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Hello everybody and welcome to the second episode of the Left of Old North podcast.

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My name is Adrian and my co-host, DJ.

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And today, just got a couple things to talk about right off the top.

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Last time, audio was pretty terrible.

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We just had to get up and go and start the podcast.

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There's a technical issue, it is what it is.

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And I have to make a preemptive apology today because I am sick as a dog.

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But hey, it wouldn't be the holidays if I didn't end up feeling like crap one way or

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another.

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But Merry Christmas to everybody who celebrates Happy Hanukkah and Happy Holidays to everyone

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considering that it is the end of the year.

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That means that the elections that just took place are now going to have the outcome that

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I guess the voters wanted.

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January 1st, 2025 is when the statewide offices and the House and Senate and the judicial

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positions are going to be sworn in here in North Carolina.

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And we're going to talk about some of those incoming people because there's some new

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faces, there's some familiar faces, but in different positions.

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And there's definitely some unwanted changes, but also some welcome ones.

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So let's just get into it.

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CJ wanted to ask you right at the top, who were you most excited to see on the ticket

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and now coming into office this year?

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So maybe I'm a little bit biased about this one.

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But one I'm really excited about is Rodney Pierce up in North Carolina House District

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27.

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So Warren, North Hampton, Halifax County.

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And like I said, I'm a little bit biased, but that's because I was his campaign manager

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earlier this year.

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So, you know, but yeah, yeah.

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I would talk about that because like there, that was one of the ones that was one of these

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primary elections that was hugely influential in how the state, like how the Democratic

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Party makeup is going to be.

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Oh yeah.

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So a little bit of context like Adrian just said, this was the primary race.

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So he was going up against a guy by the name of Michael Ray, who had been in there for

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20 years at this point, Democrat, but voted with Republicans.

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Even on the term, it was usually between about 85, sometimes 95% of the time.

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So very much those Democrat name only kind of vibes.

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And it was important to get him out.

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And you know, we kind of talked a little bit about Cecil Brockman and how he had a primary

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challenge.

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This was a very similar type of situation.

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And so we managed to pull off a little bit of a miracle there and we won.

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And because Republicans knew they could count on a great vote a lot of the time or they

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didn't put up a general election opponent.

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So once we won the primary, that was it.

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You know, Ronnie was going to the state house.

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Yeah.

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Do you think that it, even if they had put up a general election opponent, do you think

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he, that they would have won?

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I don't think so.

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I think it would have been a lot tougher or I think it would have been a tough race for

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the Republican just because of the Democratic makeup of the area.

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But yeah.

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And to be clear, to be clear to anybody listening, this house district is a pretty safe Democratic

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area.

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But again, this is also in Eastern North Carolina.

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So it's a little different.

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Exactly.

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And when I said I still, I think it just says a lot in general though that they weren't

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even going to bother putting up a Republican camp.

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Yeah.

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And it's pretty, it's pretty nice to see.

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Like what was the margin of, what was the margin of your victory?

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Oh, let me, let me just look it up right here because I cannot remember the exact number,

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but it was very, very close.

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Yeah.

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It was like skin of your teeth kind of win.

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Like, yeah.

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Where is it?

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Let's see.

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I'm on the board of the lessons website.

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Oddly enough, kind of like Seussel Brockman.

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Yeah.

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We, we won ultimately by 34 votes.

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Yeah.

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That was 0.28%.

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And there's, there's how many precincts in that in that district?

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46.

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Okay.

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So literally less, it was the difference of less than one person per precinct.

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Yeah.

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That's incredible.

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Yeah.

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I, that night we had gone to a watch party and I, you know, everyone's having a good

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time, having stuff on the back for the work that they were doing.

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Does that really so?

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Sure.

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And I'm just that weird guy over there in the corner on the laptop just refreshing

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just like every five seconds.

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Something new would pop up.

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Obsessing over all the little maps, all the little precincts, all that stuff, just hoping

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that we could, you know.

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Yeah.

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You're huddled over in the corner with your laptop, just hitting F5 over and over and

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over again.

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Exactly.

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And I, I do not remember what time the results came in.

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It may have been like 10, 11 ish.

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Yeah.

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I remember the final time I pressed that refresh button and saw, you know, all the precincts

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reported and I saw that we were ahead.

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Well, I tell you that room absolutely erupted.

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I think like me and Rodney, we were like jumping up and down and everything just celebrating.

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I like it, it felt like, you know, it felt like something you'd see in a movie or like,

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you know, an episode of the West Wing or something.

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And that, that, the joy that filled that room was incredible.

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Yeah.

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Aaron Sorkin, eat your heart out.

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This is the real world.

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And what's funny about that and about many of these other races that we're going to

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talk about today is that people, like people who are not fully, like, tapped in to the

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political landscape of North Carolina would see that result and just go, oh, okay.

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It's a, it's, it's a, it's still a Democrat.

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It's going to be same old, same old.

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It's like, as we talked about last week, there are always going to be characters in different

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positions of power.

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And this is no different.

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Rodney is a very different, is going to operate very differently from Michael Ray.

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I can just, just in my brief conversation with him during the course of the campaign

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that I ran, I can already tell you that that's going to be the case.

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But if you don't believe me, go and listen to the interview that he did with, I believe

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it was under the dome.

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And that, that's another North Carolina politics podcast that with, it's not WU NC, is it?

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No, News and Observer.

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They have a good podcast.

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Obviously, it's not going to be as good as ours, but because they, they have to skirt

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around a bunch of different issues, but maybe I shouldn't say that.

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But, but, they're good for what they have to do.

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They are.

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I think maybe we should do like a list of, we've already getting a book list started.

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Maybe we just need to like, hey, we'll shout out some of these lesser known podcasts.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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We're giving back to the community anyway.

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So, all right.

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So let's go ahead and start with the lower chamber.

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The House of Representatives, the North Carolina House of Representatives of the General Assembly.

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There were a bunch of Democrats that ran and lost.

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There were a bunch of Republicans that ran and lost, thankfully.

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And some of the retiring incumbents ran for state Senate or treasurer or the U.S. House.

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We're going to bring up some of the more interesting ones, some of the people that are coming in

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that you definitely might still want to pay attention to.

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We already mentioned Michael Ray, who lost in District 27 to Rodney Pierce.

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And then there are two Republicans that lost in their primary elections.

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Kevin Crutchfield lost to Brian Etchivaria.

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I think I'm saying that right in District 82.

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And George Cleveland lost renomination to Wyatt Gable in District 14.

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So you're not going to see those names anymore.

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Probably won't see them ever again, but we'll give them two years to figure it out.

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And as for the retirees, there were a few, of course, that were running instead for like

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state treasurer like Wesley Harris, who ran in District 103.

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Unfortunately, he did not win against Brad Briner.

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And in District 107, Kelly Alexander initially announced his retirement, but then ended up

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dying on September 6th earlier this year.

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And then Bobby Drakeford was nominated to succeed him.

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And this was a long time progressive representative, representative Alexander.

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This was the guy who would push for the legalization of marijuana every single session.

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That was his flagship.

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He was considered a statesman, icon, civil rights leader, and just real, real sad that

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he was gone.

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But I mean, he did the work that he did up until the very end.

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And then Kayla Brutale, who retired to run for US House, did not end up winning that

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election.

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I think it was not very close.

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If I remember correctly, that sounds right.

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That's one 8% to 43.2%.

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Okay.

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So it was not very close.

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And then one that we wanted to talk about a certain retiree that is really just a retiree

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and name only Tim Moore, quote unquote retired from his seat in District 111.

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Tim Moore, again, we mentioned him in the last episode, he was the Speaker of the House

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for the generals or for the North Carolina House of Representatives.

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He retired to run for the US House District 14.

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And if that number sounds familiar to you, it should because that was originally TikTok

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superstar Jeff Jackson's House District.

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This was a little spit of land that Moore and the rest of the legislature cut Jeff

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Jackson out of.

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They sliced and diced it up very nicely so that it would be perfect for Tim Moore to

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run for it in the future.

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And while I cannot substantiate that he himself specifically managed and made that happen,

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it is awfully coincidental that that was that that little seat was just there waiting for

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him.

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And now he's going to the US House.

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Yeah.

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No, rather, it's rather convenient, so let's say it is convenient.

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It's it's it's almost like there was some kind of intervention there to make it happen.

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And of course, we know that there was a bit of a turnaround there, though, with Jeff Jackson,

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he was able to pick himself up by his bootstraps and run for Attorney General instead.

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And one against former US House Representative Dan Bishop, who if you remember his name,

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you should because he was, I wouldn't say solely responsible, but highly influential

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in getting the bathroom ban bill passed here in the state.

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Yeah.

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And this if and regardless of the culture or stuff, this was a bill that caused a massive

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economic struggle in the state.

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So I will say so that was what 25th?

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No, 2016.

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2016.

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Yeah.

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So that was like right when I was starting to get involved with politics and starting

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to pay attention.

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I remember just hearing so much about all these like musicians and different people,

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different things that were refused into coming to North Carolina out of protest because of

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that bill.

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I'm someone to the math.

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Yeah, it was billions of dollars.

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It was an insane amount of money that was lost.

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And that's what I mean, that this this caused in the economic downstream, this was maybe

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not catastrophic, but it was a huge blow to North Carolina, not just on the national scale,

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but economically as well.

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Yeah.

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And let's see.

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So this was an article I'm seeing from March 27 2017, right?

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Mm hmm.

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If we were projected to lose $4 billion.

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Wow.

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Because of that bill.

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$4 billion just to keep keep keep in mind that just this last year, the government, the

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local government touted that we had a surplus of a billion dollars and that was a huge deal.

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So times that by four and then subtract that from any kind of surplus that you would run

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in the government of North Carolina.

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And like this is this is how devastating that that is.

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And also to keep keep all of that in mind, we just got federal approval for $9 billion

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in hurricane relief funds.

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And this is actually something we posted about on Blue Sky.

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Go ahead and follow us on Blue Sky.

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If you haven't already, please do that.

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And also you can follow on our hot takes and posts that I tweet about or excuse me, that

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what what what do you call it on Blue Sky that you post about, I guess?

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I'm just calling it post because some of the suggested names just sound so ridiculous.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Boy, they really shot themselves in the foot with that whole ex rebrand because tweet was

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such a universal term, you know?

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It's like everybody knew that it wouldn't when you're talking about a tweet.

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Okay, you're talking about it's it's on Twitter.

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Just man.

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Anyway, with this episode, just talking about Elon Musk.

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So we won't go there today, but keep in mind at some point we will.

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Anyway, go follow us on Blue Sky.

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We posted about this that SB 382 acquired 220 some odd million dollars for hurricane relief,

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quote unquote, right?

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And then the federal government came behind and said that we're going to give $9 billion

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for hurricane relief funds.

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00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:10,960
So it really a drop in the bucket compared to what the federal government was able to

245
00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:12,400
give us.

246
00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:16,520
And it almost seemed like they sold the government down the river for something that was not

247
00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:18,840
even close to the amount that was actually needed.

248
00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:19,840
Yeah, most definitely.

249
00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:24,720
We can talk about this a little bit last time, but I just can't talk about this again for

250
00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:25,720
just a second.

251
00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:27,200
You know, Christmas just happened.

252
00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:31,120
So I was doing a bunch of traveling out in Western North Carolina.

253
00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:35,680
And yeah, no, there's still devastation over there.

254
00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:40,480
And yeah, you know, the help or so-called help we're getting from this state bill is

255
00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:42,600
absolutely ridiculous.

256
00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:43,920
It's an insult.

257
00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:49,560
It's an insult to the citizens as more Carolinians and it's an insult to their intelligence

258
00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:50,560
as well.

259
00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,000
Yeah, help is a strong word.

260
00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,600
It's doing a lot of heavy lifting.

261
00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:56,600
Yeah, yeah.

262
00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:00,000
And it's just it's disrespectful to them in general.

263
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:05,440
Like I said, last time that area has been taken advantage of so many times by both parties

264
00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:11,920
really, but you know, to see them be used as this excuse for passing something absolutely

265
00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:13,920
ridiculous is infuriating.

266
00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:15,120
Yeah, sorry.

267
00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:17,440
That's my little rant.

268
00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:19,840
No, no, you're good.

269
00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:26,280
So there's a couple of people that we are very sad to see go in the general election

270
00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:28,400
that just occurred this year.

271
00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:32,760
But there's also a couple of people that we are very happy to see get ousted.

272
00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:38,120
One of those people that were sad to see have to hang it up is Diamond Staten Williams

273
00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:40,040
out of District 73.

274
00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:42,640
That's in Cabarrus County.

275
00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:44,400
She was defeated by Jonathan Almond.

276
00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:48,760
It was not really that close of a race when the result happened.

277
00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:52,760
And would you say that this is an issue of the campaign?

278
00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:54,960
Do you think it was an issue of funding?

279
00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,920
Because it seemed to me that they got a lot of funding.

280
00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:01,760
They had to change horses midstream in terms of their campaign staff.

281
00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:04,360
Yeah, I'll be honest with you.

282
00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:09,680
Just looking at the final result, I'm not sure that would have that even made a difference

283
00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:13,400
just because of how how many votes they lost by.

284
00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:15,400
I think it was just, I'll be honest with you.

285
00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:17,760
I don't know the district that well.

286
00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:18,760
I don't know.

287
00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:25,400
Maybe it was just turnout issue or if it was just a turnout was 73 percent.

288
00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:28,360
So it wasn't a turnout, at least not for Republicans.

289
00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:29,360
I don't know.

290
00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:30,360
It might have been for Democrats.

291
00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:34,120
They can do a little bit more of a deep dive on that maybe next time if you want.

292
00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:38,760
But it seemed to me that, A, it was a gerrymandering issue.

293
00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:44,720
They just made this area way more competitive for Republicans with whatever they could get

294
00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:45,720
away with.

295
00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,880
Staten Williams, I think she ran a fine campaign.

296
00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,000
I think her campaign managers did well.

297
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:52,000
It just wasn't.

298
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:57,240
Yeah, like you said, when you have a difference of like eight points, it's not really something

299
00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:01,760
that you could have done clearly, there was just a demographic challenge there.

300
00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:02,760
Yeah, I agree.

301
00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:05,160
And I hate that because she was great.

302
00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:06,160
Yeah.

303
00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:08,720
And they were the campaign was really, really good too.

304
00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:11,800
When we were looking at some of the things they were doing online, some of the things

305
00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:18,920
they were doing with in interviews and just with the amount of turnout for like canvassing

306
00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:21,920
and phone banking and stuff, they were killing it.

307
00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:27,160
One common thread that we've started to see in races here in North Carolina, maybe across

308
00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:31,040
the country, I'm sure there's a lot of people who would agree that some of the traditional

309
00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:37,440
methods, at least this is my opinion, CJ, you can butt in and tell me I'm wrong.

310
00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:43,480
In my opinion, there are a lot of old ways of campaigning that are simply not working

311
00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:44,960
anymore.

312
00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,560
Like canvassing, like phone banking, I think it's good for get out the vote.

313
00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:51,760
I think it's good for engaging voters that want to be engaged.

314
00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:58,520
But in terms of getting out new voters from what I can tell, there is a lot of money and

315
00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,680
time being spent on things that are simply not going to be working anymore.

316
00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:03,680
Yeah.

317
00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:04,680
And I...

318
00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:05,680
Specifically, canvassing.

319
00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:09,960
But I think I have it out for canvassing because it just seems to me like it's a lot

320
00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:11,640
of work for not a whole lot of gain.

321
00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:12,880
But that's just me.

322
00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:17,960
I know that there are studies that say that it is quite effective in certain ways.

323
00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:18,960
Yeah.

324
00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:22,680
I mean, I think one of the big things is...

325
00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:27,040
Or one thing is, I think there is a place for canvassing.

326
00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:31,200
I think there is a place for phone banking and all these kind of traditional methods.

327
00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:36,920
There is a place for phone banking, a place for canvassing, these traditional methods,

328
00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:38,080
as you phrased it.

329
00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:45,240
But I think they do also really need to be integrated with these newer approaches, with

330
00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:49,320
text banking, with heavy social media use.

331
00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:50,320
Absolutely.

332
00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:52,480
A lot of people...

333
00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:59,360
Or you might have some people who can't be reached through canvassing, through doorknob,

334
00:18:59,360 --> 00:19:02,920
because they just live out in the middle of nowhere, essentially.

335
00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:09,640
So you need to fill in the gap with either phone banking or fill it in with texting or

336
00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:10,640
something.

337
00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:15,600
I think there are all these things, you just have to learn how to integrate, because your

338
00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:20,160
audience is changing on a yearly basis, really.

339
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:26,800
You have older people, the older populists, the older electorate, some of them are unfortunately

340
00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:28,360
literally dying off.

341
00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:29,360
True.

342
00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:30,360
Yeah.

343
00:19:30,360 --> 00:19:31,360
I know that sounds morbid.

344
00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:32,760
No, I don't mean to laugh.

345
00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:35,680
It's just very true.

346
00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:40,800
And you need to be able to adapt to a younger electorate that's coming up.

347
00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:46,760
You got millennials, you got Gen Z, and you'll have Gen Alpha here in what, next?

348
00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:52,160
Five, 10-ish years, I think, is when the oldest Gen Alpha will be turning 18.

349
00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:53,160
Oh my gosh.

350
00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:54,160
I know, right?

351
00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:55,160
Yeah.

352
00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:56,160
But you're right.

353
00:19:56,160 --> 00:20:02,840
We're facing a generational reality where these new blocks of voters are aging up, and

354
00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:05,640
some of them are aging out, so to speak.

355
00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:06,640
Right.

356
00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,840
I would say maybe not the state Democratic Party.

357
00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:11,320
I think they're doing okay.

358
00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:15,960
Like the North Carolina Democratic Party is doing really well at attracting newer younger

359
00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:22,480
voters because, not to say that Anderson Clayton is the end-all be-all in achieving that, but

360
00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:26,880
the very fact that we have somebody so young at the head of the party that's actually doing

361
00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:31,160
a really, really great job, I think that is inspiring for a lot of younger folks.

362
00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:32,960
And we've seen that on the ground, too.

363
00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:38,440
Oh yeah, no, it's definitely not, I've got to say Anderson is fantastic.

364
00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:44,560
But at the national level, here's where we run into some problems because we have, I

365
00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:52,680
mean, it was a big story this week about the oversight committee being given to Jerry Connolly,

366
00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,640
who's a 74-year-old cancer patient.

367
00:20:55,640 --> 00:21:01,040
These are the kinds of problems that are going to trickle down and that people are going

368
00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:06,880
to see, you know, when they associate the term Democrat or Democratic Party, this is

369
00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:11,080
the kind of thing that is going to trickle down and say to them, they don't actually

370
00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:12,520
care about young people.

371
00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:19,080
And you can bet that the right is harnessing and utilizing those talking points right this

372
00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:22,320
second, even if we're not seeing it.

373
00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:26,360
Everybody's talking too much about how we need the next Joe Rogan or the next two white

374
00:21:26,360 --> 00:21:33,040
guys on a podcast and not necessarily talking about how legislatively we need to be doing

375
00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:38,560
more to bring new voices into the fold, especially the ones on the left wing.

376
00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:39,560
Yeah.

377
00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:46,600
And someone like, you know, AOC who has such a high profile, such a well-known name brand,

378
00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:52,640
so to say, like to have her not be in some position of power within the party or within

379
00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:56,120
Congress, let's say, I think is a huge loss.

380
00:21:56,120 --> 00:21:57,120
Huge misstep.

381
00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:01,640
I think it's a giant fumble that did not need to have him that could have been avoided

382
00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:05,280
because here's the thing, like the torch is going to have you passed eventually, you

383
00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:09,600
know, pass the torch while you still have a group of people to lead.

384
00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:10,600
Yeah.

385
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:11,600
Yeah.

386
00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:17,720
But the last time that was set on a national stage was in 2020 when Eric Swalwell basically

387
00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:24,000
pleaded with then former vice president Biden to pass the torch onto the younger generation.

388
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,800
And then he went on to win the general election.

389
00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:27,800
Yep.

390
00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:33,200
Not just the primary, but like the mandate for new leadership doesn't seem to be resonating

391
00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:37,400
with the older Democratic Party and it needs to.

392
00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:44,000
Because, you know, as much as we will not side with people on the right, they are harnessing

393
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:45,000
that.

394
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:46,000
Oh, no.

395
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:47,000
And we got to get on that.

396
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:48,000
Yeah.

397
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:49,000
No, they're good at that.

398
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,280
I mean, you know, say what you know about Republicans about, you know, their beliefs,

399
00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:54,880
their tactics, their methodology and all that stuff.

400
00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:55,880
They're not stupid.

401
00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:56,880
Right.

402
00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:58,880
There's a ruthlessness to it for sure.

403
00:22:58,880 --> 00:22:59,880
Yeah.

404
00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:00,880
As well.

405
00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:02,320
They are very good at what they do.

406
00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:04,480
And I think it's important to recognize that.

407
00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:05,480
Yeah.

408
00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:08,280
It doesn't mean we're, you know, condoning it or anything like that.

409
00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:12,480
But it's important to, you know, recognize that they're good at this and that, you know,

410
00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:14,120
they know how to adapt.

411
00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:16,400
They know how to play the long game.

412
00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:21,560
And we've been, you know, behind for years at this point, decades.

413
00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:25,440
Especially if you want to start talking about stuff like Southern strategy and Nixon and

414
00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:26,440
Reagan and all that.

415
00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:31,960
Well, just, I mean, the 30, 40, 50 year plan to get rid of Roe v. Wade, you know, that

416
00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:36,720
was put into place when the decision came down.

417
00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:38,600
This is not new stuff.

418
00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:41,120
This is not a new track.

419
00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:47,280
Like we talk about on the left, people tend to talk at great length about like Prager

420
00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:53,280
you and stuff like that, and while it may seem stupid and ridiculous to us on the right

421
00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:57,920
end of the spectrum, there is a torch that is being passed.

422
00:23:57,920 --> 00:23:59,320
It is being passed.

423
00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:01,520
Like yes, Trump is old.

424
00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:03,000
We get that he's old.

425
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:04,640
That argument works for them.

426
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:06,960
It's not going to work for us.

427
00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:08,520
They don't care.

428
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,440
So we need to find the flank, right?

429
00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:13,880
How do you outflank them?

430
00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:19,400
Outflank everybody in 2016 by being the guy who was willing to say whatever to get elected

431
00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,240
into office.

432
00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:27,320
What started out as a joke ended up becoming a winning presidential race.

433
00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:33,080
And then in 2024, we saw it yet again, except it was different this time because he was

434
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:38,560
somehow able to color himself as an outsider still.

435
00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:44,920
Just somebody who was not part of the establishment, even though he is the establishment at this

436
00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:45,920
point.

437
00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:51,400
What Democrats need to stop doing is catering to the establishment.

438
00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:54,080
We see this time and time and time again.

439
00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:59,080
We had rolled out Bill Clinton in the middle of Kamala's campaign.

440
00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:03,480
He went out there to talk to Jewish audiences in Michigan.

441
00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:07,600
But the problem was that in Michigan, there was a huge Muslim majority population that

442
00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:10,520
was boycotting the Democratic Party.

443
00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:13,400
You needed somebody to go out there to talk to them.

444
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:19,920
But instead, they catered not to the issue, not to the demographic, but to the establishment,

445
00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:22,320
to the guy whose turn it was.

446
00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:24,160
It's Bill Clinton.

447
00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:25,240
It's Bill Clinton.

448
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,480
And I get, you know, there's some adoration for Bill Clinton.

449
00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:32,200
I'm not trying to say that it's not undue.

450
00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:39,080
But in the interest of trying to subvert what the entire argument of the right is, is that,

451
00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:42,000
oh, well, Democrats are just beholden to the establishment.

452
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,240
They're beholden to the moneyed interests.

453
00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:47,440
We are not, which is a lie.

454
00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:48,440
Prove them wrong.

455
00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:49,440
That's all I'm asking.

456
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:50,440
Yeah.

457
00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:57,160
And again, it just goes back to knowing your audience, knowing, that's my phrase this.

458
00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:59,840
It goes to being in touch with your voters.

459
00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:00,840
No, it does.

460
00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:08,080
It goes to being in touch and it goes to actually planning and it goes to trying to build for

461
00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:09,080
the future.

462
00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:15,560
I think one of the problems that Democrats have is that they just, they don't plan, right?

463
00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:17,080
Yeah, that tends to happen.

464
00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:18,080
Yeah.

465
00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:20,080
It's just the next person's turn.

466
00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:21,080
Okay, cool.

467
00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:22,080
I get that.

468
00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:23,080
You know what?

469
00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:24,560
That person's been there for a while.

470
00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:27,400
You know, it seems right.

471
00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:29,160
It seems fair, so to say, right?

472
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:30,160
I get that.

473
00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:31,160
I get that approach.

474
00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:36,880
What feels right and what is right for the party and for the future and for party strategy

475
00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:38,840
can be two completely different things.

476
00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:39,840
Right.

477
00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:44,960
You know, need to be building our base before we lose our base.

478
00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:50,000
And not freaking out like you did in 2016 after Hillary lost and saying, actually, we

479
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:51,600
need to move further to the right.

480
00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:55,840
We need to move further to the center because that's how we're going to capture votes.

481
00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:59,920
And this is something that I've talked about before and why that's not going to work.

482
00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:03,360
You were co-signing what the right has been saying all along.

483
00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:08,880
If you abandon the causes from the left and say, okay, those aren't going to work electorally

484
00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:09,880
anymore.

485
00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:11,280
Those aren't going to work for us.

486
00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:13,000
We're going to have to move to the right.

487
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:17,840
You're basically signaling to everybody else, oh, sorry about that.

488
00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:21,520
We lied and the Republicans were right all along, actually.

489
00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:26,840
So now when people go to the ballot box, they're going to say, well, I mean, A, Democrats are

490
00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:31,440
hypocrites and B, Republicans were right all along.

491
00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:34,520
So I'm just going to vote for the Republican because at least they're going to be straight

492
00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:35,520
with me.

493
00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:38,880
I might like everything they do, but at least they're going to be, which again, can't stress

494
00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:39,880
this enough.

495
00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:40,880
They're not being straight with you.

496
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:43,840
They're lying through their teeth to your face.

497
00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:46,920
This is not me saying, oh, but Republicans are truthful.

498
00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:51,360
No, they're just liars and they will continue to lie.

499
00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:58,240
But they know how to sell their lies in a way that is palatable and acceptable by people.

500
00:27:58,240 --> 00:27:59,240
Yeah.

501
00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:07,360
There is a tent of fear behind every sheet of policy.

502
00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:12,440
It doesn't continue to get voters because it's good policy.

503
00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:17,680
It continues to get voters because they up the ante every time.

504
00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:22,040
We have people asking questions about illegal immigration in states like North Carolina

505
00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:29,240
where it's not even close to the same amount of of an issue as it is on the border states.

506
00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:31,600
Why is anybody even really talking about this?

507
00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:36,160
What we should be talking about is education and healthcare and all of the things that

508
00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:41,040
this state is behind on, which we should be way ahead of everybody else on.

509
00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:42,040
Exactly.

510
00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:45,640
And yet, you know, Republicans bring this type of stuff up.

511
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:47,200
They bring up this cultural war stuff.

512
00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:49,920
They bring up this fear of the other.

513
00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:55,320
They stoke that fear because they know that if they were to talk about their policy, they

514
00:28:55,320 --> 00:29:00,040
would be booed and laughed out of town because a lot of their policies are actually really

515
00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:01,040
unpopular.

516
00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:02,040
Yeah.

517
00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:03,040
They run on them.

518
00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:05,120
Just disregarded as unmanageable.

519
00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:12,360
Like from a purely policy perspective, from even just a reality perspective, a lot of

520
00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:16,240
the things that they talk about, once you get down to the nitty gritty, it's not good

521
00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:17,440
for everybody.

522
00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:19,600
It's good for a select few.

523
00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:23,120
This is the same here in this state as it is at the federal level.

524
00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:27,280
People keep talking about tariffs and they're starting to figure out what tariffs actually

525
00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:28,280
do.

526
00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:32,520
We're going to be in a heap ton of trouble come the next few years.

527
00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:33,840
I hope I'm wrong.

528
00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:35,040
I really do.

529
00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:38,120
Like I don't want to be right in this instance.

530
00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:43,760
We get somebody reelected like Steve Troxler, who is almost single handedly responsible

531
00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:50,440
for the most amount of land sold to foreign investors that was originally agricultural

532
00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:51,440
land.

533
00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:57,200
Now, instead of being one of the number one states on the Eastern Seaboard that has an

534
00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:02,200
actual agricultural economy, North Carolina is falling behind again.

535
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:03,840
We used to be...

536
00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:08,800
There was a point in time in which we could have been the state that grew tobacco, that

537
00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:14,560
grew cotton, that grew corn, that grew... Heck, even marijuana.

538
00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:18,840
There was a point in time where we could have been the number one hemp supplier in the...

539
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:21,920
Well, maybe not the world, but in the United States.

540
00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:24,920
We missed the boat on that because of people like Steve Troxler.

541
00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:27,280
Who just won re-election, by the way?

542
00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:35,520
But people vote for folks like that because maybe they don't pay attention to what's actually

543
00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:40,080
happening or maybe they just don't care and they see an R beside the name and that's

544
00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:41,080
that.

545
00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:44,600
Well, that's definitely part of it is they just see the R beside the name.

546
00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:48,200
They know that they've been told over and over again that Republicans are better for

547
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,800
the economy and so that's the way they vote.

548
00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:54,880
So what has to happen at the national level, because this isn't going to really happen

549
00:30:54,880 --> 00:31:00,280
at the state level, what has to happen at the national level has to be an entire redirect

550
00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:06,480
on the Democratic Party's part to shore up support for how they actually do their economic

551
00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:07,480
agenda.

552
00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:11,560
And we saw it in the 90s with Bill Clinton and the neoliberals.

553
00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:13,120
I'm not saying that's what we should do.

554
00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:17,640
In fact, I'm saying we should not do that because what ended up happening was we got

555
00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:19,440
Bush elected with that.

556
00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:24,800
So the point I'm trying to make is that whatever is not working, you have to look at what will

557
00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:25,800
work.

558
00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:26,800
Because telling people...

559
00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:31,560
Telling people the economy is great when they feel like the economy is not great is not

560
00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:32,800
good messaging.

561
00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:34,160
It's bad messaging, actually.

562
00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:38,800
And that's why people say that Democrats are so bad at messaging because you're telling

563
00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:44,260
me I'm getting a steak sandwich or you're telling me that I'm getting a steak.

564
00:31:44,260 --> 00:31:50,560
But to me, it just looks like a slab of beef that hasn't been cooked quite right to me.

565
00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:52,480
I don't want it like this.

566
00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:54,920
You got to sell me on it, man.

567
00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:55,920
You really do.

568
00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:56,920
Yeah.

569
00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:01,880
You've got to think about the perception versus the reality or the reality versus the perception.

570
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:02,880
Right.

571
00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:07,160
You know, unemployment numbers during the election were actually pretty good, right?

572
00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:08,160
Yeah.

573
00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:13,840
But like, and prices weren't half bad, especially compared to how they were during Trump's

574
00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:15,440
term, and they got better.

575
00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:16,440
Right.

576
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:22,000
But still, that doesn't matter because people still felt, they still perceived that things

577
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:23,000
were expensive.

578
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:24,240
And not to mention the fact that...

579
00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:27,680
Well, it's like they just figured out that inflation happened for the first time.

580
00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:28,680
Yeah.

581
00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:29,680
And I don't think there's enough...

582
00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:34,040
Personally, I don't think there's enough messaging or, I guess, relatable messaging

583
00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:40,080
on stuff like inflation or on the fact that a lot of these prices were at least partly

584
00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:44,520
due to the fact that, you know, companies want to make as much money as possible, so

585
00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,600
they raise the prices on a bunch of stuff.

586
00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:47,600
Yeah.

587
00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:48,600
For no good reason.

588
00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:53,560
Well, and when we talk about like price gouging and stuff, this is exactly what we mean.

589
00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:56,200
On top of that, you know, we talk about unions too.

590
00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:57,720
They're not paying people enough.

591
00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:04,280
But the right has successfully pushed this message into the political landscape that

592
00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:08,280
if prices go up, then they need to just come down.

593
00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:13,240
Not to mention that just lowering prices would lead to deflation, and that would actually

594
00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:15,640
be really, really bad for the economy.

595
00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:20,680
But then when we talk about raising wages for people, all of a sudden, no, we can't

596
00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:24,040
do that because then prices will go up because people would get paid more.

597
00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:29,960
Okay, so you keep everybody at just enough of a wage that they can live, and then that's

598
00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:32,080
good enough for Republicans.

599
00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:33,080
That's fine.

600
00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:39,400
Just ignoring the fact that we have an entire apparatus devoted to making sure that the

601
00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:45,680
working class to not have adequate unionization and to not have adequate representation in

602
00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:46,680
our government.

603
00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:47,680
Yeah.

604
00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:52,600
We've got lobbyists for everything now, but when it comes to the representatives that

605
00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:57,360
are supposed to pass laws protecting workers' rights, who knows who's bought and sold?

606
00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:02,360
Even when you're going to the ballot box, the average voter does not know what people

607
00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:07,040
have, who has actually been paid what, and by what?

608
00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:08,240
By what PACs?

609
00:34:08,240 --> 00:34:09,800
What PACs do what?

610
00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:10,800
Who cares?

611
00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:12,120
I got to go to work in the morning.

612
00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:13,120
Right.

613
00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:17,640
I'll vote for a Republican because at least they're telling me it's straight.

614
00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:18,640
That's what they think.

615
00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:19,640
Yeah.

616
00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:20,640
And you know what?

617
00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:21,640
I can't blame them.

618
00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:22,640
I really can't.

619
00:34:22,640 --> 00:34:27,600
Like I said last episode, I think, everyone's busy with their lives.

620
00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:29,520
They're concerned about the food on the table.

621
00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:31,240
They're concerned about keeping the lights on.

622
00:34:31,240 --> 00:34:36,720
They don't necessarily have time to, like I said, research like soil and water commissioner

623
00:34:36,720 --> 00:34:38,400
or dog catcher or whatever.

624
00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:40,520
They don't have time for that.

625
00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:46,800
We need to, as a party, as Democrats, need to get better about our messaging so that

626
00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:49,800
they don't have to go take that time and do the research.

627
00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:50,800
Yeah.

628
00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:56,440
And not just the Democratic Party, but people need to have conversations in the vein of,

629
00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:59,560
hey, don't you think it'd be better to be paid more?

630
00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:00,560
Yeah.

631
00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:02,160
Don't you think it'd be better to have a living wage?

632
00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:06,720
Don't you think it'd be better to not let these companies charge whatever they want

633
00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:07,720
regardless?

634
00:35:07,720 --> 00:35:14,560
Like, dude, a CEO literally went to prison because they were charging exorbitant amounts

635
00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:17,040
for a cancer drug.

636
00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:18,040
Oh, yeah.

637
00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:19,040
Martin Screlli.

638
00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:20,040
Yeah, God.

639
00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:22,080
Dude's an absolute demon.

640
00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:28,480
We get CEOs that get popped off in the street because at this point, there is a powder

641
00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:30,720
keg and it keeps sparking.

642
00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:33,560
There's a spark that keeps almost hitting the powder keg.

643
00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:39,020
There are so many people that are so destitute and just hanging on the edge of society.

644
00:35:39,020 --> 00:35:43,280
And then they hear people say, they hear Trump say, we're going to make your groceries

645
00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:44,280
cheaper.

646
00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:50,120
And simply, that is a better message than what Kamala and her team started saying.

647
00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:53,120
At first, she was saying price, that we're going to stop price gouging.

648
00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:56,920
And then they started trying to step away from that because they thought it sounded too

649
00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:59,080
socialist.

650
00:35:59,080 --> 00:36:03,440
People started comparing it to price control and that price control is communist and you

651
00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:04,440
can't do that.

652
00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:07,880
No, you just stay on that.

653
00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:12,360
They should have just kept going because Trump never got the...

654
00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:15,640
Trump was never pressed on how he was actually going to keep groceries down.

655
00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:19,360
And we just saw it in the last couple of weeks that when he was interviewed, he doesn't

656
00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:23,480
actually have a plan to keep groceries, to bring grocery prices down.

657
00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:27,240
He didn't even know they were called groceries.

658
00:36:27,240 --> 00:36:32,340
This is the insanity that just continues to permeate the American electorate.

659
00:36:32,340 --> 00:36:38,160
We have people who have no idea how these things work, that will spout off on TikTok

660
00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:43,000
Live and say that Trump's just going to make everything better, but they don't understand

661
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:44,240
how.

662
00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:48,440
And we can't get mad at them for not understanding because they just don't.

663
00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:50,360
They've been fed a lie.

664
00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:51,360
Yeah.

665
00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:57,320
And once you get fed that fed a lie so many times to you, it is reality.

666
00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:03,520
And to have someone come around and contradict that reality, it messes with your head a bit.

667
00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:05,320
Is that cognitive dissonance?

668
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:07,000
Sure does.

669
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:12,480
Especially when you realize that what you should be doing means voting against what

670
00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:15,520
you have been voting for for a while now.

671
00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:16,520
Yeah.

672
00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:20,080
And I think it's interesting.

673
00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:26,920
For a lot of people, whether they consider themselves political or not, their views are

674
00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:31,960
a lot of times based off of their personal beliefs, not just spiritual, religious, but

675
00:37:31,960 --> 00:37:33,600
just their values.

676
00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:40,800
And so for them or for a lot of people, whenever you start to attack or say attack, they perceive

677
00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:46,400
it as attack, whenever you start to question or try to push back or even sometimes just

678
00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:51,160
ask them about their political beliefs or their values or whatever and then introduce

679
00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:57,880
information that might challenge it, they take it as an attack because it's not necessarily

680
00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:01,320
that you're attacking politics or you're attacking a belief.

681
00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:05,360
You're attacking them personally because it's so internalized.

682
00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:06,360
Yeah.

683
00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:08,600
I completely agree.

684
00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:15,240
I think that people are, especially on the right, whether they feel like that or not,

685
00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:20,800
that they are very triggered about the way that they are supposed to feel about things.

686
00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:22,400
People on the left can be for sure.

687
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:27,440
There are a lot of people that I'm sure that you would agree tend to be very combative

688
00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:31,400
and non-cooperative on things.

689
00:38:31,400 --> 00:38:35,560
They don't really like to work well with others because working with others means they have

690
00:38:35,560 --> 00:38:43,200
to sacrifice some of the more stalwart positions that they hold on certain things and they

691
00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:44,720
don't want to give that up.

692
00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:49,720
The left is very fractured in a lot of places, but the right is also, they just don't realize

693
00:38:49,720 --> 00:38:51,480
it most of the time.

694
00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:56,360
What you can do, this is for anybody out there who is listening that is thinking about talking

695
00:38:56,360 --> 00:39:01,080
to their relatives or their friends that may be more on the right end of the spectrum or

696
00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:07,040
people that may have voted for Trump who just don't know anything or people who are not

697
00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:08,960
involved in politics.

698
00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:11,240
They don't want to be involved in it in any way.

699
00:39:11,240 --> 00:39:12,800
Two things that you have to do.

700
00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:16,600
You have to relate everything back to real life.

701
00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:23,400
You have to show the actual ramifications of elections and the policies that are put in

702
00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:27,680
place by politicians that do actually affect your everyday life.

703
00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:31,520
You can't just say, oh well, local elections matter more.

704
00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:35,920
No, they've probably heard that a hundred times, but you have to show them.

705
00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:40,040
You have to have tangible evidence as to what has happened.

706
00:39:40,040 --> 00:39:43,400
That is one of the only things that has worked for me personally.

707
00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:49,360
I think it'll be interesting here in let's say a year, year and a half as we're heading

708
00:39:49,360 --> 00:39:50,360
into midterm.

709
00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:56,560
I want to see campaigns, I want to see people run for Congress doing comparisons of say

710
00:39:56,560 --> 00:40:02,040
the price of eggs at that point versus a year and a half before, two years before, three

711
00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:08,000
years before or whatever, or the price of imported goods.

712
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:10,000
These tangible things.

713
00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:16,720
I want to see that stuff presented so people can actually see, oh, okay, essentially does

714
00:40:16,720 --> 00:40:17,720
make a difference.

715
00:40:17,720 --> 00:40:21,360
They're holding their feet to the fire and saying, this is what you voted for.

716
00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:23,360
It's not FAFO.

717
00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:28,680
It's just you clearly did not understand what the ramifications were going to be.

718
00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:30,400
Here it is right here in front of you.

719
00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:32,080
This is what you voted for.

720
00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:39,600
People say already that SB 382 was a good thing because it's going to help North Carolinians

721
00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:41,600
in Western North Carolina.

722
00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:44,880
We both know that's not the case.

723
00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:47,400
Governor Cooper knows that that's not the case.

724
00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:49,680
That's why they're suing.

725
00:40:49,680 --> 00:40:54,640
Governor Cooper and incoming Governor Josh Stein have actually filed a second lawsuit.

726
00:40:54,640 --> 00:41:00,560
I don't know if you saw this that is battling the changes that they've made to the boards

727
00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:05,480
of elections, which people that this sounds so boring.

728
00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:08,600
If you know nothing about politics, who cares?

729
00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:11,760
This is like your local board of elections, whatever.

730
00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:16,920
It's just a bunch of stuffy suits that sit in a room and pour over pieces of paper and

731
00:41:16,920 --> 00:41:19,040
say yes or no.

732
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:21,800
No, this is incredibly important.

733
00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:25,280
This is actually mind bogglingly.

734
00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:28,920
You think that changing the position of the governor or the attorney general and what

735
00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:30,880
they're allowed to do is a big power grab.

736
00:41:30,880 --> 00:41:31,960
This is even bigger.

737
00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:37,480
This is at the local level that they're trying to change the government so that they can modify

738
00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:42,200
how we actually conduct our elections and they can pick and choose who can be part of

739
00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:43,200
it.

740
00:41:43,200 --> 00:41:46,200
The lawsuit takes issue with the restructuring of the election boards.

741
00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:51,200
This is from portcitydaily.com, but I mean this is from a bunch of different.

742
00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:53,760
This is Wilmington NC local newspaper.

743
00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:57,000
The governor and governor elect's recent lawsuit takes issue with the restructuring

744
00:41:57,000 --> 00:41:58,000
of election boards.

745
00:41:58,000 --> 00:41:59,760
It calls the bill's provisions.

746
00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:03,600
Past only a week after a new Democratic governor was elected, a blatant misuse of power to

747
00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:08,520
curtail the incoming top state leaders authority.

748
00:42:08,520 --> 00:42:13,240
We already know that SB 382 transfers appointment from the state board of elections from the

749
00:42:13,240 --> 00:42:19,920
governor to the state auditor, incoming Republican Dave Bulyak, who's taking over on who will

750
00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:25,720
take over appointing the board May 1st of next year, which means he gets to appoint 100

751
00:42:25,720 --> 00:42:28,440
board chairs in all counties.

752
00:42:28,440 --> 00:42:30,320
Who do you think he's going to pick?

753
00:42:30,320 --> 00:42:32,320
Exactly, Loyalists.

754
00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:38,720
Loyalists, Republicans, people who regardless of how your county voted in 2024 will probably

755
00:42:38,720 --> 00:42:41,760
not be well represented in your county.

756
00:42:41,760 --> 00:42:47,800
Right, and so think about what that ends up being.

757
00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:52,080
You got provisional ballots, let's say, of people.

758
00:42:52,080 --> 00:42:58,240
What's to stop these local boards from now being like, well, we're Loyalists, so any

759
00:42:58,240 --> 00:42:59,240
Democrat ballot?

760
00:42:59,240 --> 00:43:00,240
Yeah.

761
00:43:00,240 --> 00:43:01,240
Yeah, shouldn't be accepted.

762
00:43:01,240 --> 00:43:06,440
But hey, this Republican ballot that has the exact same problems as this Democrat one,

763
00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:09,840
let one go through.

764
00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:12,040
I'm not saying there shouldn't be any type of like there.

765
00:43:12,040 --> 00:43:14,200
What am I trying to say?

766
00:43:14,200 --> 00:43:17,200
There needs to be like bipartisanship on these boards, you know?

767
00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:18,200
Sure.

768
00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:20,680
And I already know what people are going to say.

769
00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:27,680
Well, the ability to place the ability to appoint board chairs was originally the governor's

770
00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:34,080
decision, which I would counter with what does the state auditor, what kind of experience

771
00:43:34,080 --> 00:43:37,880
or expertise does the state auditor have to make these decisions?

772
00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:38,880
Right.

773
00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:41,440
This is a guy who is an accountant.

774
00:43:41,440 --> 00:43:48,000
What does this have to do with election board appointments across all 100 counties of North

775
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:51,000
Carolina?

776
00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:56,240
And if you think that that's weird, this would make North Carolina the only state nationwide

777
00:43:56,240 --> 00:44:02,120
that allows its elections administration to be overseen by the state auditor.

778
00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:03,440
That's insane.

779
00:44:03,440 --> 00:44:05,440
It doesn't make sense at all.

780
00:44:05,440 --> 00:44:10,280
He's not vested with the same authority under the Constitution like the governor is either.

781
00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:16,040
The state auditor is not somebody is a statewide elected office, but it's not the same oversight.

782
00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:22,480
The governor has to appoint state boards of elect or the chairs of the board of elections.

783
00:44:22,480 --> 00:44:26,840
And then that oversight can be dealt with by the other two branches, right?

784
00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:28,800
But the state auditor isn't beholden to that.

785
00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:30,280
He's part of the council of state.

786
00:44:30,280 --> 00:44:35,400
The only qualification that he has for being able to do this is being a Republican.

787
00:44:35,400 --> 00:44:40,000
I'm guaranteed if he had not won, they would not be vesting interest.

788
00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:44,320
They would not be vesting authority of the state board of elections in the state auditor,

789
00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:46,760
which would have been just goms.

790
00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:47,760
It's absolutely obscene.

791
00:44:47,760 --> 00:44:48,760
It is.

792
00:44:48,760 --> 00:44:52,560
And it's a slap in the face to our Democrat access.

793
00:44:52,560 --> 00:44:55,760
And it's so blatant is what gets me.

794
00:44:55,760 --> 00:45:00,320
Like it is so so obvious what they are trying to do.

795
00:45:00,320 --> 00:45:04,720
And it is just the absolute lack of shame.

796
00:45:04,720 --> 00:45:07,440
It's blatant and it's not new.

797
00:45:07,440 --> 00:45:13,520
They tried this in 2016 when when Governor Cooper ousted Pat McCrory.

798
00:45:13,520 --> 00:45:17,520
So they tried to pass SB4, which was an attempt to strip the governor of the state board of

799
00:45:17,520 --> 00:45:20,920
elections appointment power and increase board member makeup.

800
00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:26,240
But the courts ruled it by a rule that it violated the NC State Constitution.

801
00:45:26,240 --> 00:45:27,240
Right.

802
00:45:27,240 --> 00:45:31,560
And you might be saying, oh, OK, well, that's good because then that means that they're

803
00:45:31,560 --> 00:45:37,500
probably going to strike it down again because it's unconstitutional.

804
00:45:37,500 --> 00:45:39,480
Why did you laugh there, CJ?

805
00:45:39,480 --> 00:45:41,600
Oh, no, no, particular reason.

806
00:45:41,600 --> 00:45:42,880
They tell the audience.

807
00:45:42,880 --> 00:45:50,460
Well, it's could it possibly because the state, the state Supreme Court is wholly beholden

808
00:45:50,460 --> 00:45:55,280
to the state legislature, which and its makeup isn't almost entirely Republican?

809
00:45:55,280 --> 00:45:56,280
Perhaps.

810
00:45:56,280 --> 00:45:57,280
Yeah.

811
00:45:57,280 --> 00:45:58,280
That might just be why.

812
00:45:58,280 --> 00:45:59,280
Yeah.

813
00:45:59,280 --> 00:46:05,120
So I think counting on them to side with the incoming Democratic governor on this, even

814
00:46:05,120 --> 00:46:11,840
if they do, OK, let's say the the that cooler heads prevail, they get their heads out of

815
00:46:11,840 --> 00:46:16,920
their proverbial asses and they decide, you know what, the law is important and we need

816
00:46:16,920 --> 00:46:17,920
to uphold it.

817
00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:23,320
This is obviously a power grab and should not be handled by the state board of elections

818
00:46:23,320 --> 00:46:26,720
should not be handled by the state auditor, a glorified accountant.

819
00:46:26,720 --> 00:46:27,720
OK.

820
00:46:27,720 --> 00:46:33,520
So the problem is that on the that's one flank, right, they're going to try to use the courts

821
00:46:33,520 --> 00:46:39,120
to subvert power of the ability of the governor to appoint state board of electors or state

822
00:46:39,120 --> 00:46:46,000
state board chairs on the other side, on the other flank, the SB 3382 also called for a

823
00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:51,040
constitutional convention, which means that sometime next year, we might see an attempt

824
00:46:51,040 --> 00:46:57,520
by this legislature to change the state's constitution so that now this will no longer

825
00:46:57,520 --> 00:47:02,880
be something that the governor can renege that this is something that it is going to

826
00:47:02,880 --> 00:47:06,640
be this way and nothing can change that without a constitutional amendment.

827
00:47:06,640 --> 00:47:07,640
Right.

828
00:47:07,640 --> 00:47:10,040
That is why this bill was so important.

829
00:47:10,040 --> 00:47:16,840
The constitutional convention, if it happens, would be a makeup of the people who represent

830
00:47:16,840 --> 00:47:18,360
the House and the state Senate.

831
00:47:18,360 --> 00:47:23,120
We already know due to the makeup of those people, it's not going to be on our side.

832
00:47:23,120 --> 00:47:24,120
Right.

833
00:47:24,120 --> 00:47:25,120
And so let me ask you this.

834
00:47:25,120 --> 00:47:30,040
So what would you say to the folks who might be listening from the other side who might

835
00:47:30,040 --> 00:47:32,680
just be like, oh, well, boo-hoo, you lost.

836
00:47:32,680 --> 00:47:33,680
Get over it.

837
00:47:33,680 --> 00:47:34,680
That's what happened.

838
00:47:34,680 --> 00:47:40,480
I mean, the obvious first response would be if the Democrats were in charge with the

839
00:47:40,480 --> 00:47:44,080
speed, something that seems fair to you.

840
00:47:44,080 --> 00:47:50,760
What I would also say is regardless of all of that, you have to consider the law of political

841
00:47:50,760 --> 00:47:52,260
reciprocity.

842
00:47:52,260 --> 00:47:57,240
What affects you today, whatever you put in place, whatever you say or put into policy

843
00:47:57,240 --> 00:47:59,640
will come back to bite you someday.

844
00:47:59,640 --> 00:48:07,160
If there is a complete political realignment within the next 15 to 20 years where Democrats

845
00:48:07,160 --> 00:48:12,680
take back control of the House and the state Senate, what's going to be your plan then?

846
00:48:12,680 --> 00:48:15,480
Because 2010 was a huge year for Republicans.

847
00:48:15,480 --> 00:48:18,880
They flipped the House and came back in a big way.

848
00:48:18,880 --> 00:48:20,400
But it's not over yet.

849
00:48:20,400 --> 00:48:22,240
And there's a long way to go.

850
00:48:22,240 --> 00:48:24,000
The politics is not set in stone.

851
00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:26,640
So this is your chance.

852
00:48:26,640 --> 00:48:32,000
This is your chance to try and put, set things in stone, but I can almost guarantee you that

853
00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:36,920
no matter how deep you try to dig those claws, there's going to be a way for us to turn around

854
00:48:36,920 --> 00:48:38,280
and use it against you.

855
00:48:38,280 --> 00:48:39,280
So beware.

856
00:48:39,280 --> 00:48:40,280
That's what I would say.

857
00:48:40,280 --> 00:48:41,280
Nice.

858
00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:42,280
Yeah, I mean, I completely agree.

859
00:48:42,280 --> 00:48:43,280
I completely agree.

860
00:48:43,280 --> 00:48:47,320
And honestly, I could have probably summed that all up by just using the age old adage.

861
00:48:47,320 --> 00:48:48,800
What goes around comes around.

862
00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:49,800
Yeah.

863
00:48:49,800 --> 00:49:01,240
But what, 30 years until an entirely new generation, a couple new generations are able to vote,

864
00:49:01,240 --> 00:49:02,240
right?

865
00:49:02,240 --> 00:49:04,720
Again, this is not something that's set in stone.

866
00:49:04,720 --> 00:49:05,880
We can't see the future.

867
00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:08,920
We don't know what's going to happen even 10 years from now.

868
00:49:08,920 --> 00:49:14,320
But what I can tell you is that our job and the job of the people on the left, the Democratic

869
00:49:14,320 --> 00:49:19,960
Party, especially, is to remind people that just because it is the way it is right now,

870
00:49:19,960 --> 00:49:22,280
doesn't mean it always was that way.

871
00:49:22,280 --> 00:49:26,720
And anything that happens in the future needs to be fought against.

872
00:49:26,720 --> 00:49:31,120
These lawsuits, these changes that they're making to the state board of elections cannot

873
00:49:31,120 --> 00:49:32,200
be normalized.

874
00:49:32,200 --> 00:49:34,040
This is not normal.

875
00:49:34,040 --> 00:49:38,560
And Democrats cannot acquiesce to the norms as they are so want to do.

876
00:49:38,560 --> 00:49:43,200
Because if they do, then it's going to be an issue of, well, yeah, we could do that,

877
00:49:43,200 --> 00:49:45,320
but that's just not the way things work.

878
00:49:45,320 --> 00:49:50,680
What we need to be asking ourselves and each other is not why not, but how.

879
00:49:50,680 --> 00:49:51,680
Right.

880
00:49:51,680 --> 00:49:57,120
We need to show that we are willing to and can put up a fight.

881
00:49:57,120 --> 00:49:58,120
Yes, absolutely.

882
00:49:58,120 --> 00:50:00,640
What was it we were talking about last week?

883
00:50:00,640 --> 00:50:02,360
A Timothy Snyder's book.

884
00:50:02,360 --> 00:50:04,440
Oh, do not obey an advance.

885
00:50:04,440 --> 00:50:05,440
Yes.

886
00:50:05,440 --> 00:50:06,840
Do not obey an advance.

887
00:50:06,840 --> 00:50:13,160
And so his second lesson, and Timothy Snyder's second lesson is defend and defend.

888
00:50:13,160 --> 00:50:19,360
And the only problem that I have with that is that if the institution is something that

889
00:50:19,360 --> 00:50:26,600
is irrespective of the will of the people, is irrespective of the reality that people

890
00:50:26,600 --> 00:50:30,200
are living in this state, you have to fight it.

891
00:50:30,200 --> 00:50:32,320
It is a resistance.

892
00:50:32,320 --> 00:50:37,320
There are invaluable ideas that keep getting shuttered in the dark because the norms of

893
00:50:37,320 --> 00:50:39,880
the state go against what it is.

894
00:50:39,880 --> 00:50:45,120
We can't acquiesce to totalitarianism, especially not within a one-party structure or a two-party

895
00:50:45,120 --> 00:50:48,960
structure because it will become a one-party structure if they're allowed to legislate

896
00:50:48,960 --> 00:50:50,880
one party out of existence.

897
00:50:50,880 --> 00:50:53,600
That's exactly what they're trying to do here in North Carolina.

898
00:50:53,600 --> 00:50:55,680
There are a couple of interesting numbers here.

899
00:50:55,680 --> 00:51:00,800
So in the North Carolina Senate election, the state Senate election, last election,

900
00:51:00,800 --> 00:51:03,120
the Republicans had 30 seats.

901
00:51:03,120 --> 00:51:04,760
This year they have 30 seats.

902
00:51:04,760 --> 00:51:11,760
And the Democrats had 20, and this election they have 20.

903
00:51:11,760 --> 00:51:19,800
One thing that changed was there was a nine-point swing for Democrats, 9% from 2022.

904
00:51:19,800 --> 00:51:22,080
And what that says to me is two things.

905
00:51:22,080 --> 00:51:29,320
That 2022 was a massive problem for Democrats.

906
00:51:29,320 --> 00:51:31,840
People just did not turn up.

907
00:51:31,840 --> 00:51:40,280
What it also says to me is that when you look at this 47.98% versus 50.17%, Republicans

908
00:51:40,280 --> 00:51:46,080
and Democrats respectively, this is a purple state or a polka dot state, however you want

909
00:51:46,080 --> 00:51:47,640
to frame it.

910
00:51:47,640 --> 00:51:52,640
But the way that the lines are drawn, this legislature is gerrymandered to hell.

911
00:51:52,640 --> 00:51:54,520
Yeah, no, without doubt.

912
00:51:54,520 --> 00:51:58,280
This is not a new thing that I'm pointing out.

913
00:51:58,280 --> 00:51:59,920
This is not some revelation.

914
00:51:59,920 --> 00:52:06,600
These are things that have been fought about in the courts and in the campaigns for years

915
00:52:06,600 --> 00:52:07,600
now.

916
00:52:07,600 --> 00:52:10,800
It's going to continue to take time and you can't give up.

917
00:52:10,800 --> 00:52:12,160
You have to keep fighting it.

918
00:52:12,160 --> 00:52:16,600
You have to keep asking yourself how long are we going to take it before we have to

919
00:52:16,600 --> 00:52:18,720
turn this thing around?

920
00:52:18,720 --> 00:52:20,840
Because 2028 is going to come around.

921
00:52:20,840 --> 00:52:24,720
That's going to be a big year because it's going to be the next presidential election.

922
00:52:24,720 --> 00:52:27,520
It's going to be the next gubernatorial election.

923
00:52:27,520 --> 00:52:29,640
Council state, all that's going to be back up and running.

924
00:52:29,640 --> 00:52:34,480
We're going to have two judicial seats that are going to be up grabs.

925
00:52:34,480 --> 00:52:39,640
But why it's even more important is it sets up for a battle two years later in 2030 when

926
00:52:39,640 --> 00:52:45,360
the makeup of that house, the makeup of that state senate is going to determine how the

927
00:52:45,360 --> 00:52:51,840
lines are going to be drawn in 2032, what this state's going to look like in 10 years.

928
00:52:51,840 --> 00:52:55,840
That's going to determine what the makeup is going to be.

929
00:52:55,840 --> 00:53:01,200
That's scary, but it's something you were talking earlier about.

930
00:53:01,200 --> 00:53:03,000
We have to plan ahead of time.

931
00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:04,000
You're absolutely right.

932
00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:07,080
We need to be planning 10 years down the road.

933
00:53:07,080 --> 00:53:09,480
But we're two years behind already.

934
00:53:09,480 --> 00:53:15,240
And I think the Republicans, they practice a war of attrition essentially.

935
00:53:15,240 --> 00:53:20,120
So for those who aren't really familiar with what the idea is, it's essentially a military

936
00:53:20,120 --> 00:53:27,880
strategy that attempts to win by wearing down the opponent, really collapsing their personnel,

937
00:53:27,880 --> 00:53:30,280
their morale, all that stuff.

938
00:53:30,280 --> 00:53:33,800
Really almost a psychological sort of thing.

939
00:53:33,800 --> 00:53:39,880
And I think we've seen those effects in the Democratic Party before Harris came in.

940
00:53:39,880 --> 00:53:46,040
A lot of Democrats were accepting certain defeats in November because of Biden and all this

941
00:53:46,040 --> 00:53:47,040
stuff.

942
00:53:47,040 --> 00:53:49,200
The morale for the party was hanking.

943
00:53:49,200 --> 00:53:55,360
And we can talk about Biden and him running again another time.

944
00:53:55,360 --> 00:53:59,160
But I also think part of it is just Republicans are just really good at this.

945
00:53:59,160 --> 00:54:01,200
They're really good at wearing down people.

946
00:54:01,200 --> 00:54:07,880
And so I think it's important to realize that and to kind of keep that in mind when planning

947
00:54:07,880 --> 00:54:10,560
our own strategies as a party.

948
00:54:10,560 --> 00:54:16,200
Because it's not going to be so easily won every single time.

949
00:54:16,200 --> 00:54:20,840
It's not like everything is going to be better because we just hope better for it.

950
00:54:20,840 --> 00:54:25,640
We have to have the strength to continue to work at the things that are hard.

951
00:54:25,640 --> 00:54:27,140
Yeah, exactly.

952
00:54:27,140 --> 00:54:30,200
The things that are hard are worth fighting for.

953
00:54:30,200 --> 00:54:31,200
It sure are.

954
00:54:31,200 --> 00:54:37,480
And I think we did get a little bit off topic for the last 30 minutes.

955
00:54:37,480 --> 00:54:38,480
But no, that's OK.

956
00:54:38,480 --> 00:54:44,120
I think I think it's good for us to contextualize to people why this is so important.

957
00:54:44,120 --> 00:54:49,360
I think somebody who has done a great job of contextualizing why the next elections

958
00:54:49,360 --> 00:54:53,280
are so important and why the judicial elections are so important is Anderson Clayton.

959
00:54:53,280 --> 00:55:00,880
And again, have to say at the end of this episode that we we are not paid for by the

960
00:55:00,880 --> 00:55:03,040
Democratic Party, at least not anymore.

961
00:55:03,040 --> 00:55:04,600
And or George Soros.

962
00:55:04,600 --> 00:55:08,160
I mean, hey, man, give me some of that cash if you got some laying around, though, I'm

963
00:55:08,160 --> 00:55:10,360
not going to I'm not going to say no.

964
00:55:10,360 --> 00:55:18,960
We're not paid by any of those insane conspiracy theories that the right have.

965
00:55:18,960 --> 00:55:19,960
No.

966
00:55:19,960 --> 00:55:21,720
And I wish right now.

967
00:55:21,720 --> 00:55:24,880
I mean, we we are a very, very small team.

968
00:55:24,880 --> 00:55:30,240
It's just me and CJ and our technical and political know how.

969
00:55:30,240 --> 00:55:35,880
So what I will say at the bottom of the show is that if you've made it this far into the

970
00:55:35,880 --> 00:55:41,000
episode, thank you so much for listening, you guys are amazing and also we have a Patreon

971
00:55:41,000 --> 00:55:46,640
up and running now or you can buy us a coffee and all those links are going to be in all

972
00:55:46,640 --> 00:55:49,680
of our social media and our link tree.

973
00:55:49,680 --> 00:55:56,280
You can go to YouTube and see a visualization of all this where it will have different numbers

974
00:55:56,280 --> 00:56:00,240
and figures and things like that that we talk about throughout the episode.

975
00:56:00,240 --> 00:56:06,800
All visuals that you can follow along to follow us on Blue Sky, follow us on the X follow

976
00:56:06,800 --> 00:56:10,920
us on a bunch of different places so that you can get the word out about when new episodes

977
00:56:10,920 --> 00:56:15,760
drop and also so you can keep yourself abreast of the things that are going on in the state

978
00:56:15,760 --> 00:56:23,880
because as we said before, knowledge is power and not being knowledgeable is work, unfortunately.

979
00:56:23,880 --> 00:56:30,520
So to wrap this all up, one thing I wanted to talk about right at the end is November

980
00:56:30,520 --> 00:56:37,760
5th, the election happened January 3rd, our new delegation from North Carolina and the

981
00:56:37,760 --> 00:56:46,520
rest of the House and Senate at the US Capitol are going to be sworn in and on the 6th, we're

982
00:56:46,520 --> 00:56:49,600
going to have a not so new president.

983
00:56:49,600 --> 00:56:56,280
Do you think that there is any chance that Kamala pulls the opposite of Mike Pence and

984
00:56:56,280 --> 00:57:03,120
just decides not to certify the election because that's what they were arguing for years that

985
00:57:03,120 --> 00:57:06,480
Mike Pence should have done?

986
00:57:06,480 --> 00:57:09,000
Just play their game a little bit.

987
00:57:09,000 --> 00:57:11,600
Maybe give them just one little constitutional crisis.

988
00:57:11,600 --> 00:57:12,600
Come on.

989
00:57:12,600 --> 00:57:15,600
A little constitutional crisis as a treat.

990
00:57:15,600 --> 00:57:17,160
January 6th, 2.0.

991
00:57:17,160 --> 00:57:18,160
January 12th.

992
00:57:18,160 --> 00:57:19,920
Now, she'll certify.

993
00:57:19,920 --> 00:57:25,920
I mean, I think there's, I talk a lot about or we've talked a lot about how Democrats

994
00:57:25,920 --> 00:57:28,920
allowed to kind of play the same old game.

995
00:57:28,920 --> 00:57:34,960
They allowed to abide by the rules and all this stuff and how that's not always the most

996
00:57:34,960 --> 00:57:36,040
helpful thing.

997
00:57:36,040 --> 00:57:43,080
This, however, I will say a peaceful transfer of power is essential in a democracy.

998
00:57:43,080 --> 00:57:44,080
It really is.

999
00:57:44,080 --> 00:57:45,080
If you want to keep a democracy.

1000
00:57:45,080 --> 00:57:49,960
And so, yeah, now she'll certify and everything with no problem.

1001
00:57:49,960 --> 00:57:50,960
Yeah.

1002
00:57:50,960 --> 00:57:57,480
There's a part of me that wishes they, even at the end, she could just say, just kidding.

1003
00:57:57,480 --> 00:57:59,040
And then we continue on with it.

1004
00:57:59,040 --> 00:58:00,040
It's a whatever.

1005
00:58:00,040 --> 00:58:05,520
Don't be so serious.

1006
00:58:05,520 --> 00:58:09,680
It really does suck that the left is demonized for so much.

1007
00:58:09,680 --> 00:58:14,320
And then when it really comes down to it, a lot of the Democrats will just continue

1008
00:58:14,320 --> 00:58:20,400
to stick to the norms, stick to the rules, which, as you said, is important and that

1009
00:58:20,400 --> 00:58:22,520
is how the game should be played.

1010
00:58:22,520 --> 00:58:26,080
But too often people give Republicans too much credit for cheating.

1011
00:58:26,080 --> 00:58:33,280
And I don't mean cheating in the traditional sense of, well, you stole, stole ballots or

1012
00:58:33,280 --> 00:58:35,240
you rigged ballots or things like that.

1013
00:58:35,240 --> 00:58:36,600
That's not what I'm talking about.

1014
00:58:36,600 --> 00:58:42,120
Cheating as in rigging the system so that even if it doesn't look like it should work

1015
00:58:42,120 --> 00:58:43,120
in your favor.

1016
00:58:43,120 --> 00:58:47,760
It does putting certain people in certain positions of power so that you have leverage

1017
00:58:47,760 --> 00:58:49,260
over them.

1018
00:58:49,260 --> 00:58:53,760
Trump's going to be even more unhinged this time because he does not have people around

1019
00:58:53,760 --> 00:58:54,960
him that are going to say no.

1020
00:58:54,960 --> 00:58:56,840
There are no adults in the room.

1021
00:58:56,840 --> 00:58:57,840
Yeah.

1022
00:58:57,840 --> 00:59:00,240
So we have four years to figure it out.

1023
00:59:00,240 --> 00:59:10,080
And already Kamala is polling above everybody else as a potential for president in 2028.

1024
00:59:10,080 --> 00:59:12,600
We can maybe talk about that next time.

1025
00:59:12,600 --> 00:59:16,120
Because I feel like that's a whole can of worms.

1026
00:59:16,120 --> 00:59:20,080
I have very strong opinions about how they should and should not run.

1027
00:59:20,080 --> 00:59:27,520
Little spoiler for next week, I think, then is maybe let's take another look at that strategy.

1028
00:59:27,520 --> 00:59:29,120
But that's all for this week.

1029
00:59:29,120 --> 00:59:31,120
Thank you so much for tuning in.

1030
00:59:31,120 --> 00:59:33,720
Thank you for listening and subscribing and all that stuff.

1031
00:59:33,720 --> 00:59:37,120
Make sure to subscribe and hit the bell if you're listening on YouTube.

1032
00:59:37,120 --> 00:59:44,000
Make sure to follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Blue Sky, wherever you listen to your

1033
00:59:44,000 --> 00:59:46,320
podcasts they are available.

1034
00:59:46,320 --> 00:59:50,280
Or you can just go straight to our RSS feed and listen from there.

1035
00:59:50,280 --> 00:59:52,600
Regardless, thanks for listening.

1036
00:59:52,600 --> 00:59:55,560
Let's stick through this.

1037
00:59:55,560 --> 00:59:57,560
We got this.

1038
00:59:57,560 --> 00:59:59,960
Keep hanging on with us on the left of Old North.

1039
00:59:59,960 --> 01:00:01,560
Happy New Year to everyone.

1040
01:00:01,560 --> 01:00:02,560
Happy New Year.

1041
01:00:02,560 --> 01:00:03,560
Happy New Year.

1042
01:00:03,560 --> 01:00:04,560
Yeah.

1043
01:00:04,560 --> 01:00:13,000
Hang on, I'm going to get my cat out of my room.

1044
01:00:13,000 --> 01:00:15,360
No, you're good.

1045
01:00:15,360 --> 01:00:36,120
My cat's been laying on my lap for the past 30 minutes.