Speaker 1: Welcome to episode two of the schmid Storm. You have questions,
Speaker 1: I have answers. Let's get to it. Here's a great question,
Speaker 1: and it's if Kamala Harris is the winner of the
Speaker 1: presidential election while serving as the President of the Senate
Speaker 1: as a function of her being Vice President of the
Speaker 1: United States, is she able to certify the election as
Speaker 1: the presiding officer of the United States Senate like Mike
Speaker 1: Pence was on January sixth of twenty twenty one, but
Speaker 1: in her favor. And the answer to the question is yes.
Speaker 1: And this is exactly what George Herbert Walker Bush did
Speaker 1: as Vice of the United States when he certified the
Speaker 1: election as President elect of the United States. Now Al
Speaker 1: Gore had to certify the election after the Florida standoff
Speaker 1: in George w. Bush's favor. This day is one of continuity.
Speaker 1: It is part of the majesty of a process that
Speaker 1: was stripped of all of the rituals of monarchy, and
Speaker 1: so the founders of the country substituted royal ritual for
Speaker 1: secular ones. Now think about George Washington surrendering his authority
Speaker 1: to Congress. This is the turn bolt painting in the
Speaker 1: rotunda of the capital. It's one of the most extraordinary
Speaker 1: in American history, and it captures a moment that the
Speaker 1: artist thought was the most magnificent in human history, because
Speaker 1: it's about power, and specifically about political power in America.
Speaker 1: The French Revolution, which was a cousin of the American Revolution,
Speaker 1: went completely off the rails. It became a bloodbath of
Speaker 1: despotic violence. Liberty can easily succumb to the disease of authoritarianism,
Speaker 1: to despotism. It is a facet of a mob. A
Speaker 1: mob empowered through democratic institutions is a mob. Nonetheless, the
Speaker 1: American founders sought to restrain all of this, and the
Speaker 1: most Titanic figure among them was Washington, the commander of
Speaker 1: the army the Virginian And when the war was won,
Speaker 1: the king George the third, who had lost half his
Speaker 1: empire and wondered if Washington would be king, a monarch
Speaker 1: with an empire and ambitions greater than his and England's,
Speaker 1: And he was told that Washington would return home to Virginia.
Speaker 1: George the Third was astonished by it. He said, if
Speaker 1: that's true, Washington will be the greatest man of this
Speaker 1: or any age. And Washington came on that day. In
Speaker 1: that painting to Annapolis, he was met at three Mile
Speaker 1: Oak and escorted into town where he appeared before the Congress.
Speaker 1: And in the painting, there is a chair and no
Speaker 1: one sits on it. It's outside. It's bigger than the rest.
Speaker 1: It is the throne that he will not take. Draped
Speaker 1: over that chair is Washington's military cap. He will not
Speaker 1: be a caesar. And on that occasion, Washington, in a
Speaker 1: very scripted ceremony, bows to Congress, subordinating his ambition, his office,
Speaker 1: his power, to the elected will of the people and
Speaker 1: their representatives. It's an astonishing act, and Washington did it twice. Now,
Speaker 1: Trump of Queen's a hustler and a con man, who
Speaker 1: did not serve in combat, did not fight for his country,
Speaker 1: and who said that his own Vietnam was avoiding venereal
Speaker 1: disease in Studio fifty four, who later went on to
Speaker 1: become a rapist and a convicted felon. Donald Trump wishes
Speaker 1: to wear the cap of a caesar, and he wishes
Speaker 1: to sit in the throne chair of an emperor as president,
Speaker 1: with the power, according to Trump, to send sealed team
Speaker 1: Sex to kill Hillary Clinton. No thanks, there is nothing
Speaker 1: that Donald Trump can do to stop the transfer of
Speaker 1: power after a legitimate election in the United States, though
Speaker 1: he may try. The question is envisioning a Kamala Harris victory.
Speaker 1: What can she do as president to communicate to disappointed
Speaker 1: Trump voters. One thing that Kamala Harris should do immediately
Speaker 1: is call on young people to serve their country. There's
Speaker 1: an enlistment crisis in the United States Army, the Navy,
Speaker 1: the Air Force, the Coast Guard, the Space Force. There's
Speaker 1: vacancies in the Peace Corps. She should call a generation
Speaker 1: to service. She should be optimistic about the future, and
Speaker 1: by calling the country to service, so have an opportunity
Speaker 1: not to talk about the Democratic Party, but about the
Speaker 1: United States of America and about our common interest. She
Speaker 1: should assemble a cabinet that looks like America. She picked
Speaker 1: a vice president who represents a broad swath of America.
Speaker 1: A lot of Americans can see themselves in tim walls,
Speaker 1: and that's a good thing. Kamala Harris should say explicitly
Speaker 1: and directly, I am President of all Americans, especially those
Speaker 1: who I'm honored to represent who opposed me. Everybody gets
Speaker 1: a fair shot here. She has to show equanimity of character,
Speaker 1: generosity of spirit, good faith and good will. She needs
Speaker 1: to go out into the middle of the country. She
Speaker 1: needs to meet the American people, know the American people,
Speaker 1: and build trust with the American people. This country is
Speaker 1: craving and it badly needs a great president and a
Speaker 1: great presidency. And the simple truth is great presidencies follow disaster.
Speaker 1: Trump is that type of disaster. I'm Steve Schmidt. This
Speaker 1: is the warning and I invite you to join. Subscribe
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Speaker 1: Welcome to the community.