Go Home America, You’re Drunk: A Conversation with Michael Steele

Summary

The Politics Girl Podcast: "Go Home America, You’re Drunk: A Conversation with Michael Steele"

Episode Overview Released on February 25, 2025, The Politics Girl Podcast hosted by Leigh McGowan features a compelling discussion with Michael Steele, former Chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and co-host of MSNBC's The Weekend. The episode delves into the current state of American politics, the challenges facing democracy, and strategies to inspire action among citizens to preserve and strengthen American democracy.

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1. Introduction to Michael Steele

Leigh McGowan welcomes Michael Steele, highlighting his significant contributions to the Republican Party and his current role in media. Steele is acknowledged for his successful tenure as RNC Chair, where he led fundraising efforts and expanded the party's House seats, positioning him as a credible and influential voice in the conversation about America's political landscape.

Notable Quote:

• Michael Steele [00:00]: "You can be nervous, you can be concerned, but never be fearful of a son of a bitch."

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2. Current Political Climate and Challenges

The discussion begins with McGowan outlining the chaotic state of American politics, citing recent events such as the president's controversial comments on Ukraine, tragic incidents like the hostage family in Israel, and alarming actions like the appointment of Kash Patel to the FBI. Steele echoes these concerns, emphasizing the erosion of democratic institutions and the rise of autocratic tendencies within the government.

Key Points:

• Abandonment of international allies in favor of autocratic decisions.
• President's mishandling of international relations and domestic policies.
• Influx of unfitting personalities into significant government positions, undermining public trust.

Notable Quotes:

• Leigh McGowan [03:22]: "This first month of the Trump presidency has been a legitimate nightmare."
• Michael Steele [07:44]: "It's all a power move. It's all about control."

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3. The Republican Party's Struggles and Leadership Issues

Steele critiques the current Republican leadership, particularly focusing on figures like Mitch McConnell. He argues that McConnell's reluctance to hold the president accountable has led to the party's downfall. McGowan adds that this failure to act has allowed the party to lose its moral compass and effectiveness.

Key Points:

• Leadership's inability to counteract the administration's detrimental policies.
• The need for Republicans to reclaim their foundational values and alliances.
• The impact of internal cowardice on the party's public image and effectiveness.

Notable Quotes:

• Michael Steele [10:56]: "They could have convicted him. We wouldn't even be here."
• Leigh McGowan [07:44]: "If we want to look at waste and fraud, look at all the huge things that are going on with Elon..."

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4. The Rise of Autocracy and the Decline of Democracy

Steele discusses the alarming trend of shifting alliances towards autocratic regimes, highlighting the transformation of the U.S. from "Democracy, Inc." to "Autocracy, Inc." He underscores the loss of democratic principles and the alignment with oppressive global powers, which poses a significant threat to American democracy.

Key Points:

• Transition from a democratic alliance to partnerships with autocratic nations.
• The role of key figures like Elon Musk in undermining democratic institutions.
• The urgent need to recognize and counteract these shifts to preserve democracy.

Notable Quotes:

• Michael Steele [12:24]: "We're now part of that empire that even going back to the 911 days..."
• Leigh McGowan [12:24]: "World, if America is bad? And it's this combination, right?"

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5. Strategies to Galvanize Public Action

The conversation shifts to actionable strategies for citizens to combat the ongoing political crisis. Steele emphasizes the importance of direct engagement with congressional representatives, organizing community protests, and holding elected officials accountable. McGowan echoes these sentiments, advocating for increased public awareness and participation to prevent further erosion of democratic values.

Key Points:

• Mobilizing grassroots movements to demand accountability from leaders.
• Utilizing community organizations and town halls to amplify voices.
• The significance of voter engagement in upcoming elections to effect change.

Notable Quotes:

• Michael Steele [24:54]: "You need to find your 1965 group, your 1968 group, your 1972 group..."
• Leigh McGowan [17:30]: "Making sure our elections will be safe, to make sure they will be secure..."

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6. The Threat Posed by Cash Patel and Other Politically Motivated Figures

Steele warns about the dangers of appointing individuals like Cash Patel to powerful positions within the FBI. He argues that such figures prioritize personal vendettas over public service, leading to misuse of federal agencies to target political enemies rather than addressing legitimate security concerns.

Key Points:

• Cash Patel's unqualified appointment jeopardizes the integrity of the FBI.
• The risk of federal agencies turning against political opponents.
• The broader implications for civil liberties and the rule of law.

Notable Quotes:

• Leigh McGowan [31:57]: "Someone like Cash might even be worse than someone like Chelsea Gabbard."
• Michael Steele [32:36]: "A lot of this is fear. A lot of this is disruption."

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7. The Importance of Eliminating Fear and Encouraging Courageous Action

Steele stresses that fear is a tool used by those in power to suppress dissent and prevent meaningful opposition. He advocates for a collective stance of courage and resilience, encouraging citizens to confront injustices without fear, thereby weakening the administration's control mechanisms.

Key Points:

• Fear as a means of controlling and silencing the populace.
• The necessity of courage and proactive engagement in political processes.
• Building a united front to challenge and dismantle autocratic influences.

Notable Quotes:

• Michael Steele [40:58]: "You can be nervous, you can be concerned, but never be fearful of a son of a bitch."
• Leigh McGowan [68:19]: "Go forward without fear. I think that's the best way to do it."

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8. Advice for Democratic Leadership and the Path Forward

In the concluding segments, Steele offers guidance to Democratic leaders, particularly the new DNC Chair, emphasizing the need for a strong, visible, and proactive leadership style. He underscores the importance of reconnecting with the electorate through authentic messaging and robust ground campaigns to counteract the current administration's narrative.

Key Points:

• Democratic leadership must be dynamic, visible, and engaged.
• Implementing a ground game similar to Steele's successful strategies in the past.
• Focusing on values and visions that resonate with the American populace to rebuild trust and support.

Notable Quotes:

• Michael Steele [53:09]: "He's the chairman of the national party, all Democrats, including the elected ones."
• Leigh McGowan [66:01]: "Tell us how they can follow your work right now, how they can find more work."

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Conclusion and Call to Action

The episode wraps up with McGowan and Steele reinforcing the urgency of taking immediate action to preserve American democracy. They urge listeners to engage actively in political processes, hold leaders accountable, and foster a culture of courage and resilience against authoritarian tendencies.

Notable Quote:

• Leigh McGowan [68:38]: "It's incumbent on us to stop the bleeding so we can live to fight another day."

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Final Thoughts This episode serves as a clarion call for citizens to recognize the precarious state of American democracy and to take decisive action. Through insightful dialogue, Leigh McGowan and Michael Steele provide a sobering analysis of the political challenges ahead and offer a roadmap for revitalizing democratic engagement and accountability.

Transcript

[Michael Steele]

You can be nervous, you can be concerned, but never be fearful of a son of a bitch. Never be fearful of a bully, because a bully is no one is nothing more than a guy who's puffed himself up on the expectation that you will be too afraid to go stick a pen in him and watch him pop.

[Leigh McGowan]

Hello and welcome to the Politics Girl Podcast. I'm your host, Leigh McGowan. Let's get into it. So some episodes we take deep dives into specific issues. Some are calls to action with groups out there in the field doing the hard work of democracy, and some are just answering the question, what the hell is going on? And how do we make sense of all of this? Look, last week was a mess. America essentially abandoned our international allies in favor of the autocrats of the world. We embarrassed ourselves on the world stage, culminating with our president blaming Ukraine for Russia's invasion of them and then trying to shake them down to benefit himself. We had the horrible tragedy of the hostage family in Israel where the mother and her children appeared to have been brutally murdered by Hamas. We had more plane crashes. We fired all our park workers and aid workers. We found out our Republican leaders don't care if we die of cancer or bird flu or tuberculosis or measles, or if Kash Patel, who would be happy to kill us all if the king asked, is head of the FBI. In many ways, reading the news feels like you're in free fall. It's scary. You can't get your bearings or find anything to hold onto. And watching legacy media or some politicians response makes it feel like we're totally alone, like we're losing it while everyone else pretends things are normal. Which is why our guest, Michael Steele was such a breath of fresh air last week. Former RNC chair and co host of the MSNBC show the Weekend, Michael let loose on a Democratic strategist asking what you would have us do by basically saying what we've all been saying, which is I would like you to give a damn. He went on to say that Elon Musk clearly has absolute power and it's essential that people wake the hell up and show some anger that our country is under assault. So we're going to talk to him. And if you don't know Michael, he is the former lieutenant governor of Maryland who was the incredibly successful leader of the Republican National Committee in the days before Trump breaking fundraising records and winning the biggest pickup of House seats for his party in modern American history. And now he's on TV telling it like it is. So without Further ado, please welcome my guest, former chair of the rnc, host of the Michael Steele Podcast, and co host of MSNBC's the Weeknd, Michael Steele. Thank you for being here, my friend.

[Michael Steele]

Oh, it's always so good to see you. We were talking, folks, we were talking a little bit off air before we dialed in, and I would just say, look, this, I've been using you as a. As a safe harbor, going to your TikToks and reading your. And listening to what you're saying out here, because right now, I think a lot of folks have a lot of angst. There's a lot of sudden realization that this shit is real, that families and communities are being hurt and harmed. The Senate just last week gave Cash Patel free reign of our. Of our FBI. So, you know. Yeah. What's in your wallet?

[Leigh McGowan]

What's in my wallet? Well, listen, here's the thing. I'm glad to hear that my rants in the kitchen are giving you like, you know, you can see yourself reflected in them a bit, because I really felt myself reflected in you when you went viral last week, telling people to wake up. Right. I was just saying in the introduction, I found it so comforting to hear someone with some actual passion telling it like it was, because, God, this first month of the Trump presidency has been a legitimate nightmare.

[Michael Steele]

It has. And look, there are folks like you and me and others who were grinding through the electoral process in 24 and even before 24, trying to establish a narrative around what we saw coming. We read Project 2025 and we explained it. We broke it down, and we just said, look, this is not. This is not good. When they're lying to you about, oh, Project 2025, we don't. What are you talking about? There's what, you know, it's Project 47. I don't know what 25 is. You know, all of the, you know, the fake head moves and the lying and the bs, we tried to sort of put that out there, and now it's kind of coming home to roost for a lot of folks. Republicans are finally forced to have some town halls. We'll talk about that. I'm sure Democrats have been doing town halls, and now you're also seeing more and more people take to the streets, which is what my thing was. I'm like, I'm watching stuff burn down and I don't hear crap from nobody. I mean, that's not even an excited utterance about what's happening. And so it's refreshing, I guess. I'll use that Word to see, folks. Tact to what you've been saying from your kitchen, what I'm saying from my various platforms and what others are saying, wake the hell up and pay attention. This stuff is real. There are people who were just fired yesterday and last week who went to work and were told, oh, you're done here. Go home. We don't need you. And the funny part, and funny and ironic, is they're telling people, remember, in the beginning of shortly after the inauguration, Donald Trump put out this edict, because his executive orders are not executive orders, folks. They're edicts. Okay? So let's be clear about what we're doing. Time cover with him with the crown on the head. Actual cover is an accurate capture. But here's the deal. They wanted federal workers to come back to their offices to prove that they're working, only to be summarily fired. What was the point of creating all this traffic on the beltway here in the DMV just so you could fire people? Is that you want the satisfaction of just handing a notice or walking to someone's desk and say, pack your shit up. You're done?

[Leigh McGowan]

Yeah, I think that is it, Michael. I think that a lot of it is, like, the same thing. If you're an abusive relationship, it's about control, right? I'm gonna force you to come back to the office. Then as soon as you're back here, I'm gonna tell you, you're fired to your face. It is a power move. It is a control move. It shows you very clearly that they don't care about the American worker, the American people, what's best for us. They're firing people that literally we. But most of us don't understand what the government does. And I think that's the thing. Most of us don't understand what the government does. We go, yeah, oh, the government's too bloated. And it's, yeah, let's get rid of waste and fraud. You're like, waste and fraud. The people that are studying cancer to make sure we can cure it. Waste and fraud. The people that are cleaning up your parks so it doesn't catch on fire. Like, waste and fraud. The people. These are the people they're firing. If we want to look at waste and fraud, look at all the huge things that are going on with Elon and all the deals he's getting so we can buy a bunch of terrible cybertrucks that break down and. Can't get out of the sun, can't get out of the snow, can't get out of a dirt patch, can't get out of anything, but we're going to buy 400 million of them. That seems like kind of a waste, right? It is so foolish what we're doing. If we want to get rid of waste and fraud, why would we start by firing all the inspector generals whose entire job is to look out for waste and fraud?

[Michael Steele]

Right.

[Leigh McGowan]

Like it shows us what they're doing. It's all a power move. It's all put the crown on my head and I'm going to put out royal edicts and you're going to follow them. And that's not how the American government works. That is not how we're supposed to function. And so everything is kind of devolving very quickly. Like we're saying we've been, it's been a month, right? And I was looking at headlines recently and the headlines are, and I'm going to tell you, these are from all different publications. Rolling Stone, Vox, Wall Street Journal, and these are the current headlines that I'm looking at right now. Trump is planning to take over the Postal Service. Trump cuts jobs at overlooked agency that puts every American at risk. Doge slashes health care for sick 911 first respond responders. Trump orders database tracking federal police misconduct to close IRS begins to fire 6,000 workers threatening tax season delays. It's just on and on and on stuff. Oh, early foreign policy moves signal New World Order taking shape. Well, that's wonderful. Great job, America. Right?

[Michael Steele]

And we're on the wrong on that last point. I hope Americans understand that we're on the wrong side of this New World Order. The new axis that Trump is trying to create is anchored by Russia, number one, in which there is this sort of co equal relationship with China and the US we have now shifted, if you want to go back to the words of Reagan, we have now shifted to an alliance with the evil empire of which we are now part of that, of that empire that even going Back to the 911 days when Bush singled out Iran and other nations as this axis of evil, we're now in that club. We're not in the club of the world order of law and order, of civil and civic rights. We're not in that space anymore. And we're not even being slowly moved, Lee. We're being pushed. And what is so disheartening for me as a Republican, forget the conservative bullshit. I mean, that's just an ideological patina that you put on who you define yourself as politically. You know, the Republican Party that stood for the alliances and that stood with our allies is gone. And to listen to Mitch McConnell wax poetically and longingly for that period and for that, you know, I'm hoping that, you know, things are better for us. Well, dude, they could have been. If you'd only gathered at the beginning of the storm, gathered Republicans around the idea of impeaching that son of a bitch when after the January 6 events, he was actually impeached. You could have convicted him. We wouldn't even be here.

[Leigh McGowan]

Yeah. People have to understand, if Mitch McConnell had just rallied Republican senators around removal because he was impeached, he could never have been able to run again. He never would have been able to be a candidate. We wouldn't have spent that many years listening to him having the election stolen and running again. This is a Mitch McConnell choice. So for him to now be like, oh, wr, also, I'm leaving is very unhelpful to us at this moment. Right. Like, especially since. Yeah. And it's unfortunate because clearly he's having, you know, he's gotten old. He's having sort of glitches publicly. But he was a real genius in politics. And in, I mean, I would say he is an evil genius, but he's very brilliant. And it's unfortunate now that we can't use that mind to help us get out of what he knows is the wrong place. We literally are the bad guys now. And if you think of America as the bad guys, it is heartbreaking, because who's coming to save the world? World, if America is bad? And it's this combination, right? It's the Russian, Iran, in many ways, Israel under Netanyahu, Hungary, China. It's this autocracy, what Anne Applebaum calls Autocracy, Inc. It's like a corporation of the worst minds in the world who want more power, more wealth, more control for themselves. And they don't care about, you know, the people or what it's going to happen. But they're in direct competition with Democracy, Inc. And when America moves from Democracy, Inc. Into Autocracy Inc. That's a real problem.

[Michael Steele]

Well, that's. That's an excellent point because it, it does align with, you know, what we're seeing happening in the various quarters where you have now the American version of an oligarchy being created. That inaugural photo of Donald Trump with five billionaires sitting behind him, each with their tentacles in some aspect of government contracting. The lead dog, of course, being Elon Musk, who, for me, everything about Elon Musk and his relationship with Donald Trump and what he's doing. What his end game is was not summed up by Elon Musk, but summed up by his four year old son, who in the Oval Office not only dug in his nose and smeared boogers on the Resolute desk, but looked at Donald Trump and said, you're not the President, you shouldn't be sitting there. And then would go on when Trump was talking, says, shut your mouth, stop talking. Now, where does he get that from? Where does he get that opinion at that age of the President of the United States? Because the boy ain't sitting there on Twitter all day long, right? So let's be clear.

[Leigh McGowan]

No out of the mouth of babes comes right out of the mouth of the parents. You're just repeating their parents, repeating you.

[Michael Steele]

That's why people don't like 2 to 5 year olds around them when they haven't. Because that conversation is going to get replayed. Well, my mama said. Or they just blurt out the words.

[Leigh McGowan]

Well, you know, yeah, my parents don't like you. You're like, whoa, you know. Yeah, that's very, very much what children do. Now listen, you said Trump's given Elon Musk absolute power. And looking at what he's doing right now with Doge, I don't know how anyone could argue with that fact, but what the Republicans are doing, because this past week, a Democratic coalition of states challenged Elon's authority in court. They called him an agent of chaos, saying exactly what you said, that the federal government has given this man virtually unchecked authority without proper legal authorization of Congress, without any meaningful supervision of his activities. But the Trump administration is claiming that Elon doesn't even work for the agency he was tapped to lead, that he's just some special advisor communicating the President's directives. But that's just bullshit, right? Trump has no idea what Elon's even doing out there. He's meeting with Modi and Trump's like, oh, really? Like he's meeting with the Prime Minister of India. I don't know, I guess he wants business deals with him. You're like, bro, that's not how the government works.

[Michael Steele]

That's not how it works. And I just find again, and getting back to the point that you have a Mike Johnson, speaker of the House, you've got a John Thune, Majority Leader in the Senate, both of them with various body parts in their hands, trying to figure out what they should do. The reporting that's now percolating out on the street is the true confessions of Republicans who are saying they're scared shitless because the monster is now prepared to really turn on them, not just in terms of, oh, we're going to primary you, but through threats and violence. Senator Tillis, Thom Tillis being threatened, physically threatened, if he voted against any of Trump's nominees. This is what happens when you allow a thug culture to overcome your government service. So now you become handicapped to the point where if you were feckless and useless before a pile of shit in the corner of the room has more value than you do right now, serving in the job that you have because there's nothing you can do or nothing you will do to stand up. They can't even sit there and go, all we need is four votes in the Senate to stop Cash Patel. We just need four votes in the Senate to stop RFK Jr. Right. None of it. So if everything is built around this idea that, well, he's going to come after me. To your point about an abusive relationship, America now has to step up and help heal this moment by removing those who are abused, giving them opportunity and time to go lie on a couch and recover because their public service is no longer needed. And that's what this moment leads to, into 2026. To the point you were. I think we were talking off air a little bit before, you know, folks, worrying about 2026. What we got to deal with, what's right now.

[Leigh McGowan]

Yes, exactly.

[Michael Steele]

We've got to galvanize this moment and create the wall that officials are not creating to be the. I mean, the courts, folks. You already beginning to see the weakening of the courts. You had a ruling just, just the other day last week where the. Where the judge says, well, I know he violated my court order, but I'm not going to do anything about it. Why the hell are you on the bench? Because I know if you or I violated a court order, what would happen?

[Leigh McGowan]

Yeah, no, I mean, what would happen with half the stuff that Trump had in court? You know what I mean? We all would be in jail by now if we were Trump. I think the thing is, is that it's this idea that the Republican senators are falling into, that some of the American public are falling into, that a lot of the pundits and legacy media are falling into. And you were discussing it with Joe Walsh on the Bulwark lately, this idea of Trump being untouchable and you can't do anything, and we're all helpless and we can't do anything about it. And you were like, I don't know why people are talking like that. Like there's lots of we can do to affect Trump. Like this man is not actually some unbeatable dictator, no matter what he wants us to believe. So what do you think we should be doing? Like, lay it out for us. Because I do think a lot of people are feeling depressed and despondent and then we can talk about the Republicans. Cowardice, you guys, I am so glad that Marley Spoon is back as a sponsor of the Politics Girl podcast, because our family has been using Marley Spoon every single week since they first found my show. Not because they pay me, but because their service is that good. We literally do not go a week without at least three meals from Marley Spoon in the fridge and then on our table. Honestly, I like to make a home cooked meal for my family. My husband is a great cook, but it's the meal planning that kills me. I just don't have the time. I hate organizing it. I hate figuring out what we want to eat. It's just not what I want to be doing. So instead, I use Marley Spoon. Every week, you get over 100 recipes to choose from. We're talking everything from cozy comfort food like beef stroganoff to lighter options like shrimp tacos. There is literally something for every mood and every meal plan. We have ordered their fresh homemade pan pizza numerous times in a row because everyone loves it so much. Plus, if you don't have a lot of time to cook, Marley Spoon just launched the new 15 Minute Express recipes. They put three of these on every menu each week.

[Michael Steele]

So.

[Leigh McGowan]

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[Michael Steele]

Yeah. So I think you have to start with a couple of realities or truths in order to understand what your move or next move should be. 1. Do not think these things are going to be there for you. 1. Any Republican elected official, right? From governors, senators, members of Congress. So disabuse yourself of the notion that they're going to be some type of check. 2. The courts. The courts will do what I'm articulating as the bare minimum. But as I just noted, we're already starting to see in some instances they're not willing to take the next step to either enforce the decisions that they've handed down or to make very clear that these actions or these steps are in violation of the Constitution and therefore there is no further action to be taken. Cease and desist. That's not going to happen this way. So the courts are not going to be that bulwark against what we're seeing, what it's going to take, and where I think we're starting to see the energy is y'all need to find your 1965 group, your 1968 group, your 1972 groove where you challenge directly in the congressional offices, not just on a phone call, show a group of veterans, show up at the door, knock and say, I want to talk to my Congressman. Because right now, this is what this administration has done. Our veteran benefits are being impacted. The services that my dad was getting have now stopped. My kids program at school has been ended. So I have no way to get him the care, the extra care or attention he needs because of his disabilities, et cetera, that full funnel in your face. Because if folks think they're scared of maga, they need to be more scared of you. They need to be more scared of you as citizens, who have, who pay your taxes, who believe in the rule of law, who believe, yes, government may be bloated, but you know, taking a hatchet to it is not how we solve the problem because others get hurt in that. That's 1, 2. Then it's galvanizing on the streets as we're starting to see demanding town hall meetings, calling those town hall meetings yourself and calling your congressman and senator. Show your ass up. The community's meeting next week. I don't care what you're doing, you better be here. Because if you're not here, don't even think you're on the ballot in the next election cycle. You are 0, non, exclusive, non, whatever. You don't exist. So I think the more we assert our voices in this space, the better. You don't need to protest here in Washington. You need to protest at federal buildings in your community, in your neighborhood. Because the federal government is not here in Washington, folks. It just isn't. I mean, there's a handful of buildings here, there are a couple of headquarters here, but the work and the bulk of the work is done out in your neighborhoods, in your states, especially in those red states. Those red states, those precious red states, they think that somehow they're immune from all of this, but forgetting the fact that they are the ones that are stuck on the government teat so much more than California in New York, please. Places like that, where I live, here in Maryland, places like California and New York and other states large and medium size, contribute more in federal taxes to the benefit of those poorer red states then those red states contribute to the blue states that's just the reality. Those citizens do not pay a proportionate amount of taxes to cover the programs and the cares and the needs of those folks living in places like Maryland or California. So that reality is coming home to roost. And I think we need to level that part of the conversation up more. Say, baby boy and girl, you need me in this fight with you. Because if you, if you want to play out this game and you want to create a red state, blue state divide economically and let's say. And that's why folks started. You notice how quiet it got. You will appreciate this. You notice how quiet it got when prime minister of Canada said, and some members of Parliament were like, oh, well, let's have a conversation with California about annexing California, inviting them to be a part of the Canadian province. Everybody got, well, what, What? And California was like, yeah, okay, let's talk. You know, because if you want to annex Canada, well, Canada can play that game too. And my point is, when you start, you're going down an economic rabbit hole and you want to play that game, trust me, you don't want an America in which the blue states side to say, okay, we're just gonna, we're not contributing any money. Government.

[Leigh McGowan]

Yeah. I don't think they understand how much of their state budget is dependent on federal dollars that are paid by blue states. I don't think they understand that. But they will understand that when their rural school closes and there is no alternative school, they will understand that when their property taxes go up to pay for what the Department of Education used to pay that has now been cut, they will know when their veteran father no longer gets his check, or when they no longer get their security check, or when Medicaid is closed because The Republicans cut 880 billion dol, which is the whole budget. Right? Like, they will understand. They will understand when they no longer get mail because Trump privatized the postal service. These are things they're going to understand. And hopefully by then they'll realize that people like you and I who have been like, hey, they're lying to you. Like, that's not true. That's not true. Instead of being these, like, you know, ex Republicans, I know you still call yourself Republican or me some sort of liberal monster out here, they will realize that, that we were actually telling them the truth, that we actually truly want them to have the things that they need, their schools, health care, all these things, and that we actually are more on the same side than these people that are taking them right now. But you're Talking about the American people coming out, the American people standing up. And I will say I do find it encouraging right now, when you look at Republican town halls, you know, that used to have 50 people, and now they have 750 people, or they have, like a online thing that has never had more than 4,000 people ever. And it has 75,000 people. People around the country are waking up because so much has happened so fast and people's lives are already disrupted in many ways. If they had done this slower, they might have been able to get more done, but now they're really outraging people from the parks all the way down to the veterans. But things like. You've mentioned it a number of times. Things like the Republicans approving someone like Cash Patel. Right.

[Michael Steele]

Yeah.

[Leigh McGowan]

That depresses me, because someone like Cash might even be worse than someone like Chelsea Gabbard. Because if you're looking at the Republicans behavior overseas, which we were talking about, that we're now part of the axis of evil, really. JD's idiotic comments in Europe about how they're all handling their countries badly. Trump's comments about Ukraine being to blame for the war that Russia started. It's pretty obvious we're in bed with the bad guys, which makes, you know, someone like Tulsi, it seems like, yeah, of course we're going to have someone like her giving away our secrets because we're already on Team Bad. But someone like Cash is going to cause us major problems at home.

[Michael Steele]

Yes. Because Cash will get a phone call from Donald Trump and says, I need the FBI to investigate X. Michael Steele. Right. And then federal agents show up at my door and they want me to come in for questioning. Why? My attitude is going to be, okay, show me a warrant, then we can. Then we can have a conversation. I mean, look, that's the problem. A lot of this is. The forward piece is fear. The forward piece is disruption. The forward piece is fear. All right. The forward piece is disruption. Disruption. Fear. Disruption. Fear and fear. Disruption. I make you scared, I disrupt a little bit more. I make you a little bit more scared. I disrupt a little bit more. And so somewhere in that, you have to break that cycle. The pulling of security clearances and Secret Service protection for folks from the previous administration who were.

[Leigh McGowan]

Dr. Fauci. Yep.

[Michael Steele]

Dr. Fauci. Right. But at the same time, giving Elon Musk detail his security, US Marshal status for his protection. He's not even a government official. He is literally a guy under contract for 180 days. That's what a special Government personnel is. He's under contract for 180 days, and then that goes away. But he's now got this U.S. marshal protection that secures him. All these signals that they're putting out is to establish this sense of disruption and fear so that. That you will either, A, stay in line, or B, if you don't, then they'll have Cash Patel and Pam Bondi in cahoots, coming at your business, coming at your personal affairs, coming after you personally. And my thing is, none of that will stand up in court, because at the end of the day, you can investigate whomever you want. But what are you doing with the investigation? You're trying to get me to spend money I don't have. You trying to make me afraid that there's something there.

[Leigh McGowan]

Well, if you think about. If you think about Donald Trump, his entire life, he has sued people. That's his litigation is his thing to burn out. You know, I. I'll have you cater my wedding, that I won't pay you. And then when you sue me, I have more money than you, so you're gonna go bankrupt suing me for money. IOU And I say, okay, how about we set up for 5 cents on the dollar? And you're like, okay, and you take the hit. This is how he's run his entire life, as you said, like. Like a mob boss, like a thug. Right? And then you hire someone like Cash Patel, whose one qualification for this job is his willingness to do anything Trump asks without hesitation. He doesn't care what anyone else thinks. He doesn't care what the rules say. He doesn't care what's fair or what's true. He cares that he has this power, and he will bow to anyone with more power. But he's not remotely qualified for the position. Tom Nichols wrote in the ATL that Trump's choice for FBI director said so much about this second term because it has nothing to do with helping the American people and everything to do with vengeance and revenge, because we have to remember that these federal officers, the FBI, are supposed to be looking out for child traffickers and, you know, helping drug dealers in the DEA and helping make sure we don't have terrorists. And they're supposed to be taking care of us federally as a police force, and we're gonna take those people and turn them directly on political enemies. He said he's gonna go after any. Any media company that speaks negatively about Donald Trump. So freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to protest, Gone. He wants to weaponize the government, something that Donald Trump and the Republicans have been, without evidence, screeching about the Democrats doing for years. But that's exactly what they plan to do with this administration. The man was already a conspiracy theorist. He was already involved in the January six insurrection. He has sued the FBI. He has worked with white supremacist groups, and yet he's now in charge of what is essentially Trump's personal brown shirts. And that should terrify us, and yet it should also outrage us to the point where, if you think about protests like in the Handmaid's Tale, where they just open fire on the protesters, I think most people feel like, I don't want that to be me. But then you think about the protests that are happening in a place like Georgia over there on the Russian border, and those women are out there getting blasted with hoses and kicking their way through the barricades, and I'm like. Like, that's what we have. That's where Americans need to be. We need to be in a Georgian mindset. We need to be in Ukrainian mindset. That's like, sure, you can try and do that. Come at me, bro. Because the more annoying we are, the more we say, I'm sorry, cash. Like, no, the more we do that, the more people that do that, the more cover we get for fighting back. And then that starts giving cover to people like these Republicans who are, like, too afraid to do the right thing. But if they see enough of a groundswell of people who might support them for doing the right thing, then we might see something different. Because you ran the Republican Party, you know what it's like. I mean, these are your people, right? And I'm looking at these Republican leaders right now, and like you said earlier, I want to be like, why don't you just go home? You have no job. Like, you're a rubber stamp for everything this man is doing. Like, are you so in the tank for MAGA or so afraid for your own skin that the American people have ceased to exist for you? And I think the American people have to. To really remind them that we're here.

[Michael Steele]

That is so well put. And for me, the only piece that I have, I would take exception with is I don't think we should be afraid. Really. No, I don't think we. Because fear. Fear can be debilitating. Fear can be. It can freeze you. It can. But most importantly, it will make you second guess yourself. You know, in your gut what you should be doing right now, folks. You know, when you're go. When you tune in and. And you, you click on Lee's Tick Tock and she's in her kitchen and she's laying shit out to you. You know, in your gut, what she's saying is right when you tune into the weekend and Simone and Alicia and myself are leveling up up facts around stuff, or I just lose my mind and just go bad shit off on something, you know, in your gut, we're right. There is no fear in that. There is no fear when you are in your kitchen, at your kitchen table and you're sitting there and you and your husband or your boyfriend or your girlfriend or your significant other, your children are talking about what's happening or more importantly, what just happened to you when you're, when you got to work and were fired or when you're, you're going to work and you're seeing people. And this is, these aren't just people in the federal government. These are people who have associations and contracts to do the work on behalf of the federal government in a whole host of ways and capacities, from healthcare to education to the environment to technology, who are going to work, sitting there going, I don't know if the contract is going to get canceled today and therefore I've got to fire half the office. You know, in your gut, right, what's going on and what's true and you're not afraid. You shouldn't be afraid. What you should be is fucking mad that this has happened. And yeah, you had 78 million Americans vote for this, but you know also that a significant portion of those folks didn't vote for this. Right?

[Leigh McGowan]

That's exactly right, Michael.

[Michael Steele]

I think we need to now recognize this is the chance to go grab some of them by the arm and say, come on, boo. I know, I know what you did, but I'm gonna help you get out of it. I'm gonna help you fix it. And that's how we begin to link ourselves around the idea that if this country stands for anything, for all of his flaws, all of his failings, all of his bloated government at times, that this is not how we want this story to end, right? This is not how we, how we want to go out. We really want to go out with this guy who can't even get, can't even get the proper color of his skin, right? This guy who has never in his life done anything hard, who blows or.

[Leigh McGowan]

For anyone else, he's never done anything for anyone else his entire life, who.

[Michael Steele]

Bloviates how tough he is, but couldn't go to Vietnam because of Some damn hangnail on his toe. Really? This is the guy that you rolling around and creating iconic images of him as Jesus and Moses and all that bullshit? Really? This is the guy? This is the hill you're going to let the country die on? It makes no sense because you know better. So the fear thing, for me, I. I think we take it out of the conversation. You can be nervous, you can be concerned, but never be fearful of a son of a. Never be fearful of a bully, because a bully is no one, is nothing more than a guy who's puffed himself up on the expectation that you will be too afraid to go stick a pen in him and watch him pop. And so we all need to get our collective. And that's why what Trump is doing is. And he was very deliberate, and you and I and many others warned why he wanted the sycophants around him because it's to block and tackle those of us coming with the pen to pop him. That's what Kash Patel is there for. That's what Pam Bondi is there for. That's what Marco Rubio is there for. Which buys a quick sidebar on Marco Rubio. I find it highly amusing that the man who was a champion in the U.S. senate for Ukraine and Ukraine support and funding is now the arc. It has to be the architect of its destruction. That's what Trump does. He punks people to the point where he brings you into his orbit because you are so sycophantic and so desperate, desperate for power and love and support from him, God only knows why, that you will capitulate and make a fool of yourself on his behalf. And that's the irony. The Republicans I'm talking to right now, sitting there shaking. I don't know how he could even do that. Here he is out here championing and fighting for Ukraine, fighting for the alliance, fighting for NATO, making the Reagan argument of why Putin is bad. And now he's sitting there in a room with Putin telling him what to do.

[Leigh McGowan]

It's almost like the COVID charge to be in the Trump inner orbit is your spine and your soul. And then once you give that away, you've got nothing to fight left with. And so he's surrounded himself with a bunch of spineless souls as sycophants. And I think what we have to do is, you know, fight back and show no fear and be incredibly irritating. I think being irritating can actually be quite fun and allow those people to grow a spine back, to refine their soul, to find the ability to maybe Step up, stand out, quit, whatever it is. Because people often ask me, you know, why are you more mad at Democrats than you are at Republicans? And you recently said, to hell with Republicans, they're not going to do anything. They're the problem. Right? And I thought, yeah, that's it. That's the thing. You can't shame someone that has no shame. We shame, we shame Democrats because we know they still have morals and values and they want to help people. And if they're not living up to it, we get on them. Because I'm not going to ask the arsonist to put out the fire. Okay? I'm going to ask the firefighters standing by the sidelines to put out the fire. I can promise you once that fires out, I will fricking punish the arsonist. Right? So, like, don't think the Republicans are getting off. Like, you might. Don't show up on the ballot in 26 if you have done squat. All as my school closes, as my veteran dad loses his benefits, as everything happens, don't even show up. That's how people need to feel. Like, yeah, sure, right now I expect you to do nothing. Cuz you gave your spine away and you gave your soul away. But as soon as that fires out, I'm going to bug the Democrats to do as much as they can. And as soon as that fires out, boy, am I going to punish you. I'll be honest, the more we move into this administration, the more afraid I am of being harassed or stalked or doxxed. The world is just becoming so harsh. 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[Michael Steele]

And that's exactly why I say don't have fear for that reason, because what you just described, there's no room for fear in that. Because you know, the immediacy and the urgency of the fire in front of you. So you want. You want the firemen as. As a citizen, you're standing there with the line of citizens with the bucket of water and. Right. Just passing it. But you also have the firemen with the hoses. Right. And the Democrats or the firemen with the hoses are trying to figure out how to turn the water on.

[Leigh McGowan]

Yeah. Do your job.

[Michael Steele]

Turn the damn knob. Turn the knob. Right.

[Leigh McGowan]

Yes.

[Michael Steele]

That's the piece where we can't afford to be afraid. But then the other side of that is then you get to deal with the arsonist when the fire is out. And that's where the elections in 26 come into play. That's when you look at the ballot and go, wait a minute, hold up, Congressman. What did you do? What role did you play in the fire? Did you give the arsonist the match? Did you give him directions to the location of my home, mean my home standing for the programs and the institutions and the things that were important to me, my family, my community that you allowed to be burned down?

[Leigh McGowan]

Did you outrightly approve Cash Patel, RFK junior Pam Bondi, you know, Tulsi Gabbard, all these people that have systematically destroyed our country over the past.

[Michael Steele]

Anyone talking about the measle outbreak in Texas.

[Leigh McGowan]

Yeah. Or the tuberculosis outbreak in Ohio? Like this is bananas. These are long ago.

[Michael Steele]

What do you think? Diseases next year?

[Leigh McGowan]

That's why I think this is a. That when we talk about 26. I say this all the time. We're dealing with a three prong problem. We have the body politic that is very sick lying on the ground. We know it has cancer. We know we need to cure so many things that ail it. However, it is also currently bleeding out. Right. So we can't deal with the cancer until we stop the bleeding. And for me, stopping the bleeding means making sure people understand what the Republicans are doing right now. Tanking their approval rating, showing them how much they're hurting the American people. And then stop. That stops the bleeding. Getting those Approval ratings under 40%. Give cover to any Republican that might be able to grow a spine back in. Say no. You know, giving cover to any Democrats that want to stand up and say absolutely not. To more people that want to run, to more people that make him look less untouchable. Getting that approval rating down is stopping the bleeding. Then we have to sew up the wound and sewing up the wound is preparing for 26. To make sure our elections will be safe, to make sure they will be secure, to make sure we can vote and our vote will be counted. Then we deal with the cancer. And that is the third step. But first, we must stop the bleeding. And I think that's where we are now. And I was just talking to the head of the dnc, the new head of the dnc last week. And you, when you took over the RNC during the Obama years, you straight up turned that party around. You produced 12 Republican governorships, the greatest share of legislative seats since 1928. You understood what the party needed. You understood what it took to pick candidates to run a successful convention and to turn your party around. So I'm curious at the end of this conversation, what's your advice for Ken Martin right now as he takes over the DNC? Because clearly the Democrats of 2025 need to take a page out of your playbook as they reinvent themselves.

[Michael Steele]

Well, how long has he been in the job?

[Leigh McGowan]

Like two and a half weeks.

[Michael Steele]

Haven't heard a word from him.

[Leigh McGowan]

Well, you should listen to my podcast more.

[Michael Steele]

No, but I'm saying I've not. He's not been in the public discourse. America doesn't know who he is.

[Leigh McGowan]

Yeah, but let me ask you, do you think that the head of the dnc, because one of Ken's things when he was running was the party needs a workhorse, not a showboat. It's not the head of the DNC to be in the media.

[Michael Steele]

Stop, stop.

[Leigh McGowan]

Okay, Stop.

[Michael Steele]

All right? I guarantee you, I guarantee you, Lee, within the first 45 days of my chairmanship, folks around the country knew who I was. They may not have liked me. They may have thought I was crazy as hell. They thought my suits were a little bit out there for a Republican, whatever. But they had. I needed to get the country's attention and through the country, more specifically Republicans, that we were moving in a different direction. And this idea that we need a workhorse and not a show horse. You need both, baby. A workhorse can be a show horse. Have you ever seen those big ass. What do they call those horses?

[Leigh McGowan]

Those Clydesdale.

[Michael Steele]

They are both. They are beautiful. You love looking at them. They're majestic, they are powerful, but they pull big ass heavy shit. And they. They can carry the load. And you put them to work. And while they're working, you're like, damn, that's a fine looking horse. Right? So don't, don't. This Is the problem is the linear thinking. I can't do A and B. I have to do A or B, and I can't. I shouldn't do A because I need to do B or I shouldn't do B because I need. That is not how this. Republicans aren't even on your chessboard now. They're so out at the levels that they're playing name. And you're sitting here just like Hakeem Jeffries in my stuff. My boy. I love Hakeem, and I look forward to one day calling him Mr. Speaker. Right. As a black man looking at another black man who has that opportunity in the history of this country, let's do it right. Ain't a partisan thing. It's about how we progress. But I don't think you progress when you say, now we're going to lay down our swords and pick up our bipartisan plowshots shears against a team that wants to put those plowshares up your ass.

[Leigh McGowan]

Yeah, exactly. I agree with that 100%.

[Michael Steele]

So my thing is, within hours of assuming that chairmanship, I would have laid a marker with the country and said, okay, what we were doing, that's done. We ain't doing this yet anymore the way y'all think we're doing it. Donald Trump, your administration, we coming after you. And we're going to make the case to the American people that we failed to make in the 24 cycle. Right? And it's. It, yes, it's the economy, but it's all a lot of other things, too. And now you have this blueprint that has been created and laid out there that you can look at and go, oh, all of these things that they're doing. Here's our response to them. He is the titular head of the Democratic Party. He is the chairman. Right. He's not just the chairman of the committee, he's the chairman of the national party, all Democrats, including the elected ones. And so minority leader in the House, the minority leader in the Senate, they are their partners. They're the legislative leadership. He is the political leadership. And his leadership feeds into what they're doing, and what they're doing should feed back into what he's doing. So they've got to create that symbiosis. Look, the campaign that we put together in 2010, there was a lot of resistance from establishment Republicans that I. Because they didn't. They didn't think it would work. And I'm like, trust me, it's going to work. Right? It's going to work. Because you connect yourself to the people. And it took a ground game and efforts to do that. It was a 50 state strategy. What they do, how, how, what's the plan to win Virginia this November? Because if you lose Virginia, that's a bellwether. What you're looking at in 26, you got a Republican governor, you got an open governorship in Virginia, just as I had in 2010. Right. So I needed Bob McDonald to win. I have an open governorship in New Jersey. I needed Chris Christie to win because that was for me part of my messaging, part of testing certain strategies to see how the public would respond to this new Republican branding, this new idea of how. And here's the thing, I didn't create anything new. I just leaned back into the old stuff. I just leaned back into who we were. I'm out there quoting Reagan and Lincoln and, and Eisenhower and Bush. Right. And some of that wasn't popular. But who was my audience? I had to gather my, my troops around me before I could storm the Hill. That's a bad metaphor today. Before. Yeah, right, Take that, cut that. Before I could go to Capitol Hill and make the case with my members in the leadership there that this is how you go out and sell to your, to your congressional districts. So it's a combination of forces. Look, I'm happy to sit down with the new chairman if he wants to talk. I look forward to that. But I don't think he should be a quiet figure. I think he needs to be one of the forward faces of the party because he's actually going to be leading the fight on the ground. He's gonna be leading efforts to grab those congressional seats. He's got two big elections coming up this year. You can't do that in the quiet of your, of the back room. Because the messaging has to be forward facing to the American people. Cuz right now they think you suck. They don't like your party. And even though Trump's numbers are tanking, the Democrats numbers aren't going up. America is just saying, I don't like him, I don't like what he's doing. I've never liked what you guys are doing. So here we are. And so when you get to election time, what happens? Folks revert to what they know. And what they know is what Trump is putting out there, because what you've put out there, they've rejected.

[Leigh McGowan]

Yeah. So we can't allow that.

[Michael Steele]

You can't allow that. So you've got to come back into the game in a fresh forward way. You've got to be aggressive, and you've got to have clarity in what your mission and what your vision is for the country. People need to see themselves in that, because if they don't see themselves in that, they're not going to move. They're going to stay where they are where they are, and that's not what we can afford right now. And then, Lee, to complete that thought, it feeds back into the fear that we were talking about.

[Leigh McGowan]

I was gonna say the same thing.

[Michael Steele]

Because you've taken away their hope. You've taken away their hope.

[Leigh McGowan]

Yeah, I think that's very good advice. And if the Democrats need to be pushed from the outside, then probably someone like me is gonna be mouthy out there doing it. But I really do.

[Michael Steele]

No, I'm saying I know you have an enormous platform, an enormous influence. You're not. Not. You're not just a mom in the kitchen. I mean, I remember, as I've told you, I remember your first one. And I sat there, I was like, oh, damn, she's good. Because you break it down in a way that sounds like your mama telling you common sense things like, okay, boy, what the hell's your problem? Do you know that that punk over there, that bully, what he's doing? And let me tell you how I need you to deal with him when you go to school tomorrow. That kind of reassurance is very important, and there need to be more voices like yours in that space. You are one of a handful of advocates for democracy in the digital space from a political Democratic side, right? And that was one of the big pieces that was missing in the last cycle. The Republican very quietly went and owned the digital space. They were on Rogan, they were on all these platforms, reinforcing their negative messaging. And we just saw, just at cpac, JD Vance and his crazy at the kickoff, talking about, oh, all you young men out here, you're the reason we're here, right? This whole idea about toxic masculinity and you can be a man without. But you're the mom who's telling her son how and teaching her son how to be a man. And that's. Those two versions of America need to collide. We need to have that reckoning. So I appreciate what you're doing and why you're doing it and the way you're doing it, because in all of this, you've not become this sort of caricature. You stay connected. And that's important. That's so important because we've watched others sort of get caught up in the, in the fame game, off of Twitter and X and all these other things. So stay grounded in your. In your messaging and your voice, because it's real. People need real right now because there's a fairy tale being created in which the big bad wolf is going to do more than blow your house down. Trust me.

[Leigh McGowan]

Yeah, yeah, I understand that completely. Eat your grandma.

[Michael Steele]

Eat the grandma.

[Leigh McGowan]

But honestly, that's not a fairy tale. That is what will happen. That is what will happen to our people. And I think that's why I'm out here doing this. Because the truth is your grandma will get hurt, your children will get hurt. You know, planes are falling out of the sky. We are having eradicated diseases return to us. We are not tracking diseases that are following the country right now. That is, you are unsafe in this country. You are unsafe. And as you said, Elon and his little bros have their tentacles in everything. And that is an unsafe position for us to be in. It's an unsafe position for this government to have put us in. And it should make us really, really pissed off.

[Michael Steele]

This is a Judeo Christian nation and we have white Christian nationalists now trying to redefine Christianity in political terms. But at the end of the day, Donald Trump, who's not a church going man, never has been. He's the man who holds the Bible upside down when he presents it to you. So just understand what that means. But then you have all these others from Josh Hawley and J.D. vance, who wrapped their white Christian nationalism around themselves like the American flag, and yet at the same time don't want our government and its citizens to follow the teachings of Christ, who laid it out very clearly in the Beatitudes, who laid it out very clearly in his teachings about how we treat one another. And if caring for the least of us, using a safety net that we collectively create together to keep people from being lost and forgotten. If that somehow is a bad thing, that that costs us too much money, that that is not a value to us, then please, when you're sitting in church on Sunday, reevaluate why you're there. Because if you're just there to put your ass in a seat seat and to pretend that you're checking the box with Christ, trust me, that's not happening. Trust me, that is not happening. And we have to account for that. Not at the pearly gates. We have to account for it right now. Real time, folks. Because that's what Christ did. He checked his apostles real time when he told them, go out there and be amongst the People, Right? He didn't say, okay, wait till you get to heaven and then tell me what you did.

[Leigh McGowan]

Yeah, no. Growing up, it was all about do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And if that's not how you're living your life right now, then. And don't sit in a pew and tell us different.

[Michael Steele]

That's it.

[Leigh McGowan]

So tell. Have people tell us how they can follow your work right now, how they can find more work.

[Michael Steele]

You can catch. It's. It's. We have a lot of fun out here. You can catch. Catch me on the weekend, every weekend, Saturday and Sundays, 8am Eastern on MSNBC with my friends Alicia Menendez and Simone Townsend. And then you can see me on. Follow me on my platform, which I love having you. So now we have this thing, folks, when I come over to the Politics Girl Podcast, the Politics Girl's gotta come over to the Michael Steele Podcast. So trust me, that'll be happening in the next few weeks where I get my sister to come over and spend a little time on my platform over on the Bulwark at the Michael Steele Podcast. We have a lot of fun there as well. And certainly on Blue Sky, I'm there at Michael Steele Blue sky, and which is really kind of my new home. I don't play as much on Twitter. I still. I hold space there just so I can see what stupid is doing. And I just. I. Right now, Lee, I just post shit and move on. I don't even go back and look at it. I just hear what I'm thinking. I really don't care what you think, because the vast majority over there is. That's a cesspool of hate and ugly and vileness that has been created and perpetuated by Elon Musk under the guise of free speech. And. But I just post there because there's still some folks there that are there. And so I just want to let them know, hey, this is what I'm thinking. Y'all deal with it as you want. But we're all trying to find these new spaces in which we can congregate around ideas and promote some stuff. Which is why I. Sorry for the little rant about you, but. Which is why I value. No, serious is why I value what you do. And our friend JoJo from Jersey does, you know, and I think it's so important that women are the ones, are the voices here. Oh, my gosh, that means so much to have strong women saying, cut the bullshit. Right? And so, you know, I like to bring those folks onto my platform. So I'm looking forward to having you on on the Michael Steele podcast in a few weeks so we can continue the conversation.

[Leigh McGowan]

Continue the conversation and just go forward without fear. I think that's the best way to do it.

[Michael Steele]

I walk without fear, baby. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I don't fear shit. Not a damn thing.

[Leigh McGowan]

Get outta here.

[Michael Steele]

Saddle up, baby.

[Leigh McGowan]

Thank you, Michael. Talk to you soon.

[Michael Steele]

All right, Lee. Take care.

[Leigh McGowan]

So that was Michael Steele reminding us not to be afraid. Fear can shut you down, but courage and action. Fire people up. The Republicans might have given away their spines and souls to work for this administration, but we haven't. And if we work to put this fire out to draw attention to the arsonists, to refuse to submit to the sycophants, then we can hold those responsible accountable in 26 and 28 and beyond. It's incumbent on us to stop the bleeding so we can live to fight another day. I want to thank Michael for joining us and you for caring enough about this country to be here. Now go out and do something brave. Make a call. Share the truth. Show up in a government office and be heard. America is not supposed to be the bad guy, and we have to stand up for our values now before we really are. Until next week. PG out. Before you go, I just want to say, if you're a premium member of this podcast, thank you. And if you're not a member, please consider supporting my work. We are almost completely overwhelmed by state supporting legacy media and propaganda at this point. So it's essential those of us out here still bringing you the facts and truth are supported. So if you aren't a member of Politics Girl Premium, please consider going to politicsgirl.com and signing up. You will get this podcast ad free, along with my rants and bonus content sent directly to your inbox. So even if my work is silenced on social media, you will still get access to the truth. There is a link to sign up in the bio of this episode, but [e-mail] and as always, please like and share these podcasts so we can grow our audience. Because the more people who have access to real information, the better. As always, thank you so much for your time and support. The Politics Girl podcast is written and performed by me, Lee McGowan, in partnership with the Midas Media Network, and produced and edited by Happy Warrior Entertainment. All rights reserved.