Straight Shooter with Stephen A.

Welcome to the latest edition of Straight Shooter with yours truly Stephen A. Smith coming at you every Wednesday night from 6 to 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time over the airways of Sirius XM. Potus Radio, Channel 124. Number to call up, as always, is 866-967-687. That's 866-9676-887. 866-96 Potus. That is the number to to call up let me get right to it because i've been

annoyed all week long and um it's not because of people that i'm about to talk to because we've got

representative james clyburn coming into studio this evening i'm here in the nation's capital

washington dc right down the block

from the state capitol and what have you. And Representative Clyburn is coming in, in part to

promote his new book, The First Eight, a personal history of the pioneers, a black congressman

who shaped the nation. So I'm interested in talking him about that, but it's inescapable how we're going to talk about the Democratic Party, the world of politics that is going on as we speak, the kind of things that we have to deal with, and the kind of things that I think has served to divide this country instead of bringing us together. Now, I'm not living pire in the sky, and I don't have an attitude, particularly here in the nation's capital in front of a live studio audience.

I don't have this kind of attitude where I'm living in a fantasy world, not recognizing that

division is a part of life, that people have different beliefs, different ideology.

They walk around thinking and feeling the way that they want and the way that they believe.

And sometimes that's diametrically opposed to fellow American citizens.

Nobody is oblivious enough to know that that kind of stuff doesn't happen.

But the manner in which those feelings, those emotions are stoked by people on Capitol Hill

is something that I've lamented

for quite a long time. One of the biggest reasons why I've been involved in the world of

politics these days. I have a job. Life is pretty damn nice. I could have stayed in sports and

minded my business and lived happily ever after. But as an American citizen, as a black man,

as a voter, somebody that's concerned and prized myself at being a conscientious observer,

I look at the things that divide our nation and I get really, really perturbed over it to say the least.

And Donald Trump's reaction to Rob Reiner and his wife being killed, allegedly by their son over the weekend,

is the latest kind of stuff that I'm talking about.

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