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Podcast

#418 — A Future for Democrats

Making Sense with Sam Harris

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  • From Bronx Public Housing to Congress
    • Richie Torres grew up in New York City public housing facing severe poverty and poor living conditions.
    • His political career started as a tenant organizer, leading to his election to the City Council at 25 and eventually Congress. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres Mean, the starting point for me is the Bronx. I was born and raised in the Bronx, spent all of my childhood in poverty. I was raised by a single mother who had to raise three of us on minimum wage, which in the 1990s was $4.25 an hour. And probably the most formative experience of my life was growing up in public housing, which is owned and operated by the government. And in New York City, public housing is so savagely starved of funding that it has a capital need of $80 billion and counting. So like hundreds of thousands of tenants, I grew up in conditions of mold and mildew, leaks and lead without consistent heat and hot water in the winter. And I got my start in politics as a tenant organizer because of my lived experience in public housing. And then at age 24, I took the leap of faith and ran for public office. I had no deep pockets, no ties to the party machine, but I just spent a whole year doing nothing but knocking on doors. I went into people’s homes. I heard their stories and I won my first campaign on the strength of door-to face-to campaigning. I became an elected official at age 25. Sam Harris And what was that office? New York City Council. Rep. Ritchie Torres And so I served in the New York City Council for seven years before running for Congress. But about a decade before entering Congress, like I was at the lowest point of my life. I had dropped out of college. I found myself struggling with depression. I even attempted to take my own life because I felt as if the world around me had collapsed and underwent hospitalization. And I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would have a fighting chance to rebuild my life and a few years later become the youngest elected official in America’s largest city and Then ultimately become a member of the United States Congress. (Time 0:00:52)
  • Radicalization of Progressivism
    • Progressive politics have radicalized over the past decade, shifting from reform to extremes like open borders and defunding police.
    • Similarly, positions on Israel moved from supporting a two-state solution to backing BDS and more radical stances. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres The world felt radically different back then. It seemed to me that social media was a far less powerful force then than it has become today. Now it’s become the center of our political universe. But back 2013, the progressive position on immigration was immigration reform. And then it became open borders. Back then, the progressive position on public safety was criminal justice reform. And then it became abolish the police or defund the police. Or the progressive position on Israel back then was the two-state solution. And now it’s BDS or globalize the Intifada. (Time 0:03:52)
  • Far Left Fuels Trump’s Resurgence
    • The Democratic far left’s ideology alienated many voters and helped Trump’s resurgence in 2024.
    • Issues like inflation and immigration mismanagement, exacerbated by Biden’s perceived pandering, played decisive roles in the election loss. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres I mean, I feel like we in the Democratic Party swung the pendulum too far to the left. You know, after the 2024 election, I wrote on Twitter, you know, Donald Trump has no greater friend than the far left, which has alienated growing numbers of Americans with absurdities Like Latinx or free Palestine from the river to the of sea or defund the police. Are you here to tell us that you don’t call yourself Latinx? No, no, no, no, no. I’m not aware of anyone in the Bronx who uses the term Latinx. It’s a term that’s been imposed on us by the college-educated elites. But, you know, the Occam’s razor holds that the simplest explanation is almost always the best. And the simple explanation is that we lost because of inflation and immigration. You know, we saw the highest inflation in more than four decades. And we saw a catastrophic mismanagement of the migrant crisis. Sam Harris How do you interpret that? I mean, that seemed to have been so obvious. I mean, that was just something that was politically, optically, and the fact that anyone could just hold up a cell phone at the southern border and it looked like a zombie movie. How did the Biden administration not make that a priority immediately? Rep. Ritchie Torres Because the Biden administration had become ideologically captured by the far left. You know, Trump said something that I thought was right during the presidential campaign. He said that every state had become a border state. Because the impact of the migrant crisis was felt not only at the border, but in cities like New York, whose shelter system and municipal finances were completely overwhelmed by an Unprecedented wave of migration. And I remember seeing a poll in December of 2023 indicating that 85% of New Yorkers had concerns about the impact of the migrant crisis. And so the Biden administration waited two and a half years before finally issuing an executive order, restricting migration at the border, securing the border. And by then it was too late. The damage was done. The Republicans had won the issue, had effectively weaponized the issue against the Democrats. And I remember seeing a poll indicating that the majority, that the executive order had overwhelming support from the American people, from every racial category, black and white, Latino and Asian. And so I asked myself if the executive order was effective at restricting migration and if it was broadly popular, then why did it take the Biden administration so long to issue the executive Order? And for me, the reason is simple. He was pandering to the far left, which has outsized power over the policymaking and messaging of the Democratic Party. (Time 0:04:50)
  • Divisions Within Democratic Party
    • The Democratic Party is split between strategic restraint and hysterical resistance to Trump.
    • The energy favors extreme resistance, which may hinder needed moderation and restructuring of the party. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres We went too far left on immigration. But, you know, I feel there needs to be a fundamental restructuring within the Democratic Party a return to a rational center. But, you know, I worry that, I mean, Donald Trump is so aggressive that he is provoking a response. Yeah. That is, you know, there’s a divide between what I would say two teams in the Democratic Party. There’s team restraint and team resistance, right? There are those in team resistance who feel like we should react hysterically to everything that Donald Trump says or does. And then there are those who feel like we should pick and choose our battles and be strategic. But I worry that the momentum is on the side of hysterical, hyperbolic resistance and the enormous expenditure of time and energy and resistance might crowd out the restructuring And moderation that needs to happen within the Democratic Party. (Time 0:08:40)
  • Far Left-Right Mutual Fueling
    • The far left and far right mutually embolden each other, with Trump provoking a stronger far-left reaction.
    • The far left’s relevance grew under Trump compared to its lesser role under Biden. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres I feel like there’s a symbiotic relationship between the far left and the far right. The far left has no greater friend than the far right and the far right has no greater friend than the far left. It’s Newton’s laws of physics, right? Every action produces an equal and opposite reaction. And I feel like Donald Trump produces a reaction in the form of an emboldened far left. The far left had far less relevance under Biden than it has in the present moment. (Time 0:10:25)
  • A Category of One in Congress
    • Richie Torres holds multiple intersecting identities: gay, Black, Latino, and Jewish congressman from New York.
    • Despite this, he faces hostility from the far left as a ‘traitor’ for disagreeing with their agenda. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres Yes. My running joke is after the expulsion of George Santos, I became the most prominent Jewish gay Latino congressman from New York. I’m a category of one. Right. Yeah. Sam Harris So what does the far left do with you when you don’t sing from their hymn book? Rep. Ritchie Torres I think if I were For a white male, I would be seen as the enemy. But because I am black and Latino and LGBTQ and from the Bronx, I’m seen not only as an enemy, but as a traitor. And there’s a special hatred reserved for traitors. So I feel like I’m a uniquely detested figure by the left. (Time 0:11:21)
  • Politics as Religion Undermines Pragmatism
    • Politics has become like a religion where opposing ideologies see themselves as possessing absolute truth.
    • This fundamentalism undermines the pragmatic collaboration necessary in governance. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres Capping the cross Bronx Expressway where there’s been collaboration. I have no personal relationship with AOC, but I never take politics personally. Like my view is even if we only agree on a subset of issues, we should collaborate wherever possible for the good of the country. You know, my concern is that politics has become religiosity without religion. And there are those on the far right and the far left who say, you know, they alone have the absolute truth. Their policy prescriptions are the only path to salvation. And anyone who disagrees with them is not merely wrong, but evil and should be crucified at the stake for heresy. And I feel like that kind of fundamentalism is incompatible with politics, which is supposed to be, you know, an alternative to conflict. (Time 0:12:20)
  • Trump’s Grip and America’s Decline
    • The Republican Party, under Trump, has become a near cult with strong shifts in ideology and policy reversal.
    • America faces decline due to economic uncertainty, reduced research funding, rising debt, and global erosion of influence. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres No sign of independence from congressional Republicans. I mean, the Republican Party has become a cult of personality around Donald Trump. I’ve never seen a political figure who has had as much an iron grip on a political party as he has on the Republican Party. I mean, he can wake up one day and just by sheer force of will make the Republican party, the party of protectionism and price controls. And I’ve seen Democrats, you know, quoting Ronald Reagan and Milton Friedman. So I feel like our political universe has been inverted, but I worry that we’re entering a period of decline. You know, if a superpower were intent on planting the seeds of its own decline, it would paralyze the global economy with uncertainty. It would erode confidence in the reserve status of the dollar. It would discard due process. It would defund scientific and medical research. It would allow its manufacturing base to atrophy from neglect. And it would grow the deficit until interest on the debt becomes the largest share of the federal budget. (Time 0:13:49)
  • Democrats Need Transformation, Not Just Wins
    • The Democratic Party must win elections but also fundamentally transform itself and its governance approach.
    • Improving governance competence is more crucial than just improving messaging or resisting Trump. Transcript: Sam Harris Is there anything, what’s happening among Democrats in the House and the Senate now. Look, we’re exhausting every means of resisting Donald Trump in the courtroom, on the streets, in the halls of Congress. Rep. Ritchie Torres But look, there are limits to what you can do when Republicans control every branch of government. So ultimately, there’s no substitute for winning. We have to win elections. But for me, it’s not enough to win because, you know, if we win in 2026, our victory could be as much about the weakness of Donald Trump as it is about our own strength. I feel like we have to fundamentally transform the Democratic Party. (Time 0:15:39)
  • Blue State Dysfunction Threatens Democrats
    • Failed governance in blue states and cities fuels electoral losses and population shifts favoring other regions.
    • Democrats must become a nationwide party embracing diverse regions to remain competitive. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres I feel like there is a crisis of blue state and blue city governance in cities like New York and Chicago. No state saw a greater swing toward Donald Trump than New York. And that to me was not a coincidence. That was a consequence of failing governance at the state and local level. And so I worry that misgovernance in blue states is actually creating an electoral challenge for the Democratic Party. In the next reapportionment, there’s going to be a massive shift of population and political power from the North to the South, from the Midwest to the Mountain West, from the Rust Belt To the Sun Belt. The South is projected to gain as many as 11 electoral votes. The Northeast and the Midwest could lose as many as 11 electoral votes. And so I feel like as a party, you know, we’re going to have no choice, but they become a big 10 party. That’s going to be a necessity in order for us to compete in a much more complicated electoral landscape. (Time 0:16:22)
  • Progressive Purity Over Governance
    • Democratic Party often prioritizes special interest groups and progressive purity over practical governance and performance.
    • This misprioritization harms their ability to govern effectively and alienates wider constituencies. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres I think the problem with the Democratic Party is that at times we’re more responsive to interest groups than to people on the ground. And the problem with the progressive movement, which has outsized power within the Democratic Party, is that it’s more concerned with progressive purity than with actual progress, Than with the actual competence and performance of government. You know, one of my frustrations as a member of Congress is I feel like federal (Time 0:17:34)
  • Blue States Lose Investment Despite Policies
    • Federal laws like the Inflation Reduction Act mainly benefit Republican areas due to easier business environments.
    • Blue states often have regulatory barriers that restrict infrastructure and innovation growth like clean energy and data centers. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres Like of the 20 congressional districts receiving the most IRA investment, 19 of them are Republican-held because those are the easiest places to do business. Those are the easiest places to build. You know, if you think about the AI revolution leading to the proliferation of AI data centers, where are those data centers going to be sited? It’s not going to be sited in New York, which closed Indian Point, a nuclear plant facility. It’s going to be sited in states like Texas, which have an abundance of energy. I had a clean energy developer tell me that it is easier for him to create clean energy infrastructure in Texas than in New York, in states that deny climate change, than in the states That consider it an emergency. (Time 0:18:11)
  • Govern Better: Focus On Supply
    • Democrats should shift from being the party of more government to one of better, cheaper, and faster government.
    • Focus on increasing supply (e.g., housing) rather than just spending to address affordability and scarcity. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres So I’m a strong proponent of the abundance movement. And for me, abundance is the best framework for reimagining what it means to govern progressively, to govern as a democratic party. You know, if the Republican party is going to be the party of less government, then we as Democrats should not be the party of more government. We should be the party of better, cheaper, and faster government, right? A government that builds a government that works. And, is measured not only by more spending, but by more supply. For me, what matters is not only whether there’s more or less housing spending, but whether there’s more or less housing supply. Are we pursuing policies that expand the supply of housing? (Time 0:18:59)
  • Competence Undervalued, Needs Focus
    • Ideological purity has overshadowed competence in American politics, causing governance failures.
    • The public punishes incompetence urgently, as shown in recent elections and crises management failures. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres Word for competence. Sam Harris Right. Rep. Ritchie Torres And it just feels to me, our politics values ideological purity more than competence. Competence has become the most undervalued virtue. But, you know, the American people have a clear pattern of punishing incompetence. You know, when Donald Trump was incompetent in managing the response to COVID, he lost the presidential election in 2020. When we as Democrats were incompetent in managing the migrant crisis, the Democratic nominee lost the election in 2024. You know, when George Bush sloppily mismanaged the response to Katrina, you know, his poll numbers never recovered. And you might recall when Biden sloppily withdrew from Afghanistan, his poll numbers never recovered. So I feel like the clear lesson here is that the American people value competence, demand it, and punish incompetence. And there’s this common refrain that, you know, we have a messaging problem. We did not have a messaging problem. We had a reality problem. Inflation was a reality. The migrant crisis was a reality. (Time 0:20:40)
  • October 7th Revealed Campus Anti-Semitism
    • October 7th revealed long-standing anti-Semitism that had been growing on college campuses and social media.
    • Public celebrations of mass murder expose alarming hatred that was previously less visible. Transcript: Sam Harris We know that it was not an accident. It was not purely organic, but obviously the sympathy was there to be leveraged by people taking to social media and in many cases, you know, directly funding protests. We definitely have an anti-Semitism problem. There’s an anti-Semitism problem on the far right, obviously, and that’s been with us forever, but there’s one on the far left, which is increasingly shrill and increasingly hard For otherwise sane and ethical people to parse. It’s understandable, given the level of misinformation and disinformation spread on this topic, it’s understandable that people are confused about what’s happening there and About what Israel could be doing or should be doing. But the clear dissection of the depth of the confusion happened on October 8th, before Israel had done anything in response. We saw this explosion of support for, you know, Hamas essentially as a legitimate resistance organization, right? Throwing off an occupation in Gaza that hadn’t been occupied for, you decade and a half. What do you make of the animus toward Israel and just the animus toward Jews left of center in our politics now? Rep. Ritchie Torres October 7th did not change the state of anti-Semitism. It simply revealed a process that had been unfolding for a long time, a process of demonizing both the Jewish people and the Jewish state. And to your point, almost as troubling as October 7th itself was the response. On October 8th, I saw masses of Americans go to the heart of Times Square, the most Jewish city in the world, and celebrate and cheer the mass murder of Jews. (Time 0:22:23)
  • Intersectionality Warps Israel Views
    • Intersectionality often casts Israel as the oppressor and Hamas as the oppressed, distorting perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
    • This lens hinders empathy for Israeli victims of terror and oversimplifies complex realities. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres And Israel is seen as the oppressor that can do no right. And Hamas is seen as the oppressed that can do no wrong. And that seems to be the distorting, simplistic lens through which the war in Gaza is seen, through which the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is seen. (Time 0:24:45)
  • Left-Wing Anti-Semitism in Academia
    • Anti-Semitism is pervasive on both far-right and far-left, but left-wing anti-Semitism permeates academia and culture more widely.
    • Academic responses to Jewish genocide threats often lack moral clarity compared to average public opinion. Transcript: Sam Harris Yeah, yeah. Rep. Ritchie Torres Which would have been unsayable only a few years ago. And it shows how corroded our culture has become by anti-Semitism, both on the far right and on the far left. But to your point, the far left anti-Semitism enjoys greater in American culture, in American media, in American education. And I find it ironic that the academic intelligentsia often has the least amount of moral intelligence. And that point was driven home to me during one of the congressional hearings. You might recall one of my colleagues asked the presidents of elite universities who was calling for a genocide of Jews harassment. Now, I’m from the Bronx. I represent a district where the median level of educational attainment is less than a college degree. But if you ask the average Bronxite, you know, is calling for a genocide of Jews harassment, they would say, of course it is. It’s worse than harassment. But if you ask an academic, you get a coldly legalistic formulaic response. (Time 0:25:51)
  • Enforce Campus Speech Policies Fairly
    • Universities should enforce free speech policies evenly, disallowing harassment and disruption by any group.
    • Protect campus order while allowing open discourse, distinguishing between speech and unlawful conduct. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres Can I challenge that actually? Because that’s a fair rule, but then enforce it even handedly. That was the thing that was so calling. The lack of neutrality and enforcement amounts to viewpoint discrimination, which to me is the opposite of academic freedom. Sam Harris We know what would have happened had anyone been calling for the lynching of black people or trans people. If there were a KKK encampment, it would have been shut. If you misgendered someone, you would have been fired and canceled in a heartbeat. Rep. Ritchie Torres Transgendered KKK members would have been bulletproof. So the selective enforcement of the rules, I think, is what I find most unsettling. Yeah. Like you can have whatever rule you wish, but enforce it evenly. Sam Harris Right. Right. And clearly, for the purposes of a college campus, one rule is that you shouldn’t be able to shut down the functioning of a campus. You shouldn’t be able to shout so that no one can be heard from the stage or cancel classes or, you know, we need to be able to educate the kids who are paying to get educated there. Rep. Ritchie Torres The First Amendment. Like the First Amendment protects speech, not conduct. There’s no First Amendment right to erect an encampment or blockade a building or harass and intimidate Jews on college campus. Like that’s not speech protected by the Constitution. That’s conduct that violates either the law or university policy. (Time 0:27:20)
  • Jews Misclassified as Oppressors
    • Labeling Jews as an oppressor class permits discrimination against them, unlike protections afforded to other minorities.
    • This categorization fuels a growing moral confusion and anti-Semitic attitudes on the left. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres And once you categorize Jews as an oppressor class or a privileged class, then you’re declaring them fair game for discrimination. Sam Harris Discrimination that would never be tolerated against any other minority in our society. Yeah. How did the Jews become a privileged class when still within living memory, nearly half of them were exterminated in ovens in Europe? I mean, how is this, for as long as anyone’s been paying attention, I mean, certainly you look at FBI hate crime statistics, since 9-11, every year since 9-11, even in the immediate aftermath Of 9-11, (Time 0:29:20)
  • Scapegoating and Indoctrination Fuel Hatred
    • Much anti-Semitism stems from scapegoating and indoctrination via social media and campuses.
    • This indoctrination also fuels hatred of America and the West among younger generations. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres I think one, there’s a long history of scapegoating and fear mongering against Jews. I mean, Jews have often been a convenient target for scapegoating. But I think much of it is simply indoctrination. I worry that our social media platforms and our college campuses are indoctrinating the next generation of Americans, not only with a hatred for Israel, but also a hatred for their Own country. Yeah, or a hatred for the West. I’m not aware of a civilization in human history that has ever succeeded on the strength of self-loathing. Like a society that no longer believes in itself will not long endure. (Time 0:30:15)
  • Need Left-Leaning Patriotism
    • Immigrants often see America as a land of opportunity, while some Gen Z feel America is a system of oppression.
    • There is a harmful culture of self-loathing on the American left that cedes patriotism to the right. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres A native born Gen Zer might see America. And I’m overgeneralizing, but I feel like there’s a kernel of truth here. You know, an immigrant sees America and sees a land of opportunity. Whereas a member of Gen Z will see America and see nothing but a system of oppression, nothing but racism and sexism and xenophobia. And look, there’s certainly a danger in excessive nationalism, but there’s also a danger in a deficit. Like every civilization needs some degree of self-love. And I feel like we have a culture of self-loathing in the West. You know, one thing I found inspiring about the Israeli left is before October 7th, during the passionate debates about judicial reform, you had a mass mobilization of Israelis, largely From the left, protesting the judicial reforms. And I found it striking that there were Israelis who were singing the Israeli anthem, Haqtikvah, and waving the Israeli flag and proudly proclaiming their Israeli patriotism. And I feel like that’s such a stark contrast to what we see from the American left, where you have leftists burning the American flag or denigrating the United States. And I feel like the, I wish the American left would embrace the patriotism of the Israeli left. (Time 0:30:59)
  • Focus on Affordability, Class Unity
    • The central Democratic challenge is the affordability crisis hurting working class Americans in housing, education, and healthcare.
    • Emphasizing class over identity with a unifying message of opportunity can broaden the party’s coalition. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres Longer ideological, but merely competent and sane. Look, for me, the single greatest challenge confronting America is the affordability crisis. You know, in New York, about one-fifth of the young Black population has disappeared. In the early 20th century, African Americans fled the South or the North in order to escape Jim Crow. And now we see African Americans escaping the North or the South in order to escape the affordability crisis. And even though consumer goods, like computers, have become dramatically more affordable and more abundant over time, The fundamentals of human flourishing, like higher education And healthcare and housing, have become unaffordable and scarce over time. And I feel like the central project of the Democratic Party should be to address the affordability crisis that is immiserating the American working class. I mean, that’s where we’re failing most miserably. So I think about it, I mean, wealth inequality is a real challenge, but I think about it as an affordability crisis. Sam Harris Do you think if we address the class- And that’s what’s radicalizing the next generation. Rep. Ritchie Torres And for good reason. If you spend $100,000 to go to college, maybe even more, and you find yourself unemployed or underemployed, you’re going to feel bitterly disillusioned with the system if you’re struggling To keep pace with the crushing cost of housing and healthcare and higher education and the inflation in these areas is out of control. You know, the promise of America is supposed to be if you work hard and play by the rules, then you will have access to a decent life. Well, there are people in America who are working hard, who are playing by the rules, and who are not only working poor, but working homeless. Like the majority of household heads in the New York shelter system are working people. Right. Sam Harris How much of the problem of race or the apparent problem of race or racial inequality is a problem of class, do you think? I feel like the two are inextricably bound together. Rep. Ritchie Torres And if I were setting the agenda for the Democratic Party, I would focus more heavily on class. I feel like we in the Democratic Party should be defined not by identities, but by ideas. And we should speak not in the language of three-letter acronyms like CRT and DEI and ESG. We should speak in the language of opportunity, opportunity for every American. We should give every American a fighting chance at the American dream, at a decent life. That to me is a unifying message that will broaden the Democratic coalition. (Time 0:34:50)
  • Expand Vocational Education Options
    • Rethink the one-size-fits-all college model by expanding vocational and technical education options.
    • Support workforce development that matches individual needs to reduce structural unemployment and associated social issues. Transcript: Sam Harris So I’ll take one example on workforce development and education. Rep. Ritchie Torres I feel like in America, we have a cultural obsession with the baccalaureate, and we should rethink the notion that everyone must go to a four-year college and learn Shakespeare and Then enter the workforce. Like, there’s a significant subset of our population that prefers vocational schooling, career, and technical education. And instead of imposing a one-size model on everyone, why not allow people the freedom and flexibility to choose the path that’s right for them? Why not allow people to bring a Pell Grant, not only to a four-year college, but to a union apprenticeship? You know, there’s a quote from John Gardner who served in the Lyndon Johnson administration, and I might be misremembering the quote, but he said, a society that exalts mediocre philosophy, But devalues excellent plumbing, will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water. And that encapsulates what I believe. But for me, there’s nothing more corrosive to a society than structural unemployment. And I’ve seen people in my district who will go to college, drop out, and end up not with a degree, but with debt and become structurally unemployed. And when you’re structurally unemployed, you’re much more susceptible to contact with the criminal justice system, deaths of despair, substance abuse, mental illness. (Time 0:37:37)
  • Safe AI Could Still Worsen Inequality
    • Even perfectly safe AI could worsen wealth inequality and unemployment if not managed politically and economically.
    • Without equitable wealth distribution, AI could exacerbate social disparities despite technological advances. Transcript: Sam Harris I mean, I think we’re totally capable of leaving aside the problem of building AI that is aligned with our interests and may yet just kill or AI that’s not aligned with our interests and May yet kill us. Even if we built it perfectly so that we could use it however we wanted to and without any loss of control, I think we’re still capable of not understanding the political and economic Changes that this is going to force on us. And we’ll be celebrating a handful of trillionaires in the pages of our business magazines as unemployment skyrockets and we just can’t figure out how to spread the wealth around. Which is to say that if we anticipate building it safely, which is by no means guaranteed or by some accounts even likely at this point, we have to see that even safe AI that’s just kind Of pulling wealth out of the ether is something that we could disastrously misuse because we haven’t anticipated the political and economic consequences of it. It simply has to be a tide that raises all boats. And, you know, that’s going to sound like communism to half the country. And it shouldn’t because, you know, we just can, uh, I mean, what is the end game? You know, trillionaires, uh, with their, uh, you know, building compounds in New Zealand and, and, uh, it’s just a, um, I mean, it could be the greatest force for inequality the world Has ever seen if we don’t play our cards right. (Time 0:39:57)
  • Moderate Executives Are Democratic Future
    • The Democratic Party’s strongest 2028 candidates are moderate executives, especially governors.
    • Leaders like Wes Moore, Josh Shapiro, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg represent the party’s promising talent bench. Transcript: Sam Harris What are your thoughts about 2028? Is it indecent to ask you who should be running? Who in the Democratic Party stands a chance of being a viable candidate at this point? Rep. Ritchie Torres Well, naturally, I have a preference for center-left candidates, and I tend to have a bias toward executives. So I feel like our greatest bench of talent is in the governorships, but I’m impressed with governors like Wes Moore, Josh Shapiro. I do feel like we have a wealth of talent at the gubernatorial level. And then Mayor Pete is just one of the most gifted communicators in the Democratic Party. So I feel like we have a stronger bench than people realize. (Time 0:42:46)
  • Defend Western Civilization Morally
    • The rational left should push back against relativism and defend America and Western civilization with moral clarity.
    • Recognize fundamental moral differences in global human rights realities and fight moral nihilism. Transcript: Rep. Ritchie Torres Party and those of us on the rational left need to be more comfortable pushing back against more relativism and speaking with moral clarity and defending America and defending Western Civilization, which is worth defending. Because I do feel like we live in an age of moral confusion. You know, if you’re speaking of Israel, if you’re an Arab woman in the Middle East, and if you’re born in Israel, you could rise to the highest echelons of Israeli society. You could become a member of the Knesset. You could become a member of the Israeli Supreme Court. You could be the judge that puts the prime minister in prison. Whereas if you’re born in Afghanistan, you will have acid thrown in your face for daring to be literate. And anyone who fails to see the fundamental moral difference between those two realities is profoundly morally confused. And I feel like those of us on the rational left should be at the forefront of combating that kind of moral nihilism and confusion. (Time 0:43:40)