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Speaker 1: Caf I am six forty. You're listening to the John

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Speaker 1: Cobelt podcast on the iHeartRadio app.

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Speaker 2: I am definitely not John Covelt. Alex Michaelson from Fox

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Speaker 2: eleven Los Angeles. Usually you can see me weeknights at five,

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Speaker 2: six and ten pm and hosting the statewide political show

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Speaker 2: The Issue is but grateful to be here and to

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Speaker 2: move into our three. This show is flying by Deborah Mark.

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Speaker 2: It is one of the most fun things I've done

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Speaker 2: in broadcasting. So it's so great to be along with

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Speaker 2: you guys. Yeah, I'm glad that you're enjoying it. You're

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Speaker 2: doing a great job there, just hanging out with and

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Speaker 2: talk with a lot of my friends, including one of

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Speaker 2: my best friends now who we want to bring the

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Speaker 2: end of the conversation, which is Bill Malusian, who has

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Speaker 2: become Fox News Channels sort of pre eminent reporter on

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Speaker 2: the issue of immigration after spending years at the border

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Speaker 2: seeing what was happening firsthand, often as the only national

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Speaker 2: reporter at the border. We've seen a huge dramatic change

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Speaker 2: in the Trump administration and Bill has seen that firsthand

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Speaker 2: as well. Bill Mlusian, Welcome, heyl.

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Speaker 3: It's glad you Johnny Man. Been fun listening to you.

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Speaker 4: You're killing it.

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Speaker 2: Thank you so much. So obviously you were right in

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Speaker 2: the middle of it during the Biden administration when we

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Speaker 2: just saw people, you know, overrunning the border. Talk about

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Speaker 2: the dramatic change that we've seen. I mean, because they're

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Speaker 2: of all the things that Donald Trump has changed, this

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Speaker 2: is the greatest change. It's on this issue of immigration.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, this bigot has been turned off and it's probably

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Speaker 3: his number one campaign promise that he's delivered on the

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Speaker 3: border literally is closed right now. And just to give

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Speaker 3: you a little perspective on how closed it is. When

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Speaker 3: things were at their worst December twenty twenty three, border

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Speaker 3: patrol was getting ten to eleven thousand illegal crossings every

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Speaker 3: single day. For the entire month of March, there were

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Speaker 3: seven thousand. That's it. So we're seeing decreases of more

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Speaker 3: than ninety percent across the board. They're getting maybe two

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Speaker 3: to three hundred illegal daily across the entire border, and

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Speaker 3: that is obviously down enormously from those record highs we

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Speaker 3: were sitting under the Biden administration. And the godaways have

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Speaker 3: also fallen off a cliff. When it was the worst

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Speaker 3: under Biden in twenty twenty three, or an average of

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Speaker 3: one eight hundred and thirty gotaways slipping into the country

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Speaker 3: every single day. That number has now dropped down to

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Speaker 3: about fifty or sixty a day.

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Speaker 2: Wow. What do you think is the biggest, most important

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Speaker 2: change that's made the difference.

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Speaker 3: I think it's the messaging and the policies. If we

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Speaker 3: remember during the Biden years, they were kind of it

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Speaker 3: seemed gun shy to show any images of deportations or

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Speaker 3: removals or arrests or anything. Right, there was a section

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Speaker 3: of the Democratic Party that seemed to have the White

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Speaker 3: House's ear, that that had more of that progressive wing

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Speaker 3: of the party that was more pro migrant, more pro

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Speaker 3: open borders, and all the images during the Biden administration were,

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Speaker 3: you know, a lot of our live shots down there

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Speaker 3: just lines of people hundreds people long, literally just walking

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Speaker 3: and walking in like they're in line at Disneyland, waving

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Speaker 3: your cameras. And then they get released and they end

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Speaker 3: up in Chicago or New York City staying at a hotel.

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Speaker 3: It was just a very friendly, open welcoming vibe under

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Speaker 3: the Biden administration, and obviously the migrants were going to

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Speaker 3: think that because they reversed every single Trump policy upon

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Speaker 3: coming into office and then bragged about it. Right yet,

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Speaker 3: my orcs on TV saying, oh my goodness, we've reversed

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Speaker 3: so many Trump policies I can't even count them in

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Speaker 3: my head. Then Trump comes in and he campaigned on

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Speaker 3: closing the border and mass deportations. And what does he do.

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Speaker 3: He cancels every Biden policy, every Biden program. He sends

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Speaker 3: the military down to the border. We've got strikers sitting

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Speaker 3: down on the border right now. Catch and release is over.

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Speaker 3: If anybody gets caught now, they're not being released into

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Speaker 3: the country. They're being arrested and put on flights for deportations.

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Speaker 3: And what are they doing now? They're showing their work, right.

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Speaker 3: They love showing images of people shackled, people then handcuffs,

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Speaker 3: people being sent to El Salvador, to the mega prison

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Speaker 3: Seacot with their heads being shoved down by these prison guards.

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Speaker 3: That's terrifying if you're a man from somewhere around the

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Speaker 3: world crossing the border illegally, right, the idea that you

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Speaker 3: could end up in a super prison somewhere. So the

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Speaker 3: messaging and the policies have come together, and right now,

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Speaker 3: the word of mouth is the border is closed and

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Speaker 3: it is not welcoming under Donald Trump.

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Speaker 2: But those images are also terrifying for a lot of

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Speaker 2: people who are here illegally already, or people that may

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Speaker 2: be here legally but are concerned that they will be

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Speaker 2: taken and not given due process to plead their case.

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Speaker 2: And that brings us to this case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia,

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Speaker 2: which has gotten so much attention. This guy who appears

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Speaker 2: to have not been a very good dude, even though

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Speaker 2: the Democrats have kind of, you know, staked their claim

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Speaker 2: on him. Now they seem to be saying it's not

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Speaker 2: about the man, it's about the pellasy of due process.

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Speaker 2: We just heard today that Robert Garcia, the Democratic congressman

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Speaker 2: from Long Beach, traveled to l Salvador on this issue.

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Speaker 2: But this is a real issue bill, this concept of

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Speaker 2: due process. So what do you think should happen to him,

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Speaker 2: and what do you think should happen to make sure

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Speaker 2: that people aren't just quote unquote disappeared into a gulag

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Speaker 2: in another country.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, no, I agree, and I am very sympathetic to

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Speaker 3: the idea of due process. And I think if I

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Speaker 3: were the Trump administration, I think there's a way for

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Speaker 3: them to get due process, which is what they're being

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Speaker 3: criticized for, while also getting what they want, which is

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Speaker 3: getting them out of the country. So a lot of

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Speaker 3: people are hearing all the headlines on this and hearing

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Speaker 3: all these different immigration terms, and it starts probably getting

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Speaker 3: confusing and mudding the waters. The fifteen second Clush notes

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Speaker 3: is this guy's a Salvador and illegal immigrant. He has

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Speaker 3: an active deportation order, but he also has something called

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Speaker 3: a withholding of removal. And all that withholding of removal

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Speaker 3: means is in twenty nineteen, an immigration judge said he

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Speaker 3: can be deported. He just cannot be deported to El

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Speaker 3: Salvador because there's fears of gang retaliation against him there.

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Speaker 3: And that's where the Trump administration screwed up, where they

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Speaker 3: admitted it in court. They sent him to the one

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Speaker 3: country they weren't supposed to and they said that was

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Speaker 3: a paperworker. Great. So here we are now, right all

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Speaker 3: the headlines about the Maryland Father, the Democrats and the

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Speaker 3: Trump administration fighting. So how can the Trump administration win here?

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Speaker 3: In my opinion, since the Supreme Court has ordered them

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Speaker 3: that they have to facilitate his return to the US.

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Speaker 3: Here's what I would do. I would bring him back

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Speaker 3: to the US. I would keep him in federal custody,

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Speaker 3: and I would do one of two things. Number One,

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Speaker 3: I would bring him into court and bring him before

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Speaker 3: an integration judge and try to terminate his withholding of

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Speaker 3: removal on the grounds that was granted in twenty nineteen.

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Speaker 3: The situation on the ground in El Salvador has changed

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Speaker 3: significantly since then. The gangs have been virtually wiped out,

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Speaker 3: and he's been living in El Salvador in these last

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Speaker 3: few weeks and has suffered no physical harm whatsoever. If

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Speaker 3: that termination is granted, then they just deport them right

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Speaker 3: back to Old Salvador, right. They've then followed the Supreme Court.

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Speaker 3: They gave him his due process in court, and they

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Speaker 3: did it legally, incorrectly, and center back. If that doesn't happen,

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Speaker 3: the easiest option is just report him to another country.

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Speaker 3: He has an active deportation where that says he can

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Speaker 3: be deported anywhere except El Salvador. They could bring him

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Speaker 3: back to the US and they can send them to

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Speaker 3: any other country. It would be legal, and they would

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Speaker 3: still be following the Supreme Court. The argument about due

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Speaker 3: process would be over. They'd be following the Supreme Court,

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Speaker 3: and they still get what they want at the end

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Speaker 3: of the road, which is him out of the country.

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Speaker 2: What country would would take him because he's not He's

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Speaker 2: an l Salvador citizen, right he is.

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Speaker 3: But there's things called safe third countries, countries that we

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Speaker 3: have agreements with where other countries will take nationals from

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Speaker 3: other countries as long as there's you know, I bet

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Speaker 3: Mexico would take them. Other countries we have relationships with.

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Speaker 3: There are a handful of countries that would be willing

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Speaker 3: to take him, and his active deportation order would allow that. Now, Elex.

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Speaker 3: With all that being said, I think Democrats are insane

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Speaker 3: for wanting to take this fight. Immigration is a losing

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Speaker 3: topic for them. It was a loser for them during

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Speaker 3: the election, it's a loser for them now. Donald Trump

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Speaker 3: enjoys his highest poll numbers on the topic of immigration,

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Speaker 3: and for whatever reason, the Democrats have latched themselves to

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Speaker 3: this guy they're calling a quote unquote Maryland father who

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Speaker 3: is let's go down the checklist, a Salvador and illegal alien,

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Speaker 3: a guy who's alleged to be an MS thirteen gang member,

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Speaker 3: which was confirmed by an immigration judge in multiple there's

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Speaker 3: multiple people saying that his own wife got two protective

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Speaker 3: orders against him because she claims he's a repeat wife beater.

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Speaker 3: He's also suspected of human trafficking in Tennessee and there's

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Speaker 3: bodycam video of that. For whatever reason, this is the

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Speaker 3: hero that Democrats have lapsed them to so much so

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Speaker 3: that they're not doubling down or tripling down. They're quadrupling down,

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Speaker 3: and they're flying down to All Salvador to visit him

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Speaker 3: and demand due process. Fine, but there's so many other

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Speaker 3: topics they could be going after the President for, namely

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Speaker 3: all this confusion on tariffs, Sure, the stock market taking

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Speaker 3: a hit, Gavin knew some things. Democrats are taking the

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Speaker 3: bait on this with this whole due process illegal immigration argument,

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Speaker 3: and in my opinion, I think he's right because this

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Speaker 3: is a topic that the White House is happy to

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Speaker 3: have a fight on every day. You don't think they

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Speaker 3: love these images of Democrats flying down to All Salvador

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Speaker 3: to meet with the LEDs MS thirteen gang member when

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Speaker 3: they ignored the border crisis and wouldn't even meet with

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Speaker 3: the families of you know, it's just terrible optics. And

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Speaker 3: I think the White House loves to have this fight

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Speaker 3: because guess what, they're not talking about the stock market today,

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Speaker 3: which was down another thousand points in the Dow Right, right.

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Speaker 2: But all politics is local, so nationally, I think you're right.

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Speaker 2: But then there are districts that have hugely Latino percentages,

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Speaker 2: in places like California, a state where seventeen percent of

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Speaker 2: people here are undocumented, And in a lot of these districts,

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Speaker 2: this may be a winning issue, this concept not of

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Speaker 2: getting behind this guy, but real fears among their constituents

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Speaker 2: of essentially being disappeared without due process. So that's some

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Speaker 2: of it. But I agree with you the Democrats need

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Speaker 2: to find a better way of communicating this issue because

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Speaker 2: they are losing nationally. All right, we could make that

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Speaker 2: an entire show. Maybe they'll hire us to do that

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Speaker 2: one day, but right now I got to go to

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Speaker 2: break Bill Mlusian. Thanks for your perspective. That was an

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Speaker 2: interesting idea of what the Trump administration could do if

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Speaker 2: only there was a platform that you had that the

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Speaker 2: President watched consistently where he may be able to listen

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Speaker 2: to you. That whole audience have won. So maybe we'll

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Speaker 2: see you make that point on Fox News Channel, or

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Speaker 2: maybe he's listening today. Who knows. Bill, Thank you so much,

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Speaker 2: appreciate your support, Love you, brother.

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Speaker 3: All right, let me do Alex, thanks man, keep it up.

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Speaker 2: All right, we have met. We have some breaking news

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Speaker 2: on the governor's race. A conservative just got into the race,

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Speaker 2: and I'm going to talk about it and whether he's

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Speaker 2: got a chance to win.

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Speaker 4: You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI AM

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Speaker 4: six forty.

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Speaker 2: Deborah Mark, We've got some breaking news when it comes

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Speaker 2: to the governor's race. I think this happened today, earlier

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Speaker 2: than I thought it was going to happen, although everybody

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Speaker 2: kind of knew that this was going to happen. Steve

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Speaker 2: Hilton is running for governor as a Republican. He put

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Speaker 2: out a video on x saying it's time to make

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Speaker 2: California golden again. We need some balance here after fifteen

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Speaker 2: years of Democrat one party rule. Positive practical policies that

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Speaker 2: could help people, not ideological crusades. It's why I am

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Speaker 2: running for governor of California. He's going to do a

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Speaker 2: big event tomorrow in Huntington Beach. That's going to be

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Speaker 2: a rally. I'm going to do media interviews after that,

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Speaker 2: including with me on our political show The Issue Is

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Speaker 2: This Week. But Steve Hilton, if you haven't heard of him,

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Speaker 2: he is originally British. He worked for the British Prime

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Speaker 2: Minister David Cameron in their government there, then moved to California,

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Speaker 2: lived in the Bay Area, got involved in California politics.

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Speaker 2: Is on Fox News Channel, hosted a show for years

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Speaker 2: on the weekend called The Revolution with Steve Hilton. For

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Speaker 2: the last few years has been a Fox News contributor

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Speaker 2: on the air a lot working on California issues. With

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Speaker 2: this Golden Together, he started this organization working on those issues.

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Speaker 2: But Deborah, as we know, it is challenging for a

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Speaker 2: Republican to win statewide in this state.

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Speaker 5: That seems almost impossible, almost impossible, And we're still waiting

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Speaker 5: to hear if former Vice President Kamala Harris, if she

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Speaker 5: puts her hat in the ring, I mean, that's my

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Speaker 5: bet would be in California. If I had to say

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Speaker 5: who was going to win, it would be Kamala Harris, that.

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Speaker 2: Would I mean, if you're betting money, that would certainly

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Speaker 2: be the easiest thing, right, And I'm not indors, no, no,

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Speaker 2: because of the fundamentals of the race. Right our state

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Speaker 2: is fundamentally a democratic state, twenty five percent more Democrats

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Speaker 2: than there are Republicans in the state, which is why

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Speaker 2: no Republican has won statewide since two thousand and six.

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Speaker 2: And that Republican was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was the biggest

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Speaker 2: movie star in the world and married to a Democrat,

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Speaker 2: and a lot of people listening to this show probably

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Speaker 2: think he governed like a Democrat. So you know, it's

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Speaker 2: a challenge in that environment for a Republican to win.

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Speaker 2: What I could see happening though, because we have a

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Speaker 2: top two system, is that if Kamala Harris gets into

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Speaker 2: the race, she's going to want to be in the finals,

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Speaker 2: if you will, the general election against a Republican because

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Speaker 2: she thinks that she could win. So I could see

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Speaker 2: her campaign spending a lot of money to lift up

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Speaker 2: whether it be Steve Hilton or Chad Bianco, the Riverside

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Speaker 2: County sheriff, to try to get Trump supporters to back

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Speaker 2: them so she could essentially win the election on primary night.

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Speaker 2: This is the same strategy that Adam Schiff did against

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Speaker 2: Katie Porter when he got Steve Garvey into the general election,

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Speaker 2: spending twelve million dollars on the Garvey campaign. It's the

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Speaker 2: same strategy that Gavin Newsom used when he elevated John

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Speaker 2: Cox instead of running against Antonio Viragosa in the general election,

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Speaker 2: and he was able to win. So Steve Hilton could

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Speaker 2: raise a lot of money from Trump supporters, but I

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Speaker 2: could see Steve Hilton raising a lot of money from

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Speaker 2: Kamala Harris if she gets into it. Now, the question is,

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Speaker 2: are we at a breaking point where people are so frustrated, Deborah,

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Speaker 2: with the way things are governed in this state that

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Speaker 2: they're ready for a change and ready to try something different.

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Speaker 2: We have seen in other democratic states that they have

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Speaker 2: sometimes been willing to elect a Republican governor because a

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Speaker 2: governor kind of operates as his or her own thing.

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Speaker 2: It's different than you know in terms of a legislative race,

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Speaker 2: but we'll find out.

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Speaker 3: Well.

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Speaker 5: We have seen examples in San Francisco and here in

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Speaker 5: Los Angeles where people are sick and tired of crime,

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Speaker 5: so they've done something about it.

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Speaker 6: Right.

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Speaker 5: People have gotten rid of George Gascone and the mayor

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Speaker 5: was at Oakland. Also in San Francisco, people are tired

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Speaker 5: of crime, and so I don't.

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Speaker 2: Know, but all of them were replaced by Democrats or independents,

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Speaker 2: not by Republicans. Nathan Hockman had been a Republicans. It

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Speaker 2: didn't run as an independent as a Republican there, and

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Speaker 2: so you know that's part of the interesting thing that's

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Speaker 2: at play here. Is there an opening for somebody like

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Speaker 2: a Rick Caruso who used to be a Republican to

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Speaker 2: run as a more moderate Democrat. We'll see. Well, we're

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Speaker 2: going to talk about that with Melanie Mason from Politico,

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Speaker 2: who knows as much of this stuff as anybody. She

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Speaker 2: was just with Mayor Bass, who announced the state of

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Speaker 2: the city and more importantly, the state of the city's finances,

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Speaker 2: a billion dollars shortfall. They figured out how they want

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Speaker 2: to close that. Who's going to get fired or laid

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Speaker 2: off because of it? Who is going to keep their jobs.

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Speaker 2: We'll get into all of that with Melanie Mason when

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Speaker 2: we come back here on kfive.

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Speaker 4: You're listening to John Cobels on demand from KFI AM

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Speaker 4: six forty.

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Speaker 2: I'm Alex Michaelson filling in for John. Usually you can

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Speaker 2: see me on Fox eleven weeknights at five, six and

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Speaker 2: ten and hosting the statewide political show The Issue is

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Speaker 2: every Friday night at ten thirty on Fox eleven, and

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Speaker 2: one of my favorite guests on that show is joining

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Speaker 2: us now. Melanie Mason is a senior political writer for Politico.

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Speaker 2: She's one of the smartest, most dialed in political reporters

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Speaker 2: in the state of California. She's got the pulse of

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Speaker 2: what's going on. Everybody comes to her to give them

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Speaker 2: all the gossip. If only she could report all of that.

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Speaker 2: And she's spent the day with LA Mayor Karen Bass,

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Speaker 2: who just delivered the state of the state of the

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Speaker 2: City address. She hasn't been elected governor yet. Melanie joins

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Speaker 2: us now. Melanie, welcome, Thanks Alex.

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Speaker 6: I would say, keep going. I love all these compliments,

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Speaker 6: but I have to compliment you because I have been

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Speaker 6: listening and I don't know, man, I feel like radio

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Speaker 6: is giving TV a run for its money. You're doing

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Speaker 6: it awesome.

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Speaker 2: Thank you. It's so much fun. First time ever trying this,

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Speaker 2: and I wanted you to be on board with this

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Speaker 2: because I love talking politics with you, and I felt like,

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Speaker 2: maybe let's just make a show of that, right, But

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Speaker 2: let's start with the state of the city. The big

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Speaker 2: headline is that Mayor Bass has a billion dollar shortfall

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Speaker 2: that she needed to make up. So how is she

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Speaker 2: going to do that? Well, now we have some real numbers.

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Speaker 2: Some of the top lines. She's not getting rid of

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Speaker 2: any LAPD sworn officers, not getting rid of any LAFD firefighters.

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Speaker 2: She actually wants to increase when it comes to firefighters.

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Speaker 2: But there are going to be about sixteen hundred other layoffs.

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Speaker 2: Theres are going to be other positions that are not

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Speaker 2: going to be filled. What did you see as sort

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Speaker 2: of the big most important headlines from what she's talking about.

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Speaker 6: I think you're right. I mean, to me, the biggest

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Speaker 6: headline was that we could be looking at up to

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Speaker 6: sixteen hundred or so layoffs in the city workforce. Now

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Speaker 6: she is still calling that kind of an absolute last resort.

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Speaker 6: I think that she's holding out some hope that maybe

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Speaker 6: either in the course of these budget negotiations they find

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Speaker 6: other savings or they go and look to Sacramento to

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Speaker 6: bail them out, maybe give them some help. But sixteen

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Speaker 6: hundred positions is not insignificant. That's about five percent of

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Speaker 6: the current employee you know, city workforce right now of

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Speaker 6: all the positions that are filled. And so I think

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Speaker 6: in a city where we have constantly been hearing from

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Speaker 6: residents that they feel like city services are being impacted

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Speaker 6: when it comes to things like, you know, tree trimming

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Speaker 6: or getting your sidewalks repaired or things like that, this

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Speaker 6: is only going to make that crunch feel even more

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Speaker 6: real to people. But I think that this is sort

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Speaker 6: of again the reality that she was staring down. When

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Speaker 6: you're looking at almost a billion dollars of a shortfall.

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Speaker 6: None of the options are good, and layoffs are certainly

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Speaker 6: not a great option, but it's the one that she's

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Speaker 6: had to propose.

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Speaker 2: I mean, do we have a sense of how specifically

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Speaker 2: this will impact the average person listening? Because I know

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Speaker 2: there's plenty of people that are fans of John Cobalt

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Speaker 2: who are not big fans of the way the city

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Speaker 2: is run anyways, don't necessarily think they do a great

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Speaker 2: job with their money. What will this mean for the

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Speaker 2: average person if that all happens.

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Speaker 6: I think that we're still waiting to find out from

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Speaker 6: the Mayor's office what departments we should expect to really

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Speaker 6: be affected by this. In fact, I was just on

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Speaker 6: the phone with David Green who represents SCIU seven twenty one,

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Speaker 6: which has a lot of city employees, and he said

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Speaker 6: that he hasn't yet been alerted about what departments. What

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Speaker 6: we do know is that they're not proposing, as you

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Speaker 6: had mentioned earlier, to lay off any sworn officers from

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Speaker 6: LAPD LAFD. But I still think that civilian positions are

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Speaker 6: going to be a key question. That was a big

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Speaker 6: sticking point when the mayor was under fire no no

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Speaker 6: pun intended during the fires earlier this year about LAFD

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Speaker 6: staffing was that there had been these cuts to the

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Speaker 6: fire department's budget when it came to civilian positions, and

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Speaker 6: that affects the operations of these departments overall. So I

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Speaker 6: think even if they can tell people rest assured, you know,

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Speaker 6: your cops on the beat or your firefighters on the beat,

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Speaker 6: that those positions are safe, I think that if we

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Speaker 6: see effects on the sort of civilian side in these departments,

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Speaker 6: that could absolutely affect these departments overall. And then I

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Speaker 6: think when it comes to again the sort of like

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Speaker 6: nuts and bolts that the city is supposed to do

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Speaker 6: in terms of you know, picking up your trash and

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Speaker 6: repairing your sidewalks and trimming your trees. I think that

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Speaker 6: those are we already see a major delay and getting

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Speaker 6: those things done, and this could just make it worse.

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Speaker 6: We also know that they are proposing doing things like

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Speaker 6: consolidating a couple of city departments, and it's possible that

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Speaker 6: maybe there were resundencies out there, and so maybe streamlining

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Speaker 6: a couple of departments that are meant for workforce development,

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Speaker 6: to help with youth development with seniors. You know, if

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Speaker 6: you put that all in one house and maybe you're

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Speaker 6: able to streamline a bit, maybe that makes things more efficient.

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Speaker 6: But I think that you're going to have to sell

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Speaker 6: that to a pretty skeptical.

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Speaker 2: Public, right and then we'll also see how this impacts,

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Speaker 2: you know, rebuilding at a time when people need permits

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Speaker 2: from the city and all the rest of that as well.

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Speaker 2: And speaking of the fires, obviously that had a huge

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Speaker 2: impact on La Mayor Bass's political reality. It seems like

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Speaker 2: her team's kind of framing this speech not only as

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Speaker 2: La is coming back. You know, we can get through

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Speaker 2: the tough times. We're going to rebuild better. But that

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Speaker 2: metaphor could go to Karen Bass's political career. Her team

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Speaker 2: wants it to be like not only is La coming back,

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Speaker 2: but mayor bass is coming back. Here we go. Do

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Speaker 2: you think that there that's effective? How do you think

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Speaker 2: that's playing.

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Speaker 6: I think that's the thing that is difficult for her

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Speaker 6: is even if she's giving this speech that has all

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Speaker 6: of these kind of upbeat notes emphasizing where there has

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Speaker 6: been progress. For example, you know she's talking about a

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Speaker 6: reduction in violent crime and homicides. It's like a double

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Speaker 6: digit percentage drop. That's not nothing. There was a ten

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Speaker 6: percent reduction in street famlessness last year. That's not nothing,

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Speaker 6: particularly when the rest of the country saw this increase.

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Speaker 6: But at the set, you just keep getting crisis after

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Speaker 6: crisis after crisis, whether it's the fires or now this

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Speaker 6: budget crisis. And so I think that even though she

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Speaker 6: wants to be able to take this moment to say, Okay,

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Speaker 6: we have this reset, we have now the wind at

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Speaker 6: our back, in terms of addressing these problems, it's very,

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Speaker 6: very hard to do with a straight face when it's

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Speaker 6: just all of these bad headlines. But the lead of

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Speaker 6: the story that I wrote that just published is that

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Speaker 6: she was presenting a shot of optimism followed by a

435
00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:51,560
Speaker 6: bitter budget chaser. I mean, that was this kind of

436
00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:53,760
Speaker 6: split screen that she had to deal with is even

437
00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:58,280
Speaker 6: if she's trying to project this optimistic message, the reality

438
00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:01,080
Speaker 6: is just is tough. I think that that's hard for

439
00:23:01,119 --> 00:23:02,000
Speaker 6: a comeback narrative.

440
00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:06,240
Speaker 2: What kind of bar do you go to? The bitter

441
00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:08,000
Speaker 2: budget chaser the.

442
00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:11,720
Speaker 6: Beer, you know, but politic style, there's got to be

443
00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,080
Speaker 6: like a pickleback or something metaphor for that one.

444
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:16,879
Speaker 2: Yeah, So let's talk for a moment now about the

445
00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:21,520
Speaker 2: governor's race. We saw Kamala Harris went to church yesterday

446
00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,320
Speaker 2: and it went too close to her house in Brentwood.

447
00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:27,639
Speaker 2: She went to Inglewood to Faithful Central for an Easter

448
00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:31,119
Speaker 2: service there, and then there was video afterwards of her

449
00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:34,440
Speaker 2: leaving and just you know, the crowd going crazy for her,

450
00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:38,840
Speaker 2: especially among black women in the neighborhood who view her

451
00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:41,440
Speaker 2: as a hero. And it is a reminder that if

452
00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:44,280
Speaker 2: she were to get into the governor's race, she's at

453
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:48,439
Speaker 2: a different level than everybody else. You don't see Antonio

454
00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:51,800
Speaker 2: Vira Gosa or Steven Klubak, or Tony Atkins or Tony

455
00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:55,800
Speaker 2: Thurman getting mobbed when they leave an event. It's just

456
00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:57,800
Speaker 2: a very different thing. I know. There's a lot of

457
00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:01,240
Speaker 2: people listening who don't love Kamala Harris, But what do

458
00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:03,480
Speaker 2: you make of her political reality? And what are you

459
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:05,280
Speaker 2: hearing in terms of her thinking right now?

460
00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:10,119
Speaker 6: Look, she has something that none of these other candidates

461
00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:13,000
Speaker 6: that are currently in the race has, which is political celebrity,

462
00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:16,280
Speaker 6: right yeah, And she also has you know, basically one

463
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:21,119
Speaker 6: hundred percent name I dat Yeah, the people that that

464
00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:23,280
Speaker 6: that love her, the folks that showed up to her

465
00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:25,879
Speaker 6: on Easter Sunday to greet her. I mean that is

466
00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:31,080
Speaker 6: that is a loyalty and a basis support that quite frankly,

467
00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:34,320
Speaker 6: like you know, very few politicians, particularly on a state level,

468
00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:36,520
Speaker 6: can count on. And so I think it is a

469
00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:39,440
Speaker 6: good reminder, you know that we in the political kind

470
00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:42,959
Speaker 6: of obsessive class are going to be picking apart. You know,

471
00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:45,680
Speaker 6: what's her viability? How strong is she a candidate? Really?

472
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:48,360
Speaker 6: Are people really excited about her run? And I think

473
00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:50,320
Speaker 6: that there's a lot of nuance there about what the

474
00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:52,280
Speaker 6: strength of her cannicy is. But I think that we

475
00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,200
Speaker 6: always have to remember that she's she would start out

476
00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:59,120
Speaker 6: so like so many leaps and bounds ahead of anybody

477
00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:02,159
Speaker 6: else in that race, sisely because she does have this

478
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:06,440
Speaker 6: degree of celebrity that is very very rare among elected officials.

479
00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:08,960
Speaker 6: In terms of what we're hearing, I think it's the

480
00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,080
Speaker 6: same that we've been hearing for weeks, which is that

481
00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:13,640
Speaker 6: she has set this deadline of sort of late summer

482
00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:16,000
Speaker 6: for a decision. And I know that the other candidates

483
00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:18,679
Speaker 6: in that race would love to see her make a

484
00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:20,840
Speaker 6: decision one way or another, because I think there really

485
00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,639
Speaker 6: has been a freeze in terms of the dynamic of

486
00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:25,640
Speaker 6: the governor's race as we all wait to know what's

487
00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:28,000
Speaker 6: going on. But I think she feels like she's she's

488
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:30,000
Speaker 6: really in no rush. But to your point, I mean

489
00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:32,840
Speaker 6: choosing a church to go to one Easter in Inglewood,

490
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,520
Speaker 6: which is, you know, all the way across town from

491
00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:37,360
Speaker 6: from where she lives. I think that if you were

492
00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:39,199
Speaker 6: if you were thinking that you were going to take

493
00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:41,399
Speaker 6: a break from the public eye, that is not the

494
00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,159
Speaker 6: choice that you would be making. So I noted her

495
00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:46,680
Speaker 6: choice with great interest that that was where she chose

496
00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:47,240
Speaker 6: to be at Easter.

497
00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:50,240
Speaker 2: She has made a lot of choices that allow her

498
00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:53,760
Speaker 2: the option to run for governor, you know, like showing

499
00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:57,000
Speaker 2: up to a Lakers Warriors game very publicly, showing up

500
00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:00,679
Speaker 2: to alta Dina and Pacific Palisades other things. That doesn't

501
00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,800
Speaker 2: necessarily mean she's going to run, but she's certainly leaving

502
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:08,520
Speaker 2: that option open, and increasingly, as far as I can tell,

503
00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:11,520
Speaker 2: and maybe you disagree, it increasingly looks likely that she

504
00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:12,520
Speaker 2: is going to run.

505
00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,280
Speaker 6: If I were a betting person, which I am very

506
00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:20,159
Speaker 6: much not, it feels like that's a better bet. But

507
00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:23,760
Speaker 6: I also kind of feel like it depends on the moment,

508
00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:27,680
Speaker 6: and I just think that, you know, we're in such

509
00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:31,880
Speaker 6: a volatile political environment right now that I don't think

510
00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:34,000
Speaker 6: that anything is a sure bet. But I agree with you,

511
00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:36,720
Speaker 6: it certainly feels like the winds are certainly blowing in

512
00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:38,840
Speaker 6: that direction of her getting into the race.

513
00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:41,679
Speaker 2: But on the other hand, the other argument is when

514
00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:44,200
Speaker 2: you run for president and you're used to Air Force

515
00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:46,280
Speaker 2: one and Air Force two and all the rest of that,

516
00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:49,919
Speaker 2: you know, being in Sacramento or farms in the Central

517
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,200
Speaker 2: Valley or some of this other stuff may not be

518
00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:56,240
Speaker 2: as appealing as running for president again. So we'll see

519
00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:59,239
Speaker 2: Melanie A lots to talk about upcoming, but you can

520
00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:03,200
Speaker 2: follow Melanie's work at politico dot com. Also, I suggest

521
00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:07,320
Speaker 2: to everybody to check out the California Politico Playbook. Sign

522
00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:09,679
Speaker 2: up for it. It's free every day. It's the best

523
00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:12,480
Speaker 2: look at what's happening in our state every single day.

524
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,520
Speaker 2: Melanie and the Politico team does a great job on that.

525
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:17,280
Speaker 2: Thanks so much for calling in.

526
00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:21,200
Speaker 6: Thanks Alex, so great up next.

527
00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:24,320
Speaker 2: Ding Dong with You, the Man, the Myth, the Legend,

528
00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:27,639
Speaker 2: Tim Conway Junior is going to be joining us. I

529
00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:29,879
Speaker 2: am so excited. This is what I've been waiting the

530
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:30,600
Speaker 2: entire show for.

531
00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:36,280
Speaker 4: You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI AM six.

532
00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:40,520
Speaker 2: Ding Dog with You, Tim Conway Junior. Thank you man.

533
00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:43,720
Speaker 7: You know, I was talking to Bellio, our producer, outside

534
00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,080
Speaker 7: in the hallway and she said, you know, I'm Alex

535
00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:48,119
Speaker 7: Michaelson's here.

536
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,320
Speaker 2: Because of you. Yeah, I am here, And I said Bellio,

537
00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:54,760
Speaker 2: I said, please stop blaming me for this. Yeah, well,

538
00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:57,560
Speaker 2: technically I'm here because of John Cobelt, because you've never

539
00:27:57,600 --> 00:27:59,720
Speaker 2: invited me to fill in on your show. So it's

540
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:02,600
Speaker 2: so the main credit should go to John and his team.

541
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,320
Speaker 2: But I would not be as involved with the station

542
00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:08,520
Speaker 2: without you calling in every Friday at four thirty and

543
00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:10,639
Speaker 2: five five and all the rest of it and getting

544
00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:12,320
Speaker 2: into it and getting to show a different side of

545
00:28:12,359 --> 00:28:14,520
Speaker 2: my personality and learning the ropes. I came here and

546
00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:18,119
Speaker 2: shadowed you. That's right, you are, you are responsible for

547
00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,280
Speaker 2: so many people's success.

548
00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,360
Speaker 7: Please, yes, let's not talk, you know, get that out there.

549
00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:27,760
Speaker 7: What what's shorter? The commercial breaks at Fox are here

550
00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:29,680
Speaker 7: way shorter at Fox?

551
00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:31,760
Speaker 2: Is that right? But that's a good sign for you

552
00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,560
Speaker 2: because you're so popular and you've got to pay that

553
00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:37,840
Speaker 2: giant salary that everybody's got to listen through all these

554
00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:41,120
Speaker 2: commercial breaks. That's right. The pope died today. Did that

555
00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:42,760
Speaker 2: mean anything to you or? Of course?

556
00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:43,080
Speaker 3: Yeah?

557
00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:44,960
Speaker 2: Yeah, what you're saying, because I'm a Jew, I don't

558
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:46,640
Speaker 2: care about the pope. I don't know how you just

559
00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:49,800
Speaker 2: celebrate or you know, or or passed. We don't celebrate

560
00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:51,920
Speaker 2: the death of the pope. What do you think this is?

561
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:52,040
Speaker 3: No?

562
00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:55,360
Speaker 7: I don't know what what what? What you you honor

563
00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:57,680
Speaker 7: is celebrate? I mean there's different million people in this

564
00:28:57,800 --> 00:28:58,320
Speaker 7: in the city.

565
00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:02,640
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that is sort of lifting up the

566
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:06,680
Speaker 2: most vulnerable among us is something that should be celebrated.

567
00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:09,120
Speaker 2: You know, in that position, most people wouldn't have done that.

568
00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:12,520
Speaker 2: And to go into a position that's that powerful and

569
00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:15,520
Speaker 2: to really not lose sight of the least among us

570
00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:18,239
Speaker 2: is amazing, and it's a big deal. Clearly was not

571
00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:21,600
Speaker 2: like the Benedict agenda, right, it was a big deal.

572
00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:22,720
Speaker 2: I grew up Catholic.

573
00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:26,320
Speaker 7: My mom got us thrown out of two parishes, really,

574
00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:28,160
Speaker 7: Saint Mels and our Lady of Grace.

575
00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:29,280
Speaker 2: Would you do well.

576
00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:33,719
Speaker 7: She was a real strict absolutist when life began, and

577
00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,280
Speaker 7: it began at conception period.

578
00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:38,640
Speaker 2: The period is the size of the sun.

579
00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:41,600
Speaker 7: And if there was any wiggle room during any of

580
00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:46,000
Speaker 7: the sermons in church, she got into the priest's face

581
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:48,479
Speaker 7: after the sermon and they didn't like outside, right, and

582
00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:51,280
Speaker 7: she blasted off, okay, and so they kicked us out

583
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:51,920
Speaker 7: of Saint Mel's.

584
00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:55,040
Speaker 2: Look, my dad had six kids, three of us.

585
00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:57,680
Speaker 7: Three of us went to school there, and my dad

586
00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:00,720
Speaker 7: was tithing ten percent of the carab that's salary, and

587
00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:01,880
Speaker 7: they still kicked us out.

588
00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,200
Speaker 2: He could come up with some bid or something to

589
00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:07,560
Speaker 2: make them, do you know, apologize for this.

590
00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:10,760
Speaker 7: I think he just moved with the with the you know,

591
00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:12,480
Speaker 7: with the river. You know, he just got in the

592
00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:15,080
Speaker 7: boat and we just moved down to our Lady Grace.

593
00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:17,320
Speaker 7: Same thing out of Lady or Grace and then ended

594
00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:18,120
Speaker 7: up at Saint Ceah.

595
00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:24,000
Speaker 2: It's Moses, just move with the river. It was our

596
00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:26,800
Speaker 2: version of Moses. That's exactly right, buddy. I'm glad to

597
00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,200
Speaker 2: hear you on the station though. It's great. I mean, honestly,

598
00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:32,160
Speaker 2: it's so fun and and an opportunity to talk to

599
00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:34,000
Speaker 2: so many people and and all the rest of it.

600
00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:36,040
Speaker 2: So thank you. What what do you think? I know

601
00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:38,640
Speaker 2: you listened to every minute, you know what.

602
00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:44,240
Speaker 7: It was your favorite I meant, I meant to tune

603
00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:45,920
Speaker 7: into because I knew you're going to fill in, and

604
00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:48,360
Speaker 7: then I got I got really busy, you know, because

605
00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:52,000
Speaker 7: I'm look, I'm friends with you know, with the Bishop

606
00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:55,440
Speaker 7: of Orange County Diaces. I know you know, Bishop Van

607
00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:58,640
Speaker 7: and so I'm we're consoling each other all morning over

608
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:00,000
Speaker 7: the death of the the poet.

609
00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:02,000
Speaker 2: What does it mean to you, the death of the pope.

610
00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:07,400
Speaker 7: It's a bigger deal than you think, because I all,

611
00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,800
Speaker 7: my family is Catholic, my mom's side, my dad's side,

612
00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:10,680
Speaker 7: everybody's Catholic.

613
00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:13,640
Speaker 2: And I remember when my mom was alive and the

614
00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:15,760
Speaker 2: pope had passed. It was very devastating for her.

615
00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:18,640
Speaker 7: It was a very moving time, very sad around the

616
00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:20,880
Speaker 7: house and she really got into it.

617
00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:24,280
Speaker 2: We think about it. LA has the largest Catholic archdiocese

618
00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:26,640
Speaker 2: in the whole country. Wow. So, I mean there's a

619
00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:29,160
Speaker 2: lot of people, there's a lot of Catholic are really

620
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:30,160
Speaker 2: impacted by this.

621
00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:33,480
Speaker 7: And I hate to say this, and I hope you

622
00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:35,600
Speaker 7: know that you understand that our friendships may be a

623
00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:38,520
Speaker 7: little deeper in this. But you know, the only way

624
00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:44,480
Speaker 7: to heaven is through Catholicism, Right, That's correct, That's it,

625
00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:47,040
Speaker 7: that's it. You know, I've told that to friends of

626
00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:51,000
Speaker 7: mine who are like Christian or Muslim or Jewish, and

627
00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:54,280
Speaker 7: they all laugh, but they all sort of are angry

628
00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:55,440
Speaker 7: at that.

629
00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:58,800
Speaker 2: I don't know which religion, which religion you think does

630
00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:01,880
Speaker 2: guilt trips better. It's got to be Catholicism or Judius.

631
00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:05,560
Speaker 2: Oh no, no, no, I mean, buddy Jewish mothers. That's that's

632
00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:08,200
Speaker 2: another level. It's not even close, it's not even closed.

633
00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:09,360
Speaker 2: The Catholics wipe you out.

634
00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:13,360
Speaker 7: Yeah, every Look, that's all that is on Sunday is

635
00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,280
Speaker 7: on hour of guilt, you know, an hour of shaming.

636
00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:18,360
Speaker 2: You. You know, my my mom.

637
00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:21,080
Speaker 7: Would go to church on a Sunday and you know,

638
00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:23,560
Speaker 7: for an hour in a Catholic Mass. I'm sure you've

639
00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:25,959
Speaker 7: been to some. They tell you how to behave, they

640
00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:28,040
Speaker 7: tell you how to treat one another. The whole Mass

641
00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:31,000
Speaker 7: is either directly or indirectly, ways to treat each other

642
00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:32,280
Speaker 7: as we go through life.

643
00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:33,160
Speaker 2: That's all it is.

644
00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:35,960
Speaker 7: And then she would get out there and smack us

645
00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,320
Speaker 7: on the way to the car, not even in the car,

646
00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:40,960
Speaker 7: like you know, people would see that.

647
00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:43,840
Speaker 2: Bless me father, because I remember.

648
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:46,440
Speaker 7: On Palm Sunday my my dad would take a palm

649
00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:48,440
Speaker 7: and make a cross out of him.

650
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:50,840
Speaker 2: My mom would yell down, what the effort you're doing

651
00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:56,160
Speaker 2: in church? Time away because I've taken it from the

652
00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:59,560
Speaker 2: next show. Thank you so much to everybody a champ.

653
00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:02,480
Speaker 2: Big shout out to Deborah Mark and producer Ray and

654
00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:05,000
Speaker 2: the entire team here for making this happen up next

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Speaker 2: the Tim Conway Junior Show. Ding Dong with you now

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Speaker 2: to Deborah Mark in the KFI twenty four hour Newsroom.

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Speaker 1: Hey, you've been listening to the John Cobalt Show podcast.

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Speaker 1: You can always hear the show live on KFI Am

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Speaker 1: six forty from one to four pm every Monday through Friday,

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Speaker 1: and of course anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app,