Wake that answer up in the morning. Breakfast Club Morning.
Everybody is the DJ en Vy Jesse, Larry Schela mean the guy, we are the Breakfast Club. Lola Rosa is here. We got a special guest in the building. Yes, indeed if Congressman Al Green, welcome brother, thank you, thank you, brother, thank you for joining us.
How you feeling, Yeah, well, I'm feeling quite well. Better than I deserve is what I usually say, because candidly, I have the gift of life. I didn't earn it, and I'm appreciative and I try as best as I can to appreciate the life that I have. But current events obviously are on my mind. And notwithstanding these events, I still say that I'm better than I deserve.
You know, I want to you don't want to say something. Man.
A couple of weeks ago, the good Brother Michael Eric Dison reached out and he said, Congressman, I agree in Texas wants to come on Breakfast Club. And I'm like, I for sure connected with the producers and everything else. So this is just divine timing because this was something that was in the Magan a couple of weeks ago. But then everything transpired transpired this week. Yes, sir, what made you even want to come on a couple of weeks ago?
I admire the way you conduct your program, to be quite honest, But may I just step back a moment and say a kind word about Michael. Absolutely, I think so much of him. He's one of the great minds of our time. Absolutely, I don't know that he has an equal to be very honest with you, So I'm grateful to him for reaching out on my behalf. But I wanted to come on because I know that you have an audience that may not have had an opportunity to hear some of the things that I think would
merit their consideration. So this would be an opportunity to reach out and see if we can help persons better understand some of what's happening in Congress.
And not only do you have one of the greatest R and B singer's name, you got an R and B voice.
Well, I've never been acknowledged in this fashion before. I have had people to say to me, well, let me give you this example. I was introduced and it was a great introduction, one of the best introductions I've ever had. And as I was going to speak. The gentleman said to me, before you finish, would you just please sing one song? He knew not that I was just give us one one song.
But I want to start from back before we get into everything that's going on. Who is al Green? And what made you wanted to get into serving people?
But probably started early in life when I was a child in elementary school, my teacher, Miss Graham I believe was her name, had the class to all assume some office or run for some office. And I was running for class president and my theme was go with Green. And that meant something to me then and it continued. President of student body, president of freshman class in college. Once you get into this, it seems to envelop you and you you just don't leave it immediately. So I didn't.
I didn't plan to do this. It sort of consumed me in a sense. And here I am. So it's not not a not a contrived thing. Now.
They said, you like HBCU so much.
You went to three of them.
Well, I went to for.
You, Howard and Duskegee.
And I also went to Texas Southern and Texas. Yes, sir, I enjoyed undergraduates. I really did. And by the way for everybody's edification. I have no undergraduate degree. I was fortunate enough to get into law school. It was just a quirk of circumstance. And so I finished law school at Thurgood Marshall School of Law.
You know, you caused some good trouble the other night when you stood up and spoke out at the Is it the State of the Union. No, it was a joint joint joint session of Joint Session of Congress. When we sit up and spoke out of the Joint Session of Congress. I think what was getting lost is what you actually said. Thank you, And you said that you have no mandate on medicare, no mandate to cut medicaid, no.
Mandate to cut literally friends. I had my coat, my cane, and I was about to make my exit because I really didn't want to sit through what I knew the President would do. So as I was about to make my exit, he made this statement about his mandate and I said to him, you have no mandate to cut medicaid. Uh. And by the way, I didn't come to say that. I did not. It was spontaneity. It was just something far movie. Yes, so I said it, and of course,
the speaker admonished me. He said that I take a seat, but at the moment I had to make the point, so I said it again. The speaker admonished me again, and the speaker did his job. He said, well, you got to be moved, removed, and so I was evicted. And by the way, the officers who evicted me were very kind. They didn't say anything to me that was out of order. They were very kind to me. But it didn't matter to me what the consequences were. And
I've shared this with other people. John Lewis and I were friends and we talked about this notion of peaceful protest, and a part of it is not just getting in the way. As he put it, you have to get.
In the way.
You have to be disruptive. People are not going to like you some But when you do this, you have to also be prepared to suffer the consequences. So when I did it, I was prepared to suffer the consequences, and I'm prepared now. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to like the consequences. You can be prepared to suffer things that you don't agree with. I don't agree with what happened, but I was prepared to suffer because
Medicaid means so much to so many people. One in every five persons with insurance in this country is covered by virtual medicaid, and if we lose Medicaid, we're going to lose lives. The president, buying through his agents in Congress, has that should a mandate bepast legislation to cut eight hundred and eighty billion dollars from the committee that has jurisdiction over Medicaid. You cannot do that. You cannot do
that without cutting into Medicaid. And if you do that, you're going to hurt a lot of people that I represent. So I'm standing for them because they can't stand for themselves understanding that they need this health care.
I'm glad you explained that, but I also you said something. You said that the speaker was doing his job. So if that's the case, why Democratic speakers do their job and kick out Joe.
Wilson when he yelled at at Barack Obama? You lied?
Why they didn't do their job and kick out Marjorie Taylor Green or bol Bird Like, why don't they do their job?
This is why I came to the program because I would get a question like this, and I really appreciate this question because it gets to the essence of where we are. But a good many of us don't realize it. There is still invidious discrimination. There is invidious discrimination in the House of Representatives. I'm a son of the segregated South. The rights that the Constitution recognized for me, my friends
and neighbors denied. I had to sit in the back of the bus the balcony of the movie drink from a colored water fountain, and my relatives who committed some crimes were locked up in the bottom of the jail. I know what invidious discrimination looks like. The klan burned across in my yard. I know what it smells like, and filthy waiting rooms, and I've been in places where I didn't want to be, and I know what it sounds like. I've been called all kinds of ugly names,
so I know in vidious discrimination. And when the speaker decided that I would be removed, and then there was this motion, this resolution to censure me, it became obvious to me that I was not being treated as others were. And candidly speaking, it is in vidious discrimination, harmful discrimination.
I don't agree with that, but I was willing to suffer that because I knew that I had to get that message to the president and put this issue before the public, because the public has not grasped what's going to happen if Medicaid is cut. This is not about black people. Most of the people of the plurality, their Anglos. Black people are smaller percentage of Medicaid. But this is about people who need healthcare. This president is a person who uses his incivility to take advantage of our civility.
When I left, I went home and I saw the rest of the event on television, and I saw him point to the Democrats and say, these people are lunatics. He called the Democratic members of Congress lunatics. Now that is incivility. He will not be punished for that. He's not going to be sanctioned. He's not going to be reprimanded, he's not going to be censured. He does this with impunity. I believe that we have to meet incivility with incivility.
I have to be prepared to suffer the consequences. But I'm prepared to meet his incivility that he uses to demean people. We have to use our incivility to uplift people, and I plan to do that.
I understand that, But why wouldn't the Democratic Speaker of the House censure those folks, like why wouldn't she call them out? Or he called him out when Obama was in office? Why wouldn't Pelosi call him ol when Biden was in office? And do to them what they did to you when they disrupted the joint right.
My belief is that what they've done to me exceeded what should be done, and that may be why, because they didn't want to exceed what should be done. That would be my guest. I can't deadly don't know, but I know that I have been treated differently, and I have accepted that it happened. I don't agree with it, and I think that if you treat everybody else as you should, and then when I show up, you decide
to treat me differently, I then protest that. And I do that, but I would protest notwithstanding the way they've done it, simply because I think that at some point, even if nobody stands with you on some issues, they are so important that if nobody stands with you, it is better to stand alone than not stand at all.
I agree with you, but I also believe Democrats the cowards, and that's why they didn't call out Marjorie Taylor Green. That's why they didn't call out Joe Wilson when he did it. And Republicans. That's what what happened the other night. It made a weak party look weaker. You looked strong, and I was sitting there wondering, well, why is nobody else standing up with that brother? Why is nobody else
walking out with that brother in that moment? To me, it just shows you how cowardly the Democratic Party is.
Did you feel did you feel like people should have left with you?
Do you feel like if we leave, like you know, one leave, we all leave, but together we united.
Let me give you a proper predicate before I go to the specific point. I'm not a Democrat because I love the notion of being a Democrat. I don't have another option. This is the option that's available to it the best option available to me. And I tell people that I'm a liberate Democrat, unbought, unbossed, and unafraid.
Would I have.
Stood with someone else had they done.
This, Yes, absolutely, I would have.
And I believe that there are some Democrats who weren't there when he said lunatic. I'm sort of pleased that Maxine Waters wasn't there because I'm confident Maxine would have had some choice words for him, words that I wouldn't use. She's a master of scatology and so, but I don't begrudge them. To be very honest, I think people have to on some of these questions, do what your conscious dictates.
This was a dictate of my conscience, my convictions, and I said to my friends, vote your conscious when we got to the vote in this case, vote vote whatever your convictions are. I'm not trying to sway you one way or another, but I do say to you, and I've said this before, I'm not a Democrat because it's it was not like a religion for me. I'm there because it's the best choice that I have. If I had another choice, I would opt for that.
Now you talk about your sorry, you talk about consequences, Yes, sir, what are the consequences for what.
You well, I'm about to suffer double jeopardy. They have censured me, which was to bring me before the house and read the statement that was a statement of censure. But there is now a movement to strip me of my committee assignments. I would call that double jeopardy. I will not agree with it, but I will still say to you, if I could do it again, I would knowing that they would do these things because it's not about me. It's about what Brother Charlemagne said, It's about
the healthcare. And somewhere along the way we make sacrifices. Sixtieth anniversary, is that what it is acrossing Edmund Pettis Bridge today, John Lewis and those folks made sacrifices. John Lewis explained to me he thought he was going to die on that bridge. Some people have to make sacrifices. So if sacrificing a congressional seat is going to help people get health care, then that's a good exchange. That's a fair exchange to get that health care for people who need it.
If they strip you of your committees, though, right, like a person like you who you're not afraid, right the committees that you're involved in financial services, homeland security, diversity and inclusion of in housing, community development, insurance, what does that mean for the people that you know you're doing so much good for, Like what effect are we going to see from that?
Well, I would hope that the person who follows will take up the same causes and will do as well as can be done. I don't believe that I'm the only Al Green in the world. Well, I know that maybe I should have said that way. There is mister love and happiness for the good times. But I think that there are other people who can take up this cause and do equally as well or better. You know, I admire brother Jamal Bowman.
Oh I love Jamal.
Yeah, I ja Maul would have stood which yeah, try to matter fact, Jamal wouldn't even just came.
You wouldn't even show us. You know.
I was tempted not to as well. I was, but I went to walk out. I did not go to make the statement. I went to walk out. But when he said he had this mandate, I had to then counteract that because I didn't want people to think that he would have a mandate to cut medicaid, Medicaid, Medicare, and social security. They are the foundation of what we call the safety net, and we have to protect them.
And with social Security, somewhere around twenty thirty five, we're going to have a short fall, and we're gonna have to do something to make sure that Social Security continues to make its timely payments. I have said we should raise the cap, meaning persons who make more than one hundred and seventy six thousand, one hundred dollars. I believe it's a cap. Let's make them pay into the system too.
Right now, if you make one hundred and seventy one hundred dollars, all of your money is taxed for Social Security twelve point four percent, six two from you and six point two from your employer. Well, I think we have to raise that cap so that we can continue to have these payments. There are some people who would raise the age, and if they raise the age, black men will become donors, with donors right now to a
certain extent, because we don't live as long. Our life span is shorter, So raising the age only then causes some people just pay into it and never benefit from it. And it's an investment not an entitlement, so they won't collect on their investment. So I'm for raising that cap. That's important. Medicare, We've got to make sure that we maintain this program, Medicaid, Medicare, Social security. They benefit Americans. We have a society where people can walk into places
typical stores, be millionaires and nobody mugs you. You know, people who have much can visit places where people who have little and walk away. In many societies, you have to have armed guards with you. I may have to have one after you know what's happened here lately, But you have to have armed guards and you have to be protected. But we have a peaceful society because of the way we treat people in the dawn of life and in the twilight of life. And I'm going to do what I can to help them.
Your armed security, is it just you've been receiving like threats and stuff or like well.
I don't want you to think that they started with this, but they've increased. Yes, I have Crystal can pull up some of those and you can hear them if you like. But people they don't think very much of my mother and my lineage, and they think that it would be appropriate for me to wear a rope as a necktime. But when you sign on, you don't sign on to have a party or just have a great time. You have to sign on for the times that exist, and you have to do what's necessary to make things better
for those that you represent. And you just have to accept these things, and we do. I don't say to you accept them and not be judicious, not be prudent. You've got to be prudent enough to say I want security, and notwithstanding that, things can happen to you, but you ought to at least do what you can to protect yourself.
But doctor King gave us some sage advice. He reminds us that a person who hasn't found something worth dying for isn't fit to live live, you know, so we all have to find something.
When you say you told people to vote for their conscience and then ten Democrats voted to censure.
You, what does that say about their conscience? Well, here again, this is why I'm on your programer. I assure you that question would not be put to me as you just put it to me on most other places and most other venues. I think that it is something that they will have to deal with. I don't want to say to them, here's what your conscience should have dictated. What I want to do is be an example and say, here's what my conscience dictates. And if you believe that
I'm a good example, then you can adjust. But if you think not, then I have to accept you as who you are. I let them deal with their conscious. Conscience is something that's with us, within us, and it causes us to have moral imperatives. This was a moral imperative for me. If no one else has the same moral imperative, I let them wrestle with it. I would not feel good about myself had I not done what I did.
Do you feel like this presidency changes the landscapes of presidency from here on out? I don't seen things like executive orders on the first daid a man put a desk on in the middle and was signing and throwing pins out. Does this change the presidency for here on out?
I don't know about that infinitum, but I do know that for the foreseeable future there would be others who would try to emulate him. He's growing this crop of many trumps. But this president is a menace to dignity. To dignity, you fire people in mass you have no idea as to what their responsibilities are to family members. Maybe if there's someone who's sick and they're the breadwinner and they have to take care of this person could have a child in college that needs these funds, these
emoluments to take care of education. You just don't know. And to fire people in mass indicates to me that you just don't respect the humanity and dignity of people that you don't know. There is no due process associated with this process. Elon Musk becomes the arbiter of due process. A guy with a chainsaw who is worth more than anybody else, it seems, who believes that he can make decisions that impact people that he just does not know in an arbitrary and capricious way. I think he's a
menace to dignity. Dignity, but he's also a threat to democracy, a threat to democracy because the Supreme Court has led him to believe that he's above the law. He's not in theory, in theory, the jury, the facto maybe, but in theory he's not. He's not above the law, but he believes he is. He has an inordinate amount of
influence over the House of Representatives and the Senate. I've seen people who I thought had great principles just cave, as it were, give in to him, a succumb to him, and they allow him to cause them to do and say things that I thought i'd never see them do a say. So he has the House, the Senate, and the judiciary, and if he defies court orders, if he defies court orders, at that moment, their brothers and sister, he would become a dictator and we will be under
a dictatorship. He's a threat to democracy. He's appealed them, He's appealed them, and he's a appellent process is there when you differ?
I called I've called him a threat to democracy quite often. But I'm sick of that talk. And the reason I'm sick of that talk is because Democrats don't ever act like he is.
Even when they were in.
Power the last four years with Biden, that didn't stop the soul called fascism. So why should we ever believe anything that comes out of Democrats' mouth ever?
Again? Well about any of this.
Thank you again for your question, sir. I have said that we should not wait until he becomes a dictator to try to remove him.
Now.
I understand that we don't control the House, but that doesn't mean that we can't still bring articles of impeachment because if the courts can't stop him and he has control of the generals, because all of those generals that he appointed have to place fealty to him. If he has control of the generals, the courts can't stop him, and the House of Representatives of Republicans won't stop him. Then that leaves it to us. There are four hundred and thirty five of us. We each have the authority,
the ability to bring articles of impeachment. And I'm going to do that. Why that because I think think that you have to go on the record even when you can't make the change. Twice already nothing it didn't stop, did not stop, didn't stop him. In fact, he was voted back in the office with two impeachments and thirty four fel in the convictions. But that doesn't mean that I should not bring them and make the effort. I've
got to do all that I can. I grew up with this belief from parents that when you have done, when you can't do what you need to do as much as you should, do do all you can, just do all you can. And there's a song that I'm sure many of you've heard. The song has these words, after you've done all that you can, just stand, just stand and I stand.
I have a question for you about how people look at the institution of the office of the president. I know you were a part of bringing the articles impeachment in twenty seventeen. You said you're gonna do it again. You got the ten Democrats that Charlottage just mentioned that voted to send to you. Their direct quotes were basically, you needed to learn some decorum and respect the office of the president.
Right. So to his point, some of that is probably gonna go out the window. People won't care.
How dangerous is it that there are Democrats or just people in general that feel like, despite what's happening, it's the institution of the other one person.
He's saying that about the president. They need to be saying that about the president.
Look, people really understand, you realize how scary it is.
It ain't even that scary. Democrats cowards man and every way.
I completely agree that they should say that about the president, especially given that he on National TV called democrats.
Raising left lunatics something like that, lunatics.
The lunatics gave quotes, but it.
Was you, I understand. I would not have said this about them. I would not. I can only say to you they have to live with their words. I have to live with How do you feel though like this?
It's all as you stand and you fight, and then when you turn your back and you think the people behind you back there, and you look and you realize that they're.
Not well, one slight adjustment. I didn't look to see and I didn't have that expectation. I stood because of the people that I represent who cannot be there to stand for themselves. So again I would do it again. I will suffer the consequences, and if my being evicted can make a difference in the lives of those people who need Medicaid, social Security and Medicare, I would do it. The state of Texas was accorded one hundred billion dollars
for Medicaid and rejected it. Rejected it because at some point the state of Texas would have to pay ten percent of that the amount that was being paid, and the federal government would pay ninety percent. There's talk of sending money to states now rather than having the federal government have his fingerprints on this process. If that happens, a state like Texas will abuse it that Texas doesn't regard poor people with any degree of respect. That I
would give them. So I have to fight to keep it out of the hands of the leaders in the state of Texas. And that's what this is about. There's a fight, and I'll do as best as I can. I don't look, I don't guarantee victory, but I guarantee a fight.
Cats your question, did Democrats coordinate any type of real form of resistance the other night or was everybody just doing their own thing? Because we saw the people with their pickleball paddles, and you know you, you said George was spurred a moment like, did anybody have a conversation because I know how King Jeffres was trying to get people not to do anything.
We meant signs, not pickleball paddles, the signs.
I know how Kime Jeffreys was trying to get people not to do any type of disruption, which which I thought was beyond cowardly. Was there any conversation amongst y'all.
I am probably what you would call a maverick. I tend to, as I said, I'm a liberated Democrat. I tend to deal with my conscience and my convictions, and I have not been engaged in those kinds of conversations. I think most people have said that al Green is probably going to do what he wants, so let's not bother and they're probably right. So I'll do the best that I can to be as good as I can and be of service. But I think that in the future what we're doing now I think will have an impact.
I really do. I think that people will give some thought to how we should behave in the future. And I have suggested that we have to meet incivility with incivility. Ours is for a different cause, is to demean ours, is to uplift, But I think we have to use incivility. What I did was an active incivility. And when they reprimanded me with the censure, we're saying we shall overcome. Right there in the well, the speaker try to gather
us out, but we didn't stop. That was an act of incivility, and it was really a response to the President's incivility. So we have to use incivility. This is another way of saying, protest.
You know it. You brought up a good question.
And if we ever get another Democrat president, if right, when we see all of the things that Trump is currently doing, and we see. Wow, presidents really do have power if they have the political will and courage to use it. I want to see a Democrat do that. Why can't a Democrat move like that for the good things?
Yes, I absolutely agree with you. We I'll be quite candid with you. I didn't know I'm a lawyer. Ayer. Okay, well, I'm being candid with you. This is a candid program. By the way, I did not realize that a president had so few guardrails. Donald Trump, Donald Trump has pulled the cover back, you know, He's lifted the blinds, the shades, and we now see that a president has very few obstacles to prevent him from doing her present prevent them
from doing whatever they want to do. Very few. This president has decided that he will use executive orders as opposed to using Congress, and he's issuing executive orders in areas that we've never seen a president give us these executive orders, issue these executive orders. He has demonstrated to us that it is more about the will to do things than the way. The way is there the questions do you have the will? And my answer to you,
their brother, is yes. I would hope that a democratic president would use this authority, not for the purpose that he's using it. He seems to think that the very wealthy, the plutocrats, need more to do more, and that the poor among us can do more with less. Who can do more with less? The wealthy need more to do more.
I would hope that a democratic president would have a better view of what the needs of society are and try to help uplift people who are living in the streets of life, not to the detriment of those who live in the suits. There's enough for all of us. But let's look after those who live in the streets. And there are good many who are not getting any any help at all. Don't you admire that going a way?
Don't you admire the fact that he is willing to do whatever he wants to do for his base. Well, that's what anybody who supported Democrats, that's all we ever want, do something for the base.
Keep your promises, he keeps it.
Yeah, Well, brother Charlemagne, you may I just give you this predicate before I get to your question. There are we've made promises. People have said that black men, as you know, for one of the reasons, and that in a sense, black people in general voted for Trump and that hurt us. And they're saying that members of other communities, the labor community didn't vote as they should have. Well,
we made promises, and you mentioned that. We said, give us the House, the Senate, and the presidency, and we'll pass Voting Rights Act John Lewis Voting Rights. We'll pass George Floyd Justice in Policing. We will raise the minimum wage. We will for the labor folk, pass the pro Act, Protect the Right to Organize Act for the members of the LGBTQ plus community, we would pass the Equality Act. Well, we had the House, the Senate, and the presidency, and
we didn't do it. That's your that's your point. We didn't do it. But here's to add to your point. When Republicans had the House to sended in the presidency and they didn't have enough votes to bring us to cloture cultures where you get sixty votes, so you passed something with fifty one votes when they couldn't get to culture with sixty votes, they said fine, they made the
following motion, not in these exact words. When there was a federal judge ship up, they said, we believe that we should pass this judge ship on with fifty one votes, and the chair overruled that and said, no, you've got to have sixty. And I remember the person making this motion asking this said, I appealed the ruling of the chair. Now, when you appeal the ruling of the chair, you only
have to have fifty one votes. So the fifty one votes then allowed them to take up the issue of placing this person on the Supreme Court with fifty one votes as opposed to sixty. We did a similar thing with John Lewis voting rights, mister Schumer did. And when we took our votes, we had forty eight Democrats to vote with us. Two did not. Mansion and Cinema did not. If they had, then Vice President Harris would have come
over and been the fifty. So we could have passed George Floyd Justice and Policing, We could have passed John Lewis voting rights. All of the things that I've said.
And no Democrat ever threw Mansion Cinema under the bust.
Hell, you know, y'all give him a speech now, but you gave it absolutely some of the language you use. My mother would have loved this program. She was a master of schatology. But so they didn't pressure them like they pressure us, you know, like they treat me in a sense. Okay, they didn't pressure them. But here is what happened. Now I'm getting to your question. Here's what happened. There are two political banks in this country. There is
the Republican Political Bank and the Democratic Political Bank. Now there's some smaller than some small institutions. If you put your your energy and effort, your deposits, if you will, into the Democratic Bank, you expect your return to come from the Democratic Bank. Yes, if the Republican Bank does something for you, you're not going to reject that. But you put your deposits in the Democratic Bank. When the Democratic Bank did not return give them a return on investment,
then persons lost their enthusiasm. So I don't blame people who lost their enthusiasm because we didn't honor what we said. If we we have the House to senate und the presidency in twenty twenty one and we did not deliver, I can't I see how people could lose enthusiasm. So that's where we were. That's what happened. But my hope is that we're learning a lesson, and my hope is that we will be truthful about it. That's the way I see it now. There are other people who would
blame people who didn't vote for not voting. I understand why people didn't vote.
Do you think Hakeem Jeffries is the leader Democrat need in this president moment?
I think that. First of all, I think very highly of him. Let me start with this. I have had an opportunity to see his intellect. I think that he finds himself in a difficult position, and he's trying to.
Position in between Anthony Pelosi and Chuctionoman well repeating all the talking points.
Well, I find him in the difficult position in that he's trying to get two hundred and eighteen votes so that we will have the opportunity to do some of these things that I've called to your attention, and getting two hundred and eighteen votes. You're probably not going to get two hundred eighteen algreens, but you can get two hundred eighteen with some people who will do some of the things that I want to see done that will be a benefit, and some who won't. So he's trying
to get to two hundred eighteen votes. The politics is not going to work like I keep saying, ohver over. I feel like Democrats have tried every political strategy except for courage, and I don't know how politics gets us out of this situation. How do regular, traditional politics, moving by the rule of the law get us out of a situation when you're dealing with people with that much power.
Who don't follow the rules of the law.
Well, I do think you're right about the courage, And here's where it comes into play. When we do get two hundred and eighteen votes, we've got to decide we'll have enough courage to do what has to be done even if we won't have two hundred and eighteen votes after this. That's the decision that we have to make.
That's the decision Republicans have made. They've decided that they're going to press their agenda, and if they lose the House and the Senate and the presidency, they will have done as much as they can to advance their agenda at that time. I do think that too often we tend to want to preserve the power and the process lose the opportunity to make the significant change that ought to be made. So courage is you're correct, We've got to use it.
Who do you think is a well tupac question, who do you think is very courageous in the Democratic Party right now? And who do you think is the current voice of the Democratic Party.
Well, I have a you know, I have a bias. I work with the honorable Maxine Waters. I've known her for many, many years. I have great respect for her. I serve on the committee under her leadership. I think that she is a person who voices the things that I concur with. She's a strong leader, she's fears and I think that if she had been there when the President said you're a lunatic, I don't know, she may have pulled off the podium.
The Queen Maxine legend, but she's an ol G. And then, you know, they said the Bible says old men for counsel, young men for war?
Right who the young? Who are the young warriors right now? To me?
I think Jasmine Crockett, I think AOC, I think Ayana presently.
I agree with all of those, But let me just share this with a little bit of pushback there, brother, her mentality is not old. Yeah, she vaccine. Look, I've celebrated my twenty fifth birthday three times.
I'm not.
I'm in my fourth twenty fifth. I still have my ponytail, you know, my beard. But I'm in age, I'm old. But Maxine is younger than most twenty five year olds. She is. Yes, she's an og, but that's a thank God for an og. She's that kind of og.
I just feel like they left you hanging another night. And I appreciate what you did. You know, because you know, I keep saying, if something is a threat to democracy, if somebody is a fascist, and people got to act like it. And when he said that about Medicare, you stood up and you let everybody know like you you know, you don't have a mandate to cut medicare. So that right there shows me the urgency of the situation. Why everybody else didn't have that sense to urgency, I don't know.
I feel like they left you hanging.
Well, thank you for your kind words, and I moved forward saying this, we still have the opportunity to demonstrate the courage that you've called to our attention. We still have that opportunity. I believe, as I said that we have to use incivility. I believe in this. There are times when if you can't have justice, then you have to step across the line of civility and decide that you will not allow others to proceed with injustice. Don't allow them to proceed with injustice. I remember miss Batty
saying something. I hope she'll forgive me for calling her out, But she said, at a we were in a meeting of a sort, When are we going to do something bold? Maybe not in these exact words, When are we going to do what John Lewis did? When are we going to go and take over the floor of the house. Not in these words, miss Batty, That was, well, not your exact words, but she said that, yeah, something to that effect. And I'm saying to you that that's where
we are. That is incivility, by the way, but we've got to have that level of incivility. We cannot allow them to proceed without at least knowing that they're going to have to walk over us and walk around us. We have to do what John Lewis said, and that is getting the way. So we have to now get in the way. I would hope that we would see this as what we are called to do.
You think now is the time to bring people together. And what I mean by that is like, you know, you have a lot of Republicans who voted for Donald Trump and they're going to these That's one of my favorite things to watch now, those Republican town halls where
they go into those town halls and raising hell. And I was sitting there wondering, and I'm like, yo, why didn't Democrats bring some of those people to that session the other night and let them be in there and their MAGA gear and let them be as disruptive in the chamber as they have been at these town halls. That would have been a stronger message to me because we used to hearing Democrats complain.
You think they would have done that though, because they're so loyal to each other.
None of the Republican town they reason how they losing their jobs.
Yeah, but they're amongst their people. I don't know. I just feel like sometimes I feel like one.
Thing that the Republicans do well is even when they're upset, they still they're so together.
But if you got all these protests with these people protesting Donald Trump, protesting Elon Musk who actually voted for him, if they get an opportunity to be in the chamber where both of them were there.
I think they'd have made some noise.
Well, I do agree that we should make some noise. And here's what I would have had us. Do you remember at one point of the Republicans started to say us a USA, and there was you know, order, but allowed it to continue. I think if I had my brothers in my way when they do that, we ought to then, because I'm an og sing we shall overcome. While they're saying US a USA. We sing we shall overcome.
I can't and and well, I understand, but but my point is at that moment, we have to meet their message with a message and not allow them to say US a USA and we say nothing. So we have to have some retort. That is my retort to sing we shall overcome. I imagine there's some other songs that might have more of an impact. But my point is that we have to raise our voices when they raise theirs. We cannot let them just have the opportunity to proclaim themselves patriots while we sit side.
But that's why they missed a moment with you the other night. All of them should have walked out with you.
In that moment. That would have made a hell of a statement.
They should have been justice dis after they kicked you out. Somebody else should have stood up and been justice disrupted.
Well, I do think that there would be additional moments, and you have now sounded the alarm. I think people are paying attention. I would only say I try to lead by example. If you think I'm a good example, then follow me.
You're a great example. Mom's right, more than I do. But at least you gave us something to believe in that right.
Well, you're very kind. You're very kind, and if I may, I don't know whether we're near the end here, but I want to thank you for bringing a degree of clarity that is not presented in traditional fashions. You know, you have courage. You have courage, you say what's on your mind. It's a very difficult thing to do for most people. Most people just are not going to say what's on their minds. There are many people who had on their minds what I said. And I'm not patting
myself on the back, but I know it. I'm not the only person who thought that. But it takes courage, and you emphasize this, and I want to let you know this. When doctor King was at his zenith, when he was at his zenith. There were other great orators. He was not the only great orator. There were other great intellectuals. But the one thing he had that they didn't or they didn't exhibit, was courage. He had the courage to say what others knew and would not say.
And that was what makes the difference. You've got to have courage. You've got to have the guts, intestinal fortitude, as Malcolm said it, you've got to have chidlings you do. That makes the difference.
And congress congress Man now Green, we appreciate you for joining us this morning.
Thank you, dear brother.
And anytime you need to pull up, you are more than invited to come on through.
Well. Thank brother, Michael Eric Dicey, Sir, thank you, thank you, dear brother.
All Right, it's congress Man now Green. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning.
Wake that ass up in the morning. Breakfast Club.