job, full stop.

0:30:45.920 --> 0:30:50.560
<v Speaker 5>And unfortunately, the election challenge that was filed back in February,

0:30:50.600 --> 0:30:53.720
<v Speaker 5>and Ken calling profice in neutrality back in March, you

0:30:53.800 --> 0:30:56.840
<v Speaker 5>have so many people still to this day are saying

0:30:57.000 --> 0:31:00.400
<v Speaker 5>that this is somehow payback for David and now saying

0:31:00.400 --> 0:31:03.080
<v Speaker 5>that he would not Abuie by officer neutrality back in April,

0:31:03.200 --> 0:31:06.520
<v Speaker 5>that timeline just doesn't work. And I've said this constantly,

0:31:06.600 --> 0:31:08.240
<v Speaker 5>but you know, a li will get around the block

0:31:08.320 --> 0:31:10.480
<v Speaker 5>while the truth is putting its shoes on, and so

0:31:10.680 --> 0:31:13.240
<v Speaker 5>I decided to put my shoes on tell the truth

0:31:13.280 --> 0:31:14.040
<v Speaker 5>about what's happening.

0:31:14.240 --> 0:31:18.360
<v Speaker 1>Ken Martin says he wants officer neutrality. This is part

0:31:18.440 --> 0:31:22.160
<v Speaker 1>of a larger decision. Explain a little more about this.

0:31:22.840 --> 0:31:25.560
<v Speaker 5>It's to make sure that particularly in this presidential primary,

0:31:25.560 --> 0:31:27.840
<v Speaker 5>and Molly, I'm sure you'll interview all of them, well,

0:31:27.840 --> 0:31:29.680
<v Speaker 5>hopefully not all of them, because they're gonna, like ninety people

0:31:29.680 --> 0:31:30.440
<v Speaker 5>who run for president.

0:31:30.520 --> 0:31:33.920
<v Speaker 1>Ook are going to be just an absolute epic shit show.

0:31:34.120 --> 0:31:37.280
<v Speaker 5>Yes, it's gonna be so many people, and I think

0:31:37.360 --> 0:31:40.200
<v Speaker 5>in that process, as you might imagine, there are gonna

0:31:40.200 --> 0:31:42.280
<v Speaker 5>be a lot of hard feelings, a lot of people

0:31:42.280 --> 0:31:44.680
<v Speaker 5>who have thoughts about the process. And when it's over,

0:31:44.880 --> 0:31:48.120
<v Speaker 5>and when any primary is over, you need somebody who

0:31:48.160 --> 0:31:51.240
<v Speaker 5>people know cared about the outcome of the game as

0:31:51.240 --> 0:31:53.480
<v Speaker 5>a good referee should, but wasn't trying to be a

0:31:53.480 --> 0:31:57.160
<v Speaker 5>player in the game. And the DNC. Our job and

0:31:57.200 --> 0:32:01.080
<v Speaker 5>what we're doing is building the infrastry structure so that

0:32:01.160 --> 0:32:03.920
<v Speaker 5>when our candidates come out of those primaries they have

0:32:04.000 --> 0:32:06.440
<v Speaker 5>all the tools they need to be successful. And that

0:32:06.560 --> 0:32:08.840
<v Speaker 5>means that we have to invest and rebuild our state parties.

0:32:08.880 --> 0:32:11.720
<v Speaker 5>I was just in Mississippi and all of you know,

0:32:11.880 --> 0:32:14.240
<v Speaker 5>our last Democratic nominee, Mike Best be there.

0:32:14.560 --> 0:32:16.400
<v Speaker 1>We had him on like six times.

0:32:16.640 --> 0:32:19.520
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, he was the strongest statewide Democrat we've seen in

0:32:19.520 --> 0:32:23.520
<v Speaker 5>Mississippi in modern history. And he said this multiple times.

0:32:23.560 --> 0:32:25.800
<v Speaker 5>And the new chair who came in, you know, on

0:32:25.840 --> 0:32:28.160
<v Speaker 5>the tail end of that campaign, by the way, was

0:32:28.320 --> 0:32:31.000
<v Speaker 5>very clear that they needed to build out the infrastructure.

0:32:31.000 --> 0:32:33.640
<v Speaker 5>We shouldn't be asking Democratic nominees to build out the

0:32:33.840 --> 0:32:37.880
<v Speaker 5>voter contact infrastructure, even things around you know, voter community,

0:32:37.920 --> 0:32:41.160
<v Speaker 5>you know around excuse me, media and communications. There are

0:32:41.160 --> 0:32:43.320
<v Speaker 5>a bunch of different things that we need to do

0:32:43.600 --> 0:32:46.160
<v Speaker 5>that the Democratic Party is investing in. And so our

0:32:46.240 --> 0:32:49.440
<v Speaker 5>job is to build infrastructure so our nominees win, not

0:32:49.560 --> 0:32:51.880
<v Speaker 5>to try to pick our nominees. And that does not

0:32:52.120 --> 0:32:55.080
<v Speaker 5>mean that we don't want robust primaries. If you are

0:32:55.120 --> 0:32:57.880
<v Speaker 5>listening to this podcast and you're thinking about running for office,

0:32:58.080 --> 0:33:00.080
<v Speaker 5>run for office. I'm not trying to stop you. If

0:33:00.120 --> 0:33:02.720
<v Speaker 5>a running office, run for office on whatever platform you have,

0:33:03.040 --> 0:33:05.760
<v Speaker 5>run for office, talk to voters in your district and

0:33:05.960 --> 0:33:08.120
<v Speaker 5>go out and win. And when you are the nominee,

0:33:08.280 --> 0:33:10.360
<v Speaker 5>sign me up to do whatever event I need to

0:33:10.360 --> 0:33:14.200
<v Speaker 5>do to make sure you beat whatever authoritarian supporting Republican

0:33:14.280 --> 0:33:15.040
<v Speaker 5>is on the other side.

0:33:15.120 --> 0:33:19.520
<v Speaker 1>All right, So then you guys have another election and

0:33:19.640 --> 0:33:21.320
<v Speaker 1>David does not run again.

0:33:21.480 --> 0:33:24.680
<v Speaker 5>Explain, Yeah, so you know why David chose not to

0:33:24.720 --> 0:33:27.160
<v Speaker 5>run again. You know, obviously, you know he put out

0:33:27.200 --> 0:33:29.840
<v Speaker 5>a statement to that effect. But you know, in the

0:33:29.880 --> 0:33:33.239
<v Speaker 5>first election, we won pretty handily. You needed I think

0:33:33.280 --> 0:33:34.680
<v Speaker 5>it was two hundred and one votes. We got two

0:33:34.720 --> 0:33:37.000
<v Speaker 5>hundred and ninety eight votes. I think David got two fourteen.

0:33:37.040 --> 0:33:39.880
<v Speaker 5>We won pretty handily. And throughout my work in the

0:33:40.000 --> 0:33:42.440
<v Speaker 5>one hundred and thirty days or so before the election,

0:33:42.880 --> 0:33:45.640
<v Speaker 5>you know, I traveled twenty one thousand miles to a

0:33:45.840 --> 0:33:50.440
<v Speaker 5>nine states, did three dozen events, fundraisers, the list goes

0:33:50.480 --> 0:33:52.520
<v Speaker 5>on and on to try to build this party, and

0:33:52.560 --> 0:33:55.200
<v Speaker 5>I was confident that I would have the votes to

0:33:55.240 --> 0:33:58.520
<v Speaker 5>win again. David made a decision to focus his work

0:33:58.600 --> 0:34:00.920
<v Speaker 5>on leaders we deserve. I said it at the time.

0:34:00.960 --> 0:34:02.720
<v Speaker 5>You know, I really wish him the best. There is

0:34:02.760 --> 0:34:05.640
<v Speaker 5>nothing wrong with robust primaries. We have folks in organized

0:34:05.680 --> 0:34:09.279
<v Speaker 5>labor who endorse different people. We have you know, Emily's List,

0:34:09.600 --> 0:34:12.400
<v Speaker 5>Run for Something, which is an incredible organization that supports

0:34:12.440 --> 0:34:16.040
<v Speaker 5>young people running for office, Collective Pack Victory Fund, so

0:34:16.080 --> 0:34:18.600
<v Speaker 5>many different organizations. We're going to play in primaries, and

0:34:18.640 --> 0:34:20.640
<v Speaker 5>they should, and I'm going to be waiting for those

0:34:20.680 --> 0:34:23.799
<v Speaker 5>primaries to be over to support them. However, however we

0:34:23.840 --> 0:34:24.600
<v Speaker 5>can at the DNC.

0:34:25.000 --> 0:34:30.719
<v Speaker 1>So then explain to me what happened with Randy Wineingarden.

0:34:31.000 --> 0:34:32.360
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, so let me let me. Let me say this,

0:34:32.440 --> 0:34:34.319
<v Speaker 5>and I said this on the MSNBC. I think I

0:34:34.360 --> 0:34:37.120
<v Speaker 5>was on like right after this news broke. Randy and

0:34:37.320 --> 0:34:41.120
<v Speaker 5>Lee Saunders, our dear, dear friends of mine. Let me

0:34:41.160 --> 0:34:44.280
<v Speaker 5>say that there is no Malcolm Kenyata in politics without

0:34:44.320 --> 0:34:47.480
<v Speaker 5>asks me and AFT. The support of their members and

0:34:47.480 --> 0:34:50.120
<v Speaker 5>their support personally has meant so much to me, and

0:34:50.160 --> 0:34:52.360
<v Speaker 5>their friendship means so much to me, and I respect

0:34:52.400 --> 0:34:55.320
<v Speaker 5>their decision to step back. But I think the only

0:34:55.440 --> 0:34:57.360
<v Speaker 5>question that I think we really need to answer is

0:34:57.400 --> 0:34:58.920
<v Speaker 5>what are we going to do for working people and

0:34:58.960 --> 0:35:01.520
<v Speaker 5>working families to make their lives better. And you heard

0:35:01.600 --> 0:35:04.000
<v Speaker 5>me say this over and over again. Even Fox News

0:35:04.080 --> 0:35:06.080
<v Speaker 5>said they're sick of me saying yeah. But I think

0:35:06.080 --> 0:35:10.120
<v Speaker 5>the Democratic Party has a singular mission and ultimately a

0:35:10.120 --> 0:35:14.680
<v Speaker 5>singular message. We have to make life better and a

0:35:14.760 --> 0:35:18.440
<v Speaker 5>part of that equation obviously is making sure that people

0:35:18.520 --> 0:35:21.160
<v Speaker 5>get a fair wage, that they get the benefits and

0:35:21.160 --> 0:35:23.960
<v Speaker 5>dignity they deserve on the job. And no, you know,

0:35:24.200 --> 0:35:26.120
<v Speaker 5>there are very few people who have fought as hard

0:35:26.200 --> 0:35:31.000
<v Speaker 5>for those changes and for those rights and earned benefits

0:35:31.040 --> 0:35:33.600
<v Speaker 5>then Lease Honders and Randy Weingarten, So you know they're

0:35:33.640 --> 0:35:36.680
<v Speaker 5>taking a step back. I absolutely respect them, but I

0:35:36.760 --> 0:35:38.320
<v Speaker 5>know where I'm going to see them on a picket

0:35:38.360 --> 0:35:40.640
<v Speaker 5>line on some fight for justice, and they're going to

0:35:40.640 --> 0:35:42.880
<v Speaker 5>be fighting arm in arm with the Democratic Party to

0:35:43.000 --> 0:35:46.799
<v Speaker 5>elect Democratic candidates who care about those values. But I

0:35:46.840 --> 0:35:48.920
<v Speaker 5>think as a party right now, we are going to

0:35:48.960 --> 0:35:51.960
<v Speaker 5>be focused not on the past, but on what our

0:35:52.040 --> 0:35:54.120
<v Speaker 5>party must be. And I think you know, if you

0:35:54.120 --> 0:35:56.120
<v Speaker 5>want to get on TV right now, Molly, you know it.

0:35:56.160 --> 0:35:58.360
<v Speaker 5>You just say Democrats suck, write an op ed, it

0:35:58.360 --> 0:36:00.560
<v Speaker 5>gets published. You can be an a blog of any

0:36:00.560 --> 0:36:02.799
<v Speaker 5>show you want to be on and you know that's

0:36:02.840 --> 0:36:04.840
<v Speaker 5>all well and good. I think enough op eds have

0:36:04.880 --> 0:36:07.680
<v Speaker 5>been written about what the Democrats did wrong. I'm sick

0:36:07.680 --> 0:36:09.680
<v Speaker 5>of that shit. I think it's our responsibility to talk

0:36:09.680 --> 0:36:11.480
<v Speaker 5>about what we're going to do next, to tell people

0:36:11.480 --> 0:36:13.959
<v Speaker 5>who we are going to be and what we've been.

0:36:14.239 --> 0:36:16.600
<v Speaker 5>And so that's why I go all across this country

0:36:16.719 --> 0:36:18.520
<v Speaker 5>talking about how we're going to make life better for

0:36:18.600 --> 0:36:20.960
<v Speaker 5>working people and working families. And I have no doubt

0:36:21.000 --> 0:36:23.040
<v Speaker 5>that those two leaders are going to continue to do

0:36:23.080 --> 0:36:25.000
<v Speaker 5>that work, no matter what their role or title is.

0:36:25.280 --> 0:36:28.920
<v Speaker 1>So they didn't step down because they were feeling that

0:36:29.000 --> 0:36:31.879
<v Speaker 1>the DNC wasn't doing what it should be doing.

0:36:32.200 --> 0:36:35.040
<v Speaker 5>I can't get into their their heads here. We know

0:36:35.080 --> 0:36:37.560
<v Speaker 5>what they wrote in their letters and what's been reported.

0:36:37.800 --> 0:36:40.200
<v Speaker 5>But let me just say, you know they they did

0:36:40.239 --> 0:36:42.520
<v Speaker 5>this for you know a number of years. They have

0:36:42.640 --> 0:36:45.560
<v Speaker 5>done their their service and their time at the DMC.

0:36:45.800 --> 0:36:49.480
<v Speaker 5>They have huge organizations that they run, and those organizations

0:36:49.520 --> 0:36:52.520
<v Speaker 5>and the values of AFT, the values of AFTE are

0:36:52.560 --> 0:36:56.480
<v Speaker 5>the Democratic Party values. And when Democrats take the House

0:36:56.520 --> 0:36:58.880
<v Speaker 5>back in twenty twenty six, we better get about the

0:36:58.880 --> 0:37:01.759
<v Speaker 5>business of passing the pro forcing the Senate and the

0:37:01.760 --> 0:37:04.759
<v Speaker 5>President to be against making it easier for people to

0:37:04.840 --> 0:37:07.120
<v Speaker 5>organize on the job. You know. In a now viral

0:37:07.200 --> 0:37:09.960
<v Speaker 5>video where I work in Harrisburg, after a speech that

0:37:10.000 --> 0:37:12.480
<v Speaker 5>I gave about the minimum wage, the Republican leader gets

0:37:12.560 --> 0:37:15.399
<v Speaker 5>up on the floor and says, every job shouldn't have

0:37:15.920 --> 0:37:18.399
<v Speaker 5>a living shouldn't be a living wage because he's such

0:37:18.400 --> 0:37:20.680
<v Speaker 5>a you know, a jerk, you know, in an asshole.

0:37:20.719 --> 0:37:23.280
<v Speaker 5>He does not think people should be paid a dignified wage.

0:37:23.360 --> 0:37:26.000
<v Speaker 5>That's what we're up against right now. And Randy and

0:37:26.040 --> 0:37:28.120
<v Speaker 5>Lee are going to definitely be in the trenches helping

0:37:28.200 --> 0:37:30.719
<v Speaker 5>us do that work, you know, and we respect their leadership.

0:37:31.200 --> 0:37:32.800
<v Speaker 5>But now we have to move forward and do the

0:37:32.880 --> 0:37:35.480
<v Speaker 5>work that we must do, making sure that everybody hears

0:37:35.480 --> 0:37:38.680
<v Speaker 5>about how the Democratic Party wants to make life better

0:37:38.960 --> 0:37:41.239
<v Speaker 5>for working people and working families.

0:37:41.640 --> 0:37:46.759
<v Speaker 1>Jerry Connelly he died in office the day before the

0:37:46.880 --> 0:37:50.560
<v Speaker 1>Big Beautiful Bill was passed by a one full margin.

0:37:51.040 --> 0:37:54.399
<v Speaker 1>In my mind, that strikes me as why we are

0:37:54.440 --> 0:37:57.120
<v Speaker 1>in so much trouble in this moment. Can you speak

0:37:57.160 --> 0:37:57.480
<v Speaker 1>to it?

0:37:57.800 --> 0:37:59.520
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, So, first of all, I just want to say

0:37:59.600 --> 0:38:02.880
<v Speaker 5>just to Rep. Connolly's family and to his you know,

0:38:02.920 --> 0:38:06.160
<v Speaker 5>incredible wife, Kathy I know how hard this is, but

0:38:06.360 --> 0:38:09.280
<v Speaker 5>let me also say, I think that voters are having

0:38:09.400 --> 0:38:13.120
<v Speaker 5>these these conversations, all these conversations that you're talking about.

0:38:13.600 --> 0:38:16.359
<v Speaker 5>I want to see people who have a vision for

0:38:16.400 --> 0:38:19.760
<v Speaker 5>this country, people who have a good way of talking

0:38:19.800 --> 0:38:23.439
<v Speaker 5>about the future, to step up. And honestly, the people

0:38:23.600 --> 0:38:25.080
<v Speaker 5>need to step up the most are the folks who

0:38:25.120 --> 0:38:27.440
<v Speaker 5>have the most on the line. I mean, listen, I'm

0:38:27.440 --> 0:38:30.440
<v Speaker 5>not even thirty five yet I'm asking every single day,

0:38:30.440 --> 0:38:32.239
<v Speaker 5>am I gonna be able to breathe the damn air

0:38:32.440 --> 0:38:34.560
<v Speaker 5>and drink the water? Or me and my husband may

0:38:34.600 --> 0:38:37.960
<v Speaker 5>the start a family to live in a community that's safe.

0:38:38.080 --> 0:38:39.680
<v Speaker 5>And if we had kids, are they going to grow

0:38:39.760 --> 0:38:44.680
<v Speaker 5>up in some authoritarian, right wing maga QAnon regime? And

0:38:44.719 --> 0:38:48.920
<v Speaker 5>so I think invariably you are gonna have people who

0:38:49.320 --> 0:38:52.040
<v Speaker 5>understand the impact of this moment, including a bunch of

0:38:52.080 --> 0:38:55.920
<v Speaker 5>young people, step up and run for office. And they should.

0:38:56.239 --> 0:38:59.200
<v Speaker 5>People should step up and run for office. But we

0:38:59.239 --> 0:39:04.279
<v Speaker 5>shouldn't also so not continue to give Republicans a pass here.

0:39:04.600 --> 0:39:07.760
<v Speaker 5>And I think what often happens is, well, we assume

0:39:07.840 --> 0:39:10.080
<v Speaker 5>Republicans are bad, So why even talk about the fact

0:39:10.120 --> 0:39:12.680
<v Speaker 5>that they're bad? The big bullshit bill, which is what

0:39:12.719 --> 0:39:15.640
<v Speaker 5>I call it, passed because Republicans want it to pass,

0:39:15.880 --> 0:39:18.720
<v Speaker 5>because they do not give a damn about kicking fourteen

0:39:18.719 --> 0:39:20.839
<v Speaker 5>million people off of health care, because they don't care

0:39:21.280 --> 0:39:23.880
<v Speaker 5>about ripping food out of the mouths of kids, because

0:39:23.880 --> 0:39:27.680
<v Speaker 5>they don't care about shutting down critical research that helps

0:39:27.760 --> 0:39:31.279
<v Speaker 5>us deal with issues like cancer and HIV, because they

0:39:31.280 --> 0:39:34.120
<v Speaker 5>don't care about people being kicked out of their homes.

0:39:34.440 --> 0:39:37.880
<v Speaker 5>And the reality is that time and time and time again,

0:39:38.320 --> 0:39:42.319
<v Speaker 5>we are ignoring the advice that comes from a very

0:39:42.400 --> 0:39:45.279
<v Speaker 5>unexpected place. If you ever saw the show Silo, I

0:39:45.320 --> 0:39:48.279
<v Speaker 5>don't watch Silo. My husband watched Silo, and if I

0:39:48.320 --> 0:39:50.120
<v Speaker 5>want to sit in the fucking living room, I apparently

0:39:50.120 --> 0:39:52.840
<v Speaker 5>aren't have to watch Silo too, and so and so

0:39:53.360 --> 0:39:56.280
<v Speaker 5>and so. One of the characters on Silo said something

0:39:56.320 --> 0:39:58.279
<v Speaker 5>that I felt was so impactful. She said, we have

0:39:58.320 --> 0:40:00.600
<v Speaker 5>to figure out how to be angry with each other

0:40:01.000 --> 0:40:04.359
<v Speaker 5>and not at each other, because in this moment, the

0:40:04.400 --> 0:40:08.040
<v Speaker 5>things that we're even defending, I don't think even enough

0:40:08.080 --> 0:40:11.880
<v Speaker 5>Democrats know that this is something we did. Medicare, Medicaid,

0:40:11.880 --> 0:40:15.360
<v Speaker 5>social Security, these are programs that are deeply popular. The

0:40:15.400 --> 0:40:20.400
<v Speaker 5>Affordable Care Act programs that are deeply popular that Democrats passed,

0:40:20.560 --> 0:40:22.239
<v Speaker 5>and we have to get back to the business of

0:40:22.320 --> 0:40:24.879
<v Speaker 5>talking about how we're going to do that again, how

0:40:24.880 --> 0:40:27.879
<v Speaker 5>we're going to make life better and if you hear

0:40:27.920 --> 0:40:31.200
<v Speaker 5>me again, Hey, Malcolm, should young people run for office? Yes? Yes, yes,

0:40:31.239 --> 0:40:33.080
<v Speaker 5>they should run for office. Al Roker did a whole

0:40:33.080 --> 0:40:35.759
<v Speaker 5>documentary about my run for office called Do Not Wait

0:40:35.800 --> 0:40:37.760
<v Speaker 5>Your Turn. You can go watch it if you're bored. Okay,

0:40:37.920 --> 0:40:40.759
<v Speaker 5>So I'm all about this, but I just want to

0:40:40.760 --> 0:40:43.040
<v Speaker 5>be crystal clear that voters are going to decide who

0:40:43.040 --> 0:40:44.879
<v Speaker 5>those nominees are and I'm going to support them.

0:40:44.960 --> 0:40:48.200
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I get that, and I agree with everything you're saying.

0:40:48.239 --> 0:40:50.839
<v Speaker 1>I probably would have said it. I probably have said

0:40:50.880 --> 0:40:53.920
<v Speaker 1>it myself in a very similar way over the last

0:40:53.920 --> 0:40:54.760
<v Speaker 1>twenty four hours.

0:40:54.800 --> 0:40:56.200
<v Speaker 5>Well you've said it better, I'm sure.

0:40:57.280 --> 0:40:59.360
<v Speaker 1>No, I think about the same. But I want to

0:40:59.400 --> 0:41:01.839
<v Speaker 1>ask you for example, and I say this. You know

0:41:02.040 --> 0:41:06.239
<v Speaker 1>I'm a partisan, So what is responsibilityy with something like

0:41:06.320 --> 0:41:09.799
<v Speaker 1>the Jerry Connolly situation? Like? Because I mean, listen, I

0:41:10.000 --> 0:41:12.279
<v Speaker 1>like a lot of those people. I like a lot

0:41:12.280 --> 0:41:14.880
<v Speaker 1>of the people in the House, a lot of Democratic

0:41:14.880 --> 0:41:18.040
<v Speaker 1>Congress people I call a friend. I talk to people

0:41:18.200 --> 0:41:21.760
<v Speaker 1>before the vote. I know that a lot of people

0:41:22.000 --> 0:41:25.080
<v Speaker 1>liked him, but I just am curious, like basically what

0:41:25.200 --> 0:41:27.480
<v Speaker 1>I heard from people because I asked them why they

0:41:27.520 --> 0:41:31.360
<v Speaker 1>would elevate him instead of AOC because he was battling

0:41:31.400 --> 0:41:34.680
<v Speaker 1>throw cancer, was seventy six and also just was not

0:41:34.840 --> 0:41:37.520
<v Speaker 1>as good a communicator as AOC. And you know, you

0:41:37.560 --> 0:41:39.920
<v Speaker 1>can like him or love him, but he was not

0:41:39.960 --> 0:41:43.680
<v Speaker 1>a politician who broke through. Particularly so when I asked

0:41:43.760 --> 0:41:46.359
<v Speaker 1>people about why they were voting for him, they would say, well,

0:41:46.440 --> 0:41:50.560
<v Speaker 1>it's his turn. And I wonder, whose responsibility is it

0:41:50.800 --> 0:41:54.520
<v Speaker 1>to tell somebody in their seventies who's got throw cancer

0:41:54.560 --> 0:41:57.120
<v Speaker 1>that they can't be ranking member, Like obviously there's a

0:41:57.160 --> 0:42:00.879
<v Speaker 1>failure of leadership here, or doesn't it seem like if

0:42:00.960 --> 0:42:03.360
<v Speaker 1>I had a company and I were running a company

0:42:03.400 --> 0:42:05.480
<v Speaker 1>and you know, we just had And I don't mean

0:42:05.520 --> 0:42:07.640
<v Speaker 1>to push you on this because I really like you

0:42:07.680 --> 0:42:10.080
<v Speaker 1>and we're friends, and I have enough elected who are

0:42:10.120 --> 0:42:10.480
<v Speaker 1>mad at me.

0:42:10.719 --> 0:42:11.560
<v Speaker 5>Oh please put me out.

0:42:11.840 --> 0:42:14.720
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, but I just am wondering, like, whose responsibility isn't

0:42:14.760 --> 0:42:18.960
<v Speaker 1>like Republicans are craven, like we saw Republicans tell Steve

0:42:19.000 --> 0:42:21.720
<v Speaker 1>Scalice he couldn't be in leadership because he had blood cancer.

0:42:21.800 --> 0:42:24.440
<v Speaker 1>We heard Marjorie Taylor Green say that she was like,

0:42:24.480 --> 0:42:28.000
<v Speaker 1>you can't because you had blood cancer. So whose responsibility

0:42:28.040 --> 0:42:30.359
<v Speaker 1>is it to say to someone in their seventies who

0:42:30.440 --> 0:42:32.560
<v Speaker 1>has cancer? And I say this as someone who has

0:42:32.600 --> 0:42:36.560
<v Speaker 1>a husband who had cancer, like, whose responsibility is it

0:42:36.600 --> 0:42:37.160
<v Speaker 1>to say.

0:42:37.000 --> 0:42:39.360
<v Speaker 5>That we listen? I think the antidote to all of

0:42:39.400 --> 0:42:42.040
<v Speaker 5>the problems we have in this moment are those three

0:42:42.080 --> 0:42:45.000
<v Speaker 5>words that open our constitution, We the people. It's not

0:42:45.080 --> 0:42:49.600
<v Speaker 5>like these conversations aren't being had. These conversations are being had.

0:42:49.840 --> 0:42:53.360
<v Speaker 5>We see voters every single day talking about the types

0:42:53.400 --> 0:42:57.120
<v Speaker 5>of candidates that speak to them, Candidates who can talk

0:42:57.200 --> 0:43:01.839
<v Speaker 5>about the future, candidates who have a vision, candidates who have,

0:43:02.280 --> 0:43:05.160
<v Speaker 5>you know, fire in the belly. To meet this moment

0:43:05.320 --> 0:43:08.640
<v Speaker 5>and treat this moment like it's the five alarm fire

0:43:08.960 --> 0:43:11.239
<v Speaker 5>that it is. Treat this moment like we have an

0:43:11.280 --> 0:43:15.160
<v Speaker 5>authoritarian in the White House who's sending the military against

0:43:15.360 --> 0:43:17.480
<v Speaker 5>its citizens. We have to treat it with that, with

0:43:17.560 --> 0:43:20.680
<v Speaker 5>that seriousness. But I want to be very clear with folks.

0:43:20.760 --> 0:43:22.439
<v Speaker 5>I want people to think about this for a second,

0:43:22.480 --> 0:43:25.440
<v Speaker 5>which is why I'm being careful you know, I chose

0:43:25.480 --> 0:43:29.839
<v Speaker 5>to run for a specific gig within the Democratic National Committee,

0:43:30.120 --> 0:43:31.680
<v Speaker 5>and there are a lot of people who look at

0:43:31.680 --> 0:43:34.040
<v Speaker 5>me and say, Malcolm, you always talk about, you know,

0:43:34.080 --> 0:43:36.880
<v Speaker 5>don't wait your turn, your young guy running running running

0:43:36.880 --> 0:43:42.360
<v Speaker 5>for office. The reality, though, is this, we do not

0:43:42.640 --> 0:43:46.560
<v Speaker 5>want officers of the DNC trying to make all of

0:43:46.600 --> 0:43:50.000
<v Speaker 5>these decisions. We don't want that. We don't want that.

0:43:50.040 --> 0:43:52.960
<v Speaker 5>And people think they want that right now because because

0:43:52.960 --> 0:43:55.359
<v Speaker 5>there's somebody who you think agrees with you, who's there.

0:43:55.440 --> 0:43:57.040
<v Speaker 5>But Malcolm's not going to be by sheriff of the

0:43:57.120 --> 0:43:59.239
<v Speaker 5>DNC forever. And what if the next vice chair of

0:43:59.280 --> 0:44:01.400
<v Speaker 5>the d NC says, know what, the progressives are the

0:44:01.480 --> 0:44:03.879
<v Speaker 5>problem with everything in the in the party, and we're

0:44:03.880 --> 0:44:06.080
<v Speaker 5>gonna do everything we can to get them out of

0:44:06.600 --> 0:44:08.879
<v Speaker 5>the party. You know that's wrong. I want to see

0:44:08.920 --> 0:44:12.160
<v Speaker 5>a party that is run by the people, and the

0:44:12.200 --> 0:44:15.560
<v Speaker 5>people are making their their voices heard. People are stepping

0:44:15.640 --> 0:44:18.359
<v Speaker 5>up every single day to run for office. I mean,

0:44:18.400 --> 0:44:20.800
<v Speaker 5>I saw a run for something talk about the amount

0:44:20.800 --> 0:44:23.600
<v Speaker 5>of people who've signed up with them to run for office.

0:44:23.680 --> 0:44:25.440
<v Speaker 5>And I think the best thing that I can do

0:44:25.920 --> 0:44:28.360
<v Speaker 5>is to say, in no uncertain terms and repeat to

0:44:28.440 --> 0:44:31.840
<v Speaker 5>folks that if you want to run for office, you

0:44:31.880 --> 0:44:35.239
<v Speaker 5>should step up and run. I think these conversations are,

0:44:35.600 --> 0:44:38.480
<v Speaker 5>you know, conversations that we that we should have. If

0:44:38.480 --> 0:44:40.920
<v Speaker 5>we're going to make life better for people, we certainly

0:44:40.960 --> 0:44:43.600
<v Speaker 5>have to be willing to have tough conversations as Democrats.

0:44:43.920 --> 0:44:48.200
<v Speaker 5>But I should not be trying to dictate those those conversations,

0:44:48.440 --> 0:44:51.160
<v Speaker 5>you know. And it's very rare that you have political

0:44:51.239 --> 0:44:54.520
<v Speaker 5>leaders that don't think they should be in charge of everything.

0:44:54.560 --> 0:44:56.560
<v Speaker 5>I don't think I should be in charge of everything.

0:44:56.760 --> 0:44:58.920
<v Speaker 5>I think that I should be listening to what voters

0:44:59.120 --> 0:45:00.880
<v Speaker 5>tell me to do, and what voters want me to

0:45:00.920 --> 0:45:03.359
<v Speaker 5>do right now is to make sure that we can win.

0:45:03.640 --> 0:45:06.320
<v Speaker 5>And a part of why the Democratic Party is not one,

0:45:06.760 --> 0:45:09.839
<v Speaker 5>in my view, is that we've treated ourselves for too

0:45:09.880 --> 0:45:12.560
<v Speaker 5>long like we exist to throw a big party every

0:45:12.600 --> 0:45:15.640
<v Speaker 5>four years and just elect a president. And we've changed that.

0:45:15.680 --> 0:45:18.920
<v Speaker 5>We're investing a million dollars a month in state parties,

0:45:18.960 --> 0:45:22.239
<v Speaker 5>the single largest investment out of DC into state so

0:45:22.280 --> 0:45:25.160
<v Speaker 5>we can do year round organizing. We started this program

0:45:25.160 --> 0:45:27.759
<v Speaker 5>like the Blueprint, so every day at ten am, we're

0:45:27.800 --> 0:45:29.920
<v Speaker 5>prebudding all of the lies that are going to come

0:45:29.960 --> 0:45:33.280
<v Speaker 5>from the john S Brady press room where this lady

0:45:33.280 --> 0:45:35.840
<v Speaker 5>gets up with her cross and then says everything that

0:45:35.960 --> 0:45:38.440
<v Speaker 5>Jesus would despise, and the list goes on and on.

0:45:38.600 --> 0:45:40.960
<v Speaker 5>So I have a job to do, and my job

0:45:41.040 --> 0:45:44.439
<v Speaker 5>is to build the infrastructure so Democrats can and can win.

0:45:44.920 --> 0:45:47.239
<v Speaker 5>I want to make sure they win. I want to

0:45:47.280 --> 0:45:50.680
<v Speaker 5>see younger leaders step up to run for office, and

0:45:50.680 --> 0:45:52.160
<v Speaker 5>I want to see leaders who have fire in the

0:45:52.160 --> 0:45:54.080
<v Speaker 5>belly to step up for run for office. And I

0:45:54.120 --> 0:45:56.399
<v Speaker 5>want all of them to be talking about my three

0:45:56.400 --> 0:45:58.400
<v Speaker 5>words on how they're going to make life better for

0:45:58.480 --> 0:46:00.719
<v Speaker 5>working people and working families. I think that's what voters

0:46:00.760 --> 0:46:01.200
<v Speaker 5>want to hear it too.

0:46:01.239 --> 0:46:04.759
<v Speaker 1>Frankly, thank you, thank you, thank you, Malcolm.

0:46:04.440 --> 0:46:11.319
<v Speaker 5>Thank you so much. I really appreciate this opportunity.

0:46:09.239 --> 0:46:10.480
<v Speaker 3>No moment.

0:46:12.400 --> 0:46:17.560
<v Speaker 2>Jesse Cannon Molly friend of the podcast, Mary Ziegler has

0:46:17.600 --> 0:46:21.080
<v Speaker 2>a great article on Slate about how the GOP keeps

0:46:21.120 --> 0:46:22.720
<v Speaker 2>losing public abortion votes.

0:46:23.000 --> 0:46:24.840
<v Speaker 3>So now it's trying a new angle.

0:46:25.280 --> 0:46:28.960
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, choice is popular, you know it's popular. The GOP

0:46:29.320 --> 0:46:32.560
<v Speaker 1>put abortion on the ballot a bunch of times, and

0:46:32.760 --> 0:46:37.080
<v Speaker 1>every time abortion wins. Missouri is an interesting state because

0:46:37.120 --> 0:46:39.719
<v Speaker 1>this is one of these states where they've been using

0:46:39.760 --> 0:46:43.480
<v Speaker 1>it as a test case for anti choice legislation. They

0:46:43.520 --> 0:46:48.400
<v Speaker 1>had a ballot initiative which enshrined creating constitutional reproductive rights.

0:46:48.440 --> 0:46:53.359
<v Speaker 1>But because it's Missouri, the legislators are all Republicans. It's

0:46:53.400 --> 0:46:58.600
<v Speaker 1>a Republican supermajority. So even though voters want to enshrine

0:46:59.000 --> 0:47:04.440
<v Speaker 1>reproductive rights, legislators don't because they're all Republicans. So instead

0:47:04.480 --> 0:47:07.200
<v Speaker 1>of doing what the voters wanted with the ballot initiatives,

0:47:07.200 --> 0:47:09.360
<v Speaker 1>and we saw this in Florida too. Right in Florida,

0:47:09.560 --> 0:47:14.760
<v Speaker 1>they wanted to restore voting to felons and the government

0:47:14.880 --> 0:47:16.680
<v Speaker 1>was like, no, fuck you, we're not going to do it,

0:47:16.719 --> 0:47:18.759
<v Speaker 1>even though you voted for it. So that's what's happening here.

0:47:18.920 --> 0:47:23.280
<v Speaker 1>Missouri is going to try now to pass a ballot

0:47:23.360 --> 0:47:28.759
<v Speaker 1>initiative which will overturn the most recent ballot initiative. This

0:47:28.960 --> 0:47:34.320
<v Speaker 1>is like yet another Republican's hate democracy moment. Right, they lose,

0:47:34.600 --> 0:47:37.600
<v Speaker 1>they don't care, They just cheat. When you realize that

0:47:37.600 --> 0:47:40.920
<v Speaker 1>trump Ism is an extension of this, when you realize

0:47:40.960 --> 0:47:44.920
<v Speaker 1>trumpsm doesn't happen in a vacuum, that the party that

0:47:45.080 --> 0:47:49.360
<v Speaker 1>jerry manders, that the party that does not accept losing

0:47:49.400 --> 0:47:52.759
<v Speaker 1>a ballot initiative that that party. Trump Ism is the

0:47:52.880 --> 0:47:55.240
<v Speaker 1>natural progression of that party.

0:47:55.920 --> 0:47:57.719
<v Speaker 3>One hundred percent.

0:47:58.719 --> 0:48:03.040
<v Speaker 1>That's it for this episode of Fast Politics. Tune in

0:48:03.360 --> 0:48:08.800
<v Speaker 1>every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday to hear the best

0:48:08.880 --> 0:48:13.200
<v Speaker 1>minds and politics make sense of all this chaos. If

0:48:13.239 --> 0:48:16.280
<v Speaker 1>you enjoy this podcast, please send it to a friend

0:48:16.719 --> 0:48:19.920
<v Speaker 1>and keep the conversation going. Thanks for listening.