The Young Turks - GOP Hates Mitch

Episode Date: February 17, 2021

The winter storm in the Southern U.S. is looking like a major natural disaster, as blackouts leave millions without power, delay COVID-19 vaccination deliveries, and leave at least six dead. President Biden approved Texas’s disaster declaration as temperatures continue to drop. Sean Hannity says it’s time for new GOP leadership after McConnell condemns Trump for inciting the insurrection. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to The Young Turks, the online news show. Make sure to follow and rate our show with not one, not two, not three, not four, but five stars. You're awesome. Thank you. What's up, friends? You're watching TYT with Anna Casparian and Ida Rodriguez, host of the Truth Serum, a podcast that you should subscribe to right away. And Ida, as always, it's a pleasure to having you on the show. I can't wait to do these stories with you. Me too.

I'm glad to be here. So we're gonna discuss the winter storm that's impacting several states, especially the state of Texas, where the fossil fuel industry has decided to play offense and immediately spread all sorts of propaganda regarding why there are rolling blackouts in the state as freezing temperatures lead to people literally dying as a result. So we'll talk about that. We'll debunk some of what you might have seen parroted by the right wing media. Later in the show, we'll also discuss a little of the backlash that Mitch McConnell is facing, someone who has done Trump's bidding, someone who has provided legislative and judicial wins for the Republican Party. But that's just not good enough because he had the audacity to, in a speech, call Trump responsible for the riots that took place. on January 6th. And then Adam Kinsinger, if you disagree with his politics, you'll probably end up disagreeing with his family even more. If you think he's bad, his family is full of,

honestly, I'm overwhelmed by how awful these people are because they have written an open letter denouncing him, rejecting him, and disowning him. And we have some excerpts from that letter in just a few later in the show, not just in a few minutes, because we have a lot of other things to talk about and we'll give you an update on what you'll probably be hearing on MSNBC when it comes to economic relief proposed by Joe Biden. But before we get to all of that, we actually have a pretty exciting announcement, a TYT exclusive to share with you. So let's get right to it. TYT has an exclusive announcement, something super exciting. And it comes from the largest progressive group move on, which has chosen to endorse Nina Turner for Ohio's 11th congressional

district. This is super exciting news. Let's put up the graphic. Move on members do endorse Nina Turner. She's running for Congress, Ohio's 11th district. And as you know, she was a co-chair for Senator Bernie Sanders presidential run. She has been a fierce fighter for progressive value, someone who we love to talk about and promote as much as possible here on this show because of how much her political views certainly align with our own. And we're absolutely delighted to have moveon.org put forth this endorsement. Just to give you some more details on this, 78% of voting move on members in the 11th District of Ohio have supported Nina Turner, applauding her previous work for Ohioans and also her commitment for progressive values.

I'm gonna read you a statement from the executive director of Move On's political action. We need more leaders like Nina Turner and Congress, and Ohio Move On members agree that her tenacity and dedication to fighting for working class Ohioans will make her a strong Congresswoman. Ms. Turner has worked hard throughout her career in Ohio politics, as a champion for fair labor, housing, and women's rights. She's more than ready to serve in Congress and push to create an America that works for everyone. And of course, you guys can also support Nina Turner by going to her website, Nina Turner.com slash hello. Again, that's nina turner.com slash hello. And this is exciting news. You know, move on is the largest

progressive organization. It's been around for a long time. And an endorsement like this does carry quite a bit of weight. It's a positive sign and, you know, we're hoping that Nina Turner continues to receive the support and endorsements that she deserves as someone who's really proven herself over and over again as a strong leader for progressives in this country. So Ida, wanted you to jump in and maybe share some of your thoughts. No, I'm excited for her because I'm a Nina Turner fan and I think that Nina Turner steps into the direct fire sometimes in the name of the people.

And I've seen her several times in interviews have to take the stand where she really, really goes in on behalf of the people. And we need more people in Congress like that. So for me, it is ideal to see her take her rifle place amongst the squad to do the good work for the people because they seem to be the only ones there who are doing the work for the people. So good, congratulations, Nina Turner. I wish I could vote for. Absolutely. And you know, we always love to provide evidence, some receipts for why we promote

certain things or believe certain things. And so I do want to go to this video that Cenk has actually referred to as maybe the best political video that he's seen in his life. So you might think that's hyperbole, but I actually agree that this is a powerful video. And just to remind you all, she is running to replace Marsha Fudge, who joined the Biden cabinet. So again, this is for Ohio's 11th congressional district. And here's the video that I'm referring to. You know, sometimes black women, sometimes we are accused of, you know, when they want to slam you and slander you. Being called angry.

We can't be aggressive or assertive. We angry. We can't be determined. We angry. Well, sisters and brothers this morning, I am here to say this. you that my name is Nina Turner. I'm an angry-ass black woman. I'm mad. I'm mad about a whole lot of stuff. Because if you ain't mad about something, then baby you are not awake. With these hands, we will rise up. I'm mad that we got to beg people in power to know that the wages of

everyday people are not keeping up with inflation. I'm mad as hell that our young people have to graduate with a degree in one hand and debt in the other over a trillion dollars worth of debt. I'm mad as hell that we got to beg people to understand that we must protect Mother Earth to have anything. Oh yeah, I'm mad. Powerful. Powerful because it's true. It's true. All of the issues that she outlined, all of the issues that Americans are facing today, she has been a warrior to fight against. She's been a warrior for Medicare for all to help fix our broken healthcare system. She's been a warrior for the Green New Deal, something that is an actual response, a proportional response to what this planet is facing as a result of human activity. I mean, she's been a strong

voice and I really do commend move on for endorsing her. Anyway, final thoughts, Ida, before we move on. I'm just happy that there is finally a video, a political video that speaks to my rage and what I feel in an unapologetic way. The whole talking point that we are angry is so condescending and so dismissive of the things that American people feel. And let alone, you know, women of color, women, black women, trans women, that we're feeling. And I'm just glad that somebody finally stepped up and said, you're damn right, I'm angry, and I have a right to be. So I just, I think that video is powerful as well. And I'm excited. I'm excited for this victory. And keep Nina Turner in mind as we go to this next story because she is, in fact, someone who wants to do something about climate change, something real. And, you know, we need fighters and warriors like her to go up against the propaganda machine that we're about to discuss.

discussed regarding Texas. So let's do it. Let's talk about the severe winter storm that several states are facing right now, including the state of Texas and the propaganda that they're being met with, which essentially gaslights the climate scientists who know better. So President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency in the state of Texas after Senator Ted Cruz and governor Greg Abbott requested a federal disaster declaration. Biden was actually immediately responsive to their request here. And it was for good reason. Texas has been dealing with severe temperatures that have been, of course, contributed to by climate change. And what people are experiencing, millions of people are experiencing in Texas right now are rolling blackouts as the

freezing temperatures literally lead to people losing their lives. That's how cold it's been, and people can't even rely on power to keep themselves warm with heat. So the White House went on to say that funding measures will include mass care and sheltering, and FEMA is authorized to use necessary equipment and resources to help ease the impacts of the winter weather emergency. More than 4 million Texans have been left without power as a result of these rolling blackouts that are taking place. And the rolling blackouts, by the way, are referred to as controlled blackouts, meaning that the companies that run the power are intentionally doing these rolling blackouts as a result of an increased usage of power. Now, you're going to hear all sorts of nonsense from right-wing media, including places like Fox News. There are endless clips, including a clip featuring Tucker Carlson, Harris Faulkner, all of them arguing that what Texans are experiencing is really the byproduct of renewable energy.

That is not the case. I'm going to give you a quick example of what they're saying, and then we're going to debunk it. Let's take a quick look. Winter storms in Texas have left over 2 million people without power as their wind turbines are frozen solid. Former Texas governor and energy secretary Rick Perry said this is the risk of green energy. You need to have a diversity of energy sources no matter where you are. And it couldn't be a greater example of that in the state of Texas right now. We got massive amount of wind farms out in West Texas that are frozen up.

All of that wind energy was lost. Is this what America would look like under the Green New Deal? No, this isn't what America would look like under the Green New Deal. This is what America looks like when it's heavily reliant on the fossil fuel industry and essentially allows for overwhelming deregulation of the fossil fuel industry. So back in 2002, by the way, Texas deregulated its utility companies, specifically energy companies. And that has led to quite a bit of issues today, including the fact that since these private utilities don't have to basically

through regulation reserve power for emergency events like this, they don't. They don't have a legal incentive to do it because of regulations. They certainly don't have a financial incentive to do it. And so there are no reserves. There's an increased demand for power as people are trying to warm themselves up using, you know, their heaters. And when you have this situation tied so closely to the market and this whole notion of supply and demand, people are going to get screwed. And that's what you're going to experience in Texas. Let me give you the evidence for the case that I'm trying to make here. As the Financial Times reports, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas had announced

rotating outages at 1.25 a.m. local time on Monday after the cold weather froze wellheads and interrupted supply to natural gas fired power plants. And some wind turbines became encased in ice curtailing electricity output. So it is true that wind turbines froze, but this goes back to the issue of deregulation and also climate change. Since the cold temperatures that Texas is experiencing right now is rare, almost unprecedented. The state does not implement regulations ensuring that wind turbines have something known as like de-icing gear, right? So the wind turbines don't have the de-icing gear. They could have had the de-icing gear, but that regulation doesn't exist in the state of Texas. So that's a problem. Now, what portion of the power outages

are caused by wind turbines in the state freezing? Less than 13%. As you guys know, Texas is all about the fossil fuels. And so there are issues with the fossil fuel industry not reserving energy for these emergency events, but more importantly, just not having the equipment necessary to respond to insanely cold temperatures that the state is experiencing right now. Generators are paid only for the energy that they sell, not for keeping capacity in reserve for times of stress. Electricity retailers compete fiercely for customer business, unlike utility monopolies that operate in some other states, and can adjust prices according to market conditions.

So they adjust, these companies in Texas can adjust the prices based on market conditions. And when there's less supply and more demand, what does that mean? It means that providing electricity is going to be far more expensive to the consumers. So wholesale electricity prices for delivery surpass the grid's price cap of $9,000 per megawatt hour in the early hours of Monday this week. Multiple above averages or average prices of $25 per megawatt hour. Okay, so obviously the price increased significantly and what they're doing is implementing these rolling blackouts, because of a lack of supply, but more importantly, because if they don't do this, what's likely to happen is that the consumers in the state of Texas will be slapped with these massive electricity bills that they were not expecting. And so to blame this on the Green New Deal or to blame this on renewable energy is absolutely ridiculous.

And what you guys are experiencing right now in this propaganda campaign is the fossil fuel industry attempting to get ahead of accurate news reports about what's really going on. and how this privatized system that favors fossil fuels in the state of Texas is really to blame for what Texans are experiencing. So frustrating. It is. You know what? I started taking notes because I was like I didn't want to forget some of the things that I wanted to say. The first thing that I wanted to point out was despite of the issues that we may have with Joe Biden and his history and some of the things that he participates in, I have to commend him in his response to all of Texans, in spite of his differences in ideology with the actual governor, whereas the former president of this country had an issue with the governor of New York and responded to the whole state of New York with animus towards all of the people. And I just think that we should be able to say, this is how a president is supposed to behave because they're supposed to be the president of all people, regardless of what their political affiliation is. So I wanted to point that out because I think that that that is not lost on me.

You know, one thing we need to do is there are a lot of people who will do research and they research what celebrities said in an old tweet. We need to find out, follow the money and find out who is paying Tucker Carlson and all of these people who continue to push these talking points. We need to expose these people and we really, all of those internet research gurus that are out there and they can find when you said that you didn't like cows 10 years ago, y'all need to follow the money and find out who's paying these people to continuously push out all of this misinformation. That's not only wrong, but it's also harmful to the American people

because there are a lot of people who believe this stuff. And a lot of people have lost their lives in the last couple of years because of all of the misinformation that is being peddled by Fox News and people like them. And we have to call it out if we really are about the people. The other thing is that the people in this country are feeling and have been feeling for a long time the consequences of the imbalance in our government because they are clenching the bag. And these people who are getting paid by these corporations and are benefiting from all of this horrible stuff that is being, you know, rain down on the environment. And the people, they don't want to let go of the bag. And we are the great casualty of this war. We always

have been. And the pandemic has been a great, you know, great evidence of that as we are, you know, what, walking into half a million people dead. And we have, if they've normalized it, We've become desensitized to loss and struggle and strive. It's become an American thing for people who are below the line to suffer and struggle and it just be Tuesday. And at some point, we are going to have to recollect our humanity and restore dignity to all people in America or the poor are going to eat the rich because people are only going to be able to take this but for so long. All of these things are connected, and it is all part of the oppressive system and the toxic capitalism in this country that is now causing, it's wreaking havoc on all corners of, in all corners of America, from Flint to Texas, from New Orleans to California, everywhere we look, we are seeing the consequences of this greed. And at some point, people are going to have to take heed, because people can only struggle and starve for so long.

Yeah, yeah, you're absolutely right. And I mean, just this one story involving frigid temperatures, not just in Texas, by the way, this is impacting the Southern Plains, you know, Arkansas, North Dakota, they're experiencing frigid temperatures as well. It's just that Texas and the way that they run their power grid, And the deregulation tied to it has put the state in a uniquely awful position to respond to a climate-fueled weather event that they're experiencing. And so what really stood out to me, Ida, with this story was just how well organized and prepared these fossil fuel companies are to respond in a way that tries to protect themselves before anyone even thinks about, like, Like doing a deep dive in the story, understanding what's going on.

I mean, Fox News was already on it with the propaganda about how, no, no, no, it's not, it's not the fossil fuel industry. It's the wind turbines. And so they will do anything to maintain the system that we already have in place right now, regardless of what it does to the future of this planet, regardless of what it does to this planet right now as we speak. I mean, we're experiencing extreme weather events as a result of climate change. And they don't care.

I mean, it's all about profits. It's all about ensuring they maintain the system that we currently have. And it's just absolutely disgraceful. Just last weekend, last Friday, there was a big story about more than 100 cars in a pile-up in a highway that had basically frozen over. So I don't know if you guys had seen those videos. I do not recommend watching them because they're absolutely devastating. But people are dying.

And at the end of the day, these private companies, fossil fuel companies, are only thinking about what they can do to protect their own profits. Yeah. It's been, it's the American way. And, you know, you think about these people who are now dealing with COVID and these freezing temperatures and dealing with economic strife. and dealing with not having adequate health care, like all of it compounded. It is so much on the psyche and just to think about, you know, when you trickle down to the black and brown people, you know, people who have are not able-bodied, like that are dealing with this because we don't get, we don't, we forget that there are other people on this planet

who are not, who can't even stand up right now. And in addition to this, have to deal with all of this, my heart just goes out to the people. people in Texas, but it goes out to all of the people in America because this is the beginning of a lot of, well, not the beginning, it's just these things have been happening for a long time and they continue to happen. And, you know, the water in Flint. Yeah, no, I know you're, what we're seeing is an acceleration of the despair, you know, it's just one after the next, after the next, after the next, and nothing gets addressed appropriately by certainly not our congressional lawmakers, and we see failure on the local level as well.

Well, we got to take a quick break, but when we come back, we are going to give you a little bit of the backlash that Mitch McConnell is facing by several congressional lawmakers. You don't want to miss that story. It's not like I'm crying for McConnell, can't stand the guy, but it does show you just how cultish the Republican Party has become. We have that for you and more when we return. We need to talk about a relatively new show called Un-F-The-Republic, or UNFTR. As a Young Turks fan, you already know that the government, the media, and corporations are constantly peddling lies that serve the interests of the rich and powerful.

But now there's a podcast dedicated to unraveling those lies, debunking the conventional wisdom. In each episode of Un-F-The Republic, or UNFTR, the host delves into a different historical episode or topic that, that's generally misunderstood or purposely obfuscated by the so-called powers that be. Featuring in-depth research, razor-sharp commentary, and just the right amount of vulgarity, the UNFTR podcast takes a sledgehammer to what you thought you knew about some of the nation's most sacred historical cows. But don't just take my word for it. The New York Times described UNFTR as consistently compelling and educational,

aiming to challenge conventional wisdom and upend the historical. narratives that were taught in school. For as the great philosopher Yoda once put it, you must have learned what you have learned. And that's true whether you're in Jedi training or you're uprooting and exposing all the propaganda and disinformation you've been fed over the course of your lifetime. So search for UNFDR in your podcast app today

and get ready to get informed, angered, and entertained all at the same time. Thank you. What's up everyone? Welcome to our social break. I just got a text message from Jenk. And he says that you're near perfect. The Texas story was great. Look at that. Got a little love for my boss. Just wanted to share with you guys. Anyway, all right. So just a few programming announcements. Frank, Frank Conif will be on TYT soon, a comedy writer and performer. He joins Jank for the conversation on Wednesday, February 17th. You can tune in at 5.30 p.m. Eastern Time, 2.30 p.m. Pacific at t.t.com slash live. Also, as you're watching that interview, I mean,

it's not like anyone's going to find it a problem, but just in case you should probably protect your online activity. Protect your online activity by using a VPN. PureV. VPN's a great option. We've partnered up with them. And you get a pretty big discount. If you go to t-y-t.com slash pure VPN, you'll get a seven-day trial for 99 cents. And again, it's really, really important that you guys protect your online activity, especially with all of the fraudsters and hackers that are out there trying to steal your data and possibly even install ransomware on your computer. You want to avoid that. All right. And I am not seeing any members. comments. So let me go ahead and refresh this. Maybe it's some sort of issue with my, yeah? Okay, give me a minute. No, it's still not refreshed on my phone. Here, let me check over here. Okay, Meg writes in and says, yes, tell me how much Mitch McConnell is suffering. Spare no details. I will, Meg. This is our member section, by the way. Honey Biden shrunk the cheques writes in and says, Anyone who does not endorse Queen Nina Turner is corrupt, dishonest, or both, she needs to be president, 24.

I'm a big fan. She's fantastic. Rain of Bastet writes in and says, I'm not overly emotional, but I seriously, spontaneously started crying tears of joy when I heard Move On's endorsement. Thanks for starting out the day with good news. My pleasure. Yeah, it is really good news. I mean, when you, and it's not like it was a certain thing. It, like, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm glad that they did it. They made the right choice in endorsing her. She's by far the best candidate for that congressional seat. Breathe, Rima writes in and says Dallas and Houston downtown had all lights on in office buildings while residents were freezing in their homes. Thank you for mentioning that because that was actually something that I came across this morning as I was reading about it.

And it was just, yeah, it's infuriating. I mean, think about how, and they keep talking about how they need to conserve energy, that residents need to conserve energy. How about you guys take a good, hard look at what's going on with how your system works in Texas and maybe reform that? Also, Pork Chop Express writes in and says, if only Texas took coronavirus as seriously as snowstorms, but that's the problem. They didn't take it seriously. Neither one of those things have been taken seriously. Because if they are taking it seriously, they would want to change the way that their power grid is run. Anyway, we got to get back to the show. We'll see you there. Welcome back to TYT, Anna Kasparian and Ida Rodriguez with you.

Ida, you and I share something in common. We're both pretty salty, to be honest, and I love that because I feel like it's It's rare to find women who feel comfortable expressing how salty they are. So I feel this bond, this connection with you on that. And so this story is just, I can't imagine doing it with anyone else. I'm really excited to share it with you. And it has to do with backlash against Mitch McConnell, who probably wants to go back into his, as you mentioned earlier.

Michelle, because he's getting a lot of backlash from his Republican party. So let's give you the details on that. So despite being a true soldier for the Republican Party and, you know, offering up legislative wins for the GOP, ensuring that judicial appointments get confirmed, it just isn't enough for the Republican Party. Because Mitch McConnell, who voted to acquit Donald Trump of inciting an insurrection, had the audacity to give a speech where he blamed Trump for the riots. that took place on January 6th.

Just simply giving that scathing speech has led to an insane amount of backlash, including from Fox News, and specifically Sean Hannity, who had this to say of McConnell just recently. Seven Republican senators have voted to convict Donald Trump and other Republicans who have turned their backs

on the former president are way out of touch with the base of their own party. Take a look right there. See that video? See what's on your screen? A few hours ago, spontaneously, thousands of people in Palm Beach lined up in support of the former president as his motorcade traveled through Florida. I have a question, Mitch McConnell, John Thune. How come you've never had this kind of enthusiasm at any of your events? Take a look.

USA! USA! USA! Where was John Thune and Mitch McConnell fighting against the biggest abuse of power corruption scandal in our history with Operation Crossfire Hurricane? They were missing in action. Where is the sanctimonious Mitch McConnell, John Thune demanding that Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters, when is he going to give a speech on the Senate floor and hold those Democrats accountable for their incitement of insurrection? their insurrection-like language. The time is now coming for new leadership in the U.S. Senate. We'll be dealing with that. He's calling for new leadership.

Like, Mitch McConnell has done everything for the Republican Party. I mean, I love this so much because I hate both fighting factions of the Republican Party. Like, Mitch McConnell is awful. He's awful, and he deserves awful things that are happening right now. in response to him because he's the one who's empowered what we're experiencing with the Republican Party today. Like he created this monster that's now basically making him pay the consequences of it. Like he voted to a quit Donald Trump in the impeachment trial, but he gave that speech holding Trump accountable. And guess what? Like that half measure just doesn't

sit well with a rabid Republican party that's terrified of of Trump's base. It's so good. It's so good. The great Malcolm X called it the chickens come at home to roost. And I think it's funny because these people in their unapologetic disrespect of the American people feel like they never will be held accountable. And it's funny that they are the ones who end up holding each other accountable and keep turning on each other, which is so funny. It's so Lord of the Flies.

It's now kill Piggy, kill Piggy. So Mitch McConnell is Piggy, right? And it's just so interesting to watch because what we, when you and I have talked about this before, that the dumbing down of America that's been happening, has been happening for a very long time. And now they move the herd with talking points and misinformation at any turn.

And people bite their noses to spite their faces because they don't even know what's really happening because they're getting such bad information from all media and all news that, you know, unfortunately for them, they're just being emotionally triggered and constantly in this battle about what the real information is. But people like Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson are wealthy white privileged men in this country. And we continue to think that they are like us and not me and not you because we know better. But those people that line up in those fake parades, which Donald Trump will never even roll down the window to speak to those people.

He led them to a march and then boned out. He was like, I'll see y'all at the march. And it was like, out of five thousand. It was like, yeah, that was not my kind of thing. The pandemic is real. It's just funny to watch these people. You know, Sean Hannity is talking about his bag. He's wanting to hold on to his bag.

This is nothing with the people. And it's like, what does it take for you to see? They're just trying to hold on to the bag. No, what really stands out to me about what we're seeing from both state party leaders, Republican party leaders like on a state level, and what we're seeing from people like Sean Hannity, Kennedy, people like, you know, Matt Gates will get to him in just a minute, Lindsey Graham. They want someone who's not in any way interested in being a leader. Like, they don't want leaders within the Republican Party.

What they're calling for are weak-minded, pathetic Republican lawmakers who are terrified of Trump's base, right? But being a leader doesn't mean just going with the flow and doing what's popular at any given moment in order to be a true representative of the American people, right? Either in the Senate, the, you know, presidency, Congress doesn't matter, right? You have to be willing to do what's right, even if public opinion is against it, right? You're supposed to put the country and the well-being of your constituents above your own self-interest. But what the Republican Party is calling for right now is a bunch of weak, flaccid political, like, operatives that just do Donald Trump's bidding. And it's just so sad and pathetic.

Without further ado, by the way, here's Matt Gates, who has made the same political calculation that, you know, aiding and abetting Trump's cult is the best way forward for his own political career. There are new incarnations in the Republican Party of those who are trying to purge Trumpism from our movement. And frankly, the most dangerous was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who took to the floor and essentially gave the Biden Justice Department cover to prosecute the president, his son, even his supporters who didn't engage in any violent conduct on January 6th. Well, that actually is true. Mitch McConnell did say that Donald Trump should face criminal prosecution for what he engaged in. And I actually agree with him on that. And he is trying to purge the Republican Party of Trumpism. But let's be clear about something. The Republican voters overwhelmingly at TYT, we frequently talk about all the ways of big tech companies are taking control of our online lives, constantly monitoring us and storing our

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ExpressVPN is rated number one by CNET and Wired magazine. So take back control of your life online and secure your data with a top VPN, solution available, ExpressVPN. And if you go to ExpressVPN.com slash TYT, you can get three extra months for free with this exclusive link just for TYT fans. That's EX, P-R-E-S-S-V-P-N dot com slash T-YT. Check it out today. Support Donald Trump. They support Donald Trump and refuse to ever hold him accountable for what he engaged in. The fact that he held that rally on the same day that Mike Pence was going to count the electoral votes, the fact that he encouraged

them to walk to the Capitol, march to the Capitol and fight like hell. They don't want him to suffer any of the consequences of his actions because they love him. And so again, who empowered that? Mitch McConnell waited literally months to acknowledge the fact that Joe Biden had won the election. He also played a role in this. You know, he was a little more careful in, you know, straddling this line between the truth and appeasing as overzealous Trump supporters. But at the end of the day, if you take a good hard look at Mitch McConnell's behavior, he engaged in this process of turning the Republican Party into this insane cult-like atmosphere. Yeah, if you are quiet, you are complicit. And,

And a lot of things that have been happening under his watch that were horrible, terrible for the American people. And you know, when we talk about this Trump base, remember, like, there are two factions of this group, right? There's the, there are the poorer people who don't know any better, the miseducated, the cult-like people who are being driven emotionally with bad information, not realizing that they are actually supporting and funding their own oppression because they don't even. and realize that that's happening. And then there are those group, the group of people who are wealthy and they don't care about what's everyday people problems. They are supporting Donald Trump and capital, capitalistic America because it supports their bags and their wallets.

And you know, Trump looked out for them and they support Trump in that way. And they are not the same, even though some of those people think that they are, you are not the same. They don't look at you like you're one of them. They ew, you too. Furthermore, I don't want to hear nothing that big head. That's what they call them on Black Twitter. They call Matt Gates Big Head and they call Mitch McConnell Turtle. I'm quoting them. I'm not calling them. I'm not shaming anybody with a big head because that's not cool. But I'm not participating and listening to what this sycophant has to say because he's the biggest clowns, of all the clowns, when you see him, he has no dignity. How can he, how can he

represent a people that he doesn't respect? When he doesn't even respect himself, and we've watched him lay down his dignity for Trumpism and just straight foolishness, just upholding white supremacy, you know, he, he paraded that young child around, that young man saying that, you know, Nestor. I'm not a racist. I have a Cuban at home. Like, come on. Like, all of this right here is just, it's so disrespectful. And we're always forced to take the high road and have these conversations and address these things with dignity and respect. But these clowns are not worthy of respect. And I'm not, I'm not employing that part of me on this foolishness because the only reason that they are pumping this Trump thing is because they all got dollars. We all saw how much

money these people made in the last four years. They made a lot of money off of the American people. And a lot of those people that bought all that merch, they bought the hats, they bought the shirts, they had the flags made, are struggling and complaining about how they're struggling. And they don't realize they're getting hustled by the very, you know, God that they're worshipping and calling themselves Christian. Man, get out of here with that. Keep it pushed in. I'm so tired of this foolishness. Well, we have more foolishness to share with you in the audience when we come back from our break. But why don't we get to our break?

And when we come back, we'll talk a little bit about how Senator Ron Johnson is in complete denial over what actually happened on January 6th. So we'll play his comments for you and then give you the cold hard facts after this break. See you soon. I'm going to be. I'm going to be. I'm going to be. All right. I want to get to some of the super chat comments in just a minute.

But I'm going to read one more member comment from Shikata, who says that Texas sent California rakes after the forest fires. Let's send them shovels and aluminum blankets. Look, point taken, and like there's definitely a part of me, the super vengeful part of me that certainly exists, that wants to mock people or whatever. But as progressives, like, I want us to be better than that, right? Because there are a lot of innocent people in Texas that are suffering right now through no fault of their own. Sure, they certainly do consistently elect pretty awful people. But remember, the largest constituency in elections is non-voters. So we need to get people to get out there and vote. But more importantly, we need to give people things to vote for. So I think one of the biggest problems

with the Democratic Party is that most of their campaigning focuses on the other party being bad. But we got to encourage people, we got to inspire people to get out the vote and get some progressives in Congress, get some progressives in with these local elections. I don't want to see anyone suffer, even if they're from deeply red states. What's happening in Texas is just absolutely shameful. All right. And I don't mean to be judgy. I hope you don't know. I totally understand that comment. I feel it. Like, I totally get it as well. But yeah, sorry, Ida, did you want to say something? Well, yeah, you know, I was thinking about the people who fled California to go to Texas for tax breaks. And they were leaving here because of the stuff that

was happening. I'm not celebrating that that happened because the people that suffer, that are suffering in Texas are not Elon Musk. Are the people, the everyday people that have to go to work and can't go to work right now. Now they've got to be dealing with this and a pandemic. And so I want to show up and see how we can support the people in Texas and what are the best ways to be of support to them because we our government is whack. So we got to figure out how we can show up for the people. Definitely, definitely. I couldn't agree more. In our super chat section, I'm going to try to read as quickly as I can to get to as many as I can. Detroit Microsound says, Hello somebody, in response to Move On's endorsement of Nina Turner. Peter Hamby writes in

regarding the cold weather conditions. As a cheesehead slash Wisconsinite, winters don't bother me too much. However, as a new uncle, congratulations, it's up to me to teach him how to brace the cold for years to come and get them politically active, by the way, get them started early. Lynn writes in and says, if we can have wind turbines work in Canada, if wind turbines can work in the Atlantic Ocean, when Texas shouldn't have an issue, oh, then Texas shouldn't have an issue. The technology is out there. Exactly. Again, there's de-icing gear that wind turbines can be equipped with. And unfortunately, that's just not what they're doing in Texas because they just didn't expect the conditions to get this frigid. And obviously, Texas isn't really

interested in regulating private industries much. Also from, and Kelly, I love this show, love y'all, telling all my friends and family about you. Thank you so much for your support. We really, really appreciate it. And we love reading your comments. So let's get back to the show. We'll read more later. Welcome back to TYT, Anna Casparian and Ida Rodriguez with you.

Let's get to Ron Johnson. Who's in denial? Senator Ron Johnson apparently didn't really see what occurred in the nation's capital on January 6th, because during a recent local interview with a radio station in Wisconsin, he seemed to be completely delusional about the events of that day. And what we did is provide some video footage to help him understand what actually did happen when it came to those insurrectionists rioting in the nation's capital. Let's take a look. The group of people that supported Trump, the hundreds of thousands of people that attend

those Trump rallies, those are people that love this country that never would have done what happened on January 6th, which is why I was not concerned. Okay? That is a group of people that love freedom. Now, one thing, and this will get me in trouble, but I don't care. Again, I condemn what happened. It means it was reprehensible. Never should have happened. But There were groups of agitators that were the tip of the spear that caused that. Not the tens of thousands of Trump supporters who would never even contemplate that. The fact of the matter is, this didn't seem like an armed insurrection to me. I mean, armed, when you think it here of armed, don't you think of firearms?

Here's questions I would have liked to ask. How many firearms were confiscated? How many shots were fired? I'm only aware of one. And I'll defend that law enforcement officer for taking that shot. it was a tragedy, okay? But I think there was only one. You know, if that was a planned arms direction, man, you're really a bunch of idiots. Well, look, I mean, as a United States Senator, you would expect Ron Johnson to be fully informed on the events of that day. But

apparently, since he felt the need to call others who are actually informed about the events of that day, idiots, let me help him catch up. Let's get him up. Let's get him up. to speed on the reality of that day. You saw some of that footage, but also when it comes to firearms, weapons, things like that. Multiple individuals who have been arrested in connection to the siege have been charged with unlawful possession of firearms. So there were people there who were armed. One of those individuals allegedly had 11 Molotov cocktails stored in his van. I'm sure he did that just for fun. He wasn't, you know, planning to use it during these riots. Authorities also found pipe bombs planted near the Democratic and Republican Party

headquarters. So just, you know, a bunch of innocent activity, I guess, on January 6th, according to Senator Johnson. Additionally, several members of the Oathkeeper's militia group who were at the insurrection have been incited, or indicted, I should say, have been indicted on conspiracy charges. And let me just also add that while Donald Trump encouraged the rioters to do what they did that day, arguing that they should fight like hell during the rally that preceded the riots, he's not really suffering the consequences of his actions. He said he was going to march to the Capitol with them to engage in what they did. All of these people who have been identified as breaching the Capitol building, being in the Capitol building, being part of these rights.

They're facing criminal federal charges right now, okay? While Donald Trump literally abandoned them and walked back to the White House and just chilled while they were engaging in that criminality that they're now going to suffer criminal consequences for. So Ron Johnson is just such an utter clown, and it's beyond pathetic for him to make those kinds of statements minimizing what occurred that day. You know what? White supremacy is going to do what white supremacy does. We keep calling it an insurrection. We talk a breach on the Capitol and attack on American freedom. And we continue to dismiss the language that says that these people are white supremacists. You know why they don't care about the lost lives, whether there were firearms or not. There were lost. There were lost. lives, American lives. But the reason that they don't matter is because those people are either black or poor or a combination of the two. Or they're the officers, those are blue-collar workers in this country and they are disposable and to the powers that be. And that is why I always say

that when it comes to law enforcement is that, go ahead, say it. Yeah. No, no, you're absolutely right. I want to just add to that. that, Ida, cops in America are used as political props for the right wing. Absolutely. Because when a cop gets murdered by one of their own, they minimize it. They don't care. But when they can use cops for political props to push their white supremacy, they're all for it. That's all I wanted to add to that.

And that's that's 100, right? That's what we're saying, right? That they, that's why it doesn't matter. Like it was minimal. It didn't mean anything to him. But then I'll look at the people who put that man in all. who put that man in office and keep him there, right? Because he doesn't care about law enforcement.

He doesn't care about black people. He doesn't care about his fellow Republicans, because everyone was in danger that day, not just Democrats, because that could have gone terribly awry. When things like that happened, no matter who's targeted, it can just go left at any moment as it did. He doesn't care about women. He only cares about himself and whatever he's trying to preserve,

by holding on to Donald Trump's nut sack, right? So I don't know if I can say that, but maybe I shouldn't have said it. But what I'm saying- FCC allows nutsack, so yes. So the fact that this man is saying this and trying to minimize what happened because he's okay. He came out okay. The security buttons in his office were not taken down.

He wasn't afraid that they were coming for him because he is a reflection of them. So, of course, it was nothing because he didn't feel threatened by that moment. He wasn't a target at that moment. He can go on with his good life and not even care about any of those people off with their head, send them off to jail. They don't matter. Those cops that risk their lives, that black dude who saved Mitt Romney's life, like, they don't matter. They are disposable.

And this is why it is important for the people, the people that are below the line. I keep saying is using this Hollywood term, police officers, teachers, firefighters, everybody that's below the line to find some solidarity because we are just pawns in the game to these people. They don't care about us. So this dude, clown 100%. But you know what? He is a clown that gets a paycheck that is funded by the people. He is going to work based on the dollars that are provided to him, the privilege that he has,

He gets paid during the pandemic when we don't. We are, he sits there and deliberates whether we get to get eat and during this time. And the people continue to vote these people in. And that is why we need people like Tina Turner. Oh my, Nina Turner. I'm so angry. We need me, we need Tina Turner too though. But we need Nina Turner in and people like that out because they don't care about us.

They don't care about any of us. And white people suffer the most because they actually think that these people really care about them because they're white. And they don't realize that you're just this disposable dude. Those people that got played on January 6th, they got played. They're going to go to jail. They're going to suffer the consequences. And they are going to be something that Donald Trump refers to as though there's his sacrificial lambs. The people who loved him so much because he's a narcissist, they love me so much, they gave up their freedom for me.

He's not going to bail them out. He ain't going to provide them with legal, and he's not going to visit them because they're nothing to him. Well, just to quote Donald Trump, losers and suckers. Suckers is correct. They fell for his, they fell for his hustle. They did, yep. Well, let's get to Pat Toomey because there's more. It's just incredible. So if there's any question that GOP lawmakers are incentivized to govern as immorally as possible to demonstrate their undying devotion and loyalty to Donald Trump, well, this story involving

Republican Senator Pat Toomey should really seal the deal for you. This should really clarify and crystallize just how cultish the Republican Party has become. Now, Pat Toomey is one of the Republican senators who actually did try to hold Trump accountable for his actions inciting the riots that took place on January 6th. And so as a result, the Washington County Pennsylvania Republican Party has voted to censure him, okay? And there might be other, you know, municipal Republican parties in the state that are going to censure him as well. This is their way of showing their absolute displeasure with the fact that Pat Toomey, who by the way is not seeking re-election in 2022, I think that's a relevant part of this, you know, for once actually try to hold Trump accountable. Now, what was fascinating, though, was Dave Ball and the comment that he had in regard to Pat Toomey, who's Dave Ball, he's the Washington County,

GOP chair. And he said this in a local news report. And I'm quoting him verbatim. We did not send him there to vote his conscience. We did not send him there to do the right thing or whatever he said he's doing. We send him there to represent us. They just say it out loud, guys. They just say it out loud. They don't care about the Constitution. They don't care about freedom. They don't even care about keeping government small. They don't care about any of it. They don't care about morality. And I mean, honestly, I kind of already knew that based on the way Republicans govern in this country. But now they're just saying it out loud, Ida, they're saying it out loud. So it's just, again, this is because to me voted to convict Trump of doing what he actually did inside

an insurrection on January 6th. It's amazing. I think you might be muted. Oh, it's a brotherhood, if you will. It's a, you know, we say cult, we say, we have so many terms to describe this thinking, but what it is, it's white supremacy, it's systemic oppression, it is toxic capitalism, it is sexism, racism, all of these things rolled up in a nice little ball, and your job. when you are part of the team is to uphold the system to keep that in place because that keeps us rich. So how dare you? And listen, I respect people like that more than the ones that pretend because he said, we didn't send him there to vote his conscience or his morality. So what does that tell you about what they think about the people? And that's really what that's about

because the morality is regardless of what you feel about that woman she got shot in the neck and killed because she really believed something that was she was she really believed right like that she was led there by propaganda fear misinformation and and multiply her by all the people that were there they don't matter and and it doesn't matter how much you and i say this to them because they've been told that because they're white, that they deserve more and that they are entitled to more and they believe that and that's why they showed up there with their Confederate flags and they were there to fight on behalf of whiteness, no matter what whiteness means in America, no matter how much the struggle, no much, how much starvation and how much poverty they could be faced with, at least they have their whiteness. And so this is something that people of color and black people have been saying all along that they feel and now even white people, people are starting to feel it because they don't give a damn about anybody but themselves, yo. It's all about that top 1% and the bag. Which is why it's so important to have a political party that's willing to do what it takes to actually offer the American people something substantive, right? Because the divide and conquer, I mean, you talk about this all the time, Ida, and you're absolutely right. It's very easy to exploit people who are frustrated, who feel neglected, who feel left behind, and direct them toward a hateful place. Because,

by the way, during the Reconstruction era, the KKK succeeded, and the KKK at that point was basically, it consisted of slave owners and wealthy white people who wanted to keep slavery in the country, right? And so the way they got poor whites on their side was by essentially pushing this message of, look, you might be poor, but imagine if you were considered equal to black people, right? Like, that's what ending slavery is going to do. You don't want that. You want to at least be better than black people. Like, that was the message. And it worked. And that's a similar message that you're hearing from the Republican Party right now. What we need from the Biden administration, from the Democratic Party, is an actual response with substantive economic relief, but more importantly, real economic reform, right? That has lasting power in this country, not just a quick, we're going to pass a bill, a quick band-aid, and then we're going to move on. That's not enough. There are deep wounds in this country. And unfortunately, like, I'm not seeing the Democratic

party respond to it in a robust and aggressive way. And there are severe consequences that come along with not responding in the way they should. That's, you know, at least that's my take on it. All right, well, we got to take a quick break. When we come back, we'll share a little bit of the pretty awful letter that Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger received from his own family members, essentially disowning him. It's kind of a delicious story, I'm not going to lie. And then later in the show, the Lincoln Project embroiled in controversy, drama. You don't want to miss that. Can't wait to share that with you and more when we come back for the second hour of the show. Thanks for listening to the full episode of the Young Turks. Support our work, listen ad-free,

access members only bonus content, and more by subscribing to Apple Podcasts at apple.com at apple.com slash t yt i'm your host shank huger and i'll see you soon