WEBVTT - Tackling Blue States with Lee Zeldin 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:04.440 As we look ahead at the four presidential race, it's 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:07.400 instructive to keep looking back, to keep figuring out what 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:10.159 went wrong during the mid term elections. What do we 0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:12.959 need to do differently as we look ahead in four. 0:00:12.960 --> 0:00:15.480 I mean, Joe Biden sure looks vulnerable. I mean, the 0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:17.919 country is falling apart, but that still didn't get the 0:00:18.000 --> 0:00:20.280 job done in the mid terms. We knew all this 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:23.759 then people still chose Democrats for the Senate. So what 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:26.000 lessons do we need to learn from the mid terms 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:28.200 and what do we don't need to do differently as 0:00:28.240 --> 0:00:31.240 we head into four. And there's a ton of opportunities 0:00:31.240 --> 0:00:34.080 ahead for Republicans. Even looking at the Senate map for US, 0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:38.519 Democrats are defending twenty three of the thirty four seats 0:00:38.520 --> 0:00:41.319 that are up for re election in the Senate for four. 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:44.280 And you look at seven states where Donald Trump won 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:48.960 in either or as well, We've got really tough races 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:52.760 for Democrats like West Virginia for Joe Mansion. The guy 0:00:52.840 --> 0:00:57.240 faces really tough Republican challengers, including potentially the governor there, 0:00:57.320 --> 0:01:00.280 Jim Justice. He's potentially eyeing a run in a state 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:03.200 of West Virginia. So Republicans have opportunities. We have to 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:06.040 do well, We have to perform. We can't take anything 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:09.080 for granted. I want to look back and also look forward. 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:12.399 At the same time, with Congressman Lee's Elden, he ran 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:14.679 for governor in the state of New York, a deep 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:18.720 blue state, only lost by less than six points. That's 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:21.800 pretty substantial. It was one of the closest gubatorial races 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:24.440 in New York in twenty years. Because he did so 0:01:24.480 --> 0:01:27.200 well at the top, he helped Republicans flip four seats 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:30.319 in New York, essentially doing his part a great service 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:33.600 for Republicans of winning back the House. He's responsible for 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:35.560 that for doing so well at the top of the ticket. 0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:38.920 He received the most votes of any gurope nominee in 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:42.520 the States since Nelson Rockefeller. What does he think Republicans 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:45.679 should have done differently, what we should do moving forward, 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:48.480 and should we even bother in states like New York. 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:50.520 So we're going to talk to him about all of it. 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:53.520 And it also get into that terrifying day when he 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:55.960 was on stage on the campaign row where a man 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:58.960 tried to stab him. There's also dry by shooting outside 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:01.200 of his home. So what does he think about this 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:04.800 political environment that we live in moving forward, where he 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:08.480 had to face an attempted stabbing on stage. So we'll 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:11.360 get into all of this with Congressman Lee Zelden. I 0:02:11.400 --> 0:02:30.160 hope you enjoy stay tuned. So, Congressman, you came less 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:32.880 than six points of winning in a Democrat state where 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:36.080 Republicans are outnumbered by something like two to one. You know, 0:02:36.280 --> 0:02:39.280 looking back at all of that sort of what's your 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:41.359 takeaway from it? You know, what did you learn from 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:43.799 all that? I have so many thoughts. It's a it's 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:48.440 a great question. We campaign for nineteen months and I'll 0:02:48.440 --> 0:02:51.400 say one thing, and this applies all throughout the entire country. 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:54.280 It is important for Republicans to get into the cities. 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:57.600 There are so many people inside of the cities who 0:02:57.600 --> 0:03:00.120 are waiting for us to show up. They agree you 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:03.080 with us on the issues that matter most to their lives, 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:06.120 and if we don't show up, we can't expect them 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:09.320 to vote for us. We're seeing them continue to vote 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:12.919 Democrats and democratic places because they feel like the devil, 0:03:12.960 --> 0:03:14.600 you know, is better than the devil you don't. You 0:03:14.639 --> 0:03:16.960 have to show up, put a face to the name, 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:19.520 and and don't pander, you know, don't show up in 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:22.680 a black community or an Asian community or Hispanic community 0:03:22.720 --> 0:03:25.360 and say vote for me because I love black people, 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:27.680 I love Asian people, I love Hispanic people. Instead, what 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:29.720 we do is we show up and we say we 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:33.679 need to make safety on these streets improved. Here's how 0:03:33.800 --> 0:03:36.440 we need to improve the quality of education in your 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:40.280 kids school. Here's how. And what I also would say 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:45.400 about that is the media market in New York City, 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:48.200 for example, it covers about two thirds of the congressional 0:03:48.240 --> 0:03:52.360 districts in New York, even covers congressional districts in Connecticut, 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:56.400 New Jersey. And a lot of these reporters who are 0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:59.240 based inside of a place like New York City, they're 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:02.640 not going to spend their whole day traveling around the suburbs. 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:04.680 But if you show up inside of this city, you're 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:07.760 hitting issues that they have to cover. And then the 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:10.120 people who are in the suburbs who care about the city, 0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:12.760 even though they don't live there, start their day with 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:15.080 their morning news or and their night with the evening 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:18.279 news seeing you leading the fight on the issues that 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:22.200 they care a lot about. You're driving the message. And lastly, 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:25.080 and you know, I'll I could go on with a 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:27.520 thousand different answers, but I wanted to mention this this 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:30.000 city dynamic of it. But I would say that we 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:33.440 need to understand why would a red wave hit New 0:04:33.520 --> 0:04:37.280 York as hard as it did, but not land nationally. 0:04:37.720 --> 0:04:42.080 And my message is this, it is important to articulate 0:04:42.720 --> 0:04:45.680 that you are against the policies of Joe Biden. It's 0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:48.800 important articulate what you see is the problems with the 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:52.039 Democratic Party. But you cannot stop there. You have to 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:55.279 talk about what you are for. Let people know what 0:04:55.360 --> 0:04:58.120 they're investing, and that's when they open up their heart, 0:04:58.240 --> 0:05:00.600 their passion. That's when they believe in are filled with 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:02.880 hope and they get more active and they get other 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:06.080 people out to vote. If you want to create a movement, 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:09.919 don't try to create a movement by just being you know, 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:15.080 spicy about your opposition. That's maybe something where no matter 0:05:15.080 --> 0:05:19.360 how effective you can get, you might potentially add some 0:05:19.440 --> 0:05:22.680 additional enthusiasm in your base. But if you want to 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:24.960 get two ticket splitters, if you want to get to 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:27.400 people who have always voted Democrat their whole life and 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:30.520 they're ready to vote Republican, don't do it by acting 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:34.320 like Democrats. Don't try to be democrat. Light explain to 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:36.880 them why you have the positions that you do on 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:39.920 the issues that matter most to them. And then I 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:42.640 think what we would have and could have seen nationally 0:05:43.279 --> 0:05:45.880 would have been a red wave. I just feel like 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:48.080 our party on messaging needs to get a lot better. 0:05:48.800 --> 0:05:51.840 I agree with that wholeheartedly. You know, I think a 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:53.880 lot of people, you know, we look at cities like 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:56.119 New York. I used to live there for three years 0:05:56.160 --> 0:05:58.760 before moving down to Florida. You look at the crime 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:01.280 you've experienced the time firsthand, which you know I want 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:04.159 to talk to you about as well. But it's sort 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:07.600 of we always ask herself why would people vote against 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:10.680 their interests? And the interest here would be just safety, 0:06:11.080 --> 0:06:13.320 you know, being able to walk down the street without 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:16.479 potentially getting murdered, being able to ride the subway without 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:19.200 potentially getting murdered. And you know, why do you think 0:06:19.760 --> 0:06:23.720 people still voted for local knowing all of this? Well, 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:28.040 first of all, I would say that while the crime 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:32.680 and the economy were the top two issues in in 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:38.000 this race for governor, there were other people who prioritize 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:42.080 other issues. They identifies their number one issue. It might 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:44.279 be the number one issue to them, but it's not 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:48.720 the number one issue overall. And I would say that 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:51.760 there was a certain extent some of that for people 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:57.840 who care about crime very personally. They might have just 0:06:58.200 --> 0:07:02.680 never voted Republican their life and they just couldn't bring 0:07:02.720 --> 0:07:05.880 themselves to break through that cycle. Fortunately, we're able to 0:07:05.920 --> 0:07:08.240 break through a whole lot of it. We were able 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:12.400 to double the percentage of how much the Republican candidate 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:19.120 Goto I actually got more votes than any other Republican 0:07:19.200 --> 0:07:22.400 statewide in New York in fifty two years. So there 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:27.240 is a silver lining here in analyzing the impact of 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:31.840 these messages. I would say for some people, they need 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:35.840 you to show up in person. Uh, they maybe are 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:40.000 busy with a particular routine in life that doesn't have 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:42.880 them watching TV. So you have to find other ways 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:45.440 to connect with them. You need to be active on 0:07:45.520 --> 0:07:49.520 social media, with your mail, with the grassroots campaigning, that 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:52.440 door knocking and the phone calls. It all adds up. 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:55.800 You have to run an effective campaign. I would say 0:07:55.840 --> 0:07:59.360 that there's a need to be built bridge building these 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:03.440 bridges year after year and next year. For example, in 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:07.880 your city city they have the city council races continue 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:11.520 to talk to people to build trust where trust doesn't 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:13.920 exist and where they feel like you are the devil 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:15.680 they don't know. Not only do they get to know 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:18.880 you better, but they realize that you're actually not as 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:22.280 bad as the Democrats were telling them that you were. 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:24.920 So I would just use this as a challenge as 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:31.080 an opportunity. There we came really close in a state 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:34.880 where there's about three point six million more Democrats than Republicans, 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:38.360 we were just a few points behind, So I would 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:41.320 say that we should view this as a measure of 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:44.319 big progress in the state that Joe Biden won by 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:47.640 twenty three points, so this is almost an eighteen point 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:50.040 shift to the right. We just have to keep working 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:53.959 harder and not wait for more years, work hard with 0:08:54.040 --> 0:08:57.720 these local races in between, like we'll see next year, 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:02.199 and always be effectively communicating what you stand for the 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:04.360 astition in the way that you spend money, leaning to 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:06.720 the election laws that are on the books, even if 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:10.680 you oppose the particular election law when it was first 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:13.640 passing through a state legislature. Once they actually pass it, 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:16.040 do it better than the Democrats do it. Do it 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:19.160 so much better. The Democrats regret passing it in the 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:23.000 first place, organized collaborate. There is a lot more that 0:09:23.040 --> 0:09:25.439 we should be doing nationally and uh, and I think 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:27.080 a lot did work, but we just got to build 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:30.040 on it well. And for those listening, in addition to 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:32.960 you know, you're doing so well, you're pretty much responsible 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:36.280 for flipping four House seats in New York and giving 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:39.520 Republicans they're they're victory in the House, and including taking 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:43.200 down Sean Patrick Maloney, the chairman of the Democrat Congressional 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:46.200 Campaign Committee, which is huge. And so you know it 0:09:46.280 --> 0:09:49.079 is important to run strong candidates in some of these 0:09:49.120 --> 0:09:51.360 blue states because of what you were able to do 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:53.680 with all of that. Do you think a Republican can 0:09:53.760 --> 0:09:58.559 win statewide in New York? Absolutely? Yeah. You know, we've 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:01.560 spent a lot of time looking at the registration and 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:05.520 also the turnout in different types of elections, and I 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:08.040 would say that as of right now, my analysis today 0:10:08.120 --> 0:10:11.840 is that you need a Democrat in the White House 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:16.160 these mid term elections. That's when uh, these statewide seats 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:19.120 are up in New York, the governor's race, attorney General, 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:23.160 lieutenant governor, controller. Uh, you need a Democrat in the 0:10:23.200 --> 0:10:27.960 White House. That's when the turnout model becomes favorable enough 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:31.440 to make a run. We saw a drastic change in 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:36.800 the turnout model from two. You see on the flip side, 0:10:37.000 --> 0:10:41.959 if it's a red state, if there is a Republican 0:10:42.240 --> 0:10:45.160 in the White House, an opportunity for a Democrat to 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:48.400 make a move in a red state. Um In this case, 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:51.200 this was the first time that you had one party 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:53.960 Democrat rule at every level d C Albany in New 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.000 York City at the same exact time, So the timing 0:10:57.080 --> 0:10:59.640 was right from that standpoint. So let's fast forward to 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:02.120 twenty twenty six. What do we think to answer your 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:04.480 question or we can be able to do this? Well, 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:08.040 one thing that's out of our control is the question 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:10.480 of well, who's going to be the president in twenty 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:13.719 four If there's a Republican in the White House, I 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:18.319 think it becomes more challenging than two. Doesn't mean it 0:11:18.360 --> 0:11:21.160 can't be done. I believe that if Joe Biden somehow 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:23.520 is the miracle himself to a second term, or some 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:26.520 other Democrat got into the White House, I would think 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:29.679 that should be even more favorable in New York than 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:33.599 two is. So that's just a brief summary of of 0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:35.760 the lay of the land. In a state like New York. 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:40.400 It's really tough sledding in any year, but it becomes 0:11:40.440 --> 0:11:42.599 a lot harder if you have the Republican in the 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:44.679 White House without all With all that being said, I 0:11:44.800 --> 0:11:47.720 am all in to do absolutely everything in my power 0:11:48.120 --> 0:11:50.199 to help make sure that we're getting a Republican in 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:52.079 the White House in a couple of years. Let's take 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:55.040 a quick commercial break more with Congress and Lee's eldn 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:01.520 How vulnerable do you think Biden is? I worry? You know, 0:12:01.600 --> 0:12:04.360 it's like we look at two obviously a lot of us, 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:06.960 including myself, you know, I thought we would do better 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:10.120 in terms of nationally for the mid terms. Are we 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:13.439 underestimating Joe Biden? Or how vulnerable do you think he is? 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:17.800 He is so vulnerable? He is so beautiful? Oh my, 0:12:18.120 --> 0:12:20.640 how how did this happen in the first place? In 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:25.439 you know, like you know, you look at why wasn't 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:30.160 a red wave all across the entire country? In um 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:36.720 In theory, this should be like one of the most 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:42.079 beatable incumbents in the history of American politics. And for 0:12:42.360 --> 0:12:46.400 us on our side, that should give us no over 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:50.920 confidence whatsoever. Nobody should be jumping on a board to 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:54.199 ride in a wave. What we need to do is 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:59.560 all day, every day from today until November to absolutely 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:02.480 every thing in our power everywhere to tell everyone we 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:05.000 know why it is important for us to make a 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:09.079 change in the presidency. And as we're articulating it, it's 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:12.640 not just saying, oh, you know, Joe Biden, he's he's 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:17.239 getting so old, and he's embarrassing himself in these speeches 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:20.760 and you know he's reading end of sentence into you know, 0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:24.360 from the teleprompter, it's actually coming out of his mouth. 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:28.120 It's okay if you want to point that stuff out. 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:32.439 I mean, that is something that people are going to 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.280 be reminded of, either on their own or reminded by 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:38.960 other people. But that isn't a secret sauce that's actually, 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:41.600 don't know, win the race. The secret sauce that's gonna 0:13:41.600 --> 0:13:44.400 win the race is us talking about how we're committed 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:48.480 to doing absolutely everything in our power to save our country. 0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:52.079 Now we want to make America the best version of itself. Well, 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:55.520 you have people right now on power in Washington who 0:13:55.600 --> 0:13:58.439 want to make America like some other countries somewhere else. 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:01.280 We want to do everything our power to save our 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:04.199 nation and these Democrats who are there right now are 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:07.800 doing everything in their power to save themselves. Talk about 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:10.040 how we can make our border more secure, how we 0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:13.400 can put more money into people's pockets, that we can 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:17.000 make their life, their family, their street, their home safer, 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:19.600 what we are going to do to improve the quality 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:23.080 of education side of their kids schools. When we're talking 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:26.880 about that disciplined message of what we stand for, why 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:31.000 are we Republican, what we will do differently, that is 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:33.880 when a movement ends up getting created. In twenty four 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:38.080 and this very vulnerable incomment, Joe Biden will be delivering 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:40.760 a concession speech. Who do you think's best poised to 0:14:40.840 --> 0:14:43.560 beat them? From the rate, I honestly think that every 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:45.960 single one of these names that are being mentioned can 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:50.560 all beat him. I think I'm I am confident that 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:55.040 the Republican nominee, whoever the Republican nominee ends up being, 0:14:56.000 --> 0:15:00.560 is the favorite head to head against Joe Biden. Now 0:15:00.600 --> 0:15:04.320 that doesn't I'm not saying guaranteed. I'm saying favorite, and 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:06.400 there are plenty of ways to make mistakes to end 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:09.040 up coming up short. We'll see who ends up getting 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:11.680 into the race. I mean, one of the dynamics that 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:15.120 ends up playing out. We saw it in is. You know, 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:18.880 Donald Trump is in the race right now. If somebody 0:15:19.000 --> 0:15:22.920 was to enter the race tomorrow, you know President Trump's style, 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:26.880 He's coming at you. You know, how does how does 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:32.600 that candidate withstand that attack? Okay, how how do you 0:15:32.840 --> 0:15:35.560 what kind of a campaign do you run? One of 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:38.720 the questions of like, you know, which candidate is going 0:15:38.760 --> 0:15:40.920 to be the best candidate if you were to fast 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:44.640 forward to November. You know, there's all these different names 0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:47.800 out there, But if you look at history, people perform 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:51.280 above and under expectations on a debate stage, some more 0:15:51.400 --> 0:15:54.240 harder than others, some are better and more efficient in 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:57.320 the way that they fundraise. What type of a campaign 0:15:57.440 --> 0:16:00.200 organization they have. Are they flying by the eat of 0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:04.400 their pants every single day, just doing whatever they decide 0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:07.000 in their morning meeting, or do they go into a 0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:11.480 race for president having already planned out from uh election 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:15.080 day backwards, from victory backwards, and they know exactly what 0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:17.760 they're gonna do today because they've already decided last week 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:20.440 that Tuesday of next week or Wednesday of next week, 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:23.160 this is what our plan is. And they're implementing a 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:27.360 war gamed, well thought out, well executed plan. So I 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:29.560 would say this, obviously, we have to see what the 0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:31.120 field looks like. We have to see what type of 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:34.040 campaigns they run, how do they withstand scrutiny, Do we 0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:37.440 learn new things about people we didn't know previously, and 0:16:37.440 --> 0:16:40.320 and we'll find out. I think that the strongest candidate 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:43.880 ends up emerging from that process. Uh And I have 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:46.520 a feeling that's going to be a big, robust field. Well, 0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:49.120 and I hope so, because I think competitions, you know, good, 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:52.160 and we want the strongest person to emerge from all that. 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:54.560 You know. I also you know, thinking, and you know 0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:56.480 a lot of people are saying this about changing the 0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:58.680 way we look at Mail and Balladay. I mean that's 0:16:58.720 --> 0:17:05.080 completely a ended the political process since COVID. Uh So, 0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:06.959 I think that's a big one too that we need 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:10.639 to look at and revamp or strategy on. Absolutely. And 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:15.520 I'll give you one example. I could think of plenty 0:17:15.560 --> 0:17:19.600 of others. Election Day in Nevada, there was a big 0:17:19.720 --> 0:17:24.720 snowstorm in northern Nevada that impacted their election day turnout 0:17:25.440 --> 0:17:28.760 and they end up barely losing. Some of these statewide races. 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:34.080 If in your state, if they have early voting, lean 0:17:34.160 --> 0:17:37.640 into it. If if your state, some other state out 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:41.680 there in this country is proposing ballot harvesting and you 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:44.920 totally oppose ballot harvesting. When they're going through the process 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:48.800 of deciding whether or not to legalize ballot harvesting, fight 0:17:48.880 --> 0:17:51.080 it with all of your might. Oppose it, Explain why 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:54.280 it's bad. If it gets through, if it gets implemented, 0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:57.720 do ballot harvesting better than they do it. I think 0:17:57.800 --> 0:18:01.880 that is really important for Republicans to be leaning into 0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:04.600 all these election laws on the books. And you can 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:08.840 spend time, whether it's it's litigation or it's proposing changes 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:14.200 of laws between now November to fight for election integrity, 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:16.800 to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat. 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:19.080 But at the end of the day, when the rules 0:18:19.400 --> 0:18:22.200 are set and it's now time for the ballance to 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:26.040 go out, people to actually start checking a box. That 0:18:26.320 --> 0:18:29.639 is where Republicans need to go all in with every 0:18:29.760 --> 0:18:32.280 method that is on the books and to beat the 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:35.520 Democrats at their own game across the board. May I 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:38.520 voted early here in Florida for for Governor to Santis 0:18:38.840 --> 0:18:44.320 quick break more with Les Eldon before we go wanted 0:18:44.359 --> 0:18:47.159 to ask you real quick. Obviously crime big issue in 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:50.159 your race. I mean you had unfortunately that the shooting 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:54.160 outside of your home, someone tried to stab you on stage. 0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:57.680 We know a man recently tried to assassinate Brett Kavanaugh. 0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:02.359 Where is this all heading and politics? Very bad situation 0:19:02.440 --> 0:19:05.960 when you look at what happened with the Steve Scalie shooting, 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:11.440 when you look at the attacks, the threats, the protesting 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:16.560 of the Supreme Court justices in a way that is 0:19:17.119 --> 0:19:24.479 beyond harassment. Uh, the attacks on the pro life pregnancy centers. Uh. 0:19:24.560 --> 0:19:26.720 And that list goes on. And we saw it all 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:32.160 play out during the riots after George Floyd was killed. 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:37.240 And it has gone so far where people were taking 0:19:37.320 --> 0:19:41.320 over city streets and they were attacking courthouses. And what 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:46.399 this requires is for elected officials to be willing to 0:19:46.640 --> 0:19:51.840 stand up and lead the people who are their followers. Instead, 0:19:51.960 --> 0:19:54.080 what you have are too many people who are weak 0:19:54.200 --> 0:19:58.159 need they are weak, they are led by their followers. 0:19:58.480 --> 0:20:03.359 They want to capitalize on that anger and frustration to 0:20:03.520 --> 0:20:07.200 harness it to add fuel to that fire. And what 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:10.840 happens is that our country continues to go down a 0:20:11.000 --> 0:20:15.159 trajectory where at any moment. The next attack can be 0:20:15.359 --> 0:20:18.760 lit on a moment's notice, and people can get hurt 0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:22.040 the way that we engage in debate. I'm a I'm 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:24.720 a conservative. If somebody was a liberal and they wanted 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:28.000 to voice their opinion, I believe that you should have 0:20:28.040 --> 0:20:29.920 a social media account. I believe that you should be 0:20:30.000 --> 0:20:33.600 able to have your your protest and have your voice. 0:20:34.240 --> 0:20:36.760 I believe, in my view where I actually want to 0:20:36.840 --> 0:20:40.560 debate you, let's have the best idea win. Now, liberals 0:20:40.600 --> 0:20:42.639 on the other side, they want to cancel everything. On 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:47.280 the other side, they they want to brand conservatives as Nazis, 0:20:47.320 --> 0:20:52.280 as white supremacists, as racists, regardless of whatever is coming 0:20:52.320 --> 0:20:55.280 out of our mouth. They've run out of other things 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:58.280 to call us. They tried the extremist thing, you know, 0:20:58.560 --> 0:21:01.280 your two party extreme as. Through the years, they've tried 0:21:01.320 --> 0:21:04.800 all the other names. This is becoming third world nation 0:21:04.920 --> 0:21:07.520 crap where you have. You know, in the Middle East, 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:12.879 everyone calls their adversary a terrorist, regardless, just everyone calls 0:21:13.000 --> 0:21:16.840 everyone else who isn't totally aligned with their views a terrorist. 0:21:17.400 --> 0:21:19.200 What have we gotten to in this country because that's 0:21:19.240 --> 0:21:22.240 the only name that's left now. I think that this 0:21:22.400 --> 0:21:27.640 is a responsibility on the part of the individuals who 0:21:27.720 --> 0:21:32.200 are public figures who have a following to engage in 0:21:32.280 --> 0:21:36.720 this debate. Substantively share your ideas. You can encourage others 0:21:36.800 --> 0:21:39.080 to share theirs. Let's have the best idea. When this 0:21:39.240 --> 0:21:41.960 is America, baby, We're the We're the greatest country in 0:21:42.000 --> 0:21:46.400 the history of the world. We shouldn't be silencing voices 0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:50.400 and censoring opposing voices. But at the end of the day, 0:21:50.480 --> 0:21:53.399 what we shouldn't be doing is just trying to own 0:21:54.200 --> 0:21:57.320 the opposite view in a way where you're just simply 0:21:57.440 --> 0:22:03.960 making a total full of them where they um, where 0:22:04.040 --> 0:22:08.359 you're you're going next level where that person should be targeted. 0:22:08.720 --> 0:22:11.000 You know, that person should be branded with the name 0:22:11.080 --> 0:22:13.879 you're You're you're gonna own them by branding them as 0:22:13.960 --> 0:22:18.040 a as a terrorist you know, or whatever other Nazi 0:22:18.160 --> 0:22:24.200 or Nazi sympathizer. At KKK, it's gone so overboard, and 0:22:24.320 --> 0:22:27.000 I think it's time for us to be able to know. 0:22:27.040 --> 0:22:29.760 I'm not talking you know, uniparty stuff here. I'm not 0:22:29.880 --> 0:22:32.800 talking that this is some moment where you know, Republicans 0:22:32.840 --> 0:22:36.159 and Democrats should start being the same party the same person. No, 0:22:36.400 --> 0:22:40.280 we we should have competing views and computing competing voices. 0:22:40.800 --> 0:22:44.080 But stop going overboard with the hate where you're not 0:22:44.240 --> 0:22:47.720 just winning an argument, you're trying to destroy the other person. 0:22:48.119 --> 0:22:51.320 Where others who are following you are taking matters into 0:22:51.359 --> 0:22:54.240 their own hands and they're being destructive with it. And 0:22:54.320 --> 0:22:57.400 then when that comes your follower taking matters in their 0:22:57.440 --> 0:23:01.520 own hands and harming other people, you think that you're 0:23:01.680 --> 0:23:03.760