The Daily Signal - Sen. Joni Ernst Discusses Socialism, Abortion, and Immigration Reform

Episode Date: February 28, 2020

In 1989, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, traveled to the Soviet Union. What she saw and heard during her time there influenced her, as she discusses in today's podcast. We also cover these stories: The Trump administration releases new details about its coronavirus response plan. Japan will close schools for a month, due to coronavirus concerns. Vice President Mike Pence criticizes socialism in a speech. The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Pippa, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at [e-mail]. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Friday, February 28. I'm Rachel Del Judas. And I'm Kate Trinko. The Daily Signal is at the Conservative Political Action Conference. And today, we've got two interviews from that conference about what's happening for pro-life policies. First off, we'll share Rachel's interview with Senator Joni Ernst. And then we'll share my interview with pro-life activist, Mallory Quigley. And don't forget, if you enjoy this podcast, please be sure to leave a review or a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts

and encourage others to subscribe. Now on to our top news. Here's a new name you'll probably be hearing a lot of. Ambassador Debbie Burks, the office of Vice President Mike Pence, who President Trump has asked to handle the coronavirus, announced Berks, a doctor and a longtime health policy official, will be heading the coronavirus response from the administration.

Ambassador Berks is a scientist, physician, and mom with three decades of public health expertise, including virulent diseases, their vaccines and interagency coordination, noted the White House in a statement. She has been utilizing the best science to change the course of the HIV pandemic and bring the pandemic under control, community by community, and country by country. Meanwhile, internationally, fears about coronavirus continue. A Japanese outlet, NHK News, reported that Japan is closing schools for the next month

at the request of Prime Minister Shintoabe. According to Bloomberg News, there have been over 200,000. were courted cases of coronavirus in Japan, which is set to host the Olympics later this year. The Daily Signals, Fred Lucas, reported from the conservative political action conference about Vice President Mike Pence's speech on Thursday. Pence said, Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried in every era in every continent. Freedom works. Pence told a cheering crowd at the conference. It was freedom and not socialism that ended slavery, ended two-world war.

and has made America a beacon of hope. By the way, if you're at CPAC, stop by the Daily Signal booth on Media Row. Representative Liz Cheney also lambasted socialism in her speech at CPAC on Thursday, the Daily Signals Jared Stetman reported. We know that socialism extinguishes freedom. We know that socialism steals power from the people. We know that socialism creates authoritarianism, Cheney said. It has to create authoritarianism because as former British Prime Minister Margaret That

said, Socialists cannot let people choose, because if socialists let people choose, they know the people won't choose socialism. Next up, we'll share our interviews with Senator Joni Ernst and Susan B. Anthony lists Mallory Quickly about abortion. Do you have an opinion that you'd like to share? Leave us a voicemail at 202-608-6205, or email us at letters atdailysignal.com. Yours could be featured on on the Daily Signal podcast. We are joined today on the Daily Signal podcast by Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa. Senator Ernst, thank you so much for being with us today.

Well, thanks, Rachel. Great to be here. Well, we're here live at CPAC and National Harbor. And during this conference, you're talking about one of the things that you're passionate about, which is socialism versus the American dream. You've your own actually personal story about this. And can you share that with us? I sure do.

When I was at Iowa State University during the summer between my freshman and sophomore year, I had the opportunity to attend an ag exchange in the Soviet Union. And so I was with a family in the Soviet Union living on a collective farm and was able to get to know the host family, the members of the community, and there were a number of us Iowa students that were there. But when we got together in the evening and just going through the experience of living on that collective and how they lived. No running water, no refrigeration, no telephone, no automobile. They shared one bicycle in the whole family.

Going through that on a daily basis, their farming was done by horses and wagons. This is 1989, okay? So going through that experience. But in the evening, the community members had the opportunity to get together with us, students and they would ask questions. And the first thing they asked was, what is it like to be an American? I mean, they hungered for the freedoms that we have in the United States. So for those that are seeking socialism, I would say all you have to do is look around this world and see where socialism has failed and how people that live in those countries so long to be free.

We see it. You mentioned how socialism is being pushed. is a viable way to govern. And we even see Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the House. She's pushing socialist policies a lot. What would you say to people who maybe think, oh, free health care would be so wonderful or free college would be so wonderful? What is your response when people,

they don't go beyond the policy. They just see the free stuff that's offered. Right. And free, free, and we all understand that free, when they are talking about free, doesn't really mean free. But if they, just for example, using health care, having that free health care, and they describe it as Medicare for all. It's socialized medicine.

Let's just get beyond that nice phrase of Medicare. Let's talk about socialized medicine. It means quality of care will go down the length of waiting times. It will shoot far out there. Folks will be waiting for procedures. You know, it's rationed care. If that's what they think is great, well, by all means, you can move to other countries and get rationed care. But that's not how we operate here in the United States.

I would say the same of any other free opportunity that exists out there. They really need to scrutinize it and understand one, it's not free. It comes at significant cost. But then the quality and the type of care goes down. Well, you and your colleague, Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, you two are the first Republican women on the Judiciary Committee. What has that experience been like? Oh, it's been wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

And I cannot believe that Marcia and I are the first Republican women to serve on the Judiciary Committee. Long, long, long time overdue. But it has been a really great experience, I would say probably for Marsha as well. But to be able to sit on that committee, to work on the committee. the types of issues that are coming before that committee. And it's not just about confirming judges, which is pretty extraordinary. But it is also about looking at different patent issues, intellectual property issues, looking at issues like abortion. We've talked about so many things on that committee that I think are really important, and it's a very good thing, that

conservative women have their eyes on these issues as well and input. Well, something that you're passionate about is immigration reform, and you have a piece of legislation called Sarah's law. Can you tell us about that, and especially the story behind this legislation? Yes, absolutely. So this story, I'll start with the story and work into the legislation. Sarah Root was a beautiful young woman from Council Bluffs, Iowa, and she had just graduated from college, 4.0 student, promising future. She just graduated. And the evening of her graduation,

she was struck and killed by a man who was driving a car three times over the legal limit. He was drunk. And he was an illegal alien. He came into the country. He was arrested,

taken to prison. But he was released. Ice did not detain him. He was released. He was released on bond and did not come back. Did not come back. So we don't know if he's still in the country. We don't know if he has gone back to his originating country.

We have no idea. So Sarah's family has not seen justice. What my bill would do is force ICE and the local authorities to work together and they would detain any illegal immigrant who has caused bodily injury or death to an American citizen. Sarah's family, her mother, Michelle, Michelle Rood, and her father, Scott Rood, will likely never see justice

because he wasn't detained by ICE. Well, thank you for sharing that, and thank you for your leadership on that. Something else, recent developments in the Senate, the Senate recently voted to defeat one bill that would provide medical care for babies who survive abortion, and then another bill that would have prohibited late-term abortions.

What are your thoughts on the Senate not being able to pass both of these. I am so disheartened, Rachel. I am disheartened that the Democrats have gone so far on the abortion issue. So the first bill, the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Bill, is a bill that was introduced by Ben Sass. I'm an original co-sponsor of that bill. And that would require a physician to provide the same life-saving services

that they would provide to any other baby born at the same gestational age. And we are not talking about abortion rights and woman's right to choose. We're not talking about any of that stuff. This is about a baby who is lying before us on a hospital table. That is a baby separate from the womb, separate from the mother. It is a baby. And all we are saying is that that baby should require medical attention be given to it, just as any other baby would.

And unfortunately, the Democrats block that. The pain-capable baby is a baby at 20 weeks of gestational age or older. And this bill was introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham. Again, I'm an original co-sponsor on this. We are one of seven nations that allows late-term abortions. And amongst those nations, Russia, China, North Korea, all horrible human rights violators. not good company to be in. And we need to reconsider that.

But again, Democrats have gone so very far. They're out of step, even with their own party on that issue. Well, thank you for stopping by. I think you for speaking with us today. Senator Johnny Ernst, thank you for being with us. No, you bet. Thank you. What the heck is trickle-down economics?

Does the military really need a space force? What is the meaning of American exceptionalism? I'm Michelle Cordero. I'm Tim Desher. And every week on the Heritage Explains podcast, We break down a hot button policy issue in the news at a 101 level. Through an entertaining mix of personal stories, media clips, music, and interviews, we help you actually understand the issues.

So do this. Subscribe to Heritage Explains on iTunes, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcast today. Joining us today at CPAC is Mallory Quigley, the vice president of communications at Susan B. Anthony List, an organization that promotes pro-life candidates with a special emphasis on women candidates. Mallory, thanks for joining us. Thanks so much for having me, Kate. And as usual, full disclosure, Mallory is a very good friend of mine. I was waiting for that.

Well, I just want to be honest with the audience. Okay, so on a more serious note, what do you think of the two pro-life bills in the Senate this week that failed to pass? Gosh, it was not unexpected, but it was still really hard to see a majority, you know, or such a huge number of, Senate Democrats oppose legislation that would protect babies that are born alive after failed abortions, defying 70% of people in their own party that support that legislation. You know, we only needed a vote on that legislation. It's only necessary because we allow elective late-term abortion in this country all the way up into the moment of birth.

A lot of people don't realize that. Roe versus Wade and Doe versus Bolton taken together created a situation in this country. The status quo is abortion for any reason. so long as you can get an abortionist to perform it for you. And the pain capable on bird child protection act, the five-month abortion ban, that would change that. That would take the United States off the list of seven countries in the whole world to allow these extreme late-term abortions.

So really upsetting, but I think it speaks to the stranglehold that the abortion lobby has on the Democratic Party leadership. Yeah, and I think it's good you point out how many Democrats actually support measures like these because unfortunately the mainstream media coverage is often, you know, like, oh, this is a radical pro-life bill. And in both these cases, these are widely popular pieces of legislation. You know, a lot of Americans agree. I think a Knights of Columbus mayor's poll even showed that three quarters of Americans, I believe, would be okay with abortion being illegal after the first trimester. So these are not extreme. You're exactly right.

And I think that's the most important thing when you're looking at the polls. Look at the policy. Look at what people support when it comes to policy. And who should be making it? Actually, we did a poll last year that found a majority of Americans think abortion policy ought to be decided by elected representatives, not by the Supreme Court. There's a major Supreme Court case coming on abortion next month. Tell me about that and what we should be looking for. Yes.

In early March, the Supreme Court is going to hear. oral arguments in June Medical Services versus Rousseau. And this is they're sort of re-taking up a look at the Hellerset decision because it's similar legislation. So at issue

is a pro-life law in Louisiana that says an abortionist must have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital within a certain mile radius of wherever they're performing the abortion. And this is really to ensure continuity of care. And

ensure that if there is an medical emergency that happens during an abortion, that a woman's not going to be abandoned by the person that was doing the procedure. It was a pro-life Democrat woman, Katrina Jackson, she's now a state senator. She's actually been a guest on this podcast. Oh, yeah. She's fantastic. Another pro-life Democrat. It's her legislation. And the court's also going to consider whether or not the abortion lobby, because June medical services, that's an abortion facility. Whether or not the abortion lobby actually has standing to sue on behalf of women looking to obtain an abortion. And this is a really important question because for decades, the abortion lobby has run to the courts and they've received favorable opinions for themselves.

So whether or not the abortion lobby has standing, this is really going to, The impact of how they rule on this could affect dozens of other cases that are making their way towards the court right now in the lower courts. There's just dozens of different pieces of different litigation that's happening. And the question really being, do the abortionists have the best interests of women at heart? Does the cigarette lobby have the best interests of its consumers at heart? And we think certainly not. So it'll be really interesting to see how they respond to the arguments that's taking place, March 4th, and then we expect the decision sometime this summer.

Okay, and of course, we'll definitely be covering those oral arguments with the daily signal. So going back to us being friends, I know that you travel a lot outside D.C. And get to get out of the D.C. bubble a lot, which I think is great. Yeah. You rack up the frequent fire miles. So when you travel around the country and talk to people about abortion, what are their attitudes? And are they, do they talk about abortion or think about abortion the same way that we see a lot of the, extreme media talking about it. Yeah. You know, I think in the wake of last year, Governor Northam

in Virginia talking about babies born alive and letting them, leaving them to die, that and the Governor Cuomo, you know, a month earlier, lighting up the One World Trade Center pink in celebration of the extreme pro-abortion bill that passed in New York. The coverage of that, especially Northam's, like, his flop, basically. That really permeated, in a way that surprised me, a lot of Americans' minds and understandings about the ongoing conversation about the abortion issue. People, this country is pro-life. People are horrified when they learn what the status quo is,

because a lot of people just don't know. They actually think that Roe v. Wade made abortion illegal only in the, they think that Maris Pollard. you cited, that's what people think the status quo is that abortion is only available in the first trimester. They don't realize how extremely permissive our laws are. And when they find out, they are horrified. And I've had people just coming out of the woodwork, non-political, non-partisan people say, oh my gosh, if that's what it means to be pro-choice, the Northam Cuomo position, I am not that. And so I've actually come across more and more pro-life.

people as I've traveled. We're in battleground states. We're talking to people that we know from our modeling that we think are probably with us on the life issue, but we're not sure. But we're going up and we're having conversations to them at their door about life.

And for the most part, you know, they are who we think they are. They're very strongly motivated by the life issue. Even if they care about other issues, immigration, health care, they care about life first. And so I think that people should be out there about their positions.

So speaking of conversations, earlier this year, actress Michelle Williams made quite a lot of ways when she basically used an award ceremony that she got an acting award to talk about how she felt an abortion earlier in her life was necessary

for her career success. And we know, I think maybe we really know in D.C. that policy and, you know, elections and all this stuff, it's great, it's important, but ultimately in an issue like this, it's often the conversations, the one-on- that change people's hearts and minds.

So how do you think people should talk to women like Michelle Williams? How in general can we talk productively about abortion? Yeah, I think compassion is the key. Speak the truth in love. That is what I try and do every day, you know, whether I'm talking to someone that agrees with me or not. But I think Michelle Williams' comments, especially in the post-Me2 era, were so shocking because, you know, she thought she was saying something empowering, but it was not empowering, that you have to take the life of your unborn child in order to advance in your career

to be able to hold this golden statue. I mean, just the visuals there was so, you know, like an idol that she was holding. But to treat her with compassion and love, because how many women have bought the lie, that that's what they need in order to be successful, that they've got to, that they can't be mothers, that they have to deny, you know, what they're, what's so inborn. It's innate to being a woman is the ability to create and bear life. And, you know, this is a lie that's been told for, since the beginning of time. You know, Susan B, Anthony, Elizabeth, Cady Stanton, they saw abortion as an exploitation of women.

They saw it as a way for men to cover up crimes of rape and infidelity. and Charlotte Denman Lozier, our research arm is named after her. She was a pro-life doctor, a man who brought his mistress to her and said, you know, she's pregnant, we need an abortion. And she refused. And I think that we need to stand up for life in this country. And people like Michelle Williams, we need to correct the industry standard or whatever the culture is in whatever industry, whether it's Hollywood or, you know, politics or what have you, corporate business, like, that killing is never the answer. But to be kind to those who have been misled and who have experienced a grave harm, she might not regret it now, but I think that she may someday in the future.

And there certainly are a lot of women out there who regret their decision. and I talk to Georgette Forney often at Silent No More, and she tells me about the women that they're constantly ministering to. And there's a lot of people that have been hurt, a lot of women that have been hurt by abortion. Okay. Thank you so much for joining us, Mallory. Yeah, my pleasure. Thanks. Thanks, Kate. And that'll do it for today's episode. Thanks for listening to The Daily Signal podcast, brought to you from the conservative political action conference. Please be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify. And please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcast.

to give us any feedback. Rob and Virginia, we'll see you Monday. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. It is executive produced by Kate Shrinco and Rachel Del Judas. Sound designed by Lauren Evans,

Fulia Rampersad, Mark Geinie, and John Pop. For more information, visitdailySignal.com.