WEBVTT - Ep 33: The Politics of Narrative - Featuring Hakeem Jeffries

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, what's up everybody.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm Jamel Hill and welcome to politics and I heard

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<v Speaker 2>podcast and unbothered production. Time to get spolitical pop quiz,

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

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<v Speaker 2>before you answer, here are a few things to consider.

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<v Speaker 2>Seventy percent of the league is black. At the end

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<v Speaker 2>of the twenty twenty two season, half of the league's

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<v Speaker 2>twelve coaches were black, with three of those six coaches

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<v Speaker 2>being black women, and there were eight head coach openings

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<v Speaker 2>this last WNBA offseason. Ready for the answer to the

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<v Speaker 2>question one, that's how many black women are head coaches

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

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<v Speaker 2>and embarrassing statistic for a league that is overrepresented with

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<v Speaker 2>black women in terms of the players. But the league

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<v Speaker 2>having just one black woman is far from a low,

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<v Speaker 2>because as recently as twenty twenty there wasn't a single

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<v Speaker 2>black woman serving as head coach in the league. But

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

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<v Speaker 2>to carry over from what we've seen at.

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<v Speaker 1>The college level.

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<v Speaker 3>Two.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, I'm not calling anyone racist. I'm just taking a

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<v Speaker 2>closer look at the systems and structures because they are

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<v Speaker 2>often designed to be inequitable, even if we're talking about

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<v Speaker 2>a women's sport, where there is often an assumption that

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<v Speaker 2>equity is a natural byproduct. The WNBA has often received

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<v Speaker 2>high praise for its diverse hiring. The Institute for Diversity

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<v Speaker 2>in Ethics and Sports has given the league an A

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<v Speaker 2>plus for its racial engender hiring practices every year the

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<v Speaker 2>league has been in existence. Now full disclosure, Doctor Richard Lapchack,

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<v Speaker 2>the director of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport,

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<v Speaker 2>is someone I have a deep respect for. We've worked

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<v Speaker 2>closely together many times, and he is internationally respected as

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<v Speaker 2>a civil rights leader. But the numbers from his institute

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<v Speaker 2>don't quite tell the story and certainly not the full history.

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<v Speaker 3>People want to know, though, Will you ever be a

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<v Speaker 3>head coach for a WNBA team?

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

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<v Speaker 4>I put my hat name in a hat to coach

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<v Speaker 4>this year for two teams all the way down to

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<v Speaker 4>the end. I won't say who those two teams are.

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<v Speaker 4>But I did not get the jobs, and I felt

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<v Speaker 4>like I would never make another attempt to.

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<v Speaker 3>Go into coaching.

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<v Speaker 4>Really in the WNBA yes, because you know, it's like

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<v Speaker 4>you got to be ten times as great as a

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<v Speaker 4>black woman in this industry. It's only one land when

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<v Speaker 4>I tell you that who these people hired is not

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<v Speaker 4>better than me and what I could do for these

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<v Speaker 4>team and players. But it's okay because I again am

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<v Speaker 4>a very much that what's for you is for you, yes,

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<v Speaker 4>and that's not for me, and I'm okay with that.

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<v Speaker 4>So I will never attempt to coach in the WNBA again.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, if your counter argument to Lisa Leslie not getting

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<v Speaker 2>a WNBA head coaching opportunity is that she lacks coaching experience,

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<v Speaker 2>keep in mind that she did coach in the Big

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<v Speaker 2>Three in twenty nineteen, and that same year she not

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<v Speaker 2>only won a Big Three championship, but she was also named.

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

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<v Speaker 1>dismiss that too.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, when it comes to mail coaches, the WNBA hasn't

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<v Speaker 2>had a problem hiring them despite their lack of.

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<v Speaker 1>Experience in coaching women.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, sometimes it's worked out, as was the case with

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<v Speaker 2>Bill Lambiert and Michael Cooper, who both brought their respective

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<v Speaker 2>teams WNBA championships, and sometimes it's been disastrous, as was

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<v Speaker 2>the case with Derek Fisher, who was hired to coach

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<v Speaker 2>the LA Sparks despite a terrible coaching record with the

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<v Speaker 2>New York Knicks. Fisher, who had never coached women before,

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<v Speaker 2>finished with a fifty four to forty six record with

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<v Speaker 2>the Sparks and infamously benched Candae Parker in a playoff

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<v Speaker 2>Line Nation game, which ultimately became one of the reasons

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<v Speaker 2>that Parker left the Sparks to play for the Chicago

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<v Speaker 2>skuy Now some have questioned whether the hiring pool is

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<v Speaker 2>deep enough and if the WNBA is in a position

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<v Speaker 2>to attract solid WNBA coaches. But is it lack of

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<v Speaker 2>candidates and money or lack of intention? Now there's a

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<v Speaker 2>good pool of former players to choose from, including LaToya Sanders,

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<v Speaker 2>Breon January, and Christy Tolliver, all of whom are currently

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<v Speaker 2>WNBA assistants and have served in the league as assistants

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<v Speaker 2>for multiple years, with Tolliver also having coached at the

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

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<v Speaker 2>The Phoenix Mercury hired Nate Tibbets in twenty twenty three

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<v Speaker 2>and immediately made him the highest plaid coach in the

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<v Speaker 2>WNBA with a reported salary of one point two million

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<v Speaker 2>a year. Now, Tibbets was an NBA assistant for twelve years,

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<v Speaker 2>but prior to the Mercury he never coached women's basketball.

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<v Speaker 2>He came into the league making more money than Las

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<v Speaker 2>Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammond, who won back to

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<v Speaker 2>back WNBA championships, played in the WNBA, and was an

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<v Speaker 2>NBA assistant under Greg Popovich. Now, this is no shade

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<v Speaker 2>to Tibbets, but he's somewhat of an example of the

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<v Speaker 2>built in sexism that women coaches face.

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<v Speaker 1>The WNBA has.

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<v Speaker 2>This history of hiring men who have never coached women's

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<v Speaker 2>basketball and giving them premium salaries and opportunities, and conversely,

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<v Speaker 2>there also is a trend of being more impatient when

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<v Speaker 2>it comes to black coaches in the offseason. The Chicago's

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<v Speaker 2>Guy fired Teresa Withersfield, one of the league's most decorated

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<v Speaker 2>and fiercest players, after just one season. The Atlanta Dream

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<v Speaker 2>also fired Tanisha Wright after just three seasons. Now, there

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<v Speaker 2>is understandable concern that now that there is more money

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<v Speaker 2>in women's basketball and more substantive growth, the fear is

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<v Speaker 2>that this will mean more opportunity for men and not

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<v Speaker 2>for women. Before the NCAA included women's sports, more like

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<v Speaker 2>they were forced to oversee women's sports because of a

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<v Speaker 2>court order. Women's sports were governed by the assaul Llciation

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<v Speaker 2>for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. Now, when women were governing

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<v Speaker 2>women's sports, over ninety percent of women's teams were coached

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<v Speaker 2>by women. By the early nineteen eighties, after the NCAA

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<v Speaker 2>took over, that number had declined to fifty one percent,

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<v Speaker 2>and today roughly sixty percent of women's sports at the.

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<v Speaker 1>College level are coached by men.

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<v Speaker 2>Meanwhile, guess what percentage of men's college sports are coached

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<v Speaker 2>by men?

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<v Speaker 1>Ninety five percent.

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<v Speaker 2>Black women account for twelve percent of head coaching positions in.

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<v Speaker 1>College basketball across all divisions.

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<v Speaker 2>Thirty percent of the players who play women's college basketball

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<v Speaker 2>are black. But considering ninety percent of black women who

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<v Speaker 2>play college basketball graduate with a degree, that right there

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<v Speaker 2>should provide somewhat of a supply of coaching candidates. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>the WNBA is writing a strong upward trajectory, and as

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<v Speaker 2>the league grows, their standards shouldn't be to do things

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<v Speaker 2>exactly as the men, it should be their goal to

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<v Speaker 2>not only make money, but create a new standard of

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<v Speaker 2>empowerment and opportunity for women, not just do the same

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

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<v Speaker 2>and I approve this message. Coming up next on politics,

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<v Speaker 2>my guest on this episode is one of the most

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<v Speaker 2>powerful people in politics. He's in a top leadership position

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<v Speaker 2>as the Democrats are facing an identity crisis and still

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<v Speaker 2>feeling the effects of losing last year's presidential election. Now

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

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

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<v Speaker 2>since this is a sports.

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<v Speaker 1>In Politics podcast, I had to.

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<v Speaker 2>Ask him about his beloved New York Knicks firing head

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<v Speaker 2>coach Tom Thibodeau after he got the Knicks to the

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<v Speaker 2>Eastern Conference finals. Coming up next on his politics, Straight

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<v Speaker 2>out of Brooklyn House, Minority leader a King Jefferies. Well,

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<v Speaker 2>Representative Jefferyson, and thank you so much for joining me

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<v Speaker 2>here on politics, and I'm going to start the podcast

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<v Speaker 2>for the question I ask every guest that appears, and

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<v Speaker 2>that is name an athlete or a moment that made

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<v Speaker 2>you love sports.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, it's great to be with you and thank you

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<v Speaker 3>for everything and that you do in sports and politics,

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<v Speaker 3>and probably I should say appropriately what up? Though, well

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<v Speaker 3>look at you.

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<v Speaker 2>I think, okay, somebody gave you some insight into all right,

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<v Speaker 2>that's our Detroit Green, which, as I often say, can

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<v Speaker 2>be a question or just a statement.

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<v Speaker 3>But yeah, you know, I think I grew up. As

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<v Speaker 3>you know, I rocked with the Yankees, the Knicks, the Jets,

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<v Speaker 3>Saint John's and the Rangers. So really the first time

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<v Speaker 3>that one of those teams that I rock with had

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<v Speaker 3>a championship run at an age that I could appreciate, right,

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<v Speaker 3>I was three years old the last time the Knicks

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

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<v Speaker 3>but when I was seven, I was following baseball at

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<v Speaker 3>the time, was beginning to play Little League, and that

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<v Speaker 3>was the time that the Yankees and the Dodgers were

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<v Speaker 3>in the first of two back to back World Series appearances,

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<v Speaker 3>and of course famously saw a Yankees fan watching the

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<v Speaker 3>World Series. It's great. I remember being in the living

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<v Speaker 3>room and the apartment that we lived in. My dad

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<v Speaker 3>was there, My grandfather, Papa Gomes was there. He lived

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<v Speaker 3>in La so he was actually a Dodgers fan, and

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<v Speaker 3>Game six, Reggie Jackson three home runs on three consecutive pitches.

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<v Speaker 3>I think that's the date that we actually won the

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<v Speaker 3>World Series. But that was of course a magical moment

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<v Speaker 3>in baseball history and sports history, and certainly that's what

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<v Speaker 3>got me hooked.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, it is so.

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<v Speaker 2>Ironic, Well maybe ironic is not the right word, but

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<v Speaker 2>the timing is impeccable that we are recording this Pack

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<v Speaker 2>podcast on the day that I guess, if you want

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<v Speaker 2>to consider it is fort the Elon Musz versus Donald

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<v Speaker 2>Trump back and forth that's taking place on social media.

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<v Speaker 2>But before I get to that, there are pressing Knicks

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<v Speaker 2>matters that I need to address with you first. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>this week, the Knicks decided to fire Tom Thibodeau. What

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<v Speaker 2>did you think about them making this move, doing this

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<v Speaker 2>just three days after the Knicks were outsted from the

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<v Speaker 2>Eastern Conference Finals.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, it definitely caught me off guard, and I

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<v Speaker 3>think it caught a lot of people off guard at

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<v Speaker 3>home in New York and Knicks fans. He had a

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<v Speaker 3>great run I think five seasons. For those seasons we

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<v Speaker 3>were in the playoffs, of course, back to back fifty

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<v Speaker 3>win games. Most successful series of runs in terms of

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<v Speaker 3>season after season after season since the glory days for

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<v Speaker 3>me in the nineties into the early parts of two thousand.

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<v Speaker 3>First appearance, of course in twenty five years in the

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

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<v Speaker 3>was shocking for me certainly and for a lot of folks.

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<v Speaker 3>The question I think moving forward is, you know, had

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<v Speaker 3>the team maxed out under tips Is leadership? And clearly

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<v Speaker 3>there were adjustments that needed to be made that weren't

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<v Speaker 3>necessarily made. Right to start in five played more minutes

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<v Speaker 3>than any other starting five in the entire season. That

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<v Speaker 3>can't continue, and there was no development of the bench

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

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<v Speaker 3>Game five, or Game six of the Eastern Conference Finals.

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<v Speaker 3>That's not going to work. So the question I think

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<v Speaker 3>moving forward because what's done is done, and I think

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<v Speaker 3>reasonable people could conclude that the Knicks did max out

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<v Speaker 3>under Tips' leadership, notwithstanding you know the greatness of the

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<v Speaker 3>run up until this point, in all the excitement, and

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<v Speaker 3>you know that when the Knicks on fire, the is

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<v Speaker 3>on fire and it was a great uh, it was

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<v Speaker 3>a great run. But I think the question here is

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<v Speaker 3>is this our Mark Jackson moment, Steve Kerr moment, because

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<v Speaker 3>the firing of Mark Jackson caught a lot of us

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<v Speaker 3>by surprise. He had three successful years if I recall correctly.

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<v Speaker 3>But the Warriors concluded that the team had maxed out

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<v Speaker 3>and decided to go in a different direction, and they

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<v Speaker 3>obviously found the right person who went on, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>to lead the team to I think four different championships

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<v Speaker 3>as it relates to the Golden State Warriors. So hopefully

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<v Speaker 3>we can just hit the jackpot in terms of whatever

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<v Speaker 3>direction we go in next. And this current management has

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<v Speaker 3>had a pretty successful track record in building the team

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<v Speaker 3>up until this point, so.

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<v Speaker 2>Would you consider and by the way, that's a very

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<v Speaker 2>optimistic way to look at it. You know, I do

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<v Speaker 2>think there may have been some concern among Knicks fans

0:13:04.760 --> 0:13:07.200
<v Speaker 2>and suddenly, just me as an outside observer, is that

0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:10.680
<v Speaker 2>typically you know, we don't know yet the details of

0:13:10.679 --> 0:13:12.600
<v Speaker 2>how much James Dolan was involved, but it is his team,

0:13:12.640 --> 0:13:13.720
<v Speaker 2>so of course he was involved.

0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:16.880
<v Speaker 1>But he has made some decisions before and.

0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:21.160
<v Speaker 2>People have wondered, what was this another rational decision or

0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:23.600
<v Speaker 2>is this something like a little bit more calculated kind

0:13:23.600 --> 0:13:25.199
<v Speaker 2>of what you were talking about when you just max

0:13:25.240 --> 0:13:28.360
<v Speaker 2>out with a particular coach and you need somebody a

0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:32.200
<v Speaker 2>new voice in the locker room. That being said, how

0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:35.480
<v Speaker 2>would you characterize this season for the Knicks as successful?

0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:40.880
<v Speaker 3>Yes, I would characterize it as successful. I think because

0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:44.079
<v Speaker 3>we got the third seed and were lined up against

0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:50.280
<v Speaker 3>the world champion Boston Celtics. Most people were of the

0:13:50.360 --> 0:13:53.040
<v Speaker 3>view that we ain't getting out of the second round,

0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:56.360
<v Speaker 3>and this is going to be the third consecutive year

0:13:57.520 --> 0:14:02.720
<v Speaker 3>that we went out in the second round, very disappointing.

0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:04.440
<v Speaker 3>I think we lost to Miami, then we lost to

0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:10.080
<v Speaker 3>Indiana last year, and the expectation was Boston was going

0:14:10.120 --> 0:14:13.560
<v Speaker 3>to run us out the gym, and we win game one.

0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:17.440
<v Speaker 3>Then we win Game two. That was incredible, and then

0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:20.080
<v Speaker 3>the Celtics come to the guard and they win Game three,

0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:22.000
<v Speaker 3>and then we do our thing in game four. Had

0:14:22.040 --> 0:14:26.720
<v Speaker 3>it won even before Tatum went out, and certainly our

0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:29.640
<v Speaker 3>prayers that would Tatum for a full and speedy recovery.

0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:31.400
<v Speaker 3>But it was a great series, and then we smoked

0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:35.480
<v Speaker 3>the Celtics in Game six. At that point, I think

0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:39.400
<v Speaker 3>for me, of course, a run to winning it all

0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:43.720
<v Speaker 3>in the finals would have been ideal, but a competitive series,

0:14:44.120 --> 0:14:49.040
<v Speaker 3>showing some heart going out, you know, in six is respectable.

0:14:49.040 --> 0:14:54.000
<v Speaker 3>I think that's a very successful season. But Game one

0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:56.760
<v Speaker 3>was rough. I was in Washington, had it on in

0:14:56.800 --> 0:15:00.520
<v Speaker 3>the backdrop. We were actually debating the GLP tax, and

0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:04.080
<v Speaker 3>it was kind of late at night, early in the morning,

0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:07.120
<v Speaker 3>preparing to speak on the house floor, and I couldn't

0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:10.400
<v Speaker 3>believe that it was falling apart in the last few

0:15:10.400 --> 0:15:12.120
<v Speaker 3>minutes and that was unfortunate. And that may have been

0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:16.120
<v Speaker 3>the point where the next management concluded, Ya, it's time

0:15:16.120 --> 0:15:17.160
<v Speaker 3>to move in a different direction.

0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:19.600
<v Speaker 1>Well, I'm a Pistons fan, so I was hating.

0:15:21.440 --> 0:15:23.320
<v Speaker 2>We lost all our home games, so you all by

0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:27.280
<v Speaker 2>combined six points, and that was tough. And of course,

0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:30.200
<v Speaker 2>as fate would have it, over the course of the

0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:32.240
<v Speaker 2>next week following that series, I spent a lot of

0:15:32.240 --> 0:15:34.320
<v Speaker 2>time in New York doing some CNN stuff, so I

0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:36.840
<v Speaker 2>had to have the New York fandom in my face

0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:38.720
<v Speaker 2>after a salty, tough series.

0:15:39.400 --> 0:15:42.560
<v Speaker 1>So after that, I have to say I was a

0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:43.800
<v Speaker 1>bit bitter toward the Knicks.

0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:46.960
<v Speaker 3>No I got you on that. Needless to say, I'm

0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:52.080
<v Speaker 3>not rocking with Indiana in the finals. Go okay, See, as.

0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:54.680
<v Speaker 1>I mentioned, at the top of our conversation.

0:15:55.360 --> 0:15:57.880
<v Speaker 2>Right now, in real time, there is a back and

0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:01.840
<v Speaker 2>forth playing out between Eli muh Donald Trump over social media,

0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:04.840
<v Speaker 2>because of course it's twenty twenty five, and with these

0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:08.200
<v Speaker 2>two individuals in particular. Now, the last tweet that Elon Musk,

0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:11.000
<v Speaker 2>or one of the last tweets Sea drop was that, Yeah,

0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:13.560
<v Speaker 2>that's right, Donald Trump, you were in the Epstein files. Okay,

0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:17.120
<v Speaker 2>all right, So with this entire back and forth, given

0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:19.280
<v Speaker 2>all the things that are happening in this country from

0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:22.920
<v Speaker 2>the disaster's bill that you just mentioned, what is your

0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:28.200
<v Speaker 2>perspective of this fight that is going on between Donald

0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:29.200
<v Speaker 2>Trump and Elon Musk.

0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:34.480
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it's definitely an intense situation, and of course people

0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:38.040
<v Speaker 3>on the hill are following it. I'm on Washington, DC

0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:41.280
<v Speaker 3>right now. People are following it with great interest. It

0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:45.440
<v Speaker 3>has my colleagues on the Republican side shook right now

0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:49.800
<v Speaker 3>because you got Donald Trump, who's one puppet master for them,

0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:52.640
<v Speaker 3>and Elon Musk, who's the other puppet master for them,

0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:55.520
<v Speaker 3>and they don't know whose side to be on in

0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:57.800
<v Speaker 3>this fight, so they're kind of burying their heads in

0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:03.880
<v Speaker 3>the sand. Largely interesting to me is that Elon Must's

0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:09.240
<v Speaker 3>assessment of the GOP tax scam, what we believe is

0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:12.840
<v Speaker 3>one big, ugly bill is correct when he calls it

0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:18.080
<v Speaker 3>a disgusting abomination. It is now. Our view is that

0:17:18.160 --> 0:17:20.920
<v Speaker 3>it's a disgusting abomination one because it takes healthcare away

0:17:21.040 --> 0:17:25.240
<v Speaker 3>literally from more than fifteen million people. The largest cut

0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:29.600
<v Speaker 3>to healthcare in American history. That's out of control. And

0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:32.160
<v Speaker 3>then they're ripping food out of the mouths of children

0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:36.359
<v Speaker 3>and veterans and seniors. Largest cut to nutritional assistance in

0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:40.960
<v Speaker 3>American history. That's ridiculous. And this is all being done

0:17:41.040 --> 0:17:45.480
<v Speaker 3>in order to provide their billionaire donors with a massive

0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:50.320
<v Speaker 3>tax break that would be the largest tax break for

0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:52.439
<v Speaker 3>the wealthy, the well off, and the well connected in

0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:56.399
<v Speaker 3>American history. And then on top of that, they want

0:17:56.600 --> 0:18:00.600
<v Speaker 3>our children, our grandchildren, the next generation of Americans to

0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:04.680
<v Speaker 3>pay the bill because they would stick us with more

0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:10.520
<v Speaker 3>than three trillion dollars in additional debt and explode the deficit.

0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:16.600
<v Speaker 3>And so Elon Musk has said Republicans should be ashamed

0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:19.439
<v Speaker 3>of themselves for voting for this bill. I agree with

0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:23.560
<v Speaker 3>that position. Now, the fact that this is broken out

0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:26.760
<v Speaker 3>into the public domain on social media in such an

0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:33.320
<v Speaker 3>extraordinary way. And now it's been personalized like this, I

0:18:33.320 --> 0:18:36.080
<v Speaker 3>think has caught a lot of people off guard. I

0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:42.160
<v Speaker 3>mean when I saw that Epstein tweet or post, I'm like, whoa,

0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:46.040
<v Speaker 3>he just went tupac hit him up? I mean, he

0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:50.000
<v Speaker 3>just went there and I rock with Biggie, right, but

0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:54.879
<v Speaker 3>hit him up was like a next level in terms

0:18:54.920 --> 0:19:01.080
<v Speaker 3>of just the personal assault. And that's basically what Elon

0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:05.680
<v Speaker 3>has done. And once you cross that the rubicon, I'm

0:19:05.720 --> 0:19:07.879
<v Speaker 3>not sure how the two of them come back from it.

0:19:08.520 --> 0:19:12.520
<v Speaker 3>And of course it continues to intensify throughout the day.

0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:15.439
<v Speaker 2>I think just based off you know, of course on

0:19:15.480 --> 0:19:18.439
<v Speaker 2>social media, there's a lot of jokes flying around, but

0:19:18.560 --> 0:19:21.840
<v Speaker 2>beneath all that, I think there is because we have

0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:26.280
<v Speaker 2>seen just so much chaos in this administration since they

0:19:26.280 --> 0:19:28.879
<v Speaker 2>took over in January, that there's a part of the

0:19:28.880 --> 0:19:33.080
<v Speaker 2>public that is wondering what is this distracting us from?

0:19:33.320 --> 0:19:35.639
<v Speaker 2>You know, there's always sort of a watch what a

0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:39.399
<v Speaker 2>hook is coming with this administration? And so from a

0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:45.080
<v Speaker 2>strategy standpoint, is this something that is useful for the

0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:49.080
<v Speaker 2>Democrats seeing two of you know, to.

0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:54.160
<v Speaker 1>Kind of not likable people go at it in this way.

0:19:55.080 --> 0:19:59.120
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it's interesting because you're absolutely correct. We've seen from

0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:02.320
<v Speaker 3>this administration from day one, a flooding of the zone

0:20:02.359 --> 0:20:05.280
<v Speaker 3>that daily outraigs, the parade of marbles, and a lot

0:20:05.320 --> 0:20:09.760
<v Speaker 3>of it is designed to create confusion and to disillusion people,

0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:14.359
<v Speaker 3>to project this sense that it's all inevitable and that

0:20:14.400 --> 0:20:17.959
<v Speaker 3>it's hard to follow what you should be outraged about

0:20:18.040 --> 0:20:20.920
<v Speaker 3>because it's so much that takes place that clearly part

0:20:20.960 --> 0:20:24.160
<v Speaker 3>of the strategy is to try to distract you from

0:20:24.160 --> 0:20:27.240
<v Speaker 3>the things that you really should be concerned about in

0:20:27.280 --> 0:20:31.359
<v Speaker 3>any given situation. I think this is different because the

0:20:31.600 --> 0:20:39.879
<v Speaker 3>feud exploded onto social media based on Elon's criticism of

0:20:39.920 --> 0:20:44.040
<v Speaker 3>the One Big Ugly Bill and his criticism of the

0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:47.440
<v Speaker 3>Republicans for trying to jam this down the throats to

0:20:47.480 --> 0:20:51.000
<v Speaker 3>the American people. Some of the reasons why he disagrees

0:20:51.040 --> 0:20:55.040
<v Speaker 3>with the bill are reasons why we as Democrats disagree

0:20:55.040 --> 0:20:57.720
<v Speaker 3>with the bill. The attack on the effort to try

0:20:57.720 --> 0:21:00.800
<v Speaker 3>to build the clean energy economy. He obviously has a

0:21:00.840 --> 0:21:03.199
<v Speaker 3>problem with it. He's got business interests connected to that.

0:21:03.280 --> 0:21:05.800
<v Speaker 3>We have a problem with it because we think standing

0:21:05.880 --> 0:21:09.000
<v Speaker 3>up a clean energy economy actually will lower energy costs

0:21:09.000 --> 0:21:11.639
<v Speaker 3>for everyday Americans. And we have to be focused on

0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:15.080
<v Speaker 3>building an affordable economy, and that's part of the effort

0:21:15.720 --> 0:21:19.119
<v Speaker 3>to do that. It also creates jobs in places all

0:21:19.160 --> 0:21:22.760
<v Speaker 3>across the country, and it does something meaningful to address

0:21:22.800 --> 0:21:28.439
<v Speaker 3>the climate crisis with the fierce urgency of now that's necessary.

0:21:28.480 --> 0:21:33.440
<v Speaker 3>So the fact that this few the genesis of it

0:21:33.480 --> 0:21:39.119
<v Speaker 3>relates to Elon Musk's effort to try to kill the

0:21:39.160 --> 0:21:42.679
<v Speaker 3>billings he said, we agree every single House Democrat was

0:21:42.720 --> 0:21:46.760
<v Speaker 3>strongly opposed to the GOP tax scam. We're working hard

0:21:46.760 --> 0:21:49.560
<v Speaker 3>to kill a bill as we speak. It limped out

0:21:49.600 --> 0:21:53.400
<v Speaker 3>of the House of Representatives barely by one vote, and

0:21:53.440 --> 0:21:57.040
<v Speaker 3>it doesn't have a clear path towards success in the Senate.

0:21:57.160 --> 0:22:00.480
<v Speaker 3>So it's interesting. I don't think this is a distraction

0:22:00.560 --> 0:22:02.760
<v Speaker 3>because what they would be trying to distract you from,

0:22:02.800 --> 0:22:07.680
<v Speaker 3>meaning Trump, is what they're trying to do and taking

0:22:07.680 --> 0:22:11.800
<v Speaker 3>away healthcare, taking away nutritional assistance, hurting veterans, hurting everyday

0:22:11.840 --> 0:22:15.280
<v Speaker 3>americans to reward their billionaire donors. They don't want us

0:22:15.280 --> 0:22:17.840
<v Speaker 3>talking about that. But at the center of this fight,

0:22:17.960 --> 0:22:22.560
<v Speaker 3>or at least how it began, was the criticism around

0:22:23.240 --> 0:22:25.959
<v Speaker 3>the GOP tax scam and this reckless Republican budget.

0:22:26.280 --> 0:22:29.680
<v Speaker 1>Let's talk about the tax scam bill or I did see.

0:22:29.680 --> 0:22:31.720
<v Speaker 2>I think Chuck Schumer called it that well Everybody's going

0:22:31.800 --> 0:22:37.480
<v Speaker 2>to die act after Congresswoman johny Ertz, who had some

0:22:37.680 --> 0:22:41.400
<v Speaker 2>very callous comments about the damage that.

0:22:41.359 --> 0:22:43.080
<v Speaker 1>This bill could do to the people who would lose

0:22:43.119 --> 0:22:43.679
<v Speaker 1>health care.

0:22:45.080 --> 0:22:48.480
<v Speaker 2>You know, at this point, I think a lot of

0:22:48.480 --> 0:22:53.200
<v Speaker 2>people have obviously been very critical of the Democratic Party

0:22:53.280 --> 0:22:56.240
<v Speaker 2>in this moment, even though you all are not in leadership,

0:22:56.280 --> 0:22:59.800
<v Speaker 2>you don't have the majority in either chamber, but nevertheless,

0:23:00.160 --> 0:23:03.360
<v Speaker 2>you are expected to do something. And I'm looking at

0:23:03.359 --> 0:23:05.520
<v Speaker 2>the approval rate that you all have, and I know

0:23:05.520 --> 0:23:07.920
<v Speaker 2>you've seen the poll about what the Democratic Party's approval

0:23:07.960 --> 0:23:11.760
<v Speaker 2>rating has been despite all the chaos, despite the fact

0:23:11.760 --> 0:23:15.640
<v Speaker 2>that Trump's approval ratings are falling, the fight, the fact

0:23:15.680 --> 0:23:20.120
<v Speaker 2>that people are losing a lot of whatever faith they

0:23:20.119 --> 0:23:21.960
<v Speaker 2>had and that he could fix this economy.

0:23:22.160 --> 0:23:23.840
<v Speaker 1>Is that honeymoon periods over?

0:23:23.960 --> 0:23:26.399
<v Speaker 2>Like nobody's kind of buying that he's going to be

0:23:26.400 --> 0:23:29.520
<v Speaker 2>able to fix this economy. With all that being said,

0:23:29.960 --> 0:23:35.200
<v Speaker 2>how is it that Democrats can better control this narrative

0:23:35.280 --> 0:23:36.760
<v Speaker 2>in this chaotic moment.

0:23:37.880 --> 0:23:41.000
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it's a great question, and it's a work in progress.

0:23:41.040 --> 0:23:43.719
<v Speaker 3>For why variety of reasons. First of all, people are

0:23:43.800 --> 0:23:49.400
<v Speaker 3>understandably disappointed and distressed and in many cases disillusion by

0:23:49.440 --> 0:23:52.920
<v Speaker 3>the fact that we lost in November of twenty twenty four,

0:23:52.920 --> 0:23:55.359
<v Speaker 3>and we've got to own that because we lost to

0:23:55.400 --> 0:24:00.760
<v Speaker 3>this guy. And obviously, Kamala Harris and my view, did

0:24:00.760 --> 0:24:04.160
<v Speaker 3>a tremendous job in the limited time that she had

0:24:04.200 --> 0:24:07.679
<v Speaker 3>one hundred and seven day campaign, the best that she

0:24:07.800 --> 0:24:14.600
<v Speaker 3>could under difficult circumstances after President Biden decided that he

0:24:14.720 --> 0:24:20.560
<v Speaker 3>wasn't going to seek reelection, and those circumstances led to

0:24:20.600 --> 0:24:23.359
<v Speaker 3>a situation where we lost to Donald Trump. We didn't

0:24:23.359 --> 0:24:25.639
<v Speaker 3>get the House back, we felt just three seats short,

0:24:26.800 --> 0:24:30.000
<v Speaker 3>and then of course lost control of the Senate. So

0:24:30.040 --> 0:24:35.560
<v Speaker 3>from the standpoint of Democrats in this country being disappointed

0:24:35.920 --> 0:24:39.239
<v Speaker 3>with the party, that's understandable, and so what we have

0:24:39.320 --> 0:24:42.000
<v Speaker 3>to do to earn back their trust. One is to

0:24:42.040 --> 0:24:48.000
<v Speaker 3>demonstrate that we are functioning as a principled opposition to

0:24:48.200 --> 0:24:52.159
<v Speaker 3>stop as many bad things from happening as we can

0:24:52.440 --> 0:24:56.600
<v Speaker 3>and pushing back aggressively against the parade of horribles that

0:24:56.680 --> 0:24:59.399
<v Speaker 3>Donald Trump is unleashing on the American people. Because this

0:24:59.440 --> 0:25:03.160
<v Speaker 3>is an un residented assault on the economy, and assault

0:25:03.160 --> 0:25:06.040
<v Speaker 3>on healthcare and assault on social security, in assault on

0:25:06.080 --> 0:25:08.480
<v Speaker 3>a democratic way of life, an assault on the rule

0:25:08.480 --> 0:25:11.639
<v Speaker 3>of law, and an assault on democracy itself. So it

0:25:11.680 --> 0:25:17.280
<v Speaker 3>does require us to engage in an all hands on

0:25:17.840 --> 0:25:22.879
<v Speaker 3>deck effort. Now, I do think that what we have

0:25:23.040 --> 0:25:28.760
<v Speaker 3>seen is some success in clarifying for the American people.

0:25:28.800 --> 0:25:33.600
<v Speaker 3>As you pointed out, Jamail, that Donald Trump promised he

0:25:33.680 --> 0:25:38.720
<v Speaker 3>was going to fix the economy, address inflation and lower costs.

0:25:38.720 --> 0:25:40.639
<v Speaker 3>In fact, he said he's going to lower costs on

0:25:40.840 --> 0:25:45.440
<v Speaker 3>day one. Dude was lying to the American people. He's

0:25:45.440 --> 0:25:49.080
<v Speaker 3>not lowering costs. Costs are going up. He's crashing the economy.

0:25:49.080 --> 0:25:51.840
<v Speaker 3>These Trump tariffs are going to add thousands of dollars

0:25:51.840 --> 0:25:57.160
<v Speaker 3>an additional expense to hardworking American taxpayers, and he's probably

0:25:57.240 --> 0:26:01.359
<v Speaker 3>driving us toward a recession. Despite the fact that the

0:26:01.400 --> 0:26:03.960
<v Speaker 3>expectation was Donald Trump was going to be able to

0:26:03.960 --> 0:26:08.200
<v Speaker 3>control the narrative. Republicans have complete control in Washington. He's

0:26:08.240 --> 0:26:11.840
<v Speaker 3>got all these social media relationships and new media relationships,

0:26:12.200 --> 0:26:15.199
<v Speaker 3>and Democrats would not be able to break through with

0:26:15.320 --> 0:26:20.720
<v Speaker 3>any degree of clarity. Well, actually, Donald Trump was the

0:26:20.760 --> 0:26:25.119
<v Speaker 3>most unpopular President at the one hundred day mark in

0:26:25.320 --> 0:26:30.040
<v Speaker 3>modern American history. Somebody's paying attention to the things that

0:26:30.080 --> 0:26:34.520
<v Speaker 3>are being said. The American people are locking in on

0:26:34.640 --> 0:26:39.480
<v Speaker 3>the fact that he's actually not making life better for them,

0:26:39.760 --> 0:26:45.800
<v Speaker 3>He's making life worse. So we have to continue to

0:26:45.880 --> 0:26:51.959
<v Speaker 3>be the principled opposition stopping bad things from happening, and

0:26:53.000 --> 0:26:57.440
<v Speaker 3>I think pivot to articulating our vision for making life

0:26:57.480 --> 0:27:01.239
<v Speaker 3>better for the American people that committed to building an

0:27:01.240 --> 0:27:05.360
<v Speaker 3>affordable economy. We know the deck has been stacked against

0:27:05.400 --> 0:27:08.680
<v Speaker 3>everyday Americans for far too long. The system has been

0:27:08.960 --> 0:27:15.200
<v Speaker 3>broken for decades, and we have to earn the confidence

0:27:15.200 --> 0:27:18.600
<v Speaker 3>of the American people that were committed to fixing it,

0:27:18.880 --> 0:27:24.760
<v Speaker 3>to improving their lives. And to be very clear to

0:27:24.840 --> 0:27:27.439
<v Speaker 3>the American people that we hear you, we see you,

0:27:28.040 --> 0:27:31.600
<v Speaker 3>we feel you, and we're committed to making life better

0:27:31.640 --> 0:27:31.879
<v Speaker 3>for you.

0:27:33.119 --> 0:27:39.200
<v Speaker 2>How can you be principal opposition against an unprincipled enemy.

0:27:40.680 --> 0:27:44.560
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I think we're in a more is more environment,

0:27:44.640 --> 0:27:47.840
<v Speaker 3>So I think the key is and we can learn

0:27:48.240 --> 0:27:51.199
<v Speaker 3>from those upon whose shoulders we stand. I have the

0:27:51.240 --> 0:27:54.879
<v Speaker 3>great honor of serving in Congress with John Lewis, an

0:27:54.920 --> 0:28:00.200
<v Speaker 3>American hero who of course always inspired us to show

0:28:00.280 --> 0:28:01.919
<v Speaker 3>up and stand up and speak up. And when you

0:28:01.960 --> 0:28:05.159
<v Speaker 3>see something that's wrong, never give up, never give in,

0:28:06.640 --> 0:28:09.720
<v Speaker 3>get into some good trouble, necessary trouble. As he would

0:28:09.960 --> 0:28:13.679
<v Speaker 3>tell us, he was principled in his opposition, but strong

0:28:14.600 --> 0:28:17.480
<v Speaker 3>and throughout his life, particularly in the Jim Crow South.

0:28:18.440 --> 0:28:23.320
<v Speaker 3>I mean Donald Trump was battling, I mean John Lewis

0:28:23.400 --> 0:28:29.800
<v Speaker 3>was battling in authoritarian situation that existed racial oppression enforced

0:28:29.840 --> 0:28:35.119
<v Speaker 3>by violence in parts of the Jim Crow South. And

0:28:35.240 --> 0:28:39.240
<v Speaker 3>yet they were able to both balance that principled opposition

0:28:39.320 --> 0:28:45.840
<v Speaker 3>with the righteous indignation and the ferocity that was necessary

0:28:45.880 --> 0:28:48.480
<v Speaker 3>to turn the situation around. And I think for us,

0:28:49.320 --> 0:28:51.560
<v Speaker 3>that's what we have to do. We have to stretch.

0:28:52.480 --> 0:28:57.680
<v Speaker 3>We're in a more is more environment, meaning more rallies,

0:28:57.720 --> 0:29:00.800
<v Speaker 3>more press conferences, more speeches on the House, most speeches

0:29:00.840 --> 0:29:04.400
<v Speaker 3>on the Senate floor, all night committee hearings, making sure

0:29:04.720 --> 0:29:07.280
<v Speaker 3>that we're having town hall meetings in democratic districts, town

0:29:07.320 --> 0:29:11.800
<v Speaker 3>hall meetings in Republican districts, as we're doing, convening democratic

0:29:11.880 --> 0:29:15.960
<v Speaker 3>led hearings on Capitol Hill, which we've done democratic led

0:29:15.960 --> 0:29:21.480
<v Speaker 3>hearings across the country, and taking our efforts on the road,

0:29:21.880 --> 0:29:24.840
<v Speaker 3>which we're continuing to do, sit ins, and you know,

0:29:24.880 --> 0:29:29.240
<v Speaker 3>a variety of things, site visits, more is more that's

0:29:29.280 --> 0:29:31.800
<v Speaker 3>going to be necessary for us to continue to meet

0:29:31.840 --> 0:29:32.200
<v Speaker 3>the moment.

0:29:32.440 --> 0:29:35.880
<v Speaker 2>I've heard you use that terminology about flooding the zone,

0:29:36.000 --> 0:29:38.080
<v Speaker 2>not in relationship to Donald Trump, but what you think

0:29:38.120 --> 0:29:41.280
<v Speaker 2>Democrats should be doing being on TV more as you

0:29:41.320 --> 0:29:44.719
<v Speaker 2>just mentioned hitting essentially the campaign trail, doing the rallies.

0:29:44.720 --> 0:29:48.160
<v Speaker 2>People look at the rallies that you know, Alexandria Ocasio

0:29:48.200 --> 0:29:50.600
<v Speaker 2>Cortez did, alc and Bernie Sanders, and those seem to

0:29:50.640 --> 0:29:55.120
<v Speaker 2>be very successful. But you and I both know, especially

0:29:55.120 --> 0:29:58.040
<v Speaker 2>in the time where social media is this prominent, American

0:29:58.080 --> 0:29:59.440
<v Speaker 2>loves a good marketing campaign.

0:29:59.760 --> 0:30:00.680
<v Speaker 1>MU is very clear.

0:30:01.040 --> 0:30:05.160
<v Speaker 2>And what was interesting to me in watching the election

0:30:05.640 --> 0:30:09.000
<v Speaker 2>was that in so many states you had people approving

0:30:09.360 --> 0:30:13.400
<v Speaker 2>very popular Democratic policies that you all were the leaders

0:30:13.440 --> 0:30:17.960
<v Speaker 2>on that you all used to try to reshape this country,

0:30:18.440 --> 0:30:22.080
<v Speaker 2>and yet still voted for Republicans that were against everything

0:30:22.120 --> 0:30:25.200
<v Speaker 2>that you were trying to do. So, how do you

0:30:25.320 --> 0:30:29.280
<v Speaker 2>feel like in this time, considering how Republicans have been

0:30:29.280 --> 0:30:31.920
<v Speaker 2>able to use social media to their benefit a lot

0:30:31.960 --> 0:30:35.720
<v Speaker 2>through disinformation to be honest and misinformation. But nevertheless, they're

0:30:35.760 --> 0:30:39.200
<v Speaker 2>still able to control so much of the narrative. So,

0:30:39.280 --> 0:30:43.959
<v Speaker 2>how now, with the election fresh behind you, just for

0:30:44.520 --> 0:30:48.120
<v Speaker 2>just six months or so, how are you going to

0:30:49.320 --> 0:30:55.960
<v Speaker 2>make that connection between the marketing, the Democratic successes, and

0:30:56.200 --> 0:31:00.560
<v Speaker 2>what you're talking about better so that people really can

0:31:00.680 --> 0:31:03.680
<v Speaker 2>effectively see what you're doing. Like, what were the lessons

0:31:03.760 --> 0:31:06.440
<v Speaker 2>learned from the election in terms of how you need

0:31:06.480 --> 0:31:08.080
<v Speaker 2>to better connect with the American people.

0:31:08.440 --> 0:31:12.680
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it's a great question. I think that what's important

0:31:12.800 --> 0:31:19.280
<v Speaker 3>for all of us to internalize is that governing is

0:31:19.360 --> 0:31:22.600
<v Speaker 3>one lane and communicating with the American people is a

0:31:22.640 --> 0:31:28.760
<v Speaker 3>different lane, and they require two different types of skills.

0:31:29.240 --> 0:31:33.560
<v Speaker 3>And the challenge that we have traditionally faced as Democrats

0:31:34.040 --> 0:31:38.800
<v Speaker 3>in terms of communicating is that Republicans tend to communicate

0:31:38.880 --> 0:31:44.560
<v Speaker 3>in headlines and Democrats communicate in fine print. Now, there's

0:31:44.600 --> 0:31:48.760
<v Speaker 3>a reason why Democrats sometimes default to fine print. It's

0:31:48.840 --> 0:31:54.160
<v Speaker 3>because in order to govern, you actually have to master

0:31:54.240 --> 0:31:58.680
<v Speaker 3>the fine print. And as Democrats, we care about governing

0:31:58.720 --> 0:32:00.920
<v Speaker 3>because we care about the American people and we care

0:32:00.920 --> 0:32:03.600
<v Speaker 3>about getting things done. And when you look at the

0:32:03.600 --> 0:32:07.240
<v Speaker 3>modern day Democratic Party, which really dates back to the

0:32:07.280 --> 0:32:12.040
<v Speaker 3>presidency of FDR, and think about the things that we've

0:32:12.520 --> 0:32:15.800
<v Speaker 3>worked hard to deliver to the American people's social security,

0:32:16.280 --> 0:32:21.040
<v Speaker 3>rural electrification, the GI Bill, the Civil Rights Act, the

0:32:21.160 --> 0:32:24.520
<v Speaker 3>Voting Rights Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Immigration and

0:32:24.600 --> 0:32:29.000
<v Speaker 3>Nationality Act of nineteen sixty five, the Higher Education Act,

0:32:29.000 --> 0:32:34.800
<v Speaker 3>the Elementary and Secondary School Act, Medicare, Medicaid, head Start,

0:32:35.000 --> 0:32:38.560
<v Speaker 3>the Affordable Care Act, the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure

0:32:38.560 --> 0:32:42.400
<v Speaker 3>Investment and Jobs Act, the Pact Act, and standing up

0:32:42.400 --> 0:32:46.880
<v Speaker 3>for our veterans. And then, of course the Inflation Reduction Act,

0:32:47.040 --> 0:32:50.120
<v Speaker 3>which helped to lower the high price of life saving

0:32:50.800 --> 0:32:56.320
<v Speaker 3>prescription drugs, amongst doing other things, including the largest investment

0:32:56.360 --> 0:32:58.920
<v Speaker 3>in combating the climate crisis in the history of the world.

0:32:59.160 --> 0:33:02.000
<v Speaker 3>All of these things were brought to you by your

0:33:02.160 --> 0:33:09.680
<v Speaker 3>friendly neighborhood Democratic Party. That's an amazing track record of success.

0:33:10.200 --> 0:33:13.160
<v Speaker 3>Of course, much more needs to be done on behalf

0:33:13.200 --> 0:33:16.880
<v Speaker 3>of the American people, particularly in terms of building an

0:33:16.880 --> 0:33:22.040
<v Speaker 3>affordable economy and addressing the inflationary crisis that we are

0:33:22.080 --> 0:33:25.080
<v Speaker 3>dealing with in this country. But that's a great track

0:33:25.120 --> 0:33:30.040
<v Speaker 3>record of success to build upon. You don't produce all

0:33:30.080 --> 0:33:35.160
<v Speaker 3>of those things unless you have committed to mastering the

0:33:35.280 --> 0:33:40.080
<v Speaker 3>fine print of governing. But the challenge for us is

0:33:40.120 --> 0:33:44.880
<v Speaker 3>that while you govern in fine print, you message, you persuade,

0:33:45.360 --> 0:33:50.120
<v Speaker 3>you communicate and headlines, particularly in the era of social

0:33:50.160 --> 0:33:53.400
<v Speaker 3>media and new media, and we just have to do

0:33:53.440 --> 0:33:57.720
<v Speaker 3>a better job of making sure that we do what

0:33:57.760 --> 0:34:01.479
<v Speaker 3>we need to do in the communications lane so that

0:34:01.520 --> 0:34:05.040
<v Speaker 3>the American people actually give us the opportunity in the

0:34:05.080 --> 0:34:09.000
<v Speaker 3>governing lane to build upon the progress that we've tried

0:34:09.040 --> 0:34:12.080
<v Speaker 3>to make for everyday Americans over the last seventy five

0:34:12.160 --> 0:34:13.200
<v Speaker 3>eighty plus years.

0:34:13.640 --> 0:34:15.640
<v Speaker 2>I look at it as you all are the party

0:34:15.640 --> 0:34:19.000
<v Speaker 2>of policy and they're the party of personality, And to

0:34:19.040 --> 0:34:20.560
<v Speaker 2>be honest, a lot of times it feels like the

0:34:20.600 --> 0:34:24.120
<v Speaker 2>personality part wins out just because of that communication gap

0:34:24.160 --> 0:34:25.200
<v Speaker 2>that you're talking about.

0:34:26.360 --> 0:34:26.560
<v Speaker 1>You know.

0:34:26.600 --> 0:34:30.560
<v Speaker 2>With that being said, again, given how people feel so

0:34:30.680 --> 0:34:34.520
<v Speaker 2>frustrated right now with the party, how much do you

0:34:34.560 --> 0:34:37.160
<v Speaker 2>think the criticisms of the party, What do you think

0:34:37.239 --> 0:34:40.040
<v Speaker 2>is fair criticism of the Democratic Party, and what do.

0:34:40.000 --> 0:34:40.840
<v Speaker 1>You think is unfair?

0:34:41.560 --> 0:34:46.080
<v Speaker 3>Well, I think it's fair that at the end of

0:34:46.080 --> 0:34:49.560
<v Speaker 3>the day, notwithstanding all of the things that were accomplished

0:34:49.640 --> 0:34:54.160
<v Speaker 3>under the prior administration, that there were a lot of

0:34:54.200 --> 0:34:59.239
<v Speaker 3>Americans who believe that Donald Trump was better positioned to

0:34:59.320 --> 0:35:01.719
<v Speaker 3>deal with inflation and to lower the high cost of

0:35:01.760 --> 0:35:04.200
<v Speaker 3>living in the United States of America, and we did

0:35:04.239 --> 0:35:08.760
<v Speaker 3>not do a good enough job overall as a party

0:35:09.280 --> 0:35:12.040
<v Speaker 3>and communicating that one we understand that the cost of

0:35:12.080 --> 0:35:14.879
<v Speaker 3>living is too high, that we actually have a plan

0:35:15.160 --> 0:35:20.080
<v Speaker 3>to lower housing costs, lower grocery costs, lower energy costs,

0:35:20.120 --> 0:35:25.080
<v Speaker 3>lower childcare costs, and lower insurance costs, and that we

0:35:25.360 --> 0:35:31.800
<v Speaker 3>do actually believe with every fiber in our body that

0:35:32.600 --> 0:35:35.640
<v Speaker 3>in the United States of America, the wealthiest country in

0:35:35.680 --> 0:35:38.120
<v Speaker 3>the history of the world, no one should be living

0:35:38.160 --> 0:35:42.879
<v Speaker 3>paycheck to paycheck. No one should be struggling when they

0:35:42.920 --> 0:35:45.879
<v Speaker 3>work hard and play by the rules, but yet can't

0:35:45.920 --> 0:35:49.520
<v Speaker 3>find a good paying job, or purchase a home, or

0:35:49.560 --> 0:35:53.400
<v Speaker 3>live a comfortable life, or have access to healthcare, go

0:35:53.480 --> 0:35:55.480
<v Speaker 3>on vacation every now and then, or be able to

0:35:55.520 --> 0:35:59.000
<v Speaker 3>retire with grace and dignity. Everybody should have that opportunity

0:35:59.680 --> 0:36:04.440
<v Speaker 3>in the country, but everybody does not. And I think

0:36:05.160 --> 0:36:09.319
<v Speaker 3>that we have to do a better job of connecting

0:36:09.680 --> 0:36:14.680
<v Speaker 3>how we actually feel with making sure that the American

0:36:14.719 --> 0:36:20.560
<v Speaker 3>people feel us in terms of our commitment to making

0:36:20.600 --> 0:36:24.960
<v Speaker 3>their lives better. So that. You know, we just need

0:36:24.960 --> 0:36:29.799
<v Speaker 3>to do better in that area. And I think the

0:36:29.840 --> 0:36:34.200
<v Speaker 3>other thing we've got to do is convince a greater

0:36:34.800 --> 0:36:38.480
<v Speaker 3>number of Americans that we actually are fighting for them,

0:36:39.520 --> 0:36:45.440
<v Speaker 3>because there's no circumstance where the Republican Party under Donald Trump,

0:36:46.880 --> 0:36:49.920
<v Speaker 3>who is all about the wealthy, the well off, and

0:36:49.960 --> 0:36:53.239
<v Speaker 3>the well connected. I mean, if you just looked at

0:36:53.360 --> 0:36:56.279
<v Speaker 3>the inauguration, who was there. It wasn't everyday Americans, it

0:36:56.360 --> 0:36:59.640
<v Speaker 3>wasn't working class Americans. It was the billionaire boys Club.

0:36:59.640 --> 0:37:04.560
<v Speaker 3>It was a super villain convention, and it was wild.

0:37:05.160 --> 0:37:07.319
<v Speaker 3>And this is who he chose to surround himself with

0:37:07.400 --> 0:37:10.799
<v Speaker 3>because this is who he's fighting for. But yet Donald

0:37:10.800 --> 0:37:13.960
<v Speaker 3>Trump has somehow managed to convince a significant number of Americans,

0:37:14.000 --> 0:37:17.600
<v Speaker 3>or at least he did in connection with the election.

0:37:17.680 --> 0:37:19.719
<v Speaker 3>As you pointed out to Mail, he's falling apart right

0:37:19.760 --> 0:37:23.280
<v Speaker 3>now in terms of the perception that the American people

0:37:23.320 --> 0:37:25.600
<v Speaker 3>have as it relates to his ability to actually deal

0:37:25.640 --> 0:37:29.720
<v Speaker 3>with the economy. He lied not focused on lowering costs,

0:37:30.120 --> 0:37:33.120
<v Speaker 3>but he did managed to convince a significant number of

0:37:33.120 --> 0:37:36.000
<v Speaker 3>people that he would do that in connection with the election.

0:37:36.160 --> 0:37:40.560
<v Speaker 3>So we have to do a better job there now

0:37:40.719 --> 0:37:46.600
<v Speaker 3>in terms of the concern that Democrats on Capitol Hill

0:37:46.640 --> 0:37:50.200
<v Speaker 3>and the House and the Senate aren't fighting and pushing

0:37:50.280 --> 0:37:57.200
<v Speaker 3>back against Donald Trump and the administration aggressively, I think no,

0:37:58.000 --> 0:38:03.080
<v Speaker 3>every single House Democrat and every single Senate Democrat is

0:38:03.120 --> 0:38:05.200
<v Speaker 3>working hard to do the best that they can to

0:38:05.239 --> 0:38:07.960
<v Speaker 3>aggressively push back at what we all believe is an

0:38:08.080 --> 0:38:15.960
<v Speaker 3>unprecedented situation. And that's why I've acknowledged that all of

0:38:16.000 --> 0:38:18.160
<v Speaker 3>us are going to continue to be called upon to

0:38:18.239 --> 0:38:23.839
<v Speaker 3>do more, to engage with a level of intensity previously

0:38:24.120 --> 0:38:31.520
<v Speaker 3>unseen at any time in a Congress in modern American history.

0:38:31.560 --> 0:38:35.799
<v Speaker 3>And it requires extraordinary things to be done, including but

0:38:35.920 --> 0:38:39.120
<v Speaker 3>not limited to what you know, our brother Corey Booker

0:38:39.160 --> 0:38:45.080
<v Speaker 3>did when he delivered that historical speech on the floor

0:38:45.160 --> 0:38:47.279
<v Speaker 3>of the Senate. They're trying to cancel our history, he

0:38:47.400 --> 0:38:48.480
<v Speaker 3>canceled strom Therman.

0:38:49.719 --> 0:38:52.080
<v Speaker 2>I want to ask you about that intensity, because I

0:38:52.080 --> 0:38:55.279
<v Speaker 2>think there's been some questions there. Also want to ask

0:38:55.360 --> 0:38:57.600
<v Speaker 2>you about I got a biggie question for you, since

0:38:57.640 --> 0:38:58.600
<v Speaker 2>I know you're a biggie.

0:38:58.360 --> 0:39:00.240
<v Speaker 1>Guy and being.

0:38:59.560 --> 0:39:02.040
<v Speaker 2>In represent and being from Brooklyn and representing there, so

0:39:03.000 --> 0:39:05.440
<v Speaker 2>this biggie question. I'm hoping this is the headline from

0:39:05.480 --> 0:39:07.879
<v Speaker 2>this podcast, but we just got to take a very

0:39:07.920 --> 0:39:11.000
<v Speaker 2>quick break and we'll be back with more with Representative

0:39:11.200 --> 0:39:25.440
<v Speaker 2>I came, Jeff mister Minority House Leader. Okay, before we

0:39:25.480 --> 0:39:29.000
<v Speaker 2>took a break, Representative Jefferies, you mentioned the intensity, and

0:39:29.040 --> 0:39:31.840
<v Speaker 2>I think that is where a lot of people, a

0:39:31.840 --> 0:39:34.400
<v Speaker 2>lot of people I talk to just in everyday life,

0:39:34.400 --> 0:39:37.840
<v Speaker 2>and that's the part that I think has people the

0:39:37.880 --> 0:39:40.400
<v Speaker 2>most frustrated. I don't think people doubt the effort. I

0:39:40.400 --> 0:39:42.799
<v Speaker 2>think at this point people want to know what are

0:39:42.800 --> 0:39:45.359
<v Speaker 2>the Democrats actually willing to do? And I say that

0:39:45.440 --> 0:39:49.240
<v Speaker 2>because we see Trump define court orders, we see him

0:39:49.600 --> 0:39:52.040
<v Speaker 2>like we're wondering. People are wondering, like, yes, you can

0:39:52.080 --> 0:39:54.640
<v Speaker 2>fight this battle through the courts, but if he don't

0:39:54.640 --> 0:39:58.799
<v Speaker 2>care what they say, where does that leave you. So this,

0:39:59.160 --> 0:40:01.439
<v Speaker 2>I think this idea that you all aren't doing enough

0:40:01.560 --> 0:40:03.799
<v Speaker 2>is coming from the fact that we don't know what

0:40:03.840 --> 0:40:06.319
<v Speaker 2>the next level of accountability actually looks like.

0:40:06.800 --> 0:40:07.919
<v Speaker 1>So can you.

0:40:07.880 --> 0:40:11.560
<v Speaker 2>Explain if he is ignoring these court orders, he's not

0:40:11.680 --> 0:40:15.560
<v Speaker 2>following the rules, his administration isn't following it. What is

0:40:15.600 --> 0:40:18.200
<v Speaker 2>the next level of accountability that you have available?

0:40:18.880 --> 0:40:21.359
<v Speaker 3>Well, there's a couple of things, right, So you've got

0:40:21.560 --> 0:40:26.759
<v Speaker 3>congressional accountability, and ultimately, the clearest path to bring that

0:40:27.000 --> 0:40:30.080
<v Speaker 3>about is to make sure that Democrats get the gavels

0:40:30.120 --> 0:40:32.920
<v Speaker 3>back in November of twenty twenty six, that we take

0:40:32.960 --> 0:40:35.480
<v Speaker 3>the House back, take the Senate back, that we can

0:40:35.600 --> 0:40:40.719
<v Speaker 3>end this national nightmare legislatively. And but you know.

0:40:40.960 --> 0:40:42.640
<v Speaker 1>That's a long way from now though.

0:40:43.480 --> 0:40:47.040
<v Speaker 3>Listen, No, listen, that's I'm just saying. That's in terms

0:40:47.120 --> 0:40:51.400
<v Speaker 3>of congressional accountability. We got to be real. Why Because

0:40:52.360 --> 0:40:57.680
<v Speaker 3>unless a handful of Republicans in the House or handful

0:40:57.719 --> 0:41:01.080
<v Speaker 3>of Republicans in the Senate decide to actually grow a

0:41:01.400 --> 0:41:07.640
<v Speaker 3>spine and stop acting like rubber stamps for Donald Trump's

0:41:07.680 --> 0:41:13.760
<v Speaker 3>extreme agenda and engaging in their cult like behavior, then

0:41:14.719 --> 0:41:18.080
<v Speaker 3>it's going to be hard to get actual accountability on

0:41:18.120 --> 0:41:24.680
<v Speaker 3>a sustained basis at the congressional level until we defeat

0:41:24.760 --> 0:41:29.520
<v Speaker 3>the MAGA extremists next year in the midterm elections. That's

0:41:29.560 --> 0:41:31.800
<v Speaker 3>not to say they aren't important elections that are already

0:41:31.800 --> 0:41:35.280
<v Speaker 3>taking place. Every single special election that's been a high

0:41:35.320 --> 0:41:41.920
<v Speaker 3>profile race since the Trump presidency, Democrats have won, including

0:41:42.120 --> 0:41:45.520
<v Speaker 3>but not limited to the race in Wisconsin for the

0:41:45.520 --> 0:41:50.440
<v Speaker 3>state Supreme Court seat that was expected to be hotly contested.

0:41:50.480 --> 0:41:53.640
<v Speaker 3>Elon Musk spent twenty to twenty five million dollars trying

0:41:53.680 --> 0:41:57.560
<v Speaker 3>to elect the conservative candidate the progressive candidate one by

0:41:57.600 --> 0:42:00.239
<v Speaker 3>eleven points. But that's not the only high profile our

0:42:00.239 --> 0:42:03.319
<v Speaker 3>special election that we've won. We've won others, and you'll

0:42:03.360 --> 0:42:07.120
<v Speaker 3>have governors races that will be important in New Jersey

0:42:07.840 --> 0:42:12.040
<v Speaker 3>and in Virginia in November. Now, that's not to say

0:42:12.040 --> 0:42:17.400
<v Speaker 3>that we can't use the levels of authority and capacity

0:42:17.400 --> 0:42:22.440
<v Speaker 3>that we have as members of Congress, even if the

0:42:22.480 --> 0:42:25.279
<v Speaker 3>Republicans continue to be sick offense, and we continue to

0:42:25.320 --> 0:42:30.759
<v Speaker 3>do that as it relates to our engagement and committees,

0:42:30.760 --> 0:42:34.600
<v Speaker 3>our engagement on the House floor, our engagement across the country.

0:42:34.600 --> 0:42:38.440
<v Speaker 3>Republicans refuse to have town hall meetings, and so we decided,

0:42:38.480 --> 0:42:40.360
<v Speaker 3>you know what, We're going to have town hall meetings

0:42:40.920 --> 0:42:45.560
<v Speaker 3>in your districts to engage with your constituents, to tell

0:42:45.600 --> 0:42:49.920
<v Speaker 3>them what you are trying to hide, particularly as it

0:42:49.960 --> 0:42:54.840
<v Speaker 3>relates to ripping healthcare and Medicaid from tens of millions

0:42:54.840 --> 0:43:01.200
<v Speaker 3>of Americans, closing hospitals, shutting down nursing homes, and creating

0:43:01.200 --> 0:43:04.440
<v Speaker 3>a situation where people are actually going to die because

0:43:04.440 --> 0:43:09.040
<v Speaker 3>healthcare is being ripped away from them, and care in

0:43:09.120 --> 0:43:12.480
<v Speaker 3>terms of these institutions is being ripped away from them.

0:43:12.520 --> 0:43:15.880
<v Speaker 3>So I think again we're in a more is more environment.

0:43:15.920 --> 0:43:18.239
<v Speaker 3>We just have to continue to do more. Now on

0:43:18.320 --> 0:43:22.360
<v Speaker 3>the court side of things, right, it is important to

0:43:22.400 --> 0:43:27.080
<v Speaker 3>recognize we got three branches of government. We all learn

0:43:27.200 --> 0:43:32.200
<v Speaker 3>that in social studies as we have come up, and

0:43:33.080 --> 0:43:35.440
<v Speaker 3>you've got the legislative branch, you've got the executive branch,

0:43:36.160 --> 0:43:40.359
<v Speaker 3>and you've got the judicial branch. And we have seen

0:43:40.400 --> 0:43:46.200
<v Speaker 3>an unprecedented number of lawsuits that have filed last time

0:43:46.239 --> 0:43:50.000
<v Speaker 3>I checked, Because we work closely with a variety of

0:43:50.000 --> 0:43:55.000
<v Speaker 3>different groups, civil rights groups, democracy protection groups, organized labor,

0:43:55.040 --> 0:44:01.120
<v Speaker 3>civil liberties groups, democratic attorney generals. More than two hundred

0:44:01.120 --> 0:44:05.520
<v Speaker 3>and fifty lawsuits have been filed against the Trump administration

0:44:05.719 --> 0:44:10.560
<v Speaker 3>and the unconstitutional and unlawful executive orders, and I believe

0:44:11.480 --> 0:44:15.000
<v Speaker 3>it's more than one hundred and eighty five different court

0:44:15.120 --> 0:44:23.040
<v Speaker 3>orders have been issued halting these executive actions and orders.

0:44:23.880 --> 0:44:28.239
<v Speaker 3>Now it has been the case literally in a handful

0:44:28.280 --> 0:44:34.279
<v Speaker 3>of instances. All that just happened to relate to the

0:44:34.320 --> 0:44:40.160
<v Speaker 3>immigration space where Donald Trump is pushing the envelope aggressively

0:44:40.960 --> 0:44:44.440
<v Speaker 3>as it relates to defiance, and in those cases handful

0:44:44.480 --> 0:44:47.400
<v Speaker 3>of cases, every single one of them in the immigration

0:44:47.520 --> 0:44:55.600
<v Speaker 3>space related to deportations or potential deportations, where our view

0:44:55.960 --> 0:44:59.680
<v Speaker 3>is that the courts need to be more aggressive in

0:44:59.760 --> 0:45:05.759
<v Speaker 3>a its authority if they've concluded that the Trump administration

0:45:06.160 --> 0:45:11.160
<v Speaker 3>is not complying with a court directive, and what they

0:45:11.160 --> 0:45:16.080
<v Speaker 3>have available to them is both civil contempt they can

0:45:16.200 --> 0:45:22.200
<v Speaker 3>find the heck out of whoever is not complying or

0:45:22.320 --> 0:45:28.000
<v Speaker 3>criminal contempt, and I think the courts have generally been

0:45:28.760 --> 0:45:36.279
<v Speaker 3>reluctant to use those tools against a sitting administration, but

0:45:36.440 --> 0:45:41.240
<v Speaker 3>extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures, And if we see

0:45:42.120 --> 0:45:45.239
<v Speaker 3>non compliance continue in different ways, then I think the

0:45:45.280 --> 0:45:47.880
<v Speaker 3>courts are going to have to get more aggressive. But

0:45:47.920 --> 0:45:50.160
<v Speaker 3>it's important for all your people to understand that in

0:45:50.200 --> 0:45:55.240
<v Speaker 3>the overwhelming majority of cases, Donald Trump ain't winning, he's losing,

0:45:55.960 --> 0:45:59.920
<v Speaker 3>and he's been forced to back down repeatedly.

0:46:01.280 --> 0:46:05.839
<v Speaker 2>Well, I guess when you look at also the intimidation

0:46:06.000 --> 0:46:09.600
<v Speaker 2>that judges are facing now, I think people probably feel

0:46:09.640 --> 0:46:13.440
<v Speaker 2>a little a little less hopeful about that just because

0:46:13.680 --> 0:46:18.919
<v Speaker 2>of how this administration has gone after judges and called

0:46:18.920 --> 0:46:21.520
<v Speaker 2>them activists just because they even judges they appointed. The

0:46:21.600 --> 0:46:24.839
<v Speaker 2>judge is that he appointed, they have put a bullseye

0:46:24.880 --> 0:46:30.160
<v Speaker 2>on their back. You mentioned before about how really ultimately,

0:46:30.200 --> 0:46:32.600
<v Speaker 2>when it comes to the congressional accountability, it's going to

0:46:32.640 --> 0:46:36.840
<v Speaker 2>require Republicans who know better and theoretically should do better

0:46:37.200 --> 0:46:39.160
<v Speaker 2>to have us fine, which is something they haven't shown.

0:46:39.680 --> 0:46:43.040
<v Speaker 2>So I'm wondering from you, what do Republicans say to

0:46:43.080 --> 0:46:45.360
<v Speaker 2>you privately that they won't say publicly.

0:46:46.200 --> 0:46:50.920
<v Speaker 3>Well, a lot of them mcnow is that privately that

0:46:51.120 --> 0:46:53.960
<v Speaker 3>some of the things that Donald Trump is the administration

0:46:54.000 --> 0:46:57.080
<v Speaker 3>they're doing are out of control. And then our response,

0:46:57.160 --> 0:47:01.240
<v Speaker 3>of course to them is well, why don't you step

0:47:01.360 --> 0:47:09.279
<v Speaker 3>up and communicate that, either directly to your colleagues in

0:47:09.320 --> 0:47:15.760
<v Speaker 3>the administration or forcefully publicly when necessary. And of course

0:47:15.800 --> 0:47:23.839
<v Speaker 3>the answer in many cases is people are concerned that

0:47:23.880 --> 0:47:29.600
<v Speaker 3>Donald Trump will end their political lives, that he will

0:47:29.640 --> 0:47:34.480
<v Speaker 3>primary them and they will lose. And of course they

0:47:34.520 --> 0:47:38.440
<v Speaker 3>point to the Liz Cheney situation where she actually demonstrated

0:47:38.480 --> 0:47:45.360
<v Speaker 3>some principle and voted to impeach Donald Trump talked about

0:47:45.960 --> 0:47:51.160
<v Speaker 3>his lack in her view of patriotism and the danger

0:47:51.200 --> 0:47:54.400
<v Speaker 3>that he represented to democracy, and Liz Cheney at one

0:47:54.440 --> 0:47:57.480
<v Speaker 3>point was the number three Republican in the House of Representatives,

0:47:58.320 --> 0:48:01.760
<v Speaker 3>the daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, and it didn't

0:48:01.760 --> 0:48:08.600
<v Speaker 3>matter because she spoke out against them. Donald Trump targeted

0:48:08.920 --> 0:48:15.399
<v Speaker 3>her electorally primary her and she lost. And the same

0:48:15.440 --> 0:48:20.000
<v Speaker 3>thing happened to Adam Kinzinger, of course, particularly when those

0:48:20.000 --> 0:48:23.680
<v Speaker 3>two decided to participate in the January sixth Commission, which

0:48:23.719 --> 0:48:26.320
<v Speaker 3>exposed a lot of what took place in that violent

0:48:26.360 --> 0:48:31.200
<v Speaker 3>assault on the Capitol. So I think many of them

0:48:31.520 --> 0:48:34.480
<v Speaker 3>are in fear of their political lives, and that's been

0:48:35.080 --> 0:48:38.919
<v Speaker 3>part of the challenge. But we continue to say to them,

0:48:39.040 --> 0:48:43.879
<v Speaker 3>you were elected to defend your constituents, to stand up

0:48:44.440 --> 0:48:48.799
<v Speaker 3>for your constituents, and there's life after Congress, and you

0:48:48.840 --> 0:48:55.319
<v Speaker 3>should be willing to actually want to be able to

0:48:55.400 --> 0:48:58.240
<v Speaker 3>look back on your time in the House of Representatives

0:48:58.960 --> 0:49:03.480
<v Speaker 3>knowing that you can keep your head held high because

0:49:03.520 --> 0:49:07.920
<v Speaker 3>you did the right thing. Donald Trump is gone in

0:49:08.000 --> 0:49:13.439
<v Speaker 3>three and a half years, but their legacy, or their

0:49:13.520 --> 0:49:19.560
<v Speaker 3>failure to stand up to the extremism and the unprecedented

0:49:19.600 --> 0:49:23.040
<v Speaker 3>assault on America as we know it, will be with

0:49:23.239 --> 0:49:28.640
<v Speaker 3>them forever. Unless just a handful of Republicans, all we

0:49:28.680 --> 0:49:32.680
<v Speaker 3>need is four on the House side or four on

0:49:32.719 --> 0:49:35.560
<v Speaker 3>the Senate side to do the right thing. They're two

0:49:35.680 --> 0:49:38.600
<v Speaker 3>hundred and twenty Republicans in the House, we just need four.

0:49:40.440 --> 0:49:43.960
<v Speaker 3>That's less than two percent. And if less than two

0:49:44.040 --> 0:49:47.239
<v Speaker 3>percent of the Republicans in the House actually decide to

0:49:47.239 --> 0:49:51.319
<v Speaker 3>do the right thing, we can stop a lot of

0:49:51.360 --> 0:49:55.400
<v Speaker 3>the foolishness, the malignant foolishness, from taking place. And so

0:49:56.239 --> 0:49:58.439
<v Speaker 3>over these next eighteen months, we just continue to work

0:49:58.480 --> 0:50:02.560
<v Speaker 3>on that every day, every week, every month, privately, publicly.

0:50:03.680 --> 0:50:06.560
<v Speaker 3>What are colleagues on the other side of the eut Uh?

0:50:07.040 --> 0:50:07.920
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean I would.

0:50:08.000 --> 0:50:10.680
<v Speaker 2>I guess it's hard for me to have any sympathy

0:50:10.800 --> 0:50:13.239
<v Speaker 2>for them when they feel that way, because I'm like, well,

0:50:13.239 --> 0:50:15.680
<v Speaker 2>what are you elected for? Yeah, you were elected to

0:50:15.680 --> 0:50:17.800
<v Speaker 2>actually be a public servant. And this is part of

0:50:17.800 --> 0:50:20.880
<v Speaker 2>the responsibility. I want to pivot quickly to an issue

0:50:20.920 --> 0:50:25.880
<v Speaker 2>that became a very big issue for Democrats in this

0:50:26.000 --> 0:50:29.080
<v Speaker 2>last election that Donald Trump has continued and the Republican

0:50:29.120 --> 0:50:32.840
<v Speaker 2>Party has continued to use and weaponize against the Democratic Party,

0:50:32.840 --> 0:50:35.600
<v Speaker 2>and that is trans athletes in sports, and let's be

0:50:35.680 --> 0:50:39.680
<v Speaker 2>real specific, trans women in sports. You know, you saw

0:50:39.719 --> 0:50:43.480
<v Speaker 2>the ads that you know, one campaign of Kamala Harris

0:50:43.560 --> 0:50:48.400
<v Speaker 2>is for they them, not not you. And what was

0:50:48.440 --> 0:50:51.440
<v Speaker 2>never said and I never saw any Democrats in a

0:50:51.600 --> 0:50:56.160
<v Speaker 2>very you know, sort of a very bold or very

0:50:56.200 --> 0:51:01.279
<v Speaker 2>aggressive way is say that policy where prisoners are able

0:51:01.280 --> 0:51:03.840
<v Speaker 2>to get gender affirming care existed under Donald Trump, the

0:51:03.880 --> 0:51:06.120
<v Speaker 2>first time it's been existing for quite a long time.

0:51:06.160 --> 0:51:09.200
<v Speaker 2>It's a court order, so legally you are following the

0:51:09.280 --> 0:51:12.920
<v Speaker 2>law by allowing gender affirming care. And they use that

0:51:13.040 --> 0:51:16.319
<v Speaker 2>ad and you know another case in California where's a

0:51:16.360 --> 0:51:20.759
<v Speaker 2>trans woman competing in volleyball. Nevertheless, it feels as if,

0:51:20.840 --> 0:51:24.359
<v Speaker 2>rather than address this issue, that Democrats have chosen to

0:51:24.440 --> 0:51:25.359
<v Speaker 2>shrink from it.

0:51:26.400 --> 0:51:27.560
<v Speaker 1>Given everything that.

0:51:27.520 --> 0:51:31.400
<v Speaker 2>Has happened, and even though what you had the NCAA

0:51:31.440 --> 0:51:34.600
<v Speaker 2>president Charlie Baker, he was on the hill, he testified

0:51:34.680 --> 0:51:38.160
<v Speaker 2>there are five hundred thousand college athletes, ten are trans,

0:51:38.200 --> 0:51:42.640
<v Speaker 2>and he didn't say women or men. Nevertheless, this issue

0:51:42.760 --> 0:51:45.840
<v Speaker 2>has become one for your party that it doesn't seem

0:51:45.840 --> 0:51:49.800
<v Speaker 2>that has been addressed. How do you plan to strategize

0:51:50.120 --> 0:51:53.640
<v Speaker 2>against these attacks using a very vulnerable group of people

0:51:54.520 --> 0:51:58.480
<v Speaker 2>in a way where you don't abandon them and they

0:51:58.600 --> 0:52:01.000
<v Speaker 2>still feel like there is room under your take for them,

0:52:01.520 --> 0:52:06.040
<v Speaker 2>but also in a way that the American public can

0:52:06.080 --> 0:52:06.680
<v Speaker 2>get behind.

0:52:06.880 --> 0:52:10.640
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, well, the bullying of trans kids is unacceptable, and Republicans,

0:52:10.640 --> 0:52:13.600
<v Speaker 3>of course have tried to weaponize this issue in many ways.

0:52:13.880 --> 0:52:17.080
<v Speaker 3>As you've laid out, one of the first pieces of

0:52:17.160 --> 0:52:22.359
<v Speaker 3>legislation that Republicans brought earlier this year in a new

0:52:22.440 --> 0:52:25.880
<v Speaker 3>term was to try to jam Democrats up as it

0:52:25.920 --> 0:52:31.160
<v Speaker 3>relates to trans women in sports and what they were

0:52:31.400 --> 0:52:34.840
<v Speaker 3>seeking to do, and the way they framed it was

0:52:34.880 --> 0:52:38.040
<v Speaker 3>a nationwide band and I think our explanation. We voted

0:52:38.080 --> 0:52:42.440
<v Speaker 3>against the Republican bill in overwhelming numbers, and we were

0:52:42.520 --> 0:52:49.759
<v Speaker 3>very clear that their effort actually was going to unleash

0:52:50.080 --> 0:52:56.719
<v Speaker 3>bad behavior on girls in sports all across America. In fact,

0:52:56.760 --> 0:53:05.080
<v Speaker 3>we framed their bill Child Predator Empowerment Act because they

0:53:05.080 --> 0:53:12.560
<v Speaker 3>were calling for inspections of Genitalia in a circumstance where

0:53:12.600 --> 0:53:16.040
<v Speaker 3>we know abuses have taken place. Abuses have taken place

0:53:16.080 --> 0:53:20.319
<v Speaker 3>in football, abuses have taken place in gymnastics, abuses have

0:53:20.360 --> 0:53:24.600
<v Speaker 3>taken place in wrestling, and instead of responsibly trying to

0:53:24.640 --> 0:53:30.759
<v Speaker 3>deal with the issues of competition in sports and how

0:53:30.760 --> 0:53:35.799
<v Speaker 3>do we work through that in a community based way

0:53:36.640 --> 0:53:43.200
<v Speaker 3>that of course promotes the values of fairness, competitiveness, and participation.

0:53:44.360 --> 0:53:48.080
<v Speaker 3>They want to just weaponize the issue politically and so legislatively.

0:53:48.120 --> 0:53:51.759
<v Speaker 3>They tried to jam us up, and we didn't run

0:53:51.800 --> 0:53:58.680
<v Speaker 3>away from the issue. We exposed their hypocrisy, and they're

0:53:58.719 --> 0:54:03.640
<v Speaker 3>politicizing the issue in ways that would actually hurt the

0:54:03.680 --> 0:54:08.080
<v Speaker 3>young girls that they were purporting to want to help. Now,

0:54:08.360 --> 0:54:12.480
<v Speaker 3>I think my view at least is that these issues

0:54:13.239 --> 0:54:19.719
<v Speaker 3>should be resolved locally, at the local level, with maximum

0:54:19.920 --> 0:54:27.759
<v Speaker 3>parental involvement and maximum community involvement. And I think when

0:54:27.800 --> 0:54:31.640
<v Speaker 3>it comes to the what happened on the campaign trail,

0:54:32.080 --> 0:54:36.560
<v Speaker 3>you're absolutely right in terms of the policy that was

0:54:36.719 --> 0:54:43.000
<v Speaker 3>used against Vice President Harris was a policy that had

0:54:43.040 --> 0:54:45.720
<v Speaker 3>also been carried out by Donald Trump and the Trump

0:54:45.920 --> 0:54:50.960
<v Speaker 3>Justice Department connection with the court order. And I think

0:54:52.120 --> 0:54:58.160
<v Speaker 3>that if the campaign had it to do over again,

0:54:58.280 --> 0:55:03.759
<v Speaker 3>I presume, given the outcome, it would have been a

0:55:03.880 --> 0:55:11.080
<v Speaker 3>more forceful response to that add and the weaponization of

0:55:11.120 --> 0:55:14.799
<v Speaker 3>the issue against Kamala Harris. I can tell you that

0:55:14.880 --> 0:55:24.200
<v Speaker 3>moving forward, we will never allow Republicans to mischaracterize our

0:55:24.320 --> 0:55:28.200
<v Speaker 3>views on the issue, and we will never allow them

0:55:28.239 --> 0:55:33.640
<v Speaker 3>to run ads against our candidates that aren't forcefully responded

0:55:34.480 --> 0:55:39.280
<v Speaker 3>to immediately, and often before.

0:55:39.080 --> 0:55:40.799
<v Speaker 2>I get to the biggie question that we can wrap

0:55:40.880 --> 0:55:43.000
<v Speaker 2>up the pod, I do have a question for you

0:55:43.040 --> 0:55:45.800
<v Speaker 2>about Joe Biden. Obviously, there's a book out now, Jake Tapper,

0:55:45.840 --> 0:55:50.200
<v Speaker 2>Original Sin, that essentially accuses the Democratic Party and those

0:55:50.239 --> 0:55:54.960
<v Speaker 2>close to Joe Biden of covering up his declining mental health.

0:55:55.480 --> 0:55:58.799
<v Speaker 2>And as somebody who was in close contact with Joe

0:55:58.800 --> 0:56:05.120
<v Speaker 2>Biden quite a bit, what is your perspective or what

0:56:05.120 --> 0:56:09.360
<v Speaker 2>are your thoughts about how this narrative has now played out.

0:56:09.480 --> 0:56:12.759
<v Speaker 2>Did you see anything, were you aware of any kind

0:56:12.840 --> 0:56:15.799
<v Speaker 2>of mental decline? What was your view as someone who

0:56:15.880 --> 0:56:17.320
<v Speaker 2>had to work closely with the president?

0:56:17.640 --> 0:56:20.000
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, listen, I mean I think it was very interesting

0:56:20.040 --> 0:56:22.920
<v Speaker 3>because just a few months before that debate, Joe Biden

0:56:23.000 --> 0:56:27.839
<v Speaker 3>had come to Capitol Hill and the most significant high

0:56:27.840 --> 0:56:32.360
<v Speaker 3>profile appearance of his presidency, which is to deliver the

0:56:32.440 --> 0:56:35.560
<v Speaker 3>Joint Addressed to Congress. In that instance, it was actually

0:56:35.600 --> 0:56:37.640
<v Speaker 3>a State of the Union speaking of tens of millions

0:56:37.680 --> 0:56:41.920
<v Speaker 3>of Americans, and as you may recall, he came out

0:56:41.960 --> 0:56:49.160
<v Speaker 3>like smoking Joe Frazier and was getting at Republicans who

0:56:49.160 --> 0:56:51.760
<v Speaker 3>in real time people like Marjorie Taylor Green and Lauren

0:56:51.800 --> 0:56:53.799
<v Speaker 3>Bobot and others were trying to distract him and thw

0:56:53.840 --> 0:56:57.120
<v Speaker 3>them off his game and what was a hostile work environment.

0:56:57.800 --> 0:57:01.040
<v Speaker 3>Now at the same period of time, it's clear that

0:57:01.960 --> 0:57:08.479
<v Speaker 3>Joe Biden, who did acknowledge this, was slowing down as

0:57:08.680 --> 0:57:12.960
<v Speaker 3>he was getting older, and he made the right decision

0:57:14.239 --> 0:57:17.560
<v Speaker 3>in terms of not seeking reelection.

0:57:18.040 --> 0:57:19.560
<v Speaker 1>But did he make it at the right time.

0:57:19.760 --> 0:57:23.840
<v Speaker 3>Well, it came late and Vice President Harris only had

0:57:23.880 --> 0:57:27.720
<v Speaker 3>one hundred and seven days, and that clearly was a challenge.

0:57:27.800 --> 0:57:32.000
<v Speaker 3>And so my view is the best thing we can

0:57:32.040 --> 0:57:35.640
<v Speaker 3>do at this moment, as opposed to looking backward, is

0:57:35.680 --> 0:57:40.000
<v Speaker 3>to look forward and create a situation where something like

0:57:40.040 --> 0:57:45.000
<v Speaker 3>that never happens again, where we have an opportunity to

0:57:45.080 --> 0:57:49.400
<v Speaker 3>make sure that decisions are made about whether someone's going

0:57:49.480 --> 0:57:53.160
<v Speaker 3>to run or not, that we have next generation Democrats,

0:57:53.280 --> 0:57:56.760
<v Speaker 3>which I believe will be the case in the context

0:57:56.920 --> 0:57:59.840
<v Speaker 3>of both the candidates that we feel to take back

0:57:59.840 --> 0:58:02.960
<v Speaker 3>the House in twenty twenty six. But perhaps most importantly,

0:58:04.000 --> 0:58:07.280
<v Speaker 3>I think a competitive field of candidates who are going

0:58:07.320 --> 0:58:10.600
<v Speaker 3>to step forward in January or the early part of

0:58:10.600 --> 0:58:14.920
<v Speaker 3>twenty twenty seven to raise their hand and run for president,

0:58:15.760 --> 0:58:18.480
<v Speaker 3>and they'll be governors, and they'll be senators and maybe

0:58:18.480 --> 0:58:21.760
<v Speaker 3>some members of the House of Representatives and maybe former

0:58:22.120 --> 0:58:25.840
<v Speaker 3>cabinet secretaries. But I believe each and every one of

0:58:25.880 --> 0:58:30.240
<v Speaker 3>them are going to be next generation Democrats, the type

0:58:30.280 --> 0:58:36.920
<v Speaker 3>of candidate that can potentially emerge from a field of

0:58:38.120 --> 0:58:43.760
<v Speaker 3>great candidates and then excite the country in the way

0:58:43.760 --> 0:58:48.080
<v Speaker 3>that Barack Obama or Bill Clinton, or even Jimmy Carter

0:58:48.120 --> 0:58:51.680
<v Speaker 3>in the nineteen seventy six election, or certainly John F.

0:58:51.800 --> 0:58:57.160
<v Speaker 3>Kennedy when he ran in nineteen sixty excited the country.

0:58:57.520 --> 0:58:59.680
<v Speaker 2>All Right, we've reached the last question of the podcast,

0:58:59.680 --> 0:59:01.640
<v Speaker 2>and I call the Messing question. This is where we

0:59:01.680 --> 0:59:04.440
<v Speaker 2>make all the blogs and all the headlines representative Jeffries.

0:59:05.400 --> 0:59:08.200
<v Speaker 2>As many people know who know you, and they're familiar,

0:59:08.280 --> 0:59:10.120
<v Speaker 2>especially with your work when you're on the House floor.

0:59:11.080 --> 0:59:14.360
<v Speaker 1>You are a unabashed notorious Big fan. Biggie's your guy.

0:59:14.960 --> 0:59:18.120
<v Speaker 2>So how should jay Z feel about the fact that

0:59:18.160 --> 0:59:20.040
<v Speaker 2>you called Biggie the King of New York?

0:59:21.520 --> 0:59:25.400
<v Speaker 3>Well, listen, I mean, I think jay Z throughout his

0:59:25.560 --> 0:59:30.840
<v Speaker 3>career has always paid the greatest degree of respect to

0:59:30.960 --> 0:59:35.160
<v Speaker 3>the notorious Big He of course had the title meaning

0:59:35.200 --> 0:59:39.920
<v Speaker 3>Biggie the King of New York as he emerged in

0:59:40.040 --> 0:59:44.120
<v Speaker 3>nineteen ninety four and then in a few years there after.

0:59:44.320 --> 0:59:48.240
<v Speaker 3>And part of the reason why he got that title

0:59:48.880 --> 0:59:55.120
<v Speaker 3>is remember, right, you had run DMC and ll CUJ

0:59:56.000 --> 0:59:59.960
<v Speaker 3>and then kras won and rock Him and Big Daddy

1:00:01.040 --> 1:00:05.640
<v Speaker 3>Cain in Public Enemy and like New York hip hop

1:00:05.800 --> 1:00:13.320
<v Speaker 3>was killing it in the nineteen eighties. And then you know,

1:00:14.280 --> 1:00:16.280
<v Speaker 3>toward the end of the nineteen eighties, of course you

1:00:16.360 --> 1:00:21.520
<v Speaker 3>had NWA emerge and Straight out of Compton was a

1:00:21.520 --> 1:00:26.200
<v Speaker 3>big hit. But then Ice QB emerges when he breaks

1:00:26.240 --> 1:00:33.120
<v Speaker 3>from NWA, and then Doctor Dre and Snoop and deth

1:00:33.200 --> 1:00:37.840
<v Speaker 3>Row dropped the chronic and that's one of the greatest

1:00:38.600 --> 1:00:47.080
<v Speaker 3>records of all time. And gangster rap was emerging in

1:00:47.120 --> 1:00:49.520
<v Speaker 3>a way that was capturing large parts of the country.

1:00:50.560 --> 1:00:54.880
<v Speaker 3>And so the question was, you know, is is the

1:00:55.160 --> 1:00:58.560
<v Speaker 3>I mean, is the East Coast ever going to be

1:00:58.560 --> 1:01:04.760
<v Speaker 3>able to come back right from being knocked down by

1:01:04.800 --> 1:01:10.520
<v Speaker 3>the rise of Doctor Dre and Snoop ice Cube right,

1:01:10.560 --> 1:01:13.360
<v Speaker 3>and all these artists are on fire the Dog Pound,

1:01:15.040 --> 1:01:19.080
<v Speaker 3>and a lot of people credit Biggie Smalls Ready to

1:01:19.160 --> 1:01:21.480
<v Speaker 3>Die nineteen ninety four though you also have to give

1:01:21.520 --> 1:01:24.200
<v Speaker 3>credit to Wu Tang, You have to give credit to

1:01:24.360 --> 1:01:27.960
<v Speaker 3>Nas when you drop Illmatic, the Fujis and others. There

1:01:28.040 --> 1:01:32.280
<v Speaker 3>was a new generation hip hop artist that was emerging,

1:01:32.880 --> 1:01:36.120
<v Speaker 3>you know, in ninety three, but that really culminated with

1:01:36.280 --> 1:01:39.040
<v Speaker 3>Ready to Die in September ninety four, and then of

1:01:39.080 --> 1:01:42.440
<v Speaker 3>course Biggie just capturing the country by storm King of

1:01:42.480 --> 1:01:44.920
<v Speaker 3>New York. But I think he's given that title in

1:01:45.000 --> 1:01:48.960
<v Speaker 3>part because a lot of people view him, amongst others,

1:01:48.960 --> 1:01:53.320
<v Speaker 3>but first amongst equals in bringing the East back. And

1:01:53.480 --> 1:01:55.760
<v Speaker 3>I think even jay Z would acknowledge that. Now, we

1:01:55.840 --> 1:01:59.560
<v Speaker 3>never got to see what Biggie would become in terms

1:01:59.600 --> 1:02:01.960
<v Speaker 3>of his body of work. We did get to see

1:02:02.520 --> 1:02:06.240
<v Speaker 3>what jay Z would become, and it's been amazing, both

1:02:06.400 --> 1:02:11.240
<v Speaker 3>his legendary hip hop career and then of course his

1:02:11.320 --> 1:02:15.280
<v Speaker 3>legendary career as an entrepreneur. I'm not a business man.

1:02:15.400 --> 1:02:20.640
<v Speaker 3>I'm a business man. Let me go handle my business. Damn.

1:02:20.680 --> 1:02:24.400
<v Speaker 3>I mean, jay Z said it, he forecasted it, and

1:02:24.440 --> 1:02:26.720
<v Speaker 3>then he went out and did it right. So you

1:02:26.800 --> 1:02:28.400
<v Speaker 3>got to you gotta respect that.

1:02:29.480 --> 1:02:35.160
<v Speaker 2>So that answer, Loan, I see why you're in politics.

1:02:35.760 --> 1:02:40.280
<v Speaker 2>Well done, Well done, Representative Jeffrey's well done. Well listen,

1:02:41.080 --> 1:02:43.040
<v Speaker 2>you know, I know right now this is a very

1:02:43.040 --> 1:02:46.120
<v Speaker 2>perilous time in this country. But yeah, I mean there's

1:02:46.160 --> 1:02:48.880
<v Speaker 2>a lot of frustration, as you know, if you as

1:02:48.920 --> 1:02:52.360
<v Speaker 2>you have heard i'm sure from your constituents, from Democrats

1:02:52.440 --> 1:02:57.520
<v Speaker 2>just nationally what that is. But I am super curious

1:02:57.560 --> 1:03:00.520
<v Speaker 2>as to how, you know, moving forward, this party is

1:03:00.560 --> 1:03:03.960
<v Speaker 2>able to pick itself off the ground after obviously going

1:03:04.000 --> 1:03:05.560
<v Speaker 2>through a very very tough period.

1:03:06.520 --> 1:03:07.720
<v Speaker 1>So we will see.

1:03:08.000 --> 1:03:10.120
<v Speaker 2>I am fine to calling this Trump administration that whos

1:03:10.120 --> 1:03:12.960
<v Speaker 2>gonna check me buo administration because right now they just

1:03:13.320 --> 1:03:16.880
<v Speaker 2>they're just out here doing stuff. So we will see

1:03:16.880 --> 1:03:18.080
<v Speaker 2>what comes of it. But I want to thank you

1:03:18.160 --> 1:03:21.040
<v Speaker 2>for giving your time and more importantly for continuing to

1:03:21.040 --> 1:03:23.360
<v Speaker 2>communicate messages that you feel like will be helpful to

1:03:23.400 --> 1:03:25.160
<v Speaker 2>the American people.

1:03:25.240 --> 1:03:26.520
<v Speaker 1>And good luck.

1:03:27.080 --> 1:03:29.600
<v Speaker 3>Well, thank you. I appreciate you definitely wilding out in

1:03:29.640 --> 1:03:33.360
<v Speaker 3>terms of the Trump administration. But we're gonna end this

1:03:33.480 --> 1:03:36.800
<v Speaker 3>national nightmare. It's going to happen. Part of it will

1:03:36.800 --> 1:03:39.640
<v Speaker 3>involve us taking back control of the House. But then

1:03:39.640 --> 1:03:42.000
<v Speaker 3>we of course have to finish the job, and we will.

1:03:42.080 --> 1:03:45.919
<v Speaker 3>We'll get past this and bring about a brighter day

1:03:46.040 --> 1:03:48.600
<v Speaker 3>in the United States of America. All right, thank you,

1:03:49.200 --> 1:03:49.560
<v Speaker 3>thank you.

1:03:51.520 --> 1:03:54.360
<v Speaker 1>One more segment to go, coming up next, the Final Spin.

1:04:06.000 --> 1:04:07.720
<v Speaker 1>All right, time for the Final Spin.

1:04:08.000 --> 1:04:11.720
<v Speaker 2>This week's topic the riots, and I'm using air quotes

1:04:11.760 --> 1:04:13.840
<v Speaker 2>there in Los Angeles the spin.

1:04:14.040 --> 1:04:14.919
<v Speaker 1>According to some.

1:04:14.880 --> 1:04:17.160
<v Speaker 2>In the right wing media, mostly the streets have been

1:04:17.200 --> 1:04:19.680
<v Speaker 2>taken over by herdened criminals, and those of us who

1:04:19.760 --> 1:04:22.480
<v Speaker 2>live here in Los Angeles are under sieged by roving

1:04:22.560 --> 1:04:26.440
<v Speaker 2>bands of undocumented people who have committed a ton of primes.

1:04:26.840 --> 1:04:29.440
<v Speaker 1>The truth. Let me tell you what I see right

1:04:29.480 --> 1:04:29.880
<v Speaker 1>now as.

1:04:29.800 --> 1:04:32.320
<v Speaker 2>I'm looking out my window of my office, which is

1:04:32.320 --> 1:04:35.320
<v Speaker 2>in the heart of Los Angeles. It's eighty degrees. A

1:04:35.360 --> 1:04:38.120
<v Speaker 2>few pedestrians are on the streets and parked cars. Nothing

1:04:38.200 --> 1:04:41.720
<v Speaker 2>is on fire. They are not bands of undocumented criminals

1:04:41.760 --> 1:04:44.600
<v Speaker 2>being out of control, nor any out of control protesters.

1:04:44.960 --> 1:04:47.720
<v Speaker 2>The media often acts like Los Angeles is a small

1:04:47.720 --> 1:04:48.600
<v Speaker 2>town in Georgia.

1:04:48.640 --> 1:04:50.640
<v Speaker 1>There are over four million people who live here.

1:04:50.760 --> 1:04:53.280
<v Speaker 2>These protests are taking place on a few blocks in

1:04:53.320 --> 1:04:55.880
<v Speaker 2>downtown Los Angeles, which right now, if I got in

1:04:55.960 --> 1:04:57.800
<v Speaker 2>my car tried to make it downtown, it take me

1:04:57.840 --> 1:05:00.320
<v Speaker 2>probably about forty five minutes to get there. Because a

1:05:00.400 --> 1:05:04.120
<v Speaker 2>track Los Angeles is not experiencing some crisis despite what

1:05:04.240 --> 1:05:06.640
<v Speaker 2>is being said by the President and others who simply

1:05:06.680 --> 1:05:10.040
<v Speaker 2>want to gaslight the public to justify them sending the

1:05:10.080 --> 1:05:12.160
<v Speaker 2>military into an American city.

1:05:12.360 --> 1:05:14.960
<v Speaker 1>Now, Donald Trump desperately wants to be the bull conner

1:05:15.000 --> 1:05:15.560
<v Speaker 1>of this era.

1:05:16.080 --> 1:05:18.760
<v Speaker 2>He wants to retaliate against Los Angeles because he didn't

1:05:18.800 --> 1:05:21.040
<v Speaker 2>like the governor Gavin Newsom, he didn't like the mayor

1:05:21.120 --> 1:05:23.600
<v Speaker 2>Karen Bass, and he doesn't like that this state was

1:05:23.640 --> 1:05:27.000
<v Speaker 2>also very supportive of Kamala Harris. And it just bothers

1:05:27.080 --> 1:05:29.800
<v Speaker 2>him that a city like Los Angeles just doesn't fuck

1:05:29.800 --> 1:05:32.640
<v Speaker 2>with him like that. Now the President is petty, He's

1:05:32.680 --> 1:05:35.320
<v Speaker 2>also petulant, and the sad thing is he's got the

1:05:35.320 --> 1:05:38.520
<v Speaker 2>full force of the government behind him to support his

1:05:38.640 --> 1:05:43.040
<v Speaker 2>worst instincts. Lucky ess all right, This concludes another episode

1:05:43.040 --> 1:05:46.000
<v Speaker 2>Does Politics. Make sure that you get at me on

1:05:46.080 --> 1:05:48.240
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1:05:48.360 --> 1:05:50.720
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1:06:20.360 --> 1:06:23.560
<v Speaker 2>A new episode of Politics drops every Thursday on iHeart

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<v Speaker 2>where sports and politics don't just mix, they matter. Politics

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<v Speaker 2>is the production of iHeart Podcasts and the Unbothered Network.

1:06:40.560 --> 1:06:44.840
<v Speaker 2>I'm your host Jamel Hill. Executive producer is Taylor Schakoigne.

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<v Speaker 2>music for Spolitics provided by Kyle VISs from wiz Fx