WEBVTT - How George Santos's absurdity helps Donald Trump's reelection chances

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<v Speaker 1>I woke up this morning, and, like I have for many,

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<v Speaker 1>many years, the first place I surveyed for the news

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<v Speaker 1>of the day was the Drudge Report, and as I

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<v Speaker 1>scanned the headlines, I came upon one that I couldn't resist.

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<v Speaker 1>George Santos, the disgraced former New York congressman expelled by

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<v Speaker 1>an overwhelming vote, is now on CAMEO. When I saw it,

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<v Speaker 1>before I came to my senses, I almost succumbed to

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<v Speaker 1>the nonsense, to the insanity, to the fact that what's

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<v Speaker 1>playing out in front of us, though it is deadly serious,

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<v Speaker 1>plays out like a joke, a farce, a Saturday Night

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<v Speaker 1>Live episode that never ever ever stops. The parody has

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<v Speaker 1>outraced the reality. The reality can't keep up. It is

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<v Speaker 1>an extraordinary moment. The absurdities around us continue to pile higher,

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<v Speaker 1>and hire and hire, and no doubt there are thousands

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<v Speaker 1>and thousands of people who will avail themselves of the

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity to have George Santos call someone they know and

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<v Speaker 1>say something stupid. At any rate, it's likely that soon

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<v Speaker 1>George Santos will be in a federal prison, where he

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<v Speaker 1>belongs to be, because he is a fraud a com man,

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<v Speaker 1>an utterly an absolutely disreputable figure, and that he found

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<v Speaker 1>his way into the Congress from the state of New

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<v Speaker 1>York under the nose of the New York Times says

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<v Speaker 1>everything you need to know about the absolute neglection act

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<v Speaker 1>of our politics by the American news media, which has

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<v Speaker 1>become an essential partner to the political class that they

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<v Speaker 1>are supposed to cover. Instead, they are in the conflict business,

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<v Speaker 1>making billions for cliques, sensationalizing lunacy and nonsense, and never

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<v Speaker 1>ever leveling straight with the American people. There are so

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<v Speaker 1>few that have stood up, stood tall, have done the

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<v Speaker 1>right thing, have followed their oaths and their consciences, and

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<v Speaker 1>did their duty to the American Republic. Let's be clear

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<v Speaker 1>about something. The burden of standing up to Donald Trump

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<v Speaker 1>has never been particularly high. What it called for was

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<v Speaker 1>the ability to hold firm against mean tweets. It's hardly

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<v Speaker 1>the same as running across Omaha Beach, which happens within

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<v Speaker 1>a living lifespan of people who to this day in

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<v Speaker 1>this country walk, live and breathe. But in this moment

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<v Speaker 1>of profound cowardice and cynicism, what we've seen is a

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<v Speaker 1>profound moral capitulation to the most unworthy of men, who

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<v Speaker 1>has built the most unworthy of causes, but one that

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<v Speaker 1>is within dangerous reach of shattering America's democracy and taking

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<v Speaker 1>away the agency, the liberty, the freedom to choose from

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<v Speaker 1>millions and millions of Americans. The American government will be

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<v Speaker 1>come a conspiracy of self interest between the political leadership,

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<v Speaker 1>the business leadership, the media leadership, and technology company leadership

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<v Speaker 1>of the country. There will be a small cast of

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<v Speaker 1>oligarchs who direct in control, substantially and overwhelmingly the lives

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<v Speaker 1>of ordinary people who are captive to breaking a leg

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<v Speaker 1>and being popularized by the medical bill, who are prisoners

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<v Speaker 1>of the algorithm that is dictated to them and to

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<v Speaker 1>their children, or to the addictions that came from the

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<v Speaker 1>license given to some of the greediest people in American history,

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<v Speaker 1>who are directly responsible for killing a million of our

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<v Speaker 1>fellow citizens with poison that the government told the American

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<v Speaker 1>people was safe. All of this has led us to

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<v Speaker 1>this moment of maximum danger where there has been an

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<v Speaker 1>absence of truth telling. Watch Joe Scarborough say something deeply important.

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<v Speaker 1>Nobody is telling the truth, nobody is saying the quiet

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<v Speaker 1>part out loud, and yet the situation continues to worsen.

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<v Speaker 1>There are new polling numbers out today that again show

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump is winning. He is winning in the key

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<v Speaker 1>swing states. He is on the march, And there is

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<v Speaker 1>a great national delusion, abetted by a great national conspiracy

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<v Speaker 1>of silence from much of the news media that refuses,

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<v Speaker 1>refuses to directly level with the American people around the

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<v Speaker 1>simple and central fact in danger of this moment and

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<v Speaker 1>in this era, Donald Trump is on the edge of

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<v Speaker 1>returning to political power. The event an election is less

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<v Speaker 1>than one year away. One of the people who has

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<v Speaker 1>stood tall in this moment is the former Republican congresswoman

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<v Speaker 1>from Wyoming, Elizabeth Cheney, the daughter of a Vice President

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<v Speaker 1>of the United States who before this last election advised

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<v Speaker 1>his daughter daughter, defend the Republic. The American Republic is

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<v Speaker 1>one of the greatest creations and achievements over the entirety

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<v Speaker 1>of human history, and it is in danger. It is

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<v Speaker 1>in danger because of a combination of malice and cynicism, selfishness,

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<v Speaker 1>and neglect. But it is not yet too late. This

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<v Speaker 1>moment will require an articulation of the importance of union.

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<v Speaker 1>We talk often in America about our disagreements and about

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<v Speaker 1>our differences, and we apologize to each other in advance

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<v Speaker 1>for any affront to the possibility that you might be

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<v Speaker 1>exposed to a contrary idea. It has led us to

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<v Speaker 1>a dangerous place. What it is time to talk about

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<v Speaker 1>is what we share in common. And what we share

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<v Speaker 1>in common is a heritage of Americanism, and what Americanism

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<v Speaker 1>is is a philosophy of freedom that believes in the

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<v Speaker 1>American Constitution as a vehicle to guide us as we

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<v Speaker 1>move into the future. That gives us the flexibility to

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<v Speaker 1>conduct our own revolutions in our own time, to bring

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<v Speaker 1>about change to face injustice. What we have been given

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<v Speaker 1>by our ancestors is a profound gift, and what the

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<v Speaker 1>gift requires us to appreciate is that in union together

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<v Speaker 1>across a mighty continent, that we are stronger together, that

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<v Speaker 1>we are free together. That we must respect and understand

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<v Speaker 1>the limitations of the ambition of the people who seek

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<v Speaker 1>to lead us. They are not kings or emperors. They

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<v Speaker 1>are of us, and they are below us. Our government

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<v Speaker 1>is a government of ordinary people. Our system requires that

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<v Speaker 1>it be of the people, by the people, for the people.

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<v Speaker 1>In this moment is challenging that premise that central idea,

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<v Speaker 1>and that idea must be held up, It must be affirmed,

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<v Speaker 1>it must be celebrated. We must defend it. We must

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<v Speaker 1>defend the idea that in America, the people decide the

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<v Speaker 1>outcome of elections and thus the destiny of the nation,

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<v Speaker 1>and that the power to do so can never be taken,

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<v Speaker 1>not because someone wants it, not because someone demands it,

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<v Speaker 1>not because someone needs it, not because someone is said

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<v Speaker 1>that they lost it and were overeating. That's for you,

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<v Speaker 1>Kevin McCarthy, because what you did was, at a moment

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<v Speaker 1>when Donald Trump was flat on his back, was breathed life,

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<v Speaker 1>political life back into the lungs of this sick, demented

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<v Speaker 1>old man in demagogue who stands on the edge now

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<v Speaker 1>a few years later, of taking back the power legitimately

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<v Speaker 1>that he legitimately lost, with no intention of ever giving

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<v Speaker 1>it back again. What Elizabeth Cheney is talking about is

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<v Speaker 1>important and necessary and timely. We must talk about it.

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<v Speaker 1>We must talk about it everywhere in every corner of

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<v Speaker 1>the country. We must understand this moment together what is

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<v Speaker 1>at risk. We, Despite whatever differences exist in America between

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<v Speaker 1>us politically, the majority of Americans support freedom, ours, our

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<v Speaker 1>children's and each others. It must be defended. It must

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<v Speaker 1>be defended now. It must be defended so that the

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<v Speaker 1>next generation will know what we have known, the fruits

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<v Speaker 1>of liberty and its promises. It's time to reform America,

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<v Speaker 1>not burn it down. And that's what this next election

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<v Speaker 1>is about, Mark my words. A great time and season

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<v Speaker 1>of testing is ahead for the American people and it

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<v Speaker 1>is time to choose America or Trump.