1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:01,560 Speaker 1: Welcome. 2 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:04,920 Speaker 2: It is verdict with Senator Ted Cruz Ben Ferguson. With you, Senator, 3 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 2: we said we were going to do a two part 4 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 2: series on this Colorado case that is going to the 5 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 2: Supreme Court and get into some more of the history 6 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 2: of it. This will be part two. But a prediction 7 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 2: that you made on this show seems to be much 8 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 2: closer to becoming a reality than anyone imagine. As the 9 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 2: former First Lady Michelle Obama said in a recent interview 10 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 2: that her fears about the twenty twenty four presidential election 11 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:37,879 Speaker 2: keep her up at night, saying she's terrified and she 12 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,320 Speaker 2: believes we need a real leader. It sounded to me 13 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 2: like she's saying, I might want to be the president 14 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 2: of the United States of America. You predicted this, sir. 15 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 2: Let's just take a little shock moment of victory lap. 16 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 3: At the same time, Well, look, it is certainly not 17 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 3: a victory lap because it's horrifying for the country. But 18 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 3: I will say months ago, we did an entire podcast 19 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,039 Speaker 3: laying out that I thought the odds were rising dramatically 20 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:09,400 Speaker 3: that the Democrat Party would pull the ripcord on Joe Biden, 21 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 3: parachute him out, abandon him, and replace him with Michelle Obama. 22 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 3: And my reasoning. Let's revisit the reasoning because because it's 23 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 3: you know, sometimes when I say this people they're like, Okay, 24 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 3: this seems ludicrous. Here's my reasoning. Number one, I think 25 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:29,039 Speaker 3: if Joe Biden had dropped out two months ago, I 26 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 3: think you'd see a ton of Democrats jumping in the field. 27 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 3: I think the top four in the field would be 28 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 3: Kamala Harris, Pete Boudhaje Edge, Elizabeth Warren, and Gavin Newsom. 29 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:41,559 Speaker 3: There'd be others, but those would be the top four 30 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 3: in that field. I am convinced in an open primary 31 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 3: in the Democrat Party, the winner would be Elizabeth Warren. 32 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 3: And the reason I'm convinced that, I think she is 33 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 3: the ID of the Democrat Party. They are radical socialists, 34 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 3: they're angry. Remember look in twenty twenty she ran and 35 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 3: Bernie sam they both split the whack job leftist part 36 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 3: of the party, and Bernie almost won. With Bernie out 37 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 3: of the field, I think Elizabeth Warren wins that open primary. 38 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 3: But at this point we're sitting here in January, it's 39 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 3: too late for Joe Biden not to run, so he's 40 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 3: going to run, he's on the ballot. That means the 41 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 3: only opportunity for the Democrats to pull Biden is at 42 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 3: their convention this summer. Now, if they do that, they 43 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,640 Speaker 3: have a problem. If they pull Biden, the next person 44 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:31,519 Speaker 3: in line is Kamala Harris. Now there are a bunch 45 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 3: of people saying, oh, they're going to replace Kamala with 46 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 3: Gavin Newsom. I think the chances of that happening are 47 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:39,239 Speaker 3: zero points zero zero percent. 48 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: Why. 49 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:47,519 Speaker 3: I think the Democrat Party is structurally incapable of replacing 50 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 3: an African American woman with a white guy, like I 51 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 3: think their party would implode and spontaneously combust in flames. 52 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 3: They cannot do that, And so they've got a problem 53 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 3: because if you're a Democrat and you want the Democrats 54 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 3: to win, most Democrats that break into double digits in 55 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 3: the IQ say Kamala is a really bad candidate, Like, wow, 56 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 3: we don't want Kamala to be the candidate. 57 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 2: But and remind, remind people she was one of the 58 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 2: first people to drop out and when she ran for 59 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 2: president because she didn't connect with anyone. 60 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, she got she couldn't figure out who she was. 61 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 3: Is she a liberal? Is she a moderate? What like 62 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 3: she was all over the place. Her approval ratings are 63 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 3: worse than Joe Biden's, which is hard because his approval 64 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 3: ratings are terrible. And look, I'm going to try to 65 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 3: frame this politely. I think it is a reasonable prediction 66 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 3: that Kamala will not be winning any Nobel Prizes in 67 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:48,600 Speaker 3: the future. 68 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: I think that's a good way of putting it. 69 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 2: And I think the Democratic Party knows that that's the 70 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 2: reason why they're trying to figure out. Okay, if it 71 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 2: isn't Joe Biden, who do we get and how do 72 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 2: we all Floadamala? Well, then you'd have to pick a woman, 73 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 2: and who better than Michelle is not just. 74 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,960 Speaker 3: A woman, an African American woman, And so from the 75 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 3: Democrat Party's perspective, that really is a set of one. 76 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 3: They couldn't push her aside for, you know, for a 77 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 3: house member, for a low like you can't push the 78 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:22,479 Speaker 3: sitting Vice president aside for someone further down the political 79 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 3: pecking order. So there is literally one person on planet 80 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 3: Earth who the Democrat Party could tolerate pushing Kamala aside for, 81 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 3: and that is Michelle Obama. And Michelle Obama is a 82 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:36,839 Speaker 3: first for or first lady. She sort of stands on 83 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 3: a different footing. And so we did a podcast several 84 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:42,359 Speaker 3: months ago that got a ton of attention and people 85 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 3: noticed where I said, I think the chances of risen 86 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 3: dramatically of Michelle Obama. Now, at the time, my assessment 87 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 3: was that it was about thirty five percent that Michelle 88 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,039 Speaker 3: Obama would be the nominee. Now that's I still don't 89 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 3: think didn't think it was more likely than not. But 90 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 3: going from zero to thirty five percent, that ain't nothing. Now, 91 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 3: in just a second, we're going to play for you 92 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 3: this interview Michelle did. I think this interview is incredibly 93 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 3: revealing and it's caused me to change the percentage that 94 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 3: I put as to the likelihood of Michelle being the nominee. 95 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 3: But before I tell you how it changed, let's listen 96 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,239 Speaker 3: to what she said on this podcast interview. 97 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: What is the thing that keeps you up at night? 98 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:27,279 Speaker 2: Now? 99 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:30,920 Speaker 1: Well, what is your biggest fear? Now after having overcome 100 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: so many It. 101 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 4: Has less to do with me personally and more to 102 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:36,360 Speaker 4: do with the world that we're in. 103 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: There's such a thing as knowing too much. 104 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 4: And when you've been married to the president of the 105 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:44,920 Speaker 4: United States, who knows everything about everything in the world. 106 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:47,880 Speaker 1: Sometimes you just want to do you know too much? Right, 107 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:48,600 Speaker 1: it's I don't know. 108 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 4: I don't want to know what was in that folder 109 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:54,039 Speaker 4: that you just got that made you quiet, you know, 110 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 4: I don't want to know why the security just pulled 111 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,720 Speaker 4: you over. I mean, it could be any range of 112 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 4: things that comes across the desk of the leader of 113 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:06,800 Speaker 4: the free world. Right, So I know a lot about 114 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 4: what's going on, and what keeps me up are the 115 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 4: things that I know. The war in the region in 116 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,479 Speaker 4: too many regions, What is AI going to do for us? 117 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:22,599 Speaker 4: The environment? You know, are we moving at all fast enough? 118 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 4: What are we doing about education? Are people going to vote? 119 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:29,919 Speaker 4: And why aren't people voting? Are we too stuck to 120 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:32,800 Speaker 4: our phones? I mean, those are the things that keep 121 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:36,600 Speaker 4: me up because you don't have control over them, and 122 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:39,840 Speaker 4: you wonder where are people at? Where are we in 123 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,360 Speaker 4: this you know, where are our hearts? What's going to 124 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,920 Speaker 4: happen in this next election? I am terrified about what 125 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:50,600 Speaker 4: could possibly happen because our leaders matter, who we select, 126 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:55,160 Speaker 4: who speaks for us, who holds that bullied pulpit. It 127 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 4: affects us in ways that sometimes I think people take 128 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 4: for granted, you know the fact that people think that government, 129 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:06,039 Speaker 4: you know, does it really even do anything? And I'm like, 130 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 4: oh my god, does government do everything for us? And 131 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 4: we cannot take this democracy for granted? And sometimes I 132 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 4: worry that we do. Those are the things that keep 133 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 4: me up, Senator. 134 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 2: Those comments, they were not off the cuff. It was 135 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 2: obvious she wanted to cover that, she wanted to get 136 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 2: it out there. It was well thought out, well said, 137 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 2: and that's the reason why when I heard I go, 138 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 2: oh my gosh, she's literally floating herself. 139 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 3: Well, I think two things really stand out for those comments. 140 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 3: Number One, the biggest argument that is given against why 141 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:43,840 Speaker 3: Michelle would be the nominee, as people say she doesn't 142 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 3: want it. She hasn't run before, she doesn't have the 143 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 3: fire in the belly. She has a great life. She 144 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:52,600 Speaker 3: has a life of a movie star at a celebrity. 145 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 3: She has a life of George Clooney or Oprah or 146 00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 3: Bruce Springsteen. She hangs out Martha's vine. She's got a 147 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:04,240 Speaker 3: couple hundred million dollars, she flies on private jets. She 148 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 3: doesn't want to be president. And what is really striking 149 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,080 Speaker 3: there is where she's like the thing that keeps me 150 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 3: up at night is who's going to be the next 151 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 3: leader of the free world? And she says, you know, 152 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 3: what does government do? She goes, oh, my god, government 153 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:22,680 Speaker 3: does everything in our lives. Now, that's a pretty powerful 154 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 3: refutation of the point that she doesn't care if it's 155 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,119 Speaker 3: keeping her up at night, and she thinks government does 156 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 3: everything in the question of who's going to be the 157 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 3: leader of the free world, it is what is filling 158 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 3: her mind. Okay, that's significant. And then the second thing 159 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 3: she says, where she's talking about being first lady, and 160 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 3: she says, I know a lot, and she basically is 161 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 3: like pitching her qualifications, like everything she knows because she 162 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 3: was married to Barack Obama when he was president and 163 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:54,960 Speaker 3: still is today. That that that that she like knows 164 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 3: everything the president needs to know. And you're right, it 165 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 3: does feel a little bit like a pitch. Hey guys, 166 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:03,720 Speaker 3: I'm here, I'm ready, I can step in, and I'm 167 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,439 Speaker 3: willing to do it. And so I would change, as 168 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,680 Speaker 3: I said, my assessment a couple of months ago was 169 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:13,679 Speaker 3: the odds of Michelle being the nominee were thirty five percent. 170 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 3: Based on this interview, I would change those odds from 171 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 3: thirty five percent to forty five percent. I still think 172 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 3: it is slightly more likely than not that Biden remains 173 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 3: the nominee, but I think it's fifty five to forty five. 174 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:33,079 Speaker 3: I think it is almost a coin flip. And candidly, 175 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:37,559 Speaker 3: I had been hoping the thing that might save America 176 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:41,840 Speaker 3: is that Michelle would be selfish enough to say, I 177 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 3: don't want the nomination, even if you hand it to me, 178 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 3: even if it's a coronation, even if I don't have 179 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 3: to run for two years, even if I'm just like 180 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:53,080 Speaker 3: invited into the Oval office with the blow of a trumpet, 181 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 3: I don't want it because I like my life. Like 182 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,120 Speaker 3: I would really like Michelle to say that, because I 183 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 3: think if she's the Democrat nominee, it is incredibly dangerous. 184 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:07,959 Speaker 3: She is a dangerous, dangerous, dangerous nominee because the first 185 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 3: Lady has a patina of teflon. She's not perceived as 186 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 3: overly partisan, she's not perceived as combative. Now I think 187 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 3: she's incredibly partisan. I think she's more partisan than baraque 188 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:26,640 Speaker 3: is and was as president. But look, if you look 189 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:30,200 Speaker 3: at the polling numbers, Michelle Obama is the most popular 190 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:32,480 Speaker 3: woman on the face of the planet. And that's just 191 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:36,080 Speaker 3: objectively true. And a first lady is protected by that, 192 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:40,160 Speaker 3: particularly a first lady that had eight years of the 193 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:45,440 Speaker 3: media and Hollywood just singing her praises. And so I 194 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,000 Speaker 3: listened to that interview and frankly, it scares the heck 195 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 3: out of me. 196 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 2: Well, let me ask you one other question and just 197 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:55,240 Speaker 2: remind people how this scenario could become reality if they 198 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:58,240 Speaker 2: maybe missed that episode where we talked about this. If 199 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:02,440 Speaker 2: Democrats wanted to allow Joe Biden, the place to do 200 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:06,760 Speaker 2: it would be at the convention, and explain how this 201 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 2: could go down very quickly where Michelle Obama hypothetically could 202 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 2: then have a campaign that would basically be two months 203 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:17,439 Speaker 2: in some days, that's it, because she wouldn't have to 204 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:20,680 Speaker 2: run a real campaign. You could also argue that there's 205 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:22,560 Speaker 2: a very good chance she then wouldn't even have to 206 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 2: debate if Donald Trump is the nominee, for example, because 207 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 2: it's a two month plus campaign. 208 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 3: Well, and look, that's one of the things people say 209 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:32,680 Speaker 3: in response to this is they say, look, we don't 210 00:11:32,679 --> 00:11:35,320 Speaker 3: think Michelle wants it because she didn't run in twenty sixteen, 211 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 3: she didn't run in twenty twenty. If she wanted to run, 212 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 3: they say she's not Hillary Clinton. She didn't dive in 213 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:42,440 Speaker 3: immediately and want to be the candidate on the ballot. 214 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 3: That's what Hillary did after Bill was president. Is Hillary 215 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 3: is like me, me, me, and Michelle did not do that. 216 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 3: I think it's a very different decision for Michelle a 217 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,880 Speaker 3: year plus ago to ask do I jump in? Do 218 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 3: I spend two years running? Look, run for president is 219 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 3: brutally hard. I know this from first ten knowledge. I 220 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:06,800 Speaker 3: loved every minute of it. But it ain't easy. It's 221 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:09,360 Speaker 3: all consuming. And Michelle knows that. I mean she knows 222 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 3: that uniquely, and that she was side by side Barack 223 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:16,080 Speaker 3: Obama worked his butt off running for president. He was 224 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:21,840 Speaker 3: a phenom of the modern age. And so she made 225 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 3: the decision in sixteen and in twenty and in twenty three, 226 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:30,120 Speaker 3: preparing for the twenty four election not to jump in. 227 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:35,880 Speaker 3: It's a very different cost benefit analysis to say, do 228 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:40,719 Speaker 3: you come in in the summertime in the convention? Are 229 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 3: you handed the nomination without having to debate a single 230 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:46,640 Speaker 3: primary opponent, without having the campaign, without having to fight, 231 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:49,520 Speaker 3: and do you have a three month campaign where the 232 00:12:49,559 --> 00:12:54,480 Speaker 3: media will be singing hosannas that Saint Michelle has come 233 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:58,439 Speaker 3: to save us. That's a very different cost benefit analysis. 234 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,160 Speaker 3: And I got to say, the number of people on 235 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 3: planet Earth who, if you were offered jump in for 236 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 3: three months and you can become president, who would say no, 237 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:13,160 Speaker 3: is really small. There may be some, but man, I 238 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:15,480 Speaker 3: know for a fact, if I told you right now, hey, 239 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:17,959 Speaker 3: jump in the summer, you can be president November or 240 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,240 Speaker 3: elected president November and start in January, you'd be a yes. 241 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 3: I'd certainly be a yes. And it's a much wider 242 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:28,760 Speaker 3: set than the people who are psychotic enough to actually 243 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 3: run for president. 244 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:32,559 Speaker 2: Yeah, and what an easy road. I mean, it would 245 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 2: just not it's a coronation. It's not an election. It's 246 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:38,000 Speaker 2: a coronation. But I got to say, if I were 247 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:41,600 Speaker 2: David Axelrod, if I were a Democrat strategist, I would 248 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:42,600 Speaker 2: be all in on this. 249 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 3: I'd be like, this is how we keep our radical 250 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 3: left wing agenda going. Joe Biden has so many faults. 251 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:53,840 Speaker 3: And by the way, Axelrod has floated trial balloons the media. 252 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 3: Who is the left wing of the Democrat Party. They 253 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 3: keep floating trial balloons of gosh, Biden's a really crappy 254 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:03,120 Speaker 3: can like, let's sing his praises, let's say thank you 255 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:05,920 Speaker 3: for coming in for four years, but let's put them 256 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:07,880 Speaker 3: on an ice float and push them out into the Arctic. 257 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:11,480 Speaker 2: All right, real quick, let's talk about your finances. It's 258 00:14:11,559 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 2: twenty twenty four and a lot of us are trying 259 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:17,319 Speaker 2: to get our finances in order. There are some great 260 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 2: news for homeowners. Interest rates have dropped and are now 261 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,920 Speaker 2: in the fives, a lot lower than what they were 262 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:27,160 Speaker 2: last year. If you've been buried in high interest credit 263 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:31,080 Speaker 2: card debt, now's the time to break free. American Financing 264 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:33,800 Speaker 2: can help you access the cash in your home to 265 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 2: pay off your high interest debt. Last year, their salary 266 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 2: based mortgage consultants help customers save an average of eight 267 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 2: hundred and fifty four dollars a month. That's like giving 268 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 2: yourself a ten thousand dollar raise. What a way to 269 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:52,240 Speaker 2: start the new year off. And if you start today, 270 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 2: you may be able to delay two mortgage payments. Call 271 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:59,840 Speaker 2: American Financing Today eight and eight six. 272 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 1: Forty nine. That's eight and eight six seven five forty nine. 273 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:12,800 Speaker 2: Americanfinancing dot net MLS eighteen twenty three thirty four MLS 274 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:16,280 Speaker 2: Consumer Access dot org APR for rates in the five 275 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:20,360 Speaker 2: start at six point four zero. For well qualified borrowers, 276 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 2: call eight and eight six seven, five forty nine for 277 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 2: details about credit costs and terms. I want to get 278 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:31,960 Speaker 2: also back to this bigger issue a part two of 279 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:34,800 Speaker 2: this conversation that we started, and if you missed it 280 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:37,160 Speaker 2: in our last show, you got to go back and 281 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:41,240 Speaker 2: listen to part one. And this has been a dive 282 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 2: into this case from Colorado that's going to the Supreme 283 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:48,200 Speaker 2: Court and what is going to happen there. And you 284 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:52,560 Speaker 2: wanted to break down the history as well behind the 285 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,400 Speaker 2: premise of this whole argument, uh, with insurrection et cetera, 286 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 2: and the president not being convicted of that. 287 00:15:59,080 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: Uh. 288 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 2: And I want to pick it up there because this 289 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,560 Speaker 2: is going to be something that moves and it's going 290 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:07,480 Speaker 2: to have a major impact on the future of this 291 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:08,360 Speaker 2: country as well. 292 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,320 Speaker 3: Well. That's right, And I want to encourage listeners. If 293 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,680 Speaker 3: you didn't listen to Monday's podcast, you ought to go 294 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 3: back and listen to it because in that podcast, I 295 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:20,880 Speaker 3: break down what I believe the Supreme Court is going 296 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 3: to do in the Colorado appeal, the decision about whether 297 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 3: Donald Trump can be on the presidential ballot, and I 298 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 3: explain why I believe the Supreme Court is going to 299 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 3: reverse Colorado, and I think there's a very real chance. 300 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:33,640 Speaker 3: I think it is more likely than not that the 301 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:36,520 Speaker 3: decision from the Supreme Court is unanimous. And I go 302 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,040 Speaker 3: through each of the arguments that Trump is making and 303 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 3: I give my assessment of him. Some of the arguments 304 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,360 Speaker 3: are stronger than other arguments, and I lay out the 305 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:46,880 Speaker 3: theory that I think is going to command a unanimous 306 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 3: Supreme Court decision, And it's the sort of thing I 307 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:52,640 Speaker 3: have to admit, Ben, you and I have done a 308 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:56,280 Speaker 3: lot of podcasts. Monday's podcast is one of my favorites 309 00:16:56,280 --> 00:17:01,280 Speaker 3: that we've ever done because the content in it, I 310 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:04,840 Speaker 3: believe you can't get anywhere else, Like there's literally no 311 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,639 Speaker 3: other source, there's no other podcast, there's no other news 312 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:11,520 Speaker 3: broadcast that there's no other source that has that content. 313 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:14,399 Speaker 3: And it's one of the reasons I love doing this 314 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,359 Speaker 3: podcast because we walk through issues at a level of 315 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:21,760 Speaker 3: detail and substance that it just doesn't exist elsewhere. 316 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, I know, it was one of my favorite shows 317 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,040 Speaker 2: as well, and it's amazing how many people actually responded 318 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:29,480 Speaker 2: going I can't wait for part two, because you clearly 319 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:32,600 Speaker 2: weren't done explaining how this is going to work through 320 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:33,280 Speaker 2: the Supreme Court. 321 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:34,240 Speaker 1: Let's pick it up there. 322 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:38,280 Speaker 3: Okay, So the Supreme Court has addressed what the Fourteenth 323 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:40,439 Speaker 3: Amendment in section three means, and it's addressed it a 324 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:44,600 Speaker 3: couple of times. First of all, it addressed it concerning 325 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:48,480 Speaker 3: Jefferson Davis. Now, Jefferson Davis was the head of the 326 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:53,359 Speaker 3: Confederacy and what happened after the Civil Wars. The United 327 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:58,840 Speaker 3: States indicted Jefferson Davis in Virginia for treason, and Jefferson 328 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:04,720 Speaker 3: Davis argued in response that the Fourteenth Amendment Section three 329 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:11,320 Speaker 3: imposed a penalty that barred a treason prosecution. Davis argued 330 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:15,800 Speaker 3: that that section three was an exclusive criminal punishment, and 331 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:20,960 Speaker 3: he said that applying it to him would violate double jeopardy. 332 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:24,720 Speaker 3: And he argued, as part of that also that section 333 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:27,119 Speaker 3: three was self enforcing. We talked about this in the 334 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:31,160 Speaker 3: last podcast. Self enforcing means a provision of the Constitution 335 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:35,119 Speaker 3: that doesn't need additional legislation to give it effect, but 336 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 3: rather has legal effect on its own. And in response, 337 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:43,719 Speaker 3: the United States argued Section three was not a punishment, 338 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:48,520 Speaker 3: or that if it was, that exclusion from future office 339 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:53,720 Speaker 3: was not the exclusive punishment. And in response to that, 340 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:04,320 Speaker 3: whether Section three the Davis the Jefferson Davis treason prosecution 341 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,240 Speaker 3: was never fully resolved. And what happened was there was 342 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:14,680 Speaker 3: a district judge named John Underwood who disagreed with the 343 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:18,119 Speaker 3: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Chase, and the 344 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:21,440 Speaker 3: issue was then certified for appeal to the U. S. 345 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:26,280 Speaker 3: Supreme Court. But then President Andrew Johnson gave Jefferson Davis 346 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:28,720 Speaker 3: a pardon, and once he was pardoned, it rendered the 347 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 3: case moot because you didn't have to adjudicate whether he 348 00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 3: could be tried for treason because he'd been pardoned, So 349 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:35,880 Speaker 3: he couldn't be tried for treason once he was pardoned. 350 00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:41,360 Speaker 3: And so that was one issue where there was a dispute. 351 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:45,840 Speaker 3: But secondly, the very same judges gave a different reading 352 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:51,879 Speaker 3: over Section three dealing with black defendants in Virginia. So 353 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:54,800 Speaker 3: you had number one, Jefferson Davis, the head of the Confederacy. 354 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 3: They had one determination. And then there were some black 355 00:19:57,119 --> 00:20:02,720 Speaker 3: criminal defendants who were sentenced, tried, and sentenced by state 356 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:09,240 Speaker 3: judges and there was a challenge to those convictions arguing 357 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,840 Speaker 3: that those state judges could not serve in office because 358 00:20:13,359 --> 00:20:17,480 Speaker 3: they had been in the Confederacy, and they were contrary 359 00:20:18,119 --> 00:20:21,399 Speaker 3: to the ban on people who'd taken an oath of 360 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:26,800 Speaker 3: office to support the Constitution then engaging in an insurrection. 361 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:33,520 Speaker 3: And what happened was that Virginia appealed. So the district 362 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:36,240 Speaker 3: judge granted a writ of habeas corpus, which is, in 363 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:40,440 Speaker 3: other words, it ordered that black defendants be released from 364 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 3: criminal imprisonment. And Virginia appealed that, and it went to 365 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:49,360 Speaker 3: Chief Justice Salomon Chase in his capacity as circuit judge. 366 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:53,840 Speaker 3: And so in nineteen sixty nine, the Chief Justice reversed 367 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:58,000 Speaker 3: the decision of Judge Underwood in a decision that is 368 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:03,800 Speaker 3: known as Griffin's case. Griffin's case is significant because it 369 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:10,479 Speaker 3: is it is the most meaningful Supreme Court adjudication of 370 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:14,639 Speaker 3: what the Fourteenth Amendment, Section three means. Now it's a 371 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 3: lone justice, it's not the full court, but it still 372 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:22,640 Speaker 3: has presidential effect. Now, what did the Chief Justice say? Well, 373 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:25,840 Speaker 3: on the merits of the Section three case. The Chief 374 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:28,280 Speaker 3: Justice began with first principles, and this is a quote 375 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 3: from his opinion. What was the intention of the people 376 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 3: of the United States? In adopting the Fourteenth Amendment, what 377 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 3: is the true scope of the purpose of the prohibition 378 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,679 Speaker 3: to hold office contained in the third section, And before 379 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:45,439 Speaker 3: answering those questions, Chief Justice Chase said that quote a 380 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:51,200 Speaker 3: construction which must necessarily occasion great public and private mischief 381 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 3: must never be preferred to a construction which will occasion neither, 382 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:01,400 Speaker 3: and neither in so great a degree, unless the terms 383 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:07,840 Speaker 3: of the instrument absolutely require such preference. And he went 384 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:12,240 Speaker 3: on to say the practical aspects of Section three. The 385 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:17,639 Speaker 3: Chief Justice said, the text preferred reading quote best harmonizes 386 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:21,439 Speaker 3: the amendment with the general terms and spirit of the 387 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:26,720 Speaker 3: Act Amendment. The principle forbids a construction of the Amendment 388 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:29,800 Speaker 3: not clearly required by its terms, which will bring into 389 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:36,679 Speaker 3: conflict or discord with other provisions of the Constitution. And 390 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 3: after that, Chase wrote, quote those provisions of the Constitution 391 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:45,080 Speaker 3: which deny to the legislature power to deprive any person life, liberty, 392 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 3: or property without due process of law, or to pass 393 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:50,640 Speaker 3: a bill of attainder or an ex post facto, are 394 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:54,399 Speaker 3: inconsistent with their spirit and the general purpose. With a 395 00:22:54,480 --> 00:23:01,080 Speaker 3: provision Section three which at once, without trial deprives a 396 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 3: whole class of persons of offices held by them. And 397 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:11,879 Speaker 3: as a result, the Chief Justice offered a solution to 398 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:14,919 Speaker 3: what he said were the practical and legal difficulties with 399 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:19,120 Speaker 3: giving Section three a literal interpretation. He said Section three 400 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:23,199 Speaker 3: was not self executing, and he said it could not 401 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:26,840 Speaker 3: be self executing, and he said that Congress did not 402 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:30,880 Speaker 3: implement Section three in Virginia until February eighteen sixty nine, 403 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:34,719 Speaker 3: when a joint resolution ordered the military commanders to remove 404 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:39,200 Speaker 3: ineligible officers who had not received amnesty from Congress. And 405 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:42,680 Speaker 3: so the habeas petition granted by the District judge Judge 406 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:46,399 Speaker 3: Underwood predated the joint resolution, which meant the grants were 407 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:51,680 Speaker 3: erroneous because the trial judges were not ineligible. What that 408 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:55,199 Speaker 3: means that there's a lot of legal jargon there. So 409 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:58,400 Speaker 3: if you're not a lawyer constitutional. 410 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,320 Speaker 2: Scholarship, I was only going to laugh and say, oh, okay, 411 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 2: put that in layman terms, so I understand it, and 412 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:06,000 Speaker 2: everyone else listening because I'm even confused on it and 413 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:07,119 Speaker 2: paying close attention. 414 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,399 Speaker 3: Look, and this is nineteenth century, and so nineteenth century 415 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,360 Speaker 3: judges spoke in some jargons, So I'd read you the language, 416 00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 3: but I get it's not easy to understand. It's not 417 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 3: easy to understand for modern day lawyers, much less for 418 00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:23,600 Speaker 3: non lawyers. But what he is saying is that the 419 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 3: prohibition on Confederate officers serving in office is not self executing. 420 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:32,959 Speaker 3: It doesn't go into effect on its own, but it 421 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:35,800 Speaker 3: needs rather an act of Congress to give it force. 422 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:39,959 Speaker 3: And understand what was happening here. These were state district 423 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:43,040 Speaker 3: judges who had presided over criminal trials, so they were just, 424 00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:46,119 Speaker 3: you know, a judge that you had criminal defendants who 425 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 3: had committed crimes. And the argument of the criminal defense 426 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:56,239 Speaker 3: lawyers were was, Hey, these judges had previously taken an 427 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:59,080 Speaker 3: oath to defend the Constitution and then they supported the Confederacy, 428 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:03,520 Speaker 3: so they're they are for they're ineligible to serve as 429 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:08,159 Speaker 3: state judges under Fourteenth Amendment, Section three. And therefore my 430 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:11,440 Speaker 3: criminal conviction is not valid because the judge that presided 431 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:13,320 Speaker 3: over it doesn't have the authority to serve in it. 432 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 3: And what Chief Justice Chase concluded was, No, that's not 433 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:24,200 Speaker 3: true because Congress did not legislate to give that effect. Now, 434 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:29,439 Speaker 3: do I think this determination is binding and conclusive on 435 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:29,879 Speaker 3: the court. 436 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:30,080 Speaker 4: No. 437 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:34,960 Speaker 3: And the way it works a decision by an individual justice. 438 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:39,119 Speaker 3: So the way it worked, Supreme Court justices used to 439 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:43,120 Speaker 3: do what was called ride circuit, and so the justice's 440 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,439 Speaker 3: riding circuit, and it was literally riding circuit meant in 441 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 3: many cases getting on a horse and riding around the circuit. 442 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:54,840 Speaker 3: Each justice had a different judicial circus circuit that they 443 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:58,440 Speaker 3: were the appellate judge for, and they would hear appeals 444 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:01,080 Speaker 3: as individual judges. In some way, it sort of functioned 445 00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:03,399 Speaker 3: like they were the Court of Appeals. And look, this 446 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 3: is relatively early in our country's history, so you didn't 447 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 3: have the full court of appeals system we have now. 448 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:13,800 Speaker 3: A decision by an individual justice riding circuit does not 449 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 3: have the presidential force of a US Supreme Court decision 450 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:22,760 Speaker 3: joined by a majority of the court. That is binding 451 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:25,399 Speaker 3: Supreme Court president and an individual circuit justice is not. 452 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:30,800 Speaker 3: But the decision of a circuit justice is considered persuasive. 453 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:34,199 Speaker 3: It's not binding, but it has real force. And in 454 00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:37,679 Speaker 3: this case, it's the Chief Justice of the United States 455 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:41,119 Speaker 3: opining on what the Fourteenth Amendment meant. And so I 456 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:44,439 Speaker 3: think in the Supreme Court argument that will happen on 457 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:47,760 Speaker 3: February eighth, you will see a lot of argument about 458 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:51,880 Speaker 3: Griffin's case. The DOJ will argue that there's a lot 459 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:55,439 Speaker 3: of modern day scholarly criticism that they don't like Chief 460 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:59,520 Speaker 3: Justice chases reasoning in Griffin's case. But this is going 461 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:03,040 Speaker 3: to be a major topic of discussion in the oral argument. 462 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:05,560 Speaker 2: When you look at which side has the strongest argument 463 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:08,840 Speaker 2: and compare it to the weakest. Who walks in with 464 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:12,639 Speaker 2: the biggest advantage with these Supreme Court justices as it 465 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:13,480 Speaker 2: sits now. 466 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:18,560 Speaker 3: So, and this is something I explained in the last podcast. Look, 467 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:20,399 Speaker 3: I try to think. Let me tell you how I 468 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:23,640 Speaker 3: approached arguments. I really enjoyed being a Supreme Court litigator. 469 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:26,880 Speaker 3: It was an incredible joy. And the way I. 470 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:28,600 Speaker 2: Appros by the way I got to ask you this 471 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:30,720 Speaker 2: question now because everybody listening is gonna want me to 472 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,080 Speaker 2: ask it, and I'm gonna ask it. Yeah, people hear 473 00:27:33,119 --> 00:27:35,800 Speaker 2: the name Ted Cruz and they know that obviously you 474 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,040 Speaker 2: ran for president twenty sixteen, that you love being a 475 00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:41,879 Speaker 2: United States senator. But every time I go around, and 476 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,639 Speaker 2: it happens multiple times a month, you're like, man, I 477 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:46,720 Speaker 2: wish Ted Cruz was on the Supreme Court. 478 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: Why isn't he on the Supreme Court. 479 00:27:48,119 --> 00:27:50,240 Speaker 2: It should he have been on the Supreme Court because 480 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:52,199 Speaker 2: you're so good at it and you love it. So 481 00:27:52,359 --> 00:27:54,720 Speaker 2: can you dive into that for just a moment, because 482 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:57,760 Speaker 2: everybody asked me that question and I always laugh and 483 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:01,359 Speaker 2: I'm like, well, there's some backstories there, but why isn't 484 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:03,200 Speaker 2: Ted Cruz on the Supreme Court? 485 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,000 Speaker 3: Yeah? Look, it is a very flattering. It is a 486 00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:08,119 Speaker 3: very kind thing to say. And as you know, as 487 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,440 Speaker 3: I travel around, people say to me with some regularity, 488 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:13,920 Speaker 3: you should be a Supreme Court justice. And look my 489 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:15,880 Speaker 3: response when someone says that, I just say thank you, 490 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:20,160 Speaker 3: because that's Look, that is an incredibly gratifying thing to say. 491 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:23,000 Speaker 3: The short answer is I do not want to be 492 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:28,000 Speaker 3: on the Supreme Court. I and when Donald Trump was president, 493 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:33,480 Speaker 3: that opportunity was very real. So for all three of 494 00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:38,360 Speaker 3: the vacancies that occurred under Trump, Trump had very serious 495 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:42,280 Speaker 3: conversations with me about them. The most serious concerned the 496 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:46,680 Speaker 3: initial vacancy, which was Justice Scalia's seat that was vacant 497 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 3: and was ultimately replaced by Justice Corsic. And right after 498 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 3: the presidential election in twenty sixteen, in November, I flew 499 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:55,760 Speaker 3: up the next week to New York I went to 500 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:58,560 Speaker 3: Trump Tower. I spent four and a half hours with 501 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 3: with President Elector and with his senior team, and he 502 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:07,239 Speaker 3: spent an enormous amount of time really leaning in and 503 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:10,560 Speaker 3: frankly trying to convince me that the Supreme Court was 504 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:12,560 Speaker 3: a great option. Now, I don't want to overstate it. 505 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:15,920 Speaker 3: He didn't offer me the position, but it was not 506 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:18,720 Speaker 3: subtle what he was saying and what his team was saying. 507 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:20,080 Speaker 3: They were all like, what the hell's wrong with you? 508 00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:21,560 Speaker 3: Why don't you want to go to the Supreme Court. 509 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:28,520 Speaker 3: Here's the answer. I think the court matters exquisitely. I've 510 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:31,480 Speaker 3: spent other than my time in the Senate, I've spent 511 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:35,240 Speaker 3: almost my entire adult life litigating in front of the 512 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:38,040 Speaker 3: US Supreme Court. I think it is an incredibly important 513 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:41,520 Speaker 3: institution for the rule of law, for our constitutional liberties, 514 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:48,000 Speaker 3: for our freedoms in America. A principled federal judge stays 515 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:52,640 Speaker 3: out of politics and stays out of policy fights. And 516 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:55,080 Speaker 3: if I were a federal judge, that's what I would do. 517 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:59,000 Speaker 3: I would stay out of those fights. The simple answer, Ben, 518 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:01,240 Speaker 3: I don't want to stay on are those fights. I 519 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:07,600 Speaker 3: think policy fights in political fights matter intensely and frankly, listen. 520 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 3: I think there are a lot of people who are 521 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:13,520 Speaker 3: wonderful human beings who want to be tremendous judges or justices, 522 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,520 Speaker 3: and I would like to be involved in nominating or 523 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:22,800 Speaker 3: confirming scores of wonderful constitutionalists to the federal bench. I 524 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:24,880 Speaker 3: don't want me to be one of them, because if 525 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,840 Speaker 3: you want to fight in the political arena, the right 526 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:32,320 Speaker 3: place to do so is in the elected positions and government. 527 00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:34,160 Speaker 3: So I'm in the United States Senate. I think of 528 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:40,000 Speaker 3: the Senate as the Roman colisseum. And to be honest, look, 529 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:43,320 Speaker 3: I how many people do you know in the Senate 530 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,200 Speaker 3: that are actually standing up and fighting this fight every day. 531 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:48,320 Speaker 3: It's a small number. I'm not going to give you 532 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:52,960 Speaker 3: a number, but it's not huge that are effectively going 533 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:57,040 Speaker 3: to battle day in and day out, defending the Constitution, 534 00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:00,000 Speaker 3: the Bill of Rights, defending conservative principles, defending our value. 535 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:03,120 Speaker 3: And I jump out of bed every day eager to 536 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:06,680 Speaker 3: do that fight. And so when Trump talked to me 537 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:09,880 Speaker 3: very seriously about the Supreme Court, I told him flat out, no, 538 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:12,800 Speaker 3: I don't want it. I wouldn't accept it. I am 539 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:16,080 Speaker 3: not interested in being on the Court. I care profoundly 540 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:17,240 Speaker 3: about who's on the court. 541 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:20,680 Speaker 2: But it amy one other question I want to ask 542 00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:25,160 Speaker 2: you about this case moving forward. You predicted that this 543 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:29,560 Speaker 2: is going to be probably a very stern Supreme Court 544 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:33,760 Speaker 2: on this issue with Colorado. As your mind changed at 545 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:36,120 Speaker 2: all since we did part one on that, I mean, 546 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:38,520 Speaker 2: you're back in DC. You've seen, I guess more of 547 00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:42,360 Speaker 2: the press reaction, You've seen more of the reaction in Washington. 548 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:44,920 Speaker 2: Do you still think that the Supreme Court is eager 549 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:47,080 Speaker 2: to not only take this up, but also to say, hey, 550 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:50,560 Speaker 2: you can't in America, In the United States of America 551 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:53,560 Speaker 2: right now, we let the people decide. We don't let 552 00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:56,920 Speaker 2: people dictate who you can and can't vote for. 553 00:31:57,760 --> 00:31:59,880 Speaker 3: So let me say I wouldn't say eager is the 554 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:04,160 Speaker 3: right adjective. They're not eager. The Court would love to 555 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:06,080 Speaker 3: stay out of this. They don't want to be involved 556 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:08,960 Speaker 3: in this presidential election. They want to stay out of it. 557 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:12,840 Speaker 3: But once Colorado ruled that they were pulling Trump off 558 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:16,000 Speaker 3: the ballot, the Court had to get in. And I 559 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:21,280 Speaker 3: actually think every justice recognized, Okay, we've got a responsibility. 560 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 3: We can't duck this. We've got to resolve this because 561 00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:29,360 Speaker 3: this is the court exists to resolve the most important 562 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:33,239 Speaker 3: legal issues in the country, particularly concerning the constitution, and 563 00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:37,760 Speaker 3: whether you will allow the voters to vote for a 564 00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:41,440 Speaker 3: candidate for president is right at the top of it. 565 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:45,760 Speaker 3: Is difficult to imagine a more consequential constitutional issue than that, 566 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:49,240 Speaker 3: and so I think every justice recognized, even though they 567 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:52,720 Speaker 3: didn't want to be in this, they had a responsibility 568 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:55,240 Speaker 3: and they really had no choice. Now, I also believe 569 00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 3: the odds are overwhelming, close to one hundred percent the 570 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:03,840 Speaker 3: Supreme Court will reverse the Colorado Supreme Court. I just 571 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:09,080 Speaker 3: I do not believe they are going to allow one 572 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:11,520 Speaker 3: of the two major parties candidates for president to be 573 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:14,280 Speaker 3: removed from the ballot and to tell the voters you 574 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:17,240 Speaker 3: don't get to decide who the president is. That is 575 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:22,600 Speaker 3: contrary to democracy. It is an assault on democracy. Ironically, 576 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:29,360 Speaker 3: while Joe Biden is prancing around and proclaiming his defense 577 00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:33,280 Speaker 3: for democracy, he and the Democrats and the media are 578 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:37,160 Speaker 3: trying to utterly frustrate democracy and stop the voters from 579 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:40,320 Speaker 3: voting for their opponents. I think the Court is going 580 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:45,000 Speaker 3: to easily reverse it, and I desperately hope. I got 581 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,120 Speaker 3: to say, there are very few things I have hoped 582 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:52,240 Speaker 3: for more passionately that I can recall than that. I 583 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:55,480 Speaker 3: hope that this is unanimous. If it's six ' three, 584 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:58,360 Speaker 3: If it's the Conservatives voting to reverse and the Liberals 585 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:02,160 Speaker 3: voting to affirm, that is bad for the Supreme Court. 586 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:03,920 Speaker 3: It is bad for the country. It is bad for 587 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:09,440 Speaker 3: the rule of law. It will cement the perception that 588 00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:12,560 Speaker 3: the Court is a political body, and that is disastrous 589 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:17,080 Speaker 3: for the Court. I am certain that there is no 590 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:20,160 Speaker 3: human being on the planet that feels that urgency more 591 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:23,280 Speaker 3: intensely than Chief Justice John Roberts. I know John Roberts 592 00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:26,279 Speaker 3: very very well. We've been friends for thirty years. He 593 00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:32,840 Speaker 3: cares exquisitely about the legitimacy of the Supreme Court. And 594 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:34,879 Speaker 3: so I think the Chief Justice is going to ben 595 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:40,279 Speaker 3: over backwards to find any theory that would produce a 596 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:42,680 Speaker 3: unanimous decision. There are lots of theories he could do. 597 00:34:43,160 --> 00:34:47,920 Speaker 3: The one I find most persuasive. If I had if 598 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:51,680 Speaker 3: Trump had offered me the Scalia seat and I'd gotten 599 00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:53,799 Speaker 3: the nomination in the place of Gorsa to the Senate, 600 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:57,040 Speaker 3: he confirmed me if I were a justice, the theory 601 00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:01,120 Speaker 3: that I would be inclined to agree with is what 602 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:04,440 Speaker 3: I laid out on the last podcast, which is it 603 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:11,080 Speaker 3: is absolutely true and I think correct that if an 604 00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:17,560 Speaker 3: individual engages in insurrection, they're not eligible to be elected 605 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:23,319 Speaker 3: to federal office. I'm convinced of that. However, what is 606 00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:28,600 Speaker 3: not clear is how you determine whether someone quote engaged 607 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:32,040 Speaker 3: in insurrection. As I described in the last podcast, the 608 00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:35,640 Speaker 3: Civil War was indisputably an insurrection. No one can dispute 609 00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:38,680 Speaker 3: that we had a four year war with six hundred 610 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:43,920 Speaker 3: thousand dead Americans. Like it is why the Fourteenth Amendment, 611 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:46,080 Speaker 3: Section three was passed. It was in response to the 612 00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:49,200 Speaker 3: Civil War. It is the embodiment of an insurrection. There 613 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:54,200 Speaker 3: is a real and acute debate over whether what occurred 614 00:35:54,239 --> 00:35:59,000 Speaker 3: on January sixth, twenty twenty one constitute an insurrection. I 615 00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:00,840 Speaker 3: think the answer is easy. I think the answer is 616 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:03,320 Speaker 3: hell no. I don't think it remotely reaches that level. 617 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:06,879 Speaker 3: But there are those who disagree. I will acknowledge there's 618 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:10,000 Speaker 3: disagreement with almost every damn Democrat and all of the media. 619 00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:15,560 Speaker 3: They say routine the insurrection, insurrection, and insurrection. However, the 620 00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:21,719 Speaker 3: constitutional question is, how do you determine that someone has 621 00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:25,840 Speaker 3: engaged in an insurrection in the Civil War. Since nobody 622 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:28,720 Speaker 3: disputed the Civil War was an insurrection. The only question 623 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:30,520 Speaker 3: did you engage in it? So if you put on 624 00:36:30,640 --> 00:36:34,520 Speaker 3: a Confederate uniform, if you had stars stars on your shoulder, 625 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:39,080 Speaker 3: you were guilty. Like that, it was easy to determine 626 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:41,160 Speaker 3: whether you fell into that disqualification. 627 00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:43,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, it was as simple as you could make it 628 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:44,280 Speaker 1: at that point. 629 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:47,879 Speaker 3: Yeah, there was no No one disputed the Civil War 630 00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:51,080 Speaker 3: was an insurrection. And I'm not aware of anyone that 631 00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:53,719 Speaker 3: disputed if someone was in fact a Confederate officer. I 632 00:36:53,760 --> 00:36:55,239 Speaker 3: don't know have anyone that said, no, no, I wasn't a 633 00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:59,920 Speaker 3: Confederate officer. Like the two pieces were admitted, and so 634 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:05,920 Speaker 3: so there was no meaningful factual dispute here. There is 635 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:10,000 Speaker 3: a reason that Jack Smith and every other prosecutor, that 636 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:13,719 Speaker 3: left wing prosecutor that hates Donald Trump, that nobody has 637 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:17,040 Speaker 3: charged Trump with the crime of insurrection because you couldn't 638 00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:21,680 Speaker 3: remotely prove that. The facts don't demonstrate it. And so 639 00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:24,479 Speaker 3: I think the theory of the Supreme Court will say, 640 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:29,319 Speaker 3: and I predicted a sentence from Look when this comes down, 641 00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:31,520 Speaker 3: and I think it'll come down, it'll be argued February eighth. 642 00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:36,640 Speaker 3: I'm going to predict it comes down February nineteenth. I'm 643 00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:38,359 Speaker 3: just pulling a date out. It will be some time 644 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:40,799 Speaker 3: between February eighth and March fourth. I'm pulling a date 645 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:44,239 Speaker 3: out of the air, saying February nineteenth. When it comes down, 646 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:48,120 Speaker 3: I'm predicting right now, there will be a sentence. We 647 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:52,960 Speaker 3: express no opinion over whether the events of January sixth, 648 00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:58,960 Speaker 3: twenty twenty one constitute an insurrection or not. However, in 649 00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:03,200 Speaker 3: order for the fourteenth Amendment prohibition to apply, there needs 650 00:38:03,239 --> 00:38:07,640 Speaker 3: to be a conclusive determination that it was an insurrection. 651 00:38:08,719 --> 00:38:13,160 Speaker 3: And for those who urge Trump should be ineligible. For 652 00:38:13,239 --> 00:38:16,080 Speaker 3: the Biden Department of Justice, which has urged Trump should 653 00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:19,560 Speaker 3: be ineligible, they have a path to prove that case, 654 00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:23,319 Speaker 3: which is to charge him with insurrection and convict him 655 00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:26,080 Speaker 3: and obtain a final judgment that he's guilty of insurrection. 656 00:38:26,160 --> 00:38:29,320 Speaker 3: If they do so, he will be ineligible for office. 657 00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:34,280 Speaker 3: But they have not done so. And accordingly, this decision 658 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:39,040 Speaker 3: should not be made by judges in Colorado or a 659 00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:43,840 Speaker 3: partisan unelected secretary of State in Maine, but rather, the 660 00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:45,920 Speaker 3: decision of the next president should be made by the 661 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:50,200 Speaker 3: voters and the American people. I think that that's what 662 00:38:50,239 --> 00:38:52,920 Speaker 3: I would rule if I were a justice. That is 663 00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:56,000 Speaker 3: the sort of opinion I would write. And my hope 664 00:38:56,040 --> 00:39:00,319 Speaker 3: is I really hope the liberal justices are are not 665 00:39:01,680 --> 00:39:05,239 Speaker 3: infected by Trump derangement syndrome like so many Democrats are. 666 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:08,799 Speaker 3: That they recognize the damage to the court if they 667 00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:13,399 Speaker 3: make this a partisan decision will be historic and irreparable. 668 00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:14,680 Speaker 3: So I pray they don't do that. 669 00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:17,120 Speaker 1: We're gonna be watching it all here, don't forget. 670 00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:19,920 Speaker 2: We do this show Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and a week 671 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:25,240 Speaker 2: recap on Saturdays. Hit that subscribe follow our auto download button. Also, 672 00:39:25,880 --> 00:39:29,360 Speaker 2: if you do this show and listen to it on Apple, 673 00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:32,560 Speaker 2: make sure you check your settings that you are following 674 00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:36,000 Speaker 2: the show, as a lot of that has changed recently, 675 00:39:36,239 --> 00:39:38,319 Speaker 2: so in the new year, make sure you check that 676 00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:40,920 Speaker 2: it is important that you do that. And the Senator 677 00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:42,919 Speaker 2: and I will see you back here in a couple 678 00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:43,400 Speaker 2: of days.