WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.060 Welcome back to The Deep Dive. We have a really 00:00:03.060 --> 00:00:05.599 complex puzzle laid out for you today, tracking 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:08.519 some critical points of friction all across the 00:00:08.519 --> 00:00:11.199 American political and legal landscape. We're 00:00:11.199 --> 00:00:13.759 going to be moving from the shifting calculus 00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:18.170 of a major U .S. Senate race to, well... open 00:00:18.170 --> 00:00:20.670 legislative defiance, and then into three legal 00:00:20.670 --> 00:00:23.269 battles that are really testing the guardrails 00:00:23.269 --> 00:00:25.929 of constitutional power. And our sources today 00:00:25.929 --> 00:00:28.629 are a unique blend. We're looking at campaign 00:00:28.629 --> 00:00:32.070 strategy notes, some deep analysis of state legislative 00:00:32.070 --> 00:00:34.770 moves, and, you know, the kind of granular legal 00:00:34.770 --> 00:00:37.090 reporting that often gets lost in the big headlines. 00:00:37.369 --> 00:00:39.450 Right. So the mission really is to connect these 00:00:39.450 --> 00:00:41.969 things that seem separate, a local primary, a 00:00:41.969 --> 00:00:44.689 state Senate vote, a judicial ruling, and show 00:00:44.689 --> 00:00:46.810 you how they can fundamentally alter the national 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:49.259 We're trying to cut through the noise. Okay, 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:51.859 let's unpack this and let's start in Texas, where 00:00:51.859 --> 00:00:54.840 the political ground just shifted, I mean, dramatically 00:00:54.840 --> 00:00:57.380 in the Democratic U .S. in a primary. We had 00:00:57.380 --> 00:00:59.579 what seemed like the obvious front -runner, former 00:00:59.579 --> 00:01:02.140 representative Colin Allred, suddenly hit the 00:01:02.140 --> 00:01:04.900 eject button. And Allred was, you know, on paper, 00:01:05.060 --> 00:01:07.340 he was the ideal candidate for Texas Democrats, 00:01:07.859 --> 00:01:11.049 a black... Former NFL player, moderate voting 00:01:11.049 --> 00:01:13.810 record, huge name recognition. What happened? 00:01:14.310 --> 00:01:16.469 Well, the polling. The polling showed him slipping, 00:01:16.629 --> 00:01:18.650 especially after Representative Jasmine Crockett 00:01:18.650 --> 00:01:21.709 entered the race. And that decision to exit, 00:01:22.150 --> 00:01:25.489 it isn't just a personal move. It's a tactical 00:01:25.489 --> 00:01:28.689 admission that the political energy right now 00:01:28.689 --> 00:01:31.129 is favoring a whole different kind of candidate. 00:01:31.489 --> 00:01:34.430 And his departure created this spectacular ripple 00:01:34.430 --> 00:01:37.760 effect across the state map. Allred moves to 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:41.280 run for TX33. which then pushes the current representative, 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:44.260 Mark Veazey, to abandon Congress entirely. Yeah, 00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:46.159 to run for Tarrant County Judge instead. Which 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:48.000 seems like a massive downgrade. I mean, why give 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:49.859 up a seat in the House of Representatives for 00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:52.180 a county judgeship? It's totally counterintuitive, 00:01:52.379 --> 00:01:54.659 right? Unless you look at it as a long game strategy. 00:01:54.980 --> 00:01:56.719 A county judge in a place like Tarrant County, 00:01:56.719 --> 00:01:59.439 which covers Fort Worth, controls a ton of local 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:02.060 funding, oversees judicial appointments, and 00:02:02.060 --> 00:02:05.540 crucially, it builds deep, often insulated local 00:02:05.540 --> 00:02:08.419 political power. So for Veazey, this could be 00:02:08.419 --> 00:02:11.099 a strategic pivot. He's securing a formidable 00:02:11.099 --> 00:02:13.680 base for a future statewide run, maybe even for 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:16.599 governor, far away from all the gridlock in DC. 00:02:17.180 --> 00:02:20.740 That reframes the situation entirely. So the 00:02:20.740 --> 00:02:23.860 Senate race is now a contest between two Democratic 00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:26.379 heavyweights, Crockett and state representative 00:02:26.379 --> 00:02:29.039 James Tellerico. And they represent a classic 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:31.659 tactical choice for Democrats trying to flip 00:02:31.659 --> 00:02:34.060 a historically red state. Tell me about that 00:02:34.060 --> 00:02:37.699 choice. Absolutely. So Crockett is black, female, 00:02:37.719 --> 00:02:40.599 and very progressive. She's a master of earned 00:02:40.599 --> 00:02:43.379 media, meaning she doesn't have to buy ads. Her 00:02:43.379 --> 00:02:45.939 fiery, provocative commentary on the news networks. 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:48.379 You know, her resistance to figures like Donald 00:02:48.379 --> 00:02:50.219 Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Right. She's 00:02:50.219 --> 00:02:52.460 a constant viral presence. She really energizes 00:02:52.460 --> 00:02:55.080 the base. She does. But the sources raise a key 00:02:55.080 --> 00:02:57.780 concern about that energy. While she's very progressive, 00:02:57.979 --> 00:03:01.039 her media moments focus almost entirely on confrontation. 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:03.370 OK. And that means her signature issues, her 00:03:03.370 --> 00:03:05.389 clear policy positions, they're not yet well 00:03:05.389 --> 00:03:07.530 defined. She's driving visibility, but maybe 00:03:07.530 --> 00:03:10.129 not policy substance. The analysis suggests she 00:03:10.129 --> 00:03:13.530 has some work to do there. So how does that contrast 00:03:13.530 --> 00:03:16.090 with Tallarico? Well, Tallarico is, he's coming 00:03:16.090 --> 00:03:19.250 from a completely different political mold. He's 00:03:19.250 --> 00:03:22.310 white, male, also progressive, but his approach 00:03:22.310 --> 00:03:24.750 is totally different. He has that walking academic 00:03:24.750 --> 00:03:28.060 resume. UT, a master's from Harvard, a divinity 00:03:28.060 --> 00:03:30.599 degree. Exactly. He's the grandson of a Baptist 00:03:30.599 --> 00:03:32.979 preacher. He's very openly and devoutly religious. 00:03:33.060 --> 00:03:35.879 He delivers guest sermons. And he uses that to 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:38.340 champion traditional democratic policies like 00:03:38.340 --> 00:03:40.900 the Voting Rights Act and opposing limits on 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:43.360 reproductive choice. So the source is, how do 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:45.879 they frame this contrast? They summarize it this 00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:48.979 way. Crockett is very lefty and pretty religious, 00:03:49.139 --> 00:03:51.639 while Tallarico is pretty lefty and very religious. 00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:55.219 The core difference is the framing. Right. Calarico 00:03:55.219 --> 00:03:57.780 uses his faith and his education to ground his 00:03:57.780 --> 00:04:00.099 progressive politics, which might make him more 00:04:00.099 --> 00:04:02.719 palatable to, you know, suburban and maybe moderate 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:05.259 voters, the kind of voters Democrats absolutely 00:04:05.259 --> 00:04:07.900 need to win a statewide race in Texas. So the 00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:10.500 tactical question for Texas Democrats, especially 00:04:10.500 --> 00:04:13.680 if Ken Paxton is the potential GOP nominee, is 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:16.459 which candidate offers the better? Return on 00:04:16.459 --> 00:04:19.240 investment, I guess. Isn't energizing the progressive 00:04:19.240 --> 00:04:22.500 base with media fire like Crockett does? exactly 00:04:22.500 --> 00:04:24.579 what you need in Texas. That's the whole debate. 00:04:25.259 --> 00:04:27.620 But Tallarico offers an alternative blueprint. 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:31.420 He's appealing to a broader, maybe highly educated, 00:04:31.699 --> 00:04:34.980 maybe faith -oriented moderate base by showing 00:04:34.980 --> 00:04:37.620 that progressive ideals can coexist with deep 00:04:37.620 --> 00:04:40.360 religious conviction and detailed policy. So 00:04:40.360 --> 00:04:43.319 it's strategy versus purity. in a way. Pretty 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:45.579 much. The argument is that Tallarico's emphasis 00:04:45.579 --> 00:04:48.079 on faith and policy might neutralize typical 00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:50.819 GOP attacks and win over that marginal voter. 00:04:51.240 --> 00:04:53.259 Crockett's strategy might consolidate the base, 00:04:53.339 --> 00:04:55.579 but, you know, struggle to expand it. OK, so 00:04:55.579 --> 00:04:57.959 shifting gears from Texas's primary calculations, 00:04:57.959 --> 00:04:59.959 we see a totally different kind of political 00:04:59.959 --> 00:05:02.439 math playing out in Indiana's statehouse. The 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:04.439 Republican controlled legislature is pushing 00:05:04.439 --> 00:05:06.579 hard to ram through a new House district map 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:08.879 that Donald Trump really wants. Yeah, this is 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:11.860 a classic example of legislative muscle flexing. 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:15.439 The map already passed the State House. And despite 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:17.519 the State Senate initially dragging its feet, 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:19.839 they even said they wouldn't meet. The relevant 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:22.420 Senate committee just approved it. So it's one 00:05:22.420 --> 00:05:25.180 step closer to a full floor vote. And that committee 00:05:25.180 --> 00:05:28.319 vote was 6 -3. And the real insight here isn't 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:31.680 the majority. It's the affiance. The Republican 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:35.290 defiance. State Senator Greg Walker voted against 00:05:35.290 --> 00:05:37.430 the map of the Democrats. Right. And then you 00:05:37.430 --> 00:05:40.310 also have state Senator Michael Boachek, who 00:05:40.310 --> 00:05:42.730 publicly committed to voting no on the floor. 00:05:43.050 --> 00:05:45.670 His opposition is highly personal. He's the father 00:05:45.670 --> 00:05:48.129 of a child with Down syndrome and was deeply 00:05:48.129 --> 00:05:50.569 offended by Trump's use of a slur. So that turns 00:05:50.569 --> 00:05:53.730 a routine vote into a moment of, well. moral 00:05:53.730 --> 00:05:55.790 resistance. Exactly. Now, of course, the Republicans 00:05:55.790 --> 00:05:58.250 have a massive 39 to 10 majority in the Senate, 00:05:58.389 --> 00:06:00.470 so two defectors won't stop the math. But this 00:06:00.470 --> 00:06:02.709 is where the caution becomes leverage. Three 00:06:02.709 --> 00:06:05.129 of the six Republicans who voted yes in committee 00:06:05.129 --> 00:06:07.870 told reporters that their only goal was a full 00:06:07.870 --> 00:06:10.089 vetting on the floor. Implying their final votes 00:06:10.089 --> 00:06:13.310 are still up for grabs. Exactly. So that means 00:06:13.310 --> 00:06:16.959 the defiance could be contagious. Are those cautious 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:19.920 Republicans just buying time? Or are they waiting 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:22.600 to see how many others defect before they feel 00:06:22.600 --> 00:06:25.000 safe enough to follow? It lowers the political 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:27.439 cost. The more defectors there are, the easier 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:29.740 it is for everyone else to defy the Trump machine. 00:06:29.939 --> 00:06:31.759 And this is all happening under this enormous 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:35.860 shadow of threatened spending $100 million from 00:06:35.860 --> 00:06:38.079 groups like Turning Point USA and the Club for 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:41.079 Growth. to punish any senator who votes no. That 00:06:41.079 --> 00:06:43.939 threat sounds terrifying on paper, but the analysis 00:06:43.939 --> 00:06:46.300 suggests it might just be hot air, a political 00:06:46.300 --> 00:06:50.199 bluff. Well, this chamber is already ruby red. 00:06:50.500 --> 00:06:52.959 Why would these powerful national groups spend 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:55.459 nine figures of their limited resources trying 00:06:55.459 --> 00:06:57.540 to oust a few Republicans who are just going 00:06:57.540 --> 00:07:00.199 to be replaced by other equally loyal Republicans? 00:07:00.459 --> 00:07:02.399 Right, that money is needed in competitive states. 00:07:02.699 --> 00:07:05.399 Desperately needed. So the political logic suggests 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:07.540 the threat is probably empty, which makes it 00:07:07.540 --> 00:07:10.019 easier for those cautious senators to, you know, 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:12.399 eventually vote their conscience. So we've talked 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:15.120 about defiance in state houses. Now let's look 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:17.560 at the courts. which are asserting their own 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:20.339 defiance against the executive branch. And guarding 00:07:20.339 --> 00:07:23.500 those constitutional lines. We have three concurrent 00:07:23.500 --> 00:07:26.500 legal battles that raise some really serious 00:07:26.500 --> 00:07:29.300 questions about how appointments are made and 00:07:29.300 --> 00:07:32.199 how the law is applied. So Part I involves a 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:35.420 key constitutional guardrail. Alina Habba, who 00:07:35.420 --> 00:07:37.379 is serving as U .S. attorney for New Jersey, 00:07:38.060 --> 00:07:40.540 resigned after her appointment was ruled invalid. 00:07:40.980 --> 00:07:43.779 And it wasn't just any court? No. The Third Circuit 00:07:43.779 --> 00:07:46.819 Court of Appeals, a panel with two George W. 00:07:46.819 --> 00:07:49.360 Bush appointees and one Joe Biden appointee, 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:51.959 ruled she had never legally held the job because 00:07:51.959 --> 00:07:54.360 the appointment lacked Senate approval. Which 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:56.860 raises a sort of philosophical, almost absurd 00:07:56.860 --> 00:08:00.160 question. If you quit a job, you were never legally 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:02.899 confirmed to hold. Did you really resign? It's 00:08:02.899 --> 00:08:05.810 funny, but the stakes are incredibly high. The 00:08:05.810 --> 00:08:08.250 court found the administration was using bookkeeping 00:08:08.250 --> 00:08:11.029 tricks, basically technical loopholes, to bypass 00:08:11.029 --> 00:08:13.209 Senate confirmation. And that's not just a procedural 00:08:13.209 --> 00:08:15.490 hiccup. Not at all. The Third Circuit ruling 00:08:15.490 --> 00:08:17.910 confirms that courts will not let the executive 00:08:17.910 --> 00:08:20.009 branch just toss out the system of checks and 00:08:20.009 --> 00:08:23.189 balances. Bypassing the Senate isn't a small 00:08:23.189 --> 00:08:25.649 thing. It's tossing out a fundamental chunk of 00:08:25.649 --> 00:08:29.149 the Constitution. And the court said no. those 00:08:29.149 --> 00:08:32.169 guardrails are holding. Part two focuses on Attorney 00:08:32.169 --> 00:08:35.350 General Pam Bondi's persistent but consistently 00:08:35.350 --> 00:08:39.090 failing legal campaign against Trump adversaries. 00:08:39.230 --> 00:08:41.529 Specifically New York's Attorney General Letitia 00:08:41.529 --> 00:08:44.690 James and former FBI Director James Comey. And 00:08:44.690 --> 00:08:47.309 the setbacks just keep piling up. For Letitia 00:08:47.309 --> 00:08:49.909 James, Bondi attempted a second re -indictment 00:08:49.909 --> 00:08:51.950 for mortgage fraud. After the first case was 00:08:51.950 --> 00:08:53.950 dismissed because the prosecutor was unlawfully 00:08:53.950 --> 00:08:56.529 appointed? Right. So they flew in a new prosecutor 00:08:56.529 --> 00:08:58.299 all the way from Missouri, but the The grand 00:08:58.299 --> 00:09:00.759 jury rejected the case and literally left for 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:03.500 lunch within three hours. That's not just a rejection. 00:09:03.580 --> 00:09:06.980 That's a power lunch rejection. The speed speaks 00:09:06.980 --> 00:09:09.360 volumes about the evidence. It really does. And 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:11.299 the problems in the case against James Comey 00:09:11.299 --> 00:09:14.639 are arguably even worse. A magistrate judge found 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:17.679 that the DOJ likely violated Comey and his former 00:09:17.679 --> 00:09:20.399 counsel's Fourth Amendment rights. Protection 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:23.000 against unreasonable search and seizure. And 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:25.610 attorney -client privilege. They were found to 00:09:25.610 --> 00:09:28.509 be keeping and rummaging through grand jury material 00:09:28.509 --> 00:09:31.190 after the investigation closed back in 2021, 00:09:31.870 --> 00:09:34.730 all without a new warrant. That's a massive breach 00:09:34.730 --> 00:09:37.129 of trust. And the consequences are already showing 00:09:37.129 --> 00:09:40.649 up, right? They are. U .S. District Judge Colleen 00:09:40.649 --> 00:09:43.409 Culler Cotelli issued a temporary restraining 00:09:43.409 --> 00:09:47.129 order. A TRO, prohibiting the DOJ from using 00:09:47.129 --> 00:09:50.330 that tainted evidence. A TRO is a powerful legal 00:09:50.330 --> 00:09:52.330 tool that puts an immediate freeze on things. 00:09:52.570 --> 00:09:54.830 And she went further, didn't she? She did. She 00:09:54.830 --> 00:09:57.230 wrote that the former counsel is likely to prevail 00:09:57.230 --> 00:09:59.429 on the merits in his lawsuit. So you combine 00:09:59.429 --> 00:10:01.370 that evidence suppression with the statute of 00:10:01.370 --> 00:10:03.789 limitations issue, five years have passed since 00:10:03.789 --> 00:10:07.009 the testimony, and it's clear. This entire prosecution 00:10:07.009 --> 00:10:09.230 is in desperate search of a crime that just doesn't 00:10:09.230 --> 00:10:11.950 exist anymore. Which brings us to the third legal 00:10:11.950 --> 00:10:15.679 angle. The staggering hypocrisy revealed by ProPublica 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:18.019 concerning Donald Trump's own past mortgages. 00:10:18.299 --> 00:10:21.190 The irony is just so rich. ProPublica reported 00:10:21.190 --> 00:10:24.409 that back in 1993, Trump signed paperwork for 00:10:24.409 --> 00:10:27.710 two different mortgages, seven weeks apart, declaring 00:10:27.710 --> 00:10:30.210 two different Florida properties as his primary 00:10:30.210 --> 00:10:32.690 residence. And both were actually rental investment 00:10:32.690 --> 00:10:35.330 properties. Correct. Which usually require different 00:10:35.330 --> 00:10:38.269 loan terms and rates. And this is the precise 00:10:38.269 --> 00:10:41.049 crime the administration is trying to nail Letitia 00:10:41.049 --> 00:10:44.090 James for, misrepresenting a property's use for 00:10:44.090 --> 00:10:46.730 better mortgage terms. And Trump himself called 00:10:46.730 --> 00:10:49.750 this practice deceitful and crooked. Exactly. 00:10:49.909 --> 00:10:52.149 So the difference is often that the bank, Merrill 00:10:52.149 --> 00:10:55.649 Lynch, knew what it was doing. But as law professor 00:10:55.649 --> 00:10:58.409 Kathleen Engel pointed out, given Trump's own 00:10:58.409 --> 00:11:00.889 stated position, he may need to fire himself 00:11:00.889 --> 00:11:03.049 or refer himself to the Department of Justice. 00:11:03.490 --> 00:11:05.429 Right. Anyone who's gone through a mortgage process 00:11:05.429 --> 00:11:07.610 knows the bank nerds everything about you by 00:11:07.610 --> 00:11:09.950 the time they release funds. This just suggests 00:11:09.950 --> 00:11:13.090 a willingness to indulge in total legal hypocrisy 00:11:13.090 --> 00:11:16.259 even as their cases fall apart. That is a powerful 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:19.019 analysis. So now let's talk about another domain 00:11:19.019 --> 00:11:22.860 of influence media and corporate America. We 00:11:22.860 --> 00:11:26.220 saw some huge shifts at CBS News after the acquisition 00:11:26.220 --> 00:11:29.500 by the right wing Ellison family and the appointment 00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:32.799 of Barry Weiss to run the news operation. Yeah. 00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:35.580 Weiss who is often branded independent but is 00:11:35.580 --> 00:11:38.899 generally seen as right leaning immediately oversaw 00:11:38.899 --> 00:11:42.240 the abrupt departures of two very respected anchors 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:45.240 John Dickerson and Maurice Dubois. And that sends 00:11:45.240 --> 00:11:47.600 a strong signal about the changing political 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:49.740 environment inside that newsroom. Weiss then 00:11:49.740 --> 00:11:51.899 tried to replace them with huge names. Anderson 00:11:51.899 --> 00:11:54.759 Cooper from CNN, then Fox's Brett Baier, who's 00:11:54.759 --> 00:11:56.980 on a 20 million dollar contract. And she failed 00:11:56.980 --> 00:12:00.440 on both counts, which suggests a certain unwillingness 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:03.080 from those figures to just jump ship into what's 00:12:03.080 --> 00:12:05.320 become a pretty volatile situation. So she ultimately 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:07.980 settled for CBS Morning's co -anchor Tony Ducoupil, 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:10.059 who is widely seen as the definition of middle 00:12:10.059 --> 00:12:12.139 of the road, kind of milquetoast, though he is 00:12:12.139 --> 00:12:14.440 strongly pro -Israel. So the sources ask, you 00:12:14.440 --> 00:12:16.740 know, was this a total failure and zero and two 00:12:16.740 --> 00:12:18.919 or did the administration get a push and zero 00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:21.179 one one? They got rid of two anchors they likely 00:12:21.179 --> 00:12:23.519 disliked, but couldn't land their dream replacement. 00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:26.519 It feels like a qualified loss for their influence 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:29.820 campaign, for sure. Meanwhile, a clear decisive 00:12:29.820 --> 00:12:33.139 loss for the administration is the contract extension 00:12:33.139 --> 00:12:36.120 for late night host Jimmy Kimmel. He just renewed 00:12:36.120 --> 00:12:40.840 with ABC until May 20, 27. And Kimmel is arguably 00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:43.700 one of the biggest comedy thorns in Donald Trump's 00:12:43.700 --> 00:12:46.399 side. He's constantly using his platform for 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:49.080 pointed political humor. That contract extension 00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:52.299 is a huge statement. It's being viewed as a big 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:54.500 middle finger to the White House from Disney. 00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:57.580 which owns ABC. Yeah, and this connects directly 00:12:57.580 --> 00:13:00.480 to a broader theme we're seeing, growing corporate 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:02.559 defiance. Right, we've already seen Costco sue 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:05.799 the administration for a tariff refund, and Walmart's 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:08.620 expected to join that lawsuit. Why now? Why is 00:13:08.620 --> 00:13:10.820 this picking up steam? It implies a lack of faith 00:13:10.820 --> 00:13:12.580 in the current administration's staying power, 00:13:12.679 --> 00:13:15.240 or maybe a rising confidence in their own ability 00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:18.179 to weather political retaliation. Corporations 00:13:18.179 --> 00:13:20.399 are often the first to sense a shift in the political 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:22.879 wind. So the analysis suggests... It suggests 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:26.120 that as we get closer to 2029, that list of defiant 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:28.639 corporations is going to get much longer. And 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:30.860 that signals a clear shift in the balance of 00:13:30.860 --> 00:13:33.179 influence between business and the executive 00:13:33.179 --> 00:13:35.539 branch. Finally, let's look at the ultimate case 00:13:35.539 --> 00:13:38.279 study in long -game political planning. Pennsylvania 00:13:38.279 --> 00:13:41.100 Governor Josh Shapiro's meticulous plan to position 00:13:41.100 --> 00:13:44.600 himself for a 2028 presidential run. By engineering 00:13:44.600 --> 00:13:47.960 a Democratic blowout in his state in 2026, this 00:13:47.960 --> 00:13:50.519 is just a master class in leveraging state power 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:52.960 for national gain. He's pulling pretty low right 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:56.120 now, around 4 percent for 2028 to compete with, 00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:59.120 you know, Gavin Newsom or former VP Harris. He 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:01.500 needs a tangible track record of success. And 00:14:01.500 --> 00:14:04.039 his strategy is crystal clear. Secure his own 00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:07.559 reelection in 2026 and crucially flip as many 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:09.299 as four congressional seats in Pennsylvania. 00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:12.240 And he's doing this by basically staging a methodical 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:14.419 takeover of the state democratic machine, which 00:14:14.419 --> 00:14:16.679 had been struggling. He nudged the state chair 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:19.620 out, installed his own allies. Yeah, including 00:14:19.620 --> 00:14:22.720 a longtime aide as the executive director. This 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:25.299 kind of consolidation gives him unprecedented 00:14:25.299 --> 00:14:28.399 control over state resources and messaging. And 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:30.980 what's really new is that he is now privately 00:14:30.980 --> 00:14:33.139 shaping congressional primaries. A departure 00:14:33.139 --> 00:14:35.700 from his normally risk averse style. Exactly. 00:14:36.029 --> 00:14:38.610 He's actively intervening and recruiting candidates. 00:14:38.970 --> 00:14:40.909 We see it with him encouraging a firefighters 00:14:40.909 --> 00:14:43.970 union leader, Bob Brooks, to run against a vulnerable 00:14:43.970 --> 00:14:47.029 Republican. He's headlining a fundraiser for 00:14:47.029 --> 00:14:49.889 him. He quickly endorsed and fundraised for Janelle 00:14:49.889 --> 00:14:52.769 Stelson in her rematch against a key Republican, 00:14:53.230 --> 00:14:55.250 Scott Perry. And he's quietly backing candidates 00:14:55.250 --> 00:14:57.549 all across the state, from Scranton to Bucks 00:14:57.549 --> 00:15:00.210 County. The goal here is simple. It's transactional. 00:15:00.629 --> 00:15:02.929 If Shapiro pulls off a massive electoral victory 00:15:02.929 --> 00:15:05.679 in 2026, his second term, plus those House seats, 00:15:06.259 --> 00:15:08.980 that success nets him valuable IOUs. From those 00:15:08.980 --> 00:15:11.360 newly elected representatives. Exactly. And those 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:13.720 IOUs, those political favors, the endorsements, 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:16.279 the delegates support, that becomes his currency 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:18.279 for gaining momentum in what could be a very 00:15:18.279 --> 00:15:21.580 crowded 2028 presidential primary. It's the ultimate 00:15:21.580 --> 00:15:24.340 local to national strategy. So what does this 00:15:24.340 --> 00:15:27.259 all mean for you as you process this data? We've 00:15:27.259 --> 00:15:30.580 covered a huge range of political action. A powerful 00:15:30.580 --> 00:15:34.220 shift in Texas from moderates to firebrands, 00:15:34.519 --> 00:15:36.960 legislative resistance building in Indiana, judicial 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:38.940 restraint holding back illegal appointments. 00:15:39.320 --> 00:15:42.200 And a governor meticulously engineering his path 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:45.279 to the presidency through local elections. What 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:48.240 stands out here is how intensely national power 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:50.860 is being contested at the local level. It isn't 00:15:50.860 --> 00:15:53.379 just about DC headlines. It's about a Tarrant 00:15:53.379 --> 00:15:56.240 County judge race, a state Senate vote on a map, 00:15:56.580 --> 00:15:59.440 a governor's involvement in a primary to thousand 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:01.259 miles away. So if you want to know where power 00:16:01.259 --> 00:16:03.480 is truly shifting, look to the state capitals 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:05.659 and the county courthouses. Which leaves us with 00:16:05.659 --> 00:16:08.179 this final thought for you to mull over. Given 00:16:08.179 --> 00:16:10.200 the challenges faced by progressive candidates 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:13.480 who rely mainly on media visibility and the contrasting 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:15.679 policy clarity we see from someone like Calarico 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:18.600 in Texas, does the detailed tactical strategy 00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:21.519 of Josh Shapiro that focus on machine consolidation 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:23.659 and supporting candidates across the ideological 00:16:23.659 --> 00:16:26.879 spectrum for hard tactical wins offer a more 00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:29.539 reliable blueprint for Democrat nationally than 00:16:29.539 --> 00:16:32.059 just relying on progressive enthusiasm. What 00:16:32.059 --> 00:16:32.720 stands out to you?