Why are democrats defending criminals? Plus, Sen. John Thune Joins the Progrum

Summary

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Ruthless Podcast: “Why are Democrats Defending Criminals? Plus, Sen. John Thune Joins the Progrum”

Date: December 4, 2025
Hosts: Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan, John Ashbrook
Main Guest: Senate Majority Leader John Thune

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Ruthless podcast takes aim at what the hosts see as Democrats’ increasing tendency to “defend criminals,” with a blend of sarcastic wit and pointed political commentary. The hosts riff on headline-grabbing examples from D.C., Minnesota, and beyond, using recent news as a springboard to mock Democratic politicians and highlight ideological divisions. The episode is divided into two main sections: the first half focuses on the “Defending Criminals” theme and contemporary political antics, while the second half features Senate Majority Leader John Thune discussing legislative gridlock, bipartisan opportunities, and the GOP strategy heading into the 2026 midterms.

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I. Why Are Democrats Defending Criminals? (00:00 – 14:00)

The Central Theme

The hosts discuss what they view as a pattern among Democrats of defending lawbreakers, from narco traffickers to murderers. They argue opposition to Trump fuels a reflexive defense of almost anyone or anything he opposes.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Democratic Politicians and Criminal Defense

• Narco Traffickers and Senator Jack Reed

  • The hosts play a clip of Senator Reed explaining that small-time couriers aren’t really narco traffickers, but more like “the DoorDash of the narco traffickers.”
  • Memorable Moment:
    • Comfortably Smug quips:

      “It was like, okay, well, these people in these boats, they’re not actually drug traffickers. It’s more like the DoorDash of the narco traffickers.” (04:32)

    • Hosts: “It’s simply an Uber for drug trafficking and the supply and demand, as you understand.” (04:39)

• Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the D.C. National Guard Shooting

  • The former DNC chair blames Trump for a terrorist attack on National Guardsmen.
  • Smug reacts:

    “Most unhinged thing… horrific that you’d hear any individual be that unhinged. But to be an elected official.” (06:20)

2. Mayoral Pandering and Lawlessness in Minneapolis

• Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s Somali-language Appeal
  • Mayor Frey’s re-election and outreach to competing Somali clans are lampooned, with detailed breakdowns by Holmes and Smug about how clan politics and a massive fraud scandal have intertwined in Minneapolis politics.
  • Smug criticizes:

    “He exploited Klan warfare… it’s a clash of clans, but in politics.” (07:57)

  • Holmes sums up:

    “Anyway, he’s not gonna cooperate with ICE. They’ve got the largest fraud in the history of this country happening in that community, and he’s just gonna give it to you right as he is.” (10:14)

3. “Hero Worship” of Criminals

• The Case of Luigi Mangione
  • Segment highlights left-wing lionization of a murderer, with “Cougars for Luigi Mangione” trending.
  • Comfortably Smug:

    “You can lionize a murderer who’s seen on film shooting and killing a health care executive, and immediately you had just the absolute insanity of the left celebrating this.” (10:56)

4. Diagnosis of Modern Democrats

• Comfortably Smug offers a thesis:

  “It’s not actually about any of these constituencies. It’s not about any principle. It’s just the opposition to Donald Trump writ large.” (11:53)

• Smug, again on meme culture:

  “They will oppose him on literally everything that he does. So if he’s opposed to narco trafficking, they have to be pro narco trafficking.” (12:24)

5. Listeners’ Engagement

• Question of the Day:
  • “Which criminal will Democrats defend next?” (13:20)
  • Suggestions include: “The Grinch… He’s the moderate option for Democrats. He can’t survive today’s party.” (13:49)

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II. Interview: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (15:38 – 41:12)

1. Life as Majority Leader

• On Accomplishments and Gridlock

  • Thune:

    “We’ve been in so many days, so many hours, cast more votes than any Senate in history… Democrats are forcing us to do everything the long way and the hard way.” (17:19)

• Democrats’ Strategy

  • Thune notes Democrats’ refusal to cooperate on even routine votes as a manifestation of “Trump derangement syndrome.” For many Democrats,

    “Doing anything that helps or supports anything the President might be trying to accomplish has just become anathema to them.” (16:20)

• On Government Shutdowns

  • Thune points to the recent historic government shutdown, blaming refusal for bipartisan cooperation:

    “They really dug in on that and, you know, unfortunately drugged the country through the longest government shutdown in history.” (17:56)

2. Bipartisanship: Prospects and Obstacles

• Thune is hopeful about some bipartisan items:

  • Permitting reform (for both conventional and renewable energy projects)
  • Digital market structure bills
  • NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) in college athletics
  • The farm bill, highway bill

• Obstacles:

  • “The progressive wing… very unforgiving, want nothing more than a confrontation with Trump on every issue.” (20:01)
  • “Anybody who comes in the middle to try and solve a problem or get a result or solution gets penalized and punished for it.” (23:13)

• Notable Praise for Sen. John Fetterman:

  • “He genuinely wants to do the right thing for the country. … I give him great credit and I have told him that personally.” (23:19)
  • “We need more people like that that are willing to put aside, at least for a while, some of their [political differences].” (23:28)

3. 2026 Midterm Messaging and GOP Agenda

• Core Issues for the GOP:

  • “Safer streets, more money in your pocket, and new opportunities for a better life.” (24:23)
  • Focus on “bread and butter” economic and security issues.
  • Tax policies:

    “The average family in this country, at least in my state, is about $2,500 less in taxes that they’re going to pay next year because we extended the tax relief from 2017.” (25:44)

  • Border security: “Most Americans… trust this president and his team to handle [border security] effectively.” (26:48)

• Thune on Political Reality:

  “You don’t get a lot of credit for avoiding a catastrophe.” (26:48)

• Strategic Considerations:

  • Quality candidates, message, resources, and turnout are keys.
  • “Ground game is something I’m a big believer in.” (30:03)

4. Economic Messaging & Policy

• Massive policy achievements in the “one big beautiful bill”—much of it unheralded.
• Child savings accounts (praised by Michael Dell), school choice expansion, farm bill components, tax credits, and energy policy.
• Thune:

  “We did literally a decade’s worth of policy last summer… as members get out there on the trail and start telling the story, those newborn accounts, that’s a great story.” (32:10; 32:51)

• “School choice has been a part of our movement agenda forever. We got that in this. Childcare things that Dems have been trying to do, childcare tax credits for both employers and employees in this bill.” (32:56)

5. Morale in the Senate, Looking Ahead

• Despite frayed nerves after shutdown battles, Thune says Republican morale is surprisingly good.

• “We have worked really hard at trying to keep people unified…. The collaboration, the outreach and just hearing and listening and making sure that everybody is hitting on the same cylinder.” (37:08–37:36)

• Bipartisan Achievements Don’t Get Headlines:

  “They never get the headlines… People want to write about the friction, the fighting.” (37:56)

6. Foreign Policy: Venezuela and National Security

• Thune defends Trump’s actions in Venezuela, focusing on peace through strength and confronting narco-cartels.

  “The actions that he’s taken are consistent with protecting America’s national security interest… the peace through strength theme and approach that this president has taken…makes people think twice.” (39:00)

• Thune’s Parting Note on Leadership:

  “Most of the people who are involved in public life, certainly people I work with and around me, are purpose driven people. They really believe in what they’re doing.” (40:35)

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III. Key Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Democrats and Lawbreaking:

  • “It sort of reflects how much these folks have lost their brains in the era of Donald Trump.” – Michael Duncan (00:07)
  • “If he’s opposed to narco trafficking, they have to be pro narco trafficking.” – Comfortably Smug (12:24)

• On Political Cynicism:

  • “It’s not actually about any of These constituencies. … It’s just the opposition to Donald Trump writ large.” – Comfortably Smug (11:53)

• On Modern Senate Life:

  • “It’s been, you know…we’ve surpassed [the Contract with America Congress], and we still got three weeks to go before the end of the year.” – John Thune (18:16)
  • “We did literally a decade’s worth of policy last summer.” – John Thune (32:10)

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IV. Gamified & Variety Segments

King of the Hill: Twitter Derangement Edition (46:36 – 58:08)

• Contenders:

  • Smokin’ Joe Walsh (ex-GOP Congressman turned anti-Trump digital ranter)
  • Ron Filipkowski (lawyer and deeply anti-Trump tweeter)

• Highlights:

  • Filipkowski claims:

    “Maybe Trump got the MRI as a follow up on his injured ear.” (50:01) “I would call Pete Hegseth a war criminal, but we aren’t at war. He’s just a mass murderer.” (51:19) Complains about Trump memes violating intellectual property rights: “Why does the Trump admin continue to steal people’s intellectual property?” (55:42)

• Hosts’ Judgement:

  • Filipkowski wins the round for “heel turn” hypocrisy and sheer online hysteria.
  • “Filipkowski gets the W. New champion. Huge win.” (58:08)

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Bizarre Animal Story: The Intoxicated Raccoon (58:52 – 66:51)

• News report: Raccoon breaks into a liquor store, drinks, and passes out in the bathroom.

  • Smug: “This is like a raccoon of taste…he chose certain bottles, like he’s picking the right bourbon.” (59:40)
  • Duncan: “These are dangerous animals. … I don’t know if you’ve ever seen what a raccoon can do to it. Like a dog. Have you ever seen a dog? …Their claws are so sharp. They are so vicious.” (61:26)

• Raccoon survival war stories and home-remedy pest control tips ensue—deadpan, over-the-top, classic Ruthless.

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V. Listener Engagement

• Question of the Day:
  • “Which criminal will Democrats defend next?”
  • Hosts encourage inventive and satirical suggestions from listeners.

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VI. Notable Timestamps

• Democrats Defending Criminals (Narco, D.C. shooting, Minneapolis): 00:00 – 13:57
• Sen. John Thune Interview Begins: 15:38
  • On Democratic gridlock: 16:20 – 19:21
  • On bipartisanship: 20:01 – 22:29
  • On GOP messaging: 24:23 – 25:44
  • Economic achievements: 32:10 – 32:56
  • Senate morale: 37:08 – 37:36
  • Venezuela/foreign policy: 38:54 – 40:53
• King of the Hill Segment: 46:36 – 58:08
• Raccoon/Liquor Store Story: 58:52 – 66:51

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VII. Tone & Style

• Irreverent, rapid-fire, intentionally over-the-top.
• Conversational, mocking of political adversaries, and highly self-aware.
• “No shelter for anyone”—willing to critique all sides or turn the ridicule on themselves.

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VIII. Summary Takeaways

• The Ruthless crew paints a picture of Democrats in a perpetual “opposition to Trump” mode—defending even the indefensible.
• John Thune, in a lengthy and substantive interview, details both the achievements and challenges in the Senate, emphasizing policy wins (especially on the economy) and the need for persistent, clear messaging going into the 2026 midterms.
• Satirical and meme-heavy segments (especially the King of the Hill Twitter war) underline the show’s unique blend of conservative analysis and culture-war trolling.
• Offbeat stories (like the “intoxicated raccoon”) and war stories from the hosts offer comic relief and a sense of camaraderie with listeners.

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Memorable Quote:

“It’s not actually about any of these constituencies. … It’s just the opposition to Donald Trump writ large.” – Comfortably Smug (11:53)

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For next time:

• Watch for responses to “Which criminal will Democrats defend next?”
• Tune in to “Fun Time Friday” for follow-up on recurring bits (e.g., the “nuzzy situation”).

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[End of Summary]

Transcript

[A]

I don't know if you guys have had this observation, but it turns out the Democratic Party pretty enthralled with defending criminals these days.

[B]

Yeah, it's wild.

[C]

It sort of reflects how much these folks have lost their brains in the era of Donald Trump.

[B]

They will oppose him on literally everything that he does. So he's opposed to narco trafficking. They have to be pro narco trafficking.

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[E]

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.

[B]

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

[E]

It's time for our main event.

[A]

Good Thursday to you. Welcome back to the Ruthless Friday program. I'm Josh Holmes along with comfortably smug Michael Duncan and John Ashbrook. Left to right across your radio dial. As always, fellas, it's been a hell of a week already. I have to pause just right off the top. You're wearing a fetching outfit, Michael.

[C]

Hark how the bells sweet silver bells all seem to say throw cares away I'm just in the spirit Is that what's happening and not the holiday spirit? I'm in the Christmas spirit.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[C]

As you know, Commander Barack Obama and the coalition of Happy Holidays lost the war on Christmas. Yes, we won.

[A]

That's exactly right. Now you are having a Santa sweater of sorts.

[C]

And if you go to our [e-mail] you can get your sweater that says you survived the war on Christmas in addition to a lot of other festive merch.

[A]

I feel like smug. I feel like you spent like the better part of your life working on that.

[B]

Yeah, so, I mean, I think it was an extremely serious war and it should be celebrated winning that one.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Another thing. So I was in North Carolina at my house this past weekend and I got some pizzas for my family. Go. I go home but when I'm picking them up and I'm on my way out the door, they say, merry Christmas. And I was like, we really have one. This is what it was for. This is what it's for.

[C]

This is why we fight.

[B]

This is why we fight.

[E]

But it's a very nice looking sweater. And I assume you've hand darned each of these, Michael?

[C]

I did. And you know, I appreciate you saying that because I got carpal tunnel doing.

[A]

So your knitting fingers.

[C]

My knitting fingers are very tired. But it's wonderful and it's a real high quality material.

[A]

It does look like a high thread count.

[C]

It just fits right on over this button down.

[B]

Looks good.

[A]

Yeah. Good, good. Well, people came for that, but I think they also came for some discussion about politics.

[C]

I don't think they came for that at all.

[B]

No, they probably didn't.

[A]

They probably didn't. And I don't know if you guys have had this observation, but it turns out the Democratic Party pretty enthralled with defending criminals these days.

[B]

Yeah, it's wild. Like, I've seen the memes of, like, Trump being dressed as a magician, being like, for my next trick, I'll have Democrats cover for the cartels.

[A]

Well, in that somehow he's done it vain. We've got a clip for, as it turns out. This is Senator Reid. Clip one, please.

[D]

You know, one of the factors that drives.

Youth in the United States and is demand.

[A]

And most narco traffickers are not in those boats. They pay people to do that. And usually people are not significantly involved with naco trading.

[E]

It's.

[A]

It's the way they make.

[B]

This is an incredible attempt at a defense. Like trying to find a way to be like, I have to oppose Trump. I guess I'm gonna side with narco traffickers. He was like, well, you gotta consider the rungs on the ladder of cartels.

[A]

Did you catch the supply and demand argument at that point?

[C]

It was amazing. It was like, okay, well, these people in these boats, they're not actually drug traffickers. It's more like the doordash of the narco traffickers.

[A]

It's simply an Uber for drug trafficking and the supply and demand, as you understand.

[C]

Of course.

[A]

Yeah. So that was Jack Reed, longtime senator, trying to explain why narco terrorists are not narco terrorists. They're simply. Well, they're not even traffickers, really. They're just simply.

[E]

Delivery.

[B]

It's like these are independent pharmaceutical specialists.

[E]

They're just moving the drugs from one country to another. That's not trafficking.

[A]

Yeah, no.

[E]

You gotta look at the definition.

[A]

Yeah, that's exactly right. All right, but they're not done. You remember Wasserman Schultz? So this lady used to run the DNC way back when and she used to. I swear to God, I did not know she was still a member of Congress.

[B]

Well, that's why she has to be insane on camera. Cuz she needs to remind people she still exists.

[A]

Yeah, I swear, I thought she retired like 10 years ago, but then I saw this clip which reminded me. No, in fact, she's not. Next clip, please.

[C]

We need to make sure that we have tight and appropriate and proper vetting. If there were gaps that admitted this.

[A]

Person, they would have failed over multiple levels of gaps.

[C]

And this individual was trusted enough to participate in assisting our military during the war in Afghanistan.

[D]

So I just think, you know, the.

[B]

President looks everywhere except inward to blame his own policies, which is so of all the insane and horrible things I've heard in the wake of the murder of National Guards, people who are doing their job, trying to protect us. Being like Trump needs to look inward for why he caused this is the most unhinged thing.

[A]

Yeah. So what she's talking about, of course, was the horrific shooting of National Guard people in Washington D.C. and then suggesting at the end of it that this is a result of Trump policy.

[B]

She's like, well, this terrorist who did this. Actually, maybe Trump needs to look inward, which is horrific. Horrific that you'd hear any individual be that unhinged. But to be an elected official.

[C]

Not only an elected official. Dude, she ran the dnc. Seriously, like this is a rot to their core. That's been around for a long time.

[A]

Yeah, well, I mean, just admit nowhere did you hear maybe the terrorists as the problem.

[C]

Yeah.

[E]

You know, and here's how we.

[A]

Gaps. I don't know, it seems pretty apparent there were gaps. Also, you know what I missed? I've missed seeing the Chia pet on top of her head.

[B]

I don't know why she allows that to happen.

[A]

You know, can you pop that clip back up? You know, I don't need to hear her voice again, but can we take a look at this?

[B]

So this is the thing is, does her staff hate her to let her keep that going?

[A]

That's what I'm saying.

[B]

Like at some point someone needs to advise her. It's not. It's tough. It's been going for like, it's like a three decade perm.

[C]

It's like a. It's like a wet labradoodle.

[B]

The labradoodle wants to go home. It's had enough.

[C]

I mean, look at.

[B]

Come on.

[A]

You just can't allow that if you're staff. I don't know. She's doing what she's doing, and I didn't know she was doing it. So she's back. They're not done. You know, this mayor of Minneapolis, I'm hesitant to even bring this up. I had a tough week, fellas.

[B]

No, it has to be brought up.

[A]

You guys rang me out on Tuesday.

[C]

You gotta be held accountable.

[A]

Well, this guy is from my home state. Mayor Frey, who apparently has been reelected in large part because of the Somali civil war in Minneapolis.

[B]

No, he exploited Klan warfare. Minneapolis. Now, it's a clash of clans, but in politics.

[A]

It'S not wrong.

[B]

It's incredible.

[A]

All right, so this is what this cat's up to. Next clip.

[D]

That's not American. That's not what we are about. And we're going to do right by every single person in our cities. And so to our Somali community, Daman Shabka.

[C]

Now he's speaking Somali.

[D]

Minnesota. Ghatahan. Minneapolis. Wa' an kujanila hai wan ku bro ghareb.

[B]

Reminder. This is the mayor of a city in the United States of America.

[E]

But it seems so natural coming out of his voice, you know, I mean, he just seems like a sort of a natural Somali speaker.

[C]

Broken Somalia.

[A]

And he's got like a. What has to be. I'm not familiar with the dialect, but it seems very broken.

[B]

Yeah, it doesn't seem like the best. It's like the only word he pronounced correctly is then Minneapolis and then Shackley Somali. But the incredible thing, I can't go back for folks who do not know this story. So he was running in a primary to be mayor of Minneapolis against a Somali individual who was endorsed by Ilhan Omar. And what he exploited was this. There are these multiple clan factions of Somalis.

[C]

There's the Darud, which Ilhan Omar is from, and this Somali who was running against him is from. But they.

Ethnic strife with, I would say, to put it lightly, these are.

[B]

Clans who are with each other back in Somalia.

[A]

If you want to know the roots of all of that, have a look at Black Hawk Down. They can explore it a little bit more further.

[C]

But they did not like that Ilhan Omar endorsed him to be mayor. And so these other ethnic Somali groups in that primary endorsed Fray, which is not now why he's pandering to him. And also incredible that he's doing that in the backdrop of like the largest fraud that's happening in our country right now that we investigated on the previous episode of this show. And on top of that, he's encouraging more lawlessness by saying, you know what? We're not going to cooperate with ice.

[A]

So that's what the message was. You know, you're going to miss that with the.

[B]

I mean, that's like take a step back and realize the mayor of Minneapolis in the United States speaks in Somali to say, I will not cooperate with ice. What is going on here?

[A]

Also, he looks like the biggest country club dude of all time. Right, right. I mean, you want to talk about a juxtaposition, that's a tough pill to swallow. Anyway, he's not gonna cooperate with ice. They've got the largest fraud in the history of this country happening in that community, and he's just gonna give it to you right as he is. Interesting dynamic. We're not done, Luigi. So Luigi Mangione, as you all know, been listening to this program, has been a real hobby horse of ours in the broken brain ness that is the modern left, that somehow you can lionize a murderer who's seen on film shooting and killing a health care executive, shooting.

[B]

A guy in the back on camera.

[A]

And immediately you had just the absolute insanity of the left celebrating this and then turning him into some kind of a deity. Wait till you get a load of this. Look at this graphic.

[B]

Yeah, folks, this is called. This was in the Times. This is called the Cougars for Luigi Mangione. This is a real thing, like, for our listeners who aren't on YouTube. First you should be on the YouTube.

[C]

Mama Mia.

[B]

There you go.

[C]

Need a little bit of board work.

[A]

Thank you for the board work.

[B]

But that shirt, for people who are just listening, there's a lady wearing a shirt that says Cougars for Luigi. This is actually happening.

Oh, no. There you go.

[C]

Yeah, it's good board work. Yeah.

[A]

So anyway, this seems like a common thematic. Fellas, it's just running. It doesn't matter if it's ice, if it's narco trafficking, if it's an unbelievable murder outside in Washington, D.C. or Luigi Mangian. There's a consistent thread here.

[C]

Well, I think it sort of reflects how much these folks have lost their brains in the era of Donald Trump. And it's really not even about Luigi, or it's about, you know, these Somali immigrants who are doing, you know, incredible amounts of fraud in Minnesota or any of these situations. It's opposition to Donald Trump is really the central thesis of their ideology, that the accumulation of power. It's not actually about any of These constituencies. It's not about any principle. It's just the opposition to Donald Trump writ large.

[B]

And that's the thing. That's why I think that, like, magician meme of Trump hit so hard is they will oppose him on literally everything that he does. So if he's opposed to narco trafficking, they have to be pro narco trafficking. You know, if he's opposed to.

Dangerous illegal immigrants in the country, they are now taking. We've seen this. They're now taking the side of fighting law enforcement when they're trying to enforce the law in this country. If he takes a side against, in Minneapolis, this huge, tremendous fraud being committed to, now they have to come out and speak in Somali, being like, I will fight ICE on your behalf. It's unbelievable.

[C]

And it's not like there are electoral majorities who support their position. Like, these are 80, 20 issues, all of them. It's like, go to a community that's been ravaged by fentanyl and explain to them why these people that are currying the drugs up from South America shouldn't be targeted as narco terrorists. Explain that to those communities, because I'm sure they'd love to hear your argument.

[A]

Would love to hear it.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, anyway, it leads us to a question of the day, as we always love to do when you like and subscribe to the Ruthless Variety program, we read all of your comments and we summarize. We put them some things together and get back to you the very next episode with a. A nice sampling of what you've come up with. Our question of the day today is which criminal will Democrats defend next? Just throw this out there, right? I mean, there's got to be a serial killer or two that deserves a little bit of democratic defense.

[C]

The Grinch.

[E]

Oh, the Grinch again.

[B]

The Grinch. He's hearing this and he's like, you guys are going a bit far. The Grinch is the moderate option for Democrats. He can't survive today's party.

[A]

And when we come back, the Senate Majority Leader, John Thune joins the program right after this.

[E]

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[A]

Why was the government shut down? Because big insurance greed knows no limits. The same insurance companies pocketing billions in profits, we're demanding billions more in taxpayer funded subsidies again, putting millions of families at risk. Shutting down our government. Now, unless they get their billions, the big insurance companies are threatening to raise your premiums even more. Putting greed and profit before patients. It's time to hold them accountable.

Well, as the good people from South Dakota often say. John Toon is in the House Senate Majority Leader. How are you, sir?

[D]

Good, good, thanks. Thanks for having me.

[A]

What a pleasure. Listen, you've been a very busy man this year, almost one year into this gig.

[D]

I know, I know, it seems like 10.

[B]

I mean, you've been getting a ton done. So you've got that going for you. Yeah, two things right off. I wanted to first say thank you for you and keeping the Republicans in the Senate, you know, all that pressure to cave of being like, oh no, get this government open at any cost. And you guys held the line, did the right thing. And all of our listeners have to be thrilled about that.

[A]

It's harder to do than.

[D]

Well, it is. And you know, as you know, you guys, some of you have been through this. The pressure builds the farther you get into it. But you know, of course the Democrats said that it was about health care. I think really it was about Trump and Trump derangement syndrome. And there's a big part now of their caucus, of their conference, who, for whom doing anything that helps or supports anything the President might be trying to accomplish has just become anathema to them. It really is.

[A]

I think that's so true. We had a story just this week of a nominee who was going through committee hearings, who a good friend of his on the Democratic side, who he'd worked with as a staffer on the very committee that they were before his nomination comes up, the senator, who he was friends with, votes against him.

[E]

Right.

[A]

And then afterwards comes up, pats him on the back. You're gonna do a great job, of course.

[D]

Right, yeah.

[A]

But that's the mentality you're talking about.

[D]

It really is, it's just, it's really, it's blinding and it's made everything harder than it should be and harder than it used to be because you Know, and one of the reasons we've been in so many days, so many hours, cast more votes than any Senate in history is because the Democrats are forcing us to do everything the long way and the hard way and dragging it out. And it's unfortunate because some of these things, they're basic functions of the government and funding the government is one of them that you ought to be able to figure out and agree on. But they really dug in on that and, you know, unfortunately drugged the country through the longest government shutdown in history.

[A]

Well, I think we've got a graphic. Can we put up graphic too? So this is the graphic of the number of votes that you all have taken. That's, I mean, you can see for yourself it's dwarfing every previous Senate, which goes to your point. I mean, not only are you having to go through this process, but you're forcing them to do it.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, it's been, you know, and I think the Next closest was 1995, which was the Contract, you know, with America, Congress. And so they were really active and busy that year, but we've surpassed them and we still got three weeks to go before the end of the year. And I think it is indicative of just kind of what we are up against right now and the fact that so many of these things that in the past, and many of you know this, that were accomplished either by voice vote or unanimous consent, which is the way the Senate functions. I mean, unanimous consent is a key feature of the Senate. It takes consent to almost do anything. And they just, instead of doing it that way on these routine nominees, and I wouldn't call them low level nominees, but they're not your cabinet level folks. And they just, you know, forced us to use the time, burn the clock, cast the votes. And so we racked up a lot of votes. And it's, you know, again, I'm not, it's a sign of the times. It's unfortunate in a lot of ways because I think it gets harder and harder to do the big things in a bipartisan way. But even when the routine things are hard to get bipartisan support for, we're at a whole different place than we've been before.

[A]

No question about it. I mean, it also betrays a huge lack of seriousness. Right, right. I mean, you know, this, I mean, before you were a leader, a whole lot of what you did for years was build relationships across the aisle, build relationships with people of different constituencies to try to get those bigger things done on a bipartisan basis, which, you know, it Used to be able to be real possible to do. But when you're just kind of a rank and file Democrat voting against nominees who are your friends.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a whole new level.

[A]

Like, how do you go back to somebody across the aisle and be like, hey, this is really important to my constituency. Can you help me out with this? People are gonna be like, no.

[B]

Yeah, right.

[D]

I know. It's kind of mind blowing. And it's really hard, too, because that wing is where the energy, the money, the activism, you know, and the party is right now is the progressive wing. And they just, I mean, they're very unforgiving and they want nothing more than a confrontation with Trump on every issue. So it doesn't matter how basic the issue is or how fundamental it is to actually governing the country. They just want to fight on everything. And it's unfortunate because like you said, you know, these relationships that you work to carve out and to build through the years to be able to do by bars and things, it's getting increasingly difficult to accomplish that. I'm still hopeful.

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

And there are a few things, I think, that can actually be candidates for bipartisanship, but we'll see. I mean, it's everything, like I said, is hard.

[C]

Where do you think are those areas to break that logjam?

[D]

Well, I mean, there are some big issues that need to be dealt with. For example, permitting, reform. If you want to do projects in this country, whether they're energy related or other types of projects, it takes so long to get them sited and permitted. And it used to be that that was viewed as a Republican because it's conventional energy, it's oil and gas and all that. Well, the renewable energy projects are having the same issues in terms of permitting and siting and that sort of thing. And so Shelley Capito, who chairs the relevant committee, has been working with Democrats. I mean, there are Democrats who actually have come to the table and I think want to do something there that could be a big accomplishment for the country and unleash a lot of investment that's sitting on the sidelines because people are reluctant to invest in projects that take 20 years to get through the process. I think, you know, there's another big market structure bill that deals with digital currencies, digital assets. I think that's something could be bipartisan. They're voting today in the House, hopefully. I don't know what that vote's going to be on an nil bill, but I'm still kind of hoping that nil, which is A major reform. And I met with the Commissioners of the Power4Conferences today who are in town. That, to me, is something, too. Fixing the whole challenge we face. The big challenge we face, as you guys all know, with college athletics is something that ought to be a bipartisan issue. There'll be a highway bill next year. That used to be a farm bill. Those used to be bipartisan activities, and I hope they still can be. But it gets increasingly difficult just with the political environment we're in and the amount of animosity that the progressive left has toward the president.

[A]

Yeah. It seems like anything that Trump has to sign has no currency from the Democratic side to put their name on any of it.

[D]

Right.

[B]

And I think it's. I mean, I think when you talk about bipartisanship or our Senate trying to work together, you look at a state like Pennsylvania where you've got this great Republican senator, Dave McCormick, and you've got a Democrat, John Fetterman, who's. It feels like he's trying to be somewhat rational in the face of this far left progressive base who now, I mean, was like, you look at blue sky. They were openly wishing death on him when he had his fall.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which almost is like a warning signal. They're trying to tell Democrats in the Senate that we don't want you to work with anybody to the right of Bernie Sanders.

[A]

When you first got started, there was a lot of Fetterman types.

[D]

Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And there aren't.

[A]

I mean, that's why he sticks out.

[D]

But he does, and he is. He genuinely wants to do the right thing for the country. And I think, And I give him a great credit and I have told him that personally congratulating him for being a sane voice in a politically insane moment. And so I think that we need more people like that and that are willing to, like I said, put aside their. At least for a while, some of their. But you get so bludgeoned by the left now, anytime you do that, anybody who comes in the middle to try and solve a problem or get a result or a solution gets penalized and punished for it. And it used to be those are the kinds of things that were rewarded in politics, you know.

[A]

Exactly.

[D]

And so now it's the edge, the margin, and then just the, you know, constantly wanting to fight with this president. Yeah.

[E]

Well, you're about to finish up a very busy year, but headed into one that might be even busier with the. The election. And you mentioned a few of the issues on the table. I wonder if you could tell us what the message is for Republicans heading into the midterm.

[D]

Well, I mean, I think for, for us anyway, you know, it's, it's safer streets, more money in your pocket, and you know, new opportunities for a better life. And, and those are all things that I think that we're focusing on. It's those bread and butter issues that the American people, I think care the most about. Most elections, in my view, tend to be kind of economic elections. And I think, and honestly, is my neighborhood safe? Is my community safe? Is my country safe? I mean, I think that safety and security are major issues. And I think the work that we've done to close the border, the work we've done on national security, to get more funding into the areas that make sure that the country is secure and safe and ready to deal with the threat matrix that is out there in a very dangerous world. And then I think on the economic front, I mean the things we're doing in the area of tax and regulatory policy, energy policy policy will create better paying jobs, better opportunities and expanding economy. And then just the tax stuff that we've done is more money in the pockets of the American people. I mean, the average family in this country, at least in my state, is about $2,500 less in taxes that they're going to pay next year because we extended the tax relief from 2017. If that had expired, everybody was going to be looking at a new huge tax increase. And I think people are, you know, they're looking for new and better opportunities to get ahead. And we want to do everything we can to make that possible for them. And part of it is creating those better paying jobs, better benefits, and obviously having an economic, kind of economic activity out there that allows companies to invest and grow and expand. And I think the types of policies that we put in place on the regulatory front, the energy front, the tax front, provide those types of incentives.

[A]

It's kind of the catch 22 solving problems though, right. As they become less potent political issues.

[D]

Right.

[A]

I mean, like the tax thing is a perfect example. What you did is save people from having to pay absorbently higher taxes next year. But they didn't feel that because you saved them from the problem. The border is another one. I think the 24 election was the first time in my lifetime where the border security bled from a center right and conservative issue way into the center left and beyond, depending on where you lived. But you secured the border.

[D]

Right?

[A]

Right. And so it's not the same kind of potent issue. I think you're right. The economy is the key. Hear a lot of talk about affordability and everything else. I know that that's something you and your team have focused a lot on.

[D]

Yeah, we are. I mean, I think that to that point, most people are pocketbook voters. Right. And there are other issues. And I said I think security and safety. But the fact that the president so quickly and so effectively closed the stage, Southern border, you know, dealing with that issue is I think is always, is always going to be out there. But I think most Americans at least trust this president and his team to handle that and to handle it effectively. I do think that the, you know, the challenge going forward is demonstrating the American people that those policies, like you point out, you avoided a catastrophe. You don't get a lot of credit for voting a catastrophe. But there were things in there like no tax on tips, you know, no tax on overtime, you know, reduced taxes on Social Security on recipients or seniors, you know, making not only we increased the child tax credit, indexed it for inflation, made it permanent. So there are areas out there in which people are actually going to see lower tax bills overall. Yes, we did extend the 2017 law, made it permanent, which had lower rates, doubling of the child tax credit, near doubling of the, of the standard deduction. All important features to protect them from that tax increase. But I think they will see in other ways and then the other things we did on the business side to create those incentives for business, I think the bonus, depreciation, interest deductibility, r&d expensing 199A for small business deduction, those are all things that I think are going to unleash a lot of investment in this country. And you're starting to see evidence of that. And if you talk to business leaders, CEOs, both small, large businesses, everybody, as I think, sees that is the country as being well positioned. And we just want to make sure we do everything we can to create the conditions that are favorable for growth.

[A]

That kind of answers some of this question. But I think in midterms, clearly the economic condition, the optimism about your own economic situation sort of solidifies where that vote ultimately lands with respect to an incumbent party, which we are now as Republicans. And generally speaking, it's like in the June, July time frame, right, where people just sort of come to a realization about whether they're optimistic or not. And I guess what I'm hearing from you is in talking to people, the infrastructure for what you would see as a good economy or a good outlook at that point in time, has been laid. So you, you do have some optimism about what this economy looks like in 2026 and beyond.

[D]

I think that, and I think that was part of the key, Josh, to getting that vote before the Fourth of July.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Because you know, those things, to get them to take effect, you know, by the time as people are Starting in the 2026 now, they're going to start making decisions about the questions that you ask. And, you know, is my life better? Am I off, better off than I was two years ago or four years ago? And how do I feel about the future for me and for my family and for my kids and my grandkids as they start to answer those questions? I think you have the foundation laid on which a lot of these questions can be answered in an affirmative way. But we obviously have to deliver. And I think, as you all know, in politics, it starts with quality candidates. You gotta recruit the good, strong candidates, not just primary but general election candidates. I've heard that. Yeah, you have heard that.

[A]

I know.

[D]

And then you've got to, you have to have a message or a record of accomplishment to run on. And for our incumbents, I believe we'll have that. And then you've got to have, obviously, the resources to get that message out. And then you've got to be able to have the organization to turn out the vote to get, you know, that that has become a very big part of our politics. And so the ground game is something I'm a big believer in. And I think we're at least in the Senate and I think in the House, largely too well positioned. There are things you don't control. I mean, a midterm, particularly midterm election for a second term president has always been dicey. And generally the energy is with the party, the opposition party, the party out of power. But I think if we do things the right way, and like I said, good candidates, record of accomplishment, well resourced, and a good ground game, I think we've got a, you know, we have a formula there for success, and I hope we, for the good of the country, have it.

[E]

Phyllis?

[B]

Yeah, well, one thing I want to go into is the challenge specifically on the economic front is you guys have laid the foundation for a strong economy. Biden essentially drove the economy into a ditch. You had record amounts of inflation. The border was essentially just wide open. And we were told that, oh, nothing can be done about this unless all of Congress acts. Well, it turns out very quickly you can shut the border down. But specifically on the economy, there's been so many things like in the one big beautiful bill that Americans are just finding out about, like, there's this whole conflict of, oh, it's not about messaging, but part of it is about messaging, is it wasn't until Michael Dell came out and said that he's going to contribute to a bunch of these children's accounts which have been created by the one big beautiful bill that I read the Journal every single day and I didn't even know about it until Michael Dell comes down and says he's going to contribute to it. And then the Wall Street Journal does a whole piece about how like, yes, every baby born in this country can open a specific savings and retirement account that's going to have a massive difference on their entire lifetime. And that was passed by you guys in one beautiful bill. And I, as a Republican voter who reads the Journal every single day. Why did Bloomberg didn't even know about that.

[A]

Yeah, it's focusing. Right. I mean, there's so much to message.

[D]

There is. And that's why I think we did literally a decade's worth of policy last summer. And so we. But we haven't had a chance to get out and tell that story yet. And honestly in the Senate, if you can believe this, by the end of the year, we will have been in session 41 weeks this year. And you know, in Senate terms, that's, that's a lot. So our, our members haven't had.

[A]

And also just for our listeners, you don't want them there more than. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[D]

Believe me. Well said. So. But I think this next year, you know, obviously the, the schedule, I think legislatively will be lighter, but we'll have more time to get out. And as members get out there on the trail and start telling the story, those newborn accounts, that's a great story.

[A]

It's incredible.

[D]

And then you talk about it's going.

[B]

To change people's lives, it's going to change families trajectories.

[D]

Yeah. School choice has been a part of our movement agenda forever. We got that in this childcare things that Dems have been trying to do, child care tax credits for both employers and employees in this bill. And then, you know, add all the tax stuff, all the energy stuff, freeing up all energy development. There's a ton of things in there that have been part of our agenda for a long time that we were able to get done. We did the farm bill.

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

I mean, you know, there are pieces of it we couldn't do because of the restrictions on how reconciliation can be used, but the Safety net provisions, the commodity title, the conservation title, all that stuff. I mean, we took a lot of policy things that have been sort of built up over time and got them addressed there. And I don't think people realize that yet.

[A]

Defunded pbs, but they keep showing up.

[D]

And there's that.

[E]

You know what, I do want to ask this because there's a big rumor mill swirling about potential House Republican retirements starting into the new year. There's already been a couple of high profile ones. I'm wondering if you can put on your prediction hat for us and tell us if we should expect any Senate Republican retirements in 2026.

[D]

I mean, there's always the possibility and I think, you know, people want to get through the off year before they have to make any of those announcements or decisions. I don't want to say, you know, one way or the other. I'm hopeful that we have everybody that's, that's, you know, running for reelection again.

[A]

You should start willy nilly naming names.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, feel free.

[E]

We won't tell anybody.

[D]

As you know, we've had a few announcements already. I mean, North Carolina, Kentucky, and so those are open seats in Iowa. But are there more coming? You never know for sure. But I think in most cases we're pretty well positioned in these states.

To do well. I mean, I think in Iowa, for example, and you had her in here. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is terrific.

[A]

She set a high bar for musical projects.

[E]

Yes.

[A]

I was just saying we're just hoping you mentioned maybe a tuba or something.

[D]

Well, you guys be careful because those of us who are purists, it's a sousaphone.

So a tuba. There is a distinction. The one that goes over your head, that is a. I was a sousaphone player.

[A]

I don't want to dead name the instrument.

[B]

Let's show how far out of touch.

[D]

You are in tuba world. But I think we have a really good slate and in some of these seats too, where, you know, for example, where Democrats have retired in Michigan, having Mike Rogers run again and the Dems have a three way primary. And then obviously of course in New Hampshire, John Sununu, a former colleague, is in that race, which Democrat primaries, they.

[A]

Seem a little hairy.

[D]

Yeah, there's some interesting on their side too, which were, you know, are you.

[A]

Gonna get in there and Schumer around in those?

[D]

Yeah, well, we'll see.

That, right? I can't, I can't say.

[A]

Just give.

[D]

Us the plant and the guilty.

But no, I think we're, I think we're you know, well positioned and excited, knowing full well that these types of midterm elections are challenging for the party out of power. But I think given the things that you can control, and there are always things you can control. But given the things that we can control, I think we've got a. We got a good, strong message out there. And, you know, and if you think about some of the accomplishments in the, in the one big, beautiful bill, I think that there's a real message that as we start to deliver that the American people, that's going to resonate well out there.

[A]

I got to tell you, one of the things I'm most impressed about here in your first year. Look, I was in that office. I know what a tough job it is. But also when you come out of a protracted shutdown or these big partisan fights at the end of the year, morale in a conference doesn't matter how well you're doing or how many accomplishments, like, it's always a touchy thing. We've talked to a ton of Republican senators over the last couple of weeks. Morale's pretty good in your conference. I think that's a testament to what you guys are up to. Because, man, at the end of the year, I just remember people wanting to kill each other.

[D]

Well, there's a certain amount of that, too. I know who you talk to, but I'm glad they were put on their best face. No, it is. I mean, it gets frayed. When you're in for an extended period of time and under a lot of pressure, like you are in the middle of a government shutdown, people get edgy and on, you know, not only with across the aisle, but on your own side of the aisle as well. People are just, you know, it's tiring. But I think we have worked really hard at trying to keep people unified. And a lot of that is, you know, the collaboration, the outreach and just hearing and listening and making sure that everybody is hitting on the same cylinder. We've worked really hard at doing that, but, you know, there's always the next battle. And, you know, I talked earlier about some of the, you know, the things you'd like to do on a bipartisan basis. And we actually, believe it or not, have done a lot of things this year on a bipartisan basis. They never get the headlines. They never get the headlines because all people want to write about is the friction, the fighting. And I realize that's what generates headlines. But we're going to keep grinding and keep our foot on the gas. And I think, you know, Buckle up. These next couple of weeks are going to be interesting, too. We've got a lot to accomplish, but if you look at the number of noms we're going to clear, we're going to vote later today on cloture on about 90 nominees.

And then, you know, we'll have the defense authorization bill as soon as that gets closed out, hopefully soon up on the floor soon. We're going to give the Dems their health care vote next week and then try and get on this next appropriations package to fund the government.

[A]

So as not to shut that whole thing down.

[D]

Well, it's just, you know, like I said, the things that you should do that are sort of expected. Everything's harder these days. It just is. But that's why you have to just keep grinding away at it.

[A]

Before we let you go, can I get your thumbnail take on Venezuela?

[D]

You know, I think that the, you know, clearly the President, in my view, is operating within his authority as the commander in chief. And there is a real threat there. You got a designated terrorist organization, cartels that have been operating in ways that have put at risk the security of the American people. I mean, we lose thousands, tens of thousands of people every year to illicit drugs and a regime down there that is corrupt. And I think that the president, the actions that he's taken are consistent with protecting America's national security interest. I don't know ultimately, you know, where it goes from here, but I think it sent a clear message. And I think the peace through strength theme and approach that this president has taken, not just there, but other places around the world, it makes people think twice when, you know, if you're trying to deter bad behavior. And I'm a big believer in peace through strength, and the deterrence is a big part of our ability to. To protect the American citizens. I think the President is getting it right.

[A]

Yeah, well, it kind of comes with the territory. When you believe America is the leader.

[D]

Of the free world, it comes with the territory.

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

For better or worse.

[A]

Well, listen, keep up the good work.

[D]

Appreciate you guys.

[A]

You're crushing it. Honestly. You and your team have done a terrific job this year. We look forward to next year and hopefully a bunch of good news to come.

[D]

Well, I'm blessed to have good people around me. And as you all know.

You'Re only as good as the team you have around you, and they're very hard working, very diligent, and care deeply. And I think part of.

[A]

You do.

[D]

This because you want to be a difference maker. And I think most of the people who are involved in public life, certainly people I work with and around me are purpose driven people. They really believe in what they're doing. And that in and of itself kind of helps keep you inspired on the days when you don't feel so much like getting up and doing it again.

[B]

It's like I always say, you can either try to make a point or you can try to make a difference. And it feels like you guys are focused on the ladder of making the difference.

[A]

He loves appropriating people's points.

[D]

His favorite, his favorite, the smug thing.

[A]

He's the majority leader of the United States Senate, John Toon.

[D]

Toon. There you go.

[B]

Thank you so much.

[D]

Thank you for coming up. Thanks, guys.

[B]

Thank you.

[E]

I mean, what a great conversation. And I think he made some news on the show. He talked about the message that they're rolling out for the 2026 midterms. I've not heard that before.

[A]

I was glad to hear that affordability, economy is sort of centerpiece of what he's talking about because I totally agree. I mean, look, voters are ultimately going to make up their mind here based on whether or not they feel comfortable and optimistic about their economic future. That's just what midterms are. Unless you get some catastrophic, you know, event which, God help us, let's hope that doesn't happen. But I mean, that's by and large, if you're a betting man, what it is that people are going to make a decision decision on putting that front and center of what his conference is gonna be talking about for the next 6, 812 months. Great.

[C]

I mean, the perspective message was encouraging. I think it's also, I think, incredible what they've accomplished in this last year.

[E]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean, all the Senate actions outpacing previous Senates and then, you know, he's putting on the floor like 90 noms. He's gonna get through here and he just confirmed 88. It's incredible stuff.

[B]

They got that factory turning.

[A]

They do. It's necessary. And like you said, it's way harder than it should be.

[E]

Yep.

[B]

Like Democrats have been dragging their feet on all these Trump nominees and they're just like breaking through that, getting the job done. Fantastic.

[A]

You don't get a lot of credit in that gig.

[B]

No.

[A]

So when you come on the program, we're going to give you the facts about what Dune is up to. Good man from South Dakota. Thank him and his team for joining us. When we come back, fellas, we're going to get to a what the question of the day was from Tuesday. And if you remember, it's a banger.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Right to this.

[E]

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

[A]

So when you like and subscribe to the Ruthless Friday program and you leave a comment, we read all of them and this question that we had on Tuesday, where I took a bath, my good people from Minnesota, you guys are really focused, and I don't appreciate it. Anyway, the question was, what did Somali terrorist group Al Shabaab do with all the money that they got from the Minnesota fraud?

[B]

Hell of a question. Hell of a question.

[A]

An open end that gave you, the listener, a real opportunity, and you took advantage of it to do that. We start with a voice first.

[E]

Comment comes from Andrew Kepner. And Andrew writes, al Shabaab will collaborate with Michael Moore to remake Captain Phillips with an alternate ending where all the SEAL snipers miss, they chuck Phillips overboard and sail to Minnesota, where they vote blue for the next 30 years, take over the state, and live happily ever after.

[B]

Incredible.

[E]

They're gonna spend it on a movie.

[A]

Really paints a picture, doesn't it?

[B]

It does.

[A]

I'm the captain now.

[C]

I'm not a nautical expert, but how would you actually execute that? You would go through the Horn of Africa, and then you go up the Mississippi, I think.

[A]

Well, you could either go up the Mississippi, St. Lawrence, seaweed, Florence, into the. You know, into the Great Lakes.

[C]

Well, you don't want an Edmund Fitzgerald situation, so maybe you avoid Superior, the.

[A]

Big lake they call Gitche Gumi, especially in November.

[C]

That's right.

[A]

Yeah. Okay.

[E]

All right.

[A]

Comment? Two dunks or unks?

[C]

This is from clamor23. Clamor writes, what should Al Shabaab do with the money. It's pretty simple if you ask me. Based off what I saw after watching the riveting documentary Captain Phillips, it's apparent that leadership in Al Shabaab should reinvest a majority of the spoils into some quality dental insurance to the hardworking, everyday grunts who dedicate their lives and mangled teeth to the job. It's the only humane thing to do. My God. That's pretty ruthless.

[E]

A lot of Captain Phillips.

[C]

Yeah.

[E]

Like immediately they went right to Captain Phillips.

[A]

Yeah. I can't help but think we primed.

[E]

The pump a touch on that cultural touchstone.

[A]

All right, comment three.

[B]

Comment three is from M. Stevens. M. Stevens writes, they spent it all on hookahs. H O K A H and blow. Outstanding. Outstanding. There's a future at the New York Post for that, gentleman. Hookahs, Hookahs and blow.

[A]

Like hookah. Like the smoking hookah.

[B]

There you go.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Instead of hookahs, it's like the New York Post strikes. That's good. Wonderful.

[A]

Yeah, it's pretty well done. All right, coming up when we come back, King of the Hill. It's our feature game here on the Ruthless Friday program. You're not going to want to miss this after this.

All right, fellas, we're here for King of the Hill, our featured game here on the Ruthless Variety program. Who's the champion?

[E]

Smash Champion. Yeah. Smokin Joe Walsh.

[A]

Smokin Joe Walsh. Okay.

[C]

And smug has our challenger, Ron Filipowski. It's been a while, I think, since.

[B]

We'Ve had Ron, which is wild because he's consistently deranged.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

But this week, man, I've got some firepower.

[A]

I can't imagine there's a whole bunch of people that are new to this game, but for those of you who are, this is a game that originated in the earliest days of the Ruthless Variety program where there were a bunch of people, self styled conservatives, quote, unquote, Republicans. They made a living in Republican politics where Donald Trump broke their mind, like destroyed their mind, and they became progressive liberal Democrats. And if you monitor their behavior online, it's the craziest stuff you can come up with. So we started this game where we picked two people where we had seven days of their tweets in a three round knockout of who had the craziest week.

[C]

Well, because, you know, as I've noticed here, over a period of years, in the Never Trump era, sometimes the craziest far left takes aren't from the AOCs of the world, it's from these people. It's what they would call the zeal of the convert.

[B]

Bingo.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, AOC is positively like moderate adjusting.

[B]

AOC is a moderate option in the game.

[A]

Oh, no question about it.

[C]

And then, Holmes, you're a judge this round.

[A]

I'm judging.

[C]

You're judge boy.

[A]

I'm gonna be a tyrant.

[C]

You are. And I'm bailiff. And you know how I like to be an active bailiff.

[A]

He does in the court. He's sometimes too active.

[C]

I do law and order.

Well, let's go ringside.

[E]

Ladies and gentlemen, your. Your attention please. It's time for King of the Hill. In the red corner, fighting from his own Twitter account, Ron. Philippa.

[A]

Philippa.

[E]

How do you say it anyway, Filipowski. And now in the blue corner, fighting from a closed congressional office and current champion of the world, smoking Joe Walsh.

[B]

That's tough.

[A]

A closed congressional office.

[D]

Brutal.

[A]

People forget.

[E]

Yeah, yeah. He was a Republican congressman, a Tea Party guy.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

He was crazier in a shithouse rat when he was on that side too though.

[C]

Oh, yeah, no, absolutely.

[A]

I mean, it was. It's always been an issue. A lot of marbles rattling around. It is rattled off the left hand side of the map this time. Okay, so the champion gotta go first.

[E]

Exhibit eight, please. Lee. Joe Walsh, the former Republican Tea Party guy, writes corrupt, lawless, ignorant, cruel, fascist, fearful, pathologically dishonest. And on and on and on and on and on.

[D]

Enough.

[E]

We know who Donald Trump is. We always have. But this isn't about to Trump.

[A]

Tell us what?

[E]

It's never been about Trump. It's about us. It's always been about us. About us as people. We know who Trump is. So the only question that's ever really mattered is who are we?

[B]

I love that he's trying to be like an existentialist. Like he's. I mean, that's a bit long winded, to be honest. Well, I'm ready to go.

[C]

I mean, I got to say, just my initial commentary on this, I think the worst thing that ever happened to Twitter now X is that they increase extra characters. It used to be 140 characters. You had to be pithy, you had to be smart, you had to be succinct. And now we get this soapbox lecture.

[A]

Well, if you didn't have the extra characters, you wouldn't get that Sartre or Nietzsche like presentation.

[C]

He's trying to fill up the word count on a term paper.

[E]

7:03Pm on Thanksgiving Sunday.

[C]

Come on.

[A]

Oh, that was a Thanksgiving.

[E]

I don't know how you guys Spent your Sunday just watch some football, dude.

[A]

I mean, have a cocktail.

[E]

Maybe he did.

[A]

All right, what do we got?

[C]

Smuggles?

[B]

Could I get exhibit 10 from Ron, please? This is also about Trump, but it's short and sweet. Maybe Trump got the MRI as a follow up on his injured ear. He's continuing the whole, like, conspiracy theory that Trump wasn't. This wasn't an attempted assassination. This was an inside job.

I'll take the win on that.

[A]

Oh, yeah, I mean, I just. There's no way that you can't, like, bounce one off that wins round one. Smug.

[B]

All right, I'm gonna go straight for the two round knockout here. Kai, get exhibit nine, please.

Ron says, I would call Pete Hegseth a war criminal, but we aren't at war. He's just a mass murderer.

[C]

Oh, my God.

[B]

Well, someone please think of the poor narco traffickers. Amazing.

[A]

Take murder, man.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Why doesn't Ron get played more in this game?

[B]

That's what I was wondering when I.

[C]

Saw this diamond in the rough.

[A]

Kind of a mini sherry in some ways. Less cats.

[B]

Less cats, less wine. Just all gas.

[E]

Yeah.

[C]

All right. You better bring something.

[A]

Yeah, you're gonna have to have heat, pal.

[E]

Well, Joe.

Joe's doing his best this week. Exhibit number one, please, Wolf. He's linking to a video of himself and his substack account. And he says, want to play the blame game? Trump put two National Guard members from West Virginia and D.C. for selfish political reasons, he made them the target.

[C]

Unbelievable.

[E]

So, like, even hit, like, Can I.

[B]

Say something about this insanity? Dude? So I remember we had the Secretary of the army on about a month ago, and I wanted to say it when he was here, make a point of it. Whenever I see National Guard around in dc, I thank them because, I mean, the murders, the robberies, the carjacking. Yeah. Like, completely plummeted.

[A]

It's a different town.

[B]

Like, you get people who are here in D.C. who didn't know how bad things had gotten, and they're like, wow, it's so safe. It's so clean. It's because those people went out there and made D.C. safe. And every time I see him, I tell everyone, if you see a National Guard member, you thank him. And then to have something like that.

[A]

Happen and then the rare advocacy for his opponent, but you don't see it a lot.

[B]

It's just so disgusting.

[C]

Judge, may I file a Mikas brief?

[B]

Please, please.

[E]

Yes.

[C]

Can we put that back up? I think the thing that's most incredible. I know where you're going about this tweet, you know, one thing to absolutely clout chase the murder of a National Guard member in a horrific shooting here in our nation's capital and somehow blame it on Donald Trump. But the then to link to your substack and include a series of hashtags.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[C]

National Guard.

[B]

He's Boomer.

[C]

Posting political responsibility. Hashtag blame game. Hashtag Trump WestVirginia. I mean, there is soulless, and then there is soulless. Bailiff Boomer posted.

[E]

If I may, Lee, if you could put it up just one more time. I want to call attention to his shirt or the word.

[B]

He wrote.

[E]

All caps over his shirt. It says responsible.

[A]

That is the last word you'd used to.

[C]

I feel very responsible.

[A]

Nah, it doesn't feel like that's all that responsible.

[C]

Do you see?

[B]

He also put his no Kings tag on the image. Like, he watermarked it with the no Kings. What is going is. You think he's on that no Kings payroll?

[C]

Like, people are thirsting for this content. I better watermark it.

[A]

Dude, he's got hashtags. He's got. I mean, you want. He's going all out.

[B]

This is problems.

[A]

I mean, he's got to get off the Internet.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Family needs to intervene.

[E]

Former Republican.

[A]

There's. He wins. I mean, he wins this round. We're going to go to around three. That's incredible. All right, champ, what do we got next?

[E]

Exhibit number five, please.

Joe Walsh continuing with the no Kings watermark on his X account. We live in a country where every month or so, the president assembles his entire cabinet. And with cameras rolling, they all take turns getting down on their knees, sucking his toes, kissing his feet, and affirming his defending. Yesterday, they thanked him for keeping hurricanes away all year. I want to believe we're better than this.

[B]

First off, Joe Walsh, feet guy.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

Big.

[A]

Big foot guy.

[C]

Also, why is he sworkin posting like it's. It feels very Sorkin, dude.

[B]

You're right.

[A]

No, it's like, I think that's right. I mean, these guys get in moods.

[C]

There's, like, a feigned earnestness to it.

[E]

Yeah.

[C]

When we just know he's a bad guy and, like, he wants to say the worst thing possible. Acting like Joe Walsh is above it all. Come on, dude.

[A]

Down on his knees, sucking his. And then he throws in toes.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[B]

It's a bit much.

[A]

All right. You pervert.

Unbelievable.

[B]

I still think I got this, though.

[A]

Okay, what do we got from the challenge?

[B]

Can I get exhibit 16?

After defending narco traffickers Now Filipowski is going to speak up for intellectual property rights. He says, why does the Trump admin continue to steal people's intellectual property? He's referring to Mayor Pete putting up that meme of Franklin the turtle.

[C]

Oh, no way.

[B]

Taking that to Norco. Traffickers continue to steal people's intellectual property, music and art without permission on a daily basis. Even worse for things they strongly object to, why don't they just use things from MAGA artists and creators? He's like, won't someone first off think of the narco traffickers? And so when you've got a cartoon turtle taking out narco traffickers, he's like, folks, this is an intellectual property violation. Why does the president continue to do. Why is Pete Hegseth stepping on the intellectual property rights of a cartoon turtle?

[A]

I think, dude, I'll be honest. The sequencing of your plays here. Very good. Because if you start with denying an assassination attempt and then like. But seriously, folks, intellectual property is a real problem around here.

[C]

That's a tough.

[A]

I mean, you wanna talk about a heel turtle?

[B]

The problem here isn't that, like, you know, narco traffickers have been poisoning this country and killing more people than Al Qaeda ever did. I mean, think about that.

[C]

He's just a huge defender of Franklin the cartoon turtle.

[A]

Yeah, and how would he know? Like, I don't know. Can I. Can I see the. The first exhibit? The. The. What was the number on your.

[E]

I'm gonna pull that up again, your honor.

[C]

Oh, no. Ashbrook's slowing the draw, boy.

[E]

I apologize.

[A]

He put it away.

[B]

Come on, grandpa.

[A]

He didn't think the judge would do his due diligence.

[B]

Oh, look, they got it for him.

[E]

I apologize to the court.

[A]

Great board work.

[B]

Apologize. He's got it up already. Grandpa. He's dead. Heir, exhibit five.

[C]

I apologize.

[E]

Apologizing. Here, There it is.

[B]

Thank you, Wolf.

[E]

Had to find it.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

Thank you, wolf.

[B]

Thank you, Mr. Magoo. Yeah.

[C]

Oh, Got his ass.

[A]

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna take a 15 minute restroom break.

[E]

Boom.

[A]

Okay, so I just feel like this is an observation and what we've got from the Filipowski situation is just such a heel turn from his previous two exhibits, it's impossible for me to ignore. Like, how can you be seriously concerned with intellectual property at some level after what he's been up to with the rest of it?

[C]

Plus, it's the Internet.

[A]

Yeah, dude, it's the. He's. Well, he's probably appropriating stuff right there. Anyway, Filipowski gets the W. New champion. Huge win.

[B]

Outstanding judge.

[E]

Yeah, he deserved it.

[B]

That's a win all around.

[E]

Yeah. Walsh had better stuff last week.

[C]

Might I point out I don't feel like Ashbrook advocated on his behalf very well.

[B]

No, he didn't feel like he was.

[C]

Already resigned to defeat.

[E]

Well, because last week it was totally insane. This week it was insane, but like not Filipowski level.

[B]

Also, Ashbrook's getting a little older. I mean, you saw how long it took him. He's got his life alert going off. Which tweed did I play? Gentlemen. And Wolf's already got it up there.

I love that.

[A]

Duncan had to reach over and work the board. Added some cricket.

[E]

Yeah, no, thank you. That was good. Really appreciate all that.

[A]

Well, smash, you. You wore the crown well for a week, but it is being passed upon. You guys ready for a little variety?

[B]

Especially this one. Yeah.

[A]

So this one caught our eye. You don't see this very often. Can we play the clip to start?

[D]

It happened Saturday in Ashland and according to social media posts by Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter. Yeah, a raccoon broke into the store the night of Black Friday and ran ransacked several shelves. They have masks, don't they?

[A]

The animals became intoxicated and passed out in the bathroom.

[D]

The sleeping raccoon was discovered Saturday morning.

[E]

They have masks, don't they?

[B]

Wow, that's a good take. So for our audio only listeners, they had a raccoon break into an ABC store the night of Black Friday. He ransacked it. And here's the thing. This is like a raccoon of taste. Did you see he like he chose certain bottles, like he's picking the right bourbon.

[A]

He went top shelf.

[B]

It's incredible. And then he just like enjoyed himself a bit too much. And then you see this image of him passed out next to the toilet. And when I saw this story, I was like, I remember freshman year of college.

I think a lot of people have had this experience where you pass out next to the toilet and you're like praying to God and you're like, I will never drink again. This room is spinning. I know how that feels for you right now.

[A]

For you, that promise lasted at least 15min.

[B]

I mean, I mean it was for me personally, it was the first football game of the year. Oh, he's going back with. I mean, when I saw this, I had like the flashback. It was like a ratatouille moment, right? I have the flashback. I remember it was Aristocrat Vodka, which is essentially hairspray.

[A]

The plastic bottle.

[B]

If it comes in A plastic bottle. It's not meant for human conditions. No, it's. Let's be honest here.

[A]

No, it's like a.

[B]

It comes in half gallons. And I drank the better part of half a gallon of Aristocrat vodka before the game started tailgating.

[A]

Did you make it to the game?

[B]

I was standing at the game, and then my friends say, like, I passed out, and the folks who were standing in front of me were nervous the entire game of, like, this guy's gonna puke on me. No, I held it down, made it back, and I had, like, the worst hangover, I think, in recorded human history. And so I saw that raccoon, and I was like, man, I know exactly where you are, raccoon. I mean, like, look at that photo.

[E]

His arms are, like, sprawled out, his legs are back.

[C]

I mean, that looks like me after Thanksgiving dinner.

[B]

Yeah, that feels right.

[A]

I'm just wondering, you know, is this indicative of a larger problem? Smash. I mean, I know your war on animals here over the years, and. And, like, they're now breaking into our liquor stores, drinking our stuff, and passing out in the bath. They clearly don't fear us.

[D]

Yeah, it's.

[E]

It's fun to make jokes about raccoons and try to humanize them and, you know, like, remember old times where you can relate to how that particular raccoon might be feeling. These are dangerous animals. Okay. I don't know if you've ever seen what a raccoon can do to it. Like a dog. Have you ever seen a dog?

[A]

Oh, yeah. They kill dogs all the time.

[E]

Their claws are so sharp. They are so vicious.

[B]

Have you seen. Their hands are weird because they're human. Like, it's a weird animal.

[A]

Well, they pick things up, like a human hand and they. And they. I mean, it's super disturbing.

[B]

It's unnerving when you see one of these.

[C]

I can tell you exactly from experience, because we had a raccoon in our old house that used those claw, like, human, like, hands to rip off, like, the exhaust port from our roof line and get into our attic in our house. And I remember my poor wife was, like, eight months pregnant.

[A]

And these things can be rabid.

[E]

Oh, riddled with disease. This is the most disgusting animal on the planet. And everybody's so cute. Look at the stripes and the fur.

[C]

And, I mean, like, I remember going up into that attic, and this raccoon had turned all of that Corning's pink insulation into confetti and, like, made a home up there. And I had to go to Home Depot and buy traps and trap.

[A]

Well, didn't you first call. We did several episodes of this. You actually called some authority.

[C]

I did.

[A]

And they told you that they couldn't do anything about it?

[C]

Well, I called a trapper and the trapper went and installed a trap on the. And I was displeased with the results because one night went by and we didn't catch the raccoon. Two nights went by, we didn't catch the raccoon. So I took matters in my own hands and I went to Home Depot. I bought a couple of traps and I put them around like the trash cans. And I put one at the points of egress and entry to the roof line. And I took a nice filet of tuna and I seasoned it properly and cooked it a little. I did like a little sear on both sides and I put it in the traps. You know what? I caught the raccoon the first night.

[B]

Wait, hold on.

[A]

You're prepared?

[C]

Of course I did.

[B]

Because it was smart.

[C]

I wanted to catch the raccoon. I wasn't taking any chances.

[A]

They're more likely to have a prepared tuna.

[C]

I baited the traps and I was successful. Immediately successful. And to Ashbrook's point, disgusting.

[E]

They're Tasmanian devils, buddy. Let me tell you a story. One of my friends had chickens in his backyard. He hand built a chicken coop that his kids fed the chickens every day. And one day.

[B]

Is this in Virginia?

[C]

Yeah.

[E]

One day, his 11 year old son walks out in the morning to feed the chickens. A raccoon had been in the chicken coop and it looked like a horror movie. His son came back in the house crying and he walked out and he said, it's chicken guts and chicken feet and feathers all over the place. They didn't even clean up. They're messy.

[A]

Wait, what?

[E]

Disgusting animals.

[C]

So.

[B]

So for Duncan, I. I want you to finish the story because I think this is critical. What happened to the raccoon?

[C]

Okay. So then I caught the raccoon. So then I called animal control. I was like, I have succeeded.

[E]

Yeah.

[C]

So now you have to do the easy part of the job, and that's just pick up the beast that I have captured. And they told me in no uncertain terms they would not pick up the raccoon unless it had rabies. Unless I could affirm that this was.

[A]

What do you have to do a blood test?

[B]

I know, right?

[C]

Unbelievable. And so it's like, what am I supposed to do?

[B]

Is it the only way to determine that? To behead it?

[E]

Maybe ask, is it pee In a cup. If you have a pee in a cup.

[B]

No, I'm serious. Haven't you heard this? The only way to determine if it's rabid is you have to behead it.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, we found that out with the squirrel. Remember the squirrel?

[B]

Everyone thinks I'm crazy, but it's true.

[C]

It's true. Anyway, so they were gonna do nothing. And at that point, did they expect.

[B]

You to behead the damn thing?

[C]

No, I think they expected me to relocate this raccoon.

[A]

Is that when you filled the trash can with water?

[C]

Well, so I talked to.

[E]

This is where the banana pool idea comes from.

[C]

I talked to John Ashbrook and I just didn't have the courage to do it. I didn't want to kill it. So I got the trapper to take it. Eventually I did his job for him, okay. But he still managed to take the raccoon. But I remember talking to Ashbrook, and Ashbrook was. Was like, fill up a trash can with water and drown the thing? Yes.

[D]

What do you.

[B]

Cuz it's already in a cage.

[C]

I mean. Yeah, it just. It felt inhumane.

[B]

You got.

[E]

You got a dog, you got kids, you got all kinds of things that are.

[B]

You're responsible for. You can't be inhumane with an animal. Like, just think about that.

[A]

Well, I mean, as you should have.

[B]

Shot the damn thing. First off, I could have gotten a hat out of this thing. He's robbed me out of a hat. Like Davy Crocker could have gotten the hat.

[A]

Asterisk's like the Pol Pot of the Animal King.

[C]

I know. No mercy.

[E]

Nobody ever. There's People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

[B]

Raccoon pole pots are incredible.

[E]

Who is going to be People for the Ethical Treatment of People?

[B]

Okay.

[E]

Like, these things could make you so sick. And they're just crawling around neighborhoods at night, getting into your trash cans and like, they can actually put you in the hospital.

[B]

They can.

[E]

Everybody just thinks, oh, there's a raccoon. It looks so cute. Dangerous.

[B]

They're horrific.

[C]

This is the public service announcement of the ruthless variety.

[B]

100%.

[A]

We need to get like a raccoon shirt or something.

[E]

Yeah, I mean, or a coonskin cap for Davy Crockett.

[B]

Bingo.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Remember, folks, listening, if you have any raccoon problems and you're in a red state that allows it, shoot the fuck out of it, make it a hat and send it our way.

[A]

Make it a hat.

[B]

Please clean it up a little before.

[A]

You send it in hat form. That's all we're asking Anyway, remember our question of the day, which criminal will Democrats defend next? They're on a roll.

[B]

Incredible question.

[A]

They're on a roll. So, you know, take your pick. Come up with something creative when you like and subscribe to the Ruthless Variety program. We read all of your comments, summarize them, get back to the very next episode in this case. It's going to be Fun Time Friday. And let me just assure everybody on Funtime Friday, we've saved some stuff.

[C]

Yeah, we have an update on the nuzzy situation.

[A]

We do have an update.

[C]

Just delightful.

[E]

Yeah, it's gonna be good.

[C]

You're gonna love that.

[A]

There's been some interviews, so you're going to see some vid too, which is fantastic. We got all of that and a whole lot more on Funtime Friday. You know, we always have fun with that. Thank you to John Toon, the Senate majority Leader, for stopping on by. And remember our Christmas merch.

[C]

Yeah, stop on by the merch store. Store. Ruthlesspodcast.com you could have this lovely shirt, this I survived the war on Christmas shirt. We also have a lot of other Christmas merch.

[B]

We have the napkins trap. We can talk about how everyone's excited about that.

[C]

The smug gift wrap. I'm going to get some for my folks because they're gonna think that's hilarious.

[A]

Everybody wants your mug on their gift.

[B]

It is wonderful. Let's be honest. And it's only fair. I'm always a gift. That's what my mother said.

[A]

I'm always a hug.

[B]

Everyone says that.

[A]

Plus, it's, you know, you're advantaging the blind.

[B]

Yeah, 100%. That's what I do here.

[A]

Okay, fellas, with that, I think we did it.

[B]

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