BLOGMay 11, 2017

Glenn Tells Head of Libertarian Party What Floored Him About Gary Johnson

Nicholas Sarwark, chairman of the Libertarian Party joined Glenn in studio Thursday to discuss the contentious 2016 election and the future of his party. Does Sarwark see 2016 as a missed opportunity for the Libertarian Party?

"Absolutely not," Sarwark said.

"You don't?" Glenn responded in surprise.

Glenn and Sarwark continued a lively discussion about the 2016 candidates, Gary Johnson's distrust of religion more than government, and how Libertarians can shape their message of individual freedom to appeal to a larger swath of voters.

"He made a point every time he came on this program to mention that he distrusted religion more than he distrusted the United States government, and we were floored by that," Glenn said. "Now, I have a healthy distrust of religion as well. Religion gets us into problems just like government does. It depends on who is running those things."

Enjoy the complimentary clip or read the transcript for details.

GLENN: We've invited the chairman of the Libertarian Party on, Nicholas Sarwark. He's 37 years old. He took over the head of the Libertarian Party when he was 34. He's a former public defender and -- and wants to grow the Libertarian Party. Welcome to the program. How are you?

NICHOLAS: I'm fabulous. Thank you so much for having me on, Glenn.

GLENN: You bet. When you look back at 2016, do you see that as a missed opportunity for the Libertarian Party?

NICHOLAS: Absolutely not.

GLENN: You don't?

NICHOLAS: We -- we took advantage of the opportunities that were given.

We had been doing work -- as you probably know, the Libertarian Party has been around for 45 years now, and it's been small, and it's been growing slowly and steadily over time. 2016 was a huge opportunity. The old parties decided they wanted to nominate the worst people they could find, and they did.

GLENN: Right. Right.

ROBERT: We nominated two very experienced former governors who were very popular Republican governors in Democratic states. So we had kind of the perfect storm.

GLENN: But were they? And I hate this test because no one ever passes the Libertarian test. You can talk to any Libertarian, and they will convince you that you're not Libertarian enough. So it doesn't -- so I hate this test. But these guys were for a lot of big government policies, when they were government -- when they were in government. And they also, you know, didn't meet basic fundamental principles of freedom of religion, et cetera, et cetera.

And we felt at least -- and, you know, I don't know who the Libertarian Party is trying to appeal to. But we felt at least -- and still do -- we belong in the Libertarian Party because we're strict constitutionalists.

NICHOLAS: Right.

GLENN: But we don't feel welcome there. And we certainly didn't feel welcome with Gary Johnson.

NICHOLAS: Really? And who made you feel unwelcome, Glenn?

STU: You. It was you.

GLENN: Gary Johnson.

NICHOLAS: It's usually me.

GLENN: No, it was Gary Johnson.

NICHOLAS: Really?

GLENN: Yeah, he was on our show a couple of times.

STU: And we liked him.

GLENN: And we liked him.

STU: We had good conversation with him.

NICHOLAS: Okay.

STU: But, for example -- quick example to back this up, he mentioned a lot to a lot of different media sources the percentage of issues he agreed with Bernie Sanders on. That was a big talking point for him, and I think to a lot of people in this audience, even though I can't imagine the percentage he was quoting, which was like 80 percent or something like that, was actually true, because he was using that as such a kind of an outward talking point, to many media sources and mentioned it even here on the show, I think that that scared a lot of the audience away.

NICHOLAS: Right.

GLENN: Also, he made a point every time he came on this program to mention that he distrusted religion more than he distrusted the United States -- the government. And we.

NICHOLAS: That's --

GLENN: And we were floored by that. Now, I have a healthy distrust of religion as well. Religion gets us into problems just like government does.

NICHOLAS: Right.

GLENN: It depends on who is running those things.

So we just -- we just felt like -- and this is why I wanted to have you on.

JEFFY: Yeah.

GLENN: Like Austin Petersen, we loved. We loved.

NICHOLAS: Okay.

GLENN: Where are you guys headed -- because I know America, especially the youth, is headed towards this -- you know, this idea of a new kind of Marxism. And big government. Are you guys constitutionalists, or a hybrid of things? What is it?

STU: Wow. That was a long question.

NICHOLAS: Yeah, that's a huge question. It's double-teaming, which is perfectly fair.

I'm used to it.

So starting with the Sanders thing, yeah, Gary Johnson agreed with Bernie Sanders 80 percent of the things.

GLENN: May I just say, you're not in a hostile room.

NICHOLAS: I don't feel like I'm in a hostile room. I feel like I'm in a friendly room. I'm smiling.

GLENN: All right.

NICHOLAS: He agreed with Bernie Sanders on a lot of stuff. I agree with Bernie Sanders on a lot of stuff.

GLENN: I agree with Bernie Sanders on the problems, not necessarily the solutions.

NICHOLAS: I agree with a lot of conservatives on a lot of stuff. Libertarianism is something fundamentally different, and there are a lot of conservatives who feel not welcome, as you feel. That's a -- that's a normal feeling. There are a lot of liberals who feel not welcome.

GLENN: Right.

NICHOLAS: And the reason is the same: We kind of deny the validity of the paradigm of left and right. Left and right is not important. What is important is freedom and government control. So if you're pro-freedom on an issue, you're for empowering individuals over empowering government, we're with you, whether the issue with you on is from the left or from the right. And the thing that makes people feel uncomfortable is, if you've been in this left/right paradigm, hearing somebody say nice things about a freedom issue that's on the left makes your skin kind of crawl. And if you talk to liberals, it's the same thing. If I say something nice about what a conservative did because it was pro-freedom on that issue, but it's from the right, they're like, "Well, you guys are just bad Republicans."

STU: Right.

GLENN: I would agree with you in most cases. With this audience -- not all of this audience, but a large share of this audience, we are -- here's the problem with Gary Johnson. Gary Johnson came in and he said -- or was on, and he said twice -- and then the running mate Weld said the same thing that -- we said, "How can you have a law that a photographer has to take a picture or wedding cake -- it doesn't make any sense. You can't be for ultimate freedom and maximum personal responsibility and also say, "Oh, and the government should regulate that." As Penn Jillette and I talked about --

NICHOLAS: Right.

GLENN: -- you know, you should be able to have your business do anything that you want, and I have a reason to go, "I'm never going to go there."

NICHOLAS: I love Penn Jillette. So this is going to be hard for him to watch or listen to.

That's right to a point. There's a -- I can get into a long discussion of Anglo-American contract law and stuff like that. But that's probably boring for your listeners. The point is that there's this tradition of something being open to the public. A movie theater is open to the public. A drugstore is open to the public. And open to the public means if you're a person who is not belligerent and you come in, I sell you the stuff off of my shelves.

I don't get to say, "Hey, you can't buy the candy bar because you're white. Sorry. Leave." That runs through our legal history. There's also a long tradition, in America, which is really different, of a strong and vibrant First Amendment, both the free exercise clause and the free speech clauses, that say, I get to say whatever I want. The government can't stop me. Other people can disagree. And I get to exercise my religion, as I choose, as long as I don't violate laws of general applicability. And there can be no compelled speech. That's big. You can't make me say something I don't want to say, as the government.

The tension comes when you get in the middle. Because what are we talking about when we talk about cakes? Because it's a cake issue. And it's a hypothetical. And it's weird. But up in the northwest, it's not hypothetical. Are we talking about, hey, it's a Costco sheet cake. I just want to buy a cake? In which case, yeah, you have to sell that cake to everybody.

GLENN: It's off a shelf.

NICHOLAS: If it's, I want you to write, I want you to express, I want you to put words on to the cake, then it's different. And then photography gets into a weird spot because it's --

GLENN: It's art.

NICHOLAS: Some of it is art. Some of it is documentary. You know, is the artist's message in there? These are hard issues. There isn't one right answer. It's not black and white. A lot of life isn't black and white. And what I've been trying to do is get Libertarians to focus on how many areas do we agree on?

GLENN: It's amazing. Yeah. A lot.

NICHOLAS: If this is a point of contention, where you are a little farther on the free speech side than the Costco sheet side, that's okay. Because we agree on so much else.

GLENN: I agree.

NICHOLAS: Let's have a beer and talk about this. But let's work together on all the other stuff.

GLENN: I agree with you. It just, to me, it seems like a very -- a very easy call, I have -- for instance, you don't have a right to come in -- to me, to come in and say, "Oh, well, I'm just not serving your kind. So you get out." I got to serve you everything. But if you're asking me to do something that is part of a religious ceremony or something that I feel is religious, then that's an easy call.

NICHOLAS: Right. It's coerced expression.

GLENN: Yeah. And it's just so easy, black and white.

STU: It did not seem to be Gary's position, what you're articulating here. I'm totally comfortable. In fact, I agree with you, on what you just articulated. It's just, that's not what he articulated.

NICHOLAS: I got that. And no candidate is perfect. No person is perfect. I love Gary Johnson. He's strong in some areas. He's weak in others.

STU: As we all are.

NICHOLAS: Austin Peterson is strong in some areas, weak in others. And the delegates make those choices.

GLENN: Right.

NICHOLAS: You know, we're -- you want to talk about big differences between the Libertarian Party and the old parties, we had a convention in Orlando, where 1,000 delegates from across the country selected by state Libertarian parties came into a room. Our bylaws explicitly prohibit bound delegates. Every one of those people was totally free to vote for any presidential nominee. They got to meet them. They got to shake their hands. They got to see them in debates. And those delegates in that room made a choice about who they thought would best represent the Libertarian Party. My job as chairman is to empower the choice of those delegates. So I would get these calls where people would say, "Well, what are you going to do about Weld, or what are you going to do about Johnson?" The delegates decide. I don't decide that.

GLENN: No, I agree with that. It's not you. It's not the party. Now, the question is, how does -- because to me, this looks like such an easy place to go and unite the country. Because I -- I really believe -- I can live next to Ben & Jerry for the rest of my life. And they can --

NICHOLAS: They live here? I thought they were up in Vermont.

GLENN: Yeah. But I could live next to them for the rest of my life and we'd never -- we'd be perfectly fine neighbors.

NICHOLAS: Right.

GLENN: It's only when I try to affect them or their business or what they believe, or they try to do it to me --

NICHOLAS: Right.

GLENN: -- coercively through government. So -- and I think that's where a vast majority of America is. I could be wrong.

How do you shape that message to cut through and -- and appeal to -- to more people? Because I think that's where people are.

NICHOLAS: I think you start by changing people's premises. The veterans of the culture wars, like many veterans, bear scars from that. Because these were fights that we had during the '90s and the 2000s, between the right and the left, over who gets to have government tell you how to live your life. That's what made them so bitter. That's what made them so angry. Because the stakes of losing were so high.

GLENN: Correct.

NICHOLAS: In a Libertarian society, what we change -- what the party is trying to do in changing America is take that option off the table. No matter how much we disagree --

GLENN: Amen.

NICHOLAS: -- about how you live your life or I live my life, which we may, probably have some disagreements, we agree as a premise that I won't try to use the government to try and control you and you won't use it to try and control me.

GLENN: This is so easy.

NICHOLAS: And it makes -- it makes for better debates and discussions and dialogues because we can get heated and we can get angry. And we can shout or yell or cry or whatever, but we know at the end of the day, it's safe. Because we're exchanging ideas, not fists or guns. That's what we're trying to -- to change about the culture of politics in this country. Libertarian politics is basically -- it's anti-politics. Politics, political economy generally is different groups of people arguing over which one of them gets to take your tax money and give it to their corporate cronies. Theirs. Because theirs are the good ones. Not the other guys. The other guys -- you don't want to give any money to him, but the developer that I know, oh, yeah. No, that's the guy that should get your tax dollars.

GLENN: We're seeing this with Donald Trump.

NICHOLAS: Right.

GLENN: The right was against the stimulus package.

NICHOLAS: Until he did it.

GLENN: Until he's got a bigger stimulus package, and they're for it.

NICHOLAS: Right. We're fundamentally different because we're the only political party in the country that's dedicated to the idea that you have a right to pursue happiness any way you choose, as long as you don't hurt other people and you don't take their stuff.

We're fighting to make it so that government stops taking stuff away from you and stops controlling your life.

GLENN: Okay. So let's get into that. When we come back --

NICHOLAS: Sure.

GLENN: And you're going to be with me on TheBlaze, so we'll maybe spend another ten minutes. And then tonight, at 5 o'clock, we'll spend a full hour. And I really want to concentrate on that. Because there's a new study out -- and this is of conservatives -- conservative millennials. Forty -- 51 percent say that the government -- that the First Amendment is sacrosanct, that you have a right to speech and a right to free press. 49 percent say that is sacrosanct. But the government has to decide what speech is okay. I mean, it's crazy. And it's conservatives that are saying that. How do we change that?

[break]

GLENN: Talking to Nicholas Sarwark. He is the chairman of the Libertarian Party. We have to get to this here in a couple of minutes, and we'll probably spend more time on it tonight. Can you just go over -- because I only have two minutes here. Can you just go over and then just tease for tonight to explain this, what you just said to me during the break?

NICHOLAS: Sure. Oh. Oh. You had asked earlier whether or not the Libertarian Party is constitutionalist. But it's not anti-constitutionalist. The Constitution, as written, has good things in it -- free speech, Fourth Amendment, stuff like that -- and it has bad things in it, three-fifths of a person, some anti-Democratic stuff.

We support freedom. Every issue. Every time. If the Constitution supports freedom, we're behind the Constitution. If the Constitution takes away freedom, we're against the Constitution. Our North Star is individual liberty, not a particular document written by a particular set of people in a particular place in time.

Legally, we're bound by the Constitution, but our goals --

GLENN: Is there a better document than the Constitution?

NICHOLAS: Oh, no. It's very much the Churchillian line. It's the worst system, except for all the other ones.

GLENN: Yeah. I'll give you that. I mean, we've had this argument -- I had a progressive on the other day, and we were talking about it.

And I said, "You know, let's just agree on the top ten. The first ten amendments." And I said, "Except for the 13th Amendment and Prohibition, the Constitution, all the other amendments are just like, hey, dummy, this is what we were saying in the first ten."

NICHOLAS: Oh, yeah.

GLENN: And that's really where we have to get to.

NICHOLAS: Bill of Rights is solid. Bill of Rights is solid. We're totally behind the Bill of Rights.

GLENN: Rock solid. Yeah.

NICHOLAS: Other parts of the Constitution get a little bit muddy.

GLENN: Yeah. But the Bill of Rights -- I think when people talk about the Constitution, I think, you know, they're not talking necessarily about all the inner workings of how the government works and the three-fifths clause, which was in there for a reason that nobody even knows about anymore. But looking at that Bill of Rights, there is a huge connection across all categories.

NICHOLAS: Absolutely.

GLENN: All categories.

I'm really looking forward to our conversation later today. 5 o'clock on TheBlaze.com. The Libertarian Party.

What is it? What do they believe? And where are they going in 2018 and 2020? You want to be a part of change? Join us tonight. 5 o'clock. Only on TheBlaze TV. TheBlaze.com/TV. Join us tonight at 5:00.

RADIO

6 things Trump WILL FIX in a second presidential term

If Donald Trump is elected to a second term as president, many things will change. Glenn predicts that we will no longer be on a direct path to global war, the bureaucracy will be cleaned up, many illegal immigrants will be deported, the nonstop lies will end, migrant crime will go down, and the government will stop persecuting pro-life protesters. Even Californians are starting to wake up to the reality of leftist policies. But has America really had enough?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I think Trump is doing an amazing job. He's giving us the campaign I hoped he was going to give us. But I really didn't think he would. You know, everybody bought into, including me, that he was going to be, you know. I lost the election. They're after me.

And kind of a -- you know, a grudge tour. Because I think I would have been tempted to do that. But he hasn't. He has been fun, funny. Relatable.

He's -- he's not doing any grudge stuff.

In fact, this week, he said, and I disagree with this. But he said, I even consider pardoning Hunter Biden.

You know, I hope not.

But, I mean, he's not holding grudges. He's just doing the work for the American people.

And I think that's because he's been out on the road, every day, for what? A year and a half?

He said, last night. Remember, he will become a dictator. He will never leave office.

He said, last night, this is kind of sad. We're six days away from the election.

And I won't be doing this stuff anymore.

I won't be traveling around. This has really been fun, to do this. Since 2016.

And last six days of doing it. So he's not going to be doing rallies anymore. I guess that's just because he -- he becomes a dictator, and a Nazi. And then he doesn't do rallies anymore. Because Hitler never did rallies.

Anyway, some of the things that this election is about, that it's really, really important. Because this will decide which way we turn.

For instance, war.

One vote, I truly believe is a vote for global war.

And not that Kamala wants it. Although, I actually think the people around her, do.

If you listen to her acceptance speech, it was like neocon central. I mean, I've never heard anything like it, from a Democrat. They were saying, we've got to go get them!

Scary. Really scary.

If you choose Kamala, I think not only do some of the people around her, want war. The machine wants war.

But also, she's so incompetent, that all of our enemies are going to come out of the woodwork.

Donald Trump, if he's elected on the other hand, I mean, he said, just yesterday, he is telling Benjamin Netanyahu, this war, you've got to be finished before I get into office because it's got to be finished.

We're done. We're done. He also said that with the Ukrainian conflict, that that will be done, as well. I believe both of those. And we have two people, on record. We have Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, who said they were going to end all the wars. He increased the wars.

He killed more people. Donald Trump, first president in probably my lifetime, that didn't start any new wars.

In fact, was ending them.

And that's just coming from strength. Now there's a story in the New York Times today, the U.S. Army prepares for war with China!

New vehicles. Face paint. And a 1200-foot fall. From the New York Times. A big and cumbersome army is trying to transform itself to deploy quickly to Asia, if needed.

Early one morning this month, 864 Army paratroopers bundled into a C-17 transport plane, and from a base in Alaska.

And took off for the great power war, exercise between three volcanic mountains on Hawaii's Big Island.

Only 492 made it. Some of the C-17s had trouble with their doors, while others were forced to land early.

A few of the parachutes, who did make it, or parachutist that did make it landed with sprained ankles or suffered head trauma.

And one 19-year-old private began to fall quickly when his chute didn't open. Good heavens!

So we're preparing for war, and we're telling everybody, how incompetent we are!

We're becoming the former Soviet Union.

That will end! Under Donald Trump.

Let's see. There's another story today. House COVID panel, refers Andrew Cuomo for potential prosecution.

Why? Stu, I know you -- hey. I know you love Andrew Cuomo, huh?

STU: I do. Oh, yes.

GLENN: What did he do that was so wrong?

STU: How many people do you have to kill, to be classified as wrong? What's the number on that?

I know Jeffrey Dahmer got a special. Maybe it has to be more than him.

The Menendez brothers seem to be under that line. Whatever the line is, he's above it, though.

The fact that when you take COVID positive patients. And shove them into nursing homes with the most vulnerable people.

You should be prosecuted for all sorts of things.

GLENN: Yeah. And what they're talking about here is not just, you know, killing people.

Cuomo was accused of engaging in conscious, calculated effort to avoid accountability for his handling of nursing homes. Where thousands of people died of COVID.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: So they will go after him, for really, basically, the cover-up.

So that ends.

By the way, colleges, must pay up for COVID-19 vaccine mandate injuries.

That's from the G.O.P.

That's going to end!

This whole -- this whole mandate crap?

It's over if Donald Trump comes in. In fact, I think Fauci and the entire CDC and the FDA, all of this stuff. Donald Trump said last night. That's what he's giving to -- to RFK.

To clean house!

Go in, and clean this up.

That is a huge, massive, massive change.

By the way, something else that will change. Probably the immigration status of a lot of people.

Those who came here illegally, are going to be removed, under Donald Trump can.

Now, so you know, the left pretends this is impossible.

The guy who exported more illegals, than any other president in history, was Bill Clinton! He -- he removed 11 million illegals from our country. And I didn't even know that fact. Did you? I had no idea!

So it has been done in the past. And it can be done again.

And, by the way, that was, you know, 25 years ago, with a smaller population, than we have now.

And nobody really noticed it.

So what's the problem this time?

Also, do you remember the German family. Their immigrants, they came here.

In exile.

Because Germany was banning homeschooling.

And they were going to take their children away. Because they were teaching them about God, and everything else.

And so they came here.

For exile. And Barack Obama wanted to kick them out.

Joe Biden has wanted to kick them out. And they live year to year. And they are doing really, really well.

Everybody in their community, they love these guys.

I think that will change. Their status, Joe Biden just gave them another year to stay here, before he kicks them out.

I think possibly, Donald Trump will give them the freedom to stay here, and maybe citizenship, if they want it.

I think they do, quite badly. The other thing that will end, the non-stop lies. Do you remember the gunman that shot the Jewish man, walking to a synagogue.

He was in Chicago's West Rogers Park neighborhood. He shot a guy walking in to the synagogue. The police arrest him. After there's a shoot-out. Okay?

With him.

The police say, well, we're not sure what the motive was.

Okay. It was a Jewish guy going into the synagogue, and his name is Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi.

Okay. I'm pretty sure -- I've got a guess on what the motive might be. A shooting of somebody going into the synagogue.

Might. Might. Could be wrong.

But, of course, police don't know at this point. So they won't say anything.

Even though, witnesses have said, he screamed, Allahu Akbar! We don't know what that means. He just was like looking at the trees going, God is great! That could be it. Oh, and also, another quick little fact, that has just come out.

He's an illegal alien. He came across our border illegally. So yet another shooting, that didn't need to happen, and won't, under Donald Trump.

There is a huge sea tile change in this country, that is happening. People have had enough. Even people in California, according to new statewide polling, Californians are posed to pass billions in new spending, and approve new spending powers, while also cracking down on crime!

This is a part that you need to hear. Statewide Public Policy Institute of California poll, found 73 percent of voters support Proposition 36. Which -- now, this is crazy. I want you to know.

This would allow for felony charges, for serial thieves and major drug crimes. Now, this is the opposite of what passed in 2014.

Proposition 47, that turned the drug crimes and the theft crimes into misdemeanors.

And it would also create a treatment mandated felony, crime class, that would allow individuals to complete mental health or substance abuse treatment, instead of going to prison.

But this proposition 47 was -- was sold to the voters of California. It's going to save us money.

Uh-huh.

It's going to reduce prison populations.

It did that. And we're going to invest the money in social programs, that will reduce future crime.

Yeah. Those things didn't happen. Increased crime?

Trial no-shows. People are just like, I'm not going to show up.

What are they going to do? And people committing the same crime, over and over and over again.

Once they are caught. Californians have had enough of this BS.

What do you think the rest of the country is going to say?

Also, I just want to throw this in. Stop drinking the poison that the rest of the Western world is -- is drinking right now.

Do you remember the guy, who in England, he went in to some dance recital class. And it was a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. He killed three children. Six, seven, and nine years old.

Six other girls and two adults were also injured. This is what caused all of the uprisings. Now, what was the government saying? What were the people saying?

The people were saying that this guy is a -- an immigrant that came in, and is not loyal to the crown. They're not loyal to the ideas of the West.

He's an Islamic terrorist. Well, everyone went crazy. You can't say that!

What are you talking about? He was just a good UK citizen, just gone wrong.

Uh-huh. And remember what they said, about the people.

The people who were marching in the streets, saying, this has got to stop.

They called them extremists, and Nazis, and everything else.

They said for months, that this was not a terrorist institute. Well, now that everybody has forgotten, they have decided to charge him with terror.

Not only was he found in cahoots with al-Qaeda and having al-Qaeda documents in his room, but they also found that he was making ricin for a bigger attack.

Now, this is something, the government knew, had to have known, at the time. But they allowed the press and government officials, to take their own citizens who were -- who were concerned about terrorists being in their neighborhoods.

And being swept off as heroes. They called them garbage.

There is a sea change coming. There is a sea change coming.

So those things are going to stop, immediately, under Donald Trump.

Now, if Harris wins, what gets worse?

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

'Yellowstone' Star’s Fight to Make America ‘Cowboy’ Again | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 234

Do you know why a cowboy takes his hat off before dinner? Forrie J. Smith from "Yellowstone" says it’s all part of the “cowboy culture.” In this episode of "The Glenn Beck Podcast," Forrie recounts his career — from cowboy to stuntman to beloved actor — and that one time he had to track down “illegals” wreaking havoc on his ranch at the U.S.-Mexico border. He and Glenn discuss the decline in American beef, how social media has created political silos, and the transgender agenda being pushed on America’s youth in public schools. “When you start messing with my children ... with my animals, you crossed a line,” Forrie says, which is why he isn’t afraid to ask the questions that make most actors' knees buckle. Will the 2024 election be secure? What will be done with all the fentanyl flowing across our open border? Forrie isn’t worried about what the rich and powerful think. As he says, they’ll come looking for him when disaster strikes because he can “survive with a knife.” With all his success, he’s most proud that everywhere he’s lived he’s been called a “good neighbor,” even by that one neighbor with “different politics,” who wants to relocate the rattlesnakes in the front yard when Forrie would rather just shoot them.

RADIO

What everyone's MISSING about the New York Times/Media Matters THREAT against YouTube

The New York Times recently released something that Glenn describes as "nothing other than a threat to Google and YouTube to silence anyone who is disagreeing." The piece, titled "Election Falsehoods Take Off on YouTube as It Looks the Other Way", was based on research done by the leftist "watchdog" Media Matters, which Glenn has exposed over and over again as a propaganda arm of the uber-Left used to destroy conservative voices. Glenn reviews the article, which insists that YouTube must crack down on election "misinformation" about the 2020 election and prepare to do the same for the 2024 election. But there's one part of this story that Glenn says everyone is missing: The Times had to make a correction at the end of the article that turns this whole story into "nothing" ...

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Okay. So while they are doing this with Liz Cheney, you have the New York Times. Election falsehoods, take off on YouTube. As it looks the other way.

Now, this story, we've known has been coming now for about a week. And they finally published it today.

This is nothing other than a threat to Google and YouTube, to silence anyone who is disagreeing.

And I will give you -- I will give you the -- the one thing that everybody has missed on this. At the end of this story. Okay. So the YouTube -- this story from the New York Times is this: In June 2023, YouTube decided to stop fighting the most persistent strain of election misinformation in the United States, the falsehood that President Biden stole the 2020 election from Donald J. Trump. Now, I ask you first, if you just want to be a fair arbiter. Are they stopping all of the videos of Hillary Clinton saying in 2016, that he's an illegitimate president? That he knew he was an illegitimate president, that Russia had aided him in winning it?

Are they limiting those? Or demonetizing any of those videos?

The answer is no. It's just the 2020.

Within months, the largest video platform, became a home for election conspiracy theories.

Half-truths, and lies.

They in turn, became the source of revenue for YouTube. Which announced growing quarterly ad sales on Tuesday.

Now, what is that?

Why is that there?

Because that is the New York Times, through Media Matters, telling YouTube, we could boycott you, and your advertisers. We'll cause hell to rain down on you.

That's a threat, believe it or not, to Google. While Media Matters.

Based this entire story on Media Matters. You know who Media Matters is. Media Matters was started, with Hillary Clinton and George Soros.

It is nothing, but a -- a tool, used by the uber left, to destroy anyone who can make any kind of impact with conservative arguments.

That's all it is.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: While Media Matters is a progressive organization, that regularly criticizes conservatives, reporters and academics, frequently cite it as a source of YouTube misinformation, because it devotes significant resources to tracking the vast platform. They're not tracking the vast platform. They're tracking conservatives. Okay?

STU: No. They're coming up -- they start and reverse-engineer.

GLENN: Yes!

STU: Who do we want to destroy?

Find a way to destroy them. That's what they do.

GLENN: Right! And this is well-documented.

And at first, I really thought. When I was at CNN. And Media Matters was just starting. I really thought, okay. They don't know.

The media doesn't know. They get used to. In the old days, they get faxes. Now they get emails.

All of the reporters. All the networks. Even Fox.

They get something from Media Matters, every day. Says, these are the targets.

This is what's going on.

And they run with them. Now, back in 2004, maybe, you could understand that. Because they were new.

Now, everyone knows what they are. And here's the New York Times.

Kowtowing.

30 conservative channels are on YouTube, posted 286 videos, containing election misinformation.

Which racked up more than 47 million views.

YouTube generated revenue for more than a third of those videos, by placing ads before and during them.

Researchers found. Researchers, meaning Media Matters.

Some commentators also made money from those videos, and other monetized features available to members of the YouTube Member Partner Program.

Commentators included former elected officials such as Rudolph W. Giuliani.

Journalists like Tucker Carlson, who said the last presidential election was stolen. And popular pundits like Ben Shapiro, who said Democrats rigged the voting rules in 2020.

Now --

STU: I've heard him talk about that before. Ben Shapiro. In particular.

GLENN: Who you know he quoted?

This is an actual quote. Okay? The New York Times.

He was quoting the New York Times. That led him to that conclusion. The way they had -- you know, Marc Elias. And everybody, all the engineering because of COVID. And all of the lawsuits and getting things changed.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: That's what he was talking about.

STU: Right. He's not one that believes in Sidney Powell conspiracy theories. He's been very clear. That the technical rule changes, before the election, may very well have been the determining factor.

GLENN: Right. And he said, they rigged it. They legally rigged it.

They went in, and they did everything. And the Republicans were just asleep at the switch.

But he doesn't think that it was stolen. Now, that's very, very clear.

But notice the New York Times doesn't make that clear.

GLENN: Hmm. Shocking.

GLENN: Then he goes on, YouTube, which is owned by Google, has prided itself on connecting viewers with authoritative information about elections. But in this presidential context, it has acted as a megaphone for conspiracy theories.

A research director, at Media Matters, who led the analysis, said, YouTube is allowing these right-wing accounts and channels to undermine the 2024 results.

YouTube spokesperson said that the company reviewed eight videos, identified by the Times. And the ability to openly debate political ideas, even those that are controversial, is -- is appear important value. Especially in the midst of election season.

Most of the 30 channels are ineligible for advertising.

So they've already cut the money off.

Okay? You watch any of my videos. I don't make a dime on YouTube.

Don't make a dime on YouTube. Nothing. They have so suppressed our numbers. We haven't grown in I don't even know, five years. It's not even possible.

We're growing everywhere, by leaps and bounds. I am -- I am more -- the footprint, let's say it this way. That sounds very egotistical.

The footprint of this program is bigger than it ever has been. Okay?

We're growing in every metric, except for social media. Now, how does that happen?

How does that happen?

Most of the 30 channels are ineligible for advertising. Some had previously violated the company's content policies.

The spokesperson added this report, demonstrates our consistent approach to enforcing our policies.

But in June 2023, the platform reversed course, saying, creators were allowed to dispute the outcome of any past presidential race, as YouTube tried to offer a home for open discussion and debate during the ongoing election season.

Now, does that sound bad?

Does that sound bad? We can debate anything, in this nation. Anything.

And anyone who is trying to silence that debate. I don't even want to -- to silence Holocaust deniers.

Let them hang themselves with their own words. Okay?

You should be able to debate anything. It's the United States of America. So YouTube says, we're just trying to be a home for discussion, and debate!

Okay. YouTube declined to comment on how it would reimpose a ban on misinformation.

About the outcome of the race.

YouTube removed only three of the videos that Media Matters found and placed information labels on them.

To link to factual information, on 20 of them. Though most of the election labels were later removed.

Some of the commentators seized on the news of the events.

Mr. Trump's conviction on May 30th. On 34 felony counts. Cash Patel. Who served in the Trump administration.

Posted. On an independent television network. That the justice system was rigged against the former president, to interfere with the election.

Can you imagine this not being said by the Democrats, if the roles were reversed?

Of course. Of course they would say that.

The entire media would be saying that. That these are all rigged juries. They place them in Washington DC. Or New York.

You can't get a fair trial.

Blah, blah, blah. The New York Times goes on to say, well, no. That's true.

Mike Davis, a former Senate aid, who runs a judiciary advocacy group called the Article 3 project, claimed that Mr. Biden, his allies, and his aides, were behind Mr. Trump's convictions.

Mr. Davis said, Biden is behind the unprecedented indictments of Trump.

He responded to questions from the New York Times, with an attack on the Times reporting, on a post in X.

There is also a swell of misinformation. From 30 other YouTube creators in July, when republicans in the House passed the Save Act, which would require voters to provide proof of citizenship.

The bill did not become law. But it prompted inaccurate claims on YouTube.

That the undocumented immigrants voted en masse in 2020, and would do the same this fall.

In a Fox news appearance, Senator Ted Cruz, Republicans from Texas, said Democrats wanted more than 11 million undocumented immigrants to vote.

Democrat -- Democrat Party has decided that the voter fraud is good for them.

Okay. None of this is shocking at all.

What's shocking is the correction, at the end of the New York Times story.

They added this: A YouTube spokesperson said that the company reviewed eight videos identified by the Times. Ready?

Which was pointed out to the Times by Media Matters. Then the Times took those, and gave them to YouTube. And said, these are the ones we're talking about.

And those videos, according to YouTube, did not violate its community guide lines.

So this whole story is nothing!

Is nothing!

STU: Shocker.

GLENN: They came up with 30. They said, here are the eight worst, send these to the Times. The Times then took Media Matters at its word. Went to YouTube, with all these accusations and threats.

And YouTube watched them and said, well, they don't violate any of our guidelines. So what do we do?

STU: Hilarious.

GLENN: This is craziness.

STU: The failure. Imagine failing this often.

What kind of organization would ton exist with this level of failure.

GLENN: It's pathetic.

It's really embarrassing. It's really embarrassing.

It's not really failure. Even if your story is having an impact and you're embarrassing yourself, if you're getting hundreds of thousands of dollars coming into your bank account, I guess.

GLENN: I guess, if that's how you want to live your life. It just leads to misery.

Why You Must Prepare for the Left’s CHAOS If Trump Wins | Ep 390

We are less than a week from the 2024 election. In 2020 at this time, Glenn was busy warning about some of the dirty tricks the Left was “war gaming.” It involved everything from mass protests and street demonstrations to secession. Serious Democrats in positions of power and influence were strategizing behind the scenes. And in 2024, they’re doubling down. Glenn warns that we need to start preparing for what happens if Donald Trump wins on November 5 or if the race is close. Marc Elias, the Democrats’ main lawfare operative, has already declared that this election year is “the most litigious in American history.” Kamala Harris has bragged that they have “teams of lawyers” at the ready. Democratic congressmen have hinted they might not certify the election if Trump wins. And the media is declaring that Trump might try to steal the election. Asra Nomani, a former Wall Street Journal reporter and “Woke Army” author, has been tracking the foot soldiers’ plans for the election and the weeks after. She says Trump MUST win by a landslide or the fight “will go from the courts to the streets.” She uncovered an orchestrated effort by progressive institutions and organizations that are getting support from “like-minded ideologues in China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea.” Their end goal? CHAOS. Glenn asks a final, chilling question: Are the Left’s election war games connected to a recent revision in DoD Directive 5240.01 that addresses the use of "lethal" military force against Americans? Whatever may happen, Glenn is sure of one thing: Americans MUST VOTE as soon as possible. We cannot stay silent.

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