Rep. Bishop on Ukraine, Israel funding and why he won't support Speaker removal (04-22-2024--Hour3)

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[00:00:30] Mondays I usually chat with Congressman Dan Bishop.

[00:00:33] He could not be here.

[00:00:34] He's got other engagements that he normally did.

[00:00:36] But I talked with him this morning.

[00:00:39] And so here's how that sounded.

[00:00:40] All right, Congressman Dan Bishop, let's first start off with the vote on the

[00:00:45] Ukraine funding.

[00:00:46] And I guess this was more than just Ukraine funding, right?

[00:00:48] It was also funding for Israel and funding for Taiwan.

[00:00:52] So did you vote on each of these issues individually and then they packaged them

[00:00:58] all together?

[00:00:59] I admit I was not following all of the votes as closely probably as I should have

[00:01:03] over the weekend.

[00:01:04] Yeah, thanks for letting me be with you, Pete.

[00:01:05] Yeah, it's a typical ledger domain in Congress.

[00:01:10] There were four individual votes as part of this package.

[00:01:16] But the rule that governs how it's being deliberated upon and decided by the House

[00:01:21] of Representatives provided at the end that whatever passed would be a single

[00:01:24] piece of legislation.

[00:01:25] So ostensibly separate votes.

[00:01:28] And that was to make sure they had cobbled together the majority for each of the

[00:01:32] pieces among different shifting majorities.

[00:01:36] And yet at the end, it would have all the four ordained parts that the

[00:01:40] Senate had passed before plus that last part about the tick tock ban.

[00:01:45] So it didn't require you to vote for the entire package.

[00:01:48] It just required votes.

[00:01:50] OK, so you were allowed to then, which I kind of like I think that's probably a good

[00:01:54] thing. You get to vote on the individual issues, right, versus throwing it all into

[00:01:58] one big kitchen sink kind of thing and having to vote on all of it like an

[00:02:02] omnibus?

[00:02:03] Arguably so. But you end up with one big kitchen sink.

[00:02:06] And except for they did not deign to put any provision for securing the

[00:02:11] border in that in that sink and could have if they're going to do it for

[00:02:15] all these other parts.

[00:02:16] But to your question, I voted against all of the parts and certainly against

[00:02:22] the Ukraine 60 billion dollar part vote except for the part about the

[00:02:29] support for Israel, which I had considerable misgivings for because it

[00:02:32] has nine billion, if I remember, for so-called humanitarian relief.

[00:02:37] A large part of that goes to Gaza, which tacitly means that it's going to

[00:02:41] be influenced or controlled by Hamas, which is the elected government of

[00:02:44] the Hasans. And so but I did vote for that.

[00:02:47] Just couldn't leave Israel unassisted.

[00:02:50] So what is it? So what's the difference between the arguments for funding the

[00:02:55] Ukrainians against the Russians versus funding the Israelis against Hamas?

[00:03:03] Well, in the one instance, there are a couple of differences.

[00:03:07] One is the length of time that the Ukraine war has been ongoing.

[00:03:14] And then the second is the effectiveness of the strategy and whether there is a

[00:03:19] strategy in the case of Ukraine.

[00:03:23] We've poured 113 billion or more.

[00:03:26] I see the figure shift a little bit of something in that neighborhood.

[00:03:29] And I don't think there's a plan.

[00:03:32] No one's been able to articulate a plan.

[00:03:34] Warren Davidson from Ohio has a legislation piece of legislation just

[00:03:37] requiring the articulation of a strategy so that you could evaluate

[00:03:40] it. The degree to which can be accomplished in the House has refused to do

[00:03:45] their, the Congress has refused to do that.

[00:03:47] No one knows it.

[00:03:48] We're just pouring tons of money there without any real basis for

[00:03:54] expectation. We're going to solve the problem.

[00:03:56] In Israel, you have to say the Iron Dome and the Arrow project have been

[00:04:01] quite successful. That's an, that of course is a long, longstanding

[00:04:07] struggle.

[00:04:08] The only democracy in the region, a very successful one, a longstanding ally of

[00:04:13] the United States, tyranny surrounding it and under constant threat.

[00:04:19] But the main attack vector of recent years has been all the missiles

[00:04:26] and rockets now, low cost drones being shipped in the hundreds.

[00:04:31] And the Iron Dome has been the protection that has worked.

[00:04:34] It's kept Israel from being devastated by those attacks.

[00:04:38] And I think we ought to maintain and resupply that as much as necessary.

[00:04:42] So because of the way this all shook out over the weekend, there's now an

[00:04:45] effort underway again to motion to vacate the chair, get rid of the

[00:04:50] speaker, Mike Johnson in this case.

[00:04:53] Your thoughts on that? Do you have an opinion about which way you would go

[00:04:57] if that thing is actually brought forward?

[00:04:59] I oppose vacating the chair at this time.

[00:05:03] And there are a couple now, I think that Speaker Johnson is not doing what

[00:05:07] he should do. And I think I don't know how we cobble together majority

[00:05:13] support of center right voters to keep a Republican majority in the

[00:05:17] House given sort of a trail down the line of every principle, at

[00:05:22] every leverage point, sacrificing the leverage points to basically

[00:05:25] accomplish nothing of substance for conservative voters.

[00:05:29] But when you're you know, the problem is number one is not isolated to

[00:05:33] Mike Johnson. There's a dominant albeit not majority portion of the

[00:05:38] Republican conference, the security state, the appropriators,

[00:05:43] people like that. And Mike's not really the problem.

[00:05:46] He's failed to oppose the problem, but he's not the problem alone.

[00:05:50] And number two, you've got to be able to if you're going to remove

[00:05:53] the speaker, you've got to have some prospect even if it's not

[00:05:56] immediately totally clear how you're going to proceed.

[00:05:59] You got to have some prospect of improvement.

[00:06:01] And I just don't think at this time heading into an election with

[00:06:04] nobody else on the on the landscape is an obvious success or

[00:06:09] possible successor. I don't think that makes sense.

[00:06:11] Yeah. And I'm kind of reminded of old Parks Helms, the late

[00:06:15] Parks Helms who used to talk about how he could count the

[00:06:17] votes and you know, if you can count the votes at the the

[00:06:21] House side of things, whether they're Republican moderates,

[00:06:24] quote unquote, or from blue districts or something, you know,

[00:06:29] if they are going to go with the Democrats, then you got to

[00:06:31] count those votes that way. And it's not going to mean it

[00:06:34] means you're not going to win those votes.

[00:06:36] So you've got to deal with what you got.

[00:06:39] Said another way, you can't get carried away with your own

[00:06:41] emotion. That's been something I've particularly said

[00:06:44] and I've been frustrated in in a good while as we've tried

[00:06:48] to shake up that institution and make it perform better and

[00:06:51] confront existential crises and do things that needs to do.

[00:06:55] It doesn't help to get mad or to be driven by anger that

[00:06:58] alone that won't solve any problem. You got to sort of

[00:07:01] step back, look at the situation, figure out what you can do

[00:07:04] first, do no harm.

[00:07:07] Yeah. Let's say well, speaking of harm and doing it.

[00:07:10] This is the latest from the US Department of Education. Late

[00:07:14] last week, they finalized their Title 9 rules.

[00:07:19] I almost feel like the whole debate over transgender

[00:07:23] access to locker rooms and bathrooms and athletic

[00:07:28] competitions. I kind of feel like we were on the front end

[00:07:31] of this debate for some reason.

[00:07:35] Ten years ago, is that going back with the whole HB2

[00:07:37] thing? But it's like this is now this is now the

[00:07:40] position of the US Department of Education, right?

[00:07:42] They're they're attaching funds or they're putting these

[00:07:46] these stipulations on the federal funds.

[00:07:48] So what schools are not going to be able to get federal

[00:07:50] money if they don't adopt this new definition,

[00:07:55] adding gender identity to basically sex to call

[00:07:59] and conflating the two terms, even though we've been

[00:08:02] told for years that they're not the same thing.

[00:08:04] But now I guess they need to be the same thing.

[00:08:07] It's totally irrational and confusing.

[00:08:09] And yes, you're correct.

[00:08:11] You know, there is a lot of water under the bridge since

[00:08:14] 2016 when I was the lead primary sponsor of HB2

[00:08:18] that was so controversial.

[00:08:21] But all it said was in response to Charlotte's

[00:08:23] ordinance that said we're going to eliminate separate

[00:08:26] bathrooms for men and women.

[00:08:27] That's really what it said.

[00:08:28] And you couldn't in any business, 10,000 businesses

[00:08:31] in the city. We reversed that and said, no, you're

[00:08:33] going to have at least in public restrooms, you

[00:08:35] know, let businesses do what they want.

[00:08:37] But in public restrooms, you're going to be

[00:08:38] separated by biological sex.

[00:08:40] But that's, you know, there's been constant

[00:08:42] turmoil on this issue since there was the Obama

[00:08:45] the Obama administration tried to get started

[00:08:48] involved to put their finger on the scale of

[00:08:50] that. The Trump administration went the

[00:08:52] other way. And now this rule has been

[00:08:54] pending a long time.

[00:08:55] But in the meantime, this has gone into a

[00:08:59] number of different directions.

[00:09:00] Maybe the most important one is fairness in

[00:09:02] women's sports, girls' sports that 23 states

[00:09:06] now have passed laws saying that males,

[00:09:09] biological males shouldn't, cannot compete in

[00:09:12] women's athletics.

[00:09:14] And I think it's as obvious and common sense

[00:09:17] as can be. And I believe most Americans think

[00:09:19] so. But in practical effect, this new

[00:09:23] regulation from the final rule from the

[00:09:26] Biden administration will probably unless well,

[00:09:31] we'll see what the litigation, how the

[00:09:32] litigation fares, because I think that's

[00:09:34] where the avenue is these things are going

[00:09:35] to be dealt with unless the litigation stops

[00:09:39] it. It's going to substantially reverse those

[00:09:41] 23 states that have come forward to deal

[00:09:43] with that in that way.

[00:09:44] So if you so you are running for North

[00:09:47] Carolina Attorney General, is this

[00:09:49] something that if it were still in the

[00:09:51] courts at the time you were to win and

[00:09:54] take office? Is there a role for the

[00:09:57] state attorney general to play in this

[00:10:00] fight?

[00:10:01] You'd better believe it.

[00:10:03] And in fact, when I tell people a lot of

[00:10:06] folks have said, are you leaving Washington

[00:10:07] to run for state office because you're

[00:10:10] basically giving up and just want an easy

[00:10:12] coast out? That's not in my nature.

[00:10:15] What I've said about Congress being stuck

[00:10:17] in so many ways in a status quo and

[00:10:20] inability to proceed, particularly to fight

[00:10:23] on behalf of center right conservative

[00:10:25] Americans. These state AG positions have

[00:10:29] become some of the most consequential

[00:10:32] policy positions in the country.

[00:10:33] Now, policy, I mean, policy in the sense

[00:10:36] you're making policy, but in terms of

[00:10:39] protecting existing longstanding fundamental

[00:10:42] legal rights and the right to privacy

[00:10:45] is one of those in the context of

[00:10:47] physical privacy and the equal rights

[00:10:51] of women to participate in athletics.

[00:10:53] And yes, I think there will be,

[00:10:58] frankly, our attorney general ought to

[00:11:00] join those several other state attorneys

[00:11:02] general who are coming out in various

[00:11:04] ways in the next week or so to

[00:11:05] challenge this new Title IX regulation.

[00:11:08] They've been warning and seeking that

[00:11:11] they've gotten some injunctions

[00:11:12] against early effectiveness of the

[00:11:16] proposed rule and they're going to be

[00:11:19] fighting it. And if I were in office,

[00:11:20] I would be fighting it as well.

[00:11:22] And it's very important.

[00:11:25] There are different tactics legally,

[00:11:27] different court systems to be involved

[00:11:28] with. It's a state court system.

[00:11:29] You could take action to try to

[00:11:32] strengthen the enforcement of of the

[00:11:35] policy that North Carolina has passed

[00:11:37] under its rule protecting women's

[00:11:40] sports, its law, excuse me.

[00:11:42] And yes, I'd be involved in that

[00:11:44] if I were attorney general.

[00:11:45] Yeah. Congressman Dan Bishop,

[00:11:47] I appreciate your time as always.

[00:11:48] Thanks so much and stay safe in

[00:11:50] your travels around the state.

[00:11:52] Good to be with you, Pete.

[00:11:53] So this $95 billion foreign aid package

[00:11:59] about $61 billion of it for Ukraine

[00:12:04] and replenishing U.S.

[00:12:06] weapons stockpiles.

[00:12:09] This is according to the AP News,

[00:12:11] the overall amount provided to Ukraine

[00:12:14] for the purchase of weapons would be

[00:12:16] $13.8 billion.

[00:12:18] Ukraine would receive more than

[00:12:19] $9 billion of economic assistance in

[00:12:22] the form of quote, forgivable loans.

[00:12:24] I think they code that in their budget

[00:12:29] as a line item, Zelensky slush fund.

[00:12:36] I had not heard this.

[00:12:38] I just heard it on the news.

[00:12:39] I had not heard that apparently he's

[00:12:41] been accused of siphoning off a bunch

[00:12:44] of money and stocking it away for

[00:12:46] himself, which like I understand

[00:12:47] on the one hand, because if he asked

[00:12:48] to flee, you know, he's going to

[00:12:50] have to pay for it.

[00:12:53] You know, he's going to have to.

[00:12:55] He's going to have to have some

[00:12:56] pretty good security for the rest

[00:12:57] of his life because you know how

[00:12:58] those Russians are Putin like.

[00:13:01] Yeah, he'll come after you for a

[00:13:02] very long time, poisoning you with

[00:13:04] chemicals and all sorts of stuff.

[00:13:05] So about $26 billion of the package

[00:13:12] goes to support Israel.

[00:13:14] $4 billion of the $26 billion goes

[00:13:17] to replenishing Israel's missile

[00:13:19] defense systems over $9 billion

[00:13:22] goes toward humanitarian assistance

[00:13:25] in Gaza.

[00:13:28] So I know it's humanitarian

[00:13:31] assistance, but I get the feeling

[00:13:34] we're funding both sides.

[00:13:35] Do you get that feeling here?

[00:13:36] Sometimes there's another $8 billion

[00:13:40] for helping U.S.

[00:13:42] allies in the Indo-Pacific region.

[00:13:45] 3.3 of the 8 would go towards

[00:13:47] submarine infrastructure and

[00:13:49] development with an additional $1.9

[00:13:51] billion to replenish U.S.

[00:13:52] weapons provided to Taiwan and

[00:13:55] regional allies.

[00:13:56] That's according to the

[00:13:57] Associated Press.

[00:14:01] There is this piece at The

[00:14:02] Federalist by Sean Fleetwood.

[00:14:06] Quoting Mike Johnson's repeated

[00:14:08] pledge to secure the U.S.-Mexico

[00:14:10] border before advancing foreign

[00:14:12] funding, which obviously did not

[00:14:14] happen.

[00:14:15] And you heard Dan Bishop say

[00:14:16] that.

[00:14:16] Now the House has passed a border

[00:14:18] funding bill, a border security

[00:14:20] bill.

[00:14:20] They have done that.

[00:14:21] The Senate won't touch it, but

[00:14:23] the House has done it.

[00:14:27] Mike Johnson is unable to win

[00:14:30] enough support to get funding

[00:14:32] for a border security bill that

[00:14:35] will pass muster with his

[00:14:36] Republican colleagues or his

[00:14:39] Democratic colleagues.

[00:14:41] They're too far apart.

[00:14:42] Democrats or Republicans are too

[00:14:43] far apart, and the ones that

[00:14:44] are willing to negotiate in the

[00:14:46] middle, they're not enough of

[00:14:47] them.

[00:14:48] And so nothing is happening.

[00:14:50] And so everybody just is

[00:14:52] standing around pointing at

[00:14:53] each other, accusing the other

[00:14:54] of being the problem when we

[00:14:55] all know the problem is Biden.

[00:14:58] Well, in Congress, I mean,

[00:14:59] they could do more, right?

[00:15:00] But the problem is you've got

[00:15:02] a very close House divided

[00:15:05] almost equally by the

[00:15:07] U.S.

[00:15:08] House divided almost equally

[00:15:10] between Republicans and

[00:15:11] Democrats.

[00:15:12] You've got Republicans that are

[00:15:14] in blue districts that are very

[00:15:15] worried that if they go along

[00:15:17] with a border bill that they're

[00:15:19] able to be demonized with,

[00:15:20] if they vote for it, they're

[00:15:22] going to lose reelection.

[00:15:23] And that does not help advance

[00:15:25] conservative agenda items.

[00:15:28] If the Republicans end up

[00:15:30] winning more seats in

[00:15:31] November.

[00:15:33] So.

[00:15:35] I deal with things as they

[00:15:36] are, right?

[00:15:36] What did Russia always talk

[00:15:37] about? He's the mayor of

[00:15:38] Realville, right?

[00:15:40] How how are things as they

[00:15:42] are?

[00:15:42] Not what I want them to be.

[00:15:44] But what are they actually on

[00:15:45] the ground?

[00:15:46] Reality.

[00:15:48] All right.

[00:15:48] So Mike Johnson repeated a

[00:15:51] pledge to secure the U.S.-

[00:15:53] Mexico border before advancing

[00:15:55] foreign funding.

[00:15:57] A bill was passed by the

[00:15:58] House.

[00:15:59] Senate wouldn't take it up.

[00:16:00] And so they tried to do the

[00:16:03] Biden's bad border bill.

[00:16:05] That thing went down in

[00:16:06] defeat.

[00:16:06] They keep trying to kept trying

[00:16:08] to tie the foreign funding to

[00:16:09] the border security.

[00:16:10] And I get it.

[00:16:12] I get it.

[00:16:15] One of the things that I

[00:16:18] don't.

[00:16:20] Well, it has become very

[00:16:23] clear to me that members of

[00:16:26] Congress and most Americans

[00:16:29] do not really care about the

[00:16:32] deficit or the debt.

[00:16:34] I do.

[00:16:35] I've cared about these topics

[00:16:37] for a long time.

[00:16:38] But I learned about, oh, I

[00:16:39] don't know, 15 years ago that

[00:16:42] while some people in the

[00:16:44] Republican Party will pay lip

[00:16:45] service to caring about it,

[00:16:47] they actually do not.

[00:16:49] And nobody on the Democrat

[00:16:50] side does.

[00:16:52] They don't even mention it.

[00:16:54] To them, it's all just it's

[00:16:55] all make believe money.

[00:16:56] Right?

[00:16:57] And they get the MMT stuff

[00:16:59] and you just keep printing it,

[00:17:00] keep printing it, whatever.

[00:17:01] Doesn't matter.

[00:17:02] Whenever you ask them how much

[00:17:03] should we be giving, it's

[00:17:05] always more, more, more.

[00:17:06] Right?

[00:17:07] So there isn't anybody over on

[00:17:09] that side of the aisle, which,

[00:17:11] by the way, if you like

[00:17:12] Democrats, if they actually

[00:17:15] were to attempt to fiscally

[00:17:18] restrain spending, right, to

[00:17:21] be somewhat more responsible.

[00:17:24] It's not even a lot.

[00:17:25] I mean, just by comparison to

[00:17:26] the Republican Party, you

[00:17:27] don't need to be that much

[00:17:28] more responsible.

[00:17:29] Right.

[00:17:31] But as we sit here today, the

[00:17:34] Republican Party is actually

[00:17:36] more fiscally responsible.

[00:17:37] That doesn't make them

[00:17:38] fiscally responsible, just

[00:17:39] makes them a little bit less

[00:17:41] bad.

[00:17:41] Right.

[00:17:42] So if the Democrats like

[00:17:44] there's an opportunity here for

[00:17:45] Democrats to say, you know

[00:17:46] what?

[00:17:47] We believe in big government.

[00:17:49] Sorry.

[00:17:50] We believe in very big

[00:17:51] government because the

[00:17:52] Republicans believe in big

[00:17:53] government.

[00:17:53] We believe in very big

[00:17:54] government, but we're going

[00:17:55] to actually fund it and

[00:17:57] we're going to raise your

[00:17:57] taxes to do so.

[00:17:59] Right.

[00:18:00] If they were just on it.

[00:18:01] Well, OK, they would never

[00:18:02] be honest because they would

[00:18:02] never win.

[00:18:04] But if they were like at least

[00:18:05] that would be an honest

[00:18:07] position where and on the

[00:18:08] other side, you got

[00:18:09] Republicans who say, you

[00:18:11] know, we're going to have a

[00:18:13] big government.

[00:18:14] We're going to give you lots

[00:18:14] of lip service about paying

[00:18:16] for it, but we're actually

[00:18:16] going to just do tax cuts and

[00:18:18] then we're going to push out

[00:18:19] the costs of those and we're

[00:18:21] never going to balance the

[00:18:22] budget.

[00:18:22] And it's all it's all just

[00:18:24] moving money around on the on

[00:18:26] the ledger and it's just not

[00:18:27] sustainable.

[00:18:30] And it hasn't been for a very

[00:18:30] long time.

[00:18:31] And I keep seeing these

[00:18:32] predictions and we're getting

[00:18:34] pretty close like.

[00:18:36] It's going to be a couple of

[00:18:37] years, less than a decade

[00:18:39] when all these things start

[00:18:40] going bankrupt on us.

[00:18:41] Right.

[00:18:41] So I'm going to be right at

[00:18:42] retirement age right on

[00:18:45] schedule, which as a Gen X

[00:18:46] er, I have known from the

[00:18:49] very beginning when I went

[00:18:51] about into the workplace, I

[00:18:54] knew that these entitlement

[00:18:56] programs were going to be

[00:18:58] bankrupt by the time I get

[00:19:00] to retirement age.

[00:19:02] And so all I have ever asked

[00:19:04] is for the ability to take

[00:19:06] some portion of this of the

[00:19:08] money that you are taking

[00:19:09] from my salary involuntarily

[00:19:12] to pay for the Social

[00:19:13] Security, Medicare, whatever.

[00:19:15] Can I take some of that

[00:19:16] money and invest it

[00:19:19] somewhere else where I can

[00:19:21] make a higher return.

[00:19:24] And therefore protect myself

[00:19:25] better from when the

[00:19:27] calamity occurs.

[00:19:29] And there has only been one

[00:19:31] attempt at that in my

[00:19:34] entire adult life.

[00:19:35] And that was George W.

[00:19:36] Bush after he won

[00:19:37] reelection and he said he

[00:19:39] was going to go ahead and

[00:19:40] touch that third rail of

[00:19:41] American politics, Social

[00:19:43] Security.

[00:19:45] And he was going to allow

[00:19:47] us to take, I think it

[00:19:49] was something like 1% or

[00:19:51] one and a half percent.

[00:19:54] Like.

[00:19:55] Nothing minimal.

[00:19:58] And invested elsewhere.

[00:20:00] And.

[00:20:02] Like that was the end of

[00:20:03] Western civilization,

[00:20:04] apparently like the

[00:20:04] reaction from the media

[00:20:06] and the Democrats.

[00:20:06] But I repeat myself and

[00:20:07] then also Republicans like.

[00:20:10] They nobody wanted to

[00:20:12] touch it.

[00:20:12] Everybody got scared and

[00:20:14] and it died.

[00:20:16] And now you see similar

[00:20:17] arguments happening.

[00:20:19] Right. Whenever anybody

[00:20:20] says maybe we should

[00:20:21] adjust the retirement age.

[00:20:22] Yes, you should adjust

[00:20:23] the retirement age.

[00:20:24] Absolutely.

[00:20:25] The cap on the percentages.

[00:20:27] So when it's like if you

[00:20:28] make a lot of money, you're

[00:20:29] capped at the amount that

[00:20:31] you donate into quote

[00:20:32] donate that you have

[00:20:33] confiscated from you.

[00:20:34] It goes into Social Security.

[00:20:37] And what that means is

[00:20:38] then that you got like

[00:20:39] really, really wealthy

[00:20:40] people when they retire,

[00:20:42] they get their Social

[00:20:43] Security money back.

[00:20:44] And it's like.

[00:20:46] It's nothing to them.

[00:20:47] It's you know, it's oh

[00:20:48] wow.

[00:20:48] You know, some of the

[00:20:49] people that are going to

[00:20:50] get their Social Security

[00:20:51] money back.

[00:20:52] And it's like.

[00:20:52] It's nothing to them.

[00:20:54] It's oh wow.

[00:20:55] Somebody's got somebody's

[00:20:56] got a monthly income

[00:20:58] getting spun off of a

[00:20:59] trust fund or something

[00:21:01] and or his investments

[00:21:02] or businesses or whatever.

[00:21:03] And it's millions of

[00:21:04] dollars a month or something.

[00:21:06] And you think that this

[00:21:08] two thousand dollars

[00:21:09] from Social Security,

[00:21:10] you think that matters

[00:21:11] to these really wealthy people.

[00:21:12] So like you could do

[00:21:13] a means test, whatever.

[00:21:15] And I don't necessarily

[00:21:16] like I don't know what

[00:21:16] the particular proposals are.

[00:21:18] I'm not advancing any.

[00:21:19] I'm just saying these

[00:21:20] are ideas that are out there

[00:21:21] and you can't even

[00:21:22] bring them up.

[00:21:23] You bring them up,

[00:21:24] you get accused of throwing

[00:21:25] grandma off the cliff.

[00:21:27] Right.

[00:21:28] And the Republicans used to

[00:21:30] at least try to bring it up.

[00:21:32] Now they don't.

[00:21:34] And Trump ran on the idea

[00:21:36] that I'm not going to touch

[00:21:37] any of the entitlements.

[00:21:38] Right.

[00:21:38] OK, so all right, fine.

[00:21:39] They're all going to go bankrupt.

[00:21:40] Then I guess that's where

[00:21:41] we're going to go.

[00:21:42] Right.

[00:21:42] Just forward as the left says

[00:21:45] forward right off the cliff.

[00:21:47] Awesome.

[00:21:48] OK.

[00:21:48] And then it all goes bankrupt.

[00:21:51] Can't pay any of the liabilities.

[00:21:53] You know where we're paying

[00:21:54] to service the debt right now?

[00:21:57] It's almost a trillion dollars

[00:21:59] at this point.

[00:22:01] That's nuts.

[00:22:03] We don't have the money,

[00:22:05] but here's the thing.

[00:22:07] No one cares.

[00:22:09] No one cares.

[00:22:10] Like I said, I care.

[00:22:12] I've cared for a long time.

[00:22:14] But nobody cares about

[00:22:17] these really big numbers

[00:22:18] and even understand

[00:22:20] the big numbers are too big.

[00:22:21] And so I get a little annoyed,

[00:22:23] a little peeved

[00:22:25] when I hear people complain

[00:22:27] about foreign aid of whatever

[00:22:29] this one thing is like

[00:22:30] 90 billion dollars, 90 billion.

[00:22:32] And that's a very large number two.

[00:22:35] And they complain about that.

[00:22:37] And they're like,

[00:22:38] we need to make sure

[00:22:39] what you know, 90 billion dollars.

[00:22:40] We don't have the money.

[00:22:42] Yeah, that's the 90

[00:22:43] is not what's bankrupting us.

[00:22:47] The 90 is nothing

[00:22:48] compared to the trot.

[00:22:50] To the trillion, you know?

[00:22:53] And you're not even willing

[00:22:54] to look at the trillion.

[00:22:55] But the 90 is going to this is the

[00:22:58] this is what you want me

[00:22:58] to be outraged over.

[00:23:00] I find a lot of it

[00:23:01] to be performative.

[00:23:02] I really do.

[00:23:03] Plus, I'm also an anti-communist.

[00:23:05] OK, if you're listening

[00:23:06] to this podcast,

[00:23:07] you are obviously paying attention

[00:23:08] to the world around us.

[00:23:10] You also have really great taste,

[00:23:12] I might add.

[00:23:13] But if you haven't started

[00:23:14] getting prepared

[00:23:14] for various emergencies,

[00:23:16] I got to ask,

[00:23:17] what are you waiting for?

[00:23:18] Please call my friends Bill

[00:23:19] and Jan at Carolina

[00:23:21] Readiness Supply

[00:23:22] and they'll help get you started.

[00:23:23] If you have no idea how to start,

[00:23:24] they can help you.

[00:23:25] If you're an experienced prepper,

[00:23:27] they can help you to being prepared

[00:23:29] is just smart.

[00:23:30] We've already established

[00:23:31] that you're smart.

[00:23:32] I mean, you listen

[00:23:33] to this podcast after all.

[00:23:34] So let's put those smarts into action.

[00:23:37] Go to carolinareadiness.com.

[00:23:39] That's carolinareadiness.com

[00:23:41] or call them at 828-226-7239.

[00:23:46] Carolina Readiness Supply

[00:23:47] has 2000 square feet of supplies.

[00:23:49] As well as educational materials

[00:23:51] that you're going to need

[00:23:52] for any kind of emergency.

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[00:23:56] Will you be ready when the lights go out?

[00:23:58] There is a good argument to be made.

[00:24:01] There is a good argument to be made

[00:24:03] that we don't have a strategy with Ukraine.

[00:24:06] And Dan Bishop mentioned

[00:24:07] that in the interview

[00:24:09] earlier this hour.

[00:24:10] What is America's strategy

[00:24:12] for accomplishing

[00:24:14] whatever the goal is, right?

[00:24:15] To repel the Russian invasion, right?

[00:24:17] If that's the point of

[00:24:19] pouring all the money into Ukraine,

[00:24:21] having them fight Putin

[00:24:24] so we don't have to, right?

[00:24:25] Fight them there

[00:24:26] so we don't fight them here.

[00:24:27] Whatever.

[00:24:27] Like, oh, I kid, I kid.

[00:24:29] That's a golden oldie.

[00:24:30] That's just a throwback to

[00:24:33] 25 years ago.

[00:24:35] 24.

[00:24:37] More than two years

[00:24:37] and 113 billion dollars later,

[00:24:39] Ukraine is not any closer

[00:24:40] to beating Russia

[00:24:41] than the day Moscow

[00:24:42] launched its invasion, right?

[00:24:43] There's been no explanation

[00:24:46] from the Biden administration

[00:24:47] or any of the other Ukraine

[00:24:49] first member of Congress

[00:24:51] on what they view

[00:24:52] as a reasonable resolution

[00:24:53] to the conflict.

[00:24:56] This is a piece at TheFederalist.com

[00:24:58] by Sean Fleetwood,

[00:25:00] who's a staff writer

[00:25:01] and a graduate of

[00:25:03] University of Mary Washington.

[00:25:05] He previously served

[00:25:06] as a state content writer

[00:25:07] for Convention of States Action.

[00:25:11] He says those claiming

[00:25:12] that the end goal

[00:25:13] is a total defeat of Russia

[00:25:15] are living in a fantasy land.

[00:25:16] Russia is a nuclear power

[00:25:18] and possesses one of the most

[00:25:20] sophisticated militaries

[00:25:21] in the world.

[00:25:22] Barring a sudden collapse

[00:25:23] of Russian governance,

[00:25:24] there is no scenario

[00:25:26] in which Ukrainian soldiers

[00:25:27] are going to be parading

[00:25:28] through the streets of Moscow

[00:25:29] as blue and yellow

[00:25:31] Ukrainian flags

[00:25:32] wave atop the Russian White House.

[00:25:35] Yeah, and I don't know

[00:25:36] if that's the

[00:25:37] I don't know if that's the goal.

[00:25:38] I don't think it is.

[00:25:40] But therein lies the problem.

[00:25:42] And that's why you've got

[00:25:44] this polling.

[00:25:45] This is from Daily Signal Dotcom,

[00:25:47] which is a project of the

[00:25:50] Heritage Foundation.

[00:25:55] Support for Ukraine funding

[00:25:57] stands at 33 percent,

[00:25:58] opposition's at 47 percent.

[00:26:01] Right.

[00:26:02] This is why I've been like

[00:26:03] ambivalent on it

[00:26:04] this entire time, because

[00:26:06] I don't know what your plan is.

[00:26:07] What is the goal?

[00:26:08] I understand Ukraine got invaded

[00:26:09] and I also understand

[00:26:10] that they're really kind of corrupt

[00:26:11] and probably in bed with

[00:26:13] the Biden Inc. folks.

[00:26:14] So like.

[00:26:16] Like, I don't know who to root for

[00:26:18] except injuries.

[00:26:20] I'm kidding.

[00:26:20] I'm not rooting for injuries.

[00:26:21] No, I don't want there to be war.

[00:26:23] But I also know that

[00:26:24] Vladimir Putin is constantly

[00:26:26] looking to invade

[00:26:27] all of his neighbors again.

[00:26:28] It makes me wonder, like,

[00:26:29] why didn't you just keep them

[00:26:30] as part of the Soviet Union

[00:26:31] in the first place?

[00:26:32] Why do we have to go

[00:26:32] through all this?

[00:26:33] You guys promised us

[00:26:34] that the communism was over.

[00:26:38] And then we imported it.

[00:26:39] Indo-Pacific funding

[00:26:40] garners 23 percent support,

[00:26:43] 42 percent opposed.

[00:26:45] Funding for Israel draws support

[00:26:46] from 27 percent

[00:26:47] and 50 percent opposed.

[00:26:49] Right.

[00:26:50] So is this a function of

[00:26:52] isolationism?

[00:26:54] Is this a fear of debt

[00:26:55] and inflation?

[00:26:56] Is this just the general,

[00:26:57] like, I don't want to give any

[00:26:58] money to anybody else

[00:26:59] because we're broke.

[00:27:01] OK, but the 90 billion

[00:27:03] is not.

[00:27:05] Anywhere near the trillion

[00:27:06] dollars that we're running

[00:27:07] in just the debt service.

[00:27:10] Right.

[00:27:10] Our unfunded liabilities

[00:27:13] are somewhere north of,

[00:27:14] like, 80 trillion dollars.

[00:27:19] And no one is introducing

[00:27:21] any kind of a plan.

[00:27:22] No one wants to have

[00:27:23] any kind of an argument

[00:27:24] about any of this.

[00:27:26] So.

[00:27:28] I don't believe people.

[00:27:29] This is where I come down.

[00:27:31] I don't believe people

[00:27:32] are actually worried about this.

[00:27:34] I think they just don't want

[00:27:36] any money to go

[00:27:37] to any foreign countries,

[00:27:39] and they have a higher priority,

[00:27:40] which is the southern border

[00:27:41] that is mine as well.

[00:27:43] But it's not an either or.

[00:27:45] There be this is a false dichotomy.

[00:27:47] It's a false choice

[00:27:48] being thrown at us that you either

[00:27:50] have to support the funding

[00:27:52] for the border or you have to support

[00:27:54] the funding for fighting

[00:27:56] the Hamas or fighting

[00:28:00] the Russians.

[00:28:02] Republican voters,

[00:28:04] only 17 percent

[00:28:06] support a 60 billion

[00:28:08] dollar loan for the nation.

[00:28:10] Sixty six percent

[00:28:12] are opposed.

[00:28:13] Older people and Democrats

[00:28:15] are more likely to support these things.

[00:28:20] John asks about these loans,

[00:28:22] their forgivable loans.

[00:28:24] Does that mean that Ukraine

[00:28:26] has now gone to college?

[00:28:27] Well, yeah, maybe that's that

[00:28:30] that does seem to be the case.

[00:28:33] I will say the issue is now

[00:28:35] swept off the table,

[00:28:37] at least for now.

[00:28:38] So.

[00:28:40] Maybe hammering out

[00:28:42] maybe hammer away at the border,

[00:28:44] maybe come back to that,

[00:28:45] maybe keep running bills,

[00:28:47] individual bills.

[00:28:48] Take your border bill

[00:28:49] and break it all apart

[00:28:51] and do individual

[00:28:53] funding things and get

[00:28:55] all these Democrats on the record.

[00:28:56] I mean, like, that's the thing.

[00:28:57] I don't know what else to do

[00:28:59] when you've got all the Democrats

[00:29:01] voting in lockstep against

[00:29:03] any kind of border bill

[00:29:05] that Biden won't sign on to.

[00:29:07] Republican ideas for border security.

[00:29:10] Do not pass muster with the Democrats.

[00:29:12] They have they have a different incentive,

[00:29:15] so I'm not sure

[00:29:17] what it is we are expecting

[00:29:19] Republicans to do

[00:29:22] when they have a two vote majority,

[00:29:24] whatever it is.

[00:29:25] And you got a good chunk

[00:29:27] of the Republicans in your party

[00:29:28] in the House

[00:29:30] that agree with the Democrats

[00:29:31] on this stuff because they're afraid

[00:29:32] of getting thrown out

[00:29:34] in their upcoming election.

[00:29:37] So I don't know if this is a function

[00:29:38] of isolationism or if it's a function

[00:29:40] of the debt or if it's just a function

[00:29:42] of I want something else

[00:29:43] to spend my money on,

[00:29:44] or it's a function of just,

[00:29:46] you know, being outraged at everything

[00:29:48] and no solutions.

[00:29:50] All right, that'll do it for this episode.

[00:29:52] Thank you so much for listening.

[00:29:53] I could not do the show

[00:29:54] without your support

[00:29:55] and the support of the businesses

[00:29:57] that advertise on the podcast.

[00:29:58] So if you'd like, please support them

[00:30:00] too and tell them you heard it here.

[00:30:01] You can also become a patron

[00:30:03] at my Patreon page

[00:30:04] or go to the Pete Kalaner show dot com.

[00:30:07] Again, I'm going to be

[00:30:08] again, thank you so much for listening

[00:30:10] and don't break anything while I'm gone.