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Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, welcome to battle ground. So if you're an

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Speaker 1: American and you've been going to the grocery store and

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Speaker 1: tracking the cost of those groceries, you've likely noticed the

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Speaker 1: skyrocketing cost of eggs and probably wondering what the heck

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Speaker 1: is going on. So today we've got, of course, legendary

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Speaker 1: political reporter also has legendary hair. Her name is Selena Zitos.

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Speaker 1: She's all over the place, and I'm sure you've seen

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Speaker 1: her columns in the Washington Examiner and in the New

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Speaker 1: York Post from her dispatches from the middle of somewhere.

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Speaker 1: And we created this segment called Boots on the Ground

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Speaker 1: because well, Selena's boots on the ground just about everywhere.

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Speaker 1: You've got this great column out where you did a

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Speaker 1: deep dive on the skyrocketing cost of eggs, and the

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Speaker 1: column is called Avian flu is crushing our farmers? So

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Speaker 1: what the heck is going on here?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's really, you know, all of us are feeling

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Speaker 2: the pinch. It's really. I mean, there's very few things

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Speaker 2: that we make, whether we're baking or cooking or just

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Speaker 2: making our kids eggs in the morning or waffles or pancakes, whatever,

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Speaker 2: eggs are almost in everything. It's an American staple. Americans

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Speaker 2: love their eggs, and the prices are insane. I mean

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Speaker 2: they're upwards of seven dollars a dozen. I've seen all

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Speaker 2: the way up to ten dollars a dozen. When some

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Speaker 2: families go through two dozen a week and they're used

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Speaker 2: to paying hunder two dollars for a dozen, that takes

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Speaker 2: a That just sort of adds to the economic stress

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Speaker 2: that people are feeling. However, I think it's important that

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Speaker 2: we understand that you are not the only ones really

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Speaker 2: going through a very hard time. The poultry farmers, and

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Speaker 2: in this country, there's thousands of them in Pennsylvania alone,

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Speaker 2: let alone across the country are going through and eat

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Speaker 2: and even worse economic but also a very emotional impact

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Speaker 2: with this with what's causing this, and that is the

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Speaker 2: Avian flu. We haven't seen an avian flu outbreak in

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Speaker 2: a manner that we saw since twenty fourteen, and it

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Speaker 2: wasn't even as bad as it is today. The flu

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Speaker 2: tends to spike and peak between March and September, and

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Speaker 2: it kills millions and millions of flocks of poultry. We're

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Speaker 2: also talking about turkeys, not just chickens, but it also

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Speaker 2: impacts eagles and hawks, and what a farmer has to

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Speaker 2: go through to protect their flock is unbelievable. They have

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Speaker 2: to spend several times a day dressing in a biohazard suit,

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Speaker 2: testing all of their birds, testing the blocks, wiping down

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Speaker 2: their walls, wiping down their stalls, not letting their birds out.

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Speaker 2: And then it's there's a huge cost and time sort

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Speaker 2: of you know, wrapped into that. But then you add

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Speaker 2: in the isolation that it causes, because this flu can

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Speaker 2: come into your facility, come into your farm, even from

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Speaker 2: a speck on the tread of a tire of your

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Speaker 2: Amazon deliverer, or the or the people that are bringing

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Speaker 2: your fertilizer, or the people that are picking up your

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Speaker 2: kids from school on the school boss. I mean, they

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Speaker 2: have missed church, they have missed gatherings because they're afraid

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Speaker 2: to go out. And so the impact is just economical,

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Speaker 2: it's also emotional.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, what I find sort of unbelievable is that the

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Speaker 1: farmers are taking all of these precautions, all the things

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Speaker 1: that you just said, where in buyer hazard suits, disinfecting

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Speaker 1: all of their equipment. It's tedious, it's costly, it just

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Speaker 1: takes a long time and has an unbelievable emotional toll

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Speaker 1: on the farmers as well, because they have to isolate

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Speaker 1: themselves from all the things that they love in society,

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Speaker 1: their community, their church, wherever it is that they gather.

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Speaker 1: And so this problem, obviously inflation is a part of it.

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Speaker 1: Reckless government spending is a part of it. It just

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Speaker 1: costs more to do everything, to farm, to produce the eggs,

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Speaker 1: the diesel in the trucks, to get the eggs to

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Speaker 1: the grocery store. All of those costs are passed off

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Speaker 1: on the consumer, and that hurts our pocketbook as Americans.

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Speaker 1: And believe me when I tell you, I got five kids.

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Speaker 1: We go through a lot of eggs and it gets

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Speaker 1: costly really really fast. But the emotional toll that this

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Speaker 1: has taken on our farmers, and to me, this is

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Speaker 1: something that I think has not been talked about, not

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Speaker 1: even enough, but not even at all throughout this crisis.

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Speaker 1: And I think most Americans are just content to blame,

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Speaker 1: you know, what's happening on inflation or reckless government spending.

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Speaker 1: But the problem is more complicated than that. You talked

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Speaker 1: about av and flu. But the part and parcel with

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Speaker 1: dealing with the av and flu is how our farmers

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Speaker 1: are struggling. You mentioned to me, I think, in a

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Speaker 1: conversation last week or maybe it was this week, about

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Speaker 1: how after combat veterans, the next demographic or professional in

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Speaker 1: this country with the second highest suicide rate in the

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Speaker 1: country are farmers.

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Speaker 2: Farmers and ranchers. There are two times more lucky to

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Speaker 2: commit suicide than any other occupation outside of a military veteran.

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Speaker 3: It's crazy to me, Selena.

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Speaker 2: And it's not something they talk about. Suicide is not

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Speaker 2: something you talk about in the farming community. And you're

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Speaker 2: supposed to be strong, you're supposed to be the pillar

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Speaker 2: of the community. You're supposed to be the provider of

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Speaker 2: food for the nation. So it's not something that's ever

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Speaker 2: spoken about. And there are, oftentimes there are suicides that

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Speaker 2: we believe it don't even get counted. You know, farmer

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Speaker 2: rolled over on their tractor and and you know, there

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Speaker 2: are plenty of farmers that I've talked to that have

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Speaker 2: said that would have never happened with that farmer. That

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Speaker 2: farmer is too good to be, you know, too skilled

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Speaker 2: to have done that, right, So that question lnkers and

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Speaker 2: and you know, I think that the we're not even

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Speaker 2: thinking about how we as consumers are contributing to the

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Speaker 2: spread of of the You know, the avian flu comes

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Speaker 2: from geese flying over our head and they're migrating patterns.

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Speaker 1: Look, Selena, that's that's that's what shocked me through all

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Speaker 1: of this, all of the rigorous steps that farmers take

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Speaker 1: to protect their flock, right, but how do you protect

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Speaker 1: your flock from sixty thousand Canadian geese that fly over

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Speaker 1: and and basically contaminate the flock and and and what's

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Speaker 1: what's seriously crazy about this is just how contagious the

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Speaker 1: avian flu is. You know, you mentioned like, you know,

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Speaker 1: a UPS driver delivering a package to my home, and

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Speaker 1: if I had chickens that that provided my family with eggs,

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Speaker 1: and maybe the ups drivers steps and droppings drives to

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Speaker 1: a farm, a poultry farm. Now next with a flock.

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Speaker 1: The droppings from his shoe can contaminate that flock, and

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Speaker 1: once one bird is infected, the entire flock could be

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Speaker 1: wiped out. And we're seeing farmers have to euthanize and

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Speaker 1: kill millions of these chickens, which not only hasn't adds

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Speaker 1: another layer to that emotional toll, but it's part of

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Speaker 1: the reason why eggs are rising and costs so rapidly.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, I mean people are doing it unknowingly. You're

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Speaker 2: your bird feeder, you go to I mean, there's whole

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Speaker 2: sections that tractor supply in Walmart where you can get

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Speaker 2: everything you ever needed to raise chickens, including the little chicks. Well,

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Speaker 2: there's no regulation, and I know, you know, I'm in

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Speaker 2: the same camp about how we feel about regulations on family,

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Speaker 2: you know, family having chickens. However, they're not under the

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Speaker 2: same scrutiny. They're not following the same procedures that farmers are,

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Speaker 2: and there's a wild chance that they could be spreading

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Speaker 2: the disease unknowingly as well, and it's just devastating for

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Speaker 2: the for these farmers. I will say that the State

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Speaker 2: of Pennsylvania, the agg Department, has done an incredible job.

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Speaker 2: They've really educated the farmers. They've provided whatever they need

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Speaker 2: in terms of trying to keep their farms self contained. Obviously,

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Speaker 2: after we've talked about that, it's almost impossible to think

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Speaker 2: about trying to contain it, right. But I think that

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Speaker 2: we need to educate the public better about how we

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Speaker 2: cannot contribute to it as well until this crisis is over.

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Speaker 2: This crisis began in Europe, and if you look at

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Speaker 2: the migrat I've become a real expert on migrating parts.

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Speaker 2: But who you know who do right, But the migration

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Speaker 2: starts in Europe, goes over across Canada and then comes

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Speaker 2: down through the United States and into South America. And

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Speaker 2: they're in their third worst year of having it, and

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Speaker 2: those birds are coming again come April. We are very

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Speaker 2: highly at risk. I don't know what can stop it

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Speaker 2: from us having a third year of a highly contagion

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Speaker 2: avian influenza.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's scary stuff and Selena would so appreciate your

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Speaker 1: reporting on it because frankly, no one's talking about it,

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Speaker 1: and I think there is an educational component that has

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Speaker 1: to come with this, teaching the public about what the

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Speaker 1: heck is actually going on, things that affect their life

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Speaker 1: every day. So awesome, awesome, awesome report on that. Seriously,

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Speaker 1: it was incredible.

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Speaker 2: It was really As I was doing all the research

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Speaker 2: for this story, right, I was stunned at how no

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Speaker 2: one else is written that story. And I don't mean

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Speaker 2: that from an ego's point of view. You know, my

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Speaker 2: natural curiosity is like, Okay, the prices are high, Okay,

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Speaker 2: why inflation? Absolutely? However, this is bigger than any other

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Speaker 2: part of our our nutrition. Why is this one bigger?

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Speaker 2: You got to be curious enough to find out the

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Speaker 2: whole story as opposed to only part of the story.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. Well, that's why we love you, that's why. That's

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Speaker 3: why I'm gonna keep talking to you as much as

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Speaker 3: humanly possible, as much as you'll have me.

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Speaker 1: So I want to shift gears for a second and

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Speaker 1: talk about the tale of three counties.

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Speaker 3: You at a piece where Where's where's that piece? Place?

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Speaker 3: Was it in the Post Cazette?

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Speaker 2: Isn't your Post Caazette. If people want to check out

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Speaker 2: all of my reporting, they can go Selena Zito dot

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Speaker 2: com s A L E N A Z I t

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Speaker 2: o sign up for the emails. They're free, they're fine,

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Speaker 2: and they're not fattening.

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Speaker 3: It's gonna push what she tells you to do.

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Speaker 1: People and Grandma, Okay, so what the hell is going

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Speaker 1: on with the Pennsylvania Republican Party? Reading that article, it

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Speaker 1: looks like there is a fracturing that's going on in

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Speaker 1: Republican committees, especially in Western Pennsylvania. And if if you

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Speaker 1: pay attention to Pennsylvania politics at all, you know that

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Speaker 1: Western Pennsylvania is the Republican wall. Republicans that run statewide

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Speaker 1: in the state of Pennsylvania have a tremendous advantage if

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Speaker 1: they're from the West. So my question to you is,

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Speaker 1: is what we're seeing happening in these committees normal?

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Speaker 2: Yes, it is normal. However it is at a level

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Speaker 2: that I have never seen before. But that doesn't mean

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Speaker 2: it won't all come back together. I must have done

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Speaker 2: a good enough job because New York Times is now

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Speaker 2: following me in in Butler County and that story.

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Speaker 3: So so what are the counties? So break down the country.

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Speaker 1: We got Washington County, we got Butler County, and we

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Speaker 1: have Alleghany County, so three. So most people don't know this,

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Speaker 1: but Alleghany County is the most populous Republican county in

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Speaker 1: the state, even though it's a heavily Democrat county. In

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Speaker 1: a general election, more Republicans live in Alleghany County than

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Speaker 1: anywhere else in the state of Pennsylvania. Then they have

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Speaker 1: Washington which is a Republican strongholding, Butler County, which is

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Speaker 1: which is also a strong which is also strong for

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Speaker 1: Republicans and those fracturing.

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Speaker 3: I don't maybe.

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Speaker 1: Fracturing is too strong of a word, Selena, but there

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Speaker 1: is very intense internal debate.

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Speaker 2: It isn't There is fracturing. I mean, look every general,

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Speaker 2: not every generation, every couple of years, there's a movement

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Speaker 2: and and the within any political party. Uh you know,

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Speaker 2: it's not just the Republicans, but let's just stick with

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Speaker 2: the Republicans. Ten years ago it was the Tea Party,

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Speaker 2: and before the Tea Party was Pat Toomey, and it

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Speaker 2: wasn't really a movement. This is two thousand and four.

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Speaker 2: He ran in a primary against Arlen Inspector, almost beat

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Speaker 2: Arlen Inspector. And when I say almost, I mean like

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Speaker 2: by a thousand votes. He came in in a Republican primary.

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Speaker 2: And then those are hints to tell you that a

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Speaker 2: party and a coalition is shifting. And four years or

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Speaker 2: six years later, to me, wins, he wins the primary,

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Speaker 2: he wins the general election, he wins again in twenty sixteen.

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Speaker 2: It is interesting to me because Pat Toomey hasn't changed,

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Speaker 2: but there are portions of the party that say I

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Speaker 2: love Pat Toomey. In two thousand and four, I couldn't

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Speaker 2: have voted for him in a primary last year. And

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Speaker 2: because of that, you have to sit back and say, well,

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Speaker 2: is Pat Toomey change? Not? Really? Pat Toomey is the

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Speaker 2: same guy he's always been. It's the coalitions that change.

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Speaker 2: We move, Our coalitions in both party move a couple inches,

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Speaker 2: sort of like how on earthquake shifts the ground and

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Speaker 2: every cycle every year. And so the problem is is

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Speaker 2: a lot of these fractions and I'm gonna call them

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Speaker 2: the patriot groups who because most of them does identify

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Speaker 2: themselves as like the Patriot group. The problem is is

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Speaker 2: that they start to demand litmus tests. You can't be

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Speaker 2: part of the party if you support this, and you

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Speaker 2: can't be part of the party if you support that,

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Speaker 2: and you're not conservative enough. If you did this, what

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Speaker 2: you end up doing is boxing out all the people

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Speaker 2: that actually do the hard work, the volunteering and the

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Speaker 2: party building that make a party viable in a general elections.

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Speaker 1: And Selina, let me just tell you, like, if this

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Speaker 1: were deep red, you know, I don't know Alabama, Mississippi

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Speaker 1: are a state that's what R plus thirty, and I

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Speaker 1: don't know the political makeup of those states. I'm just

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Speaker 1: a deep red state, maybe what you were talking about

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Speaker 1: isn't that big of a deal. But in a state

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Speaker 1: like Pennsylvania, where Republicans already have the decks stacked against us,

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Speaker 1: in other words, we are at a significant registration deficit.

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Speaker 1: In other words, that that what that means is is

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Speaker 1: that Republicans can't win in this state statewide with Republican

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Speaker 1: support alone. You have to build a coalition. You need,

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Speaker 1: you need at least at least fifty sixty percent of

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Speaker 1: independence coming your way. You need, you know, moderate blue

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Speaker 1: collar democrats come in your way as well. So litmus

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Speaker 1: tests in a state like Pennsylvania where you're pushing conservatives,

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Speaker 1: good strong conservatives to the margins is not good. The

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Speaker 1: party itself needs to be united, especially moving into a critical,

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Speaker 1: critical twenty twenty four cycle.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so Butler County is my favorite hot mess.

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Speaker 3: Oh, I know all about Butler County.

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Speaker 2: There was, and I'm going to try to explain it

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Speaker 2: in the most economy of words. Right, there was the

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Speaker 2: established Butler County Party that was sanctioned by the state party.

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Speaker 2: It's been around for a gazillion years. Then there was

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Speaker 2: this faction that decided that they were going to be

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Speaker 2: the Butler County They wanted the power. They didn't get

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Speaker 2: the power. So what did they do? They incorporated the

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Speaker 2: Butler County Establishment Party's name legally the state party. Then

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Speaker 2: was like, eh, which is so weak and so ineffective

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Speaker 2: and so unable to be able to tie their own shoes.

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Speaker 2: They turn around and give it, give it to this

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Speaker 2: new party who stole the name. Then there was a

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Speaker 2: third part who joined in with the second part to

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Speaker 2: ask the original party, and then they they all get together.

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Speaker 2: They have this new party, and then they're now fighting.

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Speaker 3: And so the original.

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Speaker 2: Party people said, y'all know what, We're just gonna go

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Speaker 2: over here and be normal and do what we're supposed

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Speaker 2: to do, which is recruit the candidate's a mail in

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Speaker 2: ballot program and register party and registered voters, and y'all

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Speaker 2: can figure out your little, you know, soap opera. And

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Speaker 2: then Ozo was driving home for Butler. I found this

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Speaker 2: fourth faction that I forget what I think they called themselves,

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Speaker 2: the Impassionate Republicans of Butler County, can't I quite remember.

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Speaker 2: So at the end of the day it's all going

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Speaker 2: to come together. But right now it's like watching as

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Speaker 2: the world terms.

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Speaker 1: I think it's going to come together to I certainly hope.

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Speaker 3: So we need to.

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Speaker 1: There's there's no ifans or butts. As a Republican, we

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Speaker 1: have to. There's it's a zero s game for us.

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Speaker 1: Last thing I'll say, because I don't want to keep

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Speaker 1: you too long. But Democrats have these problems too, especially

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Speaker 1: in Western Pennsylvania where you have a very strong coalition

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Speaker 1: of blue collar Democrats, moderate Democrats, working class democrats, union

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Speaker 1: Democrats who oftentimes find themselves up against radical socialist progressives. Right, So,

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Speaker 1: so Democrats have their their share of chaos as well.

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Speaker 2: Oh yeah, by the way, Republicans don't have the you know,

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Speaker 2: they're not the only ones. The Democrats are having their

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Speaker 2: own hot mess.

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Speaker 1: Going on well as always, Selena, thank you for dropping

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Speaker 1: by and blessed us with your expertise from your dispatches

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Speaker 1: from the middle of somewhere.

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Speaker 3: You're the best. We love you and keep up the

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Speaker 3: great work.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for having me. I'm in a shameless plug again

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Speaker 2: selinazito dot com. Sign up for the emails, free fun,

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Speaker 2: not fattening, and I look forward to next week.

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Speaker 3: There you go, There you go. Thanks Alena, talk to

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Speaker 3: you soon.