Transcript
Speaker: Welcome! to Episode 7 of The Big Swing. Saving America. Chapter 1 Clear and present danger. Trump. is a problem that we can't ignore In 1980, a conservative think tank known as the Heritage Foundation created a 3 ,000 -page manuscript called The Mandate for Leadership Policy Management for a Conservative Administration.
Speaker: They provided it. a ah copy to the transition team of then incoming President Ronald Reagan. When Reagan took office, he gave copies of the 1 ,000 -page book version of it to his cabinet.
Speaker: The book ended up being a bestseller in 1981. along with books like Cujo, A Light in the Attic and Gorky Park. Mandate for leadership. was a roadmap to increasing the power of the president.
Speaker: Reducing the power of Congress and stripping away parts of the government. that conservatives didn't like. Sound familiar? Yep. Mandate for Leadership was the 80s version of Project 2025 and served as a direct inspiration for Project 2025.
Speaker: much like Reagan with the mandate. Trump has leaned heavily on Project 2025 with his policymaking and with his brazen attempts to steal power from Congress for himself.
Speaker: One example that applies to both eras is the constant redirection of congressionally authorized funds. Congress's Power of the purse. is supposed to be the biggest congressional check in the president's power.
Speaker: Under the Constitution, Congress has the sole power to decide how federal money is spent. By allowing President Trump to redirect funds they've allocated, the Republican -controlled Congress is basically surrendering its power to him.
Speaker: Yeah, not great. The good news is that it seems extremely likely that Democrats will take control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections this fall. Based on the Biden administration I'm concerned that Democrats may not be ready to act swiftly and strongly enough to meet what the moment requires.
Speaker: they could really use a plan like the mandate. Or like Project 2025. Only. One that should be designed for helping the people, not for helping rich oligarchs like those two evil tomes.
Speaker: a Before I start laying out any suggestions, it has occurred to me that many people may not see the urgency. especially if the left can seize control of Congress.
Speaker: Perhaps it will be enough to try blocking Trump's worst intentions and just... Hang in there until we can replace him with a Democrat in 2028. I mean... How much can he accomplish before then anyways, right?
Speaker: Well screw that This administration is a clear and present danger. even without control of Congress. Trump has proved that he can destroy things even without the ability to get legislation passed through Congress.
Speaker: Trump had less power during his first term. In 2016, not every Republican member of Congress was a complete MAGA loyalist yet. In addition, Not only did Trump not Haven't experienced being president yet but it also never worked in politics or law or anything like that at all.
Speaker: very He was grossly underqualified. And he knew it. He allowed the GOP to surround him with experienced old school members of the Republican Party to help him figure out what to do.
Speaker: Trump didn't get much done. Instead, he spent much of his time watching TV, golfing, and talking to reporters. What's new, right? This was in part because he didn't know anything about how to run a country.
Speaker: In part because he tends to just do whatever it feels like doing rather than actually working. And in part because he had gatekeepers blocking him from accomplishing some of his many more extreme ideas.
Speaker: The biggest thing Trump accomplished before losing control of the House in the midterms was passing massive tax cuts for the wealthy. But... That's something every Republican was in lockstep with him about.
Speaker: The GOP live and breathe for giving tax cuts to the rich. After the 2018 midterms, The Democrats gained control of the House of Representatives, making things even tougher for the president to accomplish things, thankfully.
Speaker: They even impeached him multiple times. But even with these obstacles and limitations, Trump still managed great harm to thee to the American people. The one most people remember is the January 6th riot he incited at the U .S. Capitol building.
Speaker: But the largest one that doesn't get talked about enough. was his handling of the COVID pandemic. Trump made a series of choices that led to over... Over 100 ,000 preventable US deaths.
Speaker: A staggering 40%. of the Americans who died from COVID during his time of office. according to a Lancet public policy commission. Before COVID,
Speaker: Trump disbanded. pandemic response to response teams. cut epidemic early warning funding and reduce the Center for Disease Control's presence abroad. including in China.
Speaker: He downplayed the danger of the COVID virus. saying it was like a mild flu. even though he confided to journalist Bob Woodward. that he already knew it was deadly. He delayed widespread testing, even trying to stop testing for the virus entirely because he said it made him look bad.
Speaker: He delayed. his use of emergency powers. He mocked mask wearing and social distancing. He pushed for early economic reopenings. before we had a COVID vaccine.
Speaker: He pushed dangerous treatments like hydroxychloroquine and disinfectants. This is a president who uses power as president not to reduce lives lost in a pandemic. but to increase them by six figures.
Speaker: then He was later elected again. And in case you think the problem is unique to Donald Trump, There's what happened right after he left office. After COVID vaccines became publicly available in April 2021,
Speaker: Death rates from COVID were 43 % higher among Republican voters compared to Democratic voters, according to NPR. This was a result of Democrats being much more willing to vaccinate. than Republicans.
Speaker: Trump hasn't become any wiser in his second term. His new head of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is widely known for being anti -vaccine. and is pushing to reduce vaccine use across the U .S.
Speaker: Shore. We may get lucky and not have another pandemic before Trump leaves office. But Trump doesn't need a disease in order for him to get us killed. On February 28th of this year, President Trump launched a war with Iran.
Speaker: It wasn't in response to an attack. It wasn't because of a declaration of war by Congress. It wasn't part of a rescue mission. And it wasn't because of Iran doing something devastating like closing the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaker: Even Trump himself has failed to give anything resembling a clear and compelling reason for the war. The results of the war have been devastating for the entire world. Not only have 18 US service members been killed and hundreds wounded,
Speaker: But there have been thousands of civilian casualties in and around Iran. The economic catastrophe has been worldwide. largely due to Iran responding to the US attack by closing the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaker: Crucial things like oil, gas. fertilizer, and helium. are becoming a scarce around the world and skyrocketing in price. due to the fact that most of it would normally be shipped through the Strait.
Speaker: As things like diesel fuel for trucks and fertilizer for farms become ever scarcity scarcer, We're staring potentially massive food shortages in the face. with unnecessary deaths. sure to follow.
Speaker: Not only is it deadly to have Trump as president during an emergency like COVID, He creates worldwide emergencies all on his own. We can't... afford to wait for 2028 before we take action.
Speaker: Chapter 2 Project 2027. When we win. hey I'm assuming that the Democrats are going to win back the Senate and the House of Representatives in the midterm this year for three reasons.
Speaker: Number one. The polls seem favorable to this outcome. Number two. President Trump's polling numbers are at a record low because he has been utterly corrupt and incompetent.
Speaker: If the GOP can't be beaten now, Then when? Number three. If the Democrats don't win back control of Congress, the consequences will be so dire that I feel the need to be positive and plan for the best case scenario instead.
Speaker: We all could use some hope right now. With that in mind, Even if the Dems do win. They need to start planning now. for what moves they're going to make to check the president's horrible behavior and to start making things better.
Speaker: For decades, Conservatives have been working on something called the Unitary Executive Theory. it's a concept that conservative think tanks made up to suggest the president has absolute power over the executive branch.
Speaker: This includes firing Federal employers at will. and the judicial department department not being independent from presidential influence and control. One of the first things Trump did after getting re -elected was to fire 17 inspectors general.
Speaker: According to the Office of the Inspector General, An Inspector General works as an independent watchdog inside a government agency or military branch. Their main job is to find and stop fraud.
Speaker: waste. abuse and bad management. Exactly. the kind of person that a person like Donald Trump wants out of government. Trump is all about fraud, waste, abuse and bad management.
Speaker: and the last thing he wants is having a government official calling him out for it. The good news is that a federal court ruled that the firings were illegal. The infuriating news is that the court didn't require any reinstatements.
Speaker: Trump doesn't care if you tell him he's done something wrong if you just let him get away with it. Sigh. Trump has learned has leaned so far into the unitary executive concept. There has been...
Speaker: Also expanding presidential power. to include things that are considered congressional powers from a constitutional perspective. The two big ones. are blocking congressionally appropriate funds from being spent as Congress intended.
Speaker: and taking the country into war without consulting Congress. Thanks to a submissive GOP majority in both houses, Congress keeps letting Trump get away with whatever he wants.
Speaker: Taking back Congress. is critical. But that's not enough. We can't just stop Congress from doing bad stuff. We need to start stopping Trump. from doing bad stuff.
Speaker: To truly be effective at that, I believe Congress needs to get rid of the Senate filibuster. And the House of Representatives. Policy matters are decided by a straight -up majority vote. This is not usually the case in the Senate due to something called the filibuster.
Speaker: On votes that can be affected by the filibuster, which is most of them, The Senate. requires a majority of 60 of the 100 senators to pass anything. The idea of the filibuster is to only pass things that have a broader consensus than a mere 51 to 49 and to encourage bipartisanship.
Speaker: Anyone who's been paying attention at all to politics in the last 20 years knows. While this might be a nice thought, It's also a naive fantasy. During Barack Obama's first presidency, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced before the 2010 midterms. that the primary goal for Republicans was to ensure that Obama was a one -term president.
Speaker: by blocking his policies. Sure enough. The GOP used the filibuster and a party unified on voting to limit Obama's. accomplishments even if they were things that previously had been things that the GOP supported.
Speaker: So much for by bipartisanship. if possible. Things have gotten even worse since Donald Trump has taken over as the leader of the Republican Party. Republicans in Congress who don't vote as instructed by the president.
Speaker: typically face serious primary challenges from people endorsed by Trump. Over the last 10 years, Republican senators who can't stomach always voting on party lines have either retired or been forced out.
Speaker: As a result, Even if things go the Democrats' way enough this fall to give them a slight majority in the Senate. It won't matter much if the filibuster remains in place.
Speaker: In order to fully understand why, you need to understand the asymmetry of the filibuster. first The filibuster can't get things done. It can only stop things from getting done.
Speaker: This fundamentally works to the GOP's advantage for two reasons. One. They don't really care about passing legislation. They aren't trying to make life better for average Americans, so they're generally happy with the status quo.
Speaker: And second, As long as the GOP can stop Congress from passing things, there isn't a good way to stop Trump from doing whatever he wants through executive orders. Sure. you can take the administration to court over legal executive orders.
Speaker: But... They stay in place for months as the cases move through the legal system. and the supreme court's conservative majority usually does the GOP's bidding anyway. The second asymmetry of the filibuster is in regard to what things it doesn't cover.
Speaker: There are some big exceptions. Budget and Tax Measures judicial nominations. Nominations of cabinet members and agency heads. trade agreements. Arm sales.
Speaker: All these things matter to the GOP. But this all really boils down to the first two. was because they include what are by far the two biggest Republican priorities that they need Congress for.
Speaker: installing new Supreme Court justices, and lowering taxes on big corporations and the super rich. The GOP are fine having everything else that Congress does get blocked.
Speaker: just as long as they get their new justices and lower taxes for the rich. The important takeaway is that the fellow filibuster helps Republicans way more than it helps Democrats.
Speaker: That alone is enough for a Democratic majority to nuke it. But there's also another compelling reason. They can't afford not to. The moment we're in is too dire and too urgent.
Speaker: It's well worth the risk that a future GOP majority will be able to pass something bad. We can't worry about that now. The present crisis is too urgent. Besides,
Speaker: One of the ways the GOP climb back into power when they don't have a congressional minor majority is by using the filibuster to stop the Democrats from getting things done. Then they get to campaign against the do -nothing Democrats.
Speaker: If the filibuster is gone, the Democrats have a better chance of passing popular legislation. which will help them get elected again and again. Chapter 3 gloves off when they go low We can't go high.
Speaker: Michelle Obama spoke at the 2016 Democratic Convention, and the most memorable line from her stirring speech was, When they go low, we go high. I thought it was a great sentiment.
Speaker: But at the time, I couldn't imagine that a hateful, unqualified man who had admitted on video to what sure sounded like sexual assault. would stand a chance against an amazingly qualified woman like Hillary Clinton.
Speaker: Boy! Was I in for a painful wake -up call? When Joe Biden was sworn into the presidency in 2021, It was an amazing relief in the middle of dark times.
Speaker: There had been COVID and its mishandling by the Trump administration. There have been the murder of George Floyd and other unjust killings by the police. There was a just impeachment of Trump that failed to get a conviction.
Speaker: There was family separations at the border. There was. withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement and the Iran nuclear deal. There was huge tax cuts for the super wealthy.
Speaker: There were new Supreme Court justices that gave the Supreme Court an even bigger conservative majority. And let's not forget. the Capitol riot on January 6th. Dark times indeed.
Speaker: But with Biden... Taking over as president, it felt like we were emerging from one of the worst periods in American history. Surely we had learned our lesson. If we went high...
Speaker: They would just go lower. It was clearly time to get some justice for the American people and to make an immediate realignment of our politics. I was in for another painful wake up call.
Speaker: Like Michelle Obama, Joe Biden seems like a really nice person. Unfortunately, he also wanted to go high, and he wanted to attempt to heal the nation in order to return to some sort of bipartisan politics as usual.
Speaker: For a while, Biden may even thought his approach was working. since he was able to pass a couple major bills with a tiny bit of Republican support. Bipartisanship. He was also in for a wake -up call.
Speaker: Even after a second impeachment and losing to Biden, Trump somehow managed to stay on top of the Republican Party. When it came to conservatives Nobody.
Speaker: could raise money like Trump. And when it comes to the GOP, cash is king. Biden had overestimated American voters. He probably assumed that after Trump's loss, America would be anxious to turn away from MAGA, instead focus on healing, along with having a more normal, stable government.
Speaker: Many expected Biden to nominate a liberal firebrand to be his attorney general. who would aggressively bring Trump and his corrupt colleagues to justice. Instead... Biden went for a shockingly conservative choice in Merrick. Garland.
Speaker: This was the guy that President Obama had nominated for an opening on the Supreme Court near the end of his presidency. Many thought Obama had chosen Garland because He was so conservative that he might tempt GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell.
Speaker: to actually hold. Confirmation hearing firm. This was the guy who would show the wrongdoers from the Trump presidency the error of their ways? Yeah, not so much.
Speaker: While he clearly didn't approve of the way Trump and his cronies had conducted himself, he took almost three years before he appointed a special counsel to pursue the cases against Trump. Trump's first arraignment wasn't until June of 2023.
Speaker: By the time Trump got re -elected, None of the federal cases have been completed. and they all had to be abandoned. Garland was so worried. about the appearance of being biased that he spent time appointing a special counsel to investigate President Biden and another one to investigate Hunter Biden.
Speaker: Biden's Justice Department found time to convict Hunter Biden yet failed to finish either of the federal prosecutions of Trump. In contrast, Our current Attorney General, Todd Blinch.
Speaker: Just spoke. at a Trump rally. Yeah, I don't think he's so worried about... being seen as biased. It's much easier to break things than to build things.
Speaker: Biden did several good things while in office. But his accomplishments pale in comparison to the damage that Donald Trump has done in just the first two years. of his second office second term in office.
Speaker: He's lowered taxes on the rich again. He's launched a war in Iran that we appear to be losing. Based on the skyrocketing prices of gas and groceries pretty badly, too.
Speaker: He slapped big illegal tariffs on our allies, causing major diplomatic rifts and making the prices of seemingly everything much higher for Americans. He's made ICE better funded than any other law enforcement agency and more than the militaries of several countries.
Speaker: Now... ISIS acting as his private army and illegally killing and imprisoning people across the country. including people here legally, and in several cases, American citizens.
Speaker: He's shut down major green energy project. while promoting fossil fuels and rolling back measures intended to stop pollution and to protect our national parks. He's rolled back several measures intended to stop government corruption, including firing several inspectors general.
Speaker: He's dropped scores of federal cases against white -collar criminals. many of whom of course have donated money to him. I could go on for this entire podcast. But you get the idea.
Speaker: President Trump is enriching himself and his rich buddies while making average Americans poorer. He's putting America and our allies in danger. He's even putting the planet itself in danger.
Speaker: So no more Mr. Nice Democrat. or even Ms. Nice Democrat. It's too dangerous to do anything short of everything. when it comes to stopping the excesses of this president and creating policies to start making things better.
Speaker: As I mentioned last time. Step one should be abolishing the Senate filibuster. Once that is accomplished, it will become realistic to start passing meaningful legislation to help Everyday Americans. and to fight the corruption of the administration.
Speaker: Trump will want to please his corporate buddies by vetoing most of his legislation. There are two big ways to cover to counter that We'll cover those next.
Speaker: Chapter 4 Third time's the charm. Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice Never thought I'd say that three times. When the Democrats win the midterms this fall, There'll be lots of work to do.
Speaker: But the GOP will not be willing partners in this work. Even with a majority, the Senate filibuster and President Trump's veto power will be able to block most attempts by the Democrats to start.
Speaker: Fixing things. So they've both got to go baby I've discussed at length why it's time to remove the filibuster, and I'm guessing I don't need to talk at length about why we need to impeach Trump for a third time.
Speaker: In practical terms, We need to impeach him because he's not only incompetent. but he's also actively trying to make things worse. In legal terms, The reasons seem... countless.
Speaker: There's. personal corruption on a scale never before seen in an American presidency. There's allowing the buying of his influence by both foreign and domestic parties. There's. public corruption through things such as pardons, government contracts,
Speaker: legal action He's been imposing illegal tariffs. There's stealing congressional power by canceling grants. withholding funds and dismantling entire agencies.
Speaker: that were established by Congress. Not by him. There's granting funds to states based on whether he won those states or not. there's illegally tearing down the East Wing of the White House. Didn't forget that, did you? There's murdering hundreds of civilians with military strikes on boats in the Caribbean.
Speaker: There's Pardoning the January 6th rioters. And that's just the highlights. or lowlights depending on you know But it's not the... comprehensive list.
Speaker: So, yes. It would be good for America and the rest of the world. if Trump was removed from office. But even if that wasn't Obviously true. The legal grounds for impeaching him are so numerous that it should be done anyways.
Speaker: Of course. the sheer number of offenses might make it harder to explain it to the general public. But if you think that's a good reason not to impeach him... You need to bring your moral compass. into the shop for some repairs.
Speaker: Unfortunately, With the current MAGA alignment of the Senate, there's a good chance that President Trump. won't get convicted. Even with all that. A conviction would require voters from votes from senators. an even higher bar than the filibuster requires.
Speaker: I hope and expect that Democrats will have control of more than 50 seats. But yeah, 67 isn't happening this year, at least. A conviction would require double -digit Republican senators to grow a spine.
Speaker: And most of the Republican senators who've shown any resistance to Trump are leaving office this year. So... Not likely. That doesn't mean that Donald Trump Shouldn't be impeached.
Speaker: He should. If not... We're basically saying that there isn't any presidential behavior worthy of impeachment. And that's a... Terrible precedent descent. But what it does mean is that Democrats need to walk and chew gum at the same time.
Speaker: In addition to pursuing this most righteous of impeachments, they need to be passing meaningful and popular legislation. I add popular. Because that's the second way to fight back against presidential vetoes.
Speaker: past things that people want so much. that they get pissed off if it if it gets vetoed. Some popular options for Democrats to consider. Anti -corruption legislation.
Speaker: stopping arms sales to Israel. Sending arms to Ukraine. stopping funding for the war in Iran. blocking tariffs. removing the cap on social security.
Speaker: Expanding healthcare. care Restoring support for green energy. Restoring support for cancer research. Who doesn't like that? Restoring support for food safety. Yeah, we definitely need more of that.
Speaker: blocking presidential pardons. Removing funding for ice. restoring protections against polluting. You get the idea. There is a reason Trump's approval rating is at an all -time low.
Speaker: The administration is doing tons of unpopular stuff. That gives Democrats a long list of popular moves they can make in Congress. Okay. Some of these could be easier than others. sending arms to Ukraine will likely get support from a few Republicans. However, blocking pardons might require a constitutional amendment, which probably isn't going to happen in a divided government.
Speaker: But imagine Trump trying to veto a food safety bill after the number of food safety emergencies during his current term. Trump may be a lame duck. But that's the type of thing that might get enough Republicans to override a veto, given how pissed off voters might be at such a veto.
Speaker: Trump won't. want the hit to his ego that comes with having a veto overwritten. overridden So even as a lame duck, he will likely be pretty selective about using his veto power.
Speaker: Even if Trump survives another impeachment and is able to veto good bills left and right, These are fights worth having. The American people are going to put Democrats into office this year to fight for us.
Speaker: So fight, dammit! We're not going to win every fight. You can't win if you don't play. If Democrats expect to win even more. power in 2028. They need to show that win or lose, they're willing. ready and able to fight for us.
Speaker: This is important. Because if Democrats can win back the presidency in 2028, in addition to controlling Congress, That's when big things can really start getting done. So they need to start exercising those congressional muscles now to be in good shape for 2029.
Speaker: Join us next time when we start diving into policy for the future. Project 2029, anyway. You've been listening. to The big swing saving America. which has been read for you written and read for you by me.
Speaker: Darwin Castle. Thanks. And ah please remember to like and subscribe and share and join us next time.
