Gen Z's Socialist Swing & the SAVE America Act's Last Five Days | DiMeglio, Gaines, Pfaff

[00:00:00] The United States Senate has five days, five days left before they leave Washington for the rest of August or before they decide to stay and continue working on the SAVE America Act. Sitting on their desk right now is a bill that guarantees only American citizens decide American elections. It's the SAVE America Act. Welcome to the Jenny Beth Show. I'm Jenny Beth Martin.

[00:00:23] Welcome to the Jenny Beth Show.

[00:00:40] All right, so here's where the SAVE America Act stands and it's probably going to make you angry. The House did its job more than once, which won't make you angry. It passed a budget resolution and is attaching SAVE America Act to that. And it passed the National Defense Authorization Act and attached the full SAVE America Act to it as well.

[00:01:00] Now, these bills are sitting over in the Senate. And Senate Majority Leader Thune says he first intends to work on averting a government shutdown and ensuring the government is funded before the Senate recess. Okay, I think that is a worthy goal and that should be done. So I'm not complaining about that. The Democrats have proven that they are willing to just shut down the government for months on end. And that is not the way we need to function.

[00:01:27] But then, once they get that done, they don't need to leave and go on recess. They need to stay in D.C., skip their recess and continue to work to pass the SAVE America Act. Fifty senators are already on the record supporting proof of citizenship to register to vote and voter ID to cast a ballot. Fifty, the votes are not the problem. The calendar is a problem.

[00:01:51] They would rather start their vacation than finish the people's business. And here's why the deadline matters so much. Right now, in New Jersey, we've learned in the last week and a half, the state admitted to having 6,600 non-citizens on its voting rolls and they claim it's due to a software error.

[00:02:09] And New Jersey is refusing to check its rules against the federal citizenship database, which is also called the SAVE database. That is the exact kind of check that the SAVE America Act would require. It isn't theoretical. It's happening in New Jersey. It's also happening in the state of Alaska.

[00:02:29] We learned in the last week and a half that Alaska has, I think it's over 3,000 people. And that state is so much smaller than New Jersey. 3,000 people who are non-citizens who are on the voter rolls. This has to be cleaned up. And so that is why we are pushing for the Senate to skip the recess and stay in D.C. and continue working on the SAVE America Act,

[00:02:56] which means to continue working on the budget reconciliation process. Now, there's another election integrity fight that's happening right now at this very same time as well. And it has there's a deadline today at the Supreme Court in a case called Trump versus California. There are seats who are challenging President Trump's executive order on mail ballot citizenship verification. And they have until four o'clock this afternoon to file their response.

[00:03:25] The order tells the post office not to mail ballots to people who cannot be verified as citizens. Twenty three states and the District of Columbia are fighting it. And the court may take that up before this November. And I should state also that there are seats who are supportive of this executive order from President Trump. So there are states that are opposing it, but there are states that are very supportive of it as well. We'll keep an eye on that and see what the court decides to do.

[00:03:55] And elections are not just coming. They are here. In eight days, South Carolina holds its special Republican primary for the late Senator Lindsey Graham's seat. It includes nine candidates, including Senator Graham's own sister, Senator Darlene Graham, who gave her first who gave her first stump speech this weekend. And then tomorrow, there are primaries in five states, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia and Washington.

[00:04:23] The one we're going to be watching carefully is Michigan's Democrat Senate primary. It's a real test of whether the party bosses in the Democrat Party can move their own voters or not. And as the Senate wraps up its business this month, whether it is this week where they continue to stay in session, no matter what, once we know where the Senate stands, this show, the Jenny Beth Show, is going to be shifting gears to focus on helping you help us get conservatives elected this fall.

[00:04:53] For now, we're watching every one of these races closely. And then we will be making sure that after we get through with working on the Save America Act this week, we shift gears into working on getting out the vote. And here's why this matters so much. Why every one of these races matter so much. President, Vice President, former Vice President Kamala Harris over the weekend at the National Urban League said that she wants to revisit the Electoral College.

[00:05:23] She wants to abolish the Electoral College to pack the Supreme Court and expand it from nine justices to 13. And she wants statehood for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Now, I don't like every decision that the Supreme Court makes any more than she does, I'm sure. But I know that in America, you work within the system. You don't just burn the system down when you don't get your way.

[00:05:50] Packing the Supreme Court would be burning the Supreme Court up. That is a terrible idea, even when you don't get your way at the court. And getting rid of the Electoral College destroys the balance between the popular vote and the rights of each state.

[00:06:05] Giving statehood to D.C. and Puerto Rico is a bid for four new Democrat seats in the United States Senate, which is a little bit ironic since the Democrat socialist wing of her own party wants to abolish the Senate entirely. So don't tell me that the mainstream Democrat Party is a reasonable alternative to the socialists.

[00:06:27] When the last presidential nominee stands up and calls for gutting the Electoral College and packing the court, the mainstream and the far left are telling you the exact same thing. They're at the same place. We're going to dig into exactly what this means later in this hour with Jim Pfaff. And that is why you can't sit this election out. We have to stay engaged. You have to stay informed. And we have to stay active.

[00:06:51] There are a few other things that we're watching today that are breaking in news here in America and around the world. Todd Blanche's confirmation for attorney general is back on track. Senator Cornyn got the anti-weaponization fund rescinded in writing and the committee votes tomorrow morning.

[00:07:08] And I also saw on X right before the show started that Mike Davis from the Article 3 project was giving huge props to Senator Grassley and saying that Senator Grassley made that deal happen and that he always gets a job done. And I appreciate that Mike highlighted that. And Senator Grassley really is a hardworking senator who knows how to deliver.

[00:07:32] Then on Iran, the president says that the perimeters of another deal are in place, including opening the street of Hormuz and ending Iran's nuclear threat. And the talks are supposed to start later today. Iran's regime is calling that out and they're saying that it is a lie. So, you know, it is Iran. You have to consider the source. It's a government that lies for a living. The president is negotiating from strength.

[00:07:59] And here at home, we also are watching the fact that we've had municipal water systems in Minnesota and Michigan that were hit by cyber attacks over the weekend. And Iran is a leading suspect in those cases. Now, we don't know for certain that it is Iran. We so we we need to just be a little bit careful there until we have full proof who the culprit is. But the president has his hands full when it comes to Iran.

[00:08:26] And I hope he understands that the American people from the polling, the Tea Party Patriots Action has has done. We as the American people support the effort to finish the job in Iran so that we don't have to keep fighting, fighting with them in weeks or months or years to come. So I am praying for him and we'll be watching what he does when it comes to Iran very closely. Now, we have a terrific guest today.

[00:08:53] Drew Demeglio is here on why his generation, which is Gen Z and is also my twin generation, is being courted by socialists and how we can win that generation back. Houston Gaines is a candidate for Congress from Georgia, and he'll be discussing what the fight looks like on the ballot. And Jim Pfaff of the Conservative Caucus will be in at the end of the show talking about the news of the day. So let's get into it.

[00:09:19] Our first guest wrote a piece that every conservative conservative over 40 needs to read. Drew Demeglio is a student at the at Hampton, Sydney. I'm sorry, Hampton, Sydney College. He's the president of his college Republican Republicans. And he writes for Restoration News, the Carolina Journal and the College Fix. He he I actually as I was researching him for this interview, I saw he writes so many op eds.

[00:09:49] You need to make sure you are checking out what he is writing. His latest piece is Gen Z socialist swing cannot be ignored. Drew, thanks so much for being here today. Thanks for having me, Jenny. So, Drew, you wrote that your generation understands and feels the results of institutional failure and that distrust in government and government institutions runs deep. Unpack that. Where does this distrust come from and how deep does it actually go?

[00:10:18] Yeah, well, I think we saw a perfect example this past week of where my generation's distrust in government comes from. And that was when Anthony Fauci was brought to the Senate hearings and would plead the fifth on everything he did during covid. So my generation was growing up during covid. They were early middle school to early college. And what they were told is you can't go out. You have to stay home. And then there were pushed vaccines. That's really where it started.

[00:10:48] And then you had the Biden administration, a lot of woke policies, prosecuting people for language. And what we saw as a result of those policies and as a result of a lot of the things that were being pushed in public schools and universities was Gen Z took a large rightward swing in the 2024. So what happened was President Trump won the largest amount of the youngest generation for any Republican presidential candidate since 2008.

[00:11:16] He actually won a majority of male Gen Z voters. But in the past two years, the sentiment has kind of changed. And now Gen Z is leading the pack in supporting some of these socialist candidates. So my article really looks at, OK, well, why is this happening?

[00:11:33] And what I found is it's not necessarily that Gen Z is convinced by socialist economics or Marxist principles, but they really are just looking for a way to to change what's going on currently. Because what they're seeing is the realities of the housing market. Getting a house is maybe the hardest it's ever been in this country. They're looking at inflation that continues going. And they're just grasping at straws.

[00:11:59] And really, what I think needs to happen is messaging and results need to be tied. And we need to remember that Gen Z is not lost. We have not lost this generation. And I believe they can bring a revival of what it means to be an American and really the American dream, which we all believe in and we all should share. OK, you said a lot there. And I want to unpack a little bit more of what you said. And so let me try to go through it in the way that you talked about it.

[00:12:28] First, I was going to ask you anyway what you thought of Anthony Fauci, because I know how much he and the mandates from him and Dr. Birx and the CDC affected you and everyone in your generation. I have twins who are 23 years old and they went through those same kind of of issues that you went through. But describe what it was like for you and for the people in in your generation. I know what it was like.

[00:12:58] I was watching it. But a lot of people just either they've forgotten or they think, oh, well, we can move on from it. But you you haven't forgotten. It still stands out in your mind. Describe what happened and why it's such a big deal to you. Right. So I was in middle school when when COVID started and a lot of my friends and a lot of my peers trusted Dr. Fauci. We trusted the institutions. And now we see the truth. And we've seen the truth for a few years now.

[00:13:28] So we trusted the lockdowns. We said for the science, we had to flatten the curve. And really what we saw is when you have schools that are shuttered and my generation and the younger people who are not really at risk. We're like, OK, well, why is this happening? What are we doing when we have loved ones who are dying and we can't even see them on their last moments? That's an issue.

[00:14:19] And that lady is arrested. I mean, are you kidding? And he can't even answer for what he did. That is really where the breeding of lack of trust in government and, for a bad example, medical institutions. That's where it comes from. Because a pandemic is a crisis.

[00:14:37] And if our government can't act correctly in a crisis and the leader of our medical institution is too worried about going on TV and being a celebrity than actually doing what's right for the American people and especially the young people of America, that's a problem. And that is where this sort of distrust in government started. Yeah. And they really failed you and your generation the most.

[00:15:05] I mean, they failed everyone whose family member died and they couldn't in that family member died alone. I think those are the people who were harmed the absolute most. Every one of us is eventually going to die. Having to die alone by force of government is just it's it's wrong. It's unconscionable. And it never should happen again.

[00:15:30] And then we move from that to what happened to you and and to people who were your age. Kids were not they were not harmed from covid. You were the least likely to get sick from covid. You actually helped stand as a barrier from covid because the virus would get into kids and it would die in your body and not continue on.

[00:15:53] So it helped it helped us develop immunity as and as a people when when your age was was getting it may not be that way with every single virus. But with that virus, it indeed did that. And the fact that they locked you up, put you in a place where you couldn't socialize, where you couldn't go to school, where you had to do virtual learning, which is a joke. It's an absolute joke. It's just absolutely wrong. Your test scores suffered.

[00:16:23] Your reading level suffered. Your math has suffered. And that's going to affect you unless you are completely caught up by now. It will affect you for the rest of your life. It's just absolutely wrong. And then to watch what Fauci did and not see any remorse whatsoever to get up there and give his opening statement and make excuses and say he had a private diary that no one should have read, even though his private diary was on a public computer.

[00:16:52] It just was I understand it was absolutely disgusting. And you in your generation deserve to have answers. Yeah. And I think that one of the biggest things with COVID and with locking down people is humans, especially at the stage of life that my generation was at, middle school, high school, college, they're supposed to be social creatures. And what happened was you saw a lot of increase in mental health.

[00:17:20] So more teens are getting diagnosed with different diseases. And then you have the medicine there. And I think really what happened was even some teens became a scapegoat for the mainstream media. So the mainstream media was attacking fraternities and colleges. And I think what really was happening is no one was thinking about the long term effects of shutting down a generation when they're supposed to be at their most social.

[00:17:48] The effects for how they socialize in the future, the effects for, you know, you see a lack of teens getting not teens, but people in their 20s getting married. These are all stemming from two or three years of being locked down and being discouraged from going out and socializing, doing the normal things that teens and young adults are supposed to be doing.

[00:18:12] And I think the most egregious part of all this, like you highlighted, is the lack of response and the lack of remorse from Anthony Fauci. It's really despicable. And I think, you know, it definitely doesn't help when you talk about my generation lacking trust in institutions. No, absolutely not. Now, you talked about a revival in messaging and results. But before we get to that, let's take a step back.

[00:18:41] Now that you have this loss of trust, a lot of people in your generation are responding to what the Democrat Socialists of America are saying. So what is it that the DSA is saying that is right now hitting home with your generation? And how is it connecting with your generation? And then we'll talk about how to combat that. Right. I mean, the biggest thing for the Democratic Socialists of America, their messaging is in tune to what works for my generation.

[00:19:09] So a lot of short form video content, a lot of quick transitions. And then the biggest part of their message is they recognize that my generation does not see government acting on our concerns. So whether that be Republican government or Democrat government, they recognize that my generation does not see either side working to what we are fighting for. So Democratic Socialists, they recognize this reality and they offer a very, very simple message.

[00:19:38] If existing institutions are not providing things like affordable housing, sufficient transparency, economic security or economic opportunity, those institutions should be fundamentally changed. And this message has become very, very, very, very effective when you see the wins by socialist candidates in New York and Colorado, where a 29-year-old defeated a 30-year-old incumbent.

[00:20:03] A lot of this messaging is not just against conservatives, but it's against incumbent Democrats, establishment Democrats. And like you said in the pre-show, there really is not much difference between the two. And the Democratic Socialists are more effective because they're actually messaging to my generation. So if we want to talk about combating this, we have to understand why it's so effective. My generation is struggling to afford a house. They're struggling to keep up with the cost of living.

[00:20:31] All these things, groceries being more expensive, gas being more expensive, that hits my generation because we are just starting out in the workforce. And then when you talk about job opportunities, you talk about a lot of the visa programs. And that's the one thing that I think conservatives have the edge on Democratic Socialists is the issue of immigration. My generation does not buy in to the idea that America should be the welcome mat of the world.

[00:21:00] We believe in a strong immigration system, and we believe that Americans should be prioritized. And that's why the messaging of bringing jobs back to America, closing the border, starting deportations of immigrants, especially those with criminal backgrounds, that's why it was so effective for my generation in 2024. And we need to get back to that. And the best way to do that is to deliver.

[00:21:25] So what is it that the people who are listening right now should, what do you want them to take away from this and what can they do to help convey that message? Right. I think the biggest thing is understanding where Gen Z comes from. There are absolutely members of Gen Z who are full-blown socialists. I will absolutely admit that. But the majority of Gen Z members sit somewhere in the middle. They just want government to work, and they want to see government working.

[00:21:54] Because for their entire lives, they have seen government fighting. And they want to see a future where they can, like their fathers and their fathers, they can complete the American dream. And they can grow up in a safe city, have a good house, raise a family, go to church, put their kids in a good school. These are basic stuff that they want, and they want for their future generations as well.

[00:22:23] So I think presenting a message that is future-focused is really, really important. And then when you look at concerns and you look at something like this happening with Gen Z voting for Democratic Socialists, I think the biggest thing is not dismissing them as a lost generation. We are not lost. I guarantee you that in the next half decade, we could see revival of conservatism and correct ideology in my generation.

[00:22:48] But it has to be understood that my generation is not full of a bunch of gender studies majors who go off and have no job prospects. There are legitimate concerns that need to be addressed with certain programs and especially the affordability crisis. So I think as long as you're able to tackle those, I think that is what's most important with bringing my generation back,

[00:23:12] is not dismissing the concerns, but tackling them and hoping and recognizing that my generation, like any other, just wants to complete the American dream and raise a family and become a good American citizen just like the rest. Well, yes, and everyone wants that. And we should make sure that every generation feels hopeful about the future.

[00:23:37] And one of the things that concerns me right now is it's so much of the national polling about the Gen Z, about Gen Zers is that you don't have hope and that you're going to have a better life in the future. And that should alarm every American. We want to, I want my kids to have a better life and a better country than what I grew up in.

[00:24:01] And when you see talking about the concerns are legitimate, I think that most people would agree with that, especially the affordability, which the left keeps talking about so often. What do you think are the best ways to address the economic concerns that your generation has?

[00:24:25] I think the biggest is something the Trump administration has done and maybe doesn't talk about enough, is tackling issues of private companies going into the single family home industry. That is a huge issue for my generation. And then the tax concerns are absolutely valid in reducing taxes. My generation is absolutely in on that. And then obviously reminding my generation, which I think the right does a good job of this,

[00:24:54] is reminding them what socialism actually does, because it's not a positive ideology. They sound positive, but they're not, right? You look at socialist countries in the past, Russia, China, North Korea, these are not countries we should strive to be. So I think the most important thing is recognizing that we can bring a future to you and to your generation.

[00:25:20] And you don't have to worry about taking a gamble on a system that has historically proven to not work at all. And then another big thing is when you look at things like the H-1B visa program, that has been a huge concern for people of my generation, people with computer science degrees, who were grown up being taught that if you get this degree, you're good. And that's a big part of lacking trust in government and economic institutions, because trust in capitalism is declining.

[00:25:49] That's where you're getting this fever for socialism. And it's because a lot of people were brought up and taught by their parents or professors or whoever. If you get a graduate degree, you're good. You're set. And the stats backed that up until very recently. If you get a certain degree in computer science, you're good. A lot of that has become a lot less possible. And you have a lot of opportunities in the trades. But you have a lot of people who are kind of left out to dry.

[00:26:17] And they're kind of drifting to socialism. I think if you're able to show those people there's an opportunity by bringing back jobs to America, manufacturing jobs that will not only bring those jobs to the Rust Belt and other areas, but also high-skilled labor that will supplement those. I think that is really what's important for my generation, because jobs means you're going to have a stable future. You can raise your family. You can fulfill the American dream. I think that's where it starts.

[00:26:45] Drew, those are such really good, very, very good points. When you said to remind people what socialism actually does, and you mentioned Russia and North Korea and China, how do you think we best can explain the stories of those countries to your generation? I, this past weekend, was listening on Audible to the Politically Incorrect Guide to Communism,

[00:27:11] because I think I've—I know a lot about it, but I have to learn more, because it's coming at us in every single direction. So I'm just trying to make sure that I'm constantly learning. And one of the questions that I had was, how do we convey what has happened in these countries to the younger generation so they understand that even if it happened 20 years ago or 50 years ago, it's still the same thing will happen today, because it happens every time socialism and communism is tried.

[00:27:42] I think the biggest thing that will work for my generation is reminding them that socialism and communism is diametrically opposed to liberty, as opposed to free speech. My generation loves being able to say what they feel. Under socialist government, the true socialist government, you would not be able to do that. Free press, freedom of religion, all of these things that are fundamental values of our country, socialism is opposed to.

[00:28:09] And my generation, like any other American generation, believes strongly in the principle of free speech and free press and freedom of religion. And I think if you're able to emphasize not just the fact that economics are all out of whack, but mostly the issues of liberty that socialism runs up against, I think that will connect very strongly with my generation.

[00:28:32] If you compare that, the reminder that socialism takes away liberty and freedom and agency from the people under socialist government, if you combine that with a future-focused message, with bringing back jobs, with supporting housing and affordable housing, and a family-focused future for my generation, I think that is really how you combat the rise of socialism. Drew, I absolutely love that. I love the conversation with you today.

[00:29:01] And I hope that I can have you back on and talk with you more. And I want to get to know you better. You're very, very bright. You're writing very good pieces. And you've got a—you have a very bright future ahead of you. Your whole generation does. You especially do, Drew. Drew, thank you. Thank you, Jenny. Thanks for having me. It was a pleasure. Thank you. Okay. So we are going to come back. And when we come back, we're going to have a candidate for Congress joining us.

[00:29:30] But first, remember, we've got to take action. The Save America Act is sitting in the Senate with five days on the clock. So I need you to pick up the phone and call the Capitol switchboard at 202-221-3121 and tell 224-3121, 202-224-3121, and tell both of your senators to stay in session and pass the Save America Act,

[00:29:56] which, of course, as you know, is proof of citizenship to register to vote and voter ID to cast a ballot. You can always go to passthesaveamericaact.com to get more information, to get answers to your frequently asked questions, and email your senators. But we need those phone calls going. Really, we need those phone calls going. And later this afternoon, we're going to have on our social media all the senators who have not committed to staying in through recess,

[00:30:26] a list of all of them with their XID and their phone numbers. Well, we should have that very shortly after we finish this live show so you know exactly which ones need the most attention. All right, we will be right back after a short break, and we're going to have a candidate for Congress with us then. Houston. You are the grassroots of America. You love this country. When you love something, really love it, the news doesn't just inform you. It fires you up.

[00:30:53] And you find yourself asking, how can I make a difference? That is exactly what this show is built to answer. Never, ever, ever, ever give up. We owe it to every American who has ever voted to make America great again. We owe it to our future selves. We owe it to this republic to stand tall, to stay active, and to be smart about how we spend our energy so that we can win. Here on the Jenny Beth Show, we're going to help you do exactly that.

[00:31:21] Every show, we will break down the news, connect it to first principles, and give you specific, effective ways to take action. Not just outrage, action. And I am so glad you're here on this journey with us to do it. So let's get to it. Welcome to the Jenny Beth Show. Welcome back. My next guest is on the ballot in November. He is a Republican nominee in Georgia's 10th congressional district. His name is Houston Gaines. Houston, welcome to the show.

[00:31:51] Thanks so much for joining me. Absolutely. Thanks so much for having me. So very quickly, tell people who you are, where your district is, and why you're running for Congress. Absolutely. So Houston Gaines here in Athens, Georgia, about an hour east of Atlanta. We like to say the home of the University of Georgia Bulldogs. We've had a good football team here in particular the last few years. But we're raised here in Athens in the 10th district. Our family goes back to the 1790s in this district. And really proud of what our family's done, but proud of my record.

[00:32:19] I've served in the state house for the last eight years. And actually right at a year ago, July 31st, one year ago, I made the decision to run for Congress with Mike Collins. Stepped up to run for the U.S. Senate. And we've got to get him elected to the Senate and kick John Ossoff out of the Senate. He doesn't represent Georgia values. But I made the decision we need people in Congress who know how to deliver, know how to get things done. That's what I've proven in the state house. I've passed over 20 pieces of legislation, things like stopping local governments from defunding the police,

[00:32:48] to landmark immigration legislation, to hold local jurisdictions that weren't cooperating with ICE accountable, to cracking down on road district attorneys that weren't doing their job. And so we need folks in D.C. who will work with the president to advance his agenda. And that's why I think we need someone like myself who has that experience, who knows how to get things done. And so I'm excited about what we're doing. You know, the other thing I'll mention to you that I think and be excited about is this next generation of conservative leaders that are running for Congress.

[00:33:16] I'm 31. We've got other folks in this incoming freshman class where you've got really a lot of strong young conservatives. And why that's so important is, you know, the left is running with these people like AOC and Mondami, who unfortunately young people in this country are buying into. But we've got to go tell our story. Well, our agenda is it's actually going to make housing more affordable. It's going to make the American dream possible. That's going to cut taxes, cut regulation and help the next generation, not saddling with socialism.

[00:33:45] You know, these crazy ideas that the far left is throwing. And so that's why I think it's important we get this next generation engaged and get us to step up. And so that's why I'm also excited for this opportunity. That is very good. So your district has, I think, 20 different counties in it. And you've been in the state legislature for eight years, so four terms. And you you're really very young. You are a young conservative. So you you've got right to work, working to help improve the country.

[00:34:15] And those bills that you mentioned, especially holding ICE accountable, making sure that you can't defund the police and holding rogue district attorneys accountable. That is really important in the city where Lake and Riley was was viciously murdered, since we we do have a rogue DA and a place that wanted to defund police there. So I'm glad that you stepped up at a state level to take care of that.

[00:34:41] Well, I'll tell you, you know, I'm from Athens where Lake and Riley was killed. And unfortunately, the local government in Athens, you know, is just so far to the left. And I will tell you one piece of good news is our recent mayor's race. Actually, the Democratic Socialists got beat, which is the opposite of what's happening on the rest of the country. But but I will tell you, we have this local government that wasn't cooperating with ICE, wasn't working. You have this district attorney who she said she didn't like the law. She just wasn't going to prosecute you.

[00:35:10] And so I took him head on. I went to the state capitol. We passed legislation to stop him at every turn. A lot of people say, Houston, where do you come up with these ideas for bills? I tell him I look at what Athens-Clarke County does. I passed legislation to do the exact opposite. And the truth is, is because they come up with these radical ideas. And we've got to have people that are willing to fight back and stop them. You know, it's like on district attorneys. They say, oh, you wait till the next election. Well, no, you can't.

[00:35:35] Not with the people that are, you know, like Lake and Riley, who she's no longer with us. A 22-year-old who was a nursing student had such a bright future. And because of inaction and terrible mistakes by local governments and, of course, by the Biden administration, she's no longer alive. Yeah. And Lake and Riley went to the same elementary school as my children. She was a year ahead of them and had the same first grade teacher that they had.

[00:36:01] So it hit home for you and it hit home for me as well. So, Houston, tell me, for Washington, D.C., and I know I sidetracked you just slightly with what you're doing locally. But for Washington, D.C. and for Congress, what are your top issues? And how are those matching what you're hearing in your district from voters? Absolutely. Well, I think you're going to see me focused on a lot of the same issues, public safety, immigration.

[00:36:28] These are the sort of things that we need folks to continue to lead on in Congress to work alongside the president. Of course, you know, my hope is that the Save America Act has already passed by the time I get there. But that will, of course, remain at the top of our list. That's, you know, how that's even remotely controversial. I haven't figured it out yet. You know, we need voter ID. We need the common sense things that are in that piece of legislation. But, you know, on public safety areas that I've spent time in the legislature, I'm going to do the same thing, as well as on affordability and some of these other important issues.

[00:36:57] My record in the statehouse, those are the same sort of topics that I plan to cover when I'm in Congress. Because, again, we need folks to work with President Trump to deliver on what he's already done. It's remarkable what he's done through, you know, executive action, those sort of things. We need to put a lot of this stuff in law so the Democrats can't just turn it around and turn it over. We need to get this stuff done, particularly as, you know, he's just been in his last two years of his administration. I think it's so important that we get this stuff on the books.

[00:37:26] It really is important to get it on the books. And you just mentioned affordability. When I was preparing for this interview, I saw that one of the things that you mentioned about affordability is, I think that they were tied together, is reducing how much money the government is spending because that affects how much is taken in taxes or how our taxes are used.

[00:37:49] And when they're pumping money into, I'm elaborating more than what you said, but just when they're pumping money into the economy, it's going to drive prices up because it messes with supply and demand of the dollars themselves. But I also heard you talking about waste, fraud and abuse and reducing that. I'm really glad to hear you talking about that. We have to make sure that we're getting rid of the fraudulent spending.

[00:38:17] I was in a meeting last week at the White House and, well, in the executive office building, so in the White House grounds, but not in the White House itself. And we were learning more about what the anti-fraud task force is doing. And then afterwards, I spoke to somebody. I'm telling you this because it's a fellow Georgian who said it, who said that instead of saying waste, fraud and abuse,

[00:38:43] they heard from Kelly Loeffler to say it's not waste, fraud and abuse. It's lying, stealing and cheating. And that really is what it boils down to because the people who are fraudulently spending tax money are stealing it from us. They're lying in order to get it. And it's cheating the system. A hundred percent. And that's why, you know, what the administration is doing to eliminate, you know, lying, cheating, stealing, waste, fraud and abuse,

[00:39:12] it is so important because you look at what happened in Minnesota. You look at, I mean, there are billions of dollars, maybe trillions of dollars that, you know, are being used inappropriately. And that's why what NOJ was doing, I think, was really important. And my hope is that we can get back to addressing our debt and our deficit because it is going to saddle the next generation forever. And I do think a big, big part of that is waste, fraud and abuse. I think when you really dive into these issues and what Administrator Loeffler is talking about,

[00:39:41] which she is a great Georgian, by the way, we're very lucky to have her at the SBA, that what she's talking about is spot on. We've got to go and take these folks and there needs to be criminal penalties. And then we've got to get, you know, our budget under control. And I do believe once you dig into this stuff, you're going to find a ton of money that is not being used appropriately. Everything from, you know, fraud on whether it's Medicaid eligibility, SNAP eligibility, to, you know, again, what you saw in Minnesota where it's just wholesale,

[00:40:10] I mean, stealing from the government. There is a bunch of money that I really do believe can make a big, big impact on our debt. I think that you're exactly right about that, Houston. Okay. I have two more quick questions. I know we don't have a lot of your time today, so I want to make it fast and be respectful of your time. The first one is how do you define conservatism? I heard you talking about being part of a new crop of young conservatives. What does conservatism actually mean to you?

[00:40:40] I think it means get the government the heck out of the way. And, you know, that's the most, when I boil it down to one topic, I think that's the best way to cut taxes, cut regulation, get government out of the way. And that's, you know, the best way I can describe it. And when I think about selling that to the next generation of people who are my age, that's how folks are going to be able to get a good job. And they're not going to be paying, you know, I saw something about the Democratic Socialists talking about 90% tax rates again. You know, the Republicans, conservatives, it's the exact opposite.

[00:41:09] We want to get government out of your way so you can go make a great living, build a great family. That's what really conservatism is all about, is building and allowing the American dream for folks to build it on their own. And, you know, that's why I think our message works and why the Democrats and the Socialists, what they're trying to propose, it's not going to work. In fact, it's going to, you know, unfortunately, I fear, ruin this country. Yeah, I think that you're exactly right.

[00:41:34] Their crazy ideas, their communist ideas are not common sense and they will ruin the country. Okay, the very last question for you for today, and maybe I can have you come back on, is this. Affordability is a concern for Americans around this country. Inflation is a concern. It's, I think, the number one concern of voters right now.

[00:41:59] What do you tell the family in your district who is worried about the cost of goods and inflation? What is it that you're saying so that they will vote for you and to give them hope? Yeah, I think what I tell folks is just some of the things that we've done at the statehouse. And that's, we've cut the income tax by over 50% since I've been here. We've done where we have refunded tax dollars back to the people whose money they are. It's the people's money. It's not the government's money. And we've done that with no debt.

[00:42:29] We don't have debt in our, we've actually passed what's called a balanced budget. I know that's foreign to Congress, but that's something that, you know, we got to get figured out, as I already talked about. But we've cut, you know, suspended the gas tax. We've done property tax relief. You know, property taxes in Georgia are just through the roof. Those are the sort of things that prohibit a young family from being able to afford a home. And that's where government can be helpful, is cutting taxes and then cutting red tape to allow businesses, allow individuals to thrive.

[00:42:57] And so that's why I think the Republican agenda is going to work, whereas the Democrats, where they're trying to hand out free stuff, it may sound good in the short run, but I can tell you in the long run, it's going to be a disaster. I know we've talked about the Democratic Socialists, but I know everyone has seen how proud they are of their agenda. But you go just watch their little clip of, I guess it was their president, or maybe they don't even call him a president. Who knows what they call him? But I think it was on Fox. And where she went through, and she's so proud of their agenda. Go watch that.

[00:43:26] That's what's going to happen if the Democrats take over, because that's who's leading their party. If they win the House, you know, it's impeachment. That's all they're going to do. And then they're going to try to pass that stuff, because that's who's going to control their agenda. And that's why I think it's so important that we get a party to remain in control like us, the Republicans, who are going to get government out of your lives. And then that's how we're going to make life more forward. Those are very good points, Houston. I love that.

[00:43:53] And I love what you said about conservatism, just less government, get government out of our lives. I absolutely love that. Houston Gaines, thank you for joining me today. Before I let you go, just tell everyone how they can follow you and keep in touch. And if somebody has moved to donate, how they can do so. Absolutely. HoustonGaines.com, H-O-U-S-T-O-N-G-A-I-N-E-S.com. There it is. It's a good-looking website. So join us.

[00:44:19] We'd love to have your support, whether it's, you know, chipping in $5 or whether if you want to come knock on doors. I'm a big believer in it. You've got to go and see folks at their door. You know, we've knocked on thousands of doors. We are working overtime to win this district in November. It's three months away. It's hard to believe, but it is time to make sure we maintain the Republican majority. Georgia is the battleground state. We have a Senate race, governor's race. But it's at Houston Gaines on every platform as well, Facebook, Twitter, all the rest, or X. We'd love to have you follow us, join us.

[00:44:48] And thank you, really, for having me on today. It means the world. And I appreciate everybody's support. We're looking forward to coming back soon. All right, everyone. Make sure you go and follow that race. It's going to be an important one. Now, when we come back, Jim Pfaff is going to be on, and we're going to break down the news of the day. So stay with us.

[00:45:37] Welcome back. My next guest runs the oldest conservative grassroots organization in the country. And right now his group is running one campaign harder than any other subject, and that is passing the Save America Act. Jim Pfaff is the president of the Conservative Caucus and is a regular guest on the Jenny Beth Show. Jim, welcome back. Good to see you, Jenny Beth. Thanks for having me on. So let's get started and go back to something I talked about in the opening of the show, which is Kamala Harris.

[00:46:05] Jim, last week or this past weekend, the last Democratic nominee for president said out loud that she wanted to gut the Electoral College and pack the Supreme Court in to make Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. seats. Do we have that clip? By the way, let's play that clip really quickly. For example, and I know this is going to be controversial coming from me in particular,

[00:46:32] we need to revisit the Electoral College. We need to revisit the point of expanding the court to 13 justices like we have 13 district courts. We need to revisit, if they so want, statehood for Puerto Rico and D.C. Yes.

[00:47:01] Jim, how just what is your reaction to that? And when people think that the mainstream of the Democrat Party is not the far left, she's proving they're one in the same. Oh, I mean, she's just spouting much of the Democrat communists of America talking points, isn't she? And, you know, what's really interesting about the rise of the DSA in the Democrat Party is they're just saying out loud what Democrats have been pushing for for a long period of time.

[00:47:31] But more specifically, the actual – you have to kind of take the words that politicians use and understand what is it that they're really trying to communicate. And over the last 10 or so years, even a little bit longer than that, back into the Obama administration, what she is doing is communicating the Democrat Party platform, which is we want unilateral control of the United States of America. We don't want free and fair elections.

[00:48:00] We don't want elections that work for all Americans. We want elections, they proclaim, that work for them. And all you got to do is look at California, where they don't even have elections right now. Like, California elections don't even rise up to third world elections. They can't be monitored. You cannot oppose the outcomes in any way to verify whether they are accurate or not.

[00:48:25] And they have built in a system that allows the Democrat Party to take advantage of the Republican Party and take any advantage away that they might have everywhere that they can make it happen. They want unilateral control of the entire country. They are not about promoting the American ideal or supporting what America is like.

[00:48:47] And all you got to do to understand how bad this really is, the Constitution says very specifically that the federal government will provide a small-r Republican form of government. In other words, a representative democracy. Not a democracy, but a representative democracy where the people get to choose their representatives, and those representatives serve at their will.

[00:49:16] When you have an electoral system like we have that already makes that difficult for us as Americans to do, that's one thing. But when you talk about getting rid of the Electoral College, which is the most firm approach to electing a president that is in the will of the people generally, and then packing the Supreme Court, all they want is to control everything. They don't want what the Constitution stands for.

[00:49:45] And by the way, I've been maintaining and will continue to maintain that every one of these DSA members, the three people who won Democrat primaries in New York and the one who won it in Denver, because they are out saying that they don't support the Constitution, I don't even think that if Republicans maintain control that they should even seat them.

[00:50:06] They should seat the Republicans, because the oath of office that they take says not only to uphold the Constitution, but to say that you're making this oath without any attempt to half-heartedly do so when you really have another agenda.

[00:50:22] And that is specifically an issue that we need to bring up very clearly, because the Save America Act and the fact that these people are about undermining the Constitution, that is a serious, serious issue that we have to confront very firmly and without any cowardice at all. Jim, I haven't heard anyone see it that way, but basically what you're saying there is you don't think that when they take the oath of office that they actually intend to keep that oath? They don't. Look what they're calling for.

[00:50:52] The elimination of the Senate, putting the executive branch under control of the House of Representatives. I mean, that is not constitutional. And they want to get rid of the—they're not saying, but they want to get rid of the Supreme Court as well, so they want everything underneath the House. Which, in effect, is—first of all, it fundamentally is a parliamentary system. We're not a parliamentary system. But even more importantly, when you really look at it closely, coming from the communist perspective that they come from, what they want is a Politburo.

[00:51:22] Listen, the Soviet Union had elections its entire existence. But they meant nothing because everything was controlled by the power brokers in Moscow. They ran things. They ran things. There was an elite class who literally ruled over everybody. This is the form of government they want because they want to get rid of any potential for anyone to create wealth in their families, however big or small that wealth might be.

[00:51:50] And they want to take any free market controls away from things, from everybody, and they want to control it in a centralized planning environment. You cannot do that effectively in our Constitution, even with as bad as things are right now. And your previous guest talked about our debt being out of control. Like, we've got some real problems, but we still have a way to get to answers to fix those problems. They want to take every ability of that away.

[00:52:20] And do not be fooled, people, when the Democrat Socialists of America are literally saying what Democrats have been attempting to do through lying to you about where they stand over this entire century at least, and maybe slightly further back than that. That is exactly right. Right now, at least we're seeing the truth about what they want to do because they have been lying. They've been trying to cover it up. It's more than half a century.

[00:52:50] It goes back 100 years. I think it goes back to 1913. And so it isn't—maybe it's 1912. But it certainly goes back a long, long way. And now it's on full display everything they intend to do. Now we've got to defeat it. And we have our work cut out for us, Jim.

[00:53:12] I don't think it's going to be easy because we're competing with people who are claiming they're just going to give everything away for free. And it doesn't work that way. There's no such thing as a free lunch. And, in fact, what they're going to wind up giving is everyone a free ride to a race to the bottom where we're all equal, but we are equally miserable, equally have nothing, and equally have no opportunity for advancement.

[00:53:40] Okay, we've got two other quick subjects, and we don't have a lot of time today. So let's move to the Save America Act. The Senate is trying to recess on Friday, and yet we need them to keep working on the Save America Act. What do you think is going to happen this week in the Senate, and what do you think are the best actions for activists to take?

[00:54:01] Well, there is a hope that Mike Lee and the growing number of senators who are supporting him, including my good friend Jim Banks, a U.S. senator, and others. There are many others. That number is growing. People are increasingly saying that we need to stay in session until we pass it. The reason we need to pass it is because we need to go back to the gold standard elections that we had for the first 230 years of our existence.

[00:54:29] This century, roughly since around 2006, 2008, you've had Democrats have successful court challenges against how states run their elections, expanding election day to some dozen, two dozen, in some cases almost three dozen days before election. That is just a chaotic way to run elections. It just does not work. Under the guise of we need to let other people learn how to vote.

[00:54:59] Listen, as citizens, we need to have a clear definition of when an election is taking place, which we do not have now. And people can take responsibility themselves for how they get to that election, how they we've always had strict absentee ballots that allow people that are truly traveling or invalids or serving overseas. We've always had that system.

[00:55:25] We need to go back to limiting with strong restrictions, you know, how people can vote absentee. But people can figure out their way to get to the election with voter IDs. We know that they are valid voters. We need to get back to that system. Democrats have messed that up. So what will happen over the next few days?

[00:55:45] I think there is a growing trend in the Senate to force a lengthening of their session through and into the August recess, which they should do. And I don't know if there's a strong sense that that's going to happen, but the caucus, the Republican caucus in there is calling for it more and more. And John Thune needs to wake up and do what the American people want to do. I've never heard of politicians that don't want to pass an 80 percent issue.

[00:56:14] And by the way, the Save America Act didn't just a few weeks ago have 80 percent support. That continues in subsequent polls. That support is there. And if you're not going to do what 80 percent of the American people want to do, why are you even running for office? Just resign and let someone else try it that might actually listen to the American people. John Thune needs to get off his duff and everyone needs to call their senator.

[00:56:39] They need to call the congressional switchboard and say, we want this and you need to do it. Don't let the pressure go away because already your elected representatives are rising up to that call. I think we've got nearly two dozen of the 53 U.S. senators who are already supporting Mike Lee's call to continue this. And every one of you need to thank Mike Lee. He is a hero. You and I, Jenny Beth, have known Mike for a lot of years.

[00:57:07] This man is who we need taking the kind of leadership that he is. He's intelligent. He's an American patriot. And he really does care about our Constitution being reaffirmed in everything that he does. He absolutely does. And he's been working on this since January of 2024. And since January or early February of 2024, that's when Tea Pretty Patriots Action did our first poll on the subject.

[00:57:33] And over 80 percent of Americans wanted only American citizens to vote in American elections back then. We've continued to poll on it time after time after time. And it's still above 80 percent right there on the screen right now. Eighty-two percent say only U.S. citizens should vote in American elections. Seventy-eight percent should show a photo ID when casting a ballot. Seventy-eight percent should show proof of citizenship when registering to vote. That is a supermajority of all Americans.

[00:58:02] It is a solid, rock-solid majority. It's actually a supermajority of Democrats and Independents and Republicans. There is no reason not to pass this. Republicans need to get this done. The Democrats don't want it because they want those noncitizens voting. That's the only thing that I can come up with. They know there's 6,600 noncitizens on the roll in New Jersey. There's 3,000 in Alaska.

[00:58:29] President Trump talked about, you know, a few weeks ago that in four states, including New Jersey, there are over 250,000 noncitizens on the voting rolls. These are blue states where it's making up that many people. The Democrats are objecting it. They're standing in the way of it. And the Republicans should say, yeah, not on my watch. We're doing what the American people want. Okay. One last question for you. Jim, I wrote a column that went out on townhall.com this weekend.

[00:58:59] And I want your take on it. The media keeps calling this Democrat-Socialist surge on the left the new Tea Party movement. You and I were both there at the beginning of the modern Tea Party movement. I helped build it. And we understand the values of it. My column, I'm saying you can call the Democrat-Socialists of America a moment in even a movement. But it is not the Tea Party movement. Why do you think that that comparison is so wrong?

[00:59:28] Well, they want it to be, this comparison to be valid because they want to try to say that this is an American movement of citizens who want to get things done. Listen, you started Tea Party Patriots at that time. I was running Americans for Prosperity of Colorado at the time.

[00:59:45] We had thousands of people come to the state capitol to oppose Barack Obama's, you know, what was it, his bill to just give money away. Stimulus package. Thank you. And he was signing it in Denver. We had thousands of people say no. You and I were at the ground level of this watching that this was an American movement. It was not just conservatives and Republicans like we had been.

[01:00:15] But this was a whole bunch of people in that moderate section of independent voters who overwhelmingly added 63 new seats for Republicans to Congress that year. And constantly Washington, D.C. has been trying to beat that movement down, which still exists, which reemerged in the Trump era. And just as the same group of people and more who came in and said, this is what we want.

[01:00:41] They the media want to twist what's happening with the DSA, the Democrat socialists, and say that this is a similar thing. It's not it's not the same amount of people. If you look at polls, the support for that agenda, it doesn't even break 30 percent if I'm reading the polls correctly. So if they can try to make this out to be the same thing, like remember how they were beating us up in the media just for asserting what we wanted to do.

[01:01:08] Now, look, this media that lied to us about COVID lied to us about the Russia hoax. Now they're trying to stand this up as a similar movement. And it's a lie. That's not what's happening at all. That is exactly right. The media lies constantly to advance their agenda. And that's what they're doing with the Democrat socialists of America. All right. Very, very quickly in 30 seconds. If you could get one message to every senator who's packing a suitcase right now trying to go on August recess, what would you tell them?

[01:01:38] Well, I would tell them you're answerable to us, not your agenda to get out and campaign. Your most effective campaign strategy is to pass a bill that 80 percent of the American people support. You could possibly forego any campaign event you plan in August if you could just do that one thing because you're going to have the American people on your side. It is an issue. It's not the number one issue of important issues for Americans. It's in the top three consistently.

[01:02:08] So it is important to the American people at double digit numbers. So you need to get serious about representing the people who elected you and getting this past the finish line. It can be done if you're just willing to do it. The plan has been out there, as you rightly say, since January when Mike Lee, January 2025, when Mike Lee was pushing this. It's the same group of people that want the same thing. Go after them. Do what they're asking you to do.

[01:02:37] Get it past the finish line and then go home. Otherwise, you're not doing your job. Absolutely. I love that message, Jim. Jim, thank you so much for joining me today, and I look forward to having you back again soon. Thanks, Jenny Beth. All right, folks, we're very much over time. I had a closing. I was going to highlight Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the news this weekend, but I'm going to do that tomorrow.

[01:03:01] So very quickly, one last time before we go, make sure you are calling the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and tell both of your senators to stay in session. Skip August recess and pass the Save America Act. To get more information, go to pass the Save America Act dot com. Pass the Save America Act dot com. And later today on our social media, we are going to have a list of all of the Republican senators.

[01:03:30] It's the entire list of all the Democrat senators. And then the Republican senators who have not yet said that they will skip the August recess or at least stay in session a bit longer to work on the Save America Act. So you know where to concentrate your phone calls. So we will make sure that we have that for you later this afternoon on our social media.

[01:03:52] So be sure to check there at at TPP or at TPPatriots on X and Jenny Beth M on X. Thank you so much. This is Jenny, the Jenny Best Show, and I will see you tomorrow. If you enjoyed today's conversation, go ahead and hit like and subscribe. It really helps us reach more people who care about liberty and the Constitution.

[01:04:14] You can find this and other episodes at JennyBethShow.com, as well as Facebook, YouTube, Rumble, Instagram, X, and your favorite podcast platform. The Jenny Beth Show is hosted by Jenny Beth Martin. The Jenny Beth Show is a production of T Party Patriots Action. For more information, visit TPartyPatriots.org.