WEBVTT - Don't Believe the Polls 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:14.760 Good morning, Keepson. Welcome to Okay f Daily with Meet 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:19.640 your Girl Danielle Moody reporting once again from the Home Bunker. Folks. 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:23.400 Coming up in the show, I have a conversation with 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:26.960 our friend Kurt Bardella about all the ways in which 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:31.319 Democrats need to be capitalizing on this moment, this win 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:36.920 that they have around Joe Mansion's reversal and actually wanting 0:00:36.960 --> 0:00:41.040 to give the power that apparently, you know, we in 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:43.400 the United States did not give him, but the five 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:46.160 people that live in West Virginia did, to be able 0:00:46.200 --> 0:00:50.440 to fight against climate change and inflation and all of 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:55.240 the things. Um, So we'll get into that conversation. I 0:00:55.320 --> 0:01:02.040 want to start today, however, with um, just my feelings 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:08.440 recently around Republicans. And I know you're just gonna say, oh, Danielle, 0:01:08.480 --> 0:01:10.400 I already know where you're going to talk about, and yes, 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:12.639 like there are a range of things to talk about, 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:15.360 but I get into it a little bit with Kurt, 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:20.240 but I want to say it here too. Republicans are 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:25.679 a hateful, vengeful white supremacist group and I don't know 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:30.920 why it is taken so long and so many offensive 0:01:31.040 --> 0:01:38.039 things that they have either supported ignored championed for us 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:41.480 to be able to articulate this truth and just say 0:01:41.680 --> 0:01:45.840 who they are. Part of being able to solve a 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:52.600 problem is the ability to recognize that there is a problem. 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:58.400 And where I see how our democracy began to falter 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:02.840 way back, and probably I would say, you know, when 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:05.240 we allowed for the Supreme Court to decide the two 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:08.600 thousand presidential election as opposed to the people who actually 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:12.679 voted for al Gore. Nonetheless, let me not go off 0:02:12.720 --> 0:02:16.720 into the tangent of the early of the two thousands, 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:24.280 but let's say this. Let's go to Obama right, and 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:30.200 the birth of the Tea Party and birth Rism, and 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:35.720 how the media as well as the Democratic establishment viewed 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:42.600 those people as just the fringe, not the catalyst to 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:49.240 the insurrection that we would then witness some twelve plus 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:56.480 years later. What aggravates me so much is that the 0:02:56.600 --> 0:03:00.400 writing has been on the wall for the longest time 0:03:00.600 --> 0:03:03.920 about who the Republican Party is and what it is 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:08.320 that they want. Now. Before Donald Trump, they may have 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:16.520 had better articulated people, you know, more articulate. I wouldn't 0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:19.720 say better articulated, because that was totally not a fucking sentence, 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:26.440 but they may have had compassionate conservatives, as George W. 0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:31.040 Bush referred to himself, so compassionate in fact, that he 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:36.520 flew over Katrina, the site of you know, major hurricane 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:40.440 devastation and death, and didn't provide government aid, and Black 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:43.320 people were left to be on top of buildings or 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:46.400 being shot by police for having to get their basic 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:49.600 needs met. Because when white people took things from grocery stores, 0:03:49.880 --> 0:03:52.160 they were in survival mode. When black people did it, 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:54.320 they needed to be shot dead because they were looters. 0:03:54.520 --> 0:04:02.400 I digress. There were other people who wore different masks, 0:04:02.720 --> 0:04:06.720 but we're a part of the same spectrum of Trumpism. 0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:10.320 George W. Bush didn't come out and say that he 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:12.839 didn't give a fuck about black people. Kanye West said 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:16.039 that when he still had a functioning part of his 0:04:16.279 --> 0:04:21.680 frontal lobe. But he didn't. And we knew that right. 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:28.400 We knew that Reagan hated the LGBTQ community, hated the 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:32.200 black community, which is why crack was dumped into it 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:37.280 and LGBTQ people were left to die of HIV and eight, 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:42.440 and it wasn't until it would begin infecting the hetero 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:47.680 population that then the government would move and take any 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:50.000 type of action or even recognize that it was happening 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:55.800 in the first place. So there have been Republicans that 0:04:55.920 --> 0:05:01.120 maybe we're better liked, maybe we're more articulate, more charismatic 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:03.680 in a way that didn't make you want to throw 0:05:03.760 --> 0:05:05.760 up in your mouth the way that Donald Trump does. 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:12.159 But their ideologies we're all aligned. Some were just more 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:17.560 subtle than others. Donald Trump prefers to use a bluntonous weapon, 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:21.440 whereas Republicans that came before him were a lot more 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:25.120 surgical in terms of what they were doing to upend 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:32.160 and remove rights or marginalized already marginalized people. So what 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:35.920 I'm saying is that none of what is transpiring right 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:40.640 now came out of thin air. It didn't come from nowhere. 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:45.720 Right what we are experiencing now with Trumpism is just 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:52.760 a more hyped up, you know, steroid dose, coped up 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:59.240 dose of Republicanism. But it's the same principles. We don't 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:01.800 give a fuck about people of color. They are criminals, 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:07.320 they are subservient, They are undeserving of democracy, rights or 0:06:07.360 --> 0:06:11.839 any economic mobility, any of those things. We hate women. 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:16.760 Women are just incubators for the production of more white men. 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:24.160 Kurt Bardella will say this later. So they have always 0:06:24.279 --> 0:06:27.880 told us what they believe in and what they're willing 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:30.120 to do to get those things. So why do we 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:36.840 still find ourselves like a deer in headlights stuck with 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:42.280 regard to this country backsliding into fascism? Why are we 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:47.479 so in shock that we're unable to mobilize in any 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:53.880 real consistent way for people to get angry and stay angry. 0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:59.120 You know, On my other show Democracy Ish, which you 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:02.960 should check out, this week, I had a really great 0:07:03.040 --> 0:07:07.839 conversation with my co host and our guest, State Senator 0:07:08.000 --> 0:07:13.800 Malorie mcmarrow. Malle MALORYE mcmarrow is this state senator from 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:17.480 Michigan who went toe to toe and had a viral 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:21.360 speech that I think has now been viewed twelve million 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:30.240 plus times, taking on her white woman Republican colleague who 0:07:30.280 --> 0:07:33.600 called her a pedophile and a groomer, and instead of 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:37.040 her ignoring it in the way that Democrats love to 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:42.040 ignore attacks by these rapid fucking bullies, she decided to 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:44.920 go toe to toe with her and talk about the 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:48.520 fact that she is a white woman, suburban mom, a Christian, 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:52.200 you know, a Christian whose faith like guides and leads her, 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:56.840 and how dare she believe that because she stands for 0:07:56.920 --> 0:08:00.920 equity and justice for all people, including trans gender children, 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:08.480 that somehow she is a groomer or a pedophile. Her actions, 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:14.720 her words were brilliant, and she shut that Republican hypocrite 0:08:14.840 --> 0:08:19.320 the fuck up. I say all this to say that 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:22.840 ignoring bullies does not make them go away. It just 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:26.560 shows how weak you are. Now you all can say 0:08:26.600 --> 0:08:29.280 to me, well, Daniel, you're not a parent. So if 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:31.200 my kid is getting picked on and I don't think 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:33.240 that they can win, I'm going to tell them to 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:35.680 go run and hide. Well, I'll tell you that the 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:39.760 bully will always suss you out. Right, And what people 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:43.080 need to start recognizing is that, oh no, we will 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:45.720 fight back. Doesn't mean that we're going to win, but 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:47.360 it means that I'm not going to lay down and 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:50.880 get my ass kicked right without trying to stand up 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:58.520 for myself. Republicans have been kicking this country's ass for generations. 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:04.200 They've been picking apart our rights, our democracy, and all 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:08.320 of the things that actually make America America. Our ability 0:09:08.360 --> 0:09:11.200 to vote, our ability to have voice in our government, 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:14.000 our ability to be able to provide for our families, 0:09:14.000 --> 0:09:18.240 our ability to make choices about our own bodies right, 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:21.520 our ability to send our children to public school and 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:24.080 think that they're going to get an education and not 0:09:24.160 --> 0:09:28.040 be riddled with bullets. Republicans have ticked away at all 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:30.160 of those things, and we have allowed them to do 0:09:30.240 --> 0:09:34.360 so and continue to refer to them as like our colleagues, 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:39.120 our friends. Oh, it's just an ideological opposition, it isn't. 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:46.280 They have been a direct threat to our democracy for generations. 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:51.360 We just lulled ourselves into believing that there were things 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:53.480 that we could come to the table on, but not 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:56.720 recognizing or maybe not caring so much, that that table 0:09:57.080 --> 0:10:03.720 was the marginalized communities back that Democrats and Republicans would 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:11.880 decide to negotiate on top of. So what I'm saying 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:16.679 is that it is time, it is past fucking time 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:20.120 to tell the truth about who these people are. And 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:23.760 it isn't hyperbolic, and it isn't oh, playing politics, What 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:26.200 the fuck you think we do in government? What do 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:31.080 you think happens on Capitol Hill? It's politics. So you 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:35.240 play in it, right, whether you're devising up strategies, whether 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:39.280 you are playing with poll numbers, whether you are attacking 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:43.559 your political opponent, whatever it is that you're doing for 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:46.199 those people that are in it. It is a game. 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:50.280 The sad part is is that the results of that 0:10:50.360 --> 0:10:57.280 game really have impact on average people's lives. But let's 0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:00.160 not pretend that it's something that it isn't that all 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:02.880 of these people went to Capitol Hill because they believe 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:06.559 in the same tenets of our democracy and the constitution, 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:10.480 because they do not. So if you are needing to 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:13.440 set yourself apart and saying this is why you should 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:15.880 vote for me, then you need to make it clear 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:18.200 why the fuck you shouldn't be voting for the other guy. 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:20.880 And it shouldn't just be because oh, we have we're 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:24.800 ideologically opposed. No, it's because the other guy is a 0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:30.160 fucking threat to your life and livelihood. And if I'm 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:34.040 not making that clear and you to say to yourself, well, 0:11:34.040 --> 0:11:37.440 there's no difference between me and them, then whose fault 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:41.439 is that? Not the voter's fault, it's your fault for 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:45.880 not telling the better story. Now, Democrats have the fucking 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:48.960 truth on their side, and they need to wield the 0:11:48.960 --> 0:11:51.319 truth like a goddamn weapon, the way that Trump wielded 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:54.439 that crowd towards his vice President of the United States. 0:11:56.280 --> 0:11:59.800 It's past time that we continue to give these people 0:12:00.120 --> 0:12:02.960 pass and think that all of this, all of the 0:12:03.000 --> 0:12:05.560 fucking shit that we are living in right now, came 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:08.640 out of nowhere or came from Donald Trump, because it 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:13.920 did not. They've been plucking the democracy chicken all along, 0:12:14.160 --> 0:12:17.480 and that bitch is almost bald. So it's about time 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:21.080 that people start waking up and recognizing these people for 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:26.320 who they are. Coming up next, my Friends, my conversation 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:31.000 with our friend Kurt Bardella, get a behind the scenes 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:34.160 look at Comedy Central's The Daily Show on Beyond the Scenes, 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:37.000 an original podcast from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:39.440 Every week, host Roy Wood Junior goes deeper with the 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:42.920 notable guests and experts from the Emmy Award winning series. Together, 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:46.080 they use comedy to tackle current topics from gentrification to 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:48.200 gun laws and take a closer look at how and 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:50.960 why these topics matter. Listen to Beyond the Scenes from 0:12:50.960 --> 0:12:53.640 The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on the iHeartRadio app, 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:57.040 Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. New episodes 0:12:57.120 --> 0:13:08.960 every Tuesday. The Damage Report with John Idarola is one 0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:11.640 of the most popular shows on the TYT Network that 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:14.360 serves as your daily breakdown of the genuine threats and 0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:18.200 challenges facing our country and world. These days, we're confronted 0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:22.160 with an overwhelming sea of shocking, confounding, and devastating news stories. 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:25.520 The Damage Report is your life raft, helping you navigate 0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:27.920 the day's news and understand the damage caused by the 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:32.480 corrupt establishment, politicians, corporations, and everything in between. Join the 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:36.200 Damage Reports notorious fan club, the Dragon Squad, where you 0:13:36.240 --> 0:13:39.600 become part of the fantastic community of progressives. Create a 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:43.320 fun dragon nickname that fits your personality, collaborate and participate 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:46.520 in fun activities like voting for the Garbage Person of 0:13:46.559 --> 0:13:49.440 the Week, and much more. Listen to The Damage Report 0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:52.960 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:55.439 If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe 0:13:55.480 --> 0:14:02.240 so you never miss an episode. Folks, you know that 0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:04.920 whenever I have the opportunity to sit down with our 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:08.160 friend Kurt Bardella. You know him as a writer for 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:12.079 USA Today, The La Times, as a spokesperson and a 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:14.839 strategist for the d n C, The D Triple C, 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:19.480 All the Seas and All the D's. Kurt Della, welcome 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:22.920 back for the first time. I think I would like 0:14:23.000 --> 0:14:26.160 to start with a bit of good news, which is 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:30.040 that instead of me, you know, screaming and going blue 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:32.600 in the face over the fact that Joe Mansion is 0:14:32.920 --> 0:14:39.080 just a Republican in Democrats clothing major reversal this week 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:44.560 on climate change, on the inflation tax climate package, and 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:46.880 I want to get your thoughts because you would you 0:14:46.880 --> 0:14:49.880 would tweeted and you were just like, this is Democrats 0:14:49.920 --> 0:14:53.040 doing work, this is what this should look like. Tell 0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:57.760 us about why this reversal is important and why we 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:01.960 should be celebrating. Well, I think Democrats are finally kind 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:05.479 of hitting their stride here because it's really this trifecta 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:09.800 of policies, victories, really Probiden in the Democrats that we're seeing. 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:13.160 I've always believed, like in sports, winning the God's winning, 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:14.880 you know, you just got to get the first one 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:18.200 through and then everything becomes easier after that. The combination 0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:20.600 of you know, we've got some semblance of a gun 0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:24.160 reform bill passed, We've gotten now the chips built through 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:26.760 the Senate, something that will help deal with inflation, and 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:30.000 just American competitiveness in the economy. All the while Republicans 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:32.280 have decided to make their stand voting against things like 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:36.760 funding veterans and siding with China over this American Competitiveness bill. 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:40.120 And that brings us now to really this new iteration 0:15:40.560 --> 0:15:42.760 of Build Back Better, which is also really a package 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:45.040 that's designed to help people. It on inflation to help 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:48.480 address the climate crisis. And all of a sudden, Democrats 0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:50.960 are just racking up victory after victory after victory, where 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:54.360 Republicans are left looking around deciding to put themselves once 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:57.600 again on the opposite side of public opinion. There's only 0:15:57.640 --> 0:16:01.040 so many times you can take extreme position and alienate 0:16:01.080 --> 0:16:04.640 yourself from voters, whether it's women, whether it's people of color, 0:16:04.640 --> 0:16:08.000 whether it's senior citizens, whether it's the veterans. Like, at 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:09.800 some point, you're just going to run out of voters 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:12.120 because I can tell you, Daniel, there just aren't enough 0:16:12.160 --> 0:16:15.520 members of the KKK to put Republicans in Congress. I 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:17.400 ain't going to cut it. You need more votes than that. 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:21.040 And they're really doing their best to put themselves in 0:16:21.280 --> 0:16:23.040 a situation where they're going to snatch defeat from the 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:25.680 jaws of victory. You know, I want to go back 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:28.840 to the Veterans Bill for a Second Right. Because the 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:32.520 Republican Party has always fancied themselves the party of quote 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:35.000 unquote law and order right, the party of police, the 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:37.840 party of military. So here you have this bill that 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:41.520 would you take care of those veterans that are out 0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:44.680 putting their lives, their mental health, their physical well being 0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:48.360 at risk for the democracy that this party, the Republican Party, 0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:52.000 is working overtime to try and overthrow. I mean, how 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:56.840 do you think that Democrats use right the fact that 0:16:56.960 --> 0:17:00.480 you have this party that is voting again, it's our 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:04.280 veterans and their ability to take care of themselves, to 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:06.800 take care of their families, to get the aid that 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:09.239 they need after putting their lives on the line. So 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:14.520 how should the messaging work here about that? Because I mean, 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:17.040 I don't know why I was stunned. I feel like 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:19.639 we went We've been in the sewer with Republicans, So 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:21.240 I don't know why I was stunned by this, but 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:24.399 I was actually taken aback. You know. I think that 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:27.199 if I were in charge of the democratic messaging for 0:17:27.400 --> 0:17:30.400 every Democrat and every group in America, I would say 0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:32.800 you need to put together an ad that tossed together 0:17:33.480 --> 0:17:36.920 the leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump, insulting John 0:17:37.000 --> 0:17:39.920 Mking for being captured and tortured. You need to put 0:17:39.960 --> 0:17:43.840 together a montage of Donald Trump referring to our service 0:17:43.840 --> 0:17:46.840 members as suckers and losers, and then you need to 0:17:46.880 --> 0:17:49.399 juxtapose that with this decision by the Republican Party in 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:53.280 Congress to not support funding our veterans. The story tells itself. 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:55.399 The Republican Party is not on the side of veterans 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:56.960 any more than they're on the side of any other 0:17:57.000 --> 0:18:00.479 constituency in America that actually needs government helping, government service. 0:18:00.920 --> 0:18:05.359 They just aren't. You cannot be the pro military party 0:18:05.800 --> 0:18:10.159 and refuse to actually fund our veteran services. You know, 0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:13.760 Republicans have gotten away with this facade that they have 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:17.840 this monopoly on patriotism and liberty and freedom ever since 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:19.440 nine eleven. They've gotten away with this. When you see 0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:21.639 an American flag flank somewhere, you just now as sub up, 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:24.960 that's a Maga voter. How we got to this point 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:27.439 where they've been able to hijack what it means to 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:31.520 be an American is just uttered nonsense to me. And 0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:34.879 this is an opportunity for Democrats to start taking that back. 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:38.160 Why don't you think that that is top of mind 0:18:38.200 --> 0:18:41.920 for Democrats, like every time that we have major legislation 0:18:41.960 --> 0:18:43.919 that comes through where we get these folks on the 0:18:44.000 --> 0:18:46.520 record to know exactly what it is that they stand for. 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:49.080 And they don't stand with the American people, They don't 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:52.200 stand with democracy. They are standing with China, they are 0:18:52.280 --> 0:18:56.520 standing with Putin. What is it that stops Democrats from 0:18:56.560 --> 0:18:59.960 being able to air out the truth to the American people? 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:02.280 I mean, you know, Kurt, we have but a handful 0:19:02.320 --> 0:19:05.280 of weeks right, a handful of weeks left until we 0:19:05.359 --> 0:19:07.920 have midterm elections, I know, which is hard to think 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:11.960 about as the earth is on fire with their summertime temperatures, 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:15.480 you know, skyrocketing. But it's in a handful of weeks. 0:19:15.880 --> 0:19:18.639 What stops them from being able to just tell the 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:22.719 truth to use Republicans own votes and their own words 0:19:22.760 --> 0:19:27.320 against them. Yeah, it's almost a DNA thing, Daniel. There's 0:19:27.359 --> 0:19:33.520 this impulse that Democrats have that the right policies, doing 0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:36.119 the right thing should should win the day. And I 0:19:36.119 --> 0:19:37.760 wish we lived in that world. That would be nat 0:19:38.240 --> 0:19:40.600 I very much year in for the day where we 0:19:40.600 --> 0:19:42.800 live in that kind of a world. But we don't. 0:19:43.080 --> 0:19:45.399 And I think that's why, in part there's people like 0:19:45.480 --> 0:19:48.040 me now who have joined the Democratic Party to try 0:19:48.080 --> 0:19:50.720 to show them that. Listen, I'm not going to pretend 0:19:50.760 --> 0:19:52.840 like I have all the answers, like I'm infallible or 0:19:52.880 --> 0:19:55.200 the greatest strategist in the world. There are a billion 0:19:55.240 --> 0:19:56.600 people that are a lot smarter than I am. But 0:19:56.640 --> 0:19:58.760 I can tell you, having been a form of Republican, 0:19:58.960 --> 0:20:02.159 having worked in republic campaign to Republican politics, I know 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:04.600 how these people think and how they fight, and we 0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:07.000 have got to start fighting fire with fire. And oh, 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:09.720 by the way, unlike the Republicans, we don't have to lie, 0:20:09.760 --> 0:20:11.439 we don't have to make shit up. We just need 0:20:11.480 --> 0:20:15.320 to tell the truth and provide that context, that historical context. 0:20:15.359 --> 0:20:17.760 And I think that's missing so much from our politics 0:20:17.840 --> 0:20:20.639 and from the media, frankly, as the historical context of 0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:23.040 how Republicans have claimed to be one thing, but time 0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:25.399 and again, with their actions and their behavior and the rhetoric, 0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:28.399 have shown to be something else. You cannot claim to 0:20:28.480 --> 0:20:30.880 be pro military when on the other hand, the leader 0:20:30.920 --> 0:20:32.639 of your party thinks that they are much of suckers 0:20:32.640 --> 0:20:36.600 and losers. You know, when Joe Biden last week when 0:20:36.600 --> 0:20:39.360 he finally, you know, kind of went a little bit 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:43.040 toe to toe with Donald Trump when talking about the insurrection, 0:20:43.119 --> 0:20:46.160 which he has tried to steer away from. But he said, 0:20:46.200 --> 0:20:48.960 you cannot be pro cop You cannot be pro military 0:20:49.000 --> 0:20:52.360 and support and insurrection, like you cannot be pro democracy 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:54.399 right and not want to get to the bottom of 0:20:54.440 --> 0:20:59.160 how our country is being overthrown. And so I wonder here, 0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:05.880 you know, Kurt, should Joe Biden be doing more of that, 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:09.320 of that rhetoric that he gave, or is it the 0:21:09.400 --> 0:21:12.880 responsibility of let's say, a Nancy Pelosi and a Chuck 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:17.000 Schumer to anoint right those spokespeople in the way that 0:21:17.080 --> 0:21:21.680 Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell have with their rabid right 0:21:21.720 --> 0:21:24.600 wing folks like a Marjorie Taylor Green who says, by 0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:26.919 the way, we can deal with climate change because we 0:21:26.960 --> 0:21:31.199 have air conditioners and refrigerators. She is an idiot like 0:21:31.320 --> 0:21:35.320 Matt Gates who decided to troll and body shame a 0:21:35.400 --> 0:21:38.359 teenage girl, which by the way, he should probably stop 0:21:38.359 --> 0:21:40.720 talking about teenage girls, being as how he traffics that. 0:21:41.800 --> 0:21:45.640 But but so I'm wondering, do you is it Biden 0:21:46.080 --> 0:21:49.840 that needs to be to have the microphone, or does 0:21:50.119 --> 0:21:53.359 Pelosi and Schumer need to pass that around to the 0:21:53.400 --> 0:21:57.760 folks that actually have the platform and the audience that 0:21:57.880 --> 0:22:01.160 it will get across to. You know, in politics, I've 0:22:01.160 --> 0:22:04.480 always told candidates politicians, you know, be true to who 0:22:04.520 --> 0:22:07.960 you are. Joe Biden's a lot of things. A knife 0:22:07.960 --> 0:22:10.760 fighter isn't exactly one of them. So I actually don't 0:22:10.800 --> 0:22:12.520 think that he should be the one leading that because 0:22:12.560 --> 0:22:14.119 that's just not who he is. That's not you can 0:22:14.200 --> 0:22:16.000 people can always tell when you're trying to be something 0:22:16.040 --> 0:22:20.480 you're not. Um, it's inherently uncomfortable and it therefore becomes 0:22:20.520 --> 0:22:23.840 off as less believable. You know. I think that Joe 0:22:23.880 --> 0:22:25.960 Biden ran as a guy who said that he would 0:22:26.600 --> 0:22:29.159 conduct himself with dignity, that he would return truth and 0:22:29.280 --> 0:22:31.680 morality to the office of the presidency. I think he 0:22:31.720 --> 0:22:34.119 has done that, by the way. Um. But I do 0:22:34.200 --> 0:22:36.280 think that when you when I think about bare knuckle 0:22:36.320 --> 0:22:39.160 brawlers and baltic on the Nancy Pelosi doesn't get she's 0:22:39.160 --> 0:22:42.280 as tough as they come, and that that is much 0:22:42.320 --> 0:22:44.560 more her brand. I think back to her tearing enough. 0:22:44.600 --> 0:22:47.960 Donald Trump stated a Union address. Um, you know, you know, 0:22:48.040 --> 0:22:49.959 she she is someone who does not show away from 0:22:49.960 --> 0:22:52.199 a fight, and so I think that it needs to 0:22:52.240 --> 0:22:54.480 come from from from her. And in some ways I 0:22:54.480 --> 0:22:56.280 think it's starting too. I think that again you're seeing 0:22:56.600 --> 0:22:59.199 a subtle shift in posture from Democrats. I think that 0:22:59.200 --> 0:23:02.040 they're finally kind of got their mojio back a little bit. 0:23:02.119 --> 0:23:05.679 It's it was a brutal summer, There's no doubt about that. Uh. 0:23:05.720 --> 0:23:08.600 You know, everything that kind of could go wrong, things 0:23:08.640 --> 0:23:11.880 completely out of all of our control, did go wrong. Um. 0:23:12.000 --> 0:23:13.600 But now I think that we're starting to kind of 0:23:13.600 --> 0:23:16.680 find our straight I think Republicans, you know, they're the 0:23:16.720 --> 0:23:18.720 dog that caught the bus, Like, now what do you do? 0:23:18.920 --> 0:23:20.520 It's like you said you're going to do all these things, 0:23:20.600 --> 0:23:23.000 these horrible things, and guess what. You started to do them. 0:23:23.040 --> 0:23:25.800 And as it turns out, everybody hates you for it, 0:23:26.200 --> 0:23:29.040 and and and your answer for it is to continue 0:23:29.080 --> 0:23:33.480 alienating and offending people at an unthinkable level. Things that 0:23:33.520 --> 0:23:38.159 Matt Gates is doing, um, you know, is reprehensible, disgusting. 0:23:38.480 --> 0:23:41.040 You know, he's just a walking piece of shit. Uh, 0:23:41.040 --> 0:23:43.399 you know, And and I think that we're seeing you know, 0:23:43.440 --> 0:23:46.480 when I look at people like Ruben and Gayego from Arizona, 0:23:46.600 --> 0:23:49.959 Eric Swallow from California. You know, people who are are 0:23:50.280 --> 0:23:55.479 not afraid to start taking the fight directly to these Republicans. Um. 0:23:56.200 --> 0:23:57.960 I think that's a direction that we need to start 0:23:58.000 --> 0:24:00.440 going in, and I think that it's a coming upon 0:24:00.560 --> 0:24:02.640 every single person who's in the Democratic Party. I don't 0:24:02.640 --> 0:24:04.399 care whether you're an office or not an office at 0:24:04.400 --> 0:24:06.480 this point, if you have a platform, if you have 0:24:06.520 --> 0:24:09.040 a microphone of any kind, start calling them out on 0:24:09.080 --> 0:24:12.280 their ship and just do it in the most straightforward 0:24:13.040 --> 0:24:18.399 and feel honest way possible. Because Republicans are showing us 0:24:18.440 --> 0:24:20.840 who they are every day. You know, one of the 0:24:20.920 --> 0:24:23.439 things that has been troubling me, Kurt, are all the 0:24:23.480 --> 0:24:26.800 polls right? Every day there's a new poll that comes out. 0:24:26.840 --> 0:24:28.760 A pole that says the Republicans will take back the 0:24:28.800 --> 0:24:31.040 House in the Senate, a poll that says that Biden's 0:24:31.040 --> 0:24:33.359 too old to be president, A pole, A pole, A pole. 0:24:34.480 --> 0:24:38.040 Seventy percent of the country supports abortion, seventy percent of 0:24:38.040 --> 0:24:41.639 the country supports LGBTQ rights in same sex marriage. Do 0:24:41.760 --> 0:24:44.479