BUCK: For decades America was becoming — especially when it came to violent crime — a safer place. That turned around about, what, 18 months ago now — more than that, almost two years ago — and very much coincided with the rise of the BLM movement and the Democrat progressive prosecutor project, Soros-backed prosecutors in major cities across the country who think, “Why punish criminals? It’s society’s fault. It’s not the criminal’s fault!”
This was a fallacy that, unfortunately, became fashionable among leftists in power in the sixties and seventies and the country suffered as a result. We’re back to that fallacy again, and we have to fight back against it, and I’m happy to see that in Virginia — again, Virginia — they’re racking up some wins early on here with its new government. New lieutenant governor; new governor, obviously; and now also new state attorney general, Jason Miyares.
He came right in — and this is a lesson that Republicans need to learn in general. You cannot leave ideologically motivated and very dedicated leftists in positions of power in the bureaucracy. You can’t let them burrow deep in and become a deep state or else they will hobble your agenda. They will actually undermine you. This happened to Trump when he was president. They should have had personnel, they just didn’t.
CLAY: So funny. So ridiculous — and they had the lieutenant governor who was accused of rape by multiple women!
BUCK: Twice. Two women, yeah.
CLAY: So they had the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the attorney general, who would have been next. It’s really why Northam I think kept his job because they were gonna have to replace basically the entire lot of them, and then it would have gone I believe to a Republican, right, in the fourth position?
BUCK: That’s right.
CLAY: So they just decided to hold the wall for Northam who, by the way, we should mention, Buck, did you see that he gave a pardon to a state senator who had had an affair with an underage woman that he ended up marrying?
BUCK: On, no. I didn’t see that.
CLAY: One of his final acts in office, Northam gave a pardon to a Democratic senator who had an affair — I don’t know it was an affair or I don’t know if he was single or whatever, but anyway — with an underage girl working in his office. He later married her and they now have children, but theoretically, when you are a grown man, you’re not supposed to be sleeping with underage employees, and so he pardoned that.
The whole civil rights division, gone. He says, “See you later.” It included the solicitor general and deputies that served under Herring beforehand. This is the way it has to be. This is a lesson, and it’s broader than what Miyares is doing. And there’s one more thing I want to say about his initial statements going into this role as state attorney general ’cause, folks, this is about the template, right? This is about if you are in a red state is your red state doing enough?
Are you happy with the Republican governor that you have? And if you’re in a purple state that has been trending or could go red the next time around, here’s the playbook. We’ve said this about Youngkin all along: Find issues that matter to real people, implement them, and govern well. Let the Democrat Party be the party crying with climate change all the time.
Let the Republicans be the ones about better schools, safer streets, and a more functional society that’s not running around in terror of Fauciism all the time. But I mentioned the crime issue too, Clay, not only is he changing the personnel which has to happen, you need people around you you can trust in these roles whether you’re an attorney general, a governor, a president.
He also has said that he will bring charges — and this was key. This is why I was thinking a criminal justice issue. He, Miyares, will bring charges, as he’s allowed under state law, in any districts within Virginia where a likely Soros-backed prosecutor is like, “Ah. We’re gonna let that violent crime go.” He’s like, “No, you’re not. Not on my watch.” That’s what we need to hear.
CLAY: Look, the lineup here in Virginia is I think a critical and emblematically representative sample of what Republicans need to run on in 2022, because we know that already you’re gonna have, by the summer, there will be a major focus on trying to tear down Republican ideas, and there will be an attempt… This is what the Democrats are gonna try to do.
They’re gonna focus, I believe, on January 6th, and they’re gonna focus on voting rights and they’re gonna focus on — try to focus on — abortion. And much of that will be backwards looking. I think you win elections by focusing on what’s in front of you, and that’s what Glenn Youngkin did, and he has provided an incredible template for everybody out there to follow and his staff.
The trio that we have seen so far in positions of prominence in Virginia has to make Democrats really, really nervous because not only did they run on exactly what they were going to do already, Buck. In the first day and a half, two days of their administration, they come out and make an incredible, massive statement about what exactly they believe in. Really significant.
BUCK: We’re seeing right away that there can be decisions made that affect people’s live. I think in a lot of ways, Clay — just at a broader philosophical level — people have started to think more and more about… You know, it’s really just the federal government that makes a difference in your life, ’cause there’s so much that’s become part of the federal leviathan.
But really now covid has brought home to people that your state government does make a huge difference, often for the negative. Ask anybody who’s lives in New York, New Jersey, California, Massachusetts, Illinois last two years, among other places. But it matters to establish at that state level government that is effective, that is sane, that is responsive to the needs of people, that’s responsive to data.
And then that becomes a part of the narrative overall at the national level of Republicans are trying to govern well, trying to make the streets safer. If someone’s out there clubbing old ladies over the head with lead pipes, Republicans are the ones that are gonna say, “You gotta go to prison. You’re a danger to society, and you have to pay the price.” Let Democrats be the ones who have pseudointellectual debates about whether or not this is society’s fault.
And that’s why Miyares is coming in right away saying none of this Soros prosecutor nonsense where we’re not gonna do what Bragg did in New York City. Notice the difference. Bragg starts in New York City as the new DA and he’s saying, “Armed robbery? Not gonna go for a criminal sentence on that one!” Miyares comes in and not only does he say, “We’re gonna send you away for armed robbery,” he’s like, “If any of the district attorneys in this state try to get around that, I’m gonna take over their case.”
BUCK: The Democrats in this city — and I will tell you this, in New York City — have largely normalized that you have to walk around people who are clearly insane. Screaming profanity at strangers on the street, running out into traffic and yelling insane things. No person would interact with them, and it’s all over the place. It’s all over the place. Every time you’re in the subway, every time you’re walking down the street — and I’ve dealt with it.
I have family members who have dealt with it, and if you bring it up too much it’s, “You’re not social justice aware enough or something,” or, “You know, you are not solving the problem, ’cause you want law enforcement to get involved. Someone who’s severely mentally ill who poses a threat to themselves and others should actually be interacting with the state and getting help before something terrible like this can happen.”
CLAY: Not just New York. San Francisco, L.A., people listening to us on the coast know exactly what you’re talking about too. Many big cities have allowed this to grow into a larger and larger issue.
Tune in for a Christmas Eve Special with Clay and Buck — original content from…
Clay used his last hour on the air in 2024 to reflect on his trip…
What were the worst media takes of 2024? Watch Clay pick his.
Clay broadcast from Israel. Take a look at the photos and videos he has shared…
The Kentucky senator shares his thoughts on finally bringing some accountability to government.