Radio Show Hour 1 – 01/15/2025

[00:00:13] from atop the Rocky Mountains, the crossroads of the West. You are listening to the Liberty Roundtable Radio Talk Show. All right. Happy to have you along, my fellow Americans, Sam Bushman live on your radio. Hard-hitting news the networks refuse to use, no doubt, starts now. This, my fellow Americans, is the broadcast for January the 15th in the year of our Lord 2025.

[00:00:43] This is Hour 1 of 2, and the goal always to protect life, liberty, and poverty, to promote God, family, country, to do so on your radio in the traditions of our founding fathers. Yes, indeed, we use the blueprint for liberty, the supreme law of the land, the Constitution for the United States of America. That is indeed our guide. And ladies and gentlemen, as you know, we reject revolution, unless it's a Jesus revolution. Then we're in, because we follow the Prince of Peace. We believe the checks and balances brilliantly put in place by the founding fathers, one of the great, peaceful, restorative solutions we have at our fingertips.

[00:01:13] The show starts now, ladies and gentlemen. A quick recap of yesterday's show. We had on Sheriff Richard Mack with us. And as you know, he's the founder and president of the Constitutional Sheriff's and Peace Officers Association, CSPOA. And he really wants community policing. He really wants the people to work with their sheriffs to make sure that with the eyes and ears of the community and this relationship work well, where the sheriff intercedes on our behalf, right? He interposes himself to protect we, the people, and our God-given inalienable rights.

[00:01:43] Yes, indeed, where we stand together as Americans. That's why we don't need an army. We need good, honest Americans backing their sheriff, working together at the most local of levels. And then we only work across boundaries when necessary, right? The proper rule of government governs closest to the people, ladies and gentlemen. The closer are the people of the government, the better off we really are. Anyway, join CSPOA and the Posse. We're working on it, ladies and gentlemen. I'm the CEO of the CSPOA.

[00:02:12] But if you go to CSPOA.org and become a member of the Posse, that's the biggest way you can help. Number one, you're involved with guidance and support on a national and a local level of things that you ought to do to promote appropriate community policing. It's great stuff. CSPOA.org. Become a member. Get involved today. We need you. All right. The National Sheriff's Association, by the way, yesterday, believe it or not, urged the Senate on Monday to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.

[00:02:42] They say this. She has their organization's complete endorsement. Dailywire.com with that piece. Now, I've never really seen the National Sheriff's Association political before. And it's kind of weird. They don't usually, you know, in this case, they must have a vested interest in backing Tulsi. Well, sadly, Tulsi Gabbard has reversed herself. You see, in Congress, she called for a repeal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Right?

[00:03:12] She wanted to get rid of it. Now, she says it's a crucial. Oh, boy. Here we go. Intelligence gathering tool. That quote must be safeguarded. Who got the Tulsi? Don't know. But this is the kind of stuff I'm talking about. You know, you appreciate people and you support people and you want it to turn out right. Then they cave. So, NSA now pushing for that. So, you know, the National Sheriff's Group might be fine with the FISA, whatever. I'm against that all.

[00:03:41] It's unconstitutional as all get out. 702 is abusive to all of our rights. You can thank George Bush and clowns for that Republican mistake. Right? Shame on them for developing thus in the first place. Why do we need a FISA weird court? It's almost like an enemy combatant court or a lone wolf or whatever. You know, you're going to treat everybody as something different in a little bit of a military idea. Right?

[00:04:05] A military focus rather than normal jury of peers. 12 jurors of your peers close to you locally that relate to you and to supposedly your crimes if committed. Or then they're supposed to be a fully informed jury and judge the law. Right? Not just the, quote, law breaking per se. But if it's a law that's unfairly applied or unfairly used or wrongfully manipulated. Oh, do J6ers come to mind, ladies and gentlemen? Come on.

[00:04:35] See what I'm talking? This is stuff I'm talking about right now. I'm saying to you that we need to release all J6ers. You say, well, wait a minute, Sam. Shouldn't we draw the line here? You know? I mean, those guys that just kind of walked around in a day. We're not going to prosecute those guys. But we're going to, you know, pardon them, don't you know? But the violent ones? Holy crap. We're not going to. Oh, man, that's crazy. Now, there might be. Listen carefully to me. There might be a couple of people that you could say would be so violent.

[00:05:03] And you would say they can't be pardoned. But here's the problem with that discussion. There might be an Antifa person. There might be a Black Lives Matter person. There might be a whatever. I don't know what group somebody may belong to that did something wrong. And on an individual basis, you know what?

[00:05:29] If you committed violent acts, you should pay the or do the crime, pay the, you know, do the do the crime, pay the time, right? Or whatever. But what I'm saying to you on this is what about somebody like Stuart Rhodes? Now, listen carefully to me on this because this really matters. I'm defending Stuart Rhodes a thousand percent. I don't care what anybody says. I don't care what anybody believes. I don't care if they think he's a nutcase or not. Here's the facts. Stuart Rhodes is a friend of mine.

[00:05:59] And I appreciate that friendship. And I believe he's a good, honest person. Now, I know that his wife and everybody else has talked out, or ex-wife, whatever. And many people have said bad things about him. And I'm sure that he's got his issues like the rest of us. But I'm telling you right now that I don't believe he's what they claim him to be. They claim him to be a terrorist that wanted to, you know, bring weapons in and use oath keepers to literally go on a military bender in the United States private sector style. And that what, okay, that's all, those are all lies.

[00:06:29] And that's the problem with this discussion about violence. Now, if somebody's really committed violence, then by all means, you know what? You can't commit violence, people. But if you are suspected of being a violent organization or a violent group or a violent person, see, that doesn't count. The proof that Stuart Rhodes remained peaceful regardless of what communications you know about or don't know about or uncovered or, you know, decrypted or whatever you want to say, no matter how you frame that picture.

[00:06:58] The fact is, Stuart did not go into the Capitol. And the fact is, Stuart did not bring weapons into, quote, DC or the Capitol zone or whatever you want to call it. He didn't do those things. And the fact that he had guns at the ready is irrelevant. The fact that he said, I'm going to serve Donald Trump and help Donald Trump if things get crazy around here. Things only got crazy when the government started attacking the people. Write that down. Remember who's telling it to you.

[00:07:25] Yeah, that's when things started to get crazy, when the government started shooting things into the crowd and things like that to disperse people or whatever they were doing or provoke people. I don't know. But see, that's the other side of the story that you're not hearing. Oh, yeah. The Epoch Times is willing to tell it to you. The Blaze is willing to tell it to you. A lot of people are willing to tell it to you, which is fantastic. But all I'm telling you is I defend the J6ers. And you would say, hey, what about the ones like Stuart Rhodes that, you know, isn't violent, wasn't violent, didn't commit violence, spent years.

[00:07:55] As a private group in America, just going around offering service and protection as the CSPO Posse would do. If in a local area tied to a sheriff. And that's kind of a little bit of the difference in the two groups and their direction. Richard Mack would like it to be a little less on a personal level, a little more tied in with the sheriff. And, you know, given designated authority in a given area, there's a big fundamental difference there. And I'm not trying to attack anybody. I'm just saying.

[00:08:22] But at the end of the day, I believe Stuart Rhodes was a good, honest person. And I hope he gets pardoned. But if we're going to use this violence thing, don't let them pitch you into the lie that, oh, my gosh, because, you know, this could have went violent or this demonstrates an idea of violence. Or remember, you got your free speech and your free speech can be pretty rowdy. Not saying I think those are the best words people ought to use from time to time. But I'm saying speech can get really rowdy. That does not cross the line, people. That's what you got to understand.

[00:08:51] Free speech does not mean violent, even if your rhetoric is fairly violent or fairly whatever, suggestive. Unless we believe you have real intent, that's a whole different matter. Anyway, I spend time on it because every day we're getting closer. It's January the 15th. In five days, Donald Trump swears in. And who will he pardon? And will it be day one for the J6ers? And will many of our dear friends come home?

[00:09:17] And a pardon, you know, really demonstrates the wrongness of the prosecution on the other side in many cases, right? Anyway, we'll keep an eye on that ball. Just wanted to highlight that. We've got our guest with us today, Ben Sanderson. And he's the face of the GOA GOA's Minuteman Moment YouTube show that's gone viral. And I mean, if you don't know about that, come on. You're not in the right movement, people. Come on. Anyway, so Ben, so much is going on. So little time. How are you, sir? Good.

[00:09:47] How are you? You know, thanks for having me on the podcast. I'd love to keep talking about, you know, gun rights and what we can do. So, yeah. I also wanted to mention really quickly, I'm also the Deputy Director of Federal Affairs. So I'm not just the pretty face you see on YouTube sometimes. Where I'm down in the trenches, we're talking to senators, talking to congressmen, all of that fun. So give me the bottom line then. You know what? A lot of people are like, hey, the Trumpites are going in. And they're going to, you know, shake the world.

[00:10:17] It's going to be crazy town. And, you know, but what I see is this. The lame duck tried to really abuse us on gun rights. A lot of it got stopped. Good news. Now new Congress has taken over. Will it be really retroprocity all over the country? And, hey, second, go ahead and skip the break. Second Amendment rights are just defended because you have a constitutional right to carry. And are we really going to get there now? You know what? That's our top priority this session. We're pushing on the ground extremely hard.

[00:10:46] I've barely been in our headquarters. I've been on Capitol Hill knocking doors, handing out information, talking to everyone that will listen. So, yeah, I think there's a really good chance of it. You know, we have in the House the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. We already have a majority of the Republican conference on that one. And then in the Senate, we have the same bill. And that's also got a majority of the conference on it as well. So there is an interest in this. There's people already talking to us about, hey, this is just common sense.

[00:11:15] We should be doing this. And then probably the biggest thing helping us is President Trump promised to do this and sign concealed carry reciprocity. I believe he will. I hope so. I think he is as well. And I think that's a motivating factor for a lot of these Republican congressmen and senators to get it done for him. Ben, the real stickler here is going to be, hey, if we push for this, how clean, how simple, how up-down votish, how single issue-ish. I don't know if those are words.

[00:11:45] Is the bill. And that's really kind of the concern where if they put things on it that give good guys problem, then it's not going to go anywhere. And they tend to poison the bill that way, right? I mean the bill that way. No, I get exactly what you're saying. That's why we put in a lot of protections on this bill.

[00:12:05] I don't know how in-depth that we've gone in in the past, but one of the biggest things is in the House side, there's protections for not only the firearm that you're carrying, but also the ammunition in the magazine that you have on it. So that does assuade some of the concerns some of the really pro-Second Amendment community might have on it about saying, oh, well, yeah, I can carry in California, but I have to abide by their state law.

[00:12:31] But instead, you know, you can take your gun from Texas and your 25-round magazine and your Glock 19 or Glock 17 and also carry hollow-point ammunition. All of that, that would all be protected. Additionally, there's legal protections to prevent them from using their- So the point is that way you don't get quagmired in state laws that conflict or that kind of got you that you didn't know. There's a guy by the name of Vem Miller who got caught in that very scenario in California, believe it or not, recently with Chad Bianco. Exactly.

[00:13:02] You know, it's to prevent the states from finding loopholes and attacking other Americans' Second Amendment rights. Yeah, because if we're states, then we're going to agree that the Second Amendment applies. A lot of people believe that's just a federal mandate. But I say it's an untouchable mandate for the states as well by very nature of that we're part of the union and it is the supreme law. A hundred percent.

[00:13:25] Yeah, that's exactly what we believe here, that not only is it a constitutional right, but it's a God-given right and you can't take that away and your rights don't end at the border. Okay, let me understand how we best as citizens can help in the 2025 basically GOA legislative agenda because we really want to understand the pieces of this and help. I think if we unify behind good people and we have more of a chance now than we've had in a long time, that's really going to be the key here.

[00:13:50] And to understand the agenda and when to push and kind of how to frame the arguments as people discuss it, I mean it starts there, right? A hundred percent. Yeah, I'd say probably the biggest thing that activists can do is be informed, is listen to our email alerts when they go out. You can sign up for those for free on our website. Our Minuteman moments are one of the chambers. The other YouTube videos that we do are great snippets of information that help you become more informed every single day when you watch them.

[00:14:18] But really it takes the effort to pick up the phone, to call your senator, to call your representative, to send them emails, to even visit them in person if you get a chance and talk to them about your priorities and the Second Amendment priorities and how important it is to you. Because in the end, they want to be reelected. And the best way to put that fear into them is to be there talking to them about your concerns as a constituent.

[00:14:40] All right, so the reciprocity bill we're talking about, is it called the – I mean I know it's a GOA-backed, but what's the – is it just called the act or back – or reciprocity bill? Is that all it's called? It's called the Constitutional Reciprocity – or sorry, Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. And it's really pushing forward. We've got some great co-sponsors already. We've got some great bill sponsors, Representative Hudson. We actually did a video with him on it promoting the bill to all of our members as well.

[00:15:15] How much support do we have to have for a bill like this? I mean is this a House and Senate two-thirds thing? If they were to pass this, how would it all happen and where are we in the process? So in the House, yeah, I think we're very much on our way to passing it. We've got the majority there. We also have the speakers behind us on this one. In the Senate, for a straight up and down bill, it would be a two-thirds majority. You know, we're working all angles to try to get this one passed.

[00:15:41] We're also looking at the reconciliation package that should be moving forward in the next few months. Additionally, there's always chances to add it on to other bills and keep it the same. Yeah, I know you were concerned about it being watered down, but I don't think – I think we can get it on to one of these packages without doing that. All right. What about the debt ceiling? Is that going to shut us all down and derail us forever? Isn't that a couple of days away, man? Yeah, we definitely heard some stuff. No, we've heard some stuff on that.

[00:16:12] Unfortunately, that is one of the things we track. But right now, we don't seem to have any concerns for the Second Amendment based off of that fight that's coming up. It's a little outside of our scope. I understand. All right. What damage was done in the lame duck session? Can you kind of catch us up on that? Because a lot of times things happen and people don't really realize, right? Yeah. No, this lame duck was great. We really – we held strong. We pushed back against anything. We've been talking about it since the very beginning saying no more gun control on the lame duck. We control this.

[00:16:42] There's no reason to give President Trump unnecessary policies and policies he wouldn't like to sign or even go forward with once he enters office on January 20th. Do you expect a big sea change on Capitol Hill? I mean, is it just going to be like a night and day for guys like you that are lobbyists or that run around and meet with people? Is it going to be just a sea change or is it going to be different maybe at the head but day-to-day kind of just meh, meh, meh, same stuff, right?

[00:17:10] I mean, it seems like we fall into that if we're not careful. Even the freshman in the Republican Revolution in 94 did that. Yeah, I can say it for at least for me. It feels like we've been going 100 miles an hour these last two weeks. You know, in the end, the day-to-day doesn't change. But this time, instead of being on the defense, we're on the offense now.

[00:17:30] We can really push for really great pro-second amendment priorities, bills, amendments, and just get people more comfortable talking about the no-compromise mission and about being truly pro-second amendment. And you guys on the no-compromise part are kind of alone in that, right? Yeah, I think that we've shown through all of our works. I think everybody else is ready to throw in the towel in so many ways.

[00:17:56] Yeah, there's sometimes, you know, it feels that we kind of feel alone pushing what we push. You know, we want the best possible outcome. We want to keep pushing forward. It's under the belief that the Second Amendment is – you're not able to compromise on it. So, yeah, you're exactly right. And, you know, people are starting to take notice. We do definitely get a lot more interest over the last few years.

[00:18:19] I can say that from working here where people come to us and ask us about our opinions on the bills because they know that their constituents, if they're upset with it, they're going to talk to us. And then we're going to talk to them and really get the movement going forward. Do we have enough allies in terms of groups? Like there's a lot of groups that are gun rights groups, but many of them – you know, for example, they say Donald Trump I think has lost faith in one of those groups. You know? So I'm kind of wondering about these other groups.

[00:18:49] Are they really that helpful? The metaphor that we use is, you know, all the gun groups on Capitol Hill are like one big family. You know, 90% of the time we agree on everything and we can all push together. But there's the 10% that makes GOA different where, you know, we want to keep going that extra mile. But overall, yeah, we all have – we're all strong together. We're stronger together.

[00:19:14] We're stronger if we can have a unified message and that message should be the no compromise message where we're pushing forward the most possible freedom for individuals and under the Second Amendment. All right. What happens next for you guys and us? Do we know? I wish I could tell you more specifically. I wish I had a little crystal ball here. You know, really we're focused on concealed carry reciprocity right now, but there's also a bunch of other great bills.

[00:19:42] Does Trump get on Capitol Hill with a thousand sheriffs and take a big photo and say, listen, we're going to defend the Second Amendment big time. And the Second Amendment relates to your right to keep and bear arms and to your protections as citizens. And America has been infiltrated by thugs for four years and you've got bad guys among you. And we're going to make sure that we coordinate this thing in a meaningful way and the good guys make sure everybody's polite. That's what's happening around here, people. Are we going to do that with like a Tom Holman and a Donald Trump and about a thousand sheriffs and, you know, that kind of stuff?

[00:20:12] You know, I think that would be a great image and a great message to send the American people about keeping yourself and also your family safe. And it really is the self-reliance here of the unfortunate reality is for certain people in states where their police aren't able to respond as quickly or don't want to respond. In the end, they really come down to you're your own last line of defense and you need to take responsibility for that. And I think you're exactly right. You know, sheriffs, really great sheriffs will be like, hey, you know what?

[00:20:41] We can only get there so fast, even if we're there in under a minute. That's 59 seconds where you have to defend yourself first. Well, I'm 59. Very, very slow ticking. In the wrong situation, seconds, people just saying not that I know much about it. I'm just all right. So this GOA reciprocity bill.

[00:21:06] I know we need to call our congressmen and senators to fight it, to push on it and say we've got to work on getting this bill passed or getting this bill included or are you a sponsor on this bill? And you want to say all those things, right? Could it be stronger, do you think? Could there be more to it? To the fight or to the bill itself? Bill. The bill, you know, we put a lot of work into this. We, you know, it has protections for constitutional carry states. So if you're from a constitutional carry state like Texas, you don't need to go get a separate permit.

[00:21:36] Instead, your driver's license is what actually enables you to carry in California because it counts as your concealed carry license already. So let me stop you there then. So now if we're not very careful with this driver's license piece, that's great because it just says are you a citizen virtually or what's your status? And if you're basically an American citizen. Now, otherwise, you don't have a right to run around as an illegal and have weapons running around, right? A hundred percent, yeah.

[00:22:03] And we're not saying that, you know, somebody that's not an American doesn't have any right to defend themselves either. They do. Whether they have a recognized right of protection to travel, you know, with weapons illegally. No. Traveling illegally is a problem. Adding weapons to the mix makes the problem much worse because now you're dealing with an armed illegal alien, right? I mean, that changes the game.

[00:22:28] And that fundamental difference, folks, is part of the great deportation that Trump's talking about in many ways. Because that's partly how you're going to know who's who. What's what, right? Oh, 100%. What do you say, Ben? I think this is really relatable. Yeah, I want to preface with some more specifics on the bill in which you have to be a non-prohibited person to be able to carry this firearm.

[00:22:55] So carrying, you know, having your driver's license is first, is preceded by being an American citizen that can own a firearm. Otherwise, you wouldn't be protected by this bill. And you wouldn't because you're here illegally. Okay, it isn't because of your skin, people. That's bogus. That's a lie they try to use to manipulate their way on the topic. But the fact is, this relates to, hey, if you're here illegally, we don't want you to be armed illegally and here illegally.

[00:23:25] That's a problem. That's illegal. Just saying. Ben, that's really a key component to this. And there's going to be a lot of layered details to how this deportation and how things work. Things are going to change in this country. And I believe that the Second Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms, really is at the center of a lot of this in more ways than people realize. It's kind of my whole point. Yeah, you know, it's the Second Amendment isn't just about self-defense. It's also about protecting yourself and your country.

[00:23:56] Okay, we appreciate your time, Ben. Thanks for having me. Take care. Ben Sanderson, ladies and gentlemen. He is a lobbyist for GOA. He's the face of the GOA Minuteman show. And he does a phenomenal job for CSPOA. Or not CSPOA. Gun Owners of America. I'm sorry. Gun Owners. I don't know why I'm saying CSPOA. Wow. I've been saying that too much, I guess, is the problem. We're talking Ben Sanderson with Gun Owners of America. GOA.

[00:24:26] Wow. Gunowners.org. They're doing a phenomenal job and they need your support in 25, baby, because they're making a difference on Capitol Hill. The only no-compromise gun lobby in the country. Gun Owners.org. Dear friends, back in seconds. This is the one and only Liberty. Roundtable live.

[00:24:42] You're listening to Liberty News. News this hour from townhall.com. I'm Rich Thomason. The Southern California wildfires continue to rage. They're being driven by powerful winds.

[00:25:09] This is really just the last push here of these winds here today. And hopefully if we get through today, we're going to have some better conditions for late weekend, especially into Friday and Saturday. Todd Hall at the National Weather Service. The fires have claimed as many as 12,000 buildings, including many homes. The fire death toll stands at at least 25. Another round of Senate hearings today for President-elect Trump's cabinet nominees, including Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi.

[00:25:38] Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday. The Department of Defense under Donald Trump will achieve peace through strength. And in pursuing these America first national security goals will remain patriotically apolitical and stridently constitutional. Hegseth denies anonymous allegations of wrongdoing in his personal conduct.

[00:26:04] Israel and Hamas reportedly on the cusp of a ceasefire aimed at ending the ongoing war in Gaza. Hamas officials say they've accepted a draft of the proposal. The Israelis say there still is no deal, but they're also voicing optimism as final details are being worked out. Qatar, the Mideast country that's been mediating the talks, say the sides have not been this close to an agreement in months. This is correspondent Joseph Fetterman reporting from Jerusalem.

[00:26:31] Inflation may be down, but it's definitely not out. The consumer price index rose 2.9 percent last month from where it stood one year ago. Higher prices for gas, eggs, and used cars helping to fuel the increase. Wall Street flying high this morning. The Dow is up 715 points. Gain of more than 1.5 percent. The Nasdaq 408 points higher. More on these stories at townhall.com.

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[00:30:12] Broadcasting live from atop the Rocky Mountains, the crossroads of the West, you are listening to the Liberty Roundtable Radio Talk Show. All right, back with you live, ladies and gentlemen, Sam Bushman on your radio. Hope you're doing always doing fantastic. Ben Sanderson with us. He took off, but he was with us a second ago. And he's the face of the Goa's Minuteman Moment YouTube show.

[00:30:42] Does a great job with that, by the way. Keep an eye on that because it's great stuff. He's also one of the lead federal lobbyists for the GOA. That's really critical in terms of what he does. He's on Capitol Hill all the time. He's also running around doing a bunch of different stuff. But the GOA, folks, I want you to understand,

[00:31:07] the only, you got it, only, no compromise, gun lobby in Washington. And I really think that's something that they pride themselves on. And I am a lifetime member of gunowners.org. I'm a lifetime member. And I really highly recommend you become one, too, because, you know what,

[00:31:34] in my humble opinion, there's a lot of groups out there. And you can fund a lot of people. But, man, there's some people that I've learned over the last 30 years I've been in this business, people that are good that do what they say they do. A lot of the people really aren't like that at first. You spend time and money, and then they change, and then there's splits between people that you liked and somebody else, and it's just a disaster, right? Well, anyway, gunowners, in my opinion, .org is one of those that are true blue.

[00:32:04] So is the CSPOA. Gunners of America, CSPOA, Eagle Forum, Campaign for Liberty. I mean, these people are real. The Heritage Foundation, not near as conservative as I would like them to be, but they're in the mix, too. They do a lot of good. Liberty Council does a ton of good. Focus on the Family. Family Research Council. Those people do great jobs, too.

[00:32:34] I'm not telling you there's not others. I'm just telling you those are some of the key people in the freedom movement. There's a lot of other groups, but they're flashing the pan. They're here today, gone tomorrow. They're small organizations that I'm talking about organizations that I've been with for 30 years working with. One of them also is the National Taxpayers Union, NTU, Pete Seppin crew. They do a phenomenal job. See, we've got a lot of friends on Capitol Hill. American Policy with Tom DeWeese. Okay, you've got a lot of these people that have ties to Liberty Roundtable Live

[00:33:03] and that we've made really a big difference working together over the years. And that's kind of important to remember and understand, too. Anyway, gun owners does a phenomenal job, in my humble opinion. And Ben Sanderson's the face of it. I just wanted him on for a couple of minutes to talk about the 2025 Second Amendment legislative agenda and the GOA-backed reciprocity bill that's really important.

[00:33:30] And I really want people to understand this bill, what it does, how it works, because we really have a chance. We've got a majority in the House. We've got a majority in the Senate. I know they're slim. I get it. But if we can get the Republicans to stick together for once, and if there's something they ought to stick together on, it's your Second Amendment. Correct? So I want them really to work on it. And Trump has already said he'll sign it. We have the best chance we've ever had in my lifetime to get this done.

[00:33:59] And I know it seems like, oh, man, it's a long shot, Sam, isn't it? Kind of. I mean, everything we do is a long shot. The more constitutional it is, the more right it is, the more moral and up, you know, everything that we want it to be, the harder it is to get things even considered, much less done, right? I get it. But I also get that we've got to start somewhere. And I get that we, the people, have a role to play. And that's kind of the real message that I'm hammering on. We, the people, have got to get involved now.

[00:34:28] The more we're involved, the greater chance they will stick together. The more we're involved and the more we educate and the more we, you know, push on those who we've elected, you've got to vote for them, and then you've got to encourage them boldly, nobly, independently to do what's right and stand on the right side of things. There's a lot of Democrats that will come along with us. There's a lot of old style or whatever you want to call them, old school Democrats. What are they called? Yellow Dog, whatever. These people are the ones that don't want to spend us into oblivion either. They're our friends in many, many ways.

[00:34:58] The old Democratic Party in many ways is better than the new Republican Party. I'll tell you that. Now, I'm not into partisan politics. I'm neither Republican nor Democrat. So I can say these things. See, I'm not really Libertarian or, I mean, I supported the Constitution Party probably more than any other party because they support the Constitution, not because I believe in a party at all. I like the independents, but again, they're not a party. There's independent Americans. There's, you know, some parties in some states,

[00:35:25] but it's fractionalized or fracturized across the board except for the Republicans and the Democrats, and maybe the Libertarians, you could say, are across the country. But they're all over the map in their thoughts, though. They don't have any – I mean, they have a creed and everything. They have a whatever, but a lot of it I agree with. A lot of it I don't agree with. So, see, I'm just not a party guy.

[00:35:52] Anyway, constitutional, conceal, carry reciprocity. That's what I want, right? That's what I want big time, right? We want constitutional, conceal, carry reciprocity, and we want it now. That's what you got to do. It's a GOA-backed, right? That's important to understand because since there are no compromise gun lobby, when they say it's backed,

[00:36:22] I'm not saying don't read the bill because you always want to check for yourself. Don't just take our word for it. But my point is that you can be comfortable that GOA-backed constitutional, conceal, carry reciprocity bill. Hey, man, if GOA is behind it, you can be sure that it's good. No, I'm not telling you that you can just trust GOA. Not because I don't trust them. I do. I'm just telling you that you always want to do your own work. You always want to know for yourself.

[00:36:51] You don't want to just rely on people who you think are good guys because once in a while they could be wrong on something. You know, most groups are. Like Eagle Forum, to me, they're too Republican. Gunners of America, they're great, but I don't know. I mean, it's good to have a no-compromise partner. At the end of the day, compromises will be made, and it's important to influence those as well. That doesn't mean you're for the compromise, but it does mean that at what point, I mean,

[00:37:20] we wouldn't have the Constitution if nobody compromised. So, you know, I appreciate a group, though, that doesn't compromise. It says here's where we stand, and we want you to understand where the lines are. That's very valuable and helpful. Don't misunderstand me. I'm just telling you that going forward, there will be compromises. They're almost impossible to stop. Meanwhile, we can hold the line, or we can at least understand where the compromise lines are with their guidance and support and involvement, et cetera. Anyway, great legislative agenda. I wanted to kick that off at the start of the year with GOA, dear friends of ours.

[00:37:50] Larry Pratt used to be on the radio with us all the time. We can try to get him back. I know he's pretty busy with his personal life now that he's retired and all that kind of stuff. But the GOA backed concealed carry reciprocity bill is something, folks, that we've got to – it's nice to have something that you can be behind and support and be involved in. So many times we're just like, oh, man, we're not involved, or we don't know, or you're not really involved in something. It's like, oh, we've got to stop this. We've got to stop this. We've got to stop this. We've got to stop this. This is where Ben really made a point.

[00:38:20] We have the opportunity now not just to play a defensive role. We're on the offense, baby, now. Come on. We better take advantage of it, and we better work hard to make sure that we get people aboard for our cause. We have the opportunity to really drive this baby home. Boom. Driver's license. You've got a right to keep and bear arms. All those different caveats you could fall into in different states won't be a problem anymore. It's huge. Stops illegals from having guns or has another offense. So when you stop an illegal, hey, if they've got weapons,

[00:38:49] it's worse for them to be here illegally. Don't come here illegally with weapons. Don't come here illegally at all. But when you come, don't have weapons because it'll make your situation much worse. If you're caught here with weapons, you're not coming back to the United States. Don't come into our country with weapons. They rely on our safe, peaceful society. And, you know, but don't do that.

[00:39:19] Get in line. Come correctly. Become a citizen if you really want to go through the proper door. And we'll make the door reasonable to go through. Right now it's impossible to go through. And that's 90% of the problem. But you can't come here illegally and then have arms. Now you, if you're not very careful, hey, you've upped the ante so much so to where we don't know who you are now. Are you just trying to defend yourself as a good guy?

[00:39:47] Well, we'll give you that pass in America because you're a citizen. You're not getting that pass if you came here starting out with an illegal act. See, we can be kind and gentle. We can have justice and mercy in the immigration plan. But at some point, you've got to draw some solid, serious lines. And this is one of them. Anyway, there you have it. Talking international affairs for a second. Solving Ukraine will take months.

[00:40:17] Trump aides now tell Reuters. Russia Today, I had to get that piece from. So think about that. Solving Ukraine will take months. Trump aides tell Reuters. Didn't Trump say that he could solve that pretty quickly? You know, I don't like to be on opposite sides of the Russians. I don't see the value in that. Do you? From a diplomatic point of view? That's bad. Look, we can work this out, people. Let's sit down at the table.

[00:40:46] Anyway, let's talk about this more. This is scary. You're listening to Liberty Roundtable Live, and I am your host, Sam Bushman, on your radio. As you are aware, America is divided over every fault line possible. This is intentionally fostered by those who do not love God, family, or country. We believe a peaceful future as a free people absolutely depends on civility.

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[00:43:03] All right, you heard it here, ladies and gentlemen. Solving Ukraine will take months. Trump aides now tell Reuters news service. RT.com. Got to go to Russia today to get this thing. It's kind of interesting. Where the heck is the United States on this topic, huh? I think they're kind of protecting Donald right now, aren't they? Not really. Anyway, just saying. Donald Trump's, quote, election promises, where he said he could end the Ukraine conflict in 24 hours.

[00:43:33] Oh, I guess that was driven by, listen, we're driven by a, quote, a combination of campaign bluster and a lack of appreciation of the intractability of the situation, Reuters stated on Wednesday. Listen carefully. Citing sources close to the U.S. president-elect. I don't know how to respond to this.

[00:44:01] This is, again, where we hear from Trump. He's going to be bold. You know, Gator, now it's all, wow. Now, you could solve it in 24 hours, and now they're saying it's going to take months to resolve. Now, I didn't think that Trump could resolve it in 24 hours either. Don't get me wrong. I do think it might be solvable hopefully faster than a couple of months. It'll make Donald look good. And the sooner we resolve it, the better for all parties.

[00:44:30] I think one of the biggest threats of 2025 is war. I've told you that. They're going to try to make Donald a war president. And I pray they don't, but I'm telling you right now, they're really working to make that happen. And Trump might be foolish enough to fall for it is the problem. Nevertheless, what I'm saying is Trump said I can solve that in 24 hours, and now they're admitting it's going to take months. And now they're saying, hey, the reason that Donald said that was a combination of campaign bluster

[00:45:01] and a lack of appreciation for really what he's saying is how hard it will be to get done. He didn't realize how hard it was, and it was a campaign, so I just babbled at the mouth. This is the problem with Donald Trump. Don't be saying stuff you can't do that you know you can't do, that you know that saying in a campaign might help you get elected on a hope that you can do. But now you're being much more realistic. Fine. That's what it takes to get the job done. I get it.

[00:45:31] But I don't like that intentional manipulation of the public. Okay, now I know if I'm supposed to be an always-Trumper, I won't say these things. But an Ever-Trumper would just hate on the Donald just ruthlessly, not logically, with just malice for nothing, whatever. I'm honestly assessing things coming out as a news commentator, as a reporter, as a truth teller. And I'm saying to you when I believe something's right and when I believe something's wrong. And you know what?

[00:46:01] Solving the Ukraine crisis is right. And if Donald can get it done, I pray that he's successful. The art of the deal. And maybe this I can solve it in 24 hours thing is part of the art of the deal in Trump's defense. But it's not a good look when you're on the campaign trail. Say, I can solve this in 24 hours. And then, hey, right when you're about to swear in after you've already been elected on that, oh, yeah, solving Ukraine will take months, Trump aides tell Reuters.

[00:46:30] And then, hey, Donald Trump's promises to end the Ukraine. Hey, he just didn't realize it, and it was for campaign babble. Okay, that's the, in my opinion, mistake Alex Jones made. When Alex Jones basically said, hey, you guys wronged me in the, what's that shooting called? Anyway, Sandy Hook. You guys wronged me in Sandy Hook.

[00:46:59] Well, you know, he went off way too far with his free speech. Should he be fined the way he was and treated like? Absolutely not. Did he go too far in his free speech? Yes. Should he have done it? No. But the take away his whole company, hire the union to buy it, mock him, manipulate this all the way until the cows come home is a free speech nightmare. I defend Alex Jones. He's right. But the reason that I bring this up is because, and why do I make this comparison?

[00:47:26] This is a little bit of the cry wolf syndrome that we tend to see. Where, you know, A, is it too far for Trump to say that? Yes, it is. Should he have said it? No, he shouldn't. But now let's get behind him and say, well, I hope you can solve it in weeks, not months, Trump. And I hope we can solve it. I hope you're right that you can. That's where we need to be right now, right?

[00:47:51] We need to be in this idea where it's like, hey, I want to support the president and I hope he's successful. And I hope it doesn't take months. But that's as far as Alex Jones then saying, hey, Sandy Hook never happened. There's nothing to it. They're all actors on a stage. It's all bogus. To have that opinion is not wrong. It's how hard you press that opinion. So when Donald Trump uses this to get elected and when Alex Jones uses this to get viewers, both to me cross the line of unacceptability.

[00:48:21] I don't want to be a shock jock for the shock jock's sake. I don't want to become a rock star because I take the most extreme view on a topic that I can possibly take. I get that it's good for ratings. I get that it helps you grow in the social media sphere. I get all that. But to me, it's not honest, moral reporting with integrity. It's I'm going to use this situation for my own purposes. Right? That's the problem. And I'm disappointed in Donald for saying he could solve it in 24 hours knowing full well that he couldn't.

[00:48:51] And I'm disappointed in Donald and the campaign literally coming back and saying, yeah, it was driven by a combination of campaign bluster. And, you know, I didn't realize how hard it would be. I mean, that's a clown show response. Shame on the Donald and his administration. Okay? Or whatever you want to call the group. His aides. You know? Anyway.

[00:49:21] Sources close to the president-elect. Who are sources close to the president-elect? I'd like to know that, too. Because a lot of those people are the people that I don't trust. Right? That's part of the problem. You know, when you've got clowns like the extreme liberals that can get to Trump in a day without it blinking an eye. Guys like me and Sheriff Richard Mack and others can't get a hold of Trump if our life depends on it. But that tells you something. All right.

[00:49:47] Where are we going to be on this Trump's AG pick Pam Bondi? Right? Where's that going to go? She's supposed to testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee today. What's that going to look like, huh? Will it be contentious to say the least? Senate confirmation hearing for Bondi today. Now, look. Bondi might in some people's minds be great. She might have a lot of credentials. She might. Okay. That all might be there.

[00:50:17] But my problem with her is her attitude on the Second Amendment. Okay. I am concerned that Pam Bondi's got a Second Amendment, an A2 problem. And I should have actually kept Ben on and asked him about that a little bit more. I overlooked that. I apologize. Anyway, I'm just saying Pam Bondi's got a real Second Amendment problem. She's the one that said, hey, take the guns first. Do process second.

[00:50:46] Take the guns first. Do process second. I didn't know where Trump got that phrase. Now, I don't know if Trump got it from Pam or Pam got it from Trump. Or both of them got it from somebody on the inside that's a little bit of a betrayer, in my opinion, that doesn't respect or have reverence for or willingness to obey the Constitution. See? That's the problem with this whole thing. So I'm not a Pam Bondi fan. Now, whether she'll get through or not, I don't know.

[00:51:13] But to put this Pete guy up and Bondi up and why put your most controversial people up first? Why not put the people up first, ladies and gentlemen, that you believe you can get past? So let's say that we pass 10 people and then we have a contentious one come up. I think the likelihood of you getting people aboard for that contentious one since you've had 10 successes so far would be greater.

[00:51:38] If you start with the controversial ones, if they can shut you down on the first one or two, well, then you're already in trouble. And they've already done that, right? You say, what do you mean, Sam? Well, didn't our buddy Matt Gaetz from Florida already back out? Didn't a couple of other people already back out? So they're non-starters. And then if you shut down one or two people that you start with, now it's a bumpy road the whole time.

[00:52:04] Maybe I don't know enough about politics, but I'm telling you right now, you get a few successes under your belt. Your likelihood of, you know, expecting those gains to continue. Listen, guys. Guys, we've already passed 10 of Trump's people. The 11th one's a little bit bumpy, and here's why. Let's get it on the table, quickly resolve it, and move along. Okay, but I believe they're starting all wrong. You start, you know, it's like pushing a car. And, you know, all of a sudden you've got a little uphill climb to do. If you get the car moving, the uphill climb's not too bad.

[00:52:34] But you get at the bottom of that up climb, at the bottom of that hill, and you don't have any momentum? Stopped. It's about momentum, people. That's what it's about. And, you know, I don't understand why these people don't get that. I don't know who's in charge of the legislative clown show over there. But that's really what I'm seeing. It's just a legislative clown show, people. I kid you not. All right? So, anyway, maybe I don't know much about it, but I'm just telling you.

[00:53:02] You've got to think of it that way a little bit and say, man, I don't want to get stuck on that hill. Let's push this car. Let's get some momentum rolling. Now we'll take on that speed bump. Seems like that's the way to go to me. But, you know, this is going to be a clown show. And you're not going to get the gains that you hoped you get because you've got the wrong people in place. I can tell you that right now. Pam Bondi being one of them. Any lady that says, take the guns first, due process second, has lost my confidence. Got it? Good.

[00:53:31] Now, Donald Trump seems prepared to push the limits of presidential power as far as he can, writes CNN. Now, I'm not a CNN fan, but I do keep an eye on what they do because they really oftentimes have the opposition media nailed down, right? But all I'm telling you is, hey, Trump, don't push the limits of presidential power. Live within your scope.

[00:53:59] Do your very best to be the most constitutional president on the planet in modern times. Set the example for the world. Would you please? Don't push your power limits. Don't seek for power. Seek to pull it down. Don't seek to drive in the middle of your lane cautiously and carefully as you carry out the most sacred duty of the freest country on the face of the earth. Come on. I'm going to appeal to your good side, sir. Let's get her done. And we are here to help.

[00:54:27] You are listening to the one and only Liberty Roundtable Live. LibertyRoundtable.com. Check out my incredible new short videos. Syndicated by the Loving Liberty Radio Network. LovingLiberty.net. Spread the word. Share the love. And God save the republic of the United States of America.