
It's a casual Friday on a Thursday and the disastrous Senate bill passed somehow despite Chuck Schumer's renaming. Our favorite, Heather 'Digby' Parton joins us today for a recap of the week's news. In the Fun Half Matt Binder and Brandon Sutton join...
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Sam Cedar
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When you head to sunsetlakeseba day.com use the coupon code July4. The word July the number four to save 25% sitewide. The sale ends July 7th at midnight Eastern. So get on it. And now time for the show the Majority Report with Sam Cedar. It is Thursday, July 3rd, 2025. My name is Sam Seder. This is the five time award winning Majority Report. We are broadcasting live steps from the industrially ravaged Gowanus Canal in the heartland of America, downtown Brooklyn, usa. On the program today, Heather Digby Parton Help us review this week and absorb the impending vote on Capitol Hill. Then later in the program, Brandon Sutton of the Discourse and Matt Bender of doomed and scam economy and the Disruptionist. Also on the program, Republicans appear to be on the verge of passing the single largest giveaway to rich to the rich and destruction of the safety net in decades. In anticipation of ICE having a budget larger than many countries, countries, armies, downloads of the app ICE Block soar. The APP ICE Block. ICE Block the app on all platforms. As Trump dismantles the National Science Foundation, America's brain drain picks up pace in a new report. Donald Trump was the one who planted the New York Times article on Elon Musk's drug use. I mean, it's not like everybody didn't know, but I gave the blessing. Kilmara Brago Garcia apparently was beaten and tortured in Trump's buddies El Salvador Gulag. Meanwhile, Israel kills 94 Palestinians over the past day, including 45 who were waiting for food. This after US contractors say colleagues are firing live ammo at those Palestinians waiting for food. Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down the 176-year-old zombie abortion law that's a direct result of that election in April, Dr. Phil's Anti Woke TV network goes belly up despite all the great ride alongs with ice. Doran Mamdani gets the New York City Teacher Union endorsement and the FCC blocks its own ban on prison phone price gouging. Lastly, the economy adds 147,000 jobs topping expectations. But half of those our seasonally adjusted state and municipal government hires all this and more on today's Majority Report. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. Thanks so much for joining us. It's another one of those days. We are right now, as we speak, Hakeem Jeffries is on the floor of the House. We could even just bring up some live footage. I mean let's just check in. Not sure how much it does. This is known as the magic minute. And apparently not sure of the specific details of this parliamentary procedure but, but prior to this final vote, Democrats for whatever reason, I think it's just the minority leader gets the opportunity to address the house. Kevin McCarthy did something like this prior to a Democratic budget. I think he spoke for eight hours. Jeffries has been doing this now for seven. I think it is seven hours, 15 minutes. Yep, seven hours and 15 minutes. Is there a value to. Doesn't cost anything. It's really shot. And Fetterman might miss his beach holiday, but. Well, I think Fetterman's already gone. I mean the Senate is already gone. So just to give you a sense of what's going on here. A rule had to be passed to essentially adopt, I think the Senate bill as is. And now we're going to about to have the vote on the House signing off essentially on the Senate bill. The Senate bill was even worse than the one that the House produced two weeks ago or a week ago. It cuts a trillion dollars from Medicaid. We'll go through this with, with Digby, but supposedly, according to the reporting, Johnson says he has the votes to pass this bill. He expects to lose one or two votes. I think one of them is probably going to be. I think it's Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania. I don't know who the other will be. Maybe Massey. All of the Freedom Caucus people folded and we will go into why. Let's take. Who do we have Norman? Is that. Is that who we have? Yeah, it's number six. Number six. Okay, so number six. No, Ralph Norman explains why flip flop and supports the bill. I don't. Maybe that's number. No, I don't have that as number six. But. Okay, let's go to Ralph Norman explaining why he supports the bill after coming out so strongly against it. Sir, what I don't understand. What I don't understand is you had a view that was negative about this bill yesterday. Is there something different about the bill today? Yeah, it is. We met with President Trump and you know, he did a masterful job of laying out how we could improve it. How he could use is his chief executive office use things to make the bill better. So there's going to be. So there are big distinctions between. I guess what I'm trying to understand is the bill that was sent from the Senate back to you is fundamentally different from yesterday to today because then the Senate would have to.
Heather Digby Parton
Fundamentally different.
Sam Cedar
No, we accepted the bill as is. What's different is President Trump is going to use his powers to like on the subsidies to make sure that it's. A lot of these subsidies won't remain in effect, you know, from here on out. And. Okay, now he's obviously a little bit tired and just trying to pretend like there's some reason why he's voting for it. They all came out, the Freedom Caucus guys came out and said, well, we spoke to the President and he is going to crack down on the green or the sustainable energy tax subsidies and make sure that they're all legit over the course of the next six months where businesses have to start and I think it is spend 5% of what the total cost of their projects are and supposedly he's going to crack down. That is the story that the Freedom Caucus is trying to push as to what changed to make them support a bill that creates a near $4 trillion deficit. And that's even, I think, with the funky math that they're doing, that cuts a trillion dollars from Medicaid, that cuts hundreds of billions from snap and that cuts massive taxes for the rich. But their big sticky point was we really want you to be tough in making sure that you're giving out these tax subsidies for the next six months as opposed to the next nine years, which was slated in a legit way. It's just pathetic. But we'll see if that is enough to placate people. Here is, I want to do this clip too. This is one of the big lies and we'll talk to Digby about this because I just don't know that the Democrats did a particularly good job in, in articulating a, like, you know, what these cuts really mean. Here is Steve Scalise and, and you've heard this, not this clip, but you've heard everything that is being said in this clip multiple times over the past month or two. Here's Steve Scalise on the floor. I guess this was sometime yesterday before. If you're disabled on Medicaid right now, you've been crowded out of those programs by people turning down work, able bodied people, 35 year olds sitting at home playing video games. They're going to now have to go get a job. That's right. And by the way, that's a good thing for them. Their mom doesn't want them sitting in the basement playing video games anyway. But now it no longer will be crowding out Medicaid for the truly needy people who deserve it. Okay, aside from the lie about the all these unemployed people we know from Arkansas and from Georgia when they tested these work requirements out, that what happens is that people who are eligible end up just being swamped with paperwork and they can't, they can't get through it. Sometimes they're working so much they don't have time to do it. But Medicaid does not crowd out anybody. You either eligible for Medicaid or you're not eligible for Medicaid. It is akin to an automatic stabilizer. When the need grows and the number of people who pass a threshold or drop below a, I guess you could say a threshold of income grows, they get added to Medicaid. Medicaid rolls are not static. SNAP is not static. There is no one number of people who will be covered by Medicaid or who will receive SNAP benefits. And so it's a lie. It's not about crowding out anybody. And it's also not about savings to reinvest in Medicaid because all of those savings are going out the door in tax cuts to wealthy people. So this isn't going to extend the future of the program. This isn't going to prevent people from being crowded out. Everybody knows what's going to happen. Anywhere from 14 to 18 million people now with this Senate bill are going to lose their health care and we're all going to end up paying for it. I mean, some people, tens of thousands a year are going to pay with their lives, but we're also going to end up paying for it in terms of expense. But I don't know. 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That's 20% off your first order with code majorityrep@liquidiv.com all right, quick break and we'll be talking to Heather Parton or as you may know her, Digby. Sam, it's jam. We are back. Sam Cedar on the majority report. Emma Vigland out. She'll be back on Monday. Reminder, we are off tomorrow. It is July 4th. So joining us in what is sort of like a casual, non really casual Thursday, Heather Parton or Digby Matt. Sorry, Brian's not ready to do it. Go to the soundboard. Oh, it's Brian's fault. All right. Well, we can imagine the song. We don't want to play it on a non Friday. Oh, there we go. Okay, there you go. Brian has gotten his sea legs now. So right now as we speak, Hakeem Jeffries is in our his eighth hour of his so called magic minute where the rule to vote on the bill has been passed at 3 in the morning or 3:30 in the morning, I think it was. And when he is done, they're gonna vote on the bill. And on some level, some, well, you know, level, it's like sort of a performative thing to, you know, make it seem like the Democrats have put, put up the fight. And you know, there's definitely value in that. We're moving into the sort of the communication messaging stage of all this. Although I want to talk to you about what kind of job the Democrats have done up to now. And then the other thing is, like, who knows, maybe somebody goes out and gets a sandwich and they get run over by a bicycle and they've got to go to the hospital and they, you know, just hurt their leg and can't vote or something like that. I mean, who knows what can happen, but very likely that this bill is going to pass. What's the first thing that comes to your mind about this situation?
Heather Digby Parton
Well, you know, I mean, it's depressing as hell. I mean, we knew going in the minute that Donald Trump won the election and they won the majority that this was likely to happen. I never had any hope that this, that whatever legislation they came up with was going to be, you know, anything but horrific, just judging by the people that they are and the agenda of Project 2025 and the agenda of Donald Trump and the, and let's face facts, the agenda of the Republican Party, which is essentially what we're seeing here. You can blame Donald Trump all you want, but, you know, and he's terrible and he's, there's, you know, a lot about the immigration policy that's in here, which is horrifying, that comes stems directly from him and Stephen Miller and the whole crowd around him on immigration. But nonetheless, this is, this is a Republican, you know, wet dream. Basically. The only thing missing is their, you know, a big chance to take out Social Security. So they're going to have to save that for the next time because, you know, there's not going to be anything left to cut when they're, when they're done here. They've been wanting to go after Medicaid for, since the day it was, it was, you know, enacted and Medicare, too. And they're taking a dive at that as well in this, we talked about this last time, if you recall, that if they hit over this certain deficit level, entirely possible they're going to hit that paygo and they're going to have to cut Medicare and they'll just have to, I'm sure they'll just shrug their shoulders, say, hey, what can we do? You know, this is the rules.
Sam Cedar
It's automatic.
Heather Digby Parton
Yeah, we just, we can't, you know, nothing we can do about it. That's just how this works. Sorry, guys. And it's, you know, it's an absolute nightmare. But think about this. This is what the Republicans have been wanting to do for as long as I can remember. And, you know, people keep going on and on and on about how, oh, you know, this is such political suicide and why, you know, why are they doing this? And this is terrible. Why would they take this chance? And, you know, this is the new modern Republican Party, which is, we're going to do everything we ever wanted to do and just tell everybody else to just pound sand. They don't care if the public doesn't like it. They don't care if their own voters don't like it, because they're getting away with everything. And Mitch McConnell said it. He said it right out in the meeting. They're all going, well, what are we going to do? Our constituents, blah, blah, blah. And he said, they'll get over it. And he's probably right. People have, you know, they're worried about, you know, the price of eggs and they don't care. Now, I don't know if this is true about the, the upcoming election in 2026. I don't know if people remember then or what catastrophe will have happened in the meantime. But their own voters, the idea that they are going to have, even have the information or be able to absorb the fact this has been done to them by their own party. I think Mitch McConnell is onto something. I think they have been so, you know, for lack of a better word, brainwashed that they'll accept whatever it is that the Republicans do and find a way to blame someone else. They certainly won't blame Trump. And so Republicans are getting everything that they can get all at once, just because they know they can. And this is really, really a dangerous, dangerous moment. This is the moment that Grover Norquist, we all remember him, right? The guy who said, you know, I just want to make government small enough so we can drag it to the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub. That's what he said, and that's where we're at. In fact, he wrote a piece for Breitbart Daily Caller now a couple weeks ago saying, this is what I was talking about. You get it in there, you get the deficit. And by the way, getting the deficits up is part of the plan, right? You get it up so high that the economy really does get endangered. You see this capital leaving and you see the dollar falling and all in the bond market having an earthquake. These are the kind of effects of a deficit, as Paul Krugman just said today. He sort of pointed out what the dynamic is, that when you get deficits up this high and you have a government that no one believes in anymore, that's when you have the problem. Because if people believe That a big strong country like the United States with its huge economy and very powerful, that even if they run high deficits, you know, most people figure, hey, you know, these are serious people, they're not going to take the world economy. Well, that, no, nobody believes that anymore. So there's very possibly going to be serious ramifications from high deficits, which is exactly what Grover Norquist and his people want, because that's just another domino to fall. Right. The economy is terrible. We have to cut, cut, cut. We've got to do all this stuff. And that's what they're looking for. It's what they've looking for. And that's not Donald Trump. Donald Trump is a dullard. He doesn't even know what he's, you know, doing.
Sam Cedar
Wasn't Grover Norquist, prior to Trump's election, in addition to saying the, the drowning, the bathtub, which I know was like back from the aughts, but the other quote, I think it was Grover Norquist, if I'm not mistaken, was all I need is a president who can hold a pen.
Heather Digby Parton
Yes. He said with working digits. Who can hold a pen.
Sam Cedar
He can hold a pen. And, you know, let's do first order things first. And that is recriminations.
Heather Digby Parton
Always the best to start with.
Sam Cedar
I mean, starting in the summer of 2016, you had Democratic leaders like Clinton, Chuck Schumer in particular, and Pelosi, who refused to tie the Republican Party to Donald Trump.
Heather Digby Parton
Right.
Sam Cedar
Like, I remember just my hair on fire in the fall of 2016 going, where is Mitch McConnell? Where is Paul Ryan? Like, they were able to hide as Donald Trump and, and the Democrats have from the very beginning tried to make Donald Trump something other than a Republican, which was not only a bad idea, was not only sort of a delusion in keeping up, like, who the Republicans are, because it kept feeding this notion of like, their fever's gonna break, they're gonna be something different. Like they thought Donald Trump was some type of exogenous thing, thing that came upon the Republicans as opposed to the Republican Party moving in a direction where Donald Trump made absolute sense.
Heather Digby Parton
Absolutely.
Sam Cedar
And not only like, by divorcing Donald Trump from the Republican Party, they made Donald Trump a anti establishment outsider figure when in fact he was going to fulfill everything that the Republican Party wanted and more than they ever thought they could fulfill.
Heather Digby Parton
Yes, you are so right, so right.
Sam Cedar
So this has been a consistent like. And they have not learned the James Carvel, Chuck Schumer mentality of like, Donald Trump's going to do himself in. He's going to do himself in. He's going to do himself in, you know, and they just keep waiting and waiting and waiting and refraining from tying the Republican Party and just saying, we're running against Republicans. This is a Republican bill. Mitt Romney would have done something very, very similar if he had the opportunity. The only difference is that Donald Trump has more popularity with their base than a Mitt Romney would have. It might not have been able. We might have had that same type of situation when we had with Obama, which is where you had the Freedom Caucus. Actually won't take yes for an answer, but who knows, you know, because it's a different dynamic when the president is of your own party. But it seems to me the Democratic Party still fundamentally does not get this, or I should say the leadership does not get this idea that Donald Trump is a Republican. The Republicans are Donald Trump and you cannot run against them separately or you cannot like spare the entire party. As you say, Donald Trump is a maga, a super maga. Max maga, you know, Max, right. Whatever it is, whatever dumb thing that you think that this is somehow making Donald Trump alienated from Republican voters. They just got their tax cuts. That's all they care about. And they got rid of the Medicaid. That's all they care about.
Heather Digby Parton
That's right. No, you couldn't be more right about this. And it's always, I mean, it irked both of us over the years from the very beginning when Donald Trump came on the scene. Because, you know, for one thing, it also lets their voters off the hook. I'm sorry, this whole idea about saying, well, you know, as soon as Donald Trump is gone, then, you know, all the good Republicans will be able to come back and we'll have a good, normal Republican Party again. I'm going, when was that? When did we have, you know, how long has it been since there was some kind of, you know, even the myth about, you know, how they went up to the White House during Watergate and told Nixon that he had to go and they were being very responsible. There's a little bullshit in that too, because the truth is that there were a bunch of Southern Democrats also who were Nixon people. And there's a whole complicated kind of backstory about that that's not quite as clear and clean cut as everybody wants to think. The Republican Party has been full of, you know, jackasses for, you know, well, probably forever. But it's just since it's bifurcated where we've polarized into two tribes that you know, where they have very little in common and very little bipartisanship, that it's become more clear about what's going on. And the idea that somehow they're going to go back to being good stewards of the economy and people you can work with and good bipartisanship, well, let's just say that ship sailed a long time ago. And it had nothing to do with Donald Trump. It had much more to do with guys like Grover Norquist and those people from the Reagan era, those guys like Ralph Reed and Jack Abramoff and the people that came up all the way. This is going back to the early 80s where they were setting this up. That's the conservative movement. John Roberts, John Roberts came right out of that group. And you know, this is, this has been. And so now we're here where they've got the President with the working digits that can sign legislation which is all Grover wanted and he's got it because they've got someone in the White House who they can manage like a child, like a, you know, a mad king where you kind of, you know, he got to give him some stuff, give him some things that he wants and got to flatter him and do this, that and the other. But come on everybody, let's face it, he'll sign this, this big beautiful bill, we'll even call it that, to make him happy and all this stuff that's in there. Because I mean, he, yesterday there was a story, I think it was in notice saying, oh, you know, they've been sending these guys, these emissaries up from the Congress, up to the White House so he can work them. And he's saying if you touch Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, you're not going to get reelected. You know, you can't touch those. And one of the guys goes, but we're touching Medicaid. And he doesn't actually, I mean, in his mind he's so into his own hype and his own, you know, lies and delusions that he maybe has come to believe their story that, you know, it's just a bunch of 25 year old guys in the basement who are, you know, they're being very scrupulous about getting their health care and we've got to stop that so they can go out and get a job. I mean, this is the kind of thing that, you know, it makes it very easy for these guys to fulfill their long held agenda. Nothing new about this. Cutting Medicaid to the bone is not new. I would even suggest that aside from the sort of autopsy that came out of 2012, you remember, in the Republican Party, where they said, well, you know, we've really got to do more to. To appeal to Latinos and we've got to deal with immigration. We've got to be kinder and gentler or whatever it was. That. That was an anomaly because, yeah, it lasted five minutes. And Donald Trump proved that nobody cared about any of that. And this whole immigration thing, building a police state, definitely a Republican thing.
Sam Cedar
I mean, Mitt Romney, if I'm not mistaken, Mitt Romney's immigration advisor was Kris Kobach.
Heather Digby Parton
Yes.
Sam Cedar
And. And. And, you know, he was talking about self deportation. I mean, this was. This was. This is not that dramatically different. You know, Donald Trump may be more brusque, cruder. Yeah, he sells it probably better than Mitt Romney because, you know, Mitt Romney had a stiff jaw as he was delivering this stuff. But the policy apparatus, the theories are the same. I mean, we are on the verge of. Do we have this graphic? We'll put it up in a second. The ICE budget, this is the other thing. I mean, obviously, $100 billion increase to annually to defense, but the ICE budget goes up to some crazy figure, almost.
Heather Digby Parton
As much as defense. Incredible.
Sam Cedar
In terms of the bump. And we're going to be hiring. Was it something like 10,000 new ICE agents?
Heather Digby Parton
And it'd be bigger, a bigger police force than the FBI. It's going to be more ICE agents than FBI agents.
Sam Cedar
Brian, do we have that graphic? Can you put that up? This is relative to other countries. You will see the defense budgets of a bunch of countries. And then you can see the. What. What ICE budget is. It is. I mean, this is crazy. And, you know, this isn't. There it is $37.5 billion. It has a bigger budget than the defense. Then the defense budget for Italy, Israel, Netherlands, Brazil. I can't make out that last one down there. But Switzerland. It's Switzerland. Well, Switzerland. And I mean, this is. We're gonna see this everywhere. We're gonna see ICE everywhere.
Heather Digby Parton
Everywhere. And so they're giving these thugs that are out there with the masks and, you know, armed to the teeth like they're, you know, storming Fallujah. They're giving them huge bonuses, like $50,000 bonuses.
Sam Cedar
I think it's a $10,000 bonus. Signing bonus.
Heather Digby Parton
Yeah, well, I think they're. And they're giving, you know, retention bonuses that are even more than that. This. I mean, this is police state stuff, and it's definitely happening. And by the way, a lot of this money is going to go to building more of those concentration camps like they just built down in Florida. And in fact, what was it Trump was saying? I'd like to see these in every state.
Sam Cedar
Yep.
Heather Digby Parton
So I mean this, this is, and you can tell, you know, I hate to say this, but it's so true. These guys, you know, Trump and Kristi Nam and Ron Desantis were down there the other day. They were so aroused by this. I mean you can just feel it, the excitement. They had Benny Johnson down there. But oh look, I've got, they've got, you know, concentration camp merch. He didn't say concentration camp, but you know, that's what he meant. And he's got, they're wearing hats and they're doing all this. I mean, it's so sick. It's not, there's nothing serious about, about the, what they're doing. It's, it's like it's fun or something and it's, it's absolutely grotesque and they're throwing money at it. And, and by the way, let's just talk about what the potential there is. The corruption you are going to see in this DHS budget is so beyond and probably in the defense budget as well because it's getting a huge bump and they didn't need any more money but apparently they're going to get it. And you know, let me, you know, do you think Pete Hegseth might be, you know, getting a little, little something, something out of all this? Because I think he probably is and I think that the people in DHS probably are. We already know that Kristi Noem's been, been grifting off of her campaign stuff. You know, she, this fifty thousand dollar Rolex that she wore down to El Salvador. You know, Dave. So I think it was ProPublica last week who traced the fact that she was taking some, she was taking a little, a little extra for herself out of one of her, you know, I don't know, dark money, you know, outside expenditure. Yeah, outside. Well, yeah, one of her outside groups. So, you know, this, the potential for corruption and graft in this new DHS bill is beyond because I think we're already seeing this. I think we may have talked about this last time I was on, you know, all these, they're detaining all these people at borders, you know, coming in Australians and Japanese people, Canadians, whatever. They're putting them into these detention centers. They're private prisons. They're being run by, you know, private, private companies that are getting paid per person that is in there, there is a huge potential and there's no oversight, zero. And I don't know who's going to look at it. So I mean, the combination there of the financial incentive, the thrill of finally getting their, you know, their dream come true, here we are, we're on the verge of watching this thing happen. And, and you know, I think I just like you, I trace it back to the fact that the Republican Party has been skating this entire time that Donald Trump has been in and been allowed to not, you know, take any of the responsibility for what has happened and yet remain sort of, you know, semi respectable in the eyes of the public. Mainly because I don't think Democrats, they always wanted to preserve this idea that the good Republicans will come back.
Sam Cedar
We need two parties. I mean, this has just been insanity the way that they've been talking about it. Absolutely, you know, like as if, I mean, even if you believed it, even if you believe that we need a Republican Party to say it is just absolutely. Like, are you like, like you're Nancy Pelosi and, or you're Chuck Schumer or you're Joe Biden and you're out there, you're worried that if you don't say we need a good Republican Party that they're gonna go away. And like, like, like what, like what, what kind of magical thinking is going on in your head? It's just sort of, it's the, the absolute failure. And, and, and you know, we just played a clip of Steve Scalise. We can play that other clip. Let's play that other clip that we have that is virtually identical. Ryan, who was she on with? Oh, did, did I put that in there? Maybe it was. Maybe I just watched it. Wolf Blitzer won with another, you know, Republican. The whole argument about 34 year old, you know, playing video games on his mom's, in his mom's basement. He's gonna have to go get a job. And we are keeping that guy from kicking out from Medicaid somebody who needs it. That's a lie. Medicaid is not a fixed number of people. It is. You cross a threshold in terms of income or you drop below a threshold of income, I should say. Or this notion that we're somehow saving it for the future when of course all the cuts from Medicaid are going to fund tax cuts.
Heather Digby Parton
Right.
Sam Cedar
It's not like they're being, we're saving all this money. We're putting it back into some type of, you know, trust fund for the future or reinvesting it in Medicaid. That's not what's happening here. And it feels like the Democrats have not had to been or been able to articulate, like, get the message out to the public in the proper way. You know, getting distracted by things like Iran, you know, he's gonna make an Iran deal or going on an anti Semitism book tour. I mean, honestly, like, what the hell is going on with that? It is just so blinkered. And, and I just. Look, John, Mike Johnson is there. Is speaker of the House because the Republicans kept kicking out their speakers. You and I saw like 10 Republican speakers over the term that Nancy Pelosi was there and Mitch McConnell was that longtime Republican Senate majority. Probably one of the. From, from their perspective, the best maybe in the history of Republican leaders in terms of what he was able to achieve. But the idea that Democrats are so unwilling to challenge their leadership out of incompetence. Now, nobody thought that, you know, Mike Johnson was going to be able to do this type of thing. Everybody thought that he was gonna be a total incompetent. He very well may be. And it could just be a function of Donald Trump is enough to scare a lot of these people because their districts are so dominated by Trump. But there's a real failure here. And it just seems like over and over and over again, Democrats refuse. The leadership refuse to recognize it. And it's just a question of, like, we gotta get them out.
Heather Digby Parton
Well, you know, I mean, do you see any evidence that that's happening? I mean, maybe I don't.
Sam Cedar
I mean, you know, you see David Hogg attempt to primary people from. I just had Randy Weingarten on yesterday. And yeah, you know, they weren't, she wasn't explicit about it, but there was a sense of like, we don't feel like the, there's enough churn going on here in the attitude of the Democratic Party. And so, I mean, there's nascent things, but it's all coming from outside of. Seems to be all coming from outside of, like the lawmakers. And it's like a failure to recognize that they're screwing up.
Heather Digby Parton
Well, yeah, I mean, I think, and I think one of the big fallacies in this just, you know, to go back just a little bit to what we were talking about. They, they seem to think that if they say things like, we need a Republican Party, we have to have one. That, that, and I've never understood this, that that will somehow persuade Republicans to vote for them. And I don't get it because what they're actually saying is you need to stay in the Republican Party and keep voting. All you good Republicans, the good ones, not the maga, ultra MAGA people, all you can stay in the Republican Party and keep voting for Republicans because we want you to make the republic better. Well, how does that help? I mean, when you look at the, I mean, you see these things like this guy in this Republican in, is it Nebraska, I guess, who just said announced his retirement? Don Bacon. Yeah. And you know, he's in this, basically a Democratic swing district. Lean's Democratic at, at worst, he knows that he's screwed with this, this bill and that he's probably going to lose anyway. So he, you know, has announced his retirement. You know, there, if that were to happen in a, in a, if it were the flip side, there would be a good chance that he, if he were a Democrat and he was in a Republican district that was, you know, like that and Republicans that he'd switch parties. That never happens anymore with Republicans switching to the Democratic Party. And yet it happens with some frequency going the other way. There was one. What's the guy up in, Is he up in New York or New Jersey during, during Trump's first term? That did. Does happen. And if that were to happen, see that, you know, this is where power becomes, you know, a serious issue. That they could flip the House with a couple of defections. Right. I mean, this could happen. Even the Senate's got, you know, they've only got three votes because the Democrats.
Sam Cedar
Maintain seniority in their committee assignments.
Heather Digby Parton
Well, that's a problem.
Sam Cedar
And the Republicans don't. And so they have more flexibility to say, you're right, a bonus for you.
Heather Digby Parton
We got something. Yeah, got something. Something for you. No, you're absolutely right. That is part of the problem. And I don't think they try very hard to do that. I mean, I see no evidence of it. Maybe they do, but. And maybe it's not really that, you know, that reasonable an assumption that anybody would want to. But I'm just saying that, saying things like, well, you know, we want the good Republicans, we need a good Republican Party. And doing all that, all that does is give an incentive for people to keep voting Republicans. And I don't understand what, you know, and then the Democrats end up in these public opinion polls. You know, people hate them more than they. Almost as much as they hate Trump actually more in terms of, you know, overall, you know, loathing of politicians. The Democratic Party's reputation is absolutely in the dirt. And, you know, this is something they're going to have to grapple with. And it has a lot to do with what you said. It has a lot to do with this idea that they seem so feckless and unwilling to, you know, focus. And I think what you said about, you know, them being, you know, all over the place. In fact, you mentioned James Carville earlier. I saw him say something yesterday that kind of surprised me. He's been one of the worst. Right? He goes on and he says, you know, they just. Just let the Republicans, you know, they're digging their own grave. Exactly. Don't do it. Just speak. What? And tell everybody to shut up. Well, I can't remember what show he was on. It was probably on msnbc. And they asked him, so what do you think of Zoran Mamdani? Right. I mean, interesting question. And he surprised me a great deal. He said, I think he's on the right track. He talked about the economy. He talked about affordability, and that is what you have to do. And he said that before. Right. And then put down, you know, anybody who didn't do it. He says, you know, you've got to talk about it's the economy, stupid, and kitchen table issues and all that. But for him to credit Zoron with that, which I wouldn't have expected because I had just assumed he hated him and thought that he was, you know, he was. He was actually. I don't know if he had, you know, had an epiphany somewhere that he needed to shut up about telling the younger generation to, you know, go get lost. But he did say that, and he pointed out something that struck me when. When Zoran won, which is that he's doing what they're all telling them to do. He's keeping his eye on the prize, affordability, cost of living, the economy. He did that in a time when it would have been very easy for him to just completely dive headfirst into culture war issues. New York has a million opportunities to get all off into all of this stuff. He didn't do it. He kept his focus on it, mainly because he was listening to the people that he was trying to get to vote for him. And that's what they were telling him. So, you know, and, you know, I'm, you know, full disclosure, I've been very resistant to the whole kitchen table issue argument. I admit it, because I'm so overwhelmingly concerned with the death of our political system and democracy and, you know, the police state and that stuff. And so that's my own. But that's my own bias. I am I'm a convert. I'm beginning to see the utility of this as maybe the only way to solve. The problems that I'm most concerned with is that people, you know, the Democrats have got to focus. It's just what you said, this big, beautiful bill and what they're doing, they have not been effective yet. I mean, there's still time because it was always going to pass. Right. But there's still time for them to use this effectively as the way to get people off the couch in the next election to actually make a real argument for what is wrong with the Republican Party. Donald Trump will not be on the ballot. They have to talk about the Republican Party, whether they like it or not, and they have to talk about those individuals. And this vote is going to be the way to do it because it is the perfect illustration of everything that is wrong with the Republican Party. And they have to make that case and stop talking about how. Well, there are some good people. Not one of them. I mean, who, who voted against it in the Senate? Susan Collins.
Sam Cedar
Oh, no. Did she. Did Susan Collins vote against it? I don't think she actually.
Heather Digby Parton
I thought she did. She voted.
Sam Cedar
Was Rand Paul. Who is Randall? Who else?
Heather Digby Parton
Yeah, because Murkowski voted for it. Collins did vote against it. It was Rand Paul, Tillison and Collins.
Sam Cedar
Okay. I didn't realize Collins had two.
Heather Digby Parton
Yeah, well, she's up next time and she's vulnerable, but I think they hang it around her neck anyway.
Sam Cedar
Right. Well, I mean, there's a reason why. Yeah, they have the majority and she's, you know, 125 of that. All you got to do is get rid of four Republicans. Yeah, I agree with you in terms of, like. Well, I mean, we should all say Mamdani is also a. Just a stellar candidate.
Heather Digby Parton
Right.
Sam Cedar
But the material benefits, the, the challenge for Democrats and why I think they're. They are. They will talk about. They will try. You know, like, you hear a lot of these people say, like, we should do, you know, the Tom Swazi, you know, put out an op ed, you know, it. Mamdani is doing exactly what they all say they think should be done. But the problem is, is that the way they go about doing it, there is a very. And I don't know how subtle it is, but, but, but there is a somewhat subtle problem with trying to argue for. Against Medicaid cuts, but arguing against any real mechanism to expand Medicaid to everybody. Whether you call it Medicaid or Medicare or, you know, single payer, whatever it is, they're always Having to thread a needle where they say, well, you should have this, but that's about it. And it's like, wait a second. The logic that says we're giving Medicaid to people who are at 140% poverty as opposed to 100% poverty. Poverty. Right. I mean, that's what the, that's what the, that's what the argument is at the end of the day with, you know, they're cutting back on the aca. They're also cutting back on, like, people getting subsidies in the ACA market.
Heather Digby Parton
Oh, yeah.
Sam Cedar
What's the, what's the, how do you say. It just sounds completely arbitrary to say it should be. We only people up to this point should have health insurance that is, you know, affordable or somewhat affordable.
Heather Digby Parton
I mean, it is arbitrary, isn't it?
Sam Cedar
I mean, it's arbitrary. They're trying to thread a needle. And so the Democrats are driving, not all of them, but many of them. And certainly within the context of the leadership, they're driving with the brakes on. And so they could never put the pedal to the metal because they also have their other foot on the brake. And that is the sort of ideological and rhetorical, in many instances, challenges they have. Now, the Republicans have their own challenges, too, because they trying to make it seem like they're not cutting their own voters Medicaid, and they are, but they were smart about it because all of those cuts, for the most part, will hit after the midterm election.
Heather Digby Parton
Yes, yes.
Sam Cedar
The tax cuts go into effect almost immediately. The killing of the tax incentives for things like electric vehicles or putting solar panels on your roof or putting in a heat pump, you know, which is, this is like, this is the technology we need to go to, like a heat exchange pump, whether it's like geothermal or airflow. We need this technology. And you're going to kill a bunch of these businesses. You're going to kill a bunch of these businesses. You're going to also kill a bunch of people who are in the pipeline to be technicians of these things. I mean, it is so damaging to our economy long term and to our sustainability. I mean, it's just shocking. And the Democrats did. I don't ever believe they thought that this was going to pass. And I think they didn't think the budget resolution was going to pass. And then I thought they're like, well, a single bill won't pass because the parliamentarian is going to say, hey, you can't create a baseline that is, that is on the current policy. That's ridiculous. It's absurd. You've got to create the baseline after the tax cuts run out. That's the way we've always done it. I mean, they're always like, a step or two behind here. But I want to turn to just one more because we don't. We're backing up against 1pm but this is really important. And you and I have seen this play before in some respects. Abrego Garcia has come back from ccot, and he and his lawyer are basically saying, like, he was tortured. And not just him, but, like, all these people who are sent down there, remember something like 82. These people are not.
Heather Digby Parton
Well, first off, they're not criminals.
Sam Cedar
It doesn't matter if you're criminal. We don't torture people supposedly. But regardless, we sent them to essentially what amounts to a torture chamber. The torture involved, like, you know, standing up or on the knee, like, knees, and not being, you know, and having them soil themselves, sleep. All of it torture. And here is in. And here is here. Let's put up this terror sheet. Put up number five. This is the description of some of the torture. You guys got that? Yep, we're pulling up now. Okay. And then I want to play this clip. This is, you know, lost 31 pounds in his first two weeks. 31 pounds in two weeks. Aside from that being obviously a dangerous amount of weight to lose. How does that happen? Unless you're being starving calories at all?
Heather Digby Parton
Yeah, of course. Yeah.
Sam Cedar
And I mean, it goes on and on. But here is Fox News contributor trying to justify this stuff. This is on the.
Heather Digby Parton
And if you're gonna vote no on this, then you're voting along with. And if you're gonna.
Sam Cedar
This is Monica Page from Charlie Kirk's outfit.
Heather Digby Parton
And if you're gonna vote no on this, then you're voting along with Democrats, especially Democrats like Maxine Dexter, who was on the Hill today dressed in a white robe, who also visited El Salvador to go see Kilmar Abrego Garcia who killed Americans. This is something that a lot of people are passionate about passing. If you're not siding with Republicans, then unfortunately, unfortunately, you're siding with Democrats, anti American.
Sam Cedar
Okay? For people watching, Sheila got a cross necklace on there while she lies about him. She said that Kilmar Abrego Garcia killed Americans. Kilmar Abrego Garcia is accused, was never accused of killing Americans. He was accused of being in a truck with migrant workers who were going to a job site, and that has mutated into now killing Americans. Now, she put up an apology tweet this Is number seven. Tonight, during an interview on Fox News, I inadvertently said that Kilmara Brago Garcia killed Americans. What I meant to say is that he's been connected with gang activity. He has not been connected with gang activity, incidentally. That has devastated the lives of many people and killed an untold number of Americans. He's been connected with gang activity in the same way that I'm connected with gang activity in that it exists in the same planet that it does, that I'm on.
Heather Digby Parton
I watch Boys in the Hood, so I'm connected, too.
Sam Cedar
There you go. Obviously promoting the gang lifestyle, Heather, it's. It's pretty clear. Yeah, but you made a really good point about the sort of like, this is not America. Well, I don't know.
Heather Digby Parton
Not really. I mean, look, when this story came out last night, I was on social media and I was on X and on Blue sky and they were talking about, people were going, this cannot stand. People must be held accountable for this. This is America. We don't do that. And I'm going, guys, hate to remind you, but yeah, yeah, we do. And we have done. And in very. It's not going back centuries. This was just back in the 2000s, we had black CIA black sites. We were abducting people off the streets and sending them to foreign countries where they were tortured. That happened. That was called rendition. We had Guantanamo Bay, where we are.
Sam Cedar
Using, again, in this very context.
Heather Digby Parton
We're using it in this very context. And it was shown over the course of many very, very difficult investigations that we tortured the hell out of people. I mean, we really did it. Waterboarding and this sleep deprivation. They did all kinds, I mean, just horrible force feeding with people who went on hunger strikes. They did, you know, forced enemas. It was an absolute nightmare. And no one was ever held accountable for that. There were a couple of grunts at Abu Ghraib in Iraq who stupidly took pictures of themselves and ended up causing a big scandal. But honestly, this was never, ever properly adjudicated in any way. And in fact, once again, let's talk about the Democrats because they, you know, Dianne Feinstein, you know, for all of her, her ills, she did one good thing in her career. She did a couple of good things. But this one was, was actually really good. She was the one who headed that torture investigation in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and she tried to get that information out. It was a thorough investigation. It showed everything. And they ended up with the Obama administration, ended up killing it. And they did it. They did some kind of Trick. It was sort of a formality where you'd send it to the White House, and if they didn't open it, it meant that it hadn't been delivered. And so as a result, it was never made public. They made public the summary that was done in the beginning, but none of the details. And that they made a movie about it with Annette Benning was in it. Adam Driver was in it about the. It was called the. The Investigation, I think, or the Report or something. But in any case, this. This actually happened. We did this. We did it. No one ever paid a price. George W. Bush is out there. He and Michelle Obama are changing, you know. Yeah.
Sam Cedar
Is that. Is a professor at Stanford?
Heather Digby Parton
Professor at. Yeah, yeah. Or Berkeley, I think.
Sam Cedar
Berkeley.
Heather Digby Parton
Berkeley. And. And, you know, these all out there, you know, they're getting, you know, few little grunts from Abu Ghraib got. Had to do some time in the brig or whatever, but that was it. And so anybody who thinks, and this is my big concern here, we're building concentration camps. And that's what they should be called, because that's what they are. They're not death camps yet. They're not termination camps or whatever. They're concentration camps. We're concentrating people that have been grabbed off the streets that are awaiting some kind of adjudication, supposedly, and they're being thrown in there with very little communication with anybody. Nobody knows what the treatment is. We're hearing stories from all over the place. I live in Los Angeles, so let me tell you something. This is a city under siege by ice. It is under siege. People are terrified. They're afraid to go to work. And this is, you know, these Latinos, American citizens, are walking around carrying their passports.
Sam Cedar
Yep.
Heather Digby Parton
In. In California now because they're terrified of being. Of being, you know, grabbed up off the streets. And once you start that you build concentration camps, you better bet they're going to be doing that sea cot stuff.
Sam Cedar
Because that DOJ is already starting to, like, ramp up their investigations on denaturalizing citizens.
Heather Digby Parton
Yes.
Sam Cedar
I mean, this is like, you know, I hope people see how the way this works. When we talk about a canary in the coal mine, it is because that there is a problem that is escalating. And they start with the most marginalized people and then they work their way up. And, you know, you know who's a naturalized citizen, Zoran Mamdani.
Heather Digby Parton
And he. They're talking about. They asked Trump about it down in. He was visiting the concentration camp with Ron DeSantis. He said, yeah, we ought to Arrest him. And they said, well, what about deportation? It was Benny Johnson who asked him about it, by the way. What about. They're talking about. He said, well, I hear people, people are saying he may be here illegally.
Sam Cedar
The people should also understand that the way that this is utilized is they talk about Zoran Bomdani and then the idea that they're just going to do, you know, Jim Stevens becomes not as dramatic.
Heather Digby Parton
Yeah.
Sam Cedar
And so, you know, this is just their way of, of expanding essentially the, you know, the Overton window. I don't know, you know, it's an overused phrase in some ways, but that's what it is.
Heather Digby Parton
That's how this works. And you know, if you build it, they will use it.
Sam Cedar
Yep.
Heather Digby Parton
That this is just what's happening. We're building this national police force. It is, and it is populated by people who run around with masks on, carrying heavy, you know, military style weapons, dressed like they're going to a Call of Duty cosplay convention. And they run around, nobody knows who they are. It could be anybody. They don't even have. There are people who literally have been disappeared off the streets of Los Angeles. It's a local story of this woman was taken and there's no record of her being put into any of these detention centers. But there are all these stories of what they're calling bounty hunters of people, you know, grabbing them, then claiming, you know, because there's this self deportation money apparently where you can get a thousand dollars or whatever, grabbing people, getting them, getting their money and then sending them over the border. I mean just weird stuff like that is happening because there's no oversight, there's nothing, nobody can do anything about it. It's just, and you know, they're going to build more of these concentration camps. They're going to be giving bonuses to these guys hiring, you know, imagine the vetting that's going to be done in DHS when they're hiring. I mean, imagine who they're going to be hiring. Probably every one of them will be pardoned January 6th, you know, insurrectionist. And they're going to be, you know, the amount of money that's going to be going into this and you can just imagine. And of course it's going to lead to abuse. Of course it's going to lead to torture. Of course, you know, there's no way. It's not, how could that not happen? And so, you know, this is something, we're watching it unfold and we're watching this bill being debated and everybody, you know, we're all sitting there, you know, Hakeem is out there, you know, just talking away. Good for him, you know, saying something. But my God, you know, and I feel like people are saying, well, you know, it's a little hysterical, Heather, you know, you calm down a little bit. You know, it's not that bad. I'm like, well, not.
Sam Cedar
Maybe this is not a static thing too.
Heather Digby Parton
No, you can go to Whole Foods today.
Sam Cedar
It is moving in a direction and it is not slowing down.
Heather Digby Parton
It's tough.
Sam Cedar
Heather, Digby Parton, always a pleasure to have you. We will link, of course, to the Uber blog Hullabaloo and your pieces in salon.com. everybody should be reading you. You have been a, a foundation of my reading for 20 years. 21 years now. More, actually. Prior to even me doing this professionally, I would read. I would see, as Digby said on. Or as Digby says on, on Atrios's blog, Eschaton. Appreciate you coming on. We'll talk to you again soon.
Heather Digby Parton
My pleasure. Yeah, have a good weekend. Get some rest. We're gonna need it. It's gonna be a lot. Hate to say it. Yep.
Sam Cedar
All right. Thanks, Heather. All right, folks, we. We're gonna head into the fun half. Right. Is that the way we do it on Thursday? We're gonna be welcoming to the show. As you know, folks are here on Thursdays more than me. Brandon Sutton and Matt Bender are going to be here. Do we bring them on prior to the fun half? Yeah, I'll do a little bit of plugging. So let me get up here and. Bender, Brandon, great to see you. Been a while. It's been a while. Yes. Well, all I end up seeing of you is like, you know, cookies, Scandinavian cookies that you leave in the office. And I end up being the one who eats all of them. Them in one sitting. Yeah, like, like some sort of like, fairy type creature. I just leave little treats around your studio. Yes, but it's a, it's, it's like a, an evil fairy. Let's not get to. Because I can't. I don't, I don't have any control around sugar, as it were. Tell us, how is the discourse going? It's going great.
Heather Digby Parton
You know, every morning, usually I stream right before the majority report from 9 to around 12pm Eastern. Tomorrow, I think I'll be doing a.
Sam Cedar
Special, a special, special, special fourth of.
Heather Digby Parton
July show where we dive into some.
Sam Cedar
Of the more American centric conspiracy theories. Maybe some sovereign citizens, maybe some QAnon, maybe JFK still alive, who knows?
Heather Digby Parton
But you'll have to tune in to find out.
Sam Cedar
All right. Well, I mean, it all feels like it's all becoming real. So plenty of JFK is still alive. He just doesn't want to talk to Bobby. He's too embarrassed to. He's. He was, he was playing to come out as, as jfk, but now he's too embarrassed. And look who's here. New dad. I mean, thrice over, right? New. New. New three. Like child dad. Matt Bender, host of Scam Economy and Doomed and Substack the Disruptionist. Yeah. How's it going? You getting any sleep? It's going good. It depends. Depends on the night. Some nights we get sleep, some nights we don't. That's just, you know, how it happens. Are you guys done or, like, what's going on here? I don't know. I. I think so. Maybe. Who knows? It's like the Waltons at your house now, right?
Heather Digby Parton
Yes.
Sam Cedar
We got a lot of, A lot of kids running around and we got a dog and a cat, you know, shebang, Like a sitcom. What are you working on these days? I mean, I, I can't imagine you have much to work with on Scam Economy right now. I mean, for that matter. Right. Yeah, I mean, honestly, it's been. I've had to take a. I, I still Stream every week, YouTube.com mapinder but I gotta get back into the swing of things with the kid and everything. So. Yeah. YouTube.com mattbinder that, that swing of things will be back very soon. So. Follow me. Subscribe to the YouTube channel disruptionist.com Like Sam said, for the newsletter that's gonna officially launch very soon too. I just, just been like, you know, throwing some breaking scoops that I've got over the past couple of weeks on there. But that's my, my. We should say you also write for Mashable, right? And. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah. All right. So, yeah, check me out there. Well, folks, just a reminder. You can support this program by becoming a member@jointhemajorityreport.com when you do, you know, get the free show, free of commercials, but you also get the fun half. And you can IM A. And don't forget, just coffee co op, Fair trade coffee, tea or cha. No, fair trade coffee and hot chocolate. Use the coupon code. Majority get 10% off. Matt. Left reckoning. Yeah, Left reckoning. Ashik Siddiqui of DSA talking about Zoran's victory. And we also talk about Colin Allred, his uninspired. I mean, just run it back campaign for Texas Senate. So check that out. I mean, a lot of people are gonna make some money on that campaign. So congrats to them. Patreon.com LeftReckoning we'll have another Sunday show for patrons this Sunday. S. Borda on the IM Said Sam Cedar looks really old next to these other guys. Well, it's because I'm like 20 years older than both of them at least. I disagree. I think you look great. Sam. I'm always here. I don't think you. That you look great. And I was up all night. All right. All right. He don't look old. I don't know what they're talking about. Like Billy Madison too. Let me put the filter on. All right. We will see you in the fun half three months from now, six months from now, nine months from now. And I don't think it's gonna be the same as it looks like in six months from now. And I don't know if it's necessarily gonna be better six months from now than it is three months from now, but I think around 18 months out, we're gonna look back and go like, wow. What? What is that going on? It's nuts. Wait a second. Hold on. Hold on for a second. Emma. Welcome to the the program. A fun half. Matt. Fun. What is up everyone? Fun hack. No.
Heather Digby Parton
Me. You did it.
Sam Cedar
Fun hat.
Heather Digby Parton
Let's go, Brandon.
Sam Cedar
Let's go, Brandon. Fun Bradley. You want to say hello? Sorry to disappoint everyone. I'm just a random guy. It's all the boys today.
Heather Digby Parton
Fundamentally false. No. I'm sorry.
Sam Cedar
Women's talking for a second. Let me finish. Where is this coming from? Dude? But. Dude. You want to smoke this? 7A.
Heather Digby Parton
Yes.
Sam Cedar
Yes.
Heather Digby Parton
Is this me?
Sam Cedar
Is it me? It is you. Is this me? Oh, that's me. I think it is new. Who is you? No sound every single freaking day. What's on your mind?
Heather Digby Parton
Sports.
Sam Cedar
We can discuss free markets and we can discuss capitalism.
Heather Digby Parton
I'm gonna go smart.
Sam Cedar
Libertarians. They're so stupid. Though common sense says of course.
Heather Digby Parton
Gobbledygook.
Sam Cedar
We nailed him.
Heather Digby Parton
So what's 7921 challenge?
Sam Cedar
Man.
Heather Digby Parton
I'm positively quivering.
Sam Cedar
I believe 96. I want to say 85721 0. 355011 half. 3, 89 11. For instance.
Heather Digby Parton
$3,400. $1900.
Sam Cedar
5 4. $3 trillion. Sold. It's a zero sum game.
Heather Digby Parton
Actually. You're making me think less.
Sam Cedar
But let me say this. You call satire.
Heather Digby Parton
Sam Goes satire on top of it all. My favorite part about you is just like every day, all day, like everything.
Sam Cedar
Do, without a doubt. Hey, buddy, we see you. All right, folks, folks, folks.
Heather Digby Parton
It's just the week being weeded out, obviously.
Sam Cedar
Yeah. Sun's out, guns out. I, I, I don't know.
Heather Digby Parton
But you should know.
Sam Cedar
People just don't like to entertain ideas that. I have a question. Who cares? Our chat is enabled, folks. I love it. I do love that. Gotta jump, gotta be quick. I gotta jump. I'm losing it, bro. Two o', clock, we're already late, and the guy's being a dick. So screw him. Sent to a gulag.
Heather Digby Parton
Outrageous.
Sam Cedar
Like, what is wrong with you? You. Love you.
Heather Digby Parton
Bye.
Sam Cedar
Love you. Bye. Bye.
Podcast Summary: The Majority Report with Sam Seder
Episode: 3531 - GOP Passes Long Sought Brutality Bill w/ Heather ‘Digby’ Parton
Release Date: July 3, 2025
Host: Sam Seder
Guest: Heather ‘Digby’ Parton
In Episode 3531 of The Majority Report with Sam Seder, host Sam Seder engages in a profound discussion with Heather ‘Digby’ Parton regarding the recent passage of a significant GOP bill aimed at increasing ICE funding and implementing stringent measures that critics argue verge on brutality. The conversation delves into the implications of the bill on America's social safety net, the Republican Party's strategic maneuvers, and the Democratic Party's response to these developments.
The episode centers around the GOP's recent legislative achievement—a bill that critics argue represents the largest bailout for the wealthy while simultaneously dismantling crucial social programs.
Sam Seder highlights the severity of the bill:
"Republicans appear to be on the verge of passing the single largest giveaway to rich to the rich and destruction of the safety net in decades."
(01:30)
Heather Parton underscores the long-standing Republican agenda:
"This is what the Republicans have been wanting to do for as long as I can remember. This is a Republican, you know, wet dream."
(24:01)
A critical analysis of the bill reveals drastic cuts to Medicaid and other welfare programs, raising concerns about millions losing their healthcare coverage.
Sam Seder criticizes Republican narratives:
"Medicaid does not crowd out anybody. You either eligible for Medicaid or you're not eligible for Medicaid."
(10:38)
Heather Parton provides a grim forecast:
"Anywhere from 14 to 18 million people now with this Senate bill are going to lose their health care and we're all going to end up paying for it."
(24:01)
The bill includes a substantial increase in the budget for ICE, leading to fears of a burgeoning police state with inadequate oversight.
Sam Seder presents alarming statistics:
"The ICE budget is $37.5 billion. It has a bigger budget than the defense budgets for countries like Italy, Israel, Netherlands, Brazil, and Switzerland."
(37:00)
Heather Parton warns of systemic abuse:
"These guys... they're building concentration camps. They're not death camps yet, they're concentration camps."
(64:01)
The discussion delves into the internal dynamics of the Republican Party, highlighting the influence of figures like Grover Norquist and the party's unwavering commitment to its agenda despite public opposition.
Sam Seder critiques Republican leadership:
"Grover Norquist and his people want deficits up so high that the economy really does get endangered."
(25:38)
Heather Parton comments on party strategy:
"Donald Trump is a MAGA, a super MAGA... They just got their tax cuts. That's all they care about. And they got rid of the Medicaid. That's all they care about."
(33:04)
The episode examines the Democratic Party's struggle to effectively counter Republican policies, questioning their ability to communicate the ramifications of the bill to the public.
Sam Seder questions Democratic strategy:
"It feels like the Democrats have not had to or been able to articulate, like, get the message out to the public in the proper way."
(44:53)
Heather Parton critiques Democratic leadership:
"The Democratic Party's reputation is absolutely in the dirt. And it has a lot to do with... the idea that they seem so feckless and unwilling to focus."
(49:53)
Sam Seder:
"Medicaid does not crowd out anybody. You either eligible for Medicaid or you're not eligible for Medicaid."
(10:38)
Heather Parton:
"This is what the Republicans have been wanting to do for as long as I can remember. This is a Republican, you know, wet dream."
(24:01)
Sam Seder:
"Grover Norquist and his people want deficits up so high that the economy really does get endangered."
(25:38)
Heather Parton:
"Donald Trump is a MAGA, a super MAGA... They just got their tax cuts. That's all they care about. And they got rid of the Medicaid. That's all they care about."
(33:04)
Sam Seder:
"It feels like the Democrats have not had to or been able to articulate, like, get the message out to the public in the proper way."
(44:53)
Heather Parton:
"The Democratic Party's reputation is absolutely in the dirt. And it has a lot to do with... the idea that they seem so feckless and unwilling to focus."
(49:53)
Sam Seder:
"Using, again, in this very context... This is institutionalized brutality."
(64:04)
The episode paints a bleak picture of the current political landscape, emphasizing the GOP's commitment to dismantling social safety nets and expanding ICE's power without adequate oversight. Heather Parton articulates concerns about the erosion of democratic principles and the rise of a police state under the guise of legislative progress. Meanwhile, Sam Seder criticizes the Democratic Party for its perceived inability to effectively counter Republican strategies and communicate the dire consequences of the bill to the general populace.
The conversation underscores a critical juncture in American politics, where partisan agendas threaten to undermine foundational social programs and civil liberties. The guests advocate for heightened awareness and proactive measures to challenge these legislative moves, calling for a reinvigorated Democratic response to preserve America's social fabric and democratic institutions.
The episode also features a segment referred to as the "fun half," which includes lighter interactions and banter among the hosts. However, the primary focus remains on the serious political discourse surrounding the GOP's new bill and its far-reaching implications.
For further insights and detailed analysis, listeners are encouraged to tune into The Majority Report with Sam Seder and explore additional resources provided by Heather ‘Digby’ Parton on platforms like Salon.com and her personal blog.