WEBVTT - How to Buy a Politician 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.120 Native Land Pod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership 0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:04.560 with Resent Choice Media. 0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:07.920 Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome. 0:00:08.280 --> 0:00:11.320 Muslims have sometimes, whether you have or not, and I 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:13.880 think probably you have have sometimes it seemed to me 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:18.640 been preaching hate to meet hate. I don't advocate any 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:19.400 kind of hate. 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:21.640 A lot of talk that sounds very much like it. 0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:24.320 No, I think that the guilt complex of the American 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:27.520 white man is so profound until when you begin to 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:31.600 analyze the real condition of the black man in America. 0:00:32.200 --> 0:00:35.479 Instead of the American white man eliminating the causes that 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:38.319 create that condition, he tries to cover it up by 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:42.760 accusing his accusers of teaching hate, but actually they're just 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:46.519 exposing him for being responsible for what exists. 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:51.159 Welcome home, y'all, Welcome home. This is episode seventy one 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:53.640 of Native Land Pod. That was, of course the Good 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:56.760 Brother Malcolm X. He was in a conversation in an 0:00:56.800 --> 0:01:02.520 interview with a graduate student, a sociology graduate student, Herman Blake, 0:01:03.400 --> 0:01:07.760 and Professor John Leggett. So we got a lot to 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:10.039 get to today, and we want to get right into it. 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:13.840 We don't want to keep you waiting On our pre 0:01:13.880 --> 0:01:16.000 production call, we were talking about what we want to 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:18.200 talk about today, and Angela, I think you had a 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:19.040 really good topic. 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:23.480 Well, thank you, tiv. I think what is really important 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:25.640 given where we are in this country right now, we're 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:28.200 hearing people all over the country talking about wanting to 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:31.760 see a fight from their elected officials, and they're like, 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:34.480 what is holding y'all back? We have a secret for y'all. 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:36.920 It's called special interest. We're going to talk a little 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:40.039 bit about special interest the outside role they play in 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:42.399 our political process. And Andrew might have a story or 0:01:42.400 --> 0:01:43.400 two to tell himself. 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:49.880 Ad what you got, good friend? There are stories, There 0:01:49.920 --> 0:01:52.640 are many. I appreciate this question because I think this 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:56.280 is the part of politics that is the subtext, the underspoken, 0:01:56.480 --> 0:02:01.320 never spoken, probably never seen part that is the heavyweight 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:03.120 in the room, to be quite frankly, and I'll talk 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:05.400 to you about what it looks like at the I. 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:07.560 Love the idea of talking about special interests because there 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:10.560 are also geopolitical special interests that we're seeing play out 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:13.520 and have a direct impact on our domestic policy here 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:17.000 in America. So I definitely want to get into that. 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:19.280 So the whole show, we're talking about special interest and 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:21.080 I just want to remind folks we too have our 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:23.800 own special interests and we'll get into that in the 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:26.560 conversation too. So let's get into it. Let's kick us out. 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:33.320 So I think we have a question from a viewer 0:02:33.800 --> 0:02:36.880 that can speak, can help us get into this conversation. 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:37.800 Let's hear from the viewer. 0:02:38.520 --> 0:02:43.440 High Native lampod Hi, Andrew, Hi, Tiffany, Hi, Angela. I 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:45.440 love you guys, Thank you all so much. I just 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:49.280 have one question. What is the goal of Project twenty 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:53.000 twenty five. What are they wanting this country to look like? 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:56.080 I've read the book nineteen eighty four by George Orwell 0:02:56.720 --> 0:03:01.840 and is the cistopian America? Was like, that's where they're going. 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:05.400 But what are we suffering through? They want us to suffer. 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.760 They want us to you know, ride this wave, but 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:12.560 they're firing, you know, a million federal workers. They are 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:19.639 pulling back regulations, they're defunding and canceling, you know, the education. 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:23.400 And it's like, what is this country supposed to look 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:25.080 like when you're all done? And said, you know, the 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:27.920 rich get richer and the poor get poor, But like, 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:31.160 what is this world? What are we supposed to look like, 0:03:31.160 --> 0:03:34.760 what are we supposed to do? But thank you all 0:03:34.760 --> 0:03:37.160 for all that you do. Love you bye. 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:44.480 I love that. Make fiction again. That is the mantra. Honestly, 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:49.480 that's so many of us. Yeah, yeah, it is. It's 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:52.840 really it's it's scary to see what happened. And I 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:55.240 love this question speaking of special interest because I think 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:58.400 that is the special interest that had such a huge 0:03:58.400 --> 0:04:01.200 impact on the campaign is having a huge impact on 0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:03.920 the country. I got to say to me, the goal 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:07.640 of Project twenty twenty five is Black folks. I think 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:10.920 we are at the center of all of this policy, 0:04:10.920 --> 0:04:11.920 of all of this hatred. 0:04:12.320 --> 0:04:12.680 It is. 0:04:14.800 --> 0:04:16.120 A concentrated effort. 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:18.200 I was like, wait a minute, what, it's. 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:23.760 A concentrated effort to oppress and suppress. Yes, And it 0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:29.120 is making me revisit the entire conversation that can we 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:32.480 even coexist here? I was recently having this conversation about 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:37.479 you know, when President Abraham Lincoln said we like we 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:39.760 should get rid of the black folks, like we cannot 0:04:39.960 --> 0:04:42.600 coexist with them. And I have to say, I think 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:45.640 he may have had a point because he essentially said, 0:04:45.680 --> 0:04:49.440 they will never forgive us for enslaving them, and white 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:52.680 people will never want the stain of slavery around them, 0:04:52.720 --> 0:04:55.200 So let's give them some money and ship them out 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:57.679 of America. And you look at us hundreds of years later, 0:04:58.040 --> 0:05:00.440 and I do I think it is always it's been 0:05:00.640 --> 0:05:03.520 a bitter battle in this country because we are the 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:07.080 keepers of America's memory, and so this anti black discrimination 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:11.280 has a wide impact and cast a dark shadow across 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:13.560 so many areas of our politics. And they were able 0:05:13.600 --> 0:05:17.200 to convince other people to hate black folks too. And 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:19.320 there were certain people who are now considered white, but 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:21.839 they didn't have white folk. The Italians weren't considered white 0:05:21.839 --> 0:05:23.760 for a while, and then they got white privilege. And 0:05:23.920 --> 0:05:25.839 the way you the fastest way to get that is 0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:28.880 to hop one hat and black folks. So I think 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:31.760 we are at the center of all of this discord, 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:33.880 to be honest with you. 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:36.719 You know, when I heard this question, one, thank you 0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:40.200 for the brilliant question. We do love you too. We 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:44.120 started the show with Malcolm X, you know, a prophet 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:50.440 in his own time, talking about that they will change 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:54.000 the what is happening to say that the people who 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:59.360 are the recorders and documentaris of accurate history are not ahistorical, 0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:02.839 are not real vision is his history. Tellers will be 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:06.039 made to seem like they are the actual haters. And 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:09.360 I think that accountability is not hate, even though it's uncomfortable. 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:13.640 And you know, when I think about the question, because 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:16.000 we did a whole podcast on Project twenty twenty five, 0:06:16.080 --> 0:06:18.400 what is it? What is its origins? Thank you to 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:20.440 all of you who've watched it. It's one of our 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:24.360 biggest shows. Please visit it again, Please visit it especially 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:27.200 for the underpinnings of Project twenty twenty five to the 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:30.359 point of the question. But I think the fundamental question 0:06:30.440 --> 0:06:33.440 here is what do they want the country to look like? 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:38.640 You know what does the country they imagine include us? 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:41.600 Does it include brown people, does it include the actual 0:06:41.720 --> 0:06:46.520 founders of this space, people from Indian country? Or does 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:50.520 it exclude everyone because they think white is right? You know, 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:53.640 do they think that make America great again? I remember 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:56.960 they did this poll around the twenty sixteen election about 0:06:56.960 --> 0:06:59.240 what was the era? Right then? You want to get 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:02.600 back to that demonstrates when America was at its greatest, 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:05.320 and these my mothers went into the fifties. Yeah, you know, 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:08.680 they went to the pre civil rights era. And what 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:11.000 I got to tell you guys, and I don't want 0:07:11.040 --> 0:07:16.600 to disrespect our predecessors at all, but I think that 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:19.640 we almost in nineteen fifty. Right now, in twenty twenty five, 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:22.160 it feels like they rolled back all of these rights. 0:07:22.200 --> 0:07:24.480 I'm not going to say his name, but I had 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:27.920 a really interesting conversation with a thought leader among us 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:32.960 right now who said, you know what I think we 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:35.120 have to pay attention to is we spent all this 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:40.320 time focusing on civil rights advancements, our voting rights, affordable housing, 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:46.400 fair housing, access, equal opportunity, and employment and education. And 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:49.360 they were able to roll that back in less than 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:54.000 two months. So if we were to examine where we 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:58.160 put our focus to the same point that Congressman wrangel 0:07:58.280 --> 0:08:01.880 raised upon his retirement from Congress and a CBC meeting, 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:05.520 he said, have we spent too much time focusing on 0:08:05.560 --> 0:08:09.360 social policy and not none enough on economic policy? The 0:08:09.520 --> 0:08:12.520 reason they are able to advance in these ways at 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:14.600 our expense is because they can afford it. 0:08:16.320 --> 0:08:19.960 Andrew I Angela raised a really good questions, your thoughts, 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:23.800 have we spent too much time advancing social policy and 0:08:23.880 --> 0:08:26.400 not economic That was mister Rangles, That's. 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:28.640 What he was. It was a conundrum you could see 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:31.240 the pain on his face. Like and mister Rangel and 0:08:31.280 --> 0:08:33.360 I didn't agree on every single thing, but he's a 0:08:33.360 --> 0:08:35.880 CBC founder. He was a part of the group that 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:39.280 sent the sixty one recommendations to Richard Nixon. Most of them, 0:08:39.640 --> 0:08:41.640 not all of them, but most of them focus on 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:45.440 social policy. Even the way that we approached housing access 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:48.440 was about what was fair and just and not about 0:08:48.440 --> 0:08:50.760 giving us the resources to afford to be where they 0:08:50.800 --> 0:08:52.600 are or even to be where we are. 0:08:52.720 --> 0:08:55.360 It's because it didn't matter how much, but it didn't 0:08:55.360 --> 0:08:55.800 matter how much. 0:08:55.840 --> 0:08:58.839 But that's the thing, and right now it doesn't matter 0:08:58.880 --> 0:09:01.480 how much because they are able to lock us out 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:03.680 all of all of all of our progress. And it's 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:06.400 a damn shame. You know. I'm not and that's gonna say. 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:08.440 I'm not trying to disrespect our forebeers, but I do 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:10.719 think we got to wrestle with this because as we 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:13.520 prepare for a fight, and as we lean into what 0:09:13.600 --> 0:09:17.800 it means to persist, resist and oppose, what is the 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:20.800 right lane. Do we go right back to protecting voting 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:23.040 rights and civil rights and all this, or do we 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:26.640 go into fighting for our own space, our own dollars, 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:29.520 our own access, our own communities, so they can't take 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:29.959 it away. 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:33.400 I don't know, but I don't. I want to hear 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:36.080 from you, Andrew. I just as I talked to you, 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:38.840 I want to say we did that. So we when 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:41.560 we carved out a little tiny space for ourselves in 0:09:41.600 --> 0:09:45.120 the Green District of Pulse, they weren't bothering anybody. These 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:47.760 are people who were just living their life, and they 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:50.280 found it and killed us. The US government they bombed 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:52.520 the shit out of us. You know, they came in 0:09:52.600 --> 0:09:56.680 and murdered men, women, children. It was state sanctioned murders. 0:09:56.679 --> 0:10:01.040 And so there is something in the right that was 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:04.840 not the anomaly, that was the norm, because years prior 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:07.400 to that, the Red Summer of nineteen nineteen, it was 0:10:07.600 --> 0:10:12.800 rampant violence across this country aimed at black people, black communities. So, Andrew, 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:16.520 I don't know that. I don't know that it can 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:19.720 be one or the other, or should we be fighting 0:10:19.760 --> 0:10:22.560 for both, or does this even system of capitalism ever 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:23.600 serve us? 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:27.240 I mean, I so do respect to the Congressman. I 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:32.680 actually don't believe that the fight has been social exclusive. 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:36.200 I actually think the values that brought us to the 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:42.720 fight may feel social racial and gender parody, so that 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:47.000 we can compete, but compete for what, to compete for jobs, 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:50.840 to compete for schools that would educate our children and 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:56.720 make them qualify for the positions that paid higher wages. 0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:01.000 We fought for fair housing so that when folks went 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:04.200 out and worked a full time plus days of work, 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:07.160 that they could then invest in this economy by affording 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:10.719 to live where it is that they work. When our 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:14.880 four parents fought for much of the social safety net, 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:18.800 I would argue, practically all of it is economic in nature. 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:22.679 So I actually, I actually believe that while our fight 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:31.319 has been informed by our consciousness around fairness and ending discrimination, 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:35.760 it has all been toward the end goal of being 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:38.640 able to earn a wage that you can live on, 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:41.320 take care of yourself and your family, and have a 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:44.680 vacation every once in a while. So that's just my 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:47.520 slight exception, and folks may land on different sides of that. 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:49.600 And then to the question around Project twenty twenty five, 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:52.360 I'll say two things. One, I think part of its 0:11:52.400 --> 0:11:56.560 goal was to turn what we right now associate as 0:11:57.240 --> 0:12:01.800 a democracy with three branches of government helmed by an 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:06.440 executive branch. They would like to create what they discussed 0:12:06.480 --> 0:12:08.920 as the administrative They want to get rid of what 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:12.880 they call the administrative state, which is all these agencies 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:16.520 running things, and they want to create the unitary executive, 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:21.400 all powerful, all being exempt from criminal prosecutions, who can 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:25.480 make decisions unilaterally, to shut departments, to decide whether to 0:12:25.559 --> 0:12:28.880 enforce laws, so on and so forth. So they argue 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:34.120 a very different picture of what democracy looks like than 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:35.880 I think how most of us conceive of it. But 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:39.240 I would argue that their belief is probably closer to 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:42.440 where the Framers were. Remember, the Framers didn't give everybody 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:44.319 the right to vote, not even all white people. It 0:12:44.440 --> 0:12:48.920 gave all white property owning men the right to vote. 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:51.920 They did not believe largely in direct democracy in the 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:54.040 sense that you vote for the person, and whoever votes 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:57.440 the most of that person wins. No, they thought that 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:01.640 the emotions of the people, the emotions of the general public, 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:06.360 needed to be muted, or at least the edge taken 0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:13.200 off by a more sophisticated, smarter, intelligent, a richer group 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:18.360 of white men who could then calm the passions of 0:13:18.400 --> 0:13:23.880 the people. So they have today. This is wild, but 0:13:23.920 --> 0:13:26.719 that's because that's exactly what they believe in. It's been 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:28.720 it's been the belief since the very beginning. And then 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:31.000 the second part of the response on present between twenty 0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:34.120 five is to say they hold I think I think 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:36.400 your point Tiffany was right that black people, but I 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:41.520 would argue that it's been black people, uh and eliminating 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:45.240 us as as a productive part of this society by 0:13:45.360 --> 0:13:49.080 virtue of what conditions exist that allow our uplift in 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:52.480 the first place? What do I mean? I believe that 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:55.280 they are intent on destroying the entirety of the social 0:13:55.360 --> 0:13:58.520 safety net, social security. They were not for it when 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:02.160 it was proposed. It happened because there was a Democratic 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:06.520 president and a super majority Democratic Senate. When we think 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:10.480 about retirement benefits, they don't support that. When we think 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:15.599 about medicaid, medicare they believe in this mythology of the 0:14:15.640 --> 0:14:19.000 survival of the fittest that whoever survives were the ones 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:22.160 who were fit and meant to survive. Donald Trump told 0:14:22.240 --> 0:14:24.040 us that in the first administration, he said, the people 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:26.920 who are affected mostly by COVID are folks who are 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:31.080 already sick, are older, or are the black people. They 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:33.280 said that he said it from a white House, right. 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:37.720 So I think where they want to go is back 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:41.720 to a time where if you had means and wealth, 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:46.440 name and privilege, this country was for you. And anyone 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:50.120 who didn't have that in their possession, you fail by 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:52.840 the wayside. Oh you can't afford retirement, find you sleep 0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:55.560 on the streets. Oh you can't afford to get health care? 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:58.800 Then and die. I don't mean, I mean, I don't 0:14:58.840 --> 0:15:02.520 mean to be dismissive in anyway or cute by one half. 0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:06.320 This is their vision of the country, and through Project 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:08.400 twenty twenty five and then dismantling of all of this, 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:11.320 they are well on their way to trying to achieve 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:13.280 the kind of country that they that they that they 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:14.840 believe should have existed in the first world. 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:17.160 That gets to that this question of special interest though. 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:21.240 You know, Angela, you were looking into special interests when 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:25.160 it comes to members of Congress, and I to Andrew's point, 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:28.760 that is something that is not talked about. I keep 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:31.680 saying it every podcast. I'm not going to stop this podcast. 0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:36.440 It is such a gross failure of American media and 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:39.000 journalism that we don't talk more about that and highlight 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:42.560 who is funding some of these members. Because Project twenty 0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:44.480 twenty five was funded. You know, it came out of 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:47.040 the Heritage Foundation, but there are people funding it. This 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:52.000 presidency is funded by a sole immigrant, for the record, 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:56.560 not an American citizen who bought the presidency for this man. 0:15:56.880 --> 0:16:00.000 He's funding, you know, a lot of pieces he's defunded 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:03.280 the government while funding his own special projects through the government. 0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:07.040 And members of Congress are right and the government funding him, 0:16:07.440 --> 0:16:09.720 and members of Congress are standing by watching this happen 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:12.440 amidst you know, some of these angry town halls. Why 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:15.360 on earth would that be? And as you talk to 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:17.960 US Angela, I think it's also important to explain the 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:20.280 laws around it because this was a big part of 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:23.560 Citizens United. There used to be caps on how much 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:26.800 you could contribute to a member of Congress and individually 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:28.560 what I think it's twenty five hundred? Do I have 0:16:28.600 --> 0:16:28.920 that wrong? 0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:36.720 Per yes? But but it's a five would you say no? 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:36.880 No? 0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:37.040 No? 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:39.280 The numbers may change, but you're right, there is a 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:40.080 cat As. 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:43.480 An individual, I can only give five thousand total to 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:44.280 any candidate. 0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:45.680 There's a thing. 0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:52.160 Per ye, yes, per cycle for a primary and primary 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:55.200 if you know what, let me look because I'm trying 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:56.680 I was trying to look up something I don't I 0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:58.280 actually don't want to go down this road because I 0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:00.800 have like a lot on the special, but I want to. 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:02.160 Let mean, since it was brought up, I'm going to 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:03.840 get the facts right. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I want 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:07.080 five thousand for a pack and it's different for individual. 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:11.679 I've bring that up. Yeah, but what's the individual federal 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:15.120 contract and contributed contriversial limit, federal. 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:20.439 Contract primaria and in general? 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:27.480 Yeah, okay, so producer visual and a pack can do 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:29.840 five thousand in the primary and five thousand and in 0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:33.440 general for a total of ten. Course that's different. That's 0:17:33.440 --> 0:17:36.080 an independent expenditure which brings us back to Citizens United 0:17:36.119 --> 0:17:36.480 carry out. 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:38.119 Yes, so super paid. I don't know if you all 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:41.199 could hear our producer Lolo off camera was given us 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:44.359 some good info. Thirty three hundred for an individual during 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:48.439 a cycle, five thousand for a political action committee and 0:17:48.480 --> 0:17:50.919 when you know the Citizens United are ruling. I mean, 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:56.040 it essentially changed campaign financing and that is a huge 0:17:56.200 --> 0:17:58.880 challenge in this country. That is a debate for another time. 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:01.960 But I wanted to introduced that so we could understand 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:04.879 why some of these people while you have private interests 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:09.400 controlling how our government functions. 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:13.680 Yeah, y'all will continue the conversation about special interests. Stay 0:18:13.760 --> 0:18:16.840 tuned to see who else is so specially interested. We'll 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:17.960 be back after the breakdown. 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:33.760 I just wanted to take a minute to look up 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:35.639 some of this, and so I want to use this 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:40.840 as a backdrop. This conversation for us came up today 0:18:41.280 --> 0:18:45.879 because we were talking about the continuing resolution last week. 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:48.920 You all know I did a mini pod yesterday talking 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:52.040 about Schumer gotta go and laying out the reasons why 0:18:52.720 --> 0:18:55.240 I think we get to a place in our body politics, 0:18:55.240 --> 0:19:00.920 tiff and Andrew, where you literally can no longer hear 0:19:01.040 --> 0:19:03.360 the voices of the people. It is drowned out by 0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:07.400 the size of the contributions of your biggest donors. They 0:19:07.440 --> 0:19:10.159 have direct access to you and your cell phone number. 0:19:10.400 --> 0:19:12.600 They have your personal email address and at ben Yo 0:19:12.680 --> 0:19:16.080 family's house for a barbecue. Your constituents have never had 0:19:16.119 --> 0:19:18.840 that access to you or that point of privilege. These 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:23.400 are the kinds of things that make people completely jaded, 0:19:23.480 --> 0:19:26.119 eyes glaze over. Me would bring up politics, It's like 0:19:26.280 --> 0:19:27.880 this is never going to be a level playing field. 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:30.440 Why should we even get involved? I actually get that. 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:33.399 And I can say, as a former staffer who has 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:37.000 set up fundraisers for my bosses, who had to ensure 0:19:37.040 --> 0:19:39.600 that we were talking to donors, there's a cooling off 0:19:39.640 --> 0:19:42.600 period between when somebody can write a check and when 0:19:42.680 --> 0:19:45.960 they can ask for something from a member of Congress. 0:19:46.480 --> 0:19:49.399 But nevertheless they can still ask, and of course constituents 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:52.159 can too, but I can tell you from firsthand experience, 0:19:52.440 --> 0:19:55.920 it is a different experience with the donor. It just is. Now. 0:19:56.640 --> 0:19:59.720 I think what is potentially are particularly troubling to me 0:19:59.800 --> 0:20:03.080 from last week, as we know in the Senate there 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:07.960 were ten Democrats who voted with Chuck or tintotal voting 0:20:07.960 --> 0:20:11.119 with the Republicans, including Chuck Schumer who's the centimonority leader, 0:20:11.640 --> 0:20:13.960 on this bill to keep the government open. And we 0:20:14.119 --> 0:20:16.960 talked to government employees. They did not want the government 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:19.400 to stay open because we've all been arguing the government's 0:20:19.440 --> 0:20:22.240 been shut down. They are abusing their power and waste, 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:25.280 broad abuses running rampant. Why are we even doing this 0:20:25.359 --> 0:20:29.040 well special interests. So this is what I was able 0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:32.080 to attain. I want to shout out our producer Lolo, 0:20:32.200 --> 0:20:34.440 who sent this over to me, but I just want 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:37.080 to run through some of these really quick, and all 0:20:37.080 --> 0:20:38.920 of them aren't bad, but I think it's important. Here 0:20:38.920 --> 0:20:43.120 are the top donors from the folks who voted in 0:20:43.160 --> 0:20:46.440 favor of the continuing Resolution last week. Despite what the 0:20:46.480 --> 0:20:49.120 people said, which was overwhelming, we do vote against this thing, 0:20:49.560 --> 0:20:53.080 so Senator Jean Shaheen, who is not running again. The 0:20:53.280 --> 0:20:56.560 largest donor was Emily's list at one hundred and fifty 0:20:56.640 --> 0:21:00.440 nine thousand dollars. That's New Hampshire, Yes, New Hampshire. Brian 0:21:00.760 --> 0:21:05.160 Shatts of Hawaii Charter Communications. Senator Gary Peters of Michigan 0:21:05.240 --> 0:21:07.760 University of Michigan, which I find fascinating his four hundred 0:21:07.800 --> 0:21:11.120 five hundred thousand dollars, and I still think this might 0:21:11.160 --> 0:21:14.240 be LOLO over the course of five years. But nevertheless, 0:21:14.280 --> 0:21:18.720 it's important to understand. Senator Angus King, biggest donor American 0:21:18.800 --> 0:21:22.520 Israeli Public Affairs Committee. That's a PAC independent he is, 0:21:22.560 --> 0:21:28.160 but he caucuses with the dooms. Senator Maggie Hassen Emily's list. 0:21:28.520 --> 0:21:31.960 Senator Dick Durbin Power Rogers LLP, which I assume is 0:21:31.960 --> 0:21:37.120 a law firm in Illinois. Senator Catherine Cortez Vasto Emily's list, 0:21:37.400 --> 0:21:42.679 Senator Kirsten Jillibrand Apak Senator Chuck Schumer Blackstone Group. Now, 0:21:42.680 --> 0:21:44.520 I went to Chuck Schumer last week because I was like, no, 0:21:44.680 --> 0:21:50.360 why what the Blackstone Group care about a shutdown? I'm 0:21:50.400 --> 0:21:53.439 so glad you asked. Let me tell you why. So. 0:21:53.720 --> 0:21:58.160 Blackstone Group is an asset management company that is also 0:21:58.200 --> 0:22:01.800 an investment firm. I fill up this fortune piece. I'm 0:22:01.840 --> 0:22:06.000 being accountable to our resident journalist, Tiffany d. Cross. The 0:22:06.000 --> 0:22:11.119 title of this piece is Blackstone's seventeen billion dollar property 0:22:11.200 --> 0:22:14.960 lending arm isn't giving up on its office bets. What 0:22:15.080 --> 0:22:19.640 happened last Monday, y'all? Somebody tell me what happened last Monday. 0:22:19.920 --> 0:22:24.320 I'm so glad you asked. Beteral workers had to go 0:22:24.520 --> 0:22:27.960