Okay, guys, before we begin,
we're gonna look at this book just a little bit,
that talks about how the fact that we are moving
more to a Internet-based society
has really crippled our ability to have a sustained dialogue,
which is what we see playing out today.
So, who here has heard of the book 1984?
What— W-What's the premise there?
What— What happens? Anyone wanna take a stab? Yeah.
Dystopian society. Guy works for the government.
- Okay. -He's kinda going against it a little bit.
Absolutely. I wanna read this to you real quick.
"We were keeping our eye on 1984.
When the year came and the prophecy didn't,
thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves.
The roots of liberal democracy had held.
But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell's dark vision,
there was another slightly older, slightly less well-known
and equally chilling possibility: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.
Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression."
Big Brother.
"But in Huxley's vision, no Big Brother is required
to deprive people of their autonomy and maturity.
People will come to love their oppression,
to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.
Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information.
Huxley feared those who would give us so much
that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism."
So, what this book really tries to impart is the fact that who we elect matters.
How we elect matters.
The most dangerous weapon we have in the fight to maintain our democracy
is us being willing to give a darn and fight for it.
We're very pleased you decided to apply to go to Boys State this year.
And, uh, the purpose of this interview
is to kinda get a— a handle on who you are.
Yes, sir. So, uh, I have a wonderful family.
I mean, Dad— Dad's the primary caregiver.
Our mom's been educating us ever since we were really young.
- You're homeschooled? -Yes, sir.
I play football, baseball, um, and then I team rope.
Been in the corps since I was in sixth grade.
Who is your role model?
Uh, honestly, I would say, um, Christ is, uh, my role model.
We're really like a military family, kind of,
although we aren't in the military.
Uh, tell us what the flag means to you.
Well, sir, I think that if you look closely,
sure there may be, you know, like, a little missed stitch
or a little loose piece of, uh, material,
but from far away, I think it symbolizes everything that the world is trying to be.
All right. Yes, sir. Thank you very much.
Okay, thumbs-up or thumbs-down on sending him forward?
Up.
Congratulations.
- We'll post it in the morning. -Thank you.
We're very proud to sponsor you this year to go to Boys State.
I hope you do run for governor.
- Yes, sir. Thank you so much. -Congratulations.
- Congratulations. -Thank you. Thank you, sir.
If there's 1,000 kids dressed like that, I don't know.
You know?
Okay, so what are, like, the best political speeches of all time?
'Cause I've gotta do, like, speechwriting and stuff.
Oh.
Now to print out the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
We come to Berlin, we American presidents,
because it's our duty to speak in this place of freedom.
- Who is that? -Thank you very much.
- It's this guy. -... ladies and gentlemen.
- Reagan. -It's Ronald Reagan.
You know, some people say they're a sports junkie.
I say I'm a politics junkie.
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
We live in the greatest democracy in the world,
and I feel like a big problem is there's a lot of people today
that are willing to discount the idea that America truly is a great country.
Hard work can still get you to where you wanna go.
You just might have to work harder.
And it's like, I think about me, right. Like, I'm an amputee, right.
Like, it is not fair that I am missing my legs.
I am put at a disadvantage
that most other people do not have to deal with.
But, like, clearly, I've been reasonably successful.
And it's like, I've had to work harder, and I've had to work to overcome that.
And the more we keep focusing on these other factors,
like race or gender or disability, you know,
and the less we pin it to individual failings,
I think that's a very, very bad thing for this nation,
and, like, I think, like, we're individuals, right?
Like, I don't think of myself as white.
I think of myself as Ben Feinstein, American, right?
- Future president. -Yeah, we'll see.
- Morning! -Good morning.
- How are you doing? -Good, good, good. Excited.
- Good! -What's your name?
I'm Steven Garza.
- Did your parents come with you? -Huh?
- Did your parents come with you? -Oh, no, they're not. No.
- No. -They— They have work.
- I'm Steven. Nice to meet you. -Christopher.
- Christopher. Awesome. You excited? -Yeah.
- Nice to meet you. I'm Steven. -Nice to meet you, Steven.
- So you're excited? You— You ready to go? -Yeah.
- Shh! -They told y'all we're going to Austin,
but we're actually going to Cozumel, Mexico. So, y'all...
I thought about that last week. I was like, "Mom, we gotta order these."
"One-day shipping. We gotta get it done."
Those things are illegal.
He's my president. I have to support my president.
I want him to succeed.
'Cause if my president succeeds, my country succeeds, you know?
And so, even though I may not agree with everything that he does,
I'm not gonna bash every single little thing
just because it's a Trump name on it.
I am a progressive person,
and I'm in a room full of mostly conservative people.
Certainly, I wasn't a fan of Obama whatsoever,
because he is, you know, near-socialist.
However, there were one or two things that he did that helped this country.
The person who got me into politics
was Senator Bernie Sanders, when he ran.
I saw him for the first time, and just being in that atmosphere
and hearing the things that he had to say really inspired me, really motivated me.
And so, very slowly but surely, I started volunteering on some campaigns,
doing phone banking and block walking.
You know, learning all I could about politics and how that works.
Uh, I'm here to talk to either Marissa or Martha.
Not a Democrat?
Republican.
- Okay. Well, thank you so much, sir. -Sure.
Hello.
Go in the door there and say, "I'm here for" name your city.
Your smallest element here, your smallest family is your city.
- Right, the city. -Right. Now let me get your photograph.
Okay, smiles are good too. Do you smile?
- I caught— -Not much.
Mom, I caught a couple smiles from these guys.
Listen up, everyone. We'll start checking in a little before 1:00...
Texas is a perfect example of America.
A melting pot of cultures and people.
Boys State provides a—
a chance to learn from each other and hear from the opposite side
without screaming and yelling on a Facebook post.
- Five. -Thank you.
You know how to get to that room?
Boys State's a little bit too genderfied.
I think we should go for, like, People State.
There's Girls State.
Know what? We should just do it like People State.
- "People State"? -Yeah.
I'm just memeing on you. Don't worry.
Good afternoon, gentlemen,
and welcome to the American Legion Texas Boys State.
This will be an intense week of learning
about state government and civil discourse.
We had you stand up a while ago to see who was a leader in here,
and there wasn't anybody in here that didn't wind up standing up.
And as you look to the left and right,
you don't know them, and they don't know you.
Guess what?
That gives you an opportunity that's unique in life.
It's a chance to be who you've always wanted to be,
to put forth your better self.
Somebody will run your city.
Somebody will run your party.
Sitting beside you...
or someone sitting in your seat
may be the next governor of Texas Boys State.
Will that somebody be you?
Federalists, you are going to be with me.
So, Federalists, let's roll out.
Whoo!
So long, farewell Auf Wiedersehen, good night
So what are you running for?
I'm running for House of Representatives.
- House of Representatives. -I just— I don't know.
They said the seats are comfortable...
- They really are. -Oh, they are?
If I wasn't running for governor, I probably would've run for— for House.
Yeah.
- So where you from, Ben? -I'm from San Antonio, sir.
- So how'd you hear about Boys State? -I had a friend that went last year.
- Okay. -He ran for governor,
- but he lost in the primaries, so... -Oh, okay.
I hope to succeed where he failed.
We basically take, in a full week, the entire Texas political system—
running for office, party processes.
You get to build party platforms with what you believe.
Not what current Republican or Democrats think,
but what the Federalists believe and what the Nationalists believe.
So, you're gonna write down, "Hey, I wanna run for this position,"
and then you get signatures.
The filing form deadline is gonna be tomorrow.
- Question? -Wait. We're running for offices,
and we're running for all these different things, right?
But what is it that we're doing after we get elected?
Texas Boys State focuses more on the process leading up to the election.
The exception is our Senate and our House.
You'll get to pass bills, you'll get to debate at the state capitol building.
- Yes, sir. -What is the earliest
that one could start collecting signatures?
We are going to release you guys at 10:00 tonight.
And where do people sign things? What do they sign?
On this very conveniently printed off ballot petition form
- that we have up here... -Beautiful, sir.
- that we will issue to you guys shortly. -Beautiful.
Thirty signatures for governor.
Okay. If I'm a Federalist, can I get a Nationalist to sign my paper?
- No. -Correct.
If you'll turn with me in your manuals to page six,
it's "Electing Our City Officials."
I'mma take notes on this.
We have 24 cities here at Boys State.
Those cities filter into counties, and that's very much like real life.
So, what's an example of a political office?
- Party chair. -Party chair.
Somebody give me an example of an elected office.
- Yes, sir. -Governor.
Governor? All right, awesome.
We're gonna have one mayor, two color guard,
and then one press corps.
And then you're gonna elect a precinct chair
and then three other delegates. Okay?
Might be four. Got it?
- Have you already signed for senator? -I have not.
- You wanna sign mine? -Sure.
Uh, hello. I would like you to vote me as your platform chair.
I'm a right-wing libertarian. I'm a big-time capitalist.
My uncle is the youngest Republican senator in history.
My other uncle served as the attaché to Poland.
I scored a 35 on the ACT, putting me in the 0.2 percentile.
I would like to run for mayor because I'm really prideful in our city.
I've run for three positions so far.
I've lost all three, but I'm not giving up.
Nationalists,
- has anyone not signed for a governor? -I got you.
I'm one of the Nationalist candidates running for governor.
I'm gonna be on the ballot.
I don't wanna BS or try to sound fake about it.
I wanna hear what you think, what your positions are.
If you wanted to ask me any questions.
- Uh, what's your name? -Steven Garza.
All right. I'm gonna come back to you.
You support me?
I love it, boys. I love it.
Where you from?
What are you running for, partner?
- Treasurer, how 'bout you? -Treasurer?
Uh, oh, I'm thinking of a governor run. I'm not ready to announce yet.
Respected offices...
It's a little early to start running for governor, don't you think?
We don't even have a party formed yet.
You don't have any support in the primaries.
I know, but if— You have to start early. You have to start raising support.
You don't have to start this early.
What do you believe in?
Uh, my views will most likely align with the party for the majority of them.
- I wanna hear opening debates. -So, in other words,
you're waiting for the party to come up with an opinion
and then you're gonna go with the party.
- What do you stand for, though? Like— -I stand for freedom.
You stand for freedom. That's a bold policy.
- Has anyone here not signed for governor? -Me.
Okay.
Will you please vote me for county sheriff?
- Yes. Sign for governor. -County sheriff, please. Please.
You wanna endorse me for governor, my friend? Nationalists.
- All right, I need a reason why. -To the future.
Is that it?
Improved school safety.
Those two I got.
Better education spending.
Very important. Very important!
- Will you endorse me? -Yes. Absolutely.
My brother. My brother.
We will, we will win. Oh! We will, we will win.
Oh! We will, we will win. Oh! We will, we will win.
Oh! We will, we will win...
Have you voted for governor yet?
- Huh? -What?
Have you voted for governor yet? Nationalist?
Yeah, yeah. Sorry.
big and bright
Deep in the heart of Texas
Be my final signature. Be my 30th.
- All right. -Be my 30th. Make it done.
I got you.
Funny thing, it's like I've prepared for governor in my mind, right,
but my sheet is completely blank.
Yeah. So I gotta get that figured out.
Gentlemen, as you go back to your rooms tonight,
good luck in your preparation for speeches for tomorrow.
Good luck in your run for political office.
Good luck in your time here at Texas Boys State.
God bless you.
- I have my 30. -You do?
- I do. -I'm working on it.
- I have, uh, 20. -Good luck. Good luck.
You too.
I bought some Bitcoin back in August.
I don't know.
Bitcoin was probably right at about 2,000 a coin, 1,500.
And then managed to totally forget about it, that I ever had it.
One of my friends said one day Bitcoin had hit, like, 18,000.
And so I sold my Bitcoin.
Just— Got some new boots.
So this summer, I served as a Senate page for the Republican party.
I made copies, lots of copies.
You go there thinking this is all this larger-than-life stuff.
But you get there, turns out senators are about as tall as I am.
Just regular people.
All my friends are wondering now, "Oh, where do I wanna go to college?
What— What do I wanna do?"
And I guess I've always had the luxury of knowing I'm only applying to West Point.
Um, I'm only applying one place.
People say these things like, "It's so polarized now,"
but you look back, we were just as polarized in the 1800s.
Then again, back then they were debating slavery.
Then there was the Civil War. So...
I feel like it is at least somewhat of a problem.
- Go, go, go. -Oh, my goodness.
I'm thinking of governor, so vote Ben Feinstein for freedom.
- All right. -Yes, sir.
- I remember that, yeah. -Feinstein for freedom. What about you?
- I have no clue. -You have no clue?
- No. -Feinstein for freedom.
- I hope I can count on your vote. -All right.
- I don't think we've met yet. -We have met.
- We have? -We were sitting at the door.
- I am so sorry. I'm Ben. Nice to meet you. -Parker.
Parker, yes, sir.
I need to get on the ballot.
There are 600 Nationalists. I just need ten or eleven more signatures.
- Then we're good. Yeah. -Really? That's it?
We wanna support our boy from Winters.
Could I talk to you for a second? I don't wanna ask you for your signature
unless you actually wanted— want me to win.
- Okay, I don't know. -So ask me— ask me any question.
What do you think is the objective of a politician?
Public service. Serve others, not himself.
- Good answer. -Yes, sir.
- Could I get your s— -Yeah, I'll sign.
Awesome. Thank you so much, bro.
I have a little under 12 hours to get five more signatures.
All right, folks.
Welcome to your very first Nationalist party state convention.
The way politics are won in this country
is as a party, as a team.
You gotta work together, form your ideas
into a platform that's gonna work for you,
that's not only gonna take this team to the top,
but be so impressive that when the other team hears you guys talking,
they have no choice but to join with you for fear of being run over.
We are going to be electing a state party chairman.
I just wanna start off with a few things.
On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country,
to obey the Scout Law, to help other people at all times.
I believe our society is stronger when everybody is disciplined yet dangerous.
Our masculinity shall not be infringed.
If you want the big guns, vote for the Barrett. Thank you.
He's good. He's good.
I'm going to use this devotion to see change for this year's Nationalists
and to pressure the Federalists into a state of absolute submission.
Yeah! Yes!
Do you want a chairman who will act
for each and every one of your personal desires?
Then vote for Wyatt Schafer.
Do you want a chairman for the people?
- Yeah! -Then vote for Wyatt Schafer!
Yes! Yes!
At the ripe age of 24,
Charles Jameson has been in and out of the jail system since he was 17.
To the point where he concluded that he couldn't even stay out.
That's when he decided he was gonna get his story told by any means necessary.
And to do so behind a jail cell, well, that's revolutionary.
And every revolution required a few weapons.
And his arsenal of choice was a crayon and a purple card
in which he wrote to me about the dismal conditions of prisoners.
And that's why I, René Otero,
began to conduct a case study approved by Harvard,
in which we looked at the state of ex-convicts
reintegrating back into society.
I then drafted a piece of legislation to create tax cuts for any business
that accepts an inmate as a charity operation.
This chronicle is important for two reasons.
Because first, it not only shows the experience that I have
when it comes to representing and drafting policy,
but it also shows just about how far I'm willing to go for any American.
I lobbied. I went to state council meetings
just so a man in prison can have his rights.
So can you just imagine what I'm capable of
for every single one of us out here who is free
and out of chains and are a Nationalist?
My grandmother told me a few things.
You have to have faith, hope,
and a bit of a pissed off attitude.
I wanna be civil and represent a whole working body.
And we're gonna take the example of a plane body.
It has two wings, a left one and a right one.
We're not gonna pick one.
We're gonna stay in the middle, because we are not an intolerable party.
We're one that is palatable to all.
And so as long as we are able to keep this plane afloat
with a healthy right wing and a healthy left wing,
we have the ability and the capability to pummel any Federalist into the ground,
because we are the only party that's worth voting for,
because it's this party that's going to represent every individual.
Vote for me for your state chair.
So, your state party chairman is...
- René. -René.
I feel like everybody has a secret underlying need for bipartisanship.
So, I think just running on a campaign of bipartisanship
and being as inspecific as possible
was a great way for me, I guess, to integrate myself.
You— Yeah, you're— you're the state party chairman. Congratulations.
- God. Whoo! All this power. -One of two out of over 1,100.
Thank you. Wow. You really— You make that sound exclusive.
All I can say is that I'm very humbled and very grateful to be your state chair.
So as a strong Nationalist party,
get yourselves ready for a turbulent election.
I'm originally from Chicago.
I was in a bubble. You know, everybody looked the same.
Everybody had the same ideas. Everybody was mad at the same person.
And then I moved down here, and that just feels super isolating.
At the same time, empowering.
You know, 'cause it's like, I can be a delegate for black people here.
- Here's what— Here's what we have. -Here's the one guy.
- No, we have 20... -Do you want me to write it down for you?
My mom was like, "It sounds conservative.
Just let me know if you need to come home."
I was like, "It's fine." So...
Okay, and if you're not a platform member...
I think I'm doing all right so far.
All right, big guy.
And I've never seen so many white people, ever.
Warm up. Get your muscles stretched!
- Tomorrow's the primary, right? -Tomorrow's the primary.
I'm feeling pretty good.
Write, like, a speech, like, bullet points of what you wanna cover—
Oh, yeah, no. I have key points.
I feel like trying to find a middle ground is gonna leave nobody happy.
You're gonna be the guy who's standing there
while one person raises their hand for you.
- We pitched for Speaker of the House. -Come on, push-ups.
- Let's do 'em. -I don't want to.
Push-ups. Come on. Anybody.
- Anybody? Push-ups? -I'll do push-ups
- if you do push-ups. -Push-ups right now?
Yeah, I'll do it.
Whoo!
If you are interested in trying out for the talent show,
we're gonna make an announcement at the start of the second session.
Why are you walking like that? Are you, like, hurt or something?
No, sir. I've got no legs.
Yeah. I'm on prosthetics, buddy.
Yeah.
I've wanted to serve in the military since I was a little kid.
I'm actually not allowed to do that, physically.
So instead, I want to go into something like the CIA or the FBI.
You know, Department of Defense. Something like that.
Where I can still serve my country but as a civilian.
You know, right outside here,
you know, when everyone was doing the chants, that's not me.
I'm not a very, like, rowdy guy.
I'm not the kind of guy to really get in there
and, like, do that, you know, "rah-rah" kind of stuff.
What do you think a guy like me should do here?
Like, I mean, this is a crossroads, right?
And it's like, I've already told a lot of people
that I'm seeking the governorship.
I guess my question for you would be, you know,
what are the real downsides for, uh, changing course?
I mean, to answer that honestly— Okay, like, you know,
I'd look like I'm kinda backing off, right, in the face of competition.
So it'd be kind of like a sign of weakness.
But, like, now a part of me is thinking
state party chair might be the better option, you know,
'cause it's like, it'll, you know, it's still, like, a very high position,
and there's still a lot of, like, honor associated with it.
But it'll give me more of an opportunity
to, you know, express more intellectual views,
and it won't be so, like, personality and charisma-based, you know?
Sounds like you came up with a plan.
- Good luck, man. -Okay. Thank you.
I appreciate it. I appreciate you taking the time
- to kinda clear it up. -Yeah, absolutely.
Good evening, statesmen. I am Blake Aldridge.
And I'm Raleigh Dewan.
And you're watching Texas Boys State News reporting live from Austin, Texas.
You know, everyone likes to win.
Now, let's take a look at some of our state candidates
who are looking to try and make a difference.
I just need, basically, one more signature to get on that ballot.
So, I just wanted to talk to you about, you know,
what are the issues affecting you?
I'm not gonna vote for someone who doesn't have, like, the morals behind it,
that's gonna go up there and not gonna follow their morals.
So what are your morals on, like, some of the main topics
like abortion or gay rights or veterans and things like that?
I'm gonna try to support my party platform to the best of my ability.
- Uh-huh. Of course. -Um, you know,
without compromising personal or religious beliefs.
My big thing is individual freedom.
You know, you do you as long as it doesn't bother anybody.
In some countries it's punishable by death to be homosexual,
which is what makes this country so beautiful.
We're free to have other religions, uh, here and other ideologies
and other, uh, types of people, you know. Fair treatment of all. Uh...
Yeah.
We're double-teamed and short-stacked...
We're playing man for the most part, but man's not really working that well.
- What's up, bro? -I got 'em.
- You got 'em? You got your signatures? -Let me guard him.
Left!
Mr. Speaker, let's gavel in, and we'll get to work.
All right. Cool.
Howdy, gentlemen. Uh, my name is Harrison McFarlane,
and I propose a bill that requires the relocation of all Prius drivers
to the state of Oklahoma, because we hate them.
We don't want them here. Whoo!
All right. Who else thinks the letter "w" is way too hard to say?
All right. I propose that in Texas,
in all schools, we officially change the pronunciation to "dubya."
Yeah!
I think when you put a bunch of 17-year-old boys in a room together,
they're all tired because talking about taxes is boring,
you get crazy stuff like the— the Lone Star defense platform.
Recognizing the looming threat of alien invasion,
this necessary defense infrastructure will cost around $15 billion to build.
I think last year's secession happening on as wide a scale as it did,
was, like, a result of just, like, a snowball effect
of like, "Hey, let's do this. It will be cool. It'll be funny."
And it just, like, escalated to a ridiculous degree and actually happened.
They've passed some crazy stuff.
- They banned cargo shorts. -Yeah, I remember that.
And pineapple pizza.
That's terrible. I love pineapple on my pizza.
What's wrong with these guys?
Guys, is Boys State a joke? I mean, this is honestly a joke.
We should not be voting on stuff like this.
This is not real legislation that should actually be passed.
I mean—
- Hey. What's up, man? -Hey, bud. How are y'all?
- I'm good. -All right, guys.
Today we are here on the statesmen podcast,
and we have a special guest.
Uh, Steven. What— I didn't catch your last name, actually.
- Steven Garza. -Steven Garza.
And he's, uh, a candidate for, uh, Boys State governor.
You know, it is tough to run for governor,
just because what issues affect me
don't affect a boy living in a town of 4,000 people.
You know, we're from two different worlds, basically.
Our country right now is more divided than it has been in a very long time.
Yes.
The— The easy thing is to get up and quit and say, "You know what?
We're gonna go be— form the Republic of Texas part two."
It's a lot easier to give up than to keep fighting.
Well, I mean, that's a lot about holding a political office
is knowing the people that you govern and that ultimately elected you, right?
If they're going out there and talking to people, I feed off of that.
It— It motivates me. It makes me happy.
You know, I'm— I'm a Nationalist. What that means yet, I don't know.
As our party is— is— is creating its platform.
But if I'm gonna be their nominee, I should support the party platform.
But at the same time, there's 600 Nationalists and 600 Federalists.
You know, I'm gonna need some of the Federalist vote
- if I want to be elected. -Yeah.
How's everyone doing today?
Federalists, right!
I'd like to tell you gentlemen a story.
A lot of y'all might have seen my arm, right?
It's not normal. It's a little small.
It's a little shriveled, right? It's a little damaged.
The truth is, I've had a lot of surgery on this arm,
and I'm actually missing both of my legs as well. Right?
I'm a bilateral amputee, and the reason I mention this
is because I know what hard work means.
I know what progress means. I know what faith means.
I had to relearn how to walk. I lost my legs at age three to meningitis.
I know how to push forward towards a goal I want, right...
If I got state party chairman, I'd be in charge of the Federalist party.
So, I'd be responsible for example, like, whipping votes,
coming up with policy, picking who to back in a governor race.
It's like, you know, you're controlling like 500 people there.
Like, that's a power trip.
I believe that we will win. I believe that we will win.
I believe that we will win. Win! Win! Win!
If I can lead a room of that many rowdy people, I can lead anything.
Hi, um, yeah.
So, if you elect me as your state party chairman,
I hope to fill every seat open, up and down the ballot, with Federalists.
Go Feds! Thanks.
I'm gonna say what I stand for.
We're gonna improve this economy. Progun.
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
We need to limit illegal immigration. Yeah?
Yeah!
I'm here to be your chair.
And do you know what? I will be your chair.
There was an article on codepink.com
entitled "Resist the police and imagine a world without them."
In the article, CODEPINK claimed
that America was a white supremacist nation,
and it insinuated that the war on terrorism
was rather a fight to institute racism and colonialism across the world.
Now, is there a single red-blooded American in this room
- that believes that nonsense? -No! Hell no! No!
Hell no!
I certainly don't believe that.
I support the police. I back the blue.
- I want a strong Texas economy. -Yes! Yeah!
I want a strong Texas environment. I want good environmental policy.
I want good immigration. I want a Federalist victory.
Feinstein for freedom.
Vote for Ben Feinstein for freedom and Americanism.
All right.
Raise of hand for the delegates.
Understand?
Yes, sir.
Ben Feinstein.
- I like this. -All right.
Ben, come on up, man.
USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!
USA! USA! USA!
Just the political feel I'm getting,
you do have a lot of, like, conservatives, you know, your classic GOP.
But a lot of people who I kind of had pegged as,
"Okay, you're probably gonna be conservative"
are actually a lot more liberal.
So, in terms of how that's gonna play into political strategy,
it's gonna be a little harder to come up with a unifying policy.
But, you know, you gotta break some— some eggs to make an omelet.
We've got some business to take care of first and foremost, gentlemen.
We've gotta get a party going, right? We just got here.
We need to dominate.
Unity of party is big,
and the way Boys State is set up where it's two parties,
you have to have a unified party to do well.
Get your arms and...
- So, yes! -Yes!
Yes! Yes! Yes!
- Are we gonna beat the Federalists? -Yes! Yes! Yes!
We've got to get ready to begin to build our agenda for deliberation
that we specifically want to talk about.
So, can I have all platform committee members rise?
I'm the platform member for, uh, Burkett City,
and we decided upon abortion and gun rights.
- Great. -Whoo!
Immigration, education reform, and, uh, freedom of religion.
Rights for people with disabilities.
Ours is immigration, gun rights, and foreign policy.
Fantastic.
Would, uh, the gallery be able to chime into the debate?
- The gallery... cannot. -Boo!
Back there.
Uh, we would like to present, uh, abortion and secession.
I'm sorry, secession will not make the agenda.
Not your decision!
I motion to secede and legally call this "Boys Nation."
We can't secede.
Boys State! Boys State!
Abuse of power!
Impeach! Impeach!
Can we get decorum? Decorum? Thank you.
So, my city would like impeachment and revote for the state chairman.
I don't think he likes black people, and that's my issue,
because I'm doing so good.
So, how have things been for you, René, with what's on stage?
Okay.
No, honestly, I'm having a grand old time.
I love me an audience. Even if they don't love me.
I think it's just a very vocal minority.
I mean, like, for the most part, like, you know, people cheer you.
- Yeah, it's a v— It's a loud minority. -Right? Yeah. I got you.
They wanna impeach me?
It's just a little different for somebody that looks like me.
So, I guess, my way of doing it is just going to be palatable
and congenial to what the body wants.
I'm gonna vote for everything, and then that's what I'm going to adopt.
And those that didn't vote for that side, they're gonna be mad.
They're gonna call for an impeachment.
They're gonna be on their one side, and the other side's gonna be mad,
and then what do we have?
A divided party.
I'm gonna keep my job if it's the last thing I do.
Gentlemen.
I've gotta be real, that was really cool
how you all were all quiet when I told you all to be quiet.
That was a pretty badass feeling right there.
Yeah. Raw power.
All right. We have two days until the general governor election.
We have a lot of governor candidates
who want policies that they can reliably run on
and start designing campaign materials for.
Furthermore, the Nationalist convention right now, I've heard, is in chaos.
We may have our little disagreements about this platform,
but ultimately, this is pretty solid.
It strengthens our economy. It strengthens our police force.
It has an eye to the social, economic and political issues of our day.
And our best move now is to get it in so we can start running, right?
- We need to dominate. -Yeah!
- USA! USA! USA! -USA!
USA! USA! USA! USA!
- Good morning. Good morning. -Morning.
- Morning. -Good morning.
Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Morning.
I'm saying here, out of respect for your time,
I'm gonna keep this short and dispense with the—
I wanna say dick measuring, but I can't say dick measuring
'cause I gotta give this as a speech.
- Uh... -Yeah, don't say that.
Right, I can't say that.
It's gonna be vulgar, anyway. So...
- What do you mean? -If you're starting off with that,
I'm pretty sure the rest of it's gonna be pretty up-front and honest.
That's how you get a 17-year-old boy's attention, okay?
- Seventeen and sixteen, apparently. -Yeah.
Oh, boys. I'm 18 this morning.
- You are? -It's my birthday today.
- Hey! -Hey!
Oh, congratulations.
Thank you.
Is, uh, is penis measuring too vulgar for government discourse?
All right, I've gotta do some networking with Federalists today.
- What party are you? -I'm a Nationalist.
- You're a Nationalist? -Yeah.
- Dude, okay, tell me honestly. -Mm-hmm.
Like, ignore the fact that I'm a Federalist.
- You know, just speaking to me. -Yeah.
What— What's going on at the Nationalist convention?
We're, like— We're hearing reports that it's, like, in chaos.
Our platform's still debating.
Oh, really? Yeah, we already have a platform.
Yeah, I heard you already have last—
Yeah, dude, we're going— we're going fast.
- Beef? -Okay, yeah.
- Is it true that y'all are— -I'll have lasagna.
Is it true that y'all are impeaching your state party chair?
- No. Can I get lasagna? -Is that a thing?
- Are you a speaker or something? -Lasagna?
Oh, it's for him? My bad.
- Yeah, I'm gettin' this one. -All right. That's all.
- You want green beans? -Yes, ma'am.
I'll see you later.
- Hey, guys. -Hey, Ben. How you doing?
- Good. How are y'all? -Hey, Ben! What's up?
Good afternoon, friends, colleagues, fellow Nationalists.
My name is Robert MacDougall,
and I am honored to be here before you today
to run for this year's Texas Boys State governor.
Now, out of respect for your time,
I will skip the part where I brag for three minutes
about how great and cool I am,
seeing as we are all qualified young men of skill and character.
- People like that stuff. -Yes, sounds good, yeah.
- People like that stuff a lot. -Yeah.
Oh, and my slogan is "Moral and Constitutional Government for the People."
- Y'all like that? -It's too long.
You need something that rings off the head that, like, you know—
You hear it and you're like, "Oh, that's his campaign slogan."
What— What rings? What rings?
Uh...
- Like... -'Cause that's the best I got. So...
Look at— Look at presidential stuff.
Like, for instance, Trump was: "Make America Great Again."
- Right. -Stuff like, Obama was we—
uh, "Yes We Can."
- It's easy to remember. -How about just—
How about just: "Moral Government for the People"?
- That's, that's— -Well, it's— it's shorter, but...
That's not— That's not crazy.
That's not crazy long.
Shh.
Hey, it's the turtle I saw yesterday.
I'm being for real.
Not at all.
Shh.
Faith in government, faith in politicians, is at a low
that hasn't been seen since Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal.
- Is that your speech? -Yeah.
Dang. Oh, wow, that's a long speech.
We shouldn't be inspired by fear. We should be inspired by hope.
And it comes down to just knowing what you believe, what you're doing,
is in the best interest of everybody and not just yourself.
How long did they say y'all get to do your speeches? Did you—
- I don't— I have no idea. -No idea?
Are you excited for today?
I'm nervous, actually.
If there was any way to express my transition into leadership yesterday,
would you call it abrupt, unanticipated, or even unwelcome?
Fortunately, the nerves of a brand-new leadership
have the opportunity to settle in,
and I hope that we can be receptive to one another.
Despite the perceived differences, there's Federalists to beat.
Yes, sir!
I cannot wait to see which of you
is going to lead this political battalion—
- It's gonna be Tyrel! -But now, finally...
we're now going to welcome all gubernatorial candidates to the stage.
We all mean something,
and we all have unmeasurable value in each one of us.
Can we all agree to that? As Federalists—
Nationalists, my bad. I can't believe I said that.
I will eat soap when I get back to my room. Don't worry.
Okay, I'm gonna talk some policy, what is near to my heart.
I say no abortion is good.
If you are a rape victim, we do not punish the child.
We find the rapist, we castrate him, and we put him behind bars forever.
Good afternoon, my friends,
fellow Nationalists, and most importantly, fellow Texans.
It is my immense honor to come before you today,
running to be your Boys State governor.
Out of respect for your time,
I will not be breaking out the measuring tape
and measuring myself and bragging on myself these accomplishments.
None of this! None of this!
I'll also intend to keep this speech short and to the point.
For every baby available for adoption in this country,
there are 30 loving couples who are looking to adopt a child.
Why should we let our children, our babies, be killed
before they have a chance in this world,
when there are so many potential loving parents
to guide them through life? Why?
I am pro-life, and I am not ashamed.
Last but not least,
I will work tirelessly to defend y'all's right to keep and bear arms
as is guaranteed in our Constitution.
National Party, are you with me? Let's do this!
Let's go all the way. My name is Robert MacDougall.
Governor is someone who can do the job.
Vote for someone. Vote for Rob.
Go, Steven!
My name is Steven Garza,
and I'm running to be our party's nominee for governor.
Whoo!
A little bit about myself,
um, I come from a very modest family.
Um, and my passion has been politics.
- Yeah! -Um, the way I wanted to run my campaign
was very different from most.
I wanted to know what was on your minds
and ask you what issues mattered to you.
- Whoo! -I didn't wanna run a campaign—
I did not wanna run a campaign to represent y'all
if I didn't know who I was gonna represent.
I didn't know what y'all— want y'all to sign a bad check with my petition.
So I'm really proud of the 30 signatures that— that I got.
I want nothing more than to be your candidate,
and in the event that I am not,
this right here is my defining moment at Boys State.
Yeah!
And what I say next could cost me that chance of winning,
uh, but I'm gonna say it anyway.
Whoo!
The American Legion hosts Texas Boys State.
The Legion is made up of veterans of armed— armed services.
When they took an oath, they took an oath
to not defend one state, but the United States.
Some gave all. All gave some.
Not just for Texas, but for all Americans.
To secede is to dishonor their memories and make their sacrifices in vain.
Yeah!
We have the opportunity to do something great.
Are we gonna make headlines for the wrong reasons?
- No! -Are we gonna dishonor the legionnaires
who consider us to be the best that Texas has to offer?
- No! -Steven!
Or will we show the world what patriots are made of?
Yeah!
That when things get tough,
we pull ourselves by our bootstraps like true Texans and get after it!
Leave Texas greater than it was when we found it.
- That's right! -Whoo!
We aren't secessionists, damn it. We are Nationalists!
"One nation under God."
Lovers of the Constitution of the United States of America!
Let's do something great for Texas and amazing for the country.
God bless every single one of you.
And a once around for all of our gubernatorial candidates.
And here is to great political leadership and the future of the Nationalist Party.
Did you hear me, bro? Did you hear me?
- I was not— I did not hear anything. -Did you hear me?
- Dude, that was awesome. -Really? You didn't hear me?
Hey, you've heard it a bunch, but that was like—
Oh, yeah. Oh, man.
- Just kept going, "Steven!" -We were screaming for you, dude.
Oh, my— Dude— And I—
Definitely, my upbringing has led to where I am today.
My mom worked at a gas station. She was undocumented for a time.
She is what I think the American dream should be.
An immigrant who started from the bottom and worked her way up
and is living a okay life in America.
I am third oldest.
I am the first one to get past freshman year of high school.
I'm on the course to be the first one to graduate from high school.
So, it's almost like, uh, I have to succeed.
You know, a parent telling you that they're proud of you
is one of the most amazing things you could ever hear in your entire life.
Okay, first of all, this has to play to over a thousand people.
So you can't come up there with your hands in your pockets.
- Right. -Okay, do it like you're gonna do it
if you make the show.
- Okay. -Let us have it.
Sorry. Excuse me.
When I light the fuse I gotta get back quick
You gotta be careful With a dynamite stick
There's antimony, arsenic Aluminum, selenium
And hydrogen and oxygen And nitrogen and rhenium
And nickel, neodymium, neptunium Germanium, and iron, americium—
Out of all the letters in the alphabet, I only know 25.
The thing is, I just— I just don't know why.
be a hero With sword and armor clashing
I liked him. He was good. But was he singing something off Shrek?
- Yeah, he was. Yeah. -Really?
on a steel horse I ride
I'm wanted dead or alive
Thank you for coming over.
The results of who makes the show will be posted Thursday morning.
All right.
We have so many different views,
we are not going to get to one perfect view.
- Right. -Does someone wanna make a statement
that we could probably choose a side on?
This whole two sides thing, it's irrelevant.
- We need to come up with a platform— -Okay, now hold on.
How we gonna have a majority when you decide what the majority is?
We are not— We are not creating a debate.
All right, hey.
- Let's calm down a little. -Hey, hey, one quick second.
I'd like to point out that right now we're getting hung up
on debating how we're going to debate the issues.
We should really move on and start the voting procedure,
or not even the voting procedure, start actually talking about the issues.
Guys, let's get this going. Let's get this going.
Um, progun. Don't really see anything wrong with guns.
Guns can't hurt people. It's a heart and mental issue.
Uh, I concur. Again, I am progun.
I think that we sh— maybe need better enforcement of existing gun laws
- considering some of the recent events. -All right, René, what's your view?
Universal background checks.
- Already a thing. -No, they're not.
No, they are not.
We need— we need quiet. We need quiet.
It's not a debate, so...
I, like, brought all of my, like, left-leaning, like, T-shirts.
I was like, "I'mma wear this. I'mma antagonize somebody."
And then I realized... that's not at all what this is for.
It's really just about opinions,
and recognizing and reconciling with them.
It's experience that shapes opinion.
So, I thought it was really important for me
to learn the conservative sides of things, because it forces you to think.
At first, I was like, "This is a conservative indoctrination camp."
Then I was like, "Eh, no."
This is literally what every liberal needs.
Um, we— we should definitely use social media in this campaign.
Like, one of y'all's first actions should be, like,
the creation of, like, a joint Instagram account,
- and, like, a Snapchat, and like— -That'd be great, yeah.
On every single campaign poster you have,
put the links to that and get people on board.
Actually, I'm pretty good friends with, uh, René, their head.
I know they made, like, an Instagram account
with the sole purpose of impeaching him.
And we could— Yeah, it's— it's hilarious. It's hilarious.
We could put a link up. We could put the link up and everything.
- What are they called? -Impeach_René.
"We are the gallery and we call for the immediate"--
Perfect, that's all we need. That's all we need.
- Hey, can you screenshot this? -Yeah, yeah.
Make sure it doesn't go away.
That is something I actually wanted to hit on,
is that the Nationalist Party is, like, low-key falling apart.
I think if we, like, portray ourselves like the stable, smart party,
it'll also sway some Nationalist guys too.
Because they're, like, super unruly and all that.
So if they see, like, stability and something,
like, actually happening over here, they'd want to come over to our side.
I'm state party chairman.
My job is to get Federalists in office. My job is to beat the other party.
We wanna drive the narrative home
that the Nationalists have really bad, corrupt leadership.
We're gonna do shock and awe. It's gonna be awesome.
I know how to play hard and aggressive when I need to,
and I know when to make enemies and when to make friends.
You know, it's politics. You play to win.
Okay, Texas Boys State, the 2018 primary polls are now open.
You can commence voting. Line up down here at the orange sign.
That's great!
This man is the future governor of Boys State.
- I know you do. -That's a politician's grip.
- Oh, yeah. -Let's go, man.
Oh, oh.
This backflip right here is for Eddy P.C. for governor!
Yeah!
What do you think about Eddy?
What?
What do you think about Eddy as a candidate?
He's good. He's our best bet. I'd vote for him.
Who's the other guy?
Hey, go— go rally 'em for me after this, will ya? I'm serious.
- Robert for governor. -Rob. Even Rob. Rob's enough.
Rob, Rob, Rob, Rob, Rob,
- Rob's enough. -Rob, Rob, Rob, Rob, Rob.
- I love it, boys. I love it. I love it. -See that?
- Thinking about voting Rob for governor? -I'm voting for Steven!
Yeah.
I respect that, I really do.
- He's a good guy. -Steven's a good guy.
- Yeah. -I like Steven. I like Steven a lot.
- Good luck though. -I'm gonna be honest.
I didn't know you before that speech,
but, like, your speech just really stood out.
Thank you.
Primary rules are,
you're gonna have to get 50% of the vote plus one
to become the nominee.
Fourteen candidates.
It'll be very difficult for someone to get over 50% of the vote.
You're getting my vote, man.
So it's likely gonna trigger a runoff election
which will be held tomorrow.
Top two candidates who finish first and second will move into that runoff,
and voters will choose who their nominee will be,
then go into the— the general.
As to the political views voiced in my speech,
those are— those are not my own.
I'm playing this like a game. I would like very much to win.
This is a very, very conservative group we have here.
Very conservative.
My— My stance on abortion would not line up well
with the guys out there at all, so I chose to pick a new stance.
We're— That's politics, I think.
That's politics.
If I win, I'm— I'm the governor.
Sometimes you gotta say what you gotta say in an attempt to win.
I'm— I'm pro-choice.
I haven't voiced that very loudly.
I've realized that sometimes you can't win on what you believe in your heart.
Sometimes that is a minority opinion.
But you can't win on a minority opinion in a democracy.
It's a morally questionable thing to— to lie in politics. It really is.
And there's no real excuse for it. I wish people did it less. I really do.
So I really shouldn't be contributing to that trend, I'm not gonna lie.
I really shouldn't be adding to that.
I wish politicians were more truthful, but—
but getting here certainly gave me a new appreciation
for why politicians lie to get into office.
It's like, if it is going to be, like, political, then it needs to be like...
- Nonpartisan. -To— Yeah, well—
I wonder if we should move away from this, like, this party-party thing.
Like, why don't we just be Americans?
Like, not Democrat, Republican, just American.
Washington said that the party system would be the death of America.
Because we've become too entrenched in our views—
Yeah, exactly.
But with everyone going far right and far left,
you kinda gotta make promises to the far side to get that.
And then— then you can change it if you want in office.
But the problem is you won't get elected again.
'Cause all your trust will be thrown out the window.
This smells like teen spirit.
I'm in the runoff tomorrow.
This is taking a...
And that was my goal, really,
was to be in the— in the runoff for Nationalist Party governor.
I'm on the ballot.
Wow, it's a runoff.
So, "Steven Garza 150. Uh, Robert MacDougall 35."
Napoleon Bonaparte is my favorite historical figure.
He was of lesser noble birth, not rich at all.
Works his way through the ranks in a very tumultuous time period.
Had the ambition to become something bigger.
Had the ability to inspire men.
Generals would say that Napoleon's presence on the field
was worth 40,000 soldiers.
His confidence and his ambition is what I'd like to be.
I had one-fifth the votes that Steven did yesterday.
I made that runoff by two votes.
I thought he did great.
He spoke from the heart, and the people loved it.
And I love both those things.
He is more qualified than I am by a solid margin.
And for the sake of my mental health and party unity,
I may resign and endorse Steven.
Is the congregation ready to begin?
- Yeah! Yes! -Fantastic.
Before we begin any gubernatorial runoff speeches,
is there any motions on the floor?
Motion!
Motion that we secure the platform before proceeding in the debates.
Second. Second. Second.
That's a ratification process. All those in favor, please rise.
Ratifying the platform! Come on, guys!
Fantastic. That is a majority.
Congratulations.
We just mixed the final ingredient to make us a true party.
Yeah! Yeah!
- Recognized. -Motion to recall the party chairman.
- Shut up! -Second it.
I'm happy to entertain an impeachment trial
if that's what you want to do.
But only at the discretion of the majority of the chamber
as outlined by the impeachment articles.
So, all those in favor, gallery included, please rise.
- No. -Gallery included.
René, René, René, René.
I ain't gonna cheer his name, but I ain't gonna impeach him either.
That is about 12 out of 550.
So I have a suggestion for your small numbers.
Maybe start an intramural basketball team?
Without further ado, I'd like to leave this up to your secretary.
- I'm glad that happened. -I'm pretty glad too.
He got 30 votes.
- I didn't do great myself. -You got 35. He had 150.
Yeah, no. I'm probably gonna resign.
No. Don't. Go for it.
Big dog!
So, we're going to begin with our first runoff election
with Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
I, Jarrett Brown, will make sure
the court cases you want to hear are heard.
Like those addressing the most fundamental right as Texans.
The protection of the Second Amendment
from the Clinton-loving, abortion-supporting,
fake news-supporting, liberal snowflakes who wanna take away our guns.
I, Justice Jarrett, promise to take the Supreme Court supreme again.
And as now we're moving on
to the most distinguished position of the Nationalist party,
- let's go over a few ground rules. -Let— Let me ask you this.
- Do you support the Second Amendment? -Yes.
Yeah, I have a part about that 'cause people seem kinda confused over it.
'Cause these guys are talking about that.
I don't— I don't wanna attack you for it. I really—
No, no. You're not wrong at all. I'm gonna defend it right now.
- Why I got involved. -Okay.
Then you go up first then, and talk about it then.
So, without further ado, it brings me great joy
to finally conclude this runoff by bringing up our gubernatorial electees.
Steven! Steven!
Well, I'm gonna stray away from my prepared speech a little bit.
A few months ago, after the— the Parkland High School shooting,
I became an organizer for the March for Our Lives Houston.
There were over 800 marches across the world.
I am not anti-Second Amendment. I am pro-guns.
But I'm also a common sense kinda person.
For the collective security of the people,
someone should not be able to own a rocket launcher.
They can't. They can't.
Exactly. Listen! I'm using it as a example.
- Then give me a better one. -Better example.
Listen, I support, and the majority of the country supports,
universal background checks.
I hope that you all support that.
That is something that we could all agree on.
That is my campaign.
But listen, not too long ago,
Santa Fe High School was shot up not far from where I live.
And that— It hurts, man.
It— It, you know, those— Seeing, um... those people,
these kids who shouldn't go through these things.
We can do something about it. We don't have to just—
Because we don't agree on everything doesn't mean
that we shouldn't come to the table and talk to each other.
We should choose something, you know, we can protect our fellow teenagers.
And not just our teenagers, people going out to a nightclub, man,
or a movie theater. We shouldn't have to worry about that.
And that's why I'm running to be a governor,
because I wanna find out what we can all agree on and run that together.
I'm running a campaign to unite all of us
and show the adults that the kids are all right
and that we can do it better than them.
If we can come to an agreement on gun reform or immigration,
something that the adults who have been in this game for decades can't do,
we're gonna show what the leaders of tomorrow look like today.
Thank you.
Hey, that was awesome, man.
- Thank you. -Might be fun working with you.
Thank you for finally being the voice of reason.
- Good morning. -Good morning.
First, let me say that I'm very honored
to be running not against but alongside...
um, Steven Garcia.
- Garza. -Yeah!
Garza. I'm so sorry.
Hey, guys, guys,
I'm— I'm so sorry. I just have—
I just have "S.G." written in my notes here. I'm so sorry.
Steven, I meant— I meant no offense.
So, first and foremost,
I am unabashedly pro-Second Amendment.
Amen, MacDougall!
If we cannot defend ourselves, what are we but insects?
Second, for every child up for adoption,
there are 30 loving couples looking to adopt a child.
Why should we deny that future Texan their— their right to life?
It's to y'all now. Thank you.
How about it? That's the Boys State band.
However it goes, if you win, I support you fully.
- Likewise, bro. -Hope for the same from you. All right.
- Thank you so much. -God bless. Good luck.
Oh! Oh!
Steven!
Hey, gang. Can I get through?
Hey, dude. Regardless of what happens,
like, in these elections and how the parties were run
and any of the dirt that gets flung around,
I have heard, besides some, like, nonsense impeachment stuff,
that you have actually done, like, a fantastic job running your party.
- Thank you so much. You too. -So, whatever happens, dude,
best of luck, and just know that, like, your efforts are recognized.
- Thank you. You too. -Yeah, you seem like a cool dude.
- So, yeah, we're all good. -We're just doing our jobs.
For sure, we're just doing our jobs.
Federalist state party chairman,
we need you up here at the front.
Nationalist and Federalist state party chairmen, come on up.
René, René! René, René!
All right, Federalists, what are we gonna do tomorrow?
Sweep!
- We're gonna sweep 'em, right? -Yeah!
We're gonna win, right?
Yeah!
All right, settle down. Settle down.
Hold on.
We've gotta announce the governor tonight.
The winner for the Federalist party,
the man, the myth, the legend,
the American warrior...
Eddy P.C., get up here!
Eddy! Eddy! Eddy! Eddy!
We love you, Eddy!
And finally, for the Nationalist party...
René!
It's the quiet voice in the storm...
Steven Garza!
Steven, Steven, Steven, Steven, Steven, Steven,
Steven, Steven, Steven, Steven!
Nationalists!
Nats! Nats! Nats! Nats! Nats! Nats! Nats!
Nats! Nats! Nats! Nats! Nats! Nats! Nats! Nats!
Feds! Feds! Feds! Feds! Feds! Feds! Feds! Feds! Feds! Feds!
It was a fight well fought on your part.
It was. It was.
Gentlemen, it is exciting,
and tomorrow, you've got a great day for general elections.
Tonight, you've got a lot of rest.
- Tomorrow is the general election. -My boy!
Let's go win this thing, man. Come on. You got this.
Good win, dude.
You deserved it.
- Just take it. -Tonight's gonna be busy, okay?
I need to talk with the governor, lieutenant governor,
and attorney general campaigns about speeches.
That's what I'm best at. You know me. I'm a hype man.
Hey, I did things. I made mistakes.
They have consequences. All actions do.
I took the view, if they were all being loud and crazy,
that's what they wanted to be.
That if I played to that, they'd love it.
But thinking about it now,
I think they actually...
like, on the inside, wanted to be serious.
And I didn't think about that as a possibility.
Steven!
Hey, from now on, I don't care what color is on the name tag. We are Team Garza.
I'm on my way
I'm on my way Home, sweet home
Eddy, you almost won the entire party.
You came very close to doing that.
You have a special opportunity because Steven, the Nationalist candidate—
I've already been thinking about it.
He led a March for Our Lives rally in Houston.
And we could easily spin that to be he is anti-gun.
And we can go to, like, March for Our—
You know, we can, like, find, like, David Hogg quotes and stuff.
And I wanna go first, ideally, 'cause I can say,
"They say actions speak louder than words,
and whether he says, like, he supports guns or not,
- like, let's see what his actions are." -Yeah.
I like that and that ties in with the campaign's approach.
So, you are going up against, like, a pretty steep competitor,
and I think it's gonna come down to a lot of sleeper votes, right?
The people who aren't engaged at all, you need to hype them up.
And I understand your voice is shot, and there's nothing we can do about it—
If I have a mic, I can manage.
Yeah. Tomorrow is gonna be a really crazy day for all of us,
and, like, we're all gonna have to, like, think on our feet...
or stumps.
- There it is. -There it is.
Something I admire Eddy for, is I think he's a great guy.
Like, he's a very good friend of mine now.
He— Like, 20 people compared him to Ben Shapiro.
People have come up to him and they're like, "You remind me of Ben Shapiro."
I know what I'm talking about.
I have evidence to support my answers, and you've heard this. I know statistics.
Eddy knew his facts, or at least presented to the audience that he knew his facts.
I've wanted to address for a long time the unemployment rates of veterans,
4.8 compared to the 3.5 national average.
Increasing the police forces so that they're not outnumbered in a 1-500 ratio.
Hey, this is Will Adams, and I'm here with the man himself, Eddy.
We were just in there for your speech. That was an incredible speech.
Like, you blew my mind, man.
What has— what has gotten you to this point of such godlike speech skills?
Uh, I— I wouldn't go so far as to say "godlike." I would say—
Hold on, hold on.
Tone it down a little bit. You can't be like, "Look at this dude. He's great!"
I just feel awkward. This man's idolizing me.
If for your final question, we ask something like, um,
"In one sentence, summarize why you would be the best governor,"
because it, like— and tie your name into it and do, like, brand recognition,
because, like, we don't want people to get to the polling stations
and, like, not know who you are.
Ben Feinstein and I, I think we work really well together.
What's crazy is how, like, well our political views align.
Talking about what— what's important for the Federalist party.
Three, two, one.
Eddy, what would you say your definition of the American dream is?
I think us governor candidates
are seen more as the flashy "make change now" guys,
and I think every flashy "make change now" guy
really needs a wise leader to work with.
Great, and what would you say your best feature is?
Oh. My abs.
- Rock solid, ladies and gentlemen. -I think that's great. All right.
I'm not even gonna lie. The lead guy from y'all's party...
- Yeah. -What's his name?
- I don't know. -Brady? Eddy? Eddy.
I talked to Eddy today.
He thinks he is God on Earth.
- Yeah, a little bit. -That's what everybody's been telling me.
- Oh, my God. -I haven't heard anything from him,
- but that's the only thing I've heard. -I talked to him today.
I mean, I would— I would be, like, morally outraged if he won.
It'll probably be a Nationalist governor this year, honestly.
Yeah. I was, like— In the beginning, I was all about, like...
I wish we had time for everyone who auditioned to come up,
but we just don't.
Being up here as a performer is being a leader.
Well it goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
What's up?
Ready for your speech today?
Uh, my speeches, yeah.
So, I guess we have to give, like, four speeches.
Yeah, yeah. It's the same speech four times.
What's happening right now is that we're always like,
"Oh, yeah, beat down the Federalists. We're better than the Federalists."
But that's not how you get Federalists
- to vote for us. -We can't piss them off.
We also can't just be like— We can't suck up to them,
'cause we're gonna alienate our own base as well.
- That's true. -Yeah. We have to make sure
that we seem so impressive that Federalists want to vote for us.
But we have to, like, prompt them.
We have to prompt the Federalists to mudsling at us.
'Cause we have to look like the calm voice.
Let's go, reds!
14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21...
All right. For the Federalist party,
I want y'all to take out your phones and go on Instagram.
Everyone. Come on, come on, come on.
I want everyone to follow this account.
Feds_on_meds.
That is the Federalist party campaign account.
I like the Vsauce one.
Matthew, I need you to see something, bro.
Look at this propaganda. 'Cause he's anti-gun.
He is?
- Yo! -Feds_on_meds.
Oh, yes. I hate this.
I love this page so much.
Eddy. Eddy, did you see the— Did you see the Eddy cannon?
Of course. Oh, I showed that to so many Nationalists.
All y'all in the back. All y'all on the sides in the shade...
We're real politicians. Wow. We're really doing it.
Did you see the newest pictures on that account? They posted more.
No. Can I see?
They deleted the account, but they took a couple pictures of it.
What?
- Oh, my God! -Yeah, I know. So...
- "Don't be a René." -"Don't be a René."
I feel like racism is such a sad last resort.
- Wow. I can't even believe— -Do you know who runs the account?
'Cause I— I don't.
Why do I feel like no one knows?
We got word of the Impeach René account
and we were like, "We need to use this, and we need to use it to divide them."
So, we started endorsing Impeach René
and then Impeach René posted something genuinely racist.
And as soon as that happened, we broke off relations.
And, like, we were very clear that we didn't stand for it at all,
but I think it tainted us in a lot of people's minds.
They have a governor running on a platform
that protects the Second Amendment that had a March for Our Lives protest.
Boo!
I'm thinking about pulling out my old church tricks.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Am I, a Nationalist, supposed to be scared
of a man who lost his voice warming up? I'm sorry.
Wow.
Okay, Steven, so when I ran for governor,
there were some key things that were great motivators for me that kept me going.
What are those key motivators for you in this race?
- Definitely is my boys in the city. -Mm.
Without their support, I wouldn't be where I am today.
I definitely was a dark horse in this race.
Um, the we— So—
Sorry. Sorry about that. I'm listening to what's happening over there—
- We can cut it in editing. -You can talk about how gun control has—
Right now, that's what they're talking about.
So go worry about your March for Our Lives,
and we're gonna worry about some policy changes.
That's my man right there.
I heard "March for Our Lives" and I'm like, "They're talking shit about me."
I think the elections are looking good for y'all.
Especially since everyone so vehemently loves Steven in your camp.
- Yes, and we— -Everyone loves Steven.
And the goal was to get him to mudsling us, so it's working.
So y'all ain't gonna interview me yet? When are y'all gonna interview me?
I'm the voice behind the throne. This entire week, I was watching that man.
You know I don't choose who to interview. The editing team does.
Put a word in. That's fine. I ain't mad at it. Ain't mad at it or whatever.
We would cover you if we could.
Yellow. Yellow. Yellow. Yellow. Yellow. Yellow. Yellow.
All right. We now move into the most coveted position.
Opening statements.
All right, gentlemen, can you hear me? I'll jump straight into this.
Generally, the policies are very similar, both Federalist and Nationalist.
I would like to, uh, speak on one point in which we are different,
and that's gun control.
My opponent seems to advocate strict gun control and potentially removing guns.
In fact, uh, recently, he organized and led a march
for, uh, March for Our Lives,
an organization that's famously against guns.
In fact, the spokesman has spoken avidly
about removing guns from gun-owning citizens, as well as the—
In the mission statement, and I quote...
Just a heads up, I was offered to barnstorm with y'all,
so I'll be— I'll be rolling with y'all now.
I figure that I'm better here with you, helping, like, coach you on this.
Did you exploit the whole March for Our Lives thing?
Did you mention that?
Yeah, I tried to.
Constitutionally, the Second Amendment isn't just for the citizens.
It's for the able-bodied and well-minded militia
to protect themselves from a tyrannical government.
My name is Steven Garza. I was born in Mission, Texas,
and I moved to Houston with my parents.
He just gets applause because...
On the Second Amendment, to be completely honest with you,
yes, yes, I did lead the March for Our Lives Houston movement.
But let me tell you, to the Federalists who wish to smear me
and put words in my mouth and take quotes
from people who aren't me and base me off of that,
I like to think you guys are better than that.
I know you guys could be better than that.
I've been trying to appeal to the best part of each and every one of you.
If you disagree with me on anything, please come and talk to me,
because I promise you, we will agree on something,
even if it's just agree to disagree.
To end it off, what I've been telling myself,
as Napoleon said, "You become strong by defying defeat
and by turning loss and failure into success."
No matter what happens tonight,
win or lose, I will defy failure.
I was barnstorming with the candidates,
so could I sit with them, if that's okay with you?
- That's absolutely fine. -It's your district.
I don't wanna impend on your authority.
A great man once said that a leader is a dealer in hope.
And you guys have definitely given me hope when I could barely get on the ballot.
That means that you guys believe in me,
and if you believe in me, I believe in myself,
and if you have faith in me, I will not let you down.
So, a little bit about me for those of you that don't know
is that my parents came over to the States from Italy.
I understand what that American dream is.
To me, it's that multiculturalism.
That ability to blend different people together for one common cause
under the red, white, and blue.
And if it's okay with you guys,
I'd like to open up to Federalists or Nationalists,
but mainly for Nationalists who haven't been able to get to know me,
to ask me something about my policies.
'Cause I feel like maybe policies
are something important from a political position.
You wanna know what your politician stands for.
And I know you're gonna say you had a two-minute period,
but the thing is, is I would like them to ask what they choose
and not just the questions that have been vetted.
As state party chairman, I would have to say
that an open forum during this speech
would give him an unfair advantage towards the debate.
Moreover, the questions that we use for the debate
are sent in by the gallery, so it would be a redundant motion otherwise.
Hey, this is bias.
Hey, I won't— No. No.
I'm sorry. I'm glad you're all paying attention to me.
This is outright bias.
He is your district chairman, yes, but he is also the state party chairman.
This is blatant bias to cancel a Federalist candidate
out of the entire plan for his speech. Thank you.
This is unacceptable!
That's ridiculous. That's absurd.
He is the state party chairman
and he is also leading the district and he canceled them out.
That's why we're having the— We're having the forums.
Okay, let's simmer down now, please.
I never did that in my district. I treated every candidate the same way.
That is ridiculous.
The candidates and everyone, we agreed in that room what the rules were gonna be.
Okay, so he was just trying to follow—
If I can ask a rhetorical question in a speech
that inspires yeahs and cheers where I have to pause,
what's the difference from those interjections being the questions—
Because it's rhetorical, which means no one has— no one has to respond.
Strong men make a free and strong society.
Weak men simply create chaos.
- Where is he? Where is he? -He's sitting right over there.
I'm just curious why...
Oh, we're gonna smoke him.
- Are you still gonna bring it up? -Yeah.
Throughout this week, we've seen a lot of tension between the two parties.
It is especially a sensitive topic because just at the last district there—
there seemed to be an issue with a bias amongst leadership.
A leadership going towards a certain party.
And, uh, Ben, could you please explain what happened, uh, in the last district?
Yeah, I don't need a mic. I'll project.
So, let me establish this first by saying
I am the Federalist Party state chair.
There is a moral difference between the leadership of these two parties.
In the last district, this governor was allotted six minutes to give a speech.
He used two of those minutes to explain his humble background,
and he decided to turn it to the audience for question and answer.
René, the state party chairman of the Nationalists,
and also the leader of that district's elections,
stepped in and said, quote,
"As state party chairman, I will not allow this to happen."
He used his influence as state party chairman of the Nationalists
to unduly influence an election and cancel out a Federalist contender.
This is unacceptable.
And while the Nationalist Party as a whole
I'm sure is full of good, dedicated people,
the party leadership is morally bankrupt if that is allowed to happen.
Do not support this! Thank you, America.
Um... How do I wanna put this?
I am a self-made man.
I have not needed anybody's help thus far but the people.
To party leadership, René, thank you.
Um, I— You're— You're a very, very, very awesome guy,
and I'm glad to call you a friend.
Um, I got it from here, buddy. Don't worry. I got it from here.
We had no bias, and w— I let it slide in that last part,
but now that you're over here slandering me, I'm not gonna take that.
- Okay. -I do not want any issue with you.
All I want is a simple apology.
Okay. I mean, I'm not gonna apologize. There was bias in that room.
He said, "Okay. I have nothing to apologize for."
Because he was so okay with demagoguing an entire crowd against a person.
Not a party, a person.
And I was hurt.
I know René, and I know how he plays,
and I genuinely think that was an attempt to hurt the Federalist Party.
And the way he approached it was horrible.
We need to spread this.
Get this out, because this is a game changer for the election.
This is that important.
If I do not exploit this,
there is a very good chance we will lose this election.
Matty B.
Why did Eddy come in here and try to instigate that?
We wouldn't have known that happened
if he wouldn't have come in here and talked to us about it.
But he chose to come and—
The state party chair can't take over a district.
That's not his job. His job is to run the state convention.
Personally, if I called someone out, I'd let him defend himself.
- Right. -I spoke up, and I figured
if we want a chance at this,
we need to do something drastic that gets people talking.
I don't know. You got people talking now.
A message of unity, as good as it sounds,
and as good as it ultimately is for our country,
is not winning anyone any elections.
You have to use personal attacks
and you have to find divisive issues in order to differentiate yourself at all.
What I'm trying to do here is get us to talk to each other
and kind of get rid of that label of, like, conservative and liberal,
Nationalist and Federalist.
I knew from the very beginning that I— I needed Federalist support,
which is why I never made it a point to attack them in any of my speeches.
When we heard his speech in there, like, some of the Federalists,
like, in our city, like, turned on, like, to your side, so...
I say, on the behalf of our city, consider us, like, your vote.
- Thank you so much. -Good luck, bro.
Should we do a "hell yeah" on three?
You said earlier...
I've had to listen to people who have said things
that I vehemently opposed and disagreed with.
I completely agree that we do need to work to identify illegal immigrants
for their own safety as much as for the safety of the nation.
But I listen with an open mind.
So, I propose a law to where law enforcement
can still use drones out of their line of sight.
There are a lot of people that I have met
that have different lives than I have.
Their upbringing, what issues affect them.
Next thing we know, there were gunshots and everything.
It happened in the art hallway.
Concealed carry, I feel, is here to stay,
because in my hometown, Rolling Oaks Mall was shot up,
but someone with a concealed carry license was able to fight back and wound.
People don't like the word "compromise,"
but there are so many things that we've been able to come to agreement upon.
Background checks. This is nonpartisan.
We are simply making sure that guns do not fall into the hands
of those who will use them to harm other people.
So, all in favor?
Aye!
- All opposed? -Nay!
The ayes have it.
There are lots of conservatives who want to give DACA recipients
a pathway to citizenship.
Well, yeah. We should— We should definitely do it.
A lot of conservatives who support LGBTQ rights here.
We need to show what we can do
if we talk to each other and work together.
Can I get two people down here?
Oh!
I'm so fucking hyped right now. You don't even fucking know, man.
Hey, hey, hey! Hey, hey, hey! Hey, hey, hey!
I wanna see how that René thing played out.
Like, the bias accusations.
'Cause, like, I had a whole lot of Nationalists come to me
and be like, "Yeah, thanks for calling him out. Like, we're with you."
But I also heard that, like, some Federalists, like, defected
and said I shouldn't have done it.
- Guess who I voted for. -Eddy.
Not Eddy, actually. Thank you.
- Love you, bro. -I love you too, buddy.
Listen, I thought your campaign was absolutely fantastic.
I know that people didn't understand
where you come from on gun rights, but I actually do.
It's strange out here, I know.
We're very conservative, but no, I saw for gun rights like you do.
All right, gentlemen.
The moment you've been waiting for.
Your election results.
State board of education.
Winner, Nationalists, E.B. Ennie.
For district attorney.
Winner, Nationalists, Jeandre Fink.
Associate justice, Court of Criminal Appeals.
Winner, Nationalists, Blaine Jackson.
Holy shit.
And now, gentlemen, the announcement of the big three.
Ooh, big three, big three.
For the office of attorney general.
Winner...
Patrick.
Federalists, Patrick Bell.
I don't know how this lieutenant governor race is gonna go.
- Winner... -Federalist.
- Nationalist. -Federalists.
Yeah!
Feds! Feds! Feds! Feds! Feds! Feds! Feds!
We're kicking ass, boys. We're in it now.
Eddy. Eddy.
And for your 2018 Texas Boys State governor...
Winner...
Federalists.
Yeah!
Eddy! Eddy! Eddy! Eddy!
Hell yeah, dude. We kicked ass.
Hey, man. I love you, buddy. You worked so hard.
You worked so hard to get here, okay? I'm real proud of you, all right?
You had a good campaign, dude. It was great.
I just wanna start off by thanking everyone, Federalist or Nationalist.
Means so much. It's because of you guys.
Give another big round of applause, gentlemen,
for your top three of Texas Boys State.
Think about every other single politician who went out there,
day one, hopped off the bus and pandered immediately to every single constituent.
Like, you already know what it's like.
You're, like, the most humble guy out there.
You went entirely against the grain.
For you to get as far as you did is a damn amazing accomplishment.
Take this away being happy, man.
I am so happy for you. And remember—
Remember, dude— Remember this. Remember this—
I'm proud and I'm— I'm proud of what I've done.
Dude, it was the Hail Mary.
Dude, it was shock and awe. It was combined arms warfare.
Feinstein for freedom. Hell yeah. Kick some ass.
Hey, man. I'm not a person to just tell people stuff
and blow smoke up their butt, man, but I can honestly say
you are one of the single most honest human beings
I have ever met in my entire life.
So, you know, um, I'm just glad I got the opportunity to know you, man.
And, uh—
So I'm gonna try and keep in touch, man.
Hey.
Yeah.
No, um, listen, I'm not crying 'cause I lost.
I'm crying 'cause my city are assholes and they keep coming up to me
and hugging me and telling me how proud they are. So—
I'm proud of what I was able to do here.
I'm proud of the friends I've made. Proud of the race that I ran.
No, nothing bad, Mama.
Um...
They come up to me and they're crying.
Um...
Okay. Well, I hope I make you proud, Mama.
- I love you. -Love you too.
Okay, Mom.
- Goodbye. -Bye.
America's supposed to be that beam of— of hope for people
to come to this country with nothing and make something out of themselves.
That is the epitome of the American dream.
My mom was born in Mexico...
and a long time ago, she came to the United States.
Join me up here on stage, please.
Look how I came out. Look what I've done.
I was one of the two guys
that you could've picked for the highest position here.
Don't say anything illegal.
I hope that the way I am
is a testament to how my mother raised me to be.
Boys State, ten-hut.
Present arms.
Perceived bias is a very powerful issue,
especially to conservatives.
- I... -I, Edward Proietti Conti...
- ... do solemnly swear... -... do solemnly swear...
that I will faithfully execute...
That is something Trump did very well
was to say, "Look, this system is rigged against us,
and they are working to keep us down."
But, like, I have no regrets about that decision at all.
Both on, like, a moral level and on a political level.
Because politically, it worked.
Thank you, sir. Thank you so much.
You know, in the end, I don't know.
Maybe God will judge me differently for all this or, you know— I don't know.
I had a small breakdown,
and I realized I had so much to prove
and everything to lose, and I lost it all.
There are two memorial scholarships.
The first one is René Otero. René Otero.
I like to think that I've done all I can to uplift the candidates.
But maybe those dirty tricks and accusations were very effective.
Yeah, René!
Maybe if I barnstormed the other party.
Maybe if I debased them, maybe we could've been successful.
The second recipient is Ben Feinstein.
I don't hate the man. Never will.
I think he's a fantastic politician.
But I don't think a fantastic politician is a compliment either.
The best leaders lead from the front and with passion.
Soldiers will not follow a general who does not care about casualties.
And sends them in, wave after wave, not caring about the loss of life.
They care about people who inspire them, who motivate them, who care about them.
That's who I wanted to be here at Boys State,
- was— was that kind of leader. -Hey, love you, man. Take care.
And... I think I am.
No matter what the results of the election were.
Steven! Steven! Steven!
Steven! Steven! Steven! Steven! Steven! Steven!
Should political leaders focus first
on political empowerment or economic equality?
The answer should be overwhelmingly clear.
Economic equality. Period.
My generation, despite our political differences,
want to end the gridlock of partisanship.
We want to strive, not as Republicans or Democrats,
left or right, but as Americans, towards a brighter future.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is America.
We are America and America is us.