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Speaker 1: Hey, what's up everybody.

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Speaker 2: I'm Jamel Hill and welcome to politics and I heard

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Speaker 2: podcast and unbothered production. Time to get spolitical pop quiz,

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Speaker 2: Boys and girls. How many WNBA head coaches are black women? Now,

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Speaker 2: before you answer, here are a few things to consider.

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Speaker 2: Seventy percent of the league is black. At the end

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Speaker 2: of the twenty twenty two season, half of the league's

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Speaker 2: twelve coaches were black, with three of those six coaches

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Speaker 2: being black women, and there were eight head coach openings

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Speaker 2: this last WNBA offseason. Ready for the answer to the

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Speaker 2: question one, that's how many black women are head coaches

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Speaker 2: in the WNBA. Now, that's a bizarre and to be honest,

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Speaker 2: and embarrassing statistic for a league that is overrepresented with

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Speaker 2: black women in terms of the players. But the league

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Speaker 2: having just one black woman is far from a low,

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Speaker 2: because as recently as twenty twenty there wasn't a single

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Speaker 2: black woman serving as head coach in the league. But

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Speaker 2: this isn't a new issue for women's basketball. But just

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Speaker 2: to carry over from what we've seen at.

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Speaker 1: The college level.

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Speaker 3: Two.

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Speaker 2: Now, I'm not calling anyone racist. I'm just taking a

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Speaker 2: closer look at the systems and structures because they are

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Speaker 2: often designed to be inequitable, even if we're talking about

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Speaker 2: a women's sport, where there is often an assumption that

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Speaker 2: equity is a natural byproduct. The WNBA has often received

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Speaker 2: high praise for its diverse hiring. The Institute for Diversity

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Speaker 2: in Ethics and Sports has given the league an A

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Speaker 2: plus for its racial engender hiring practices every year the

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Speaker 2: league has been in existence. Now full disclosure, Doctor Richard Lapchack,

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Speaker 2: the director of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport,

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Speaker 2: is someone I have a deep respect for. We've worked

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Speaker 2: closely together many times, and he is internationally respected as

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Speaker 2: a civil rights leader. But the numbers from his institute

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Speaker 2: don't quite tell the story and certainly not the full history.

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Speaker 3: People want to know, though, Will you ever be a

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Speaker 3: head coach for a WNBA team?

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Speaker 4: You know what I'm gonna say this, For the first time,

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Speaker 4: I put my hat name in a hat to coach

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Speaker 4: this year for two teams all the way down to

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Speaker 4: the end. I won't say who those two teams are.

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Speaker 4: But I did not get the jobs, and I felt

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Speaker 4: like I would never make another attempt to.

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Speaker 3: Go into coaching.

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Speaker 4: Really in the WNBA yes, because you know, it's like

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Speaker 4: you got to be ten times as great as a

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Speaker 4: black woman in this industry. It's only one land when

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Speaker 4: I tell you that who these people hired is not

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Speaker 4: better than me and what I could do for these

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Speaker 4: team and players. But it's okay because I again am

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Speaker 4: a very much that what's for you is for you, yes,

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Speaker 4: and that's not for me, and I'm okay with that.

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Speaker 4: So I will never attempt to coach in the WNBA again.

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Speaker 2: Now, if your counter argument to Lisa Leslie not getting

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Speaker 2: a WNBA head coaching opportunity is that she lacks coaching experience,

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Speaker 2: keep in mind that she did coach in the Big

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Speaker 2: Three in twenty nineteen, and that same year she not

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Speaker 2: only won a Big Three championship, but she was also named.

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Speaker 1: Coach of the Year. Now, let's say you want to

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Speaker 1: dismiss that too.

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Speaker 2: Well, when it comes to mail coaches, the WNBA hasn't

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Speaker 2: had a problem hiring them despite their lack of.

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Speaker 1: Experience in coaching women.

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Speaker 2: Now, sometimes it's worked out, as was the case with

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Speaker 2: Bill Lambiert and Michael Cooper, who both brought their respective

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Speaker 2: teams WNBA championships, and sometimes it's been disastrous, as was

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Speaker 2: the case with Derek Fisher, who was hired to coach

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Speaker 2: the LA Sparks despite a terrible coaching record with the

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Speaker 2: New York Knicks. Fisher, who had never coached women before,

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Speaker 2: finished with a fifty four to forty six record with

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Speaker 2: the Sparks and infamously benched Candae Parker in a playoff

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Speaker 2: Line Nation game, which ultimately became one of the reasons

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Speaker 2: that Parker left the Sparks to play for the Chicago

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Speaker 2: skuy Now some have questioned whether the hiring pool is

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Speaker 2: deep enough and if the WNBA is in a position

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Speaker 2: to attract solid WNBA coaches. But is it lack of

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Speaker 2: candidates and money or lack of intention? Now there's a

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Speaker 2: good pool of former players to choose from, including LaToya Sanders,

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Speaker 2: Breon January, and Christy Tolliver, all of whom are currently

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Speaker 2: WNBA assistants and have served in the league as assistants

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Speaker 2: for multiple years, with Tolliver also having coached at the

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Speaker 2: NBA level. As for money, that's also about intention too.

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Speaker 2: The Phoenix Mercury hired Nate Tibbets in twenty twenty three

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Speaker 2: and immediately made him the highest plaid coach in the

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Speaker 2: WNBA with a reported salary of one point two million

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Speaker 2: a year. Now, Tibbets was an NBA assistant for twelve years,

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Speaker 2: but prior to the Mercury he never coached women's basketball.

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Speaker 2: He came into the league making more money than Las

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Speaker 2: Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammond, who won back to

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Speaker 2: back WNBA championships, played in the WNBA, and was an

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Speaker 2: NBA assistant under Greg Popovich. Now, this is no shade

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Speaker 2: to Tibbets, but he's somewhat of an example of the

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Speaker 2: built in sexism that women coaches face.

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Speaker 1: The WNBA has.

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Speaker 2: This history of hiring men who have never coached women's

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Speaker 2: basketball and giving them premium salaries and opportunities, and conversely,

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Speaker 2: there also is a trend of being more impatient when

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Speaker 2: it comes to black coaches in the offseason. The Chicago's

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Speaker 2: Guy fired Teresa Withersfield, one of the league's most decorated

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Speaker 2: and fiercest players, after just one season. The Atlanta Dream

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Speaker 2: also fired Tanisha Wright after just three seasons. Now, there

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Speaker 2: is understandable concern that now that there is more money

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Speaker 2: in women's basketball and more substantive growth, the fear is

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Speaker 2: that this will mean more opportunity for men and not

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Speaker 2: for women. Before the NCAA included women's sports, more like

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Speaker 2: they were forced to oversee women's sports because of a

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Speaker 2: court order. Women's sports were governed by the assaul Llciation

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Speaker 2: for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. Now, when women were governing

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Speaker 2: women's sports, over ninety percent of women's teams were coached

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Speaker 2: by women. By the early nineteen eighties, after the NCAA

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Speaker 2: took over, that number had declined to fifty one percent,

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Speaker 2: and today roughly sixty percent of women's sports at the.

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Speaker 1: College level are coached by men.

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Speaker 2: Meanwhile, guess what percentage of men's college sports are coached

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Speaker 2: by men?

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Speaker 1: Ninety five percent.

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Speaker 2: Black women account for twelve percent of head coaching positions in.

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Speaker 1: College basketball across all divisions.

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Speaker 2: Thirty percent of the players who play women's college basketball

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Speaker 2: are black. But considering ninety percent of black women who

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Speaker 2: play college basketball graduate with a degree, that right there

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Speaker 2: should provide somewhat of a supply of coaching candidates. Now,

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Speaker 2: the WNBA is writing a strong upward trajectory, and as

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Speaker 2: the league grows, their standards shouldn't be to do things

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Speaker 2: exactly as the men, it should be their goal to

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Speaker 2: not only make money, but create a new standard of

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Speaker 2: empowerment and opportunity for women, not just do the same

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Speaker 2: things we've all read be seen before. I'm Jamel Hill,

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Speaker 2: and I approve this message. Coming up next on politics,

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Speaker 2: my guest on this episode is one of the most

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Speaker 2: powerful people in politics. He's in a top leadership position

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Speaker 2: as the Democrats are facing an identity crisis and still

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Speaker 2: feeling the effects of losing last year's presidential election. Now

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Speaker 2: a lot of people have been asking Democrats what's the plan.

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Speaker 2: On this episode, he'll answer some of those questions. And

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Speaker 2: since this is a sports.

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Speaker 1: In Politics podcast, I had to.

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Speaker 2: Ask him about his beloved New York Knicks firing head

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Speaker 2: coach Tom Thibodeau after he got the Knicks to the

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Speaker 2: Eastern Conference finals. Coming up next on his politics, Straight

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Speaker 2: out of Brooklyn House, Minority leader a King Jefferies. Well,

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Speaker 2: Representative Jefferyson, and thank you so much for joining me

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Speaker 2: here on politics, and I'm going to start the podcast

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Speaker 2: for the question I ask every guest that appears, and

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Speaker 2: that is name an athlete or a moment that made

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Speaker 2: you love sports.

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Speaker 3: Well, it's great to be with you and thank you

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Speaker 3: for everything and that you do in sports and politics,

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Speaker 3: and probably I should say appropriately what up? Though, well

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Speaker 3: look at you.

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Speaker 2: I think, okay, somebody gave you some insight into all right,

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Speaker 2: that's our Detroit Green, which, as I often say, can

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Speaker 2: be a question or just a statement.

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Speaker 3: But yeah, you know, I think I grew up. As

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Speaker 3: you know, I rocked with the Yankees, the Knicks, the Jets,

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Speaker 3: Saint John's and the Rangers. So really the first time

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Speaker 3: that one of those teams that I rock with had

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Speaker 3: a championship run at an age that I could appreciate, right,

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Speaker 3: I was three years old the last time the Knicks

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Speaker 3: won the championship. I didn't remember it in nineteen seventy three,

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Speaker 3: but when I was seven, I was following baseball at

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Speaker 3: the time, was beginning to play Little League, and that

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Speaker 3: was the time that the Yankees and the Dodgers were

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Speaker 3: in the first of two back to back World Series appearances,

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Speaker 3: and of course famously saw a Yankees fan watching the

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Speaker 3: World Series. It's great. I remember being in the living

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Speaker 3: room and the apartment that we lived in. My dad

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Speaker 3: was there, My grandfather, Papa Gomes was there. He lived

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Speaker 3: in La so he was actually a Dodgers fan, and

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Speaker 3: Game six, Reggie Jackson three home runs on three consecutive pitches.

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Speaker 3: I think that's the date that we actually won the

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Speaker 3: World Series. But that was of course a magical moment

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Speaker 3: in baseball history and sports history, and certainly that's what

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Speaker 3: got me hooked.

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Speaker 1: Well, it is so.

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Speaker 2: Ironic, Well maybe ironic is not the right word, but

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Speaker 2: the timing is impeccable that we are recording this Pack

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Speaker 2: podcast on the day that I guess, if you want

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Speaker 2: to consider it is fort the Elon Musz versus Donald

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Speaker 2: Trump back and forth that's taking place on social media.

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Speaker 2: But before I get to that, there are pressing Knicks

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Speaker 2: matters that I need to address with you first. You know,

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Speaker 2: this week, the Knicks decided to fire Tom Thibodeau. What

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Speaker 2: did you think about them making this move, doing this

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Speaker 2: just three days after the Knicks were outsted from the

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Speaker 2: Eastern Conference Finals.

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Speaker 3: You know, it definitely caught me off guard, and I

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Speaker 3: think it caught a lot of people off guard at

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Speaker 3: home in New York and Knicks fans. He had a

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Speaker 3: great run I think five seasons. For those seasons we

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Speaker 3: were in the playoffs, of course, back to back fifty

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Speaker 3: win games. Most successful series of runs in terms of

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Speaker 3: season after season after season since the glory days for

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Speaker 3: me in the nineties into the early parts of two thousand.

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Speaker 3: First appearance, of course in twenty five years in the

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Speaker 3: Eastern Conference Finals, and it's a lovable team. So that

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Speaker 3: was shocking for me certainly and for a lot of folks.

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Speaker 3: The question I think moving forward is, you know, had

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Speaker 3: the team maxed out under tips Is leadership? And clearly

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Speaker 3: there were adjustments that needed to be made that weren't

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Speaker 3: necessarily made. Right to start in five played more minutes

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Speaker 3: than any other starting five in the entire season. That

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Speaker 3: can't continue, and there was no development of the bench

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Speaker 3: during the season. You can't develop a bench in game four,

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Speaker 3: Game five, or Game six of the Eastern Conference Finals.

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Speaker 3: That's not going to work. So the question I think

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Speaker 3: moving forward because what's done is done, and I think

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Speaker 3: reasonable people could conclude that the Knicks did max out

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Speaker 3: under Tips' leadership, notwithstanding you know the greatness of the

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Speaker 3: run up until this point, in all the excitement, and

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Speaker 3: you know that when the Knicks on fire, the is

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Speaker 3: on fire and it was a great uh, it was

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Speaker 3: a great run. But I think the question here is

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Speaker 3: is this our Mark Jackson moment, Steve Kerr moment, because

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Speaker 3: the firing of Mark Jackson caught a lot of us

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Speaker 3: by surprise. He had three successful years if I recall correctly.

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Speaker 3: But the Warriors concluded that the team had maxed out

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Speaker 3: and decided to go in a different direction, and they

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Speaker 3: obviously found the right person who went on, you know,

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Speaker 3: to lead the team to I think four different championships

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Speaker 3: as it relates to the Golden State Warriors. So hopefully

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Speaker 3: we can just hit the jackpot in terms of whatever

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Speaker 3: direction we go in next. And this current management has

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Speaker 3: had a pretty successful track record in building the team

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Speaker 3: up until this point, so.

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Speaker 2: Would you consider and by the way, that's a very

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Speaker 2: optimistic way to look at it. You know, I do

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Speaker 2: think there may have been some concern among Knicks fans

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Speaker 2: and suddenly, just me as an outside observer, is that

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Speaker 2: typically you know, we don't know yet the details of

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Speaker 2: how much James Dolan was involved, but it is his team,

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Speaker 2: so of course he was involved.

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Speaker 1: But he has made some decisions before and.

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Speaker 2: People have wondered, what was this another rational decision or

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Speaker 2: is this something like a little bit more calculated kind

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Speaker 2: of what you were talking about when you just max

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Speaker 2: out with a particular coach and you need somebody a

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Speaker 2: new voice in the locker room. That being said, how

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Speaker 2: would you characterize this season for the Knicks as successful?

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Speaker 3: Yes, I would characterize it as successful. I think because

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Speaker 3: we got the third seed and were lined up against

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Speaker 3: the world champion Boston Celtics. Most people were of the

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Speaker 3: view that we ain't getting out of the second round,

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Speaker 3: and this is going to be the third consecutive year

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Speaker 3: that we went out in the second round, very disappointing.

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Speaker 3: I think we lost to Miami, then we lost to

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Speaker 3: Indiana last year, and the expectation was Boston was going

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Speaker 3: to run us out the gym, and we win game one.

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Speaker 3: Then we win Game two. That was incredible, and then

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Speaker 3: the Celtics come to the guard and they win Game three,

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Speaker 3: and then we do our thing in game four. Had

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Speaker 3: it won even before Tatum went out, and certainly our

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Speaker 3: prayers that would Tatum for a full and speedy recovery.

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Speaker 3: But it was a great series, and then we smoked

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Speaker 3: the Celtics in Game six. At that point, I think

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Speaker 3: for me, of course, a run to winning it all

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Speaker 3: in the finals would have been ideal, but a competitive series,

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Speaker 3: showing some heart going out, you know, in six is respectable.

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Speaker 3: I think that's a very successful season. But Game one

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Speaker 3: was rough. I was in Washington, had it on in

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Speaker 3: the backdrop. We were actually debating the GLP tax, and

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Speaker 3: it was kind of late at night, early in the morning,

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Speaker 3: preparing to speak on the house floor, and I couldn't

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Speaker 3: believe that it was falling apart in the last few

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Speaker 3: minutes and that was unfortunate. And that may have been

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Speaker 3: the point where the next management concluded, Ya, it's time

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Speaker 3: to move in a different direction.

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Speaker 1: Well, I'm a Pistons fan, so I was hating.

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Speaker 2: We lost all our home games, so you all by

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Speaker 2: combined six points, and that was tough. And of course,

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Speaker 2: as fate would have it, over the course of the

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Speaker 2: next week following that series, I spent a lot of

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Speaker 2: time in New York doing some CNN stuff, so I

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Speaker 2: had to have the New York fandom in my face

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Speaker 2: after a salty, tough series.

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Speaker 1: So after that, I have to say I was a

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Speaker 1: bit bitter toward the Knicks.

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Speaker 3: No I got you on that. Needless to say, I'm

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Speaker 3: not rocking with Indiana in the finals. Go okay, See, as.

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Speaker 1: I mentioned, at the top of our conversation.

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Speaker 2: Right now, in real time, there is a back and

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Speaker 2: forth playing out between Eli muh Donald Trump over social media,

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Speaker 2: because of course it's twenty twenty five, and with these

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Speaker 2: two individuals in particular. Now, the last tweet that Elon Musk,

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Speaker 2: or one of the last tweets Sea drop was that, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: that's right, Donald Trump, you were in the Epstein files. Okay,

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Speaker 2: all right, So with this entire back and forth, given

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Speaker 2: all the things that are happening in this country from

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Speaker 2: the disaster's bill that you just mentioned, what is your

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Speaker 2: perspective of this fight that is going on between Donald

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Speaker 2: Trump and Elon Musk.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's definitely an intense situation, and of course people

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Speaker 3: on the hill are following it. I'm on Washington, DC

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Speaker 3: right now. People are following it with great interest. It

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Speaker 3: has my colleagues on the Republican side shook right now

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Speaker 3: because you got Donald Trump, who's one puppet master for them,

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Speaker 3: and Elon Musk, who's the other puppet master for them,

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Speaker 3: and they don't know whose side to be on in

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Speaker 3: this fight, so they're kind of burying their heads in

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Speaker 3: the sand. Largely interesting to me is that Elon Must's

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Speaker 3: assessment of the GOP tax scam, what we believe is

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Speaker 3: one big, ugly bill is correct when he calls it

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Speaker 3: a disgusting abomination. It is now. Our view is that

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Speaker 3: it's a disgusting abomination one because it takes healthcare away

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Speaker 3: literally from more than fifteen million people. The largest cut

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Speaker 3: to healthcare in American history. That's out of control. And

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Speaker 3: then they're ripping food out of the mouths of children

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Speaker 3: and veterans and seniors. Largest cut to nutritional assistance in

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Speaker 3: American history. That's ridiculous. And this is all being done

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Speaker 3: in order to provide their billionaire donors with a massive

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Speaker 3: tax break that would be the largest tax break for

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Speaker 3: the wealthy, the well off, and the well connected in

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Speaker 3: American history. And then on top of that, they want

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Speaker 3: our children, our grandchildren, the next generation of Americans to

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Speaker 3: pay the bill because they would stick us with more

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Speaker 3: than three trillion dollars in additional debt and explode the deficit.

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Speaker 3: And so Elon Musk has said Republicans should be ashamed

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Speaker 3: of themselves for voting for this bill. I agree with

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Speaker 3: that position. Now, the fact that this is broken out

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Speaker 3: into the public domain on social media in such an

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Speaker 3: extraordinary way. And now it's been personalized like this, I

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Speaker 3: think has caught a lot of people off guard. I

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Speaker 3: mean when I saw that Epstein tweet or post, I'm like, whoa,

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Speaker 3: he just went tupac hit him up? I mean, he

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Speaker 3: just went there and I rock with Biggie, right, but

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Speaker 3: hit him up was like a next level in terms

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Speaker 3: of just the personal assault. And that's basically what Elon

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Speaker 3: has done. And once you cross that the rubicon, I'm

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Speaker 3: not sure how the two of them come back from it.

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Speaker 3: And of course it continues to intensify throughout the day.

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Speaker 2: I think just based off you know, of course on

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Speaker 2: social media, there's a lot of jokes flying around, but

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Speaker 2: beneath all that, I think there is because we have

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Speaker 2: seen just so much chaos in this administration since they

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Speaker 2: took over in January, that there's a part of the

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Speaker 2: public that is wondering what is this distracting us from?

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Speaker 2: You know, there's always sort of a watch what a

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Speaker 2: hook is coming with this administration? And so from a

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Speaker 2: strategy standpoint, is this something that is useful for the

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Speaker 2: Democrats seeing two of you know, to.

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Speaker 1: Kind of not likable people go at it in this way.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's interesting because you're absolutely correct. We've seen from

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Speaker 3: this administration from day one, a flooding of the zone

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Speaker 3: that daily outraigs, the parade of marbles, and a lot

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Speaker 3: of it is designed to create confusion and to disillusion people,

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Speaker 3: to project this sense that it's all inevitable and that

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Speaker 3: it's hard to follow what you should be outraged about

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Speaker 3: because it's so much that takes place that clearly part

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Speaker 3: of the strategy is to try to distract you from

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Speaker 3: the things that you really should be concerned about in

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Speaker 3: any given situation. I think this is different because the

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Speaker 3: feud exploded onto social media based on Elon's criticism of

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Speaker 3: the One Big Ugly Bill and his criticism of the

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Speaker 3: Republicans for trying to jam this down the throats to

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Speaker 3: the American people. Some of the reasons why he disagrees

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Speaker 3: with the bill are reasons why we as Democrats disagree

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Speaker 3: with the bill. The attack on the effort to try

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Speaker 3: to build the clean energy economy. He obviously has a

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Speaker 3: problem with it. He's got business interests connected to that.

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Speaker 3: We have a problem with it because we think standing

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Speaker 3: up a clean energy economy actually will lower energy costs

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Speaker 3: for everyday Americans. And we have to be focused on

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Speaker 3: building an affordable economy, and that's part of the effort

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Speaker 3: to do that. It also creates jobs in places all

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Speaker 3: across the country, and it does something meaningful to address

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Speaker 3: the climate crisis with the fierce urgency of now that's necessary.

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Speaker 3: So the fact that this few the genesis of it

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Speaker 3: relates to Elon Musk's effort to try to kill the

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Speaker 3: billings he said, we agree every single House Democrat was

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Speaker 3: strongly opposed to the GOP tax scam. We're working hard

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Speaker 3: to kill a bill as we speak. It limped out

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Speaker 3: of the House of Representatives barely by one vote, and

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Speaker 3: it doesn't have a clear path towards success in the Senate.

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Speaker 3: So it's interesting. I don't think this is a distraction

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Speaker 3: because what they would be trying to distract you from,

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Speaker 3: meaning Trump, is what they're trying to do and taking

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Speaker 3: away healthcare, taking away nutritional assistance, hurting veterans, hurting everyday

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Speaker 3: americans to reward their billionaire donors. They don't want us

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Speaker 3: talking about that. But at the center of this fight,

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Speaker 3: or at least how it began, was the criticism around

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Speaker 3: the GOP tax scam and this reckless Republican budget.

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Speaker 1: Let's talk about the tax scam bill or I did see.

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Speaker 2: I think Chuck Schumer called it that well Everybody's going

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Speaker 2: to die act after Congresswoman johny Ertz, who had some

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Speaker 2: very callous comments about the damage that.

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Speaker 1: This bill could do to the people who would lose

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Speaker 1: health care.

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Speaker 2: You know, at this point, I think a lot of

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Speaker 2: people have obviously been very critical of the Democratic Party

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Speaker 2: in this moment, even though you all are not in leadership,

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Speaker 2: you don't have the majority in either chamber, but nevertheless,

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Speaker 2: you are expected to do something. And I'm looking at

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Speaker 2: the approval rate that you all have, and I know

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Speaker 2: you've seen the poll about what the Democratic Party's approval

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Speaker 2: rating has been despite all the chaos, despite the fact

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Speaker 2: that Trump's approval ratings are falling, the fight, the fact

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Speaker 2: that people are losing a lot of whatever faith they

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Speaker 2: had and that he could fix this economy.

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Speaker 1: Is that honeymoon periods over?

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Speaker 2: Like nobody's kind of buying that he's going to be

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Speaker 2: able to fix this economy. With all that being said,

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Speaker 2: how is it that Democrats can better control this narrative

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Speaker 2: in this chaotic moment.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a great question, and it's a work in progress.

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Speaker 3: For why variety of reasons. First of all, people are

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Speaker 3: understandably disappointed and distressed and in many cases disillusion by

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Speaker 3: the fact that we lost in November of twenty twenty four,

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Speaker 3: and we've got to own that because we lost to

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Speaker 3: this guy. And obviously, Kamala Harris and my view, did

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Speaker 3: a tremendous job in the limited time that she had

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Speaker 3: one hundred and seven day campaign, the best that she

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Speaker 3: could under difficult circumstances after President Biden decided that he

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Speaker 3: wasn't going to seek reelection, and those circumstances led to

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Speaker 3: a situation where we lost to Donald Trump. We didn't

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Speaker 3: get the House back, we felt just three seats short,

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Speaker 3: and then of course lost control of the Senate. So

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Speaker 3: from the standpoint of Democrats in this country being disappointed

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Speaker 3: with the party, that's understandable, and so what we have

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Speaker 3: to do to earn back their trust. One is to

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Speaker 3: demonstrate that we are functioning as a principled opposition to

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Speaker 3: stop as many bad things from happening as we can

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Speaker 3: and pushing back aggressively against the parade of horribles that

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Speaker 3: Donald Trump is unleashing on the American people. Because this

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Speaker 3: is an un residented assault on the economy, and assault

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Speaker 3: on healthcare and assault on social security, in assault on

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Speaker 3: a democratic way of life, an assault on the rule

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Speaker 3: of law, and an assault on democracy itself. So it

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Speaker 3: does require us to engage in an all hands on

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Speaker 3: deck effort. Now, I do think that what we have

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Speaker 3: seen is some success in clarifying for the American people.

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Speaker 3: As you pointed out, Jamail, that Donald Trump promised he

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Speaker 3: was going to fix the economy, address inflation and lower costs.

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Speaker 3: In fact, he said he's going to lower costs on

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Speaker 3: day one. Dude was lying to the American people. He's

435
00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:49,080
Speaker 3: not lowering costs. Costs are going up. He's crashing the economy.

436
00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:51,840
Speaker 3: These Trump tariffs are going to add thousands of dollars

437
00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:57,160
Speaker 3: an additional expense to hardworking American taxpayers, and he's probably

438
00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:01,359
Speaker 3: driving us toward a recession. Despite the fact that the

439
00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:03,960
Speaker 3: expectation was Donald Trump was going to be able to

440
00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:08,200
Speaker 3: control the narrative. Republicans have complete control in Washington. He's

441
00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,840
Speaker 3: got all these social media relationships and new media relationships,

442
00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:15,199
Speaker 3: and Democrats would not be able to break through with

443
00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:20,720
Speaker 3: any degree of clarity. Well, actually, Donald Trump was the

444
00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:25,119
Speaker 3: most unpopular President at the one hundred day mark in

445
00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:30,040
Speaker 3: modern American history. Somebody's paying attention to the things that

446
00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:34,520
Speaker 3: are being said. The American people are locking in on

447
00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:39,480
Speaker 3: the fact that he's actually not making life better for them,

448
00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:45,800
Speaker 3: He's making life worse. So we have to continue to

449
00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:51,959
Speaker 3: be the principled opposition stopping bad things from happening, and

450
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:57,440
Speaker 3: I think pivot to articulating our vision for making life

451
00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:01,239
Speaker 3: better for the American people that committed to building an

452
00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:05,360
Speaker 3: affordable economy. We know the deck has been stacked against

453
00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:08,680
Speaker 3: everyday Americans for far too long. The system has been

454
00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:15,200
Speaker 3: broken for decades, and we have to earn the confidence

455
00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:18,600
Speaker 3: of the American people that were committed to fixing it,

456
00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:24,760
Speaker 3: to improving their lives. And to be very clear to

457
00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:27,439
Speaker 3: the American people that we hear you, we see you,

458
00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:31,600
Speaker 3: we feel you, and we're committed to making life better

459
00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:31,879
Speaker 3: for you.

460
00:27:33,119 --> 00:27:39,200
Speaker 2: How can you be principal opposition against an unprincipled enemy.

461
00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:44,560
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think we're in a more is more environment,

462
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:47,840
Speaker 3: So I think the key is and we can learn

463
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:51,199
Speaker 3: from those upon whose shoulders we stand. I have the

464
00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:54,879
Speaker 3: great honor of serving in Congress with John Lewis, an

465
00:27:54,920 --> 00:28:00,200
Speaker 3: American hero who of course always inspired us to show

466
00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:01,919
Speaker 3: up and stand up and speak up. And when you

467
00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:05,159
Speaker 3: see something that's wrong, never give up, never give in,

468
00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:09,720
Speaker 3: get into some good trouble, necessary trouble. As he would

469
00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:13,679
Speaker 3: tell us, he was principled in his opposition, but strong

470
00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,480
Speaker 3: and throughout his life, particularly in the Jim Crow South.

471
00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:23,320
Speaker 3: I mean Donald Trump was battling, I mean John Lewis

472
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:29,800
Speaker 3: was battling in authoritarian situation that existed racial oppression enforced

473
00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:35,119
Speaker 3: by violence in parts of the Jim Crow South. And

474
00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:39,240
Speaker 3: yet they were able to both balance that principled opposition

475
00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:45,840
Speaker 3: with the righteous indignation and the ferocity that was necessary

476
00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:48,480
Speaker 3: to turn the situation around. And I think for us,

477
00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:51,560
Speaker 3: that's what we have to do. We have to stretch.

478
00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:57,680
Speaker 3: We're in a more is more environment, meaning more rallies,

479
00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:00,800
Speaker 3: more press conferences, more speeches on the House, most speeches

480
00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:04,400
Speaker 3: on the Senate floor, all night committee hearings, making sure

481
00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:07,280
Speaker 3: that we're having town hall meetings in democratic districts, town

482
00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:11,800
Speaker 3: hall meetings in Republican districts, as we're doing, convening democratic

483
00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:15,960
Speaker 3: led hearings on Capitol Hill, which we've done democratic led

484
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:21,480
Speaker 3: hearings across the country, and taking our efforts on the road,

485
00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:24,840
Speaker 3: which we're continuing to do, sit ins, and you know,

486
00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:29,240
Speaker 3: a variety of things, site visits, more is more that's

487
00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:31,800
Speaker 3: going to be necessary for us to continue to meet

488
00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:32,200
Speaker 3: the moment.

489
00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,880
Speaker 2: I've heard you use that terminology about flooding the zone,

490
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,080
Speaker 2: not in relationship to Donald Trump, but what you think

491
00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:41,280
Speaker 2: Democrats should be doing being on TV more as you

492
00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:44,719
Speaker 2: just mentioned hitting essentially the campaign trail, doing the rallies.

493
00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:48,160
Speaker 2: People look at the rallies that you know, Alexandria Ocasio

494
00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:50,600
Speaker 2: Cortez did, alc and Bernie Sanders, and those seem to

495
00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:55,120
Speaker 2: be very successful. But you and I both know, especially

496
00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:58,040
Speaker 2: in the time where social media is this prominent, American

497
00:29:58,080 --> 00:29:59,440
Speaker 2: loves a good marketing campaign.

498
00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:00,680
Speaker 1: MU is very clear.

499
00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:05,160
Speaker 2: And what was interesting to me in watching the election

500
00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:09,000
Speaker 2: was that in so many states you had people approving

501
00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:13,400
Speaker 2: very popular Democratic policies that you all were the leaders

502
00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:17,960
Speaker 2: on that you all used to try to reshape this country,

503
00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:22,080
Speaker 2: and yet still voted for Republicans that were against everything

504
00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:25,200
Speaker 2: that you were trying to do. So, how do you

505
00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:29,280
Speaker 2: feel like in this time, considering how Republicans have been

506
00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:31,920
Speaker 2: able to use social media to their benefit a lot

507
00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:35,720
Speaker 2: through disinformation to be honest and misinformation. But nevertheless, they're

508
00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:39,200
Speaker 2: still able to control so much of the narrative. So,

509
00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:43,959
Speaker 2: how now, with the election fresh behind you, just for

510
00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:48,120
Speaker 2: just six months or so, how are you going to

511
00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:55,960
Speaker 2: make that connection between the marketing, the Democratic successes, and

512
00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:00,560
Speaker 2: what you're talking about better so that people really can

513
00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:03,680
Speaker 2: effectively see what you're doing. Like, what were the lessons

514
00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:06,440
Speaker 2: learned from the election in terms of how you need

515
00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:08,080
Speaker 2: to better connect with the American people.

516
00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:12,680
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a great question. I think that what's important

517
00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:19,280
Speaker 3: for all of us to internalize is that governing is

518
00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:22,600
Speaker 3: one lane and communicating with the American people is a

519
00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:28,760
Speaker 3: different lane, and they require two different types of skills.

520
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:33,560
Speaker 3: And the challenge that we have traditionally faced as Democrats

521
00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:38,800
Speaker 3: in terms of communicating is that Republicans tend to communicate

522
00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:44,560
Speaker 3: in headlines and Democrats communicate in fine print. Now, there's

523
00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:48,760
Speaker 3: a reason why Democrats sometimes default to fine print. It's

524
00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:54,160
Speaker 3: because in order to govern, you actually have to master

525
00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:58,680
Speaker 3: the fine print. And as Democrats, we care about governing

526
00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:00,920
Speaker 3: because we care about the American people and we care

527
00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:03,600
Speaker 3: about getting things done. And when you look at the

528
00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:07,240
Speaker 3: modern day Democratic Party, which really dates back to the

529
00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:12,040
Speaker 3: presidency of FDR, and think about the things that we've

530
00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:15,800
Speaker 3: worked hard to deliver to the American people's social security,

531
00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:21,040
Speaker 3: rural electrification, the GI Bill, the Civil Rights Act, the

532
00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:24,520
Speaker 3: Voting Rights Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Immigration and

533
00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:29,000
Speaker 3: Nationality Act of nineteen sixty five, the Higher Education Act,

534
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:34,800
Speaker 3: the Elementary and Secondary School Act, Medicare, Medicaid, head Start,

535
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:38,560
Speaker 3: the Affordable Care Act, the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure

536
00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:42,400
Speaker 3: Investment and Jobs Act, the Pact Act, and standing up

537
00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:46,880
Speaker 3: for our veterans. And then, of course the Inflation Reduction Act,

538
00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:50,120
Speaker 3: which helped to lower the high price of life saving

539
00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:56,320
Speaker 3: prescription drugs, amongst doing other things, including the largest investment

540
00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:58,920
Speaker 3: in combating the climate crisis in the history of the world.

541
00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:02,000
Speaker 3: All of these things were brought to you by your

542
00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:09,680
Speaker 3: friendly neighborhood Democratic Party. That's an amazing track record of success.

543
00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:13,160
Speaker 3: Of course, much more needs to be done on behalf

544
00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,880
Speaker 3: of the American people, particularly in terms of building an

545
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:22,040
Speaker 3: affordable economy and addressing the inflationary crisis that we are

546
00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:25,080
Speaker 3: dealing with in this country. But that's a great track

547
00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:30,040
Speaker 3: record of success to build upon. You don't produce all

548
00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:35,160
Speaker 3: of those things unless you have committed to mastering the

549
00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:40,080
Speaker 3: fine print of governing. But the challenge for us is

550
00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:44,880
Speaker 3: that while you govern in fine print, you message, you persuade,

551
00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:50,120
Speaker 3: you communicate and headlines, particularly in the era of social

552
00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:53,400
Speaker 3: media and new media, and we just have to do

553
00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:57,720
Speaker 3: a better job of making sure that we do what

554
00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:01,479
Speaker 3: we need to do in the communications lane so that

555
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:05,040
Speaker 3: the American people actually give us the opportunity in the

556
00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:09,000
Speaker 3: governing lane to build upon the progress that we've tried

557
00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:12,080
Speaker 3: to make for everyday Americans over the last seventy five

558
00:34:12,160 --> 00:34:13,200
Speaker 3: eighty plus years.

559
00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:15,640
Speaker 2: I look at it as you all are the party

560
00:34:15,640 --> 00:34:19,000
Speaker 2: of policy and they're the party of personality, And to

561
00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:20,560
Speaker 2: be honest, a lot of times it feels like the

562
00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:24,120
Speaker 2: personality part wins out just because of that communication gap

563
00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:25,200
Speaker 2: that you're talking about.

564
00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:26,560
Speaker 1: You know.

565
00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:30,560
Speaker 2: With that being said, again, given how people feel so

566
00:34:30,680 --> 00:34:34,520
Speaker 2: frustrated right now with the party, how much do you

567
00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:37,160
Speaker 2: think the criticisms of the party, What do you think

568
00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:40,040
Speaker 2: is fair criticism of the Democratic Party, and what do.

569
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:40,840
Speaker 1: You think is unfair?

570
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:46,080
Speaker 3: Well, I think it's fair that at the end of

571
00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:49,560
Speaker 3: the day, notwithstanding all of the things that were accomplished

572
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:54,160
Speaker 3: under the prior administration, that there were a lot of

573
00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:59,239
Speaker 3: Americans who believe that Donald Trump was better positioned to

574
00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:01,719
Speaker 3: deal with inflation and to lower the high cost of

575
00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:04,200
Speaker 3: living in the United States of America, and we did

576
00:35:04,239 --> 00:35:08,760
Speaker 3: not do a good enough job overall as a party

577
00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:12,040
Speaker 3: and communicating that one we understand that the cost of

578
00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:14,879
Speaker 3: living is too high, that we actually have a plan

579
00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:20,080
Speaker 3: to lower housing costs, lower grocery costs, lower energy costs,

580
00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:25,080
Speaker 3: lower childcare costs, and lower insurance costs, and that we

581
00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:31,800
Speaker 3: do actually believe with every fiber in our body that

582
00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:35,640
Speaker 3: in the United States of America, the wealthiest country in

583
00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:38,120
Speaker 3: the history of the world, no one should be living

584
00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:42,879
Speaker 3: paycheck to paycheck. No one should be struggling when they

585
00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:45,879
Speaker 3: work hard and play by the rules, but yet can't

586
00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:49,520
Speaker 3: find a good paying job, or purchase a home, or

587
00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:53,400
Speaker 3: live a comfortable life, or have access to healthcare, go

588
00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:55,480
Speaker 3: on vacation every now and then, or be able to

589
00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:59,000
Speaker 3: retire with grace and dignity. Everybody should have that opportunity

590
00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:04,440
Speaker 3: in the country, but everybody does not. And I think

591
00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:09,319
Speaker 3: that we have to do a better job of connecting

592
00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:14,680
Speaker 3: how we actually feel with making sure that the American

593
00:36:14,719 --> 00:36:20,560
Speaker 3: people feel us in terms of our commitment to making

594
00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:24,960
Speaker 3: their lives better. So that. You know, we just need

595
00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:29,799
Speaker 3: to do better in that area. And I think the

596
00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:34,200
Speaker 3: other thing we've got to do is convince a greater

597
00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:38,480
Speaker 3: number of Americans that we actually are fighting for them,

598
00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:45,440
Speaker 3: because there's no circumstance where the Republican Party under Donald Trump,

599
00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:49,920
Speaker 3: who is all about the wealthy, the well off, and

600
00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:53,239
Speaker 3: the well connected. I mean, if you just looked at

601
00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:56,279
Speaker 3: the inauguration, who was there. It wasn't everyday Americans, it

602
00:36:56,360 --> 00:36:59,640
Speaker 3: wasn't working class Americans. It was the billionaire boys Club.

603
00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:04,560
Speaker 3: It was a super villain convention, and it was wild.

604
00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:07,319
Speaker 3: And this is who he chose to surround himself with

605
00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:10,799
Speaker 3: because this is who he's fighting for. But yet Donald

606
00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:13,960
Speaker 3: Trump has somehow managed to convince a significant number of Americans,

607
00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:17,600
Speaker 3: or at least he did in connection with the election.

608
00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:19,719
Speaker 3: As you pointed out to Mail, he's falling apart right

609
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:23,280
Speaker 3: now in terms of the perception that the American people

610
00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:25,600
Speaker 3: have as it relates to his ability to actually deal

611
00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:29,720
Speaker 3: with the economy. He lied not focused on lowering costs,

612
00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:33,120
Speaker 3: but he did managed to convince a significant number of

613
00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:36,000
Speaker 3: people that he would do that in connection with the election.

614
00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:40,560
Speaker 3: So we have to do a better job there now

615
00:37:40,719 --> 00:37:46,600
Speaker 3: in terms of the concern that Democrats on Capitol Hill

616
00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:50,200
Speaker 3: and the House and the Senate aren't fighting and pushing

617
00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:57,200
Speaker 3: back against Donald Trump and the administration aggressively, I think no,

618
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:03,080
Speaker 3: every single House Democrat and every single Senate Democrat is

619
00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:05,200
Speaker 3: working hard to do the best that they can to

620
00:38:05,239 --> 00:38:07,960
Speaker 3: aggressively push back at what we all believe is an

621
00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:15,960
Speaker 3: unprecedented situation. And that's why I've acknowledged that all of

622
00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:18,160
Speaker 3: us are going to continue to be called upon to

623
00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:23,839
Speaker 3: do more, to engage with a level of intensity previously

624
00:38:24,120 --> 00:38:31,520
Speaker 3: unseen at any time in a Congress in modern American history.

625
00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:35,799
Speaker 3: And it requires extraordinary things to be done, including but

626
00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:39,120
Speaker 3: not limited to what you know, our brother Corey Booker

627
00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:45,080
Speaker 3: did when he delivered that historical speech on the floor

628
00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:47,279
Speaker 3: of the Senate. They're trying to cancel our history, he

629
00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:48,480
Speaker 3: canceled strom Therman.

630
00:38:49,719 --> 00:38:52,080
Speaker 2: I want to ask you about that intensity, because I

631
00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:55,279
Speaker 2: think there's been some questions there. Also want to ask

632
00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:57,600
Speaker 2: you about I got a biggie question for you, since

633
00:38:57,640 --> 00:38:58,600
Speaker 2: I know you're a biggie.

634
00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:00,240
Speaker 1: Guy and being.

635
00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:02,040
Speaker 2: In represent and being from Brooklyn and representing there, so

636
00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:05,440
Speaker 2: this biggie question. I'm hoping this is the headline from

637
00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:07,879
Speaker 2: this podcast, but we just got to take a very

638
00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:11,000
Speaker 2: quick break and we'll be back with more with Representative

639
00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:25,440
Speaker 2: I came, Jeff mister Minority House Leader. Okay, before we

640
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:29,000
Speaker 2: took a break, Representative Jefferies, you mentioned the intensity, and

641
00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:31,840
Speaker 2: I think that is where a lot of people, a

642
00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:34,400
Speaker 2: lot of people I talk to just in everyday life,

643
00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:37,840
Speaker 2: and that's the part that I think has people the

644
00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:40,400
Speaker 2: most frustrated. I don't think people doubt the effort. I

645
00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:42,799
Speaker 2: think at this point people want to know what are

646
00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:45,359
Speaker 2: the Democrats actually willing to do? And I say that

647
00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:49,240
Speaker 2: because we see Trump define court orders, we see him

648
00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:52,040
Speaker 2: like we're wondering. People are wondering, like, yes, you can

649
00:39:52,080 --> 00:39:54,640
Speaker 2: fight this battle through the courts, but if he don't

650
00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:58,799
Speaker 2: care what they say, where does that leave you. So this,

651
00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:01,439
Speaker 2: I think this idea that you all aren't doing enough

652
00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:03,799
Speaker 2: is coming from the fact that we don't know what

653
00:40:03,840 --> 00:40:06,319
Speaker 2: the next level of accountability actually looks like.

654
00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:07,919
Speaker 1: So can you.

655
00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:11,560
Speaker 2: Explain if he is ignoring these court orders, he's not

656
00:40:11,680 --> 00:40:15,560
Speaker 2: following the rules, his administration isn't following it. What is

657
00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:18,200
Speaker 2: the next level of accountability that you have available?

658
00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:21,359
Speaker 3: Well, there's a couple of things, right, So you've got

659
00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:26,759
Speaker 3: congressional accountability, and ultimately, the clearest path to bring that

660
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:30,080
Speaker 3: about is to make sure that Democrats get the gavels

661
00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:32,920
Speaker 3: back in November of twenty twenty six, that we take

662
00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:35,480
Speaker 3: the House back, take the Senate back, that we can

663
00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:40,719
Speaker 3: end this national nightmare legislatively. And but you know.

664
00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:42,640
Speaker 1: That's a long way from now though.

665
00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:47,040
Speaker 3: Listen, No, listen, that's I'm just saying. That's in terms

666
00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:51,400
Speaker 3: of congressional accountability. We got to be real. Why Because

667
00:40:52,360 --> 00:40:57,680
Speaker 3: unless a handful of Republicans in the House or handful

668
00:40:57,719 --> 00:41:01,080
Speaker 3: of Republicans in the Senate decide to actually grow a

669
00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:07,640
Speaker 3: spine and stop acting like rubber stamps for Donald Trump's

670
00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:13,760
Speaker 3: extreme agenda and engaging in their cult like behavior, then

671
00:41:14,719 --> 00:41:18,080
Speaker 3: it's going to be hard to get actual accountability on

672
00:41:18,120 --> 00:41:24,680
Speaker 3: a sustained basis at the congressional level until we defeat

673
00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:29,520
Speaker 3: the MAGA extremists next year in the midterm elections. That's

674
00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:31,800
Speaker 3: not to say they aren't important elections that are already

675
00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:35,280
Speaker 3: taking place. Every single special election that's been a high

676
00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:41,920
Speaker 3: profile race since the Trump presidency, Democrats have won, including

677
00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:45,520
Speaker 3: but not limited to the race in Wisconsin for the

678
00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:50,440
Speaker 3: state Supreme Court seat that was expected to be hotly contested.

679
00:41:50,480 --> 00:41:53,640
Speaker 3: Elon Musk spent twenty to twenty five million dollars trying

680
00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:57,560
Speaker 3: to elect the conservative candidate the progressive candidate one by

681
00:41:57,600 --> 00:42:00,239
Speaker 3: eleven points. But that's not the only high profile our

682
00:42:00,239 --> 00:42:03,319
Speaker 3: special election that we've won. We've won others, and you'll

683
00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:07,120
Speaker 3: have governors races that will be important in New Jersey

684
00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:12,040
Speaker 3: and in Virginia in November. Now, that's not to say

685
00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:17,400
Speaker 3: that we can't use the levels of authority and capacity

686
00:42:17,400 --> 00:42:22,440
Speaker 3: that we have as members of Congress, even if the

687
00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:25,279
Speaker 3: Republicans continue to be sick offense, and we continue to

688
00:42:25,320 --> 00:42:30,759
Speaker 3: do that as it relates to our engagement and committees,

689
00:42:30,760 --> 00:42:34,600
Speaker 3: our engagement on the House floor, our engagement across the country.

690
00:42:34,600 --> 00:42:38,440
Speaker 3: Republicans refuse to have town hall meetings, and so we decided,

691
00:42:38,480 --> 00:42:40,360
Speaker 3: you know what, We're going to have town hall meetings

692
00:42:40,920 --> 00:42:45,560
Speaker 3: in your districts to engage with your constituents, to tell

693
00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:49,920
Speaker 3: them what you are trying to hide, particularly as it

694
00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:54,840
Speaker 3: relates to ripping healthcare and Medicaid from tens of millions

695
00:42:54,840 --> 00:43:01,200
Speaker 3: of Americans, closing hospitals, shutting down nursing homes, and creating

696
00:43:01,200 --> 00:43:04,440
Speaker 3: a situation where people are actually going to die because

697
00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:09,040
Speaker 3: healthcare is being ripped away from them, and care in

698
00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:12,480
Speaker 3: terms of these institutions is being ripped away from them.

699
00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:15,880
Speaker 3: So I think again we're in a more is more environment.

700
00:43:15,920 --> 00:43:18,239
Speaker 3: We just have to continue to do more. Now on

701
00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:22,360
Speaker 3: the court side of things, right, it is important to

702
00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:27,080
Speaker 3: recognize we got three branches of government. We all learn

703
00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:32,200
Speaker 3: that in social studies as we have come up, and

704
00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:35,440
Speaker 3: you've got the legislative branch, you've got the executive branch,

705
00:43:36,160 --> 00:43:40,359
Speaker 3: and you've got the judicial branch. And we have seen

706
00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:46,200
Speaker 3: an unprecedented number of lawsuits that have filed last time

707
00:43:46,239 --> 00:43:50,000
Speaker 3: I checked, Because we work closely with a variety of

708
00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:55,000
Speaker 3: different groups, civil rights groups, democracy protection groups, organized labor,

709
00:43:55,040 --> 00:44:01,120
Speaker 3: civil liberties groups, democratic attorney generals. More than two hundred

710
00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:05,520
Speaker 3: and fifty lawsuits have been filed against the Trump administration

711
00:44:05,719 --> 00:44:10,560
Speaker 3: and the unconstitutional and unlawful executive orders, and I believe

712
00:44:11,480 --> 00:44:15,000
Speaker 3: it's more than one hundred and eighty five different court

713
00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:23,040
Speaker 3: orders have been issued halting these executive actions and orders.

714
00:44:23,880 --> 00:44:28,239
Speaker 3: Now it has been the case literally in a handful

715
00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:34,279
Speaker 3: of instances. All that just happened to relate to the

716
00:44:34,320 --> 00:44:40,160
Speaker 3: immigration space where Donald Trump is pushing the envelope aggressively

717
00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:44,440
Speaker 3: as it relates to defiance, and in those cases handful

718
00:44:44,480 --> 00:44:47,400
Speaker 3: of cases, every single one of them in the immigration

719
00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:55,600
Speaker 3: space related to deportations or potential deportations, where our view

720
00:44:55,960 --> 00:44:59,680
Speaker 3: is that the courts need to be more aggressive in

721
00:44:59,760 --> 00:45:05,759
Speaker 3: a its authority if they've concluded that the Trump administration

722
00:45:06,160 --> 00:45:11,160
Speaker 3: is not complying with a court directive, and what they

723
00:45:11,160 --> 00:45:16,080
Speaker 3: have available to them is both civil contempt they can

724
00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:22,200
Speaker 3: find the heck out of whoever is not complying or

725
00:45:22,320 --> 00:45:28,000
Speaker 3: criminal contempt, and I think the courts have generally been

726
00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:36,279
Speaker 3: reluctant to use those tools against a sitting administration, but

727
00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:41,240
Speaker 3: extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures, And if we see

728
00:45:42,120 --> 00:45:45,239
Speaker 3: non compliance continue in different ways, then I think the

729
00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:47,880
Speaker 3: courts are going to have to get more aggressive. But

730
00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:50,160
Speaker 3: it's important for all your people to understand that in

731
00:45:50,200 --> 00:45:55,240
Speaker 3: the overwhelming majority of cases, Donald Trump ain't winning, he's losing,

732
00:45:55,960 --> 00:45:59,920
Speaker 3: and he's been forced to back down repeatedly.

733
00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:05,839
Speaker 2: Well, I guess when you look at also the intimidation

734
00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:09,600
Speaker 2: that judges are facing now, I think people probably feel

735
00:46:09,640 --> 00:46:13,440
Speaker 2: a little a little less hopeful about that just because

736
00:46:13,680 --> 00:46:18,919
Speaker 2: of how this administration has gone after judges and called

737
00:46:18,920 --> 00:46:21,520
Speaker 2: them activists just because they even judges they appointed. The

738
00:46:21,600 --> 00:46:24,839
Speaker 2: judge is that he appointed, they have put a bullseye

739
00:46:24,880 --> 00:46:30,160
Speaker 2: on their back. You mentioned before about how really ultimately,

740
00:46:30,200 --> 00:46:32,600
Speaker 2: when it comes to the congressional accountability, it's going to

741
00:46:32,640 --> 00:46:36,840
Speaker 2: require Republicans who know better and theoretically should do better

742
00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:39,160
Speaker 2: to have us fine, which is something they haven't shown.

743
00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:43,040
Speaker 2: So I'm wondering from you, what do Republicans say to

744
00:46:43,080 --> 00:46:45,360
Speaker 2: you privately that they won't say publicly.

745
00:46:46,200 --> 00:46:50,920
Speaker 3: Well, a lot of them mcnow is that privately that

746
00:46:51,120 --> 00:46:53,960
Speaker 3: some of the things that Donald Trump is the administration

747
00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:57,080
Speaker 3: they're doing are out of control. And then our response,

748
00:46:57,160 --> 00:47:01,240
Speaker 3: of course to them is well, why don't you step

749
00:47:01,360 --> 00:47:09,279
Speaker 3: up and communicate that, either directly to your colleagues in

750
00:47:09,320 --> 00:47:15,760
Speaker 3: the administration or forcefully publicly when necessary. And of course

751
00:47:15,800 --> 00:47:23,839
Speaker 3: the answer in many cases is people are concerned that

752
00:47:23,880 --> 00:47:29,600
Speaker 3: Donald Trump will end their political lives, that he will

753
00:47:29,640 --> 00:47:34,480
Speaker 3: primary them and they will lose. And of course they

754
00:47:34,520 --> 00:47:38,440
Speaker 3: point to the Liz Cheney situation where she actually demonstrated

755
00:47:38,480 --> 00:47:45,360
Speaker 3: some principle and voted to impeach Donald Trump talked about

756
00:47:45,960 --> 00:47:51,160
Speaker 3: his lack in her view of patriotism and the danger

757
00:47:51,200 --> 00:47:54,400
Speaker 3: that he represented to democracy, and Liz Cheney at one

758
00:47:54,440 --> 00:47:57,480
Speaker 3: point was the number three Republican in the House of Representatives,

759
00:47:58,320 --> 00:48:01,760
Speaker 3: the daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, and it didn't

760
00:48:01,760 --> 00:48:08,600
Speaker 3: matter because she spoke out against them. Donald Trump targeted

761
00:48:08,920 --> 00:48:15,399
Speaker 3: her electorally primary her and she lost. And the same

762
00:48:15,440 --> 00:48:20,000
Speaker 3: thing happened to Adam Kinzinger, of course, particularly when those

763
00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:23,680
Speaker 3: two decided to participate in the January sixth Commission, which

764
00:48:23,719 --> 00:48:26,320
Speaker 3: exposed a lot of what took place in that violent

765
00:48:26,360 --> 00:48:31,200
Speaker 3: assault on the Capitol. So I think many of them

766
00:48:31,520 --> 00:48:34,480
Speaker 3: are in fear of their political lives, and that's been

767
00:48:35,080 --> 00:48:38,919
Speaker 3: part of the challenge. But we continue to say to them,

768
00:48:39,040 --> 00:48:43,879
Speaker 3: you were elected to defend your constituents, to stand up

769
00:48:44,440 --> 00:48:48,799
Speaker 3: for your constituents, and there's life after Congress, and you

770
00:48:48,840 --> 00:48:55,319
Speaker 3: should be willing to actually want to be able to

771
00:48:55,400 --> 00:48:58,240
Speaker 3: look back on your time in the House of Representatives

772
00:48:58,960 --> 00:49:03,480
Speaker 3: knowing that you can keep your head held high because

773
00:49:03,520 --> 00:49:07,920
Speaker 3: you did the right thing. Donald Trump is gone in

774
00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:13,439
Speaker 3: three and a half years, but their legacy, or their

775
00:49:13,520 --> 00:49:19,560
Speaker 3: failure to stand up to the extremism and the unprecedented

776
00:49:19,600 --> 00:49:23,040
Speaker 3: assault on America as we know it, will be with

777
00:49:23,239 --> 00:49:28,640
Speaker 3: them forever. Unless just a handful of Republicans, all we

778
00:49:28,680 --> 00:49:32,680
Speaker 3: need is four on the House side or four on

779
00:49:32,719 --> 00:49:35,560
Speaker 3: the Senate side to do the right thing. They're two

780
00:49:35,680 --> 00:49:38,600
Speaker 3: hundred and twenty Republicans in the House, we just need four.

781
00:49:40,440 --> 00:49:43,960
Speaker 3: That's less than two percent. And if less than two

782
00:49:44,040 --> 00:49:47,239
Speaker 3: percent of the Republicans in the House actually decide to

783
00:49:47,239 --> 00:49:51,319
Speaker 3: do the right thing, we can stop a lot of

784
00:49:51,360 --> 00:49:55,400
Speaker 3: the foolishness, the malignant foolishness, from taking place. And so

785
00:49:56,239 --> 00:49:58,439
Speaker 3: over these next eighteen months, we just continue to work

786
00:49:58,480 --> 00:50:02,560
Speaker 3: on that every day, every week, every month, privately, publicly.

787
00:50:03,680 --> 00:50:06,560
Speaker 3: What are colleagues on the other side of the eut Uh?

788
00:50:07,040 --> 00:50:07,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I would.

789
00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:10,680
Speaker 2: I guess it's hard for me to have any sympathy

790
00:50:10,800 --> 00:50:13,239
Speaker 2: for them when they feel that way, because I'm like, well,

791
00:50:13,239 --> 00:50:15,680
Speaker 2: what are you elected for? Yeah, you were elected to

792
00:50:15,680 --> 00:50:17,800
Speaker 2: actually be a public servant. And this is part of

793
00:50:17,800 --> 00:50:20,880
Speaker 2: the responsibility. I want to pivot quickly to an issue

794
00:50:20,920 --> 00:50:25,880
Speaker 2: that became a very big issue for Democrats in this

795
00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:29,080
Speaker 2: last election that Donald Trump has continued and the Republican

796
00:50:29,120 --> 00:50:32,840
Speaker 2: Party has continued to use and weaponize against the Democratic Party,

797
00:50:32,840 --> 00:50:35,600
Speaker 2: and that is trans athletes in sports, and let's be

798
00:50:35,680 --> 00:50:39,680
Speaker 2: real specific, trans women in sports. You know, you saw

799
00:50:39,719 --> 00:50:43,480
Speaker 2: the ads that you know, one campaign of Kamala Harris

800
00:50:43,560 --> 00:50:48,400
Speaker 2: is for they them, not not you. And what was

801
00:50:48,440 --> 00:50:51,440
Speaker 2: never said and I never saw any Democrats in a

802
00:50:51,600 --> 00:50:56,160
Speaker 2: very you know, sort of a very bold or very

803
00:50:56,200 --> 00:51:01,279
Speaker 2: aggressive way is say that policy where prisoners are able

804
00:51:01,280 --> 00:51:03,840
Speaker 2: to get gender affirming care existed under Donald Trump, the

805
00:51:03,880 --> 00:51:06,120
Speaker 2: first time it's been existing for quite a long time.

806
00:51:06,160 --> 00:51:09,200
Speaker 2: It's a court order, so legally you are following the

807
00:51:09,280 --> 00:51:12,920
Speaker 2: law by allowing gender affirming care. And they use that

808
00:51:13,040 --> 00:51:16,319
Speaker 2: ad and you know another case in California where's a

809
00:51:16,360 --> 00:51:20,759
Speaker 2: trans woman competing in volleyball. Nevertheless, it feels as if,

810
00:51:20,840 --> 00:51:24,359
Speaker 2: rather than address this issue, that Democrats have chosen to

811
00:51:24,440 --> 00:51:25,359
Speaker 2: shrink from it.

812
00:51:26,400 --> 00:51:27,560
Speaker 1: Given everything that.

813
00:51:27,520 --> 00:51:31,400
Speaker 2: Has happened, and even though what you had the NCAA

814
00:51:31,440 --> 00:51:34,600
Speaker 2: president Charlie Baker, he was on the hill, he testified

815
00:51:34,680 --> 00:51:38,160
Speaker 2: there are five hundred thousand college athletes, ten are trans,

816
00:51:38,200 --> 00:51:42,640
Speaker 2: and he didn't say women or men. Nevertheless, this issue

817
00:51:42,760 --> 00:51:45,840
Speaker 2: has become one for your party that it doesn't seem

818
00:51:45,840 --> 00:51:49,800
Speaker 2: that has been addressed. How do you plan to strategize

819
00:51:50,120 --> 00:51:53,640
Speaker 2: against these attacks using a very vulnerable group of people

820
00:51:54,520 --> 00:51:58,480
Speaker 2: in a way where you don't abandon them and they

821
00:51:58,600 --> 00:52:01,000
Speaker 2: still feel like there is room under your take for them,

822
00:52:01,520 --> 00:52:06,040
Speaker 2: but also in a way that the American public can

823
00:52:06,080 --> 00:52:06,680
Speaker 2: get behind.

824
00:52:06,880 --> 00:52:10,640
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, the bullying of trans kids is unacceptable, and Republicans,

825
00:52:10,640 --> 00:52:13,600
Speaker 3: of course have tried to weaponize this issue in many ways.

826
00:52:13,880 --> 00:52:17,080
Speaker 3: As you've laid out, one of the first pieces of

827
00:52:17,160 --> 00:52:22,359
Speaker 3: legislation that Republicans brought earlier this year in a new

828
00:52:22,440 --> 00:52:25,880
Speaker 3: term was to try to jam Democrats up as it

829
00:52:25,920 --> 00:52:31,160
Speaker 3: relates to trans women in sports and what they were

830
00:52:31,400 --> 00:52:34,840
Speaker 3: seeking to do, and the way they framed it was

831
00:52:34,880 --> 00:52:38,040
Speaker 3: a nationwide band and I think our explanation. We voted

832
00:52:38,080 --> 00:52:42,440
Speaker 3: against the Republican bill in overwhelming numbers, and we were

833
00:52:42,520 --> 00:52:49,759
Speaker 3: very clear that their effort actually was going to unleash

834
00:52:50,080 --> 00:52:56,719
Speaker 3: bad behavior on girls in sports all across America. In fact,

835
00:52:56,760 --> 00:53:05,080
Speaker 3: we framed their bill Child Predator Empowerment Act because they

836
00:53:05,080 --> 00:53:12,560
Speaker 3: were calling for inspections of Genitalia in a circumstance where

837
00:53:12,600 --> 00:53:16,040
Speaker 3: we know abuses have taken place. Abuses have taken place

838
00:53:16,080 --> 00:53:20,319
Speaker 3: in football, abuses have taken place in gymnastics, abuses have

839
00:53:20,360 --> 00:53:24,600
Speaker 3: taken place in wrestling, and instead of responsibly trying to

840
00:53:24,640 --> 00:53:30,759
Speaker 3: deal with the issues of competition in sports and how

841
00:53:30,760 --> 00:53:35,799
Speaker 3: do we work through that in a community based way

842
00:53:36,640 --> 00:53:43,200
Speaker 3: that of course promotes the values of fairness, competitiveness, and participation.

843
00:53:44,360 --> 00:53:48,080
Speaker 3: They want to just weaponize the issue politically and so legislatively.

844
00:53:48,120 --> 00:53:51,759
Speaker 3: They tried to jam us up, and we didn't run

845
00:53:51,800 --> 00:53:58,680
Speaker 3: away from the issue. We exposed their hypocrisy, and they're

846
00:53:58,719 --> 00:54:03,640
Speaker 3: politicizing the issue in ways that would actually hurt the

847
00:54:03,680 --> 00:54:08,080
Speaker 3: young girls that they were purporting to want to help. Now,

848
00:54:08,360 --> 00:54:12,480
Speaker 3: I think my view at least is that these issues

849
00:54:13,239 --> 00:54:19,719
Speaker 3: should be resolved locally, at the local level, with maximum

850
00:54:19,920 --> 00:54:27,759
Speaker 3: parental involvement and maximum community involvement. And I think when

851
00:54:27,800 --> 00:54:31,640
Speaker 3: it comes to the what happened on the campaign trail,

852
00:54:32,080 --> 00:54:36,560
Speaker 3: you're absolutely right in terms of the policy that was

853
00:54:36,719 --> 00:54:43,000
Speaker 3: used against Vice President Harris was a policy that had

854
00:54:43,040 --> 00:54:45,720
Speaker 3: also been carried out by Donald Trump and the Trump

855
00:54:45,920 --> 00:54:50,960
Speaker 3: Justice Department connection with the court order. And I think

856
00:54:52,120 --> 00:54:58,160
Speaker 3: that if the campaign had it to do over again,

857
00:54:58,280 --> 00:55:03,759
Speaker 3: I presume, given the outcome, it would have been a

858
00:55:03,880 --> 00:55:11,080
Speaker 3: more forceful response to that add and the weaponization of

859
00:55:11,120 --> 00:55:14,799
Speaker 3: the issue against Kamala Harris. I can tell you that

860
00:55:14,880 --> 00:55:24,200
Speaker 3: moving forward, we will never allow Republicans to mischaracterize our

861
00:55:24,320 --> 00:55:28,200
Speaker 3: views on the issue, and we will never allow them

862
00:55:28,239 --> 00:55:33,640
Speaker 3: to run ads against our candidates that aren't forcefully responded

863
00:55:34,480 --> 00:55:39,280
Speaker 3: to immediately, and often before.

864
00:55:39,080 --> 00:55:40,799
Speaker 2: I get to the biggie question that we can wrap

865
00:55:40,880 --> 00:55:43,000
Speaker 2: up the pod, I do have a question for you

866
00:55:43,040 --> 00:55:45,800
Speaker 2: about Joe Biden. Obviously, there's a book out now, Jake Tapper,

867
00:55:45,840 --> 00:55:50,200
Speaker 2: Original Sin, that essentially accuses the Democratic Party and those

868
00:55:50,239 --> 00:55:54,960
Speaker 2: close to Joe Biden of covering up his declining mental health.

869
00:55:55,480 --> 00:55:58,799
Speaker 2: And as somebody who was in close contact with Joe

870
00:55:58,800 --> 00:56:05,120
Speaker 2: Biden quite a bit, what is your perspective or what

871
00:56:05,120 --> 00:56:09,360
Speaker 2: are your thoughts about how this narrative has now played out.

872
00:56:09,480 --> 00:56:12,759
Speaker 2: Did you see anything, were you aware of any kind

873
00:56:12,840 --> 00:56:15,799
Speaker 2: of mental decline? What was your view as someone who

874
00:56:15,880 --> 00:56:17,320
Speaker 2: had to work closely with the president?

875
00:56:17,640 --> 00:56:20,000
Speaker 3: Yeah, listen, I mean I think it was very interesting

876
00:56:20,040 --> 00:56:22,920
Speaker 3: because just a few months before that debate, Joe Biden

877
00:56:23,000 --> 00:56:27,839
Speaker 3: had come to Capitol Hill and the most significant high

878
00:56:27,840 --> 00:56:32,360
Speaker 3: profile appearance of his presidency, which is to deliver the

879
00:56:32,440 --> 00:56:35,560
Speaker 3: Joint Addressed to Congress. In that instance, it was actually

880
00:56:35,600 --> 00:56:37,640
Speaker 3: a State of the Union speaking of tens of millions

881
00:56:37,680 --> 00:56:41,920
Speaker 3: of Americans, and as you may recall, he came out

882
00:56:41,960 --> 00:56:49,160
Speaker 3: like smoking Joe Frazier and was getting at Republicans who

883
00:56:49,160 --> 00:56:51,760
Speaker 3: in real time people like Marjorie Taylor Green and Lauren

884
00:56:51,800 --> 00:56:53,799
Speaker 3: Bobot and others were trying to distract him and thw

885
00:56:53,840 --> 00:56:57,120
Speaker 3: them off his game and what was a hostile work environment.

886
00:56:57,800 --> 00:57:01,040
Speaker 3: Now at the same period of time, it's clear that

887
00:57:01,960 --> 00:57:08,479
Speaker 3: Joe Biden, who did acknowledge this, was slowing down as

888
00:57:08,680 --> 00:57:12,960
Speaker 3: he was getting older, and he made the right decision

889
00:57:14,239 --> 00:57:17,560
Speaker 3: in terms of not seeking reelection.

890
00:57:18,040 --> 00:57:19,560
Speaker 1: But did he make it at the right time.

891
00:57:19,760 --> 00:57:23,840
Speaker 3: Well, it came late and Vice President Harris only had

892
00:57:23,880 --> 00:57:27,720
Speaker 3: one hundred and seven days, and that clearly was a challenge.

893
00:57:27,800 --> 00:57:32,000
Speaker 3: And so my view is the best thing we can

894
00:57:32,040 --> 00:57:35,640
Speaker 3: do at this moment, as opposed to looking backward, is

895
00:57:35,680 --> 00:57:40,000
Speaker 3: to look forward and create a situation where something like

896
00:57:40,040 --> 00:57:45,000
Speaker 3: that never happens again, where we have an opportunity to

897
00:57:45,080 --> 00:57:49,400
Speaker 3: make sure that decisions are made about whether someone's going

898
00:57:49,480 --> 00:57:53,160
Speaker 3: to run or not, that we have next generation Democrats,

899
00:57:53,280 --> 00:57:56,760
Speaker 3: which I believe will be the case in the context

900
00:57:56,920 --> 00:57:59,840
Speaker 3: of both the candidates that we feel to take back

901
00:57:59,840 --> 00:58:02,960
Speaker 3: the House in twenty twenty six. But perhaps most importantly,

902
00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:07,280
Speaker 3: I think a competitive field of candidates who are going

903
00:58:07,320 --> 00:58:10,600
Speaker 3: to step forward in January or the early part of

904
00:58:10,600 --> 00:58:14,920
Speaker 3: twenty twenty seven to raise their hand and run for president,

905
00:58:15,760 --> 00:58:18,480
Speaker 3: and they'll be governors, and they'll be senators and maybe

906
00:58:18,480 --> 00:58:21,760
Speaker 3: some members of the House of Representatives and maybe former

907
00:58:22,120 --> 00:58:25,840
Speaker 3: cabinet secretaries. But I believe each and every one of

908
00:58:25,880 --> 00:58:30,240
Speaker 3: them are going to be next generation Democrats, the type

909
00:58:30,280 --> 00:58:36,920
Speaker 3: of candidate that can potentially emerge from a field of

910
00:58:38,120 --> 00:58:43,760
Speaker 3: great candidates and then excite the country in the way

911
00:58:43,760 --> 00:58:48,080
Speaker 3: that Barack Obama or Bill Clinton, or even Jimmy Carter

912
00:58:48,120 --> 00:58:51,680
Speaker 3: in the nineteen seventy six election, or certainly John F.

913
00:58:51,800 --> 00:58:57,160
Speaker 3: Kennedy when he ran in nineteen sixty excited the country.

914
00:58:57,520 --> 00:58:59,680
Speaker 2: All Right, we've reached the last question of the podcast,

915
00:58:59,680 --> 00:59:01,640
Speaker 2: and I call the Messing question. This is where we

916
00:59:01,680 --> 00:59:04,440
Speaker 2: make all the blogs and all the headlines representative Jeffries.

917
00:59:05,400 --> 00:59:08,200
Speaker 2: As many people know who know you, and they're familiar,

918
00:59:08,280 --> 00:59:10,120
Speaker 2: especially with your work when you're on the House floor.

919
00:59:11,080 --> 00:59:14,360
Speaker 1: You are a unabashed notorious Big fan. Biggie's your guy.

920
00:59:14,960 --> 00:59:18,120
Speaker 2: So how should jay Z feel about the fact that

921
00:59:18,160 --> 00:59:20,040
Speaker 2: you called Biggie the King of New York?

922
00:59:21,520 --> 00:59:25,400
Speaker 3: Well, listen, I mean, I think jay Z throughout his

923
00:59:25,560 --> 00:59:30,840
Speaker 3: career has always paid the greatest degree of respect to

924
00:59:30,960 --> 00:59:35,160
Speaker 3: the notorious Big He of course had the title meaning

925
00:59:35,200 --> 00:59:39,920
Speaker 3: Biggie the King of New York as he emerged in

926
00:59:40,040 --> 00:59:44,120
Speaker 3: nineteen ninety four and then in a few years there after.

927
00:59:44,320 --> 00:59:48,240
Speaker 3: And part of the reason why he got that title

928
00:59:48,880 --> 00:59:55,120
Speaker 3: is remember, right, you had run DMC and ll CUJ

929
00:59:56,000 --> 00:59:59,960
Speaker 3: and then kras won and rock Him and Big Daddy

930
01:00:01,040 --> 01:00:05,640
Speaker 3: Cain in Public Enemy and like New York hip hop

931
01:00:05,800 --> 01:00:13,320
Speaker 3: was killing it in the nineteen eighties. And then you know,

932
01:00:14,280 --> 01:00:16,280
Speaker 3: toward the end of the nineteen eighties, of course you

933
01:00:16,360 --> 01:00:21,520
Speaker 3: had NWA emerge and Straight out of Compton was a

934
01:00:21,520 --> 01:00:26,200
Speaker 3: big hit. But then Ice QB emerges when he breaks

935
01:00:26,240 --> 01:00:33,120
Speaker 3: from NWA, and then Doctor Dre and Snoop and deth

936
01:00:33,200 --> 01:00:37,840
Speaker 3: Row dropped the chronic and that's one of the greatest

937
01:00:38,600 --> 01:00:47,080
Speaker 3: records of all time. And gangster rap was emerging in

938
01:00:47,120 --> 01:00:49,520
Speaker 3: a way that was capturing large parts of the country.

939
01:00:50,560 --> 01:00:54,880
Speaker 3: And so the question was, you know, is is the

940
01:00:55,160 --> 01:00:58,560
Speaker 3: I mean, is the East Coast ever going to be

941
01:00:58,560 --> 01:01:04,760
Speaker 3: able to come back right from being knocked down by

942
01:01:04,800 --> 01:01:10,520
Speaker 3: the rise of Doctor Dre and Snoop ice Cube right,

943
01:01:10,560 --> 01:01:13,360
Speaker 3: and all these artists are on fire the Dog Pound,

944
01:01:15,040 --> 01:01:19,080
Speaker 3: and a lot of people credit Biggie Smalls Ready to

945
01:01:19,160 --> 01:01:21,480
Speaker 3: Die nineteen ninety four though you also have to give

946
01:01:21,520 --> 01:01:24,200
Speaker 3: credit to Wu Tang, You have to give credit to

947
01:01:24,360 --> 01:01:27,960
Speaker 3: Nas when you drop Illmatic, the Fujis and others. There

948
01:01:28,040 --> 01:01:32,280
Speaker 3: was a new generation hip hop artist that was emerging,

949
01:01:32,880 --> 01:01:36,120
Speaker 3: you know, in ninety three, but that really culminated with

950
01:01:36,280 --> 01:01:39,040
Speaker 3: Ready to Die in September ninety four, and then of

951
01:01:39,080 --> 01:01:42,440
Speaker 3: course Biggie just capturing the country by storm King of

952
01:01:42,480 --> 01:01:44,920
Speaker 3: New York. But I think he's given that title in

953
01:01:45,000 --> 01:01:48,960
Speaker 3: part because a lot of people view him, amongst others,

954
01:01:48,960 --> 01:01:53,320
Speaker 3: but first amongst equals in bringing the East back. And

955
01:01:53,480 --> 01:01:55,760
Speaker 3: I think even jay Z would acknowledge that. Now, we

956
01:01:55,840 --> 01:01:59,560
Speaker 3: never got to see what Biggie would become in terms

957
01:01:59,600 --> 01:02:01,960
Speaker 3: of his body of work. We did get to see

958
01:02:02,520 --> 01:02:06,240
Speaker 3: what jay Z would become, and it's been amazing, both

959
01:02:06,400 --> 01:02:11,240
Speaker 3: his legendary hip hop career and then of course his

960
01:02:11,320 --> 01:02:15,280
Speaker 3: legendary career as an entrepreneur. I'm not a business man.

961
01:02:15,400 --> 01:02:20,640
Speaker 3: I'm a business man. Let me go handle my business. Damn.

962
01:02:20,680 --> 01:02:24,400
Speaker 3: I mean, jay Z said it, he forecasted it, and

963
01:02:24,440 --> 01:02:26,720
Speaker 3: then he went out and did it right. So you

964
01:02:26,800 --> 01:02:28,400
Speaker 3: got to you gotta respect that.

965
01:02:29,480 --> 01:02:35,160
Speaker 2: So that answer, Loan, I see why you're in politics.

966
01:02:35,760 --> 01:02:40,280
Speaker 2: Well done, Well done, Representative Jeffrey's well done. Well listen,

967
01:02:41,080 --> 01:02:43,040
Speaker 2: you know, I know right now this is a very

968
01:02:43,040 --> 01:02:46,120
Speaker 2: perilous time in this country. But yeah, I mean there's

969
01:02:46,160 --> 01:02:48,880
Speaker 2: a lot of frustration, as you know, if you as

970
01:02:48,920 --> 01:02:52,360
Speaker 2: you have heard i'm sure from your constituents, from Democrats

971
01:02:52,440 --> 01:02:57,520
Speaker 2: just nationally what that is. But I am super curious

972
01:02:57,560 --> 01:03:00,520
Speaker 2: as to how, you know, moving forward, this party is

973
01:03:00,560 --> 01:03:03,960
Speaker 2: able to pick itself off the ground after obviously going

974
01:03:04,000 --> 01:03:05,560
Speaker 2: through a very very tough period.

975
01:03:06,520 --> 01:03:07,720
Speaker 1: So we will see.

976
01:03:08,000 --> 01:03:10,120
Speaker 2: I am fine to calling this Trump administration that whos

977
01:03:10,120 --> 01:03:12,960
Speaker 2: gonna check me buo administration because right now they just

978
01:03:13,320 --> 01:03:16,880
Speaker 2: they're just out here doing stuff. So we will see

979
01:03:16,880 --> 01:03:18,080
Speaker 2: what comes of it. But I want to thank you

980
01:03:18,160 --> 01:03:21,040
Speaker 2: for giving your time and more importantly for continuing to

981
01:03:21,040 --> 01:03:23,360
Speaker 2: communicate messages that you feel like will be helpful to

982
01:03:23,400 --> 01:03:25,160
Speaker 2: the American people.

983
01:03:25,240 --> 01:03:26,520
Speaker 1: And good luck.

984
01:03:27,080 --> 01:03:29,600
Speaker 3: Well, thank you. I appreciate you definitely wilding out in

985
01:03:29,640 --> 01:03:33,360
Speaker 3: terms of the Trump administration. But we're gonna end this

986
01:03:33,480 --> 01:03:36,800
Speaker 3: national nightmare. It's going to happen. Part of it will

987
01:03:36,800 --> 01:03:39,640
Speaker 3: involve us taking back control of the House. But then

988
01:03:39,640 --> 01:03:42,000
Speaker 3: we of course have to finish the job, and we will.

989
01:03:42,080 --> 01:03:45,919
Speaker 3: We'll get past this and bring about a brighter day

990
01:03:46,040 --> 01:03:48,600
Speaker 3: in the United States of America. All right, thank you,

991
01:03:49,200 --> 01:03:49,560
Speaker 3: thank you.

992
01:03:51,520 --> 01:03:54,360
Speaker 1: One more segment to go, coming up next, the Final Spin.

993
01:04:06,000 --> 01:04:07,720
Speaker 1: All right, time for the Final Spin.

994
01:04:08,000 --> 01:04:11,720
Speaker 2: This week's topic the riots, and I'm using air quotes

995
01:04:11,760 --> 01:04:13,840
Speaker 2: there in Los Angeles the spin.

996
01:04:14,040 --> 01:04:14,919
Speaker 1: According to some.

997
01:04:14,880 --> 01:04:17,160
Speaker 2: In the right wing media, mostly the streets have been

998
01:04:17,200 --> 01:04:19,680
Speaker 2: taken over by herdened criminals, and those of us who

999
01:04:19,760 --> 01:04:22,480
Speaker 2: live here in Los Angeles are under sieged by roving

1000
01:04:22,560 --> 01:04:26,440
Speaker 2: bands of undocumented people who have committed a ton of primes.

1001
01:04:26,840 --> 01:04:29,440
Speaker 1: The truth. Let me tell you what I see right

1002
01:04:29,480 --> 01:04:29,880
Speaker 1: now as.

1003
01:04:29,800 --> 01:04:32,320
Speaker 2: I'm looking out my window of my office, which is

1004
01:04:32,320 --> 01:04:35,320
Speaker 2: in the heart of Los Angeles. It's eighty degrees. A

1005
01:04:35,360 --> 01:04:38,120
Speaker 2: few pedestrians are on the streets and parked cars. Nothing

1006
01:04:38,200 --> 01:04:41,720
Speaker 2: is on fire. They are not bands of undocumented criminals

1007
01:04:41,760 --> 01:04:44,600
Speaker 2: being out of control, nor any out of control protesters.

1008
01:04:44,960 --> 01:04:47,720
Speaker 2: The media often acts like Los Angeles is a small

1009
01:04:47,720 --> 01:04:48,600
Speaker 2: town in Georgia.

1010
01:04:48,640 --> 01:04:50,640
Speaker 1: There are over four million people who live here.

1011
01:04:50,760 --> 01:04:53,280
Speaker 2: These protests are taking place on a few blocks in

1012
01:04:53,320 --> 01:04:55,880
Speaker 2: downtown Los Angeles, which right now, if I got in

1013
01:04:55,960 --> 01:04:57,800
Speaker 2: my car tried to make it downtown, it take me

1014
01:04:57,840 --> 01:05:00,320
Speaker 2: probably about forty five minutes to get there. Because a

1015
01:05:00,400 --> 01:05:04,120
Speaker 2: track Los Angeles is not experiencing some crisis despite what

1016
01:05:04,240 --> 01:05:06,640
Speaker 2: is being said by the President and others who simply

1017
01:05:06,680 --> 01:05:10,040
Speaker 2: want to gaslight the public to justify them sending the

1018
01:05:10,080 --> 01:05:12,160
Speaker 2: military into an American city.

1019
01:05:12,360 --> 01:05:14,960
Speaker 1: Now, Donald Trump desperately wants to be the bull conner

1020
01:05:15,000 --> 01:05:15,560
Speaker 1: of this era.

1021
01:05:16,080 --> 01:05:18,760
Speaker 2: He wants to retaliate against Los Angeles because he didn't

1022
01:05:18,800 --> 01:05:21,040
Speaker 2: like the governor Gavin Newsom, he didn't like the mayor

1023
01:05:21,120 --> 01:05:23,600
Speaker 2: Karen Bass, and he doesn't like that this state was

1024
01:05:23,640 --> 01:05:27,000
Speaker 2: also very supportive of Kamala Harris. And it just bothers

1025
01:05:27,080 --> 01:05:29,800
Speaker 2: him that a city like Los Angeles just doesn't fuck

1026
01:05:29,800 --> 01:05:32,640
Speaker 2: with him like that. Now the President is petty, He's

1027
01:05:32,680 --> 01:05:35,320
Speaker 2: also petulant, and the sad thing is he's got the

1028
01:05:35,320 --> 01:05:38,520
Speaker 2: full force of the government behind him to support his

1029
01:05:38,640 --> 01:05:43,040
Speaker 2: worst instincts. Lucky ess all right, This concludes another episode

1030
01:05:43,040 --> 01:05:46,000
Speaker 2: Does Politics. Make sure that you get at me on

1031
01:05:46,080 --> 01:05:48,240
Speaker 2: social media or via email.

1032
01:05:48,360 --> 01:05:50,720
Speaker 1: I'm at Jamel Hill across all social media.

1033
01:05:50,480 --> 01:05:54,840
Speaker 2: Platforms Twitter, Instagram, fan base, Blue Sky and threads. Please

1034
01:05:54,920 --> 01:05:58,080
Speaker 2: use the hashtags politics. You also have the option of

1035
01:05:58,160 --> 01:06:01,800
Speaker 2: emailing me at spolitics twenty twenty for at gmail dot com.

1036
01:06:02,080 --> 01:06:03,520
Speaker 1: You can also send me a.

1037
01:06:03,520 --> 01:06:06,200
Speaker 2: Video if you have any questions, but please make sure

1038
01:06:06,520 --> 01:06:09,200
Speaker 2: the video is thirty seconds or less. Don't forget to

1039
01:06:09,200 --> 01:06:13,320
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1040
01:06:13,400 --> 01:06:16,240
Speaker 2: followspolitics pod on Instagram and TikTok.

1041
01:06:16,640 --> 01:06:20,040
Speaker 1: Politics is spelled SPO l I t i c s.

1042
01:06:20,360 --> 01:06:23,560
Speaker 2: A new episode of Politics drops every Thursday on iHeart

1043
01:06:23,560 --> 01:06:28,600
Speaker 2: podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. This is politics,

1044
01:06:28,600 --> 01:06:37,000
Speaker 2: where sports and politics don't just mix, they matter. Politics

1045
01:06:37,040 --> 01:06:40,200
Speaker 2: is the production of iHeart Podcasts and the Unbothered Network.

1046
01:06:40,560 --> 01:06:44,840
Speaker 2: I'm your host Jamel Hill. Executive producer is Taylor Schakoigne.

1047
01:06:45,240 --> 01:06:49,000
Speaker 2: Lucas Hymen is head of audio and executive producer. Original

1048
01:06:49,080 --> 01:06:52,920
Speaker 2: music for Spolitics provided by Kyle VISs from wiz Fx