Peter Schweizer and Eric Eggers fill in for Sean Hannity and sit down with Congressman Jason Chaffetz' to discuss the power and impact of labor unions.
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This is Peter Schweitzer and Derek Eggers. We're with a Government Accountability Institute and we have a podcast called The Drilldown and you can find it at the drilldown dot com. Sean has asked us to fill in and we are thrilled to be here in New York City doing so. We'll see if it happens again, but so far where I honored to be here. It's so great to have Sean and his team offer us the platform to talk about the things that we do at the Government Accountability Institute that we regularly discuss on our weekly podcast, The Drilldown. And one of the people that we have on our podcast at the drilldown dot com is Gai fellow Jason Chaffitz. Yeah, and he's one of my favorite people in Washington. I knew about Jason. Before I knew Jason. Jason was the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, which does investigation of the kinds of things we're interested in. And the thing that was great about Jason and is still great about Jason is he goes after both sides. He doesn't care if you have an R or a D after your name. If you're engaging in corrupt behavior. He is going to call you out. And so when we launched this project at the Government Accountability Institute to begin exposing the corruption and the coronism at America's labor unions, Jason was a natural person to get involved. And that is a project that we've just launched and Jason is one of the people taken a lead on it, and we have Jason with us here. Jason, thanks so much for joining us. Hey, thanks for having me. Appreciate it. So, teachers unions, a lot of people think of teachers unions they focus on, you know, getting a better pension or getting better benefits for teachers. That's not what America's teachers unions are about today anymore, are they really? That's not their major focus of their actions, of their activities. Unfortunately, you would hope it would be all about the kids and you know, those PTA meetings and what can we do to help the kids. And you can understand why the union wants to, you know, fight for for certain benefits for teachers and what, but that's not what's going on today. I Mean. One of the things that you know, he found through GAI that is really quite noticeable is, for instance, the American American Federation of Teachers that the increase in political participation. They raised something like three point seven million dollars in two thousand and eight, but then it was up to twenty million dollars in the twenty twenty election cycle. And but so much of it was about social activism, political lobbying, immigration, racial justice, things that weren't necessarily all about the kids. And I think what you're speaking to, Jason, it's such an important point is you know, one of our common phrases at the Government Accountability Institute is follow the money right. Now, we didn't come up with that, that's Woodward and Bernstein, but I think that the motto and the methode still holds. And so I think the point is if you follow the money right, what do you see? You see the fact that the money that teachers unions now have does what it's going towards radical political activism. So the people that are in charge of the classroom environments that Americans children sit in are now actively working to support liberal political activities. Yeah, I mean, and that's what's that's what's changed, and it changed with some of the leadership that came into place. Randy Weinart, who who leads up and heads up the American Federation of Teachers. But it also happened over at the National Education Association. There was this great find that one of the researchers there at GAA found it admitted to ED Week, which I know every good American subscribed to ED Week, but admitted that the core business of the na the National Education Association, it's no longer pensions and healthcare insurance, but actually social active and political lobby I mean, so they're actually staying out loud. You follow the money, as Eric mentioned, and it's changing the landscape, and it's creating animosity, and it's creating political division, and it's not necessarily in the best interest of the kid. So, Jason, one of the interests and things for me and all of this is I had great teachers. I went to public schools. I'm sure you had great teachers. Eric did as well. I certainly didn't have teachers that were radical like this. And I'm going to go out on a limb and say, I think the vast majority of public school teachers out there aren't as radical as the leadership of the American Federation Teacher in the NAA so in a way, there's a potentially a real opportunity here to make sure that there is a division between the leadership and the general teacher population, and that maybe is a way to start trying to reform some of these unions from what end? Do you think I'm being too optimistic there? No. I think one of the things we're going to be able to expose with the work at GAI is to be able to show this, my guest is a major portion I don't know if it's the majority, but a major portion of those that are actually contributing a few dollars a month to the cause to be part of this union are going to be shocked to see where their money actually ends up going. And if we can do nothing else but shine the light on where this money is going and what they're actually advocating for. I think certainly the students, the parents, and some of the administrators, but the teachers I think are going to be pretty shocked on where this money is actually flowing. We're talking to a distinguished fellow, Jason Chaffetz of the Government Accountability Institute, as a former member of Congress, and somebody who I think I don't I've never met anybody takes more personally the expense of any tax dollar than Jason Chaffetz, Right. I mean, you'll have to get Jason fired up. You talk about a nickel going to the wrong place. Yeah. And so I think it's so interesting why Jason's so perfect to talk about the new report that we have at the Government Accountability Institue that will be coming online next year or the first part of next year, is we're talking about the hard earned dollars of America's teachers. Now, think about everything that America's teachers have had to endure over the last twenty months as COVID happened. They had to radically reinvent the way in which education was delivered in a way that was deemed safe but also effective. They'd think about cleaning their classroom, They'd think about teaching and mass and teaching online, teaching hybrid. I mean, the job satisfaction of the teachers that I know has never been at all time low. So think about what I think this is why this is so important, is that we should be supported and cheering. The people are still willing to go into the classroom and support America's youth. And so when we expose is this report will do that the money that the teachers actually give to their unions because they think they're supporting things like, hey, better pay, better pensions, better health insurance, were safer classroom environments. The reality is that the money that they're spending is going to a leadership that instead doesn't advocate for things that are actually about the classroom, but about political activism. What are some other examples that we've seen, Jason, Well, particularly with elections, you see a lot of advocacy for some very specific things, and a lot of the gay rights issues, and they call it the human rights and other things, but it really has taken over a major portion of what they're doing is advocacy for some gay rights issues that maybe I think parents and students and the teachers would be a little bit surprised on. Yeah, we can't talk a lot about it today because it's an ongoing investigation we're doing of the American Federation of Teachers. But one of the things is interesting is how Randy Weingarten, the head of the AFT, has thrown around money. You pointed out certainly that they're pouring a lot more of their money into or teachers money into elections. We also know that they wasted a million dollars in teacher pension money on counterfeit code supplies from China. And there's going to be some very interesting reports on deals in agreements that Randy Weingarten has signed with cronies and that even benefit family members in the city or state of New York. So the point is this is not just about liberal politics. It's also about corruption and how they are actually handling the money that these teachers have entrusted them with. Jason. Yeah, again, there are certain requirements and things that they do in terms of what they publicly disclosed, but the amount of money that's flowing and then going into elections, it's pretty shocking. Yeah. So one of the other themes that we are developing in this report that I find fascinating is sort of the alliance between the teachers unions and the Biden administration. That's not a surprise, but the Biden administration is actually using tax year dollars to expand this alternative schooling model that they call community schools. And what community schools really do is they say, hey, we're educating your kids, but we want to handle more of their healthcare, more of their nutrition, more of their psychological counseling. We want to have this holistic approach because, after all, these schools are doing such a great job educating our children to begin with, and under the Abiden administration, we're actually seeing a fourteenfold increase from thirty million dollars to over four hundred million dollars a year on this scheme. And of course they're hiring a lot of contractors and consultants that tend to be low and behold connected to some of these union leaders. Well, it's not just a lot of these unions, but so much of this type back into China again. I mean, it's the theme that just keeps on coming. I mean, Peter, you have certainly been a leader in exposing so many of these ties and associations and interesting bed follows, if you will, with what's going on in China. Yeah, that's exactly right, and there's going to be more coming out on that in January. UM, can't say anymore about that, but yeah, we're absolutely on the China narrative. So, Jason, how are things you're in Utah? How are things in Utah? I mean, you're you're open compared to a lot of other parts around the country. Are people dying in the streets in Utah, you know, are people rebelling because they don't think the government is responding, or are people in Utah actually taking responsibility for their own health in the midst of this pandemic. Well, I think there's there's. Utah is a very interesting you said, it's a big libertarian streak, and I think most people here they understand the severity. They understand it's a serious situation. Um, a good portion have been vaccinated, but a good portion have said no, I'm not going to do that. But the idea of person responsibility and taking on their own responsibility for their healthcare, I just I don't think there's I think a majority of people here think that government forcing somebody to inject themselves is just a bridge too far. That is just he certainly shouldn't lose your job over it. You shouldn't be you know, like they're doing in New York. You can't go in to eat and get food and you eat at a restaurant. I think you'd find that a good portion of the Inner mount in the West is much more like Texas and Florida than it is like New York or California. Well, one of the things we want to talk about, Jason and when it comes to the government forcing people to do things, and we'll come back and keeps continuing to talk to former members of Congress Jason Chaffitz. Is the effort that was made to make Joe Mansion support this Build Back Better bill and his showing a unique characteristic, a little bit of an independent streak, a willingness to stand up and push back against political expediency because of what he actually thought was in the nation's best interest. Imagine that he didn't go for the financial incentives, he didn't go for the political pressure. We'll talk to Jason Chaffitz about Joe Manchin's vote and what it means moving forward. On the other side of the Sean Handy Show, Peter Schweitzer, Eric Eggers will be our background. Sean Hannity, always concerned for our country, always honoring our servicemen and servicewomen, and standing up for liberty every day. Sean Hannity, Hello America, This is Peter Schweitzer and Derek Eggers. We're with a government Accountability Institute and we are talking with distinguished Gai fellow and former member of Congress. Jason Chaffits. Jason, we talked earlier in the show about the enormous pressure that must have been brought to bear to Joe Mansion, and really, honestly, in a profile encourage he resisted. It tell us a little bit what it's like to be on the inside. What pressures, what attempts to curry favor with you, induce you to do things you didn't want to do. Did you experience when you were in Congress, Well, they put a lot of pressure on you in terms of the party and leadership, and are you going to get your own bills brought to the floor, are you going to get certain priorities and recognition, and will you be able to do the care work that you're supposed to be doing for your own constituents. But Senator Mansion and Christen Cinema and some others, I think we're very clear. I think the Democrats way overstepped because they think they acted as if they had a mandate in an overwhelming majority, and they didn't. And now they seem now they seem to have burned that bridge with Joe Manchin, right, I mean they're attacking him personally, making up all these allegations about him. Are they going to be able to repair that breach? Probably not. And I think the things that are being said, I think he's just beyond belief in terms of the viciousness and just the flat out incorrect informations. You know, they turned on him in such and saying that he went back on his word. I think Joe Manchin was actually pretty clear that he was very concerned about a whole host of things. Keep in mind, this is a bill in the Senate that had the text had never been published, right, the scoring was totally different than how they said. I don't care how many times as President Joe Biden says it causes zero, it's not going to add a dime to the deficit. But when the CBO comes out says twelve five trillion, it doesn't seem like that's it's accurate. And there were so many bird Bath problems, you know, Senator bird you know, trying to do things on reconciliation that you can't do. At the end of the day, it was bad for West Virginia, it's bad for the country. And Joe Manson recognized that and seam on the White House and Joe Biden for trying to push something through that was so radical, so far to the left, that it just was not palatable. The majority of the United States Senate said, no, that's the reality. Well, so we are talking with distinguished JI fellow. Jason Chaffett's a man of consistency and principle, as Joe Mansion appears to be. Now, this is Peter Schweitzer and Eric Eggers. We are filling in for Sean Hannity and we will be back right after this continuing the mission of saving America. As we returned to the Sean Hannity Show. This is Peter Schweitzer and Eric Eggers. We're with a Government Accountability Institute and Mary Christmas America. We are filling in for Sean and we're glad to be doing so. We appreciate this opportunity. You can find our podcast at the Drilldown dot com. It comes out every Thursday. We expose cronyism and corruption relentlessly in Washington, DC, and you can find that podcast anywhere where quality podcasts can be found. Only were the quality ones are those bootleg versions up. It's like those persons you see in New York City on the sidewalk. Now, these are the real genuine article. You're not picking up purses in New York? Are you not? Ones that are made in China. Well, let's take some calls. Let's talk to Craig in Pennsylvania, who wants to talk about we were discussing earlier the Japanese and tournament camps. He wants to talk a little bit about how this affected Germans and Italian Americans as well. Craig, how are you real fine, nice speaking gentlemen. Thanks for joining us Mary Christmas. Yeah, my family came to the States in thirty eight as our first generation American. My parents were children when they came here, and by nineteen forty one, is that they got to knock on the door from the FBI, and even though they were American citizens at that time they had full citizenship. Is that the FBI basically put it to them and said, you guys are coming with us down to Texas where we're keeping a bunch of people we want to keep our eyes on for the duration of the war. So my grandfather, my great uncle, and my oldest uncle cut a deal that basically put them in the Pacific Theater for the duration of the war, where they fought an island hocking campaign with the Marine Corps strictly because they were German, and then that's what this country's government can do to you. They put them in a position where they said, you guys are going no matter what, we have to keep an eye on you. And my grandmother just about lost or mind when they said, if the whole family goes, nobody's could be able to pay the taxes on the land and they're going to lose their house and farm and every saying, so if people don't think that this government can do things to you, they can and it's just as easy as a stroke of a pen. Well, thank you, Craig. We appreciate that explanation of the part of history that we didn't cover. And you're absolutely right. Remember what Jefferson said, the extent that government can do something for you, it can do something to you. But I just want to point out that I think one of the parallels there is that Craig's family was perceived to be hostile, right or dangerous because they fell into a category that was perceived to be not obedient or not in line with what the government's mission or agenda was at that time. And you know, You've heard some people draw comparisons between the unvaccinated and people consider to be hostile. But I think that's what's so dangerous about this duality, right there's like you're either in or you're not. And this inversion of the social contract where we are now being told to see other human beings, other Americans, Like I think we're meant to live in community with each other and help each other. And why I have such a hard time with it is that we're now told to see that you could be a threat, like you could physically impact my well being and I should be afraid of you. And I just think that that's so backwards and dangerous and unhealthy, Like that's unhealthier than me breathing your air. Yeah, it makes us suspicious of each other at a time when we already have political divisions and other divisions. It's just pouring more fuel on that fire. Let's go to Joe in New Jersey, who wants to talk about Jen Saki. Joe, how are you? Yes, Hello, gentlemen, Thank you very much for taking my call. Thanks for joining us. Go ahead. I just can't get over Jen Saki. How does she square up the fact that illegal immigrants can cross the border and not get tested. And she defends that by saying, well, they're not going to be here that long. But yet, if I want to go to London or London wants to come here, you know, for a week, we have to go through all kinds of COVID testing. You have to have up to the minute testing, up to the second testing. But that's okay, Yeah, it's going to be there for a week. It's a great it's a great, great question, Joe. And I think Jen Saki probably has the worst job in Washington, which he has to go up there and basically a lie or try to explain her way out of things. And I think this is one of the challenges that people have, Like I don't think people want to actively not contribute towards a positive outcome. Right, So this idea that unvaccinated Americans or Americans that don't want to wear their mask, that they're somehow selfish and disobedient and they don't care about the well being of other people. I don't know if it's that as so much is that some people, you know, we can be intellectually honest, right, I think what you're speaking to is a lack of intellectual consistency, lack of intellectual honesty. It's no different than when you go to a restaurant and one of these cities with mask mandates, like in New York City. Right, you see everybody sitting shoulder to shoulder at a table or shoulder to shoulder to bar, but when you get up to use the restroom, you have to put your mask on, and no one questions that. And that's just no. This is how it is. Right, right, makes absolutely no sense. And of course that's the point that Brandon Judd was talking about earlier. Right, this this issue of immigration. The reason Jensaki doesn't know much about the boarder. She knows a lot about the border, but she can't say it because of the political agenda of this administration. Joe, thanks so much for your call. Let's go to Michael and Georgia. Michael, you say you're going to lose your job because of the vaccine mandate. Yes, sir, without getting in too much detail, I work for a government contractor, for a fence contractor on a military installation, and when the mandate came out for federal workers, we were giving the option to fill out religious exemption paperwork. We filled that out, it was rejected. As far as I know, everyone that filled one out was rejected. I filed a EOC complaint, good for you, citing religious discrimination. Ye. The next step in that process is a phone interview, and the EOC is not conducting full interviews until the day after I lose my job. Oh, Michael, Michael, it's terrible. I applaud you because you are helping to protect our country as a contractor, and you are actually being put under a greater constraint than somebody from Saudi Arabia or Romania who's sneaking across the border in Mexico. You actually have more You actually have less rights and more restrictionsh on you than they do. And you wonder what will happen if this vaccine mandate ends up being blocked by a court, which has happened elsewhere, or in some cases, based on legal pushback, some of these local municipalities actually then resinned. Okay, fine, We're sorry that we cost these people their jobs. We no longer are doing that as some counties in Florida are doing because of the way they've structured the law in Florida. But what good does that do to people like Michael who didn't lose their job even after the fact that the policies that cause them to lose their job has been revoked. Yeah, that's exactly right. So Michael, what are you gonna do? What are you going to do if the government says you can lose your job unless you get vaccinated? What are you going to do? Not sure of? I got four kids. No, God bless you, Michael. Well, we will be praying for you. I appreciate your principled stand I know there are a lot of organizations out there helping with lawsuits. I hope you seek those out. Some of those people have been on Sean's show. I hope you seek them out. You're not alone in this, brother, there are other people that also believe in individual freedom. So so please don't lose faith, and please keep us updated quick saying everybody that I've talked to legal counselis has told me the next thing to do is file in the EOC complaint. Yeah, yep, and that's what you've done. That's where I'm stuck. Yeah. Yeah. Well, God bless you, Michael. We will be praying for you, and we hope things turn out for the best. Let's go to Bruce in California, and Bruce wants to talk to us about teachers and elites. Bruce, how are you hey? Thanks for taking my call, and Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to you. I gotta tell you, man, I am sick of hearing about the teachers of what they have gone through this past year and a half. Because they haven't gone through anything, because they haven't done anything. All they're doing is lining their pocketbooks and their bank accounts because of their teachers union holding out. And the only people that are suffering are the children and the parents of those children because those parents are forced to stay home, so they're losing jobs, not because of COVID, but because of this administration who's putting these mandates on everything. And the teachers are just standing in line to wait for more money. And my grandchildren have to wear a mask. Four years old, she's in preschool and she's wearing a mask all day. That pisses me off. I'm telling you, I'm sure it does. Now. Bruce, you're in California, correct, correct? So did your children get to go to school? Your grandchildren get to go to school last year? Or is this the first year that may have to return to a brick and mortar facility. Yeah, the ladder of what you just said. Yeah, And I think that's well, I think I have a grand go ahead. Well, I'm just gonna say I think that speaks to anything that helps inform your perspective, because I would say in Florida, where school is because of the order of government to scientists were forced to be open last calendar year. So I think that's where the teachers did have to go back in place. And to be honest, a lot of the teachers that we spoke to, I have four children also who are in elementary school and preschool. Their teachers wanted to be back in the classroom because they actually enjoy teaching. But I do think some of the dynamics you're speaking to there was definitely a lot of political pressure and a lot of the union memberships that wait a minute, can we get paid to not be there? And I think so. I think what you're speaking to is as a dynamic unique to California and some of these other states where the lockdowns lasted a lot longer than other states. Well, since I'm in California, it is my world, so as far as I'm concerned. That's what's happening, is the teachers union and the teachers that are just lining up to line their bank accounts. You know, New York, Florida, Texas may be different, but I'm just concerned about where I live. You know, not the rest of the country, but me and mine. Yeah. Absolutely. Now it's incredibly, incredibly troubling, and I can't and there's some millions of parents like you that I think feel the same way and feel the same frustration and sacrifice. So we appreciate you sharing your story because I know there's a lot of people across the country that that resonates with and can relate to it. We'll take a few more calls and come back. It's one eight hundred nine four one seven three two six one eight hundred and nine four one Sean. It's Eric Eggers and Peter Schweitzer with the Government Accountability Institute. We host a podcast called The Drill Down that you can find on any podcast platform and at the website The drill down dot com. We're happy to be filling in for Sean Handy. One more segment to go. You guys, have a meric Christmas. We'll bear it back. This is Peter Schweitzer and Derek Eggers and Mary Christmas. We're with a government accountability institute and we've been filling in with for Sean Hannity on his radio show. And I have to tell you, Eric, I've had a blast. It's the first time I've ever done this, and I've had an absolute blast doing this. Well, you did a wonderful job. Again, we sort of joke that you becoming in transition. Transitions a buzzword in twenty twenty one, so I think the nation got the experience Peter Schweitzer's transition today from best line author to national radio show host, and I think it went much better than Michael Jordan's transition from basketball to baseball. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Now, it's been a great time. We want to thank Linda and the team here who've made it so much fun and it have been so welcoming. They also help us with other things that we do, including our podcast of the Drilldown dot com. We covered issues of chronyism and corruption. It's very investigative in focus and we have a lot of fun doing it and we look forward to a future episodes. Well, I guess we have to do one on Wednesday, right, so we'll have to sort of break down a performance. I've got a few notes of critiques of your performance. We'll share those in the next podcast. Sure you will, I'm sure you will. So quick questions, who is getting the Clinton masterclass for Christmas? Are you getting this for the wife? Well? If I was getting it for my wife, I certainly wouldn't disclose it on national radio because it wouldn't be a surprise. Peter, I don't think you want to surprise anybody with a Clinton gift. Well, not sure that's a good idea in principle. We talked earlier in the show about if you know what's a better gift, right, a Bill Clinton master Class. I mean, hey, merry Christmas. Here's some despair and regret, you know, or a box of wine, or you know, lots of other categories. But no, I don't believe anyone in my family, my immediate family, will be getting a Clinton master class gift for Christmas? What about your family? Uh? No, Clinton master Class? And unlike you, I mean, you've got wonderful kids that are just at a great age. Sometimes my kids are all grown. So it's a little bit different at Christmas. But you know that's I guess one of the things I want to say finally here as we're getting ready to end the show. Um, you know, with all the angst and all the frustration, all the anger, with everything there about the lock up, so let's remember what the season is about. It's merry Christmas, it's happy Hanuka, it's about family, it's about thankfulness, it's about joyousness. And even though you and I deal with the muck every single day and we're investigating this stuff, you have to maintain that spirit to maintain your sanity. And I think you people out there. Sean certainly exhibits us all the time when he's on the air. You want to have a joyous heart. You want to be thankful for what you have and not just be focused on the things that anger you in life, because if you do, you're gonna drive yourself crazy and it's not good for your mental health or for your family. No, I think that's right. You want to celebrate the blessings in your life. You want to celebrate the community and the way it blesses you are. Actually, today is my father Gary Egger's seventieth birthday, so happy birthday to him. This is what I'm getting you for your birthday. So unless you want the Clinton master Class that they're offering a discount maybe, but I don't know, but yeah, you're right now, there's a lot of positives, and I think it's important while we can celebrate it, or well, we can talk about the things are challenging and frustrating because because there is a lot at stake for Americans, right, I mean, the conditions of American life are actively changing every day, So it's important to talk about that, to document that, document the forces behind it, as we do on our Drill Down podcast, and what incentives they have for that change. It's also important think to have a comprehensive understanding of it's not all negative. That's right, that's right, and we're not saying block it out. You got to pay attention to it. I mean, this is a very informed audience. You've got to be focused, you've got to you know, look at the issues and address them. But particularly at this time of the year, I just think it's so important and then to be re energized and refocused in twenty twenty two because we've got midterm elections coming up. In November. You've got all these issues related to congressional hearings. I've got a book coming out in January. I can't I can't discuss the details of it, but there are a lot of things that are going to be happening in twenty twenty two. So I tell America, let's rest up, let's have a great time, and then let's be prepared to fight the fight when we need to fight the fight next year. Do you want to say anything about your book, like just one nugget or like one thing that you learned in this process. Well, I can tell you this objectively, and you've worked with me for ten years, and you know I've never said this before. This is, without a doubt, the scariest book that I've ever written, because of the level of corruption, meaning how high the government officials are and where the money is actually coming from. That's what's truly frightening. I just want to point out that you just ended a segment where we encouraged Americans to be celebratory and positive and say, by the way, this next book will terrify you. Well, listen, thank you so much for joining us on the Sean Hannity Show. This is Peter Schweitzer, and Eric Eggers. You can find us on the drilldown dot com podcast. We appreciate you joining us. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all of you.