WEBVTT - 'This Is What We Stand For..."  Lanhee Chen Talks to A&G

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<v Speaker 1>Start reading your Violins infrastructure proposal, and I'm trying to

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<v Speaker 1>be fair, but one thing that stands out. They propose

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<v Speaker 1>a hundred billion dollars for clean drinking water, a hundred

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<v Speaker 1>billions for the electrical grid, a hundred billion in high

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<v Speaker 1>speed broadband, a hundred billion of workforce development. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>that is remarkable. What are the odds that in each

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<v Speaker 1>of these categories the number we need, the investment we

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<v Speaker 1>need would be identical, and then in each category that

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<v Speaker 1>would be a nice round number, like a hundred billion dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>That's Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher making the obvious point that

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<v Speaker 1>if it's a hundred billion, if they're all a hundred billion,

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<v Speaker 1>obviously you're just picking a number out of thin air.

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<v Speaker 1>I have a new favorite congressman. That is great and obvious,

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<v Speaker 1>but I hadn't anybody else say it. That's terrific. I

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<v Speaker 1>want to ask about that with our guests, but I

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<v Speaker 1>got another question first, and I'm very hot to tront

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<v Speaker 1>about excellent our guests, the most wonderful longhe chan sounds

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<v Speaker 1>like I want to date them. It's respect, professional respect.

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<v Speaker 1>He is the David and Diane and Stephy fellow in

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<v Speaker 1>American Public Policy Studies at the Hoover Institution, Director of

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<v Speaker 1>Domestic Policy Studies at Stanford University Lon He how are you, sir?

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<v Speaker 1>I am doing well this morning. How are you? Guys?

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<v Speaker 1>You actually have Dodgers fan on your Twitter like handily,

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<v Speaker 1>that's how that's how you do. And I saw in

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<v Speaker 1>the cover of one of your baseball magazines that the

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<v Speaker 1>Dodgers might be the best team in the history of baseball.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, how much hyperbole yesterday? It looks awful. Noh,

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<v Speaker 1>that happens. I got a hundred and sixty one left

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<v Speaker 1>to right this ship, so I gotta burn my saddle,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's literally through our road to borrow to work.

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<v Speaker 1>But this, this story has got me very, very angry,

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<v Speaker 1>and I feel like we've crossed yet another line. So

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<v Speaker 1>this whole Georgia voting rules thing President Biden got four

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<v Speaker 1>pinocchios from the Washington Post, among others they could have

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<v Speaker 1>given out for his various whoppers about this makes Jim

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<v Speaker 1>Crow look like you megal, there are you cutting off

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<v Speaker 1>voting at five? Complete lie? Nobody is allowed to have

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<v Speaker 1>a drink of water? Complete lie? All these kind of things.

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<v Speaker 1>Is this does? Does Joe Biden know what he's doing.

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<v Speaker 1>Have we have we crossed some sort of line now

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<v Speaker 1>where politicians have figured out, Look, there's too many news sources.

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<v Speaker 1>Most people are only getting their news from our side.

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<v Speaker 1>We no longer need to even attempt to be truthful.

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<v Speaker 1>What is going on? Here's a policy guy explain it

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<v Speaker 1>to me. Well, it's a great question, and it speaks

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<v Speaker 1>to how politicized we are that we look at something

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<v Speaker 1>like this, that we should be able to sort of

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<v Speaker 1>sit down and say, Okay, what are the elements of

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<v Speaker 1>this uh and what does it do and have a

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<v Speaker 1>reasonable discussion about it. But that's not what we're looking

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<v Speaker 1>at the fact, end of this morning, I was just

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<v Speaker 1>looking at a descriptions of the law and what it

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<v Speaker 1>would actually do, and looking at one outlet that is

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<v Speaker 1>considered to be more conservative and then looking at another

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<v Speaker 1>outlet that's considered to be more liberal. I thought they

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<v Speaker 1>were talking about two different pieces of letislation. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's remarkable how differently urnalists, supposed journalists can describe

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<v Speaker 1>and shade and write based on what their political views are.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, it's even worse than politicians to pick

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<v Speaker 1>up on it. I mean, this notion, for example, that

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<v Speaker 1>the that the Georgia law. You know, you mentioned the

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<v Speaker 1>drink of water thing. You know, they say, oh gosh,

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<v Speaker 1>you can't you know, you can't even give someone a

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<v Speaker 1>drink of water. Uh, that's actually not true. The law

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<v Speaker 1>specifically says that you can make self service water receptacles

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<v Speaker 1>available to voters waiting a law. What you can't do

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<v Speaker 1>is give money, gifts, food, or drinks to voters within

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<v Speaker 1>a hundred and fifty feet of a polling place where

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five ft of voters that are waiting to vote.

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<v Speaker 1>In law, which you know, I mean, that kind of

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<v Speaker 1>makes sense, right. We have the electioneering anti electioneering laws

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<v Speaker 1>in California to every state has them, so we just

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<v Speaker 1>gotta be a little careful about how torqud we get

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<v Speaker 1>and unfortunately, think our politicians don't help with that. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you think this is a moment we're passing through in

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<v Speaker 1>terms of the relationship of the people, the media and

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<v Speaker 1>the government or is it just going to keep going

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<v Speaker 1>in this way in this same direction. I realize you

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<v Speaker 1>don't have a crystal ball, but um, you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>think it's gonna continue to get worse before it gets better. Unfortunately,

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<v Speaker 1>because politicians. The incentives they have in many cases are

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<v Speaker 1>to appeal to two extreams or to appeal to these

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<v Speaker 1>sort of very hard edged critiques. And we're in an

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<v Speaker 1>era now where there's a benefit for politicians to double

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<v Speaker 1>down on on stuff even if they're wrong. They double

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<v Speaker 1>down right. And we've seen this over and over and

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<v Speaker 1>over and I don't care what the situation is, right

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<v Speaker 1>or left. You know, people are wrong, they just kind

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<v Speaker 1>of double down and say, no, I'm not wrong, you're wrong,

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<v Speaker 1>back and forth. Is that's what results in the kind

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<v Speaker 1>of caustic, difficult environment we have. How would you not

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<v Speaker 1>be cynical? I mean, I don't want to beat this

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<v Speaker 1>into the ground. But Jen Saki was asked about it yesterday.

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<v Speaker 1>So the Washington Post gave President Biden for pinocchios. If

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<v Speaker 1>you don't know what that means, that means it's a

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<v Speaker 1>complete lie. When Joe Biden said they're not voting at

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<v Speaker 1>five o'clock, you get off work, you can, it's just

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<v Speaker 1>not true. So they asked Jim Sake about it yesterday,

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<v Speaker 1>said are you going to back off that or double down?

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<v Speaker 1>She said, We're not backing off anything. What you know,

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<v Speaker 1>what lan here we're getting into the weeds of philosophy

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<v Speaker 1>here a little bit. But I think conservatism is handicapped

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<v Speaker 1>by the fact that we want to conserve what is

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<v Speaker 1>good and what has worked in the past, and that

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<v Speaker 1>is not served by outright lying, outright slander. Whereas the

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<v Speaker 1>revolutionary left, they they believe that they're ordained by God

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<v Speaker 1>or Karl Marx or somebody or to do whatever is necessary.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe Abram X Kennedy has given them there they're you know,

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<v Speaker 1>has annointed them um and so they are willing to

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<v Speaker 1>slip throats, as it were, and often the guy who

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<v Speaker 1>fights dirty winds that troubles me as a conservative. He

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<v Speaker 1>raised a really good point, which is, even if you

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<v Speaker 1>think about the word that many liberals used to describe

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<v Speaker 1>themselves now, which is progressive, you know, sort of hidden,

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<v Speaker 1>not even hidden. I mean in that word directly is

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<v Speaker 1>the word progress. And the implication, of course, is that

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<v Speaker 1>there are some who want to progress and some who

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to progress, when in fact, I think that

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<v Speaker 1>contrast is obviously imatic, it's false. But I do think

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<v Speaker 1>that there is something about even how we talk about

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<v Speaker 1>the two sides that's become somewhat loaded. Uh. In our society. Look,

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<v Speaker 1>I think conservatives the challenge that conservatives have, in my view,

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<v Speaker 1>is that too often they haven't been willing to stand

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<v Speaker 1>up and say, this is what we actually stand for.

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<v Speaker 1>And what troubles me is too often it's here's what

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<v Speaker 1>we stand against. And I think it's important that conservatives

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<v Speaker 1>are willing and able to articulate, like, hey, what is

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<v Speaker 1>it that you actually want to do, and and look

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<v Speaker 1>to stand by it. And not everything is going to

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<v Speaker 1>be popular. Certainly we know how a lot of the

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<v Speaker 1>mainstream media will respond to it. But by and large,

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<v Speaker 1>I think you're going to get farther along. You actually

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<v Speaker 1>stayed affirmatively there's the things we want to do, rather

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<v Speaker 1>than just standing there and saying, well, we don't like that,

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<v Speaker 1>we don't like that. So that is one thing I

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<v Speaker 1>wish conservatives as a whole would be better. Progressives aren't

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<v Speaker 1>ashamed of saying they want to have government takeovers of

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<v Speaker 1>health care or completely uh you know, with the case

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<v Speaker 1>of the infrastructure bill, you guys were talking about essentially

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<v Speaker 1>completely push out private sector involvement with a large amount

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<v Speaker 1>of public sector spending. They have no hesitation to arguing

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<v Speaker 1>that's what they want to do so. I do think

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<v Speaker 1>having at a point of view and being able to

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<v Speaker 1>stay in affirmatively and strongly is good. Here here we

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<v Speaker 1>do need to talk about that big infrastructure using my

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<v Speaker 1>finger quotes here, Um, is that going to pass? Do

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<v Speaker 1>you think? Well? You know, look, they're they're gonna do

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<v Speaker 1>the same thing at the end of the day that

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<v Speaker 1>they did with that huge two trillion dollar spending package

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<v Speaker 1>we've already passed, which is they have one more bide

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<v Speaker 1>the apple using a process called recasciliation, which is Democrats only,

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<v Speaker 1>So if they wanted to go in that direction, they

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<v Speaker 1>could again later this year. Um. Not everything that has

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<v Speaker 1>been proposed by the President will make it into the

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<v Speaker 1>final package, but they do have the opportunity to do

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<v Speaker 1>it if they want. And what's so interesting is it's

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<v Speaker 1>you can't you can't call this an infrastructure package right

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<v Speaker 1>because it's it's got so much more stuff in it.

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<v Speaker 1>But every ride up I see refers to it still

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<v Speaker 1>as an infrastructure package, spending package. That's what it is. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>it's just like everybody referred to the COVID Relief Bill

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<v Speaker 1>as the COVID relief Bill, even though it including Fox News,

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<v Speaker 1>which just made me crazy. You. Uh, do you ever

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<v Speaker 1>eat meet any of Matt Gates's girlfriends? Uh? Fortunately I

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<v Speaker 1>have not, and at the playground about it on TV,

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<v Speaker 1>nor have I've been asked about it on TV. In

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<v Speaker 1>a somewhat awkward moment for Tucker Carlson, it was as

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<v Speaker 1>as Tucker said, that was one of the weirdest interviews

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<v Speaker 1>he's done. It's one of the weirdest interviews I've scene.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah, how about how about Gates trying to rope

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<v Speaker 1>it in? You remember, Tucker, that girl well went out

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<v Speaker 1>and I don't know what you're talking about. Dude, so uncomfortable.

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<v Speaker 1>Lon Eachen, David and Diane Stay if you fellow in

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<v Speaker 1>American Public Policy Studies at the Hoover Institution, Lan He's

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<v Speaker 1>there's so much we could talk about. We don't want

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<v Speaker 1>to take too much of your time, but we sure

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<v Speaker 1>look forward to the next time. Thanks. Hollywood for ugly people.

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<v Speaker 1>Isn't that what they call Washington d C? Although now

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<v Speaker 1>now it's just Hollywood East because it's more and more

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<v Speaker 1>pretty people. They're performers, they're not legislators. They're just Instagram

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<v Speaker 1>stars or or YouTube sensations are