A (2:18)

Yes.

B (2:19)

Abolish ice. Yes or no?

A (2:21)

Yes.

B (2:21)

Tax the rich. Yes or no?

A (2:23)

Yes.

B (2:24)

Okay. As a parent in New York, if a parent is scared that their trans Kid, kids health care will be taken away. One or two sentences as to what you would say to that family right now.

A (2:36)

Unfortunately, right now, they have real reason to be scared because nyu, Langone and Mount Sinai, that provided gender affirming care for trans kids, puberty blockers have both stopped providing that health care in response to Trump threats. People are working hard to sue. That's a violation of New York City's state. And. But the city and the state's human rights law and there are some other organizations that provide. We're fighting like hell to get it back.

B (3:04)

Yeah. One thing I loved during Zoron's campaign, because I come from Oklahoma City where I have friends that are raising a trans daughter and they have to move. They cannot raise their child in Oklahoma because the government is so cruel with their laws and judgment towards them. But I loved that Zoron in his campaign said that he wanted New York to be a sanctuary city for LGBTQ plus people. And coming from a red state, it's so needed.

A (3:30)

And of course, it has been. That's what Stonewall's about. There's a great organization called the Door that I do a lot of work with because now they are the place where young asylum seekers go. I met a kid from Sudan whose parents were killed by the rsf, comes to New York, the Door helps him. The Door was set up because lesbian and gay kids were, you know, who had to leave home from all around the country. Started coming here in the 60s and 70s. It's part of what makes New York great is all these people coming to be creative here. It has to be a sanctuary. And of course, we can make it a place of welcome in our government, in our culture, in our neighborhoods. But restoring that gender affirming care for those kids is a critical part.

B (4:11)

I agree. Okay. And then last, cut off military aid to Israel. Yes or no?

A (4:16)

Yes.

B (4:16)

Yeah, I. I agree. What made you change your mind about military aid in Israel?

A (4:22)

Well, I have been for conditioning aid to Israel since before October 7th. Actually wrote a op ed back in the spring or summer of 2023 calling for an end to the blank check. I mean, unconditional aid is not compliant with the Leahy Law. All is supposed to be consistent with international law, with human rights. And right now, I mean, unconditional US Support for Israel's destruction of Gaza, which I do consider a genocide, terrible, of course, for Palestinians, but terrible for Israel now terrible for the whole Middle east, shredding US credibility. So I will sign on to Delia Ramirez's block, the Bombs act and the Ceasefire Compliance act. But we shouldn't provide more military aid until Israel is complying with human rights and international law.

B (5:14)

I completely agree. I think it's really coming from a place like Oklahoma where you see all of these working class people that pay their fair share in taxes and they don't have health care. If they have a root canal, they're going to be underwater, bankrupt, I mean, potentially bankrupt. Root canal could be, you know, three or $4,000 people living paycheck to paycheck. And then you think about the blank checks that we just send over there. And furthermore, I wor about bigotry a lot. And I feel like the best way to combat bigotry, whether it be anti Semitism, transphobia, Islamophobia, is by telling the truth. Telling the truth. I mean, how could right now Israel's committing more crimes and we have to say it.

A (5:57)

I mean, first, how could you ask a struggling family in America that can't afford their health care or their housing to understand how there is billions of dollars for this war with, you know, reckless, illegal, unjust, no clear purpose, raising their prices and there's not enough money to help pay for their health care or their childcare or their housing. It just makes no sense. That's why working families are fed up. But yes, I mean, on foreign policy, Trump is a sociopathic imperialist. We saw that in Venezuela, in Greenland, and absolutely in this war. But that is built on a broader set of hypocrisies and failures in foreign policy that Democrats as well as Republicans own. Because all these years of saying rules based international order while the US did what the President wanted in the Iraq war and in unconditional support for Israel's destruction of Gaza, anyone could see that's not consistent with international law, with human rights compliance. And once the rules don't apply to the people in power, it's hard to ask folks to have confidence that government democracy is meaningful, that it'll deliver for them. And, and that's when, if somebody comes along and points at someone to blame, and yes, of course, that's always going to be Jews or trans kids or Muslims or immigrants. And that's how we got here. And we got to get out, by standing up to Trump and protecting our neighbors. But we also have to take on corporate power, speak the truth about foreign policy and human rights, give some people some reasons to trust their elected officials.

B (7:42)

Yeah, and I appreciate that you mentioned the Democrats attributing to this, because I think in order for us to realize how we got in this situation, we incubated this moment. It's not all about Trump. It's really about failures and not meeting the needs of people in this country. That left a vacuum for him. And your challenging incumbent, Dan Goldman, is a Democrat that I believe would vote differently with you on this military aid to Israel. And I think that you have to listen to the people right now and you have to listen to your own party. And 80% of the Democrats do not have a favorable view of this. And I personally believe, because I come from a place where bigotry is a little bit more mainstream, that when you see the actions of what Israel and the United States together are doing to Palestinians and you hear real bigots like Tucker Carlson or Nick fuentes making a 30 second, 60 second clip like, this is not America first. These politicians are putting Israel first. When people don't have the full scope of things, it can incubate a lot more bigotry.

A (9:06)

And so the same with aipac. I mean, I don't like what AIPAC is doing to our democracy. I've never taken a penny from them, I never will. You know, creating these shadow packs that then don't even spend on their issue. It's really corrosive to democracy. But I don't like saying that out loud. If you, I mean, the same people, if Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes are criticizing aipac, they're building on a well of antisemitism. And it's really hard to pull apart legitimate criticism of Israel for genocide and war crimes and a well of antisemitism that can be exploited politically and that just grows and metastasizes. It is why speaking honestly is important. I believe it's why it's important for American Jews to do that. It's one reason I'm running. I mean, Dan Goldman is for unconditional US Military aid to Israel, regardless of settler violence in the west bank, regardless of violations of the ceasefire, regardless of this reckless war. Takes many contributions from, you know, is endorsed by aipac, Takes many contributions. And I just. It is an important time for moral clarity, for honesty. But yes, it has to be done with the basic idea that we're going to fight bigotry against everyone. That's my thing. Jews have a real responsibility to play here.

B (10:32)

This is my thing. I think that Democrats have got, we have to have Democratic voices like yours in the forefront of the party right now because the messaging of some of the Democrats like your opponent, Dan Goldman, that these people's rights are the most important. And then Islamophobia transphobia, all of that is down a ways. We have to link them all together. And this is how it's just so easy to call out Tucker Carlson. Tucker Carlson has no problem calling gay people the f slur. He'll just say it whenever. Nick Fuentes has no problem saying that he's a Nazi. Marjorie Taylor Greene has no problem saying vicious things about trans people. And I think the lesson of the Holocaust and the lesson of all forms of bigotry are you cannot leave one group aside that all of universal rights are connected and attached. And I just think it's a real moment for people right now, particularly American Jewish voices, to stand up and say, this is an affront to my people and to Judaism that we would vote to give money to a military force. As the BBC has reported, over 160 kids were executed by IDF soldiers, snipers. In the head or in the heart like that. We cannot. There's no planet anywhere in the world say, we're for democracy, we're for universal human rights, but yet here's some money for you to go execute kids.

A (12:06)

And I mean, selective empathy moves so quickly. You know, for a minute, you know, the Iraq, the war in Iran was about protecting Iranian protesters, very brave. And then as soon as that girls school was hit with the missile, you know, Trump's trying to have us look the other way. Yeah, I mean, look, the core Jewish value that I learned growing up and that I teach my kids is b'tselem elohim, this idea that everyone is created in the image of God. So of course equal in a human rights context, but also with a spark of the divine. And if you think that way about your own kids and everybody else's kids, you come to a different approach to foreign policy than this. The anti fascists in Brazil who took on Bolsonaro have this great phrase they use, ninguem sulta amao de ninguem. No one let go of anyone's hand. And it's just like the opposite of that first they came poem. You know, you're not going to let them come for trans kids. You're not gonna, you know, give up on the humanity of Palestinian kids in Gaza. Everybody's created in God's image. You know, you've gotta then turn that into thoughtful policy that, you know, getting them all healthcare and housing and childcare and safety is hard work. But everybody knows that's where you should.

B (13:23)

Jason Stanley. I went to the Bernie Sanders rally in the Bronx a couple of weeks ago with him, the professor and he told me he saw a cartoon that said, first they came for the billionaires and they never came again. Okay.

A (13:39)

We're taxing them now too, so that's good.

B (13:42)

Okay, how do moderates, if you get elected? Okay, there's kind of this whole thing going on with the Democratic Party now. You have the corporate Dems and then you have the Progressive Caucus, which I think you're going to be in. I think you're going to win this thing. I think you are the type of Democrat we have to elect. I do believe that compromise is important. And I believe that as progressive, we cannot just nitpick at everything. And whenever we can make progress, we can. So how do you see once you're in the House, you're our congressman working with Dems in the House.

A (14:16)

Let me praise the best thing I think that the Democratic caucus did together over the past year, because I think it's part of pointing the way forward, and that was by making the prior government shutdown fight about the healthcare subsidies. Like Democrats, moderates and progressives came together to say, there's a lot going on here. There's a lot we could fight about. Let's pick a thing that we know is important in people's everyday lives that affects their pocketbooks that Republicans are trying to wreak havoc on. And they agreed together to focus on healthcare subsidies, the fact that people's premiums were gonna double on the exchanges and that Medicare and Medicaid cuts would take place. And they all got together around that. And that was really effective messaging. I thought in that shutdown, people see, wait, Republicans want to double my health care costs. And that's what Democrats are fighting for. Okay, I'm for that. And then, you know, when they did double, now they know who to blame. So when Democrats have control of the House next year, this is the first thing we should demand. A restoration of those Medicare, Medicaid and health care exchange subsidies. I think progressives and moderates will be able to agree on that, get a win, demand that in the budget, show people that we are fighting and winning for them. So, absolutely, there are times like this primary for a fight where a progressive is saying, this kind of mealy mouth millionaire moderate politics is not what we need. And then there are times to unite. We have to elect a speaker together. We have to pick what we're going to focus on. And. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

B (15:51)

Okay. So one thing that I think is super cool is the way Kathy Hochul has been moving and working with the mayor of New York City. And I think that we need to applaud that. I think that it is incredible because I come from a red state that has Republican super majorities. And the last time we had a Democratic governor was in the early 2000s. Oklahoma was ranked 17th in education then they have a MAGA super majority for 20 plus years. Now we're ranked 50th in education. So I know firsthand, boots on the ground, how devastating Republican super majorities are. They're horrible. So to see Kathy Hochul, who I've had on this podcast and I liked, I really like her. I don't agree with any politician on everything. I just think that's cultish. But I've seen her move and move and move to listen to what her constituency and what the party wants. And so recently she is doing this pied a tear tax with zoron to help make up for the budget deficit that Eric Adams left here when he left and so pop up you tweeted your opponent. So Dan Goldman says, I applaud Governor Kathy Hochul for this smart way to generate revenue from those who can and should pay their fair share of taxes. We need to unrig the system and tackle wealth, blah, blah, blah. And then you chime in, which I love this. I love this. This is stuff about politics I love. You said no. Applause for Mayor Mamdani. This compromise wouldn't have happened without the mayor's leadership. He led the push for taxing the wealthy with no help from me. What do you have to say about that? I love it.

A (17:31)

I will point out that before I did that, I had put up a tweet that both praised the governor and the mayor for the tax. They both deserve real credit. Just as you are saying, this is a big deal, the Pied a terror tax. So what that is is for homes in New York valued at more than $5 million owned by people who don't live there most of the time. So these are people who live somewhere else. Jeff Bezos near here has, you know, has a pied a terre. He pays almost nothing in taxes. You know, there was a less than 1% he pays of his income in taxes because it's all in stock. And then he doesn't even pay anything significant, you know, because there's not yet a pied a terre tax. So this is a smart, you know, we don't need people owning vacant housing in New York. A great idea to charge an additional tax. It's going to raise $500 million a year to pay for universal childcare and our schools. And you Know our streets, our parks. It's a great idea. It only happened because Zoran campaigned hard to say not only do we need universal child care, which Governor Hochul then quickly said let's work together on. He said to keep it to pay for it over time, maybe you got money to pay for it. One year we're going to need to do some new revenues, and they've got to focus on taxing the rich. He had proposed an increase in high income earner and corporate taxes. She came back with this pied a terre tax. It's great. Zoran celebrates it. Let's take that as a win, as an example that it wouldn't have happened without a progressive push, demand, organizing. That was that Bernie rally in the Bronx. People went up to Albany. The governor started by saying, no, I'm not going to do it. But then she did. She could see people are organizing. She found a way to do it. This is progressives and moderates working together. But yes, Dan Goldman never once spoke out in support of an effort to tax the rich in. In Albany. And then in the moment of, you know, congratulations could not come to, just congratulate Mayor Mamdani for this big win. And let's not forget, he did not endorse him even in the general election after he was the Democratic nominee for mayor running against sexual harasser Andrew Cuomo. So you would think maybe in a district that, you know, overwhelmingly voted for Zaran at this moment, of a great win, he would just slide into that tweet. Props to the mayor.

B (19:54)

Yeah. And I think it's disgraceful that Dan Goldman and others didn't speak out against all of the horrific Islamophobic attacks against the mayor. And Kathy Hochul did that. She was very, you know, she has showed to be a standup politician willing to move, willing to compromise, willing to listen to the people that have been left behind. But here, here's what I just get the biggest kick out of is the billionaire bed wedding that's going on. So these pied a terrors. That sounds sweet and cute and quaint.

A (20:30)

Yeah, the French word makes it sound right.

B (20:32)

It sounds like a little. A little thing. You know, a lot of these pied a terres are $5 million or more. Some of them are $238 million. And of course, there is this billionaire. And I don't believe he believe he lives in New York City. Does he? Or does he? Bill Ackman is the guy who writes these novels on Twitter. He's just bedwettes on Twitter, like every chance he can get. He's going crazy now about all of this because these non residents who spend millions of dollars on NYC apartments help drive New York City's economy. And he goes on and on that they don't send their kids to public schools and they're no drain. And what I have to say to this is Bill Ackman has a bank account that could choke a bull. Right? And the bedwetting that I see from Elon Musk, from Bill Agman and others, when I live in New York now, I take the subway. I use all of the things the city can't. And I see that there is a robust working class. That is the engine, the fuel and the oil behind making the city what it is. And what's so cool about living in New York versus Oklahoma City, which I love Oklahoma City, but New York is a main character. You live in this city that is like this main character in your life. Like I've just crossed the street and I'm like, oh my God, there's the Empire State Building. It's just, it's magic. And there are so many people that work and ride the subways and do working class things in, you know, service industry hotels and. And they are who make this city what it is to see these billionaires wet the bed over this with an assist from some people online that I like to call capitalists with no capital that support the billionaires. It's just wild to see it. And then somebody roasted Bill Ackman on Twitter. We should be able to tax bill ackman50k.

A (22:31)

I like this.

B (22:32)

Every time he tweets about NYC. What do you have to say about this?

A (22:36)

I mean, first your point is, is so right. Like what makes. I mean, there are fortunes made in New York City, of course.

B (22:42)

Yeah. And I don't besmirch that.

A (22:43)

What makes New York great is all the people that are here. We mentioned those, like queer kids coming from all around the country and immigrants coming from every part of the world. I mean, what the city has been for Jews for a century, getting the shit kicked out of us all around the world and then coming here. And now if you're a mayoral candidate, you got to say what your bagel order is. And that's true in every way. An amazing Puerto Rican city and Dominican city and black city and Chinese city. I mean, go to Chinatown or Sunset park or Flushing, and that's why it's great to be here. It's where the energy comes from, the creativity that has great business ideas also. And we like having rich people here and celebrities here. But they have to fit into the city. And that means we need the resources for good public, public schools and a subway that works. And, you know, this is why delivering universal child care, making it more affordable, because the housing is so damn expensive. And so the idea that you would complain about attacks on people's second or third or fourth or fifth homes worth more than $5 million, it's just preposterous. It is. I think, you know, billionaire bedwetting is a billionaire bedwetting term for it. I'm so glad, you know, that Zaron pushed that. Governor Hochul agreed to implement it. I will say Bill Ackman is one area where Zoran and I have a small disagreement, because Zoran has said he even wants, you know, Bill Ackman to feel, you know, welcome in New York City. I'd be glad if he left.

B (24:13)

Hit the bricks. Hit the bricks.

A (24:15)

Bill, go live the $50,000 tax for every time he tweets about it. I would take as a. I think

B (24:20)

Bill Ackman and all of these billionaire bedwetters go live in Florida and let Governor Kitten Hills, Ron DeSantis go. Let that be your governor. Because I read this article once. After Covid, everybody moved to Florida, and it was like all of these investment guys were down there. Like, the problem with living in Florida is you live in Florida. No disrespect to our Floridian listeners. Okay, a couple more things here. If you win, you win. Does Hakeem Jeffries have your vote for speaker?

A (24:49)

He does. And this is for the reason that you said, Bruce, before. There's times for progressives to fight hard against moderates for something. I remember when AOC sat in Nancy Pelosi's office with the kids from Sunrise. That was a big part of what helped put us on the path to winning the Inflation Reduction Act. Now, she voted for Nancy Pelosi for speaker and showed the kind of guts that Ro Khanna is showing right now. You have to be willing to hold leaders accountable, not worry if you're not going to sit at the cool kids table. But we have to bring Democrats together, progressives and moderates, and, you know, hopefully we'll win a good bunch of seats, but we're not going to have, like, a massive majority. That's the nature of politics now. So.

B (25:37)

So, yes, see, you're better than me. And yeah, that's a very tempered, reasonable response. I'd be, no, I'm not doing it.

A (25:44)

I have my frustrations. I say them out loud. I'm gutted and people should hold me accountable as well. Obviously, you're running as an insurgent. It's easy to say, here's what I'm going to do when I get in there. And I'm not going to be afraid of leadership.

B (25:57)

Compromise is important, but we have to,

A (25:59)

you have to know when it's time to look. There's times when it's important to build coalitions across the aisle with Republicans as well. I passed a great bill in the City Council called the Freelancers and Free act. Makes New York City the first place to really protect freelancers from getting stiffed and screwed by companies that hired them. That bill passed 51 to nothing because even the Trump supporting Republicans know you can't screw the people that you know that you hired to do work. So there will be opportunities. Members of Congress should fight like hell to take some of the power back from the imperial presidency that both Democrats and Republicans have let happen. So there's times for that. There's absolutely times for Democratic unity. But, but you also can't be afraid. You have to be willing putting that discharge petition on the floor in the way that Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie did on the War Powers Resolution and on the Epstein files. So time to compromise and time to fight. Enough old.

B (26:59)

I love it. Okay, here's something I just off the topic of politics, I just want to ask you a question about. This is my first six months living in New York and so Passover rolls around and I notice that like everybody's gone for like eight, 10 days and it's this person, that person, and there's all of these notifications about, you know, I'm out of the office for Passover. And I think there's potentially people that are doing proper Passover for eight to 10 days. But I also think there's Passover fraud. I think there are people that are probably like, like I'm Jewish and I'm going to take off an extra four days here. What's your take on that? I was shocked at the amount of out of office things that I received. And I think there's a slight bit of piggybacking on this holiday. There's a little Passover fraud going on.

A (27:52)

Interesting. I mean, people have very different approaches to Passover that's built into the holiday. You know, you got the four sons, they've got like this, like a wise, a wicked, wicked, a simple and a one who can't ask. So you're, you're encouraged to approach Passover in different ways. You know, in my Seder, you know, the idea is, like, we were slaves, we were strangers, we got free. We better fight for everybody's freedom.

B (28:17)

She take off, Brad.

A (28:19)

I went to St. Louis to see my folks. Now, we did do a Seder there, but. Well, no, I didn't. I don't think I took any days off at work really. But I. I did four seders over the course of the holiday. Like, two is the. You know, is the. Is the commandment. But there was a downtown Seder at City Winery. There was a Seder in the streets with Jews for racial and economic justice, and then two family seders. I don't begrudge anyone there trips to the country or actually, the way the holiday works technically, if you're observant, is the first two days. And the last two days are what's called chag, like the time when you're supposed to follow the commandments, not, you know, drive or like you. Like you do, if you're observant on Shabbat. But the middle days are called chochomoed. And those really are just like spring break. That is like observant Jewish spring break or the middle days of Passover. One other way, you know, it's great Jewish city is that this is helpful, that Passover and Easter line up, but it's also the school spring break. And so, yes, everybody that can.

B (29:24)

So just to show that I am an equal opportunity critiquer, the Christians have rolled out a new holiday that I think is total, and it's called Easter Monday. This thing has popped up the last couple of years. And when I was in school, I went to, you know, we would have Easter on Sunday. We were not religious, but my mother would always get it. Put us in Easter dresses and we'd have to go on an Easter egg hunt, whatever. And then I was back to school on Monday.

A (29:51)

Sure.

B (29:52)

Now they've rolled out Easter Monday, and these kids are getting an extra day off at school, which I think is total for the moms at home that need a break from all their kids that are jacked up on Easter egg candy.

A (30:05)

Yeah. Chocolate.

B (30:06)

Yeah. And then have to. But I did. I did send my kids to a Jewish preschool when they were younger in Oklahoma City. And this September, I'd get them. Finally get them back to school. And toddlers are, you know, really exhausting to parent. And then there was just a. An onslaught of holidays there.

A (30:21)

So, yeah, they line up spring break here.

B (30:25)

That's nice. That's nice. I was just. I was.

A (30:27)

I have.

B (30:28)

We needed some Things with our landlord here. And I would say to the producers, I feel like there might. It's kind of a Larry David curb your enthusiasm, too.

A (30:35)

I feel like a little bit of

B (30:37)

Passover fraud going on.

A (30:38)

I mean, I think that would have been like a good Broad City episode or a Seinfeld episode. Obviously they would be, like, celebrating Passover at the diner with, like, extra cheeseburgers or something.

B (30:49)

I would, I would. I would completely. Here's the thing. I'm calling it out right now, but if I were Jewish, I would for sure be like, oh, yeah, totally honoring all eight days of Passover. Office. Do not call me. Do not email.

A (31:03)

I'm very observant during Passover. This is a good time, though, I think, for people's, like, interest in other people's religions. Because, my goodness, the post pope these days is making all of us very, like,

B (31:16)

seriously, I did not have that on my bingo card. That the Pope would be the person that I'm an atheist, that this atheist loves. And then the MAGA Christians would be the pedophile protectors. I mean, it's the biggest role reversal I have ever seen. And I'm all of a sudden atheist for the Pope. I'm all church chips in love the plot twist. Can't get enough of it.

A (31:39)

My daughter was at school in Chicago not long after he was appointed, and she went to a White Sox game and, like, all the people were in, like, pope hats. So maybe that'll be, like, the new resistance.

B (31:50)

I love it.

A (31:50)

It was ok.

B (31:51)

If I'm. If I'm all in on the Pope, that's a pretty big thing because I'm really critical, I mean, probably over the top critical of religion. I'm working on it. Brad Lander, I'm so happy to have you here, and I'm just so excited for you to win this primary. Please tell my listener how they can help you, how they can donate, how they can volunteer.

A (32:11)

Thank you. This has been great. Welcome to New York. So much fun to be in your studio. Yeah. So folks should go to bradlanderforcongress.com you can sign up for shifts to knock doors and make phone calls and text. We've got shifts out every single day. Obviously, if you make a contribution, that would be fantastic. This is people power. We're organizing together and we'd love to have your support.

B (32:34)

All right, go support Brad Lander and we, everybody, have a great weekend and we'll see you all soon.

A (32:50)

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