#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Impeachment trial opening arguments; Hillary v Bernie; VA Senate ends Lee-Jackson Day; Byron Cage

Episode Date: January 25, 2020

1.22.20 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Trump impeachment trial opening arguments; Hillary bashes Bernie in new documentary; VA Senate votes to end Lee-Jackson Day; Maryland cop who filmed former NBA player Delonte West in handcuffs has been suspended; Grammy award winning gospel artist Byron Cage talks new music and book Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Today is Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, opening arguments in the United States Senate at the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Trump lawyers still lying and getting smacked down by Democrats. You'll hear from Congresswoman Val Demings as well as Congressman Hakeem Jeffries as they laid out the case why Donald Trump should be convicted in the Senate.

Hillary Clinton slams Bernie Sanders. She's like, don't nobody like Bernie. But all the media is running with this whole deal, saying Hillary Clinton said she would not support Bernie Sanders if he won the nomination. Reading is kind of fundamental, y'all. That's not what she said. We'll tell you what she actually said in this new documentary series she's doing on Hulu. The Virginia Senate voted to end Lee Jackson Day.

You know, the day where they celebrate white supremacists. We'll talk with Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax in just a moment about this very issue. The Maryland police officer who took that video that went viral, former basketball player Delonte West, in handcuffs. His punk has been suspended, and he should be fired. Also, Grammy Award-winning gospel artist Byron Cage joins me here to talk about his new album and book. Got some other stuff for you as well. It's time to bring the funk on Rolling

Button Unfiltered. Let's go. And when it breaks, he's right on time And it's rolling Best believe he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling It's Uncle Roro, y'all It's Rolling Martin Rolling with rolling now All right, folks. A couple days ago, the Virginia Senate voted to get rid of a state holiday

honoring two white supremacists and create a new holiday on Election Day. The vote was 22-18 to do away with the Lee-Jackson holiday, with every Democrat and one Republican in favor. Now, the bill now heads to the House. Now, you understand, Virginia, the cradle of the Confederacy, if you will. They have long honored Stonewall Jackson as well as Robert E. Lee. Actually, it's even more so shameful because they decided to put the same day on MLK's birthday. And Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, the second African-American in that position, when it would come up, he would actually step off the podium leading the Virginia Senate.

Well, now that this action has passed and hopefully the House does it and the governor signs it into law, they will be rid of this holiday honoring these white supremacists. Joining us right now on the phone lines is Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax. Glad to have you back on Roller Mark Unfiltered. Brother Rollins, great to be back on with you. Thanks so much. So this obviously was a big decision. Monday, you spoke at the wreath laying ceremony at the MLK Memorial, and this action came the next day. And how long did Virginia have this Lee Jackson holiday that coincided with MLK Day? Yeah, you know, well, it goes back to at least 1889. So you're talking about, you know, over 130 years. And this was a tradition that they had in the Senate.

And as you mentioned, you know, when I began presiding over the Senate, actually on MLK Day in 2018, was when I took the helm of the senator's lieutenant governor. Later in that session, they moved to adjourn in honor and memory of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. And as you noted, I stepped down from the dais and from presiding in a silent protest because that's not who we are and it's not who we want to be going into the next 400 years of this country. And so we did that. It was a lonely protest, but I got a lot of support from people in Virginia and around the country. And then in 2019, the same thing occurred. And I once again stepped down. And then, of course, this year,

just a couple days ago, the Senate voted to end Lee Jackson Day and also to create a holiday for Election Day in Virginia. So this is a huge leap forward, a huge statement about inclusion and giving people more rights and more opportunity. And it's really a monumental time in Virginia. And to be able to give the keynote at the MLK Memorial on MLK Day was an extraordinary honor. And we talked about having courage and not having a spirit of fear. And that's exactly what we brought to this discussion, this debate. And it's changed something that was happening for 130 years. So Virginia has been celebrating this for 130 years. And did they move to actually put it on

the same day as MLK Day, which was just grossly offensive? It absolutely was offensive. And, yes, in fact, for some time they linked all three together. So they had what was known as Lee Jackson Martin Luther King Day. And, you know, it was outrageous. And so, you know, that was changed, I believe, in 2000 to separate the two so that Dr. King's birthday would be on the Monday and Lee Jackson's day would be the Friday preceding it. But to me, that wasn't sufficient. And when I was first presented with this, presiding over the Senate back in 2018, as soon as I was informed that they planned to do this, it took me zero seconds to understand and to express that I was not going to participate in this and that we needed to take a stand. And sometimes you take a stand by sitting down.

And that protest, again, was something that traveled all around the country. And actually, in the 2019 roll, as you may recall, I brought descendants of Robert E. Lee and of Stonewall Jackson with me to the Senate, and I honored them in the Senate. They also opposed Lee Jackson Day, and that was a huge statement when they came with me to the Senate, descendants of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, to say it is time to change, it's time to turn the page, to go into the next 400 years in a very different way. And so one year, actually to the day of when I brought those descendants of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson to the Senate, the Senate voted to end the holiday. And as you know, I am descended from Simon Fairfax, who was enslaved in Virginia

and freed in 1798 by the Ninth Lord Fairfax, which is how I got my last name, Fairfax. And so, you know, we have an incredible history, but for the descendants of an enslaved I'M A FAMILY MEMBER OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA. I'M A FAMILY MEMBER OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA. I'M A FAMILY MEMBER OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA. I'M A FAMILY MEMBER OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA. I'M A FAMILY MEMBER OF THE

STATE OF FLORIDA. I'M A FAMILY MEMBER OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA. I'M A FAMILY MEMBER OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA. I'M A FAMILY MEMBER OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA. I'M A FAMILY MEMBER OF THE

STATE OF FLORIDA. I'M A FAMILY MEMBER OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA. I'M A FAMILY MEMBER OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA. making this a state holiday. So if it passes the House and Sam, the governor, becomes law, and so will employers, how will that work for people who work in the state? Is it left up to the employers to honor that, or is it everybody gets a day off? You know, well, if it proceeds sort of in its current form, it would be a state holiday, and essentially what it does is it replaces Lee Jackson Day. That day would no longer exist as a holiday, but you'd have the same number of holidays, state holidays, because Election Day would take its place. And so we'll look at it as it's winding its way through the House and also into the governor's desk. The governor, you know, has indicated this is a priority for him, it's a priority for us in Lieutenant Governor's office. And so, you And so we'll certainly give ample notice to employers and everybody about the change, but

this is a monumental change in Virginia. And it sends a signal to the country that we really are sort of a new dominion. And last year, we commemorated 400 years of the first meeting of our General Assembly in 1619 in Jamestown, but also 400 years since the first enslaved Africans were brought to Virginia in Hanson, Fort Monroe, Point Comfort. And as I've said, Roland, many times, those are the dual strands of darkness and light that have run through the veins of the Commonwealth of Virginia and through our nation for the past four centuries. And every generation, we have to determine who it is we are going to be and whether or not we're going to fight for a brighter future that's more inclusive.

And I'm the only second African-American ever to serve in statewide office in Virginia, following the footsteps of a great man, L. Douglas Wilder, governor who was elected lieutenant governor in 1985 and then governor in 1989. And so there's this extremely rich legacy and also an incredible opportunity to do something that will change the course of history. But we've got to have a different kind of politics. It can't be about insider politics. It's really got to be about the people.

And that's really what we represent. All right. And Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. God bless you, Rolly. Keep up the great work, and thank you so much for all you do. All right, thanks very much.

Let's go to our panel. Reese and Colbert, Black Women's Views, Michael Brown, former vice chair, DNC Finance Committee, via Skype, Rob Richardson, he's the host of Disruption Now podcast, Dr. Jason Nichols, Department of African American Studies at the University of Maryland. Michael Brown, obviously this is, you know, one, it's ridiculous for Virginia to have in these honors of white supremacists,

folks who want to keep slavery. So thank goodness that day is gone. But also it's important to make Election Day a holiday. Folks should be able to have that day off to go vote. More states should do that. And frankly, it should be a federal holiday. But it's interesting, and you and I talk about this all the time, Roland, elections have consequences. If the Democrats, if Virginia did not turn blue, you better believe this holiday would still be on the books.

And that's good that, you know, when people come out, it really makes a difference relative to legislation and how it matters to your everyday life? Recy, I mean, I think when you look at these two, at the end of the day, elections do matter. And you have in these southern states where you have had white folks, especially Republicans, embracing, supporting these white supremacists. Virginia and Mississippi, Alabama, we can go down the line. And so, yeah, when you put black folks in charge and we go to the polls and throw these folks out, you can start changing stuff for the better. Right. I was raised in Cali. So the notion of a white supremacist holiday is completely unconscionable to me. And to make it coincide with Dr. King Day is that much more insulting. So this is correcting a long overdue

wrong. And I think that it's that much more of an honor to Dr. King's legacy to increase basically access to civil rights, which is voting. So I think that this is a remarkable step. First step, we have to, you know, they have to get it through the House and on the governor's desk. But I think that it's not only correcting a wrong, but it's making it that much better by increasing access to the polls. Rob, Jason, what do you make of the Virginia Senate obviously going to the House? Democrats now control the House and the Senate, and so Republicans are standing by, and I'm sure those white Republicans are really upset that they now have to suck it up, and they

can't stop these things from being passed. Well, I'll just say this very quickly. It shouldn't be because I don't see why this is a partisan issue. I say that rhetorically, but we know why it is. But look, this actually reminds me of the law of avoidance. The more something threatens your identity, the more you want to avoid it. So they didn't want to acknowledge what Dr. Martin Luther King did. Obviously, some people have a problem with wanting to get rid of white supremacy because they see it as part of their identity. It's 2020. Obviously, some people have a problem with wanting to get rid of white supremacy because they see it as part of their identity. It's 2020. Look, it's time to let that go. And this is a first step. Frankly, we need to do a lot more. Of course, actually, Election Day

should always be a holiday. But to this specific point, we need to do, the United States, I think, needs to do what Germany did. In Germany, everywhere you go, there is a place that talks about when a Jewish person was assassinated, what happened there. Whenever we talk about race, whenever we talk about racism, everyone wants to just avoid the subject and leave it. And that's really at the heart of our problem right here in America, in my opinion. Jason. Yeah, I would say that it's even more that they don't want to avoid it, that they just want to absolutely destroy the truth, destroy Dr. King's legacy, cover it up. And, you know, this is something that's been longstanding for a long time. I'm very glad that they changed it. And one of your other panelists, I think, made the really important point about the fact that this is opening up opportunities for democracy and opening up, you know, access for African

American people in a very important state. And so I think that, you know, what Governor, Lieutenant Governor Fairfax did was incredibly important, not only for the historical legacy, but for the opportunity, for the chance that it's going to give for more people to access the polls, particularly working class people. And in Virginia, where my family's from, that will, a lot of those people will be African American people from Northern Virginia and from the Hampton Roads area and other parts of Virginia. So I think it's, you know, it's really important for us to acknowledge the past. But also this is important because it's showing where we're headed as a nation or where we should be headed as a nation, giving people more access to our democracy instead of constricting it. Let me just point out too that we had just one Republican vote with the Democrats

to overturn Robert this holiday. So hopefully going into the Senate, it's going to the House, I'm sorry, there will be more pressure on Republicans to stand on the right side of history here. So they should not keep continually getting a free pass

to vote party lines against civil rights, against correcting, rectifying these wrongs from these unconscionable holidays. So that's why I think it's hilarious anytime idiots like Dinesh D'Souza starts running around talking about, oh, Democrats formed the Klan and Democrats did this here, and he's going back to the 19th century, the 20th century.

But the question is, who are the people in the 21st century today who are defending these white supremacists? Republicans across the board in numerous states, on the federal level as well as on the state level. But you never hear folks like Dinesh and Charlie Kirk

and idiots like Candace Owens talk about that because it's a little hard to do that when your master is the one who's actually running the whole show. So that's how that whole deal works. All right, folks, let's talk about impeachment. After 13 hours of debate yesterday, going into the early hours of the morning, senators finally agreed to the rules that will govern how the rest of the trial plays out. Opening arguments started today with Congressman Adam Schiff, the lead House impeachment manager, outlining Democrats' roadmap for the next few days. But here are a couple of impeachment managers presenting their case yesterday,

both African-Americans and members of the Congressional Black Caucus. The question was asked by Mr. Sekulow as he opened before this distinguished by why, why, why are we here? Let me see if I can just posit an answer to that question. We are here, sir, because President Trump pressured a foreign government to target an American citizen for political and personal gain. We are here, sir, because President Trump solicited foreign interference in million in military aid from a vulnerable Ukraine without justification in a manner that has been deemed unlawful. We are here, sir, because President Donald Trump elevated his personal political interests

and subordinated the national security interests of the United States of America. We are here, sir, because President Trump corruptly abused his power and then he tried to cover it up. And we are here, sir, to follow the facts, apply the law, be guided by the Constitution, and present the truth to the American people. That is why we are here, Mr. Sekulow. And if you don't know, now you know. The House managers strongly support the amendment to issue subpoena for documents to the State Department. office to solicit and pressure Ukraine to announce investigations that everyone in this chamber knows to be bogus. The president didn't even care if an investigation was actually conducted, just that it was announced. Why? Because this was for his own personal and political benefit. The first article further charges that the president did so with corrupt motives and that

his use of power for personal gain harmed the national security of the United States. As the second article of impeachment charges, the president sought to conceal evidence of this conduct. He did so by ordering his entire administration, every office, every agency, every official to defy every subpoena served in the House impeachment inquiry. No president in history has ever done anything like this. Many presidents have expressly acknowledged that they couldn't do anything like this. President Trump did not take these extreme steps to hide evidence of his innocence or to protect the institution of the presidency.

As a career law enforcement officer, I have never seen anyone take such extreme steps to hide evidence allegedly proving his innocence. And I do not find that here today. The president is engaged in this cover-up because he is guilty and He knows it and he knows that the evidence he is concealing will only further demonstrate his couple ability Jason watching this whole thing play out it is absolutely amazing to listen to Trump lawyers lawyers just lie I mean to stand there and say all Democrats, they wouldn't even allow Republicans into the skiff. They were.

They even got to ask the same number of questions. I mean, how brazen they are with lying is, in essence, exactly what Donald Trump wants, because that's what he does, just lie. Right. I was going to say we know who their boss is. So, you know, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. And, you know, the funny thing is not only that, I would say that Cipollone looked out of his depth. Like he

really just looked like he shouldn't have been there. I wouldn't have even wanted him to be, you know, my defense attorney. Sekulow looked a little bit better. He's a TV guy. But Cipollone looked really bad. And he was the guy, first of all, who was also implicated in the obstruction issue because he sent that letter. But again, I think the Democrats have laid out an incredible case thus far. They've had visual aids. They've shown, they've let the president's own people and the State Department people tell the story for them in many cases.

Also, you had to appreciate Hakeem Jeffries, the Brooklyn dude, saying, if you don't know, now you know. I think everybody had to appreciate that, you know, but, you know, it's clear that we need to hear from Mulvaney and Duffy and Blair and Pompeo and Bolton and Parnas. And most importantly, we need those documents. There's no way to defend the fact that you're going to that Clinton gave 90,000 documents and they don't have to give any. They've given zero. You know, you had 37 new witnesses in the case for Andrew Johnson, and now they're saying you can't have new witnesses. There's really no defense for it,

so I don't really envy Sekulow or Cipollone or any of those other people. Of course, Dershowitz is making a fool of himself. So I think Democrats are slam dunking it, but we have such a partisan environment that in the end, it won't really make a difference. Rob, all these people keep talking about, oh, Susan Collins and Mitt Romney and Lamar Alexander. And I forgot the fourth person to keep bringing up Corey Gardner. And, you know, are they going to step up?

Hell no. No. I mean, I'm telling you right now, I have absolutely no faith in either one of them. Just like when you had Senator Jeff Flake, he would go on the floor and he would give these speeches and punk out and vote along with Trump. Ben Sasse, you ain't heard from his ass in the last 15 months or so. He was always running his mouth. He wrote a book and he was posting tweets.

But as he got closer to re-election, he sucked up to Trump. Trump endorsed him and he ain't said a damn thing. Yep, and he's not going to. Look, I see better than I hear. When people tell me that they're going to do something, they can talk. I judge it by their actions.

And looking at anybody that's in the Republican Party that's a current elected official, there is zero backbone. There is zero convictions in terms of having a moral obligation to this Constitution. They don't care about anything other than keeping power. So very, very predictable. I will say, I just want to make a quick reference to Hakeem Jeffries. As you know, I know you're a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha. But, you know, I like to say that Congressman Jeffries, of course, is the cap. I have to say that, fellow brother.

Anyway, I was proud of him. There's like a couple of y'all, so it ain't like there's that many of y'all. There's a few of us out there. There's a few of us representing well, brother. But, you know, the case was made very well. What's that? Who's next, Boozy? Well, he's got to be honorary.

He's not there yet. Well, y'all used to honoraries. Reesey. Reesey. See, you're the one who opened your mouth. You should. I know. I opened it up.

You know that Michael ain't saying nothing about Omega. See? He know how to act. I don't need to say anything. That's correct. He knows I don't need to say anything. Don't have a hashtag team with that ass show up. Uh-huh, see? All right, Reesey.

Again, watching this, you're seeing gutless Republicans. They all mad, upset because they can't get up and eat. They can only drink water. And then they can only drink. If they want some milk, you got to bring your own milk. And watching this, to me, what is a smarty how the Democrats have laid it out they have properly used the time when they were going through those amendments to connect all the dots right and so and then of course you got Fox

News over there who is just first of, they're doing the bidding more for Donald Trump than his own press secretary is as well. We haven't heard from her. Right. I have to go back to Hakeem Jeffries. I have to shout him out because he's a star, obviously. And I have to say, just to veer a little bit from impeachment, tell AOC and the Justice Democrats

to leave the black CBC members alone because she is trying to go after Hakeem Jeffries for his seat. So I think he has proved his mettle. For him, Gregory Meeks and some others. Right, right, right. So hands off of Hakeem Jeffries, period. But I think what we're seeing from the Republicans is they're co-conspirators. And I think it takes quite

a bit of guts to just sit up there and make the entire country see very plainly that you are 100% beholden to Donald Trump. Not the Constitution. Not to your constituents. That's bold as hell. And they're telling you, I dare you to hold me accountable.

I dare you to do any damn thing about it. And nobody is out in the streets. They, you know, I think, who was it, Chuck Grassley deactivated his voicemail. But they don't seem to be too pressed about this. So, you know, the Republicans are bold as hell, and the only thing that you can do is vote them out. Mike? You know, I find interesting

that the way 45 has absolutely punked these people, just completely punked them. At least John McCain, McCain may rest in peace stood up and he really did speak and acted this these folks and the thing I understand politically that they were in these seats before 16 before 45 got there so they have their own bases in their own state so either they're scared and got punked or they believe in this guy's vision and how he talks about people.

Can't have it both ways. Or they're compromised. Or they're somehow compromised. But there is no Republican Party right now. It's just the Trump Party and they are scared to death because he can...

This is the truth, right? He can't organize better than they have in a long time and he knows how to motivate his base. So he sends out one tweet for them.

It has made or broken people. So they're scared to death. They have no backbone. They only care about preserving their power. So right now it's Trump's party. There is no Republican party. It's Trump. Well, I would add to that.

I mean, look at Ted Cruz, a guy who Donald Trump literally insulted his family and insulted his wife. You know what I mean? Like, I don't understand what you're made of. Like, you know, if you have any hook for at all, if you have any backbone, that you would let another man insult your family and insult your wife, and you still bow your head to him.

You know, I don't know what he's done, what he does to make Donald Trump. Donald Trump, if he wanted to sell something, sell what it is that he has that makes grown men cower that way. I don't I don't even get it. But apparently somehow these Republicans, even the ones who are retiring. That's why I think your point about Lamar Alexander, which, by the way, when I hear the name Lamar Alexander, I do not picture that guy. But, you know, that's just me. But I could have swore I went to school with a guy named Lamar Alexander. But anyway, I don't understand. These guys aren't going to go against that.

For some reason, they're scared of the loudest voice. They're scared of these Republican constituents saying things about them, tweeting them, you know, and they back down and they cower. And look, they're getting stuff. Look, they're getting a lot of what they want done. Here's the other side of it. Right, and that's the key. Rob, go ahead. They want done, so they're getting judges through.

Something from Trumpism and Trump is that when we get a Democrat in the White House, which eventually is going to happen, theoretically, like, we don't have to apologize. Like, let's actually figure out how to get things done like they do instead of just figuring out, instead of apologizing and shuffling our feet. What Donald

Trump has shown me that apparently there's a lot more power in the presidency than we previously thought. So hopefully we get a Democrat there that they can at least have a little backbone and do a little more than Democrats usually do. Well, I think the problem is that Democrats always want to play nice. I mean, the difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party,

Democrats say, you know, there are rules and we need to follow the process and we have to be fair. I mean, I was reading a story about Mitch McConnell, and one of the folks, they were talking be fair. I mean, I was reading a story about Mitch McConnell, and one of the folks, they were talking about how ruthless he is, how he'll change the rules to suit him. Yes, that's called flexing

power. And I'm telling you right now, if Democrats wipe out some of these Republicans and take over the Senate, I'm telling you right now, every... Blue slip? Yo, don't even come talk to me.

This is exactly how the hearings will go. You done? Well, look at what's happening. I'll be like, you done? No. Oh, you got a suggestion? I don't give a damn. And then matter of fact, if Lindsey Graham opened his mouth, I'd be like, press plate when he was talking all that trash with his ass.

I'm telling you right now, I literally would not listen to anything that they say. If the Democrats take control of the Senate on the first day, hell, I'll confirm 10 judges. Damn a hearing. Yeah, but that's kind of wishful thinking, to be honest with you. No, no, no. Here's the deal. Cory Gardner's going to lose. Who?

Hicken Looper's going to beat Cory Gardner. Doug Jones could very well lose. Martha McSally will probably lose. But I think a lot of those other races, Lindsey Graham is going to be in a tight race. McConnell's going to be in a tight race. But I really believe they're probably going to pull it out. Here's the deal.

Look, look. Here's the thing that I said in 2016. I said it. You could pull the video. I got the receipts. I said it on MSNBC. What I said is you cannot account for white folks who have sat out the last election. I said if there is a stampede to the ballot box, Donald Trump beats Hillary Clinton. I said, they got to be scared of that. What happened? One, that happened. There was an increase in those rural voters, but there was a decrease of the black vote.

You also saw Hispanic voters, you saw young voters go down as well. Look, from a Democratic standpoint, this is why I totally disagree with Mike Bloomberg running. I know he says he's going to spend up to $2 billion to defeat Trump. This is why I totally disagree with Mike Bloomberg running. I know he says he's going to spend over $2 billion to defeat Trump. This is where it's an absolute turnout game. Democrats can.

Look, Mitch McConnell has ignored coal miners in his own state, the very people who he needs. Mitch McConnell can actually lose. So you can take out Mitch McConnell. You've got a quarter of a million or 300,000 eligible but unregistered African-Americans in South Carolina alone. You've had folks moving to that state as well. And so, look, in Mississippi, you have Mike Espy, who's running against Cindy Hyde-Smith. Mike Espy lost the last election in 2018 by 68,000 votes. If you look at, now granted, it's a state of 2.5 million people,

but if you look at the number of African-Americans who were registered but who didn't vote, the number of poor whites registered who didn't vote, the whole issue with lack of Medicaid expansion in Mississippi, Sidney Hyde-Smith can lose. But you have to put the resources on the ground in order to turn folks out. Recy, we saw this where, first, let's

be clear, a Democrat got re-elected as governor of Louisiana. A Democrat beat the Republican in Kentucky. John Cooper won in North Carolina. That only happened when people on the ground were reached. You knocked on doors, you touched people, but you can't come in thinking you're just going to run some ass

and they're going to jump out and vote. Well, but we're seeing the Democrats kind of double down on this whole Rust Belt strategy, not going to the South. So I don't really see them putting the resources that you need to unless you have a billionaire like Michael Bloomberg who's willing to cut a blank check to the South. Which is also why Michael White disagreed with Tom Steyer running. I mean, again, Tom Steyer was building that level of coalition, the amount of money he put in certain races, and fine, they're running. Okay, yeah, they think they're going to win. They're not.

I don't care what the latest poll. Latest poll shows Mike Bloomberg is in fourth place. Deval Patrick, I don't know why in hell he's running because he's not even showing up in 1%. But again, this is where Republicans, regardless of what they say about Trump, they're going to vote for him again. They don't care.

They don't care about how he trashes women. They don't care about the lying. They don't care. And so Democrats that better understand that this is about being hardcore when it comes to turning your people out. And stop trying to chase white conservative women in the suburbs.

Well, he has... Hold on one second. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Mike, go ahead. He has 45, however you want to look at 16. A lot of it was luck. He got very lucky. Absolutely.

He pulled his little straight flush. He got very lucky. This time, his campaign folks understand that they have to actually be on the ground and get people out. They're going to have an operation. Besides running ads, besides rallies, he is going to be knocking on doors and and get people out. They're going to have an operation. Besides running ads, besides rallies, he is going to be knocking on doors and pulling his people to the polls. What Democrats have to do, we have to do, is twofold.

One, and Roland, you've heard me talk about it, I'm sorry to sound like a broken record, but Chairman Perez at some point has to stop the primary. At some point, whenever the primary season, whenever it's done, after Super Tuesday, I THINK THE PRIMARY SEASON IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF A TRIP. WHAT I'M SAYING IS, WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAYS AT SOME POINT HAS TO STOP THE PRIMARY. AT SOME POINT, WHENEVER THE

PRIMARY SEASON, WHENEVER IT'S DONE, AFTER SUPER TUESDAY, MAYBE LET PEOPLE GET THROUGH MARCH, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF APRIL, YOU GOT TO DO WHAT MY FATHER DID. HE CUT THE PRIMARY OFF AND SAID CLINTON IS THE GUY, LET'S MOVE

ON. LET'S GIVE THE GUY THE REST OF THE SUMMER, ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE CONVENTION. HILLARY CLINTON DIDN'T HAVE THE All the way through the convention Hillary Clinton didn't have the catapult She had a great convention But she was still you had still Bernie Sanders people still angry and upset and pissed off and I'm not gonna vote for Hillary I don't like her no chance to mend fences And then you got to do one-on-one with a guy that lies and has half a billion dollars Yeah, the problem here is it wrong about to go to you in the second the problem here though That the calendar has also been shortened super twos is gonna take place on March 3rd The Democrat their Democratic National Convention is the second week of July here, though, that the calendar's also been shortened. Super Tuesday's going to take place on March 3rd. The Democratic National Convention is the second

week of July. Yep. And so, I'm telling you right now, this race is not going to be over by Super Tuesday. No. This race is going to go to May or June. Yeah. Look, if Buttigieg somehow wins Iowa, if Sanders

wins New Hampshire, and then if Joe Biden wins South Carolina, three of your first four states are going to have three different winners. And so that's one of the things that you're dealing with. Democrats have proportional delegation as opposed to want to take all. That's going to extend this whole deal. Go ahead, Rob. Yeah, I have a couple of really different points for Michael. I would say, I don't think Trump got lucky

in 2016. I think there was some strategy, particularly how they did their digital strategy, and the Clinton campaign really had no real digital strategy. They were specific. They knew who they were targeting. If you don't believe me, you can see the great hack on Netflix. They go through it all in detail. And I still think Democrats have

an underappreciation for what they need to do there. I am sure of it. And so I do agree with him that they're going to be even more prepared now. Second, my experience as being a candidate, I was the Democratic nominee for Ohio treasurer. And a lot of the philosophy generally was to do exactly what you said, Roland. Like, let's just figure out we're going to get some more of those voters back. Let's figure out how to market to everybody and essentially market to no one. And, you know, that's what happened.

Now, we got a ton of votes, almost got 2 million votes, which is actually more votes than Casey got. Here's what they didn't anticipate. Those people came out in rural communities, and they came out in stronger numbers than our base did in terms of looking at young people, African-Americans. Bruh, hold on, hold on, hold on. Hillary Clinton lost Ohio by 450,000 votes. They didn't just come out in huge numbers.

Lots of Democrats who worked for unions. It was all about NAFTA. She wasted more time and money going to Ohio. And I'm going to be perfectly honest with you, okay? In this cycle, and you've already seen Priorities Pack say it, they're not going to waste time and money in Ohio.

I would not straight up, look, all people in Ohio, I love y'all, but I'm just looking at hardcore numbers. Right. And Ohio's not the point. I don't want to make the point of looking at Ohio. I want to make the point of the strategy. I think the strategy was off. Hold on. But the strategy was off. But we also look, you have to concede Hillary Clinton was the perfect candidate for Trump to beat. No question about it. Because the narrative about Hillary Clinton was already locked in stone.

The Republicans are already paying. You couldn't get out of it. Which gets to my next point. You're absolutely right. There are some candidates that can fall under that same trap, especially if your philosophy is the same as the Clinton campaign was. I think it's a losing strategy. That's what I'm trying to say.

Well, first of all, we've got an issue, of course, where Hillary Clinton is still making noises. There's a four-part Hulu series that is called Hillary that will be airing. And then, of course, it has hit the premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this weekend. And in this particular docuseries, she did not mince words when it came to Senator Bernie Sanders. Quote, he was in Congress for years.

He had one senator support him. Nobody likes him. Nobody wants to Senator Bernie Sanders. Quote, he was in Congress for years. He had one senator support him. Nobody likes him. Nobody wants to work with him. He got nothing done. He was a career politician. It's all just baloney, and I feel so bad that people got sucked into it. When asked if he gets a nomination, will she endorse and campaign for him, she responded, quote, I'm not going to go there yet. We're still in a very vigorous primary season. I will say, however, that it's not only on him, it's the culture around him. It's his leadership team.

It's his prominent supporters. It's his online Bernie bros, their relentless attacks on lots of his competitors, particularly the women. And I really hope people are paying attention to that because it should be worrisome that he has permitted this culture. Not only permitted, he seems to really be very much supporting it. I don't think we want to go down that road again where you campaign by insult and attack and maybe you try to get some distance from it,

but you either don't know what your campaign and supporters are doing or you're just giving them a wink and you want them to go after Kamala Harris or after Elizabeth Warren. I think that's a pattern that people should take into account when they make their decisions. Now, all these media people rambled and said, Hillary Clinton said she is not going to campaign for Bernie Sanders. That's not what she said. She never said such things.

She says, I'm not ready to go there yet. Why? Because her deal is not one vote has been cast. Recy, you have been quite animated on Twitter with your clapbacks towards Bernie bros, or you call

them also Bernie brunettes. Bro-ettes. Bro-ettes, I'm sorry. Mm-hmm. Yeah, because Hillary is totally right. Let me start by saying, even if she didn't want to campaign for him, so what? She doesn't have to. The problem is we're not making people work for our votes anymore. It me start by saying, even if she didn't want to campaign for him, so what? She doesn't have to. The problem is we're not making people work for our votes anymore.

It's just vote blue no matter who. No, you're an asshole. I don't want to vote for you. And Bernie is the worst, and so are his supporters. And I'm glad that she name-checked Kamala Harris because these folks have gone after Kamala Harris for years. And so good on Hillary Clinton for standing up to Bernie Sanders. It's about damn time that somebody did it. Everybody's acting like they're scared of him because his bros are monsters. I

said it and I don't care. And you know what? They're not going to be able to bully their way to this primary, to the nomination, or to strong arm people into voting for him. And if they don't think that there's going to be a huge never BernieBernie problem, they're in for a rude-ass awakening, period. Let's go to Jason. What about that? What reasons do you have to say? I have to disagree with that. I think Hillary's making, in many ways, a big mistake. I understand what she's saying about, you know, not wanting to go there yet. Bernie Sanders went to, I believe, 34 campaign stops for Hillary Clinton. And the other thing I would say is that

Hillary Clinton is also destroying her legacy. She's making herself look like a sore loser who's looking for an excuse for why she lost. And I think in many ways, you know, her criticism should be saved for her enemies. We have, you know, we as Democrats oftentimes end up eating our own and then we come out weakened. And I guess we're not stronger together as what she said before. So, look, Bernie Sanders, if you think he's not the right candidate, support the candidate that you think is the best candidate.

But going after Bernie Sanders at this point, I think is really just a bad idea. It's bad for Democrats all around. And then we get surprised and on November 9th or, you know, in 2016, we're wondering what happened. It's because we fractured ourselves too much instead of actually saying, all right, we have an existential threat on the other side. We need to unite. And, you know, the Bernie, there are some crazy Bernie people. There are some absolutely insane white feminist Hillary supporters do pretty much the same thing. I think it's just election season. There's good people. There's bad people. There's people who support people for good reasons. There are people who support people for the wrong reasons.

And so I wouldn't, and oh, the last thing I'll say really quickly is that this myth of the never Hillary or what was it, a Bernie or bust, that's actually been disproven by the numbers. More people abandoned President Obama from, after voting for Hillary Clinton, voted for John McCain, than people who abandoned Hillary Clinton after voting for Bernie Sanders. So, you know, that Bernie or bust thing is a myth. That's not even true. Michael, I don't quite understand. I mean, I hear all the folks who say, oh, my God, this is hurting.

And when I see people complain about Democrat Circular Firing Squad, it's a damn election. Okay? I'm sorry. Show me an election where everybody was nice and wonderful and hugging, and we hug it all out.

In an election, your job is to take out your opponent. And that's what Bernie does. Let's be clear. Mm-hmm. Obama had some major opposition research people going after Hillary Clinton. Mm-hmm. They weren't the best of buds.

Oh, now, he might have done it with a smile, but that's what you're dealing with. And so I don't get people who act as if Bernie Sanders shouldn't be going after Joe Biden, Joe Biden shouldn't be going after the Buttigieg, they were all pissed off with Senator Harris when she went after

Joe Biden. You're running a race! That's what the hell you do in election. And all we do is go back to 16, the Republican primary, They were going after each other like crazy. But the difference is when that primary was

over, every single solitary one of them endorsed 45. All of them. Right. In our case, and again, I understand that Bernie, Senator Sanders went to 34 stops for Secretary Clinton, but he was very late to the party. A lot of his supporters were

late. They were still moaning and groaning on Twitter talking about, oh, I'm not going to support her even if Bernie does it. So there is a lasting in the 2016 GOP primary. I cannot, all of them, even when, and you were right, I forget what other panelists mentioned, this guy

was talking about people's wives, their families, assassinating Kennedy. Right. You accused Ted Cruz's daddy of being a part of the assassination plot to kill Kennedy. And Cruz stood on that stage hand in hand. I support this guy for president. And that's the thing, Rob, that I don't quite understand. I mean, look, Democrat Republicans are going to be like, yo, it's about winning. Democrats will walk around in their feelings. It's like, no, I'm going to stay at home as if this evil man somehow is not going to win. That's stupid to me.

That's stupid. And that was the most irresponsible part of Hillary Clinton's statement. The reason why she's not running right now, now and she wants to endorse somebody, endorse somebody. But what she said, either directly or indirectly, is like, don't support this guy whatsoever. So I think two things. One, that might actually help him in the short run. If you didn't want him to be that, that's not what she should have done, in my opinion, from my perspective. You know, two, it looks like she is re-litigating 2016 and making excuses. Both of us learned about excuses online about why she lost. Listen, there were some unfair things done to her.

There's no question. But I don't see how this helps us resolve the current issue, which is the current president occupant of the White House and getting rid of him. So this helps promote. I mean, we're talking about Hillary Clinton. I'm sure this will help make money for the Hulu series, but it's not going to necessarily help us get rid of Donald J. Trump. That needs to be the focus. Nobody attacks Democrats more than Bernie Sanders and the

Justice Dems. They talk about the establishment, neoliberal corporate shield. Bernie Sanders has the Young Turks. He has the Intercept. He has the Guardian. He has Jacobin. He has all of these machines around him that pump out this message that the Democrats are the enemy, except for them.

And now, all of a sudden, when Hillary Clinton opens up her mouth, they want to talk about unity? Hillary Clinton is the former nominee for president. Yeah, I didn't know that I would say that. One, two. Yeah?

Two, she's been previously, like, she's a very high-profile person. Yeah. She could do enough damage if he was to win. I'm not saying he is and i'm not picking a candidate i'm just saying i don't see how this a helps him not winning the primary because then that might make people more motivated get more money and it seems like the

polls are proving that point and then second in case he comes out like i think it makes it very difficult it makes it even more difficult to get past it so what what was gained by this other than us talking about hillary cl Okay, this is real simple. Okay, first of all, let's do a poll. National polls. Primaries are not national polls. They are state elections. And not even state elections.

Iowa has a caucus. Okay? That's what's going on here. And so, look, I get all these national polls. National polls mean nothing. A national poll showing that Joe Biden can beat Donald Trump means nothing. Why? The election is determined by who can get to 270.

Those are state elections. And here's the deal. Hillary Clinton said what she had to say. I don't give a shit. I really don't. My deal is she offered her opinion, just like Bernie Sanders offers his opinion Okay, these things happen and so look one of his supporters wrote this column blasted Joe Biden for corruption

Bernie had to come out and apologize for it. This is still an election You're gonna have people who don't like you and that's just what it is, right? Okay, and that's just a fact. But the real deal here, and look, let me just go ahead and put it on the table. There are a lot of Democrats who are pissed off at Bernie Sanders for jumping into the party, forcing the Democratic Party to change

his rules, and then him not declaring that he's a Democrat. I mean, so, look, he wants it both ways. I want you to change your rules, but I ain't gonna be one of you. Well, how in the hell you gonna change my rules? That's like having somebody say, change your rules in

Alpha. You ain't Alpha. Go sit your ass down. I mean, that's what you got going on here. And so, one of the issues, though, that you also have, you got Bernie people, some of them who love Bernie but voted for Trump. You got Democrats who voted for Obama, voted for Trump. And so at the end of the day, what has to happen is ain't nobody voted once.

Let the folks vote in 13 days in Iowa. Then, damn it, let's go to New Hampshire. Then let's go to Nevada. Let's go to New Hampshire. Let's go to Nevada. Let's go to South Carolina. But what I'm not going to do is shut an election down when hell, not a single vote has been cast. So damn all these polls.

Somebody needs to check Bernie. Period. Now Biden is starting to get on his case a little bit and he's had some success with that. What happens in elections? That's what happens. I'm just tired of people who go, well, no, no, no.

You shouldn't be attacking each other. Yes, you should. I agree with that, but why Clinton? Let me ask you, can I... Jason, go, go. My question is, all I... You know, a lot of people were saying what happened with Kamala Harris was unfair. It was.

So is it your position, Roland, that that was fair? Like, the way she was attacked, the way, you know, the way that went down, the way her, you know, people talked about her campaign, that was absolutely fair game. That were... That's your position that I understand. Let me be clear.

There were people who attacked Senator Kamala Harris who were lying about her record. There were people, there's no doubt, if you look at the data, you had Russian trolls who also amplifying that message because they deem her to be one of the biggest threats to win the Democratic nomination. But also one of the fundamental problems that her campaign did not anticipate nor properly respond. The bottom line is this here. If you know the people are going to go after you because of your prosecutorial record, what you can't do is wait until September, the Monday before the debate at Texas Southern University, and release your criminal justice plan.

Not when you got in the race in March. If you knew what was considered a weakness, what you do is you shore up your weaknesses early. You do not allow six months to go by and then let the whole thing fester and build up. You don't have three debates where you frankly couldn't answer the attack on your record as an attorney general.

So two things can be correct. There were unfair attacks on Senator Kamala Harris, but also her people did not properly respond or anticipate what those attacks were. And so that's what happens in politics. All is fair in love and war. Okay. And so that's all it is.

Okay, yeah. If you're saying that it's all fair because there are certainly attacks on Bernie Sanders that are fair. There have been attacks on Tulsa Gabbard that are fair. There have been attacks on them that are unfair. But if you're saying this is politics, this is the way it goes,

then I can totally understand your position. That is my position, and that's been my position since day one. And let me tell you something, my colleague Tulsi Gabbard, she can go kick rocks, especially this bullshit lawsuit she's filed against Hillary Clinton when Hillary Clinton didn't even name her in a podcast. But as Reese said in her post, hit dog will holler.

That's Tulsi Gabbard. She needs to sit her ass down and get out of the race because all she's doing is wasting breath because, again, she's amplifying what Russia wants to do. And I don't care what she has to say about it. So deal with it, okay? You're not going to get the nomination. You're not going to get close to any votes. So guess what? Sit down. John Delaney, get out of the race. Michael Bennett, stop running. You got no place whatsoever in this race as well. So go sit down. It ain't going to happen. So that's why I'm like, yo, please hurry up. Iowa and New Hampshire and Nevada and South

Carolina votes. So at least 60 people can go home and stop wasting our time because you're absolutely right. Republicans are raising hundreds of millions of dollars because they want to protect Donald Trump being in the White House. That's what they're doing because there are three people, three constituencies that are very happy. National security Republicans, they love the billions he keeps giving to the Defense Department, so they're going to vote for him regardless of whatever. Then you have Chamber of Commerce Republicans, Love their tax cuts. Love getting rid of regulation. They don't give a damn about the environment. They don't care about the air and water quality. They're going to vote for Trump because he's getting rid of regulation.

They're making money. And thirdly, these crazy, nonsensical, white conservative evangelicals, all they can't stand is abortion and same-sex marriage. So he's giving them the pick, whatever judges they want, and so they will excuse any behavior that he has. And that's what's going on. But I'm trying to tell all you people out there who are sitting at home, and I'm going to say it again, and I know Cleo Monago doesn't like me to say it,

but all you dumbasses who didn't vote in 2016, I'm calling you out because you're an idiot for sitting at home. I don't care who you think isn't perfect or who isn't lining up with all of your issues. You're going to have two choices. I don't care what none of y'all have to say. It's going to be a Democratic nominee and it's going to be an evil ass man named Trump. And we already see what he can do in the first four years. He's already been impeached. He's already said he will take Russia foreign interference again. This is a man

who is evil. This is a man who is going to appoint more judges. If Donald Trump wins another four years, he likely will be appointing half of all federal judges on the bench. That should scare the hell out of anybody who cares about civil rights or

environmental protection, who cares about any of those things. And so that's what's going to happen. So y'all can sit here and go back and forth with the Bernie bros and broettes and the Tulsa people and the Hillary people and everybody else, but I'm telling you right now, when it's time for that Democratic convention,

you better lock and load because these folks, they want to run this country in a way that minimizes black people, Latinos, LGBT, Asians, Native Americans. If you ain't white, you ain't right. Just look at who they're targeting. Got to go to a break. We come back. We'll talk about Delonte West and why we should not be joking with his mental illness.

Also talk to Byron Cage about his new book as well. Folks, all of that next's Roland Martin Unfiltered. See that name right there? Roland Martin Unfiltered. Like, share, and subscribe to our YouTube channel. That's youtube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin. And don't forget to turn on your notifications so when we go live, you'll know it. If you want to support Roland Martin Unfiltered, be sure to join our Bring the Funk fan club.

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You can make this possible. RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Earlier this week, this video surfaced of former NBA guard Jelante West being handcuffed Every year, you can make this possible. RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Earlier this week, this video surfaced of former NBA guard Jelante West being handcuffed after a fight broke out here in the Washington, D.C. area. We're not gonna show that video. According to TMZ, a witness told police

that West started the street fight by throwing a glass bottle at the other man. The Prince George's County, Maryland police found out that one of their officers recorded the viral video and conducted a full investigation. The video made its rounds on social media following the incident, and the department conducted a full investigation, leading up to the officer's indefinite suspension. Recy, I'm not showing this video because, one, Delonte West has a serious mental illness problem. This has been the case for a number of years. Uh, folks have been joking about, joking about him.

They've been mocking him. When he was getting beat in the middle of the street, all these cars stopped. Nobody came to his assistance. And then, I mean, it was just shameful. Uh, and, I mean, this is, this is what happens when you deal with people who have problems with mental illness and they're not getting the help that they need.

Right. Yeah, it was very disturbing. And even the woman recording the video was like, somebody call the police. Get off your phone and call the police. Right. You know, but I mean, I feel for him. I will say one thing when I watch a video

and then I read the stories is I do think sometimes we have a tendency to really react very strongly to videos without necessarily having all the facts. I mean, it's a 38 second clip for as far as him being interrogated by the police officer. And, you know, there was a little bit more to the story than his, you know, to me, understandable agitation at being handcuffed after just getting, having just getting beat up. But it is encouraging that he's with his family and he seems to be getting some help. And there was some outpouring of support. And people were certainly much more sensitive to the fact that he has bipolar, as he's stated himself, rather than making a mockery of it and calling him crazy and putting him all

these lists that they used to put him on to try to make it seem like he was just some sort of, you know, crazy person instead of being sensitive to his condition. Rob, this is, again, I mean, I think that it's very easy to sit here and make fun of jokes and make fun of people and make jokes, but he is a serious problem. People have been asking for the NBA or at least the Players Association to help one of their former players. Yeah, you know, a couple things on this.

You know, social media has a lot of great things and it connects us, but it also has a dark side. It amplifies some of the worst of human nature, some of the worst pre-existing conditions we already have. So to talk about people, to judge people quickly, and obviously we saw that play out with this. But yes, absolutely the NBA should be investing heavily in mental health, and it's one of their former players.

And it's a situation that we as a black community have to begin to take more seriously too because we think we can just sometimes pray it away. No, you need to get real help, and it shouldn't be made fun of, and it should be talked about. There's nothing wrong with admitting that you need help, and we should seek the services and not shy away from those things. Jason.

Yeah, I wanna echo that. So, you know, I'm from Maryland, and so I know a lot of people who, I don't know Delonte myself, but I know a lot of people who know him, and I've talked to people who have actually been in contact with his family. It's a difficult time for them. I will say that Delonte, despite his condition, is a strong dude,

and I believe that he will, with help and with the right people around him and the right professional help, that he's going to bounce back. I also just briefly want to say from the video of the attack, anybody who's done any kind of training, any kind of fighting training, knows that if somebody stomps on your head, that's a kill shot. That person should be in prison to me. That person needs to go to jail. I don't care what the circumstances were ahead of time,

but when you stomp on someone's head, you are literally trying to kill them. And so I think that, you know, we haven't, no one's really had a conversation about that person's culpability. And, you know, that was basically an attempted murder. You know, that wasn't just a fistfight. When you have someone who's incapacitated

and you stomp on their head, that's really, really a problem. But Delonte, again, I want to echo what they said, you know, besides, you know, the love and prayers that we want to send him and his family. I really hope that, you know, the NBA and everybody who can get involved that can help Delonte in his condition can help him and he can bounce back and be there for his family. Michael, again, we could have easily shown the video. I chose not to. It's my call. I want to apologize for it because there's no sense.

The way folks have made fun of him, I mean, that is a serious, serious problem that he's dealing with. It's affecting a lot of people across this country. This country has slashed mental health services. is a serious, serious problem that he's dealing with. It's affecting a lot of people across this country. This country has slashed mental health services, cities, counties, and states, and that's one of the reasons why

we have such a huge problem, especially when it comes to homelessness as well. You're right, and Rishi just mentioned, you know, call the police. Instead, people are talking about WorldStar, how quickly can I post this online? And that's back to, I forget which panelist talked about, the social media and how great it is and it connects us, but it also has these negative parts about social media.

And that's just kind of what happens, and it's unfortunate. And again, I guess we're all sending our thoughts and prayers to his family. All right, gonna go to a break. When we come back, we'll chat with Byron Cage about his new book and his new album, next on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Roland Martin Unfiltered. and prayers to his family. All right, gonna go to a break. We come back, we'll chat with Byron Cage about his new book and his new album next on Roland Martin Unfiltered.

Roland Martin Unfiltered. Be sure to join our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar that you give to us supports our daily digital show. There's only one daily digital show out here that keeps it black and keep it real. As Roland Martin Unfiltered, support the Roland Martin Unfiltered daily digital show

by going to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing 50 bucks each for the whole year. You can make this possible. RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. All right, folks, on Monday, February 3rd and Tuesday, February 4th, the National Leadership Conference is issuing a call to action. Next year, of course, this year is going to be a critical year for the election, as well as for the census. And so people are focused on, of course, what's going to happen in the fall with the election. People are also focusing on making sure we are not undercounted. The black community needs to be organized and assert the full force and power of our communities,

including electing people who will champion our interests. The conference will be called with a sense of urgency that concludes with a specific action plan for African-American leaders to take back to their communities. Pull the graphic up, please. Also taking place on, it's called Emergency Convening of National Black Leadership Summit. And so Monday, it will take place, February 3rd, at the Hyatt Regency, Washington Capitol Hill. And then, of course, on Tuesday, February 4th, it will take place on Capitol Hill. And so we at Roland Martin Unfiltered, we've been talking with Congresswoman Karen Bass. We're going to be live streaming both of those days, all of the sessions. I'll be moderating one of those as well.

And so we're going gonna be involved with that. And so if you want to get more information, go to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation website. You can also go to cbc.house.gov forward slash 2020 summit. cbc.house.gov forward slash 2020 summit. And so tomorrow, folks, let's be sure we have that graphic, that website on the bottom so people can have that.

And so, again, two days of an emergency meeting for African-American Leadership Summit. And we certainly look forward to carrying that right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks. OK. All right, folks. So one second. So Byron Cage, he is in the house. He has a new book. He's got a new album.

Check this out. Oh, how good it is to be in the presence of the Lord. My soul rejoices being in the presence of the King. So refreshing, such a blessing. There's no place I'd rather be than in the presence of the King. Anybody like to be in his presence? Let me sing it again. Oh, how good it is to be in the presence of the Lord.

My soul rejoices being in the presence of the King. All right, folks, that song there is Oh, How Good It Is. That is the single. Go to my iPad, show you what that particular single looks like. And, of course, the album, it is called Isolation. That's the name of the album there.

And in addition to that, he also has the book, I Do, The Marriage Between Ministry and Music. Byron Cage, welcome, man. What's going on? First of all, let me say thank you. You look good in red. That red is looking amazing on you. You mean the Houston Rockets colors? No, no, let me say thank you. You look good in red that red jet red Let's look at amazing on you. Maybe it mean the Houston Rockets color. No, no

I heard you see that are my other fraternity brother that are Do you see that are the right color? That's for the right and if you ever see you see I'm honoring Delta you all right with me. Let's be clear. You see me in and white, I'm honoring Delta. You all right with me? Let's be clear. You see me in red and white, I'm honoring Delta. You all right with me? It ain't never got jack to do with Capra. I don't deal with any organizations below my Alpha pay grade.

Oh, listen, listen to you. Listen to you. I'll be buying that spirit right now. You can buy it all you want to. You know Jesus was an Alpha. Don't even front. Don't even front. You got to remember without alpha, y'all known as Kappa Psi. Ah, no, not at all.

You see what this is right here. Go ahead with the alpha in it. All right. Anyway, all right, y'all. Glad to have Byron on the show. Let's go to a break. See y'all. We shut that down real quick. So first, let's talk about the book, I Do, The Marriage Between Ministry and Music.

What's that about? Man, I chronicled my 30 years before I retired in 2018 in December after doing full-time ministry as a minister of music. And I talk about my years. You retired from what? From being a minister of music. There you go. I did that full-time for 30 years. And it was a great time. Of course, I started in Grand Rapids at a church called Bethel. You retired from what? From being a minister of music. There you go. I did that full time for 30 years.

And it was a great time, of course. I started in Grand Rapids at a church called Bethel. So I talk about the years there, me growing up with the DeBarge family and the things that I've learned and all that good stuff. Then we moved to Detroit. I talk about that. And me and Fred Hammond and a lot of us went to the same church there. And I was still directing choirs. But it wasn't until I got to Atlanta and I started working for Bishop Eddie Long.

He was Reverend Eddie Long at the time in 1988 where New Birth only had like 400 or 500 members. And then when I left 10 years later, it was well over 20,000. And I just talk about the funny stories of Ebenezer and even of St. Paul and Richmond. And I just kind of tell pastors and music people how to get along together in the pulpit because they're always fighting. Every place I go, a lot of times, pastors think that musicians are crazy. Musicians think pastors are jealous of the music because, you know, a lot of times, music, because it's inspirational, will get a really celebrated type of

response. And sometimes, if a pastor is intimidated by that response, it feels like if the congregation was quiet when he was preaching, that maybe someway, somehow, it failed when that's not necessary. That's about the dumbest thing. It really is. I don't understand the logic. I don't

understand, and look, my wife is ordained minister. I don't mean any preachers. I don't understand preachers getting mad and being jealous of the music ministry. It's just the dumbest thing in the world to me. Bishop Walter Scott Thomas in Baltimore said, be free. We were on the flightest thing in the world to me. It's there. Bishop Walter Scott Thomas in Baltimore set me free. We were on a flight going to the Bahamas to do TBN.

And this is when I resigned from New Birth the second time. And he said, Byron, what's wrong? You seem to be a little bit distraught. And I told him, you know, I just felt like it was time for me to go because I never want to be in the way. And I never want to feel like what I'm bringing to the table is not what you asked for. And because I served him for so many years, I just believed that that was really what the church wanted.

The church responded. It was a great time. And unfortunately, it kind of pushed me out. And I told him, I just felt like I need to get out and let you get someone in here who really can give you what you want. So I left the second time. So Walter Scott Thomas said something to me, and I talk about it in the book. He said, Byron, if you have a leader who really only wants a celebration to happen at the point of revelation, which is the word, but not at the inspirational moment, which is the music, then, yeah, you'll have some problems. So I'm brutally honest in this book because musicians aren't always right, but pastors aren't always right either.

And I think that if we find that happy meeting place of where we understand that a pastor has a vision for a church and how we can support that musically for the church, then I think that we could have a more harmonious relationship in the pulpit. Also, what people don't realize is when you hear the phrase, you don't want to see how the sausage is made. There are folk who look at church from the pews, and it's a whole different world behind the pulpit. When you look at shows like Greenleaf,

and people might say, oh, it's television. No, it ain't. No, no, no, that's real. And church is a business as well. People, you can say what you want to say. Hallelujah, glory to God. We got to have the money to make sure that church happens. We got to be able to bring the tithes into the storehouse, the Bible says,

that there may be meat, you know, food for those who serve the way that they do. And I think that when people are obedient in their giving, then it becomes an act of worship that this is something that they love to do because the Bible says this is a commandment that we should do. So when you reflect on those 30 years, what was the craziest thing? The craziest thing that happened? This is a new birth story, and this is a true story. I had just gotten to new birth, maybe three or four months, and Bishop Long said to me, this is when new birth was at 2778 Snapfinger Road in Decatur, Georgia. And he said, Byron,

I want you to give me a firing number before I preach. And I said, okay, you're talking to the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World guy who knows how to direct choirs. I'm the choir master. So I stood the choir up and I said, y'all ready? And in the 1980s, remember you have the Thompson Community Choir, you had Donalville Choir, you had so many big directors. So I did this song called There Is No Way I Could Live Without You. And when we got to the end of the part, you know, of course, in the 80s, you had to slow the music down. So I slowed the last down. I have tried over. And I started directing.

So it boomed up with all my antics. My Ricky Dillon directing. I'm over, I'm over, I'm over. And I just went, and then I just ran down the aisle like this. And the church went bananas. I mean, they just, everybody lost it. it and so Bishop long Reverend long at the time he had to start on 10,000 just to even get anybody listen to him people were shouting so bad so after the the second service he says to me as he's walking out you know cuz I'm quivering

on the piano like like I he says to me I'm gonna see you in my office before the third service so I'm thinking he's gonna give me a raise I'm thinking he's gonna praise me look at me and just anoint my see you in my office before the third service. So I'm thinking he's going to give me a raise. I'm thinking he's going to praise me. He's going to look at me and just anoint my head with oil and my cup is going to run over. I knock on his door. He says, come here. He said, come in, come in. So he had his head down. He saw it was me. He said, if you ever

do that again, I'll fire you. And I said, I did what you asked me to do. I did exactly what you asked me to do. So, of course, the anointing lifted off of me at that moment. And then he had some choice words to say in Baptist words. And I went back into before the third service.

I wrote my resignation out. And I gave it to him. But that particular service, that third service, I still had to conduct the music. It was like a Presbyterian funeral in there. It was dead. There was no spirit. I had no light. I don't want to like a Presbyterian funeral in there. It was dead. There was no spirit. I had no light. I don't want to be bothered with it.

So I sat there and was dead. After the third service, he said, I'm gonna see you in my office again. Now I'm like this, wah, come on. I'm ready. I'm like, come on, doc. You have a letter in your pocket.

Bro, let me tell you, I'm from Detroit, partner. No, no, you had written that resignation letter that you already had. Yeah, I had handed it to him. So you handed him before the second service. Before the third service. Before the third service.

And he read it and just put it in his Bible. So when he said he wanted to see me again, I was like, man, where's my switchblade? Let me find something. So I knocked on the door. He said, come in again. He said, listen, sit down. He said, I owe you an apology because you gave me what you thought I wanted. He said, because you're Pentecostal and I'm Baptist. He said, I owe you an apology because you gave me what you thought I wanted. He said, because you're Pentecostal and I'm Baptist. He said, I thought you understood.

I didn't clearly articulate, but I never want the moment like that before I have to preach. He said, I want it to be reverent. I want people to be ready to receive the word. I said, oh, okay, I got it. And so through the rest of those years that I served there, even if I did have a bump in the road, I knew how to make an adjustment to make it right. So that way, because he was not a singer, he tried one time to sing, we are climbing Jacob's ladder. Do you want to hear? Here it goes. We are climbing Jacob.

And it was like almost a shout. And people were literally screaming laughing because they didn't know if it was for real. I mean, it was funny. It was really hilarious. He never sang again after that. You know what I'm saying? But it was, I mean, I had so many wonderful stories of being, you know, minister of music

in the 30 years that I did it. And I just wanted to step back now that I'm moving closer to 60. I said, it's time for me to let some other young people come up and put a perspective on there. You know, the young people are so talented. I just don't want them to lose what know, the young people are so talented. I just don't want them to lose what we do as a people in gospel music.

But I really, man, I had a wonderful, wonderful experience for 30 years. I'm going to come back to that. How did you deal with the explosive allegations that hit New Birth, working there, knowing people there, and people leaving in droves. And membership went down to less than 1,000. And it was interesting, because when it happened, I wrote a very critical article on CNN.com, was on the air, and his folks were upset and mad at me because I had

previously done some stories on him for Savoy Magazine and some other ones. And I said, let me be clear. I said, I speak truth regardless. Right, right. Well, you know what? I had been gone, I think, the second time, maybe three or four years when that came out. And I was so just distraught over the fact that people can just be so, I think, vicious unless you had all of the truth. And because I didn't know who those individuals were other than maybe seeing them work out in the gym or something.

And Bishop never came at me in a way that would have ever made me feel like that because I was the minister of music for the church. And I was doing all the creative concepts for videos, wrote the songs, his jingles for his preaching thing that he was doing. And I just I was just saddened. I was saddened that if it were true, that he still has to stand before a just God. I even look at Jamal Bryant, who's my frat brother as well, and he has some harsh things to say. And he's the pastor of the church today because I think people have the right to be able to speak what they want to speak. But then there's something called the truth as well. And one thing I don't think that we all knew, we will all ever know what everything truth,

what the entire truth was based on those who were accusing him and then the things that he said out of his mouth, like, you know, I ain't cast the first stone yet. You know, I feel like David against Goliath. And some of those statements, I think, were some of the downfalls where people started turning. Oh yeah. I said

look, you hit me with those allegations, ain't going to be no private mediation. Everything, we live streaming. My whole deal is because at the end of the day I think back to Max Robinson.

He was dying in 1988. He speaks at Howard University. And he says, never, ever lose your integrity or your credibility, because in the end, it's all you've got. Yeah, but I think unfortunately, though, especially with social media and the way they can do it, there was an individual who did a story about me. My manager called me and got my label involved because someone said that I had been in a relationship and I gave Bishop Long AIDS.

And I said, what? What are you talking about? So I read the story. We got involved. Somebody wrote that? Somebody wrote that. Yeah, see right there. And see, those kind of things like that.

And because I'm from Detroit, you know what I'm saying? It's one of those things that you say, might not have a church moment right there, I'm just saying. But you know what? My mother said this to me. She said, you never have to worry might not have a church moment right there, I'm just saying, but you know what? I was at my mother's citizen. She said, you never have to worry about God. Believe in a lie. Live your truth.

And in the 30 years that I've been minister of music, I've never been fired for anything. I've never been called on the table for anything. My time has been very honorable as a gospel artist. This is my 10th CD, and I've been in it for 25 years with a blameless, spotless record, with the exception of my divorce, you know? But other than that, you know, I look at people who have the ability to remain anonymous but talk about public people in such a vicious way in a lot of instances where it's not even true.

You know what I'm saying? Someone said, Roland, that you really didn't want to be an alpha. You wanted to be a kappa, you know, but... We know that's a lie. We know that's a lie. I mean, that was absolutely no consideration given to any junior level organization. None, like none, none whatsoever. Yeah, but what I really am glad about what Jamal is doing now at New Birth, man, they are

growing again by leaps and bounds because he is, you know, not just a capital, but he also is a man who understands community, and he has a love for whatever happened in Baltimore where he felt the leading to have to go. Man, he made the right decision to go to Atlanta because new birth right now, man, and I was there for 12 years. I was there when it was the glory years before the big fall from grace, but I'm just grateful to see what God is doing there again for them. All right, questions?

Rob, Jason, Recy, Michael, anybody? Yeah, I just have a, you know, I find it interesting. I had Robert Green, who wrote the 48 Laws of Power on my show, and I think we have this illusion, a lot of us do, that, okay, in places like church, politics doesn't happen, egos don't happen, because we're all supposed to be following Christ when ultimately it's more political than most environments.

What did you learn from that? Your first encounter with Bishop Long, I took it as he basically, it was a few things. One, you were on different pages, but I also saw something else. The first rule in the 48 laws of power is never outshine the master. And it seemed like in that encounter, when you came up there and you gave your performance, you were outshining him. And I think that was, whether he admitted it or not,

that was also part of the problem. What did you learn from that that you still take forward in that, you know, you know people say that they're, have these ideals, but often human nature and politics still gets in the way. Yeah, I had to learn quickly that men are flesh. They are not spirit from the standpoint where they don't have a glorified body. And so they're subject to make mistakes. And I think because when I came to New Birth, I was 23, 24.

Bishop Long was 33, 34. And, you know, this is when he still wore white dress shoes with a black suit, and I mean, it's just, because he's from the country. And so, that's country. I'm from Detroit, and so I kind of look at, he came Baptist, I came up PAW, so with me listening to what it was that he was trying to get,

I would have to be very sensitive to know that if there is a place where he would be uncomfortable before the word, it was my job as minister of music to be able to set the house where he would be comfortable because he was not a singer. I could sing some of those songs, and if Bishop Morton was the pastor, he can get right up behind there and take it. You know what I'm saying? But Bishop Long wasn't like that.

So I learned how to be very sensitive and to listen and to be able to make him as comfortable as possible, especially before the Word and then also after the Word, the selection that we sang so that it would be appropriate with what was being ministered. Don Triplett says on Facebook, y'all got to hear Jamal talk about being hazed by Byron. Now, see, that's one of the Ten Commandments.

See, y'all don't think I don't read y'all comments during the show. Thou shalt not lie. I never laid a hand. I did write Jamal Bryant's letter of recommendation, but I did not touch Jamal Bryant. Touch not my anointing and don't do it. And cap off the side, we don't haze. We just very physically exert. We exert a lot of physical energy and have a great time.

Yeah, and y'all drop canes. All right, who else got a question? Jason? I have a quick question. There's been a lot of talk, you know, throughout the last, I guess, decade or so, about the mix between secular music and gospel music. And some people have said that gospel music is losing a little bit of the religion in it, and it's just becoming too secular, of course, with people like Kirk Franklin and other people.

So I wanted to know what your position is and how you feel about some of the newer gospel artists who may not even mention Christ in a song, but they still consider themselves part of the gospel genre. Do you think that is getting too secular? Not necessarily, because really, I cannot talk about the intentions of anybody's heart. Like, when I look at Kanye West, and we know all the stuff that he was when he was, you know, doing hip-hop.

Speaking of mental illness. Yeah, right, and singing some all the stuff that he was when he was, you know, doing hip hop. Speaking of mental illness. Yeah, right. And singing some of the things that he used to say and do. And now to have this choir with all these young people actually singing very traditional gospel music that's from the 80s and 90s. I get excited about that. I mean, people criticize me when I did the thing with Chance the Rapper on Jimmy Fallon's show. And they were like, well, why would you do that? Because I got a chance to sit down with him. And a lot of these kids came straight

up out of church. And they're saved and they love the Lord. Maybe they have made some mistakes in the past. But my thing is not to judge. My thing is to love and hopefully to provide the kind of light for them that if they need counseling, if they need somebody to talk to about situations, that they can relate to me because I can relate to them. Paul said it like this in Corinthians. He said, I became all things to all people so I can win them. And that's what we're here to do. We're here to win souls.

There are some people that I think if your motive is just to be famous, then, hey, go have at it. But if your motive really is to reach people and to really bring the love of Christ to them in the way that you do it, whether it's trap music and that, that's not even me. I don't get that music. But you know what? There's some young people that you relate to that. Me and Ty Tribbett did a show and I did the little shoop shoop and everybody went crazy because they were like, what is he doing? And I laugh at it now. But, yeah, just to answer your question, though, ma'am, it's just the intention of your heart.

What is in your heart, you know, when you do it? And that's what means everything to me. Rissy? Yeah, just some practical questions. How do you listen to your music on streaming platforms, and what's your social media information? I wish, to be honest with you, I wish there was no streaming. I wish we could go back to selling records. Let me tell you what the young kids today.

The young kids will never know success as actually recording through record sales because the presence of the Lord is here, of course. Sold so many records. Sold it. I'll bless the Lord. But as we got to my recording called Faithful to Believe, that started to be a whole other situation where

because of streaming and because of now you have iTunes and now you do have YouTube where you can listen to things. It just made it a little more difficult. And it's really creating a generation of young people that feel like they're entitled to free stuff. I mean, because that's literally almost what it is. When you consider that CDs used to cost like $16.99, $15.99, and it kept going down. Now it's like $9.99, but most people just don't take the time to really invest in what they're...

So now I'm working on a new book, and the new book just really handles not just the whole millennial, but the generation behind them. What's going to be left musically 20 years from now? Because the Lord has blessed me to have... This is my 10th CD, and I have a publishing catalog of amazing songs that are very popular in church. And I'm grateful to God for that. But I just hope we don't lose what it is that we have created through the years of the people's shoulders who I stand on, like the Walter Hawkins, the James Cleveland, you know, Maddie Moss Clark, you know, Thomas Dorsey, the father of gospel music, the Barrett sisters, Clara Ward and the Ward singers

used to sing in nightclubs. They were doing that back in the 50s. And they were criticized for it. But people also don't understand and frankly don't care about the economics of it as well. Prince was one of the people who was absolutely against streaming for the longest. It wasn't until the final year or so,

the last couple of years of his life, where he allowed his music to be streamed. People forget he actually had his own download service that predated iTunes. And so you have somebody who has 600 million streams, when you look at what they get paid, they're like, what is that? and so for the person out there? Who's in fact interesting? I?

When Prince was alive I He tweeted something and my response was oh no I actually bought my music And he responded I might pay attention and And Kelly Carter, she's like, uh, Rose, do you realize that Prince responded to your tweet? And she's like, that was actually him. And I was kind of like, oh, really? Okay. I mean, because I wasn't even paying attention to it.

But that's what people don't understand, that you've got some artists who put, you know, I've interviewed Maxwell. It was like eight years between one album and the next. It was seven. It was seven from her. And that's, I mean like eight years between one album and the next. It was seven. It was seven from mine. And you got to live and eat during those seven years. And so a lot of people don't understand that.

But also I think also not understanding how albums are conceived and conceptualized. And I've done so many interviews with artists where what often happens is when they have the CD, I'll have them walk through, okay, what is this song? What is this song? Where did this come from? So there's a story because

an album, a music album is also like a book. There's a story from beginning to end. So if you only hear one story, that's essentially like reading a chapter out of a book and then it's kind of like, alright, then I'm gone with it. Yeah, and what I do, I compare it to Walter Hawkins' Love Alive 1, the first album.

Had streaming come out back then and Going Up Yonder was, oh, such a popular song, but on that same record was a song called Change, which is even almost bigger than that. So you don't really understand an artist fully and completely when you just buy one song. Oh, Benny and the Jets was on the B side of Elton John. The record label thought, I know what the other song was, was going to be hit.

And what happened was Black Radio picked up Benny and the Jets, and that's exactly how that song took off, and it blew past whatever was on the A side. Right, right, absolutely. Can I actually talk about the other side of that, too? I agree with you in terms of the challenging parts of it. I will say, though, that there's also an opportunity to make your own brand and not have to go through

the same things you had to go through before. That's one. Two, I do think now people are starting to get to the point where they will pay for content, but you have to build that up over time. Oh, yeah. And so, like, I do think there's opportunities with streaming. So I would tell people, as an artist, never go away.

You have to embrace it, but figure out a way to own some of your data, too, because there's a black entrepreneur, I think it's Angela Benton, that's her name. So she's actually created a platform for people to have and keep and make money off of their content, too. So I think you're going to see people in the next five to ten years want to actually pay for several reasons. I mean, it won't be a lot, but if you own it, you get more. Right, they're paying now because there was a period there

where they were Napster, they were the limelight, they were ripping everything off, and it happened there. Michael, question. I don't want to get involved in your black-on-black crime, but as a proud Q. Well, as an Omega. As an Omega, y'all know about crime. Y'all know about crime.

But more prison chapters than any other attorney. There you go. There you go. See, I'm just saying. He should have just. You should have just asked your question. You should have just minded your business and asked your question. I knew he was going to get personal.

All I'm going to tell you is keep up the good work. Thank you, sir. Proud of you and congratulations. I appreciate it. And I'm just grateful, man, to be relevant even after all these years because I put out two singles during the seven years where I didn't have a full project. One was called Like No Other and another one was called Good To Me.

And I just looked at the success of one song, of how many times it was streamed, and people that bought it on TuneCore as a single, and I was able to put all of that money back in my pocket because I wasn't with a record label at that time. But when I was with Vicky Lotte out of Gospel Century, which also had Kirk Franklin and Kirk Carr and so many of the other wonderful artists,

we were selling millions of dollars worth of product now. So now I'm thankful that I still work today because I have a whole catalog of popular songs to where people still want to hear Presence of the Lord is Here. They still want to hear I'll Bless the Lord. They still want to hear Broken But I'm Here. They still want to go.

And I'm just grateful to be able to still be working. I'm real happy about this new project, though, because I didn't want to do another record at first. But I decided, I said, you know what? I'm going to do something and put out some music that'll be relevant, but also that will show people, this is what Roland was talking about earlier, where I have been for the last seven years.

One song in particular, because we've been talking about mental illness that God gave me as a song, I wrote called Isolation. And it's about being by yourself and being depressed and having anxiety. And I was listening to a lot of my gospel giants like Richard Smallwood and people say that they battle with depression. And some people say, you know, they feel like killing themselves. So God gave me a song called Isolation and I titled it that. I could have titled it,

it's raising up one of the uptempo songs. But I just think that we as church people, especially, need to know it's okay. Let's praise God. My brother was saying it earlier. Let's read the Bible. Let's fast. Let's shout.

But when we get up, let's go see a mental health specialist person that you can speak to. Because I get so many pastors call me and say, Byron, that song, Isolation, man. When you get to the part that I said, he's preparing me for what I need and he's protecting me from what I can't see. It was three o'clock in the morning with tears falling down my face. I was like, God, sometimes I do. I just feel this sense of being here alone and nobody understands. And it feels like the walls are closing in on you. And I know a lot of people understand that. So that's what the song

isolation came from. Well, um, I wish, uh, you had sought somebody out before you pledged. Then they would have probably dealt with that mental illness. I was just fine. They would have dealt with that mental illness. I got just what I wanted. I got just what I wanted. Hey, like I said, coach ain't bad, but it ain't first class. All right, y'all.

The book is called I Do, The Marriage Between Ministry and Music. That's the book. Check it out. And then, of course, show the album cover. I still call them albums. That's what they are. It's called Isolation. Who are you looking at?

Hey, hey, come on now. Who are you looking at? I'm looking at Jesus. And he's the guy searching around me. But you're looking at everybody else on the single. Now look at the heavens are over for me. Yeah, okay. Look at that. The heavens are over for me.

Put on some jeans that ain't torn. All right, y'all. Again, the book is called I Do, The Marriage Between Ministry and Music, and the CD is called Isolation. Byron Cage, we appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. Thank you, sir, for having me.

All right. Oh, six. All right, y'all. Don't forget to support. Look, that's five years late. That's, you know, whatever. We were finished with college. You're first in market.

We're best in market. The pride of all our hearts. True manliness. You sound like Eddie Long. Thou ever dost impart. You sound like Eddie Long right now. Oh, yeah. Uh-huh, see?

Keep my mouth open. Yeah, uh-huh. I paid yeah. Ha, ha, yeah. Uh-huh, see? Keep my mouth open. Yeah, uh-huh. I paid attention to this scripture. All right. A fool's lips interest him into contention, and his mouth invites a beating. Say one more word, bro. Uh-huh, yeah, uh-huh.

You sound like Eddie Long. Okay, all right. So I read a Facebook comment. Periscope, y'all ain't saying nothing interesting. So that's why I'm not going to give y'all a shout out. But let's see. Angel L., Byron Cage, please hit a little of Just to Know Him, please. All right, so we're in the show this way.

So, Angel, this is for you. Go ahead. Just to know him, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God. Just to know Him, just to know Him, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God.

All right. There you go. There you go, Angel. There you go. All right, folks. Certainly appreciate all y'all supporting Roller Martin Unfiltered. Please go to RollerMartinUnfiltered.com. Join our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar you give goes to support this show.

It makes it possible for us to do what we do. Of course, over the next month, we're going to be spending time in South Carolina, getting ready for the debate there, as well as the primary taking place, and, of course, Super Tuesday as well. We're going to have a special broadcast that night right here covering all of Super Tuesday, so we look forward to that. I want to thank Jason, Rob, Michael, and Reesey as well for being here. All of you who watch us via Periscope, Facebook, and YouTube,

thanks a bunch as well. So please, go to rollermarkdownthefilter.com. Got some great stuff for you. And if you join our Bring the Funk fan club, you also have discounts to buying items, pocket squares and books and other items you have on RolandSMartin.com. All right, y'all. I got to go.

My Rockets are playing right now. That's why I'm wearing red. It sure as hell ain't for no little fraternity. So, but I will shout the Deltas out because the Kappas are so desperate. We want to dress like them. All right. And I'll end the deltas out because the kappas are so desperate we want to dress like them. All right. And I'll end the show this way. I'll end the show this way, which we always say to any kappa or omega or sigma or iota.

We say we party all night. We stay up late. But most of all, alphas graduate. Holla! This is an iHeart Podcast.