Latest / The Bluegrass Blues Podcast / Look who’s running for U.S. Senate. And who is threatening healthcare in Kentucky?

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Look who’s running for U.S. Senate. And who is threatening healthcare in Kentucky? · The Bluegrass Blues Podcast

0:00
This is the bluegrass blues podcast. I'm Jesse.
0:03
I'm Amy Okay, Amy, what are we going to talk
0:09
about this week? Well, let's let's just start
0:13
off with who's running to fill the open seat
0:17
of Senior Senator Mitch McConnell, shall we sure
0:22
and The only one I'm aware of is Andy Barr who's
0:26
the Republican congressman from Lexington Well,
0:29
he is certainly the most well -funded. There
0:32
are other candidates. Colonel Pamela Stevenson,
0:36
a Democratic state representative and longtime
0:39
military veteran, is running, as is Daniel Cameron.
0:48
But Daniel Cameron, well, he's the one who lost
0:51
to Andy Beshear in the last election, so his
0:55
chances, I would imagine, are... very slim. I
0:58
would think so. And I don't know who the other
1:00
person is who you referred to. And I'm sure our
1:03
listeners, a lot of our listeners probably don't
1:05
know who that is either. Colonel Pamela Stevenson
1:08
is a state rep and she represents the, what,
1:13
primarily the West End of Louisville, Kentucky.
1:16
And she is a fierce advocate for democratic values
1:23
and equity and supporting our military veterans
1:28
and wants to uplift all people in the Commonwealth
1:32
of Kentucky. Okay, well when you say colonel,
1:35
is that like a Kentucky colonel or is that like
1:38
a, I shouldn't say Kentucky colonels are fake,
1:41
but is it a US military colonel? Colonel Pamela
1:45
Stevenson is a retired US Air Force Colonel and
1:51
she's the minority leader of the Kentucky House
1:53
of Representatives So that means she's head of
1:57
the Democrats in the house, right? Right. Okay,
2:00
so we know that Andy has a lot of money. Do you
2:05
like is it like millions of dollars that he's
2:10
campaigns already collected to run? Yes. When
2:13
I last looked, he has over $5 million raised.
2:16
And how much does Pam Stevenson have? When last
2:20
I looked, it was less than $100 ,000. So just
2:24
from a financial standpoint, she's already in
2:26
trouble. Well, let's talk about Andy's record
2:31
before, or Andy's positions before we get into
2:35
the mechanism of the election. So I've been looking
2:40
at the Bar for Senate website and let's go through
2:46
just the various issues that he's focusing on
2:49
and let's see whether they make sense for this
2:53
state. Okay, the first thing he has is close
2:56
the borders, deport the illegals. What does that
2:59
mean? It sounds like xenophobia to me. We sure
3:02
need a lot of our migrant and immigrant workers
3:06
to support horse racing and pick crops and other
3:10
vegetables and all the things. Oh, why not repair
3:14
roofs even and mow lawns? Right, and they work
3:18
throughout the state. So a lot of the, well,
3:21
first of all, are they illegal? Because what
3:24
we've been seeing recently with the ICE deportations
3:26
is that they're taking away people who are in
3:29
the country legally. So, you know, when when
3:32
he says deport the illegals, what does that mean?
3:36
Well, to me, that means deport anyone with a
3:38
Hispanic surname. But well, it's certainly seeming
3:42
like that because people have been deported as
3:44
we know and are sitting in a terrible prison
3:47
in El Salvador. And we're fighting to get them
3:51
out. Well, there are also an ICE detention centers
3:53
across the country. And I, you know, I've seen
3:56
videos of children being handcuffed. and put
3:59
in police cars. So, you know, if they're deporting
4:05
illegals because they just have Spanish surnames,
4:08
that seems to be a huge, as you say, a huge bit
4:11
of xenophobia. So, okay, so he wants to close
4:14
the border. That's been an issue, or that's the
4:17
typical GOP issue whenever they're running for
4:20
office. It's, you know, it's always, I'm running
4:24
for office, let's close the border. When they
4:27
win the office, you don't hear anything about
4:29
the borders other than when they want to make
4:30
a Fox News appearance or something like that.
4:34
Okay, so the next item he has is, unleash the
4:38
middle class, extend Trump's tax cuts. Well,
4:42
okay, who's going to benefit from Trump's tax
4:44
cuts? Billionaires? And, you know, multi -millionaires
4:48
and billionaires. You know, one of the things
4:52
is that I believe the current tax rate for the
4:57
high -end earner is probably like 34 or 35 percent.
5:03
And, you know, back in the, what, 1940s and 50s
5:07
and 60s, the tax, top tax rate for the high -end
5:12
earner was 94 percent. So, you know, one thing
5:18
though is Let's talk about what that means in
5:20
terms of income taxes, because income tax is
5:24
not wealth tax. And when a billionaire can have
5:29
a company, have billions of dollars, and they
5:32
can say, well, I take a salary of $1 a year,
5:37
that's their income for the year. So if they're
5:40
36 % tax rate, that means they're paying 36 cents.
5:46
because that was their earnings for the year.
5:48
Whereas they get stock options or any of their
5:52
holdings or as their holdings appreciate that's
5:55
in their portfolios, they're not taxed on that.
5:59
So if you're unleashing the middle class, extend
6:03
Trump's tax cuts, the tax cuts are going to billionaires.
6:07
And there are millionaires and billionaires who
6:09
do get substantial salaries. they some do get
6:14
million -dollar salaries so even with that it
6:17
still seems like they're making a lot of money
6:20
whereas what the typical taxpayer with the tax
6:24
cuts currently will get or benefits by maybe
6:28
a four thousand dollar increase which is what
6:31
two months rent Right. I mean, it's clearly regressive.
6:35
A regressive tax is one that creates a larger
6:39
burden on lower income taxpayers than on middle
6:43
or higher income taxpayers. It's clearly regressive.
6:47
Right. But the reason that Trump won, or the
6:51
reason that Republicans are winning now, is because
6:53
they have the financial support of millionaires
6:57
and billionaires. And he's got $5 million already,
7:03
and the campaign really hasn't begun. And I'm
7:06
sure that since this is such an important election
7:10
year, more money is going to flow into his coffers
7:14
before anything happens. what Democrats are going
7:20
to get that kind of money. We can talk about
7:21
that after we go through Andy's positions, but
7:24
let's let's go through his position. Well, let
7:26
me just add that, you know, tariffs have have
7:29
come up a lot in the news, too. And I just, you
7:32
know, the tax foundation. site says that likewise,
7:37
taxes on imports or tariffs are regressive because
7:41
they apply to consumption and lower income households
7:45
tend to consume a greater share of their incomes
7:48
than higher income households. And they're particularly
7:52
regressive because the tariff schedules tend
7:55
to apply higher rates to lower end goods than
7:58
they do to luxury goods, including on many apparel
8:01
and home goods items. This will be another conversation
8:05
that we can have because tariffs are confusing
8:07
to people. But as we've seen the tariff on, tariff
8:11
off, tariff on, you know, uncertainty has really
8:15
wrecked the markets and it's just bad for everybody.
8:19
Right. And the other thing is that the consumer
8:21
pays the tariffs, not the country importing or
8:25
the country that we're getting the exports from,
8:28
which has been I won't say a myth, but a lie
8:31
that a certain administration has been giving
8:33
about who's really paying the tariffs. It's not
8:38
the foreign country, it's the consumer. That's
8:41
right, Jesse. Getting back to Andy Barr's putting
8:45
his hat in the race, I just want to mention that
8:48
the Kentucky Democratic Party issued a statement
8:51
on Facebook that I want to read and we can discuss.
8:56
Today, Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Coleman
8:59
Elridge released the following statement on Congressman
9:02
Andy Barr's decision to run for U .S. Senate.
9:05
Despite his record of ignoring, neglecting, and
9:09
betraying the six congressional district constituents,
9:13
he's already sworn to represent. In Congress,
9:18
Andy Barr has done absolutely nothing while the
9:21
Trump administration cripples our economy, sends
9:24
prices skyrocketing, targets Kentucky's signature
9:28
industries, and threatens to gut health care
9:31
that 1 .5 million Kentuckians rely on. Today,
9:36
he managed to launch his U .S. Senate campaign
9:39
with a two -minute video that grovels for Trump's
9:43
endorsement and ignores the very real problems
9:46
Kentuckians face every day? Well, the thing too
9:49
is that he really doesn't have to grovel for
9:51
Trump's endorsement because he's going to get
9:52
it anyway. He's been a very loyal person to the
9:55
administration. So, you know, the groveling is
9:59
unnecessary and who else is going to get Trump's
10:03
approval because Cameron's not going to get it.
10:05
Cameron lost the election to Beshear and Trump
10:09
looks at people who lose as losers and he doesn't
10:13
want to be associated with that. So let's go
10:16
on. We'll talk more about the Medicare and the
10:20
Medicaid issue or healthcare in a little while.
10:23
But the next Andy Barr issue is keep men out
10:26
of girl sports. Now, okay, I'm just going to
10:30
be blunt about this. If you look at the numbers,
10:34
there are maybe at most 100 trans athletes in
10:39
sports today. That's 100 people. The population
10:42
of the United States is Almost 342 million. This
10:48
is a non -issue. Why is he wasting our time?
10:51
Let's go to the next one. Honor and defend our
10:55
veterans. Well, that's... given that federal
11:01
cuts are hitting veterans especially hard. The
11:04
Department of Veteran Affairs is planning to
11:06
cut 83 ,000 jobs, slashing employment by over
11:11
17 % at the federal agency that provides healthcare
11:14
for millions of veterans. So they want to erode
11:21
the federal workforce, which gives veterans an
11:24
advantage in hiring over other people who have
11:27
not served in the military. Anyone who's applied
11:29
for a federal job knows that one of the boxes
11:32
you have to take off is, are you a veteran or
11:34
not? And that just gives you an advantage. And
11:40
then you have millions of veterans getting health
11:43
care, and that is very likely to... be impacted
11:48
by the understaffing. They're going to de -staff
11:51
the suicide hotline and as we know PTSD from
11:56
these wars and these traumas is real and our
11:59
veterans have served their country and deserve
12:01
to get support. We're losing research. The VA
12:06
invests in research about $916 million a year
12:11
so that they can have a comprehensive understanding
12:14
of veterans' well -being. Well, let's just cut
12:17
that. And then looming cuts to other benefits,
12:20
right? You know, we have these folks fighting
12:26
in the front lines for this America first, you
12:30
know, and yet we're going, we're basically going
12:33
to, you know, undermine their health and, you
12:35
know, perhaps lead to the death of many of our
12:38
service people. Let's also point out that not
12:40
too long ago, a bunch of military people died
12:44
in another country and Donald Trump didn't show
12:46
up for their, when their bodies were brought
12:49
back to the United States. And it was at one
12:53
point he didn't even know that they were dead.
12:56
A reporter had to tell him that. I think he was
12:58
golfing in Mar -a -Lago. Oh, no, he's always
13:00
golfing in Mar -a -Lago. But did Andy say anything
13:03
about that? Or did he just stay quiet and just
13:06
wait for Trump to... approve of Andy, I don't
13:10
know. Well, that's a larger conversation that
13:12
we really do need to delve into because, you
13:15
know, the things that are happening right now
13:17
in this country that are really eroding our democracy,
13:21
it's not just Trump. It's not just Musk. It's
13:25
almost every single Republican elected official.
13:30
Okay. Andy's next proposal is to stand proudly
13:35
for life. You want to take that one? Well, you
13:38
know, here's the thing. Kentucky is a forced
13:43
pregnancy state. Forced pregnancy state. So all
13:48
of the women out there listening, you have no
13:53
longer access to your health care or you do not
13:57
own the rights to make decisions about your body
14:01
and your health care. I think that, you know,
14:04
women's lives are important too, right? And our
14:07
health care is important. I think this is a bunch
14:09
of bullshit. Okay. And, you know, there's also
14:12
the issue that Kentucky has the highest rate
14:14
of incest in the country. Yeah, but you can't
14:17
do anything about it because we have a forced
14:19
pregnancy state. And that was an issue that actually
14:23
helped Andy Beshear win his last election because
14:26
there was a young woman who talked about how
14:30
she was impregnated by her stepfather and under
14:35
the new laws she would not be able to get an
14:39
abortion for that so you know this is that if
14:42
he's standing proudly for life what does that
14:45
mean I don't know oh okay the next issue Kentucky
14:48
energy powers America well Kentucky energy has
14:52
been coal coal is problematic. Yes, it is one
14:59
of the important issues and one of the important
15:01
jobs that has helped the state thrive, but as
15:05
we know, there are a lot of things happening
15:08
in the environment that are directly affected
15:10
by the emissions of coal. water, coal, it pollutes
15:17
water, and very many, the majority of Kentuckians
15:21
wanted to oppose Senate Bill 89. And Senate Bill
15:25
89 was about removing regulations from businesses
15:28
that, you know, pollute the groundwater, wetlands,
15:31
and other small head water streams across the
15:34
state. And get this, talking about coal, Senator
15:39
Scott Maiden, Republican of Pineville, the bill's
15:43
primary sponsor, reiterated his criticism of
15:46
government overreach by the state's Environmental
15:49
Protection Cabinet and its decisions about coal
15:52
industry permits. Get this. God put coal under
15:56
our feet so that we can use it. It's one of the
16:00
greatest natural resources and it's our job to
16:04
push back on unelected bureaucrats. And you know,
16:08
my question is, did God create coal miners? Because
16:14
currently, the Trump administration is now going
16:17
to gut all the protections for coal miners and
16:20
their health and all the services related to
16:24
black lung. Also, water? Was water created by
16:28
God? I mean, humans are mostly comprised of water.
16:31
We have to drink help. clean water to live. So
16:36
what the hell is this? Yeah. And, you know, there's
16:39
also the, the, the, the abuse of the, um, environment
16:44
has been the subject of songs. You listen to
16:47
John Prine singing about New England County.
16:49
Um, this is, you know, they've just torn up the
16:52
environment. It's, uh, making it unsafe and unhealthy
16:56
for people in general. But there are also efforts
17:00
to make. some kind of acquiescence to the coal
17:05
industry. Also, when you talk about these kinds
17:09
of things, if he's talking about coal, what are
17:12
the donations coming from the coal industry for
17:15
his campaign? Right. When you look at the money,
17:18
let's always follow the money. The money goes
17:21
to the owners of the coal. industries. It never
17:25
trickles down to coal miners and their families.
17:28
You think trickle -down economics doesn't work?
17:31
Yeah. Never. Won't. Alright. Next issue. The
17:36
Second Amendment is not optional. Whoever said
17:40
it was? You know, it's in the Constitution. There
17:43
have been no laws passed to stop gun ownership.
17:50
And there's... There are certain things about,
17:55
when they put it in the Constitution, were they
17:59
thinking about AR -14s or submachine guns that
18:03
are being used to mow down children? And you
18:06
see these pretend patriots walking around with
18:11
their guns strapped to their backs. You know,
18:14
I'm going to say something that's racial here,
18:17
but if a black guy walked through the streets
18:19
with an AR -15... he would be shot immediately.
18:22
This is not a joke. But these other white guys
18:28
walk around with these guns, and it's like, oh,
18:30
OK, it's my First Amendment right or Second Amendment
18:32
right to do this. And it's more important than
18:35
any other amendment. It's more important than
18:38
the First Amendment, more important than the
18:40
Fifth Amendment. It's just more important than
18:43
the amendments that freed the slaves. This is
18:46
fear mongering. Basically, white people have
18:50
to arm themselves tooth and nail to protect themselves
18:55
from the other. And who is the other? Well, it's
18:58
the first Andy Barr reference to the people coming
19:02
across the borders, the people who are, you know,
19:07
allegedly the DEI recipients and all that other
19:10
stuff. People who look like you, don't they?
19:12
Yes, of course. You're very threatening. Yes,
19:14
I know. Look at myself in the mirror and I just
19:18
I'm frightened Okay, next one cut waste grow
19:23
freedom. I have no idea what that means Cut cutting
19:27
waste now has been the Elon Musk approach to
19:31
cutting everything So, you know, he's saying
19:34
that Social Security is wasteful or it's he calls
19:37
it a Ponzi scheme They're talking about cutting
19:40
Medicare, which we will get Medicaid which we
19:43
will get into soon. But you know this this idea
19:47
that everything is just being spent, that your
19:51
tax dollars are going to everything, and the
19:53
tax dollars that the billionaires aren't paying
19:56
are going to all this other stuff. It's just
20:01
this wrapping yourself in the flag, but in its
20:06
essence saying, I'm going to cut all government
20:08
services, but I'm going to be patriotic about
20:10
it. Yeah, it's bullshit. Frankly all the lawsuits
20:16
that are now coming out, you know about all the
20:19
DOGE cuts We have all these lawsuits now being
20:23
raised. Who do you think is gonna pay for all
20:25
these lawsuits? Well, the taxpayer pays for them
20:29
and the taxpayer is You and me, right? So this
20:34
cutting making government more efficient is actually
20:37
going to be such an expensive have such expensive
20:42
repercussions to the American taxpayer. So pay
20:45
attention. Right. And the last one I see on his
20:49
list is, communist China must be defeated. All
20:54
right. I'm older and I remember when communist
20:57
Russia had to be defeated. So this is like, whenever...
21:03
conservative candidates want to wrap themselves
21:08
in the flags, they say communist. And when they
21:11
say communist, then somehow they transition that
21:13
into liberals or people on the left. They call
21:20
people on the left communist fascists, which
21:23
is a contradiction in terms. What does that mean?
21:31
If you're saying communist China must be defeated,
21:34
are you talking about a military intervention
21:36
where everybody will die because of a nuclear
21:39
war? Or are you saying that, well, we're going
21:43
to tariff them to death, which is going to just
21:47
kick our ass because you tariff things coming
21:53
from China like an iPhone that cost you what,
21:57
$1 ,000 now? And it's going to cost $2 ,000 if
22:01
you're going to defeat them with tariffs. I just
22:04
don't know what this means. And honestly, I don't
22:07
think he knows what it means. Obviously. And
22:09
plus, Trump is up Putin's ass. So this is completely...
22:14
Meaningless and it's a trope that's used to stir
22:17
up fear again, you know back to McCarthy the
22:20
McCarthy era Yeah, and that was because of the
22:24
card -carrying communist in the State Department
22:27
right for all you kids out there who don't know
22:29
who the McCarthy era represents that was Joe
22:32
McCarthy the senator from Wisconsin who made
22:36
his bones, I guess, by saying that there was
22:40
just communist infiltration throughout American
22:44
society and it was all, again, a liberal conspiracy.
22:48
He was a liar. If you look at the movie, The
22:52
Manchurian Candidate, that's Joe McCarthy. It's
22:55
a parody of Joe McCarthy. So, you know, this
23:00
is nice little buzzwords to get people to wrap
23:03
themselves in the flag because they're They're
23:06
busy hating on immigrants and all this other
23:08
stuff. This is just a trope. So we've gone through
23:15
Andy Barr's positions. So who can beat Andy Barr
23:19
in the election? If you're supporting a Democrat,
23:22
who's got the best chance? I think the only person,
23:25
the only Democrat in the entire Commonwealth
23:28
of Kentucky that can beat Andy Barr is Andy Beshear.
23:31
Right. And I'm going to say something kind of
23:34
silly, but... If Andy Barr shows up on the ballot
23:38
and Andy Beshear doesn't, there are people who
23:40
are going to think that's the same person, because
23:42
it's like, oh, Andy Barr, Andy Beshear, isn't
23:44
that the same thing? But I agree with you totally
23:48
that Andy Beshear has shown that he can win statewide,
23:52
and he's the only one who's won statewide for
23:55
Democrats in a long time. But is he going to
23:59
run? That's the question. appear that he is going
24:03
to run for this Senate race and that he is eyeing
24:08
the next presidential election. Jesse, how do
24:11
you feel about that? What about Barack Obama
24:13
and just having the one Senate term and then
24:16
running for president? It's a great stepping
24:17
stone, right? That's the thing. If Andy Beshear
24:20
runs for Senate, I'm sure he's going to make
24:23
the typical statement that, oh, I'm going to
24:25
serve the people of Kentucky. I intend to stay
24:27
a senator. And let's say he wins the Senate race
24:31
and let's say he doesn't run for president in
24:34
2028 and then let's say that another Democratic
24:39
candidate for president goes to Andy Beshear
24:42
and says will you run with me? He's gonna run
24:45
with them, right? And so, you know this this
24:48
idea that he has to Save his powder for the presidential
24:54
campaign. It seems kind of misguided. We talk
25:00
a lot about follow the money, right? You had
25:03
mentioned there are moneyed candidates. You mentioned
25:06
Gavin Newsom, for example. Explain. Well, Gavin
25:09
Newsom is the governor of California. He is not
25:12
eligible to run for governor again because of
25:16
the limits on that state's gubernatorial terms.
25:22
I believe Kamala Harris is going to run for governor
25:24
of California, by the way. But Gavin Newsom has
25:29
been running for president for as long as I can
25:31
remember, because as some of you know, I worked
25:35
in San Francisco for the past three years. And
25:38
Gavin Newsom was always showing up on Fox News
25:41
to counter the Republican talking points. He's
25:44
been doing sort of like a podcast, which has
25:47
better quality production than we do, I'm sure.
25:51
He's doing this podcast where he's talking to
25:54
people on the other side of the aisle. And he's
25:58
running for president. He has the look. He's
26:01
a good looking guy. He's very telegenic. And
26:07
he's probably the front runner right now. And
26:10
I think he would have been the front runner.
26:14
Yeah, he would have been a front runner. He was
26:16
made the front runner when Kamala lost the presidential
26:19
bid. So he's going for it. He's got more money.
26:25
He's got tech money from California liberal billionaires,
26:30
which to me really don't exist, but let's pretend
26:33
they do exist. And I can't think of anyone else
26:38
in the country in the Democratic Party right
26:40
now who has the resources and the reach he has.
26:45
So if Andy Beshear is running against Gavin Newsom,
26:50
Gavin Newsom is going to win. I just really feel
26:53
that. Andy Beshear would not have the resources
26:56
that Gavin Newsom is going to have. So what Andy
26:59
Beshear should do, in my opinion, is announce
27:02
that he's going to run for Senate. That would
27:04
be definitely a race he can win because he's
27:08
shown that he can win a statewide race. In a
27:11
very red state? In a very red state. And that's
27:14
his... That's the reason he was considered or
27:18
named as a possible vice presidential candidate
27:20
in the last election because he did something
27:24
that a lot of people couldn't do. And I think
27:27
honestly they should have picked him as the vice
27:29
presidential candidate because then he would
27:32
have been facing... Who's the guy with the couches?
27:36
The vice president with the couches? Oh, yeah.
27:39
Well, anyway, everyone knows who I'm talking
27:41
about. But that would have been an interesting
27:44
debate with two people from this part of the
27:49
country talking about... On the left, you have
27:54
Andy talking about all the stuff that he's done
27:57
from Kentucky. And on the right... Sorry, I just
28:01
- JD Vance, by the way. JD Vance. Right. JD Vance
28:04
is like saying, I'm from Appalachia and I'm from
28:07
rural America, but I'm not going to represent
28:10
their interest. So that's why I think Andy should
28:14
run. And I hope he does run for US Senate. It's
28:17
a seat he can win. Democrats need every seat
28:20
they can get in this next election because at
28:24
a certain point, Trump is going to overstep his
28:27
bounds. And there's going to have to be an impeachment
28:30
vote. And I hate raising that because it's going
28:34
to sound like, oh, they're already conspiring
28:37
to get him. But let's remember that Republicans
28:40
have been conspiring to get Democrats every election.
28:44
Bill Clinton. There was talk about impeaching
28:48
Barack Obama because he wore a tan suit. There's
28:51
talk about impeaching Joe Biden. There's talk
28:54
about impeaching Kamala Harris if she won the
28:57
election. So let's, you know, impeachment is
29:02
always on the table for both parties, but there's
29:06
a justified impeachment and there's unjustified
29:08
impeachments. And so it'll be interesting to
29:11
see what happens in that area. Right. And you
29:14
know, I want to segue to Medicaid. So a lot of
29:19
folks in Kentucky, I think, don't know. this,
29:23
but Kynect, K -Y -N -E -C -T, that is actually
29:27
the Affordable Care Act. That is actually Obamacare.
29:31
But it wasn't framed as Obamacare. Why do you
29:35
think that is, Jesse? It wasn't framed as Obamacare.
29:39
What do you mean by that? Well, it was presented
29:41
as Kynect. It had all these cartoon characters.
29:44
Well, it's because the Republicans had made Obamacare
29:47
something evil. It was something that this this
29:50
evil black president had imposed on America and
29:54
they were going to destroy our health care system
29:56
because it's the best health care system in the
29:59
world, which is not true. So the Republicans
30:05
actually called it Obamacare. The Democrats didn't
30:08
call it that. They called it the Affordable Care
30:10
Act. And the Affordable Care Act wasn't really
30:14
a Democratic invention. It was invented by Mitt
30:18
Romney when he was governor of Massachusetts.
30:21
So the passage of the Affordable Care Act was
30:25
essentially a Republican plan that did not do
30:30
what a lot of Democrats or liberals wanted done
30:33
because a lot of people are talking about single
30:35
payer like other countries do. but it gave the
30:39
healthcare companies access to more funding,
30:42
but it also made it possible for people to actually
30:45
have healthcare. Right. People like me, by the
30:48
way, I have a pre -existing condition. I have
30:50
Crohn's disease. And actually I got to testify
30:53
in front of senators like Tim McCain and others
30:58
about the... the wonderful effects of the expansion
31:02
of the Affordable Care Act of health care under
31:08
Steve Beshear's leadership, because Kentuckians
31:10
got a real boost in access to health care because
31:13
of the expansion of the Affordable Care Act.
31:16
And remember that when Mitch McConnell was running
31:19
in, I don't know, maybe two elections ago, he
31:23
made the statement that he was going to get rid
31:26
of Obamacare, but he was going to save Kynect.
31:30
And, you know, it's the same thing. It was always
31:33
the same thing. No one called him out on it,
31:36
which I find very frustrating. And he got away
31:40
with it. He won the election. If he had said...
31:42
I'm going to take your health care away from
31:44
you, which is what that is, he would have lost.
31:48
Or the election would have been a lot closer.
31:51
Right. So basically, Trump's new budget plan
31:55
has renewed a push for Medicaid work requirements
31:59
and spending reductions that could leave millions
32:02
of Americans without health care. coverage. And
32:05
here in Kentucky, we would be hit amongst the
32:08
hardest of all states. Over a third of Kentuckians
32:12
are on Medicaid, which is provided through KYNECT
32:17
or the Affordable Care Act, and more than half
32:22
of persons in many rural counties in Kentucky.
32:25
rely on Medicaid. Right. And then, you know,
32:29
that raises the question, are they aware that
32:32
this is happening or because they keep voting
32:35
for Republicans who keep saying that they're
32:37
going to take away these health benefits. And
32:41
the other thing is that Medicaid is probably
32:44
the primary insurer for children. So, you know,
32:47
if you take away health care, you're taking away
32:49
health care from children. You're taking away
32:52
health care from people who really are desperate
32:54
to get it. The fact that Obamacare existed made
32:58
it possible for people to actually get health
33:00
care. And, you know, remember the old days of
33:03
the pre -existing conditions? I do. If you have
33:05
a pre -existing condition, under the old way
33:08
of doing health care in America, you were lost.
33:12
You had no chance. You were going to die. It
33:14
was that simple. And the Obamacare ACA Kynect,
33:20
they made it possible for people to actually
33:23
Get their health Care for themselves like actually
33:27
get health care and one of the other things I
33:30
want to just mention is I'm on Medicare now because
33:33
I'm past retirement age I you know, I put a lot
33:37
of money into my taxes over the years and Social
33:40
Security taxes Medicare Medicaid Medicare taxes
33:44
and I recently realized that if I didn't have
33:50
Medicare for my prescriptions, I would be paying
33:54
thousands of dollars a year for prescriptions.
33:57
For the past 15 years, I never had to think about
34:01
it because I was on healthcare with various employers,
34:06
and I would go to the pharmacy and I'd ask for
34:11
a prescription and say, okay, here, this is five
34:14
dollars. Or, okay, here, it doesn't cost anything
34:17
because I had that insurance. And now I have
34:20
the insurance that you have under Medicare for
34:23
prescriptions. And it wasn't in effect when I
34:26
made my transition after I retired. Certain paperwork
34:33
had to be done, and the paperwork didn't go through
34:35
to all the pharmacies. And I went in to get a
34:39
prescription, and they said, okay, that's $290.
34:43
And it was the prescription I was paying $5 for,
34:45
and then the second prescription was $90, which
34:48
I was paying nothing for. And they said, well,
34:51
what? That's what I said. How is that possible?
34:56
But then they said, do you have any discount
34:57
stuff? And I said, OK, well, I'm on Medicare,
35:01
and I have the Medicare prescription plan. That
35:04
information had not been put in the system. And
35:06
when they put it in the system, I would pay $5
35:09
for both prescriptions. Right. For my Crohn's
35:12
disease treatments, I had these biologics and
35:16
a lot of people are on these drugs like Remicade
35:19
or Humira. It works for autoimmune diseases like
35:23
Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Those
35:26
injections and those treatments on a monthly
35:29
basis without health insurance would be around
35:32
$15 ,000 a month. So I'd be bankrupt and then
35:36
I'd probably be dead. I didn't have access to
35:39
healthcare. And that's going to happen to the
35:42
people in Kentucky if these... like the Musk
35:47
efforts and if the Andy Barr efforts and if the
35:50
Donald Trump efforts are enacted, they're going,
35:53
they want to take away your healthcare. They
35:56
want to take away your social security. Elon
35:59
Musk has already called these programs Ponzi
36:01
schemes. Elon Musk, by the way, who has more
36:06
than $300 billion is going to say, oh, well,
36:12
I'm taking away this because you people don't
36:15
deserve it. And I have to raise this point about
36:19
billionaires in general. If they gave away half
36:23
of their wealth, if all the billionaires in this
36:25
country gave away half their wealth, right now
36:28
they're the richest people in the world, in the
36:30
country. They give away half their wealth and
36:33
it's distributed to poor people to improve like
36:36
the quality of life. they're still going to be
36:39
the richest people in the world. So how much
36:42
is too much or how much is enough? And it seems
36:45
like it's never enough for people who just really
36:50
don't care about people who are struggling. So
36:54
it just is really annoying. It's really angering
36:59
to hear. The many billionaires in the Trump administration
37:02
talk about cost cutting when nothing affects
37:06
them. They're not going to care about a prescription
37:10
that costs $290 because that's not even change
37:16
that they find in their couch. They find millions
37:19
of dollars that they drop in their couches or
37:21
whatever. That's the metaphor of people, but
37:23
you know what I mean. And all but a few elected
37:26
Republican officials across the country are in
37:29
this camp. Right. Well, that's because they are
37:33
getting funding from people like Elon Musk. You
37:36
know, if Elon Musk can spend a quarter of a billion
37:38
dollars to get Donald Trump elected and the Republicans...
37:43
Republican or conservative billionaires have
37:46
funded the Republican Party for years. They've
37:48
made it possible for the Supreme Court to be
37:51
stacked in their favor. They made it possible
37:54
for other Republicans to get elected. They're
37:56
going to throw money at the right all the time
37:59
because tax cuts. That's it. Tax cuts for billionaires.
38:03
They can't get enough money. They want more.
38:06
And they're going to take it away from poor people
38:08
throughout the state. Well, and now there's been
38:11
this data breach, too. And I'm just really concerned
38:14
about how our data, everyday Americans' data
38:17
now at the IRS and other federal agencies has
38:22
been compromised by DOGE. Right. Well, by Elon
38:25
Musk. Let's just put it on a person instead of
38:30
an abstract. government agency that really isn't
38:34
a legitimate government agency because it doesn't
38:36
have congressional approval, and any government
38:39
agency that's created is supposed to be approved
38:41
by Congress, which didn't happen. So Congress
38:45
should actually use its power to control a runaway
38:50
executive branch, but the Republicans control
38:54
Congress, and they're perfectly happy with what's
38:57
going on. So I want to segue into what can we
39:00
do about it because all of this can be overwhelming
39:03
and I really think it's important for us not
39:06
to be overwhelmed. I think that that's the reason
39:09
for all this furious, fast -paced, you know,
39:14
axing all these federal agencies and whatnot
39:17
and is to overwhelm us and prevent us from doing
39:21
anything. So what I would, you know, what I would
39:24
like to say, especially this first part about
39:28
what to do about these congress people and a
39:30
lot of us live in red states there is a great
39:33
app called five stars it has five blue stars
39:37
in a circle and it's an app and it's free and
39:40
you put in your zip code, and what it does is
39:43
it asks you, what do you care about? What are
39:46
the issues most important to you? And you can
39:48
make five calls right from the app. It goes right
39:52
to your elected senators and congress people,
39:55
and then you basically have a form, a template,
40:00
that already says, hey, I care about this issue
40:02
or that issue or this issue. It can take like
40:06
fewer than 10, less than 10 minutes a day to
40:09
use this five calls app. So that's one thing
40:12
I would highly recommend. And I know that there
40:14
are people that are really demoralized in places
40:18
like Kentucky and, oh, they don't take my calls
40:21
and they don't care. Who are you referring to
40:24
that don't take my calls? Mitch McConnell, Rand
40:26
Paul, Andy Barr, et cetera. Well, they do look
40:29
at the numbers. And so we really do need to be,
40:33
you know, using apps like this, emailing, if
40:35
you like postcards, keep them coming because
40:38
it does matter. Do you know why it's called Five
40:41
Stars? Do you know where that name derives from?
40:43
I don't know where that name derives from. That's
40:45
something we can look up for the next episode.
40:47
OK. But yeah, and let's not forget that there
40:50
are constant rallies throughout the country that
40:55
in my opinion, aren't being covered fairly by
40:58
the news media, especially the corporate news
41:00
media. And as a former corporate news media person,
41:04
this is really frustrating to see, and it's pretty
41:08
common. I read somewhere recently that there
41:13
was an NPR person at one of the rallies in Washington
41:16
and decided that NPR wouldn't cover it because,
41:20
you know, yeah, there were a lot of people, but,
41:22
you know, there was nothing exciting happening
41:23
there. And it's not about being excited. It's
41:27
about informing people that there are people
41:29
out in the country who are actually standing
41:32
up trying to get our legislators to listen to
41:37
them, trying to get changes in the government
41:40
that, or just trying to make legislators responsible
41:43
for what they're supposed to be doing, which
41:46
is protecting our citizens. And they're not doing
41:49
that. If there are demonstrations in your neighborhood
41:52
or in your community, consider getting involved
41:56
in them. Yeah, I mean, May 1st is a really big
42:00
day of protests again. And if you don't know
42:03
about the 50 501 movement, it stands for 50 protests
42:08
and 50 states, one movement. And these, as Jesse
42:12
said, have not been covered adequately by any
42:15
of the media. It doesn't exist on Fox News. I've
42:19
looked every time. There's been these nationwide
42:22
rallies of millions of people. They're always
42:25
underrepresented. But take a look at May 1st
42:28
on the 50501 movement sites to get involved.
42:33
It feels really good. And we're not alone. And
42:37
people are really standing up. And I also want
42:40
to say that, you know, Jesse, who elected primarily?
42:45
Who's responsible for electing Donald Trump to
42:47
president? Well, in my opinion, it's white people
42:53
and white women in particular. So I would argue
42:57
that white men are the primary recipients of
43:01
all these good things that the Trump administration
43:04
is putting down with Project 2025. And white
43:09
women are certainly responsible as well. So white
43:13
people is what I'm going to say. White people.
43:16
So there is an organization called SURGE. It
43:19
stands for Showing Up for Racial Justice. It
43:23
was actually started in Louisville. And in Louisville,
43:25
it's called L -Surge. And basically, if you want
43:29
to be involved, and white people, you know, it
43:33
is time to get out of our comfort zones, right?
43:35
Yes, maybe our family members are not being deported
43:39
now. Maybe our family members are not losing
43:41
their health insurance. Maybe our family members
43:44
can afford the price of eggs right now. But guess
43:47
what? This affects all of us. If any of us goes
43:52
down, all of us go down, okay? And we've got
43:55
to participate in restoring democracy and civility
43:59
and humanity and kindness and all the things
44:02
that America should stand for. Admittedly, our
44:05
history is not a great precursor to our future,
44:09
but... In any case, white people. So we need
44:13
to stand up. And for any of you who are going
44:15
to protest and wondering where the people of
44:18
color are, where black people are, you know,
44:20
to be honest, it's not their responsibility to
44:23
save this democracy. They've been fighting. They
44:25
voted for Kamala Harris in large numbers. It's
44:29
up to us. So we have got to get out of our comfort
44:32
zones and we have got to start canvassing and
44:35
talking to people door to door and, you know,
44:38
winning hearts and minds. And... Because of the
44:42
cleave in news consumption, we've got to do it
44:46
face to face, primarily. We have got to get in
44:49
front of people. One of the things Jesse and
44:51
I have been talking about is the importance of
44:53
Democrats to get out there across the states
44:56
and show up at town halls and really talk to
45:00
people, right, and understand what their issues
45:03
are and be accessible. This is critical. The
45:07
Republicans are too cowardly to show up at their
45:10
own... town hall. So Democrats should be there
45:12
and we should be winning hearts and minds. That's
45:14
something I think that Andy Beshear does really
45:16
well and that's one of the reasons that he's
45:18
the most popular governor in the country. I will
45:22
just raise one point. The reason I said white
45:25
women was because if you look at DEI programs
45:28
the main beneficiaries of those programs have
45:30
been white women. If you look at the recent laws
45:34
that have been passed involving reproductive
45:36
rights that primarily that affects white women
45:41
because, let's face it, in the reality of American
45:44
healthcare system, minorities have not been treated
45:47
fairly. That's right. So that's another area.
45:51
And the other part is that everyone knows that
45:56
Donald Trump is a rapist and a sexual predator.
46:01
So how did white women vote for him? I don't
46:05
know. So that's why I made that point. But anyway,
46:08
that's my two and a half cents, and people are
46:12
going to yell at me for it. Well, and you basically
46:14
said that you don't think white men should, you
46:17
know, are even a worthy cause of outreach. No,
46:20
I think, honestly, Donald Trump promised things
46:24
for white men, and he's delivered for white men.
46:28
So why would they vote against him? I there's
46:32
no there nothing has affected them but is affecting
46:35
them now with the removal of health care with
46:39
the Stock market the stock market, but the stock
46:42
market will come back for retirees for retirees
46:44
if you're on your if you're on your way using
46:48
your 401k and starting to withdraw it, and the
46:51
market is going crazy, that's a problem. If you're
46:54
young and you have money in a 401k, you can wait
46:58
like 10 years. If you're not retiring within
47:01
the next 10 years, there's no reason to take
47:03
anything out of your 401k because it's going
47:06
to come back. And when the last Trump administration,
47:10
my 401k dropped a lot. Now it's where it was.
47:16
Well, it's well beyond where it was after it
47:20
dropped. So I just waited it out. So people shouldn't
47:24
panic in that area. And I learned that from working
47:27
at the Wall Street Journal. Just wait and let
47:30
the market take care of itself because the market
47:33
always comes back because the market is mainly
47:36
for rich people. But you benefit from being able
47:40
to make investments. And just put your money
47:44
away. Don't look at your statements. Just let
47:46
it go. So back to white people. I'm just going
47:49
to have that be the umbrella term because I know
47:53
plenty of white men that are absolutely just
47:58
so upset about what's happening to our democracy.
48:01
So come on, show up, continue to do the work.
48:05
You know, put your oxygen mask on first too,
48:07
right? Self -care is critical. I've been going
48:10
to Bernheim Forest a lot to volunteer. It restores
48:14
my soul. It brings me joy. It restores me to
48:18
sanity. So whatever it takes for you to do self
48:21
-care, great. But don't get so comfortable and
48:25
put your head in the sand. We have got to...
48:27
be in this day in and day out. Okay, you have
48:30
anything else? Are we wrapping it up? I think
48:33
we're wrapping it up. Okay, before we wrap it
48:35
up I'm going to make some corrections from our
48:38
last podcast. I got confused on when the market
48:42
crash was that I experienced when I was at the
48:46
Wall Street Journal. That was in 1987. The Dow
48:49
fell 502 points, and it was like a 20 % drop
48:55
in one day. That's a fifth of the market's value.
49:00
I made references to David Hawpe. I said that
49:03
he might have had a Fulbright or a Rhodes Scholarship.
49:06
No, it was a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard. And
49:10
let's see, what else? I think that was it. We're
49:16
going to wrap it up now. Oh, Courier Journal.
49:19
I made a statement that the Courier Journal probably
49:22
had 50 reporters or 50 staffers now, journalists,
49:26
working for it. In the past, when I was working
49:28
there, back in the 80s, it was in the hundreds.
49:31
I checked the number on that. There are currently
49:34
42 staffers at the Courier Journal today. So
49:37
that's, it's worse. It's worse than I thought
49:40
it was. Well, and you know, now there are attacks
49:42
on public, on public radio as well. So we're
49:45
not going to get that sort of independent investigative
49:48
reporting that we've had unless members really
49:51
step up as we did during the latest spring fun
49:53
drive. Thank you. Okay. So that's it for us.
49:58
I'd like to thank everybody for listening and
50:01
hopefully we'll be back in the next two weeks
50:03
if we're not yelled at for doing this. See ya
50:07
tomorrow Special thanks to John Chamberlain for
50:11
our closing music