Ben Wikler

speaker

485 appearances 1 recordings 1 series first heard Jul 2026 last heard 23 Jul

Ben Wikler’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 1 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 1.

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On with Kara Swisher · Ben Wikler Has a Plan to Save Democracy · 23 Jul 2026 podcast

We got a few really important bills.

But so much of the agenda that Obama ran on died in the Senate after passing the House.

And then we've seen the same thing with President Biden.

Some major, really important legislation, a ton that died in the Senate, including protections for voting rights and democracy itself, but also things on health care, on child care and all these affordability issues that people are right now panicked about that Democrats lost over.

It is true that if both parties have the chance to pass laws, then a party you don't like might pass laws that you don't like.

That is absolutely the case.

But you have to ask yourself, do you want to live in a democracy that's in a straitjacket?

And you also have to ask, why haven't Republicans gotten rid of the filibuster?

Is it because they're so concerned about the genteel norms of the Senate?

Or is it because their actual top priorities, tax cuts for rich people and confirming judges,

Those can be passed with 50 votes.

They're not subject to the filibuster.

And when you start thinking that way, you realize that all of Project 2025 was about taking action through the executive branch and then ensuring that the US Supreme Court wouldn't strike down those actions.

So we have a system right now that is tailor-made for people who basically want a king as president, who want Congress to be on its knees doing whatever the executive wants, and want a Supreme Court that will rubber stamp anything that benefits the wealthiest and most powerful people in the country.

All the other laws that could change those things, those are blocked by the filibuster.

And that creates a ratchet effect where things keep lurching towards the Elon Musk of the world and away from the general public.

It's the plug that if you pull that out and suddenly the water can flow.

And it means we'll have more democracy and it means Republicans will be accountable for their policies if they actually pass them.

This is maybe a scary bet to take.

I don't think Republicans have 50 votes in the Senate for the SAVE Act.

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