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Speaker 1: Prop up someome posted by by these app countries that

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Speaker 1: brings so much in race and religion, in language and pucker.

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Speaker 2: It is a big idea a new world order.

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Speaker 3: Well, I know they're lying. They tricked me once, but

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Speaker 3: they're not going to trick me twice. The time is now.

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Speaker 3: Welcome back to the Professor Penn Podcast. David Pen, your host,

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Speaker 3: glad to be with you as always for episode number

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Speaker 3: two twenty nine, a special in studio guest today. Uh,

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Speaker 3: this is posting up on Thursday, Tanner, It's the fourteen fourteen.

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Speaker 3: Good morning, Tanner, good morning. We're all happy to be here.

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Speaker 3: I want to introduce to the audience representative Mike Wiener,

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Speaker 3: who is in the Minnesota House. Uh. This is a

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Speaker 3: gentleman who I've had one quick meal with and a

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Speaker 3: couple of conversations and when someone who's actually stepped out,

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Speaker 3: stepped up, decided to run and wins and then wants

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Speaker 3: to come on the Professor Podcast. Boy the floras all years.

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Speaker 3: We're so glad you're in a night and thank you

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Speaker 3: for coming in today.

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Speaker 2: Mike, Well, thanks for the invitation. I really appreciate being here.

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Speaker 2: I guess my only real fear is you know with

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Speaker 2: the lighting in here, if I'm going to have a

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Speaker 2: glare on my head, you know, because.

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Speaker 3: I didn't worry.

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Speaker 2: You got it?

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Speaker 3: Thank you? Oh No, I think I think that's a

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Speaker 3: bad ass look. Not everybody can pull that off.

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Speaker 2: I'm gonna have to smile less and keep up the

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Speaker 2: you know, the street cred.

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Speaker 3: Right. So Mike, Mike, Mike was introduced. I have a

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Speaker 3: supporter of mine who I've only met one time, but

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Speaker 3: I think he's in your legislative different district, isn't he

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Speaker 3: Robert Atkins.

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Speaker 2: He's in the Senate district to the north of me.

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Speaker 2: I'man I represent Senate district, our House District five.

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Speaker 3: B, which is where in the state of Minnesota.

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Speaker 2: So my area is all of Todd County, the lower

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Speaker 2: part of Wadina County, and then I've got a little

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Speaker 2: bit of cast a little bit of Morrison, just a

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Speaker 2: couple townships up in that area.

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Speaker 3: Are the people that are listening in Oklahoma? Is that

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Speaker 3: central Minnesota? Northern Minnesota? Where is this Well? I say

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Speaker 3: it's basically the heart of the state. That's pretty much

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Speaker 3: the center. Yes, say it's it's close to heaven as

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Speaker 3: you can get. It is a beautiful part of the state.

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Speaker 3: We've got lakes, we've got rivers.

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Speaker 2: We've got great farm ground, we've got timber. It's just

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Speaker 2: a nice mix of everything, is it.

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Speaker 3: It's north of Sant claud It is about how far

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Speaker 3: north of Sant claud is it.

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Speaker 2: On the freeway or fifty minutes?

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Speaker 3: Just under an hour, so you're about two hours, two

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Speaker 3: and a half hours from the cities. That's right, Okay,

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Speaker 3: got it? Okay, So Mike represents the heartland of Minnesota.

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Speaker 3: God's Country, God's Country. It is a mostly Republican area

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Speaker 3: in the state. Is that true?

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Speaker 2: I would say that's a little bit of an underestimation.

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Speaker 2: Our area is about seventy six votes, about seventy six

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Speaker 2: percent Republican, so it is I would say, hardcore Republican.

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Speaker 2: There's only a few other areas in the state that

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Speaker 2: vote with a higher percentage than we do.

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Speaker 3: Wow, seventy six percent Republican.

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Speaker 2: I think Morrison County to the east of US votes

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Speaker 2: a little bit higher than we do, and I think

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Speaker 2: there was one other area that's really close. So we

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Speaker 2: are basically the backbone, so to speak, of the Republican

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Speaker 2: Party in the state of Minnesota. As far as far

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Speaker 2: as percentage.

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Speaker 3: So for the people that are listing out of state,

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Speaker 3: the interesting thing for me if you were in the

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Speaker 3: national audience, because what we're trying to do here Mike

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Speaker 3: on the podcast is to take people from passivity to activity,

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Speaker 3: to change hearts and minds from we're watching podcasts for

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Speaker 3: entertainment and information to no, we're getting off the couch

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Speaker 3: and we're getting in the game because our republic is

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Speaker 3: at risk here. Our futures are at risk, our faith

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Speaker 3: is at risk. So you know, we're trying to create

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Speaker 3: a political movement using this digital means. So you know,

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Speaker 3: if you're listening you're in Oregon. For example, this is

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Speaker 3: a guy I know a little bit about him because

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Speaker 3: we talk. This is a guy who basically, and I

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Speaker 3: don't want to misrepresent you, you can talk about it.

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Speaker 3: You're a business guy, correct, you're your businessman.

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Speaker 2: I am. I own a small business up in our area.

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Speaker 2: And actually, when I'm not there, my kids are now

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Speaker 2: running the business. They're getting old enough to they've been

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Speaker 2: working with me for years. It's kind of very similar

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Speaker 2: to how I grew up. My dad owned a construction company,

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Speaker 2: primarily in the egg industry. Grand Ben's storage, buildings, irrigation,

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Speaker 2: things like that, and in that area, you grow up

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Speaker 2: working for your.

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Speaker 3: Parents, you know.

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Speaker 2: So I grew up with six brothers. There was wow,

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Speaker 2: seven boys and three girls, and I think every one

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Speaker 2: of us, you know, during the summers especially, we're working

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Speaker 2: for dad. So poured a lot of concrete, did a

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Speaker 2: lot of work for him. And now my kids are

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Speaker 2: filling the same role that I did growing up, which

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Speaker 2: is really kind of neat. I mean, it's you want.

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Speaker 2: One of the reasons we started our business is so

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Speaker 2: that in the future our kids would be able to

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Speaker 2: stay out in rural Minnesota. I think the quality of

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Speaker 2: life there is exceptional. And I almost want to back

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Speaker 2: up a little bit, you so, just to give you

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Speaker 2: some background of who I am and where I come from.

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Speaker 2: My folks, like I said before, seven kids, you know,

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Speaker 2: traditional Catholic family. My mom was a nurse, worked at

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Speaker 2: nursing home pretty much my whole life. Actually, yeah, as

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Speaker 2: far as I can remember, she's always worked at a

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Speaker 2: nursing home. My dad owned a small business, as I mentioned,

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Speaker 2: and I would say we had a great upbringing. They

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Speaker 2: instilled in us a lot of just traditional family values,

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Speaker 2: you know, a lot of hard work, perseverance, fortitude, temperance,

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Speaker 2: all of these things traditional classical virtues. I would say,

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Speaker 2: didn't listen to them all the time, but they did

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Speaker 2: a very good job of teaching us.

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Speaker 3: Let me ask you a question, just on a sidebar. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: did you listen to rock and roll?

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Speaker 2: Yes? I did.

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Speaker 3: What was your favorite band when you were eighteen years old? Oh?

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Speaker 2: When I was eighteen, I went through some stages.

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Speaker 3: I want to hear a stage. Okay, because so when

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Speaker 3: you say temperance and perseverance, but you didn't always listen,

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Speaker 3: I'm just trying to get a handle on how much

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Speaker 3: you weren't listening by listening to the music that you were.

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Speaker 2: So I I remember this very clearly. When the hair

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Speaker 2: bands were coming out, okay, right, and all of my

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Speaker 2: older siblings were listening to, uh, you know, Poison and

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Speaker 2: bands like that. I hated that. Okay, I hated it

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Speaker 2: because that was like such mainstream music at the time. Okay,

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Speaker 2: and I went, I like this. So when Nirvana and

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Speaker 2: some of the grunge bands started going, I listened to that,

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Speaker 2: which after a while I kind of went, this really

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Speaker 2: isn't my thing. It was, you know, kind of counterculture

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Speaker 2: in a way it was edgy whatever. But then I

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Speaker 2: started listening to some stuff some of the Black Sabbath,

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Speaker 2: you know, iron Man wore pigs, things like that. I

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Speaker 2: kind of liked that it was it was anti government,

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Speaker 2: it was anti establishment in a way.

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Speaker 3: Edgi very edgy.

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Speaker 2: Rage Against the Machine was one of my favorite bands

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Speaker 2: for but after that I moved to Saint Cloud, and

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Speaker 2: then I would say it got into you know, pan

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Speaker 2: Tera and some of the more mega death things like that,

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Speaker 2: and it kind of had to do deal more with

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Speaker 2: the group that I was hanging out hanging out with.

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Speaker 2: But I still if I feel nostalgic in a way,

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Speaker 2: I'll crank up Stone Temple Pilots or Nirvana or Tool

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Speaker 2: was one of my favorite bands for a while.

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Speaker 3: I got all these bands on my you know Spotify. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: I got my Greatest Hits playlist. You know, they're all

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Speaker 3: on there. And part of it, you know, there is

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Speaker 3: a we underestimate, I think, how important art is in

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Speaker 3: the formation of our identities. And there is a certain

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Speaker 3: theme there, a little bit of an anti establishment theme

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Speaker 3: and some of that music you were than too.

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Speaker 2: I did not realize it at the time, but I

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Speaker 2: think that affected me you know the type of music.

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Speaker 2: You're right. Music culture has such a huge effect on us.

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Speaker 2: And then, like I said, when I moved to a

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Speaker 2: different area, you're hanging out with different people all of

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Speaker 2: a sudden, that music kind of has a different effect

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Speaker 2: on you as well.

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Speaker 3: I don't want to presume anything, but did you go

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Speaker 3: any chance to go down to Saint Cloud to go

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Speaker 3: to school there? Yes?

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Speaker 2: I did?

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Speaker 3: Okay? Cool?

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Speaker 2: So I moved away in UH. I graduated ninety four,

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Speaker 2: moved to Saint Cloud, started working a job, got to

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Speaker 2: know some people that I was working with, and it

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Speaker 2: was it was a great town when you're nineteen twenty,

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Speaker 2: twenty one, twenty two. But I met my wife in

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Speaker 2: Saint Cloud and we had our first daughter there and

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Speaker 2: she was about eighteen months old, I think, and it

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Speaker 2: just hit me. I said, this is no place to

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Speaker 2: raise a family, to start a family, I said, we

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Speaker 2: need to leave.

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Speaker 3: Man. Saint Cloud did that to you?

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Speaker 2: Saint Cloud did that?

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Speaker 3: Wow? For all of you that are listening from Philadelphia, PA,

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Speaker 3: I got to tell you this guy really wants to

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Speaker 3: be out in the country. Because Saint Cloud. I mean,

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Speaker 3: for me, and I've lived in some very bad and

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Speaker 3: I've lived in the Twin Cities most moment, but I've

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Speaker 3: lived in Philadelphia for example. Uh, Saint Cloud in the nineties,

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Speaker 3: Uh was pretty pacific. I think it's changed got a

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Speaker 3: lot edgier over the last thirty years. Is that? Would

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Speaker 3: you agree with that statement?

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Speaker 2: Would agree that the town has changed a lot?

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Speaker 3: You know?

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Speaker 2: So, I think when we moved out of there was

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Speaker 2: probably the early two thousands, oh one to oh two

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Speaker 2: somewhere in there, and I wanted my kids to have

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Speaker 2: the upbringing that I had. We could go out and play,

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Speaker 2: you could run for days and not have to worry

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Speaker 2: about anything. You know your neighbors. You knew who your

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Speaker 2: neighbors were talking.

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Speaker 3: About back home in the in the countryside, that's right,

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Speaker 3: you knew you're did you lock your doors?

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Speaker 2: Never did even when my folks. So when I went

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Speaker 2: to college and my folks were almost I was home.

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Speaker 2: But there was sometimes that they went business trip or

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Speaker 2: whatever the deal was, maybe visiting family. If you came home,

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Speaker 2: you knew the house was not going to be locked.

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Speaker 2: You knew it. You could come home and spend the

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Speaker 2: weekend there if Mom and Dad weren't there and the

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Speaker 2: house was wide open. It's just the way it was.

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Speaker 2: I wanted that sense of security and we still have

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Speaker 2: that out in Greater Minnesota. We really do. I talk

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Speaker 2: about it all the time, our quality of life, and

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Speaker 2: that's why I think you're seeing more people are moving

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Speaker 2: out to the rural areas in certain areas. Right it's

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Speaker 2: not everywhere, but we're seeing people that are coming out

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Speaker 2: to the small towns because they want good schools, they

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Speaker 2: want a quality of life. They don't want to worry

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Speaker 2: about crime and everything else that goes on. They want

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Speaker 2: a good life. And it is there a good life?

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Speaker 2: That's an interesting concept.

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Speaker 3: You know, now we're getting a little bit political, but

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Speaker 3: what is the good life? I mean, this needs some

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Speaker 3: because you know, there's a lot of different stories in

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Speaker 3: the big city and people are going to have different

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Speaker 3: opinions about what the good life is. And I'm not

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Speaker 3: saying you're right or wrong in your opinion or because

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Speaker 3: we got people that live down to Minneapolis and they

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Speaker 3: think they're living a good life and I'm not here

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Speaker 3: to judge it, but I'd like you to define it

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Speaker 3: a little bit further. Because we talk about good education,

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Speaker 3: don't have to worry about crime, you know your neighbors,

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Speaker 3: but what else, What else is it about living in

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Speaker 3: the country that is the good life?

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Speaker 2: Well, those are all qualities that I think it makes

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Speaker 2: it a good life. Crime is huge. If you're living

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Speaker 2: in a constant state of fear of being robbed, molested,

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Speaker 2: whatever it is, you're in a state of anxiety all

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Speaker 2: the time. Why would you want to maintain that lifestyle

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Speaker 2: if that's where you were. I mean, it just doesn't

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Speaker 2: make sense to me. Where you look at our crime

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Speaker 2: rate out in Greater Minnesota, it's minimal. You know, you

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Speaker 2: have to worry about maybe drunk drivers on the weekend

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Speaker 2: or something like that. And we do see some drug issues,

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Speaker 2: but for the most part, that's kind of segregated. You

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Speaker 2: really don't see that unless you're looking for it. If

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Speaker 2: you're working at a job in town, you don't see

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Speaker 2: the drug issues. You don't see that.

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Speaker 3: And what towns would we recognize the names of in

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Speaker 3: your area?

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Speaker 2: Sox Center is the closest biggest town in me and

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Speaker 2: that's right on the freeway, so most people know where

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Speaker 2: sock Center is, But that's actually out of my area

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Speaker 2: by a few miles. Long. Purrie is the county seat

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Speaker 2: for Todd County. That's the biggest town. And going north,

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Speaker 2: we have what we call the old railroad town so

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Speaker 2: they're every seven eight miles apart is another little town,

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Speaker 2: and Browerville, Clarissa, Ego, Band Bertha Hewitt are all the

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Speaker 2: small town are little towns, yeah, little townships. Actually they

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Speaker 2: are little towns. And then further north we've got Wadina

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Speaker 2: is in my area. Okay, so that's right on ten.

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Speaker 2: A lot of people know that name. Staples and Motley

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Speaker 2: ten as well. You know, those are the bigger towns

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Speaker 2: in my area, but there's no talent over ten thousand.

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Speaker 3: This is really rural American and we're talking about the

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Speaker 3: good life. So it's safety and security is there? There

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Speaker 3: is good education, schools are there there. You would say

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Speaker 3: that the educational system is closer to the people in

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Speaker 3: your district than it is here in the cities, correct.

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Speaker 2: I think when you see those school boards. We had

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Speaker 2: one just recently where the school boards changed in one

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Speaker 2: of the towns. They changed four people, okay, which was

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Speaker 2: a big shift. But what they saw was there was

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Speaker 2: issues that were going on in the school and people

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Speaker 2: really weren't paying attention til something happened that brought this

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Speaker 2: to light and all of a sudden, people said we

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Speaker 2: need to get involved, which was great to me that

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Speaker 2: they changed the school board over, they put different members

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Speaker 2: in there. And we hear from I hear from our

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Speaker 2: local superintendents all the time that we actually want more

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Speaker 2: local autonomy from the state. We want to be able

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Speaker 2: to control our destiny more than what the state allows

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Speaker 2: us to do. And I think this is great. Part

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Speaker 2: of the reason for that is because, like I said,

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Speaker 2: every one of those small towns, not everyone has a school,

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Speaker 2: but most of them do. And everyone is different. If

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Speaker 2: you take the demographics and Long Prairie which has food processing,

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Speaker 2: it's fifty percent Latino heritage versus the next town up

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Speaker 2: the road, and that's entirely different. So when the school programs,

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Speaker 2: when the school mandates come from the state, it's hard

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Speaker 2: to hard to make it work in one town which

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Speaker 2: is entirely different than the next town. And our superintendents

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Speaker 2: are saying we want more local control. Our school boards

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Speaker 2: are saying we want more local control. Go back and

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Speaker 2: look at that history. We used to have these little

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Speaker 2: red schoolhouses. You know, it's kind of a house, a

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Speaker 2: little house on the prairie sort of mentality, right where

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Speaker 2: you had thirty kids in a school building, and then

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Speaker 2: that changed in the nineteen forties fifties, depending upon the

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Speaker 2: school district and so forth, and they combined them into

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Speaker 2: the public schools. At that time. If there were Amish

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Speaker 2: around those communities, they attended those little red schoolhouses. We

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Speaker 2: have people up in our area Amish that attended those

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Speaker 2: little red schoolhouses. But they said when it went to

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Speaker 2: a public school like this, they pulled out. They did

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Speaker 2: not want that. Because when you and I say this

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Speaker 2: all the time, government closest to the people is the best.

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Speaker 2: When that school district, that little red schoolhouse, when you're principal,

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Speaker 2: where your superintendent was your neighbor, and you knew them

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Speaker 2: because you probably farmed right next to them. You probably

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Speaker 2: had family that was married, you know, into that family.

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Speaker 2: If there was issues, you're going to take care of it.

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Speaker 2: That's just the way it works. Government closest to the

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Speaker 2: people's best, whether it's the school board, whether it's county commissioners.

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Speaker 2: The further you get away from the people, the worse

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Speaker 2: it becomes. And when I see when we talk about

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Speaker 2: quality of life, when we have the good life, one

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Speaker 2: of the things that I would really put a high

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Speaker 2: value on is that sense of community. People take care

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Speaker 2: of each other, people look out for each other.

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Speaker 3: It's still has to know your neighbors.

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Speaker 2: Even if they're not your neighbors, even if it's somebody

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Speaker 2: you don't know. I'll give an example. You see somebody

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Speaker 2: pulled over on the side of the road, the hood

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Speaker 2: is up. Do you keep driving?

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Speaker 3: Are you asking me personally?

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Speaker 2: Sure?

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Speaker 3: In the Twin Cities, Uh depends who is by. I

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Speaker 3: have stopped infrequently. I will pull over and help. It's

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Speaker 3: not something that I do. As a matter of course,

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Speaker 3: it not happens.

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Speaker 2: It doesn't happen very often in the metro out in

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Speaker 2: Greater Minnesota, and I can speak for our area especially

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Speaker 2: you have an issue, people will stop. They don't have

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Speaker 2: to know you.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a beautiful thing. How about where you grow

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Speaker 3: up up in alex Was Yeah.

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Speaker 4: No, that that's exactly that's that area. It's not too

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Speaker 4: far from Long Prairie, so.

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Speaker 3: That how far? How far is it from alex to

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Speaker 3: Lan Perry, I'd.

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Speaker 4: Say about thirty men drive.

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Speaker 3: So you're actually you're actually a home boy.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I know, I know. I know the Amish people

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Speaker 4: he's talking about. I know, right that area where they're living.

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Speaker 3: Is there a big Amish community there?

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Speaker 2: There is? There wasn't when I graduated. There was no

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Speaker 2: Amish there. That was in ninety four and they moved in.

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Speaker 2: Since what brought a man? I really think? I think

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Speaker 2: most of us low land prices at that time.

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Speaker 3: Okay? And what are they farming or are they manufacturing

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Speaker 3: or doing all kinds of different things? A lot of

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Speaker 3: different things, okay, very industrious people. Yes, they are a

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Speaker 3: lot of farms. There is quite a number of sawmills

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Speaker 3: around US. Construction company, there's a few of those. A

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Speaker 3: couple guys are doing a polsterry trying to think of

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Speaker 3: what else.

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Speaker 2: And then there's always the percentage of the Amish that

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Speaker 2: leave the ex alms, they call them ex Amish, and

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Speaker 2: they are very industrious too, and they start businesses.

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Speaker 3: And so would you say your area, in addition to

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Speaker 3: the good life being people care one for another. In

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Speaker 3: other words, what you're saying, what you're really operationalizing, is

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Speaker 3: you're treating your neighbor as you wish to be treated

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Speaker 3: when you stop at the side of the road. It's

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Speaker 3: it's part of that good life. There's some traditional values

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Speaker 3: that permeate the area. Is that is that a reasonable statementy.

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Speaker 2: Of that golden rule. Do unto others as you would

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Speaker 2: have them do unto you, treat them, treat them the

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Speaker 2: way you would want to be treated.

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Speaker 3: And there's hunting and fishing in the area.

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Speaker 2: We've got great hunting fishing.

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Speaker 3: Okay, I get that that. I know, he's up, he's up.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, we were already chatting a little bit when you're

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Speaker 4: in the bathroom about hunt up there.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. Okay, So you've got some some traditional because you know,

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Speaker 3: people in the Cities are not I mean, we have

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Speaker 3: people that are good with firearms, but it's not frequent anymore.

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Speaker 3: And we don't have a lot of hunters here in

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Speaker 3: the Twin Cities anymore. I mean, we have some come

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Speaker 3: up and come to your area, but I mean, really,

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Speaker 3: this is a completely different culture and this is what

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Speaker 3: we now. You know, just to just take a sidebar,

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Speaker 3: just for a seconds. So when you roll in to

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Speaker 3: the Minnesota legislature and you got a lot of people

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Speaker 3: that come from the Twin Cities, and you got a

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Speaker 3: lot of people on the other side of the aisle

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Speaker 3: that are not really part of this kind of culture,

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Speaker 3: they really do they understand you?

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Speaker 2: I no I don't think they.

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Speaker 3: Do, because you know, I do understand you. I mean,

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Speaker 3: because I a lot of these things we're talking about

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Speaker 3: are things that are important to me. But I mean,

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Speaker 3: this is part of the political issue. And I'm going

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Speaker 3: to just say something as an opening bit as we

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Speaker 3: move into a little bit more political part of the conversation.

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Speaker 3: I feel awful for the people in your district, and

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Speaker 3: I'm going to tell you why you're ruled by the

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Speaker 3: people in the cities, and those people don't give eightinkers

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Speaker 3: damn about your lifestyle. In fact, I would say, and

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Speaker 3: I'm not saying it's every one of them, but I'm saying,

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Speaker 3: generally speaking, the movement is to eliminate this kind of lifestyle.

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Speaker 3: Am I Is that right? Wrong? I mean, what do

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Speaker 3: you do? You agree with what I mean? Fight me

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Speaker 3: if you think I'm wrong.

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Speaker 1: No.

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Speaker 2: I think there's always been kind of a negative view

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Speaker 2: about the people that live out in rural areas. You know,

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Speaker 2: once the cities grew up bigger, wasn't it. In the

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Speaker 2: nineteen seventies, we went from more population in rural rural

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Speaker 2: areas across the country to more people in cities. I

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Speaker 2: think it was in the nineteen seventies somewhere, and I

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Speaker 2: think that really changed our society because when you have

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Speaker 2: a connection to farming, agriculture, the land that's right, you

412
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Speaker 2: view things a little bit different. You absolutely do you

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Speaker 2: understand where your food comes from. You understand the necessity

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Speaker 2: of planning ahead a little bit. You know how many

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Speaker 2: people out in our area still preserve food they can,

416
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Speaker 2: they grow big gardens, they freeze for the next year.

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Speaker 2: How much of that happens in the metro where you

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Speaker 2: go to the grocery store and you just buy what

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Speaker 2: you need for the next day. But those lessons, those

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Speaker 2: important lessons about thinking ahead, planning ahead, are in this

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Speaker 2: necessity out there. You don't wait if you burn wood,

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Speaker 2: you don't wait until November to start putting your woodpile together.

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Speaker 2: You just don't do it. You work on next year's woodpile.

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Speaker 2: You're always thinking you're ahead. Look at our farmers, you know,

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Speaker 2: as soon as you get done with harvest, it's not

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Speaker 2: that you have the whole winter off. They're prepping pretty

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Speaker 2: much all winter long in order to put stuff back

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Speaker 2: in the ground in the spring.

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Speaker 3: I think this is this is a valuable moment in

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Speaker 3: the podcast because we're talking about the organization of how

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Speaker 3: people see the world, how they see themselves. Are they

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Speaker 3: connected to the land, Are they connect This is part

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Speaker 3: of the good life, right, being connected to the natural way?

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Speaker 3: That you know, if I could say one thing, you know,

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Speaker 3: personally as a personal observation, and I've spent so much

436
00:23:55,000 --> 00:24:02,800
Speaker 3: time in the woods myself and spend so much time

437
00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:06,080
Speaker 3: doing like real physical things in my life. I look

438
00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:08,680
Speaker 3: at a lot of the people that grew up here

439
00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:11,919
Speaker 3: with me, and they're so broken away from any sense

440
00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:15,760
Speaker 3: of nature. And that if there's something I could say

441
00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,399
Speaker 3: about the good life. People that are living out state,

442
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:22,040
Speaker 3: they're living in the natural way much more than the

443
00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:24,520
Speaker 3: people here in the cities. And that, to me is

444
00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:26,840
Speaker 3: the good life is the natural way. You know, there's

445
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:29,879
Speaker 3: a whole school of American philosophy that said, if you

446
00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:32,520
Speaker 3: want to find God, it's in nature where you're going

447
00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:34,960
Speaker 3: to meet him. Is that what we're talking about a

448
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:35,400
Speaker 3: little bit.

449
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,719
Speaker 2: I think there's a lot to that. It is I

450
00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:42,320
Speaker 2: how do you put it into words with somebody that's

451
00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:46,520
Speaker 2: never experienced it. But now think about it this. You

452
00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:48,719
Speaker 2: talk about the people in the cities who are disconnected

453
00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:53,480
Speaker 2: on a typical weekend. Well, let's not say a typical weekend.

454
00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:57,359
Speaker 2: Let's look at fishing opener in the state of Minnesota. Okay,

455
00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:01,399
Speaker 2: what does the road look like two days before the

456
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:04,320
Speaker 2: fishing opener? What does I ninety four look like? What

457
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:06,119
Speaker 2: is thirty five? What does ten look like?

458
00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:07,600
Speaker 3: Coming home on Sunday?

459
00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:10,639
Speaker 2: Exactly? It's bumper to bumper people trying to get out

460
00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:14,760
Speaker 2: of the cities. Okay, why are they doing that. They're

461
00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:18,359
Speaker 2: trying to enjoy something that they can't experience in the metro.

462
00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:22,480
Speaker 2: They're trying to get out to what they want. Maybe

463
00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,879
Speaker 2: they can't afford maybe they're told that they can't afford it.

464
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:31,280
Speaker 2: Maybe you know, the opportunities are down here, but that

465
00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:32,439
Speaker 2: life is what they're chasing.

466
00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:39,399
Speaker 3: That's so interesting. That's an interesting political comment. And you know,

467
00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:44,119
Speaker 3: really that's that for the Republican Party of Minnesota because

468
00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:46,919
Speaker 3: all those people on that road are not voting are

469
00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:52,840
Speaker 3: but they're all seeking a connection with a lifestyle which

470
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:53,640
Speaker 3: is traditional.

471
00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:59,359
Speaker 2: So even if it's not fishing opener, Brainerd Big Lakes

472
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:04,479
Speaker 2: area and that town would probably behalf of what it

473
00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:07,239
Speaker 2: is without the lakes, and most of those people are

474
00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:10,040
Speaker 2: not local. They're coming up from the cities on the

475
00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:14,399
Speaker 2: weekend Alexandria. Alexandria is the same way. They've got the

476
00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:18,440
Speaker 2: chain of leagues up there. Once they're thirteen, yeah, thirteen, right,

477
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:22,360
Speaker 2: people come out of the metro to experience that quality

478
00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:30,480
Speaker 2: of life. It should indicate to everyone how much better

479
00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:34,080
Speaker 2: that system is. It's a simpler way of life. It's

480
00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:36,480
Speaker 2: a connection to the soil. You have to pay a

481
00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:39,720
Speaker 2: little bit of attention. How many people watch the weather

482
00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:41,719
Speaker 2: when they're down in the metro, but as soon as

483
00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:44,560
Speaker 2: you come up to the cabin for the weekend, you're

484
00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:46,159
Speaker 2: looking to see what the weather is going to do.

485
00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:49,560
Speaker 2: But if you live out there, you're paying attention to

486
00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:52,399
Speaker 2: it on a daily basis. Go to the local coffee

487
00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,120
Speaker 2: shop and somebody's going to say it's supposed to rain tomorrow.

488
00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:58,879
Speaker 2: That's the way it is. Because we're looking ahead, we're

489
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:03,479
Speaker 2: connected to that nature, to the earth. It is different,

490
00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:09,199
Speaker 2: But I think that's part of the political process here

491
00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:15,600
Speaker 2: in my political mindset. So let's get into the political

492
00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:20,600
Speaker 2: part of it, because I think this ties together. I've

493
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,280
Speaker 2: always been sort of political. I have voted since I

494
00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:27,040
Speaker 2: was eighteen years old. I always felt it was a

495
00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:32,400
Speaker 2: duty or responsibility, and I always wanted to make sure

496
00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:33,280
Speaker 2: that my vote was there.

497
00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:35,720
Speaker 3: Can I frame this out just a little bit to

498
00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:38,119
Speaker 3: help this because I got all these people that are

499
00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:40,760
Speaker 3: going to listen to this, and my goal is to

500
00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:43,840
Speaker 3: get every one of them off the caution end of

501
00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:49,479
Speaker 3: the game, because I want every day regular citizens to

502
00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:53,560
Speaker 3: recognize that until we get involved, we're going to have

503
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:58,119
Speaker 3: the most scummy rats running the deal because there's no

504
00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:01,520
Speaker 3: oversight over them, and we need people that no nature,

505
00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:04,320
Speaker 3: that have a traditional feeling to say, you know what,

506
00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:06,240
Speaker 3: we can't leave this up to other people. We got

507
00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:08,320
Speaker 3: to do it ourselves. And you're that guy, aren't you?

508
00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:10,600
Speaker 2: And I think this is where this all ties together.

509
00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:16,160
Speaker 2: So I had bought forty acres from my folks when

510
00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:19,399
Speaker 2: we moved back up there, and we're gonna build our house.

511
00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,280
Speaker 2: Moved in with mom and dad. When you've got a

512
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,280
Speaker 2: young family, that's kind of a struggle in and of it.

513
00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:27,560
Speaker 3: Your dad was farming and he broke you off a

514
00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:29,159
Speaker 3: piece of forty acres. Is that what happened?

515
00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:32,040
Speaker 2: Well, we had a forty acres that was separated about

516
00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,040
Speaker 2: a half mile from the farm, and they had sold

517
00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:37,360
Speaker 2: off a bunch of the land so he didn't really farm,

518
00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:43,040
Speaker 2: you know, at this point. Actually when his business expanded,

519
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:45,240
Speaker 2: we really didn't farm anymore.

520
00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:46,959
Speaker 3: Would you grow up? Did you grow up farman? Though?

521
00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:48,400
Speaker 3: When you were a little kid? Was he farman? When

522
00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:48,880
Speaker 3: you were young?

523
00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:52,760
Speaker 2: Dad ran the business and us boys did most of

524
00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:55,080
Speaker 2: the farming, okay, because I was in the middle. I

525
00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:58,000
Speaker 2: had older brothers that could do the majority of it.

526
00:28:58,120 --> 00:28:59,760
Speaker 3: What were you farming? What kind of what were you

527
00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:00,320
Speaker 3: doing there?

528
00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:03,840
Speaker 2: We had we had hogs at one time, we had

529
00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:09,240
Speaker 2: mostly small grains, some corn. But that was also the

530
00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:12,200
Speaker 2: bad years for agriculture, you know, in the early eighties

531
00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:15,880
Speaker 2: when the interest rates were extremely high. Farming didn't do

532
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:19,400
Speaker 2: very well in those years. But so Dad had his

533
00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:23,640
Speaker 2: business there. I'll shoot, where was I going? Oh? When

534
00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:27,680
Speaker 2: I bought the forty acres and we're going to split

535
00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:30,920
Speaker 2: five acres off of that because my brother wanted to

536
00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:34,640
Speaker 2: build right next to me. And we went into the

537
00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:37,680
Speaker 2: county offices and they said, well, you can do this,

538
00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:40,800
Speaker 2: but you've got to put five rows of trees right here.

539
00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:43,280
Speaker 2: And I said, well, this makes no sense because I'm

540
00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:45,760
Speaker 2: still going to use this as agriculture. This is farm ground.

541
00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:48,240
Speaker 2: They said, well, this is what we want you to do.

542
00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:51,480
Speaker 2: And I got kind of upset because I said, this

543
00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:54,200
Speaker 2: is our ground. You're basically telling me I can't farm this,

544
00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:56,240
Speaker 2: and I've got to put trees between me and my neighbor,

545
00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:59,600
Speaker 2: which is my brother, which makes no sense to me.

546
00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:01,200
Speaker 2: So the county, what was that?

547
00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,080
Speaker 3: I just because what was their rationale?

548
00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:07,200
Speaker 2: The rationale was it, at some point in time somebody

549
00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:10,960
Speaker 2: else might buy it, and therefore you have a visual

550
00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:14,640
Speaker 2: or a kind of a fence between you two. Okay,

551
00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:20,120
Speaker 2: out in our area. You know, I can see half

552
00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:22,680
Speaker 2: dozen of my neighbors if I up on the hill,

553
00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:24,640
Speaker 2: So it's not like the trees are going to make

554
00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:27,440
Speaker 2: that much of a difference. But I didn't really like

555
00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,640
Speaker 2: being told what to do with my land. The one

556
00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:32,560
Speaker 2: of the county commissioners said, we need somebody on the

557
00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:35,520
Speaker 2: planning and zoning board. If you don't like the way

558
00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:37,760
Speaker 2: this is being done, you get on the board and

559
00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:39,680
Speaker 2: you can change it. So I was on the planning

560
00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:43,600
Speaker 2: and zoning board for well for eight about fifteen years.

561
00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:47,600
Speaker 4: Wow, How easy was that or was it hard? What

562
00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:50,000
Speaker 4: was the process like for you to get on that board?

563
00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:53,440
Speaker 2: That was an appointed position at that time. So the

564
00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:56,400
Speaker 2: county commissioner could vote me off at any time or

565
00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:59,080
Speaker 2: just tell me that I, you know, it wasn't doing

566
00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:03,000
Speaker 2: a good job and just asked me to step down.

567
00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:05,880
Speaker 2: But I enjoyed doing it and there was a lot

568
00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:09,960
Speaker 2: to learn with that. But one of the things when

569
00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:12,840
Speaker 2: before I got appointed to that is my dad said,

570
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:15,600
Speaker 2: you can't complain too much if you don't get involved.

571
00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:17,960
Speaker 2: Because I was him and in han if I wanted

572
00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:20,479
Speaker 2: to get on this board. He said, you can't complain

573
00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:24,000
Speaker 2: too much if you don't get involved. There's those there's

574
00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:27,600
Speaker 2: those words of wisdom from your parents that either you

575
00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:32,240
Speaker 2: better listen to or it's gonna bite you later. So

576
00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:34,080
Speaker 2: I decided to get involved, and I was on that

577
00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:35,240
Speaker 2: board for quite some time.

578
00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:36,480
Speaker 3: Well.

579
00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:44,360
Speaker 2: As far as my political experience, before the twenty twenty

580
00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:48,600
Speaker 2: presidential election, I had not got I had not been

581
00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:51,000
Speaker 2: involved with the BPOUS, I had not been involved with

582
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,800
Speaker 2: the Republican Party. Like I said, I voted all the time,

583
00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:56,760
Speaker 2: but I was watching what was going on, and I said,

584
00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:01,880
Speaker 2: I can't complain if I don't get involve. I don't

585
00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:06,040
Speaker 2: like the system. It's not that I don't like it,

586
00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:10,320
Speaker 2: I don't understand it. How are we endorsing candidates to

587
00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:13,800
Speaker 2: run for office. It seems to me that it's done

588
00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,880
Speaker 2: in these backroom deals, you know, smoke filled rooms. I

589
00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:19,760
Speaker 2: didn't understand the process. So I started going to the

590
00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:25,480
Speaker 2: BPOU meetings as an observer, as an observer and as

591
00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:29,400
Speaker 2: a citizen observer, which I mean if you're in Minnesota

592
00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:30,720
Speaker 2: or wherever we are in this country.

593
00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:33,080
Speaker 3: I'm going to say this again, this is about getting

594
00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:36,600
Speaker 3: politically organized. You don't have to be appointed or elected.

595
00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:38,800
Speaker 3: You just need to show up. That's your first step.

596
00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:41,480
Speaker 3: Listen to what Mike did. He woke up one day

597
00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:44,560
Speaker 3: and he said, Man, what's going on here? I'm going

598
00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,280
Speaker 3: to go check it out. And you know, you have

599
00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:49,720
Speaker 3: a local board right in your back you're in Minnesota,

600
00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:52,560
Speaker 3: they're right in your backyard. Every place in this country

601
00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:56,200
Speaker 3: there's some local committee representing your party. You could be

602
00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:59,360
Speaker 3: a Democrat. Listen, they got Democrat board too. In every

603
00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:03,400
Speaker 3: political area in our state. We do it either by

604
00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:07,160
Speaker 3: Senate district or by county. There's a board there. And

605
00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:09,120
Speaker 3: what Mike did is he just found out when the

606
00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:12,040
Speaker 3: next meeting was and showed up.

607
00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:13,720
Speaker 2: I started showing up.

608
00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:15,200
Speaker 3: How'd they feel about that?

609
00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:20,120
Speaker 2: Within about oh half dozen meetings. Yes, yeah, I was

610
00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:24,160
Speaker 2: ready to quit. I didn't want to go back because

611
00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:29,240
Speaker 2: it was most of the meetings were six to ten people.

612
00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:35,720
Speaker 2: There was really nothing that was getting involved, activating, trying

613
00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:39,000
Speaker 2: to pull more people in. There was another gentleman that

614
00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:42,280
Speaker 2: had quit about the same time I started going to

615
00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:44,520
Speaker 2: the meetings, and I called him up and I said,

616
00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:47,320
Speaker 2: why did you quit? He gave me his reasons, and

617
00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:50,080
Speaker 2: we talked about it for a little bit, and I said,

618
00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:53,280
Speaker 2: this is the problem. If guys like you and I

619
00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:54,880
Speaker 2: walk away, nothing changes.

620
00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:59,400
Speaker 3: Oh that's just a beautiful cut there. Ay, there's put

621
00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:02,440
Speaker 3: that timeste that one. Tell me, David, I'm writing it

622
00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:06,880
Speaker 3: down already. That's a great one. No, because that that

623
00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:10,240
Speaker 3: that summarizes. And that was my experience when I joined

624
00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:13,839
Speaker 3: my BPOU is that we had a lot of get

625
00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:17,440
Speaker 3: together social events, but when it came down to the

626
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:21,480
Speaker 3: real work of organizing, of converting people, because it is

627
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:23,960
Speaker 3: kind of a conversion, you know, why listening to people

628
00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:26,680
Speaker 3: and talking to them and going on having meetings with

629
00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:31,560
Speaker 3: people you didn't know that wasn't really going on. That's

630
00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:33,879
Speaker 3: why we ended up here at Free People Radio. It's like, man,

631
00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:37,279
Speaker 3: we got to reach people and get them motivated. And

632
00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:40,800
Speaker 3: I don't mind talking to leftists. I'll talk to anybody

633
00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:42,840
Speaker 3: because I know who I am, I know what I believe.

634
00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:46,239
Speaker 3: But continues. So you talked to this person who quit,

635
00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:49,600
Speaker 3: and you guys kind of came to an agreement that, Wow,

636
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,759
Speaker 3: there's not a lot going on here, is there? Did

637
00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:56,000
Speaker 3: I get that? Understand that correctly? And this is the

638
00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:59,920
Speaker 3: Minnesota GOP local committee in your area?

639
00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:00,120
Speaker 2: Ye?

640
00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:01,759
Speaker 3: Correct? Okay, got it.

641
00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:08,520
Speaker 2: So we continued to go and I butted heads with

642
00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:11,239
Speaker 2: the BPOU chair a little bit. And I tell you

643
00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:14,799
Speaker 2: this because eventually we ended up. He realized that I

644
00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:19,719
Speaker 2: wasn't doing this to cause problems. I was doing this

645
00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:22,879
Speaker 2: because I wanted something more. So I ended up going

646
00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:26,520
Speaker 2: to the meetings, ended it, got elected as deputy chair,

647
00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:31,200
Speaker 2: and we moved the location of where the meeting was held.

648
00:35:31,239 --> 00:35:36,040
Speaker 2: It was held to the north, which was geographically located

649
00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:39,480
Speaker 2: better in the county, but the population is all in

650
00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:41,960
Speaker 2: the southern part of the county, so we moved it

651
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:47,279
Speaker 2: to a supper club in Long Prairie. Started it inviting

652
00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:53,080
Speaker 2: in sheriff candidates, county commissioners, school boards. Anybody that was

653
00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:55,560
Speaker 2: going to run for office had better come and talk

654
00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:58,680
Speaker 2: to the Republicans in that area, and if they didn't

655
00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:02,440
Speaker 2: want to, kind of didn't give him a stamp of approval. Anyways,

656
00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:07,040
Speaker 2: our meetings went from five to ten people to thirty

657
00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:08,480
Speaker 2: forty sometimes fifty people in.

658
00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:10,120
Speaker 3: You opened it up to the community.

659
00:36:10,719 --> 00:36:13,520
Speaker 2: It brought people in when there was a reason to

660
00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:15,960
Speaker 2: be there. And now the chair him and I are

661
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:17,759
Speaker 2: still good friends. Like I said, we.

662
00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:20,160
Speaker 3: Took a little took You took it to a positive.

663
00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:25,760
Speaker 2: We took it to a positive. Exactly when redistricting happened,

664
00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:31,919
Speaker 2: we kind of had an idea of who was going

665
00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:35,040
Speaker 2: to be running for office. My area, Todd County was

666
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:38,799
Speaker 2: split between John Postin and Ron Kresha, and I kind

667
00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:41,000
Speaker 2: of felt that we were going.

668
00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:43,440
Speaker 3: This is the house, This was the house. These are

669
00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:48,920
Speaker 3: two state legislators in your district, which is District number

670
00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:52,920
Speaker 3: five B five B. Okay good and so Senate District

671
00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:54,839
Speaker 3: five correct, Okay, got it.

672
00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:59,680
Speaker 2: And our senator was Gazelka.

673
00:36:59,239 --> 00:37:02,879
Speaker 3: Are you kid? Oh boy, we'll come back to him

674
00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:06,160
Speaker 3: when the time comes, boy oh boy. But seems to

675
00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:10,040
Speaker 3: me he's got an error that he's got a protegee

676
00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:12,920
Speaker 3: that's now your senator up there. If I remember correctly

677
00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:17,200
Speaker 3: Republican isn't that isn't that? Is it out? K?

678
00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:19,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

679
00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:22,799
Speaker 3: We'll get back to that. We got plenty of time, so.

680
00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:27,080
Speaker 2: We kind of felt with redistricting that there was going

681
00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:28,920
Speaker 2: to be candidates who are going to be running. I

682
00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:33,719
Speaker 2: had no intention of running none. When the lines were

683
00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:37,920
Speaker 2: drawn and we saw the maps and I went, oh,

684
00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:42,120
Speaker 2: we don't have a sitting representative in this area. Both

685
00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:45,359
Speaker 2: Ron Krisha and post And were district out of this

686
00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:45,920
Speaker 2: new area.

687
00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:47,920
Speaker 3: Okay, So I looked.

688
00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:50,399
Speaker 2: At my wife and I said, I think I'm gonna

689
00:37:50,480 --> 00:37:54,439
Speaker 2: run for office and she said, are you serious? I said,

690
00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:57,480
Speaker 2: as a heart attack. She said, what do you think

691
00:37:57,520 --> 00:37:59,960
Speaker 2: your chance is a winning are? I said, not a hopenhack?

692
00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:02,360
Speaker 2: She was why I do it? I said, I just

693
00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:04,480
Speaker 2: want to learn the system. I want to learn how

694
00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:04,960
Speaker 2: this works.

695
00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:08,680
Speaker 3: That's cool, you just you were becoming an activist.

696
00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:12,080
Speaker 2: Well, once again, I can't complain too much. If I

697
00:38:12,080 --> 00:38:14,880
Speaker 2: don't get involved, and if I don't understand the system

698
00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:17,880
Speaker 2: and somebody says, well this is this is how it's done,

699
00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:22,239
Speaker 2: I can't refute them because I don't know the system

700
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:28,479
Speaker 2: as it. As the story goes, I started requesting the

701
00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:32,719
Speaker 2: delegate list, and lo and behold, I couldn't get the

702
00:38:32,719 --> 00:38:33,359
Speaker 2: delegate list.

703
00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:35,920
Speaker 3: I've my gosh, I've had that same experience.

704
00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:40,799
Speaker 2: It's interesting, very interesting. I did get the delegate list

705
00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:44,440
Speaker 2: for Todd County. That one came to me relatively quick.

706
00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:47,160
Speaker 2: My chair gave that to me and he was great

707
00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:49,279
Speaker 2: about it. But I could not get the rest of

708
00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:52,360
Speaker 2: the delegate lists until what like a week before the convention.

709
00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:55,000
Speaker 2: I think it was two weeks before when I finally

710
00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:59,200
Speaker 2: got them. No, it was it was a learning experience,

711
00:38:59,239 --> 00:38:59,640
Speaker 2: I'll put it.

712
00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:03,680
Speaker 3: Then we're already labeled as a troublemaker. Pretty sure you

713
00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:05,160
Speaker 3: were all for sure you were.

714
00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:11,280
Speaker 2: So we go to the endorsing convention and once again,

715
00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:17,480
Speaker 2: and I totally will admit my lack of experience, knowledge, whatever,

716
00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:19,320
Speaker 2: there was three of us that were running.

717
00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:22,600
Speaker 3: Now you knew the other two because they're all you're

718
00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:25,240
Speaker 3: all local, so you knew the other two also, we're local.

719
00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:28,680
Speaker 2: The one was a gal, and I knew who she was,

720
00:39:28,719 --> 00:39:31,200
Speaker 2: but I didn't really know her. And I reached out

721
00:39:31,239 --> 00:39:33,600
Speaker 2: to her and I said, look, this doesn't have to

722
00:39:33,600 --> 00:39:36,919
Speaker 2: be adversarial. We are all trying to do what's best

723
00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:39,480
Speaker 2: for the Republicans. In our area. We all maybe have

724
00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:41,479
Speaker 2: a different point of view on what we should be doing,

725
00:39:42,120 --> 00:39:45,040
Speaker 2: but we don't have to be enemies here. And Pam

726
00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:46,680
Speaker 2: and I are friends to this day.

727
00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:47,280
Speaker 3: It's beautiful.

728
00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:51,040
Speaker 2: Great Gil the other individual was a BPOU chair up

729
00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:57,600
Speaker 2: in Wadina, reached out to him less of a welcoming response,

730
00:39:58,880 --> 00:40:01,120
Speaker 2: and I basically said the same thing to him, we

731
00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:03,080
Speaker 2: don't have to be enemies here. Is he still in

732
00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:07,320
Speaker 2: the party, He's not part of the BPOU up there.

733
00:40:07,719 --> 00:40:09,520
Speaker 2: He has been at events and so forth.

734
00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:11,759
Speaker 3: Okay, all right, we don't need his name. I'm just

735
00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:16,960
Speaker 3: so yeah, you've you were trying to create a dialogue

736
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:20,719
Speaker 3: amongst the candidates, which would be uplifting. It worked in

737
00:40:20,719 --> 00:40:23,000
Speaker 3: one case, not so well in another. That don't get

738
00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:23,520
Speaker 3: it correctly.

739
00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:27,319
Speaker 2: Okay, cool, okay, because aren't we all Republicans. Don't we

740
00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:29,640
Speaker 2: all have R behind our name? And maybe this was

741
00:40:30,239 --> 00:40:31,920
Speaker 2: being naive on my part.

742
00:40:33,040 --> 00:40:36,520
Speaker 3: But no, stop, you were naive.

743
00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:40,880
Speaker 2: Okay, I admit it.

744
00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:42,239
Speaker 3: You're busted. Now, come on.

745
00:40:42,600 --> 00:40:45,120
Speaker 2: Our real opponents here is the Democrats. Is my thought.

746
00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:48,920
Speaker 2: Why are we fighting amongst ourselves? I just it didn't

747
00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:52,120
Speaker 2: make sense to me, So I go to the endorsing convention.

748
00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:56,600
Speaker 2: Never been to one before. Go there, there's three of us.

749
00:40:56,680 --> 00:41:01,759
Speaker 2: Like I said, first round of ballots takes place, I

750
00:41:01,760 --> 00:41:06,960
Speaker 2: think I had forty forty five percent. I think Pam

751
00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:11,120
Speaker 2: had three percent and the other individual had fifty two.

752
00:41:11,719 --> 00:41:12,080
Speaker 3: Okay.

753
00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:15,359
Speaker 2: So I looked at that and I went, I can't

754
00:41:15,400 --> 00:41:18,319
Speaker 2: win this. Even if all of Pam's comes to me,

755
00:41:18,440 --> 00:41:22,959
Speaker 2: he's still going to have, you know, a higher percentage,

756
00:41:23,080 --> 00:41:27,120
Speaker 2: and he's probably going to win this. So mentally, I'm thinking,

757
00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:30,560
Speaker 2: what am I going to say. I want to be gracious.

758
00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:33,520
Speaker 2: I want to help out whoever wins this, you know,

759
00:41:33,680 --> 00:41:35,840
Speaker 2: because the bigger picture here is we win the state.

760
00:41:36,760 --> 00:41:41,440
Speaker 2: That's my thought process. I had a speech prepared for

761
00:41:41,480 --> 00:41:44,200
Speaker 2: the first round. I had nothing.

762
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:45,680
Speaker 3: You were winging it that round too.

763
00:41:45,880 --> 00:41:47,080
Speaker 2: On the second.

764
00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:49,160
Speaker 3: One Live Life Baby, Oh yeah.

765
00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:52,279
Speaker 2: I went up there and I gave a speech and

766
00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:55,760
Speaker 2: they were doing the counts and I had a great

767
00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:59,160
Speaker 2: crowd of people there. They were praying, you know, they

768
00:41:59,160 --> 00:42:03,160
Speaker 2: had their heads down there praying the whole time. And mentally,

769
00:42:03,160 --> 00:42:07,080
Speaker 2: I'm just thinking, I've got to be a great, a

770
00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:11,279
Speaker 2: gracious loser. I've got to shake his hand, you know.

771
00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:15,239
Speaker 2: Preparing a mental speech of what I'm gonna say. Anyways,

772
00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:17,200
Speaker 2: one of the tellers comes back and he says, we've

773
00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:17,760
Speaker 2: got the counts.

774
00:42:17,840 --> 00:42:18,000
Speaker 3: Mike.

775
00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:22,239
Speaker 2: We're walking back and he goes, congratulations, and I don't

776
00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:24,840
Speaker 2: know what he's talking about, because I'm thinking that I lost.

777
00:42:25,160 --> 00:42:25,360
Speaker 3: You know.

778
00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:28,200
Speaker 2: We get back there and he says, they said, Mike,

779
00:42:28,239 --> 00:42:31,480
Speaker 2: you got sixty point whatever percent. So I went from

780
00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:35,480
Speaker 2: forty five first round of ballots, second round of ballots,

781
00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:39,960
Speaker 2: I went to sixty. Wow, that's a pretty big.

782
00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:42,360
Speaker 3: Swing that's based on you stand up in front of

783
00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:44,000
Speaker 3: that crowd and moving hearts and minds.

784
00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:48,839
Speaker 2: It was shocking to me. And there's a feeling of,

785
00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:55,399
Speaker 2: you know, adrenaline that goes with that. I can see

786
00:42:55,400 --> 00:43:00,600
Speaker 2: how politicians this can become addictive. We went after the event,

787
00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:04,080
Speaker 2: we went out for supper, and I remember thinking to myself,

788
00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:10,040
Speaker 2: be careful because those emotions and stuff can lead you

789
00:43:10,120 --> 00:43:13,239
Speaker 2: to do things that you probably shouldn't be doing. You

790
00:43:13,280 --> 00:43:15,640
Speaker 2: know that that thrill of victory can.

791
00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:18,480
Speaker 3: The focus on winning instead of the focus on telling

792
00:43:18,520 --> 00:43:21,920
Speaker 3: the truth exactly. Is what I'm trying to work on

793
00:43:22,280 --> 00:43:24,120
Speaker 3: in the podcast and try to get out to all

794
00:43:24,160 --> 00:43:27,360
Speaker 3: the people in the party because we have and I

795
00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:28,920
Speaker 3: have people in the party come right up to me

796
00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:32,120
Speaker 3: and say the only thing that matters is winning. And

797
00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:35,799
Speaker 3: when I hear that, I think to myself, man, where

798
00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:38,360
Speaker 3: did you go to school? Because to me, I was

799
00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:40,960
Speaker 3: brought up that the only thing that matters is searching

800
00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:41,640
Speaker 3: for the truth.

801
00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:46,120
Speaker 2: I should be doing the right thing. At the end

802
00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:48,520
Speaker 2: of that event, an event individual came up to me

803
00:43:49,040 --> 00:43:51,719
Speaker 2: and he said, Mike, he was that second speech. He

804
00:43:51,760 --> 00:43:54,520
Speaker 2: goes that that was good, but he said, do you

805
00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:59,560
Speaker 2: think this is over? And I said, I what do

806
00:43:59,600 --> 00:44:04,400
Speaker 2: you mean? What do you mean exactly? He said, you

807
00:44:04,520 --> 00:44:07,080
Speaker 2: know he's going to primary. He said, I've known this

808
00:44:07,239 --> 00:44:10,840
Speaker 2: guy for twenty some years. He's been my friend. But

809
00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:14,880
Speaker 2: he said that second speech changed my viewpoints and he

810
00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:17,759
Speaker 2: said I want you to be our rep which was.

811
00:44:17,760 --> 00:44:20,920
Speaker 3: Great, and we Spenny primary. Of course, he primaried me,

812
00:44:21,160 --> 00:44:23,359
Speaker 3: you know this is the thing now. Okay, So I'm

813
00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:25,160
Speaker 3: going to just take a sidebar here for all the

814
00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:27,760
Speaker 3: people in the party. Were you at the twenty twenty

815
00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:31,400
Speaker 3: four state convention when Royce White got the endorsement. I

816
00:44:31,480 --> 00:44:34,080
Speaker 3: was not, Okay. I was there and I was a

817
00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:39,000
Speaker 3: delegate and Royce went on the first ballot overwhelmingly I mean,

818
00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:43,839
Speaker 3: he got first ballot victory, and you know, I had

819
00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:49,959
Speaker 3: been at my SD forty five convention in twenty three,

820
00:44:50,120 --> 00:44:53,400
Speaker 3: a year before, and you know, Alex Blackish is in

821
00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:56,520
Speaker 3: my district forty five, and Alex holds a lot of

822
00:44:56,520 --> 00:44:58,880
Speaker 3: sway there. He's been in this area for a long time.

823
00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:04,000
Speaker 3: And they brought in Candlequalls and I felt like it

824
00:45:04,040 --> 00:45:06,439
Speaker 3: was personal for me. No, it wasn't. That's me making meaning.

825
00:45:06,520 --> 00:45:08,120
Speaker 3: But you know, I've been a you know, I've been

826
00:45:08,160 --> 00:45:10,160
Speaker 3: a live wire since the day I walked in the party.

827
00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:16,120
Speaker 3: And Candle gave a beautiful, rousing speech at the convention

828
00:45:16,239 --> 00:45:20,080
Speaker 3: about we can beat the Democrat and we need unity, unity, unity,

829
00:45:20,160 --> 00:45:22,719
Speaker 3: We have to support the party process, we have to

830
00:45:22,760 --> 00:45:28,120
Speaker 3: support the endorsed candidate. And then a week after Royce

831
00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:32,320
Speaker 3: got that ballot victory, first ballot victory, at first round victory,

832
00:45:32,880 --> 00:45:36,560
Speaker 3: here comes Candle Endorse and Joe Frasier, and I thought

833
00:45:36,560 --> 00:45:41,280
Speaker 3: to myself, you people, because you can't say you people. Sorry, Candle,

834
00:45:41,280 --> 00:45:44,120
Speaker 3: I didn't mean it like that. I meant you Republicans

835
00:45:44,920 --> 00:45:48,080
Speaker 3: that are the party elders, so to speak, the insiders

836
00:45:48,080 --> 00:45:50,520
Speaker 3: of the party that are trying to get people like

837
00:45:50,600 --> 00:45:54,360
Speaker 3: me to bow to the party process. When you guys lose,

838
00:45:55,520 --> 00:45:58,839
Speaker 3: you're the first people to break the party solidarity. And

839
00:45:58,880 --> 00:46:01,000
Speaker 3: that's exactly what happened to you. Am I right? Or

840
00:46:01,040 --> 00:46:01,520
Speaker 3: am I wrong?

841
00:46:02,160 --> 00:46:04,200
Speaker 2: So that's exactly what happened.

842
00:46:04,360 --> 00:46:04,560
Speaker 1: Man.

843
00:46:04,640 --> 00:46:06,840
Speaker 3: That's you know. And then they're gonna say, and then

844
00:46:06,920 --> 00:46:08,719
Speaker 3: I'm watching the thing right now. Oh, we got all.

845
00:46:08,960 --> 00:46:10,759
Speaker 3: There's a thing going on in Carver. They're going to

846
00:46:10,840 --> 00:46:15,400
Speaker 3: have a baseball game in September, the Rhinos versus the

847
00:46:15,400 --> 00:46:17,399
Speaker 3: Firebrands or where they got some name, because they want

848
00:46:17,400 --> 00:46:20,760
Speaker 3: to bring everybody together. I mean, this thing's getting tired,

849
00:46:20,920 --> 00:46:22,960
Speaker 3: is what I'm saying. I mean, if we're all going

850
00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:25,680
Speaker 3: to be together, we all have to live with the outcome.

851
00:46:25,760 --> 00:46:28,560
Speaker 3: It's not the outcome for me, but not for thee

852
00:46:28,840 --> 00:46:32,160
Speaker 3: That thing's got us. So you experienced this what Royce

853
00:46:32,239 --> 00:46:36,200
Speaker 3: experienced here at a statewide level. You had a mini

854
00:46:36,480 --> 00:46:39,840
Speaker 3: dose of it right in Senate District five and five B.

855
00:46:40,280 --> 00:46:43,359
Speaker 2: It was enlightening. It was an education that you can't

856
00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:43,719
Speaker 2: pay for.

857
00:46:44,239 --> 00:46:46,920
Speaker 3: Let me ask a question just because I want to know,

858
00:46:46,960 --> 00:46:48,160
Speaker 3: and if you don't want to answer, you can just

859
00:46:48,239 --> 00:46:52,880
Speaker 3: look at me and smile. Was your primary opponent, A

860
00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:55,960
Speaker 3: close friend of State Senator Paul Gazelka.

861
00:46:58,840 --> 00:47:05,680
Speaker 2: I don't know that for sure, I don't Okay, when

862
00:47:05,719 --> 00:47:11,759
Speaker 2: he went to primary, I had basically no tools in

863
00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:14,759
Speaker 2: the tool chest. You know, we didn't have the fundraising

864
00:47:14,800 --> 00:47:15,839
Speaker 2: to join to help us.

865
00:47:15,920 --> 00:47:16,879
Speaker 3: You didn't know what you were doing.

866
00:47:16,960 --> 00:47:18,160
Speaker 2: We didn't even know what we were doing.

867
00:47:18,800 --> 00:47:19,400
Speaker 3: It's great.

868
00:47:19,920 --> 00:47:23,240
Speaker 2: So we didn't have signs. We didn't have the support

869
00:47:23,239 --> 00:47:26,760
Speaker 2: of the party. They didn't bring door knockers up HRCC.

870
00:47:27,040 --> 00:47:29,000
Speaker 3: Why didn't you have the support of the party. You

871
00:47:29,040 --> 00:47:31,280
Speaker 3: won the do you won the endorsement at the convention?

872
00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:32,080
Speaker 3: What happened?

873
00:47:32,640 --> 00:47:35,160
Speaker 2: I don't know. I don't know.

874
00:47:36,040 --> 00:47:40,080
Speaker 3: Oh well, okay, the room where decisions. Well, you know what,

875
00:47:40,160 --> 00:47:44,480
Speaker 3: that is a very mature way of talking on to anybody.

876
00:47:44,520 --> 00:47:47,480
Speaker 3: I mean, forget about being on Mike. You don't know.

877
00:47:47,880 --> 00:47:48,600
Speaker 3: You weren't there.

878
00:47:48,719 --> 00:47:49,200
Speaker 2: I wasn't there.

879
00:47:49,239 --> 00:47:51,560
Speaker 3: So you any story you're going to make up is

880
00:47:51,800 --> 00:47:54,400
Speaker 3: either hearsay or you're creating meaning for yourself. That is

881
00:47:54,560 --> 00:47:57,399
Speaker 3: very I respect that tremendously, I really do.

882
00:47:57,640 --> 00:48:02,080
Speaker 2: I can give you my point of view of my experience.

883
00:48:03,080 --> 00:48:06,560
Speaker 2: So we go through the primary process right and there

884
00:48:06,600 --> 00:48:11,080
Speaker 2: again learning things, and I reached out to some representatives

885
00:48:11,120 --> 00:48:17,000
Speaker 2: and senators and other people, because I'd like to study.

886
00:48:17,000 --> 00:48:20,120
Speaker 2: I like to learn. Right, we have an endorsement process

887
00:48:20,120 --> 00:48:24,160
Speaker 2: for a reason, and it's actually very effective. At one

888
00:48:24,280 --> 00:48:26,680
Speaker 2: time I used to say that primaries were the way

889
00:48:26,719 --> 00:48:29,799
Speaker 2: to go, and then I started looking into this, and

890
00:48:29,840 --> 00:48:32,440
Speaker 2: this was before I even ran for office. This was

891
00:48:33,160 --> 00:48:36,799
Speaker 2: years ago. In the state of Minnesota. When we have

892
00:48:37,320 --> 00:48:41,960
Speaker 2: the Democrats who can outspend us ten to one, every

893
00:48:42,120 --> 00:48:45,880
Speaker 2: dollar we spend fighting amongst ourselves and primaries, we're not

894
00:48:45,960 --> 00:48:53,480
Speaker 2: spending against the Democrats. You are basically taking your limited

895
00:48:53,520 --> 00:48:59,160
Speaker 2: resources and fighting amongst ourselves. So either we support our

896
00:48:59,239 --> 00:49:04,120
Speaker 2: endorsed candidate or we're going to keep losing to the Democrats.

897
00:49:04,480 --> 00:49:08,040
Speaker 2: That's the way I view this. So going through the

898
00:49:08,040 --> 00:49:13,279
Speaker 2: process my primary, once again, all the signs are going up.

899
00:49:13,520 --> 00:49:18,040
Speaker 2: We had very limited resources, but you know, with a

900
00:49:18,120 --> 00:49:21,000
Speaker 2: name like Wiener, we have to use what we have available.

901
00:49:21,080 --> 00:49:21,279
Speaker 3: Right.

902
00:49:21,640 --> 00:49:23,120
Speaker 2: So I was talking to one of my uncles and

903
00:49:23,160 --> 00:49:25,120
Speaker 2: he said, if I was ever going to run for

904
00:49:25,200 --> 00:49:27,640
Speaker 2: public office, he said, I was going to use this slogan.

905
00:49:28,640 --> 00:49:31,279
Speaker 2: If you're sick of the Bologney, vote for Wiener.

906
00:49:32,600 --> 00:49:33,080
Speaker 3: That's good.

907
00:49:33,600 --> 00:49:39,920
Speaker 4: Which who said that One of my uncles, So we.

908
00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:42,520
Speaker 2: Used what resources we had available because I own a

909
00:49:42,520 --> 00:49:45,440
Speaker 2: small business. We took some of our semi trailers and

910
00:49:45,480 --> 00:49:48,560
Speaker 2: we painted on the side of if you're sick of

911
00:49:48,600 --> 00:49:51,320
Speaker 2: the Bolooney, vote Wiener, and we parked them at a

912
00:49:51,360 --> 00:49:55,920
Speaker 2: few places and it got a lot of attention. So

913
00:49:56,040 --> 00:50:00,640
Speaker 2: Primary night, remember before at the endorsement, I said, I

914
00:50:00,680 --> 00:50:04,120
Speaker 2: didn't think I was going to win. Primary night comes

915
00:50:04,120 --> 00:50:08,320
Speaker 2: in and the numbers are coming down from the northern

916
00:50:08,360 --> 00:50:12,000
Speaker 2: part of the district first, which is where my opponent lived.

917
00:50:12,520 --> 00:50:14,839
Speaker 2: The whole evening. The whole evening, the numbers are coming

918
00:50:14,840 --> 00:50:18,000
Speaker 2: in from the north, and he has a considerable lead.

919
00:50:18,400 --> 00:50:23,240
Speaker 2: The whole time it gets we have we have family

920
00:50:23,320 --> 00:50:27,160
Speaker 2: over over at mom's place, we have few friends over neighbors,

921
00:50:27,760 --> 00:50:30,720
Speaker 2: and it's getting a little bit late, and I said,

922
00:50:31,120 --> 00:50:35,960
Speaker 2: I can't win this. He's ahead by a couple hundred

923
00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:36,319
Speaker 2: at that.

924
00:50:36,320 --> 00:50:37,560
Speaker 3: Time, insurmountable.

925
00:50:37,800 --> 00:50:39,960
Speaker 2: And I said, there's no way that this is going on.

926
00:50:40,239 --> 00:50:42,520
Speaker 3: Is this on television or cable or radio? How you

927
00:50:42,520 --> 00:50:44,360
Speaker 3: getting these results? How are you watching this?

928
00:50:44,480 --> 00:50:46,320
Speaker 2: Is it it's Secretary of State website?

929
00:50:46,440 --> 00:50:50,640
Speaker 3: Okay, So that everybody's crowded around a laptop computer and

930
00:50:50,719 --> 00:50:51,960
Speaker 3: you're watching the votes come in.

931
00:50:52,400 --> 00:50:55,279
Speaker 2: Well after, I'm watching those numbers, and like I said,

932
00:50:55,280 --> 00:50:59,000
Speaker 2: they're coming in from the north, which was primarily his area,

933
00:50:59,120 --> 00:51:03,239
Speaker 2: that's where he was a county commissioner. We're watching them

934
00:51:03,239 --> 00:51:05,200
Speaker 2: coming in, and then we're getting a little bit more

935
00:51:05,239 --> 00:51:07,120
Speaker 2: as they come to the south, and I'm picking up

936
00:51:07,120 --> 00:51:08,920
Speaker 2: a little bit here, a little bit there. But there

937
00:51:08,960 --> 00:51:12,560
Speaker 2: was only like two districts left, three districts left, and

938
00:51:12,640 --> 00:51:15,400
Speaker 2: I was I was down by a couple hundred if

939
00:51:15,440 --> 00:51:18,239
Speaker 2: I remember correctly. And I said, well, I'm gonna have

940
00:51:18,280 --> 00:51:22,080
Speaker 2: to give him a call tomorrow, tell them, you know, congratulations,

941
00:51:22,560 --> 00:51:24,719
Speaker 2: whatever I can do to help him win, be that

942
00:51:24,840 --> 00:51:28,759
Speaker 2: gracious loser that I talked about at the endorsement. And

943
00:51:29,120 --> 00:51:32,640
Speaker 2: a couple of neighbors left, and it was about ten

944
00:51:32,719 --> 00:51:36,279
Speaker 2: fifteen minutes later. One of my nieces yelled out, She's like,

945
00:51:36,719 --> 00:51:40,920
Speaker 2: uncle Mike, you won. And I went I thought she

946
00:51:41,000 --> 00:51:42,959
Speaker 2: was messing with me. I thought she was joking around.

947
00:51:43,680 --> 00:51:47,600
Speaker 2: And here the last couple precincts came in and I

948
00:51:47,640 --> 00:51:49,560
Speaker 2: won the primary by twenty votes.

949
00:51:49,800 --> 00:51:50,200
Speaker 3: Wow.

950
00:51:51,520 --> 00:51:56,719
Speaker 2: So I never expected really to be a representative my

951
00:51:56,840 --> 00:51:58,200
Speaker 2: whole time campaigning.

952
00:51:58,320 --> 00:52:00,960
Speaker 3: That was the election because it's a seven six are

953
00:52:01,480 --> 00:52:05,279
Speaker 3: district exactly. So whoever won that primary was going to

954
00:52:05,280 --> 00:52:09,680
Speaker 3: Saint Paul. That's right, Well, congratulations, And this was so

955
00:52:09,800 --> 00:52:10,920
Speaker 3: you're a this is.

956
00:52:10,880 --> 00:52:12,680
Speaker 2: Your first this is my second term.

957
00:52:13,000 --> 00:52:15,680
Speaker 3: You got re elected. I got re elected, Okay, Grace.

958
00:52:16,120 --> 00:52:20,200
Speaker 2: So just and I want to share that because the experience,

959
00:52:20,440 --> 00:52:22,680
Speaker 2: like I said, you can't pay for this education. You

960
00:52:22,719 --> 00:52:27,360
Speaker 2: have to experience some of the machinations of the party

961
00:52:27,960 --> 00:52:32,560
Speaker 2: firsthand to understand what's going on. But now you're also

962
00:52:32,600 --> 00:52:35,600
Speaker 2: a political outsider when you come into this environment.

963
00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:38,080
Speaker 3: Talking about is being elected and going to Saint Paul.

964
00:52:38,560 --> 00:52:42,759
Speaker 2: Right, So who was the comedian that said politics is

965
00:52:42,800 --> 00:52:44,879
Speaker 2: a big club and you ain't in it.

966
00:52:45,360 --> 00:52:47,239
Speaker 3: I don't remember, but I've heard it.

967
00:52:47,239 --> 00:52:50,600
Speaker 2: It's a great line. But that's kind of the environment

968
00:52:50,719 --> 00:52:53,520
Speaker 2: you walk into when you weren't supposed to be there,

969
00:52:54,040 --> 00:52:57,560
Speaker 2: when and a significant amount of money is spent against you.

970
00:52:58,000 --> 00:53:01,759
Speaker 2: When my primary opponent, I had said, you know, you're

971
00:53:01,840 --> 00:53:05,000
Speaker 2: risking everything. You're a county commissioner, you're this or you're that.

972
00:53:05,440 --> 00:53:09,319
Speaker 2: If you lose this, you lose everything, and he said, well,

973
00:53:09,360 --> 00:53:13,760
Speaker 2: I have powerful politicians that are backing me. And now,

974
00:53:14,320 --> 00:53:18,280
Speaker 2: like I said, you learn this process and how this goes.

975
00:53:19,040 --> 00:53:21,400
Speaker 2: So to me, it was one of the best experiences

976
00:53:21,400 --> 00:53:23,920
Speaker 2: I could have ever had. And this is where I

977
00:53:23,960 --> 00:53:26,680
Speaker 2: come back to when we talked about quality of life

978
00:53:26,680 --> 00:53:28,759
Speaker 2: in the land and stuff like that. I think I

979
00:53:28,880 --> 00:53:32,120
Speaker 2: had to go through that political process. I had to

980
00:53:32,160 --> 00:53:35,279
Speaker 2: see what that was like. I had to be have

981
00:53:35,360 --> 00:53:38,320
Speaker 2: the feeling of being the outsider to get to the

982
00:53:38,360 --> 00:53:41,799
Speaker 2: point where I said, you know what, we can change this.

983
00:53:42,600 --> 00:53:45,799
Speaker 2: We can change this environment, we can change how we

984
00:53:45,880 --> 00:53:48,200
Speaker 2: do this stuff in politics in the state of Minnesota,

985
00:53:48,520 --> 00:53:51,400
Speaker 2: not just on our own Republican side, but across the state.

986
00:53:51,600 --> 00:53:56,400
Speaker 2: We can do better. People want better out of our politicians,

987
00:53:57,560 --> 00:54:03,400
Speaker 2: and I think that's where I You go through a

988
00:54:03,480 --> 00:54:08,520
Speaker 2: learning curve, you experience these things, and then you come

989
00:54:08,560 --> 00:54:10,640
Speaker 2: back and say, you know what, this is the way

990
00:54:10,680 --> 00:54:13,920
Speaker 2: I've always felt, and this is what's right what we

991
00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:17,760
Speaker 2: want out of politics. Why do you think Trump got elected?

992
00:54:18,400 --> 00:54:22,760
Speaker 2: People want something different in the state of Minnesota. We're

993
00:54:22,880 --> 00:54:27,640
Speaker 2: sick of politicians. We're sick of a system that doesn't

994
00:54:27,640 --> 00:54:35,960
Speaker 2: work for the people. We're tired of Instead of the

995
00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:38,239
Speaker 2: people work with the state working for the people, the

996
00:54:38,239 --> 00:54:42,280
Speaker 2: people are working for the state, and that's what I'm promoting.

997
00:54:42,600 --> 00:54:44,239
Speaker 2: That's what I'm pushing, and that's why I wanted to

998
00:54:44,239 --> 00:54:46,160
Speaker 2: get on your show and other show, is to say

999
00:54:46,200 --> 00:54:48,680
Speaker 2: we can do better. We can do better in the

1000
00:54:48,719 --> 00:54:51,759
Speaker 2: state of Minnesota. We can do better as Republicans when

1001
00:54:51,800 --> 00:54:55,200
Speaker 2: it comes to our endorsements, when it comes to our party,

1002
00:54:55,880 --> 00:54:58,160
Speaker 2: and we can do better as politicians in this state.

1003
00:54:58,719 --> 00:55:04,120
Speaker 2: Because I'm frustrated with it, but you can't complain too

1004
00:55:04,160 --> 00:55:06,920
Speaker 2: much if you don't get involved. And I've got to

1005
00:55:06,920 --> 00:55:10,040
Speaker 2: get that message out there. So that's why I'm here,

1006
00:55:10,600 --> 00:55:11,919
Speaker 2: and that's what I wanted to talk about.

1007
00:55:11,960 --> 00:55:14,360
Speaker 3: That's a long preamble. We've had a long preamble. So

1008
00:55:14,400 --> 00:55:16,359
Speaker 3: now that we've set it up, we've queued it up.

1009
00:55:16,960 --> 00:55:18,840
Speaker 3: Let me just say back what I think i'm hearing.

1010
00:55:18,880 --> 00:55:24,000
Speaker 3: What I think I'm hearing is you're an everyday person

1011
00:55:24,080 --> 00:55:26,920
Speaker 3: that lived close to the land, grew up in traditional

1012
00:55:26,960 --> 00:55:32,320
Speaker 3: culture out state in God's country. Your family. You didn't

1013
00:55:32,320 --> 00:55:34,200
Speaker 3: say it, but I think there was some religion in

1014
00:55:34,239 --> 00:55:41,560
Speaker 3: your family, absolutely faith. You were laboring along running your

1015
00:55:41,560 --> 00:55:43,920
Speaker 3: business and raising your kids. Your kids are working in

1016
00:55:43,960 --> 00:55:47,000
Speaker 3: the business, which I'm an entrepreneur, so I understand the

1017
00:55:47,120 --> 00:55:50,759
Speaker 3: joy of having family members work and the challenge and

1018
00:55:50,800 --> 00:55:54,359
Speaker 3: the challenge and the challenge not just the joy. But

1019
00:55:54,520 --> 00:55:58,399
Speaker 3: you know, you're building a business and we've talked off

1020
00:55:58,520 --> 00:56:04,080
Speaker 3: Mike about I think it's a successful, brilliant business. And

1021
00:56:04,160 --> 00:56:07,759
Speaker 3: you woke up one day and something happened and you said, man,

1022
00:56:07,800 --> 00:56:09,719
Speaker 3: I got to get involved. Your uncle said, hey, don't

1023
00:56:09,760 --> 00:56:12,080
Speaker 3: complain if you're not going to play. So you became

1024
00:56:12,080 --> 00:56:17,799
Speaker 3: a county commissioner or a plan zoning commissioner, and then

1025
00:56:17,840 --> 00:56:19,759
Speaker 3: you went downstream a few years and all of a

1026
00:56:19,800 --> 00:56:22,160
Speaker 3: sudden you said, you know what, I got to see

1027
00:56:22,160 --> 00:56:24,680
Speaker 3: what's going on in the party. And you started hanging

1028
00:56:24,680 --> 00:56:27,759
Speaker 3: around with these people and you said, wait a second, wait,

1029
00:56:28,520 --> 00:56:31,160
Speaker 3: this isn't the way I would do it. And you said, man,

1030
00:56:31,920 --> 00:56:34,040
Speaker 3: I can't complain unless I'm actually going to do it.

1031
00:56:34,719 --> 00:56:37,680
Speaker 3: So you went and did it. And then, for whatever reason,

1032
00:56:38,360 --> 00:56:40,560
Speaker 3: because we don't know what the plan is, you found

1033
00:56:40,600 --> 00:56:44,680
Speaker 3: yourself in Saint Paul representing a seventy six percent our

1034
00:56:45,800 --> 00:56:52,040
Speaker 3: political district, which means you got legs for a long time. Theoretically,

1035
00:56:52,080 --> 00:56:54,720
Speaker 3: if you want to keep playing, you got a political

1036
00:56:54,800 --> 00:56:57,879
Speaker 3: career here in Minnesota. I mean, you probably don't think

1037
00:56:57,880 --> 00:56:59,839
Speaker 3: about it that way. But that's what I'm here.

1038
00:57:01,040 --> 00:57:03,319
Speaker 2: I know people have said that you could stay in

1039
00:57:03,360 --> 00:57:07,200
Speaker 2: that position for a long time. But as a business owner,

1040
00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:11,960
Speaker 2: do you do you settle with the status quo or

1041
00:57:11,960 --> 00:57:13,800
Speaker 2: do you constantly want to improve?

1042
00:57:14,000 --> 00:57:16,520
Speaker 3: Well, obviously, if you're coming on the Professor Pen podcast,

1043
00:57:17,000 --> 00:57:20,400
Speaker 3: you're willing to break some dishes because you know who

1044
00:57:20,480 --> 00:57:23,760
Speaker 3: I am. I know everybody knows what I'm doing. And

1045
00:57:23,840 --> 00:57:25,200
Speaker 3: as I said to you before I come on, and

1046
00:57:25,240 --> 00:57:28,040
Speaker 3: I'm going to say this to all the elected representatives

1047
00:57:28,040 --> 00:57:29,280
Speaker 3: that are going to hear this, and I hope all

1048
00:57:29,680 --> 00:57:32,000
Speaker 3: everybody in the caucus, I hope they all listen to this.

1049
00:57:32,600 --> 00:57:34,760
Speaker 3: Anybody's welcome to come in here. You know, I'm not

1050
00:57:34,760 --> 00:57:38,200
Speaker 3: going to treat anybody differently than I would treat you.

1051
00:57:38,200 --> 00:57:40,480
Speaker 3: You know, I've got my political persona when I'm doing

1052
00:57:40,480 --> 00:57:42,800
Speaker 3: my own podcast, But when we're doing this is a

1053
00:57:42,880 --> 00:57:46,240
Speaker 3: straight news interview. What's going on? How can we make

1054
00:57:46,280 --> 00:57:49,160
Speaker 3: the state better? How can we serve the citizens of

1055
00:57:49,200 --> 00:57:52,200
Speaker 3: the state in a way that makes a better life

1056
00:57:52,240 --> 00:57:54,160
Speaker 3: for them? How can we take what you would call

1057
00:57:54,240 --> 00:57:57,960
Speaker 3: the good life and make it available for more and

1058
00:57:58,000 --> 00:58:00,920
Speaker 3: more people all the time. And to me, the good

1059
00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:05,800
Speaker 3: life is longevity, and compress morbidity. And everybody has economic freedom.

1060
00:58:05,840 --> 00:58:08,280
Speaker 3: I mean to me, it's very simple. What makes for

1061
00:58:08,320 --> 00:58:11,320
Speaker 3: a good life? And you've already said it. Don't tell

1062
00:58:11,360 --> 00:58:14,000
Speaker 3: me to plant trees on my land. What are you

1063
00:58:14,080 --> 00:58:15,600
Speaker 3: doing well?

1064
00:58:15,880 --> 00:58:19,160
Speaker 2: That freedom that goes a long ways, and I think

1065
00:58:19,200 --> 00:58:23,280
Speaker 2: that connects with just about everybody. We talk about the split.

1066
00:58:23,360 --> 00:58:30,040
Speaker 2: We mentioned it before, about the urban rural divide. Human

1067
00:58:30,120 --> 00:58:34,600
Speaker 2: nature doesn't stop within that four ninety four six nine

1068
00:58:34,800 --> 00:58:36,280
Speaker 2: four beltway beltway.

1069
00:58:36,440 --> 00:58:37,240
Speaker 3: Yep, it doesn't.

1070
00:58:38,280 --> 00:58:41,320
Speaker 2: It's simply. It may have little nuances, it may have

1071
00:58:41,360 --> 00:58:45,600
Speaker 2: some changes, but people want the same thing, they really do.

1072
00:58:45,600 --> 00:58:48,360
Speaker 2: Do they have access to it in the same levels? No,

1073
00:58:48,520 --> 00:58:52,000
Speaker 2: probably not. Are they aware of some of these things,

1074
00:58:52,160 --> 00:58:55,600
Speaker 2: probably not. But that's our job to actually educate. I

1075
00:58:55,640 --> 00:58:59,760
Speaker 2: think as legislators we have to use that voice, that pulpit,

1076
00:59:00,080 --> 00:59:04,720
Speaker 2: that soapbox to educate people to say, hang on here

1077
00:59:04,760 --> 00:59:10,400
Speaker 2: a second, this idea that's being promoted by whomever, because

1078
00:59:10,400 --> 00:59:14,560
Speaker 2: there's bad ideas on both sides. This has the cause

1079
00:59:14,600 --> 00:59:18,320
Speaker 2: and effect of this or this or this, and it's

1080
00:59:18,360 --> 00:59:23,560
Speaker 2: our job to promote those good ideas and stop the

1081
00:59:23,600 --> 00:59:29,160
Speaker 2: bad ideas. So my first term, we come into the

1082
00:59:29,240 --> 00:59:35,280
Speaker 2: trifecta Democrats control of the House Senate governorship, and that

1083
00:59:35,360 --> 00:59:39,560
Speaker 2: was a that was tough. That was really tough because

1084
00:59:39,600 --> 00:59:46,400
Speaker 2: they basically anything that was presented promoted by our side

1085
00:59:46,920 --> 00:59:50,960
Speaker 2: was shot down. I think there was only, if I

1086
00:59:51,000 --> 00:59:54,080
Speaker 2: recall correctly, ten percent of all the legislation that passed

1087
00:59:54,080 --> 00:59:59,520
Speaker 2: in those two years were Republican bills. Ten we voted.

1088
00:59:59,600 --> 01:00:03,960
Speaker 2: I mean that that's Minnesota is a very close state.

1089
01:00:04,440 --> 01:00:06,560
Speaker 2: It is a purple state. I would not say it's

1090
01:00:06,560 --> 01:00:09,240
Speaker 2: a blue state by any means. It is very close.

1091
01:00:09,520 --> 01:00:11,520
Speaker 2: When you look at the numbers. Now, when you've got

1092
01:00:11,680 --> 01:00:15,200
Speaker 2: a tie in the House Senate by one seat and

1093
01:00:15,200 --> 01:00:17,760
Speaker 2: then you've got a Democrat governor, this is very close

1094
01:00:17,800 --> 01:00:24,360
Speaker 2: to changing. So when they governed like they controlled seventy

1095
01:00:24,400 --> 01:00:26,520
Speaker 2: five percent of the district or seventy five percent of

1096
01:00:26,560 --> 01:00:29,880
Speaker 2: the state, they basically insulted the rest of the state.

1097
01:00:30,640 --> 01:00:34,160
Speaker 2: They basically said that your viewpoints, your way of life

1098
01:00:34,280 --> 01:00:38,840
Speaker 2: does not matter to us. It was an insult. But

1099
01:00:38,880 --> 01:00:42,760
Speaker 2: like I said before, there's an education that you you

1100
01:00:42,880 --> 01:00:48,080
Speaker 2: have to experience firsthand. That trifecta was a good thing

1101
01:00:48,120 --> 01:00:52,360
Speaker 2: for a lot of us as legislators because we realized

1102
01:00:54,280 --> 01:00:58,000
Speaker 2: what it is to be a bad legislator. As Welle a.

1103
01:00:57,960 --> 01:01:00,400
Speaker 3: Little bit more about jog What do you mean by that?

1104
01:01:00,520 --> 01:01:01,919
Speaker 3: I'm curious what you mean by that.

1105
01:01:02,880 --> 01:01:05,720
Speaker 2: A good, good example, there was a bill, it was

1106
01:01:05,840 --> 01:01:11,360
Speaker 2: economic development bill, and a Democrat was talking about how

1107
01:01:13,120 --> 01:01:16,560
Speaker 2: this would affect his area and I have a very

1108
01:01:16,600 --> 01:01:22,040
Speaker 2: different viewpoint on that piece of legislation. We talked and

1109
01:01:22,120 --> 01:01:25,440
Speaker 2: he brought up a few things, and I went, oh, oh,

1110
01:01:26,520 --> 01:01:32,440
Speaker 2: because his area is different, because his district has different amenities,

1111
01:01:32,520 --> 01:01:38,400
Speaker 2: different social structures. I wouldn't say social structure, but economic structure.

1112
01:01:39,800 --> 01:01:44,560
Speaker 2: That bill made sense in his area. I was against

1113
01:01:44,640 --> 01:01:48,760
Speaker 2: it based on how my area would be negatively affected

1114
01:01:49,440 --> 01:01:52,600
Speaker 2: by something like that. But it does work for theirs.

1115
01:01:54,160 --> 01:01:57,439
Speaker 2: As the House members, we're supposed to look at all

1116
01:01:57,480 --> 01:02:02,840
Speaker 2: of the state. Right, our vote doesn't just affect our people,

1117
01:02:03,800 --> 01:02:06,400
Speaker 2: it affects the people in that area as well. So

1118
01:02:06,520 --> 01:02:09,440
Speaker 2: when I saw basically a selfishness on the other side

1119
01:02:09,800 --> 01:02:14,640
Speaker 2: without listening, it kind of opened my eyes in a way.

1120
01:02:14,680 --> 01:02:17,480
Speaker 2: And I also saw a bigger picture. And this is

1121
01:02:17,480 --> 01:02:22,640
Speaker 2: something that goes back to the history. I think we

1122
01:02:22,760 --> 01:02:25,360
Speaker 2: mentioned Ronald Reagan earlier before the show started.

1123
01:02:25,400 --> 01:02:26,040
Speaker 3: I think.

1124
01:02:27,360 --> 01:02:32,840
Speaker 2: His fight against communism and socialism has never really gone away.

1125
01:02:32,920 --> 01:02:35,840
Speaker 2: It is still there. And in this state it is

1126
01:02:36,160 --> 01:02:40,480
Speaker 2: so obvious what's going on, especially now when we have

1127
01:02:40,560 --> 01:02:46,680
Speaker 2: a city council candidate Democratic Socialists, Democrat socialist. I had

1128
01:02:46,760 --> 01:02:50,520
Speaker 2: always thought, based on my experience with Democrats out in

1129
01:02:50,560 --> 01:02:55,280
Speaker 2: my area, we have the DFL right Democrat, farmer labor

1130
01:02:56,160 --> 01:02:59,720
Speaker 2: and I still have neighbors that are DFL. Daddy was

1131
01:02:59,760 --> 01:03:04,760
Speaker 2: a DEDFL, Grandpa's a DFL. Were a DFL. That's the

1132
01:03:04,800 --> 01:03:10,320
Speaker 2: way they vote. Legacy, legacy. That party is not the

1133
01:03:10,320 --> 01:03:13,400
Speaker 2: same as what it was and it hasn't been a

1134
01:03:13,520 --> 01:03:14,919
Speaker 2: DFL party in a long time.

1135
01:03:15,000 --> 01:03:19,400
Speaker 3: And how did that happen? Because these folks, these Minnesota citizens,

1136
01:03:20,920 --> 01:03:23,040
Speaker 3: This is my opinion, but I think my opinion is

1137
01:03:23,080 --> 01:03:30,880
Speaker 3: well informed. They saw a collaboration between the traditional DFL

1138
01:03:30,920 --> 01:03:35,040
Speaker 3: and the traditional men GOP that they rejected, that they

1139
01:03:35,120 --> 01:03:42,040
Speaker 3: wanted more of a hardcore leftist politic, and they organized,

1140
01:03:42,080 --> 01:03:44,560
Speaker 3: and they organized at the BPOU level, and they organized

1141
01:03:44,560 --> 01:03:47,160
Speaker 3: at the county level, and they got control of that

1142
01:03:47,280 --> 01:03:50,800
Speaker 3: party at least here in the Twin Cities, particularly in Minneapolis.

1143
01:03:51,000 --> 01:03:53,720
Speaker 3: Their control in the game.

1144
01:03:53,520 --> 01:04:00,280
Speaker 2: Now DSA mean, yes, absolutely, But going back to Reagan fight,

1145
01:04:00,320 --> 01:04:04,920
Speaker 2: against the Communists, wasn't it in sixty three somewhere around

1146
01:04:04,960 --> 01:04:07,680
Speaker 2: there where they wrote the was read into the official

1147
01:04:07,720 --> 01:04:11,600
Speaker 2: records of the steps that the Communists had to take

1148
01:04:12,080 --> 01:04:14,880
Speaker 2: in order to take down a country, and one of

1149
01:04:14,920 --> 01:04:18,840
Speaker 2: them was, or for the United States, was to get

1150
01:04:18,880 --> 01:04:21,840
Speaker 2: control of the political parties, one or both.

1151
01:04:23,480 --> 01:04:24,080
Speaker 3: It happened.

1152
01:04:24,880 --> 01:04:28,200
Speaker 2: It happened by a large margin with the Democrats in

1153
01:04:28,240 --> 01:04:31,680
Speaker 2: the state of Minnesota. They took that DFL party and

1154
01:04:31,720 --> 01:04:35,960
Speaker 2: they changed it into the DSA. It is not the.

1155
01:04:35,920 --> 01:04:38,680
Speaker 3: DFA badwide or just in the cities. Would you say?

1156
01:04:39,040 --> 01:04:41,400
Speaker 2: I would say that the Democrats out in our area

1157
01:04:42,000 --> 01:04:45,640
Speaker 2: are probably the old DFL for the most part, but

1158
01:04:45,720 --> 01:04:49,240
Speaker 2: they do not realize that the state wide party is DSA.

1159
01:04:49,440 --> 01:04:53,080
Speaker 3: So they need some jarring event. They need to wake

1160
01:04:53,120 --> 01:04:56,280
Speaker 3: them up. Is that reasonable to.

1161
01:04:56,240 --> 01:04:59,280
Speaker 2: Say, well, everybody's a little bit different. What would it

1162
01:04:59,360 --> 01:05:02,160
Speaker 2: take for some of those people to realize that their

1163
01:05:02,160 --> 01:05:07,960
Speaker 2: party doesn't represent them? What would it take me as

1164
01:05:07,960 --> 01:05:11,400
Speaker 2: a Republican, let's just flip the scenario to say my

1165
01:05:11,480 --> 01:05:16,040
Speaker 2: party doesn't represent me. It would take something pretty Significant'll.

1166
01:05:15,480 --> 01:05:17,040
Speaker 3: Tell you what it did for me. Can I give

1167
01:05:17,080 --> 01:05:21,560
Speaker 3: you one little story? Paul Gazelka I've been I'm on AX,

1168
01:05:21,640 --> 01:05:24,320
Speaker 3: I'm very active on acts. Sure, I've been blocked by

1169
01:05:24,320 --> 01:05:28,000
Speaker 3: three people, Pat Garoffalo, Paul Gazelka, and a guy that

1170
01:05:28,360 --> 01:05:32,920
Speaker 3: works for the for the establishment in New York writing books.

1171
01:05:33,840 --> 01:05:36,040
Speaker 3: The guy that wrote the books, I just pointed out

1172
01:05:36,040 --> 01:05:38,200
Speaker 3: some of his bs and he just blocked me. Was

1173
01:05:38,200 --> 01:05:41,560
Speaker 3: wasn't personal, had a big following, but you know, I

1174
01:05:41,640 --> 01:05:45,080
Speaker 3: was at a meeting. This was the eye opener for me.

1175
01:05:45,160 --> 01:05:46,800
Speaker 3: I got invited to a meeting when I was first

1176
01:05:46,800 --> 01:05:50,760
Speaker 3: in the party that it was a digital meeting. It

1177
01:05:50,800 --> 01:05:56,200
Speaker 3: was a zoom call, and Paul Gazelka was the featured politician,

1178
01:05:56,840 --> 01:05:59,400
Speaker 3: and we was let's say it was at five o'clock. Now,

1179
01:05:59,440 --> 01:06:02,520
Speaker 3: I own a business like you do. You know, time

1180
01:06:02,600 --> 01:06:04,040
Speaker 3: is money. You got a lot of p you know,

1181
01:06:04,080 --> 01:06:07,120
Speaker 3: So when you take time off for politics, you're taking

1182
01:06:07,200 --> 01:06:09,560
Speaker 3: time off from running your business. Is that a true statement?

1183
01:06:09,800 --> 01:06:10,440
Speaker 2: Absolutely?

1184
01:06:10,680 --> 01:06:12,520
Speaker 3: So I was there and I don't think it was five.

1185
01:06:12,520 --> 01:06:15,600
Speaker 3: I think it was like three. So I took and

1186
01:06:15,920 --> 01:06:21,720
Speaker 3: was on the zoom call. This during COVID and Gauzelko

1187
01:06:21,880 --> 01:06:24,640
Speaker 3: was late, really late. So we're all sitting around waiting

1188
01:06:24,680 --> 01:06:27,720
Speaker 3: for him. Okay, he's an important guy. You know sometimes

1189
01:06:27,720 --> 01:06:30,440
Speaker 3: people are late. It's cool. His opening bid when he

1190
01:06:30,520 --> 01:06:34,640
Speaker 3: walked to the microphone was sorry, I'm late. I was

1191
01:06:34,720 --> 01:06:38,280
Speaker 3: out golfing with the Chamber of Commerce. That was the

1192
01:06:38,320 --> 01:06:43,640
Speaker 3: opening bid. Okay, Now he's not stupid. He knows that

1193
01:06:43,720 --> 01:06:45,959
Speaker 3: I'm there. He knows there's people like me on that call.

1194
01:06:46,520 --> 01:06:48,919
Speaker 3: So if he wanted to hide, he would say, geez,

1195
01:06:48,920 --> 01:06:52,200
Speaker 3: I'm sorry, I was in traffic. But when you start

1196
01:06:52,240 --> 01:06:54,960
Speaker 3: out I was out golfing with the Chamber, it takes

1197
01:06:55,000 --> 01:06:57,960
Speaker 3: all the people that are, shall we say, a little

1198
01:06:58,000 --> 01:07:01,640
Speaker 3: bit grittier Republicans and get their hair up on the

1199
01:07:01,640 --> 01:07:03,440
Speaker 3: back of their neck. And then we got into this

1200
01:07:03,480 --> 01:07:07,680
Speaker 3: conversation because they were talking about the budget, the money

1201
01:07:08,440 --> 01:07:11,440
Speaker 3: that had come into the state of Visa v. Nancy

1202
01:07:11,440 --> 01:07:14,880
Speaker 3: Pelosi in America Save America or whatever they called it.

1203
01:07:14,920 --> 01:07:18,720
Speaker 3: All those billions had poured into the state and it

1204
01:07:18,800 --> 01:07:22,520
Speaker 3: was a battle over that money. And I said, I said,

1205
01:07:22,560 --> 01:07:25,360
Speaker 3: you know, Paul, why don't you give the money back

1206
01:07:25,400 --> 01:07:29,480
Speaker 3: to the citizens of Minnesota. You'll be a governor. You

1207
01:07:29,520 --> 01:07:32,000
Speaker 3: call it the Gazelka give back like you had. If

1208
01:07:32,000 --> 01:07:35,720
Speaker 3: you're tired of the Bologne, vote for a Wiener, you know,

1209
01:07:35,760 --> 01:07:38,280
Speaker 3: I said, call it the Gazelka give back. I thought

1210
01:07:38,320 --> 01:07:40,840
Speaker 3: it was a brilliant idea on the fly, like your speech,

1211
01:07:40,960 --> 01:07:42,800
Speaker 3: they don't know what's going to come out. He said, no,

1212
01:07:42,880 --> 01:07:44,880
Speaker 3: we can't do that. I go, why is that? He

1213
01:07:44,920 --> 01:07:48,480
Speaker 3: goes well, and there's other people talking. It wasn't just me.

1214
01:07:48,640 --> 01:07:51,000
Speaker 3: He goes well, because you know it's involves you know,

1215
01:07:51,360 --> 01:07:53,680
Speaker 3: health care money and COVID money, and it has to

1216
01:07:53,680 --> 01:07:56,040
Speaker 3: be really, I said, just make health savings accounts for

1217
01:07:56,080 --> 01:07:58,440
Speaker 3: the people. Find a way to do it. There's a workaround.

1218
01:08:00,360 --> 01:08:02,320
Speaker 3: And of course what they did was is they gave

1219
01:08:02,360 --> 01:08:05,120
Speaker 3: Walts five hundred million dollars and kept the rest for later.

1220
01:08:06,040 --> 01:08:09,520
Speaker 3: Remember that story, So.

1221
01:08:09,520 --> 01:08:12,680
Speaker 2: That was before my time. I don't know all those details.

1222
01:08:12,800 --> 01:08:14,920
Speaker 3: Well neither do I, but I'll tell you what happened.

1223
01:08:15,000 --> 01:08:18,240
Speaker 3: That trifecta was related to that five hundred million bucks,

1224
01:08:18,800 --> 01:08:21,920
Speaker 3: because we don't really understand as Republicans how that money

1225
01:08:22,160 --> 01:08:26,360
Speaker 3: flows through the system and how it's used to elect Democrats.

1226
01:08:27,479 --> 01:08:31,360
Speaker 3: And I was so pissed that they had this chance

1227
01:08:31,439 --> 01:08:34,559
Speaker 3: to stop this, and of course all the budget woes

1228
01:08:34,600 --> 01:08:36,840
Speaker 3: that you're dealing with the state right now, which you know,

1229
01:08:36,880 --> 01:08:39,559
Speaker 3: there was some movement back towards the center of the road,

1230
01:08:39,600 --> 01:08:42,439
Speaker 3: but not all the way. It all came because the

1231
01:08:42,439 --> 01:08:45,200
Speaker 3: state got flooded with money and they did it on purpose.

1232
01:08:45,880 --> 01:08:48,160
Speaker 3: They did it on purpose. This is how smart these

1233
01:08:48,160 --> 01:08:50,200
Speaker 3: people are. I mean, this is this was the wake

1234
01:08:50,280 --> 01:08:52,920
Speaker 3: up moment for me. I don't think I'm the smartest

1235
01:08:52,920 --> 01:08:54,160
Speaker 3: guy in the room, but I know I'm not the

1236
01:08:54,240 --> 01:08:56,400
Speaker 3: dumbest guy in the room. But some of these people

1237
01:08:56,479 --> 01:08:59,080
Speaker 3: are so much more experienced. Like you say, he got

1238
01:08:59,120 --> 01:09:01,639
Speaker 3: to live it. You can't read it out of a book.

1239
01:09:02,360 --> 01:09:04,800
Speaker 3: That the idea that you're going to make the country

1240
01:09:05,280 --> 01:09:08,840
Speaker 3: socialist by flooding all the states with money is a

1241
01:09:08,840 --> 01:09:13,120
Speaker 3: little bit counterintuitive. But they swelled all those state budgets

1242
01:09:13,720 --> 01:09:15,639
Speaker 3: and they don't want to give any of that money back.

1243
01:09:16,040 --> 01:09:18,439
Speaker 3: In your last session, you had to fight tooth and

1244
01:09:18,520 --> 01:09:20,760
Speaker 3: nail to move it back as far as you did.

1245
01:09:20,880 --> 01:09:22,519
Speaker 3: And I should ask you, how do you feel about

1246
01:09:22,520 --> 01:09:23,479
Speaker 3: how that outcome was.

1247
01:09:29,200 --> 01:09:31,800
Speaker 2: I'm trying to think about how I want to say this.

1248
01:09:34,360 --> 01:09:37,760
Speaker 2: So when I started as a rep our budget in

1249
01:09:37,800 --> 01:09:42,200
Speaker 2: the state of Minnesota was fifty I think right around

1250
01:09:42,240 --> 01:09:48,680
Speaker 2: fifty billion dollars. Okay, it's now sixty seven. If we

1251
01:09:48,840 --> 01:09:53,360
Speaker 2: say this last session, we trimmed the budget three billion dollars,

1252
01:09:53,720 --> 01:09:57,400
Speaker 2: three and a half billion, whatever, But it's been increased

1253
01:09:57,400 --> 01:10:01,160
Speaker 2: by seventeen billion over two budget cycles. That is not

1254
01:10:01,200 --> 01:10:04,360
Speaker 2: a victory. That is not a victory by any means

1255
01:10:04,360 --> 01:10:09,479
Speaker 2: to me. And if you understand how we got that

1256
01:10:09,640 --> 01:10:14,519
Speaker 2: three billion trimmed, the Democrats under the trifecta put in

1257
01:10:15,200 --> 01:10:22,400
Speaker 2: automatic inflation adjusters. So every budget, every department budget is

1258
01:10:22,439 --> 01:10:25,760
Speaker 2: going to see an automatic increase. Now, I think Health

1259
01:10:25,760 --> 01:10:30,800
Speaker 2: and Human Services was already tied to automatic inflation, and

1260
01:10:30,800 --> 01:10:33,120
Speaker 2: I can't remember if Education was the other one, but

1261
01:10:34,040 --> 01:10:37,200
Speaker 2: some of our budget was already tied to that. So

1262
01:10:37,240 --> 01:10:39,320
Speaker 2: what they did is basically said, we're not going to

1263
01:10:39,360 --> 01:10:42,479
Speaker 2: apply that to all of the rest of the budget

1264
01:10:42,840 --> 01:10:45,639
Speaker 2: since we just passed this, and that will trim about

1265
01:10:46,320 --> 01:10:48,920
Speaker 2: two two and a half billion dollars almost three billion

1266
01:10:49,280 --> 01:10:52,280
Speaker 2: off the budget. That's what they did. It's creative accounting.

1267
01:10:53,040 --> 01:10:56,160
Speaker 2: We didn't really shave four billion dollars off of this budget.

1268
01:10:56,320 --> 01:10:59,040
Speaker 3: Say that one more time. I'd like to just slow down,

1269
01:10:59,760 --> 01:11:00,879
Speaker 3: because I always.

1270
01:11:00,720 --> 01:11:01,520
Speaker 2: Got a weightboard.

1271
01:11:01,880 --> 01:11:03,960
Speaker 3: No, No, I heard what you said, but I want

1272
01:11:04,000 --> 01:11:07,639
Speaker 3: everybody to hear it, because we're talking about creative accounting,

1273
01:11:07,680 --> 01:11:13,040
Speaker 3: which means what the automatic inflation adjusters.

1274
01:11:13,160 --> 01:11:17,000
Speaker 2: The automatic inflation adjusters were put in under the trifecta,

1275
01:11:17,600 --> 01:11:23,479
Speaker 2: which means every budget would automatically go up in future

1276
01:11:23,560 --> 01:11:29,000
Speaker 2: budget without an vote, without any vote exactly. So the

1277
01:11:29,040 --> 01:11:32,200
Speaker 2: budget was set at I think it was fifty or

1278
01:11:32,200 --> 01:11:35,160
Speaker 2: fifty two, went up to under.

1279
01:11:34,920 --> 01:11:36,719
Speaker 3: The trifecta sixty seven.

1280
01:11:37,360 --> 01:11:42,160
Speaker 2: Actually it was meant to be at seventy, right around seventy.

1281
01:11:42,479 --> 01:11:43,040
Speaker 3: Okay.

1282
01:11:43,360 --> 01:11:47,120
Speaker 2: So this last cycle, what they said is we've shaved

1283
01:11:47,200 --> 01:11:51,280
Speaker 2: three billion dollars off of the budget. No, they didn't.

1284
01:11:51,439 --> 01:11:53,680
Speaker 2: What they basically did was said, we're not going to

1285
01:11:53,760 --> 01:12:00,240
Speaker 2: add those automatic adjuster inflation adjusters to the new departments

1286
01:12:00,280 --> 01:12:03,840
Speaker 2: that were just adding under the trifecta, which took the

1287
01:12:03,840 --> 01:12:06,559
Speaker 2: three billion dollars off. We didn't really cut any of

1288
01:12:06,560 --> 01:12:07,040
Speaker 2: our budget.

1289
01:12:07,120 --> 01:12:08,360
Speaker 3: You just didn't spend the money.

1290
01:12:08,720 --> 01:12:10,160
Speaker 2: You spend it in the future.

1291
01:12:11,040 --> 01:12:11,400
Speaker 3: Okay.

1292
01:12:11,520 --> 01:12:15,599
Speaker 2: So point being, we're still we still increase the state

1293
01:12:15,640 --> 01:12:21,360
Speaker 2: budget by seventeen billion dollars over the last two budget cycle.

1294
01:12:21,240 --> 01:12:25,440
Speaker 3: Which is how many years for those that so four years.

1295
01:12:25,120 --> 01:12:27,880
Speaker 2: Four years. Every budget cycle is two years. We just

1296
01:12:27,920 --> 01:12:30,360
Speaker 2: set the next one, so that's that's four years total.

1297
01:12:30,760 --> 01:12:34,719
Speaker 2: We've gone from fifty to sixty seven billion, which.

1298
01:12:34,520 --> 01:12:36,600
Speaker 3: I they take a percentage on that tanner because I

1299
01:12:36,640 --> 01:12:40,000
Speaker 3: don't want to guess what's what's seventeen on fifty. I'm

1300
01:12:40,040 --> 01:12:42,960
Speaker 3: just curious. Let's let's do some other numbers here, keep going,

1301
01:12:43,320 --> 01:12:44,040
Speaker 3: please preach.

1302
01:12:44,240 --> 01:12:47,040
Speaker 2: So for every billion dollars you spend in the state

1303
01:12:47,080 --> 01:12:52,200
Speaker 2: of Minnesota, every billion dollars that the state spends, divide

1304
01:12:52,200 --> 01:12:54,200
Speaker 2: that out by the five point six million people in

1305
01:12:54,240 --> 01:12:56,920
Speaker 2: the state. It comes up to be just under two

1306
01:12:57,000 --> 01:13:01,479
Speaker 2: hundred dollars. Okay. So for every billion dollars of new spending,

1307
01:13:02,320 --> 01:13:04,720
Speaker 2: every man, woman, and child in the state of Minnesota

1308
01:13:06,000 --> 01:13:07,560
Speaker 2: has to pay in another two hundred.

1309
01:13:07,280 --> 01:13:11,080
Speaker 3: Dollars, okay, but not all of them can pay.

1310
01:13:11,880 --> 01:13:16,599
Speaker 2: So if we take the seventeen billion of increased spending

1311
01:13:17,240 --> 01:13:18,000
Speaker 2: over the last.

1312
01:13:17,840 --> 01:13:20,000
Speaker 3: Two budgets, that's seventeen times too.

1313
01:13:19,920 --> 01:13:25,080
Speaker 2: Seventeen times too. It's thirty four hundred dollars per per man, woman,

1314
01:13:25,160 --> 01:13:26,200
Speaker 2: and child in the state of mind.

1315
01:13:26,240 --> 01:13:28,519
Speaker 3: But not the children can't pay. That's exactly a lot

1316
01:13:28,520 --> 01:13:29,800
Speaker 3: of men and women can't pay.

1317
01:13:29,960 --> 01:13:32,640
Speaker 2: Take out under eighteen years old, they don't pay as

1318
01:13:32,720 --> 01:13:35,600
Speaker 2: much in taxes. They're a portion of the of the

1319
01:13:37,600 --> 01:13:38,840
Speaker 2: you know, they just don't. They don't work.

1320
01:13:38,880 --> 01:13:41,640
Speaker 3: You're just making this simple about what the effect of

1321
01:13:41,640 --> 01:13:43,599
Speaker 3: this is on the individual citizen.

1322
01:13:43,720 --> 01:13:47,240
Speaker 2: That's right. Take off the sixty five and older. The

1323
01:13:47,280 --> 01:13:49,400
Speaker 2: majority of them do not make as much. If you're

1324
01:13:49,400 --> 01:13:52,080
Speaker 2: on Social Security, if you're on fixed income, they are

1325
01:13:52,080 --> 01:13:55,720
Speaker 2: not paying as much taxes in either. When you look

1326
01:13:55,800 --> 01:13:59,240
Speaker 2: at this per every man, woman and child is thirty

1327
01:13:59,280 --> 01:14:02,559
Speaker 2: four hundred dollars in the last two budget cycles. But

1328
01:14:02,640 --> 01:14:05,280
Speaker 2: you shave off the eighteen and under, you shave off

1329
01:14:05,280 --> 01:14:07,960
Speaker 2: the sixty five and older, and you're probably close to

1330
01:14:08,040 --> 01:14:12,040
Speaker 2: six thousand dollars every working person in the state of

1331
01:14:12,080 --> 01:14:12,559
Speaker 2: Minus said.

1332
01:14:12,600 --> 01:14:15,479
Speaker 3: You know what, Paul Gazelka blocked me on X because

1333
01:14:15,520 --> 01:14:18,160
Speaker 3: I told him you could have given this money back

1334
01:14:18,200 --> 01:14:20,679
Speaker 3: to the citizens and taken it away from the government,

1335
01:14:20,920 --> 01:14:24,080
Speaker 3: and they could have never expanded these budgets because the

1336
01:14:24,080 --> 01:14:26,360
Speaker 3: money wouldn't have been there. We would have gone back

1337
01:14:26,400 --> 01:14:28,920
Speaker 3: into the pockets of the people. And you could have

1338
01:14:28,960 --> 01:14:33,080
Speaker 3: been a Republican governor with a pansy ass name like Gazelka.

1339
01:14:34,000 --> 01:14:36,280
Speaker 3: So it's like a Hakabee, you know. But you could

1340
01:14:36,280 --> 01:14:38,599
Speaker 3: have done it, could the Gazelka gain? You didn't do it,

1341
01:14:38,760 --> 01:14:41,760
Speaker 3: and you blocked me and you're a coward because I

1342
01:14:41,760 --> 01:14:44,479
Speaker 3: didn't ride you very hard. I got people coming on

1343
01:14:44,680 --> 01:14:47,360
Speaker 3: X tell me they're going to kill me. You know,

1344
01:14:47,439 --> 01:14:51,520
Speaker 3: I don't block them. They say all kinds of anti Semitic,

1345
01:14:51,640 --> 01:14:54,560
Speaker 3: all kinds of awful things come down. I don't block anybody.

1346
01:14:54,760 --> 01:14:58,240
Speaker 3: You want to know why, because this is politics, and

1347
01:14:58,280 --> 01:15:02,160
Speaker 3: it takes some it takes some gumption to do it.

1348
01:15:02,640 --> 01:15:05,839
Speaker 3: So when I actually kind of fairly respectful of everybody,

1349
01:15:05,840 --> 01:15:10,000
Speaker 3: because that's my natural religious background, I don't. I mean,

1350
01:15:10,320 --> 01:15:13,120
Speaker 3: I'm not calling people names and stuff. I'm just saying, hey,

1351
01:15:13,360 --> 01:15:15,320
Speaker 3: this is the facts. Explain this to me and I get.

1352
01:15:15,760 --> 01:15:18,040
Speaker 3: And that's why I'm pissed at this guy, because if

1353
01:15:18,040 --> 01:15:21,599
Speaker 3: that money would have been removed from the coffers, that

1354
01:15:21,760 --> 01:15:24,559
Speaker 3: Nancy Pelosi stuck that money in here to do exactly

1355
01:15:24,600 --> 01:15:28,280
Speaker 3: what happened was to expand this state budget. And that

1356
01:15:28,439 --> 01:15:32,160
Speaker 3: was after COVID had kind of receded. And that's what

1357
01:15:32,240 --> 01:15:36,000
Speaker 3: led to the inflation. Was that particular federal bill they

1358
01:15:36,040 --> 01:15:40,200
Speaker 3: flooded this state with money. The budget expanded by seventeen billion.

1359
01:15:40,240 --> 01:15:43,960
Speaker 3: The Republicans could have demanded that that money went back,

1360
01:15:44,880 --> 01:15:47,960
Speaker 3: and that is my with the UNI Party.

1361
01:15:48,920 --> 01:15:53,240
Speaker 2: It very well could have under the trifecta, you did

1362
01:15:53,280 --> 01:15:56,360
Speaker 2: not have the opportunity to give the money back they

1363
01:15:56,400 --> 01:15:58,320
Speaker 2: spent it. That was the nineteen billion.

1364
01:15:58,080 --> 01:16:01,439
Speaker 3: Dollars before when Gazelko was the leader.

1365
01:16:01,600 --> 01:16:03,719
Speaker 2: So as long as I've been in there, it's pretty

1366
01:16:03,760 --> 01:16:06,479
Speaker 2: tough to do that. But going back to what I

1367
01:16:06,520 --> 01:16:08,920
Speaker 2: was talking about there with the numbers, yes, most of

1368
01:16:08,960 --> 01:16:12,640
Speaker 2: the people in politics are around politics. Don't put it

1369
01:16:12,680 --> 01:16:16,439
Speaker 2: into perspective for the average person. How does a seventeen

1370
01:16:16,479 --> 01:16:19,839
Speaker 2: billion dollar surplus, I mean a seventeen billion dollar increase

1371
01:16:19,840 --> 01:16:23,800
Speaker 2: in government affect me? Most people can't tell you. They

1372
01:16:23,840 --> 01:16:26,160
Speaker 2: don't know, they don't think about it. But once you

1373
01:16:26,200 --> 01:16:30,040
Speaker 2: put it into how does it affect you? If it's

1374
01:16:30,040 --> 01:16:32,719
Speaker 2: going to cost you six thousand dollars every budget cycle,

1375
01:16:33,479 --> 01:16:36,240
Speaker 2: don't you think you, as a taxpayer, could figure out

1376
01:16:36,280 --> 01:16:39,639
Speaker 2: better ways to spend six thousand dollars then the government can.

1377
01:16:40,920 --> 01:16:43,519
Speaker 3: Well, Apparently the way the government's been run, which is

1378
01:16:43,560 --> 01:16:45,559
Speaker 3: another problem I got with it, we got a billion

1379
01:16:45,600 --> 01:16:50,599
Speaker 3: dollars of fraud. You're a businessman, I'm a businessman. You're

1380
01:16:51,920 --> 01:16:55,200
Speaker 3: you're there. You said you're as a legislator from five

1381
01:16:55,320 --> 01:16:59,600
Speaker 3: B your scope. Somebody told you this because this is

1382
01:16:59,640 --> 01:17:02,679
Speaker 3: something you learned. Your votes are about the entire state.

1383
01:17:02,720 --> 01:17:06,519
Speaker 3: They're about you protecting your district, representing your district, but

1384
01:17:06,600 --> 01:17:08,559
Speaker 3: you have to think about it on a stateway basis.

1385
01:17:08,560 --> 01:17:11,360
Speaker 3: Did I understand that correctly? You do? Okay? Great, So

1386
01:17:11,439 --> 01:17:14,120
Speaker 3: I got something to say here to all the Republican legislators,

1387
01:17:14,160 --> 01:17:16,760
Speaker 3: And if I get pissed, I'll start naming names. Everybody's

1388
01:17:16,760 --> 01:17:20,840
Speaker 3: talking about fraud. Now, I'm a businessman, if I did

1389
01:17:20,840 --> 01:17:23,479
Speaker 3: you read the bill? Because when you give people a

1390
01:17:23,600 --> 01:17:27,800
Speaker 3: license to why do you lock doors? You don't lock

1391
01:17:27,880 --> 01:17:31,320
Speaker 3: doors to keep criminals out. That doesn't keep criminals out.

1392
01:17:31,360 --> 01:17:33,479
Speaker 3: You lock a door to keep honest people from stealing.

1393
01:17:34,200 --> 01:17:37,800
Speaker 3: So when you pass legislation that is an open door

1394
01:17:37,840 --> 01:17:41,040
Speaker 3: to fraud and you vote for it, or even if

1395
01:17:41,080 --> 01:17:43,479
Speaker 3: you don't for for it, let's say you opposed that.

1396
01:17:43,479 --> 01:17:46,040
Speaker 3: That's not good enough. You know. Now everybody's standing up

1397
01:17:46,040 --> 01:17:49,360
Speaker 3: going fraud, fraud, fraud. Where were the people four or five, six,

1398
01:17:49,439 --> 01:17:51,720
Speaker 3: eight years ago when these programs were being put in

1399
01:17:51,800 --> 01:17:54,840
Speaker 3: place and saying, hey, all these people have to do

1400
01:17:54,920 --> 01:17:58,360
Speaker 3: is watch a video and they can build medicaid. That's crazy.

1401
01:17:59,200 --> 01:18:02,639
Speaker 3: Where were they? I'm asking? This is a question. I'm

1402
01:18:02,680 --> 01:18:06,360
Speaker 3: asking this because if I'm missing something, I don't want

1403
01:18:06,400 --> 01:18:11,040
Speaker 3: to indict people in my mind for being crass political animals.

1404
01:18:11,360 --> 01:18:14,920
Speaker 3: Maybe they didn't understand it, maybe it was opaque, maybe

1405
01:18:14,920 --> 01:18:18,280
Speaker 3: they don't read the bills. How can you let let

1406
01:18:18,880 --> 01:18:21,760
Speaker 3: I understand not having the votes, you can say, hey,

1407
01:18:21,760 --> 01:18:24,639
Speaker 3: we lost, but let me tell you what we just passed,

1408
01:18:25,000 --> 01:18:28,200
Speaker 3: so that you laid a marker down in the you know,

1409
01:18:28,320 --> 01:18:31,560
Speaker 3: in the public record, that this sets up a predicate

1410
01:18:31,640 --> 01:18:35,960
Speaker 3: for massive fraud, because that's what happened now, and we

1411
01:18:36,040 --> 01:18:37,640
Speaker 3: didn't have the vote, and I'm sure if I go

1412
01:18:37,760 --> 01:18:40,479
Speaker 3: back and look at these votes, plenty of Republicans voted

1413
01:18:40,479 --> 01:18:41,200
Speaker 3: for these bills.

1414
01:18:41,760 --> 01:18:43,120
Speaker 2: I'm sure, And.

1415
01:18:43,040 --> 01:18:46,120
Speaker 3: So I'm asking you, where did this go? Why don't

1416
01:18:46,160 --> 01:18:49,599
Speaker 3: the people talk if they're there to protect if they're

1417
01:18:49,640 --> 01:18:52,880
Speaker 3: the sheep docs and they're there to protect me from

1418
01:18:52,920 --> 01:18:55,599
Speaker 3: the wolf. I'm the sheep, right, I'm the mud people.

1419
01:18:56,200 --> 01:18:59,040
Speaker 3: Why didn't they come out right when the legislation passed

1420
01:18:59,080 --> 01:19:03,200
Speaker 3: and said this is wholly inadequate to protect the public purse?

1421
01:19:03,840 --> 01:19:05,360
Speaker 3: I mean, I really want to know and answered that

1422
01:19:05,360 --> 01:19:06,240
Speaker 3: because I don't get it.

1423
01:19:06,760 --> 01:19:09,320
Speaker 2: So why aren't we still doing that? Is the better question.

1424
01:19:10,080 --> 01:19:12,240
Speaker 2: So one of the things that was passed is paid

1425
01:19:12,240 --> 01:19:16,000
Speaker 2: family medical leave. How many people have heard about this

1426
01:19:16,080 --> 01:19:17,799
Speaker 2: and actually think this is a good idea.

1427
01:19:18,640 --> 01:19:19,880
Speaker 3: I'm a business owner.

1428
01:19:20,960 --> 01:19:24,400
Speaker 2: Eighty percent of businesses already offer some sort of already

1429
01:19:24,479 --> 01:19:27,479
Speaker 2: do medical leave exactly. But you know what's going to

1430
01:19:27,520 --> 01:19:30,519
Speaker 2: happen with that program. First of all, they set the

1431
01:19:30,640 --> 01:19:33,240
Speaker 2: numbers that it was point eight percent was going to

1432
01:19:33,280 --> 01:19:35,320
Speaker 2: come out of your paycheck to pay for this thing,

1433
01:19:35,600 --> 01:19:38,400
Speaker 2: and then it's been bumped up three times now, two

1434
01:19:38,479 --> 01:19:41,280
Speaker 2: or three times. It was capped this year at one

1435
01:19:41,320 --> 01:19:44,840
Speaker 2: point one percent something like that. The system will not

1436
01:19:45,080 --> 01:19:49,880
Speaker 2: run on its own. What you're going to see on

1437
01:19:50,000 --> 01:19:53,840
Speaker 2: that paid family medical leave is people who are going

1438
01:19:53,880 --> 01:19:56,840
Speaker 2: to fraud that system. It is going to be so filled.

1439
01:19:56,920 --> 01:19:59,240
Speaker 3: You're putting down a marker right now here on the

1440
01:19:59,240 --> 01:20:02,839
Speaker 3: professor pimp Eous Thursday night, what's the date? On Thursday

1441
01:20:03,479 --> 01:20:07,960
Speaker 3: the fourteenth, fourteenth of August twenty twenty five. Mike Wiener

1442
01:20:08,040 --> 01:20:12,320
Speaker 3: has said that the paid family leave program is an

1443
01:20:12,320 --> 01:20:14,320
Speaker 3: open door to fraud. Did I get that correctly?

1444
01:20:14,360 --> 01:20:18,840
Speaker 2: Absolutely? Absolutely. I can't change what happened before, but this

1445
01:20:19,000 --> 01:20:21,160
Speaker 2: system within the next couple of years, people are going

1446
01:20:21,240 --> 01:20:24,920
Speaker 2: to say, well, we can't keep it going because there's

1447
01:20:24,960 --> 01:20:27,000
Speaker 2: way more money going out that's coming in. It must

1448
01:20:27,040 --> 01:20:31,040
Speaker 2: be successful. No, it's not successful. How can you verify,

1449
01:20:32,280 --> 01:20:35,080
Speaker 2: especially with some of these small businesses or with the

1450
01:20:35,120 --> 01:20:37,639
Speaker 2: fraud that we're seeing already in this state, that people

1451
01:20:37,720 --> 01:20:41,160
Speaker 2: are actually have the medical conditions and so forth that

1452
01:20:41,200 --> 01:20:43,120
Speaker 2: they say they are. We don't.

1453
01:20:43,880 --> 01:20:44,959
Speaker 3: We don't have the mechanisms.

1454
01:20:45,000 --> 01:20:47,520
Speaker 2: We don't have the mechanisms in place to do this.

1455
01:20:47,520 --> 01:20:50,960
Speaker 2: This is going to be feeding more fraud in our state.

1456
01:20:51,479 --> 01:20:54,000
Speaker 2: And who is going to be paying for it? The

1457
01:20:54,680 --> 01:20:58,639
Speaker 2: tax exactly. So there was a professor that came out

1458
01:20:58,680 --> 01:21:00,840
Speaker 2: and said that that paid family medical leave is going

1459
01:21:00,880 --> 01:21:04,800
Speaker 2: to be about a sixteen percent income tax. He called

1460
01:21:04,840 --> 01:21:07,360
Speaker 2: it an income tax. So we know in the state

1461
01:21:07,400 --> 01:21:09,599
Speaker 2: of Minnesota. We actually know across the nation you talked

1462
01:21:09,600 --> 01:21:14,720
Speaker 2: about industrious people, We know that there's millions, hundreds of

1463
01:21:14,720 --> 01:21:17,840
Speaker 2: millions hours of vacation that are never used by the

1464
01:21:17,880 --> 01:21:20,400
Speaker 2: average person every year. That's just the way we are.

1465
01:21:20,800 --> 01:21:25,320
Speaker 2: We're very hard workers in the country. You're going to

1466
01:21:25,360 --> 01:21:32,200
Speaker 2: be subsidizing somebody else's fraud with that paid family medical leave. Absolutely.

1467
01:21:32,920 --> 01:21:36,080
Speaker 2: So you talk about why it wasn't done before I

1468
01:21:36,120 --> 01:21:38,160
Speaker 2: couldn't give you all the specifics, but I can tell

1469
01:21:38,160 --> 01:21:40,479
Speaker 2: you right now, this is going to be filled with fraud.

1470
01:21:40,920 --> 01:21:42,760
Speaker 2: This is going to be a system down the road

1471
01:21:42,760 --> 01:21:45,000
Speaker 2: where people are going to say, how come nobody sounded

1472
01:21:45,040 --> 01:21:45,479
Speaker 2: the alarm?

1473
01:21:45,600 --> 01:21:46,559
Speaker 3: You just sounded it.

1474
01:21:46,640 --> 01:21:47,599
Speaker 2: I just sounded it.

1475
01:21:47,640 --> 01:21:51,519
Speaker 3: Great. I think that is sensational, and that's what I

1476
01:21:51,720 --> 01:21:56,400
Speaker 3: want from my Republican Party representatives. You know, we don't

1477
01:21:56,439 --> 01:22:01,120
Speaker 3: win every match, but it doesn't deal your voice to

1478
01:22:01,200 --> 01:22:03,680
Speaker 3: call out the truth as you see it. And that

1479
01:22:03,840 --> 01:22:09,280
Speaker 3: is my problem with Kristin Robbins. Sorry, Kristin, Kirsten, whatever

1480
01:22:09,280 --> 01:22:11,240
Speaker 3: your first name is. I'm sorry if I'm getting it wrong.

1481
01:22:12,240 --> 01:22:14,559
Speaker 3: I will say this. She was honest enough at the

1482
01:22:14,640 --> 01:22:17,760
Speaker 3: SD forty, at the CD three convention to admit that

1483
01:22:17,800 --> 01:22:21,320
Speaker 3: she supported Nikki Haley. I appreciated that honesty, you know,

1484
01:22:21,800 --> 01:22:26,479
Speaker 3: but I don't appreciate making a career out of banging

1485
01:22:26,520 --> 01:22:30,879
Speaker 3: the pots and pans after the cow already ran out

1486
01:22:31,160 --> 01:22:34,400
Speaker 3: of the pasture. She could have been every Jim Nash,

1487
01:22:34,479 --> 01:22:38,200
Speaker 3: all these people. Didn't they because you know now you

1488
01:22:38,280 --> 01:22:44,000
Speaker 3: weren't there then. And see, what I want is my party.

1489
01:22:44,080 --> 01:22:46,280
Speaker 3: We don't have to we have a fight in the party.

1490
01:22:46,720 --> 01:22:48,840
Speaker 3: That's just the way it is. And we may lose

1491
01:22:48,880 --> 01:22:51,920
Speaker 3: for a while until we sort this out. And that's politics,

1492
01:22:51,920 --> 01:22:54,920
Speaker 3: and that's okay. The Republicans aren't going to go away

1493
01:22:55,360 --> 01:22:58,559
Speaker 3: in your district. Some of them are what we would

1494
01:22:58,560 --> 01:23:03,240
Speaker 3: call American nationalists and some of them are more traditional Republicans.

1495
01:23:03,439 --> 01:23:09,200
Speaker 3: It's okay. I don't dislike any of the traditional Republicans personally.

1496
01:23:09,479 --> 01:23:13,000
Speaker 3: They're all good people, not all of them, but generally speaking,

1497
01:23:13,040 --> 01:23:16,040
Speaker 3: I get along with everybody personally. But I don't want

1498
01:23:16,080 --> 01:23:19,479
Speaker 3: to go along to get along. I want the party

1499
01:23:19,520 --> 01:23:23,519
Speaker 3: to stand up and recognize that there are problems in

1500
01:23:23,560 --> 01:23:25,680
Speaker 3: our state. Like the University of Minnesota. Well there's a

1501
01:23:25,720 --> 01:23:30,560
Speaker 3: little bit of about these regions. Get into the university

1502
01:23:30,600 --> 01:23:32,719
Speaker 3: and look at the fraud that's going out out there,

1503
01:23:33,320 --> 01:23:37,400
Speaker 3: billions of dollars going down rat holes and nobody's looking

1504
01:23:37,439 --> 01:23:40,800
Speaker 3: at it. And you know, Representative Rarek, which I give

1505
01:23:40,840 --> 01:23:43,599
Speaker 3: her kudos, forced it up and said, over a couple

1506
01:23:43,680 --> 01:23:46,240
Speaker 3: thousand people at the university make more than the governor.

1507
01:23:46,920 --> 01:23:49,080
Speaker 3: What's next, Representative Rareck.

1508
01:23:48,880 --> 01:23:49,439
Speaker 2: What's next?

1509
01:23:49,520 --> 01:23:51,760
Speaker 3: What's now? I mean, don't you just because if there's

1510
01:23:51,800 --> 01:23:54,320
Speaker 3: nothing next, it's just politics.

1511
01:23:54,680 --> 01:23:57,800
Speaker 2: Well, let's look at that higher ed bill. Let's look

1512
01:23:57,800 --> 01:24:01,760
Speaker 2: at the universities. It is important for our country, for

1513
01:24:01,840 --> 01:24:05,439
Speaker 2: our society to have higher education. I mean this goes

1514
01:24:05,520 --> 01:24:09,920
Speaker 2: back through the church teaching. I mean the university system

1515
01:24:10,479 --> 01:24:13,800
Speaker 2: was set up basically by the Catholic Church. It is

1516
01:24:13,880 --> 01:24:18,559
Speaker 2: effective to educating people and it's highly important that we

1517
01:24:18,600 --> 01:24:18,840
Speaker 2: do it.

1518
01:24:18,920 --> 01:24:21,719
Speaker 3: Do you ever think about being a priest? No, okay,

1519
01:24:21,720 --> 01:24:25,080
Speaker 3: I'm just asking just this was just an idea. Go ahead.

1520
01:24:25,240 --> 01:24:27,799
Speaker 3: So yes, the church, the Catholic Church was very important

1521
01:24:27,880 --> 01:24:31,559
Speaker 3: setting up all over the globe. Absolutely the system, but

1522
01:24:31,640 --> 01:24:35,880
Speaker 3: go ahead with this bill. So the education it has

1523
01:24:36,000 --> 01:24:42,400
Speaker 3: turned from what is how do I put it? The

1524
01:24:42,560 --> 01:24:45,880
Speaker 3: education was supposed to be something that would improve a society.

1525
01:24:46,560 --> 01:24:49,120
Speaker 3: It was supposed to make it better. But what we've

1526
01:24:49,160 --> 01:24:52,200
Speaker 3: seen is ideologies that are coming in are the main

1527
01:24:52,640 --> 01:24:56,800
Speaker 3: focus of the higher education systems. It's not supposed to

1528
01:24:56,840 --> 01:25:00,000
Speaker 3: be this way. I don't feel and Trump is attacked

1529
01:25:00,240 --> 01:25:05,960
Speaker 3: it like a fury. I mean, Columbia, Harvard, He's after

1530
01:25:06,040 --> 01:25:07,920
Speaker 3: these schools. He's trying to change that.

1531
01:25:08,800 --> 01:25:12,120
Speaker 2: So we have there's a couple issues with the higher

1532
01:25:12,200 --> 01:25:15,800
Speaker 2: education system. First of all, are your degree is worth

1533
01:25:15,840 --> 01:25:19,360
Speaker 2: what they were in the past. I mean, when you

1534
01:25:19,439 --> 01:25:24,120
Speaker 2: went to a Ivy League school, it had it had clout,

1535
01:25:24,360 --> 01:25:29,280
Speaker 2: it had value. Now I've asked people and said, what

1536
01:25:30,240 --> 01:25:35,200
Speaker 2: value does that certificate hold nowadays? And I've literally had

1537
01:25:35,240 --> 01:25:38,120
Speaker 2: people that have said, and I believe this is this

1538
01:25:38,280 --> 01:25:41,600
Speaker 2: the common thought process out there. It is not so

1539
01:25:41,720 --> 01:25:46,960
Speaker 2: much about the education, it's about the connections. Hold on here.

1540
01:25:47,880 --> 01:25:51,240
Speaker 2: Isn't that system of it higher edd supposed to be

1541
01:25:51,280 --> 01:25:52,000
Speaker 2: about education?

1542
01:25:53,120 --> 01:25:56,400
Speaker 3: Well, isn't it. My father taught at university for over

1543
01:25:56,439 --> 01:25:58,559
Speaker 3: fifty years, and I grew up in the university system

1544
01:25:59,600 --> 01:26:05,200
Speaker 3: and it changed from the sixties into the nineties tremendously.

1545
01:26:06,280 --> 01:26:08,560
Speaker 3: And I will say in terms of the state of Minnesota,

1546
01:26:09,000 --> 01:26:11,200
Speaker 3: and this is something we just have to be honest about.

1547
01:26:11,600 --> 01:26:14,160
Speaker 3: We're not honest about it because of course our kids

1548
01:26:14,200 --> 01:26:16,879
Speaker 3: are being educated there, and it's the University of Minnesota,

1549
01:26:16,880 --> 01:26:19,479
Speaker 3: it's the golfers, and we got all these positive feelings

1550
01:26:19,479 --> 01:26:22,040
Speaker 3: about it. But what really went on out there because

1551
01:26:22,080 --> 01:26:23,960
Speaker 3: I was in the room. Let me tell you a story.

1552
01:26:24,560 --> 01:26:29,840
Speaker 3: I was in the room. In nineteen sixty nine. Eugene McCarthy,

1553
01:26:29,920 --> 01:26:34,120
Speaker 3: who was a Minnesota senator, was a super dove anti

1554
01:26:34,200 --> 01:26:40,000
Speaker 3: war senator, lost the Democratic endorsement to run for president,

1555
01:26:40,040 --> 01:26:43,040
Speaker 3: and on the D side to another son of Minnesota,

1556
01:26:43,120 --> 01:26:46,920
Speaker 3: Hubert Humphrey, who was a what we would call the

1557
01:26:47,040 --> 01:26:49,479
Speaker 3: Uni Party. Now he was a supporter of the Vietnam War,

1558
01:26:50,000 --> 01:26:53,719
Speaker 3: and McCarthy was not in the party. You know, endorsed Humphrey.

1559
01:26:54,600 --> 01:26:58,520
Speaker 3: And you know, my mother was working in the McCarthy campaign,

1560
01:27:00,040 --> 01:27:02,599
Speaker 3: and my father was a leader of the anti war

1561
01:27:02,880 --> 01:27:06,320
Speaker 3: movement out at the university. And they sat down and

1562
01:27:06,360 --> 01:27:11,519
Speaker 3: they said, man, we cannot change this system this way.

1563
01:27:12,040 --> 01:27:15,800
Speaker 3: It's not going to work. We got another idea. Let's

1564
01:27:15,800 --> 01:27:21,840
Speaker 3: take the university from a conservative institution that preserves traditional

1565
01:27:21,960 --> 01:27:26,040
Speaker 3: values and let's turn it to the left. And how

1566
01:27:26,080 --> 01:27:27,880
Speaker 3: are we going to do that. We're going to work

1567
01:27:27,920 --> 01:27:31,040
Speaker 3: on the tenure system and we're going to make sure

1568
01:27:31,080 --> 01:27:35,240
Speaker 3: that the people that get tenure at the university have

1569
01:27:35,320 --> 01:27:38,920
Speaker 3: a certain ideology. It's not really going to be so

1570
01:27:39,120 --> 01:27:42,960
Speaker 3: much about the search for truth. It's going to be about, well,

1571
01:27:43,000 --> 01:27:46,479
Speaker 3: there's this military and these people are against the military industrial complex,

1572
01:27:46,720 --> 01:27:49,479
Speaker 3: no different than certain parts of the mega movement. We

1573
01:27:49,600 --> 01:27:53,880
Speaker 3: got to take down this governmental group. And we're going

1574
01:27:53,960 --> 01:27:56,960
Speaker 3: to do it. Because university is usuallyland grant research institution,

1575
01:27:57,080 --> 01:28:00,200
Speaker 3: we're going to get control of this institution. And of

1576
01:28:00,200 --> 01:28:02,439
Speaker 3: course now those people that did that in the sixties,

1577
01:28:02,840 --> 01:28:06,599
Speaker 3: they're more like your neighbors that were dflers, but they

1578
01:28:06,760 --> 01:28:11,800
Speaker 3: spawned a cascade of further and further and left academics,

1579
01:28:12,360 --> 01:28:16,160
Speaker 3: and now those people wouldn't even recognize the folks back

1580
01:28:16,160 --> 01:28:18,960
Speaker 3: in the sixties. And what we now have is a

1581
01:28:19,000 --> 01:28:23,280
Speaker 3: finishing school for leftism that right down to your kindergarten teacher,

1582
01:28:24,080 --> 01:28:27,160
Speaker 3: you got a leftist and we're not dealing with that.

1583
01:28:27,800 --> 01:28:30,000
Speaker 3: And we don't have to win this. Let me find out,

1584
01:28:30,080 --> 01:28:32,519
Speaker 3: let's give the floor back to you. We don't have

1585
01:28:32,600 --> 01:28:38,559
Speaker 3: to win political control to start talking about the truth.

1586
01:28:38,600 --> 01:28:40,479
Speaker 3: And why don't we do it. We're afraid to lose it.

1587
01:28:40,880 --> 01:28:43,519
Speaker 3: We'd rather win than tell the truth. Do you agree

1588
01:28:43,520 --> 01:28:44,240
Speaker 3: with that statement?

1589
01:28:47,120 --> 01:28:50,599
Speaker 2: I think was Marcus Aurelias said, I would rather lose

1590
01:28:50,640 --> 01:28:55,600
Speaker 2: with integrity than win by deception. So I think we

1591
01:28:55,720 --> 01:28:58,120
Speaker 2: have to call some of this stuff out. Now. I

1592
01:28:58,200 --> 01:29:01,960
Speaker 2: use a certain amount of discretion about some of these things.

1593
01:29:02,720 --> 01:29:05,000
Speaker 2: Sometimes I will admit that I look at it and

1594
01:29:05,040 --> 01:29:08,520
Speaker 2: I go I need to do more research before I

1595
01:29:08,560 --> 01:29:11,879
Speaker 2: weigh in on something. But when you look at the

1596
01:29:11,880 --> 01:29:14,599
Speaker 2: the high at the higher education system, at the colleges.

1597
01:29:14,640 --> 01:29:18,840
Speaker 2: You're exactly right. We talked before about how Reagan had

1598
01:29:18,880 --> 01:29:21,080
Speaker 2: looked at communism and the threats that were coming in.

1599
01:29:22,200 --> 01:29:25,200
Speaker 2: Taking over high education was one of them. That was

1600
01:29:25,280 --> 01:29:28,639
Speaker 2: that was critical to what they were doing because Stalin said,

1601
01:29:30,120 --> 01:29:32,040
Speaker 2: give me three years of educating your kids, and I

1602
01:29:32,040 --> 01:29:35,920
Speaker 2: will plant seeds that will never be uproaded. This is

1603
01:29:35,960 --> 01:29:38,920
Speaker 2: how you change a country from the inside. We have

1604
01:29:40,000 --> 01:29:44,479
Speaker 2: turned a socialist communist through the education system, and we're

1605
01:29:44,520 --> 01:29:50,679
Speaker 2: feeding that system as legislators with money, billions billions of dollars.

1606
01:29:51,680 --> 01:29:56,080
Speaker 2: I want higher education. I want that search for truth,

1607
01:29:56,439 --> 01:30:00,280
Speaker 2: the science, the medical part that's there is absolutely huge.

1608
01:30:00,360 --> 01:30:04,880
Speaker 2: We need that, But in its current form, the way

1609
01:30:04,920 --> 01:30:07,840
Speaker 2: it's going and our tax payers that are paying for this,

1610
01:30:09,320 --> 01:30:13,439
Speaker 2: it's not sustainable. What are we producing. Are you producing

1611
01:30:13,520 --> 01:30:16,760
Speaker 2: a piece of paper there that has value? I don't

1612
01:30:16,760 --> 01:30:26,760
Speaker 2: think so. Because they've gone so far left. Aristotle talks

1613
01:30:26,800 --> 01:30:32,480
Speaker 2: about the golden the middle right, stay away from the extremes.

1614
01:30:33,080 --> 01:30:36,720
Speaker 2: I would say that the extremes in higher education have

1615
01:30:36,840 --> 01:30:39,080
Speaker 2: gone so far left that we have to get back

1616
01:30:39,400 --> 01:30:41,800
Speaker 2: to the center. We have to get back to an

1617
01:30:41,920 --> 01:30:45,040
Speaker 2: education that when you look at that paper. It's not

1618
01:30:45,320 --> 01:30:47,760
Speaker 2: just about connecting with other people who have the same

1619
01:30:47,800 --> 01:30:51,160
Speaker 2: piece of paper. It means you have spent the time,

1620
01:30:51,960 --> 01:30:57,360
Speaker 2: you are talented, and that paper says that that education

1621
01:30:57,600 --> 01:31:01,000
Speaker 2: has value. Right now, I don't know that it's and

1622
01:31:01,040 --> 01:31:02,880
Speaker 2: I don't know that we should be taking tax payer

1623
01:31:02,880 --> 01:31:06,080
Speaker 2: money to the extent that we are to pay for

1624
01:31:06,120 --> 01:31:08,840
Speaker 2: a system to get people a piece of paper that

1625
01:31:08,880 --> 01:31:10,479
Speaker 2: doesn't have the same value that it used to.

1626
01:31:10,800 --> 01:31:14,040
Speaker 3: Well, it has a value, but it's not the same value.

1627
01:31:14,640 --> 01:31:16,519
Speaker 3: I just want to make a distinction. It's not that

1628
01:31:16,600 --> 01:31:19,599
Speaker 3: it doesn't have a value, it's a different value than

1629
01:31:19,640 --> 01:31:25,040
Speaker 3: what it had traditionally. What it did traditionally had meant

1630
01:31:25,080 --> 01:31:29,200
Speaker 3: I have mastered a subject or the ability to learn.

1631
01:31:29,479 --> 01:31:34,400
Speaker 3: I've shown up on time, I've performed these tasks, and

1632
01:31:34,439 --> 01:31:38,120
Speaker 3: you can rely on me. If you're a business owner,

1633
01:31:38,200 --> 01:31:42,360
Speaker 3: I can hire you knowing that we have a common

1634
01:31:42,560 --> 01:31:45,760
Speaker 3: understanding of how the world is going to work. I

1635
01:31:45,760 --> 01:31:47,400
Speaker 3: don't know how you do this in your business, but

1636
01:31:47,439 --> 01:31:49,720
Speaker 3: in my business, when I hire people show up with

1637
01:31:49,720 --> 01:31:52,400
Speaker 3: college degrees, I don't even interview them anymore. I don't

1638
01:31:52,439 --> 01:31:55,320
Speaker 3: want to deal with it. I don't want to deal

1639
01:31:55,640 --> 01:32:00,280
Speaker 3: with that deprogramming that I have to do to just

1640
01:32:00,280 --> 01:32:03,960
Speaker 3: make money because they got a different agenda. And I'm

1641
01:32:03,960 --> 01:32:06,520
Speaker 3: just talking as a business owner now. I mean, I'm

1642
01:32:06,560 --> 01:32:11,000
Speaker 3: saying the people in the street for the tire business,

1643
01:32:11,040 --> 01:32:16,400
Speaker 3: the people that are uneducated are easier for me to

1644
01:32:16,520 --> 01:32:19,080
Speaker 3: work into my business and make them productive in my

1645
01:32:19,200 --> 01:32:22,760
Speaker 3: business than is to take someone that graduated from Columbia University.

1646
01:32:23,960 --> 01:32:28,439
Speaker 2: When I look at hiring nowadays, granted, most of the

1647
01:32:28,520 --> 01:32:32,040
Speaker 2: people that fall into that age bracket are going to

1648
01:32:32,080 --> 01:32:38,680
Speaker 2: move slower, They're going to be have health issues. I

1649
01:32:38,680 --> 01:32:42,080
Speaker 2: would rather take somebody that's older, that has lived a

1650
01:32:42,120 --> 01:32:43,760
Speaker 2: little bit of life that is going to be a

1651
01:32:43,800 --> 01:32:47,320
Speaker 2: little bit slower. I don't have to tell them how

1652
01:32:47,360 --> 01:32:50,040
Speaker 2: to work. I will take somebody a little bit older,

1653
01:32:50,600 --> 01:32:55,680
Speaker 2: you know, even in fifties, sixties, whatever it is. They

1654
01:32:55,720 --> 01:32:59,479
Speaker 2: know how to work. They have experience in life, and

1655
01:32:59,479 --> 01:33:02,160
Speaker 2: they're going to say, well, you know, maybe we should

1656
01:33:02,160 --> 01:33:03,439
Speaker 2: do it this way, and I'm gonna listen to it.

1657
01:33:05,080 --> 01:33:07,559
Speaker 2: You take a young person and not all of them,

1658
01:33:07,720 --> 01:33:09,960
Speaker 2: and we can't generalize, we.

1659
01:33:09,920 --> 01:33:12,240
Speaker 3: Can't broad brush the whole crew, right.

1660
01:33:12,600 --> 01:33:16,000
Speaker 2: But there's young people who have had an education that

1661
01:33:16,080 --> 01:33:20,120
Speaker 2: are experts on stuff. But no real world experience, and

1662
01:33:20,160 --> 01:33:21,639
Speaker 2: we'll come out and say, well, this is the way

1663
01:33:21,640 --> 01:33:24,200
Speaker 2: it should be done. Okay, try to apply that in

1664
01:33:24,240 --> 01:33:32,000
Speaker 2: the real world. Doesnt hours work? It's amazing to me that. Well,

1665
01:33:32,320 --> 01:33:35,639
Speaker 2: let's back up. I think we have to go back

1666
01:33:35,640 --> 01:33:41,240
Speaker 2: to those principles. What works, Where does knowledge? Where does

1667
01:33:41,320 --> 01:33:45,120
Speaker 2: truth come from? When we look at the ideologies that

1668
01:33:45,160 --> 01:33:50,439
Speaker 2: are being promoted in higher education, it's not working. So

1669
01:33:51,000 --> 01:33:55,040
Speaker 2: let's change that system. And instead of funding that, let's say,

1670
01:33:55,080 --> 01:33:58,479
Speaker 2: okay until you put X, Y and Z in place.

1671
01:33:59,320 --> 01:34:03,160
Speaker 2: And we're not going to I mean we as legislators,

1672
01:34:03,240 --> 01:34:05,479
Speaker 2: especially in the house, what is our job is to

1673
01:34:05,520 --> 01:34:08,720
Speaker 2: control the purse strings. If we don't like the way

1674
01:34:08,760 --> 01:34:12,080
Speaker 2: the higher education system is leaning, then isn't it our

1675
01:34:12,160 --> 01:34:16,760
Speaker 2: responsibility to hold back some of that money or to

1676
01:34:16,920 --> 01:34:20,200
Speaker 2: say until this changes, you don't get this money.

1677
01:34:20,320 --> 01:34:23,759
Speaker 3: Or even offer more if you make these changes. Sure,

1678
01:34:23,880 --> 01:34:26,599
Speaker 3: because you know, one of the things that I noticed

1679
01:34:26,960 --> 01:34:30,000
Speaker 3: my father when he was teaching in the sixties, he

1680
01:34:30,120 --> 01:34:32,439
Speaker 3: used to shovel tar for the city of Saint Paul

1681
01:34:32,479 --> 01:34:34,880
Speaker 3: to feed me. But by the time we got to

1682
01:34:34,920 --> 01:34:38,760
Speaker 3: the nineties, it was a damn good job. You know,

1683
01:34:39,360 --> 01:34:41,439
Speaker 3: not a lot of work if you didn't want to work,

1684
01:34:41,520 --> 01:34:45,520
Speaker 3: you didn't have to work that hard. Lots of pay, sabbaticals,

1685
01:34:45,560 --> 01:34:49,320
Speaker 3: three months off your state employees, state pension, state medical.

1686
01:34:49,760 --> 01:34:53,599
Speaker 3: It's a really great job, but it's you know, back

1687
01:34:53,640 --> 01:34:56,240
Speaker 3: in the day, the people that taught because there was

1688
01:34:56,240 --> 01:34:59,320
Speaker 3: no money in it. You had to really love the

1689
01:34:59,360 --> 01:35:03,320
Speaker 3: idea of teach. But when the government got so involved

1690
01:35:03,320 --> 01:35:07,000
Speaker 3: in higher education and it became a gravy train, all

1691
01:35:07,000 --> 01:35:09,800
Speaker 3: of a sudden, we got people in there that didn't

1692
01:35:09,840 --> 01:35:10,880
Speaker 3: left teaching so much.

1693
01:35:12,160 --> 01:35:15,000
Speaker 2: I think the way Trump is going after the colleges

1694
01:35:15,800 --> 01:35:19,280
Speaker 2: shows how well he understands that system and how it

1695
01:35:19,360 --> 01:35:23,200
Speaker 2: has not been working for America for quite some time.

1696
01:35:23,560 --> 01:35:26,240
Speaker 3: I think your comment there is beautiful, and I've said

1697
01:35:26,240 --> 01:35:31,320
Speaker 3: this on the podcast just recently. We experiment as human beings,

1698
01:35:31,479 --> 01:35:34,920
Speaker 3: like I talked about like Tanner's got a young daughter,

1699
01:35:35,479 --> 01:35:37,360
Speaker 3: and you know, she's crawling around, she's putting everything in

1700
01:35:37,400 --> 01:35:41,599
Speaker 3: her mouth, she's experimenting, and we are not that much

1701
01:35:41,640 --> 01:35:44,640
Speaker 3: more sophisticated than that little kid crawling around. And we

1702
01:35:44,760 --> 01:35:48,400
Speaker 3: try this, and we try that. People said, geez, we

1703
01:35:48,439 --> 01:35:51,080
Speaker 3: tried this religion thing for two thousand years. It doesn't

1704
01:35:51,120 --> 01:35:55,320
Speaker 3: seem to be working, Let's try something else. Okay, but

1705
01:35:55,439 --> 01:35:58,280
Speaker 3: we didn't need two thousand years to find out it's

1706
01:35:58,320 --> 01:36:01,360
Speaker 3: not really working. So what you're saying is, yeah, I'm

1707
01:36:01,400 --> 01:36:04,440
Speaker 3: open to other ideas, but let's look at the results.

1708
01:36:05,120 --> 01:36:07,599
Speaker 3: And the results don't seem to be making any better

1709
01:36:07,680 --> 01:36:12,680
Speaker 3: life for the people. And what I'm really bullied by

1710
01:36:12,720 --> 01:36:15,000
Speaker 3: that you're not running away from this because I had

1711
01:36:15,000 --> 01:36:17,840
Speaker 3: some of your colleagues on there. You start talking about teachers. Oh,

1712
01:36:17,880 --> 01:36:21,439
Speaker 3: they run for the hills because there's a teachers union. Okay,

1713
01:36:21,479 --> 01:36:24,880
Speaker 3: you know, hey, hey, okay, great, as you just said,

1714
01:36:25,320 --> 01:36:28,000
Speaker 3: what was that quote you just said about it's better

1715
01:36:28,040 --> 01:36:32,479
Speaker 3: to you It was some philosopher's quote about winning or

1716
01:36:32,560 --> 01:36:33,320
Speaker 3: searching for truth.

1717
01:36:33,439 --> 01:36:37,080
Speaker 2: Oh, it's better to lose with integrity than win by

1718
01:36:37,160 --> 01:36:38,360
Speaker 2: fraud or.

1719
01:36:38,120 --> 01:36:41,400
Speaker 3: By I want that to be the Republican Party of Minnesota.

1720
01:36:41,479 --> 01:36:44,800
Speaker 3: I'd rather lose with integrity. And they don't understand when

1721
01:36:44,840 --> 01:36:47,439
Speaker 3: I say this, because they're all about winning. As you

1722
01:36:47,640 --> 01:36:51,840
Speaker 3: just said, that feeling is addicting. But I would rather

1723
01:36:51,920 --> 01:36:55,879
Speaker 3: lose with integrity searching for truth than win through deception.

1724
01:36:56,479 --> 01:36:59,840
Speaker 2: So, and I think my point with this is we

1725
01:37:00,160 --> 01:37:04,240
Speaker 2: can win. We don't have to lose with integrity. I

1726
01:37:04,240 --> 01:37:05,840
Speaker 2: think we win with integrity.

1727
01:37:06,000 --> 01:37:08,200
Speaker 3: Well, okay, so by telling the truth.

1728
01:37:08,240 --> 01:37:11,519
Speaker 2: By telling the truth, we can also win by promoting

1729
01:37:11,520 --> 01:37:14,960
Speaker 2: our ideas. And what works better? Why do we run

1730
01:37:15,000 --> 01:37:17,920
Speaker 2: away from an issue like the teachers. I've got many friends,

1731
01:37:18,680 --> 01:37:22,200
Speaker 2: many friends who are teachers in our local school districts,

1732
01:37:22,640 --> 01:37:25,120
Speaker 2: talk to them all the time. I am for education,

1733
01:37:26,720 --> 01:37:31,880
Speaker 2: I'm for many different types of education. If we know

1734
01:37:32,560 --> 01:37:37,400
Speaker 2: that every student is different, every child is different. I

1735
01:37:37,439 --> 01:37:41,240
Speaker 2: have nine my wife and have nine kids, and every

1736
01:37:41,240 --> 01:37:43,880
Speaker 2: single one of them is different when it comes to

1737
01:37:43,920 --> 01:37:47,200
Speaker 2: their education, how can we say that only one style

1738
01:37:47,240 --> 01:37:50,680
Speaker 2: of education works. And really, let's step back and take

1739
01:37:50,680 --> 01:37:52,680
Speaker 2: a look at the education system that's been put in

1740
01:37:52,720 --> 01:37:56,840
Speaker 2: place for the last roughly one hundred years. Was put

1741
01:37:56,880 --> 01:38:02,360
Speaker 2: in place, it's the Russian Prussian I'm sorry, military model

1742
01:38:03,200 --> 01:38:11,000
Speaker 2: to train soldiers to get them accustom to lining up bells.

1743
01:38:11,200 --> 01:38:14,200
Speaker 2: And it worked very well when it was applied in

1744
01:38:14,240 --> 01:38:19,439
Speaker 2: the United States by people who promoted the industrial revolution.

1745
01:38:20,040 --> 01:38:23,320
Speaker 2: It took people off the farms, put them in rows,

1746
01:38:24,160 --> 01:38:28,360
Speaker 2: got them to live by a series of times. You know,

1747
01:38:28,479 --> 01:38:30,600
Speaker 2: the bell rings, you do this, the bell rings you

1748
01:38:30,640 --> 01:38:30,880
Speaker 2: do that?

1749
01:38:32,520 --> 01:38:35,000
Speaker 3: Which one was it?

1750
01:38:35,120 --> 01:38:37,799
Speaker 2: Rockefeller had said, I don't want a nation of thinkers.

1751
01:38:37,840 --> 01:38:40,960
Speaker 2: I want a nation of workers. They use that model

1752
01:38:42,040 --> 01:38:46,720
Speaker 2: in order to train workers for the industrial revolution. We

1753
01:38:46,800 --> 01:38:50,000
Speaker 2: know kids are different. We have got experience, We've got

1754
01:38:50,120 --> 01:38:53,679
Speaker 2: more knowledge now than we've more access to knowledge. Shouldn't

1755
01:38:53,680 --> 01:38:55,880
Speaker 2: say we always apply it. We don't always have the knowledge.

1756
01:38:56,040 --> 01:38:58,160
Speaker 2: We have more access to knowledge now than we've ever

1757
01:38:58,160 --> 01:39:02,000
Speaker 2: had before. I can look at my nine kids and say,

1758
01:39:02,000 --> 01:39:04,080
Speaker 2: every one of them is different, and we've tried different

1759
01:39:04,080 --> 01:39:09,559
Speaker 2: things for their schooling. We've tried public education, we've tried

1760
01:39:09,600 --> 01:39:19,920
Speaker 2: parochial education, We've tried trying to think what we tried

1761
01:39:19,960 --> 01:39:22,799
Speaker 2: with one of them boarding, That's the word I was thinking.

1762
01:39:23,280 --> 01:39:26,000
Speaker 2: We've tried many different things. Right now, the youngest four

1763
01:39:26,360 --> 01:39:30,960
Speaker 2: are homeschooled, and every one of them is different, and

1764
01:39:31,120 --> 01:39:34,240
Speaker 2: some of them thrive under one style of education and

1765
01:39:34,320 --> 01:39:37,080
Speaker 2: the next one might not. So why do we say

1766
01:39:37,080 --> 01:39:39,600
Speaker 2: that in public education, the only way to do this

1767
01:39:40,200 --> 01:39:42,640
Speaker 2: is to put them in a public school. Why do

1768
01:39:42,680 --> 01:39:45,760
Speaker 2: we say that education or this style of education is

1769
01:39:45,800 --> 01:39:48,600
Speaker 2: the only way that this will work when we know

1770
01:39:49,040 --> 01:39:53,760
Speaker 2: every kid is different, every demographic is different, every one

1771
01:39:53,760 --> 01:39:57,080
Speaker 2: of those small railroad towns in my area is different.

1772
01:39:58,240 --> 01:40:00,320
Speaker 2: And yet we say the education is only he got

1773
01:40:00,360 --> 01:40:05,360
Speaker 2: one model. Why why do we do that?

1774
01:40:05,520 --> 01:40:06,439
Speaker 3: Why do we do that?

1775
01:40:07,080 --> 01:40:09,160
Speaker 2: Well, like I said before, it was meant it was

1776
01:40:09,200 --> 01:40:14,240
Speaker 2: set up to train workers for the industrial revolution. And

1777
01:40:14,280 --> 01:40:16,840
Speaker 2: when you feed this system and say this is the

1778
01:40:16,880 --> 01:40:18,800
Speaker 2: only thing that works, and it has a monopoly in

1779
01:40:18,800 --> 01:40:23,240
Speaker 2: the state of Minnesota. But don't you think those the

1780
01:40:23,320 --> 01:40:26,000
Speaker 2: majority of those teachers want what's best for the kids.

1781
01:40:26,960 --> 01:40:29,840
Speaker 2: I don't know, I would hope, so I think a

1782
01:40:29,880 --> 01:40:32,000
Speaker 2: lot of them do. I think the majority of them do.

1783
01:40:33,920 --> 01:40:34,000
Speaker 3: So.

1784
01:40:34,080 --> 01:40:36,560
Speaker 4: Then the public school, because I'll say public school of

1785
01:40:36,640 --> 01:40:39,479
Speaker 4: fun like or how much teachers are paid. One of

1786
01:40:39,479 --> 01:40:42,280
Speaker 4: my favorite teachers, he was completely honest with me how

1787
01:40:42,360 --> 01:40:44,320
Speaker 4: much he got paid, and he was still only making

1788
01:40:44,400 --> 01:40:46,679
Speaker 4: sixty K and he had been with the school district

1789
01:40:46,720 --> 01:40:47,800
Speaker 4: for almost twenty years.

1790
01:40:48,040 --> 01:40:48,280
Speaker 2: Yep.

1791
01:40:48,479 --> 01:40:52,160
Speaker 4: So there, you know, those those level of teachers, they're

1792
01:40:52,160 --> 01:40:54,560
Speaker 4: definitely in because of the passion.

1793
01:40:54,280 --> 01:40:57,839
Speaker 2: They do care. I believe that, yeah, and I support

1794
01:40:57,920 --> 01:41:00,240
Speaker 2: those teachers. Now I can think of one specific in

1795
01:41:00,280 --> 01:41:02,680
Speaker 2: my own education, because I went to public school for

1796
01:41:02,720 --> 01:41:07,839
Speaker 2: a while, I saw education through three different forms, private

1797
01:41:08,240 --> 01:41:11,439
Speaker 2: parochial school to begin with, went to public for a while,

1798
01:41:12,240 --> 01:41:15,160
Speaker 2: homeschooled for a year, a year, and then back to public.

1799
01:41:16,880 --> 01:41:19,559
Speaker 2: So I saw the differences, and I saw what works

1800
01:41:19,600 --> 01:41:22,479
Speaker 2: and what didn't. And I think about it later and

1801
01:41:23,360 --> 01:41:25,479
Speaker 2: it's amazing to me. And my parents gave me that

1802
01:41:25,560 --> 01:41:30,000
Speaker 2: opportunity to figure out what throught what made me. And

1803
01:41:30,040 --> 01:41:34,360
Speaker 2: it wasn't necessarily that they looked at each one of

1804
01:41:34,400 --> 01:41:37,439
Speaker 2: us different. It was opportunities that arose at that time.

1805
01:41:39,520 --> 01:41:42,080
Speaker 2: But I look at the public education system that I had,

1806
01:41:42,320 --> 01:41:45,240
Speaker 2: and I had some great teachers, I really did. I

1807
01:41:45,240 --> 01:41:48,280
Speaker 2: think some of them were absolutely amazing, and then there

1808
01:41:48,320 --> 01:41:51,120
Speaker 2: were some that I said, what are you doing teaching here?

1809
01:41:52,280 --> 01:41:55,280
Speaker 2: I can remember one of the teachers that said, if

1810
01:41:55,320 --> 01:41:57,400
Speaker 2: you're going to fall asleep in my class, put your

1811
01:41:57,400 --> 01:42:00,160
Speaker 2: head on the desk so you don't get whiplash. And

1812
01:42:00,200 --> 01:42:04,280
Speaker 2: this was a subject that I really enjoyed. I loved history.

1813
01:42:05,000 --> 01:42:09,320
Speaker 2: When the teacher said that, as I'm switching classes because

1814
01:42:09,320 --> 01:42:11,040
Speaker 2: I'm probably not going to learn. If you're not going

1815
01:42:11,080 --> 01:42:14,720
Speaker 2: to keep us excited about education, then I'm not going

1816
01:42:14,760 --> 01:42:16,759
Speaker 2: to learn anything in this class, I switch classes.

1817
01:42:17,240 --> 01:42:18,760
Speaker 3: What we're talking about here at the end of the

1818
01:42:18,760 --> 01:42:25,160
Speaker 3: podcast is probably the most important element of what we

1819
01:42:25,280 --> 01:42:28,599
Speaker 3: do as a society, which is educate our children. And

1820
01:42:28,640 --> 01:42:31,800
Speaker 3: what we're saying that we're agreeing that the education has

1821
01:42:31,840 --> 01:42:37,679
Speaker 3: become an indoctrination system, that the value of that degree

1822
01:42:37,680 --> 01:42:39,960
Speaker 3: that comes out the other end is different than what

1823
01:42:40,120 --> 01:42:44,400
Speaker 3: it was when we were younger, and that the legislature

1824
01:42:44,520 --> 01:42:48,000
Speaker 3: has the power at least to start calling it out

1825
01:42:48,000 --> 01:42:49,960
Speaker 3: if it doesn't have the votes to change the budget.

1826
01:42:50,560 --> 01:42:53,120
Speaker 3: The people and you're calling it out, And there's a

1827
01:42:53,120 --> 01:42:55,800
Speaker 3: lot of bravery in that. I mean because I've had

1828
01:42:55,800 --> 01:42:57,240
Speaker 3: a lot of other people in here and I've tried

1829
01:42:57,280 --> 01:43:00,680
Speaker 3: to lead the conversation in this direction, and I you know,

1830
01:43:00,760 --> 01:43:04,439
Speaker 3: I've been rebuffed. I know Tanner remembers me getting rebuff

1831
01:43:04,479 --> 01:43:06,840
Speaker 3: with people. And we're not going there. And I think

1832
01:43:06,880 --> 01:43:08,479
Speaker 3: we need to go there. We need to go into

1833
01:43:08,520 --> 01:43:11,800
Speaker 3: the places we're most afraid to go politically.

1834
01:43:12,479 --> 01:43:16,680
Speaker 2: So when it comes to school choice or voucher systems,

1835
01:43:17,439 --> 01:43:23,400
Speaker 2: it's amazing even the studies themselves. Inner City holds very

1836
01:43:23,439 --> 01:43:28,160
Speaker 2: high that they want a votre system. Why they're not

1837
01:43:28,320 --> 01:43:30,719
Speaker 2: happy with the public education that they have right now,

1838
01:43:30,880 --> 01:43:32,679
Speaker 2: they want something else for their kids.

1839
01:43:32,760 --> 01:43:34,960
Speaker 3: Well, this is this, So this can be the uniting

1840
01:43:35,120 --> 01:43:39,439
Speaker 3: issue between the core city and the outstate that's we

1841
01:43:39,520 --> 01:43:41,000
Speaker 3: need to find. I mean, I'm going to have to

1842
01:43:41,040 --> 01:43:42,960
Speaker 3: have you come back because I'm into changing the whole

1843
01:43:42,960 --> 01:43:46,000
Speaker 3: state culturally. That's my thing, and I'm looking at what

1844
01:43:46,040 --> 01:43:48,599
Speaker 3: are the in I can learn it from you. In fact,

1845
01:43:48,880 --> 01:43:50,320
Speaker 3: I'm not going to wait for you to come back

1846
01:43:50,360 --> 01:43:52,920
Speaker 3: on air. We're going out for a meal because I

1847
01:43:53,000 --> 01:43:55,280
Speaker 3: want to try to find those issues that would be

1848
01:43:55,439 --> 01:44:01,040
Speaker 3: common issues abroad, even bipartisan agreement between the people that

1849
01:44:01,080 --> 01:44:04,320
Speaker 3: are living in what you would call God's country, so

1850
01:44:04,400 --> 01:44:07,280
Speaker 3: to speak, and the people that are living right in

1851
01:44:07,320 --> 01:44:09,800
Speaker 3: the heart of Minneapolis, where I'm spending a lot of

1852
01:44:09,800 --> 01:44:13,400
Speaker 3: my effort trying to work, you know, to unite these

1853
01:44:13,439 --> 01:44:15,960
Speaker 3: It's like I live in CD three. As far as

1854
01:44:15,960 --> 01:44:18,320
Speaker 3: I'm concerned, CD three can go by to hog in

1855
01:44:18,360 --> 01:44:20,240
Speaker 3: the ass. They're in the They're in the way of

1856
01:44:20,240 --> 01:44:24,800
Speaker 3: the whole deal. They're They're like a dividing barrier. I'm

1857
01:44:24,840 --> 01:44:28,280
Speaker 3: talking about the Republicans in CD three. No, I want

1858
01:44:28,320 --> 01:44:32,000
Speaker 3: to see this rural group from the outstate and this

1859
01:44:32,640 --> 01:44:36,799
Speaker 3: urban core group find commonalty. Now we have that winning

1860
01:44:36,880 --> 01:44:41,360
Speaker 3: constituency to win in the state. I mean, that's you know,

1861
01:44:41,400 --> 01:44:43,679
Speaker 3: and I'm not saying I'm right this is a political

1862
01:44:43,760 --> 01:44:46,200
Speaker 3: idea I'm trying to work on, and because it's we

1863
01:44:46,280 --> 01:44:48,000
Speaker 3: got to wrap up, it's getting lit, I want to

1864
01:44:48,320 --> 01:44:51,120
Speaker 3: I want to give you an invitation. I've worked. I'm

1865
01:44:51,120 --> 01:44:54,599
Speaker 3: working on a plan with Robert on October fifth, mark

1866
01:44:54,640 --> 01:44:58,280
Speaker 3: your calendar. We want to roll in up there and

1867
01:44:58,320 --> 01:45:02,200
Speaker 3: I'd like to have a thousand people show up where

1868
01:45:02,240 --> 01:45:06,280
Speaker 3: you could be a keynote speaker. Let's get everybody involved

1869
01:45:06,400 --> 01:45:09,400
Speaker 3: in five and we're rolling in up there for a

1870
01:45:09,439 --> 01:45:13,439
Speaker 3: campaign event, and I want to see as many people

1871
01:45:13,520 --> 01:45:15,519
Speaker 3: up there come together as we can. Could we work

1872
01:45:15,560 --> 01:45:18,679
Speaker 3: towards because we want to bring up people from the cities.

1873
01:45:19,240 --> 01:45:22,720
Speaker 3: We want to get a group going that's significant.

1874
01:45:23,680 --> 01:45:27,080
Speaker 2: I think in order to promote the ideas, I'll go

1875
01:45:27,240 --> 01:45:30,639
Speaker 2: just about anywhere and talk to people if that means

1876
01:45:30,640 --> 01:45:32,400
Speaker 2: coming down to the Metro, which I've done quite a

1877
01:45:32,400 --> 01:45:35,680
Speaker 2: bit over the last year, because I understand that to

1878
01:45:35,720 --> 01:45:36,919
Speaker 2: win this state back.

1879
01:45:36,840 --> 01:45:37,759
Speaker 3: We need that city.

1880
01:45:37,880 --> 01:45:42,800
Speaker 2: We need the Metro and our ideas work, whether it's

1881
01:45:42,840 --> 01:45:47,920
Speaker 2: Greater Minnesota or within that belt way. Like I said before,

1882
01:45:48,000 --> 01:45:52,320
Speaker 2: human nature doesn't change. Parents want what's best for the kids,

1883
01:45:52,880 --> 01:45:58,040
Speaker 2: and the vouchers, school choice, I mean, those things make

1884
01:45:58,200 --> 01:46:02,200
Speaker 2: sense to parents. They want that opportunity, they want something

1885
01:46:02,240 --> 01:46:06,320
Speaker 2: better for themselves or for their kids. Rather, we can

1886
01:46:06,360 --> 01:46:10,479
Speaker 2: offer that By shying away from that subject, we're just

1887
01:46:11,439 --> 01:46:14,960
Speaker 2: walking away from the battlefield, and we're saying that that

1888
01:46:15,160 --> 01:46:17,320
Speaker 2: system is the only thing that works. That's not true.

1889
01:46:17,360 --> 01:46:19,920
Speaker 3: That's why I'm speaking yellow CD three because in CD three,

1890
01:46:19,920 --> 01:46:23,639
Speaker 3: where I'm involved, it's all about how can we blend

1891
01:46:23,640 --> 01:46:26,960
Speaker 3: in with the system, how can we make this system work?

1892
01:46:27,680 --> 01:46:29,880
Speaker 3: And that's not what you want in the outstate, and

1893
01:46:29,920 --> 01:46:31,280
Speaker 3: that's not what they want in the city.

1894
01:46:31,720 --> 01:46:35,880
Speaker 2: But I think in politics, in just about everything we

1895
01:46:35,960 --> 01:46:40,880
Speaker 2: do in life, you know that the a battle is

1896
01:46:40,880 --> 01:46:44,479
Speaker 2: fought on many fronts. My way of thinking may not

1897
01:46:44,520 --> 01:46:48,120
Speaker 2: work for some people. It may be aggressive, it may

1898
01:46:48,160 --> 01:46:51,800
Speaker 2: be confrontational. They may not just like me because of

1899
01:46:51,840 --> 01:46:57,280
Speaker 2: my hair color. I don't know, but point being, it's

1900
01:46:57,320 --> 01:47:00,479
Speaker 2: going to take different points of view. I come down

1901
01:47:00,479 --> 01:47:03,320
Speaker 2: to the Metro. When I talked to a rep down

1902
01:47:03,320 --> 01:47:05,639
Speaker 2: here at one of his social gatherings, you know, I've

1903
01:47:05,640 --> 01:47:10,360
Speaker 2: got to make sure that I'm not saying something offensive,

1904
01:47:10,400 --> 01:47:13,519
Speaker 2: I guess, because that's not best for either one of us.

1905
01:47:13,800 --> 01:47:15,519
Speaker 2: I don't like to be offensive the way it is.

1906
01:47:15,680 --> 01:47:19,000
Speaker 2: I don't like course language, I don't. I mean that

1907
01:47:19,080 --> 01:47:22,400
Speaker 2: was instilled in us very early on. Like I said, before,

1908
01:47:22,479 --> 01:47:26,080
Speaker 2: dad had a construction company. I never heard him use

1909
01:47:26,680 --> 01:47:29,360
Speaker 2: a cuss word until I was eighteen years old, and

1910
01:47:29,439 --> 01:47:32,679
Speaker 2: it rocked me when I heard him say it. I'd

1911
01:47:32,800 --> 01:47:36,360
Speaker 2: never heard him say anything like that. You can imagine

1912
01:47:36,360 --> 01:47:40,240
Speaker 2: the language around a construction site. Sometimes you didn't do him,

1913
01:47:40,280 --> 01:47:44,240
Speaker 2: he was there. We can do better. Our education can

1914
01:47:44,280 --> 01:47:47,320
Speaker 2: do better. Our high schools can do better. When we've

1915
01:47:47,320 --> 01:47:53,200
Speaker 2: seen our numbers plummeting from what were we five six

1916
01:47:53,479 --> 01:47:56,200
Speaker 2: something like that in the country, we're down like seventeenth

1917
01:47:58,280 --> 01:48:02,000
Speaker 2: under the Democrat can trolled in this state. When we

1918
01:48:02,040 --> 01:48:05,759
Speaker 2: see our higher education losing out to other countries as well,

1919
01:48:06,920 --> 01:48:09,719
Speaker 2: we can do better. We need to improve in every

1920
01:48:09,720 --> 01:48:11,960
Speaker 2: one of us. And I think this is I know,

1921
01:48:12,000 --> 01:48:15,799
Speaker 2: we got to wrap up. But human nature, we become

1922
01:48:15,840 --> 01:48:20,400
Speaker 2: complacent and we say this is good enough, and we

1923
01:48:20,520 --> 01:48:22,880
Speaker 2: do this for a while, and it's this ebb and

1924
01:48:22,920 --> 01:48:26,720
Speaker 2: flow in a society. We're at the point now where

1925
01:48:26,720 --> 01:48:30,000
Speaker 2: we're kind of at the bottom of that trophic.

1926
01:48:29,720 --> 01:48:30,880
Speaker 3: Of that cycle.

1927
01:48:30,800 --> 01:48:35,200
Speaker 2: Exactly, and we want something better and we're looking and saying,

1928
01:48:35,320 --> 01:48:37,040
Speaker 2: where is this going to come from. Where are the

1929
01:48:37,080 --> 01:48:38,680
Speaker 2: idea is going to come from? How are we going

1930
01:48:38,760 --> 01:48:45,439
Speaker 2: to do better? People want better. I don't like name

1931
01:48:45,520 --> 01:48:48,080
Speaker 2: calling things like that. I think I can do better,

1932
01:48:48,600 --> 01:48:51,200
Speaker 2: and I think that resonates with people. I don't like

1933
01:48:51,320 --> 01:48:55,280
Speaker 2: higher taxes because I like the freedoms that come with

1934
01:48:57,760 --> 01:49:01,519
Speaker 2: me making the decisions for myself from my family. If

1935
01:49:01,600 --> 01:49:03,880
Speaker 2: government takes that decision away from me, I have a

1936
01:49:03,920 --> 01:49:07,719
Speaker 2: problem with that. I want to empower people to say,

1937
01:49:07,800 --> 01:49:10,040
Speaker 2: you can do better in your state. You can do

1938
01:49:10,160 --> 01:49:13,960
Speaker 2: better with your representatives, your senators, your governor. But we're

1939
01:49:13,960 --> 01:49:16,479
Speaker 2: not going to do that with the status quo. We're

1940
01:49:16,520 --> 01:49:18,559
Speaker 2: not going to do that with the same thing that

1941
01:49:18,600 --> 01:49:23,720
Speaker 2: we've done for the last whatever forty years. We are

1942
01:49:23,760 --> 01:49:27,360
Speaker 2: at this cycle right now, and I've almost compared it

1943
01:49:27,439 --> 01:49:31,599
Speaker 2: to being like an addict. An addict life is pretty

1944
01:49:31,640 --> 01:49:33,920
Speaker 2: good when you're doing your drugs and things get you know,

1945
01:49:34,080 --> 01:49:37,360
Speaker 2: you're enjoying things right, and then all of a sudden

1946
01:49:37,600 --> 01:49:41,000
Speaker 2: something happens health issues, mental issues, You get busted, whatever

1947
01:49:41,040 --> 01:49:44,360
Speaker 2: it is, and you hit rock bottom. The only way

1948
01:49:44,479 --> 01:49:48,640
Speaker 2: place to look is up. Our society has gotten to

1949
01:49:48,680 --> 01:49:52,160
Speaker 2: a point where we're saying we need to start looking up.

1950
01:49:53,240 --> 01:49:55,920
Speaker 2: We need some new ideas, we need some different thought

1951
01:49:55,960 --> 01:50:00,760
Speaker 2: processes here. Does that rattle the cage a little bit? Yeah?

1952
01:50:01,120 --> 01:50:04,040
Speaker 2: But I think if we do it smart, if we

1953
01:50:04,120 --> 01:50:08,679
Speaker 2: are non confrontational, if we can explain to the voters

1954
01:50:08,720 --> 01:50:13,439
Speaker 2: why our ideas are better, I think it's going to resonate.

1955
01:50:14,400 --> 01:50:16,080
Speaker 3: Well. I think what you're saying is is that we

1956
01:50:16,120 --> 01:50:20,679
Speaker 3: have to be honest with people. Yeah, we're lacking in

1957
01:50:20,840 --> 01:50:25,360
Speaker 3: fundamental honesty across the entire political spectrum of the status quo.

1958
01:50:25,640 --> 01:50:28,680
Speaker 3: Because they're clinging to power, they know that there's a

1959
01:50:28,840 --> 01:50:34,320
Speaker 3: growing ground swell of public dissatisfaction with what is being

1960
01:50:34,479 --> 01:50:36,080
Speaker 3: generated politically.

1961
01:50:37,120 --> 01:50:39,360
Speaker 2: A good example to that was I had a floor

1962
01:50:39,439 --> 01:50:42,560
Speaker 2: speech about omnibus bills with the health bill, and I

1963
01:50:42,600 --> 01:50:44,000
Speaker 2: don't know if you got a chance to see that

1964
01:50:44,080 --> 01:50:47,160
Speaker 2: or watch, it wasn't very long. I had a lot

1965
01:50:47,160 --> 01:50:50,120
Speaker 2: of pushback on that, and basically what I said was,

1966
01:50:50,160 --> 01:50:53,200
Speaker 2: first of all, omnibus bills are horrible, and that you're

1967
01:50:53,240 --> 01:50:56,719
Speaker 2: putting these people in a terrible spot because they're voting

1968
01:50:56,760 --> 01:51:00,200
Speaker 2: for in favor of one thing, but then they're also

1969
01:51:01,840 --> 01:51:05,280
Speaker 2: against something else, some of them that they might find

1970
01:51:05,320 --> 01:51:09,720
Speaker 2: morally repugnant. This is this omnibus bills. This conglomeration of

1971
01:51:09,760 --> 01:51:12,000
Speaker 2: all this legislation is not the way this was supposed

1972
01:51:12,000 --> 01:51:14,919
Speaker 2: to be done. Our constitution in the state of Minnesota

1973
01:51:14,960 --> 01:51:18,840
Speaker 2: says single line item bills. But when you talk to politicians,

1974
01:51:18,840 --> 01:51:20,960
Speaker 2: they say, well, we don't, we don't do business that way.

1975
01:51:21,880 --> 01:51:25,080
Speaker 2: Why not? So we need to educate the voters as

1976
01:51:25,080 --> 01:51:28,920
Speaker 2: well and say, how does your rep or senator or

1977
01:51:28,960 --> 01:51:33,799
Speaker 2: governor feel about omnibus bills? How do they feel about

1978
01:51:34,360 --> 01:51:36,479
Speaker 2: these issues? And if they can't give you a good answer,

1979
01:51:36,760 --> 01:51:38,320
Speaker 2: then maybe it's time to get a different one.

1980
01:51:39,360 --> 01:51:45,759
Speaker 3: On that note, let me just say back, omnious omnibus bills.

1981
01:51:45,960 --> 01:51:51,040
Speaker 3: You're a critic thereof they are not constitutional, and it's

1982
01:51:51,040 --> 01:51:54,360
Speaker 3: time to start asking our representatives how do you feel

1983
01:51:54,400 --> 01:51:59,080
Speaker 3: about these bills where we have to vote the elected

1984
01:51:59,120 --> 01:52:02,360
Speaker 3: representatives have to vote for things that maybe there's other

1985
01:52:02,400 --> 01:52:05,120
Speaker 3: things in the bill that they're deeply opposed to. What

1986
01:52:05,200 --> 01:52:07,879
Speaker 3: kind of scam is that? And that's not an accident.

1987
01:52:08,160 --> 01:52:11,320
Speaker 3: You know that, I know that. And you're saying that's

1988
01:52:11,360 --> 01:52:13,120
Speaker 3: the way business is done. And you're saying, hey, why

1989
01:52:13,120 --> 01:52:15,280
Speaker 3: don't we ask people do you think this is right?

1990
01:52:16,000 --> 01:52:17,679
Speaker 3: And they have to give you yes or no answer,

1991
01:52:17,760 --> 01:52:20,519
Speaker 3: because when they start having an han that's yeah, I

1992
01:52:20,560 --> 01:52:23,080
Speaker 3: think it's okay. Now what you want to hear is no,

1993
01:52:23,240 --> 01:52:26,960
Speaker 3: this is not right. We need to be constitutional, we

1994
01:52:27,000 --> 01:52:29,320
Speaker 3: need to be clear, and we need not to be

1995
01:52:29,439 --> 01:52:33,040
Speaker 3: packing these bills with a bunch of hidden back door programs.

1996
01:52:33,360 --> 01:52:34,479
Speaker 3: Do I understand correctly?

1997
01:52:34,680 --> 01:52:37,160
Speaker 2: You're absolutely right, and the people out there need to

1998
01:52:37,240 --> 01:52:40,160
Speaker 2: understand what they are so that they can start asking

1999
01:52:40,200 --> 01:52:42,560
Speaker 2: the questions once the popular.

2000
01:52:42,200 --> 01:52:47,679
Speaker 3: Education educating Republican Party is an educational organization, exactly. All right, Great,

2001
01:52:47,800 --> 01:52:49,720
Speaker 3: it's great to talk with you. I thought it was

2002
01:52:50,800 --> 01:52:54,720
Speaker 3: a wide ranging and very thought provoking conversation. Had a

2003
01:52:54,720 --> 01:52:58,920
Speaker 3: great time. Oh, I think it was great. Tanner. Thank

2004
01:52:58,960 --> 01:53:01,960
Speaker 3: you very much for coming in this morning. Mister Mike Wiener,

2005
01:53:02,080 --> 01:53:05,000
Speaker 3: You're welcome back here any time you want to come in.

2006
01:53:05,320 --> 01:53:07,120
Speaker 3: It's very nice to get to know you. I want

2007
01:53:07,120 --> 01:53:09,840
Speaker 3: to thank you very much for your time and for

2008
01:53:09,920 --> 01:53:13,640
Speaker 3: your insight, and for really a very elevated conversation. I

2009
01:53:13,680 --> 01:53:16,200
Speaker 3: really appreciated it. Well, thank you, thank you very much.

2010
01:53:16,240 --> 01:53:18,880
Speaker 3: Good good to meet you, sir Tanner. Thanks very much,

2011
01:53:18,920 --> 01:53:19,720
Speaker 3: of course, have a.

2012
01:53:19,720 --> 01:53:20,599
Speaker 4: Good night, everybody.

2013
01:53:20,920 --> 01:53:22,760
Speaker 3: Disclaimer. The information provided in this podcast is for general

2014
01:53:22,760 --> 01:53:23,479
Speaker 3: information purposes only.

2015
01:53:23,479 --> 01:53:24,920
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2016
01:53:24,920 --> 01:53:26,400
Speaker 2: are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions

2017
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Speaker 2: of any empty they represent or associated with.

2018
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2019
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2020
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2024
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2025
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2028
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2030
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2031
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2032
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2033
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2036
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2038
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2045
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2048
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