The Strategic Importance of Texas Politics

Pot Sae America brought you by S simp Sfe. Summer travel season is officially here. Don't put a damper on your vacation, wondering whether or not you rememember to lock up the house. Let a simimpllyafe system putut your mind at ease So you can get back to the good stuff. I set up assembly safe, credibly easy to do It's a great system, really reliable, customer support, great Re easy to use withith SimpllySafe, you can customize your system to fit your needs. Then it ships fast directly to your door. The app guided setup is simple and there's no drilling required. so you can install and arm your system in under an hour. SimpllySafe is more than just a security camera. It's a comprehensive system of sensors, indoor and outdoor cameras and twenty four seven professional monitoring So you can feel safe and secure this summer and beyond. over five million people value and trust simimpllyafe for their home security every day. Right now, our listeners will get fifty percent off a new system when you sign up for professional monitoring. and your first month is free. Just visit simppllyafe dot com slash crooked. That's half off at simimppllysafe dot com slash crooked. There is no safe. likeike simimplySfe Welcome to Pods of America. I'm Jhn Fabrea. I'm Dan Peiffer. On today's show, Donald Trump touts a major accomplishment on affordability as only he knows how by canceling it. We'll talk about why and why the president is fighting again with Republicans in Congress We'll also talk about Zoron Manddani's house candidates going three for three in New York's primaries on Tuesday and why that's causing some Democrats to panic and Republicans to smile We'll do a quick check in on JD Vance's charm offensive and whether it's winning over his wife. And then Gina Inohosa, the Democrat running to be governor of Texas, stops by to talk about her race against Greg Abbott and why she might become Texas's first Democratic governor in nearly forty years. Before we start, please consider subscribing to Friends of the Pod if you haven't already You get ad free episodes of this pod and all your favorite crooked pods, pllus you get subscriber only shows like Poler coaster with the onene and only Dan Peifer And I know you guys are back at it. You did another pollercoaster this week, right? We did. it came out this week. We talked a little bit about the New York racist that you and I are also talk about. We also talked about the politics of abortion four years after Dobbs. Excellent. everyveryone, check that out. You can get it if you subscribe. You also get our extra episode of Pods of America called Pods of America Only Friends Y lots of exxcellent substack newsletters and and you get to be feeling good about supporting a proudly independent pro democracy media company. So check it out crout. com slash friends. All right, let's get to the news Donald Trump made some real progress this week, trying to sabotage his Republican majority in Congress. Minutes before he was scheduled to appear at a signing ceremony for a landmark housing affordability bill that passed with huge bipartisan majorities The president announced that it was canceled And then he won't be signing the housing legislation until Congress passes the SV actct which is the bill that would require all Americans to show passports or birth certificates in order to register to vote and has failed to pass in the Senate five times now The housing bill would reduce barriers to building new homes and limit the ability of big investors to buy up single family homes, ideally lowering the price of housing down the road, But alas, Trump doesn't want to give anyone the impression that he and his party are focused for even a second on affordability. So no housing bill this week. Trump elaborated on his thinking in an Oval Office appearance a little later in the day. Let's listen Basically it's the save America actct Everybody wants it, everybody is it, including Democrats. I said I'm not signing the housing bill. I want to see what happens with said Look, the housing bill is housing I made billions of dollars wor withth housing. I know housing better than anybody, maybe anywhere It's all about the interest rate. Lower the interest rates. you can have all the housing you want. You have to understand, I don't I don't want to hurt people that own houses too. Affordability We're doing great. The Democrats gave us a tremendous affordability problem, and we're reducing prices over I'm a billionaire I made a fortune on housing, and we gott to help other people who already own homes. Take it from me, successful slum lord on how to deal with housing prices So Considering that the housing bill will become law in ten days, even without Trump's signature Um, and that if he does decide to veto it Congress has the numbers to override a veto Um What was Trump thinking When he decided to do this, What's the what's going on here, Dan You know, there's been this debate over the years, whether Trump is crazy, or're crazy like a fox This is just crazy Like just put yourself in the position of Republicans, right? You're a vulnerable Republican. You're like a Susan Collins or Dan Sullivan or you're one of these Republicans like Mike Lawer in a purple district You wake up on Wednesday mor Here's what your today looks like. Democrats are in the middle of a giant fight because we've elected some socialists in New York City You're about to have a signing ceremony for a massive bipartisan bill that would that would be signed byonald Trump but written in part by Elizabeth Warren that will address housing prices, It would be a real actual tangible accomplishment. you could take to voters to say Like I'm trying to do something to deal with your cost of living crisis It' Instead of that, Dond Trump just beenes beforehand since on an insane truth, demand cancecering the signing ceremony, stopping on both the Democrats bad message, the Republicans' good message. because he has a near fatal attraction to a bill that no one likes. And If it were to pass, would make it harder for Republicans to win elections It is, u Wild And that he just keeps first of all, let's just talk about the Save America actct, which isn' called it It was the Save Act, then he changed it to the Save America Act. It's also supposed to like ban mail and voting nationwide. part of it too two, or that's like one of the add ons that he included himself So I don't know why he's so I mean, I know why because he thinks that like it's going to help them rig the elections and win. but it is it is wild to me that no one has told him, none of his political advisers have told him that actually this bill would probably hurt Republicans because it would make it harder for the lower income Americans, much of whom many of whom vote for Donald Trump and vote for Republicans now to register to vote because notot everyone has their passport lying around, not everyone has their birth certificate lying around. Republicans run around saying that this is only about like showing your license and showing some form of ID. and isn't that easy to do and that's not actually does the bill is much more makes the bill makes voting and registering for vote much more complicated than that. I mean, it would end in a current forum, basically end online voter registration and automatic voter registration We've talked about this before Not that many Americans have a majority of Americans do not have passports, the ones who don't have passports are disproportionately working class and didn't go to college, which has been the core of the Trump base. But it is like I just So there's there's a bunch of different things going on here. It can't pass. right. They tried several times. It cannot pass. There doesn't have the there aren't sixty votes, obviously and there aren't fifty votes to eliminate the filibuster And then even if it were to pass, it would be bad for Republicans. And at no point in these various junctures Does Trump seem to underate like It just Its like it's true. it's delusional. The whole thing is delusional. it seems I his obsession with this seems genuine Like he seems tr Maybe it's because it's something he wants that he can't get Yeah. That's what bothers him. because like up until this point with this Republican caucus, he's been With the exception of the FCN files, what he has wanted he has got. You want to confirm a bunch of fucking dunderheads to be in charge of the military and health human serervices? We'll do that. You want you want us to stand idly by while we prosecute people, We'll do that But here's the thing he wants and he cannot have and it seems to be driving him even more bananas than usual. I also think that all these things he wants to do with voting in the election He is being told or has been also told by the courts that he can't do via executive order. But you can tell that if he doesn't get the SA A act pass, he's still going to try to do a lot of this shit around the election, which should alarm everyone, of course Um onn the housing bill though, like The thing is going to become law. In fact, right before we started recording, Mike Johnson said that they will be trans he talked to Trump and that they will be transmitting the legislation to Trump. So I assume although I shouldn't assume, but seem seems like he might just sign it after all But even if he doesn't, it becomes law, like great, it's good legislation His opportunity to take credit for it is sort of gone now. And it's not like people are going to feel the effects of this housing bill, certainly not by the midterms, mayaybe not for a couple years, because really it's just sort of reducing barriers to building more affordable housing and sort of changing some of the formulas for how the federal government gives money to states Now it's going to be based on, you know, whether they've actually produced more housing in Biltmore housing. So They can still take credit for it, but I don't think Trump's going to be taking credit for it. But even then, so the When you like, we should we'll get into this but As we know A bill that does not actually impact people's lives has limited political impact. But the moment when people pay attention is the signing ceremony ten days from today Thursday. is the Fourth of July weekend Wh seems like a bad time to get attention for your bill. Well also apparently, the Wall Street Journal has him saying Trump saying to someone, one of his advisors, at my rallies, no one cares about the housing bill at my rallies. But when I say save America, then every they can't sit down And then apparently Punchball has four sources Um, saying that that Trump said to Mike Johnson directly, No one gives a shit about housing Yes, I remember he said that he said that a few months ago Like literally like affordability is the top issue. And then when you dive into affordability, like sometimes it's groceries and gas, sometimes it's housing, but housing is housing is like one of the maybe the top two or three concerns of most American voters. And particularly younger voters, like this shows up in focus groups. It shows it likeike yes, is it true that people are not cheering for the twenty first century Road to Housing A Of course Would it be helpful for Republicans and Democratic incumbents to go to voters and say, here is a thing a bipartisan accomplishment I had that is addressing your concern, even if you're not feeling it. Absolutely. And Trump is just making that messier for Republicans because he can't he's having some sort of insane temper tantrum over a bill that canamp pass After canceling the bill signing, Trump did attend his previously scheduled lunch with Senate Republicans which went about as well as you can imagine, given the circumstances. accccording to Senator John Kennedy, Trump was, quote, mad as a murder hornet and berated Republicans for not supporting him on an around vote. which then led to a shouting match with Bill Cassidy Trump recently drove from office U CNN reports that Trump told Cassidy to sit down Cassidy refused and raised his voice called him a lunatic Cassidy then referred to Trump as brother, and Trump told him he wasn't his brother. And then Cassidy eventually sat down. John Kennedy later said that the meeting was a success because quote, no one got stabbed This is an excellent bar to set. Trump also apparently isn't done trying to force Republicans to eat shit on Iran. The administration just asked Congress for eighty eight billion dollars in funding which would mostly help pay for the war How do you think that's going to go over, Dan Well, before we get to the war funding, In this meeting and the punch Bowl reporting on it, in Punch Bowl, generally gets like a full live texting of these sorts of things. It seems like no one pushed back on Trump on the Sve Act, even though Every Republican senator with the possible exception of Mikea Lee and maybe Rick Scott know it can't pass. None of them would say it to Trump's face, which is why they're in this mess to begin with, which is like a pure sign of weakness and failure from John Thune. Yeah. likeike you havent in the room. This is the big problem. You can't pass anything. The House, it's why we should mention. Trump's government so ched up on this that Anna Polina Luna has stopped that will not allow anything to pass on the House floor until the Senate passes the same Act, which is something that doesn't make a lot of constitutional sense. L like I' talkking about a bank shot. Yeah. So it's like, they can't pass the rule they can't pass anything. They're trying to pass their appropriation bills. The entire they have they have to go home on Friday because they can't do anything. and U and she's demandinged that they attach the Sve act to either the FISA bill or the defense authorization Bill. which the Senate will then take out in both those cases R so the whole thing is you have Trump has got re winched up about this No one will But no one will say to his face why this can't work It is one thing for his like terrible slavish, obsequious advisers in not say, but here are Members of Congress senators. who are not up for reelection this year. Maybe some of them are not up for reelection ever again who are incapable of mustering the courage to say to one man a simple math fact And it's like, They could have even they could have even talked beforehand and said, all right, I'm going to bring it up, but back me up if I do. Yeah. those strength and numbers Still, nothing. still all like Bill Casidy, I guess got up and yelled at him about The Iran war powers f. Yeah And then his vote. And then changed his vote because because the White House afterwards like gave him a briefing that he wanted. and he and then he was like felt sad that he raised his voice. I'm like, if the guy cost you your job, you're not going to be a senator anymore because of this man for them for For I guess voting for impeachment the second time. Apparently Trump in the meeting too was like, all the people that voted for my impeachment voted to convict me are gone now. And then like he looked over at Lisa Murkowski, who was just like sitting there in the corner. he's like, accept her Unbelievable. This is a Connfer for that? Oh Interesting Did she vote for the second imach? She had to have voted for the second impeachment ay maybe maybe, look in fairness, we have barely covered the main Senate race this year. so mayaybe Susan Collins got smart and just didn't go to the lunch. Mbe you know she probably didn't go to the lunch I were Susan Collins, I would stay clear of anything anywhere where Donald Trump was. Like that would just be that's got to be a base like a campaign one hundred one kind of thing Um So here's the thing now with this Trump in the GOP Congress. I'm wondering like how much all this matters because Not many actual work days left between now and the midterms. they're going to go home for the fourourth of July break. They're going to come back. There's going to be August recess. Then they come back, then everyone's campaigning and then it's November before you know it. Trump seems intent on sabotaging any chance of anything passing before election dayay. I see it seems hard to believe that this eighty eight billion dollars war funding supplemental is going to pass, even though they thought they were really clever and included some Ebola funding in it to try to get Democrats to vote for it U it doesn't seem like U anythingthing else it doesn't seem like the Save America Act is going to pass But then the question is like, does any of that matter? What do it feel like in terms of the politics of the midterms? That's an interesting question because I don't think There's any sort of bill, even this housing bill Republicans could pass that would dramatically change the political datam mix here I think if you're an incumbent member of Congress and you can pass something that addresses people's number one concern and you can talk about that on the trail or in a debate or in an ad, that's better than nothing. And so this is an opportunity cost for the way Trump stepped on the housing bill. What I think probably matters here is they're going to need to pass this supplemental, which is politically toxic. You know, in that CVS poll, sixty nine percent of people think the war hasn been worth the cost. We haven't paid the eighty billion dollars yet. when you start ping eighty billionllars number it iss going to get worse and So they need and it's it'll be on reconciliation. So they need fifty votes. In our old world, we used to be like, well, Susan Colles doesn't have to vote for it and she'll be fine But now you got a bunch of other Republican senators. You have Dan Sullivan, you have John Hust said, you got a bunch of people who are going to have to probably cast a vote here. and that's going to be an unpopular vote. you need everyone to do it. because you're you'll probably get Fetterman, I guess. So maybe you can lose three Republicans. Yeah But that'll be it. It's also there's also a government funding deadline by the way. I was going to bring that up too is that that's the real, that's looming here right before the election. It's looming. We got a loomer We're already looming it's alun Yeah, it's septtember thirtieth. There's a government funding deadline. So you got that, you got this war funding supplemental. Nothing that anyone wants to pass, that's for sure. If I was Donald Trump and I hered passionate about election integrity, one thing I would do is demand that I would suggest that I wouldn't sign a government funding bill unless theyed unless they passed the SV Act Its just an ide. Just an idea. I'm sure. O does it make it to his ears I'm sure that's already on a noteepad somewhere, Dan, or a whiteboard in the White House, for sure. No, I think and the the other challenge here is, I think They thought that this eighty eight billion dollars war funding supplemental would like they waited until after they thought the war was over and then So they could sell it as like, oh, this is just filling you know, like now we just it's for future conflicts and now our military is depleted and we need it. And what are you going to do now? you know? exxcept the war doesn't seem to be over. There was another tanker that was attacked by an Iranian drone today. It does not seem like the traffic the traffic has increased through the strait, but it is not anywhere near back to normal levels. I believe like the Chevron is saying that gas prices will be elevated for a while. Trump's flipping out about that. Now he's promising to go after price gouging Gas companies are open like a DOJ investigation, which as we know from the Biden administration works so well. We tried that in the Obama years. It us too. Yeahah, it never works. But you say it anyway. And so he's going to have to deal with that. Gas prices are going to be still high. And so when so that's going to make the eighty eight billion dollars look evenven worse to voters, I think. Yeah, I mean, it's terrible. Honestly, it's probably would have been better to do it when the war was going on. So it could it could be about protecting the troops. And instead it's just it's like, here's the bill has come due for this unfun thing that no one wanted and everyone hated And and by the way, we've cut all your Medicaid too everything else in the government. so good luck with that. But we do we do have money for ballrooms and algae, the world algae. We're still for the world of algae It really,ice does make you think like when these Republicans hit the trail in the fall Like, they don't have much to say except that Democrats are is our next topic, Democrats are all crazy socialists. Like I don't know what else they can say about themselves and what they've done in Congress. I don't really imagine anyone talking about this housing bill because like you said, the housing bill hasn't really had any effect on housing prices. I don't think that's going to land very well with people. They're going they will do and it's not going to work and it's going to be pretty pitiful and it is like leading with your chin But they will talk about the tax provisions and a beautiful bill. no tax on tips Thiscial security stuff, tax cuts the middle class, which will then allow every Democrat to point out that Most of the tax cuts went to the billionaires and corporations and that we are paying for those tax l rebellious corporations by cutting Health carere, food assistance cling ro hpitits,etcer. Huds of America is brought you by neeutrifol. Real change comes from the small healthy habits you do every day that quietly add up to big improvements. 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Try it Try get a six pack or whatever, tryry it one time when you have like two or three drinks one night. I guarantee you, it will make Lou feel so much better the next day. Go to Zebioticsot. com slash Cricut to learn and get fifteen percent off of your first order When you use Cricut to check out, Zeiotics is backed with one hundred percent money back guarantee. So if you're unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money, no questions. asked remember Tad to zebiotics d. com slash Cricut, and use the code Cricut to check out for fifteen percent off Before we get too excited about what that midterm might look like, let's talk about what's going on on the Democratic side. Oh f. spepeaking of interparty turmoil, we got some fresh drama brewing Thankks to the good people of New York City who had quite a primary on Tuesday A slate of three candidates endorsed by Zor and Manddani won their Democratic primaries in deep blue house districts In the seventh district, Democratic socialist Claire Valdez won the open seat over a pretty progressive opponent endorsed by the retiring Democratic member of Congress. In the tenth district Progressive city comproller Brad Lander defeated incumbent Dan Goldman in a race that was largely about Israel. Both men are Jewish. Lander ran as a self proclaimed liberal Zionist but hit Goldman on voting against legislation to block military aid to Israel and taking money from pro Israel lobbying groups. And then the biggest upset of the night in another race that was largely about Israel Four term representative Adriano Espiat, head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the first undocumented immigrant to serve in Congress lost his Harlem Bronx district in an upset to a leftist community organizer named Dar Eiza Avila Sivalia. a deemocratic socialist who also believes in abolishing prisons, police, and all deportations Now there were plenty of other primaries in New York and elsewhere on Tuesday where mainstream and moderate Democrats, not only won, but in some cases fended off more progressive challengers But to give everyone a flavor of how the DSA victories are landing in the world of politics, here are reactions from James Carville, Zoron Mandani. and Hiim Jeffrees. And everybody's always said, no, no, we're coalition, we're big tent And's some there's just some shit that I can't be in the same camp with. Let's negotiate a terms of achism here. Maybe we can We can part under some kind of advantageous terms for both of us. but I'm done. I'm not in that fucking political party. What is the Democratic Party, if not its voters? And what we saw yesterday evening were Democrats across the city turning out and voting for a new kind of politics. You can't think this is This is a positive development in New York politics, can you? And all they'll just You know, Dems will be Dems or something like that. I don't I don't see how you can say that. You know's not's not You need to reject You need to reject those things. I think. F of all, first of all, I've clearly rejected those things. that's number one. numberumber two, and my record speaks for itself. This is not a Dems will be Dems situation. Donald Trump is the president of the United States of America right now. Are you kidding me? I'm happy to talk about primary elections in one of the bluest cities in the country. at the end of the day, listen, our focus is going to be on ending this national nightmare in this country that America is suffering Okay No Your reaction to the results, and then we can do the reaction to the freak out And I know you wrote a wonderful message box about this today. so thank you T tell us about it Sure. So let's just start with the elections themselves No one should dismiss this The twowo incumbents losing election on the same night is a big deal Since nineteen forty six, so from nineteen forty six to twenty twenty four More than ninety eight percent of incumbents have won reenomination in the house it is It mouse. So it is like it is very rare for members of Congress to lose their primaries two losing on one night, one of them being the chair of the CHC and then specifically losing to a political novice with a I would say a colorful history of online posts, but although there does seem to be in vogue this cycle for Democrats He's like that's big deal. We so we shouldn't dismiss it It is a I would say the Lander Goldman race is a little different in the sense that Landa is a citywide elected official with who ran for Mayra's high name ID and the endorsement in full support of the very popular mayor Democratic socialist mayor of the city And And each of these races are a little different in what drove it. But I think the thing we should take away is like so much else that's happening in this country, like it' happening when progressive speed establishment candidates in The secondcond District of Maine in the California race, Rany Vegas won, Grahnd Platinner forcing for saying Janet Mills out the race Like there's a giant warning sign for the Democratic establishment here where the support of people like Schumer or even Akim Jeffrees it iss certainly not an asset in your campaign. It may be a detriment It is very clear that The The groups on the left, justice Democrats, Democrats socials America, our revolution are out organizing O fundraising, outwking, outmaneuvering the traditional party institutions. Right That is happening. They have captured the energy, they would be more creative, they' be more strategic, they'd be more aggressive. And if you were someone in the Democratic establishment You should be deeply concerned about what this says about where the party is, what the standing of the party is, what the ability of the party infrastructure is to actually win elections. So this is a big deal. Now to a keam Jeffrey's point This is taking place in a city that Kamala Harris won by thirty eight points And it what was a bad year for Democrats. Right particularly in a city like New York And this is a very, very, very deemocratic city. and All across the country, you're seeing Yes, you're seeing progressive candidates win and you're seeing progressive candidates lead like Abdul al Said in Michigan according to the most recent polls, but you're also seeing moderate candidates in Alaska, North Carolina I don' know if it's reit called S shred Brown a moderate but he'sertain not a deemocratic socialist. He's an economic populist and you saw in New York You know, just on that very same day and like New York seventeen, one of the most important districts in the country for Democrats stick vouse, you have a a more moderate veteran candidate said the Mike Laler district. That's the Mike Lawer that'sate Conolly whoon that who won that primary. And so you're see, it's like a there' is a mixed picture, but there is in all the races, but there is true it is very true that There is antimipety toward the establishment. We can talk about why that is There is more energy on the left and there is sort of greater tactical strategic and organizational energy and success among the groups on the left. I think that's all right. I also think it's useful to sort of define what the freak out is about because Um, it's even more, it's even narrower, I think than just like Um, you know, there's there's some progressives winning in places and DSA places and moderate even just the three races we're talking about here from Tuesday, we're talking about three races. and three house races and In one of those races Clearve does seems like a normal DSA candidate in the vein of an AOC. or a member of the squad, right? Yeah, we talk about Brad Lander Lander is basically like a standard progressive Democrat. You have stand New York City progressive Yeah. But and also has said like, you know, after he won was like, I want to go help frontline members who are out there and I hope some of the moderates come help me and I've helped moderates before. And so like that's's Bradlander. Really hear the panic is over Derializer of Vila Civalier And I will just say She might be the most left wing candidate to ever win a Democratic primary in our lifetime. There's been a lot of focus on her old tweets, which she has u deleted and mostly apologized for I'm fine with that. My general position is to give people a chance who want to take back something they said or posted certainly would love to take back things that I've posted. And I also think that like some of her tweets have been taken out of context and exaggerated Here's where I have a problem She has not apologized for attending an anti Israel rally on october eighth october eighth, twenty twenty three A rally that was condemned by Zoron Mandani, AOC And Brad Lander, we were just talking about, who actually left the DSA Because it promoted that rally, where attendees chanted that Hamas's resistance was justified the day after october seventh Um, the day after they slaughtered a thousand Israelis And to this day She still defends attending that rally The other problem I have She sat for an interview with the New York editorial board last week last week. where she said She's against all deportations She's for open borders because quote Bordering is a very modern construct, actually The borders are in our hearts and our minds Um She wants to abolish prisons And refused to say when asked, she' got four different chances on this refused to say that a convicted murderer should be sentenced to any jail time at all And they kept giving her another chance. like, arere you sure? but what happens to to the murderer just convicted Nothing Now Maybe she turns over a new leaf in Congress and like her voting record doesn't match some of these more extreme positions, I hope so. But I think the reason I bring this up is because when Democrats get questions about this, I think the answer is easy and important to give, which is that she currently holds a range of views They go from Moronic to abhorrent And not only those views not align with Most Democrats in the country Nearly all Democrats in the country All elected Democrats, actually most elected Democratic socialists U, But like I don't even think they align with like a lot of the people who probably voted for her And so like, I think people should just You just got to say that. And I don't think you lump her I think it I think it does a disservice to the other progressives and the other even DSA members u to pretend that she is part of this like there's new energy and it's great and whatever and it's like, no, no, no, no It's one thing to have these views in the past and be like, you know what? I've learned I've grown what she said about Summerf Tweets, but to sit there a week ago and be like, yeah, no prisons, no borders No police Here's the thing. Also, who cares Well, like but but I already see people doing the like, you know, like, well, we got to understand the energy No, no, we got to understand the energy with a lot of these candidates. She is that was a mistake. And like Mam Dani endorsing her also probably a mistake Yeah, I mean, you'll notice that when Bernie Sanders did his congratulatory tweet afterwards, he congratulated Breadlander And Clarif all this. Oh, he did because Bernie' fucking smart. That's why. I mean, those are the two I those are the two he specifically endorsed, but he did he did to not three, but also She's one member of Congress. Right. R This is who the voters picked. So in two years someone's going the opportunity to challgeer. be to Congress and she's a productive member, Maybe she's not It doesn' But it's just like I think I'm not I'm not saying it's I'm not saying it's the end of the world I'm saying that I actually think it's very easy here. Oh, what I'm saying, what donon't. She is she is about to be the biggest celebrity on the right of all time. She's going to She's already like starring on Fox in every fucking segment, and it's going to be like that forever. And you know what? mostost people, when they hear her There's tape of her saying all these things last week. When they hear that, they're going to be like, this is fucking nuts. And then if they go to Democrats they're like, what do you think and Democrats like, it's not big deal. Everyone's freaking out over nothing. then you would not you would not blame the voter for being like, well, that's weird. Why wouldn't you just say it's crazy The Republicans will try to make her a celebrity a face of the party. I think they're going to really struggle to pick an unelected member of Congress as the to face of the partarty when they have struggled to make AOC or Nancy Pelosi or someone else's face of the party. M say let's say let's say it comes up. like kick up in D an interview. if you are a member running in a district frankly, but it' strictly a frontine member in a pural drict or red district There's there's no greater gift than the opportunity to distance yourself from Yes. someomeone a party. So that's why I said that. Yeah. Yeah. So I think Yes, like for sure I think that they're the freak out There's a cou let's try to like break my freak out is it's is not just about her. The freakout's about a few things that are sort of political and institutional One of them is there's always this fear that Democrats are going to nominate candidates too liberal to win the general election. That is not a fear here Right? These are inc some of the most deemocratated are all going country Congress. Yeah. they're all going to Congress. So that's and that we are not seeing a situation where Currently, we'll see what, you know, people are going to have an argument about main about Maine Senate, but there we have not As of yet, for the most part, we have not been the deemocratic voters, not the institutions, not the groups, anyone, not the party apparatus. The voters are not picking candidates who may be too liberal to win. The two the possible exceptions there are Randy Vieegas, which is DbleC picked a different candidate in that race and then Matt Dumwp instead of Baldacci, the son of the former governor in Mayecond district. Yeah. We probably were running the Mecond district under any scenario. You need a very, very good year for that. That's really like only'l J Jerry Golden had not Rired. Right Jared Golden is like Joe Manin, right? The only person who could win that was probably Jared Golden The other fear is that this is evidence of Like an a tea party like moment for the party And there are I think it's a bad comparison because the Ta Party was a very specific thing in time. It was about a very specific thing in time U It was largely it was a sort of astro turfed corporate funded reaction to the election of a black president The But they're like what you are seeing is a the party base saying they are done with the establishment. They are done with the leadership. They've crereated skepticism That leader, I think there's three reasons why that skepticism exists U One of it is and it's different in every race and it's even different in some of those races in New York. One is anger that the party has failed to stand up to Trump The second is the party is T captured by corporate interests, two You know, unable, unwilling too cowardly to take on the interests and to advocate for working people, right? that are they're not addressing people' economic pain And then the third reason is Israel and Gaza. And that was obviously particularly prominent in the land or Goldman race where that was a primary point of distinction between the two of them And you the Sal race with and the Sval the races Yeah And you you see that in very like each of the like the knob, the dial turns to different to different levels in each different race around the country around those three things The other question is Is the party becoming moving dramatically to the left Right. And I think that one is interesting because it is an incontrovertible fact that the party is more liberal than it was ten years ago Like when Obama ran for reelection in the Galluop polling forty two percent of Democrats consider themselves liberal or very liberal, and thirty six percent consider themselves moderate Today North of fifty four percent consider themselves liberal or very liberal and thirty four percent considerselves moderate Now it's I could do a full podcast on how that number happens because the moderate number stays the same and the liberal number goes up. And it's certainly not from conservatives becoming liberals. It's because the conseratives left the party and they're replaced by white college educated liberals who were former Republican voters. But like that is true, but and white college educated voters and just high educatedot highly educated voters in general have just become more specifically become more liberal in their own view. Yes And's it has led to as the party has become less working class in its orient in its identity and frankly, its orientation. Cultural issues, social issues, climate change, democracy. Immigration crime LGBTQ rights have risen in priority for the party and that has made people identify us more liberal It is worth just remembering that the core part of any successful Democratic coalition is black voters and black voters remain more moderate than the party. You see this in this really fascinating Pew Political Tpology said they came out last month This is very clear that Black and Latino voters and Asian voters are much more moderate or more moderate. I would say much more moderate, more moderate than these sort of this activist more liberal democratic partarticularly particular Primvate immigration on it. Primate immigration. Yeahah, two And then the other question is, are Democrats becoming socialists? And this is also really interesting because And there is this galluop poll that everyone fixates on which show that sixty six percent of registered Democrats have a positive view of socialism And then in the New York Times poll that we've talked at Nauseum about, forty nine percent of Democrats have Democrats and Democrat leaning independence. it's one sample, have a favorable view of socialism. And Interestingly enough, a plurality of every OH cohort. includluding Democrats over sixty five have a favorable view of socialism. Now. Here's a pop quest,. I ask Carolinea the Soler questaser, but can you guess which group has the highest favorability of socialism Let's see. Godh Young manen Well, which age cohort. Yeah it is it is actually men thirty to forty four. Okay. Okay. thirty thirty forty to for us that's us, right? It's's you. That's not Thank. Thank you for pointing that out. Thank you for pointing it out. No, it's not it's not me anymore if I come forty. That'sue. It was you. You just moved inad, but it's actually it's millennial It's millennials more than younger boys. by about nine points actually is interesting, which I think is coming of age in the Great Recession. Yeah Well, and it speaks to sort of the question that you're raising by these maybe surprising results to some people, which is I do think it is more of a commentary on capitalism and the failures of capitalism att least how people have felt that in their own lives than a love of socialism. Or I think if you ask then and I haven't seen a poll that's done this, like what do you think of when you think of socialism? They think of like Bernie Sanders and Universal Healthcare, not abolishing prisons Yeah, which is not necessarily a well a lot of socialist countries had a lot of prisons actually, yes. famamously so. F someone someone had gulags, you would say. And you know what and you know what every country has borders. That's true. Every single one both in their mind and in reality So I was going say in the socialist thing, you hit on the key point here, which is it's, I think it's more of an indictment of capitalism than socialism And so I guess the question is, if you're a Democrat, like how do you react to all of this? And like the advice that I I give I've been giving So the people is one You have to You have to find a way to separate yourselves from the establishment that everyone hates. Like you can't be a typical Democrat and you have to Understand what makes people so mad about it and show that you have a solution to it or different from it The second thing is, you' have to embrace socialism, but you sure as hell better understand What is causing people to embrace socialism and speak to that economic pain And you got to find a way to have some sort of Um, energy and excitement and authenticity in your in your b. Like what is like, I think What is, I think, powering someome of these these That's social necessory, but some social, some DSA, some more progressive candidates, they are Speaking with authenticity and conviction. aboutbout issues, whether it's Abdul talking about Medicare for all in Michigan, whether it's Platinner talking about how the elite system has failed him and failed so many manners. It's how Zoron has talked about cost of living. It's like there's this authenticity and conviction to it that most of the people that you don't get from a lot of modor. It's not all modors for someertainly do it, but it doesn't show up in the same way. I there's another there's two more Um reasons that I think there's so much anger at Democratic establishment right now Um One is We have said for a long time now since Iraq that people They don't want to spend money on endless foreign wars. They don't want to lose American lives in forever wars. They also don't want to spend a lot of money because they feel like we spent they're right, billions and billions and trillions of dollars on Iraq and other foreign adventures that have not worked out I think that is how M people who are upset with how Biden handled Gaza u feel right? It is not Israel has no right to exist. It is why is our money being spent or being sent to Bibi Netanyahu and the Israeli government Um who have just slaughtered thousands and thousands and thousands of people in Gaza and are now doing the same in Lebanon. And that feeling cuts across party Ideology, it is not fucking horseshoe. It is not like the far left and the far right. Go sit in a focus group, go talk to most voters. It is a very common feeling. The fact that people look at the Democratic establishment and don't feel like that they are on or they feel the same way or they're acting the same way is a huge fucking problem. You also said people are mad that the Democratic establishment hasn't stood up to Trump enough. I also think Dave Weigl made this point today, repeporter Smaphore They're still mad that The Democratic establishment fucking lost to Trump again. Like that is I know we're all like, we don't want to go back and look back at twenty four and all that kind of stuff. Like we lost to Donald Trump for the second time after the guy was convicted of crimes and sent an insurrectionist mob to the Capitol So that's the original sent. Yeah the people who were in charge there, people aren't going to feel too feel too warm and fuzzy towards them. Like that is that to me is looming over everything. Like, yes, there's the corporate stuff and the economic like all that is real, money in politics, establishment too cozy, all of it's real for sure. But like if we had just beaten Donald Trump then a lot of voters would not think that And so that's, that's going to be a big one too. Pot of America is brought you by Rocket Money. Thanks to the good people at Rocket Money. I realized that I had been upcharged by a streaming service for access to one show because it was a foreign thing that Hannah and I watched during the pandemic, one time, one episode of it, then abandoned it, and then forgot to cancel it. ere you getting charged ten bucks a month in perpetuity That's why all need Rocket Money. Here's what they do. They allow you to track subscriptions and cancel them within the app with just a few taps. In fact, Rocket Money has saved users over eight hundred eighty million dollars canceled subscriptions. You can categorize automatic transactions across your accounts and customize categories with tags to help shed light on your spending patterns. Get regular reports on your spending habits. 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Like they get like they're local But every orderers back to the live and thrive guarantee. And so in the all chance you have any issues with delivery, you're covered. I love fast growing trees plants. We got a bunch of them in the office. They're amazing They're amazing. They're secured in the box. They're healthy when they get here. soil's in place. There's no mess when the box are open. The trees are the branches are bound. Th after a day they're unfolded to their full glory. deals on spring planting essentials right now. listeners get an additional twenty percent off their first order with the code Crookut at Checkout. That's twenty percent off at fastgrowingtrees dot com with code Crookut at checkout T to getish to. So here's something fun. The primary season isn't over yet. And the left is targeting a few other big races in places that aren't as blue as New York City. We talked about some of these, but in Colorado, Democratic Socialist, Milatte Kiros is running against Congressman Diana Deuette though that's also a safe seat, evenough it's in Colorado. in Wisconsin DSA state repep Francesca Hong is running for governor in a crowded field that includes Lieutenant Governor Sarah Rodriguez and Mandela Barnes. And in Michigan, ourPal Abdul El Sed is in a tight Senate primary with Mallory McMorro and Representative Haley Stevens So it does feel like there's a little more stake in the Wisconsin and Michigan primaries. What is your read on those? You know, it's It's very hard to play the perspective electability game Right The argument here is among some, but I'm not making this argument, that Hong and Abdul are less electable than other candidates on the And in Wisconsin, there's already a movement. One of the center left candidates has dropped out and endorsed Rodriguez and as there's a movement to try to consolidate the field around Rodriguez I honestly don't know enough about race to know for sure that one cand is more electable than the other I know that's a very hard race, right? It's that's that's a very tough state Winning a third term in a row is always challenging for governors. So You know, that's gonna to be tough rr Michigan, the polling is, you know, Abdul is leading in the polls Hilly Stevens is in second., the candidate that I have supported B Moro is in third There have been hypothetical tests against Mike Rogers, who's a very, very good candidate. He lost but just I think about twenty four thousand votes. Soissalackkin in twenty four You know, the polling shows that we've seen shows maybe McMorero and Stevens a couple points more, you know, doing better against Rogers than Abdul. I don't know what to make of that, whether that is real or not. It's not signant It's not a dramatic difference in that. So it's It's hard to say,dels obviously a very talented candidate,'s very talented communicator Would he be able to navigate the tackax that will certainly come to him as a as a in Bernie endorsed candidate a Muslim candidate who will be attacked for his views on everything in his background. He certainly is talented enough to be able to navigate that. But I am not I can't look at those races and say if we nominate that, you know Hong or Abdul, we're certainly going to lose. Like it's it's not that it's not that clear to me and it's certainly no one has presented evidence to that fact Yeah, it's tough. I mean, look, I and I'm supporting Abdul. friend had a pot on Crooked. I'll be honest, like that is the race where And again, because it's less about I mean, it is about who these candidates are, but it's also very much about the environment in the state And you know, even like Platner is running in a state that is much, much more democratic than Michigan. And I do think that if If a Bernie endorsed sort of more lefty candidate can pull it off in Michigan, I do think Abdul can do it. But I think it's going to be tough Um, and like he's going to face all kinds of attacks notot just for his ideological position, but many unfair attacks, like you said, because he's Muslim. So I think that's going to be that's going to be challenge, I think. And then I think with Francesca Wang, same thing and don I don't know her as well, but I saw it like she'd had You know, she'd had some past support for or advocated at one point, like defund the police. And then last week, you know, she had a video that said, there's no way I'm going to cut public safety And that to me is like, okay This is the kind like yes, this is what you need to do to win these states. And like if you are a further left candidate in a state like Wisconsin, in a state like Michigan, Um, I'm not saying like just, you know, change all of your fucking positions. You shouldn't do that. But you do have to run like you're running. a general election in a purple state, which you are and know where the voters are and know, you know I'm sure for Wong and for I know for Abdul, like the most important issues Medicare for all, healthca sort of economic populism And I would imagine that they're going to emphasize those above all else and then have something to say on some of the attacks are that are going to come their way on crime and immigration and cultural issues. But I don't think that's going to be easy. But I do think like I saw that I saw what Wang had done about there's no way I'm going to cut public safety and contrasted that with Some of the stuff that we just talked about in New York City, and I'm like, see, that that's the difference right there. And Mamani, right? Mamani campaigned has all kinds of past positions and he has increased the police budget since he's been mayor. And guess what? And he's done all of his other stuff that he talked about, right? The rent freeze, I believe s going into effect today. He's trying to do all the other stuff. and he's wildly popular It is like there when we talked about some you the tea part of comparison here is that in both the twenty ten and twenty twelve Senate races. The Republicans nominated a bunch of candidates in states they should have won Like Indiana, Missouri Delaware in twenty ten where Mike Castle would have walked into the Senate U and instead, they nominated Christin O'Donnell who did not walk into the Senate. And or did she fly in on her broomstick? Notice you find her broomstick. Deep co 's a fifteen year old reference to a Senate race. fifteen? Yeahah, okay, fifteen. twenty ten. sixteen. sixteen Yeah, but One of the thing the mistakes those candidates made is they also ran terrible races because they refused to acknowledge the reality of the states in which they were running.es. And you can be a liberal candidate you can be more liberal than the electorate and still win if you are running a smart strategic race that does acknowledge the realities of what it takes to win in a state like Wisconsin or Michigan. and it depeingident. depes on which issues you're more liberal than the electrodon That's a big way. We use like liberal conservative left right as just like these catch all terms, but it really depends on what you're talking That's right. That's right. And and it's not just issues, it's obviously things you've said, things you've done, who you are, your cultural connection to people, but yes, you can Like if you were a serious candidate can win in the right environment, running the right campaign. Yeah So Tommy talked to Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan this week about their new Trump book regime change. Go listen to that interview if you haven't already, it's great But one of the more incredible anecdotes in the book is a dinner at the White House in October of last year where Trump asks Rupert Murdoch In front of Marco Rubio and JD Vance who' sitting at the table Which one he liked best and to rate both of them and Murdoch reportedly said of Rubio. Marco is brilliant ande of Vance, I think JD has the potential to be great . Vince apparently tried to laugh it off with a sarcastic line. Oh, thanks. thanks, Rupert. Thankks a lot Uh of course We here at Pods of America think Murdoch and Trump and others are just being grossly unfair. to our boy, JD who has continued to just Who's charisma? during the press tour for his new book Just as one example, check out this exchange with conservative columnist Ross Dfitt at the New York Times. Let's be honest, the tone of the administration. is not Consistently a Christian tone There is a tone of aggressive uncharity to people who aren't on board with the administration's policies. The tone argument is in some ways, I think, people see what they want to see And I also think that tonal arguments are ways of frankly policing working class ways of communication covering them in elite preferences Okay. I think the total arguments are ways of policing working class ways of communication and covering them in elite preferences. few things. F of all You sound like the right wing version of a woke scold from academia who can't get off Blue sky. That's what that sounded like T. I'm not sure how the Manhattan billionaire president Calling Americans he doesn't like human scum is a working class way of communication, and I do think it's a bit insulting to working class Americans that JD Vance assumes that they all speak about their fellow Americans that way I'm also not sure when when like loving thy neighbor and Christian charity became an elite preference That has an elite preference now wild. just fromom top to bottom wild Is that just me? I don't know. I couldn't I couldn't believe that when I when I saw that. I would say you did say to us in our production meeting today that you could do a whole podcast on this topic. I think it was like the last time I tweeted actually. I mean, I've been' like retweeting things here and there, but the last time I really tweeted was a weeko and because I've been trying not to tweet that much, but I saw that and I just first of all I couldn't stop laughing. And then I listened to the whole interview because with Ross, which is which was fun, which is a real journey I think people should know that you had a day to yourself in Chicago. a beautiful summer day in Chicago But you were by yourself. You could have done anything in the world and what And I did And it was a beautiful day and I walked down by the lake and I walked all the way to Lincoln Park where we used to live. and I had a great day. But while I was walking I was listening. thought I shouldn't you thought to all times with Ros outfitt and JD JD Vans. good for you. Look. I very much agree with you here. It is like using the term tone policing is just Perfect Um, but like the the bigger point with this is and it says something about Jie Vance, which is Jadie Vance came from A working class Like his story is very famous But what he and it is a know, as told in his book and the Netflix movie of which he was a producer, made of his life story tells you is that he Pick himself up by his bootstraps. wentent to an Ivy League college, went to the military, became quite successful, became a venture capitalist scene and commentator, all the things that all the checklists on the MGa resume that you need Hollywood prodroucer, venture capitalist and S and Hollywood producer or CN and commentator all the above and became an elite. Like that's his story. The story is someone who was raised in this incredible difficult scenario involving drug addiction and poverty and rises to the most elite Pinnacles of American societyom the vice president theited States. What he has taken from that is that is he's become el leite and he looks down his nose at everyone else because this is the He tries to in the Trump era, not the pre Trump era, but the in his post, Trump's not really no longer Hitler. I shall work for him and serve him. Therea He tries to put on the clothes of an anti elitist But is he is a pure elitist. and there is nothing more elitist than saying that basically telling someone not to be a dick to their fellow citizens is anti working class when Trump goes out there and You know, and Rob Reiner dies and he celebrates with with a true social post or celebrates that Bob Mueullller dies with a true social post. That's just what working class people do You know, we're doing they're doing the diner at the bar It's just how they talk. And the reason he knows that is because he serves a working class president, Donald Trump, Donald J. Trump cares about the working people is of the working people and that's just that's how he talks. That's how working class people talk when the working class president fires off an offensive truth from the gold toilet upon which he's sitting That is working class talk. Yeah, when he says, look, we just can't afford childcare. We can't afford to give people childcare, but also check out my ballroom And look at the gold, lookook at the gold everywhere. That's again Re if I had a nicl for every time a working class person said that, I wouldn't be working class. I'd I'd be as There Jadie Vance. ammazing Ros Ephfit like he looked like he wanted to laugh too. Wh is the first sign that's ever happened in Ros Ephit like a truly humorless man. I felt bad for Ross because he had to he cr the problem with that interview was he had to cram too many topics in because J events only gave him a certain amount of time And so there were so many crazy things that JDBan said that you could tell that definitely wanted to follow up on. and he just had to he moved on to the next thing. And I was like, you should have I would have just I would have asked him about that sentence, maybe. you would have done a whole pot You JD Vvance, come on offline. wholeigion all the other stuff, I would have just given up and I would have been like, let's talk about the tonal arguments and the tone policing We don't want to be toneed to ling. anyway. One more of these from JD Vance. There was another very human, very authentic Vance moment this week that also got a lot of attention. Apparently, Usa Vance hosts a YouTube series called Storytime with the Second Lady, where she and a guest read to kids, veryy nice. And this week's special guest was JD, who is allegedly her husband. Let's see how it went. Today's special reader is my husband Vice President of the United States, JD Vance Thanks for joining us today, honey? Of course. Good to see ya. No If you're just listening to this Um useit Go to the YouTube app on your phone, go to Pods of America, YouTube or your laptop, getet to the nearest YouTube app you can get to and watch this because what he does there is he says, good to see you. and then reaches awkwardly across and gives her two fatherly pats on the knee. veryery light pats on the knee, just light pats, pulls the hand back. And then they just said and stare at each other. Is that how you and Hollie greet each other after a long day apart, Dan? I will say that if you can't look, it's hard to be a public fakureer. Right. The glare of the spotlight is intense But if there's one moment where you could possibly be yourself It would be sitting with your wife And he is incapable of doing that Like it honestly seems like they have never met each other It's like you also it's not like he had to like give her a big kiss or like he could have just done nothing. He didn't have to tap her knee like. Well's like you can see it like It looked like he was abouted to be like, lookooks like you got a bun in the oven there. L it was honestly, it's just it's I mean, I just it's like the first meeting between A man who's never had a date before and a mail order bride It's just so. I just don't. Also each are the also like I hope everyone realizes that they could they could have edited that, right? They could have done another take. they could have cut that part out. It wasn't a live performance. It was it was a White House thing. Yeah, it does make you wonder are there is somewhere on the cutting room floor of the White House and there nine knee hats that were less affectionate than that one. Did he perhaps like high five her for the first time? Yeah Yeah. Did he wear a fistball? Did he shake her hand Nice to see you. I'm JD. Yes. Wow. Anyway, watch out Marco Rubio As Rork would say, he's got the potential to be. certainly does. He certainly does potential, it's there somewhere. We have not seen it yet. neither has Rupert, but it's there Okay, when we come back, I'll talk to the Democratic candidate for Governor of Texas, Gina Inohosa Pitive America is brought to you by Sundays. If you've ever had a dog who's picky when it comes to food, we do. You know how surprisingly stressful it can be. You'll try every brand under the sun in the hopes that your dog will finally find the one they like. But maybe the answer is simply that your dog knows the difference between processed brown pellets and real food. Sundaays for dogs is different. They start with over eighty percent all natural meats and then finish with superfoods like kale, ginger, and blueberries. All of the ingredients are gently air dried instead of using high heat. Sundaays doesn't look or smell like traditional store bought dog food. It looks like high quality jerky the kind humans would eat No fillers, no nutritional blends, no chemicals, just simple, complete nutrition. 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Sundays fordogs d. com slash crooiced fifty, or use code Crooed fifty at checkout I Gina Inahosa. welcome to Pots of America. It's great to be with you. So there's been plenty of national focus on the Texas Senate race between James Terico and Ken Paxson. There's been less attention paid to the gubernatorial race that you're running against Three term incumbent, Greg Abbott, who's running for a record fourth term as governor. We'll get to him in a minute But for all the people listening who are meeting you for the first time, Um Who are you and What made you get into the race? Yeah. I am running for Governor of Texas because what I see in twenty twenty six is that everything is on the line and this is Perhaps last best chance to sayve what we hold dear in Texas and in this country And to explain, I grew up on the border with Mexico. I grew up in the Ral Grand Valley in Brownsville, Texas And I was raised on the promise of the American dream there. We cross back and forth between Texas and Mexico all the time backack then And I remember as a little girl being struck by the extreme poverty I witnessed in Mexico. and I remember asking my dad why? Why when we cross into Mexico arere there beggars? They said, beggars, we didn't have homelessness then, we didn't have a word for it. They said, beggars. And then when we cross back into Texas, there are none. And I'll never forget. my dad said, because in Mexico, they have the rich and then they have the poor and they don't have much in between And in America, we have a strong middle class And he was talking about the American dream. And working Texans right now are struggling to achieve the American dream in a big way. It is why I'm running for office. It happened to me. I never meant to run for anything I made my husband promise him never run for office before we got married, but they try to shut down my son's school. So I ran for the school board O that fight for schools took me to the Texas House and what I see in the Texas House is the reason our schools are shutting down, the reason we are struggling so much is because We are paying into a system that is working against us. It is one big grift It is policy that is driven by m special interests, and I refer to it as the Greg Abbott Cruption tax. We pay more, we get less because we are all paying the Greg Abbott corruption And now we have over one hundred schools shutting down in Texas. We have over one hundred and fifty school districts operating at four days a week, whole school districts. can't afford to operate at five days a week And We have the most people being disconnected from their electricity of any other state. We have the most uninsured of any other state. We have the most uninsured children of any state. We have the most bankruptcies. We have the first major American city in Corpus Christie to potentially run out of water despite the fact we are paying about seventy five percent more in property taxes under Greg Abbot. That is Greg Abbott's record and he owns it. And that's why I'm writing. I have a plan. to save Texas schools and to put money in your pocket I think it's important People understand, yes, we fight for our public schools because of our kids and our community, but we fight for public schools because there can be no American dream without strong public schools Public schools provide the opportunity, the gateway for the American dream. And of course, if we can't afford to live and thrive in Texas where we live, then there can be no American dream When I was a little girl Texas was the American dream manifest Right That is why I'm running. We have to fight to win back the American dream. So you're no stranger to politics, even though you didn't think you would run. You've served in the Texas House and I believe your father who you mentioned, was the chair of the Democratic Party in Texas for about a decade. What did you learn from him about politics and The state of the Democratic Party in Texas. Yeah Well, to be clear, the number one lesson I learned was that I did not want that life for myself. Interesting. How come? Because my dad belonged to the world and not to me. And I wanted ac quired a simpler life. I'm a lawyer. I had a small practice I thought that's what I would do. I would be the best at my small practice. and that is why I made my husband promise to never run for office. But life had other plans. That's what I mostly learned But I will tell you that It is in the Texas House where I have learned that reallyally There's so much noise, but there is one fight. And that fight is the fight of twenty twenty six in this country, in this state and it is are we going to be a state that is by and for the people or are we living in the billionaireress world and We're just here. That is the fight. That is the fight that is behind why schools are closing, that is the fight behind why we can't afford to pay things. That's the fight behind why corpus. Christie is running out of water. That is the fight. Speaking of billionaires and money in politics, the man you're running against is sitting on more than one hundred million dollars recent poll had about a third of Texas voters saying They don't know enough about you to have an opinion Um, How do you introduce yourself to a state bigiggest Texas when Eespecially when the governor the current governor has so much money to run his own ads and campaign Yeah, you're right. Texas is giant. Running for governor of Texas is like running for president, right. We're doing things differently. We've divided the state up into seven regions, running like full congressional campaigns in each of those regions because are such a big and diverse state. What the polling shows is that since the end of last year My name ID has gone up twenty points We went from nine points down to five points down as that's happened. And so as people get to know who I am They're with me And people want change. What I am seeing across the state, what elections are showing in Texas, what polling is showing is that there is this anti incumbency energy in Texas right now and Freg Abbott offers more of the same. And his problem, even though he has all that money in his campaign account, is that you use money to tell people who you are and what you're about And that's his problem. People know who he is and what he is about and They don't want it anymore. They want change. The number one response I get from people when I say, I'm running for governor against Greg Abott You can run again really? the we term limits? Well, and I'm sure there's's plenty to say about him in his record What is the one specific thing he's done that you would point to U If a voter because you'll probably need some of these voters, right? people who voted for Greg Abbott three times now. You have a three time Abbott voter who's at least open to a different choice this time but isn't sure. What's the one thing you'd say about what Greg Abbott has done to persuade that person He's given a billion dollars in no bid contracts to his donors He's the most corrupt governor in Texas history. We I'm not saying something. We've never had this level of corruption, but every major challenge in Texas is about follow the money right back to Greg Abott stoners. So you know it's common for challengers to say the incumbent is corrupt, worked for billionaires Bet said a version of this about Abbott in twenty twenty two, Lupe Valde said it in twenty eighteen Both still lost by single to double digits Why do you think This will land in twenty twenty six where it hasn't worked as well before Well what we are seeing is that it is already landing in Texas. And twenty eighteen, youve referenced, that was the closest we've come in a long time to potentially flipping a seat statewide in Texas. That's when Bet they ran against Ted Cruz, right? That's the last time we have points, right? Yes right. That remember. That's the last time we had a midterm election with Trump in the White House. R And Democrats sweept. We picked up twelve seats in the Texas House We flipped all of Harris County Houston. The Democrats sweept in a big way. We were not ready R? Maybe we could have flipped the whole Texas House had we been ready. We are ready in twenty twenty six. And so for the first time, we have Democrats running in every congressional seat, every state House, state, Senate seat. and already we have seen dramatic improvement in our performance. So Democrats overperformed Republicans in the primary. That rarely happens in Texas E opponents in my primary And still I got twice as many votes as Beto got in twenty eighteen because people are doing the work. for change. And twenty eighteen is different because we have two strong candidates at the top of the ticket though and was retty much the only one who could raise real money in twenty eighteen and took on all the arrows, took on the entire campaign. It's different this time around. What we've yet to see though, the thing that is to be determined is are people going to believe what they see with their own eyes in Texas where we're winning Tarrant County Tarant County, for instance That was the most Republican county in the whole United States of America. We flipped a state Senate seat swung it thirty one points to elect Taylor Remette Steve Bannon embedded himself in Tarrant County a month before that happened and said right off the bat, I'm here because as goes Tarrant County, so goes Texas, so goes the nation. Well, We won it. and It's not just Taron County. It happened in Syfair. It happened in Arlington, it happened in Leander, it happened in Denton Harn, it is happening all over Texas. and what we are seeing in twenty twenty six is people just want change. Education is a signature issue for you. that you mentioned H hundred plus schools are closing. fifty plus districts have gone to four day weeks For someone outside Texas, What is actually happening to the public schools right now? and What did Abbott do to cause it? So what I see in the Texas House, I sit on the public ducation commommittee with James Har Rico. We co chaired the effort to fight vouchers in twenty twenty three. and we beat Greg Abbott then. We had ral Republicans join with us to defend public schools and vote against vouchers Greg Abbott took out those Republicans who voted with us in their primaries by putting a million dollars in against each of them in their primaries. And so then he got the votes and we passed it Boucher is last Yeah, Vouchers is an example of what has happened to our public schools in Texas. It is just vendor contract after vendor contract to somebody who is connected to Greg Abbott And that is where our money for our public schools is going. So Greg Abbott received twelve million dollars, the largest campaign contribution in all of Texas hory from an out of state billionaire, Jeff Yaz who has a financial interest in vouchers, right? That is the kind of grift and corruption that people are feeling in a real way. And so those alliances I made across the aisle with mega moms, with football coaches in rural communities with superintendent's principles People who love their public schools are angry in a big way at Greg Abbott for what he's done to our public schools I believe that that will be the difference in this election. People see this as our last best chance to save public schools in Texas. Education used to be an issue that Democrats talked about. every campaign cycle all the time. I feel like In general, the party hass been fairly quiet about it recently. I've heard you talk about it now. Ram Emanuel has been talking about it recently. But in general, why do you think Democratic Party has sort of shied away from focusing on education. And what do you see as a positive vision in public education and education in general for both you know, Texas and the country to take. We've just gotten lost in all of really a lot of high tech solutions to education that have not worked In Texas, it's happened in a big way. Now they're trying to push in Houston Texas. Greg Abbott took over Houston ISD and trying to put in one hundred AI schools in Houston with this idea that we don't need teachers, we need education guides. And so it's just a way for them to make money off of our public school dollars So I'm proposing a back to basics approach where we pay teachers their worth and doesn't feel sexy to basics, pay teachers, their worth, novel concept. It doesn't happen because it Nobody makes money off of it, but teachers, right? Billionaires don't make money off of it. And I think in lots of ways Democrats have moved away from just the basics. Again, it's the American dream. How can you have the American dream without strong public schools? Public schools tell every child, you can be anything you want to be if you put in the work How are we letting it happen that our public schools, and it's not just Texas, but it's in Texas in a big, big way are dying on the buyon. In Texas, there is a unique kind of pride. Texas public schools are Friday night lights. They are enshrined in our Texas constitution. They made us who we are. pride in public schools in Texas. And I think that is why It is resonating in a way that There is a possessiveness and an understanding that this is a part of who we are and people are ready to fight for their public schools What do you do about low performing public schools and low performing teachers? It's never the right answer to take power away from parents and community when our public schools are struggling I do think we need a back to basics approach money in the classroom. Have the We have had a teacher exodus in Texas. We have for the first time Texas is hiring more uncertified Teachers, then certified teachers by a lot We now have teachers who have no college degree being hired in Texas. I have a neighboring school district. Their number one source of new hires is out of the country because they can't find people to work for what we pay who have the the experience We all know is, again, not rocket science. The best thing we can do for our child's education is put a great teacher in the classroom. and we have steered so far away from what we know works. So again, it's a back to basics approach, making sure we have great educators in the classroom. Looking at the poll, some of your strongest numbers are with Latino voters. Some polls have you up nearly twenty points Trump of course, carriry Latinos in Tas in twenty twenty four You've said the Latino vote can be the difference if we choose to be What does choose to be mean? and what has the party gotten wrong? over the last several years, decade at seeing sort of Latino voters either drrifts away from the Democratic Party or you know, in the case of twenty twenty four toward the Republican Party I think we have taken our eye off the prize of what are we fighting for Again, I think there is one fight. It is the fight about whether it is a country, a state that is by and for the people. That is the fight for the American dream. They are one in the same And I think we get distracted by culture wars and social issues. We take the bait all the time. And I get it. I mean, It is infuriating things that Republicans do and say to different groups that consist of our coalition But when we're fight fighting about those things, we are not talking about the thing that impacts all of us, and that is, can you afford to live and thrive in Texas And that has to be the fight. So the Latino vote is hugely important to your point. You're right, absolutely. In twenty eighteen, Bet they got sixty four percent of the Latino vote Again, the closest we've come in a long, long time to winning as Democrats. When I get sixty four percent of the Latino vote, I win. because there are more of us in the voting population than there were then to give you a sense of where Latinos are in Texas in twenty twenty six. Taylor Remette, who flipped that state Senate seat seventy nine percent of the Latino vote in his election. All right, That is the potential. Of course, we're taking nothing for granted. I'm heavily focused on engaging the Latino vote in this election. And if we choose to be as if Latinos will show up, we have seen this year that Latinos are showing up. And we need Latinos to show up in a big way in November I think one challenge Democrats have had over the last decade is sort of assuming that For Latino voters, immigration is the top issue. when as you said, the economy, affordability is still number one, just as it is with non Latino voters. That said, Trump has decided to make immigration central to his second administration even more than it was in the first I think that personally, what I've seen from Democrats over the last decade is fear around the issue of immigration. And so when you ask Democrats about immigration, people either say, okay, we need a strong border for sure, but what Trump's doing with I is horrific and wrong And That's about as far as it goes. Yeah. someome point we'll be in power again, hopefully. So hopefully you'll be governor. What is a positive vision for immigration that you think can rally the country behind the Democratic Party that recognizes as is my old boss, Barack Obama would always say that we're a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. Right. I think we have to stress that we're for border security. We all want that I grew up on the border. off course, I want border security and what is happening? right now is not that. And the district attorney in Harris County will say he has child sex abuse cases that he cannot prosecute because the witnesses have been detained or supported or too afraid to come forward. That makes us less safe, not more safe And here's the other thing The other thing is that It's hard to be generous to immigrants when Americans are struggling themselves so much. It is hard to be generous with the American dream when people feel like it's out of reach for themselves, right I think it's a classic example of the you know, put your oxygen mask on first and then others in need We have to recognize that Americans, working Americans, working Texans are not making it We you make sure they get the oxygen mask first and that we We message and we work to deliver for Americans First, really, for teextans first, that we're doing everything we can to address again s one fight The one fight, is this going to be a country in a state for us or for moneyed interests? Do you think we need to? revamp our asylum laws sounds like it, yes. Yeah ye. And can I give you an example? So Biden's last the December before his last year in office. Remember we had the caravans at the border. was chaotic. People in Texas were angry And I got a call, I was chair of the campaign committee for the Texas House at the time. I got a call from my member at Eagle Pass, who is a frontline member, and he said, Gina, They have shut down the border to Eagle Pass in Mexico, this was the week before Christmas, to all commerce. It is killing our local businesses. We are going to lose. And I said, okay, let me see what I can do So I called the Biden administration and I said, we need an emergency meeting. Within forty eight hours, we had their top border officials on the phone I had my boorder members on the phone. and Ben the Biden officials heard an earfulull about how this is not working. Something needs to change. That next week Biden administration sent delegates over to negotiate enforcement on the Mexican side And what you will see in the numbers is that crossings plummeted when that happened. We need when it comes to immigration, like common sense solutions I think that there is no question that Biden avoided the issue and did not deal with it until it was out of control. And we need to make sure that we have people in office who stop playing politics. with immigration and just work on real solutions. Unfortunately I have to ask you about the screworm, which I had never heard of until a week or so ago. For listeners, the New worldld sccrewworm is a flesh eating parasite that infests livestock. It was eradicated from the U.S. sixty years ago, but now it's back in Texas cattle for the first time two things Um, how bad is this for Texas? And also, the reporting is that all the cuts from Trump and Doge slowed the federal response H Abbott said, One word criticizing the administration that hamstrung him in Texas And and if not, where does that tell you Yeah, that Abbott is a weak governor We have a governor who understood years ago that the screwworm was coming. It is in Texas now. It is going to be very hard to eradicate. It is spreading in Texas. Now that it is here we're looking at disastrous consequences And I don't think it's just for Texans, but yes, for Texas ranchers, for the price of beef that we have a governor who either didn't care enough or didn't have the sway, the juice with the administration, and a Secretary of Agriculture from Texas under the administration to say, hey, I understand you're doging all this other stuff Save this. This is important and we need to make sure we're doing what we need to do. is a failure on Abbott's part. I lay this on the lap of Abbott that he could not communicate with the Trump administration urgencycy of making sure we had a solution before it was too late. And here we are now with screworm in Texas and spreading. There are last question, there are just so many very important, very competitive House and Senate races this year that could decide control of Congress. There are other gubernatorial races that at least on paper, seem closer, more competitive even than yours For people who are looking to donate their time and their money to midterm races this year Why should they choose yours Because the fate of the union depends on Texas in twenty twenty six After the U. S. Supreme Court decision on redistricting that gutted the Voting Rights Act, There are now no rules And what will happen in Texas because Republican leaders have already said they're going to draw new lines next year We lose five Democrats in Congress under a new map with no rules. That's on top of what the Brennan Center predicts will happen at the end of the decade Th census, which is four years away that Texas will gain four to five more congressional seats because we're growing faster than all the other states. We take from blue states, those congressional seats Republicans control that, that's another four to five seats that Democrats lose in Congress. That's ten seats in Congress that Democrats betteret off the table for Democrats The governor of Texas controls ten percent of Congress. We need a governor in Texas who will veto their rigged maps This is the most important governor's race in the whole country for that reason. Gina Iosa, thank you so much for joining Pod Save of America. goodood luck out there. Everyone always says, Texas, Democrats are dreaming of Texas again. and I same thing as you said. At some point, we have to win Texas because u Congress, the maps, but also eor college Like That's right also. as the Midwestern states start getting a little rudder, we gott to make up for it somewhere. Texas is just too big. right at some point. Congressional seats equate to electoral votes. So right if there's no way to win Congress then there's no way to win the White House. Well, thanks for what you're doing, good luck out there. and talk to you soon. Thanks That's our show for today. Thanks to Gina Inahhosa for coming on. Dan will be back in the feed on Sunday, with a conversation with strict scrutiny', Lee Lman Have a good weekend. Bye everyone. Positive America is a crooked media production. Our show is produced by Austin Fisher,aul Rubin, Mc Kenna Roberts, Ferafari with Ree Chherland, Elijah Coh, and Adrian Hill. Our team includes Matt Gr, Ben Hef Co, Jordan Canter Chlotte Landus, Carol Kellevve,avidooles, Mia Kman, Ryan Young, and Naomi Single O staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East.