No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - Al Franken on expelling the QAnon lawmaker from Congress

Episode Date: January 31, 2021

There have been new revelations about the "QAnon Congresswoman," Marjorie Taylor Greene, that have led to calls for her expulsion; outrage over cancel culture has swept across the right; and Brian interviews Al Franken about the calls for certain lawmakers and Senators to be removed from Congress, whether he’d support it, and the MAGA wing of the party trying to oust the establishment Republicans.Written by Brian Tyler CohenProduced by Sam GraberRecorded in Los Angeles, CAhttps://www.briantylercohen.com/podcast/To help No Lie get matched with the right advertisers, please visit survey.fan/nolie to fill out a brief survey.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today we're going to be talking about the Q&ON supporting Republican lawmaker and some new revelations that have led to calls for her expulsion, the very, very serious issue of cancel culture, and my interview with Al Franken, where we discussed those very calls for certain lawmakers and senators to be removed from Congress, whether he'd support it, and the magoing of the party trying to oust the establishment Republicans. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen, and you're listening to No Lie. So I want to talk about the Q&ON supporting Republican lawmaker from Georgia, Marjorie Taylor. and I wrestled with talking about this on the podcast today because even though I focus on disinformation and bad faith talking points, I also have to tow the line between the kinds of people I want to give exposure to, right? And so I'll weigh the risks between whether it's worth it to air a clip or report on someone to debunk something they said, knowing that by virtue of doing it, I'm only further giving them oxygen. And Marjorie Taylor Green is one of those people

who normally, I would think it would be better to ignore than to give her fringe views another platform. But this week, we got an avalanche of news about Marjorie Taylor Green. Like how in 2018 and 2019, according to posts and comments from her own Facebook page that have since been deleted, she expressed support for the execution of FBI agents who she decided were part of the deep state working against Trump. She indicated support for hanging Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. She called the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland a false flag. She harassed one of the teenage survivors from that shooting on the street and vlogged about it.

Here she is saying that the punishment for treason is being put to death before immediately stating that Nancy Pelosi is guilty of treason. She's a traitor to our country. She's guilty of treason.

She took an oath to protect American citizens and uphold our laws and she gives aid and comfort to our enemies who illegally invade our land. That's what treason is. And by our law,

representatives and senators can be kicked out and no longer serve in our government. And it's a crime punishable by death is what treason is. Nancy Pelosi is guilty of treason and we want her out of our government. And so while one part of me firmly believes that Marjorie Taylor Green definitely belongs in that category of people that I shouldn't give oxygen to, another part of me started thinking about what the right would say if Marjorie Taylor Green was on the left.

And I don't think a single second of a single minute, of a single hour of a single single. day would go by where the Sean Hannity's and Judge Janines and Laura Ingrams wouldn't hyperventilate about her. And so if I refuse to acknowledge her, then I'm basically telling the right, okay, you can pretend that everyone with a pulse on the left is some dangerous radical, but when you actually have a dangerous radical in your ranks on the right, we'll give you a pass. And I really don't have any intention of doing that. And so I think it's important to talk about her for two reasons. One, because this is what a fringe figure looks like. The Fox News universe has been falling over itself pretending that AOC is fringe. AOC is not

fringe. AOC is probably one of the most reasoned people on the left. She fights relentlessly for good governance. She won't buy stocks because she doesn't think members of Congress should own them. She believes in a livable wage, in women's reproductive rights, in bold action for climate change. All of this is popular with Democrats and Republicans. If she's fringe, the whole country is fringe. The reason they call her fringe is because they're afraid of her. She's effective. She's popular. She resonates with the people. She is a threat. And so they branded her something that bears no resemblance to her actual beliefs because it's the only way they can try and neutralize her. But she is not fringe. Marjorie Taylor Green is. But the other reason,

this is what the GOP is now. And that's important to acknowledge. Like, not only can't a single Republican manage to condemn her other than Mitt Romney, big surprise there, but they gave her a pretty coveted committee assignment. She's on the education committee. Marjorie Taylor Green, the woman who called Parkland a false flag and berated a child who survived that school shooting. And so I want to make it clear that at some point, Republicans can't pretend like she's an outlier when they are all embracing her, when she's getting committee assignments, when they repeat the same lies that she tells. She's not the fringe in the GOP.

The GOP as a whole is the fringe. And look, I know you don't need yet another example of projection by the GOP, but when the right calls every Democrat radical because those in the left support health care, support COVID relief, support combating climate change, support a livable wage, they're just overcompensating for the fact that their side is out there suggesting that a secret cabal of Satan worshipping cannibalistic pedophiles is running a global child sex trafficking ring and plotting against Donald Trump. If you want to tell me that the left is radical or fringe or extreme when people like Marjorie Taylor Green not only exist on the right but's embraced on the right, then I'm

sorry, but you are living on a different planet. Up to now, I've pretty much opposed what I think could be like resistance, Twitter-style calls for expulsion, but not for Marjorie Taylor Green. I think her presence there poses a clear and present danger to the people she works with. Nowhere else in this country should you be expected to go to work with someone who calls for you to be executed. But for some reason, Democrats have to in Congress? And if she's held accountable, then it's censorship? That's the new play now.

Republicans can be seditious. They can be homicidal. They can be fringe lunatics. And if there's any effort whatsoever to hold them responsible for their own words, then they're somehow the victims because the left is canceling them. This is the party that once branded itself the party of personal responsibility. And just to stay on this issue for another second, I will never understand why the right thinks that by going on air and complaining about being canceled, again, for their own words and their own actions, that that is somehow going to appeal to the American people. Like, we're in the middle of a pandemic, a jobs crisis, an economic recession, and Republicans being broadcast into American's living rooms, think that the issue that's going to resonate with them is censorship? First of all, they're not being censored.

They're on Fox News every day. That is, by definition, not censorship. But second of all, people need to eat. They need to pay their rent. They need to keep the heat on. They need to survive this virus. And their elected officials who make $174,000 a year are whining that they don't get. a free pass for calling for Pelosi to be executed, the priorities of Republicans in office

couldn't be more detached from the people they serve. As if cancel culture is a thing for anyone else in the world other than the people who are being held to account for doing or saying something terrible. As if the family of four in North Dakota trying to get by is worried about censorship. It is bad enough that Republicans created this crisis by kowtowing to Trump and taking every step imaginable to let this virus and the accompanying economic downturn thrive. But instead of finally, finally doing something about it, their focus is trained on cancel culture? Give me a break. So two things need to happen and they need to happen simultaneously. The first is that these lunatics on the right need to be called out because

there is only one group of radicals in this country and it is not the people out there trying to get you relief checks and a $15 to minimum wage. This is not normal and we shouldn't accept any efforts to normalize it. And the other thing is that Democrats need to govern

and deliver what they promise to the American people with or without Republican support because the only way the right wins is that they can prove that government doesn't work. They rely on the dysfunction and the chaos and the division

because it exclusively helps them. They're the only party who touts small government. That's why even the presence of fringe lunatics doesn't bother them because making Washington look like a circus is the point, even if it's only one side doing it. But so long as we continue to govern and to do it effectively, then Americans will continue to recognize

that there is way too much at stake to waste our tax dollars putting conspiracy theorists and clout chasers in Congress. Next step is my interview with Al Franken. Okay, today we have Al, it's always a pleasure to have you on. Always pleasure to be on. So since the last time we spoke, looks like our Jewish space lasers are no longer, a secret, so that's a bummer.

Yeah, well, they were bound to find out about it, one thing. The one thing we had left. I know. So in all seriousness, I do want to talk about some of these Republican lawmakers. In just the last few weeks, we have people like Lauren Bobert and Marjorie Taylor Green,

you know, who've cheered on the mob that storm the Capitol. Green is an avowed Q&on supporter. She said the Parkland shooting was a false flag. I could go on and on. Yeah. Have we officially crossed the line from obstructionist Republicans to dangerous ones? Yeah, they're dangerous.

I mean, what they did on January 6th, I mean, and leading up to it in terms of spreading this idea that there was fraud in the election is dangerous and has been, and it was part of what led to the storming of the Capitol and five people dying. and all of these people should be investigated. There should be hearings in terms of what kind of contact these people had with people who invaded the Capitol.

And also, it should go, for I was in the Senate, Cruz and Hawley and some of the others, definitely the same thing. And I mean an ethics investigation where they get their emails, where they look at all their emails. where they interview their staff, their political staff, as well as their communications staff, and their emails and find out what they were saying to, they were talking to these organizers if they knew about it.

Also, that they knew that these allegations were a fraud, were just false. And then I think they should be expelled after that. Yeah, so, I mean, a lot of people are, calling for expulsion from Congress for Marjorie Taylor Green. There was a bill introduced by Democratic lawmaker Jimmy Gomez. They're also calling for the same thing for Cruz and Holly. What's your take on that and whether and the likelihood of it actually happening? Well, I think, again, I think they should first do an investigation. Right. Now, there isn't that

much investigating to do on her, but I mean, you could argue that she represents her caucus. so I don't know if you got rid of her also you need two-thirds of the body so there were I think 147 Republicans who voted to challenge right doesn't bode well for for the prospect of having two-thirds of the yeah but there should be a real ethics investigation and finding out exactly what her history I mean she She's the thing of Hillary Clinton killed a young woman. Clinton and Barack Obama, yeah. Well, actually, she also said that Hillary Clinton filleted a young woman's face

or something and drank her blood. I mean, it's disgusting and sick, and she should not be anywhere near. She was elected. And again, she kind of represents the Republicans in a caucus to some degree. Yeah. Adam Kinsinger tweeted out that Marjorie Taylor Green quote is not a Republican. There are many who claim the title of Republican who have nothing in common with our core values. They are rhinos. She is a rhino. That was his tweet. At what point when you have nearly the whole party supporting her, are they no longer rhinos?

Do they become the actual Republican Party? Unfortunately, they seem to be the Republican Party right now. And it seems to still be Trump's party. Let's see how this impeachment comes. goes. You know, as Adam Schiff said in his closing statement, you all know that he'll do this again. You just know that, right? They know he'll do it again if he gets to run again and that he could win and that this guy has everything he did was illegal. I mean, what he did, the phone call to the secretary of state of Georgia, that was criminal. He said, find me one more boat than I need, which is, what was it, 11,870?

1,780, yeah. Yeah, 780. One more than he lost by. And what would that have looked like? What would the Secretary of State gun? Would he have had a press conference and said, well, we've looked at it again and Trump won by one boat? And then, you know, at the press conference, did you do a recount? No, no.

we just we found 11,780 votes and they were all for Trump yes and zero for Biden uh-huh and where'd you find him uh in a box in a box yeah where was the box under a table so you're saying I mean that's what Trump was asking for I mean what was not even trying to be discreet or subtle just like just make it happen we don't care like optics out the window he actually did he said give me a break give me a break come on just throw the election for me you know just give me a break i want it you know i want it we're in a bad place right now aren't we it's it's uh this is really bad and my worry is is that Republicans in the Senate will not vote to convict. And they'll be doing exactly the same thing they did last time,

except this time I think there'll be witnesses and stuff because Democrats are in the majority, so they can dictate that. Yeah. So, but I'm sure Jamie Raskin will put it to him saying, you know, if he's allowed to run again, he will. And if he does, he could win. And we did. That'd be the end of our country.

There's a part of me that's like that I'm trying to reconcile between saying like, okay, if you don't want to hold Donald Trump accountable and he runs again in 2024, which he will inevitably do, and he's already shown us that he can't win a general election because look how many people came out to vote against him to ensure that he didn't get a second term, to reconcile that with the fact that, well, at the same time, he could win. And so you can't even celebrate the prospect. of them putting forward a failed candidate because it's not a sure thing

that he'd even be a failed candidate. And so they could have the last laugh in the end, you know? Again, when he said, you know who he is, you know who this man is, and they do. Yeah. And that man needs to be convicted for the crimes he committed and needs to be sanctioned

so that he can't run again for anything. But first you've got to convict him. in order to get to that, and then that is only on a majority. But getting two-thirds of the Senate is going to be hard, and it's going to be hard because so many of these Republicans come from red states where they think their only challenge, possible challenge, would come from the right in the primary, and they're not going to lose in a general because their state is so red.

And that's too bad, because what that means is they don't care really about principle and they don't really care about our democracy. And that's, that is sad. That is sad. And but I think it just happens to be the case. They care about their careers. And I've seen that. Well, Matt Gates had gone to Wyoming to start beef with Liz Cheney. And I think we hear in the media a lot how there are these intraparty disputes and there's Dems and Disarray and Republicans in disarray. And they prop up these stories because they get people reading and their sexy stories. But But this is, I think, a literal fight for the future of the Republican Party. So, you know, I can't believe I'm saying this.

But if we are unfortunate enough to see Liz Cheney lose in Wyoming, does the GOP devolve into like just a full-blown MAGA party? I mean, already the ones that we have left are I can, you know, count him on one hands between Liz Cheney now and Adam Kinsinger and Mitt Romney. And there's really not much more beyond that. Yeah, I guess there were 10 in the house. And, you know, I mean, he wants her primaried. So it would be Liz Chained.

It's, you know, it's an at-large, you know, seat. So it's the whole state of Wyoming. I remember the NZs and my wife and I used to throw pizza parties for the pages, every, you know, every class of the pages. And I remember Diana Enzi saying, Mike Enzi was a senator from Wyoming that just retired. And she, at one of the pizza dinners for the pages, said to them, you know, when we go back to Wyoming,

and we don't ask whether people were Republicans or Democrats. And I said, well, you don't have to because they're all Republicans. And so, I mean, that, you know, whoever, yeah, I mean, that'll be a good test of whether this, what the party is, but it's, I don't know. I, my suspicion is, is that she could lose. And, but I think she will have a political future in some way anyway, because, um, I think what she did was a stand-up thing to do.

And the way she did it was, she did it in a stand-up way. I'm not a big fan of the Cheney's, you know. Yeah. Just to make this disclaimer for people watching, this is not a Cheney apologist interview right now, but it's just, it just goes to show how bad, you know, how bad that other wing of the party is. Yeah, but what she did was a very stand-up thing, and she didn't, I guess, didn't have to do it. But my God, it's, this guy is such an anomaly. He's so awful and distinct from anyone that's ever gone before.

and we need to really be rid of him for good. And I hope that can happen in the impeachment, but I don't know if it will. The last time you spoke about how when you were in the Senate, you suggested people walking through metal detectors. Well, what it was was, is that there were a number of berthers in the House of Representatives. Right.

And if you're a birther, then you think that President Obama It's illegitimately president. So my feeling was, how can we trust these guys that's crazy? How can you trust these guys? Make them go through a metal detector on the way into the chamber for the state of the union. And I actually pitched that to my chief staff who said, no, you can't do that. But I felt that it would, that's how crazy it is to say, you know, that, Barack Obama wasn't born in Honolulu and he was born in Kenya.

If you think this guy isn't a legitimate president, you have these people here, like, yeah, I mean, you know, if you don't think he's the actual president, then yeah. Why wouldn't you do that? I mean, and your logic, right? But they basically, you know, laughed it off. Turns out they took you up on that now. There are literal metal detectors walking into Congress. So I guess what's it like to see something that got you laughed at?

suddenly become reality. But didn't get me laughed at. It got me, it just got my chief staff going like, no, you can't do that. That's not laugh at. But this was, you know, this was a, I was trying to make a statement about how absurd their stance was and just absurd and how evil and crazy it was to be accusing the President of the United States of, you know, of. being born in Kenya and not being legally the president. And, okay, if you want to do that, go through a metal detector. So I just want to do that.

And those are the kinds of things that maybe sometimes I regret not having done because I think they would have made a good point. And now there are Republicans that are talking about going into the chamber with guns. Yeah. I mean, maybe if every member of Congress carried, then you wouldn't have a get. know, a mob, um, come in and try to, you know, it would have been a lot of carnage. Yeah. Or maybe not. I don't know. It was, yeah. I think it's a bad idea to allow them to do that.

They're, they're pretty awful. And the ones that won't wear masks, including Marjorie, uh, green. And, uh, that's pretty, pretty awful people that, um, and it's got. gotten there pretty fast. Not that there weren't awful people there before, but I mean, this is, this is, uh, we're at the point where I'd rather trade these awful people for the awful people who were there when you were there in a heartbeat, you know, like those awful people don't seem as bad relative to the awful people that we have now. Yeah, you know, remember when Tom DeLay was really awful?

Gone are the quaint days where, uh, Dick Cheney would just shoot somebody in the face and get away with it, you know, so. Yeah, I remember that was not deliberate. No, I know, I know. All right. Well, Al, thank you so much for taking the time. It's always great speaking with you. I appreciate it. I'm not a big fan of the Cheney's, but I just want to go on record. That was, I think that was an accident. Vice President Cheney didn't deliberately shoot a friend in the face. I believe. Thanks again to Al Franken. That's it for this episode. Talk to you next week. You've been listening to No Lie with Brian Tyler Coen, produced by Sam Graber, music by Wellesie, interviews captured and edited for YouTube

and Facebook by Nicholas Nicotera, and recorded in Los Angeles, California. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe on your preferred podcast app, feel free to leave a five-star rating and a review, and check out Brian Tyler Cohen.com for links to all of my other channels.