Big Stanford WIN for Free Speech, plus guest Dave McCormick on How We Beat China

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
Episode: Big Stanford WIN for Free Speech, plus guest Dave McCormick on How We Beat China
Release Date: March 24, 2023

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1. Celebrating a Victory for Free Speech at Stanford Law School

The episode kicks off with host Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz celebrating a significant triumph in the realm of free speech. They discuss an incident at Stanford Law School where Federal Judge Kyle Duncan was subjected to aggressive protests by left-wing activists during his speech, disrupting his ability to speak effectively.

Key Points:

• Incident Overview: Judge Kyle Duncan was invited by the Federalist Society to speak at Stanford Law School. Left-wing activists protested violently, attempting to silence him through shouting, cursing, and making sexually profane attacks.

• University Response: Ferguson and Cruz express disappointment in Stanford's initial handling of the situation, particularly highlighting the dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Jenny Martinez, who sided with the protesters instead of upholding Stanford’s free speech policies.

• Actions Taken:

  • Cruz sent a letter to the Texas State Bar urging inquiries into students' behavior during the protest, questioning their fitness to join the bar if they couldn't handle disagreements respectfully.
  • A letter was also sent to Stanford Law School questioning disciplinary actions against the offending students and the dean’s role in the incident.

Senator Ted Cruz's Commentary ([00:44]):
"Stanford Law School has taken a pivotal step by suspending Associate Dean Tyran Steinbach, their DEI dean, for stifling free speech... this gives some degree of hope that free speech is possible and that maybe, maybe, maybe the pendulum of the woke schools may be starting to swing back in the other direction."

Stanford's Response:
Stanford University confirmed the suspension of Dean Jenny Martinez and outlined measures to prevent future disruptions, including additional staff training, policy revisions, mandatory free speech sessions for law students, and forming a committee to gather feedback and make further recommendations.

Impact and Significance:
Ferguson and Cruz view this as a critical victory against the suppression of free speech on campus, emphasizing the importance of academic institutions upholding their free speech policies to foster open dialogue and debate.

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2. Guest Introduction: Dave McCormick and His New Book

Ben Ferguson introduces Dave McCormick, a seasoned political commentator and author, who joins the discussion to talk about his latest book, Superpower in Peril: A Battle Plan to Renew America. The timing of the book’s release is underscored as particularly relevant given the current geopolitical tensions with China.

Dave McCormick's Background:

• Military and Leadership: McCormick is a West Point graduate, Army Ranger, and combat veteran who has served in the Bush administration's Treasury Department, focusing on China.
• Business Acumen: He successfully led a major hedge fund in Pittsburgh, creating over 1,000 jobs.
• Political Aspirations: Recently ran for Senate in Pennsylvania, supported by Cruz, but narrowly lost in the primary by 915 votes out of 1.4 million cast.

Notable Quote ([09:45]):
"America doesn't have a plan. And this book, Superpower in Peril, is about our plan for retaining our place in the world and for restoring the American dream."

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3. Analyzing the China Threat

The core of the discussion revolves around the growing threat posed by China and the inadequacies of the current American strategy to counter it.

Key Insights:

• China's Technological Dominance:

  • A recent study highlighted that China leads in 37 out of 44 critical technologies essential for economic growth and national security.
  • China is strategically positioning itself to displace the U.S. as the global superpower through technological advancements and geopolitical maneuvers.

• Geopolitical Maneuvers:

  • China's role in brokering deals between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
  • Collaboration between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, particularly in supporting Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Dave McCormick's Perspective ([15:50]):
"China has a plan and we don't. America doesn't have a plan."

• Economic Vulnerabilities:
  • The U.S. is heavily dependent on China for critical supplies, such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
  • Example highlighted: 90% of the chips required by the U.S. are manufactured in Taiwan, creating a strategic vulnerability.

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4. Technological Vulnerabilities and National Security

McCormick delves into specific areas where the U.S. is vulnerable due to technological dependencies on China, emphasizing the need for strategic decoupling.

Semiconductors:

• Critical Role: Semiconductors are the backbone of modern technology, from everyday electronics to advanced weaponry.
• Dependency Risk: With 90% of U.S. chips produced in Taiwan, any conflict or control exerted by China over this region poses a severe threat to American industries and national security.

Data Security and Privacy:

• TikTok Example:
  • The app collects vast amounts of data from users, raising concerns about potential surveillance and data exploitation by the Chinese government.
  • McCormick urges for stringent privacy restraints to protect American data from being accessed and misused by foreign powers.

Dave McCormick's Analysis ([19:43]):
"If China successfully invades Taiwan and takes over, they could cut off the most sophisticated chips being produced... That vulnerability is massive."

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5. Strategic Recommendations to Counter China

McCormick outlines a comprehensive plan to address the challenges posed by China, focusing on both economic revitalization and strategic decoupling.

Economic Revitalization ("Going to the Gym at Home"):

• Increased Investment:

  • Boost investment in research and development to foster innovation.
  • Enhance technical education and training to fill critical job roles in advanced technologies.

• Incentivizing Private Sector:

  • Implement government incentives and tax rebates to encourage private investment in key technological areas without heavy-handed industrial policies.

Strategic Decoupling:

• Key Areas Identified:
  • Semiconductors: Develop domestic manufacturing capabilities to reduce dependency.
  • Pharmaceuticals: Ensure supply chain independence to safeguard national health security.

Defense and Military Strengthening:

• Dual Investment:

  • Maintain and upgrade existing military platforms.
  • Invest in next-generation technologies to stay ahead of Chinese advancements.

• Energy Independence:

  • Capitalize on domestic natural gas reserves in states like Pennsylvania to reduce energy dependency on foreign sources, enhancing both economic and national security.

Dave McCormick's Strategy ([32:22]):
"We need to have the government create incentives, tax rebates, and potentially side-by-side investing with the private sector to drive capital into those areas that are most critical for our national security."

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6. Addressing the China-Russia Alliance

The episode also touches upon the burgeoning alliance between China and Russia, highlighting the compounded threat it poses to the United States.

Implications of the Alliance:

• Resource and Technology Exchange:

  • Russia’s energy resources combined with China’s technological advancements create a formidable partnership that can challenge U.S. dominance.

• Geopolitical Maneuvering:

  • Coordinated efforts to undermine U.S. influence globally, as seen in their joint support for Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Dave McCormick's Insights ([35:48]):
"China is trying to create techno-authoritarian dominance... their objective is world dominance and displacing the United States using a techno-authoritarian capability."

Strategic Response:

• Balanced Defense Spending:

  • Invest in both maintaining current military capabilities and developing future technologies.

• Energy Policy Reform:

  • Shift towards leveraging domestic energy resources to fortify economic and military strength, thereby reducing vulnerabilities exploited by adversaries.

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7. Optimism for American Resilience

Senator Ted Cruz concludes the discussion by expressing confidence in America's ability to overcome the challenges posed by China, drawing parallels to the successful strategies employed during the Cold War.

Key Takeaways:

• Strength of Free Enterprise:

  • The American free enterprise system is highlighted as a robust economic model superior to communism.

• Need for Strong Leadership:

  • Emphasizes the importance of clear and strong leadership, akin to President Reagan’s approach during the Cold War, to effectively counter China’s ambitions.

Cruz's Closing Remarks ([37:31]):
"I believe America can and will prevail against China... We need to replicate the strategy of the Cold War for dealing with China."

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8. Final Thoughts and Book Promotion

The episode wraps up with final endorsements and promotions, encouraging listeners to engage with Dave McCormick’s book, Superpower in Peril: A Battle Plan to Renew America, available on Amazon and through his book tour.

Ben Ferguson's Invitation:
"Grab Dave's new book, Superpower in Peril. You can grab it on Amazon or wherever you get your books."

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Conclusion

This episode of The 47 Morning Update presents a compelling analysis of the current geopolitical landscape, highlighting the urgent need for the United States to strategize effectively against China's rising influence. Through the insights of Dave McCormick and the framing by Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz, listeners gain a deep understanding of the multifaceted challenges and the strategic responses necessary to preserve American supremacy and safeguard national security.

Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you and Senator, we've got a fun podcast for everybody. We're gonna have a guest tonight, and that is going to be Dave McCormick. He has got a new book out, Superpower in Peril, A Battle Plan to Renew America. He's going to join us in a moment to talk about this. And the timeliness of this book is spot on, dealing with China right now. But before we get to that, we've got a victory to celebrate. You got a letter about a previous podcast that we did exposing a federal judge that was shut down at one of the Ivy League schools. I'll let you take it from there on this victory lap.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, sure. No, this is yet another victory. It's been a good week. We keep having big, big wins. This of this, of course, concerns Stanford Law School and something we've talked about at length on the podcast, which is Judge Kyle Duncan went out to Stanford Law School. He was speaking there, was invited by the Federalist Society, and a group of left wing activists showed up there. They protested there, they screamed at him, they cursed at him, they made sexually profane attacks at him. They shouted him down. They prevented him from giving his speech. It was outrageous. It then became even worse because he asked quite reasonably, is there anyone from the administration here? And the dean for DEI for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion stepped forward. And he for a moment thought, oh, good, there's an adult in the room who will actually stop them from shouting me down. Well, no. It turned out the dean had a prepared screed, six minutes that she read from where she sided with the protesters. She denounced the judge. She said how painful his very existence was. She kept saying her odd phrase was, is the juice worse? The squeeze? In other words, is it worth it to let you speak because our sensitive natures will be troubled. It was outrageous. We talked about it at length. In response, I did several things. One of the things I did is I sent a letter to the Texas State Bar urging the Texas State Bar to inquire of every graduate of Stanford for the next three years whether they participated in screaming and harassing and shouting down and cursing at the federal judge. Because to be a member of the bar, the bar has to make a determination that you have the character and fitness to do so. And if you don't know how to deal with a federal judge without screaming and cursing at him, you are not, in my view, fit to be a member of the bar. A second letter I sent was to Stanford Law School. And Stanford Law School has A free speech policy. The policy on the face of it is quite good. It says that you have a right to free speech, that speakers that come to Stanford have a right to be heard, that the people who want to hear the speakers have a right to hear what they have to say and that students don't have a right to shout them down. And I asked Stanford, I said, number one, what are you going to do concerning the specific students who violated this policy? Is there going to be any discipline? And number two, what are you going to do with this dean who defied Stanford's policy and sided with the aggressive protesters rather than the right of the speaker, the federal judge, to give his remarks? Well, we got a response back from Stanford law school on March 22nd. March 22nd happens to be my dad's 84th birthday. And so I thought it was a great birthday present because much to my astonishment, I'm actually going to say something nice about Stanford Law School. It is a letter from the president of Stanford University and a letter from the dean of Stanford Law School, woman named Jenny Martinez, who actually I went to law school with. I know Jenny, she was a year behind me, I think in law school. She's now the dean of the Stanford Law School. And their letter broke the news, number one, that the Dean has been suspended and this is a big deal. I asked specifically about the dean and I'm going to quote from the letter. The response is Associate Dean Tyran Steinbach is currently on leave. Generally speaking, the university does not comment publicly on pending personnel matters. That's a big deal for a so called elite law school like Stanford Law School to take their high priestess of diversity and put her on leave for stifling free speech. Now mind you, she completely defied the university policy. But in today's left wing woke culture it is remarkable. And I'm going to say Stanford is to be commended for holding its deans to the standard of following school policy. And then secondly with regard to the students, what Stanford said in response is they said they're not going to discipline the individual students. I was disappointed at that. But their reasoning is they said because we had an administrator there, a dean who refused to follow our own policy, so we're not going to hold the students responsible. I don't entirely agree with that, but it wasn't a crazy thing they said. But here's what also they said. In summary, the university is taking the following steps to address these issues in the near term. 1. Staff will receive additional training on the role of any administrators present at events to ensure that university rules on disruption of events will be followed. Two, we will also adopt a more explicit policy with clear protocols for dealing with disruptions that will better protect the rights of speakers and also those who wish to exercise their right to protest within permissible bounds. This will bring greater clarity and certainty about future enforcement of the policy, including through disciplinary sanctions as appropriate. Three, currently enrolled law students will attend a mandatory half day session on the topic of freedom of speech and the norms of the legal profession. These sessions will include speakers representing a range of viewpoints and four, a committee will work during the spring quarter. He'd hear feedback from the faculty, students and members of the bar, including our alumni, and make further recommendations on the steps that the law school should take. This is a big deal. It's a big victory. The fact that these woke angry leftists are going to be required from the school to learn about free speech. To learn. Look, if you're training to be a member of the bar and you want to appear before a federal judge, you may disagree with a federal judge, you may hate the federal judge, you may think the federal judge's rulings are wrong in every respect. But if you stand up and start yelling and screaming and cursing at the federal judge, you better have brought a toothbrush because you are going to jail and you're going to be held in contempt of court. And I'm going to commend Stanford. What happened there was disgraceful, but their response candidly surprised me and it gives some degree of hope that free speech is possible and that maybe, maybe, maybe the pendulum of the woke schools may be starting to swing back the other.

[Ben Ferguson]

Direction, especially since we've seen so many different speeches be stifled or canceled at universities over the last couple of years, especially conservative speakers. Let's just be clear about that. This is, this is a good moment for spree free speech as you described it. And it's a moment that we should all celebrate. I want to get into this other issue. You have a good friend with you tonight who's got a new book that is, that is out right now. You should get your hands on this book, especially with what we're dealing with with China right now. Dave McCormick's new book is out, Superpower in Peril, A Battle Plan to Renew America. Now, before we get to that, I got to tell you about our friends, Augusta Precious Metals. You know what's been going on with the economy, you know what's been happening with your 401k, your retirement accounts, especially if you're at retirement age or close to retirement age, you've probably been stressed out. That's where gold can come in and help diversify your portfolio. You know, if you are close to retirement, are in retirement, there is no time to make up losses. When you see what's happening, call my friends at Augusta Precious Metals. Now there's two things you're going to get. First, you're going to get their free guide. And the second thing is you're going to get to do a web conference with one of their team members for free. I've done both these and now I am an actual customer of a guest of Precious Metals. They will sit down with you, talk about your goals and your dreams and how to protect your hard earned assets. So if you've saved $100,000 or more, take a look at the free guide, sign up for their web conference for free and call them right now. 8774 Gold Ira the number 4 Gold Ira. 877 number 4 Gold Ira. Or visit Augusta Precious Metals with an S.com say that Ben sent you and they'll pay your fees for up to 10 years. That's Augusta precious metals.com use my name, Ben. Again, those fees will be paid for up to 10 years. All right, Senator, this is a very important moment, I think, in our country's history, specifically when it comes to China. We're seeing this unnatural alliance that is taking place right now. China, Russia getting together. Dave McCormick is with you tonight as well. He's got this new book out. The timing couldn't have been better. Dave, welcome to Verdict. First of all, and you've got to be excited to see not only your book come out but also the timing of it with what's happening right now with China.

[Dave McCormick]

Hey Ben, thanks so much for having me. And Senator, thanks for having me on today. Yeah, the timing couldn't be perfect. Couldn't be more perfect. Rather the that we're at a tipping point here. America's in decline and we see that decline within in terms of our economic situation, our national security capability and spiritually what's going on in the country in terms of progressive ideology chipping away at American strength and some fundamentals of America. But at the very same time we see this huge existential challenge from China and, and it's getting worse by the day. In the last couple of weeks, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal that cited the a study by an Australian think tank that identified 44 technologies that are critical for economic growth and national security. The Chinese were in the lead in 37 of the 44, according to this Australian think tank. And more than the technological capability, China is pursuing a strategy to displace America as the superpower. And that's what this book is about, Superpower and Peril is that our status in the world, our leadership at home and our status in the world is in question. And you only have to look at the news this week, where in the very same week you saw the Chinese brokering a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran. And you saw China, Chinese leader Xi in Russia in partnership with Putin in support of Putin's aggression in Ukraine. And if that doesn't give you evidence that China's on the move, then nothing will. And in essence, what I say in the book is China has a plan and we don't. America doesn't have a plan. And this book, Superpower and Peril, is about our plan for retaining our place in the world and for restoring the American dream.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, and Ben, let me jump in here for a second because I want to tell our listeners a little bit about who Dave is. Dave is a good friend of mine. I've known Dave McCormick a long, long time. Dave is someone who grew up in Pennsylvania. Grew up? Actually, his parents had a Christmas tree farm. He grew up in rural Pennsylvania. He was a jock. He was all state in wrestling. He was all state in football. He ended up going to West Point. At West Point, he was captain of the wrestling team. He became an Army Ranger. He was a combat veteran. He defended our nation. He came back to Pennsylvania. He became incredibly successful, was a CEO of a very large company in Pittsburgh, created over 1000 jobs in Pittsburgh. He went to serve in the administration. He was a senior official in the Bush administration, the Treasury Department, dealing with China, taking on China directly. He became the CEO of one of the largest hedge funds in the world, was incredibly successful as a financial leader. When Donald Trump was president. Donald Trump wanted Dave to come in as the deputy secretary of defense. He ended up not doing that, but Trump very much wanted him to do that. His wife, who's another dear friend, Dina Powell, was Donald Trump's deputy national security adviser. And she's someone Heidi and I have known for 24 years. Now, Dave, as you'll recall, just ran for Senate in the state of Pennsylvania, and he put on a heck of a campaign. I endorsed Dave the very first week he was in the campaign. I campaigned all over the state of Pennsylvania with him. We did rallies all over the state. Unfortunately, in that race, Donald Trump ended up endorsing Dr. Oz. I wish he had not I think that was a mistake. At the end of the day, Dave lost the primary. I think it was 900. How many votes?

[Dave McCormick]

915 votes of 1.4 million cast.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So he lost.

[Ben Ferguson]

I'm sure that's a number you'll forget, right?

[Dave McCormick]

That's etched in my brain, Ben.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So I have to admit, for me, the number is 900 ish. For Dave, 915 is acutely carved into his consciousness.

[Dave McCormick]

Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

As long as you had under that and the number of friends in your phone, then it's not your fault. Okay, just one. But if it's above that in your phone, it's totally your fault.

[Dave McCormick]

Exactly.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

But I will say the consequences are very real. I am absolutely certain had Dave gotten 916 votes more in the primary, had he been the nominee, he would have won the general election. He would have been the new Republican senator from the state of Pennsylvania. And the consequence of that, Instead of a 5149 Democrat Senate, we would have 50, 50 Senate. What that would mean is Democrats on every committee would have equal representation. Right now, they have a majority on every committee. It means Democrats can issue subpoenas. It means they have control to accelerate their agenda through the Senate. And it was heartbreaking. I will also say, and I'm not going to press Dave to make an announcement, but I'm going to be quite candid. I hope that he's running again in 2024. I think he'll make a hell of a senator, and I was proud to stand with him. But this book he wrote is a book he'd actually been working on before he ran for Senate. And he suddenly found himself out on the campaign trail shaking hands and kissing babies. And he kind of put the book on hold. And then when the campaign was over, he went back to the book and finished it and turned it around. And I say all of that to say, when Dave writes A, about China, he does so from firsthand experience having dealt with China. But B, when he writes about the economy and America's economic situation, he does so as an incredibly successful business leader who has created jobs, who's worked at the highest levels of government. And so he's thinking seriously about how America wins this battle with China. I believe China is the single greatest geopolitical threat facing the United States for the next hundred years. And Dave's thinking seriously about how we win that battle.

[Ben Ferguson]

Dave, you had an interesting op ed that obviously connected to your book launch that was at Fox News, and it says China has a plan to lead the world. What's Ours. The scary part is that may be one of the most accurate op ed headlines I've seen a long time because I genuinely don't know what America's plan is to lead the world under the Biden team. You look at just how out of touch this, this White House is. They're having the cast of Ted Lasso come in on the day that China and Russia are having very serious meetings about how they're basically going to align with one another and in essence, take over the world.

[Dave McCormick]

Yeah, that split screen of those two things happening, those two press conferences at the same time said it all. And, and I think you're right. We have very weak leadership in, in Joe Biden. And so I wish I could say it only related to China, but I think it relates to our economy. I think it relates to the disaster in Afghanistan, which really showed weakness. The invitation to Putin into Ukraine with The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the, the shaky ham and eggs response to the Chinese satellite. All of these are signals to the world and signals to our adversaries that, that this is a moment to test and challenge America's weakness. And to really be on offense, we need to do two things at the same time. We need to go to the gym at home. Part of our problem is a deterioration in some basic fundamentals. We have an economy that is spending at an excessive rate. $31 trillion of debt, 40% increase in discretionary spending in the last two years under Joe Biden, record high inflation, a direct consequence of those prolonged low interest rates combined with the spending of Biden. And as a consequence, our economy is weak and we've got big problems ahead, unfortunately. And that's why 80% of Americans think the country's head in the wrong direction. But we also have weakness in our military with, with the wokeness that sort of hijacked our armed services, which is very sad for me as someone who served, went to West Point, served in the Army. But just as an example, the US army released a climate change strategy before it released a war fighting strategy under Joe Biden. And we have this. You know, what I can only say is this progressive ideology that's chipping away at some fundamentals that's made America exceptional. So the schools where they're teaching a history of American America, that's that we don't recognize that, that says America was conceived in sin. That makes our kids not recognize the exceptional contribution that America has done more in the history of the world than any other country for freedom and poverty eradication and so forth. And if your Kids don't think that the country's exceptional, then they don't understand what it takes to preserve it and fight for it. We see it in. We see it in business with ESG criteria sort of undermining basic principles of capitalism and the allocation of capital in pursuit of profit. That's made America's economy the envy of the world. So there's a lot we need to do at home to. To build back our strength. At the same time, we need to confront China abroad. And what I laid out in that article you refer to and in the book Superpower and Peril is a plan to confront China where we strategically decouple in things like semiconductors of pharmaceuticals. It was shocking to me, and I suspect many of your listeners, that our pharmaceutical supply chain during COVID we saw our pharmaceutical supply chain dependent on China, that 90% of the chips that we need to make America run sophisticated chips are manufactured 90 miles from mainland China. So we've got to decouple and those strategic areas.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So, Dave, repeat that because I want to make sure everyone listening to it hears that point. There are a lot of important things you're saying, but the point on chips in particular is really important. So repeat that. Steph?

[Dave McCormick]

Yeah, chips, microchips, really are the, you know, sort of the underlying technology that drives today's modern economy. Everything from the pickup truck that's in my driveway, which, by the way, you couldn't buy for a year because of the delays in chips, to our most sophisticated weaponry. And we don't have really any domestic chip microchip manufacturing capability over the years. With sleepwalking on the part of policymakers on both parties, frankly, we now have a situation where 90% of the chips that America requires are manufactured in Taiwan, which is 90 miles from mainland China. So if you thought about strategically, you know, suffocating America, if you took control of those chip fabricators in Taiwan, you'd be able to strangle the world and put a huge strategic delay on the capacity to deploy new weapons and all sorts of things. And that's a strategic vulnerability that's almost unthinkable, and yet we've let it happen.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, and I want you to pause for a second and reflect on what that means. You know, we talk a lot on verdict about foreign policy. We talk a lot about China and Russia and what's going on in the world. But one of the reasons why Taiwan is so critical, one of the reasons why, when I sit down in briefings with our secretary of Defense and our Joint Chiefs, the number one Scenario they're talking about inevitably is China invading Taiwan. Because the magnitude of the threat to America that there is very little if anything that is comparable. You look at that vulnerability on chips, imagine for a second that China successfully invades Taiwan, takes it over. They have the capacity a just to cut off the most sophisticated chips that are being produced, 90% of which are being produced in Taiwan. So if you imagine for a second, okay, I guess America doesn't want any more cars, doesn't want any more trucks, doesn't want any more planes, doesn't want any more iPhones, doesn't want any more missiles, doesn't want any more weapons technology. China's ability to say, you're done, we're cutting off your supply is massive. And by the way, that's only one scenario. Another scenario is that China takes those chips and implements within them, surveillance technology says, okay, fine, you can have chips. But much as they've done with Huawei and telecom, you could have chips. But the Chinese government is now going to surveil everything on your cell phone, everything on your car, everything on your truck, everything on your plane, everything on your missile and weapons technology. That vulnerability is massive. And it is something number one, that a significant percentage of the American people don't appreciate. Number two, that Joe Biden, this administration is doing zero to prevent. And number three, that should be an acute focus of American foreign policy and economic policy to address and correct our vulnerability on this front.

[Ben Ferguson]

I want to ask you, Dave, about tick tock and not tick tock within it Spacely as a company, but the bigger underlining issue of national security and the fact that we have this app that virtually half of America has on their phone and there still has not been, in my opinion, a warning about this app from the top, the head of the United States of America. And there's just deafening silence when what we know is this is basically a spying app on the American people. Before I get to that, I want to tell you about Patriot mobile. Patriot mobile is the only Christian conservative cell phone company in the U. S. And if you've got a cell phone and you want to actually be aligned with companies that fight for the values you believe in, here's an opportunity to do it. You can pay your bill every month to patriot mobile. Instead of big tech, you get the same coverage that you're getting right now. You get to keep your same cell phone number and you can keep your same cell phone or you can upgrade to a new one if you want to. But when you pay that bill every month this is what happens. They take a portion of that bill and they give it back to conservative causes and organizations that you stand with. We're talking about first and second amendment organizations. We're talking about standing up for the rights of unborn children. We're talking about helping with adoptions. That's what they're doing when you pay your bill. So if you're going to have a cell phone, have it with a company that's aligned with your values, where you're making a difference with every call. Call Patriot mobile. Make the switch 878-PATRIOT that's 878-PATRIOT 878-PATRIOT or online@patriot mobile.com use the promo code verdict for the best deals of the day. Promo code verdict patriot mobile.com verdict Dave, I, I mentioned TikTok a second ago. I think this is much bigger than Tik Tok. I think it's the fact that we have a, a device or I, I should say an app on your device that can look at virtually everything you're doing collecting data. It's very clear that China is doing this, abusing this power. That's what it was created for. And we still have a White House that has not given a warning to the American people. This is something that China is using to spy on us. Why have they not been more proactive on that, in your opinion?

[Dave McCormick]

Well, I think there's not a recognition of how important data is data. There's an article a couple years ago in the comments that said data is the new oil. In fact, data is much more significant strategically even than oil was in the past because data is the key to innovation. And data gives huge insight into, into both the strengths and vulnerabilities of an economy, of a military, of an intelligence service. So having access to data is a huge advantage. And once again, China has a plan for data dominance and it really has an advantage because it's a techno authoritarian power and America doesn't have a plan. And so why isn't there a sufficient focus on TikTok? I don't think there's an adequate appreciation of how vulnerable we are by letting TikTok have access to our data. But China has access to our data in a variety of ways that have to be curtailed. And so what I argue for in the book is much more significant privacy restraints. Does it alarm you that if you buy a pair of sneakers on online that for the next three months you get all sorts of advertisements in your feedback for sneakers? Well, that just shows you that your data is being sold and you Lose control of your data and you may click the little box at the end of, of the, of the, the purchase. But in the end, who knows what that means and where your data actually goes. Well, with China, it's much more significant. One of the things I cite here is a case where our intelligence services identified that China was pulling the Fitbit data of our troops in Afghanistan to be able to monitor what was happening there. It's a huge strategic advantage from an intelligence perspective, and it has to be stopped. And so I think understanding the significance of it leads to some obvious requirements to restrict and stop. The other thing is that data drives innovation. So if you look at Operation Warp Speed, one of the reasons that we had such success in developing new vaccines was that the pharma companies were able to share data and the Chinese don't share data at all. The Wuhan Lab is a perfect example of why we couldn't get to the bottom of what happened with COVID because there was no sharing. So we've got to have a strategy to push back on China, control our data, block China from getting access to our data and leveraging our data for innovation.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, and Ben, I often think art imitates life. As you know, I'm a movie buff and I watch all sorts of stupid series on TV because I download them on my iPad and every time I'm on an airplane I watch the series. One series I'm a fan of is the HBO series Westworld. I don't know if you happen to have seen it, but it's a sci fi series where part of the premise, so you have these very lifelike robots who you learn as you get into the later seasons, are designed to collect constant data about people and develop models to know what Ben Ferguson would do if faced with every choice in life. And once they have that data, they essentially know how to control you. They know everything. They know who you are. They can literally predict the future. Now, I don't think HBO is necessarily Nostradamus, but it does underscore the power of data. And, and right now our federal government is not, it's not even that we're losing this battle. We're not even engaged in this battle. It is a one sided fight. And so Dave, let me ask you this. In your judgment, what is China's objective? What are they trying to accomplish and what are their principal tools for accomplishing it?

[Dave McCormick]

Well, I think China is essentially trying to create techno authoritarian dominance. In other words, they're trying to ensure that their economy is the dominant technological force in the world. So that's from a capability perspective. And that obviously is able to ensure a very lethal military. And they're also pursuing a set of foreign policy objectives that will ensure that China really displaces America as the global superpower. Now, I think the evidence that that was the objective would have been a little less certain in the 2012, 201314 timeframe. But with the rise of President Xi, it's become obvious that that's the goal. And one reason we know that is because he said it time and again in his speeches, in his documents in terms of where he expects China to be as a global leader. But more than that, we see evidence just in the, in the, in the recent weeks where China has done a brilliant job of advancing its interest in Central America, South America, in the Middle east. And when there's a void in leadership, when people feel uncertain that they can count on America. The Middle east is a great example of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is one of our tightest allies, has lots of reasons to object to the rise of Iran. And yet under President Biden, there's been an opening, an opening that the Chinese have deftly exploited and is really displacing. America is the critical superpower in the Middle East. So the objective is world dominance and displacing the United States and doing so with a techno authoritarian capability.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, and a weak American president is profoundly dangerous. It's profoundly dangerous because our enemies step into the void. It's profoundly dangerous because our allies are afraid to rely on us and they move into that void as well. They end up being drawn into the spheres of influence of our enemies. Let me ask you this, Dave, as a follow up, as you look at it, what are the strengths and strengths and weaknesses China has in this battle? And even more importantly, what are the strengths and weaknesses America has? And how do we win? How do we beat China and stop them from achieving their goal of world dominance?

[Dave McCormick]

Well, the strengths that the Chinese have is also its weakness in the sense that it's a top down state driven economy, the techno authoritarian. What I mean by that is they've got a clear strategy, an economic strategy, to dominate in these key technologies. There used to be this notion when I served in the government of dual use technologies being something we had to monitor carefully. In essence, today there's a convergence. Artificial intelligence, quantum science, robotics, satellites. They are interchangeably the core of national security and economic vitality. The Chinese recognize that and they have a very focused strategy to be the dominant player in all those technologies. And the fact that they have a state controlled economy. They can drive the allocation of capital and the focus on those areas through their state owned enterprises.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So how do we beat them?

[Dave McCormick]

And now how do we beat them? Well, we beat them because our economy and their economy because of that has created all sorts of weaknesses. We can beat them because our economy is far more agile, far more entrepreneurial. But we're failing at the moment. We're failing at investing in basic R and D. We're failing at educating our people to be able to compete in these new areas. Semiconductor is a great example.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Competition.

[Dave McCormick]

You don't have a college degree to fill some of these key technical jobs, but you do have to have technical training. And we're, we're deeply short in the requirements. And, and this is what I argue in the book Superpower and Peril. We need to, we need to have the government and we need to do this with care, but we need to have the government create incentives, tax rebates, and potentially side by side investing with the private sector to drive capital into those areas are going to be most critical for our national security. Like artificial intelligence as an example. And we need to do that in a way that the government doesn't play any role in picking companies or anything like that. We can't have a, we can't have a China model and we can't have industrial policy like the Biden administration's put in place. We have to have markets driven ways to drive private capital to these technologies that matter so much for the future. And with those kinds of things in place, we can win this game. But, but right now we're on our back foot and we're losing.

[Ben Ferguson]

I want to ask you a final question. And this is about what happens when technology teams up with a country that desperately needs that technology. Obviously I'm talking about China and Russia and we see how big of an impact technology can have, even on killing innocent people in Ukraine, drones coming in, other type of technology that Russia just doesn't have. This alliance between these two countries are so dangerous for that reason, in my opinion. I want to get your take on that. And before I do that, I want to tell you about our friends at Chalk. If you're a guy and you're ready to fight back against that losing that edge, then you need to check out Chalk. Chalk is helping real men maximize their masculinity by boosting testosterone levels up to 20% over 90 days. Now, testosterone levels have been dropping off a cliff. And if you feel like you're just lagging behind, you need to check out chalk choq.com you can maximize your masculinity today at chalk.com you can use the code BEN. You'll get 35 off any chalk subscriptions. Now I'm using the chalk mail Vitality stack. But doing it now for several weeks, it has made a real difference. So if you're ready to fight back and you don't want to just sit down and say, all right, I'm just, I'm getting older and I'm done. No, get the chalk Vitality stack. Go online to chalk choq.com use the promo code BEN for 35 off any Chalk subscription for life chalk choq.com promo code BEN for 35 off. Dave, I want you to answer that question about the technology. And you have a country, country that has a ton of it. You have a country that has hardly any of it and is decades behind. When you put those two together right now and this is happening in real time, they both bring something, the table. One needs energy. That's something Russia does have. And the other needs as technology and that's something that Russia needs.

[Dave McCormick]

Well, I think that alliance is poses real challenges and risks to the United States. But I think our path is clear. The problem is we're just not following it. And let me elaborate on that for a minute. Our defense spending needs to do two things at the same time. And we shouldn't pay too much attention to those who are arguing one or the other. We need to invest in existing platforms because that's core to our military capability to fight a land war or a sea battle in the South China Sea or to support the Ukrainians in their fight against Russia. But we also need to invest in the next generation in a way that's going to make sure that we are out in front of where the Chinese are. And the Chinese have developed lots of capabilities that really threaten us in the South China Sea and are going to threaten us in anything we do militarily around the world. So we've got to have and that's not happening under Joe Biden right now. The spending is not even keeping up with inflation. And right now we have leadership that's not able to do those two things at the same time. The second thing we need to do, and just to refer to your point on energy, the Biden administration's taking us absolutely the wrong direction. I mean, I live in Pennsylvania, which has the fourth largest natural gas reserves in the world. If Pennsylvania where a country, it'd be fourth. And the Biden administration is essentially in One fell swoop made us less secure because we've become an energy importer, has made us less rich because it's hurt us economically and it's hurt the environment because natural gas out of Pennsylvania is much cleaner than the imports we have today. And that's a key building block of national security. And we've screwed it up. And that, that again has created the opportunity for a partnership between Russia and China, which poses real risk.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, and let me echo a couple of things Dave just said. Number one, I believe America can and will prevail against China. I think we have enormous assets, the most important of which is freedom. Free enterprise is a much stronger economic system than communism. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union, and by the way, lots of Democrats and left wing academics said, oh, the Soviet Union was unbeatable. Jimmy Carter whined that we couldn't compete and the American free enterprise system was so powerful. But what we needed was American leadership. We needed the clarity that we saw during the Reagan administration to call them out for who they are. When Reagan described the Soviet Union as the evil empire, when he was asked, what's your strategy in the Cold War? He said, it's very simple. We win, they lose. When he said, marxism, Leninism will end up on the ash heap of history, when he said, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall, that clarity and strength of leadership combined with unleashing the American economic engine, bankrupted the Soviet Union and won the Cold War without firing a shot. I believe we need to replicate the strategy of the Cold War for dealing with China. I think Dave is one of the most serious thinkers in the country in doing so, and I'm optimistic. Look, Joe Biden's not going to do it. The Democrats are not going to do it. But the American people are frustrated with the path they're on. They're going to change. As we're wrapping up, though, Ben, I'm going to take a moment of personal privilege and just victory lap for a moment. We started this podcast by victory lapping Stanford Law School. And in a moment of sanity and free speech breaking out on one of our elite law schools, I'm going to victory lap on the other end now and just point out I'm sitting here hanging out with with two jocks. Listen. And I want to do a shout out to all of our listeners who are geeks and nerds. Maybe you're a theater kid. Look, Ben, for all his aw shucks down to earth, nature was a varsity tennis player at Ole Miss and Dave was captain of the D Damn wrestling team at West Point. And by the way, as I'm campaigning with him across Pennsylvania, you didn't tell me initially it was all state and football because that didn't even merit mentioning. It didn't make the list. Me, I was on the debate team. So let's be clear, both Ben and Dave in high school or college would have stuffed me in the locker. And here we are hanging out on the podcast, fighting to save America. So I'm just going to revel for a moment and say to every one of you who wasn't captain of the wrestling team at West Point, there's hope for you. There's hope for me, and there's hope for America.

[Ben Ferguson]

I love it. I love it. Grab Dave's new book, Superpower in Peril. A Battle Plan to Renew America. You can grab it on Amazon or wherever you get your books. I know you're on a book tour as well if people want to see where you're headed or where you're going. Is that schedule out there so people can find it?

[Dave McCormick]

Yes, it's out there on Dave McCormick.

[Ben Ferguson]

Book.Com Dave McCormickbook.com Dave, it was a pleasure to have you on Verdict. We've got a lot of news that may be breaking. Don't worry. This week we will have you covered. The center and I will be back here with you in a couple of days and make sure you hit that share button. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode and write us a five star review so we can meet reach new listeners. We'll see you back here in a couple of days.