Sekulow

Logan Sekulow: As we head to 2028, AOC tries to moderate as a potential presidential candidate. Keeping you informed and engaged. Now, more than ever. This is Sekulow. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now your host, Logan Sekulow. Welcome to Sekulow. This is Logan Sekulow, Will Hanes in studio. We've got a packed show. Rick Grenell's going to be joining us a little bit later. We've got a couple special video presentations for you because it's Know Your Rights Week. It's also back to school for a lot of people. You know what? You need to know your rights when you're headed back to school. Maybe your kids are there this morning. Maybe you've got to deal with it. You know what? It is what it is. Mid-August. It's not my favorite thing. I'm still one of those people. I don't love talking about going back to school, but here we are. Now, in the same day, Will, you laughing at me? You know, AOC's been making a lot of news this weekend. Why? Because somehow, some way, she is going to position herself. And look, as radical as it has come, I will not be that shocked to see if your moderate candidate for the Democratic Party and I put moderate in big, big, big quotes. But moderate compared to what we're dealing with right now is going to be someone like AOC and members of the squad, who obviously, were the original people who pushed for a lot of what has happened right now. But they are seeing obviously, the massive pushback that is coming even from anyone that is in the middle. It's a small group of people that are still considered those independent voters, but they largely decide the election.
Guest (Male): Well, and once again, as you look at all these candidates that have been able to achieve victory in their primaries for the Democrat Party, whether that be House members in New York that will become colleagues of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or whether the Senate candidate Al Saeid in Michigan last week. The governor race is tomorrow for the primary in Wisconsin. So we'll see if that candidate is Francesca Hong, if she's able to achieve that nomination. All of these candidates have gone further and further left. So much so that AOC took this opportunity to go on ABC this week over the weekend with Jonathan Karl. She sat down, and we'll play some of this sound because it's unbelievable some of the things she's saying even about herself. It's just, you know, a young member of the House of Representatives back in 2018. And all of it seems to point to, as you mentioned, she looks like she is going to run for president in the next cycle in 2028. And what is she going to do? Try to position herself as the moderate.
Logan Sekulow: So that tells you how far left the party has shifted when AOC is trying to almost make herself more palatable to the general public as the moderate candidate. I don't blame her for making this pivot. I also don't blame her for seeing an opportunity. I mean, honestly, do you think the American people are more likely to vote for a Gavin Newsom or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? You know what's going to be shocking, probably, for you to hear me say this, is at least one of them, I feel like, is somewhat authentic maybe to herself. You may not agree with her on any of her issues. She may not be backing off of a lot of them. But I think people actually see this person as a potential future of the party, where you see the old garb in Gavin Newsom, and you see someone who's been slimy the whole time. And I think you'll have a lot of young independent voters who would much rather vote for someone like her than vote for Gavin Newsom. So I don't blame her for starting to look at what 2028 will look like. That is not that far away. We are just weeks away from the midterm elections. Most of us have already had the primaries at this point. We are weeks away from the general election. And as I told you, as soon as that ends, and I'm talking about the next morning, it's already happening, by the way. It's already happening behind the scenes. But the next morning, you will start to really see all the presidential committees start to roll out. It's going to start coming, it's going to come very, very fast with a lot of different people who you are not going to want to really discount. You're going to hear directly from AOC what she said this weekend when we get back from the break. So I think it's important for you to hear that. But again also, we are kicking off Know Your Rights Week. Again, the ACLJ, we're highlighting constitutional rights that are guaranteed to you, not only from our Constitution, but because the ACLJ has won a lot of these lawsuits when they have been challenged. So when you're whether it's your right to preach on the streets, whether it's your right to really just have your freedoms enshrined and also really, the fight that we have each and every day to ensure they don't get taken away from you. We're going to need your support though. Stand up for us right now. Stand up for liberty. Go to ACLJ.org/act. Have your gift doubled during our impact match. But it's Know Your Rights Week. You're going to see some special video presentations put together from our team here. You're not going to want to miss, including a really good one from Will. You're going to want to see that one. That's going to be one you're going to want to share. That's going to come up a little bit later in the broadcast. And we're taking your calls at 1-800-684-3110.
Logan Sekulow: All right, let's break it all down for you. Phone lines are open, as I said, at 1-800-684-3110. We do want to take your calls and comments when we do head into one of these potential 2028 matchups. What's it going to look like if you're a Democrat and you're choosing between some real heavy hitters like AOC or Gavin Newsom, who's going to be your choice? I don't know if that's our audience, Will. I don't know if they're really the voters for these traditional, but I'm curious.
Guest (Male): Well, here's what's interesting to me because I'm watching the chat. I see it in Rumble and YouTube and they are almost laughing at the concept because it is laughable, right, of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez positioning herself as a moderate. But that is how the party has shifted so far left.
Logan Sekulow: Barack Obama would not be allowed in this party. Absolutely not. The original Barack Obama, first time running for president Barack Obama. His positions do not line up with where the Democrat Party, mainline Democrat Party is now. Not that far away from when this happened. You know, under 20 years. This is where things have swung. That is wild. You got to think about that. So when you see Barack Obama out there making appearances and being kind of fun and silly and doing things, you're like, I kind of miss this guy, I kind of like him. You know why you kind of miss him and you kind of like him? Because he wasn't nearly what these other candidates have now positioned the party as. Okay? Just like people feel similar about George W. Bush. They look at him, Democrats look at him now like maybe we judged him unfairly because they are dealing with a Republican party that went much further to the right. So you have now a weird moment in time where President Trump will be gone. There will not be a third term. And who is it that's going to take up that mantle? And I think there is something to be said. Remember, a lot of people's second choice to President Trump was Bernie Sanders. They activated a very similar base. I think that's why you see this sort of change happening right now where, you know, the people that are following your Tuckers and your Marjorie Taylor Greens and all them, because a lot of them came in under Trump, but with a hint of Bernie Sanders. And now they're going, oh, well Trump didn't do what I wanted him to do. Now there's this new group here. And I want you to hear directly also from AOC herself. Will, why don't you set this up?
Guest (Male): That's right. So this is uh one of the walk-back kind of statements. This is where she's talking about really some of the things that she said early in her career as a Congresswoman. She was elected in 2018. Obviously, she was reelected in 2020. But during that entire COVID era, was when she was some of the most outspoken. Let's hear from the Congresswoman what she had to say just this weekend about what that era was like.
AOC: I have a local city councilman that has this saying, "Woke One was crazy."
Guest (Male): Woke One was crazy. Okay, that's interesting.
AOC: And I think that what's important is that we have to assess what-
Guest (Male): Was it? I mean, did the movement go too far with some of those positions? I mean, you, you briefly supported the idea of defunding the police.
AOC: Well, you know, I think, I think that during this time and during especially during COVID, there was a huge opening of the Overton Window. We were shut down. There was some of the highest unemployment rates that we have seen because of those shutdowns. And I think that the the doors were really open and trying to entertain any and every policy that was going to get us to a better place. And I actually think that the discussions that had, that were had in that time were quite fruitful.
Guest (Male): One, I disagree. I don't don't think a lot of the things that you brought up were fruitful during that time. But let's go ahead and put this up on the screen because this is a quote, The Hill had it, from 2020 about defunding the police. That very thing that is so hard for her to, you know, get to now is saying that she said, quote, "Defunding the police means defunding the police." The Congresswoman said in a statement. "It does not mean budget tricks or funny math. It does not mean moving school police officers from the NYPD budget to the Department of Education budget so the exact same police remain in schools." End quote. So back then she was very clear with what that meant. Now it's a little hazy in hindsight. But I also think she's trying to separate herself from some of the socialist policies that she brought up. And we'll play this by bite four ready in a second. But even that she acknowledges, you know, the Overton Window. What is that? That's the the concept that the Overton Window is the realm of possible within politics. That's what they refer to as.
Logan Sekulow: How far people are willing to go?
Guest (Male): How far they're willing to go. And when there is a limit on on either side, right and left, of what then if it's outside of that window, it's crazy to you. When you say you broaden the Overton Window, that's when, oh, you you say even crazier policies so that less policies, policies that years ago you would think were unheard of or or just a non-starter then become in the realm of possibility. So she's even admitting, yeah, we threw everything we could out there during 2020 to open the Overton Window, not just expand it, but just kind of a hard reset. And that's what many of the people called it. They called it the great reset, remember? She's admitting to this. That's not a positive thing. That's not grounded in the principles of America. That is saying we are going to say every single thing we can. And she's even saying woke one was crazy. We agree. We are on the same page here. But woke two, I don't think is any better because now what are they doing? They're trying to get all the possibilities that landed within their expanding of the Overton Window pushed through. But also, here's where she's trying to be cautious and kind of make these interesting statements. One, woke one was crazy. This one is about whether or not she's a member of the DSA. She was kind of the one that made the DSA a known entity with her election to Congress. Here's how she describes it now, bite four.
Guest (Male): Are you still a member of Democratic Socialists of America?
AOC: Of the New York City chapter.
Guest (Male): The New York City chapter, not the national.
AOC: No.
Guest (Male): And and what what's the difference?
AOC: So every DSA chapter is is formed locally. And so the New York City DSA chapter, those are folks that you know, it's my, it's kind of like your local union chapter. Um, and yeah.
Guest (Male): So right there, trying to draw a distinction between a local chapter of the party and the national party is not a distinction.
Logan Sekulow: It's like if this was the GOP or whatever it may be.
Guest (Male): You're a part of the local party. If you're Williamson County GOP, you're still a part of the Republican party. They have the same, there's no daylight between the policies and the ideas.
Logan Sekulow: You'd have to make the New York chapter maybe even hardcore of the DSA. I don't know anyone personally there, but just for name only. Like if I decided I was going to join the the Connecticut Republican Party or the Tennessee Republican Party, I understand that the Tennessee may be a little bit deeper red.
Guest (Male): But even that, she's trying to soften what it means to be a member of it. She says it's like being in a union. What so many people that are are populist that came into the the Republican party over the last ten years because of that populism, that blue collar worker that abandoned the the Democrat Party. Now she's trying to make it seem like, no, it's just like a union. I'm like you. All of this is very calculated. And I know it's not going to work on the listeners of this broadcast. But it will work on a lot of people.
Logan Sekulow: And that is exactly what you're seeing. Let's not pretend. I think this is where we get really caught up in our own talking points. She is very popular within her own party. So if you're talking about someone who is a rising star, she's not even a rising star at this point. She's a main stay. So that's why she's looking at running for president, because she's probably done what she could do outside of running for president at this point. So what's the next step? Leader of the free world. That wouldn't be on the table if there weren't a lot of people behind her also saying we think that you have the most, you know, the the push right now to really take off. Now, you don't want that to happen too early. We know what happens when that when that goes wrong. You can't really do that two years out unless you're President Trump. He's the rarity. Other than that, President Trump polled horribly at the very beginning. It took time, I'm talking about the second time around. But then you have AOC, I think you need to slow roll that. Really prime people and I do think she has a very good opportunity. I haven't seen a lot of other leading Democrats right now who I think have probably the most charismatic personalities and can really connect with younger people. Let's put our politics to the side. You got to look at what's real and what's in front of you. Who is the most likely candidate? I'd put her up there pretty high. I would much more likely see people vote for her than a Gavin Newsom. At least there's some sort of, you know, like I said, some sort of legitimacy behind the eyes there when you hear her. And I feel like with Gavin Newsom, he comes off like a Batman villain. You know, I don't know him, maybe a great guy. But he comes off not great on camera. But he seems to think everyone loves him. Now, you look at the Vince turnout. Somehow in Nashville, Tennessee, he brought out a pretty good group of people. You look at Memphis, AOC brought a pretty good group of people out. These are people that are drawing crowds. So again, we got to we got to call it how we see it. And again, I'm not saying you got to agree with her. I'm saying you most likely have no semblance of agreeing with anything they have to say. It doesn't mean you need to look at it as a joke. I see people like I said, I want a joke. Well, it won't be in a year from now. When you're looking at one of them taking states and starting to become a right. Remember, the gap is still pretty small. President Trump won by what would we considered a landslide and that landslide was a couple percentage points. It was taking all the swing states by a couple percentage points. When you don't have him on the ticket, it will be a very different story. And you see a Republican party that's splintering right now. So if you have a Republican party that's splintering and a Democrat party that's now going to move towards the acceptance of the Democratic Socialists and you have what we considered a moderate Democratic Socialist, which is AOC, that's a real potential. When we get back, what's important right now when you hear all these kind of things is to know where you stand, to know what your rights are. In this Know Your Rights Week, we want to make sure you understand the importance of not only the work we do here, but what you can and can't do. So when you get confronted with any issues, whether it's in your school, whether that's on the street corner, whatever it may be, online, that our team has got you, has got your back. So right now I'm going to ask you to donate ACLJ.org/act and give your gift, your gift will be doubled. It's Monday, Will. Got a little ring rust. We'll be right back.
Logan Sekulow: Welcome back to Sekulow. Phone lines are open. Actually, a lot of them are open. Why don't you give me a call? Don't you want to talk about AOC? I wonder why. 1-800-684-3110.
Guest (Male): Well, and to that point, someone on YouTube said, who's watches, very very supportive of the broadcast says, a whole show on AOC is a waste, move on. I disagree. I disagree because she is positioning herself to be the next president. I think you got to watch out for this. So if you disagree though, give us a call. 1-800-684-3110.
Logan Sekulow: Also, don't worry, we got other topics to cover. It's Know Your Rights Week, everybody. And this special video that our team is about to put out. Can we find out when this is video is dropping independently also outside of the broadcast? And because I want to make sure everyone who sees this is able to share it. We've tried to create some new content here that's shareable, it's easy for you to share with your friends, it's not super divisive, but it's much more entertaining and I hope you like it. You know, it's something that Will hosts. But again, we wanted to make sure that you have something that you can take. It's not just our standard ACLJ, very traditional videos. This is something that will hopefully hook you and also hook your friends to help them understand the work that we do here in a very different way. Now again, this is a bit different. This goes a little bit against the grain from what our typical content is, but I hope you really enjoy it and I hope it's something you're inspired to share. When we get back from the video, I will tell you how you can share this video directly and what the plan is, our plan is coming out. But again, if you feel so inspired, it is Know Your Rights Week, and I would love for you to support the work of the ACLJ, because during this week and of course, throughout the month, during our Impact Match, all donations are doubled. The ACLJ, we are fighting to ensure your freedoms stay locked in. Your constitutional rights continue to be your constitutional rights. And we need your support. I need you to go to ACLJ.org/act and have your gift doubled. Here's a very fun special video presentation from our team and from Will Hanes.
Guest (Male): [Sips coffee] Oh, that's the question? For those of you standing on a sidewalk with a Bible and a dream, question for you. Could you actually get arrested, cuffed, booked, mugshot and everything just for sharing your faith on a public street? Sounds like a trick question, right? Well, people ask it all the time. And lucky for you, you have the ACLJ. Here's the deal: Public streets, sidewalks, parks in this country, those are what the law calls traditional public forums, which is a fancy way of saying, it's yours. It's everybody's. You can stand there and talk. That's not a loophole, that's the First Amendment, plain as day. Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. No fine print, no asterisks. That's it. Now, Chicago. They didn't get the memo. The city starts arresting street preachers for sharing the gospel on a public sidewalk. That's a constitutional problem. So our lawyers at the ACLJ stepped in. They defend these guys, they win, and then, because once wasn't enough, files a full-on civil suit against the city so it doesn't happen to the next guy either. That's not just winning the case. That's making sure the case never gets filed again. So here's the question. Can I preach in a town I don't even live in? Yes, absolutely, yes. Nobody's checking your ID against your address. Public sidewalk in Cleveland, public sidewalk in your hometown, same rules. Same rights every time. Now let's talk about merchandise. I mean, literature. Handing out gospel tracts. Passing out pamphlets. Some people hear handing things to strangers on the street and think, sounds like a hustle. It's not. And the Supreme Court agrees with us on this one. Here's the actual quote. Quote. "One need not ponder the contents of a leaflet or pamphlet in order mechanically to take it out of someone's hand. But one must listen, comprehend, and" Translation: Handing someone a piece of paper isn't the same as asking them for money. Nobody has to read it. Nobody has to take it. They can toss it in the nearest trash can. No harm, no foul. And it's still 100% protected speech. You're not running a con. You're not running a con. You're running your mouth. Legally. Where can you do this? Sidewalks, streets, parks, obviously. Airports, bus stations, subway platforms. Courts have said yes to those too. Though, I will be straight with you, local rules can still get in your business there. Don't just wing it and hope nobody stops you. Now here's where it gets interesting. Some cities still don't like this. They'll tell you the street is a non-public forum. Like they just made up a legal category on the spot. That's exactly what happened in Frisby v. Schultz. Some local bureaucrats tried to argue their residential streets shouldn't count. The Supreme Court shut that down fast. Quote: "A public street does not lose its status as a traditional public forum simply because it runs through a residential neighborhood. All public streets are held in the public trust." Case closed. Nice try, though. Now, the court did say cities can put in place reasonable, content-neutral, time, place and manner rules. Meaning, they can't single you out for saying Jesus's name, but they can have general rules that apply to everybody equally. So, do your homework, check the local ordinances before you show up, and a little prep here goes a long way. One more thing. Because I don't want you getting the wrong idea. This is all about public property. Step onto private property, the owner's the boss now. Some states give you a little extra room and sometimes an owner will straight up invite you in because they're on your side, but don't assume it, ask. Bottom line: You've got the rights. It's constitutionally protected, it's been to the Supreme Court and back, and the ACLJ has the receipts. But rights don't defend themselves. Know the law before you hit the street. And if some official tries to shut you down in any way, don't panic. Don't argue with the cop. Don't try to play attorney. Just go to ACLJ.org/help. Because when your constitutional rights are on the line, the ACLJ is there for you. Learn more at ACLJ.org/rights.
Logan Sekulow: All right, hope you enjoyed that special video. Will, how do you feel?
Guest (Male): Feels pretty good.
Logan Sekulow: Yeah, it's going to be out this afternoon on all our social media platforms and available to share directly, just as its own independent video that you can then share with your friends. Again, I think it's important. Let me know what you think in the comments. Do you like this kind of content? Do we need to share this kind of keep creating a lot of this? There's going to be a couple more that roll out this week, whether you like it or not. But, uh, you all did a really good job because, look, I think it's important we got to reach people in very different ways. And they have to understand, sometimes you got to hook them with a little bit more of an entertainment value than some of our straight-laced news coverage here, Will.
Guest (Male): Well, and once again, the entire point of a lot of the practice here at the ACLJ is to protect people's rights. And so much of that we have won over the years that you can equip individuals to know their rights, that they can go forward with this without having to every single time call the ACLJ. But if you do have a question, reach out, ACLJ.org/help. But hopefully these will reach a new audience. People that don't necessarily know about the ACLJ yet. And that's why I'm so happy that our video team created these and and really spearheaded this initiative to try and see if we can get more people into the fold this way.
Logan Sekulow: Yeah, that being said, we only got a minute left here in this first half hour. Again, that'll be available this afternoon for you to share on all platforms. Keep an eye out for that. And again, we have our second half hour coming up. Rick Grenell's joining us. We got a few lines open for you right now. I want you to call in if you don't mind. 1-800-684-3110. It's Know Your Rights Week, as you saw from that video. And that doesn't happen. Look, good videos. We got to have the best of the best to be able to produce content like that. Okay? To help with that, you got to donate. You got to be part of the team. Scan that QR code you see on the screen today. It's an impact match. Be curious what that "I" is. It's a match. I thought it was a candle. I was told it was a match. Take a look at it. Look closer. Look closer, then look to look a little over to the right. Scan that QR code. Make a donation today if you can. Double your impact today. Go to ACLJ.org and have your gift doubled. It's tax deductible. Help support not only the work of the ACLJ, the legal work, all that stuff, but of course this incredible media operation that doesn't happen without you. So again, go to ACLJ.org. We'll be back second half hour coming up in less than a minute.