00:05:59.020So two decades ago, in 2003, I started as the Solicitor General of Texas, which is the chief
00:06:06.840lawyer for the state in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. 2003 was the first time Republicans had won
00:06:13.180a majority in the House of Representatives in decades. And so we now had a majority in both
00:06:18.660the House and the Senate at the state legislature. And so Texas redistricted in 2003. It was a mid-decade
00:06:25.700redistricting. At the time, that had not been done very often, and they did it because Texas at the
00:06:32.660time, in 2003, Republicans were winning a significant majority of the statewide vote,
00:06:39.560and yet the congressional delegation was majority Democrat. It was the most egregious
00:06:44.860partisan gerrymander in the country. The Democrats had drawn it to elect Democrats,
00:06:52.280even though the voters were voting for the opposite party.
00:06:56.520And so the state legislature came in, redrew the map.
00:07:00.240The result of it was it elected five additional Republicans.
00:07:04.060But I was the lawyer who was charged with day one,
00:07:08.500number one, with advising the legislature while they were drawing the map,
00:07:12.300number two, with defending the map in the federal district court
00:07:16.420when the Democrat plaintiffs challenged it,
00:07:18.520And then number three, I argued the case before the U.S. Supreme Court defending the map and ended up winning a landmark 5-4 decision upholding that map.
00:07:28.560And so there was a good two years of my life when I lived in the world of redistricting.
00:07:34.280And I got to tell you, Ben, the case law at the time was so convoluted and internally contradictory that it made no sense.
00:07:43.860So on one hand, the Supreme Court had said for a long time, the Fourth Amendment, the protection of equal protection under the laws, and the 15th Amendment, the protection that no one shall be denied the right to vote based on race, that that prohibited racial gerrymandering, drawing lines based on race.
00:08:03.040and yet at the same time the prevailing supreme court precedent was that the voting rights act
00:08:09.200a statute passed by congress essentially mandated redistricting based on race so you had these two
00:08:17.260lines of cases that just made no sense because they contradicted each other and and i gotta say
00:08:22.700having been part of the process and and at the time the legislature was drawing the lines
00:08:28.060it was a very political process and i and i was instructed on behalf of the ag's office that i'd
00:08:33.680come in and say look if you need legal advice i'll give you my best legal advice yeah if you
00:08:38.700want to make a political determination do you want to take out this congressman or that congressman
00:08:43.140you're entitled to make that determination you're an elected state legislator i'm not so if you're
00:08:49.780going to engage in those political determinations i'm going to step outside and when you need me
00:08:53.860for a legal opinion i will give it to you i will tell you ben after going through that process
00:08:58.660after going through the litigation i wanted to take a shower because there was so much of the
00:09:04.640litigation that was explicitly racial in a way that normal civilized people they don't talk about
00:09:11.280the black seat the hispanic seat the white seat and yet it was all very explicitly all about race
00:09:18.460that's what the court turned around we're going to explain more in just a minute0.99
00:09:21.620Canadian women are looking for more, more out of themselves, their businesses, their elected1.00
00:09:26.940leaders, and the world around them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk0.53
00:09:31.320podcast. I'm Jennifer Stewart. And I'm Catherine Clark. And in this podcast, we interview Canada's
00:09:36.940most inspiring women, entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at
00:09:42.560different stages of their journey. So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.
00:09:47.320Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcast.
00:09:51.620all right senator so let's get back to it you were mentioning a moment ago uh you're in the room
00:09:57.980you're seeing how the politics this worked in the past where they were they were literally
00:10:01.920designing districts all over the country uh based on race uh if it's a white district a black
00:10:08.420district a hispanic district the list goes on and on and now the supreme court has made it pretty
00:10:12.960darn clear yeah that way of doing business is not going to work anymore but by the way i'll give you
00:10:18.100little history as to how sordid racial gerrymandering has been, particularly by Democrats.
00:10:24.360So when we were trying the Texas redistricting case in 2003, we had testimony on the stand from
00:10:31.160Eddie Bernice Johnson. Eddie Bernice Johnson was an African-American woman, a member of Congress
00:10:36.460from Dallas, and she had been a state senator when the 1991 redistricting map was drawn, which is
00:10:44.800what really put in place the egregious Democrat gerrymander. And she testified about how Martin
00:10:51.280Frost, Martin Frost was a Democrat congressman from Texas. He'd really driven the gerrymandered.
00:10:58.120And she said, Democrats knew how to ensure that they elected white Democrats,0.69
00:11:04.100which is they would draw a district where they would put just enough African Americans,0.70
00:11:09.720but not too many, and just enough Hispanics but not too many. And she said the reason is in a
00:11:16.040Democrat primary, if you had a black candidate run, the Hispanics and the white Democrats would
00:11:23.560all vote against the black candidate. If you had an Hispanic candidate run, the African Americans0.65
00:11:30.660and the whites would all vote against the Hispanic candidate. And so Eddie Bernice Johnson testified
00:11:36.980that the Democrats knew how to put just enough that neither a black candidate nor an Hispanic
00:11:42.400candidate could win the primary. But then what would happen is when a white Democrat won,
00:11:50.100all the Democrats would come together and support the white candidate, the general,
00:11:53.600the white candidate would win. So we had a system where in Texas, a large majority of Texans were
00:12:03.220voting Republican, and yet we were electing a congressional delegation that was majority
00:12:07.440Democrat, and it was a bunch of white Democrats. And what the state legislature did in 2003
00:12:12.560is they essentially obliterated the white Democrats. They ended that partisan gerrymander0.68
00:12:18.100and that racial gerrymander, and it ended up electing a number of more Republicans.0.62
00:12:24.300But I hated litigating this kind of case because I don't like talking about the black seat,
00:12:32.500the white seat the hispanic seat look i i'm the first hispanic senator from texas but but i don't
00:12:38.860consider myself i'm not a senator for hispanics i'm not a senator for whites i'm not a senator
00:12:43.820for blacks i'm a senator for texans i'm elected by 32 million texans it's my job to represent
00:12:49.820everyone and and the left is so bean countery that what happened in louisiana is you had a
00:12:57.300court decision that ordered louisiana they had one black democrat seat in the congressional
00:13:03.900delegation and the court said it is mathematically possible to draw a second black democrat seat now
00:13:10.980the seat was ugly as can be it ran diagonally the entire length of the state it like reached out
00:13:17.820you know you look at the origin of the word gerrymandered you know the origin of the word
00:13:22.880gerrymander, don't you, Ben? Give me the history. So it was Elbridge Gerry, who was one of the
00:13:30.380founding fathers, one of the original framers of our country, who was a congressman at the
00:13:38.040beginning of the country. And he had a district that was so ugly it was drawn and it looked like
00:13:44.540a salamander. And so gerrymander is a combination of his name, Gerry, and salamander. And it's a
00:13:51.660long practice, but what the court had ordered, the lower court, had ordered the state of Louisiana
00:13:57.300because it is mathematically possible to draw a line where you just look for every black Democrat,
00:14:02.260you put them all in one district, and they could win two congressional seats. If it's possible to
00:14:07.480do it, you must do it. That's what the court had ruled. That went up to the U.S. Supreme Court,
00:14:12.900and the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that. And the technical legal question they were analyzing
00:14:18.740is whether complying with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
00:14:24.220constitutes a compelling interest under the Constitution.
00:14:28.240Now, what does that mean? That sounds like gobbledygook.
00:14:30.700So the Supreme Court had long held that both the 14th Amendment,
00:14:34.580the Equal Protection Clause, and the 15th Amendment,
00:14:37.260the prohibition, the protection of the right to vote based on race,
00:14:41.220that both of those made it illegal to draw lines based on race.
00:14:45.740And in order to overcome that prohibition,
00:14:48.740you had to clear what is called strict scrutiny. Strict scrutiny is a legal standard
00:14:53.160that takes a compelling government interest that is as narrowly tailored as possible. That's the
00:15:01.300only circumstance in which you can survive strict scrutiny. Well, the court had never
00:15:07.060answered the question for 30 years whether complying with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
00:15:12.980constitutes a compelling state interest that lets you essentially ignore the Constitution's
00:15:20.420prohibition on racial discrimination and gerrymandered based on race. And the court,
00:15:26.2406-3, a decision by Justice Alito, said no. No, a statute from Congress. Look,
00:15:31.860the Voting Rights Act was enacted to protect people's rights to vote. It was enacted to
00:15:37.560vindicate the Constitution. It wasn't enacted to direct legislatures, you must discriminate based0.98
00:15:44.980on race. And I got to say, Ben, the reaction of Democrats to this decision, it has been hysterical.
00:15:52.800They are losing their minds. They're basically saying that there's never going to be an African
00:15:56.160American ever elected office again in Louisiana is how they're trying to play this right now,
00:16:00.800which is also absurd. Well, you know, it's interesting because the way the Democrats are,
00:16:04.900their view is the only way an African-American or Hispanic can get elected is in a district that is
00:16:11.380drawn only to elect an Hispanic or African-American Democrat. How about winning statewide? Look,
00:16:16.900I'm Hispanic. I'm elected statewide. Tim Scott is African-American. He's a Republican. He's
00:16:22.840elected statewide. But you know what? When you're elected statewide, you have to appeal to people
00:16:28.300more broadly. When you're in an egregiously gerrymandered congressional district,
00:16:32.160you end up only appealing to the extremes. That's how you get a Maxine Waters. That's how you get an
00:16:39.160AOC. That's how you get an Ilhan Omar, because their districts are drawn where the only voters
00:16:45.660they're listening to are the radical zealots. The Ilhan Omar is listening to the Somali fraudsters1.00
00:16:52.040because that's who elects her. The result of this is states now will not be able to draw1.00
00:16:58.080districts based on race. They'll draw them based on political issues, based on geography, based on
00:17:03.660history, and you will end up hopefully having members of Congress that represent the citizens
00:17:08.760more fairly. All right, I want to take a moment and I want to talk to you about the incredible
00:17:12.720impact that you can have for the people of Israel right now. Right now, our Jewish friends are
00:17:19.240feeling forgotten. There's a Jewish woman named Esther I'd like to tell you about, and her home
00:17:24.460is in Israel. Esther is living through days and nights of fear. Sirens are sounding, rockets
00:17:30.460screaming through the sky, long stretches spent in a bomb shelter. She's 84 years old.
00:17:37.160Esther is elderly. She's fragile and all alone. Now imagine that. No help, no food deliveries,
00:17:43.140no medical care, no one knocking at the door. It's a war zone. But because of friends like
00:17:48.640you. Esther is not alone. Now through the IFCJ, they are there bringing her food, meeting her
00:17:56.740urgent needs, and reminding Jewish people like Esther, you are not forgotten. In times of feared
00:18:03.280uncertainty, your compassion brings hope and real help. Esther asks that you hear these words,
00:18:09.980quote, to those who give, you are doing a very great mitzvah, a good deed. You give from your
00:18:16.660heart. May God protect you. Friends, I want you to know that your gift to God's people is truly
00:18:22.800hope-giving and life-saving. So if you've not gotten involved with the IFCJ, please do it now
00:18:29.480and don't wait. Call 888-488-IFCJ right now. That's 888-488-IFCJ or go to ifcj.org. That's
00:18:42.640ifcj.org. All right, there's a very interesting story I want to get to now, Senator, and it is
00:18:49.360one that involves with how crazy do you have to be to get elected in the Democratic Party now?0.82
00:18:57.540There's a very good chance we're going to have a Mandani 2.0 running LA soon. And now if you're
00:19:03.480just like a semi-crazy liberal, you may have to drop out because there's no way you can win,
00:19:09.220apparently with a democratic mark to socialists and communist party well something really
00:19:14.540significant happened this week which is in in the democrat primary in maine janet mills the
00:19:21.160incumbent governor a democrat was running now janet mills had been recruited to run
00:19:25.380by chuck schumer yeah she had a ton of money she was schumer said this is the best candidate for
00:19:33.100we the democrats to beat susan collins who's the incumbent republican senator um janet mills let's1.00
00:19:40.420be clear janet mills is not a moderate she's a whack job lefty look janet mills how did she get0.99
00:19:46.680known nationally she got known nationally for fighting with donald trump at a gathering of0.99
00:19:51.320governors where she said damn it in maine we will fight to the death so that boys can compete in
00:19:57.580girls sports and men can compete against women in women's sports that and that went viral by the0.97
00:20:02.300It was like a it was a shouting match in an awkward situation with the president.
00:20:08.100So so she is is a hardcore left wing Democrat supported by Chuck Schumer, the Democrat leader, the incumbent governor with a ton of money in a normal world that that's almost like designed in a lab.
00:20:22.100The best candidate the Democrats could find to beat an incumbent Republican senator.
00:20:54.700Believe them when they tell you who they are, because that's exactly who this guy is.
00:20:57.900graham platner has a nazi tattoo on his chest he's a communist who is wearing a nazi tattoo he is0.99
00:21:10.620also viciously misogynist he has attacked women and said said said when if they get raped it's0.97
00:21:18.320it's women's fault that's who he is he was running against chuck schumer's choice and
00:21:24.860janet mills just dropped out because the democrat party one of the most consequential things that
00:21:31.360has happened in the last few years is the democrat party has become radicalized and extreme
00:21:35.600and and it now i think it's a very good question can anyone win a democrat primary in maine
00:21:40.860who doesn't have a nazi tattoo because that's the that's the standard they're holding and i want you
00:21:47.180to listen to this is an ad that the nrsc the national republican senatorial committee put out
00:21:52.800in response to this and it's simply someone reading graham plattner's reddit posts he's
00:21:59.080posted on reddit i'm going to apologize what reddit is so people understand if maybe you're
00:22:03.640not familiar with that i want you to understand exactly it's this sort of online chat room
00:22:08.460uh that is used and it's used often by a lot of people who are very fringe and and so these are
00:22:13.780actual things that graham plattner has typed in and i'm going to apologize a number of these
00:22:18.440things are pretty graphic, but this is what the now almost certain to be Democrat nominee for
00:22:26.720Senate in Maine, this is in his own words, word for word, what he said. Give a listen.
00:22:33.060And now for a dramatic reading of Graham Plattner's Reddit comments.0.99
00:22:38.100Holy f***. How about people just take some responsibility for themselves and not get so0.97
00:22:42.060f***ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don't mean to? Rape is a real thing. If0.99
00:22:47.060so worried about it to buy kevlar underwear you think you might not get blacked out up around0.97
00:22:52.100people you aren't comfortable with why don't black people tip i work as a bartender and
00:22:57.620always amazes me how solid this stereotype is living in white rural america i'm afraid to
00:23:03.380tell you they actually are i got older and became a communist still got the guns though i don't trust
00:23:10.020the fascists to act politely i did used to love america or at least the idea of it these days i'm0.60
00:23:16.580pretty disgusted by it all feel free to back it up with facts facts this was the gayest not in a0.97
00:23:24.280fun dick sucking way thing i've ever seen this has been a dramatic reading of graham plattner's0.98
00:23:31.360reddit comments now now that is all real he wrote all of that and that is the democratic party saying0.96
00:23:38.340this and by the way ben ben ben that may be the most we've had to bleep out anything on verdict
00:23:45.320since we've been doing the show that's actually yeah probably very accurate yes like like every
00:23:50.620post we have to bleep out because it's filled with profanity he's attacking women who are0.79
00:23:55.360victims of rape he's attacking african americans he's attacking homosexuals but understand there0.87
00:24:02.140is a hierarchy in the democrat party and at the top of the hierarchy are islamists and communists0.98
00:24:10.760And if you're an Islamist and communist, then you can hate, you know, Mondami has all these comments slamming homosexuals.0.97
00:24:19.240But that's OK. If you're an Islamist and communist, that is that that that is like the purest of the left wing.0.95
00:24:25.480I want you to listen for a party that likes to say that Donald Trump is Adolf Hitler.0.76
00:24:30.820I'm pretty sure this is the only guy that I know that's running for office right now on the Democrat or the Republican side that has a Nazi tattoo.
00:25:21.440I mean, let's take a couple issues, including the comments he's made in the past.
00:25:25.920I mean, he's been very clear that he went into combat on behalf of the United States.
00:25:31.000He went through a really rough period, PTSD-type period, and he has himself said there are lots of things he's done and said that he completely regrets.
00:25:42.980And I do believe people should have second chances and that people can learn from their mistakes, and I think he's been doing that.
00:25:52.660Senator, I love there how they're like, at the beginning, they're trying to be nice about it.
00:25:56.060I mean, it used to be like a disqualifying thing in politics if you had a Nazi tattoo.
00:26:44.720You remember when the media went crazy, when Elon Musk was at a stadium and he beat his chest and waved and they said, oh, that's a Nazi salute.
00:26:53.820and like every media outlet what this guy did i don't know how to describe it other than he held
00:27:01.380his arm up in a full would have been proud that's the best way to put it and and of course elizabeth
00:27:06.880warren was campaigning with him saying this is my kind of guy understand this is no longer fringe
00:27:14.380in the democrat party someone who says they're a communist someone who says women effectively0.98
00:27:19.600deserved to be raped, someone who wears a Nazi tattoo and doesn't apologize for it,0.98
00:27:26.940that is now an unbeatable candidate in a Democrat primary. The incumbent Democrat governor with the1.00
00:27:34.860support of Chuck Schumer could not win and had to drop out. And that's a dangerous dynamic that
00:27:41.560these people are no longer fringe in the Democrat party. And I'm not saying every Democrat agrees
00:27:48.600with him but i don't know a single democrat other than john fetterman and again we keep saying john
00:27:54.900fetterman is the the exception that proves the rule other than john fetterman that i don't know
00:28:00.820a single democrat has said you know maybe he shouldn't have gotten a nazi nazi tattoo
00:28:06.040like just they won't do that because all they care about is power
00:28:11.880and the money the energy the volunteers the activists in the democrat party are all on the
00:28:22.500extreme left and so every one of them is captive to them and i gotta say that's not healthy for
00:28:28.400america ben i i worry i would like to see two functioning rational parties in our country
00:28:51.160And I don't see anyone in the Democrat Party trying to pull them back.
00:28:54.480And that's ultimately that's very bad because these people, they're getting elected and they're driving the Democrat Party further and further into crazy town.
00:29:04.260I want to take a quick moment and talk to you about an incredible organization, and
00:29:08.540it is called Compassion International and how you can get involved.
00:29:13.080I want to be honest with you for a second about how an act of compassion really feels.
00:29:18.220A couple of years ago, I made the choice to partner with an amazing organization called
00:37:51.780And yet the death rate quadrupled because they were more interested in LGBTQ, LMNOP, like the number of letters there.
00:38:00.200I can't even. It reminds me of that crazy Canadian who got up and gave this incredibly long stream that I'm pretty sure was her Wi-Fi password.0.93
00:38:10.400But they're more interested in their woke policies than they are actually in helping someone who needs help.0.72
00:38:18.680You mentioned $200,000 a person. Just to put it in perspective with everything we know, you've got to ask yourself the question how much fraud is involved here.