Nick Craig In For Pete Kaliner (03-18-2025--Hour1)

[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 thepetekalinarshow.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] It has been a busy last couple of days in North Carolina politics. Of course, one of the big stories last week, Governor Josh Stein giving his State of the State address to get some continued analysis and reaction to that. It's my pleasure to welcome Andrew Dunn, the publisher of Longleaf Politics and a contributing columnist over at the Charlotte Observer to the Pete Kaliner Show this afternoon. Andrew, thanks for the time. Walk us through what your reaction was to Governor Stein's first State of the State address last Wednesday night.

[00:00:58] Yeah, of course. And it's good to talk to you. I mean, really, it almost felt like two different speeches. When he started, when Governor Stein started, honestly, I was a little impressed at the beginning. He was, you know, sounding all the right notes, talking in a very bipartisan fashion, even praising some bills that Republicans were pushing that I was honestly surprised that he would come out in support of, for example, one on banning cell phone use in schools.

[00:01:26] But then about halfway through the switch flipped and he went right back to the same playbook that we were used to seeing from Governor Roy Cooper, hyper-partisan, dishonest, you know, attacking Republican motives around things like school choice, the economy, tax cuts, things like that. So disappointing to see that. But I guess it wasn't super unexpected.

[00:01:51] You know, I'm glad you bring that up. I had the similar reaction to it. I mean, right out of the gate, you were like, wow, this is something that we have not seen in North Carolina in at least the last eight years under Democrat Governor Roy Cooper. Yeah, but Andrew, talk is cheap. It's easy to stand in front of the General Assembly, that joint session, and claim that you want to act in a bipartisan manner to do some of these things in a bipartisan manner.

[00:02:14] But you look at the, at the time, the Attorney General's track record is, which is the previous position he held. He didn't act in that manner at all. Don't we have to use his track record as an indication of what's going to happen in the future? Absolutely. And it's still pretty early in this legislative session, the first one that Stein is the governor for. And I think we're going to know really quickly how he's actually going to govern.

[00:02:41] You know, he said a lot of the right things in his inauguration address and here in the state of the state. But he really hasn't gotten any bills to his desk yet. So we're going to see, especially with this budget that's coming together, you know, how is Governor Stein going to approach it? Is he actually going to try to find common ground like he said he would? Or is he going to go back to what Governor Cooper did and, you know, veto unless it's everything that he wants?

[00:03:07] Absolutely. I think many folks have described it as kind of the honeymoon period is still on between the Republican-led General Assembly and the Democrat governor and Josh Stein. You talk a little bit about this budget process, Andrew. Things are going to start ramping up here sooner rather than later. Those fights in the past have been pretty nasty and have drawn out into the late summer, even close to Christmas back a couple of years ago. When do you expect all that to get started? Yeah, well, it's already started.

[00:03:35] Kind of how it works is, you know, at this period of time in the March-April time frame, you're going to see a lot of Republicans put out bills around spending issues. So a great example is Representative Erin Perret from Wake County. She had a bill on raising entry-level teacher pay to $50,000. So that bill is not going to go anywhere, but what it's going to do is it's going to become part of the budget negotiations.

[00:04:01] So right now everybody is kind of putting out their priorities, and then in the next month or two, you're going to start seeing committees come together to weigh all that and come up with an actual full budget proposal. I haven't seen anybody say this is the date we're shooting for. Usually that's kind of how it works is either, you know, Senator Berger or new House Speaker Destin Hall will say, yeah, we're looking to have a draft of a budget by X date.

[00:04:30] I haven't heard that yet, but I don't think it'll be too far into the future. No question about that. And, of course, we did see that legislative calendar from Destin Hall indicating that things should be wrapped up before the new fiscal year starts July 1 of this year. So as we watch everything that's going on in the General Assembly, we watch the relationship. Andrew, at the national level, there's been some recent polling. I spent some time talking about it yesterday that shows very low approval for the Democrat Party.

[00:04:58] And, again, that's at the national level. Do you think that impacts Governor Josh Stein and North Carolina Democrats as they try and navigate a strong Republican majority in the House and the Senate here across the state? Yeah, I think it does. I mean, a national Democrat perception problem does filter down to the state level. However, Stein and the Roy Cooper wing of the Democratic Party,

[00:05:25] they have been able to insulate themselves at least a little bit from the national perception. I think that's especially why you're seeing Josh Stein talk a lot about bipartisanship, working across the aisle, that sort of thing. He's trying to carve out his niche as kind of the Josh Shapiro-style Democrat. Whether that will work, because he also faces pressures from the other side, right? I mean, there's plenty of people in the Democratic Party who will bristle against that

[00:05:53] and want him to be more of your national liberal type of political figure. So it'll be interesting to see not only how he navigates working with Republicans, but also how he tries to fend off kind of the lunatic fringe of the Democratic Party. You know, it's an unfortunate circumstance and scenario that we're in. Of course, Hurricane Helene has completely dominated the North Carolina news cycle since September of last year. Governor Stein walks into that problem. It's not something he created.

[00:06:23] Do you think that maybe draws the General Assembly and the governor closer than if there wasn't such a major natural disaster that the state is going to have to handle otherwise? Yeah, absolutely. And Governor Stein at least seems like he's open to working with Republicans more on that. I mean, that's one of the biggest stains on Governor Cooper's tenure as governor is how abysmal of failure he was at disaster response.

[00:06:50] And I would love to hear what Governor Stein says to Destin Hall and Phil Berger in private on that and honestly what he says to Cooper about that as well. But at least the indications I'm getting are that Governor Stein is saying the right things to Republicans about working with them on disaster relief. And, you know, hopefully it's going to yield better results for the people of Western North Carolina and Eastern North Carolina, to be honest.

[00:07:17] I mean, we're eight, nine years past some of these hurricanes and we've still got people living in hotels in Eastern North Carolina. Yeah, you're talking about the disaster that was the North Carolina and still continues to be the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. Andrew, obviously you're talking about it and we're chatting about it from the political landscape this morning. But as you look at what's going on in D.C. with the Trump administration and their conversation about stripping down and cutting out FEMA

[00:07:44] and making that the state's responsibility to essentially turn FEMA into a blank check writing operation, there's got to be a lot of North Carolina citizens that have eyebrows raised as to whether the state can actually handle something as large as hurricane relief with Matthew and Florence victims, as you noted, still living in hotel rooms for almost a decade. Yeah, you're exactly right. And, you know, from a philosophical standpoint, I'm certainly open to that, you know, kind of pushing some of that power down to the states.

[00:08:13] I think that's what the founding fathers intended for our federalist system. But, yeah, I mean, I would absolutely be concerned with, you know, pouring more money into a system that is still broken. You know, luckily, the wheels of government tend to move slowly. And I am optimistic about some of these. The committees of the General Assembly has put together to look at this. And, you know, if there were ever to be a massive shift like that,

[00:08:39] I would fully expect there to be a lot of planning, a lot of work. You know, get Dave Bullock, the new state auditor, involved to help root out some of the problems in the previous system and create a better one. Andrew, there's a lot going on. Folks need to keep track of everything. What's the best way to keep up with you and all the things that you're tracking and following? Yeah, best way is to look up Longleaf Politics. It's longleafpol.com.

[00:09:08] Andrew Dunn joining us this afternoon on the Peacounter Show. He's the publisher of Longleaf Politics and also a contributing columnist over at the Charlotte Observer. Andrew, thanks so much for the time. Greatly appreciated. Thank you. All right. If you're listening to this show, you know I try to keep up with all sorts of current events. And I know you do, too. And you've probably heard me say, get your news from multiple sources. Why? Well, because it's how you detect media bias, which is why I've been so impressed with Ground News.

[00:09:35] It's an app and it's a website and it combines news from around the world in one place. So you can compare coverage and verify information. You can check it out at check.ground.news slash Pete. I put the link in the podcast description, too. I started using Ground News a few months ago and more recently chose to work with them as an affiliate because it lets me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the left and the right.

[00:10:05] See for yourself. Check.ground.news slash Pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll get 15% off any subscription. I use the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports Ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent.

[00:10:24] So yesterday we were chatting a little bit about the back and forth with this ruling from a judge on Saturday that stopped or asked to the Trump administration to stop the deportation flights that were already in the air and already taking place. The president putting out a post on Truth Social this morning. I'm going to read it in its entirety. And we've got a rare response from Chief Justice John Roberts to this just moments ago. This is Trump's post earlier this morning.

[00:10:52] Quote, this radical left lunatic of a judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama was not elected president. He didn't win the popular vote by a lot. He didn't win all seven swing states. He didn't win 2,750 to 525 counties. He didn't win anything. I won for many reasons in an overwhelming mandate.

[00:11:18] But fighting illegal immigration may have been the number one reason for this historic victory. I'm just doing what the voters wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the crooked judges I am forced to appear before, should be impeached. We do not want vicious, violent and deranged criminals. Many of them murderers in our country. Make America great again.

[00:11:43] Ending a quote there from President Trump on Truth Social a little after 9 o'clock this morning. And just as we were coming on the air this afternoon, Chief Justice John Roberts has issued a rare public statement pushing back after this post from President Trump calling for the impeachment of not only this judge, but many of the others that he say are in his way.

[00:12:06] The Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court said this, quote, for more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not the appropriate response to disagreeing and disagreements concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.

[00:12:26] Now, yesterday we were talking about and heard from many of you on this idea of the radical judges that are currently leading the administration around. And I made the point that at some point sooner rather than later, Chief Justice John Roberts in the United States Supreme Court is going to have to deal with this. And this response from John Roberts is not what I think Trump and people were looking for.

[00:12:52] He says in his statement that impeachment isn't the process. It's to go through the normal appellate process. That's exactly the issue. While this is going through the normal appellate process, you have got unelected judges, district court judges not authorized in the Constitution that are deciding how in which the executive branch can operate.

[00:13:17] And let's not act like this normal appellate process is something that just happens overnight. I mean, case in point, look at what's going on here in North Carolina with the Supreme Court race between Judge Appeals Court Judge Jefferson Griffin and current Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs. That election was in November of last year that we still don't have a certified winner. Oral arguments take place in the appeals court this Friday.

[00:13:44] And no matter who ends up winning that, that decision is going to be appealed to the state's Supreme Court where the clock will restart again. I mean, there's a very strong possibility that as we get into the middle, latter, and end of April, we still don't know who is going to be certified by the Board of Elections for that Supreme Court seat. The election was in November.

[00:14:35] We're just going to be a temporary hold. Don't worry about it. Just follow the normal process. What's the normal process here? Every executive action that comes out of this White House is brought to suit by the ACLU or some other left-wing group, and a Democrat judge immediately puts a temporary block or stay on it? That is anything but the normal process. These are frivolous lawsuits.

[00:15:04] There is no basis. There is no constitutional authority in most of these cases that have been brought up over the last 60 days since Trump's been in the Oval Office. John Roberts has got a real mess on his hands here. And I guess if he's unwilling to do anything, then going back to some audio from Newt Gingrich over the weekend that played for you yesterday, if you missed the show, you check out the Pete Callender Show podcast and listen to that. It's time for Congress to step in.

[00:15:34] Call these judges in front of a joint hearing of the House and the Senate and have them justify their actions. Have them justify and point out in statute, in law, in the Constitution where they have the authority over the executive branch. It's as simple as that.

[00:15:52] If these judges want to misbehave, if they want to act as if they are the individual sitting in the Oval Office, they are the ones that are the chief executive of the United States, then make them prove it. And if they can do so, great. Everybody will stop talking about it. But they can't because there is no legal authority. There is no grounds to what they're doing. They are acting in a hyper-partisan manner. Trump rightfully so calls them out. This response from John Roberts is a joke.

[00:16:20] And I guess for individuals that have followed the court over the last couple of years, you're really not shocked by this. This is just a weak, weak response from Chief Justice John Roberts. It's very, very disappointing in him. I guess maybe my hopes shouldn't have been any higher than that. Here's a great idea. How about making an escape to a really special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina, just a quick drive up the mountain? And Cabins of Asheville is your connection.

[00:16:47] Whether you're celebrating an anniversary, a honeymoon, maybe you want to plan a memorable proposal, or get family and friends together for a big old reunion, Cabins of Asheville has the ideal spot for you where you can reconnect with your loved ones and the things that truly matter. Nestled within the breathtaking 14,000 acres of the Pisgah National Forest, their cabins offer a serene escape in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Centrally located between Asheville and the entrance of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park,

[00:17:14] it's the perfect balance of seclusion and proximity to all the local attractions. With hot tubs, fireplaces, air conditioning, smart TVs, Wi-Fi, grills, outdoor tables, and your own private covered porch, choose from 13 cabins, 6 cottages, 2 villas, and a great lodge with 11 king-sized bedrooms, Cabins of Asheville has the ideal spot for you for any occasion. And they have pet-friendly accommodations.

[00:17:40] Call or text 828-367-7068. Or check out all there is to offer at cabinsofashville.com and make memories that'll last a lifetime. We are talking about this battle. I kind of set the stage for you yesterday morning, or yesterday afternoon rather, as this battle over activist judges that are stopping the current administration from using their executive authority to, as Trump claimed in a statement earlier this morning, do things that he was elected to do,

[00:18:09] like deal with immigration. Over the last 30 minutes or so, Chief Justice John Roberts released this statement saying, quote, For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not the appropriate response to disagreements concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose. As I think, a very weak, weak response from Chief Justice John Roberts.

[00:18:37] This is a major issue that this country is going to face from a philosophical question as to how we handle branches and powers of government going forward. And his response is, you know, just follow the normal process. Just follow it. Right? It's as simple as that. 704-570-1110 is our hotline. That's 704-570-1110. Let's head on over to line two. Ray is hanging on the line. Ray, good afternoon.

[00:19:07] You're on the Pete Calendar Show with Nick Craig. What's going on? Hello, Nick. Yeah, I watched that interview with Nick Gingrich with Martin Levin the other night. And it would seem to me that there's nothing to appeal, as John Roberts put it, because this didn't go through a, you know, arguments from two attorneys from both sides.

[00:19:32] It just seemed to me like, you know, how can you appeal like a tyrannical judge making a decision like he's the president? And also, I think that Trump is causing the judicial system, in particular the Supreme Court and John Roberts, to have to face and deal with things like other parts of the government.

[00:19:59] And, you know, he's, it's just enough people all the way around. That's about my comment. Well, you make a very good point there. And I talked about this yesterday. For example, this decision that we were talking about over the weekend, where this judge decided that it was under, he had the authority to stop the president's attempts to deport individuals to foreign countries. This was not a hearing area decision in which he ruled on the merits of the case.

[00:20:27] As you, as you note, Ray, he issued a temporary stay, immediately stopping this without arguments from both sides, without any due process on the issue at all. That's not the system. There's nothing to appeal. You're right. It was no decision. It was just, you know, what you just said. It's a, it's a, it's a situation that's unfolding right now. Appreciate the call this afternoon, Ray. It's 704-570-1110.

[00:20:56] It's a situation where there is no due process because a decision has not been made. There's nothing to appeal. There's a temporary stay in place. And as we know, the wheels of justice, as I like to call them, the very slow moving wheels of justice do not handle these issues expeditiously. And as I mentioned in the last segment, using the North Carolina Supreme Court race as a great example. That election was in November of last year.

[00:21:24] We're still not even at the state Supreme Court. We're in the appeals court where oral arguments are taking place this Friday. Monday. It's the 21st. We've got less than two weeks left in the month of March. And we don't even have a decision as to who won that race yet. So how is John Roberts comments about, oh, you just got to follow the normal process. That doesn't make any sense to me at all. He is completely missing the mark here.

[00:21:50] And it's because I truly believe he probably doesn't want to deal with the issue. And to raise point, Trump is forcing, is going to end up forcing the hand of the Supreme Court one way or the other. This, the battle is being set up. The stage is being set up right now where the executive branch, AKA the current Trump administration is just going to flat out start ignoring these appellate judges and these district judges and just say, no, we're just not going to do it.

[00:22:19] Take me to the Supreme Court and then we'll go forward with your, with, with, with the case at hand, the arguments that are going to be made. That's how this is shaping out to play right now. Back to our phone lines at 704-570-1110. Brian is hanging on line one. Brian, welcome to the Pete Counter Show with Nick Craig. Good afternoon. Yeah, it seems like, uh, it seems, it seems like, um, that, um, the judge is exercising his authority because due process wasn't, uh, wasn't.

[00:22:48] And I think that's what John Robinson said when he said we go through the ordinary process. It's due process because you have, uh, illegal aliens in the country. They still have rights in this country because we're the United States. That's why we're superior to other countries. So we still have due process with that, even though the executive branch is saying, hey, we want to kick these people out. You can kick them out, but you still have to kick them out in an orderly and functional fashion that, that represents our, uh, uh, statutes and laws. So the judge probably did that.

[00:23:18] Well, I agree with you, but that's, that's where this issue comes up. And that's where the discussion about due process is really taking case because the merits of this case, as I noted, had not been in, were not, and still to this morning have not played out in the district court level. You have a shotgun decision by a judge to put a temporary stay on the executive branch, which unfortunately has happened a whole bunch of times over the last 60 days.

[00:23:45] It's happening with almost every executive order that this administration is bringing forward. Yeah, because the executive branch is run amok. It's not, it's not adhering to what the laws of the land are. So what laws still have to adhere to the laws of the land. I hear you, Brian. So, and this, this is where the frustration boils over. I think for a lot of people, the judge in his ruling on Saturday did not point to anything illegally that the president was doing.

[00:24:13] He issued a temporary stay, a temporary restraining order against the decision. He did not rule that Trump didn't have the authority. He did not rule that the executive branch doesn't have the authority. He decided that himself without hearing arguments from both sides. And for the, the talk of due process, there's no due process right now. There's a temporary stay in place until this judge decides to hear the case. Right. Well, you know what I'm saying?

[00:24:41] You probably have, you can probably have corrections on both sides, but you know, the thing about it is, I mean, I don't know, man. It seems like those folks that, um, that cheer for a president Trump or are allied with president Trump wants, want to make him a king of our country. And that's not what most citizens want. We still have to follow the law. And that's all we're saying. Now, you know, we, uh, you have some citizens that agree with his immigration policies and all that stuff. And that's fine.

[00:25:07] You know, they voted him into for those purposes, but you still have to follow the law. That's all I'm saying. But thank you. And I appreciate it. I appreciate your call. And I agree. I think the president absolutely needs to follow the law. And it's part of going back to the comments from, from new Gingrich over the weekend. These judges need to be able to explain where in the constitution, where the president is in fact, breaking the law. If they're going to issue these temporary stays and they are going to completely gum up the executive branch in their authority.

[00:25:37] That's, I think what, that's what I'm asking for. I can't speak for every single person. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Seven Oh four or five, seven Oh 11 10. I don't think, I don't know that I need all of this to play out. I just want to know why a judge is making this decision, a shotgun quick decision. If this is going on, where is the authority laid there? Because if we want to talk about due process, if we want to talk about following the law, then I think we need to do it across the board, not just selectively.

[00:26:06] And Oh, Trump is a, people want Trump to be a King. So everything he does, therefore needs to be blocked by the courts. That's not a good enough justification for me at all. All right. So spring is here, a time of renewal and celebrations. You got graduations, weddings, anniversaries, and the special days for mom and dad. Your family's making memories that are going to last a lifetime. But let me ask you, are all of those treasured moments from days gone by, are they hidden away on old VCR tapes, eight millimeter films, photos, slides?

[00:26:35] Are they preserved? Because over time, these precious memories can fade and deteriorate, losing the magic of yesterday. At creative video, they help you protect what matters most. Their expert team digitizes your cherished family moments and transfers them onto a USB drive, freezing them in time so they can be enjoyed for generations to come. I urge you, do not wait until it's too late. This spring, celebrate your past.

[00:27:00] Visit creative video today and let them preserve your legacy with the love and care that it deserves. Creative video, preserving family memories since 1997. Located in Mint Hill, just off 485. Mail orders are accepted too. Get all the details at createavideo.com. If you'd like to be part of the show this afternoon, 704-570-1110. That's 704-570-1110.

[00:27:24] Major decisions and discussions taking place this morning into this afternoon over activists, judges, and their attempt to completely, essentially overtake the executive branch. We saw the decision Saturday from a U.S. district judge that ruled that the Trump administration did not have the authority to deport individuals from the country.

[00:27:48] That U.S. district judge in James Rosenberg, who is the chief justice of the United States state court for the District of Columbia, is the individual in question. Now, in the last break, I was looking at X, and I see a post here from Congressman Brandon Gill, who is out of Texas' 26th congressional district. He has filed and introduced articles of impeachment against the judge. So that response is going on.

[00:28:17] Trump is calling for the impeachment. John Roberts says, everybody stop. It's called due process. Just follow it. This is a train wreck happening right before our very eyes this morning. Let's jump back to the phone lines this afternoon. We've got Bill hanging on line four. Bill, good afternoon. You're on the Pete Calendous Show with Nick Craig. What's going on? Bill, you there? All right, let's move on. Head on over to line one. Brian, good afternoon.

[00:28:45] You are on the Pete Calendous Show with Nick Craig. Good afternoon. Hi, Nick. Thanks for taking my call. I just had a comment from your previous caller. His topic was about following the law that the president of the United States has to follow the law. Sure. Where was everybody when all this illegal immigration was going on under the Biden administration? How come he didn't follow the law? Where was the outrage in that?

[00:29:13] I think you are pointing out exactly the issue, Brian. It wasn't any outrage in it because it's all selective outrage. Unfortunately, that's the system that we live in right now. It's all selective and individuals decide whether they agree with the law or not and if they're going to enforce it or not. And regardless of what political party you're affiliated with or associated with, you should find that to be highly problematic for our nation going forward. Absolutely. There's no consistency. No, there's not. There's not at all.

[00:29:42] And that's exactly, I think, why Trump is going to allow this battle to play out. Great point this afternoon, Brian. Appreciate the call at 704-570-1110. That's 704-570-1110. Trump is going to bring this battle to the Supreme Court whether they want to deal with it or not. John Roberts' response is a laughingstock. It's a joke. He's not taking the issue seriously at all. And I don't know why. Regardless of your political party, you should be highly concerned that unelected judges are

[00:30:10] making decisions as to how the executive branch can operate without due process. They are making these decisions without laying out to the American people, laying out to the executive branch what the issue actually is. All right. That'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast. So if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here.

[00:30:38] You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecalendershow.com. Again, thank you so much for listening. And don't break anything while I'm gone.