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- [00:05]
Pundit or Host
Lots of conversations about age and health of politicians in the United States right now. Obviously everything you see, the cognitive decline of the current President of the United States, Donald Trump is real and goes sane, washed by legacy media at all times. But we had sad news this morning, morning that Jerry Connolly passed away and he was in a very high leadership position in the House, passed aoc. A lot of people voted and passed over AOC for him. But let's talk about this with somebody who is currently a rising star in the House and she is a congresswoman from the great state of New Mexico. Let's welcome to IHIP news Representative Melanie Stansberry. How are you, Congress? Roman, hi.
- [00:51]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
You know what, I'm okay myself. And the vast majority of the Democratic caucus have been up all night because the Republicans decided to begin debating their absolutely egregious reconciliation bill at 1am last night. And so we've been up and in the Rules Committee and I'm just taking a break before I go back to offer some amendments. But yeah, between that and obviously just the very tragic news of the passing of ranking member Connolly, it's, it's a sad and hard morning.
- [01:25]
Pundit or Host
Yeah. And on that, what there's, you know, this is the news cycle right now. Joe Biden, you know, there's Jake Tapper's book that's dominating. And we always say here that Joe Biden is not the president right now. Donald Trump is the president right now. So let's have a talk about fitness right now. You know, there's always rumors that during Ronald Reagan's second term that there was a huge cover up. Well, Ronald Reagan's not president, so I want to talk about the president right now. But within our own party, I think we have really bad approval ratings because we're out here in, you know, middle America like your state is. And there is this feeling in the electorate that Democrats are not getting this moment, are not united and fighting against this moment. Within the party. There was a lot of concern about the passing over of AOC to Gerry Connolly. And I wanted to get your take on that because I kind of thought that was bs. I think that this whole ranking stature establishment thing that we've been playing is not behooving us.
- [02:32]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
Yeah, I mean, I think one thing that I'm only three and a half years into serving in Congress and until you're inside the institution, it's hard to understand the ecosystem that is the House itself. And the Senate is a completely different beast. I used to be a Senate staffer. But the reality is that there's a generational shift happening in the House. And we see that obviously with the new leadership who's come in. But what a lot of people don't realize is that there's been people who are serving, who are a decade older than my, myself and aoc, who've been there in the wings waiting for the moment to move into a leadership position. And I think that there is a sense amongst the members who've been there for a while that, like, they had to wait their turn. So, you know, these young upstarts who are. Have large presences should wait their turn as well. And I think, you know, the American people obviously are like, yeah, but our democracy is crumbling around us. We need strong voices on the front lines. And so I think that as we're working to meet the moment, we're trying to figure out how to elevate all of the voices and make sure that there's fairness in the institution. But it's. It's a difficult moment inside the institution as democracy is on the front lines.
- [03:48]
Pundit or Host
Let me just say this. I think if the Democrats in the house had a 60% approval rating, then we could say, yes, okay, do it your way, do your establishment way of appointing people to leadership positions. But consistently in. Even now, it's record lows. And I think extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. And there are certain people that resonate more than, and are better messengers in this moment. This is a completely different world. More people are watching us than are watching legacy media. And so I think that a big conversation needs to be had within the Democratic Party. Yes, maybe this guy's been here for 25, 30 years, couldn't get five views if he tried. Let's put people who are good messengers, who are fighting the good fight, who poll well with the party at large. I think that that's what they did with Trump. They ripped up the rule book. Everything, everything about the way the Republicans ever done anything. And he's in the White House and we're still over here playing these same archaic dinosaur rules. And that position that he was in. And again, I think it's so sad that he passed away, but. But we should never be in a position where he was the current oversight of a fascist regime. I just think this is a huge mess. And this is why the Democrats don't poll well. And we have to talk about it honestly. Because people in the Democratic Party do what they want to do, and they don't do what the people want to do or what tracks with the people.
- [05:26]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
Yeah, I mean, I think first let me just say I'm not defending the institution, I'm just explaining it.
- [05:33]
Pundit or Host
Right.
- [05:34]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
And so I think that, yeah, it sucks. Everything about this moment sucks. We have an incompetent, horrible, you know, autocratic person taking over our government and tearing up the Constitution right now. And we lost the election at the national level. And we're struggling to figure out how to get back on our feet and fight back effectively. And, and we are, I think, because the thing about Democrats is that we believe in democracy. We believe in every person having a voice. We believe that diversity matters. We believe that we should lift up people. And, and I think the thing that we have to also understand, it's not just that. It's not that Republicans threw away the rulebook. They were taken over by Donald Trump who basically hijacked their party. It's not just because the Republicans love him, it's because they're scared of him. Because he was able to capture the electorate and then transform them by using data and using social media. And we haven't done that on the Democratic or progressive side. And so it's still a mess. It was hurting.
- [06:48]
Pundit or Host
We haven't done that because we're putting people in those positions who don't track on social media. Do you know, I mean, that goes back to the fundamental point that we have to evolve. And it seems like the Democratic Party is not evolving with the times that we're outmatched in the echo chamber. You know, their, their system that they have built is mass and we have to put our stars in front of the camera and our best messengers in front of the camera and the people who, who are going to help build something that is on equal footing to what they built. And the, the American public, I think, is so over, I mean, over any sort of establishment politician on both sides. All right, Puzz has a question for you. Sorry.
- [07:34]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
Well, I want to push back for a second though, because I think what I'm trying to communicate is that younger members like myself, like aoc, like Jasmine Crockett, are trying. We are running for leadership positions. We are fighting the good fight. But even within the organization itself, it's not handed out. The Democratic Party doesn't say here you get to be chairman and you get to not be chairman. We had to run for those races. They were hard fought races. And aoc, myself and Jasmine all lost those races because there are Democrats inside the system who feel strongly about seniority. That's not a party issue. That has to do with people who are humans inside an organization that have a sense of fairness and does it impact the whole institution? Absolutely. But I think it's important for people not to fall into the trap of just self hating ourselves as Democrats because we're struggling to meet the moment.
- [08:34]
Angie
Okay. I have a question about the reconciliation bill and what I've been looking at. I see that you have, you know, we're giving gun owners more rights, we're giving guns more rights. We're taking away Medicaid, we're taking away SNAP benefits, we're gutting institutions that help educate women on reproductive care and reproductive options. And yet all I hear about is how the Republicans are so pro family. Is it dissonance that allows them to sit there with a straight face and give guns more rights than kids, or do they just simply not care and they're cowards?
- [09:17]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
You know, that's a question that members of Congress were sitting in the committee room last night discussing the whole night. I mean, it's hard to know. I think that for some of these Republicans, you know, they're team players. And so if Donald Trump tells them to pass a bill that gives billionaires massive cuts and eviscerates all these programs, they'll toe the party line. I think for some of them, they believe the lies that they're selling to the American people. And I think for some of them, they are afraid. I think they're afraid they'll lose their jobs. I think they're afraid that they have to face MAGA if they turn on the president. And I mean, all you have to do is look at some of the Republicans who have been brave enough to even speak out a little. It's, you know, people are afraid of getting their heads chopped off. And so I think it's a combination of all of the above. But I've never seen such, I don't know. To me, have you ever read the Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift? You know, it's like the, it was this parody of like, it's very like Mary Antoinette, right? Like, these guys want to solve the moment by basically starving children, kicking disability people living with disabilities off of Medicaid, by taking away Pell Grants to go to college, and then giving the largest tax break in American history to the wealthiest people in this country. And it's, even for these wealthy people, it's a pittance. It's not even, it's a few hundred thousand dollars and not having to pay estate taxes on their $22 million mansion. I mean, like, and they're going to put the country $4 trillion in debt and set us on a path for $37 trillion in debt over the next 30 years. It like the whole thing is so completely psychotic, it's hard to even wrap your mind around it.
- [11:09]
Pundit or Host
But don't you think, Congresswoman, the, the message of this is that America, they're lying to you. They have been lying to you for a very long time. They are con artists. And the only people that benefit from this are a very handful of billionaires. Even people with that probably have S&P 500 countries if they, I mean companies, if they do not cour favor or heap effusive praise on that very malignant narcissist Donald Trump, they're not going to be in his favor. And so I, I feel like, you know, Angie, your question about, is it dissonance? It's greed. It's greed. It's always been greed. And James Carville back, you know, when he was managing Bill Clinton said, you know, it's the, famously said it's the economy stupid. And I think for Democrats moving forward, it's the greed, stupid. I think that our messaging, I think that sometimes when we go down and we list and you, this is your job. But us as a messenger, when we list all the specific programs that are cut for a lot of Americans, we tend to be individualistic and selfish. If you're not on SNAP or you're not on Medicaid, then it just kind of drowns out. But everybody falls prey to corporate greed. Everybody. You get denied an insurance claim, you get in a bumper, a fender bender, the insurance company dicks you over. You know, every American, it's just a part of the unhinged capitalistic experience that we fall prey to greed. And wouldn't you say that that is the thesis sentence at the heart of this ridiculous psychotic, to quote you, Bill, that y' all are debating is it's just unhinged, diabolical greed.
- [12:56]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
Yeah, diabolical greed is the, that's the top line message. That's what it is. And also the quest for power. Right? And I think it's not just in this moment, but I mean like these are the, these are the cardinal sins of ancient biblical times, right? Like this is human, humanity's downfall. And to me, like, like the detail that I just cannot get over is that they're going to cost trillions of dollars in debt and starve children so that billionaires don't have to pay taxes on their $22 million mansion, but it used to only be their 11 million dollar mansion.
- [13:38]
Pundit or Host
Crazy.
- [13:38]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
I mean like that's beyond greed. Right? Like, if you own a 22 million dollar mansion, like, you don't even, like, why is that even an issue? I, I don't even understand.
- [13:50]
Angie
You know, let me ask you this question. So you reference that you were working on amendments to this bill. And in my head I immediately think, okay, here are the people you're working on it with. Nancy Mace that's got her flashlight up everybody skirt or up everybody's pant leg at the Capitol. Or you've got Marjorie Taylor Greene that's running around telling people the FO that don't agree with her and, you know, so happy the Pope's dead because he's evil. I mean, you are not dealing. Not to mention the speaker of the House thinks God told him he was Moses. How do you work with people that are so delusional? I mean, straight up delusional.
- [14:33]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
Well, this is another topic of conversation this morning amongst the members. You know, I think for many of us during these difficult times, especially some of these hearings, like, you have to literally go to your happy place to be able to like cognitively dissociate and preserve your heart and your mind. But yeah, I mean, it's, this is the soup that we're in. And you know, I'm the highest ranking Democrat on the Oversight Committee subcommittee that was created by Marjorie Taylor Greene to be Elon Musk's partner committee. And she won't even talk about Doge or Elon Musk anymore. But I said, I spend hours a week sitting next to her. And you know, you, you just power through. You power through.
- [15:20]
Angie
One thing we've heard about Marjorie Taylor Greene from everybody that's in Congress is, you know, a lot of them are. Once the cameras are off, they're completely normal. By and large, we always hear Marjorie Taylor Greene is that fucking crazy on camera, off camera in the elevator. No matter where you go, that crazy's with her.
- [15:39]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
I have not had that experience.
- [15:41]
Angie
Really?
- [15:42]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
No. In fact, when this committee kicked off, she and I met with committee staff in her office and she hosted me in her very southern, you know, hospitality kind of way. And we have had actually pretty collegial and sometimes bipartisan conversations. And then the cameras go on and the insanity comes out. So. But, you know, I think that's true with everyone. But there's a weird thing when you become a member where like again, maybe it's some sort of, I don't know, I call it Stockholm syndrome sometimes where you're like, okay, I'm in the soup with these People I'm gonna find the things I like about them. Right. And so, yeah, you just do because you have to.
- [16:23]
Pundit or Host
Okay, let me ask you this. All the people that Angie just mentioned, the speaker of the House, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mays, all of, of the Trump regime, you know, their religiosity is very overt. It's a huge part of their presence, their presentation and their politics. And I think an area where Democrats need to attack, but they're too scared because the Christian nationalists, I mean, oh, Christians are being persecuted. Meanwhile they're weaponizing their religion to take away food, as you said, from the poorest people in the world. I think one of the attacks that could be really successful is an attack on the hypocrisy of Moses. Mike Johnson, we call him Moses Mike because he sat on camera, which is insane. He said, God told me I'm Moses when he became speaker of the House. And everybody just goes along in this country like that is a normal person that doesn't need to be in a straight jacket in a padded cell. And we just move along and it's like Donald Trump, J.D. vance with a smoky eyeliner. And then a guy who says on camera, God told me I'm Moses. And then we just all go along like this is a normal thing and it' normal. But I digress because I could go on about that forever. I think we need to sharpen our attacks on their religious duplicity, hypocrisy. They use a, their base who is getting lied to, who is getting their programs and services that they pay taxes into. These hard working Americans that are people of good faith. I'm not religious, but I know people who are not Christian nationals, who are not psychotic, but they see the cross and, and I'm. This is what I'm calling Christian signaling. They accuse us of being virtue signalers. MAGA are Christian signalers. They use this diabolical approach where they mention their religion to rope them in. And then you have Elon Musk over here talking about Social Security being a Ponzi scheme. And I don't know about in your state, but in our state I can think of a shit ton of Gen Xers and baby boomers that go to church, worked hard, never wanted to be rich, just wanted to have health insurance and an okay retirement, Social Security taken out of their checks and this diabolical party wrapped up in the cross and the American flag is going to take away that money that those taxpayers paid in and tell them that it's a Ponzi scheme. I just Think that is so evil and these people do it claiming they are Christians.
- [18:56]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
Yeah. I mean, look, exploitation of the Christian church is as old as the Christian church itself. Look at the history of Europe and the papacy and eons ago and the reforms that happened. That's why there was a reformation. Right. Was because of political exploitation with and by the church. And what we know is that starting around 30 or 40 years ago, the Republican Party had a diabolical scheme to work with megachurches to try to steer voters direction. So I think it's important to understand that this isn't. It's not just religious signaling. Like there was an active effort and Donald Trump leaned into it and courted those leaders to deploy their parishes in support of his. His work. Right.
- [19:50]
Pundit or Host
Let me ask you something. I agree with everything you said. Will you. And like Eric Swalwell Garcia, I mean, Jasmine, just start calling Marjorie Nancy Moses. Mike, just the hypocrisy. I mean, I think it would go vi roll if they were just called out for being charlatans for using religion to emotionally blackmail their base. And I wish that we would just start calling it out because I would be tapping the vein. Like, I mean, we are just dying for this hypocrisy to be called out. And there's. And I love this new leadership to the Democratic Party. You, Aoc, Crockett, others that we've had on here. What was that guy? Brendan Boyles. He's a little firecracke, you know. And we've had a bunch of your colleagues on Mickey. But I really want y' all to just start just ripping them. I mean, the public is just craving it.
- [20:46]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
Yeah. Well, I'll tell you a great clip to pull up is this morning Gwen Moore say I, I think it was maybe around 7am this morning. And rules. She did exactly that. And who did? Gwen Moore at Wisconsin.
- [21:00]
Pundit or Host
Okay.
- [21:01]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
And she got a resounding applause in the room. And it was, it was one of the most beautiful takedowns I've seen.
- [21:07]
Pundit or Host
I love it. I want you to know I know it's hard. And I know that you hear the Democratic approval rating. And I would say generally speaking, everybody supports those of you that are in there fighting. And I know that it's a really hard time and you feel helpless and hopeless by design of this autocratic play. But you and your colleagues are always welcome here. And we have to have these tough conversations and we have to do our own, own autopsy on how we move forward simultaneously by fighting this just fascist. I mean, it's just Unbelievable. And I just can't believe you go to work there every day. And I commend you for that. I really do. I think it's a profile encourage. I re. I genuinely mean that. That is a very difficult place to go to work, and I love the work that you're doing. And I hope that you and the others that you mentioned get to positions of power, people that are willing to come on here and give us no guidelines. Ask me whatever you want. I'm here. Speak to the public. Nothing's off limits. This is the way forward for our party, and you and others that we've had on have done that. And it's just so important, and our listeners appreciate it so, so much. Congresswoman. So thank you so much for joining us. And anytime you want to come and browbeat any of these people, we're always right here with our microphones to help you do it.
- [22:29]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
Well, I appreciate that. And, you know, one thing I just want to add, and I often tell this story, which is that when I ran for office, I was one of the 2018. I was not interested in being a politician. But after Donald Trump got elected in 2016, I was a Senate staffer. I was just a nerdy science staffer. And I just woke up the next day and was like, I have to do something. And I think so many women in particular felt that way. And when I asked Emily's List for help to run for office that cycle, they told me that the largest number of women that had ever run for office was the previous cycle, which was around 900 women nationwide. In 2018, 42,000 women ran for office. And since then, every year, consistently, the number of women, LGBTQ people of all backgrounds, face, and economic statures in society have completely transformed the fabric of politics in this country. And I know it doesn't look like it, but when you go on that House floor and you see what the House looks like, we are not your grandpa's Congress. And I think that it's important for people to know that even though we're in the doldrums right now, politically, when we win back the House and as we win all these local and state races across the country, we are going to step into a moment politically that I think this country has not seen in generations. And so I don't want people to lose hope from all of the difficult and horrific things that are happening every day, because there are many, many, many hundreds and thousands of people like myself across the country who ran for office, are here for change, and are here to transform our politics for our people.
- [24:17]
Pundit or Host
Love it. Love every single bit of that. And just we're trying to do our end in this new media landscape to amplify and have as many as your co workers on the people want to hear from you all because the other side is so loud. All right. Thank you so much, Congresswoman. Good luck. And you're committing with your co worker march.
- [24:42]
Representative Melanie Stansberry
Bye. I'm gonna go drink a lot of coffee.
- [24:45]
Angie
Yeah.