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Bernie Sanders
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Jennifer
So are we supposed to start the podcast? Ready?
Pumps
One, two, three.
Jennifer
Patriots.
Bernie Sanders
Ca. Caw.
Jennifer
Gay triots. Kriats. K. Listen up. It is election eve and I am shitting my pants.
Pumps
Oh, God.
Jennifer
I just.
Pumps
There's a part of me that is really excited and there's a part of me that is on the verge of a panic attack.
Jennifer
Okay, listen, everybody. You're seeing people engaged in this race that are fighting the good fight. And we have a woman in Oklahoma City. Her name is Betty. She's a baby boomer, and she is in Pennsylvania knocking on doors. This is a baby boomer female from a red state, and she has been in Pennsylvania for a week. And she made us these darling Kamala Harris bracelets. And she is spending from the minute she gets up to the minute she goes to bed fighting for women and fighting for this country. And I just think you're seeing this story unfold all over the United States, people that are fighting the good fight. Because after election day, where you stood on this is going to remain, the.
Pumps
History books are not going to look kindly on the MAGA movement. No, never do they look at the history books and say, oh, the book banners and the people that wanted to round other people up and the people that lacked empathy and dictators, they are on the right side of history. That just doesn't happen.
Jennifer
It does not happen. And you know, speaking of things that we think are never going to happen, as some of our faithful patriots and gatriots, you know that we have been pining to have Senator Bernie Sanders on the podcast. I mean, I think our original wish list was like, number one, Larry David Number two, Senator Bernie Sanders. We'd emailed. I'm not going to say Senator Sanders ghosted us. I'm just going to say it took a while to get a response, because nobody would ghost us, right? Pumps?
Pumps
Certainly not.
Jennifer
No, never. Especially, I mean, you're America's legal eagle, America's greatest legal mind.
Pumps
Meemaw Meat curtains.
Jennifer
Meat curtain. Meemaw law firm that just launched, like, last month.
Pumps
Meemaw Drag.
Jennifer
Meemaw Drag. America's Miss America, golden bachelor. All the stuff. And so, okay, listen, I know everybody's freaking out. I know we're all. Everybody that listens to this podcast is fighting the good fight. And for those of you, if we have an undecided voter that's listening to this podcast, I just don't know what to say other than this. Vote for the people that don't have the large numbers, and those are the marginalized people. Vote for the members of the LGBTQIA + community. Vote for the members of the black and brown community. Do not believe all of this horrible, hateful rhetoric about immigrants. This is a country of immigrants. And talking about rounding people up and saying that they're animals is cruel. It is just a very, very dangerous, evil thing to say. Should we have, you know, a path to get into this country and to immigrate legally? Yes. Nobody denies that. Where I take issue is with all of this hateful, mean rhetoric towards people that happen to not be white men.
Pumps
Well, it's absolutely disgusting. And here's where I. I look back on the two closing arguments of the candidate, the candidates. You've got. Donald Trump has a hate rally. It's racist, it's misogynistic, it's craven. And I look at Kamala Harris's closing argument, and this was my favorite part of the whole speech when she said the racism, all of those things I just mentioned, that's who he is, but that's not who we are. And I really believe that is not who we are. I think there's a fraction of these people that they're all in. They like the cruelty. But I choose to believe that there are more Americans that believe in equality than believe in hate.
Jennifer
I completely agree with you, and I hope that that is true. Because if we wake up after this election and he wins the dagger that the country went to a place of fascism and hatred is. That's going to be so painful, because we know who he is. We've had nine years of getting to know him. And that people know that and they vote for that would be such A leveling, leveling blow to our country. But let's welcome our guest. We filmed with him a few days ago. Senator Bernie Sanders finally came home to mamas. All right, let's welcome to. I've had it, our long awaited guest, Senator Bernie Sanders. Senator, when we started this podcast a mere two years ago, we made a wish list of guests that we wanted and you were number two. Number one was Larry David. So this is a dream come true for us.
Bernie Sanders
Well, how do you know I'm not Larry David?
Jennifer
Exactly. How are you today, Senator?
Bernie Sanders
I'm great. We're in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Got a rally in a few hours and then we're going to go to Madison. We came back from Pennsylvania yesterday. We're working hard to make sure that Kamala Harris is at Express.
Jennifer
Well, we're kind of freaking out. You know, I think as it gets closer and closer to the election, we feel a lot of anxiety. How, how does it feel on the ground?
Bernie Sanders
Look, no ifs, buts and maybes. It's going to be a very close election because of our crazy election system. It doesn't involve 50 states. The state of Vermont is not going to vote for Donald Trump. And Wyoming is not going to vote for Kamala Harris. It comes down to eight, ten states. Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, two of those states. Polls have them. Nip and tuck could go either way and a few thousand votes will make a difference. And we're trying hard to make sure that those few thousand votes register for Kamala.
Jennifer
You know, a lot of people are very worried about the economy and about the inflation. And I hear a lot of people that are able to overlook a lot of the moral shortcomings and bizarre and fascist rhetoric from Donald Trump because they think that he would be better for the economy. And if you will, address that and also address his plan of deporting a large portion of the labor force and the impact that that would have on our economy.
Bernie Sanders
Well, excellent questions. And I think sometimes, and I speak to you, Jennifer, it's the longest serving independent in the history of the United States Congress, I think sometimes Democrats have a tendency to overlook the enormous economic stress that millions of millions of Americans are now experiencing. The truth of the matter is that while the very richest people in this country have never, ever had it so good, Trump's tax plan. Billionaires became much richer. We have more income and wealth inequality now than we've ever had before. The CEOs of large corporations make 300 times what their workers make. So in the midst of all of that Massive inequality. You got 60% of Americans today are living paycheck to paycheck. And I grew up in a family that lived paycheck to paycheck. And I know what that kind of economic stresses out of them. People are worried, you know, if God forbid, somebody in the family gets sick, are they going to afford to go to the doctor, they end up in the hospital, they're going to go bankrupt, the car breaks down, are they going to be able to get to work, you know, price of groceries, how are you going to afford, you know, feeding your kids? These are day to day stresses that many, many millions of people in the richest country in the history of the world are experiencing. You cannot turn your back on that reality. And I think that when people look in the future. Is Kamal doing everything that I would like to see done now, but is her program a lot stronger than Trump's? Absolutely. Trump the other day was floating the idea of doing away with all federal income taxes. Oh, my God, isn't that great? I'm not going to have to pay any more federal income tax. Do you know what that proposal would do? It would give a massive tax rate to the very richest people in this country and raise taxes significantly on the middle class and working class people. You have to raise sales taxes, which are regressive for everything that you buy, in order to compensate for the fact that billionaires are no longer going to have to pay a nickel and federal income tax. Insane idea. Kamala is talking. I'm glad. She is about raising the federal minimum wage to at least $15 an hour. And I hope she goes higher than that. You have right now, as we speak, in many states all over the country, you got workers working for 9, 10, 11, 12 bucks an hour. I don't care, you know, whether you're in rural Wisconsin or New York City or Los Angeles anyplace else, nobody makes it on 12 bucks an hour. So, you know, you remember, you remember a couple of the last week or so, two weeks ago, Trump was in McDonald's. You guys remember that?
Jennifer
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Bernie Sanders
So he did his photo op in McDonald's. He loves McDonald's. Wonderful. And reporter said, how are you? What are you going to do about the minimum wage? And he ducked the question, didn't answer it. That means that, and it's true, he doesn't want to raise the minimum wage. So here's a billionaire saying it's okay for millions of workers to work in starvation wages. And what Kamala will do is fight to raise wages for many, many there are 20 million workers today who make less than 15 bucks an hour. So you ask me about the economy, the other thing is overtime. It's amazing. Trump was in Erie, Pennsylvania, a few weeks ago. He held a rally. This is what he says. I'm paraphrasing. He says, when I was in private business, I hated to pay overtime. Now, by law, somebody works more than 40 hours a week got to pay him time and effort. So I hated to do that. I would hire additional workers in order to pay overtime. And when he was president, he restricted. He cut back on what Obama had done, which is expanded the number of people eligible for time and half overtime pay. Under Biden and Harris, we have undone what Trump did and we greatly expanded the number of people now getting overtime pay. But can you imagine Trump saying to a billionaire, saying to millions of workers who need that time and a half in order to pay their bills, hey, sorry, you ain't going to get it. Kamala understands we need to grow the trade union movement. She supports what's called a pro act. Easier for workers to go on means Trump opposes it. So I think if you look at the economic issues, clearly the preferable candidate is Kamala Harris.
Pumps
What I find interesting is you always hear about Republicans are better with the economy, and that seems to me to be false when you look at the data. So why do you think the overwhelming majority of Americans believe that Republicans are better with the economy?
Bernie Sanders
Well, you know, Republicans lie a lot, but, you know, that's true. And Democrats, I don't think, do as good a job as they should in defending the good things that they have done. Just to give you an example, just yesterday I was in Erie, Pennsylvania, and we did a really great rally. Hundreds and hundreds of people in the trade union movement came out, including construction workers and plumbers and pipe fitters and all these guys. And I said to them, well, how are things going? He said, great. We have more work than we can do. And that's true. I mean, in the state of Vermont, my state, we don't have enough workers to do the work that we need to get done in infrastructure. We put so much money into rebuilding our company infrastructure. Have Democrats been as clear about that as they should? I think that. So if you're a construction worker out there and, you know, you're working on a road or a water system or a wastewater plant or maybe a. Installing broadband didn't happen by accident. It happened because of the leadership of the president, Vice President Harris, to make that happen. If you are somewhere installing solar panels, on people's rooftops. It didn't happen by accident. We put a whole lot of money into combating climate change and into transforming our energies and creating many, many hundreds of thousands of jobs. And by the way, when we talk about Trump versus Harris, one of the issues that does not get talked about enough in this campaign, which I think is a mistake, is I hope I don't have to explain to any of the viewers that every scientist who has studied this issue understands that climate change is real. It's caused by human activity and carbon emissions. And if we don't get a handle on it globally, the planet for future generations will be increasingly unhealthy and uninhabitable. We saw some of what happens in recently in Florida and North Carolina, but it's happening all over the world, if you can believe it. I want everybody to hear this who said, well, I don't like everything about Kamala Harris. I think I'm not going to vote. Donald Trump thinks that climate change is a hoax, quote, unquote, hoax greater than China. Now, you may say, oh, that's pretty crazy, that's pretty stupid, and it is, but it's worse than that. What that means, if Trump gets elected, the United States surrenders the fight against climate change. If the US does it, China will do it, Europe will do it, and it's basically over. The effort to transform our energy system is gone. And I worry, not worry, I am deeply concerned and frightened about the kind of planet that future generations will inhabit.
Jennifer
Well, we live in Oklahoma City and there's a lot of oil and gas companies here. And I hear a lot of people that I know say that they say that they believe climate change is a hoax. And I respond to them. Can you imagine the grand conspiracy with all of these scientists and all the data and all the different languages it has been produced, and they found the exact same conclusion over and over and over again. But there always seems to be this selfishness, myopic focus on what we can get and what we can grab up right now. Which brings me to my next question regarding Elon Musk. Here we have a man who is giving, reportedly giving Trump $45 million a month. He bought Twitter, renamed it to X, and he amplifies the algorithm to promote pro maga propaganda, anti immigrant propaganda. It's also been reported that he regularly speaks to Vladimir Putin. And I just can't help but think, think how dangerous it is for somebody this unhinged to have this much impact on a political election on the way people receive their information and that he's able to pay to play with a man who is campaigning and bragging about all of these dictators that he admires so much.
Bernie Sanders
Well, thank you for raising the question. And I share your concerns about Moscow. Everybody should know is the wealthiest guy in the world. And it touches on an issue of not only Musk, but the border issue of oligarchy in America. There was an article that came out yesterday, an analysis which I want to share with your viewers. There are some 800 billionaires in America. That's not a whole lot of people or a nation of 330 million people. In this presidential election. The billionaire class has contributed up to now. Up to now. So the numbers were going to go up $695 million. That's 18% of the total amount of money coming in. And not just billionaires. So if the poor guys are out there only worth $500 million, they've also contributed a lot. And you mentioned Musk playing an enormous role in Trump's campaign, making contributions all over Pennsylvania as we speak, he uses his Twitter platform to spread lies. All of which takes us to the fact, in my view, that we are moving more and more to an oligarchic form of society where the billionaire class, led by people like Musk, not only have unbelievable economic power, but they're saying, hey, we own all these large corporations. That's not good enough. We want to own the United States government. And that's what you're seeing with your own eyes. So the conclusion that we have got to reach is that if we take democracy seriously, it's not only Trump's threats against democracy. That's terrible stuff, but it's something else. It is money in politics. And as I'm sure you and many of your viewers are aware, a number of years ago, the Supreme Court came down with one of many terrible decisions, and that was the decision on Citizens United, which basically said to the Elon Musk, well, look at your billionaires, and you have the freedom to buy the American political system well. And that's what's happening. And you're seeing that in an unprecedented way right now as we speak. The 1% is trying to buy this election. I wish I could tell you it was just Republicans. Billionaires are putting money into the Democrats as well. So the end result of all of that is we have got to get big money out of politics, get rid of Citizens United, and, in my view, move the public funding of elections.
Jennifer
I completely agree. And I also think our elections are too long. Yes, I Think that you get fatigue and it allows for a lot of misinformation to be born. And you see, you know, the on the MAGA movement becoming more and more unhinged and the electorate gets angry with one another because I feel like we only get about a year respite from these political races and then it just starts revving back up again, raising the money. It feels like Donald Trump's been on tour for a decade and. And it makes everybody angry. And it's not.
Bernie Sanders
You're right. I mean, you're absolutely right. And you are aware that we do things very differently than other countries. I mean, I don't have the information in front of me, but in the uk, you know, they call what they call a stop election. They call an election. I don't know, one, two months later they have the election. Canada, you know, something similar. Our elections never end and people have bought it and the whole discourse in an election is compromised. I mean, they come down to 32nd TBS. I was just talking to somebody that told me they saw the same ad five times in an hour. You know, it is demoralizing. You know, what campaigns should be about is a serious discussion of the differences of opinion on the key issues facing America. I don't think anyone thinks that's what happens. You have huge amounts of money. The 30 second ads, the pollsters there are all kinds of consultants. And as a result of that, I think people are becoming very demoralized about the American political process. There was a piece the other day in the paper, I know, I think a New York Times study, they did a rather extensive poll. You know what they found? Almost half the American people no longer believe that American democracy works for them. And that is one of the reasons why Trump does as well as he does. And that takes us to another reason and to another issue is is government capable of addressing the enormous crises facing working people? Why are we the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all people as a human right? Why are we the only major country to be paying outrageously high prices for prescription drugs far higher than the people of other country? Why is it that countries like Germany can guarantee college education tuition free to their young people and our kids have got to go deeply in debt to get a college education? And on and on it goes. But you know, people are losing faith in democracy. The election process is one of those. But when you have big money owning the political process, they're not going to let government address the needs of the working class, lower income people. They're going to do their best to protect the interest of the wealthy and the powerful. And that is what people are saying.
Pumps
So you're an independent and we hear all about independent voters, undecided voters. So what is the contrast that you see when you look at Kamala Harris and Donald Trump if you're trying to sway an independent or undecided voter?
Bernie Sanders
Very good question. And I do speak as an independent. It's never been. I caught this with the Democrats. No great secret about that because I think in many ways, many, many ways, always they're preferable to Republicans. Do I think they do enough for working people? Absolutely not. But they are far preferable. So let me give you the contrast. I mentioned minimum wage, very important issue. Kamala wants to raise wages for millions of low wage workers. Trump does not. Kamala understands it's important for workers to have a union, wants to make it easier for workers to join the union. Trump does not. Common law understands that in America today you have I don't know how many, but millions of seniors and people with disabilities who would love to stay home and end their lives in their homes around with their family and loved ones rather than be forced to push into a nursing home. And that's why she wants to expand Medicare to cover home health care and vision and hearing aids as well. That's a big deal. Kamala understands that today if you are a working parent and you got a two year old out there, it is tough, it's tough to raise that kid. And what Kamala wants to do is expand and extend the child tax credit that we had in the American rescue plan to help you significantly afford to have the ability to raise that kid. Child tax credit expansion enormously important. Kamala, one of the very first things she said when she became the candidate is, look, I'm looking around America, whether it's Burlington, Vermont or San Francisco, we got a housing crisis. It's not only 600,000 homeless. It is millions and millions of people paying 40, 50, 60% of their limited income for housing. We need to build affordable housing, low income housing, in order to address the housing crisis in America. And she wanted to do that. There's another issue that she came out strongly on which I like very much. I'm chairman of the committee that deals with this stuff we are hearing on it is, if you can believe this, Jennifer, right now, one quarter of the people in this country who undergo cancer treatment end up either bankruptcy or depleting the financial resources of their families. That's an insane amount of people that's horrible. And what she wants to do is forgive all medical debt. So, you know, the choice is clear on that. And then obviously, you know, we have a situation where Kamler has spent her life fighting for women's rights, the right of women to be able to control their own bodies. You got Donald Trump proudly most, hey, I appointed three people to the Supreme Court, right wing guys who, you know, helped overturn Roe v. Wade. So I mean, I think on all of these issues, whether it's women's rights, climate change, the economy, democracy, support for fundamental democratic rights, and the choice is quite key. And I hope that people who may have their doubts about Kamala on this or that issue don't sit it out. This is it, believe you me. This ain't an election you can afford to sit out. You don't want to wake up and find out that in your state, whether it's Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, whatever it may be, that the Trump won by a small number of votes if you didn't go out and do what you have to do.
Jennifer
Well, we can speak to people that are protected by their state governments right now because women in our state are not. We live in the state of OKLAHOMA and Project 2025 is already in full swing in states like ours. We have a total abortion ban. We have the 10 Commandments are mandated to be in all public school classrooms. The superintendent of school is mandating that Bibles be purchased for every public school and taught as history. And there seems to be very little pushback. And the saddest thing about it is, as you and I both know, a lot of these policies impact the poorest among us. So you have women that are in poverty that their parents can't pay for them to go or their family members can't pay for them to go to a state to receive abortion care. And it keeps them in poverty. And I hear people in blue states say, oh, I don't know how I'm going to vote yet. And I think, well, that's a luxury because people in red states need the federal government. They need the protections to protect their rights because they're starting to erode under these many MAGA governments that have popped up post 2016. And if you look and you know this, you're in the Senate every day. If you look at the bottom ranking states in the United States of America, there are all of these deep red states that have already implemented MAGA policies. Our State is ranked 49th in education, 50th for the well being of women. And these policies really, really hurt Americans, particularly women, particularly people of color. And it's really sad to see. And I hear you make this case about all of these things that government can do and I hear you making a moral case for it, that it's moral to pay people a livable wage and that it's moral to help people that are sick get health care. But what happens in a lot of these red states is they feel like those programs are for lazy people or people that don't have their life together. And there's a real demonization of lower class people that is really at the crux of a lot of this. That's painful to hear, that kind of Reddit rhetoric. And I wanted to know what your thoughts were on that.
Bernie Sanders
Well, I think you're right. Look, philosophically, you know, when you talk about politics, you come from two, two separate places. One place is to say as a society, as Americans, we are all in this together. How do we work together, make sure that all of us contribute and all of us have a better life. You help me, I help you. That's one way. And you know, when you talk to the guys in the military, that is what they do. They understand ain't a one man show. You can't have successful military operations unless everybody, 100% of the people, you can't have a successful country unless we're all in this together. So there are fundamental issues and that is, do we think we should be living. And back to your point about dividing people up, this is not a new concept for the right wing. Fifty years ago, 60 years ago, the lowest paid white workers in America were in states like Mississippi and Alabama. Lowest paid white workers in America. What did they have going for them back then? They could drink at a stupid water fountain or go to a movie theater and not be segregated. So they were a notch up among above black workers who were paid even lower than they were. So what you had is the ruling class playing off white workers. Hey, you can go to the movie theater. Hey, you can drink out of a fountain. Of course we're going to pay you starvation wages because those blacks, they're terrible. And you divide up people and the people on top make out like bandits. And then we have division. And that's kind of what you are talking about. So now instead of just calling it, you know, biracial, there's still, we know much too much of that. It's all, these are all lazy people. Why do you want to pay for them? Meanwhile, in other countries around the world, what they have understood, what I'm Talking about it's not radical. Health care is a human right. You're rich, you're poor, you're young or you're old. You go to European countries. The most reactionary political party will not say that healthcare is not a human right. They will not undo all of the programs that exist in those countries. Go to Canada by the 50 miles away from the Canadian border. How many Americans even know this? Canada very much like us, but they have a healthy assistance. But you end up in the hospital for two months. You come out, there is no bill because healthcare is a right and they pay for it publicly and they end up spending half as much as we do. So the question is, can we bring people together around the fight for healthcare for all in terms of wages, the same thing. We have CEOs now making 300 times more than their workers. Do anybody think that that's right? So what you are describing is a process. That's what demagogues always do. You know, sometimes, you know, whether it's Jews or blacks or gays or transgender people, whatever, you pick whatever group you want, lazy people, and you demonize those people. Undocumented, they're the enemies of everything. But what don't we talk about? We don't talk about the three people on top on wealth and bottom half American society. We don't talk about 60% of our people struggling day after day while the very richest people become richer. Because what these people on top don't want, their nightmare is that we all come together and we say, hey, don't you think everybody should have a healthcare system? Don't you think we should have more doctors and dentists and nurses? And people say, yeah, we should. Don't you think we should have wages so that all people can live comfortably in America? Don't we think we should have a strong Social Security system so that people can retire with their guy? People say yes on all of these issues. We've polled them, we've tested them. So I'm not talking off the top of my head yet. I could send you the polls. That's what the American people believe in. Go to Oklahoma, ask people that think healthcare is a human right. And I know that Oklahoma is a lot more conservative with other countries. I bet you they do. Do you think we should raise the minimum wage? I bet you they do. Think we should strengthen Social Security and raise Social Security guidance? I'll bet you they do. Should we expand Medicare to have the hearing dental vision? I bet you they do. Should Rich be asked to pay more in taxes? I bet you people in Oklahoma will say yes, but we need the political struggle to make that happen.
Jennifer
Okay? Now we're gonna. We're gonna lighten it up and play a quick game with you, and it's called had it or hit it. Oh, my God. Welcome to had it or hit it. I would hit it. I hit it every day, sometimes twice a day. Okay. Had it or hit it? Mittens.
Bernie Sanders
Get it. I love mittens.
Pumps
I live deep in the Oklahoma suburbs, and somebody made. We had an ice storm, and somebody created. You sitting on the chair at the inauguration with your mittens out of ice, and they colored it. It was perfect. It was so funny.
Jennifer
Okay, had it or hit it? Ben and Jerry's.
Bernie Sanders
Get it. You kidding me?
Jennifer
Love it, Garcia.
Bernie Sanders
Excellent.
Jennifer
Yeah, they're excellent. They're a great follow on Instagram, too. All right. Had it or hit it? Trickle down economics.
Bernie Sanders
Everybody else gets poor.
Jennifer
We've coined a new phrase for the Trump campaign, and it's called trickle down incompetence. Okay. Had it or hit it? Prescription drug costs.
Bernie Sanders
I have had it. Look, I'm the chairman of the committee. We pay now far more than other countries for prescription drugs. We've got a lower. Absolutely.
Jennifer
Okay. Had it or hit it? The DOS decision.
Bernie Sanders
Had it. Look, women. I believe that every woman in America in Oklahoma or Vermont has a right to control her own body. I believe that women do have that right.
Jennifer
Okay, had it or hit it. Donald Trump and J.D. vance. Okay, last one. Senator Sanders. Had it or hit it. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, let's hit.
Bernie Sanders
It out of the ballpark.
Jennifer
I love it. Senator Sanders, thank you for making our dreams come true. You fight the good fight, and your voice goes way beyond Vermont and the U.S. capitol. And you're such an inspiration and an icon for so many little blue dots in all these red states.
Bernie Sanders
Well, thank you very much for having me. You keep up the great, important work you're doing.
Jennifer
Okay, thank you. I love that he loves mittens, that he just wears his mittens.
Pumps
What was so crazy about that inauguration, though? He had on mittens, but no, like, real coat. Coat. And it was cold, didn't you? Not like a huge park. It was just like a little jacket. And he just sat there and he didn't shiver, nothing. He just went.
Jennifer
He's from Vermont, I guess. Yeah, it's very northern hemisphere. But I love that he just wears his little mittens that are homemade that somebody knit for him, and he just wears those cute little mittens and his scarf and just, I mean, zero Fucks to give. I love him.
Pumps
That's what's so great about Bernie Sanders. He has had the same message for a hundred years. Stays on the message, keeps fighting the good fight. He doesn't get distracted. He's just. I mean, he really is an icon.
Jennifer
Here's what's important to me about Senator Sanders, and it is when you live in a deeply religious red state, you hear people take the moral high ground all the time, and they talk about their faith all the time, and they're very overt about their faith. And then they vote in a way that doesn't lift up the marginalized, that doesn't help the poor people, doesn't help sick people. And you hear them prop up these, like, massive capitalists that are all about consolidating wealth. And then there's this man who's Jewish, who's an independent from Vermont, who sounds more like the character Christ from the Bible than all of these religious people. I live around in this state, and it amazes me how much in the South, Christianity has become the worship of capitalism.
Pumps
It absolutely has.
Jennifer
And how much they excuse horrible behavior from people. I'm looking at Donald Trump because they believe he's rich, and they believe that that is the most successful destination for them and not about doing the works and deeds of helping people have a decent and respectable quality of life. And you hear the AOCs, you hear the Kamala Harris's, you hear the Barack Obama's, really, really, really hear the Bernie Sanders speak about this in the way that you would hope that religion does. But here we are in the buckle of the Bible Belt and I rarely hear anything from these people about being compassionate and lifting up sick people, poor people, marginalized groups.
Pumps
No, you don't ever hear it, but you do hear all about money. Always about money.
Jennifer
Always about money. Listen up, listener. Get out. Vote. Let's win this thing for Kamala Harris and let's try to make an impact this election and send a message to maga, all of the people that can bend themselves into a pretzel voting for this man that is going to launch an incredible amount of cruelty on a lot of marginalized people. And anybody who disagrees with him in the American public, public, let's send a message that, no, you don't get to do this. You do not get to do this.
Pumps
We as America are not for this crap.
Jennifer
That's right. Okay, go vote. We'll see you guys tomorrow. I'll tell you what I've had it with. Let's hear it. I've had it with that.
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Podcast Summary: "I've Had It" – The Election Eve Special with Sen. Bernie Sanders
Podcast Information:
As the United States approaches a pivotal election, hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan dive deep into the political turmoil and societal tensions gripping the nation. The episode, aired on November 4, 2024, features a special guest: Senator Bernie Sanders. This episode aims to dissect the current political climate, economic concerns, climate change, the influence of big money in politics, and social issues, all culminating on the eve of the election.
Jennifer Welch sets a candid tone by expressing her anxiety about the impending election:
"It is election eve and I am shitting my pants."
[01:14]
Angie “Pumps” Sullivan echoes this sentiment, highlighting the simultaneous excitement and panic among the hosts and their audience:
"There's a part of me that is really excited and there's a part of me that is on the verge of a panic attack."
[01:26]
Jennifer emphasizes the dedication of everyday Americans fighting for their beliefs, exemplified by Betty, a baby boomer from Oklahoma actively campaigning in Pennsylvania. This narrative underscores the grassroots efforts shaping the election's outcome.
Pumps provides a critical analysis of the MAGA movement's legacy:
"History books are not going to look kindly on the MAGA movement. No, never do they look at the history books and say, oh, the MAGA banners and the people that wanted to round other people up and the people that lacked empathy and dictators, they are on the right side of history. That just doesn't happen."
[02:23]
Jennifer concurs, emphasizing that history does not favor movements rooted in hate and division.
After playful banter, the hosts welcome Senator Bernie Sanders, marking a significant moment as he joins their long-awaited guest list:
"Senator Bernie Sanders finally came home to mamas. All right, let's welcome to I've had it, our long awaited guest, Senator Bernie Sanders."
[06:37]
Bernie greets warmly and shares his current activities:
"We're in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Got a rally in a few hours and then we're going to go to Madison. We came back from Pennsylvania yesterday. We're working hard to make sure that Kamala Harris is at Express."
[06:43]
Jennifer and Bernie Sanders discuss the intricacies of the American electoral system, highlighting its complexity and the narrow margins that could determine the election's outcome.
"It's going to be a very close election because of our crazy election system."
[07:05]
Bernie elaborates on the battleground states crucial for Kamala Harris's victory:
"It comes down to eight, ten states. Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, two of those states. Polls have them. Nip and tuck could go either way and a few thousand votes will make a difference."
[07:05]
A significant portion of the discussion centers on economic distress faced by millions of Americans. Bernie Sanders critiques the current administration's economic policies, particularly focusing on income and wealth inequality exacerbated under Donald Trump's tax plan.
"Billionaires became much richer. We have more income and wealth inequality now than we've ever had before."
[08:13]
He contrasts this with Kamala Harris's economic proposals:
"Kamala is talking. I'm glad. She is about raising the federal minimum wage to at least $15 an hour. And I hope she goes higher than that."
[08:13]
Bernie also criticizes Trump's approach to overtime pay, advocating for the expansion of workers' rights and support for the trade union movement.
"Trump does not want to raise the minimum wage. So here's a billionaire saying it's okay for millions of workers to work in starvation wages."
[10:53]
The discussion shifts to climate change, where Bernie Sanders underscores its existential threat and criticizes Trump's dismissal of it as a "hoax."
"Climate change is real. It's caused by human activity and carbon emissions... If Trump gets elected, the United States surrenders the fight against climate change."
[12:49]
He praises Kamala Harris for her commitment to combating climate change and transforming the energy system to create jobs and ensure environmental sustainability.
"Kamala supports what's called a pro act. Easier for workers to go on means Trump opposes it."
[12:33]
Bernie Sanders delves into the problematic influence of billionaires and big money in the political landscape, referencing the Citizens United decision:
"The 1% is trying to buy this election... We have got to get big money out of politics, get rid of Citizens United, and, in my view, move the public funding of elections."
[19:43]
He highlights Elon Musk's financial contributions and media influence as emblematic of the oligarchic tendencies threatening democracy.
"Elon Musk... plays an enormous role in Trump's campaign, making contributions all over Pennsylvania as we speak, he uses his Twitter platform to spread lies."
[17:00]
The conversation addresses the growing voter fatigue and disillusionment with the American political process:
"Almost half the American people no longer believe that American democracy works for them."
[20:16]
Bernie Sanders attributes this disenchantment to the endless election cycle, overwhelming campaign advertising, and the pervasive influence of money in politics, which undermines genuine democratic engagement.
Jennifer brings attention to the erosion of women's rights in red states, citing specific policies in Oklahoma:
"We have a total abortion ban. We have the 10 Commandments mandated to be in all public school classrooms... This really hurts Americans, particularly women, particularly people of color."
[26:10]
Bernie Sanders echoes these concerns, linking them to broader issues of social justice and economic inequality. He emphasizes the need for government intervention to protect marginalized communities and ensure equitable access to healthcare and education.
To add levity, the hosts introduce a game segment featuring Bernie Sanders, titled "Had It or Hit It." This playful interaction reveals Sanders's personable side, strengthening the rapport between him and the hosts.
Examples include:
Mittens: Sanders expresses affection for mittens, a nod to his well-known style.
"Get it. I love mittens."
[33:22]
Trickle Down Economics: Sanders critiques the concept humorously.
"Everybody else gets poor."
[33:58]
Prescription Drug Costs: He firmly states his stance against high medication prices.
"I have had it."
[34:11]
In the concluding moments, Jennifer and Pumps reiterate the importance of voting, urging listeners to support Kamala Harris and reject policies they deem harmful to marginalized communities. Bernie Sanders reinforces these messages, highlighting the critical nature of this election in shaping the nation's future.
"You keep up the great, important work you're doing."
[35:09]
Jennifer emphasizes the moral high ground, contrasting Sanders's compassionate approach with the capitalist-driven rhetoric prevalent in certain religious communities.
"Here we are in the buckle of the Bible Belt and I rarely hear anything from these people about being compassionate and lifting up sick people, poor people, marginalized groups."
[36:03]
The episode closes with a fervent call to action:
"Listen up, listener. Get out. Vote. Let's win this thing for Kamala Harris and let's try to make an impact this election..."
[37:51]
"I've Had It" delivers a comprehensive and impassioned discussion on the 2024 U.S. election, featuring insightful contributions from Senator Bernie Sanders. The episode navigates through pressing issues such as economic inequality, climate change, the detrimental impact of big money in politics, and the erosion of social justice. Through a blend of serious discourse and lighthearted moments, the podcast effectively mobilizes its audience to engage actively in the democratic process, underscoring the high stakes of this election for the nation's future.