Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / Iran's Rulers are Not Reforming — They’re Running
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: We have got a lot to talk about on today's show,
- 0:03Speaker 1: including the latest coming out of Iran. There's a very
- 0:07Speaker 1: good chance that we could see the fall of Iran,
- 0:11Speaker 1: and this is continuing right now as we speak. I
- 0:16Speaker 1: was speaking earlier today with some people in the National
- 0:19Speaker 1: Security team that I know well, and I was talking
- 0:22Speaker 1: to them. I said, look like, what are we looking
- 0:24Speaker 1: at here? What is this going to look like? Well,
- 0:28Speaker 1: let me tell you what Iran's president is saying right now.
- 0:32Speaker 1: He is now blaming the United States of America for
- 0:35Speaker 1: the nation's crisises, threatening an all out war. He says,
- 0:41Speaker 1: over any move against the leader. Come oni there, This
- 0:47Speaker 1: is new, the president of Iran blaming the United States
- 0:52Speaker 1: quote for our crisis and accusing Washington of imposing inhumane sanctions,
- 1:00Speaker 1: a warning that any challenge to the Supreme Leader would
- 1:04Speaker 1: amount to an all out war against the Iranian nation
- 1:09Speaker 1: quote unquote. It goes even further if there is hardship
- 1:14Speaker 1: and difficulties in the lives of the people of Iran.
- 1:18Speaker 1: One of the main reasons is the long standing enmity
- 1:22Speaker 1: and the inhumane sanctions imposed by the US government and
- 1:27Speaker 1: its allies. An assault on our Supreme leader is going
- 1:32Speaker 1: to end in an all out war. It will lead
- 1:36Speaker 1: to an all out war with the Iranian nation. I'm
- 1:40Speaker 1: having to translate this as it's coming in, So bear
- 1:43Speaker 1: with me. He also said, and again this is translation
- 1:48Speaker 1: from Persian. If the people of Iran face the hardship
- 1:52Speaker 1: in their lives, one of the main reasons the long
- 1:54Speaker 1: standing inhumane in sanctions imposed by the US, saying it again,
- 1:58Speaker 1: saying then any aggression against the Supreme Leader and the
- 2:03Speaker 1: country is ten amount to an all out Iranian nation war. Now,
- 2:11Speaker 1: the statement again reflecting Tehran's growing effort to rally what
- 2:16Speaker 1: they describe as domestic support around the Supreme Leader while
- 2:20Speaker 1: shifting blame for Rand's internal crisis onto foreign adversaries, particularly
- 2:26Speaker 1: the United States. So another way of putting this is
- 2:29Speaker 1: they're saying, hey, this is not our doing that you
- 2:32Speaker 1: guys are suffering and our economy suffering. This is the
- 2:34Speaker 1: doing of the great Satan of the United States of America, right,
- 2:39Speaker 1: the big Satan, that's what we are. The little Satan,
- 2:42Speaker 1: as you know, is what is real. Now you look
- 2:47Speaker 1: at these statements that are coming out, and this is
- 2:50Speaker 1: happening as I'm reading it. So again, bear with me,
- 2:53Speaker 1: But we're also hearing that this is going to be
- 2:55Speaker 1: going out, they say, directly appealing to the people in
- 2:58Speaker 1: the country on States co Answered television. Now, many are
- 3:02Speaker 1: also highlighting the fact the hypocrisy of the warning, noting
- 3:07Speaker 1: that the Iranian regime has itself repeatedly targeted American leaders,
- 3:13Speaker 1: including failed pots to assassinate President Trump as well as
- 3:17Speaker 1: other senior US officials. Quote here, the Iranian regime president
- 3:23Speaker 1: warns that any aggression against the Supreme Leader would amount
- 3:25Speaker 1: to war against the Islamic Republic. The fear is a
- 3:31Speaker 1: is palable. But what he doesn't tell you is the
- 3:37Speaker 1: Iranian regime has already tried to kill President Trump and
- 3:41Speaker 1: multiple current and former US officials. That is what won
- 3:45Speaker 1: Iran analyst Jason Rocksky said in a tweet, So, with
- 3:50Speaker 1: those pots and so many more dating back to nineteen
- 3:54Speaker 1: seventy nine, the Iranian regime has already declared war on America.
- 3:59Speaker 1: He went on to add again, and I'm going through
- 4:01Speaker 1: this being in translation. That's why you gotta bear with me.
- 4:03Speaker 1: Is I'm trying to make it make sense. Sometimes they
- 4:06Speaker 1: do the translation, you still have to decipher what the
- 4:09Speaker 1: meaning is here. I'm gonna do it again here quote,
- 4:12Speaker 1: the Islamic Republic's president says, any aggression on the mass
- 4:17Speaker 1: murdering of the Iatola Kimani would mean war. What do
- 4:23Speaker 1: repeated attempts by the regime to assassinate a president? That
- 4:27Speaker 1: is what a former US State Department official had to
- 4:30Speaker 1: say as well in response to this, because again, they
- 4:34Speaker 1: have tried to kill our president. They had a plan
- 4:36Speaker 1: to kill our president. We also know that the President
- 4:40Speaker 1: of Iran's warning comes after nearly three weeks. It's been
- 4:43Speaker 1: three weeks, folks of unrest inside Iran and a wave
- 4:49Speaker 1: of anti American rhetoric from top officials. Over the weekend,
- 4:54Speaker 1: the Supreme Leader directly accused President Trump of inciting violent protests,
- 5:00Speaker 1: calling him quote guilty of causing mass casualties, and declaring
- 5:05Speaker 1: the Iranian nation defeated the US. Obviously that is a lie.
- 5:11Speaker 1: He also warned that the US must be held accountable
- 5:15Speaker 1: and predicted that President Trump would be brought down. I'm
- 5:19Speaker 1: assuming he means that he would be killed. Since the protests,
- 5:23Speaker 1: which began with merchant strikes in Tehran, more than sixteen
- 5:27Speaker 1: thousand protesters have reportedly been killed. I want to say
- 5:30Speaker 1: that again. The number has skyrocketed from what we originally
- 5:33Speaker 1: thought it was okay. Over sixteen thousand protesters have reportedly
- 5:37Speaker 1: been killed as a regime has imposed nationwide internet blackouts
- 5:41Speaker 1: while carrying out mass arrests and lethal crackdowns. Now, despite
- 5:46Speaker 1: Iran's attempt to blame Washington, the unrest has been widely
- 5:51Speaker 1: attributed to years of economic mismanagement, political repression as well,
- 5:59Speaker 1: and the regime Dame's failure to stabilize the collapsing economy
- 6:03Speaker 1: and their dollar. Their dollar, the rale has devalue more
- 6:07Speaker 1: than twenty thousand fold under Kamani's rule. Now. These remarks
- 6:13Speaker 1: also come one day after the former US Ambassador to Israel,
- 6:18Speaker 1: Dan Shpiro, said he believed President Trump could move to
- 6:21Speaker 1: eliminate Colemani in the coming days. We have the capability
- 6:27Speaker 1: to do that if that's what the President wanted to do.
- 6:30Speaker 1: On Saturday, President Trump publicly called for quote unquote new leadership.
- 6:34Speaker 1: That's the first time he's done that in Iran, rebuking
- 6:37Speaker 1: Kolemani after the Supreme Leader accused him of in citing
- 6:40Speaker 1: unrest inside the Islamic Republic, saying quote, it's time to
- 6:45Speaker 1: look for new leadership in Iran, Trump said, charging that
- 6:48Speaker 1: the regimes decay stims from catastrophic governance rather than foreign pressure. Now,
- 6:54Speaker 1: as the tensions have sharpened, Washington has also begun backing
- 7:00Speaker 1: its warnings with concrete action across both military and economic fronts.
- 7:05Speaker 1: On Thursday, for example, the Pentagon confirmed the redeployment of
- 7:10Speaker 1: the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group from the Indo
- 7:13Speaker 1: Pacific to the Middle East, part of a broader, they
- 7:16Speaker 1: say repositioning of US combat power as regional threats mount
- 7:20Speaker 1: and Iran's internal unrest deepens. Defensive officials said the move
- 7:25Speaker 1: is intended to ensure rapid response capability and amid growing
- 7:29Speaker 1: instability tied to Tehran's conduct. Now, the military posture has
- 7:34Speaker 1: been paired with an intensified economic campaign as well, targeting
- 7:40Speaker 1: Iran's ruling elite. US Secretary Scott Bessen also talking about
- 7:47Speaker 1: that the Treasury Secretary announcing sweeping new sanctions against senior
- 7:51Speaker 1: regime officials and regime linked financial networks, warning that Iran's
- 7:58Speaker 1: leaders are like rats fleeing a seeking ship as they
- 8:02Speaker 1: attempt to move tens of millions of dollars abroad, while
- 8:05Speaker 1: blaming Washington for the consequence of their own repression and
- 8:09Speaker 1: refusal to curb elicit nuclear activity. So there is a
- 8:14Speaker 1: lot that is happening right now as we speak on this.
- 8:18Speaker 1: Right now, somewhere in the world, a kid you've never
- 8:21Speaker 1: met is writing you a letter. They're telling you about
- 8:25Speaker 1: their day, their dreams, the goal they scored, the tests
- 8:29Speaker 1: they passed, the new friend they made at school. Maybe
- 8:32Speaker 1: they're drawing you even a picture. Maybe they've asked you
- 8:35Speaker 1: about your family, your favorite color, what makes you laugh.
- 8:39Speaker 1: They're wondering who you are, this person who cares enough
- 8:42Speaker 1: to be part of their story, and you You're not
- 8:46Speaker 1: just sending money. You're writing back. You're showing up month
- 8:50Speaker 1: after month, letter after letter. You're celebrating their victories, encouraging
- 8:55Speaker 1: them through challenges, and reminding them that they truly matter.
- 9:00Speaker 1: This isn't a transaction, It's an incredible relationship that spans
- 9:04Speaker 1: continence and changes everything for both of you. That is
- 9:08Speaker 1: where Compassion International connects you directly with one child, real letters,
- 9:14Speaker 1: real relationships, and real change. Because poverty isn't solved with
- 9:18Speaker 1: donations alone. It's solved by showing up impact the world,
- 9:23Speaker 1: one child at a time, and learn how at Compassion
- 9:27Speaker 1: Dot com, that's Compassion dot com. I want you to
- 9:33Speaker 1: listen to what came out from the United States Secretary
- 9:37Speaker 1: of Treasury Scott Messen. He had a message to the
- 9:39Speaker 1: Iranian leadership. It was an official video video put out
- 9:44Speaker 1: by the Department of the Treasury, and I want you
- 9:46Speaker 1: to hear his warning and what he had to say
- 9:49Speaker 1: about these sanctions and what America is doing.
- 9:52Speaker 2: The Iranian leadership on behalf of the people of Iran
- 9:56Speaker 2: who cannot speak for themselves. Last March, we predict did
- 10:00Speaker 2: the President Trump's maximum pressure campaign against the Iranian regime
- 10:05Speaker 2: would accelerate an economic collapse. Since then, our sanctions efforts
- 10:10Speaker 2: have been effective in slashing oil exports and cutting revenue.
- 10:14Speaker 2: The currency and living conditions are in free fall. The
- 10:19Speaker 2: early warning signs are already flashing in the Iranian economy.
- 10:23Speaker 2: The regime continues to egregiously mismanage its economic resources with
- 10:29Speaker 2: additional subsidies and price controls. The central bank is broke
- 10:33Speaker 2: and printing money. Hyperinflation is next. Rather than building a
- 10:39Speaker 2: prosperous Iran, the regime has chosen to squander what remains
- 10:44Speaker 2: of the nation's oil revenues on nuclear weapons development, missiles,
- 10:48Speaker 2: and terrorist proxies around the world. Civilians are rightly protesting
- 10:54Speaker 2: mismanagement and economic collapse. President Trump stands with the people
- 10:59Speaker 2: of Iran and has ordered Treasury to sanction members of
- 11:03Speaker 2: the regime. Iran's leaders have brutally responded to peaceful demonstrations
- 11:08Speaker 2: with violence, from mass shootings in the street to attacks
- 11:12Speaker 2: on wounded victims and hospitals. Today's sanctions target eighteen individuals
- 11:17Speaker 2: and entities that the regime uses to evade sanctions on
- 11:21Speaker 2: Iranian oil and divert proceeds from its energy sales away
- 11:26Speaker 2: from the rightful owners, the Iranian people. Tehran's natural resources
- 11:31Speaker 2: belong to its people and not its brutal dictators. Treasury
- 11:35Speaker 2: will continue to target Iranian networks and corrupt elites that
- 11:40Speaker 2: enrich themselves at the expense of average Iranian This includes
- 11:45Speaker 2: the regime's attempts to exploit digital assets to evade sanctions
- 11:50Speaker 2: and finance cyber criminal operations. Additionally, President Trump has announced
- 11:56Speaker 2: a twenty five percent tariff on countries that continue to
- 11:59Speaker 2: do business with Iran. Our message to the Iranian people
- 12:04Speaker 2: is clear, your demands are legitimate, You are protesting for
- 12:08Speaker 2: a noble cause, and the United States support you and
- 12:12Speaker 2: your efforts to peacefully oppose the regime's mismanagement and brutality.
- 12:17Speaker 2: Our message to the Iranian leaders is also clear. US
- 12:22Speaker 2: Treasury knows that, like rats in a sinking ship, you
- 12:26Speaker 2: were frantically wiring funds stolen from Iranian families to banks
- 12:30Speaker 2: and financial institutions around the world. Rest assured, we will
- 12:35Speaker 2: track them and you. But there's still time if you
- 12:39Speaker 2: choose to join us. As President Trump has said, stop
- 12:43Speaker 2: the violence and stand with the people of Iran.
- 12:47Speaker 1: Now, what's interesting about that message that you just heard.
- 12:50Speaker 1: There is something I think it's really important. It's we
- 12:55Speaker 1: know exactly what's happening on the ground, but we also
- 12:58Speaker 1: know what's happening at the banks. We know what's happening
- 13:01Speaker 1: with the wires and the money transfers, and this administration
- 13:04Speaker 1: I think is spot on. We see the rats as
- 13:07Speaker 1: they described it, and the rats in Iran see that
- 13:10Speaker 1: this is a sinking ship, and they're shipping their money
- 13:14Speaker 1: out as fast as they can, wiring it out because
- 13:17Speaker 1: they're looking for their exit strategy. That tells you a
- 13:21Speaker 1: lot about where we are right now. Now. That's an
- 13:25Speaker 1: also went on Newsmax and had this to say, on
- 13:28Speaker 1: Rob Schmid's show, Listen carefully the words you use about
- 13:32Speaker 1: the US pressure on Iran's economy.
- 13:34Speaker 2: We see to that and Rob. The other thing, as Treasury,
- 13:38Speaker 2: who carries out the sanctions, we can see is we
- 13:41Speaker 2: are now seeing the rats fulling the ship because we
- 13:44Speaker 2: can see millions tens of millions of dollars being wired
- 13:48Speaker 2: out of the country, snuck out of the country by
- 13:50Speaker 2: the Iranian leadership. So they are abandoning ship, and we
- 13:54Speaker 2: are seeing it come into banks and financial institutions all
- 14:00Speaker 2: over the world. And what we do with treasury is
- 14:02Speaker 2: we follow the money, whether it is through the Togo
- 14:06Speaker 2: banking system or through digital assets. We are going to
- 14:10Speaker 2: trace these assets and they will not be able to keep.
- 14:12Speaker 1: You go back to the core here he revealed that
- 14:15Speaker 1: the Iranian leadership is moving their money out of Iran.
- 14:18Speaker 1: They're abandoning ship. He said, Treasury, which carries out the sanctions,
- 14:22Speaker 1: can see it, and we are now seeing the rats
- 14:24Speaker 1: fleeing the ship. We can see millions tens of millions
- 14:28Speaker 1: of dollars being wired out of the country, snuck out
- 14:32Speaker 1: of the country by the Iranian leadership. So the Iranian leadership,
- 14:36Speaker 1: he's saying at this hour our abandoning ship. We're seeing
- 14:40Speaker 1: it coming to banks and financial institutions all over the world.
- 14:43Speaker 1: And what we do at Treasury said, we follow the money.
- 14:47Speaker 1: The Iranian regime in real time is falling, and Scott
- 14:54Speaker 1: is getting this out for a reason. One main reason,
- 14:58Speaker 1: it's so that the people in Iran and understand what's happening.
- 15:02Speaker 1: We're also seeing that there are trucks that look like
- 15:06Speaker 1: they could hold chemical and biological radioactive weapons units that
- 15:10Speaker 1: have been seen on the streets. Were being told in Iran.
- 15:14Speaker 1: There's been more reports of chemical gas used against anti
- 15:17Speaker 1: regime protesters during the last two weeks, and we keep
- 15:21Speaker 1: seeing some of this come out in that part of
- 15:23Speaker 1: the world. Now it's hard to verify it because the
- 15:25Speaker 1: Internet's been shut down, and not only is the Internet
- 15:29Speaker 1: been shut down, but so the phones, but Iran's oil
- 15:34Speaker 1: revenue stream and is really getting knocked down. And then
- 15:40Speaker 1: you have the Treasury that's further trying to degrade the
- 15:43Speaker 1: regime's ability to carry out attacks against the US and
- 15:45Speaker 1: it's allies. And they say, not only that, but we're
- 15:48Speaker 1: remaining committed to all supply, to an old supply that
- 15:52Speaker 1: is free from Iran. And they said it will continue
- 15:56Speaker 1: the efforts to disrupt the ongoing issues in hey Ron. Again,
- 16:00Speaker 1: this is all about the oil. You take away the oil,
- 16:03Speaker 1: you take away the money, and what happens. It collapses
- 16:07Speaker 1: quickly in Iran.
- 16:09Speaker 2: President Trump has been clear Iran must stop sponsoring terror,
- 16:14Speaker 2: halts its bloody proxy wars, and cease its pursuit of
- 16:18Speaker 2: nuclear weapons. That is why Treasury is taking further action
- 16:22Speaker 2: to degrade the Ayatola and his regime's ability to finance
- 16:27Speaker 2: terrorism around the world, including its growing influence in Iraq.
- 16:32Speaker 2: Treasury is sanctioning a rogue businessman and his network of
- 16:37Speaker 2: companies and vessels that smuggle Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi
- 16:42Speaker 2: oil to avoid US sanctions. This network generates over three
- 16:47Speaker 2: hundred million annually for Tehran. Smuggling of this nature allows
- 16:52Speaker 2: Iranian oil to be sold to US allies and possibly
- 16:56Speaker 2: to the United States itself in violation of US sanction.
- 17:00Speaker 2: The United States will apply economic pressure to the maximum
- 17:04Speaker 2: extent possible to disrupt Iran's access to the financial resources
- 17:09Speaker 2: that fuel its destabilizing activities.
- 17:12Speaker 1: There it is you notice what Donald Trump's doing here.
- 17:17Speaker 1: Maximum pressure on Iran, maximum pressure using every tool in
- 17:25Speaker 1: his tool belt. Listen to the last thing Besson says here.
- 17:29Speaker 2: Since President Trump retook office, we have implemented a maximum
- 17:34Speaker 2: pressure campaign. In just seven months, we have seen a
- 17:37Speaker 2: significant decline in oil carried by the Shadow Fleet vessels.
- 17:42Speaker 2: We have sanctioned, reduced Tehran's profit margin, and made it
- 17:46Speaker 2: increasingly difficult for the regime to export oil. The United
- 17:51Speaker 2: States remains committed to an oil supply free from Iran's
- 17:56Speaker 2: destabilizing influence. We will continue to take action against those
- 18:01Speaker 2: who help fund its global campaign of terror.
- 18:05Speaker 1: I go back to this is exactly why I voted
- 18:09Speaker 1: for President Trump, because he's the only one that was
- 18:14Speaker 1: willing to make these decisions, the only one that was
- 18:20Speaker 1: willing to do this. That's it, all right. I love
- 18:25Speaker 1: having guests, especially when they're conservative, and they can give
- 18:29Speaker 1: us an update of what's happening in Washington and just
- 18:33Speaker 1: some of the big issues. This name you need to remember,
- 18:36Speaker 1: especially if you are in Wisconsin Congress and Tom Tiffany
- 18:40Speaker 1: is also running for governor right now. He's a congressman.
- 18:44Speaker 1: He's in Washington as well.
- 18:45Speaker 3: Tom.
- 18:46Speaker 1: I really appreciate you coming on the show tonight, and
- 18:48Speaker 1: we've got a lot to hit. So I want to
- 18:50Speaker 1: start with one of the big things, and that is
- 18:55Speaker 1: you decided to run for governor, You'll look at what's
- 18:59Speaker 1: happening and Minnesota with corruption there. That's part of what's
- 19:02Speaker 1: inspired you decide that you're going to run because you
- 19:05Speaker 1: realize corruption. You got to get it out of the
- 19:07Speaker 1: state government as well.
- 19:09Speaker 3: This well, responsibility has always been one of the number
- 19:11Speaker 3: one issues that has animated me, Ben, all the way
- 19:15Speaker 3: back when I first ran for the state legislature in
- 19:17Speaker 3: twenty ten in Wisconsin. A three billion dollar deficit. How
- 19:21Speaker 3: do we end up with those deficits both state and federal.
- 19:24Speaker 3: Part of it is fraud and we've seen it on
- 19:28Speaker 3: as described by the US Attorney in Minneapolis, on an
- 19:32Speaker 3: industrial scale in Minnesota. And I called on our governor
- 19:37Speaker 3: Tony Ebers to do an audit on our programs, whether
- 19:41Speaker 3: food Stamp, Medicaid, all those government programs. I'm calling on
- 19:46Speaker 3: him to audit those programs. He is refusing to do it.
- 19:50Speaker 3: At this point, I get elected as governor, Ben, We're
- 19:53Speaker 3: doing an audit on all of it.
- 19:56Speaker 1: You talk about it, if you get elected an audit.
- 19:58Speaker 1: I think this should inspire everyone listening around the country
- 20:02Speaker 1: to demand exactly what you're saying you're gonna do if
- 20:05Speaker 1: you win, which is a straight up audit, right, Like
- 20:07Speaker 1: I mean, every state, I'm concerned now with how much
- 20:10Speaker 1: waste front abuse could be there even if you have
- 20:12Speaker 1: a conservatives that are quote in charge of state. This
- 20:15Speaker 1: has gotten so in depth, and the Democrats and the
- 20:19Speaker 1: left have gotten so good within goos, etc. On this
- 20:22Speaker 1: level of corruption we're seeing. I wonder if every state
- 20:25Speaker 1: shouldn't be really taking a look at under the hood
- 20:28Speaker 1: and seeing what's there. Do you agree.
- 20:31Speaker 3: Every state should be doing it? That is exactly correct.
- 20:33Speaker 3: It doesn't matter whether you have good Republican governance or not.
- 20:39Speaker 3: Every state should be doing this on a regular basis.
- 20:42Speaker 3: And that's why I'm making the commitment to do this.
- 20:45Speaker 3: And remember all the unrest that's going on in Minneapolis.
- 20:49Speaker 3: And by the way, my district runs right up to
- 20:52Speaker 3: the border. It's only twenty miles from Minneapolis, so that
- 20:56Speaker 3: my constituents see it on a daily basis. That is
- 21:00Speaker 3: what led to this unrest, and it is why I
- 21:03Speaker 3: believe Governor Walls and other political leaders in Minnesota were
- 21:07Speaker 3: trying to change the subject from the fraud that was
- 21:11Speaker 3: going on because, as the US Attorney said, is being
- 21:15Speaker 3: done on an industrial scale in Minneapolis. They're getting to
- 21:20Speaker 3: what is really happening in Minnesota and this may even
- 21:23Speaker 3: be affecting their elections. What has been going on with
- 21:27Speaker 3: this fraud because it appears that there may be campaign
- 21:31Speaker 3: donations that were tied to the fraud being done by
- 21:35Speaker 3: the Somalis in Minneapolis as they pump money overseas, including
- 21:39Speaker 3: to their home country, that some of that was ending
- 21:42Speaker 3: up in politicians' campaign accounts.
- 21:45Speaker 1: Let's talk about you talk about this, but let's also
- 21:48Speaker 1: talk about Washington real quick, and you're involved heavy inappropriations.
- 21:53Speaker 1: I've been warning people. I said this on Fox News
- 21:55Speaker 1: Channel I think twice this week that I am worried
- 21:59Speaker 1: about what could happen with the quote threat of another
- 22:02Speaker 1: government shutdown and you got to watch what gets put
- 22:05Speaker 1: in to keep the government open and running and functioning.
- 22:09Speaker 1: How concerned are you and how much should we be
- 22:11Speaker 1: focused on this right now? I think it's a really
- 22:14Speaker 1: important moment here where we got to make sure we
- 22:16Speaker 1: see what's the devil's in the details.
- 22:18Speaker 3: If that makes sense, Yeah, no doubt. I mean, you
- 22:21Speaker 3: just don't want Willie Nelly pass legislation to placate the
- 22:26Speaker 3: Democrats so they won't threaten another shutdown. I think that
- 22:30Speaker 3: the Democrats are in a really bad spot after everyone
- 22:34Speaker 3: around the country or most people know that the shutdown
- 22:38Speaker 3: was precipitated by Chuck Schumer and the Democrats last fall,
- 22:42Speaker 3: and if he wants to pull that trigger again, I
- 22:46Speaker 3: think that there is real peril for Democrats doing this
- 22:50Speaker 3: once again. So we shouldn't simply give away the farm
- 22:53Speaker 3: to be able to get a deal.
- 22:55Speaker 1: You mentioned giveaway the farm. There's a lot of people
- 22:58Speaker 1: that try to sneak in things last minute. Some of
- 23:00Speaker 1: them affect your states and other states around the country
- 23:03Speaker 1: because they feel like they can grab it, throw it
- 23:05Speaker 1: in there, and no one will notice until it's too late.
- 23:07Speaker 1: What are some of your concerns when it comes to that.
- 23:11Speaker 3: Yeah, there's a few items, but one of them is
- 23:13Speaker 3: the small refinery exemption. We know that we have to
- 23:17Speaker 3: have low cost energy if we're going to be prosperous
- 23:20Speaker 3: in America. You go back over the history of the
- 23:22Speaker 3: United States over the last hundred years. When we have
- 23:25Speaker 3: high energy prices like during the Biden years, our country
- 23:29Speaker 3: is in decline. When we have low energy prices. That's
- 23:32Speaker 3: when America prospers, and we're headed in that direction at
- 23:35Speaker 3: this point. But there's something called the small refinery exemption
- 23:39Speaker 3: that we want to make sure is in that it
- 23:43Speaker 3: stays in place, and there are some interests that are
- 23:47Speaker 3: trying to remove it. So this effects and you know,
- 23:50Speaker 3: over twenty small refiners around the country, and it could
- 23:53Speaker 3: imperil their businesses if that exemption goes away. And so
- 23:59Speaker 3: that's one thing that I'm watching to make sure that
- 24:02Speaker 3: that does not get undermined. Because we need every refinery,
- 24:07Speaker 3: every electricity generating station that we have in America, we
- 24:12Speaker 3: need them going full tilt to bring us affordable, abundant
- 24:17Speaker 3: energy here in America because if we do, we are
- 24:20Speaker 3: going to be prosperous. In twenty twenty six is going
- 24:23Speaker 3: to be a great year for America.
- 24:25Speaker 1: You mentioned these small refineries are not just in where
- 24:29Speaker 1: you are, for example in Wisconsin, but they're all over
- 24:31Speaker 1: the country. We have a lot of affiliates that are listening,
- 24:33Speaker 1: for example in Tennessee and Arkansas, Louisiana. The list goes
- 24:38Speaker 1: on and on. This shows and basically every state in America.
- 24:42Speaker 1: I think we're in every state in America multiple towns.
- 24:45Speaker 1: You look at this, these are really small, so many
- 24:48Speaker 1: small towns and important places where if you don't protect
- 24:52Speaker 1: these small refineries, we're talking about little towns going under
- 24:55Speaker 1: and Americans losing their jobs as well.
- 24:58Speaker 3: Yeah, there's hundreds of jobs. I mean, you take a
- 25:00Speaker 3: look at the one that is in my district, that's
- 25:03Speaker 3: up in Superior, Wisconsin, and that refinery employees hundreds of people.
- 25:10Speaker 3: But all the work they do as far as contractors
- 25:13Speaker 3: and others, I mean, these are really labor intensive businesses,
- 25:20Speaker 3: these small refineries, and there's thousands of people that go
- 25:24Speaker 3: through each year as private contractors and others keeping these
- 25:27Speaker 3: up and running. And for example, this refinery is in
- 25:32Speaker 3: northern Wisconsin is the major supplier for asphalt. So we
- 25:36Speaker 3: all know that we have to keep our infrastructure up
- 25:39Speaker 3: in America. It's one of the most important things that
- 25:42Speaker 3: we can well you can't do that without asphalt for
- 25:45Speaker 3: roads and bridges, and this refinery is key for us
- 25:50Speaker 3: to be able to have affordable asphalt, to be able
- 25:52Speaker 3: to pave our roads and such. So these are just
- 25:56Speaker 3: these are really important businesses, not just in turns of
- 26:00Speaker 3: jobs and economic development, but this stuff all leads to
- 26:04Speaker 3: our national security. Also, if we have a strong America,
- 26:09Speaker 3: we're strong on the world stage. And then we're seeing
- 26:12Speaker 3: that right now, aren't we. As America has shown its
- 26:16Speaker 3: strength in regards to Venezuela and that we are going
- 26:19Speaker 3: to enforce the Monroe doctrine here in the Western hemisphere.
- 26:24Speaker 1: I want to get your take real quick. In general,
- 26:26Speaker 1: I think it's incredible what we're witnessing right now. My
- 26:28Speaker 1: guess with me is Tom Timmany's a congressman in Wisconsin
- 26:32Speaker 1: but also running for governor there. I think we're on
- 26:35Speaker 1: the verge of seeing something that could be incredible. We
- 26:37Speaker 1: could see free and fair elections quite possibly in Venezuela.
- 26:41Speaker 1: We could see them even in Iran, and we could
- 26:43Speaker 1: see them even in Cuba. This is unprecedent in my lifetime.
- 26:48Speaker 1: How excited are you about that possibility and also seeing
- 26:51Speaker 1: Donald Trump constantly standing up for this.
- 26:55Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it is the doctrine of peace through strength.
- 26:59Speaker 3: And as I mentioned, the doctrine of the Monroe doctrine.
- 27:02Speaker 3: I've been saying I've been in Congress for a little
- 27:05Speaker 3: over five years, and I've been saying to my staff
- 27:08Speaker 3: for that whole time that I've been here I sure
- 27:11Speaker 3: hope we get back to enforcing the Monroe doctrine because
- 27:13Speaker 3: we've seen what China can do. I've been to Panama,
- 27:17Speaker 3: to the Canal and seen the Chinese interests there. I've
- 27:21Speaker 3: heard from business people around South America that say that
- 27:25Speaker 3: China has its has its tentacles all over and they're
- 27:30Speaker 3: trying to destabilize us. They're trying to take us down
- 27:33Speaker 3: as the world power, but especially the dominant force here
- 27:39Speaker 3: in the Western hemisphere. So it is so important that
- 27:42Speaker 3: we have we're strong militarily and it really does lead
- 27:48Speaker 3: to peace through strength, and we're seeing that with Venezuela now,
- 27:53Speaker 3: where China has really been. This sent a shock to
- 27:59Speaker 3: them when they sent two of their greatest leaders to
- 28:03Speaker 3: Venezuela just a few hours before we took Maduro out.
- 28:08Speaker 3: They have just been shocked by what they saw America
- 28:12Speaker 3: can and will do yet, and that comes from having
- 28:16Speaker 3: a strong administration.
- 28:19Speaker 1: Aim into that. If you look. I tell people wherever
- 28:22Speaker 1: you are, listen when we bring you guys like Tom,
- 28:25Speaker 1: check them out. Do what you can to get involved
- 28:27Speaker 1: in their campaigns. The website for the governor race is
- 28:31Speaker 1: Tom Tiffany T I F F A N y dot com,
- 28:35Speaker 1: Tom Tu M T I F f A n y
- 28:38Speaker 1: dot com. Tom, I appreciate you coming on, thank you
- 28:40Speaker 1: for fighting the good fight in Washington, d C. And
- 28:43Speaker 1: really excited for what you're doing in this governor's race.
- 28:45Speaker 1: We'll have you back again real soon. Thank you, sir.
- 28:48Speaker 3: Great to join you, Ben, don't forget
- 28:50Speaker 1: Share this podcast wherever you can with your family and
- 28:52Speaker 1: your friends, and I'll see you back here tomorrow