President John Pudner concluded his recent radio tour across our Republic as Fox News’ radio analyst on the Tim Walz VP selection, traveling back to familiar territory in Champaign Illinois to dissect the current state of the race with this pick, how both campaigns are adapting to current political trends, and what moves we could see in the coming days as both sides inch closer to the all-important election day this November.
As Pudner, host Stevie Jay, and special guest and brother Johnny Jay discuss, the political landscape this cycle is anything but static. From the replacement of President Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket with Vice President Kamala Harris, to the pick of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz instead of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro light of protests and fervor from "Uncommitted" and other pro-Palestinian groups, to the several states now in play with the changed electoral map, this cycle has become one of, if not the, most volatile in our history, and as Pudner and the Jay brothers note, set our Republic up for an exciting, tumultuous, and unpredictable November to remember.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Walz, Harris, Trump, Shapiro, win, votes, thinking, Pennsylvania, Israel, Minnesota
SPEAKERS
Stevie Jay, Johnny Jay, and TBOR Action President John Pudner
Stevie Jay 00:00
Brother Johnny is down in New Orleans. Johnny had a Bible study this morning.
Johnny Jay 00:03
Good morning, Steve. I can't believe he's gone to Austria and didn't tell us where he was going.
John Pudner 00:09
I think he didn't know where he was because....he was a big part of the Republican platform when it was in Milwaukee, and I'm not sure you've been on with John Pudner before, President of Take Back Our Republic Action, Bush 2000 aide, the only person in US history to run a campaign defeating a majority leader, our friend, John Pudner in Milwaukee. How are you, John? Good, and by the way, my family still calls me Johnny for my younger days... No kidding! We got two Johnny's on. All right, let me begin with John Pudner. Your take on Tim Walz being named vice president candidate for Kamala Harris? I think it proves that they're still concerned about the liberal base staying with them. They've come to him right now in polling, they were excited over the change and Harris being in, but it still tells me they thought that was still fragile, that they're more concerned about a drop in turnout from the far-left part of their party than they were about reaching out to the center, which is what Josh Shapiro would have been - liberal, but at least he, you know, it's got a pro-Israel stance, you're more traditional Democrat, more toward moderate. They just decided they couldn't do that. They could not risk the far-left part of the party staying home so they weren't left with this pick.
Johnny Jay 01:36
John, I don't know, but it looks like, number one, a strategic disaster from a political race standpoint, but also I don't know how Kamala Harris is going to do making tough calls. I'd hate to see how she'd handled the Cuban Missile Crisis. That was not a smart move to double down on this woke-ism, I think was a mistake, and you can't hide that, they're saying he's a Midwestern moderate, but this guy, he wants the gender operations for kids. I mean, this guy goes all the way to the left, as far as it goes, so I don't know Stevie, I don't see a ticket that can put together a winning coalition.
John Pudner 02:22
John Pudner, isn't it about how you sell it? I mean, the Democrats have a machine that is very impressive, and they'll put the coach up there, and he's a raw-raw guy, he speaks very well, he's probably better than Kamala will it at these issues as well. But, man, there's too much videotape on him talking about letting Minneapolis burn, and this is what you get when you don't have diversity and equity...If you're comfortable with what's going on in America right now, this is your ticket, but John, I don't know how they sell it to where there's not too much...there's going to be so much evidence to say that's not what they believe. That's right. I think if we didn't have TV yet, the pick would work, because he looks grandfatherly, I mean, yeah, I think you can cast that image. You know, it's not like, they could pick a member of the squad, I mean, another one lost in Missouri, even at a primary. Yeah, Cori Bush lost last night. That's right. It's good for the country, preferring Republicans win, but I don't mind if their aren't more squad members even if they're easier to beat, but as far as for the country, it's such a powerful element, but you couldn't go there. You couldn't go someone who's overly Squad, so, what do you do to to appease your base and keep them happy? You go with the guy who sat there and had hearings where people came in and talked about how Minnesota needs to divest all their money out of Israel, and then he just politely thanks everyone during these hearings. I think, in their mind, he's not quite out there, you know, banging his fist about getting us out of Israel. It's a softer sell, I think they're thinking he could be a softer face on these radical ideas, and as you said, they have machine, we'll see if it works. But, as Johnny pointed out, I think most people see through this as a far-left pick.
Johnny Jay 04:30
And I'll tell you, we sure don't want anyone who would appease that base. That base needs to be pushed back because it results in everything from the open borders, to zero energy independence that we had even just four years ago, which means higher energy prices, that helps drive inflation, and then we have these crazy guys playing on girl teams ideas and in their locker rooms, that's one of my favorites, and you can go on, John. It has to stop, and I don't know how we can listen to the people who scream the loudest, and not realize these people are kind of crazy, and they can scream all they want, because like when we hear dogs barking in the street, we can still go to sleep eventually. We need to quit paying attention to...look at the Green New Deal. I mean, it's just overwhelming, and what the Democrats are doing is palpable. We got drugs coming in, got crime in the street, I mean, if this is not wild paranoia, this is serious stuff, these people are dangerous to what American values are and how we want to live.
Stevie Jay 05:43
The New York Times this morning reported, John and Johnny, that, apparently during Shaprio's interview, he was asking what's his authority going to be, while when Tim Walz came in, he said I'll do whatever you want. So, that's kind of what the New York Times is reporting. How's Kamala going to say I'm for fracking when she's really not?
John Pudner 06:06
No, you're right on, and beyond that, it's rare a campaign has a few 70% issues, but the Republicans have them this year. I mean, immigration and the wall is a 70% plus issue, Israel is 70% plus, these gender issues for men and women sport and the surgeries, these are 70% issues. The old jock joke that Trump will win as long as he talks about anything but himself, I say that tongue and cheek, but you got three issues here that 70% agree with, and they're on the other side of these, so this is the opportunity.
Johnny Jay 06:44
Yeah, I think he's hammered the issues hard on this one ad to make sure everybody knows what their position has been, this brand new ticket of of radicalism, what their position has been for the last few years. They say she's a true believer, but I think she's more of a charlatan. I don't think she really cares about much anything except moving forward, but maybe she's a true believer, but I sure don't want her calling the shots. Can you imagine, Stevie, her as Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces? that's That just doesn't make me warm and fuzzy.
Stevie Jay 07:24
Well, they're going to debate, and they're talking about ABC, and David Muir was going to be the host of that on September 10th, I think, and Trump's pushing for a Fox News debate five days earlier. This morning, he said he's going to do anything, I got a debate her, so he might go into a situation where it's not going to be as friendly as it was for Biden because, you know, the CNN people were shockingly fair, but I don't know if it's going to be like that on the next one.
John Pudner 07:52
Well, I think there's some good negotiating to set up that debate on what it would be accepted. Basically, Trump was agreeing to their station, but that campaign did a good job of getting a lot of commitments on what moderators could or couldn't do, so hopefully the same will be true. As long as you're not debating two other people who are asking questions, you want a one on one, and I do want to say, I don't want conservatives to underestimate her as a debater. I think she really was quite good in some of the Democratic debates, and the thing you always worry about these is the expectation. I mean, Biden had the worst debate in the history of the country, and anything she does is going to be better than that, it's going to be praised as such an improvement, so just be ready, don't underestimate her. Agree, totally for that, I'm a reverse trash talker, Johnny. You're the best! You won every speech debate. You're unbelievable!
Johnny Jay 08:48
She's riding high because she can actually talk, but once you start listening to what she's saying, it gives you pause, so just pay attention to what she's actually saying, don't revel too long in the fact that she can say it.
John Pudner 09:05
But I think, too, John Pudner, you're a strategist, what good is it when you don't put your person out to take tough questions, and you don't have any practice doing it? Yes, that's true. There's always that argument on if it is better to sit there, in debate prep trying to mock the setting, or Trump's approach, which is, normally, I'm just going to be out there with people, and that's my practice. Both have worked, but sometimes it does work to be prepared. Obviously, Biden being held off for a week prepping did not work at all, but it does work sometimes, she is a prosecutor, she has had that kind of practice. And yes, Johnny's absolutely right, listen to what she says, and she could leave a decent impression coming out of a debate. You want to say, oh my gosh, she is the greatest debater in the history of the world, you want the bar there before the debate.
Johnny Jay 10:00
Well, I gotta say, though, the only way she can leave a good impression is to say we're definitely going to close this border down, I think the President was right, we're going to shut her down. She's just got to switch on all those issues, but people won't vote for, and if she does that, no one's going to believe her, so I think we're in a good spot. I like where we are.
Stevie Jay 10:22
Alright, cue the band....
Kamala Harris 10:23
There's no question I'm in favor of banning fracking. We're not going to treat people who are undocumented across the border as criminals.
News Anchor #1 10:29
You support the Medicare for All bill that will totally eliminate private insurance?
Kamala Harris 10:33
Let's eliminate all of that. Let's move on.
News Anchor #2 10:35
Assault weapons that are already in circulation. What do you do about those?
Kamala Harris 10:39
We have to have a buyback program and I support a mandatory buyback program.
John Pudner 10:43
And then, of course, from 2017, this is the classic
Kamala Harris 10:45
We have to stay woke! Like, everybody needs to be woke. And you can talk about, if you're the wokest or wokeer, but we need to stay more woke than less woke.
John Pudner 10:46
This is the virus, John. We can't have a virus sweeping America like that. We're not for that. As you said, 70% issue, we don't want woke. That's right, and that's politicians who have been running to win votes in California say, and then not thinking ahead to winning votes that need to win votes nationally in a few years say. I'm sure that stuff all sounded good to California for the most part.
Johnny Jay 11:26
Well, I'll tell you something, John, if we can't win this one, I think we should just go to the house, so hopefully we come out in our favor this time around.
Stevie Jay 11:37
It is surprising. I'll play this just for the record. I had made a bold prediction, not so bold, last week. "Well, I'll put all my chips, every one of them, on Josh TIM WALZ as the VP,"...this doesn't work, I tried to talk over it. Anyway, the question is, did they not pick did Josh Shapiro because he's Jewish, John, or because he didn't have a good interview with Kamala?
John Pudner 12:06
It really is sad that the Democratic Party is in a state where it's such a negative to have Jewish heritage. Oh my gosh, I mean, who would have thought? But let's face it, every president picks someone who they don't think will outshine them perhaps, you know, and he's a pretty impressive guy, the way he presents, and what he's done. You don't know what goes into it, as you said, you clearly have a VP that's going to be firmly sitting in the back seat, and taking orders, and that can appeal to a presidential candidate.
Johnny Jay 12:40
Well, I gotta say, I don't know what she was thinking, but I can tell you, I believe 27 electoral votes are back in play, because I think he could have swung Pennsylvania for her, and that's a big, big, big deal right now in the way we elect presidents.
John Pudner 12:59
John Pudner, how can people find Take Back Our Republic Action? takebackaction.org for the website, and our top story actually did break down the map, and to Johnny's point exactly, we were saying Pennsylvania would go blue if it was Shapiro, which would have meant Wisconsin, right here where I am, looked like the swing vote. So, under a Shapiro scenario, you've got a picture of the map, that was this big, so I think this does, as you said, put Pennsylvania back in play, and boy, if you don't win Pennsylvania, It's over.
Johnny Jay 13:37
Do you see any states we wouldn't expect, John, that could swing Trump's way, or several, or any?
John Pudner 13:44
Well, my concern is when people start talking about going after states like Minnesota, they stretch their resources too thin, and that's what Clinton did in 2016. I mean, she started thinking that she wanted to have 380 votes, and she forgot about Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, and Michigan. So, I hate to say, you gotta stay right on those states, Arizona, Nevada, out west. On that map on the blog, except for nine states, everything's at least a seven-point lead one way the other. I mean, it's not going to shift, so going after New Hampshire, I just get nervous. If you're winning in New Hampshire or Minnesota, you're already blowing them out, so who cares?
Johnny Jay 14:33
How's Arizona look?
John Pudner 14:37
It's been tighter since she's been in. That's been, you know, the better of the seven that are going to decide this thing. It's generally been Trump several up, and with her, it's, you know, been a couple of polls with her up one or two, Trump up a couple. We're just seeing if this is a way for her. Is this a two-week thing? And I hate to say, to use the Sarah Palin analogy when Sarah Palin came in, and suddenly, it looked like McCain was going to win.
Stevie Jay 15:02
Okay, John, appreciate that. Johnny, back to Bible study. Pray for America. That's the key to everything. Divine intervention.
Johnny Jay 15:10
Johnny, it's good talking to you, Johnny.
John Pudner 15:13
Thank you, Johnny Pudner, anytime you want to call me that.
Stevie Jay 15:15
Appreciate you guys. John Pudner up in Milwaukee, Brother Johnny down in New Orleans.
Comments