How to save America - America 250 kickoff with Ron Jaworski, Guy Benson and more

Summary

Ruthless Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: How to Save America – America 250 Kickoff with Ron Jaworski, Guy Benson and More
Date: January 30, 2026
Hosts: Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan, John Ashbrook
Special Guests: Ron Jaworski, Emily Seidel, Sandra Benitez, John Van Vic, Stacy Garrity, Guy Benson

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Overview

This live episode of the Ruthless Podcast marks the kickoff for the "America 250" celebration, with the crew convening in Philadelphia alongside a range of guests from politics, sports, grassroots activism, and media. The central theme is a positive, action-oriented reflection on America’s founding, history, and next chapter as the nation commemorates its 250th anniversary. Throughout, the tone is energetic, humorous, and, true to Ruthless style, often tongue-in-cheek.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

A. The Promise of America & Opportunity

• Ron Jaworski’s Origin Story (02:02, 08:58):
  • Born to working-class parents in Lackawanna, NY, Jaworski credits his success—NFL quarterback, TV analyst, and multimillion-dollar businessman—to “the great opportunity this country affords every single person.”
  • “It’s the only place where you can be born into absolutely nothing and become absolutely anything. And that is worth celebrating.” – John Ashbrook (03:38)
• Jaworski on Leadership (11:53):
  • Leadership starts with yourself; hard work, setting the tempo for your family or team, and surrounding yourself with good people are key to success.
  • Notably, the average NFL career is only 3.3 years, underscoring the need for perseverance.
  • “There’s no easy way. There’s no shortcuts to success. You’ve got to work hard and pay the price.” – Ron Jaworski

B. Celebrating America 250: Meaning & Action

• Pride and Civic Responsibility (04:03-04:59):

  • Speakers lament shifts in the political landscape, where pride in American history is replaced by divisiveness. They urge a re-centering on shared values.
  • “We have to have this America250, because this country's worth celebrating and this country's worth fighting for.” – Emily Seidel (04:51)

• “One Small Step” Grassroots Initiative (38:00, 47:07):

  • Emily Seidel, Sandra Benitez, and John Van Vic detail how everyone can take "one small step" to strengthen civic foundations and defend freedom.
  • Calling your Congressman or getting involved locally are tangible ways individuals can make a difference.
  • “Freedom doesn’t defend itself. People have to defend freedom.” – Emily Seidel (37:48)
  • Hispanic Experience:
    • Benitez and Van Vic highlight that the principles of freedom and opportunity are especially alive in the Hispanic community: “Only in this country could the daughter of a single mother go on and achieve her version of the American dream.” – Sandra Benitez (41:41)

• Veterans and Civic Engagement (45:08):

  • John Van Vic explains Concerned Veterans for America’s mission to channel veterans’ voices into public policy, emphasizing the deeper meaning behind military service: defending the American way of life.

C. American History, Challenges, and Cultural Battles

• Preserving and Teaching History (24:24):

  • Jaworski argues that experiencing historic sites (Constitution Center, Liberty Bell) is vital to understanding American greatness.
  • “Go to the Constitution Center…see what the foundation of this country is all about…you’ll feel the vibe why our country is so great.” – Ron Jaworski (24:33)

• Optimism vs. Negativity (59:21):

  • The crew discusses the pervasiveness of America-hating narratives in the media and elsewhere, arguing these are meant to make people “hate their history.”
  • “If you want to destroy a country, make the people hate their history.” – Michael Duncan (59:17)

• The Game Segment: Journalists vs. Politicians (54:29-66:57):

  • “DemerJournal” quizzes the audience on distinguishing between outlandish anti-American statements made by journalists versus liberal politicians.
  • Key insight: The line between activist-journalist rhetoric and extreme partisanship is often blurry.
  • “Three of these people write stories that we’re supposed to read and get informed by.” – Josh Holmes (58:02)

D. Personal Journeys and Public Service

1. Ron Jaworski’s Reflections

• Mentorship & Advice:
  • Jaworski credits his parents and coach Dick Vermeil for shaping his ethic of self-leadership.
  • “If you don’t give every single ounce of effort every single day, you don’t have a chance. Because someone always wants your job.” (12:44)
• Super Bowl Regret:
  • Still hasn’t re-watched his Super Bowl XV loss, using the pain as motivation:
    “You must seize the opportunity because you may never get it back again. So give it your all.” (19:20)

2. Stacy Garrity: Service and Accountability

• Background:
  • Raised in rural Bradford County, PA, Garrity worked in manufacturing and served 30 years in the Army Reserve before holding office as state treasurer.
  • “If I can do it, they can do it. Don’t let anybody tell you you can’t do it, especially yourself.” (72:48)
• Fighting Bureaucracy (75:04):
  • Sees her role as fiscal watchdog—treating taxpayer money as her own, reducing fees, and returning unclaimed funds and military medals to rightful owners.
  • “Our only ambition should be to serve…Heart stop.” (75:59)

E. Humor, Games, & Community

• Hard Pivot Game with Guy Benson (86:08-93:50):

  • Contestants must spin a politician-style “hard pivot” from a tough topic to unrelated party talking points, lampooning evasive political communication.
  • Guy Benson’s expert lampooning draws big laughs:
    • “The most prominent resident of Washington DC is a fascist, Donald Trump. So when you talk about the sewage being pumped in the river, he’s responsible, obviously. But it’s more important to talk about the sewage he’s pumping into the soul of our nation…” (89:06)

• Celebrating America 250 Locally (33:04):

  • The crew encourages everyone to find their own way to celebrate America 250—and gently roasts each other about encyclopedias, ChatGPT, and generational habits.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "It’s the only place where you can be born into absolutely nothing and become absolutely anything. And that is worth celebrating." – John Ashbrook (03:38)
• "There’s no easy way. There’s no shortcuts to success. You’ve got to work hard and pay the price." – Ron Jaworski (11:53)
• "Freedom doesn’t defend itself. People have to defend freedom." – Emily Seidel (37:48)
• "If you want to destroy a country, make the people hate their history." – Michael Duncan (59:17)
• "If I can do it, they can do it. Don’t let anybody tell you you can’t do it, especially yourself." – Stacy Garrity (72:48)
• (On Americans taking action) "By encouraging people to take that first step, that every single one of those moments strengthens that foundation again." – Emily Seidel (50:24)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening, America 250 Context: 00:00–04:59
• Ron Jaworski Interview: 08:07–30:55
• Panel on Grassroots Action & “One Small Step”: 36:15–51:26
• Stacy Garrity Interview: 67:53–79:29
• DemerJournal Game (Media Critique): 54:29–66:57
• Guy Benson Interview & Hard Pivot Game: 79:31–93:50
• Closing Remarks & Audience Resources: 93:53–95:02

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Flow & Atmosphere

The episode skillfully blends light-hearted banter, playful games, and high-energy live audience moments with discussions of deep purpose: what it means to be an American, challenges facing the nation, and why individual engagement at every level is vital. Even while lampooning the media and political adversaries, the tone remains fundamentally optimistic—a celebration of possibility and community.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode is your invitation to view America’s 250th birthday not just as a commemoration, but as a call to reflect, connect, and act. With firsthand stories from sports legends, grassroots activists, and new public servants, the hosts and guests invite everyone to take “one small step”—and celebrate the American experiment anew.

Transcript

[Josh Holmes]

America.

[John Ashbrook]

Ah, 250.

[Ron Jaworski]

My dad worked in a lumberyard. My mom was a cleaning lady. My brother worked at Bethlehem Steel. My sister was a secretary. We realized what a great opportunity this country affords every single person. This country afforded me the opportunity to go to college, get my education. Now I'm a businessman. Not only an old football player, an old ESPN analyst, but I'm a businessman. And I now have a company that's doing $40 million a year in getting the golf business.

[Michael Duncan]

For years, the big health insurance companies have been raising the price of insurance, denying care and delaying treatments, while making record profits and receiving trillions of America's tax dollars through federal programs. When they get asked why health insurance prices keep skyrocketing, the big insurance companies dodge, distract, and blame everyone else. But the American public isn't buying it. Recent national polling shows that voters are concerned about affordability and most importantly, want Congress to prioritize lowering the cost of health insurance. That's why Congress recently grilled the CEOs of the big health insurance companies to answer questions. After years of denying responsibility and pointing fingers everywhere but at themselves, the big insurance bosses are finally being asked to answer for skyrocketing premiums while they make record profits. It's an important first step. But Americans are demanding action and accountability and and not more excuses and denials from big health insurance companies. Learn [e-mail] why do farmers love President Donald Trump?

[Josh Holmes]

Because he delivers. Trump's landed historic trade deals, cut costs, and red tape. He's worked overtime for agriculture and ethanol since day one. Now it's time for Congress to deliver. Year round E15 will help our nation secure energy dominance, drive savings at the pump, and unlock a homegrown market. Our farmers can depend on Congress. Year round. E15 is long overdue.

[John Ashbrook]

Let's deliver.

[Ron Jaworski]

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.

[Emily Seidel]

Keep the faith, hold the line and own the lids.

[Josh Holmes]

It's time for our main event.

[John Ashbrook]

How we doing, Philadelphia? Let's go, America.

[Stacy Garrity]

Ah.

[John Ashbrook]

250. Let's go. Hey, big thanks to AFP, by the way. This is an incredible venue. You guys are incredible people. You're doing the right thing at the right time. We need you.

[Ron Jaworski]

Thank you.

[John Ashbrook]

So we're ruthless. Josh Holmes, comfortably smug. Michael Duncan and John Ashbrook, left to right, across your radio dial. As always, I couldn't be happier to be here and do this and kick off America 250 in January, the first month, because you got to have all 12 months to celebrate America 250. We should be celebrating America each and every day, shouldn't we? Greatest country in the world. No question. You watch a little bit of the news. Everybody seems to think that we've got problems and they highlight our problems. And what they want to do is sort of sow divisiveness. But each and every one of you know, the reason you're here, the reason that what you do, what you do is because you know that it's the greatest country on earth. You know, it's the beacon of light for the rest of the world. You know, the goodness in what we have. And it's the only place where you can be born into absolutely nothing and become absolutely anything. And that is worth celebrating.

[Michael Duncan]

I think that's an important point though, because when we got started in politics, it was liberals, conservatives, different ideas of public policy. Like, you know, I agree with this, I disagree with this and that sort of thing. And then somewhere along the way, about 10 years ago, it became different than that where it was. Our history is terrible. We hate it. And we're going to redefine what it means to be an American because we have a different vision, right? That is outside of the founding of this country. And that is why events like this, I think, are so important, is to refocus what it means to be an American and be proud of the history that we have, warts and all, because it's what makes us great.

[Emily Seidel]

And that's the thing is we have to have this America250, because this country's worth celebrating and this country's worth fighting for.

[John Ashbrook]

Absolutely. I mean, monster trucks, cold beer and freedom, buddy. Let's go. Let's go. I mean, we do. Yeah, there you go. You know what I'm talking about with the cold beer. Listen, we got a hell of a show for you here. And for those of you who haven't been to a. A live show from Ruthless, we'll. We'll try to keep AFP employed. So we won't, won't do anything that's cancelable, but we're gonna get pretty close.

[Josh Holmes]

Okay.

[John Ashbrook]

But we've got just an incredible lineup of speakers and guests. The first one, honestly, is like a hero. Not only a hero to all of you from Philadelphia. And for those. How many Eagles fans do we have in the house? I'm reticent to say go birds, Just so you all know. So I'm married to Philly Gal.

[Josh Holmes]

Proud.

[John Ashbrook]

Native of Westchester, the Latoffs of Westchester, and they're pretty persuasive. I have two boys, 8 year old and a 5 year old. And my lifelong dream, as every father in this place has thought of, was I can't wait to cheer football with my kids, right? If I have two sons, if the Lord graces me with the pleasure of having two sons, man, I can't wait. They're going to root for my team. I'm going to put the jersey on them. I'm from Minnesota. Life's been tough. We even had Carson Wentz playing for us this year. So at some point, my son is born in 2017. What else happened in 2017? Well, there was an NFC championship game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings. And my wife and I made a wager that whoever won that game and went to the super bowl, our firstborn would be a fan of. Huge mistake, Huge error on my part. And then it got worse, right? Because we had another boy and he's like, just as crazy and he's. He's football nuts. And then you all kept winning Super Bowls and we kept not winning Super Bowls. And so it's been. It's been pretty rough. All that is a long intro to say, this guy that I'm about to introduce to you is a legend of the Philadelphia Eagles. And for those of us who've been football fans for a long time, we grew up with his analysis on espn, Monday Night Football, everywhere else. He is the man. Jaws Ron Jaworski.

[Ron Jaworski]

Well, I'm honored. I'm honored. Thank you, guys. Oh, listen, that was awesome.

[John Ashbrook]

Jaws, we got to know you a little bit backstage. Beautiful.

[Ron Jaworski]

It was a blast.

[John Ashbrook]

By the way, beautiful family.

[Ron Jaworski]

Can we replicate what we did backstage? It was great.

[Emily Seidel]

Honestly, that was like the most fun conversation I've had some time. I was like, let's save it for the mics.

[John Ashbrook]

I know you could maybe miss some of that on the cutting room floor. But listen, you're also a product. United States of America, the greatest country.

[Ron Jaworski]

That'S ever been, no doubt.

[John Ashbrook]

And you have a unique vision of somebody who just worked their tail off and saw what this country could do for somebody who was committed to working their tail off and understanding the values of America, this great country. Tell us a little bit about what you think.

[Ron Jaworski]

Well, mom and dad, that's where we garner our values from our parents. And I was very fortunate to be brought up in a small town, actually not a small town. A medium sized town outside of Buffalo called Lackawanna, New York, steel town. 20,000 people in the city, 19,000 people worked in the steel mill, carried a lunch bucket every single day. My dad worked in Lumberyard. My mom was a cleaning lady. My brother worked at Bethlehem Steel. My sister was a secretary. We realized what a great opportunity this country affords every single person. And I was an athlete. And quite honestly, I'd probably still work at Bethlehem Steel if I wasn't an athlete. This country afforded me the opportunity to go to college, get my education. Now I'm a businessman. Not only an old football player, an old ESPN analyst, but I'm a businessman. And I now have a company that's doing $40 million a year in getting the golf business.

[John Ashbrook]

He's not a businessman. He's a businessman.

[Ron Jaworski]

I've done a lot of shit in my days. I'm telling you right now, they shouldn't give me this mic. We may not get out of here for a while, but I've been blessed. And I always. My parents taught me a good work ethic. If you work hard, great things will happen. I'm 74 years old now, and I still work hard. My wife, at 51 years, tell my grand death. Thank you.

[Emily Seidel]

That's awesome.

[Ron Jaworski]

But honestly, she always says, we've been married 51 years. We've been together about 25, because I was traveling every weekend, so I guess there's something to that. Ladies, kick us out the house and the marriage will last. But. But I've been blessed and I thank the Lord and I welcome everyone who's not a Philadelphia and here to Philadelphia. It's going to be a very exciting year. PHL Sports has done an amazing job. Not only the World cup, the PGA Championship is here. We can talk golf anytime we want to talk golf. Dormy club member always love talking golf. But you think of all the good things happening. The Major League Baseball All Star game is here in Philadelphia. Go Phillies. Double A basketball is going to be here as well. And I know sweet 16 or I think 32, it's going to be. This town is going upside down with excitement. So I welcome everyone. I guess I'm the temporary ambassador to Philadelphia right now. I do my best job. We welcome everyone who's from out of town to Philadelphia. It's a great, great city. Across the river to New Jersey, further south of Delaware. Great people. So welcome everyone. Have a great time while you're here.

[John Ashbrook]

Jaws, I imagine you share my opinion on this. But where else can someone born in a steel town, from where you were born, with your family, rise to do what you have done and what that journey encompassed and the way that this country enables it and no other country on the planet is even contemplated?

[Ron Jaworski]

Yeah, I think it's about leadership. And I think we have in front right now as leaders, what we have out there are leaders. And that's really what it's all about. You have to lead yourself, number one. If you lead yourself, you can do great things. When other people see you leading yourself and doing great things, they want to replicate what you've done. So I think it all boils down to leadership. You, you got to be a tempo setter for yourself, your family, your business, whatever case may be what you're involved with. You got to set the tempo and make people work hard. There's no easy way. There's no shortcuts to success. You've got to work hard and pay the price. And if you're willing to do that, you can be successful. I learned as a kid growing up. I've learned as an NFL quarterback. As NFL quarterback for 17 years. I played 17 years, not only here in Philadelphia for 10 years. I played in Miami for two years. I played in LA for four years, and I played in Kansas City for a year. See, I've been all over the map. That means I'm old. But I realized if you don't give every. Every single ounce of effort every single day, you don't have a chance because someone always wants your job. The average career in the NFL, this always shocks me. The average career, when you turn on the Eagles game or commander's game or any other game, the average career in national football league is 3.3 years. Think of that. 3. Hey, go be a pro. How long's that career? 3 years. We only hear about the guys that are making the big money. Jalen Hurts here, making a big contract, like all quarterbacks make the big bucks. But, you know, it's the guys on the lower end of the totem pole that don't make that kind of money. And they're usually the ones out in that three years. So I don't tell anyone not to try to be an NFL football player, but it's a long shot. It is a long shot. But if you work your tail off, pay respect to your coaches, you got a really, really good chance to make it. But you've got to pay the price to be successful.

[Josh Holmes]

Charles, I want to ask you a question. You talk about leadership, okay? And I'm looking out in this audience. There are a bunch of leaders in this community, no doubt. And you were mentioning, you know, what has made our country great up to this point. But I wonder if you have any advice for folks about how to keep.

[Ron Jaworski]

That going yeah, I'm good at giving advice because I've always gotten a lot, and it's been good. I played football for 17 years, and then I went into business. I was 40 years old. After I retired as NFL player and started a golf business. You talk about it being hard. I learned I had to surround myself with good quality people. You surround yourself with good quality people, like on this dais right now, like these people in the audience right there. It started number one with my wife. I'm blessed. Married 51 years. She's been by my side the whole time. When I retired in 1990. Hey, what are we gonna do, hon? I got a job at NBC, at espn. That was great. I worked out NBC. But I want to start a business. We're not only partners in marriage and partners with our two daughters and son, but also seven grandsons now, all boys. So we have a hell of a Christmas time. I'll tell you that right now.

[John Ashbrook]

We have a.

[Ron Jaworski]

It's rough and tumble. But if you don't surround yourself with good people in business as well as your family, I think it afforded me the opportunity. I could be a grumpy old football player. Sometimes they gotta calm me down. And I appreciate that. But really, I'm blessed to have a great wife. My son now runs a golf company. My daughter has her own business herself. She serves on the board of trustees at Rowan University and just across the river here. So my other daughter works for the Pew foundation, so they're harder working than I am. But I think what they saw with me was every morning getting up at 6 o' clock and coming home at 9 o' clock at night, they seen that I had a great work ethic and they saw the success that I had. They said, you know what, if we can replicate what. They call me Grand Jaws, by the way, my grandkids, couple, my grandsons, are sitting over there right now because my Jaws nickname, Grand Jaws, is a lot better than that.

[John Ashbrook]

Tell us a little bit, because we're Philly. We've established Eagles. Eagle. I got it.

[Ron Jaworski]

Oh, Vikings, Commanders, Saints. We got everybody. We got everybody covered up.

[John Ashbrook]

Jaws. I don't need it from you. The super bowl run with dig for meal. When that team captivated this city and up until recent years with 2017 Super Bowls and now this latest one, reigning champs. I got it. I got it. Tell us. We're good. By the way, tell us a little bit about. Because, I mean, look, our. Our view, we all play team sports in our view is that taught us more about life. Life than we ever learned about the sport in and of itself. And I think it interconnects with what you're talking about, with leadership and the culture that you build on a special team like that. Like, give us a little insight into that.

[Ron Jaworski]

Dick Vermeil, talk about leadership, his picture should be on the wall, in my opinion. Taught me life lessons. And I'm telling you, I've had great success. There's a price to be paid for it. And maybe it's a little. A little example. I would get a call. We didn't have all this technology. We have got a cell phone up here. I'd get a call at the house, 11 o' clock at night on a Wednesday night. Ron, plug this tape in. Watched our watch and tape. Here's our red zone. We're going to put in this. After spending about 12 hours with him, I'm home at night. Look at this tape. Red zone. We got some plays. We're going to add that you pay a price to be successful. That's what leadership is about. And that's what Dick Ferrell was. He is still not only my favorite coach, I played for coaches that won close to a thousand games. Think of that. From Dick Vermeil to Buddy Ryan to Don Shula to Marty Schottenheimer, these are winning coaches that taught me concepts of how to live my life. A thousand. Sometimes you think, you don't think you get a first down in a game. I know these coaches have won a thousand games. So when I think of outside of my parents, probably the person that impacted my life the most was Dick Vermeil. To this day, he is still my best friend. And he chewed my ass out an awful lot along the way. And he would tell you that, but he made me. He made me an NFL quarterback and he made me an NFL quarterback that lasted 17 years. And now he's become my best friend.

[John Ashbrook]

Tell me, tell me. I want to. I want to dive into that a little bit because I think that's incredible. I mean, you've got a coach who's renowned, he's busting ass, right? He wants everybody to pull the every in one direction. And there's a price to be paid for all of that. But ultimately, the culture in that locker room led a bunch of people who had absolutely no business in the super bowl to being an obvious contender in the Super Bowl. And tell me, like, getting the whole crew together, because I think that's a lot of what we're talking about with this country in America 250 is trying to get the whole crew back together again.

[Ron Jaworski]

It's hard to do. It's hard to win. It's hard to get it first down, as I say it already. But I think back our super. Our first super bowl team here in Philadelphia, which dick from real coach and I quarterback, you know, we lost the Super Bowl. I. I was known at ESPN as a film wonk. I studied everything, man. I was burning Midnight out. I still have not watched a replay of that game. 40 was it. 46 years later. It still hurts.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

Agony right there.

[Ron Jaworski]

I can't let it go, you know, I can't. I can't let it go. We were that close to being the world champions. Hey, I am so proud of the Eagles last winning two of the last three Super Bowls they were in. But I still have pain losing one super bowl because it. But here's the thing. After that game is over, we're obviously devastated. We lost, disappointment lost. But there was a certain feeling within the locker room amongst the players and coaches, even the fans. We were a young team. We were a talented team. We were going to be back. We'll get it next year. We never got back. So when you get that opportunity we kind of talking about here, when you, when you get that opportunity, you must seize the opportunity because you may never get it back again. So give it your all.

[John Ashbrook]

And that's what the people at AFP are talking about, is that once more small step. You don't know when that opportunity is going to present itself to do your part, to try to bring in a neighbor, a friend, to try to show the value of this country in a way that if you don't take that step, maybe they're sitting there with Mom, Donnie in Manhattan. You know, there we. No, please, feel free. Feel free. But I mean, that's a real thing, right? Because I think we get, in this era of social media and everything else where everybody has their cylinder of information, you don't know where it comes from, but they do know that you're going to talk to your neighbor. And if you make that choice, you knock on a door, you make that choice to have a conversation, to get to know somebody in a meaningful way, maybe get to know your community and how you can help within your community, they're going to listen to your opinion because they know you're there. You're there for the right reasons. And that's the kind of leadership AFP is talking about. I think that's Jaws. You're a perfect example of somebody who's done that throughout your entire Athletic career, your business career, family, everything else. It's that kind of leaders. You've never missed that opportunity.

[Ron Jaworski]

No, thank you. I'm really honored to be with you guys, with this audience, because you kind of reflect on what America's about. You know, we all have opinions. We all are entitled to our own personal opinions, whatever we think. But I think it's great when we can express our opinions. We can disagree, but we still have to have love and respect for each other. I think that's as I look, that's the most important thing. Opinions are great. I love debating. My wife and I don't always agree. At the end of the night, we hug and we go to bed and we give a kiss. We disagreed, but we know we can't succeed, but unless we do it together. And that's really what leadership is all about. Taking the best we can of people and continue to grow that what is the best in them. And that's how we become a better nation.

[John Ashbrook]

Well said. Really well said. Sometimes it's easier than others to go to bed with the wife where you throw the hug around. You're like, yeah, I guess we're still friends.

[Ron Jaworski]

And no, I don't do that.

[John Ashbrook]

All right, so America, 250. I imagine that's a big deal in the Jaws household, huh?

[Ron Jaworski]

Oh, my God, Yes. Yeah. I've been involved with so many events going on in the city of Philadelphia as well, which makes it even more impressive. You know, the NFL draft is here in 2017. I chaired the committee to bring the NFL draft here. So it's a. Josh makes things happen, you know? Yeah, I do. I make things happen. We're very successful. Someone at the PHL Sports Congress, which is running a lot of events well, even every day of every year. But this year is going to be special. It is, it is. There's been so many meetings. We had so many, so much dialogue about what the city is going to be like, what the celebration is going to be like. We know Washington is going to be unbelievable. It is the nation's capital. We know that's going to be special. So we'll take second place to Washington only because we got World cup coming. So we'll take. We'll do. Take that advantage.

[John Ashbrook]

You don't take second place very often, Jaz.

[Ron Jaworski]

I tell you, I'm not giving any credit to New York, though, or Dallas, and Eagle fans know that. No credit to Dallas.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, there's some NFC east situations going there. I can see.

[Ron Jaworski]

It's personal. It's personal.

[John Ashbrook]

It's personal. All right, so, like, look, I imagine barbecues. You've got, like, the floor. America 250, like, Americana is a part of the lifestyle of what you've got. When you look around your community, obviously, we all feel. You watch the news and there is a slip of America's history. You don't feel like maybe some educational components in terms of schools and whatnot. How much do you think we should put. Put a priority on making sure everybody understands what this country has meant and how we have gotten to a point where we're by far the leader of the free world, the only beacon of hope for the rest of this globe, and making sure that everybody understands that still. Because there's a slip, obviously a high priority.

[Ron Jaworski]

I don't think that it should be a high priority. We are in the hub of our democracy. This building is unbelievable. I don't know how many. If you had a chance to walk around this place.

[John Ashbrook]

It is beautiful.

[Ron Jaworski]

Just. I tell people that live in this area, not only in Philadelphia, Delaware and New Jersey, which is right across. Across the river. Go to the Constitution Center. Walk around, see the Liberty Bill. Walk around independence on. See what the foundation of this country is all about. Our family had. About nine years ago, we. I brought my family here to the Constitution center for our Christmas card. We had our picture taken in the room. Presence. It's the coolest room you will ever find. I mean, you just feel it before you leave here, if you haven't been there, please go through there. You'll feel the vibe why our country is so great because of that leadership. That's the people that are in that room. So there's so much greatness happening in this marketplace, the Philadelphia marketplace. Take advantage of it. If you haven't been here, make a point to come back and do it again.

[John Ashbrook]

So how many of you know what our three questions are? Every time we have somebody who we consider a genuine leader on the program, we ask them three simple, quick questions. And these people all listen to what these answers are because they appreciate everything.

[Ron Jaworski]

You're making me nervous.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. No, no, the first one. If you can plan your last meal on earth, what would it be? You're in Philadelphia. Jaws.

[Ron Jaworski]

I'm from Buffalo. I'm Polish. So I would probably go see. Someone said it. Pierogies. Who said it?

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Ron Jaworski]

So kabasi and pierogi home. Because that's I was raised on. So I'd probably go with, like, kabasi and pierogies. How's that for scoring points for us Pollocks?

[John Ashbrook]

Man, I gotta get a mix of cold beer in there.

[Ron Jaworski]

Oh, you gotta have the puff. That's beer Polar.

[Sandra Benitez]

All right.

[Ron Jaworski]

A lot of beer, by the way.

[John Ashbrook]

Because you can really slide in sideways. It's your last meal, right? I mean, who cares what happens tomorrow?

[Josh Holmes]

You could really.

[Ron Jaworski]

No one's gonna question me. Right.

[John Ashbrook]

All right, second question. This is with the benefit of retrospect. You've accomplished so much in your life.

[Ron Jaworski]

This is.

[Emily Seidel]

This is going to be a wild question for Jaborski.

[Stacy Garrity]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

I mean, all these questions hit different, depending on who you've got. But when you got a guy who's done, like, the pinnacle of his game in professional sports and broadcasting, he owns, like, seven golf courses, for crying out loud. This is a philanthropist.

[Emily Seidel]

Imagine that lifestyle. You've got a golf course for every day of the week.

[Ron Jaworski]

I never thought of it that way.

[John Ashbrook]

So with the benefit of retrospect, when you look back on your life, you always think about the things you didn't do that you think you were really good at that would have led life in a very different direction. It's not that you would choose to live life any differently than you have, because I can't imagine you want to change a thing. I saw your family. Fantastic. Everything's working out just fine for Joe.

[Josh Holmes]

Thank you.

[Ron Jaworski]

It has.

[John Ashbrook]

But you got to look back and you see maybe there was one or two things that interested along the way. If you had it all over to do again, what would that one thing be that you would want to do or pursue? One thing?

[Ron Jaworski]

Well, I mean, one.

[John Ashbrook]

Maybe a profession or career. I don't. I mean, yeah. It's up to you, probably.

[Ron Jaworski]

Oh, man. I'll tick somebody off. I don't say the right thing.

[John Ashbrook]

No, no.

[Ron Jaworski]

You can be proud of the interception I threw in Super Bowl 15. I still regret that. Do I get a mulligan on that one?

[John Ashbrook]

No regrets. No regrets. You've lived life very well. All right, so you got to stick with me on this one. And for those of you know, this is the most important question that we ask. It divides itself in a 5050 manner. And our view is almost every successful person in this country falls into one of two categories. You're either motivated by the agony of defeat or the thrill of victory. And it's not that anyone enjoys losing or anybody doesn't enjoy winning. It's what motivates you to take the next step, to dig deep, to work a little bit harder. And like, the prototypical example is Michael Jordan on the agony of defeat side.

[Josh Holmes]

Right.

[John Ashbrook]

He had to invent slights, like literally invented things that people didn't say that he said. They said.

[Emily Seidel]

He was like, I took that personally. The guy's like, I never said that.

[John Ashbrook]

It's like, I didn't do it. I didn't do it.

[Guy Benson]

But.

[John Ashbrook]

But that was the way he motivated himself. On the other side of the keep of the sports metaphor, it's like Phil Mickelson, right, where he's 285 over water and he's pulling a three iron because he's like, I can. I've hit the shot and I can hit it. And you're like, dude, Phil, just lay up and you win the. You win the tournament. And he's like, no, I've hit the shot. I'm gonna do it. Because it's a thrill of victory kind of guy. On that spectrum, I already know the answer, so you can lie to me if you want to.

[Ron Jaworski]

I tell the truth.

[Josh Holmes]

Where.

[John Ashbrook]

Where do you find yourself?

[Ron Jaworski]

The thrill of victory.

[John Ashbrook]

He's not telling you the truth through.

[Ron Jaworski]

The thrill of victory there. Because I think I understand how hard it is to be victorious. The hours when people are watching and watch they don't see putting the time and the effort, the energy in people normally don't realize what it takes to be successful. There's no shortcuts. And to win, you can't take shortcuts. To be successful, you can't take shortcuts. So I would say the thrill of victory really motivated me. I hated to lose, but I love the thrill of victory, you know, it's.

[John Ashbrook]

Good he articulated it well. But he also talked about the pick in the Super Bowl. It's kind of a hallmark of an agony guy. You are a legend. I cannot thank you enough for joining us. Honestly, it's a total honor for us that you even share a stage with you.

[Ron Jaworski]

I can't thank you guys enough. The Ruthie's team has been sensational. You've been sensational. Welcome to Philadelphia. Enjoy your stay. If you're from Philadelphia, let's have a great 26 year. It's going to be historic for our country, but thank you so much for having me. I've enjoyed every second.

[John Ashbrook]

Thank you so much. Ron Jaworski, everybody.

[Emily Seidel]

Thank you so much.

[Josh Holmes]

Energy is all around us. It's how we move, how we build.

[Ron Jaworski]

And how we make every day a little easier. We're all around America's oil and natural gas, supporting 11 million good paying American jobs across the country and powering our way of life. But energy demand is growing and fast.

[Josh Holmes]

That's why we need to overhaul our broken permitting process to unleash America's abundant natural resources, strengthen national security, and create.

[Ron Jaworski]

A future where American energy leads the world. What America builds today will help secure a more affordable, more reliable future. With enough energy to go around for generations to come, our country can't wait. We must pass permitting reform now to help secure American energy dominance.

[Josh Holmes]

Because when America builds, America wins.

[Ron Jaworski]

America's oil and natural gas paid for.

[Josh Holmes]

By the American Petroleum Institute. In America, parents call the shots for their families, not bureaucrats.

[Michael Duncan]

But the so called App Store Accountability.

[Josh Holmes]

Act puts your child at risk. This bill requires App Stores to collect children's sensitive personal data while taking away power from parents over how their child's data is handled by tech companies. Parents should get to decide if their child's age is shared with apps, not politicians. Parents should attest to their kids ages, not turn over birth certificates to tech companies. Congress should don't put kids at greater risk online and box parents out of making decisions for their families. Tell your lawmaker to put parents first.

[Michael Duncan]

There are better ways to keep kids safe.

[Josh Holmes]

NetChoice is dedicated to making the Internet safe for free expression and free enterprise. Learn [e-mail] keep app stores safe.

[John Ashbrook]

What a stud. You're lucky people in Philadelphia. You got some great characters, man.

[John Van Vic]

Guys.

[John Ashbrook]

Fantastic. All right, so you know we always ask a Question of the day on Ruthless. This one theme formatted Our question of the day is how are you celebrating America 250? When you like and subscribe to the Ruthless Variety program, we read all of your comments. Please, believe it or not, we do. Each one of us. We read every one of your even the nasty ones.

[Emily Seidel]

But I have to say, the last episode's comments were extremely kind.

[John Ashbrook]

They were because you announced Smug is having a baby. His firstborn.

[Emily Seidel]

And what a year for my son, right? He shows up for the 250.

[John Ashbrook]

It's amazing. He's been giving us parental advice for years now and he's now just becoming a parent.

[Emily Seidel]

And I can show you guys how it's done.

[John Ashbrook]

I'm going to sit behind him on the first airplane trip and I'm just going to ride his ass. So listen, if you have any thoughts about I'm not quite sure exactly how I should celebrate America 250. You go to a250toolkit.com AFP has helpfully put up a whole bunch of stuff there and you can find opportunities to honor our history, shape our future, become part of a movement. Listen, you're all Here. Because you've got that inside of you at some point. And if you need additional motivation, that's the spot to go.

[Emily Seidel]

What a great resource. A250toolkit.com.

[Ron Jaworski]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

And talking about motivation and prompts, you know, Michael, Duncan knows how to do everything. And he brought his toolkit with him to Philadelphia. And he's literally gonna patch up the crack and the Liberty Bell tonight.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

So that's how he's celebrating.

[Michael Duncan]

I can't believe it's taken this long, but I'm a man of action.

[John Ashbrook]

Do you have a welding mask?

[Michael Duncan]

I got the mask.

[John Ashbrook]

The welding mask.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, you need that for safety.

[John Ashbrook]

He really is our jack of all trades, this guy. It's like a one stop shop, you know, the old school. Like encyclopedias that mom and dad used to have downstairs that, like, had.

[Emily Seidel]

Boy, we really are. Remember encyclopedias?

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Emily Seidel]

Remember before you, like, chat GPT Give me the answer.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Emily Seidel]

We used to have a book.

[John Ashbrook]

We don't need it. We have Duncan. So he's sewing your merch. He's doing the stuff. And then he answers all of our questions. Thank you, Michael.

[Ron Jaworski]

You're Welcome.

[John Ashbrook]

So for America 250, I'm celebrating you. We got another great group that we want to welcome to the stage. And this is the people who made this whole thing happen. People you're familiar with who are really sort of in communities trying to make a big difference. The kind of difference that all of us individually want to make. And they're helping us all do it. Emily Seidel, Sandra Benitez, and John Van Vic, come on up.

[Sandra Benitez]

Hey, Dun, I thought you were going to maybe like, sew the Liberty Bell back together with your big thimble.

[Michael Duncan]

An account of my carpal tunnel from sewing all the merch. I don't think I can pull that off.

[John Ashbrook]

So, Seidel, you're the big head honcho CEO of Americans for Prosperity.

[Sandra Benitez]

Y.

[John Ashbrook]

Look at this beautiful crowd. Are we excited here tonight or what?

[Sandra Benitez]

This is an incredible crowd. And can I just say one thing? Everybody here, we all have one thing in common. We love America. But there is one group here that might love America just a little bit more because they came all the way from Erie. Where are those people? Look at these people.

[Ron Jaworski]

Nice.

[Sandra Benitez]

Crazy. Thank you.

[John Ashbrook]

That's a road trip. I love that. That's great. Do the snow and tundra. We all love ice. Maybe not that much ice, though. Sorry. You get carried away. So listen, we talked about the one small step.

[Josh Holmes]

Step.

[John Ashbrook]

And I just thought, Emily, a good way to kick this thing. Off is for you to put a little finer point on what you mean by that, because it's attainable for all of us when you really break it down on what we can do.

[Sandra Benitez]

That's right. So we love America. And the, you know, one option would be for us to go through the 250th anniversary of our country and just have a big birthday party one time. We're not doing that all 12 months. We're going to be out across the country having events like these, talking to people. And there's a reason for that. You know, freedom doesn't defend itself. People have to defend freedom. And so events like these, again, all across the country are an invitation for people to just pause for a second and reflect on our history, our shared history as a country, recommit to the founding principles that make our country so exceptional, and then take meaningful action together. Because, you know, I used to work on Capitol Hill as we. We did, and those people that would call, you know, and. And it was like, tally mark. My. It was. I worked on Capitol Hill really long time ago, and so we didn't have fancy technology to do this. And so I was. I kept a pa, a paper, and a pencil. Tally marks as people would call in to tell the member of Congress how many people were calling from his district on specific issues. Each one of those people took a step, thinking maybe they were the only person calling. But I had a full tally sheet, and it moved the member, it moved the chief of staff, the comms director. How many people are calling about this issue? Oh, man, we have a problem. And then they'd act. That's what one small step does when we do it together. And that's what we're talking about across the country for the. The entire year.

[John Ashbrook]

It's really well said. You know, it's. And this is going to run cross purposes a little bit. But before AFP was a thing, I got started in politics much in the same way. And I had a chief of staff on Capitol Hill, where, I mean, we would get callers that would just rag us out, right? And you're like, 22, graduated from college. You're like, dude, how quickly can I get the happy hour? This is rough business. And I remember him saying, hey, Josh, have you ever called Capitol Hill? Have you ever called your congressman? I was like, no. Have your parents ever called your congressman? I'm like, no. Do you know anybody who's ever called your congressman?

[Josh Holmes]

No.

[John Ashbrook]

He's like, that's the people you're dealing with. And it put that in perspective to me, for when AFP came on the scene, started connecting people who actually gave a shit about the future of their country and about the things that mattered. And then those people were the people that were on the phones. All of a sudden it, like, fundamentally shifted. Not only the congressman or the senator's point of view, but the whole group, the staff assistant, everybody else. All of a sudden, you took it seriously, because these are real people that are calling. That's like the power of grassroots, because it used to be reserved for, like, mental institutions.

[Ron Jaworski]

I mean, I'm for real.

[John Ashbrook]

You should hear the conversations that I had all the way back in the early 2000s on the phone. I mean, it was wild. You would hear about all kinds of tinfoil hat stuff.

[Sandra Benitez]

There were some of those, too.

[John Ashbrook]

But now you sort of drown it out, you know, And I was making some of those calls. I talked to your whole family at one point. So listen, Sandra, why now? Why is this important at this particular moment?

[John Van Vic]

That's a great question. Well, for Hispanics, the principles we're championing here of freedom, opportunity, this is not something abstract for the Hispanic community. We love our country and we're living this day in and day out, right? Use my personal story as an example. Only in this country could the daughter of a single mother go on and achieve her version of the American dream. And, you know, now I'm leading the largest Hispanic organization in the country. And there's something to be said to that.

[Emily Seidel]

That is outstanding. That's outstanding.

[John Van Vic]

But it all started, you know, in the same situation as all of us on this stage, right? Taking that one small step, I didn't think, even five or ten years down the road, right? I thought, how could I help my community and my country today? So that's all we're asking, you know, of all of you here, right? There is power in numbers. And when I look at the Libre initiative, being able to say we've made 5 million contacts back into Hispanic community through phone calls, doors. That's powerful. And if there's a year to do it, it's now. Our polling shows over 70% Hispanics believe in the American dream. So we have to take this opportunity to celebrate our country.

[John Ashbrook]

It's really well said. Tell me. I want to stay on this. Because, Look, I think 15 years ago in politics, there was preconceived notions about the Hispanic community and about sort of what constituency they were, right? As if it's a monolithic group of people. And. And I. I feel like, look, there's one party Who I think pretty clearly sees everybody in a monolithic cylinder. Right. You've got your white people, your black people, your Hispanic people, your gay man, woman. That's just not how regular people deal with stuff. You don't like, walk down your street in your neighborhood and it's like, hey, white guy, black guy. I mean, it's your neighbor. I mean, you just don't process information that way. And it seemed like. And you tell me, because you deal with this in the Hispanic community all day, every day. We have taken a giant leap forward in particularly multi generational Hispanic households at getting back to the roots of having an argument that is about them, the person, not about what you look like, what you, where you live, all of that. Am I right about that?

[John Van Vic]

100%. You know, I've been in the Hispanic engagement space almost 15 years now, and polling consistently has shown that Hispanics are just like any other American. We care about the same issues. The economy, our pocketbook. Right. Opportunity to start our small business, to pursue higher education. So I think the main thing is showing up. And that's why I love our team. We're in 13 chapter states, but to your point, it has shifted. I think when I first started my career, it was very much Florida and Texas. Libre has chapters in Michigan and Wisconsin here in Pennsylvania. We opened up our chapter here two years ago. All right, Jenny. So I've seen that growth and it's very exciting to have an organization like Libre leading that for in the space.

[John Ashbrook]

It's awesome. You're doing great work. John, our resident veteran.

[Ron Jaworski]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

How are you, buddy?

[Josh Holmes]

Wow. Loud.

[Guy Benson]

Can we get a round of applause.

[Emily Seidel]

For Concerned Veterans of America who do outstanding work, who are a group who are completely committed to the founding values of this country because they've actually put themselves on the line to defend it.

[John Ashbrook]

Exactly. How many of you all are vets? Yeah. Thank you for your service.

[Michael Duncan]

Thank you.

[John Ashbrook]

Concerned Veterans for America. John. It's a big effort. Tell us a little bit about it.

[Michael Duncan]

We're the only national grassroots organization that is purpose built to elevate veterans voices across every aspect of American governance. Right. So one of the things that when I'm talking to a group of veterans, none of us went overseas to like fight for VA Home Loan. Maybe somebody did.

[Emily Seidel]

I mean, I have one.

[Michael Duncan]

Like, it's, I love it.

[Josh Holmes]

Right.

[Michael Duncan]

But that's. You go overseas, you do your duty because you care about the American way of life.

[Guy Benson]

Right.

[Michael Duncan]

You care about the American dream and, and your family and your community's ability to prosper.

[Ron Jaworski]

Right.

[Michael Duncan]

So cva. One of the, you know, we actually ships in the night. We crossed paths a couple of times. Our previous work for politics and advocacy and stuff like that. But when I had the opportunity to come here and lead this organization, absolutely jumped on it because the mission is so critical and it's an investment in communities. And you're dealing with not just veterans. About half of us are veterans. A lot of these people are just patriotic citizens that really love the way that we communicate about these things and making America able to be more prosperous. And that really does all start with one small step.

[John Ashbrook]

No question. I mean, if you're gonna celebrate America, you start with the veterans. So look, a lot going on this year.

[Sandra Benitez]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

Turns out you're making the most of it.

[Sandra Benitez]

We are trying to. Well, and you asked a really important question about why it's so important to do this right now. I do think that we have to have a sense of urgency about defending freedom because we've been proing a lot leading up to this year about how people's pride in America is at an all time low. And that is a huge red flag. But it's not the only one. Also, people's belief that they can reach the American dream is declining. People's confidence that their voice matters and that they, they can have control over the outcome of their lives if they work hard, that it'll, it'll achieve something is declining. And I think it's not a coincidence that those numbers are going down at the same time as the slightest size and scope of government has been going up. Because as government takes more and more of the decisions about our lives in its own hands, it takes them out of ours. And that loss of agency is really harmful for a free society, quite frankly. And so thinking back about the founding principles of our country, freedom and opportunity, dignity, limited government, what else? Lots of them. They're all on the walls in this amazing building. These are the principles that made our country so exceptional in the first place and gave us all the opportunity to live the American dream. And we have to make sure that that endures and that we stop these numbers that we're seeing that are so concerning and we instill some empowerment in people instead and we take back some of that control from the government.

[John Ashbrook]

It's really, it's great.

[Michael Duncan]

I got, I got to ask you a question. I 100% agree with what you're saying. Where do you think that comes from? Because I do feel like that posture has changed in America and the culture where we've gone from a country where people believe in this idea of the American dream to now saying, maybe that's not possible for me. Maybe my generation is seeing the tail end of what was best for America. How do we change what that is for the next generation?

[Sandra Benitez]

I think that's a really important question. And I don't think that there's one answer. I'll bet you if all of us went home and talked with somebody in our lives, our family member or a neighbor who we see kind of having that feeling, they might give us a different reason. But generally speaking, the dysfunction that we see in our society, to solve it, you have to go through these principles and you have to have a stronger civic foundation. And so if there's one sort of overarching challenge, I think it's that our civic foundation in this country has worked, weakened. And that is a big part of what one small step is intended to strengthen. Because by encouraging people to take that first step, that every single one of those moments strengthens that foundation again.

[John Ashbrook]

Well, you took that step because you're here, folks. Congratulations.

[Emily Seidel]

And I want to say so. From my time when I was running field, when I was involved in activism, there's a role and a place for everybody. You know, we would have, I remember we have an elderly grandmother come in and say, how can I help? Well, you can phone bank. People would love to hear what you have to say. They'd love for you to reach out to them. You'd have some kids roll up after high school. How can I help out? You can go out and door knock. I think you've got 40 doors in you today at least, right? You can get that done. Everyone can get involved. And there's a gentleman here with a wonderful hat that says freedom, just like the shirt that Charlie wore. There are people who gave all that they had for their freedoms and for what this country has and for what we're celebrating, America 250. I think everyone here can take one small step.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, well said, well said. Also you, your superiors very quickly analyzed that your Gucci loafers weren't great for the door to door deal. But honestly, thank you guys for what you're doing. This is a really important thing. We are so proud to be a part of it in this wonderful location to kick this off, 12 full months of celebrating everybody AFP. Well, fellas, I know I'm planning on a big weekend, but when I plan on a big weekend, I plan for zbiotics because it is the only thing that I've ever taken. Whereas a pre alcohol drink mitigates some of the damage that I intend to do in my body.

[Emily Seidel]

And that's the thing. So a lot of people before you have a big night out or even after, they think, maybe if I drink a bunch of water, maybe if I have a Gatorade before I go to sleep, I'm going to be fine. I won't feel terrible in the morning. But you always do, because it's not about dehydration. It's when you drink alcohol, your stomach breaks it down and there's these toxic byproducts. That's what makes you feel terrible the morning after this. Zbiotics knocks that right out.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, I haven't had a lot of big nights out recently. I've had a lot of big nights in because of the snowstorms and between shoveling and trying to deal with children not going to school.

[John Ashbrook]

But you drink yourself positively blind.

[Michael Duncan]

You might have to have a little bit of medicine in the evening.

[John Ashbrook]

A little something.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

And you know what? After that, all that shoveling, daddy deserves it.

[John Ashbrook]

That's right.

[Emily Seidel]

That's right.

[Michael Duncan]

But as part of those big nights in, I have stocked our bar in the basement with a lot of Zebiotics.

[Josh Holmes]

Very smart. Because you know, like everybody else, that there is no tomorrow without Zebiotics today.

[John Ashbrook]

Very good. So if you go to zebiotics.com ruthless you can learn more and get 15% off of your first order when you use Ruthless at the checkout. ZBiotics is backed by 100% money back guarantee, so if you're unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund it, no questions asked. You go to zbiotics.com ruthless and use the code ruthless at the checkout for 15% off. So, you know, when I said we were going to be edgy, here it comes. Supposed to be very nonpartisan about this kind of thing, but it's just not in us. We play a game. It's called demerjournal, And it happens to be our favorite game to play in crowds. And this is a game that our friend Michael came up with. Like I told you, when we need answers for something, we just go one step. Stop shop to Michael Duncan, and he is our game master on the Ruthless variety program. We want some crowd participation in this bad boy, though, so keep your ears on.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, for those who are unfamiliar with this game, the way that we play it is, you know, I've got four statements, three of which have been made by journalists, one that's made by some liberal politician. And the difficult thing about this Game is you have to decide site. Who is that politician? It's tough to tell. It's very tough to tell.

[John Ashbrook]

So, like, think of it this way. When you read the Washington Post to the New York Times or you hear some operative that's got like a, you know, full, like a Kamala operative, the difference between what they say and what's printed in the newspaper is indistinguishable. And this game is meant to be hard because it is. And this is about trying to find out which one is the operative or the politician and which one's the journalist.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, In Keeping with America 250, I decided to theme this game today on American history. Okay, I gotta say, in putting this together, it was really rough.

[Emily Seidel]

Okay, statement one.

[Michael Duncan]

This is put up statement number one.

[John Ashbrook]

So there's four statements.

[Michael Duncan]

Four.

[Ron Jaworski]

Okay.

[Sandra Benitez]

And.

[Emily Seidel]

And three are journalists.

[Michael Duncan]

Three are.

[John Ashbrook]

One is the liberal activist dunks.

[Michael Duncan]

Look at this.

[John Ashbrook]

Beautiful. You've got like a full.

[Michael Duncan]

Wow, huh?

[John Ashbrook]

Everybody can read that. Look at that.

[Michael Duncan]

Great production. Statement number one. One of the primary reasons the colonists decided to declare independence from Britain was to protect the institution of slavery. Wasn't like the Stamp act or like not the Boston Tea Party, the importance of history.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, okay.

[Ron Jaworski]

Wow.

[John Ashbrook]

That'S really.

[Sandra Benitez]

That's.

[John Ashbrook]

We're coming out now. If that's.

[Emily Seidel]

That kind of feels like one of Ashbrook's friends at the New York Times.

[Michael Duncan]

You know.

[Josh Holmes]

You never know.

[Michael Duncan]

State statement number two. It gets even better, folks. The Declaration of Independence. American revolution. The creation of the United States of America. What if all of this was a terrible idea?

[Emily Seidel]

This is real. Someone really said that?

[Josh Holmes]

That definitely sounds like one of my friends.

[Emily Seidel]

Unbelievable.

[Michael Duncan]

I had so much fun putting this together.

[John Ashbrook]

Are you going to recover from collecting this? Holy cat.

[Emily Seidel]

So this to be clear, these are all either journalists or an activist here in America. That's not like issued by Iran or something. This is a domestic.

[Michael Duncan]

No, these are all domestic, unfortunately. Statement number three. When I hear these things about let's make America great again, I think to myself, exactly when did you think America was great?

[Josh Holmes]

This is a tough one, buddy.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. Statement number four. When we consider the actual circumstances people lived in, it becomes absurd to think of the American story as being about ideas or quality in any sense.

[Emily Seidel]

Amazing. Wow.

[Michael Duncan]

Good luck, guys. That is an amazing compilation.

[Josh Holmes]

So three of these people write stories that we're supposed to read and get informed by.

[Emily Seidel]

To me, that's the craziest. I think Duncan's done an all time time job of putting together this list because the simple fact that three of These people are reporting the news to all of us is just mind bending.

[John Ashbrook]

It's so. I mean, look, part of what we did when we started Ruthless is that we were in politics for a long time and we noticed this massive shift primarily during the Obama years where it just became stenography off the left. I mean, it was always left leaning, but like, Johnny and I would fight like hell for the third paragraph, quote and otherwise terrible story. And, you know, most of the journalists at least have the courtesy of taking your call and getting your take and then writing it the other way, but they would at least take your call. And this thing shifted so fast when we started Ruthless, like it wasn't our intention attention, but it quickly became a media critic podcast.

[Sandra Benitez]

And.

[John Ashbrook]

And you can see just based on those statements we read, this is. These are three of these bizarre statements.

[Michael Duncan]

If you want to destroy a country, make the people hate their history.

[Emily Seidel]

It's as simple as, you're right, you're right.

[John Ashbrook]

And you see it happening, right? I mean, you see it, it's happening. And it can be as loud, local as it gets. It can be as national as it gets, but it's pervasive throughout, and you got to do something about it.

[Josh Holmes]

The thing that's stunning to me about these statements is it's not like, oh, one party is wrong for wanting to cut taxes.

[John Ashbrook]

It's America.

[Josh Holmes]

This is about our country, straight up.

[Michael Duncan]

We're not talking about marginal tax rates, right?

[John Ashbrook]

I mean, I'm betraying my age a little bit, but when I started in politics, it was about two different visions to get to the same goal, right? It was about, look, we've got an education problem. Our kids aren't learning at the same rate that other countries.

[Michael Duncan]

Or leering. Yeah, leering.

[Guy Benson]

Now they're leering.

[John Ashbrook]

Now they're learning these days, 8 mil to Lear. But it just changed somewhere along the way where you got this. It's like it's not about two different ideas to try to get to the the same thing anymore. It's like, no, we're all wrong. This country is wrong. Everything that we're here for is wrong. We need to fundamentally break it. Let's just not do that, huh? America 250. So how do we break this down?

[Michael Duncan]

Okay, who wants to go first here? Who wants to go through these four statements?

[Emily Seidel]

And Ashbrook, do you have your pick.

[John Ashbrook]

Of which you hear the resident Journal? Yeah, he's our White House correspondent. How many people saw him doing the White House round of applause?

[Josh Holmes]

Okay, I'm going to go backwards Here. Okay. If we could put number four back up on them on the board. So when I read this one, to me it just seems. It's so, like, stepping back and it's sweeping and it's trying to sound so smart and smarmy and like, I'm better than you. That sounds like a journo to me. Okay. Because they always want to come off like they're better than everybody else.

[John Ashbrook]

Also, it has too many complete sentences for Kamala Harris. Well, that's an observation.

[Josh Holmes]

Do you guys have a differing point of view on this?

[Emily Seidel]

I think that was a great read.

[John Ashbrook]

I think that's right.

[Josh Holmes]

Okay, back up to.

[John Ashbrook]

Wait, hold on. Crowd who thinks that's a journo.

[Josh Holmes]

So smarmy. All right, number three. Okay, this one. I'm kind of back and forth on this one, because a journal would definitely lecture you on what America is because they think that's their role in life. To tell you what the country you live in ought to be rather than the one you love.

[John Ashbrook]

However, it's very editorial, however, to me.

[Josh Holmes]

This sounds like the Dem. To me, this sounds like the Dem. And that's just my own opinion, because they're taking on the Trump statement directly.

[Emily Seidel]

So that's why I'm trying to go directly political.

[Josh Holmes]

Right.

[John Ashbrook]

In a fixed partisanship, as they say.

[Josh Holmes]

Right. That's why I'm voting Dem on number three.

[John Ashbrook]

How many people agree with Smash on that? Number two.

[Michael Duncan]

Number two.

[Josh Holmes]

Okay.

[Emily Seidel]

This is so unhinged.

[John Ashbrook]

This one hurts your head to read.

[Ron Jaworski]

I mean, how.

[Josh Holmes]

Who would ever think this?

[Sandra Benitez]

These.

[Michael Duncan]

These people are your friends. Ashbrook, it's your fault.

[Josh Holmes]

It's a free country.

[John Ashbrook]

Deals with him. He hangs out in Georgetown. Benson, you've seen. Seen it.

[Josh Holmes]

I like people who think differently than me. I'm not afraid of my ideas because I know I'm right. Look, I think this is a journo because once again, they're lecturing us on what the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution are all about. All they want to do is tell you what you're supposed to believe. I think this is a journey.

[Emily Seidel]

That's a good read on it.

[John Ashbrook]

You know why I think it is? Because it ends in a question mark. The other side of this thing, that's the thing is. Would not be a question.

[Michael Duncan]

I think it should end with a trip to Guantanamo Bay.

[Emily Seidel]

That is a journo tell as they try to give their opinion and end it with a question mark so they don't get in trouble. I'm just asking questions here.

[John Ashbrook]

I'm saying crazy Stuff.

[Ron Jaworski]

Okay.

[John Ashbrook]

I love the Ruthless has come out in favor of a good old fashioned excuse. Extraordinary rendition.

[Josh Holmes]

Who thinks this is journo? Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

Anybody think dem.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, we got one back there.

[John Ashbrook]

Okay, okay, okay, what's number one?

[Josh Holmes]

Okay, what's your guys take on this one?

[Emily Seidel]

So I my guess, it says here one of the primary reasons the colonists decided to declare independence from Britain was. Was to protect the institution of slavery. It's so ahistorical and unhinged. I was like, this has to be the New York times. Like the 666 Project.

[Michael Duncan]

Oh, I didn't go 1619 Project. He called it the 666 Project. Let's go.

[John Ashbrook]

Try not to get us canceled today. You threw a wrench into my.

[Emily Seidel]

Yeah, you had a different read.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. I thought this was going to be because it's so a historical.

[Emily Seidel]

It is out of control.

[John Ashbrook]

Like even the least.

[Emily Seidel]

But that's the thing is being ahistorical gets journals, book deals.

[John Ashbrook]

Now that's true.

[Michael Duncan]

Okay, so what's everyone's vote here? I need. I need the whole panel.

[Emily Seidel]

I had three.

[Josh Holmes]

I'm saying three.

[Michael Duncan]

Three, three, one.

[Emily Seidel]

One outlier. What's the audience say?

[John Ashbrook]

Okay, hands up for three.

[Michael Duncan]

Yum.

[Emily Seidel]

Hands up for one.

[Michael Duncan]

Anybody with Holmes?

[Emily Seidel]

Oh, look at that.

[John Ashbrook]

We got some.

[Emily Seidel]

We got some.

[John Ashbrook]

All right.

[Michael Duncan]

Okay, well let's do process of elimination here. Let's go to number two. This is the what if it was all a terrible idea. Let's do the reveal.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

That is Adam Yardnik from the New Yorker. New Yorker. All of it's a terrible idea.

[John Ashbrook]

What an esteemed rag. I can't believe they still print that thing.

[Michael Duncan]

Can we go to number four, please? And let's show that reveal. That's Nathan Robinson from Current Affairs.

[John Ashbrook]

Okay.

[Michael Duncan]

All right, so we're down to three and one. Let's do number one.

[John Ashbrook]

Oh, that's bad news for me, guys. Yeah, that's bad news.

[Sandra Benitez]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

And it was the 666 project.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

You knew it. She wrote a book about it.

[Michael Duncan]

The A Historic Historian. Nicole Hannah Jones Smug. Literally hit the bullseye.

[John Ashbrook]

They hate me for a reason, folks.

[Ron Jaworski]

And.

[Michael Duncan]

And as an aside here, after she wrote this, there was a chorus of actual historical historians who came out against this thing as being completely wrong.

[John Ashbrook]

Anytime you get Doris Gerns could win. Being like, ah, I'm not sure about that. You've got a problem.

[Michael Duncan]

Number three was the lib.

[Emily Seidel]

Who was it?

[Michael Duncan]

Let's put it up.

[John Ashbrook]

Eric, hold. No way.

[Emily Seidel]

Yeah, and you know what? Maybe that's the Guy you want to set up voting rights.

[John Ashbrook]

That's exactly right.

[Michael Duncan]

Incredible. Ultimate lawman in America.

[Emily Seidel]

Listen, this country's terrible. I should be in charge of who gets a vote.

[John Ashbrook]

Unbelievable, my friends, is our game.

[Josh Holmes]

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[John Ashbrook]

Very special guest. She is your state treasurer here in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Stacy Garrity. Boy, watching the book seems like a pretty important time, huh? This is like we're entering into untold shenanigans when it comes to what a certain brand of politician is attempting. Attempting to do. You're keeping an eye on all of that. And I've gotten a lot of feedback from your constituents, by the way.

[Emily Seidel]

I mean, that was a whale of a job.

[John Ashbrook]

Whale of a job.

[Emily Seidel]

This crowd was electric.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. Whale of a job.

[Stacy Garrity]

Well, we have a lot of patience out there and so many friendly faces. I love you guys.

[John Ashbrook]

So, like, before we get into all of this, that, I mean, America to you, right? I mean, you shared a little bit of your story, but for the benefit of the audience, tell us a little bit about where you grew up, how you got into politics, how you find yourself here. Because I think, again, it sort of illuminates the America 250 story in a very personal way.

[Stacy Garrity]

So. Absolutely. So I am from Bradford county, the northern tier, opposite side of the state. So When I was nine years old, my dad gave me $10 to take a pitch. And so later on, a decade later, he joked, it was my first foxhole. So being the treasurer is my first public office, but not my first stint in public service. Spent 30 years in the Army Reserve, three deployments.

[Ron Jaworski]

Thank you.

[Stacy Garrity]

The Operation Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom. Hit my mandatory retirement date in 2016, or I would have never even thought about running to be the treasurer, because serving was and is truly the honor of my lifetime. And then at the same time, worked in the private sector in manufacturing at the largest tungsten smelter in the western world, traveling the world, and spent three decades there, working my way up to my become one of two female vice presidents. So I was Going to retire, but ran for office.

[John Ashbrook]

Somebody watching government funding, who's had private sector experience. What a novel concept.

[Stacy Garrity]

Imagine that.

[John Ashbrook]

So what made you. Were you particularly political one way or it sounds like you're service oriented. What was ultimately the point where you wanted to see elected office? You've taken more than one small step, obviously.

[Stacy Garrity]

You know, I never been involved in politics because you can't really do that so much when you're in the military. But I got approached to run for statewide and for four months I said, absolutely not. You know, I'm from Bradford County. You know, typically rural Pennsylvania does not win a statewide. In fact, I'm the first person in over 40 years. So they couldn't find anybody. Couldn't find anybody. Put it on my prayer chain at church. The doors opened up. So I went to my CEO, who was Austrian Herman Walser at the time, and I said, herman, I want to run for this office, but 99% chance that I lose, but I might want to get back into service someday. And he said, oh, you're going to win. And I said, oh, you don't know anything about, you know, American politics.

[John Ashbrook]

Wait till I tell you about my skeletons.

[Stacy Garrity]

Yeah, exactly, exactly. So it was interesting because I ran against somebody that actually ran the Constitution center, incumbent, ex deputy mayor under Ed rendell, Rhodes Scholar, UN Ambassador, and oh, by the way, outsmart me 11 to 1. And so I quickly figured out I was a sacrificial lamb. Of course, didn't know that because I was a rookie and I just worked and went to everything. I worked as hard as I could and we squeaked it out.

[Emily Seidel]

Wow, that is awesome.

[Michael Duncan]

The thing I really love, the thing I really love about that story is I really hope it inspires everyone in this room in a way to think like, when you're doubted, that's when you're at your best. And when nobody believes in you, you. You can do that one small step to make a difference. Even when you think you don't have a chance.

[Stacy Garrity]

Well, you can. And I always tell the young kids that I talk to, okay, you're looking for somebody that first person in my family to go to college, very rural Pennsylvania, didn't grow up with a lot, joined the military, didn't expect to do 30 years, didn't expect to retire at the rank of colonel. Didn't expect to spend over three decades in manufacturing, working my way up to become one of two female.

[John Ashbrook]

You're not going to brag on yourself?

[Stacy Garrity]

No, but if I can do it, they can do it. They can do anything. And I always say, don't let anybody tell you that you can't do it, especially yourself.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, well, I mean.

[Michael Duncan]

I, I, I.

[Josh Holmes]

Just love that story so much because in leadership in our company country, there is not enough representation of people who have actually worked in manufacturing, people who have actually served in this country. There are a lot of people who are veterans who have made their way to Congress. But I feel like manufacturing is underrepresented in leadership, not just in Washington, but in states around the country. And I wonder if you could talk about what you think might be next for manufacturing in the state of Pennsylvania and in the country.

[Stacy Garrity]

Okay. So of course we're getting trillions of dollars investment back into America. So that's going to bring manufacturing jobs back that are the backbone of our country. And when you think about it, 90 over 99% of all manufacturing businesses are small businesses and they are the backbone. But I have to tell you, my real passion is the US Industrial base. And so I push the is what gave me a little itch for politics. I pushed for legislation. We were basically incorporating tungsten into munitions from Department of Defense. Made my head explode. Tried and tried and tried. Lobbyists showed me this information that they were doing for rare earth minerals. And so basically you could buy from anybody, but just not China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and Speaker. So I could never explain it to everybody. So this is what I called it, and they still call it this day, to this day. Don't buy from the bad guys. So I'm like, you can buy from anybody you want, but don't buy from the bad guys. And so it brought so much manufacturing business in the defense industry back to the United States.

[Emily Seidel]

That's wonderful.

[John Ashbrook]

That's awesome.

[Emily Seidel]

So one thing I imagine, a struggle you see, especially because you've been in the private sector, you've even served in the military, is the most difficult fight you face as the treasurer. A bureaucracy which always tries to think that they're better off spending the money than the hands that actually earned it. That has to be a tremendous struggle.

[Stacy Garrity]

Yes. So I am the fiscal watchdog for over $180 billion.

[Emily Seidel]

Wow.

[Stacy Garrity]

And what elected officials need to understand is we work for the people, they don't work for us.

[Emily Seidel]

That's right.

[Stacy Garrity]

And every single dollar of that $180 billion came from a taxpayer. And so we need to treat it like it's our own. And so I've reduced fees by over $22 million for our college and career savings plan, given back a billion dollars to hard Working taxpayers, new program, inaugural year, Pennsylvania Money Match gave back $50 million. Given back just about 550 military decorations, including 13 Purple Hearts, three Bronze Stars and a gold star medal and so much more. But I think elected officials, their only ambition should be to serve. That's it. Heart stop.

[Emily Seidel]

That's right. That's right.

[John Ashbrook]

Tell me, I mean, look, you're not a career politician by any stretch. Two bronze stars, I mean that's hats off, incredible service. When you come to the job like you have now, huge job, as you said, massive budget overseeing, trying to figure out. And then you've got this class of politicians that seems from my perspective, and I think an awful lot of your perspective, to not only just think it's their money, but just sort of allocate in ways that only benefit their constituencies that come back. And it's like this self licking ice cream cone that supports their political careers and everything else. And it seems pervasive. Obviously we're seeing this play out in Minnesota that has been in the news over the last few weeks. It is, it makes me enraged. I think that's the tip of the iceberg. Heaven forbid, when we get to California, you imagine what Gavin Newsom's up with all that. I mean it's going to look terrible. So you have to enter all of that in a very big, very industrious, incredible state full of people. But you also have to encounter that class. How do you fight that battle?

[Stacy Garrity]

You know, I live the army values every single day 247 which are loyalty, duty, respect, respect, service, honor, integrity, personal courage. I treat the office like it's a business and I make sure that everybody there is just focused on serving hard working Pennsylvanians.

[John Ashbrook]

And they personally attack you all the time, right?

[Stacy Garrity]

Yeah, sure.

[John Ashbrook]

Every time you call out a budget, a line item, this, that, that's the thing that I think is both sides.

[Stacy Garrity]

Of the aisle, by the way.

[Ron Jaworski]

Right.

[John Ashbrook]

But I mean there's like a cottage industry for whatever it is that you're trying to, to free taxpayers from that's trying to protect against that attacking you personally. You just got to put the blinders on. And I mean your resume strikes me as somebody who's not particularly concerned with that sort of thing, but that's got to be part of it, right?

[Stacy Garrity]

It's interesting because when I came into office, I think I was the first row officer that didn't fire everybody on the other side. So I had some politicians call me and say, stand, Casey, we know you're new to politics, but you have to get Rid of all these people. And I'm thinking, well, I'm in charge of $180 billion. I don't know if that's such a good idea. So what I said was I ran a battalion in a war zone. I think I can put together a staff. If I need any help, I'll call you. Never heard from them again.

[John Ashbrook]

Great answer, great answer.

[Stacy Garrity]

And I think that's why we broke so many records. Because I kept really good, hard working people people. Yes, but the budget we just passed. Four and a half months late, by the way. $50 billion. You guys, a decade ago our budget was $30 billion. I mean, that is crazy. So this year alone we are spending, I don't know if Everybody knows this. $5 billion more than what we're bringing in. And you know, we're always telling families you need to live within your, your, your means. And guess what? The state should be doing the same thing.

[Michael Duncan]

That's right.

[Emily Seidel]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. Well, because of your voice, we all know it. Right? You wouldn't get that out of the media. The last game showed you exactly what you can expect out of that. Listen, Stacy Gary, a name you gotta watch in this stage. He's up to big things. Thank you for joining. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

[Stacy Garrity]

It's honor to be with you.

[John Ashbrook]

So you probably. We recognize this guy from Fox News. He's a very big deal. We love him to death. He was one of the OG supporters back when nobody would listen to our podcast other than our friends and family. But he had the decency to welcome us in. We've been very good friends for years and years. Guy Benson, ladies and gentlemen.

[Guy Benson]

That's such a nice introduction. I'm used to Greg Gutfeld's intros, which are just awful. So thank you for that by the way. I know that kind of one of the keys to successful public speaking is to try to appreciate yourself to the audience right out of the gate. I'm going to do the opposite. I'm going to announce that I am a New York Giants fan. I mean, same that's, that's my same reaction about the product that we put on the field recently. I also believe that Gritty, the mascot of the flag, should be institutionalized.

[Ron Jaworski]

Okay.

[Guy Benson]

So that's one of my missions. If I ever move to Pennsylvania, I'm running on that and I will absolutely lose. Thanks for having me, guys.

[John Ashbrook]

Flyers better.

[Michael Duncan]

Rough bo.

[John Ashbrook]

I mean, that's the team you go after.

[Guy Benson]

I'm a Devils fan, so.

[Michael Duncan]

Absolutely.

[Sandra Benitez]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

Oh, geez. You're really Popular with this crowd. Great start.

[Guy Benson]

No, I'm going to come out here and get like instantly hostile, right? And then I'm gonna dig myself out of the hole over the course of the interview.

[John Ashbrook]

So look, you know and love this guy and you've heard his commentary over the years. What we love about it is he's got a generationally different approach that you get from an awful lot of talk radio, social media, cable news, everything else. He sort of thinks about things in a way that's not just to sort of like goose your ratings or click bait or anything else. Tries to explain it a little bit and. But you do have a few hot buttons that get you going and like, well, listen to your show and you can get pretty pissed at times. So what's got you pissed right now?

[Guy Benson]

Oh, man. How much time do we have? It's interesting because for years I think you could have accurately described. Described me as a squish on immigration. It's like, oh, you know, maybe some path to legal status and the dreamers and all that. Let's be reasonable. And what we saw over four years of the previous administration radicalized me. And now watching what they are doing to federal law enforcement as they try to help clean up the mess that was created by these people has radicalized me further. So that coupled with the other bugaboo of in your home state, sadly, this massive fraud where you have people robbing taxpayers blind and people in America work really hard to earn their money, some of it is confiscated by the government. It's mandatory. And then to have other people come in there and steal it from them makes my blood boil. And that was part of the reason why there was this federal surge into Minneapolis. And now they're going after the federal agents. If you want to get me like pounding the table, which I don't do a lot, that's a pretty perfect storm that's going to piss me off.

[John Ashbrook]

I hear you, man. I mean, it is. It's a thing that. It's interesting because that whole story is sort of. It's convoluting in a lot of ways. We have a theory on the ruthless Variety program is once they found the fraud, the 8 billion is fraud. Tim Walls had like one or two choices, right? You either cop to the whole thing. I did it and I done it deliberate, essentially, or try to create a diversion in some ways. And so when federal law enforcement shows up on the, on the doorstep trying to enforce not only the federal immigration laws which have been on the books for generations, nothing is new that it's happening. Happening. Obama deported four times, with President Trump deported. I didn't see any rallies on the street. But when these people show up to do that and then check the books, now you got a problem. And so what they tried to do essentially was create this diversion. We're at war with the federal government. What did he say in the Atlantic today? What was that quote?

[Michael Duncan]

It was the fourth sector.

[Ron Jaworski]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

Maybe this is Fort Sumter.

[John Ashbrook]

I mean, that those are words of insurrection. Those are not. If you're trying to calm things down, like, I don't know, maybe I'm old fashioned, maybe I appreciate this country too much. But if you're looking at a citizenry that is literally tormented being torn apart, wouldn't you try to turn the temperature down a little?

[Guy Benson]

No. Not when the spotlight's on you for all the wrong reasons because of your failures. And that guy, he's not only a horrible demagogue, he's also a moron. So I remember, and I say that not lightly at all. He's a very stupid man. And he was trying to insult ICE and federal agents as the Gestapo, but he couldn't even say it. He called them gazpacho.

[Michael Duncan]

It's a good soup, a cold soup.

[Guy Benson]

And that was what he could muster. That was his big insult. I can't believe you people elected him.

[John Ashbrook]

You're coming after me. Oh, jeez.

[Michael Duncan]

It's all your fault, Holmes.

[John Ashbrook]

He ran such a mean pick six.

[Guy Benson]

Football coach.

[John Ashbrook]

Football coach.

[Guy Benson]

Football coach. Energy from that guy. I've never played football in my life. I definitely could beat him in all football things. Unless he were just like distract me some somehow with his jazz hands. Right. And then I'll go. Then he would run like an end run right around me. That's the only chance he'd have.

[John Ashbrook]

He was also the guy at Tiananmen Square, I think, from the last election, wasn't he?

[Guy Benson]

He was. He was there when it happened.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Guy Benson]

That was a total lie. He said he carried his gun into war, which he never did. Like he lied about everything. And not to get overly partisan or going back to the last election, but you guys know here in this state, it was down to two choices for vp, and she went with the choice that she did. And when she was asked about it, she was asked a broader question. What is the best example of you making a decision, going with your gut? And her answer was Tim Walls. I'm like, oh, man, that is a self own. That is an indictment of oneself. And she actually thought about that answer and then gave it, which is some bullets were dodged, Josh. Some bullets were dodged.

[John Ashbrook]

Bullets were definitely dodged. That is a judgment issue, no question about it. So if you guys have seen Guy on our show before, we play a game with him too, because he's the absolute king at this thing. You ever heard of hard pivot? So hard pivot is a game that, well, let the game master explain it. But it's, it's basically us mocking what is today's politician. And you notice they never answer the question, ever. Never answer the question. No matter what it is and who they are, they have to pivot to something else. And then we make this game more difficult.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, that's sort of a fascinating thing. I think in politics is, is so many people come to cable news or an interview sort of over prepared to whatever they get from a question from the host is to pivot to their talking points. This sort of over rehearsed part of politics that fascinates us as people who are sort of students of that thing, you know, people who worked in politics our entire career. So we created hard pivot. Guy Benson is sort of, I don't know, the Michael Jordan of this game. You're an idiot.

[John Ashbrook]

You kind of are a lot of pressure here. Yeah, like it's a good, a good example. Somebody's like, hey, they stole $8 billion out of your taxpayers. What do you think about everything? And they're like, well, Donald Trump is ice. You know, like that's the hard pivot. So we've custom fashioned a game where you have to assume an identity.

[Michael Duncan]

So guys, guys going to play and I think Ashbrook, you're going to play against him.

[Josh Holmes]

The glass.

[Michael Duncan]

Joe, you're our sacrificial lamb in this game.

[Guy Benson]

This, this is a road game for me as we established.

[Michael Duncan]

Okay. You did that to yourself.

[Ron Jaworski]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

All right, so I'm going to set it up a little bit here and, and we're going to first play to Guy. So I'm moderator, I believe, comms director. Who's.

[John Ashbrook]

I'm the comms director.

[Michael Duncan]

You're the comms director.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. I'm going to tell you what your pivot is.

[Josh Holmes]

Yes.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. And then smug is going to be actually asking the question.

[Emily Seidel]

I'm a journalist asking the question.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

You have to tell him who he is.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

So Guy, you are a first term progressive House rep from Northern Virginia trying to make a name for yourself among far left activists.

[John Ashbrook]

Your pivot is fighting fascism in the United States.

[Michael Duncan]

You ready for Your question?

[Emily Seidel]

Congressman D.C. has dumped more than 300 million gallons of contaminated sewage into the Potomac over the last week. What steps can Congress take to ensure this never happens again in our nation's capital?

[Guy Benson]

The most prominent resident of Washington, D.C. is a fascist, Donald Trump. So when you talk about the sewage being pumped in the river, he's responsible, obviously. But it's more important to talk about the sewage he's pumping into the soul of our nation. With his Nazi tendency, which we all understand are afoot in this country right now.

[John Ashbrook]

I think you could get elected in Virginia, man.

[Michael Duncan]

Hey, it worked for J. Jones.

[Guy Benson]

The thing is, he's not done. I'm not done because there's. There's actually a perfect segue. I want to make sure that everyone immediately goes out and buys my book on this subject. Actually, I'm so glad that you asked a question about this. My book is entitled Goose Steps and Goosebumps, the Cold Chill of Rising Authoritarianism. And the thing is, my supporters love it. It's a coloring book. It comes with crayons. They're all blue. And it's a very, very low price. $48 for the 48th president when we throw this faction together in 2028. Thank you for having me.

[Emily Seidel]

I mean, that's why we play hard. Pivot with G.

[John Ashbrook]

Dude, you're so screwed. Ashbrook.

[Emily Seidel]

John Ashbrook. It's over.

[Michael Duncan]

Like, BJ Armstrong has to follow Michael Jordan.

[Ron Jaworski]

Uncle.

[John Ashbrook]

Hit that, pj.

[Sandra Benitez]

Okay.

[Michael Duncan]

All right, here's your setup here, pal. You are the comms director for a liberal California senator from the LA area.

[John Ashbrook]

Your pivot is the importance of ending boat strikes on narco terrorists in South America.

[Josh Holmes]

You ready?

[Ron Jaworski]

Go for it.

[Emily Seidel]

So, Ashbrook, it's been over a year since the Pal States fire swept through a large swath of Southern California. Almost every family affected remains without a home. Why has it taken so long to rebuild?

[Josh Holmes]

Climate change in this country has been a problem for quite some time, as you know, and it's only been made worse by the Trump administration's effort to destroy peaceful boat transfers of medication and other supplies that are coming from South America to our own country. And the longer they continue dropping incendiary devices that heat up our atmosphere, the longer our country will continue to suffer from the warming effect that they started so many years ago. The only way that we can get back on track in this country is to not only defeat the fascists in the White House we've heard so much about, but first we need to defeat the establishment Democrats who are absolutely losing their way and forgetting about what's important in protecting this climate. We have to shut down every power plant. We have to transfer as much public money to that effort as we possibly can. If we don't, then we're only going to have more boats transferring medicine that are sunk.

[Guy Benson]

And can I just add, Viva Maduro.

[Michael Duncan]

What a great game.

[John Ashbrook]

That's such a good game. I love it. All right, so the winner of this sucker is going to be by applause.

[Emily Seidel]

Yes.

[John Ashbrook]

All right. And you put yourself at a real disadvantage, guys.

[Emily Seidel]

That's fine.

[John Ashbrook]

If the winner is John Ashbrook, give him a hand. If the winner is Guy Benson, give him a hand.

[Emily Seidel]

It was closer than I thought.

[Guy Benson]

What I'm hearing is a room filled with Giants fans.

[John Ashbrook]

Thanks, you.

[Josh Holmes]

Very kind.

[John Ashbrook]

This guy's the absolute best. Fox News's Guy Benson. Thank you so much.

[Guy Benson]

Thanks, you guys.

[Josh Holmes]

A lot of fun.

[Emily Seidel]

Thank you.

[John Ashbrook]

So this is the first of 12 in what AFP is planning in one small step marquee events around this country for all of us to celebrate America's 250. It is our absolute pleasure to be with all of you today. We love this kind of event. It's been a while since we've done one. Yeah, like a live event. We're gonna start doing more, but we hope you take that one small step. Step. If you go to a 250-toolkit.com they provide you a whole bunch of material for you to review and to take and get ideas on how you can take a step for yourself. I got to tell you, I'm going to celebrate the hell out of this nation for 12 straight months. I know you will, too. Fellas, anything before we go? I think we did it. I think we did it.

[Emily Seidel]

Absolute banger of an episode.

[John Ashbrook]

Gentlemen, thank you so much.

[Emily Seidel]

Emily Seidel.

[John Ashbrook]

Thank you so much, afp.

[Emily Seidel]

And thank you to the audience.

[John Ashbrook]

Remember, this is the year to take.

[Emily Seidel]

Your one small step. Until next time, minions. Keep the faith, hold the line, and own the lids.

[John Ashbrook]

We'll see you Tuesday.

[Emily Seidel]

Stay ruthless.

[Ron Jaworski]

Sam.