Exposing How D.C. Corruption Really Works | Tim Burchett

Summary

Podcast Summary: “Exposing How D.C. Corruption Really Works”

The Rubin Report
Host: Dave Rubin
Guest: Congressman Tim Burchett
Date: December 21, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode of The Rubin Report, Dave Rubin sits down with Congressman Tim Burchett for a candid conversation about how corruption and gridlock persist within the halls of the U.S. Congress. The discussion ranges from the mechanics of legislative failure, the influence of lobbyists and staffers, differences between red and blue states, to personal stories that ground Burchett’s political motivations. The conversation is marked by Burchett’s down-to-earth anecdotes, Southern wit, and sharp criticisms of both parties’ roles in perpetuating Washington dysfunction.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Anatomy of D.C. Corruption

[01:26], [10:38], [11:09]

• Burchett describes how both parties have “50 or 60 people working in staff positions,” and that staffers quickly form suspiciously close ties with lobbyists.
• Legislation often gets derailed because staffers—sometimes acting on the suggestions of lobbyists—recommend turning promising bills into “study bills” that lead nowhere.
• Quote:

  “You look at a lot of legislation we pass—it's really just study bills. And I'll refuse to vote for them… Like that ending scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark, you know, goes to that warehouse and brother, I've never seen one of those dad gum studies. I've been here eight years.”
  – Tim Burchett [01:36, 11:13]

2. The Broken Committee System

[02:10], [10:48]

• Good legislative ideas are often sidelined by staffers and lobbyists before they reach a vote, with the committee chair often ignorant or indifferent.
• Both parties benefit from large, unwieldy committees that stifle real change.

3. Tennessee’s Conservative Model Vs. Blue States

[05:23]

• Burchett details how Tennessee thrives without an income tax, runs a balanced budget, and maintains zero state debt—a contrast to fiscally mismanaged blue states.
• He discredits the idea that “Yankees” moving to Tennessee bring in left-wing policies; in his experience, transplants are often “as conservative as I am or more so.”
• Quote:

  “The misnomer… is it's all these Yankees coming in here with all their crazy left wing values. And I find that's not the case... They’re either as conservative as I am or more concerned.”
  – Tim Burchett [06:05]

4. Congressional Culture and Disillusionment

[07:42], [08:24]

• Burchett notes the disillusionment many freshman congress members experience when they realize how little genuine legislative influence they have.
• The culture demands non-stop fundraising and party loyalty, leaving principled politicians at a disadvantage.
• Quote:

  “If Congress was the NFL, Peyton Manning would still be waiting because the corruption is that you have to raise so much money and you have to kiss a lot of butt. And I do a terrible job at both of those, obviously.”
  – Tim Burchett [08:32]

5. Trump, Executive Action, and Congressional Paralysis

[12:41]

• Rubin presses Burchett on whether Trump should simply “do more with the stroke of the pen” given Congressional gridlock.
• Burchett candidly admits, “Trump should get on it because we don’t have the guts to do it... We do not have the guts to do it.”
• He laments that many of Trump’s executive orders languish without action in Congress.

6. State of the Democratic Party

[13:29], [14:31]

• Rubin shares his own journey from Democrat to more right-of-center views and observes that most Democrats refuse to engage with him.
• Burchett maintains professional friendships with a number of prominent Democrats while criticizing the party’s shift leftward:

  “Most of my problems are with Republicans, honestly, because I know the Democrats are Marxist. AOC—Marxist. Like I said, I call her my friendly neighborhood Marxist.”
  – Tim Burchett [14:33]

• He argues that the Democratic Party has been “ambushed” by its far-left extremes:

  “What is it about rule? I’d rather rule in hell than serve in heaven. And I think that’s sort of the Democrat motto.”
  – Tim Burchett [15:29]

7. Education, the Academy, and “Homegrown Marxists”

[16:05], [16:59]

• Discussing Texas politics, Burchett rejects the notion that Democratic gains are due to out-of-state migration, blaming “homegrown socialists” and left-leaning academia.
• He blames university president and hiring practices for the perpetuation of “far-left” culture, and encourages conservatives not to shrink from expressing their beliefs:

  “We need to tell preachers they got to start preaching the gospel... when you’re at work and somebody says something that you don’t agree with, don’t walk away. Disagree.”
  – Tim Burchett [17:32]

8. Reversing the Trend: Hope, Patriotism, and Persistence

[18:34], [19:42]

• In response to Rubin’s closing question about reversing America’s leftward slide, Burchett emphasizes generational struggle and draws on personal family history:

  “We didn’t get here overnight... I see that flag behind you there. And I think about my mama... Every time they played the national anthem, she would cry because she’d think about her brother Roy who died fighting the Nazis. I think about my dad... fought the Japanese in the Pacific... if you don’t like it so much? Dadgummit. That makes me fight that much harder. We’ve got to fight. We’ve got to take our country back. Too many people have sacrificed too much.”
  – Tim Burchett [19:42]

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Notable & Memorable Moments

• On Viral Fame: Burchett recounts an off-the-cuff, viral “Game Boy and Hot Pockets” remark, admitting he never actually experienced either but quips,

  “God gives me stuff occasionally. He speaks to me, just not in an audible voice, but you know, it was just kind of funny...”
  – Tim Burchett [04:18]

• Constituent Service as First Priority:

  “Number one, my number one goal is constituent service, always constituent service. And that's what keeps me in office... the reality is when you help somebody with their disability or VA, it also gives you a good feeling, but it also lets you know why you're actually there.”
  – Tim Burchett [08:51]

• A Call for Courage:

  “I always say... when I’m conservative and I’m a Christian and I talk to a lot of Christian folks, I say, you know, we need to tell preachers they got to start preaching the gospel. They got to start telling the truth... you can disagree... stand up for what's right because the left sure as heck is.”
  – Tim Burchett [17:32]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Corruption & Study Bills: [01:26], [10:38], [11:09]
• Red vs. Blue State Governance: [05:23]
• Game Boy & Hot Pockets Viral Story: [03:47]
• Freshman Congressional Experience: [07:42], [08:24]
• Trump, Executive Action, and Congressional Inaction: [12:41]
• State of the Democrats and Far-Left Shift: [13:29], [14:33], [15:29]
• University/Indoctrination Concerns: [16:05], [16:59]
• Personal, Patriotic Inspiration: [19:42]

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Tone & Language

The conversation is direct, humorous, and candid, with Congressman Burchett’s folksy manner and colorful turns of phrase setting a casual, relatable tone. The exchange is peppered with personal anecdotes, Southern sayings (“dadgum”), and a mixture of exasperation and hopefulness regarding America’s future.

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Conclusion

This episode offers a raw, inside view of how Washington really works—sabotaged by entrenched interests, lack of courage, and deliberate gridlock. Burchett calls for renewed civic courage, local engagement, and a refusal to surrender to cultural and political drift. His stories and reflections serve as both critique and battle cry for listeners frustrated with business as usual in D.C.

Transcript

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[Congressman Tim Burchett]

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[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Both parties will have 50 or 60 people working in staff positions. And those staff members get really cozy with the lobbyist. And you come in there and you want a great bill and you look at a lot of legislation we pass is really just study bills. And I'll refuse to vote for them.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

As I, you know, cost a couple million bucks. And then the studies, I told somebody.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

It'S like that ending scene and Raiders of the Lost art, you know, goes to that warehouse and brother, I've never seen one of those dad gum studies. I've been here eight years, so I.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Just quit voting for him.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

But what happens? You get a great bill.

[Interviewer]

They're back there somewhere.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Yeah, well, you get a great bill.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

A great idea for a bill, you go to. You send it to the committee, and so you need to talk to the staff person that handles that and they go, well, that's a great piece of.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Legislation, but it's not going to pass.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

And go, oh, really? Yeah. I tell you what we need to do. Let's. Let's. Let's make a study of it and then come back next year. Now, our attention span, and I'm guilty of this, too, in America, is about 30 minutes. It's like the amount of time we want our pizzas. It's 30 minutes or less.

[Drew Ski]

Yeah.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

So this staffer knows it in. The lobbyist who has his or her ear knows it because they've wind him and dined them on a little trip. Maybe it's illegal, maybe it's not. Probably. I think there could be something else going on a lot of times with the lobbyist and the staffers, and they will kill the bill. And then that's why nothing happens. And the chairman is unaware of it or doesn't care because the committees are so big and it's by design, and both parties are guilty of this.

[Interviewer]

So.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

And that. That. That is inertly. What is wrong with Washington.

[Interviewer]

All right, Congressman Tim Burchett, you clearly understand the weather in this town better than I do. You're not even going to take off the jacket for this limited interview now?

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

And I'm wearing my long underwear in honor my deceased father.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

I used to think, what the heck.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Is he always wearing his long underwear for? It's cold outside. Not in here, but when you walk.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Outside, you need it.

[Interviewer]

It is freezing. And I have become weak. Even though I'm from New York originally, I have become weak as a Florida man. But let's start with Game Boy and Hot Pockets, because that seems to be the viral moment of your career. We played it about 20 times on my show. We'll throw it in on B roll here. But how did that line. It just caught the Internet, right? How did that just come to your head?

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

I don't know that guy.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

He's a.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

He's a paid tracker. And it's funny, the week later, I saw him after it already exploded, and he was asking somebody a question, and I was about to pop in on another smart elic line.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

He says, I'm not talking to you. I said, dude, I made you an international celebrity. You ought to write me a dadgum check.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Yeah, you know, but he's paid by the Democrat Party. It just came to me. Every day we do them, and I've. And I put them out and.

[Interviewer]

But you said you never played Game Boy and you've never had Hot Pockets.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Never.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Never have it Just, I just thought it just. I don't know. God gives me stuff occasionally. He speaks to me, just not in an audible voice, but you know, it was just kind of funny. And then we, I said, I'm gonna put that out. And I think the vice president got a hold of it and JD Vance and somebody else and then it just exploded after that. I did one earlier. He was, he. He asked me some question and I said, you should never wear black socks with short pants. And that hit about 5 million. Same guy. I always told somebody, one of these days, I'm afraid he's in that backpack, it's going to be a satchel charge. Take us both to glory, as they say.

[Drew Ski]

Yeah, exactly.

[Interviewer]

All right, well, let's, let's talk politics for a little bit because I always talk about Tennessee as sort of, you know, it's on the short list of sane places to live. I lived in Cali for a long time, left during COVID I happened to go to Florida, but almost did the Nashville thing. Obviously Texas and some of the countries in the Midwest. What are you guys doing right that the blue states are just doing wrong?

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

I spent 16 years in the Tennessee.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

General assembly, four years in the House and 12 in the Senate. And we don't have an income tax, one of the lowest tax. We do have a sales tax, but.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

The inheritance tax.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

We've done away with a lot of those things and we run a balanced budget. You know, if you go into a state and they're dropping asphalt, they probably bonded that, which means your grandkids will pay it off.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

In Tennessee, we have zero debt. It's just, it's a debt free state.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

And it's funny how people run us down and then.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

But you see the U haul trucks, I used to have a U haul.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Business and it was tough to get the big trucks.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Now you can't give the big trucks way right?

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

All y', all, if we call y'.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

All refugees and, and the funny thing is the misnomer or whatever miscalculation by folks is it's all these Yankees coming in here with all their crazy left wing values. And I find that's not the case. I have a little area, the North.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

City, Loudon, and they have a.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

It's called the conservative club.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

And I'll speak and there'll be 150.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

160 people come to us and just packed in there to hear me speak. And they're all Yankees and they're. Is it. They're either as conservative as I am.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Or more concerned, right I always am afraid when somebody asks a question that.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

I'm being set up by the Secret Service or nsa because it's usually some really conservative question. And they'll say the same thing, more or less with funny accent.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

But they, And I like to say.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

East Tennessee is the only place in America where people don't speak with an accent.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

But it's always the same thing.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

It's, you know, we came here to get away from that, and we want to warn you all, do not embrace.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

That, that lifestyle or any of that.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Because it destroys, it destroyed where we came from. And we came here because of what you have right now, and we want to keep it that way.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, I see the same thing in Miami, that there was this worry that, oh, my man, they're going to turn this place blue. And although Miami proper did just go blue for the first time in 30.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Years, there's a lot more behind that.

[Interviewer]

There's way. And only 20% of the people voted. There's a lot of stuff that. But we don't have to go into the minutiae that. So talk to me about the general state of what you're seeing in D.C. right now. You know, from the blue sky, I see a Trump government that I think is really working and doing a lot of good things. And then on the media class there, there's just like a lot of complaining.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

I see a lot of corruption. Honestly, I think President Trump. The trouble with Congress is, you know.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

When I first got to Congress, I.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Remembered I was sitting on the. Used to sit on the second row, now sit, second row to the back. I call it center's row.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Everybody gets in trouble.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

They come sit beside me, but they. I sitting down there.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

And one of the old timers leaned over and said, tim, how long you been here? I said, Mr. Chairman, about six months. He goes, really?

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

And he sat back. And I saw. And I leaned over and I looked back, I said, is that a good.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Thing or a bad thing? And he said, oh, it's a good thing. He said, because all these, these kids up here, they think they're, you know, getting into something else. And when you get to Congress, I think everybody thinks that, you know, you're.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Going to be asked by the president.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

To negotiate a trade deal with North.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Korea or something, you know, and it's, it's just if Congress was the NFL.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Peyton Manning would still be waiting because.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

The corruption is that you have to.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Raise so much money and you have.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

To kiss a lot of butt.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

And I do a terrible job at both of Those obviously.

[Interviewer]

So how do you balance what you're doing for your own district versus when you come here? And then it becomes about all of the other stuff of politics.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Number one, my number one goal is constituent service, always constituent service.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

And that's, that's what keeps me in office.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

And you know, we get a lot.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Of media and that helps name id, but the reality is when you help somebody with their disability or va, it also gives you a good feeling, but it also lets you know why you're actually there. Unfortunately, we're, we're having to take care of problems that we created. I mean, we created this bureaucracy, Congress did, and then we have to fix it by helping our constituents.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

But I just think that getting back.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

To Congress, Trump won with a, with a overwhelmingly large amount. You know, his percentage was, Congress has got a three person majority and brother, we're literally one flu season away. Reagan said from losing, you know, you're a generation from losing everything. Yeah, brother, we're one vote series away from losing everything. And we've got to.

[Interviewer]

And not all those votes are always.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Guaranteed and not all those votes are guaranteed. And we better start addressing what Trump ran on the strong border, strong economy.

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[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Locking up bad people, things like, you know, traditional things. And, and we, it seemed we just.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Can'T get out of our own way.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

A lot of times. And, and honestly the committee system is.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Done, is made that way by design.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

It's, you know, we have both parties will have 50 or 60 people working in staff positions and those staff members get really cozy with the lobbyist and you come in there and you want a great bill and you look at a lot of legislation we pass is really just study bills and I'll refuse to vote for them.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

I was like, you know, cost a couple million bucks. And then the studies, I told somebody.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

It'S like that ending scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark, you know, goes to that warehouse and brother, I've never seen one of those dad gum studies. I've been here eight years.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

So I just quit voting for him.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

But what happens? You get a great bill.

[Interviewer]

They're back there somewhere.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Yeah, well, you get a great bill.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

A great idea for a bill, you go to, you send it to the committee, and so you need to talk to the staff person that handles that. And they go, well, that's a great piece of legislation, but it's not going to pass. And go, oh, really? Yeah, We, I tell you what we need to do. Let's make a study of it and then come back next year. Now, our attention span, and I'm guilty of this, too, in America, is about 30 minutes. It's like the amount of time we want our pizzas, it's 30 minutes or less.

[Drew Ski]

Yeah.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

So this staffer knows it and the lobbyist who has his or her ear knows it because they've wind them and dined them on a little trip. Maybe it's illegal, maybe it's not. Probably. I think there could be something else going on a lot of times with the lobbyist and the staffers, and they will kill the bill. And then that's why nothing happens and the chairman is unaware of it or doesn't care because the committees are so big and it's by design and both parties are guilty of this.

[Interviewer]

So.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

And that, that, that is inertly what is wrong with Washington.

[Interviewer]

So with that in mind, do you want Trump more to do more just with the stroke of the pen? You know, obviously, you know, doing everything by executive action is not great, and yet you're telling me that Congress is pretty freaking broke and we got to get some things done.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

I agree.

[Interviewer]

How do you feel about that?

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

I think Trump should get on it because we don't have the guts to do it. That's what I'd like to be chairman of that Doge Committee. I don't think I'll get it for the aforementioned reasons, but I would. We do not have the guts to do it. And I think that's why he did it. Case in point. I think I put like 20 of his executive orders on notice, and obviously.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Some of them got taken up in the big beautiful bill, but a lot.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Of them are still out there languishing. And it just, you know, I get so aggravated and I always say, well.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Those post offices aren't going to name themselves.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

We get, I get, when I'm talking to the press out in front of the, getting ready to go vote. I got to go, you know, and they. But that's pretty much the problem right there, brother. It's very frustrating.

[Interviewer]

So you'd be for Trump doing things faster via, via the pen. What do you make of your colleagues on the other side because 10 years ago I was a Democrat and I sure I am probably in some sense further right than you now because I know what that thing is. To me they've almost completely lost their mind. I'm doing about 15 interviews today. We reached out to dozens of Democrats. I got one, I got Ro Khanna willing to come in. Nobody else will talk.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Actually believes it though. That's the difference between him and a lot of the liberals.

[Interviewer]

I disagree with him on almost everything but I will give him respect for always sitting with me.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

I do too.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

But I like Roe. He represents, oddly enough one of the.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Wealthies areas of Silicon Valley.

[Interviewer]

Well, he's going to need their money to do some of these programs he wants.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Absolutely. They're going to have to fund it but.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

And ultimately I don't think that's the goal.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

I think the goal is to wreck.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Ultimately some of the more.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Intellectual members of the party. I think their goal is to wreck everything and create this so they can recreate it in some sort of woke.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Utopia as I like to call it.

[Interviewer]

So, so what do you make of the general state of the Democrats?

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

You know most of my problems are.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

With Republicans, honestly because I know the Democrats are Marxist. AOC Marxist. Like I said I called her. She's my friendly neighborhood Marxist. We're friends, we get along. Steve Cohen and I get along. Probably close to Steve as them anybody.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

He called my mama when my daddy died. When we were in the state legislature we passed, we raised the speed limit to see. But him calling my mama, I can't get past that. He'll always be my friend. Jared Moskowitz, good friend. Jonathan Jackson, Jesse's son he's a good friend.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

We're in little bipartisan prayer group together.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

I don't agree with them but I, but I at least you know, I know where they stand.

[Interviewer]

But what do you make of the energy of the party that it's going in that direction which is not what a Democrat.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

I think they've been ambushed. I think they really have and they.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Use the carrot and the stick and it's the old thing in Congress that you just, you'll destroy the country as long, but as long as you get to stay in charge. You know the.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

What is it about rule? I'd rather rule in hell than serve in heaven. And I think that's sort of the Democrat motto.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

They've, they've let themselves be overtaken by.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

This far left agenda. I always tell people, you know, it's.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Not Harry Truman's Democratic Party. I say it's not even Bill Clinton's.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

It may be Hillary Clinton's, but it's not their party.

[Interviewer]

I don't think it's Hillary Clinton's even. Well, she comes off as moderate to me compared to most, if you see.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

What, you know, New York and all that.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

But. But it'. But it's publicly educated kids. We've turned our back on education. We.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Another case in point is when Mado.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Rourke ran for Senate down in Texas, and he almost won his running of Cruz 2.9 points.

[Interviewer]

Crazy.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

And what did they say? Oh, it's all these people moving in.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

From California, Chicago, New York is it turned out. No, it's homegrown socialist. We have, you know, these legislators, state.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Legislators, they get invited to a ball game. They sit in the skybox and they.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Just let the stuff ride. The Charlie Kirk stuff where we started kicking out professors and administrators that said awful things. Great, let's do that. But they're like kudzu. We cut them off and then five more pop up. What we got to do is get to the people that are hiring and firing these people. These presidents of these universities are far left. Their hiring practices are far left, their human resources far left. And then we wonder, and then they tell, you know, we don't celebrate diversity. You right wingers will ask him how many dadgum Republicans they have in their sociology department.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

Right.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

You know, or in their philosophy department or any of these other departments. And you'll find that it's far, it's far left. And that's who they go after. They go after people like themselves. And it's, it's just a cluster of group think. And, you know, they just, they surround themselves with people that are, you know, that think like they do. And so there is no real diversity. And it just goes farther and farther to the left. And we've allowed that. And this is public institutions that we're getting this homegrown Marxist, as I call them, and we've, we've turned our back on that and because we're afraid to stand up. I always say how when I'm conservative and I'm a Christian and I talk to a lot of Christian folks and I say, you know, we need to tell preachers they got to start preaching the gospel. They got to start telling the truth. And you, when you're at the, you know, at work and somebody says something that you don't agree with, don't walk away. Disagree. You don't have to jump in their face. You can disagree on Facebook all the, in your little In Your flower group or whatever at work stand up for what's right because the left sure as heck is. And too many times we just let them walk over us and our kids do the same thing and then our kids are indoctrinated and then we just let it go. And dadgummit, we can't just let it go anymore. We're gonna lose our country.

[Interviewer]

So. So to that point, my last question will be this. I mean, how do you think we can actually get out of this? You just mentioned my friend Charlie Kirk to me. It seems the state of discourse has gotten significantly worse without Charlie. That I think we now as great as he was, I think we're realizing he really was a dam against a lot of bad stuff. How do you think we turn this?

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Well, I think we can we better realize that we didn't get here overnight. We didn't get in this spot. And the Democrats in the left had.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

A far left agenda.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

I mean, it's been going on for quite some time. I think we better start taking it back piece by piece.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

And we better not give up. We better not give up.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

I see that flag behind you there.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

And I think about my mama would.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Every time they play the national anthem, she would cry because she'd think about her brother Roy who died fighting the Nazis. I think about my dad who was a dean at the University of Tennessee, probably one of the most conservative forces on that campus for 40 years actually. And he, he fought the Japanese in the Pacific, in the Marine Corps, every. If I ever had to wake him up, I don't care if we were at the beach or before he died in the nursing home. I'd always have to wake him up by his big toe because he might wake up on one of those dadgum islands, you know, 18, 19 year old Marine fighting vicious, vicious Japanese.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

And, and, and then I go back to the.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Daddy was saying the blessing. One we were. It was an election night and I had won. I was in the legislature, but it was a. There was a national election going on.

[Congressman Tim Burchett (Alternate or same as D)]

At the same time.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

And daddy said, buddy, let me say the prayer, the blessing. And he did. And he said, lord, please don't let us lose our country. I thought, wow, you know, a combat veteran, the guy respected most of anybody in my life, my best friend. It was breaking his heart what was happening to our country. And I just. That's why people say, burchett, why don't you just give up if you don't like it so much? Dad Gamut. That makes me fight that much harder. And We've got to fight. We've got to take our country back. Too many people have sacrificed too much.

[Interviewer]

We have some work to do.

[Congressman Tim Burchett]

Thank you brother.

[Interviewer]

If you're craving more honest and thoughtful conversations about politics, check out our Politics playlist right here. And if you don't want to miss any future videos, make sure to subscribe and hit that notification bell. Notification bell.

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