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

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.

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]

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]

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]

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.

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]

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]

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.”

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?

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.