Latest / Coconut Justice / CJP #47: Matt Conroy ( IL-5 ) Pt 2
Transcript
- Matt Conroy: it just infuriate him because then he can see ⁓ it's just these photos of him. Everyone puts a photo of him in Epstein right there. And it's just then, you know, again, it's just like these are little political victories. Like, again, he's clearly trying to change the narrative by bombing Iran and then he's going to go move on to Cuba ⁓ and he's to continue to do this. So we're distracted. But that makes the State of the Union just simply about Jeffrey Epstein and keeps it on the fact that the president is a pedophile. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Matt Conroy: and is covering up for him and his billionaire buddies. And that, again, just goes to show, it's like, hey man, you don't get it. You literally don't get it. And this may be the millennial or someone who grew up with the internet speaking. It's like, you have to win the battle on the internet. And 65, 70 year olds who do not know what a PDF is or can't attach a PDF aren't gonna be the ones who do it. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And for me, the pedo thing is even, it's just like one leg of the same stool. You have the pedophilia. You have the grab them by the pussy part. You have the money laundering. You have the paying pay to play scheme that is Trump coin and the Melania coin. And then you have like all the, you, you cannot rest around people. that think that way. They're always on the take. You always have to have your hand on your purse just to make sure these sons of bitches aren't reaching in your purse. And I don't understand why people continue to vote for folks that think that way instead of a lot of the things like you've been talking about, like we can do this. We all. can benefit. We all can build together. You know, and I don't understand why people continue to vote against their own best interests. Matt Conroy: Pause it right here, if you don't mind. Okay, I'll be right back. Just give me 30 seconds, sorry. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Go for it. Okay, same. All good. All good. Matt Conroy: Go. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): We just got done fixing something. Matt Conroy: Yes. Yeah. So we were we were talking about voting against their own interests. So I was thinking about it. OK. I think people continue to vote against their own interests because this goes to the messaging and messenger problem. Look, you have to give Republicans where credit's due. They've invested massively in their media infrastructure. You look at things like the Daily Wire, TP USA, like all these all these media outlets and right wing Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Matt Conroy: kind of adjacent media outlets far exceed the reach of any left leaning ones. And that's a big problem because when they can take a quote unquote gotcha clip and push it out to channels that have way more followers and a way bigger reach than anything that Democrats have to offer, that gets to people who are uneducated, not I shouldn't say uneducated, but uninformed or unengaged voters and people who are just getting into politics who are easily impressionable. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Matt Conroy: So when only one party is doing that, they're gonna vote against their interest. And that's how we end up in that mess. like, that's why I love the stuff that you're doing and other people who are just trying to shine a light on what is really happening. What are some things that people need to know when it comes to elections, running for office, policy, money in politics. These are the things that are not gotcha clips or things that Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Hmm. Matt Conroy: people can get in like a 60 second TikTok clip, but it's super important. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I'm telling you, talking to you guys has opened my eyes so much to the game that is politics. And I remind people, imagine having a job, imagine getting a job and you've been there for 10 to 14 years and you only did four things. Do you think that you're going to keep your job? Do you think you're... Yeah. Matt Conroy: Yeah. They do. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Do you think you're... That's money, that's just money not being spent. But correct. Matt Conroy: Yeah, and the other thing that goes into it too is like, look, let's be honest, being in Congress and being in the Senate, it's not a normal job. Like being an elected official in your local town, in your city, like your local councilman, like those are still kind of normal jobs. Like, cause you still get to do a lot of the same stuff you're doing. You get to spend weekends with your kids and take them to, you know. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): No. Matt Conroy: little league and spend a lot of time with family. And yes, there's a lot of obligations with a job. Like that's not what I'm arguing. But members of Congress are having dinners on a regular basis and trying to be wined and dined by lobbyists who are, you know, flashing campaign donation checks and, you know, in their face. ⁓ You're having dinner with world leaders. You're going on co-dells on these congressional delegation trips to, ⁓ you know, the Middle East, to Europe, to Asia, to different parts around the globe where you're meeting with world leaders. prime ministers, like business leaders around the globe that you and I aren't meeting with. So it's very easy when this is kind of what you're doing or all that you've done for 10, 15 years for it to become your new reality. So that's why I think we need term limits. I think in my opinion, I do think the Senate and Congress should both, and US House of Representatives should both be four year terms and they should be a maximum of two or three. I'm okay if it goes to 12 years, but like anything longer than that, no. ⁓ And it just, helps a couple things. It does help get some new, fresh ideas in there. It helps move things forward. And it really does show people that it's like, hey, you're not going to get to park your ass in that seat forever. Like Dick Durbin, who's retiring from Illinois, has been in the Senate for, you know, what, 30 plus years, I think it is at this point. Like I'm 37. It's almost my entire life type of thing. So it's just like, okay, that's a problem. That is a big, big problem because you're, you're just not, you're, you're not a normal person anymore. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Matt Conroy: You know, like, look, like the president of United States is not a normal person. And I'm not just talking about Donald Trump, like even, you know, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, like that's that they don't live normal lives. It's so tough for them to connect with people on a regular basis who are struggling with their medication, struggling with their cost of living. So, you know, we really, really need representation that if they think that they're doing a good job, we're still forcing them out. Like that is the only way we're going to move it forward. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Matt Conroy: I remember people to judge telling a story about when he was at the Department of Transportation under Biden, that he was working with a counterpart in Europe and that counterpart was like in their mid fifties. And after working with them for a few months, the guy came to him and said, Hey, I just want you to this is the last time, you know, I'm retired. I'm transitioning to a different role. He's like, aren't you 55 like mid fifties? He goes, yeah, but that's how we do it over there. Whereas like in America, you get started at 55, you know. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And that's been my, and you know, I'm, I'm 50, I'm about to be 54 in a couple of weeks. I don't see how anyone older than me understands what's truly happening with these computers. With AI, with the speed in which all of this stuff happens. And I've worked in Silicon Valley. I know what it takes and I know that their personalities are exactly what you see on TV. They like to be in a dark room. with Mountain Dew and a computer and they just work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work. Matt Conroy: Yeah. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): If you are not working like that as the equalizer or the balancing, the whatever you would call the other side of the scale. you're going to be run over. And you're talking about a group of people in Silicon Valley that are motivated by money. And they understand that their thing needs to be first to market and their first thing so they can leverage it, so they can influence, so they can have the influence and the money and all the things. So if you're 83, I know for a fact that chances, well, let me say it like this. Chances are you don't know how to fix your own email, let alone understand how Facebook ads work, let alone how AI interaction works, let alone how much tracking is being done on these apps. You don't get it. Matt Conroy: Yeah, I agree. I 100 % agree. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): with nothing but respect for the older generation. But at 53, we're sports guys, I used to be fantastic at basketball. I'm not taking my old ass out there now. Matt Conroy: get whooped by some 16 year old. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Exactly. And they're gonna get mad because all I'm gonna be doing is holding them. Matt Conroy: Yeah, he's dunking on you this year. You're like, where'd you go? No, it's, look, I understand this is a little bit more of a hot topic, but I also support age limits. Look, we forced airline pilots to retire at the age of 65 for the safety of the passengers on the plane. When you look at the fact that these people are making laws and creating legislation and Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Mm-hmm. Matt Conroy: hopefully passing or at least supposed to be passing legislation that affects our lives. You need someone who is there from 70 to 75. Scientifically, you slip a little, you know, like you're just your mental capacity is not the same. Like it's you're getting older. It's nothing like I'm not holding it against you. It's just you just you can't retire. Go enjoy your grandkids. Go enjoy your grandkids. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Get a job as an advisor. Retire. Yeah. Matt Conroy: Like seriously on your deathbed, you going to wish you worked more or are going to wish you spent more time with family? And that's really what I, what I leave it at. So I think if the democratic party was smart, they would push that. And then if, look, if you have someone who's 70 years old, who still wants to be involved, great, you're going to be a party advisor. You're going to meet with the different leader, the different elected officials, and you're going to represent them and you're going to show them how to, who they need to talk to. What are some things you need to watch out for? Like just. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Right. Exactly. Exactly. Matt Conroy: you be an advisor, like be a senior advisor, that's fine. And it's just, we cannot have these geriatrics running this country into the ground because they think everything is going good because they still get a safe paycheck and health insurance regardless of whether or not the government shuts down. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Right. they get a good seat at the good restaurant. Matt Conroy: Exactly. And that's really where I think a lot of people, like they're like, ⁓ there's a, there's wisdom with age. And I don't necessarily disagree, but there's a limit to it. You know, there's a point of diminishing returns for everything. At what point is enough enough. So age limits, term limits, I think reforming the Supreme court, like there's a lot that we can do that do not require any capital investment that can help restore faith in our democracy, can show people we want to. be the party that listens to them that works for them and they just refuse to do it. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): We're just asking you to be the party that does what they say that they're going to do. Matt Conroy: Or at least try to do it. Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Right, right. And don't point your finger at the Republicans talking about how dirty they are when we turn around and we find out that, you're taking money from the same people. You're dragging your feet on the same things. Matt Conroy: Not even that. Yeah. Yeah, look, it's not even that. There's a congresswoman who's currently in the house. Her name is Sheila McCormick. I'm gonna butcher her last name. Yeah, she's out of Florida. She's in the, her opponent is Elijah Manley. She's a Democrat. She was working as a healthcare provider during COVID and they were getting money from the state. The state accidentally paid her. five million dollars instead of fifty thousand and what did she do? She pocketed that money and she used it to run for office. There's a house ethics report that's supposed to come out of her but yet the Democrats and we've known this for years like this is not something that's a surprise and yet the Democratic Party still can't call her out. So again this gets back to the unengaged or uninformed voter. You look and you see Republicans insider trading and you see Democrats stealing taxpayer money to run for office and the party neither party calls out each other, calls out their own people. And that's like, hey, we're not saying you got to kick her out today, but tell her, hey, we're not backing you anymore. Like you have to go through your day in court, you have to do X, and Z. Even in the Illinois second district, there's someone running for office again who misappropriated taxpayer funds. And it's like, at what point are we going to learn? You know, we have to stop nominating crooks and con artists if we don't want to be seen as them. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, yeah. Right. And again, the term limit thing comes in handy here too. because you just keep sending in new people. And it's hard to... pin down something that's constantly moving is what I'm trying to say, right? It's all the same people running and it's a lot like that Florida lady, but instead of just getting a check out of nowhere, we're seeing that a lot of the people that are running for office and maintaining office have gotten money from whomever, whether it's their family, and we're seeing that a lot too where you know, in the NBA, LeBron and then LeBron's trash ass son, right? So it's the same in politics. We're seeing the same people. So they rob the money from you. Then they get the power in office and then they hang on to office and they make a bunch more money. And now they get to say who's running for office. Most of there's a lot of times that it's their kid, their someone in their family or someone or Peter Thiel picked JD Vance. JD Vance ain't shit. JD Vance ain't shit, but he just has a friend with a lot of money. Trump ain't shit, he had a dad with a lot of money. Matt Conroy: Chewie Garcia. Chewie. Yeah. Are you from? Yeah, are you familiar with Chewy Garcia? I know you know, are you familiar with what happened to him here? In the fourth district? So, okay, so prior to, so in Illinois, we had to collect petitions to get on the ballot between I want to say the exact dates are, we'll call it August 1st and I think November 3rd was the last date. That you had to collect a certain amount of signatures, submit them to the state and once you met the requirements, you were on the ballot. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): ⁓ yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh-huh. I don't think so. Matt Conroy: Well, Chewie Garcia went around for two months acting as if he was running again. And at the very last minute, he said he's dropping out and the only person to file as a Democrat was his chief of staff. He came out and said, I had nothing to do with it. Like I wasn't, I'm retiring for health reasons. Like I want to spend more time with my grandchildren. ⁓ A couple other things. Well, he was the first signature on her sheet. The next day. people on that first sheet that was released to the public were all like insider, like democratic party officials, like state reps, things like that. When it's clear like, okay, you knew this was happening. You clearly had it. Look, if you wanna retire, retire, like that's fine. I have no qualms with you stepping aside because you do wanna spend more time, but don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining. You clearly sidelined the choices of the voters of your district. And now there is a alderman, ⁓ Byron, Lopez in the city of Chicago who is running as an independent, but he's really probably a democratic socialist and he would be in the primary probably against a couple other people and look if his chief of staff ends up winning a legit primary like she would have won but like you didn't do that you stack the deck in her favor and that's the shit Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): and you just made it, you made it look shady. Matt Conroy: Yeah, and that's the shit that voters hate that and the party. There were a couple members in the party that called it out. And then other members of the party started protecting him. And it's like, look, you can like respect or say what you want about Chewie Garcia's legislative record, but still criticize him for shady movie backroom deal he did at the same time. Like, I don't understand how this is complicated. Every single voter I talked to, like I said the same thing. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Matt Conroy: The second, like if, if Chewie Garcia comes up or something like that, they hate that he did that. And like, that's, that's again, that's the stuff, easy political layups that the party can do to say, Hey, we agree that what he did was shady. We're not going after his political record. We're not doing that, but, he did hear a shady because he took away the voice of his, of his voters. And that is not how it's supposed to be done. But of course it's all about backroom deals. It's all about party choosing who they want. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Matt Conroy: who they think can win and that's a problem. It's like, it's not up to the party, it's up to the voters. Let the voters decide. And the more and more stuff like this happens, the less and less people are gonna trust and people are gonna show up. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Right. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Running people through those seats, those term limits, it makes it hard to corrupt. Matt Conroy: Why would you? Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And then it's like, okay, if you're someone who is a state rep and you want to run for office, but you really like your current, you know, congressman and be like, I just got, you know, he's got four years left. Okay, I'll set myself up to run in four years because I do like my job now, even though I want that one. And he has to retire, you know, like that's part of it. And it's just like that. It just creates more fluidity and it creates more progress and growth and things like that. And it's like, just like any private company. succession planning. That's really what it comes down to. Only this case, instead of kind of saying, hey, this is the person we're going to choose, you're going to have an open primary and voters are going to choose. So we just, really just have to change the way we do everything, not just as a party, but as a country. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, we need to get away from the shadiness. At what point did businessmen let shady businessmen take over? There's some legitimate businessmen that love creating companies so they can create jobs for people to have their environment be better for more people. Matt Conroy: think you could argue that slavery was an example of that. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): mean. Matt Conroy: going all the going, we could go all the way back to the forming of this country. Like, that's the thing is when you think about it, like, all the problems that exist with this country today were manifested from the very beginning. You know, we were formed as a genocidal country that thought as white settlers, we thought we were entitled to this land. And we committed a genocide against the native people. And Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. stacked the deck against everyone who stood up. Matt Conroy: We perpetrated a system where we owned people, where slavery was legal, and we forced them and captured them from another continent, put them on ships, on plague-ridden ships, and brought them here against their will. And then, after nearly, after several hundred years of that system, we finally outlawed slavery. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Matt Conroy: and they were promised 40 acres and a mule, and then we reneged on that deal and we didn't give them anything. And then we continue to not fund and not support minority communities, black communities, Hispanic communities, Middle Eastern communities, Asian communities. We continue to only prioritize white communities. So when people say like America's racist, it is, historically it is, and it continues to act that way. And that is a big, big problem. when you're like, how do we get to swipe? Well, just look back at where we started and the fact that we never corrected anything. never, we never. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, think about think about the first we'll say settlers. You think it was the best of the best that got sent? You think they sent proper business people? You think they sent teachers and lawyers? Or did they send these hood rats that were expendable? Like if they die, they die. ⁓ Matt Conroy: outcasts from outcasts from from, you know, Northwestern Europe, like England, Ireland, Scotland, like, you know, like that typically that that general region. Yeah. You know, and Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): from Europe. Yeah. Spain. People forget Spain was part of this bullshit too. Matt Conroy: Yeah, so it's, yeah, it's always been a colonial settler, oppressive, genocidal country, you know? And it's no shock that that's kind of what we support in Israel right now. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Why, I don't know where this question is going. don't, I know. ⁓ Let's finish the dark. ⁓ Why do you think Israel has such power over the United States? Matt Conroy: We got dark, we went dark really quick right now. because the United States sees it as itself. That's why. Because when you look at, if you look at how the United States treated Native Americans and people native to this land when we got here, just look at what Israel's done to Palestinians. It's the exact same thing. We took Native Americans and removed them from this land. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Matt Conroy: and we forced them to live in areas that we designated, tribal lands, we called them. This whole country is tribal lands or should be tribal lands. They were here for, you know? And then now you look at the fact that Israel is forcing Palestinians to live in their own version of tribal lands, only their open-air prisons, you know? And they don't give them the right to vote. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, yeah. Matt Conroy: they charge them differently for crimes. If someone commits a crime and is an Israeli citizen, go to court. And if you're a Palestinian, you go to a military court. So they drive on different roads. that is where people like, how does it have such control? It's really more, you Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Jesus. Matt Conroy: the U.S. and Zionists that are in charge of the United States have always seen Israel as an extension of the United States and an opportunity to colonize and to really put our thumb on the scale in every country in the Middle East. That's really how they see it, is that's our opportunity to take it over. Because you look at Iran and one of the reasons that Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Matt Conroy: We're bombing it right now. Look, it's not a threat to the United States. They're what, 7,000, 8,000 miles away there? Their defense minister went on TV the other day and said that we don't, that we, being Iran, don't have the capability to hit the United States with a missile. But if threatened and if continued, we will build it. So they're not currently a threat to us, but they also don't have a centralized bank system. So why are we really trying to bomb Iran and get in there? Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I've been, I've been reading way more about this Rothschild banking thing and we're bombing places that don't have an established Rothschild family banking system in it. Matt Conroy: Well, it's one of two things. It's how can we take control and serve our best interests? And typically that's been done through one of two things. Regime change wars for oil or countries that don't have a central banking system. Because that's really where it comes down to. Like where can we, the United States who does have ⁓ the Federal Reserve and a central banking system, if we can implement our Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Matt Conroy: rule of law or whatever it is that we're trying to impose on these countries, then we can control these countries. That's what it comes down to. let's not be stupid. They're not going into Venezuela because they're trying for regime change. They don't really care about the Venezuelan people. They just want what's under the ground. know, Iran is not oil rich, you know, or at least not as rich as like Saudi Arabia, but There is this, like they're going after it for strategic regions. So that's really what it comes down to is there's always a interest for the rich and wealthy to continue fighting wars because they're going to continue to get rich and wealthy through seizing the assets of some other foreign nation or implementing, you know, a, you know, our, banking system or our finance system or whatever it is on their way of life. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Matt Conroy: And it won't end, you know, there's that old proverb, when the rich wage war is the poor who dies. And it will continue to be the same thing over and over and over. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): ⁓ Look at how big, look at how the big words that Trump is using to explain what's happening and how he just doesn't feel. He's like, it's going to take however long it's going to take. It's going to take however many of your kids it's going to take. But I bet you Barron isn't going to go. Matt Conroy: Yeah, Jesse Ventura, the former governor of said that, you know, one of our laws should be if Congress is going to vote for war, one of their family members should go. And it's like, yeah, because guess what? Would we have gone into Iraq if that's the case? No, probably not. You know, like that's the thing is you have to create that friction. You we talk about creating friction for an individual lives while we have to create friction. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): ⁓ I love it. I love it. Right. Right. Matt Conroy: not to do certain things for the government, not to start these regime change wars that never go that way. I mean, look, I was 15 when we invaded Iraq. And I remember like the first day it seemed like we won. People were out in the streets dancing for regime change. Okay, well, how about the million or so people that were killed by us after that? How about that? That's what's gonna happen. Like how did we forget this is what happened? it's just, it's really, really, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Yeah. ⁓ Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Matt Conroy: frustrating to see because I know seeing how the country has gone like economically, socially the last 20 plus years since the Iraq war, that this is just going to be another example of that. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I was going to say something, but I forgot. It was about rich people, war. Anyway. ⁓ Matt Conroy: It's funny, so I'm a big music fan and one of my favorite bands is Linkin Park. And they wrote this song in 2007 called Hands Held High. And it's like one of their first kind of like forays into politics and like kind of like there's a political message to it. And they wrote it about the Iraq War and about George Bush. But the lyrics are so accurate to what it is today. ⁓ So like. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Hell yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Matt Conroy: One of the things it's like when the rich rage war it's the poor who died. Meanwhile, their leader just talks away stuttering and mumbling for nightly news to their play. And the rest of the world watching at the end of the day, both scared and angry like, what did he say? And it's like, that is exactly what is happening. 23, you know, 20 years later to the day. it's like, like, it was like, it just so like, I realized that as a 19 year old or 20 year old back then. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): . Matt Conroy: and now I'm 37 and fucking nothing's changed. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): nothing. A, I am 50 about to be 54. Everyone's talking about ice in the streets, ice in the streets. I'm like, nah, bitch, I've been seeing this. I grew up in the hood where police were fucking people up on the daily. Matt Conroy: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Nothing has changed. Politicians say the same exact thing. That's it. Politicians say the same thing. They do the same thing. Everyone complains about the same thing. Everything. So when I tell people, I have been reaching out and I love that some of you guys reach out to come and talk because we have to. Matt Conroy: They're just wearing masks now. That's it. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Do things differently. We have to. And if it's not going for the people that continue to get money, people that run for office go to people with money. People with money will force you to do what they want because they want more money. You have to look at grassroots candidates if you want to do something differently. Matt Conroy: Yeah. Yeah. Correct. Yeah. Yeah, and what I tell people too is when you're running for office or you're in office, it's easy. I think back to 2008 when Obama was first elected, how exciting that was. Not just the fact that he was the first African American to be voted into office, but the fact that it was just such a change. He was so different from George W. Bush and there was that hope. And you could say the same thing. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Yeah, the fact that he spoke in clear sentences and would complete thoughts and hit and didn't and wasn't a monkey. Jesus. Matt Conroy: Yeah. And you could say the same thing, like if you lived in the Bronx and you voted for AOC, like her first time, like that's the thing is there are gonna be people along the way who get you excited, who are like, you're like, yes. Like look at Kat Abugzale in the ninth, like she's, know, and some of the other candidates around, ⁓ Oliver Lorkin in Florida running against Jared Moskowitz, like these like type of candidates who are just like, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Sure. Right. Her social media is amazing. Matt Conroy: they bring excitement and enthusiasm. like when people are like, yeah, but I felt that before. I said, I understand, I have too. But the moment you no longer feel that with me, you should vote for someone else who excites you. Because right now that's really what it comes down to. It's like, you should feel excited. You should feel proud that your representative is your representative. And if you don't, you should vote for someone else. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Listen. And let's dissect that a little bit too. ⁓ Crap, what is happening with my brain right now? Matt Conroy: It's been a long, it's been a long part. That's what it is. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. No, we were talking about Kat doing something different. And ⁓ yeah, if you are getting motivated behind, and I know, I know this is going to be weird. If you get motivated behind an establishment politician. It's going to be different. That establishment politician might say the right things and look at what Trump has happened, look at what Trump did. And the way Trump gets people hyped up is similar to how Obama was doing it. But you have to understand where that money's coming from. If you can give a grassroots candidate that gets you excited like that, give them the chance. Matt Conroy: Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I agree. the way that you're 100 % right and the way that our system is set up is like to stay in office that long though, you you kind of have to give up that grassroots. Like it's designed to corrupt you as an elected official. And the moment that you no longer become that grassroots candidate, vote them out. I 100 % agree. And you know, if you're a politician doesn't take or you're a... Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Matt Conroy: candidate or elected official doesn't take any corporate money, doesn't take any PAC money, or they're promising not to and they do, vote them out. Because that, even if it's just a check for like $10,000 or a couple different companies, and it's not a lot, but that's the first time, they're shown to you that they're gonna start compromising and they're gonna start trading things off because they start to see the future vision or their next move, like they're plotting for it. and they're looking for how am gonna be able to raise the most money or do whatever it is. like that's really how I approach it. like, you know, it's kinda like the trash. You gotta take it out often. You have to flop it out, you know? Like you can't just let it sit there. Like otherwise it's gonna stink. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Matt Conroy: You know, like I said, I think every eight to 12 years is a good ⁓ timeframe to continuously replace your elected officials on all levels. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And then check this out, after that politician has done their eight to 12 years, now they have to survive in the rules that they created. Matt Conroy: That's part of it, yeah. And the other thing too, like so, here's, yeah, so you're absolutely right. And like, if you wanna know someone's true intentions, like let's say they serve for 12 years, what do they do next? Well, if they go back to where they live and they work in the community, like for example, like housing's a big thing of mine. If I go back and I work on solving the housing crisis, because look, it's not gonna be solved in 12 years. Like it's gonna take a lot of time and there's still gonna be problems with it. But there's investments that need to be made. There's going to be things that need to be done locally. So if I continue to work in housing or education or healthcare, that is someone that you should be proud you sent to DC. But if it's someone who comes back and sits on a corporate board and works as a consultant for, you know, BCG or one of these companies. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): or jumps on TV to tell you how terrible everything is. Matt Conroy: Sure, yeah, like if that's how they make their existence for, know, they're living for the rest of it, like that's absolutely like, like, okay, we dodged one, you know, we got them out just in time. So I think that's like a good way to really look at it, you know, so yeah, I'm with you there. That's, you know, it's when you don't have representation changing all the time, you don't get good ideas in there because they get complacent, they get. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Matt Conroy: Look, even my mom, my mom's 73 years old. Do think she's more open-minded than she is now than she was at 53 or even 20, 30 years ago? No, and I'm not stupid. like, I'm not stupid enough to realize that I'm gonna be a little bit more set in my ways at 70 than I am at 40. Like that's just how life works. So that's why like we need to have people who are more willing and open to serving, representing their constituents, to different ideas. And the biggest example I can give of Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Right. Right. Matt Conroy: when you can tell when is someone no longer an elected official versus when are they a politician? I'm gonna ask you right now, Carlos, should Hakeem Jeffries be speaker of the house if Democrats win, yes or no? Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): From what I understand, he's one of the establishment dudes that isn't really doing much. From what I know, I don't think so. Matt Conroy: you vote from. Okay, so my answer is no. And if you ask someone and they say either yes or they don't give you an answer, they're a politician. Because if the answer is yes, they think that he should stay because they're like, I'm part of the establishment and I'm there. And also if they say yes, they clearly don't understand the moment you should vote them out. But if they don't give you a definitive yes or no, get them out. They don't deserve to be there. Like clear questions that you and I know the answer to. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Matt Conroy: If they can't answer straight, get them out. And that's where we're at with a lot of our party. So we have like, we have two weeks left to our to our election. Like that's what we're like, we are basically sprinting from now to the finish line telling people, hey, if you are serious about change, you have to vote for someone else, other than the longtime incumbent who sat there and only passed four bills in 17 years. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): and is also running for mayor of Chicago. Matt Conroy: and who will abandon us. So when he speaks about experience and everything he's done, he's gonna abandon us, meaning that for a special election, we have to wait four to six months for the seat to be filled. We are gonna be left without a member of Congress. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. How are we going to fix it? How are we going to fix it? Matt Conlon. Yeah, yeah, that's the only way. That's the only way. Because I think we have good bones. I think the country has good bones. I think, ⁓ like what I've been saying, think obviously there's been adjustments throughout history, but I think the Constitution itself is a really good scaffolding. Matt Conroy: Vote them all out. Vote them all out. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): but the people that are interpreting the Constitution are full of shit. So we need to push all of those folks out and get you guys in there that interpret the Constitution in a way that's more American instead of so goddamn selfish. Matt Conroy: Yeah. Yeah, it's- Look, it was a document and an ideal like no others, but we can agree that, you know, these were men who thought that black people were beneath them and weren't citizens and agreed to write a law that allowed white people to be counted as one and a black person be counted as three fifths. That's how little they thought of them, that they didn't even view them as a person. So maybe when we read that document, we can be smart and say, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Matt Conroy: Okay, I see where they were going. Let's adapt this for real times. You know, like, and that's part of it too. So like that is really where we have to look at it. It's like we really shouldn't be letting a, we shouldn't be saying that we can't change things because this is how it was written and that's how it has to be. Like that is just stupid. You know, you can't just continually deny your updates for your iPhone. You have to do it. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Right. Matt Conroy: times evolve, times change, otherwise you're gonna be left using a landline still, know, cause you've refused to update your iPhone and it crashes. So like, that's what I mean. It's just like, we have to evolve, we have to adapt. And if you're unwilling to do so, like you are not only hurting the party, you're hurting the country. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Right. Right. Yeah. And if you are, if you think you're going to make America great, if you think it's America first, if you think all that stuff, you have to come to grips with the fact that some of us Americans, some of us US Army veterans, some of us highly educated people that might be a little bit toasted, we are also Americans. You have to cut that bullshit right out. Matt Conroy: Yeah, I agree. Not everyone looks like Wonder Bread like me. you know, I'm pasty. I got it. I'm a pasty white boy. I know my place, you know? So, but it's, you know, it's, have to, again, this is hate that's taught. Like, this is the, that's the problem, you know? Like, what do I hate? I hate the Philadelphia Phillies because I grew up a Mets fan. That's about it, you know? Like, it's, and I hate the, and I hate, and I and I hate, I hate. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Hehehehehe ⁓ Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I hate Green Bay. ⁓ Matt Conroy: And like the rest of America, hate the Patriots. I think that's the one thing that can unite us, the New England Patriots, you know? So it's just, yeah, we have to, and this, look, we can leave it here, because this is what I'll wrap up with, is the biggest issue is money and politics. It fuels divide, it fuels separation between the parties, and that's how they want it, because it keeps the public distrusting our elected officials, it keeps them in office. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): hahahaha Yeah. Yeah. distrust. Matt Conroy: And I would encourage people, if they can, go out and talk to someone who has different political views than you. We all have family members who are Republicans. We all have people in our communities, people in our lives, neighbors who are Republicans. You'll find, like, you really will find that most of the people in your day-to-day life who identify as Republicans, or if you're a Republican and your neighbors identify as Democrats, you have more in common than you think. It's the elected officials Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): 100%. Matt Conroy: and the crooks at the top, the top 1 % who have been robbing us and picking our pockets and telling us it's the fault of foreigners and immigrants and people of color and trans people and women and anyone else except themselves. That's the problem. And we have to look past their bullshit. And once we do, we will be able to work towards a future where we can all, all have the same opportunity. We can all send our kids to good schools. We can have childcare. healthcare and actually move forward to be like the country that we can all be proud of. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Tell them where they can find you. Matt Conroy: So to learn more about our website, go to www.matconroyforcongress.com. All the links to our social on there, volunteer signups, donation if you would like to, as well as our contact information if you have questions. Always, I always tell voters, please reach out. One of the things that a representative needs to do is be accountable and accessible to the people. And I make sure that I'm that. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Beautiful. There you go, Chicago. There's your boy, Matt Conroy, y'all. Matt Conroy: Okay. Don't forget to vote on March 17th. So thank you so much, Carlos. I really appreciate your time today, man. This was awesome. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Thank you. ⁓ It's folks like you and Reed and Kevin and all those guys that make me want to move back home. Matt Conroy: Well, make sure we win and then you can move back, because otherwise we'll still be run by shitheads like Mike Quigley. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, you guys gotta do something about that cold weather. I'm getting old, I can't handle that shit no more. Matt Conroy: A, if we don't address climate change, it'll just get warmer itself. But that's a different issue. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): hahahaha ⁓ That's a very good point. ⁓ All right. And with that everybody, we're out. Matt Conroy: You