Will Hurd on Dysfunction in Congress

Former U.S. Representative Will Hurd from Texas joins Sarah and Steve to talk about dysfunction ...

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Former U.S. Representative Will Hurd from Texas joins Sarah and Steve to talk about dysfunction in Congress, the January 6 committee, and the centralization of power in Washington. Hurd tells our hosts that there’s no incentive to solve real issues in Congress and we’re incapable of dealing with generation-defining issues because our political system is full of silly issues. Plus, why it’s imperative to teach students how to code. And why, contrary to Republican talking points, January 6 was not an ordinary day. Finally, how the Republican Party can be more competitive with people of color, young people, and suburban women.

Show Notes:

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  1. Avatar photo
    David Burke

    Great interview. Terrific person, Hurd is.

    Just about got the stench of your Chip Roy Interview out of the back of my nostrils.

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    JohnF

    I could have listened to Will Hurd for another hour, particularly once he got going on the topics that he's most passionate about (technology, AI, Bioengineering). Given the current crop of Representatives, he's probably too smart for Congress, but people like him are really needed there (instead of Chip Roy and Louis Gohmert).
    I really look forward to hearing more from him on Dispatch Podcasts (along with his Dad).

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  3. Gabej1989

    Steve is wrong. Impossible burgers are delicious.

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    Reed Benet

    I’ve met Hurd twice, and seemed like a good guy, but then again my working hypothesis is that Congresspersons are their core being either bomb throwers or seem like good guys, and I’m sure some are actually the latter although my most cynical DC located friend says that everyone involved in politics is somehow deeply flawed. Sorry Sarah. The Brisket will make a better world? ;-)

    Also I just don’t believe that for the majority of our problems tech needs to be the solution, but I can see how someone would build a lobbying/consulting practice or get paid to do speeches with that schtick.

    And as I was seeing all the billionaires blasting off lately, couldn’t help but think of the Whitey On The Moon song.

    Just one request for Sarah and Steve, though, please adopt and frequently invoke my pet peeve: “Correlation is not a proof of causation.”

    With me rolling my eyes with the above semi-conspiracy theory, Hurd talked about there being a correlation between lack of high speed Internet and the poorest communities. Great time to ask about my above dream response to my pet peeve? Hint, hint.

    Most people do not need high speed Internet to learn and improve themselves, they just need reasonably fast, reliable, and cheap access. They need the Soma of high speed Internet to stream movies and play video games?

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  5. Andrew Chida

    If the average republicans were more like this man I’d be a pretty reliable vote for them. Wish he was still serving

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  6. DocHeartless

    Freakin'a - get this man back in congress! I loved this interview -- it is so refreshing to hear someone with life experience commenting on national politics. You can't beat his type of background for making so much of the other BS seem small by comparison.

    I take his point that the Republican party needs to be less racist, homophobic, bigoted, etc . . . But it's not the politicians in this regard that are the problem. That was a great joke about the big man in the halls watching you, but the big man isn't god. It's the voters. The Republican party has made a deal with the devil for the last few decades. They've decided that it's too hard to win by making intellectual arguments for limited government, free trade, and family values, so they decided to lean on fox news and talk radio to make awful rage-porn arguments for them. They'll piggyback on that rage through the primaries, and then we are shocked, SHOCKED, to see what we saw on Jan 6.

    Democrats are also playing right into this dynamic by making every single issue under the sun about race/identity. My biggest pushback of Hurd is the common contention that the Republican party has to become less racist and homophobic. I must disagree. Of course it is goal-worthy for any individual, party, or nation to become less racist and bigoted. But as long as the Democrats keep teeing up the anti-racism garbage, the Republicans will keep knocking it out of the park. It is unrealistic to think that they won't organize a winning electoral strategy around it.

    I read something somewhere about a new Republican logo for 2022 which will be, "America isn't racist - America is freedom for all" or something along those lines. I think that is brilliant, honestly. People (even among the left) are so tired of the woke, angry, anti-rational nonsense. Far from a focus on making America less bad, which will always focus on the rage and the conflict, we need minorities of all stripes (black, brown, gay, trans) standing up and screaming, "enough of the division! Let's improve our schools and our housing situation! That will improve the lives of all Americans, but especially the young and minorities, the most deserving groups of an assist." Democrats (Biden, please god) need to be shouting this from the rooftops for their own benefit and that of the nation, but we badly need more minorities joining the fight too.

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  7. El Peligroso

    It’s crazy how so many people with a background in defense and intelligence talk about China as serious threat regarding economics, technology, intel, etc. Mr. Hurd and Klon Kitchen come to mind right off the bat. The Trump (therefore Republican) solution is import tariffs that make plastic crap from Walmart slightly more expensive and the Democrat solution is to… hold on, give me a minute (week, month, lifetime).

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    1. GregS

      https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-set-pass-sweeping-bill-address-china-tech-threat-2021-06-08/
      Passed the Senate 68-32, with a split of 20-30 among Rs and 48-2 among Ds.
      Note it's bipartisan nature and nevertheless the fact that the Democrats were the ones pushing it.

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      1. DJ

        This is an example of what Matt Yglesias calls "Secret Congress." They pass bills that don't get much media attention because there's not a big fight happening.

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    Jack

    Apple Podcasts says this episode is explicit. What wasn’t bleeped out?

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    1. GregS

      Hurd said "shit" at some point - it was just once and easy to miss.

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      1. Seth

        I missed it entirely!

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  9. D. Lee Grooms

    Will Hurd sounded very excited, and I often had trouble tracking just what he was raising his voice about. My descent into grumpy-old-manhood is picking up speed.

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  10. Very Old Grumpy Guy

    Like Chris Christie, Liz Cheney, Ben Sasse and Eric Cantor, Will Hurd sounds like a reasonable, smart, effective leader. It is a shame that any on the list that still hold office, with the possible exception of Sasse, will no longer hold office after their next election. My former party is now run by rage producing clowns. I do not fault the clowns - I fault those that bought the tickets to the circus. Like David's article said - there is a base problem. Politicians can only exercise power if they are elected. If they can only get elected by enraging the base against their "enemies" that is what they will do.
    What absolutely drives me up the wall is the Reaganesque landslide potential if the Republicans ever nominated anybody sane for president. Will Hurd sees this. Most everybody else who seems to care, wants to keep winning the presidency through electoral college hacks. They just can't see how popular conservatism is, because they don't run on conservatism.

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    1. DocHeartless

      "I do not fault the clowns -- I fault those that bought the tickets to the circus." That's brilliant, sir!! And it exactly encapsulates the core problem. I blame Republicans (mostly media, perhaps) for helping to push voters to this mind space, or at least to fail to correct it, but there is a ton of societal factors beyond anyone's control (social media, death of institutions, lack of community, etc...).

      We need to hear a lot more out of the box thinking of ways we can address this issue (that left and right fringes have too much power and are increasingly making hyper-partisan choices antithetical to a functioning republic). Ranked choice voting primaries, anyone? How about RCV primaries that allow independents to participate? Could you allow independents to participate in a primary and only count their votes as 1/2 value?

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      Cornelius O’Brien

      Is one a leader if no one follows? On your list only Christie has potential if only because he’s a shameless fraud.

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