America Held Hostage: Progressives Fear Losing Control | 10⧸3⧸24
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
135.16838
Summary
In the first episode of the new season of Rocky s Vacation, host Alex Blumberg sits down with conservative commentator and author Robert Kiyosaki to talk about the role of the administrative state and how it responds to the rise of the Trump administration.
Transcript
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We hope you're enjoying your Air Canada flight.
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Fast-free Wi-Fi means I can make dinner reservations before we land.
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Wi-Fi available to Airplane members on Equipped Flight.
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In the United States, the ultimate check on the growth of power was the realization that,
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through elections, one side would inevitably have to hand over whatever they had built
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This seemed like a reasonable way to prevent tyrannical abuse, but the trouble is that America's
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founders didn't anticipate the emergence of a distinct ruling class capable of maintaining
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Elections come and elections go, but institutions remain.
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Progressives realized that by controlling the expert class, staffing the permanent bureaucracies,
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they could vest significant power within them without worrying about the fluctuations of
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A weak and complacent Republican party that was frankly just content to be included also became
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invested in the perpetuation of these institutions.
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This allowed progressives to sprinkle a few bipartisan appointments into the mix while still ensuring
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that these institutions stayed under progressive control.
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The state could continue to grow, and Democrats could grant nearly unlimited power to these
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I will be the first to admit that Trump is a deeply flawed man who was ultimately unable to
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deliver on a number of his promised changes, but he was treated as a mortal threat by the system
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As an outsider, he was not heavily invested in the machinery of government or the authority
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of the institutions that progressives rely on to maintain control.
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At times, particularly during moments of crisis like the pandemic, Trump did default to the authority
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of these institutions, which led to some of his most disastrous failures.
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But the mere fact that he was willing to question the system at all shook the ruling elite to their core.
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Figures like Mitt Romney will dutifully maintain the status quo until the left regains official power.
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There's no threat in putting him in the White House.
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But a leader like Trump was never supposed to get anywhere near the levers of the machine.
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An incredible amount of authority has been placed in the administrative state,
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and that power was never intended to be handed over to a true political opponent.
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When Trump entered office, the institutions declared all-out war on his administration,
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breaking rules and disregarding norms to limit the billionaire's ability to affect the system.
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The media, already hostile to Republicans, unleash unprecedented vitriol towards Trump.
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A perfect storm of pandemic lockdowns, riots, and what's the newspeak for it?
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Oh yeah, election fortification forced the real estate tycoon out of office.
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And the establishment vowed to never let a populist candidate like Trump gain power again.
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Universities today aren't just neglecting real education.
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America was made for an educated and engaged citizenry.
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The Intercollegiate Studies Institute is here to help.
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ISI offers programs and opportunities for conservative students across the country.
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ISI understands that conservatives and right-of-center students feel isolated on college campuses
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and that you're often fighting for your own reputation, dignity, and future.
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Through ISI, you can learn about what Russell Kirk called the permanent things,
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the philosophical and political teachings that shaped and made Western civilization great.
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ISI offers many opportunities to jumpstart your career.
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They have fellowships at some of the nation's top conservative publications like National Review,
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the American Conservative, and the College Thinker.
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If you're a graduate student, ISI offers funding opportunities to sponsor the next great generation of college professors.
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Through ISI, you can work with conservative thinkers who are making a difference.
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Thinkers like Chris Ruffo, who currently has an ISI researcher helping him with his book.
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But perhaps most importantly, ISI offers college students a community of people that can help them grow.
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If you're a college student, ISI can help you start a student organization or a student newspaper
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or meet other like-minded students at their various conferences and events.
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ISI is here to educate the next generation of great Americans.
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With Democrats back in the White House, the institutions took swift revenge.
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January 6th protesters faced extreme prosecution from the federal government.
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Pro-life activists encountered similar politically motivated charges and sentencing.
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Those who served in Trump's administration often had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars defending themselves in court.
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And Trump's lawyers even feared facing jail time just for advising the president.
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Trump faced numerous legal challenges, aiming first to bankrupt him,
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then to remove him from the ballot, and finally to imprison him.
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When those efforts failed, some Democrats resorted to assassination attempts.
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The FBI increasingly acted like a Praetorian Guard, serving the interests of the Democratic Party,
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and the weaponization of the Justice Department escalated.
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Under the Biden administration, opposing the institutional power of the left became increasingly illegal.
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Progressives, terrified at the idea that social media might break the hegemonic control on information that the left had previously enjoyed,
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launched at a giant censorship industry under the banner of fighting misinformation and disinformation.
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Democratic politicians, worried that they may no longer be able to convince the existing American population,
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accelerated their ongoing project of replacement migration.
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The number of immigrants was so outrageous and the process so indiscriminate
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that even leaders of major blue cities started to complain.
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Trump probably didn't deserve to strike that level of tear into the heart of the system.
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And the immune response almost killed the system itself.
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Journalists now regularly draft breathless screeds,
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warning that Trump might weaponize the Justice Department
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and prosecute his political enemies if he's allowed to return to office.
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This seems like rank hypocrisy to conservatives
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who have watched the Democrats treat the rule of law like a battered housewife.
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But the left is doing more than just projecting its own behavior.
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Democrats have created an incredibly powerful leviathan
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and unleashed it against their political opponents.
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and the media incites its audience to violence,
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sometimes even encouraging the killing of political opponents.
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know that they've crossed a line that they can't walk back from
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and fear that conservatives will be just as ruthless if given the chance.
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Unfortunately, many conservatives still don't grasp the current reality.
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They continue to act as if American politics follows a strict set of rules
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where the most convincing argument prevails and power is peacefully transferred.
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that knows it has passed the point of no return.
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The Democratic Party has taken the American people hostage.
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shattering norms and undermining the rule of law.
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Progressives know that they've broken the rules
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Many on the right lack the appetite for revenge,
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and Trump alternates between calls for retribution
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Nevertheless, the possibility of a right-wing willing to stand firm
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the links to do all of that are down below in the description.
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And of course, all of my shows are on Blaze TV,