The MeidasTouch Podcast - GOP Hearing Quickly Backfires as Dems Take Over

Episode Date: December 4, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on how a Republican House Hearing backfired as Democrats turned the GOP stunt into an opportunity to expose the Republican’s real agenda. Go to https://qualialife.com/MEIDAS for up to 50% off your purchase and use code MEIDAS for an additional 15%. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Democrats going on the offense during the congressional hearings where MAGA Republicans were trying to run out the clock on the remaining days of the congressional calendar to not address the issues that actually matter to the American people. So the MAGA Republicans yesterday, for example, were holding hearings on shower heads and shower pressure. And this was their big hearing where they were basically, they were trying to like, make jokes about it and go oh the trickle trickle trickle water pressure and democrats were like one why are you holding a hearing about this when americans are suffering but two if you want to go there we're going to take over these hearings and we're going to bring it back to a core message of affordability right now so let me show you what went down as democrats essentially took over these congressional hearings before getting into it i just want to remind you please subscribe

to this youtube channel we're on our way to six million subscribers and as you You know, the Midas Touch network is under attack by the Trump regime. They've been posting about us on his social media platform. State regime media, which calls itself Fox is attacking us. We're leading independent media, but we need to try to hit 6 million subscribers this month. So please subscribe now. So let me show you what went down at these congressional hearings. Magger Republican Congress member Frye talking about shower heads and he's saying,

let it flow, let the water flow. I kid you not, this is what the Mager, Republicans were doing, but then let me show you what the Democrats do next. Here, play this clip. The last subcommittee level, I think some of my colleagues on the other side were a little bit bothered by some of the punny jokes that we had in my remarks. So I made sure to add more. There's nothing quite like a Shower Act in December. Let it flow, let it flow, let it flow. Some of our colleagues may want to freeze debate on this bill, but today we're actually going to talk about common sense. One more clip right here,

Congress member Frye, where he goes, your hair and your shampoo shouldn't require a four-year evacuation plan. This is what we need to be focused on. Here, play this clip. Your hair and your shampoo shouldn't require a four-year evacuation plan. I urge my colleagues to support this straightforward bill. With that, Mr. Chairman, we look back. Thank you. We appreciate. We applaud you, sharring us with your wisdom. We appreciate very much. You know, when I'm watching that, I'm thinking, like, are you doing a Billy Madison routine? Oh, shampoo is better. No, I like conditioner.

What is the, what are these MAGA Republicans even talking about right now? There are so many pressing issues. Americans' health care are getting ripped away from them. The Affordable Care Act subsidies expiring. People living paycheck to paycheck being psychologically tortured in an economy where nothing is affordable. Housing is impossible to access. I can go on and on and on. but this is what Magu Republicans are doing.

So let me show you what the Democrats do. So then AOC has her turn next to speak. And here's what she says. She goes, you want to talk about water pressure? Let's talk about it here. Play this clip. As a person who has installed their own showerheads, who has, you know, encountered this,

if you are having a dribbly shower, is this not a water pressure issue? in your home, I mean, generally, like, mechanically, I'm trying to engage this in good faith, generally, like, genuinely. And secondly, it seems as though we're blaming the showerhead on a water pressure issue. And in doing so, we are deregulating a piece of hardware that actually drives people's water bills up. And if we want to talk about affordability, and if we want to be in touch with working people's lives. My hope is that we've had that experience, that we know the things that we're legislating. And why would we make this affordability problem worse?

I mean, I'm really trying to approach this earnestly. And if we can solve this problem by addressing a water pressure issue, there's no need to be changing regulations that, increased people's water bills in the name of, quote, unquote, personal choice. This is how our health care system got deregulated, too. People talking about, oh, Americans should have the personal choice of getting totally fleeced by their health insurance companies. Americans should have a personal choice of having industries deregulated to the point that they are unloading costs onto everyday working people.

And so, you know, I appreciate the effort. put into the limericks and such here. But really, as someone who's trying to approach this matter in good faith, I genuinely try not to approach legislation or just being reflexively anti-Republican. But as a person who does care about costs, I worry that these weakened standards are going to drive up people's water bills. I worry about the environmental impact of it.

Drought is genuinely a problem. And I kind of don't, I mean, it really may be a water pressure issue, genuinely. And so I say this because I just kind of want to give credence to the concerns that are put around this. And I'm not sure that those underlying concerns have been addressed. And with that, I yield back. The gentlelady yields back further discussion. Okay, and then in response to that, Congressman Frye says, but the issue is, weak showers have been a systemic problem that we should care about here, play this clip. And no one likes weak showerheads.

Clearly nobody likes weak showerheads. Week showers are for sad motels and gyms built in the 1970s. If we wanted a gentle mist as our shower, we would just stand in front of a humidifier. So that's why I introduced the shower act, because no one wants to be waterboarded by a trickle. at 6 a.m. in the morning. But then Democratic Congress member from New Jersey, Menendez, he's like, you want to talk about energy, you want to talk about the structural issues here. It was, let me give my colleagues on the other side an important reminder. Here, play this clip. When the administration's not here, you guys speak to the power and all the above strategy on

energy production. When you have the opportunity to press them on why they're canceling offshore win, why they're rolling back investments of renewable energy that create greater energy production, you have nothing to say. Even our colleague from Texas was critical of, quote, cutting off energy options. That's exactly what the Trump administration's doing. So where is the criticism of the Trump administration when they are taking us in the wrong direction, limiting options in states like Rhode Island, New Jersey, North Carolina, one a half? You guys are all silent then. We know that we need more energy production, but we need to press the administration to stop picking winners and losers like you suggest that they do. And an important reminder from my colleague from

Texas was talking about New York and California and all these woke states. Texas must be the most woke state because 30% of their energy production comes from renewable energy. So why won't we want that across the country? It's just ridiculous. But I'm glad they're finally saying the right things. I hope they say it when the administration's here. And I hope they push back on all the harm that this administration is doing, not just when it's convenient. And with that, I yield back. Congress member Menendez says. And let me ask you, how many town halls have you been to? Have you been actually speaking to your constituents? Do any of your constituents want to be talking about shower heads right now? Or would they worried about right now that their health care is going

to be ripped away from them? Are they terrified that they're not going to be able to pay their rent and that they can't afford to buy a home despite working two jobs or working a hard paying job in general? You're playing this clip. Thank you, Chairman. You know, when I'm back home, home, the issues that people want to talk about are the health care crisis, the trillion dollars in cuts that Republicans supported to Medicaid, the largest cut to snap in the program's history. People are devastated by Trump's immigration enforcement, tearing families apart, apprehending U.S. citizens, and all of the harm that this president is causing. So I would just ask, and I'm curious, if the sponsor of the bill from South Carolina would be willing to answer

how many in-person town halls he's hosted this year? I asked the question, and I would yield my time if he wants to answer the question. How many in-person town halls you've hosted this year? Because my point is that how responsive we are to the issues of our constituents. And what we seem to agree on is there's an affordability crisis, and I've not had one person in my district come to me

in the town halls I've had both in person virtually and say showerheads are the pressing. issue that they have. So that's what I'm hearing until I was just curious if the sponsor wanted to volunteer and I'll yield my time, how many in-person town halls he's had because there seems to be a disconnect from what we're hearing from our constituents who we engage with directly versus what you may be hearing. But if you choose not to, that's fine. He was on fire, right? Ever have one of those moments where your body reminds you it's not 25 anymore? Maybe it's the slower recovery after a workout or the way your joints creak like an old floor.

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You know, one of the things it says is that South Carolina was experiencing a manufacturing boom. You know how they were experiencing a manufacturing boom? Yeah, it's because of former President Biden's policies that Donald Trump and you MAGA Republicans have rolled back to literally kill a program that was helping a red state like South Carolina. Here, play this clip. Because there's also criticism of the last administration. but an Economic Policy Institute report for March of this year said that, quote, South Carolina is experiencing an economic boom.

That's great. Fueled by massive federal investments from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by President Biden, and the Chips and Science Act signed into law by President Biden. Meanwhile, Republicans, including the sponsor of the bill, void for Trump's reconciliation bill that repealed the investments and tax credits from the very bills that are driving the economic boom in South Carolina. So maybe we could show some appreciation for a

president who actually delivered for the American people instead of trying to appease a president who is consistently more worried about showerhead pressure than he is the quality of life for all Americans. And with that, I yield back. Now, while that was taking place, you had Democratic Congress member Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the House Judicial. Committee, meaning he's the top Democrat in the House Judiciary Committee. He gave a powerful opening remark because one of the things that MAGA Republicans were trying to do is saying, look, we need to basically do an amendment to the United States Constitution to say all budgets must be balanced, that we'll call it a balanced budget amendment.

And won't that be great? It would be great, by the way. But do we need that as an amendment? You all control all three branches of government right now. now. You control every aspect of government. So knowing that, y'all are running up the deficit. You have added trillions of debt. You've increased the deficit more year over year than former President Biden. You control it. Remember under Clinton when there was a surplus? You all are claiming your fiscal hawks, this and that. But what the Republicans are trying to do now is say,

oh, well, we supported an amendment to the Constitution, which they know they'll never be able to get the states to agree. And every. So they just don't. want to say this is what they're doing while running up the debt and increasing our deficits. Here, play this clip. And thank you, Chairman Roy, and thanks to our witnesses for joining us today. Our Republican colleagues have convened this hearing to discuss a constitutional change to solve a problem that they have created legislatively, which is gigantic runaway federal budget deficits.

We don't need a constitutional amendment to legislatively balance the budget, we just need some old-fashioned fiscal discipline. In the 1990s, President Clinton worked with a Republican-controlled Congress to eliminate the deficit, and they ran huge surpluses without the aid of a contrived balance budget constitutional amendment or even rhetoric about a balanced budget amendment.

They just did it. Why can't Republicans who control the House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the White House do the exact same thing today with control of every part of the government. If they want to balance the budget, just do it. They could just take action on their own to make the hard decisions. But instead they say, no, the real problem is we need to go out and get two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate and three-quarters of the states to do it.

Instead of just passing it by a majority in the House, in the Senate, in the White House. Obviously, they lack the political will or the fiscal discipline to do it. Powerful words. I just want you to see this scheme, right? And he's so right. He's like, Republicans, you control all the branches? What are you doing? Then we have Congresswoman Sydney Comlager Dove.

And here's what she has to say. Play this clip. Republicans call themselves fiscal hawks, but the numbers tell a different story. Under President Trump's first term, the deficit jumped from 665 billion. to $3 trillion, from a B to a T, and he's already added another $2 trillion this term. Republicans added $155 billion to the national debt in a single week. The national debt is now $38.336 trillion, driven by GOP tax cuts that will cost $3.4 trillion through 2034 and nearly $5 trillion if extended.

And now we spend more than $1 trillion a year just on interest. So that is the real fiscal landscape that we are dealing with. And then you have Democratic Congresswoman Ballant. Here's what she has to say play this clip. What worries me so seriously about this. conversation is that this whole concept of a balanced budget amendment requires us to actually support the Constitution that we have. You can't have this amendment if you don't have respect for the separation of powers, if you don't have respect for the powers of the purse,

if you don't have respect for the Constitution as a whole. And under this Republican government, none of these things currently exist. My Republican colleagues have completely given up Congress's Article I powers. Letting the president do whatever he wants. They have stepped back and let the executive branch run while. We have invoked the founders a lot today, and I can tell you they would be disgusted by the majority's willingness to cede their power to this president. President Trump and congressional Republicans have completely abandoned constitutional governance by three co-equal branches. They have allowed the president to illegally refuse to spend money as directed by Congress.

They have conducted absolutely zero oversight of misconduct and open corruption across the agencies and the White House. We just spent a month out of session because the speaker would not stand up to our president and protect our Article I powers. Why do I care so much about the Article I powers? It's not because of our power. It's because we represent the.

the people. We represent the people who want us to pass those policies that actually benefit them. And we don't have that right now. So this whole conversation about going through this rigmarole of an idea that has a snowball's chance in hell of ever coming to fruition when we could actually spend our time here protecting our Article I powers. And then the Democratic ranking member of the House Rules Committee, Democratic Congress member Jim McGovern, he says he shows this video of MAGA Mike Johnson whining about how hard it is to be the Speaker of the House

and watch how Democratic Congress member Jim McGovern calls him out, play this clip. I haven't had a vacation day in two years. I haven't been off in two years, literally. Even when you think like the work of the day is done and you put the phone down, and this would be 1130 at night. Ring, ring, what?

Another crisis. We have this joke that I'm not really a speaker of the house. I'm really like a mental health counselor. I mean, I can't believe he said that. I mean, he's whining about the workload. I mean, give me a break. Regular people are working harder than ever, and they can't afford anything.

Groceries are going up. The price of health care is going up. And he's complaining about getting a call at 11.30 a night. I mean, come on. He's accomplished nothing. I mean, the fact of the matter is he's a weak speaker. He's Donald Trump's lap dog. All he cares about is making Donald Trump happy.

I mean, if he were a real speaker, he'd be fighting right now to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits so that people don't lose their health insurance. And if the job's too tough for you, Mike, just leave. Now, one of the things that we're learning about right now as well is that Maga Mike Johnson is very vulnerable as the Speaker of the House. You have Nancy Mace saying that she may resign from Congress the way Marjorie Taylor Green did. You have Alis Stephanic, MAGA Republican Congress. woman Stefanik saying that if there was a vote tomorrow there would be no confidence on maga mike johnson and he would no longer be the speaker and so maga mike was asked about that while he was

walking through the halls watch what maga mike says here play this clip no i'm not worried about my stand at all we are bruce over this agenda you you can talk to individual members look we have a large body there's 220 or so people in this conference and lots of different opinion everybody's not delighted with every scene every day but that's That's Congress. That's the way that should work so. Absolutely. Yes.

We're going to continue this agenda. We've had one of the most successful, productive Congresses in the history of this institution. We'll put it up against any in history. And we did that because we were able to keep everybody together, even with the smallest margins, in history. And we'll continue to do that. And not everybody's going to be 100% satisfied with every decision and everything that happens, but that's how this process works.

works there you have it folks that's what's going on in the halls of congress we'll keep you posted every step of the way some hearings huh showerheads that's what the maga republicans you see what but do you see what they're doing right the move is to gaslight the american people they know if they speak about affordability and real issues they're going to get crushed and we're going to get all of those clips of them saying these things and screwing over their constituents that's why they're trying to focus on shower heads because they got nothing else to talk about that's why Hey, hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million. Thanks so much for watching. New Midas merch. Head to store.mitastouch.com today and get yourself the best pro-democracy gear

and show your support. That's store.midastouch.com.