Politics Girl Interview
Leigh McGowan, aka Politics Girl, joins Gaslit Nation to discuss her heartfelt civics manifesto: A Return to Common Sense: How to Fix America Before We Really Blow It. With 41 days until Election Day, Leigh breaks down how we can seize this moment and make a real impact. The discussion includes “Kremlin cicada” Jill Stein, what to do if Trump tries another violent coup, how to hold a Harris/Walz administration accountable, and how to stop the MAGA machine from spreading chaos and disinformation in a white rage backlash that will make birtherism look like a warm-up act.
While things might look like a political hellscape, Leigh’s book is a hand to hold as we fight back against Russian-backed Trump and his legion of wannabe stormtroopers. It's not just about surviving the next 41 days — it’s about gearing up for the long-haul battle for our democracy and the planet. This convo isn’t just a podcast episode; it's a roadmap to reclaim the soul of America.
Don’t miss our next live-taping on October 1st at 12pm ET with investigative legend Greg Palast, who exposes America’s vote suppression mafia. Catch his film Vigilantes Inc: America’s New Vote Suppression Hitmen narrated by Rosario Dawson and produced by Martin Sheen, now available for free on Leonardo DiCaprio’s site SaveYourVote.org. Then, join Andrea that night and other Gaslit Nation listeners for our VP debate watch party in the Victory Chat on Patreon as we brace for The Coach vs. The Kremlin!
Come As You Are Weekly Political Salons! Join us every Monday at 4 PM ET via Zoom! Let’s share frustrations, ask burning questions, seek support, and help shape Gaslit Nation. Everyone’s voice matters—whether you’re a political junkie or just finding your voice, you belong here! Recordings available exclusively on Patreon.
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Upcoming Virtual Live Tapings:
October 1 at 12 PM ET: Join investigative journalist Greg Palast to discuss his new film Vigilantes Inc: America’s New Vote Suppression Hitmen
October 24 7pm ET: How to Make a Podcast workshop – we need your voice!
All these events, access to our Victory Chat and Art is Survival Chat, ad-free shows, bonus episodes, Q&As, and more await at Patreon.com/Gaslit at the Truth-Teller level and higher. Annual discounts available!
Show Notes:
A Return to Common Sense: How to Fix America Before We Really Blow It https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-return-to-common-sense-the-essential-handbook-for-american-politics-leigh-mcgowan/21108421?ean=9781668066430
Learn more about Leigh McGowan (aka Politics Girl): https://www.politicsgirl.com/
Scenes from Nazi Summer Camp In the years leading up to WWII, children across the United States spent their summers learning archery and antisemitism. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/nazi-town-usa-scenes-summer-camp-nazi-town-us/
What the Equal Rights Amendment Will Mean in New York https://nysba.org/why-new-york-needs-an-equal-rights-amendment-now-more-than-ever/
Why New Yorkers Should Vote “Yes” on Proposal 1 The proposal, formerly known as the New York Equal Rights Amendment, will be on the ballot in November. https://www.nyclu.org/commentary/why-new-yorkers-should-vote-yes-on-proposition-1
Donald Trump (00:00):
If I don't win this election, and the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that if that happens. Because at 40%, that means 60% of the people are voting for the enemy.
Andrea Chalupa (00:17):
Welcome to Gaslit Nation. I'm your host, Andrea Chalupa, journalist, filmmaker and writer, producer of the journalistic thriller, Mr. Jones, which exposes Stalin's genocide famine in Ukraine. It's the film the Kremlin doesn't want you to see, so make sure you do. The opening clip you just heard was Donald Trump at the American Council, where he placed a target on Jewish voters, scapegoating them in advance if he loses the next election. Trump continues to stoke the flames of America's political violence crisis, a crisis that has already resulted in two assassination attempts against him. Meanwhile, corporate media, especially the New York Times, the so-called paper of record, continues to both sides. This crisis calling on the wrong people to tone down their rhetoric, but demanding accountability and refusing to normalize MAGA fascism and the Russian oligarchization of our country isn't inciting violence.
(01:24):
It's a moral obligation and patriotic duty. We must protect not only our country, but the world from the global fascist threat consolidated in power by Russian backed Trump. We know where the problem lies. Our next live taping for our community of listeners on Patreon will be Greg Palast known for his investigative reports for the Guardian and bestsellers, including the best democracy money can buy. Pula has just released his film about the latest attacks on the right to vote. It's called Vigilantes Inc. America's new Vote suppression hitman, narrated by Rosario Dawson and produced by Martin Sheen. Leonardo DiCaprio just released the film for free streaming on his site. Save Your vote.org. Our live taping with pula will be October 1st at 12:00 PM Eastern and that night join me in the Victory chat on Patreon for a watch party of Coach Walls versus the Kremlins useful idiot JD Vance in the big VP debate If election anxiety is getting to you.
(02:35):
This week's guest has the answer. Lee McGowan, also known as Politics Girl, discusses her new book, A Return to Common Sense, how to Fix America Before We Really Blow It. Born in Canada, Lee is now an American citizen whose book is a heartfelt civics lesson for all of us to fight for our country before we flood our southern and northern borders with Americans fleeing a Trump dictatorship. Before we get to that interview, I have a special message for voters in New York State. What happens in New York doesn't stay in New York. It impacts the world. For example, control of the US House of Representatives, which could block critical A to Ukraine again runs through this state. New York's laws also hold national significance as seen when Sean Combs AKA p. Diddy was arrested finally for sex trafficking and decades of sexual abuse and violence. This was made possible by New York's Adult Survivors Act, which opened a legal window for survivors like Cassie who nailed P Diddy with justice long overdue.
(03:49):
That's why your vote matters, especially if you live in New York state. And if you don't, encourage your friends here to vote because this November New Yorkers abortion rights are on the ballot. Vote yes on Prop one, the Equal Rights Amendment to protect vulnerable groups including women, LGBT, LGBTQ plus people, seniors, those with disabilities, people of different ethnic backgrounds, and anyone needing reproductive healthcare. Shockingly, none of these rights are currently enshrined in the state constitution, but they can be if you vote yes on prop one and help drive voter turnout. So we all show up and vote yes on prop one that's going to enshrine abortion healthcare in the Constitution through the ERA, the Equal Rights Amendment. Together we can safeguard abortion access and equal rights for all. So please, new Yorkers don't act like your vote doesn't matter because you live in a so-called Blue State.
(04:59):
Again, there are no such things as blue states and red states. All states across America are purple and there are parts of New York state that are straight up Nazi today and back in the day where they would actually have Nazi summer camps. I'll link to it in the show notes. So please, new Yorkers do not take your right to vote for granted. Show up and vote. Control of the house depends on it. And enshrining abortion protection and equal rights for all depends on it too. So please wake up New Yorkers wake up and come out and vote. Vote early. You live in a great state. Let's make it even better Now. That is the moral obligation for all of us folks in all of us voters in so-called Blue States. And by doing that, by strengthening where we live, we can then fight harder to liberate our brothers and sisters who live in so-called Red States Republican hostage states where Project 2025 is already in full effect. And now here's politics girl, author of the new book, A Return to Common Sense, how to Fix America before we Really Blow It. Hey everyone, welcome to Gaslit Nation. We have a special live taping with the one and only politics girl, and we have some listeners here in the chat drop your questions. Guys, it's always great to hear from you. I want to start off by saying, Lee, you are a national treasure. We can say that now,
Leigh McGowan (06:30):
Bless you.
Andrea Chalupa (06:30):
And I was having quite the weekend when those DOJ indictments dropped and I was reading about the hundreds of thousands of dollars that traitors Benny Johnson, Tim Pool and other MAGA influencers were raking in. It's just saying the Kremlins lies against Ukraine and those lies, that disinformation that leads to civilian casualties across Ukraine that allows Putin to get away with what they're doing. It's war crimes. And in my film Mr. Jones, we show that Stalin's genocide, they got away with it through disinformation just like what these MAGA influencers were spreading. So I was feeling a certain way, the best way to say was hungover spiritually. I was having a meltdown of rage and then I picked up your brilliant book, A Return to Common Sense, how to Fix America Before we Really Blow It. And I started reading the pages and I'm not kidding you, your voice, I felt like I was sitting across a table from you and you were just like, listen honey, it's all going to be okay. This is what we need to do. And I kid you not, I felt better reading your pages. So thank you so much for writing this book.
Leigh McGowan (07:43):
Well, thank you for saying that. That's exactly why I wrote the book. I mean truly I am. Somebody said to me the other day, they're like, you're an optimist, right? And I was like, how dare you? But I might be, I've always said that I'm a realist. I'm not a pessimist. I don't think everything's going to just blow up in our faces, but I know that we have to do work. I know I can see the problems that are ahead of us. It's why I started the Politics Girl Project in the first place. I was like, I could see there's a problem and no one wanted to talk about it. When I used to talk about politics to people, I could just watch their eyes glaze over. They were like, please, we don't want to, this is not why we came to dinner. Don't get into this.
(08:20):
And I thought, no, this is terrible that everybody doesn't want to talk about this. There has to be a way for us to engage because when we're disengaged, look what happens, right? So I agree with you. When those traders were caught just taking Kremlin money to spread disinformation and we know they're just the tip of the iceberg, right? If they're paying Tim Pool a hundred thousand dollars of video, which by the way, as a social media creator, I was like, boy, it pays a lot better to be a bad guy than a good guy. But a hundred thousand dollars of video for a content creator that has 2 million followers, what are they paying the big dogs? Who are the bigger fish in that pool? And what are they getting paid? What are they being offered to spread these lies? Because I spend my time obviously so much on social media and it's terrible what you see, what Elon is doing to say Twitter, the amount of disinformation being pushed, the fact that you can say, why hasn't anyone assassinated Kamala Harris yet?
(09:21):
And you're like, wow, he can just say that because he's the gatekeeper. That's terrifying. So I do think that it is nice to be out there aggressively positive. I guess I don't mean to be, because like I said, I'm a realist. I know that's going to take a lot of work, but I firmly believe that there are way more people in this country that believe in human rights, in the rule of law, in the things that we would mostly want to believe in the continuation of democracy. And I know that you and I spoke on my show and you were saying Trump wants to make America, Russia, and Russia has believed that it's owed the world. And I think that that's the case and they are taking every single step, both of those groups, the Trump group and the Russia group to make sure that becomes a reality. And I think it's really important that we have people on the flip side of that, that are pushing back and aren't depressing people while they do it. I don't think anyone wants to work if your generals are depressed.
Andrea Chalupa (10:22):
Absolutely. And you're a Canadian, you adopted America and thank you so much for doing that. I really appreciate it and I want to just make a comment on your optimism because it's something deeper. It's not like, and we think everything's going to be okay. I want to make clear for people reading that you call out the oligarchs, you call out the income inequality crisis. You're very real about the powerful forces that we're up against. And I just wanted to share my own comment on that because I related to your book so much. My parents were born in refugee camps of World War ii. My dad was born with pus covered all over his body. He was delivered by a refugee camp doctor. The doctor said, just bury him to my grandmother. You're young enough, you'll have another kid. And my great-grandmother covered my dad in butter and baked him in the sun.
(11:14):
that's how we survived and how I was born and my parents came here with nothing. They grew up hungry on the lower East side and they achieved American dream, an opportunity that's been taken away from people because of the Reagan revolution and so on. My optimism comes from the fact that my family, on my mom's and dad's side, they escape genocide by the Soviets against Ukrainians. They escape horrible atrocities and they came here and America is still such a land of opportunity. We're not Pollyanna, we're actually realists and human civilization advanced because of people like us that refuse to succumb to our despair.
Leigh McGowan (11:54):
Yeah, I had Rutger Bregman, the Dutch philosopher on my show a while back, and he wrote a book called Humankind, and then we were talking about his other book, which is called Moral Ambition and in humankind, his whole theory was that humans by nature are actually good. We are told all the stories where we are terrible and we do terrible things to each other. And yet human evolution, humanity itself, civilization would never have progressed this much without cooperation, without humans working together, without us putting in the effort to do the right thing. We wouldn't have got this far. And his whole book was about how we often highlight the worst part of humanity instead of the best part of humanity because it makes for a better story if it bleeds, it leads kind of a thing. And I do think that the higher angels actually can win provided we believe that and we work for it.
(12:53):
Like you said, the second book he has is Moral Ambition and he talks about how we have this world Now America particularly has created a world in which our ambition is all tied to money because of the capitalistic society. You're talking about your parents growing up on the lower East side and being legitimately hungry and how we are returning that for a lot of people because of the policies that we talk about in the book too at Reagan and moving on down and income inequality. But those are real problems. And yet we have people choosing careers out here where they're like, I just need to make the most money. That's how it has to be. And yet they're unhappy because they have no moral ambition. They don't actually like what they do, they can't look at themselves in the mirror and themselves. And so one of the things I think is wonderful about the work that I do, the work that you do is that we are trying to legitimately without being Pollyanna, make the world a better place. And it's amazing how many people want to come along and do the same thing.
Andrea Chalupa (13:50):
So what your book does that everyone needs right now is it provides a grounding in civics and how our government works so that we know what the levers of power are, what our leverages. So when politicians of both parties, Democrat and Republican make excuses for why things can't get done, we can get like, wait a minute, this is actually how government works. You've got all these things that you can do. So I wanted just going to your book, I want to get your advice. We are in these critical precious few weeks. It's like sand through the hourglass. These are the days of our lives and the sand's going through. And so what advice do you have for people in the precious time we have left before the election? What should they be doing right now and what should they be thinking, especially when they feel hit by panic attacks that Trump might win? And then there goes our democracy and there goes the world.
Leigh McGowan (14:42):
Well, I mean valid fears. I think the thing is is that we have, as of tomorrow, I know we have 47 days, so 48 days, less than 50 days to really save the world, honestly, because I think if those of us who are actually paying attention, if Trump actually gets reelected, we are in so much trouble. And that is real. That is an existential crisis that the country is actually living through what he plans to do using Schedule F, using Project 2025, the people he has surrounded around him, the dictator he wants to be, the friends he has that are the autocrats of the world. It will be so ugly to have the world's superpower, the world's military superpower, the quote richest country in the world, lean hard into authoritarianism. I'm not sure if we come back from that. That being said, I believe that what we can do right now is talk to our friends and family, make sure people are registered to vote.
(15:42):
Talk to the young people in your life and have them talk to the young people. These are people that could change elections, talk to the people that live overseas. There are 6.5 million American voters abroad on any given election, and only about 14% of them vote, but they could change elections. We are talking about Biden winning the last election, yes, by 7 billion votes in the popular vote, but we all know that is the electoral college that really matters right now. And he only won by a handful of votes in a couple of swing states. So really it's those voters abroad. It's the young voters. It's the people that aren't going to bother to come out to vote. Like I dunno, I can't. Those are the people we need to be talking to, making sure they're registered, making sure they're sending in their ballot, making sure they get to the ballot box because we have to win in such numbers that there is no question that it was stolen, that there is no argument to be made, that it was just the Democrats trying to steal it.
(16:36):
We need to win in such large numbers, which is why I think it's wonderful that the Harris Walls campaign is that they're having rallies because in 2020 when we were living through a pandemic, a lot of the Trump supporters could buy into the idea that the election had been stolen because they didn't see us at rallies, they didn't see us out there. They were like, we had both parades, we had flags. What did they have? So I think it's actually very great to start spinning the narrative to show that there is a vast group of people in this nation that are for the Democratic party and what it stands for right now. And literally you don't even have to be a Democrat to be for that party. Look at Dick Cheney, look at George Will. They are now voting for Kamala Harris. They know what the stakes are here.
(17:18):
And I think it's really important that we then go out and tell our people what the stakes are because I don't think everybody knows, and I think that they shouldn't feel bad about that. One of the things I always say is that not understanding politics is not something that people should be bad about because what are we told not to talk about our whole lives, politics and religion and what are the two things that cause us the most problems in the history of the world, politics and religion. So it's by design that we don't talk about it. And I think we absolutely, especially in these last 50 days, we need to be talking about it with everyone all the time. We need you saying, I'm serious. These are the stakes. This is what could happen. Are you registered? Are you registered? Do you care about And find something within your people that will resonate with them. And I think we really need to be doing that right now. We can't just be putting it off. And then of course, we need to get ourselves to the polls. That's essential.
Andrea Chalupa (18:08):
Check if you're registered, if you move at all, especially if you are in a Republican hostage state. Okay, so goddess willing, Kamala Harris gets elected, we're all celebrating, you're flying back to Brooklyn and we're having the world's greatest party year. What are we doing then? What advice do you have for us in those critical weeks during that time when Trump and Bannon and Stone were out there openly plotting January 6th and getting their storm troopers all riled up? This is the first black woman president potentially. So whatever is going to happen, the white rage they're going to release, how should we be in those months between her victory hopefully being announced, knock on wood, and the inauguration at the end of January? What should we be doing as citizens? What should we be keeping in mind to help ourselves stay grounded during what's going to be a pins and needles time for our country?
Leigh McGowan (19:07):
Well, I'm glad you're speaking about it like that because a lot of people are thinking it's all going to be over on November 5th, and what we really actually need to think is we need to get ourselves to January 21st. That's really the issue at hand because it is that period of time in what we used to call still do, but it seems an inappropriate term at this point. The lame duck period, that period between when a president who is not going to carry on that period is called the lame duck period. So that will be Biden's lame duck period. What's going to happen in those days? I think we can absolutely anticipate everything and all things. I think we can expect violence. I think we can expect pushback. I think we can expect them trying to, the Republicans trying to get past the day, you have to have the vote certified by, they have people in certain states that are going to refuse to certify the vote and they're going to try and hold up the count and there's going to be every kind of shenanigan you can imagine.
(20:03):
And I think one of the best things we can do is share proper information, share facts, know it's coming and be prepared for it. I think that's one of the best things the Democrats have on their team this year is that they know what's coming in 2020. He tried everything and everything. He tried to call Georgia and get votes. He tried to get people to overturn the election. They had big meetings with PowerPoint presentations about how to not turn over power. Then when that didn't work, they had a whole rally saying, let's storm the capitol. They had people in Congress refusing to certify the votes on the day they were supposed to be certified. They did everything and everything back then and yet the guardrails held this time, I think the Democrats are far better prepared the amount of legal teams that they have already from Mark Elias on down, these are the top legal minds in the nation prepared for these cases.
(20:53):
They have passed a bill already in Congress that says you have to certify in certain states. There are certain swing states, secretaries of state like Jocelyn Benson who have organized all the other secretaries of state who make sure they are prepared for these legal challenges and to make sure people's votes are counted when they are cast. So I think everyone is much more prepared. And the best thing we can do as laymen who are not in the mix there, is to share proper information, make sure people know that the election was not stolen, if that's what they're saying or the votes were counted and make sure our votes are counted. So it's one of those great things where when you vote early and you can track where your ballot was, I think that's also very important in this election because it just makes it a lot harder for them to claim victory when it doesn't belong to them.
Andrea Chalupa (21:38):
I want to go ahead and ask this question because I'm going to put my full faith that all of us get to go to Earth too, where Hillary won in 2016. Okay, so let's say Kamala Harris, she's sworn in, she's now the president, the buck stops with her. So obviously when you're president, you're also going to be, it's on you now. And so as citizens, it's our job to hold Kamala Harris accountable to this wonderful mour in America vision that she's running on right now of optimism and having an inclusive social program of fairness, economic fairness and justice, including for immigrants and gay people, trans people and so on. Like Tim Walls turned his state into a trans refuge. So how do we balance as citizens holding the powers that be accountable, but at the same time protecting the first black woman from a disinformation empire with the Russian bought farms pouring gasoline all over it?
Leigh McGowan (22:44):
Well, here's the thing. I do think if we get God willing, we get there and she is sworn in and she's the first black woman president, I think those first a hundred days are going to be really essential. I think that the things that they're talking about, like passing the John Lewis Voter Rights Act and passing for the Peoples Act, passing the return of ROE to the people, the rights of Roe that will all take suspending or getting rid of the filibuster. And it really seems like the Democrats are absolutely set on doing that. If we give them Congress, which is essential, it's on us vote to flip the house, to keep the Senate, and to have the presidency. If we have a trifecta. I believe the Democrats with Kamala Harris in charge are ready and willing to abandon the filibuster, to pass voter protections, to get rid of partisan gerrymandering, to get dark money out of politics, to make our system more fair and then return the rights of women in this country, at least under the protections of Roe.
(23:47):
And then of course, we have to move forward with the equal rights amendment, which is just sitting there waiting to go and has been for years. And that would change a lot of these terrible state laws if we pass the equal Rights Amendment. So it's going to take courage. But I think the Democrats are ready to do that. I think that's essential that they're going to come in and that first a hundred days, they have to be super brave. They have to just bang through it a little bit like the Biden Harris administration did, just getting a bunch of stuff done really, really fast, especially if we give them both houses of Congress to do it. And then it goes back to what I wrote in my book. In my book I have what I call six American fundamentals, six principles that no matter where you sit on the political spectrum, I believe make America, America.
(24:29):
So it's everything from principle one. America is the land of freedom to principle six, government should be a force for good. And I think that is where Kamala Harris has to sit in principle six, government should be a force for good, but you can't just tell people they're doing good things. You have to show them. We have to show them by example. So she has to get in there and protect our voting rights. She has to get in there and protect Roe. She has to get in there and make an opportunity economy that she's talking about. People have to see it and feel it. And then if we pass things like getting rid of partisan gerrymandering, people can actually vote out people like Jim Jordan, people like Marjorie Taylor Greene because they will no longer be in these safe red states. And people can say, actually, I can see that the government has done these things that they have promised and I'm going to reward them with my vote or with that kind of thing moving forward. So I think it's going to take us, giving them Congress and then them being brave to stand up and start changing things fast and so people can see the what happens when government really is a force for good.
Andrea Chalupa (25:30):
Absolutely. So you were early in singing the praises of Kamala Harris. It was at a time when the media was really spinning its wheels saying that she's just deeply unpopular. People don't like her. And that was probably why when there was that big push for Biden to step down, a lot of people in the media and including, and a lot of people in the Democratic party weren't saying it's obviously Kamala because they were buying into that, that she's deeply unpopular, but you were brave, I want to say at the time and saying, actually this is how amazing she is. And there was no Kamala Harris for president movement at that time at all. She was the vice president, but you were like, guys, look through the fog of this. This is who she is. This is what she's done. Could you give us a quick overview of some of your highlights?
Leigh McGowan (26:19):
Yeah. Well, here's the thing. I actually made a video in my kitchen if anyone watches my kitchen rants. I made a video back in January because people were already trying to push the Biden was really old thing back then, which I think we all need to note is gone just like Hunter is gone now that Biden isn't the candidate anymore. But I thought, why don't we know more about the vice president? So if you are concerned that the president might be too old, you would feel confident that who would be replacing him should he not be able to finish out a second term? And so I started doing a lot of research into Kamala Harris and the more research I did, the more I was like, wow, this woman is so incredibly accomplished. It's unbelievable. She's Secretary of State. She was an AG first. No, she was a district attorney in San Francisco, which is one of the biggest cities in the nation, and she was elected to that position and then reelected to that position.
(27:15):
Then she was the AG of California, which is the biggest attorney general's office in the nation except for the federal government. She was elected to that job and then reelected, then she was the senator from California elected to that job. She has won so many elections based on her skill, based on her abilities. She did things like stand up for California homeowners that were being completely taken advantage of, and she was offered a settlement from the big corporations of $2 billion. And she was like, I'm going to turn that down because I think California homeowners deserve more. And everyone was like, don't do that. Don't do that. Everyone's going to lose money. And she was like, no, they deserve more. And she fought and she ended up getting them 20 billion. She is someone who is brave and bold and she's the child of immigrants. She is part of two different worlds, but purely American.
(28:05):
She is an amazing sister. She's amazing friend. She is one of those people that you're like, she's so accomplished that I can't believe we were, we could even suggest we would overlook her. And this was way before Biden was ever even considered out of the race. Then we had that debate and people started reposting this old video of mine and people couldn't believe how amazing she was because she really is truly phenomenal. Now I will say I was absolutely a Biden stand. I was not someone trying to push Biden out. I really believe Biden has the country's best interest at heart. I really believe he's an excellent at international diplomacy. I really believe having been in our government since he was 30 years old, he understands how it works. There's a reason he was able to get a bipartisan infrastructure and jobs bill passed when no one had done it in 50 years.
(28:56):
The man understands American government. So if he thought he could still run, I said, I'm standing behind him. As soon as he decided to take a step down, he immediately put his hand on Kamala. And that was such a smart move. And then there were people like me who knew she would be excellent, who were right there ready to go to support that decision. And I think that anyone that might've wanted to have a contested invention might wanted to throw their hat in the race. Any of those people. The grassroots behind the Biden making Kamala, the choice happened so quickly and she raised something like 250 million in a couple of days, and then there was no question of who the candidate was going to be. And all of a sudden all energy and momentum shifted to her. And the people that were hoping for a democratic implosion and a democratic contested invention were sorely disappointed. And I will say there were probably some Democrats in there that were kind of hoping they might have a shot. She is absolutely the heir apparent and that can be credited, I think, to Biden and his ability to truly understand the American temperament and lead
Andrea Chalupa (30:02):
1000000000000%. I agree with that assessment, and that is exactly what we're saying on Gaslit Nation. I did not trust the media going after Biden the way they did, especially after what they did to Hillary in 2016. I was like, okay, now I'm supposed to fall in line on this. And I said, when black women who are the heartbeat of the victories we have against fascism say it's time for Biden to step down. That's what I'll say. It's time for Biden to step down. And until that happens, and if it isn't Biden, it's going to be Kamala Harris. They were not rallying around her for a reason like the white men and the media. You know what I mean? So thank you for that.
Leigh McGowan (30:38):
I do know what you mean. I do know what you mean. And honestly, it didn't make any sense. There were so many legal challenges if it wasn't her, we had had a primary and that many people had already voted for Biden, but they'd voted for Biden Harris. They had voted for the ticket. So theoretically they had already chosen Harris. So when you hear the Republicans saying, no one even voted for her, I'm like, actually 40 million people did vote for her in the primaries. It's just that Biden was currently at the top of the ticket, and that person that we voted to lead us has said She's ready to lead you. And she was always going to be because that's who we were had as vice president. So if something had happened, God forbid to Biden while in office, we had chosen Kamala Harris to be the next person anyway. So it was the right thing to do, but it was also legally the easiest thing to do. And the fact that anyone was suggesting we do otherwise was absolutely asinine. And it was one of those things that Democrats have done to themselves over the years where they shoot themselves in the foot for no reason or they fight amongst themselves when they really have a much bigger battle to fight
Andrea Chalupa (31:34):
A trillion percent. Very well said. Okay, so question in the chat. Okay, so Alex writes, Lee, should Kamala Harris be giving more and perhaps a regular interviews so she can explain the details of her plans? Any thoughts on why she's not presenting herself in less formal, more free flowing sessions beyond campaign stump speeches? How would you advise her to pick up even more momentum?
Leigh McGowan (31:57):
Yeah, okay. Well, Alex, I think that's a really interesting question. I think here's the thing we have to remember about this particular election. It is so condensed because usually Trump's been running basically since he left in 2021, he's been running for the next presidency. Kamala Harris only got the job of candidate really at the end of July. So she's doing a very condensed campaign, and I think she is pushing out a lot of that policy stuff to surrogates to talk about, to Pete Buttigieg, to Gavin Newsom, to Gretchen Whitmer, two people that can best speak to X, Y, or Z. I'm really good at speaking about the economy. This person's really good at speaking about this person's really good at speaking about abortion care, and she is going around and making herself known to people because within the timeframe that we have, that is the best use of their time.
(32:49):
I also think as much as people want to hear about policy, they don't care about policy. I'm someone that explains policy all the time. You start talking too much about policy, people are going to change the channel. What you have to know is does she have the temperament to lead? Does she have the ability to lead? Does she know who she is and does she know where we're going? At the end of the day, the president is not only the captain of the ship that picks the direction that we're going, they are a manager. They have to hire so many people to run all of our different divisions. It's not just the president that does the job they hire. And by the way, you can read this in the book. My husband was reading it and he's like, God, I have no idea. I was like, yeah, they're like the world's biggest manager.
(33:28):
The president comes in and says, you'll run this department, you'll run the Department of Defense, you'll run the State Department, you'll run the Department of Education. You have to hire so many amazing people because you have a bigger job. And so I think that what she's doing right now is showing herself to as many people who haven't seen her before, just traveling the country and doing these huge big rallies and then allowing the surrogates to speak in specifics because of a time constraint. I do think we could have a couple little fireside chats, and I anticipate they will do that in October because people do want to see her more casually. But right now, any longer interview she does is just going to be fodder for the right wing to spin her words and cut little clips and it doesn't serve the campaign. And I think right now the campaign isn't thinking about governing, they're thinking about winning because actually governing is totally different than running a race.
(34:29):
So they're doing the race part right now to win, to get up momentum, to get people out to vote, to get people registered because like I said, we have to win by huge margins and then we can do the busy job of governing. I wouldn't be surprised if she won the election and then spent half of December talking about what her plans were, because I think she really does care about what the plans are, but I'm not sure if it's the best for the campaign in such a condensed period to not put surrogates out there to do that job.
Andrea Chalupa (34:55):
Georgia has a question. I agree. And for those listening at home, we have a chat here of Gas Nation listeners dropping their questions in. We've got a live audience here. And so Georgia writes, I agree with your principle representatives should represent the people who elected them, but how do they balance the needs and point of views of all constituents in such polarized times?
Leigh McGowan (35:17):
It's a good question. And honestly, it's one of those things that I was like, I should have said that differently and hilarious. I wrote the book, but what I meant was representatives should represent the people who elected them. What I meant was, and what you would read in the book is I mean the people, not the lobby groups, not the money groups. If you read that chapter of book, what it says is it is the representative's job to represent the people from their state, not just the people who elected them. And I probably should have said it is the representative's job to represent the people. I should have just stopped it at people probably because what I meant was not the lobby groups, not the big money. Because right now, representatives barely have time to talk to the constituents right now because of the way the house is set up, I think most people don't know this, but we have 435 people in the House of Representatives.
(36:08):
That number was locked after the 1910 census. So by the time we got to 1920, that was the number of representatives full. That was before the country had a hundred million people. Now we have 330 million people and the same number of representatives in the house. Each house representative represents 700,000 to a million people, and they can't possibly represent us that way. There's just too many of us. So I was talking about how the representatives have to represent the people in their districts, not just the people who voted for them personally, but the people. Because right now what they end up doing is fundraising. Most of the time they're actually supposed to be governing to get back elected two years later. They spend all of their time going to events, they spend all of their time in meetings, and then they're still allowed, as we know, to trade stocks based on things they learn in their meeting.
(37:03):
Anyone else that would be insider trading for Congress, people, it's not. So they end up representing themselves, their own stock portfolio, their donors, the lobby groups. And I meant they need to start representing the people that elected them. And one of the things that Bill that I was talking about, that Kamala Harris is going to pass for the Peoples Act, that includes getting rid of partisan gerrymandering and dark money and politics. And that'll really change how representatives interact with their constituents because they can't just count on winning every time. Provided they keep their big donors happy, they're going to have to answer to the people again. And I think that that's an excellent way to move forward
Andrea Chalupa (37:42):
Without question. And I just want to share a comment from JR in the chat about Kamala being very selective with her media appearances, which makes a lot of sense. JR writes, that's what I really like about what they're doing media wise, not allowing the jack wagons to get fodder to create gotchas.
Leigh McGowan (38:00):
Yeah, Jr's completely, right? That's it. Here's the thing, you have to be so careful in today's media environment because we can see that the mainstream media is, they love this. Both sides issue. They love the Democrats and disarray issue. They love finding something to pick at someone about. That's why I think Tim Walz has been so hard for them because he's just such a great guy and he's got everything that you would think an American representative should have. He's a veteran, he's a hunter, he's a fisherman, he was a teacher, a public school teacher. He is got a great wife and two great kids. And you keep thinking they had to stick him with tampon, Tim for a while, right? Because they couldn't think of anything bad to say about him. But when you give too much to the media, they feel the need to make a both sides or make them fight or put a bunch of people in boxes and have them come at each other.
(38:50):
So I think they're being very clever. I agree with you that they are using her strategically, and that's what we want from the Democrats right now. We need them to be strategic. It's why people are releasing why when Taylor Swift gave her endorsement, it happened after she had watched the debate. It's why Billy Eilish came out a couple of days ago, and then her song is in the newest ad about abortion care. They're being incredibly strategic and incredibly organized. And if you saw how the DNC ran this year, if you see how they're running these conventions that they're having around the nation, if you see how they're running the media operation, it should make you feel quite relieved that they know what they're doing and they're not playing around and they're playing to win. Because like I said, an election is different than governing. And there are some people like Donald Trump who are great at running for office and terrible at being in office. I think they're being very strategic about running for office because they know she'll be a wonderful governor like governing in office.
Andrea Chalupa (39:57):
It's a presidential election year, which means Jill Stein has crawled out from under her rock to run for president, even though she has no party infrastructure, she doesn't even understand how our government functions. She got called out on a basic civics test in a recent radio show, and she couldn't even say how many members of Congress there are correctly. And so it's very clear that she's an op just like she was in 2016 and helping kick the election towards Trump. So what concern do you have that she's going to peel away votes, especially from voters in Midwest states like Michigan, who are disillusioned over the way things are going with Netanyahu still in power in the Israel Hamas war and decisions Biden has made. So what concern do you have there that that might tip the election electoral college?
Leigh McGowan (40:45):
Okay, well, first of all, I will say that that thing I was saying before about our job right now is to be talking to our people, is to be out there interacting with our people. And that means everyone from your dad at the dining room table to your hairdresser that says, I'm not going to vote to anyone that you can speak to right now about getting truth out there, getting facts out there. People like Jill Stein, I would say any third party at this point, you should be telling people no third party candidate can win the presidency. There's no third party candidate that is on every state ballot in this country. So they're not running to be president. They are running to spoil the election for someone. And every single one of them will end up spoiling the election for Harris. So you have to know that if you're voting for a Jill Stein, and I would say tell your people, if you're voting for Jill Stein, you're not voting for President. You are ultimately voting against Kamala Harris. So your vote is going to Trump. And if you don't want your vote to go to Trump, then you must pick between the two possible options, the two people that are on every state ballot, the two people that could actually be president and choose between those two people. Now, Jill Stein, that's like you said, she comes out every four years, she arrives if she really wanted to make a difference for the Green Party,
Andrea Chalupa (42:00):
She's a vicious, she's an evil cicada.
Leigh McGowan (42:04):
But yeah, every four years here she is, but she also gets a paycheck from Russia. There's no way she doesn't. She's there for a reason. And like you said, I mean, it's not just Jill Stein who doesn't know how the government works. I mean, that was embarrassing. I was just telling people, we have 435 members of the house. And they asked her that question, how many members of the house? And she was like, our house. And they were like, yeah, the House of Representatives. She's like, I don't know, 600. That is not what we should be having in our leaders in this country. And that's what the people of America should say. This level of ignorance is both recognizable to me. I see that you're wrong, but also it should be unacceptable to us as citizens that you would run for the highest office in the land not knowing how it works.
(42:47):
But the other person that's doing that is Donald Trump. He was at that debate with Kamala Harris, and he said, we keep hearing all these great things she's going to do. Why hasn't she done them yet? And then he said, you know what? I think you should just leave this debate stage right now and march down to the White House and sign a bill to close the border. If you're going to have power, you may as well use it. And I thought, these are the comments of a man who doesn't understand how our government works, who doesn't understand what the vice President's role is, who doesn't understand how Congress works, doesn't understand how laws works, and that should scare the citizens. That should make people concerned, not just that Donald Trump doesn't have the temperament to do the job. Not that this Donald Trump is a criminal who has no right running, but the fact that he's talking about how she should just go and change the border as the Vice President of the United States who has no power whatsoever to do that, that's terrifying. And it should make people angry that someone would run for president, be it Jill Stein or Donald Trump, and not actually know how our government works. Because imagine any other job in the world that you were running to be the head of something and you didn't understand the business.
Andrea Chalupa (43:59):
Our discussion continues, and you can get access to that by signing up at the Truth to Level and Higher on patreon@patreon.com slash it's go time. We have a lot of events gearing up for the election. Join our new Monday political salons held over Zoom every Monday through the election at 4:00 PM Eastern. Join the discussion and help shape the show by sharing what's on your mind. Sign up by subscribing at the truth, color level or higher on patreon.com/gaslit. All those events, becoming a member of our Victory Chat Bonus shows. All shows ad free and more Come with your subscription on patreon.com. Board slash Nation is produced by Andrea Chalupa. That's me. Our production manager is Nicholas Torres, and our associate producer is Carlin Daigle. If you like what we do, leave us a review on iTunes. It helps us reach more listeners and check out our Patreon.
(44:57):
It keeps us going for original music. And Gaslit Nation is produced by David Whitehead, Martin Berg, Nick Barr, Damian Ariaga, and Carlin Daigle. Our logo design was donated to us by my friend Hamish Mite of the New York Based Firm order. Thank you so much. Hamish Gaslit Nation would like to thank our supporters at the producer level on Patreon and Hire Ice Bear is defiant. Work for Better Prep for Trouble, Lily Wachowski, John s Schonthal. Ellen McGirt. Larry Gusan. D Scott Ann Bertino, David East Joseph Mara, Jr. Mark, mark, Sean Berg, Kristen Custer, Kevin Gannon, sounder Colemans, Katie Maura, James D. Leonard, Leo Chalupa, Harold Goad, Marcus j Trent, Joe Darcy, and Marshall. Ds Sinfield. Nicole Spear, Abby Road, janz, Altra Robinson, Sarah Gray, Diana Gallagher, Leah Campbell, Jared Lombardo, Abby Zavos, and Tanya Chalupa. Thank you to everyone who supports the show. We could not make Gaslit Nation without you.