“You might be the funniest politician ever since Trump,” Bart exclaims about Mike ter Maat, who joins the show today in the midst of running for president of the United States on the Libertarian ticket. If he wins, he may or may not be the first president of the United States to be named Mike. One thing he knows for certain is that a sign saying “no molestar the alligators” means something entirely practical and not nearly as risqué as it may sound to our non Spanish-speaking listeners.
Mike’s knowledge of alligators, ...
“You might be the funniest politician ever since Trump,” Bart exclaims about Mike ter Maat, who joins the show today in the midst of running for president of the United States on the Libertarian ticket. If he wins, he may or may not be the first president of the United States to be named Mike. One thing he knows for certain is that a sign saying “no molestar the alligators” means something entirely practical and not nearly as risqué as it may sound to our non Spanish-speaking listeners.
Mike’s knowledge of alligators, and the laws related to them – both factual and otherwise – was accrued during his nearly 12-year stint as a police officer in southern Florida. Perhaps due to this background in law enforcement, he holds firm opinions on America's flawed criminalization policies.
Mike believes that attempting to reshape culture through the criminal code or public policy, without appropriate funding or the cooperation of all parties involved, inevitably results in catastrophe. Such attempts foster black markets, like the human trafficking that emerged from the immigration crisis or the illicit drug trade that persists despite America’s longstanding “war on drugs.”
To face the significant challenges ahead, Mike says that America must acknowledge both its strengths and weaknesses. He delves into the vulnerabilities of the U.S. military and the shortcomings of its strategies. He sheds light on changing American perceptions of war, shares his stance on U.S. involvement with NATO, and highlights the risks of what he terms the U.S.'s "strategic ambiguity" concerning China. This ambiguity, he suggests, could ignite a potential conflict over Taiwan, with serious repercussions for the next generations.
If one were to judge by Mike’s handwriting alone, Bart says he may be a great fit to lead us, as he is a perfect blend of ambition, tenacity and follow-through. Join the fun to hear the libertarian presidential hopeful reveal his greatest concern regarding Donald Trump, and the joke that may result in a gun to his and Bart’s heads.
Quotes
- “You might be the funniest politician ever since Trump…he probably could have gone out on Fifth Avenue and shot someone without losing a great deal of support. (12:23 | Bart Baggett)
- “You look at our immigration catastrophe. We have tried to make something illegal without dedicating the resources to either stop it or recognizing the fact that culturally, neither the culture on our side of the border or the culture on the other side of the border is ready to shut this down. And so we have a black market in human trafficking.” (17:50 | Mike ter Maat)
- “The other thing that I think has changed in the last generation is that Americans are waking up to the idea that to be honest, and a lot of Americans are not going to hear this - but I'm on your show, so I might as well say it because it's the truth - we're not good at this. At a tactical level, we seem to be fantastic. We're good at killing people and blowing things up. We're good at moving material, taking land, holding land. We're good at opening seaways, holding seaways. We're even good at toppling governments, if you don't mind the secrets coming out in the long run. It seems to be the narrative. Right. So we're good at all those at a tactical level. On a strategic level, in terms of achieving things that the American public could point to and say, that was a good idea, we're just not there.” (20:26 | Mike ter Maat)
- "People are ready to hear a message that says, you can be patriotic and still recognize that we stink at the idea of using military intervention as a foreign policy to achieve long-term strategic objectives in the interest of the American public." (22:00 | Mike ter Maat)
Links
Connect with Bart Baggett
https://instagram.com/bartbaggett
https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/
https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
https://bartbaggett.com
https://www.tiktok.com/@bartbaggett
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