1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,640 this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon 3 00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:12,519 to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,719 want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,239 my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,640 go to vpekclendarshow dot com. Make sure you hit the 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,160 subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to your 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,679 smartphone or tablet, and again, thank you so much for 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,760 your support. Now you know me. I don't get into 10 00:00:31,839 --> 00:00:36,679 the predictions game mainly because I am terrible at it, terrible, 11 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:43,240 and there's really no value to making predictions unless you're 12 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,439 going to actually keep a scorecard and say, here's all 13 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:49,759 the here all the times I got it right, and 14 00:00:49,799 --> 00:00:51,399 then you also have to give all the times you 15 00:00:51,439 --> 00:00:53,880 got it wrong. But nobody ever does that. No one 16 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:55,479 ever comes out and they're like, oh, you know what, 17 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:57,600 I got wrong again this thing, and then I got 18 00:00:57,600 --> 00:00:59,399 this other thing wrong and whatever. They'll tell you when 19 00:00:59,399 --> 00:01:01,479 they got it right. Though. That's why I don't get 20 00:01:01,479 --> 00:01:06,920 into the prediction business. I do warn though, Okay, I warned, 21 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,319 and so I warned, and I warned and I warned 22 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:18,439 for like fifteen years I've been warning about expanding Medicaid 23 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:23,519 in North Carolina. Republicans used to oppose it, and they 24 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:29,079 opposed expansion of Medicaid under the Obamacare plan, and which, 25 00:01:29,079 --> 00:01:32,159 by the way, as I understand it, it that fixed 26 00:01:33,799 --> 00:01:37,680 that fixed the healthcare industry, which is why now Medicaid 27 00:01:37,799 --> 00:01:41,079 is going to be completely destroyed by the Republicans or 28 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:43,439 something so like, which is weird. I don't know. I 29 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:45,840 thought we fixed it all, but now it's not fixed 30 00:01:45,879 --> 00:01:48,920 again or something. I guess it's like clearing out the 31 00:01:48,959 --> 00:01:52,400 backlog of the rape kits at the State Bureau of 32 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,319 Investigation's crime lab, where Roy Cooper said that he had 33 00:01:56,319 --> 00:01:58,439 cleared it out, and then Josh Stein ran on a 34 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:01,480 campaign of clearing out the back law and then touted 35 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,200 his success at doing so. So I'm not clear when 36 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:06,599 they got cleared out, if they got cleared out with 37 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:10,120 somebody lying about it, but whatever. Same thing with the 38 00:02:10,159 --> 00:02:14,639 Obamacare saving the healthcare industry, which is now apparently more expensive. 39 00:02:14,719 --> 00:02:21,719 But I warned the North Carolina Republican legislature do not 40 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:28,199 expand Medicaid, and for fifteen years they were solid on it. 41 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:33,960 Then what two years ago, I guess it was they 42 00:02:34,039 --> 00:02:39,680 finally caved and they gave Roy Cooper his holy grail victory. 43 00:02:40,599 --> 00:02:43,360 The one thing I mean to listen to Roy Cooper 44 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,479 when he was governor, expansion of Medicaid was the solution 45 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:52,879 to darn near every single problem that faced the state. 46 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:55,719 In fact, that's why he brought so goes the rumor 47 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:59,159 up in Raleigh. That's why he brought on Mandy Cohen, who, 48 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,039 as I understand it, has it going on. But brought 49 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,000 on Mandy Cohen to lead the Department of Health and 50 00:03:04,039 --> 00:03:07,120 Human Services because she was supposed to be there to 51 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:12,080 usher in the expansion of Medicaid, which did not happen 52 00:03:12,159 --> 00:03:15,400 while she was in charge. Happened only after she left 53 00:03:15,759 --> 00:03:17,560 got the gig up in Harvard and then went to 54 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:20,680 work for the Biden administration, or maybe that was vice versa, 55 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,680 but either way, she was gone by the time Cooper 56 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,479 finally got to drink from his holy grail, and that 57 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:33,800 was the expansion of Medicaid. And the Republican legislature folded 58 00:03:33,879 --> 00:03:39,159 on this and the claim was that, well, things have changed, 59 00:03:40,479 --> 00:03:45,479 and the federal government is still doing this ninety percent 60 00:03:46,599 --> 00:03:50,879 federal match, which isn't a match, it's a subsidy, right 61 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:53,919 if you're paying ninety percent of it, and so we 62 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,599 should go ahead and do this, this ninety percent subsidy. 63 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:00,560 So we should do it because look, it's been around 64 00:04:00,599 --> 00:04:03,840 now for what ten years, they've been offering this and 65 00:04:03,879 --> 00:04:06,800 we haven't taken it, and we should go ahead and 66 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:08,639 do it because it doesn't look like it's going anywhere. 67 00:04:09,039 --> 00:04:13,319 And I said, you don't know that. You don't know 68 00:04:13,439 --> 00:04:17,199 that because the reimbursement rate, I want to say it 69 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,120 was somewhere I'm trying to remember what the Medicaid reimbursement 70 00:04:20,199 --> 00:04:22,680 rates are off the top of my head, I want 71 00:04:22,759 --> 00:04:25,199 to say it was like between seventy and eighty percent 72 00:04:25,319 --> 00:04:28,680 something like that that Obamacare did, and then they jacked 73 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:31,480 it up to ninety percent as a big fat carrot 74 00:04:31,759 --> 00:04:34,240 to try to get states that were holding out, basically 75 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:38,279 Republican states that were holding out expanding Medicaid. And so 76 00:04:38,399 --> 00:04:42,199 you have now these two populations on the Medicaid rolls, 77 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:47,959 the pre expansion folks and then the expansion folks. And 78 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:53,240 the pre expansion folks represent a lower subsidy from the 79 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:58,519 Feds for the Medicaid. The expansion people represent a ninety 80 00:04:58,519 --> 00:05:07,240 percent subsidy. And when the legislature voted to expand Medicaid, 81 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:10,800 they said, look, the program hasn't gone anywhere, it doesn't 82 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:13,399 look like it's going anywhere. It's now the time to 83 00:05:13,439 --> 00:05:15,920 do it, and we're going to be able to expand 84 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:20,040 the roles with all of these people and some astute observers, 85 00:05:20,079 --> 00:05:23,199 if I do say so myself, like, well me pointed 86 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:26,839 out like number one, that is going to be an undercount. 87 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:29,879 Your projection of how many people sign up for the 88 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:32,600 free service is going to be an under count. This 89 00:05:32,639 --> 00:05:36,480 is what's called the woodwork effect, where people come out 90 00:05:36,519 --> 00:05:40,399 of the woodwork. Right, People you did not expect to 91 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:43,519 show up for the free service show up for the 92 00:05:43,519 --> 00:05:50,480 free service because it's free. And the expansion population are 93 00:05:50,519 --> 00:05:55,240 a different class of people. These are younger, they are 94 00:05:56,279 --> 00:06:01,600 able bodied, they can work, right, and so like, why 95 00:06:01,639 --> 00:06:06,360 are we extending these benefits to people who now have 96 00:06:06,399 --> 00:06:09,680 an incentive not to work. When you incentivize people to 97 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:16,560 not participate in productive means of self sufficiency, they will 98 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,839 not do so unless they are personally motivated through some 99 00:06:19,879 --> 00:06:22,680 sort of you know, moral ethical, you know, compunction to 100 00:06:22,759 --> 00:06:25,959 go out and work because there is dignity and value 101 00:06:26,079 --> 00:06:30,360 in work. But work is hard, work is boring, and 102 00:06:30,399 --> 00:06:32,120 it's annoying when you've got to sit next to that 103 00:06:32,199 --> 00:06:34,240 person that brings the smelly fish and puts it in 104 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:38,800 the microwave in the office, Like, yeah, work stink sometimes literally, right, 105 00:06:41,079 --> 00:06:43,680 So you incentivize people not to work. And there's then 106 00:06:43,759 --> 00:06:45,879 you have a part of this, which is called the 107 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:51,879 welfare cliff, where you layer on so many benefits to 108 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:58,040 people of low income that they get to a point where, 109 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:02,439 if they are working and they are progressing in their 110 00:07:02,519 --> 00:07:05,920 career path, they get to a point where they would 111 00:07:05,959 --> 00:07:08,319 need to get somewhere. I think the cliff is somewhere 112 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:12,199 around sixty grand I want to say, and then you 113 00:07:12,199 --> 00:07:16,279 would need to jump, or maybe it's forty k and 114 00:07:16,319 --> 00:07:18,879 then you need to jump to sixty I forget. It's 115 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:22,120 like a twenty twenty five thousand dollars jump or cliff, 116 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:25,319 which is you're making the money, but as soon as 117 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:29,680 you go past a certain income, now you start becoming 118 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:35,399 ineligible for various welfare benefits, whether it's food stamps or 119 00:07:35,439 --> 00:07:40,879 medicaid or whatever. And the drop off, the value of 120 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:45,360 that drop off is so high that you would essentially 121 00:07:45,439 --> 00:07:49,319 need a twenty five thousand dollars pay raise, and that 122 00:07:50,079 --> 00:07:53,920 doesn't happen. People don't move from I guess. Maybe at like, 123 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,319 if you're making six figures, you know, two hundred and 124 00:07:57,319 --> 00:07:59,160 fifty K a year or something like that, then yes, 125 00:07:59,199 --> 00:08:01,399 you could move twenty five thousand dollars in a year, 126 00:08:01,519 --> 00:08:04,040 I guess. But people generally, when you are you know, 127 00:08:04,079 --> 00:08:07,920 working class, you're not making that kind of an income jump, right. 128 00:08:08,199 --> 00:08:10,319 An employer is not going to say, hey, you know what, 129 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:12,879 we're going to now basically give you a fifty percent 130 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:17,680 pay raise. And so you've created an incentive for people 131 00:08:17,879 --> 00:08:20,680 not to want to work because if they go above 132 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:24,279 a certain amount of money in income, they lose their benefits. 133 00:08:24,519 --> 00:08:28,000 It is a completely rational decision for them to make. 134 00:08:30,319 --> 00:08:34,559 And so people like me, we're arguing against this expansion 135 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:41,519 of medicaid. Even when Republicans in the state legislature started 136 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:43,960 making the moves that, oh, you know what, we might 137 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:46,919 be open to it now, they wanted to take the 138 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:53,240 issue away from Democrats and lo and behold, here we 139 00:08:53,279 --> 00:08:59,200 are the obbb A, the one Big Beautiful Bill Act, 140 00:08:59,399 --> 00:09:05,480 the Abba or I don't know, obah baba. Anyway, this 141 00:09:05,639 --> 00:09:12,759 big beautiful monstrosity that now Tom Tillis said, you can't 142 00:09:12,759 --> 00:09:17,120 do this because it's going to jam up the states. 143 00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:21,159 That was his reason for opposing the Oh bah, bah bah, 144 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:28,360 you're jamming up the states on Medicaid. And why because 145 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:32,639 of the ninety percent subsidy. Because the thing that North 146 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:37,320 Carolina Republican lawmakers said wouldn't happen. They were confident and 147 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:40,720 wouldn't happen. Now it looks like it's going to happen, 148 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:44,840 and it may have just cast Tom Tillis his seat. Well, 149 00:09:44,919 --> 00:09:47,679 let's be fair, there were a lot of reasons. There 150 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:50,759 were there were other reasons that people were not too 151 00:09:50,799 --> 00:09:55,759 thrilled with Tom Tillis as their Republican US senator. All Right, 152 00:09:55,759 --> 00:09:57,600 if you're listening to this show, you know I try 153 00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:59,360 to keep up with all sorts of current events, and 154 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:01,759 I know you do, and you've probably heard me say 155 00:10:01,879 --> 00:10:04,120 get your news from multiple sources. 156 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:04,840 Speaker 2: Why. 157 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:07,960 Speaker 1: Well, because it's how you detect media bias, which is 158 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:11,039 why I've been so impressed with ground News. It's an 159 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:14,519 app and it's a website, and it combines news from 160 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:16,720 around the world in one place, so you can compare 161 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,879 coverage and verify information. You can check it out at 162 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:24,440 check dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put the 163 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:27,639 link in the podcast description too. I started using ground 164 00:10:27,639 --> 00:10:30,360 News a few months ago and more recently chose to 165 00:10:30,399 --> 00:10:32,320 work with them as an affiliate because it lets me 166 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:36,200 see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The 167 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:39,240 blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by 168 00:10:39,279 --> 00:10:43,120 the left and the right. See for yourself. Check dot ground, 169 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:47,000 dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll 170 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,200 get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use the Vantage 171 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:53,679 plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription 172 00:10:53,799 --> 00:10:56,480 then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports 173 00:10:56,519 --> 00:10:59,799 ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. 174 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:04,480 All right, So we've got the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 175 00:11:05,039 --> 00:11:06,879 It passed the House and went over to the Senate, 176 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,120 and US Senator Tom Tillis from North Carolina, at least 177 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:14,840 for the next eighteen months, he voted against it. I 178 00:11:14,919 --> 00:11:17,279 have his floor speech. We'll listen to that later on 179 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:21,919 in the program, and I will offer a not a 180 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,720 defense of him, but some food for thought, a particular 181 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,120 angle that I thought of as I was watching it, 182 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:32,320 and I'm curious what you think of it. So let 183 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:34,600 me start though with this because this was June twenty eighth, 184 00:11:34,679 --> 00:11:37,159 so this would have been Saturday. I was as shocked 185 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:39,919 as anybody that the Senate was working on a weekend. 186 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:43,480 But they have this vote. And Tillis puts out a 187 00:11:43,519 --> 00:11:47,879 statement and he says, I will always do what is 188 00:11:47,879 --> 00:11:50,559 in the best interest of North Carolina, even when that 189 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:53,639 puts me at odds with my own party. When Senate 190 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,759 leaders of my party presented this bill, I did what 191 00:11:56,799 --> 00:12:00,000 every American should expect from their US senator. I worked 192 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:05,159 to gather the facts and comprehensively analyze what the impact 193 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:07,759 would be on the people I swore an oath to represent. 194 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:11,440 I did my homework on behalf of North Carolinians, and 195 00:12:11,519 --> 00:12:14,679 I cannot support this bill in its current form. It 196 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:17,879 would result in tens of billions of dollars in lost 197 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:23,960 funding for North Carolina, including our hospitals and rural communities. 198 00:12:24,639 --> 00:12:26,120 This will and by the way, I am going to 199 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:30,759 go into some detail here about the scams that states 200 00:12:30,759 --> 00:12:34,480 have been pulling regarding the Medicaid reimbursements, Okay, and that's 201 00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:38,480 part of this issue. By the way, he says, this 202 00:12:38,519 --> 00:12:42,000 will force the state to make painful decisions like eliminating 203 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:46,799 Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands in the expansion population, 204 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:51,360 and even reducing critical services for those in the traditional 205 00:12:51,759 --> 00:12:57,799 Medicaid population. Now, defenders of the OBBBA, they're saying, well, 206 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:01,320 this is to kick illegal off to make sure they 207 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:04,000 can't get access to this stuff. But also if you 208 00:13:04,039 --> 00:13:10,600 are a young, able bodied person, there should be work requirements. Right. 209 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:15,720 So there are all different arguments about the Medicaid population roles. 210 00:13:15,799 --> 00:13:23,919 And to the left, they don't discern between anybody. Everybody 211 00:13:23,919 --> 00:13:27,440 should be able to be on Medicaid, Medicare doesn't matter. 212 00:13:27,799 --> 00:13:31,480 Government run health care for everybody. That's what they want. 213 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:36,440 They want to ration by access, not by price, because 214 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:41,720 those are your options people for health care services. Everything 215 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:47,399 is rationed. Everything is rationed in this life. Okay, it's 216 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:53,639 either rationed by access or by price, pick one. And 217 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:57,080 what the left would prefer is that everything be rationed 218 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:03,360 by access. Why and they get to pretend that they 219 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:06,360 are morally superior, that they care more than you do. 220 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:10,279 Because they want everybody to have access to free health care. 221 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:14,480 It's not free, right at all. It's not free. Number 222 00:14:14,519 --> 00:14:17,759 one and number two. When you make a service free, 223 00:14:17,799 --> 00:14:20,559 as I outlined, earlier with the woodwork effect. When you 224 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:25,080 make something free, you have more demand for it because 225 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:28,080 now people will go and try to take advantage of 226 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:31,200 the free service. Because it's free. There's no cost to them. 227 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:36,840 They're not going to make responsible decisions about their prioritization 228 00:14:36,919 --> 00:14:39,960 of certain health care and access and procedures and whatever 229 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:43,240 because it's free. It's a rational response. 230 00:14:44,039 --> 00:14:44,240 Speaker 3: Right. 231 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:46,639 Speaker 1: So you have people then that say we want to 232 00:14:46,679 --> 00:14:50,000 have it all rationed by access, although they don't say 233 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:53,559 that because that sounds terrible, particularly if you have examples 234 00:14:53,639 --> 00:14:56,320 like the UK, you have Canada where it takes you, 235 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:59,120 you know, two years to get a hip replacement. Right. 236 00:15:01,799 --> 00:15:04,639 He says, we can and must do better than this. 237 00:15:05,159 --> 00:15:09,559 The Senate should return to the House's medicaid approach. That 238 00:15:09,639 --> 00:15:12,600 plan includes common sense reforms. By the way, anytime I 239 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,360 see this term common sense reforms, like, I know that 240 00:15:15,399 --> 00:15:19,600 you are bsing me because what people say, Oh, it's 241 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,240 common sense, is it, though? Or is that just you 242 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:24,600 telling me that I should just accept what you're telling 243 00:15:24,639 --> 00:15:27,559 me otherwise I don't have common sense. It's almost like 244 00:15:27,639 --> 00:15:33,960 this this implicit insult. You know, common sense reforms, he says, 245 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,600 to address waste fraud, and abuse and implements work requirements 246 00:15:37,639 --> 00:15:40,960 for some able bodied adults to ensure taxpayer funded benefits 247 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:44,519 are going to our most vulnerable neighbors. What he's talking 248 00:15:44,519 --> 00:15:51,159 about here is the amount of money that the hospitals 249 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:55,559 get back. That's what he's talking about. The House had 250 00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:59,240 a lower or a higher number, the Senate cut that number, 251 00:16:00,039 --> 00:16:03,600 and so he's trying to protect hospitals. That's what that 252 00:16:03,679 --> 00:16:06,279 sounds like to me. Anyway. He says there is a 253 00:16:06,279 --> 00:16:08,799 lot for North Carolinians to love about the rest of 254 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:13,759 the one Big Beautiful bill, including extending the Trump tax cuts, 255 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:18,480 increasing the child tax credit, providing historic funding for border security, 256 00:16:18,639 --> 00:16:21,799 and ending wasteful spending. We can and must accomplish this 257 00:16:21,879 --> 00:16:25,279 without hurting our rural communities and hospitals, and without jeopardizing 258 00:16:25,279 --> 00:16:27,879 access to care for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians 259 00:16:27,879 --> 00:16:30,960 who need it the most. He doesn't say anything in 260 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:35,600 there about the price tag. That's a major objection that 261 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:41,360 I have is that the OBBBA does not seem like 262 00:16:41,399 --> 00:16:45,320 it's reducing the deficit. And I understand reconciliation process, and 263 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:48,000 you can't do it through this process. Otherwise, you know, 264 00:16:48,039 --> 00:16:50,840 you can have the Democrats and the filibuster, and I 265 00:16:50,879 --> 00:16:54,639 get it, but nobody's talking about the amount of money 266 00:16:54,679 --> 00:16:56,960 this is going to cost, this bill will cost. Now 267 00:16:57,600 --> 00:16:59,559 Trump World says, don't worry, We're going to grow our 268 00:16:59,559 --> 00:17:02,879 way out of it. And I don't believe that to 269 00:17:02,919 --> 00:17:04,640 be the case. No, I could be wrong, but I 270 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,119 just don't see that happening. The amount of money that 271 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:16,240 we are spending is on an epic pace, and very soon. 272 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:18,839 What we just saw last week or two weeks ago 273 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:23,559 turns out Social Security not going to be able to 274 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:27,480 pay out its benefits and like what ahead of schedule, 275 00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:32,359 like twenty thirty two or something like that. It is unsustainable. 276 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:37,480 We are going to go bankrupt. I am with Elon 277 00:17:37,599 --> 00:17:40,279 Musk on this, Like this is the number one threat 278 00:17:40,319 --> 00:17:44,079 that America faces. It is the profligate spending and the 279 00:17:44,279 --> 00:17:47,039 interest on the debt. We will be spending like a 280 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:53,240 trillion dollars just on interest payments. It is unsurvivable, and 281 00:17:53,279 --> 00:17:56,200 we have leadership that does not want to address it 282 00:17:56,799 --> 00:17:58,960 because you end up with these kinds of arguments like 283 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,400 Tillis is making here. We can't get rid of this 284 00:18:01,519 --> 00:18:05,599 government program because the hospitals will have to eat more 285 00:18:05,599 --> 00:18:11,279 of the costs or something. Yeah, lots of bad decisions 286 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:15,599 have led us to this point. Making more bad decisions 287 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:17,440 isn't going to get us out of it. Here's a 288 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:20,319 great idea. How about making an escape to a really 289 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,599 special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina. Just a 290 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:26,279 quick drive up the mountain and Cabins of Asheville is 291 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:30,200 your connection. 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Call or text eight two 307 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:25,599 eight three six seven seventy sixty eight or check out 308 00:19:25,599 --> 00:19:27,960 all there is to offer at Cabins of Aashville dot 309 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,599 com and make memories that'll last a lifetime. I want 310 00:19:31,599 --> 00:19:33,680 to welcome to the program Doug High. He is a 311 00:19:33,759 --> 00:19:39,240 veteran Republican strategistic political commentators, worked on US Senate races, 312 00:19:39,279 --> 00:19:42,039 and I believe, if memory serves correctly, you are a 313 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:43,680 native North Carolinian? Are you not? 314 00:19:43,799 --> 00:19:47,920 Speaker 3: Doug from Winston Salem? And I worked for Senator Helms 315 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:50,680 in his ninety race, Lock Faircloth in his ninety two race, 316 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,279 which is a way of saying I'm old, and Richard 317 00:19:53,319 --> 00:19:54,599 Burr in his four race. 318 00:19:54,799 --> 00:19:57,319 Speaker 1: All right, so I think I think you're you are 319 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:01,359 properly vetted and qualified to speak on this issue. First off, 320 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:05,559 I as were you. Were you expecting anything like this 321 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:08,039 out of Tillis or did this come as a surprise 322 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:08,440 to you? 323 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:11,920 Speaker 3: It was both a shock and not a surprise. If 324 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:16,079 those two things can happen simultaneously. I'd say a shock 325 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:19,279 because whenever news like this come or comes around and 326 00:20:19,319 --> 00:20:22,200 it's not leaking your surprise by it. And I know 327 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:24,799 a lot of people on his campaign team were caught 328 00:20:24,839 --> 00:20:29,000 by surprise. His own top campaign consultant, Paul Schumaker didn't know. 329 00:20:29,279 --> 00:20:31,680 He heard it through the media the same way everybody 330 00:20:31,759 --> 00:20:35,680 else did. But also not surprising because Tillis had made 331 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,359 it known for a long time, as so many members 332 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:41,119 of Congress do, that they just aren't happy in Washington 333 00:20:41,599 --> 00:20:44,400 present day, and so that he was looking for an 334 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:47,759 exit regardless of what was going around with this bill 335 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,519 or previous nominations means it wasn't a terrible surprise. 336 00:20:52,039 --> 00:20:55,400 Speaker 1: Well, and some of this comments echo those made by 337 00:20:55,799 --> 00:20:59,319 Congressman Dan Bishop from our area when he decided to 338 00:20:59,519 --> 00:21:03,000 leave his safe seat and run for Attorney General last 339 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,480 time around. He said, look, I'm one of four hundred 340 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:06,920 and thirty five people up there. It's like you can't 341 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:09,400 get anything done. It's like nobody wants to get anything done. 342 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:12,359 And he wanted to go get stuff done. 343 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, you're one of four hundred and thirty five in 344 00:21:15,799 --> 00:21:19,720 an organization that just does less and less seemingly every 345 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:23,240 two years. Regardless of what parties in power. Washington isn't 346 00:21:23,279 --> 00:21:25,960 a place where things get done these days, and so 347 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,559 there's a fatigue that really wears on I think a 348 00:21:28,559 --> 00:21:29,519 lot of members. 349 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:32,920 Speaker 1: It is the dynamic different over in the Senate versus 350 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:36,599 the House, or are they are they more insulated from 351 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:38,160 that because of the longer terms. 352 00:21:39,079 --> 00:21:41,880 Speaker 3: Well, you're not running for reelection every two years and 353 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:44,680 you're one of one hundred, which is a little different scenario. 354 00:21:45,039 --> 00:21:48,200 But Washington is broken. I don't think anybody Republican or 355 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:51,480 Democrat would argue that Washington is really firing on all 356 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:54,319 cylinders these days. And it does wear on members, and 357 00:21:54,359 --> 00:21:57,599 it's why you've seen several resignations. There was another member 358 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:00,720 of Congress who announced they're not running for reelection this morning. 359 00:22:00,799 --> 00:22:05,119 Congressman Don Bacon, Republican from Nebraska, announced his retirement just 360 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:07,039 a couple of days ago. And this is sort of 361 00:22:07,079 --> 00:22:08,839 the time when some of that is going to happen. 362 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:16,519 Speaker 1: So looking at the nature of North Carolina voter registration 363 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:22,279 and performance, Tillis sort of created this brand as like 364 00:22:22,319 --> 00:22:25,720 a more moderate Republican. I know my friends on the 365 00:22:25,799 --> 00:22:28,079 left would say that's not true. But there are a 366 00:22:28,079 --> 00:22:31,319 lot of people in the Republican camp that were not 367 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:34,359 happy with him. I mean they censured him. His own 368 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:37,480 party censured him a couple of years ago, and so 369 00:22:37,559 --> 00:22:40,000 he kind of built this brand as like, oh, I 370 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:41,799 can win in a general election. I don't think he 371 00:22:41,839 --> 00:22:45,000 ever actually cleared fifty percent of the vote though. Is 372 00:22:45,039 --> 00:22:49,000 that kind of a brand for a Republican Is that 373 00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:52,319 even possible to win in North Carolina? Or was that 374 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:56,599 the right formula that the next Republican needs to try 375 00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:57,519 to emulate. 376 00:22:58,319 --> 00:23:00,400 Speaker 3: Well, it certainly could have been in a general election. 377 00:23:00,599 --> 00:23:03,279 But one of the problems that till Has had very 378 00:23:03,319 --> 00:23:05,799 clearly was he was on the wrong side on Donald 379 00:23:05,839 --> 00:23:09,240 Trump on this bill, and almost was with Pete Hegseth 380 00:23:09,319 --> 00:23:12,359 when he was nominated, and with Donald Trump every day 381 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:15,920 as a loyalty test, and he lets people hang in 382 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:20,400 the balance at his pleasure, and certainly Tillis was experiencing that. 383 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:22,839 And I don't think you can win. You don't necessarily 384 00:23:22,839 --> 00:23:25,960 need Donald Trump's endorsement to win a Republican primary. We 385 00:23:26,039 --> 00:23:30,440 certainly saw that with Chuck Edwards beating Madison Cawthorn not 386 00:23:30,519 --> 00:23:33,359 too long ago. But you can't win in a primary 387 00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:35,359 if Donald Trump's going to oppose you. I think that's 388 00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:35,960 pretty clear. 389 00:23:36,559 --> 00:23:41,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, just ask Pat McCrory exactly. Okay, So, now what 390 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:44,839 do you think does this become more of a toss 391 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,160 up state? I think I saw cook political report just 392 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,640 moved it to a toss up from a leans Republican. 393 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:53,200 Speaker 3: North Carolina is always a close state. We haven't had 394 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:56,920 a blowout ten point victory in any Senate race since 395 00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,440 nineteen seventy four, and we're not going to have one 396 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:01,839 this cycle either. So we want to sort out who 397 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,240 the candidates are. But it's going to be a close 398 00:24:04,319 --> 00:24:05,759 and a very expensive race. 399 00:24:06,079 --> 00:24:09,799 Speaker 1: So let me first start on the Democrats side, because everybody, 400 00:24:09,839 --> 00:24:13,079 it seems like, is waiting on Roy Cooper or as 401 00:24:13,079 --> 00:24:14,880 I call him my good friend Ray because that's what 402 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:19,759 Hillary called him. We're waiting on him to decide. And 403 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:22,519 he has played coy and this is sort of like 404 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,400 his playbook when they wanted him to run for governor 405 00:24:25,839 --> 00:24:28,920 like eight straight years and he just played coy and 406 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:32,599 just stayed in the Attorney general's post. So I guess 407 00:24:32,759 --> 00:24:35,599 that's the first step for the Democrats to wait to 408 00:24:35,599 --> 00:24:36,279 see what he does. 409 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,559 Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, everybody is sort of on standby. Obviously, Wiley 410 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:44,119 Nickel has announced. Yeah, but Roy Cooper. Roy Cooper's the 411 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:48,599 great white whale for Democrats. He's been elected statewide repeatedly, 412 00:24:48,839 --> 00:24:51,359 and he can raise money in the state and nationally. 413 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,039 I'd argue Cooper's never really had a tough race. But 414 00:24:55,119 --> 00:24:57,880 certainly if you're the Democrats, this is the guy you 415 00:24:57,920 --> 00:24:58,839 want on the ballot. 416 00:24:59,319 --> 00:25:03,359 Speaker 1: Yeah. He's a you know, white male, Southern Democrat, talks 417 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,160 in a way that is attractive to you know, more 418 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:11,359 rural or more blue dog conservative types. But in his heart, 419 00:25:11,519 --> 00:25:15,480 he'll go along with leftist policies. He will do that stuff. 420 00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:18,759 Speaker 3: And he was very close with Kamala Harris. We know that, 421 00:25:18,799 --> 00:25:21,039 and she was he was nearly her pick, right. 422 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:24,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, But I think to your point, he has not 423 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,079 ever faced the kind of campaign that I think he 424 00:25:28,079 --> 00:25:30,359 would be subjected to with you know, hundreds of millions 425 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:32,640 of dollars pouring in from out of state. His record 426 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:36,519 on COVID is going to be an issue, his record 427 00:25:36,599 --> 00:25:40,359 with the rape kit backlogs not getting cleared out. I mean, 428 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:45,000 all of these, His hurricane is disastrous response to the hurricanes. 429 00:25:45,039 --> 00:25:48,079 Matthew Florence Helene like, all of that stuff will get 430 00:25:48,319 --> 00:25:52,200 dragged out. I'm not sure he's completely prepared to withstand 431 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:53,759 all of that, but I think it's also going to 432 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:58,359 matter right who the Republicans put up too. So what 433 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:01,039 are you looking at for the republic inside of this equation? 434 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:03,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, at this point, And let me let me say 435 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,319 about Cooper. If I were advising Cooper, i'd tell him 436 00:26:06,319 --> 00:26:09,759 to stay out because ultimately, look, you know, he retires 437 00:26:09,759 --> 00:26:13,359 as a successful two term governor, former attorney general. If 438 00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:16,240 he runs one, he could lose, and if he wins, 439 00:26:16,599 --> 00:26:19,119 he goes into the Senate as a freshman in the minority. 440 00:26:19,519 --> 00:26:22,440 That's not a fun existence. So I personally would tell 441 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:25,319 him that he'd probably be better off staying out on 442 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:29,079 the Republican side. Right now, all eyes are on Laura Trump. 443 00:26:29,599 --> 00:26:32,960 If she wants the nomination. It is sort of her 444 00:26:33,279 --> 00:26:35,640 right of first refusal because she can go to her 445 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:39,079 father in law and say, I'm your person. And if 446 00:26:39,079 --> 00:26:41,720 Donald Trump backs her, it's hard to see anybody else, 447 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:44,960 you know, getting in there. But if she doesn't run, 448 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:47,319 you got a whole lot of people potentially who could 449 00:26:47,359 --> 00:26:50,279 run from Michael Wattley, the former State Party chair, former 450 00:26:50,319 --> 00:26:53,880 Dole aid where I first met him. To Richard Hudson, 451 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:57,440 who you know talking to Charlotte right now, former class 452 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:00,880 president at UNC, Charlotte long time now House member. A 453 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:03,519 lot of House members are looking at it. Folks from 454 00:27:04,319 --> 00:27:06,720 outside the House are as well. And it could be 455 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:08,960 about a royal yeah. 456 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:11,559 Speaker 1: And also the Lara Trump candidacy was something that was 457 00:27:11,599 --> 00:27:14,759 floated the last time around, and everybody waited to see 458 00:27:14,759 --> 00:27:16,240 what she was going to do, and then she announced 459 00:27:16,279 --> 00:27:18,799 she wasn't going to be running for the seat that 460 00:27:18,839 --> 00:27:22,599 Ted budd ended up winning. So all right, hey, I 461 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:26,519 appreciate your inside thanks for joining us today. Happy independency 462 00:27:26,559 --> 00:27:26,720 to you. 463 00:27:26,759 --> 00:27:29,160 Speaker 3: Doug High, anytime you too, Thanks, all right. 464 00:27:29,039 --> 00:27:32,480 Speaker 1: Take care. That's Doug High. He is a veteran Republican strategist, 465 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:38,039 political commentator, and a longtime Senate campaign worker and Comm's guy. 466 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:41,000 Appreciate his time as always. You know, stories are powerful. 467 00:27:41,079 --> 00:27:44,160 They help us make sense of things, to understand experiences. 468 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:46,720 Stories connect us to the people of our past while 469 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:50,160 transcending generations. They help us process the meaning of life, 470 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:54,119 and our stories are told through images and videos. Preserve 471 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:57,599 your stories with Creative Video started in nineteen ninety seven 472 00:27:57,599 --> 00:28:00,359 and Mint Hill, North Carolina. It was the first company 473 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:04,160 to provide this valuable service, converting images, photos and videos 474 00:28:04,279 --> 00:28:08,599 into high quality produced slide shows, videos and albums. The trusted, 475 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,720 talented and dedicated team at Creative Video will go over 476 00:28:11,759 --> 00:28:14,599 all of the details with you to create a perfect project. 477 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:17,880 Satisfaction guaranteed. Drop them off in person or mail them. 478 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:20,200 They'll be ready in a week or two. Memorial videos 479 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:24,599 for your loved ones, videos for rehearsal, dinners, weddings, graduations, Christmas, 480 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:28,880 family vacations, birthdays, or just your family stories, all told 481 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:32,640 through images. That's what your photos and videos are. They 482 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:35,480 are your life told through the eyes of everyone around 483 00:28:35,519 --> 00:28:37,759 you and all who came before you, and they will 484 00:28:37,799 --> 00:28:41,160 tell others to come. Who you are, visit creative video 485 00:28:41,359 --> 00:28:44,799 dot com. Let's jump over and get George. Johnny's been 486 00:28:44,839 --> 00:28:48,599 waiting patiently, I assume, maybe not patiently, but George, welcome 487 00:28:48,599 --> 00:28:50,640 to the show. Hello George. 488 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks for the chance to blabber for while. 489 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:54,319 Speaker 1: You're welcome. 490 00:28:55,680 --> 00:29:01,079 Speaker 2: So just two quick things. One one, Tom Tillis was 491 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:05,119 the big dog in the North Carolina Senate. I wasn't 492 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:06,920 too impressed with him and then one day I was 493 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:09,640 in Asheville and I caught I didn't know who it 494 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:11,359 was because I came in the middle. I caught an 495 00:29:11,359 --> 00:29:16,359 interview with this guy and I thought, Wow, this guy's amazing. 496 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:18,359 I love this guy. I'm going to vote for this guy. 497 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:21,119 And then they ended and said, well, Frank you Senator Tillis, 498 00:29:21,119 --> 00:29:23,880 and I went, you got to be kidding me. Nothing 499 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,200 he said in that interview lined up with the policy 500 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:30,359 positions he took in the North Carolina Senate. So I 501 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:33,400 say to Senator Tillis, God bless you. Don't let the 502 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:34,640 door hit you on the way out. 503 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:38,319 Speaker 1: So Martin, well, my big question for you after hearing 504 00:29:38,359 --> 00:29:42,599 that story is do you remember who was doing the interview? 505 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:45,079 Was it in the afternoon drive time up in Ashville, 506 00:29:45,079 --> 00:29:47,200 because that could have been me doing the interview with 507 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:49,200 No it was. 508 00:29:49,359 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 2: I think it was a ring broadcast. I was up 509 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:52,880 there on a Saturday morning. 510 00:29:53,119 --> 00:29:55,519 Speaker 1: Okay, so then that would have been Mark, Yeah, the morning. 511 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:57,000 Speaker 2: Guy probably Yeah. 512 00:29:57,119 --> 00:30:00,160 Speaker 1: Okay, all right, Well, I mean that's okay, and Mark's 513 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,519 that's a guy. So I'm not you know, my feelings 514 00:30:02,519 --> 00:30:03,799 aren't too terribly hurt there. 515 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:07,759 Speaker 2: Well, I'm glad you're in Charlotte, wet me just tell you. 516 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:08,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, I am. 517 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:13,000 Speaker 2: He's the second thing. On June the fourteenth, Pat Harrigan, 518 00:30:13,079 --> 00:30:17,160 who I supported, donated to, and campaigned for, was at 519 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:21,000 a Republican men's meeting and I asked him how he 520 00:30:21,039 --> 00:30:25,119 could vote for a bill that projected spending seven to 521 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:30,319 eight trillion against revenue of five to six trillion. And 522 00:30:30,359 --> 00:30:33,440 he had no answer for me. And I told him 523 00:30:33,519 --> 00:30:37,839 my first election as a voter was nineteen sixty eight 524 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:43,039 Nixon versus Humphrey. And every election, every two years or 525 00:30:43,079 --> 00:30:47,640 every four years, every election, they all say, yeah, the deficit, 526 00:30:47,799 --> 00:30:50,400 that's the next thing. But first we've got to do this. 527 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,599 And now we're at, you know, approaching forty trillion. And 528 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:58,839 I told Pat, I said, because I've met him, his wife, 529 00:30:58,839 --> 00:31:01,640 his children, I said, Pat, I'm not worried about you 530 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:04,039 and me, but I am worried about my grandchildren and 531 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:08,079 your children. They are going to go broke in America. 532 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:13,559 So I am so appreciative of you hitting this deficit thing. 533 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:17,759 It's like they go to Washington and their brains they 534 00:31:17,839 --> 00:31:19,880 leave their brains at home. I don't get it. 535 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:23,720 Speaker 1: Well because there are a number of reasons, right, there 536 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:29,200 are so many people, competing interests, competing incentive structure. You 537 00:31:29,279 --> 00:31:31,480 got people that are there because they are you know, 538 00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:35,160 narcissistic psychopaths basically, and they will say whatever they have 539 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,359 to say in order to get the power and control 540 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:40,920 that they seek, and so the ideology doesn't actually matter 541 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:44,160 to them. And it's very difficult to get people to 542 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:49,559 vote in a way that will cause pain to their constituents. 543 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:52,039 Pain being we're going to have to cut back on 544 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:55,599 the spending, and like nobody wants to hear that. No, 545 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:58,799 but Americans do not want to hear that their favorite 546 00:31:58,799 --> 00:32:01,599 thing is going to get cut. I remember, like when 547 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:05,599 I just remember George W. Bush and when he won reelection. 548 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:08,400 You remember he touched the third rail of politics, which 549 00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:12,079 was what to let us take like one and a 550 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:15,880 half percent of the money that's going to social Security 551 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:19,880 and allow that completely voluntary basis, to let me take 552 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:21,920 one and a half percent and stick it in a 553 00:32:22,039 --> 00:32:25,599 mutual fund basically and let it grow over there. And 554 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:27,960 I just saw, because it was like twenty years after 555 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:32,119 his initial proposal, that like you would have made five 556 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:35,240 times or something the amount of money that is now 557 00:32:35,279 --> 00:32:38,240 in your Social Security account, which isn't even really there. 558 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:41,680 They're just IOUs so like it was. And that's the 559 00:32:41,759 --> 00:32:44,880 kind of pushback that we get from the left, and 560 00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:47,880 you get these you know, jelly spined as Mark Robinson 561 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:51,880 would call them. We need Republicans that can't follow through 562 00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:57,559 on just some basic fiscal restraint and some reform efforts. 563 00:32:57,680 --> 00:32:59,480 And yeah, it's going to be tough for a little while, 564 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:02,599 but it has to be done well. 565 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:08,640 Speaker 2: And here's my comment COVID and President Biden. Yeah, I've 566 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:12,200 been hurting financially. I mean it's been tough. Yeah, and 567 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:15,440 the price of gasoline alone compared to when Trump left 568 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:19,720 office is killing me. But what I asked Pat Harrigan 569 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:22,720 was why can't we go back to pre COVID spending 570 00:33:22,799 --> 00:33:25,519 levels as a first step? No answer for. 571 00:33:25,519 --> 00:33:28,680 Speaker 1: That, Yeah, I mean it's so frustrating. 572 00:33:28,759 --> 00:33:31,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, well I just I told him. I said, Look, 573 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:33,240 I'm not I'm not coming out against you, I said, 574 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:39,000 but you know, we need fiscal responsibility above all other 575 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:40,519 concerns right now. 576 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:43,319 Speaker 1: Yeah, now I agree with you, George. I appreciate the call. 577 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:44,839 Speaker 2: Sir, Thanks so much, Thank you, sir. 578 00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:47,519 Speaker 1: All right, take care. So, yeah, so Pat Harrigan is 579 00:33:47,559 --> 00:33:50,799 actually one of the names that's floated as a potential 580 00:33:52,039 --> 00:33:55,279 candidate for this seat. I do agree with Doug High 581 00:33:55,319 --> 00:33:59,400 and him is an expectation that this is Laura Trump's 582 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:03,319 if she wants it, she has right a first refusal 583 00:34:03,559 --> 00:34:05,079 if she says she's going to run for the seat. 584 00:34:05,079 --> 00:34:07,359 She's a North Carolina native, but she doesn't actually live here, 585 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:10,119 so that will actually open her up, you know, to 586 00:34:10,159 --> 00:34:15,000 the accusation that she's a carpetbagger. But North Carolina has 587 00:34:15,039 --> 00:34:18,639 elected people like Elizabeth Dole for example. New York did 588 00:34:18,679 --> 00:34:21,039 it with Hillary Clinton, right, So you don't have to 589 00:34:21,039 --> 00:34:23,960 be a longtime resident of the state in order to 590 00:34:24,119 --> 00:34:26,159 run for the seat. Now, again, she is a North 591 00:34:26,199 --> 00:34:28,800 Carolina native, so she does have a lot of roots here. 592 00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:30,800 So I'm not sure that that's going to be that 593 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:34,840 big of an obstacle for her. But if she, you know, 594 00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:39,159 she's got her Fox News Channel gig now, right, So 595 00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:41,400 it's a lot to give up to go to work 596 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:48,039 in the US Senate. Michael Wattley that Doug mentioned, Michael Wattley, 597 00:34:48,039 --> 00:34:50,719 the Republican National Committee chairman. He's former chairman of the 598 00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:56,840 North Carolina GOP. And Greg Murphy. His name is thrown 599 00:34:56,880 --> 00:35:01,119 out there. Congressman from eastern North Carolina mentioned Pat Harrigan 600 00:35:01,199 --> 00:35:04,599 as well. You got Don Brown from the Charlotte area here. 601 00:35:04,599 --> 00:35:08,679 He's an attorney, former Navy jag officer. We've had him 602 00:35:08,719 --> 00:35:13,480 on the program. I've known Don for years and he's 603 00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:15,639 got a statement as well. I'll read to his statement 604 00:35:15,719 --> 00:35:19,239 next hour. Tim Moore, former North Carolina Speaker of the House, 605 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:21,800 he's up in Congress now. He is a potential candidate. 606 00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:26,199 Richard Hudson, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. And 607 00:35:26,239 --> 00:35:30,800 then also Dan Bishop, he's you know, former congressman, but 608 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:36,039 he's been in the obit budget management, I think working 609 00:35:36,079 --> 00:35:39,159 for RUSS vote. So I don't know, but he ran 610 00:35:39,239 --> 00:35:42,599 statewide last time in that attorney general race and lost 611 00:35:42,639 --> 00:35:46,360 to Jeff Jackson, who also if Roy Cooper doesn't get in, 612 00:35:46,719 --> 00:35:50,239 Jeff Jackson is his name is being floated as a 613 00:35:50,599 --> 00:35:55,159 you know, a strong contender for this race. It's wide 614 00:35:55,199 --> 00:35:59,239 open right now, but I think like the first refusals 615 00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:02,880 are going to be coming from Lara Trump and Roy Cooper. 616 00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:07,079 All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you 617 00:36:07,119 --> 00:36:09,119 so much for listening. I could not do the show 618 00:36:09,159 --> 00:36:11,679 without your support and the support of the businesses that 619 00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:14,840 advertise on the podcast, so if you'd like, please support 620 00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:16,519 them too and tell them you heard it here. You 621 00:36:16,559 --> 00:36:19,159 can also become a patron at my Patreon page or 622 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:22,880 go to dpetecleanershow dot com. Again, thank you so much 623 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:29,360 for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.