In this episode of Firebrand Live, we re broadcasting out of our Congressional Office Room 1721 of the Longworth Building here in Washington, D.C., on Capitol Hill. Matt Gaetz was one of the very few members in the entire Congress who bothered to stand up against permanent Washington on behalf of his constituents. He could cause a lot of hiccups in passing applause, but we re going to keep running those stories to get hurt again. If you stand for the flag and kneel in prayer, if you want to build America up, and not burn her to the ground, then you re in the right place. You re a patriot, and you re here to hold Mr. Joe Biden accountable for what s happening in Washington. We re back with a new segment called Joe Biden s Sleepy Joe, in which we take a look at why Joe Biden is a problem for the Democratic Party and why he s a real drag on their chances of winning the midterms. And we re talking about what s going to happen if Joe Biden continues to be Joe Biden in 2020. Make sure you re subscribed to our new podcast Firebrand, where we talk about everything you need to know about the upcoming midterms and why you should be worried about the possibility of a Democratic wave election. Subscribe to our newest podcast, Firebrand: A Democratic Wave! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe on iTunes Learn more about your ad choices. Rate/subscribe and become a supporter of our new sponsor, The Root Green Dot Media! and we ll send you an ad-free version of the podcast that s all about politics, culture, culture and culture, politics, and everything else you ve ever heard on the past and the culture and business that s going on in your favorite podcast, wherever you get a chance to listen to it. Firebrand is a podcast you care about, you ll get a copy of our newest episode of the newest podcast on the latest thing, firebrand. We make it on the 21st century edition of the Firebrand , wherever you re listening to it, no matter where you get it, it s out there. , no matter what you re gonna get it? we re making it, you re getting it! , tweet me on social media, tweet me! and I ll tell me what s good, right here on the or not, right there on your favorite thing you re reading it, right away!
00:04:58.000Matt Gaetz was one of the very few members in the entire Congress who bothered to stand up against permanent Washington on behalf of his constituents.
00:05:05.000Matt Gaetz right now, he's a problem for the Democratic Party.
00:05:08.000He could cause a lot of hiccups in passing applause.
00:05:11.000So we're going to keep running those stories to get hurt again.
00:05:15.000If you stand for the flag and kneel in prayer, if you want to build America up and not burn her to the ground, then welcome, my fellow patriots!
00:05:45.000What you're seeing is President Biden is a serious drag on Democratic candidates nationwide, and it's driven by his approval rating on a range of issues.
00:05:58.000He is badly underwater on all of the top issues, including the big ones, inflation, gas prices.
00:06:04.000He has less than 30% approval rating on the issues that we're told by voters are dominating their state of mind.
00:06:10.000Even on issues like gun violence, abortion rights, issues that he is elevating into the conversation in recent weeks, he is still significantly underwater.
00:06:21.000Above water on, 56% approval rating on his handling of COVID-19.
00:06:24.000The problem for Democrats and Biden is that that happens to be the issue that voters are telling us is the least likely to be animating their vote this fall.
00:06:32.000And that's also spilling over into an enthusiasm gap that's developing.
00:06:35.000You see this in our poll with Ipsos, 13-point edge for Republicans in terms of people that say that they are very enthusiastic, very eager to vote this fall.
00:06:44.000You're seeing independent voters largely sitting out the midterms so far.
00:06:47.000Now, that enthusiasm gap is a little narrower than it was last time we polled on it two months ago.
00:06:51.000But still, those are the kind of numbers that have Democrats worried about a potential wave election.
00:06:56.000Since 1938, Republican two-point lead on the generic congressional ballot is the best position for Republicans at this point in any midterm cycle in over 80 years.
00:07:09.000It beats 2010 when Republicans were up a point.
00:07:12.000It beats 14, 2002, 1998, where Democrats led by a point.
00:07:16.000And in all of those four prior examples that make this list of the top five, look at that.
00:07:23.000It was the Republicans who won a majority.
00:07:28.000The very worst political environment Democrats have faced in 80 years.
00:07:36.000When people tell you that your representatives in the minority can't do anything, can't pass any bills, just up here to be extras in the movie, look at that.
00:07:45.000See the value of the direct action we've taken to show the American people that the Biden administration is corrupt, that they are purposefully making things worse on the border, with the economy, with crime.
00:07:59.000And yet here we sit poised for a potential massive Republican wave.
00:08:03.000And the question is, will we be worth it?
00:08:06.000Will we advance the policies that make life better for the American people?
00:08:10.000It's really interesting in that segment I just showed you from the mainstream media.
00:08:15.000Joe Biden tries to put guns and abortion into the national political matrix for the upcoming midterm, and yet he has an approval rating on those issues that is just cataclysmically low.
00:08:28.000And the only thing he's doing well on presumably is COVID, which I totally don't get because he's been the lockdown president, the basement president.
00:08:37.000And yet that is declining as a voting issue.
00:08:42.000Inflation, gas prices, and Joe Biden has become an anchor around the neck.
00:08:48.000Of every Democrat in Congress, and he is so toxic politically, even these Democrats and Republicans who want gun control, which is a terrible idea that we should summarily reject, they don't want Biden out there talking about it.
00:09:04.000I've talked to Republicans and Democrats who say that the worst thing that can happen for an agenda item at this point is Joe Biden endorsing it because he has had such a bad track record.
00:09:14.000The only thing that he got past was the American Rescue Plan, which even the Obama-era economists are saying contributed greatly to this inflation.
00:09:24.000So it's Sleepy Joe, Failed Joe, and we're here to hold him accountable.
00:09:29.000We're broadcasting this episode of Firebrand Live out of our Congressional Office, Room 1721 of the House Longworth Office Building here on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Make sure you're subscribed.
00:09:41.000Make sure you've got your notifications turned on.
00:09:43.000I was thinking about this horrific environment that Democrats find themselves in politically, and it harkened back to remarks I made at the Republican National Convention.
00:09:56.000And keep in mind, I just thought, look, I've got an opportunity to go present the candidate of my choosing.
00:10:02.000Democrats have presented the candidate of their choosing.
00:10:05.000And I wanted people to understand what the world would be like if Joe Biden was president.
00:11:51.000It is true that we don't just have Democrats in our way for the America First agenda.
00:11:55.000We are very much in a battle with some of those rhinos.
00:11:59.000And a lot of folks are concerned about the Second Amendment.
00:12:01.000And that is important to see as well because that's going to be at issue on the floor of the House of Representatives this week.
00:12:09.000I want to take a moment to talk about some news we've seen recently regarding Saudi Arabia.
00:12:14.000The New York Times has reported that Joe Biden is planning a visit to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
00:12:20.000And if he does, this will be a total 180 from Joe Biden's campaign message.
00:12:27.000Here's Joe Biden calling Saudi Arabia a pariah and vowing to hold them accountable for the murder of Muslim Brotherhood member and opinion journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
00:13:21.000We all know that the United States has a working relationship with the Saudis, but it's quite a stretch to call Saudi Arabia an ally.
00:13:29.000True allies don't send their flight students to murder American sailors.
00:13:34.000True allies aren't the one out there spreading dangerous Wahhabism, exporting fundamentalism through madrasas all over the Middle East and the world.
00:13:45.000Joe Biden's trip comes in the midst of pending lawsuits on behalf of the victims of the 9-11 families seeking to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for their role in 9-11, which we've covered extensively on this podcast.
00:14:00.000My constituents, the first responders in Pensacola, some of the victims' families of service members who were killed, they are trying to hold Saudi Arabia accountable in U.S. courts for allowing one of their flight students to be radicalized and then participate in a terrorist attack at NAS Pensacola. they are trying to hold Saudi Arabia accountable in U.S.
00:14:19.000So if Joe Biden is going to Saudi Arabia, it shouldn't be to beg the kingdom to increase oil production.
00:14:26.000It should be to hold them accountable for their role in 9-11 and their potential role in the NAS Pensacola attacks.
00:14:33.000That's what a real president would do.
00:14:38.000It makes it all the more embarrassing right now that Joe Biden is planning his trip to Riyadh, knowing that what he's going to do there is debase himself and kowtow to the Crown Prince, hoping that oil production will go up to lower American gas prices.
00:14:53.000The fact that the United States is in such a crisis that we are now reduced to begging the Saudis to save us, it's beyond infuriating.
00:15:44.000And I think that humans contribute to that change.
00:15:46.000And there's a lot of just sensible stuff we could do to reduce the negative impact we have on the environment.
00:15:52.000That said, Joe Biden is so beholden, so totally beholden, that he goes out there and says, our goal is to eliminate the need for oil and gas.
00:16:02.000And then out of the other side of his mouth, he says, use it or lose it to American energy entrepreneurs.
00:16:07.000So what would you do if you owned an oil and gas company?
00:16:10.000Would you go out and drill for oil, invest potentially $100 million in capital costs and rigs and personnel?
00:16:20.000Only to then find yourself years later with Joe Biden trying to make it illegal for you to operate?
00:16:25.000The way he talked about energy as a candidate and in the opening months of his presidency informs on how the energy market reacts.
00:16:35.000And right now, even American energy companies holding drilling permits will not go out and drill.
00:16:43.000They want to blame everything on Vladimir Putin.
00:16:46.000They've been trying to do that since the 2016 election.
00:16:49.000And certainly, this war with Ukraine and Russia is not helping when it comes to gas prices.
00:16:57.000But undeniably, Joe Biden's fear porn around U.S. energy has created a far worse situation.
00:17:04.000And that's what brings us to Saudi Arabia.
00:17:07.000The absurdity that somehow we're doing right by the environment by burning Saudi oil instead of U.S. oil or U.S. natural gas is crazy.
00:17:16.000Actually, liquefied natural gas that we have in tremendous abundance in the United States is far cleaner than the crude that we would get out of Saudi Arabia.
00:17:25.000But the radicals in the Biden administration are so out of touch with the conditions that are faced by the American people, like gas prices, that they're not equipped to meet the challenge.
00:17:36.000They know you can't afford a trip to the pump.
00:17:41.000In fact, there's some who think it's good.
00:17:43.000It helps them advance their boneheaded environmentalist feel-good-America-last policies.
00:17:48.000The more it hurts you, the more it will coerce you to buy the car they want you to buy, take the route they want you to take, use the modality of transportation that they think is best for you.
00:17:59.000But the Biden administration also sees the writing on the wall.
00:18:03.000They know that gas prices are out of hand.
00:18:05.000And they know the American people are pissed about it.
00:18:09.000And they're going to vote against Democrats probably as a consequence.
00:18:33.000Speaking of odd ways to perform one's duty, we've got the January 6th committee coming up later this week, and I'm going to have a lot to say about it.
00:18:43.000I'm going to have some key voices on to give everybody context.
00:18:47.000The way I view it, Democrats have really two principal hurdles here.
00:18:51.000One, they have to get the American people to care about January 6th, 2021 again.
00:18:56.000And second, they have to show the existence of some broad conspiracy.
00:19:03.000First, The notion that Democrats are going to be able to break through by hiring TV producers and putting on this spectacle in prime time defies what I've just been talking about.
00:19:13.000The American people can't pay for groceries, gasoline.
00:19:17.000They're concerned that companies are starting to offshore more because of what Biden is doing at the IRS. They're concerned that there's not going to be the growth in the economy that allows all ships to rise with that rising tide.
00:19:30.000So they're all in on this, and I think it's going to be a real hard time for them to get January 6th into the issue matrix when people are worried about paying bills at the end of the week, at the end of the month, right in the here and now.
00:19:43.000Politicians always look detached when they're not in the present with their voters and then also casting a positive vision for the future.
00:19:50.000Nothing about this January 6th select committee is about a positive image for the future.
00:19:55.000So there was this, like, bizarre hire that the January 6th committee made.
00:20:02.000This is the curious case of former Congressman Denver Riggleman.
00:20:07.000Now, Denver Riggleman was a low IQ member of Congress from Virginia who was elected to one term and was largely unremarkable, unsuccessful.
00:20:16.000Matter of fact, he did such a bad job in Congress after only one term, his own Republicans refused to re-nominate him for the job.
00:20:29.000Don't go out after one term because Republicans take him out.
00:20:33.000But then he was so exercised, so worked up, he made this like, almost like proof of life looking selfie video from his barn about how mad he was at me and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
00:21:15.000And when Matt Gaetz last night said there's an obligation to use the Second Amendment against those who disagree with you, Well, I've had enough.
00:21:24.000Now here I am in my barrel house and I apologize.
00:22:00.000Fight back against this with calm and polite confrontation when you have individuals who tell you stupid things, but let's stop weaponizing belief systems and let's stop the type of rhetoric and stop the type of conspiracy theories that led to 1-6.
00:22:20.000So that's where we get Denver Riggleman saying that Marjorie and I need to be removed from the Republican Conference.
00:22:25.000As I said, Denver Riggleman was removed from the Republican Conference by his own voters, by his fellow Republicans.
00:22:34.000So in a way, there's a whole lot of loser kind of dripping over that entire statement.
00:22:39.000But what he seems particularly aggrieved by is that I said that Americans have an obligation to use the Second Amendment, not to hurt anyone else.
00:22:46.000But to ensure that we preserve our liberties.
00:22:48.000Look, the way the Second Amendment works is not that you go down and gun anybody down or harm anyone or commit an insurrection.
00:22:55.000The founders believed that with a well-armed citizenry in the United States of America, our nation would curate a balance of power and would reserve within the power of the individual the ultimate might to be able to protect liberty if that ever were infringed upon by a tyrannical government.
00:24:21.000It'll be Vladimir Putin against Denver Riggleman.
00:24:25.000Except it actually doesn't turn out that way at all.
00:24:27.000I don't believe the video I'm about to show you is live on location in Ukraine.
00:24:33.000I think it's in a comfortable CNN studio.
00:24:36.000Take a listen to this recent interview with Denver Riggleman, not in Ukraine, not working on the January 6th committee, but auditioning for CNN. Your former Republican colleague, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, who is the vice chair of this committee, she said this about the Republican Party airing this weekend.
00:24:59.000We have too many people now in the Republican Party who are not taking their responsibility seriously and who have pledged their allegiance and loyalty to Donald Trump.
00:25:09.000It is contrary to everything conservatives believe to embrace a personality cult, and yet that is what so many in my party are doing today.
00:25:18.000A personality cult, do you agree with that characterization?
00:25:44.000And I think that's something that I've had to grapple with even behind the scenes.
00:25:49.000What I've seen behind the scenes has even pushed me further away that the party has moved away from conservative principles to this cult of personality that Liz Cheney is talking about.
00:25:59.000And when you see it behind the door, when you see the data, when you see the investigation, when you see those smart people and what they come up with, Jake, it's absolutely stunning, that cult of personality, but also the belief systems that I don't think any real conservative could follow at any point.
00:26:16.000There you have it, Liz Cheney and Denver Riggleman denouncing the cult of personality.
00:26:21.000Yeah, it'd really be a cult of personality for someone to put their narcissism and their egomania above a group that they really cared about that they wanted to serve and advance the interests of.
00:27:40.000One area where I've been critical of some of my fellow Republicans and certainly a whole lot of Democrats on the issue of marijuana reform.
00:27:47.000As I've said before, the war on drugs is like so many of the other forever wars that this Congress confronts.
00:27:55.000Deeply unpopular in all parts of the country, except in the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C. Even as the states start legalizing cannabis, murders, robberies, terrible acts of violence are piling up because dispensaries have nowhere to store their cash and everyone knows it.
00:28:18.000I saw this report that caught my eye in Benzinga.
00:28:26.000Workers are concerned as robberies increase and politicians dither over banking details.
00:28:32.000We've got this massive crime surge ravaging our country because we've got a lot of DAs that just let people out.
00:28:38.000We've got a lot of police being defunded because of Democrat policies.
00:28:43.000And then in some of these places, you have legal cannabis stores that are sitting on cash that have And oftentimes in these blue states where they've legalized cannabis, they've also taken away Second Amendment rights, so you have no protection against yourself.
00:28:57.000And we are seeing what happens when you do this.
00:29:00.000You know, I mean, in Washington state even, right, the evergreen state of progressive politics and prosperous poets and the beloved Chaz, they've had 80 armed robberies in cannabis stores this year alone.
00:29:33.000There's not some large swath of the country that believes that Washington has done things right on the issue of cannabis policy.
00:29:38.000Even in Florida, where we had two-thirds Republicans in the House and the Senate, Rick Scott was our governor, and I got meaningful cannabis reform passed.
00:29:47.000I think Republicans are open-minded if it's something that actually helps patients, helps people live better lives, reduces crime, reduces the negative effects of the war on drugs.
00:29:56.000Democrats, they don't want to solve the problem.
00:30:00.000So while the federal government is like mulling over a much bigger decision to lift federal restrictions on marijuana, it should not delay in making cannabis companies able to operate with banks and to access the U.S. financial system.
00:30:16.000This is a $25 billion a year business in the aggregate.
00:30:20.000So there's already a legislative solution that has passed several Congresses.
00:30:26.000This bill would grant access to the banking system to cannabis businesses and would, quote, ensure that financial institutions can serve state legal marijuana businesses without fear of federal reprisal, close quote.
00:30:59.000Specifically, the Congressional Black Caucus.
00:31:02.000The Democrat Congressional Black Caucus is insisting on all these equity provisions and cannabis reform that totally jam up the opportunity to actually get something done.
00:31:14.000Apparently the bipartisan agreement over loosening the regulated mumbo-jumbo around cannabis banking is just not enough if it doesn't include racially charged wokeness.
00:31:29.000And when I say racially charged, that's what I mean.
00:31:32.000The Congressional Black Caucus is saying they're not going to approve almost any change to marijuana policy if there aren't guaranteed licenses for black farmers, if there's not preferences given to American blacks in a lot of cases.
00:31:46.000And look, I mean, I voted for the MORE Act, okay?
00:31:49.000Because I do think that the war on drugs was probably a lot more damaging in black communities than white communities, but that should not stand in the way of the reforms that could have stopped the 80 armed robberies in the state of Washington.
00:32:02.000It's just crazy to watch our people subjected to this violence when there's something we could do to fix it.
00:32:09.000Just let people put their cash in banks.
00:32:12.000So the Senate has a version of this law that would fix the problem.
00:32:16.000It has 42 Senate co-sponsors, including 9 Republicans.
00:32:20.000And it would give us the tools necessary to ensure an integration of this massive industry.
00:32:27.000Unfortunately, even the Senate version includes these totally non-germane requirements for minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses.
00:32:56.000And on behalf of Floridians who benefit from the state system, I would certainly implore you to do so.
00:33:04.000Democrats have used cannabis legalization as a backbone issue for multiple election cycles, and this is the critical moment.
00:33:12.000Dual chamber majorities in Congress, the White House, they're only standing in their own way.
00:33:18.000During last month's Judiciary Committee markup, I introduced the States Act, once a Democrat-sponsored bill that would really just get the United States government out of the cannabis business altogether and devolve these authorities to the states where they belong under our federalist system.
00:33:34.000Watch as I outline my pitch for cannabis as an effective medical alternative to some of the crazy barbiturate drugs that oftentimes are used to treat the TBI, which is the basis of the underlying bill in this committee, and watch the snarky opposition I get from Democrat boomer Zoe Lofgren.
00:33:56.000Mr. Chairman, years ago when we brought up the MORE Act and I joined the majority in supporting it, I posited that it would never become law because it did not enjoy sufficient support in the Senate, despite Mr. McClintock's support and my support here.
00:34:13.000We are now in a circumstance where one of the easiest, fastest, most capable ways to advance healthcare outcomes for people with traumatic brain injuries would be to unlock the great research potential that exists throughout our country.
00:34:28.000And the States Act Would pass the United States Senate.
00:34:31.000It should pass the House of Representatives under Democratic control.
00:34:35.000Unfortunately, I think we heard some witnesses before this committee that said that the States Act would be a whitewashing of cannabis law.
00:34:43.000And that leaves people with traumatic brain injury, some of the very people who are advocates of the underlying bill, left without the full suite of medical services that might otherwise be available.
00:34:55.000I noticed that just yesterday President Biden put out a Twitter video that identified me and he talked about his plan to lower prescription drug prices and then he showed a picture of me And indicated that I had no plan on health care.
00:35:13.000Well, at least my plan on health care involves modernizing the country's cannabis laws.
00:35:18.000And I'm wondering where President Biden is on that.
00:35:21.000If President Biden is the true great woketopian that you've all been waiting for, why doesn't he remove cannabis from the list of Schedule I drugs?
00:35:30.000And if we really care about the people with traumatic brain injury, with a number of other ailments that could be helped with the application of medical cannabis, Why wouldn't we pass the States Act as a recognition that those people deserve better out of their government, and the MORE Act is not going to become law despite the best efforts of the members of this committee over multiple years?
00:35:50.000I mean, we've done the MORE Act thing year after year, and it's not going anymore.
00:37:08.000Tom Baer says, gas prices are higher than Jerry Nadler's Beltline.
00:37:13.000Might be my all-time favorite Facebook comment we've gotten.
00:37:18.000And also, let's see, we've got Veronica saying that we've got to get more information on Hunter Biden.
00:37:26.000And trust me, there's going to be a lot more Hunter Biden news coming later this week.
00:37:29.000I've got some breaking news out of Pennsylvania I want to go to.
00:37:32.000This is from WTRF in Wheeling, ex-Pennsylvania congressman guilty for stuffing ballots in favor of Democrats.
00:37:41.000A former congressman from Pennsylvania has pleaded guilty to charges related to fraudulently stuffing ballot boxes for Democratic candidates between 2014 and 2018.
00:37:52.000Federal prosecutors said former Democrat U.S. Rep. Ozzie Myers pleaded guilty Monday to violations of election law, conspiracy, bribery, and obstruction.
00:38:04.000You think they only did it 2014, 2016, and 2018?
00:38:08.000Or do you just think maybe in Pennsylvania there's a system for ballot stuffing, and it changes form, and it is a little different tailored to each election, but that might just be what they do.
00:38:20.000Former member of Congress, guilty, I should say, just guilty of this act that I really hope isn't part of how we always think about Pennsylvania.
00:38:30.000There's a lot of work there to clean things up.
00:38:34.000To end the show on some good news, we've got a segment regarding a really exciting diabetes drug that's come out.
00:38:39.000And amidst all the controversies in the news about the economy and The Democrats' assault on gun rights.
00:38:44.000It's big pharma coming out of left field with a potential game changer.
00:38:48.000I know we give big pharma a lot of flack on this show when they deserve it, but hey, sometimes you get a solution that's worth a thoughtful review.
00:38:56.000So we've spoken before about diabetes and insulin and my opposition to government price controls, but a new study has recently come out showing that a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes has amazing side effects Look at this headline from The Guardian.
00:39:15.000Quote, Gosh, how am I going to get this?
00:39:34.000So it's been reported that this new drug works on two naturally occurring hormones and they help control blood sugar and are involved in sending fullness signals to the brain.