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 --> 00:00:11,919 WBT Radio in Charlotte. 5 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:14,039 Speaker 1: And if you want exclusive. 6 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:16,800 Speaker 2: Content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my 7 00:00:16,879 --> 00:00:19,239 daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, 8 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,640 go to vpetclendershow dot com. Make sure you hit the 9 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,160 subscribe button. Get every episode for free, write to your 10 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,679 smartphone or tablet, and again, thank you so much for 11 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,320 your support. More than one billion dollars requested now by 12 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:38,600 Governor Josh Stein to immediately send to western North Carolina 13 00:00:39,399 --> 00:00:42,840 to continue the post Helene rebuilding efforts. This came from 14 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:47,560 the governor himself in a press conference yesterday. He urged 15 00:00:47,679 --> 00:00:52,119 state legislative leaders to approve the funds. His predecessor, former 16 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:56,039 Governor Roy Cooper, my good friend Ray, had asked, by 17 00:00:56,079 --> 00:00:59,479 the way, I always have to I have to tell 18 00:00:59,479 --> 00:01:02,359 people like I call him that, because that's what Hillary 19 00:01:02,359 --> 00:01:06,000 Clinton and Kamala Harris called him on two different occasions. 20 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:10,200 So they both referred to him as Ray, my good friend, 21 00:01:10,239 --> 00:01:13,400 Ray Cooper, and so they must know him better, and 22 00:01:13,439 --> 00:01:17,599 that's what he goes by among his good friends. So anyway, 23 00:01:18,439 --> 00:01:22,640 Cooper had asked the legislature for four billion dollars, so 24 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,439 Stein is only asking for one billion dollars. So obviously 25 00:01:26,599 --> 00:01:31,719 Josh Stein hates western North Carolina, right, I mean, well, 26 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:35,159 I mean that's that would be the conclusion I would 27 00:01:35,239 --> 00:01:40,599 be led to draw if a Republican came in. Isn't 28 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,280 he cutting? Isn't that how gov CO does its accounting. 29 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:47,120 You ask for four but then you get a billion, 30 00:01:47,159 --> 00:01:50,239 you get one, and then you say you had a 31 00:01:50,239 --> 00:01:51,480 three billion dollar cut. 32 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: Isn't that how that messaging is supposed to work? Guys? 33 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:57,239 I just need an update on the rules here. 34 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 2: Okay, So the legislature, this is by the way, from 35 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:06,599 Will Duran at WRAL and see if you can detect 36 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:11,319 a little bit of bias in the framing of the story. 37 00:02:11,599 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: Okay. 38 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 2: The legislature never appeared to pay much heed to Cooper's request, 39 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,759 instead passing a law in late twenty twenty four that 40 00:02:21,879 --> 00:02:26,280 diverted billions of dollars more into private school tuition vouchers 41 00:02:26,319 --> 00:02:32,400 over the next several years. This is yeah, this is 42 00:02:32,719 --> 00:02:36,719 the Democrat party talking point. This is what Democrats accused 43 00:02:36,719 --> 00:02:39,680 the Republicans of doing, of not caring and not funding 44 00:02:39,759 --> 00:02:42,439 and all this just ignore the fact that the Republican 45 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,800 legislature did in fact earmark like a billion dollars before 46 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:51,719 this additional funding was passed, and they said we'll be 47 00:02:51,759 --> 00:02:55,560 coming back in the next legislative session and doing more funding. 48 00:02:57,039 --> 00:03:00,759 Speaker 1: Cooper and Stein are Democrats. The legislatures led by Republicans. 49 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,520 Speaker 2: So far, the legislature has set aside roughly a billion 50 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,240 dollars on Helene relief, not all of which has been 51 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:13,360 spent yet. Why why is that? Will we get an 52 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,599 answer in this wilpiece. I don't know, let's keep reading. 53 00:03:17,479 --> 00:03:20,560 Helene did an estimated sixty billion dollars in damage to 54 00:03:20,599 --> 00:03:23,080 Western North Carolina, although I see another report saying it's 55 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:27,759 eighty billion, double the state government's entire annual budget. The 56 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,039 state's annual budget is like thirty four billion, and they're 57 00:03:31,039 --> 00:03:33,719 saying the damage from Helene was sixty billion. So if 58 00:03:33,759 --> 00:03:36,919 you took all the money that the state collects and 59 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:42,439 gave it all to Western North Carolina, it still would 60 00:03:42,479 --> 00:03:47,800 take two years to fund all the recovery, and everything 61 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:50,360 else in the state would not be funded. No employee 62 00:03:50,439 --> 00:03:54,879 salaries right, no teacher salaries, no law enforcement jails, like 63 00:03:55,000 --> 00:04:01,800 everything everything would would be defunded colleges, all of it Medicaid. 64 00:04:02,599 --> 00:04:07,280 No Democrats really love the Medicaid. So North Carolina leaders 65 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:10,840 are hoping for twenty billion or more from FEMA. By 66 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:13,000 the way, there's no mention in the article about Donald 67 00:04:13,039 --> 00:04:16,120 Trump's promise that western North Carolina will get what it needs. 68 00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:18,439 And he put Michael Wattley along with a bunch of 69 00:04:18,439 --> 00:04:25,199 other leaders, congressional leaders like Chuck Edwards and Virginia Fox. 70 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:29,439 He put them all in charge or on a committee 71 00:04:29,879 --> 00:04:34,720 that would be you know, identifying costs and making proposals 72 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,360 on you know, getting the money out the door and 73 00:04:37,399 --> 00:04:39,639 all of that to lead the recovery effort at the 74 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:42,160 federal level to help shepherd some of this stuff through 75 00:04:42,519 --> 00:04:45,920 that He doesn't mention any of that here. But state 76 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,759 leaders are hoping to get money from FEMA and other 77 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:52,120 federal agencies. But the bigger question for state leaders is 78 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:56,680 how much to spend on top of the federal aid. Right, Well, 79 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:59,399 we don't know what the Feds are going to spend, 80 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:05,279 and it's not he says. The bigger question is how 81 00:05:05,399 --> 00:05:09,759 much to spend. Actually, that's one of the questions. There 82 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:14,079 are other questions like when to spend it and on 83 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:18,279 what Those are very important parts of this puzzle, because 84 00:05:18,879 --> 00:05:24,920 you don't maximize the federal funding if you cover certain 85 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:30,319 costs and needs early on with state funds. If you 86 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:32,399 take a bunch of state money and throw it at 87 00:05:32,519 --> 00:05:35,399 some you know, throw it at a project and that 88 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:39,920 project would have qualified and received funding from the Feds. 89 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:42,519 They see that you've spent the money and they may 90 00:05:42,519 --> 00:05:43,959 turn around and say, well, we're not going to give 91 00:05:43,959 --> 00:05:45,639 it to you because you already spent it. 92 00:05:46,079 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 1: Right. 93 00:05:46,319 --> 00:05:50,160 Speaker 2: So there there's this dance that has to occur where 94 00:05:50,199 --> 00:05:53,600 the state is trying to kind of game the system 95 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:56,199 and the Feds are trying to gain the system, and 96 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:59,639 the people who suffer are the people of western North Carolina, right, 97 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:01,800 because you have to do this dance. What are you 98 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:03,480 going to fund? How much are you going to fund 99 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:05,680 and where's it going to go? And what's the timing? 100 00:06:05,759 --> 00:06:07,319 And oh, you already spend money on that, so we 101 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:11,199 don't have to you know that kind of game. Legislative 102 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,240 leaders have appeared to prefer a strategy of waiting to 103 00:06:14,319 --> 00:06:17,079 what the h to see what the federal government will 104 00:06:17,079 --> 00:06:21,560 do before committing more state resources. That will it's not 105 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:23,879 that they appear to prefer that strategy. They have said 106 00:06:23,879 --> 00:06:28,360 that because that's the way these things unfold, that's the 107 00:06:28,399 --> 00:06:31,560 system as it exists. That could allow the state to 108 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:36,800 focus on complementing federal relief efforts and devoiding duplication, but 109 00:06:36,879 --> 00:06:41,439 it might also necessitate waiting longer. Stein, however, said, there 110 00:06:41,519 --> 00:06:44,399 are urgent rebuilding needs in western North Carolina that need 111 00:06:44,439 --> 00:06:47,360 to be addressed immediately and specifically by the state government, 112 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,040 which can move more quickly than the federal government. WHOA, 113 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:53,519 WHOA wait what the state can move more quickly than 114 00:06:53,519 --> 00:06:56,560 the federal government on this stuff? What are you some 115 00:06:56,639 --> 00:06:57,759 sort of maga now? 116 00:06:58,040 --> 00:06:58,920 Speaker 1: Josh Stein. 117 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:05,480 Speaker 2: Also, I do question whether that's even true, because not 118 00:07:05,639 --> 00:07:10,279 mentioned is ENCORE North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. 119 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:13,319 This is the office that Roy Cooper created in order 120 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:18,519 to respond and I use that term lightly to the 121 00:07:18,639 --> 00:07:22,319 hurricanes down east, Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence that hit 122 00:07:22,839 --> 00:07:26,879 eight and six years ago, respectively, and there are still 123 00:07:26,879 --> 00:07:31,959 almost a thousand people without homes from those storms. Because 124 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:36,879 ENCORE has been a failure and they just keep coming 125 00:07:36,959 --> 00:07:39,480 back asking for more and more and more money. They 126 00:07:39,519 --> 00:07:43,079 just had legislative hearings last week about this, and now 127 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:45,759 the legislature is like, we're not going to keep funding 128 00:07:45,839 --> 00:07:47,839 you because all you do is come back and ask 129 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:51,360 us for more money. And you don't even know when 130 00:07:51,399 --> 00:07:53,079 these people are going to be back in homes. 131 00:07:53,639 --> 00:07:53,839 Speaker 1: Right. 132 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:56,560 Speaker 2: You remember what the former head before she was either 133 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:02,360 pushed or jumped out of her position, Laura Hoggshead said that, oh, 134 00:08:02,399 --> 00:08:05,639 we lost track of the accounting. That's what their excuse was. 135 00:08:06,319 --> 00:08:09,319 We lost track of their accounting. But just give us 136 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:11,800 another quarter of a billion dollars and we'll totally get 137 00:08:11,839 --> 00:08:18,040 it right now. So bad is Encore that Josh Stein 138 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:22,720 has set up a separate agency, a different entity called 139 00:08:22,879 --> 00:08:29,639 grow and See Governor's Recovery Office for Western North Carolina 140 00:08:29,759 --> 00:08:33,080 or something like that, grow en See. And so now 141 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:37,200 we've got another state department or state agency, this one 142 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,159 also under the control of a governor, but it's a 143 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:42,360 new governor, so this time it's going to be totally different, 144 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:46,039 I guess. And he wants all the money to flow 145 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:48,440 into that agency, and he's like, we need a billion dollars, 146 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:51,159 we need it right now, give it to us right now. 147 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,159 One hundred and fifty million for rebuilding homes, one hundred 148 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:56,840 and fifty million for business grants. One hundred million to 149 00:08:56,919 --> 00:08:59,080 local city and county governments that are running out of 150 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,519 money after the storm. That'll help keep first responders paid 151 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:06,320 and the schools open. One hundred million for local farmers 152 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,759 to clear their fields of debris, make repairs and protect 153 00:09:09,799 --> 00:09:13,759 against future flooding. Seventy five million to repair or rebuild 154 00:09:13,759 --> 00:09:17,080 private roads and bridges in addition to state owned infrastructure. 155 00:09:17,519 --> 00:09:21,720 Thirty million to rebuild downtown areas and business districts. Twenty 156 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:25,000 five million for local residents for mortgage and rent assistance, 157 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:31,919 twenty million for local food banks. That's what his ask 158 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:33,440 is for. That's a billion dollars. 159 00:09:34,799 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 1: Now. 160 00:09:35,039 --> 00:09:37,919 Speaker 2: At the very end of this story, a WIO it 161 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,759 talks about that Helene relief bill that the legislature did 162 00:09:41,799 --> 00:09:45,200 pass last or two months ago now, and that law 163 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,159 did in fact contain more than two hundred and seventy 164 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:51,639 million dollars for Helene relief, but almost all of the 165 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:54,440 money is being held in reserve and not yet allowed 166 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,120 to be spent. Lawmakers wrote that the money could not 167 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:00,279 be touched until they take another vote to RelA lease 168 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:04,480 the funds by the way. The reports out of Raleigh 169 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:09,200 today a little while ago, Brian Anderson reporting that it 170 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:13,039 looks like lawmakers will be setting aside five hundred million 171 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,159 for Hurricane Helene relief. The measure is expected to be 172 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:21,480 heard in committee tomorrow at two o'clock. So the legislature 173 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:24,240 is doing this, but you cannot blame the legislature for 174 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:28,360 being a little wary of pouring hundreds of millions of 175 00:10:28,399 --> 00:10:33,279 dollars into a state recovery agency, considering the track record. 176 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:35,480 All right, if you're listening to this show, you know 177 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:37,559 I try to keep up with all sorts of current events, 178 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:39,639 and I know you do too, And you've probably heard 179 00:10:39,679 --> 00:10:43,720 me say get your news from multiple sources. Why Well, 180 00:10:43,759 --> 00:10:46,480 because it's how you detect media bias, which is why 181 00:10:46,519 --> 00:10:49,720 I've been so impressed with ground News. It's an app 182 00:10:49,919 --> 00:10:53,120 and it's a website and it combines news from around 183 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:55,559 the world in one place so you can compare coverage 184 00:10:55,799 --> 00:10:58,519 and verify information. You can check it out at check 185 00:10:58,759 --> 00:11:03,000 dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put the link 186 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,120 in the podcast description too. I started using ground News 187 00:11:06,159 --> 00:11:08,879 a few months ago, and more recently chose to work 188 00:11:08,879 --> 00:11:10,919 with them as an affiliate because it lets me see 189 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:14,799 clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The blind 190 00:11:14,799 --> 00:11:17,600 spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the 191 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:21,399 left and the right. See for yourself. Check dot Ground, 192 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:25,279 dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll 193 00:11:25,279 --> 00:11:28,480 get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use the Vantage 194 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,960 plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription 195 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:34,759 then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports 196 00:11:34,799 --> 00:11:38,080 Ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. 197 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:41,519 All right, So, Governor Josh Stein also announced a thirty 198 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:45,080 million dollar public private partnership cooh I love those to 199 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:51,320 fund grants for small businesses in Western North Carolina. Small 200 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:54,559 businesses with an annual revenue of up to and including 201 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,320 two and a half million dollars. Okay, so, small businesses 202 00:11:57,799 --> 00:12:01,279 annual revenue up to two and a half million are 203 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:07,039 eligible to apply for grants up to fifty thousand dollars. 204 00:12:07,039 --> 00:12:12,679 It was just fifty thousands, okay, all right, So okay, 205 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:18,320 you can get a grant for fifty k from the 206 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:22,320 Western North Carolina Small Business Initiative Grant Program. It will 207 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:25,679 also provide three million dollars in funding to Baptists on 208 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:30,360 Mission and Habitat for Humanity, two nonprofit organizations heavily involved 209 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:39,279 in helping individual homeowners rebuild. Apparently the public private partnership 210 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:46,399 is Dogwood Health Trust. This according to Wrel Dogwood Health 211 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:50,519 Trust is the that is the entity that was created 212 00:12:50,919 --> 00:12:56,720 when HCA, if I recall correctly, purchased the Mission Hospital 213 00:12:56,759 --> 00:13:01,120 System out West and in order to get approval from 214 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:04,879 the Attorney General, who was at that time Josh Stein, 215 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:09,080 they had to create that trust fund or that trust 216 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,879 and HCA, which is the private hospital operator that was 217 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:19,120 buying the public hospital system, the Mission System, they had 218 00:13:19,159 --> 00:13:21,480 to pour I forget what the number was. I think 219 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:23,879 it was like half a billion dollars or something into 220 00:13:23,919 --> 00:13:32,080 this trust, which would then spend money on health initiatives. 221 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:35,399 I have not gone back to look and see, but 222 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:39,000 if it's anything like we've seen out of the USAID program, 223 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,240 I got a pretty good idea of what they. 224 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:42,399 Speaker 1: Were using the money for. 225 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:44,960 Speaker 2: And by the way, this is a common thing that 226 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:49,039 Roy Cooper began doing. Mike Easily I think was the 227 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,080 first one to start it with the Golden Leaf Fund. 228 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:56,840 With the tobacco money settlement that came when the state 229 00:13:56,960 --> 00:13:59,519 joined the lawsuit against the tobacco companies. They got a 230 00:13:59,519 --> 00:14:01,840 bunch of money that was in the Golden Leaf Fund, 231 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:02,960 and it was. 232 00:14:02,919 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 1: At the discretion. 233 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:10,559 Speaker 2: The spending was at the discretion of whoever got put 234 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:14,279 you onto this oversight body, which if I recall correctly, 235 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:18,720 was like Mike Easley, the attorney general or maybe the 236 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,320 governor or something at the time. And so then Roy 237 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:24,840 Cooper did something similar, Josh Stein did something similar. So 238 00:14:24,919 --> 00:14:29,960 this is a familiar model to state democrats. In these offices, 239 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:33,120 they sue, they get massive settlements, they put them into 240 00:14:33,159 --> 00:14:37,080 these little trusts or whatever, and then they dole out 241 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:43,600 the money to yeah, people and organizations that are doing 242 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:46,399 good work, and they all happened to be of the left. 243 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:51,039 I'm sure it is completely coincidental, but that's the dog 244 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:53,759 would trust. So they're they're going to be administering the 245 00:14:53,919 --> 00:14:57,120 public private partnership the private side of it, I guess. 246 00:14:58,200 --> 00:14:59,879 So if you are a small business and you don't 247 00:14:59,879 --> 00:15:01,600 have revenue more than two and a half million dollars, 248 00:15:01,639 --> 00:15:05,559 you can get a grant from this PPP public private 249 00:15:05,559 --> 00:15:08,720 partnership up to fifty thousand dollars. 250 00:15:09,279 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 1: So good luck to you. 251 00:15:11,039 --> 00:15:13,720 Speaker 2: Here's a great idea. How about making an escape to 252 00:15:13,759 --> 00:15:17,240 a really special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina, 253 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:19,559 just a quick drive up the mountain and Cabins of 254 00:15:19,559 --> 00:15:23,919 Ashville is your connection. 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Mark Robinson dropped his lawsuit against CNN 274 00:16:30,159 --> 00:16:34,679 and potentially calling it quits on his political career. Not 275 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:39,360 sure we'll see it's a stunning reversal, says w r 276 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:42,120 Al for a man once seen as a rising star 277 00:16:42,279 --> 00:16:46,279 in national conservative politics. I don't know if that's the 278 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:50,759 stunning reversal. I think people were pretty stunned when the 279 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:56,799 September surprise came out about all of the uh, you know, 280 00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:59,919 the porn related stuff. I think that was the thing, 281 00:17:00,759 --> 00:17:03,200 and I feel the need to point this out once again. 282 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:06,880 It's not that the left cares about that stuff. It's 283 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:09,279 that they know the right does, and so that's why 284 00:17:09,319 --> 00:17:11,799 they made such a big deal about it, because they 285 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:14,440 wanted to make sure you knew about it so you 286 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:16,519 would not vote for Mark Robinson. 287 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:17,519 Speaker 1: And it worked. 288 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,680 Speaker 2: I mean, the you know Robinson was he was trailing 289 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:27,000 in the polls before the before the pieces came out. 290 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,039 You know, first there was the story about the porn 291 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:37,640 shop worker named ed Eddie Money I think Edward Money, 292 00:17:37,759 --> 00:17:39,599 I think was his really that was his name. His 293 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:41,759 last name was money, had it legally changed. It wasn't 294 00:17:41,759 --> 00:17:45,400 his given name, but whatever. And he made these claims 295 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:47,720 that he would make all of these, you know, bootleg 296 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:52,160 copies of videos for Robinson and such, and Robinson spent 297 00:17:53,119 --> 00:17:58,240 apparently thousands of dollars. And then he was accused in 298 00:17:58,319 --> 00:18:02,359 the CNN piece of You using an alias. Mini Soldier 299 00:18:02,559 --> 00:18:05,799 was the name, which I think it has now been 300 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:09,960 confirmed pretty well that that was in fact, he uses 301 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:14,759 that handle. He signed into like right before. I think 302 00:18:14,799 --> 00:18:18,039 it was like the last maybe a board of ed 303 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:20,559 meeting or something, but it was a you know, a 304 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,400 zoom call or a teams meeting or something, and he joined, 305 00:18:24,559 --> 00:18:28,160 and he joined using that name. So I think it's 306 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:30,920 pretty clear that he did use the name now whether 307 00:18:31,039 --> 00:18:33,480 or not somebody and we went over all of this 308 00:18:33,599 --> 00:18:36,839 at the time, we had a lot of questions and 309 00:18:38,039 --> 00:18:40,000 him dropping this lawsuit, which. 310 00:18:40,039 --> 00:18:42,119 Speaker 1: He was slow to move on. 311 00:18:42,599 --> 00:18:46,519 Speaker 2: He was slow to respond with, you know, a defamation 312 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:48,839 suit and to produce any kind of evidence that it 313 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:51,680 wasn't him. And he also then told his staff like 314 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:53,400 we're not going to go if he first told him, like, 315 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:57,559 we're not going to to dignify this stuff, We're just 316 00:18:57,599 --> 00:18:59,440 going to focus on the race and all of this, 317 00:18:59,519 --> 00:19:03,720 and his whole staff quit, remember, which is like, to me, 318 00:19:04,079 --> 00:19:07,519 that's an indication that they did not have confidence that 319 00:19:07,559 --> 00:19:10,279 he was telling the truth about all of that. They 320 00:19:10,319 --> 00:19:16,319 never did bring out his sister in law, who, like, 321 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:22,240 according to those graphic posts on that Nude Africa website, 322 00:19:22,039 --> 00:19:27,119 he had been sleeping with, he had been having affairs with, 323 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,160 and so they never brought her out to rebut any 324 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:32,799 of the claims, I don't know why. I'm just just 325 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:37,599 noting they never did, and that I think conveys a 326 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:42,599 weakness in your response. So he did finally get around 327 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:47,400 to filing a lawsuit against CNN, defamation lawsuit, but he 328 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,720 has now dropped that the former North Carolina lieutenant governor 329 00:19:50,759 --> 00:19:54,599 and Republican gubernatorial candidate had sued the network for defamation 330 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:58,519 over its reporting. Late in twenty twenty four, right before 331 00:19:58,559 --> 00:20:02,119 the election, that Robinson allegedly wrote racist comments on a 332 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:07,119 pornographic website. This was the quote black Nazi, which when 333 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:11,240 I read that post, I could see that being a 334 00:20:11,279 --> 00:20:15,000 troll job. Like if he wrote that I could see 335 00:20:15,079 --> 00:20:18,000 him saying that because it was in a thread talking 336 00:20:18,039 --> 00:20:21,759 about Republicans or Nazis, and you know, all of these 337 00:20:21,799 --> 00:20:25,319 people we hate are Nazis and all that, and and 338 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:26,960 so he's like, well, I'm a black Nazi. 339 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:28,200 Speaker 1: Then I could see that. 340 00:20:28,559 --> 00:20:31,079 Speaker 2: But he never offered any kind of explanation because he 341 00:20:31,119 --> 00:20:35,519 said it wasn't him. So on Friday, Robinson dismissed his 342 00:20:35,599 --> 00:20:38,119 lawsuit and said in a written statement that it would 343 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:43,240 be futile to continue pursuing the allegation, but he said 344 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:45,119 he was pleased at the work until now by his 345 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:47,640 legal team has uncovered enough evidence to give his family 346 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:50,880 tremendous closure and peace, but he won't share that with us. 347 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:53,839 I guess so it just gives his family some closure 348 00:20:53,839 --> 00:20:54,160 in peace. 349 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:55,200 Speaker 1: And by the way, I'm out. 350 00:20:56,319 --> 00:20:59,799 Speaker 2: In the twenty twenty six midterms, Tom Tillis is up 351 00:20:59,799 --> 00:21:03,480 for re election, and according to this piece at WRAL 352 00:21:03,599 --> 00:21:08,000 again Robinson could. A lot of people were hoping that 353 00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:12,880 Robinson would challenge Tillis in the Republican primary, but Robinson 354 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,079 said that he would not run for Senate or any 355 00:21:15,079 --> 00:21:17,559 other office in twenty twenty six, and he may never 356 00:21:17,759 --> 00:21:20,559 run for office again. He said, quote, while it has 357 00:21:20,599 --> 00:21:22,519 been the honor of a lifetime to serve the people 358 00:21:22,519 --> 00:21:26,519 of North Carolina, the continued political persecution of my family 359 00:21:26,559 --> 00:21:29,240 and loved ones is a cost I am unwilling to 360 00:21:29,279 --> 00:21:31,960 continue to bear. I will not run next year, nor 361 00:21:32,039 --> 00:21:34,559 do I have plans to seek collected office in the future. 362 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:37,200 Speaker 1: Okay, so that door is still open just a little bit. 363 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:41,400 Speaker 2: But I do get this if we assume that these 364 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:45,359 were lies and Robinson is telling you the truth, like, 365 00:21:46,039 --> 00:21:50,440 this is a devastating thing to do to somebody who 366 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:52,559 is innocent. And that is one of the things that 367 00:21:52,559 --> 00:21:55,640 you're always supposed to ask yourself as a journalist. You're 368 00:21:55,640 --> 00:22:00,440 supposed to ask, like, what is the implication of this story? 369 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,200 When you are chasing a story, you are supposed to 370 00:22:03,319 --> 00:22:07,759 think who can be harmed? So you think through the 371 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:13,759 ramifications and you weigh that, and every story's different. The 372 00:22:13,799 --> 00:22:16,480 state's first black lieutenant governor and the only black Republican 373 00:22:16,559 --> 00:22:20,000 to hold any major political position in North Carolina since reconstruction, 374 00:22:20,359 --> 00:22:23,279 Robinson was scraping by in blue collar jobs before he 375 00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:26,599 rose to political fame after video of an impassioned gun 376 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,000 right speech that he gave at a Greensboro City Council 377 00:22:29,039 --> 00:22:32,960 meeting in twenty eighteen went viral online and the base 378 00:22:33,039 --> 00:22:37,839 loved him. Absolutely. He's a heck of a speaker, and 379 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:39,640 maybe that's what he's going to go off and do, 380 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:44,400 and he's gonna he has talked about that, like he 381 00:22:44,519 --> 00:22:48,519 is at home preaching in a pulpit, and so maybe 382 00:22:48,519 --> 00:22:52,720 that's maybe that's where his journey takes him next. 383 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 1: I don't know. 384 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:56,920 Speaker 2: All right, I hope you had a happy holiday season. 385 00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:59,480 But tell me if something like this happened at your house. 386 00:23:00,039 --> 00:23:02,480 Family and friends are gathered around, Maybe y'all are in 387 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:06,119 the living room, you're laughing, swapping stories, reminiscing, and then 388 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:10,119 somebody says, hey, Dad, remember those old VHS tapes? Did 389 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:12,759 you ever get them transferred? And then the room gets 390 00:23:12,799 --> 00:23:16,319 all quiet. All eyes are on Dad, who says, oh, 391 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:18,440 you know, well, I've been meaning to but I just 392 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,440 having gotten around to it. Look, don't let those priceless 393 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,400 memories sit in a box for another year, all right. 394 00:23:24,519 --> 00:23:27,359 Create a video has been helping families in the Charlotte 395 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:31,200 area preserve their history since nineteen ninety seven. Simply bring 396 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:34,680 in your old camquarder tapes and creative video will transfer 397 00:23:34,799 --> 00:23:37,880 them to a USB flash drive for just fourteen ninety 398 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:40,240 five per tape. You have a big collection, they've got 399 00:23:40,279 --> 00:23:43,400 a discount for you. And next year, instead of talking 400 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:48,240 about those memories, imagine gathering the family to watch them together. 401 00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:51,119 Talk about a memorable gift. So do what I did. 402 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:55,000 Trust the experts at Creative Video, conveniently located in mint 403 00:23:55,039 --> 00:23:57,880 Hill right off I four eighty five and online at 404 00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:03,720 create avideo dot com. All right about Tillis, people were 405 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:07,200 hoping that maybe Mark Robinson could run against Tom Tillis. 406 00:24:07,319 --> 00:24:09,920 He says, Robinson says he has no plans to do so. 407 00:24:10,359 --> 00:24:13,000 Last hour we talked a little bit about Roy Cooper, 408 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:17,720 who seriously is considering a run against Tillis for that 409 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,839 US Senate seat, which is a shock to basically nobody. 410 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:25,680 Speaker 1: Russ says, the problem with uh oh. 411 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:27,920 Speaker 2: And then there was a recommendation from Andrew Dunn saying 412 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:31,240 Tillis needs to do some of these different types of 413 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:35,000 outreach efforts and the like, and he needs to start now. 414 00:24:35,279 --> 00:24:37,960 He can't just keep running his campaign the way he 415 00:24:38,039 --> 00:24:42,559 did before. And so one of those was one of 416 00:24:42,559 --> 00:24:48,079 those recommendations was for direct outreach, and Russ says that 417 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,359 the problem with the direct outreach idea. 418 00:24:51,279 --> 00:24:52,000 Speaker 1: Is that telling. 419 00:24:52,079 --> 00:24:54,960 Speaker 2: If Tillis is telling voters what he's actually doing day 420 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,440 to day, that'll probably anger a lot of his constituents, 421 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:04,240 thing like trying to torpedo hegseth. He follows the Lindsey 422 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:08,039 Graham model of campaigning to the right, but votes and 423 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:13,960 actions that are almost always center or left. Good Wahoo 424 00:25:14,079 --> 00:25:17,599 says Tillis is the quintessential example of a politician that 425 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:20,440 goes to d C and the swamp and either gets 426 00:25:20,559 --> 00:25:24,279 enamored or captured by the swamp and begins to take 427 00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:27,960 votes that make absolutely no sense, no sense based on 428 00:25:28,039 --> 00:25:32,319 their local state voting history or how they have presented 429 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:37,079 themselves as conservatives to their local constituency. Tillis, in my opinion, 430 00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:39,559 has been captured by the swamp, as he has proven 431 00:25:39,599 --> 00:25:41,880 time and again that he votes for the swamp when 432 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:44,359 it counts. The people of North Carolina that sent him 433 00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:46,920 to d C have deserved so much better, and he shouldn't. 434 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:51,160 He should never be re elected to any office. So 435 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:54,319 this is going to be Tillis's challenge. He's got a 436 00:25:54,400 --> 00:26:00,200 Republican challenger already. Although I've heard speculation also that that 437 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:04,720 guy is set up by the quote unquote establishment in 438 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:09,440 order to be a stalking horse for any kind of 439 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:13,279 a MAGA challenge. So I forget the guy's name, and 440 00:26:13,319 --> 00:26:15,000 I don't know that to be true. Just to be clear, 441 00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:17,200 I'm just telling you, like, that's the rumor I have heard, 442 00:26:17,279 --> 00:26:19,759 is that this guy is already in so this way 443 00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:23,279 it will help to fracture and splinter any kind of 444 00:26:23,279 --> 00:26:27,440 opposition in the GOP primary against Tillis. Right, if you 445 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:32,559 get three or four different MAGA kind of candidates, then 446 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:35,359 they end up, you know, splitting the vote, and Tillis 447 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:38,079 gets pasted the and. 448 00:26:38,039 --> 00:26:39,279 Speaker 1: Then he becomes the nominee. 449 00:26:39,319 --> 00:26:41,559 Speaker 2: So I don't know, but he's got a clear I 450 00:26:41,599 --> 00:26:45,000 think it's forty percent, or did they lower that to 451 00:26:45,119 --> 00:26:50,799 thirty I forget. It may now be thirty percent to 452 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:55,799 avoid a runoff. So there's that all right. Back to 453 00:26:56,400 --> 00:27:02,480 Mark Robinson, he announced he's dropping his his lawsuit against CNN, 454 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:08,799 and according to WRAL, new campaign finance records made public 455 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:14,240 show that Robinson's once formidable political fundraising ability withered in 456 00:27:14,319 --> 00:27:15,839 the wake of the CNN report. 457 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:19,839 Speaker 1: Really, of course, it did in the crucial. 458 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:21,680 Speaker 2: Final stretch of twenty twenty four, which, by the way, 459 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:25,960 that is why those pieces drop like they're timed to 460 00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:31,559 drop before the election in order to starve campaigns, because 461 00:27:31,559 --> 00:27:36,160 it freezes everybody. And because Robinson's reaction was what it was, 462 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:41,079 it never the freeze never stopped. 463 00:27:42,079 --> 00:27:42,440 Speaker 1: And so. 464 00:27:44,319 --> 00:27:47,160 Speaker 2: The fourth quarter he raised just one hundred and fifty 465 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:51,200 nine thousand dollars while Stein pulled in six point five million. 466 00:27:52,319 --> 00:27:55,920 Robinson also faced more than one hundred demands for refunds, 467 00:27:55,920 --> 00:28:00,799 totaling just under twenty thousand dollars, people that had given 468 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:03,279 him money but then wanted it back at the same 469 00:28:03,319 --> 00:28:07,759 time as his campaign began canceling appearances at parades and 470 00:28:07,839 --> 00:28:10,839 festivals all over the state. The campaign was able to 471 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:13,839 claw back about thirteen hundred dollars in refunds for itself 472 00:28:14,079 --> 00:28:16,279 when it came to spending donors money. The new fourth 473 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:21,559 quarter records also show Robinson's campaign focus shifted from buying 474 00:28:21,599 --> 00:28:26,279 ads to hiring lawyers, right, and that's sort of the 475 00:28:26,319 --> 00:28:32,519 one two punch, and I would point out, and I 476 00:28:32,559 --> 00:28:36,240 said this at the time, this is the challenge of 477 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:42,440 you know, of elevating a candidate that does a viral video, 478 00:28:43,279 --> 00:28:46,119 gives great speeches, but you don't really know anything about 479 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:49,440 their past. And you know, people say, oh, he's an outsider, 480 00:28:49,519 --> 00:28:52,559 he's a reformer, he's this and that, whatever the but 481 00:28:52,599 --> 00:28:56,200 the problem is you don't know his past, and that 482 00:28:56,319 --> 00:29:00,920 stuff finds its way out, and I mean, we're he's 483 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,039 not a democrat here. People like you knew that stuff 484 00:29:03,119 --> 00:29:06,720 was going to come out, and we kept hearing rumors, 485 00:29:06,759 --> 00:29:08,880 Oh there's much worse. There's much worse it's gonna come out. 486 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:12,279 Yet they never pushed the stuff out. They never like, 487 00:29:12,359 --> 00:29:15,279 there was never a kind of rumor campaign. People never 488 00:29:15,799 --> 00:29:17,880 released the stuff that they had. All we ever heard 489 00:29:18,319 --> 00:29:21,440 inside Republican circles was oh, there's worse coming out. That 490 00:29:21,599 --> 00:29:24,279 was it, and that wasn't helpful. Lead it all right, 491 00:29:24,319 --> 00:29:26,680 that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much 492 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:28,759 for listening. I could not do the show without your 493 00:29:28,799 --> 00:29:31,559 support and the support of the businesses that advertise on 494 00:29:31,599 --> 00:29:34,359 the podcast, So if you'd like, please support them too 495 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:36,079 and tell them you heard it here. You can also 496 00:29:36,119 --> 00:29:38,720 become a patron at my Patreon page or go to 497 00:29:38,839 --> 00:29:42,559 thepetecallanershow dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening, 498 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:49,720 and don't break anything while I'm gone.