Libertarians' metric for success in NC election (11-01-2024--Hour3)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalendershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:28] With me, Rob Yates, he is the, I mislabeled you. I misidentified you. I apologize. You're the communications director for the state Libertarian Party. You also do comms for the gubernatorial candidate, Mike Ross. We've had him on the program, I think, in the past. And I did not know this. I don't live in your district or the district that you are running in, but you're also a candidate. So you're like three things in one.

[00:00:55] At least. We wear a lot of hats. We're a lot of hats.

[00:00:59] As third parties must. So, all right. So first off, tell us a little bit, like, first, are you tracking, like, early voting numbers for yourselves, for the other candidates, for particular races? Is this something where it's like you guys are not getting enough traction so you don't even do that kind of analysis?

[00:01:20] So we are. In particular, this is one of the first elections. I don't want to say the first, but there are really useful digital tools.

[00:01:30] Good Party is an AI-based sort of run-your-own-campaign without having a campaign team.

[00:01:35] There's other digital tools going out just for tracking this stuff.

[00:01:38] And being able to incorporate that really helps distribute a workload in a way that we can manage it.

[00:01:44] I think in prior elections, if you can't afford some of the teams that are going out there, even stuff like exit polling, I mean, that's a massive undertaking.

[00:01:53] But, yeah, we're tracking a lot more closely this time, and it's enabled us to do something we'd wanted to do for a while.

[00:02:00] But we're really following registered libertarians, people that voted in primaries, people that have voted in past elections, and phone calls, texts, letter campaigns, all the stuff that, you know...

[00:02:09] Get out the vote.

[00:02:10] A quote-unquote real political party does.

[00:02:12] Oh, yeah, yeah. Well, look.

[00:02:14] Like, I make jokes about the Libertarian Party.

[00:02:16] As you should. As you should.

[00:02:17] That's what I mean, because anybody that spends any time around people in the Libertarian Party knows that that is what they do as well.

[00:02:25] Yeah, exactly.

[00:02:25] And Republicans make fun of their own parties, too.

[00:02:28] I was, full disclosure, I was a registered libertarian 20 years ago.

[00:02:32] Also, the party got decertified because they didn't get enough, and I think back then it was you had to get, like, 5% of the total votes cast in the gubernatorial race.

[00:02:43] Libertarians didn't get there, and so then they got decertified, and so they made us all unaffiliated voters, and I just stayed as an unaffiliated voter.

[00:02:53] You got recertified, I think, the next...

[00:02:55] Right, the next time around, so I guess it would have been 04 is when the decertification.

[00:02:59] Yeah, and so y'all have been able to maintain that ever since.

[00:03:03] I think they lowered the threshold now, right?

[00:03:05] It's 2% for governor.

[00:03:06] So that means that in order to stay as a, quote, certified party in the state, Libertarians have to get, any third party, has to get 2% of all the votes cast.

[00:03:18] That's one of the criteria.

[00:03:19] I think, and I'm going to get these exact numbers wrong, but I think 1% in the presidential election or on the ballot on 35 states for the president will also keep you on for North Carolina.

[00:03:29] So I think we're good going into...

[00:03:31] But don't quote me on that.

[00:03:33] Right.

[00:03:33] No, it's a long process made more difficult by the other two parties that control these systems across the country that aren't particularly keen on having more competition.

[00:03:47] The only thing they like less than each other is someone challenging their shared power.

[00:03:52] Right.

[00:03:53] And so you've got the, like, the Greens are on there, the Constitution Party's on there, Libertarian Party's on there.

[00:03:58] So what kind of an impact do you think, and you are, again, with the state party, with the Ross campaign, Mike Ross, by the way, we've had him on the program.

[00:04:09] He's a candidate for North Carolina governor.

[00:04:12] And what kind of impact do you think that his candidacy has in the North Carolina gubernatorial race, particularly because of all of the swirls surrounding Mark Robinson?

[00:04:24] Sure.

[00:04:25] Sure.

[00:04:25] And so we've actually, one of the things we've been doing leading up to the election is we've been doing candidate live streams every night.

[00:04:30] And so we had Mike on first, and we brought up this exact question and also sort of dovetailed into what does success look like in this campaign?

[00:04:39] And the way Mike put it is we've already had a number of the successes we want.

[00:04:44] We want to build for what's next.

[00:04:46] And so when you bring in something like the whole Robinson situation, right?

[00:04:49] So we all have seen the CNN report, the porn site stuff.

[00:04:54] I mean –

[00:04:55] Libertarians really care about this stuff, as I understand.

[00:05:01] No.

[00:05:02] No, I mean that's the thing.

[00:05:03] Like this – from – I do find it interesting that all of a sudden we've got the party that has been in the Democrats that they have been like telling us for years like, you know, separation church and stay.

[00:05:17] We don't want any of your religious views imposed on us and all this other stuff.

[00:05:21] But now all of a sudden they want me to be outraged on a thing that I know that they don't care about.

[00:05:27] So here's what gets to me.

[00:05:29] And I wrote an article a couple weeks ago, Streams of Consciousness, LPNC.org if you get a chance to check it out.

[00:05:34] But my basic take – I mean I made fun of it a lot because it is something worth laughing at.

[00:05:39] But the denial of it creates a much more interesting paradigm.

[00:05:45] So what we have is either this is completely made up, a frame job, a hit job on a governor candidate, a major race, and –

[00:05:55] And a person, an individual.

[00:05:56] A hundred percent.

[00:05:57] And I've talked about that.

[00:05:58] Like that to me is if it's not true – and I don't know if it's true or not.

[00:06:02] I've said that ever since this stuff happened.

[00:06:04] I don't know.

[00:06:05] But the damage done to just this human being's life –

[00:06:08] Is enormous.

[00:06:09] Would be – right.

[00:06:10] Would be – I mean that's just catastrophic and it's unconscionable if it's not true.

[00:06:14] And if that turns out to be the case, I would expect Josh Stein to lead the charge in bringing down the people that made it up.

[00:06:22] Now I personally – I think it's true.

[00:06:25] I mean I just think the balance of evidence.

[00:06:27] But like you said, I don't care.

[00:06:28] This is – this is – the only reason this is relevant to me in terms of issues is that they said it's not true.

[00:06:35] If it turns out to be true, then all the Republicans who are very loudly defending Mark Robinson and saying, no, this is made up, I would – that he should be tossed in the political scrap heap with John Edwards and North Carolina discarded politicians.

[00:06:52] Well, the polling looks like that might be where it's going.

[00:06:54] I don't know if it will.

[00:06:55] I don't make predictions on election outcomes because I'm terrible at it and I have a very bad track record.

[00:07:00] So I don't make those predictions anymore.

[00:07:03] Gave it up.

[00:07:04] But that's what the polling indicates and Josh Stein seems to be acting like it.

[00:07:08] So –

[00:07:08] And we have the definite of the history of the split ticket.

[00:07:12] So – but for Mike's campaign, you know, I think where it's really been useful is that it gets people to look at our campaign.

[00:07:19] So we don't want to take people because Mark Robinson wrote something on a porn blog or because Josh Stein did this or that.

[00:07:28] We want people to embrace the ideology and understand where we're coming from.

[00:07:32] But you'll take their vote.

[00:07:33] A hundred percent.

[00:07:34] Especially their attention.

[00:07:36] Yeah.

[00:07:37] And then if we can come and say, no, wait, like, yeah, we know we're a little crazy sometimes, but you're not going to have to deal with stuff like this.

[00:07:44] That's a powerful message.

[00:07:45] And there are a lot of people that have been reaching out, especially in, like, the last 10 days, calling texts, just, hey, you all don't have any porn scandals, you know?

[00:07:55] And they're actually hesitant as they're saying it, like, is this something that I should be accepting?

[00:08:01] Should this be realistic?

[00:08:03] On the left side, we're getting a lot of people about, what do you know about, like, sort of Josh Stein's relationship with the police?

[00:08:10] Does he cover up police misconduct?

[00:08:12] What's his buddy-buddy level with the police union that's not even supposed to be operating in North Carolina?

[00:08:17] And so people are starting to open their eyes.

[00:08:22] And, like, you know, it's that definition of insanity.

[00:08:26] If you don't want the same outcome, why do you continue repeating the same action?

[00:08:31] And if you vote for Republicans and Democrats, this is what you get.

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[00:09:37] In studio with me is Rob Yates.

[00:09:39] He is the communications director for the North Carolina Libertarian Party.

[00:09:43] He's also a comms guy for Mike Ross, the libertarian candidate for governor.

[00:09:48] And he's also a candidate for North Carolina House District 99.

[00:09:52] Where is District 99, by the way?

[00:09:54] This is sort of the university area.

[00:09:55] Okay.

[00:09:56] I mean, if we were on a map, I can point it out.

[00:10:00] They're drawn a little funny, let's say.

[00:10:01] But yeah.

[00:10:02] They always are.

[00:10:03] Yeah.

[00:10:04] That's one of the things.

[00:10:07] The redistricting, the whole redistricting thing.

[00:10:11] And I don't know where the party stands or you stand on this issue.

[00:10:13] And I wasn't planning on talking about it.

[00:10:15] But it's one of those things.

[00:10:16] Like, I remember when I first started covering politics and I thought, oh my gosh, this is so wrong.

[00:10:21] This needs to be done by some impartial body and this and that.

[00:10:24] And it's like, oh, there aren't any.

[00:10:27] There's nobody that's going to be able to, because it's an inherently political thing.

[00:10:30] So, like, how do you make that to be, quote unquote, fair?

[00:10:36] Anyway, you got it.

[00:10:37] Feel free.

[00:10:37] I feel like whoever's in power, the other side's complaining about it.

[00:10:40] Correct.

[00:10:41] Because the same thing's going on in the big cities.

[00:10:44] But for the other side, what we look at, and I'm not sitting here saying that the gerrymandering stuff is fair, but it doesn't really affect us.

[00:10:51] We get more bothered by the state board of elections and how it has to be Republicans and Democrats.

[00:10:57] And I guess it was 2021, maybe 23, I forget what year, but seven unaffiliated sued for the right to be represented on the state board of elections.

[00:11:07] And Cooper fought them hard in the courts.

[00:11:09] Like, the unit party really does not want anyone that's not them represented in North Carolina politics.

[00:11:16] Yeah, well, because they view, so like unaffiliated are now, by registration, the largest group of voters in North Carolina yet get no seat.

[00:11:24] But then again, how, like, I'm registered unaffiliated.

[00:11:29] I suspect Roy Cooper would not want me on that body.

[00:11:33] I think probably some Republicans would be more than happy to have me on that body.

[00:11:37] Yes.

[00:11:38] But I might not be as, you know, a solid, reliable vote for them that they may think, you know.

[00:11:45] And that's scary.

[00:11:47] That's uncertainty.

[00:11:48] And politicians do not like uncertainty.

[00:11:51] You know, it's probably not such a big deal most of the time just in terms of some of the other things coming around.

[00:11:59] But you saw in June how it can be wielded to a party's advantage.

[00:12:03] And you have, you know, Reid Hoffman and Mark Elias, who is just one of the worst human beings in politics.

[00:12:10] Mark Elias is terrible.

[00:12:11] I have nothing good to say about him.

[00:12:12] He's awful.

[00:12:13] And they form the CCP super PAC with no sense of irony and fight to keep, this is ironic, the two really, really far left parties off the ballot because it could hurt their chances.

[00:12:28] And the argument was ridiculous.

[00:12:30] It was, well, your intentions were not what the statute says.

[00:12:34] I was like, no, the statute says if you get this many signatures, you can form a party.

[00:12:37] The state board of elections sided with Elias.

[00:12:41] And then they went to another state and made the exact opposite argument.

[00:12:46] New York.

[00:12:46] And said you shouldn't be allowed to come off of the ballot.

[00:12:50] And then they started doing that with North Carolina, with We the People after that.

[00:12:54] It is to pretend that they care about, quote unquote, democracy, whatever that means.

[00:12:58] They care about power and winning.

[00:13:00] And if you're voting for them, that's what you're backing up.

[00:13:02] Well, that's why I say whenever you hear the left say democracy, what they really mean is the Democrat Party.

[00:13:09] Yes.

[00:13:10] So if you just every time you hear them say democracy, they're thinking party because that's what it means to them.

[00:13:15] It's like fair maps.

[00:13:16] When they say fair maps, they mean maps that we drew.

[00:13:18] That benefit them.

[00:13:19] Right.

[00:13:20] That's all.

[00:13:20] Without a doubt.

[00:13:21] So it's just wordplay.

[00:13:24] So what does you ask?

[00:13:26] You mentioned this earlier about success and Mike Ross saying, like, what is what does victory look like?

[00:13:31] What does that look like for the party?

[00:13:33] Because you guys, you fielded a lot of candidates, right, in this state, but also nationally, as I understand it.

[00:13:39] Right.

[00:13:39] So you're doing pretty well as a party.

[00:13:41] You're growing, right?

[00:13:42] I think so.

[00:13:43] I think we're moving in the right direction.

[00:13:44] I think that.

[00:13:46] So I understand that some of the principles can be difficult for people, especially if you've not had experience with sort of the line of thought that backs up our philosophy.

[00:13:54] But I think people are really sick of what's going on.

[00:13:57] And I think that it's the polarization.

[00:13:59] I think it's the fighting.

[00:14:01] You know, you have normalize cutting your Trump loving father out of the family.

[00:14:07] Like that gets old after a little while.

[00:14:10] You know, when you're sacrificing relationships for politics.

[00:14:13] And so people are starting to push back.

[00:14:16] But they find the two parties themselves to be intractable because their mandate is win.

[00:14:21] Win this election.

[00:14:23] Do what it takes to win.

[00:14:24] And driving your party against the other is the most effective way to do that.

[00:14:29] So people are looking for other options.

[00:14:31] And I think you're starting to see the outcome of that.

[00:14:34] And it's, you know, change takes time.

[00:14:36] And also, I think there are a lot of people, though, that have they have become more.

[00:14:41] They're, well, they identified or their entire persona is wrapped up in their political identity.

[00:14:48] Yes.

[00:14:48] And so it seems like then you're fighting against that, are you not?

[00:14:55] If you're talking about people being polarized, but most people are now identifying themselves through this prism.

[00:15:02] And I would trace a lot of this back to the crumbling of our institutions, whether they be religious or civic, that now people don't have a way to orient themselves around something bigger than themselves.

[00:15:13] And I think people need that.

[00:15:14] So I think that's actually an excellent point.

[00:15:17] Thank you.

[00:15:18] When you, of course, when you adopt a political party as sort of like a core tenet of your identity, it's an inherently nebulous philosophy.

[00:15:30] So you're not liberal.

[00:15:32] You're a Democrat.

[00:15:33] Well, what does the Democrat Party believe?

[00:15:34] I mean, is Kamala for a border wall or against that?

[00:15:37] I'm not sure.

[00:15:38] What day is it?

[00:15:39] Do the Republicans like free trade or do they want big tariffs?

[00:15:42] Yes.

[00:15:44] So then you don't really have a core identity.

[00:15:47] And I think what libertarian philosophy offers is we're not Republican or Democrat.

[00:15:51] We're not conservative or liberal.

[00:15:53] For us, that's a philosophical question that you have to sort out.

[00:15:57] We're anti-authoritarian.

[00:15:59] And you can bring whatever philosophy you want as long as you're not trying to force it on someone else.

[00:16:04] And if it's the better idea, then it will win.

[00:16:07] So come join.

[00:16:09] Share your ideas.

[00:16:10] Make your case.

[00:16:11] And change some minds.

[00:16:12] We're going after hearts and minds, not force or fear.

[00:16:15] He says in his George W. Bush accent.

[00:16:18] No, I'm kidding.

[00:16:19] I'm just kidding.

[00:16:20] Rob Yates, I appreciate it.

[00:16:21] Good luck on the campaign trail.

[00:16:22] Thank you very much.

[00:16:23] Good luck to the party.

[00:16:24] The website, lpnc.org, if you want more information.

[00:16:27] I got that right.

[00:16:28] Good.

[00:16:28] All right.

[00:16:28] Yes, sir.

[00:16:29] Thank you, sir.

[00:16:29] Have a great weekend.

[00:16:30] I appreciate it very much.

[00:16:30] Absolutely.

[00:16:32] Hello, Mike.

[00:16:32] Welcome to the program.

[00:16:34] Welcome to the talk, Pete.

[00:16:36] I hope you're doing the talk.

[00:16:36] Are you on a speakerphone?

[00:16:39] Well, I'm in a...

[00:16:40] If the sound is really bad, I'll try and call back.

[00:16:42] I'm in an empty office and it's got a bad echo.

[00:16:45] Yeah.

[00:16:45] So I'm sorry about that.

[00:16:47] Oh, well.

[00:16:48] If the sound is that bad, I'll have to save it for later.

[00:16:51] Well, I'll tell you what.

[00:16:52] Can I ask you this question?

[00:16:53] I want to hang up after that.

[00:16:54] If we can do it.

[00:16:57] All right.

[00:16:57] Try to make it a good faith question, Mike.

[00:16:59] If the sound is bad, I'll hang up.

[00:17:00] I'll hang up.

[00:17:00] Yeah.

[00:17:02] I'll have to do it next time, Pete.

[00:17:03] I'm sorry.

[00:17:04] I'm sorry for the sound, man.

[00:17:05] No, Mike.

[00:17:06] I said try to make it a good faith question.

[00:17:09] Okay.

[00:17:09] All right.

[00:17:10] Okay.

[00:17:10] Go ahead.

[00:17:11] It really is a good faith question.

[00:17:12] All right.

[00:17:12] And it kind of dovetails on top of the libertarian candidate.

[00:17:17] Because this is a question I have for my Republican friends who are going to vote for Donald Trump.

[00:17:24] And I say to them, look, I understand why you don't want Harris or don't like Harris or don't like her policies.

[00:17:32] What I'm trying to find out is what is it that you tell yourself in order to support the only president in our American history who actively conspired for months to overturn.

[00:17:44] See, this isn't a good faith, Mike.

[00:17:46] See, this is.

[00:17:47] Have you not heard me or any other Trump supporter explain why they're voting for Trump?

[00:17:54] You may not like the reasons, but you're asking a question.

[00:17:58] No, hang on, Mike.

[00:17:58] You're asking me this question as if you don't know that the reasons exist.

[00:18:04] And you're asking, what do you have to tell yourself?

[00:18:06] And people have all sorts of reasons why they're going to vote for Donald Trump.

[00:18:11] I wrote mine out in an op-ed that was published at The Blaze like a month ago.

[00:18:15] And I've talked about it repeatedly.

[00:18:18] What I'm looking for, I guess, is to try and understand.

[00:18:21] Okay.

[00:18:21] I'll tell you.

[00:18:22] I understand various reasons.

[00:18:23] I don't understand how it is that here's somebody that's showing us he has every intention of being an author.

[00:18:30] I'll tell you.

[00:18:31] All right.

[00:18:31] No.

[00:18:32] All right.

[00:18:32] I'll tell you.

[00:18:33] If you are actually interested in learning the answer to your question, I will tell you.

[00:18:38] Yeah.

[00:18:38] Okay.

[00:18:39] Okay.

[00:18:39] So as I wrote in the op-ed, I said I was a reporter.

[00:18:43] You knew that, right?

[00:18:44] And I got into that line of work because I believe in the constitutional role of a free press and its duty to keep the government accountable.

[00:18:54] And I see and have seen the way that the press treats Donald Trump.

[00:19:00] And I see and have seen the way that the press has treated Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.

[00:19:05] And what I know with certainty is that the press, the media will hold Donald Trump more accountable than they will Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

[00:19:18] And as proof of that is what we have seen transpire, not just for the last 20 years, but in the last 100 days.

[00:19:25] Right.

[00:19:26] So, like, to me, it's a really big deal that the president has been cognitively in decline.

[00:19:36] That is a very big deal to me.

[00:19:38] Now, it doesn't have to be to you, but to me, that's a very big deal.

[00:19:41] I see it with my own eyes.

[00:19:42] And we can't get a straight answer as to who's actually, you know, the handlers around Joe Biden, who's making some of these decisions.

[00:19:52] Kamala Harris can't say when she's ever seen any kind of decline.

[00:19:56] And that's and those answers that we get when when the few times they get asked when she tap dances away from those answers, that is acceptable to the media.

[00:20:06] And I don't think that they will hold her accountable in the way that I want the media to do so.

[00:20:13] I know the way they're going to treat Donald Trump.

[00:20:15] They are going to examine every single thing that guy says and does.

[00:20:19] Mm hmm.

[00:20:20] OK, so basically, I hear that.

[00:20:23] I appreciate it.

[00:20:24] So sort of what guardrails are going to be set up against whoever is occupying the overall office?

[00:20:30] Correct.

[00:20:30] Kind of what he's saying.

[00:20:31] Correct.

[00:20:31] My only my only response to that is that I appreciate you sharing that is that for me, based on what I'm seeing and based on what he's talking about and he plans to surround himself with, that there will be many more guardrails around Harris.

[00:20:50] Maybe not media.

[00:20:51] But in terms of the guardrails that saved us in 2020 are long gone.

[00:20:58] And that's why all the people that served under him are warning us not to put him back in power.

[00:21:04] What are the guardrails around her?

[00:21:06] I understand what you're saying about media.

[00:21:07] What are the guardrails around her?

[00:21:09] Let let.

[00:21:09] All right.

[00:21:10] So let's say let's say that she becomes incapacitated somehow.

[00:21:17] OK.

[00:21:17] Right.

[00:21:18] And they want to keep it hidden.

[00:21:21] What are the guardrails there that you think work?

[00:21:28] Well, we say that.

[00:21:29] Who wants to keep it hidden?

[00:21:31] Her her team.

[00:21:33] Her vice president.

[00:21:35] Her her fellow Democrats.

[00:21:38] The people in the White House.

[00:21:40] The same people right now that want to keep Joe Biden status.

[00:21:46] That's a fair question.

[00:21:48] But if you're going to ask that, I think it's much more likely.

[00:21:54] Don't play whataboutism with me, Mike.

[00:21:57] We absolutely know they're already doing those stories.

[00:22:00] They're already doing those stories about Donald Trump being not mentally fit and all this other stuff.

[00:22:04] They're already doing those stories.

[00:22:05] So if if Joe Biden became cognitively impaired, if he was in decline, he was having problems.

[00:22:13] What guardrails did you see happen there besides the Democrat Party orchestrating a coup?

[00:22:21] What other guardrails do you think exists there besides the media that first was saying Joe Biden's fine and then immediately flip around because the party leadership wanted him out?

[00:22:33] They then said, oh, no, he did terrible.

[00:22:35] He's got to go.

[00:22:36] And now Kamala Harris is this awesome candidate, which she had never been before.

[00:22:39] So like what exactly are these guardrails that you think exist for her?

[00:22:46] I think the people that will be surrounding her on her staff and her cabinet are going to be a lot more willing to tell Madam President we've got to go a different way or if Madam President is incapacitated to say we've got a real problem.

[00:23:04] They haven't done it.

[00:23:05] They haven't done it right.

[00:23:07] They haven't done it now.

[00:23:08] Why would they do it in the future when they actually have more power?

[00:23:12] We've had discussions about this before and we have a difference of opinion here.

[00:23:16] There's a difference between totally incapacitated and grueling in your soup and being in a nursing home and being old and slow.

[00:23:24] OK, that's not what Joe Biden is.

[00:23:26] Joe Biden is not just old and slow.

[00:23:30] Well, at least for three years in his presidency, three and a half, he got a hell of a lot done.

[00:23:36] That is not an excuse.

[00:23:38] Mike, that's not an answer to the question.

[00:23:40] You sound exactly like Harris and Biden.

[00:23:42] This is my problem.

[00:23:44] See, this is my problem.

[00:23:45] I can't trust the party apparatus to act as a guardrail.

[00:23:49] Not that I expect you to.

[00:23:51] I'm not expecting that.

[00:23:52] But that's why the press is so important.

[00:23:54] And when the press has become an organ for you guys and your party, then I need somebody else because I can't dismantle the entire media infrastructure.

[00:24:03] I can't dismantle your party infrastructure.

[00:24:05] So what am I left with doing?

[00:24:07] I'm left with using the media as the attack dog against the one target that I know they're going to attack.

[00:24:13] And that's Donald Trump.

[00:24:14] That's where I came down on it.

[00:24:16] And I'm not happy about it.

[00:24:17] Not happy at all.

[00:24:18] But I appreciate the call.

[00:24:19] Have a good weekend, Mike.

[00:24:21] All right.

[00:24:21] I'm going to see if you can do it.

[00:24:23] I'm going to see if she can do it.

[00:24:23] So, Mary, you have I'm going to give you one minute.

[00:24:28] Mary, welcome to the program.

[00:24:30] Oh, hey, Pete.

[00:24:32] Gosh, I have a lot on my mind.

[00:24:33] Yeah.

[00:24:34] So I need you to limit it to like the top thought.

[00:24:37] Okay.

[00:24:38] Kamala saying how dare Trump protect women?

[00:24:41] Well, I just watched the mother of the 12 year old who was raped and then murdered and left in a creek in Texas by two who were catch and release illegal immigrant gang members.

[00:24:55] And yet Kamala is just so incensed that Trump would say he will protect at all costs women.

[00:25:01] He said he would protect women whether they like it or not.

[00:25:04] And this is supposed to be like the most outrageous thing ever said.

[00:25:09] Yep.

[00:25:09] It's pretty disgusting that he can't just, you know.

[00:25:12] Well, here's the thing.

[00:25:13] I understand what he means to like half if if he's going to lose the female vote.

[00:25:18] Fine.

[00:25:18] It's not.

[00:25:19] It doesn't mean that he's not going to protect them, too.

[00:25:22] Right.

[00:25:23] I mean, I think he's just being a good guy.

[00:25:26] And of course, they have nothing to run on.

[00:25:28] I just saw a sign out on the road that said Kamala Harris sign that said vote for Paris like your daughter's life depends on it.

[00:25:37] And I'm like, what?

[00:25:39] Like my daughter is going to have to have an abortion and need it to be a national thing.

[00:25:44] Well, yeah, because they're definitely not talking about your unborn daughter, obviously, because they don't want to protect those.

[00:25:51] So, yeah, no, Mary, it's a yeah, it's turning the I appreciate the call.

[00:25:56] Have a great weekend.

[00:25:57] It's it's turning the the fear and the anger.

[00:26:01] It's you got to dial it all up because that's the thing that animates and motivates and gets people to the polls.

[00:26:07] That's that's all this is.

[00:26:09] It's it's what all campaigning is.

[00:26:12] Yes, it's great if you can inspire people.

[00:26:15] Sure.

[00:26:15] But you know what works better?

[00:26:17] Fear and anger.

[00:26:18] This is marketing and people in the advertising world and media know this.

[00:26:24] And that's what we're seeing in political campaigns and have for decades.

[00:26:28] It's just you just it's like anything else, like the shock jock in radio, like Howard Stern, for example.

[00:26:34] The thing that was shocking last year isn't shocking two years, three years down the road.

[00:26:40] It's why they got to keep doing more.

[00:26:44] It's like drugs.

[00:26:45] It's like drugs and drugs are bad.

[00:26:47] Um, by the way, I saw this from bet North Carolina.

[00:26:55] They did a survey of the top candies for Halloween.

[00:27:00] Yeah.

[00:27:01] Do you know what?

[00:27:02] I think this is based off of the Internet search scores per state.

[00:27:07] The number five in North Carolina.

[00:27:11] Number five.

[00:27:12] Milky Way.

[00:27:14] Number four.

[00:27:16] Starburst.

[00:27:17] Number three.

[00:27:19] Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

[00:27:21] Number two.

[00:27:23] Skittles.

[00:27:24] Which are awful.

[00:27:25] And number one.

[00:27:27] Oh, hang on.

[00:27:28] I should do this.

[00:27:30] Number one.

[00:27:33] Candy corn.

[00:27:36] I did not see that coming.

[00:27:38] I did not see candy corn coming.

[00:27:40] And frankly, I'm pretty surprised.

[00:27:43] But I do love the candy corn.

[00:27:44] I do.

[00:27:45] All right.

[00:27:45] That'll do it for this episode.

[00:27:47] Thank you so much for listening.

[00:27:48] I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise

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[00:28:02] Again, thank you so much for listening.

[00:28:04] And don't break anything while I'm gone.