Ohio's Big Choice (Live from Cleveland!)

I've been on Brian's show, he's a good friend of mine.

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The executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio, Kelly Copeland, is here.

We are so lucky to be joined by our pal Alyssa Mastromonaco, the co-host of Hysteria.

Vivek Ramaswamy told the crowd he'd love nothing more than for Israel to put the heads of Hamas leaders on stakes and line them up. Nikki Haley hit Trump the hardest for when he called Hezbollah smart and criticized Netanyahu. And then Trump got up, ignored all of them and got the best reception of the day.

And I think you have to really add in the word Iran, think of this. We immediately announced that we're giving Hamas $100 million, we're going to give it to them into Gaza. But they take it 100 percent of it, they don't take 90 percent.

They take 100 percent the Biden State Department, which is admitting colossal amounts of jihadists into our communities and campuses and our refugee programs. That's why you see all of these big demonstrations in New York, in Chicago, nobody can believe what's taking place. They're letting them in at levels that nobody's ever seen before.

We cannot allow that to happen, and we don't want to be like Europe, with jihads on every corner. I will cancel the student visas of Hamas sympathizers on college campuses. The college campuses are being taken over. And all of the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protest this month, nobody's ever seen anything like it.

Come 2025, we will find you and we will deport you, we will deport you.

I would argue that, despite what President Trump said there, that his policies actually helped get us to where we are today and made things worse. That's because, like, starting at the topic, Hamas is a evil, it's a terrorist organization. They have a founding charter, you can read it, it's anti-semitic.

It is designed to eliminate the state of Israel, and the terror attack on October 7th was unjustifiable and evil and indefensible. And it's completely understandable that the Israelis would respond with military and intelligence operations first. But I do think long-term, to actually eradicate Hamas, you have to get to the root cause of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. You have to improve the life for Palestinians. And you have to get back into a process of negotiations that can lead to a two-state solution in a Palestinian state.

And so what Trump did in office with his dumbass son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was he empowered Hamas by systematically undercutting the Palestinian Authority. You have basically two power centers for the Palestinian people, there's Hamas and the PA, the Palestinian Authority, and Trump cut aid to the Palestinian Authority. He undercut the PA in negotiations for final status negotiations about a two-state solution. By recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moving our embassy there.

And then his entire focus started to be on the Abraham Accords by the end of the administration. Which are these deals between Israel? And basically a bunch of regional autocrats like the UAE or Sudan to normalize relations with Israel? After given major incentives from the United States? Often it was weapon systems, et cetera. Now, the Abraham Accords and the normalization deals are not bad in and of themselves. But they made the Palestinian leadership and the Palestinian people felt like they were left behind. And like they were an afterthought, and desperate and hopeless, and like there was no way out of Gaza. Or that their future was life under military occupation in the West Bank, without hope for a Palestinian state. And so that kind of desperation and hopelessness is fuel for an organization like Hamas that can point to the Palestinian authority. And say, look at them, they are feckless, they are corrupt, they've not delivered a thing for you. Through this political track, come to our side, we'll take direct action and that can be a powerful message in that kind of situation. So we need to, going forward, make sure that that lunatic is never the president of the United States again, but also Joe Biden. I think the Biden administration needs to focus much more on getting the Israelis and Palestinians into a room, back into negotiations. And I think less on the kind of Abraham Accord agreements with the Saudis that they've been more focused on.

And the truth of the matter is like his base shows up like they want to hear what he has to say. They almost don't care what he's saying, they just want to hear him talk. And I mean, also on the one hand, Nikki Haley girl, your qualification? Being like, as president, I would not compliment Hezbollah is like, not exactly what I'm looking for at the. It's like, I hope so. It seems like a low barrier to entry.

But look, I mean, this is the same man that told people during a global pandemic to inject bleach into their arms. And people are like, you know what, let's give him another chance. And so it didn't really surprise me, though. I have to tell you, watching that clip, I was like, I did not miss him.

That is that level of stupidity to be.

He praised BB after he made those comments. But he's not super interested in the standing with Israel part. What he's much more interested in is scaring Americans into thinking that dark skinned foreigners are coming to cause us harm. Totally, he's the only.

What Trump wants to do is to weaponize the fear that is happening here for political gain to call it out for. And it is also notable that Trump's Muslim ban was one of his most unpopular policies that he put in place. And to remind people that that is what he would do, he's another person who would divide in this very dangerous time.

Love it. So here's a To Dan's point about the Democratic Party divide. Here's a pair of fun headlines from The New York Times over the weekend. The first is Democrats splinter over Israel as the young, diverse left rages at Biden, and the second is primary battles brew over.

Progressive Democrats stances on Israel. So this seems like a split that's unfortunately only going to get worse as the death toll rises in Gaza. How do you think President Biden is handling the issue? How about that question?

I give love at the heart.

Survivor So just everyone, everyone heard that caveat. Great.

I feel like it is, I think, important that we're seeing a little bit more of Trump. As just a bit of a refresher as to where the base of the party is on this issue. Having Vivek out there saying these sort of bloodthirsty things, having Trump out there with this islamophobia, sort of complimenting what people like Lindsey Graham have already been out there saying. Kind of representing what the right actually believes, which is sort of an unfettered approval of an unrestrained response by Israel. On the other hand, you have, I think, a lot of antisemitism, a lot of anti-Israel propaganda, a lot of misinformation. Meant to, I think, rightly, kind of speak to the concerns and pain and fear that people have legitimately for the Palestinians. But at the same time, I think.

Alienating the vast group of people in the middle who believe in both the humanitarian responsibility that the world has to the people of Gaza, as well as understanding and having empathy for Israel. And the crisis, it's in the losses it's experienced, so I think there's two things, I think, in word and in deed. Look, the challenge, right, is. We don't know the difference between what Joe Biden says publicly, what the administration says publicly, what the administration is doing to pressure Israel behind the scenes. But that being said, I think that there is more Joe Biden could be doing to speak to that growing progressive.

Young part of the party that truly doesn't understand why the United States isn't putting more pressure on Israel. And I think that that calls for actions, but also calls for words. And just speaking to that concern directly and explaining more directly. A what we can be doing to protect people in Gaza, and b why? Part of this deeper problem is not just what Israel is doing to remove Hamas, but also the failures on the part of Hamas. On the part of the Palestinian Authority, the failures that have happened inside of Gaza, inside of the leadership on behalf of the Palestinians, that has helped lead to this moment on the other side of it, you know, I sometimes feel like this is. I understand why this is off-putting to people when you say, hey, like, you know, you need to say that, you need to denounce Hamas, you need to respect. You need to say that. You understand that Israel has a right to defend itself, you need to talk about the fact that Israel has a right to exist.

You need to reject the kind of ahistorical, kind of academic, lefty online jargon like settler colonialism. You need to speak out when people say things like From the river to the sea, which is terrifying to people that follow it. To its logical implication, which is that there cannot be a state of Israel. That there's a value to denouncing that, because it's like, why are you calling for this kind of denunciation? The crisis right now is that they're bombarding Gaza, that thousands of people in Gaza are dying, and I appreciate that I hear that.

But what I see is that, I think the most effective way to advocate on behalf of the humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza. The safety and lives of the people in Gaza is being part of this big coalition that understands that the future of Israelis and the future of Palestinians are linked. And that you need people that believe in a free and safe, democratic and Jewish state of Israel to demonstrate that they believe in the humanity of people in Gaza. But you, also those people that are advocating and believe in Israel, want to be part of a coalition with the people advocating on behalf of Gazans. That your advocacy isn't at the expense of Israel's right to exist, to the safety and freedom of people in Israel as well. And I feel like that is a big group of people, that is sort of the big middle between the very far right, which does not give that. That basically wants Israel to level Gaza and the very far left that doesn't recognize Israel's right to exist.

And I don't think those two, I think you can advocate for both those things. I don't think they should be in conflict at all. Yeah, and yeah, just to say it simply.

I'm sorry. How many more weeks are we going to talk about this? I guess forever.

That's the public. Why do you think the Biden administration isn't there yet for people who?

That physically happened. But then, you know, tell him what you really think in private. And I'll just be honest, I fucking hate that. I hate that philosophy, I hate that approach for a couple of reasons.

One, I don't trust Bibi Netanyahu. I don't think he's a good leader, I don't think he's an honest person, and I don't think we should outsource decision making to him. Two, if you only speak your mind privately, then you forego your ability to define the narrative and tell the world what you think.

And if Biden has concerns about the way the Netanyahu government is conducting this operation in Gaza, the world is not hearing it. The world thinks that everything the Israeli government does is backed 100 by the United States. And so, in fairness to Joe Biden. I think that his trip to Israel and his pressure from him personally and from his team is part of the reason that the Israeli government did not launch a preemptive strike on Hezbollah in Lebanon, which would have been an unmitigated disaster, it would be opening a second front in this war is about the scariest thing I could imagine. But if the U.S. has been pressuring Israel privately to allow more aid into Gaza, to dial back the airstrikes, to forego a ground invasion, then they have failed, and seemingly failed catastrophically.

And so listen again, I'm a podcaster, I'm not living next to Hamas, I'm sitting here in Los Angeles, the comfortable life. But I fully understand that. Right after the terrorist attack on the 7th of October that the Israeli defense forces had to target Hamas, they had to take out the rockets that were still being launched into Israel.

Days and days later, they had to go after their leadership. They had to try to disrupt any kind of Hamas operations they could find to rescue hostages in those early days. But now we're sitting here, three plus weeks later, 7,000 airstrikes later, in an area half the size of New York City. The latest casualty count on Sunday night was 8,000. People are dead, many of them children.

And so what I would like to see is at least some sort of, at least a temporary ceasefire. Some of the timeframes have been floated, let's say five days. You get humanitarian aid into Gaza, you begin negotiations around getting back hostages. I think unfortunately, if history proves to be true now, that we're going to get hostages back, Israelis will get hostages back through some sort of prisoner release and swap.

That's what happened. When Hamas took a soldier named Gilad. Shalit, held him for five years, and the Israelis ended up having to trade let 1,000 prisoners out of Israeli prisons to get back Shalit. I think something similar might happen here, but big, big, big picture. I don't want to see Israel get drawn into a bigger quagmire. Ground invasion, a broader regional conflict that includes Hezbollah, which has a lot better arms and 10 times the funding from Iran. And would just be a very, very scary proposition. And I think Joe Biden went over to Israel and was like, don't repeat the mistakes we made after 9-11..

Don't react out of vengeance. Let's think about this. I think that's very good advice. And I'm hoping that some sort of temporary pause or ceasefire could lead to a more measured response. Because the Israeli government is saying this is going to take a long time, this will be a months-long process.

It's a long campaign, so let's get relief into these people who desperately need it now.

I think Tommy fixed it.

Come to Cleveland, they said to Alyssa. We'll have a light conversation.

These guys know that I was like, Here's the thing, I'm going to be super honest with you guys. I feel very self-conscious when I'm put in a position to talk about something that I don't know a ton about. And I wish more people were like me a little bit.

Protesting what the Israeli government is doing is fine. It's what this country is built on. You can protest, and it's freedom of speech, but for God's sake, do it peacefully.

Don't do it in a way that makes people who are already afraid and living in a fear that you possibly can't understand, feel more fearful. And I think that that's just so important. On social media. I was telling these guys, I have gone down such a spiral. Because I see something and I have to fact check it like five different times. Because I want to make sure whatever I'm reading is true. And so I would just say that I think so many people have good intentions and just really think about. When you are talking to someone about this issue. It may be an intellectual exercise for you, but it may be them revealing to you their deepest pain.

And so don't discount that by trying.

How does they? On that note? Okay, we'll be right back.

You know how it works, we roll a clip, we stop, we comment as we go this week on Okay, stop.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

You know him, you love him.

Got some big Johnson fans?

And also what he believed about certain gigantic boats and what could have been on them.

And it's a lot more than you'd think.

We invented the sexual revolution, we invented, um, uh, radical feminism, we invented.

Oh my God, whatever will we do? We invented no fault divorce.

But now that I know about the voyage of the beagle.

I'm going to kill a volleyball team.

You see, the finches had different different their noses. The finches with the longer beaks survived. Now I'm going to kill everybody.

He drew little pictures in his little book of all the different animals you saw in the Galapagos. And ever since I have this image in my mind, sorry.

Okay.

You know, hey, God flooded the earth.

Because it's like, if you're gonna? Because these are predators that need to eat other birds, and so it's like, are there birds we don't have? Because those are the ones?

Nothing about the supplemental or government funding. Or, like his views on whatever. I'd just be like, we got to talk about the Ark. I just want to talk about the Ark.

Just gripping the counter and thinking of someone else somewhere else.

All right, we can keep going. Maybe they're happy.

Back to the sea with you no finding love on the land, you little Italian boy in this metaphor.

And that's okay, stop.

It's very simple, but but wait, there's more, there's more. Because not only will it say that people can access abortion services, that there is a constitutional right for birth control, for fertility treatment, for miscarriage care, all of the things that a person of reproductive age wants access to. So not only can we grow our families, start our families, we can survive in a state like Ohio that has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the entire country.

November is yes. The ballot board had some very strange language, they rewrote the language to be longer than the actual ballot language. Took out all of the meaningful pieces of information, so folks actually knew what the ballot language was going to do. And now we have our governor doing a press tour saying, Hey guys, don't worry. We'll put those exceptions in that we've been fighting against for the past 10 years. Just trust me.

And so we are, so we are not thinking of what's going to happen when this fails, because it cannot fail, it cannot fail. This is a must pass ballot initiative. And that's why you're seeing such excited, exuberant people all across the state, and really all across this country. Who wants to see a state like Ohio? Y'all, Ohio? Make sure that we are enshrining abortion rights and reproductive rights in our Constitution. So I'm excited.

You guys are excited too, right? We're not going to fail, we're not going to fail.

S Congress. But here in Ohio, how big is this moment? Is this vote for that broader set of issues that you've dedicated your career to?

That's not my job. Unfortunately, many of my colleagues don't have that level of humility to understand. There are things that we do and do well, and there are some places we should not be a part of and decisions about reproductive health care. What's happening in doctor's offices is not a place where I should be and I don't want to be there.

I want you to be there, in the comfort with your loved ones, your physicians, your health care providers. But unfortunately, we're not getting that. So I am very worried about the maternal health crisis in Ohio, especially as a Black woman. Black women have some of the worst maternal death rates and morbidity rates in this state, in addition to the country. And we are constantly trying to convince our colleagues that this is a matter of life and death for us.

And you either have to care about us or you don't, and you let me know that you don't care about me. By supporting anti-abortion legislation. And if you're voting no on one, I know exactly what you think about women, you don't think anything about us.

You can tell I care about this a little bit, right? just a little bit.

And we talked to a couple of folks who were like, Listen, folks who looked like me in 30 years, right? Like people don't look like Democrats. We're like, Oh yeah, I'm pulling the lever straight ticket Democrat for the first time in my life. Because of abortion access. But the other thing that some of the organizers were talking about at the doors was the concern that birth control was next. You know, that they were coming after, you know, sort of all sorts of steps in the bedroom. Is that something that you're talking to voters about?

Is that a concern here?

And who is the person who is best situated to do it? It's obviously you. It's not the speaker of the House, it's not our governor, it's not our attorney general.

And it certainly is not our secretary of state, so why would we allow them the opportunity to make such important decisions? And we're not. And so when I say to you, we cannot lose, we're not going to lose, because we cannot lose. And I am repetitive in that way.

I used to be a cheerleader, so repetition is the key. You have to say it over and over again, that's how people remember.

You could show him a little bit more love, but we are finding more about him, we're learning more about him, as we just saw in the previous segment. And I was very disappointed to see us just not do anything for weeks at a time.

We were supposed to be in our districts, working with our constituents, we had to cancel all these meetings and people were expecting us. And instead, we're in D..C. sitting around and just voting for people who don't have enough votes.

And who knew they weren't going to have enough votes to be speaker yet? And still, the people in our districts across the country were looking for us to show up, looking for us to be in meetings and talking about the work that we were doing. And then, next thing, you know, in the middle of the night, it seems like Mike Johnson gets the votes and the nod from Donald Trump. And now he's our speaker, and in the time that we've had to understand who he is. It's really disappointing, but not really shocking that we have a speaker of the House who wants to gut Social Security and Medicaid, who wants every state in the country to be a right to work? Who does not believe that there should be same-sex marriage and wants a total abortion ban?

And so when you ask me, why am I so optimistic about Issue 1, it's because I have to be. Because if someone like Mike Johnson is the speaker of the House and he is, he's going to push for a total abortion ban. And the only thing that is going to save us is us in Ohio, and that means Issue 1 must pass.

I mean, so we were in D..C. a couple weeks ago, we met, we did an event on the hill, got to meet some really amazing, exciting, inspiring new members of Congress.

So that was sort of one of the games we were playing, trying to figure out what was going on.

Speaking of members of Congress who we may or may not know, do you know Dean Phillips? do we have any impression of him?

And no, I'm not going to answer your question, just in case you're wondering.

Just trust me. So if you're ever wondering about plastics and polymers, come on to Ohio's 13th District. We'll tell you all about it. But what I'm most excited about is that we have an administration right now that is doing what we've asked them to do, that is supporting our workers.

That is trying to put more money in people's pockets. That is being thoughtful about women's rights, about diversity, about ensuring that everyone can live their American dream. And I think that people will see that come election time next year, we are a year out and it's hard to get people to focus on elections.

Even as we're trying to get to issue one, people are busy, they've got kids, they're trying to put food on their table. And it's easy right now to get caught up in the chaos of who is this? and what shiny object do we want to follow? I'm looking at the results.

And I'm looking at what we're getting in Ohio's 13th Congressional District, and I'm pleased to be supporting an administration. We'll be supporting an administration that will continue to deliver those results. I hope you do, too.

And I have to say it, did you all see that time when Marcy Kaptur said, Is this your first time? That won't be me, It was not my first time. So what we heard from workers several years ago when we were in Toledo is the same thing that we heard from folks a couple of weeks ago was. They've been working really hard.

They made a lot of people very rich and they just want to make sure that they are able to access the same ways and pathways to wealth. And being able to put food on their table. Folks across this country, folks across Ohio and my district, they are struggling and inflation is high, and we have to accept that to be a truth.

But we also have to recognize that there are pathways for folks to get what they need in order to survive, and unions, labor unions, are leading the way. I was so amazed as I talked to those workers and understood what they were sacrificing to be on strike. That they weren't getting the pay that they should have been getting to pay for food, gas, groceries, rent, mortgages. But they knew how important it was for them to stand up, not just for themselves, but for workers across the UAW, but not just members of unions members who may not be in unions. Thinking, why would I want to be a part of that? Well, you want to be a part of it. Because these are the people moving the conversation forward and making sure that you have your access to the American Dream.

So I left there probably more encouraged at their grit and their resilience and their willingness to be there. They probably did more for me than I did for them showing up there. And I am steadfast, wholeheartedly, always will be in solidarity with our unions, friends. Because they are truly the reason why people can have a good life in this country. They truly are, and we should support them every step of the way.

So bravo to UAW. Two out of three. They've got one more left and we'll be excited and be cheering them on when they do it.

What's it going to take for you to win, for Sherrod Brown to win, for all the other statewide and local dems to win too? I'm not leaving anybody out. And how can people help out?

And so I'm in Ohio's only toss up congressional district, all the others are either safe D or likely D, and I'm in the only toss up district. And people often are really shocked to hear that because they assume, as a Black woman, I'm in a very D plus 40 district, but I'm not.

My district is an R Plus One district, and I won and outperformed President Biden's performance. I won by five points and I won because of people like you in the audience. I won because I went to the people and told them how I'm going to work for them.

And I showed them my record, and I'm going to continue to show them my record and say, I am earning your vote. I'm not just going to ask for it, I'm going to earn your vote. But I'm also going to ask you to make a donation because it's really expensive.

My race was 21 million dollars. did you 21 million? Yes, yes.

Let's all be appalled with, first of all, how much elections cost and that this race was 21 million dollars. And so the Republicans have already started attacking me. They've stopped for a little bit because I think they were trying to get their act together, but now that they're back, I expect to see them soon.

So visit Amelia Sykes for Congress forCongress.

Com. Please make a donation if you can. Make sure that we push back against these MAGA extremists and win in a district where they don't expect us to, we can do it again.

Mike, Thank you so much for being here. Mike Pence has dropped out.

And the party's criminal defendant frontrunner is skipping yet again because of his huge lead in all the polls. That's undoubtedly due to performances like this.

You know, the same people that attacked Israel are coming into our country too. And did you ever notice? Somebody said the other day, some fool on CNN said, Oh, isn't that nice? They're all nice young men, they have young men, 23, 24, 22 years old.

Strong, they like nice young men. There's something going on, there's something going on, it's not a good thing.

They have a lot of young men, young, strong men. I don't want to insult the women, but they're young, strong men. Even though, as you know, they want men to play in women's sports. You know that we're not going to allow that.

We're not allowing that. I want to do that too, I'm an extraordinary athlete, I want to play and I apologize for those lights.

The only place I don't have a light is up here, so that means we're going to have to wig it tonight.

M We're going to get a poll.

Yeah, five thirty eight. Poll Trump 56.9 to Santas 14, Haley 8, Ramaswamy 5.8. OK, so you want to hear my take?

He's, like, in pretty good shape, except, except there's been things that have happened in the past couple of weeks. One particularly delicious development that I've enjoyed. So one, we got a little Jenna Ellis white lady tears, Right? OK, then you've got Sidney Powell, you've got Ken Chesbrough, or, as I like to call them, all star witnesses.

So like, it's possible that they've got the goods on him, Oh yeah, like it's possible. The best part, the most delicious nugget for anyone who missed it. Ivanka has been ordered to testify in the New York Civil Fraud trial.

I am not going to lie.

So I don't know, we'll see what happens. I really think that that is the only potential that could upend him from being the Republican nominee. God help us all. But yeah, that's my hot take.

That's it.

Like, these people are getting away with actual kind of murder.

That's in quotations. Haley's breakout is jolting. 2024 is undercard race. Are you feeling the jolt?

I mean, the whole thing is stupid. She's not even in second place yet, she's in third place.

Prevent defense for you non-football fans, is when you drop back all your defensive backs so you won't give up a touchdown.

So I think like he just likes kicking the shit out of Ron Desantis. Remember when he who doesn't?

When it's your, you know, when you love what you're doing. It's not a job, but it's also it's effective politics.

The United States is aware of Ron DeSantis and they say, No, thank you. Donald Trump isn't. Donald Trump isn't just winning against people who haven't heard of Ron DeSantis. People who are Republican primary voters are aware of Ron DeSantis. They've given him a good look, they've said, What's going on in those boots, sir?

You're I'll, you know, that is, you're wearing a five 10 suit, you got five seven energy.

So the minority of Republicans who don't want Trump as the nominee. Some of them are in the consultant class because they've run elections and some politicians as well. They're starting to say that it is time for all the other candidates to drop out, just like Pence did. So this can become a one-on-one contest. Love it. Do you think it's a quitting time for your friends? Chris, Christie and Tim Scott? Another?

Are between us and I'm going to leave. That's my counsel to him. Tim Scott should drop out.

But the problem with this is, look sure, we know the field great. But there's this idea that the people not currently. That all the people supporting Tim Scott, all the people, all the people, all the person supporting Tim Scott, that Doug Durden and his wife. That. The idea is that these votes are going to all kind of go to the Trump alternative.

A lot of them are going to go to Trump, you look at some of the polling if you ask. If you do the whole field, you'll end up with Trump in the high 40s and dESantis way below, and the rest of them getting their single digits. If you just do say Trump and desantis, Trump goes above 50, so sure, yeah.

Consolidate great try it no bad ideas in a brainstorm.

Cause, I look, I agree with you love. It's like, probably a lost cause. And these folks aren't going to do the right thing and drop out and allow the vote to consolidate. But it will be interesting to see if that's even an option anymore.

They're attacking each other. DeSantis and Haley have ads on the air attacking each other because they want to split up that 24 between the two of them. Like, what are they doing? Like, there is a way to try to do this, there is a way to actually do it.

It requires the field to window to one person, and that person is probably Nikki Haley among this group. Because Ron DeSantis has the political skills and charisma of a banana slug, and we should not count on him to do it.

There is no skip Iowa, go to New Hampshire because you're going to get clobbered in South Carolina. And the thing about Trump is he's never lost, and even the he did according to all the voters, according to the voters, he didn't.

They do not put his bad moments on air because you take those bad moments.

It was Trump. 42, Desantis 19, Scott 9, Haley 6, Pence 6, Christie 5, Vivek 4, Burgum 2,,.

Wilherd 1. Not with us anymore.

Or getting behind Haley seems inconceivable, getting behind Trump seems inconceivable, who knows? But just getting out to not put himself through the auger of this fucking defeat he's about to experience. That leaves some space for Haley to get higher in the polls.

She doesn't need to in the next round of polls or the round of polls after that, she doesn't need to be beating Trump.

She doesn't need to be beating the other guys, you know? And then the conversation can change. If Trump shows some weakness because of exogenous forces like the judge in New York taking all his money or him getting thrown in jail for contempt.

Right now, part of the problem is it's like, Well, if Nikki Haley's argument is I'm the one who can beat Joe Biden. But also Donald Trump is beating Joe Biden in some polls, or at least tied with him in polls. Then, like, why wouldn't you just take Donald Trump, you know? But if Joe Biden's approval rating started coming up, then Nikki Haley, of all these people, is probably the best position. Because if she can somehow beat him in Iowa, which again then goes to New Hampshire and can beat him in New Hampshire, then. Unlike any of these other candidates, she's positioned really well in South Carolina, right?

So then, like, then you have a thing, but like, again, that's pretty far away.

And so a candidate who depends on inevitability. And that is a big part of what has been part of Trump's rise over the last year is the people have seen. He might as well get on board because he's going to win if you shatter the myth of inevitability.

Dear God, No.

O-h.

But I heard you're also a cat lady.

What is the latest?

I know it's a bummer, I'm sorry to bring you down.

Republicans come out of the woodwork in August. It is, they did it in Kansas, they did it in Ohio, but you prevailed.

It was a No in August. Don't get it confused, but you know, I think you bring up such an important point. Because our opponents have used and leveraged the full force of the state government against you, against all of us. Our taxpayer dollars, they spent $20 million on that special election in August, taxpayer dollars. They have messed with the system every step of the way.

The AG has put out legal opinions, their campaign propaganda, the state Senate has done the same thing. The attorney general made a summary of the amendment that is filled with bogus information. And they're doing all of this because they've had 50 years, 50 years since Roe v. Wade. To make the case that their agenda to outlaw all abortion in all circumstances is what we should do.

And they have failed, and so that is why they have to do all of this unscrupulous, frankly legalized cheating to try to subvert your vote. Because the vast majority of Ohioans and the vast majority of Americans believe that we should make our own reproductive health care decisions, and not the government. But these extremists who have taken over Ohio through gerrymandering and through so many other unscrupulous practices, they don't care, they don't want to represent us.

Like my congresswoman, Amelia Sykes, they want to rule us, and we're not going to let them. Are we?

Speaking of unscrupulous, so I went down the rabbit hole. I've been trying to learn for months, everything I can learn about Ohio. And I know I'm going to bring up something that we hate to talk about, but we have to talk about. People have been saying that the amendment would bring back partial birth abortions, which haven't been legal in 15 years.

Can you please explain to us what voting yes on issue one would actually do?

And think about it, we're talking about very wanted, planned pregnancies, where someone gets the worst news, where maybe they've already picked out a name. And our opponents are so heartless that they want to tell those people too bad, too bad if you die.

Too bad if you can't make the decisions that are best for you and your family, too bad. And, you know, the most serious consequence of issue one failing and the one that I'm scared the most about is, you know? When it was in effect, the six-week ban for 82 days, there was an incredible safety net. With abortion funds in Ohio and abortion clinics and activists, maybe many of you, where we were able to provide financial and logistical support to get people out, get people care in other states. But if you're sick, you may not be able to travel.

You may not be able to get to Pittsburgh or Detroit or Chicago. And that is the thing that has been most terrifying. It was the most terrifying thing during the 82 days that the six-week ban was in effect. And it's the most terrifying thing about the possibility of not passing issue one. And it's, frankly, the thing I worry about most for my kids.

They're young women in their 20s. And even with all the connections and all the resources I have, I'm so scared. That if when they, when it's their time to plan a family, if they decide to be pregnant in the state of Ohio, that they'll get the care they need. That's why all of us have to work night and day to make sure that not only that doesn't happen to people, but that every pregnant person doesn't have to be afraid. People came up to me all during those 82 days talking about how they were so scared. They were scared that they wouldn't get the care they need. They were scared that they might die.

That is what they're trying to do to us. That's how little they care about us, and that's how much we have to fight and love each other. That's why we have to pass issue one.

This is happening across the country, where abortion has been outlawed.

With the Cleveland Clinic, people come from all over the globe to Cleveland. How could we possibly let them do this to us?

So there has been an interesting thing. The tactic of changing the ballot initiative process was both shady and quite extreme. And now those who oppose issue one are spreading misinformation and lying about what the ballot initiative does. Can you give us some examples of this bad faith fuckery?

We know that parents who had underage daughters who needed an abortion during those 82 days had to take them out of state. What kind of parental rights is that?

I mean, issue one will strengthen parental rights because parents will be able to get their daughters that abortion care and other health care they need here at home. As it should be.

And when she's very scientific, and she's very thoughtful and smart and educated, and she goes into the Statehouse with facts, she's gone into the Statehouse with. I mean, we were just talking backstage. We have brought hundreds of abortion storytellers and doctors to the Statehouse. We've been fighting this six-week ban since 2011, this is 13 years that we've fought this fight.

We were the first state in Ohio. And the one thing I know about our opponents is they don't give a shit about us. And they don't give a shit about the facts. Because they had it all. You know, when Governor DeWine, you know, he's out here, going well, you know, we'll find some other path. It's, you know, it's don't worry, trust us.

Baloney, He knows. We've had hundreds of people come testify at the Statehouse. We have had thousands, 700,000 people sign the petition to put this on the ballot. Ohioans don't trust you, Governor DeWine.

And you've given us reason not to. They don't listen to us, they don't care about us, and I don't understand why they're such a bunch of bastards. I really don't.

Okay, I want to dig a little deeper, even more. The campaign, opposing Issue 1 Protect Women, Ohio, recently said that the effort....

Is it Frank Larose? Is it any one of those scumbags? I mean, when we're talking about parental rights, we're talking about the right to live our lives our own way and not have the government tell us how to live our lives. I mean, Issue 1 opponents are anti-parents rights.

They want to take away your ability to make decisions with your family, They want to, as was those 82 days. they want to make all the decisions for you. That's why parents had to flee the state with their children who needed access to abortion. How are they somehow the standard bearer for parental rights when they forced families to go through that?

This important vote has captured the nation's attention, especially as abortion rights prove to be a critical issue in every election since. Dobbs even. I just need to say, even in New York State where I live. The Equal Rights Amendment will be on the ballot in 2024. Because if a Republican wins, if Donald Trump wins. And a national abortion ban were to take place, even New York would need the Equal Rights Amendment to protect women in New York State. So, that said, what lessons should those watching across the country learn from how you've organized around Issue 1??

This is a grassroots effort. This is something that whether you're a Democrat or an independent, or even a Republican, this could affect you and your family. This is bigger than politics. This is a deeply personal situation, it's something that affects generations.