Rubin Report - Dave Rubin - Dave Rubin Talks About the Secular Awakening & Truth in Politics | DIRECT MESSAGE | Rubin Report
Aired: 2015-09-23
Duration: 02:45


=== The Spin Room Chronicles (02:21) ===

[00:00:02]  I want to do something different for our third show.
[00:00:04]  We're going to get away from atheism and religion today, believe it or not, and we're going to focus on another passion of mine, politics.
[00:00:10]  Real quick, though, I should thank all of you that listened to last week's Direct Message and actually took it into action.
[00:00:16]  You guys are calling out the bullshit artists on every social media platform like I've never seen before.
[00:00:21]  As I said last week, when you guys are engaged, we can focus on other things and not just have the same conversation over and over.
[00:00:27]  I've really only been intimately involved in this conversation for a couple weeks.
[00:00:32]  Fighting the lies is not only exhausting, but it has also affected a couple of my friendships.
[00:00:36]  I really do think that part of the plan by these people is to tire out the good guys into giving up.
[00:00:41]  Your part in this debate is beyond crucial.
[00:00:43]  But enough of that, let's talk politics.
[00:00:45]  I was at the GOP debate at the Reagan Library last week.
[00:00:48]  I've never been to one of these things before, and I really had no idea what to expect behind the scenes.
[00:00:52]  We had a booth in the spin room right alongside CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News.
[00:00:57]  The fact that they call it the spin room really tells you all you need to know about this thing.
[00:01:01]  This is where campaign people and candidates go to spin their message.
[00:01:05]  I went to the truth room next door, but nobody was there.
[00:01:07]  Weird, huh?
[00:01:08]  We were able to snag surrogates from pretty much every candidate except for Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump because neither of them sent any reps to the floor.
[00:01:16]  I even got to ask John Kasich a question about gay marriage and Scott Walker a question about money in politics.
[00:01:21]  Come to think of it, maybe that's what caused him to drop out of the race earlier this week.
[00:01:24]  What I realized by being on the inside of all this is that there are some unspoken rules to how the game is played.
[00:01:30]  I talked to Mike Huckabee's campaign manager about gay marriage, and she basically just danced around it.
[00:01:35]  Had I pushed her to the breaking point, I probably would have never gotten access to her again, and then word would have traveled fast that I'm someone that they shouldn't talk to.
[00:01:43]  So with that in mind, I tried my best to navigate all the interviews with some basic questions, and then some deeper probing.
[00:01:49]  I asked pretty much everyone about campaign finance, and I really pushed on social issues.
[00:01:53]  It was a big learning experience, and we'll figure out how to engage with the candidates and the representatives in an even more incisive way beyond the spin and the soundbites.
[00:02:01]  Hopefully, as the show gets bigger, we'll get to more of the debates.
[00:02:04]  Candidates will eventually realize that I'm going to be tough but honest, whether we agree or not.

=== Comedians and Controversy (00:36) ===

[00:02:10]  We're plotting out our plan to go to the first Democratic debate in October right now, so stay tuned for that.
[00:02:14]  So for today's show, we're going to jump back into the political waters.
[00:02:17]  I've got two comics I like and respect, Jimmy Dore and Felicia Michaels.
[00:02:21]  I agree with them on some issues and disagree with them on some others.
[00:02:24]  What I know more than anything else, though, is that comedians have a way of holding themselves to a high standard of truth.
[00:02:29]  Sure, we'll get things wrong, but the good ones have a fearless desire to say controversial things and let the chips fall where they may.
[00:02:36]  As Billy Wilder said, if you're going to tell people the truth, be funny or they will kill you.
[00:02:40]  I guess you could say that comedians are guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, just like the Jedi.