Lovett or Leave It - How is it August?

Episode Date: August 1, 2020

100 days to the election. Here we go. LaTosha Brown joins to talk about the home stretch. Bryan Safi is back for straight guy phone banking. Plus we tell jokes to listeners and quiz Collin and CJ, as we look at what we need to do up and down the ballot to win.

Welcome to the 21st episode of Love It or Leave It, Back in the closet theme. We want to use a new one each week. If you want to make one, you can send it to us at hey at crooked dot com. And maybe we'll use yours. You can also tweet it at me later in the show. We'll be joined by Brian Safi, Latasha Brown and some of our favorite Colin guests. But first, this week is our favorite call-in guests. But first, this week is our kickoff to the November election.

We are under 100 days away from the biggest election of our lifetime, which is something we always say but is true in a way we couldn't have understood in previous elections. So today we wanted to do something a little different, which is we wanted to talk to listeners of this show to talk about what they're doing to make sure we do everything we can to win in November. And the reward for sharing is to hear a joke of varying quality. That's not the best deal I think a person's ever made, but it's what we were offering. And we got to talk to some great listeners who are such good sports. So here it is, where we went to a mangle and told some jokes, and it went exactly as well as you'd expect. Oh, hello. Hello. Hi. Hi. Hi. What's your name? My name is Elliot.

Hey, Elliot. Where are you? And what are you going to do to make sure we win in November? I'm in New Jersey right now. And I've already done some phone banking a couple weekends ago, and I just signed up today to do some text banking on Tuesday. Awesome. Awesome. Great. Have you signed up at votesaveamerica.com? Yes. Yes. That's where I've been getting all. What state did you adopt? Have you adopted a state yet? Yes. Pennsylvania. You're passing every test. You're just crushing it, Elliot. Okay. So, Elliot, let's get into it. What a week.

This week, we are going to focus on the fact that we are officially less than 100 days away from the presidential election. 100 days may seem like a lot because it's 30,000 quibbies, but it's also just 689 viewings of the Irishman. Look at what could happen in 100 days, Elliot. 100 days ago, you were Googling sourdough starter. Now you're Googling Antifa moms. It took only four years for Trump to start having federal

agents throwing protesters in unmarked vans. In four years from now, this podcast could be a zine we print in Canada and drop over the coastal occupied zones. It's not great, Dan, John says from the Hollywood Bowl and Detention Center. While recording the podcast on an iPhone 7, Tommy baked into a cake and baked into a cake is a euphemism. Oh, man. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Martha McSally faces a tough race.

McSally actually lost to Kyrsten Sinema in 2018, but got a seat anyway after she was appointed by the Republican governor to fill the late Senator John McCain seat. McSally could still get the seat,

though experts agree it's pretty unlikely that John McCain will die again. As you know, we have to do everything we can to help Joe Biden win, but also as much as we want to support Joe Biden and are going to help Joe Biden, there are times we want to make fun of Joe Biden. All right, there are.

But we're going to try to be our best supporters in the next couple of weeks, in the next hundred days. And so I just want to get a couple of my harshest Joe Biden jokes sort of out of the way, out of my system in this segment. OK, so I'm just going to tell you a couple of them and then that's it. They're done. We don't have to think about them for a bit because we're going to still be make fun of them. But we're just going to be in a kind of more earnest mindset. OK, here we go. I know some people are worried because Biden couldn't win when he ran an 88 or 08. But to be fair, things were different then. He was younger.

But seriously, folks, I support Joe Biden. You might even say I'm riding with Biden, or I would be if there was room on Obama's coattails. Now, there are some people that say that Biden has been in Washington too long, but doesn't have a lot to show for it. Biden doesn't get things done. Are you kidding me? Tell that to Justice Clarence Thomas. Finally. Your reaction is the perfect reaction.

It's like, oh, yeah, that's okay. That's why we're doing this. That's why we're doing this. You know what, Elliot? You've been a great delight. It's been lovely're doing this. That's why we're doing this. You know what, Elliot? You've been a great delight. It's been lovely to meet you. Good luck with your organizing. Thank you for signing up at Vote Save America.

And let's get rid of Trump and let's be fucking done with this shit and put in some good people. Sick of it. I'm at my wits end. Yeah, me too, definitely. Bye, Elliot. Nice to meet you. Bye.

Nice to meet you. Oh, hello. Nice to meet you. Bye. Nice to meet you. Oh, hello. I saw you the first time. And you exited out. I did. Yeah. I fully did. Yeah.

Okay. All right. Now, the energy of this section is pretty clear. Hi, what's your name? I'm Brendan. Hi, Brendan. Hi. Being back on Omegle, it's just like ptsd to

being a gay teenager so thank you did the gates the gay teens make a lot of use of the omegle i don't know i think it's more of like a curiosity type thing but who knows okay okay what part of the country are you in i am in fayetteville north carolina and what are you doing to make sure that we elect cal cunningunningham, that we help make sure that Biden has a shot in North Carolina? What are you doing? So I actually still vote in Kentucky, but I might switch it. I'm from Kentucky, but North Carolina seems more high stakes, you know, so. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Look, if we beat McConnell, we'll probably win in North Carolina, but we can win in North Carolina without necessarily winning in Kentucky. So either way though, you're going to volunteer. Have you signed up on votesaveamerica.com? So actually I like- What is that? There is not a,

can you answer one fucking question? It's always a speech. You never say yes or no. I am an organizer for Joe Biden. Oh, great. What was the hesitation? What's that? What's going on?

You seem like you're doing everything right, yet you were defensive. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. But I'm actually working in Nevada, like remotely. Oh, great. But i'm in north carolina you're doing it all and you're helping i'm really doing it all yeah here's the jokes i'm gonna tell you okay i'm ready meanwhile in the house 75 seats are toss-ups with 42 of those having

democratic incumbents in the days leading to the election it's up to us to channel our inner jody foster in the movie panic room and by that i mean it's up to us to defend the house and out-organize anyone who looks like Dwight Yoakam. Um, I think that went over my head. I might be a little too young. Don't you dare. Don't you say. Don't you fucking dare. You're unbelievable.

I knew that that's what was coming. Oh, you're too young. What references do you appreciate? TikTok? Yes. Yep. What are you like? You're like, um What references do you appreciate? TikTok? Yes. Yeah. You like, what do you like? You like, I don't know. I don't know any cultural references in the last 10 years. Oh my God.

Listen, Panic Room. All right. It's a film with Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart. And the idea is they go into the panic room and they lock the doors. And then a bunch of guys try to get in there because they've got the codes or the recipe or money or something in the panic room. And so the whole movie is very claustrophobic because they're stuck in a panic room while a bunch of bad people are trying to get in on the outside. And I really recommend it. I'll check it out.

It's been so lovely to meet you. Thank you so much for joining us. You've been a great sport. Whether you're helping in North Carolina, Kentucky, or Nevada, we're grateful to you. Okay. And you're organizing for Biden. Love that. You can also sign up at votesaveamerica.com, which you conspicuously avoided saying whether you have or not. Sounds like you haven't. Something easy to rep fix, you know? Try. Just like type type type. Oh, you'll try. Oh, you'll try. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Bye. It was nice to meet you. Hello. How are we on?

Hi. How are you doing? I'm doing well. What's your name? My name is Dustin. Dustin, who are you signaling to come join you? My wife, Rebecca. Becky.

Hi, Rebecca. Hi, Dustin. Hi, Becky. So first of all, what part of the country are you in and what are you doing to make sure we win in November? We're in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Yeah. Yeah.

My adopted state. Yeah. Yeah. My adopted state. Yeah. And we are talking to all of our relatives who normally vote Republican and trying to convince them to not do that. How's that going? Um, slow. It's going slowly. Yeah. But just chipping away. Yeah. There's been some movement amongst even some soft Trump people away from Trump. Have you seen that in your own world? You can be honest and say, no, I want to make sure people are nervous. We haven't seen like definite, you know, confirmed movement, but I feel like there's definitely a lot of, a lot less enthusiasm.

And like a lot of our older relatives are taking coronavirus stuff seriously. And, and, you know, you can tell that they're not happy with how things are being handled with that. So, yeah. Okay. Okay. All right. I'm going to tell you some jokes. Okay. Okay. And you'll just see how you feel about it. Sure. Democrats need to pick up three seats for majority in the Senate. That means we need to win at least three seats currently held by Republicans, assuming we hold on to seats currently held by Democrats. Doug Jones is fighting to keep his Senate seat against Tommy Tuberville, who is some sort of coach. Trump endorsed Tuberville as a fuck you to Jeff Sessions. Jones's message is that he is the candidate who can find common ground, which is either a pitch for a marriage counselor or a

Democrat running in one of the most Republican states in the country and who won last time in part because his opponent was a pedophile. Gotta help Doug. It's gonna be very tough. Come on, Doug. There's also an important Senate race in Maine where we can finally get rid of Susan Collins. Collins put Brett Kavanaugh on the court and opposed impeachment while saying Trump learned his lesson. Collins has made headlines during her reelection campaign by not endorsing Trump. She was quoted as saying, I have always run my own race, before lacing up her ASICs and sprinting out of the building to avoid journalists. Fine. Thank you. Here, this is... All right. This is like a paragraph. This is like a journey we're about to go on.

Okay, Becky? Okay, Dustin? Yeah, yeah. Collins' plan is being referred to as the go-it-alone strategy, or the type of plan that backfires in every Pixar movie about friendship. I don't need you, the car with big eyes says to the boat with big eyes. And then wouldn't you know it, part of the road is out, and we need a boat to get across this river. And who is that just in time?

Glenn the boat, who's sorry, would never let Lana the car down again, because that's what friends do. And the lesson is surprisingly adult, because they are growing apart, the boat and the the car but they'll always have each other's backs even if they actually don't see each other as much that's it it's not even an ending it just sort of yeah just a little little story about a Pixar movie about Lana Lana the car and Glenn the boat they got big eyes and they're growing apart. That's life. Yeah. The confidence sells it a little. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. All right. Let's do one more. The seat Democrats are most likely to pick up is Cory Gardner's seat in Colorado.

Here's what Cory Gardner said in February of this year. And I quote, when we look at what we've been able to do for Colorado with the help of President Trump and his entire team, the results are simply astounding. with the help of President Trump and his entire team, the results are simply astounding. These things happen because President Trump and I worked together in Colorado. Couldn't agree more, Corey. Couldn't agree more that the shit we're in is because you and Donald Trump worked together. You're exactly right. You sleazy hack who always looks like he's five minutes away from being arrested for security spot.

But when the feds come, he's in his office with the door locked and a belt around his neck, masturbating to a picture of a blonde woman wearing a bikini and a $20,000 hovercraft he ripped out of a Hammacher Schlemmer catalog in 1998. Done. Yeah. We're done. Becky likes that one. Becky and Dustin,

thank you so much. It's great to see you. All right. Thanks for being part of the fight. And thanks for listening. Thanks. Yeah, we're definitely, we're going to sign up to make some calls and stuff. I think this is a sign that we got to do a little more.

Yeah, this is it. We got to do more. Let's get it in. We got to get this done. Yeah. All right. We got to win the house. We got to keep the house.

We got to win the Senate. We got to get Trump out. We got to win DA's races. This is it. This is fucking it. And I think you're ready. I think you're ready. I think so. Yeah. All right. Bye. Bye. I love them. I love them. Thanks to all the listeners who joined us. When we come back, you'll hear a great conversation I had with the co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund, Latasha Brown. Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love It or Leave It coming up. And we're back.

She is the co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund and currently serves on the board of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, the Southern Documentary Fund, the U.S. Human Rights Network, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. She's also the star of our Vote Save America training. She pumped up so many people. We were so excited to talk to her for our 100 Days Out episode. Please welcome LaTosha Brown. How are you doing? I'm so happy to be here. How are you feeling right now? You know, these have been a harrowing couple of years. They have culminated in massive protests, a kind of an eruption of feeling of anger, of fear, of sadness, all in the final weeks before something we've said before, but mean

more than ever, the most important election in our lifetimes. How are you feeling right now? I'm literally, to be honest, I'm feeling every human emotion that someone can feel right now. And so it's not just the election. We're in the midst of the largest health pandemic in the last hundred years. And our government's response has been horrible. I mean, I myself took a COVID test a few weeks ago. It took 12 days to get my results back. And I was positive. I didn't know that. Yes. And so, you know, it's been nerve wracking because here I am and with elders in my family, here I am, you know, doing work and I'm trying to stay safe and quarantine, find out that I myself have COVID-19 in a space that I don't know what information I can trust from this government or not. Right. And so it's really nerve wracking. So I think that that's one piece of it.

You know, so there is an element of fear and concern of anxiety that I've been working through in that process. The second thing is, I've also been feeling really sad around where we are as a country, that ultimately, as much as we would like to make Trump be the boogeyman and say that, you know, this is all his fault, what Trump really is doing, he's giving face to what I think has been the silent democracy killer in this country, right? That he is giving face to racism. He's giving face to voter suppression. You know, all those things that many of us have been doing this work have been saying. And so I think it makes me sad.

You know, even when I'm seeing the polls, they're saying he's down in the polls. You know, he only has 30 some percent. I'm like 30 percent. I'm just like, I'm like, well, what are they thinking? That makes me sad because a part of me is like, really? Right. We're still here? Then there's this other element though that I got to say that actually gives me hope. We are doing work in 11

states. I am probably zoomed out. Are you zoomed out yet? I'm zoomed out. I am zoomed out. After this is my last zoom, then I'm throwing my laptop into a volcano. This is it. I'm out. Absolutely. I'm calling myself, I think they should call us zombies. I know they're zombies, but I think some of us are zombies. I feel like a zombie. I'm a wandering zombie, for sure. So, you know, just thinking about how much time I've been spending and we've been spending virtually is a lot. It makes my eyes tired. But ultimately, I'll be honest with you. Some of what I am hearing from young people, hell no, we won't go. That I'd like just really speaking to democracy in a way that I have not heard. It's really given me a lot of hope. You know, one of the things I'm excited about. I am leading and designed, helped design a teach in at Harvard.

It's the first time that we've had a teach-in at the Harvard Kennedy School. I did not know how people would respond, didn't know if it would be one person or 10. There were over 600 people signed up. Our first session, we had over 300 people, and it was specifically around movement building. I'm raising that because, to me, that is an example

that there is a hunger and a desire for people are really concerned about the state of democracy in this country. And it's not just about the election, but of course, that's one of the pieces. So that gives me a lot of hope. Like that's been giving me a lot of hope. Even watching, I just saw, I don't know if you've been following Portland and the Moms Movement. Yeah, the Wall of Moms. The Wall of Moms. Wall of Moms, Mom Wall, I love it. Yeah. And I turned on this video. I don't know if you've seen this video yet, but where the wall of moms is singing

a lullaby. It is the most profound, powerful thing that I have seen. I could not speak when I saw it. One woman, I saw one woman in her interview say when George Floyd called out for his mom, all mothers were activated. Yeah. So while the government is a hot mess at this point, I think that citizens, I think that people in this country are rising up. They're getting more organized. People are, I think, more politicized that they're not just taking democracy for granted in the same kind of way. more politicized, that they're not just taking democracy for granted in the same kind of way. And so that gives me a lot of hope. You know, as bad as things are right now, these are the moments that greatness come forth. Like this is the moment, you know, for us to really have the opportunity to create this country to be what we want it to be. That's very inspiring to hear. You know, it's those sort of two competing emotions. On the one

hand, you're right. Trump is the face of it. Donald Trump is deploying these basically fascist secret police. He's enraging and stoking this minority of the country that wields too much power. But who gave him that power, right? Who gave him the power of the state? It was a lot of decisions over a long time. It's a culmination of a big problem. But at the same time, you know, the fact that we have these moms and the fact that what we've seen in response to the pandemic, in response to the George Floyd killing, in response to Donald Trump's excesses against protests, that there is a multi-ethnic, multi-racial group of people showing up, you really do see the possibilities of change. And you also see how dangerous

this moment really is. One of the things you've talked about in terms of how we make sure we go in one direction versus the other is, you know, you wrote an op-ed about how Biden needs to appeal to black women in this election. He needs their support. What do you think Biden needs to be doing right now to make sure that at this moment he is saying the right things and projecting the right policies for the future, that he can garner the enthusiasm and get the votes he needs. You know, so what I think Biden needs is Biden needs more than the support of Black women. He also needs the leadership, the wisdom, the insight, the strategy that Black women bring to the table. And that's why I've been pushing, and there are many of us who have been

pushing for him to get a Black woman VP. And it's not just the optics, it's what I've been pushing, and there are many of us who have been pushing for him to get a Black woman VP. And it's not just the optics. It's what our offering. People are acting like we have always been on the vanguard of democracy in this country. We stood with white women in the women's suffrage movement 100 years ago, even though we didn't secure our rights until 50 years later. Right? But we knew the importance of democracy. We have been consistent on that note.

I think there is a particular offering that in an environment that is deeply sexist, that is being led by chief misogynists of America and an administration that has been very hostile to women and women's issues and not being reflective of the population, you need someone, the kind of leadership that sits at the intersection of gender issues and the intersection of race and has a depth of understanding, a knowledge of what I see as the two evils in this country stemming from white supremacy, patriarchy, right? That ultimately we need, just like he was able to recognize the moment calls for the leadership of a woman.

I'm also saying that this moment calls for the leadership of a black woman that we need to actually, as we're going forward, you know, and it's always kind of interesting to me. I'm like, when he said he wanted a woman, nobody thought that was controversial, right? Everybody just assumed that he could find a woman. The moment that those of us were pushing and said we need a black woman, it was like, well, who is going to be? As if now we got to qualify. Right. So just like there was an acknowledgement that having a woman was appropriate for the moment that we're in. Can we not recognize that the moment that we're in is that we're in a moment that we need deep racial healing, that we're in a moment that people need to see reflective

democracy? Do we not see that we're in a moment that a Black woman, there are plenty of brilliant, well-qualified Black women can be in that role? And so I'm just raising that we also have to combat our own issues of sexism and racism. And so this is the moment. I want to put you on the spot. And I wasn't actually planning to do this. But who's your pick? I'm glad you asked.

But guess what? I am not going to tell you. Let me tell you why. I actually have a position. Why? I'm not going to tell you. Yeah, OK. The larger issue for me is that in the last 50 years, the most consistent constituency base that showed up for the Democratic Party has been Black women. Yet in 50 years, we have not seen Black women be

selected for the Supreme Court, nor in the highest positions in this land. It's been a non-starter. What world would white men be the dominant, most consistent base for 50 years and not have representation. Somebody would think there's something wrong with the system. So the bottom line is the larger issue for me is that there is a representation issue that is not about finding the super Black. I have voted for far less prepared, inferior white men for a whole lot of years. And ain't nobody asking why was I voting for a white man? Like which white man?

I just want you to know that I was putting you on the spot because I knew there was no way you were going to choose amongst so many incredibly qualified black women. For the record, I was well aware that there was no chance in hell you were going to tell me a pick. I mean, imagine it. Yes. Yes. I think I raise it and it's not like we all have preferences. Let me just say my candidate was Elizabeth Warren, right? People ask me, I was like, I still think she needs to be president, right? But there's a recognition at this moment of me recognizing what is being called for in this moment. We are in a moment that race does matter.

And we're in a moment that gender does matter. And we're in a moment that people want to see something different. And they want to see the Democratic Party be more reflective of who makes up the Democratic Party. So not just saying a Black woman, because it's just, we need a Black woman. I'm saying that there's a strategic value in bringing a Black woman to the ticket based on where the country is. And just because I think Black women are so damn smart and fly, I think there's other value of bringing some of these amazing Black women who have a demonstrated path of leadership that they can actually bring some

offering that has literally for years been shut out because we have not been considered because we have not effectively dealt with race and gender in America. So to that point, you know, one of the people on that list is Stacey Abrams. Stacey Abrams would be governor of Georgia right now, but for voter suppression efforts, racism and misogyny. It's incredibly clear. In the wake of the passing of John Lewis, there's been a revived conversation around restoring the Voting Rights Act, naming it for John Lewis. What do you think about that effort? And right now it's being blocked by Mitch McConnell in the Senate. What is your view on the best thing we should be doing right now to get that passed, whether it's now or early next year?

Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around, turn me around, turn me around. Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around. I'm gonna keep on walking, keep on talking, marching up to freedom's land. I want to stay with that because I think it's the spirit of that song and the spirit of that movement of where we are now. I think part of what has happened is that we believe that democracy can just be shaped by some people creating some policy. America wasn't even founded like that. Matter of fact, America was founded out of protest. It was a Boston Tea Party. It wasn't like that they were down there discussing,

well, let's have a policy meeting. No, they threw tea out because they were not gonna pay those taxes. My point is the spirit of citizens, when people rise up and demand something different, policy, reflective leadership, a more representative government, that's when things are going to change. And on some level, we have treated this process,

and I think part of this has been the parties, both parties. Over the years, we've seen parties amass more power, and we've seen people get less power. And some parties in particular, like the Republican Party, which is going to call them out, have just been egregious because I do believe that there are more people in this country that align with the values of the Democratic Party than the Republican Party. So the best way for them to stay in power is to steal it and to use voter suppression. I was most recently down in Kentucky where there's a Democratic governor and a Republican secretary of state that made a plan to have one polling site for 612,000 people. Unbelievable.

In a county that has the majority of the African-American population. My point is actually beyond placing blame on the parties. My point is that in order for democracy to be real, then the Constitution says, we the people. It doesn't say we the party. It says we the people. And so what has happened over the years, we've treated this process like we're just proxies. Let's just get power to the party, which is why people have been reduced to participation. Y'all just vote for us, and then we got everything from there. Well, how has that worked out for us? Right? So I think ultimately we have to turn the corner and recognize that democracy is not a given.

As we take it for granted, they're always in there. We're really like some of the stuff that Trump is doing now. People like he can't do that. I was like, well, he did it. I mean, I hear what you're saying, but he did it. And he's still in office. This is a president that has been impeached, but he's president. Yeah. So when when you're asking about what we should do now, I think there's a couple of things. I think one, I think we need to increase people power. How do you do that? Organize, organize, organize, organize. And so I think organizations that are doing pro-democracy work on the ground, everybody should have a political home. People should be writing checks. We should be supporting those groups that are on the front lines of doing

the change, because I don't think that right now the Department of Justice that we have is going to protect democracy or this administration. As the people, we're going to have to demand that, which is why I love what is happening in Portland and all over this country. So one, I think that we've got to really commit ourselves to this pro-democracy movement. Two, I also think that we've got to push for policies that ensure that voters have rights. There's a HERO Act that is in right now. There is a movement for there to be a bill that restores the Voting Rights Act named after John Lewis and has some additional provisions.

We should do that immediately. That should just happen right now. Right. Yeah. Let's be honest. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, even at that time, was a compromise. It did go far enough, even as it was written at that moment. And so now I think we need going into this next phase of democracy. If we haven't seen anything else, we should know that the fragility

of democracy is dangerous. It will allow a fascist. Five years ago, people would say, oh, you can't have fascism in America. What do you feel about that now? Yeah. Right. Like people are snatching folks up off the streets and putting them in unmarked vans. I understand people who are reluctant to use that word, but fascism doesn't have to succeed completely to call it fascism. It's fascism all the way to the final destination. It's fascism as they're destroying democracy and it's fascism. It's fascism all the way to the final destination. It's fascism as they're destroying democracy and it's fascism once democracy is gone. It's fascism right now. And it's okay to use that word, I think. It is okay to use that word. You know, when you see a thing happening,

you've got to call that thing out so that you can stop it so that people can recognize this isn't just ordinary politics, that we are in a different era and there's a different danger. But aside from that, that we can actually see the holes of democracy in America and stop hiding behind this idea that America is without fallacy. The truth of the matter is democracy can be strengthened in this country if we strengthen the laws to provide protection for voters. I want to see, just like we have a Department of Defense to protect the democracy and the sovereignty of America, I want to see a Department of Voting Rights. I want to see a Department of Democracy that literally is protecting the rights of citizens in this country. I love that idea. That's so cool. I've never heard that before. Department of Democracy.

That's right. A Department of Democracy. I'm into it. They're looking at voting rights as if it's just like these isolated incidents. You know, this is documented. Yeah. From 2016 to 2018, 17 million voters were dropped from the voting rolls. 17 million, y'all, in two years. In addition to that, that in those states that would have been covered by the preclearance clause, That in those states that would have been covered by the preclearance clause, which is section five of the Voting Rights Act, that those that may know in the Shelby versus Holder case that was filed in Alabama, that's what stripped the teeth out of the Voting Rights Act. There were states that were covered in that who had been bad actors, had a history of being bad actors around voting rights. And so they were covered. You had to get preclearance before you made changes. Immediately, just like we thought, once that happened in 2013, what happened? We saw polling sites closed.

We saw 80 polling sites closed in the metro Atlanta alone. And the Brennan Center just did a report that says that in all of those states that would have been covered, those bad actor states, that the drop off of the people of color on the voting rolls is 40% higher than the national average. And of those that are dropped from the exact match, 80% of them are people of color. So let me ask you, do we have a voter suppression issue or not? Yeah, we do. I'm, yeah. Absolutely. We really do.

We really do. So we really do. It's horrible. So so I guess this is where I wanted to end, because I think it's easy to say, OK, the answer to them taking away democracy is more democracy to show up, to show up. But, you know, people are exhausted. People are angry. People are sad. People are dealing with this pandemic. People are dealing with incredible economic loss. There are people that are dealing with voter suppression and with the fear of not only having to figure out how to make sure they're not cast off the rolls,

but figuring out if they can vote remotely or vote safely. We're in the homestretch. There's 100 days left. What is your message to people to make sure they understand that we have to push through this no matter what happens? So what I will say is that Black people have been voting for enfranchisement in this country for over 200 years. So I'm just saying at the end of the day, I hear you being tired, but I mean, just kind of imagine I'm from Alabama. I'm a black woman from Alabama. I'm tired too. So I

understand that. Right. And I understand that it is, and I don't want to minimize or marginalize that this is a really difficult moment for us, but the truth of the matter is a couple of things. What choice do we have? That in this moment, if we lose the protections that actually value us as citizens, if we use the protections that allow us to participate in our country and decisions made with us, then we think we're tired now. Imagine what we will be later. And so part of our work is as we're doing this work that is hard and feels traumatic, we've got to create a little joy. We got to bring some love in the world. And so in this process, you know, I think it's really important that we don't just focus this on, well, let's just get in the elections. We've got to build ourselves as a

nation from the inside out. What does that mean? That here we are in a moment that we have seen the largest multiracial, multigenerational uprising in all 50 states in this country. We've got to lean into that. Do you know how much possibility and potential comes with that? That's America. That is America. And so this is the moment for us not to get so focused on Trump, right? I mean, he got to go. Like, he's got to go.

He's got to go. He's got to go. He got to go, right? He's got to go. Right. But ultimately, more so than he has to go, the question is, what will we replace all of this with? This election cycle can't be about Biden. This election cycle has to be around, as he says, redeeming the soul of America,

but shaping the America that we all envision, the America that really puts human life and human value, what's top of the list. It's not how well the stock market is doing, but how well her people are doing. That's how we measure success. Right. And so that's what I think. I think we're in this moment that we should be deeply reflective around how are we going to contribute to the founding of the next phase of the new America, that America that I want to be a part of and that I dream about. I believe that is possible. Latasha Brown, thank you so much for taking the time. You know, I know you just found out that you've received this honor and this opportunity to speak and sing at the Memorial for Congressman John Lewis.

Having now had the privilege of hearing you both speak and sing, which was a surprise, you know, I understand it. And I'm grateful for the time. I'm grateful for you. And thank you for like keeping the airways hot. I love your podcast. I love what you're doing. I appreciate you. Thank you to Latasha Brown for joining us. When we come back, we're going to play a game with some of our all-time favorite listener contestants about some of these Republican senators we've got to defeat in November.

Don't go anywhere. This is Love It or Leave It, and there's more on the way. And we're back. So we've been doing these quarantine shows for over 20 weeks now. If I was in the closet much longer, I could be a senator from South Carolina. Moving on. When we started recording from home, we wanted to keep talking with the audience like we could at the live show. So we started doing segments over Zoom and the phone.

And now we'll never stop because we've gotten to meet so many funny, charming, smart people. And that fucking guy will. But there's been a groundswell of love for two guests in particular. So as we mark 100 days until the election, welcome back to the show, CJ and Colin. Hi, everybody. I'm so honored to be here. Now, first of all, strangely enough, you're both from Kentucky. Really? What? Yeah. You're both in Kentucky right now. Yeah. I'm actually not in Kentucky right now. Okay. All right. You're from Kentucky, Colin. I'm from outside Louisville.

Where? Hold on. Okay. Don't tell people my address. I don't know. Okay. Yes. Okay. Yes. Okay, yeah. I know where you're from. Girl, that's the only reason I want to know. We're basically cousins. Colin, we'll bleep it, all right? We'll bleep it for you. Yeah.

Sorry. Over near KCD, if you know where that is. Yeah, yes, yes. We're cousins, girl. I go to the movies over there all the time. He's already exceeding my expectations. So here's how this game works. This week's episode is all about encouraging everyone to get down to work to win the coming election. It's already exceeding my expectations. So here's how this game works.

This week's episode is all about encouraging everyone to get down to work to win the coming election. But we don't just have to defeat Trump. We have to cast out the Republican senators who sold out their country to enable a monster. We have to send a message that it wasn't just morally wrong. It was also bad politics. So today we want to highlight some of these key Senate races in a game we're calling Get Mitch or Die Trying the Game. Love it. I'm doing my best. You're already doing so well. All right. So here's how it works. I'm going to read something a Republican senator did, and I'll give you the names of three Republican senators. And you'll have to tell us which one did the bad thing. You'll each get a guess. Okay. And then we'll see who is right and who is worthy of being crowned

the Love It or Leave It Fandemonian Quarantine Call-In Champion of 2020 colon Summer Edition. Ooh, I like it. All right. Electric Boogaloo 2. Yes, Electric Boogaloo 2. What's that?

What was that? It's Break-In 2, Electric Boogaloo. Oh, it's Break-In 2. I was like, yeah. It's Break-In 2, Electric Boogaloo 2, F it's break-in two. I was like, yeah, it's break-in two, Electric Boogaloo two, Fandemonium Quarantine, Colin Champion of 2020 Summer Edition. That's what we'll call it. Question number one.

This Republican senator is against stronger emission standards, rubber-stamped Trump anti-climate appointees, and has taken over $1 million in money from the oil and gas lobby. Data for Progress also found that this senator was the second most ratioed senator on Twitter, getting an average of 70 percent more replies than likes. Is it? I'm gonna give you three options. Cory Gardner of Colorado, Steve Daines of Montana or Tom Tillis of North Carolina. Colin, I'll start with you. Tom Tillis. What do you think, CJ? I agree. It is Tom Tillis. You're both so confident and wrong.

Cory Gardner of Colorado. Really? Yeah, yeah. He's not in a position to do that. Surprising. While the Denver Post endorsed Gardner in 2014, they publicly retracted that endorsement in 2019, calling him a political time server

interested only in professional security. We got to get Gardner out and elect John Hickenlooper to replace him. Is Hickenlooper goofy at times? Sure he is. Okay. But that's fine. Next question. It's in his name. It is. It is. It's got, the name is a bit goofy too. Next question. This Senator voted to repeal Obamacare in 2017, which would potentially cause 20 million people to lose their insurance and millions more to lose protections for preexisting conditions. And just before the vote, she pumped up her fellow cool Republicans by shouting,

let's get this fucking thing done. Was it Joni Ernst of Iowa, Martha McSally of Arizona, or Kelly Loeffler of Georgia? CJ, you'll go first. Honestly, it's ridiculous and it could be either one, but I'm just going to say Martha McSally. Colin, what do you think? I know it's not because John McCain was still in the Senate at that time because he did the thumbs down thing, right? Because we watched that in government.

And who are the other two? Joni Ernst and Kelly Loeffler. Kelly Loeffler. She's the one who She's the money one. Probably her. Probably Kelly Loeffler. So CJ, you got it. It was Martha McSally,

because I believe, Collin, we're talking about a different, it was a different vote. It was a different vote. But I love the way you thought it through. All right. I love the expertise you brought to the question. But that one goes to CJ. That one goes to CJ. McSally lost her previous Senate race and then was appointed to her current Senate seat, as Collin pointed out, after the death of Senator John McCain. So Arizona already gave a thumbs down to McSally once before. We can do it again and elect Mark Kelly, an advocate for gun safety and a fucking astronaut. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Next question. Last month, this senator released an ad playing up their working class roots, saying rental houses in Louisiana, trailer parks in Florida and Tennessee.

We moved seven times before I was 16, living paycheck to paycheck. But when this senator was a state legislator and House Speaker, they voted to cut corporate taxes while increasing taxes for mobile home buyers. Is it Susan Collins of Maine, Joni Ernst of Iowa or Tom Tillis of North Carolina? This time, Colin, we'll start with you. It's not Susan Collins because she's lived in Maine her whole life. I did a project. Think it through. Think it through. Think it through. I'm going to say Joni Ernst. CJ? I was just going to say Joni Ernst because I can't stand to look at her and she's annoying. So there. Both of you making really great points. It was Tom Tillis of North Carolina who recently said this. I'm so fucking bad at this. No, you're doing great.

You're doing great. Maybe you're overthinking it. You know, maybe you have to just trust your gut. The answer was Tom Tillis of North Carolina who recently said this. The stakes are very high this election, but you know why I know we're going to win? Because people remember how good their lives were back in February. So that's Tom's pitch. And we have a great opponent for Tom Tillis in Cal Cunningham.

So that's what's happening in North Carolina. Next question. This senator called Obama a dictator who should be removed from office, said if Biden wins, he should be impeached for the fake Burisma scandal, and said that Trump is doing a very good job on the pandemic. Is it Kelly Woffner of Georgia, Steve Daines of Montana, or Joni Ernst of Iowa? This time, CJ, we start with you. Again, since I hated all of those things that were said,

I'm going to say Joni Ernst again because I can't stand her. Colin, what do you think? Oof. I feel like I read somewhere that it was Joni Ernst that called him a dictator. If I'm wrong, I'm going to sound really fucking dumb. Is that your answer? I mean, you're sort of, you got it. You both got it.

Okay. It's the evil Bob. It's the evil Bob that she has. It's evil. fucking dumb. Is that your answer? I mean, you're sort of, you got it. You both got it. It's the evil Bob. It's the evil Bob that she has. It's evil. It's a tough Bob. Here's the funny thing, though, is that she has the bisexual haircut. Hmm. You know what? No, but don't, if you tell her that, it'll change. I don't think she thinks she has the bisexual haircut.

Well, she's wrong. She doesn't know what a bisexual haircut looks like. She's too busy sending bisexuals to conversion camp. Well, she's wrong. She doesn't know what a bisexual haircut looks like. She's too busy sending bisexuals to conversion camp. Bye, girl. Get it? Bye, girl. Oh, my God. I'm delighted.

I'm delighted. Yes, the answer was Joni Ernst of Iowa, who not only rejects the science of climate change, but also wants to abolish the EPA and the Department of Education. She appeared at a campaign rally for Steve King after he endorsed a neo-Nazi and said that Iraq was harboring weapons of mass destruction. She said this in 2014. Reject Joni

Ernst. Elect Teresa Greenfield. Look, I'm going to crunch the numbers, all right? And it's pretty close. But I've got CJ with two points. I've got Colin with one point. Today's game, it goes to CJ. But Colin, you're also a winner. You've also won the game. You've both won the game. As far as I'm concerned, it's a family affair. You both won the game.

I need to meet you after quarantine ends too. Girl, person. I think this is a budding friendship, all right, is what I'm seeing. I'm seeing two people who, in a world where there's places where people meet can get together, all right, have a grilled cheese, you know, maybe a milkshake. In Deadass, though, I have a grilled cheese right here. What is happening?

Stop. What the fuck is happening? Just so everyone at home can hear, we both are in the middle of eating food whenever this call started. So we're just enjoying each other's company, being family from Louisville, you know, doing our thing. I feel like the key thing here is we all won today. All right. Because this was so fun. Colin, CJ, thank you both for playing.

It is so great to see you both. And please, if you are listening to this, a lot of you have, but a lot of you haven't. Go to votesaveamerica.com slash get Mitch. Help us win back the Senate in November. As of this recording, I believe we've crossed $2 million in fundraising for some of the races where we have the best chance to pick up some of these Senate seats. We must win the Senate. We must get rid of Trump. We have to keep the House and we have to win the Senate. So much rides on it and we can do it. VoteSaveAmerica.com, get Mitch, or go to VoteSaveAmerica.com and just sign up to start volunteering and helping. If you haven't yet, now's the time. CJ, Colin, a delight as always. And we'll see you soon.

Love you, girlfriend. Bye. Bye. Wait, John, real quick. Yeah. I saw you like that video of Henry Cavill building that computer today. Me too. What is that about? Somebody please tell me. It doesn't matter. It's sexy.

What does it mean? It's about Henry Cavill building a computer. This is going in the show. Somebody tweeted it at me and I was like, you were right. I needed to see this. I needed to see this because. Because, yeah. You're chuckling, but were right. I needed to see this. I needed to see this because... Because, yeah. You're chuckling, but you know.

It's not like Henry Cavill not building a computer isn't my type, but Henry Cavill building a computer? What are we doing? Exactly. What are we doing? That'll get your fans going, right? What is happening? What is happening?

Colin, did you see Henry Cavill building the computer? I saw like five seconds of it and I was like, this is five and a half minutes. Fuck no. Like, I'm sorry. I can't like. You don't appreciate nice things. You're right. I'm an insatiable, like cisgendered gay male.

So. I am none of those things. There we go. Like I do. We, you know, salivate over, you know, a crevice. So it's whatever. We're off the rails. I don't know if we can use any of this.

If we could, delightful. If not, whatever. Whatever. I love talking with you guys. Colin, CJ, goodbye. No, delightful. Delightful. Bye.

Thanks to Colin and CJ. When we come back, we're going to bring back one of our favorite segments from before the 2018 election, where I, a straight bro, am joined by Brian Salfie, another straight bro, to show you how to make calls

to help win in November. Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love It or Leave It coming up. And we're back. With the pandemic still raging in less than 100 days until the election. All of us will need to start texting and calling voters in swing states.

And since we did so well in 2018, we thought we'd bring back an old friend to help teach people. I mean, he's a young person. A long time. To teach people a thing or two about phone banking. So here he is, my phone. Here he is. He's a comedian, actor, and host of the podcast Throwing Shade. Welcome back, Brian Safi.

I'm out of here. I'm done. I don't need another intro like that in my life. So I think it's great that we've already started with what is a very, like this is gay culture. It's happening and what's great about that is when brian came on the show before the 2018 elections we decided because we were trying to reach those moderate voters that we weren't going to show up as la gays we were going to be salt to the earth straight bros okay and that is those you know, we, we played with middling

success. I think for me up until I was 17. That's right. I had 18 years of practice and I couldn't nail it. Never nailed it. Never got the part. But so today we are going to call some voters because we're really trying to make sure everybody listening sees how fun and easy and rewarding it is to participate in phone banking and online canvassing because we all have to do our part uh because uh the news so uh brian let's just take a moment to get into character okay i love sons of anarchy chill fast and furious uh debit card cool when is i can't believe they delayed Fast 11. It's so stupid.

Oh, man. Have you been going to the protests? I'm the loudest one there. It's awesome. I think we're doing great. Okay. I think we'll pass. So here's how it's going to work.

I'm going to read a tip from phone banking for all of us, tips that we're going to need to use as phone bankers. And then we're going to call someone as the straight bros, and we're going to use that tip. Brian, are you ready? I'm so ready. I'm ready to make some changes. So our first tip is to make sure you ask potential voters for a plan.

Call scripts that ask for a plan, how would be voters actually going to get to the polls on election day, are more successful. Psychologists say this is because it makes the behavior more cognitively accessible. Okay. Let's make the first call. Great. Hello? Hi, this is Juliette. Yes, this is Juliette. Welcome to your Romeos. I've never heard that one before. Listen, we're calling to make sure that you have a plan to vote. Do you have a plan to vote? Because I think basically there's two things I think these days. One is The Last of Us 2 should not have had a lesbian protagonist.

And also, everybody needs a plan to vote. Yeah, my plan is planning to vote and also planning to bobsled scuba dive volleyball before the end of the end of the year. What's yours, Juliet? I would say mine probably isn't that exciting. But since I live in California, my plan to vote is pretty simple. I'm having my ballot mailed to me so I don't have to risk getting sick or making other people sick. And I'm going to vote from the comfort of my own home where I've been trapped for the last five months. Why not vote from a surfboard, bruh? I don't know.

I don't know if you could really fill out your ballot successfully on a surfboard. Fair. Juliette, I think that's a great plan. I think it's awesome. You know what else is awesome? Timothy Oliphant in anything. He's my favorite. He knows how to walk.

Pay attention. No, that ding. No, that went fucking gay on you so fast. Juliet, he knows how to walk? No, that is gay as hell. You broke. We're out. Juliet, that one, he knows how to walk? No. That is gay as hell. You broke. We're out.

Juliet, make sure you vote. Isn't the first thing everyone notices his walk? Sorry, Juliet. It's okay. I understand. You know who else

has a great walk? The Mandalorian. And we're gay again. Thank you, Juliet. Wonderful. Thanks, John. She was impressive. She was great. She great she had a plan you know she had that plan that's right i like that in your straight character you started talking about timothy

oliphant's runway walk i don't think straight people talk about that i don't even think they know he has legs you know what anyone who ever watches a timothy oliphant movie or tv show he has a walk to remember. He saunters. He saunters. Look. That's right. Look, the Deadwood days. Look, I'm not a justified guy.

I like the early stuff. I like the early fans. Sure. The early fans the best. And I also have to say that movie A Walk to Remember was originally going to be about his walk,

the Nicholas Sparks movie, but then they changed it. Like you're getting more gay in between. Oh, bro. Nicholas Sparks. Our second call is to use nouns instead of verbs. For example, how important is it for you to be a voter in this upcoming election

as opposed to how important is it to vote in this upcoming election? This is because people are more likely to vote if they see it as a virtue of their character and not just good behavior. So let's call Priyanka and see if she'll be a voter. Let's do it. Hello?

Hi, is this Priyanka? Yo, Priyanka. Hi. Hey. I'm just calling because these are obviously hard times. Tenet has been delayed again. But even still absolute bullshit if i don't see the next christopher nolan i'm gonna fucking wreck my wardrobe

what's happening sorry um priyanka listen all right do you have a plan priyanka, listen, all right? Do you have a plan, Priyanka, to be a voter in this upcoming election in the same way I have a plan to go tubing? And the way I have a plan to direct stepmom porn? Oh. I'm not sure if our plans are exactly the same, but I do have a plan. So if your plans exist, then similar, I suppose. So you're going to be a voter? That, yes, I can confirm.

That's cool. Do you kick back? I don't know. Like, are you chill kickback? Do I kick back? Cool. He's gagging. He's gagging.

It's fucking unbelievable. Can't hold onto it for two seconds. You know, look, Priyanka, here's the thing. The reason we all need to vote is because, like Vin Diesel once told us, we're a family, and the most important thing in life is family. Oh, yeah. I did hear that, too.

Did you know that Michelle Rodriguez is one of the richest people in the world in terms of acting? That's a gay comment. That's a gay comment. It's true, and not everyone knows it. It's a gay comment. I didn't know that at all, actually. That's completely new information for me.

Yeah. That's good for her, though. I know. I know. Does she have a plan to be a voter are you calling her next yeah we're uh if i can get through hey priyanka uh what's your favorite season of talking dead of what of talking dead the show for true fans of walking dead where they bring on cast members the after show i've never even watched the first like regular walking dead so i have no idea oh my god bro oh my god sorry i'm sorry that is way um hang ten is walking dead even a bro show flip cup yeah i think flip cup flip cup flip cup i like flip cup there you go great and you like being a voter you're gonna be a voter yes just like i'm gonna flip a cup you gotta flip cups as simple as that requires less coordination

actually do you like timothy oliphant's walk what was that nothing i guess oh oh do you priyanka do you think that the mandalorians uh stroll on the desert planet has a feminine energy, or is that just me? Okay, John. Ding-a-ling-a-ding-ding. Ding-dong, the witch is dead. The gay is out. Thank you, Priyanka. Thank you, guys. I don't really know if there was a hard ask in this call, but I— The hard ask was, are you going to be a voter? I'll get straight again. I'll get copy and straight again. Are you going to be a voter, Priyanka? Hell yeah.

Are you going to get an iPhone? I already have one. Cool. iPhones are a straight culture? Have you seen Dickinson on Apple TV? Is Apple TV straight culture? I'm certainly not Dickinson. Have you seen First Dates UK on HBO Max?

No, should I? Is that good? Never even heard of it. Oh, you absolutely should. It's so good. Okay, cool. Do straight people know about John Early? Do they know about him?

Can we find out? I don't know who that is. Oh. And I'm straight. All right. Well, so there it is. Maybe that's a problem. Sorry.

You speak for, you're the representative for straight. I'm such a bad representative of my community, but I mean, it's not necessarily a great community. So release the Zack Snyder cut. All right, Bianca. Thank you. Bye. That was my favorite part. Release the Zack Snyder cut. I thought it was released. I don't even know what movie it's about, but I know that they're releasing. I think it's in process. I think it's in process. I think it's in process. Oh, the Justice League, right? I don't remember, but something's going to appear suddenly on HBO Max.

Okay, great. I have front row seats. HBO Max is straight culture. Quibi is gay culture. Sure. Netflix is straight culture. Prime is straight, I think. Hulu's gay.

Hulu is gay culture. Yep. Hulu is gay culture. You've got Golden Girls. You've got Please Like Me. That's gay culture. Hulu's it. Hulu is it. Yeah, I think culture. Yep. Hulu is gay culture. You got Golden Girls, you got Please Like Me. That's gay culture. Hulu is it. Hulu is it.

Yeah, I think that's right. I think that's right. Hulu is gay culture. Should we do one more of these dumb calls? We're killing it. Yeah, I think they're really effective though. They were making a huge difference. I do.

Hello? Is this Shanti? Yes, it is. All right, this is just two straight guys. This is John. No, no. This is John Lovett. No, it's not.

It's a straight guy. It's a straight guy. I'm a straight guy. You can tell that I'm a straight guy because I carry myself with the unearned confidence of someone who assumes the entire world is built to his preference. Out of the gate, it's a straight bro fail, bro. Out of the gate. Oh my God.

Oh my God. Here's a 60-year-old woman blushing like an 18-year-old kid. I don't understand why you're blushing. You are talking to a lacrosse playing guy who has a poster of a car in his house. I enjoy heterosexual pornography. I'm sorry to say that to you. Yes. But it's something you need to know.

One day, he's got an eye on his Porsche LaRosala. Oh my God, horrible cars. My Bumble picture is me leaning up against a motorcycle. Okay, here's the problem. Both my daughters are happily married. So I am not looking for any heterosexual guys at this point and i have no problem with john being gay so why is this conversation going this way well we just want to make i have to be honest with you

that's really offensive because the world has a problem with heterosexual men right now. Not cool world. Oh, my God. Thank you so much. Shanti, listen. All right. Again, I know you think you're talking to somebody other some other person. I don't know who that person is.

I'm again, just a guy that loves Sopranos episodes where there's a death. Yeah. As opposed to the kind of dream ones where it's a kind of emotional. I don't get those. I don't like those. That's just another example of who I am.

I love all FX content. He likes an Argyle no-show socks. This is the guy you're dealing with. Okay, okay. Here's one other view that I have. Here's one other view I have. Go ahead, go ahead. Football players know what the deal is

when they sign up for the head injuries, all right? They go in with open eyes. Yes. That's a stupid game, yes. Soccer, no, that's a game. Soccer is for, you know, we like that because it's very lesbian and guys like that. Oh.

Brian, in and out of character. Again, I don't know where this gay guy keeps showing up. I'm a straight guy with another straight guy. He's now doing some sort of gay voice, which I find, even though I am a straight person, have come to know is not appropriate. Even though as a child, we constantly

did gay voice because we thought it was funny. Here's the thing, Shanti. I just want to make sure that you have a plan to vote and just want to make sure that you have a plan to vote. And we want to make sure that you understand that there's going to be big turnout. And we really need to make sure everybody turns out because actually complaining about low turnout doesn't work. People are less likely to vote if they think voter turnout will be low. So Shanti, do you understand as one straight person that there's going to be big turnout and you've got to vote in November?

Yes, I do. And if you want to know, we became citizens after that George Bush Al Gore debacle and said, oh, my God, we can't sit on our bus. We need to vote. Let's become citizens and lost all our property in india so that we could vote that's incredible well that's an amazing story and i feel like i need to break character to say how beautiful that is i'm so glad i'm so excited that you get to now make sure you vote to get rid of this guy oh my god yes i can orange julius needs to be out of the white house orange julius caesar orange julius caesar that's not bad i would like to say in character But Orange Julius needs to be out of the White House. Orange Julius Caesar. Orange Julius Caesar. That's not bad.

I would like to say in character that your next 10 Red Bulls and vodkas are on me. I don't like Red Bull, but I am a girly girl when it comes to drinks. So yeah, vodka with et cetera, et cetera. All the sugar. Yes, I'll have. Perfect. Thank you so much. Oh, my God.

Nice to meet you. Thank you both. Thank you. Bye. Bye. Another dunk in the bucket, bro. Dunk in the bucket. It's like you're a fucking alien.

Dunk in the bucket. That's another, look, that's another lacrosse ball through the hoop. Yeah. That's another pigskin out the windows. Goal. Goal. Yeah. Brian Safi.

Oh my God. What a weird and delightful segment this has been. You know, it was nothing I expected, but I loved every second of it. And my hope is we can once again, that in the future, we can once again pretend to be straight in front of a live audience that will just laugh it up, frankly. Yeah, definitely. It will be my,

I'll pray for it every night. Thanks to Brian Safi for joining us and thanks to Juliette, Priyanka, and Shanthi, Dianita's mom, for being our plants because we didn't want to prank call voters. This is not the Jamie Kennedy experiment, my father's favorite show. When we come back, we'll end on a high note.

Don't go anywhere. This is Love It or Leave It, and there's more on the way. Election Day is November 3rd. Between a global pandemic and voter suppression efforts, it's critical to help every American register to vote and ensure that every last vote counts, which includes encouraging as many Americans as possible

to request to vote by mail. VoteSaveAmerica.com is a one-stop shop for voter registration and engagement and has created an amazing hub that compiles the tools you need to request your vote by mail ballot early, to volunteer to call voters, or to be a poll worker and much more. Please visit VoteSaveAmerica.com right now to get involved with every last vote. And we're back. Because we all need it this week, here it is, this week's high notes submitted by our listeners.

Hi, I love it. Something that gave me hope, I was talking to my 93-year-old grandma who lives in Arizona, and she was talking about a book group she was doing via Zoom on white fragility. And that really made me realize that it's never too late to keep learning

about not only new ways to engage with people over Zoom, but also new ways of looking at the world white fragility and that really made me realize that it's never too late to keep learning about not only new ways to engage with people resume but also new ways of looking at the world and our place in it thanks hi love it my name is georgia i'm from london england in case you couldn't tell by the accent and my high note for the week is that a couple of days ago, I came out to a couple of my friends, and I wasn't that sure of how they were going to react. But thankfully, they were very supportive. And yeah, it just felt really good to finally tell some people. So thank you. Hi, my name is Dan Seitz, and I'm an emergency physician in Indianapolis, Indiana.

And my high note for this week is a startup called Voter, V-O-T-E-R.org, that helps emergency room physicians and nurses register patients to vote and request a mail-in ballot. And it's just really awesome to see technology being put to use to help get out the vote in a healthcare setting. Hi, I love it. This is Rose from Orlando, Florida, where the world is exploding. And my highlight of the week is that I applied to work for Elizabeth Warren in the fall as an intern, and I really hope it works out. Yeah, she means a lot to me. She inspired me to lead a student protest at my college this past semester about their horrible treatment of sexual assault cases

and their Title IX process and how horrible it is. So yeah, Dickinson College, drag them. They still need to do better. But she really means a lot to me and has helped me realize that I can make a difference. And I really, really, really hope she lets me help her make a difference in a tiny way being an intern. So yeah, that's my highlight. Thanks. Thanks to everybody who submitted those high notes. If you want to leave us a message about something that gave you hope, you can call us at 424-341-4193. It is 94 days until the election. Sign up for Vote Save America right now to defeat Donald Trump, keep the House and win back the Senate. Thank you to Brian Saf by me, John Lovett, weekend. is our editor and Kyle Seglin is our sound engineer. Our theme song is written and performed by Sure Sure. Thanks to our designers Jesse

McClain and Jamie Skeel for creating and running all of our visuals which you can't see because this is a podcast. And to our digital producers Nar Melkonian and Milo Kim for filming and editing video each week so you can.