America can only work if Americans remain vigilant and hold legislators accountable, former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura told
Newsmax TV on Thursday.
"If you're not vigilant and you don't hold elected people's feet to the fire, you'll get bad government," the former professional wrestler told "The Hard Line" host Ed Berliner. "That means if you disagree with something, you're exercising [your rights] and being patriotic when you do protest it. When you do, bring it to the forefront.
"That's being a good American citizen and you shouldn't be run off with fire hoses and tear gas," Ventura said.
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He is out with the second edition of his 2011 New York Times best-seller,
"American Conspiracies." It has expanded by four chapters to include stories on military POWs and MIAs.
"When you go in the military, they assure you that if you're captured behind enemy lines, they will do everything in their power to make sure you get home again," Ventura said. "False.
"We show that in the book clearly that if you become a political liability, forget it. Our government won't do one thing to bring you back again."
An independent, Ventura, 64, also slammed "career politicians," telling Berliner that "people are discarding them now" for such "outsider" Republican presidential candidates as Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina.
"They are three people that aren't in politics — and yet they're the three leaders, because it's the people rising up saying: 'We've had enough of these liars in Washington. We've had enough of these people who are bought and sold completely by our system of bribery.'
"The one good thing about Trump, you can't bribe him," Ventura said.
He also agrees with the candidates' "big-picture" effort to destroy the nation's two-party political system.
"I love that Trump's doing that," Ventura told Berliner. "Now, do I agree with Donald Trump? Many issues I don't agree with him on, but I do agree with the big picture."
He said last month that he would like to
share the GOP ticket with Trump.
"The only way to get our country back is to destroy or break up the Democrats and the Republicans and the status quo that's been running this country now for the last 75 to 100 years.
"It's got to go — and that's what they're accomplishing."
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