1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:05,599 Speaker 1: What's going on? 2 00:00:05,759 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 2: Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It 3 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:10,080 is heard live every day from noon to three on 4 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,839 WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,160 like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily 6 00:00:17,199 --> 00:00:19,480 show prep with all the links, become a patron, go 7 00:00:19,559 --> 00:00:23,399 to dpeakclendershow dot com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button. 8 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,359 Get every episode for free right to your smartphone or tablet. 9 00:00:26,359 --> 00:00:30,239 And again, thank you so much for your support. So 10 00:00:31,679 --> 00:00:35,759 what did you make of the the election results last night? 11 00:00:37,799 --> 00:00:40,079 I have some thoughts. I have a lot of thoughts. 12 00:00:40,359 --> 00:00:43,560 I probably have too many thoughts to even do in 13 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:48,159 the entire program, Lots and lots of thoughts, But I 14 00:00:48,359 --> 00:00:53,960 want to start with Charlotte. The local race is here, 15 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:58,960 the mayor's race, not a surprise city council race. I 16 00:00:59,039 --> 00:01:02,880 was not surprised. School board race, I was not surprised. 17 00:01:05,079 --> 00:01:10,560 There's a reason I don't make predictions on election results. 18 00:01:11,159 --> 00:01:15,319 Number one, I learned in twenty sixteen that the polling 19 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,359 cannot be trusted. I try to look at trend lines, 20 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:25,640 but even those are not entirely accurate. But more importantly, 21 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:32,159 there's very little benefit to making a prediction in my case, 22 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,799 like me just sitting here telling you who I think 23 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:40,439 will win in a particular race. If I'm right, I 24 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:44,920 get to say I was right. If I'm wrong, then 25 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:47,760 I just like pretend what that I never made the prediction. 26 00:01:47,879 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: Nobody holds me accountable for it. 27 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,519 Speaker 2: I'm just like, I'm not keeping a scorecard of all 28 00:01:52,519 --> 00:01:55,519 the races that I used to predict in which ones 29 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,760 I got right or wrong or anything like that. But 30 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:04,359 something has been very clear in Charlotte Mecklenburg for the 31 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:09,639 last fifteen years, and so no, the results last night 32 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:12,879 were not surprising. They reinforce what I have come to 33 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:17,520 believe about Charlotte. But also I saw it in Asheville, 34 00:02:17,599 --> 00:02:19,280 and I said it when I was on the air 35 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:22,520 up in Asheville. It's true in Raleigh, It's true in 36 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,879 the big blue cities in North Carolina, but also all 37 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:36,120 around the country, which is that Republicans are permitted, Conservatives 38 00:02:36,159 --> 00:02:41,840 are permitted to participate in building a city, and once 39 00:02:41,879 --> 00:02:48,400 the city becomes successful, there is no room for you anymore. 40 00:02:50,199 --> 00:02:54,599 You can leave. That's the message that I have gotten 41 00:02:55,319 --> 00:03:01,879 from Democrats in multiple cities, and watching the national results, 42 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,599 it's the same pattern over and over and over again, 43 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:09,520 and Charlotte is it could very well be like the 44 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:13,800 ultimate example. It's a case study because Charlotte's growth, its 45 00:03:13,879 --> 00:03:18,159 boom occurred within the last you know, fifty years, and 46 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:26,280 it was a bipartisan boom. The running joke in Charlotte 47 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,199 when I first started as a reporter and I would 48 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:34,800 cover city council, County Commission, school Board, so this was 49 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:42,680 starting in around two thousand and one, and there was 50 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:48,560 always a joke that there are three major parties in Charlotte, 51 00:03:48,639 --> 00:03:52,719 the Democrats, the Republicans, and the Chamber of Commerce. And 52 00:03:52,759 --> 00:03:56,680 you can fold center city partners into that chamber. It's 53 00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:01,120 the uptown crowd, it's the business community, and these are 54 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:06,919 sort of your country club Republicans, the more moderates conservative Democrats. 55 00:04:07,599 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: Right, a conservative Democrat might want to. 56 00:04:11,719 --> 00:04:14,599 Speaker 2: You know, donate money to Planned Parenthood and all, but 57 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:18,639 they're not into you know, sticking the trans books in 58 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:23,519 your kid's library like that kind of stuff. Fiscally prudent 59 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,439 right to a large degree, these old blue dog Democrats 60 00:04:28,439 --> 00:04:32,639 that don't exist any longer. They just don't because the 61 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:36,600 Democrat Party has moved so far to the left on 62 00:04:36,639 --> 00:04:40,920 so many issues. There's no room for like a pro 63 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:45,360 choice Democrat, they don't exist, sorry, a pro life Democrat, 64 00:04:45,439 --> 00:04:48,279 they don't exist any longer. They're not welcome. And we've 65 00:04:48,319 --> 00:04:51,240 had examples of this around the country over the last 66 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:55,480 decade where a pro life Democrat tried to run and 67 00:04:55,519 --> 00:05:01,600 they were just clobbered by the Democrat Party, by the 68 00:05:01,639 --> 00:05:04,800 activist wing, and then by the Democrat voters in the primary. 69 00:05:04,879 --> 00:05:06,959 Speaker 1: So they just aren't there any longer. 70 00:05:08,879 --> 00:05:12,720 Speaker 2: So much like that example, in Charlotte, it was always well, 71 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,279 is this good for Charlotte? Is this the Charlotte way? 72 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:21,240 You know, the business of Charlotte is business. We built 73 00:05:21,319 --> 00:05:28,199 up as a trade town then banking right, commerce was 74 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:34,879 the language, and it was the animating civic priority. It's 75 00:05:34,879 --> 00:05:38,079 why you ended up with all of the big, shiny projects, 76 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:40,519 all of the stuff that we could be proud of 77 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:43,800 that would make us a world class city. Like we 78 00:05:43,959 --> 00:05:46,079 joke about it, and to be fair, we've been joking 79 00:05:46,079 --> 00:05:49,480 about it for twenty years. But this was a moniker 80 00:05:49,519 --> 00:05:58,079 that was sought explicitly by city leaders. Here, people in 81 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:03,000 office and the business leaders were constantly hammering away at 82 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:08,240 this desire to be considered a world class city. And 83 00:06:08,399 --> 00:06:12,519 in my mind, It really culminated in the announcement of 84 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,759 a marketing campaign that was aimed at telling the rest 85 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:20,759 of the world, you know, where Charlotte is, what Charlotte is, 86 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,439 and all of that. And because there were all these 87 00:06:23,439 --> 00:06:27,560 stories and this was true, people who are new arrivals 88 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:32,319 may not believe this, but it is true. People used 89 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:37,160 to confuse Charlotte with Charleston, South Carolina, a much much 90 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,800 smaller city. So they would say Charlotte, South Carolina that 91 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:46,319 would appear in news stories frequently, Charlotte SC or we 92 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:50,279 would be confused with Charlottesville Virginia, or people thought we 93 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:54,519 were just in Virginia. And so they launched this big 94 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:59,439 marketing campaign to try to, you know, inform and educate 95 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:04,319 and mark get Charlotte North Carolina. And the unveiling of 96 00:07:04,399 --> 00:07:07,759 the big marketing campaign, which then was like the logo 97 00:07:07,879 --> 00:07:10,680 and the symbol was put on all of the city 98 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:14,160 communications and chamber communications and all this stuff. I mean, 99 00:07:14,199 --> 00:07:15,759 it was a big event. I think it was over 100 00:07:15,759 --> 00:07:18,279 at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and they had this 101 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,519 big reveal and the big reveal was that they were 102 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:29,959 branding us Charlotte USA, which doesn't actually tell you that 103 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:35,560 we're in North Carolina, right, it actually is not helpful. 104 00:07:35,639 --> 00:07:39,160 But for the people who wanted us to be seen 105 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:44,879 as a world class city, that's why they went with Charlotte, USA. 106 00:07:44,959 --> 00:07:50,600 Even then, even in that marketing pitch, they couldn't break 107 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,600 out of this mindset that we have to be world class. 108 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:56,639 Speaker 1: We want to be seen as an Atlanta, as a Washington, 109 00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:57,000 d C. 110 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 2: As a New York, a Boston, whatever, And so everything 111 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:07,680 was about growth. At the time we had Democrats running 112 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:11,600 the General Assembly. They empowered cities to just involuntary, forcibly 113 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,079 annex all sorts of land. That's why the City of 114 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:18,000 Charlotte's boundaries are so huge. It's because they just kept 115 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,120 gobbling up more and more real estate and taking in 116 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:23,040 the people and the tax base and all of that. 117 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:28,319 And Republicans played their part in all of that, angering 118 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,040 a lot of Republican voters that did not want what 119 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:36,720 the Republicans were doing. Famous example, the original vote on 120 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:41,080 a new arena. This was in two thousand and one. 121 00:08:41,279 --> 00:08:44,320 George Schenn, the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, threatening to 122 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:46,559 move the team out of Charlotte if he didn't get 123 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:50,799 a new arena. The city officials kept selling it, oh, 124 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:52,240 we need to do this or we're going to lose 125 00:08:52,279 --> 00:08:57,080 the team. And finally a referendum was held, and of course, 126 00:08:57,279 --> 00:09:01,559 Charlotte being Charlotte and the Chamber being the Chamber, they 127 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:04,679 threw in a whole bunch of other projects, like an 128 00:09:04,759 --> 00:09:08,639 uptown stadium for the Charlotte Knights, a new Mint museum, 129 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:13,039 another museum for the Harvey Gant Center. All of those 130 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:15,960 projects got built, every single one of them. Despite the 131 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,799 fact that the arena bundle was rejected by voters. 132 00:09:20,279 --> 00:09:24,200 Speaker 1: They voted it down and city officials, led. 133 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:29,600 Speaker 2: By Republicans did it anyway, because the Chamber was the 134 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:30,679 most powerful party. 135 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: Is that still the case? I don't think so. 136 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:38,519 Speaker 2: All right, if you're listening to this show, you know 137 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:40,600 I try to keep up with all sorts of current events, 138 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:42,679 and I know you do too, and you've probably heard 139 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:46,799 me say get your news from multiple sources. Why Well, 140 00:09:46,799 --> 00:09:49,519 because it's how you detect media bias, which is why 141 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:52,759 I've been so impressed with ground News. It's an app 142 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:56,159 and it's a website, and it combines news from around 143 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:58,639 the world in one place, so you can compare coverage 144 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,519 and verify information. You can check it out at check 145 00:10:01,799 --> 00:10:06,039 dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put the link 146 00:10:06,039 --> 00:10:09,159 in the podcast description too. I started using ground News 147 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:11,919 a few months ago and more recently chose to work 148 00:10:11,919 --> 00:10:14,000 with them as an affiliate because it lets me see 149 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,840 clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The blind 150 00:10:17,879 --> 00:10:20,679 spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the 151 00:10:20,759 --> 00:10:24,440 left and the right. See for yourself. Check dot ground, 152 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:28,320 dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll 153 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:31,519 get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use the Vantage 154 00:10:31,519 --> 00:10:35,000 plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription 155 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:37,799 then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports 156 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:41,120 ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. 157 00:10:42,039 --> 00:10:45,799 So for years and years in Charlotte, in my opinion, 158 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:53,919 the uptown crowd, the Chamber Center, City Partners, and all 159 00:10:53,960 --> 00:11:00,679 of their affiliated hangers on and nonprofits, those that were 160 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:06,879 even remotely middle of the road, conservative, fiscally prudent, they 161 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,720 kept feeding the alligator in the hopes that the alligator 162 00:11:09,759 --> 00:11:10,279 would eat them. 163 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:14,200 Speaker 1: Last. Well, the alligator. 164 00:11:13,799 --> 00:11:21,600 Speaker 2: Has feasted upon all Republicans and they are gone. That's 165 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:27,200 just the voter registration data. They're gone. Democrats when they 166 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:30,399 drew the district lines for the Charlotte City Council. This 167 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:35,360 was a big kerfuffle back in twenty twenty one, I 168 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:36,159 believe it was. 169 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:39,639 Speaker 1: One, and. 170 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:48,080 Speaker 2: They targeted District six to eliminate Tarkbakari. One of the 171 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:54,039 two Republican district reps, the last one now is Ed 172 00:11:54,159 --> 00:11:59,679 Driggs District seven. He's the only Republican voice now on 173 00:11:59,759 --> 00:12:03,840 the Charlotte City Council because Krista Bakari lost the election 174 00:12:04,039 --> 00:12:09,519 for District six, which again was drawn in order to 175 00:12:09,559 --> 00:12:15,799 try to oust Tark Bakari. That district, I would suspect 176 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:20,919 is lost now and I believe at some point, probably 177 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:24,559 within the next ten years, District seven will be lost 178 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:28,320 as well. And also, let me take a moment here 179 00:12:28,399 --> 00:12:31,559 just to briefly disparage the at large system that the 180 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:36,200 Charlotte City Council refuses to scrap. The at large model 181 00:12:36,639 --> 00:12:40,480 where all elected representatives, in this case four of the 182 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:45,720 eleven Charlotte City Council members four are elected at large, 183 00:12:45,759 --> 00:12:51,039 meaning city wide. An at large model is designed to 184 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:56,840 suppress minority representation. That's its purpose, Okay, that is the 185 00:12:56,879 --> 00:13:01,320 purpose of an at large model. And that was fine 186 00:13:01,879 --> 00:13:05,279 when you had an electorate that was more evenly split 187 00:13:06,519 --> 00:13:14,480 But when Republican elected officials made common cause with Democrats 188 00:13:15,159 --> 00:13:20,279 for thirty years in raising taxes, building all sorts of 189 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:25,519 new projects, taking out more debt via bonds, Republican voters 190 00:13:25,519 --> 00:13:31,200 became disillusioned, discouraged. They did not want to live in 191 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:33,799 a place where the taxes kept going up and up 192 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:36,480 and up and up. They wanted a lower tax, safe 193 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:38,720 community with business opportunity. 194 00:13:38,759 --> 00:13:41,000 Speaker 1: They wanted to be left alone. 195 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:46,720 Speaker 2: By banding together with Democrats and the Chamber, Republicans sold 196 00:13:46,759 --> 00:13:53,519 out their voters, and those voters then left. I tracked 197 00:13:53,519 --> 00:14:00,159 this twenty years ago when the counties around Mecklenburg became 198 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:04,559 more Republican because they used to be Democrat. They used 199 00:14:04,559 --> 00:14:07,480 to be Democrat counties back in the days of the 200 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:12,679 blue Dog Democrats, Democrat political machine, all power flowing from 201 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:15,519 the state, and so you had all of these machines 202 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:19,039 throughout the state. You literally could not get a job 203 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:22,240 if you were a Republican in North Carolina. For state 204 00:14:22,279 --> 00:14:24,480 government and a lot of local governments, you had to 205 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:25,840 be a Democrat, and then you had to give some 206 00:14:25,879 --> 00:14:29,480 of your paycheck over to the campaigns. That was how 207 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,840 the Democrats stayed in power since reconstruction. It's how they 208 00:14:34,159 --> 00:14:36,960 that's how they kept black people from getting jobs as 209 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:44,240 well in those positions. But over the years, Republicans fled 210 00:14:44,519 --> 00:14:46,559 out of the urban areas. 211 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 1: They moved over into the. 212 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:53,200 Speaker 2: More rural areas where taxes were lower, government was smaller, 213 00:14:54,639 --> 00:14:57,480 and you could see it happening over the last twenty years. 214 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:00,440 And this is the natural end result. We are no 215 00:15:00,559 --> 00:15:06,679 different than every other city. And more services, more taxes, 216 00:15:06,879 --> 00:15:09,759 more spending, drives away people that don't like those things, 217 00:15:10,559 --> 00:15:11,759 and those are Republicans. 218 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:14,399 Speaker 1: The people who do like those things. 219 00:15:15,799 --> 00:15:20,519 Speaker 2: Because their philosophy, their political philosophy is born of envy. Well, 220 00:15:20,559 --> 00:15:23,759 they move to those places so they could take advantage 221 00:15:23,759 --> 00:15:25,480 of all of the things that are being taken from 222 00:15:25,559 --> 00:15:26,039 others and. 223 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,960 Speaker 1: Given to them. Okay, that's it's rational. 224 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:39,840 Speaker 2: And here's the bottom line. Democrats in Charlotte like the 225 00:15:39,879 --> 00:15:41,080 way the city is governed. 226 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:42,279 Speaker 1: They like this. 227 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,159 Speaker 2: They're okay with all of it. I mean, some of 228 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:48,399 them may show up at a council meeting and talk 229 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:50,759 for two minutes, some of them may post on Facebook 230 00:15:50,799 --> 00:15:54,519 about it. But in general, as you should you know, 231 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:58,120 bear witness in the election results of last night, they 232 00:15:58,399 --> 00:16:02,000 like where we are they like the way we are 233 00:16:02,039 --> 00:16:06,840 being led. They will complain, yes, about how it's unaffordable 234 00:16:06,879 --> 00:16:09,679 to live here, but then turn around and vote for 235 00:16:09,759 --> 00:16:11,600 an increase in the sales tax. 236 00:16:13,519 --> 00:16:13,720 Speaker 1: Right. 237 00:16:14,039 --> 00:16:17,000 Speaker 2: They will put people back in charge that keep raising 238 00:16:17,039 --> 00:16:21,279 their taxes. They will not stop. They do not connect 239 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:23,559 these things in their own heads. They think somebody else 240 00:16:23,639 --> 00:16:26,919 is paying this. I don't know why, but they think 241 00:16:26,919 --> 00:16:30,679 somebody else is paying for all this. They like this. 242 00:16:33,399 --> 00:16:37,000 And what they have told you, Conservatives and Republicans, what 243 00:16:37,039 --> 00:16:41,279 they have told you is that there is no room 244 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:44,600 here for you. You do not get to participate in your 245 00:16:44,679 --> 00:16:49,600 local governance. You are free to work some job, pay 246 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:51,879 your taxes into a system that they will then take 247 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:55,840 money out of. But you won't get to volunteer on 248 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:00,320 city appointed committees. You won't get appointments. I have no 249 00:17:00,519 --> 00:17:03,440 say in the future of your city that you helped 250 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:09,400 to build with your time, your money, your life. You 251 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:12,160 won't get a thank you for it. Maybe if you 252 00:17:12,279 --> 00:17:17,720 die and you were a well known enough Republican official, 253 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:19,319 maybe you get a proclamation. 254 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:21,359 Speaker 1: But you'll be dead. 255 00:17:22,279 --> 00:17:26,839 Speaker 2: Okay, That's that's what you are being offered in the 256 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:32,759 city of Charlotte. Now, I blame the past Republican leaders. 257 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:36,960 I blame the chamber, the business crowd, the uptown crowd. 258 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:41,519 And just so we're clear, you are getting eaten. 259 00:17:41,599 --> 00:17:41,759 Speaker 3: Now. 260 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:42,680 Speaker 4: You know. 261 00:17:42,759 --> 00:17:45,279 Speaker 2: Stories are powerful. They help us make sense of things, 262 00:17:45,279 --> 00:17:48,720 to understand experiences. Stories connect us to the people of 263 00:17:48,759 --> 00:17:52,079 our past while transcending generations. 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I will tell you a response I got 280 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,880 from a Republican who works. 281 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:53,880 Speaker 1: Up at the legislature or used to. 282 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:58,720 Speaker 2: I won't name them, it's not important, but let's just 283 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:00,960 say he had power and influence. 284 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:07,039 Speaker 1: He still does not a lawmaker. He worked for lawmakers. 285 00:19:08,279 --> 00:19:12,400 Speaker 2: And after one of the elections, I think it was 286 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:15,160 in Asheville, and I said the same thing. I've said 287 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:18,559 this same speech that the same thoughts and comments that 288 00:19:18,599 --> 00:19:22,799 I just made. I've said this before. And when I 289 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:25,720 posted it up on social media on Twitter. 290 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:26,400 Speaker 1: Yes it was Twitter. 291 00:19:26,799 --> 00:19:32,519 Speaker 2: I posted on Twitter and on and he responded with 292 00:19:32,559 --> 00:19:34,680 something and I asked him, like, so, what do you 293 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:39,200 say to Republicans now who have no opportunity to participate 294 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:43,200 in their government any longer because they don't Not in 295 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:47,880 Ashville now, not in Charlotte. You got one, you got 296 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,759 one district rep. And by the way, there, if you're 297 00:19:51,799 --> 00:19:55,599 doing a proportional map and you got rid of the 298 00:19:55,799 --> 00:19:58,359 at large seats, which Charlotte should do. 299 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:01,079 Speaker 1: All cities should do this. 300 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,160 Speaker 2: Over a certain population, there's no reason to have a 301 00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:09,839 large seats, right, make them all district reps. And then 302 00:20:10,119 --> 00:20:15,240 Republicans would actually buy a proportion right, a quote unquote 303 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:19,160 fair map, as Democrats would call it. That's not true. 304 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:22,519 They would call a fair map anything that advantages them. 305 00:20:23,039 --> 00:20:27,799 But the Republicans would actually enjoy more than one seat 306 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:35,160 on the eleven seat body. Okay, And I asked them, well, 307 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:37,519 then what do you say to Republicans now that have 308 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:41,079 no ability to participate in their own governance. 309 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 1: They helped to build the city, and. 310 00:20:45,039 --> 00:20:47,319 Speaker 2: Now the city now Democrats are saying, get the hell out, 311 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,119 because that's that's what's happening, by the way they Democrats 312 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:53,279 are telling you. I was told that specifically by a 313 00:20:53,319 --> 00:20:59,839 Democrat campaign consultant, guy campaign manager. It's not important who 314 00:20:59,839 --> 00:21:02,880 he is, but he told me he will not rest 315 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:07,200 until there's not a single elected Republican left in Charlotte 316 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,559 Mecklimerg and he is one seat away from that. All 317 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:15,240 of the school board seats are lost to Republicans, all 318 00:21:15,279 --> 00:21:19,839 of the county commissioner seats lost to Republicans, and now 319 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:24,599 all but one district, all of the eleven city council 320 00:21:24,599 --> 00:21:28,519 seats lost to Republicans. So he's almost at his goal. 321 00:21:29,559 --> 00:21:32,720 And then, as Pat McCrory said last night here on WBT. 322 00:21:32,799 --> 00:21:35,119 When you have single party control, that's when you see 323 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:39,400 all of the corruption. And that's true because now everything 324 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,680 gets buried inside party politics and the party brand is 325 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:47,839 more important, and there isn't anybody else pushing back in 326 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:51,279 the meetings, in the closed sessions. There's no other diversity 327 00:21:51,279 --> 00:21:53,960 of thought. And I heard a lot of lip service 328 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,279 being paid over the last twenty four hours to this 329 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:59,599 idea that, oh, it's important to have Republican representation and 330 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,359 a diverse city of thought and all that, and I say, 331 00:22:03,079 --> 00:22:06,599 that's just lip service. Democrats don't actually believe that. 332 00:22:07,279 --> 00:22:11,279 Speaker 1: They don't just look at the results. 333 00:22:13,119 --> 00:22:17,279 Speaker 2: Right, you keep the at large system in place so 334 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:21,000 Democrats can keep running the table and they can always 335 00:22:21,079 --> 00:22:25,200 have an assured majority. It's a remnant. And that's the thing. 336 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:27,839 It doesn't even really matter at this point because the 337 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:30,880 city has turned so blue. It doesn't even really matter 338 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:34,519 that at a time there used to be, you know, 339 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:37,480 Republicans that would make up two or three of the 340 00:22:37,519 --> 00:22:43,839 at large city council members and now there's zero. And 341 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:47,119 you can't win. There's just no way because of the 342 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:51,200 way the at large system works. And in the past 343 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:55,039 that was always that was the play They always wanted 344 00:22:55,079 --> 00:22:59,640 to try to, you know, control those seats because then 345 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:01,920 you could control the majority. But Democrats don't even need 346 00:23:02,079 --> 00:23:04,359 the at large seats to have the majority anymore. They've 347 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:06,920 got six of the seven districts and that's a majority 348 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:08,920 on the council, so you don't even need the at 349 00:23:09,039 --> 00:23:09,920 large anymore. 350 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,759 Speaker 1: I don't remember what I was saying, but it's a Oh. 351 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:20,359 Speaker 2: The guy who worked up in Raleigh at the legislature, 352 00:23:20,599 --> 00:23:24,640 and I said, what do you tell these Republicans? And 353 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:32,119 he said, there are other cities to build. That's the 354 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:38,559 only answer that I've ever gotten. That's it is move, leave. 355 00:23:40,079 --> 00:23:40,160 Speaker 3: Do. 356 00:23:40,279 --> 00:23:43,599 Speaker 2: What democrats want is for you to build up a 357 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:47,319 city and then make it so attractive that Democrats flock 358 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:49,799 to it from all over the country. And when they 359 00:23:49,839 --> 00:23:52,160 take it over, then you have to move and you've 360 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:58,559 got to now build another city. I guess that's the 361 00:23:58,599 --> 00:23:59,200 only model. 362 00:23:59,279 --> 00:24:04,200 Speaker 1: Huh. 363 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:08,720 Speaker 2: This is from Loopy. I have lived in my community 364 00:24:08,839 --> 00:24:12,200 for forty five years, have watched Charlotte get bluer each year. 365 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:16,599 Last night's elections was the end for me. I am 366 00:24:16,599 --> 00:24:19,519 a seventy six year old widow, a proud Republican who 367 00:24:19,519 --> 00:24:22,839 has little or no representation in the city or the county. 368 00:24:23,839 --> 00:24:26,759 I pay four thousand dollars in property taxes each year. 369 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:29,519 The schools are awful, and the street in front of 370 00:24:29,519 --> 00:24:32,039 my house is falling apart. There are fewer police and 371 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:35,640 traffic is unmanageable. I can live better and more cheaply 372 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:39,079 somewhere else and not be ignored because of my politics. 373 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:44,640 Goodbye Charlotte. 374 00:24:44,839 --> 00:24:45,039 Speaker 3: Yeah. 375 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:51,920 Speaker 2: I'm not a black pill kind of a guy, but 376 00:24:52,279 --> 00:24:55,440 I'm a realist and I look around and it seems 377 00:24:55,480 --> 00:25:02,000 pretty clear that this is what people want. This is 378 00:25:02,039 --> 00:25:05,839 what Democrats are satisfied with the way their city is 379 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:11,559 being governed, and that means no Republican voices in that government. 380 00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:12,720 Speaker 1: So there you go. 381 00:25:14,599 --> 00:25:18,160 Speaker 2: That's just the reality. Here's a great idea. 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Call or text eight two eight three 401 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:25,279 six seven seventy sixty eight or check out all there 402 00:26:25,319 --> 00:26:27,960 is to offer at Cabins of Aashville dot com and 403 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,440 make memories that'll last a lifetime. Let's go over to 404 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:34,000 the phone lines. A bunch of people holding. Let's start 405 00:26:34,039 --> 00:26:43,279 with Randall. Welcome to the show, Randall. Randall, Hello, Yeah, okay, 406 00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:45,400 all right, we're gonna put you on hold, and there 407 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:49,119 you go, Jerry, Welcome to the show. 408 00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:54,680 Speaker 3: Hey Pete, So my call is perfectly timed. So where 409 00:26:55,039 --> 00:27:00,720 where do we go? I'm kind of heartbroken because Wegmans 410 00:27:00,759 --> 00:27:02,880 is going to be within a mile of my house. 411 00:27:04,079 --> 00:27:07,720 I've been waiting for, hoping and praying for Wegmans. I'd 412 00:27:07,759 --> 00:27:09,759 be walking away from a two and a half percent 413 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:15,240 mortgage rate and I don't I'm I'm a tail end boomer. 414 00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:18,119 So I hate to say it, but being near like 415 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:23,000 reasonably good medical care, you know, is becoming more of 416 00:27:23,039 --> 00:27:25,720 an issue. Where do we go? Where do we go? 417 00:27:26,279 --> 00:27:26,839 Speaker 4: Where do we well? 418 00:27:26,839 --> 00:27:28,839 Speaker 2: I'm not telling you, I'm not saying you have to go. 419 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:31,480 I'm just telling you. I'm just saying you need to 420 00:27:31,519 --> 00:27:33,720 recognize that the trade off. 421 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:34,960 Speaker 1: Okay, go ahead. 422 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:37,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, I've seen I've seen this coming. I mean, I've 423 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:40,279 seen this coming, and it's that's what I mean. It's 424 00:27:40,279 --> 00:27:43,599 I've only been here twelve years. In twelve years, this 425 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:48,519 whole city has just become like every other blue city, 426 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,039 and it's you know, anybody's saying, nos, it's only going 427 00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:54,759 to get worse. But I've been struggling with like, like 428 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,880 where do where do we go? Where do I go, right. 429 00:27:57,799 --> 00:27:59,000 Speaker 1: So that's what I was asking it. 430 00:27:59,519 --> 00:28:00,319 Speaker 4: Yeah, I was. 431 00:28:00,559 --> 00:28:03,240 Speaker 2: I was giving you an answer, which is the the 432 00:28:03,279 --> 00:28:06,119 decision on where to go or if to go. 433 00:28:06,599 --> 00:28:07,640 Speaker 1: That's that's going. 434 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:10,240 Speaker 2: To be an individual decision based on things that you 435 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:11,000 just mentioned. 436 00:28:11,079 --> 00:28:11,279 Speaker 1: Right. 437 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:15,640 Speaker 2: So life is trade offs. There are no solutions. It's 438 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:19,079 all just trade offs. So if you think that you know, 439 00:28:19,119 --> 00:28:21,480 you've got a good mortgage, you've got a Wegman's coming 440 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:23,880 in that you really want, and you want to be 441 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:26,920 close to medical facilities, and all of that is worth 442 00:28:27,039 --> 00:28:30,720 the trade off of, you know, the higher cost of 443 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:35,839 taxes and the lack of representation in your local government, 444 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:37,440 then stay. 445 00:28:39,319 --> 00:28:41,119 Speaker 1: That's all. I mean that that that but that's the 446 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:43,319 trade off, right, And. 447 00:28:43,759 --> 00:28:47,119 Speaker 3: I understand that. I I the the scariest thing for me, 448 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:50,920 I mean personally is being property taxed out of my house, 449 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:55,279 which I know is coming. It's the herd. The other 450 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,920 hard part of the equation is that anywhere else that 451 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:03,440 kind of has I had been in consideration. You know, 452 00:29:03,519 --> 00:29:06,240 everywhere else is getting so the real estate's getting so 453 00:29:06,319 --> 00:29:09,440 high because everybody's leaving and moving there. You know, it's 454 00:29:09,519 --> 00:29:13,039 just kind of this vicious circle. I get it. I 455 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:15,400 mean that's a good way to phrase it, or to 456 00:29:15,519 --> 00:29:17,839 kind of think about it as trade offs. And I 457 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:20,839 understand that the hardest part is like where else is 458 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:23,839 there to go? Where in another ten years, this won't 459 00:29:23,839 --> 00:29:24,440 happen again. 460 00:29:24,759 --> 00:29:27,480 Speaker 2: Well, from what I understand, there is no guarantee it's 461 00:29:27,519 --> 00:29:29,799 not going to happen again. This is apparently the natural 462 00:29:29,839 --> 00:29:33,160 cycle of all things that unguarded stores of value gets 463 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:36,640 set upon by parasites. So, Jerry, I appreciate the call. 464 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:40,039 I mean, like there's I'm not telling every single person 465 00:29:40,039 --> 00:29:42,599 at an individual level to move. I'm not saying that, 466 00:29:44,279 --> 00:29:48,680 but that is what people are doing. Do we know 467 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:51,079 if Randall is back, did you try to pick them up? 468 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:53,519 Speaker 4: No? You did not. 469 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:56,880 Speaker 1: Okay, I'm going to go to ray then. Hello, Raye. 470 00:29:57,359 --> 00:29:59,519 Speaker 4: Hello, I'll be quick. Can you hear me? 471 00:29:59,599 --> 00:30:00,000 Speaker 1: Yes, sir. 472 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:06,119 Speaker 4: I was just talking to someone on the radio a 473 00:30:06,119 --> 00:30:08,880 while back about people moving from New York down here 474 00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:14,319 to North Carolina, and they will they have seen their 475 00:30:14,359 --> 00:30:17,720 city destroyed, and they'll move down here and they'll enjoy 476 00:30:17,799 --> 00:30:21,599 the fruits of like what the Republicans have built up late, 477 00:30:21,759 --> 00:30:23,960 like in Charlotte for a while, and then when they 478 00:30:24,119 --> 00:30:28,039 ruin that city, they'll move on to another one. Republicans 479 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:30,359 built up. I think that's what you were saying, like 480 00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:35,160 that just keeps happening. And I also heard that John 481 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:39,680 Hancocks say years ago he said that he believed ultimately, 482 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:41,920 I think that we're gonna we're going down the same 483 00:30:42,039 --> 00:30:46,640 pathway as the Roman Empire. And I don't I don't 484 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:51,000 think that'll happen because we have a constitution that protects 485 00:30:51,039 --> 00:30:57,079 us against that happening. In the in the text, the 486 00:30:57,240 --> 00:31:02,400 terms of we're able to keep building these cities and 487 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:08,400 having them destroyed, and you know that assures that the 488 00:31:08,559 --> 00:31:13,960 utopia or the good things we need in cities and 489 00:31:14,039 --> 00:31:18,039 such are not It's not a destination, it's a journey 490 00:31:18,039 --> 00:31:20,000 that keeps changing. How do you feel about that? 491 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:22,000 Speaker 2: Well, I mean you've said a couple of things I 492 00:31:22,039 --> 00:31:23,519 don't agree with. I don't know about i'd use the 493 00:31:23,519 --> 00:31:27,079 word utopia. But look all of this stuff, all cities, countries, 494 00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:32,400 like a bar or a restaurant, they all have cycles, right, 495 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:37,599 They all go through decay, growth, rebirth, all of the okay, okay, 496 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:44,400 raise gone. They all go through cycles like that. And 497 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:50,359 this is the cycle that Charlotte is in. And I 498 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:56,640 am allowed to I'm allowed to mourn the loss of 499 00:31:56,680 --> 00:31:57,799 the Charlotte that I knew. 500 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:00,880 Speaker 1: I'm allowed to do that. We were allowed to do that, 501 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:03,519 the Charlotte that. 502 00:32:04,279 --> 00:32:10,359 Speaker 2: Was full of this excitement, a boomtown, you know, all 503 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:12,839 of the growth that we were seeing like this is 504 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:15,880 this is amazing. Charlotte's going to be this awesome city 505 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:18,960 and everything, and now to see it and to be 506 00:32:19,079 --> 00:32:23,440 shut out of any kind of influence in coming up 507 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:26,799 with solutions, and to just see more and more of 508 00:32:26,839 --> 00:32:30,599 the same old you know, left wing solutions quote unquote 509 00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:34,880 that get pitched to me and it's just more of 510 00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:36,440 the same and you're going to get more of the 511 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:40,160 same results. I'm allowed to mourn that loss, and I 512 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:42,519 do whenever I see these city council results and they 513 00:32:42,599 --> 00:32:45,680 just keep going down this same trajectory, you know, And 514 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:47,400 that's what we saw last night. So no, I was 515 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:52,119 not surprised at the election results last night. All right, 516 00:32:52,119 --> 00:32:54,440 that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much 517 00:32:54,519 --> 00:32:56,559 for listening. I could not do the show without your 518 00:32:56,599 --> 00:32:59,359 support and the support of the businesses that advertise on 519 00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:02,200 the podcast, So if you'd like, please support them too 520 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:03,920 and tell them you heard it here. You can also 521 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:06,559 become a patron at my Patreon page or go to 522 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:10,400 dpetecleanershow dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening, 523 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:16,359 and don't break anything while I'm gone.