No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - DeSantis' migrant stunt backfires spectacularly

Episode Date: September 18, 2022

Ron DeSantis’ migrant stunt backfires in spectacular fashion. Brian interviews North Carolina’s Democratic nominee for the US Senate, Cheri Beasley, about how she plans on stemming the rightward trend in North Carolina and what electing her opponent would mean for abortion rights. And the Democratic nominee for California’s 41st congressional district, Will Rollins, joins to discuss running in one of the country’s most flippable districts and his thoughts on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago scandal as a former federal prosecutor. Support Cheri Beasley: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/cjbnatbtcSupport Will Rollins: https://willrollinsforcongress.com/Shop merch: https://briantylercohen.com/shopYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/briantylercohenTwitter: https://twitter.com/briantylercohenFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/briantylercohenInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/briantylercohenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/briantylercohenNewsletter: https://www.briantylercohen.com/sign-upWritten by Brian Tyler CohenProduced by Sam GraberRecorded in Los Angeles, CASee 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 talk about Ron DeSantis' migrant stun and how it backfired. I interview North Carolina's Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, Sherry Beasley, about how she plans on stemming the right-word turn in North Carolina and what electing her opponent would mean for abortion rights. And I'm joined by the Democratic nominee for California's 41st Congressional District, Will Rollins, about running in one of the country's most flippable districts and his thoughts on Trump's Mar-a-Lago scandal as a former federal prosecutor. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen, and you're listening to No Lie.

So by now you've likely heard that a group of about 50 migrants was flown to Martha's Vineyard. That's a stunt that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took credit for. The flight came from Texas but was paid for by DeSantis and the migrants on board were promised a job, housing, and that they would land in Boston because that was a sanctuary city. Instead, they were sent to a remote island off the coast of Massachusetts where there were no jobs and no housing because lying to these people wasn't their concern. Their concern was just getting them on the plane. On the plane, by the way, with a videographer, according to Democratic Congressman Bill Keating, who represents Martha's vineyard.

Actually, it's quite a contrast. You had a Republican governor from Florida, and a governor here who was also a Republican. It was like the tale of two governors, one, using public resources rather extravagantly. Evidently, maybe I heard on the vineyard that they would tell me he sent his own video photographer to get on. on this, so he could use it for his own advantage. And then his pay for political spokesperson was immediately taking credit, if you want to call it, credit for doing something that was clearly a political stunt. DeSantis sent a videographer with migrants so that he could capture the reactions of the Democrats

who he was trying to screw over. Like, if there was any doubt about the extent to which this stunt was solely intended to hurt people. From the migrants to the residents who receive them, that should be put to rest. But remember, pro-life. Now, what Republicans were hoping would happen is that, you know, the wealthy Democrats who live on Martha's Vineyard would be so disturbed by the mere presence of these people that they lose their minds and demand they be removed. And then conservatives could point to that and say, see, you're all hypocrites. Except that's not what happened. The residents of Martha's Vineyard immediately sprang to action when these people arrived. They put them up in whatever temporary

accommodations they could provide, they fed them home-cooked meals, they made them feel welcome. In other words, the party of Jesus Christ himself decided to use human beings as political props because they expected the people of Massachusetts to react how they would have reacted. And instead, all of those godless heathens up in that blue state treated the migrants with decency and respect and humanity. Now, ultimately, let's remember one thing. Martha's Vineyard is an island. It's not equipped to handle 50 migrants, the same way it's not equipped to handle 50 permanent

residents of any national origin, and especially with zero warning beforehand like the Republicans gave them. What they could do was what they did. Massachusetts governor, Charlie Baker, who is a Republican, had them transported to a base in Cape Cod where the state was able to provide shelter, food, and essential services. Baker also activated 125 members of the State National Guard to help. And so what did Republicans take away from this? That the Democrats deported them. Ted Cruz logged on Twitter and posted relentlessly, even in response to the to my own tweet that the migrants were deported, except I'm not sure that Ted knows what deported means,

considering these people were transported to a different city in the same state that could actually offer the services that these migrants needed. Like somehow Republicans looked at that situation and saw deportation. And let's just be honest here, this was the story they were always going to run with. Republicans knew from the start that an island

could not handle 50 residents who needed shelter, jobs, and social services, meaning that their little deportation tweets were written the moment that that plane took off. What they were actually looking for, though, was for the people of Martha's Vineyard to respond in a certain way, the way that Republicans respond to these people, in effect. The people of Martha's Vineyard didn't.

Like, they fed them, they housed them as well as they could. They were kind to them. They treated them with humanity. But that wouldn't work for these Republicans. And so they just ignored all of that and ran with their deportation tweets and stories anyway. Like the New York Post's headline was liberals deport migrants,

which is one way. to describe sending them to the closest city so that they could have everything they needed to survive. In other words, when the GOP didn't get the reaction they needed out of this stunt, they just pretended they did and ran with that anyway. And so, you know, I've covered this story, I'm covering it now,

and I'm sitting here thinking to myself, am I doing the Republicans' work for them? Like, this is what the GOP wants to run on, immigration, right? They need to figure out some way to stop people from talking about abortion rights, and so they cooked up a stunt and they got what they wanted. So on that point, First off, Republicans can lie about what happened on Martha's Vineyard, but in reality,

they didn't get the story they wanted. Like, I argue that they got the opposite. They wanted the people of Martha's Vineyard to treat those migrants the same way that Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott and Donald Trump and the Republican Party treat those migrants. Instead, those Massachusetts liberals, those godless Democrats, show them nothing but compassion and empathy and kindness. And in doing so, they highlighted the depravity of the GOP. They highlighted the extent to which the Republican Party views these human beings as props.

Like, my God, they are people. I know they're not non-viable embryos, but they're still important, right? They still matter even though they've actually been born, right? And the fact that the so-called pro-life party doesn't understand that, really does betray some deep-rooted issues within that party's branding. But with that said, you know, the truth is that Republicans largely exist in a closed-loop media ecosystem. And they're not going to get the full picture of what happened at Martha's Vineyard anyway. So I think, speaking more broadly, it's best not to allow them to dictate the narrative

because us talking about immigration instead of talking about reproductive rights is exactly what they want, even if the immigration narrative does just go to show just how morally bankrupt they are. So I think that what we can do now is know, first, that Republicans will continue to pull these stunts because they are that desperate to redirect the conversation ahead of midterms and not to take the bait. And second, make sure that we're focused on what we need to be. focusing on, which is that this election coming up is a referendum on one party's extremism.

This is a party that wants to strip you of your bodily autonomy by banning abortions nationwide. It's a party that wants to strip other privacy rights like same-sex marriage and contraception. This is a party that wants to eliminate Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid. It's a party that wants to ban books, to prohibit the acknowledgement of the existence of LGBT Americans, to lock up doctors who don't comport with their theocratic agenda. This party serves only the farthest fringes of the Republican base. They're too extreme for America, and no matter how many desperate stunts they pull,

they're not going to change what this election is about. That they're pulling these stunts is only a validation of the fact that they know that they're on the wrong side of these issues and are desperate to ensure that no one notices. Next up is my interview with Sherry Beasley. Now we've got the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in North Carolina. Sherry Beasley, thank you so much for coming on. Brian, thank you so much for having me. Of course.

So how is the race looking so far? Can you give, like, a snapshot of where everything stands fewer than two months out now? You know, I'm really excited about where we are in this race. We have a lot of enthusiasm in North Carolina. This is a people-powered campaign and really excited. I'm so thankful that, you know, we are reaching out to folks all over the state, 100 counties we've visited all of them and hearing from them about why they're really concerned in this election cycle. And we're touching folks.

We're knocking doors and texting and note card writing and all of that and really seeing a lot of energy and support in this race. Now, North Carolina is a swing state that had been trending red in recent years. And granted, while that outlook has gotten better in recent months, thanks to legislative wins and obviously the Supreme Court overturning row, midterms for the party in power are still traditionally, you know, a tough sell. So how do you overcome both those traditional barriers? and North Carolina's inching to the right? You know, I think it really is. Having won two statewide elections, thankfully, for the people in our state,

two contested statewide elections. And we're really building upon those relationships in this election cycle. And there is a lot of enthusiasm. Certainly the Doves decision has had some impact on this race. And, you know, there are people who are afraid about that decision. and really want to know that the next senator is going to fight hard to lower costs, but that she will also fight hard to protect our constitutional rights, and that's exactly what I'm committed to.

And my opponent, on the other hand, Congressman Ted Budd, has been very clear that he supports an absolute ban on abortion, even in the cases of rape, incest, or risk to a mother's health, and that's completely out of step with where people are in North Carolina and across this country. That's a good segue into this question. I'm wondering what's the most resonant issue with North Carolinians? Because, you know, I know North Carolina isn't California or New York. So what works best in terms of reaching out to voters in your state? You know, I think it's fair to say. We are the ninth largest state in the nation. We're about a third of the folks who live there earn less than $15 an hour. And so so many people are working two and three jobs to take care of their families. And one of the primary issues really is rising costs. People are feeling everything from the pain at the pump to even though gas prices are coming down some to prescription drug costs and everything in between. And so it's important to talk about that and to listen to folks about how critical these issues are for them and to commit to making sure that we're fighting hard to lower costs. My opponent, on the other hand, has been very clear

where his allegiance is. Congress and Bud, in every opportunity to vote in favor of the interests of people in North Carolina has voted against us. And he, in fact, has taken corporate pack money from Big Pharma and voted against lowering prescriptions. drug costs. He has taken corporate pack money from big oil companies and voted against lowering gas prices. And he and his family farm have bankrupted farmers at the tune of about $50 million in North Carolina and across this country. So his interests are clear, which are corporate and special interests and not the interests of the people in North Carolina. What about the issue of Roe? And we touched upon this earlier. But how has Roe?

Roe changed the electorate? Because prior to Roe, it was pretty easy to fit people into boxes based on age, on socioeconomic status, on income and race. How has Roe changed all of that in North Carolina, as you've seen so far on the campaign trail? You know, I think it's fair to say that I've been a judge for over two decades. And I know that for nearly 50 years, North Carolinians in this country enjoyed a constitutionally protected right to make their own health care decisions and reproductive freedom without government interference. And so to see that the court has now taken this constitutional right and freedom away is jolting for a lot of folks. And I do believe it's the kind of issue that galvanizes

all of us across the state as diverse as the state is. We're urban and rule and exurban and black, white, Native American, and people get it. The majority of North Carolina means really do support making row the law. And just the other night I had a grandfather call me and tell me that he was really afraid for his granddaughters and what this court's decision means for them and for all of us. And so I'm fully committed to fighting hard to protect our constitutional freedoms and respecting the rule of law. And my opponent has been very clear that he won't do that. Has there been any softening of his stance now that he's pivoting into the general like we've seen from other candidates for Senate across the country?

You know, I don't know to the extent to which he is talking about these kinds of things, but, you know, we know where he stands with big pharma and big oil and corporations and special interests. We know where he stands on an absolute ban on abortion, even in exceptional cases of rape, ancestor, risk to a mother's health. And so we know where he stands on reproductive freedom. And I don't know him, but I do know that actions speak louder than words. And I know that when people show you who they are, you better believe him. And he just does not speak for North Carolinians or for people in this country. Can you speak a little bit about what's at stake more broadly from a national perspective if Ted Budd were to win this race, if Republicans were more broadly to be able to take the Senate? You know, I think for people in North Carolina, this really is.

is about having a senator who's going to be an advocate who stands up for what we care about in our state. And for every opportunity, Congressman Budd has had to vote for us. He has voted against us on lowering gas prices. He's voted against us on lowering prescription drugs and on affordable health care access. And he's voted against our farmers' interests and agriculture is a top industry in North Carolina. He voted against the CHIPS legislation, which allows us to make our own semiconductors in North Carolina. And he's turned us back on our veterans. And North Carolina has the highest number of veterans per capita in the country. And we have lots of veterans who've been exposed to toxic burn pits and contaminated water. And they need our support. And I think we have a

duty to make sure that we're looking out for our veterans. They've certainly, you know, fulfill their duty to us. And we need a senator who's going to stand for what. what's right, that she will call out what's wrong and that she will lead courageously. And by the way, just the irony of having to do that, of having Democrats have to tell Republicans that they should do that after years and years and years of grandstanding about how important it was to support the troops. And then when push comes to shove and it's time to finally put their money where their mouth is, you know, it's just Democrats who are going to vote to push funding forward through the PACT Act, for example, to actually get these veterans' health care.

You know, North Carolina Republicans for the last decade have been among the most anti-democratic in the nation. Like North Carolina had one of, if not the worst gerrymanders in the entire United States. So how have you been relaying the danger of a party that has shown us, that has broadcast that it doesn't care about fair representation? Well, I think for all of the many issues that impact people in North Carolina, whether we're talking about lowering costs or protecting. voting rights or reproductive freedom or making sure that we're bringing good paying jobs to

North Carolina or the climate crisis, it is important for folks to realize that these really are not partisan issues. I mean, if you don't have access to affordable health care, it doesn't matter whether Democrat, Republican, or independent. If it's you or someone you love who can't afford your prescription drugs and you're missing doses and splitting pills, it doesn't matter whether whether you're Democrat, Republican, or independent, or don't have access to clean air or clean water. I mean, these are not partisan issues. And I think so many people in North Carolina really are tired of the pettiness of partisan politics and just want to know that the next senator is going to commit to serving all of North Carolina.

And that is my commitment. We won't see that out of Congressman Ted, but, I mean, he's been in the Congress for six years and he's had every opportunity to show us what he's made of. And he's failed to do that. Or actually, he has. He's shown us that he's going to support corporate and special interests, but he's not going to stand up for North Carolina. Yeah. And even just more broadly, like we've already seen when you take the legislative achievements of the past Republican administration where the biggest legislative accomplishment was a tax cut for millionaires and billionaires versus everything that's been passed now from the American Rescue Plan to the infrastructure package to the Inflation Reduction Act, chips, packed, and obviously adding 10 million jobs and whatnot. So I think those are especially clear.

And we've even heard from Kevin McCarthy. I know that's in the House and you're running for the Senate. But we've heard from Kevin McCarthy that if the Republicans are able to take the majority in Congress, that their priority is going to be investigations into Hunter Biden and whatever other Fox News fever dream. They've been served up by Sean Hannity and Laura Ingram. Well, I think you wonderfully make the point that it's important to be focused on legislation that works for people in this country and in North Carolina and not. creating division. Just fighting some culture war. I mean, we just, I mean, there's too much at stake

and people really are looking for someone who's going to take this job seriously, and Congress and Butt is just not the one. He is extreme, and folks should know that. What do you say to an independent or a Republican who may have never voted for a Democrat before, but who sees that Republicans are leveraging their attacks against democracy or their attacks against women's reproductive rights and basically can't stomach it? Like, how do you get someone in the center and the right who is maybe going to stay home to instead come out and vote for you? Well, I do hope that people realize that these issues really are not partisan, that North Carolina needs a senator who's not afraid to fight and to stand up for what's right for our state. But also,

that we have to be thinking about today, but we also have to be thinking about the next generations. And none of us want the next generations to have fewer constitutional freedoms or fewer opportunities. We are all working so hard. And I think the other piece about that is, you know, really regardless of party affiliation, most of us share common values around caring about our families and are working hard in our communities and making sure that our institutions are strong. We all want a strong economy. And we want to know that the next senator is going to fight hard for that. And what I know is that we really can be united. And this country has faced some real challenges. And what we know is that when we're challenged, that we really can

be united even when we disagree. And constructive disagreement actually makes us stronger. So we should not listen to pundits and naysayers about what our core values are. And we should really want to know that the next senator from North Carolina shares our values around hard work and faith and integrity and doing what's best for our state and our country. Have you had any encounters with Republicans, for example, on the campaign trail that have been especially memorable? You know, I have. The fact that they are a part of our events speaks volumes. And the fact that they do see that we're all, we must be committed to fighting for the state and for our country and for our future. But the grandfather that I talked about earlier is a Republican who's worried about his granddaughters. And for him, it's not a partisan issue. It's a family issue. And it does make sense to me that for people who care about our state and our country, that we're able to, and really have an obligation to look past party to make sure that our senators are making the Senate decisions that work for us. And right now, the Senate is not working for North Carolina. Are you satisfied with the attention that North Carolina has gotten, that the North Carolina Senate race has gotten so far amid all of the other midterm races?

You know, I'm very thankful that we have a lot of energy in the state for sure. And people, you know, across the country really understand why North Carolina is so important. So I'm very thankful for that. I'm thankful that there really is a lot of energy, that people are excited, that we're feeling a real groundswell in movement and engagement in the state. And that's exactly what it's going to take to be successful in this race. And I'll also say that, you know, we know what we're doing is working. I mean, Ted Budd and his allies, have long since started spending millions of dollars to distort my judicial record. And they don't do that unless they know that we can win this race and that they really can lose. How was your time on the court? How has that informed the campaign that you're running now? Like, what was, has there been a specific catalyst or something that's worried you or energized you more than anything else that's caused you'd run? You know, having served as a judge for over two decades and serving as the chief justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, I know that Washington really has failed families in North Carolina. And as Chief

Justice, I worked really hard to start our first human trafficking court to make sure that we were protecting victims and holding traffickers accountable, address the school to prison pipeline to keep our students in our classrooms and not our courtrooms, and also created the first paid family leave policy for the judicial branch to make sure that our employees could balance work and family. And it's important for the next senator to be engaged and to think about leadership in those terms. And it's also really important to have a respect for the rule of law and the Constitution. I certainly did that as a judge and I'll certainly do that as a senator. Now, let's finish off with this. How can we best help your campaign?

Well, I do hope that people will go to my website, sherrybeasley.com, for more information. But I would ask that people be engaged, that we would love to have them join us. There are ways in which they can be engaged without ever leaving their homes. And certainly we'd love to have them come to North Carolina if they have a chance to do that. But we are the best ambassadors for good, right? And so as people talk about the importance of this race, it's important that we talk with our colleagues and the people in our civic groups and our faith groups and everybody around us so that we know that this race is important for North Carolina, but it's also really important for the nation.

So we'd love to have folks join Team Beasley. If they go to my website, they can certainly do that. Great, and we'll put that link in the post-description of this video as well. Sherri Beasley, thank you so much for taking the time and best of luck in the campaign show. Thank you, Brian. What a pleasure. Now we've got the Democratic nominee for California's 41st congressional district, Will Rollins. Thanks so much for coming on. Thank you so much for having me, Brian.

So let's start off with this. You were a former federal prosecutor. Can you talk about what it's like, given your background, to see Trump continue to commit these crimes with apparent impunity, you know, from generally. January 6th all the way to most recently what occurred at Mar-a-Lago. And I say impunity because, you know, thus far we've yet to see anyone from the DOJ to the New York AG to the Fulton County AG indict him thus far. Yeah, I mean, I got into this race because I believe in the rule of law and I spent five

years as a federal prosecutor specializing in counterterrorism and counterintelligence cases. And as somebody who had, you know, security clearance who understands that human life is at stake when you put classified documents out in the open, when our allies security is at risk, our own national security, of course, at risk when nuclear weapons-related material, as was reportedly stored at Mar-a-Lago, is out there in the open for adversaries to gain access to. That's horrifying, and it should really motivate anybody, regardless of political party, to step up for the rule of law and protecting our national security. secrets. And, you know, I think that the Justice Department has understandably wanted to move

cautiously. And Merrick Garland, we've seen for the last couple of years, has been moving cautiously. It's just in the last couple of weeks, they've reached a stage of their investigation where they clearly believed that they needed to move into that overt part of it, which is executing a search warrant. And I think based on the public reporting we've seen, very understandable that they would do that at Marilago because, again, those national security secrets don't belong to any one president. They belong to the American people. And a lot of people fought and died to give us those national security secrets. And it's really up to us as the American people would respond to this in November. From your experience, if anyone else did what he did with regard to these classified

documents at Maralago, what would happen to them? So, look, I mean, the fact that a special master was appointed is very unusual. And the fact that the Justice Department was willing to get in a lot of latitude and have back and forth and, you know, then seeing some of what he's responded to and some of the excuses that he's come up with in the last couple of weeks saying, oh, you know, I declassified these at the time. Well, he never told the Justice Department that during meetings that they had at Mar-a-Lago, according to what we've seen in the reporting. So anybody else, And look, the Republicans, I think rightly and Democrats alike, when Hillary Clinton, the investigation there was going on, you know, people understandably were concerned about the possibility that classified information had been spilled into some unclassified systems. We can't have a double standard.

That should be true for anybody, no matter which party you belong to. And that's why in this instance, and for anybody who really puts our national security secrets at risk, there needs to be. accountability and the FBI absolutely from everything we've seen reported is acting appropriately to protect those secrets. All right. So let's switch over to your race right now. Tell me about your district. What happened to the seat in redistricting and how flippable is it? So it's very flippable. It went from a Trump plus seven when I launched this campaign in October to a toss up essentially now where we've got an edge in registration.

Democrats actually gained 8,000 voters since January. Excuse me, 2,000 voters over the last eight months. And Republicans lost 1,000 voters, which I think also tells you something about the trajectory of the country and where the political environment is at this moment. Your district includes Palm Springs. Now, I know Palm Springs well. I've got a ton of friends who live there. Palm Springs also has a huge LGBT population. So first, can you talk about how that relates to Ken Calvert, who is the Republican in this district? Sure. So he's got a 30-year career of being one of the most anti-LGBQ members in Congress. He started his political career in 1992 by outing his political opponent. He voted against gay marriage. He voted against gay

adoptions. He voted against the Matthew Shepard hate crimes bill in 2009, which was just designed to give law enforcement the ability to go after people who target people in hate crimes just for being gay. He voted against repealing don't ask, don't tell. And so when we've got a big LGBTQ population in our district. And, you know, I got into this race again, in part because I had wanted to serve in national security since September 11th, but couldn't because I was closeted gay kid and didn't feel like I wanted to enlist and be outed and made my way into DOJ in a different capacity. But that kind of a contrast. And if I'm elected, being a second openly gay guy in the house ever from California, I think is really going to resonate with voters.

Can you expand on that a little bit? What does it mean to you to be able to run against an open homophob in a district that includes a place like Palm Springs as an openly gay man? I mean, visibility is important for our community. And I always say, you know, visibility is important because it's morally right that this country support people no matter who they love or what they look like. But it's not just morally right. It's better for our economy and for our national security. And that's why Calvert is scary. enough now to try to change his views on this subject because he knows that the American people

agree with me on that. And so being visible for our community and saying, look, people have value to contribute to our military, for example, you know, Arabic linguists being discharged after 9-11 for being gay. That hurts our national security. And so it's, I'm really proud to be campaigning out and to be standing up for our community. Because when when we succeed, the country succeeds, and that's how we compete in the 21st century. I think a lot of what we're seeing right now in this next phase of the assault on privacy rights is the GOP's attack on same-sex marriage. Can you talk a little bit about that and why it's significant that you're running right now at a time when the GOP is setting their sights on not only Roe, but same-sex marriage as well? Yeah, I mean, look, the Republicans have won the popular vote for the White House twice since 1987.

They've got a six-three majority on the U.S. Supreme Court, despite the vast majority of Americans, their choices for president over the last 30 years. And so it's crucial that we have people who stand up for our own values and what the vast majority of us believe. That's how democracy is supposed to function. And so, you know, there's checks and balances on that branch. And making sure that we have a candidate who keeps the government out of our bedrooms is absolutely crucial. And that's why at this point in time, unfortunately, in our country's history, only one party is standing up for that. And when you've got an opponent like Ken Calvert,

who's voting against the contraception legislation that passed two months ago through the House, and then who joined the lawsuit to overturn Roe and thinks it's okay to prosecute women and their doctors, the country has to respond to that to make sure we get the kind of protections we need to keep government out of our bedrooms. On that exact issue of Roe,

obviously that's one of the biggest issues facing us today. And so we're contending with the Republican Party's assault on abortion and reproductive rights. Can you outline the difference between you and Ken Calvert on this issue? Yeah. I mean, again, this is somebody who started his career opposing abortion rights. He has fought for three decades to overturn Roe. He joined the lawsuit recently to overturn Roe. He's voted in the past to allow child predators to sue to prevent their victims from getting an abortion. Again, just voted against the contraception bill. He's voted for legislation that would have made it legal to prosecute doctors who provided abortions to women who were told that their pregnancies were no longer

viable. These are extremely radical views for Southern California, and nobody should be fooled by any attempt to moderate at this point, because 70% of this congressional district believes that women should have reproductive freedom and that they should have control over their own destinies, and I stand with them in this fight, and I'm absolutely committed to making sure that the government it protects them in their private medical decisions yeah i would also contend that these are radical views anywhere i mean if kansas has shown us anything it's that it's that americans across the political spectrum even in reliably red states aren't um aren't okay with this assault on their own bodily autonomy um you know as i've done these interviews i'm always particularly

interested in uh candidates interactions with independents and republicans who see today's is GOP and basically want nothing to do with it or who see what they're doing as being untenable. Have there been any memorable moments or interactions with anybody in the middle or on the right? Yes. One of them is a family member. So my aunt, after Dobbs, changed her registration from, she was a lifelong Republican, changed to a Democrat after Dobbs. And so that, I think, is a telltale sign of how far out of step the Republican Party has come from mainstream America. And You know, you think about what the Republicans have done in places like Kansas and seeing those results. And I completely agree with you that it really is a national issue,

which is why Democrats have been outperforming that Biden 2020 number by an average of five points in all of those special elections. And that tells you something about where the country is heading. And the other interaction I'll share is with some Republican men in this district after Dobbs who have said things to me like, hey, you know, I've got a mom. I've got a sister. I have a daughter. I want them to be able to control their own bodies and control their own futures. And those conversations tell you exactly why choices on the ballot and why we are going to pick up a lot of votes from those moderate Republicans on November 8th. Well, if you could sponsor any piece of legislation that's less obvious, meaning not a law codifying row, for example, what would that legislation be?

What's uniquely important to you in this campaign? So obviously voting rights are important, but I know others have talked about that. I think more candidates need to be talking about how we fix our broken information system. So modernizing and revitalizing some type of a fairness doctrine that the United States used pre and post World War II to prevent the rise of fascism, to protect the public's right to be informed by fact instead of fiction, and providing some accountability for big tech whose algorithms unfortunately have spread a ton of destructive information across our population without any accountability. I couldn't agree more. What's the polling looking like in your district right now?

Give us a snapshot of the race as it stands here less than two months out. So it's looking great. MSNBC did a short segment on this a couple of days ago. And an Applecard poll from the end of July showed me up by two points after voters are informed about the contrast between me and my opponent. you know, somebody who believes that we should use the law to go after people who attack the U.S. Capitol versus somebody who believes we should use the law to prosecute women who get an abortion and their doctors. And so, you know, I think, again, with that Biden number and all those special elections and how we've been able to outperform it from 2020, I think we'll

win this seat by four points. How can we help with your campaign with that being said? Well, if folks want to go to Will Rawlins for Congress.com and sign up to volunteer and contribute and help us, you know, get the resources we need to flip this seat, that's crucial because if you look at that MSNBC piece, the points, the two points that I win by in that poll, that's assuming we have the resources to do it. And as broken as our campaign finance system is, unfortunately, that is the way that we pick up some of these flippable red to blue house seats in California. for all the reasons we just discussed, you know, democracy and freedom are on the line this November 8th, so we can use all the help we can get. Yeah, and I would just reiterate, you know, here in this liberal enclave of Southern California, we're always looking for ways that we can actually make something of a difference because it's otherwise such a reliably blue area. But, I mean, your race is just the epitome of exactly that. So for anybody watching or listening, especially from Southern California,

we're always looking to be able to elicit some type of change here, this is the race that people should focus on. So, Will, with that said, thank you for taking the time and good luck as you continue your campaign. Thank you, Brian. Thanks again for having me. Thanks again to Will.

And to support both of these candidates campaigns, check out their donation links in the show notes. That's it for this episode. Talk to you next week. You've been listening to No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen, 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 briantylercoen.com for links to all of my other channels.