Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen in this corner from the University of Colorado.
Speaker 1: Thirty years in Lorraine, fighting for truth, justice and the
Speaker 1: American Way.
Speaker 2: Danchplas. Wow, Happy, Happy New Year's Eve. This is Heidi Ganol.
Speaker 3: I'm filling in for Dan this afternoon. Wow, it's been
Speaker 3: a crazy year. Who knows what we can expect in
Speaker 3: twenty twenty five. We're gonna have some fun talking about
Speaker 3: that today. We're also going to revisit some of the
Speaker 3: top stories from twenty twenty four. And we've got Congressman
Speaker 3: Oh gosh, Congresswoman Lauren Bober calling in at four thirty five.
Speaker 3: Super excited to talk to Lauren, find out what's going
Speaker 3: on in one of our favorite towns.
Speaker 2: Do you see you just kidding.
Speaker 3: Anyway, I'm sure there's lots of drama she can fill
Speaker 3: us in on, and also talk to her a little
Speaker 3: bit about her new district, which is my district. She's
Speaker 3: my congresswoman, and the difference between representing CD three, kind
Speaker 3: of how things are shifting.
Speaker 2: Excited to talk to her more about that.
Speaker 3: So one thing I did today was I asked my
Speaker 3: Rocky Mountain Voice staff. So we have a news organization
Speaker 3: Rocky Mountain Voice. We're unabashedly right of center and we
Speaker 3: don't apologize for that. We want a different perspective than
Speaker 3: the liberal media that's out there. It's a website, it's
Speaker 3: a newsletter. We're constantly updating the news. We have a
Speaker 3: great team of writers, over thirty citizen journalists across the state.
Speaker 2: And then our editor.
Speaker 3: Brian Porter, who actually made the news this year when
Speaker 3: I brought him on board to help me launch Rocky
Speaker 3: Mountain Voice. He was the president of the Colorado Press
Speaker 3: Association and Jesse, you're not going to believe this, but
Speaker 3: the Colorido Press Association forced Brian to resign because he
Speaker 3: went to work for me leading Rocky Mountain Voice.
Speaker 2: That doesn't seem quite right, does it. No, it was terrible.
Speaker 3: It's like so much for diversity of thought and allow
Speaker 3: for different opinions. And Brian's a great guy. He always
Speaker 3: tries to give a balanced view of the news, and
Speaker 3: they couldn't take it. They couldn't stand the thought of
Speaker 3: a conservative guy or a guy representing a conservative news
Speaker 3: outlet representing the top of the Colorido Press Association. So whatever,
Speaker 3: But that story actually made the list of top stories
Speaker 3: with Colorado Times Recorder, which is basically a Democrat paid
Speaker 3: I call it a fake news outlet. It's just basically
Speaker 3: around up do hit pieces on conservatives in Colorado. But
Speaker 3: today it popped up that it was one of the
Speaker 3: top stories for Colorado Times Recorder.
Speaker 2: What do you think about that?
Speaker 4: I mean, I'd like to say it surprises me, and
Speaker 4: that the Rocky Mountain what's it gulled again?
Speaker 3: Rocky Mountain voice? Oh that's the Colorada Times Recorder. Is
Speaker 3: the Democrat version.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'd like to say it surprises me, but it does.
Speaker 2: Nothing they do didn't surprise me anymore. I know, I agree.
Speaker 2: I agree.
Speaker 3: Maybe twenty twenty five will be they'll wake up and
Speaker 3: realize the error of their ways. I doubt it, but
Speaker 3: let's see what happens. All right, I am going to
Speaker 3: go to my first caller about what's going on in Colorado,
Speaker 3: what happened in twenty twenty four, and what is going
Speaker 3: to happen in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2: Lacy, welcome to the show.
Speaker 5: Can you hear me, guys?
Speaker 2: I can hear you all right?
Speaker 4: Perfect?
Speaker 5: Hi, guys, hought you doing good?
Speaker 2: Happy New Year, Lacey.
Speaker 5: Happy New Year. Yeah, I wanted to talk to you
Speaker 5: guys a little bit about Trump winning. This is obviously
Speaker 5: one of our biggest stories. He added five hundred thousand
Speaker 5: gen z to the electorate and a lot of that
Speaker 5: is due to the work of organizations like Turning Point
Speaker 5: USA and many other youth organizations. I was curious what
Speaker 5: you guys thoughts were on that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Lacy, I think that was a big part of it.
Speaker 3: And on the ground as I'm out and about meeting
Speaker 3: voters across the state, I really saw a lot of
Speaker 3: energy with young people, whether it was at Colora Christian
Speaker 3: University hosting a table there and talking to voters, or
Speaker 3: see you Boulder Colora College. All over the state. It
Speaker 3: was really neat to see the energy. And I know
Speaker 3: you're pretty involved in the youth movement here in Colorado.
Speaker 3: What needs to happen to get more youth involved in
Speaker 3: twenty twenty five, in the elections, in the just the
Speaker 3: overall political process.
Speaker 5: I think, in all honesty, so I'm the co chair
Speaker 5: of the Young Republicans for Colorado, I think we are
Speaker 5: really noticing a shift, especially for young men, and that's
Speaker 5: felt Rode, not just Colorado, but all fifty states. I
Speaker 5: think we need to go to the places where Democrats
Speaker 5: has been going for for so long. Obviously, these college
Speaker 5: campuses are starting to be a really big thing for us,
Speaker 5: but you know, sporting events, getting comfortable with having uncomfortable conversations.
Speaker 5: I was always told do not have political conversations at
Speaker 5: the dinner table, and now we need to be having
Speaker 5: those conversations at the dinner table. Guys at frat parties
Speaker 5: are starting to talk about Trump and all sorts of
Speaker 5: fun stuff. But I think making politics fun is really
Speaker 5: what Trump did in twenty sixteen, twenty twenty and twenty
Speaker 5: twenty four, this whole span of time. And because he's
Speaker 5: made it so fun for people to get involved, we
Speaker 5: need to have the old guard of the GOP to
Speaker 5: somewhat understand that times are changing. We need to update technology,
Speaker 5: we need to really engage with this new gen z
Speaker 5: vote and their podcast or whatever it may be. It's
Speaker 5: time to turn over a new leaf, follow in in
Speaker 5: line with Trump, really update what we're doing. That way,
Speaker 5: more people will come over to our side, because conservatism
Speaker 5: really is cool again. It's borrow phrase.
Speaker 2: I love that.
Speaker 3: I love that, and I say that all the time,
Speaker 3: like we've got to make it fun to be conservative
Speaker 3: again in Colorado and having events showing up places we
Speaker 3: don't typically go or talk about politics is perfect and
Speaker 3: so Lacy. It sounds like one of your favorite stories
Speaker 3: of twenty twenty four was the gen Z involvement in
Speaker 3: electing Donald Trump. What what's your prediction for twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3: We've got a lot of important school board races, We've
Speaker 3: got a GOP chair election. Like what's going to happen
Speaker 3: with politics in Colorado in twenty twenty five around the
Speaker 3: youth vote?
Speaker 5: Oh, I think in Colorado a lot of good things
Speaker 5: are happening. Colorado Federation of Young Republicans we have thirteen
Speaker 5: individual chapters and we're looking to be around fifteen here
Speaker 5: in the next few months. But we're going to be
Speaker 5: pointing heavily at these school board races and obviously working
Speaker 5: with organizations like Road to Red, which you've been helping
Speaker 5: us with, Heidi, so we can try and get in
Speaker 5: some of those school board races because it's important where
Speaker 5: kids are learning. We're young enough this gen Z vote,
Speaker 5: we're young enough to remember, especially some of the older
Speaker 5: ones like myself from twenty seven, what it was like
Speaker 5: to actually play in the yard not be a iPad kid,
Speaker 5: not being told boys can be girls and girls can
Speaker 5: be boys. We need to start taking a more intense
Speaker 5: look at education, but having people that are slightly older
Speaker 5: but young enough to remember gens obviously and how a
Speaker 5: US fight. I think El Paso County's Young Republicans has
Speaker 5: done a bang up job of getting involved in school
Speaker 5: board stuff, and we're going to.
Speaker 6: Continue to do that.
Speaker 5: I think you're going to see some big changes with
Speaker 5: school board shakeups because parents are tired, but also, you know,
Speaker 5: the siblings my age, we're kind of sick and tired
Speaker 5: of you know, our cousins, our younger siblings being taught
Speaker 5: anything but the truth. It's frustrating and we're going to
Speaker 5: fight to take it back.
Speaker 3: That's great, Lacy, thank you so much for all you're doing.
Speaker 3: We really appreciate it and would love to stay in
Speaker 3: touch and keep hearing about all the great stuff gen
Speaker 3: Z's doing in Colorado to turn our state around.
Speaker 5: Of course, thank you so much.
Speaker 6: Heidi, Happy New year, through your year.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 3: Got a few hours left. So right before I talked
Speaker 3: to Lacey, I was I was mentioning. I asked the
Speaker 3: Rocky Mountain Voice staff what their top stories of the
Speaker 3: year were that were covered on Rocky Mountain Voice, and
Speaker 3: they gave me a few a few ideas. One of
Speaker 3: them was what happened with Jenna Griswold and the whole
Speaker 3: debacle around the bios League past and the Libertyitarian Party
Speaker 3: actually suing Jenna Griswold's office for the leak and the
Speaker 3: cover up. And I thought that was really brave and
Speaker 3: bold what they did. I was very, very excited about
Speaker 3: them standing up for what's right. So way to go,
Speaker 3: Libertarian Party. You're going to be a force in twenty
Speaker 3: twenty five.
Speaker 2: I know it.
Speaker 3: Follow Brandon on Free State Colorado. He's got a great
Speaker 3: show that he puts out on x and YouTube. Another story.
Speaker 3: We heard all kinds of things about wolves all year.
Speaker 3: If there ever was evidence needed for the rural urban
Speaker 3: divide in Colorado, look no further than the release of
Speaker 3: the wolves.
Speaker 2: That was a hot topic.
Speaker 3: And you know, I think livestock raisers are standing up,
Speaker 3: they're speaking out, rural communities are speaking out. I think
Speaker 3: as the calendar turns to twenty twenty five, there's going
Speaker 3: to be a possibility of all of them banding together
Speaker 3: and really pushing back against this. Another thing, of course,
Speaker 3: was the Aurora Gang's situation, and Aurora really made the
Speaker 3: national scene. You heard Donald Trump talk about it at
Speaker 3: the rally he had here in Aurora. And the gang
Speaker 3: that you never heard of, that Kyle Clark never heard
Speaker 3: of in Jared Police thought was in Danielle's imagination. Danielle
Speaker 3: Jurinsky's imagination. She's on the Aurora City Council. That made
Speaker 3: national news in twenty four it was the Venezuelan gang trend.
Speaker 3: De Aragua I hope, I said that right. They brought
Speaker 3: a lot of attention to the issues coming from the
Speaker 3: border and the problems with an open border and how
Speaker 3: they don't necessarily just affect border states. Colorado became a
Speaker 3: border state this year. So it's going to be really
Speaker 3: interesting to see what happens when President Donald Trump starts
Speaker 3: tamping down on the illegal and violent immigrants and pushing
Speaker 3: them out of the country back to where they came from.
Speaker 3: What is Jared Polis going to do. What is Mike Johnston,
Speaker 3: the mayor of Denver, going to do. They've said they
Speaker 3: will stand strong for those folks. Are they willing to
Speaker 3: go to jail to do so? That'll be really interesting
Speaker 3: to see. Before we go to break, one more story,
Speaker 3: I'll talk about Tina Peters trial. All eyes this year
Speaker 3: turned to Mesa County in twenty four as the trial
Speaker 3: for the former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters took place.
Speaker 3: She was found guilty on three counts of attempting to
Speaker 3: influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, and
Speaker 3: officials contact. And the ironic thing is that Jenna Griswold
Speaker 3: with her bios leaks password. Actually, I mean, shouldn't she
Speaker 3: go to jail if Tina Peters did too, I don't
Speaker 3: know something to think about. Or Tina Peters should have
Speaker 3: a relook at her situation because it seems awfully extreme
Speaker 3: that she was given a nine year sentence and Jenna
Speaker 3: Griswold was given a slap on the hand.
Speaker 2: That does not seem fair at all. So let's go
Speaker 2: to a break.
Speaker 3: When we come back, we'll talk more about twenty twenty four,
Speaker 3: what happened, the crazy stuff that happened this year, and
Speaker 3: what's happening are going to happen in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3: This is Heidiganall filling in for Dan cap Well. Hello Colorado,
Speaker 3: it's Hidi Ganall filling in for Dan Kaplis this afternoon
Speaker 3: on a cheery New Year's Eve. I hope you have
Speaker 3: big plans tonight. You can have a lot of fun.
Speaker 3: It's going to be a fun year. I can feel it.
Speaker 3: Things shifted in the last election for those of us
Speaker 3: that it turned out the way we wanted it to.
Speaker 3: President Donald Trump is going to fire things up across
Speaker 3: America along with Doge. We've got Elon and Vivek working
Speaker 3: on that in RFK Junior ready to take on big
Speaker 3: Pharma and big Egg. And we've got Tulsi ready to
Speaker 3: take on the security apparatus of our government.
Speaker 2: It's going to be so fun to watch.
Speaker 3: We got another firecracker here in Colorado, a friend of mine,
Speaker 3: Richard Holtorf. I believe Richard's on the line, Jesse Is
Speaker 3: I am hello, Hello Richard? How are you today?
Speaker 4: I'm wonderful house my good friend, Heidi.
Speaker 2: I'm good, I'm good.
Speaker 3: I'm ready for a new year, clean slate. Richard, what
Speaker 3: the heck's going to happen in twenty twenty five? You're
Speaker 3: down at that crazy capital and getting ready for a
Speaker 3: new session.
Speaker 2: What's your prediction?
Speaker 4: Well, You need to remember that I ran for Congress
Speaker 4: and was unsuccessful. So my last day is today as
Speaker 4: a state legislator. I am going to be turning the
Speaker 4: reins over to another representative. But I will tell you
Speaker 4: that the predictions for twenty twenty five. We are in
Speaker 4: a very unique and exciting time and I am pumped
Speaker 4: up about the future because, let's be honest, the East
Speaker 4: coast and the left coast elitist failed to recognize that
Speaker 4: woke is dead and Middle America is done with Wolke goodness,
Speaker 4: we are done Colorado, most of Colorado is done, but
Speaker 4: we are pretty far left. We are a blue state
Speaker 4: and that is you know, sick to your stomach blue.
Speaker 4: And Colorado needs to realize that a Middle America is
Speaker 4: done and Colorado needs to follow Middle America on the
Speaker 4: truck train one hundred percent.
Speaker 3: Well, Richard, now that you're free as of tomorrow or
Speaker 3: what time like midnight tonight with the new year, you
Speaker 3: can speak freely and not be held as a representative
Speaker 3: like you can just have a little more leeway.
Speaker 4: Well, let's be honest, Tidy, I've always spoken very freely
Speaker 4: and taken a lot. This is true of leeway and
Speaker 4: I'm not going to not say what needs to be
Speaker 4: said when it needs to be said to whom it
Speaker 4: needs to be said to. And that's with any party
Speaker 4: or any person in politics. I'm really excited about to change.
Speaker 4: But here's what I predict, and Colorado with the tip
Speaker 4: of the spear for the progressive left Democrats. So let's
Speaker 4: be honest, they're trying to cook this sauce up right
Speaker 4: now in Boulder County. Up in Boulder, Colorado, the progressive
Speaker 4: left is going to claim to their agenda. They're not
Speaker 4: letting go. Let's be honest. I really believe that they
Speaker 4: are going to try to in twenty twenty five and beyond,
Speaker 4: they're going to try to repackage and reimagine their leftist
Speaker 4: agenda and see what they can say. And so we
Speaker 4: need to realize.
Speaker 3: That, Richard, don't you think that Polis more than ever now,
Speaker 3: if he wants to run for president, has to keep
Speaker 3: Colorado as blue as possible. So it's the shining example
Speaker 3: for all the progressive policies for the rest of America
Speaker 3: that he's the guy to take it to the rest
Speaker 3: of the country.
Speaker 4: Do you agree, Oh, I would think that part of
Speaker 4: the political strategies. Would definitely be trying to put that
Speaker 4: in the in the in the special sauce if you will,
Speaker 4: that the Democrat progressive left Democrats are playing. You know
Speaker 4: that politics is so tenuous. We don't know if Polis
Speaker 4: is going to have a chance. Last year, Jill Biden
Speaker 4: came to Colorado and everybody to see the governor and
Speaker 4: to talk about Colorado issues, allegedly, and I said, I
Speaker 4: said fully on that that's not why Diamond is here.
Speaker 4: I mean, not Jill Diamond, exc'us me Biden is here.
Speaker 4: She's here to talk to Poulis about what's going to
Speaker 4: happen with the presidency and how it's not his time yet.
Speaker 4: I called that out six or eight months ago, and
Speaker 4: so that's what happened. Nobody talks about. Everybody was fool
Speaker 4: thinking they're talking about education, in which they weren't, and
Speaker 4: Paulus is just waiting for his time. But he's got
Speaker 4: this kid in California, the California kid that really wants
Speaker 4: to be president. So there's a tug of war between
Speaker 4: two arguably of the most progressive left states in the Union,
Speaker 4: Colorado and California. So we don't know how that's going
Speaker 4: to shake out. But I think Polis is very patient.
Speaker 4: He might try to play his play this next cycle,
Speaker 4: or he might wait for a subsequent cycle. He's got
Speaker 4: plenty of time. If you think about how old Biden was,
Speaker 4: the old man in the mountain that couldn't find his
Speaker 4: way home.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's going to be our job as
Speaker 3: Conservatives with a platform to call out Polis constantly. And
Speaker 3: I've been trying to do it the last couple of
Speaker 3: years since I ran against him.
Speaker 2: I learned a too much about his wily ways and
Speaker 2: his lies.
Speaker 3: And I want to keep that hot, like, keep talking
Speaker 3: about it so that Dana Perino and the rest of
Speaker 3: Fox News doesn't think he's the you know, the best
Speaker 3: thing since slice bread to the Democrat Party to bring
Speaker 3: on and counteract the Republican kind of narrative. And it's
Speaker 3: so frustrating that everybody thinks he's such a libertarian when
Speaker 3: he's the exact opposite. And we've got more bureaucracy, more taxes,
Speaker 3: more just control by the government in Colorado than we've
Speaker 3: ever had before.
Speaker 2: It's just insane.
Speaker 3: It's it's suffocating, and one of the things I'd love
Speaker 3: to see in twenty twenty five is just everybody calling
Speaker 3: out the Democrats in Colorado for their bs and their
Speaker 3: narrative that they're libertarian, their moderate. They're not. They're totally progressive,
Speaker 3: and the things they're going to do in the legislature
Speaker 3: in the next couple months are going to just I
Speaker 3: don't know, it's going to be disgusting.
Speaker 4: Let's talk about that a little bit. But let's realize
Speaker 4: that polis is a is a great shape shifter. He
Speaker 4: can change, he can more, he is a master at that,
Speaker 4: and he can also tell really good lies and make
Speaker 4: him believable. So we're gonna have to deal with that.
Speaker 4: That's not going away. Let's talk about Colorado now that
Speaker 4: you've brought it up, because this is really important. You know,
Speaker 4: we realized some political gains. We've got a few seats
Speaker 4: in the House, a few more seats in the House.
Speaker 4: We're up to twenty two, I believe now, but we
Speaker 4: had twenty four when I started in twenty twenty. So
Speaker 4: we still are in a minority position. And the Senate's
Speaker 4: gained a seat or two, but they're still in a
Speaker 4: minority position. Crads control if they still have the super
Speaker 4: excuse me, the trifecta of power. Rather, they don't have
Speaker 4: a super majority anymore. But here's what's going to help
Speaker 4: the Democrats. And now we're gonna get into a little
Speaker 4: bit of a chess here, political chess. Colorado right now
Speaker 4: has a significant budget shortfall. They're talking about over a
Speaker 4: billion dollars or up to a billion dollars or more. Now,
Speaker 4: we raised the state budget from twenty six billion to
Speaker 4: forty one billion in the half a decade I was
Speaker 4: at the state House. The governor expanded government. He increased
Speaker 4: FTE and you know that's full time employees, and grew
Speaker 4: state government. We all the time said, hey, Colorado, fiscal
Speaker 4: conservatives like me said, hey, what happens when the economy turns?
Speaker 4: What happens when all this money isn't there anymore?
Speaker 2: Richard, we got to wrap up last few seconds. Ready, Yes,
Speaker 2: it goes fast, doesn't it.
Speaker 4: Well, I'll tell you what. Well, I will tell you
Speaker 4: it's going to help the Democrats look better because they're
Speaker 4: not going to be due able to do all the
Speaker 4: crazy stuff they want to do, because they're going to
Speaker 4: be fiscally constrained by the budget. And we need to
Speaker 4: point that out and highlight that my friend.
Speaker 3: Well, thanks Richard, thanks for weighing in. Follow Richard on Twitter.
Speaker 3: I'm sure he has a lot more to say. This
Speaker 3: is Hidi Ganal filling in Dan Caplis. We'll see you
Speaker 3: in a minute.
Speaker 2: Well, Happy Happy New Year, Colorado.
Speaker 3: It's Heidi Ganal filling in for Dan Caplis this afternoon.
Speaker 3: We're wrapping up twenty twenty four and we've got a
Speaker 3: fun twenty twenty five ahead. I feel really good about
Speaker 3: the next year. I think it's going to do a
Speaker 3: lot of amazing things for our economy and the border,
Speaker 3: our safety, all kinds of good stuff. With President Donald
Speaker 3: Trump in office, even here in Colorado, I think we'll
Speaker 3: benefit from some of those decisions he's going to make.
Speaker 3: And one of the movers and shakers, one of the
Speaker 3: people in Washington, DC that's always making a difference, is
Speaker 3: our own Congresswoman Lauren Bobert.
Speaker 2: Lauren, Welcome to the show, Heidi.
Speaker 6: It is so great to be on with you. I'm
Speaker 6: glad you're filling in for Dan today.
Speaker 2: Thank you and Happy New Year.
Speaker 6: Happy New Year.
Speaker 2: Are you in DC or are you here in Colorado?
Speaker 6: I am enjoying as much of Colorado as I can
Speaker 6: We have an extremely busy legislative schedule this year for
Speaker 6: twenty twenty five, and I will be in DC a lot,
Speaker 6: So we have a ton of weeks before we're there,
Speaker 6: three four five weeks at a time, and so every
Speaker 6: moment that I could be in Colorado, I'm going to
Speaker 6: take advantage of that.
Speaker 3: Well, I hope so, because man, DC, it's quite intense,
Speaker 3: and you do a great job, Lauren. You fight for us,
Speaker 3: You try and stick up for all the things we
Speaker 3: want around policy and for Colorado, our water rights, our farmers,
Speaker 3: our ranchers. Tell us what's different now about representing CD four,
Speaker 3: if anything is different versus CD three, And what are
Speaker 3: your key issues you're going to focus on while you're
Speaker 3: there this year?
Speaker 6: Yes, well, you know folks are still asking, you know
Speaker 6: why I moved to the fourth district, And I said
Speaker 6: last December that there were three reasons I was moving
Speaker 6: to Windsor. My boys and I we needed a fresh
Speaker 6: start in a new home. And we've made this house
Speaker 6: a home over this past year. And this would also
Speaker 6: help keep Colorado's a third district in GOP hand and
Speaker 6: I would be able to continue fighting for Colorado in Congress.
Speaker 6: Now we heard a lot of people laughing last January
Speaker 6: saying that that would never happen, But I haven't heard
Speaker 6: from those people lately. Of course, Yes, we were able
Speaker 6: to secure the third District, and Congressman elect Jeff Hurd
Speaker 6: is going to do a fantastic job. I speak with
Speaker 6: him regularly about the policies and the third District and
Speaker 6: just the little individual communities from Lake City in Wairfino County,
Speaker 6: UH to of course Grand Junction in Mesa County and
Speaker 6: Peblo and so much more. And I'm just happy to
Speaker 6: bring the things that I've learned from the third District
Speaker 6: over to the fourth. The coalition that I formed there,
Speaker 6: we're expanding them and growing them here in the fourth
Speaker 6: as well. To protect our farmers, our ranchers, our agriculture industry,
Speaker 6: our energy industry, and just as you were mentioning too,
Speaker 6: we need to secure the border and keep our community
Speaker 6: and get our communities safe again. And that's going to
Speaker 6: be a top priority in the first quarter in Washington,
Speaker 6: d C. So we're going to work on a lot
Speaker 6: with border security and safety.
Speaker 5: UH.
Speaker 6: And you know President Trump has talked about getting those
Speaker 6: who are already on a deportation list out first the
Speaker 6: criminal aliens out of our communities so they could be
Speaker 6: safe and we don't have to worry as much as
Speaker 6: we have about our children's safety and our safety. And
Speaker 6: then of course in that as well, we're also going
Speaker 6: to be tackling energy policy and it's going to be
Speaker 6: huge for Colorado. I've worked on a lot of energy
Speaker 6: focused policy in Washington, and I'm going to continue that
Speaker 6: effort as well bring back those good paying jobs to Colorado.
Speaker 6: There's a lot of legislation I've worked on for economic
Speaker 6: improvement and development here in Colorado, from my Plublo Jobs
Speaker 6: Act that we'll create at least one thousand jobs with
Speaker 6: Publo Plex, and and then even my most recent bill
Speaker 6: passing out of the House and the Senate and on
Speaker 6: its way to be signed into law, my Convey Act,
Speaker 6: which allows the City of Clifton and Mesa County to
Speaker 6: purchase a plot of land that's on the BLM disposal
Speaker 6: list and they will have an opportunity to develop that
Speaker 6: land for more economic growth in in Clifton, Colorado, which
Speaker 6: will of course create jobs and so much more.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 6: There's many issues I'm working on, from from zip code
Speaker 6: designations to the national topics of of free speech and
Speaker 6: holding government accountable and cackling our spending. So in all
Speaker 6: of this, from the third to the fourth, I'm going
Speaker 6: to continue that fight. And you know, the legislative work
Speaker 6: that I do doesn't always make the front page of
Speaker 6: the Denver Post, but it is my top priority because
Speaker 6: I was sent by the voters of Colorado to have
Speaker 6: an impact on policy, and that is my favorite thing
Speaker 6: to bring not only the issues that Coloraden's are facing,
Speaker 6: but even the solutions provided by Colorados put pen to
Speaker 6: paper and get those in committee and passed out of
Speaker 6: the House and ultimately signed into law.
Speaker 3: So, Lauren, what advice have you given to Jeff Crank,
Speaker 3: Jeff Heard, and Gabe Evans, who are all new Congressmen
Speaker 3: from Colorado? And that's so cool that we have an
Speaker 3: even slight now for and for what do you tell
Speaker 3: them about like their first days or how to acclimate.
Speaker 6: Yes, so, all three of our new congressmen elects, they've
Speaker 6: been to freshman orientation and we've been having multiple conversations.
Speaker 6: I'm so happy for all of them, especially Gabe Evans.
Speaker 6: And you know, all of us advocated for Gabe Evans
Speaker 6: to get a solid committee assignment on Energy and Commerce,
Speaker 6: and this is huge for a freshmen to get a
Speaker 6: committee assignment like this, and we worked really hard to
Speaker 6: ensure that he would do that because he is in
Speaker 6: one of the most vulnerable seats that we have and
Speaker 6: I want to keep that in GOP hands. And so
Speaker 6: in all of this, it's about policy working together. How
Speaker 6: can we blend our districts. The fourth District touches all
Speaker 6: of these districts, and so how can we blend our
Speaker 6: policy and make sure we are doing right by our
Speaker 6: entire state and our country. And we've worked a lot
Speaker 6: together in putting a plan to present to the Trump
Speaker 6: administration on keeping space Command in Colorado Springs. That is
Speaker 6: going to be really important for Colorado and not only
Speaker 6: our economy, but I would say even politically, and when
Speaker 6: we're talking about getting our fiscal affairs in order in Washington,
Speaker 6: d Sea, we don't need to spend billions of dollars
Speaker 6: moving space command to a state like Alabama when we
Speaker 6: could keep that right here in Colorado, where we're already
Speaker 6: doing such a fabulous job with space Command. And so
Speaker 6: we've been working together on that. And then of course
Speaker 6: our forest, our forest isn't something that each of us
Speaker 6: have in our districts, However, it impacts all of Colorado's
Speaker 6: About eighty percent of our municipal water in Colorado comes
Speaker 6: from our national forest, and if we have unhealthy forests,
Speaker 6: and we'll have unhealthy watersheds. So all of us working
Speaker 6: together to have proper forest management and get our forest
Speaker 6: healthy again will help our state's most precious resource, our water,
Speaker 6: And that's always a top issue. So when they're going there,
Speaker 6: of course, I'm introducing them to folks and ensuring that
Speaker 6: they're in the right meetings and the right places. And
Speaker 6: I'll even give props to Congressman Greg Lopez, who did
Speaker 6: a fantastic job in the few months that he was
Speaker 6: there in Washington, DC. He did everything he promised he would.
Speaker 6: He was a strong voice for the fourth District and
Speaker 6: he was in very important meetings ensuring that the fourth
Speaker 6: District was represented during his time there. So we have
Speaker 6: a great team here. I don't think Greg Lopez is
Speaker 6: going very far. He'll still be involved in many issues
Speaker 6: and so at many levels. And you know, if we
Speaker 6: could just bring our folks together as much as we can,
Speaker 6: that's going to be so important in the next two years,
Speaker 6: because I think we can even broaden our base and
Speaker 6: secure these seats in the midterm election in two years
Speaker 6: as well.
Speaker 3: That's great, Lauren, And I think one of the dust
Speaker 3: ups a little bit was Lopez and Lambert didn't vote
Speaker 3: with the decision to extend the debt ceiling, and so
Speaker 3: that brought up a lot of conversation in Colorado about
Speaker 3: you've got to stick with Trump, like, give Trump one
Speaker 3: hundred days, give him his time and follow his lead,
Speaker 3: you know, don't push back, don't cause fights where we
Speaker 3: don't need them. How is the ten like, how is
Speaker 3: the sense back there around doing that? Or is there
Speaker 3: going to be a lot of fracturing with the speaker's
Speaker 3: race and upcoming decisions.
Speaker 4: Sure?
Speaker 6: Well, first of all, I don't criticize their no votes.
Speaker 6: I completely understand why they would vote against that. That
Speaker 6: was a tough piece of legislation to support. So not
Speaker 6: only was there one hundred and ten billion dollars of
Speaker 6: disaster relief and other things that were completely unpaid for.
Speaker 6: It just more deficit spending, but also it was another
Speaker 6: continuing resolution. Greg Lopez said, I'm never voting for a
Speaker 6: continuing resolution, and then the debt limit. This is something
Speaker 6: that we wanted to take care of in the first quarter,
Speaker 6: and President Trump had a vision to get it done.
Speaker 6: And I did vote to pass that and support President
Speaker 6: Trump in it. But I don't criticize those no votes
Speaker 6: that took place. Now, Ultimately, the debt ceiling was not
Speaker 6: included in the CR and so when it came down
Speaker 6: to it, you know, Greg and I we did not
Speaker 6: vote for that, that final Continuing Resolution for many many
Speaker 6: issues that it contained. But I do think that things
Speaker 6: will be better in the next Congress. We all get
Speaker 6: sworn in on Friday on January third for the for
Speaker 6: the one hundred and nineteenth Congress, and I'm hoping there's
Speaker 6: not a fracture for the Speaker's race. Now, I know
Speaker 6: that that sounds could sound odd coming from me because
Speaker 6: I was one of the twenty who challenged Speaker Kevin McCarthy,
Speaker 6: and that was four days of a very public, transparent
Speaker 6: debate that we were having. This is something that we
Speaker 6: had conversations about for months and months prior to the
Speaker 6: actual vote, and unfortunately it unfolded on the House floor.
Speaker 6: But also in that time, we weren't pressed to deliver
Speaker 6: a mandate of man date that the people have given
Speaker 6: President Trump. And so if we're wasting four days, you know,
Speaker 6: I've seen a lot a lot of days wasted in Washington,
Speaker 6: d C. On less, and we were able to get
Speaker 6: some fundamental policy changes done there in the House of Representatives.
Speaker 6: And I spoke with the Speaker today. He wants to
Speaker 6: keep our rules package the way it was, the one
Speaker 6: that we fought for. There may be a couple of
Speaker 6: minor changes that I think that we can all recognize
Speaker 6: our very slim majority and agree on. But we don't
Speaker 6: have time to waste. We cannot put in jeopardy President
Speaker 6: Trump's inauguration or the electoral College results that those get
Speaker 6: certified on January sixth. Every presidential election, it's always on
Speaker 6: January sixth, and we cannot slow down any momentum that
Speaker 6: President Trump has. And so I'm hoping there's not going
Speaker 6: to be too much of a scene there on January
Speaker 6: third with the Speaker. President Trump has endorsed Speaker Mike Johnson.
Speaker 6: And you know, he had a tough year. He wasn't
Speaker 6: this isn't something that he's aspired to do. He wasn't
Speaker 6: begging to be Speaker. But our speaker was vacated, and
Speaker 6: he was the man who could get the votes, and
Speaker 6: now he's been He's had a one seat majority for
Speaker 6: most of his time as Speaker, and that's not very
Speaker 6: easy because in the Republican Party we do have freedom
Speaker 6: of thought and we express it.
Speaker 4: And so I.
Speaker 6: Hope folks are recognizing we still have a very slim
Speaker 6: majority and we all need to work together to deliver
Speaker 6: what the American people demanded and then mber fifth election.
Speaker 3: So, Lauren, that's awesome, and I'm very optimistic about that too.
Speaker 3: I think people are going to give Donald Trump a
Speaker 3: lot of grace on his policy as cabinet pits, et cetera.
Speaker 3: To wrap up, we've got a couple of minutes left.
Speaker 3: Tell us what a day in the life is like
Speaker 3: for you, Like, what is your actual day as you
Speaker 3: go through?
Speaker 6: Look like, Yes, Well, when I'm in Washington, d C.
Speaker 6: The days start very early, and you know, we have
Speaker 6: a lot of meetings and committee hearings and then of
Speaker 6: course constituent meetings. My office is always open to constituents,
Speaker 6: and I try to take as many of those meetings
Speaker 6: as I can personally. Other times I'm running around the
Speaker 6: Capitol and on the House floor and voting and doing
Speaker 6: other things. And so I have a very good staff
Speaker 6: in Washington, DC who helps facilitate those meetings as well.
Speaker 6: But also it's being on the phone with folks back
Speaker 6: here at home as well, making sure that I'm still
Speaker 6: in touch with them. Even if I'm in DC for
Speaker 6: four or five days or more, i still have a
Speaker 6: pulse on Colorado and what's happening here. And then of
Speaker 6: course in the district. I mean, I'm driving hundreds of
Speaker 6: miles at a time, hours and hours, you know, and
Speaker 6: it's always worth it. Colorado is so beautiful. I do
Speaker 6: think that maybe a lot of mental health issues may
Speaker 6: stem from traffic. I'm definitely starting to see, like, yes,
Speaker 6: the connection there. But you know, it's so great to
Speaker 6: show up into these individual communities and hear from folks
Speaker 6: and then also just let them know what's happening in DC,
Speaker 6: how we're advocating for them, how we're fighting for them,
Speaker 6: and I'm just honored to do it. Of course, I'm
Speaker 6: still a mom. And one thing that I'm so grateful
Speaker 6: for our move to the fourth District and something that
Speaker 6: the fourth District of voters have allowed is for me
Speaker 6: to still be mom as well. I have my four boys.
Speaker 6: In fact, this week, I've had my grandson with me
Speaker 6: since Christmas Day, and I'll have them for a few
Speaker 6: more days as well. I have all of my boys together,
Speaker 6: and so I'm grateful for the time that i can
Speaker 6: still be mom and grandma at the same time. And
Speaker 6: so in all of this, I'm always looking for a
Speaker 6: solution to a problem, Heidi, That's why we get involved,
Speaker 6: right We're tired of sitting on the sofa complaining, and
Speaker 6: we want to be the change that we want to see.
Speaker 6: And so I'm happy to do that each and every day.
Speaker 6: And I am so excited for President Trump to rightfully
Speaker 6: return to the White House and have the House and
Speaker 6: the Senate major so we can actually accomplish what he
Speaker 6: has planned out and promised to be American people. And
Speaker 6: I just want to remind folks President Trump would not
Speaker 6: be able to get as much done during that times
Speaker 6: from twenty twenty to twenty twenty four as he will
Speaker 6: be able to in these next four years.
Speaker 3: Got it well, Lauren, thank you so much for all
Speaker 3: you do, your fight. You're I mean, you're just a
Speaker 3: warrior for Colorado and for all the principles that we
Speaker 3: care about most, and your family's beautiful. I hope you
Speaker 3: have a wonderful New Year's Eve and a great start
Speaker 3: to the new year.
Speaker 2: Give him pack out in DC.
Speaker 6: Thanks so much, Heidi. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and
Speaker 6: Maga is right around the corner.
Speaker 3: All right, we'll talk soon. This is Heidi Ganal filling
Speaker 3: in for Dan Caples. We'll be back right after the break.
Speaker 3: Now that's some rock and roll music to get us
Speaker 3: going for New Year's Eve. This is Heidi Ganal. I'm
Speaker 3: filling in for Dan Caples. Ready to wrap up twenty
Speaker 3: twenty four and focus on a great year ahead twenty
Speaker 3: twenty five. We just have a couple minutes before the
Speaker 3: next break, so I wanted to kind of just go
Speaker 3: through pretty quickly some of the stories that are really,
Speaker 3: I don't know, sticking out for me on twenty twenty four.
Speaker 3: But would love for you to call in or text in.
Speaker 3: The call in number is three zero three seven one
Speaker 3: three eight two five five, or you can text Dan
Speaker 3: the word Dan to five seven seven three nine and
Speaker 3: I'll read your texts and I'll also have you on
Speaker 3: if you want to call in and talk about twenty
Speaker 3: twenty five. Or twenty twenty four. Some of the crazy
Speaker 3: things that happened in the last year. Obviously, Donald Trump
Speaker 3: was shot. That was nuts and obviously changed the trajectory
Speaker 3: of the race.
Speaker 2: I believe Biden was out.
Speaker 3: Kamala Is in veniceuilin Gangs, Gabe Evans won, and CD
Speaker 3: eight Hurricane Helene Diddy was arrested. B Nix came in
Speaker 3: to play Dion Sanders got the Buffs a great season.
Speaker 3: This is Heidi Ganal filling in for Dan Kaplis. We'll
Speaker 3: be right back to talk more after the break.