No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - Beto O'Rourke dismantles Greg Abbott over border stunt

Episode Date: April 17, 2022

Greg Abbott creates a supply chain catastrophe at the southern border and it backfires in pretty spectacular fashion. Brian interviews Beto O’Rourke about Greg Abbott’s stunt, and the state of his race against Abbott this November. And Democratic Senate candidate from Kentucky, Charles Booker, joins to discuss Kentucky’s new abortion law that banned all abortions in the state, how well Rand Paul represents the state, and whether it’s even possible for a Democrat to win in Kentucky.Support Beto: https://betoorourke.com/Support Charles: https://charlesbooker.org/Shop merch: https://briantylercohen.com/shopYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/briantylercohenTwitter: https://twitter.com/briantylercohenFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/briantylercohenInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/briantylercohenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/briantylercohenNewsletter: https://www.briantylercohen.com/sign-upWritten by Brian Tyler CohenProduced by Sam GraberRecorded in Los Angeles, CASee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today we're going to talk about Greg Abbott's decision to create a supply chain catastrophe at the southern border and how it backfired in pretty spectacular fashion. I interview Beto O'Rourke about Greg Abbott's stunt and the state of his race against Abbott this November. And I'm joined by Democratic Senate candidate from Kentucky, Charles Booker, to discuss Kentucky's new abortion law that banned all abortions in the state, how well-ran Paul represents Kentucky, and whether it's even possible for a Democrat to win in the state. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen, and you're listening to No Lie.

So you'll hear my interview with Betto O'Rourke in a few minutes about some specifics on this, but I want to spend my time in this monologue talking about what's happening in Texas. And no, I'm not talking about the six-week abortion ban. I'm not talking about sending migrants on a bus to D.C. and getting them delivered to the building that houses Fox News. I'm talking about Greg Abbott's decision to impose enhanced safety inspections on all commercial vehicles entering Texas from Mexico, which he claimed were to help stop the flow of illegal contraband and migrants.

And so while deliveries of goods from Mexico typically took two to three hours, because now every single truck was being checked as part of Abbott's display of political theater to catch illegal immigrants, these deliveries were instead taking as many as 30 hours. Trucks were waiting in lines that stretched as far as eight miles back. Like, $9 billion of fresh produce crosses the Texas border from Mexico each year, that was spoiling in the back of these trucks. Business and grocery stores had to find produce elsewhere looking as far away as Arizona. And when you're getting produce from farther away, that means higher fuel costs,

which are then passed on to the consumer, which means higher prices. The chief executive of the Texas International Produce Association said the consumers would start seeing empty store shelves immediately in the produce departments, thanks to Greg Abbott's unnecessary and self-imposed logjam. And the president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas just said that so far, losses to fruit and vegetable producers are estimated to be more than 240, million dollars. And just a side note on that, you know, we've been mired in this pandemic long enough to know that when producers lose money, what do they do next? They try to recoup. Every oil company lost money in 2020. What happened in 2021? They saw cumulative profits of hundreds

of billions of dollars, all in the backs of consumers who are already hurting. And so if it wasn't bad enough that there are food shortages because Greg Abbott decided that he wanted hundreds of millions of dollars of food to spoil so he could get a five-minute box cable hit, Now consumers are stuck paying more as those producers look to recoup from all of their losses. Just a win-win, right? And it's not just produce. Other food, auto parts, clothing, furniture, we do almost $2 billion in trade with Mexico every day. First of all, just in raw numbers, to put that much money, that many goods, that many people's livelihoods at risk for a political stunt, it's just the epitome of stupid.

But to do this now, while supply chains are already beyond. strain from this pandemic, really is beyond comprehension. But think about this from a longer-term geopolitical perspective. What we're trying to do is make ourselves less reliance on places like China and Russia, for example. Mexico, as an ally, as a trading partner, makes more sense. So the last thing that we want to do is we're testing Mexico as a trading partner is to show that, you know, actually, that would be too risky. And so, yeah, let's just stick with the status quo.

Like, dear God, what a, what a short-sided view of the situation that's going to have consequences that are so much farther reaching than just today. And in case you thought that Abbott somehow might not want any of these consequences, in case you thought that maybe hurting people wasn't the intention, take a listen to this. 100% inspection of all commercial vehicles. And a consequence of that is financial pain. And that financial pain is necessary. If you're looking for a soundbite that really just summarizes this guy's entire worldview,

you know, like what he would do for some perceived fleeting political gain? There you go. Now, clearly, Abbott eventually realized what a moronic decision this was to unilaterally and unnecessarily stop the supply chain in the middle of an already existing supply chain crisis. And so on Friday, he finally rescinded his order. But of course, something else that we've learned from this pandemic is that just like declaring that things are back to normal

doesn't mean that everything goes back to normal. It's expected now to take at least a week for the supply chain disruptions to sort themselves out, meaning that items are still going to be delayed, costs are still going to rise, and prices will still be higher, all because of one person. And granted, I know that by complaining about the supply chain and high prices, Republicans are going to inevitably say, well, you know, hold on, Biden Democrats are overseeing rising prices across the nation, and yet they have the audacity to slam Abbott for high prices. But there is a difference.

Biden's presiding over a period of high inflation just like every other world leader is presiding over a period of high inflation. We're coming out of a global pandemic where supply chains across the planet have been disrupted, right? That's not a surprise to anybody. Here's where the difference is.

Biden and Democrats are doing everything in their power to ease the effects of inflation by both trying to get costs down and investing in the future. They support capping insulin prices and suspending the gas tax and they support all the elements of build back better from childcare to lower drug prices

to universal pre-K. all of which Republicans block. Democrats are trying to pass the America Competes Act to bring the semiconductor chip industry back to the U.S. They're trying to transition renewables so that we won't be reliant on foreign autocrats for our domestic energy needs, which, again, Republicans oppose.

But Abbott, on the other hand, is creating this crisis, creating these high prices through a wholly avoidable and unnecessary stunt because he wants another cable hit on Fox. That's the difference. We didn't need to have 30-hour lines at the border. Abbott chose to have them. Worldwide inflation in the aftermath of a pandemic is unavoidable,

but creating high prices by stopping traffic at the border is completely avoidable. But here's the saddest part of all of this. And maybe I sound like a tired old cynic, which, I mean, yeah, in my defense, try covering people like Greg Abbott every day. But I would contend that the sad truth here is that Abbott and Republicans want the long waits and the high prices and the surging inflation because they know that Biden's going to take the brunt of the blame. Like, let's be honest, most people aren't paying attention to what's going on in politics. So while Americans writ large might not turn on the news, they'll still feel the impacts. They'll still feel the higher prices and the longer waits for their stuff.

Abbott is perfectly happy to prolong and exacerbate that pain, knowing full well that Biden's going to shoulder the blame for it. Like, think about that. He is hurting his own constituents at a time when they're suffering the most from high prices because the political damage that Biden's going to sustain is worth it for Abbott politically. What a sorry state of the Republican Party. Like the Party of Lincoln, man. But with that said, look, Abbott is up for re-election in just a few months. And Texans have the opportunity to replace this guy

who's clearly more interested in causing problems than solving them with someone who can not only win, but who cares about the people of that state. So here's Beto O'Rourke. Today we have Democratic candidate for the governor of Texas. Beto O'Rourke. Beto, thanks for coming back on. Ryan, thanks for having me. Of course. So now, Americans have been contending with higher prices for months because of this pandemic, right? This is something that Republicans have hammered Biden over, even though the entire world is dealing with the same issue. And yet, just this week, Greg Abbott decided to create a massive bottleneck on the Texas-Mexico border by mandating inspections by DPS. Produce suppliers have worn that starting this weekend, there's going to be shortages of fruits and vegetables, furniture, auto parts, food are all going to be delayed. What kind of an impact?

is this having on Texans? And how does someone justify this kind of political grandstanding when people are already hurting? This is really hurting Texas and the people who live in this state. You mentioned produce. We import two-thirds of the produce that we buy in our grocery stores from Mexico. And so when Greg Abbott shut down northbound commercial traffic from Mexico at our ports of entry as part of this political stunt, it ended up forcing those importers to rely on sources and other parts of the country if they could find them, but more often than not, they were empty, empty-handed. And so you'll see empty store shelves as soon as this weekend for those key products that we import from Mexico. But in addition to the inconvenience for

consumers, you've got those importers and those truck drivers and those logistics companies and customs brokers and warehouse employees and owners struggling right now to make ends meet. In some cases, having to let people go. In other cases, moving businesses from the state of Texas to Nogales, Arizona, which is another port of entry 1,200 miles away from the Rio Grande Valley. So this is really hurting the people of Texas. But, Brian, it's also hurting the people of this country. The overall economic hit to the state of Texas is estimated at about something like $470 million to the negative. To the United States as a whole, it's very close to a billion dollars that it knocked the U.S. GDP. So you're right, at a time of

already rising inflation, higher prices and scarcity on our supermarket shelves, we have the governor of the state of Texas, electing to do that to us and getting absolutely nothing for us in return except for those higher prices, greater inflation and more supply chain problems. And of course, his five-minute hit on Fox, which I think is the point of all of this. Speaking of exactly that, a lot of the right gets their news from these information silos. What's to stop Texans who might not be paying attention to the news from just thinking, you know, higher prices, Joe Biden's added again. Like, could Abbott be just banking on the fact that Biden's going to shoulder most of the

blame for this? And so Abbott's just doing what he can to exacerbate an already painful problem. I'm sure he's hoping that that's going to be the outcome. But part of the reason that I'm talking with you right now, part of the reason I'm headed down to the bridge of the Americas that connects El Paso with Sila Juarez in about 20 minutes to hold a press conference, part of the reason that I've been in Del Rio and Laredo and McAllen and Mercedes and Far, Texas, over the last few days is to make sure that I help people see exactly why this is happening and the fact that it didn't have to happen,

but this is a consequence of having a governor who uses the border as a prop to scare the rest of Texas or the country for that matter to score cheap political points against the Biden administration while hurting the very people that he is supposed to serve and look out for here in the state of Texas. And Brian, this is obviously not the only time that he's caused inflation in Texas.

When he shut down our electricity grid last winter, it resulted in much higher utility costs for all rate payers across the state of Texas. On average, $45 more per month, per month in each household across the state of Texas. In addition, since he's been governor, we've seen property taxes, which in a state that doesn't have an income tax is one of the primary ways. we pay taxes into our local and state governments. Property taxes have gone up by tens of billions of dollars. This is the inflation governor, and he's really hurting the people of Texas, and we've got to make sure that every single Texan knows that. Well, not to be outdone by himself.

Greg Abbott also decided recently to send a bus full of migrants to Washington, D.C., delivered right to the building that houses Fox News in cases and tensions weren't obvious enough. Is this what Texas Republicans voted for, you know, the theatrics and jockeying for cable news time? You know, these stunts, while, yes, they may score some points on Fox News are deeply damaging to the state, to the competitiveness of Texas businesses. And there are a lot of Republicans, including Republican business owners as well as Democratic business owners who get this because they see it and how difficult it is to attract talent and investment to our border. communities, when even though they are among the safest places in America, you've got a governor describing them as a war zone. That's really hurting them. And it's hurting all of us by extension. This stunt by sending some migrants who had to voluntarily board those buses to go to Washington,

D.C., who, by the way, probably agreed to get on those buses because their final destination was Virginia or Maryland. They got a free ride paid for by the Texas taxpayer. We understand here in Texas, that we need solutions on the border. There are legitimate problems around illegal drug trafficking and human smuggling. But if you have a governor who's more focused on the stunts instead of the solutions, you're only going to exacerbate these problems. And what Abbott has done is literally create chaos on the U.S.-Mexico border, whether it's the National Guard deployment where four of those guard members have taken their lives since Abbott activated them. This latest stoppage at our international ports of entry with commercial truck traffic or just the

rhetoric that has inflamed tensions. And Brian, I would argue, help to induce someone in 2019 to come to El Paso and murder 23 people claiming he was here to repel the invasion that Governor Abbott had warned him about. So there's a real cost and consequence to the people of Texas. And it's not just Democrats or independents. It's Republicans as well who get this. And I know that there will be a political cost ultimately for Abbott. He may in the short term enjoy a lift on Fox News in the long term, and especially in November, voters are going to remember this. And I'm going to do everything I can in my power to remind them each and every day of the cost and consequence of having Greg Abbott in office. It's higher inflation and it's more

chaos on the border. Now, looking forward to the election, nearly 23,000 of the Texans who voted in this month's primaries saw their ballots get rejected by elections officials. That's 13% of the total votes cast in the same state that saw a rejection rate of under 1% during the 2020 election. And of course, black voters were disproportionately impacted. Now, I don't think I need to ask you to explain the abject corruption behind the GOP's decision to pass their voter suppression bill, But I will ask, have the Democrats been able to rectify this issue since the primaries? I don't know if the Democrats are. And I sure wish the Department of Justice would, but we can't wait on somebody else.

And so in our campaign, which is comprised of the people of Texas, we're at the doors right now, Brian, letting voters know what it's going to take to make sure that they follow these new rules of the road, which were set last year in an effort to make it harder for people to vote. So having conversations with people about the kind of voter ID they're going to need to use at the polls, or if they want to vote by mail, the fact that they're going to have to match the ID they use today with the ID that they originally used to register to vote, even if that was 70 years ago, which was the case for a World War II veteran, 95 years old, who defended our democracy and fought fascism half a world away and had his ballot rejected three times in our recent primary elections, right here in the state of Texas. So we've got to be the answer to this problem. And we are 60,000 plus volunteers have signed up at Betofertexas.com. And we are deploying them at the doors right now, not waiting for, you know, the official start of the campaign season or get out the vote in the fall of 2022, doing it right now in April. And we have been at those doors for the last couple of months. So we are the answer, we meaning the people of Texas, and I actually feel very confident in our ability to overcome it. And then once we win this election, set right

our election laws so that anyone, Republican or Democrat or independent, is able to freely and fairly choose those people that they want to represent them in free and fair elections. Now, what's the state of this race so far? I mean like a snapshot of how it's going right now. So the latest snapshot that we've received has been a poll conducted by the Texas Lyceum that shows Greg Abbott at 42% shows me at 40% and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2%. So we are looking pretty good right now. When you add to that, those 60,000 plus volunteers who've signed up. And as strong a campaign as we ran in 2018, that level of volunteer participation is far and way greater now than it was then. It just shows you the enthusiasm, not necessarily for me, not necessarily for the Democratic Party, but for Texas to get on the right track and fully realize its potential and its promise. Folks recognize that this abortion ban with a $10,000 bounty on the back of anyone who assists any woman and making her own decisions, this fixation

the governor has on transgender kids and prosecuting their parents for child abuse, the fact that He's left child protective services absolutely unfunded for the challenges that they have with 30,000 kids in the foster care system, many of them sleeping in CPS offices, a hundred of them having lost their lives in the custody and care of the state of Texas just over the last year. The chaos that this guy is producing because of his corruption, his incompetence, and his absolute cruelty against the most vulnerable. the people of Texas are standing up to be counted against this and for something better. So the snapshot right now looks good. We could always use more help and we want to make sure that we give the people of Texas the hope that they deserve. So we're encouraging folks to go to Betofertexas.com and sign up to be a supporter or a volunteer

to help us win this thing. So I have two last questions about this race specifically. And the first is, you know, Democrats have watched their edge with the Latino population kind of evaporate in recent years. And not just in Texas, but across the country as well. What is your campaign and the Texas Democrats doing to kind of gain back that law support? You know, there was a lot written and talked about in terms of the perceived slide in places like South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley in 2020, where Trump performed better than he had in 2016. I think that's the result of two things. one, Republicans who really worked hard to connect with voters there. And I think credit should be

given where it is due. And Democrats who took those same voters for granted. So here's what we're doing. We are showing up all of the time in these communities. I literally was just in the Rio Grande Valley and in South Texas and in communities like Laredo. I went to Del Rio, which is one of the hardest places in Texas to get to. You don't arrive there just by chance. It has to be intentional destination, but I showed up for the people of Del Rio. These are communities that are 90 to 95 percent Mexican-American that historically have had record low levels of voter turnout, in part because of Republican control of voting laws that drew them out of our democracy. But we're bringing people in, and we're showing up to listen, to learn, to reflect back what we

hear. And yes, we're happy to talk about immigration. But, Brian, That's not the leading issue there. It is jobs and jobs and jobs and the kind of jobs that we all want to be able to work and then we want our kids to be able to work. Jobs that pay a living wage that provide that purpose and function that we all want in our lives. Jobs that these communities are going to create if they have a real partner in the governor's office. They're talking about public education, getting the back of our school teachers who are grossly underpaid in the state of Texas and are under constant attack. from this governor. And they're talking about things like being able to see a doctor, which most of the rest of the country takes for granted. But in the least insured state, these border communities are the least insured part of our state. And so people are still dying there of diabetes and the flu and curable cancer. So showing up and connecting on the issues that matter most of people, that's how we win these elections. And then last thing, you know, per the conversation we've had already on the border and these stunts that Greg Abbott is pulling, what he's doing

right now in slowing down trade traffic with Mexico, it hurts the entire state of Texas, but nowhere more so than in these border communities. It is decimating businesses there. It is cutting off the economic lifeline places like Laredo and McAllen and Farr and El Paso. And we're going to make sure that every single voter in these communities knows that. And it's why it's so important that we have these volunteers and these donors who can make sure that we have the resources and the people to reach the voters who can decide the outcome of this election. And secondly, kind of the other side of that coin, we'll finish with this. What do you say to people who voted Republican all their lives to get them to give you a chance?

We say, you are welcome to join us, and we want you to be part of this. We judge no one. We do not care. I say, no me importa, who you voted for in the last election. the letter next to your name, before we're anything else, we are Texans. And we're going to do what is best and right for Texas. And when many of these Republican voters have a chance to join us in these conversations and see this focus on jobs and world-class public schools and expanding Medicaid so that more people can get health care and so that we also lower property tax bills, when they see the contrast of Greg Abbott's divisiveness and his culture

wars and these stunts that he's pulling on the border with our focus on real solutions that bring people together. They want to be part of this. And Brian, I'm not waiting for them to come to us. I'm going to where they are. So go into communities like Amarillo or San Angelo or Lubbock or Childress or Olney or these communities that for far too long, frankly, have been written off by Democrats as too tough to win in.

So we're not going to even compete. These are the places that we're showing up. And the best thing that I hear at these things is someone coming up to me afterwards saying, look, I didn't even want to come to this thing. My girlfriend dragged me out. But I heard what you had to say, Beto, and I really like the message. And I want to get behind you. We were in a part of the panhandle that's very rural and very red.

And at a small town hall meeting, there were four or five guys wearing Make America Great Again hats. and they politely listened, they engaged in the town hall. We had conversations on issues that we didn't agree on, but we did so respectfully and civilly. And at the end of it, one of those guys in Amagahat came over, and he shook my hand, he said, hey, I'd love to take a picture with you. And after we took the picture, he said, where do I sign up to volunteer? So if we will keep the door open to everyone who wants to be a part of this,

if we refuse to judge anybody or write anybody off, There is no limit to what we can do in this state, including winning this incredibly important election in November. Well, we'll leave it there. Beto, you know, you're putting in the work like no one else is. So thanks and best of luck in the campaign. Thank you, Brian. Thanks again to Beto. Now we've got Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky. Charles Booker.

Charles, thanks for coming on. Absolutely. Thank you for having me. So this past week, Kentucky became the first state in the nation to effectively ban abortion. The state legislature overrode Governor Bashir's veto on a 15-week abortion ban and some onerous restrictions on abortion providers, meaning that the state's last two abortion clinics are going to have to close. What's the response been like in the state on the heels of this?

And have you heard from any independents or Republicans on this issue in particular? You know, the response that I'm seeing across Kentucky is one of frustration. a lot of angst, fear. There's a lot of sadness. A lot of families are really disheartened because we realize this is not a political game. This is about our lives. It's about our families.

It's about quality health care. It's about freedom. It's about reproductive justice. It's about the agency and autonomy and humanity of so many Kentuckians who are being discarded for political expediency. And it's frustrating to see politicians really play this game at a time when the pandemic has really caused so much pain. We're still trying to get on the better side of it.

They were cutting access to SNAP benefits, making it harder to get health care. They're essentially saying they don't care whether we live or die. And this horrendous bill is just the latest example of that. In terms of the response across partisan lines, like what have you heard? Because this isn't just an issue that impacts demonstration. Democrats, right? This is an issue that, I mean, Roe is supported by the vast majority of Americans on both sides of the political spectrum. Well, one thing that I've learned and, you know, a lot of people will, pundits national folks that will look at Kentucky and say, okay, well, if you're

registered as a Democrat, if you're a black person, you're not going to be able to get support across Kentucky. I've worked in every corner of this Commonwealth. And one thing that I'll tell you is that these issues that we deal with in our lives and health care and access to quality health care for women and families and in abortion care, these things are not partisan when you get down to regular folks in their daily lives. And I'm hearing it from Republicans, independents, and Democrats alike that this is a terrible bill. Now, in the news, you hear all the wedges and the talking points.

Right. Abortion care and quality health care has opened. Overwhelming support across Kentucky, across partisan lines, because if you look at most indexes, indices that would determine a good quality of life, we're at the bottom and damn there are all of them. So we know we need that quality of health care. And so the effort that is underway now to fight back against this type of divisive, really shameful, dangerous, unconstitutional act is not partisan. We're seeing Republicans, Democrats, and independents saying, wait a minute, you've been screwing us for too long, and this is going to hurt the people of Kentucky. Now, you're running against Rand Paul, who's been among the most vocal COVID vaccine opponents. He's been an opponent to Ukraine-Aid.

How in line is he with the voters of Kentucky? Rand Paul probably couldn't find Kentucky on a map. He does not speak for the Commonwealth of Kentucky at all. and I can say that with very clear conscious, it's a shame because he's supposed to represent us, but he doesn't care about our lives, and we know that here. What you often see from Rand Paul is chasing conspiracies. He's arguing with Dr. Fauci, as you mentioned, he's looking for these opportunities to get in front of a camera to talk to national audiences. I think he's trying to run for president again, but he never speaks to the people of Kentucky.

he doesn't come to his district office he doesn't go to communities and talk to people about their needs like i'm doing across the commonwealth sitting down with folks of all political backgrounds and say what's pissing you off what do you care about he will never do that and so as much as people are frustrated nationally that rampa is in the senate helping to screw everything up along with Mitch McConnell those clowns do not represent us and and i'm proud to join the movement to replace rampaul in November. Now, we've watched as Amy McGrath raised a pretty staggering $94 million in her run against McConnell, and yet he beat her by 20 points. Now, as people look to support candidates for November's elections across the country, what's your message to voters, you know, and other Americans who are looking to donate to candidates who've basically, you know, seen what happened with Amy McGrath and kind of written Kentucky off? Well, the first thing that I'll say is that I appreciate everyone who wanted to invest in Kentucky. That's the right thing to do. Everyone who wanted to invest in making sure that we get Mitch McConnell out of leadership. Thankfully, Georgia helped us to do that, get him

out of that majority seat, investing in helping to win races that can help us when our future is important. But it's not just about the money that you raise. It doesn't matter how much money you have if there's not a vision that inspires people to believe things can be different. And so what we're seeing now is a lot of cynicism and it's valid. Folks are frustrated. They want things to change and they're not seeing change quick enough. But what I'm trying to say is invest in the work to build infrastructure, invest in the campaigns and the candidates that are mobilizing people and building the movement to not just beat a

terrible politician, but to make democracy real. I have over 20,000 volunteers that are involved in my campaign. And a lot of them still have their MAGA hats. We're building something that's bigger than partisan divides, and we need the investment to build the infrastructure so more people are organizing and running for office. And if Georgia didn't teach us anything, if you do invest in communities that get left behind, the forgotten places, if you organize, you can win. And I'm asking for that support now because we're going to beat Rand Paul. Perfectly put. You know, we've operated for a long time under the notion that in a red state, you need a

moderate, right? Like you're not a moderate, you're progressive. Why is a progressive better position to win in a state as conservative as yours? So an analogy that I use for the come with Kentucky, and this is my home. I go back several generations. My family does. My ancestors were enslaved in Kentucky. They were lynched in Kentucky. Kentucky is in my DNA. The thing that I understand about Kentucky is it's like a house that's on fire. We're struggling. A lot of people are falling off the cliff. We have seen historic levels of unemployment. I'm a type one diabetic. I've had to rash my insulin.

That is not a partisan thing. A lot of Kentuckians know that struggle. And when you're falling off the cliff, how do you moderately respond to that? How do you moderately put the fire out? Well, we're not looking for our policies that are walking some middle line that doesn't even make sense. We're looking for people who can bring us together,

who can build coalitions, who can help us break through the division and the hate. So we need to really redefine these terms of what electability means and what does it even mean to say that you're a moderate in a time when folks are dying and suffering and poverty is generational. And my policies, you know, folks will call them progressive. I'm cool with that. I'm not looking for labels. We're fighting for our survival. I support Medicare for all because I don't want anyone to die because I don't have money in their pocket. I want to have financial freedom for every Kentucky. So I support a universal basic income. I don't care what people label these policies

as. I'm listening to the people and we're fighting for humanity. And that's why I'm getting so much support. Now, Republicans are going to try to nationalize this race as much as possible. You know, every race, really, with the tax ranging from calling Democrats groomers to calling the Marxists and everything in between. But all that bullshit aside, you know, what are you running on? What's your specific pitch on the issues to voters? And what have you found as the most effective messaging or platform to run on? So I'm running on the power of bringing people together, from the hood to the holler, as I often say, are common bonds. Because we have so much more in common than we do that divides us.

If we lock arms, we fight together, we can change things together. We can get corrupt politicians out of office. And my vision is one of a Kentucky New Deal, realizing the promise to end poverty, to make sure that no one And it's not only falling through the cracks, but being able to propel and surpass their dreams, that we invest in our infrastructure, that we invest in our people, a secure life, freedom, and prosperity for everybody. And because I'm lifting up this truth, that we've been screwed, we've been exploited by politicians like Rand Paul.

We've been abandoned and ignored and demeaned and mocked. And I'm tired of that. I'm fighting for my family. And this is the truth that cuts through partisan. divides, and it's inspiring a movement. Kentuckians are not worried about the doubters that don't think change is possible here. We're going to prove them wrong.

And this is a chance for us to choose Kentucky for a change, and I'm honored to help be a part of that movement. Now, let's finish off with this. What's been the most memorable day on the campaign trails? Are anyone that you've met or something that you've done that was especially memorable? Man, one of the moments that I talk about often. I actually wrote about this in my book.

from the hood to the holler is I was in the hills in Appalachian and what some people would call Trump country, Confederate flags waving. And I knocked on the door of a little lady, the Confederate flag in her yard. And I was like, I don't care. This is my family. I'm going to talk to her. And I went to her about a Green New Deal at the time. It's just like a kamikaze mission right there. Yeah. Yeah, it was like it could have went bad. It could have went bad, especially if you believe in all the stereotypes. But, you know, she opened the door. She had her little blue robe on her was disheveled. I thought she was going to cuss me out. But when I talked to her about, you know, I'm fighting for clean water. I'm fighting for clean air. Utilities are too high. I want us to have a future that

our children can be safe and grow. And I want you to make sure you can live and not be sick by the environment around you. And her response was, of course we need that. Our bills are too high. Of course we need clean water. We can't feed our children. We can't bathe our babies with this water is going to irritate their skin, I support a Green New Deal. And you know what? Everybody should have health care. And she became an ambassador. And the thing that inspired me is if we stop judging books by the cover, if we get out of

our comfort zones and go talk to folks and show up and do the organizing work, the coalition's ready. The people are ready. We'll leave it there. Charles Booker, keep kicking ass on the campaign trail. You're welcome back anytime and good luck in November. Thank you, brother. Thanks again to Charles.

One last note here, well, a favor, actually. The best way to support my work for this podcast is through word of mouth. So if you could tell someone who might be interested in this kind of stuff to check out this podcast and subscribe if they like it, I'd really appreciate that. Okay, that's it for this episode. Thank you for listening, and I'll talk to you next week. You've been listening to No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen, produced by Sam Graber, music by Wellesie, interviews captured and edited for YouTube and Facebook by Nicholas Nicotera, and recorded in Los Angeles, California. If you enjoyed this episode,

please subscribe on your preferred podcast app. Feel free to leave a five-star rating and a review, and check out Brian Tyler Cohen.com for links to all of my other channels.