In today’s episode, Jenny Beth Martin is joined by Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Rod Martin for a fast-paced breakdown of the biggest stories shaping America. The panel analyzes the end of the shutdown fight, a major court victory for election integrity in Wyoming, the growing controversy over 50-year mortgages, and new IRS changes that could mean larger tax refunds for working families. They also examine rising campus chaos at UC Berkeley, Antifa-style violence targeting conservatives, and why the far Left is turning on its own leaders. This is a deep dive into the political, economic, and cultural battles that will define 2026 and the future of the country.
Today’s panel features Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Rod Martin for a rapid-fire breakdown of the major political, economic, and cultural stories driving the national conversation.
We open with a major election-integrity win in Wyoming, where a district court upheld key reforms championed by Secretary Gray, including the sore-loser law and the crossover-voting ban. The discussion then turns to the end of the shutdown fight in Washington, what forced Democrats to back down, and what the final deal means for conservatives before the 2026 cycle.
The panel examines new IRS inflation adjustments that could lead to larger tax refunds next year, and the growing debate over 50-year mortgages—whether they are a financial trap or a necessary response to the housing crisis. From there, the conversation shifts to the broader battle between big-government socialism and free markets, Anti-Communism Week, and why teaching the history of communist regimes matters now more than ever.
Finally, the episode covers escalating campus violence at UC Berkeley, Antifa-style attacks on conservative students, and why even Democrats like John Fetterman are openly warning about the far Left’s extremism. The panel closes with an important cultural moment after Pat McAfee defended having President Trump on his Veterans Day show.
This episode delivers sharp analysis, constitutional insight, and clear context on the issues the corporate media refuses to cover honestly.
Topics Covered:
• Wyoming court victory for election integrity
• End of the shutdown fight and political fallout
• IRS updates and projected larger tax refunds
• 50-year mortgages and the future of home ownership
• Socialism vs free markets
• Anti-Communism Week and communist history in schools
• Antifa violence at UC Berkeley
• Fetterman vs the far Left
• Pat McAfee’s pushback on media hostility toward Trump
Guests:
• Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray | @ChuckForWyoming
• Rod Martin, Founder of Martin Capital | @RodDMartin |
Host:
• Jenny Beth Martin, Honorary Chairman, Tea Party Patriots Action | @jennybethm
Narrator (00:14):
Welcome to the Jenny Beth Show.
Jenny Beth Martin (00:18):
Welcome to the Jenny Beth Show. I'm Jenny Beth Martin, and today we're breaking down the biggest stories in America. The stories in mainstream media won't uncover honestly, but which absolutely shape our future. We've got a full hour with two powerhouse guests, rod Martin, founder of Martin Capital, tech strategist, author, and one of the best big picture thinkers on the future of America and Wyoming. Secretary of State, Chuck Gray, a national leader on election integrity, fighting the left every day to protect transparency and constitutional government. Let's dive right in, and we're going to begin with a major legal victory in Wyoming. A district court has upheld two key election integrity laws championed by our guest secretary, Chuck Gray, the Sore Loser law stopping failed primary candidates from hopping onto the general election ballot as independence and a crossover voting ban that stops last minute party switching before primaries. These laws ruled or the court ruled that these laws were constitutional and essential to preserving integrity of Wyoming's elections. Secretary Gray, congratulations on this ruling. And then let me ask you, why is this case so important and what does the win mean for election integrity headed into the 2026 cycle?
Chuck Gray (01:44):
Well, Jenny Beth really appreciate coming on. This was an issue we had worked on for some time, which is having a closed primary. We had Democrats crossing over into the Republican primary for decades, and it was up to 15% of the electorate in our Republican primaries in Wyoming before we closed our primaries were Democrats and unaffiliated voters, not Republican voters crossing over into the Republican primary. And Wyoming is a deep red state, so statewide on statewide races and then also in legislative races. Even the Republican primary is really where the action is at, and usually the Republican primary winner wins the election. This was an issue we had worked on when I was a legislator in the state legislature for six, seven years. And when I switched over to run for Secretary of State, who's the chief election official for the state of Wyoming, this became our number one priority as closing this primary.
(02:47):
And we got it done in 2023 after the 2022 election where Liz Cheney was trying to take advantage of this and have Democrats crossover and it was bigger crossover than ever in that 2022 election, even though she lost by 40 points, a lot of the voters that did vote for her were crossover democrats. So this was a real need for us to tighten this up. And in 2023 we did that. We were sued by the left to try to, they want to stop this statute from going into effect. The 2024 election was the first time it was in effect, and it was the election where we got this huge Freedom caucus, conservative majority in the State House. And I don't think it's a coincidence that the year that the conservatives took the majority in the State House was the first year that this crossover bill the ban on Democrats crossing over into the Republican primaries, it was the first year was in effect. So they sought out to try to undo this and they sued us in district court here in Wyoming, but we filed a motion to dismiss and we got a pretty big victory in our motion to dismiss being granted.
Jenny Beth Martin (04:03):
I think that victory is amazing and I'm so glad that you got it. Now, rod, this raises a few larger national questions, just preventing sore loser candidates and blocking them from crossing over for crossover voting, strengthen the party system and voter confidence. And also, do you think if New York had had the Sore Loser law that the New York mayoral race may have had a different result?
Rod Martin (04:26):
It would've been very different without Andrew Cuomo in the race. It really changes the whole thing. And I don't know who replaces him in that ultimate general election, but we're never going to know because they don't have those safeguards. The truth is, if you went down to your church and a bunch of Muslims or Buddhists came in and elected your new preacher, you would not be happy. We just spent a large amount of time over the last decade talking about foreign interference in our elections. Well, how is it different to have members of a different party pick the nominees of your party? And the Democrats always do this wherever it makes sense for them to do it. I grew up in Arkansas. We had very much the same situation that Wyoming had except we had even fewer Republicans as a percentage of the whole than they have Democrats.
(05:23):
So yeah, anytime the Democrats wanted to stop somebody who might actually have a shot in the general election, they just crossed 10 or 20 or 30,000 people over into a primary that at best usually had about 20 to 25,000 people out of a state of two and a half million. And so they just kept us from ever-growing for decades, and Mike Huckabee finally started breaking through that. And of course Sarah has done a fantastic job, but if your party can't pick its own primary nominee, you really don't have a choice in the general election. And Phyllis Schlafly taught us people want and deserve a choice, not an echo. Having other parties members in your primary means that you get a muddied middle of the road candidate and probably get the same thing in the other party as a result of which nobody ever really gets a choice and everything always drifts left. That's what we're trying to stop,
Jenny Beth Martin (06:28):
And I think it is so important that we are able to stop that in Georgia. There are a lot of activists who are trying to in Georgia, and there are also other states in the South that are like this. There's not even party registration. So you just go on primary day and declare which ballot you want. You're not even declaring your party. And I know there are a lot of activists who want to see that changed. Chuck in 20 seconds. Do you think that every state should adopt laws like Wyoming did?
Chuck Gray (06:58):
Yes. I think to protect the primary process, you've got to close that primary only registered voters in that party should be voting in the party's domination process. It's common sense. A lot of states, just like you said, Jenny Beth are moving away from any party registration. That's another variation. And the left's very good at this, at getting to the same thing they've always wanted, which is doing away with party primaries and we have to push back fully.
Jenny Beth Martin (07:26):
Absolutely. I'm so glad that you're leading the way on this in Wyoming and that other states can look at what you've done. Now let's move on to Washington. After Democrats voted 15 times to keep the government closed, they finally caved under pressure from conservatives in Congress and the grassroots, the government is open again and the final deal gave the Democrats none of their demands. Let's watch what President Trump said when he was signing the bill to reopen the government.
President Donald Trump Clip (07:58):
They were sending a clear message that we will never give into extortion because that's what it was. They tried to extort the Democrats tried to extort our country. In just a moment, I'll sign a bill exactly like we asked Democrats to send us all along many days ago, this cost the country $1.5 trillion. This little excursion that they took us on.
Jenny Beth Martin (08:23):
Rod breaks this down for us. Who actually won the shutdown fight and what message should conservatives take from Democrats voting 15 times to keep the government closed?
Rod Martin (08:33):
Well, the polling will be muddled because people don't pay attention, don't necessarily understand what's going on, but this is a clear win for Donald Trump. It's really quite extraordinary. I wish we had had Republican presidents in the past who would stand up to this sort of thing to the degree that he has, but he's now had two shutdowns, one in the first term, one in the, and he has withstood what they've done to him again and again, and we have to be very clear he's not wrong about calling it extortion. I'd call it a hostage situation. They literally held up people's food stamps, that's American citizens food stamps to get a trillion dollars a year in borrowed money for free healthcare, for illegal aliens. I mean, you just can't make this stuff up and the thought is just extraordinary. So yes, the Democrats engaged in extortion here, hostage taking, they're only real constituency seems to be the people that they can mass into a migrant caravan and move north and they're losing everywhere. They're losing Hispanics, they're losing young black men. They're losing native groups and naturalized citizen groups because they simply don't represent any of us anymore. And Donald Trump stood strong. If he had caved on this, it would've been a nightmare. It would've probably in some ways been the end of his presidency.
Jenny Beth Martin (10:04):
I am so thankful that he did not cave in. I think you're exactly right. If he had, it would've been an absolute nightmare. Chuck, I'm going to go to you next, but before I do, everyone who's watching, please take just a moment, hit like and share and subscribe to this podcast or this show so that other people can get this very important information that we're going over. So make sure you're hitting like and share now, secretary Gray, you've been outspoken about federal overreach and fiscal irresponsibility. What lessons do you think Republican leaders should take from this shutdown?
Chuck Gray (10:39):
Well, I think that it's an example of when we stand strong and President Trump has stood strong time and time again here as well. And it was truly what the Democrats were doing, extortion and let's call it what it is. They were trying around these elections last week to build a narrative and as soon as the election ended, they saw that they weren't going to get what they want because we stood strong and they backed down from their absolutely outrageously wrong demands, $1.5 trillion they wanted in new spending for healthcare, for illegal aliens, and they were willing to deny food stamps, to deny air travel, to prevent people from seeing their families. They were willing to deny all of that for their number one constituency. Now in the radical Democrat party, which is illegals, that's what they were willing to do. And President Trump, the Republican Congress said, no, we are not going to back down. And the lesson here is that when conservatives stand strong, when Maga make America great again, conservatives stay strong, we will win because we are on the right side of these issues.
Jenny Beth Martin (11:59):
I think you're absolutely right on that. And then Secretary Gray, what does reopening the government mean for states, states like Wyoming?
Chuck Gray (12:09):
Well, federal funds are a big piece of the pie in terms of the operations of state government and there were continuing issues. I mean every single day, the executive branch, we were reviewing operations across the executive branch, but I think one of the lessons we need to take away from that is states need to become less reliant on the federal government. President Trump is doing great work in establishing block grants and the one big beautiful bill to move us towards a system of true federalism where we have that proper balance of power. It's one of the things that the Trump administration is working on and they have just achieved so much in this term. I think that's one of the lessons here is that states need to become less reliant on these funds.
Jenny Beth Martin (13:02):
That is excellent insight from both of you and to our viewers. Thank you. Thank you so much. So many of you called the Senate and demanded that the Senate reopened the government and your voice has helped push this across the finish line. Now let's move on to the economy. The IRS has released new inflation adjustments and because of President Trump's one big beautiful bill or the working family taxpayer or tax cut bill, I think it's a tax cut bill or the taxpayer relief bill, Americans are projected to receive larger tax refunds next year. Rod, what do you think that a larger tax refund means for working families and does it signal a broader economic optimism as we head into 2026?
Rod Martin (13:46):
Well, it certainly does and it ought to. We are in the beginning stages of a supply side boom, and if you want to have a great interview on this, you should get our friend Steve Moore or Art Laffer for that matter or Larry Cudlow on here and talk about just what that means. But all of this $18 trillion in new investment that the president has recruited into the country over the last nine months is going to build plants that open up incredible number of high paying jobs. That boom should hit roughly June or July. So yes, there's a lot of optimism in that, but the other piece of it comes back to the block grant discussion. It is massively better for the federal government to block grant money out to the states and even localities where appropriate than it is for government to come up with a one size fits all solution directed from Washington.
(14:45):
That is certainly better, but you know what would be even better? Still cut taxes by the amount of those block grants and let the states spend them without the middleman. The federal government skims a huge percentage of that money off the top from your federal income tax. If it stayed in the states, you wouldn't have to pay what amounts to just an exorbitant fee to a bunch of bureaucrats in the beltway and you'd have better services and lower taxes at home. That's where we've got to go. The president's getting this money back to taxpayers, it's their money and we're going to see more of that as we go along.
Jenny Beth Martin (15:27):
I love that idea and I always am in favor of even more tax cuts because I know that tax cuts help grow the economy. Rod, in one sentence, what do you think is the biggest benefit of the tax changes from the one big beautiful bill?
Rod Martin (15:42):
Economic growth, without a doubt it, it's just going to supercharge the economy.
Jenny Beth Martin (15:50):
Absolutely. Now, secretary Gray, Wyoming families, especially in ag energy and small business, are going to feel these changes directly. What are you hearing so far from your constituents about tax relief and cost of living? Have they noticed any relief yet or is it still lagging before it reaches them?
Chuck Gray (16:11):
Absolutely. We've seen enormous investment in Wyoming optimism and relief. I mean, you look at what the Biden administration was doing, they were attacking all of our core industries, whether it was coal, oil and gas, ag soda ash, it was across the board the attack from the radical left before the enormous win a year ago in the 2024 general election. Now, the one big beautiful bill, one of the things that it is working to reverse as well is the wind and solar farms that they try to put governmental grants towards in Wyoming. Now we're also seeing a movement to try to get these in before the repeals in the one big beautiful bill on tax credits for woke wind and woke solar before those phase in those repeals. So they are trying to plop down still a lot of these projects, but those projects do not really benefit our state that woke wind and solar. It is in direct competition with our coal, oil and gas industries. And it was one of the things that was tucked in the one big beautiful bill was moving off those ESG driven radical left wing investments that hasn't been talked enough is how important that is in getting investment in real energy projects, our big beautiful coal, oil and gas industries that have been the core of Wyoming's economy in statehood in 1890. So that's kicking in. There's a lot of optimism around that and other investment in our state and we are seeing it.
Jenny Beth Martin (17:58):
I think that's wonderful and I'm glad that you brought up what difference he President Trump is making to energy. It is so very important, and I know I've been on a few interviews with other media outlets and sometimes they'll say, well, consumers aren't seeing yet when aren't feeling any relief yet. And I always feel like I have to point out that Bill was signed into law the beginning of July. It's only been four months. It's going to take longer than four months to turn the entire economy around, but you've got to get the pieces in place so that it can start working. And I think that is what we're seeing right now. And it's not just a big beautiful bill, but it's also the deregulation that affects energy and so many other industries so we can have better manufacturing. Okay, let's shift to another economic hot topic, 50 year mortgages. Some say they lower monthly payments. Opponents say they explode long-term debt and no one will ever own anything. 50 year mortgages pretty much remind me of the World Economic Forum's Facebook video saying you'll own nothing and you'll be happy. Isabel Brown with the Daily Wire says what she thinks young people are thinking, and she says that the young people think political leadership has not been conservative enough and that young people are tired of the this is the best we can do politics. Here she is
Isabel Brown Clip (19:29):
As we believe our leadership has not been conservative enough and honestly we're just done. I think as a generation accepting this is the best we can do politics, we we want the American government to put the American people first to be a government that was elected by the people of the people and for the people. And we don't think that's a particularly controversial thing to say. So when we see weeks like this, I'll throw this tweet back up on the screen for you from Wall Street Mav, when we see weeks with the solutions proposed for the problems young people are dealing with completely misreading where young people are at. Our passions rise because this fundamentally misses the mark for where real young people are at in the real world right now,
Jenny Beth Martin (20:25):
Secretary Gray, I noticed she had a Grand Teton poster in the background that is in your state from a conservative standpoint, is a 50 year mortgage of financial innovation or is it financial quicksand?
Chuck Gray (20:39):
Well, I believe Isabel is from Wyoming and great Wyoming. But on this 50 year mortgage discussion, I think it's really also important to talk about the drivers for the increased costs in the housing sector. And we've seen this in Wyoming for decades. This is not a recent phenomenon. The reality is that in the nineties and a lot of these trade deals that was done, a lot of the emphasis from an education perspective, we did not get enough tradesmen to build homes and there is not enough supply there now in this decade. And that's one of the things that President Trump is working on. I mean just 45 miles west of here, we have a great trade school called W that Biden wanted to shut down. President Trump is working to take funds away from woke Carver woke Yale and to put them towards trade schools that will educate and supply us with the tradesmen of tomorrow so that we can increase the supply of housing.
(21:51):
But the reality is that right now the choice for many young people is having an apartment for 15, 20 years, maybe even beyond that, maybe never owning a home or possibly looking at other options. So I think that's why the White House put out this proposal last week and it's a point discussion, but they're working as well on driving down the costs. It is, as you mentioned earlier, Jenny Beth going to take some time for these policies to effectuate themselves because a lot of the drivers date back to the nineties and early two thousands. But I think we're going to get some of this reduction in cost by increasing the housing stock here in the coming months and years. And it's something the White House is working on and obviously that driving down those interest payments is preferable, but the reality right now is the choice for many individuals is having an apartment where all of those funds are going to a landlord or looking at other sort of innovative lending options. So that's one thing we need to think about moving forward, but the main policy to try to address this is to drive down the cost itself.
Jenny Beth Martin (23:19):
Those are very good points. Chad, rod, you're a finance and tech strategist. Critics say the 50 year mortgage means saving $300 a month, but paying 500,000 extra over the life of the loan. Is this a good policy or is it a trap for young families?
Rod Martin (23:36):
Well, it means that if you're dumb, the truth is if you have a 30 year mortgage and you pay it off in 30 years, something's horribly wrong with you. You should have paid that off in 15 and by having it for 30, you get a lower payment on the front end when you need it and maybe later on if something goes wrong. But in the meantime, if you're smart, you're making extra principal payments and you're never going to pay that full interest bill. The same thing applies to 50 year mortgages. I don't love the idea. I think one of the negative unforeseen consequences of this is going to be some increase in housing prices just because of the way this all works in the economy, but not necessarily. And moreover, the biggest driver of the big increases in housing prizes we've seen are all these illegal aliens.
(24:29):
You cram 10 million new people into a country in just four years, and guess what? Housing's going to go through the roof. So we're solving that problem that's going to make a difference. This can make a difference. I kind of have mixed emotions about it, but on balance, more choices are better. And I would just add that the truth is we are comparing apples to oranges. If people wanted to buy the house that the boomers, they are decrying bought in 1973 when I was about three years old, if they wanted to buy that house, they could afford it, but it's half the square footage and it doesn't have the insulation and it doesn't have central air and it isn't wired for ethernet. And we just expect a degree of luxury today that we didn't then. And the driver of making that possible ultimately is the economic growth that we can only get through slashing taxes and regulation that makes it possible.
Jenny Beth Martin (25:31):
You both are making good points and highlighting why a 50 year mortgage might be something that is to be considered both with what Chuck said, that at least this way you're not subject to ever increasing rents, which is what happens when you're renting an apartment or even renting a house. The cost goes up every single year and you don't have control over it. So even if you're in a 50 year mortgage, at least you've got a price locked in. So it's steady. And then the other thing is you get in that, but then you pay it off faster, pay it off faster than 30 years. Even like what you were saying, rod. So you make good points and gives me some hope that maybe you still can own things and be happy rather than what the World Economic Forum has said. Alright, we're going to have to keep our eyes on this issue because I suspect that it's not going away anytime soon. Remember, if you've not signed the petition@impeachbosberg.com, please take time to do that so we can hold this lawless judge accountable for weaponizing the government. Now, let's pivot to big government socialism and communism. Currently, one of the most significant contrasts between the left and the right is big government socialism versus free markets and Liberty Rod. You've written that socialism always leads to scarcity and control while free markets lead to opportunity and abundance. Where do you see this contrast playing out most clearly today?
Rod Martin (26:59):
Well, it just can't help it. I mean, socialism sees a finite pie and tries to divvy it up in its own view more fairly well. Okay, who gets to decide what's fair? Who gets to decide who gets what? So you already have all those problems, but the bigger point is the premise is just completely wrong. The economy is dynamic. You can shrink the pie, you can also grow the pie. And we have grown the pie exponentially for 300 years because we adopted capitalism, the division of labor and enabled entrepreneurship and innovation. That's your ticket to a better future. That's how you lift people out of poverty. And the truth of the matter is over the last 25 years, we have seen a billion people on this earth. There are right at 8 billion people total. A billion people in 25 years have been lifted out of extreme poverty, which the UN defines as living on a dollar or two a day, a billion people out of extreme poverty. That's kind of a big deal. That did not happen because of socialism and it didn't happen in socialist countries. It happened in places that let people be creative, keep the fruit of their labor and build something for their family's future that is the ticket to get to the better future that we all want for everybody.
Jenny Beth Martin (28:28):
That's absolutely right. And then one thing that I like to show visually when people talk about the economic pie that I'm going to show again right now when you're talking about the fixed pie, it can be a small pie, an economic pie, and some people want that all divided up so that everyone gets the same amount of it. But what you're talking, which is what socialism would be, but what you're talking about is growing the pie even bigger. These are the only two round things I have sitting right next to me. So this is bigger. You might only get a half of a percent of this, but a half of a percent would be more than 25% of this little tiny round circle. So when you talk about how socialism thinks of it as a finite pie rather than being able to grow the economy, what we are seeing the beginnings of right now is growing that economy so it'll be like a giant pizza sized pie or even bigger.
Rod Martin (29:25):
And you achieve that by solving more people's problems in more creative and inexpensive ways, which is exactly what we did at PayPal. We basically made it possible for anybody with a business in their garage to have a merchant account for free and they could take Visa, MasterCard, discover American Express, a CH payments, whatever, and they didn't have to fill out an application. They didn't even have to give us anything more than their email address, and all of a sudden they're in business and they're shipping around the world. That's real freedom for individuals. That is how you democratize the means of production. You cannot do it through socialism because the means of production in socialism will always be controlled by the elite in the capital, but through free markets, everyone can have their share based on their gifts and their ability to succeed or fail. They get what they want. So my artsy daughter isn't going to make as much money as my heart and lung transplant son, but they're both happy and that's how it's supposed to work.
Jenny Beth Martin (30:38):
That is very good analysis there. Rod. Now, secretary Gray, Wyoming is proof that when government stays out of the way people thrive, how do you talk to young voters who have been seduced by socialist ideas?
Chuck Gray (30:53):
Well, university is 45 minutes from our state capitol and there's a really vibrant discussion going on there on a daily basis that I try to play a part in with our youth. Turning Point USA has played a key role in putting forward the truth, which is that free markets grow prosperity as was just discussed earlier, and we've seen continued growth with the Turning point chapter there on campus. The reality is that the Ma'ani sort of socialistic nightmare. There are some of these students that fall for it because these universities have become indoctrination zones. But the answer is for us to talk about the data, the truth of how we've grown as a nation. The answers are in free markets and we need to continue putting that forward. I think Turning Point is doing key work on that.
Jenny Beth Martin (31:56):
Chuck in 10 seconds socialism fails because
Chuck Gray (32:01):
The government controlling the means of production is a woke disaster.
Jenny Beth Martin (32:08):
Absolutely. And President Trump has just designated anti-Communism week to honor the hundred million victims of communism and Florida has mandated that schools teach the real brutal history of communist regimes. Chuck, why is it so important for American students to understand the history and the horrors of communism?
Chuck Gray (32:31):
Well, because we always say with history, we're doomed to repeat it if we don't learn from it. And you can just look at the differences between the Soviet Union and the United States. The growth that we had, which candidly leveled off and declined in the late nineties, the early two thousands because we moved off of a free market system. That's what President Trump is trying to get us back to emphasizing free markets, just look at energy costs. I mean all that the radical left did with this woke wind and solar, which isn't economic energy. That's one of the reasons, getting back to the 50 year mortgage discussion, the costs, the electricity costs on a month to month basis, those have skyrocketed, preventing and crowding out individuals from investing in their homes in more traditional lending patterns like the 30 year mortgage, the answer is to drive down costs by increasing supply, by delivering that which is needed via free market and then also by growing the economy.
(33:36):
So people are making more. That's the long-term solution. But we're going to have before our very eyes in New York City, a history lesson playing out with this woke clown show that the Momani administration, this mayoral administration is going to try to carry out. It is going to be a disaster. I think seeing the first government owned grocery store, I mean I almost think it's going to be like an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm as they argue for a year and a half or two years about what ethnicity should be represented on the shelves. I think that's going to be a very interesting thing to watch. If it ever opens, it is going to be a disaster from a pricing perspective, and I think we'll see that before our very eyes, how it just doesn't work.
Jenny Beth Martin (34:27):
Rod, you've written about China, Venezuela, and Cuba. Why does the left defend or idolize communist ideas despite a century of human misery?
Rod Martin (34:37):
Well, we misunderstand their aims. They aren't actually looking to alleviate poverty. They're looking to divvy up the pie in a different way and give themselves control of the pie to be able to do it. So socialism at its root is about creating a new aristocracy or a new monarchy with different labels, different titles, but still a top down authoritarian if not totalitarian system, and your poverty, your wealth is completely irrelevant to that. Moreover, your wealth is to be envied and destroyed, and we saw that all through the 20th century. So we've got Adolf Hitler here who's terribly a monster, unquestionably murdered 6 million Jews in just a handful of years and we're rightly horrified by that. But Joseph Stalin murdered 20 million of his own people in roughly the same time period. Then Mao got going in China and murdered 65 million Chinese. And then you get to Paul Pot in Cambodia who in two and a half, three years manages to kill a third of his population.
(35:51):
So he's the all-time grand champion on a per capita basis of mass murder and they're all socialists of one stripe or another. All of this is the necessary result of a top-down system that values power and does not believe that you have rights that come from someplace other than government, which is what makes Tim Kane's statement before the Senate here a couple of weeks ago. So horrifying. He's just labeling the idea that rights come from God as something out of the Ayatollah. No, the Ayatollah doesn't believe that, but Americans do. It's in the Declaration of Independence and the reason is the founding fathers understood correctly that if your rights come from government, your government can take away your rights anytime it wishes. So that's the difference. We have this idea of freedom as long as you don't hurt anybody else, you can do what you want versus a top down regimented system where to quote a leading communist, you have to crack eggs to be able to make your omelet. Nobody wants that omelet except the people who are going to run it.
Jenny Beth Martin (37:05):
That's right. And Senator Kane should go take Hillsdale College's Constitution 1 0 1 course. He could learn a thing or two about that or just read a little bit of history about the men from his state who helped start this great country. Rod, in 20 seconds, what's your message to young Americans flirting with socialism or communism?
Rod Martin (37:26):
It's never worked anywhere. If you read any history, you'll see it. And we live in the greatest country in the world, which you can see by virtue of all the illegal aliens trying to come here, don't screw it up.
Jenny Beth Martin (37:41):
That's right. Don't screw it up. And if you're in our audience, for those in our audience, if you want to learn more about socialism and communism, please be sure to check out Tea Party Patriots Foundation's documentary Surviving Socialism, which you can watch@survivingsocialismmovie.com. Alright, now we're headed into a powerful round four from campus violence to the left, turning to eat its own. Let's get to it. This week, uc, Berkeley, the so-called birthplace of free speech, erupted in an Antifa style violence against Turning Point. At a turning point USA event protestors through bottles fireworks broke barricades and they left students bloodied. It was so extreme that the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Department of Justice Civil Rights officials are now investigating whether Berkeley violated the rights of conservative students. Rod, when the DOJ and the FBI have to step in just so conservatives can exercise free speech, what does it tell you about where the left is today?
Rod Martin (38:45):
Well, the left is out early intolerant and they continually use the language of tolerance and alleviating misery, all these different Christian virtues, and they turn them upon themselves to bring about a top down totalitarian system. If you can't speak freely, if you can't get your message out on social media, if you are canceled because you don't believe whatever you're supposed to believe this week, you're not free and you can't have a free election. They can pretend you're having a free election through all these mail out ballots that we're going to account a month after the election as we need to. But you're not free. You're not having a real debate. You're not actually having anything resembling what they call democracy. Now you look at Berkeley and Berkeley's been this way forever. Governor Ronald Reagan had to send the National Guard into Berkeley for similar reasons. These people claim to be all about free speech and protecting our democracy. No, they want their way and if you do not agree with their way, they're going to hurt you.
Jenny Beth Martin (39:58):
Rod, should this Antifa style political violence be treated as domestic extremism?
Rod Martin (40:04):
It absolutely is. In some cases outright domestic terrorism and the networks backing it have to be properly investigated, which we know Cash Patel is now doing. There is a lot of funding of real violence and real terroristic acts. And I'll just give you one example. We had Antifa and BLM burning down 140 American cities in the summer of 2020, and every time you turned around there's this huge brand new pile of expensive bricks at exactly the part of the city where you want the rioters to pick 'em up and throw 'em through windows and stuff. Those things aren't free. Nobody just brings those in the back of their car. Somebody paid for that, somebody knew what they were doing. Somebody needs to be prosecuted.
Jenny Beth Martin (40:57):
Absolutely. Secretary Gray. When mobs try to shut down conservative speech with violence, what should leaders in Red States and across the country be doing to push back?
Chuck Gray (41:08):
We need to be leaders. That's what the last decade I've been involved in public policy. Only reason I got involved is that I believe Wyoming needs to be a conservative leader on these issues. We are a dark red state and we need to prove that. And one of the things that I think is happening on these campuses across our nation is that these left wingers, they're coddled as they grow up and they realize they can't win based on having this discussion that Charlie Kirk works so diligently to have on these college campuses. So they try to shut us down. They started in many ways with Occupy Wall Street, although it goes back decades as discussed earlier. I mean on Berkeley, it's been going on since the sixties, but Occupy Wall Street back in the 2010s, they wanted to shut down conservatives from being able to have a discussion about free markets and how they work that has just escalated and continues to escalate into violence. Antifa a terrorist organization, president Trump Cash is doing great work in investigating their networks, how this is being funded, and that's one of the many ways we need to be pushing back. In addition to continuing to have these conversations on college campuses and to root out the indoctrination,
Jenny Beth Martin (42:38):
Do you think, Chuck, that the left has realized they're losing the argument and this is why they're acting violently? Are they doing it for some other reason in
Chuck Gray (42:47):
Exactly. They realize they cannot win Based on the issues and we're having the discussion about communism, we're going to have before our very eyes over the next few months and years how it does not work in New York City. We know from history it does not work. It was laid out in our discussions earlier, but when they can't win on the issues, this is what they resort to, which is violence, shutting people down, screaming during their speeches, preventing them from having the conversations. It is all about maintaining their power. That's how the radical left operates. It's not about the issues,
Jenny Beth Martin (43:30):
And it's not just mobs. Even Democrats are warning the country about the far left's rage. And we're going to play a clip in just a second, but before we do, the clip is of Senator Federman. And during this live show, we learned that Senator Federman had, and I'm reading from Fox News right now, but he had a fall this morning near his home, and out of an abundance of caution, he's been transported to the hospital. Upon evaluation, it was established that he had a ventricular fibrillation flareup that led to him feeling lightheaded, falling to the ground and hitting his face with minor injuries. He's doing well, he's receiving routine observation and they are working to adjust his medication, and he also is still in very good spirits. Apparently. The senator said, if you thought my face look bad before, wait till you see it now. So I'm glad he can still laugh and make jokes, but I am praying for his swift recovery and I'm sorry to learn that he had this fall. Alright, we're going to play two different clips about him. We're going to go to the first one. Now.
Dana Bash CNN Clip (44:36):
I've drunk deeply of the venom of both the left and the right. As a connoisseur, I can confirm that the most poisonous, the bitterest is from the far left. That is pretty remarkable to hear you say that as an elected Democrat. Why?
Sen. John Fetterman CNN Clip (44:57):
Yeah. No, it's just been my personal experience on this thing. And when I asked my digital team, I said, we're on all the platforms, really, what's kind of the harshest, what's kind of the most personal? And the answer was immediate. He said, oh, blue sky, it's blue sky. And the difference is the right would say really rough things and names. Some names I won't repeat on tv, but on the left it was like, they want me to die or that we're cheering for your next stroke or That's terrible, that depression, why couldn't it? Depression won? And I hope your kids find you. I mean, they even have the graphic, a gif, they have a stroke in your head cheering. Yeah. And they said that, I remember one, they claimed, oh, the doctor let us down, and why did they have to save his life? I mean, just really, I just can't imagine people are wishing I wish he dies or I want him to die, literally cheering for a stroke. And I don't know what the kind of a place where that comes from. I mean, that's much different than just calling me a name. And that's really been consistent in that community online
Jenny Beth Martin (46:25):
Rod. When a sitting Democrat senator says that the far left wants him dead, what does it say about the ideological sickness in their movement?
Rod Martin (46:34):
It tells you how communists killed a hundred million people in the last century. It tells you exactly that this doesn't happen because there's one madman or something. And honestly, it's annoyed me all my life that people say, oh, Hitler's crazy. No, Hitler wasn't crazy. Hitler was evil. Hitler was a terrible, terrible human being. And the therapeutic left doesn't want to admit that there's right and wrong, but they're perfectly happy to deem you irredeemable and exonerate anything and everyone who agrees with them from anything. So of course, if you define people as completely incapable of doing wrong and other people as incapable of ever doing anything, right, oppressors and oppressed, and you can never stop being an oppressor. And honestly, you can never stop being oppressed either in critical theory, if that's how you define the world. If that's how you see it, then the only rational answer is to kill off the oppressors and do anything to them that makes sense. And that's just a horrifying worldview versus the Christian consensus that has dominated American civilization of redemption. Everybody gets a second chance. Everybody has an opportunity. Everybody gets to be what God made them to be, and we forgive and forget. They hate that. They are horrified by that. That just seems evil and a tool of oppression. No, that is a tool of redemption and there's no hope apart from it.
Jenny Beth Martin (48:16):
Those are very good comments, rod, and I appreciate how you said that that kind of attitude is what leads to communism killing so many people in its absolute dehumanization of our fellow citizens. We cannot do that when we do that. It leads to terrible, terrible things in society. Okay, there's another clip I wanted to play. This one is on the view. Sonny Hostin hit federman hard, accusing him of bringing a butter knife to a gunfight just because he voted to reopen. The government
Sonny Hostin The View Clip (48:51):
Poll found more Americans on both sides of the aisle blaming Republicans. Even Marjorie Taylor Greene blamed the GOP. As you mentioned, Democrats had big wins last week, so you had momentum. Why give in now? Why bring a butter knife to a gunfight? Are you willing to gamble that the GLP will negotiate on healthcare in good faith once the government reopens? Because if that gamble is wrong, half a million Pennsylvanians that you represent their healthcare costs will skyrocket. If you are wrong, and I believe you're wrong,
Sen. John Fetterman CNN Clip (49:27):
Well, first of all, MTG is quite literally the last person in America that I'm going to take advice or to get their kinds of my leadership and values. And now if Democrats are celebrating crazy pants like that, then that's on them. And I don't need a lecture. I don't need a lecture from whether it's Bernie or the Governor in California because they are representing very deep blue, blue kinds of populations. And I would like to, rather than cite MTG, I'm going to cite one of the new governor elects saying that my election is not a green light to continue the shutdown because I promise you this isn't a political game. It is viewed by that by many of us. But the reality is 42 million Americans now not sure where their next meal's going to come from.
Jenny Beth Martin (50:18):
Secretary Gray. What lessons should Republican state from the left devouring their own for simply reopening the government?
Chuck Gray (50:25):
Well, that Sunny Hostin rant was very revealing. Nowhere does she mention the actual issues driving down the costs of healthcare. The answers to that of course is markets. It is more supply. It is increasing the quality by educating more nurses, more doctors, all of which the radical left has stopped and worked against over the last 2, 3, 4 decades. They have caused the increasing healthcare costs. In addition, Jenny Beth to the disaster that has been Obamacare, we called it and she mentions the elections, says that, well, we had this election night victory, which the elections were in blue areas anyway as President Trump has talked about. But again, for them it is all about increasing their power and diverting from the actual issues, the actual solutions, because they don't have the answers to these questions. And they know that that's why they have to stoke up this sort of artificial event. That was the shutdown. But we didn't back down. President Trump stood strong. The Republican Congress stood strong and the American people won.
Jenny Beth Martin (51:54):
And Chuck, what do these kind of meltdowns on the left tell us about 2026?
Chuck Gray (51:59):
Well, it shows that it's going to be more of the same from them, more word salad, sort of Kamala Harris candidates that get more and more radical and that the American people are going to reject.
Jenny Beth Martin (52:14):
Well, here may be some hope. Pat McAfee, one of the largest hosts on ESPN, which has not exactly been conservative over the last 10 years or so, had President Trump on his show yesterday for Veterans Day. He pushed back against the vile comments aimed at him saying he was honored to have the President of the United States on his Veterans Day special. Let's listen to what McAfee said.
Pat McAfee Show Clip (52:37):
Also had the commander in chief on the show live. I believe it's the second time that a sitting president has been live on an ESPN show. The last one was from a Democratic political party. This one obviously representing I guess the Republican political party. But in my eyes, he's the leader of the military and we were celebrating the hell at a Veteran's Day. Now, there are people who are certainly not the most happy that that happened, but what I would like to say, every veteran military person I talked to is very grateful and thankful that we spotlighted the heroes of America who walk amongst us, who are willing to sign a line and go for the United States of America as opposed to anything else. So if you're against what happened yesterday, I'd like to say you hate the troops and you should go ahead and swallow that and you can take that to where you want to go. And any president, any president, okay, willing to come on our Veteran's Day celebration, spotlight show commander in chief head of military, we would be very open to.
Jenny Beth Martin (53:33):
I found his comments refreshing and I'm glad he was able to stand up to the left. I hope this marks at least the beginning of a slight cultural shift. Rod and Chuck, thank you both for joining me
Rod Martin (53:46):
To be here
Jenny Beth Martin (53:47):
And thank you again to our viewers who helped make calls to the Senate to push to reopen the government. You made a difference today. We covered a lot court victories for election integrity, economic shifts, the fight against socialism and the left's growing intolerance through it all. Remember this, America is still worth fighting for. Our constitution is still worth defending and your voice still matters. And as we close today, let's watch President Trump as he was on McAfee Show, giving the Marines a huge rah. Thank you all for joining us. I'm Jenny Beth Martin. We'll see you tomorrow on the Jenny Best Show and we're going to hear President Trump right now.
Pat McAfee Show Clip (54:25):
Big rah, new Marines. Mr. President, just rah the hell out of you there for what you just said about
President Donald Trump Pat McAfee Clip (54:33):
The, oh, that's good. Well, we love them. They are a special group indeed.
Pat McAfee Show Clip (54:37):
Mr. President, have you ever done an rah to a bunch of Marines?
President Donald Trump Pat McAfee Clip (54:42):
Not the kind that I just heard. I just heard a level of professionalism with the way they did it that I don't think anybody can match it, to be honest. That's very impressive.
Pat McAfee Show Clip (54:53):
Mr. President, why don't you drop one, Mr. President, why don't you drop an rah real quick?
President Donald Trump Pat McAfee Clip (54:58):
I Will. Rah rah. Yes. Okay. We love everything about that.
Jenny Beth Martin (55:06):
Thanks for watching the Jenny Best show. If you enjoyed the show, go ahead and hit like and subscribe. It really helps us reach more people who care about freedom and the Constitution. You can find us on YouTube, Facebook Rumble, Instagram X in your favorite podcast platform.
Narrator (55:23):
The Jenny Beth Show is hosted by Jenny Beth Martin. The Jenny Beth Show is a production of Tea Party Patriots action. For more information, visit tea party patriots.org.