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 and 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 --> 00:00:22,600 go to dpeakclendershow 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 --> 00:00:27,719 smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,640 your support. And Tuesdays at noon is when we welcome 10 00:00:31,679 --> 00:00:33,920 Andrew Dunn to the program. He is the publisher of 11 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:37,759 long Leaf Politics. That website is longleafpol dot com. He 12 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:41,039 is also a contributing columnist to The Charlotte Observer. Andrew, 13 00:00:41,039 --> 00:00:41,679 how are you, sir? 14 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 2: Oh, I'm great. It's good to be back on the show. 15 00:00:45,759 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: Yes, sir, well, I'm glad you had some time off 16 00:00:48,119 --> 00:00:51,159 and safe travels and all of that. And look what 17 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:55,119 you returned to a Senate race that has now quickly 18 00:00:55,439 --> 00:01:01,119 it seems, taken form. Roy Cooper announced it via a 19 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:06,319 video message that he put out I played it yesterday. 20 00:01:06,519 --> 00:01:09,200 He also then had another message thanking people where he said, 21 00:01:09,239 --> 00:01:11,959 like the exact same stuff as his earlier video message, 22 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:14,680 which I found kind of weird, and the attack ads 23 00:01:14,719 --> 00:01:17,760 have already started. You've got a piece at Long Leave 24 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:20,239 Politics where you say that you try to see the 25 00:01:20,239 --> 00:01:23,400 best in people, but with Roy Cooper you just can't 26 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:28,079 do it. So explain explain why that is. 27 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, you know, folks who listen to me here 28 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,519 on your show every week probably know that I'm generally 29 00:01:35,519 --> 00:01:38,920 a pretty reasonable guy. You know, try to give everybody 30 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:42,239 the benefit of the dow and I can and I 31 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:46,000 do that all the time with folks like Governor Josh Stein, 32 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:48,760 Attorney General Jeff Jackson. You know, not that I don't 33 00:01:48,799 --> 00:01:52,280 criticize them, but you know I can at least appreciate 34 00:01:52,359 --> 00:01:55,799 that they're they're in the business for the right reasons. 35 00:01:55,879 --> 00:02:00,319 But with Governor Roy Cooper, former Governor Roy Cooper, I 36 00:02:00,319 --> 00:02:02,760 I have lost all ability to give him the benefit 37 00:02:02,799 --> 00:02:05,799 of the doubt. You know, I spent you know, two 38 00:02:05,879 --> 00:02:09,240 years essentially, you know, working against him when I was 39 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:13,120 working for Lieutenant Governor Dan Forrest, and just the insight 40 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:15,800 that that experience gave me, you know, kind of the 41 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:19,080 peak behind the curtain, if you will, just led me 42 00:02:19,159 --> 00:02:23,240 to believe that, you know, Governor Cooper is one of 43 00:02:23,719 --> 00:02:29,199 is more manipulative, more calculating than just about anybody else 44 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:30,840 I've met in the political world. 45 00:02:32,039 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: Is that a sentiment that is shared by a lot 46 00:02:35,319 --> 00:02:37,759 of people up in Raleigh, a lot of the like 47 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:39,960 the lawmakers and the politicos up there. 48 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:43,919 Speaker 2: Oh absolutely, I mean, and you'd be surprised at how 49 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,240 many even Democrats will reach out to me and thank 50 00:02:47,319 --> 00:02:50,840 me for writing stuff like that. He's not always a 51 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,319 pleasant guy to work with, even if you're on. 52 00:02:53,319 --> 00:02:57,360 Speaker 1: His side, really, because, like I know, he does an email. 53 00:02:58,199 --> 00:03:00,120 I wonder if that'll come up. Remember when he was 54 00:03:00,159 --> 00:03:02,840 attorney general and they asked for somebody did a foyer 55 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:05,199 request for all of his emails, and he had like 56 00:03:05,759 --> 00:03:08,879 twelve or something over a sixteen year career. 57 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 2: I forgot all about that. 58 00:03:10,439 --> 00:03:12,159 Speaker 1: Yeah, and they were like, oh, he just prefers to 59 00:03:12,199 --> 00:03:14,599 meet in person or talk on the phone. He never 60 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:19,599 sends emails like m M yeah. Sure. He never said yeah. 61 00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:24,560 You called him the most politically calculating and accountability adverse 62 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:28,879 leaders in North Carolina has had. He built a career 63 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:33,719 on avoiding scrutiny and consolidating control, protecting himself, not the 64 00:03:33,759 --> 00:03:36,840 people he's supposed to serve. And then you go through 65 00:03:37,759 --> 00:03:42,479 several of the uh, several of these well I would 66 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:44,759 like to call them scandals, but they didn't all kind 67 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:47,199 of reach I think the scandal threshold, even though I 68 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:52,599 thought they probably should have. Like the DOT, you know, 69 00:03:52,639 --> 00:03:56,159 blowing through its budget. The unemployment system, this was interesting. 70 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:58,879 So during COVID, talk a little bit about what happened 71 00:03:58,879 --> 00:04:00,120 with the unemployment system. 72 00:04:02,039 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, so if you'll recall when Governor Cooper essentially shut 73 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,360 the state down. You know, there was two weeks to 74 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:12,919 stop or slow the spread or you know, was it 75 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,120 ben the curb or something like that. Anyway, and they 76 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:18,040 never went away. But when all that happened, you know, 77 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,360 you had hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people unemployed 78 00:04:21,399 --> 00:04:23,360 all at once, and so they were all trying to 79 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:28,160 file for unemployment benefits and the system was just not 80 00:04:28,319 --> 00:04:30,879 set up for it. It could you know, Cooper's administration 81 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:35,000 could not handle this flood of requests, and so people 82 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,959 are calling and calling and can't get through to anybody, 83 00:04:38,079 --> 00:04:40,800 or if they do, they can't get anybody to actually 84 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:44,480 help them. And so folks actually started, you know, just 85 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:48,160 calling anybody in government that they could, and so they 86 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:51,759 would call Lieutenant Governor Forrest's office, and you know, he 87 00:04:51,879 --> 00:04:53,839 never really you know, put this out there. He didn't 88 00:04:53,879 --> 00:04:56,759 want to get attention for it. But his office, his 89 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,439 staff was kind of deputized to help people get the 90 00:05:00,519 --> 00:05:02,360 unemployment benefits that they needed. 91 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,759 Speaker 1: Yeah. I do remember hearing that from some people up 92 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:08,519 in Raleigh that you guys were doing a lot of 93 00:05:08,519 --> 00:05:12,439 work to help people navigate this broken system that cooper 94 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:16,399 like you. And look, I mean, I understand pandemic, everybody scared, 95 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:18,360 made some bad decisions and all of that, but this 96 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:22,600 would have been like a very likely prediction to have made, like, Hey, 97 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:25,920 if we're going to close everybody's businesses down, they're not 98 00:05:25,959 --> 00:05:27,360 going to have work and so they're going to need 99 00:05:27,399 --> 00:05:30,800 unemployment and so maybe we need to be prepared for that, 100 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:34,279 and they obviously were not. And this also kind of 101 00:05:34,319 --> 00:05:37,800 dovetails into the way he approached all of the pandemic management, 102 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:42,160 which was to basically stiff arm all of the Council 103 00:05:42,199 --> 00:05:45,759 of State members, including Dan Forrest, right, because there was 104 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,040 what six Republicans and four Democrats on that Council of 105 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:52,160 State and so it seemed like at the time I 106 00:05:52,199 --> 00:05:54,079 was very critical of him for doing it this way. 107 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:58,199 Which is that he didn't want any kind of pushback 108 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:03,319 on anything he was doing via executive orders or executive 109 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:07,480 directives or something yeh, the eds or something. Anyway, Yeah, 110 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:09,439 he didn't want any he didn't want any resistance to that. 111 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:11,000 He just wanted to rule, it seemed. 112 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:17,519 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's exactly right. You know, our state constitution sets up, 113 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,560 you know, a good number of checks and balances, especially 114 00:06:20,639 --> 00:06:23,600 you know, giving a lot of power to the General Assembly. 115 00:06:24,399 --> 00:06:27,800 But Governor Cooper does not read the state constitution that way. 116 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,920 He reads it as you know, one man is in 117 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,639 charge of everything, and he really governed that way. 118 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, you mentioned the DMV, the mess that that's become, 119 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:40,199 and I think the big ones that are going to 120 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:44,639 get a lot of attention also Hurricane Helene response or 121 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:50,519 lack thereof, but also Hurricanes Matthew and Florence, where people 122 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:53,839 I think even still to this day are not back 123 00:06:53,879 --> 00:06:57,600 in their homes. And that was from twenty sixteen. Hurricane 124 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:01,560 Matthew was from twenty sixteen. You also had a note 125 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:03,399 in here, and feel free to hit any of these 126 00:07:03,399 --> 00:07:05,199 that you want. I'm just throwing a bunch of these out, 127 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:09,000 like I did not know he he directed the seating 128 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:11,120 in the General Assembly for Democrats. 129 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, that was. 130 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,839 Speaker 2: Kind of a surprise to me. That came out when 131 00:07:17,959 --> 00:07:22,959 Representative Tricia Coffam ended up switching parties. My reporting kind 132 00:07:22,959 --> 00:07:26,360 of peel tech the curtain on that. I mean, he 133 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:31,160 was definitely micromanaging all aspects of his caucus, you know, 134 00:07:31,399 --> 00:07:34,639 and he would pull whatever lever of power he had 135 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:38,319 access to to make sure that Democrats were voting in 136 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,160 line with what he wanted. And you know, you saw 137 00:07:41,199 --> 00:07:45,560 that with Senator Kirk Deviere, where you know, Governor Cooper 138 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:50,879 funded a primary challenger for him for voting with Republicans 139 00:07:50,879 --> 00:07:52,920 on a few bills. But then he would also use, 140 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,560 you know, some of those seating assignments and office assignments 141 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:59,079 to keep people in line as well. If you didn't, 142 00:07:59,079 --> 00:08:01,000 if you weren't in the good races of the governor, 143 00:08:01,079 --> 00:08:03,199 you might might end up on the back row. 144 00:08:05,199 --> 00:08:07,759 Speaker 1: That's unreal, all right. So let me shift gears over 145 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:10,560 to what we pretty well assume is going to be 146 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:14,040 an announcement from Michael Wattley, former North Carolina Republican Party 147 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:18,279 chairman and now the RNC chair, although I don't know 148 00:08:18,279 --> 00:08:20,800 if he's actually stepped down off of that post yet, 149 00:08:21,199 --> 00:08:23,959 but he's going to run for this Senate seat as well. 150 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,480 And there are some other candidates. Don Brown is in there. 151 00:08:27,519 --> 00:08:30,800 I think Nielsen is Andy Nilsen or Adam Nilson. I 152 00:08:30,839 --> 00:08:34,639 forget he's Andy, right, So there are a couple other 153 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:38,759 Republicans in that field, but Wattley would obviously be the favorite, 154 00:08:38,799 --> 00:08:43,159 coming in with a Trump endorsement and a big fat Rolodex. 155 00:08:43,279 --> 00:08:46,840 And you had a piece that you say, Michael Wattley 156 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:50,080 has earned his shot for the US Senate. And you 157 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:54,639 looked at Wattley as a potential governor candidate last year, 158 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:57,240 but now you or twenty twenty eight, I think you said, 159 00:08:57,919 --> 00:09:00,200 but you think the Senate race is a better it 160 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:01,480 for him. So why is that? 161 00:09:03,279 --> 00:09:06,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, So Michael Wattley, you know, he's been involved in 162 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:09,879 North Carolina politics for a long time now, and he was, 163 00:09:10,399 --> 00:09:13,919 you know, dating back to twenty sixteen. He's been closely 164 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:17,720 tied in with the Trump administration and the Trump campaign. 165 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:21,480 And you know that's a feather in Wattley's cap is 166 00:09:21,519 --> 00:09:24,879 he delivered North Carolina to Trump in three elections in 167 00:09:24,919 --> 00:09:27,759 a row. And you know, in all three cases, North 168 00:09:27,799 --> 00:09:31,320 Carolina was viewed as a potential swing state, and you know, 169 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:33,559 you look at twenty twenty, I mean even Georgia went 170 00:09:33,639 --> 00:09:36,440 blue and North Carolina did not. And a lot of 171 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,360 that has to do with with Michael Wattley. He really 172 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:43,519 oriented the party at the state level, for better or 173 00:09:43,559 --> 00:09:47,960 for worse, around you know, supporting the president. So you know, 174 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,519 he's clearly been a loyal foot soldier for Trump, and 175 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:55,600 so I argue that Trump kind of owed him he 176 00:09:55,759 --> 00:09:58,200 was due of this endorsement. And I think, you know, 177 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:02,000 you're right that this is definitely going to clear the field. Essentially, 178 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:05,799 You're not gonna see any sitting members of Congress who 179 00:10:05,799 --> 00:10:08,000 are gonna throw their hat in the ring, you know, 180 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:12,000 against a Trump endorsement. So that I would say it's 181 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:15,519 safe to say that this the primary season is already over. 182 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,399 Speaker 1: Yeah, I would tend to agree with that. And you know, 183 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:21,519 and I'm not saying that don shouldn't run or Andy 184 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:25,240 shouldn't run. There free to run, obviously, but I think 185 00:10:25,279 --> 00:10:29,360 that you know, when you got a guy of Wattley's connections, uh, 186 00:10:29,399 --> 00:10:33,120 and he's been around you know, politics for decades and 187 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:35,240 he knows a lot of people, there's gonna be a 188 00:10:35,279 --> 00:10:37,000 lot of money that has to get raised from out 189 00:10:37,039 --> 00:10:40,440 of state, and he is probably the best one suited 190 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:42,639 to do that because he's been doing it as part 191 00:10:42,639 --> 00:10:45,519 of the RNC for years now. So it just seems 192 00:10:45,559 --> 00:10:49,279 like he comes in as the UH, as the proverbial favorite. 193 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,360 You also said he is aligned with the current moment 194 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:54,480 and that gives him a real shot. What do you 195 00:10:54,519 --> 00:10:55,039 mean by that? 196 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 2: I mean, I just mean that he is on Team Trump. 197 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:06,759 You know, that hasn't always worked to the benefit of candidates, 198 00:11:06,799 --> 00:11:09,399 you know, in North Carolina or around the country. It 199 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:12,080 seems like Donald Trump can get away with things that 200 00:11:13,039 --> 00:11:16,440 even Trump aliine candidates can't. But on the other hands, 201 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:19,519 I mean, North Carolina did vote for Trump in three 202 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:23,840 straight elections, you know, having that Trump endorsement, especially if 203 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:26,960 if President Trump comes to North Carolina next year for 204 00:11:27,159 --> 00:11:31,440 rallies to support Wattley, that could certainly help juice turn 205 00:11:31,519 --> 00:11:34,679 out and help get him over the line. Yeah, However, 206 00:11:34,759 --> 00:11:37,679 you know he's got some significant disadvantages. I mean, his 207 00:11:37,799 --> 00:11:41,000 name I D is relatively low in North Carolina. I 208 00:11:41,039 --> 00:11:43,679 mean Roy Cooper comes in with virtually one hundred percent 209 00:11:43,759 --> 00:11:46,240 name I D. Michael Wattley. You know, you and I 210 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:48,639 know who he is, and people in the know know 211 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:50,759 who he is. But if you're not really involved in 212 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:53,559 party politics, you're you're probably not going to know who 213 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:55,519 Michael Wattley is at this point. 214 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:59,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's good stuff. You could read more of Andrews's 215 00:11:59,279 --> 00:12:03,120 work at long leavepol dot com Longleaf Politics. Andrew Dunn, 216 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:04,480 thanks so much for your time, buddy. Good to hear 217 00:12:04,519 --> 00:12:04,960 from you again. 218 00:12:05,879 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you, all right, take care. 219 00:12:07,759 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 4: You know. 220 00:12:08,039 --> 00:12:10,559 Speaker 1: Stories are powerful. They help us make sense of things, 221 00:12:10,559 --> 00:12:14,000 to understand experiences. Stories connect us to the people of 222 00:12:14,039 --> 00:12:17,360 our past while transcending generations. They help us process the 223 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,840 meaning of life, and our stories are told through images 224 00:12:20,879 --> 00:12:24,679 and videos. Preserve your stories with Creative Video. Started in 225 00:12:24,759 --> 00:12:27,600 nineteen ninety seven and Minhill, North Carolina. It was the 226 00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:31,600 first company to provide this valuable service, converting images, photos 227 00:12:31,639 --> 00:12:35,840 and videos into high quality produced slide shows, videos and albums. 228 00:12:36,039 --> 00:12:39,399 The trusted, talented and dedicated team at Creative Video will 229 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:41,480 go over all of the details with you to create 230 00:12:41,519 --> 00:12:45,399 a perfect project. Satisfaction guaranteed. Drop them off in person 231 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:47,200 or mail them. They'll be ready in a week or two. 232 00:12:47,399 --> 00:12:52,639 Memorial videos for your loved ones, videos for rehearsal dinners, weddings, graduations, Christmas, 233 00:12:52,759 --> 00:12:56,919 family vacations, birthdays, or just your family stories all told 234 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:00,360 through images. That's what your photos and videos are are. 235 00:13:00,559 --> 00:13:03,159 They are your life told through the eyes of everyone 236 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:05,639 around you and all who came before you, and they 237 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:08,879 will tell others to come who you are. Visit creative 238 00:13:08,919 --> 00:13:13,639 video dot Com. From the text line, Dana says Cooper 239 00:13:13,759 --> 00:13:16,039 sounds like Trump. If you don't do what he wants, 240 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:23,360 there's retribution, And Craig says, Pete, there is a certain 241 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:27,559 female radio personality on your sister station who says there's 242 00:13:27,639 --> 00:13:30,799 no way Watley can beat Cooper. She said the only 243 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:34,240 person who could possibly beat him was Laura Trump. I 244 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:37,159 would love to hear your opinion on that subject. That's 245 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:44,000 Craig in Belmont. I don't know, Yeah, I don't know. 246 00:13:44,759 --> 00:13:47,639 The US Senate races in North Carolina are always very 247 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:54,559 very close, like one to two points. So look, you know, 248 00:13:54,639 --> 00:14:01,159 some people are very confident in making predictions. Absolutely, we are, 249 00:14:01,799 --> 00:14:07,279 what a year and a half out. Most people are 250 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:11,639 not even paying attention yet, So yeah, I think it's 251 00:14:11,639 --> 00:14:14,120 going to be a very competitive race. Roy Cooper could 252 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:18,360 very well win that seat. Absolutely, He's in a better 253 00:14:18,399 --> 00:14:24,320 position than Cherry Beasley was. So he's got a lot 254 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:27,960 of name id. Now the question is how does he 255 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:32,360 survive the kinds of negative attacks that are going to 256 00:14:32,399 --> 00:14:36,799 be directed at him that he has not in his 257 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:41,440 career ever really suffered. He has not been the target 258 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:43,399 of the kinds of attacks that we are going to 259 00:14:43,399 --> 00:14:48,399 start seeing. In fact, we already have two the was 260 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:53,200 it the Senate Leadership Fund and the National Republican Senatorial Fund. 261 00:14:53,759 --> 00:14:58,000 They both have launched ads against him, like immediately when 262 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,960 he made his announcement, they dropped their ads. So this 263 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:05,279 is the this is the Senate Leadership Fund spot. 264 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,039 Speaker 4: He says he's a moderate, but Roy Cooper's record tells 265 00:15:09,039 --> 00:15:14,000 a radically different story. Higher taxes, sanctuary cities, and a 266 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:19,000 radical gender ideology. Cooper veto to bill to protect girls' sports, 267 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:22,919 veto to bill to ban gender transition surgeries for miners, 268 00:15:23,279 --> 00:15:28,480 puberty blockers, double masectomies, mutilating children. Cooper stood with the 269 00:15:28,559 --> 00:15:31,960 woke left endangering our kids. And when it came to 270 00:15:32,039 --> 00:15:35,960 keeping violent criminals off our streets, Cooper said no to Ice, 271 00:15:36,399 --> 00:15:43,039 not once, not twice, but three times. Illegal immigrants, sex offenders, kidnappers, 272 00:15:43,399 --> 00:15:48,559 violent predators, let go because of Roy Cooper's veto Cooper 273 00:15:48,679 --> 00:15:52,399 veto tax relief for middle class families and small businesses, 274 00:15:53,039 --> 00:15:58,799 higher taxes, more illegals, a woke agenda. Roy Cooper masquerades 275 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:02,480 as a moderate, but he's just another radical DC liberal 276 00:16:02,759 --> 00:16:04,879 in disguise, and. 277 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 1: It's got Ai generated Cooper with the with a mask 278 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:12,159 of himself. So he's taken like the mask off and 279 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,000 it's still him underneath. Okay, So that was the Senate 280 00:16:15,039 --> 00:16:18,320 Leadership Fund. This one is from the National the NRS, 281 00:16:18,919 --> 00:16:23,039 the National Republican Senatorial Fund. Here is theirs. 282 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:28,519 Speaker 3: Like the search is over for someone Democrats can dare 283 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:29,200 to count on. 284 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:31,679 Speaker 1: Hello America, I'm Roy Cooper. 285 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,600 Speaker 3: For nearly forty years, Roy Cooper has delivered a reliable 286 00:16:35,799 --> 00:16:38,960 yes for the Democrat Party, like his wallet draining. Yes 287 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:41,600 to hire taxes or a lock the doors, Yes to 288 00:16:41,679 --> 00:16:46,200 closing schools of fearless yess to pro hamas radicals and 289 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:50,679 no consequences, Yes to releasing criminal illegal aliens, a green light, 290 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:54,879 yes to men in women's sports, and a bold yes 291 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:55,519 for Biden. 292 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:58,120 Speaker 1: Joe Biden saved this nation. 293 00:16:58,159 --> 00:17:01,399 Speaker 3: Followed by a never mind, it's Kamala, my friend, comrade, 294 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:03,840 No matter the issue, but you already know the answer, 295 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:07,920 Roy Cooper, always a yes to the. 296 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 1: Last scary all right, so you know the contours of 297 00:17:15,039 --> 00:17:17,920 the attack heads. Like I said, they've already started. They 298 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:24,759 were already on the digital platforms. The tying of Cooper 299 00:17:24,799 --> 00:17:27,319 to Biden, I think is going to be interesting to 300 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:32,839 watch because back on July third, twenty twenty four, this 301 00:17:33,039 --> 00:17:37,839 was right after Joe Biden's terrible debate performance, Democrat governors 302 00:17:37,839 --> 00:17:40,680 from across the country discussed their concerns with Biden during 303 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:46,000 a hastily arranged meeting. Roy Cooper took part. He said, quote, 304 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,160 we had a good meeting with the President talking about 305 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,319 what's needed to win. Donald Trump is an existential threat 306 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:54,319 to our democracy, and everyone in the room agreed that 307 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:57,240 defeating him is imperative. President Biden told us he is 308 00:17:57,279 --> 00:18:00,200 definitely running for reelection. He is our nominee, and we'll 309 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:03,680 continue doing everything we can to deliver North Carolina for him. 310 00:18:05,519 --> 00:18:11,480 Cooper indicated that remember, Biden then came to North Carolina 311 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:17,599 for rally for a stop and suggested that Cooper might 312 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,720 be appointed to a high ranking post in Washington if 313 00:18:20,799 --> 00:18:24,720 Biden were to win reelection. So Roy Cooper part of 314 00:18:24,799 --> 00:18:29,319 the cover up of Joe Biden's declining mental acuity right 315 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:31,319 and lied to everybody about it. And then as soon 316 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:34,079 as the party poo b Oz did their coup and 317 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:38,039 kicked Joe out and Kamala got in. Then he was like, 318 00:18:38,599 --> 00:18:41,880 now it's Kamala. Here's a great idea. How about making 319 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:44,960 an escape to a really special and secluded getaway in 320 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,720 western North Carolina. Just a quick drive up the mountain 321 00:18:47,799 --> 00:18:51,160 and Cabins of Asheville is your connection. Whether you're celebrating 322 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:53,640 an anniversary, a honeymoon, maybe you want to plan a 323 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:56,400 memorable proposal, or get family and friends together for a 324 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,799 big old reunion, Cabins of Asheville has the ideal spot 325 00:18:59,839 --> 00:19:02,480 for you where you can reconnect with your loved ones 326 00:19:02,559 --> 00:19:05,519 and the things that truly matter. Nestled within the breath 327 00:19:05,519 --> 00:19:09,160 taking fourteen thousand acres of the Pisga National Forest, their 328 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:11,799 cabins offer a serene escape in the heart of the 329 00:19:11,839 --> 00:19:15,119 Blue Ridge Mountains. 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Call or text eight two eight three 338 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:48,720 six seven seventy sixty eight or check out all there 339 00:19:48,759 --> 00:19:51,640 is to offer at cabins Offashville dot com and make 340 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:55,119 memories that'll last a lifetime. This is why I call 341 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:57,880 him my good friend, Ray. Are you ready to elect 342 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:04,519 Ray Cooper your governor? Yeah? That was Hillary Clinton twenty sixteen, 343 00:20:04,799 --> 00:20:08,559 stumping with her good friend, as she called him earlier 344 00:20:08,559 --> 00:20:13,920 in the rally, her good friend, Ray Cooper. And then 345 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,599 I believe, if memory serves correctly, I think Kamala Harris 346 00:20:16,599 --> 00:20:20,599 called him Ray also. So they're very tight. They're all 347 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:25,920 very very tight. Roy Cooper also put out a video 348 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:30,200 message yesterday. So first there was the announcement video. I 349 00:20:30,319 --> 00:20:35,119 played that, and then I saw a different video of him, 350 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,279 and I knew it was different because in this one 351 00:20:37,319 --> 00:20:40,519 he's standing, not sitting, and he's wearing a white button 352 00:20:40,599 --> 00:20:43,480 down shirt, no tie of course, because we're all too 353 00:20:43,559 --> 00:20:49,960 cool for ties, and a blazer. But he said basically 354 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:55,079 the same thing, and the smarm school marm sounding tone 355 00:20:55,200 --> 00:21:01,000 is back, the affected whispering to try to like Obama 356 00:21:01,079 --> 00:21:04,799 eyes the speech, you know, when Obama would get old 357 00:21:04,799 --> 00:21:10,599 whispery on things like do that kind of effect. And 358 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:14,480 Roy does this. He did it during COVID and it's 359 00:21:14,519 --> 00:21:18,640 like he's trying to like do these things. He's almost 360 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,640 like an AI bot that has been given instructions on 361 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,519 what to do, and he's following the instructions. But there's 362 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:31,920 just something missing there. Sincerity, that's it. Yes, sincerity is 363 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:35,599 what's missing. It doesn't come across as real, not to me, 364 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:38,240 and he talks to me like I'm a kindergartener, which 365 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:44,799 I don't appreciate. So here was Roy's Day one message. 366 00:21:45,279 --> 00:21:48,920 Speaker 5: Hi guys, I'm Roy Cooper, and today I officially announced 367 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:52,720 my campaign for the United States Senate. You know, I 368 00:21:52,799 --> 00:21:55,559 never really did want to go to Washington. I wanted 369 00:21:55,599 --> 00:21:57,680 to serve the people of North Carolina. 370 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:01,400 Speaker 1: He said the exact same line. So this is obviously 371 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:03,319 now going to be a slogan that he is going 372 00:22:03,319 --> 00:22:06,400 to utilize. I didn't want to go to Washington. I 373 00:22:06,559 --> 00:22:12,079 just want to serve North Carolina in Washington. They made 374 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:15,480 me do it. They made me go to Washington. They're 375 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,480 making me run for this US Senate seat. I didn't 376 00:22:18,519 --> 00:22:23,440 want to do this, but those dastardly Republicans have made 377 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,880 me do this. It's not that he's been a politician 378 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,079 his entire adult life. No, it's not really the only 379 00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:32,240 thing he knows how to do is run for office. No, 380 00:22:33,839 --> 00:22:37,079 it's that he needs to serve us. It's like, you've 381 00:22:37,079 --> 00:22:40,960 done enough, please, Ray, just go retire here. 382 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:43,799 Speaker 5: And that's what I did. But we are living in 383 00:22:43,839 --> 00:22:48,279 an extraordinary moment and it's time for everybody have to 384 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:51,200 step up. And that's what I'm doing by running for 385 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,119 the Senate. Let me tell you, I cannot tell you 386 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:57,279 how much I appreciate all of the help that you've 387 00:22:57,279 --> 00:22:57,799 given to me. 388 00:22:58,119 --> 00:22:59,720 Speaker 1: All Right, did you hear what he just did there too? 389 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:03,519 Let me tell you I cannot tell you how much. 390 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:09,200 So again, it's these attempts at being something that he 391 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:13,519 does not appear to be, which is this moderate Yes, 392 00:23:13,759 --> 00:23:19,319 but this like folksy, lovable uncle type of figure, and 393 00:23:19,519 --> 00:23:22,039 people as you heard from Andrew Dunn earlier in the hour. 394 00:23:22,079 --> 00:23:25,680 People have been Raleigh. They know the real Roy Cooper. 395 00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:27,839 I've talked about it. I wrote an op ed about 396 00:23:27,839 --> 00:23:30,039 the guy like three years ago. I want to say 397 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:40,240 Andrew called him politically calculating and accountability a verse, and 398 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,960 for the first time in his political life, Andrew said, 399 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,920 I'm optimistic that he won't be able to duck, deflect 400 00:23:47,039 --> 00:23:50,759 and outspend his way past his record. I got to 401 00:23:50,799 --> 00:23:56,039 tell you also the issue that he rode into the 402 00:23:56,079 --> 00:24:01,400 governor's mansion on the HB two issue, which was bathroom 403 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:06,119 access for transgenders, right, got into the state legislative fight 404 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:09,359 with the HB two passage, and then he whipped up 405 00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:13,920 a boycott against his own state as attorney general, went 406 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:18,000 out and solicited business leaders on the left to boycott 407 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:27,079 our state to exact punishment on North Carolinians because of 408 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:32,440 a fight he was having with Republicans over the trans issue. 409 00:24:32,599 --> 00:24:37,200 But it would benefit him politically personally. And so yeah, 410 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:39,440 when they canceled the NBA All Star Game and all 411 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:43,680 those you know, service jobs that rely on that influx 412 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:48,559 of tourists, Sorry workers, sorry small businesses, you have to 413 00:24:48,559 --> 00:24:52,960 suffer because Roy needs to win, you know. And maybe 414 00:24:53,799 --> 00:24:56,400 maybe I'm a little optimistic here, but I do sense 415 00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:00,759 that there has been a shift in this issue since 416 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:05,079 twenty sixteen, twenty fifteen, right when he was able to 417 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:08,160 use it to be Pat McCrory. A lot has happened 418 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:12,359 in a decade on the trans issues, and I'm not 419 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,240 so sure that this is a winner for him anymore. 420 00:25:15,319 --> 00:25:16,720 Let me get back to the audio. There's only like 421 00:25:16,759 --> 00:25:17,759 twenty seconds left today. 422 00:25:18,079 --> 00:25:21,680 Speaker 5: For those of you who have contributed, who have forwarded 423 00:25:21,759 --> 00:25:25,920 our announcement video to your family, your friends, your co workers, 424 00:25:26,559 --> 00:25:29,839 I deeply appreciate it. This is going to be a long, 425 00:25:30,119 --> 00:25:34,200 difficult campaign and I'm gonna need you guys every step 426 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,960 of the way. So let's get together and let's go 427 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:37,680 win this thing. 428 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:46,119 Speaker 1: Thanks a lot, Yeah, eh, get hyped? Yeah, Ugh, gosh, 429 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:50,640 it's all it's like I'm I'm suffering trauma my PTSD 430 00:25:50,799 --> 00:25:55,000 from watching his COVID briefings every day five years ago. 431 00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:57,240 It's all coming back to me now, and not in 432 00:25:57,279 --> 00:26:00,000 a good way. All right, if you're listening to this show, 433 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:01,319 so you know, I try to keep up with all 434 00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:03,319 sorts of current events, and I know you do too. 435 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:06,000 And you've probably heard me say get your news from 436 00:26:06,079 --> 00:26:10,640 multiple sources. Why well, because it's how you detect media bias, 437 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:13,240 which is why I've been so impressed with ground News. 438 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:17,039 It's an app, and it's a website and it combines 439 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:19,160 news from around the world in one place so you 440 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:22,559 can compare coverage and verify information. You can check it 441 00:26:22,599 --> 00:26:27,119 out at check dot ground, dot news slash pete. I 442 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:30,039 put the link in the podcast description too. I started 443 00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:32,799 using ground News a few months ago and more recently 444 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,000 chose to work with them as an affiliate because it 445 00:26:35,079 --> 00:26:38,920 lets me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. 446 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:42,119 The blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored 447 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,079 by the left and the right. See for yourself check 448 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:49,680 dot ground, dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link 449 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,599 and you'll get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use 450 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,759 the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature. 451 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,759 Your subscription then not only helps my podcast, but it 452 00:26:58,759 --> 00:27:01,920 also supports ground News as they make the media landscape 453 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:07,359 more transparent. Steve texts in that Roy Cooper is as 454 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:14,960 exciting as a colonoscopy yiks, yikes. By the way, actually 455 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:17,400 historic day up in Raleigh today. I think the Senate 456 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:23,519 overrode a dozen vetos in a single day. The House 457 00:27:23,559 --> 00:27:25,400 overrode a bunch of vetos. We're going to go into it. 458 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:28,160 I spent about an hour and a half this morning 459 00:27:28,799 --> 00:27:32,480 watching the House floor debate on some of these bills 460 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:36,759 that got overridden, and I've pulled only the best, the 461 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:42,400 highest quality audio for you from the floor debate. So yeah, 462 00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:46,079 and we'll cover the vetos that were overridden today, some 463 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:51,720 of which cleared both chambers so now are in effect law. 464 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:58,920 Rich says I knew Ray at UNC. He dated my cousin. 465 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:01,799 They were serious for some time. At that time, he 466 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:05,359 was controlled by his father and uncle, both big Democrats 467 00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:08,240 in Nash County and eastern North Carolina. They said he 468 00:28:08,279 --> 00:28:11,240 would be governor someday and laid out his path, paved 469 00:28:11,279 --> 00:28:14,319 the way early on. He's a politician to the core. 470 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,960 He was raised to be one. My cousin was heartbroken 471 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:20,119 when he dumped her for a ready made family, a 472 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:24,440 woman with two children, a family that he quote started 473 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:26,720 in Nash County. She thought she was going to be 474 00:28:26,759 --> 00:28:30,559 the first lady. My cousin is a hardcore Democrat, loves campaigning, 475 00:28:30,599 --> 00:28:34,160 has more personality than Ray but did not want children. 476 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,960 I suspect the latter two were factors in his dumping her. 477 00:28:37,039 --> 00:28:39,480 That said, dumping my cousin was probably the smartest thing 478 00:28:39,519 --> 00:28:46,599 he has done. That's wow. Okay, well, Hugh, that story 479 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:51,720 took a turn. Rick says, I like the way Ray 480 00:28:51,759 --> 00:28:54,400 in his announcement to run states that the super rich 481 00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:58,920 have become so at your expense. He obviously doesn't understand 482 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:04,319 that wealth is created, not stolen. Yeah, he's he's. I 483 00:29:04,319 --> 00:29:08,759 saw somebody describe him. A national pundit described him after 484 00:29:08,799 --> 00:29:11,119 watching that video and said, these are all the same 485 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:14,640 lines that Bernie Sanders says. He's just Bernie Sanders with 486 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:19,359 a smile. Yeah. And that's the thing about Roy Cooper. 487 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:24,839 He pretends to be some sort of blue dog Democrat, 488 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:29,240 moderate kind of guy, and he never has been, never 489 00:29:29,279 --> 00:29:36,960 has been. Back to the Andrew dunpiece at long Leaf Politics, 490 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:41,519 he says, national money is finally coming in to tell 491 00:29:41,559 --> 00:29:45,400 the full story. The National Republican Senatorial Committee's already out 492 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,000 with an ad tying Cooper to National Democrats, and that's 493 00:29:48,039 --> 00:29:51,720 a good start. Republicans have tried before to make this 494 00:29:51,799 --> 00:29:55,279 connection stick and it has not worked. But those were 495 00:29:55,319 --> 00:29:58,599 state level races where Cooper could blur the lines and 496 00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:03,759 make every issue about But a US Senate campaign is different, 497 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:10,200 and he's exactly right. He says, it's it's about direction 498 00:30:10,359 --> 00:30:12,720 of the country. It's about control of the Senate. It's 499 00:30:12,759 --> 00:30:17,119 about Supreme Court uh and judgement approvals, you know, nominations 500 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:21,279 and such like. That's the that's the focus. And this 501 00:30:21,319 --> 00:30:24,759 is going to be a far more nationalized race than 502 00:30:24,799 --> 00:30:27,440 anything Cooper has ever been in and in the past, 503 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:33,200 because as I've gone over this for years, he developed 504 00:30:33,759 --> 00:30:39,559 a donor network out of state based on the HB 505 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:43,440 two fight, and he got all of these you know 506 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:47,519 democrats and progressives and leftists and business leaders and you 507 00:30:47,559 --> 00:30:53,759 know deep pocket Trustafarians and stuff, and they they funded 508 00:30:53,759 --> 00:30:57,880 his campaigns well in excess of anything that the Republicans 509 00:30:58,039 --> 00:31:02,000 could or had built. And he was able to, you know, 510 00:31:02,039 --> 00:31:04,279 buy a lot of ad time, do a lot of 511 00:31:04,279 --> 00:31:07,640 campaign stops and all of that. But now you've got 512 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:11,079 money that's coming in for the Republican whoever it is 513 00:31:11,119 --> 00:31:15,960 probably gonna be Michael Wattley. And Wattley has a very 514 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:20,079 thick Rollodex as well. He knows a lot of deep 515 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:24,000 pockets nationally too, and he's got a lot of people 516 00:31:24,359 --> 00:31:28,559 that are in office that are there because of his efforts, 517 00:31:28,759 --> 00:31:33,319 his help as the RNC chair. And that means you 518 00:31:33,359 --> 00:31:35,440 can bring a lot of people to come to town 519 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:39,279 to draw a crowd and hit him up for money, right, 520 00:31:39,359 --> 00:31:42,920 do a lot of fundraisers with some big name draws. 521 00:31:43,839 --> 00:31:46,839 I mentioned before I left Asheville, he brought Ted Cruz 522 00:31:47,599 --> 00:31:51,079 to town to stump for I forget who I think 523 00:31:51,279 --> 00:31:56,880 it may have been. Hmmm, it may have been Ted Budd, 524 00:31:57,039 --> 00:32:03,400 Ted Bud No, I don't remember. Madison Cawthorne was there, 525 00:32:03,839 --> 00:32:06,079 but it wasn't an event for him. But like that 526 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:10,119 was a that was a huge get for the area 527 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:14,079 to get Ted Cruz to come into town for this appearance, 528 00:32:15,319 --> 00:32:18,839 and Ted did. At one point he called it South 529 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:23,960 Carolina and everybody kind of likes he oh, and he 530 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:29,119 saw the reaction and then he immediately re racks the 531 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:32,400 sentence and corrects himself and says, North Carolina. It's kind 532 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,559 of kind of cringey, but it was a good speech. 533 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:40,599 Chip says, if Roy starts growing a beard and takes 534 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:42,920 to Cussen, we will know the gloves are off. 535 00:32:43,039 --> 00:32:43,559 Speaker 2: That's right. 536 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:46,759 Speaker 1: Well, and also Pump and iron. Have you seen this, 537 00:32:46,759 --> 00:32:50,200 this trend the Democrats are doing now, They're they're posting 538 00:32:50,319 --> 00:32:57,720 videos of themselves working out in the gym. I'm not kidding, Like, 539 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:02,359 there's too many videos of them pumping iron for it 540 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:06,519 to not be some sort of guidance that they have 541 00:33:06,599 --> 00:33:10,599 been given. It shows that we fight, we're strong, we're tough. 542 00:33:10,759 --> 00:33:14,000 Speaker 6: I'm in a gym. Look at me, I'm Eric Swallwell, 543 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:19,279 I'm lifting one hundred and thirty pounds. I hate Trump 544 00:33:19,559 --> 00:33:23,559 like that's the that's the message. I'm gonna fight everybody 545 00:33:23,559 --> 00:33:23,799 for you. 546 00:33:23,839 --> 00:33:25,799 Speaker 1: Look at me. I'm working out so I can fight people. 547 00:33:26,599 --> 00:33:29,319 And a cuss too, And I say, y'all, and I 548 00:33:29,359 --> 00:33:37,079 got a beard. Phillip says, a point of clarification, my 549 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:39,880 good friend Ray is a candidate for US Senate, but 550 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:42,839 he is not running. Ray will hunker down in his 551 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:45,960 basement Biden's style, and let the legacy media run interference 552 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,640 for him. He might do sequestered appearances with a select 553 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:51,720 group of Marxists, with the keynote people such as Tim 554 00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:55,799 Balls okay, you say he's just all right, large mouth bass, 555 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:59,720 Gavin k Newsome, Jeff Bosa okay, and perhaps Adam shift 556 00:34:01,279 --> 00:34:04,119 for brains. In summary, Ray will be harder to find 557 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:07,799 than an orthodontist in the UK. That okay, that's just 558 00:34:07,839 --> 00:34:11,679 a cheap shot, but sometimes we take. 559 00:34:11,519 --> 00:34:14,119 Speaker 2: Them all right. 560 00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:16,519 Speaker 1: That'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much 561 00:34:16,519 --> 00:34:18,599 for listening. I could not do the show without your 562 00:34:18,639 --> 00:34:21,400 support and the support of the businesses that advertise on 563 00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:24,199 the podcast, so if you'd like, please support them too 564 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:25,920 and tell them you heard it here. You can also 565 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:28,559 become a patron at my Patreon page or go to 566 00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:32,400 thepetecleanershow dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening, 567 00:34:32,519 --> 00:34:35,480 and don't break anything while I'm gone.