Sacha Stone (0:00)

Hi, this is Free Thinking through the fourth Turning. My name is Sacha Stone. The Democrats try to uncrazy themselves and fail spectacularly, Hunter S. Thompson wrote in his book Fear and Loathing on the campaign trail. The mood of the nation in 1972 was so overwhelmingly vengeful, greedy, bigoted and blindly reactionary that no presidential candidate who even faintly reminded typical voters of the fear and anxiety they'd felt during the constant social upheavals of the 1960s had any chance at all of beating Nixon last year. Not even Ted Kennedy, because the pendulum effect that began with Nixon's slim victory in 68 was totally reversible. By 1972, after a decade of left bent chaos, a silent majority was so deep in a behavioral sink that their only feeling for politics was a powerful sense of revulsion. All they wanted in the White House was a man who would leave them alone and do anything necessary to bring calmness back into their lives. It's hard to believe that the Democrats became so crazy that they made Trump seem like the normal one, the only person who could bring calm back into our lives. I felt happy the other day and I thought, what is this strange feeling? It wasn't so much that I was happy with all of what Trump was doing, but he did the one thing that had been keeping me up at night, his executive order to end gender affirming care for minors. I'm not foolish enough to think that these big moves Trump and his team are making will bring about permanent change. But he's shaking the tree, standing up to the most powerful forces in the country and doing exactly what we, the voters, asked him to do. Trump isn't the problem. It's the crumbling empire that refuses to relinquish power and insists so many of its delusions and narratives must be adhered to. Even now, Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren reminded us that they don't really seem to care about how the election turned out. They didn't even turn the page. They don't seem to have gotten the message that they're still considered too crazy to govern. It's the exact kind of crazy that drove Nixon to a landslide victory and eventually put Reagan in power, keeping the Democrats out of the White House for the next 12 years. As things look now, that's exactly how it will play out. I sometimes peer into the crazy on TikTok. Women wearing red lipstick in silent Protestants, young and old alike, screeching and caterwauling at Trump supporters, pleading with them, mocking and dehumanizing them, then begging them to see Trump as the embodiment of all of the evil in the world. How frustrating it must be for them to know that the silent majority doesn't agree. How frustrating it must be that they keep screaming racists, Nazis. Fascists. And still be seen as the crazier side. Here is a video of TikTok users. Hey, friend, how's it going? That thing that Elon Musk did at the inauguration. Don't let anybody talk you out of it. Don't let anybody try to convince you that it wasn't what you thought it was. Because if it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, walks like a duck, it's a duck. Don't let anybody gaslight you into thinking that what you saw was not a symbol of fascism. It was 100% a Nazi salute. And if anybody in my life is making excuses for that, I will go on and assume that they are also a Nazi. Not only that, but if there is anybody who is not showcasing their outright disrespect and disagreement with this administration, if I have anybody in my life who is saying, can't we all just get along? Maybe we should unite for the sake of the country, I will assume that they have also decided that it is better and safer for them to become a Nazi. And if you're trans like me and you're watching this right now, guess what, baby, you're here. You're beautiful. You exist, and nobody can ever say otherwise. My existence is resistance. My joy is protest. Death before detransition. Oh, sorry, you misinterpreted that. You guys, they want a dictator. I was just talking to someone that I really love about this and just hoping that with all the recent events, something would have changed and he would have seen how he's trying to just dominate the country. And you know, he said to me, like, he said, I'm fine with it. And I said, you're. You understand he's trying to bypass, bypass Congress, bypass the Constitution and do it all on his own. He said, yeah, if it makes our country better, then I'm fine with it. If they are not scared of throwing the Constitution away, then there's nothing to say. There's nowhere to go from here. I am absolutely dreading going to work tomorrow and dealing with my dumb as f Trump supporting co workers. I, I, I know for a fact they're gonna be all chipper and like, hehe daddy's back and stupid shit like that while simultaneously denying Elon's dumbass fucking salute. I don't know. Who needs to hear this, but nobody's coming to save us. It's me and you. Hey, maggots. So when you said dumping pants wouldn't start any new wars, did you include trade wars in that? Dumping pants? He's definitely started a trade war. Canada shot right back and you know, I knew they would, but now they said they are not going to sell any liquor made in red states. I love that for them. I love that for those red states. You know, you elect a leader like that who's a selfish piece of shit, and this is what you get. Oh, we shouldn't shame people for how they voted. Shut them up. Yes, I am shaming you. I don't care. I don't care anymore. You need to be shamed publicly. And if the posts that I post make you feel a certain type of way feel shame, I really don't know how y'all expect me to respond when you leave comments like this. Like, oh fuck. Oh no. Am I being mean to the people who want to erase my trans friends from existing on this earth? Am I being mean to the people who are foaming at the mouth to say the N word? So instead they just say dei My being mean to the people who are putting on a full 1980s Merle Norman bit and taking videos of themselves separating kids from their parents at the border? Am I being mean to the people who are, as we speak, thinking of new and creative ways to take money from Americans and put it in the pockets of their Sears elastic waistband jeans? Good. Perfect. And I assure you, I sleep so well at night you can check my ordering score knowing I'm doing everything I can to speak out against these people. I sleep with the fan on medium, humidifier on high, and a face oil to lock in the moisture. They should try. With the election of DNC Chair Ken Martin and Vice Chair David Hogg, they seem to be sending a message to their voters that they're done with the woke thing and maybe now they can uncrazy themselves with two boring white dudes. For podcast listeners, a tweet by Bridget Fedisi. To be fair, these are the two most masculine men in the Democratic Party. The last time the Democrats tried to uncrazy themselves, it didn't go so well. After losing every state except Massachusetts in 1972 and the even worse Jimmy Carter presidency, the Democrats settled on the idea that bland and boring middle manager types were better than chasing the dream. This bland and boring reset doesn't undo the crazy, but disguises it. Look to the future, they say. Gun control they say bring the fight to the Republicans, they say, but they still can't solve the problem because they are the problem. The star, their great white hope, their version of the bro Whisperer, to bring in the young people is David Hogg, mass shooting survivor turned activist influencer here. Wanted to let you know I have decided to run for DNC Vice Chair. And the reason for that is simple. We need more young people in the party. And it's not just about me. We need more young people in state parties, young people in local parties, and we need more young people to run for office because we saw a major shift of young people to the right by 20 points. This is a crisis for our coalition. This is a crisis for the future of our party. We must get more young people involved. Build a party where we tell people what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear. A party that listens to the working class and not the consulting class. We need to build a party that includes young people and actually pays attention to them and prioritizes them. It doesn't tell them how to feel, but actually delivers for them and tells them what we have done. If you want to be part of that vision, I'm asking you to run for office. I'm asking you to join your state or local Democratic Party and get involved. I can't do this alone, but I know that we can do it together. Who's ready to take the fight to the Republicans and win this thing? Are you guys ready to fight? It's been a long day, but guess what? We have a long road ahead. Let's go and kick some ass. Let's go win our young people back and let's stop sending just our thoughts and prayers to address gun violence and do something. Are you ready to do that? Because together we can make school shooter drills history and not headlines. Are you ready to do that? Together we can address the housing crisis and so many other issues of our time that are affecting our young people. Because tonight, Malcolm and I won with your support. Thank you so much. And he's just. Ken, let me just start by saying we have one team. One team. The Democratic Party. We have one fight. We have one fight. The fight's not in here. The fight's out there, right? The fight's not in here. The fight is for our values. The fight is for working people. The fight right now is against Donald Trump and the billionaires who bought this country. That's a fight. Not in here. I want to. The worst sign is that nothing much has changed except appearances. The party is still leaning into the establishment of old, which means they aren't sending a message to voters that they are in any way prepared to deal with the mess they made over the past four years. For podcast listeners from the Democrats, what they are saying Democrats praise Newly elected DNC Chair Ken Martin says Joe Biden just got off a call with Ken Martin to congratulate him on his victory. I know he'll help ensure Democrats continue to fight for working people and stand up to the abuse of power. Together, we will choose possibility over peril and empower more Americans to believe that the America of our dreams is closer than we think. And from Barack Obama, congrats to our new DNC Chair, Ken Martin. Ken has done outstanding work in Minnesota and will bring that same energy and drive to this new role. Together we need to build a bold, responsive Democratic Party that can tell a compelling story about who we're fighting for and where we need to go as a country. I am grateful to all who are stepping up to engage. Lots of work ahead and Tweets by Jamie Harrison, Tim walls Gretchen Whitmer J.B. pritzker Amy Klobuchar Raphael Warnock Hakeem Jeffries what should worry the Democrats, not that they will pay any attention, is that there is no plan to clean house, which is what they'd need to do to have any real pitch to win back the voters they lost. They seem to be doing the bare minimum, admitting nothing. With Barack Obama still guiding the ship, they really do think they can sweep it all under the rug. Hiding Joe Biden's age, the Afghanistan withdrawal, the censorship machine, the George Clooney op ed, how Biden refused to leave whatever they threatened him with, and the manufactured candidacy of Kamala Harris. How much better would it be for them if they admitted their party had become too corrupt to function and too crazy to lead? But they won't because that other America still exists inside the utopian bunker they've been hiding in all this time. Democratic Party really does double down on their crazy how do I know this? They just announced that a man named David Hogg will serve as their new the DNC Vice Chair is David Hogg. He is a defund the police activist and he believes that we should abolish ICE on his appointment he said it's time we stop surrendering, go on offensive and take the fight to Donald Trump and every single Republican who is gutting our rights. What rights? Attacking workers and rigging the system for the wealthy and well connected. David, oh David, don't do that what, like how out of touch are the Democrats to think that these are still the issues that people care about? They're made up issues. They. They're made up. What rights have you lost? David Hogg Only thing I've seen happening in our country is working to make it safer. The Democratic Party appointing this guy, it really does show that they just doubled down on their crazy. They are so out of touch, they have no idea what the American people want, which is safety and a good economy and America first. So I guess keep at it because you're so far out of touch that there's no chance of you course correcting by 2028. In choosing David Hogg, the Democrats prove they have no plan to roll back the crazy, which of course I already knew. This goes deeper for them than politics. This is who they are. This is how they see the world. Podcast listeners, a tweet by David Hogg. Trans women are women. Trans girls are girls. But some people still don't get it. There's a new tip line going around to report men in women's sports. It'd be a real shame if people flooded the line with fake reports using this website. And another tweet. I met a transgender sixth grader today whose family is considering applying for asylum in Canada. Because of the threats she's gotten, they already had to leave their home state of Texas. We can't call ourselves a free country until everyone can exist as themselves with without fear. With Martin and Hogg, which sounds like a leather boot manufacturer, they're sending a message to those of us who have defected from the party that nothing has changed. There were no lessons learned, no reckoning to be had, says Adam B. Coleman. When I was a Democrat, we believed in classically liberal principles like freedom of speech and fairness for all people, not just some people. They elevated serious and, dare I say, likable individuals within the party. At one point, the Democrats seemed like the cool party with aspirational and better ideas. But now the Democrats are the party of dogma. There is nothing inquisitive or reflective about the party. They are verbal one trick ponies, twisting their words to validate their end goal, ambition. Regardless if it works or not. End quote. I've seen tweets by people who are hoping their ongoing hysteria about Trump's first 10 days will send people like me running back into their arms. The problem has never been Trump. The problem has always been them. What they did to this country, what they did to the party, what they did to themselves. Podcast listeners, a tweet by Leah Greenberg Friendly reminder that the best case scenario over the coming years is that a lot of people say I supported Trump, but this isn't what I wanted at all. And when they do that, it's going to be really, really important that we say welcome in and not F you, we told you so. Just like the silent majority ran from them back in 1972 and 1980, so too are we all still okay with Trump, even with the chaos, because he's not them. It took me four years to realize that, but once you see it, you can't unsee it. And there is no going back. At least not until they clean house and uncrazy themselves. So we'll see bland candidates running for president as they attempt to tack to the center, but the crazy will follow them like toilet paper stuck to the bottom of their shoes. The mood of the Nation the last time the Democrats scared America I was just a kid. I grew up in Topanga Canyon around the same time as the Manson family lived there. Not to mention it being a hotbed for old time rock and rollers, surfers and cults. Nothing scared me as much as Charles Manson, whose face stared out at us from the COVID of magazines. Those crazy eyes, that X scar between his brows. I was too young to remember the murders themselves, but the scary part of the story wasn't so much when the murders made the news, but the discovery of who did it and why. They look like your average hippie in Topanga with their ratty cutoffs and halter tops, slinging dirty faced children on their hips as they begged for money at the supermarket. Podcast listeners, a picture of the Manson family. The Manson murders poured cold water over the fever dream of the counterculture revolution in 1969, as did the sharp rise of rapists and serial killers that proliferated in the 1970s. Podcast listeners a headline we will burn and loot and destroy the Weather Underground and its legacy. And then there were the anti war protests, the Weathermen bombing the Capitol, and a Kent State protest that left four dead in Ohio at the hands of the police. Leaving all of that craziness behind was something you could just feel. You can see it in movies too, how the activists are mocked in the film network. The Mao Tse Tungawa went on the air March 14th. It received a 47 share. The network promptly committed to 15 shows with an option for 10 more. There were the usual contractual difficulties. Equal to 20% 2 0, except with such a percentage as I'll be 30% 3 oh for 90 minute or longer. Television Programs. Have we settled that sub licensing thing? We want to clear a definition here. Gross proceeds should consist of all funds the sublicensee receives, not merely the net amount permitted after payment to the sublicensor or distributor. We're not sitting still for overhead charges as a cost prior to distribution. Dog, with my distribution costs, I'm making a lousy 215 per segment. I'm already deficiting 25 grand a week with Metro. I'm paying Weimar's 10% off the top, and I'm giving this turkey 10,000 per segment. Another five for this fruit cake. And, Helen, don't start no shit with me about a piece again. I'm paying metro 20% for all foreign and Canadian distribution, and that's after recoupment. The Communist Party's not gonna see a nickel out of this goddamn show till we go into syndication. Oh, come on, Lorene. The Party's in for $7,500 a week production expenses. I'm not giving this pseudo insurrectionary sectarian a piece of my show. I'm not giving him script approval, and I sure as shit ain't cutting him in on my distribution charges. You fucking fascist. Did you see the film we made in the San Marino jailbreakout demonstrating the rising up of a Seminole prisoner class infrastructure? You can blow the Seminole prisoner class infrastructure out your ass. I'm not knocking down my goddamn distribution charges. Man, give her the overhead clause. The Big Chill documents the transformation from hippies to the yuppies who moved out of their vans and into homes with jobs, kids and retirement, which, of course, seemed to them like selling out. Hey, Richard. What are you doing up? Why didn't you come in? I didn't realize anybody else was up. I've been thinking about your friend Alex. Did you ever meet him? No. Karen's told me some. I'm imagining mostly. I can never make it through the night. Insomnia. Karen doesn't even know it. You might have something that could help you sleep. No, thanks. No, I don't really mind it so much. Sometimes when my family's asleep, I just sit downstairs alone and it's so quiet. I hate not being able to sleep, but I don't really mind the time alone. Sometimes I think the thing about kids is they're instant priorities, you know, you have to protect them and provide for them. And sometimes it means your life isn't exactly the way you want it to be. There's some asshole at work you have to kowtow to. And sometimes you find yourself doing things you never really thought you'd ever do. But you try to minimize that stuff and be the best person you can be. But you set your priorities and that's the way life is. I wonder if your friend Alex knew that. One thing's for sure, he couldn't live with it. I know I shouldn't talk. You guys knew him. But the thing is, nobody said it was gonna be fun. At least nobody said it to me. The Big Chill is as insufferable today as it was then. Lefty boomers just thought so highly of themselves, and now their empire is crumbling. It's time for a new generation to wipe the slate clean. They don't call it the fourth Turning for nothing. Trump is what Neil Howe would call the great champion of the fourth Turning because he might be the only person on the planet who has the moxie to challenge the empire, much less defeat it. Here we are, on the brink of what feels like a brand new country and world, yet all we get from the Democrats is fear. It's like Galileo trying to explain the earth revolves around the sun and is put in jail for it. They see a bright innovator like Elon Musk and they say he did the Nazi salute. They see these tech bros moving fast and breaking things. And they think billionaire oligarchs. They can't even imagine what kind of future awaits because they're so afraid of it. All they can do is close the door tight and hope for a miracle. The Democrats spent almost a decade focusing on their imaginary war against Trump. It was never a war with Trump. It was a war with a country that was not born to stay in one place for long, but one that moves and turns with the generations. Whatever utopia we all built oh so long ago became an unbearable dystopia for millions of Americans. They'll have to deal with that, with how their ideology infected so many corners of this country and turned us against each other, against our history, against ourselves. And maybe then they can escape the crazy and they can make a pitch for a brighter future. But until then, if they want to keep up, they'll have to clean house, deconstruct and destroy their utopia and find their way back to sanity and reality. My guess is they won't be doing that anytime soon. As for the rest of us, to borrow their phrase, we're not going back foreign. Thank you for listening to my podcast. Sashastone.substack.com and remember to thine own self be true. Twin soldiers and Nixon coming. We're finally on our own. This summer, I hear the drumming for dead in Ohio Gotta get down to it Soldiers are calling us back Ground should have been done long ago what if you do her and found her dead on the ground? How can you run when you know Sa should have been gone long ago what if you knew her head on the ground? How did you run when you know King Soldiers and Nixons coming we're finally on our own this summer I hear the drumming for Dead in Ohio Bar Dead in Ohio.