What Happens If Republicans Lose Congress?

What Happens if Republicans Lose the Midterms

0:31 For reassurance, we suggest you call your mother.

0:43 Now here's Doc G. Well, welcome in to this Monday edition of Doc G and the Discussance. So good to see you, bright and early in the week. You know, what we're faced with today is a little exploration of what may happen if the Republicans lose power in the Congress. And that can happen fairly easily. I can tell you what will happen. Everything will go straight to shit. Well, there are some things that certainly could get there pretty quick. So we're talking about would they, we could lose it three ways.

1:36 The House, they could lose the Senate, they could lose both, and in every one of those circumstances there are substantial repercussions. that can occur. And so we wanted to look at just what that would look like now that we're deep in the heart of the election season. Really only weeks away and it's usually around the Labor Day break when people start to make up their mind and pay a lot of attention to just exactly what's going on. So the core question today is what a democratic midterm victory produce a new governing agenda or chiefly investigations, blocked appointments, spending battles, and two years of divided government.

2:27 The midterms are not just one election. They're all over the country, of course, and control the House, the Senate, or both would give Democrats different powers and impose different limits on the final two years of President Trump's term. So right now it stands like this. The House has approximately 218 Republicans, 212 Democrats, 1 Independent, and 4 Vacancies. The Independents caucus with the Democrats. Same thing over in the Senate. 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, 2 Independents. Bernie Sanders and Angus King making it 53 -47 who again caucus with Democrats.

3:07 And so it is close to say the least. This is what the president had to say about the midterms just a few days ago. You got to win the midterms because if we don't win the midterms, it's just going to be. I mean, they'll find a reason to impeach me. I'll get impeached. We don't impeach them, you know why? Because they're meaner than we are. We should have impeached Joe Biden for a hundred different things. They are mean and smart, but fortunately for you, they have horrible policy. Well, that may be the most profound statement he made in that little blurb, that the policy is the thing that may be the real problem here.

3:57 He also said something about they would have impeached Biden 150 times or could have done that. That has been the restraint that the GOP has shown. Even if they're very displeased with the president, usually didn't go to impeachment. I think that might change because that's the go -to now. especially for the Democrats, is if they're displeased with the President, one of the first things they want to do is impeach him. So the three outcomes that we're looking at here is victory, lose the House, lose the Senate, or lose both.

4:39 I guess there's four outcomes, and each produces a very different version of divided government. So if the Democrats win the House, or the Senate, or all three discussants, what do you expect? Let's see what Sarah thinks may happen. What do you think? A nightmare waiting to happen if they do take over. I have to agree with Trump. I believe it'll start with impeachment right off the bat. It would surprise me if it didn't anyway. How about you? Professor, what do you think? They hate him so bad that it's anything they can do.

5:31 I mean. Professor, what do you think? Well, I don't know what the problem is. I love these left -wing policies. I mean, I for one, I want the border wide open. I want the entire third world just to march right in. That sounds so good. to me, and let's do away with law enforcement completely. I'm tired of the speeding tickets. Besides that, I want some of these people that come in illegally to be able to attack and bludge in and even kill our citizens. Now, that's what I call entertainment, and they're gonna open the prisons.

6:00 Who could not be behind that? Open borders, no law enforcement, prisons open, extremely high taxes. I mean, what is there about that that doesn't sound good to anybody? And that's not, that's not... hyperbolic. That's not a warning, for example, the Democrats like to say if there's, you know, Republicans that are elected to anything, hey, look out, here comes white supremacy and the KKK marching back. Well, that's not what happens at all. Hey, hey, hey, Doc, wasn't you're far more up on history than I wasn't the KKK a Democrat Party creation of sorts?

6:42 Well, If we can compare today's parties to those old parties, yes. Once the war was lost by the South, the KKK and organizations like it were used to make sure that newly freed slaves couldn't vote and could not exercise their new freedoms. They did call themselves Democrats. Now, are they like today's Democrats? I don't know. You know, I mean, it's been such a long time ago. Well, I'm all for that. I mean, open borders, no law enforcement, Ku Klux Klan. This all just sounds like Nirvana, doesn't it?

7:25 Well, my point was, or I was getting to this, if they were to, let's say they had unfettered power again. We've had some checks on democratic power, but if they had unfettered power again, not a single one of the policies that you identified, I think every single one of them would be reenacted. I don't think it's a threat. I don't think it's Republicans. It's a promise. Yeah. I don't think it's them setting up straw men or boogeymen and trying to scare people out of voting for Democrats. That is the policy.

8:05 We have seen those policies enacted. So I don't think that anybody's You know, trying to scare anybody. We know what they're... Democrats scare me. Democrats frankly do scare me, because I live with a kind of a subtle fear of, okay, what kind of situation is going to be made into law any minute now that's going to drain any finances I have or inconvenience me or make life a little worse. That's an ongoing fear I have. When there's a demon rat in office, I admit that. I think that that's a really good point because they're not hiding that either.

8:46 They're saying a certain faction of the party, which is a pretty big faction of the party, are saying we need to redistribute wealth because we don't like the way the economy works in this country. And so people that are used to paying certain taxes for certain things They're not just going to get this money from the super rich. There's not enough money to do what they want to do. And they're caught in those inconvenient truths when they go on talk shows fairly frequently where they are asked, hey, well, where are you going to get the money?

9:23 They're asked even a simpler question than that. How much will it cost? Can't answer it can't and it shows you they have not thought the policy through they don't have price tags for these things They'll say things like what's going to cost you a whole lot less than private insurance Is that so so why don't you show me on a piece of paper exactly how that is? They're not interested in that they're interested in this greed jealousy envy situation where somebody has more than you do and I'm the guy if you elect me who can set that situation straight so you know people who there are so many people out there that have no discernment so many people in the voter base that do not have discernment they look at these people like Abdul like oh cool dude wow love his tight shirt and his biceps yeah let's put him in office that is their sole criteria so We get what we get and there's so many out there with no discernment that are just turned on by BS.

10:30 It sure seems that that is so and you can sort of see that through the channels where they choose to. campaign. Heavy social media presence. In the case of El -Sayed, it was a Blue's Clues situation that was completely ridiculous for a run for the U .S. Senate. I mean, this can't be a serious person, but he is, and he's got the party apparatus behind him now. Oh, who is that guy? I saw a guy on the news the other day. And he flat out said, thinking he was not being recorded, either video -wise or audio -wise, he flat out said that he has to lie to people during his rallies, otherwise he would never be elected.

11:15 He has to misrepresent himself, or he will never be put into office by a Democrat. Yeah, I would say that that's... What is the reason to vote for Democrats? What is the reason to vote for Democrats? The country voted not very long ago to... pushed those policies backward. They voted twice for Trump and for some really specific reasons. We're going to get into those reasons Wednesday. We may get into a few of them today too, but Wednesday's show is really about, hey, And you guys want to go back and go back in force or at least hold what you have right now.

11:54 Need to remember what puts you here in the first place instead of letting Democrats put their campaign lines in your mouth. And I'm afraid that a little of that has happened already. Well, that's going to bring us to the first commercial break. By the way, thanks so much for supporting us. We just can't tell you what it means to us. It's great that you're here. Tell your friends. And make sure you drop us a note. We do mean that. When we come back, if

If Democrats Win the House

12:23 Democrats win the House, they do not get the presidency. They're not going to get the presidency this time around. They do get the gavels, and that's extremely important. They get the subpoenas and the power to impeach. You're listening to Doc G and the Discussants on sabbatical. At the intersection of policy, politics, and culture on the World Wide Web, the doctor is in. Doc G and the Discussants. Every successful show has great sponsors. If you'd like to introduce your business to our audience, we'd like you to consider our tremendous sponsorship opportunities.

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16:22 Have a question for your favorite discussant. Well, please visit us on the World Wide Web at thediscusses .com. The Doctor is in. It is an open invitation for you to join us, for you to visit the website, and for you to drop us a note at docgandthediscusses .com. What we're talking about today is the ramifications of Republicans losing power, either the House The Senate, they could lose both. And what that would mean, basically, each one of these things broken down for you used to be done in civics class in high school.

17:06 Sort of doubt that it's done very well anymore, if at all, so that's why we're here, to help you out. So what happens on day one if the House becomes a Democratic chamber? The new majority elects the Speaker. and he will select the chairs of committees. They set the House agenda, the Democrats do, and they control hearings, subpoenas, and document demands, which might have a lot to do with who receives those subpoenas and what sort of documents they demand. They also control impeachment. in the House, as we talked about just a little earlier, a simple House majority can impeach.

17:48 Removal is a separate action, however, and conviction requires two -thirds of the senators to be present. Then, investigations. We can look forward to this. Rutgers reported on August 8th that Democrats were planning broad Trump administration investigations while immediate impeachment was not described as their first Priority. Speaking of priorities, here is House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on what we might expect. We only need to flip a handful of seats, and we will, with a focus on driving down the high cost of living, fixing our broken health care system, getting ICE under control, ending this reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East, and cleaning up corruption.

18:37 Fundamentally, we believe that America's far too expensive. The cost of living is way too high. There are far too many people who are working hard, they're playing by the rules, but they can't thrive and can barely survive. That's an unacceptable situation in America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world. And we're gonna focus like a laser beam. on actually making life better for working class Americans, everyday Americans, middle class Americans, and all those who aspire to be part of the middle class.

19:08 One last and maybe the most important part is that the House cannot spend money by itself, but it can refuse or condition appropriations and use shutdown deadlines to seek concessions. So there you have it. That's what it would mean if the House were to change hands this time around. Sarah said in the last segment that she envisions impeachment nearly instantly. Does anything that we just said there bring to mind any more things that might happen? Is Jefferies going to keep wearing that green hat?

19:44 Oh, yeah. Sorry, that was horrible. The New York Yankees thought that was green. Horrible. I don't know. Sorry. I don't like New York any way you look at it. That shows he's one of us. All you've got on a cap, a green cap, he's one of us. That's sort of how he couched it. He said that when I'm out in the neighborhoods, when I'm out on the ground in the neighborhoods, I'm dressed as the neighborhood. I think the neighborhood could probably take issue with that. You're not dressed like me, man. You don't look anything like me, Mr. Jeffries.

20:22 So what do you think, Professor? A complete breakdown? Well, I heard Jeffries say they're going to focus like a laser on stopping corruption. And it was just a few minutes ago that I heard that Newsom, governor of California, is working hard on this bill or law to stop whatever that young dude's name is that goes around exposing... corruption everywhere, and he's trying to expose it in California. Yeah, Mr. Nick Shirley. Yeah, Nick Shirley. I don't know how old Mr. Shirley is. Nick Shirley is unable to expose corruption, so what about that, Hakeem?

21:00 Well, that would be convenient if they were to be successful in limiting what the press can do, and I find that extremely ironic. I mean, this is not a federal policy that, you know, Gavin Newsom, who I call the Joker. He's a mess. He drove San Francisco right into the sea. Just drove it into the sea. One of the nicest cities in this entire country. So much fun, so pretty, so fun to be there, and it just ruined it, ruined it. And then after he was finished there, he went to Sacramento, ruined the rest of California, and now he has the gall to run for president.

21:47 He is a joke, a joke. Gavin Newsom is a joke.

21:54 If they would nominate, go ahead, nominate him. Nominate some of these other people that are just complete jokes. And Newsome is... Oh, but he's so handsome and I love his hair gel. Isn't that one of the things that just gripe you the most is he's altogether just a face job. And he knows it. He's running as a face job. He's like one of those old Corvettes, Chevy Camaros, like around 1982. They were nothing but a big... a bucket of rust and squeaks and crap. It was nothing but a face job. And that's exactly, you know what?

22:32 Newsome is a 1982 Chevy Camaro. That's what he is. You heard it here first. So, and I'm sure we'll get cards. Send your cards and letters to the professor care of Doc G and the discussions. So we sort of ran down what the investigations Might look like and what powers they have the house has a lot of power especially to in over appropriations I Guarantee that that is the end of funding for ice For certain if the house turns over you there won't be another appropriations bill that even moves forward that has any spending for ice in it whatsoever.

23:19 And also kiss goodbye to several of the exploratory programs for energy in different places. I mean anything that has Trump's fingerprints on it whatsoever or a conservative agenda, kiss that goodbye and that's a lot of power. The power of the purse is very real. Also, the power to subpoena. I would guess that we will have unending hearings on, what was it, Fantasy Island, Jeffrey, this sort of stuff. But I think that they have to be very careful because they've got folks that enjoyed that island too.

24:04 They just want subpoena them. Well, exactly. But they may... reconsider that a little bit. I mean, they find an angle where they're not really hurt, but it will be non -ending. You can plan on people like Ayanna Pressley having a chairmanship. AOC for certain will have a chairmanship. She's not going to run for president. She can have a chairmanship and run for president. In fact, that helps her run for president. Let me see, who else? I would have so much confidence in AOC as president. I can just see her sitting across the table from Putin and the other world leaders.

24:42 We would be proud and we would be stood in good stead. I think that that would be a nightmare, too. Not very long ago, she was interviewed about world events. She was asked about our relationship with Taiwan. She was caught like a deer in the headlights, had no idea what to say about that. Now, it was one of two things. She really didn't know what the policy is, and I can't believe anybody wouldn't know what the policy is around Taiwan. We're committed to their defense and have been. And we have said that if they are attacked by the Chinese that we will defend them.

25:24 That is the United States policy. She didn't enunciate that at all. I'm afraid that maybe it's the other thing. It's her imperial hating leanings that wouldn't let her chime in on the policy. Now that would be kind to her in either event. I sort of lean towards she doesn't know. I sort of lean towards she doesn't know. So any other ideas about what happens if we lose the house then? I would say it will just cost the middle class more money and taxes would be maybe the most immediately noticeable thing.

26:05 I think that that's that's the maybe the most ironic thing could happen. The party of affordability. comes into power, and the first thing they do is they make it more expensive to drill for energy. They already say, yes, we will raise taxes. Yes, we will. Right. The party of affordability. The first thing they're going to do is cost you more money while they're running on affordability. It's incredible to me that anyone is going to swallow this line. Anyone is going to swallow this line. They have been running on these themes for years and years and years.

26:48 They are chiefly responsible for this horrible inflation that's going on with those sorts of policies, continuing to raise the minimum wage, which is notoriously a feeder of inflation. Every time you give workers a raise across the board, prices must go up across the board, and they've never seen a pay increase they didn't like. How are you going to tell a poor voter who is so happy to get a raise in his minimum wage that he is lacking discernment, that he doesn't understand the ramifications of his getting that?

27:29 Well, that's the catch -22, that's the catch -22, and they'd have to stand around longer than 30 seconds to get the real... to get a really good explanation of why... You're expecting an awfully long attention span there, Doc. Exactly, and there are parties, including the DSA, the Democrat Party, the Communists, that know people will not stand around for that explanation. You're listening to Doc G and the

If Democrats Win the Senate

27:58 Discussants. When we come back, we'll talk about what happens if the Senate changes hands. A brief interruption, nothing more. While we're away, stop by .gandthediscussance .com. Choose your favorite discussant, leave a question, make a comment, register a complaint, or even pay us the occasional compliment. We can handle all of it. We'll be right back. If you're looking for the official Doc G and the Discussants merchandise, you'll find it on our website, dgnd .com. Browse our sabbatical collection for premium tees, hoodies, signature women's v -necks, whiskey rocks glasses, distressed ball caps, coffee mugs, and more.

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31:00 at the intersection of policy, politics and culture. Questions for a discussant? DocGShowStudio at gmail .com. Welcome back. We've been talking about what could happen in the midterm elections now that everybody's really starting to pay attention. The real ramifications of each of the houses may be changing hands, going into democratic control, and the history has been that the president's party, whichever party the president is, the opposite party gaining seats in the midterm elections, and usually that is a function of You know, knowing who's in power for a little bit, discontent rising.

31:48 It doesn't take much for people to criticize whoever's in power. And so it becomes quite a trick for the party in power to keep total control and especially total control at the midterms elections. Although there has been some guarantees from the White House that they're going to do their level best to make sure that that doesn't go that way. What happens if they lose the Senate? Well, that's probably the more disturbing thing for long -term GOP power. A Senate majority controls the Judiciary Committee, confirmation hearings for judges, for Supreme Court justices, the floor calendar for federal judges, cabinet replacements, ambassadors, U .S.

32:36 attorneys, marshals, and independent agency nominees. Well, so what, people say. Well, here's so what. Those positions live on and on, far past when a president leaves office. That is really how a president can leave his mark on the government by making sure that they fill those offices and they fill them with very good people. The courts, as we just mentioned, the Supreme Court vacancy could remain unfilled if the majority refused to move a Trump nominee. And I think that's just about a guarantee, especially after the Mitch McConnell move of not even bringing up a Democratic nominee several years ago.

33:21 I think that they would do that without even thinking about it. It used to be that the president was given their nominees basically by both sides. I think those days are probably long gone now. It's not automatic that they would do it, but it would depend on the vacancy. If it was a Supreme Court justice, and let's say it's Sotomayor, for certain they would, I think they would refuse, do everything they could to run the clock out. Timing the political calculation would be paramount in that situation.

33:58 So, Vacancies also could force heavier reliance on acting officials and narrow the president's ability to install preferred personnel. Then, it's impeachment trials. That's where the trial would take place, not in the House, but in the Senate. The Democratic Senate would conduct any trial after House impeachment, but conviction would still require two -thirds vote. not a bare majority. So there are some really steep costs to losing the Senate. Here was Chuck Schumer on Trump appointments. Donald Trump continues to stack our courts with judges whose only qualification is their complete loyalty to him and his extreme far -right agenda.

34:50 In keeping with Trump's efforts to undermine America's elections. Trump also supported efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election. Trump's nomination of Smith. to the Eighth Circuit is part of his effort to undermine the rights of American people and to turn our justice system into a rubber stamp for his egregious crimes. I strongly urge a no vote among my colleagues. There could be no doubt that we would expect that any Trump nominees, most any Trump nominees may not be confirmed with just two years left.

35:24 I can't see what the downside for Democrats would be. So there you go. There is the specific problems that would be caused if we lost the Senate. The power of the purse in the House is a big, big power and the founders meant for these powers to be distributed, but it cannot be overemphasized that the Senate is the ruler of the legislative universe. It is powerful and individual senators have a tremendous amount of power, much more so than members of the House. Anything along these lines strike you, Sarah?

36:08 Well, I just have a quick question. I'm kind of going to back up a little bit. What impact does the redistricting map, will that play an impact on the elections for the midterms? In some respects, yes, because those maps were redrawn and most of the places where redistricting took place, not all places, but they were done at the behest of the president to ensure that some districts remained Republican districts and that others would turn Republicans. So yes, redistricting was done specifically to help this midterm election.

36:54 Yes. But there was also democratic efforts to redistrict as well. Right. Yeah. So if the Democrats, let's just say they were to lose, we've been talking about if they win, are they going to just fight and challenge the results? Well, that's why this election is so important for the final two years of the Trump presidency, because If they have one or the other, they can run the clock out. Right. Now they have some avenues still available to them to run the clock out. One of them is the filibuster in the Senate to basically challenge anything that comes to the Senate floor.

37:37 The filibuster is an extremely powerful tool and that's basically the only tool they have available to them right now except for public opinion. So, yeah, we'll continue to see this, and a lot of people think that the fourth arm of the government is the media, and there's a lot of folks who sort of feel like that's an arm of the DNC as well. Professor, how do you feel about this? Oh, it just seems like it's so dismal, contemplating a Democrat. majority, either House or Senate. One thing here, I heard the Democrats say they want to do away with the Senate.

38:26 So, I mean, which is it, Dems? Well, that's the DSA. Right, that's the DSA, but I believe that there are plenty of, you know, just rank -and -file Democrats that really, there's not going to be a lot of daylight between them and the DSA. I think at heart, a lot of Democrats really kind of are socialists anyway. I don't know if they'd go that far, but you know, they should want the Senate because it's the only thing between them and total Republican power. They, at least right now, have the filibuster.

39:04 Now, the President has made the argument, and his acolytes have as well, that we should end the filibuster, or the Republicans should, because they believe the Democrats will if they get power. So the Republicans can't use the filibuster. I don't think either side really wants to end the filibuster. I think it's a political thing that they like to say because people don't understand really what the filibuster is and how important it is to both sides when they're out of power. It is the only power left.

39:40 to the Democrats at this point, besides really the press. They don't have gavels. They can't schedule hearings. They cannot subpoena anyone. They have no power right now. And boy, are they licking their chops. The other thing that really... I'd rather... It'd be better for them to lose the House, I think. Because at least in his final two years, Trump could fill a lot of offices. with appointees that will live on beyond, but neither would be good. Neither would be good. Anything else, sir? What else strikes you here?

40:22 Oh, it just seems like the Democrat Party has become adulterated with evil. It doesn't seem like it's the JFK Democrats. I wasn't paying that much attention back there in the early 60s, but it seems like now it's like a quiet riot. all the time. It's quiet, but it's something, there's always something illegal going on just beneath the surface that they're trying to camouflage. It's a subterfuge. It's dishonesty. They seem like they're not for the American people at all. Of course they say they are, and yet any policy they come up with is un -American open borders, for example.

41:02 Opening the prisons, for example. No police, for example. Hiking taxes as high as they can possibly get them. It just seems like it's one thing after another. There's nothing in there that is an advocacy for the common man. It's all like, let's just squeeze the common man for all we can get out of him to hell with him. And that will enshrine our little, what would you call it, our fiefdom here. So -called elitism. I keep saying this, but it's the same thing. It's just disgusting. They cannot seem to behave civilly.

41:43 They are. It seems like they're permeated with evil. I guess that's my outlook on it. I'm always curious why they're so angry. I mean, are they so unhappy and dissatisfied that they are just so angry? Is it just me that feels like they're angry? I think when you're envious of people, and when that's the base of your policy, when you're angry, envious, jealous, that's not a good feeling in your heart or your soul. That's not what the Republican Party is about, or not what it should be about. Anybody who's read my bio knows that...

42:28 I'm a Reagan Democrat, or a Reagan Republican.

42:34 And what we really believe in is that the best days of this country are still ahead, and that anyone who works hard, who makes the right moves, and continues to persevere can succeed beyond all. expectations. All you have to do is continue to work, work, work, and to try, try, try. Now, that doesn't mean that I hear a lot of argument about, well, it should only take one job. Well, I had a lot of jobs when I was in high school that didn't pay anything, but they taught me how to work. The argument now from the Democrat side is that I should be able to have any job, basically, and to raise a family and three kids.

43:19 It's never been that way, but it can be that way if you avail yourself of the opportunities including education, including entrepreneurship, including going to work every day. If that means three jobs a day, there's been plenty of times in my life I've had three jobs. Oh, pretty much up until the last 20 years or so I had three jobs all the time. uh... what we're telling people now is that you cannot make it uh... several generations have now been told that you cannot make it and i believe that that's part of where this socialist movement is coming from is because they're starting believe it and that is uh...

44:00 just sad in the greatest country on the face of this globe. It is a joyful place and it is the place where dreams still come true. That's why they come by the boatloads whenever they

If Democrats Win Both Chambers

44:13 get a chance. So when we come back, if Democrats win both chambers, Trump's legislative presidency may in effect be over, as we've described, but Would that give Democrats full power to govern if they hold everything except the White House? We'll explore that when we get back. Do make proper use of it. Doc G and the Discussance on sabbatical. We'll be right back. If you're wondering what Doc G and the Discussance is all about, here's the short version. Interesting people, interesting ideas, interesting topics.

45:11 Politics, music, sports, leadership, business, education, technology, history. If it's worth thinking about, it's certainly worth talking about and it's fair game. We won't chase headlines or repeat talking points. We believe the truth is far more interesting than fiction. More valuable than cliches or talking points. Learn more at docgandthediscussance .com or thediscussance .com. Hello, Doc G here for Affordable Lawn Care. There's a difference between a yard and a place you actually want to spend some time.

45:50 Affordable Lawn Care keeps it simple, clean lines and consistent cuts, and no unnecessary drama. And by that I mean no long contracts, no surprises, just a lawn that looks like someone is paying attention. Affordable lawn care, that's who we use. It doesn't need to be complicated to look right. Mornings do not need to be complicated. They need coffee. At Maple House Coffee we roast fresh, brew it strong, and leave the fancy speeches to somebody else. Hot coffee, cold brew. Fresh pastries, a comfortable chair.

46:36 That's enough. Maple house coffee. Good coffee. No meeting required.

46:45 Don't you wish your life came with a warning app? Stop. That dog does not want to be petted. Just a little heads up before something bad happens. Move your coffee cup away from your computer. No, no, no, no. So you can have more control. Stop. You're texting your boss by mistake. Well, life doesn't always give you time to change the outcome, but prediabetes does. With early diagnosis and a few healthy changes like managing your weight, getting active, stopping smoking, and eating healthier, you can stop prediabetes before it leads to type 2 diabetes.

47:22 It's easy to learn your risk. Take the one -minute test today at DoIHavePrediabetes .org. Don't wait. You have the power to change the outcome. Visit doihabprediabetes .org today. That's doihabprediabetes .org. Brought to you by the Ad Council and its prediabetes awareness partners. Welcome back to the last segment of the Monday program where I hate to say it's a gloom and doom. I know. I'm really depressed. It's not. It's what we're doing here is saying, November. What happens if? Yeah. Better think about making some time in November to go out and vote because these are the real consequences of not doing so.

48:44 That's the whole point. of the program today. So go vote. Yeah go vote and make sure that if you're in a place I don't know governed by laws that let you vote early and often to do that too I guess. Oh god let's not start that. Yeah let's not let's not start that. So if they lose both. If the Republicans were to lose both, oh, let me wrap a little speech on America up. America became the strongest country within about 100 years of its inception because for the first time in human history, people could keep what they worked for.

49:23 You were encouraged to own property, keep what you worked for, and to prosper as much as possible. That let this country make more affluent people than any country in history of the world, and for us to win the Second World War, which would have enslaved most of the planet had it not been for the industrial might of the United States of America now. Would that have happened if we were socialist or communist? I sincerely doubt it because Russia is nearly overrun by the Nazis. They didn't really have the wherewithal to fight back.

50:05 What saved them was the winner more than anything else and that we opened up another front in Europe. So it's this country. This is the best country on the face of the globe. There are none like it and some that think that they are like it enjoy our protection and so they're able to propagate all kinds of social programs because they don't protect themselves. We do. So what changes? Canada. Yeah, that's one of a really good example. Democrats could and they need our protection. They're not very far from a couple of very capable enemies.

50:43 Democrats could stop Republican legislation if they had both houses. They could coordinate investigations between both houses, block many nominees, pass bills designed to force votes like we made them take some tough votes the other day on socialism. Speaker Johnson brought some bills to the floor to put the Democrats on record on that and he did cause a fight within their ranks, which is exactly what he meant to do. Use appropriations and deadlines as leverage. On immigration, let's talk about the policies that put Donald Trump in the White House.

51:21 Congress could hold intensive oversight restrict. or condition some funding and challenge administrative methods. The executive branch would still enforce federal law within statutory and constitutional limits, but that's about all they could do. On energy, a Democratic Congress could block new Republican legislation, investigate deregulation, and use spending or oversight powers. And that could not simply erase every executive action, because largely these moves on energy have been executive actions.

51:55 They have not really been legislation. But they could limit that. Now. Schools and culture. We've been talking about that. Congress could hold hearings, attach conditions to federal funds, and pass reversal bills. States, courts, existing statutes, and the president's veto could still limit that result, but Congress could get the ball rolling to repeal these things. So what are the hard limits? Overriding a veto requires two -thirds, as we said a little earlier, of both chambers. Removing a president requires two -thirds of the Senate.

52:32 to convict, and Congress does not directly command executive agencies. So the power of the presidency is awesome. There is an awesome amount of power in the White House. But it was meant to be divided, and if the Democrats were to hold both houses, they would command significant power. Questions? Comments? Discussants, what do you think? I'm just thankful they sent Kamala down south to find the root cause. What? I mean, now she's a perfect example of some of the candidates we were talking about a little bit earlier.

53:21 Really, her claim to fame was being a prosecutor. She got that job basically as a, you know, an identity candidate. So then when you have to turn from identity candidate to a real candidate who might actually have to do something, people find out pretty quickly what you're made of. The country found out what she was made of. And what I'm seeing in some of the southern states in the early going is that she's in front in the nominating process and not just by a little bit. Bring her on. Yeah, I mean, that's a once again I think that would be a good thing for the Republic Is it because the other choices are so poor or there's no other real choice?

54:11 You tell me I have no idea. Well, I so let's let's just think about that a little bit We have Gavin Newsom. Let's just say she's the least undesirable Yeah, it made that may be it because we're talking about Gavin, right? I can't believe he's running. I mean, I can't believe that he's running. He'll get destroyed in debate by any competent Republican, anyone on stage with him. I don't know what he's going to run on other than his hair, as the professor said. Do you think they actually would debate?

54:45 I wonder about that because I don't know how he comes out of the debate. Then you have Kamala. How does she come out of the debate? with the word salads that she serves up. That wasn't good before, it won't be good again. Pete Buttigieg, who cares? He took leave in the middle of a couple of transportation emergencies for paternity leave, couldn't be bothered. I don't think he survives any sort of real election attempt. Who else do we have out there? Who is the least objectionable of these candidates?

55:20 Now what usually happens, what usually happens is that someone completely unknown just sort of emerges from the ether in this sort of an election. But I think it's harder to emerge as an unknown these days because of the internet, because of social media, because of the 24 -hour news cycle. If there's somebody sleeping out there that we're not, I wouldn't know who it is, but that's... been a feature of democratic politics forever. You never know who's actually going to emerge and be the candidate.

55:54 So, you know, I think it's anyone's guess at this point. But, you know, we're talking two years now. We still, there's two years left of the Trump administration. We've got a election here that is... very important. Now the president has said that he was going to be on the campaign trail and I think that's one of the most important things that he can do. The polls have him upside down. They have him around 35, 37 percent in popularity. It's never bothered him before and I think that just his willingness to work for candidates and his willingness to go out in the field and talk about the issues are a real plus for the issues that put him in the White House.

56:43 So we'll watch that closely. Coming up on the Wednesday show, we want you to stay very close because we just detailed what could happen if we lose this election. So what happens? How should they make sure they don't lose it? What are the messages that the Republicans should run on? We have some very specific ideas and we're happy to hear your ideas as well. Please email us, tell us what you think the Republicans should do to keep power or how they might use it. You're listening to Doc G and the Discussants.

57:24 We will see you Wednesday. Make sure to stay close by. Today's program is finished. The argument certainly is not. There are more episodes to hear, more ideas to challenge, and more opportunities to tell us exactly what you think. Visit docgandthediscussants .com Meet the gang. Leave a comment. Suggest a show. Drop something into Doc's gripe box. Support the program. Check out the sponsorship opportunities. And while you're there, you may as well visit the shop. DocG and the discussants .com. We'll see you next time.