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- [00:00]
A
We have a major predator problem at the highest levels of our government. This is far bigger than one name. This is clearly a culture in Washington where men on both sides of the aisle are abusing their staffers, their interns, their colleagues. That knowledge of this behavior is well known, that it's used now we're hearing as blackmail by your own party or oppo research by your opponents. And I think we have to be like, okay, so what are we doing here? Hello, and welcome to the Politics Girl Podcast. I'm your host, Leigh McGowan. Let's get into it. Well, if you're a woman in America right now, you might be looking around and thinking, not all men, but always a man. Between the Rape Academy, with its 62 million views in the month of February, where men taught other men and shared videos of how to drug and rape your wife, to the constant drip, drip, drip of the Epstein files, where everyone involved except the one woman are walking free. To the most recent fall from grace of California gubernatorial candidate and Democratic front runner Eric Swalwell. It feels like every day is a fresh new attack on women. How we're perceived, what we're good for, what laws we get, what laws protect us, and how powerful men and men in general are just abusing us daily and getting away with it. But because this is a political show and this election for California governor is such a big deal, with California being the biggest blue state in the country, the fourth largest economy in the world, which is with its current governor, the nemesis of our current president, who we elect this November will affect the entire country. And right now, because California has what's called a jungle primary, meaning the two candidates who get the most votes move on to the general election. Right now, the two candidates with the most votes are dangerously close to being two Republicans. And that's a problem because it means we could end up with a Trump chosen governor in the bluest state in America. Truly, a lot of Democratic candidates need to drop out. And while I do think that is going to happen, until a couple of weeks ago, the Democratic frontrunner was Eric Swalwell. But he's now dropped out of the race as more than 30 women have come forward accusing him of everything from sexual misconduct to rape. This is a man we all thought we knew, a man we believed in, a man who seemed to be on the right side of history and women's rights. And once again, we were deceived, again, legally, I have to say, allegedly, for everything Swalwell is accused of. But 30 people is a lot of people the thing is these, I think it would be fair to say, crimes, alleged crimes, would never have come to light, despite the fact that it now appears that many people, maybe even hundreds of people, knew about the congressman's actions. Without the bravery of a handful of online influencers who did the job the media and political parties wouldn't do and exposed a powerful man for the predator he now appears to be. One of the key players in bringing that truth to light was an influencer named Ariel Fodor, known online as Mrs. Frazzled. So today we're going to talk to Ariel, or as I call her, Fraz, to see how an educational influencer was one of the only ones brave enough to break a story that will, without a doubt change the course of this nation. If you don't know Arielle, she is a teacher turned education advocate who translates complicated educational policy and political issues into accessible content so people can make sense of what's happening in public education and understand why it matters. Her style is a mix of research, analysis, humor, and plain spoken honesty, which allows her to connect the dots between policy decisions and the real world impact on American families and communities. So without further ado, please welcome my guest educational policy influencer, online phenomenon, and woman brave enough to take on the political machine, Arielle Foder. Welcome, Ms. Fries.
- [03:47]
B
Thank you so much for having me. This is like the best dream come true. I'm so happy to be here.
- [03:52]
A
Well, thank you for coming. I mean, you know that I love and respect what you do so much and I am so pleased that you're here because I think you've been through a lot lately.
- [04:01]
B
It has been a very, very crazy week. I will say. I am, like, tired. This is way more than I. I don't know, this is a lot, but had to be done.
- [04:10]
A
Probably more than you signed up for as an educational influencer, that's for sure. So let's back it up for people, because, you know, you came on to teach us about the educational space, to bring it to us in an accessible way. You kind of gained notoriety and rose in popularity doing, like, a series of hilarious sketches that had you as kind of a kindergarten teacher speaking to what we assumed was Trump or members of Congress about their inappropriate actions. You found a way to make distressing news and bad behavior both funny and informative while really highlighting, you know, how childish so many of our elected leaders really are. But then, as I understand it, last November you posted an interview with Eric Swalwell when he was considering his run for governor on your socials. And then you got a lot of responses that you weren't really expecting. So would you talk me through how that all went down?
- [04:59]
B
Yes. I mean, I. I think, you know, like, a lot of campaigns right now are launching with creators, like, super not out of the ordinary. And his campaign was no different. They were like, hey, would you hop on this thing? And I, yeah, what the heck. Not, like, let's see what he has to say. The next day, he posted a story being like, oh, I launched with these creators, whatever. And I reposted his post and said, it's really nice when a politician sounds like a person and not a robot. And, like, he's that. And it was great. And I can't wait to tell you more at this point. I had already scheduled an interview with him, but I got immediately three texts. One from a friend who was like, this is not like, keep a safe distance from that one, basically. And then one that was like, don't give him your phone number. He will sext you in the middle of the night. And one that was like, you know he sleeps with his interns, right? Like. And I was, no, did not know that. And that's a super abnormal reaction. So that was bonkers.
- [06:01]
A
I mean, listen, the first time you meet him, and I will say, like, I've known Eric for a really long time. This was all a huge surprise to me as well. Literally, a month ago, I was supposed to go with his campaign to follow them and see what they were doing. And I was like, I can't go because I haven't set myself on Eric yet. Like, I don't know. I know he's the leading candidate, but I'm not sure if he's my leading candidate, so I can't be part of that. And then, of course, all this came out right after, and I thought, oh, my Lord, thank God I didn't go. But also, I did not see this coming. Like, this is a person that I did text with that I. I was quote, unquote, friends with. We didn't, like, you know, go out and hang out. But I have been to dinner with him. I have been at events with him. We know we do go text back and forth. He wrote me when he was thinking of running. And I think that when you meet Eric in the first place, you're initially impressed. He was a good candidate. He was unafraid to take on Trump. He went head to head, you know, we need someone strong in California. But then you start hearing these stories, and I think the thing that makes what you did so interesting is that you didn't just hear the stories or just hear the stories and share them as gossip. You started to look into them. So tell me how that went down.
- [07:09]
B
Well, I got, you know, I was getting all these people coming forward saying a lot of different things, and I think we hear a lot of stuff not necessarily like that, but just in general. So, you know, I just kept kind of asking around. As I would hear things, it got closer. More people in my life were sharing stories that had happened. And over the years, I started to get to know staffers on the Hill. They started confirming what I already knew. Certain patterns emerged where it was like, oh, yeah, the Snapchat's a problem. We were talking, and then he moved the conversation to Snapchat. And that's where things got inappropriate.
- [07:48]
A
And if you're an older. If you're someone in a different generation, an older audience member like myself, Snapchat is what people my son's age use typically, because the. The messages disappear right away. So you can send an inappropriate picture to someone. You can send a message that's inappropriate, and it's not saved like a text message. It's one of the reason people use Snapchat. My son would say, of course you can screen capture Snapchat. But I think that, you know, when people want to have messages that aren't necessarily a paper trail to them, that is where they would switch over to Snapchat.
- [08:18]
B
Absolutely. And that was kind of a. A thing where somebody would come to tell me a story, and I would be like, okay, yeah, like, tell me more, whatever. Like, I'm listening. And the through line being. And then Snapchat. And I was like, whoa, whoa. Like, they're. Here's another one. So there was that. That kind of emerging. And then one thing that really was alarming to me was I was noticing that if I was putting these anecdotes or stories or accounts, if I was putting them in order, it started out being like, oh, he's sleeping with interns. He's, you know, sleeping with staff. He's kind of a dog. And, you know, that's an abuse of power. And then it was like. But then there was also this Snapchat thing. And the third iteration of that was, then I'm hearing stories about people who were trying to get engaged politically, women that wanted some help coming up or some resources. And he would say, yes, I'll help you. I'd be happy to help you. And then they would meet and things would get creepy or worse. So that, to me, was really scary, because not only was this happening in Congress, it was also happening in the world. And I was, like, very concerned that, is this, like, an escalation? Like, is this guy getting worse? And I started to talk to people, like, do you think this is going to come out? Like, is this going to, like, be something that's released in, you know, oppo research where they talk about all the dirt on politicians? Like, and people just were like, maybe. I mean, he's running for governor, and this already was something he was aware of when he was running for president and during me, too, and all these things. Like, he's been aware that people are looking into him, so maybe not, but maybe. And I was just like, oh, for the love of God. Like, it was just. It was really a lot.
- [10:07]
A
Yeah. So tell me about Cheyenne Hunt, because that's another online influencer who I know you didn't know before. Who is I. I also believe a lawyer. And you guys ended up working together. How did that come about?
- [10:17]
B
Yeah, so I had posted. You know, I kind of went nuclear and graduated from vague posting to actually naming Swalwell on threads. And that's a place where I test a lot of stuff. I kind of get a temperature check on, like, a lot of content that I do. So I was just, you know, let's see what happens. And a whole lot of, like, people came forward, but nothing really moved. I had a lot of reporters that were interested, some lawyers, some additional lawyers raised their hand to help, but I wasn't able to get, like, that support. I guess that would get this moving in traditional media so they could start an investigation on the 30th. Cheyenne, I guess, had told somebody that she was posting. And somebody texted me and said, do you know Cheyenne Hunt? And I. I said, no, because I have never had her on my radar or known her. And they said, hey, I think that she's going to be posting something about Swalwell. I was like, are you serious? Like, oh, my God. And I texted her and I said, are you. Are you gonna post something? She said, yeah. One of my friends, who now I know is Annika, you know, something happened, and she wants me to do a post because of your post. And I was like, hell, yeah. I, like, literally ran around my house like I had won the Super Bowl. And my husband was like, did.
- [11:29]
A
Did you get him?
- [11:30]
B
Like, what's it? I was like, no, somebody else is gonna help me. Like, somebody else is gonna help me talk about this. And, like, I'm not gonna be alone anymore. And the next Day, it, like, exploded, and it just became me, Anika, and Cheyenne in a group chat that has literally been open on my computer for, like, well, not that long, I guess, because this was April 1st.
- [11:52]
A
Yeah. But it feels like forever because here's the thing. It. It takes bravery to be the first one to come forward. It takes bravery whether you are one of the people who is a survivor or a victim or whether you're you who took a major career risk to come forward and say, here's this thing for this, number one. Because at the time, Eric was running number one in the Democratic primary for California governor, which is a huge job. He'd already run for president. As you said, he's powerful. He's a front runner. He's got tons of endorsements. And he originally, and I think he continues to deny all these allegations against him, saying they're completely false, saying they're politically motivated. And of course, that then opens you to looking like a liar or a paid opportunist. And that's how they tried to paint it.
- [12:37]
B
Yeah. It was pretty crazy. But I think to my benefit, in a way, like, I don't. I'm so, like, not from the political world. Right. Like, I. To me, he's just a guy. I don't know what endorsements mean. I don't know. I don't understand, like, what it takes to get that. Annika took a great personal risk by coming from D.C. and, like, being still in politics. And, like, I just felt like I had this privilege in a way of being able to come forward, which we don't always have that. We don't always have that opportunity that we can, like, actually speak up about things. And the truth is the truth. And I knew what I knew. You know, they can. People can sue you for any reason and you have to defend yourself. So I took out an umbrella policy on the House, and I just was like, I'm just going to post. And this man, I said it to my friends in a. In a big signal chat. I said, I am posting by Friday if this doesn't hit the media sooner, and he's going to have to all the way sue me. Like, cease and desist won't be good enough. He's going to have to sue me to get me to shut up because this is so egregious to me. And I just. I can't sit on this for another second. It drove me crazy.
- [13:41]
A
Yeah. To know all that information, to have spoken to so many women that said it happened to them, and then to have the Swalwell team telling everyone that the allegations against him were false, that it was from a paid operation for a billionaire. You know, we kept hearing Roger Stone's name mentioned, which of course seems plausible in this today's political world. Right? And I think that's something you have to be conscious of when you start talking about this. Because if people say, oh no, this is just an op from Roger Stone and they're trying to take out the top Democratic candidate and people were coming in here and questioning the timing, right? Like, why now? Why are they doing this now? He's the Democratic front runner, you know, like. And so people make it seem political rather than factual, which makes you understand why women don't come forward. But you've always been really clear that these women have been trying to report this behavior for years. This is not that it just dropped now. It's that people started paying attention to it now. And I would say in many ways, credit to you, because why would you say something if it wasn't true? This episode is brought to you by IQ Bar, our exclusive snack, hydration and coffee sponsor. IQ Bar Protein bars, IQ Mix hydration mixes and IQ Joe mushroom coffees are the delicious, low sugar, brain and body fuel you need to win your day. Our days are long, they're stressful, they're packed with so many things that often if you're like me, you forget to eat or you don't eat enough healthy food or drink enough water. That's why I'm happy that my boys carry IQ Bar products in their bags. I use their IQ Mix packages in my water because it hydrates with electrolytes and improves mood and boosts clarity. My boys, who are very careful about what they eat, have the IQ bars in their bags because they're plant based protein bars which with tons of fiber and no added sugar. All IQ Bar products are clean label certified entirely free from gluten, dairy, soy, GMOs and artificial ingredients. They are packed with clean, delicious ingredients to keep you physically and mentally fit, like magnesium and lion's mane. There's a reason over 20,000 people have given the company five star reviews. If you want to give IQ Bar Products a try, why not order their sampler pack? It has all the IQ Bar products and and flavors. That's nine IQ Bars, eight IQ Mix Sticks and four IQ Joe Sticks. And right now IQ Bar is offering our podcast listeners 20% off all IQ Bar products, including the Ultimate Sampler Pack plus free shipping. To get your 20% off, text PG to 64,000 text PG to 64,000. That's PG 264000. Message and data rates may apply. See Terms for details. So I have talked to you a million times about my darling sweet goldendoodle chips. We are a dog family. We are fully obsessed with our dog. He is the best boy that ever is but he is also an incredibly picky eater. So I know what I'm talking about when I say that Sundays for dogs is a good food to give them. In fact, we are legitimately in a phase where all chips will reliably eat is Sundays for dogs. Sundays Will was founded by a veterinarian and mom, Dr. Tori Waxman, who got tired of seeing so called premium dog foods full of fillers and synthetics. So she designed sundaes, air dried real food made in a human grade kitchen using the same ingredients that you would use to cook for yourself. Every bite of sundaes is clean and made from 100% meat and superfoods with no kibble. That means no weird ingredients you can't pronounce and no fillers compared to other kibbles or other bites brands. Sundaes invests 50 times more in its ingredients to ensure premium quality because your dog deserves food made with care, not in the interest of cost cutting. And the best part, you just scoop and serve. There's no freezer, no thawing, no prep, no mess. Just nutrient rich clean food that fuels their happiest, healthiest days so you get more time to spend together. We travel with sundaes. I keep a bag of sundaes in my office for when chips get snacky. These days he even has Sundays for lunch. Make the switch to Sundays. Go right now to sundaysfordogs.com politicsgirl30 and get 30% off your first three orders. Or you can use the code PoliticsGirl30 at checkout. That's 30% off your first three orders at sundaysfordogs.com politicsGirl30 sundaysfordogs.com PoliticsGirl30 or use the code POLITICSGIRL30 at checkout. Credit to you because why would you say something if it wasn't true?
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B
I can't say that any of that necessarily bothered me. I was really irritated by the Swalwell camp running oppo on me and like doing press releases and stuff. Like I thought that was a little crazy, but it's interesting to watch the conversation now where people are like, yeah, you know, we had to release it when we did because like the timing and like all that made so much sense. I nobody was. That was just like not even A conversation. Nobody was talking about timing. It just. I found out when I found out, and I got to a point where I couldn't take it anymore. And we just. It just happened to be when it happened. But, like, you know, people asking, well, why didn't come out sooner? I don't know. I didn't find out about it till I did. And Cheyenne and I didn't link with Annika until we did. So.
- [18:35]
A
Yeah, no, it just wasn't up to you.
- [18:37]
B
It wasn't at all. And, like, it wasn't a calculated thing and I'm not like some political mastermind that. Whatever. It's just really funny to kind of watch people try to logic it and claim stake in it when it's like. Like, I heard Lila Rose was talking about now she's involved. And I was like, can't tell you how not involved Lila Rose was in it. Like, it's just. It was three girls in a group chat being, like, pissed all day.
- [19:04]
A
Yeah, but this is the thing, I think it's not just three girls in a group chat. It's women from 2011 to 2020 who are out there trying to tell people, who are trying to make people care. And I think that's what's so upse is that. No, it's not even just that no one believed them. It's that they believed them. But the response was more like, I'm sorry that happened to you. Try not to be alone with him. You know, like, Kevin McCarthy was out here saying everyone on the Hill knew that. It was just like, don't send your young staffers to Eric Swalwell or Matt Gaetz's office. And, like, that's just gross. They almost made Matt Gaetz the AG of America. Right. It's just men protecting their own until it's useful for them to say something. And I think that that's why when it came out, so many of us felt so sick to our stomach because we had no idea. I know there's a huge bunch of my friends here in Los Angeles who did so much fundraising for Swalwell, and they're beside themselves. They feel so taken advantage of. Like, they're like, how could we not know? We feel so stupid. How are we helping him? So I really do think it's so important to say to both you guys who were on the group chat, to the women who came forward, to the people who have now been on CNN telling their story, that it's incredibly brave to have come forward because this wasn't easy at all. And Again, I think I should point out that a lot of this comes back to the fact that people trusted you personally. And that's the thing about being a creator these days. Those of us who have been in this business for a while and have built an audience of people who believe in us because they know through time and experience that we're here for the right reasons, that we're not for sale. The same cannot be said for politicians or the media. You know, we, you and I, were part of the same group that took a lot of shit this year for taking dark money, which is something we never did. We get constantly called paid shills by, like, Soros or whatever. We're angry cat ladies, like, whoever we are. And yet here we are with you being the only one, you and Cheyenne with the actual balls to do for free, to the detriment of your own careers, what needed to be done, what the media didn't do, what the politicians didn't do. And it really mattered. And I want you to know that.
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B
Thank you. That means a lot coming from you. And it's just. Yeah. Thank you,
- [21:15]
A
Ariel. Like, it should not have come down to you to break the story. If this was a well known secret in dc, as you pointed out, for him to run for governor, such an incredibly important job in today's America, knowing that this was out there is just so incredibly irresponsible. Like, yes, I know his behavior is horrendous. The victims did not deserve this, but this was also gonna come out no matter what. There's no way the Republicans didn't have this. They were just waiting until he was the leading Democratic candidate in October to drop it. Right. We could have lost California based on this man's hubris. And I think it is so important that you guys did what you did when you did because this needed to come out. And if it had come out the way it was going to, it would have ruined California for the country. And I think that it was because you're a trusted person. Like, the first people to drop out off his endorsements was the California Teachers Association. And here you are being an educator, a former teacher, someone who does educational policy in, you know, influencer. And those people believed you because of the trust that you had built over the years. And then all of a sudden, the dam was open and people started pulling their endorsements from him and pressuring him to, you know, step down. And now he's no longer running for governor, but he's also leaving Congress.
- [22:29]
B
And, like, it was stunning how fast people moved on that. But I, I think part of it was that it was a open secret, as they called it, which is an additional layer of frustrating because if you think about it like, what people are saying they knew was not like, oh, we knew that he was assaulting people or he was accused of such. They're not saying that. They're saying, like, he was accused of harassing people and sleeping with his interns and all of these things. But if somebody is going to then go on to be like a criminal and like a full blown person who assaults people, that, like, smaller behavior, quote, unquote, is exactly what should have been called out to stop it then. And like, I know that there were people, including men who back in the day were like, reporting this to their superiors. And people would say, like, oh, that's just Eric. Yeah, he's a weirdo. He's a cheeseball. Like, he's just, he's like that, like, don't send your interns over there, like, all of that shit. And it's like so frustrating to me because, like, he used to take meetings at Hooters in Dublin, California. And we're just letting people do that and not saying, hey, that's weird. You should feel weird about that. If somebody's going to go on and then be a predator, that's how it starts. So call it out when it's small and don't sit on that information.
- [23:47]
A
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's like being a parent. When you see bad behavior when they're little, you catch it then instead of letting it grow until it becomes a serious problem. I mean, I think the thing is, is that you're talking about how it was an open secret. And I. It's. The sexual violence and assault and abuse in this country just seems to be out of control. It's almost like with Trump, we turned over the biggest rock of degeneracy and now we've become aware of all the disgusting behavior that's always been there. I mean, you're raising two daughters. What are you planning to teach your daughters in a world that looks like this? Because I know I have deliberately raised my son, and I'm sure you will too, even though he's only 10 months old right now. But I'm sure you will raise your son the same way I did, which is to actively fight against rape culture. Not just to not be a part of it, but the problem for I know my son, who's 18 now, is that it actually caused him problems with his peers to just not go along with the casual degrading of women or the jokes about rape, or the jokes about looks, or the jokes about women's value. For him to actively fight against that actually put him up against his peers sometime. And we see that it's kind of a deeply insidious problem that we have to deal with in this American culture. Culture.
- [24:59]
B
It is hugely insidious problem. I mean, holy moly. I. I'm not shocked by that. It's just like, I am shocked, but I shouldn't be surprised. You know what I mean? Like, it is so deeply ingrained to so many different parts of society and it has to stop. And I think when I think about what I'm going to teach my daughters, like, I don't know, like, being unapologetically tough and like, I wouldn't send them to school out of the house until they could see, speak, and I saw them be able to say no to an authority figure. Like, when that happened, I was like, okay, maybe you're ready to leave the nest. Now that's something that I do think about, is how can they push back against injustices that are done to others and themselves? And, like, you just have to hope for the best. And I think also statistically, something that's been on my mind a lot this week or past couple of weeks is like, the statistics of how many women are assaulted. And it's like, statistically it will probably happen to one or both of them. And I'm just like, that is a really hard thing to grapple with with people that you love more than anybody in the whole world. Like, so then having a son, it also is just like you said, like, teaching them to be very aware of the world that they exist in and how it has been built to cater to them and how they can not be a piece of. I mean, like, it's just. It's so frightening. And I think I'm certainly gonna do the best I can, but it's definitely something that's like anxiety inducing too, when you see things like this going on in the world around us.
- [26:36]
A
So our friend's son just got a new apartment in New York. And as I've said, I'm not gonna lie, it's really nice. Like, it might be nicer than our house, but when he moved in, it was a new build with zero window coverings. Just lots and lots of windows in an empty space. I told my friend that they needed to call three day blinds because her son doesn't have the time to spend wandering around a store when three day blinds will bring the entire showroom to him. We shop for everything at home these days, so why not blinds 3 day blind sends a professionally trained design consultant with 10 plus years of experience to your home to give you expert guidance. You just set up an appointment appointment and you will get free no obligation quote the same day. And if you're not very handy, the team at three Day Blinds will also do the measuring and installing so you can just relax and leave it to the pros. Maybe my friend's son wants smart blinds that connect to his phone or blackout shades for his bedroom or just nice soft curtains in the living room so he gets the views but the window feels finished. Three Day Blinds has thousands of options that will fit any budget or style. They've been in the business for over 445 years and have helped over 2 million people get the window treatments of their dreams. This is just a brand you can trust right now. You can get quality window treatments that fit your budget with 3 Day Blinds by heading to 3dayblinds.com politicsgirl for their buy one get one 50 off deal on custom blinds, shades, shutters and drapery for a free no charge, no obligation consultation. Just head to three day blinds.com politicsgirl one more time. That's buy one get one 50% off when you head to the number 3D a Y blinds.com politicsgirl now listen, I enjoy having a martini on a night out or some beautiful wine with dinner or an ice cold beer on a Saturday afternoon. But the older I got, the less fun drinking became. I got to the point that even one drink would screw up how I slept and then I would wake up the the next day kind of out of it and low motivation and grumpy and off. And I thought okay, well I guess I just can't drink anymore. But I don't have many vices and I'm dangerously close to being one of those all work no play kind of gals and I hate that. And then cheers. Restore approached Politics Girl as a sponsor and since I don't take on sponsors unless I genuinely try them and like them, I had to give it a try. And you guys, it works. Three pills after your last drink or before bed and the next day is a totally different experience. People think it's dehydration that makes you feel bad after drinking, but it's really what happens to your brain and liver while you're sleeping. I am telling you, this stuff works. There's a reason they've sold over 50 million doses and it's backed by doctors and PhDs and over a thousand verified clinicians. It's honestly changed my relationship to alcohol and I know alcohol isn't good for you, but I think it might be a little bit good for me in a mental health kind of way. And I am very grateful to once again be able to enjoy the occasional drink. The Cheers claim to fame is it will make you feel 50% better or your money back. And I'm telling you, I can attest to that. It works while you sleep, it helps you metabolize alcohol more efficiently, and it supports overall liver health. So why not try it for yourself? Take Cheers Restore after your last drink or before going to bag bed and wake up feeling at least 50% better or your money back. For a limited time, our listeners are getting 20% off their entire order by using the code politicsgirl@cheershealth.com just head to cheershealth.com and use the code politics girl for 20% off. And after you purchase, if they ask you where you heard about them, please support the show and tell them that we sent you. I genuinely just bought two more containers because I don't want to run out. I'm actually incredibly grateful to this product. Seriously, try it for yourself. Cheershealth.com code politics girl I'm certainly going
- [30:17]
B
to do the best I can, but it's definitely something that's like anxiety inducing too, when you see things like this going on in the world around us.
- [30:24]
A
Yeah, no, it's, it's sick. I mean, I think of the hashtag me too movement. I think of Giselle Pellico case from earlier in the year in France. I think about the website with the men sharing their rape stories. And now we have this new global rape academy that's like had 62 million views in February alone. That's just basically out here teaching men how to drug and rape their partners and wives. I mean, politically, of course, there's the Epstein case that we've still yet to see any accountability for. And then we just like from day to day, we just saw a DACA recipient who was deported minutes after she testified against her ex boyfriend for raping her. And it was most likely the ex boyfriend who called ice on her. Right, like, so being a woman in America right now is a nightmare. And that's saying nothing of our lack of access to abortion care, you know, trying to get rid of birth control. And now even our votes are up for debate. Like, it's become horrendous. And I think that we see these high profile cases like Eric Swalwell and Of course, as awful as this all is, Eric Swalwell's not the only one. Like, the Republicans are running with this Swalwell thing, and, like, it's a gift to them rather than a glaringly obvious divide between the Democratic Party, who will clearly throw their own leading candidate out the door and leave him to the wheels of justice, and the Republican Party, who makes their leading sexual predator president. And the Republican House didn't even ask their own congressional member, Eric Gonzalez, to resign until they could tie it to Swalwell and be like, see, we're the same. We both made our guys leave. Right? And, like, I want to remind people, if you don't know Eric Gonzalez from the Republican side of the aisle in the House, he was still in Congress after he had an affair with his staffer, and it ended in her death. I mean, she apparently committed suicide by setting herself on fire. But I have to tell you, I have a really hard time believing that, because what woman who has ever been pursued by her boss against her will just ups and kills herself by setting herself on fire? That is not what women do to kill themselves. And I really think that should be investigated by the doj. You would think that they would open an inquiry into that situation, but no. The DOJ is launching a federal investigation into Swalwell's sexual assault, including how many Democrats might have been aware of his misdeeds but covered it up. And now it's not that I don't think that that's a good idea. Sure, bring justice down on him, but this is the same Department of Justice who is clearly acting as Trump's personal lawyers, running cover for Republicans, pardoning criminals and who Trump likes. And they're out here telling us there's nothing to see with the Epstein files, so it's not that we can't be outraged by what happened with Eric Swalwell. We should be. I'm personally disgusted. I'm personally disappointed. I personally knew him and had no idea. And I feel like, oh, but we can't let the right get away with acting like they are somehow morally superior when their party publicly and brazenly ignored the fact that their president is, A, an adjudicated rapist, B, brags about sexual assault, has been credibly accused by dozens of women for everything from sexual assault to misconduct to rape. And the same guy who's in the Epstein files, you know, tens of thousands of time, you know, like, I'm watching Republicans all over tv, socials, even Carolyn Levitt at the White House press briefings, being like, Swalwell, Swalwell, Swalwell. Without an ounce of shame about the hypocrisy. I mean, what about Trump? What about Matt Gates? What about Pete Hegseth? What about Clarence Thomas? What about Brook Avenue? The list goes on and on and on. So I, it's not that I don't think we should bring justice down on Swalwell, but the Republicans are dining out on this. Like they suddenly have the moral high ground. And I want to be very clear that they absolutely do not.
- [34:04]
B
Yeah, absolutely zero percent moral high ground on that side of the aisle. It's, it's really just ridiculous. The things that they will put above human decency in the name of their own self preservation and pushing themselves forward. It's just really, I mean, and we knew this. They, they, the things that they have done to cover up the Epstein files and is just like absolutely insane. So it's like when you're dealing with insane people, I don't know, it's like we can't, we can't get off their necks.
- [34:35]
A
You know, we have a major predator problem at the highest levels of our government. This is far bigger than one name. This is clearly a culture in Washington where men on both sides of the aisle are abusing their staffers, their interns, their colleagues. That knowledge of this behavior is well known, that it's used now we're hearing as blackmail by your own party or oppo research by your opponents. And I think we have to be like, okay, so what are we doing here? Because I think for a lot of women, especially women who work in Washington, these sort of abuses simply become a secret they're supposed to live with if they want to have a career. And they either stay silent about it or they deal with it and face the consequences of probably the end of their career. And that clearly has to stop. And I, I have to say that I heard one of Swalwell's alleged victims say on cnn, like, look, I'm not saying speaking up because I'm looking to ruin Eric Swalwell. The only person who can ruin Eric Swalwell is Eric Swalwell. And I think we have to keep that in mind. These people are not ruining these men's careers. These men are ruining their own careers with their own behavior. We're just finally calling it out.
- [35:39]
B
Exactly. And for some reason, they think that they can just continue to advance their own career despite what they've done.
- [35:46]
A
But apparently they could. I mean, Swallow was running for governor of California as the leading candidate, so apparently they could. And it Comes down to people like you and people like the victims and people who came forward to say, no, not anymore. And we have to do that over and over and over again, no matter how hard it is on us if we're gonna ever change the culture for people like your children and mine.
- [36:07]
B
Yeah, 100%.
- [36:08]
A
I mean, obviously, these accusations have changed the governor's race completely. What do you think's coming down the pipe?
- [36:13]
B
One thing that I'm taking a look at, with the help of some very cool people, are like, how can we close the gaps when people do come forward and try to report sexual misconduct in the House of Representatives? What does it look like and what is missing and what makes it hard? They did revamp that process in 2018, and they ended the ability for people to settle sexual harassment assault cases. All of that with the slush fund. That ended in 2021. But there are still gaps. There are still things that. It's an imperfect system, and the word sexual harassment does not even appear in the code of conduct. So it's something that in a world where Washington, D.C. was built for men, and it serves men very well. And, you know, the other thing is, men aren't the only ones that are doing things that are bad in terms of abusing their power and sexually harassing people. It is actually something that both genders do. I mean, it's just like something that is a big issue. So I think looking at the overall culture, looking at the code of conduct, looking at how we can help people to make it so that next time there's a group of interns rolling into D.C. they have a better system behind them and not just a whisper network that says on Orientation day, hey, look out for that person and that guy. And, you know, all these things.
- [37:44]
A
Yeah. No, there has to be a far better system. Clearly, this one is completely broken. I will say, because this is a political show, we should keep in mind that the governor's race now is coming down to a different group of people that we have. The Democratic billionaire activist Tom Steyer. He's now in first place for the Democrats, followed by the U.S. health and Human Services and former California AG Javier Becerra. He's the one that got the hugest bump from Swalwell dropping out of the race. That's followed by Katie Porter, the former congresswoman, and the popular San Jose mayor Matt Mahan. And then the rest of the candidates who have actually qualified for the debate that's coming up on April 22nd is the two Republican frontrunners. One is the Trump endorsed Fox News contributor Steve Hilton. And the, as far as I'm concerned, completely blatantly racist Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who basically stole ballots the last election. So we really need to see what happens at this debate on April 22, because we cannot end up with two Republican frontrunners because of our jungle primary. And we have to remember that 23% of this state is still undecided.
- [38:48]
B
Yes, indeed they are. Have you endorsed, Are you endorsing?
- [38:52]
A
No, but I will say the two front runners are the people that I like. I mean, the thing is, is that I think that Javier Becerra, in my personal opinion, this is me not endorsing either. I think Javier Becerra has the most experience. I think he is the most ready to do this job. I think that I would love to see competence back in government. I would love to say, like, here's the guy who actually knows how to do the job. And no, he's not like, you know, he's not the best on the poster has like the hottest social media team. I don't care. I want you to know if you can do the job and if you can do it well and if you can help the people of your state out, I would love to see competence back in office. That being said, I did go to a very small dinner with Tom Steyer back in the day when he was thinking of running. And I said, I don't think I should go. I'm not, I'm not really pro billionaire anything. And they were like, just come see what you think, you know. And so I went to the meeting, much like I think you went to the Swalwell Zoom to see like, all right, I'll see what he has to say. And I ended up sitting beside him and by the end of the dinner, I was like, this guy is running for exactly the right reasons. There are so many things about him. I had no idea that he'd started a bank with his wife 20 years ago so that they could give loans to people that were denied loans by regular banks, mostly people of color and minorities. Then they put the money that they raised from the bank back into the bank to give more young businesses a startup and a leg up. All four of his children are do gooders out in society doing things to help the world. Which says to me, like, oh, look, his kids didn't all become hedge fund managers. You know what I mean? Like, there's. They're all out there trying to make the world a better place. Which says to me they were Raised properly. He wants to do universal health care, as does Javier Becerra. You know, like things that we could really do to change housing in California, to change education in California, to bring the movies back to California. I think both men want to do that. And, you know, if it turns out that the Republicans will vote for the billionaire and we can get the same things, then I'll get behind him. And if it turns out we can have competence back in office, I'll get behind Javier. But as far as I'm concerned, I would like to see all the other candidates, no shade to them, drop out at this point, because we can't have Steve Hilton or Chad Bianco.
- [40:54]
B
We really cannot. I mean, that Bianco really is just running on racism. Like, that is his whole platform.
- [41:00]
A
He's a true nightmare. I think he actually is like a 3 percenter or a proud boy or something like that. I just want to thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you for doing this work and thank you for coming forward even though it was hard. I'm sorry that this had to be the California Democrats path to the governorship, but I'm glad it came out the way it did, and I'm so thankful to you and the people who came forward. So please tell people how they can find, follow your work moving forward because you do so much good work out there.
- [41:24]
B
Thank you. I mean, thank you so much for having me. You are. You're amazing. I'm Mrs. Frazzled on everything.
- [41:30]
A
Yeah. If you think about a frazzled teacher, that's what she is, Mrs. Frazzled. And she's really just so great. And if you ever want to know more about education, which is a thing we all should be spending so much of our time on because, you know, an educated public makes for a far more taxable future. And if you want to just do it from the money weight and then having smart kids makes for a smart electorate. So we want all of that to be happening, and we know how much they're attacking the Department of Education right now. So if you want to know anything about the future of our education in America, this is the woman to follow. Plus, she's hilarious and incredibly brave. So thank you so much for coming today and. And I hope we'll talk to you soon.
- [42:07]
B
Thank you.
- [42:09]
A
So that was Ariel Fodor who broke the story that led to Eric Swalwell dropping out of the California governor's race and retiring from Congress. The press didn't care. His fellow politicians were either looking the other way or banking on using the information at a later date. But the truth of the matter is our politics have been designed to protect this kind of behavior up to the very highest level and that has to stop. As Ariel said, we need better ways to protect young staffers in Washington than just a look the other way. That's how it is mentality and we need to extend that accountability throughout this country. Maybe that starts with electing people to office who not only don't partake in this kind of predatory behavior, but who will write legislation to protect the rest of us from it. I want to thank Ariel for joining us today and you for caring enough about democracy to be here. As a woman in America, I'm going to remember what Ariel said and go forward. Being kind but not nice. I think the days of us being nice are over because honestly, look where it got us. Until next week. Pgf. Before you go, I just want to remind you that the American government is trying to silence any voices that don't toe the party line. They don't care about the truth. They want state run propaganda. Which is why we need to be funding independent media, mainstream media, cable news, social media. They are almost now exclusively run by a handful of Trump supporting billionaires. So if you respect what I am doing here, if you learn something from my podcast and and rants, if you would like to get this podcast ad free delivered directly to your inbox along with my kitchen rants and TV appearances, then please consider becoming a member of Politics Girl Premium by going to politicsgirl.com and signing up. If you are already a premium member of this podcast, thank you so much for your support. And if you're not a member, please consider becoming a patron of my work. If you want real knowledge in a world of lies, it is essential to support those of us out here still trying to bring them to you. There's a link to sign up in the bio of this episode, but also@politicsgirl.com and as always, please like and share these podcasts so we can grow our audience because the more people who have access to this kind of information, the better. As always, thank you for your time and support. The Politics Girl Podcast is written and performed by me, Lee McGowan and produced and edited by Happy Warrior Entertainment. All rights reserved.