It’s Even Worse Than You Think for Democrats

Summary

RUTHLESS PODCAST
Episode: "It’s Even Worse Than You Think for Democrats"
Date: August 21, 2025
Hosts: Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan, John Ashbrook

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Brief Overview

In this episode, the Ruthless crew dives into the Democratic Party’s voter registration crisis as reported by the New York Times, exploring how policy stances on crime, immigration, and redistricting have contributed to a mass exodus of voters—especially in battleground and traditionally blue states. The hosts mix serious analysis with satire, pointing out the disconnect between Democratic leadership and average Americans’ realities. They highlight new reporting on redistricting efforts, discuss the shifting political landscape, and finish with the show’s trademark humor and games.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Democrats’ Policy Disconnection and the Voter Exodus

• The show opens with mockery of the Democratic Party’s “number one plank” being the “protection of violent crime” and how far out of touch leadership has become with mainstream America.
  • John Ashbrook: “Democrats are now the party... we need to protect violent crime. How in the world did they get to this point?” [00:00]
• The crew attributes the Democratic Party’s unprecedented drop in voter registration to left-leaning policies on crime, immigration, and redistricting, as well as a failure to address real concerns of average Americans.
  • Josh Holmes: “People falling off of the Democratic Party and they just doesn’t represent them in one form or fashion.” [03:32]
• Michael Duncan points out the shift in minority and low-income voters towards Republicans, noting an increasing inability for Democratic leaders to answer tough questions:
  • “It shouldn’t be a surprise... minority voters, low income voters, black voters are voting increasingly for Republicans and President Trump...” [07:56]

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2. Democratic Leadership, Crime, and Immigration

• The podcast features recent clips of Democrats denigrating law enforcement (calling ICE a “terrorist organization” [04:07]) and dismissing violent crime as a serious concern. The hosts underscore the disconnect between talking points and public safety realities.
  • Comfortably Smug: “You can't piss on someone and tell them it's rain. And that's what they're still trying to do.” [09:19]
• They discuss recent improvements in Washington, D.C. crime rates attributed to "President Trump’s crack down," contrasting it with previous Democratic approaches. [10:12]
• The group theorizes that Democrats’ current self-destructive policies are the result of being captured not just by their energized base, but also by institutional non-profit and activist infrastructures that profit from maintaining the status quo of dysfunction.
  • Michael Duncan: “It isn’t just the base... it’s also the institutional infrastructure... 501(c)3 and c4 organizations that are made up of people who couldn’t get a job in the private economy, but that are funded by Democratic administrations...” [14:03]

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3. Voter Registration: The Data and Fallout

• The New York Times data is dissected: Democrats lost 2.1 million registered voters in the 30 states plus DC that track party registration, and 2.4 million modeled in non-registration states from 2020–2024.
  • Josh Holmes (quoting NYT): “Democrats have lost ground to Republicans in every single one [state] between 2020 and 2024 elections. And often by a lot.” [15:50]
• Shift is not limited to red states; it spreads deeply into blue and purple territories, including New England and Nevada.
  • Michael Duncan: “It’s not just happening in red states, it’s happening in blue, blue states, it’s happening in purple states.” [16:59]
• The hosts speculate on externalities—such as REAL ID implementation and the exclusion of illegal immigrants from the census—that could accelerate the Democratic decline. [25:08–26:45]
• Discussion on the hypocrisy of Democratic “everybody votes, Democrats win” talking point, now abandoned as new minority and young voters turn to the GOP.
  • Josh Holmes: “They literally were like, everybody votes, everybody wins... until they thought for a second that they might not actually get the majority.” [22:59]

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4. Redistricting Battles: Republicans Match Democrat Tactics

• Unique reporting on efforts by Republican-led states to fight fire with fire on redistricting, paralleling Democratic gerrymandering tactics.
  • Josh Holmes: “We started to fight fire with fire... Republicans are starting to redistrict in the states that they control the same way that Democrats have for millennia.” [29:00]
• The show breaks news on the national (DCCC) involvement in California’s redistricting maps, revealing collusion and nepotism in the process.
  • Michael Duncan: “D trip took credit for the creation of this map... Not exactly native to California.” [37:49]
  • Planned Parenthood of California’s president’s husband is the DCCC data consultant who made the maps, a fact obscured in legislative testimony:
    • Josh Holmes: “Can we talk for a minute about how one of the people who are testifying in support of the redistricting in California runs an abortion store?” [42:45]
    • Michael Duncan: “Jody Hicks... is married to Paul Mitchell, the data consultant with the D trip that made the maps.” [43:21]
  • The hosts frame it as a classic case of Democrat machine politics and warn against falling for “nonpartisan” commissions.

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5. Question of the Day & Listener Engagement

• The hosts ask: “How can Republicans capitalize from Democrats cratering support?... Now’s the time... But how?” [31:38]
• They note GOP mistakes of complacency after the 2010 Tea Party wave and urge proactive efforts, not just “sitting back and watching.”
  • Josh Holmes: “You got to step on the neck to make sure that... progressive liberalism doesn’t become a resurgent ideology here.” [31:44]
• They read and riff on listener comments from previous episodes—true to form, often mixing insight with humor. [33:38–35:31]

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6. Satire & Variety: "King of the Hill" Game and Odd News

• The hosts play their signature game “King of the Hill,” judging outrageous tweets from political figures for peak absurdity or irony.
  • Sample: Contestants include AI-generated images of politicians in bizarre scenarios, satirical accusations about Trump and Russia, and self-aggrandizing posts.
  • Notable quote: Comfortably Smug: “The AI being forced to do that is why the computers are going to kill us all.” [51:12]
  • Judges are entertained by the disconnect between political reality and online posturing.
• Bizarre news is discussed, such as a woman in her 50s biting a 6-year-old child for a T-shirt at a Hamptons concert.
  • Comfortably Smug: “That is actual jail time. This is not...pay a ticket and apologize. Lock her up.” [64:02]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Comfortably Smug [09:19]: “You can't piss on someone and tell them it's rain. And that's what they're still trying to do.”
• Josh Holmes [15:50]: “[T]he New York Times reported...Democratic Party faces a voter registration crisis...between 2020 and 2024 elections. And often by a lot.”
• Michael Duncan [16:59]: “It’s not just happening in red states, it’s happening in blue, blue states, it’s happening in purple states.”
• Josh Holmes [22:59]: “They literally were like, everybody votes, everybody wins, everybody. They champion for decades universal voting registration...until they thought...they might not actually get the majority.”
• Josh Holmes [29:00]: “We started to fight fire with fire...Republicans are starting to redistrict...the same way that Democrats have for millennia.”
• Josh Holmes [42:45]: “Can we talk for a minute about how one of the people who are testifying in support of the redistricting in California runs an abortion store?”
• Comfortably Smug [64:02]: “What a disgusting lady biting a kid. You need to be locked up. Yeah, that's, you know, like. That is actual jail time...Lock her up.”
• Josh Holmes [31:44]: “You got to step on the neck to make sure that...progressive liberalism doesn’t become a resurgent ideology here.”

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Important Timestamps

• [00:00] Opening salvo: Democratic policy stances on crime and voter alienation
• [03:03] New York Times reporting on voter registration crisis
• [07:56] Shift in minority voting patterns toward GOP
• [15:50] Dissection of NYT voter registration data
• [25:08] Discussion of REAL ID and census implications
• [29:00] GOP response/redistricting efforts
• [37:49] California/DCCC redistricting revelation
• [42:45] Planned Parenthood’s role in CA redistricting process
• [51:12] "King of the Hill" game – AI image satire
• [64:02] Hamptons T-shirt biting incident
• [31:38, 64:30] “Question of the Day” – How can Republicans take advantage of the current moment?

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Conclusion

This episode gives listeners a comprehensive—and often comedic—analysis of the Democrats’ present-day challenges, integrating data, media criticism, process exposés, and signature Ruthless banter. The tone is relentless, irreverent, and conservative, with both deep dives into political mechanics and lighter segments that keep the show fast-paced and entertaining.

To engage: The hosts encourage listeners to respond to the Question of the Day and subscribe for both audio and visual content, promising continued coverage and inside scoops on fast-moving political battlegrounds.

Transcript

[John Ashbrook]

Democrats are now the party. Like their number one plank in their entire party is we need to protect violent crime. How in the world did they get to this point?

[Josh Holmes]

Your political prognosis coming out for where they are is horrible.

[Comfortably Smug]

I don't want to say the death cycle of the Democratic Party, but there seems to be no end to this. That's a. In the New York Times, you've got a guy and they print looks like the death cycle for the Democratic Party.

[Josh Holmes]

Hardworking Americans know when it's time to roll up our sleeves and get the job done. Now is the time to unleash our nation's energy, to create jobs, secure our future, and make life better, more affordable, and full of opportunity for all Americans. That's the power of America's oil and natural gas. Learn [e-mail] paid for by the American Petroleum Institute.

[John Ashbrook]

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.

[Comfortably Smug]

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

[John Ashbrook]

It's time for our main event.

[Josh Holmes]

Good Thursday to you. Welcome back to the Ruthless Variety Program. My name is Josh Holmes, along with Comfortably Spug, Michael Duncan and John Ashbrook, Left to right across your radio dial, as always. Listen, fellas, you know, we've talked about this, but August is typically not a time where people are tuned into this kind of thing. We thank you, the listener and the viewer for tuning in in exponential numbers to the Ruthless Variety program. Because we keep going up and up.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, all the new subscribers on YouTube, thank you so much. And if you have not yet, go over to the YouTube subscribe. It's more fun video.

[Josh Holmes]

It is. It's very fun. But we have some news, a lot of news here, actually. Today there was a story, and believe it or not, the New York Times.

[Comfortably Smug]

Shocking, right?

[Josh Holmes]

New York Times. And Shane Goldmacher, who's a good reporter. I don't always agree, obviously, with things that he reports, but I've dealt with him a lot. I know Ashbrook has dealt with him a lot. I know Duncan's dealt with him a lot. You may have, but you wouldn't tell us about it if you did.

[Comfortably Smug]

I think I was meeting him at the convention or something. I've seen him in him somewhere.

[Josh Holmes]

I think the point is he tries to get the thing right. Right.

[Michael Duncan]

He really does. More so than most in that industry.

[Josh Holmes]

He tries to get it right.

[Michael Duncan]

He'll call you. I'm not giving away, betraying any confidences, but he's the sort of reporter who would call you up and be like, hey, I just wanna know if I'm being Spun on this thing. Do you have a minute?

[Josh Holmes]

Yep.

[Michael Duncan]

You know?

[Josh Holmes]

Yep. And you imagine there's like 2000 of you out there that he makes that call to.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Cause he wants to get to this story, which is all we need.

[Michael Duncan]

That's Rapp.

[John Ashbrook]

And boy, Democrats are uncomfortable with the facts. He reported today.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, they hate that. And he's written this news story about the Democratic Party facing voter registration crises.

[Comfortably Smug]

Huge.

[Josh Holmes]

But I think the overarching thing that we've covered here on the Ruthless Variety program is where the Democratic Party is and all of this is sort of downstream. Now, granted, there's been very good work. Scott Pressler and others have been doing good work to register Republicans in a variety of states. We wouldn't have had this kind of success that we had in 2024 without that effort being underway to help support Republican registration.

[John Ashbrook]

That's right.

[Josh Holmes]

But there's also just the other side of the coin, which is people falling off of the Democratic Party and they just doesn't represent them in one form or fashion. So we thought we'd start the show with is perhaps a couple of examples here over the last week of why it is that that' happening. Clip one, please.

[Various Clip Speakers]

Well, Tom Holman, let me tell you, all over the country, we will continue to stand up for our rights and we will continue to call out the terrorist organization that is ice.

[Josh Holmes]

The terrorist organization, literally. These are law enforcement officers with a statutory obligated duty to try to enforce the border and interior security of people who shouldn't be here. Terrorist organization.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. Imagine letting in 20 million illegal immigrants in this country and then calling the people trying to enforce the law within our borders terrorists. It's remarkable.

[Josh Holmes]

So you can kind of see where some of this struck a chord with the American people. Let's play Clip two.

[Various Clip Speakers]

Here's how NATIONAL Review summarized it. They said it was only three years ago that New York's Democratic legislature drew up a map so brazenly contemptuous of basic rules that govern a district's contiguousness that the state's Democrat dominated court of Appeals threw it out. The New York Times at the time called those maps comically contorted. That's their quote. So your state's highest court at the time, all the judges appointed by Democratic governors, they threw the maps out. So fair to say Democrats have done what they're now accusing Republicans of doing? No, we followed the rules. We do it every 10 years. We basically said you didn't follow the rules. Well, we did follow the rules. So the court was wrong. Well, we Followed the rules.

[Josh Holmes]

Amazing. So that's Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, who is, you know, a dumbass.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, yeah, that's the right term, I think.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, I think that's right.

[Michael Duncan]

Probably just a dumbass.

[Josh Holmes]

Tactical in some ways.

[Michael Duncan]

But isn't it remarkable that a person like her is so unprepared for that question? She goes on Fox News and finally she has to have an interview where someone asks her a difficult question. Yeah, it's remarkable.

[Josh Holmes]

She has no answer.

[Michael Duncan]

And you see it with these politicians in places like New York and California. The second that they're at media that's going to ask them a serious question. It's like a deer in the headlights.

[Josh Holmes]

Saw it with Kamala.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

You know, and that's what. So this is the redistricting fight that's enveloped the country. We're going to get into that in this show in more fulsome manner. And we've got news to break here on the ruthless variety program, Unique reporting on the redistricting point. But the point is, is that these guys have used their power in terms of redistricting apportionment, like all of the things that you do with government as a way to try to attack conservatives throughout the country for so long that they're just shocked that anybody would ever play by their rights rules. Right. They're shocked by it. And so now all of a sudden they're being held accountable and she can't. She doesn't have an answer for it. How about clip three?

[Comfortably Smug]

A lot of folks on the Republican side, your Republican colleagues, say that they are very scared to walk outside in D.C. that they think this is completely the right thing to do. Senator, are you scared walking around Washington, D.C. these days?

[Josh Holmes]

I walk around all the time.

[John Ashbrook]

I wake up early in the morning sometimes and take a nice walk with Secret Service around some of the Capitol and the other monuments and things.

[Josh Holmes]

And I feel perfectly safe. They're full of it. I don't know what that outfit is, but I find it completely hilarious that a guy, we've covered this before, a guy is surrounded by like eight agents and two Suburbans where he's like, oh, no, I walk around all the time. The point is the overarching point of all of this. It's a separation from the reality that the American people are living, whether it is in terms of crime, as Schumer has discussed, redistricting, as Hochul has discussed, or immigration, as Ramirez in that ICE clip had discussed. They're so far away from the mainstream of the American public that it's hard to identify with if you don't eat, breathe and sleep Democrat, progressive Democratic politics.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, I mean, look at the issue of crime itself, Right. And that answer by Chuck Schumer, sort of dismissing the whole thing. It shouldn't be a surprise to anybody in this country that, you know, minority voters, low income voters, black voters are voting increasingly for Republicans and President Trump when they get an answer like that from the Democratic leader.

[Josh Holmes]

Right, right.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, you look at Washington D.C. and we've talked about this on the show, 96% of the victims of homicides in the District of Columbia are black. Right. And the other 4% are because of Hillary Clinton. But.

[Comfortably Smug]

She can't keep getting.

[Josh Holmes]

We're laughing, we're all laughing at the parody. And this is a fun satire show.

[Michael Duncan]

I'm just. Vince Foster was a person, he was left handed. That's all I'm going to say.

[Comfortably Smug]

Can I add something to this is since I would say it was around the time of Obama's election is when we started this nationwide lurch towards the left of where it's not crime, it's poverty. You don't understand. These are poor people. It's not criminals, they're poor people. So then you have the theoretical ideas being put out by the professors which then, you know, Soros and his groups pay to buy out prosecutors to put that kind of like professor's ideas into actual place. Let's get rid of cash bail. And here's the thing is now time has passed. So when you see Schumer being like, no, crime's not a problem in D.C. we've now seen the theoretical into what it has actually become. We've seen murders, carjackings all go up. We saw cash bail taken away. Everywhere they did that crime went up. We saw police being told, no, no, no, no, no, you're not going to charge this person with assault with a deadly weapon. We're going to bump that down into petty larceny. Right? Because if facts are given out to the people, you know, you can't piss on someone and tell them it's rain. And that's what they're still trying to do. They're trying to say, listen, 20 million illegals enter the country. We all saw the problems under Joe Biden, but listen, ICE is a terrorist organization that doesn't fly anymore. People have now seen the repercussions of all these left wing policies put into place. That's why registrations are falling, because it's no longer theoretical. We've seen what happens when the left has their policies put in place, and it's a disaster.

[John Ashbrook]

And we've seen what happens when you crack down on crime. And since President Trump has taken an effort to actually get things under control in this city, Washington, D.C. over 300 arrests. And David Marcus, Fox News contributor, West Virginia guy, great follow on Twitter. Had a column this morning that there hasn't been a single murder in the city of Washington, D.C. this past week. Wow, that's a banner week. Simply because President Trump was like, you know what, we need to stop this.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, they'd throw a ticker taper in this city if they did it on their own.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yep.

[John Ashbrook]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

It's crazy, but I think one of the reasons why you listen to the ruthless Friday program is because we have a little bit of experience under the hood on this kind of thing, and we're gonna get to the end result of all this with falling registrations shortly. But what you try to do when you're in a position of leadership within a party is that there are. There's an energy of opposition. And the question is, can you direct it in a way that can actually give you majority coalitions? Can you use the energy to point it in a positive direction that can actually help people across the country and convince people of common cause to do it? And like, we were in that situation. I remember being in that situation in 2009 when you had, like, massive, like, 50 plus seat majorities for Democrats. Barack Obama won by enormous number. They got to 60 seats in the United States Senate, filibuster approved. And our people were mad, right? They were real mad. It was the beginning of the Tea Party and everything else. But as a person of leadership within the party, what you try to do is direct it to somewhere where you could make a difference. Difference. And they're doing the exact opposite, right? They're just taking the talking points of the paid activist group, the people who, like, finance their party, and they're just trying to move that ball further down the road. Right? Consider just taking a half step back if you're in Democratic politics saying, okay, we're going to objectively present a case to the American people that crime is not a problem. Think about that, dude.

[John Ashbrook]

It is unbelievable to me that Democrats are now the party. Like their number one plank in their entire party is we need to protect violent crime. How in the world did they get to this point?

[Josh Holmes]

But they're doing it because the leadership of the party is afraid of the energy and the base. They don't direct the energy. That's what leadership does, if you have strong leadership within a party, I don't care if it's Republican or Democrat or anything else. They tried to influence one thing or another to a point where it focuses energy that ultimately helps you try to change what it is that you see as a problem. And like these guys, they're in a situation where the crime is. One second, it's like ICE is a terrorist organization, despite the fact that you just had an election not smallly litigated on the fact of illegal immigration, even on the left. And then a week where you've got an illegal immigrant driving an 18 wheeler that kills three people in Florida because he's just like wholly unqualified to hold a Class A license in one place or another. And they're now in favor of it. They're like, no, no. The problem is Donald Trump for cracking down on stuff like that. You can't. Your political prognosis coming out for where they are is horrible.

[John Ashbrook]

It's terrible.

[Michael Duncan]

I think it's not just that they're captured by their base. And we've talked about this previously on the show, but, and I think usaid, for example, and the DOGE cuts and everything sort of reveals some of this is like, it isn't just the base. It isn't like grassroots Democrats that they're just captured by. It's also the institutional infrastructure of their party. Right. Like, you know, the people who get grants to go in and do, you know, know, outreach and in underprivileged communities that have a lot of violent crime. Right. Like there's, there's 501, C3 and C4 organizations that are made up of people who couldn't get a job in the private economy, but that are funded by Democratic administrations and these big liberal cities and things like that. Donald Trump stopping crime threatens that cottage industry for that huge.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, no, I think it's a really good point. Well, coming up on the show, we're going to give you some new data furnished by the New York Times, the old gray lady fellas, paper of record.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Believe it or not, it's come out. The Democrats are not having a very good year. And we're gonna dig into it right after this.

[Comfortably Smug]

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[Josh Holmes]

So the gray lady, the New York Times reported the Democratic Party. This is the headline that they've written. Democratic Party faces a voter registration crisis. Let me read you a couple of bullets and we can all react to it. The party is bleeding support beyond the ballot box. A new analysis shows the Democratic Party is hemorrhaging voters long before they even go to the polls. Of the 30 poll, 30 states that track voter registration by political party, Democrats have lost ground to Republicans in every single one between 2020 and 2024 elections. And often by a lot.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, we gotta need 30 for 30.

[Josh Holmes]

That four year demonstrations down, that four year swing towards Republicans adds up to 4.5 million voters. A deep political hole that could take years for Democrats to climb out of.

[John Ashbrook]

Couldn't have happened to a nicer group of people.

[Josh Holmes]

That is written, not here, by the ruthless variety program. It is the New York Times. Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

And it's not just happening in red states, it's happening in blue, blue states, it's happening in purple states. The Democratic Party is seeing its voter base, independent voters, party switchers, voters across the country abandoned them. I mean, that isn't like voting against you in a midterm or a presidential. That is somebody deciding to make the move to switch party registrations. It's one of the most dramatic things that an individual voter can do to express their displeasure in the party.

[John Ashbrook]

Michael, to your point, I wonder if we can put that graphic back up again because to the point that Michael was just making, if you look at the blue arrows down, a lot of them are in New England.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

And that is the hotbed of Democrat representation. And as we know, most of the New England states are represented entirely by gerrymandered districts specifically drawn for Democrats.

[Michael Duncan]

And then look at like the Sunbelt. Right. Like look at Arizona. Look at Nevada. Nevada was one of the most dramatic shifts down for the Democratic Party. Remember, this was supposed to be the future of the new Democratic coalition that was going to be heavily Latino and it was going to be in these Sunbelt states that were gaining population against, you know, the rush, the Rust Belt, the flyover country that the Democratic Party has abandoned for the last 10 years. Well, they're doing dog shit in Arizona. In Nevada, yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, conversely, look at graphic, too. Look at where the Republicans are at. So this is the other side of the coin. So look. I mean, Republicans are going up in a variety of directions. I mean, they're even in. I would like to see a little better performance. Smug out of Colorado.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. What the heck? It's all the weed, right?

[Comfortably Smug]

No, I mean, there's so many horrible things that have happened in Colorado. I mean, it's genuinely a tragic thing. It's genuinely tragic. A lot of it is like the suffering from success problem of where you have a history of Republican leadership and conservatives in there and things get really good. And so libs are like, no, how.

[Michael Duncan]

Do I ruin this?

[Comfortably Smug]

How do I ruin this? Well, I've been watching, you know, my friends from California are telling me that we should get rid of cash bail and we should legalize marijuana. We should allow criminals to run amok, and that in this House, we respect illegal alien. You know, like, they suffer from success. And you had a not insignificant amount of California people moved to Colorado and they're like, let's vote for everything that we're escaping.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, yeah, totally. All right, so, like, a lot of you live in states that don't register by party, and you're wondering, you know, how it is that you've come to this prognosis. People extrapolate out. And this is the thing that the Times used to try to figure out in states that do. But this is a paragraph that actually speaks to all of that. All told, Democrats lost about 2.1 million registered voters between 2020 and 2024 elections in 30 states, along with Washington, D.C. that allow people to register with a political party. In the remaining 20 states, voters do not register with a political party. And in those states modeled out according to the New York times, they lost 2.4 million. So it's actually. It's worse in some ways when you're not registering by political party.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, they might not even know where the bottom is on this if you're the Democrats.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, I mean, I think that's the point is that, like, if you have to go, you know, I mean, take. If you have to go in and like, change your registration from one thing to another. Like, it takes an act to do it. But, like, if you don't need to do that and you're just like a registered voter, it gets worse. Yeah, it gets worse because people are just not identifying with the Democratic Party at all.

[John Ashbrook]

So.

[Michael Duncan]

Oh, sorry, go ahead.

[John Ashbrook]

I was just going to say. And when you approach a midterm you expect the party out of power to do better, better than they did in the presidential year. But what if you look at what Democrats are doing, We've said this over and over again on the show. They are taking up the mantle of violent crime. They're taking up the mantle of open borders. Obama deported people. Obama tried to pretend like he was cracking down and against violent crime. And now some, somehow Democrats today are like, no more murderers on the street. If you rape somebody, we need to understand that your psyche before we do anything to slap you on the wrist. Like, their philosophy is antithetical to what a normal person who wants some sort of representation out of their government is looking for.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, this article kind of nods to it, but doesn't say it specifically. I think I would love to find out more about this, this one part of the story, and that is so many of these Democratic voter registration groups who are nonpartisan on paper. Right. But like they, they go to voters who are under the age of 35 or voters who are black and they register for the first time. And the Democratic party has always been like, well, this is the bread and butter of our coalition. And they registered all of these people ahead of 2024. And then what happens? Donald Trump makes historic gains with those people.

[Josh Holmes]

So I think there was a public discussion. Hold on.

[Michael Duncan]

These people helped us.

[Josh Holmes]

There was a, there was a public discussion that was had in fundraising circles. And you're hearing this unruthless. You're not going to hear this anywhere else. There was a conversation that was had last spring.

[Michael Duncan]

Yes.

[Josh Holmes]

About this very, very thing. I know where they went to these big, major donor retreats and they suggested for the first time that this activity is not worth being funded because an inordinate number of Latinos, particularly second generation Hispanic Americans, were not gonna be on their side in the same way. Same was true of African Americans. So they were like, you know what, here's the thing, let's just stop the.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's so funny.

[Josh Holmes]

Let's just stop.

[Michael Duncan]

And these are Democratic operatives for a generation who would say that we are holier than that we are the good people. Because when everybody votes, Democrats win.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

And they don't give a fuck about anybody voting.

[Comfortably Smug]

They don't care.

[Michael Duncan]

It's all about power.

[Josh Holmes]

It was a strategy. I mean, they literally were like, everybody votes, everybody wins, everybody. They champion for decades, you, universal voting registration. When you turn 18, everybody ought to be registered to vote until they thought for a second that they might not actually get the majority of those new votes. And in which Case they were like, stop.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's so funny.

[Josh Holmes]

Stop the count.

[Michael Duncan]

I can't wait for them to be for voter id.

[John Ashbrook]

Oh, dude.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean it's just, it's completely hilarious. But what has happened, if you look at it, is that there's a stampede, according to the New York Times, away from the Democratic Party in battleground states. All told, Democrats lost 2.1 million. I mean, it keeps getting worse and worse. This is a quote that I just.

[Comfortably Smug]

That's so good.

[John Ashbrook]

Yes.

[Josh Holmes]

I just can't get enough of it. Anyone who says that these things are not concerning for Democrats is in my opinion mostly lying. Says, was it? Laksha Jain, a Democratic analysis and co founder of Split Ticket, a nonpartisan.

[Comfortably Smug]

We know what that is.

[Josh Holmes]

First of all, I'll just suggest for a second that if you're expressing concern, you're probably not bipartisan. But if it's not, you know, maybe he's just given like a full throated evaluation which in case, like, look, it's valuable information.

[Comfortably Smug]

So a couple of things. So I like the quote from the guy from decision desk, Michael Pruser, saying that I don't want to say the death cycle of the Democratic Party, but there seems to be no end to this. That's in the New York Times. Yeah, you've got a guy and they print looks like the death cycle for the Democratic Party. Another thing I'm curious about, how much of this is being expedited by the real id? Because I know for North Carolina, every time you go and you get your driver's license, they ask, you want to update your voter reg? Do you want to update what party you're registered with? You want to do all that? I wonder, as people across this country are getting real IDs, if they were formerly Democrats, they're like, hell no, I'm done with them.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, good point. And then think of what other great.

[Comfortably Smug]

Climate for that to be happening.

[Michael Duncan]

Think of what other externalities happening in our politics right now might impact this and supercharge it ahead of the new census in 2030. Right. Like if you actually deport these illegal immigrants in sanctuary states and they can't count for the census and we do reapportionment by actual American citizens. And then you also have the Republicans with these numbers on the registration advantage, those two things in concert.

[Josh Holmes]

Wow, it becomes a real problem.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, if you look at graphic three, for example, in 2018, Democrats accounted for 34% of new voter registrations nationwide, where Republicans were only 20. Yet by 2024, Republicans had overtaken Democrats in new registrants, the share rose by 9 percentage points to the point that you just made. I think that that is the most important discussion because we just had an election that was about whether or not illegal immigrants constituted a group that should be considered Americans. And the American people, by like a 70, 30 margin, were like, no, they should not. Like, we should consider people who came here illegally, not as a part of the American voting electorate, the taxpaying electorate and everything else. And so the Trump administration has turned around and be like, all right, well, that's pretty easy. We, we should eliminate them from the census.

[John Ashbrook]

Right?

[Comfortably Smug]

Only makes sense.

[Josh Holmes]

Do you know. Do you know what happens to the Democratic Party when you eliminate illegal aliens from a census by. Oh, boy, they're going to lose an awful lot of seats. They just are. So if you. The registration, a potential census that includes only American taxpayers, which, by the way, blows my effing mind that we've ever had a census that includes people that don't belong here.

[John Ashbrook]

Ridiculous.

[Josh Holmes]

Is insane. I can't believe that we've gotten away with this, like, litigate that all the way to the high court, by the way. That is completely insane. It was literally meant for a portionment of taxpaying Americans and voters. That is it. It is not for people who just.

[Comfortably Smug]

Happened to allow it to be under the current system where illegals are counted the same as a US Citizen, all you're doing is incentivizing getting as many illegals as you can. How has this been allowed?

[John Ashbrook]

Right? And what happens when Democrats come up with a system like that? They ship 20,000 Haitians to Springfield, Ohio, and airdrop them into a city that cannot support 20,000 people who don't speak English. And then all of a sudden they're like, whoa, wait a minute, we have Democrats in this area. It is insane. Like, I can't believe they've gotten away with this for as long as they have. And it has to change.

[Josh Holmes]

I totally agree. But the third component of all of this is the guest we had two weeks ago with Governor Abbott, which, by the way, made a splash along with Governor DeSantis several years ago by shipping people to Martha's Vineyard in Chicago and New York to make it a regional problem rather than a local problem with illegal immigration, raised the profile of all that and made it a center left, center right issue, not a conservative issue. But this is a guy who's also taken upon himself to do the redistricting fight. Now, Democrats, as long as I've been alive, have done things that are nefarious about gerrymandering. I mean, they're the authors of this thing.

[John Ashbrook]

Oh, they get away with it.

[Josh Holmes]

They get away with it. Exactly. Just like the old B hole.

[Michael Duncan]

They do it in secret.

[John Ashbrook]

They always do.

[Josh Holmes]

They do just like the B hole. El Right. What they do, that's what they do. But anyway, like we started to fight fire with fire where Republicans are starting to redistrict in the states that they control the same way that Democrats have for millennia, like since the beginning. Democrats, I mean, look at Illinois, look at Massachusetts, look at all all these places. We have 40 or Republican representation and they have like less than 20% representation in Congress. And Republicans have just like, oh yeah, that's kind of the way we do it. Well, Texas is like, fuck that. We're going to change all of this. We control it. And so you're now going to get districts that we control and California responds and we're going to get to that in a minute. But where this goes from here is a commitment to, by Republican governors and Republican legislatures to understand that they're in a very real war here. This is not a polite conversation. This is not something that is like, well, let's just, you know, good minds disagree. Good minds don't disagree on this. Good minds have not been a part of this conversation forever. They're talking about like nonpartisan committees that decide.

[Michael Duncan]

Like that's real.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. Meanwhile, these people are like showing up at George Soros rallies and they're like nonpartisan. Right. Anytime you say something as a Republican that is non partisan, if you're like, no, I'm gonna hitch my wagon to nonpartisan, all that means is that you're hitching your wagon to something that's like Soros Fund. Yeah, right, right. So like either everyone gets with the program on this or you're gonna continue to get screwed by a nationwide effort that Democrats have engaged in for decades, which is trying to squeeze out majorities with a minority of the population that believes in what they're trying to do.

[Michael Duncan]

A portion counting illegal immigrants.

[Josh Holmes]

And that is I think, a huge component of it anyway, so if you look at all this, and this is a really important story, a lot of optimism for Republicans. You gotta see it all the way through. But I think a really, really important story. We have a question of the day that results in all of this. And we'd be interested when you like and subscribe to the Ruthless Variety program, you can give us all your comments. I think you know by now we read every single one of them and we often comment on them as well. This one is how can Republicans capitalize from Democrats cratering support? Because it's not enough to just sit back and just watch.

[Comfortably Smug]

No, no, now's the time. Now's the foot on the gas time. But how? That's what I want to know from our, from our viewers and listeners.

[Josh Holmes]

I'll tell you what, Democrats just sat back and watched in 2010. They just sat back and watched and thought we were going to all implode the Time magazine cover of the Republican elephant walking away saying it's a regional party and they didn't think we could reconstitute. And then we came back and won the House and within four years we had historic majorities in the House and the Senate and then elected President Trump in 2016. Like the cautionary tale is out there. Yeah, they're doing bad stuff. You got to step on the neck to make sure that like progressive liberalism doesn't become a resurgent ideology here. And so that's our question of the day. How can you, how can Republicans capitalize from the Democrats cratering support? And when we come back, we're going to get to your comments from last episode. It was a very high minded discussion, fellas. Yeah, we were talking about the US And Ukraine and what's the right role for the United States and all that right after this.

[Michael Duncan]

Our nation is standing up for American workers, restoring the pride of making products here at home. That's what we do every day. We're America's beverage companies, making American products with American workers in America's hometowns, delivering brands that have been enjoyed for generations.

[Josh Holmes]

Creating good paying jobs, the kind that.

[Michael Duncan]

Require only a strong work ethic. Because we believe in the promise of America and the people who make it great.

[Josh Holmes]

We learn more from you than we do almost anything else here on the Ruthless Variety program. And that's why we encourage you all to respond to the question of the day when you like and subscribe. We read every single one of them and we give you a handful back every week, every episode. To do that, we always start with the voice.

[Comfortably Smug]

Okay.

[John Ashbrook]

First one comes from Steve Briggs. And Steve writes, we're in the right place. And Trump is doing the right thing. To add, America tolerated American tripwire boots in Germany from 1945 through 1940. 91. Steve Briggs with a little bit of history.

[Josh Holmes]

I like that. I mean, our people think about stuff. You know, they think about stuff.

[John Ashbrook]

We got a great audience.

[Josh Holmes]

It's just like, God, I just appreciate you people so much. It's fantastic. Dunks. What do we got?

[Michael Duncan]

Comment 2 is from A. Morrison.

[Comfortably Smug]

This is a very good one.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. A Morrison writes, the US's role in the Russia, Ukraine peace talks should include a Putin vs Zelensky Old School WWE fight with Marco Rubio reffing in a black and white shirt and a whistle. Since Margaret Brennan is so hot for an alpha male, she can don the bikini and heels and be the ring girl. Kudos to Smug for noticing the unbuttoned shirt.

[Josh Holmes]

Buddy, that was a hot.

[Comfortably Smug]

You know, Rubio would hear that. He's like, bro, I have enough jobs. Please, no more.

[Michael Duncan]

One of the funniest parts of our show is when Smart Mug is quiet for most of us.

[Comfortably Smug]

Can't let me think.

[Michael Duncan]

And you can see the wheels are turning inside of his head and he's just going to let the intrusive thoughts win.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's probably.

[Josh Holmes]

I always get super nervous when he gives me a smile and I don't know what he's smiling.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's intrusive thoughts, man. It's 100% like Duncan said.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, it totally is. All right, Smug, what do we got for comment 3?

[Comfortably Smug]

Comment 3 comes from Ray Johnson. Ray writes, trump has us in a great position, regaining our superior role in world politics and projecting an attitude of peace through strength. Like it or not, we do have a stake in this war, both financially, trade, and morally. I trust that he will not order the first boot on Russian or Ukrainian soil. America's back and the entire world is watching. It's the art of the deal, baby.

[Michael Duncan]

Smart. I like all that.

[Josh Holmes]

It's really good. It's really good. When we come back, we're gonna get into. We've got a little bit more on redistricting. We got a little bit more on. We have a game. Cause it's Thursday.

[Michael Duncan]

Thursday.

[Josh Holmes]

So it's a signature game. We've got some variety. We're gonna have a lot more fun right after this.

[John Ashbrook]

Only 58% of Americans today say they're proud to be American, the lowest number ever recorded. That's not just sad, it is very dangerous. Because if we forget what makes America special, we risk losing it. That's why Americans for Prosperity is launching the One Small Step Campaign, a bold nationwide initiative to reconnect with our founding principles that sparked unparalleled innovation and prosperity. It's not just a celebration. It's a call to action. Through the 250,000 steps for freedom Challenge, AFP is partnering with the grassroots in all 50 states to take meaningful steps that defend freedom and advance opportunity Call your representative, attend a local event, knock on a door, talk to your neighbors. Every single step counts and every step moves us closer to a more perfect Union. Go to takeonesmallstep.com to learn more. Then join the challenge at afpvolunteer.com.

[Josh Holmes]

Breaking news here on the Ruthless Variety program. We have new information that nobody else has that we have been running to ground based on all of our correspondence with others across the country as it relates to the DCCC's involvement in the redistricting efforts of California. Recall, this is an effort that was undertaken by Gavin Newsom, who's running for president quite transparently in an attempt to try to garner favor with the progressive left as a response to to Texas and what they've done with redistricting. A lot of questions about a map that they've drawn and we have new information. Duncan.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. So number one, the D trip took credit for the creation of this map in a statement from August.

[Josh Holmes]

This is the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

[Michael Duncan]

Right out of Washington, D.C. their job.

[Comfortably Smug]

They'Re basically a PAC that gets a lot of money from big donors on the Democratic side to elect Democrat members of the House.

[Michael Duncan]

Not exactly native to California. They take credit quote. Earlier today the DCCC submitted a proposal congressional proposed congressional map to the legislative portal with collaborative input from stakeholders and legislators. Okay. So they're going to take a little bit of credit for this sort of thing. What do Democrats in California have to say about all of that?

[Josh Holmes]

It's pretty tough. It's a pretty tough look just to start with, to have a national organization being like we in Washington D.C. yeah. Have an idea. We submitted a proposal to you in California about what your representation should be. That's sort of like the basis of why it is that we came up with the republic that we have. But nevertheless, what did California Democrats do with that? Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

Let's go to clip number five, please.

[Josh Holmes]

But can any of you say whether.

[Various Clip Speakers]

Question about were state lawmakers involved in drawing the maps? Any state lawmakers at all?

Not to my knowledge.

[Josh Holmes]

But. But who. So then who adjusted them Last night.

[Various Clip Speakers]

At 8pm it was my understanding that they were by 8am they were out there Monday month. There was a collaboration, but we can get to the people that actually did that work.

[Josh Holmes]

So then why does the legislation say the detailed maps are prepared by the assembly and State Senate Elections Committees?

[Various Clip Speakers]

So the reality is that it was a collaboration and we can get those specifics. But I think what's most important is the maps are out there for people to see to evaluate, to make a judgment on the lines of the lines. Madam Chair, but we are that.

When you consume something. When you consume something, don't you want.

[Josh Holmes]

To know who makes it? When you are presented with something, don't you want to know where it's coming from?

[Various Clip Speakers]

Don't voters deserve.

When I go to a restaurant, I don't need to meet the chef. I just enjoy the.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, same, same.

[Michael Duncan]

It's just like making a cheeseburger.

[Josh Holmes]

Because democracy is like going to Chef Jeff's. I mean, what a wild.

[Comfortably Smug]

That is such a blue state. Take that is. So when you are surrounded by the comfort of a blue machine, you have zero talent. You just do what the bosses tell you. You never face any real elections or opposition. You're like, oh, come on. It's like when I go to, you know, restaurant, the chef makes me something. You don't ask any questions.

[Josh Holmes]

It's insane.

[Michael Duncan]

They think you can get away with it. And so it seems sort of nefarious, right? You got this DC group who's taking credit for writing the maps. The local officials won't tell you who wrote the maps. It seems sort of incestuous between all of these people. Where there's smoke, I believe the ruthless Variety program has found fire.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, I think you have found fire. And before you get into that fire, let me just say for those of you who don't like, eat, breathe and sleep this stuff like we do, the reason this matters has nothing to do with California. It has everything to do with the composition of a House of Representatives, without which you would not be paying the same tax rates that you were paying this year. You would not have the full accomplishment of a Trump legislative agenda. What you would have is a Democratic majority that is trying to impeach him on the reg, as evidenced by the first term. And that is quite literally the difference that California in itself is trying to overcome by redrawing their maps. They're trying to just push as many Democrats into Congress as they possibly can to impeach the president rather than accomplish the legislative agenda. I just wanna level set on that because this is not a California story. No, right.

[Michael Duncan]

Democratic Party story.

[Josh Holmes]

You're living in the middle of Idaho right now. This is literally, quite literally, what your tax return looks like.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, and they're using the power, like we talked about in the previous segment, the power of these outside liberal groups, 501C3s and C4s, as the muscle to get this stuff that they want accomplished done. And that brings me to our next clip, which is Jody Hicks, the head of Planned Parenthood in California, testifying in support of these new maps. Play that clip.

[Josh Holmes]

Let's take a look. Today we have two witnesses testifying in support. I'll allow them to self identify, and.

[Various Clip Speakers]

You each have three minutes.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Members, I am Jody Hicks, the CEO and president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. You're representing all seven affiliates and over 100 health centers throughout the state of California. And I'm here in strong support to this measure.

[Josh Holmes]

Okay.

[Michael Duncan]

She's in strong support of the measure.

[Josh Holmes]

Can we talk for a minute about how one of the people who are testifying in support of the redistricting in California runs an abortion store?

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Like, that's. That's what they're. They're like, oh, I have a good idea of how the California people are best represented, and I do so through the lens of an organization that advocates for abortion in the ninth month. Like, what does that have to do with voting? What does that have to do with representation? It has. Absolutely not. But it gives you an idea of the perversion. It gets worse.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, because this Jody Hicks woman, who's the head of Planned Parenthood in California, which I don't believe she discloses in that testimony at any point, is married to this guy, Paul Mitchell, who's the data consultant with the D trip that made the maps.

[John Ashbrook]

You're kidding.

[Michael Duncan]

Wait a minute.

[Comfortably Smug]

This is insane.

[Josh Holmes]

So you're saying there's a data consultant that has a contract with the dccc, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, charged with electing Democrats nationwide, who did the work to come up with maps that are advantageous for Democratic elections in the state of California? Presented it, which is why the lady couldn't tell you where it is that she got it. And then his wife is the corroborating witness as to its integrity.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. I mean, this is how the Democratic Party works. It's incredible.

[Comfortably Smug]

We like to think of politics as a family business.

[Michael Duncan]

And to their credit, I have seen some local reporters this afternoon starting to dig around on some of these connections, but it's been totally absent in the national news conversation about this whole redistricting plan that Gavin Newsom wants to do.

[Josh Holmes]

What an amazing thing. So the abortion store.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Just signed off on her husband's map, and they're all like, yeah, we don't know where we got it, but we got it and we're good with it. The abortion store is good with it.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

And this guy lives in the bowels of D.C. which, by the way, Is like, universally advocating for, like, crime and things like that. He's got the best sense.

[Michael Duncan]

What an incredible microcosm of how Democratic politics is wired up for the elites in these organizations, Organizations that control everything.

[John Ashbrook]

Totally Right. And I think the next time you hear a Democrat get on their high horse and give you a lecture about how you don't care about democracy, you need to remember this. You need to remember their reaction to 2024 and when people were like, you know what? I don't want violent crime running rampant in my streets. Democrats reaction to that is not. Well, maybe we need to come up with a way to reduce violent crime too, from our side. No, their reaction to that is we need to cheat our way back into power using the abortion stores and every lever of power that we possibly can come up with.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, it's really quite something.

[Michael Duncan]

It's something.

[Josh Holmes]

It's right. And they obviously have a huge amount of fanfare and deference in the national press, one of which our European allies actually sort of noted in some regard. You recall on Monday you had the entirety of the European Union in the Oval Office and they had some thoughts on what President Trump had to encounter on a day to day basis. Clip six, please. That's all we ask for, is fairness with the media. Thank you all very much. We appreciate it. Thank you very much.

[Michael Duncan]

A lot of cross talk.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, thank you for being so very this every day, all the time. But he loves it. He loves it for. He does it. He does it always. I never want to speak with my friend. He want to come.

[Comfortably Smug]

So it's great. Like, all the European leaders, like, man, your press sucks. He has to deal with this garbage every day. But Trump's like, yeah, I do it. And you know, that guy, he's pretty good at golf. Honestly. Like, he just rolls right back. I mean, dude's like, yeah, you know, he's pretty good at golf, too. Like, the press is nothing to him. He wants to talk about who's a good player.

[Michael Duncan]

And then you got Meloni from Italy being like, he loves it. He's good at it, you know?

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. Oh. And not only that, but she's like, I avoid that thing.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, I never want to talk to those.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, geez. It just gives you a good. So I think we've given you a pretty good encapsulation of what is framing the national discussion here in late August. Can't believe.

[Comfortably Smug]

And breaking news this year has flown.

[Josh Holmes]

It has flown.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Summer's dead and gone.

[Comfortably Smug]

Smoke. That's right. It really is. I mean, Geez, you talk to your wife. They've already got all the like, fall, like decorations ready to go and they're already planning Christmas. It's like, my God, pumpkin spice season year is over.

[Josh Holmes]

You had a great suggestion to all the men.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. It was that you have to book your wife's, you know, apple picking photo shoot for bye week. You don't want to find yourself on a Saturday or a Sunday with your team playing where you got to be out there taking 10 angles. That's trying to get the light right.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's a good thing.

[Josh Holmes]

It's just, it's round the corner stuff. That's what we do here on the Ruthless variety program. Are you guys ready to play a game?

[Comfortably Smug]

Always.

[Josh Holmes]

Let's lighten this thing up.

[Michael Duncan]

King of the Hill, the signature game of the Ruthless variety.

[Josh Holmes]

It is. I, you know, I'm a judge here, so I'm gonna rule ruthlessly.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

And I think smug.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yep.

[Michael Duncan]

Right. And our defending champion, unfair. I saw a little bit of her content. I'm gonna do my best, fellas, but it's gonna be difficult.

[John Ashbrook]

Who are you bringing?

[Michael Duncan]

I'm bringing Rick Wilson.

[Comfortably Smug]

Okay.

[Josh Holmes]

I'm expecting a lot of theatrics because you've got to do everything you can do to overcome what is just 10 of 10 content.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. So let's go ringside.

[John Ashbrook]

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. It's time for King of the Hip. In the red corner, fighting from the Daily Beast and the Lincoln Project, Rick Wilson. And now in the blue corner, fighting from her own Twitter account, and current champion of the world, Commie Jerry Jacobus.

[Michael Duncan]

Nice.

[Josh Holmes]

Have we ever encountered anybody who knows these people who have talked about their reaction to the way that we present them here on the Ruthless Friday?

[Comfortably Smug]

I mean, I know they're not pleased. Like, I think Sherry Jacobus has blocked all of us.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh yeah, for sure. Well, I think they all have blocked. I mean that we have to have like a whole series of staff that get in on their accounts.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, they're all aware.

[Josh Holmes]

They are aware. I just wonder whether or not they have any appreciation for, for a read like that.

[Michael Duncan]

I don't know. It hasn't changed their content at all.

[Josh Holmes]

No, but maybe they're playing for it.

[Michael Duncan]

They might be.

[Josh Holmes]

That's what I'm trying to uncover. Anyway, as the judge and jure will expect the champion to be ready with the first take.

[John Ashbrook]

Your Honor, I begin with the Guns of August. Exhibit number seven, please. It's a photo. And in the rise of the AI Era, Cherry Jacobus. Has clearly had an AI idea here. And for those listening, what she has done is insane. Created a photo of what appears to be Gavin Newsom looking at Melania Trump. And now Gavin is in like. I. I don't. It's like a swimsuit, a Speedo swimsuit, and they're in a jungle and he is looking over her, over top of her. And I think what I would like to point out about this AI is it takes a special sort of demented soul to come up with the prompt to create this kind of an image. And Cherry Jacobus, as a former Republican, is just that sort of demented soul. So I present to you exhibit seven, the Guns of August.

[Comfortably Smug]

The. The AI being forced to do that is why the computers are going to kill us all.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, that is quite something.

[Comfortably Smug]

They're not going to forget they were forced to do that shit.

[Josh Holmes]

It is also, it comes on the heels of the ruthless Friday program getting some inside knowledge and something we're investigating that has nothing to. To do with Melania Trump, obviously, but it's something to do with Gavin Newsome in this regard.

[Comfortably Smug]

Stay tuned for that killer teaser.

[John Ashbrook]

Your Honor, if I may add one more bailiff.

[Josh Holmes]

What is.

[Comfortably Smug]

You've done enough. You've done enough, dude.

[John Ashbrook]

This was posted at 6:35am all right.

[Comfortably Smug]

All right, that's good.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, it's in a.

[Comfortably Smug]

Wait. I mean, that's again, good.

[Michael Duncan]

No, I appreciate that. I withdraw my objection. Yeah, in fair play. Okay. Rick Wilson, exhibit number 12, please. Rick Wilson is, quote, tweeting an account talking about, you know, Donald Trump. You know, he's got dementia or something, right?

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

A topic that escaped Rick Wilson's eagle eyes for the four years of Joe Biden's presidency. And Rick Wilson quote, tweets and says he'd be out on the ice floe by now, describing how Donald Trump would be put out to pasture if, you know, it was fair.

[Josh Holmes]

I think I require. I'm gonna ask the bailiff for his consideration. I think in order to fully consider that, I'm going to require a full reading of the retweet because I don't know that I understand the context of the.

[Comfortably Smug]

In this one instance. Okay. If there's no objections, then I'll up.

[Michael Duncan]

Okay. So the tweet he's, quote, tweeting says he's a sick old man talking about Trump. If he was peepaw, you'd start having, quote, the talk about what to do with him. This is about Donald Trump, not Joe Biden. This is about Donald Trump. A Guy who just flew to Alaska, did a summit with Vladimir Putin, flies back to Washington D.C. does a summit with Vladimir Zelensky and all of the European leaders, then does a phone call with Putin and then schedules a bilateral with Ukraine and Russia.

[Josh Holmes]

It takes more effort. And here's the thing. I don't think this would win every time, but I do think in the context of the week that we have experienced, where once again, for the third time in as many months, you've seen Donald Trump single handedly restore America as the leader of the free world and begin to re galvanize allies in common cause for one thing or another. 48 hours removed from a trip to Alaska, he arrives back home at 3am Monday morning. He's got every single European president in his office where he, not anybody else, is dictating the pace of play. The idea that in the context of that, that he is the one that is supposed to be on the ice floe to me far outweighs an AI Gavin Newsom. I'm gonna give it to the challenger.

[Michael Duncan]

Wow.

[Comfortably Smug]

I gotta say, that's a good ruling, to be honest.

[Michael Duncan]

Wow.

[Comfortably Smug]

Good reasoning too.

[Michael Duncan]

I feel like I got away with one there. I appreciate that. I did a little pageantry though, and it was rewarded.

[Josh Holmes]

I just think, I mean, dude.

[Michael Duncan]

No, you're right.

[Josh Holmes]

But I'm captivated.

[Michael Duncan]

I didn't think you just, you could ignore.

[Josh Holmes]

I can't.

[Michael Duncan]

The underwear, it's hard to ignore. I wasn't worried about that.

[Comfortably Smug]

I think the context is so important because I think to a certain extent we're starting to get used to Trump having these like massive W's that like, you gotta take a step back and be like, dude, that was an insane week of wow.

[Josh Holmes]

When somebody rolls in at 3am on Saturday, is pumping out tweets at 5am on Sunday.

[Comfortably Smug]

Bangers too. They're fun.

[Josh Holmes]

And then Monday morning hosts the entirety of the free world in his office, where he unites them in a common cause message back to the guy he just met with on Friday. Like, that is a wild thing. Like, you should really stop and appreciate that because it's. That's not done. Even the most vigorous presidents haven't done that.

[Comfortably Smug]

And then at the same time bringing like an end to crime in D.C. where there's zero murders. That's been his week.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, Pretty good week. All right, W. Let's go to the challenger.

[Michael Duncan]

Okay. So I'm just part of the fun and pageantry of the ruthless variety program. I'm going to choose to play this tweet I don't know if it's my strongest, but it's an AI generated one. I want to provide some more of that content because he had one, the last one.

[Josh Holmes]

Sure.

[Michael Duncan]

Exhibit number 15, Rick Wilson has an AI generated photo of George H.W. bush, Reagan, JFK and Truman. And he writes real American presidents versus Trump. What American presidents worth the name would say today. And then a link to his sub stack.

[Josh Holmes]

Just self serving, mind you.

[Michael Duncan]

And just as you know, to dovetail back on the previous segment in this week, a week in which the United States is finally the leader of the free world again and everybody is coming to Donald Trump and America to solve the world's problems, you're like, I need a substack post about how Donald Trump isn't an American president. What is one thing that Joe Biden did in his four years that outshines what Donald Trump has done in the last week?

[Josh Holmes]

It would also seem to me that like Harry Truman would have a soft spot for something like that.

[Michael Duncan]

Harry Truman would have been dropping bombs.

[Josh Holmes]

All right, what do we got from the champion?

[John Ashbrook]

Okay, similarly self serving, but not about some sub stack. Exhibit 9 please. Cherry Jacobus writes, I have half the followers over on Blue sky that I have here, but get over twice the engagement. Elon Mush has me shadow band so I guess I must be doing something right. Sherry Jacobus wrote 4:20pm in the afternoon and I will tell you fellas, we place a high value on misuse of the Internet over here in this game. And not only did she misspell Elon Musk's name, she is pretending that Blue sky is somehow better than Twitter for community conversation.

[Michael Duncan]

Do we think she did that on purpose or do you think she did that by accident?

[Comfortably Smug]

I'm searching right now if like Elon Musk is an actual account and if it's like where libs go, yeah, I'd.

[Josh Holmes]

Be interested in the bailiff's findings on that. I will say no.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's actually just a trash account. There's no tweets from it. It's like someone has created at Elon Mush. But it's got 41 followers, no profile photo, no tweet. So it is actual. Just so it's a misuse again.

[Josh Holmes]

It's a misuse again.

[John Ashbrook]

Posted at 4:20 on the dot.

[Josh Holmes]

This is troubling because I feel like I have myself been served a fair amount of Sherri Macheri over the last week and I believe that my co host is holding in abeyance items that were sure winners. Assuming that this judge and jury would side with him on something as trivial as a misuse of the Internet. Oh, I believe that there are several takes out there that I saw that were nuclear bombs this week.

[Michael Duncan]

And I would file a mikas in agreement of that.

[Josh Holmes]

I've been served it. I've been served it directly. I try not to look because I try to remain impartial, but because none of those bombs were in the first two rounds, instead they were relying on a technicality here in round two, I'm going to award the challenger.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yes.

[Michael Duncan]

Let's go.

[Josh Holmes]

Wow.

[Michael Duncan]

That's what you get for slow rolling, dude.

[John Ashbrook]

Can I read the third? Can I just read the.

[Michael Duncan]

Please.

[John Ashbrook]

If it.

[Josh Holmes]

Please. No.

[Comfortably Smug]

I think it should be punished if you don't play. If you play.

[Michael Duncan]

Safety enjoyment.

[Comfortably Smug]

Everyone should be mad at Ash Brook.

[Josh Holmes]

No, I want to see it though.

[John Ashbrook]

Be mad at me. But enjoy this.

[Comfortably Smug]

What's the number of the exhibit?

[John Ashbrook]

This is exhibit number four. Please. Cherry Jacob as Putin will keep what he has on Trump from the Epstein file secret if Trump delivers Ukraine. Trump trying to buy him off with other baubles, Alaska's rare earth minerals. Red carpet butt kissing compliments. The only reason Putin installed Trump was Ukraine. No other huge mistake. I held it back.

[Josh Holmes]

Was a surefire winner.

[John Ashbrook]

It was a surefire winner, but a poor strategy by yours truly.

[Josh Holmes]

Okay, well that's the game of king of the hill here this week. I've got one more story for you fellas. It falls in the variety. Nice segment. I believe this is something that was raised by smug. There's a woman in her 50s. This is according to page six.

[Comfortably Smug]

Always gold.

[Josh Holmes]

Who allegedly been a child age six in the Hamptons over a tussle of a free concert T shirt. So look, let me just read it. Talk about dog days of summer.

[Comfortably Smug]

You gotta appreciate New York Post, man. Gotta appreciate unstoppable.

[Josh Holmes]

Page Six hears that the Hampton cops are investigating claims that a woman in her 50s bit a 6 year old child over a tussle to claim a free T shirt at concert. Sources out east say the alleged incisive incident happened at the Tuesdays on Main beach event in East Hampton last week. It seems as though organizers of the popular family friendly free concert series used T shirt cannons to fire off favors into the audience as it's done. People enjoy that kind of thing Tuesday in the Hamptons. Yeah, exactly. So during last Tuesday's event headlined by an 80s cover band, Rubik's Cube, Moeller.

[Michael Duncan]

Mole alleges classic New York Post writing.

[Josh Holmes]

Totally a 6 year old kid Grabs one of the T shirts. But a 57 year old woman battles him for the T shirt and he prevails. But not before she bites him on the arm to get the upper hand.

[Comfortably Smug]

I mean, wow.

[Josh Holmes]

A second source said the child was treated by medics. Wow. And that the cops have a suspect in the matter they had to investigate. Cops told us they're not ready to release the information about the matter, but they're still investigating this bad boy. So some woman with a T shirt cannon.

[Comfortably Smug]

No, to get the T shirt.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. She wrestled a six year old to the ground and used biting in order to obtain a free T shirt.

[Michael Duncan]

Like who? Who fights like a bouquet at a wedding for a T shirt at a concert. That's wild.

[Josh Holmes]

It's. It's wild. So whose side are we on here?

[Comfortably Smug]

So I think she should be jailed. They need to make this surprise. No, no, no. I mean, so this is a larger problem is I think a lot of adults in this country are not considerate of children. Especially like children's spaces. Like you know the famous Ashbrook story. If he goes to Disney with his little kids and you've got Disney adults that are like cutting in line and elbowing and like, what is wrong with you people? Like it's a child. Like a six year old child wants the T shirt. Let him have the T shirt. What? You have to go on ebay and buy this like 80 band T shirt? You live in the Hamptons, okay? And also a lot of people in the Hamptons are bad folks. Like the few times I've had to summer there. Not a good time, by and large.

[Michael Duncan]

I said summer, by and large.

[Comfortably Smug]

They're not great folks. Not great folks There.

[Josh Holmes]

Can I confess something?

[Comfortably Smug]

You enjoy it?

[Josh Holmes]

No. I really thought you were gonna come out on side of the woman.

[Michael Duncan]

No, I did too. We talked about this before you got here for the production meeting. I was convinced that you were going to say, finally, this woman is disciplining the child. I'm sure the parents have not disciplined the children.

[Josh Holmes]

Here's the thing.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's not like it's a story on an airplane of the child starting a problem. The child's not starting a problem. The child trying to get a T shirt. It just wants a T shirt. Let the kid have a T shirt. Grow up.

[Michael Duncan]

I'm shocked.

[Josh Holmes]

Look at a well adjusted week here.

[Comfortably Smug]

Well, I'm always right. So everything I say is correct.

[Josh Holmes]

He's all grown up and he's all growns up.

[Comfortably Smug]

I mean, what a disgusting lady biting a kid. You need to be locked up. Yeah, that's, you know, like. That is actual jail time. This is not. Pay a ticket and apologize. Lock her up.

[Josh Holmes]

I think we all agree on that. Thank you. Comfortably smug.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's a refreshing as always, Vulture.

[Michael Duncan]

I hope they test for rabies.

[Comfortably Smug]

Seriously.

[Josh Holmes]

Exactly right. Just remember our question of the day, which is a very, very good one if I can find it, fellas, because I'm gonna have to sort through my mini paper.

[Comfortably Smug]

There it is, right there.

[Josh Holmes]

It's. How can Republicans capitalize on the cratering support that they're having in registration throughout this country? How can they seize this moment?

[Comfortably Smug]

Put the foot on the neck of the Dems if their registrations are going down?

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. What's the best way to do it? But is it more of the same?

[Michael Duncan]

I don't know.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, you guys all have good ideas. Cause you live in your communities, you talk to your neighbors, and there's some probably Dems out there that aren't as anxious as they once were to tell you about how pious they are, about their opinions. So, you know, give us your thoughts when you like and subscribe to the Ruthless Friday program. We read every single one. And we're gonna get back to you on Friday with that. Fellas, I think we did it.

[Comfortably Smug]

I think so. Absolute banger of an episode. Gentlemen, thank you so much to the Minions. Remember, if you have not yet, subscribe to the YouTube because it's more fun in video. So until next time, Minions, keep the faith, hold the line, and own the libs. We'll see you Friday. Stay ruthless.