WEBVTT - The Next Generation Requires Hope 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:14.440 Good morning, peeps, and welcome to will Gate ap Daily 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:20.279 with Meet your Girl Danielle Moody, recording from an undisclosed location, No, 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:24.360 just kidding. I am up in Rhode Island this week, 0:00:24.720 --> 0:00:30.280 and folks, I'm very excited because this month of January 0:00:30.360 --> 0:00:34.600 is about bringing back on some of my favorite guests 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:39.080 and friends to get their thoughts about where they are 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:42.040 as we have turned the page on this new year, 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:45.559 and to get a sense of where they think our 0:00:45.640 --> 0:00:48.800 politics is going to take us in twenty twenty three. 0:00:49.479 --> 0:00:52.360 And so on today's show, I'm so excited to be 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:56.720 joined by my friend, doctor Christina Greer, Associate Professor of 0:00:56.920 --> 0:01:00.960 Politics at Fordham University. And you know, I love having 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:06.320 her on because, unlike me, she's a bit more hopeful 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:10.840 about this current moment. And you know, she makes the 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:13.640 good point that being a professor and working with young 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:19.640 people the next generation of political scholars and leaders, requires hopefulness. 0:01:19.720 --> 0:01:22.720 It requires that you can pass the baton to the 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:25.440 next generation and hope that they take it further than you. 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:30.520 The problem that I have isn't in my hope or 0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:33.880 faith in the next generation. It's the ship show. Apparently, 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:37.680 you know that we are giving them to inherit. As 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:41.160 I look at the current landscape and as I'm recording 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:45.920 this right now, yet another scandal unfolding about George Santos. That, 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:49.280 of course, Kevin McCarthy either plays like he has amnesia 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:52.320 or he is just that dumb, or he's just that 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:56.400 conniving when it comes to holding on to his Fisher 0:01:56.480 --> 0:02:01.600 Price gabble, which is you know, sickening because I've said, 0:02:01.840 --> 0:02:06.400 you know, I used to hold members of Congress, those 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:11.880 elected officials in such high esteem. I believe that, you know, 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:15.920 they went into public service because they cared about, you know, 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:20.400 moving the country forward. They cared about the lives of 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:24.480 the American people and creating policies and legislation that you know, 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:27.520 would help make their lives better. But that's not where 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:30.240 we are, and those days are long, long, long gone. 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:34.119 But you know, you can't help but feel sick for it, 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:37.680 you know, in your stomach. And you know, these latest 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:40.560 scandals around George Santos and where he did he get 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:43.079 his money from? Is that even his real name? Now? 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:47.160 He apparently was a drag performer in Brazil or you know, 0:02:47.360 --> 0:02:49.600 dressed up in drag and you know, frankly, I could 0:02:49.600 --> 0:02:52.680 give a fuck about whether or not he, you know, 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:55.440 dressed up in drag. I just hate the fact that 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:59.720 he's decided to associate himself with a party that is 0:02:59.720 --> 0:03:05.600 true trying to turn very magical, fun, joyful performers and 0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:09.839 performances into something that is depraved. I hate the fact 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:11.839 that you can't trust not a thing that that man 0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:14.160 has said, not about his own life or anybody else's, 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:17.400 because he's lied about everything, and that he is a 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:20.359 sitting member of Congress that is getting access to classify 0:03:20.520 --> 0:03:24.560 documents and we don't even know who he is, and 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:28.160 that should make everyone sick, but apparently it doesn't bother Republicans, 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:30.600 because how do they tell the difference between one grifter 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:34.760 and liar from another right. It's just that George Santos 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:38.520 is just so fucking bad at it. But regardless of that, 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:42.040 I get into a conversation this episode with my friend 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:47.720 Christina Greer about what she thinks about where our politics 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:52.720 is headed, particularly, you know, the latest story around Solomon Pennia, 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:56.840 the former Republican candidate in New Mexico that hired four 0:03:57.000 --> 0:04:00.920 hitmen to shoot up the offices of Democratic leaders, and 0:04:00.920 --> 0:04:03.320 the fact that that is not getting the kind of 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:06.600 mainstream media play that it should an outrage, but instead 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:09.240 we want to talk about twelve documents found in Joe 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:12.040 Biden's garage. It's like, can we pay attention to the 0:04:12.080 --> 0:04:15.680 things that are important, like the rise in political violence 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:19.760 that is being, you know, fanned by the Republican White 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:24.679 National Party. So, folks, you know, sometimes it is hard 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:29.320 to muster the faith and belief that you know, young 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:32.640 people are the future when the present is just so bleak. 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:37.000 Coming up next my conversation with my good friend doctor 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:42.760 Christina Greer. Folks, you know that whenever I have the 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:49.240 opportunity to chat with my friend, doctor Christina Greer, Associate 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:53.400 Professor of Political Science at Fordham University, I am always 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:58.120 quite pleased because she is, folks, much more optimistic than 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:02.400 I am, and as a professor, I would assume first 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:06.479 of all that you need to be. But Christina, this 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:08.479 is our first show in the new year, so happy 0:05:08.480 --> 0:05:12.719 new Year to you friend. I want to get your 0:05:12.880 --> 0:05:18.039 sense of what are you feeling and thinking about our 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:21.919 current political climate and how we kicked off this one 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:28.039 hundred and eighteenth Congress with a absolute shit show. Well, 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:32.160 one happy new Year. I love spending time with you too. 0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:36.520 I think I'm always, you know, optimistic, because I teach 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:40.480 young people, so I'm with the future of this country 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:44.000 on a weekly daily basis. So I feel like we're 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:46.480 in good hands. And I love gen Z. I just 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:50.279 think they're the Besneys, and they're interesting and they're heart scrabble. 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:53.160 They're a lot more like gen Z like us, you know, 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:56.679 because they're kind of growing up without everything. They didn't 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:59.800 really have helicopter parents. Money is a little wonky, like 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:04.520 everything's uncertain, and so they're kind of a transition generation 0:06:04.600 --> 0:06:08.680 the way we were, from technology and race and gender 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:10.600 and immigration. I mean, so many things were going on 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:14.280 when you think about our childhoods, and same with them. 0:06:14.320 --> 0:06:16.240 It's a lot of tragedy, it's a lot of chaos, 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:21.120 it's a lot of confusion. So I really feel good 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:25.520 about them. As far as this new Congress, you know, yes, 0:06:25.640 --> 0:06:29.240 am I worried about our Democratic Republic. Absolutely? Am I 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:32.200 worried about the world and other countries that are unfortunately 0:06:32.200 --> 0:06:36.599 following our suit with January sixth? Absolutely, do I think that, 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:40.600 you know, Joe Biden has done much better than expected. Yes, 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:44.240 Do I think that Republicans have a good chance of 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:48.160 overplaying their hands. Yeah, it's going to be a difficult 0:06:48.880 --> 0:06:52.039 Congress because the margins are so slim. You know, we 0:06:52.120 --> 0:06:55.960 have divided government where Republicans control the House now and 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:59.240 Democrats control the Senate by a small margin. But you know, 0:06:59.680 --> 0:07:02.479 you have Hackem Jeffries, who's been under the tutelage of 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:06.560 Lancy Pelosi for many years, and she's still there, you know, 0:07:06.640 --> 0:07:10.080 sort of serving as a shadow mentor. Luckily for the 0:07:10.080 --> 0:07:13.480 Democratic Party, she's passed the baton and we're starting to 0:07:13.520 --> 0:07:17.119 think about a new generation of leaders. You know, Huckem 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:19.240 Jeffries is early fifties, so it's not like he's a 0:07:19.280 --> 0:07:23.640 spring chicken. But like nobody is out into and octen nagarian. 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:27.520 So I got a lot of octagenarians and septagenarians, you know, 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:31.800 running stuff. You know Bernie Elizabeth Warren, Maxine Waters is 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:35.080 eighty four, Like she looks fantastic, but she's eighty four. 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:38.160 You know, Nancy Pelosi eighties, you know, Joe Biden eighty. 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:40.400 I still understand why these people don't want to spend 0:07:40.400 --> 0:07:42.360 time with the grandkids. But hey, that's just me right, 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:44.920 Like I would think my mom's like I love being 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:46.680 a grandma and she's like, you know, going to them 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:52.800 all with my knees like whatever. So I think Republicans, 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:56.760 because they've got so many factions and they've let the 0:07:56.840 --> 0:08:02.200 inmates start running the asylum, they have created not just 0:08:02.320 --> 0:08:06.400 a dragon, a series of dragons that they are now 0:08:06.480 --> 0:08:10.800 trying to contain and quell. And these dragons have said, 0:08:10.840 --> 0:08:12.920 I will burn this country down to the ground if 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:16.600 you don't give me what I want. And I believe them, right, 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:20.680 I believe they'll do it. Um. But I do think that, 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:25.600 you know, Democrats are at least trying to have a 0:08:25.720 --> 0:08:28.800 unified front, like we do have a lot of our 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:32.959 own factions. But the blessing for Democrats is, you know, 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:36.760 the progressive wing isn't ready to burn down the country 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:41.600 to get what they want. You know, they actually will sometimes, right, 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:43.319 but I mean they're willing to come to the table 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:46.839 with a good faith effort to at least compromise and 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:51.040 try and have a more nuanced and adult conversation. You know, 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:53.160 you also just have to look at the quality of 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:56.800 candidates the Republican Party has come to. Please get what 0:08:57.160 --> 0:08:59.640 give us a rundown of the trail, Like, what's the 0:08:59.720 --> 0:09:02.679 long term strategy for them. You can't have a party with. 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:05.559 You know, Laura Bobert is one of your stars. Matt 0:09:05.559 --> 0:09:09.160 gets tiptok, like, you know, we we will get to 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:14.120 the bottom of you and your predilection for young girls. Right, 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:17.680 m You've got Marjorie Taylor Green, who's like a loon. 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:21.480 I haven't even touched on George Santos, where you know, 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:24.880 we don't know jokes about this man, but like he's 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:27.560 clearly mentally unstable. If you're gonna lie about your mother, 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:30.400 you're gonna you're gonna lie about literally everything in your CV. 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:33.040 And also, we're gonna get to the bottom of George 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:36.400 Santos because you can't go from making fifty thousand or 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:39.000 thirty five thousand dollars and being evicted every few months 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:40.959 to all of a sudden having five million dollars and 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:44.079 being able to loan yourself seven hundred thousand. Where is 0:09:44.280 --> 0:09:47.400 that money coming from? Now? Republicans aren't going to ask 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:49.120 that question because we didn't ask that question of Marco 0:09:49.240 --> 0:09:51.120 Rubio when he was able to pay off all his debt. 0:09:51.280 --> 0:09:53.360 We didn't ask that question of Brett Kavanaugh when he 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:55.600 was able to pay off all his debt miraculously. And 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:57.640 this is these are people who had hundreds of thousands 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:01.160 of debt. So we know Republicans aren't going to do it. 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:04.320 And the Rogerstone model for Republicans is just to like 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:08.079 throw so many chaos bombs. We're just we're all over 0:10:08.120 --> 0:10:11.959 the police trying to grab truth and knowledge and figure 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:14.480 out what's going on. And it looks like Democrats are 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:16.839 just being petty and going after Republicans all the time. 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:18.880 It's like, well, y'all keep doing stuff, right, you keep 0:10:18.920 --> 0:10:20.719 breaking the law or potentially bringing the law, and we're 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:23.680 trying to find out. But I think that like at 0:10:23.720 --> 0:10:29.200 some point Republicans are going to expose themselves for the 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:33.480 fact that like they don't have any policies. But I mean, 0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:37.160 but Christina, we keep saying this, we do, we keep 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:39.720 saying this, as Democrats said, at some point in time, 0:10:40.200 --> 0:10:43.760 you know, the American people are going to realize they 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:45.960 don't have an agenda. I mean, they didn't put up 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:50.679 an agenda for the twenty twenty election. The RNC did 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:52.400 not put up a new agenda, and they said, oh, 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:54.439 let's run it back to twenty sixteen, like it was 0:10:54.440 --> 0:10:58.000 a mixtape. So you know what I'm saying. So it's like, 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:01.040 at what point, because we keep way for people to 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:04.240 be like, oh yeah, that's right. They really don't have nothing. 0:11:04.320 --> 0:11:08.440 They literally have nothing to offer the American people except 0:11:08.480 --> 0:11:11.120 a roll back to the nineteen fifties. But then it 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:15.760 doesn't happen. But here's the thing. I think you're talking 0:11:15.800 --> 0:11:19.520 about changing hearts and minds, which I don't think it 0:11:19.559 --> 0:11:21.560 is going to happen for the vast majority of Republicans, 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:24.800 right because if you've been with this nonsense clown car 0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:28.160 since twenty sixteen, like you're in it, Okay, you clearly 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:30.440 are comfortable in it, so be in it. But I 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:33.280 think that the Democrats are getting more and more people 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:36.320 who one or two things who either were like I 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:39.240 don't really care, nothing really affects me. I don't know. 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:41.320 They're starting to pay attention a little bit more. And 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:44.040 also younger people, not all young people, because we've seen 0:11:44.080 --> 0:11:47.679 Republicans are doing very well recruiting young people to their racist, 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:50.520 fascist ideologies, but there are a lot of young people 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:54.600 who are like, this is not what I want, Like I, 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:57.880 you know, like I can have a complicated question conversation 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:00.720 about a woman's right to choose like they are seeing 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:04.080 nuanced conversations about the environment. They are seeing it's like 0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:06.920 my education system did fail me. Wait a minute, like 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:09.200 I could pay all this money to the government, and 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:12.040 like my school wasn't like my friends school. Like that 0:12:12.200 --> 0:12:14.120 doesn't make any sense. There are a lot of people 0:12:14.120 --> 0:12:17.240 who were putting two and two together. They're frustrated that 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:20.160 the quote unquote government looks a certain way, but they 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:23.400 are also they are able to decipher the difference between 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:27.120 these two parties because if you look at some of 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:30.880 the disaggregated data for these close raisings that we saw, 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:33.120 which is really scary that they were close. Like I'm 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:34.760 not saying like, oh, we're out of the woods, we 0:12:34.760 --> 0:12:36.600 were nowhere in it. I mean, we were praying about 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:40.440 herschel Walker. The man couldn't put together two sentences with 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:43.560 a flashlight and some assistants, And we were praying to 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:46.520 God that Reverend Warnock, and that not even Reverend Warnock, 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:49.520 because we knew that he wasn't above average candidate, But 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:52.200 we were praying to God that the people of Georgia, 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:56.120 after all the gerrymandering, voter suppression and threats, that they 0:12:56.120 --> 0:12:58.280 would make it to the polls and be able to 0:12:58.360 --> 0:13:04.320 do the right thing right. I just think, I guess 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:09.120 for me, it's so, if we're not trying to change 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:12.880 hearts and minds, because you say it's a lost cause, 0:13:12.920 --> 0:13:17.360 then what are we trying to change. I think we're 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:20.520 trying to articulate a vision to get more people off 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:24.680 the sidelines and more present and active because I think 0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:28.239 that we've put a lot of focus on national politics. 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:31.440 But what I'm seeing and I'm encouraged by, is a 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:34.920 lot of people are getting a lot more active on 0:13:35.000 --> 0:13:39.400 local levels and paying attention on statewide levels because they 0:13:39.480 --> 0:13:43.480 recognize the pipeline. They recognize that these people hold a 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:47.840 lot of power over their lives, and they also recognize 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:49.679 that these people are in control of a lot of money. 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:53.400 So while I say, and I agree with you that 0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:55.880 the federal government and Joe Baia, nic Gamala Harris and 0:13:56.160 --> 0:14:00.600 the eighteenth Congress is incredibly important, I also would argue 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:04.320 that on local levels and in state houses, people are 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:07.840 starting to get a lot more savvy and pay attention. 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:12.080 And I think that's what makes me a little more optimistic. 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:18.679 I just wonder. I guess my feeling is, I do 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:21.480 believe that more people are waking up. I do believe 0:14:21.520 --> 0:14:24.120 that there is a collective consciousness of raising that has 0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:28.040 happened because I believe that Republicans are overplaying their hand. 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:31.880 You have the job's decision, you have rollback in states' 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:35.280 ability to have their gun laws right, like in New 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:37.520 York City we saw them throw out one hundred year 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:43.320 old bands. Right, it's all states rights as long as 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:45.600 it is a state that is run by a Republican. 0:14:46.000 --> 0:14:48.920 If it's a Democrat, then there is no state rights. Right. 0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:53.360 Then then the Republican stooges on the Supreme Court will 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:59.040 ensure that we're all living in an unsafe environment. My question, 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:04.720 I guess, is are we too late or is it 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:09.080 that we are at a time in our politics where 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:11.920 things need to burn to the ground. Do you know 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:15.400 what I'm saying that we are We have gone over 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:19.480 the cliff. And so what happens right in order for 0:15:19.840 --> 0:15:25.200 the next iteration to happen, is that the old one, 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:29.400 the old systems, the old way of thinking, needs to 0:15:29.480 --> 0:15:33.960 being totally incompletely decimated. So is it that, right? Is 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:37.240 the hopefulness in that I just never thought in my 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:43.760 lifetime that I would see the fire right? Yeah? And 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:46.880 that's where we are. So you know, I think about 0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:49.400 this a lot, and I think this is where the 0:15:49.480 --> 0:15:51.920 two of us we end up in the same location, 0:15:51.960 --> 0:15:54.760 but we sort of come to the location from a 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:59.280 different different path. I'm more of an institutionalist and maybe 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:03.200 even an increment lists right, So I don't think that 0:16:03.280 --> 0:16:07.160 it's helpful to burn things to the ground because we 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:09.520 built some things right and like and also it's like, 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:11.760 I think if it more of a house, it's like, 0:16:11.760 --> 0:16:13.560 but we're all in the house, so like if the 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:15.240 house burns to the ground, like we're in the house 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:17.760 where we actually don't have the luxury of standing outside 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:21.800 of the house. I'm cautious about like the burning to 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:23.520 the ground theory because I'm like, no, then we all 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:25.200 just burn to the ground. And maybe I just don't 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:28.880 have the political imagination as an American politics professor to 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:32.440 imagine what that burning to the ground looks. I think 0:16:32.680 --> 0:16:34.520 if we look at sort of history and you know, 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:38.120 Danny L. Hammer and Barbara Jordan and you know Cecy Abrahms, 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:39.880 like you know, these three women that I'm kind of 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:42.920 working on this book about right now, it's ways that 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:50.720 you can you can uh take a part parts of 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:54.560 the house room by room, but not the whole time, right, 0:16:54.600 --> 0:17:00.360 So for anyone who's ever done it's like, right, well, 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:02.200 you know, I don't think we have the luxury of 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:04.240 doing a gut reno where it's like we just take 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:06.000 down the whole house because we already have a second 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:08.200 house that we can live in. We don't have that luxury. 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:10.680 So when you do a gut reno and you don't 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:12.880 have a second house, it's like, well, we all gonna 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:15.280 live in the living room while we're doing the kitchen, right, 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:17.600 and it's gonna be some growing paints. And I think 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:20.680 we are in the middle of a gut reno. That's 0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:22.800 what I would argue. We're in the middle of it. 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:27.120 And so how that new facade looks, how that new 0:17:27.200 --> 0:17:31.960 room looks, is where we're feeling this tension. And you're like, listen, 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:35.720 you know, if we've already always had this type of style, 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:37.840 you're essentially I think you're burned to the ground. Is like, 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:41.360 let's do something totally different. And I agree with that, 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:44.160 but I'm saying, we got to be in the house 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:46.320 while we're doing it. So how do we sort of 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:50.119 figure that out? And I think for me, My strategy 0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:53.359 is to really pay attention to local and state level 0:17:53.400 --> 0:17:58.400 politics to help us get a better handle on federal 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:02.480 level politics. You know, to pay attention to these judges 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:07.879 that come from these tiny you know, states or tiny 0:18:07.960 --> 0:18:10.119 courts that all of a sudden make their way up 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:12.280 and their federal judges all of a sudden. You know, 0:18:12.359 --> 0:18:15.480 like to pay attention to these pipelines. It's like Matt 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:17.480 Getz didn't come out of nowhere. You know. People who 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:20.960 become members of Congress oftentimes you know, spend a little 0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:23.240 time in their statehouse. So if you're problematic, let's cut 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:25.920 you off before you ever get to run for Congress. 0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:31.720 You know, So like paying attention to the seedlings before 0:18:31.760 --> 0:18:38.679 they become mighty oak. You know. Speaking of which, I 0:18:38.720 --> 0:18:45.280 want to get your thoughts on Solomon Pennia, who yes 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:52.240 to me, is a one poison apple from the poisonous 0:18:52.400 --> 0:18:57.960 orchard that is the Republican Party. Solomon penny Are, folks, 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:02.720 as as you may be coming to understand, is the 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:10.920 former GOP candidate for a House seed out of New 0:19:10.960 --> 0:19:14.880 Mexico who lost by a substantial amount, not a little bit, 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:19.800 but over thirty five hundred votes. Refused refused to to 0:19:19.960 --> 0:19:26.640 seede to his opponent, and then, as reports are coming out, 0:19:26.720 --> 0:19:31.479 has paid four different men as essentially hitmen, to shoot 0:19:31.560 --> 0:19:35.240 up the offices and the homes of his Democratic opponents 0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:41.760 and other Democratic officials within New Mexico. This man who 0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:46.080 had pictures at the January sixth insurrection, he was there 0:19:46.960 --> 0:19:52.240 pictures at Trump rallies, took a page out of Donald 0:19:52.280 --> 0:19:56.359 Trump's book not to seede his loss, regardless of how big, 0:19:57.480 --> 0:20:04.480 and then as shifted to violence. Where is this headed, Christina? 0:20:04.560 --> 0:20:08.560 And how do how do your students right? Because when 0:20:08.600 --> 0:20:14.640 I was a student of political science, you're talking about, 0:20:14.800 --> 0:20:19.120 you know, things that were unlikely to happen, or political 0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:22.720 violence that was the norm in other countries but not 0:20:22.800 --> 0:20:27.159 in the United States. How do you talk about this moment? 0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:30.280 And the fact that I don't think that Solomon Pennia 0:20:30.480 --> 0:20:34.199 is the last Oh absolutely not. I mean, listen, we 0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:38.200 didn't take it seriously when Gabby Giffords was right, right, 0:20:38.320 --> 0:20:42.720 And so the fact that we don't have a persistent, 0:20:43.440 --> 0:20:49.120 full throated denunciation by the Republican Party on a daily 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:52.800 basis of like, we will not have this in our name, 0:20:52.840 --> 0:20:55.119 we will not have anyone affiliated with us doing this. 0:20:55.440 --> 0:20:59.480 We will not actually ignore this. We are going to 0:20:59.520 --> 0:21:03.080 see it again. And it's frightening and it's frustrating. We 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:06.720 have a few deadly combinations. One, as you lay it out, 0:21:07.040 --> 0:21:10.840 this is the Donald Trump playbook. I lose, I lose significantly, 0:21:11.080 --> 0:21:15.119 but I refuse to recognize the results. Right. Two, I 0:21:15.200 --> 0:21:20.280 get radicalized by the Internet that tells me that I'm 0:21:20.320 --> 0:21:23.880 a victim and I should actually take what's mine. And 0:21:23.920 --> 0:21:28.000 then three, which is the deadly trifecta, is I also 0:21:28.040 --> 0:21:32.760 have access to guns on guns on guns, and everyone 0:21:32.840 --> 0:21:34.920 says it's okay for me to have guns in my party, 0:21:34.960 --> 0:21:37.040 and I should take pictures with them, you know, like 0:21:37.240 --> 0:21:40.439 how many female Republican candidates have pictures with them and 0:21:40.480 --> 0:21:44.399 their kids around the Christmas tree with big old guns, 0:21:44.480 --> 0:21:47.600 right finger on trigger, which every arms teacher will ever 0:21:47.640 --> 0:21:49.600 tell you never put your finger on the trigger unless 0:21:49.600 --> 0:21:51.159 you were ready to pull it right. So these are 0:21:51.200 --> 0:21:52.959 people who don't even have proper training and don't they 0:21:52.960 --> 0:21:55.200 don't even know how to handle guns. So we have this, 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:58.800 We have a man who, thank goodness, you know, the 0:21:58.880 --> 0:22:01.760 children who were in these democratic homes, you weren't harmed. 0:22:02.440 --> 0:22:05.520 No one was harmed, but we have Republicans are like, 0:22:05.560 --> 0:22:08.600 that's bad, but they're so afraid to say anything more 0:22:08.680 --> 0:22:12.760 because they don't want gun activists to come after them 0:22:12.880 --> 0:22:15.760 verbally or physically. Right, they want to keep that NRA 0:22:15.920 --> 0:22:18.639 money going. They don't want Donald Trump to target them 0:22:18.720 --> 0:22:23.000 because he still can galvanize people in an Internet space. 0:22:23.240 --> 0:22:26.600 But also there's so many Republicans, going back to my 0:22:26.640 --> 0:22:29.879 earlier point, they have created dragons, and they are desperately 0:22:29.920 --> 0:22:33.840 afraid of what will happen if their own party turns again. 0:22:34.040 --> 0:22:36.040 And this is something we've never seen before. Right, we 0:22:36.080 --> 0:22:39.119 saw Donald Trump insult members of his own party. We 0:22:39.240 --> 0:22:41.520 never saw them It's like consulting people of your other party. 0:22:41.760 --> 0:22:45.280 But there's so many Republicans now who were like, I 0:22:45.920 --> 0:22:48.680 help create this, I don't know how to control it, 0:22:48.760 --> 0:22:50.600 so now I have to tiptown to to around. And 0:22:50.640 --> 0:22:53.000 what it reminds me of Danielle, which is really frightening. 0:22:53.640 --> 0:22:55.480 What so many families that are dealing with across the 0:22:55.520 --> 0:22:57.960 country is that you know, when you have these like 0:22:58.200 --> 0:23:01.800 radicalized sons who get radicalized on the Internet, and you've 0:23:01.840 --> 0:23:04.800 been buying them guns since their fourteenth birthday and then 0:23:04.840 --> 0:23:06.800 all of a sudden you realize your son is a 0:23:06.800 --> 0:23:09.200 threat to himself and others, but you're afraid to say 0:23:09.200 --> 0:23:11.439 anything because you're afraid that he'll turn on you. So 0:23:11.480 --> 0:23:13.000 it's like you just sent him to school every day 0:23:13.040 --> 0:23:14.919 and just hope for the best. Like this is what 0:23:15.040 --> 0:23:18.160 we keep seeing around the country with families, and now 0:23:18.160 --> 0:23:21.359 we're seeing it in full own political party. And I 0:23:21.400 --> 0:23:25.840 guess you know. My feeling here is the mainstream media 0:23:25.880 --> 0:23:31.320 fails consistently and connecting the dots and you know, wanting 0:23:31.359 --> 0:23:34.399 to both sides the situation where both sides are not 0:23:34.480 --> 0:23:37.600 playing the same game, right, And to your point about 0:23:37.600 --> 0:23:40.879 Gabby Giffords, and I have brought this up before, you know, 0:23:40.960 --> 0:23:43.920 it was Sarah Palin that had her Darren mccratic opponents 0:23:44.040 --> 0:23:47.080 in literal crosshairs, and it was the shaming of the 0:23:47.160 --> 0:23:51.240 media after Gabby Giffords was killed that then she took 0:23:51.359 --> 0:23:56.120 down that website, right, And so, but if you live 0:23:56.119 --> 0:23:59.640 in a climate now where there is absolutely no shaming, 0:24:00.040 --> 0:24:03.600 where instead they're celebrating the likes of Kyle Rittenhouse, who 0:24:03.680 --> 0:24:06.720 is a murderer who is now a sought after speaker 0:24:06.800 --> 0:24:10.000