Latest / Brian Thomas / AFP - One Small Step Campaign

Transcript

AFP - One Small Step Campaign · Brian Thomas

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: It's seven twenty eight to fifty five car CD talk station.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: We always do this on Wednesdays. What is this talking
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: with Donovan and Neil from Americans for a Prosperity with
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: his state director for AFP Action in Ohio, hat On,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Welcome back, Donald and Neil's always pleasure having in the
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: fifty five care same morning show, my friend, best.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Way to start on Wednesday morning. I gotta say, well.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: I appreciate you saying that. That's very kind of you
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: and I'm glad you share my enthusiasm. We're talking about
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: these important issues in Ohio and getting people involved from
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: my listening audience. They can do that AFP action dot Com.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Just fill out the form and let Donovan and the
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: crew get in touch with you and put you to
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: work on some level in some way or another. One
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: small step campaigns. What I got on my notes page?
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: What's what's this all about? Donovan?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, we're bringing a major tour to Ohio. Big
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: event June twenty second up in Columbus, and we're getting
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  Speaker 3: we're just getting the word out and beginning to put
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: the speakers list together. But it will be an evening
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  Speaker 3: a celebration of our great nation alongside of my goods
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: for prosperity, concerned Veterans for America, and the Libre Initiative.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: And so I wanted to come on your show.
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  Speaker 3: Make sure your listeners know about it and have the
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: opportunity to get tickets well while we still have them.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: That's great. So this is Truly America two hundred and
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: fiftieth anniversary party.
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  Speaker 3: Then, yeah, exactly, And you know it's very your listeners
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  Speaker 3: who dial in every tune in every Wednesday.
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  Speaker 2: Know, we do a lot here.
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  Speaker 3: We do politics, we do policy, we do grassroots advocacy.
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: What this event, though, is going to be about is
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  Speaker 3: celebrating the great Americans who have come before us, each
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  Speaker 3: of them taking one small step that helped lead us
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  Speaker 3: to this great point in time. That's two hundred and
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  Speaker 3: fifty years of the greatest nation on earth. And so
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  Speaker 3: you know, we'll be celebrating those folks like many of
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: your listeners right who do good in their community, who
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: make a difference, and recognize those folks from the main
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  Speaker 3: stage at this event. So it's going to be more
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  Speaker 3: about patriotism, about that American spirit, about that you know,
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: those ideals that make this country. He's so great as
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: much as anything else.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it really worries me that that doesn't seem to
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  Speaker 1: be a great sense of patriotism. Maybe it's just me
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  Speaker 1: getting old, you know, back in my day, we used
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: to you know, probably. I just there's so much division
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: in this country, and I think it's we're being intentionally divided,
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: both from forces inside and out, and I think it's
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: all designed to just undermine the fabric of America. There
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: was always something that Americans collectively could rally around. Donovan.
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  Speaker 1: It seems to me that anything we used to be
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  Speaker 1: able to rally around has been undermined by some divisive
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  Speaker 1: force regardless of which direction you look at, and nothing
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  Speaker 1: unifies this anymore. I mean I used to sort of
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: reference the flag itself. I don't care what political stripe
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  Speaker 1: you are. At least you could look at the flag
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  Speaker 1: and say, hey, at least in America, I can speak
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  Speaker 1: my mind. I've got freedoms and liberties that no other
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  Speaker 1: country enjoys. In spite of the fact that I hate
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  Speaker 1: that guy over there and he's my enemy, We're all
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  Speaker 1: united under one collective thing we can call freedom. That
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  Speaker 1: doesn't even seem to exist anymore. Donovan. Maybe I'm Peyton
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  Speaker 1: with too broad of a brush. But do you get
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  Speaker 1: that sense if you feel that way from time to
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  Speaker 1: time or all the time, Donovan.
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  Speaker 3: I think if you know you're someone you know and
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  Speaker 3: I'm not saying you're this kind of person brand because
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: I don't think you are. But you know, if you're
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: the kind of person that just lives their life on
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  Speaker 3: social media right or watches the six o'clock news, and
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  Speaker 3: that is that is the lens through which our nation
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: is viewed. That certainly does seem to be the case.
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  Speaker 3: But you know, we find it every day from knocking
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  Speaker 3: doors and talking to you know, friends and neighbors about
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  Speaker 3: pretty divisive topics like politics, or going to an event
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  Speaker 3: tabling and encouraging people to sign a petition for school choice,
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  Speaker 3: you know, to events like what I've heard my colleagues
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  Speaker 3: and other states. This will be one of I think
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: over a dozen stops were we are doing. We're at
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: about the halfway point when they bring it to Ohio.
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  Speaker 2: You know those events as well.
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  Speaker 3: So many people you know leave that event, their exit survey,
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  Speaker 3: their follow up of hey, what did you think? How
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: can we make the event better? Of the things that
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  Speaker 3: we consistently hear is how inspiring it was to sort of,
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: you know, come together three hundred, four hundred, five hundred
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  Speaker 3: people we've had at some of these events, Brian, and
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  Speaker 3: just celebrate America. Celebrate the great Americans who were volunteers, advocates,
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  Speaker 3: activists in their own communities at their own point in
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  Speaker 3: time through American history, and just reflect on that and
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  Speaker 3: celebrate that. And so I think, you know, if if
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  Speaker 3: that's how what are your listeners is feeling bright, If
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  Speaker 3: that's how maybe even you're feeling right, Brian, Yeah, come
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  Speaker 3: on up and join us at this event. Renew that
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  Speaker 3: American patriotic spirit. That's what this event, this a two
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  Speaker 3: point fifty event, is going to be all about. And
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  Speaker 3: I think if you get out of the social media,
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  Speaker 3: you get also six o'clock news, and you go out
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  Speaker 3: and talk to your friends and neighbors about America, you're
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: going to find.
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  Speaker 2: It's not as dreary and dire as it might as
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: it might seem.
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  Speaker 1: Well, you know, I was having one of those days yesterday, Donald,
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: And I don't need to wax poetic about my problems
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: in my psychological stay, but I was feeling that way.
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  Speaker 2: The other day.
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  Speaker 1: I was talking to my mom, and I was talking
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  Speaker 1: to my wife, and you know, what's wrong with you
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: is like the I said, it's just the way of
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  Speaker 1: the world. You know, all the albums in the world.
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  Speaker 1: I'm just inundated with them every single day. It's bad
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  Speaker 1: news here and bad news there, and division here and
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  Speaker 1: division there, and you know, it's just it really does
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  Speaker 1: have an impact on your psychology. And it's not a
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  Speaker 1: positive one.
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  Speaker 3: You know.
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  Speaker 1: It was my mom or my wife just said, we'll
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: just put it down, you know, just we'll quit thinking
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  Speaker 1: about it. I don't know how you turn that switch off, Donovan.
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  Speaker 1: But this social media, and not that I'm a part
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: of social media, but this the Internet, the information that
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: I absorb and have to read to do the fifty
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: five krs Morning show, so I seem to be at
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: least somewhat understanding of whatever topic we're talking about. It's
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: all a bunch of constant negativity, Donovan. Can you find
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: good news in the news anymore?
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: Well?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, and I think that's part of what
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: we reflect on. Is eve serious, right? Is that you
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: know we've got folks like you know, Martin Luther teen junior.
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: I mean, the guy was assassinated for his beliefs, right. Yeah,
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: he's stood up every day and walked in the streets. Yeah,
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: to inspire others to move our country forward. You've got folks,
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: you know, like the Wright Brothers, a little left level
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  Speaker 3: of adversity, right, But these.
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: Guys were bicycle shop.
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  Speaker 3: Owners and Dayton, Ohio who you know, developed a concept
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  Speaker 3: that has you know, transformed the world.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, I think you look at.
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  Speaker 3: The people are founding fathers right, like you think the
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: way of the world is on You imagine having the
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  Speaker 3: British Empire.
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  Speaker 2: You see what you're high.
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  Speaker 1: That's the kind of slab in the face. I need
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: the intellectual slab in the face. Shut up, Thomas, quit whineing.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: Can you imagine being like twenty four years old in
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  Speaker 1: forming a new nation? You know, it's pretty amazing when
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: you think about it.
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  Speaker 2: It raly is.
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  Speaker 3: So you know, we've got our moment of adversity, right,
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  Speaker 3: our moment of challenge where we have to take the
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  Speaker 3: you know, can we make this American ideal that much
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  Speaker 3: more of a reality for the generation to come right?
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  Speaker 2: Right? And that's that's the challenge we put to people.
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  Speaker 3: It's the opportunity, in some small way we at Americans
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  Speaker 3: were prosper to give people the chance to do and
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  Speaker 3: I think if you're you know, the best thing you
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  Speaker 3: do is come out and join us and help be
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: a part of that. So if you want to make
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: this country a better place and solve some of those problems.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: Donald, are you currently doing door knocking campaigns right now?
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  Speaker 2: Oh? We're always out there knocking doors. It's the best
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  Speaker 2: way to talk to talk to the people. Okay, we're out. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: No to that end, I was kind of curious on
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: a couple of issues what you're hearing with with some
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  Speaker 1: of the folks you interact with. Can you stick around
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  Speaker 1: for a couple more minutes?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, happy to great.
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  Speaker 1: All right, well let's pause right now. Bring Donovan back
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: because one of them and I'll give you a heads
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  Speaker 1: up in advance. I want to hear what people are
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  Speaker 1: fifty five KR and talk station seven forty here at
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: fifty about kroc de talk station bron Thomas with Donovan and Neil.
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  Speaker 1: Find him and get involved AFP Action Ohio. You can
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: find AFP action dot com form right there. Fill out
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: your name and email address and they'll get in touch
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  Speaker 1: with you and you will be in to help out
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  Speaker 1: with the door knocking campaign in the state of Ohio.
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  Speaker 1: And speaking of door knocking, I had to hold you over, Donovan,
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: because I'm really curious this whole property tax thing, and
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  Speaker 1: I don't know where acts the tax is in terms
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  Speaker 1: of getting signatures to eradicate property taxes in the Ohio Constitution.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, as I mentioned, part of me gets kind
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  Speaker 1: of giddy waiting to see what the lawmakers and columbus
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  Speaker 1: are going to do if it does get what it did,
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  Speaker 1: because it's sort of like forcing them to do a
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: job that they don't want to do. That would be
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: a huge ask for them to find a solution. But
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  Speaker 1: are you hearing about property taxes in your door knocking efforts, Donovan?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it continues to be an issue that's
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  Speaker 3: relevant in general, just people paying tree day much in
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  Speaker 3: tax Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Period.
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  Speaker 3: And I think that you underlies what you see in
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  Speaker 3: a lot of a polling if you follow any of that,
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  Speaker 3: which is affordability remains a top tier issue for Americans,
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: regardless of their political stripes. And yeah, we hear that,
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: and that's the message we drive back to the conversations
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  Speaker 3: we have with lawmakers, whether it's me or my team
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  Speaker 3: directly having them or us bringing activists to a congressman's office.
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  Speaker 3: The challenge here, Brian, and not going to mince words,
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: is there are a lot of competing interests drawing at
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  Speaker 3: the federal level, especially our members Congress, away from the
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: things that, in our opinion, they should be focused on,
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: which is, you know, affordability, unleashing energy abundance, and helping
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  Speaker 3: you know, an active policies we know are going to
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: bring down the costs across the country.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: Well, at least traditionally, I can say Republicans are the
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: party of lower taxes and less government. I wish there
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: were more Republicans which have held that pledge, but this
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: is the world we live in. But I would think
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: that given the affordability problems we are all facing right now,
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: how I paid six dollars a gallon yesterday fill my tank.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: So I don't like that. But would I vote for
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: a Democrat because of the problems that we now that well,
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: let's just say for the sake of argument and discussion
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: on this point, Donald Trump's war has caused us all
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: to have to pay a whole lot more. It's got
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: an inflationary reality. We can make the argument, so that
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: would say Republicans. I can't vote for evil Republicans because
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: they're the ones that brought about this this inflation and
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: this high gas prices. However, Democrats are always the party of
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: higher taxation. So you would think of four ardability and
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: democrats typical platform, which is to raise taxes on everyone,
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: would be you know, maybe sort of inuring to a
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: benefit of the Republican side of the ledger. Maybe I'm
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: just looking at it too simplistically, Donovant.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I think you're touching on something that's important, especially
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: for our friends, the voters who aren't as engaged dialed
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: into you know, the policies that underlie the you know,
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: the slick political ads and messaging that so many of
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: us are are already seeing and we'll certainly see more
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: of before this this November. And what you need to
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: really do, right is get to the heart of the
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: policies that each each party espouses.
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: And you're right, you know.
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  Speaker 3: The Republican Party for all its ills. The thing that
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: the consistent through line that I think all Republicans and
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: I'm among them, believe, is that we believe in free markets,
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: limited government, lower taxes. And when now here's the challenge
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: when the party, especially when it's in leadership and of
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: which it is both in Ohio and in Congress, stays
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: focused on those principles. Free markets, limited government, lower taxes.
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  Speaker 2: Good things happen.
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  Speaker 3: We saw it last year with that one big beautiful bill,
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: working family tax cuts. That legislation right helps people keep
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: more of their hard earned money. Now, when we get
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: misaligned or we find ourselves you know, you know, strapped
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: down in the Middle East once again, like we have
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: found ourselves in the last several months, we lose sight.
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: And that's a challenge to communicate to the voters. When
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: what the voters are really focused on, right or lower
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: energy prices, more affordability, and the ability to keep the
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: money that they've earned. The difference, you're right, is we
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: saw what happens under Democrat control. Bidenomics is the playbook
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: they work from right now, and that means more government spending,
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: that leads, that fuels inflationary policies and ultimately gets us
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: to a more dire position as a nation than a
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: better off one. We you know, it'll tell me the
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: way we kind of break through this, my opinion, Sorry
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: to go on at attention here, My opinion here is
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: we have to hold our elected officials accountable. They, like us,
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: are humans, and no better pressure than grassroots pressure helps
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: write the ship and orient people to the things that
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: they need to be doing as are elected officials. So
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: if anything, it's on us to take action, to be
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: involved to make sure that our voice is heard and
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: our elected officials do the things we sent them to Washington.
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: Columbus to do, sending them there to hopefully mind the
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: taxpayer dollars. Is fraud a big topic with your door
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: knocking campaign. I'm praying that on a going forward basis,
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: this becomes a dominant campaign issue that we need to
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: mind our dollars a little bit more, manage them a
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: little bit more. I saw the Government Accountability Office did
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: a report looking at one calendar year last year and
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: the Government Accountability Office and whether or not they're accurate
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: or not. I said, one hundred and eighty six billion
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: dollars in improper payments were sent out and met care, Medicaid,
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: and welfare related programs one calendar year. Donovan, we have
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: a spending problem and we have a lack of accountability problem.
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: Is this is this a growing issue for folks?
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: Oh? Absolutely, the medicaid.
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: The reporting on the medicaid fraud in Ohio broke loose.
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: I mean that went off the charts, on the door knocking,
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: the conversations we were having this fraud, the ways the
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: abuse it popped, you know, and I go back to
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: like doze right a little over a year ago when
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: dose was in its prime. That was despite what you know,
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: if you turn on the six o'clock news, you were
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: being told by ABCNBC and CDs. The people loved that, Yeah,
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: because they there's nobody fighting to root out that.
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: That fraud, waste abuse within the system.
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: And so when you have elected officials that actually become
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: a bulldog on the issue and really bite down and
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: don't let go until the bureaucrats, you know, cry uncle,
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: they reward that that. It's tough with the media, and
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: it's tough to have the pressure of telling people they're
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: not going to be.
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: Able to abuse the system anymore.
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: But that tenacity, that focus on fighting for the taxpayer,
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: I believe pays off and is recognized among the people
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: who get out and vote in the primaries and general
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: elections around the state.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: See that puts a smile on my face, countering what
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: you read in the news narrative. Yes, people really do care,
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: they know what's going on, this fraud and they want
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: something done about it.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: So good.
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: Okay, see, I'm glad we had this conversation, Donovan. Now
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: feel a lot better than I did ten minutes ago.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: Donovan Neil Americans for Prosperity, find them, get involved afpaction
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: dot com. The team makes it so easy. Thank you
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: for what you do each and every day. Donald and
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: I look forward to having on the program next week
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: again and between now and they have a fantastic week.
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: My friend always do.
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: Thanks Brian, appreciate the smile.