Well said. FACT: The Democratic Party has consistently lead the country to greater prosperity and economic growth for all Americans, far more than than the GOP, since WWII, at a rate of 4.4%, vs 2.5%. The GOP are all about making the top 1% wealthier and supporting the oligarchy model. If you're reading this, you are not in the top 1%, and you will be more prosperous when the GOP has less control. Simple.
Good point. Trump almost had to be thrown out of the WH, kicking and screaming and lying about the 2020 election, and he still claims today that he won it. Trump has no right to un ever, every again.
I hear this conversation and focus on the disbelief I think most Americans feel. How bad can it really get? Folks, we have to stop this now. Big fan Steve and Al!
How do we stop it. I'm hearing lots of handwringing and discussions but what I'm not saying is thing is how we can stop it. I feel like we're being steamrolled and just standing there and letting it happen. Obviously our democratic leadership needs to step it up But I don't know if that's enough
@@soltantio There isn't anything more. You think Tiananmen Square was deadly? They had to rely on humans to pull the trigger. Once the fascists take control this time, you'll have drones operated by AIs that have no qualm about killing. That's the future for liberals in this country- smokestacks.
@@soltantio I agree on all your points. Steve makes some good observations about the Dem leadership being out of touch. Biden needs someone like him to help him steer the course. They have to confront this head on and build bridges to everyone who feels disenfranchised at the same time. Garland has been a major disappointment and let too much time go to waste. These insurrections have to be held accountable. I have one other idea: the Dem party has to reshape itself as the big tent party that can embrace progressive ideas, mainstream Dem ideas AND the traditional conservatives that reject MAGA extremism. It shouldn’t be an either or, there are good ideas across the spectrum. The power in this country, our strength is our diversity. Until we can convince folks that works there is limited chance this cancer will be put in remission.
The book _How Fascism Works_ says they have a different definition of corruption: "those people" being in charge of government. That is Blacks, women, LGBTQ, Jews, other minorities, etc. These people are corrupting the natural order of white men in charge.
The OSS psychological profile of Hitler described him thus: "His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it." Sound familiar?
I'm the only non-'German commenting on this thread and probably the only real American. The U.S. today is the wasteland you have created. America was taken over by Nazi's. Hasn't been American since 1935. The U.S. is controlled by the descendants of Nazi's who invaded in 1935 and committed genocide on the American people. Don't know about this? That's how many people they killed in the U.S. For instance, these Nazi's found Nazi's in Ukraine to support. And their hatred for Russia is because if not for Russia the Nazi's would have taken over the world and there would have been world wide genocide only seen in Star Wars movies and there would be NO Russia today. All the Russian people would have been executed. All of them. WW II is not over yet. And these Germans who occupy and control the US want to finish the destruction of Russia that they started in the beginning of WW II. This is the entire reason for U.S. support of the war in Ukraine and all the wars they have been in since 1945. See, Murder of the Creoles of New Orleans 1935, CZcams. My father was there. I went to school in the USA that was mostly for German kids. I have a half sister and a half brother who have the same Nazi father in the USA. And Nazi's murdered people in every country they occupied so they probably control many of those other EU countries as well.
Al Franken like many others suffers from compartmentalization ...he wrongly thinks that if we dont see people act exactly like NAZIS did in the 1940's then you cant label anyone else as a NAZI ...what intelligent people understand is NAZISM is a set of ideas and behaviors and you dont need to dress up like an SS Death Camp commander goose stepping on Jews heads to be labeled as a Nazi .
I love Steve Schmidt, it's so rare that someone I agree with speaks truth so clearly. Every progressive needs to hear this, We are in grave danger of losing our democracy. Yeah really!
@Jay Bee No - what our current process selects for is greedy, sociopathic, power-hungry people who don't care what happens to anyone else. They rise to the top because there is ZERO moral compass. You don't have to be smart or hardworking to find success if you are completely morally bankrupt. Particularly when they engineer the deregulation of an economy so that what should be criminal in any sane world is actually legal. That is the elite that runs the show now. In good part thanks to brainwashed people like you.
I agree with Steve Schmidt. Look at the history of 1930's Germany and the parallels to today. We could find ourselves in a very different country by 2025. We have to get out and vote while we still can.
Well said. FACT: The Democratic Party has consistently lead the country to greater prosperity and economic growth for all Americans, far more than than the GOP, since WWII, at a rate of 4.4%, vs 2.5%. The GOP are all about making the top 1% wealthier and supportingthe oligarchy model. If you're reading this, you are not in the top 1%, and you will be more prosperous when the GOP has less control. Simple.
@@almostthere2024 this is irrelevant now, because this is not the messaging driving the Dem party, nor is the dem party that created that growth, economic and opportunity centric, that party that is today. Back then, blue collar guys that carried a lunch pail on their way to sending their kids to college are now being told let the illegal immigrants through and let them take your $25 hr job with benefits for $7.50 and no benefits. And Democrats I power have cared more about what pronoun you’re using then this guy’s entire livelihood. Or, that is what happens every election cycle, the GOP force the Dems into this corner, and the Dems fall for it every time. Like Schmidt says, the put out the dumbest fucking name ever for a campaign and bill - Melania uses better grammar - and like Franken says, they should have gone one at a time so people knew what they are getting. The Democratic Party of Bill Bradley and Sam Nunn and Patrick Moynihan has vanished. The GOP is a horror show and the Dem Party is a clown show. Schmidt is right. The middle class has been forgotten. They were in no man’s land with no representation and Trump swept it up. He doesn’t give a damn about them, but he at least spoke to them, something the Democratic Party abandoned a long time ago.
Both great, but obvs running for office creates pressure to be fake. I’m not opposed to politicians or politicking per se, (if the dark money comes out) but some folks can make more change/louder noise than they could by running for office. These are two of them on the right, correct, side. As long as people are listening - and you are following - they may make some progress.
I know people like to say that and I love Al, but I think the notion of his holding political office again has passed him by. He still exhibits an inability to understand that policy discussions don't get people to the polls. It is messaging and he still has a Clinton era mindset on that and that is a loser mindset. Different world now, much less genteel. He doesn't seem to get that most voters are not smart and respond to slogans. And he definitely is not pugnacious enough to punch back harder when his opponent goes low. Again, he was a great Senator and never should have resigned, but he has been out of DC for 5 plus years and I don't think he could go back.
A great one as always. Please run again Al Franken. Your service is really needed in current government before it becomes a permanent circus nightmare. We believe in you.
I feel the same way what he did isn't even in the same category as what Trump did or any of those other idiots, he was being a comedian and it wasn't right what they said and he stepped down on his own
Steve Schmidt was really dead on to what is happening in this country. He was blunt and to the point, on replacement theory. I hope the Democratic Congress listens to Steve Schmidt's message. I have always admired Steve Schmidt opinions. Al this was a really powerful podcast.
You’ve _always_ admired Steve Schmidt’s opinions? You mean even _before_ he saw the light and was a Republican Party strategist, and was largely responsible for choosing Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate, the moment that abject stupidity in politics became a GOP hallmark? She’s the forerunner of the likes of Gætz, Gohmert, Gosar, and Greene, who along with the formerly sensible turncoat Graham comprise the 5Gs that really are damaging to our nation (not the 5G that the GOP true believers have been brainwashed into railing against). Oh, and Bœbert and Cawthorne and Cotton and Hawley and so many others, but their surnames don’t begin with “G.”
Bless Steve for his rant on the SCOTUS soon to come decision on abortion. It’s all to do with power. Also entirely agree with his critique on DC communication, omg. And Al’s point re Labor & politics. Steve is correct about loss of Labor power over time, this srsly stinks, and it’s everywhere. The future feels bleak, but maybe there’s hope…
There is hope but only if the Jan 6th inserection hearings on June 9th hold them accountable and make sure that known criminals are tried and punished.
@@LK-rt9cb yes, 100%. I think he just made the observation, not whose plan it was. Intricacies are def important to understanding history. As a recent R, Steve has not probably never been a union supporter, right? Tbh I think unions have often messed up their own efforts over the years. It’s a tough story & way more complicated than most of us know I imagine.
@@txnmia8613 Al would never run against Tina Smith but maybe he could move to New York to run against Gillibrand... Nah, he wouldn't do that either because he's too decent.
U mean the media that enables the lies of democrats and covers for them. Biden, Jean Pierre etc say inflation + the fault of russia, but not the big guy. The media that shelters democrats, and when in ny the gerrymandering causes democrat v democrat, they limit their reporting. Add the media that has the big guy and democrats doing things that hurt, including the addition to the inflation problem. And the alliance with BAMN. That media? OH the latest pv with Alex Martinez and the engineer, where the points where even they can't avoid addressing topics, in the least harmful way for democrats, left, allies.
Steve Schmidt is on fire more so than he is normally. He is so extremely articulate and expressive in his statement in just the first few minutes it felt almost like he read it from several speech makers efforts but it just comes off his lips naturally.
I think Steve has finally come to see that his former Party is dead, and can't be saved like he did when he originally left them. He hasn't gone far enough IMO, but he's pretty close.
@@allenaslin812 True, Steve and all the other so called RINOs out there attacking Trump and other Republicans would have been fine with everything Trump did as President ... IF Trump had only kept up the charade and stayed on script. Trump exposed the face of REAL GOP and that's why they really hate him.
@@allenaslin812 Do you ever forgive somebody who honestly makes a mistake and then does an amazing amount of effort to correct that and inform the rest of the world that he was wrong? So, do you have to comment and remind us that he was a person that made a bad choice a while ago and that he should still pay for that? You just love to blame and hate just like everybody else I guess, and you can't stop yourself from hating Steve for making a bad decision that really wasn't that predictable. Try to get over it and be happier that he's doing a mountain of work correcting what he felt responsible for creating. I'm just pointing out that you need to get over something That's still frustrating you, and don't blame Steve anymore. Ok?
@@raydavies3278 with all due respect means, with all due respect towards me is the intonation. He is respecting me by reminding me of Steve's previous mistake. It's just a polite way of saying, "yeah, but". Do you have any response about the content?
Al, thanks SO MUCH! for having Steve on and talking about this subject. Steve is so intelligent and such a great historian that we must listen to him and remember his words. I so appreciate the both of you, and all who stand up and stand against this atrocity that's befallen us. We MUST build up the middle class again. I used to be middle class until I became poor. By poor, I mean living on social security. I still have faith in democracy and always will. The people trying to kill this country must face consequences! And they must be brought to justice ASAP before any more damage occurs. Thanks again for a very important show today. 💙
I watched a Republican that was running for something that legitimately thought that Antifa stands for Anti First Amendment...not Anti Fascism...shocked me. Maybe we need to start educating these idiots. They have no clue.
I appreciate what Schmidt and other disaffected Republicans are doing. My father grew up Republican but in the old Eisenhower mould. He left them when the GOP ran Barry Goldwater in ‘64. He saw how the party was leaving behind its founding principles. He was raised working class but went to college and grad school on the GI Bill after WWII, becoming a teacher. Still, my folks struggled financially during the 60s, and my mother worked full time, too. So I have to differ with Schmidt’s definitions. I have to disagree with his definition of Democrats as the elite party and Republicans as the party of the middle class. Just wrong. For one thing, having a college degree doesn’t classify you as an elite; not since the 1950s, when the GI Bill made it possible for non-elites to afford to go to college. And that set the stage for people’s goals and expectations afterward, if you had the grades and the ambition to go. And the taxes on business and the wealthy helped build a strong middle class, while robust unions helped ensure that working people got health care, pensions, etc. That’s why blue collar workers were a Democratic constituency, to a great extent. Meanwhile, elites throughout this country have used their wealth to fortify the GOP, with some exceptions, but largely to help destroy the educational system - especially primary and secondary - to dumb down the population. While busting unions and leaving people struggling to afford health care, and to have a decent retirement. And they’ve had stunning success, because Democrats are so busy thinking policy platforms will win elections, like they did before people stopped being willing and able to read more thoroughly, debate with others, and ask better questions. Before info was delivered in sound bytes. Before TL;DR was a thing. Now, we have useless candidate “debates” that aren’t debates, and popular media is busy with celebrity “news” and other fluff while today’s robber barons - the real elites who pretend not to be, by talking at the first-grade level - enact policies that destroy the middle class and exploit the pain of the working classes. And companies can claim to be people, while lobbyists write congressional bills.
I was jarred by the comment about college educated people being elite too, but he may be on to something when it comes to the population as a whole. I mean, when I worked at the hardware store after graduation, I was known as "hey college boy". Even in high school, when I attended auto repair class with all the FFA boys, there was a bit of culture shock going on there. Well, ok, quite a lot. We hope we learned something abut critical thinking and nuance in college but, a lot of people just want a clear answer they can hold onto and call it a belief. Critical thinking and nuance will never shake that belief. That's what the republicans have figured out, thanks to Frank Luntz. Get a few persuasive words, repeat them over and over and systematically vilify any word you want fight against. Like CRT. It doesn't have to make sense. You just have to repeat the message consistently and often. Whatever the dems might stand for (not much), their messaging sucks. No wonder the non-"elites" aren't listening.
Such a smart guy, I can almost forgive him for being a former Republican 😂 thank goodness he’s on Our Side now, keep talking Steve, we are listening and doing whatever we can to Save Our Country from the fascist GOP 💙💙 Vote Blue in 2022, our Country depends on it🤨🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸💙
We need to elect more Democrats so we can pass Bills to improve lives! Voting is like driving. D to go forward. R to go backwards. VOTE Blue no matter who the whole way through in 2022!
The 13-minute, 42-second 1942 US Department of Agriculture video *Hemp for Victory* is the key to reducing unemployment, reducing poverty, reducing hunger, reducing homelessness, reducing health care costs, reducing crime, reducing police brutality, reducing government spending, reducing political corruption, reducing pollution, replacing fossil fuels, ending deforestation and stopping climate change, all at the same time. There is an official .gov link to the film from the US National Archives. It has been public since 1990.
Well said. FACT: The Democratic Party has consistently lead the country to greater prosperity and economic growth for all Americans, far more than than the GOP, since WWII, at a rate of 4.4%, vs 2.5%. The GOP are all about making the top 1% wealthier and supporting the oligarchy model. If you're reading this, you are not in the top 1%, and you will be more prosperous when the GOP has less control. Simple.
People elect them, then they don't fight back. That's the main reason Democrats can't motivate the base or attract new voters. They don't fight back; they won't fight back. THey play fight and want paid. Republicans are the worst, but I can no longer support any current Democrat besides possible Al and AOC. ZERO CONFIDENCE IN DEMOCRATS TO FIGHT. Whine, complain, ask for money, yes, actually fight back in a meaningful way? Out of your mind.
@@LB-tw7gg You name the measure of prosperity, education, health and well-being and chances are a state with a Republican governor and usually a Republican-controlled legislature have the worst outcomes. Red states have the highest infant death rate, the highest teenage pregnancies, have the highest STDs, the highest death of mothers from giving birth. They also take in more federal dollars than Blue states. Since 1974 the only principles Republicans have is object to everything the Democrat Party wants or tries to do, give tax cuts to the wealthy, anger the base on every issue possible, blame everything on Democrats, pass no legislation without a tax cut for the wealthy, pack the courts with conservative judges, complain about the debt when Democrats are in charge, spend like drunken sailors when Republicans are in charge. czcams.com/video/muwh1IALWKw/video.html
Steve & Al - thank you for this insightful conversation. My mind has been on this - it feels like we’re living the tale of the boiling frog and the tiny bubbles are starting to form in the edges of the pan! My fight or flight instinct is telling me the time is getting close to it being too late. This is urgent and we cannot just watch the country be taken over and our rights be stripped away. The time is now!
*1st FDR Economic Freedoms:* Employment, food, clothing, leisure with enough income to support them. *2nd FDR Economic Freedoms:* Farmers' rights to a fair income. *3rd FDR Economic Freedoms:* Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies. *4th FDR Economic Freedoms:* Housing, Medical care, Social security, Education
Well said. FACT: The Democratic Party has consistently lead the country to greater prosperity and economic growth for all Americans, far more than than the GOP, since WWII, at a rate of 4.4%, vs 2.5%. The GOP are all about making the top 1% wealthier and supporting the oligarchy model. If you're reading this, you are not in the top 1%, and you will be more prosperous when the GOP has less control. Simple.
We are so far away from even the 1st FDR Economic Freedoms that it is breathtaking. But unfortunately, the Democrats have become a corporatist party promoting the race to the bottom that the vast majority of Americans are experiencing. They are no longer the party of working people. Biden is trying to walk the party somewhat to the left - but it is too little, too late. Corporate interests are way too entrenched.
Steve is a monumental voice against the party he once served, it's a shame he wasn't with us from the beginning, but we are happy to have him on our side now.
Whenever Steve Schmidt is speaking I will follow.. I would have voted for McCain if Palin wasn't on the ticket and for Romeney if Paul Ryan wasn't on the ticket and for the last 50+ yrs I have voted Democratic ticket I was a huge supporter of yours Mr Franklin I wanted you to remain
What a brilliant analysis by Schmidt of everything that's happened and continues to happen ! . His is one of the greatest minds of the generation and the present time. Let's hope the revelations by the Jan 6 Committee serve to galvanize the population and inspire us to action------and I don't mean violent action. I mean intelligent and meaningful action at the ballot box.Thanks to Franken for generously giving us the time and space to listen!
I am grateful that Steve Schmidt is part of the grand coalition that needs to vote for Democrats this November. From RINOs to Progressives and everyone in between - we need get out and save the country.
We need everyone we can possibly reach to know this basic truth. FACT: The Democratic Party has consistently lead the country to greater prosperity and economic growth for all Americans, far more than than the GOP, since WWII, at a rate of 4.4%, vs 2.5%. The GOP are all about making the top 1% wealthier and supporting the oligarchy model. If you're reading this, you are not in the top 1%, and you will be more prosperous when the GOP has less control. Simple. For people like you and me to really get ahead, the GOP needs to be out of the equation.
If a person has a neighbor who was civil, law abiding, hard working, friendly, etc. Then that neighbor trashes their yard, throws wild, loud, all night parties. Then that neighbor starts shooting into the sky at all hours. Most neighbors would move a way if the police can't control those out of control neighbors. But moving away from the chaos is not possible. What can that person do? How long until the rioting neighbor's trouble spreads. What can Canada and Mexico do? I wish that I knew. . .
He has his plate full with the Lincoln Project and they had a great affect on the 2020m election .The Adds they did on Trump where amazing .That whole crew could teach the Dems. allot about getting down in the mud with the Repubs. And they are former repubs. they know how these dick weeds operate .
Every single time that I listen to Steve Schmidt, I am immediately reduced to fearful breathlessness simply due to the unmistakable confidence presented. It makes each word express the definition of the truth in the telling. I am captivated and elevated into a silence that consumes my being in a void where there is only the eloquent presentation of an intelligent and informed truth that freezes my existence in the moment as I listen to him define my own fears. The fears we are all too afraid to mention much less verbalize. Experiencing the Schmidt perspective is like running to dive into freezing water then making it back to the surface only to find there is no one there to pull you out. It far surpasses the emotional impact of automatic gunfire.
I was saying to my mom the other day: who has time to bother with voting more than once? I guess if you're taking others' mail in ballots. Why pretend to be someone else?
Just because a given group of contemporary Nazis are not currently rounding people up and placing them into internment camps does not mean that they are not Nazis. There are far more things that define a Nazi beyond just the death camps. The 20th century Nazis in Germany were also not establishing death camps in their early years.
Right, if it quacks, walks, and looks like a duck, you can say it is a duck without eating every bite of it first. Al seems to think they weren’t Nazis until the moment they killed x number of people. My question: what were they just before that?
You know, I appreciate the fact that Schmidts changing his views, we should not forget that he was a part of the culture that got us to this point. He was part of the culture that wanted to keep people from voting, yes people of color. He was part of the party culture that focused on excluding as many people as possible. He was part of the party that has gerrymandered and stacked the courts with federalist society mules. Like Liz Chaney, who also suddenly is appalled at what is happening never bothered to see what they were leading the country into. It has just got past what Schmidt could stomach. But he was an active part of why we are here. I think Steve Schmidt has actually is part of a too little too late movement. This country is definitely in crisis created by Republicans , full stop.
But Steve and Liz have learned their party's old good values have disappeared long ago and they can no longer be part of that. I am ok with that what I will not accept are the other republicans who regardless what happens they are still against equally, rights, honesty and they put greed and evangelical power above all else.
I kinda wish I could have called in to this and asked a question. It would be if either of these two are familiar with the fact that Putin experimented with gasing up right wing division in other countries before Donald Trump...who some (including myself) believe was compromised by Putin.
People as SO busy these days just keeping their noses above water, that they don't have time to be as informed as President Jefferson knew we had to be. I'm sure this is largely by design.
Hmm. I’m confused. Seems to me only a future displeased Caesar would have him killed for whatever reason. I mean once we have our Putin, and thus complications among the Right. He’s working for the establishment right now. Dems tend not to do that crazy stuff. But are there extremists out there, like say Princip, do you think? Otherwise not sure what you’re getting at except it is truly morally wild that he exists at all.
The replacement theory is alive and functioning in Europe too. Bannon attempted to open a 'training center' in Italy a few years ago and was stopped. Eventually, he was deported. Thank you for your work.
That's what the Russia/Republicans are doing right now with their seditious conspiracies all over America. Acting against the Constitution and their vows to it. The R/R rigged Supreme Court is about to remove a 49 yr. women's right and freedom, which they intend to manipulate into the loss of many more American Constitutional rights and freedoms! The leader of the Russia/Republican Senate is presumed knowledgeable and involved in the plot to take over the U.S. government in a bloody coup ... And he refuses to obey a legal subpoena from Congress ... The destruction of our Constitution and democracy has already begun. We all need to watch and listen to the J6 public hearings, televised, beginning on June 9, '22 at 8pm. And on voting day in just 6 months, we have to remove every Russia/Republican possible from power in the House and Senate. Or we become powerless against Fascism.
The greatest years for this country were after WWII when the middleclass was humming along doing really well for themselves and poor people were moving up into the middleclass. The 70s were difficult because of inflation, gas shortages, etc. and then we had Reagan who began disassembling our laws. Taking off the bank regulations. That was the beginning of this extreme idealology that is right out in the open now.
those years were great because we were the only country not bombed to rubble and had a monopoly on everthing .. by the 70s the others rebuilt with modern technology and did everything better while fat cats let companies die ..
The economy is booming (GNP growth 6.0%/unemployment 4.0%/disposable income per mth up $400 per capita) ... and we’re only in one year of a 4 year new term after the trump disaster! Inflation, essentially price gouging by unscrupulous corporate players (food giants, pharma, gas co’s) aggressively capitalizing on interim price/supply imbalances as the economy turns will be reined in in due course.
Saying “I don’t know what Build Back Better means” is pure willful ignorance as most people have the ability to Google it and inform themselves in their hands. Drives me nuts how people are too lazy to do the easy work of informing themselves of important issues.
Understanding what is going on takes a little of a person's time. Being narcissistic has come full circle alot of people don't want to believe anything more than what they think they know.
You can thank the advent of cell phones, and the inability to form a proper written sentence...most people under the age of 30 can barely sign their name!
I'm totally comfortable with Schmidt's use of the word "Nazi" in describing what's going on. I understand politically it's considered extreme. But it's shockingly accurate. I think it's a fair word to describe the actions of people who are using the exact same fascist playbook. I agree that word isn't one that should ever be used lightly. But in this case the shoe does fit. I don't think we should be shying away from it. Also, I find Schmidt's optimism to be soothing. I really really hope he's right. Thanks for interviewing him. I'm a HUGE fan of his. Even before he switched sides to the Democratic Party.
I love how everyone knows what's going on with corruption with corruption, in politics, and yet no one is doing anything about it to stop it. It's like watching someone set a house on fire and letting it burn to the ground and no one around to lift a finger to do anything about it.
Those who have the background (education) to appreciate this message already know the U.S. is on a path that leaves democracy behind. The global economy exerts this pressure even though few will admit our economic system is broken. The failing economy creates fear and when frightened, people like totalitarians - even if they're ignoramuses or sociopaths. "What do we do to change course now?" is the pressing question for me. How do we change direction? In the U.S., it doesn't seem likely your two-party system will help heal your democratic process. The once silent (and politically peripheral) mob is active, snarling, going to the voting stations, and attempting to keep others away from those same voting stations. It's happening all over the world. Democracy is in trouble everywhere. What do we do?
Shortly after Donald Trump was elected and inaugurated I began rereading Shelby Foote’s book about the Civil War. The lead up chapters regarding secession and the political discourse of the time, it was shocking to find the similarities of rhetoric between the eventual Vice President Stevens of the confederacy and the southern senators particularly from my state of Mississippi by birth to be almost identical to what Hitler’s party was selling in the early 1930s in Germany. Hopefully we will come to our senses in November.
I'm looking forward to the LIVE📺 #Jan6CmteHearings starting June 9. I hope millions of US VOTERS watch it and MILLIONS show up in November to vote out every rethugliQan. 🗳Take 5 people with you to vote. NEVER FORGET there are MORE of us than them! 💙🇺🇸💙
If we had a true "liberal media " they would have given Bernie Sanders the airtime he deserved to get out his message instead of Trump and his empty podium or shoving Hillary down America's throats.
I get that Mr. Franken is hesitant on bestowing the “Nazi” label too liberally - words have meaning, and we should take care not to use them inaccurately. On the other hand, I strongly suggest that the Third Reich Nazis were Nazis even before they got into positions of power, when being Nazis wasn’t necessarily fun yet because they were still getting some pushback, and before they were able to launch into unleashing genocide and global war on humankind. The frightening thing about “plain” racists and fascists in general is that, when allowed to flourish and prevail, they’ll inevitably wind up committing “Nazi” atrocities, such as killing countless people because of their “race and religion” besides any number of other “criteria”; the Buffalo mass murderer is just the latest case in ancient point. Likewise, these racists and fascists will enjoy being part of the murderous caste just as the Nazis did. If anything, what sets German Third Reich Nazis apart is the scale and level of organization of their monstrous “enterprise” - though I’d hate to see the levels of “efficiency” U.S. White supremacists will reach once they get firmly back in the saddle. (It stands to reason that, considering their “losses” during the “interim years” they spent pretending to play at democracy, they’ll make sure to be serious and thorough next time around.) In terms of ideology, there is a clear distinction: German Nazis, at least in name, were also “socialists,” that is, had some notion of “benefiting” the “common man”; in the U.S., the Whitist fascists are clearly on the side of the moneyed class and only using what some of them have long been calling “surplus Whites.” The bottom line of this podcast remains, unsurprisingly, that everything about the current state of emergency goes back to racism: a great number of White Europeans taking the idea of their superiority and “God-given” spot at the top of all creation to the Americas, cultivating it into specifically “American” creeds of Whitism, all of which has enabled them to engage in genocide and the most abject forms of exploitation and oppression of “Others” (as well as “undeserving” Whites). The Reactionary Party is now on the cusp of turning back the wheels of time unless the majority of decent people turn out en masse to stop them at the ballot box. Since I think Mr. Schmidt is correct in asserting that there has never been as great a number of true democrats in the U.S. as there is today, there is a chance - if the pro-humanity folks go out and vote.
Please do not make the mistake that nazis are socialists because they used the term in their name. They used it solely for PR reasons, and were completely opposed to any kind of worker control of the means of production. They were also violently opposed to any kind of democracy.
The scale and organization of the Russia/Republican party may be greater than we think. At least, Robert Mueller tried to warn us about it until AG Barr silenced him, and so much in the "Mueller Report". We need to encourage everyone we know to watch the J6 Committee's public testimonies, televised starting June 9, '22, at 8pm. Hopefully what we hear will make Trump and his criminal colleagues next stop in front of Federal Grand Juries. And hopefully they will enrage enough Americans to wipe the Fascist Russia/Republicans out of power in the House , Senate, come this November.
Thanks Al....Any conversation that Steve is involved in is worth hearing.... It would be a great time for Steve Schmidt to run for president. He's no nonsense, no bs, and could make the critical changes needed to protect our voting system and republic, since he comprehends the dangers trying to destroy them... He would actually get things done I believe.
He can't, because he has no party, now. The Rethuglicans consider him a turn-coat & the Democrats have their own dynasty of politicians waiting in-line for the opportunity to run. Aside from Bernie Sanders, Democrats always run legacy and Centrist politicians. They don't run outsiders. At least, not in modern time. They only run senior candidates who have occupied previous prominent, political functions. Candidates are anointed in a way and it has little or nothing to do with what American citizens need or want.
@@Juicexlx Yeah, I completely get that. Our sad reality is that we're constantly in the position to select the lesser of two evils, rather than an inspiring, well qualified individual who would actually get important things done. We need to find a way to break that pattern. But the majority of americans can't be bothered knowing the true condition of our republic, and knowing just how close we are to complete chaos.
We need more Democrats now if laws are ever going to get passed that protect the people from this full blown fascist takeover. The 40% of eligible voters that have been sitting it out have got to vote. It's now or never folks. Vote!
I can’t help but thanks to you a million times for your super smart podcast. Loved this one too!!! A lot !!! Of course you should run for senator again, we seriously need you!!!!!!!!
What I wished you’d asked him, Al, is “What can the average guy or gal listening right now-who loves his/her country, loves Democracy, sees the danger-what can that person do? Do right now?” Yeah, we get the message. Yeah, we’ve seen it coming since Comey reopened the Clinton email investigation a week before the 2016 election. Yes: the hour is here! What? The Fuck? Can a person? Do? To? Help???
The 13-minute, 42-second 1942 US Department of Agriculture video *Hemp for Victory* is the key to reducing unemployment, reducing poverty, reducing hunger, reducing homelessness, reducing health care costs, reducing crime, reducing police brutality, reducing government spending, reducing political corruption, reducing pollution, replacing fossil fuels, ending deforestation and stopping climate change, all at the same time. There is an official .gov link to the film from the US National Archives. It has been public since 1990. Every single individual person can grow Cannabis Sativa regardless of age, gender, nationality, ethnicity, religious persuasion or political affiliation.
We need everyone we can possibly reach to know this basic truth. FACT: The Democratic Party has consistently lead the country to greater prosperity and economic growth for all Americans, far more than than the GOP, since WWII, at a rate of 4.4%, vs 2.5%. The GOP are all about making the top 1% wealthier and supporting the oligarchy model. If you're reading this, you are not in the top 1%, and you will be more prosperous when the GOP has less control. Simple. For people like you and me to really get ahead, the GOP needs to be out of the equation.
Vote like your life and rights depend on it because it does. Make sure everyone around you talks about the issues, talk about what is needed in your community and state, talk about this enlightening show and other great forms of fact and truth. Then make sure everyone gets to the voting polls, car pool, go in groups because every vote will count. Voting is your right, demonstrating about your concerns and what is needed for a successful society is your right, do it.
The worst mistake I ever made in my life was coming back to the US in 1986. I was so happy in Europe. It was impossible for me to understand how the US was being perverted by the GOP.
I could have sat down with Schmidt over 30 years ago to tell him where this was going to lead (if I had access and he’d have let me) and he would have danced around poo pooing anything I said. I know because I encountered people just like him in law school. We could be friends back then-the left and right-and debate matters. The difference with many of them is that they used religion to back up their repressive ideology and they were as confident in their “brilliance” and right to dominate then as they are now.
You know that’s right. There’s a through line to all of what is happening now. In times of Reagan, this was obviously going down a bad road. Thank you for your comment.
I love Al over all these years, yet Steve Schmidt is much more straight-ahead and articulate in his statements. I guess that's why he was good at what he did.
Unfortunately, Democrats seem unwilling to campaign in rural/working class America. Jon Tester, farmer & Senator from Montana, should give workshops on how to listen to rural & working class grievances and to articulate how Democratic programs can improve voters' lives. Merely flying in and out of cities with major airport hubs for pressers doesn't move the needle.
I fear the Americans that need to hear this aren't listening, and if my individual experiences are valid, even if they did listen, the weight of their multiple ugly beliefs prohibit change. I live amongst MAGAr's, I hear them talk like it's 1952 or or 1932, and it's all less educated mostly rural white guys. I'm a white guy they assume I'm a fellow traveler, it's scary how much MAGAr propaganda has been internalized.
I’ve been watching this evolve since Nixon...and honestly I feel like the fascist takeover is inevitable. They’re in the minority, but regular folks just aren’t that involved or that aware...I guess they’re caught up in their own lives...and this fascist tide seems poised for the final act. It’s terrifying...and it’s sad (oh yeah, and then there’s climate change which really isn’t going to wait for us to get it together!).
I totally agree and this is seen in many other countries including my country Canada. I can't get over how lazy some people are to not invest time to figure this out and how to change this awful future. So many have given up, so many feel removed from what will happen and then so many are following the cult and are far down the rabbit hole. It is scary but everyone has to step up and do the right thing.
@@janicegullett4939 It's a lot of negative energy to follow this stuff so many normal mentally healthy people people don't like to do it, but the result is that we are on a fast track to fascism
False. I take offense at assigned apathy. The people can find a way to choose the path, but they are still thinking. The most important help we can give is to explain what some of these events mean, just as the Special Committee explains Trump's fighting his way back into the presidency is not at all that, but his intent to end democracy, to install himself as dictator, and end the Bill of Rights for all Americans, in order to build a money making machine to write his name on, and force the American people and their children, to break their backs earning tokens to pay him to power his money so his name and family, the dictator's family, will be provided for forever. People must get it that because Trump has shown us the evidence, he plans to end voting, (which is our choice in governing) we know he plans to make the choices for us which removes our rights! That is almost hard to understand if you have always lived here. Immigrants know what it is, and why they risk literally everything, and could instruct if we asked. We do everything assuming all our rights. Where those rights have been removed, either quickly or slowly, that is abject failure. Ask the Russians and the Chinese and North , Koreans how they explain future when the choices have been removed. You work for someone else's pleasure, and whatever work I s desired you give for the limit of your body, or the limit of your sons or daughters body, until it breaks, then you can not give any more and you die. That becomes the meaning of life. The amount that can be completed before the body gives out and you return to your maker. The alternative is to learn what the so-called leaders intend if they are voted in. Trump and his news sportscasters of Banon and Tucker have seen this and talked about this and belong to that choice. They lie whenever they speak. Their purpose is to rewrite American history into an autocracy or totalitarian governments where the people have no choice and no rights. To stop their efforts we must get an Independent or Democrat into power for '22 and '24. If a republican gets in, we can not trust we will keep our rights I believe in Chaney, partly because of all she has done to help the people, but also her family's name stands out as strong for years The Democrats are trying to help, but the people must choose it's leader and the direction. The Supreme Court is the most immediate arbiter of (revenge) destruction before us. We can not allow them to exert a power play and take away rights arbitrarily. They don't have that right. They do not now and will never have. This was and still is existing law. Biden must flush the Court, or lose too much ground. The Court must be corrected to take out the corruption. We have fewer abortions being done now than ever before. Women don't want abortions. They merely understand the need to keep decisions about the body with the woman, or for the man about male issues, not the government, based on our law--based on 49 years of strength of precedent which is starre decisis. If you see this as a call for you to step forward for your ancestors who fought and died in battle, to preserve the democracy so we can tune it and tighten it like a body builder, so it's power and beauty again makes it the shining city on the hill, begin looking to see where you can help in the way you do best. The people are feeling broken in all the inflation and returning pandemic, and all the hate speech shelled out with need for guns to fight who? Us? Them? We are not the enemy. The enemy is those who would try to take our country! Even try to take our Bill of Rights! The proper phrase is, you can have my Rights, when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers. We don't give up our Bill of Rights, ever. Wasn't his original given name Drumpf? And changed long ago when his family were immigrants, and didn't want to be ridiculed.
Only a stupid person would act on Tucker's words, and he banks on it. Literally.
75 million people with the total intelligence of one earthworm.
They aren't just inherently stupid, they are intrinsically evil.
Unfortunately too many stupid people running the show.
Ignorant people are easier to manipulate.
Unfortunately there are too many people that listen to Tucker and follow him also and yes like Tucker they have a screw lose.
Stupid but not crazy.
*Why do we continue to show deference to a party that no longer respects the peaceful transfer of power?*
Well said.
FACT: The Democratic Party has consistently lead the country to greater prosperity and economic growth for all Americans, far more than than the GOP, since WWII, at a rate of 4.4%, vs 2.5%. The GOP are all about making the top 1% wealthier and supporting the oligarchy model.
If you're reading this, you are not in the top 1%, and you will be more prosperous when the GOP has less control. Simple.
Good point. Trump almost had to be thrown out of the WH, kicking and screaming and lying about the 2020 election, and he still claims today that he won it. Trump has no right to un ever, every again.
@@almostthere2024 Repugs will say trump had the record stock market and then Biden choked it. What does that mean?
@@almostthere2024 I'm going to copy/paste this elsewhere it was so well said.
@@aworldwithoutsin6384 go for it. 👍
I hear this conversation and focus on the disbelief I think most Americans feel. How bad can it really get? Folks, we have to stop this now. Big fan Steve and Al!
How do we stop it. I'm hearing lots of handwringing and discussions but what I'm not saying is thing is how we can stop it. I feel like we're being steamrolled and just standing there and letting it happen. Obviously our democratic leadership needs to step it up But I don't know if that's enough
@@soltantio we the f'in people need to step it up! (obviously)
free your politicians from the extremes, any form of ranked choice voting and open primaries will be a huge boon to the freedom of voting 🗳
@@soltantio There isn't anything more. You think Tiananmen Square was deadly? They had to rely on humans to pull the trigger. Once the fascists take control this time, you'll have drones operated by AIs that have no qualm about killing. That's the future for liberals in this country- smokestacks.
@@soltantio I agree on all your points. Steve makes some good observations about the Dem leadership being out of touch. Biden needs someone like him to help him steer the course. They have to confront this head on and build bridges to everyone who feels disenfranchised at the same time. Garland has been a major disappointment and let too much time go to waste. These insurrections have to be held accountable. I have one other idea: the Dem party has to reshape itself as the big tent party that can embrace progressive ideas, mainstream Dem ideas AND the traditional conservatives that reject MAGA extremism. It shouldn’t be an either or, there are good ideas across the spectrum. The power in this country, our strength is our diversity. Until we can convince folks that works there is limited chance this cancer will be put in remission.
Wish Al had not given in and resigned. Run again Al. We need people like you.
Totally agree.
czcams.com/video/bIpKfw17-yY/video.html
Before his resignation both houses were the same as they are today after Buffalo now Uvale.
We absolutely do. His indiscretions truly pale in comparison to the traitorous Trumpublicans.
I must agree Joyce 100%!
*THE RULE I GREW UP ON:* _Whenever a Republican starts to complain about corruption, they are doing it themselves now._
(G)aslight, (O)bstruct, (P)roject.
The book _How Fascism Works_ says they have a different definition of corruption: "those people" being in charge of government. That is Blacks, women, LGBTQ, Jews, other minorities, etc. These people are corrupting the natural order of white men in charge.
@@mattb5370 or (G)rifters (O)n (P)arade
They are the kings of projection.
How many Republicans (Stephanic) claim Democrats are "pedos" when several Republicans have been recently charged with pedophilia. Projection for sure.
The OSS psychological profile of Hitler described him thus:
"His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it."
Sound familiar?
dRumpf
Sounds like the Democrats/CNN/MSNBC/CIA.
The playbook for Trump, and it's incredibly effective, judging by the fact that he still isn't behind bars and leads the republican polls for POTUS.
I'm the only non-'German commenting on this thread and probably the only real American.
The U.S. today is the wasteland you have created.
America was taken over by Nazi's. Hasn't been American since 1935.
The U.S. is controlled by the descendants of Nazi's who invaded in 1935 and committed genocide on the American people. Don't know about this? That's how many people they killed in the U.S.
For instance, these Nazi's found Nazi's in Ukraine to support. And their hatred for Russia is because if not for Russia the Nazi's would have taken over the world and there would have been world wide genocide only seen in Star Wars movies and there would be NO Russia today. All the Russian people would have been executed. All of them.
WW II is not over yet. And these Germans who occupy and control the US want to finish the destruction of Russia that they started in the beginning of WW II. This is the entire reason for U.S. support of the war in Ukraine and all the wars they have been in since 1945.
See, Murder of the Creoles of New Orleans 1935, CZcams. My father was there. I went to school in the USA that was mostly for German kids. I have a half sister and a half brother who have the same Nazi father in the USA.
And Nazi's murdered people in every country they occupied so they probably control many of those other EU countries as well.
Al Franken like many others suffers from compartmentalization ...he wrongly thinks that if we dont see people act exactly like NAZIS did in the 1940's then you cant label anyone else as a NAZI ...what intelligent people understand is NAZISM is a set of ideas and behaviors and you dont need to dress up like an SS Death Camp commander goose stepping on Jews heads to be labeled as a Nazi .
Schmidt has a rare grasp of our shared realities. I consider him one of our foremost political sages.
Except most of his career he helped these people gain power!
@@markbantz9699 it’s never too late to course correct.
And his favorite movie is “Cuties”! He has so much in common with his fan base!
@@joeybanez310 what an arrogant and stupid comment. This guy could dance circles around you intellectually and has the courage of a bear.
I love Steve Schmidt, it's so rare that someone I agree with speaks truth so clearly. Every progressive needs to hear this, We are in grave danger of losing our democracy. Yeah really!
Totally agree!!!!! Steve is a blessing!!❤
*It's pretty simple... as the RICH GOT RICHER our Democracy became Weaker!*
oh, by DESIGN too...
History tells us that individual autonomy disappears when wealth inequality reaches a tipping point. We passed GO on that one about a decade ago.
@Jay Bee No - what our current process selects for is greedy, sociopathic, power-hungry people who don't care what happens to anyone else. They rise to the top because there is ZERO moral compass. You don't have to be smart or hardworking to find success if you are completely morally bankrupt. Particularly when they engineer the deregulation of an economy so that what should be criminal in any sane world is actually legal. That is the elite that runs the show now. In good part thanks to brainwashed people like you.
I agree with Steve Schmidt. Look at the history of 1930's Germany and the parallels to today. We could find ourselves in a very different country by 2025. We have to get out and vote while we still can.
Well said.
FACT: The Democratic Party has consistently lead the country to greater prosperity and economic growth for all Americans, far more than than the GOP, since WWII, at a rate of 4.4%, vs 2.5%. The GOP are all about making the top 1% wealthier and supportingthe oligarchy model.
If you're reading this, you are not in the top 1%, and you will be more prosperous when the GOP has less control. Simple.
By 2022, in fact
key word - while we still can .. not much faith in any elections anymore ..
@@almostthere2024 this is irrelevant now, because this is not the messaging driving the Dem party, nor is the dem party that created that growth, economic and opportunity centric, that party that is today. Back then, blue collar guys that carried a lunch pail on their way to sending their kids to college are now being told let the illegal immigrants through and let them take your $25 hr job with benefits for $7.50 and no benefits. And Democrats I power have cared more about what pronoun you’re using then this guy’s entire livelihood. Or, that is what happens every election cycle, the GOP force the Dems into this corner, and the Dems fall for it every time.
Like Schmidt says, the put out the dumbest fucking name ever for a campaign and bill - Melania uses better grammar - and like Franken says, they should have gone one at a time so people knew what they are getting.
The Democratic Party of Bill Bradley and Sam Nunn and Patrick Moynihan has vanished.
The GOP is a horror show and the Dem Party is a clown show. Schmidt is right. The middle class has been forgotten. They were in no man’s land with no representation and Trump swept it up. He doesn’t give a damn about them, but he at least spoke to them, something the Democratic Party abandoned a long time ago.
america was an apartheid democracy in the 1930s
Thank you for having these important people on Al. I hope our country can rally against the fascists. Thank you
So true 💯💯💯
would love to see Steve on these up coming Jan. 6th hearings asking some much needed questions .He won't hold back, he would nail them to the wall.
This is an extremely important conversation that should be heard and acted upon.
what was that action .. ??
@@direwolf6234 Not violence, but getting more people to vote and advocate against this attack on democracy.
@@pf100andahalf 👍
No Doubt About It 🙏🇺🇸🗽
Im not american but the price of watching your country fail is a price mine cant afford.
Love Steve, Love Al. You guys should run on a ticket together.
Both great, but obvs running for office creates pressure to be fake. I’m not opposed to politicians or politicking per se, (if the dark money comes out) but some folks can make more change/louder noise than they could by running for office. These are two of them on the right, correct, side. As long as people are listening - and you are following - they may make some progress.
Was thinking the same thing! Truth tellers at the top & young enough to persue!
Would that be the best or what. So much respect for both guys
I have been following Schmidt for quite some time. I appreciate his analogy of all that is going on. Thanks to both of you.
So the goober who inflicted Sarah Palin on America should be considered a valid source of information somehow?
DITTO 👍💯🇺🇸
So true 💯💯💯💯
Steve is right on, and explains it so the American people can figure out what is really going .
I used to not like Steve Schmidt.
For whatever reason he has figured out how bad the Party of Liar’s Cheats and Thieves are, and always have been!
Franken should be back in politics.
agreed
He has restored his honor. Not that he ever really lost it.
I know people like to say that and I love Al, but I think the notion of his holding political office again has passed him by. He still exhibits an inability to understand that policy discussions don't get people to the polls. It is messaging and he still has a Clinton era mindset on that and that is a loser mindset. Different world now, much less genteel. He doesn't seem to get that most voters are not smart and respond to slogans. And he definitely is not pugnacious enough to punch back harder when his opponent goes low. Again, he was a great Senator and never should have resigned, but he has been out of DC for 5 plus years and I don't think he could go back.
@@gheller2261 I agree...and his slower, laid back commentary seems to lack power...His time has come and gone.
The victim's families really need to sue Tucker and Fox News.
Sadly too many judges are corrupt & they are now getting everything to this fascist theocratic Supreme Court .
Yes.
Confused dog, Tuckums will fall back on his "I'm just asking questions." bullshit.
I think we all need those families to sue Tucker and Fox News.
@@DragonFetishFire I tend to agree however; some lawsuits are worth doing even if you lose. This be one of those.
A great one as always. Please run again Al Franken. Your service is really needed in current government before it becomes a permanent circus nightmare. We believe in you.
Amen to that! From BC Canada✌✌✌
A-men to your A-men! Though I am not from his state I emailed his office daily and begged him not to resign 😒. We need you Al!
Truth!
Franken/Fetterman 2024
I feel the same way what he did isn't even in the same category as what Trump did or any of those other idiots, he was being a comedian and it wasn't right what they said and he stepped down on his own
very good conversation. no one should underestimate the danger of the religious right. and we can all react and win.
I was surprised it wasn't mentioned.
Fundamentalists are dangerous to democracy.
You are correct. Have you heard Pastor Greg Locke recently ? Clearly, Talibangelicals.
I didn't think I would listen all the way through. Ten minutes tops. But I did.
The claim christianity but have NO GD CLUE WHAT JESUS TAUGHT!
Steve Schmidt was really dead on to what is happening in this country. He was blunt and to the point, on replacement theory. I hope the Democratic Congress listens to Steve Schmidt's message. I have always admired Steve Schmidt opinions.
Al this was a really powerful podcast.
ABSOLUTELY 🎯💯
So true 💯💯💯
You’ve _always_ admired Steve Schmidt’s opinions? You mean even _before_ he saw the light and was a Republican Party strategist, and was largely responsible for choosing Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate, the moment that abject stupidity in politics became a GOP hallmark? She’s the forerunner of the likes of Gætz, Gohmert, Gosar, and Greene, who along with the formerly sensible turncoat Graham comprise the 5Gs that really are damaging to our nation (not the 5G that the GOP true believers have been brainwashed into railing against). Oh, and Bœbert and Cawthorne and Cotton and Hawley and so many others, but their surnames don’t begin with “G.”
@@COMALiteJ no, when he recently switched from being a Republican to a Independent.
Bless Steve for his rant on the SCOTUS soon to come decision on abortion. It’s all to do with power. Also entirely agree with his critique on DC communication, omg. And Al’s point re Labor & politics. Steve is correct about loss of Labor power over time, this srsly stinks, and it’s everywhere. The future feels bleak, but maybe there’s hope…
There is hope but only if the Jan 6th inserection hearings on June 9th hold them accountable and make sure that known criminals are tried and punished.
when he ran mccain's campaign he was a cut throat ....
@@LK-rt9cb yes, 100%. I think he just made the observation, not whose plan it was. Intricacies are def important to understanding history.
As a recent R, Steve has not probably never been a union supporter, right?
Tbh I think unions have often messed up their own efforts over the years. It’s a tough story & way more complicated than most of us know I imagine.
@@cherylgarry460 I hope for that too! Not as sure it’s make or break tho. Wrong outcomes can turn into backlash, so can martyrs. Just a thought.
@@direwolf6234 lol, so true. Interesting story, right? Def prefer cutthroats on my side, if we have to have them about 😉
Love the brilliant Steve Schmidt 👏 👏👏
Steve is not without responsibility for where we are with a Fascist Republican Party !
Hi Al. Can you please run for office again
Yes, please run again. We need another sensible politician with integrity badly.
Yeah but did anyone check with gillibrand to see if it's okay?
@@txnmia8613 Al would never run against Tina Smith but maybe he could move to New York to run against Gillibrand... Nah, he wouldn't do that either because he's too decent.
Al Franken ! We need you more than ever! Please consider running again to help save our country…PLEASE.
That was a great podcast. Could listen to Steve all day. He's absolutely on the money with these crazy bastards.
I think its up to us to spread his truth .
Finally people in the media are starting to actually understand who and what these people are.
And Steve Smidt is a Good Guy .
Love Steve Schmidt. He is so intelligent and knows history
Not nearly enough.
U mean the media that enables the lies of democrats and covers for them. Biden, Jean Pierre etc say inflation +
the fault of russia, but not the big guy. The media that shelters democrats, and when in ny the gerrymandering
causes democrat v democrat, they limit their reporting. Add the media that has the big guy and democrats
doing things that hurt, including the addition to the inflation problem. And the alliance with BAMN.
That media? OH the latest pv with Alex Martinez and the engineer, where the points where even they can't
avoid addressing topics, in the least harmful way for democrats, left, allies.
😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺
Steve Schmidt is on fire more so than he is normally. He is so extremely articulate and expressive in his statement in just the first few minutes it felt almost like he read it from several speech makers efforts but it just comes off his lips naturally.
I think Steve has finally come to see that his former Party is dead, and can't be saved like he did when he originally left them.
He hasn't gone far enough IMO, but he's pretty close.
@@allenaslin812 True, Steve and all the other so called RINOs out there attacking Trump and other Republicans would have been fine with everything Trump did as President ... IF Trump had only kept up the charade and stayed on script. Trump exposed the face of REAL GOP and that's why they really hate him.
@@allenaslin812 Do you ever forgive somebody who honestly makes a mistake and then does an amazing amount of effort to correct that and inform the rest of the world that he was wrong?
So, do you have to comment and remind us that he was a person that made a bad choice a while ago and that he should still pay for that?
You just love to blame and hate just like everybody else I guess, and you can't stop yourself from hating Steve for making a bad decision that really wasn't that predictable.
Try to get over it and be happier that he's doing a mountain of work correcting what he felt responsible for creating. I'm just pointing out that you need to get over something That's still frustrating you, and don't blame Steve anymore. Ok?
@@RockPowerUSA ,He said "with all due respect"get it.
@@raydavies3278 with all due respect means, with all due respect towards me is the intonation. He is respecting me by reminding me of Steve's previous mistake. It's just a polite way of saying, "yeah, but".
Do you have any response about the content?
Al, thanks SO MUCH! for having Steve on and talking about this subject. Steve is so intelligent and such a great historian that we must listen to him and remember his words. I so appreciate the both of you, and all who stand up and stand against this atrocity that's befallen us. We MUST build up the middle class again. I used to be middle class until I became poor. By poor, I mean living on social security. I still have faith in democracy and always will. The people trying to kill this country must face consequences! And they must be brought to justice ASAP before any more damage occurs. Thanks again for a very important show today. 💙
Whenever Steve speaks I always listen.
I watched a Republican that was running for something that legitimately thought that Antifa stands for Anti First Amendment...not Anti Fascism...shocked me. Maybe we need to start educating these idiots. They have no clue.
Amen, ya think .
I appreciate what Schmidt and other disaffected Republicans are doing. My father grew up Republican but in the old Eisenhower mould. He left them when the GOP ran Barry Goldwater in ‘64. He saw how the party was leaving behind its founding principles. He was raised working class but went to college and grad school on the GI Bill after WWII, becoming a teacher. Still, my folks struggled financially during the 60s, and my mother worked full time, too. So I have to differ with Schmidt’s definitions.
I have to disagree with his definition of Democrats as the elite party and Republicans as the party of the middle class. Just wrong.
For one thing, having a college degree doesn’t classify you as an elite; not since the 1950s, when the GI Bill made it possible for non-elites to afford to go to college. And that set the stage for people’s goals and expectations afterward, if you had the grades and the ambition to go. And the taxes on business and the wealthy helped build a strong middle class, while robust unions helped ensure that working people got health care, pensions, etc. That’s why blue collar workers were a Democratic constituency, to a great extent. Meanwhile, elites throughout this country have used their wealth to fortify the GOP, with some exceptions, but largely to help destroy the educational system - especially primary and secondary - to dumb down the population. While busting unions and leaving people struggling to afford health care, and to have a decent retirement.
And they’ve had stunning success, because Democrats are so busy thinking policy platforms will win elections, like they did before people stopped being willing and able to read more thoroughly, debate with others, and ask better questions. Before info was delivered in sound bytes. Before TL;DR was a thing.
Now, we have useless candidate “debates” that aren’t debates, and popular media is busy with celebrity “news” and other fluff while today’s robber barons - the real elites who pretend not to be, by talking at the first-grade level - enact policies that destroy the middle class and exploit the pain of the working classes. And companies can claim to be people, while lobbyists write congressional bills.
I was jarred by the comment about college educated people being elite too, but he may be on to something when it comes to the population as a whole. I mean, when I worked at the hardware store after graduation, I was known as "hey college boy". Even in high school, when I attended auto repair class with all the FFA boys, there was a bit of culture shock going on there. Well, ok, quite a lot. We hope we learned something abut critical thinking and nuance in college but, a lot of people just want a clear answer they can hold onto and call it a belief. Critical thinking and nuance will never shake that belief. That's what the republicans have figured out, thanks to Frank Luntz. Get a few persuasive words, repeat them over and over and systematically vilify any word you want fight against. Like CRT. It doesn't have to make sense. You just have to repeat the message consistently and often. Whatever the dems might stand for (not much), their messaging sucks. No wonder the non-"elites" aren't listening.
it was reagan who got the blue collar union votes by stoking fear & anxiety ...
A college degree doesn't get you much. Large numbers of degreed graduates don't get jobs in their disciplines, much less get professional jobs.
100% Agree!!!
Wow. Pretty right on Historian.
I hope everyone listens to Steve Schmidt. Tucker Carlson is doing Murdock’s dirty work. He needs to stop, but how? Thank you Al and Steve.
Such a smart guy, I can almost forgive him for being a former Republican 😂 thank goodness he’s on Our Side now, keep talking Steve, we are listening and doing whatever we can to Save Our Country from the fascist GOP 💙💙
Vote Blue in 2022, our Country depends on it🤨🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸💙
Has he been somehow muzzled lately?,,,He needs to comment on the hearings that are going on now!
We need to elect more Democrats so we can pass Bills to improve lives!
Voting is like driving.
D to go forward.
R to go backwards.
VOTE Blue no matter who the whole way through in 2022!
The 13-minute, 42-second 1942 US Department of Agriculture video *Hemp for Victory* is the key to reducing unemployment, reducing poverty, reducing hunger, reducing homelessness, reducing health care costs, reducing crime, reducing police brutality, reducing government spending, reducing political corruption, reducing pollution, replacing fossil fuels, ending deforestation and stopping climate change, all at the same time.
There is an official .gov link to the film from the US National Archives. It has been public since 1990.
Well said.
FACT: The Democratic Party has consistently lead the country to greater prosperity and economic growth for all Americans, far more than than the GOP, since WWII, at a rate of 4.4%, vs 2.5%. The GOP are all about making the top 1% wealthier and supporting the oligarchy model.
If you're reading this, you are not in the top 1%, and you will be more prosperous when the GOP has less control. Simple.
People elect them, then they don't fight back. That's the main reason Democrats can't motivate the base or attract new voters. They don't fight back; they won't fight back. THey play fight and want paid. Republicans are the worst, but I can no longer support any current Democrat besides possible Al and AOC. ZERO CONFIDENCE IN DEMOCRATS TO FIGHT. Whine, complain, ask for money, yes, actually fight back in a meaningful way? Out of your mind.
Sure you have. And you have nothing better to do besides troll? Sorry I don’t believe you.
@@LB-tw7gg You name the measure of prosperity, education, health and well-being and chances are a state with a Republican governor and usually a Republican-controlled legislature have the worst outcomes.
Red states have the highest infant death rate, the highest teenage pregnancies, have the highest STDs, the highest death of mothers from giving birth. They also take in more federal dollars than Blue states.
Since 1974 the only principles Republicans have is object to everything the Democrat Party wants or tries to do, give tax cuts to the wealthy, anger the base on every issue possible, blame everything on Democrats, pass no legislation without a tax cut for the wealthy, pack the courts with conservative judges, complain about the debt when Democrats are in charge, spend like drunken sailors when Republicans are in charge.
czcams.com/video/muwh1IALWKw/video.html
"Game Change" is a movie to watch
a part of the puzzle that lead the GOP to this ..
Tucker has blood on his hands !
@David Williamson If the dice had rolled another way the US could have had President Palin but didn't we..
'Game Change' is a very well-done film. Highly recommended for its truth.
Steve & Al - thank you for this insightful conversation. My mind has been on this - it feels like we’re living the tale of the boiling frog and the tiny bubbles are starting to form in the edges of the pan! My fight or flight instinct is telling me the time is getting close to it being too late. This is urgent and we cannot just watch the country be taken over and our rights be stripped away. The time is now!
The main thing is that as uncomfortable as it is, WE MUST STOP THIS MOVEMENT.
Thank you Steve and Al. You both need to run for office . Especially you Al.
You let them run you off. We have to get tough. Peace
*1st FDR Economic Freedoms:* Employment, food, clothing, leisure with enough income to support them. *2nd FDR Economic Freedoms:* Farmers' rights to a fair income. *3rd FDR Economic Freedoms:* Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies. *4th FDR Economic Freedoms:* Housing, Medical care, Social security, Education
It worked before. It's all that I want now.
Well said.
FACT: The Democratic Party has consistently lead the country to greater prosperity and economic growth for all Americans, far more than than the GOP, since WWII, at a rate of 4.4%, vs 2.5%. The GOP are all about making the top 1% wealthier and supporting the oligarchy model.
If you're reading this, you are not in the top 1%, and you will be more prosperous when the GOP has less control. Simple.
a simple message without big words .. get back to basics ...
We are so far away from even the 1st FDR Economic Freedoms that it is breathtaking. But unfortunately, the Democrats have become a corporatist party promoting the race to the bottom that the vast majority of Americans are experiencing. They are no longer the party of working people. Biden is trying to walk the party somewhat to the left - but it is too little, too late. Corporate interests are way too entrenched.
@@RuthmarieHicks I agree with you 100%!
Steve is a monumental voice against the party he once served, it's a shame he wasn't with us from the beginning, but we are happy to have him on our side now.
Whenever Steve Schmidt is speaking I will follow.. I would have voted for McCain if Palin wasn't on the ticket and for Romeney if Paul Ryan wasn't on the ticket and for the last 50+ yrs I have voted Democratic ticket I was a huge supporter of yours Mr Franklin I wanted you to remain
@Down with Corporate Amerika 50 years of policies under 9 presidents caused 'this mess' .. didn't start in last 2 years ...
What a brilliant analysis by Schmidt of everything that's happened and continues to happen !
. His is one of the greatest minds of the generation and the present time. Let's hope the revelations by the Jan 6 Committee serve to galvanize the population and inspire us to action------and I don't mean violent action. I mean intelligent and meaningful action at the ballot box.Thanks to Franken for generously giving us the time and space to listen!
I am grateful that Steve Schmidt is part of the grand coalition that needs to vote for Democrats this November. From RINOs to Progressives and everyone in between - we need get out and save the country.
We need everyone we can possibly reach to know this basic truth.
FACT: The Democratic Party has consistently lead the country to greater prosperity and economic growth for all Americans, far more than than the GOP, since WWII, at a rate of 4.4%, vs 2.5%. The GOP are all about making the top 1% wealthier and supporting the oligarchy model.
If you're reading this, you are not in the top 1%, and you will be more prosperous when the GOP has less control. Simple. For people like you and me to really get ahead, the GOP needs to be out of the equation.
I'm surprised no one has pulled a Jack Ruby on Carlson yet... But have faith. 🤞
👍
great explanation, by Steve Schmidt, what is happening in America is real, and scary.
So true 💯
Tuning in from BC Canada Great conversation gentlemen...✌✌✌
If a person has a neighbor who was civil, law abiding, hard working, friendly, etc. Then that neighbor trashes their yard, throws wild, loud, all night parties. Then that neighbor starts shooting into the sky at all hours.
Most neighbors would move a way if the police can't control those out of control neighbors.
But moving away from the chaos is not possible.
What can that person do? How long until the rioting neighbor's trouble spreads.
What can Canada and Mexico do?
I wish that I knew. . .
Something that Canadians like us should pay attention to because our conservatives are "Republican Want To Be".
Steve Schmidt is amazing. He needs to advise Democrats on strategy.
So true 💯💯💯
Maybe as part of a board of advisers...he wasn't very successful with McCain...
@@Raydensheraj That was a different time. He has exposed the lunacy on the right, he spurred it on, which he regrets, and he is now a DEMOCRAT!💙💙💙
He has his plate full with the Lincoln Project and they had a great affect on the 2020m election .The Adds they did on Trump where amazing .That whole crew could teach the Dems. allot about getting down in the mud with the Repubs. And they are former repubs. they know how these dick weeds operate .
Seems like Dems would rather be inane and come up with extreme and unpopular goals.
Every single time that I listen to Steve Schmidt, I am immediately reduced to fearful breathlessness simply due to the unmistakable confidence presented. It makes each word express the definition of the truth in the telling. I am captivated and elevated into a silence that consumes my being in a void where there is only the eloquent presentation of an intelligent and informed truth that freezes my existence in the moment as I listen to him define my own fears. The fears we are all too afraid to mention much less verbalize. Experiencing the Schmidt perspective is like running to dive into freezing water then making it back to the surface only to find there is no one there to pull you out. It far surpasses the emotional impact of automatic gunfire.
What a great show! Two great and sane Americans giving us all some hope!!
If you're going to demand ID then the state should pay for the ID!
Exactly. If you have to have an ID, then it should be absolutely free.
I was saying to my mom the other day: who has time to bother with voting more than once? I guess if you're taking others' mail in ballots. Why pretend to be someone else?
Well damn, that was something. Thanks for the hope at the end.😳
Just because a given group of contemporary Nazis are not currently rounding people up and placing them into internment camps does not mean that they are not Nazis. There are far more things that define a Nazi beyond just the death camps. The 20th century Nazis in Germany were also not establishing death camps in their early years.
Right, if it quacks, walks, and looks like a duck, you can say it is a duck without eating every bite of it first.
Al seems to think they weren’t Nazis until the moment they killed x number of people. My question: what were they just before that?
But trump was rounding up people and putting them in internment camps. Immigrants. It all begins with one group. Who's next?
You know, I appreciate the fact that Schmidts changing his views, we should not forget that he was a part of the culture that got us to this point. He was part of the culture that wanted to keep people from voting, yes people of color. He was part of the party culture that focused on excluding as many people as possible. He was part of the party that has gerrymandered and stacked the courts with federalist society mules. Like Liz Chaney, who also suddenly is appalled at what is happening never bothered to see what they were leading the country into.
It has just got past what Schmidt could stomach. But he was an active part of why we are here.
I think Steve Schmidt has actually is part of a too little too late movement. This country is definitely in crisis created by Republicans , full stop.
But Steve and Liz have learned their party's old good values have disappeared long ago and they can no longer be part of that. I am ok with that what I will not accept are the other republicans who regardless what happens they are still against equally, rights, honesty and they put greed and evangelical power above all else.
They have no problem with where the country is going. They are just angry they are not personally in charge of it.
I kinda wish I could have called in to this and asked a question. It would be if either of these two are familiar with the fact that Putin experimented with gasing up right wing division in other countries before Donald Trump...who some (including myself) believe was compromised by Putin.
Hey Al.. we need a president
I truly wish more people had the opportunity to listen to Steve!!!!
People as SO busy these days just keeping their noses above water, that they don't have time to be as informed as President Jefferson knew we had to be. I'm sure this is largely by design.
I love you Al. It’s so sad you were pushed out of Congress considering what others have done.
You can thank the "woke" wing of the Democrats for agreeing to throw him out, over a silly photo!
@@curbozerboomer1773
That's ONE TIME they weren't so aWAKE.
But Al should return to the Senate!
He's *needed*,!
The fact that Tucker Carlson is still aliveTODAY is WAY BEYOND ME.
Hmm. I’m confused. Seems to me only a future displeased Caesar would have him killed for whatever reason. I mean once we have our Putin, and thus complications among the Right. He’s working for the establishment right now. Dems tend not to do that crazy stuff. But are there extremists out there, like say Princip, do you think? Otherwise not sure what you’re getting at except it is truly morally wild that he exists at all.
among others.
Because no one believes he is worth martyrdom, nor worth the jail time for doing what most reasonable people would like to do to smarmy carlson
@@eunicedesouza8279 good point
Lead poisoning???
What a great interview. Great admiration for both of these men.
The more I hear from Steve Schmitt the more I like him, and I've only voted Red once in my life. The man just make sense.
The replacement theory is alive and functioning in Europe too. Bannon attempted to open a 'training center' in Italy a few years ago and was stopped. Eventually, he was deported. Thank you for your work.
?Tell me more.
Steve and Al, who says they won't immediately tear up the constitution the minute they get back into power.
Because it's the left that hates the Constitution.
it is a virtual certainty.
That's what the Russia/Republicans are doing right now with their seditious conspiracies all over America. Acting against the Constitution and their vows to it.
The R/R rigged Supreme Court is about to remove a 49 yr. women's right and freedom, which they intend to manipulate into the loss of many more American Constitutional rights and freedoms!
The leader of the Russia/Republican Senate is presumed knowledgeable and involved in the plot to take over the U.S. government in a bloody coup ... And he refuses to obey a legal subpoena from Congress ...
The destruction of our Constitution and democracy has already begun.
We all need to watch and listen to the J6 public hearings, televised, beginning on June 9, '22 at 8pm.
And on voting day in just 6 months, we have to remove every Russia/Republican possible from power in the House and Senate. Or we become powerless against Fascism.
It is inevitable.
Awesome ! Thank you both or being so candid!
The greatest years for this country were after WWII when the middleclass was humming along doing really well for themselves and poor people were moving up into the middleclass. The 70s were difficult because of inflation, gas shortages, etc. and then we had Reagan who began disassembling our laws. Taking off the bank regulations. That was the beginning of this extreme idealology that is right out in the open now.
Yes and in that period of economic growth for the middle class the wealthy were taxed accordingly in fact that policy created the middle class
those years were great because we were the only country not bombed to rubble and had a monopoly on everthing .. by the 70s the others rebuilt with modern technology and did everything better while fat cats let companies die ..
No for everyone
Not for everyone
@@tekamcknight9434 ok .. but certainly for the middle 60% ..
Franken is the, and always will be, the man! My god to the Democrats need charismatic people that are actually likeable.
The economy is booming (GNP growth 6.0%/unemployment 4.0%/disposable income per mth up $400 per capita) ... and we’re only in one year of a 4 year new term after the trump disaster! Inflation, essentially price gouging by unscrupulous corporate players (food giants, pharma, gas co’s) aggressively capitalizing on interim price/supply imbalances as the economy turns will be reined in in due course.
Let's not forget that the current inflation is global.
Democrats are absolutely horrible at messaging. Every ad is just asking for more money.
Saying “I don’t know what Build Back Better means” is pure willful ignorance as most people have the ability to Google it and inform themselves in their hands. Drives me nuts how people are too lazy to do the easy work of informing themselves of important issues.
I guess that's why the bill succeeded. oh, wait, yeah, it didn't. No problem. Just continue the same strategy.
Right because Google will always give you the one true definition of things.
Understanding what is going on takes a little of a person's time. Being narcissistic has come full circle alot of people don't want to believe anything more than what they think they know.
@@Atthebeach906 Well said.
You can thank the advent of cell phones, and the inability to form a proper written sentence...most people under the age of 30 can barely sign their name!
I'm totally comfortable with Schmidt's use of the word "Nazi" in describing what's going on. I understand politically it's considered extreme. But it's shockingly accurate. I think it's a fair word to describe the actions of people who are using the exact same fascist playbook. I agree that word isn't one that should ever be used lightly. But in this case the shoe does fit. I don't think we should be shying away from it. Also, I find Schmidt's optimism to be soothing. I really really hope he's right. Thanks for interviewing him. I'm a HUGE fan of his. Even before he switched sides to the Democratic Party.
Totally agree - one doesn't want to wantonly label people, but at the same time.. sometimes it's important to say it like it is
I loved loved this conversation! It actually gave me hope..! Thank you Al!
I love Steve he knows what he speaks of and it's great to hear his perspective. You should have him back again.
Share these last two podcasts by Al with everybody you know. If people aren't angry and a little afraid, they are not paying attention.
I love how everyone knows what's going on with corruption with corruption, in politics, and yet no one is doing anything about it to stop it. It's like watching someone set a house on fire and letting it burn to the ground and no one around to lift a finger to do anything about it.
So true 💯💯💯
We can only vote for change !!
Also , if God would make Donald Trump be quiet , that is a start to moving forward .
Amen, the motto is they haven't lost a foundation yet .
Those who have the background (education) to appreciate this message already know the U.S. is on a path that leaves democracy behind. The global economy exerts this pressure even though few will admit our economic system is broken. The failing economy creates fear and when frightened, people like totalitarians - even if they're ignoramuses or sociopaths. "What do we do to change course now?" is the pressing question for me. How do we change direction? In the U.S., it doesn't seem likely your two-party system will help heal your democratic process. The once silent (and politically peripheral) mob is active, snarling, going to the voting stations, and attempting to keep others away from those same voting stations. It's happening all over the world. Democracy is in trouble everywhere. What do we do?
*_JOKE JUSTICE_*
*What do you call a Billionaire* _arrested, convicted, & sent to Jail?_
..... FREE by Morning - Now - Living in Monte Carlo!
Or living in Mar a Lago plotting more crimes
Shortly after Donald Trump was elected and inaugurated I began rereading Shelby Foote’s book about the Civil War. The lead up chapters regarding secession and the political discourse of the time, it was shocking to find the similarities of rhetoric between the eventual Vice President Stevens of the confederacy and the southern senators particularly from my state of Mississippi by birth to be almost identical to what Hitler’s party was selling in the early 1930s in Germany. Hopefully we will come to our senses in November.
Do your duty, say a prayer, defend democracy, make a sacrifice, hold your nose and vote for Joe...2024
I'm looking forward to the LIVE📺 #Jan6CmteHearings starting June 9. I hope millions of US VOTERS watch it and MILLIONS show up in November to vote out every rethugliQan.
🗳Take 5 people with you to vote. NEVER FORGET there are MORE of us than them! 💙🇺🇸💙
You're correct. There are more of us. Thank goodness lots of young people turned out in the last election to dump the mango mussolini.
This message should be in prime time tv if we had real reporters.
If we had a true "liberal media " they would have given Bernie Sanders the airtime he deserved to get out his message instead of Trump and his empty podium or shoving Hillary down America's throats.
Steve Schmidt is so clear and thorough in his speech…..just LOVE listening to him
Mr Schmidt is always a definer of intricate, yet observable, matters of politics. His insight is always appreciated. Al is just a darn nice guy!
I get that Mr. Franken is hesitant on bestowing the “Nazi” label too liberally - words have meaning, and we should take care not to use them inaccurately. On the other hand, I strongly suggest that the Third Reich Nazis were Nazis even before they got into positions of power, when being Nazis wasn’t necessarily fun yet because they were still getting some pushback, and before they were able to launch into unleashing genocide and global war on humankind. The frightening thing about “plain” racists and fascists in general is that, when allowed to flourish and prevail, they’ll inevitably wind up committing “Nazi” atrocities, such as killing countless people because of their “race and religion” besides any number of other “criteria”; the Buffalo mass murderer is just the latest case in ancient point. Likewise, these racists and fascists will enjoy being part of the murderous caste just as the Nazis did.
If anything, what sets German Third Reich Nazis apart is the scale and level of organization of their monstrous “enterprise” - though I’d hate to see the levels of “efficiency” U.S. White supremacists will reach once they get firmly back in the saddle. (It stands to reason that, considering their “losses” during the “interim years” they spent pretending to play at democracy, they’ll make sure to be serious and thorough next time around.) In terms of ideology, there is a clear distinction: German Nazis, at least in name, were also “socialists,” that is, had some notion of “benefiting” the “common man”; in the U.S., the Whitist fascists are clearly on the side of the moneyed class and only using what some of them have long been calling “surplus Whites.”
The bottom line of this podcast remains, unsurprisingly, that everything about the current state of emergency goes back to racism: a great number of White Europeans taking the idea of their superiority and “God-given” spot at the top of all creation to the Americas, cultivating it into specifically “American” creeds of Whitism, all of which has enabled them to engage in genocide and the most abject forms of exploitation and oppression of “Others” (as well as “undeserving” Whites). The Reactionary Party is now on the cusp of turning back the wheels of time unless the majority of decent people turn out en masse to stop them at the ballot box. Since I think Mr. Schmidt is correct in asserting that there has never been as great a number of true democrats in the U.S. as there is today, there is a chance - if the pro-humanity folks go out and vote.
💙
Please do not make the mistake that nazis are socialists because they used the term in their name. They used it solely for PR reasons, and were completely opposed to any kind of worker control of the means of production. They were also violently opposed to any kind of democracy.
The scale and organization of the Russia/Republican party may be greater than we think. At least, Robert Mueller tried to warn us about it until AG Barr silenced him, and so much in the "Mueller Report".
We need to encourage everyone we know to watch the J6 Committee's public testimonies, televised starting June 9, '22, at 8pm.
Hopefully what we hear will make Trump and his criminal colleagues next stop in front of Federal Grand Juries.
And hopefully they will enrage enough Americans to wipe the Fascist Russia/Republicans out of power in the House , Senate, come this November.
Excellent episode.
Thanks Al....Any conversation that Steve is involved in is worth hearing.... It would be a great time for Steve Schmidt to run for president. He's no nonsense, no bs, and could make the critical changes needed to protect our voting system and republic, since he comprehends the dangers trying to destroy them... He would actually get things done I believe.
He can't, because he has no party, now. The Rethuglicans consider him a turn-coat & the Democrats have their own dynasty of politicians waiting in-line for the opportunity to run. Aside from Bernie Sanders, Democrats always run legacy and Centrist politicians. They don't run outsiders. At least, not in modern time. They only run senior candidates who have occupied previous prominent, political functions. Candidates are anointed in a way and it has little or nothing to do with what American citizens need or want.
@@Juicexlx Yeah, I completely get that. Our sad reality is that we're constantly in the position to select the lesser of two evils, rather than an inspiring, well qualified individual who would actually get important things done. We need to find a way to break that pattern. But the majority of americans can't be bothered knowing the true condition of our republic, and knowing just how close we are to complete chaos.
Al you need to go back to the Senate.
We need more Democrats now if laws are ever going to get passed that protect the people from this full blown fascist takeover. The 40% of eligible voters that have been sitting it out have got to vote. It's now or never folks. Vote!
We need more Steve Schmidts. We really do. IN POLITICS.
"We've seen the enemy" "he is Us"
Your greatest enemy is "You". Which means to make a world a better place, look at yourself and make that change.
Walt Kelly was a genius.
The enemy is hatred, fear and ignorance
I can’t help but thanks to you a million times for your super smart podcast. Loved this one too!!! A lot !!! Of course you should run for senator again, we seriously need you!!!!!!!!
This guy is great so is al. We like honesty and good patriots. Go for more honesty.
What I wished you’d asked him, Al, is “What can the average guy or gal listening right now-who loves his/her country, loves Democracy, sees the danger-what can that person do? Do right now?” Yeah, we get the message. Yeah, we’ve seen it coming since Comey reopened the Clinton email investigation a week before the 2016 election. Yes: the hour is here! What? The Fuck? Can a person? Do? To? Help???
PS - Run, Al, run!!!
The 13-minute, 42-second 1942 US Department of Agriculture video *Hemp for Victory* is the key to reducing unemployment, reducing poverty, reducing hunger, reducing homelessness, reducing health care costs, reducing crime, reducing police brutality, reducing government spending, reducing political corruption, reducing pollution, replacing fossil fuels, ending deforestation and stopping climate change, all at the same time.
There is an official .gov link to the film from the US National Archives. It has been public since 1990.
Every single individual person can grow Cannabis Sativa regardless of age, gender, nationality, ethnicity, religious persuasion or political affiliation.
We need everyone we can possibly reach to know this basic truth.
FACT: The Democratic Party has consistently lead the country to greater prosperity and economic growth for all Americans, far more than than the GOP, since WWII, at a rate of 4.4%, vs 2.5%. The GOP are all about making the top 1% wealthier and supporting the oligarchy model.
If you're reading this, you are not in the top 1%, and you will be more prosperous when the GOP has less control. Simple. For people like you and me to really get ahead, the GOP needs to be out of the equation.
Vote like your life and rights depend on it because it does. Make sure everyone around you talks about the issues, talk about what is needed in your community and state, talk about this enlightening show and other great forms of fact and truth. Then make sure everyone gets to the voting polls, car pool, go in groups because every vote will count. Voting is your right, demonstrating about your concerns and what is needed for a successful society is your right, do it.
@@Marijuanifornia I'm for legalization but can you name a country where hemp does all those things?
I am watching the collapse of US democracy from Switzerland and it’s scary and depressing and probably irreversible.
Jo
I really hope you’re wrong about that Switzerland.
Hi from California 💙
@@susanfrancis5471 Hi to California and I hope that very much too.
The worst mistake I ever made in my life was coming back to the US in 1986. I was so happy in Europe. It was impossible for me to understand how the US was being perverted by the GOP.
@@stephenhall11 Just come back to Europe, we don't want to build a wall just yet.
I could have sat down with Schmidt over 30 years ago to tell him where this was going to lead (if I had access and he’d have let me) and he would have danced around poo pooing anything I said. I know because I encountered people just like him in law school. We could be friends back then-the left and right-and debate matters. The difference with many of them is that they used religion to back up their repressive ideology and they were as confident in their “brilliance” and right to dominate then as they are now.
You know that’s right. There’s a through line to all of what is happening now. In times of Reagan, this was obviously going down a bad road. Thank you for your comment.
I remember running into the ayn rand folks! Pointless to talk to them!
I also love Steve Schmidt. He is so right about everything. Even the Jan 6 was mainly by middle American men who believes this theory.
I love Al over all these years, yet Steve Schmidt is much more straight-ahead and articulate in his statements. I guess that's why he was good at what he did.
GET ACTIVE NOW, AND VOTE WHATEVER IT TAKES!!!
Unfortunately, Democrats seem unwilling to campaign in rural/working class America. Jon Tester, farmer & Senator from Montana, should give workshops on how to listen to rural & working class grievances and to articulate how Democratic programs can improve voters' lives. Merely flying in and out of cities with major airport hubs for pressers doesn't move the needle.
We could use a few more Jon Testers.
I like this podcast very much . Steve Schmidt is an awesome knowledgeable Republican strategist.
I fear the Americans that need to hear this aren't listening, and if my individual experiences are valid, even if they did listen, the weight of their multiple ugly beliefs prohibit change. I live amongst MAGAr's, I hear them talk like it's 1952 or or 1932, and it's all less educated mostly rural white guys. I'm a white guy they assume I'm a fellow traveler, it's scary how much MAGAr propaganda has been internalized.
you are correct
I’ve been watching this evolve since Nixon...and honestly I feel like the fascist takeover is inevitable. They’re in the minority, but regular folks just aren’t that involved or that aware...I guess they’re caught up in their own lives...and this fascist tide seems poised for the final act. It’s terrifying...and it’s sad (oh yeah, and then there’s climate change which really isn’t going to wait for us to get it together!).
I totally agree and this is seen in many other countries including my country Canada. I can't get over how lazy some people are to not invest time to figure this out and how to change this awful future. So many have given up, so many feel removed from what will happen and then so many are following the cult and are far down the rabbit hole. It is scary but everyone has to step up and do the right thing.
apathy - when you vote & vote & vote and nothing gets better .. demoralizing
@@janicegullett4939 It's a lot of negative energy to follow this stuff so many normal mentally healthy people people don't like to do it, but the result is that we are on a fast track to fascism
False. I take offense at assigned apathy. The people can find a way to choose the path, but they are still thinking. The most important help we can give is to explain what some of these events mean, just as the Special Committee explains Trump's fighting his way back into the presidency is not at all that, but his intent to end democracy, to install himself as dictator, and end the Bill of Rights for all Americans, in order to build a money making machine to write his name on, and force the American people and their children, to break their backs earning tokens to pay him to power his money so his name and family, the dictator's family, will be provided for forever. People must get it that because Trump has shown us the evidence, he plans to end voting, (which is our choice in governing) we know he plans to make the choices for us which removes our rights! That is almost hard to understand if you have always lived here. Immigrants know what it is, and why they risk literally everything, and could instruct if we asked. We do everything assuming all our rights. Where those rights have been removed, either quickly or slowly, that is abject failure. Ask the Russians and the Chinese and North , Koreans how they explain future when the choices have been removed. You work for someone else's pleasure, and whatever work I s desired you give for the limit of your body, or the limit of your sons or daughters body, until it breaks, then you can not give any more and you die. That becomes the meaning of life. The amount that can be completed before the body gives out and you return to your maker.
The alternative is to learn what the so-called leaders intend if they are voted in. Trump and his news sportscasters of Banon and Tucker have seen this and talked about this and belong to that choice. They lie whenever they speak. Their purpose is to rewrite American history into an autocracy or totalitarian governments where the people have no choice and no rights. To stop their efforts we must get an Independent or Democrat into power for '22 and '24. If a republican gets in, we can not trust we will keep our rights I believe in Chaney, partly because of all she has done to help the people, but also her family's name stands out as strong for years The Democrats are trying to help, but the people must choose it's leader and the direction. The Supreme Court is the most immediate arbiter of (revenge) destruction before us. We can not allow them to exert a power play and take away rights arbitrarily. They don't have that right. They do not now and will never have. This was and still is existing law. Biden must flush the Court, or lose too much ground. The Court must be corrected to take out the corruption. We have fewer abortions being done now than ever before. Women don't want abortions. They merely understand the need to keep decisions about the body with the woman, or for the man about male issues, not the government, based on our law--based on 49 years of strength of precedent which is starre decisis.
If you see this as a call for you to step forward for your ancestors who fought and died in battle, to preserve the democracy so we can tune it and tighten it like a body builder, so it's power and beauty again makes it the shining city on the hill, begin looking to see where you can help in the way you do best.
The people are feeling broken in all the inflation and returning pandemic, and all the hate speech shelled out with need for guns to fight who? Us? Them? We are not the enemy. The enemy is those who would try to take our country! Even
try to take our Bill of Rights!
The proper phrase is, you can have my Rights, when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers. We don't give up our Bill of Rights, ever. Wasn't his original given name Drumpf? And changed long ago when his family were immigrants, and didn't want to be ridiculed.
Steve is a national treasure. Listen up America. His are wise words. Vote!! 🇺🇲 thx Al.
Thank Al for interviewing Steve Schmidt, Do you think he could run for president ? This was really a really good show for a change.
No thank you,and I like him.