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- [00:00]
Sam Seder
Foreign.
- [00:05]
Emma Vigeland
Elon Musk is clearly trying to cover up crimes committed while he was the leader of Doge, which I think he still is, but put this up. Lincoln Project is reporting via Politico that the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to keep Doge records secret. Lincoln Project asks, why are the records being kept secret? And I would opine that they're being kept secret because they probably did illegal things. He went in, closed down investigations into his companies and then rewarded himself contracts without congressional approval. What's your take on that pun?
- [00:43]
Sam Seder
Well, I think, you know, you look at this, the records that he doesn't want the public to see them, are they going to be subject to the National Archives so that the future generations will see them then? My question is, if you put this before the Supreme Court, ultimately, unless it's under protective order, we're going to see those records anyway. So my question would be, is this a smart move? And then I think about the federal government and the DOJ who's running it, and I think maybe not, because ultimately, if this goes to hearing and the evidence is presented, it becomes public record.
- [01:16]
Emma Vigeland
What's your take on something like that with the way that they voted to give Trump immunity? Like, is that that all of this power in the executive branch, clearly the Roberts Court supports that. They support a very strong consolidated executive branc despite in an interview or a speech at Georgetown saying that he doesn't. Their actions are to the contrary. The actions of the Roberts Court have been, we want a very strong executive branch. We want the president to be able to have immunity about crimes potentially committed while they are in office. And in fact, the president is above the law. So knowing that and knowing that the President, the executive then appointed Elon Musk in Doge and gave him unmitigated access to all of these areas of American government. How do you think the schizophrenic Roberts Court votes on something like that?
- [02:15]
Sam Seder
Well, I mean, there's the optimistic me that sees this as you appointed somebody in a government capacity that's going into government trying to find waste and spending abuses. You have to reveal those to the American people. That's what government is supposed to do. At the same time, I have very little faith in this court. So I think it's a really an open question. And we've seen the lower courts hammer them. Very few times have we seen it go up to the Supreme Court to this point. So it's an interesting question. I'm hopeful they'll do the right thing. But I mean, you know, I don't, I'm not going to like, hold my breath.
- [02:48]
Emma Vigeland
All right. Last night, the quote, big beautiful bill, which is a big beautiful bill of fuckery to hundreds of millions of American workers, passes by one vote. Put up this tweet with comment. Andrew Solander tweets, New House passes the budget reconciliation bill 215 to 214. Two Republicans, Massey and Davidson, voted no with all Democrats. Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris voted. President Gavarino and Schweitkart didn't vote. Ron Philipkowski points out. And I think this is incredibly important. The Democrats are missing two members who died in office. And I am very, very, very upset with the Democrats. And my opinion is not happening in a vacuum that when AOC ran against Gerry Connolly actively had an active cancer diagnosis for an oversight role in Congress. The Democrats are still playing by these roles. Oh, but seniority. And what I have to say about the Democrats and their whole seniority argument is if we went by that logic, Barack Obama wouldn't have been president. We had a young, innovative, exciting candidate in Barack Obama on the foothills of all of the deregulation, lies and fuck ups of the George W. Bush administration. And he had only been a senator for less than a term and was young and there was absolutely no seniority surrounding that. And he served two terms. He's the last Democratic president to serve two terms. But yet the Democrats don't ever seem to learn anything. They put a person with cancer ahead of AOC who's one of our party's best communicators because there's this desire by Democrats to always, they, they, they pander to these imaginary elusive Republican voters that somehow they allow the electoral optics from the right and what they put onto AOC to define her instead of embracing her and saying AOC actually stands for everybody. The one person who hasn't lied to you the last decade is Bernie Sanders. And guess who gets tens of thousands of people time they hit the road to go to their rallies. Bernie Sanders and aoc. These are the people that actually are for the working class and don't lie to you about it. But instead we're told that, oh well, there's this seniority thing that we have to do in the House. So we would rather put somebody in an oversight position that has an active cancer diagnosis instead of AOC who was wildly more popular. And if we went by their logic, then Barack Obama would not have been president.
- [05:47]
Sam Seder
I look at it, I agree with what you're saying, but I also look at it on these leaders, on These, the two people that have died that he's referring to. Both knew they had cancer when they ran for office. Both knew that we were looking at a fascist, authoritarian regime. At what point does a person look and say, because of my health, I may not be able to complete my term, and this term is too important. So for me, it goes back to, is this a personal power? Like, do people need to reconcile the addiction to power?
- [06:18]
Emma Vigeland
I think we have to go to enabling here. You have individuals, Trump, who's surrounded by all these enablers. You have Joe Biden, who wanted to run for a second term and was surrounded by enablers that told him that at 82 years old, that seemed like a good idea. It was a terrible idea. You have Gerry Connolly, who has cancer. This vote went to House Dems, and they voted over aoc. So it's the enablers of this that concern me more than an individual who thinks they're invisible, invincible, or maybe questions their own mortality. Because the enabling in government is the problem. And when you look at the numbers of the Democratic Party approval rating right now, it's because of shit like this, right? And they're like, oh, God, the electoral optics of AOC is that the right wing says, she's so woke. And you have the Rama Emanuels and the centrist saviors of the party that for some reason always try to pander to these elusive Republican voters that they think they can get to swing another way, that are never going to swing that way. Instead of firing up the base and going further left and just sitting there systematically calling these people out as liars. And let's watch a clip of how effective this woman that was passed over for an old man with an active fatal cancer diagnosis that ends up getting this horrific bill passed. The enablers that voted for a person with an active cancer diagnosis didn't vote for this woman. And listen to her right here.
- [07:53]
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Republicans have put this bill together, rushed it together in a matter of hours on the back of a napkin, shaking it, walking out of the White House, and brought it right here to this floor. They are defunding Planned Parenthood. They are ending tons of Medicaid coverage for 13.7 million Americans, including Affordable Care act coverage as well also allowing suppressors on guns to be deregulated to some of the largest amounts that we have seen since the 1930s. When you wake up in the morning, you will realize that you voted to defund Planned Parenthood and to take away health care from 13.7 million Americans. And when this country wakes up in the Morning. There will be consequences to pay for this. And I yield back.
- [08:46]
Emma Vigeland
Gentlelady yields so we have this incredibly young, exciting and effective congresswoman that traffics in facts. And the fact that she was passed over for some antiquated notion in the House that we have to go by seniority, that when it's given up to the electorate to go by seniority. The voters passed over Hillary Clinton in 2008 and went with Barack Obama because of youth, excitement, ability to communicate, and the fact that the Republicans are adapting to this technological information delivery system at a faster rate and evolving and the Democrats are the ones that are clinging on to these old structures. As a lifelong Democrat, that's really bizarre to me. It's really bizarre to me that we're the ones propping up people with active cancer diagnoses in the face of facing a fascist liar who gives a chainsaw to Elon Musk to dismantle everything. It just blows my mind.
- [09:54]
Sam Seder
It kind of goes back to what we've talked about ad nauseam. Republicans pay play, fuck you politics. Democrats play integrity politics. We are past being able to sit down and say this is good, this is bad, because they will do whatever Donald Trump wants and he gives them carte blanche every day to destroy him. Every Democrat could be on social media, on platforms saying this man is a nut and list 15 reasons per day. But they don't do it. They're still running around. Like you said in this antiquated notion, it's either fascism or it's not. Meet the moment.
- [10:32]
Emma Vigeland
I totally agree. And then here's my last story which the attack on thoughts, the attack on opinions, the attack on the First Amendment is really, really out of control right now. Put up this headline. The Disney CEO and ABC News president have told the View co host to tone down their political rhetoric and Trump bashing. This is corporate media and these are people that do not have the balls to stand up to Trump, to stand up for their country that has made them billions and billions of dollars. This is exactly the way fascist and authoritarian regimes take hold is to control people's thought. These women on the View, to not be able to speak freely. And in the face of an obvious liar, an obvious criminal, an obvious dictator, they're told to tone it down. I mean, this is where we are and I mentioned this on a podcast earlier, we received a phone call too, from within Democrats of people trying to control First Amendment thought police the flow of questioning. This is dangerous. This, this is, this is the most dangerous moment when you are sending people to Concentration camps, and then telling journalists or podcasters or television hosts to tone it down or to ask questions in a order. This is total fascist authoritarianism, and it has arrived and it is at our doorstep.
- [12:08]
Sam Seder
Well, I think it goes back to. This is why the rise in independent media has been skyrocketing, because these broadcast networks are completely beholden to their advertisers and the corporate head. So that is why people are going other places, because they are tired of the same old same washing bullshit. That's why I think our channel's growing.
- [12:29]
Emma Vigeland
And I think to piggyback on. On yours, that people are tired of the old bullshit is exactly right. Which is why the Democrats should have come and matched this moment immediately and put our young, fearless voices in charge of this party. Chuck Schumer, is not it. Cory Booker, a complete disappointment with the vote of Jared Kushner's father. There's a million other people you could vote for. That shows how beholden he is to special interests and how he wants to have it both ways. This is a mom. Not for moral ambiguity, but a moment for moral clarity, period. And a completely unified Democratic Party now. Yes. Are there some people that are further left and some people that are centrists? Yes, but like a centrist like Cory Booker, who likes to play progressive on tv, but then privately with the money he takes in, and then his vote for Jared Kushner's daddy to be ambassador to France, it shows he's a centrist. That's beholden. But if the centrist to join the party, then unite against voting no on all of these criminals. Criminals, convicted felons, don't want to be in the federal government. I would think that that would be something we could all agree upon. But even when you have Democrats, you have Democrats calling us, telling us you shouldn't have asked this question, or you have Cory Booker voting for Jared Kushner. What's going on? I mean, this is just. This should be the easiest layup on the planet. They're the fascists. They're the bad guys. We're against it. And I don't see anybody whipping everybody together trying to get us all on the same side.
- [14:11]
Sam Seder
I completely agree.
- [14:12]
Emma Vigeland
All right, please subscribe to our channel and we'll see you all later.