Socialist Shocks New York: A New Dem Leader Emerges

Summary

Ruthless Podcast Episode Summary: Socialist Shocks New York: A New Dem Leader Emerges

Episode Details:

• Title: Ruthless Podcast
• Hosts: Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan, John Ashbrook
• Release Date: June 26, 2025

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1. Introduction: The Decline of the Democratic Party

The episode opens with Josh Holmes lamenting what he perceives as the "death of a political party," likening the current state of the Democrats to "the political equivalent of a protest sign" (00:00). The hosts express concern over the Democratic Party's direction, suggesting it has transformed into an openly socialist entity.

Notable Quote:

"This is like the death of a political party. It's like basically the political equivalent of a protest sign." — Josh Holmes [00:00]

2. Trump's Foreign Policy Successes

The discussion shifts to President Trump's impactful foreign policy moves. The hosts highlight Trump's role in revitalizing NATO, pushing member countries to commit 5% of their GDP—a significant increase from the previous 2% (02:12). They also commend Trump's decisive action against Iran, particularly the Soleimani strike, portraying it as a demonstration of American strength and leadership on the global stage.

Notable Quotes:

"The Soleimani strike was just so telling of how his pragmatic view on foreign policy actually works." — John Ashbrook [07:34]

"He's not merely trolling the Ayatollah. He's putting other adversaries on notice." — John Ashbrook [51:25]

3. Emergence of a Socialist Leader in New York City

A significant portion of the episode critiques the recent Democratic primary in New York City, where a candidate with socialist leanings, Zoran Mamdani, emerged victorious over former Governor Andrew Cuomo. The hosts draw alarming parallels between New York City's current trajectory and cities like Mogadishu, suggesting that Mamdani's policies could lead to severe societal decline.

Notable Quotes:

"There is no Democrat party. It's now openly a socialist party. And we've seen every socialist party across the world eventually just becomes a race to the bottom." — John Ashbrook [00:43]

"Abolish the New York Police Department... it could get so much like Mogadishu." — John Ashbrook [21:16]

4. Critique of Democratic Strategies and Policies

The hosts delve into the Democratic Party's shift towards progressive and socialist policies, criticizing their focus on ideological battles rather than practical solutions to improve Americans' lives. They argue that the Democrats have lost touch with the core issues that matter to voters, such as economic growth, job creation, and community improvement.

Notable Quotes:

"This is not about what helps you or what could make your burden a little easier, it's what you just said. It's like basically the political equivalent of a protest sign." — Josh Holmes [25:09]

"Chuck Schumer's like, you know what? I love it. I love that my city in the state in which I represent is going to become Disneyland for communists." — Michael Duncan [13:38]

5. Media Portrayal and Party Polarization

The discussion highlights the contrast in media portrayal of Republicans versus Democrats. While media often magnifies the most extreme Republican viewpoints, the hosts argue that the Democratic Party has fully embraced radical socialism without similar scrutiny.

Notable Quotes:

"I hate it when the mainstream media tries to paint conservative Americans... So I don't want to do that on the Democratic Party." — Josh Holmes [36:11]

"It's pretty much think of what that looks like. It's what it currently looks like. So it's not that different." — John Ashbrook [21:21]

6. Audience Interactions: Questions and Comments

The podcast incorporates listener comments addressing topics like Trump's handling of foreign policy and critiques of media narratives. One listener, Nico, praises Trump's decisive actions against Iran, contrasting them with perceived media exaggerations of his vulnerabilities.

Notable Quote:

"Bombing a nuclear site... has way different than a war or a proper conflict with them. If Trump is taking out the means to attack but not going out for regime change war. It's 100% America first." — Nico [48:14]

7. Capitol Hill Updates: The Big Beautiful Bill

Brent Gardner joins the hosts to provide updates on the "Big Beautiful Bill," a significant legislative effort aimed at economic growth, tax reform, and border security. Gardner emphasizes the grassroots support and the urgency among voters to pass the bill, highlighting recent voter mobilization efforts.

Notable Quotes:

"This is a chance where Republicans said, let's take a swath of the things that we can do and show Republicans can get it done." — Brent Gardner [69:48]

"We got a few that are still left out there... Speaker Johnson, Steve Scalise, John Thune—watch these key figures." — Brent Gardner [66:39]

8. Concluding Remarks and Future Outlook

The episode concludes with optimism about the Republican Party's ability to implement significant policy changes through the "Big Beautiful Bill." The hosts encourage listeners to stay engaged and support the ongoing legislative efforts to ensure economic stability and national security.

Notable Quotes:

"We're not in a position where we're bending our debt and deficit curve significantly here. We need to grow, and to do that, we need great tax policy to do it." — Brent Gardner [65:03]

"This is the first step in getting a conservative economy that grows... making America great again is actually happening." — Josh Holmes [09:37]

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Conclusion: In this episode of the Ruthless Podcast, the hosts critically examine the Democratic Party's shift towards socialism, celebrate President Trump's foreign policy achievements, and express concern over the emerging socialist leadership in New York City. Through incisive commentary and listener interactions, they advocate for a return to conservative principles focused on economic growth and national strength.

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Timestamps:

• Introduction and Decline of Dems: [00:00] – [00:58]
• Trump's Foreign Policy: [02:12] – [08:28]
• NYC Mayoral Race: [27:32] – [33:32]
• Democratic Policies Critique: [34:38] – [43:46]
• Media and Polarization: [55:06] – [73:38]
• Capitol Hill Updates: [57:54] – [73:55]

Transcript

[Josh Holmes]

This is like the death of a political party. It's like basically the political equivalent of a protest sign.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

And like, that's what they. That's where they are. I don't know how they get out of this, fellas.

[John Ashbrook]

And that's the other thing is, like, you grew up in, you bring up like, you know, Somalia. Like, you know, look what it's like in Mogadisha. You grew up in Minnesota, right?

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, here we go. Well, look, you're gonna take shots in my hometown here.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. Well, look, it's been imported in Minnesota. Now you've got a member of Congress from Mogadishu who's like, I want this country to be like Mogadishu because America's terrible. Right. And now look at New York City. This was the beacon of the world. This was Rome for the globe for 200 years. And now look at it. Now look at what we have.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

You know, and it's going to keep happening because that party is effectively gone. There is no Democrat party. It's now openly a socialist party. And we've seen every socialist party across the world eventually just becomes a race to the bottom.

[Josh Holmes]

America's beverage companies are investing in America. We're American companies making American products with American workers in America's hometowns. We're local bottlers and manufacturers operating in all 50 states, employing more than 275,000Americans in good paying jobs delivering for the nation because we believe in the promise.

[Brent Gardner]

Of America and the people who make it great.

[Josh Holmes]

Learn [e-mail] paid for by the American Beverage Association.

[Michael Duncan]

Trump country is booming.

[Josh Holmes]

We're building, hiring and winning in America.

[Michael Duncan]

Because energy tax credits create jobs and put America first.

[Josh Holmes]

Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country. More production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers.

[Michael Duncan]

And America's comeback depends on American energy.

[Brent Gardner]

President Trump.

[Michael Duncan]

Keep what works, don't repeal energy tax credits.

[Josh Holmes]

Learn more at Built For America US.

[Michael Duncan]

Paid for by Built For America.

[Unknown Speaker]

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.

[John Ashbrook]

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

[Unknown Speaker]

It's time for our main event.

[Josh Holmes]

Good Thursday to you. Our favorite day of the week here on the Ruthless Variety program. I'm Josh Holmes along with comfortably smug Michael Duncan and John Ashbrook. Left to right, across your radio dial. As always, listen. This has been somewhat of a, I would say a clarifying week in that you've got two political parties that represent the direction of the American people and there's a battle back and forth and sometimes lines are Unclear. They're not unclear. In this day and age, you've got a Republican Party led by President Trump who has quite literally reestablish the United States of America as the leader of the free world. If you have any doubt about that, go look at NATO. This is an operation that was laughing at President Trump eight years ago. They were saying that he was being provocative and offensive by suggesting that the European Union basically pony up for their own collective defense. And that was a 2% level of their GDP that they had to kick into. Guy shows up after what he does in Iran, Middle east, by the way, tips the cap and says, thank you very much, appreciate it. We can't say it out loud, but thanks. And then he rolls into NATO and they're like, you know what, 2%? That was great. How about 5%? And you, you could just tell. And we're going to get into some of this, and then you juxtapose it with what we saw this week in New York City, which we're going to get into, fellas. I mean, initial reactions to what we're seeing here this week play out, which I think is going to be de emphasized, because everybody's worrying about process and all of these things. But I think this is a big week in this regard.

[John Ashbrook]

Huge.

[Brent Gardner]

Huge.

[John Ashbrook]

And like you said, you see where each party stands completely. You saw quite literally a communist. It's a communist, folks went in New York City. And it's not just like, oh, you know, this is just like a city wide race. This is just a mayor thing. Schumer instantly capitulates, shoots out a congratulations, called him. We're gonna be working with. It's a wrap.

[Josh Holmes]

This is like the last quote, unquote, pro Israel, you know, American leader of the free world type Democrat on a podium anywhere in America. And then you get some, like, Islamic extremist that's nominated as his party's nominee in New York City. He's like, yeah, I love him. Worked with him for ages.

[Michael Duncan]

Can't wait.

[Josh Holmes]

Can't wait.

[Unknown Speaker]

Guy was born in Uganda and came to New York six years ago on the ballot against all these people who are libs, of course, but grew up in the city. And they're like, what? What did we do?

[Josh Holmes]

Wr?

[Unknown Speaker]

Of course, every single trust fund person in Manhattan was like, yes, that's what I want. Lunacy.

[Josh Holmes]

It's absolute lunacy. But again, you take these two situations that have played out in technicolor ever since the bombing of the nuclear facilities in Iran, and then you juxtapose it what's happening in New York City? And then you see Democratic reaction where they're all quick to say, like, well, we didn't get the job done in Iran. And they're like, pointing to some leak out of the Defense Intel. We'll get into that, too. And they're like, we didn't do it quickly. Trying to undermine the United States of America abroad and then hitching their wagon to this psychopath in New York City. Meanwhile, this guy Trump shows up in NATO and, like, you have to have some historical context to remember what it was like the first time he showed up at a NATO conference where everybody was like, I don't. This guy, you know, he's provocative and he say he's not respecting the world order. Now they're like, where do we get in line?

[Unknown Speaker]

Bingo, dude. I watched that entire press conference from start to finish. There was one moment that sticks out in my mind where a reporter from Spain starts asking him a question. He's like, oh, you're from Spain. Your country is not going to pony up the 5%. She was like, well, well, who's gonna negotiate? He's like, I'm going to negotiate personally. I'm calling him. I'm going to say, you should pay the 5%. The rest of the countries are paying the 5%. Why don't you pay the 5%? Like, that is a guy who is in command of what is happening on the planet. Like, he was on offense the entire time.

[Josh Holmes]

The most counterintuitive part of Donald Trump's presidency, it seems to me, is everybody elected him from his domestic standpoint. Right, right. He understood the working class, the forgotten man, the manufacturing base of this country, the, you know, sort of value system that we had in this country. And it was largely domestic movement since day one, since the escalator, immigration, everything else. The foreign policy, which is way far afield from the, like, establishment foreign policy vision that we've had, you know, forever in this country, boy, really starts to pay dividends. It's hard to poke holes in this situation.

[John Ashbrook]

That's the thing is, I think success begets success. Like, he. I think we've said it many times. That Soleimani strike was just so telling of how his pragmatic view on foreign policy actually works.

[Josh Holmes]

I agree.

[John Ashbrook]

You know, it showed. Well, look, it got the job done.

[Michael Duncan]

Right. Well, I think the thing I was most amazed by is how Donald Trump could, you know, have this call, you know, with the Israelis and the Iranians, you know, after the ceasefire, and they're doing a tit for tat thing after the fact. And it got him pretty upset. You know, he goes to the pool before he gets on Marine One, drops some F bombs.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, right, yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

So cool.

[Josh Holmes]

Which is sweet.

[Michael Duncan]

And then he gets on Air Force One and he's gotta, you know, go over there for this NATO summit and he's just like gaggling with the pool reporters on the airplane and he's like, Putin called me, he said, can I help you with Iran? And I said, I don't need help with Iran, I need help with you.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

And it's just like, it's that sort of thing. And then he goes to NATO and he gets all these guys to kiss the ring and put in the 5%. And it's like, man, he's swinging a hot back.

[Josh Holmes]

That's the thing.

[John Ashbrook]

That's the thing.

[Josh Holmes]

And what he just summarized, I mean, look, if you wanna know the ethos of the ruthless variety program, we all collectively come at all of these things from different point of views, different parts of the Republican Party, different emphasis and like where we grew up and things that were important. But collectively what it's about is American greatness, leader of the free world. Like you want to feel like you did when you were kids, where there was an unquestioned authority in the world and we're not going to apologize for a damn thing. And like, that's the construct that we come at this. And Democrats just don't get it, like generationally, from our population standpoint in the middle of this country, like, they just don't get it. And they're proving it over and over.

[John Ashbrook]

Again, like you just said, like, you know, remembering what it was like for us as kids, how America, like, that's the whole thing. I think that's why we can come from different perspectives and places and what informs us and how we became Republicans and, and how we do want that. But why we are now all on the same page. With all the success of Donald Trump, I think that just goes to prove he really has done it. He's making America great again. Like it's actually happening. Yeah, no, it's actually happening.

[Josh Holmes]

It's actually tangible as opposed to a bumper sticker. Yep, it's not a hat.

[John Ashbrook]

Yep.

[Josh Holmes]

This is happening and you're watching it. And I don't care how critical you are or not, you watch what's just happened over a five day period of time. You'd be blind not to acknowledge the distinction between Trump and his opposition and who's supporting what. Yeah, right.

[Unknown Speaker]

No. And the distinction between what we had under Joe Biden, it was so weak. And you think about Afghanistan and the withdrawal and everything Joe Biden did was weak. President Trump comes in and it is one display after the other of American power. And I mean, you were talking about the difference between the way that Republicans in the past have carried out the Middle East. Like, I really like what he's done in Iran. He said over and over again, we don't want you to have a nuclear weapon. Dismantle the program. We want to negotiate. Dismantle the program. If you don't negotiate, if you don't dismantle the program, we're going to take it out. They didn't do it. He took it out.

[Josh Holmes]

Now do you want to talk?

[Unknown Speaker]

Right. I'm not at war with Iran. I said you shouldn't have nuclear weapons and nobody wants you to have nuclear weapons, least of all us. And so we took him out. And there's no mission creep where it's like, oh, well, you know what? Lockheed and Marion, Merrill, Dow and all these companies really need him, need the government to fight a war.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, you can't be a country unless you get a purple thumb in the process. Like, we're done with the purple thumb.

[Michael Duncan]

We are spreading democracy.

[Josh Holmes]

It's the end of like. I think it can be best summarized as like, we went from a four year period of time where anytime the American President was on the world stage, you just hope he didn't shit his britches in front of it. Like literally shit his britches. And now you're more worried about whether everybody else is gonna shit their britches.

[John Ashbrook]

Bingo.

[Josh Holmes]

Right? And like that's a comfortable position, at least for the four of us. Listen, we're gonna get into all of that. I wanna play you a couple clips just cause it's relevant from yesterday's NATO conference where like the NATO chief, these people, like, they laughed at him, they mocked Donald Trump, now they're meeting the 5%. But more importantly, there's this deference there that you can just perceive that is so important. Let's play 1A. You're gonna get kick out of this. Deborah Haynes from Sky News. Hello. The language that you have used when talking to Donald Trump has been notable because of its flattery today. You called him daddy, you sent a text message to him that was gushing with praise. Is this the way that you feel you have to act when doing business with the US President through flattery and praise? Isn't it a bit demeaning? And doesn't it make you look weak?

[Michael Duncan]

No, I don't think so.

[Josh Holmes]

I think it's a bit of a question of taste, but I think he's a good friend.

[Michael Duncan]

And when he is doing stuff which is forcing us to, for example, when it comes to making more investments, would.

[Josh Holmes]

You ever think that this would be.

[Brent Gardner]

The result of this summit if he.

[Michael Duncan]

Would not have been elected president? Do you really think that seven or.

[Josh Holmes]

Eight countries who said yes, somewhere in the2030s we might meet the 2%, we've now all decided in the last four.

[Michael Duncan]

Or five months to get to 2%.

[Josh Holmes]

So doesn't he deserve some grace? Oh, man, that is so.

[John Ashbrook]

Listen, that is something.

[Josh Holmes]

I know the vast majority of you don't follow NATO politics. Right. You probably don't give a shit about it. Like, you don't even care why NATO was formed to the extent that you do. It's like, that's fine somewhere else. The distinction between how that is received by Donald Trump today compared to where he was is night and day. First of all, that guy's got a great head of hair, right?

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, I don't know a lot about.

[John Ashbrook]

Is it root turkey is a NATO, right?

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Right?

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Maybe he got one of those hairy.

[John Ashbrook]

Things, but it's magnificent.

[Josh Holmes]

He got one of those hair things.

[John Ashbrook]

Bro's got a great man.

[Michael Duncan]

But we were told, like, when Joe Biden became president, America's back, we're going to be respected on the world stage again.

[Josh Holmes]

Yep.

[Michael Duncan]

We're sort of embarrassed of those last four years of Donald Trump. And people bought it, you know, because he went to Europe and he said, you know, you're going to be owned by Russia with this gas. They all laughed in his face and he had proven right and all that sort of stuff. And he embarrassed us.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

You know, and then Joe Biden is going to, like, to your point, you know, go over to Europe and shit his britches. Then we're gonna be respected on the world stage again. That's what respect on the world stage looks like.

[Josh Holmes]

That's what it looks like. And make no mistake, this isn't rhetorical. Just in like. Well, we understand the ethos of Donald Trump. You gotta, like, blow a little sunshine up his skirt and he's gonna treat you. Well. That's not what. That is what he's talking about. By saying that all of the member countries of NATO have now pointed up, aside from Spain, which Trump said he's gonna address directly, he's quite literally saved NATO. Made that guy's job easier. That's why he's Saying nice things. And that would not happen if not for the vision that he has talked about since day one, but then actually executed. It's incredible. The daddy thing. My goodness.

[Michael Duncan]

Hilarious.

[Josh Holmes]

Let's get Trump's reaction to that one. B.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's from Sky News.

[Josh Holmes]

Mark Rutter, the NATO chief, who is. Is your friend.

[Brent Gardner]

He called you Daddy earlier.

[Unknown Speaker]

She's into that.

[Josh Holmes]

By the way, look at Rubio just dying.

[John Ashbrook]

Rubio's cheesing children.

[Josh Holmes]

No, he likes me. I think he likes me. If he doesn't, I'll let you know. I'll come back and I'll hit him hard.

[Michael Duncan]

Okay?

[Josh Holmes]

He did it.

[Brent Gardner]

Very affectionate.

[Josh Holmes]

Daddy. You're my daddy. How good is that, dude? How good is that? Was that the same lady?

[John Ashbrook]

I think it was.

[Michael Duncan]

It's the Sky News lady. Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

She's obsessed with the daddy.

[John Ashbrook]

Super into it.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, I mean, super into it.

[Josh Holmes]

What's going on?

[Unknown Speaker]

I guess that clicks with the limeys.

[Josh Holmes]

Was she a limey?

[Unknown Speaker]

I don't know.

[Josh Holmes]

Whatever.

[Unknown Speaker]

She certainly sounded that Sky News is the uk, Right.

[Josh Holmes]

But there was a kind of a mixture on that accent.

[Michael Duncan]

I don't know.

[Josh Holmes]

Didn't feel like a. Totally wasn't a cockney. For sure.

[Unknown Speaker]

You got a good ear.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, well, I don't know. Whatever it is, she loves the daddy. She does loves the daddy talk. And so did Marco Rubio, who found it completely hilarious. But that's what having fun is like. And that's what America leading the world looks like. And that's what we've been talking about for, like, you know, you get this scattering of information from people, you know, who are like, oh, you know, America, let's blame America. If we do something, America's the problem. What are we doing that gets the response? No, we're the consequence. We are the consequence of their shitty behavior. And you just had Donald Trump lay that out to the world community. And the world community, for the first time in a lot of years is like, you're right, you're right. It's fantastic.

[John Ashbrook]

It's great.

[Josh Holmes]

It's great to see. And then you flash forward and you're like, okay, well, how are Democrats taking care of all of this? Not good.

[Michael Duncan]

Not well. What do soaring auto insurance rates and inflation have in common? Greedy billboard trial lawyers and fraud.

[Josh Holmes]

You're paying more because trial lawyers are bilking the system. They're working with unscrupulous doctors to fake injuries and file fraudulent medical claims.

[Michael Duncan]

They're conspiring with Ms. 13 gang members.

[Josh Holmes]

To recruit illegal immigrants for their bogus Lawsuits.

[Michael Duncan]

And while they're getting richer, hardworking Americans are getting crushed by higher auto insurance rates and higher inflation.

[Josh Holmes]

Frivolous lawsuits are costing the average family.

[Michael Duncan]

Over $4,000 a year in hidden taxes.

[Josh Holmes]

It's a corrupt system.

[Michael Duncan]

Greedy billboard trial lawyers use fraud and.

[Josh Holmes]

Frivolous lawsuits to line their pockets.

[Michael Duncan]

Then they give millions to Democratic politicians to defend the racket.

[Josh Holmes]

Lawsuit abuse and insurance fraud are attacks on you. But President Trump can stop their scam and make America affordable again.

[Michael Duncan]

Ending lawsuit abuse is one more way.

[Josh Holmes]

To put America first. Paid for by make America affordable again. It's been crisis after crisis. COVID lockdowns, Biden's inflation, open borders, and rampant crime.

[Michael Duncan]

Now liberals want the largest tax hike.

[Josh Holmes]

In history, crushing families unless we stop them and bring America back. President Trump and leader John Thune's plan will cut taxes for working families, strengthen our border and our economy. With no tax on tips or overtime wages. America is ready for President Trump and Leader John Thune's working family tax cuts. Zoran Mamdani. I think I'm saying that right. Does that sound right? Wolf, Zoram. Mom, Donny. Okay. It's close enough for government work, Right? Okay. Well, anyway, this cat, he's a socialist.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Who had, like, the AOC crowd or whatever. And he's running in a primary against the former governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, amongst others. It's a fucking mess. And you know everything there is to know about New York election law, but there's like 8,000 candidates, no matter what.

[John Ashbrook]

Yep. And I'm going to be honest, I remember, what was it, three weeks ago? And we were in Ashbrook's office, chilling. We're hanging out, and Duncan's like, there's no way. This guy's. And I said to Duncan, I was like, what? Please believe me, Zorin is gonna win.

[Michael Duncan]

No, I wanted him to win, but.

[John Ashbrook]

You said he couldn't. I remember it clear as day. We're in Ashbrook's office. You know, there's the old man's, like.

[Josh Holmes]

Take that man down.

[John Ashbrook]

Really thinks this guy's gonna win. Zorin, I feel like this is faith. 100% the truth.

[Michael Duncan]

No, I don't want him to just win the primary. I want him to win the general.

[Josh Holmes]

But you can't go to New York if he does win the general. Like, can you only imagine, think of somebody that's like 10x worse than Bill de Blasio run joint. It's gonna look like fricking Somalia by.

[Brent Gardner]

The end of it.

[John Ashbrook]

I agree. I want him to Win. I want New York to suffer. I want to get worse and worse and worse and worse and worse.

[Josh Holmes]

We're gonna have to visit HQ in New York from a blackhawk.

[John Ashbrook]

I mean, that's the thing is that like. I mean, to me the scary consequence of this is, you know, some people are like, oh, things are gonna get so bad and it's gonna lead to like a moderation of the Democrat party. When have you ever seen a Democrat party go more towards the center? They never have. The party never, ever has.

[Michael Duncan]

No, if you read everything that this guy believes, it's a double down. That's what the Democrats are doing now in the, in the, you know, the after action of the election and everything. But they lost. There was a lot of soul search.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

And that there were these Democratic luminaries were like, maybe we shouldn't talk about cutting off the dicks of six year olds. You know, maybe.

[Josh Holmes]

Maybe people in Topeka aren't interested in inverting private parts.

[Michael Duncan]

Maybe like men hanging dong and women's locker rooms isn't how you build an electoral majority in this country. And that lasted, you know, through that intervening period. And now they've decided, no, but a 30, 60 today.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, window. It was open. They were like, no, double, no more.

[Michael Duncan]

We want more of it.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, I want you to cut the dong. Push the dong.

[Michael Duncan]

Oh my God.

[Josh Holmes]

Pull the dong back out. Let's have a double dong.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, dude, my mom listens to this.

[Josh Holmes]

Dude, you know what? Your mom, your mom understands that this is.

[Michael Duncan]

She knows it's a problem.

[Josh Holmes]

This is how we communicate here. She knows better than anyone. She has two boys. Yeah, she has two boys. But listen, like, Bill Melujian laid out some of the stuff. Can we put up graphic one, please? This is the positions that this cat has taken. Abolish the New York Police Department. It's like, I don't know, the four largest law enforcement in the world. And they're like, no, abolish it. Think of going to New York City without a cop.

[John Ashbrook]

It's pretty much think of what that looks like. It's what it currently looks like. So it's not that different. I'll be completely honest.

[Josh Holmes]

Like, no, it could get way worse than I've had.

[John Ashbrook]

I've had numerous friends who, like me, moved away from New York City when things started getting worse.

[Josh Holmes]

But dude, there's a charge right now. Like, imagine if the cop doesn't. It like it can get so much.

[John Ashbrook]

You've seen video of like people are lit on fire and killed in the subway system as is.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, but it can look like Mogadishu.

[John Ashbrook]

I'm telling you. Like, things are so bad there.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, that's just where he started.

[John Ashbrook]

This is. Yeah, this is just first.

[Josh Holmes]

That's the starting point.

[Michael Duncan]

Put that graphic back up.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. Okay, so we're not done. Abolish prisons. Oh, that's good. No, people that break the law, let's just have them walk amongst us. That's great. Abolish medical bills. Mmm, that's interesting.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's gonna keep, right?

[Josh Holmes]

It shouldn't cost.

[Unknown Speaker]

Keep all the doctors in business.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, doctors are like, oh, we'll keep working.

[Josh Holmes]

You're like, just shoving. Shoving cupcakes down your throat all day. And then, like, you know.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Showing up with the sugar foot.

[Michael Duncan]

Then you put. You put a handgun to the head of a doctor and you say operate.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, exactly. Abolish private health insurance. Well, that's consistent with pretty much what all Democrats ban all guns. That seems right. That's pretty consistent with what they were. They legalized sex work. I'm going to give them the benefit of doubt on that. There's no monopoly on good ideas out there, folks. Safe injection sites. That's one of my favorites we've really seen.

[Michael Duncan]

Wait, I thought that was the same thing as the last one.

[Josh Holmes]

The sex.

[John Ashbrook]

Oh, my God.

[Unknown Speaker]

And you're the one talking about your mom crying out, sorry, Mom.

[Josh Holmes]

You should apologize for that.

[John Ashbrook]

Unbelievable.

[Josh Holmes]

Anyway, that is one of my favorites in cash bail. Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's a point of cash bail if you don't have prisoners. Yeah, I mean, isn't that redundant?

[Josh Holmes]

What's the bail situation if you don't.

[Unknown Speaker]

Have a prison or a cop to arrest them?

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

Decriminalized drug possession. Well, that's good, because when you have a bunch of, like, completely drugged up idiots running around, we ought to decriminalize that situation. It's not like anything that's ever bad, that's happened from addiction. End. Sentencing enhancement. Yeah, well, if you don't have jail, that's pretty easy. And all cooperation with ice. Oh, yeah, that's good.

[Michael Duncan]

Perfect.

[Josh Holmes]

Good, good. I mean, this is like, just. This is the mainstream. This is what they've done. And this is the guy that Chuck Schumer, who's the head. He's supposed to be, like, the centerist in the Democratic Party who speaks, like, truth to power. Remember he took all the shit from the left wing because he was like, we shouldn't shut our government down over, like, enforcing immigration policy. Like, this is the guy who turns around and looks at this situation, he's like, I worked with him for years.

[Michael Duncan]

Exactly. You know, Chuck Schumer's like, you know what? I love it. I love that my city in the state in which I represent is going to become Disneyland for communists. Perfect.

[Unknown Speaker]

It was such a long list. There was one item I noticed was not included, and that is the state run grocery stores that he's talking about. So he wants to take away your safety and your ability to defend yourself. And he is going to control the food supply on Manhattan Island.

[Michael Duncan]

Dude. I see.

[Unknown Speaker]

If you so much as complain about the crime, then you're not gonna get your ration of potatoes.

[John Ashbrook]

Your grocery coupons have been taken away.

[Josh Holmes]

Welcome to Moscow 1989. Right, right. Breadlines. I mean, that's literally what the situation is that they're talking about. Got one little nuance in here that I wanted to put a fine point on that I thought was kind of fun. Graphic 2 He's been taught, like, I don't even know the context. Queer liberation means defund the police.

[Unknown Speaker]

What does that even mean?

[Josh Holmes]

I don't know. That's a language, folks, that you and I need a lib interpreter for. Like, we all know similar. I wouldn't think we should run it through some progressive that we're acquaintances with to understand what it is that he's talking about.

[Michael Duncan]

I can tell you what he's talking about.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, yeah, no, the old man, he speaks many languages.

[Michael Duncan]

I do.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

And I speak woke very well.

[Josh Holmes]

Okay, let's see.

[Michael Duncan]

What I would just say is like, the words are irrelevant. The thing is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is the struggle. Like. Like it's not actually about the thing. The thing is never actually the thing. It's just about revolution. Permanent revolution that can never end. Yeah, like that's actually what they, they want. That's how you can get to Queers for Palestine or Climate justice is liberation in Palestine. You know what I'm saying? It's just the intersectionality of everything where everything means nothing. And this is the moral relativism of their entire movement. Nothing means anything. Yeah, well, it's just a fight. It's a fight. It's a forever fight for the revolution.

[Josh Holmes]

This is like the death of a political party. I mean, when you stop, it's different if you're. Again, if you're in like Mogadishu where it's all about the fight, because every day's a fight. You gotta like, you got literal pirates, you got pirates, you know, but in the United States of America, you have two Political parties that are supposed to represent broad cross sections of this country. You need a fair amount of support across the country in order to get it done. Become President, United States, or get a Senate or House majority. But what they've reduced themselves to is not about, like, what helps you or what could make your burden a little easier, what could improve your communities, put a little more money in your pocket, make raising kids and having a community a little bit better. It's what you just said. It's like basically the political equivalent of a protest sign.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

And like, that's what they. That's where they are. I don't know how they get out of this, fellas.

[John Ashbrook]

And that's the other thing is, like, you grew up in. You bring up like, you know, Somalia. Like, you know, look what it's like in Mogadishu. You grew up in Minnesota, right?

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, here we go. Well, look, you're gonna take shots in my hometown here. Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

Well, look, it's been imported in Minnesota. Now you've got a member of Congress from Mogadishu who's like, I want. I want this country to be like Mogadishu because America's terrible. Right. And now look at New York City. This was the beacon of the world. This was Rome for the globe for 200 years. And now look at it. Now look at what we have.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

You know, and it's gonna keep happening because that party is effectively gone. There is no Democrat party. It's now openly a socialist party. And we've seen every socialist party across the world eventually just becomes a race to the bottom.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, we've got the receipts on all of this. We're gonna get a little bit more into who this guy is because it does tell us a lot more about the modern day Democratic Party. And then some reaction from Democrats, which I find fascinating. I mean, these people are doing the struggle thing that you talked about post election, like, what's our identity? Who. It's really hit hard. We're going to get into all that right after this. America is built on hard work and.

[Brent Gardner]

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[Josh Holmes]

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[Brent Gardner]

We're helping to fuel America's energy advantage, building a brighter future right here at home.

[Michael Duncan]

Visit chevron.comamera to discover more.

[Josh Holmes]

Okay, this is that Mamdani guy that we were Just talking about in New York City nominee. It's. What is this, like the fifth largest. It's like the fifth largest economy in the world, New York City. Right. I mean, something like that now. For now.

[Unknown Speaker]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

But I mean, this is like everybody who's equates like, oh, New York City. It's like a mayor's. It's not a mayor's race, you know, I mean, when Bloomberg was running the joint, I think they had like the third largest military slash law enforcement in the entire world. I mean, this is a, a massive undertale. You need to be a very responsible individual to run something like New York City. This guy's like 30 nothing, who knows nothing.

[Unknown Speaker]

I don't think he's ever had a job.

[John Ashbrook]

No government job. He was an assemblyman.

[Josh Holmes]

But listen to some of the shit that he's got in. The Democrats are like, yep, this is what we want. This is his statement on the October 7th situation.

[John Ashbrook]

This is. He put it out the day after.

[Josh Holmes]

Can we put up graphic three, please? I mourn the hundreds of people killed across Israel and Palestine in the last 36 hours. Netanyahu's declaration of war, the Israeli government's decision to cut electricity to Gaza, and the Knesset members calling for another Nakba will undoubtedly lead to more violence and suffering in the days and weeks to come. The path toward a just and lasting peace can only begin by ending the occupation in dismantling apartheid. Let me just cut through what we're talking about here. So when Hamas comes in, beheads babies, rapes women, kills people, men, women, elderly, everybody else unprovoked in a terrorist attack across Israel that we've all come to know, his reaction is the problem here is Netanyahu and the Israeli government turning off the electricity in Gaza.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, I noticed also in this statement, he doesn't talk at all about all of the hostages that Hamas had dragged back into Gaza, raping and killing and putting them in holes and tunnels that they dug across Gaza. None of that is part of his statement. He's not, he's not mourning that. None of. He's not mourning it.

[Unknown Speaker]

You know what I mean? I guess this is a typical issue of concern for a state rep. You know, they definitely wanna weigh in on geopolitical.

[Josh Holmes]

No, it's like potholes and Middle east foreign policy.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, potholes in Palestine.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, potholes in Palestine.

[Unknown Speaker]

Get out of here.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, this is unbelievable.

[Unknown Speaker]

The guy wants to. He wants to turn Manhattan island into Gaza.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

You know, like we are literally going to be sending humanitarian aid from across the country into the city of New York so that they can have food to eat because there won't be enough from his government. Grocery stores will probably be building a pier on the Hudson.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, so that's right.

[Josh Holmes]

There can be access so Omaha can fly in grains and stakes to feed the people. I saw a great tweet on this, by the way, that was, we're all very concerned about the repercussions of the Iran strike, and we just didn't know it was gonna happen so quickly. We bombed these nuclear sites, and then they won a Democratic primary in Manhattan.

[John Ashbrook]

Is that something?

[Josh Holmes]

Dude, it's like, for real, though. I mean, that's. What's the difference between somebody who funds Hezbollah and Hamas and a Democratic politician in this country that sees what they have done as just. And Israeli is the problem. Israel is the problem here.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. Just to dovetail what my friend John Ashbrook was saying, I think I could. I could summarize it to say, from the Hudson to South Bay, the terrorists will have their day.

[Unknown Speaker]

There you go.

[Josh Holmes]

That's so good. Do you want to see the grocery store clip?

[Michael Duncan]

Yes.

[Unknown Speaker]

Let's see.

[Josh Holmes]

Let's throw it on. Clip 1.

[Brent Gardner]

Grocery prices are out of control. The cost of eggs and milk has skyrocketed. Some stores are even using dynamic pricing, jacking up the cost over the course of a day, depending on what they can get away with. It doesn't need to be this way. I'm Zahran Mandani, and as mayor, I will create a network of city owned grocery stores. It's like a public option for produce.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, that's going so well.

[Brent Gardner]

City funds, from corporate supermarkets to city owned grocery stores whose mission is lower prices, not price gouging, these stores will operate without a profit motive or having to pay property taxes or rent, and will pass on those savings to you.

[Josh Holmes]

Okay, so, I mean, here's the problem that I have with this. Like, you guys tell me, but, like, typically, I'm accustomed to dealing with sanity and not like, there's certain liberties that are taken with truth and fact always in politics, but you're dealing with, like, a basis and understanding of, like, some basic principles that we all kind of. When I see something like that, where do you start? Like, how do you. What the fuck is he talking about? I mean, how.

[John Ashbrook]

So I was looking at some interesting responses to seeing this guy win the primary and stuff, and this person brought this really great point. So Peter Thiel had discussed this at a talk before where he was like, a lot of the youth of the United States are now in a place where they feel they will never be able to own a home, they'll never have a job that allows them to provide for themselves and a family. Right?

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

And so what happens is if, when you have that kind of mindset, you're like, well, then I'll just opt out of the capitalist system completely. Like, that's the next step. And so, like, you get these pied pipers, like this idiot, right, who everyone knows every time any country has ever done something this stupid. I mean, you saw it in Moscow, like in the Soviet Union, where bread lines, constant bread lines, everything rationed, no one ever has anything. And so these idiots, they keep doing it over and over and over, and then they keep saying, like, well, true socialism has never been tried because every time it's been tried, it's failed. And they can't come to terms with their own.

[Josh Holmes]

We haven't realized the truth. We haven't hit the rock bottom.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

So that's why, like, you get this segment of young people and then actual fucking terrorists. The affluent white female liberal office who, like, you saw Cynthia Nixon, like, on Twitter. CHEERING she's like, we have elected a Muslim socialist. I'm so proud. Like, those people really just want to destroy the country.

[Josh Holmes]

Just imagine how well the chilled Tripoli went down last night for that gal.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. I mean, can we talk about it on the basic economics, right? Like, where he.

[Josh Holmes]

That's what I'm getting at. Like, I don't know how to start with that.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. He's like, well, they won't have a profit motive.

[Josh Holmes]

Sure.

[Michael Duncan]

Right. And then, you know, they're not going to be gouging you, so we're going to get, you know, you're going to get all your produce at the rock bottom thing. They're also not going to pay taxes.

[Josh Holmes]

Right.

[Michael Duncan]

And it's like, all right, so. All right, so now we have less.

[Josh Holmes]

Tax revenue passing on to consumers.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

Wait, hold on. So you mean the more we tax. Yeah, the more that consumers have to pay.

[Michael Duncan]

Whoa, whoa. Weird that you would acknowledge that.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, my gosh. I thought that was the conversation we were having.

[Michael Duncan]

It's like, you're so close to getting it, but you don't. Right. And then the other side of it is the idea that there's no profit motive. No, there's a profit motive. The profit motive is now you got more government jobs in your pocket for another boondoggle that you want to put together. There's always a profit motive and there's never a bigger profit motive. When they claim there's not one. Right.

[Unknown Speaker]

If you knock 10 doors for Zoran, you get a coupon for macaroni.

[Josh Holmes]

That's where it starts.

[John Ashbrook]

So, so that's actually how the Democrat Party operates in New York City, the patronage system of, of all these folks. That is actually how it works. Of how you get elected of all the party bosses who decide. That is how it actually works. It's like, okay, you work for the party, you do this, you move up the food chain. I mean, like, that's how you got the entire west side. When I always forget his name was the fat guy.

[Unknown Speaker]

Jerry Nadler.

[John Ashbrook]

Jerry Nadler.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

He's just like Nadler. Schumer all came up through this system.

[Unknown Speaker]

He may have an issue with this. I mean, if there's shortage, he needs.

[John Ashbrook]

To make sure Nadler gets the coupons, all the coupons.

[Unknown Speaker]

If there's a shortage of sandwiches and.

[Josh Holmes]

Potato chips, is there a special meatloaf coupon? Because he's going to need double.

[Unknown Speaker]

He may get the gold card.

[Josh Holmes]

But look, we talked about Schumer and like, what I hate about modern media and the way that they portray the Republican Party is that they take like the most insane takes of the Republican Party and then they're like, this is what of the, the rest Republican Party. So I don't want to do that on the Democratic Party. The problem is the shoe fits here and that you have Chuck Schumer, who's supposed to be like the moderate, thoughtful guy who professes all of these sort of like center left type deals that immediately endorses all the progressive goals of Bernie Sanders, that endorses this idiot Bailey. I worked for them for years and he's the leadership of the Democratic Party.

[Unknown Speaker]

They just won an election.

[Josh Holmes]

The leader of the Democratic Party in the House, same state, just next door to this situation, is Hakeem Jeffries. Let's see what he has to say. Clip 3 yeah, the new York Times.

[Michael Duncan]

Editorialized that he was not qualified to be mayor. Of course, the Wall Street Journal and others say that he is far too.

[Unknown Speaker]

Extreme on economic issues and even issues involving Israel.

[Michael Duncan]

I'm curious what your thoughts are on him ideologically. Is that, does he, does he have an ideology that you would want your candidates in 2026 to have?

[Josh Holmes]

Well, from the standpoint of House Democrats.

[Michael Duncan]

And what our focus has been, just.

[Josh Holmes]

Clearly we have an affordability crisis in.

[Brent Gardner]

The United States of America and our.

[Michael Duncan]

Focus will continue to be on driving down the high cost living in this country.

[Josh Holmes]

Is he ideologically compatible? Well, let me Talk about our agenda and the affordability crisis, despite the fact that we drove up inflation 10x while we were in charge. And, like, the affordability thing is not what you asked me about the guy. Let's talk about something that's like, well.

[Unknown Speaker]

Look completely irrelevant from his perspective. Two tweets for Zoran Franco, American Spaghetti. You get things. It's like a barter system, okay? You take money out of it.

[Josh Holmes]

But, dude, that's why, again, I hate it when the mainstream media tries to paint conservative Americans in, like, Missouri as, like, the most extreme Republican in Congress. I hate that. So I don't want to do that in the Democrat. The problem is what we just quoted were the two people who are in charge of Democrats in the House and Senate. They are the party leaders. They will not address it. We talked Tuesday about how Chuck Schumer, the most pro Israel. Oh, we're so excited about it. He's so pro Israel. On his watch, it went from 100% support of Israel, our only ally in the region, to 25% on the Democratic Party. If that is your beacon of hope within sanity is giving a guy the keys to the car who's lost 75% of, like, rational behavior. You've got a big problem. And then you extrapolate it out. You can see how this happens. They're not going to address it, right? So you get it. You can only imagine what it looks like behind closed doors, right? When you get, like, the activist left inside and you get Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, if he's not willing to answer that question, that look, that's not what the House Republican or House Democratic Conference is pushing. The. Let me tell you a different view. I get it. That's not what he did. He just pivoted and didn't want to say anything. And that's what you get because he's preserving his right behind closed doors. And believe me, we've sat in these meetings behind closed doors, meeting with these activists, say, you know, I can't say it, but I'm really with you totally.

[John Ashbrook]

That's what they do.

[Josh Holmes]

I'm really with you on this. So you start to think, like, oh, is it fair? Is it unfair that you brand the entire Democratic Party? Yes. Because of the body of work. If you look over the last since the election of Barack Obama to today, which direction have they gone? What don't they answer? What? You know, Kamala Harris is champion of small business, right? That's what she wants. She has the balls to say that on A debate stage, despite the fact that she's voted for every tax increase in the history of the world. And they want to preserve the right of being a centrist party. Except this is the agenda. What we just talked. Mamdani. There's not a dime's worth of difference between Hakeem Jeffries and Mamdani.

[John Ashbrook]

That's the thing.

[Josh Holmes]

They're just not. And to the extent that there is, it's only that they're open receptacles that are gonna get pushed in one way or another. And clearly, if a guy like Mamdani is beating somebody like Cuomo, it's because the energy within the Democratic Party is forcing the hand of these guys to become something unrecognizable in the American right.

[Unknown Speaker]

And Jeffries, as we just saw in the clip, he was on TV with the most friendly network with the most friendly anchor. He had the opportunity to say, well, you know what? I don't think we should get rid of the cops. Yeah, I don't think we should have said it. I don't think we should have state sanctioned food distribution. He could have said any number of things.

[Josh Holmes]

If that's controversial. If you're worried about it being controversial, that you disagree with eliminating the police department in New York City or abolishing prisons or abolishing. If you think that that's controversial, to say it's not. My view. That's their view.

[John Ashbrook]

Bingo.

[Josh Holmes]

That's their view. And again, we just like, keep reeling this back. Contrast that, what you saw on the world stage over the last five days of real leadership. Iran, NATO. These guys are in a tough spot, fellas.

[Unknown Speaker]

They're in a very tough spot.

[Josh Holmes]

Democratic strategists agree with this, by the way. You get some folks who are out there. This was in Politico, the playbook situation. We rarely quote it, so I wanted to work it in there. They managed to get a hot take from somebody. It's extremely alarming that the only candidates who genuinely excite our voters are the ones making absolutely insane promises on politically toxic people positions, one Democratic strategist tells Adam Ram, leaving us in the spot of trying to execute. And this is the point you always make. Smug. Trying to execute on bad policy and losing terribly or failing to keep our promises and reinforcing the idea that all politics is bullshit. It makes the point that you always make.

[John Ashbrook]

This party is a bunch of nihilists, which is why they're so susceptible to getting taken over by insane people like this. Yeah, it's pathetic. And it's what you get when you had no core and he believed in nothing. Now you've got the real, the real lunatics are now completely running the asylum. And you're seeing Schumer, you're seeing Hakeem Jeffries, all have thrown up their hands, they've surrendered. The lunatics have taken charge of it. And that's that.

[Josh Holmes]

You see in a lot of countries as democracy is sort of aged, how there becomes different parties and different factions and you know, you get kind of like a parliamentary system in many possible way. But if assuming we stay as a two party system, our question of the day for you is the future of the Democratic Party just socialism? It's hard to see from my perspective how it's not. They have told you, they've told you, the two party leaders, the two most important Democrats have told you, they just elected in the biggest Democratic city in the world exactly what it is that they're trying to do.

[John Ashbrook]

And here's the thing. It didn't happen overnight. It didn't happen overnight. In 2016, Hillary rigged it for Bernie who was running as a socialist, and the socialists were pissed. And then in 2020, when Bernie was beating Biden, they rigged it again. They cut that deal in South Carolina and they said shut up to socialists again. This is the third time they're knocking on the door and they came through fourth time.

[Michael Duncan]

Really? If you think about what happened in 2024 where they clearly knew Biden couldn't do the job.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

So they had and they were worried about an open process that might elect somebody like Bernie.

[Josh Holmes]

They're about to get on to our puppeteer.

[John Ashbrook]

I thought you're gonna have the more base take of like, this isn't the first Muslim socialist. Barack Obama.

[Josh Holmes]

08.

[Michael Duncan]

Hell yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

More base take. No, instead they had a marionette for four years and they were like, there's somebody's gonna see the strange.

[Michael Duncan]

They just got close enough to the nominating convention that they could do the switcheroo. And it didn't have to be an open process where they got actual votes from the primary electorate. They can just shuffle in old Kamala.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, Geppetto was outed. They had to do something about it.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Listen, we're going to get to your comments of the day from Tuesday's episode right after this.

[Michael Duncan]

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[Josh Holmes]

About the effort by legacy media to stop you from accessing shows like this one. They do it by eliminating spectrum available to consumers like you. To access shows like this one. They say it's a national defense issue. Absurdly enough, while Trump isn't buying it, neither is Senator Ted Cruz. In the big beautiful bill, Republicans have heard your voice and they're providing more spectrum. So what does that mean for you? It can reduce your monthly broadband bill and preserve your ability to watch, listen and stream all the content that you choose, not what's chosen for you by some big cable provider. The sale of spectrum will also generate tens of billions of dollars to reduce our national debt. What's not to love about that? Don't let the giant cable providers and legacy media continue to filter your information. Tell your senator and your member of Congress to work with Senator Cruz and President Trump to expand spectrum and end the legacy media monopoly for good. You can learn more at End the cableopoly. Okay, so your questions of the day. We love it when you like and subscribe. And when you do, we read all of your comments and then we make a, you know, a formulated guess of what people are trying to capture and we read it here on the program. Our question of the day from Tuesday is bombing Iran America First. There's a big online debate about that. And I think, I mean, you all know our opinions because we laid them out on Tuesday. But you have, I think, pretty clearly laid out what your opinions are. And to do that, we always start.

[Unknown Speaker]

With a voice first. One comes from Nico in a box, and Nico has some very strong points of view here. Question of the day. Love the program. Even when we disagree. This, however, is where we agree slightly. I think bombing a nuclear site in hopes to stop them from harming the US when they vowed to hit us after hitting Israel in the past has way different than a war or a proper conflict with them. If Trump is taking out the means to attack but not going out for regime change war. It's 100% America first. I just wish Tucker could figure that out while he was weaseling around lying through his teeth. In the last five programs he's done. Great show and I can't wait for the next episode. That's Nico.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. I mean, the reason we. So we highlighted this not because we have any bone to pick with Tucker. We get along with Tucker great. He's been on the show and there's a lot of overlap and audience of people who listen to us and listen to Tucker. But this is a common thematic that has come up time after time with frustrated Republicans who are looking at what Trump has laid out in terms of his arguments and then hearing what Tucker is saying and then watching the execution of what Donald Trump.

[Michael Duncan]

I just think what Tucker was doing was just fighting against a straw man. That was never really on the table. This idea that we were going to do a ground war in Iran and do regime change led by the United States, and that just was never the case. And I think just the way that he did that is why people were upset.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, I agree, old man. What do we get next?

[Michael Duncan]

This is from tr. Question of the day. I was in the Marines and served two tours in Iraq and had to deal with these Iran proxies. From motors to IEDs, everybody who's listening and watching really pay attention to this. The people screaming the loudest about World War Three, that is Candace Owens, Dave Smith, aka Clown, calling for DJT's impeachment. Haven't been paying attention to the temperament of President Trump and actually don't know what it takes to get to World War Three. When he turned General Soleimani into pixie dust, not salsa.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, that's nice.

[John Ashbrook]

I like it.

[Josh Holmes]

I like it.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, people freaked out. And then what happened? Iran wanted to save face and give the US a heads up when they retaliated. Again, Iran knows they can't do much because they know Trump just bodied them.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yep.

[Josh Holmes]

And this is what we were talking about on Tuesday, that we were doing acrobatics over the top of Tehran and.

[Michael Duncan]

This guy, this guy did two tours. Like, he knows.

[Josh Holmes]

He knows.

[Unknown Speaker]

Very credible.

[Josh Holmes]

He knows. But, you know, I mean, look, this is. They don't have any choices. We put them in that box. It's really, it's impressive stuff. Comment 3 smugs.

[John Ashbrook]

Comment 3 comes from Chris Arias and Chris writes America first. Absolutely. But not just because he says so. Something that's not getting a lot of press on this is that Trump is building on his resume of FAFO with Other world leaders. He's not merely trolling the Ayatollah. He's putting other adversaries and would be adversaries on notice. Please pay attention to what matters or I will draw your attention to it.

[Michael Duncan]

Yes.

[John Ashbrook]

I need you to knock it off with the world domination bs. And so help me, if one more of your aggro weapons or viruses or cyber attacks shows up over here, I'm gonna hit you where it hurts. Get your ish together, my guy. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Thank you for your cooperation. POTUS out. Man, I love it.

[Unknown Speaker]

So good.

[Michael Duncan]

That's what we said at the top of the show. He's basically dragging a bat around the world and saying, try me. Yeah, try me.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. I mean, it's like a half step from biplane doing lukes over your city. Captain Barry McCockener doing a lump shavak.

[Unknown Speaker]

Let's give it up for Captain Barry.

[Josh Holmes]

All right, so do you guys want to play a game?

[John Ashbrook]

Always.

[Michael Duncan]

I think it's Thursday and we missed it last week. The fans deserve this.

[Josh Holmes]

We missed it last week. The fans deserve it. I can't wait to be bailiff. I'm going to run a very tight court.

[Michael Duncan]

Yes. And I'm. I'm judge for king of the Hill.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, back, back. As it should be.

[Michael Duncan]

Yes. The og.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. Okay, so competitors are.

[Unknown Speaker]

I've got the champion.

[Michael Duncan]

Yes.

[Unknown Speaker]

Smoking Joe Walsh.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, okay. He's been on a heater.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. Yes. Smug. Who do you have?

[John Ashbrook]

Challenger Sherry Jacobus.

[Michael Duncan]

Oh, Sherry. My Sherry.

[Josh Holmes]

Here we go.

[Michael Duncan]

This is gonna be great. Ringside, ringside.

[Unknown Speaker]

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. It's time for king of the hip. In the red corner, fighting out of her own Twitter account. And now in the blue corner, fighting from who knows where and current champion of the world, mokin Joe Walsh.

[Michael Duncan]

Nice.

[Josh Holmes]

It's good every time.

[Michael Duncan]

Very good.

[Josh Holmes]

All right, let's get the champion loaded up. I want to see what we have to offer here for the judges consideration.

[Unknown Speaker]

Okay? Spaghetti Exhibit number seven, please. Joe Walsh writes on NYC's mayoral race. I'll say this as someone who's been a Democrat for only a month.

[Josh Holmes]

Okay, this is. This is good.

[Unknown Speaker]

The Democratic Party establishment needs to pull their heads out of their asses, wake the hell up and back candidates who actually meet this moment and who their voters actually want.

[Josh Holmes]

Wait, who?

[Unknown Speaker]

He was a Republican congressman, came in during the Tea Party era. That is an amazing take the state of Illinois. And now he is a Democrat rooting on Zohan.

[Michael Duncan]

I think we call that the zeal of the convert right there.

[Josh Holmes]

I feel like if it wasn't shared with Sherry that I would be like, whoa, Chase, what a winner. But I gotta hear, you know, I.

[John Ashbrook]

Mean, this is exhibit five, please.

[Josh Holmes]

You took the confidence is hysterical.

[John Ashbrook]

Shay Jacobus. The United States needs regime change.

[Josh Holmes]

No, Pass it on.

[Michael Duncan]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker]

No simplicity.

[Michael Duncan]

Hold on. Clarification please. Contestant, was that posted on X or is that blue sky? What? What is this?

[John Ashbrook]

That was on X.

[Josh Holmes]

Looks like an X.

[Michael Duncan]

It's on X. But it seems at the bottom there, there's some sort of disclaimer. Did she lock down replies here?

[John Ashbrook]

Correct?

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, she did lock down.

[Michael Duncan]

She locked down replies. She said that the United States States needs regime change. She wasn't.

[Josh Holmes]

Pass it on. But not through my account.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, not entirely confident. Not my account.

[Josh Holmes]

Not my account. You could do it, but not through me.

[Michael Duncan]

Look, dude, it's no contest. Sherry wins round one.

[Josh Holmes]

Unquestionable. We got to go to the challenger.

[Michael Duncan]

Can we do a two round knockout?

[John Ashbrook]

I'm hoping for because this is such a ridiculous day.

[Josh Holmes]

Look, he's smug. So confident.

[John Ashbrook]

This exhibit one plays Sherry Jacobus. Iranian terror cells in the US can get ice costumes on Amazon and cause terror because of Trump.

[Josh Holmes]

No, no, wait, hold on. Think about the mental gymnastics.

[John Ashbrook]

I mean, Trump controls Amazon's product lines. Don't you understand this, folks?

[Josh Holmes]

Costumes.

[John Ashbrook]

I mean, you could just go on there and get an ice costume.

[Josh Holmes]

Costume.

[Michael Duncan]

I just love that it's a mad libs of every story that's been in the news over the last week. It's like ice Trump Iran costumes. Well, clearly this is Donald Trump's fault. If Iranian sleeper cells can get costumes and pretend to be ice. Unbelievable. So good.

[Josh Holmes]

What a mind maze going on.

[Michael Duncan]

Ashbrook, you better come correct here, pal.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's very, very difficult to compete with that. Joe Walsh is going to do his best though. In Exhibit number 10, please, spaghetti. Could someone right now write the book about how Trump's cognitive decline and how the people around him know about it but are covering it up. Could someone please write that book right now instead of waiting four years? Thanks.

[Michael Duncan]

Mmm.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's 8:45am From Joe Walsh.

[Josh Holmes]

Up and at him. I gotta imagine the hangover at that point. Still pretty intense.

[Michael Duncan]

I do, I do love that take. And in fact I've noticed it from a lot of these sort of lib luminaries they're trying to use Tapper. Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Book.

[Michael Duncan]

Ever since the Tapper book rolled out, it's been like every day. It's like, when are we acknowledged the cognitive decline of Donald Trump, despite the.

[Josh Holmes]

Fact that their president is on TV 12 hours a day, owning everybody across the globe.

[Michael Duncan]

Right, right.

[Josh Holmes]

They're like, no, that guy's the problem.

[Michael Duncan]

He's just like Joe Biden, the guy shitting his britches. In Europe, you can't complete a sentence on the debate stage.

[Josh Holmes]

We literally had like a full debate about whether he shat his pants in front of the Pope.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, yeah. It just can't compete with the ice costumes. I'm sorry. It's a two round knockout. Congratulations.

[Unknown Speaker]

I would have made the same ruling. Your honor.

[Josh Holmes]

It is what it is. It is what it is. We got to get to a great interview here. Brent Gardner, you've heard him here before. He's the guy who's on Capitol Hill who's sort of bird dogging where everything is at with the big, beautiful bill. He's going to give us an update on all that. One of our favorite reoccurring guests here on the ruthless variety program, somebody who gives us a little under the hood action of what's happening on Capitol Hill. Brent Gardner, afp. How are you, sir?

[Brent Gardner]

I'm great. How are you guys doing?

[Josh Holmes]

Well, you know, I feel like I'm a little less stressed than you are. You know, you're working everything these days.

[Brent Gardner]

There's a lot going on. Yeah, a lot going on. But I think reason to be optimistic.

[Josh Holmes]

Good, good. I'm glad to hear it. So, look, it's no secret to our audience, you all are extremely interested in the big, beautiful bill.

[Brent Gardner]

Extremely.

[Josh Holmes]

And you've got this big grassroots network. Everybody's sort of provided input and a whole bunch of different things that they're interested in doing. Not surprisingly, one big beautiful bill. If it's beautiful, it includes a lot of that stuff, which is what you're following up on.

[Brent Gardner]

Yeah, yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Where are we at?

[Brent Gardner]

Well, we got good stuff going on and we got some work to still do. And I think that's kind of how we see it. And the good news is everyone's working on the work left to do and they feel a sense of urgency, which is great because the folks that we're talking to across the country have that same sense of urgency. They feel like they voted last November to send folks here to get it done, and they keep sending that message. You know, we've had two different great activations in critical weekends. The first one, 92,000 voters contacted the weekend where the question of the top marginal rate kind of came into.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, yeah, I remember that.

[Michael Duncan]

We were very animated.

[Josh Holmes]

We had some thoughts.

[Brent Gardner]

Yeah, yeah. So did we, and so did voters. This last weekend, we did another day of action. 300,000 voters contacted. So the AFP faithful are out in force and they're helping people connect with their members.

[Unknown Speaker]

When you're talking about a day of action, I think everybody needs to understand that what's happened in the Midwest over the last three weeks, either it is a monsoon or it is a 98 degree day. And you have people hitting doors every single one of those days.

[Brent Gardner]

Yeah, you talk about the Midwest, you talk about Arizona in August, talk about dry heat. Yes, it is.

[Josh Holmes]

And I know that, well, it melted all the glue in my Oldsmobile Bravada back in 1998.

[Brent Gardner]

But listen, these folks, they're powered by passion. At the end of the day, they care deeply about this country and getting this job done. And that's why you will see them, regardless of weather, regardless of other priorities, you'll see them do the work that has to be done. And they expect their members of Congress and the President to do the same.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, I mean, that's how you build a grassroots network. People listen to what all the candidates are saying. They get involved because they care about something, and they obviously imagine that people are going to try to deliver upon it. This is the signature, obviously, of everything Republicans have been talking about for a long period of time. It's the cornerstone of the Trump agenda, includes the tax relief component, includes all these important border security issues, other issues. I got to imagine that you've got a network of people who are concerned about a lot of different things.

[Brent Gardner]

Yeah, 100%. And most of them have something they care about in this bill. You know, usually we talk about this is like the tax reform bill or continuation of tcj, as you point out. It's so much more than that. It's got so many of the President's second term agenda items that ultimately this is the biggest opportunity to take a step forward for what people were promised last year. And so people are really connected to that. They know how important it is and they're working hard to see it get done.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, it funds a border wall. Right. I mean, this is. This will actually finish the border wall that he started in his first term.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Brent Gardner]

I mean, look, the question of the challenge of immigration that Joe Biden abandoned the American people on has some answers in this bill. People can start to see some work on that, and we can finally get to work fixing, you know, not just the challenge of people coming across the border, but the broken immigration system that we have in this.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. So you mentioned the day of action around when they were having a negotiation in the House and you had Republicans, actual Republicans out there kind of negotiating with themselves about maybe we'll raise, you know, taxes on the highest rate and like that's how we'll pay for. We're going to pay for tax cuts, which is sort of a crazy thing if you're a conservative in this country. As you can tell, it animated me quite a lot.

[Unknown Speaker]

We heard you very upset, but man.

[Michael Duncan]

But you know, as we look to the Senate passage of this reconciliation bill, like, what are the other little traps and pitfalls that you're looking out for at afp?

[Brent Gardner]

Yeah, we got a few that are still left out there. I mentioned there's still work to be done. I mean, look, the question of salt is a real one.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Brent Gardner]

I think, I think the Senate has got a strong perspective. Look, there are no Republican senators from blue states.

[Josh Holmes]

Right.

[Brent Gardner]

And I think Susan Collins, I will leave that entirely alone at the moment.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, right.

[Brent Gardner]

We need votes for this week. But listen, I think from our perspective, you know, the opportunity is there to clear things like Saul, I think the question that Republicans have to ask themselves is why did they let Democrats get ahead of them on Medicaid, Medicaid messaging. You know, at the end of the day, this is waste, fraud and abuse that we're taking care of. There's opportunities to really go out there and take these things that are looking like issues here in the closing hours, make them winning issues, talk to the American people about what this means for them, what it means for our country's future. And I think once we square some of those things from a policy perspective, we need to have a real conversation about standing behind the things that we care about.

[Michael Duncan]

Right?

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. And as you're on the Hill, I mean, look, we've done all this. We spent an inordinate amount of time under the dome trying to pilot these things. And the one, there's a couple of things, scenarios do you want to try to avoid with something this grandiose in its ambitions? One is like a ping pong back and forth, right. Where the Senate has a view, the House has a view, keep passing things back and forth that sort of make changes at the margin, but never can get across both legislative bodies. The other one is like you do this conference committee that can last for months. So it seems to me from the outside looking in, but you tell me, because you're in the middle of all this, this seems to me what they're trying to do is sort of pre conference or Pre negotiate something that is simultaneously going to pass the Senate and the House and they don't know it until they see it. And when they get it, they're going to go quickly to make sure that they've got the votes to get it done.

[Brent Gardner]

Yeah, that's what it feels like. I mean, you heard talk this morning about keeping everyone here until this thing gets done. I think that makes a lot of sense. You know, we talked at the beginning of this that there were three major bad things that could happen here. One, no bill, largest tax increase in American history. Two bad bill, something that doesn't actually connect with people, that doesn't do what people wanted. And then three is late bill. And that's what we start to worry about when we talk about things like ping ponging or conference committees. In 2017, the bill came too late for the economic impact to really hit for people to get connected to it. And so unfortunately it left people with a different taste in their mouth than it will be if they get it done. Now we'll have three quarters of opportunity for economic growth. We'll have an opportunity for a messaging on the economy and the other priorities that the president can stand on and he can stand next to members of Congress on and get them reelected in the midterms, push back against those, those traditional trends. And I think that's why it's so critically important. I think people get it this way.

[Michael Duncan]

And job creators and small businesses around the country are like clamoring for this, do it, get it done. Because they want to be able to plan out, like, what is it going to look like here into the future and like, how does that impact my business? I can't make investments, I can't grow jobs and things like that if I don't know.

[Brent Gardner]

Yeah, you're 100% right. The permanent part of this, the permanency, also means that we're not coming back and having this fight four or five years from now. So that's a really great thing. So I think you're right.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, I mean, look, there's been divergent perspectives on a whole bunch of different pieces. The permanent thing, I totally agree with you that at least on a business planning standpoint, for all the people who are employed by small businesses across this country, it's important to have a five and ten year outlook. You got to plan for these things, you got to inventory things. You got to make sure that your business reflects the tax environment that they're in by just setting it down and saying this is what the law of the Land is. Makes a difference, right?

[Brent Gardner]

Yeah. I mean, that's what we hear all the time. It frees up the opportunity for people to engage in the type of capital investment that they need to have growth in this country. And let's be real about this. We're not in a position where we're bending our debt and deficit curve significantly here. We need to grow, and to do that, we need great tax policy to do it. And this gives us a great opportunity to have certainty, which is something that the market has been crying for, the American people have been crying for, and Congress and the President can deliver on as soon as next week.

[Unknown Speaker]

Tons of media outlets out there, tons of different members out there talking about the bill, and everybody in our audience is always wanting to know who. Who else should I be listening to? Who should I be watching for if I want to learn the most in a limited amount of time that I have? And we know Mark Wayne Mullen, very good friend of the program, is working back and forth between the House, where he was for a long time on salt issue in particular, and the Senate, where Mark Wayne is now. I wonder if there are any other members that you think our audience should be watching in this process to sort of get the real news.

[Brent Gardner]

Yeah, great question. You know, I think a lot of folks at different times during this have counted out Speaker Johnson, but I think he's been right more often than not, and he's been able to pull off miracles that I think people would have said he wouldn't have been able to do. I think he's definitely a person to watch, and he has a real beat on, I think, where that chamber's at. I'd add Steve Scalise to that message. I think he's also someone who, when he's talking, he's not just giving you a beat on where the chamber is, but helping to lead them to where they need to be. And I think John Thune's another one. Right. I mean, look, this is his first run kind of through something at this scale. And so far, I think the partnership that we've seen between the Senate and the House is going to be to your point, that's going to define success or failure in the near term on being able to get this done quickly. Those are three big ones that I would look to. But listen, the great thing about X and the job that Elon did, kind of opening that up is we can hear from all of them. We can take a real time snapshot of where members of Congress are. And so I'd Pay attention to all of them, the good ones and the bad ones. Remember the ones who are saying the right thing and never forget the ones who were saying the wrong thing, because we'll see them again next year.

[Josh Holmes]

That's a good point.

[Michael Duncan]

I like it.

[Josh Holmes]

So, look, ultimately this is going to come down to a binary choice. I mean, we're struggling with details at this point that may impact certain constituencies, other, you know, more than others. And you mentioned the blue state, red state phenomenon. This is a Republican only exercise. Right. There's no Democrat that's interested basically in keeping your tax rates the same as they were last year.

[Brent Gardner]

So we'll keep an eye on John Fetterman. We'll see what happens.

[Josh Holmes]

Is that right, do you think?

[Brent Gardner]

I don't know, but I won't count him out yet.

[Josh Holmes]

Really?

[Brent Gardner]

Yeah. I'll make this appeal. This is a good opportunity for you to do the right things.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, it really is, but I didn't even think that that was a possibility.

[Brent Gardner]

We'll see.

[Josh Holmes]

Huh? Well, he's kept his cards open.

[Brent Gardner]

The board's not live, so we'll see what happens.

[Michael Duncan]

If he votes for it, I will personally hand deliver one of those senator sweatshirts that we have in the.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, he deserves it.

[Michael Duncan]

That's a promise. That's a promise, sir.

[Josh Holmes]

That is a promise. We will show up unquestionably. But if you're looking at, look, they're struggling over Medicaid, they're struggling over salt, they've got a couple of different things that they want to get done. You can see to your point. Speaker Johnson, anytime he thinks that he is getting into a situation that compromises the delicate negotiation that he needed to get things through the House with the, what, two seat, three seat majority, like he's speaking up and that's being a part. And then you see the White House also participating in this, which is, which is important. Is this timeline by 4th of July? I mean, is this a realistic situation from your perspective?

[Brent Gardner]

Aim small, Ms. Small. I think it's a great target for us to be able to focus on. I think if things lined up, it's entirely possible to, to do that. I think what you talked about, though, about that need to kind of either officially or unofficially, pre conference, what this looks like, that's the way that you'd be able to catch that kind of velocity. I know that there is big time demand from the President. There's huge demand from, you know, people out in communities that want to see this be able to happen. And there's a lot of people who are really dedicated in Congress, in both chambers that want to get this done. And I would love to be able to celebrate on the 4th of July getting this there. So I think it's possible. And I think we just got to keep working to run through the tape.

[Josh Holmes]

What's the thing that you guys are most excited about? I mean, there's a lot to be excited about, so I hate to just pin you down on one, but is there something that just stands out on the bill? Yeah, Yeah.

[Brent Gardner]

I think ultimately this is a lawmaking exercise. I don't want to limit it to one issue. This was a chance where Republicans said, let's take a swath of the things that we can do and show Republicans can get it done. Yeah, there's opportunity for great disappointment if they don't do it, but the opportunity to be able to demonstrate what is step one in a process where Republicans can show the ability to lead on issues that are critical and not only just pass this bill, but come back with what's next and say onto the next. I think that's a big deal for people to see that Republicans can do it. That's what I'm excited about.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, so I'd like to talk about that for a second. And we had Speaker Johnson in recently, and he sort of laid that all out. And for a lot of our listeners and viewers, that was the first time they ever heard it. It's like, big, beautiful bill is step one, and then you've got a rescissions package and maybe another one. Then there's the appropriations process, when you really figure out the spending stuff. And then you might do one or two more reconciliation bills.

[Brent Gardner]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We were in a meeting with him just a couple of weeks ago, and a lot of folks were talking about this bill, and he said, well, maybe that'll be in the next package. And a lot of people kind of perked up.

[Josh Holmes]

People are very fun.

[Brent Gardner]

People are very focused on this bill, as they should be. But the idea that this is phase one and we have a real intent to go further and to do more, I think that's the kind of thing that everyone should get excited about.

[Josh Holmes]

No question. I mean, look, this one locks down the economic growth component. This stuff that we saw in 2017 that allowed the economy to expand. Obviously, we had Covid and everything else that inhibited some of that, although we bounced back despite Joe Biden and all the policies that that administration had. And so this is a reset the dial from the fundamentals, and then as you were saying, step two, step three, try to get our finances in order a little bit. And I wonder, as you're watching this debate and you're sort of taking inventory of what people are saying, I imagine you guys are taking notes, right, because you got on the other side of the House, you got your big grassroots organization, people who are involved in things like campaigns and elections, not with your current hat on, but like you're communicating to your members what you're hearing and seeing. Right.

[Brent Gardner]

100%. I mean, listen, we're a policy first organization, and Americans for Prosperity Action is policy first when it comes to how they think about elections.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Brent Gardner]

So the question of where we're going to be and where AFPA is going to be in the coming year, it's based on the decisions that members take as far as how they're going to make their votes go.

[Josh Holmes]

And so when guys show up and they're like, yeah, maybe we can raise taxes and increase the entire state, you know, we're budget conscious, so we're, you know, we're concerned about inhibiting the growth of our government possible way. I imagine that these are things that you're sort of like just taking out.

[Brent Gardner]

We don't just take notes. We issue scores. And so from our perspective, you know, the opportunity to help people understand and evaluate who their elected officials are today and who they could be tomorrow, that's a big part of what we do.

[Michael Duncan]

I love it.

[Josh Holmes]

Hold them accountable. Brent Gardner.

[Brent Gardner]

We're going to do it.

[Josh Holmes]

Do it, and I think they're going to get this done. I think you and your team have done terrific work, a lot of terrific work being done on the Hill, but we can't afford to have an economy without it. I mean, this is the basis, this is the first step in getting a conservative economy that grows, that does the things that we need for people across this country.

[Brent Gardner]

You're as right today as you've been the whole time. As you guys have been talking about.

[Josh Holmes]

You're the man. You've been a great partner in all of this. Keep us up to date and tell us as you're hearing stuff on the Hill, if you hear something concerning, come to the Ruthless Friday.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. Let us know. We love being angry.

[Josh Holmes]

Give me a.

[Unknown Speaker]

Not just. Not just what, but who.

[Brent Gardner]

We'll do that, too.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. It turns out they all listen. Some of them hate listen.

[Brent Gardner]

That's okay.

[Josh Holmes]

They listen. So you let us know.

[Brent Gardner]

We'll do that.

[Josh Holmes]

Brent, thank you so much for stopping in.

[Brent Gardner]

Thanks, guys.

[Unknown Speaker]

I always love when he comes in he has such great material and he has such a great cause that he's pushing for just a gigantic army of people out there knocking doors and making phone calls.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, they put their money where their mouth is. No question about. They advocate for the policy, they recruit people based on their policy, and they come at it with the full army. We obviously appreciate them coming in and giving us the lay of the land from Capitol Hill. We can't always be boots on the ground everywhere. But he is.

[John Ashbrook]

Yep.

[Josh Holmes]

So thanks to Brent Gardner for that. Listen, we just absolutely love doing what we're doing. We got some exciting stuff coming up that we're going to talk about that, you know, maybe next week we have some conversations that I think you're going to be really excited about. Yes, I know we're really excited about it, but we're going to make you wait. So until then, I think we did it.

[John Ashbrook]

I think so. Absolute banger of an episode. Gentlemen, thank you so much means thank you so much, Brent Gardner. So until next time, minions, keep the faith, hold the line and own the libs. We'll see you on Tuesday. Stay ruthless.

[Josh Holmes]

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