This Vulnerable GOP District Just Got Blown Wide Open (Mike Sacks Interview)

Summary

The MeidasTouch Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title: This Vulnerable GOP District Just Got Blown Wide Open (Mike Sacks Interview)
Release Date: April 14, 2025
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas
Guest: Mike Sachs, Democratic Candidate for New York's 17th Congressional District

---

1. Introduction

In this episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast, hosts Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas delve into the political dynamics of New York's 17th Congressional District. The episode centers around GOP Congressman Mike Lawler's recent admissions regarding Social Security cuts and explores the broader implications for the district's political landscape. Democratic candidate Mike Sachs joins the discussion to critique Lawler's policies and campaign strategies.

---

2. GOP Congressman Mike Lawler's Admission on Social Security Cuts

Clip Playback:
Ben introduces a clip from MSNBC featuring Republican Congressman Mike Lawler discussing potential Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid cuts.

Lawler's Statement ([01:57] - [02:54]):

"Basically, defense spending, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid."
"Most of our debt is accrued by mandatory spending. There are savings to be had in the Defense Department... across every agency and department in the federal government."

Ben's Analysis ([02:03] - [02:54]):
Ben highlights Lawler's blunt acknowledgment that significant portions of the federal budget are earmarked for essential programs, leaving limited room for cuts. He juxtaposes this with former President Donald Trump's substantial military spending proposals, questioning the feasibility and political motives behind such decisions.

---

3. Lawler's Stand on Federal Spending

Second Clip Playback:
A clip captures Lawler's defensive stance during a CNN town hall, where he interrupts Democratic Congresswoman Hayes.

Lawler's Interaction ([03:36] - [04:04]):

"What we're talking about is burning down the house instead of taking out the garbage... There is waste in the federal government. All of us would like to see that go."

Ben's Critique ([04:04] - [04:31]):
Ben criticizes Lawler's aggressive rhetorical style, comparing it to former President Trump's confrontational debate tactics. He underscores Lawler's repeated use of the term "trillion" in budget discussions, viewing it as a lack of substantive policy proposals and a penchant for hyperbole.

---

4. Democratic Majority PAC's Ad on Lawler

Ad Playback:
Ben plays a Democratic Majority PAC advertisement targeting Mike Lawler, emphasizing his support for tariffs and economic policies detrimental to consumers.

Ad Highlights ([04:31] - [05:02]):

The ad portrays Lawler as supportive of tariffs that increase costs for everyday Americans, labeling them as taxes passed onto consumers and predicting economic downturns.

Ben's Commentary ([05:02] - [05:25]):
Ben elaborates on the negative impact of tariffs endorsed by Lawler, connecting them to broader economic consequences such as inflation and recession. He frames Lawler's policies as self-serving, benefiting wealthy elites at the expense of the general populace.

---

5. Mike Sachs's Interview and Critique of Lawler

Introduction to Guest ([05:02] - [05:25]):
Ben introduces Mike Sachs, a Democratic contender for the congressional seat, highlighting his opposition to Lawler's MAGA-aligned policies masquerading as moderation.

Mike Sachs's Critique ([05:25] - [12:57]):

• Lawler's Deceptive Moderation:

  "Mike Lawler pretends to be a moderate up here while he votes MAGA down there."

• Impact on Social Services:

  "He has allowed our Social Security office to close and then had to beg the Dear Leader to reopen it here in Westchester... He's failed to combat threats to Medicaid."

• Tariffs and Economic Mismanagement:

  "Lawler saying, well, you know, it's worth checking out to see how this goes... He's not willing to use the power of the purse and the people's voice in the House to stand up to a personalist autocrat in the White House."

• Effect on Veterans:

  "Lawler's failed to do a damn thing about veterans losing their livelihoods thanks to Trump and Musk's chainsawing federal jobs."

• Vision for the Future:

  "We need someone with the vision to match this moment... to rebuild our country into something better, bigger, stronger, more secure, freer and more prosperous."

**Key Points from Sachs:

1. Misrepresentation as a Centrist: Sachs accuses Lawler of masking his true MAGA agenda under the guise of centrism, misleading voters about his policy intentions.

2. Failure to Protect Social Services: Highlighting Lawler's role in shutting down Social Security offices and threatening Medicaid, Sachs emphasizes the tangible negative effects on constituents.

3. Economic Policies Harm Consumers: Sachs critiques Lawler's support for tariffs, linking them to increased consumer prices and economic instability.

4. Negligence Towards Veterans: Addressing Lawler's inaction on veterans' employment, Sachs underscores the human cost of neglecting federal job cuts.

5. Call for Democratic Renewal: Sachs advocates for a comprehensive rebuilding of governmental institutions to ensure they serve all Americans, not just wealthy elites.

---

6. Conclusion

Ben wraps up the episode by reinforcing Mike Sachs's position as a genuine alternative to Lawler's alleged MAGA-driven policies. He encourages listeners to support Sachs's campaign, emphasizing the need for leadership that prioritizes democratic values and the well-being of all constituents over elite interests.

Call to Action ([11:53] - [13:11]):
Ben invites listeners to learn more about Mike Sachs by visiting his campaign website and urges them to subscribe to the podcast and engage on social media to support the MeidasTouch Network's mission of promoting democracy and accountability.

---

Notable Quotes

• Mike Lawler on Federal Spending ([02:03]):
  "You can't cut from the rest of the budget to balance things."

• Mike Sachs on Lawler's Policies ([05:25]):
  "He is MAGA, not moderate."

• Lawler's Defensive Statement ([03:56] - [04:04]):
  "What we're talking about is burning down the house instead of taking out the garbage."

• Mike Sachs on Economic Impact ([08:20]):
  "People did not ask for this and people are now waking up to that here in this district."

---

Final Thoughts

This episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast provides a critical examination of Congressman Mike Lawler's policies and political tactics within New York's 17th Congressional District. Through incisive analysis and a candid interview with Democratic candidate Mike Sachs, the episode underscores the stakes of upcoming elections and the pivotal choice facing voters between sustaining MAGA-aligned governance or embracing a vision for a more equitable and democratic future.

Transcript

[Ad Sponsor]

This episode is brought to you by Lifelock. It's tax season and we're all a bit tired of numbers, but here's one you need to $16.5 billion. That's how much the IRS flagged for possible identity fraud last year. Now here's a good number. 100 million. That's how many data points Lifelock monitors every second. If your identity is stolen, they'll fix it, guaranteed. Save up to 40% your first [e-mail] podcast terms apply.

Want to sharpen your aim, save money on ammo, and train like the pros, all from the comfort of your home. Meet Mantis X, the cutting edge dry fire training system used by the Marine Corps, army and special forces to build precision and confidence. 94% of shooters report improved accuracy in just 20 minutes and you could be next. With Mantis X, you train with your own firearm anytime, anywhere without wasting a single round in less than two weeks. The system pays for itself in ammo savings alone. As a proud gun owner, I believe in the Second Amendment. But rights come with responsibility. That means refining your accuracy, mastering your skills, and staying prepared every time you train. Whether you're a new shooter or an experienced marksman, Mantis X helps you train smarter, shoot better, and defend what matters most. Get yours [e-mail] that's mantisx.com A MAGA.

[Ben]

Republican Congress member from New York just revealed the entire game plan in a stunning admission on msnbc. He said that Social Security cuts, maybe, maybe happens, probably needs to happen. Listen to MAGA Republican Congressmember Mike Lawler in his own words, saying it's not realistic to rule out cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Play this clip.

[Congressmember Lawler]

Basically, defense spending, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.

[Ben]

That's about 90% of it right there. You can't cut from the rest of the budget to balance things.

[Mike Sachs]

This, this, this has been the whole challenge, right, because we're blocking off roughly 87, 90% of federal spending and saying we can't touch that. So we're arguing over roughly 13% of federal spending, you know, in terms of trying to find savings, and it's just not realistic. So the issue, long term, that we all have to grapple with Republicans and Democrats and we have to get serious about is how to tackle our national debt. Most of our debt is accrued by mandatory spending. There are savings to be had in the Defense Department, no question about it. There are savings to be had across every agency and department in the federal government.

[Ben]

You know, the last time I checked, Donald Trump is proposing a $1 trillion spending bill for the military because he likes the number trillion. And also the last time I checked, MAGA Republican Congressmember Mike Lawler, who you saw there, wants to give 4.5 trillion. Yeah, that word trillion again. Tax cuts for the billionaires. And there was that town hall on cnn. It was very odd moment where this MAGA Republican Congressmember Lawlor continued to try to interrupt the Democratic Congresswoman Hayes from Connecticut as she was trying to make a point. And I guess he just didn't like the truth. So he kept on. It was just very odd and honestly kind of creepy. Here, play this clip.

[Congressmember Lawler]

If he has found all of this waste, fraud and abuse, we don't want that either. But what we're talking about is burning down the house instead of saying, I'm still talking, please, is there. What we're talking about. What we're talking about is burning down the house instead of taking out the garbage. There is waste in the federal government. All of us would like to see that go.

[Mike Sachs]

So can you identify one thing of waste?

[Congressmember Lawler]

Mr. Lawler, can you please let me finish my, you've been talking about. Can you let me finish my conversation? And I'm going to finish, okay.

[Ben]

And I'm reminded me of that debate with Hillary Clinton and Trump where Trump was like kind of creepily looking over her and then interrupting her. One more thing I want to share with you about Lawler, who by the way, once kind of claimed he was, he was like a centrist. But I think he's revealed his true colors. This is from the Democratic Majority PAC right here, House Majority Forward, actually. Here's what they're running this ad about Lawler. It's brutal. Here, play this clip.

[Mike Sachs]

Tariffs are part of the President's economic policy. I do believe the economy is going to boom. Tariffs is a tax and it will be passed on consumers. An exceptionally brutal day on Wall Street.

Millions of retirement accounts took a beating today.

The economy is going to boom.

[Ben]

Expected to increase the cost of everything from clothes to electronics to alcohol. It's going to push the US economy, the global economy into recession, all out recession.

[Mike Sachs]

The economy is going to boom.

[Ben]

And Lawlor says Americans need to experience pain. I want to bring in Mike Sachs, one of the Democratic candidates for that seat in New York's 17th congressional district. Hey, Mike, what do you make of, of, of all of that? I mean, you know, he, he branded himself originally when he first ran a while back as centrist, moderate. But he's shown that he's MAGA through and through.

[Mike Sachs]

Yeah, Ben, thanks for having me. Here on Midas Touch Network, we just saw in those clips who Mike Lawler is now. He's up here in our district outside of New York City, Rockland County, Westchester County, Putnam County, Dutchess County. Mike Lawler pretends to be a moderate up here while he votes MAGA down there. Right. He has allowed our Social Security office to close and then had to beg the Dear Leader to reopen it here in Westchester, where I live with my two young children. He's failed to combat threats to Medicaid and is now saying, yes, we have to find some cuts of Social Security in order to pay for the tax cuts for the wealthy and the billionaire best friends of Donald Trump. He's let Trump ram through tariffs that'll, that would raise prices for families here in the Hudson Valley. Tariffs that just Trump on his own whim said, okay, Never mind. Well, 10, still, 10 across the board, 125 on China, but still, Congress could have stepped up at that moment and said, no. You heard the senators in that ad, Republican senators in that ad saying, this will, this is a tax that raises costs on everyday Americans. And Lawler saying, well, you know, it's worth checking out to see how this goes. That is someone who's not willing to use the power of the purse and the people's voice in the House to stand up to a personalist autocrat in the White House who's willing to give the power and the purse and the voice of the people in the people's house wholesale over to the White House so the Dear Leader, Donald Trump, can do whatever he wishes and, and ultimately tip off his best friends to make billions on his saying go. Right before the tariffs themselves, the big ones he'd announced he decided to cancel on his own whim. Meanwhile, Lawlers failed to do a damn thing about veterans losing their livelihoods thanks to Trump and Musk's chainsawing federal jobs. And that's affected veterans in this district as well. So, no, he has played moderate up here, but he's clearly voting MAGA down there. He's, he's maga, not moderate.

[Ben]

You know, it's, I grew up in Long island, you know, I know the roc. You know, I had people who went to George Washington University, where I went to undergrad from, from the area. Also, you know, they elected Lawler, I mean, Republican and they revolt. They've reelected him a few times. Are things shifting there? I mean, do you sense that there's an actual dynamic that's Changing there because of what do has done. Or, you know, a lot of people, you know, a lot of people look at these races and, you know, and wonder how is it that, you know, still there are people who are like voting to gut their own Social Security and voting to get their Medicaid right?

[Mike Sachs]

I mean, this was something that Trump, the tariffs, at least he promised. And people were just like, la, la, la, la, la. They didn't realize what's going to happen. Musk talking about Social Security being a Ponzi scheme. People were warned. But still, even with those warnings, what Doge has been doing, which was not what Doge had announced it was going to do in the first place when it first took to the pages of the Wall Street Journal and what it was proposing then was bad enough. But Trump's and Musk's chainsawing through its proposed supposed waste, fraud and abuse. We heard the Congressman talking about that on the CNN clip you played. They're chainsawing through real people's jobs, real people's livelihoods in a way that no one asked for. Not a single person who voted for these people asked for it. It's not waste, fraud and abuse. When Lawler's saying, can you identify one thing of waste, fraud and abuse? It is clearly not anything of the inflated millions or billions or whatever of non existent numbers that Elon's claiming to have cut. Secretary of Defense James Mattis would say he'd go line by line through the defense budget and he'd find actual waste, fraud and abuse. None of that is what Doge is doing. So people did not ask for this and people are now waking up to that here in this district. People see Lawler and they see that's maga, not moderate. People are seeing what he says and they don't trust him or believe him anymore. And I think there's going to be a lot of people even beyond the Democratic primary, people who are mad as hell up here, the Democrats in this district are mad as hell. But even beyond that, people who thought they were voting for something and got something very different from these people, billionaires who are stealing their voice and their power to enrich themselves at all of our expenses and laughing all the way to the bank with it and think that we won't do anything about it. That is going to be the main dynamic driving this coming election. And Lawler is a part of it. We heard something also, the congresswoman said that they're burning down the House. Trump, Musk burning down the House. What's happening is not only that, Lawler's letting that happen, but it's, it's, it's more than, it's knocking it down. It's leaving rubble and wreckage in the People's House. And that's the one part of the federal government in 2026 that democracy lovers. Not just Democrats with a small D, but also small or big D, but small D Democrats, right? People who believe in fighting autocracy in this country and cutting this vicious cycle where the rich just keep making themselves richer because they've hijacked our country. This is what's going to be left in rubbles because Lawlor's letting it happen. And we need someone with the vision to match this moment where people are rising up, taking to town halls, going on marches, doing the hands off rallies, someone who is willing to take that energy, bring it to the People's House, build back from the rubble of what Trump, Musk and Lawler will have left us into a newer house. Something that can rebuild our country into something better, bigger, stronger, more secure, freer and more prosperous. A democracy that represents all of us, not just the billionaires who've hijacked it.

[Ben]

People want to find out more about your campaign. Where do they go to find out more about you?

[Mike Sachs]

Yeah, everyone watching you can go to Mike sachsforcongress.com you can check out what I'm all about, which I've got two young sons here in the Hudson Valley and we are looking for a better life for everybody. We're looking for a way that all of us can prosper. People here in this New York 17th district, we can see our children be able to afford housing up here in ways that is vanishing for those who've grown up here. We can make sure that those who have been deeply affected by this cut in our freedom, in our pocketbooks, in our democracy that we rescue, that we build back from that rubble. The reproductive freedom which has been gutted by this long term right wing movement. We can restore it. We can build a vision coming back from the House that we can make sure that come 2026, come 2028, come 2030, we are setting our country back to be stronger, more prosperous, more secure and freer than ever before.

[Ben]

There you have it. Mike Sachs, thanks for sharing the wealth of knowledge about that district and what I see as definitely someone pretending to be moderate, but as maggot through and through. We appreciate you.

[Mike Sachs]

Thanks Ben.

[Ben]

Everybody hit subscribe. Let's get to 5 million subscribers. Love this video. Continue the conversation by following us on Instagram. Itistouch and help US blow past 1 million followers.