WEBVTT - From ‘Roe’ To Impeachment 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:03.240 House Democrats wrap up their case against the president. The 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:07.480 President's arguments will begin tomorrow, and we all march for 0:00:07.600 --> 0:00:11.000 life on the forty seventh anniversary of Roe v. Wade. 0:00:11.000 --> 0:00:14.200 And that sounds like it's two very different stories. Actually 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:17.120 there's a key connection between the two. We will get 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:19.599 into all of that. This is Verdict with Ted Cruz. 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:30.760 Welcome back. I'm Michael Knowles, and I actually should have 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:32.960 been more specific. What I meant to say was, this 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:37.440 is Verdict with Ted Cruz, the third biggest podcast on 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:41.080 the charts right now. Congratulations, senator, Well back at you 0:00:41.760 --> 0:00:43.800 we are. We are number three on the charts of 0:00:43.840 --> 0:00:48.320 all podcasts and number one in news. We are beating 0:00:48.600 --> 0:00:51.159 the New York Times. I'm sorry, could you say that again? Oh? 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:53.760 Did you? Maybe? Perhaps you couldn't couldn't hear me? I 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:55.680 just wanted to say, we're beating the New York Times. 0:00:56.040 --> 0:00:59.160 Well that that is a wonderful thing in a testament 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:01.400 to all the good people are listening. Man, It sounds 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:03.240 like birds chirping sort of in the studio. But we 0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:05.800 have a lot to get to today. We have the 0:01:05.880 --> 0:01:09.399 Democrats wrapping up their arguments. We've got the Trump team 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:12.880 is going to begin tomorrow, and in the fifteen minutes 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:15.720 that you got free today you ended up marching for 0:01:15.840 --> 0:01:20.760 life out on the national mall. All true. And it's 0:01:20.800 --> 0:01:23.520 ten forty five, so we're getting started tonight earlier than 0:01:23.560 --> 0:01:25.800 we have any day this week. This is a very 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:29.200 early night, so let's not squander the time. How do 0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:33.000 you think the Democrats did in their closing arguments? Well, 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:36.360 I think all hundred senators are grateful that the twenty 0:01:36.360 --> 0:01:40.720 four hour marathon is over. I think it's an interesting 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:45.840 decision of the house managers to consume practically every minute 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:49.440 of those twenty four hours. Listen, Adam Schiff gave the clothes, 0:01:50.200 --> 0:01:52.800 and there were moments of it that were powerful. I mean, 0:01:52.840 --> 0:01:55.600 he is an effective trial lawyer, is a talented trial lawyer. 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:59.160 He can be an effective orator. I think we saw 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:04.240 throughout the opening arguments the house managers used multimedia quite effectively. 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:06.600 So there were moments that they drove in with different 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:10.800 video clips that that worked and it broke up the 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:13.480 kind of long arguments and it did it did manage 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:15.800 to pull people's attention well. And that's something you're seeing, 0:02:15.840 --> 0:02:18.120 by the way, in trial courts much more often now. Videos. 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:21.440 I mean, it's it's effective. Trial lawyers know how to 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:24.639 do that, and we saw that on display. I also 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:27.560 think shifted a good job. He had a big chunk 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:32.120 of his closing that was trying to preempt the president's arguments. 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:35.280 And it's because of the structure of it. House managers 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:37.480 have twenty four hours and the president has twenty four hours, 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:39.919 and there's not a rebuttal. So he knew they're getting 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:43.960 ready to start, and so he went through dozens of 0:02:44.080 --> 0:02:46.560 potential arguments that they will almost surely make, and he 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:49.200 tried to give responses to it. What was he preempting, 0:02:49.200 --> 0:02:51.080 I mean, what were the big arguments that he expects 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:53.720 from I mean he went through whether their process, arguments, 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:56.000 whether I mean, he went through a whole host But 0:02:56.120 --> 0:02:59.480 you actually put your finger on a major failing I 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:03.079 think he had, which is he didn't shine a lantern 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:07.840 on his biggest problem. So he briefly noted, well, the 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:11.760 house managers might suggest Joe Biden's corrupt, but there's no 0:03:11.840 --> 0:03:15.400 evidence of that. And that's all he said. He's setting 0:03:15.480 --> 0:03:19.160 himself up. It's it's the biggest weakness of their entire 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:22.920 case is that they have built their case on the 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:28.919 proposition there is zero evidence, none, whatsoever, of any corruption 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:34.560 concerning Joe Biden, concerning his son Hunter Biden, concerning barism, 0:03:34.720 --> 0:03:37.600 the Ukrainian Natural Gas Company was paying Hunter Biden a 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:41.720 million bucks a year. That's a straw map, because yesterday 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:45.080 that the House Democrats in making their case, they kept saying, 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:47.560 there's nothing wrong with Barize mother, there's nothing wrong with 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:51.600 the Bidens. There's nothing to see here, folks. And because 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:54.960 they kept talking about it, it actually brings that to 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:57.960 the forefront, right, And then today in their closing arguments 0:03:58.480 --> 0:04:01.840 they failed to address him. They just dismissed it. And 0:04:02.360 --> 0:04:05.200 it's it's it's like leading with your jaw um that 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:07.520 that they're setting up to just get get get it 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:15.240 knocked knocked crazy. Look, I'll say Schiff had some very 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:18.520 good moments, but he also tends to get self righteous 0:04:19.240 --> 0:04:23.560 and and and so he'll be he'll be making an 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:27.400 argument that's effective, that's real, and then he suddenly starts 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:29.320 lecturing you. And I think the moment where that was 0:04:29.400 --> 0:04:32.760 most acute is when he cited this CBS story and 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:35.960 said Trump was threatening if any Republican voted against him, 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:38.960 to have their head on a Pike, and I got 0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:43.080 to tell you that pissed Republican senators off. I heard 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:47.080 probably a half dozen senators surround me like openly, like 0:04:47.520 --> 0:04:52.440 gasp and and and like express anger. And that's a 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.160 great argument if you're talking to a you know, a 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:58.120 bunch of you know, left wing activists at a California 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:01.440 rally and Shift's base. But it ain't a good argument 0:05:01.480 --> 0:05:03.560 if you're trying to get some Republican votes, right, if 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:06.840 you're actually trying to persuade the few Republicans who maybe 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.000 you could persuade, not a good way to do it. 0:05:09.120 --> 0:05:12.360 You bring up the reaction among the Republican senators today. 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:15.960 Have you wandering around the holes of the Senate heard 0:05:16.000 --> 0:05:19.719 any gossip from the Democratic side. I mean, what is 0:05:19.720 --> 0:05:23.480 the reaction, if anything, at all to how they're doing well? 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:26.040 It was interesting one of the Democratic senators was talking 0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:29.000 to a reporter walking out, and the reporter asked, what 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:31.640 do you think of the closing and the head on 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:35.440 the pikeline and the comment from the Democratic senators? Look, 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:40.520 every argument has a discordant note or too. I mean 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:44.840 it may not have come across on TV, but he 0:05:44.920 --> 0:05:48.599 was almost booed for saying that right. I mean, Republican 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:52.120 senators were offended by it. But in many ways, his 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:55.679 audience for that was not the hundred people in the room. 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:57.839 It was TV that have to render a verdict. It 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:00.240 was TV. And I'll tell you a very interesting observation. 0:06:00.920 --> 0:06:02.960 So why did they fill twenty four hours? Why did 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:05.400 they repeat the same arguments over and over and over again, 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:09.120 Because for most of the argument they weren't talking to 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:11.760 the hundred senators that will vote on impeachment. They were 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:14.640 talking to three hundred and thirty million Americans. And you know, 0:06:14.680 --> 0:06:18.440 one of the fascinating things that several senators noticed, if 0:06:18.480 --> 0:06:22.640 you look at their order of speaking, it followed prime 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:25.440 time depending on where the house manager was from. In 0:06:25.480 --> 0:06:29.359 other words, they started off with the East coast house managers. 0:06:29.400 --> 0:06:31.600 They then moved to the central So you looked at, 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:33.880 you know, the congressman from Colorado. They'd put them on 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:36.600 in primetime in Colorado, and it would always close with 0:06:37.240 --> 0:06:39.960 the West coast, and they were they were very deliberately. 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:44.560 More than a couple of people observed that this was 0:06:44.600 --> 0:06:48.279 at least more than a little bit about about Adam 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:52.600 Schiff launching either his governor candidacy or his Senate candidacy. 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:54.680 And look, this stuff I'm sure plays very well in 0:06:54.720 --> 0:06:57.440 a California Democratic prime. So that to me raises the 0:06:57.520 --> 0:07:01.840 question have the House Democrats give up on actually persuading 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:04.080 the senators? I mean, are they are they now tuning 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:06.599 out the senators and just playing this to TV to 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:10.600 launch their own political careers. So yes, and no, ninety 0:07:10.760 --> 0:07:15.280 percent plus was launching their political careers, was energizing their base, 0:07:15.520 --> 0:07:18.560 was speaking to the angry mob. There was a ten 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:22.240 percent in the closing where Schiff was trying to throw 0:07:22.400 --> 0:07:25.200 a hail Mary. Look, he knows that they don't have 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:27.240 the votes, he knows that they haven't proven their case. 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:31.239 But their hope now as they want more witnesses because 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:33.240 they want to go in a fishing expedition, right, and 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:37.920 so you know, for example, he had some actually pretty 0:07:37.960 --> 0:07:41.480 moving oratory about moral courage and standing up and how 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:45.160 it's harder to stand against your party, and he said, 0:07:45.200 --> 0:07:50.800 you risk being called. You risk people saying he's a 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:55.480 Democrat in name only or she's a Republican in name only. 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:58.160 I don't think the choice of pronoun was accidental. No, 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:02.760 he might be referring specifically to some senators well, and 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:06.640 it was now I will confess. As I was walking out, 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:09.000 there was a group of reporters and I said to him, 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:16.080 I said, wow, shifts call for moral courage to stand 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:18.640 up against your party was powerful, and I really wonder 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:20.840 how many Democrats are going to do that and vote 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:23.760 to a quit the president. And of course the reporters 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:25.960 look at you like no, no, no no, no. Moral courage 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:29.560 is always Republicans abandoning of course their party. Of course, 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:33.600 never Democrats doing it. Now, before we move on from 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:36.160 their arguments, I do want to be clear. They spent 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:39.280 most of the time talking about the first article of impeachment, 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:42.360 which was abuse of power, and we've talked about that 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:45.200 now in the last couple of episodes. The argument that 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:48.800 Trump engaged in a quid pro quo and he withheld 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:52.280 the military aid from Ukraine in exchange for Ukraine investigating 0:08:52.480 --> 0:08:55.240 his political rival Joe Biden, even though he didn't end 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:57.040 up with withholding the aid and they didn't end up 0:08:57.040 --> 0:09:00.000 investigating Joe Biden. We talked about that on previous episode. 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:04.719 The second article of impeachment is called obstruction of Congress. 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:08.600 Half the reason I voted for the president is so 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:11.240 that he would obstruct Congress. What does that even mean? 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:14.640 How do you obstruct Congress? Look, they're basing it on 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:20.040 a refusal to allow witnesses to testify, defying subpoenas, and 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:25.000 refusing to produce documents. And you know, look, I will 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:28.800 say where the Democrats were effective in making this case 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:33.520 is the Trump administration didn't hand over documents from any 0:09:33.559 --> 0:09:36.319 of the cabinet agencies in response to subpoenas. I got 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:40.080 to say, most of the Republican senators, I think that 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:43.839 was pretty dumb that the administration would have been better 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:50.000 off complying, producing some documents in response, and preserving the 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:52.520 fights for the things that really matter. And part of 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:55.680 the obstruction charge that the Democrats waged against the President 0:09:56.080 --> 0:09:59.400 is that he wouldn't allow certain people who worked for him, 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:02.920 such as John Bolton, the National Security Advisor, to testify. 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:07.000 Are you saying should should they have testified? Well, and 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:10.240 that's where this argument collapses, and it's why the Democrats 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:13.440 are not going to prevail on it, because, look, front 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:16.320 and center, John Bolton is the most notable example. They're like, 0:10:16.320 --> 0:10:19.680 we need John Bolton's testimony. Well, we talked about earlier 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:22.720 this week in one of these podcasts how John Bolton 0:10:22.840 --> 0:10:26.680 did something something very clever. He went to a federal 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:30.160 district court in DC and he went before the court 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:33.000 and he said, look, I've got two conflicting demands on me. 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:36.800 The House is asking me to testify, and the President 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:40.520 is instructing me not to citing executive privilege. And he said, 0:10:40.840 --> 0:10:43.640 which one do I comply with? And John Bolton said, Judge, 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:47.360 I'll do whatever you tell me. Right. The House Democrat's 0:10:47.360 --> 0:10:51.880 response was fascinating. They just said never mind. They actually 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:55.760 informed the court we're not going to subpoena John Bolton 0:10:56.200 --> 0:10:58.720 and we don't need his testimony. So the fact that 0:10:58.800 --> 0:11:02.200 John Bolton does not end up testifying during the House 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:07.439 impeachment investigation is on the House Democrats. And in fact, 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:12.880 Bolton's lawyer said, if they withdraw the subpoena, the choice 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:15.520 for John Bolton not to testify is not John Bolton's, 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:18.920 it's the House Democrats. Why is that? I mean, why 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:22.640 would the House withdraw their their pull to get them 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:25.679 to testify, because I think they were in hurry. They 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.400 did this whole thing, and they just wanted them forty 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:33.520 some odd days. They were moving rocket fast, you know. 0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:35.560 Part of it. I think there are a number of us. 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.480 I mean, we were speculating the other night. Why did 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:42.080 they not drag this out and delay it more? I 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:44.440 think part of it is that Nancy Pelosi at least 0:11:44.440 --> 0:11:51.040 thinks this is a political allusion. Tachment is hurting the Democrats' 0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:53.520 chances in twenty twenties, so I think she wanted to 0:11:53.559 --> 0:11:57.320 get this over with now. House managers have different interests. 0:11:57.440 --> 0:12:03.120 I think they're enjoying the national chef has his eyes 0:12:03.200 --> 0:12:06.240 on other offices. You know, I will confess I did 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:08.160 ask in the Republican cloak room. I said, hey, what 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:10.000 do y'all think of us having emotion? To give him 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:13.040 another twenty four hours to keep talking? Just let everyone 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:15.600 else's numbers go up. So, all right, the arguments are over. 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:19.520 I do want to move on to the March for Life. Yeah. 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:22.480 Before we do that, though, if you had to give 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:25.760 the Democrats a grade, They've made their arguments. You've argued 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:33.000 many high profile cases. How did they do on presentation 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:37.640 and style, I'd say an A minus that they actually did. 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:46.400 This was a talented group presenting okay on substance a D. Yeah, 0:12:46.960 --> 0:12:49.760 they sounded good and they have little snippets, but but 0:12:49.840 --> 0:12:52.400 they also were very selective in terms of what they cited. 0:12:52.480 --> 0:12:56.480 I expect to see I expect to see the president's 0:12:56.520 --> 0:12:59.880 lawyers come back hard. I expect to see the president's lawyers, 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:06.800 in particular to make a powerful case about the evidence 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:12.839 of corruption that justified an investigation into Barisma and weather. 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:16.720 Vice President Joe Biden was part of that corruption, and 0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:18.840 the House managers have now built their whole case on 0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:22.240 the proposition. There's zero evidence that proposition is going to 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:24.160 be blown out of the water, So I guess we'll 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:25.960 see tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a really big 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:28.760 day because finally the Trump team gets to make their arguments. 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:30.240 I have to tell you, after going through all these 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:33.160 hours and hours of the Democrat case, I'm glad you 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:36.520 gave me this recommendation to have a nice, delicious glass 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:40.240 of milk, because it's really fortified. Well, there's nothing like 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:44.560 a cool glass of milk. There is a strange rule 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:47.400 in the Senate that goes around impeachment trials. You are 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:49.679 not allowed as a senator to bring in a cup 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:52.920 of coffee or a bottle of whiskey or a soft drink. 0:13:53.400 --> 0:13:56.480 You are only allowed to drink two things in the 0:13:56.480 --> 0:14:01.000 Senate during the impeachment trial, water and milk. You have 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:04.120 availed yourself of this, I noticed I have, and you look. 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:06.560 The Senate is a strange place. It is a plate 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:09.760 in many respects. It is governed by tradition. But the 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:13.640 reason you can drink milk all stems back to January 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:17.280 twenty fourth, nineteen sixty six, so before you and I 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:21.840 were born. Okay. Senator Everett Dirkson is on the Senate 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:26.440 floor and he raises a question with the presiding officer. 0:14:27.080 --> 0:14:29.800 He asks, He says, is it in violation of the 0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:33.320 Senate rules if the Senator from Illinois asks one of 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:36.120 the page boys to go to the restaurant and bring 0:14:36.200 --> 0:14:39.720 him a glass of milk? If it is in violation 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:42.360 of the rules, I will forget it. And the presiding 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:45.680 officer answered, there is nothing in the rules to prohibit 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:49.480 the senator from requesting a glass of milk. When that 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:53.280 exchange happened, that formed a precedent. This is actually a 0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:56.400 governing precedent. So when you're a newly elected senator, you 0:14:56.520 --> 0:14:59.280 get in your desk, in the drawer of your desk, 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:02.080 you get something called Riddicks precedence. And it is printed 0:15:02.120 --> 0:15:05.560 that Riddick's precedent stating going back to January twenty fourth, 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:08.880 nineteen sixty six, Riddicks precedents. Just just to Clifford, this 0:15:08.960 --> 0:15:12.040 is like the rules of the it is, but it's 0:15:12.040 --> 0:15:16.000 just rulings from the chair become binding precedent because Everett 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:18.400 Dirkson wanted a glass of milk, and the presiding officers 0:15:18.400 --> 0:15:21.640 said said, yes, now the two things you can drink 0:15:21.720 --> 0:15:24.160 or water and milk. And so the first night of 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:26.480 the impeachment tribe and we went till two in the morning. 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:30.480 At midnight, I decided, you know what, I'm gonna try 0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:32.200 this out. So I went to the cloakroom. I said, Hey, 0:15:32.200 --> 0:15:34.160 does anyone here actually have milk? And they're like, no, 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:36.480 no one, no one ever orders it. I'm like, can 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:38.320 we track some down? And one of the guys in 0:15:38.320 --> 0:15:40.400 the cloak room said, I'll find you some and it 0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:43.400 ran out. So at midnight I just sat there quietly 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:46.720 sipping milk, and and it was you can't have coffee, 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:50.120 you can't. You can't have doctor pepper, you can't have caffeine, 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.480 but but you can enjoy glass of milk. Now, what 0:15:52.600 --> 0:15:56.480 I want to know, Senator as a taxpayer myself, who 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:59.120 paid for that glass of milk that you had in 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:01.840 the Senate. I'll tell you the cloak room actually called 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:03.960 our office and said we need to charge the senator 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:05.960 from the glass of milk. We ain't paying for it. 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:08.280 And I laughed and said, look, I'm glad to hear 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:15.320 some fiscally conservative policies being implemented. And now I can't 0:16:15.360 --> 0:16:17.920 necessarily promise. So look, if milk is allowed at the 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:19.400 end of the day, all you see is it's a 0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:23.680 white liquid. So I can't promise you that there aren't 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:27.800 senators having white Russians, especially the longer this drags on. 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:30.960 And you know what, that would probably drive the conspiracy 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:36.080 theorist crazy, particularly Postmonarch. That's true. And you know we've 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:37.520 been coming here in the middle of the night now 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:39.640 all week, so there's really nothing to say that we 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:42.520 haven't had a couple of white Russians on the very 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:49.560 same drink. Now, speaking of your health and refreshing yourself today, 0:16:49.600 --> 0:16:51.800 when you had a little bit of a break, you 0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:55.880 decided to use that by going outside and actually marching 0:16:55.920 --> 0:16:58.920 in the March for life. This was forty seven years 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:01.400 after Rover. This way the March for Life has gone 0:17:01.400 --> 0:17:04.119 on every single year since then, and it's it's the 0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:06.800 largest pro life gathering in the world. And you participated 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:09.480 in it today. It's something I've done a number of years. 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:13.080 Today it was going on right during the impeachment trial, 0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:16.000 so when the march started, I couldn't participate, but but 0:17:16.119 --> 0:17:19.000 around three o'clock we had a break that ended up 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:20.720 being about a half hour, and so I just went 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:24.399 outside and joined the marchers. It's a wonderful chance. I 0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:26.320 spent a lot of the time. They're just thanking people 0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:29.320 and and and thanking them for coming out. It's usually 0:17:29.320 --> 0:17:33.240 a cold day when the march happens, and it's amazing 0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:37.600 to see people from all over the country coming together 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:39.479 and stand up for life. I got to say it. 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:43.040 It is always wonderful to participate, but it but it 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:46.400 was particularly affirming in the middle of all this craziness. 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:48.879 It was moving. I was there myself today. It was 0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:51.439 very moving, and it actually got me thinking about the 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:56.960 relation between ROV. Wade and this impeachment trial because Rov. 0:17:57.080 --> 0:17:59.919 Wade is decided in nineteen seventy three, and it was 0:18:00.000 --> 0:18:05.680 when the Supreme Court discovered this previously undiscovered constitutional right 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:10.080 to abortion, as though the framers of our constitution secretly 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:16.359 invisible Ink wrote in a right to an abortion, you 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:18.400 know a lot more about the Constitution than I do. 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:22.800 It's a bogus argument, right, it was. The Court created 0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:26.240 it in versus Wade. But the effect it had in 0:18:26.280 --> 0:18:30.960 our country is it took one of the most deeply personal, 0:18:31.280 --> 0:18:37.119 emotional public policy issues and the Supreme Court said, you, idiot, 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:41.080 voters don't get to decide this. We're deciding it for you, 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:44.720 and you have no say. Look. Prior to that, abortion 0:18:44.760 --> 0:18:47.119 had been a question for the states to consider, and 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:50.160 people could debate it at state state issues. You could 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:53.080 get up and make arguments as to why. Look, you 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:57.000 and I both believe that life should be protected. But 0:18:58.080 --> 0:19:01.560 as voters, we ought to be able to make those decisions. 0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:05.119 And the Supreme Court said, nope, we're seizing this. And 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:08.560 I think that decision has produced a lot of the 0:19:09.240 --> 0:19:12.760 bitterness the rank or the division. People are frustrated on 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:14.840 both sides of that aisle that they don't have a 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:19.800 natural outlet to debate the issues because it all becomes 0:19:19.840 --> 0:19:22.600 the battle for the courts, because it's now nine elected 0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:26.040 judges that decide everything. Because This was in twenty sixteen, 0:19:26.280 --> 0:19:29.399 probably the top issue especially and by the way, I 0:19:29.400 --> 0:19:31.359 think I said nine elected judges, Let me be very clear, 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:36.679 nine unelected unelected, because unelected is the whole problem, no 0:19:36.680 --> 0:19:40.639 accountability whatsoever. In twenty sixteen, the big issue was the judges. 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:44.440 Who's going to replace Justice Scalia? Who? And you saw 0:19:44.520 --> 0:19:46.800 on the left and the right, and especially for the left, 0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:49.080 so much of that comes down to Roe v. Wait. 0:19:49.160 --> 0:19:51.439 I mean, you see it in their campaign materials. Let 0:19:51.480 --> 0:19:54.480 me make two observations from today. One, when I went 0:19:54.520 --> 0:19:59.639 out to march in the protest, I encountered one anti 0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:02.240 Trump protester, a woman who was angry, and part of 0:20:02.240 --> 0:20:04.240 what she was screaming is why aren't you in the trial. 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:07.479 It's like, well, we're on a break. Um, I just 0:20:07.560 --> 0:20:08.879 had my glass of milk and I've got a lot 0:20:08.920 --> 0:20:12.040 of energy. But it was a striking contrast one anti 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:17.879 Trump protesters and then tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands 0:20:17.960 --> 0:20:22.719 of protesters, or not protesters, but marks standing for life. 0:20:23.240 --> 0:20:26.480 And the contrast was interesting and it actually made me think, 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:29.879 so a lot of us getting ready for the impeachment trial, 0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:36.080 we're anticipating bitter, nasty, confrontations like we had during Brett 0:20:36.160 --> 0:20:40.200 Kavanaugh and Brett Cavanaugh. The left had paid protesters who yelled, 0:20:40.200 --> 0:20:42.679 who's stalked who? You know? One of them went to 0:20:42.720 --> 0:20:44.919 Susan Collins's home, and I mean, I mean it was 0:20:45.160 --> 0:20:47.119 nobody needs to be reminded because it was such a 0:20:47.200 --> 0:20:50.720 national story. But Brett Cavanaugh was the second Trump pick 0:20:50.760 --> 0:20:52.680 for the Supreme Courts. Wasn't even the first one, is 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:55.440 the second one. But but it underscores just how bitter 0:20:55.520 --> 0:20:57.879 and divisive it is. I gotta tell you, the Capitol 0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:01.680 police were anticipating the we may see some of the same, 0:21:02.480 --> 0:21:06.159 you know, vigorously, you know, threatening, almost violent some of 0:21:06.160 --> 0:21:09.399 those confrontations on with Kavanaugh. I mean you had people 0:21:09.480 --> 0:21:12.720 getting in your face and screaming and bitter and angry. 0:21:13.640 --> 0:21:17.600 And it's interesting that even though Trump inspires strong emotions, 0:21:18.680 --> 0:21:21.760 the impeachment trial has seemed to be a snoozer from 0:21:21.760 --> 0:21:25.040 that totally, totally, I mean, frankly, That's why I think, 0:21:25.080 --> 0:21:27.240 I really think that's why this podcast is doing so 0:21:27.240 --> 0:21:30.439 well is people are not going to watch ten hours 0:21:30.440 --> 0:21:32.040 a day of impeachment. They want, I think they want 0:21:32.040 --> 0:21:34.199 to come here. You've done an excellent job giving us 0:21:34.200 --> 0:21:36.720 a behind the scenes view. Look that there were times 0:21:36.760 --> 0:21:39.760 when it when it felt like like like listening to 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:44.320 a reading of Vogon poetry, which for the handful of 0:21:44.400 --> 0:21:47.239 Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy geeks who are listening to this, 0:21:47.440 --> 0:21:50.080 you'll get what I'm saying, and everyone else is right 0:21:51.400 --> 0:21:55.120 and don't worry about it. Yeah that I think you're 0:21:55.200 --> 0:21:58.520 right now. And I just wonder if if a decision 0:21:58.560 --> 0:22:03.160 like ro versus Wade had not stolen this very important 0:22:03.240 --> 0:22:06.720 question from the legislature, from the citizens to decide for 0:22:06.720 --> 0:22:10.600 themselves and taken it into the arms of nine unelected 0:22:10.680 --> 0:22:14.359 lawyers wearing robes, if if maybe we wouldn't even see 0:22:14.600 --> 0:22:17.840 an impeachment like this, if if the presidential elections were 0:22:17.880 --> 0:22:22.080 not so incredibly tense and important. Well, and it's much 0:22:22.200 --> 0:22:25.680 the same you look at impeachment and the House Democrats argument. 0:22:26.640 --> 0:22:30.240 Their central argument is we can't trust the voters to 0:22:30.280 --> 0:22:33.399 make this decision. That they believe the voters got it 0:22:33.440 --> 0:22:36.040 wrong in twenty sixteen, and a lot of the Democrats, 0:22:36.080 --> 0:22:38.359 when they're being candid, they're worried if Trump is on 0:22:38.400 --> 0:22:41.239 the ballot in twenty twenty, he'll win again. And so 0:22:41.280 --> 0:22:45.159 they're trying to undo a democratic election, right, and and 0:22:45.600 --> 0:22:52.879 that that is a persistent problem of politicians wanting to 0:22:52.920 --> 0:23:00.880 force an agenda against the wishes of let the people. Well, 0:23:01.240 --> 0:23:03.240 fortunately the Trump team is going to get the chance 0:23:03.320 --> 0:23:06.160