March 21, 2025 • 36 mins
-
Domestic Terrorism Against Tesla:
- We discuss the recent surge in violence and arson targeting Tesla, which Elon Musk has described as unprecedented coordinated violence against a peaceful company.
- We highlight the political context, suggesting that the Democratic Party is characterized by anger and hatred, particularly towards figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
- Mentioning specific incidents of arson and vandalism against Tesla vehicles and properties, including the use of Molotov cocktails and firearms.
- We criticizes prominent Democrats, including Tim Walz, for allegedly encouraging or not condemning these acts of violence.
- Also we reference a podcast interview with Elon Musk where these issues were discussed in detail.
- We concludes with a note on the legal actions being taken against those involved in the attacks on Tesla properties.
-
Trump's Executive Order to Abolish the Department of Education:
- Donald Trump's executive order to shut down the Department of Education, aiming to return control over education to states and local districts.
- We argue that the current federal spending on education is inefficient and that the U.S. ranks poorly in educational outcomes despite high per-pupil spending.
- We support school choice and criticizes the federal Department of Education for pushing a "woke" agenda.
- Statements from Trump and other supporters who believe that abolishing the Department of Education will improve educational outcomes by reducing bureaucracy and increasing local control.
- Also we discuss the potential impact on school choice and how it could benefit students by fostering competition among schools.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
We got two major issues we're going to deal with
today on the show. Number One, it's incredible Donald Trump's
executive order on the Department of Education to shut it down.
What this is going to do for parents with school
choice and giving the power back to the states. Plus,
the amount of money we're spending per pupil is more
than any else in the world. And where do we
(00:22):
rank when it comes education in many of the areas
at the very bottom. We're going to break that down
for you also. And then the other big issue, and
it deals with Tesla and Center. Let's start with what
Elon Musk just tweeted out. He put a tweet out
said quote, has there ever been such a level of
coordinated violence against a peaceful company?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Question mark.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
I understand not wanting to buy a product, but this
extreme arson in destruction is what we're witnessing right now
as the left has gone to war with Tesla.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
It really is astonishing. And let me say, first of all,
for those of you, if any of you did not
listen to the interview that we did with Elon Musk.
We went to the White House. We spent over an
hour one on one with Elon Musk. We put it
out as a two part podcast. Part of it was
on Monday, part of it was on Wednesday. If you
didn't listen to it, you can listen to it by
downloading the podcast, or you can watch it on YouTube.
(01:17):
If you didn't listen to it or watch it, I
would encourage you to. It was fascinating. It was one
of the most important podcasts we've ever done, and so
you don't want to miss it. You don't want to
miss both parts. It broke news, It drove news nationally
and it really was Elon revealing who he is. And
one of the things we talked about was was the
violence and domestic terrorism directed towards Tesla. Well, in the
(01:40):
days since that interview, it's only gotten worse. I got
to say. Today's Democrat party is characterized by rage and hatred.
As best I can tell, they don't stand for much
of anything other than their radical agenda of open borders
and releasing violent criminals, murderers and rapists and child lesters
(02:00):
and boys and girls sports and radical gender ideology and
anti Semitism and undermining Israel. That that seems to be
the unifying policy behind the Democrats, but the unifying motivation
right now is this in coit anger and rage and hate,
and they hate hate Donald J. Trump, And to be honest,
(02:23):
they hate, hate, hate the voters who voted.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
For Donald J. Trump.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
But they've now projected much of that anger and hate
on Elon Musk And so Trump derangement syndrome is a
very real thing, and Elon derangement syndrome is a very
real thing. And and understand when the left hates something,
they engage in violence. We've seen this with the anti
Semitic Prohamas protest on campuses where violence has erupted. We've
(02:50):
seen this with the Black Lives Matter at Antifa riots
across the country where we saw police cars fire bombed
and stores looted and police officers murder, and we saw
rampant violence. And we are now seeing this with Tesla.
And the left is an ideology that if you are
(03:10):
on the opposing side, they don't view it as you
have a right to speak. They're opposed to free speech.
They want to censor you, they want to silence you.
If you're on the other side and you vote for
your opponent, they don't view you as a participant in
democracy who's expressing your views. They view you as the enemy,
and they want to destroy you, they want to bankrupt you,
(03:33):
and they want to engage in violence against you. Now,
some of you may be saying, Okay, that's too extreme,
that's going too far, that's not where the left is. Well,
I want you to give a listen to Tim Waltz.
Tim Waltz, who just about six minutes ago was the
Democrat's nominee to be the vice President of the United States.
He was Kamala Harris's running mate, and he's the sitting
(03:54):
governor of Minnesota. Here's Tim Waltz talking about what he
wants to see happen to Tesla.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Give a listen my phone. I don't some of you
know this on the iPhone. They've got that little stock app.
I added Tesla tode to give me a little boost during.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
The day.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
Two twenty five and dropping.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
So, and if you own one, if you own one,
we're not blaming you.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
You can you can take dental floss and pull the
Tesla thing off, you know, and take out of just telling.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
You Sinter this is what I call the dog whistle
for violence, because he says this and then others go
out and are actually shooting and burning up Tesla's.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Well, listen, I retweeted this and described Tim Waltz as
a small, bitter, evil, angry bastard. Like he is sitting there.
This is an elected government official that is rooting for
number one bankrupting Tesla. Not now, there are thousands and
(04:56):
thousands of employees in Tesla. These are Americans who are
making cars. By the way, the left, if you want
to see how they're utter hypocrites. They claim the climate
crisis is going to destroy the world. Well, Tesla is
the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in America. Five minutes ago,
(05:17):
they loved Tesla. They loved Elon Musk as long as
he was making electric vehicles, they love them. Now they
decided we hate electric vehicles and we want to bankrupt
the largest manufacturer of them in America. Why because we
hate Elon. And at the end of the day, this
is about tribalism. This is about my team versus your team.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
And listen.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
On the right, I don't advocate violence. Violence is wrong
and if you engage in violence, whether you agree with
me or not, you should go to jail. We don't
support violence against our political opponents.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
The left does.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
The left views the world through a Marxist mindset. My
last book was Unwoke, How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America.
A Marxist mindset where they advocate the violent revolution of
the so called victims against the so called oppressors. And
so Tim Waltz is cheering on. He wants to see
(06:13):
Tesla go bankrupt. He wants to see every Tesla employee
lose their job. By the way, your four oh one
k is probably invested in Tesla. He wants to see
your four oh one k go down. And if every
retirement fund in America, if the teacher's retirement fund, if
the police retirement fund, if the firefighter retirement fund goes down,
(06:34):
because the Left succeeds in bankrupting Tesla, these angry, vindictive
little Marxist will celebrate and understand, it's not just about
economic devastation, it is about actual violence. I want you
to listen to this segment from The Daily Show and
the Daily Show they're talking about the domestic terrorism that
(06:56):
is playing out against Tesla, and listen to the crowd's reaction.
Give a listen, Jim.
Speaker 6 (07:01):
They're taking to the streets or the parking lots tonight.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
The FBI and ATF now investigating multiple cases of possible
arson targeting Tesla's and cyber trucks.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
This dramatic video shows multiple cars and flames. Police say
the attacker used molotov cocktails. It's the latest in more
than a dozen instances of arson and vandalism targeting Tesla.
Speaker 6 (07:24):
The same suspect shot more Tesla's with a gun. Tesla
cyber trucks were set on fire in Kansas City, and
earlier this month, shots fired in a Tesla dealership in Oregon,
cyber trucks on fire in Seattle.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Wow, you guys like petty acts of domestic terrorism?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Well, petty acts of terrorism? Centerre cool, right, Like, let's
cheer for that?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Why not?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
It's striking. So at the end there that's the Daily
show host, that's the comedian, and he's a little bit
like holy crackt, like what he says. Wow, you guys
like petty acts of domestic terrorism. They're cheering for it.
They're happy. And by the way, it ain't petty. The
last I checked, arson is not petty. Throwing molotov cocktails
(08:06):
is not petty. Firing guns at Tesla dealership is not petty.
People are gonna be killed firing a gun at a dealership.
You know there are people who work there and the left,
this is this is something they celebrate, they revel in.
It's reminiscent of this Luigi clown who murdered the senior
(08:31):
executive healthcare executive. We did a podcast at the time
how the left was celebrating murder. They were happy to
see him murdered. The anti capitalist left, they hate their opponents,
and they are willing to cheer the murder of their opponents.
And we're seeing here this is domestic violence. Now here's
(08:52):
some good news. The Attorney General Pambondi announced that three
Tesla arson defendants are going to face the full four
of law and for using molotov cocktails to set fire
to electric vehicles and charging statements. Pambondi said, quote the
days of committing crimes without consequences have ended. Let this
(09:15):
be a warning. If you join this wave of domestic
terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put
you behind bars. And she's charging three people for their
alleged involvement in attacks against Tesla properties in Salem, or Orgon, Loveland, Colorado,
(09:36):
and Charleston, South Carolina. Bravo PAMBONDI, bravo.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
To the Department of Justice.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
But you know what, there are a whole lot more
people that are committing these acts of violence, and I'm
here to tell you I don't believe these are spontaneous.
I think we need to follow the money. I think
the Department of Justice in the FBI are going to
follow the money. And whoever is funding it, I don't
know if it's this.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
No, That's exactly what I want to ask you.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Because John Cusack appeared on a test slit takedown call,
for example, says that Elon Musk is literally quote killing people.
The actor complaining of the United States is a fascist
country and becoming more fascist every day. He joined this
and again it's called in a tashtag like this is
not some secret group hashtag tesla takedown a quote mass
(10:20):
mobilizing call on Wednesday to express his opinion about Elon Musk,
whom the actor claim is quote literally killing people. The
fifty eight year old also hit Musk with a string
of other insults during the call. So this goes back
to what you and I have talked about before, whether
it's Act Blue, whether it's Black Lives Matter, whether it's
you know the summer of takedown that the Occupy Wall Street.
(10:44):
This is all coming from organized groups that are being funded.
This is clearly organized. If you're getting Cusack on a
phone call for this.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
It is clearly funded. And I'll tell you right now,
if you are putting money behind and in support of
domestic terror, existing federal law makes it a crime. Using
incendiary devices is defined as domestic terrorism, you are going
to be prosecuted. We talked with Elon in the interview
about indications that Act Blue was being used to fund this.
(11:14):
I have to admit I actually hope that is the case,
because Act Blue is the principal fundraising mechanism for the
left and for the Democrats, and if ActBlue is being used,
Act Blue will be shut down. And I don't know
if the Soros network is involved, but if the Soros
network is involved, I believe this Department of Justice is
going to follow the money and anyone who is funding
(11:35):
domestic terrorism, they're going to face the consequences of their action.
That is important for the rule of law, and it's striking.
Look that there are Democrat members of Congress participating. Jasmine
Crockett from Texas participated in one of these Tesla takedown
calls targeting a major US company wanting to bankrupt, a
(11:57):
major US company wanting to have all of its American
workers lose their jobs. By the way, they don't care
if they were to remove America's leading manufacture of electric vehicles.
The next time they prattle on about the climate crisis,
know that they're complete and utter hypocrites because they don't
care about that. They only care about it if you
happen to be on their team, if you happen to
(12:19):
be supporting their side. And every one of these people
knows they're not just talking about declining to purchase this product.
They are talking about and celebrating as the crowd at
the Daily Show demonstrating they are cheering on molotov cocktails,
violent fire bombing, and firing guns and I'll tell you,
(12:41):
somebody is going to be killed, and these leftists they
do not care. And we know that because these same
leftists cheered on the murder of the senior healthcare executive
by Luigi the Communists, and they continue to cheer them on.
You see leftists tattooing Luigi's face on their body and
(13:02):
making t shirts, and he's become a cause celeb because
they advocate violence against anyone who dares disagree with him.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Well, you and I are talking. I literally was sent
by a congressman. The John Cusack video and audio. I
want to play this because not only if you haven't
seen this, this is how organized the left is. They've
got a full like live TV box around this broadcast
on x where they were doing this.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
They have a.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Website teslatakedown dot com hashtag Tesla takedown mass call. They've
got graphics, they have actor and activist John Cusack. Here
is John in his own words.
Speaker 7 (13:44):
He said, you know, Musk is kind of this arch
villain of late stage capitalism, and he seemed like this
clown and this buffoon. But like Alex said, you know,
this is a man who made a sighile Nazi salute
not only public, but at a presidential victory party. It's
(14:05):
good to remember that these are unprecedented times of mass
criminality going on to the United States right now, and that,
like Trump, Musk is a pathological liar. He's a criminal,
he's a sociopath and a ghoul. And I mean those
terms very precisely, because who else would use his own
(14:30):
child as a sympathy prop while literally taking starving aid
away from people all over the world.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Now he goes on for another four minutes just on this.
But this is a man that is advocating and supporting
people to take up in essence arms against Tesla.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Look it is, I tweeted today, leftism is a mental disease.
And I don't think that is an overstatement. And let
me underscore again, Nobody that I know of on the
right is calling for violence against the other side. I
would strongly oppose and I do strongly oppose violence against
the other side. I'll denounce them, but violence is wrong
(15:10):
and what they are doing it. And let me ask
you something. Have you heard a single Democrat? Have you
heard one denounced the domestic terrorism against Tesla dealerships, against
the cars, the fire bombings.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
Have you heard even one? And why not?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Because they don't mind this? I mean, I think this
is part of.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
As Kamala Harris said, anything about it? Has Joe Biden
said anything about it? Has Tim Waltz said anything about it? Yes,
he celebrated. How about Nancy Pelosi? How about a Keem Jeffries,
how about Chuck Schumer? They're either silent or cheering.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Well as you said earlier, Centator, Thank goodness that the
Attorney General Pambondi announcing these charges for that Tesla attack
and warning against domestic terrorism, saying, if you join in this,
we're coming after you and we're going to put you
behind bars. Thank goodness we have law and order restored
at the Department of Justice with her in charge and
others at the FBI. I want to move to the
(16:01):
story number two, and it's also a really big story,
and I want to look at this from a issue
of hope and excitement. There are a lot of parents
that are listening and grandparents right now who know just
how screwed up the public education system is in this country.
They understand the data that the K through twelve schools
are spending eight hundred and fifty seven billion annually. That's
(16:25):
seventeen two hundred and seventy seven on average per student.
It is incredible, and what we're getting for that is
not very much. We're at the bottom of the list
in many categories. And the President came out with a
very big announcement, and that is that his goal is
to dismantle the Department of Education, sending this back to
(16:45):
the States now where parents get excited. This brings up
the issue of school choice. Now, it's something that you
are actually in Austin talking about today as we're recording this,
and you've been a champion of school choice for quite
some time.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
Well, that's right.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
So on Thursday, President Trump issued an executive order calling
for the Department of Education to be abolished and calling
for the money and the authority to be sent back
to the states and sent back to the local districts. Now,
the corrupt corporate media being what it is, whenever you
hear the words abolish the Department of Education, what they
(17:23):
transmute that into is abolish education. And they try to
say that means that Republicans are opposed to education. It's
exactly the opposite. And I just pose a simple question,
where do you want the money going. Do you want
the money going to parents and kids and teachers to
have excellent education, or do you want the money going
(17:46):
to woke, radical bureaucrats in Washington who are putting red
tape and strangling our schools and our education. That's the choice.
Because the Department of Education, there ain't nobody at the
federal Department of Education that is teaching your kids. There
ain't nobody that that that that that is in missus
Smith's sixth grade class, that that that is teaching reading
(18:08):
or writing arithmetic. But what there are is a bunch
of bureaucrats that are putting paperwork in place, that are
putting burdens in place, and and and and and it
is particularly under Joe Biden, the Department of Education was weaponized.
It was weaponized to push an extreme woke agenda. It
was weaponized to push DEI, It was weaponized to push
(18:30):
boys and girls sports, It was weaponized to push their
extreme transgender ideology. And and the President is following through.
So the executive Order directs the Secretary of Education to
take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the
Department of Education and to return education authority to the States,
(18:51):
while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs,
and benefits on which Americans rely. So again, the corrupt
corporate media will say, well, this will halt funding for
low income kids, this will halt funding for kids with disabilities.
When you hear that on CNN, know that they're lying
(19:14):
to you, know that they're deliberately lying to you. They
know they're lying to you. You should know they're lying
to you. This is designed to keep the funding there,
but have the decision making at the state and local level.
And a huge part of that is to facilitate school choice.
And we're going to do a deeper dive into school
choice in a moment. But I got to say, this
(19:34):
executive order is a big, big deal from the President.
He announced it surrounded by governors, because it's going to
be the governors now who are going to be in
charge and the states in charge of the education policies
in their states.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yeah, and I want to play just a little bit
of what Donald Trump had to say at this announcement.
As you mentioned, with those governors signing this executive order
shutting down the Education Department, take a listen.
Speaker 8 (19:57):
President Carter created the Federal Education Department in nineteen seventy nine.
It was opposed by members of his own cabinet, as
well as the American Federation of Teachers, the New York
Times editorial board, and the famed Democrat Senator Daniel Patrick moynihan.
History has proven them.
Speaker 7 (20:16):
Right, absolutely right.
Speaker 8 (20:19):
After forty five years, the United States spends more money
on education by far than any other country, and spends
likewise by far more money per pupil than any country
and it's not even close. But yet we rank near
the bottom of the list in terms of success. It's
an amazing stats. Those are two stats. You don't want.
(20:41):
The most money spent per pupil and you're at the
bottom of the list. And that's where we are, like
it or not, and we've been there for a long time.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
You listen to him talk about that the more money
per pupil than any other place. And this kind of
goes back to doge mentality. If we're wasting money, then
lets stop wasting money and we can do a better
job with your tax dollars off at the state level.
And if you have the ability to choose the best
place for your child to get an education, it's your
(21:10):
tax dollars.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
You know what to do with them better than we do.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
Look, that's absolutely right, and to understand the level of waste.
Since the Department of Education was created nineteen seventy nine,
it has spent over three trillion dollars. Three trillion dollars. Now,
what has the result been. The result is, despite per
pupil spending increasing by over two hundred and forty five
(21:36):
percent Since the nineteen seventies, Math scores have continued to decline.
Reading scores have continued to decline, particularly among low performing students.
Eighth grade reading proficiency has fallen to its lowest level
in thirty two years, with over a third of students
(21:59):
failing to demonstrate basic reading skills appropriate for their grade.
Only sixty seven percent of eighth graders meet basic reading skills.
Only sixty percent of fourth graders meet basic reading skills.
Reading scores on the twenty twenty four Nationalists Assessment of
Educational Progress fell two points on average for both eighth
(22:23):
and fourth graders, and there's been a steady decline in
reading that predates COVID era disruptions. I'm going to give
you a stat that is stunning. In twenty twenty three,
thirteen high schools in Baltimore, Maryland. How many students in
thirteen high schools in Baltimore, Maryland do you think tested
(22:45):
proficient in mathematics?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
No clue?
Speaker 4 (22:49):
Zero, Wow.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Thirteen high schools had not even a single student, not
a single senior, not a single junior, not a single sophomore,
not a single freshman. Had ze row students in the
entire high school test proficient in math thirteen schools. Now, Look,
if you were a leader in Baltimore, Maryland, you ought
to be really unhappy about this. You ought to be
(23:13):
demanding change. You are graduating students who can't read, You're
graduating students who are not proficient in math. And what
is happening the Democrats? They have a basic choice, do
you care about the kids or do you care about
money from the teachers' unions.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
Now, as you mentioned, I'm in Austin today.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
I went to the state Capitol and I went onto
the floor of the house, and I'll tell you the
floor of the house, they actually read a commendation thanking
me for my leadership and school choice. School choice, for
me has been a passion for thirty years. I've spent
thirty years fighting for school choice. I believe school choice
is the civil rights issue of the twenty first century.
(23:54):
I think there is no other domestic policy that matters more.
And I believe every child in Texas and every child
in America deserves access to an excellent education, regardless of
their race, regardless of their ethnicity, regardless of their wealth
or their zip code. And Texas is on the verge
(24:14):
of passing the largest school choice program in America, and
it is historic. One out of every ten school kids
in America is in the state of Texas. So for
Texas to lead is a big, big deal. And I'll
tell you I have been engaging. So for the past
six years, I engage in primaries in the state of
(24:36):
Texas against state legislators who oppose school choice. And I'll
tell you there are one hundred US senators, to the
best of my knowledge, ninety nine of them stay out
of primaries in their own state. And there's a reason
for that. When you get involved in a primary in
your own state, it's politics, it's stupid.
Speaker 4 (24:55):
It hurts you. Why because when.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
You do it, the old rule of thumb is you
get half their friends and all their enemies. So when
you jump in the middle, you're making enemies and you're
costing yourself votes.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
I do it anyway. Every cycle.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
I have my team make an Excel spreadsheet of every
vote a state legislator has cast on school choice. And
if you're a Republican state rapper state senator, and you've
voted in favor of school choice, and you're otherwise relatively conservative,
you are very likely to get my support. But if
you haven't, if you've voted against choice, the chance of
(25:31):
my supporting you is zero. And if you have had
all a credible primary challenger, it is very likely I'm
going to endorse your primary challenger. And when I do it,
I don't do so gently. I come in and I
do radio ads, I do TV ads, I do rallies.
I campaign And over the last six years there's been
a bunch of Republican state reps who voted the wrong
(25:53):
way on choice, and we've come in and beaten them.
We brought in someone new who's going to stand for
the kids of Texas. And so I was on the
floor of the House and then I went back to
the Speaker's office that I was meeting one on one
with a whole bunch of state reps and making the
case what you're doing right now is a big deal.
And I'll tell you, Ben, I announced today I'm spending
a quarter million dollars, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
(26:16):
running TV ads all across Texas, running them over the top,
directly connecting with voters, also sending texts supporting fourteen state reps.
Freshmen state reps Republicans and thanking them for supporting school choice. Now, look,
the teachers' unions are spending massive amounts of money attacking
(26:38):
these Republicans, trying to scare them into voting the wrong way.
And so I'm spending from my own political resources to
say thank you to them, to support them, to buck
them up, to give air support. Texas is going to
get this done. And I'll tell you I have been
leading the fight for a long time. I've never been
more excited about school choice in Texas than I am
right now.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Well, let's talk about out what the left says and
just how they've been so successful at stopping this. A
lot of this is because the teachers' unions are very powerful.
The Department of Education and their alumni have become incredibly
powerful and making sure that they fear, monger and terrify
parents that your kids won't be able to get an
(27:21):
education if you give parents the freedom to choose. This
has become that type of kind of third rail, as
we call it, an issue in politics. You don't touch
those security, don't touch education even if it is failing.
So let's talk about some of their claims and what
the audience needs to understand about why some of them
are just flat out bogus.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Well, virtually all of them are bogus. And understand you know,
choice has been an issue that has been debated for
a long time. When I first got involved in the
school choice movement, it was three decades ago, and at
the time it was a fairly nascent movement. And at
the time it was mostly a theoretical idea, and it
(28:03):
had come from free market economists like Milton Friedman, but
it hadn't been implemented many places. And there were lots
of arguments that were used thirty years ago, the most
significant one of which was school choice will destroy the
public schools. And you hear the Teachers' union saying that,
you hear the corporate media amplifying that message, and I
(28:25):
get to say that message is powerful. If that were true,
I would oppose school choice. Let me repeat that, I
don't want to destroy the public schools. If school choice
would destroy the public schools, I would oppose choice. Why
Because the vast majority of our kids are educated in
the public schools and they will continue to be for
the foreseeable future, and I think education is so foundational.
(28:46):
Destroy the public schools will be terrible. We now know
that argument is absolutely false, It is not right.
Speaker 4 (28:53):
How do we know that. We know that.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
Because there were dozens of jurisdictions all across the country
that have implemented its choice. And in every instance, what
happens when you implement school choice, when you give kids
scholarships and options, several things happen. Number one, the kids
that take the scholarships that go to new schools, that
go to private schools or parochial schools, religious schools. We
know the educational outcomes go up. Their reading scores go up,
(29:19):
their math scores go up, their high school graduation scores
go up, their percentage of going to college goes up.
We know for those kids, their educational outcomes are significantly better.
But here's the critical piece. We now know school choice
benefits the public schools. It is better for the public schools.
What happens is when you have competition, the educational outcomes
(29:44):
for the kids that stay in the public schools that
never exercise the vouchers that never get the scholarships, that
never leave, their educational outcomes get better. And look at
anyone who understands free markets should understand that competition is
good and when you have competition. All right, Ben, here's
something that a number of folks will remember. Actually you're
(30:05):
young enough, you will not remember this, but cars in
the nineteen seventies. American cars in the nineteen seventies. I'm
going to tell you because I was born in nineteen seventy.
As a kid, the quality of American cars of the
nineteen seventies sucked. You had giant gas guzzlers that broke
down a lot, and it was not very good. And
in the late seventies in the early eighties, you started
(30:27):
having Japanese cars come in, and there was a whole
freakout about Japanese cars competing with American cars because they
were coming in with Honda and Toyota, and their quality
was really good, and American consumers were buying them instead
of American cars, and there was a whole I remember
as a kid, when I was like eight, nine, ten
years old, there was a whole freak out, like the
(30:47):
Japanese are going to destroy the American car industry and
we're doomed and we can't compete with the Japanese. People
were freaked out. And at Chrysler there was a CEO
named Leiah Koku came in and said, all right, the
answer is, let's stop making crappy cars. Let's make good cars, Like,
how do we beat Toyota and Honda and the Japanese
companies coming in. Well, let's make better cars so the
(31:09):
consumers want and we saw quality improve dramatically. American cars
are much better and you now look at things like
suburbans and escalades and all sorts of American cars that
people like to buy. But why do they like to
buy them? Because the competition made the American car makers
make better cars. Tesla Tesla's are really cool cars. They're
(31:32):
incredibly fast, they're incredibly well made, but that's because they're
in a competitive market.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
What happens with school choice.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
We now know this is when the students and parents
have a choice, the quality of education improves and it
benefits the public schools.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Yeah, in a major way. What do the listeners need
to do?
Speaker 1 (31:56):
This is one of those action moments I think where
it's really important. Is this a you got to lobby
or state legislature at the same time you're calling Congress,
Because let's be very realistic here, this is going to
be a big fight.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
Now.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
I think it's a fight worth having.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
I also think one of the things that people may
not understand about the strategy of the president is the
conversation center that you and I are having right now
is the conversation the President clearly is wanting the American
people to have about their kids and grandkids in public education.
This is part of this is You've got to start
winning the hearts and minds of voters and people in
(32:33):
this country tax payers. And one way to do it
is to say I'm getting rid of the Department of Education. Now,
this may not happen tomorrow, it may not happen a
month for now, or even three months from now, but
this is a step in the right direction.
Speaker 4 (32:44):
Well it's a big step.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
And let me say, shutting down the federal Department of
Education is incredibly important. Now, Congress is going to need
to act. We're going to need to pass legislation making
it permanent, and I'm eager to do so. Why because
I think the states are much more effect acted, much
more responsive to students, and they don't put the same
bureaucracy and red tape on the schools. Look, you want
(33:07):
to understand, here's the point I made at the Texas legislature. Today,
we had a press conference and I pointed out, I said, listen,
I think the legislature is going to pass the biggest
and boldest and most significant school choice.
Speaker 4 (33:17):
Program in America.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
When it comes time to a vote, most, if not
every Democrat is going to vote no. Now, I hope
that's not the case. And by the way, you want
to talk about I had a reporter asked, why do
you say school choices the civil rights issue of the
twenty first century. Well, if you look at the failing schools,
at the schools where you have rampant violence, where you
have high dropout rates, where you have incredibly low test scores,
(33:42):
they're predominantly in low income areas, and they're predominantly minority schools.
They're predominantly African American schools and Hispanic schools. You look
at the kids who are disproportionately harmed by failing schools,
and they are disproportionately minority kids. There is a reason
that every time a poll is done of African American
parents or Hispanic parents, you see overwhelming support for school choice,
(34:07):
sixty seventy percent, sometimes as high as eighty percent. Now,
most elected Democrats claim they are fighting for minorities. Many
of them are representing districts that are heavily minority, and
yet almost every Democrat, and maybe every Democrat, intends to
vote against school choice, against those kids. And here's why
(34:28):
I'm going to quote. I'm going to quote Al Shanker,
who was the longtime president of the American Federation of Teachers,
and here's what he said. Quote, when school children start
paying union dues, that's when I'll start representing the interest
of school children.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
You want to know what's going on with Democrats. They're
interested in money and manpower, and the Teachers' union are
consistently among if not their biggest funders, and among if
not their biggest source of manpower. And every Democrat who
makes the decision I'm voting against choice. What they're saying
is I want the dollars from the union bosses more
than I care about the kids in my district, more
(35:09):
than I care about the African American and Hispanic kids,
and the low income kids who are trapped in failing schools,
who are not learning to read, who are not learning arithmetic,
who are going to drop out, And by the way,
if they drop out, we know, just like night follows day.
We know the odds of poverty are much much higher.
We know the odds of crime are much much higher.
We know the odds of substance abuse are much much higher.
(35:32):
We know the odds of serious healthcare issues are much
much higher. And so every Democrat who says I want
the money from the union bosses more than these kids
is willing to essentially throw these children overboard and say
your future doesn't matter. That's why it's the civil rights
issue the twenty first century, and it's why I've spent
thirty years fighting for it.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
Yeah, it really is. Don't forget. We do the show Monday,
Wednesday and Friday. Hit that subscribe or auto download button
if you miss one of the shows. We do a
weekend review on Saturdays giving some of the big highlights
of the week, and part of that is going to
be Elon Musk interview, and if you did miss it,
you go back and listen. It was incredible two part
series Monday and Wednesday. You can also watch it and
(36:14):
subscribe on YouTube. It is a really fun interview to
watch because you get some great facial expressions from Elon Musk.
You can tell when he's really thinking hard about an
answer before he gives it, and it just gives it
even more life. So grab that on YouTube as well,
and the Senator and I will see you back here
in a couple of days
We got two major issues we're going to deal with
today on the show. Number One, it's incredible Donald Trump's
executive order on the Department of Education to shut it down.
What this is going to do for parents with school
choice and giving the power back to the states. Plus,
the amount of money we're spending per pupil is more
than any else in the world. And where do we
(00:22):
rank when it comes education in many of the areas
at the very bottom. We're going to break that down
for you also. And then the other big issue, and
it deals with Tesla and Center. Let's start with what
Elon Musk just tweeted out. He put a tweet out
said quote, has there ever been such a level of
coordinated violence against a peaceful company?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Question mark.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
I understand not wanting to buy a product, but this
extreme arson in destruction is what we're witnessing right now
as the left has gone to war with Tesla.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
It really is astonishing. And let me say, first of all,
for those of you, if any of you did not
listen to the interview that we did with Elon Musk.
We went to the White House. We spent over an
hour one on one with Elon Musk. We put it
out as a two part podcast. Part of it was
on Monday, part of it was on Wednesday. If you
didn't listen to it, you can listen to it by
downloading the podcast, or you can watch it on YouTube.
(01:17):
If you didn't listen to it or watch it, I
would encourage you to. It was fascinating. It was one
of the most important podcasts we've ever done, and so
you don't want to miss it. You don't want to
miss both parts. It broke news, It drove news nationally
and it really was Elon revealing who he is. And
one of the things we talked about was was the
violence and domestic terrorism directed towards Tesla. Well, in the
(01:40):
days since that interview, it's only gotten worse. I got
to say. Today's Democrat party is characterized by rage and hatred.
As best I can tell, they don't stand for much
of anything other than their radical agenda of open borders
and releasing violent criminals, murderers and rapists and child lesters
(02:00):
and boys and girls sports and radical gender ideology and
anti Semitism and undermining Israel. That that seems to be
the unifying policy behind the Democrats, but the unifying motivation
right now is this in coit anger and rage and hate,
and they hate hate Donald J. Trump, And to be honest,
(02:23):
they hate, hate, hate the voters who voted.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
For Donald J. Trump.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
But they've now projected much of that anger and hate
on Elon Musk And so Trump derangement syndrome is a
very real thing, and Elon derangement syndrome is a very
real thing. And and understand when the left hates something,
they engage in violence. We've seen this with the anti
Semitic Prohamas protest on campuses where violence has erupted. We've
(02:50):
seen this with the Black Lives Matter at Antifa riots
across the country where we saw police cars fire bombed
and stores looted and police officers murder, and we saw
rampant violence. And we are now seeing this with Tesla.
And the left is an ideology that if you are
(03:10):
on the opposing side, they don't view it as you
have a right to speak. They're opposed to free speech.
They want to censor you, they want to silence you.
If you're on the other side and you vote for
your opponent, they don't view you as a participant in
democracy who's expressing your views. They view you as the enemy,
and they want to destroy you, they want to bankrupt you,
(03:33):
and they want to engage in violence against you. Now,
some of you may be saying, Okay, that's too extreme,
that's going too far, that's not where the left is. Well,
I want you to give a listen to Tim Waltz.
Tim Waltz, who just about six minutes ago was the
Democrat's nominee to be the vice President of the United States.
He was Kamala Harris's running mate, and he's the sitting
(03:54):
governor of Minnesota. Here's Tim Waltz talking about what he
wants to see happen to Tesla.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Give a listen my phone. I don't some of you
know this on the iPhone. They've got that little stock app.
I added Tesla tode to give me a little boost during.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
The day.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
Two twenty five and dropping.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
So, and if you own one, if you own one,
we're not blaming you.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
You can you can take dental floss and pull the
Tesla thing off, you know, and take out of just telling.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
You Sinter this is what I call the dog whistle
for violence, because he says this and then others go
out and are actually shooting and burning up Tesla's.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Well, listen, I retweeted this and described Tim Waltz as
a small, bitter, evil, angry bastard. Like he is sitting there.
This is an elected government official that is rooting for
number one bankrupting Tesla. Not now, there are thousands and
(04:56):
thousands of employees in Tesla. These are Americans who are
making cars. By the way, the left, if you want
to see how they're utter hypocrites. They claim the climate
crisis is going to destroy the world. Well, Tesla is
the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in America. Five minutes ago,
(05:17):
they loved Tesla. They loved Elon Musk as long as
he was making electric vehicles, they love them. Now they
decided we hate electric vehicles and we want to bankrupt
the largest manufacturer of them in America. Why because we
hate Elon. And at the end of the day, this
is about tribalism. This is about my team versus your team.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
And listen.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
On the right, I don't advocate violence. Violence is wrong
and if you engage in violence, whether you agree with
me or not, you should go to jail. We don't
support violence against our political opponents.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
The left does.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
The left views the world through a Marxist mindset. My
last book was Unwoke, How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America.
A Marxist mindset where they advocate the violent revolution of
the so called victims against the so called oppressors. And
so Tim Waltz is cheering on. He wants to see
(06:13):
Tesla go bankrupt. He wants to see every Tesla employee
lose their job. By the way, your four oh one
k is probably invested in Tesla. He wants to see
your four oh one k go down. And if every
retirement fund in America, if the teacher's retirement fund, if
the police retirement fund, if the firefighter retirement fund goes down,
(06:34):
because the Left succeeds in bankrupting Tesla, these angry, vindictive
little Marxist will celebrate and understand, it's not just about
economic devastation, it is about actual violence. I want you
to listen to this segment from The Daily Show and
the Daily Show they're talking about the domestic terrorism that
(06:56):
is playing out against Tesla, and listen to the crowd's reaction.
Give a listen, Jim.
Speaker 6 (07:01):
They're taking to the streets or the parking lots tonight.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
The FBI and ATF now investigating multiple cases of possible
arson targeting Tesla's and cyber trucks.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
This dramatic video shows multiple cars and flames. Police say
the attacker used molotov cocktails. It's the latest in more
than a dozen instances of arson and vandalism targeting Tesla.
Speaker 6 (07:24):
The same suspect shot more Tesla's with a gun. Tesla
cyber trucks were set on fire in Kansas City, and
earlier this month, shots fired in a Tesla dealership in Oregon,
cyber trucks on fire in Seattle.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Wow, you guys like petty acts of domestic terrorism?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Well, petty acts of terrorism? Centerre cool, right, Like, let's
cheer for that?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Why not?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
It's striking. So at the end there that's the Daily
show host, that's the comedian, and he's a little bit
like holy crackt, like what he says. Wow, you guys
like petty acts of domestic terrorism. They're cheering for it.
They're happy. And by the way, it ain't petty. The
last I checked, arson is not petty. Throwing molotov cocktails
(08:06):
is not petty. Firing guns at Tesla dealership is not petty.
People are gonna be killed firing a gun at a dealership.
You know there are people who work there and the left,
this is this is something they celebrate, they revel in.
It's reminiscent of this Luigi clown who murdered the senior
(08:31):
executive healthcare executive. We did a podcast at the time
how the left was celebrating murder. They were happy to
see him murdered. The anti capitalist left, they hate their opponents,
and they are willing to cheer the murder of their opponents.
And we're seeing here this is domestic violence. Now here's
(08:52):
some good news. The Attorney General Pambondi announced that three
Tesla arson defendants are going to face the full four
of law and for using molotov cocktails to set fire
to electric vehicles and charging statements. Pambondi said, quote the
days of committing crimes without consequences have ended. Let this
(09:15):
be a warning. If you join this wave of domestic
terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put
you behind bars. And she's charging three people for their
alleged involvement in attacks against Tesla properties in Salem, or Orgon, Loveland, Colorado,
(09:36):
and Charleston, South Carolina. Bravo PAMBONDI, bravo.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
To the Department of Justice.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
But you know what, there are a whole lot more
people that are committing these acts of violence, and I'm
here to tell you I don't believe these are spontaneous.
I think we need to follow the money. I think
the Department of Justice in the FBI are going to
follow the money. And whoever is funding it, I don't
know if it's this.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
No, That's exactly what I want to ask you.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Because John Cusack appeared on a test slit takedown call,
for example, says that Elon Musk is literally quote killing people.
The actor complaining of the United States is a fascist
country and becoming more fascist every day. He joined this
and again it's called in a tashtag like this is
not some secret group hashtag tesla takedown a quote mass
(10:20):
mobilizing call on Wednesday to express his opinion about Elon Musk,
whom the actor claim is quote literally killing people. The
fifty eight year old also hit Musk with a string
of other insults during the call. So this goes back
to what you and I have talked about before, whether
it's Act Blue, whether it's Black Lives Matter, whether it's
you know the summer of takedown that the Occupy Wall Street.
(10:44):
This is all coming from organized groups that are being funded.
This is clearly organized. If you're getting Cusack on a
phone call for this.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
It is clearly funded. And I'll tell you right now,
if you are putting money behind and in support of
domestic terror, existing federal law makes it a crime. Using
incendiary devices is defined as domestic terrorism, you are going
to be prosecuted. We talked with Elon in the interview
about indications that Act Blue was being used to fund this.
(11:14):
I have to admit I actually hope that is the case,
because Act Blue is the principal fundraising mechanism for the
left and for the Democrats, and if ActBlue is being used,
Act Blue will be shut down. And I don't know
if the Soros network is involved, but if the Soros
network is involved, I believe this Department of Justice is
going to follow the money and anyone who is funding
(11:35):
domestic terrorism, they're going to face the consequences of their action.
That is important for the rule of law, and it's striking.
Look that there are Democrat members of Congress participating. Jasmine
Crockett from Texas participated in one of these Tesla takedown
calls targeting a major US company wanting to bankrupt, a
(11:57):
major US company wanting to have all of its American
workers lose their jobs. By the way, they don't care
if they were to remove America's leading manufacture of electric vehicles.
The next time they prattle on about the climate crisis,
know that they're complete and utter hypocrites because they don't
care about that. They only care about it if you
happen to be on their team, if you happen to
(12:19):
be supporting their side. And every one of these people
knows they're not just talking about declining to purchase this product.
They are talking about and celebrating as the crowd at
the Daily Show demonstrating they are cheering on molotov cocktails,
violent fire bombing, and firing guns and I'll tell you,
(12:41):
somebody is going to be killed, and these leftists they
do not care. And we know that because these same
leftists cheered on the murder of the senior healthcare executive
by Luigi the Communists, and they continue to cheer them on.
You see leftists tattooing Luigi's face on their body and
(13:02):
making t shirts, and he's become a cause celeb because
they advocate violence against anyone who dares disagree with him.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Well, you and I are talking. I literally was sent
by a congressman. The John Cusack video and audio. I
want to play this because not only if you haven't
seen this, this is how organized the left is. They've
got a full like live TV box around this broadcast
on x where they were doing this.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
They have a.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Website teslatakedown dot com hashtag Tesla takedown mass call. They've
got graphics, they have actor and activist John Cusack. Here
is John in his own words.
Speaker 7 (13:44):
He said, you know, Musk is kind of this arch
villain of late stage capitalism, and he seemed like this
clown and this buffoon. But like Alex said, you know,
this is a man who made a sighile Nazi salute
not only public, but at a presidential victory party. It's
(14:05):
good to remember that these are unprecedented times of mass
criminality going on to the United States right now, and that,
like Trump, Musk is a pathological liar. He's a criminal,
he's a sociopath and a ghoul. And I mean those
terms very precisely, because who else would use his own
(14:30):
child as a sympathy prop while literally taking starving aid
away from people all over the world.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Now he goes on for another four minutes just on this.
But this is a man that is advocating and supporting
people to take up in essence arms against Tesla.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Look it is, I tweeted today, leftism is a mental disease.
And I don't think that is an overstatement. And let
me underscore again, Nobody that I know of on the
right is calling for violence against the other side. I
would strongly oppose and I do strongly oppose violence against
the other side. I'll denounce them, but violence is wrong
(15:10):
and what they are doing it. And let me ask
you something. Have you heard a single Democrat? Have you
heard one denounced the domestic terrorism against Tesla dealerships, against
the cars, the fire bombings.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
Have you heard even one? And why not?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Because they don't mind this? I mean, I think this
is part of.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
As Kamala Harris said, anything about it? Has Joe Biden
said anything about it? Has Tim Waltz said anything about it? Yes,
he celebrated. How about Nancy Pelosi? How about a Keem Jeffries,
how about Chuck Schumer? They're either silent or cheering.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Well as you said earlier, Centator, Thank goodness that the
Attorney General Pambondi announcing these charges for that Tesla attack
and warning against domestic terrorism, saying, if you join in this,
we're coming after you and we're going to put you
behind bars. Thank goodness we have law and order restored
at the Department of Justice with her in charge and
others at the FBI. I want to move to the
(16:01):
story number two, and it's also a really big story,
and I want to look at this from a issue
of hope and excitement. There are a lot of parents
that are listening and grandparents right now who know just
how screwed up the public education system is in this country.
They understand the data that the K through twelve schools
are spending eight hundred and fifty seven billion annually. That's
(16:25):
seventeen two hundred and seventy seven on average per student.
It is incredible, and what we're getting for that is
not very much. We're at the bottom of the list
in many categories. And the President came out with a
very big announcement, and that is that his goal is
to dismantle the Department of Education, sending this back to
(16:45):
the States now where parents get excited. This brings up
the issue of school choice. Now, it's something that you
are actually in Austin talking about today as we're recording this,
and you've been a champion of school choice for quite
some time.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
Well, that's right.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
So on Thursday, President Trump issued an executive order calling
for the Department of Education to be abolished and calling
for the money and the authority to be sent back
to the states and sent back to the local districts. Now,
the corrupt corporate media being what it is, whenever you
hear the words abolish the Department of Education, what they
(17:23):
transmute that into is abolish education. And they try to
say that means that Republicans are opposed to education. It's
exactly the opposite. And I just pose a simple question,
where do you want the money going. Do you want
the money going to parents and kids and teachers to
have excellent education, or do you want the money going
(17:46):
to woke, radical bureaucrats in Washington who are putting red
tape and strangling our schools and our education. That's the choice.
Because the Department of Education, there ain't nobody at the
federal Department of Education that is teaching your kids. There
ain't nobody that that that that that is in missus
Smith's sixth grade class, that that that is teaching reading
(18:08):
or writing arithmetic. But what there are is a bunch
of bureaucrats that are putting paperwork in place, that are
putting burdens in place, and and and and and it
is particularly under Joe Biden, the Department of Education was weaponized.
It was weaponized to push an extreme woke agenda. It
was weaponized to push DEI, It was weaponized to push
(18:30):
boys and girls sports, It was weaponized to push their
extreme transgender ideology. And and the President is following through.
So the executive Order directs the Secretary of Education to
take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the
Department of Education and to return education authority to the States,
(18:51):
while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs,
and benefits on which Americans rely. So again, the corrupt
corporate media will say, well, this will halt funding for
low income kids, this will halt funding for kids with disabilities.
When you hear that on CNN, know that they're lying
(19:14):
to you, know that they're deliberately lying to you. They
know they're lying to you. You should know they're lying
to you. This is designed to keep the funding there,
but have the decision making at the state and local level.
And a huge part of that is to facilitate school choice.
And we're going to do a deeper dive into school
choice in a moment. But I got to say, this
(19:34):
executive order is a big, big deal from the President.
He announced it surrounded by governors, because it's going to
be the governors now who are going to be in
charge and the states in charge of the education policies
in their states.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yeah, and I want to play just a little bit
of what Donald Trump had to say at this announcement.
As you mentioned, with those governors signing this executive order
shutting down the Education Department, take a listen.
Speaker 8 (19:57):
President Carter created the Federal Education Department in nineteen seventy nine.
It was opposed by members of his own cabinet, as
well as the American Federation of Teachers, the New York
Times editorial board, and the famed Democrat Senator Daniel Patrick moynihan.
History has proven them.
Speaker 7 (20:16):
Right, absolutely right.
Speaker 8 (20:19):
After forty five years, the United States spends more money
on education by far than any other country, and spends
likewise by far more money per pupil than any country
and it's not even close. But yet we rank near
the bottom of the list in terms of success. It's
an amazing stats. Those are two stats. You don't want.
(20:41):
The most money spent per pupil and you're at the
bottom of the list. And that's where we are, like
it or not, and we've been there for a long time.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
You listen to him talk about that the more money
per pupil than any other place. And this kind of
goes back to doge mentality. If we're wasting money, then
lets stop wasting money and we can do a better
job with your tax dollars off at the state level.
And if you have the ability to choose the best
place for your child to get an education, it's your
(21:10):
tax dollars.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
You know what to do with them better than we do.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
Look, that's absolutely right, and to understand the level of waste.
Since the Department of Education was created nineteen seventy nine,
it has spent over three trillion dollars. Three trillion dollars. Now,
what has the result been. The result is, despite per
pupil spending increasing by over two hundred and forty five
(21:36):
percent Since the nineteen seventies, Math scores have continued to decline.
Reading scores have continued to decline, particularly among low performing students.
Eighth grade reading proficiency has fallen to its lowest level
in thirty two years, with over a third of students
(21:59):
failing to demonstrate basic reading skills appropriate for their grade.
Only sixty seven percent of eighth graders meet basic reading skills.
Only sixty percent of fourth graders meet basic reading skills.
Reading scores on the twenty twenty four Nationalists Assessment of
Educational Progress fell two points on average for both eighth
(22:23):
and fourth graders, and there's been a steady decline in
reading that predates COVID era disruptions. I'm going to give
you a stat that is stunning. In twenty twenty three,
thirteen high schools in Baltimore, Maryland. How many students in
thirteen high schools in Baltimore, Maryland do you think tested
(22:45):
proficient in mathematics?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
No clue?
Speaker 4 (22:49):
Zero, Wow.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Thirteen high schools had not even a single student, not
a single senior, not a single junior, not a single sophomore,
not a single freshman. Had ze row students in the
entire high school test proficient in math thirteen schools. Now, Look,
if you were a leader in Baltimore, Maryland, you ought
to be really unhappy about this. You ought to be
(23:13):
demanding change. You are graduating students who can't read, You're
graduating students who are not proficient in math. And what
is happening the Democrats? They have a basic choice, do
you care about the kids or do you care about
money from the teachers' unions.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
Now, as you mentioned, I'm in Austin today.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
I went to the state Capitol and I went onto
the floor of the house, and I'll tell you the
floor of the house, they actually read a commendation thanking
me for my leadership and school choice. School choice, for
me has been a passion for thirty years. I've spent
thirty years fighting for school choice. I believe school choice
is the civil rights issue of the twenty first century.
(23:54):
I think there is no other domestic policy that matters more.
And I believe every child in Texas and every child
in America deserves access to an excellent education, regardless of
their race, regardless of their ethnicity, regardless of their wealth
or their zip code. And Texas is on the verge
(24:14):
of passing the largest school choice program in America, and
it is historic. One out of every ten school kids
in America is in the state of Texas. So for
Texas to lead is a big, big deal. And I'll
tell you I have been engaging. So for the past
six years, I engage in primaries in the state of
(24:36):
Texas against state legislators who oppose school choice. And I'll
tell you there are one hundred US senators, to the
best of my knowledge, ninety nine of them stay out
of primaries in their own state. And there's a reason
for that. When you get involved in a primary in
your own state, it's politics, it's stupid.
Speaker 4 (24:55):
It hurts you. Why because when.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
You do it, the old rule of thumb is you
get half their friends and all their enemies. So when
you jump in the middle, you're making enemies and you're
costing yourself votes.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
I do it anyway. Every cycle.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
I have my team make an Excel spreadsheet of every
vote a state legislator has cast on school choice. And
if you're a Republican state rapper state senator, and you've
voted in favor of school choice, and you're otherwise relatively conservative,
you are very likely to get my support. But if
you haven't, if you've voted against choice, the chance of
(25:31):
my supporting you is zero. And if you have had
all a credible primary challenger, it is very likely I'm
going to endorse your primary challenger. And when I do it,
I don't do so gently. I come in and I
do radio ads, I do TV ads, I do rallies.
I campaign And over the last six years there's been
a bunch of Republican state reps who voted the wrong
(25:53):
way on choice, and we've come in and beaten them.
We brought in someone new who's going to stand for
the kids of Texas. And so I was on the
floor of the House and then I went back to
the Speaker's office that I was meeting one on one
with a whole bunch of state reps and making the
case what you're doing right now is a big deal.
And I'll tell you, Ben, I announced today I'm spending
a quarter million dollars, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
(26:16):
running TV ads all across Texas, running them over the top,
directly connecting with voters, also sending texts supporting fourteen state reps.
Freshmen state reps Republicans and thanking them for supporting school choice. Now, look,
the teachers' unions are spending massive amounts of money attacking
(26:38):
these Republicans, trying to scare them into voting the wrong way.
And so I'm spending from my own political resources to
say thank you to them, to support them, to buck
them up, to give air support. Texas is going to
get this done. And I'll tell you I have been
leading the fight for a long time. I've never been
more excited about school choice in Texas than I am
right now.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Well, let's talk about out what the left says and
just how they've been so successful at stopping this. A
lot of this is because the teachers' unions are very powerful.
The Department of Education and their alumni have become incredibly
powerful and making sure that they fear, monger and terrify
parents that your kids won't be able to get an
(27:21):
education if you give parents the freedom to choose. This
has become that type of kind of third rail, as
we call it, an issue in politics. You don't touch
those security, don't touch education even if it is failing.
So let's talk about some of their claims and what
the audience needs to understand about why some of them
are just flat out bogus.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Well, virtually all of them are bogus. And understand you know,
choice has been an issue that has been debated for
a long time. When I first got involved in the
school choice movement, it was three decades ago, and at
the time it was a fairly nascent movement. And at
the time it was mostly a theoretical idea, and it
(28:03):
had come from free market economists like Milton Friedman, but
it hadn't been implemented many places. And there were lots
of arguments that were used thirty years ago, the most
significant one of which was school choice will destroy the
public schools. And you hear the Teachers' union saying that,
you hear the corporate media amplifying that message, and I
(28:25):
get to say that message is powerful. If that were true,
I would oppose school choice. Let me repeat that, I
don't want to destroy the public schools. If school choice
would destroy the public schools, I would oppose choice. Why
Because the vast majority of our kids are educated in
the public schools and they will continue to be for
the foreseeable future, and I think education is so foundational.
(28:46):
Destroy the public schools will be terrible. We now know
that argument is absolutely false, It is not right.
Speaker 4 (28:53):
How do we know that. We know that.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
Because there were dozens of jurisdictions all across the country
that have implemented its choice. And in every instance, what
happens when you implement school choice, when you give kids
scholarships and options, several things happen. Number one, the kids
that take the scholarships that go to new schools, that
go to private schools or parochial schools, religious schools. We
know the educational outcomes go up. Their reading scores go up,
(29:19):
their math scores go up, their high school graduation scores
go up, their percentage of going to college goes up.
We know for those kids, their educational outcomes are significantly better.
But here's the critical piece. We now know school choice
benefits the public schools. It is better for the public schools.
What happens is when you have competition, the educational outcomes
(29:44):
for the kids that stay in the public schools that
never exercise the vouchers that never get the scholarships, that
never leave, their educational outcomes get better. And look at
anyone who understands free markets should understand that competition is
good and when you have competition. All right, Ben, here's
something that a number of folks will remember. Actually you're
(30:05):
young enough, you will not remember this, but cars in
the nineteen seventies. American cars in the nineteen seventies. I'm
going to tell you because I was born in nineteen seventy.
As a kid, the quality of American cars of the
nineteen seventies sucked. You had giant gas guzzlers that broke
down a lot, and it was not very good. And
in the late seventies in the early eighties, you started
(30:27):
having Japanese cars come in, and there was a whole
freakout about Japanese cars competing with American cars because they
were coming in with Honda and Toyota, and their quality
was really good, and American consumers were buying them instead
of American cars, and there was a whole I remember
as a kid, when I was like eight, nine, ten
years old, there was a whole freak out, like the
(30:47):
Japanese are going to destroy the American car industry and
we're doomed and we can't compete with the Japanese. People
were freaked out. And at Chrysler there was a CEO
named Leiah Koku came in and said, all right, the
answer is, let's stop making crappy cars. Let's make good cars, Like,
how do we beat Toyota and Honda and the Japanese
companies coming in. Well, let's make better cars so the
(31:09):
consumers want and we saw quality improve dramatically. American cars
are much better and you now look at things like
suburbans and escalades and all sorts of American cars that
people like to buy. But why do they like to
buy them? Because the competition made the American car makers
make better cars. Tesla Tesla's are really cool cars. They're
(31:32):
incredibly fast, they're incredibly well made, but that's because they're
in a competitive market.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
What happens with school choice.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
We now know this is when the students and parents
have a choice, the quality of education improves and it
benefits the public schools.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Yeah, in a major way. What do the listeners need
to do?
Speaker 1 (31:56):
This is one of those action moments I think where
it's really important. Is this a you got to lobby
or state legislature at the same time you're calling Congress,
Because let's be very realistic here, this is going to
be a big fight.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
Now.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
I think it's a fight worth having.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
I also think one of the things that people may
not understand about the strategy of the president is the
conversation center that you and I are having right now
is the conversation the President clearly is wanting the American
people to have about their kids and grandkids in public education.
This is part of this is You've got to start
winning the hearts and minds of voters and people in
(32:33):
this country tax payers. And one way to do it
is to say I'm getting rid of the Department of Education. Now,
this may not happen tomorrow, it may not happen a
month for now, or even three months from now, but
this is a step in the right direction.
Speaker 4 (32:44):
Well it's a big step.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
And let me say, shutting down the federal Department of
Education is incredibly important. Now, Congress is going to need
to act. We're going to need to pass legislation making
it permanent, and I'm eager to do so. Why because
I think the states are much more effect acted, much
more responsive to students, and they don't put the same
bureaucracy and red tape on the schools. Look, you want
(33:07):
to understand, here's the point I made at the Texas legislature. Today,
we had a press conference and I pointed out, I said, listen,
I think the legislature is going to pass the biggest
and boldest and most significant school choice.
Speaker 4 (33:17):
Program in America.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
When it comes time to a vote, most, if not
every Democrat is going to vote no. Now, I hope
that's not the case. And by the way, you want
to talk about I had a reporter asked, why do
you say school choices the civil rights issue of the
twenty first century. Well, if you look at the failing schools,
at the schools where you have rampant violence, where you
have high dropout rates, where you have incredibly low test scores,
(33:42):
they're predominantly in low income areas, and they're predominantly minority schools.
They're predominantly African American schools and Hispanic schools. You look
at the kids who are disproportionately harmed by failing schools,
and they are disproportionately minority kids. There is a reason
that every time a poll is done of African American
parents or Hispanic parents, you see overwhelming support for school choice,
(34:07):
sixty seventy percent, sometimes as high as eighty percent. Now,
most elected Democrats claim they are fighting for minorities. Many
of them are representing districts that are heavily minority, and
yet almost every Democrat, and maybe every Democrat, intends to
vote against school choice, against those kids. And here's why
(34:28):
I'm going to quote. I'm going to quote Al Shanker,
who was the longtime president of the American Federation of Teachers,
and here's what he said. Quote, when school children start
paying union dues, that's when I'll start representing the interest
of school children.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
You want to know what's going on with Democrats. They're
interested in money and manpower, and the Teachers' union are
consistently among if not their biggest funders, and among if
not their biggest source of manpower. And every Democrat who
makes the decision I'm voting against choice. What they're saying
is I want the dollars from the union bosses more
than I care about the kids in my district, more
(35:09):
than I care about the African American and Hispanic kids,
and the low income kids who are trapped in failing schools,
who are not learning to read, who are not learning arithmetic,
who are going to drop out, And by the way,
if they drop out, we know, just like night follows day.
We know the odds of poverty are much much higher.
We know the odds of crime are much much higher.
We know the odds of substance abuse are much much higher.
(35:32):
We know the odds of serious healthcare issues are much
much higher. And so every Democrat who says I want
the money from the union bosses more than these kids
is willing to essentially throw these children overboard and say
your future doesn't matter. That's why it's the civil rights
issue the twenty first century, and it's why I've spent
thirty years fighting for it.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
Yeah, it really is. Don't forget. We do the show Monday,
Wednesday and Friday. Hit that subscribe or auto download button
if you miss one of the shows. We do a
weekend review on Saturdays giving some of the big highlights
of the week, and part of that is going to
be Elon Musk interview, and if you did miss it,
you go back and listen. It was incredible two part
series Monday and Wednesday. You can also watch it and
(36:14):
subscribe on YouTube. It is a really fun interview to
watch because you get some great facial expressions from Elon Musk.
You can tell when he's really thinking hard about an
answer before he gives it, and it just gives it
even more life. So grab that on YouTube as well,
and the Senator and I will see you back here
in a couple of days
Host
Ben Ferguson
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