Matt

It is true that the closest thing to everlasting life is a government program because once they are baked in, they are infrequently reviewed for their efficacy and for their results. And I am grateful that that happened, but I think that has to be a guiding light for what we demand of public servants going forward, not a solution unto itself.

Yeah, I didn't even talk too good about those folks when I had to go to work with them every day. So I'll tell you exactly. Come on, Matt. Let them have it. I'll be straight, very straight with you. Congress is either afraid or corrupt in most circumstances. And the fear derives from the sense of any criticism being dispositive.

Yeah, I didn't even talk too good about those folks when I had to go to work with them every day. So I'll tell you exactly. Come on, Matt. Let them have it. I'll be straight, very straight with you. Congress is either afraid or corrupt in most circumstances. And the fear derives from the sense of any criticism being dispositive.

I had a lot of colleagues in Congress whose goal was just to not be mentioned. Because they see the stats, over 90% of people in Congress get reelected. And so if you're not getting mentioned frequently, you're not going to be one of the outliers that is at risk of losing the power that you've worked to accumulate.

I had a lot of colleagues in Congress whose goal was just to not be mentioned. Because they see the stats, over 90% of people in Congress get reelected. And so if you're not getting mentioned frequently, you're not going to be one of the outliers that is at risk of losing the power that you've worked to accumulate.

And that really, really drives people to be adverse to anything that requires them to take a side. That's why you see so many bills that you think, gosh, did we really need to rename 13 post offices this week while President Trump is seeking critical trade authority or national security authorities? And then the other part is the corruption issue.

And that really, really drives people to be adverse to anything that requires them to take a side. That's why you see so many bills that you think, gosh, did we really need to rename 13 post offices this week while President Trump is seeking critical trade authority or national security authorities? And then the other part is the corruption issue.

When I was in Congress, I was the only Republican congressman who refused all lobbyist and PAC donations. And...

When I was in Congress, I was the only Republican congressman who refused all lobbyist and PAC donations. And...

Even people I like, even people I would knock on doors for and donate to would have the audacity to stand before their constituents and say that the hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions of dollars that they were getting from professional power brokers was not tied to some expectation of their behavior on the other end.

Even people I like, even people I would knock on doors for and donate to would have the audacity to stand before their constituents and say that the hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions of dollars that they were getting from professional power brokers was not tied to some expectation of their behavior on the other end.

And we all know that instinctively, but we forgive people who do it because we say, well, they just have to. You've got to fund your campaigns somehow. And I came to the realization that if that's the way I had to fund my campaigns, I did not want this job anymore. I did not want elections to just be about who got to be valets for the same special interests.

And we all know that instinctively, but we forgive people who do it because we say, well, they just have to. You've got to fund your campaigns somehow. And I came to the realization that if that's the way I had to fund my campaigns, I did not want this job anymore. I did not want elections to just be about who got to be valets for the same special interests.

in big pharma or big business or who wanted open borders or trade agreements that hollowed out the middle class while building up the middle kingdom. And so the fear and corruption paralyzes the place. And then there is a muscle memory to just fund everything all at once. And this would be one disagreement I have with the Trump strategy. And President

in big pharma or big business or who wanted open borders or trade agreements that hollowed out the middle class while building up the middle kingdom. And so the fear and corruption paralyzes the place. And then there is a muscle memory to just fund everything all at once. And this would be one disagreement I have with the Trump strategy. And President

Trump's a far better strategist, so he's probably right and I'm probably wrong, but I think that we should have single subject bills that only deal with one thing at a time. And I believe that because when you do it the other way, there is no way to scrutinize what is working and what is not working, what is harmful and what is helpful.

Trump's a far better strategist, so he's probably right and I'm probably wrong, but I think that we should have single subject bills that only deal with one thing at a time. And I believe that because when you do it the other way, there is no way to scrutinize what is working and what is not working, what is harmful and what is helpful.

And when we tried to put up reasonable reductions in obviously wasteful programs, there would be a block of Republican votes against us to merely maintain the structure that did not allow that type of review because they may be subject to that review eliminating some of their programs.

And when we tried to put up reasonable reductions in obviously wasteful programs, there would be a block of Republican votes against us to merely maintain the structure that did not allow that type of review because they may be subject to that review eliminating some of their programs.

We had a Republican who sat down in the budget negotiations and said, I'll be for any cut so long as it's the cross the board to everything and not reviewing individual things. And I said, why? He said, well, because mine wouldn't survive that review. And that was like an acceptable answer. And so here's a tangible vote that I was aggrieved by.