RADIOApril 11, 2024

The REAL Reason DC Politicians NEVER Leave Office

Why is it that there are so many ancient politicians in Congress — Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer? Do they just love power, or is there another reason they take forever to retire? Glenn speaks with James Poulos, the host of the newest Blaze Originals documentary, “Bought and Paid For: How Politicians Get Filthy Rich.” In the documentary, James reveals what he believes is keeping the geezers in the Swamp: loads of money. Somehow, these lawmakers have become expert stock traders, and although they claim there’s no insider trading going on, the numbers look just a LITTLE suspicious. James reveals the most shocking thing the documentary exposed and also why he believes almost no one in Congress is interested in stopping these shady practices.

ICYMI: There's still time to watch the limited public release of "Bought & Paid For": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXuzS...

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: James, how are you, sir?

JAMES: Hey, Glenn. How are you?

GLENN: Good. That was a great documentary that you were a part of, last night.

JAMES: Well, I appreciate that.

GLENN: What was the -- what is the -- if you had to tell somebody in one fact, what do you think the fact is that makes people go, whoa!

What?

JAMES: Well, you know, there's so many to choose from. I guess, you know, if -- for most Americans, wars. Pandemics.

These things are not business opportunities.

They're not opportunities to make some quick cash.

But the reality is that in Congress, if you're -- you're sitting up there on the hill, you can take advantage of those opportunities, and people do.

GLENN: You know, Nancy Pelosi always says, insular -- I have nothing to do with the -- you know, the investments in my life.

It's my husband.

He's just a great investor.

He's like a world class, never seen before, kind of investor, to do what they do. What they do with their money, right?

JAMES: Well, yeah. It seems pretty clear what's going on. It's tough, though. Because the evidentiary standards for proving something like, quote, unquote, insider trading is very difficult to me.

GLENN: For them.

JAMES: Yeah. For them. Yeah. The reality is, if you have that kind of information, and you have a sense of what's going to happen before it does, and what stocks will pop before anyone else does, you know, it's fairly clear that you shouldn't start making trades. But you can say a kind word to a family member, to a staff member. To relatives. To the staff member.

And there's really legally to stop them from taking action on them. So it's a system that is ripe for abuse.

GLENN: There's a couple of things here. Let me play cut seven here.

This is George Santos, exposing how the congressional leaders silence opposition. And what would happen to Congress, if people started to actually look into their stock trading. Listen.

VOICE: I'm thinking, I want to sign on to Abigail Spanberger's bill on individual stock trading.

I was told that if I signed a cosponsor to the bill, and made too much voluminous flare over it, I wouldn't be seated.

So I shut up.

VOICE: Who told you that?

VOICE: I had staff from the majority. From -- telling me that. To my face, on the House floor.

Like, the threats that fly around, are just absolutely insane.

VOICE: My very first classified briefing, which I unfortunately can't tell you guys for obvious reasons. Unless you guys want me tried.

Or I would be tried for treason.

So --

VOICE: Maybe both.

VOICE: Both, right?

But it -- it becomes a -- a real issue, because you hear this information.

And instantly, you're like, oh, wow.

I know this better before the country.

VOICE: It's that level of scrutiny that I received in Congress. Was applied to anyone else in that building.

Or the people at the top of both parties. What do you think would have happened to them?

VOICE: You would be running 535 special elections today if they were real.

If they applied the same level of scrutiny to me, you would think the whole building.

GLENN: Why -- why was George Santos selected to be the one who talked to you?

VOICE: Well, Glenn, it's pretty simple really.

We reached out to just about everyone, who is involved or might be involved. Whether in a good way or a bad way, with these kinds of trading practices, and we were stonewalled.

Ro Khanna -- Rep Ro Khanna seems like he might be interested. He plays for us. Ghosted us.

A bunch of other people, including the sponsor. The cosponsor of that bill.

That George Santos mentioned there. Cosponsor with Chip Roy. Who we did talk to.

We got him on the dock.

Everybody else, just a big nope.

It was fascinating.

Maverick Matt Gaetz. George Santos, thee these guys are considered mavericks or worse, by a lot of Republicans.

When those are the only guys willing to speak to you.

It's because there is a code of silence. It's very tough to penetrate. So, you know, we were very grateful to be able to get the inside scoop from those guys. Because they have been through fire. And they are willing to say what others are.

GLENN: Here is Matt Gaetz from the special last night.

VOICE: Congressman gates offered to take us on the tour.

VOICE: So one of the committees that people have a lot of information. Is the appropriations committee. Because they can view almost any vector of government funding.

And so, you know, this is Mr. Rutherford's office. He's on the Ethics Committee and Appropriations Committee. One hundred fifty-two stock trades. Stocks go through the roof.

And, you know, actually brought Raytheon stock, the day that Russia invaded Ukraine.

VOICE: Yeah. That's a big one.

VOICE: Yeah. Imagine if every American can make money off of war.

VOICE: Yeah.

VOICE: Setting aside the whole shame and ethics questions. How many more on our hit list here?

VOICE: There are a few more. I wish there were fewer on the hit list. I wish we could only stop at one or two offices. But as it turns out, so energy is a sector that sees a lot of congressional stock trading. And we have members who are on the energy subcommittee of appropriations, like Michael Guest, chairmen of the Ethics Committee. And he's traded between somewhere between tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy stocks. He's been buying online gaming stocks. And just making a killing on them. You would think that the people on the ethics committee would be your best allies in this fight. But indeed, they are the most prolific traders. And not only trading, but trading in an area, where he has access to energy information. More so than any other American.

VOICE: No indication that he wants to slow down, pump the brakes. There might be some appearance of impropriety here.

VOICE: It seems as though, the pace is only accelerating.

GLENN: So -- so -- so let me -- let me go back to a bigger point, James.

What does this say about why these people are hanging out so long in Congress? Why they just never seem to retire?

JAMES: Well, look, I asked George Santos when he first got an inkling of how much patronage. How much of an insider's club and how much potential for corruption there was when he was in Congress.

And he said, basically, day one. First briefing. You sit down.

They give you information.

You know, he said, it was eye popping.

He realized, suddenly, the intensity of what he was dealing with. I mean, look, you heard Congressman Gaetz pointing out, that you have guys on the Ethics Committee. Chair of the Ethics Committee in Congress. And they're setting standards. You know, it's a domino effect.

You spend a few minutes on the hill, as an elected rep. You come to understand, very quickly.

There is -- there is a choice. Are on the team, or are you off the team? And this goes beyond Republicans and Democrats.

This goes to the heart of, what is it that we really are doing here?

And how do we protect our ability as public officials to avail ourselves of the -- the advantages of being insiders in that system.

It is a system that, you know, really works as designed, in that sense. And it is designed to keep people hanging around, taking advantage of what they can in whatever way they can, for as long as they can.

GLENN: One of my very good friends is Mike Lee. And Mike tells me all the time, what the hell am I doing here?

I am impoverishing myself. I could be out making a good living.

And his times of frustration. He will call me up.

What am I doing?

Why am I here? This is not even good for my family, blah, blah, blah.

When you have that kind of atmosphere. When you're not making money. You're -- it's almost costing you money to work there.

That tends to have people come in. Do it for a reason. And then get out.

We have these people who are hanging out for decades.

Well, why wouldn't you?

If I could get an 80 percent return on my investments, year after year after year?

Why wouldn't I?

You know, other than, it's wrong!

But wait a minute.

I could double my money, if I win two more elections?

I could start with $150,000 in a bank account. And I could be worth $30 million? If I just work here for the next 30 years?

Why wouldn't you?

GLENN: Yeah. And, you know what, Glenn. What you're alluding to here, this is really just the tip of the iceberg. Like, there's a symbiotic relationship, between public officials and major corporations. In some cases, multi-national corporations.

And this is one facet of that relationship. And the longer that people stay around. The longer those networks develop, and reinforce each other. And police themselves.

The more that both sides of the, you know, public sector. Private sector divide. The more that divide melts away.

And it enriches people. And it corrupts people. And it creates very sick patronage networks, that are just very tough to talk people out of participating in. If you do get reelected, then you're back for a second term.

And the pressure on you to play ball, and to be a part of the team. Is just mainstream. And I bet that some of Mike Lee's colleagues look at him. And they go, oh, this guy is -- this guy is a pansy. You know, he thinks he's better than us.

You know, he -- for some strange reason, he doesn't want to enrich himself. There's peer pressure, you know. It is sort of like a weaponized high school in Illinois.

GLENN: Jeez. What a great term.

Weaponized high school.

That is exactly what it is. James, thank you so much.

I appreciate it. God bless.

JAMES: Absolutely, Glenn. God bless.

GLENN: James is TheBlaze media editor-at-large.

He's also the host of Zero Hour. And he is also the host of this original from BlazeTV. If you haven't seen it, I so highly recommend it to you. It premiered last night. Bought and Paid For: How Politicians Get Filthy Rich. It is available to the public for a limited time now.

YouTube.com/BlazeTV.com.

Before the premiere, I laid out, I think one of the most disgusting chalkboards that I've ever done. And it is the dirty trick that Congress, you know, becomes rich on. And you would go to jail if you did the same thing. This is -- this is what the elites really are. When I say the elites, why would they do that? Why would they -- why would they do that? Well, if you know war is coming and you can openly just buy stocks of Raytheon and Boeing and Lockheed Martin, you know exactly the numbers of what we have left, what companies make those things that we're short on.

I showed you last night, it's in this doc. It's amazing! The people who got out of airlines, Carnival Cruise Line, all of these things, before you knew all of the -- what was coming with COVID.

Before you knew, they had already taken their gains, and got out before things went down south.

Because they had already been briefed. They're not representing you. The only way this stops, is if you spread the word.

You really have to get the word out on this.

If you're not a member of TheBlaze. Please, join us.

Use the promo code Glenn originals. And you'll get $30 off at your annual subscription.

That's Glenn originals. Get $30 off the annual subscription of BlazeTV.com/Beck.

Do it now.

Has THIS Islamist organization BROKEN state laws for YEARS?!

A new report accuses CAIR Action, the political arm of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, of breaking state laws with its political activism. Glenn Beck reviews this story...

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So let me go over what is -- what's happening with -- with CAIR.

You know, the Founding Fathers were obsessed over accountability.

Because they knew one thing. You know, they did. They must get suggestions from people on, you know, through tweets. They studied every single system of government.

Every single republic that survived. That didn't survive.

Why didn't it survive?

They studied all forms of government. They were trying to come up with something that could -- could set people free.

And they -- they worked really hard on putting our checks and balances in place, because they knew, once power slips into the shadows. They knew, once power slips into the shadows, once influence becomes unmoored from law, what rises is not a republic.

It's a machine. And that's what you're seeing right now. We're not living in a republic. We're living in a machine.

We -- I think we're staring at one of the largest unregulated political machines operating in the United States ever! Okay.

There have been a couple of groups that are doing sweeping investigations, two watchdog groups. One of them is NCRI and the Intelligent Advocacy Network.

And they have concluded now that the political arm of CAIR, he known as CAIR action, has been operating nationwide with no legal authority, to do the things it has been doing for years now.

They're not allowed to raise money. They've been raising money. Coordinating political campaigns.

Not allowed to do it. Endorsing candidates. Not allowed to do it, they're doing it. Mobilizing voters, shaping policy, functioning as a national advocacy network.

They don't have the legal authority to do any of it. And no one has said anything.

Now, according to the report, CAIR action doesn't just have a paperwork problem.

Investigators found, state by state, that it lacks the license, the registrations. The charitable authorizations, required to legally solicit money.

Excuse me. Or conduct political activity, in any of the 22 states in which it operates. Think of that!

I know how serious this is, because I remember what it took to get the license in each and every state, for Mercury One.

So we could operate. We could raise money. We could do things in those states. It's a lot of work. And if you don't do it, you go to jail. And they find out pretty quickly.

Okay?

22 states, they operate not one, zero legal authorization.

In Washington, DC, the city where CAIR action is incorporated, the department of licensing and consumer protection told investigators, they have no record of CAIR action ever obtaining the basic business license required to solicit funds or to operate.

Imagine how long would you last in business, especially if you were controversial.

How long would you remain in business, if you never had a business license?

You think somebody would figure that out?

In a sooner time than I don't know. A couple of decades!

This report means, that the organization if true, is engaging in unlicensed inner state solicitation.

It has exposed itself to allegations as serious as deceptive solicitation. Wire fraud and false statements to the IRS. These are big things.

And this is not political rhetoric.

Are these phrases written in black and white. In the law.

And by investigators. In California, one of CAIR's most active hubs. The state attorney general has said, the state attorney general of California has said, same pattern here!

The state of California, to say, yep. That's what's happening here.

CAIR action has never registered with California's charitable registry.

Never filed the required CT1 form. And has no authorization whatsoever to request donations. But they've been doing it in California anyway.

Fundraising, selling memberships. Issuing endorsements. Mobilizing voters. All of that has been done by CAIR action. There's no record of any license. Any permission, ever. Going to CAIR. From California. That's according to their attorney general.

Wow!

That's pretty remarkable, huh? How does that happen?

It's not just the coast. It is also happening to the Midwest, the South, the Mountain West. Every state hosting its own CAIR action fundraising page, complete with the donate now and become a member portal, despite no trace of the legal filings required to operate. That's bad!

Now, here's where the stakes rise.

Because CAIR action presents itself openly, as the political arm of CAIR National.

Investigators are now warning that any unauthorized fundraising or political activity.

Could become CAIR's national responsibility as well.

So, in other words, the parent, CAIR itself, might be held responsible.

Meaning, this is want just a rogue subdivision.

This could implicate the entire National Organization of CAIR.

Now, this is happening at the same time it's coming under national scrutiny. It's also Texas.

And I think Florida have designated the group a foreign terrorist organization. Members of Congress are now asking the IRS, the Treasury, the Department of Education to investigate all of its partnerships, all of its financing, all of its influence operations. I mean, I think they're going to be in trouble.

How long have we been saying this?

But every time, I have pointed out anything about CAIR, I have been called an Islamophobe, which shuts everything down. That is a word, developed by people like CAIR, to shut people down, so you'll never look into them.

So what happens next?

First of all, the reports have to hold up.

Regulators now have an obligation. Not a choice. An obligation to act!

State attorneys general in these 22 states, they might pursue fines, injunctions, criminal referrals.

All of them need to take action!

The IRS, needs to take action. Investigate tax exempt fraud. Treasury Department may review foreign influence or money flow violations.

Anything coming from overseas.

Oh, I can't imagine it. They're so buttoned up, right now.

DC regulators may determine whether CAIR actions entire fundraising operation has been unlawful from the beginning.

But here's the deeper question. And it's not bureaucratic. This one is constitutional.

Can the United States tolerate an influence machine, that operates outside of the legal framework, designed to prevent corruption, foreign leverage, and untraceable money?

If I hear one more time, talking about how AIPAC has just got to be investigated. Fine. Investigate.

I'm not against it.

Investigate.

Why aren't you saying anything about CAIR?

It feels like it might be a tool in the hands of a foreign operation.

Why aren't you saying anything about this?

Because here it is! It's not like, hey. I wonder why.

This is it! This is it! This isn't about silencing CAIR. Muslim Americans are -- that are full citizens, they have every right to speak. Every right to vote. Every right to organize. Participate in public life. No question! They can disagree with me, all they want.

But no organization. None! Not mine. Not yours. Not theirs. None. Should operate a nationwide political network, in the shadows and be immune from all of the guardrails that every other group must follow!

That's called a fourth branch of government!

That's how a fourth branch goes.

By the way, CAIR has placed all kinds of people in our Department of Homeland Security. Et cetera, et cetera. This organization has done it!

This is -- you cannot have a fourth branch of government.

They must abide by the laws.

No -- you can't have a branch that nobody elected. Nobody oversees.

Nobody holds accountable.

We talked about this yesterday, on yesterday's podcast. So what needs to happen is total transparency. CAIR action has to release its filings. Its donor structure. Its compliance records, if they exist. Equal enforcement under the law. I don't want them prosecuted in special ways.

Look, if AIPAC is doing the same thing. AIPAC should be prosecuted exactly the same way.
I want it equal. I want constitutional rule.

If conservatives, if Catholics, pro-Israel, environmental, Second Amendment groups, if they have to comply by the state law, so does CAIR action.

And if CAIR action has to do it, so do the Second Amendment groups and environmentalists, and pro-Israel and conservative groups. The law cannot be selective. It can't be!

I don't know how that's controversial in today's world. But somehow or another, they will find a way.

The Feds have to review all of this. If the report is accurate, the IRS and the Treasury have to determine whether false statements or unlicensed interstate solicitations have occurred.

Americans deserve to know what exactly, who is influencing our elections. Who is shaping our policy? Who is raising money in their state?

Especially physical the organization claims political authority, that it doesn't legally possess.

Because history will teach us one unchanging lesson. When a republic stops enforcing its own laws, someone else will always step in to fill that vacuum because power abhors a vacuum!

Unregulated, political power abhors a free people. So while it's about CAIR, it's not about Muslim Americans. It's not about religion.

As always, at least on this program, we try to make it about the rule of law.

One standard for everyone or no standard at all!

And that more than anything, will determine whether or not our institutions remain worthy of the freedom and responsibility that we have entrusted to them.

Glenn Beck WARNS Democrats Will Return with VENGEANCE in 2026 | Glenn TV | Ep 473

America is entering a year of historic upheaval from Charlie Kirk’s assassination and the spiritual shock that followed, to Trump’s tariff revolution, China’s rare-earth war, collapsing energy grids, AI displacement, and the looming fights over Taiwan and Venezuela. Glenn sits down with BlazeTV hosts ‪@deaceshow‬ and ‪@lizwheeler‬ along with his head researcher Jason Buttrill, to break down the biggest stories of 2025. Plus, they each give their most explosive prediction for 2026 that could shape our politics, economy, national security, and civil rights in ways Americans have never experienced before.

Trump Just SHATTERED the “Expert Class” - And the Deep State is in Total Panic

For nearly a century, Washington DC has been ruled by an unelected “expert class” operating as an unconstitutional fourth branch of government — accountable to no one, removable by no president, and shielded from all consequences. Glenn breaks down why Trump’s firing of the Federal Trade Commissioner could finally dismantle the 1935 precedent that empowered technocrats, how Ketanji Brown Jackson exposed the Supreme Court’s embrace of expert rule, and why America cannot survive a government run by people who never face the voters and never pay for their failures.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Okay. So President Donald Trump fired the federal trade commissioner Rebecca Slaughter. Federal Trade Commission is an administrative position. I mean, this is under -- the head of the federal trade commission is a cabinet member.

And if the justices uphold Trump's firing of Slaughter, that will overturn a precedent that was horrible, that was set in 1935. Remember, 1935, we're flirting with fascism. You know, everybody thinks. Because they haven't seen the horrors of fascism yet.

Everybody thinks fascism is neat, blah, blah. So what they do is they say that this is an independent person. And the president can't fire them. Because they're, you know, an independent agency.

Well, wait. That would make a fourth branch of government. Our Constitution is really clear.

There is no such thing as a fourth branch of government. Right?

So that's what they're deciding. Now, here is Ketanji Brown Jackson, who is talking about how we really need to listen to the experts. Cut four.

VOICE: Because presidents have accepted that there could be both an understanding of Congress and the presidency. That it is in the best interest of the American people to have certain kinds of issues, handled by experts. Who, and I think you -- in your colloquy, Justice Kagan, have identified the fact that these boards are not only experts, but they're also nonpartisan. So the -- the seats are actually distributed in such a way, that we are presumably eliminating political influence because we're trying to get to science and data and actual facts, related to how these decisions are made.

And so the real risk, I think, of allowing non- -- of allowing these kinds of decisions to be made by the president, of saying, everybody can just be removed when I come in, is that we will get away from those very important policy considerations.

VOICE: We will get away from US policy considerations, and it will create opportunities for all kinds of problems that Congress and prior presidents wanted to avoid, risks that flow inevitably, just given human nature, the realities of the world that we live in.

GLENN: Okay.

Now, remember, what she's saying here is, we have to have experts.

We have to have experts. We have to have experts that don't really answer to anybody. Okay?

They're appointed. And then they're just there. This from a, quote, judicial expert, who cannot define a woman, because she's not a doctor.
She's not a scientist.

She needs an expert to define a woman.
That's how insane her thinking is. Okay?

Now, I would just like to ask the Supreme Court, when you want things run by experts, do you mean things like the State Department, or the counsel of foreign relations, that have gotten us into these endless war wars for 100 years?

Because these are the things that Woodrow Wilson wanted. He wanted the country run by experts.

Okay. So is it like the Council of Foreign Relations, that keep getting us into these endless wars.

Or is it more like the Fed, that directs our fiscal policy, that has driven us into $38 trillion of at the time. We have all powerful banks. That strangely all belong to the fed. And endless bailouts for those banks. Are those the experts that you're talking about?

Or are you talking about the experts that are doctors, that gave the country sterilizations, lobotomies, transgender surgeries. You know, or should we listen to the experts, like the ones that are now speaking in Illinois, to get us death on demand like Canada has, with their MAID assisted suicide, which is now the third largest killer in Canada. MAID, assisted suicide, third largest killer in Canada. Experts are saying, we now need it here, and they're pushing for it in Illinois. Or should we listen to the experts? And I think many of them are the same experts strangely, that brought us COVID. Yeah. That was an expert thing. They were trying to protect us. Because they need to do this for our protection. So direct from the labs in China with the help of the American experts like Fauci. We almost put the world out.

Should we listen to those guys?

Or the experts that brought us masking, and Home Depot is absolutely safe. But Ace Hardware wants to kill grandma. Which are the experts that we want? That we want to make sure that we have in our lives? That they don't answer, or can't be fired by anybody. Because I'm pretty full up on the experts, myself. I don't know.

But you're right. These experts would keep the president in check, and they would keep Congress in check. And you in check!

And the Supreme Court, which would be really great. You know, and you know who else they would keep in check? The people.

So, wow, it seems like we would just be a nation run by experts, and our Constitution would be out the window, because that's a fourth branch!

And if you don't believe me, that, you know, these experts never pay a price. Can you name a single expert?

Give me a name of an expert, that gave us any of the things that I just told you about.

Give me the name. I mean, give me the name of one of them. Give me the name of one of them that went to jail. Give me the name of one expert that has been discredited.

You know, where your name will be mud in this town. Do you know where that came from?

Your name is going to be mud. It's not M-U-D. It's M-U-D-D, that comes from Dr. Samuel Mudd. Okay? He was a docks man. He was an expert. He was that set John Wilkes Booth' broken leg. He made crutches. He let him stay there for a while. He claimed he didn't know him, but he did know him.

In fact, one of the reasons they proved it.

Is because when he pulled the boots off -- when he pulled both of his boots off, right there, in the back, you couldn't have missed it. It said "John Wilkes Booth."

He's like, I have no idea who he was.

Yeah. Well, you knew him in advance. This was a predetermined outpost where he could stay. It's clear you could know him.

The guy was still discredited, we still use his name today. Your name will be mud in this town.

And we think that it's like dirt, mixed with water kind of mud. No, it's M-U-D-D, Dr. Mudd. The expert that was so discredited, went to jail, paid for his part of the assassination of -- of Lincoln.

Give me the name of one of the experts in the last 100 years, that has brought us any of the trials and the tribulations. The things that have almost brought us to our knees. Give me the name of one of them. Can't!

Because once an expert class, they don't answer to anyone. So they never go to jail.

Wow! Doesn't that sound familiar. People never going to jail!

There's a rant that's going around right now, that I did in 2020. And everybody is like, see. He's talking about Pam Bondi.

No, no. I got to play this for you, a little later on in the program. But I want to get to the experts and what the Constitution actually says about that. Because you don't need my opinion. What you need are the actual facts. So you can stand up and say, yeah. I think Ketanji Brown Jackson is an idiot. Okay?

And she's really not an expert on anything. Especially the Constitution. You need the facts, on what the Founders said. Because the Founders would be absolutely against what they did in 1935.

Because that just -- what does it do?

It just sets up a fourth branch of government.

EXPLAINED: Why the Warner-Netflix/Paramount Merger is DANGEROUS for All of Us

The biggest media merger in modern history is unfolding, and Glenn Beck warns it’s the most dangerous consolidation of power America has faced in decades. With six corporations already controlling 90% of the nation’s news and entertainment, a Warner-Netflix or Warner-Paramount megacorporation would create an unstoppable information cartel. Glenn exposes how “too big to fail” thinking is repeating itself, how global elites and “experts” are tightening their grip, and why handing our entire cultural narrative to a handful of companies is a direct threat to freedom. The hour is late — and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: By the way, it's never good when you consolidate power. It's never good.

And what is going on now, with this Netflix Warner Brothers paramount stuff, I don't care if Larry Ellison is a conservative or not.

No one should have that much power.

I did a show, gosh, four years ago. I don't even remember when I did it.

We looked it up. In the 1980s. 19 percent of American media was owned by over 50 companies.

Forty years later, 90 percent of the media is watched and controlled by six companies.

National Amusements, the Red Stone Family controls CBS, CMT, MTV, Nickelodeon, gaming and internet. Simon & Schuster Books. That's all one.

Disney, ABC, ESPN, History Channel, Marvel, Star Wars, video games and print.

TimeWarner controls CNN, Warner Brothers, HBO, Turner, video games, internet, and print media like TIME. Comcast, MSNBC, NBC.

CNBC, Telemundo, the Internet.

New Corp. Fox. National Geographic. Ton of others. Sony, with a ton of movies, music and more. The big six. They're valued at nearly $500 billion.

Now, this is something I put together five years ago. So I don't even know. This is probably not even valid even today.

And now we're talking about Netflix, Warner Brothers. Paramount, into all of these one giant corporation. It's wrong! It's wrong!

We can't keep putting all -- everything into the hands of just a few! It's what's killing us!

We've got to spread this around. We can't -- the government cannot okay mergers like this.

They're big enough he has

What happened -- what happened when the banks went under, or almost went under in '08. What did they say the problem was?

They said the banks are too big to fail.

Too big to fail.

Because they were providing all of the services, everybody needs. All the time. And there's only a handful of them.

So if they fall, then everything falls.

Right?

That was the problem. So what did we do to fix it?

We made them bigger!

We let them merge with other banks, and gobble up other things!

And started taking on the local banks.

And so now, your banks that were too big to fail. Are now even bigger. And their failure would be even worse!

What is wrong with us?

Seriously, we're not this stupid.

We're not this stupid.

I think we're just this comfortable.

We just think the experts have a plan. No. The experts don't have a plan.

Their plan is stupid. Their plan is to make it bigger.

Every time it fails. Make it bigger. Push it up.

Make it more global.

No. Haven't you seen what the entire world is like?

The entire world is over-leveraged. The entire world is on the edge.

The entire world is being redesigned.
So what do we do? We don't allow them to make things bigger! We need to start taking more individual and local control of things. They're making it bigger. Which will make the problem bigger. And make the problem so big, you won't be able to do anything about it, because all the experts. All of the heads. They'll all -- there will be six of them. And they will all be sitting in one room.

And they will all be making the instigations. And with them, making those decisions will be all the heads of all the countries around the world, that you're not going to have a say in any of that. They're already trying to do it with the WEF.

But if -- if the Supreme Court says, no, experts matter. And the president can't fire them. You will not have any control over anything!

We're at this place, where we can back out. We can turn around.

We can do it.

It's not too late. But the hour is growing very late.

I don't know about you, I don't like being this.

Up to the edge, you know what I mean?

I would rather have lots of breathing room, between me and the edge of the cliff.

But we don't have that anymore.

Everything has to be done right.

And we have to pay attention.

And the worst thing we can do is make things bigger.

Dream big, think small.