WEBVTT - Eric Conroy for Congress 0:00:00.250 --> 0:00:04.630 The Talk Station. 0:00:04.650 --> 0:00:08.990 828-55-KRC. The Talk Station. Happy Monday. Brian Thomas in studio. 0:00:09.070 --> 0:00:11.090 Eric Conroy. You can find him online. 0:00:11.130 --> 0:00:15.090 You need to vote Eric Conroy. It's ericconroy.com. That's his 0:00:15.340 --> 0:00:18.210 election site. You can donate. You can get a yard sign. 0:00:18.230 --> 0:00:20.540 Apparently some people don't have yard signs out there, Eric. 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:21.739 We need to get one in their front yard. But 0:00:21.800 --> 0:00:25.079 we are fast, fast approaching. And, of course, with early 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:28.630 voting going on. Welcome back to the morning show, my friend. 0:00:28.910 --> 0:00:31.550 How do you feel right now? You've been out in 0:00:31.570 --> 0:00:33.640 the open. You've been talking to people, going door to door. 0:00:33.659 --> 0:00:35.340 You've been at town halls. You've been at the visits 0:00:35.380 --> 0:00:38.780 by J.D. Vance and Donald Trump. You get a sense 0:00:38.820 --> 0:00:41.860 of things because it's all gloom and doom. Republicans don't 0:00:41.900 --> 0:00:43.479 even bother showing up this year. 0:00:44.220 --> 0:00:46.680 Well, Brian, thanks again for having me on. And we 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:49.380 are very optimistic. And as I talk to folks around 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:52.050 the district and the region, people want that change here. 0:00:52.620 --> 0:00:55.040 in the Ohio district one congressional seat. And I was 0:00:55.080 --> 0:01:00.130 very excited to open for president Trump in Northern Kentucky, uh, on, uh, 0:01:00.180 --> 0:01:02.150 on Saturday. And I showed you his coin that he 0:01:02.190 --> 0:01:04.730 gave me about the size of a hockey puck. 0:01:04.750 --> 0:01:04.990 Yeah. 0:01:05.050 --> 0:01:05.670 It's a huge one. 0:01:05.790 --> 0:01:07.750 You know, you would expect with Donald Trump, his coin 0:01:07.790 --> 0:01:10.610 would be bigger than any other prior presidents just because, 0:01:10.670 --> 0:01:12.910 and of course it's adorned with gold. 0:01:13.050 --> 0:01:15.209 I think it probably gets direct TV with how big 0:01:15.250 --> 0:01:15.970 it is as well. 0:01:16.010 --> 0:01:16.790 Yeah. Yeah. 0:01:16.990 --> 0:01:19.400 It's certainly a wonderful paperweight things that comes in North 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:20.260 of a quarter pound. 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:20.720 Right. 0:01:21.180 --> 0:01:23.980 Uh, But I'll also be opening for J.D. 0:01:24.020 --> 0:01:26.300 Vance this Wednesday as well, which we're very excited about. 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:29.120 And we also released our latest polling last week as well, 0:01:29.140 --> 0:01:32.200 which shows us tied at 45-45 in the polls. So 0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:35.170 this race is alive and well, and we're looking forward 0:01:35.190 --> 0:01:39.210 to bringing back some common sense conservatism to District 1. 0:01:39.209 --> 0:01:40.890 Well, and anybody can see it, and I recommend they 0:01:40.930 --> 0:01:44.229 check it out, erikconroy.com. Let us roll through the issues 0:01:44.270 --> 0:01:46.930 that you are concerned about. One of the things we know. 0:01:47.900 --> 0:01:51.600 that a simple change of administration can have a profound impact. 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:54.400 Open borders, wide open. Oh my God, there's nothing we 0:01:54.440 --> 0:01:56.080 can do about it. We need to change the law. 0:01:56.140 --> 0:01:57.990 Change the law in order to address this problem, said 0:01:58.030 --> 0:02:00.210 Joe Biden eight gazillion times along with all of his 0:02:00.250 --> 0:02:03.770 Democrat pals. One moment in time, Donald Trump getting sworn 0:02:03.830 --> 0:02:06.510 in immediately. And that may be an overstatement, I acknowledge, 0:02:06.530 --> 0:02:08.679 but we are at like zero border crossings now. 0:02:09.360 --> 0:02:09.580 None. 0:02:10.620 --> 0:02:11.900 And then if you want to look at it, agree 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:14.559 or disagree with the deportations, I think it's a wonderful 0:02:14.600 --> 0:02:16.620 thing for the American people of any political stripe that 0:02:16.639 --> 0:02:19.740 we get people who are not lawfully in our country out, 0:02:19.780 --> 0:02:22.500 who have committed heinous crimes like raping children. You know, 0:02:22.540 --> 0:02:25.150 I mean, can't we all agree on that? But apparently not, Eric. 0:02:25.510 --> 0:02:27.930 Well, I think the president in this administration has done 0:02:27.950 --> 0:02:30.090 a terrific job in securing the border. And you can 0:02:30.110 --> 0:02:31.810 just look at some of the stats and numbers down 0:02:31.830 --> 0:02:34.930 there on the border. And what I find ironic about 0:02:34.950 --> 0:02:38.940 the whole situation is then-President Barack Obama also tried to 0:02:38.980 --> 0:02:41.559 secure the border in a very similar way. And there 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:44.399 was really no controversy around it. But when a Republican 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:47.340 president does it, for some reason, it's a bad thing. 0:02:47.460 --> 0:02:47.620 But. 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:50.320 I think he's doing a great job securing the border, 0:02:50.700 --> 0:02:52.500 and we're going to continue to do that because we 0:02:52.540 --> 0:02:56.510 can't let drug traffickers and sex traffickers and criminals into 0:02:56.530 --> 0:03:01.250 this country. And we need people to immigrate in the lawful, 0:03:01.330 --> 0:03:03.290 legal way. And I've got a lot of friends. I 0:03:03.430 --> 0:03:05.370 have some friends who I served in the military with 0:03:05.930 --> 0:03:09.530 who were maybe citizens of other countries, like maybe Caribbean islands, 0:03:09.550 --> 0:03:11.970 places like that. And they waited 10 years to get 0:03:11.990 --> 0:03:14.630 their citizenship while they were serving in the military. 0:03:15.460 --> 0:03:16.440 So really, I think this is. 0:03:18.030 --> 0:03:19.810 More about fairness more than anything else. 0:03:20.490 --> 0:03:21.419 No question about it. 0:03:21.450 --> 0:03:23.570 Yeah, one of the things that I am such a 0:03:23.630 --> 0:03:26.900 huge proponent of is giving families the ability to send 0:03:26.940 --> 0:03:29.200 their children to a school of their choice as opposed 0:03:29.220 --> 0:03:33.139 to one-size-fits-all, which it certainly does in the public education system. 0:03:33.600 --> 0:03:35.960 I know Greg Lansman, as a former teacher and has 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:40.300 two school-age children himself, he was fighting for increased public 0:03:40.340 --> 0:03:43.260 school spending, better teacher pay. He's also not interested in 0:03:43.460 --> 0:03:47.120 providing us with any measure of school choice. Denying people 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:50.090 the The opportunity for choice when we're talking about the 0:03:50.130 --> 0:03:52.630 most important thing in any family's life, which is the 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:55.600 lives and future of their children. I find that an 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:58.220 affront to all things American. And it really irks me 0:03:58.260 --> 0:04:00.880 to no end that people will run around like the 0:04:00.920 --> 0:04:04.100 teachers union president and just tell you that they are 0:04:04.140 --> 0:04:05.000 the only one. 0:04:05.100 --> 0:04:05.940 And really, they're only. 0:04:05.900 --> 0:04:08.840 Advocating and fighting for the teachers, not the children. The 0:04:08.900 --> 0:04:11.260 education scores bear witness to this. 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:15.400 Well, look, if you believe America is a meritocracy, and 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:18.120 I still believe that, then you should believe in choice, right? 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:21.250 Because it creates a lot of competition and fairness across 0:04:21.290 --> 0:04:23.510 the board. And I think also we need to take 0:04:23.550 --> 0:04:25.270 a look at the Department of Education, right? I think 0:04:25.290 --> 0:04:28.350 it's a sad day when you have Department of Education 0:04:28.390 --> 0:04:29.669 bureaucrats in D.C. 0:04:30.089 --> 0:04:30.589 Making $ 160, 000 a year. 0:04:32.750 --> 0:04:34.450 And then we have our teachers here in the tri-state 0:04:34.490 --> 0:04:36.990 making $ 35, 000 a year. So I think that needs to 0:04:37.029 --> 0:04:39.390 be rectified in some way. But also I think we 0:04:39.430 --> 0:04:42.610 need to consider great trajectories for our youth and what 0:04:42.630 --> 0:04:45.440 their career paths look like. And I'm a huge advocate 0:04:45.460 --> 0:04:48.140 of trade schools here in the region, right? Trade jobs, 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:52.620 whether it's electricians, plumbers, HVAC specialists, these are not going 0:04:52.640 --> 0:04:55.740 to be automated by AI anytime soon. And oftentimes those 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:58.960 career paths are a lot more productive than the typical 0:04:59.020 --> 0:05:01.120 four-year degree. So- I think we need to do a 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:04.090 better job of advertising those career paths, like trade schools 0:05:04.150 --> 0:05:07.789 as well, which is great for everyone across the board, black, white, Hispanic. 0:05:07.810 --> 0:05:10.270 These are great career paths for people to have. 0:05:10.410 --> 0:05:11.210 They really are. 0:05:11.310 --> 0:05:13.630 And the idea that you can earn while you learn, 0:05:13.670 --> 0:05:17.700 and so many have that apprenticeship journeyman, apprenticeship relationship thing, 0:05:18.060 --> 0:05:20.800 make decent money as a young person. Even someone right 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:23.860 out of high school can make a living wage. Don't 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:26.320 go work at McDonald's expecting to make a living wage. 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:29.620 That's not what that is for. That's a stepping stone job. 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:31.980 Get you a resume built. Show people you can show 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:34.640 up on time and then off to the next better gig. 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:39.979 But trades, hey, I've got Westside friends who were millionaires 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:41.680 by the time they were 30 because they went into 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:45.100 the trades. Meanwhile, their peers who decide to do a 0:05:45.160 --> 0:05:47.539 four-year degree and maybe a master's after that are still 0:05:47.580 --> 0:05:50.000 in college debt. So I think it's time to bring 0:05:50.060 --> 0:05:52.310 back the trades and really emphasize that. 0:05:52.580 --> 0:05:53.090 I agree. 0:05:53.230 --> 0:05:54.950 And, you know, my son-in-law is in the trades. He 0:05:54.990 --> 0:05:58.020 works for Fast and Pro Roofing. Does really well. As 0:05:58.040 --> 0:05:59.920 a young man, and he's got his future. I asked 0:05:59.940 --> 0:06:01.200 him the other day, I said, do you think you'll 0:06:01.250 --> 0:06:03.670 open your own business someday? He's like, I don't know 0:06:03.690 --> 0:06:04.950 if I want to take on the role of being 0:06:04.990 --> 0:06:08.310 a small business owner. But, you know, it's certainly a possibility. 0:06:09.330 --> 0:06:10.350 That's the great thing about it. 0:06:10.690 --> 0:06:12.810 Well, I think small businesses. 0:06:13.029 --> 0:06:14.690 I've always been a W-2. I point that out all 0:06:14.710 --> 0:06:14.950 the time. 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:19.140 I am thankful for the companies and businesses who have 0:06:19.220 --> 0:06:22.020 the wherewithal to start one and employ people. These are 0:06:22.040 --> 0:06:24.479 people that need to be rewarded, not penalized because they're 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:25.419 evil or something. 0:06:26.029 --> 0:06:28.230 Well, I'm also very excited, Brian, to report that I've 0:06:28.250 --> 0:06:32.230 been endorsed by NFIB, the Small Business Association. I really 0:06:32.270 --> 0:06:35.800 do believe that small businesses are the backbone to really 0:06:35.810 --> 0:06:38.720 all Midwest economies, but especially here in Cincinnati. And whether 0:06:38.740 --> 0:06:41.160 you go to the West Side or Warren County or 0:06:41.220 --> 0:06:44.820 Clinton County, small businesses are really what makes our community thrive. 0:06:45.320 --> 0:06:49.580 And having very favorable tax policies and growth policies for 0:06:49.620 --> 0:06:53.080 those small businesses to continue to operate and thrive, I think, 0:06:53.140 --> 0:06:53.960 is a great thing as well. 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:54.599 It is. 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:57.580 We'll talk Social Security, Medicare. We'll talk jobs, the economy, 0:06:57.620 --> 0:07:00.120 maybe national defense. We've got all kinds of issues to 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:05.150 talk about with Eric Conroy. EricConroy.com. He could use your help, 0:07:05.210 --> 0:07:13.190 and we could... Station. It's 838 at 55KRCD Talk Station. EricConroy.com. 0:07:13.210 --> 0:07:15.210 Eric Conroy in the studio. He's running for Congress against, 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:18.360 of course, Greg Gang of Five Landsmen. I reminded Christopher 0:07:18.380 --> 0:07:20.700 Smitheman this morning when he was talking about Greg Landsman 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:22.970 and how you are a superior vote, and I said, ah, 0:07:23.370 --> 0:07:25.350 And I knew he was a Gang of Five guy, 0:07:25.370 --> 0:07:27.310 so I just typed in Greg Lansman, Gang of Five. And, 0:07:27.330 --> 0:07:29.710 of course, the first article that popped up was going back, 0:07:30.070 --> 0:07:33.710 I guess it was 2000, whenever this happened, 2001, I think. 0:07:34.850 --> 0:07:39.670 Greg had to, well, he apologized to Christopher Smithman on 0:07:39.690 --> 0:07:42.330 the floor of council there for his involvement in the 0:07:42.350 --> 0:07:46.210 Gang of Five, which we all know was corruption on 0:07:46.290 --> 0:07:48.690 full display, making the city of Cincinnati look like some 0:07:48.730 --> 0:07:52.840 sort of backwoods corrupt. administration, which people drew a conclusion 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:55.020 that it was. Anyway, Eric Conroy, not to delve too 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.260 much time on that. Talking about the race, generally speaking, 0:07:57.300 --> 0:07:59.460 there was recently, and I know you know the article 0:07:59.500 --> 0:08:02.720 I'm talking about, a newspaper article from a major national newspaper, 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:06.600 left-leaning it was or is, suggesting that everybody's pulling the 0:08:06.620 --> 0:08:08.810 plug on your money. How's the money holding out, Eric, 0:08:08.850 --> 0:08:10.790 and does that have any resemblance to the truth? 0:08:11.950 --> 0:08:13.190 So, money is holding out pretty well. 0:08:13.290 --> 0:08:14.950 We still have seven figures to work with, and I 0:08:14.990 --> 0:08:18.230 did see the New York Times article, and it's a 0:08:18.250 --> 0:08:21.560 tough cycle across the country, and There has been some 0:08:21.640 --> 0:08:24.880 incumbents who have needed a little bit more support than expected, 0:08:25.620 --> 0:08:27.620 which is where that New York Times article was coming from. 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:30.480 But overall, that article was very overblown, right? We still 0:08:30.540 --> 0:08:34.720 have our new lines here, a 53% Republican district. As 0:08:34.780 --> 0:08:37.910 I mentioned, we're dead tied in the polls at 45-45, 0:08:38.370 --> 0:08:40.150 and we still have plenty of resources to get this 0:08:40.190 --> 0:08:43.030 thing done. So we're very excited. And also, with the 0:08:43.309 --> 0:08:45.730 Vivek and Husted races on the ballot this year, we're 0:08:45.790 --> 0:08:47.890 confident we're going to have the turnout that we need 0:08:48.110 --> 0:08:50.079 to pull this thing off. And I even had a 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:52.920 nice brief chat with Speaker Mike Johnson on the phone 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:54.870 last night, just catching up on the race and what's 0:08:54.900 --> 0:08:57.150 going on around the country. And he said, look, Eric, 0:08:57.170 --> 0:08:59.150 I've seen your polling. We're chalking your race up as 0:08:59.210 --> 0:09:01.970 a win. You've got it. The numbers are there. So 0:09:02.010 --> 0:09:03.570 everyone here is very excited and we're going to pull 0:09:03.590 --> 0:09:04.030 this thing off. 0:09:04.610 --> 0:09:07.110 So, I mean, boil down since the polls show what 0:09:07.130 --> 0:09:08.370 the polls show. And I know you have your own 0:09:08.410 --> 0:09:11.430 internal polling, but poll after poll after poll is showing 0:09:11.480 --> 0:09:14.329 Democrats way ahead. And, you know, There's a lot of 0:09:14.410 --> 0:09:17.890 reasons why I and I would think most every one 0:09:17.910 --> 0:09:21.030 of the listening audience doesn't believe polls anymore. How do 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:23.359 you statistically sample? How do you get the right mix 0:09:23.420 --> 0:09:26.520 of Republicans and Democrats? You don't even really know truly 0:09:26.559 --> 0:09:28.380 who's going to vote or not going to vote. And 0:09:28.400 --> 0:09:31.059 how do you deal with the ever-growing legions of people 0:09:31.100 --> 0:09:34.250 who really will not even pick up a telephone call 0:09:34.290 --> 0:09:36.760 if they don't recognize who it's coming from? Or the 0:09:36.900 --> 0:09:39.589 legions of growing members of the Republican Party who don't 0:09:39.610 --> 0:09:41.670 want to out loud be affiliated with Trump for fear 0:09:41.690 --> 0:09:44.089 that the Justice Department is going to launch an investigation 0:09:44.130 --> 0:09:46.990 into him. Broad brush statement, I know, but there is 0:09:47.030 --> 0:09:49.410 that sort of, I'm not going to say anything out loud, 0:09:49.470 --> 0:09:51.850 screw you guy factor going out there because I personally 0:09:51.929 --> 0:09:53.990 hold it. I have never participated in. 0:09:53.970 --> 0:09:54.990 A poll ever. 0:09:55.490 --> 0:09:58.610 And that's exactly right, Brian. And polling these days is 0:09:58.650 --> 0:10:02.500 some kind of hocus pocus. witchcraft science, right? It's not 0:10:02.540 --> 0:10:05.280 a science. It's not an art. It's somewhere in between. 0:10:05.300 --> 0:10:08.400 And a lot of Republican voters, frankly, don't participate in polls. 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:11.220 And especially nowadays. I mean, how many spam calls do 0:10:11.260 --> 0:10:14.710 you get a day? It's very hard to get Republicans 0:10:14.750 --> 0:10:16.850 to not only participate in polls, but to understand that 0:10:16.870 --> 0:10:19.090 they're even being approached for a poll sometimes as well. 0:10:19.660 --> 0:10:21.640 And I did see some interesting stats out there that 0:10:21.679 --> 0:10:24.540 a lot of polls underestimate Republicans by as much as 0:10:24.580 --> 0:10:27.250 three to five points because of that. So if you 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:31.030 are seeing polls that are close, know that that's probably 0:10:31.150 --> 0:10:33.950 underestimating Republican voters by at least three to five points, 0:10:34.290 --> 0:10:38.550 especially in these federal in these federal races. So polls 0:10:38.809 --> 0:10:41.360 are the polls, right? They're typically wrong. And the only 0:10:41.410 --> 0:10:43.199 poll that matters is the one on Election Day. That's 0:10:43.220 --> 0:10:43.940 when the votes are counted. 0:10:44.260 --> 0:10:45.860 And it's so important to get out and vote. You 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:47.620 could do it today. You can. 0:10:48.710 --> 0:10:50.830 You can't wait until election. They keep reminding people. It's like, 0:10:50.870 --> 0:10:56.059 come on. And the Republicans are voting early in much 0:10:56.100 --> 0:10:58.699 greater numbers than they were, although I saw the statistics 0:10:58.740 --> 0:10:59.979 the Ohio Press Network released. 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:01.500 I think it was the Ohio Press Network. It doesn't matter. 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:05.170 But tracking the number of people who've early voted, Democrats 0:11:05.230 --> 0:11:08.130 are ahead, but not by as much as in prior years. 0:11:08.770 --> 0:11:10.550 Yeah, I think we're going to see a high turnout 0:11:10.610 --> 0:11:12.530 midterm this year on both sides, right? 0:11:12.550 --> 0:11:13.050 And hopefully. 0:11:13.500 --> 0:11:16.300 On the Republican side, it's higher than the Democratic side, 0:11:16.330 --> 0:11:18.630 which is ideal. But I think people are really starting 0:11:18.650 --> 0:11:21.210 to get the message that this is a very important 0:11:21.250 --> 0:11:24.890 midterm and quite possibly the most important midterm of our lifetime. 0:11:24.929 --> 0:11:28.510 We now have a Democratic Party where 60% of people 0:11:28.570 --> 0:11:31.910 believe socialism is a good thing. And this is not 0:11:32.470 --> 0:11:34.350 just another election. This is a fight for the heart 0:11:34.390 --> 0:11:36.630 and soul of this country. And if you believe in 0:11:36.690 --> 0:11:40.480 America and what we stand for, freedom, capitalism, and not socialism— 0:11:41.000 --> 0:11:42.660 You really need to get out and vote because my 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:45.450 message is that America is on the ballot this year. 0:11:46.300 --> 0:11:47.230 Without question. 0:11:47.330 --> 0:11:49.969 And if you haven't gotten a memo on that fact 0:11:50.010 --> 0:11:52.170 right there, my listening audience, then you really need to 0:11:52.190 --> 0:11:54.990 start paying more attention because we are on the brink 0:11:55.030 --> 0:11:57.470 of something very serious here if we don't right the ship. 0:11:58.370 --> 0:12:00.830 And I was commenting earlier this morning, you don't need 0:12:00.850 --> 0:12:04.250 to embrace my perception on this, Eric Conroy, but my 0:12:04.290 --> 0:12:06.710 perception is if you see what's going on in France, 0:12:06.730 --> 0:12:09.450 they're like a baby step, maybe one full step ahead 0:12:09.490 --> 0:12:13.319 of us. swirling out of control. The populace has no 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:16.320 ability to deal with the fires, the burning of buildings, 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:19.920 the riots in the streets. It's like the BLM anti-fog 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:23.459 got together and it's on steroids in France. But the 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:25.240 one thing I did note, and one way you can 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:29.100 contrast yourself, I presume, Eric Conroy, is on the issue 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:32.500 of the Second Amendment. I was recalling the shop owners, 0:12:32.540 --> 0:12:34.820 the Korean shop owners during the LA riots. What were 0:12:34.840 --> 0:12:37.260 they able to do? Protect themselves and their property because 0:12:37.300 --> 0:12:38.579 they were sitting up on top of the buildings. 0:12:38.600 --> 0:12:39.620 The Koreans on the rooftops. 0:12:39.660 --> 0:12:39.819 Yeah. 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:40.000 Yeah. 0:12:40.410 --> 0:12:42.890 With AR-15s. 0:12:43.590 --> 0:12:43.989 You got it. 0:12:44.110 --> 0:12:47.570 Among other firearms. Greg Lansman, however, to contrast, is interested 0:12:47.610 --> 0:12:50.189 in background checks, red flag laws, age restrictions, and a 0:12:50.250 --> 0:12:53.410 ban on what he calls assault weapons, the modern sport rifle, 0:12:53.500 --> 0:12:56.740 widely popular it is. So he's an anti-gun guy, so 0:12:56.760 --> 0:12:58.200 you can count on that. He wants to take away 0:12:58.220 --> 0:12:59.140 your ability to defend yourself. 0:12:59.660 --> 0:13:02.600 Well, look, I'm pro-Second Amendment, right? I'm a proud gun 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:05.760 owner myself. I own a Glock pistol. It's what I 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:08.179 carried when I was in the CIA as well, so 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:10.990 I'm very comfortable with it. And people need to have 0:13:11.030 --> 0:13:12.670 the right to bear arms, right? It's right there in 0:13:12.690 --> 0:13:15.870 the Constitution. It can't be any more clear. And I'm 0:13:15.890 --> 0:13:16.510 a huge supporter. 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:19.050 I'm glad to hear that. And I did not have 0:13:19.170 --> 0:13:20.060 any doubt in my mind. 0:13:20.460 --> 0:13:22.579 We'll stop right now. We'll bring Eric Conroy back for 0:13:22.600 --> 0:13:25.160 a couple more topics. He can go across contrasting himself 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:26.720 with the lesser candidate that is Greg. 0:13:26.760 --> 0:13:28.870 Gang of five, Lansman. See, I keep bringing that up. 0:13:29.660 --> 0:13:31.819 Don't go away. It's 845-55-KRC, the talk station. 55-KRC. 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:44.640 Click station. 848-55-KRC, the talk station, ericconroy.com. Eric running for 0:13:44.660 --> 0:13:47.079 the first against Greg Lansman. And, you know, we were 0:13:47.100 --> 0:13:49.190 talking off air, and I keep, and I know whether 0:13:49.230 --> 0:13:51.309 it's people appreciate it or not, or even remember the 0:13:51.330 --> 0:13:55.910 whole gang of five antics on Sensei City Council. You 0:13:55.950 --> 0:13:58.450 said to me something in passing that you don't view 0:13:58.510 --> 0:14:00.890 that whole Gang of Five thing as as bad as 0:14:00.929 --> 0:14:03.010 this current issue involving his stock trading. 0:14:03.170 --> 0:14:05.400 Well, don't get me wrong. The Gang of Five issue 0:14:05.460 --> 0:14:07.040 is damning. And I think we all know it pretty 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:10.020 well here in the city. But his stock trading sins 0:14:10.059 --> 0:14:12.200 the last couple of years, I would argue, are worse. 0:14:12.240 --> 0:14:12.500 He was. 0:14:13.150 --> 0:14:16.190 caught and punished for insider trading and breaking the Stock 0:14:16.330 --> 0:14:18.800 Act back in 2025, which is a federal law. 0:14:19.360 --> 0:14:22.040 And not only that, he went back and rewrote three. 0:14:21.820 --> 0:14:24.280 Years worth of financial disclosures to hide it from the 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:27.560 hardworking people of this district. If you're unfamiliar, if you 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:30.280 are a candidate or an elected official, you're required to 0:14:30.330 --> 0:14:33.550 fill out a financial disclosure, which describes your holdings and 0:14:33.570 --> 0:14:36.070 your net worth. And he went back and rewrote three 0:14:36.110 --> 0:14:38.670 of those, covering up dozens of trades worth over a 0:14:38.690 --> 0:14:43.240 million dollars. Brian, his net worth has literally tripled. tripled 0:14:43.300 --> 0:14:45.800 in less than four years on the Hill. Does this 0:14:45.820 --> 0:14:47.580 sound like a guy who's there for the right reasons? 0:14:48.620 --> 0:14:50.170 I want to know who his financial planner is. 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:52.970 Hell of a financial advisor, right? I think it's probably 0:14:52.990 --> 0:14:56.110 Nancy Pelosi. Is she a CPA, Nancy Pelosi? 0:14:56.130 --> 0:14:59.310 I don't know. Maybe. Maybe he's getting advice from whoever's 0:14:59.330 --> 0:15:00.010 giving her advice. 0:15:00.170 --> 0:15:02.510 But look, we need people there for the right reasons 0:15:02.710 --> 0:15:05.930 and who also represent common sense conservative values because that's 0:15:05.950 --> 0:15:08.890 what this district reflects right now. And getting people there 0:15:09.090 --> 0:15:11.290 for the right reasons who actually represent the values of 0:15:11.310 --> 0:15:12.290 this district are important. 0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:15.100 Well, you did serve your country. After graduating, I might 0:15:15.140 --> 0:15:17.920 know from Westside Institution Elder High School. Good morning, my 0:15:17.980 --> 0:15:19.640 elder friends out there and folks on the Westside. 0:15:20.180 --> 0:15:21.140 You went to the U.S. 0:15:21.220 --> 0:15:23.210 Air Force Academy and then went on and worked for 0:15:23.230 --> 0:15:25.150 the CIA for a long time. I think that demonstrates 0:15:25.170 --> 0:15:26.210 your commitment to our country. 0:15:26.230 --> 0:15:28.350 Well, I think so, right? 0:15:28.710 --> 0:15:31.570 And I served 14 years in the Air Force and 0:15:31.590 --> 0:15:33.850 the CIA, and I'd like to say that I've dedicated 0:15:33.910 --> 0:15:37.290 my life to service. And serving this great community and region, 0:15:37.350 --> 0:15:39.770 I consider that next chapter in a life of service. 0:15:39.970 --> 0:15:42.830 And I do believe that I have the leadership skills 0:15:42.890 --> 0:15:45.550 and perspective to not only do this job well, but 0:15:45.570 --> 0:15:49.590 to be a substantial upgrade over career politician Greg Lansman. 0:15:49.970 --> 0:15:53.950 Well, I have to broach the subject, right? Artificial intelligence. 0:15:54.310 --> 0:15:56.190 You knew this was going to come. Data centers, people 0:15:56.230 --> 0:15:58.890 are angry at them. They're protesting them. And, you know, 0:15:58.910 --> 0:16:02.730 I'll say it again. You can't unring the bell. Artificial 0:16:02.750 --> 0:16:05.490 intelligence is here. It's not going anywhere. It may be devastating. 0:16:05.510 --> 0:16:07.250 It may kill us all. It may make our lives better. 0:16:07.270 --> 0:16:09.960 But we have no idea what lies in store. The 0:16:09.980 --> 0:16:11.800 question is who's going to be responsible for it? Who 0:16:11.870 --> 0:16:15.550 is going to, well, be responsible for development? Is it 0:16:15.570 --> 0:16:16.530 going to be us or is it going to be 0:16:16.570 --> 0:16:18.590 some foreign country like the Chinese who seem to be 0:16:18.650 --> 0:16:21.590 our only major competitors in the field of AI? To 0:16:21.610 --> 0:16:24.470 do AI, you've got to have data centers. So they're 0:16:24.510 --> 0:16:28.430 going someplace. They do bring revenue and job creation. Construction 0:16:28.470 --> 0:16:32.340 job creation is amazing. Those things employ a ton of, 0:16:32.740 --> 0:16:36.400 might I point out, union jobs. But the risks and 0:16:36.420 --> 0:16:39.450 the problems that people seem to be carping about are 0:16:39.750 --> 0:16:44.610 all surmountable up front. Vivek Ramaswamy's got his plan up front. 0:16:44.670 --> 0:16:46.730 This will be the rules in place. You must bring 0:16:46.770 --> 0:16:49.030 your own power, noise issues, water issues, all must be 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:52.060 addressed and satisfy the community. And plus, don't build them 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:52.820 in a neighborhood. 0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:54.660 And that seems. 0:16:54.500 --> 0:16:56.760 To be the best possible way to move forward with 0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:59.740 this because I think we would like those jobs here 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:00.780 in the state of Ohio. 0:17:01.300 --> 0:17:02.640 And if we can address those challenges. 0:17:03.010 --> 0:17:05.669 I think people out there protesting are victims of not 0:17:05.710 --> 0:17:08.560 only propaganda, but also to the misguided impression that if 0:17:08.580 --> 0:17:11.340 they don't build a data center right there, then AI 0:17:11.619 --> 0:17:12.659 is going to go away. 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:17.440 Well, look, I'm a fan of small government first and foremost. 0:17:17.520 --> 0:17:19.640 And I think that this is a local issue first 0:17:19.720 --> 0:17:22.260 or foremost. So if a local community decides that they 0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:24.840 would like to have a data center, I'll support them 0:17:24.880 --> 0:17:26.700 and help them do that. If they decide that they 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:29.659 don't want a data center, I'll also support them and 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:31.540 help them do that. But At the same time, I 0:17:31.580 --> 0:17:33.320 think big tech needs to foot the bill on the 0:17:33.359 --> 0:17:36.379 majority of the costs that affect the community in the 0:17:36.420 --> 0:17:39.030 surrounding region. But at the same time, like you said, 0:17:39.050 --> 0:17:40.540 I think we need to keep an open mind to it. 0:17:40.570 --> 0:17:43.730 We do need to win the AI race against China. 0:17:43.830 --> 0:17:46.209