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A
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human welcome. It is Vertica Center, Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. Center. I love nights like tonight. It's late. It's basically one in the morning. It is election night in America and we've got some results that may scare the living, you know what out of a lot of our listeners.
B
Well, if you sleep well at night, you may not. When you reflect on the fact that the Communist party is taking over the Democrat Party, we're sitting here it is right now, 12:44am and you look at the Michigan Senate primary. Now it's too close to call. So the result may be different. But as of 12:44am Abdul El Sayed has 549,839 votes. That's 49.7%. And Haley Stevens, who is a left wing Democrat but not a fully insane communist Islamist is at 512,656 votes, which is 46.3%. 72% of the expected votes are in. Now it's too close to call. So maybe we'll wake up in the morning and Haley Stevens will have surged and won. Maybe, maybe. But look, all the polling says El Said is going to win.
A
Yeah.
B
And listen, right now we don't know. By the time you're listening to this pod, you may know what I will say is El Said is expected to win. He's ahead right now. And this is a sign of where the Democrat Party is. They are 100% bat crap crazy.
A
Yeah. And that's putting it G rated for our audience. I agree with you on that one.
B
You know, crap is a nice, it's like a word you can use with third graders. Crap is sort of soft. It's like it's not poo poo but it's in the neighborhood.
A
It's verdict friendly. That's how I would describe the word.
B
Hey, hey. We have a lot of kids, a lot of teenagers. A lot of the truth of the matter is I have two teenagers and so they've heard all the words. Yes, but even so, have your kids heard all the words? So how old are your kids now?
A
Ben Bradley turned 10 yesterday. It was the big, big double digit birthday and the twins are seven. He has definitely heard a lot more of the words. Like we, we, we've had to deal with the F bomb in the last six months. That was like a big from him.
B
Did he say it?
A
No, no, no, he didn't say it but he heard it and he knew it was a bad word and it was like One of those, like, how do we navigate this one kind of moment? You know what I mean?
B
I do remember, bizarrely enough, in fifth grade hearing that. And this was not true, but hearing that a boy named Rod effed. And that was the word they used. A girl named Marie. And by the way, fifth graders were not doing that. But I literally came home crying. Like, I actually remember this in fifth grade. I was like. I didn't even fully understand what it meant, but it upset me.
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. No, we had to deal with the full. It was like the full breakdown. Why would someone say this? It was bad. It was one of those.
B
Someone said it to him, or. What was the context he heard it?
A
It's from. There was a group of kids that were a little older. They were on the golf course, and
B
it was €1 old. Is what grade?
A
Second going into third. Okay, so. And look, you know, he went to the same school you went to, so, like, that's not a word you're hearing
B
at school, which would be Second Baptist High School.
A
Yeah.
B
A Christian school. But it turns out people say and do bad things at Christian schools just like every other place on earth. Yeah. Okay, so. So he's in second grade, and he. And he hears the F bomb, and.
A
And he comes to me. He's like, hey, Dad, I heard a word. I think it's really, really bad. How bad is it? And I was like, well, what was the word you heard? He said, please don't tell Mom. And I said, I. Okay.
C
Like.
B
Like, Ben, let me say, as a fellow dad, let me just give props to you that your son is coming to you, telling you that that's actually really cool.
D
Yeah.
B
Look, look, every kid's gonna experience this. You can't put them in a cocoon. You can't isolate them. But I'm glad he, like, comes and raises it with you. That. That's well done on the dead front.
A
Yeah. Thank you. It was one of those moments. And he was like, don't tell Mom. I was like, well, why? And he goes, because then she'll never let me play golf with them again. And I was like, you're a smart kid. Like, you're a smart. Like, he understood the dynamic of the whole thing. It was. Yeah, I told him. I was like, you don't say it as. I told. I did the. I did the. We don't say it for multiple reasons, but you don't want to be looked as an uneducated idiot like they are. That's how I.
B
But by the way, I will say with teenagers also, like, like, if you listen to like sort of rap songs and modern music where they drop curse words and F bombs and it's, you know, you're trying to. Like, our girls are 15 and 18. So you're trying to. They've heard the words. They unfortunately sometimes use them. We try to get them not to. But like, they'll play music and they're just dropping F bomb after F bomb. And I'm like, I really don't like this. Like, like, could you like, speak like a civilized human being? And they're like, dad, we don't even listen to the lyrics. We don't know what they are. And I'm like, yeah, I know what they are. I'm listening. That's what they're saying. And so getting back to politics and substance, because people are like, okay, we're hearing like the therapy reports of two dads dealing with their kids. There's also a therapy report, like, what the heck is happening with the Democrat Party? Yeah, like this guy El said, all right, a liberal Democrat. There are lots of those. You know, you have someone wants higher taxes. Okay, I don't like that. You know, you have someone who has all sorts of stupid views, open borders, even that. That's terrible. It's bad for America. It's bad for the world. But all the Democrats support that.
A
Yeah, yeah. Medicaid for all you can go through that. Yeah.
B
It's like, yeah, look, this is a communist takeover of the Democrat Party. And I don't use that phrase as exaggeration. It's not hyperbole. I want to break down what it is because I think it is really, really dangerous for America.
A
Yeah, it really is. And by the way, we talk about this a lot. The stakes could not be higher than they are right now. And we finally have a president and administration fighting hard for America first. But if conservatives like you and I lose focus now, the same people who created this mess, they're ready and they're waiting to resume their destructive progressive agendas. Now, protecting this momentum takes more than just votes. It takes every American like you and I staying in the fight for our rights and our freedoms. And that's why more and more people I know are switching to Patriot Mobile. They are America's only Christian conservative wireless provider. Now, Patriot Mobile offers you premium priority nationwide service on all three major U.S. networks. You get unlimited data plans, mobile hotspots, international roaming. And this is what I Love, a 100% US based customer support team. And you can switch now faster than ever before. It literally takes minutes while you keep your same phone and your same phone number. And then this is the best part. Patriot Mobile puts your money towards causes defending faith, family and freedom at no extra cost to you. They literally contribute millions of dollars each year to organizations on the front lines fighting for our God given rights. And that's why I want you to make the switch. Because Patriot Mobile isn't just about saving America. They literally put their business behind the fight every day. And that's why I want you to call them. In fact, I'm going to give you a free month of service. Go to patriotmobile.com verdict or 972 Patriot use the promo code Verdict for a free month of service. That's patriotmobile.com verdict or 972 Patriot to make that switch today. All right, so let's, let's go back to this race in Michigan. I think the big takeaway for me, Senator, is this. The Democratic Party, we've been saying it, it's dead. The communists, the Marxists, the socialists yet again have proven they have taken over. This is not San Francisco, this is not Manhattan. This is a swing state that Donald Trump has. And you had a very big debate there between a establishment elected Democrat who is not exactly like a moderate Democrat, more liberal Democrat against a full blown socialist, by the way, an individual that's in a huge anti Semite. There were countless warning signs and the voters there said, yeah, we like this, this is now nationwide a problem.
B
So look, I don't want to overstate it. I don't know that the Democrat Party is dead, but I do think it is at risk of dying.
A
Okay.
B
I think we are seeing a communist takeover of the Democrat Party. We saw it with Comrade Mandami who is an outright Marxist. He's not a socialist. Don't use the language of Democrat socialist. He is a Marxist. He believes in seizing the means of production and having government take over. He is an outright communist.
A
Private property, by the way, he's been on the record talking about that recently.
B
Abolishing private property. Yes, yes.
A
Being able to seize it and taking things away from the rich.
B
And Mandami. And by the way, when he says the rich, he means everyone. Like the rich never means the rich. He means the middle class because that's where all the money is. And so that's who they go after. But look, Mondami has endorsed a series of other communists. We had three primaries in New York and all the communists won and beat longtime incumbent Democrats. We had another communist win in Colorado. We have this communist in Michigan who is right now winning. We don't know the exact result. We have another communist who is likely to be the Democrat nominee for governor in Wisconsin. About as purple a state as you can find. And the pattern across the board is they are resurgent. That's where the money is, that's where the energy is in the party. That's where the young people are. The young people are overwhelmingly embracing socialism, Marxism, communism, and the rest of the Democrats. Look, I serve with 47 Democrats in the Senate. Most of them would say I'm not a communist. And they're not fully there, but they are terrified. Every single Democrat in the Senate, and I assume that's true in the House as well, is utterly afraid that they're gonna be primaried by some communist in their primary. And they've seen other Democrats lose in their primaries. And the one huge exception is John Fetterman. John Fetterman. And it's like Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles and the dog that did not bark. The fact that Fetterman is the one example makes the silence of every other Democrat so screamingly loud. They are the dogs that are not barking. Other than Fetterman, I do not know another Democrat who is saying this will not stand. We are not a communist party. And look, what does the DSA stand for? Listen to them. Listen to their own platform. Listen to what they say. They want to rip the Constitution to threads. They want to abolish the United States Senate. I don't know why El Sayed is running for the Senate. Because he wants to abolish the institution he's running for. They want to make the President subservient to the House of Representatives. They want to make the Supreme Court subservient to the House of Representatives. What does that mean? It means the House becomes like the Politburo. It becomes the instrument of government power. What does it mean when you make the Supreme Court subservient to the House? It means you no longer have a judiciary that enforces rights, that enforces the Bill of Rights. It means you don't have a free speech right. You don't have a religious liberty right. You don't have a second amendment right. It means that the Politburo, which they call the House, has total power to take away your rights. And there is no check and balance. Because whatever they the government want to do, that's what they do. And this is what is taking over the Democrat Party. And I gotta say, it is a terrible, terrible development. For America. On August 25th, my brand new book comes out, Going Further, the Incomparable Clarence Thomas. It tells the story of Justice Thomas, one of the true American heroes. An incredible story. It's based on nine and a half hours of one on one exclusive interviews with Justice Thomas. Justice Thomas also joins us for Verdict with Ted Cruz, a one on one podcast to tell his story, both his life story and his incomparable jurisprudence. You can pre order it right now at the website going further.com going further.com click on the link now and pre order the book today.
A
You look at these results and let's just move into Mandami and what is happening right now in New York. If they, if they gain power and they get in positions of power, you now have a playbook of what they're going to do with that power. Look at what Mandani has done. And now we have another example of this. Even with his, with his communist grocery stores. What's even so funny about these grocery stores is he was asked a question about these grocery store center and I'm sure you saw this. It's gone viral where they're like, hey, how do you gonna police people coming in from maybe outside of New York City to go these grocery stores to buy these groceries at a reduced rate.
B
IDs.
A
Yeah, IDs. Yeah, we'll just, we'll just make sure they hold up their ID and they show us that they actually live in New York City. So you can vote in the election without showing an id, but you can't get your communist groceries without an id. Got it?
B
That is Democrat logic. If you want to vote, you don't need an id. In fact, we're going to stop anyone from asking for an idiot. If you want to buy government lettuce, show me a damn id, you thief.
A
Yeah. Yeah. How is that not, by the way, racist? Because they said showing an ID was a form of racism and yet to show an ID to buy milk or eggs, that's not racist? I'm confused on their definition of racism now.
B
And by the way, I want to read a thread from a guy named Nick Konos who is in the grocery business. And it was actually a very interesting thread that I read on Twitter. He said, I downloaded and reviewed NYC's grocery store RFP as someone who's built businesses and bought a lot of food. Wow. Forget for a moment whether the government should own a grocery store. Let's review the doc instead. Let's. Here we go.
A
And by the way, for people that don't know RFP is a request for proposal. New York has put out to the public these requests for proposals for people that would want to run these communist grocery stores for them.
B
So NYC strongly prefers bidders who commit to all five stores. They're going to be five government run grocery stores, but three of the five sites haven't been identified. Bidders are supposed to price unknown stores in unknown neighborhoods by assuming they're quote about 15,000 square feet. So you don't know where it is, you don't know what's going on, but you want to price it. Bidders get preference for operating all five stores, presumably because scale lowers cost. But New York City awards each store separately, so in all five bidder may win only one. They want scale pricing. While refusing to award scale. The scores must use a limited SKU model. They must also carry full grocery departments, household goods, culturally specific products, plus kosher, halal, vegan gluten free, dairy free and diabetic options.
A
Makes sense.
B
The RFP says stores won't have deli counters or on site food prep. Then its core basket includes chicken salad, egg salad, potato salad, fruit salad and other deli prepared foods. So a deli without a deli?
D
Yeah.
B
Oh, and you're going to ship them in every day prepared. Gotcha. NYC chooses and pays for the design, equipment, refrigeration and fit out. The operator pays utilities, maintenance, cleaning and security. So NYC makes the capital decisions while somebody else pays for the consequences. That's how they control the goalposts. The best quote unquote bid promises 30% discounts, best in class wages and benefits, local sourcing, sustainability, community programs and full time jobs. Then 20% of the score goes to whoever claims they need the least subsidy. Low balling is the strategy. And then cost overruns are guaranteed. Core basket discounts must be universal, quote sticker prices, not promotions. Then the operator must create a membership card to quote, implement a discount program. Which is it? Universal shelf price or an ID card system by the way, also says it's available to all people and it doesn't even properly target their goals because the subsidy isn't targeted. No means test. Anyone can shop there. So taxpayers will subsidize groceries for affluent shoppers who happen to live nearby while needy families elsewhere get zero. I always thought this was a terrible idea. They could much better help people with money. And hey, there are already programs that they could expand. But after reading now I know it's a ridiculous idea. We have an efficient system, just change the outcomes. So naturally one asks why would they want to build crappy grocery stores. There's that ten penny word again.
A
Yep.
B
That have conflicting goals and will be mismanaged because either that's their goal or else they have no idea how actually to craft an RFP or run a business. Perhaps my favorite page that I'd not included my original thread is just Chef's Kiss. Amazing. How could you possibly estimate such a thing and such a level of detail requested. You might want additional spreadsheets. And then there's a spreadsheet that estimates the sales cost, core basket items, the sale cost, non core basket items, the cost of goods sold, the cost of personnel, the cost of other operational cost. Programmatic, like it is. These are idiots who've never run a business, who don't know how to run a business, who are like, let's give away a bunch of free crap. Yes. Order people to give away free crap. Let's not actually think about how they get the stuff to give away. And isn't this awesome? We're communists.
A
Yeah.
B
There is a reason. Do you remember the moment the Soviet Union fell?
A
I remember vividly being at my grandfather's house watching the Berlin Wall come down. And I remember my grandfather getting a piece of that Berlin Wall. That was like my most vivid memory as a kid of like watching everything kind of fall into place. That if, if you said, what was that moment? That would be the moment for me.
B
So I will tell you. There was a moment at the time when the Soviet Union was collapsing, you were not a Texan. You were up in Memphis. You were not living in Texas.
A
Yep.
B
You may Remember in the 1990s, Boris Yeltsin visited Texas. He visited Houston, Texas.
A
Oh. And I've watched those videos of him going to grocery stores.
B
And he went to a Randall's grocery store and he walked down the aisles and he saw like dozens and hundreds of choices. Frozen food and vegetables and everything. And he looked at amazement because the Soviet grocery store, you had one type of bread, you had one type of soup, one type of meat. Like whatever you had, you had no choices. And he looked at that and there was a moment when he realized communism can never compete with free enterprise.
A
Yep.
B
Mandami is literally saying, give us the Soviet model.
A
Yeah.
B
And we think it'll work.
A
And here's my other question over under on getting a legitimate company, not like political propaganda bs, but a legitimate company to actually try to run these grocery stores. Do you think that they're going to get these requests for proposals that aren't, you know, already the debt, you know, playing the the game where it's a genuine grocer's like, yep, I can do this and I want to do this business model. I think I can make money. I don't think anybody would do it.
B
I don't know how you do business on that. These grocery stores are going to go broke. They're going to have shortages. They are requiring IDs, which is the most laughable. The Democrat part is fully vested in saying IDs are horrible, racist, evil things. And they're requiring IDs to shop at the grocery stores. And this is going to be. And by the way, if they succeeded, they would drive out of business the bodegas. If you're a like small Hispanic business owner, the Democrats want to bankrupt you. And look, I want you to listen, listen for example, to Van Jones, who is a very left wing commentator. Listen to him talking about the Communist Party, the Democrat Party. Give a listen.
A
Yeah. Now before we get to that, I do want to talk to you real quick about how you can get involved and pray for the people that are in desperate need right now in Israel. The headlines they may change. The threats facing Israel, they remain. And while much of the world has moved on from that story of Israel being under attack to the next one, Israeli families, they continue living with the reality of terrorism, uncertainty and recovery. Now communities they remain on alert. Parents still think twice before sending their children back to school. And families continue rebuilding their lives, knowing the next siren could come without warning. As Christians, we're called to stand with God's children in times of need, just like it is right now. And that's why the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews remains on the ground in the Holy Land each and every day. And they're providing life saving aid, food for struggling families, emergency assistance, even bomb shelters and critical support for those impacted by this war. Even after the cameras leave and the headlines fade, the fellowship remains committed to Israel's most vulnerable. And that's why I'm asking you to join the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews in simply praying for the people of Israel, for their protection, for their strength and for lasting peace to because together we can remind God's people that they are not alone. If you want to know what to pray for, you can go right now and stand with Israel in prayer by visiting prayifcj.org that's pray ifcj.org okay, Van Jones, what are the stakes here for Democrats?
D
Look, this is, this is the whole ball of wax. I'm from Jackson, Tennessee. There was a guy named Gil Scott Heron who had a great poem. It was called the Revolution Will Not Be Televised. Gil Scott Heron is wrong. The revolution is being televised and podcast and streamed and elected tonight. Why is that? It's because there is a credibility gap that's opened up between the Democratic Party establishment and this insurgency. People are looking at people and they're saying, you've been telling us the same thing for a long time and our lives are not even better. We got Donald Trump twice. There's also an innovation gap. Why can you spend $60 million and get whooped like this? Because the old model was you get the donors to get the consultants to buy a bunch of ads and you win. That's how you get attention. This movement says, I don't need donors, ads, I don't need consultants. I'm going right to the people with TikTok and grassroots. And they've disintermediated the entire donor class, disintermediated the entire consulting class. And this is a revolution. And so this is going to happen again and again. The Democratic Party is now blockbuster. These kids are Netflix. We are selling CDs out the trunk. This is Napster becoming Spotify. And it's happening tonight.
A
By the way, I'm trying to figure out exactly what Van Jones is saying there. Is he terrified or is he just saying, I guess I got to get on board with this center? Like, which one is it? That was a weird way of putting it because it's like, is he saying this a mistake or is he saying, well, this is the reality, so we better just get on board with it? What is it? I'm not sure.
B
Yeah, I think it's more the former. I think Van is my read on that is that he's being courageous and saying this is a dangerous thing that is happening. But he's also saying, what I said at the beginning of this podcast, this is the energy, this is the heart. This is where the Democrat Party is and it's driving it forward. All right, here I want you to listen to Francesca Hong. Francesca Hong is likely to be the Democrat nominee, be governor of Wisconsin. Wisconsin is a purple state. Donald Trump carried Wisconsin in 2024. Wisconsin is elected. It has a Republican senator. Ron Johnson has elected numerous Republican governors. Francesca Hong is a full on communist. But I want to listen. I want you to listen to her on CNN explaining why she hates Thanksgiving and wants to cancel Thanksgiving. Here, give a listen.
C
One thing that they brought up as well was a post from you in 2021 where you said Americans should cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621. The post has been deleted. Republicans have been highlighting it. Do you still believe that Thanksgiving should be canceled?
E
I'm a chef, and one of the first meals that I made that was for the community when I was 16 was a Thanksgiving meal. Now, I always think my hospitality background in owning a restaurant for seven, eight years, that bringing folks around the table to share conversation and build community is always a good thing. But Thanksgiving is also a time that's incredibly painful for many people in our communities. And so I think there, I wanted to make sure that people understood that there are multiple views, but views can evolve. And the position that I'm running for right now, and I think my background as a chef will actually help me become a better governor that's able to bring more people to the table.
A
That. That is one heck of a sales pitch right there, Senator.
B
So that was Kaitlan Collins on cnn. She asked the question, and if you're not watching this on YouTube or on video, you need to watch Caitlin Collins eyes, because she's listening to her. She asked the question, hey, you're running for governor of Wisconsin. Do you still want to cancel Thanksgiving? And it's clear Kaitlan Collins wants her to say, no. I love Thanksgiving. Like, America's great. No, we don't want to cancel Thanksgiving.
A
Yeah.
B
And Francesca Hong is like, no, no, no. There's many people who are horrified by Thanksgiving, and they hate America, and those are my people. So I'm not going to say that. I'm a chef. You know, I once made a Thanksgiving meal like. Like. Like, it's the most. I gotta say, that clip. If Saturday Night Live was willing to make fun of leftists.
A
Yeah. That would be the one.
B
Perfectly scripted. It's perfectly cast. Do you want to cancel and understand? So these communists, they hate capitalism. They hate property rights, they hate the Constitution, they hate free speech, they hate religious liberty, they hate the Second Amendment. They hate America. That gives me no joy to say that.
A
Yeah.
B
They think America is an evil, repressive, racist, oppressive place, and they want to destroy it.
A
Yep.
B
And so look, that communist hates Thanksgiving. You know what she also hates? And I don't even need to ask. She hates the Fourth of July. She hates Christmas.
A
She.
B
She hates Easter. Oh, God knows she hates Easter. I think there are two holidays she likes Juneteenth and Kwanzaa.
E
Yeah.
B
And. And even.
C
No, no, no.
B
Okay, hold on. I'm sorry. I made a major mistake. Mayday. Mayday. The.
D
The.
A
The.
B
The. The time to celebrate communist takeovers and. And oppression that she Supports, but everything about America. By the way, if you are a Christian, she hates you. If you're a Jew, she hates you. If you are in business, she hates you. If you love America, she hates you. And the same is true with El Sayed. The same is true with Mandami, these communists. And this is something I've said in a number of TV interviews. Look, there are Republicans who are right now beating their chest and say, this is great. The Democrat Party is going cray cray. So we're going to win in November because they're so extreme. We're going to win. I am not celebrating this. Look, history shows there's a pendulum to politics. Yes, unfortunately, the Democrats will win again. I wish they wouldn't. I don't want them to. But there is going to be another Democrat president.
A
Yeah.
B
And I would like both national parties to be normal people who are not frigging insane.
A
Yes.
B
Like when there's the next Democrat president. And I hope, I would be thrilled if that doesn't happen in our lifetime. But it will. I would like the next Democrat president not to be a communist who hates America. And what is happening to the Democrat Party? Is there other than John Fetterman, is there one Democrat willing to say, no, we will not let our party be taken over. And by the way, in the Republican Party, I'm standing up and saying to the anti Semites that are trying to take over our party, no, we will not be a Jew hating, Israel hating, anti capitalist, anti American party. Get the hell out of our party. If that's who you are, you're not welcome. I'm doing that in our party. Other than John Fetterman, is there one Democrat doing that in their party?
C
Yeah.
A
They're all terrified. We're going to keep exposing. We're going to keep watching them. Don't forget, we do the show Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Hit that subscribe or auto download button and the Senate. I will see you back here on Friday morning.
D
Queen Carvania stood haloed by the morning sun.
B
An army hung on her every word.
F
My champions, I have sold my chariot on Carvana. Twas a lovely suv. An inexplicably queenly offer. They're even coming to the castle to collect it. Tonight we feast. An offer you can feast on. Sell your car today on Carvana. Pick up fees may apply.
Podcast: The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
Host: Ben Ferguson (with Senator Ted Cruz)
Date: August 5, 2026
In this late-night, post-election special, Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz analyze the ongoing shifts within the Democratic Party, specifically what they describe as a "communist takeover." Drawing from the results of the Michigan Senate primary and related races across the country, the hosts argue that the Democratic Party is increasingly controlled by far-left, socialist, and Marxist elements. The episode blends humor, anecdotes about parenting, and pointed political commentary, also featuring reaction clips from public figures such as Van Jones and Francesca Hong.
Ted Cruz on the Democrat Party’s direction:
“This is a communist takeover of the Democrat Party. And I don't use that phrase as exaggeration. It's not hyperbole.” [06:02]
On Democratic Socialists’ policies:
“They want to rip the Constitution to threads. They want to abolish the United States Senate...” [11:00]
On party dynamics:
“Every single Democrat in the Senate... is utterly afraid that they're gonna be primaried by some communist.” [10:04]
Van Jones on the party shift:
“The revolution is being televised and podcast and streamed and elected tonight... The Democratic Party is now blockbuster. These kids are Netflix.” [24:32]
Cruz, on the far left’s disdain for American holidays:
“That communist hates Thanksgiving. You know what she also hates? ... She hates the Fourth of July. She hates Christmas... Oh, God knows she hates Easter.” [29:01]
| Time | Topic/Quote | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:20 | Michigan Senate primary results and anxiety over the Democratic Party's future | | 06:02 | Cruz's explanation: “This is a communist takeover of the Democrat Party…” | | 08:59 | Introduction of Comrade Mandami and rise of openly Marxist candidates | | 10:04 | Democrat politicians' fear of being ousted by far-left challengers | | 11:00 | DSA platform: abolishing Senate, control of judiciary, and consolidation of power | | 13:54 | Critique of NYC’s government grocery store plan—ID logic | | 20:03 | Historical parallel: Yeltsin visits Houston grocery stores | | 24:32 | Van Jones on generational and communications revolution within the party | | 26:45 | Francesca Hong’s Thanksgiving comments | | 28:40 | Cruz on the far left’s condemnation of American values | | 30:25 | Cruz’s warning about pendulums in politics and the need for sane leadership in both parties |
The episode is charged, at times playful, but ultimately warning in tone. Cruz and Ferguson frame the Democratic primary victories by leftist candidates as both a threat to America’s foundations and a wake-up call for both parties. They argue that traditional Democratic leadership is being pushed out, mainstream values are under assault, and that Republicans should be vigilant rather than celebratory. Emotional anecdotes and mockery of leftist ideas are intermixed with updates from the day’s political events.
For listeners: This episode will strongly appeal to conservative audiences concerned with the direction of the Democratic Party and seeking talking points on current trends within the left. The hosts’ blend of personal stories, news breakdowns, and cultural criticism makes this a robust snapshot of the post-primary political landscape, Republican anxieties, and ongoing ideological battles in 2026.