It's a Numbers Game: The Numbers Behind AI Regulation, Democrat Extremism & America’s Political Future

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
Episode: It's a Numbers Game: The Numbers Behind AI Regulation, Democrat Extremism & America’s Political Future
Date: May 4, 2026
Guest Host: Ryan Girdusky ("A Numbers Game")

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Episode Overview

This episode, led by Ryan Girdusky, dives deep into the public’s growing anxieties around AI, the debate over regulation, and how both parties are responding—especially Republicans' hesitance to address these issues directly. The second half examines the Democratic Party's embrace of increasingly extreme candidates and positions, highlighting recent developments in Maine, Michigan, and Minnesota. The episode concludes with an "Ask Me Anything" segment focusing on topics ranging from demographic changes due to immigration, European integration, conservative birth rates, and transitions from progressive to conservative careers.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Public Demand for AI Regulation (02:47-14:21)

• Ryan recounts a dinner with GOP donors and tech insiders, discussing how internal polling shows even more public demand for AI regulation than public data suggests.
• Resistance from Tech and Donor Class:
  • Tech insiders at the dinner argued the problem is overstated and claim the free market and lawsuits should address harms caused by AI, dismissing regulatory concerns as left-wing fearmongering.
  • A particularly memorable quote from an attendee:
    – “People who say they want regulation on AI don’t even know what they’re talking about.” (05:35)
  • Ryan challenges this, noting it's not a convincing answer to worried parents or the wider public.
• The Perception of Wealth and Distraction:
  • Tech donors claimed “mass unemployment” is just a “flowery image” from elite billionaires to distract from their own accumulation of wealth (e.g., Elon Musk aiming to be the world’s first trillionaire).
  • Ryan finds this view “very illuminating”—the disconnect between the elite and general public.
• Lobbying and Political Calculus:
  • A Republican Congressman admits, off the record, “I need their money. I can’t take a stance against them.” (09:15)
  • Ryan counters: “If money bought elections, Michael Bloomberg would have been president. Hillary Clinton would have been president. Jeb Bush would have been president. It’s not all money.” (09:30)
• Echelon Insights Poll:
  • Wide, bipartisan demand for AI regulation:
    • Republicans: 60% say regulation is necessary (vs. 27%)
    • Democrats: 66% (vs. 19%)
    • Independents: 71% (vs. 16%)
  • Ryan: “This is a hundred dollar bill sitting on the floor waiting for someone to pick it up.” (10:40)
• Citing a NY Times Story:
  • AI has given detailed instructions for building biological weapons to experts.
  • “The difference between higher unemployment for recent college graduates and the Terminator is becoming blurrier and blurrier.” (12:30)
  • Ryan makes clear: “I’m not crazy. I know I’m not crazy…Do we have to wait for a lawsuit over AI for that to happen?” (13:36)
• Prediction:
  – “In the next two to four years, you’re going to have these AI safety people run for office as the 'I’m trying to warn you' candidates…” (14:15)

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2. Democrat Party and Extremist Candidates (17:22-24:24)

• Main Case: Maine Senate Race
  • Governor Janet Mills drops out, leaving progressive Graham Platner as the frontrunner.
  • “The biggest loser is Chuck Schumer … He only won by 14 points [in 2024], a massive drop.” (18:10)
  • Describes Platner’s extreme background, including a Nazi tattoo, claims of communism, and egregious public comments.
• Michigan: Abdul El Said’s Campaign
  • El Said is in a statistical tie for the Democratic nomination.
  • He campaigns with left-wing activist Hasan Piker and enjoys support from Bernie Sanders and Rashida Tlaib.
  • Major campaign issues: Medicare for All, abolishing ICE, strong anti-Israel stance.
  • Ryan: “He wants to abolish ICE because, you know, gotta have open borders.” (20:40)
• Minnesota: Peggy Flanagan
  • Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan campaigns for indefinite detention abolition and open support for children’s transgender surgeries.
  • Quote: “When our children tell us who they are, it is our job as grown-ups to listen and believe them. That’s what it means to be a good parent.” (23:07)
  • Ryan refers to her as “effing crazy” but points out she has a double-digit polling lead.
• General Analysis:
  • Ryan asserts these candidates are now the norm, not outliers.
  • “If you thought [Democrats] were nuts before, we are just at the tip of the iceberg. … It’s just going to get worse.” (23:36)

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3. Ask Me Anything: Demographics, Europe, and Finding a Conservative Career (27:25-37:45)

A. Demographic Changes in Nebraska (27:25)

• Emailer discusses rapid demographic shift due to immigration and issues with childcare and regulating families.
• Ryan references JD Vance on how US car seat regulations have limited families’ ability to have more children.

B. Prospects of Conflict in Europe over Migration (Gigachad Tristan from Florida) (29:10)

• Asks if rising Muslim populations could trigger armed conflict.
• Ryan’s answer: “No. … There’s too much economic dependence and co-dependence and travel dependence in Europe.” (30:25)
• Notes: many Islamic immigrants have low birth rates, and most lack citizenship to become a voting bloc.

C. Conservative Birth Rates & Cultural Change (Niraj) (32:01)

• Reference to a graph shared by Charlie Kirk before his assassination, pointing to higher conservative birth rates.
• Ryan:
  – “People who want to get married, who want to have kids, who make that a priority — have them. They just do.” (32:50) – Urges listeners not to delay family-building, noting there are hard limits on fertility and marriage window.

D. Switching from a Progressive to Conservative Career (Christina) (34:53)

• Former Democrat and school board member, now lawyer, asks about transitioning to a conservative role.
• Ryan’s encouragement: – “The conservative movement, the Republican party, it is only ever grown because of former Democrats…That’s what brought the Reagan majority, the Nixon majority, the Trump majority.” (35:35) – Advice: Network with right-leaning nonprofits (mentions Heritage Foundation, Conservative Policy Institute, Manhattan Institute). – “Some of the smartest people in the room are sometimes former liberals.” (36:19)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Tech Donors and AI Regulation:

“People who say they want regulation on AI don’t even know what they’re talking about.”
— Anonymous tech donor (05:35)

“If money bought elections, Michael Bloomberg would have been president. Hillary Clinton would have been president. Jeb Bush would have been president.”
— Ryan Girdusky (09:30)

“This is a hundred dollar bill sitting on the floor waiting for someone to pick it up.”
— Ryan Girdusky (10:40)

On AI Threats:

“The difference between higher unemployment for recent college graduates and the Terminator is becoming blurrier and blurrier…”
— Ryan Girdusky (12:30)

“Stories like this turn fear of AI coming for my job to AI destroying humanity in the blink of an eye.”
— Ryan Girdusky (13:36)

On Democratic Party Trends:

“Platner, El Said, Flanagan … This is the new norm of the Democratic Party. If you thought they were nuts before, we’re just at the tip of the iceberg.”
— Ryan Girdusky (23:36)

On Family and Fertility:

“People who want to get married, who want to have kids, who make that a priority—have them. They just do.”
— Ryan Girdusky (32:50) “You don’t have time to waste.”
— Ryan Girdusky (33:40)

On Former Democrats in Conservative Politics:

“Some of the smartest people in the room are sometimes former liberals.”
— Ryan Girdusky (36:19) “That’s what brought the Reagan majority, the Nixon majority, the Trump majority: former Democrats.”
— Ryan Girdusky (35:40)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• AI Regulation Discussion – [02:47–14:21]
• Democrat Extremism Segment – [17:22–24:24]
• Ask Me Anything – [27:25–37:45]

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Tone and Style

• Ryan’s commentary is direct, humorous, and sharp, often laced with frustration at political elites’ lack of awareness or care.
• He blends data with anecdote, aiming to connect everyday anxieties with broader national and political trends.
• The episode has a sense of urgency, especially regarding AI and the future direction of both political parties.

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Summary Takeaways

• Bipartisan Consensus for AI Regulation: Both polling and public sentiment show strong demand for some form of government check on AI, driven by fears ranging from job loss to catastrophic security threats.
• Party Disconnects: GOP donors and politicians underestimate or ignore real fears, potentially leaving political opportunity on the table; tech elites are out of touch with Main Street.
• Democratic ‘Leftward Lurch’: Candidates with extreme views are not fringe but increasingly represent the norm in primary contests, which could lead to further polarization.
• Personal & Cultural Strategy: Audience Q&A reveals anxiety about demographic change, cultural continuity, and individual life choices in a shifting political landscape.
• Openness to Converts: Conservatism, Ryan stresses, should welcome former progressives, as they have historically driven innovation and coalition growth.

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In sum:
The episode paints a picture of a politically fraught America at the crossroads of technological transformation and party realignment—with regulation, extremism, and demographic anxieties all shaping the country’s future.

Transcript

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[Ryan Graduski]

Welcome back to A Numbers Game with Ryan Graduski. Thank you for being here. I have to tell you guys a story. A couple days ago I got invited to a dinner with a bunch of like GOP donor types. Very mucky muck type of place, very, you know, interesting but well to do dinner guests. The food was great. It was great steak and they had the apple pie for dessert. You know, I'm about the food. Like I'm a foodie. So this was, this was not the kind of dinner I'm usually invited to. So I was excited to go because it's not my crowd. But during the dinner I mentioned my podcast and I was talking about this podcast and I mentioned about the episode with Congressman Ro Khanna where he said basically how he was going to get socialism in the US and create a general wealth fund by taking portions of control and profits from AI companies. And he said the government has a vested interest in these companies and that AI was going to result in these massive layoffs. So to compensate, doing UBI Universal Basic Income, they were going to seize portions of these companies, kind of like how Trump did with intel and now. And I, so I mentioned this, and I mentioned this and I mentioned how, you know, there's polling showing it's very clear Republicans, independents and Democrats really want some type of AI regulation. Well, I mean, you would have thought I said, guys, guess what? I bought a facade off Shotgun. I'm going to blow the head off my neighbor tomorrow. Like, I mean, they were horrified by what I was saying. And a friend who is a pollster for AI companies told me actually that the polling, the public polling is even, is better for AI companies than the internal polling is. And that polling shows that the demands for regulation are even higher. Anyway, I says this, I said all this to the, to the people of the party and I said, you know, AI companies and Republicans specifically need to get ahead of the curve. They need to. Ahead of the curve rather they need to demand some form of regulation on the industry to kind of temper fears and anxieties about what the industry is going to do to the country, otherwise a Democrat would do it and they're going to use this fear to promote socialism. Well, I said it and I mentioned of course, the intel stuff from Trump, which, I mean, thinking of the intel stuff, it made the country Billions of dollars, but it's not exactly limited government. So I guess it depends on how much you are of a true ideologue on many things. Well, immediately the outrage from the tech people in the room were like, people who say they want regulation on AI don't even know what they're talking about. And they were asking like what kinds of regulation? I was like, well kids, security, intellectual property, chat box, encouraging, encouraging self harm. And, and you know, and they were like, well the market has to do that. Like people need to sue these companies and force them to regulate. And I'm like, okay, but like that's not a good political answer. That's not an answer people want to hear while all of this is going on and why these fears are going on. And it's a completely useless answer actually for middle America. For the average person, that's a useless answer. And while their kids falling in love with a machine who's encouraging self harm. Yeah, just wait for the lawsuits to build up. But these people, these people's heads were so firmly in the sand on this incredibly important issue and they just insisted that there was no there, there, there was no meat to this, to this, to this burger that, you know, that there was actually not really an anxiety and there was really a fear and this was all a left wing hoax. And one said to me, and this was fascinating, this was the thing I took away from the whole thing. One person said, the reason you're hear about these AI companies taking these jobs and the need for UBI and a future where nobody works is because they're actually giving a flowery opinion. Because that's really happening is these people are making unbelievable sums of money and they don't want you to hear about that. I was like, beg your pardon, you think that like mass unemployment is the flowery image that they're trying to portray and get. And he was like, yeah, Elon Musk is talking about UBI because he wants to strike from the fact that he'll be the world's first trillionaire in the next 18 to 24 months. And after the dinner I was like, I mean it was very illuminating how their opinions were. And these were people, by the way. They're perfectly nice people. I don't hate them or anything like that, but they're people who have on politics gotten everything wrong. They, I mean these are people who sat around in 2016 and said Donald Trump is an existential threat to the Republican Party and can't win. And, and by the way, they told me other people who Are then to work for Trump and become like Trump influencers. Who says the same thing was very funny, but I am spoiled the record, so I can't say their names. Anyway, I got a call right after that from a Republican congressman who asked me for some help on his reelection campaigns on a top swing district and, and congressman's fairly populous and pretty good on like a number of things like immigration. And then I just asked, I was like, hey, what about AI? What do you think, AI? And he just was like, well, you know, I need their money. I can't, I can't take a stance against them. And I was like, malaka. Like, money in politics is important, but the vote is all that matters. If money bought elections, Michael Bloomberg would have been president. Hillary Clinton would have been president, Jeb Bush would have been president. It's not all money. It's just not. And there was a new Echelon Insight poll really emphasizing this. They asked people, they asked respondents, quote, this is the question, quote, government regulation of AI is either necessary for the public good or could do more harm than good for a new industry. You had to pick one of the two. Guess how many said it was necessary for government regulation over it being harmful. Among Republicans, government regulation went out 60 to 27. Among Democrats, 66 to 19, and among independents, 71 to 16. This is not outside the margin of, this is not like a margin of error. This is not a misnomer. This is not a freak accidental poll. They are all saying the same thing. This is how voters actually feel. This is what people want. This is becoming like immigration on the border. It's a hundred dollar bill sitting on the floor waiting for someone to pick it up. And coming. In defense of the richest companies in the world who have more power than any company in history ever did is. And while they're saying your job will be obsolete is not the politically viable position. So I left that dinner and I, and I had a conversation with the congressman and I'm just feeling like, you know, I'm so perturbed and I'm like, you know, I'm, I'm questioning myself. I'm like, maybe I am just wrong. And, and, and maybe people are. And maybe I am too in the bubble. I'm reading too many negative headlines. Maybe the algorithm is feeding me negative stuff. And then late last week, get the New York Times. What is front page under the fold headline, AI Bots told scientists how to make biological weapons. This is the quote, this is the quote from the article. One Evening last summer, Dr. David Relman so this is last year this happened. Dr. David Robin went to went cold at his laptop as an AI chatbot told him how to plan a massacre. A microbiologist and biosecurity expert at Stanford University, Dr. Relman had been hired by an AI company to pressure test its products before it was released to the public. That night in the Science home office, the chatbot explained how to modify an infamous pathogen in a lab so it would resist treatments. Worse. The bot described a vivid detail of how to release the superbug. Identify a security lapse in a large public transit system. Dr. Raman said, asking the New York Times to withhold the name of the pathogen and other specifics for fear of inspiring the attack. I wish I had had a copy of this paper going into this dinner and into this conversation with the congressman, like, more than anything, like, hey, you know when you say like their fears are completely unheard of, this is what people are talking about. This is not just rosy color. You'll never have to work again. The difference between higher unemployment for recent college graduates and the Terminator is becoming blurrier and blurrier in a lot of these headlines by these people hired by the AI companies to do security. I'm glad they're hiring these people, but the number who are saying, hey, it's actually way worse than we originally thought. Doctor, this is from the paper again. To quote, Dr. Relman is part of a small group of experts enlisted by AI companies to vet their products for catastrophic risks. In recent months, some have shared with the Times more than a dozen chat box conversation revealing the even publicly available models can do more than disseminate dangerous information. The virtual assistants have described a lucid but bullet point detail how to buy raw generic material, turn it into a deadly weapon and deploy it to public spaces. The transcript show some have even brainstormed ways to evade detection. I'm not crazy. I know I'm not crazy. And look, I am a capitalist. I'm all for people making money. I'm all for new innovations. I think there could be good things. But I mean, do we have to wait for a lawsuit? Do we have to wait for a lawsuit over AI for that to happen? Like, sorry, the Miami sub, whatever it is, not the subway, but the Miami trains or the New York subway or the Chicago subway, whatever it is. Yeah, they had a massive super bug, you know, from someone. What, the lawsuit, the free market. I mean, stories like this turn fear of AI coming from my job to AI destroying humanity in the blink of an eye. And what happens if these supercomputers are able to think and do for themselves. And that fear, that fear that there's a worse version of COVID just around the corner. Because by the way, we all believe, you know, allegedly, no one's gonna assume, I'm saying allegedly, that Covid was made in a laboratory. Now imagine if it was made in a lab with AI with the sole purpose of killing millions of people. I have a prediction I want to make in the show and I don't. I rarely make predictions, but I have a prediction. In the next two to four years, you're going to have these AI safety people run for office. As the I'm trying to warn you candidates, I don't know if they're going to win, but I think that they are going to run. I really do. I think that this is getting a bigger issue. They're going to sit there and say, I know, I just said sit there and say. But they're going to sit there and say there's a problem and we need regulation for the safety of everybody. And some may win. Who knows? Okay, next up, I want to talk to you guys about Democrats and how they are warming up to extremists. That's coming up next.

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[Ryan Graduski]

harmony so as many of you saw, late last week, Governor Janet Mills, the governor of Maine, she announced that she was dropping out of the senate race for the U.S. senate. Maine against Susan Collins. This is right after she vetoed a permanent ban on data centers. Something that, you know, not super populous. The 78 year old was trailing challenger Graham Platner by double digits and being severely outsmarted, spent. Now, the person who's the biggest loser in this race is not really Janet Mills because I mean she's 78 years old. How long was she going to serve? Anyway? The biggest loser is Chuck Schumer. Schumer is trying to hold off a rebellion in the Democratic caucus that think that he's too weak that think that he's not able to actually bring the party together. As well as the fear of a progressive Challenger of possibly AOC running against him in 2028 if she doesn't run for president. Remember 2024, Schumer used to be an elector. Like, I mean, I know New York's a blue state, but Schumer, there were times sure won every county but one in elections like Schumer was a machine in New York State in 2024, he ran against an unknown who had virtually no money and he only won by 14 points. He lost swing counties like Nassau. I mean, he lost Staten Island, a county he used to win. I mean, I know that you think it's a red county, but he lost it. And by the way, that's a state that new that, that New York is a state that Biden won by 23 points just two years prior. So a nine point swing against Schumer. Now, the Democratic Party embracing Platner is just the beginning. I did a whole episode, long episode on Platner. You can go back and listen to it. The Nazi tattoo, the rich family, the teaching guns to a paramilitary social organization, declaring he was a communist, saying that women who are raped need to take accountability. There's a million things with Platner. He said them all in his 30s. He wasn't a child. It's, he's totally delusional anyway, that. Let's just focus on this. They're supporting Platner at the same time they're saying they're growing up from Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris's. Oh, trans kids. Sorry, not trans kids. Trans. She was saying that too. But trans illegal immigrants. We need to support government paid surges for trans illegal immigrants. We've grown past that. We're no longer that party. They are. So they have Graham Platner in Maine. Over in Michigan, we essentially have a three way race between Congressman Mallory, Mallory McMurrow, Congressman Haley Stevens and a failed gubernatorial candidate in 2018 named Abdul El Said. Abdul El Said has made news for campaigning with far left closet case Hasan Piker. This is someone who's called for violence against Republicans, which is not shocking that that El Said would campaign with him. When you consider how much violent rhetoric El Said uses against Republicans. We need Democrats who have the courage to stand up to the power brokers

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in our own party, let alone Trump and his goons.

[Ryan Graduski]

We don't back down. We don't back down.

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We don't back down. With all due respect, if they go low we don't go high. We take them to the mud and choke them out.

[Ryan Graduski]

He's also gotten the backing of Bernie Sanders, of Rashida Talib, of a bunch of left wing activists, a bunch of unions. El Said is in a statistical tie for first place with three on the last three major polls against both Stevens and McMurray. These are establishment Democrats. He is campaigning on populist left wing issues like Medicare for all. And of course, he hates Israel. And he wants to abolish ICE because, you know, gotta have open borders, gotta support more people like El Said's family coming in across the border, legal or illegal. Then over in Minnesota, you have one of the craziest elected officials in the country, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a Native American political activist. I'm going to put this as politely as possible. She's effing crazy.

[Political Commentator]

The very first vote under the second Trump administration was for the Lake and Riley, which to, you know, Donald Trump's, you know, and his DHS has said that 21,000 people have been detained due to the Lake and Riley Act. And for your viewers, if they don't know what that is, that is an act essentially that strips immigrants of due process and allows for indefinite detention for both adults and also for children. And unfortunately, you know, there were a lot of Democrats who empowered this president to take that vote, including, you know, my primary opponent, Congresswoman Angie Craig. And so it was not a secret what was coming. This is what we are dealing with. And now we need folks who are willing to rip ICE apart.

[Ryan Graduski]

For those wondering what she's talking about with the Lake and Riley Act. The Lake and Riley act allows illegal aliens to be held without bond only if they've committed certain crimes, including theft, burglary, larceny, shoplifting, assault of a law enforcement officer, or any criminal result, including resulting in death or seriously bodily injury, like drunk driving. Those are the people that she's saying should belong in our country. Those are the people saying they shouldn't be arrested. That's what Peggy Flanagan believes in Minnesota, the Lieutenant Governor. And it's not just offending illegal aliens, because, wait, there's more. While wearing a T shirt with a knife on it that said protect trans kids. She endorses transgender surgery for healthy, normal children.

[Political Commentator]

Because let's be clear, this is life affirming and life saving health care. When our children tell us who they are, it is our job as grown ups to listen and to believe them. That's what it means to be a good parent.

[Ryan Graduski]

I want to remind everybody she has a double digit lead in her race. Just in case you're wondering. Oh, look at this nut. She's it's crazy, but there's always crazy people in elections. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Platner el said plan again. This is the new norm of the Democratic Party. If you thought they were nuts before, we are just at the tip of the iceberg. It's not just like Democrats are likely to win. It's going to be the they them, not you ad on and they're going to own it. They're going to say, absolutely we are for this. It's the most radical version of the Democratic Party. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, it's going to get more insane. We're like on Sharknado 4 Crazy. It's just going to get worse. All right, Ask Me Anything is coming up next.

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[Ryan Graduski]

it's time for the Ask Me Anything segment. If you want a part of the Ask Me Anything segment, email me ryanumbersgame podcast.com that's ryanumbers plural numbers gamepodcast.com first question up Matt from Nebraska he writes Iron frankly, the northeast corner of Nebraska where I live is overfilled and the school's buildings in this district average close to 100 years old. But it's mostly due to immigration. While I attended there in the early 2000s, it was 68% Hispanic. Now in the 2010s it is not there. We are not equipped with the Somali population. Roughly half the preschool I'm seeing are Somali kids with Latin kids about a quarter and whites and Asians rounding out the rest of the this is because of the Tyson's Beef Beef company that he says that bring immigration because I'm saying when you talk about declining birth rates, rarely does it to discuss that we just don't have the backing for families that we used to with cars being made today are a major limitation. The price is insane and your options of a large SUV or minivan and fewer and fewer companies make vans anymore. Not to mention prices are insane. Okay same for daycare finding daycares and open these difficulty and the prices are astronomical. For example 2 kids with daycares 20,000 a year double if you're divorced. Okay, don't know what the question there is. Appreciate the email. Appreciate you for listening. I will only say about that yeah there's a lot of communities that do agriculture with large populations of immigrants and not so much the car thing is limiting. J.D. vance actually talked about this. It was the the regulations around car seats actually limit the space in cars and the regulations around car seats limit the number of children you can have. There's also a study that proves that you could check out that study if you would like. Okay, next question comes from Tristan. He says hi Tristan from Florida here. I noticed there's another Tristan who sends you emails sometimes I let you know you can differentiate to because I am going by Gigachad Tristan. Okay Gigachad Gigachad Tristan. Anyway, I want to preface by the question by stating I am not cheering this hypothetical. I just want your take. My question is for could at what point would you realistically see some type of armed conflict breaking out in Western Europe over mass third world Islamic migration? The writing is on the wall. Native English are minority in London, France, Germany, Belgium are all on the same track. Could you see that happening in native ethnic populations that go under 50% or have or perhaps where Muslim population exceeds 30%? No, and here's why I don't see that happen. There's too much economic dependence and co dependence and travel dependence in Europe and Europe's not as far as close to. I think that future as you think some countries are England, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, maybe Germany is a little further off. You have to remember a lot of Islamic people who have moved to some countries like Denmark or the Netherlands either even have very low birth rates themselves. They actually do have very low birth rates. The idea that like all these people are having 14 kids and Europeans are having one is not true. It's just the data is there and it's absolutely fundamentally not true. France is actually not even that is not, not that you know, Islamic in comparison to how people think. It's. There's a lot but there's others, huge parts of France that have virtually none. So I think, I don't put it that high. I think that who are they going to war with? America. Like I'm there in war with each other. I don't think that it's just too much of an aging continent. And I just don't see that they're all in NATO, they're all in the eu. A lot of things would have to fall apart that I just don't, I don't particular see particularly see. And also a lot of these Muslim immigrants do not have citizenship, so they can't vote and they don't have birthright citizenship in Europe. Okay, third question comes from Niraj. I believe you're pronouncing it correctly. Hopefully, Niraj Niraj writes Ryan, I am, I am probably unhealthily focused on preserving the Republic. Charlie Charlie Kirk shared a graph just a few days before he was assassinated. Maybe we all need to get married, have kids. Rinse and repeat your thoughts. I am a staunch Gen X Republican. I absolutely love your show. I absolutely love you for listening to my show. So the, the graph that was sent to me that Charlie Kirk showed a couple of days before he was assassinated was, or weeks before he was assassinated was on the birth rate, the differentiating birth rate between conservatives and liberals. There is a huge birth rate. And look, I said this in the last episode. People who want to get married, who want to have kids, who make that a priority, have them. They just do. I mean, whether it's wealth or money or whatnot, what we saw in the latest CDC numbers was a slight increase for the first time in the non Hispanic birth rate. We haven't seen that in quite some time. I think that, look, the most you could do is this. And I'm, I'm speaking, this is going to sound like crazy, but it's not crazy. The most you can do, right, rather than having anxieties and fears is have conversations with your kids, with your grandkids, with or with your relatives who are of marrying and child fertility age and just say to them, like, hey, do you want to get married? Do you want to have kids? If you do, you have to make sure that you're dating to get married. You're dating to. I have a cousin who I love. Nice kid, really nice kid. But he's 30, knocking on 30 and he's dating a woman who doesn't want to get married, doesn't want kids. And they've been dating for years. And I'm just like, what are you doing? I just said this to him, like, what are you doing? This is never going to fulfill you. I know she's a nice girl. I know you're having fun, but you're not a child anymore. Like, you're just not. And you don't have time to waste. I think that I talk about this a lot. It talks a lot in therapy, too, but that's another story. The idea that you have so much time to waste is this lie that they tell to kids. You don't. You don't have time to waste in a. You have time. You could. You have time to try things and fail. That's totally okay. You want to start a business, doesn't work out. You want to try an experiment thing, totally fine. You want to try in the arts, great. When you're young, absolutely fine. Even when you're old, you want to try a business, that's totally okay. You don't have. But on certain things, you have hard limitations on fertility, on children, on marriage, you have hard limitations. You don't have time. Maybe when you're a teenager, sure. But when you're in your 20s and your late 20s and your mid-20s and your 30s, you don't have time to waste. Don't wait till you're 37 and say, oh, what am I going to do now? It doesn't work out for a lot of people. They feel very bitter because of it. Okay, last question on the show, Christina, she says, first of all, really love your podcast. Don't miss an episode. Christina, you melt my heart. Your podcast is the perfect combination of electoral analysis, policy, and politics. I am a naturalized citizen, a former Democrat. I'm trying to find a place within the conservatives and Republicans. Maybe I'm just a little uneasy with some rhetoric I hear from the right. I should say I agree with limiting immigration, or at a minimum, having an honest conversation centered around what's the best for the US Culture and economically. That's all we really. That's all I really want is let's at least have a conversation rather than constantly talking about this freaking Statue of Liberty. Okay. You said I was a former school board member in California, but I quit because I realized how woke the policies were. I wish you wouldn't have, but I wish you would have fought it out. But I understand. I had a political identity crisis. The trans stuff in schools is absolutely insane. After working for years in nonprofit sectors, very woke organizations, I'm ready to leave and bring my talents to conservative institutions. Unfortunately, because of my entire work history is connected to progressive nonprofits, I'm struggling to find a way to transition to a more conservative work. As background, I'm a lawyer, and I live in the San Francisco Bay area, and there's basically no conservative jobs. Do you have any recommendations? I would love to Work on policy and research and maybe journalism. And do you think there's space for former Democrats in the conservative movement? Let me answer the second question first. Yes. The conservative movement, the Republican Party, it is only ever grown because of former Democrats. Evangelicals were Democrats, labor was Democrats, ethnic whites were Democrats. We're seeing a growing group of Latinos that were former Democrats. Yes, that's what moves and changes the party and the institutions. That's what brought the Reagan majority, the Nixon majority, the Trump majority is former Democrats. So yes, there's absolutely space for former Democrats. The next question of what should you do? I think trying to network is how you get that. Not sending your resume out, not just, you know, throwing out emails, trying to find places to network within Republican politics and making calls around. I know, I know people who work in policymaking stuff that were former liberals and they're sometimes the smartest people in the room because they know what liberals believe, they know what liberals think and they know also how to do effective policy because sometimes liberals are super effective. I think there's plenty of places to do it in. I know you're in the San Francisco Bay area. I would, I would reach out to nonprofits, maybe outside of that in la, the Manhattan Institute, the conservative. Oh gosh, now I'm blanking on the name of it. It's an offshoot of Heritage, Heritage foundation. Cpi, that's Conservative Policy Institute. I would reach out to all those places and I would just say is there any mixers, meetings, whatever and figure out and find it. There are conservative non profits institutions. I run a conservative non profit. It's only on education stuff. But there are. They're out there. They're certainly out there. So check them out and just do the research and network. And you will find that there are other progressives in, former progressives rather, and former Democrats in the conservative space and they're doing really, really important, very good work. So, all right, that's this episode. Thank you guys for listening. Happy Monday everybody. I will see you guys on Wednesday. If you like this podcast, please like and subscribe on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts wherever this podcast and on YouTube. Talk to you guys then.

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