Wray's attempted comeback & Beto in the Queen City (07-21-2025--Hour3)

As you mentioned, he only lost by a couple dozen votes. Yeah, and he tried to challenge it too, right, and I guess that didn't go anywhere. Nope, it didn't go anywhere. He tried to challenge a few anomalies that were in there. It was a close. He had some protest challenges that he filed. He said there was electioneering at one of the pole locations, but all the claims were eventually dismissed in all three counties where he where his district spans were in Halifax, in Northampton. So he's fifty eight years now. He was in his tenth term when he lost to Peers, and he was a previous commissioner in the town of Gaston. Now I'm trying to remember too, because Ray along with Mike Woodard of Durham, I think this may have been Wooded. I don't know the demographics of the districts, but you know, I remember there was a there was an old elected official here. He was a city councilman. Then he became the school board chairman, Coach Joe White and he told me years ago, this was twenty years ago, he said, I'm a dying breed, Pete. I'm a white male at large Democrat and like he could and this was twenty years ago, he could read the writing on the wall, like you're not going to win any more of these races in the primaries. And I know Woodard in Durham, I think the demographics are against him there as a white male, sort of blue dog type of Democrat as well. Is that do you have any idea what. The is also one that tended to come in or help co sponsor legislation along with Republicans that made him unpopular with his own party right in particular again with school choice in there. So the two of them had that that piece that was common amongst both of them. The other one I think was Cecil Brockman, Yeah, who retained his seat, but it was fight and he has also sided with Republicans on a few issues in particular crime and safety and that sort of thing, but also school choice, so that all three of them had that sort of thing in common with them. Speaking of really successful politicians, Beto came to the Queen City the other day. Super exciting, right, the man who has lost multiple races in grand fashion. He came to town at the request, I guess the invitation of the North Carolina Democrat Party Chair Anderson Clayton, and she touted this somebody as Beto, as somebody who knows good politics. Yeah don't. I don't even know what that means to know good politics. Yeah. She spends a little bit of time ramping up the crowd introducing him, talking about all the different things that were good politics as them, which included boys in sports and you know, fighting illegal immigration, deportations and that sort of thing, which or honestly what lost them the twenty twenty four election. So she ramped up the crowd. It looked like they were maybe two orree hundred peop Well there, it was a smaller venue, so I'd have to actually go back and look. But it was at a pub in Charlotte, and they invited him in there to it was a rally the troops kind of thing. Did he get on the bar? I had some interesting comments in there. Did he stand up on the bar because that was his thing for. A while, No, nor nor did he have his skateboards, so we didn't see that. But he got up there and he talked about the trouble that the country was in and that Democrats have done what they've done in the past likely quote produced that trouble, he actually said, And because you know, he was talking about how they're having to protest every month against Trump policies, he says, And because we see that are countries in trouble, and because we love our country, we want to do everything we can to save it, because we understand that what we have done so far has failed to bt the trouble we're in right now. And look, if we're honest, I am a lifelong Democrat, but some of what we've been doing probably produced this trouble in the first place. So now we seek something different. Right, and that would be him, I guess, which I don't know. I mean, he's been making the rounds in different states talking about you know, Trump's immigration policies, about the one big bill, that sort of thing, same thing as Gavin Newsom has been doing, you know, jumping into Ohio and South Carolina and places like that. And you know, ourk tried to run for president, you know when Biden ran in twenty twenty, and that really didn't go over so well. No, he ended up being one of the first to pull out. I think it's uh and it won him. No, no, no, friends and that that circle. After his third wipeout, he went up again and challenged Abbott for you know, governor of Texas, and he lost that one in epic fashion. He lost to Ted Cruz originally points. Yeah, yeah, it was pretty big. So anytime this guy tries to run it all. His third devastating loss, right, so. He knows good politics. He also, I thought this was a real sure way to win hearts and minds in North care Carolina. He alluded to your right, He alluded to white supremacy and racism by describing states where Republicans hold majorities as former states of the Confederacy. Yes, yeah, that's that's a that's. A winning message in a state that was controlled by Democrats for a century and a half. Yeah. He also trashed Ice and Sheriff's department police that were working with Ice as aiding a betting Ice and the officers were contributing to quote, the destruction of our constitution in due process. So you know, he left no stone unturned there. Yeah, yeah, no, that's I wonder because you know, Anderson Clayton's all about the rural tour and listening to the rural folks. I wonder if she'll bring Betto out to the rural And by the way, his real name is Robert Francis O'Rourke, that's his real name, but claims that everybody called him Betto for some reason, even though he's not Hispanic. Yeah. Yeah, so this is the guy that they brought to Charlotte. I guess it plays in Charlotte. He plays probably better in Charlotte than uh, you know, the rural areas or the suburbs. Maybe. I just I don't think this guy is I don't think this is the guy that's going to lead you out of the wilderness if you're the demo. There's video of the entire event, which I have linked in my substack story, so if folks want to go and watch the whole thing, including the Democratic Party chair screaming into a microphone even though she had a microphone, it was it was enlightening. Turn turn your sound down a little. It was loud, yeah, and. They were And there was cussing, right, So there was cursing, because we know that's how you fight nowadays against Donald Trump. I believe there's one or two salty pieces of language in there, but it wasn't overwhelming overwhelmingly so right, you know, but he knows good politics, and he encouraged everyone there that was hot and sweating in the room to have a drink, but drink responsibly, you know, mister bw I car wreck from nineteen ninety eight. Yes, but you know. We shouldn't well on the path. No. So in case you are looking for a reason to gouge your eyeballs out, you can see that video. It's at AP Dylan substack. It's called more to the Story North Carolina Democratic Party hosts O Rourke town Hall and Charlotte is the title. AP Always enjoy it. Thanks so much for making time for us. Absolutely peak, take care you too. That is AP Dylan. 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. 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 dot ground, dot 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. See for yourself. Check dot ground, dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll get fifteen percent 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. She had another post a couple of days back, and I guess you could file this under knowing good politics. As Anderson Clayton, the North Carolina Democratic part party chair, said of Beto O'Rourke that he knows good politics, and she would know someone else who. Knows good politics, I guess the. North Carolina Democrat Party adopted multiple anti Israel resolutions. This is the state party the North Carolina Democrat Party at its meeting of its Executive committee. This meeting took place on June twenty eighth, and all six of the resolutions were apparently adopted. One calling for an embargo on military aid and weapons transfers to Israel. Another was called a Resolution for Democratic Unity, another was support for Rights of Israelis and Palestinians. Another was a resolution in support of Palestinian civilians and human rights groups. Another resolution for democratic elections with full suffrage in Israel, and resolution calling for new elections in Palestinian territories. In a letter from CEO's from multiple Jewish groups, they urged the party to reconsider. The groups include the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte and Greensboro, the Jewish Federation of Greater Raleigh, and Jewish for Good, the names of the CEOs that signed on. They wrote quote by endorsing resolutions that accuse Israel of genocide, call for an arms embargo against our strongest democratic ally in the Middle East, and deny Israel's right to self defense, the North Carolina Democratic Party has not only adopted an extreme and misleading narrative, but has also furthered a climate of hostility towards the Jewish community in our state. In addition to the anti Israel resolutions, the state Democrats also adopted implicit bias and dismantling racism training in their own party. They're doing the work, people, They're doing the work. They also established a People's Primary policy, which would ban billionaires and corporations from buying or unduly influencing Democrat primaries unless your name is George Soros. The North Carolina Democrat Party also resolved to place term limits on DNC members and to bring twenty twenty eight Democratic presidential candidates to North Carolina to try to build early momentum, and that, Okay, yes, you should try to do that. You definitely should try to have your presidential nominees come to a swing state. So okay, I fully understand that one Jews in the Democrat Party were very unhappy, including the North Carolina Democrat parties Democratic Majority for Israel or the DMFI, which objected to the embargo resolution. According to WFAE, Former North Carolina Democrat Congresswoman Kathy Manning, who is the chair for the DFMI, said in a statement that Jewish Democrats in the state have tried to unify and collaborate with Democrat party leaders, but said the state party chair Anderson Clayton and First vice chair Jonah Garson quote, have continued to tolerate extreme anti Israel rhetoric and anti semitism from within the party. Well it's just a big tent. 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To abstain from voting on resolutions on anti Israel resolutions at the North Carolina Democrat Party meeting of the Executive Committee, because that's what the chair of the party, the state party, Anderson Clayton, who says y'all and curses a lot, and that's her plan to win back rural voters or to not lose as many as they've been losing. When she brought Beto O'Rourke to town, she said he knows good politics, so ostensibly she too knows good politics, right, because she would identify Beto's knowing. Of the good politics. Well, this has caused a bit of a problem inside the North Carolina Democrat Party because there are a whole bunch of these different coalitions and groups and caucuses cauci if you will, that are pro Jewish. They are Jewish, they are pro Israel, right, because the Democrat Party has got a ton of these caucuses caucai. And that's not to say the Republicans don't have their own groups inside of the party too, they do. But there is you know this letter now that was sent over to the Democrat Party from these different Jewish organizations urging them not to adopt these resolutions. But they ignored those the letter, and according to WFAE Anderson Clayton, the chair of the Democrat Party abstained from voting on the embargo resolution. Don't know if she voted on the other five Israel resolutions. The North Carolina Democrat Parties Jewish caucus was very upset. They wrote that they are committed to electing Democrats who reflect our values. But then they go on to say that while they are not walking away from the party, they quote will limit our engagement at the state level and focus our energy on organizing, endorsing, and supporting aligned candidates. So we're not walking away completely. We're just going to focus on the people we can trust, right, So less support for the party apparatus, more support focused at individual candidates. The resolutions jammed through without debate. Apparently there was. The caucus said there was a lack of voting transparency and widespread procedural confusion as well well. The North Carolina Republican Party, as Republicans are known to do, they seized or they pounced, if you will, because that is what they do. According to the media, They noted that the North Carolina Democrat Party chair Anderson Clayton said in an interview that the party's twenty twenty four losses were because the party had supported Israel. That's what Clayton apparently said, that because the Democrats supported Israel. After October seventh, the massacre of the innocent Israelis by hamas a designated terrorist organization that that's why they lost in twenty four What's interesting and ap Dyllan points this out at her Substack publication that Kamala Harris did not pick the one Jewish vice presidential candidate that might have actually given her a better chance of winning, Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania. Just this past week, CNN's Harry Enton also dropped some stats about where the Democrats are on this issue. Democrats sympathized more with Israelis by thirteen points, but that was back in twenty seventeen. Just eight years later, now Democrats sympathized with Palestinians by forty three points. Forty three points. That is a massive swing, right, a fifty six point swing. And among Democrats under the age of fifty, it went from fourteen percent fourteen plus plus fourteen pro Israel to now Palestinians plus fifty seven. This is your key through college education system. That's what this is. The North Carolina Democrat Party has since removed the materials from their Summer Executive Committee meeting from the website. They've taken it offline. I wonder why. Wake County Democrats have also removed an Instagram post that applauded the passage of the resolution calling for an embargo on arms to Israel. They were touting they had Palestinian flags and the watermelon emojis. Yeah like yay. A massive thank you and congratulations to the organizers in North Carolina who just made NC Democrats the first state party in the country to call for an immediate arms embargo on Israel. Yeah us. And then there was another graphic that was posted up by thanking the members for voting against Israel on the website. This was from the Democrat Party's Arab Caucus, Progressive Caucus, Jewish Democrats of NC, NC Association of Teen Democrats, Muslim Caucus, Interfaith Caucus, African American Caucus, and the LGBTQ plus Democrats of North Carolina. No word yet from Josh Stein, the Governor of North Carolina, a Democrat also Jewish. You know, stories are powerful. They help us make sense of things, to understand experiences. Stories connect us to the people of our past while transcending generations. They help us process the meaning of life and art. Stories are told through images and videos. Preserve your stories with Creative Video. 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It was like last like three or four days or something. And if you did not know that, you probably do not have a subscription to the Charlotte Observer because they basically turned over their entire publication two n DOUBLEACP programming coverage. I mean, look, they're free to do that whatever. I just yeah, there wasn't a lot in there that there wasn't a lot in there that was earth shattering or groundbreaking. I just kind of felt like some of it was just rewriting press releases. But there was one story by me Garry Ramsey. Democrats talk twenty twenty six election strategy at this convention? What is it? Ooh? What's their strategy? Congressional Democrats laid out their strategy for recapturing power in Washington at the NAACP National Convention in Charlotte and called on black voters to take action to help make it happen. Okay, you're you're going to get to the strategy in a second here, Okay. Illinois Representative Lauren Underwood, New York Representative Evett Clark, Mississippi Representative Benny no Jets Thompson. They addressed the convention on a panel entitled quote crisis Point, Defending democracy and civil rights in a volatile political climate. I wasn't sure if you could amp up the hyperbole to eleven, but apparently you can. You can. You just have to have the right equipment that goes to eleven. And there you have it. The four day convention at the Charlott Convention Center is expected to bring thousands to Uptown for the annual meeting. Underwood said her party's message quote has to start with the economy. If Democrats want to win back a majority in the House and Senate in the upcoming midterms next year, she called for specific plans focused on increasing affordable housing, access to healthcare, and job training in the era of a I affordable housing, healthcare, job training. Okay, so basically this is the stuff that you guys have already been saying for like twenty years, thirty years or so. I mean, like that's not none of that's new. And ironically, you keep talking about trying to increase affordable housing, yet housing just gets more and more unaffordable, particularly in the cities that you guys control. What's going on there. Maybe you guys should just like listen to some of the areas by for example, Austin, Texas, I think, just drove down their housing costs. You know why, you know how they build way more homes And that's a Democrat run city, if I remember correctly. Austin, Texas Democrats, right, but they allowed for more building, and when you allow for more building, you have more supply. We have more supply to meet the demand. It brings down the cost. I don't mean to sound like I'm talking to a five year old, but I kind of feel like I'm talking a five year olds when it comes to supply and demand stuff. This is all very basic econ one oh one stuff. She says. I think, yeah, this is Lauren Underwood from Illinois. We will not win just assuming that people don't like Donald Trump, who yes, he's right, He's already president. And so if you're going to run as like vote for us if you hate Trump, like I kind of feel like you. Already got those voters. They're already going to be turning out because they are motivated by their animis towards Donald Trump. So yeah, you're gonna have to try to craft some winning message for people that are not simply motivated because they hate Trump. Just like, we can't win just assuming people don't like Trump. Despite Underwood's warning, much of the panel then focused on criticism of the Trump administration. So there you have it. It's I mean, this is what TDS does. Even when you know you can't keep doing the same thing, you just can't quit it. You know, can't quit you The. Convention panel also said Trump's executive order trying to end birthright citizenship is a threat to black Americans. Why well, let me read the next sentence here to see how you could have come to that kind of a conclusion. A federal judge issued a new nationwide block of the order. Birthright citizenship, the rule that anyone born in the US as an American citizen, was enshrined in the US Constitution through the Fourteenth Amendment in the wake of the Civil War. This is from H. Clark. If that Clark from New York. She says, it has to do with us. We are at the heart of it, and if they can break that, they can break us. Okay, Well, that actually doesn't explain why on earth you would think that ending birthright citizenship somehow or another affects black Americans. You're American. It obviously does not affect you. You being black doesn't make any difference. The Fourteenth Amendment was enshrined in order to do what to make sure that freed slaves were considered Americans, so states didn't try to, like the Confederacy, didn't try to, you know, rob them of their civil rights and such. That was the whole point was to put it in the Constitution and say, yeah, they're citizens. You know they if they're born here, they're American citizens. I don't understand why this anyway, It's not explained. Underwood said attendees should request in person meetings with their congressional representatives and show up to town hall meetings and other public events. Quote, they'll be so pressed to take a picture with you because they know that they can take a picture with a black person. You know what I'm saying. I know, I know. I don't know what are you saying? What do you mean that they want black people to support them, that Republicans who are running for office would like to have black people vote for them. Is that what you're saying. They talk to all voters. Why wouldn't they want to talk to you? What you are you saying? Something else? It's a mystery left unknown due to the coverage from The Observer. 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. You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecleanershow dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.