Latest / The Dave Allen Show / 08/15/2023 580 Live with Dave Allen - THE DEBATE: Tony Hodge vs Mike Pushkin

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08/15/2023 580 Live with Dave Allen - THE DEBATE: Tony Hodge vs Mike Pushkin · The Dave Allen Show

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there's not a Parmer store knew you now, there will be seeing a little
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bit different today in our format because we have we're going to spend the entire
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day talking to two different people, the Battle of the Century, whatever you
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want to call it. Insert cheesy sports cliche here to my left, literally
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and figured figuratively. State Democratic Party chain Delegate Michael Ari Pushkin. I used
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all three of my names. I'm usually one has to get in trouble before
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the middle and ride morning literally and figured, State Republican Party co chair insert
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middle name here? What is your middle name to Michael? Michael? Okay?
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I thought again, knew that Tony Michael Hodge, Good morning, So
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Tony going middle name Tony, And I can tell you that Tony set the
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stage for this morning, guys, because he came in burying gifts. He
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brought us peanut butter fudge. Yeah, thank you very much. What did
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what'd you bring us? An appetite man, man after my own heart.
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We're having some computer issues here, so we're trying to get these things worked
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out so we can be able to get your text the one day. You
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know that everything you know that we really needed it doesn't seem to be working
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here, so we're working on it as we speak. But thanks for being
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here. A couple of ground rules, and again, this is something that
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you know Mike could approach me about. I brought it up to Tony and
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we've gone back and forth, and we have tried to be able to get
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to work out of schedule where these guys could both be in studio with us.
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The thing of it is, as we sometimes forget that outside the world
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of politics, Mike has a full time job. Outside the world of politics,
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Tony has a full time job. And you get families, and you
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get other commitments and so on and so forth. So it's not easy to
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work out everybody's schedule. But we picked a date and I appreciate it.
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So I appreciate you guys for agreeing to do this. A couple of ground
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rules and said be polite. It may get heated at times, but just
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remember we're all gentlemen here, well mostly, and let's walk away with a
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smile on her face and a song in our collective hearts and some peanut butter
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fudge and peanuts. This is all it took, all this fighting going on
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around America. If the world just had peanut butter fudge, the world would
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be a better place. So before we get started, I did promise some
4:16
folks I would get this in totally unrelated to politics and something we can all
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agree on, and that is the issue with Alzheimer's, a dimension things that
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nature. Tonight at the alban Arts Center on Old Maine and Saint Albans,
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there's going to be a dementia educational training starts at six, sponsored by Dementia
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Friendly Saint Alban's and the Alzheimer's Association. Now, if you need more information,
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contact Summer's Bridewell at the Hansford Senior Center three oh four seven two two
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forty six twenty one. I told some friends i'd get that on for and
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they call me yesterday, and so I appreciate you guys letting me get that
4:45
out there. Okay, no real specific format here, text or welcome.
4:47
We got the things straightened out here, so text and phone calls are welcome.
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We're just gonna fly off by the seat of our proverbial pants here.
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And I got a couple of things I want to get to Mike. I
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have a question for you to start, Okay, and uh I mean this
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with with with no disrespect towards you, because this started well before you took
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over the State Democratic Party. Chairmanship. Why are so many people leaving the
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Democratic Party in West Virginia? In West Virginia, and I think that,
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you know, to their credit, the Republicans have done a good job of
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really nationalizing the issues. And if you look at the state party state Republican
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parties social media presence, it's all about national issues and correct me if I'm
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wrong, but they rarely talk about about local issues. And you know,
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there's a lot of people have misidentified or mischaracterized the Democrats or something that we're
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really not. And I think it's up to us to get that message out
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there and say, well, you know what, We've always been the party
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that has fought for the working class. We've always been the party that fights
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for access to healthcare, for good governance and good roads, expanding broadband,
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actually trying to improve the lives of West Virginias. But I think we're painted
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with this you know, false brush of where uh some you know, far
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far out extremist. So I can tell you that in office here in West
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Virginia, those of us who are who are in office here, we tend
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to be the adults in the room. And a lot of times it's the
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other side that takes some of the most extreme viewpoints. So it's it's a
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mischaracterization. It's our fault that people have really overwhelmingly bought into this. But
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I don't think it's going to last in the long run. I really don't.
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I don't think politics of fear and division are a good plan for the
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future. I think the younger generation doesn't relate to that. I don't think
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there's any future. And what the Republican Party is doing, if you look
6:36
at it in other states, it's not it's not working. States like Arizona
6:41
or New Mexico or even North Carolina are all starting to trend back towards the
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Democratic Party. Sony was you could respond, Well, one thing you mentioned
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was things about roads and infrastructure and things of that nature. Those are things
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that we agree on. I mean we we both both parties agree on that.
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But you know, you mentioned some of these other states. North Carolina
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was one of the state you mentioned. I'll come to that. So,
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but since two thousand and four, one hundred and seventy three state legislators have
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switched parties, okay, and the vast majority of those have gone from the
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Democrat Party over to the Republican Party. Even at the US Senate level,
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the senators that have switched parties, they know they don't leave the Republican Party.
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They're always leaving the Democratic Party. Bernie Sanders left the Democrat Party.
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The Bernie Sanders has has run as an independent. I believe he was an
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independent mayor of Burlington, Vermont. And when he runs for Pam for president,
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of course you can't get elected. I mean with the way the electoral
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college is set up. And I'm sorry to bide in there, but Bernie
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Sanders has always been an independence. Well, uh, in North Carolina.
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You brought that state up, so just recently, it was within the last
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month or two, one of their representatives down there in their in their house
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ended up flipping from Democrat to a Republican, which gave Republicans a supermajority in
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their house. So they have a supermajority in their House and their Senate,
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and they're able to override their Democratic governor. And the people down there seemed
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to love it. The same thing just happened down in Louisiana. There was
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a state representative of the switch from the Democrat Party. He was a Democrat
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for I think forty eight years and switch over to the Republican Party, and
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that's given Louisiana's House a supermajority. So we see these things going on all
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around the country. I just cited evidence. I think things are moving in
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our direction. But here's the thing. This is America. We're gonna have
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Democrats, We're gonna have Republicans. The cool thing about America, the thing
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that I think that we can all agree on, is what I call American
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exceptionalism, and that is that in this country there's an exception to the rule
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from all other countries. And that is that people like Mike and people like
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me, we can sit down in a room and talk and hash out our
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differences and all that, and then we can leave here and go watch a
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football game together or go you know, talk football, peanut peanut butter fudge,
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whatever it is. In other countries, they're going to war. That's
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what makes America exceptional and different, is that we can do these things and
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disagree and still live our lives. But would you both agree though, that
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we're getting to the point now that we almost can't. I understand completely what
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you're saying, Tony, but you know, are we get at the point
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when you just about can't do that anymore. Weren't because you are painted.
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I mean, how many times during during the last election or whatever did you
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hear people say on both sides, if you are going to support Donald Trump,
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go ahead and unfriend me. Now, if you're going to support Joe
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Biden, go ahead and unfriend me now. I mean, I mean,
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are we getting to one where we won't be able to do that anymore?
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I hope not. It seems to be going that way. But I mean,
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I consider I think Tony's a good guy. We we went out the
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one time after was a meeting about about jerry mandering, which is one of
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the reasons why North Carolina and other states have too their state legislatures because of
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jerry mannings. Often they draw the lines according to how people vote and not
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necessarily how they live. But after that jerry mandering meeting that we attended in
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Putnam County, you and I Kayla Young Delegate Kayla Young, went and enjoyed
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Taco is one of the best taco places in Putnham County, not the state.
9:50
Unfortunately, I don't think they're there anymore. They're not. But you
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mentioned, you know, you mentioned trans and other states on a national level.
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I'm trying to remember the last time the Republican Party I actually won the
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popular vote in this country, and I think it was nineteen eighty eight.
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Haven't won I mean they've they've won the electoral college. I haven't won the
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popular vote since nineteen eighteen eight, and I think, in my opinion,
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if you hit two thousand and four, I think, yeah, okay,
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two thousand fourth, so one time since nineteen eighty eight, two thousand and
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four. You're right. They won the popular vote in two thousand fourths,
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right, Okay, but they didn't in two thousand, they didn't. In
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two thousand eighth, they did, in two thou twelve, they didn't.
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Twenty sixteen, did not win the popular vote. Then did not win the
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popular vote in UH in twenty twenty. Although you might disagree with that,
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since a lot of people in your party have a hard time accepting the results
10:35
of the election, including the flag bearer of your party, Donald Trump,
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I personally think, look, I would love to see the Republican Party returned
10:43
to what it once was. And I don't mean super minority either. I
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mean what my grandfather believed that it was mind your own business and and for
10:50
government to get out of people's way. And it's not what the Republican Party
10:54
is now. They seem to be involved in every decision, want to be
10:58
involved in every decision people make, whether it's in their in their doctor's office,
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or whether it's in their uh, whatever happens to be. And it's
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really become more of a party of a of a personality, uh than than
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a political party. I mean, it's just this blind devotion to Donald Trump
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has me really concerned about the future of our country and the future of your
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party. Well, if you're concerned about the the our party being involved in
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people's lives through government and things like that, maybe you should join. That's
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something that the Democrats have been ill. It's a joke. I don't think
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you're gonna get me switching party. No, and we're that's perfectly fine.
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No, I don't think anybody's asked me. I do want to go back
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though, because you talked about the time that we were together in Putnam County
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on that redistricting thing, and it's interesting because we talk about our divisions and
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things like that, which Dave, I'd like to come back to because I
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think the media fuels a lot of that. I think it's well, it's
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just it's it's part of the it's part of the formula and talk about I
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don't disagree with that. I don't. I just get a little of defense
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people when people say the media, what the media is. But but I
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understand completely what you're saying. Sure, but there's other times when people get
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into a room together. So we had legislators come down to Putnam County during
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redistricting. I was there, Chairman push Pushkin was there, There was there
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was others from both parties there, and we all got up and spoke and
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the things that we were saying, we're basically all in agreement. We were
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all in agreement that night. I remember at that time I was I still
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haven't the Putnam County Republican Party chairman, and there was the Putnam County Democratic
12:24
Party chairman, and we both got up and essentially said the same thing.
12:26
And the thing that we were complaining about, though, was jerrymandering of our
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House Strich fixual attack, which was actually done back in twenty ten when the
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Democrats had the majority, and everybody in that room agreed that they were jerrymander
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and we needed to fix it, and we did. It was back when
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they're when the Democrats do the lines. Yeah, they didn't. They were
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jerry mander, but not to protect the political party obviously since they were lost
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they lost the legislature. Oh, it was protect incumbency. And that's wrong.
12:52
I think that I personally, I've introduced bill after bill every year to
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create an independent redistricting commission. Of course, the Republicans are going to have
13:01
no part of that. When they're in power, they are not gonna they
13:03
weren't going to give that power up. Yeah, the lines are often based
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on how people vote and not where people live. Where you were sitting right
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now is a tiny little sliver of Kannall County. It's one of the probably
13:13
one of some of the bluest precincts in the state. And if you look
13:16
at the Senate district Senate District number eight, it looks like a giant Ram's
13:20
horn and you're in the tip of it right now. But it takes in
13:24
half of half of Putnam County where you live, part of Jackson County,
13:28
all of Rown and Clay County. And it was done so it would we
13:31
make it very hard for a Democrat to win the Senate district here and where
13:35
you're sitting right now in the bluest part of the state. That's jerrymandering,
13:39
and that was done to protect one political party. Now you mentioned earlier you're
13:43
the you're you're also your advice chair of their state GOP and also the chair
13:48
of the of the Putnam County Republican Executive Committee, and of course Dave is
13:54
also the president of the Putnam County Republicans. I have not you stepped down
13:58
down? Yeah, I stepped down months ago. You want to join our
14:01
party? No, no, I didn't. I didn't leave the party.
14:03
I stepped down because I had four straight meetings in a row because of my
14:07
outside work commitments I couldn't make and it's just not fair. So I actually
14:11
resigned earlier in the air. Okay, well was it for the record,
14:13
I'm here with the vice chair Publican Party and the former chair of the Putnam
14:16
County Republican Club. Yeah, but I still like you guys. Yeah,
14:20
Well that's good. We can we can get that. Hopefully that we can
14:22
we can stay there. Uh all right, I got a bunch of texts
14:26
to get to. We're gonna get to Trump. Uh and uh and I
14:28
got a lot to something happened last night. I think something did. And
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we're gonna get to everybody's take on that covering up. Five eighty Live has
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Chair Mike Pushkin, both in the Parmar Store studio. We're back after this.
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Pizza dot com. Tony Hodge, State Republican Party co Chair is here.
17:33
State Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin is here. I knew we'd get the text.
17:37
Let's get to him. Tex says a bit of true. If Trump's
17:41
election was a reaction by working class conservatives who elite us Democrats who have locked
17:45
down or I'm sorry, looked down their noses at us for years while claiming
17:51
to be the party of the working class. The Democrats mock you if you
17:52
do not have a college degree, and they still continue to this day to
17:56
insult us, call us nazi's, racist homophobes, et cetera. No,
18:00
this another Trump like, blunt and plain speaking person will get elected again down
18:03
the line because the left never learns, They never apologize. They never admit
18:07
they were wrong. They doubled down by the way. I'm a former Democrat,
18:10
Mike Well, I find that. I mean, I take the you
18:12
know, good point. However, I'm chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party
18:17
and I drove a cab for nearly twenty years. I've worked a blue collar
18:21
job. I don't think of, you know, looking down on the working
18:25
class at all. In back, we're the party that supports the working class.
18:26
And I think they've done I said, the Republicans have done a really
18:30
good job of flipping the script and making u leading people who do uh you
18:34
know, signed the back of the paycheck, not the people that signed the
18:37
front of the paycheck. People are out there working for a living of getting
18:40
them to support them. Even though what if you look at what has really
18:44
happened, what did Trump really accomplish a tax cut that for the most part
18:48
benefited the wealthiest one percent, clearing away a lot of regulations that help big
18:53
corporations, uh, you know, stacking the courts against working class people.
19:00
Most of what he did, just about everything he did was really to and
19:03
what the Republican Party has done has been protecting the wealth of the wealthiest one
19:07
percent. But they've done a very good job of making it seem like they're,
19:11
you know, the party for the working class. Ever they're not.
19:14
If you look at the policies, you actually look at what they've passed,
19:17
look at what they've done since they've been in charge of West Virginia over the
19:18
past ten years. How has that benefited working people? I mean, thousands
19:23
of people are agreeing with what we're doing. I mean, we're the numbers
19:26
show. The evidence is there. The evidence is on paper. All all
19:30
anybody has to do is go and look at it, and it's right there.
19:32
The people agree with what we're doing. And I think a little bit
19:34
of what you're saying. I know, I know you're saying it to make
19:37
a point, but a little bit of what you're saying is correct. There
19:40
may have been a time in the Republican Party where the working class may have
19:44
felt like we ignored them or weren't weren't for them, And I feel like
19:48
we've done a lot of correcting in that area and we have been more attractive
19:51
to the working class. And we're going to continue to do that because our
19:52
party, you know, we're going to encompass whether it be the business owner
19:56
or the like you said, the person sign on the back of the paycheck,
19:59
and we have to figure out to be able to cater and deal with
20:02
with both of those and that's what we're doing. So I feel like the
20:04
Republican Party is doing a really good job. And in this state, the
20:07
evidence is on paper. We can look the evidence on the amount of people
20:11
that have left the state allowed because of a lot of a lot of the
20:14
legislation that has been pushed out of this legislature over the past ten years.
20:17
I mean, the numbers don't a lot of people are leaving the state.
20:19
Low enrollment. Low enrollment at our flagship university has caused that university to cut
20:23
all sorts of courses of study, laying off professors left and right. You're
20:27
not we don't have a future in a state like that where we don't value
20:30
education. We have a year after year the Republican legislature has cut funding to
20:36
higher education. One of the first things they did when they took over,
20:38
because we became a right to work state, we repealed prevailing wage. We're
20:41
saying people, if you work a dangerous job out there building a road or
20:45
a bridge, you shouldn't make as much money as they do in other states.
20:48
That's what the Republicans have done because they have they have been out there
20:53
to benefit those who signed the front of the check. The big contractors are
20:56
the big companies that are paying the working class people. Okay, but they've
21:00
done a good job of really of what I call distraction of my only talking
21:04
about culture war issues. That's what you're all have done, all and nationalizing.
21:10
They don't talk about state issues. It's all about national issues and about
21:14
things that really don't affect the day to day lives of West Virginians. But
21:17
it certainly gets mad at each other. I was when I watch I watch
21:23
you guys in the legislature. I watched the House and the Senate sessions and
21:26
all that, and when the eight or nine of you guys in the House
21:30
on the Democrats side, when you guys get up and speak your most impassioned
21:33
speeches, and I can show them to you, your most impassioned ones,
21:37
the ones that you really take up time and really uh lift your voice and
21:41
things like that are on the social issues. They just are, Well,
21:44
we're defending people who have often been on the fringe of society, who have
21:48
often been some of the most vulnerable, UH, elements of our society.
21:52
That's who we're defending. I'm sorry, I'm not going to apologize for I'm
21:56
being passionate about taking up for the underdog. Now West Virginians should apologize,
22:00
But I'm just saying, we don't introduce you're putting it all on us.
22:03
It's both sides. Are get very impassionate on the social issues, both sides.
22:07
But they introduced the bills. They're aimed at creating division and fear.
22:11
And you know, I think that we should just cheat everybody with respect.
22:15
You know, Dave ends every show. What do you say at the end
22:18
of every showy love somebody? Well, aren't. Aren't we commanded to love
22:21
everybody? Yes? Yes we are, and we should act like all right,
22:25
all right? Texas Day. Bernie Sanders was a major candidate for the
22:27
Democratic presidential nomination in twenty sixteen and twenty twenty. Texas Cannabis question. UH.
22:33
The MVP is supposed to talking about the pipeline's supposed to bring in forty
22:37
five million dollars per year in tax revenue between West Virginia and Virginia Wine Online
22:41
and Colorado. The state brought in three hundred twenty five million dollars a tax
22:45
revenue in twenty twenty two. It's obvious it's if it's done right, legal
22:48
cannabis is a moneymaker. My question is why is West Virginia fighting so hard
22:52
for the MVP and it's a small amount of tax revenue and it's so hard,
22:56
but they're so hard against legal cannabis, which could be a big contributor
23:00
to the states not only tax revenue, but legal cannabis will have more downstream
23:04
jobs than the MVP when it's online. Thanks Tony, we'll start with you.
23:08
Well, I'll tell you this speaking of legal cannabis, when I was
23:12
in Washington, DC. I've been up there a few times over the past
23:15
couple of months. The cloud of marijuana smoke in that city is overwhelming.
23:19
You know, it's legal there. Anyway, I was talking to some people
23:22
while I was up there about it, and one of the issues that they
23:26
have is on taxing it. There's still this huge underground system of dealing,
23:32
black market and all that, and now it's to avoid taxes. So you
23:36
still have it. You didn't you didn't get away from the black market.
23:38
As far as the MVP thing. I'm sorry, I just don't. I
23:41
don't have the knowledge. I don't know what's kind of first. I don't
23:44
like pitting certain industries against each other's. I'll talk about cannabis. I've been
23:47
to DC recently. I did not experience what you experienced. I didn't,
23:51
well, I don't. I didn't smell cannabis smoke everywhere. I did visit
23:55
Denver back after we miraculously passed the what's become the Medical Hannabis Act here in
24:00
West Virginia. A bipartisan group of legislators went to Denver, and Uh,
24:04
I didn't smell it at all. And and actually they have really cut down
24:08
on the on the black market in Colorado because they actually did. They passed
24:14
the law correctly. They they they made it so. Actually they if you're
24:18
undercutting the black market, people are going to buy it legally and pay taxes
24:21
on it. Once again, I think that I remember back in the day
24:25
when the Republican Party was a party of mind your own business and let grown
24:29
adults make decisions for themselves. That's how I feel about cannabis. Do They
24:33
definitely do not condone it. I personally will not use it, but I
24:37
think grown adults should be able to make those decisions for themselves, especially if
24:41
alcohol is legal all which is daint more dangerous. All right, let's take
24:44
a phone call Ryan, Let's go to Don. You're on with Mike Antoni.
24:48
Go ahead. Yeah, I just want to tell Mike Cantoni, I
24:52
love you all, love you. Don. Well, listen, guys,
24:56
I'll tell you what U father pushkin. Let me ask you. This is
25:03
the Democratic Party, the same party that you grew up with. Yes it
25:10
is. No, it's not. It's not because I'm telling you Mike it's
25:15
not. How So, because what I believe in. You know, people,
25:22
people work for a living. They should get a living, ways should
25:23
be able to take to raise a family on what they on what they work
25:26
for. They should be able to see a doctor if God forbid, they
25:27
get sick. They should have the best schools for their for their kids to
25:32
go to. And everybody should be treated with the basic mamounter of respect.
25:36
And we should respect the human rights of everybody. Don said, I believe
25:38
it's what we've always believed. Don. You're saying it's not. But thank
25:41
you for Don, Thanks for calling saying the correct term. Democratic Party Tony
25:45
can't seem to get that last I see out of his mouth. It calls
25:48
us the Democrat Party. Tony, where the Democratic Party? Don you feel
25:52
it's not the same party I'm gathering? Why, Well, it's quite clear
25:56
Mike is an old style Democrat. Okay, the party that you see out
26:02
there right now? Who in the world knows what they believe? This which
26:06
every way the windsock is blowing. Well, don I'm I'm happy to be
26:10
the chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party and I serve in the legislature with
26:14
other elected members there, elected members of the Democratic Party. I can tell
26:17
you the difference is well, both parties do have extremists. It seems that
26:21
the extremists are in control of the Republican Party right now, not the Democratic
26:25
Party. All right, Tony, tell you respond to that? Go ahead,
26:27
They didn't, and we'll move on going. Well, I think a
26:30
lot of people would find that comment interesting by Mike Pushkin, that Tony Hodge
26:33
is an extremist. But anyway, what I was gonna say, is there
26:36
a believer that the Trump there lose the election. Election? Hold on,
26:40
I'm just a second. There are Republicans all over this state, who have
26:42
a great affinity for what they consider JFK Democrats. There are Democrats from a
26:48
bygone era that says, ask not what you can do for ask not what
26:52
your country could do for you, but what you can do for your country.
26:53
The Democratic Party isn't like that. The Democratic Party is what can government
26:56
do for me? What handouts can they give me? How can solve this
27:00
problem or solve that problem. We just have a fundamental difference where we don't
27:03
think all of the answers rely on government. But unless it's about a woman
27:07
and uh in our right to choose, then you believe that answers should rely
27:10
with government. I think it should go to the voters. That's government protecting
27:12
children. Mike, I think it, well, you know what I think
27:15
that your party in the state. No, it didn't Amendment one. Amendment
27:21
one was about public funding. Was about public funding. That's very different.
27:25
But I think now and now that it's actually row has been overturned, can
27:30
your party find the courage to put it on the ballot and listen to the
27:33
voters on that. Do they want an all out across the board ban,
27:36
because that's what West Virginia has with the most extreme laws in the country.
27:41
Well, I mean you think it should be a decision that, well,
27:41
our legislators. We live in a republic, our legislators represent us. I
27:45
wouldn't personally, I wouldn't have any problem putting on the ballot and talk to
27:49
you your elegance and your senators and your party and let's get it on the
27:52
ballot. I wouldn't have any problem. But it's already it's already been settled
27:55
by our legislators and actually hasn't been settled. It hasn't because I mean,
27:59
I'm gonna defend Mike and this. I'm talking about our abortion legislation. If
28:03
you put it on the ballot, I mean, in my opinion, if
28:06
you put it on the ballot, would you say you're four yes or no?
28:08
Outlaw and all the bars. Most Americans feel that what has been passed
28:12
are too extreme. They're way too extreme. And what's been past most Americans,
28:15
I mean that's that's party is too extreme. Now, well, we
28:18
didn't go that far. Yes, that might not be the perception, but
28:22
that is reality, and at some point the perception will catch up with the
28:25
reality. Y'all have become very extreme. You can call me an extremist.
28:29
Ay, If protecting the life of a child is extremist, then by god,
28:32
I'm an extremist. All right, take that one to the bank,
28:33
Tech says, with most Americans seemingly tired and rather disgusted with the national parties
28:38
and division, the majority would prefer neither Biden nor Trump. So why,
28:42
then, other than money to both statewide d's and ours leadership continue to support
28:47
such these folks when neither are worthy of leading the greatest country in the world.
28:52
The state party leaders don't choose who wins primaries. The voters do.
28:57
And Biden won the primary in twenty twenty. He run the general election in
29:03
twenty I'm not sure if Tony agrees with that, but he won the popular
29:07
vote and the electoral vote in twenty twenty, and he's the president. And
29:11
it looks like right now Donald Trump is the clear front runner and the Republican
29:15
and the Republican primary. So all right, speaking speaking of Trump, I
29:19
want to keep this on the local level, but I have to mention this.
29:22
Last night came word from Georgia yet another indictment surrounding the former president.
29:26
This is his fourth. The term criminal enterprise was used in the dieb at
29:30
Trump An eighteen other defendants named for, among other things, lying to the
29:33
Georgia Legislature and other state officials, creating a fake pro Trump slate for the
29:38
Electoral College, harassing election workers, and engaging in a cover up. I'll
29:42
a bet of a mafia nerd guys, But the term rico is being thrown
29:47
around a lot, meaning widespread racketeering. Hoppy is going to get into this
29:51
much further into the next hour for the show. But first of all,
29:56
your response, Tony, Well, I mean, I just found out about
29:59
the indictment this morning, so I don't have a lot of a lot of
30:02
the details on it and things like that, but you know, I'll tell
30:06
you this, Uh, it's almost seems like a weaponization of the justice system
30:11
trying to settle a political process. I don't I don't know what's going to
30:14
happen there. I know we've got indictments on Trump, We've got indictments now
30:18
with the Biden crime family. I mean you've got Hunter Biden now and now
30:21
now you've got Merritt Garden Garland the attorney general. He's trying to do damage
30:26
control and save face because of their terrible agreement that they had with Hunter Biden.
30:30
They got called out on it by a judge, and now now they're
30:32
trying to do damage control. And that's Merritt Gardenland. I mean, this
30:34
is the guy who was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the next Supreme
30:40
Court justice, and we're seeing now, really what kind of guy this is?
30:41
Could you imagine if he had gotten on there. I'm so thankful that
30:45
we had Republicans in control in the Senate at that time to be able to
30:48
stop that nomination and keep Merritt Garland from from getting on our Supreme Court.
30:51
It's wow. Mike, Well, you asked a question about the Trump indictment
30:55
it came out last night, and Tony immediately pivoted to him. I just
30:57
don't have all the information on Okay, Well, I appreciate you saying that
31:02
because usually uh, West Virginia Republican Party, and I noticed I say it
31:06
properly w VGOP. Imagine I'll probably already put out a press release saying that
31:11
it's a witch hunt and automatically, no matter what, you're gonna side with
31:15
Trump before even reading this hundred page indictment, which I haven't read. And
31:18
you admitted you haven't read it either. I'm getting bits and pieces of it
31:22
right now, and it there's some some really bad stuff in there. If
31:26
proven true, it's really bad. Now. First of all, I think
31:30
that you know, this coming out late last night was just a way to
31:33
distract people from the real news, and that's that Dalvin Cook just signed with
31:37
the New York Jets and most likely going to win the Super Bowl. But
31:38
who's your NFL team? Tone, I don't have an NFL team. I'm
31:42
don't you an NFL team? Yeah? Okay, but let's what neither does
31:48
West Virginia. I mean, you got look, you're picking a team out
31:52
of Dallas. Day the indictment, I would say, there is a theory
31:56
that says, you know, sometimes the most logical explanation and the easiest explanation
32:00
is probably what's really going on. And it is easy to understand is because
32:05
a lot of these alleged crimes, and they are alleged crimes. Everybody's innocent
32:07
and have proven guilty, but a lot of them were committed in real time,
32:12
in public, right in front of we heard We've all heard the recording
32:15
of Trump calling the chief election officer of Georgia, who is a Republican,
32:20
a Republican who Trump endorsed the Secretary of State of Georgia, calling them demanding
32:24
to get me those votes. Go out and get me those extra votes.
32:29
Governor Kemp, also a conservative Republican, is supporting that secretary of state,
32:34
the people testifying him, his own chief of staff, people that he's appointed.
32:38
This is not some conspiracy, Tony. This is a grand jury that
32:42
heard evidence, based on testimony from Republicans that Trump appointed people who had absolutely
32:47
nothing to gain by turning on Trump. But they're telling the truth and it's
32:52
up to that prosecutor to prove it. And if they prove it beyond a
32:55
reasonable doubt. And he's in some big trouble and your party has it's wagon
33:00
to this guy. And here one thing he said that was true. One
33:04
thing he said, well, he could shoot somebody in the face on Fifth
33:06
Avenue and you guys would never turn on him. And you know, that's
33:07
the one thing he said that was true. Let's move on to some texts
33:10
here. Asked Tony to admit, to admit that under President Biden, the
33:15
US has seen the largest ever oil and gas production in twenty twenty three and
33:19
it posted it's posted a break this record in twenty twenty four and that unemployment
33:22
is at its lowest in fifty years. Comment on that, I don't I
33:27
can't admit to something that I haven't seen the data on. I don't know
33:29
if oil and gas is at the highest levels, if it is great for
33:31
our oil and gas companies and their employees. Okay, Tony says a text.
33:36
Tony is an extremist. He supports a sexual abuser for president and is
33:39
happy that Trump did nothing for one hundred twenty four minutes while the Capitol was
33:43
under attack in January sixth Too bad, Hodge Well Dodge giving truthful answer to
33:46
these issues, I mean, knock out a couple more before the break.
33:51
Tex says the dam's lost West Virginia when they started the war on coal.
33:54
Mike, give me thirty seconds on that before we go to break well.
33:58
I think the coal industry has been as and in decline unfortunately. For steam
34:01
coal has been in decline since since the eighties. Unfortunately. I think it's
34:06
been a misrepresentation of h and we've had, you know, twenty years now
34:10
of this uh million dollars pr campaign from the coal industry when it's you and
34:16
it's the station is part of it, quite frankly, where you well,
34:20
they're an advertising an advertiser. Where yeah, well so it's part of it.
34:23
To hear these that you know, they're talking about protecting a way of
34:25
life, when really what the Republican Party has really done is protecting the way
34:30
of life of the folks who signed the front of the check. If you
34:31
look at them when they try to pass legislation that gut mind safety laws?
34:36
Are they are they? Are they for the coal miner? Are they for
34:37
the coal company? And a lot of cases are for the coal company.
34:40
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which you don't know can hurt you. We've got Tony Hodge, I might
37:08
push can here. Texas Republicans want to take away the Constitution, to have
37:13
one US religion, take away women's rights, and called our vets suckers and
37:17
losers. Texas, the average American family has lost seven thousand, four hundred
37:24
dollars an annual income due to inflation and rate hikes and the suffering under Biden's
37:29
policy. How is how is supported? How is this man supporting the working
37:34
man? Let me just get through as me and these modest to add to
37:37
that, I read a report last night, it was yesterday that in twenty
37:40
thirteen fifty thousand dollars a year job, in today's numbers, you'd have to
37:44
be making eighty thousand dollars a year to have the same state. How much
37:47
of that falls unders going on for a long time, I was gonna say,
37:51
how much of that, in all fairness, can be blamed on Joe
37:52
Biden? Well, come on, guys, I mean the inflation rate since
37:55
Joe Biden's been president. Inflation because because a lot of it had to do
38:00
with the pandemic, where you had a demand once once the once the once,
38:05
the shutdowns were lifted. Of course, in our governor, a Republican
38:08
governor, I'm not sure if you support him, but he was he had
38:10
a real shut down here in West Virginia. I imagine you supported that as
38:15
well well. But once we came out of that, the demand didn't meet
38:19
the supply didn't meet the demand. And that's what led to this inflation which
38:22
is starting to go back. But what what we what we do see is
38:24
record record unemployment right now and and record investment in West Virginia do in large
38:31
part to the bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that neither Congresswoman Millar nor Congressman Mooney voted for.
38:39
UH and then the Inflation Reduction Act that no Republicans voted for. Yeahs
38:45
backing out on that one. No. Actually he was on the radio the
38:47
other day touting at SAM doesn't get enough credit with the amount of investment that
38:52
it's put into West Virginia. So you can say you're against the Inflation Reduction
38:54
Acts at all. It is inflation is inflation is starting to get positive.
39:04
Joe Biden has not. He has he doesn't have the solutions to be able
39:07
to stem it. And then let's talk about state issues. Okay, when
39:10
you talk about investment in the northern pen hand with Form Energy or just the
39:15
Boat Motor company up there over in Mason County with New Core right here in
39:19
Kanall County with this company, it's building electric school buses. That's all due
39:22
to the inflation reduction. To the Republican Senator Capital and and Governor Dust will
39:29
be the first ones to show up to cut a ribbon, but then they
39:31
will bash the actual legislation that led to this record investment in West Virginia.
39:36
But you should be thanking many of these, Senator, many of these investments
39:40
though were underway before. It to be fair before before, yeah it was.
39:45
It was I'm not saying, and incentivized this and this type of investment.
39:50
And you cannot with a straight face say that that that the inflation reduction
39:53
didn't bring this this record amount of inflation, of the record amount of of
39:58
investment into West the Republican supermajority in this state is paving the way for economic
40:04
development and which still these private companies are coming in. But well, there's
40:07
a host of different bills. I mean, I don't have them in front
40:09
of me, but there's a host. But it's a whole package. When
40:12
you take that whole package and you have you know, our legislators who are
40:15
really working hard, and our governor who are going out here trying to recruit
40:19
companies, and they're coming. They're coming much more in a much grander scale
40:22
than when the Democratic Party was in charge. Talking about other other types of
40:25
investments, let's talk about infrastructure investments. We've invested like some three hundred million
40:30
dollars over the last couple of sessions, and infrastructure investments to pave our roads,
40:35
to do water sewer and things like this. The reason that we have
40:37
all these road problems this You don't just flip a switch and all of a
40:40
sudden the roads get bad. It happened over years and years of neglect.
40:45
And quite frankly, your party was in control of all, you know,
40:49
the House, the Senate, and the governor, and here we are all
40:53
these years going through neglect, things not getting done. Then the Republicans take
40:58
over and we have all this work to do. Now we had a lot
41:00
on our shoulders. There's a lot there to get done, and it takes
41:04
time, it's slow, but we are getting it done and we're fixing problems
41:07
that put that you guys, quite frankly, your party, not you,
41:09
but your party. We feel like their policies put us in that position.
41:13
We're fixing it. It just takes time. Well, I couldn't disagree more.
41:16
First of all, a lot of the money that's gone to the roads
41:20
was because of the roads with prosperity, which I have I voted for.
41:22
But it did raise fees on I mean, it's really a tax. So
41:27
the Republican governor did support that. I imagine you support that as well,
41:30
water, water and sewer. Republican governor that did raise taxes on car owners
41:36
to pay for the roads for prosperity. However, what's not being addressed,
41:40
Well, I guess what we can agree on is that Jim Justice is a
41:45
rhino. I guess we can agree on that. Right, He's a Republican
41:47
in name only, not a real Republican, he says himself. But one
41:52
thing you said that he's out there working hard. I'm sorry. I've been
41:54
in the legislature now his entire tenure, and he does not work hard ever,
42:00
see him, and the state has suffered because of that when we have
42:02
suffered one of the worst drug epidemics in the country. Yet for eight months
42:07
now he has failed to appoint somebody to be the head of the Office of
42:10
Drug Control Policy. To my knowledge, he still hasn't appointed the boards of
42:15
the board members for the West Virginia First Foundation, it's supposed to determine how
42:20
the drug abatement money gets spent from these from these lawsuits, we have engineers
42:23
who are fleeing the Department of Transportation in droves because of mismanagement and just a
42:29
toxic, a toxic culture over under his appointee over at the Department of Transportation.
42:36
Of course, Jim Justice wouldn't know because he doesn't have cabinet meetings.
42:39
Tell me the last time the governor's had a cabinet meeting to address some of
42:43
these issues. We've had to break up the DHHR because of the dysfunction going
42:46
on at the DHR. You know who suffers when that happens. The most
42:51
vulnerable folks in our society, fostered children. We have over close to eight
42:54
thousand of them in foster care right now. And what is the governor and
42:58
the legislature done to address that? They might, you know, tinker around
43:01
the edges, but they're not really getting to the heart of the issues.
43:04
And that's and that's support services for families, all right, And it's to
43:07
make it easier for families to open up their home to foster children. It's
43:10
not being done. You're fiftieth in everything, and people are leaving this state
43:15
and our state, our flagship university in this state is having to cut all
43:19
sorts of courses. So it's gonna be a self fulfilling prop people. There
43:24
are things being done on the foster care system. I mean, one thing
43:27
that you mentioned is restructuring of DHR. The legislature, the legislature passed that
43:30
legislation, the governors on it in the law. That takes time. You
43:34
can't do that overnight. Hasn't There been stipends that have been that have been
43:37
passed to help families who want to be foster mare. And here's the thing
43:40
too, you talk about shortage and foster the yes, okay, yes,
43:45
you're asking. Well, you're a legislator. I'm not okay, So you're
43:51
in the legislature. I saw you say to someone on Twitter the other day
43:52
you have stationary and you have a pen. Let's let's see. Speaking of
43:57
that, you talk about shortage and foster homes. You have a you have
44:00
an extra bedroom, you have stationary, you have a pen. Listen,
44:04
I come from the foster care system. I'm a product of the foster care
44:07
system. I know all about it. It's talking about abortion all the way
44:09
from when you're born, going through the foster care system and coming through that.
44:13
I know all about it, man, I know what it takes,
44:15
I know what it is. I come from that system. I'm in that
44:16
system of it. The system is broken, right, but also I'm not
44:21
doing enough to fix it. Should be a top priority. And those children
44:24
are the future of our state, and there's nearly eight thousand of them.
44:27
We need to address the issue. We need to do it. Put your
44:29
money where your mouth is. Become a foster parent. I go a good
44:32
point. I'm a singer, I'm a bachelor, and don't I wouldn't.
44:37
I wouldn't subject anybody. I agree. I can sit and play guitar for
44:42
the children, all right, tex says imposter in the White House text says
44:45
can push can let others finish his sentence? That finishes their sentences. He's
44:50
rude. Seems like mister Hodge always pivots. So what about ism said?
44:52
Is answering questions. I'd rather have Garland on the Supreme Court than Clarence Thomas
44:59
ten times. It doesn't take bribes, okay, all right. Trump has
45:05
now, says a texture. Trump has now been indicted in every city in
45:07
the National League East except for Philadelphia. Come on, Philly, says a
45:12
text. Let me see texture says the modern Democratic the modern liberal Democratic Party
45:19
all drugs, all the time. JFK wouldn't recognize the Democratic Party of the
45:22
day, says a text. Let me see me knock out one more here.
45:28
Ask them both to denounce the lack of leadership at the top of their
45:30
national parties. Allow voters to decide their standard bearers. We'll try to get
45:36
to that if we can. Let me see, all right, we gotta
45:39
take a break. We're back after this phone call to five eighty Live or
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with Pooka Valley Bank to receive APY member FDIC reckless. Big government policies are
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but it doesn't have to be. Senator Joe Mansion could be part of the
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part by your hometown baseball team. The Charleston Dirty Birds. Birds begin the
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more, visit Dirty Birds Baseball dot Com Texas. Dear Dave, question for
48:23
both I got Hodgen Pushkin here. The country is literally there for the taking.
48:28
Why can't either party give us a decent candidate to vote for? Michael's
48:34
start with you, but make it short. The voters choose the nominees,
48:37
the primary voters choose the nominees, and we'll see who wins the nomination.
48:39
But I believe it will be pre at the incumbent president, President Biden,
48:44
because of bills like the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Bill, which Trump
48:49
had Infrastructure Week every other week, couldn't manage to pass a bipartisan piece of
48:53
legislation like the Infrastructure Bill, or the American Rescue Plan, or the build
48:59
that helped helped veterans who were harmed by these burn pits. I mean that
49:05
first two years when when the Democrats had control of Congress and the White House
49:08
past monumental pieces of legislation, and that's why he will be the nominee and
49:13
will be reelected. I mean, on the part about the primary voters choosing
49:16
the nominees, Mike and I are in agreement on this. I mean,
49:19
we don't have a system where the party is kingmaker. We just don't have
49:22
that system anymore. I mean, at one time that used to be a
49:24
kind of a big thing, but now it's just not like that. So
49:27
I agree with him that it is the primary voters that will choose, that
49:30
will that will choose. I do want to say one thing that because he
49:34
said President Biden is going to be the nominee, that's if he can get
49:37
through, you know, beating Joe Manchin, who's I think it looks like
49:40
he's going to leave the Democratic Party from what Democratic Party, from what he's
49:44
saying ants. So I mean, look, there's just another guy leaving your
49:47
party. I mean, he's your standard bear in this state. He's the
49:51
top of the ticket guy in West Virginia, and he openly admitted on statewide
49:54
radio with Hobby kirchvill that he was seriously contemplating leaving the party of Pushkin the
50:00
part. Okay, well you can, you convenely left out the whole reason
50:08
for the interview, and that's because he was talking. He was saying that
50:10
the Inflation Reduction Act doesn't get enough credit because we're seeing all these all this
50:15
investment in West Virginia and Republicans are lining up to get there, get the
50:19
photo up in front of the red But he was on hoppy that day saying
50:25
that that legislation isn't getting enough credit and how it's really disproportionately helping West Virginia's
50:30
because his work, because because he was the you know, helped craft this
50:37
legislation and it was a decided to vote on it, and a lot of
50:40
it disproportionately helped West Virginia. However, with him saying that he is considering
50:45
being an that's nothing new. He's always been independent. This is the same
50:50
Senator Mansion we've knew, we knew when he was governor. Man, he's
50:52
always been an independent voice. That's nothing new for him. So you're saying
50:55
he doesn't line up with the Democratic Party. That's what you just said.
51:00
He doesn't line up with caucus with in the Senate. When he starts caucusing
51:02
with McConnell, then you give me a call, because that's not happy.
51:07
He's about to leave. Man, he's on. He's got one foot out
51:09
the door, all right. Five lives brought to two part by Generations Physical
51:13
Therapy, Texas. GOP has been in charge for West Virginia for ten years.
51:15
West Virginia saw hubs around forty eight fifty and every positive area. Teachers
51:20
are leaving, doctors won't come here. I love West Virginia, but I
51:22
may have to leave. The state is dying while our leadership argues our culture
51:25
issues that discriminate and urge those who are different to get out. Tony answer
51:30
that. I'm gonna let Tony answer this one alone. Well, here you
51:31
have two party leaders right here, and we haven't a whole lot of culture
51:36
issues haven't came up. I mean a couple, but we've mostly just debated
51:38
policy and ideas. I mean, I just I don't know, I don't
51:42
see it. Look, we're moving forward. West Virginia's moving forward. The
51:46
voters clearly agree with the Republican Party. Nothing could be more. I'm gonna
51:51
quote your chair you work with Eldrian McCardell, chair of the West Virginia Republican
51:54
Party, when she said, go live where you want to live, practice
51:58
what you want to practice, but you're not going to fit in well here.
52:00
That's what her message was to West Virginians who don't agree with with you
52:05
on culture war issues. I want to bring everybody here. I want to
52:07
grow West Virginia. I want to make this a place where everybody's welcome.
52:10
We're growing. We should love everybody day. We should love everybody. Say
52:14
something nice about Mike, say something like, hurry, Mike, you are
52:17
a great musician and a good thing. Say something nice about Tony. You
52:21
make really good peanut butter fudge, and you're genuinely a nice guy. You're
52:24
a good guy. And we can both agree that Jim Justice is a Rhino,
52:28
he's not a Republican. We gotta go. Thanks, guys, I
52:31
appreciate you being. You're seeing tomorrow until that have fun to love somebody A
52:46
six point four point five Cross Lakes VRC Media Station. We're proud to live
52:53
here too,