June 18, 2024 • 33 mins
Trump called the RNC host city of Milwaukee a horrible place and is now trying to pass the insult off as a concern about crime. Jon Stewart digs into the Right's fear-mongering obsession: crime in big cities. Republicans want you to believe that "lawless" Democrats are to blame, but when it comes to Democrat-run city crime, it turns out the guns are coming from red states. And Protestant minister, social activist, and Yale Divinity School professor Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II discusses his latest book, “White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy.” Barber talks about the staggering statistics of poverty in America which have long been misrepresented, the need for politicians to pay attention to this huge portion of the population and mobilizing poor and low wage people of every race to vote, and leading the June 29th Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington D.C.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Comedy Central.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
It's America's only sorts per News.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
This is the Daily Show with your host show dude.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Gon, nice to say it. Tonight, my name is John Short.
We have an unbelievable show for you tonight.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (00:50):
Next week, obviously we're gonna have the big debate show. Uh.
But tonight we're gonna start.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
We're gonna get a quick state of play on this
incredibly consequential presidential election. I guess the election is basically
boiled down to each candidate accusing the other of having
soup where there should be brain. There is plenty of
(01:21):
fodder for the attacks. For instance, for President Biden, it
is his habit of seemingly staring at what can only
be considered ghosts or out of frame paratroopers, and then
when he's pulled back into frame somehow, giving the impression
someone has just quantum leaped into his body.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Now, don't look.
Speaker 5 (01:44):
Directly at the sun, sir, that would.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Now.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
And as for Trump, basically it's Trump tripping over his
own dick anytime he tries to capitalize on Biden's age,
like this weekend, Trump appeared to the herbal life of
political conventions, Turning Point, USA, where Trump articulated his case
for having best brain full neurons smart.
Speaker 5 (02:13):
Joe bideny has no plan. He's got absolutely no plan.
He doesn't even know what the word inflation means. Oh, oh,
you did it. No, Oh, Joe Biden's so dumb.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
He thinks inflation has arived in the overall price level
for goods and services in the economy, as measured by the.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
Consumer Price Index over time. Oh shit, Oh.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
All right, it turns out that is what it is.
I'm sorry being told that is what inflation is.
Speaker 5 (02:50):
But still you tell him, Donna t.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
The case he's making to the American public is that
he's the sharpest tool in the shed. See if you
can find the flaw in his logic just one sentence later.
Speaker 5 (03:06):
I don't think if you gave him a quiz.
Speaker 6 (03:09):
I think he should take a cognitive test like I did.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
I took a cognitive test and I aced it.
Speaker 6 (03:15):
Doc Ronnie, doctor Ronnie Johnson. Does everyone know Ronnie Johnson,
Congressman from Texas Ronnie Johnson.
Speaker 5 (03:26):
Anything? That cognitive test is a great point.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
If only his doctor was actually named Ronnie Johnson and
not actually named Ronnie Jackson. He got the guy's name
wrong on his cognitive test.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
I don't even know what to say. Well, here's the problem.
The sad thing is under mag of law, his name
is now Ronnie Johnson.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
This is the way. Those aren't the only comments. Trump
seems to have spit the bid on. Just weeks before
he heads to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, he
called Milwaukee quote a horrible city, forcing liberals around the
country to defend Milwaukee, a city they then had to
(04:27):
pretend to have been to. Oh, Milwaukee's the finest city
in I want to say Indiana. But don't worry because
Donald Trump cleared the whole thing up.
Speaker 6 (04:44):
Well, I think it was very clear what I meant.
I said, We're very concerned with crime. I love Milwaukee.
I have great friends in Milwaukee. But it's as you know,
the crime numbers are terrible and we have to be
very careful.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Yeah, lots of criminals in milwau Haukee.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
Are you talking about now, sir?
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Or when you and your felonious friends come to town.
(05:27):
The script that just says John turns and makes dumb face.
Speaker 5 (05:33):
That's what I did. I made a dumb.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Anyway, it's a good save by former President Trump.
Speaker 5 (05:43):
The city's great. He loves Milwaukee.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
It's the dang Democrat encouraged crime. It's one of the
right's favorite talking points, not just from Milwaukee, but for
all Democratic run cities, that those cities are crime infested
shitholes where life is miserable and everyone hates everybody. But
people who live in the these cities know that this
rhetoric is only kind of true now, and when people
(06:06):
who don't live in these cities say it, it's very annoying.
Speaker 5 (06:10):
By the way, it does turn out the crime is
actually down.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
The FBI reporting the nation's violent crime rate has dropped
dramatically this year. Overall violent crime down fifteen percent from
last year, murders down twenty six percent.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
By every national metric, crime is down, solid trend. Crime
is down. It's all a misunderstanding.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
But now that the FBI numbers are out, I'm sure
that the right wing media will adjust accordingly. Quality of
life is not captured in any.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Of the FBI numbers.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
And if you live in a blue city, walk outside
and use your ez you should use your freaking eyes.
Do you even see over your shoulder. They were doing
double donuts in a.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
Parking lot, the so lay of automobiles, but not crime.
That's art.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Oh, but I'm sorry you were downplaying the crime statistics.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
Now they say there's no crime wave, but do you
feel safe? Doesn't feel that way.
Speaker 6 (07:14):
It certainly doesn't feel that way for the average American today.
Speaker 5 (07:18):
Democrats will say, well, but crime is down, it's not
how people feel. Yeah, as the.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Right always famously says, feelings, don't care about your facts,
your facts.
Speaker 5 (07:29):
Isn't that the slogan on the right now, you know?
Very interesting? It doesn't bring up a good point though.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
If crime is down so much, why do people, especially
on the right, feel like it's up.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
Oh, the crime graphic is.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
I hadn't really calculated slope in a while, but it
seems like the X axis is moving into the nodes
bleeds while the WHY axis is being tied down and sodomized.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
I'm sure.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Sure that's just a one off and not your network's
entire programming.
Speaker 5 (08:14):
Another day, another stream of brazen violent crimes.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
The havoc being wreaked upon America, undoubtedly coming to a
town or city near you. Blatant and outrageous crimes occurring
on a daily basis coast to coast. You're seeing that
in Chicago and New York, you know, all these Democrat
run cities.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
There's so much crime in the city. I can't I
can't comprehend how people live there.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
New York is now this dystopian hellhole of crime and violence.
Is now a dystopian hell you're just figuring that out, now,
(08:55):
you big puss.
Speaker 5 (08:58):
Oh, I'm sorry. Is Time Square Elmo too scarey for you?
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Because Times Square Elmo he comes at you.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
Are you?
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Are you scared of Times Square Elmo because he punches back,
unlike all the other Elmos who let you tickle them
with no consequences. Yeah, New York's a dystopian hell hole.
That and the bagels and pizza is why we move here.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
But of course.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Worse, there is one particular type of crime the conservatives
scene especially scared about.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Mark.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
Why do I keep seeing people pushing other people onto
the train tracks? Not that that's not a cry, That's okay,
I get that. So the pushing out of the train tracks,
that's just a misunderstanding.
Speaker 4 (09:56):
Here.
Speaker 5 (09:56):
Here's what's happening.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
So we do you have people in the subways who
are there to try to help other passengers onto the train.
But sometimes the train isn't there yet. It's it's not malevolent,
(10:19):
it's just early. But I was actually talking about another
type of crime.
Speaker 5 (10:26):
People are getting shot in the face every single day.
You can literally get shot anywhere in the city. We
have people getting shot in the subway. People are getting
shot out on the street. Going for a loaf of bread.
You end up getting shot. Yeah, you get shot. New
Yorkers haven't had a sandwich in twelve He is just
an egg palm loosen the hands.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
First of all, I'm surprised Trump is scared of guns
at all, considering he thinks they sound like this.
Speaker 6 (10:56):
We had our beautiful marine standing there being the old
days bing.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Bong big Bom bo.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I would I would pay good money to hear Trump
describe the opening scene of saving Private Ryan big bing
bing and then the Nazis of bang Bong Bang Bong.
Speaker 5 (11:24):
Nobody can get bread bang bang Bong Ming Ming.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
But the point is, if you leave your house in
New York, you will be shot dead. To all of
our audience members, I'm glad you chose to have your
last moments with us.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Have them.
Speaker 5 (11:52):
Sadly, I must bid you a melancholy a big bong
bing bingbing.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Now, all of this, by the way, is not to
say that gun crime does not exist. Of course it does,
and some cities are worse than others.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
But here's the thing, and I say this.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
With all due respect, the balls of these right wing
mothers talking about how there's too much gun crime and
chaos in our democratic cities when Republicans are the ones
who've enabled the flood of illegal weaponry into our cities
(12:35):
in the first place. That right, So don't get your
little painties in a bunch.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
Here's something you want to know.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Ninety three percent of the illegal guns used in crimes
in New York City aren't from here. They, like theater majors,
have come here to make a name for themselves. Uns
come from states like Florida and Georgia and South Carolina
where the gun laws relax. And trust me, Florida's not
(13:07):
sending us their best guns. They're bringing guns for drugs
and crime and rapists and semi assume a good guns
and try as we might to put up some border
controls to stem this invasion, this flood of literally undocumented
weapons Republicans fight every attempt to bring some kind of
(13:30):
order and even pass laws to increase the cast.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
Look at all the laws and things that they've done.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
In two thousand and five, they pass the law that
effectively protects gun dealers and the gun manufacturers for being
held liable for where their guns end up. They also
try and make sure that terrorists and felons can still
get guns, and just recently they made sure that they
can turn those guns into machine guns with bump stocks.
They make it impossible to study the effects of guns,
They make it impossible to track the illegal guns. They
(13:57):
fight fucking everything. You want to know how cynical it is.
Remember this guy, This guy, Congressman Andrew Clyde from Georgia.
Speaker 5 (14:06):
He loves to go on.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
TV and talk about crime and democratic cities.
Speaker 5 (14:10):
Republicans have always been the party of law and order.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
And what you have seen is the massive increases in
crime have been primarily at Democrat run cities.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Yeah, it turns out while he was complaining about the
uptick in gun crimes in New York City, he himself
was fighting added scrutiny on gun stores like the two
that he owns that have been implicated in over twenty
five gun crimes since twenty twenty.
Speaker 5 (14:37):
Why would they do this?
Speaker 3 (14:39):
There must be a reason, right, because the right always
tells us there's no coincidences. Right, Isn't that what we're
told all the time. It's almost as though Republicans must
have a secret plan for this, funded by their billionaires,
to flood our cities with illegal, undocumented guns, pouring them
over our state borders in the hopes of killing all
(15:00):
off reliable Democratic voters.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
The great displacement theory.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
That is obviously what's happening, and no honest person would
think otherwise. So there's only one real solution, unfortunately, for
the borders of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Speaker 5 (15:18):
We have to what's the word by When we come back,
Reverend William J. Barber will be joining me on the
show Don't Go Right? What about Nadella show I got tonight.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
He is a Protestant minister, social activist, Yale Divinity School
professor whose latest book is called White Poverty. How exposing
myths about race and class can reconstruct American Democracy. Please
welcome to the show, Reverend doctor William Barber, Sir.
Speaker 5 (16:05):
A job, A job, the booty is called white party holding. Enough,
I don't mean he's that white poverty.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
You, sir, are famously not white, So why write white poverty?
Speaker 4 (16:19):
Well, actually, I come from Caucasian, Black and Tuscaro and descended.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Oh wow.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
So and my people are free people in eastern North Carolina.
That a lot of those communities. And so in some ways,
this book is me, and so to deny any part
of my reality would be to deny myself. But here's
the problem. I'm concerned about the way we measure poverty
in this country is not only a lie, but I
(16:46):
can say on this show it's a damn lie.
Speaker 5 (16:48):
Sir. You can do more than that if you want.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Okay, okay, okay, we.
Speaker 5 (16:52):
Got plenty more roots for that.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
I only use the ones that are approved by the Bible.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
So, but we say we use official poverty measure says
that poverty if you make above thirteen thousand dollars a year,
you're not poor. If you make above about thirteen thousand
dollars a year, you're not poor. You're kind of in
the lower lower middle class.
Speaker 5 (17:12):
When was the last time they adjusted.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
Well, it's been since the sixties really in some ways,
And so what happens with that is, we marginalize poverty
and then we racialize it. Whenever we have a brief
discussion about poverty, because we're very seldom have it in
the news. In political arenas, we put up a black
woman with on welfare, which racializes and demeans black people,
(17:35):
but then it dismisses tens of millions of white poor people.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
You right, this, sixty six sixty six.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Million of the one hundred and thirty five million poor
and low wage people in this country, sixty percent of
black people are poor low Well, that's twenty six million,
thirty percent of white, but that's sixty six million, forty
million more. This book says we need to face all
of our poor and recognize that we have something what
(18:03):
Desmond because Offer out of Princeton calls povertive by America,
not the poverty in America, but the particular kind of
poverty by America that's unnecessary and abolishable because it.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Makes no sense.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
In the richest nation in the world, we have over
one hundred and thirty five million poor, low wage people,
over forty one percent of our population, and over fifty
percent of our children, and it's unnecessary. So white poverty says,
we're not playing the game any Let's not.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Look at this through the prism of race. Let's look
at it through class. And do you think that that
division was a purposeful one?
Speaker 1 (18:37):
I think so.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
And to expand race, you have to deal with race
in America. But what you cannot allow someone to do
for something this serious, Where two hundred and ninety five
thousand people are dying a year from poverty in low
wage how many two hundred ninety five thousand, eight hundred
people a.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
Day are dying are dying recently from what they would
considered probably.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Poverty is a fourth leading cause of death in the country,
higher than in piratory disease.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
Higher it even impacts respiratory disease because if you're low
wage and you're living in an area, chances are the
pollution and the toxices is probably higher where you.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Lift all of those things.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
And so here we have something that's the fourth leading
cause of death eight hundred people a day. When seven
people died from vaping, it was a congressional hearing. It
was presidential level, right. Imagine if eight hundred politicians were
dying a day.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Oh I have well, I can't do that but.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
But my point is how everybody would be just up
and o or eight hundred middle class.
Speaker 5 (19:39):
One hundred thousand people. That's clearly epidemic.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
Right.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
You just talked about crime.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
That's a crime, that's a form of especially when it's unnecessary,
it does not happen.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
And entrenched, it seems in a lot of communities. It's
just it's a cloud that never lifts.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
Well, the thing about it is John is in every community. See,
that's the point we're making in the book. Whether it's Appalachia,
where I met women in West Virginia who have to
sell tacos on Tuesdays, so they have a community fund
to help women deal with their monthly issues.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Or whether it's out in eastern Kentucky where.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
I met black and white coal miners who watched the
mines be taken over by multinational companies that move the
union rights out of it, or whether it's in the Delta.
It's everywhere. There's not a counting in this country now
where a person making seven twenty five that's what the
minimum wage is, Federal minium wages seven twenty five. It's
(20:40):
been like that for fourteen years. John has been raised
for fourteen when.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
They're trying to raise it to even fifteen. I mean,
the fight is everywhere you go. There's a huge fight
about trying to bring it to fifteen, and it's going
to kill all the jobs.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
Which is a lie. Three Nobel Peace Prize economists said
it wouldn't kill jobs. In fact, we put more money
in the economy and it would actually expand jobs.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
But here's the thing.
Speaker 4 (21:02):
We had fifteen in a union proposed in twenty twenty eight.
Democrats and every Republican stood against fifty five million people,
fifty five million people who make fifty two million people
who make less than a living wage of fifteen dollars out.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Now, here's the thing.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
In sixty three, the March on Washington called for a
raise of the minimum waste to two dollars, which, index
with inflation, would be over fifteen to day.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Really, yeah, people forget The March on Washington in sixty
three was titled for.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Jobs and injustice and justice. It wasn't just about black
civil rights.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
It was about a broad, inclusive, just feel democracy. And
so here we are in this reality and people are
hurting everywhere. There's not a county where you can work
a minimuma'e job and before a basic two bedroom apartment
and waiters and waitresses.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
On minimum minimum wage.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Not a county in the country, not a count in
the country couldn't if you had a minimum way's job.
There's not a county in this country where you could
afford it.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
You not a federal note, you couldn't.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
And this is the working pour. This isn't you know.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
I think in the country there's a sense of it's
an entitlement mentality. That's why there's a certain character flaw
that keeps you there.
Speaker 5 (22:09):
These are people that are working.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
The entitlement is and in the politicians that keep raising
their wages and giving corporations tax breaks, but they won't
help the working people. That's the entitlement ranks of the polity,
you know, so so and we're talking about during COVID.
COVID did not exacerbate poverty. It exposed it. And what
(22:33):
we did a study called the death during COVID, and
we found out whether you were in a poor county
West Virginia or a poor count in the Delta, poor
people died at the rate three to five times higher
during COVID because of their poverty, not because the germ
somehow discriminated, but we did.
Speaker 5 (22:49):
Access to good care.
Speaker 4 (22:50):
Well, three hundred and fifty thousand people died during COVID
so far, one storey said study said from the lack
of health care. And if you don't face this job,
this is the point of the book. We have to
face this, we have to look at it. We had
fifteen presidential debates and the last election, forty percent of
adult population in poverty, eight hundred people dying a day.
(23:14):
Not one debate was focused on it. We've not had
an oval or office discussion.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
I don't think why don't politicians value what is an
incredibly large population in many different I'm sure in swing states,
So why don't they do? Poor people need better lobbyists.
What is it that can be done to get a
politician to listen?
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Well, I think that what we're saying now is we
just had a study. I asked her to be done
as a part of our movement Waking the Sleeping Giant,
and this is what we found out. That all of
these numbers also tell us that poor and low waste
people now represent thirty percent of the elector in the
country and over forty percent in states where the margin
(24:01):
of victory was less than three percent, and it's Texas
where it's less than five percent. So what we're saying
to poor and low wage people of every race is
time to mobilize your vote. There's not a state where
if twenty percent of poor and low wage voters that
didn't vote, fifty seven million voted thirty million didn't in
the last election, But if twenty percent that didn't vote moved,
(24:21):
they could change every election. And in most states Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania,
Florida is less than four percent. So what we're doing
is organizing a massive movement. In fact, on June twenty
ninth in washingt DC, there's gonna be a massive poor People,
Low wage workers assembler in Marl mars On, DC and
to the polls saying that poor and low wage people
(24:44):
have to find themselves white, black, brown, Asian Native and
unite around attacking what we call five interlocking injustice, systemic racism,
systemic poverty, ecological devastation, denial healthcare of the war economy,
and the false modinatial religious nationalism. Wow, and John, you
know in our agenda, we're saying to Calton, if you
(25:05):
want these votes, bring.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Them in at the top level.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
President Biden bring a group of poor, low wage folks
and religious leaders to the White House.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
If people even listen to them, do they even happen?
What is the response been when you reach out to
our political class, what's the response been.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
Well, because we've been lied to so much, you know,
these at first they said, well, it's not that big,
and then we prove that it's actually one hundred thirty
five hundred fot many, and then they don't expect that
people are going to organize. You know, in a democracy
you have to engage in agitation, legislation, litigation, and voter participation.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
So what we're saying to poor and.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
Low waite folks, let's use this power, right And so
we're having this gathering before the conventions.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
We're going to touch fifteen.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
Million poor and low wage voters with the facts on
where people stay in a non part, where they stand
on the issues, and say, let's mobilized and we.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Because that's the true swing vote.
Speaker 4 (26:06):
So Linda Lake, who's a major poster, says, the truest,
most powerful, biggest swing vote right now is poor and
low waste people. And you know John Folk often asked, men,
you and I've talked about this is does our current
society required things be like this?
Speaker 5 (26:22):
This was the real Crux sedition.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
And what this book says is, well, it's kind of
like putting your hand in an electric socket that's connected.
It requires that you get shot because you put your
finger down. You don't have to do it. But if
you keep doing things the way you are doing it,
you're gonna get shot. So if you keep paying less
than a living wage, if you keep denying people health care,
(26:47):
if you keep giving greedy, wealthy folk two trillion dollars
tax cuts, but you won't even spend the money to
fully fun public education. If we keep doing what we're doing,
we're going to keep having the level of poverty that
we're having and we don't have to do it.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
It is actually, I.
Speaker 4 (27:04):
Believe criminal a form of a policy violence to continue
down the road.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
And doesn't it weaken the system as a whole? You know,
you could almost make the case that if the system
is requiring a permanent, entrenched underclass, and it makes itself
ripe for instability. And I'm wondering, is there a way
to change the mindset, because the mindset in America is
there is a mouture class these poor people are mutures
(27:33):
and they're taking resources from me.
Speaker 5 (27:35):
I work hard.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
They get poor people get healthcare, they get food, they
get whatever they need.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
I don't get it.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Is there a way to change the mentality to view
things not as entitlements but investments, and maybe to get
labor not to be viewed as shareholders. That corporations have
to view labor not as a means to an ends,
but as share holders in that and cannot change the dynamic.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
It can.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
But one of the first things we believe we have
to do, and we talk about maral fusion organizing, is
first of all, we should be examining every policy, not
by the color of a president's hair, or how many
porn stars he touched.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
Or how.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
Or what's the gate of his walk. Does the policies
you propose do they line up with establishing justice? Do
they line up with providing for the common defense and
promoting the general welfare? Do they line up with our
deepest marraligious right. Secondly, we must expose the level of
death that's happening, because this is not benign. Thirdly, we
(28:40):
must make sure that folks see at all that it's
not one group of people. We've been lied to so
much about this is an anomaly, This is just a
small grid. We cannot allow this to be marginalizing anymore.
And then we must have massive organization of poor and
low of every place, every geographic, at every race, And
in doing that we can put poverty and low wages
(29:01):
at the center of our political discourse.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
And then yes, isn't isn't that America first? Isn't that
making America great again? Like if you hollow out.
Speaker 5 (29:11):
The country, how can you expect it to be strong?
Speaker 3 (29:14):
Wouldn't that be the absolute acme of strengthening a country
from the bottom up as opposed to the top down.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
You would think it would be.
Speaker 4 (29:23):
But if you've got people that are still living when
they first wrote the constitution and said even poor white
men that didn't own jobs or they didn't own land
couldn't vote. If you have people with that kind of
mentality that this should be an exclusive democracy, that an
inclusive But listen, the numbers tell us though they're more
of us. The thing is, you can't be lazy in
(29:46):
a democracy. You got to fight like heaven.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
I mean.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
The countries, yeah, I mean, And what we're trying to
show people the numbers are now listen. Wisconsin marginal victory
twenty thousand vote number poor low Wais voters didn't vote
over a million didn't vote, didn't vote. Michigan ten thousand votes.
The number poor low WA's vote a million. Pennsylvania forty
(30:21):
thousand votes determined the president. Number poor low Ways voted
did about two million. North Carolina one hundred and sixty
thousand over a million.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
So it's not a big lift.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
And the number one reason though, we did a study
called Waking the Sleeping Giant, that poor low Wis people
didn't vote. Nobody talks to them. Politicians don't go in
those communities. I've gone in community and people literally cry
and say, Red Barber, nobody comes back here. And so
what I say to them is, we're back here now,
but less mobilized, to make sure they never forget you again,
(30:54):
that they never forget you ever again.
Speaker 5 (31:03):
White poverty available now.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
Reverend Barber will be leading the poor people's campaigns March on.
Speaker 5 (31:09):
Washington June twenty ninth. We're gonna tell you quick break,
we'll be right back after this.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
Hell.
Speaker 5 (31:33):
Everybody got dogsalt for tonight.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
Oh before we go, quick reminder, This Friday, June twenty First,
we are partnering with Headcount and Animal Haven in New
York to register voters and get dogs adopted.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
So join us at eight.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
I write that, join us at in Dog Decision twenty
twenty four. I'm sorry, Rescuing Democracy. It's gonna be from
two to six pm at two hundred Center Street in
New York City.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (32:02):
And now, of course we're gonna check in with yourros
for the rest of the week. Rodney Chang and Light
Ronnie John. Uh, what's up with the diamonds?
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (32:19):
These old things? Oh, these are just gifts from our
dear friend Harlan Crowe, the guy who bribed Clarence Thomas.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
What you hold?
Speaker 5 (32:30):
Never do that to the earth, because I thought you'd
actually be covering the Clarence.
Speaker 4 (32:35):
I gotta stop you there, John, Okay, for us to
cover that story now after accepting these wonderful gifts would
be unethical. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (32:45):
Sometimes I think we're almost too ethical. Definitely, Desie and
Ronnie Tang, everybody here. I love Milwaukee.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
I know you do well.
Speaker 5 (32:56):
Speaking to House Republicans, Trump called Milwaukee quote double city.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Hey, can I just say something in Milwaukee?
Speaker 2 (33:04):
Milwaukee explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast Universe
by searching The Daily Show wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch The Daily Show weeknights at eleven ten Central on
Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount plus
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Paramount Podcasts
You're listening to Comedy Central.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
It's America's only sorts per News.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
This is the Daily Show with your host show dude.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Gon, nice to say it. Tonight, my name is John Short.
We have an unbelievable show for you tonight.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (00:50):
Next week, obviously we're gonna have the big debate show. Uh.
But tonight we're gonna start.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
We're gonna get a quick state of play on this
incredibly consequential presidential election. I guess the election is basically
boiled down to each candidate accusing the other of having
soup where there should be brain. There is plenty of
(01:21):
fodder for the attacks. For instance, for President Biden, it
is his habit of seemingly staring at what can only
be considered ghosts or out of frame paratroopers, and then
when he's pulled back into frame somehow, giving the impression
someone has just quantum leaped into his body.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Now, don't look.
Speaker 5 (01:44):
Directly at the sun, sir, that would.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Now.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
And as for Trump, basically it's Trump tripping over his
own dick anytime he tries to capitalize on Biden's age,
like this weekend, Trump appeared to the herbal life of
political conventions, Turning Point, USA, where Trump articulated his case
for having best brain full neurons smart.
Speaker 5 (02:13):
Joe bideny has no plan. He's got absolutely no plan.
He doesn't even know what the word inflation means. Oh, oh,
you did it. No, Oh, Joe Biden's so dumb.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
He thinks inflation has arived in the overall price level
for goods and services in the economy, as measured by the.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
Consumer Price Index over time. Oh shit, Oh.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
All right, it turns out that is what it is.
I'm sorry being told that is what inflation is.
Speaker 5 (02:50):
But still you tell him, Donna t.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
The case he's making to the American public is that
he's the sharpest tool in the shed. See if you
can find the flaw in his logic just one sentence later.
Speaker 5 (03:06):
I don't think if you gave him a quiz.
Speaker 6 (03:09):
I think he should take a cognitive test like I did.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
I took a cognitive test and I aced it.
Speaker 6 (03:15):
Doc Ronnie, doctor Ronnie Johnson. Does everyone know Ronnie Johnson,
Congressman from Texas Ronnie Johnson.
Speaker 5 (03:26):
Anything? That cognitive test is a great point.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
If only his doctor was actually named Ronnie Johnson and
not actually named Ronnie Jackson. He got the guy's name
wrong on his cognitive test.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
I don't even know what to say. Well, here's the problem.
The sad thing is under mag of law, his name
is now Ronnie Johnson.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
This is the way. Those aren't the only comments. Trump
seems to have spit the bid on. Just weeks before
he heads to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, he
called Milwaukee quote a horrible city, forcing liberals around the
country to defend Milwaukee, a city they then had to
(04:27):
pretend to have been to. Oh, Milwaukee's the finest city
in I want to say Indiana. But don't worry because
Donald Trump cleared the whole thing up.
Speaker 6 (04:44):
Well, I think it was very clear what I meant.
I said, We're very concerned with crime. I love Milwaukee.
I have great friends in Milwaukee. But it's as you know,
the crime numbers are terrible and we have to be
very careful.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Yeah, lots of criminals in milwau Haukee.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
Are you talking about now, sir?
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Or when you and your felonious friends come to town.
(05:27):
The script that just says John turns and makes dumb face.
Speaker 5 (05:33):
That's what I did. I made a dumb.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Anyway, it's a good save by former President Trump.
Speaker 5 (05:43):
The city's great. He loves Milwaukee.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
It's the dang Democrat encouraged crime. It's one of the
right's favorite talking points, not just from Milwaukee, but for
all Democratic run cities, that those cities are crime infested
shitholes where life is miserable and everyone hates everybody. But
people who live in the these cities know that this
rhetoric is only kind of true now, and when people
(06:06):
who don't live in these cities say it, it's very annoying.
Speaker 5 (06:10):
By the way, it does turn out the crime is
actually down.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
The FBI reporting the nation's violent crime rate has dropped
dramatically this year. Overall violent crime down fifteen percent from
last year, murders down twenty six percent.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
By every national metric, crime is down, solid trend. Crime
is down. It's all a misunderstanding.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
But now that the FBI numbers are out, I'm sure
that the right wing media will adjust accordingly. Quality of
life is not captured in any.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Of the FBI numbers.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
And if you live in a blue city, walk outside
and use your ez you should use your freaking eyes.
Do you even see over your shoulder. They were doing
double donuts in a.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
Parking lot, the so lay of automobiles, but not crime.
That's art.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Oh, but I'm sorry you were downplaying the crime statistics.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
Now they say there's no crime wave, but do you
feel safe? Doesn't feel that way.
Speaker 6 (07:14):
It certainly doesn't feel that way for the average American today.
Speaker 5 (07:18):
Democrats will say, well, but crime is down, it's not
how people feel. Yeah, as the.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Right always famously says, feelings, don't care about your facts,
your facts.
Speaker 5 (07:29):
Isn't that the slogan on the right now, you know?
Very interesting? It doesn't bring up a good point though.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
If crime is down so much, why do people, especially
on the right, feel like it's up.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
Oh, the crime graphic is.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
I hadn't really calculated slope in a while, but it
seems like the X axis is moving into the nodes
bleeds while the WHY axis is being tied down and sodomized.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
I'm sure.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Sure that's just a one off and not your network's
entire programming.
Speaker 5 (08:14):
Another day, another stream of brazen violent crimes.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
The havoc being wreaked upon America, undoubtedly coming to a
town or city near you. Blatant and outrageous crimes occurring
on a daily basis coast to coast. You're seeing that
in Chicago and New York, you know, all these Democrat
run cities.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
There's so much crime in the city. I can't I
can't comprehend how people live there.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
New York is now this dystopian hellhole of crime and violence.
Is now a dystopian hell you're just figuring that out, now,
(08:55):
you big puss.
Speaker 5 (08:58):
Oh, I'm sorry. Is Time Square Elmo too scarey for you?
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Because Times Square Elmo he comes at you.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
Are you?
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Are you scared of Times Square Elmo because he punches back,
unlike all the other Elmos who let you tickle them
with no consequences. Yeah, New York's a dystopian hell hole.
That and the bagels and pizza is why we move here.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
But of course.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Worse, there is one particular type of crime the conservatives
scene especially scared about.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Mark.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
Why do I keep seeing people pushing other people onto
the train tracks? Not that that's not a cry, That's okay,
I get that. So the pushing out of the train tracks,
that's just a misunderstanding.
Speaker 4 (09:56):
Here.
Speaker 5 (09:56):
Here's what's happening.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
So we do you have people in the subways who
are there to try to help other passengers onto the train.
But sometimes the train isn't there yet. It's it's not malevolent,
(10:19):
it's just early. But I was actually talking about another
type of crime.
Speaker 5 (10:26):
People are getting shot in the face every single day.
You can literally get shot anywhere in the city. We
have people getting shot in the subway. People are getting
shot out on the street. Going for a loaf of bread.
You end up getting shot. Yeah, you get shot. New
Yorkers haven't had a sandwich in twelve He is just
an egg palm loosen the hands.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
First of all, I'm surprised Trump is scared of guns
at all, considering he thinks they sound like this.
Speaker 6 (10:56):
We had our beautiful marine standing there being the old
days bing.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Bong big Bom bo.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I would I would pay good money to hear Trump
describe the opening scene of saving Private Ryan big bing
bing and then the Nazis of bang Bong Bang Bong.
Speaker 5 (11:24):
Nobody can get bread bang bang Bong Ming Ming.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
But the point is, if you leave your house in
New York, you will be shot dead. To all of
our audience members, I'm glad you chose to have your
last moments with us.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Have them.
Speaker 5 (11:52):
Sadly, I must bid you a melancholy a big bong
bing bingbing.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Now, all of this, by the way, is not to
say that gun crime does not exist. Of course it does,
and some cities are worse than others.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
But here's the thing, and I say this.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
With all due respect, the balls of these right wing
mothers talking about how there's too much gun crime and
chaos in our democratic cities when Republicans are the ones
who've enabled the flood of illegal weaponry into our cities
(12:35):
in the first place. That right, So don't get your
little painties in a bunch.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
Here's something you want to know.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Ninety three percent of the illegal guns used in crimes
in New York City aren't from here. They, like theater majors,
have come here to make a name for themselves. Uns
come from states like Florida and Georgia and South Carolina
where the gun laws relax. And trust me, Florida's not
(13:07):
sending us their best guns. They're bringing guns for drugs
and crime and rapists and semi assume a good guns
and try as we might to put up some border
controls to stem this invasion, this flood of literally undocumented
weapons Republicans fight every attempt to bring some kind of
(13:30):
order and even pass laws to increase the cast.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
Look at all the laws and things that they've done.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
In two thousand and five, they pass the law that
effectively protects gun dealers and the gun manufacturers for being
held liable for where their guns end up. They also
try and make sure that terrorists and felons can still
get guns, and just recently they made sure that they
can turn those guns into machine guns with bump stocks.
They make it impossible to study the effects of guns,
They make it impossible to track the illegal guns. They
(13:57):
fight fucking everything. You want to know how cynical it is.
Remember this guy, This guy, Congressman Andrew Clyde from Georgia.
Speaker 5 (14:06):
He loves to go on.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
TV and talk about crime and democratic cities.
Speaker 5 (14:10):
Republicans have always been the party of law and order.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
And what you have seen is the massive increases in
crime have been primarily at Democrat run cities.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Yeah, it turns out while he was complaining about the
uptick in gun crimes in New York City, he himself
was fighting added scrutiny on gun stores like the two
that he owns that have been implicated in over twenty
five gun crimes since twenty twenty.
Speaker 5 (14:37):
Why would they do this?
Speaker 3 (14:39):
There must be a reason, right, because the right always
tells us there's no coincidences. Right, Isn't that what we're
told all the time. It's almost as though Republicans must
have a secret plan for this, funded by their billionaires,
to flood our cities with illegal, undocumented guns, pouring them
over our state borders in the hopes of killing all
(15:00):
off reliable Democratic voters.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
The great displacement theory.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
That is obviously what's happening, and no honest person would
think otherwise. So there's only one real solution, unfortunately, for
the borders of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Speaker 5 (15:18):
We have to what's the word by When we come back,
Reverend William J. Barber will be joining me on the
show Don't Go Right? What about Nadella show I got tonight.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
He is a Protestant minister, social activist, Yale Divinity School
professor whose latest book is called White Poverty. How exposing
myths about race and class can reconstruct American Democracy. Please
welcome to the show, Reverend doctor William Barber, Sir.
Speaker 5 (16:05):
A job, A job, the booty is called white party holding. Enough,
I don't mean he's that white poverty.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
You, sir, are famously not white, So why write white poverty?
Speaker 4 (16:19):
Well, actually, I come from Caucasian, Black and Tuscaro and descended.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Oh wow.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
So and my people are free people in eastern North Carolina.
That a lot of those communities. And so in some ways,
this book is me, and so to deny any part
of my reality would be to deny myself. But here's
the problem. I'm concerned about the way we measure poverty
in this country is not only a lie, but I
(16:46):
can say on this show it's a damn lie.
Speaker 5 (16:48):
Sir. You can do more than that if you want.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Okay, okay, okay, we.
Speaker 5 (16:52):
Got plenty more roots for that.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
I only use the ones that are approved by the Bible.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
So, but we say we use official poverty measure says
that poverty if you make above thirteen thousand dollars a year,
you're not poor. If you make above about thirteen thousand
dollars a year, you're not poor. You're kind of in
the lower lower middle class.
Speaker 5 (17:12):
When was the last time they adjusted.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
Well, it's been since the sixties really in some ways,
And so what happens with that is, we marginalize poverty
and then we racialize it. Whenever we have a brief
discussion about poverty, because we're very seldom have it in
the news. In political arenas, we put up a black
woman with on welfare, which racializes and demeans black people,
(17:35):
but then it dismisses tens of millions of white poor people.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
You right, this, sixty six sixty six.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Million of the one hundred and thirty five million poor
and low wage people in this country, sixty percent of
black people are poor low Well, that's twenty six million,
thirty percent of white, but that's sixty six million, forty
million more. This book says we need to face all
of our poor and recognize that we have something what
(18:03):
Desmond because Offer out of Princeton calls povertive by America,
not the poverty in America, but the particular kind of
poverty by America that's unnecessary and abolishable because it.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Makes no sense.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
In the richest nation in the world, we have over
one hundred and thirty five million poor, low wage people,
over forty one percent of our population, and over fifty
percent of our children, and it's unnecessary. So white poverty says,
we're not playing the game any Let's not.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Look at this through the prism of race. Let's look
at it through class. And do you think that that
division was a purposeful one?
Speaker 1 (18:37):
I think so.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
And to expand race, you have to deal with race
in America. But what you cannot allow someone to do
for something this serious, Where two hundred and ninety five
thousand people are dying a year from poverty in low
wage how many two hundred ninety five thousand, eight hundred
people a.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
Day are dying are dying recently from what they would
considered probably.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Poverty is a fourth leading cause of death in the country,
higher than in piratory disease.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
Higher it even impacts respiratory disease because if you're low
wage and you're living in an area, chances are the
pollution and the toxices is probably higher where you.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Lift all of those things.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
And so here we have something that's the fourth leading
cause of death eight hundred people a day. When seven
people died from vaping, it was a congressional hearing. It
was presidential level, right. Imagine if eight hundred politicians were
dying a day.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Oh I have well, I can't do that but.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
But my point is how everybody would be just up
and o or eight hundred middle class.
Speaker 5 (19:39):
One hundred thousand people. That's clearly epidemic.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
Right.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
You just talked about crime.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
That's a crime, that's a form of especially when it's unnecessary,
it does not happen.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
And entrenched, it seems in a lot of communities. It's
just it's a cloud that never lifts.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
Well, the thing about it is John is in every community. See,
that's the point we're making in the book. Whether it's Appalachia,
where I met women in West Virginia who have to
sell tacos on Tuesdays, so they have a community fund
to help women deal with their monthly issues.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Or whether it's out in eastern Kentucky where.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
I met black and white coal miners who watched the
mines be taken over by multinational companies that move the
union rights out of it, or whether it's in the Delta.
It's everywhere. There's not a counting in this country now
where a person making seven twenty five that's what the
minimum wage is, Federal minium wages seven twenty five. It's
(20:40):
been like that for fourteen years. John has been raised
for fourteen when.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
They're trying to raise it to even fifteen. I mean,
the fight is everywhere you go. There's a huge fight
about trying to bring it to fifteen, and it's going
to kill all the jobs.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
Which is a lie. Three Nobel Peace Prize economists said
it wouldn't kill jobs. In fact, we put more money
in the economy and it would actually expand jobs.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
But here's the thing.
Speaker 4 (21:02):
We had fifteen in a union proposed in twenty twenty eight.
Democrats and every Republican stood against fifty five million people,
fifty five million people who make fifty two million people
who make less than a living wage of fifteen dollars out.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Now, here's the thing.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
In sixty three, the March on Washington called for a
raise of the minimum waste to two dollars, which, index
with inflation, would be over fifteen to day.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Really, yeah, people forget The March on Washington in sixty
three was titled for.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Jobs and injustice and justice. It wasn't just about black
civil rights.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
It was about a broad, inclusive, just feel democracy. And
so here we are in this reality and people are
hurting everywhere. There's not a county where you can work
a minimuma'e job and before a basic two bedroom apartment
and waiters and waitresses.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
On minimum minimum wage.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Not a county in the country, not a count in
the country couldn't if you had a minimum way's job.
There's not a county in this country where you could
afford it.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
You not a federal note, you couldn't.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
And this is the working pour. This isn't you know.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
I think in the country there's a sense of it's
an entitlement mentality. That's why there's a certain character flaw
that keeps you there.
Speaker 5 (22:09):
These are people that are working.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
The entitlement is and in the politicians that keep raising
their wages and giving corporations tax breaks, but they won't
help the working people. That's the entitlement ranks of the polity,
you know, so so and we're talking about during COVID.
COVID did not exacerbate poverty. It exposed it. And what
(22:33):
we did a study called the death during COVID, and
we found out whether you were in a poor county
West Virginia or a poor count in the Delta, poor
people died at the rate three to five times higher
during COVID because of their poverty, not because the germ
somehow discriminated, but we did.
Speaker 5 (22:49):
Access to good care.
Speaker 4 (22:50):
Well, three hundred and fifty thousand people died during COVID
so far, one storey said study said from the lack
of health care. And if you don't face this job,
this is the point of the book. We have to
face this, we have to look at it. We had
fifteen presidential debates and the last election, forty percent of
adult population in poverty, eight hundred people dying a day.
(23:14):
Not one debate was focused on it. We've not had
an oval or office discussion.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
I don't think why don't politicians value what is an
incredibly large population in many different I'm sure in swing states,
So why don't they do? Poor people need better lobbyists.
What is it that can be done to get a
politician to listen?
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Well, I think that what we're saying now is we
just had a study. I asked her to be done
as a part of our movement Waking the Sleeping Giant,
and this is what we found out. That all of
these numbers also tell us that poor and low waste
people now represent thirty percent of the elector in the
country and over forty percent in states where the margin
(24:01):
of victory was less than three percent, and it's Texas
where it's less than five percent. So what we're saying
to poor and low wage people of every race is
time to mobilize your vote. There's not a state where
if twenty percent of poor and low wage voters that
didn't vote, fifty seven million voted thirty million didn't in
the last election, But if twenty percent that didn't vote moved,
(24:21):
they could change every election. And in most states Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania,
Florida is less than four percent. So what we're doing
is organizing a massive movement. In fact, on June twenty
ninth in washingt DC, there's gonna be a massive poor People,
Low wage workers assembler in Marl mars On, DC and
to the polls saying that poor and low wage people
(24:44):
have to find themselves white, black, brown, Asian Native and
unite around attacking what we call five interlocking injustice, systemic racism,
systemic poverty, ecological devastation, denial healthcare of the war economy,
and the false modinatial religious nationalism. Wow, and John, you
know in our agenda, we're saying to Calton, if you
(25:05):
want these votes, bring.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Them in at the top level.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
President Biden bring a group of poor, low wage folks
and religious leaders to the White House.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
If people even listen to them, do they even happen?
What is the response been when you reach out to
our political class, what's the response been.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
Well, because we've been lied to so much, you know,
these at first they said, well, it's not that big,
and then we prove that it's actually one hundred thirty
five hundred fot many, and then they don't expect that
people are going to organize. You know, in a democracy
you have to engage in agitation, legislation, litigation, and voter participation.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
So what we're saying to poor and.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
Low waite folks, let's use this power, right And so
we're having this gathering before the conventions.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
We're going to touch fifteen.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
Million poor and low wage voters with the facts on
where people stay in a non part, where they stand
on the issues, and say, let's mobilized and we.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Because that's the true swing vote.
Speaker 4 (26:06):
So Linda Lake, who's a major poster, says, the truest,
most powerful, biggest swing vote right now is poor and
low waste people. And you know John Folk often asked, men,
you and I've talked about this is does our current
society required things be like this?
Speaker 5 (26:22):
This was the real Crux sedition.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
And what this book says is, well, it's kind of
like putting your hand in an electric socket that's connected.
It requires that you get shot because you put your
finger down. You don't have to do it. But if
you keep doing things the way you are doing it,
you're gonna get shot. So if you keep paying less
than a living wage, if you keep denying people health care,
(26:47):
if you keep giving greedy, wealthy folk two trillion dollars
tax cuts, but you won't even spend the money to
fully fun public education. If we keep doing what we're doing,
we're going to keep having the level of poverty that
we're having and we don't have to do it.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
It is actually, I.
Speaker 4 (27:04):
Believe criminal a form of a policy violence to continue
down the road.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
And doesn't it weaken the system as a whole? You know,
you could almost make the case that if the system
is requiring a permanent, entrenched underclass, and it makes itself
ripe for instability. And I'm wondering, is there a way
to change the mindset, because the mindset in America is
there is a mouture class these poor people are mutures
(27:33):
and they're taking resources from me.
Speaker 5 (27:35):
I work hard.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
They get poor people get healthcare, they get food, they
get whatever they need.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
I don't get it.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Is there a way to change the mentality to view
things not as entitlements but investments, and maybe to get
labor not to be viewed as shareholders. That corporations have
to view labor not as a means to an ends,
but as share holders in that and cannot change the dynamic.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
It can.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
But one of the first things we believe we have
to do, and we talk about maral fusion organizing, is
first of all, we should be examining every policy, not
by the color of a president's hair, or how many
porn stars he touched.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
Or how.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
Or what's the gate of his walk. Does the policies
you propose do they line up with establishing justice? Do
they line up with providing for the common defense and
promoting the general welfare? Do they line up with our
deepest marraligious right. Secondly, we must expose the level of
death that's happening, because this is not benign. Thirdly, we
(28:40):
must make sure that folks see at all that it's
not one group of people. We've been lied to so
much about this is an anomaly, This is just a
small grid. We cannot allow this to be marginalizing anymore.
And then we must have massive organization of poor and
low of every place, every geographic, at every race, And
in doing that we can put poverty and low wages
(29:01):
at the center of our political discourse.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
And then yes, isn't isn't that America first? Isn't that
making America great again? Like if you hollow out.
Speaker 5 (29:11):
The country, how can you expect it to be strong?
Speaker 3 (29:14):
Wouldn't that be the absolute acme of strengthening a country
from the bottom up as opposed to the top down.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
You would think it would be.
Speaker 4 (29:23):
But if you've got people that are still living when
they first wrote the constitution and said even poor white
men that didn't own jobs or they didn't own land
couldn't vote. If you have people with that kind of
mentality that this should be an exclusive democracy, that an
inclusive But listen, the numbers tell us though they're more
of us. The thing is, you can't be lazy in
(29:46):
a democracy. You got to fight like heaven.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
I mean.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
The countries, yeah, I mean, And what we're trying to
show people the numbers are now listen. Wisconsin marginal victory
twenty thousand vote number poor low Wais voters didn't vote
over a million didn't vote, didn't vote. Michigan ten thousand votes.
The number poor low WA's vote a million. Pennsylvania forty
(30:21):
thousand votes determined the president. Number poor low Ways voted
did about two million. North Carolina one hundred and sixty
thousand over a million.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
So it's not a big lift.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
And the number one reason though, we did a study
called Waking the Sleeping Giant, that poor low Wis people
didn't vote. Nobody talks to them. Politicians don't go in
those communities. I've gone in community and people literally cry
and say, Red Barber, nobody comes back here. And so
what I say to them is, we're back here now,
but less mobilized, to make sure they never forget you again,
(30:54):
that they never forget you ever again.
Speaker 5 (31:03):
White poverty available now.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
Reverend Barber will be leading the poor people's campaigns March on.
Speaker 5 (31:09):
Washington June twenty ninth. We're gonna tell you quick break,
we'll be right back after this.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
Hell.
Speaker 5 (31:33):
Everybody got dogsalt for tonight.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
Oh before we go, quick reminder, This Friday, June twenty First,
we are partnering with Headcount and Animal Haven in New
York to register voters and get dogs adopted.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
So join us at eight.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
I write that, join us at in Dog Decision twenty
twenty four. I'm sorry, Rescuing Democracy. It's gonna be from
two to six pm at two hundred Center Street in
New York City.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (32:02):
And now, of course we're gonna check in with yourros
for the rest of the week. Rodney Chang and Light
Ronnie John. Uh, what's up with the diamonds?
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (32:19):
These old things? Oh, these are just gifts from our
dear friend Harlan Crowe, the guy who bribed Clarence Thomas.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
What you hold?
Speaker 5 (32:30):
Never do that to the earth, because I thought you'd
actually be covering the Clarence.
Speaker 4 (32:35):
I gotta stop you there, John, Okay, for us to
cover that story now after accepting these wonderful gifts would
be unethical. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (32:45):
Sometimes I think we're almost too ethical. Definitely, Desie and
Ronnie Tang, everybody here. I love Milwaukee.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
I know you do well.
Speaker 5 (32:56):
Speaking to House Republicans, Trump called Milwaukee quote double city.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Hey, can I just say something in Milwaukee?
Speaker 2 (33:04):
Milwaukee explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast Universe
by searching The Daily Show wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch The Daily Show weeknights at eleven ten Central on
Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount plus
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Paramount Podcasts
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.