We're sunsetting PodQuest on 2025-07-28. Thank you for your support!
Export Podcast Subscriptions
cover of episode Dems Cheer Domestic Terrorism against Tesla, plus Trump Orders Abolish the Department of Education

Dems Cheer Domestic Terrorism against Tesla, plus Trump Orders Abolish the Department of Education

2025/3/21
logo of podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz

Verdict with Ted Cruz

AI Chapters Transcript
Chapters
The chapter discusses the alleged domestic terrorism against Tesla, the political motivations behind it, and the response from public figures and law enforcement. It includes references to political figures like Tim Walz and Elon Musk, and the legal actions being taken against perpetrators.
  • Elon Musk described the violence against Tesla as unprecedented and coordinated.
  • There have been multiple incidents of arson and shootings at Tesla locations.
  • Prominent Democrats like Tim Walz have been criticized for not condemning these acts.
  • The Attorney General Pam Bondi announced charges against three individuals involved in Tesla attacks.
  • The chapter highlights the ideological clash between left and right regarding free speech and violence.

Shownotes Transcript

It is Ryan Seacrest here. There was a recent social media trend which consisted of flying on a plane with no music, no movies, no entertainment. But a better trend would be going to ChumbaCasino.com. It's like having a mini social casino in your pocket. Chumba Casino has over a hundred online casino style games all

absolutely free. It's the most fun you can have online and on a plane. So grab your free welcome bonus now at ChumbaCasino.com. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. No purchase necessary. VGW group void where prohibited by law. 21 plus terms and conditions apply.

It's Ryan Seacrest here looking for ways to feel your best in 2025. I want to share one of my biggest and best tips. When I want to feel my best, I make sure to check my gut health. That's so important. It's why I drink HealthAid Kombucha daily. It's powered with probiotics, which helps me feel less bloated and more refreshed with so many delicious flavors like Pink Lady Apple, Passion Fruit Tangerine, and Ginger Lemon. It's such an easy way to support my health. Look for the brown bottle with an

anchor on it find it now at whole foods hey clay if there was a summer camp for critical thinking we'd be the chief counselors those jellyheads in june would be intellectual warriors by august be a lot of fun too some bill and ted's excellent adventure references thrown in this podcast like a daily dose of that minus the campfires archery and pranking the girls

The Bonafide Boot Camp for critical thinking. You can get in on it for free at the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search our names, play and balk, listen and subscribe.

We've got two major issues we're going to deal with today on the show. Number one, it's incredible. Donald Trump's executive order on the Department of Education to shut it down. What this is going to do for parents with school choice and giving the power back to the states, plus the amount of money we're spending per pupil, is more than any else in the world. And where do we rank when it comes to education? In many of the areas at the

very bottom. We're going to break that down for you also. And then the other big issue, and it deals with Tesla. And Senator, let's start with what Elon Musk just tweeted out. He put a tweet out, said, quote, has there ever been such a level of coordinated violence against a peaceful company? Question mark. I understand not wanting to buy a product, but this extreme arson and destruction is what we're witnessing right now as the left has gone to war with Tesla.

It really is astonishing. And let me say, first of all, for those of you, if any of you did not listen to the interview that we did with Elon Musk, we went to the White House, we spent over an hour one-on-one with Elon Musk. We put it out as a two-part podcast. Part of it was on Monday, part of it was on Wednesday. If you didn't listen to it, you can listen to it by downloading the podcast or you can watch it on YouTube. If you didn't listen to it or watch it, I would encourage you to. It was fantastic.

fascinating. It was one of the most important podcasts we've ever done, and so you don't want to miss it. You don't want to miss both parts. It broke news. It drove news nationally, and it really was Elon revealing who he is. And one of the things we talked about was the violence and domestic terrorism directed towards Tesla. Well, in the days since that interview, it's only gotten worse. I got to say, today's Democrat Party is characterized by rage,

As best I can tell, they don't stand for much of anything other than their radical agenda of open borders and releasing violent criminals, murderers, and rapists, and child molesters, and boys and girls sports, and radical gender ideology, and anti-Semitism, and undermining Israel. That seems to be the unifying policy behind the Democrats, but the unifying motivation right now is this inchoate movement

anger and rage and hate, and they hate, hate, hate Donald J. Trump. And to be honest, they hate, hate, hate the voters who voted for Donald J. Trump. But they've now projected much of that anger and hate on Elon Musk. And so Trump derangement syndrome is a very real thing. And Elon derangement syndrome is a very real thing. And understand when the left hates something,

They engage in violence. We've seen this with the anti-Semitic pro-Hamas protest on campuses where violence has erupted. We've seen this with the Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots across the country where we saw police cars firebombed and stores looted and police officers murdered, and we saw rampant violence. And we are now seeing this with Tesla. And the left is

is an ideology that if you are on the opposing side, they don't view it as you have a right to speak. They're opposed to free speech. They want to censor you. They want to silence you. If you're on the other side and you vote for your opponent, they don't view you as a participant in democracy who's expressing your views. They view you as the enemy.

and they want to destroy you, they want to bankrupt you, and they want to engage in violence against you. Now, some of you may be saying, okay, that's too extreme, that's going too far, that's not where the left is. Well,

I want you to give a listen to Tim Waltz. Tim Waltz, who just about six minutes ago was the Democrats nominee to be the vice president of the United States. He was Kamala Harris's running mate, and he's the sitting governor of Minnesota. Here's Tim Waltz talking about what he wants to see happen to Tesla. Give a listen. Saying on my phone, I know some of you know this on the iPhone. They've got that little stock app. I added Tesla to it to give me a little boost during the day. 225 and dropping.

So and if you own one, if you own one, we're not blaming you. You can you can take dental floss and pull the Tesla thing off, you know, and take out just telling you. Senator, this is what I call the dog whistle for violence, because he says this and then others go out and are actually shooting and burning up Teslas.

Well, listen, I retweeted this and described Tim Walz as a small, bitter, evil, angry bastard. Like he is sitting there. This is an elected government official that is rooting for, number one, bankrupting Tesla. Now there are thousands and thousands of employees in Tesla. These are Americans who are making cars. By the way, the left, if you want to see how they're utter hypocrites,

They claim the climate crisis is going to destroy the world. Well, Tesla is the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in America. Five minutes ago, they loved Tesla. They loved Elon Musk. As long as he was making electric vehicles, they loved him. Now they've decided we hate electric vehicles and we want to bankrupt Tesla.

the largest manufacturer of them in America. Why? Because we hate Elon. And at the end of the day, this is about tribalism. This is about my team versus your team. And listen, on the right, I don't advocate violence. Violence is wrong. And if you engage in violence, whether you agree with me or not, you should go to jail. We don't support violence against our political opponents. The left does. The left views the world through a Marxist mindset.

My last book was Unwoke, How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America, a Marxist mindset where they advocate the violent revolution of the so-called victims against the so-called oppressors. And so Tim Waltz,

is cheering on he wants to see Tesla go bankrupt. He wants to see every Tesla employee lose their jobs. By the way, your 401k is probably invested in Tesla. He wants to see your 401k go down. And if every retirement fund in America, if the teacher's retirement fund, if the police retirement fund, if the firefighter retirement fund goes down because the left succeeds in bankrupting Tesla...

These angry, vindictive little Marxist will celebrate and understand it's not just about economic devastation. It is about actual violence. I want you to listen to this segment from The Daily Show and The Daily Show. They're talking about the domestic terrorism that is playing out against Tesla. And listen to the crowd's reaction. Give a listen. Jim, they're taking to the streets or the the parking lots.

- Tonight, the FBI and ATF now investigating multiple cases of possible arson targeting Teslas and Cybertrucks. - This dramatic video shows multiple cars in flames. Police say the attacker used Molotov cocktails. It's the latest in more than a dozen instances of arson and vandalism targeting Tesla. - The same suspect shot more Teslas with a gun. Tesla Cybertrucks were set on fire in Kansas City and earlier this month, shots fired at a Tesla dealership in Oregon.

Cybertrucks on fire in Seattle. Wow, you guys like petty acts of domestic terrorism, huh? Petty acts of terrorism, Senator. Cool, right? Like, let's cheer for that. Why not? It's striking. So at the end there...

That's the Daily Show host. That's the comedian. And he's a little bit like, holy crap, like when he says, wow, you guys like petty acts of domestic terrorism. They're cheering for it. They're happy. And by the way, it ain't petty. The last I checked, arson is not petty. Throwing Molotov cocktails is not petty. Firing guns at Tesla dealership is not petty. People are going to be killed. Firing a gun at a dealership, you know, there are people who work there.

And the left, this is something they celebrate, they revel in. It's reminiscent of this Luigi clown who murdered the senior executive, health care executive. We did a podcast at the time how the left was celebrating murder. They were happy to see him murdered. The anti-capitalist left.

They hate their opponents and they are willing to cheer the murder of their opponents. And we're seeing here, this is domestic violence. Now, here's some good news. The Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that three Tesla arson defendants are going to face the full force of law. And for using Molotov cocktails to set fire to electric vehicles and charging statements. Pam Bondi said, quote,

The days of committing crimes without consequences have ended. Let this be a warning. If you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.

And she's charging three people for their alleged involvement in attacks against Tesla properties in Salem, Oregon, Loveland, Colorado, and Charleston, South Carolina. Bravo, Pam Bondi. Bravo to the Department of Justice. But you know what? There are a whole lot more people that are committing these acts of violence. And I'm here to tell you, I don't believe these are spontaneous. I think we need to follow the money. I think the Department of Justice and the FBI are going to follow the money.

And whoever is funding it, I don't know if it's this. No, that's exactly what I want to ask you. John Cusack appeared on a Tesla takedown call, for example, says that Elon Musk is literally, quote, killing people. The actor complained that the United States is a fascist country and becoming more fascist every day. He joined this. And again, it's called a hashtag like this is not some secret group.

hashtag Tesla takedown, a, quote, mass mobilizing call on Wednesday to express his opinion about Elon Musk, whom the actor claimed is, quote, literally killing people. The 58-year-old also hit Musk with a string of other insults during the call. So this goes back to what you and I have talked about before, whether it's Act Blue, whether it's Black Lives Matter, whether it's, you know, the summer of takedown that the Occupy Wall Street, this is all,

coming from organized groups that are being funded. This is clearly organized. If you're getting Cusack on a phone call for this, it is clearly funded. And I'll tell you right now, if you are putting money behind and in support of domestic terrorism, existing federal law makes it a crime using incendiary devices is defined as domestic terrorism. You are going to be prosecuted. We talked with Elon in the interview, uh,

about indications that ActBlue was being used to fund this. I have to admit, I actually hope that is the case because ActBlue is the principal fundraising mechanism for the left and for the Democrats. And if ActBlue is being used, ActBlue will be shut down. And...

I don't know if the Soros network is involved, but if the Soros network is involved, I believe this Department of Justice is going to follow the money. And anyone who is funding domestic terrorism, they're going to face the consequences of their action. That is important for the rule of law. And it's striking. Look, there are Democrat members of Congress participating. Jasmine Crockett from Texas participated in one of these Tesla takedown calls targeting a major U.S. company.

wanting to bankrupt a major U.S. company, wanting to have all of its American workers lose their jobs. By the way, they don't care if they were to remove America's leading manufacturer of electric vehicles. The next time they prattle on about the climate crisis, know that they're complete and utter hypocrites because they don't care about that. They only care about it if you happen to be on their team, if you happen to be supporting their side. And every one of these people knows they're not just talking about

declining to purchase this product. They are talking about and celebrating as the crowd at the Daily Show demonstrating they are cheering on Molotov cocktails, violent firebombing and firing guns. And I'll tell you, somebody is going to be killed. And these leftists, they do not care. And we know that.

because these same leftists cheered on the murder of the senior health care executive by Luigi the communist, and they continue to cheer him on. You see leftists...

Luigi's face on their body and making T-shirts. And he's become a cause celeb because they advocate violence against anyone who dares disagree with them. While you and I are talking, I literally was sent by a congressman the John Cusack video

video and audio i want to play this because not only if you haven't seen this this is how organized the left is they've got a a full like live tv box around this broadcast on x where they were doing this they have a website tesla takedown.com hashtag tesla takedown mass call they've got graphics they have actor and activist john cusack he's

Here is John in his own words. He said, you know, Musk is kind of this arch villain of late stage capitalism, and he seems like this clown and this buffoon. But like Alex said, you know, this is a man who made a SIGCHILE Nazi salute, not only in public, but at a presidential victory party. It's good to remember that these are unprecedented times of mass criminality going on in the United States right now.

And that, like Trump, Musk is a pathological liar. He's a criminal. He's a sociopath and a ghoul. And I mean those terms very precisely because who else would use his own child as a sympathy prop while literally taking starving aid away from people all over the world?

Now, he goes on for another four minutes just on this. But this is a man that is advocating and supporting people to take up, in essence, arms against Tesla. Look, it is I tweeted today leftism is a mental disease. And I don't think that is an overstatement. And let me underscore again.

Nobody that I know of on the right is calling for violence against the other side. I would strongly oppose and I do strongly oppose violence against the other side. I'll denounce them. But violence is wrong. And what they are doing it. And let me ask you something.

Have you heard a single Democrat, have you heard one, denounce the domestic terrorism against Tesla dealerships, against the cars, the firebombings? Have you heard even one? Not one. And why not? Because they don't mind this. I mean, I think this is part of their now core playbook. Has Kamala Harris said anything about it? Has Joe Biden said anything about it? Has Tim Walz said anything about it? Yes, he celebrated it.

How about Nancy Pelosi? How about Akeem Jeffries? How about Chuck Schumer? They're either silent or cheering. Well, as you said earlier, Senator, thank goodness that the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, announcing these charges for that Tesla attack and warning against domestic terrorism, saying if you join in this, we're coming after you and we're going to put you behind bars. Thank goodness we have law and order restored today.

at the Department of Justice with her in charge and others at the FBI. I want to move to story number two, and it's also a really big story. And I want to look at this from an issue of hope and excitement. There are a lot of parents that are listening and grandparents right now who know just how screwed up the public education system is in this country. They understand the data that the K-12 schools are spending annually

857 billion annually. That's 17,277 on average per student.

It is incredible. And what we're getting for that is not very much. We're at the bottom of the list in many categories. And the president came out with a very big announcement. And that is that his goal is to dismantle the Department of Education, sending this back to the states. Now, where parents get excited, this brings up the issue of school choice. Now, it's something that you are actually in Austin, Texas.

talking about today as we're recording this. And you've been a champion of school choice for quite some time. Well, that's right. So on Thursday, President Trump issued an executive order calling for the Department of Education to be abolished and calling for the money and the authority to be sent back to the states and sent back to the local districts. Now,

The corrupt corporate media being what it is, whenever you hear the words abolish the Department of Education, what they transmute that into is abolish education. And they try to say that means that Republicans are opposed to education. It's exactly the opposite. And I just pose a simple question. Where do you want the money going? Do you want the money going to parents and kids and teachers to have excellent education?

Or do you want the money going to woke radical bureaucrats in Washington who are putting red tape and strangling our schools and our education? That's the choice because the Department of Education, there ain't nobody at the Federal Department of Education that is teaching your kids. There ain't nobody that is in Mrs. Smith's sixth grade class that is teaching reading or writing arithmetic.

But what there are is a bunch of bureaucrats that are putting paperwork in place, that are putting burdens in place. And it is particularly under Joe Biden, the Department of Education was weaponized. It was weaponized to push an extreme woke agenda. It was weaponized to push DEI. It was weaponized to push boys and girls sports. It was weaponized to push their extreme transgender ideology agenda.

And the president is following through. So the executive order directs the secretary of education to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and to return education authority to the states while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs and benefits on which Americans rely. So again, the corrupt corporate media will say, well, this will halt.

funding for low-income kids. This will halt funding for kids with disabilities. When you hear that on CNN, know that they're lying to you. Know that they're deliberately lying to you. They know they're lying to you. You should know they're lying to you. This is designed to keep the funding there, but have the decision-making at the state and local level, and a huge part of that

is to facilitate school choice. And we're going to do a deeper dive into school choice in a moment. But I got to say, this executive order is a big, big deal from the president. He announced it surrounded by governors because it's going to be the governors now who are going to be in charge and the states in charge of the education policies in their states.

Yeah, and I want to play just a little bit of what Donald Trump had to say at this announcement, as you mentioned, with those governors signing this executive order, shutting down the education department. Take a listen. President Carter created the Federal Education Department in 1979. It was opposed by members of his own cabinet, as well as the American Federation of Teachers, the New York Times editorial board, and the famed Democrat Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

History has proven them right, absolutely right. After 45 years, the United States spends more money on education by far than any other country and spends likewise by far more money per pupil than any country and it's not even close, but yet we rank near the bottom of the list in terms of success.

It's an amazing stat. Those are two stats you don't want. The most money spent per pupil and you're at the bottom of the list. And that's where we are, like it or not. And we've been there for a long time.

You listen to him talk about the more money per pupil than any other place. And this kind of goes back to Doge mentality. If we're wasting money, then let's stop wasting money and we can do a better job with your tax dollars if it's at the state level. And if you have the ability to choose the best place for your child to get an education, it's your tax dollars. You know what to do with them better than we do.

Look, that's absolutely right. And to understand the level of waste, since the Department of Education was created in 1979, it has spent over $3 trillion. $3 trillion. Now, what has the result been? The result is, despite per pupil spending increasing by over 245% since the 1970s, math scores have continued to decline.

Reading scores have continued to decline, particularly among low-performing students. Eighth grade reading proficiency has fallen to its lowest level in 32 years, with over a third of students failing to demonstrate basic reading skills appropriate for their grade. Only 67% of eighth graders meet basic reading skills. Only 60% of fourth graders meet basic reading skills.

Reading scores on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress fell two points on average for both eighth and fourth graders. And there's been a steady decline in reading that predates COVID era disruptions. I'm going to give you a stat that is stunning. In 2023,

13 high schools in Baltimore, Maryland. How many students in 13 high schools in Baltimore, Maryland do you think tested proficient in mathematics? No clue. Zero. Wow. 13 high schools had not even a single student, not a single senior, not a single junior, not a single sophomore, not a single freshman. Had zero students in the entire high school test proficient in math. 13 schools. Now, look.

If you were a leader in Baltimore, Maryland, you ought to be really unhappy about this. You ought to be demanding change. You are graduating students who can't read. You're graduating students who are not proficient in math. And what is happening, the Democrats, they have a basic choice. Do you care about the kids or do you care about money from the teachers unions? Now, as you mentioned, I'm in Austin today. I went to the state capitol.

And I went on to the floor of the House, and I'll tell you, the floor of the House, they actually read a commendation thanking me for my leadership in school choice. School choice for me has been a passion for 30 years. I've spent 30 years fighting for school choice. I believe school choice is the civil rights issue of the 21st century. I think there is no other domestic policy that matters more. And I believe every child in Texas...

And every child in America deserves access to an excellent education regardless of their race, regardless of their ethnicity, regardless of their wealth or their zip code. And Texas is on the verge of passing the largest school choice program in America.

And it is historic. One out of every 10 school kids in America is in the state of Texas. So for Texas to lead is a big, big deal. And I'll tell you, I have been engaging. So for the past six years, I engage in primaries in the state of Texas against state legislators who oppose school choice. And I'll tell you, there are 100 U.S. senators. To the best of my knowledge, 99 of them

stay out of primaries in their own state. And there's a reason for that. When you get involved in a primary in your own state, it's bad politics. It's stupid. It hurts you. Why? Because when you do it, the old rule of thumb is you get half their friends and all their enemies. So when you jump in the middle, you're making enemies and you're costing yourself votes. I do it anyway. Every cycle, I have my team make an Excel spreadsheet of every vote a state legislator has cast on school choice.

And if you're a Republican state rep or state senator and you voted in favor of school choice and you're otherwise relatively conservative, you are very likely to get my support. But if you haven't, if you voted against choice, the chance of my supporting you is zero. And if you have at all a credible primary challenger, it is very likely I'm going to endorse your primary challenger. And when I do it, I don't do so gently.

I come in and I do radio ads, I do TV ads, I do rallies, I campaign. And over the last six years, there have been a bunch of Republican state reps who voted the wrong way on choice, and we've come in and beaten them. We brought in someone new who's going to stand for the kids of Texas. And so I was on the floor of the House, and then I went back to the Speaker's office, and I was meeting one-on-one with a whole bunch of state reps and making the case what you're doing right now is a big deal. And I'll tell you, Ben, I announced today

I'm spending a quarter million dollars, $250,000 running TV ads all across Texas, running them over the top, directly connecting with voters, also sending text, supporting 14 state reps, freshman state reps, Republicans, and thanking them.

for supporting school choice. Now, look, the teachers unions are spending massive amounts of money attacking these Republicans, trying to scare them into voting the wrong way. And so I'm spending from my own political resources to say thank you to them, to support them, to buck them up, to give air support. Texas is going to get this done. And I'll tell you, I have been leading the fight for a long time. I've never been more excited about school choice in Texas than I am right now.

Hello, it is Ryan, and I was on a flight the other day playing one of my favorite social spin slot games on Chumbacasino.com. I looked over at the person sitting next to me, and you know what they were doing? They were also playing Chumbacasino. Everybody's loving having fun with it. Chumbacasino is home to hundreds of casino-style games that you can play for free anytime, anywhere. So sign up now at Chumbacasino.com to claim your free welcome bonus. That's Chumbacasino.com.

And live the Chumba life. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. No purchase necessary. VGW group void where prohibited by law. 21 plus terms and conditions apply. So after more than a year of nothing but war and terror and pain, the need for security essentials and support for first responders is still critical.

Even in times of a ceasefire, Israel must be prepared for the next attack whenever it may come, as Israel, as we all know, is surrounded by enemies on all sides. And thankfully, we have partnered very proudly with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and they will continue to support.

the tens and tens of thousands of people in Israel with their life-saving security essentials. Your gift today will help save lives. You're providing bomb shelters, armored security, vehicles, ambulances, and humanitarian assistance at a very high level. Your generous donation will help ensure that the people of Israel are safe, that they are secure in the days to come.

Please go to their website, supportifcj.org. That's one word, supportifcj.org. Or call 888-488-IFCJ, 888-488-IFCJ, or 888-488-4325 today. It's Ryan Seacrest here, looking for ways to feel your best in 2025. I want to share one of my biggest and best tips. When I want to feel my best, I make sure to check my gut health.

That's so important. It's why I drink HealthAid Kombucha daily. It's powered with probiotics, which helps me feel less bloated and more refreshed with so many delicious flavors like Pink Lady Apple, Passion Fruit Tangerine, and Ginger Lemon. It's such an easy way to support my health. Look for the brown bottle with an anchor on it. Find it now at Whole Foods.

The best way to understand all sides of an issue is to know all sides of an issue. Can't get that in the mainstream media, which is why you've got to listen to some Clay and Buck for another point of view. Buck, why are you going third person? Because, Clay, I think this ad is running in places that might not exactly align with all of our politics or even know who we are. It's impossible. But...

Maybe if it's true, I bet if they did listen, they'd end up agreeing with us on at least one issue, even if they secretly won't admit it. Well, the only way they're going to find out is if they download the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show podcast on the iHeartRadio app or wherever they get their pods. We're easy to find, unlike your wife at Costco.

Clay, you speak the truth, but we're already losing people. I think I gained one or two just now. In case you haven't noticed, we like to have a lot of fun as well as talk about what's going on in the world. Come hang with us today and every day at Clay and Buck. Download the iHeartRadio app, search out those names, Clay Travis, Buck Sexton, and come hang.

Well, let's talk about what the left says and just how they've been so successful at stopping this. A lot of this is because the teachers unions are very powerful. The Department of Education and their alumni have become incredibly powerful and making sure that they fearmonger and terrify parents that your kids won't be able to get an education if you give parents the freedom to choose.

This has become that type of kind of third rail, as we call it, an issue in politics. You don't touch Social Security, you don't touch education, even if it is failing. So let's talk about some of their claims and what the audience needs to understand about why some of them are just flat out bogus. Well, virtually all of them are bogus. And understand, you know, choice has been an issue that has been

debated for a long time. When I first got involved in the school choice movement, it was three decades ago. And at the time, it was a fairly nascent movement. At the time, it was mostly a theoretical idea. It had come from free market economists like Milton Friedman, but it hadn't been implemented in many places. And there were lots of arguments that were used 30 years ago, the most significant one of which was

was school choice will destroy the public schools. And you hear the teachers union saying that. You hear the corporate media amplifying that message. And I got to say that that message is powerful. If that were true, I would oppose school choice. Let me repeat that. I don't want to destroy the public schools.

If school choice would destroy the public schools, I would oppose choice. Why? Because the vast majority of our kids are educated in the public schools and they will continue to be for the foreseeable future. And I think education is so foundational. Destroying the public schools would be terrible. We now know that argument is absolutely false. It is not right. How do we know that? We know that because there are dozens of jurisdictions all across the country that have implemented school choice.

And in every instance, what happens? When you implement school choice, when you give kids scholarships and options, several things happen. Number one, the kids that take the scholarships that go to new schools, that go to private schools or parochial schools, religious schools,

We know the educational outcomes go up. Their reading scores go up. Their math scores go up. Their high school graduation scores go up. Their percentage of going to college goes up. We know for those kids, their educational outcomes are significantly better. But here's the critical piece. We now know school choice benefits the public schools. It is better for the public schools. What happens is when you have competition,

The educational outcomes for the kids that stay in the public schools, that never exercise the vouchers, that never get the scholarships, that never leave their educational outcomes get better. And look, anyone who understands free market should understand that competition is good. And when you have competition. All right, Ben, here's something that a number of folks will remember.

Actually, you're young enough, you will not remember this, but cars in the 1970s, American cars in the 1970s, I'm going to tell you because I was born in 1970 as a kid, the quality of American cars in the 1970s sucked. You had giant gas guzzlers that broke down a lot and it was not very good.

And in the late 70s and the early 80s, you started having Japanese cars come in. And there was a whole freakout about Japanese cars competing with American cars because they were coming in with Honda and Toyota. And their quality was really good. And...

American consumers were buying them instead of American cars. And there was a whole, I remember as a kid when I was like 8, 9, 10 years old, there was a whole freak out like the Japanese are going to destroy the American car industry and we're doomed and we can't compete with the Japanese. People were freaked out. And at Chrysler, there was a CEO named Lee Iacocca who came in

and said, all right, the answer is let's stop making crappy cars. Let's make good cars. Like, how do we beat Toyota and Honda and the Japanese companies coming in? Well, let's make better cars so the consumers want... And we saw quality improve dramatically. American cars are much better. And you now look at things like Suburbans and Escalades and all sorts of American cars that people like to buy. But why do they like to buy them? Because the competition...

Made the American car makers make better cars. Tesla. Teslas are really cool cars. They're incredibly fast. They're incredibly well made. But that's because they're in a competitive market. What happens with school choice? We now know this is when the students and parents have a choice, the quality of education improves and it benefits the public schools.

Yeah, in a major way. What do the listeners need to do? This is one of those action moments, I think, where it's really important. Is this a you got to lobby your state legislature at the same time you're calling Congress? Because let's be very realistic here. This is going to be a big fight. Now, I think it's a fight worth having. I also think one of the things that people may not understand about the strategy of the president is,

The conversation center you and I are having right now is the conversation. The president clearly is wanting the American people to have about their kids and grandkids and public education. This is part of this is you've got to start winning the hearts and minds of voters and people in this country, taxpayers. And one way to do it is to say, I'm getting rid of the Department of Education. Now, this may not happen tomorrow. It may not happen a month from now or even three months from now. But this is a step in the right direction.

Well, it's a big step. And let me say, shutting down the Federal Department of Education is incredibly important. Now, Congress is going to need to act. We're going to need to pass legislation, making it permanent. And I'm eager to do so. Why? Because I think the states are much more effective, much more responsive to students. And they don't put the same bureaucracy and red tape on the schools. Look, you want to understand. Here's a point I made at the Texas legislature today.

We had a press conference and I pointed out, I said, listen, I think the legislature is going to pass the biggest and boldest and most significant school choice program in America. When it comes time to a vote, most, if not every Democrat is going to vote no. Now, I hope that's not the case. And by the way, you want to talk about, I had a reporter ask, why do you say school choice is the civil rights issue of the 21st century? Well,

If you look at the failing schools, at the schools where you have rampant violence, where you have high dropout rates, where you have incredibly low test scores, they're predominantly in low-income areas, and they're predominantly minority schools. They're predominantly African-American schools and Hispanic schools. You look at the kids who are disproportionately harmed by failing schools, and they're disproportionately minority kids.

There is a reason that every time a poll is done of African-American parents or Hispanic parents, you see overwhelming support for school choice, 60 percent, 70 percent, sometimes as high as 80 percent. Now, most elected Democrats claim they are fighting for minorities. Many of them are representing districts that are heavily minority. And yet.

Almost every Democrat and maybe every Democrat intends to vote against school choice, against those kids. And here's why I'm going to quote. I'm going to quote Al Shanker, who was the longtime president of the American Federation of Teachers. And here's what what he said, quote, when school children start paying union dues, that's when I'll start representing the interest of school children.

Wow. You want to know what's going on with Democrats? They're interested in money and manpower. And the teachers union are consistently among, if not their biggest funders and among, if not their biggest source of manpower. And every Democrat who makes the decision, I'm voting against choice. What they're saying is I want the dollars from the union bosses more than I care about the kids in my district, more than I care about the African-American and Hispanic kids and the low income kids themselves.

who are trapped in failing schools, who are not learning to read, who are not learning arithmetic, who are going to drop out. And by the way, if they drop out, we know, just like night follows day, we know the odds of poverty are much, much higher. We know the odds of crime are much, much higher. We know the odds of substance abuse are much, much higher. We know the odds of serious health care issues are much, much higher.

And so every Democrat who says, I want the money from the union bosses more than these kids is willing to essentially throw these children overboard and say, your future doesn't matter. That's why it's the civil rights issue of the 21st century. And it's why I've spent 30 years fighting for it.

Yeah, it really is. Don't forget we do this show Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Hit that subscribe or auto-download button. If you miss one of the shows, we do a weekend review on Saturdays, giving you some of the big highlights of the week. And part of that is going to be Elon Musk interview. And if you did miss it, you go back and listen. It was incredible. Two-part series, Monday and Wednesday. You can also watch it and subscribe on YouTube. It is a really fun interview to watch because you get some great facial expressions from Elon Musk.

You can tell when he's really thinking hard about an answer before he gives it, and it just gives it even more life. So grab that on YouTube as well. And the Senator and I will see you back here in a couple of days.

Ever wake up feeling lousy, knowing something is off with your body? You don't have time for guesswork. You need Viome. Forget all the generic health fads. Viome doesn't tell you what you want to hear. It tells you what's actually going on inside your body. By analyzing your gut microbiome, Viome delivers a custom health plan that's as unique as your DNA. It's science, not nonsense. Want energy? Want better digestion? Viome has your back.

Stop trusting amateurs. Go to Viome.com for a personalized gut professional. Now, call StarStarGuts to get $50 off a full-body intelligence test. That's StarStar488 to receive a link to the offer. How to have fun, anytime, anywhere. Step one, go to ChumbaCasino.com. ChumbaCasino.com. Got it. Step two, collect your welcome bonus. Come to Papa welcome bonus. Step three, play hundreds of casino-style games for free. That's a lot of games. All for free? Step four, unleash your excitement. Woo-hoo!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-chumba! Chumba Casino has been delivering thrills for over a decade. So claim your free welcome bonus now and live the chumba life. Visit chumbacasino.com. No purchase necessary. VGW group void where prohibited by law. 21 plus terms and conditions apply. For some of us, personal finances aren't just personal. They include a lot more people than ourselves. Loved ones, neighbors, the communities we call home, and the causes we hold in our hearts.

At Thrivent, we help plan your financial picture with the bigger picture in mind. Because even though our business is helping guide your finances, our ambition is to make it mean so much more. Thrivent, where money means more. Connect with us at Thrivent.com.

It's Ryan Seacrest here looking for ways to feel your best in 2025. I want to share one of my biggest and best tips. When I want to feel my best, I make sure to check my gut health. That's so important. It's why I drink HealthAid Kombucha daily. It's powered with probiotics, which helps me feel less bloated and more refreshed with so many delicious flavors like Pink Lady Apple, Passion Fruit Tangerine, and Ginger Lemon. It's such an easy way to support my health. Look for the brown bottle with an

anchor on it find it now at whole foods hey clay if there was a summer camp for critical thinking we'd be the chief counselors those jellyheads in june would be intellectual warriors by august be a lot of fun too some bill and ted's excellent adventure references thrown in this podcast like a daily dose of that minus the campfires archery and pranking the girls

the bonafide boot camp for critical thinking. You can get in on it for free at the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search our names, Clay and Bach, listen and subscribe.