WEBVTT - The We Be's. Katy Grimes Talks to Armstrong & Getty 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:03.400 A very special guest, and I'm deeply in love with 0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:06.160 her intellect. It's Armstrong and Getty extra. 0:00:05.960 --> 0:00:12.080 Large because it's two hours. Luckily, this is Armstrong and 0:00:12.119 --> 0:00:13.399 Getty extra large. 0:00:13.760 --> 0:00:15.400 I just I feel like that was too much. I've 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:18.360 said that on the air before. Yeah, but I'm very open. 0:00:18.480 --> 0:00:21.040 It's different in person. Now with her in the room. 0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:23.280 Are you to feel her ass? HR is right down 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:23.960 the hallway? 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:26.239 Oh, you don't know that I was an HR director 0:00:26.239 --> 0:00:27.000 for twenty years. 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:30.200 He violated like five different California laws, didn't he. 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:32.680 It's okay, I was the meanest HR director alive. 0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:34.479 Really, you just say to him, get over it. 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:36.680 That's exactly pretty much what would happen. 0:00:37.640 --> 0:00:41.280 Katie Grimes of The California Globe joins us. Katie, I 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:44.040 don't know if this ever gets back to you, how 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:46.839 many times we've said how great you are and how 0:00:46.880 --> 0:00:48.239 great the California Globe is. 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:48.960 Thank you. 0:00:49.520 --> 0:00:50.000 It is. 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:53.279 It is a beacon of light in the darkness of 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:57.680 the non coverage of how crazy California politics are. 0:00:58.120 --> 0:01:00.000 Thank you. That is exactly what we want to do. 0:01:00.160 --> 0:01:02.960 Be is to not only do state House coverage, but 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:06.199 cover the stuff that the mainstream media won't I think 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:07.360 we are well. 0:01:07.400 --> 0:01:09.560 And again we'll get into some of the details of 0:01:09.560 --> 0:01:12.160 that sort of stuff in a second. But it's amazing 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:15.840 how much of just what anybody can see with their 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:18.520 own eyes if you just like go to the mall 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:22.200 or drive down the street, doesn't get covered much in California. 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:26.720 Yeah, it doesn't fit certain agendas, even if reporters have 0:01:26.800 --> 0:01:30.479 the intellectual curiosity to do it. Sometimes their editors nix 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:34.920 it or take things out of the articles or add 0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:38.080 things in. It's a very frustrating place to be right now. 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:40.440 And news coverage well. 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:43.759 And it's funny of the many comments that we get 0:01:43.800 --> 0:01:46.080 a lot or have gotten a lot through our careers. 0:01:46.920 --> 0:01:50.559 People say, wow, you guys have been really really successful 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:54.560 in like all blue areas, liberal area states and that 0:01:54.600 --> 0:01:56.600 sort of thing, although we're all over the country now. 0:01:57.000 --> 0:02:00.760 And I always tell them, Look, if you lose every election, 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:03.360 even fifty five forty. 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:06.240 Five, that's a landslide. You got murdered. 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:08.920 You have no chance electorally if you can only get 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:10.919 up to forty five percent. But you got forty five 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:14.600 percent of the population that feels completely unrepresented and like 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:18.600 they're getting kicked constantly. And then they watched this incredible, 0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:23.639 gorgeous state get ruined, and I think they enjoy hearing 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:26.440 somebody who says, no, you're not crazy, You're right. 0:02:26.800 --> 0:02:29.600 Yeah, exactly. They we get told a lot. Oh, I 0:02:29.639 --> 0:02:31.640 feel I'm so alone. You know, I live in like, 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:36.440 I live in a liberal bastion just south of downtown Sacramento, 0:02:36.720 --> 0:02:39.640 and my views aren't very popular in that neighborhood. And 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:41.760 so I know what a lot of people feel like 0:02:41.840 --> 0:02:42.400 in the state. 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:45.080 Yeah, they don't dare pipe up at work or whatever. 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:46.480 Which is it's a bad way to be. 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:49.280 Yeah, it is. It's it's also very unhealthy. I mean, 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:52.560 I actually believe in the balance of a two party 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:56.040 system because people are fairly represented. There's give and take, 0:02:56.080 --> 0:02:58.320 there's compromise, which is the only way you can get 0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:01.560 policy passed. And in our state we don't have that, 0:03:01.680 --> 0:03:04.400 and so it's pretty dangerous place right now. 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:06.320 Yeah, I I've experienced it both ways. When we're in 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:08.120 North Carolina at the time it was basically a one 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:11.600 party system Republicans. But it allows for excesses the other direction. 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:14.880 Yes, it does, exactly. And I tell people who some 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:18.079 people introduce me as a conservative journalist, and I say Actually, 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:20.800 I'm just a journalist. I report the news. I report 0:03:20.840 --> 0:03:25.040 the truth. If it was all Republicans in the California 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:27.359 State Capitol right now, I'd be covering it pretty much 0:03:27.360 --> 0:03:28.919 the same way because there'd be a lot of jerks. 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:31.120 There'd be some good ones, but it would be kind 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:33.400 of one sided policy getting passed, and that's not. 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:36.800 Healthy, right, not to mention just the manipulation of the 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:40.800 arms of government to make yourself and your cronies rich. Yeah, 0:03:41.120 --> 0:03:43.160 I mean, I guess I'm more hot to trot for 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:47.040 the ideological stuff because it makes me insane and it 0:03:47.080 --> 0:03:48.880 affects people in their lives and that sort of thing. 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:51.640 But yeah, I mean, you could just focus on the 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:54.800 graft and dishonesty and be busy all the time. 0:03:55.040 --> 0:03:56.880 Yeah, I wish I had a reporter I could assign 0:03:57.080 --> 0:03:57.600 just to that. 0:03:58.560 --> 0:03:59.080 Yeah I did. 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:01.280 We're going to get to the topics you want to 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:05.280 get to. But how do these various people not come 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:08.920 to Sacramento. Like you get an elected assemblyman way far 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:11.160 away or wherever, and you know, and you come to 0:04:11.200 --> 0:04:14.040 Sacramento and then like you're driving around Sacramento and you 0:04:14.080 --> 0:04:16.000 see all these tents and everything everywhere, and you don't 0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:18.200 think whoa Things are out of control here. 0:04:19.240 --> 0:04:23.160 Unfortunately, right now, I've been quoted as saying on air, 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:27.120 the stupid people are running everything, and unfortunately a lot 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:29.680 of stupid people are also getting elected. And they don't care. 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:32.719 They just want to hold elected office. They want the 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:35.480 love from the groupies. They want to have staff, people 0:04:35.480 --> 0:04:37.880 who chase them around all day and make them feel important. 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:40.320 And they're very happy to do the business of the 0:04:40.320 --> 0:04:43.000 special interests that paid for them to get into office. 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:46.680 Yeah, they're either delusional, stupid or cynical. 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:48.320 Is it a pretty good life to be just a 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:50.640 like run of the mill Democrat assemblement? I mean, do 0:04:50.680 --> 0:04:52.919 you make good money eventually. 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:53.640 Or yeah they do. 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:55.840 They get adoration, probably go out to eat a nice 0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:56.599 restaurants every. 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:59.080 Night, yep, yep, and you get to go to fundraisers 0:04:59.200 --> 0:05:02.560 yours and other. As I said, people follow you around, 0:05:02.600 --> 0:05:03.719 they drive you everywhere. 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:05.400 Yeah, yeah, I could see get into used to that. 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:07.680 Some of them have their staff pick up their dry 0:05:07.720 --> 0:05:10.719 cleaning and clean their apartments. So yeah, it's lovely. 0:05:10.920 --> 0:05:13.760 And then one of the many unions promises you a 0:05:13.839 --> 0:05:16.120 high paying consulting gig when you get out, so you're. 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:17.400 Said, exactly a good way to be. 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:18.080 That's at works. 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:23.400 So we're dabbling in the article you wrote. We quote 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:25.559 you all the time. But when I read a piece 0:05:25.600 --> 0:05:27.360 you put out, I guess a couple of weeks ago, 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:31.880 California's capital has a deep state. I thought it was 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:35.080 super interesting about California, but just interesting about the way 0:05:35.839 --> 0:05:42.240 legislatures work. Yes, and I learned a lot from it. 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:44.919 You can start wherever you want. What would surprise people 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:47.880 most about who has the power and or how the 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:50.719 money flows through the capital of a big rich state. 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:55.839 Well in California, without getting two into the weeds, this 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:59.400 is what we have today is the result of term limits. 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:03.200 And term limits always strengthen the power of the full 0:06:03.200 --> 0:06:06.240 time staffers. And so, as I put in the article, 0:06:06.240 --> 0:06:10.279 I knew a fellow who was appointee back in Washington, 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:12.880 DC years ago, and when he went into his brand 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:15.960 new office and met his brand new staff, some people 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:18.480 were a little hostile to him, and so he pulled 0:06:18.520 --> 0:06:21.520 them into his office quietly and said, Hey, what's the problem. 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:24.440 And they said, Hey, we're the weebies. We be here 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:27.039 before you, we be here after you, and you do 0:06:27.120 --> 0:06:27.720 what we say. 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:30.320 Wow, It's so counterintuitive because you know, we all think 0:06:30.360 --> 0:06:32.679 the way to fix government is to get these people 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:34.680 out of here term limits they are there forever. But 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:36.200 this is the way it really works. 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:41.840 Yeah, and unfortunately, intellectually, it is the right way. You 0:06:41.920 --> 0:06:44.839 need fresh blood. You can't have the same people, you know, 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:49.320 dictating policy for decades. But as we were warned, and 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:51.680 I voted for term limits, as we were warned ahead 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:54.880 of it, the politicians would just figure out how to 0:06:54.920 --> 0:06:57.400 manipulate the system. That's why we have them, you know. 0:06:57.560 --> 0:06:59.640 We finally do turn them out, but then they go 0:06:59.760 --> 0:07:01.640 back and they take up a city council seat in 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:05.479 Los Angeles or San Diego. And that's not what the 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:06.760 spirit of the term limits was. 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:10.560 And I'm told that not only the staffers who support 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:14.640 the attitude you're describing, but the lobbyists get enormous power too, Yes, 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:17.760 because the newbies have to have them explain. 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:18.720 The issues exactly. 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:20.480 And that's kind of the other part. The Third House 0:07:20.560 --> 0:07:24.320 is running an awful lot. And that's the whole lobbying community. 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:28.679 Not to say lobbyists are bad people. Some are, some aren't, 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:32.000 some are, Some represent small businesses, some represent big oil. 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:35.480 You know, you have them from every imaginable industry, and 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:38.640 those industries do need them, there's no doubt about that. 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:41.080 But they do wield an awful lot of power. The 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:43.320 balance of power is definitely off as capital. 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:44.960 This just popped in my head. Is there any limit 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:47.480 onlike how much a lobbyist can give to staff people 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:49.080 in terms of taking them out to eat and putting 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:50.440 them up at a hotel or anything like. 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:52.800 Guess staff do also have to file the farm seven 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:54.040 hundred every quarter. 0:07:54.400 --> 0:07:57.800 But smart people probably find a way around it, I'm 0:07:57.800 --> 0:07:59.280 sure more or less. 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:00.280 Yeah. 0:08:00.640 --> 0:08:04.960 Yeah, the stuff you had to say about the current 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:09.200 state of the Republican Party, aside from being pathetic, the 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:12.120 whys were pretty interesting to me. What's going on with 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:12.960 the Republicans? 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:16.520 Too many of them see themselves as managing the decline 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:18.760 and they're happy to have the seat to do it. 0:08:19.280 --> 0:08:23.880 And that's just the hard, cold reality. I do think 0:08:23.920 --> 0:08:26.920 that they get elected and they have good intentions. They 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:29.400 want to come up to Sacramento and hopefully, you know, 0:08:29.800 --> 0:08:33.360 make a name for themselves as that Republican who fought hard. 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:37.240 But as we just described the state of the Capitol, 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:40.319 they get there and the staff quickly whisk them aside 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:43.920 and say, do not talk about abortion or do not 0:08:44.200 --> 0:08:48.080 talk about parental rights. Those are off limit topics. 0:08:48.360 --> 0:08:51.920 And these are Republican staffers who presumably have at least 0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:55.160 some Republican values, And how does that help them manage 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:55.920 the decline? 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:58.280 That's just it. I think it's to me, it's like 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:02.000 Stockholm syndrome. They're not managing anything at all if they 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:04.040 wanted to manage something. And I've been asked by a 0:09:04.080 --> 0:09:06.120 lot of them when they first get elected, you know, 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:08.319 what do we do? We know we're the minority party, 0:09:08.360 --> 0:09:10.360 but what do we do? And to me, it's easy, 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:13.240 you know, stand up and scream and yell about what 0:09:13.280 --> 0:09:15.960 your Democrat colleagues are doing, the kinds of policies they're 0:09:15.960 --> 0:09:19.920 passing that are just anti parent, family business, you know, 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:25.880 anti California. It's not hard, but so many of them cave, very, 0:09:25.960 --> 0:09:26.880 very That's interesting. 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:30.439 I don't quite understand that because you're if your number 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:34.199 one goal is to stay in office, going along to 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:36.160 get along doesn't seem like the best way to do it. 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:39.040 It's kind of like musical chairs somebody's you know, most 0:09:39.040 --> 0:09:40.800 of them are still going to get a chair left 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:43.720 when the music stops, but there's usually somebody that's kind 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:44.240 of kicked out. 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:47.240 Now I know this. This was many years ago when 0:09:47.280 --> 0:09:49.160 we weren't near at political on this show, and I 0:09:49.240 --> 0:09:51.400 wish I'd remembered the name and everything like that. But 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:54.640 I'm coming back from Las Vegas, I'm half drunk, and 0:09:54.640 --> 0:09:56.000 I end up sitting in the back of the plane 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:58.240 with this other guy that was beyond half drunk, who 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:00.320 is one of the high staffers for one of the 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:02.560 big well known Republican names, and I don't remember who 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:04.240 it was at the time, but he told me that 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:08.080 exact stuff. He said, Oh, no, we're all screwed. There's 0:10:08.120 --> 0:10:10.000 no chance we're ever going to be in Our job 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:12.360 is to just stay in office. And he was like 0:10:12.520 --> 0:10:14.520 so honest that he was really drunk, but he was 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:16.600 so honest about all this stuff, And I thought, Wow, 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:19.600 is it that cynical? Are we that shot through with 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:22.280 cynicism all all the way up and down where it's 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:25.800 just like, no, it's managed the thing decline. They had 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:26.600 clearly given up. 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:30.080 Yeah, And that's what was shocking to me. I think 0:10:30.120 --> 0:10:32.520 I'm idealistic enough to believe they go up there with 0:10:32.640 --> 0:10:35.479 fight right, and it doesn't translate. 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:39.320 You know, another aspect of your article about California's deep 0:10:39.320 --> 0:10:41.640 state that was totally not intuitive to me, and I 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:42.240 had no idea. 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:43.440 I'll just read you. 0:10:44.120 --> 0:10:49.360 Ah, you're talking about people fleeing California for red states, 0:10:49.400 --> 0:10:52.040 et cetera. The Democrats have caused this mass migration. What 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:55.800 have California Republicans done? As we reported recently, quote, California 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:59.800 GOP leadership are completely beholden to the McCarthy mafia and 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:02.920 kept everyone in line because they control the flow of money. 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:04.479 What's that all about. 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:09.080 A lawmaker told me that that's why it's in quotes. Okay, 0:11:09.280 --> 0:11:12.320 And yeah, obviously a lawmaker who didn't get any Kevin 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:13.760 McCarthy money to get elected. 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:15.920 Okay, So what do you take the McCarthy maffey to be. 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:20.520 Well, Kevin McCarthy, you know, used to be a state legislator. 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:22.440 As you know, he's been in politics a long time 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:24.520 and controls a lot of money. It's one of the 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:30.240 reasons he ended up as speaker. And unfortunately, prior to 0:11:30.800 --> 0:11:35.719 Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy becoming speaker, which the qualifications 0:11:35.720 --> 0:11:37.600 were just you have to be a good fundraiser. There 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:41.280 were other qualifications. Yeah, he's just a great fundraiser and 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:42.720 everybody wants a piece of his pie. 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:46.199 So what line does he want? Did he want? 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:49.719 I assume he's still pretty powerful, but yeah, so what 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:53.200 line does he want them to tow to get the money? 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:56.160 And it's it's And the reason I included that with 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:58.160 a link to an article I wrote not long ago 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:04.920 about that is the California GOP a few years ago 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:09.480 was kind of taken over by the Moderates and we've 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:13.400 only lost seats since then. It's only become worse and worse. 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:17.679 But he's part of that. He helped fund the debt 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:22.959 payment that the GOP needed the state political party, and 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:26.040 there are a lot of politicians who are just beholden 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:28.880 to him. It's a big power position. 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:31.960 So he helps them get re elected in there, and. 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:34.359 They don't dare speak their minds unless. 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:36.480 Yeah, exactly. To me, it's just as bad as the 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:37.000 other party. 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:40.400 Yeah, yeah, well that's discouraging. 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:45.080 We moved to California ninety six when Pete Wilson was 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:47.160 was he about to serve a second term or was 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:49.559 in the middle of it, I can't remember, but it 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:50.439 was a purple state. 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.800 Yes, it was, and not that long ago. 0:12:53.840 --> 0:12:58.240 The transition's been astonishing. I mean, we've gone from Purple 0:12:58.360 --> 0:13:00.280 State to like El Salvador. 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:05.440 Seriously, I agree. Yeah, I'm a native, so I've watched 0:13:05.480 --> 0:13:09.080 this also from a front row seat. Yeah, it's it's 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:12.440 there's an interesting phenomenon. I think that happened. And again, 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:17.320 it happened kind of in the lobbying consultant community some 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:20.520 years ago. You've probably you've heard of Richie Ross that, 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:23.000 you know, kind of the famous king maker in California. 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:26.880 Willie Brown's consultant and he's been you know, many many 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:31.000 other major players consultants. He figured out and had the 0:13:31.080 --> 0:13:35.559 Democrats do this in La as an experiment. They decided 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:37.760 that they weren't going to get just more of the 0:13:37.920 --> 0:13:41.280 Hispanic vote. That wouldn't be enough. They needed to get 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:45.160 every member of that person's family to vote. And so 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:50.120 there was this huge effort to you know, get out 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:53.079 the Hispanic vote. And but that's really what they were doing. 0:13:53.160 --> 0:13:57.120 They were making sure that entire families, entire communities, entire 0:13:57.200 --> 0:14:01.839 churches voted. And it comp deletely, I think it destroyed 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:05.000 Los Angeles and that's unfortunately where the bulk of the 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:08.400 election fraud comes in. Also, Los Angeles County is just 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:12.160 a nightmare. And I do think that then that was 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:16.719 like back in that's the late nineties, and so your 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:21.360 observation's right. It was lovely, wonderful, a pretty healthy state 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:24.400 up until then, and then something happened that just like 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:28.360 triggered it, and we just started losing Republican races up 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:30.880 and down the state and it all went to hell. 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:34.320 It seems to me, it's becoming more clear to me 0:14:34.480 --> 0:14:37.600 at the federal level, and then the state stuff is 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:42.320 just most people in politics just want to stay in office, yes, 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:44.640 And to stay in office, you have to win the 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:47.520 next election. And it takes a lot of money to 0:14:47.560 --> 0:14:50.040 win an election. And so your I have to be 0:14:50.040 --> 0:14:52.480 beholden to somebody because where's that money coming from? Sure, 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:55.120 And that's just the way the whole thing works. H. L. 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:58.080 Menkin was writing about that damn near one hundred, well 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:00.680 one hundred years ago, about you got three three jobs. 0:15:00.760 --> 0:15:03.720 One get power to retain power, and three, if you 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:07.080 have time, do something for your poor constituents. 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:08.360 But it's third place at best. 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:09.880 Do you have any idea how much money you need 0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:13.160 to run for an assembly person in California or state senator. 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:14.520 Actually, I don't know. 0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:17.000 I'm glad. You know, we've all heard the numbers at 0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:18.880 the betteral level. It's astounding. 0:15:19.000 --> 0:15:19.320 I know. 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:22.000 I'm sure it's higher than it ought to be in California. 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:23.720 Well, if you if you're in one of the very 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:26.800 few competitive districts, yeah, it's going to be super expensive. 0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:28.200 But good point. 0:15:28.520 --> 0:15:31.080 You know, I almost said something, but I'm determined. I 0:15:31.120 --> 0:15:34.080 almost told you a little story. But I'm determined to 0:15:34.360 --> 0:15:38.120 hand this question to you. Tabula rasa as a blank 0:15:38.200 --> 0:15:42.360 slate for people listening to this podcast around the country, 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:46.240 please do explain Kamala Harris's rise. 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:50.920 Oh you're gonna make me wow, because I've followed her 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:55.080 a long time. I'm starting It all started with sex, 0:15:56.280 --> 0:16:00.920 really with Willie Brown. Everybody knows it. It's the story. Yeah, 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:04.320 it was the casting couch audition that landed her in politics. 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:08.320 Just being the girlfriend of the most powerful man in 0:16:08.400 --> 0:16:11.920 California politics for like the last seventy five years is 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:12.640 a good career. 0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:15.080 Well what was she doing when she caught the eye 0:16:15.120 --> 0:16:16.080 of Willie Brown. 0:16:17.440 --> 0:16:26.320 Showing cleavage? I don't know, that's pretty funny. Literally, I 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:30.080 think she was I don't know, you know, crossing her legs. 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:34.160 I think she was a young lawyer in you know, 0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:39.080 hanging out with politicians in San Francisco, caught Willie Brown's eye, 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:42.360 and you know, the rest is history. She truly is 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:46.000 one of those people who's failed up similarly to Gavin Newsom, 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:49.320 because think about it, if you're a Democrat in San Francisco, 0:16:49.560 --> 0:16:53.920 even back in the nineties, there's no competition. What Republican's 0:16:53.960 --> 0:16:56.600 going to beat you, even for you know, the dogcatcher, 0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:59.640 It's not going to happen. And so she never had 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:04.680 any competition really for San Francisco DA when she ran 0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:07.840 for Attorney general. I'm trying to remember who ran against her, 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:11.800 Dan Lungren maybe. 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:13.760 As far as you can tell, and you know, be 0:17:13.880 --> 0:17:17.040 completely honest about this. Do you know anybody who like 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:18.960 respects her judgment and inelect? 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:19.480 Nope? 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:25.560 Nope. I attended her swearing in for Attorney General. And 0:17:25.840 --> 0:17:30.040 this was so wild because it was let's see twenty ten, 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:33.960 I believe eleven, and so Obama had been president for 0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:37.440 two years. Up to that point, she'd been known as Kamala. 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:41.720 At the swearing in, people her people were walking around 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:46.760 telling everybody make sure, you call her Kamala gotta sound 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:47.400 like Obama. 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:49.480 Oh that's okay. 0:17:49.560 --> 0:17:52.040 Well, wow, that's how shallow these people are. 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:52.640 Wow. 0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:55.720 Yeah, So that was the one takeaway I think. 0:17:55.600 --> 0:17:58.960 Because she she doesn't seem that bright, and she doesn't 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:01.520 seem to have any particular skills like you know, people's 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:02.399 skills or anything like that. 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:06.639 She the one thing she's good at is that superior tone. 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:09.800 You need to answer the question she is good at that? 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:13.399 Yes, yes, a bit of one yes trick? Can I say? 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:15.800 I feel like there's gotta be something missing me? You 0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:19.800 can't just be attractive and have a superior tone and 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:21.160 a Democrat. 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:23.560 In a one party state. Yes, are you gonna run 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:27.000 somebody against Willie Brown's girlfriend? But aren't there other Democrats 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:28.000 that wanted her jobs that? 0:18:28.160 --> 0:18:32.280 Oh? I'm sure. Yeah, But she also has just as 0:18:32.320 --> 0:18:36.080 Gavin Newsom has the backing of Silicon Valley and nobody 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:37.000 can penetrate that. 0:18:37.200 --> 0:18:41.200 And the Pelosi family and everything else. So the story 0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:44.359 I wasn't gonna tell, and Jack's heard this, but I 0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:47.439 have a couple of friends, a handful who were or 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:50.119 are in very high levels of law enforcement and worked 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:52.199 on state federal task forces and that sort of thing, 0:18:52.240 --> 0:18:55.159 and regularly met with the Attorney General and we'd be 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:58.639 playing golf or something and they would say, Joe Kamala 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:02.199 Harris is a dope, and I would I would be like, 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:03.800 all right, fellas. 0:19:03.359 --> 0:19:05.159 I'm conservative, you're a conservative. 0:19:05.200 --> 0:19:07.359 I know it's Willie n She's not a she can't 0:19:07.359 --> 0:19:09.399 be a dope, Joe, she's a dope. 0:19:10.560 --> 0:19:12.000 They met with the regular Yeah. 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:15.680 And so finally when she became vice president and began 0:19:15.800 --> 0:19:18.080 with the it is time for us to do what 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:21.639 we have been doing nonsense, they would text me and 0:19:21.680 --> 0:19:22.240 harass me. 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:24.160 Believe me now, believe me now? 0:19:25.840 --> 0:19:28.840 So good. Yeah, and there are so many of those stories. 0:19:28.840 --> 0:19:32.400 When she was DA, she was a nightmare, absolute cluster, 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:33.720