NTK: How Dems Can Get Their Act Together to Win in November

sub-basement of the Ministry of Snark in Washington, D.C. and from other undisclosed locations

across America and around the world.

“Hello and welcome to Need to Now, I'm David Roscoff, I'm your host and I'm joined today”

by our friend and the host of the left hook. The opinionated, the insightful, the wise, sometimes even vaguely humorous, watch a hot, how are you doing? I prefer opaquely humorous, but I'll take vaguely humorous as well. And we were just lamenting over the, who can we more corrupt than Donald Trump? FIFA. This, this loss of Egypt to Argentina, painful and the fact that Donald ruins everything

he touches, the U.S. men's team, the best men's team I've seen in my lifetime, you know, they could have lost honorably to Belgium after that BS red card. But of course, Donald has to ruin everything, taint-sit, and then U.S. just gets

that's asked kicked by Belgium, and I don't know if you saw David, the Belgium is just

trolling us, good for them. Good for you. I'm a locker room. They did the Trump dance on, on the pitch, they did the Trump dance, you know what? Respect.

I gotta tell you, I'm, you know, I've taken some shit for it, but the minute Trump got involved, it became clear to me that if the U.S. won Trump would claim credit for it. So I found myself rooting against the U.S. and I was delighted that Belgium kicked their butts, but as the Egypt think there's no excuse for this, the Egypt had its stolen from them, and I saw a blue sky, what I considered to be the social media post of today

by somebody named Kyle Ayers, the blue sky, social, who wrote, not saying that game was stolen

from Egypt, but it is now on display at a museum in London. That's that. I mean, that was a good, that was a good post.

“I mean, the VA orbital, I mean, just, I mean, that's why Messi was crying, because I think”

he knows, Messi knows that, wow, we should have been eliminated, and we barely got by the skin of our teeth. And speaking about Donald, you know, I was just thinking, because this is, I mean, there's Maga so shameless, you spend the past two weeks mocking our U.S. men's soccer team, because the one reason why we're relevant is because, you know, there are children of immigrants

on that team. It's a multiracial multi-cultural, our leading score is only here to the birthright citizenship. And you, you see, they're mocking it, and these people are so shameless, then they want credit for Donald Trump to, I don't know, because he clearly bribed in Argentina or probably threatened him.

They get a, a father and a back on the team by the gun. And then immediately when that happened, I was like, you, I'm like, they tainted it.

“If they win, it's tainted, and most likely I knew what was going to happen, they're”

going to lose bigly, just like when Donald went to friggin, Madison Square Garden, ruined the next in game three. And, you know, you could you imagine Donald probably calling in Fenty, you know, he's like, I like this guy, his name is Flopian, Baloney, Baloney, Baloney, I like the Baloney, put Baloney back in the game, he's Nigerian, not Haitian, I like the Nigerians.

If there's a Haitian dirty Haitian, that's still what I'm in, put Baloney back in the game, or else your family will go missing. And voila, now America's out and we're a joke. We could have had nice things, David, wait, we can't at the moment, we can't because, you know, here's Trump is off now at a NATO summit, where he's like dottering around the airport,

led by Erdogan, who's dottering around the airport. You know, he doesn't know where to go, and then he's pissing off the Italians, and then he's like, well, I could have pulled out of this thing, I wouldn't, I don't like NATO, I would have pulled all our troops out, but I like Erdogan, and you know, he's pissing them off, pissing Maloney off, and, you know, and it's going to get worse from there.

I mean, the next thing he did was start saying that the reason NATO's mad at him is because he wants Greenland, and frankly, he should have Greenland. I mean, Greenland, I mean, this guy, watch, we talk as though this is politics. This 80-year-old man is mentally ill. That's right.

And we're training at, like, oh, yeah, this is a political position, that a political position. It's a misfire in his decaying cortex. He, he, we're looking at, and not only that you mis one thing, excellent recap, he also yet again, fell asleep while the cameras were on him, and he was talking to Erdogan.

show on July 5th, because, of course, they eff that up as well.

It would be pretty impossible to fall asleep during that fireworks display where it looked like we were being bombed, because they decided, like, you know, we're not going to have the usual fireworks, we're meant, we're going to have them all explode at the same time, they're going to be the same color. We're going to have to don't even know, Alexandra, I looked at me like they were all exploding

directly over your half, like literally all of them exploding at the same time, all the same color because different colors are gay. It'd be impossible to fall asleep because it feels like you're being bombed, and he fell asleep. And speaking of medicines where garden, like, it's so loud in medicines where garden game

three, what, when the next go on their historic run, he fell at, that he fell asleep.

He's dying before eyes, and I have to ask you about this, David, speaking about dead bodies,

“we're witnessing the reboot of week in a Bernie's Mitch McConnell is dead, right?”

That was amazing. Donald Trump is dead, the big thing when you talk about Trump or Mitch McConnell, and you talk about, you know, Mike Johnson for that matter is, is which of them are brain dead, or which of them are more brain dead, or who is brain dead sooner, or what part of their brain's died, and what, or because Trump's, you know, misfire and up there, and McConnell,

you know, he's, he's been misfire in for a long time, fall and over, and probably that it was a talk. Meanwhile, Mike Johnson, it looks like he's young in a life, nothing coherence coming out of his mouth. This is, this is the first time in the history of the country where we're essentially

being led by zombies, right, and this is the zombie republic, but, you know, interestingly,

things like the 25th Amendment, I mean, people always say, oh, the 25th doesn't work,

and I, nobody in his cabinet's going to stand up to this thing, and so we are going to go.

“We've got two and a half years to go, and this is where he is now, I mean, I think if Mitch”

McConnell dies, Trump's going to appoint him Secretary of State. You know, he'll probably look, look, it's clear, and we just have to trust the evidence of our eyes and ears that Trump is decayed. Like, we'll just look at them, the cancels, the swollen cancels, the bruises, on the arms, and the neck, which means there's IV treatment, the hand, the fact, yeah, both palms,

both palms, he can't stay awake, the water retention, the fact that he's dodging, like you said, literally folks, he just stops as he's walking, looks confused, and Erdogan who's also dying, has to, you know, grab his hand and like say no old man come here, which makes me think, you know, the way they're covering up McConnell's brain death or his corpse, you know, to your point, we have two and a half more years of this, I don't

think Trump is going to make it physically. What, you know, this really thing about it, folks, what will they do to cover up his corpse and death?

“Well, I saw the movie Dave, and I think that gives them a, you know, plan, you just hire”

a body double, and he goes out, and then he sits in the basement in a corpse and, and behind the scenes, Steven Millery, and I was speaks into a, you know, thing in his ear, and said, tell them what to say, I mean, that will they tell us the truth, this is the interesting thing, right? Do, does anybody in America believe that a Donald Trump had a stroke and went into a coma,

that we would know about it? That's right. No, that would lie to us. Yeah, and I think they've been lying to us about his health for a while, because we still don't know why he's done multiple trips to Walter Reed.

We still don't know why he's had a multiple MRIs, clearly he is unwell, like like, it's remarkable, and you know, the double standard pisses me off, because Joe Biden was an old man, and we had Jake Tappers write books about his health, and we were told that he was seen aisle. And like, what would happen if Joe Biden literally looks like a corpse on July 5th, as there's

like, friggin World War III explosions and fireworks, and then what happens if they're, you know, he falls asleep during the Madison Square Garden, what happens if he literally Donald Trump falls asleep now more than he's awake. How would the establishment cover Joe Biden, if he was behaving like Donald Trump right now?

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Thanks. Yeah, I hear that, and a lot of people, I don't care, you know, Joe Biden's history.

The reality is we're in with Trump, we're going to be with Trump for a while, the next

four months is going to focus on Trump trying to steal the election, however, he can steal the election, whether it gets his save act or not, which he now wants to put into a reconciliation bill, but also give him $1.5 trillion defense spending, which is insane. Sure, you know, he has bill pullty over an ODNI coming up with some kind of crazy shit and saying, oh, I'm sorry, the foreigners are interfering.

We have to seize all the voting machines, and all these records will be seized if we won't release them until the investigation is done, which is never. And if it's close, I had to tell you something, if the Democrats went by four or five seats in the house, well, that Mike Johnson just won't wreck it, won't see. You know, he'll say there's something, there's a cloud over it, and we're going to be

really in the shit. I mean, we're going to be sitting there going, well, now what do we do? And I, you know, I don't know if the American people have the appetite for taking the streets. I don't think so, because you see what's happening in Albania, and you see what's happening

around the world, and there is something about Americans, it's the United States of Indonesia, we're spoiled in a way, we are divided, we're exhausted, we work more than our European and Japanese counterparts. And we're also very stubborn, like we, we are massacistic. We need to really suffer, Dave, to really like, be, become awake.

And it's one of those situations where I don't know what it will take. I said this about two days ago, similarly to what you said is when people say, oh, no,

“people will take to the streets, I'm like, no, I think you need to see more pain, like”

how much more, and I said more, like, you need to see like two and a half years of more, like you literally need to see grandma and grandpa dying, you need to see your loved ones dying, because they don't have Medicaid because Republicans did billionaire tax cuts and gutted Medicaid, you need to see like a climate change, just like make human beings into frogs, you need to see like plagues, and then maybe, you need to see eyes just straight

up, telling more people, and then maybe, Dave, maybe, maybe in two and a half years, you'll see Americans in the streets, I think that's our constitution, that's how we kind of are as a people, very kind of stubborn, and we've been kind of trained, you know, it's this American narrative, which is so fascinating, like this, this Sith Lord mind trick, I'm not going to say, Jedi mind trick, that kind of tells us we don't deserve good things,

right? Like, you pay taxes, don't you want, I don't know, paid parental leave because every other country has it, no, that's gay. All right, don't you want like Medicare for all, no, those gay Europeans do that, we don't want that, we're not socialist. All right, don't you want like free, like, great education, don't want that either, it's because of the

blacks and the Latinos, and so I don't know what it will take for us to finally wake up and

realize our, our, our, literally our children, our resources, our, our countries being raped by the

“Epstein class, uh, and we have to fight against the system. I'm like you, I think it will take”

about two to three more years of intense pain. I hope I'm wrong, and I hope you're wrong. Well, though, I mean, I, you know, if the Democrats win by substantial majority, I don't think they can fudge it. That's really the question. It's due Democrats turn half. No, of course, Democrats have their own problems. I mean, I saw a tweet from you earlier today, I want to pick

about Mitch McConnell or something, and it, or as blue sky. And you'd said, the progressives believe

this and the Democrats believe that, and I was like, well, if we don't think everybody's a Democrat, we are in deep trouble. I'm as progressive as they come. I'm progressive like you, but, but, but I have to say, at a certain point, after the candidates get picked, we've got to be all in for all the candidates in every district. You believe that, too, right? I mean, because there is this tension, and I've got to say the Plattener stuff doesn't make it any easier. Yeah, so I probably should have

added Democratic establishment because what I've seen the Democratic establishment, I'm talking about the party leaders, the self-described party leaders, I'm talking about the

“corporate donors, is the tent always opens right word. It never opens left word, which I believe”

is where the majority is. The Democratic henchmen, the luka brasis that come out, they always punch

left, and they court the center. And what bothers me is they always concede to the right wing and the right wing's definition of the center, whereas I believe Dave, and I think the, the polls, just look at the data. I believe I'm where the center is when it comes to Israel, when it comes to ICE, when it comes to billionaires, when it comes to data centers, it's a Democratic party and the, the aparatcy establishment that has is moved away from the center and the majority.

And what frustrates me is that you have wide open lanes, David. You have wide open lanes against a historically unpopular present. I'll give you an example. Majority of Democrats won't abolish ICE. Run on it. ICE is literally killing people. Majority of Democrats have every single demographic now want a reset with Israel. They call Israel's genocide a genocide. They don't want you to take money from effect. What is humor and Jeffries say, we'll take money from

effect. Schumer said in February, it's still just a remarkable. In February, he says, my number one priority at 10 minority leaders to make sure Israel gets all the funding that it needs. Tax billionaires, no more AI data centers, Supreme Court Reform. I don't know, the Supreme Court shows its racist as to you literally should have been a nine-o-decision. It's a five-four decision to protect birthright citizenship. I would have used that moment. David, to be like,

“this is why we need Supreme Court Reform. Have you heard anything from the Democratic establishment?”

So when I say that, I should have added Democratic establishment. I believe the Democratic establishment is going to go all into crush progressives. I think Mamdanis, the worst nightmare. I think they were against Platner even before the red flags because of what he was the policy as he was championing and also updills say it. I think they're going to do everything into destroy updills say it, but I think we're updoles and we're Mamdanis is where the majority is and all we have

is these primaries. We have our one shot and then I'm with you. My track record shows that once you get the Democrat, whether it's Kamala Harris, Clinton, Biden, and even when it came to Maine, I said, "All right, I'll leave it up to the miners." They decided for Platner over Mills. I said, "Okay, once it's that Democrat versus the Republican, I think we agree, we go for the Democrat." But until then, we got to shake it up.

Look, I agree with you. I don't know how many articles in which I've said exactly what you've said, which is the data shows the majority of American support, particularly an economic and social issues, but is a progressive platform. And it's not just Democrats. It's also independence.

“In fact, it's a super majority in most of these cases. It's a winning formula. And I think a lot”

of the debate over what's progressive or what's mainstream is right now focused on a few trigger issues. One of them is APAC and Israel, but I have an article in Harretz, Israeli paper today. I just shared it very good article. Yeah, and it's in anticipation of the fact that it's going to

change. There is no question. The weird never going to have the policy we had in the past

towards Israel. And you know, I can prove it because Rama manual is a Democratic establishment guy is given a speech tomorrow in Israel saying Netanyahu and Ben Gavir and all these people are terrible symmetric, and we can't provide them with the aid that we've provided anymore unconditionally. So that's the best offer they're going to get. And that's where he is. And if you end up with somebody more progressive, it's going to be tougher than Netanyahu. And I think APAC is toxic

across the board. I did it to Democrats with a few little exceptions out there. So the question is, are we going to be able to get our active? I'd like, I'll say it looks like he's going to win

more support behind her, he's still up in a lot of the polls. I just I just wonder, are we going to be smart enough once once were there to say, yeah, I can support outside it. And I can support Tower Rico. And I can support whoever it is in Maine. And I can support, you know, DSA candidate in Washington, in LA, and in New York, and in Seattle. And then, you know, Dallas or wherever else, it's going to be

“something different. And I just slowly, I think, but you know, two points, I think when he comes to”

Michigan, clearly up to the will say this winning, you see the same polls I do. He's beating Rogers in the hypotheticals. And yet we still see some of the older establishment Democratic heads say he's unelectable. And I'm looking at them like, what are you talking about? Like this guy clearly is winning, like, get behind them. And they're like, no, no, no, we'll do everything to get behind Haley Stevens, the least inspiring candidate who literally has said Israel comes to our

inner dreams. And I'm like, I know Jews and Israel doesn't even come into the dreams of Jews. Like, what are you talking about? She's apex candidate. And so they're willing to, it's like, what happened with the mom, Donnie, you have this ascended candidate. Maybe back him. They're like, you know what we're going to do? We're going to back Cuomo instead. And you're like, wow, you would rather literally destroy your chances with these ascended candidates who are charismatic,

just because they go against billionaires in Israel. And that's my fear David with Abdul Sayed is get behind him. And they're like, no, we will sandbag him. And I believe like you're just going to win the primary. And then probably they're going to like hold their nose and maybe kind of support him, just like what they did with Mamdaani. And if Abdul Sayed wins in Michigan, it shatters the notion that these types of candidates who promote what I think are mainstream

centers, progressive policies can only win in New York, like you saw Mila Kiros win by double digits in Colorado, which is not a flaming lefty state. And if Abdul wins, that's a swing state. That's a rustbell state. And a large part of it, a large part of it is like you said is that that it's Israel is real. I believe it specifically, its genocide has become a moral litmus test.

“It's been clear for two years. When will democratic donors and leaders realize you have to evolve”

on this issue? I honestly, I don't really agree with you on the issue. I think the reality is the

evolution is taking place. And I think one of the reasons the evolution is taking place is election results. And I think at the end of the day, you're not going to persuade Chuck Schumer or Hukim Jeffree's until you beat them. And then even then they're going to be grudgeon. And you have to do it, Mamdaani is doing, which is government, fill the pot holes, freeze threat. It's, you know, create the pre-school programs that people need, balance the budget, create new taxes,

and I think that's the thing, you know, progresses if they want to be successful, have to do two things. They have to win the elections, and then they have to prove to be effective leaders. And frankly, I don't, you know, I think the average American, you know, you and I can have all these hot discussions because we're nerds and we live in the belly. Although I live just

outside the belly. But the reality is the average American doesn't give a shit. They don't trust

Washington. There you go. They don't trust Democrats. They don't trust Republicans. The reason they pick Trump is they think the system is fucked up. Now they see him as an example of the fucked up system. They're waiting for somebody else to come along and say, yeah, I can fix the fucked up system. And I think the, you know, one of the things, every soften in your history, Teddy Roosevelt, with the Robert Barnes, Jimmy Carter, after Watergate, every soften, we have a kind of corruption moment. And we

need somebody to come along and serve as a kind of white knight that people say, oh, yeah, this, this is so different. So outside the, the, the realm that they're going to actually be a change.

“And, and I think that's what we need it. And honestly, I was, I was anti-platner earlier for a lot of”

reasons. But, but I, I think Democrats have got to realize how big an issue corruption is. And they've got to run people who are above or approach. We're going to make a difference. They've got to have a message a little bit like Talariko, who's, who's not as progressive as I am,

but, but his message is the first thing I do when I get to Washington is I'm going to start fixing

the corruption. And, and to me, that seems so central that you start to have to sort of conceive of your candidates and your campaigns around that issue. You mentioned the Epstein class.

goal. But, you know, but, you know, but, exact with Planner, you know, the question that is,

why did Manor's back him, despite him being so flawed, is because of the message, exactly that.

“And I think you, you know, it's important because I've been trying to tell people,”

in addition to the many reasons why Trump won one of the reasons why he won twice, is because he promised to be a bulldozer. Right. He said, I'm an outsider. Yeah, I know these people. They're all corrupt. Vote for me. I could do better than these clowns and people like, all right, because there were so desperate and fed up with the system, they're like, we'll give it to an outsider, even though he's not an outsider. It's all bullshit. He's the insider.

He's like the king of the swamp, but I digress. That's what's been happening in American politics for 10 years. And that's what the establishment, if you will, is missing, is that people want someone who's willing to shake it up and people want reformation. They don't want restoration. So if you can tap into that message and get the right messenger who doesn't have, you know, I don't know, rape allegations, you can actually win home runs. Osof can do what he can do in Georgia,

Talariko. He has his own version of it of in Texas. Mamdani has his version of in New York, Platner has his version in Maine. But if you go with the status quo, and you say everything is fine, this is not who we are, restoration, no bold reform, no accountability, right? And even this, you know, one of the Biden's many sins, which I think his main sin was Gaza, but the Mary Garland of it all, people want people want, like, I will give you power, mother after you come in,

“and you make moves immediately. And then I think that's why when Mamdani is winning,”

people in the establishment are scared to like shit. He's showing the people that this is what you can do when you have power, crap. And people are turning around and saying, hey, Democrats, this guy's pulling this off in six months. What have you done? Like, how come you could

do this? And the answer is, we didn't want to do it. It wasn't in our interest. It was brothers.

You need those brothers. Well, and I also, the Schumer's and the Jeffries and the Democratic established, but you talked about the Derbids and the Omebr. Have a long history of incrementalism of negotiating with themselves. You know, you talk about healthcare, and they say, I remember the during the Comic campaign, you know, people say, well, we've got this great idea. We're going to offer home care for people in the last six months of their lives,

you know, to an habit covered. And I was like, what the fuck are you talking about? Yeah, every other country of the world offers free healthcare to everybody, because it's a fundamental right. Why are we negotiating with ourselves, go in and get the full love? And we tend not to ask for the full love. And I think people want that. They want big, sweeping changes. And that's why I'm a progressive. That's why I want to see candidates.

“That's why, I mean, I think the other, we don't have a lot of time here. But I think the other”

big issue here is that what Schumer doesn't realize and Jeffries doesn't realize and Mitch McConnell, when he was conscious, didn't realize and Trump doesn't realize, is that 26 and 28

are generational change. It is moving on away from the boomers, away from Gen X, who never really

had their shot onto millennials and, and, you know, Gen Z. And the reality is they have completely different political views. They've grown up. They've spent their adult lives essentially post the 2008 crash post COVID with Trump in power, with richer getting richer, with billionaires getting it all. And with the US is kind of a rogue state in the world. And they don't believe the system works. They don't think they're going to own a house. They, they've no faith in it.

And I think that to me is the core issue is, how do you get under 40 voters to believe that you can actually be the change they want to see? And that's where I think Mamdanis strength is. It is nothing to do with whether he's DSA or Trump says he's a communist. It's just my, my daughter is living in, you know, and I know they supported him from the get go because they thought he'd solve their problems. Yeah, I, I've been saying, I don't think people care. If you're a

Democrat, if you're DSA, if you're a communist, if you say that you're from the booty party and any, any, any, you know, I'm the booty party, but I'm a fighter. People are like signed me up for the booty party. They don't care. They're what you're going to call it party. I think none of this matters. Who's a fighter? Who seems authentic? Who's going to go against the system? Who's going to actually make my life more affordable? Who's going to be against forever wars? Who's not taking money or

bought out by corporations? If you channel that type of energy, you win. It's easy. Mamdanis gave you a model. You just got to tweak it, tweak it for Texas, tweak it for Maine, tweak it for Michigan,

people voted for Trump are like, I vote for this guy. I might not agree with them on all things,

“but I think it's sincere and authentic. You know what? He actually is acknowledging my pain and rage,”

and he says he'll fight. Let's give him a shot. Guess what? He gets in and he does something

that Democrats never do that Republicans always do. This is the one compliment always give Republicans.

Republicans when they get power, David, they don't give a shit about their own base, about the polls, about moderates, about Democrats. Have you noticed that when Democrats get power,

“they always play prevent defense. Well, what, what the Republicans say? And I'm like, the”

Republicans call you pedophiles. The Republicans did the Swift boat campaign against Kerry.

The Republicans made Obama produces birth certificate. You could be the world's perfect candidate, and they'll still dig up something. They're terrible people. Forget playcating the Republican. Stop being afraid. Put on your brass knuckles on both freaking hands and start punching.

And I think any candidate who talks like this, especially with accountability, corruption,

affordability, going against the Epstein class, I think it's a slam dunk. I think they will win.

“I agree with you. And I think the next four months are going to be so important,”

because we're going to have to make the transition from primaries to the general election, and we're going to have to focus on getting the majorities that we want. And that's going to require some adjustment strategies that does every time. And I think the smart thing about progressives is they get it. And what I listen to AOC, I know she gets it. And I think that's not something people have baked in their cakes just quite yet. But anyway, we'll keep talking about it.

I know you've got a hard out. So I wish you the best. I'm glad we could talk to you and catch up today. And we'll talk to you again in maybe a month or two about where we are. Yeah, and then it's you're impossible to reach. Come on the left hook on, bite you later this week. Yeah, no, I'd be very happy to be on it. Thanks for having me on. Sorry that I got to leave early today. No problem. Talk to you soon.