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00:00We do have James Tallarico joining us tonight. I want to give him as much time as we possibly can,
00:04given what happened to him last night.
00:06So we're going to get right to it. Sounds good. Have a good show. Thanks, Jen. Thank you.
00:12And so for the first time ever, our first guest tonight was banned on television last night.
00:17Stephen Colbert's most popular guest of the year so far is not a movie star.
00:24He's someone most Americans have never heard of until CBS decided that their viewers should not hear from him last
00:30night on Stephen Colbert's program.
00:33In 2006, Stephen Colbert started using the phrase the Colbert bump to describe the surge in popularity that could happen
00:41for someone just by being on TV with Stephen.
00:44A surge in book sales or, in the case of politicians, a bump up in the polls.
00:48And now the Colbert bump has taken on new meaning.
00:51And we here at The Last Word stand ready to accept any guest on this program after that guest is
00:58bumped out of Stephen Colbert's show by cowardly corporate lawyers.
01:03Last night, when I watched Stephen Colbert tell the story of what happened at his show yesterday, I thought, let's
01:10get James Tallarico on this show tonight.
01:14A photograph of James Tallarico because the network wouldn't allow Stephen Colbert to actually even show an image of James
01:22Tallarico.
01:23It took CBS's lawyers almost 24 hours to come up with a response to Stephen Colbert.
01:27In a written statement, CBS said, quote,
01:29The Late Show was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Representative James Tallarico.
01:35The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal time rule for two other candidates,
01:44including Representative Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled.
01:51The Late Show decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast,
01:57rather than potentially providing the equal time option.
02:00The CBS lawyers are factually and legally wrong, as anyone who knows the law should know.
02:08It would be impossible for James Tallarico's appearance or any politician's appearance on Stephen Colbert's show to trigger the FCC
02:17equal time rule.
02:19The rule does not apply to entertainment television like Stephen Colbert's show in any way.
02:50Remember this about the CBS lawyers.
02:54They are the weakest, most cowardly corporate lawyers in America.
02:58They are actually in a tie with ABC's lawyers, who we will get to in a moment.
03:04The CBS lawyers, who are now trying to tell Stephen Colbert, who can be a guest on his show,
03:10work for a parent company that agreed to pay Donald Trump $16 million
03:16to settle a frivolous lawsuit by Donald Trump against 60 Minutes,
03:22which Donald Trump had no chance of winning, absolutely zero chance of winning.
03:26But those cowardly corporate lawyers agreed to pay Donald Trump $16 million
03:30in what Stephen Colbert correctly called, quote,
03:33a big, fat bribe.
03:36Those lawyers should be witnesses in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump
03:40in the United States Senate right now for that bribe.
03:44That is their filthy spot that they now occupy in American political and corporate legal history.
03:53Right beside the ABC lawyers for their corporate parent, Disney,
03:57that agreed to pay Donald Trump $15 million in a frivolous lawsuit against ABC News,
04:02a lawsuit that Donald Trump would not have won.
04:05The entire legal team at ABC and Disney disgraced themselves,
04:10along with the corporate chieftains of Disney's Magic Kingdom,
04:14in their acquiescence to Donald Trump,
04:16in their settling a lawsuit that Donald Trump would not have won.
04:21The lawyers did not have the courage to use their legal skills
04:26to fight Donald Trump's attempt to get money from this company,
04:32Donald Trump's illegal interference in their business.
04:35And so they paid him off.
04:37America has three legacy networks, NBC, ABC, and CBS.
04:41They are our oldest networks.
04:43And two of them have handed over big, fat bribes to Donald Trump
04:47with the approval of the most cowardly corporate lawyers
04:50known to be currently working in America.
04:52Not one of those lawyers offered a principled resignation
04:58over the big, fat bribe.
05:01Not one of them.
05:03We have seen lawyers publicly resigning from the Trump Justice Department
05:06on principle, from Washington to Minneapolis.
05:10But not one CBS lawyer.
05:12Not one ABC lawyer.
05:15If those lawyers are watching tonight,
05:18they should listen to our last guest in this hour tonight.
05:21A real lawyer, a former public defender,
05:24Emily Galvin Almanza,
05:26who will tell them what our legal system is really about.
05:32Those networks and their corporate parents disgrace themselves
05:37with those payoffs to Donald Trump.
05:39And not one person involved in the decision
05:42from the lawyers to the top of the company,
05:46the decision to make those payoffs,
05:48not one of those people has had the courage to resign in principle.
05:52Instead, they are busy policing Stephen Colbert's guest list.
05:56The CBS lawyers were disgraced enough by the big, fat payoff,
06:00and then they interfere with Stephen Colbert's show yesterday,
06:03and then lie about the law today
06:05to desperately try to defend their own cowardice.
06:10Stephen Colbert conducted his interview with James Tallarico,
06:13but showed it only on YouTube,
06:15where it has received more views than any Stephen Colbert episode so far this year.
06:20In fact, James Tallarico got double the audience
06:23that Taylor Swift got on Stephen Colbert's show.
06:26In the interview that is available on YouTube,
06:29James Tallarico offered an answer to why
06:32corporate lawyers living in fear of Donald Trump
06:34are trying to drive him off television.
06:39Welcome back, everybody!
06:42Ladies and gentlemen,
06:44joining me now is a representative in the Texas State House
06:47who is currently running for the United States Senate.
06:49Please welcome to the Late Show YouTube page,
06:52Representative James Tallarico.
07:08There you go!
07:12Now, here's the thing.
07:13I don't usually say this to a guest,
07:15but if people are watching this right now,
07:17it's because they found us online,
07:19online on YouTube.
07:21I did an act of the show that's on tonight
07:24explaining why it's not the first time
07:27you've caused some drama.
07:30FCC opening probe into the view
07:32after appearance by Tallarico.
07:34Do you mean to cause trouble?
07:38I think that Donald Trump is worried
07:41that we're about to flip Texas.
07:49And, Stephen, this is the party
07:56that ran against cancel culture,
07:58and now they're trying to control
08:00what we watch, what we say, what we read.
08:04And this is the most dangerous kind of cancel culture,
08:07the kind that comes from the top.
08:09So, they went after the view
08:13because I went on there.
08:16James Tallarico has been capturing attention
08:18on YouTube for a while now.
08:20He caught President Obama's attention last year.
08:22President Obama said this
08:24on the final episode of Mark Maron's podcast last year.
08:29Yeah, but look, there's this young state rep,
08:32James Tirico, who was on there a while back,
08:35out of Texas.
08:35Oh, that guy's good, right?
08:36He's terrific.
08:37Really talented young man.
08:38And, you know,
08:44it does require a certain confidence
08:48in your actual convictions
08:50to debate and have a conversation
08:52with somebody who disagrees with you
08:55on a whole bunch of stuff.
08:56What makes him so good, though?
08:57Because there is something grounded about him
08:59that you had it, too.
09:01You know what?
09:03So, in our foundation,
09:05a lot of the work that I do
09:07is working with young civic leaders,
09:12political leaders, journalists,
09:14human rights lawyers,
09:14not just here in the United States,
09:16but around the world.
09:18And one of the first things I say to him is,
09:24know what you really believe.
09:26Right.
09:27Like, that's your starting point.
09:29Right.
09:30And if you know what you...
09:32First of all,
09:33if you understand your convictions,
09:36you've got a moral compass,
09:37you've got a code,
09:38you've spent time wrestling
09:40with what it is that you care about
09:42and what you believe.
09:43Yeah.
09:43Then, it's a lot easier now
09:45to be open
09:46and actually listen to other people.
09:51And as opposed to constantly
09:53trying to beat off anybody
09:55who might contradict...
09:57Right.
09:58...you know,
09:59your current perspective.
10:01And I think a guy like him,
10:06his starting point is,
10:08let me say what I believe.
10:12In his interview with Stephen Colbert,
10:14which I hope you all watch on YouTube,
10:16James Tallarico discussed politics
10:18and religion with a fluency
10:19that relies on his religious upbringing
10:21in Texas,
10:22where he went to college
10:23at the University of Texas
10:24before earning a master's degree
10:26at Harvard's Graduate School of Education
10:28and another master's degree
10:29from the Austin Presbyterian
10:31Theological Seminary.
10:32In Texas,
10:34when politics crashes into religion,
10:37James Tallarico steps in
10:39to pull them apart.
10:43Can you name a school
10:44where it has been confirmed
10:46that students are using litter boxes?
10:48This was at the top
10:49of your press release.
10:50This was mentioned
10:51when you introduced this bill.
10:53It created quite a stir
10:54among public school educators
10:57across the state.
10:58So I'm asking,
10:58can you name a school
10:59where it's been confirmed
11:00that there are litter boxes
11:01being provided to students?
11:04For this purpose,
11:06no, I cannot.
11:07Are you aware that
11:08Governor Abbott said,
11:09quote,
11:10kids go to school
11:11dressed up as cats
11:12with litter boxes
11:13in their classrooms?
11:16Sure.
11:18Are you also aware
11:19that when the governor
11:20was asked by the Dallas Morning News
11:21to name a single school
11:22where this happened,
11:23he couldn't?
11:25And PolitiFact
11:26called this a pants on fire,
11:28false claim
11:29started by online rumors?
11:31Okay.
11:32We are spending
11:33precious legislative time
11:35toward the end
11:36of this legislative session
11:37on a bill called
11:39the Furries Act.
11:40And honestly,
11:42Representative Gerdes,
11:43this whole thing
11:44is just weird
11:45and honestly
11:47a little creepy.
11:48And I think
11:49that's the point
11:50because this is all,
11:52in my opinion,
11:55a manufactured,
11:56debunked,
11:57smear campaign
11:58against our Texas
11:59public schools.
12:00I mean,
12:02Governor Abbott
12:02has used
12:03this litter box rumor
12:04to paint our schools
12:06in the worst possible light.
12:07He even used
12:09the litter box
12:10conspiracy theory
12:11to push his
12:12private school voucher bill.
12:13And so,
12:14I think that's because
12:16if you want to
12:18defund
12:19neighborhood schools
12:20across the state,
12:21you have to get Texans
12:23to turn
12:24against their public schools.
12:26So,
12:26you call
12:29librarians groomers,
12:30you accuse teachers
12:31of indoctrination,
12:32and now you say
12:33that schools
12:33are providing
12:34litter boxes
12:34to students.
12:36That's how all
12:37of this is tied together.
12:38That's how I see
12:39this bill.
12:39That's how a lot
12:40of educators
12:41across our state
12:42see this bill
12:43as part
12:44of a smear campaign.
12:45I mean,
12:46these culture war
12:47attacks
12:49are nothing more
12:50than an effort
12:51to discredit
12:52our public schools
12:53to justify
12:54defunding
12:54those public schools.
12:55If a student
12:56eats Cheetos
12:58and then licks
12:59the cheese dust
12:59off their fingers,
13:00would that be considered
13:01licking oneself?
13:03Yeah,
13:05that's not
13:06a non-human behavior
13:07if you're licking
13:08your fingers
13:08because you've got
13:09food on them.
13:09That's kind of
13:10in line with
13:11the normal behavior.
13:12But you're defining
13:13non-human behavior
13:14as licking oneself
13:15or others.
13:16If it's
13:17in this
13:18non-human behavior
13:20realm,
13:21the intent
13:21of the bill
13:22is
13:22for licking
13:25oneself
13:25for the grooming
13:26purposes
13:27like a cat.
13:28So I guess
13:29the last question
13:30I have is
13:30does the Texas
13:31Attorney General
13:32have better things
13:33to do
13:33than policing
13:34a child's actions
13:35in a public school?
13:37You know,
13:38we'll have to
13:39leave that up to them.
13:41And here is
13:42Texas State
13:43Representative
13:44James Tallarico
13:45questioning
13:45Republican
13:46Texas State
13:48Representative
13:48Candy Noble
13:49about her bill
13:50to post the
13:51Ten Commandments
13:52in public schools.
13:55I say this to you
13:56as a fellow Christian,
13:57Representative Noble,
13:58I know you're
13:58a devout Christian
14:00and so am I.
14:02This bill
14:03to me
14:03is not only
14:04unconstitutional,
14:05it's not only
14:07un-American,
14:08I think it is
14:09also deeply
14:10un-Christian.
14:11And I say that
14:13because I believe
14:14this bill
14:14is idolatrous,
14:16I believe it is
14:17exclusionary,
14:18and I believe
14:19it is arrogant.
14:20And those three
14:21things
14:22in my reading
14:23of the gospel
14:23are diametrically
14:25opposed
14:25to the teachings
14:26of Jesus.
14:27You probably know
14:28Matthew 6-5
14:30when Jesus says
14:31don't be like
14:33the hypocrites.
14:33We love to pray
14:35publicly on street
14:36corners.
14:36when you pray,
14:37go into your room
14:38and shut the door
14:40and pray to your
14:41father who is
14:42in secret.
14:43A religion
14:44that has to
14:45force people
14:46to put up
14:47a poster
14:48to prove
14:49its legitimacy
14:50is a dead
14:51religion.
14:52And it's not
14:53one that I
14:54want to be a part
14:55of, it's not
14:55one that I
14:55think I am
14:56a part of.
14:58You know
14:59that in
15:00scripture it
15:00says faith
15:01without works
15:02is what?
15:03Is dead.
15:05My concern
15:06is instead
15:06of bringing
15:07a bill
15:08that will
15:08feed the
15:09hungry,
15:10clothe the
15:11naked,
15:12heal the
15:13sick,
15:14we're instead
15:14mandating that
15:15people put up
15:15a poster.
15:18And we
15:19both follow
15:21a teacher,
15:23a rabbi,
15:24who said
15:25don't let the
15:26law get in
15:27the way of
15:27loving your
15:28neighbor.
15:29Loving your
15:29neighbor is
15:30the most
15:31important law.
15:32It is the
15:33summation of
15:34all the
15:35law and
15:35all the
15:35prophets.
15:38I would
15:38submit to
15:39you that
15:39our neighbor
15:40also includes
15:41the Hindu
15:42student who
15:42sits in a
15:43classroom,
15:45the Buddha
15:46student who
15:46sits in a
15:47classroom,
15:48and an
15:48atheist
15:49student who
15:49sits in a
15:50classroom.
15:51And my
15:51question to
15:52you is,
15:53does this
15:54bill truly
15:57love those
15:58students?
16:01I'm going
16:02to go a
16:02different
16:02direction than
16:03I think
16:04you're trying
16:04to lead
16:04me.
16:07Leading
16:07off our
16:08discussion
16:08tonight is
16:08Texas State
16:09Democratic
16:10Representative
16:10James
16:11Tellarico,
16:12now a
16:12candidate for
16:13United States
16:14Senate in
16:15Texas.
16:15Thank you
16:16very much
16:16for joining
16:17us tonight
16:17on what I
16:18know has
16:19been a
16:19very strange
16:2024 hours
16:21for you.
16:23What was
16:24your first
16:24reaction when
16:25you discovered
16:26what was
16:26happening to
16:27you at
16:27CBS
16:27yesterday?
16:30I mean,
16:31it felt a
16:31little like
16:32deja vu
16:33because we
16:34had just
16:34gone through
16:34this with
16:35The View.
16:36Trump's FCC
16:37launched an
16:38investigation to
16:39The View
16:39after I
16:40appeared on
16:41that program.
16:41And so to
16:42have it happen
16:43again with
16:44the late
16:44show, again,
16:46just felt like
16:46a bad rerun.
16:48And it should
16:49be troubling to
16:50all of us,
16:51regardless of
16:51our political
16:53affiliations or
16:54our political
16:54beliefs, that
16:55the most powerful
16:56people in the
16:56country, the
16:57most powerful
16:58politicians and
16:59the most
16:59powerful corporate
17:01executives are
17:02working together
17:03to sell out
17:04the First
17:05Amendment, to
17:06sell out our
17:07freedom of
17:08speech in
17:09order to
17:09protect their
17:10own power and
17:11their own wealth.
17:12And that should
17:13be concerning to
17:14all of us,
17:14whether you're a
17:15Democrat or
17:15Republican,
17:16whether you're
17:16a progressive
17:17or conservative,
17:18because an
17:19attack on any
17:20one of our
17:21First Amendment
17:22rights is an
17:23attack on all
17:24of our First
17:24Amendment rights.
17:25So it's so
17:27striking to me
17:28watching you in
17:29those hearing
17:29settings in
17:30Texas, because
17:31as sharp as
17:33your differences
17:34are, you
17:35never raise your
17:36voice, your
17:37legislative opponent
17:38never raises the
17:40voice, it is a
17:43behaviorally
17:43respectful exchange
17:45all the way
17:46through, you're
17:47running for a
17:48job where if you
17:49win, you'll be
17:50in Senate hearing
17:51rooms with people
17:52like the
17:53Attorney General
17:54of the United
17:54States, who
17:55will have a
17:56book of
17:57written insults
17:59of you, her
18:01staff will write
18:02insults that she
18:03can throw at you
18:04instead of
18:04answering your
18:05questions.
18:05Have you seen
18:06those hearings
18:07and do you have
18:07any thoughts about
18:08how you would
18:09conduct yourself
18:10in a hearing
18:10like that?
18:11or ι
18:11Or
18:12по
18:12him
18:13judge
18:14Tamil
18:14us
18:14you
18:14H
18:14Sh
18:14have
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