Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's that time time, time, time, Luck and Load. Michael
Verie Show is on the air, Ted Cruise. Ted Cruz
(00:37):
sat down with Tucker Carlson and had a spirited discussion
about America's involvement in the Israel Iran conflict, and Tucker
takes the position that this is not our word to fight,
(00:59):
that is not a threat to the extent that they
have been portrayed. Now, I don't think Tucker Carlson is
an idiot, and I don't think he is prone to
take positions that he doesn't believe or that defy logic.
(01:26):
For whatever reason. Toolsey Gabbert a couple of months ago
said that Iran does not have nuclear capability, nor are
they anywhere near it.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Now.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
If you say that to someone who has followed American
news day in and day out, they'll say, you crazy,
that's kind of crazy. That's What's Hitler did. Were you crazy? Well,
I don't. I don't think that Toolsey said that in
bad faith. I don't, and you're free to disagree with that.
(02:05):
But a lot of our conversations get reduced to ad
hominem attacks. So all of a sudden, we're told that
Tulsy Gabbard's about you know, she's a Democrat. Yeah, but
you didn't have a problem when she was nominated or confirmed.
(02:27):
You didn't have a problem with that. When that Democrat
was campaigning for Donald Trump. You didn't have a problem
with that democrat was criticizing Joe Biden in the Democrat
National Committee. You didn't have a problem when she was
saying exactly what you already felt. But the moment that she,
(02:47):
for whatever reason, says something with which you disagree, you
fall back on the premise that she's a bad person
because you don't want to hear her say something with
which you don't already read. It's more comforting to be
spoon fed the same stuff every day, and when that
(03:08):
stuff is what you've already agreed to, it's easier than
having to think anew about a complex issue. Likewise, there
are people claiming that Ted Cruz is an idiot because
they love Tucker, and Tucker is well spoken. Tucker started
(03:30):
life as a writer, not a speaker, and typically people
who start in writing instead of speaking tend to be
better debaters and presenters of thought because they structure their thought.
They structure it in a way that is more logical
(03:54):
and more convincing. People who speak have a tendency to entertain,
but they fail to in a scientific, analytical way. They
fail to structure things properly well. Ted Cruz is the
best debater alive in American politics. That's not even up
(04:17):
for debate. I love Donald Trump, but you will recall
that Donald Trump did not debate him one on one.
That's not a sign of weakness. That's a sign that
you wonder how much of this Trump has of understanding
when you don't have the better cards. When Trump said
he doesn't have the cards I do, it was a
(04:40):
great reflection of Trump. One of Trump's greatest skills, and
that is understanding where power is. Trump doesn't walk into
a firefight undermanned or undergunned. He waits until he has reinforcements.
He waits until the moment that he can win. It's
(05:00):
not a sign of weakness, it's a sign of maturity
and a strategic vision. So you have two people that
I respect a lot, both for their skill set and
for their thought process, arguing a position that both of
them five years ago held, but Tucker has changed. The
(05:20):
unfortunate thing is I think that at our peril we
dismiss the thoughts of people like Tucker Carlson on an
issue like this. If you say, and who doesn't want
Iran bombed into the Stone ages? I mean, honestly, They've
attempted to assassinate President Trump. They've caused death and destruction
(05:47):
throughout Eastern Africa. The houtis at their demand, at their control.
If they had their way, they'd topple Saudi Arabia and
create a real problem for the world. They've managed to
kill through their insurgents that they've trained and armed a
number of Americans in Iraq. Their involvement with Hesbalah is documented.
(06:14):
They're bad. They're a bad, bad regime, and I hate them.
I would like to see them destroyed, not the Irani people,
and best we can tell, the majority of Irani people
would like to either flee Iran or return Iran to
(06:36):
what it once was, which was a wonderful place to live.
If you look at the twenty five years under the
Shah Paulavi from seventy nine back to I think it's
fifty two, Iran was a place at American tourists people
(06:56):
around the world would go to visit, cuisine, art, literature, film,
iranis have a knack for film that rivals Americans, Indians, French, English,
(07:17):
and if that country is ever free again, you are
going to see an absolute explosion in film because out
of repression, out of repression comes great artistic creation. And
believe it or not, those films are going to be
(07:37):
compelling and you're going to want to watch them, and
Netflix is going to go find the best and brightest.
There are still bootleg films being created that are very
very good, all things considered a low budget filming under
circumstances of fear of death, because they're the great They're
(08:00):
the great stories of our time. It's like after the
Salem Witch Trials, how much great literature came out.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Of How could we live through this? You have to
tell that story in art. What do you do is
foller artify with shamp What's baby? Right now you are
going into the Michael Berry Show. Keep it like right here,
More truth on the way, more honest opinions come in
at you right here.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Only on the Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
I've met in the course of my life, probably one
hundred people who I came to find out we're Gideons.
And I will tell you you will not find a
more decent, honorable, good group of folk than individuals who
(08:52):
get involved in putting a Bible in the bedside stand
of hotel els that brought more traveling salesman to the
Lord than every revival combined. It's amazing. It's absolutely amazing.
It's the old adage. It's the old admonition to plant
(09:16):
a tree whose shade you'll never enjoy, the idea that
they are doing something whose reward they will never see,
but just trusting that is a good thing. We talked
to Luke Mathias earlier in the week about the state
legislative session that just concluded, and I told you at
the time that this was one of three discussions we
(09:37):
would be having. The other would be with Brandon Walton's
of Texas Scorecard, and the final with the Grand Puba
of Texas Scorecard, Michael Quinn Sullivan, whose coverage of the
state legislature through Texas Scorecard is in my opinion, unrivaled
and the best. I read it daily. It's wonderful and
(09:59):
he is our Yes, Michael, welcome to the program. Hey,
it's great to be with you, my friend.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
I all to your opening monologue that was we need
more common sense, particularly think about these issues of life
and death of people thousands of miles away. And I
so appreciated getting to getting to hear that we need
we need, we need a lot more thoughtful.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Discussions here, and I appreciate it well, Michael quin Sullivan.
As you know, I am less worried about how people
come down on an issue, how they conclude what they decide,
and more worried that people will be presented with enough
information and that the conversation be open. It is the
idea that you close conversation by suggesting that anyone who
(10:42):
dares have it is a bad person. That's how you
get to bad, bad results. Michael quin Sullivan, Texas a
scorecard who does wonderful work. Following the state legislative session.
So let's talk about Let's talk broadly and then we'll
get more granular, will narrow. How would you describe I
think most of our listeners probably aligned with your views
(11:04):
on what we want for our state, not our party,
not any individual, but our state, our children, our schools,
our streets, our homes, our taxes. How would you describe
this session for folks who believe as you and I do? Yeah,
you know, this was a legislative session that.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
In some ways kind of reverted to the mean of
the of the early two thousands, where you know, some
good things were done, some dumb things were done, and
there were a lot of missed opportunities. And I think
that Republicans are now hitting middle age as it relates
(11:44):
to running state government in Texas. We have now been
you know, it's been nineteen ninety four was the last
time a Democrat was elected state wide in Texas, and
so we can no longer say, well, you know, we're
still trying to figure things out. No, you're you're graying,
and you're getting a bald spot, right, you know, you're
(12:05):
no longer a kid, which was kind of the excuse
given at various points when Republicans didn't get things done.
And I think the very practical governance that people affect
is weird. I think there have been some missed opportunities,
whether you're talking about property taxes, talking about maybe some
bailable form issues, it's various things that affect people's real
(12:28):
lives every day. And that's where I think that for
for Republicans for the state, I feel like we've come
missed to the mark, and that we end up talking
about very high, high folutant topics, and we sometimes forget
that there are, you know, thirty million real people whose
lives are impacted today. It's not an esoteric discussion. Real
lives are affected today by the actions that are or
(12:51):
not taken. I think that sometimes our politicians have been
missing out on that.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
I really like. I'm an analogy guy, and I find
that the parables of the Bible helped me understand concepts
far better, perhaps than a more direct assertion. I find
allegory to be useful, analogy to be useful, anecdotes to
be useful. I love your description of the Republican Party
(13:20):
as this sort of living being who has achieved an
age and where he is. It's an interesting way to
present that. Let's talk to begin with, because you've been
very involved over the years, in fact, even personally involved.
Let's talk about the defeat, the fall of drunk Dad
as speaker and his session individually, and then let's get
(13:43):
into if you would dustin Burrows and how that happened
and go from there.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Yeah, so, you know, a daid feeling just made a
royal mess of the Texas House enough so that he
was his faith flaw as Speaker of the House, was
it the Speaker of the House, whether a Republican or Democrat, whatever,
the majorities are. The job of the Speaker of the House,
(14:10):
the unwritten job. The most important job is to make
sure that the incumbent members don't lose elections, you know,
making sure that those incumbent members can can pass the
local bills, can have the resolutions honoring JV soccer teams, whatever.
(14:31):
And Dade Feeling made a mess of that. He made
a mess event both operationally in the House. He made
a mess of it as he pushed this weird vendetta
against Ken Paxton, made a mess of it by sticking
his finger in the in the eye of the governor
on school choice.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Just issue after issue after issue.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Daide Feeling put members of the House in arms way
politically and including himself. Now you think back of like
Tom Kraddock, the first Republican Speaker, who has literally been
in the Texas Legislature since before man walked on the moon.
And he's still in the legislature. He won't be in
(15:11):
the legislature long after you and I are you die
of old age and our grandchildren are voting. I mean
the guy is just a force of nature in Texas politics,
and he always made sure people got to get things,
get things done. Daide Feeling did not. Dade Feeling put
people in harm's way. Daide Feeling ended up. I'm almost
losing his own election. No way he was going to
(15:33):
be speaker. No one wanted him, and they had to
replace him. And that's how we define him with Dustin Burroughs.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
And we'll talk about that, what was past, what wasn't
and why property taxes never seemed to matter coming up?
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Hey, what to do?
Speaker 4 (15:45):
Was Barlow or people champing? Right now, you're listening to
the Michael Berry soon.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Michael Quinn Sullivan of Texas Scorecard. If you're not a subscriber,
I encourage you to the state legislature does not get
very much coverage. You know what's going on to a
large degree in Washington because Fox News nationalized political coverage.
(16:16):
So whether you live in Idaho, Vermont, Florida, Texas, Arkansas,
you find out what Nancy Pelosi and now Mike Johnson
and those folks are up to. Because it's sort of
like when you watch a game and they say, you know,
Magic Johnson versus Larry Bird well, there are a few
(16:36):
other people playing this game, but it makes it easier
to hype this thing and to cover this thing. So
the state legislature operates largely in the dark because the
economies of scale aren't there. The newspapers have cut back
their staff, and KTRH actually used to have an Austin bureau.
(16:56):
It made sense to do that. It doesn't anymore, but
it used to be the case. Even our home station
would send reporters up to live in Austin during the session.
So as more and more newspapers have pulled back from
primary coverage and radio stations, you have less and less
coverage and the old line democracy dies in darkness. Well,
(17:16):
bad things happen when there is no transparency. The Great
Lewis Brandeis famously said sunlight's the best disinfectant. So it's
very important that people like Michael quinn Sullivan do what
he does, and that's why I encourage the work that
he does. Michael quinn Sullivan as our guest, Michael, let's
talk about Dustin Burroughs, who was one of Drunk Dad's
(17:39):
top lieutenants. When drunk Dad gets pushed out, the lobby
always wins. They just replaced him with somebody just like him.
How would you compare the Burroughs session to previous drunk
daid sessions? Knowing that sixty Democrats gathered together and pulled
a few Republicans, so that basically the Democrats controlled the House,
(18:02):
and that's what we're left with, how would you describe
Burrows's leadership style and what happened in comparison to what
we knew of drunk David.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Yeah, So during this legislative session, I was as critical,
maybe more so than most on not only the process
employed by Burrows to become Speaker, but was very suspicious
of what he would then end up delivering. So with that,
with that as context, he ended up the session delivering
(18:34):
more wins for Conservatives than I thought he would be
able to deliver. Now that's not to say this was
a conservative session. That's not saying big wins, but it
is to say that compared to the last ten to
fifteen years day between Dade feel And and Dennis Bonden
and Joe Strauss, he did have the best session of
(18:55):
any event. That's a low bar, that's your miniature docs
and could jump over that bar kind of bar, but
it is something significant. So he did deliver more things
I thought possible on school choice, on a variety of issues,
he did. He did fulfill kind of some very basic
(19:16):
Republican promises. Now we can quibble over whether we liked
the school choice bill and other things, but the fact
is he did. He did deliver on those things as well.
And he led a lot of the conservative the guys
who voted against him and loudly voted against him. He
made sure the unlike drunk Day, that they were able
to pass legislation important to their districts, important to their
(19:38):
own re election efforts. So you do have to recognize it.
He did better than daid feel And I again, you're
recognize the bar. He very recognized the bar. Well, look,
I read your stuff literally every day.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
I feel like, you know, it's funny when people meet
me and they finish my sentences, and it's weird to
me because if you listen every day, you become your
own version of AI. You know how I think, I
know how you think. I know you are a student
of history, and I knew I know that you study
things like power and how it is wielded, far beyond
(20:12):
the personalities that attempt to wielded, and that is a good,
a very good point. I don't know Dustin Boroughs. I
declared war on him over the way that he was
elected by the Democrats and how the Republicans allowed that
to happen. But you're right, those are the sorts of things.
And you know, Trump has a great skill, and that
(20:33):
is he's very transactional in his affection. He can turn
it on and off as he needs it, and he
has an incredible ability to make friends out of former enemies.
And so if Dustin Burroughs is going to do things
like that, that's that's that's going to inure to his benefit.
And that's an interesting point that I had not considered,
(20:53):
if even noticed at all. Let's talk about wins and losses.
But first I want to go back. There was an
instance a few years ago which is where you really
came to my attention, where you kind of exposed what
Dennis Bonden was up to. And I think there was
a recording involved. I don't know all the stories, but
that was where you really came on my radar as
(21:14):
a guy who was incredibly involved in all this. All
by way of saying, this isn't the first it's been
going on for decades that the Democrats in the minority
have effectively been choosing our Republican speaker.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Right right, and look at it, and that will continue,
and then, in some ways, I'm a broken record that
will continue until we, as the voter, say that we've
had enough, and many of us will pay lip service
to I don't like the fact that Republicans continue to
let Democrats drive to the bus. But then we turn
(21:52):
right around and we re elect our incumbent members of
the of the Legislature who are the ones who've been
letting the Democrats drive the bos until enough of us
say enough is enough, until enough of us say enough
is enough, too many enough in that one sentence, Only
then will things start to change. Only then will Republicans
(22:12):
start to control the Texas Legislature. And then I think
that's where each one of us has to own our
responsibility in that, and that's where I have to give
some kudos to the Republican Party Chairman Abraham George, who
is now pushing forward to something that might actually make
that happen. That's closing the Republican primary. How the state
legislature isn't doing that. The state government doesn't want to
(22:34):
do it, but Abraham George and the Republican Party are
set to decide money to fight this, to ensure that
going in twenty twenty six, only Republicans can vote in
Republican primaries that will go some distance and making the
reality of us as voters saying we've had enough of
this deal making with Democrats in Austin.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
I have a friend named Rachel Palmer Hooper who is
one of those people who works behind the scenes and
other people get credit for who's General Council of the
state Party. And she has been on a she's been
on the warpath for this issue, and it's the sort
of thing that the average voter doesn't notice. And you
don't know how these things happen, you know, because you
have to go to entire weekends of very very very
(23:19):
very boring and tedious Republican Party platform meetings and making
motions and all that. But somebody has to do this
right And I ain't the one to do it, and
the candidates and officeholders ain't the one to do it.
But if this is done, I think you are right.
I think it has the potential to change the people
that we get elected because why on earth should we
(23:40):
be allowing parties aren't the government. They're a creation of man,
not an outgrowth of government. They're not a legal, constitutional,
you know entity, the way the government should be. And
why shouldn't we choose who's going to pick our candidates?
And why shouldn't we prevent the Democrats from picking our
candid And it's in much the same way that we've
(24:01):
allowed that to happen in the state legislature. Michael Quinn
Solomon is our guest. Texas scorecard dot Com lots to
talk about with this legislative session, and we will continue
that conversation coming up. I encourage you to go to
texascorecard dot com and subscribe. You'll love You'll love the stuff.
You'll cover a lot of people samp, what's up baby?
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Right now?
Speaker 4 (24:22):
You won in to the Michael Berry So keep it
lock right here. More truth on the way, more honest
and p is coming at you right here only on
the Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Texas Scorecard dot Com headlines today Texas wins lawsuit against
Biden rule requiring foster care adhere to radical gender ideology.
Reform advocate says Texas new laws are improving Child Protective Services.
Brandon Waltons, who will be our guest? I think tomorrow
(24:55):
with a story. Texas GOP legislature must finish work on
key conservative reform homes report card? How did Texas lawmakers
do supporting medical liberty? Texas lawmakers respond to parents demanding
protections for children. Video children attend Dallas drag show. Texas
(25:16):
Education Agency calls new star results for grades three through eight,
encouraging left wing groups fight against termination of in state
tuition for illegal aliens. Former Houston water official received July
parole review despite ten year sentence alleged non citizen voters
under investigation by the Texas Attorney General. Key election security
(25:39):
efforts met resistance in the Texas House. Michael Quinsullivan, let's
talk about that. As the publisher of Texas Scorecard, Real
news for real Texans. You call it those key security
efforts meeting resistance. That is a great frustration of mine.
My wife was Secretary of State a little over ten
(26:00):
years ago, and I really dove into election integrity at
the time. That was the year twenty fourteen of the
Election Integrity Bill that gave the voter ID bill, and
it was her mission to travel to two hundred and
fifty four counties and explain, everybody can vote. Nobody is
being disenfranchised. It's very easy. There are seven forms of identification,
(26:23):
six of them government issued, the seventh. If you don't
have one, your local DPS will give you one. And
that actually increased voter turnout because people want to vote
when they believe our elections matter. What went wrong with
the election integrity efforts in this session?
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Yeah, so what went wrong were a was the Texas
House not being interested in passing some of the somethings.
Get really nitty gritty, Right, Your wife and nine other
people can probably follow the ins and outs, but they
affect thirty million of us. Right.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
The nitty gritty is where is where either good things or.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Bad things happened in public policy? And now some of
these things are very easy for us to get. The
most notable being whether or not the Attorney General of
Texas can prosecute election fraud. The Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals took that right away from the Attorney General several
(27:23):
years ago, to the surprise of former Attorneys General Greg
Abbott and John Cornyan, who had prosecuted such crimes when
they were ages. But they took that away, and so
now you're left with local district attorneys prosecuting local election
(27:43):
fraud allegations and claims, which there sometimes creates a conflict
of interest there. And so the Texas House refused to
go along with the Texas Senate in restoring that ability
of bringing that kind of accountability, the outside accountability needed
to clean up elections. Other things dealt with kind of
the procedures that would be used for auditing elections against
(28:07):
many things get you know, kind of kind of nerdy.
But yet these are again, this is the nuts and
bolts of governance. I think many of us you mentioned
at the outset, and we get so fixated on you know,
what did Nancy Pelosi say about some country will never visit,
and yet we ignore the very practical governance of our
state and our cities and our counties. Our funding fathers
(28:29):
did not intend it that way. Our funding fathers intended
for the real power of government to be closest to
the people where the most practical damage or harm can
be done to an individual, to be with local, and
they intended us to be focused on that, to be
involved in our government day in and day out, and Sadly,
for the last few decades, we've all been really busy
(28:51):
entertaining ourselves into a stupor rather than being engaged as citizens.
And that's what we try to do, is help books
be more engaged.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
As Michael Quinnsullivan of Texas scorecard dot Com is our guest.
The China land ban Senate Bill seventeen, I believe it
was did pass. What does that do? Yes?
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Oh, this is perhaps the single most important win of
the legislative session. It now prohibits individuals from hostile foreign countries,
those agents, those companies, those individuals who are not you know,
in the process of becoming Americans, not on the process
coming sentence from owning owning property and resources in the
(29:34):
United States. That includes China, that includes North Korea and
Iran and Russia right now, all based on lists from
the National National Security Agency and others. This is important
the legislation for securing Texas. We've seen this trend. We
reported on it in a documentary a couple of years ago.
The trend of China buying land around military bases here
(29:57):
in Texas around the country, buying lan end up on
near very important critical infrastructure like electrical power plants and
other things. So making sure that doesn't happen. Giving the
Attorney General the power to go and investigate, prosecute, and
even when necessary, remove that land from individuals. Texas will
now win. This goes into effect on September first. Texas
(30:19):
will now have the strongest law in the country. That's significant.
That was legislation that Bade Feeling would not allow to
be heard and debated in the Texas House just two
years ago. Clearly, both Speaker Burroughs and the Republican and
even some Democrats recognized that this is the people really
(30:39):
concerned about the kind of access we're giving our literal
avowed enemies into our nation. This is this is a
this a big win for national security and something Texas
is leading on you.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
It's it's you follow what Israel has done inside Iran
and the level of penetration and infiltration is unprecedented. I
don't recall anything in world history on this level where
they infiltrated the highest ranks of the Irani government. I
(31:13):
think some of the generals had to be in on
it and on the take, and I think that's some
of the folks they killed to prevent them from telling
how it all came about. But it's incredible how Israel
was able on foot to execute drone strikes on Irani soil,
how they were able to set up weapons weaponry to
(31:34):
destroy FOURD hour parts of ford Hou. And you go, well,
when you see how that can happen, and you look
at our own national defense, why would we allow the
Chinese government to own land next to our military installations?
If that doesn't tell you how dangerous a game this is,
(31:55):
I don't know what does Michael quin Salvin, can you
hang with us for a few more minutes? Oh, I'd
be honor him to Okay, Michael Quinn Sullivan of Texas
scorecard dot Com from No.
It's that time time, time, time, Luck and Load. Michael
Verie Show is on the air, Ted Cruise. Ted Cruz
(00:37):
sat down with Tucker Carlson and had a spirited discussion
about America's involvement in the Israel Iran conflict, and Tucker
takes the position that this is not our word to fight,
(00:59):
that is not a threat to the extent that they
have been portrayed. Now, I don't think Tucker Carlson is
an idiot, and I don't think he is prone to
take positions that he doesn't believe or that defy logic.
(01:26):
For whatever reason. Toolsey Gabbert a couple of months ago
said that Iran does not have nuclear capability, nor are
they anywhere near it.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Now.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
If you say that to someone who has followed American
news day in and day out, they'll say, you crazy,
that's kind of crazy. That's What's Hitler did. Were you crazy? Well,
I don't. I don't think that Toolsey said that in
bad faith. I don't, and you're free to disagree with that.
(02:05):
But a lot of our conversations get reduced to ad
hominem attacks. So all of a sudden, we're told that
Tulsy Gabbard's about you know, she's a Democrat. Yeah, but
you didn't have a problem when she was nominated or confirmed.
(02:27):
You didn't have a problem with that. When that Democrat
was campaigning for Donald Trump. You didn't have a problem
with that democrat was criticizing Joe Biden in the Democrat
National Committee. You didn't have a problem when she was
saying exactly what you already felt. But the moment that she,
(02:47):
for whatever reason, says something with which you disagree, you
fall back on the premise that she's a bad person
because you don't want to hear her say something with
which you don't already read. It's more comforting to be
spoon fed the same stuff every day, and when that
(03:08):
stuff is what you've already agreed to, it's easier than
having to think anew about a complex issue. Likewise, there
are people claiming that Ted Cruz is an idiot because
they love Tucker, and Tucker is well spoken. Tucker started
(03:30):
life as a writer, not a speaker, and typically people
who start in writing instead of speaking tend to be
better debaters and presenters of thought because they structure their thought.
They structure it in a way that is more logical
(03:54):
and more convincing. People who speak have a tendency to entertain,
but they fail to in a scientific, analytical way. They
fail to structure things properly well. Ted Cruz is the
best debater alive in American politics. That's not even up
(04:17):
for debate. I love Donald Trump, but you will recall
that Donald Trump did not debate him one on one.
That's not a sign of weakness. That's a sign that
you wonder how much of this Trump has of understanding
when you don't have the better cards. When Trump said
he doesn't have the cards I do, it was a
(04:40):
great reflection of Trump. One of Trump's greatest skills, and
that is understanding where power is. Trump doesn't walk into
a firefight undermanned or undergunned. He waits until he has reinforcements.
He waits until the moment that he can win. It's
(05:00):
not a sign of weakness, it's a sign of maturity
and a strategic vision. So you have two people that
I respect a lot, both for their skill set and
for their thought process, arguing a position that both of
them five years ago held, but Tucker has changed. The
(05:20):
unfortunate thing is I think that at our peril we
dismiss the thoughts of people like Tucker Carlson on an
issue like this. If you say, and who doesn't want
Iran bombed into the Stone ages? I mean, honestly, They've
attempted to assassinate President Trump. They've caused death and destruction
(05:47):
throughout Eastern Africa. The houtis at their demand, at their control.
If they had their way, they'd topple Saudi Arabia and
create a real problem for the world. They've managed to
kill through their insurgents that they've trained and armed a
number of Americans in Iraq. Their involvement with Hesbalah is documented.
(06:14):
They're bad. They're a bad, bad regime, and I hate them.
I would like to see them destroyed, not the Irani people,
and best we can tell, the majority of Irani people
would like to either flee Iran or return Iran to
(06:36):
what it once was, which was a wonderful place to live.
If you look at the twenty five years under the
Shah Paulavi from seventy nine back to I think it's
fifty two, Iran was a place at American tourists people
(06:56):
around the world would go to visit, cuisine, art, literature, film,
iranis have a knack for film that rivals Americans, Indians, French, English,
(07:17):
and if that country is ever free again, you are
going to see an absolute explosion in film because out
of repression, out of repression comes great artistic creation. And
believe it or not, those films are going to be
(07:37):
compelling and you're going to want to watch them, and
Netflix is going to go find the best and brightest.
There are still bootleg films being created that are very
very good, all things considered a low budget filming under
circumstances of fear of death, because they're the great They're
(08:00):
the great stories of our time. It's like after the
Salem Witch Trials, how much great literature came out.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Of How could we live through this? You have to
tell that story in art. What do you do is
foller artify with shamp What's baby? Right now you are
going into the Michael Berry Show. Keep it like right here,
More truth on the way, more honest opinions come in
at you right here.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Only on the Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
I've met in the course of my life, probably one
hundred people who I came to find out we're Gideons.
And I will tell you you will not find a
more decent, honorable, good group of folk than individuals who
(08:52):
get involved in putting a Bible in the bedside stand
of hotel els that brought more traveling salesman to the
Lord than every revival combined. It's amazing. It's absolutely amazing.
It's the old adage. It's the old admonition to plant
(09:16):
a tree whose shade you'll never enjoy, the idea that
they are doing something whose reward they will never see,
but just trusting that is a good thing. We talked
to Luke Mathias earlier in the week about the state
legislative session that just concluded, and I told you at
the time that this was one of three discussions we
(09:37):
would be having. The other would be with Brandon Walton's
of Texas Scorecard, and the final with the Grand Puba
of Texas Scorecard, Michael Quinn Sullivan, whose coverage of the
state legislature through Texas Scorecard is in my opinion, unrivaled
and the best. I read it daily. It's wonderful and
(09:59):
he is our Yes, Michael, welcome to the program. Hey,
it's great to be with you, my friend.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
I all to your opening monologue that was we need
more common sense, particularly think about these issues of life
and death of people thousands of miles away. And I
so appreciated getting to getting to hear that we need
we need, we need a lot more thoughtful.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Discussions here, and I appreciate it well, Michael quin Sullivan.
As you know, I am less worried about how people
come down on an issue, how they conclude what they decide,
and more worried that people will be presented with enough
information and that the conversation be open. It is the
idea that you close conversation by suggesting that anyone who
(10:42):
dares have it is a bad person. That's how you
get to bad, bad results. Michael quin Sullivan, Texas a
scorecard who does wonderful work. Following the state legislative session.
So let's talk about Let's talk broadly and then we'll
get more granular, will narrow. How would you describe I
think most of our listeners probably aligned with your views
(11:04):
on what we want for our state, not our party,
not any individual, but our state, our children, our schools,
our streets, our homes, our taxes. How would you describe
this session for folks who believe as you and I do? Yeah,
you know, this was a legislative session that.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
In some ways kind of reverted to the mean of
the of the early two thousands, where you know, some
good things were done, some dumb things were done, and
there were a lot of missed opportunities. And I think
that Republicans are now hitting middle age as it relates
(11:44):
to running state government in Texas. We have now been
you know, it's been nineteen ninety four was the last
time a Democrat was elected state wide in Texas, and
so we can no longer say, well, you know, we're
still trying to figure things out. No, you're you're graying,
and you're getting a bald spot, right, you know, you're
(12:05):
no longer a kid, which was kind of the excuse
given at various points when Republicans didn't get things done.
And I think the very practical governance that people affect
is weird. I think there have been some missed opportunities,
whether you're talking about property taxes, talking about maybe some
bailable form issues, it's various things that affect people's real
(12:28):
lives every day. And that's where I think that for
for Republicans for the state, I feel like we've come
missed to the mark, and that we end up talking
about very high, high folutant topics, and we sometimes forget
that there are, you know, thirty million real people whose
lives are impacted today. It's not an esoteric discussion. Real
lives are affected today by the actions that are or
(12:51):
not taken. I think that sometimes our politicians have been
missing out on that.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
I really like. I'm an analogy guy, and I find
that the parables of the Bible helped me understand concepts
far better, perhaps than a more direct assertion. I find
allegory to be useful, analogy to be useful, anecdotes to
be useful. I love your description of the Republican Party
(13:20):
as this sort of living being who has achieved an
age and where he is. It's an interesting way to
present that. Let's talk to begin with, because you've been
very involved over the years, in fact, even personally involved.
Let's talk about the defeat, the fall of drunk Dad
as speaker and his session individually, and then let's get
(13:43):
into if you would dustin Burrows and how that happened
and go from there.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Yeah, so, you know, a daid feeling just made a
royal mess of the Texas House enough so that he
was his faith flaw as Speaker of the House, was
it the Speaker of the House, whether a Republican or Democrat, whatever,
the majorities are. The job of the Speaker of the House,
(14:10):
the unwritten job. The most important job is to make
sure that the incumbent members don't lose elections, you know,
making sure that those incumbent members can can pass the
local bills, can have the resolutions honoring JV soccer teams, whatever.
(14:31):
And Dade Feeling made a mess of that. He made
a mess event both operationally in the House. He made
a mess of it as he pushed this weird vendetta
against Ken Paxton, made a mess of it by sticking
his finger in the in the eye of the governor
on school choice.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Just issue after issue after issue.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Daide Feeling put members of the House in arms way
politically and including himself. Now you think back of like
Tom Kraddock, the first Republican Speaker, who has literally been
in the Texas Legislature since before man walked on the moon.
And he's still in the legislature. He won't be in
(15:11):
the legislature long after you and I are you die
of old age and our grandchildren are voting. I mean
the guy is just a force of nature in Texas politics,
and he always made sure people got to get things,
get things done. Daide Feeling did not. Dade Feeling put
people in harm's way. Daide Feeling ended up. I'm almost
losing his own election. No way he was going to
(15:33):
be speaker. No one wanted him, and they had to
replace him. And that's how we define him with Dustin Burroughs.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
And we'll talk about that, what was past, what wasn't
and why property taxes never seemed to matter coming up?
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Hey, what to do?
Speaker 4 (15:45):
Was Barlow or people champing? Right now, you're listening to
the Michael Berry soon.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Michael Quinn Sullivan of Texas Scorecard. If you're not a subscriber,
I encourage you to the state legislature does not get
very much coverage. You know what's going on to a
large degree in Washington because Fox News nationalized political coverage.
(16:16):
So whether you live in Idaho, Vermont, Florida, Texas, Arkansas,
you find out what Nancy Pelosi and now Mike Johnson
and those folks are up to. Because it's sort of
like when you watch a game and they say, you know,
Magic Johnson versus Larry Bird well, there are a few
(16:36):
other people playing this game, but it makes it easier
to hype this thing and to cover this thing. So
the state legislature operates largely in the dark because the
economies of scale aren't there. The newspapers have cut back
their staff, and KTRH actually used to have an Austin bureau.
(16:56):
It made sense to do that. It doesn't anymore, but
it used to be the case. Even our home station
would send reporters up to live in Austin during the session.
So as more and more newspapers have pulled back from
primary coverage and radio stations, you have less and less
coverage and the old line democracy dies in darkness. Well,
(17:16):
bad things happen when there is no transparency. The Great
Lewis Brandeis famously said sunlight's the best disinfectant. So it's
very important that people like Michael quinn Sullivan do what
he does, and that's why I encourage the work that
he does. Michael quinn Sullivan as our guest, Michael, let's
talk about Dustin Burroughs, who was one of Drunk Dad's
(17:39):
top lieutenants. When drunk Dad gets pushed out, the lobby
always wins. They just replaced him with somebody just like him.
How would you compare the Burroughs session to previous drunk
daid sessions? Knowing that sixty Democrats gathered together and pulled
a few Republicans, so that basically the Democrats controlled the House,
(18:02):
and that's what we're left with, how would you describe
Burrows's leadership style and what happened in comparison to what
we knew of drunk David.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Yeah, So during this legislative session, I was as critical,
maybe more so than most on not only the process
employed by Burrows to become Speaker, but was very suspicious
of what he would then end up delivering. So with that,
with that as context, he ended up the session delivering
(18:34):
more wins for Conservatives than I thought he would be
able to deliver. Now that's not to say this was
a conservative session. That's not saying big wins, but it
is to say that compared to the last ten to
fifteen years day between Dade feel And and Dennis Bonden
and Joe Strauss, he did have the best session of
(18:55):
any event. That's a low bar, that's your miniature docs
and could jump over that bar kind of bar, but
it is something significant. So he did deliver more things
I thought possible on school choice, on a variety of issues,
he did. He did fulfill kind of some very basic
(19:16):
Republican promises. Now we can quibble over whether we liked
the school choice bill and other things, but the fact
is he did. He did deliver on those things as well.
And he led a lot of the conservative the guys
who voted against him and loudly voted against him. He
made sure the unlike drunk Day, that they were able
to pass legislation important to their districts, important to their
(19:38):
own re election efforts. So you do have to recognize it.
He did better than daid feel And I again, you're
recognize the bar. He very recognized the bar. Well, look,
I read your stuff literally every day.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
I feel like, you know, it's funny when people meet
me and they finish my sentences, and it's weird to
me because if you listen every day, you become your
own version of AI. You know how I think, I
know how you think. I know you are a student
of history, and I knew I know that you study
things like power and how it is wielded, far beyond
(20:12):
the personalities that attempt to wielded, and that is a good,
a very good point. I don't know Dustin Boroughs. I
declared war on him over the way that he was
elected by the Democrats and how the Republicans allowed that
to happen. But you're right, those are the sorts of things.
And you know, Trump has a great skill, and that
(20:33):
is he's very transactional in his affection. He can turn
it on and off as he needs it, and he
has an incredible ability to make friends out of former enemies.
And so if Dustin Burroughs is going to do things
like that, that's that's that's going to inure to his benefit.
And that's an interesting point that I had not considered,
(20:53):
if even noticed at all. Let's talk about wins and losses.
But first I want to go back. There was an
instance a few years ago which is where you really
came to my attention, where you kind of exposed what
Dennis Bonden was up to. And I think there was
a recording involved. I don't know all the stories, but
that was where you really came on my radar as
(21:14):
a guy who was incredibly involved in all this. All
by way of saying, this isn't the first it's been
going on for decades that the Democrats in the minority
have effectively been choosing our Republican speaker.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Right right, and look at it, and that will continue,
and then, in some ways, I'm a broken record that
will continue until we, as the voter, say that we've
had enough, and many of us will pay lip service
to I don't like the fact that Republicans continue to
let Democrats drive to the bus. But then we turn
(21:52):
right around and we re elect our incumbent members of
the of the Legislature who are the ones who've been
letting the Democrats drive the bos until enough of us
say enough is enough, until enough of us say enough
is enough, too many enough in that one sentence, Only
then will things start to change. Only then will Republicans
(22:12):
start to control the Texas Legislature. And then I think
that's where each one of us has to own our
responsibility in that, and that's where I have to give
some kudos to the Republican Party Chairman Abraham George, who
is now pushing forward to something that might actually make
that happen. That's closing the Republican primary. How the state
legislature isn't doing that. The state government doesn't want to
(22:34):
do it, but Abraham George and the Republican Party are
set to decide money to fight this, to ensure that
going in twenty twenty six, only Republicans can vote in
Republican primaries that will go some distance and making the
reality of us as voters saying we've had enough of
this deal making with Democrats in Austin.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
I have a friend named Rachel Palmer Hooper who is
one of those people who works behind the scenes and
other people get credit for who's General Council of the
state Party. And she has been on a she's been
on the warpath for this issue, and it's the sort
of thing that the average voter doesn't notice. And you
don't know how these things happen, you know, because you
have to go to entire weekends of very very very
(23:19):
very boring and tedious Republican Party platform meetings and making
motions and all that. But somebody has to do this
right And I ain't the one to do it, and
the candidates and officeholders ain't the one to do it.
But if this is done, I think you are right.
I think it has the potential to change the people
that we get elected because why on earth should we
(23:40):
be allowing parties aren't the government. They're a creation of man,
not an outgrowth of government. They're not a legal, constitutional,
you know entity, the way the government should be. And
why shouldn't we choose who's going to pick our candidates?
And why shouldn't we prevent the Democrats from picking our
candid And it's in much the same way that we've
(24:01):
allowed that to happen in the state legislature. Michael Quinn
Solomon is our guest. Texas scorecard dot Com lots to
talk about with this legislative session, and we will continue
that conversation coming up. I encourage you to go to
texascorecard dot com and subscribe. You'll love You'll love the stuff.
You'll cover a lot of people samp, what's up baby?
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Right now?
Speaker 4 (24:22):
You won in to the Michael Berry So keep it
lock right here. More truth on the way, more honest
and p is coming at you right here only on
the Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Texas Scorecard dot Com headlines today Texas wins lawsuit against
Biden rule requiring foster care adhere to radical gender ideology.
Reform advocate says Texas new laws are improving Child Protective Services.
Brandon Waltons, who will be our guest? I think tomorrow
(24:55):
with a story. Texas GOP legislature must finish work on
key conservative reform homes report card? How did Texas lawmakers
do supporting medical liberty? Texas lawmakers respond to parents demanding
protections for children. Video children attend Dallas drag show. Texas
(25:16):
Education Agency calls new star results for grades three through eight,
encouraging left wing groups fight against termination of in state
tuition for illegal aliens. Former Houston water official received July
parole review despite ten year sentence alleged non citizen voters
under investigation by the Texas Attorney General. Key election security
(25:39):
efforts met resistance in the Texas House. Michael Quinsullivan, let's
talk about that. As the publisher of Texas Scorecard, Real
news for real Texans. You call it those key security
efforts meeting resistance. That is a great frustration of mine.
My wife was Secretary of State a little over ten
(26:00):
years ago, and I really dove into election integrity at
the time. That was the year twenty fourteen of the
Election Integrity Bill that gave the voter ID bill, and
it was her mission to travel to two hundred and
fifty four counties and explain, everybody can vote. Nobody is
being disenfranchised. It's very easy. There are seven forms of identification,
(26:23):
six of them government issued, the seventh. If you don't
have one, your local DPS will give you one. And
that actually increased voter turnout because people want to vote
when they believe our elections matter. What went wrong with
the election integrity efforts in this session?
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Yeah, so what went wrong were a was the Texas
House not being interested in passing some of the somethings.
Get really nitty gritty, Right, Your wife and nine other
people can probably follow the ins and outs, but they
affect thirty million of us. Right.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
The nitty gritty is where is where either good things or.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Bad things happened in public policy? And now some of
these things are very easy for us to get. The
most notable being whether or not the Attorney General of
Texas can prosecute election fraud. The Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals took that right away from the Attorney General several
(27:23):
years ago, to the surprise of former Attorneys General Greg
Abbott and John Cornyan, who had prosecuted such crimes when
they were ages. But they took that away, and so
now you're left with local district attorneys prosecuting local election
(27:43):
fraud allegations and claims, which there sometimes creates a conflict
of interest there. And so the Texas House refused to
go along with the Texas Senate in restoring that ability
of bringing that kind of accountability, the outside accountability needed
to clean up elections. Other things dealt with kind of
the procedures that would be used for auditing elections against
(28:07):
many things get you know, kind of kind of nerdy.
But yet these are again, this is the nuts and
bolts of governance. I think many of us you mentioned
at the outset, and we get so fixated on you know,
what did Nancy Pelosi say about some country will never visit,
and yet we ignore the very practical governance of our
state and our cities and our counties. Our funding fathers
(28:29):
did not intend it that way. Our funding fathers intended
for the real power of government to be closest to
the people where the most practical damage or harm can
be done to an individual, to be with local, and
they intended us to be focused on that, to be
involved in our government day in and day out, and Sadly,
for the last few decades, we've all been really busy
(28:51):
entertaining ourselves into a stupor rather than being engaged as citizens.
And that's what we try to do, is help books
be more engaged.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
As Michael Quinnsullivan of Texas scorecard dot Com is our guest.
The China land ban Senate Bill seventeen, I believe it
was did pass. What does that do? Yes?
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Oh, this is perhaps the single most important win of
the legislative session. It now prohibits individuals from hostile foreign countries,
those agents, those companies, those individuals who are not you know,
in the process of becoming Americans, not on the process
coming sentence from owning owning property and resources in the
(29:34):
United States. That includes China, that includes North Korea and
Iran and Russia right now, all based on lists from
the National National Security Agency and others. This is important
the legislation for securing Texas. We've seen this trend. We
reported on it in a documentary a couple of years ago.
The trend of China buying land around military bases here
(29:57):
in Texas around the country, buying lan end up on
near very important critical infrastructure like electrical power plants and
other things. So making sure that doesn't happen. Giving the
Attorney General the power to go and investigate, prosecute, and
even when necessary, remove that land from individuals. Texas will
now win. This goes into effect on September first. Texas
(30:19):
will now have the strongest law in the country. That's significant.
That was legislation that Bade Feeling would not allow to
be heard and debated in the Texas House just two
years ago. Clearly, both Speaker Burroughs and the Republican and
even some Democrats recognized that this is the people really
(30:39):
concerned about the kind of access we're giving our literal
avowed enemies into our nation. This is this is a
this a big win for national security and something Texas
is leading on you.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
It's it's you follow what Israel has done inside Iran
and the level of penetration and infiltration is unprecedented. I
don't recall anything in world history on this level where
they infiltrated the highest ranks of the Irani government. I
(31:13):
think some of the generals had to be in on
it and on the take, and I think that's some
of the folks they killed to prevent them from telling
how it all came about. But it's incredible how Israel
was able on foot to execute drone strikes on Irani soil,
how they were able to set up weapons weaponry to
(31:34):
destroy FOURD hour parts of ford Hou. And you go, well,
when you see how that can happen, and you look
at our own national defense, why would we allow the
Chinese government to own land next to our military installations?
If that doesn't tell you how dangerous a game this is,
(31:55):
I don't know what does Michael quin Salvin, can you
hang with us for a few more minutes? Oh, I'd
be honor him to Okay, Michael Quinn Sullivan of Texas
scorecard dot Com from No.
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