No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - Kamala Harris on fight vs. compromise with the GOP if she’s VP

Episode Date: July 19, 2020

Trump is insisting that schools re-open in the middle of the pandemic and Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s health has become serious cause for concern. Brian also interviews Kamala Harris about her new legislation that helps people suffering from the economic impacts of coronavirus, how she would deal with Bill Barr, and how hard she’d take on the GOP if selected as Biden’s Vice President.Written by Brian Tyler CohenProduced by Sam GraberMusic by WellsyRecorded in Los Angeles, CAhttps://www.briantylercohen.com/podcast/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 talk about Trump's insistence on reopening schools in the fall, the emergency that has become Ruth Bader Ginsburg's health, and my interview with Senator Kamala Harris, where we discuss her new bill to actually help people suffering from the economic impacts of coronavirus, what her plan would be to get justice on Bill Barr, and her stance on fighting versus compromising if she makes it on the ticket as Joe Biden's choice for vice president. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen, and you're listening to No Lie. So we are officially in the next round of unforced errors in Trump's response to coronavirus.

Trump and his mouthpieces are now falling over themselves to try and convince the American people that schools need to be open in the fall. He's trying to mandate that all schools should be open for in-person learning in the middle of a pandemic. So why die on this hill? It's the same reason it's been since day one of the outbreak, which is just Trump needs to give the appearance that everything is normal and reopen and fine, just fine. And nothing epitomizes that more than kids going back to school, right?

That's peak normality. The reason being that Trump's not concerned about the pandemic, he's concerned about the optics. He needs to will into existence this alternate reality where everything is normal, just like he's done every other step of the way since day one. It's been a nonstop barrage of refusing to accept the reality of this outbreak, right? He said cases would soon be down to zero, that it would go away with the heat. that it was completely contained, that we could all go back to work, that anyone who wants a test can get. It's been denialism the entire time, all in service of the optics of normality.

Since January, the guy's been trying to prove that everything is fine while the house burns down around him because he figured that if he can make it to the election with the economy intact, if he could just make it to November, that's all that matters. Because lest you forget, this is all about Donald Trump. It's about his reelection, not your safety or health, his re-election. So because the goal here was playing pretend and putting on rose-colored glasses, nothing was ever actually done to contain the spread. Because remember, if the White House actually took steps to contain the spread, that would be an acknowledgement that something

was wrong and nothing was wrong. It was all good, remember? Completely contained cases heading on down to zero. The irony, of course, being that having wasted all that time pretending everything was fine, basically ensured that it wouldn't be. it ensured that containing the outbreak would be impossible because we lost the most precious days and weeks doing nothing. We lost them pretending, putting on a show, a political show. It was this vicious cycle where the more that Trump pretended the virus didn't exist, the more certain it would be that the virus would exist even longer. And that's still what we're seeing today. Even after 140,000 deaths, we're still seeing that exact same denialism at play

where Trump's, you know, his first second and third priority is the appearance of normality, which will inevitably only lead to more cases and hospitalizations and deaths, just like it always does. Only now he's sacrificing the kids. First, those at risk were the elderly. Then we shut down for a bit only for Trump to foment protests and force businesses to reopen and that put the working age population back at risk. Now businesses are shutting down again and suddenly it's the children, school kids.

they're next to basically be sacrificed in this guy's desperation to manifest this reality that everything is normal. And all of this hinges on the White House's suggestion that kids can't get coronavirus, which is unequivocally untrue, patently untrue. You might as well be saying that people born in August can't get it. So that we're clear, children can get coronavirus, and they have gotten coronavirus. And not just a few kids, this isn't like a few free cases. 6% of confirmed cases in the U.S. are among people 17 years old and younger, according to the CDC.

6% of 3.6 million cases. That's over 200,000 children. And we're sitting here pretending that kids have some immunity to this thing? Are you kidding me? In Texas, the latest hotspot because Republican Governor Abbott cares more about cowtowing to Trump than the lives of his constituents. In Texas, 85 infants under age one have tested positive for coronavirus in one county. 85 babies and we're trying to send kids into schools. Have you seen a school?

Do you realize what a day at school is like? I grew up in New Jersey, went to an average public school, middle of the road. There were 30 kids in all of my classes. There were 50 kids on the bus. There were hundreds of kids in the hallway and in lunchrooms. That is the reality of schools in this country. So basically, you have kids who are perfectly susceptible to the virus, maybe not as susceptible as older folks, but still susceptible, right,

who are going to be put in an environment where social distancing is impossible in the middle of a pandemic. And even if the kids are asymptomatic, there are still adults there. You have teachers and staff and guidance counselors. And then the kids go home to parents and grandparents. Like, even if kids aren't dying at high rates,

adults do, and they can. This is how community spread happens. This is the literal recipe for spreading the virus. And look, in fairness, I understand why this is so difficult. I know that without school, so many families lose a resource that kids rely on not just for education, but a way to survive. Kids lose access to lunches, which may be their only hot meal of the day. They can be subject to higher rates of depression.

We can see stress-related cognitive impairment or diseases. I understand that more time at home means kids can witness more substance abuse or neglect or violence or domestic abuse. I understand that eliminating teachers means losing a trusted resource for kids who need help. I understand that remote learning kills educational progress. I know that it disproportionately impacts children of color and low-income kids, and I know that it makes it impossible for some parents to be able to work if their kids are home. I understand all of these things, and of course they have to be considered because they're important.

But if we're using common sense here, then we can acknowledge that there's a hierarchy to our priorities, right? And not exposing people to a deadly virus is probably higher on the list than missing out on math. And that doesn't mean that math isn't important. It means not contracting the virus is more important. This shouldn't be controversial. And we shouldn't need a liberal having to explain this to the supposed pro-life party. Those guys need people like me to tell them, hey, maybe it's not a great idea to risk the lives of kids.

I mean, I don't know about you all, but I'm starting to think that the whole pro-life thing on the right may not actually be too accurate. I don't know what it is, just a gut feeling I'm starting to have. By the way, we knew these would be issues beforehand for kids. It's not like we just discovered that taking away schools can negatively impact kids' abilities to learn. Like, this isn't new. Kids go to school in the fall.

And so knowing this should have been reason enough to take this thing seriously in the beginning when it counted, when we still had a chance to contain it. This was always a ticking time bomb. And that should have been reason enough for Trump and Republicans to actually contain it instead of tweeting out, liberate Michigan. Like, I know we get lost in the stupidity of Donald Trump and the day-to-day minutia, but these are kids' lives at risk here. He didn't do his job and, in fact, actively discouraged steps that would have contained the spread, knowing that children would have to go congregate in schools in the fall. He couldn't even be bothered to take bare minimum steps to wear a mask and set a good example to slow the spread,

to support stay-at-home orders meant to keep people safe to slow the spread. and then to have the balls to go out and demand that kids show up in person in the middle of a pandemic that's only raging because of his failed response to it is rock bottom, rock bottom. And you know it's not going to be his kid. I guarantee you, Baron Trump will not be attending school in person in the fall. Even when Kellyanne Connoe was asked, point blank, if Trump's son is going to go back to school in the fall, here's how she responded. Oh, that's a personal decision.

I don't know what Barron School has decided, and I certainly don't know what the first couple has decided with respect to their teenage son, who I believe is entering high school this year. I have two kids in Maryland also in private schools, and I think we're just waiting to see what those schools say. That suddenly it's a personal decision. The guys out there issuing presidential decrees that all children are to attend school in person in the fall. But when the White House is asked whether Trump's own son will be attending, well, listen, this is a very personal decision that can't just be litigated by some broad strokes decision. Do you see the hypocrisy here?

They're happy to sacrifice your kids when that advances their personal agenda, but put their own kids in harm's way? Well, suddenly there's nuance. Funny how that works out, right? So please, call me when Trump and Kellyanne send their high school-aged kids into a packed classroom in the fall. Until then, I'll just say this. The president is not looking out for the best interest.

of your kids. He's looking out for his own interests. And his interest start and stop at giving the impression that everything is fine because his campaign slogan is keep America great. And so he has a vested interest in pretending that it's great. So he'll stop at nothing to try and will that into existence. He'll push for every kid in America to pack onto school buses and then pack into hallways and then pack into classrooms because his reelection relies on the impression of normalcy. And despite his best efforts at convincing us of that, what's happening here is not normal, and we shouldn't accept it as being normal either. Next up is my interview with Senator Kamala Harris. Now, already the contrast between Democrats

and Republicans is stark with regard to handling the outbreak, right? With plenty of Republicans just following Trump's lead and pretending that it'll magically disappear. But on the opposite end of that spectrum is Senator Harris, who only days ago introduced yet another bill intended to actually help Americans through the crisis, to actually alleviate pressure on regular people. And of course, she's very much in the mix with Biden, who's set to announce a VP choice in only a couple of weeks. So a great time to hear from the senator from California. Okay, so we have my senator from California, Senator Kamala Harris. Thanks so much for coming on. Of course. It's great to be with you, Brian. So let's start with everyone's

favorite defender of the rule of law, Bill Barr. Nearly a month ago, Bill Barr intervened to fire Jeffrey Berman at the Southern District of New York. And since then, Berman testified to the House Judiciary Committee. And Jerry Nadler said that Barr's intervention was, quote, designed to disrupt or delay the work of the office, including cases implicating the president. In other words, firsthand testimony that Bill Barr obstructed justice to impede ongoing investigations against President Trump. Now, Bill Barr is testifying to the House judiciary on July 28th. If he was testifying before the Senate, what's the principal questions that you would want the answers to?

It's actually questions that I've asked him before. Has the president asked him to investigate anyone? What exactly has the president directed him to do in terms of the use of the powers and the resources of the Department of Justice? And in particular, the goal of those questions would be to uncover and disclose to the American people the fact that, as you have rightly said,

Bill Barr has been conducting himself as though he's the personal attorney, and political attorney of the President of the United States as opposed to the people's attorney and the person who is objectively supposed to do the work of justice through the United States Department of Justice. And we've seen instances where Bill Barr has been asked these questions.

Let me point to a clip from Senator Leahy. Let me play that right now. Do you believe a president could lawfully issue a pardon in exchange for the recipient's promise to not incriminate him? No, that would be a crime. So we have instances of, you know, Bill Barr just kind of saying one thing and doing the complete opposite. Obviously, that was about Roger Stone, and we saw what happened ultimately with Roger Stone's commutation. When Bill Barr says one thing and does the complete opposite, what's the recourse here?

Well, part of the recourse and the responsibility, given the co-equal independent branches of government, is that Congress needs to exercise our responsibility, our constitutional responsibility, to engage in oversight, which is why you saw Senator Leahy asking the questions that he has. You've seen me ask these questions and similar questions before. We need to get to the bottom of what is going on in Bill Barr's Department of Justice. And there need to be checks and balances on the power of each branch of government so that we can make sure that justice is in fact being done. I'm going to push you a little bit here. If Republicans have the majority and the attorney general sneeze the wrong way, there'd be a select committee within like 30 minutes. So what can be done and what actually is being done about this? Because it can often feel to Democrats like nothing happens when there's this deluge of crimes being committed by Trump officials.

Well, look, I mean, part of the issue, Brian, is we don't control, at least on the Senate side, we don't control the majority. And so we have a very difficult time. effectuating what we need to have happened, which is to have people like Bill Barr come not only before the House side, but come before the Senate side, but there's been a refusal to require him to do that. And I have called on him to resign for months now. There is no question in my mind that he is incapable of doing the work that is supposed to be done by the Attorney General of the United States, which is to do the work of justice without fear of

favor. And this is, but it highlights all of this, the importance of the upcoming election in four months. We need to, we need a new administration. We need a new president. I'm supporting Joe Biden, but we need a new attorney general, somebody who will commit themselves to the work of doing pattern and practice investigations of police misconduct, something that used to happen in the Justice Department and really has not been happening in any meaningful way for the last many years since Trump came in office. We need a Department of Justice that has taken seriously consumer rights, going after hate crime at a federal level, making sure that we are doing the work of justice as required and not doing the political work as the hand of the president,

which is what Bill Barr has been doing. And I guess nothing kind of brings full circle. the extent to which we need new leadership than this administration's response to coronavirus. So with cases skyrocketing in the United States and Republicans still pushing to reopen businesses, reopen schools, there's a void in protections for people, actual people. So tell me a little bit about the anti-eviction bill that you just introduced, the Relief Act. Well, thank you. And to your point, we've had over 137,000 deaths in just the last few months in our country. And that's, you know, that is a profound measure of the failure in terms of the public health component of the coronavirus in this pandemic. And then the economic consequence of this pandemic has been profound, where right now we are looking at at least 17 million people who are unemployed.

Half of black workers, African American workers in America are unemployed. We're talking about one in five mothers in our country who have distilled. their children under the age of 12 as being hungry. We're literally in the middle of a hunger crisis in America. So what I am saying is that we need to have solutions to all of these problems. And one of the things that we need to recognize is that people are right now going to be struggling to stay in their homes and to pay the rent. And we need to give folks relief, which is why I call it the Relief Act, through the course of this pandemic so they can get back on their feet. So my Relief Act would do a number of things, recognizing that almost, I think,

half of renters in many areas are looking at an inability to pay their rent by the end of the month. And knowing also we're on a cliff, which is that the last relief package for people who lost their jobs is about to end at the end of July, and then other relief is going to end at the end of August. So here's what I'm proposing. Let's ban evictions for a year. We're going to, prevent utility companies from cutting off people's water and electricity because guess what when you're talking about this pandemic we know one of the best ways to be safe and and to ward it off is you got to wash your hands frequently well if your water's cut off you can't do that so it's a public health issue as a well as an economic issue we're going to prohibit landlords from

raising rent during the course of this we're going to prohibit negative credit reporting So what would normally happen is if people are paying their rent late, there could be a report to their credit score. But many people can tell you that it can take a lifetime to clean up your credit score and to have a bad credit score means no access to capital. We don't want to have people suffer that way during the midst of this pandemic. So I want to put a hold on the banning or on the reporting of negative credit reporting. And then new assistance for borrowers and renters, which include federal assistance to legal aid organizations, nonprofits that help and represent renters during the course of eviction. The numbers I've seen suggest that over 90% of renters who have an attorney who have someone representing them actually have claims that they can defend. But if they don't have an attorney, and usually there is an attorney on the other side, they lose just because they don't have the right.

kind of assistance. So these are some of the things that we're going to do. And, you know, even before this, in our country, if you're a minimum wage worker, in 99% of the counties in America, you can't afford market rate for a one-bedroom apartment. That was before the pandemic struck. It's much worse now. And the last thing we want is to have people who have been out of work because of something that is not of their doing to also be out of their homes and homeless. It's just the morally right thing to do. And so that's why I'm proposing this Relief Act to help renters and to help homeowners who are struggling with their mortgage. And, you know, I think the funny thing is you mentioned rightly that it's the morally

right thing to do, but economically it makes sense too. I mean, you know, the problem that's created by opening too soon ultimately ensures that we'll be closed even longer. So, you know, when we don't help people, when we exacerbate this crisis, all it does is kind of entrenched the problems that we're seeing in the first place. And taking these measures would actually help Trump. It would help Republicans, you know, like it would, but politically at least, you know, it makes sense to make sure that the American people are in a good position, in a good situation, that they're healthy,

that they have a place to live, right? Yeah, I mean, but here's the thing. What you're talking about is what I think reasonable people do know, which is that the greatest sign of strength of any human being, is the strength that you see in yourself when you lift other people up. But that's not the character of Donald Trump and his administration. The character of his administration is to think that strength is based on who you beat down. But that's why he's actually going to lose in November.

Because truly, I think the American people know that they want a leader, especially during this moment of profound crisis, who has the will and the desire to lift them up. and they want leaders, elected leaders, to have the desire and the willingness to lift them up, both their spirits and their condition. So I do want to talk a little bit about another bill that you introduced. You introduced the bill along with Senator Sanders and Markey with $2,000 monthly checks, the monthly economic crisis support act.

But counterpoint, there was $1,200 that one time, like four months ago. And I did the math. That means that that stimulus check worked out to like $10 and $1,000. 61 cents a day. So are you suggesting that that wasn't enough? I am suggesting that wasn't enough. I don't think anyone would really dispute that point. I've been saying since the beginning that it was not enough. That one-time check, to your point, of what ended up being $10, $10 and something a day was not enough given that people have recurring bills. They have to pay rent every month. Their children require food every day.

And that during the course of this pandemic then and this economic and public health crisis, we should have recurrent payments until we get through the pandemic. And so together with Bernie and Ed Markey, I'm saying that we need to at least give people the ability to stay on their feet enough to get through this so they can get back on their feet and out there when this is over, as opposed to letting them fall through the cracks in a way that they'll never be able to recover. And so $2,000 a month, which will allow people to pay for their groceries, to pay their rent, to pay for their essential needs to allow them to get through this process with dignity and in a way that, again, allows them to rebound just like we must do as a country when we get through the apex of this crisis.

Really well said. Moving forward, we're in the midst of historic civil rights demonstrations in this country with Black Lives Matter. The vast majority of the American public backs this movement. But even the simplest moves seem to face opposition by the GOP. You've authored the Emmett Till Anti-Linching Act, which passed the House 410 to 4 and had the support of 99 senators. You couldn't get 99 senators to agree whether water is wet, right? But we had one Republican senator, Paul who blocked the unanimous passage of the bill. Did any, did you have any conversation with Rand Paul behind the scenes? Have you spoken to him since? I said it on the floor of the United States Senate and I'll say it to you now. I don't understand why he did it. It was also on the day of George Floyd's funeral. And this is, it is an issue that has been about, the collection of issues that are part of the great center of our country. And it was in a moment, and it is still a moment, I'm not giving up on it, to address the brutality, the murder, the widespread murder that happened of predominantly black men in America that went without any consequence or

accountability. And so I'm not going to give up on this. And, And there are a lot of folks, including, to your point, the almost unanimous United States Senate in support of what we need to do, which is to acknowledge that lynching was and is a crime and it should be designated as such and it should be treated as such. So I don't want to, I don't want to be presumptuous, but here's my question if you're part of a Biden administration. And that is that Democrats are always taking the high road. It's always us that seem to have to compromise, right?

So there's a general understanding that we don't fight the same way that Republicans do. But you've been a relentless fighter in the Senate. Your judiciary hearings make me glad that I'm not, whoever is sitting right in front of you. But in a Biden-Harris administration, would we still see that same fight? Like when it comes time to enact sweeping reforms and fill our own judicial vacancies and get climate change legislation and voting rights and passed and advance our agenda? or will it be deference to compromising with the right? So I also don't want to be presumptuous.

I'm obviously honored to be a part of the conversation, but I want Joe Biden to pick whoever is going to help him win, period, on the ticket. But, you know, to your point of fight and to your point of what's at stake, I think that that conversation also applies to all of us who know that those things are at stake to fight to win this election in November. only four months away. And it's going to be rough and tumble. It is going to be probably a very highly contentious and even, you know, dirty fight because that's the way Trump fights. And we have to make sure that we are up to that fight collectively. And what is that fight

involved for what things are at stake that you have rightly mentioned? That fight's going to involve trying to overcome the obstacles that they've been putting in place around voter suppression and purging the voter rolls and making sure that all people have an access and ability to vote on pushing the Vote Safe Act, which would require states to put in place vote by mail, early voting, and safe voting, things like curbside voting. We're going to have to, in our fight, to fight for the things that are at stake, when in November, we're going to have to make sure that we can jump over the obstacles that they've set in place to suppress the vote of black people, of Latinos, of our indigenous people, of students,

and so many. That's part of our fight. Part of our fight is to make sure that we are reminding everyone that elections matter and pointing out the connection between who is in the White House and whether we're going to have things like relief for renters who have been unemployed through no cause of their own. It's going to be about reminding people of the connection between their lives and who's going to be in the White House in terms of whether we're going to support the Affordable Care Act and grow it or, like Donald Trump, try to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, which means that we would bring back the ban on preexisting conditions as a way to get access to health care. So that's where I'm focused right now. And I am not taking anything about these next four months for granted. There is so much at stake.

It's, to use your point. It's the Voting Rights Act. It's our climate. We have an administration in the Trump administration that has been denying science across the board. They've been denying the science of COVID-19. They've been denying the science of the climate crisis. It's about having an administration that will understand Betsy DeVos cannot be the head of the Department of Education, when we know one of the greatest, greatest challenges we have as a

nation is to support and strengthen our public schools and fund them accordingly. We need, in what's at stake, is having criminal justice reform and police accountability, such as our Justice and Policing Act. Well, Biden knows how to say, Black Lives Matter. Donald Trump. At a bare minimum. At a bare minimum, right? So these are the things that are at stake. And we are to your point going to have to fight collectively and together in a unified way as the coalition of who we are to win this election. And it will not be easy. And we need to take back the Senate also because it's also about who's going to sit on the United States Supreme Court for a lifetime appointment who's taking these seats in district courts. All of this

is at stake. And the fight for all of that is now through that first week. in November. And I do think to your point, too, we are seeing elements of that coming out of Biden's task forces that instead of just kind of sitting back and coasting to November, he has worked to make his platform the boldest that he can. I mean, even Bernie Sanders has said that he would be the most progressive president since FDR. Yeah, and they're working together. And it really is a coalition of folks. And listen, I'm very clear about this. There is no more important election of our lifetime, you know, and God willing, we will never have so much at stake as we do in any future election, but almost everything is at stake in this election.

So over the last year that you've traveled the country, did you meet anybody in particular who moved you or who changed your views on anything? Oh, I met so many people. You know, the thing about elections and campaigns, the thing about campaigns, I always say is in a campaign, you meet the aim. walking among us, you know, people who are just doing the most incredible things in their communities without any expectation of fame or award. And, you know, you meet the most extraordinary heroes who are walking among us. And so I've met a lot of folks. I've met, you know, grandmothers who are taking care of the children in their community. I've met teachers who are

I mean, giving everything they've got financially, emotionally, physically to their students because we have not, again, funded public schools well enough. And so these teachers are making just the most profound sacrifices you can imagine to raise and help raise our children. You know, I've met people who are on the front lines, these health care workers, I mean, before and domestic workers who are, you know, doing, they're risking their lives in service of other people and to care for them. I've met, I have met so many incredible people. And I think it is that experience that

allows me to be optimistic about the future and who we are that gives me the motivation and the energy to fight for something. This is not a fight against something. It's a fight for something. and, you know, traveling our country and saying that in these various regions and we're of incredibly diverse country, topography is different in addition to everything else about our diversity. It's the industries are different.

The needs are different. The resources are different. I just think that there is, however, still a collective spirit among us as a people to fight for what's right and to fight for justice and to fight for our ideals. And that gives me optimism.

So you love to cook. Your office even told me that you read cookbooks before bed, which just blows my mind that someone can do something other than staring at Twitter for, you know, two hours before they actually follow sleep. Oh, you got to let it go, man. You got to pull back. Yeah, something tells me over the next four months it's not going to happen, but I'll take that into account for after November.

A few weeks ago, Mark Warner made a tuna melt dish that basically consisted of of white bread, cheddar cheese, all the mayo, and tuna with the water not drained, and a microwave. So I was just wondering, from the perspective of someone who sits on judiciary and who also appreciates cooking, is there some type of legal action that can be taken here? You know, that's a good point. I'm going to have to really think about that. Yeah, that was funny.

I, you know, I mean, it also speaks to the camaraderie that a lot of us. That you could allow yourself to be, to associate with someone who stuck a, you stuck that in the microwave. I don't let himself go through that. Yeah. Senator Harris, thank you so much for taking the time. I really appreciate it. Thank you. It was good to be with you, Brian.

Thank you. Thanks again to Senator Harris. Okay, so next I want to talk about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Anytime I'm online and I see a tweet about RBG, I immediately panic and think, please do not have cancer. And last week we found out she has had a recurrence of cancer. She's now undergoing chemotherapy, but intends to keep working on the court as long as she can. Because if nothing else, she's a warrior.

So I just want to take this opportunity to say, and I feel like this should go without saying, you might have beef with Joe Biden. He might not have been your first choice or your second choice or your third choice. he might not fulfill your vision for what the Democratic Party should represent. Okay, fine. But it's not just Joe Biden on the ballot in November. It's the Supreme Court and the future of any and all progressive legislation. That's what you're voting for.

You're voting for the next president who's going to determine whether the court stays 5'4 conservative or possibly becomes 7 to 2 conservative. Keep in mind, RBG is 87, but Justice Breyer, another liberal member of the court, he's 81. And he's got almost a decade on the next oldest member. When Justice Scalia died, he was 79. Both of those liberal judges are older now than Scalia was. So let me just say, if Biden isn't progressive enough for you, using this election for a protest vote or to sit out entirely,

it's just going to make it so that if we do eventually get a true blue progressive in office, their agenda doesn't survive the courts. Look at how the Supreme Court has chipped away at the ACA with a 5-4 conservative majority. And the ACA isn't some liberal dream come true, right? It's still pretty damn conservative compared to the rest of the developed world's health care systems. You think if the court is a seven to two conservative majority that Medicare for all is going to survive? Are you kidding me?

And I bring up the example of Medicare for all because that's the sticking point with a lot of progressives that Biden doesn't support Medicare for all. So look, I hear the complaints by progressives that what was needed was a bold platform with those big structural changes. I understand. That's what I want. but we have to be able to see the forest through the trees here, right? We have to be able to understand that instead of two steps forward, we can take one step forward, and that's still better than taking 10 steps back, right?

I've said this before. We can't let perfect be the enemy of good. And by the way, it is good. Just sticking with healthcare for a second, Biden's Unity Task Force released his plan. It reinstates the individual mandate, which will bring more healthy people into the risk pool and strengthen the system as a whole.

it lowers the amount that consumers can spend on health insurance from 10% of personal income to 8.5% of personal income. It allows Medicare to negotiate the cost of prescription drug prices, which is huge. It would even allow undocumented immigrants to buy into the public option. And I'm going to go off on a tangent here, but I think this is important. I know Republicans are going to fearmonger about this, but including undocumented immigrants and the public option helps everyone. I don't know if Republicans realize this, but undocumented. immigrants can already get care in this country. Everyone gets care. It's illegal to turn someone away in the United States. So they'll receive care in the private sector and then the government

covers the cost and pays that rate, which, by the way, because it's a private sector rate, is sky high. But when undocumented immigrants are part of the public option, it's now the government administering care, not the private sector. And the government can take advantage of economies of scale and the rates are leagues cheaper. Either way, taxpayers pay because we live in a country that rightly allows everyone to be cared for, the difference is that with the public option, the taxpayers are paying less and are unbeholden to predatory private health care companies

who sole priority as profits. So anyone on the right who loses their mind of the fact that undocumented immigrants are included in the public option doesn't understand that they are already paying for undocumented immigrants who need care. They're just paying more under the current system. They're hurting themselves and their own wallets.

So anyway, look, we're coming off of contentious primary. I know that it's easy to be bitter if your candidate didn't win. But regardless of who you supported, you can't look at Donald Trump's health care plan, which consists of actively trying to destroy the ACA in the courts during a pandemic and Joe Biden's health care plan and think that they're in the same universe. You can't. You can want to push Biden to the left on health care, and you have every right to do that.

And I believe we should. but the time to do that is on January 20th, 2021, because we get nowhere unless Trump's out of office. Protest votes won't help you. Staying at home won't help you. What will help you ultimately is if Joe Biden beats Donald Trump in November. That is the only path to a progressive agenda. And by the way, real quick, I just want to bring this back to Ruth Bader Ginsburg and say,

she is 87 years old. She has cancer. She's working full time and is, literally the only person stopping this country from sliding full tilt into a Trumpian fascist fever dream. Like, we need to let this woman retire and enjoy her life. If nothing else, can we just do that for her? So that the pressure of saving our democracy from total ruin isn't on the shoulders of this like 80 pound woman. If nothing else, let's just do this so that RBG can take a vacation already. 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, 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.