July 7, 2025 • 30 mins
Ryan leads a special "Ask Me Anything" episode, answering listener questions on key political issues. Topics include U.S. policy toward Iran, the controversy over federal land sales, and the challenges facing the Republican Party. Ryan offers thoughtful, data-driven analysis on voting trends, especially among women and non-college-educated voters, and highlights the importance of civic engagement. It's a Number Game is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network - new episodes debut every Monday & Thursday.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to a Numbers Game Podcast, Ryan Gradowski, Welcome
to the very special Ask Me Anything episode. When Buck
Sexton told me to start doing this segment of the show,
I was like, Okay, this sounds great, but I got
so few questions. My first few weeks, I was texting
friends and co workers and family members like give me
(00:21):
a question. I have no one who sent me questions,
and thankfully that is no longer the case. I have
gotten so many questions. We have a backlog that I
want to get to. It is the dead of summer,
and I figured why not have a special episode where
I thank the listeners for being with me here and
answering some of your questions. And if you want to
be part of future Ask Me Anything segments of the
(00:43):
show at the end of the podcast, email me Ryan
at Numbers Game Podcast dot com. It's Ryan at Numbers
Plural Numbers Game Podcast dot com. I read every email
and I would love to hear from you. So let's
go to some listener questions. First up is Joel from Ohio.
I love your show and wish it came out before
seven am because I'm often busy and can't get to
(01:04):
until later in the day, but today's a slow day anyway.
My question has to do with the situation in Iran.
My concern is that the Iranian regime will fall and
that there will be chaos in the streets. That's no
good for anyone. What I like to see is a
government in exile be formed with the support of Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
United Arab Emirates and Israel that's able to take power
on day one. Here's the question. Is any polling organization
(01:26):
asking in its current polls, if the poll if the
Polie would support regime change, if Iran change in Iran,
if there was a government in exile waiting for power.
Great question, Joel, appreciate it. So I think the problem
with the question you're asking is in the framing. The
idea of regime change, to the minds of Americans means
(01:46):
boots on the ground, and that is extremely unpopular. That's
what people go to when they hear regime change. According
to a Washington Post poll from June twenty third, is
twenty two percent of American support military intervention aimed at
toppling the current government of Iran, while forty eight percent oppose.
Only thirty six percent of Republicans, they support sending troops
(02:06):
into Iran, So there's no appetite at all, and all
pollings surrounding the term regime change is directly related in
the minds of people, whether correct or incorrect, to military
intervention ie boots in the ground. I know that's probably
not what she meant, but that's people think. Now here's
the idea of a government in exile. The problem is Iranians,
(02:30):
according to the polls available, which is very limited. I
will give you that note first. It's extremely limited. But
according to the polls available, Iranians aren't exactly sure what
kind of government they even want. A twenty twenty three
Gamand survey of one hundred and fifty eight thousand online
Iranian respondent so that eighty one percent rejected the Islamic Republic,
(02:51):
but twenty two percent actually favored a constitutional monarchy as
the alternative. Twenty eight percent wanted a presidential republic and
twelve percent a parliamentary republic. So while the Iranian people
don't like the current Islamic regime, who knows what future
government they want and they have to be part of
that process and they have to decide that for it
(03:13):
to be legitimate. We can't decide that for them, and
that's where it gets a little complicated. But thank you
for your question. Next up, Casey, she writes, new listener
to your show, but loving it. My question is an
issue that is being underreported is the immense pushback from
Senator Mike Lee has faced for his amendment in the
second in the Senate Reconciliation bill that would sell millions
(03:36):
of acres of public land in Western states. Right leaning
groups and voters have publicly denounced the bill, with one
of the loudest voices coming from hunters who lean right.
Following the pushback from other Western Republican senators, Mike Lee
is thinking his overthinking his approach. Is it smart for
Senator Lee to add such a controversial position to an
already contentious bill? Could this be an issue that splinter's
(03:58):
the Republican Party? Thanks? See okay, I got this email
before that The amendment in question would have sold three
point three million acres of land that the government owns
that's managed by the Bureau of Land Management and US
four Services. It would have sold those three point three
million acres and to private enterprise into private businesses. But
(04:20):
because of pressure from Republican senators like the Montana Senator
Tim Sheheeney. It's out of the bill, so it wasn't
even voted on. They took it right out of the bill. However,
I think I'm going to I'm going to give Mike
Lee a little grace. I don't agree with the approach
of just selling all of our government owned land, our
federal own land. Mike Lee has got libertarian leanings, so
(04:42):
they don't support federal owned land, which I understand. But
I think that specific to the state of Utah, unlike
other states, the federal land brushes right up to some
of their cities. It's not just like in the middle
of nowhere like it is for some states. Places like
Saint Utah, which is one of the fastest growing parts
(05:02):
of southern Utah, has very limited space because of the
federal land. I think a better solution would be to
look at where specific areas of federal land are stopping
urban planning in very specific location. Not millions of acres
across the country, but you know, maybe a several few
thousand acres in very select places. That would be in
(05:25):
a better alternative than Mike Lee's approach. But thank you
for that question. Next up is John Buckwalter from Scottsdale, Arizona.
By the way, guys, if I mispronounce your name, you
have to understand I can barely pronounce my own name.
I think I got John's name correctly, but other people's names.
If I mispronounce your name, I apologize. I am from
(05:46):
New York, I can I am missing whole syllables and
consonants in my alphabet. I am struggling through the English language.
Please forgive me ahead of time. Okay, Ryan, I just
thought I would reach out and say thank you. Listen
to a fair amount of conservative podcast I really like yours.
I value quality information on relevant topics and guests and
expert analysis. You do it like no one else I
(06:08):
have found, and you don't waste my time. Thank you.
I hate waste people's time. You must work really hard
to do your research and organize guests. Are you on
channels other than the free podcast that I should find
you on? Great content deserves my support. Keep it up.
Thank you so much, John, that's really really nice of you.
I have a newsletter called the National Poplist Newsletter on substack.
It's fifty dollars a year for a subscription, and that's
(06:31):
basically it. I have been asked many times to start
a YouTube channel for this podcast, and something I hope
to do at some point this year is to get
this on youtubecause people like to listen and watch a
video seeming to be very animated with my hands flailing
and all my italianness. But that is something that I
plan on doing, hopefully sometime this year, if I can
(06:51):
get around to it. I don't really know how to
do that though, so I'm going to figure it out.
Another big fantasy goal of mine for this podcast eventually
if it continues to grow, and last month was my
best month ever, so I'm so appreciative to every person
who spends the thirty to forty five minutes hearing my voice.
You have no idea how grateful I am. No one
in my family would do that if I paid them
(07:12):
to do it. But a big goal of mine eventually
if it continues to grow, is I would love to
do a live audience taping one day with like a
guest like I would if I can ask Anne Cole
to do it with me one day, that would be
fun in a theater or something. I don't know. If
people would pay to attend that, but that would be
fun and that's something I would love to do. But
as for right now, it's just the substack. So thank
(07:32):
you for listening and maybe subscribe. Now let's go to Russell.
I'm gonna mispronounce your name Kluge. I think hello Ryan,
great work on your show. I increasing look forward to
Mondays and Thursdays. I will try to be as concise
as possible with twenty sixteen and twenty twenty four now
in the review mirror, What do you think about and
are there any numbers on the assumption often repeated by
(07:53):
Democratic pundits in both election years, that the US will
never elect a female president is the assumption that a
Democratic nominee is more likely to win if Vance is
the Republican air apparent. Is there any possibility of a
female VP pick over, say Marco Rubio or another male
cabinet member. I've included three major observations and one prompt
about a candidate that have influenced my own thinking that
(08:17):
possibly refused the above assumption. The twenty sixteen gender gap,
which shows there was no differs between Clinton and the
Trump debates candidate quality in the twenty twenty two elections
where female candidates. One I'm concise what he says there
and says, by the way, because it's paragraphs so long.
Donald Trump himself, no one thought that he was a
serious candidate before he ran. And Sarah Palin that she
(08:39):
was not hurt from being a woman. Okay, I appreciate
he says, by the I appreciate your time that you
take for your response. Okay, thank you so much, Russell.
This is Russell Klug. I don't think I'm spelling that
pronouncing that name correctly anyway, but Russell Klug, thank you,
very astute observations. I think Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton
(09:02):
set women politicians back in this country. I really do.
With their losses, especially Kamala even more than Hillary. I
think people thought Hillary would be a fluke, and Kamala
losing the popular vote and losing every swing state and
making some states more competitive than they should have been
really hurt female candidates. And I do think it will
(09:25):
be a bit of time before Democrats nominate a woman again.
As far as Republicans go, my bigger question is who
would they pick right And I've heard through the grape
vine that elis Stephonic is planning to make a run
in twenty twenty eight, whether or not she wins the
governorship of New York. I'm sorry, but I don't think
she's got a shot in hell. Allegedly Trump said that
(09:48):
she looks like this is mean, but this is what
I heard through the grape vine. Allegedly Trump said she
dresses like a couch. And the sad thing is, we
all know which couch's talking about. It's the couch from Rosanna.
We know it. A big part of it is not
cad quality in the sense of do they have what
it takes? But are they doing the correct things now
(10:09):
to launch a presidential bid? Are they making an effishing team?
Do they have the donors in mind? I'll tell you
Sarah Huckabee Sanders definitely did a lot of damage to
herself in Trump world when she refused to endorse him
out of the gate. Katie Britt left a lot to
be desired when she gave her rebuttal to the State
(10:31):
of the Union and poison the well water. A lot
with how grabby she was during the VP selection. Christy
nom she shot her dog right. That ends that there's
no America is not going to vote for the lady
who shot her puppy. I mean, you can say you
want a woman president, but unless you can give a
specific example, it's hard for me to give you a
(10:53):
definitive answer on whether they can be the nominee. And
there's a big difference between running for governor or Senate
and running for president. Namely, you're the commander in chief
of the armed services. So I don't know the answer.
I know, like my buddy Megan McCain really wants there
to be a woman president one day, and people have
mentioned a lot of names. I don't see someone on
(11:15):
the horizon right now. Doesn't mean there can't be, but
it's like it's like someone saying, will ever be a
gay president? Not Pete poota judge. That's the answer to that.
Will there be one? There's no Republican on the horizon.
Could there be one? Maybe, but until you give me
a name, I can't give you an answer. Okay, we'll
be back with more listener questions after this brief break.
(11:36):
Stay tuned, Welcome back. Our next listener question comes from
Andy Kirby. He writes, Hey, Ryan, love the podcast and
what you do for the seventeen seventy six project. I
use numbers like number websites like numbers USA and Liberty
Score to make sure that Republican politicians in my state
aren't going along with libtard policies. I love that you
(11:57):
said libtard. Is there any other? Is there any any
other or better website like that to track how people
are voting in DC and on state level stuff? Also,
do we have a chance of winning the governor's mansion
in Wisconsin replacing Tony Evers? Or do you have any
of the stories about Wisconsin other than why Tom Tiffany
is the best elected representative Wisconsin. Thanks so much. Okay, Andy, No,
(12:21):
there is not a better website. And I know this
because I have told so many people like Amy Kramer
and John Magantee and people, and I'm like, make this website,
make a Magascore website for politicians. It would be a
huge hit, right. Take big topics trade, foreign policy, you know, infrastructure, whatever,
(12:41):
immigration obviously, and rank how people vote and make sure
people know how they're voting, how the representatives are voting
in terms of things that you like, and include amendments
and stuff like this. And a lot of people been interested,
but no, one has done it, and I don't understand why,
and I'm too busy to do it. But someone should
do it. Someone should have been doing it for a
year years. As far as Wisconsin goes, my friend is
(13:04):
Rebecca Cleafish. She does a lot of school board stuff
with me, like our nonprofits do, so I respect her
a lot. I really like her. I think she'd be
a great governor. I told her on the phone to run,
and she didn't really give me a clearance when she
was going to do it or not. Wisconsin is a
very tough state, and a lot of people from Illinois
and Minnesota have moved there and taken their politics there.
(13:26):
It was the closest swing state that voted for Trump.
In terms of the raw vocoes. You have to either
get someone who has the Trump effect in the rural
counties or runs decent numbers in the cities like Dane
and Milwaukee, or you turn out the wow counties with
huge numbers. So Wisconsin's a tough state to win. I
mean it's possible. For sure. Tony Evers is going to
(13:49):
be a prime target for a flip in Republican for
the RGA in twenty twenty six, and I think they'll
put a lot of money there, but I don't know.
I mean, I have to see the nominee as first.
As far as Wisconsin stories go, it's tough. I've only
for the school board races. I've never actually visited the state.
Of a lot of friends from Wisconsin who will always
tell me come up there for the beer, the cheese
(14:10):
and the lakes, and I have not had a chance to.
It should be my bucket list, though, to go to Wisconsin.
I heard it's a beautiful state, but I haven't been.
Next question is from Olivia Hutchins. Okay, this is a
very long question. I'm going to try to condense it. Olivia, Ryan,
I'm a huge fan of the podcast. I've been meaning
to email you to cover some things about polling for
(14:31):
my background on my evolution. We are around the same age.
I'm thirty nine, she's thirty nine. I'm thirty eight, but
i'm thirty nine. I'll be forty next year. I canvassed
for Hillary in two thousand and seven, voted for Obama
in eight and twelve Hillary, and sixteen cry when Trump won,
then voted for Trump and twenty and twenty four and
couldn't be happy with how things are going. She's lived
(14:53):
all around the country, from Philly to San Francisco to
now Denver. I'm moving back east. A couple of things.
I'm pretty radicalizednse beingcoming a mom, and I have no
tolerance for BS, which is basically the entire left right now.
Absolutely anything that puts my kids at risk is a
no from me. And I'm wondering if you've seen any research, commentary,
or polling related to women with kids. I know married
(15:16):
women tend to vote Republican, but I'm curious about why
that is. I grew up pretty liberal, went to a
private liberal arts school, and then went to law school
when the economy collapsed in eight graduated with lots of debt.
I paid diligently for a decade plus and now considered
a highly educated voter with a degree. But I'm not
particularly religious, so I don't think I fully fit the
(15:37):
mold of a conservative woman voter. Interested to see if
you've covered this or have any insight. She also asked
about the birth rate for immigrants about people who have
self deported. Okay, so, Olivia, thank you for your question. First,
I will say this, I am a low education voter
(15:58):
because I don't have a college degree, a college shropout
when I say low education, and when people say low education,
it should not be interpreted as low intelligence or low information.
Those are two very separate things. And I think that
that's very important, because people get very tightly wound when
they hear low education as if it means low information
(16:19):
or low intelligence. It's not comparable. It's not the same
thing at all. When it comes to women with children
under eighteen, I actually did this research for you. So
this is according to exit polling, which is not the
most accurate thing in the world, but it is the
only thing that actually examined this specific question. Women with
children under eighteen voted more Republican than women without children
(16:41):
under eighteen in the last election. According to Seen and
Exit Polls, which was done by the Edison Foundation, White
women with children under eighteen voted for Trump by a
margin of eighteen points compared to one point for women
without children under eighteen. Among Latina women, they voted double
digits more for Trump than women without children did. Even
(17:02):
though he didn't win them, he got a lot closer
because of children. Women and the only group that appears
to be an outlier to that trend is black women. Now,
remember I said this is exit polling, so Pew Research
and other organizations that did this research they didn't include
that question. But there are numbers for black women. And
how Trump performed was actually better than the sampling in
(17:23):
the exit poling, So maybe he did do better. But
it seems obvious that the trend for a Latino women
and for white women, especially which there was a large
sample size, is that he did significantly better. His margins
were double digits better for both demographics when it came
to do they have children under eighteen or not? Why
is that? Why do women with a with a spouse
(17:45):
and with children vote differently than those without because their
priorities are different, their life experiences are different, and I
think that there is something to women who don't And
this is no listen, everyone's their own choices in life.
Don't get married, get married, have kids, don't have kids.
I'm not putting you down for what I'm going to say,
(18:06):
but I think it's worth's saying there is something for women,
especially liberal women who are middle aged or older, who
don't have children, who are politics and they tend not
to be religious either, except for the nuns. Politics becomes
their family, their kids, their church, their QVC. It's where
(18:28):
they put money, it's where they put time, it's where
they put energy, it's where they volunteer. I respect that immensely.
You're part of the democratic process, that's great, but that
is very much their world. And I have friends in
who fall in that bracket who are liberal, and I
maintain friendships with them because I think they're good people overall,
(18:48):
and I like them, but they become exhausting about politics.
Sometimes they really like to talk about it quite a
bit more than I do. I don't like to talk
about politics because I work in it, so it's not
the same thing for me. But I think that's partly why.
On the second thing with supporting people, I read the
full paragraph that I'm not going to read out loud.
(19:09):
It's very hard for me to sit there and give
you analysis on self deportation stories because there's no hard numbers.
As I said in the previous question, a lot of
it is just the New York Times or NPR interviewed
this person or that person, they cried and they went home.
There's we just don't collected data like that, and until
an organization does that, I don't have the answers. Eventually,
(19:33):
hopefully I will. Okay, this next question comes from Ryan,
best name in the best name in the English language. Ryan,
I say that, I say what you said on this
podcast on Thursday, all the time you want Nancy Pelosigan.
Whoever replaces her will be ten times worse. Same with
Schumer Naler. Look at me in New Jersey Republicans hate
(19:54):
him Menendez, then we got Kim Way worse. Your podcast
is fantastic, getting better and better. Keep it up, Ryan,
Bryan a big fan of the name. Thank you so much.
I know it wasn't a correct question, but thanks for
the shout out. Yeah, the progresses that are coming forward,
like the Mendanis of the world, will make Build A.
Blasio look like Ronald Reagan. They are, you know, saturated
(20:16):
in wokeness, in identity politics, in that Marxism. It's going
to not be great. It's just not going to be great.
So I completely agree. Okay, last question, this one I'm reading,
is from Patty. I love your It's a Numbers Game podcast.
I've been a listener since you were on Clay and Buck.
(20:39):
I really liked your New York's New Normal podcast even
though I am from California, so interesting to hear you
lay up what's happening in New York, which I believe
is also filtering across the country and into California. Interesting
to hear how people are voting based on race, gender, nationally,
and education. However, it's hard to hear the words lower
education and less educated because that's me as a middle
(21:00):
class person, even though I have a college degree, just
not a higher degree. I think where the people with
real life experiences, forethought, and common sense believe your podcast
will get some New York Conservatives voting in the polls.
My vote is for you to do an in depth
podcast on California, how they vote and who's voting. We
have such a strong feeling California that it's really a
purple state, but it always comes up with such strong
(21:22):
blue state. Our representatives seemed very lazy. They just vote
with the Democratic Party no matter what the issue is.
Would love to hear your analysis in California. I expect
Kamala Harris be our next governor because the DNC will
pick her and Democrats's vote in line. Also, I expect
Gavin Newsom's running for president, even though he's made it
a mess of California. Love your podcast response to an
email or tidbits. Keep up the good work. Thank you
(21:44):
Patty for that. Okay, you want a whole California episode,
I will bring you a whole California episode. I will
ask the people. I will get people on who are
expossed on California. Patty, your wish will be my command.
I will get an episode this summer all in California.
I have some data in my head. I know California
is to a lot of new Republicans. So first and
foremost about the education thing. Once again, when you have
(22:05):
a college degree, you're actually not a low education voter.
You're actually a college educative voter. So if you have
a degree, you do not represent a low education voter.
I represent a low education voter. I went to Queen's
College and dropped out with studying art. I was really
not trying in school. I am the low education voter,
(22:25):
but I'm not a low inform voter, and I'm a
very high active voter. The problem with low education voters,
often times people without a college degree is they don't
vote frequently, and they have If you're looking at overall
demographic things, they have a lot of anti social behaviors
(22:45):
in the sense they don't attend churches or nonprofits, they
don't give to charity as much, they're less likely to
have many friends. All of these things are not great
for them their health and the health of the country.
And I want non college educated voters to be more engaged,
like you know, like myself. And that's a lot of
(23:06):
middle class behaviors come from those kinds of things, like
participation in things like church and nonprofits and groups, and
closeness to family. All of that stuff really doesn't matter.
Savings and all the rest of it. All that is
very tied together as far as race and education. How
they vote is race, religion, and gun ownership. Those are
(23:29):
the three biggest indicators. Gun ownership still huge indicator, race
less so because of the political realignment, it's becoming more
education than race related. But I will give you a
whole episode in California and I will talk all about
it and we will go into it. I will bring
experts on and that's what I will do for you, Patty.
We'll do it for a future episode. Okay, I have
(23:50):
one more segment I know I usually do and ask
me anything. Segment for the show for the last segment,
but that's kind of redundant since this whole episode has
been I have a very cool story about Nancy Pelosi's
daughter and me sharing a bus ride, which I will
share with you coming up next. Welcome back to our
(24:10):
final segment of this episode. Okay, So I have a
funny story that kind of crawl back in my memory
a while ago, and I was like, I got to
share this with the podcast. I've never talked about this
in real life. I was just like in conversation, but
never on like a show. In twenty thirteen, there's something
in New York called the megabus and basically, if you
booked a ride early enough, you could get a ride
(24:31):
from New York to DC for a dollar. And that
was like the enticing thing. And if you were broke
like I was in twenty thirteen. I don't know how
old I was, but I was definitely broken. Twenty thirteen,
you can get a cheap ride for a dollar to Washington,
d C. So I booked my ride. I think it
was like for five dollars. And I'm waiting on some
corner in Manhattan waiting for this bus to show up,
and this woman dressed all in purple, comes and stands
(24:54):
next to me and is just chatting my ear off,
asking how much I paid. I paid five dollars, she
paid nine dollars. Whatever it was. Her bicycle was just stolen.
She's heartbroken about this purple bicycle. I mean, just you know,
one of those times you're traveling and you don't want
to talk to anybody and you find someone who will
not stop talking to you. It was that. So the
bus arrives, we get on it, and she says to me,
(25:17):
what do you do for a living? And I said,
and I hate giving the correct answer, so usually I
just lie. But I didn't have the energy to make
up a lie like that. I was, you know, a
dermatologist or something, because if they asked me a real question,
I'm not going to know anything. I'll start singing the
song like the you know, the elbow bones connected to
the armbone. I have no idea. I literally don't know
about science anyway. So I say, work in politics. And
(25:40):
at this time, I am I am in ripped up jeans,
I am in flannel, I am in a I am
in a like hoodie. Uh no, I was in a
cart again, and I definitely look like a hipster. I
was giving off very hipster vibes and she said, oh,
what party? And I was like, all right, here you go.
I'm a Republican and she said, oh, you don't look
(26:02):
like a Republican. And I was like, well, my armband's
in the washing machine right now, so that's why you
can't recognize me. And she laughed and I said what
do you do? And she was, I'm a documentary filmmaker.
And I was like, oh, I watched those Alexander Pelosi
documentaries on HBO. She was, I'm Alexandra Pelosi. I was like, okay,
now I am dying to talk to you. The conversation
has just increased in interest by seven million percent. I
(26:25):
was like, what are you doing on a megabus going
to Washington, d C. And she was, I'm going to
go see the Anchorman two premiere at the Newseum with
my mom and her mom is it's Nancy Pelosi. Like
it's like, okay, this is interesting, and she's like, do
you like hate my mom? And I was like, no, no,
I don't hate anybody like. I mean, I don't agree
with her and stuff, but whatever. So I just started
(26:46):
talking to her, and she was like, fascinating woman because
she worked for NBC News for years before becoming a
documentary filmmaker. And I'm like, oh, this is the good gossip.
She says to me. This is a couple of good gusps.
But one thing she said to me, she was, you know,
I'm not one of my moms zombies. Those are the
exact words that she said to me. And I was like, oh, okay,
And I think I believe she said this, that one
(27:08):
of Nancy's children who lived in Texas was actually votes Republican.
I believe she said that. I don't think my memory
starts me wrong. The zombies thing definitely doesn't serve me wrong,
because I was shocked when she said it. Anyway, So
she says to me, I said, I was a writer too,
and she goes, would you want to read a screenplay
I'm working on? And she had made a documentary call
(27:31):
like on the Bus with George, about her time working
for NBC News with George W. Bush. So she hands
me her screenplay and I'm reading it right, and it's
about her relationship with her mother, and it's it's very good.
It was well written. She wanted she was there because
she wanted Will Farrow play George Bush in this movie
that I guess was never made because it was twelve
years ago. And she's she's going, I'm going through it.
(27:54):
There's a lot of personal stories about you know, mother
daughter relationship. And we started talking about her mom and
her relationship a little bit. I actually was like, I
didn't want to be like rude and be like, you know,
what's your mom think about Obamacare? But I was like,
I said, I was like, Oh, what's your mom's like
best Thanksgiving Day recipe that she cooks? And she said
(28:15):
she makes amazing homemade cranberry sauce. Anyway, well, we're on
the bus and she started telling me a story with
George W. Bush, and this was great. First, she said
that her mother personally enjoyed working with Bush more than Obama.
I mean because this is pre Trump. So she said, oh,
they had. She really enjoyed working with Bush. She liked
(28:35):
him a lot as a person. She didn't have the
same enjoyment of working with Obama. Secondly, she tells me
a story that when she was working at MBC, she
was with she was dating a guy I want to
say from ABC, but in my CBS, but she was
dating another producer or person who worked behind the scenes,
and they were both on the media bus together in
(28:58):
for the George covering the George W. Bush campaign. And
they went to a roadside stop somewhere in the Midwest
or you know, I don't know what state was, Iowa, Pennsylvania, pick,
you know, take your pick, and they're covering it, and
they're at a gas station. They're all getting food and
going to the bathroom. And George W. Bush, who, by
the way, I am no fan of, but this is
a cool freaking story. George W. Bush pulled her aside
(29:21):
and he said to her, I want you to know
your boyfriend is cheating on you and every person on
the bus nose besides you. And she said to me,
I will always respect that man, because I was so
head over heels from my boyfriend and everyone was lying
to me, and he was the only one with the
(29:42):
guts to sit there and tell me the truth. And
she said, I think it's because he's the dad of
two girls, but he had he was such a stand
up guy to her, and that was a really cool story.
And we shared the bus ride for the whole four
and a half five hours and we got off and
we exchanged emails and she never came on me back
story of my life. I did run into her husband
(30:04):
a couple of years later, and I recounted how nice
she was. She was very, very, very nice, but she
was interesting and that was a cool story, a little
tidbit of somebody in the political public eye. Anyway, thank
you again for listening to this episode of the podcast.
Tune in on Thursday. I'll be back. We'll have a
regular episode more ask Me Anything segments on the end
of the podcast. But thank you. Please like and subscribe
(30:26):
on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, wherever you get your podcast.
I will see you guys on Thursday.
Welcome back to a Numbers Game Podcast, Ryan Gradowski, Welcome
to the very special Ask Me Anything episode. When Buck
Sexton told me to start doing this segment of the show,
I was like, Okay, this sounds great, but I got
so few questions. My first few weeks, I was texting
friends and co workers and family members like give me
(00:21):
a question. I have no one who sent me questions,
and thankfully that is no longer the case. I have
gotten so many questions. We have a backlog that I
want to get to. It is the dead of summer,
and I figured why not have a special episode where
I thank the listeners for being with me here and
answering some of your questions. And if you want to
be part of future Ask Me Anything segments of the
(00:43):
show at the end of the podcast, email me Ryan
at Numbers Game Podcast dot com. It's Ryan at Numbers
Plural Numbers Game Podcast dot com. I read every email
and I would love to hear from you. So let's
go to some listener questions. First up is Joel from Ohio.
I love your show and wish it came out before
seven am because I'm often busy and can't get to
(01:04):
until later in the day, but today's a slow day anyway.
My question has to do with the situation in Iran.
My concern is that the Iranian regime will fall and
that there will be chaos in the streets. That's no
good for anyone. What I like to see is a
government in exile be formed with the support of Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
United Arab Emirates and Israel that's able to take power
on day one. Here's the question. Is any polling organization
(01:26):
asking in its current polls, if the poll if the
Polie would support regime change, if Iran change in Iran,
if there was a government in exile waiting for power.
Great question, Joel, appreciate it. So I think the problem
with the question you're asking is in the framing. The
idea of regime change, to the minds of Americans means
(01:46):
boots on the ground, and that is extremely unpopular. That's
what people go to when they hear regime change. According
to a Washington Post poll from June twenty third, is
twenty two percent of American support military intervention aimed at
toppling the current government of Iran, while forty eight percent oppose.
Only thirty six percent of Republicans, they support sending troops
(02:06):
into Iran, So there's no appetite at all, and all
pollings surrounding the term regime change is directly related in
the minds of people, whether correct or incorrect, to military
intervention ie boots in the ground. I know that's probably
not what she meant, but that's people think. Now here's
the idea of a government in exile. The problem is Iranians,
(02:30):
according to the polls available, which is very limited. I
will give you that note first. It's extremely limited. But
according to the polls available, Iranians aren't exactly sure what
kind of government they even want. A twenty twenty three
Gamand survey of one hundred and fifty eight thousand online
Iranian respondent so that eighty one percent rejected the Islamic Republic,
(02:51):
but twenty two percent actually favored a constitutional monarchy as
the alternative. Twenty eight percent wanted a presidential republic and
twelve percent a parliamentary republic. So while the Iranian people
don't like the current Islamic regime, who knows what future
government they want and they have to be part of
that process and they have to decide that for it
(03:13):
to be legitimate. We can't decide that for them, and
that's where it gets a little complicated. But thank you
for your question. Next up, Casey, she writes, new listener
to your show, but loving it. My question is an
issue that is being underreported is the immense pushback from
Senator Mike Lee has faced for his amendment in the
second in the Senate Reconciliation bill that would sell millions
(03:36):
of acres of public land in Western states. Right leaning
groups and voters have publicly denounced the bill, with one
of the loudest voices coming from hunters who lean right.
Following the pushback from other Western Republican senators, Mike Lee
is thinking his overthinking his approach. Is it smart for
Senator Lee to add such a controversial position to an
already contentious bill? Could this be an issue that splinter's
(03:58):
the Republican Party? Thanks? See okay, I got this email
before that The amendment in question would have sold three
point three million acres of land that the government owns
that's managed by the Bureau of Land Management and US
four Services. It would have sold those three point three
million acres and to private enterprise into private businesses. But
(04:20):
because of pressure from Republican senators like the Montana Senator
Tim Sheheeney. It's out of the bill, so it wasn't
even voted on. They took it right out of the bill. However,
I think I'm going to I'm going to give Mike
Lee a little grace. I don't agree with the approach
of just selling all of our government owned land, our
federal own land. Mike Lee has got libertarian leanings, so
(04:42):
they don't support federal owned land, which I understand. But
I think that specific to the state of Utah, unlike
other states, the federal land brushes right up to some
of their cities. It's not just like in the middle
of nowhere like it is for some states. Places like
Saint Utah, which is one of the fastest growing parts
(05:02):
of southern Utah, has very limited space because of the
federal land. I think a better solution would be to
look at where specific areas of federal land are stopping
urban planning in very specific location. Not millions of acres
across the country, but you know, maybe a several few
thousand acres in very select places. That would be in
(05:25):
a better alternative than Mike Lee's approach. But thank you
for that question. Next up is John Buckwalter from Scottsdale, Arizona.
By the way, guys, if I mispronounce your name, you
have to understand I can barely pronounce my own name.
I think I got John's name correctly, but other people's names.
If I mispronounce your name, I apologize. I am from
(05:46):
New York, I can I am missing whole syllables and
consonants in my alphabet. I am struggling through the English language.
Please forgive me ahead of time. Okay, Ryan, I just
thought I would reach out and say thank you. Listen
to a fair amount of conservative podcast I really like yours.
I value quality information on relevant topics and guests and
expert analysis. You do it like no one else I
(06:08):
have found, and you don't waste my time. Thank you.
I hate waste people's time. You must work really hard
to do your research and organize guests. Are you on
channels other than the free podcast that I should find
you on? Great content deserves my support. Keep it up.
Thank you so much, John, that's really really nice of you.
I have a newsletter called the National Poplist Newsletter on substack.
It's fifty dollars a year for a subscription, and that's
(06:31):
basically it. I have been asked many times to start
a YouTube channel for this podcast, and something I hope
to do at some point this year is to get
this on youtubecause people like to listen and watch a
video seeming to be very animated with my hands flailing
and all my italianness. But that is something that I
plan on doing, hopefully sometime this year, if I can
(06:51):
get around to it. I don't really know how to
do that though, so I'm going to figure it out.
Another big fantasy goal of mine for this podcast eventually
if it continues to grow, and last month was my
best month ever, so I'm so appreciative to every person
who spends the thirty to forty five minutes hearing my voice.
You have no idea how grateful I am. No one
in my family would do that if I paid them
(07:12):
to do it. But a big goal of mine eventually
if it continues to grow, is I would love to
do a live audience taping one day with like a
guest like I would if I can ask Anne Cole
to do it with me one day, that would be
fun in a theater or something. I don't know. If
people would pay to attend that, but that would be
fun and that's something I would love to do. But
as for right now, it's just the substack. So thank
(07:32):
you for listening and maybe subscribe. Now let's go to Russell.
I'm gonna mispronounce your name Kluge. I think hello Ryan,
great work on your show. I increasing look forward to
Mondays and Thursdays. I will try to be as concise
as possible with twenty sixteen and twenty twenty four now
in the review mirror, What do you think about and
are there any numbers on the assumption often repeated by
(07:53):
Democratic pundits in both election years, that the US will
never elect a female president is the assumption that a
Democratic nominee is more likely to win if Vance is
the Republican air apparent. Is there any possibility of a
female VP pick over, say Marco Rubio or another male
cabinet member. I've included three major observations and one prompt
about a candidate that have influenced my own thinking that
(08:17):
possibly refused the above assumption. The twenty sixteen gender gap,
which shows there was no differs between Clinton and the
Trump debates candidate quality in the twenty twenty two elections
where female candidates. One I'm concise what he says there
and says, by the way, because it's paragraphs so long.
Donald Trump himself, no one thought that he was a
serious candidate before he ran. And Sarah Palin that she
(08:39):
was not hurt from being a woman. Okay, I appreciate
he says, by the I appreciate your time that you
take for your response. Okay, thank you so much, Russell.
This is Russell Klug. I don't think I'm spelling that
pronouncing that name correctly anyway, but Russell Klug, thank you,
very astute observations. I think Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton
(09:02):
set women politicians back in this country. I really do.
With their losses, especially Kamala even more than Hillary. I
think people thought Hillary would be a fluke, and Kamala
losing the popular vote and losing every swing state and
making some states more competitive than they should have been
really hurt female candidates. And I do think it will
(09:25):
be a bit of time before Democrats nominate a woman again.
As far as Republicans go, my bigger question is who
would they pick right And I've heard through the grape
vine that elis Stephonic is planning to make a run
in twenty twenty eight, whether or not she wins the
governorship of New York. I'm sorry, but I don't think
she's got a shot in hell. Allegedly Trump said that
(09:48):
she looks like this is mean, but this is what
I heard through the grape vine. Allegedly Trump said she
dresses like a couch. And the sad thing is, we
all know which couch's talking about. It's the couch from Rosanna.
We know it. A big part of it is not
cad quality in the sense of do they have what
it takes? But are they doing the correct things now
(10:09):
to launch a presidential bid? Are they making an effishing team?
Do they have the donors in mind? I'll tell you
Sarah Huckabee Sanders definitely did a lot of damage to
herself in Trump world when she refused to endorse him
out of the gate. Katie Britt left a lot to
be desired when she gave her rebuttal to the State
(10:31):
of the Union and poison the well water. A lot
with how grabby she was during the VP selection. Christy
nom she shot her dog right. That ends that there's
no America is not going to vote for the lady
who shot her puppy. I mean, you can say you
want a woman president, but unless you can give a
specific example, it's hard for me to give you a
(10:53):
definitive answer on whether they can be the nominee. And
there's a big difference between running for governor or Senate
and running for president. Namely, you're the commander in chief
of the armed services. So I don't know the answer.
I know, like my buddy Megan McCain really wants there
to be a woman president one day, and people have
mentioned a lot of names. I don't see someone on
(11:15):
the horizon right now. Doesn't mean there can't be, but
it's like it's like someone saying, will ever be a
gay president? Not Pete poota judge. That's the answer to that.
Will there be one? There's no Republican on the horizon.
Could there be one? Maybe, but until you give me
a name, I can't give you an answer. Okay, we'll
be back with more listener questions after this brief break.
(11:36):
Stay tuned, Welcome back. Our next listener question comes from
Andy Kirby. He writes, Hey, Ryan, love the podcast and
what you do for the seventeen seventy six project. I
use numbers like number websites like numbers USA and Liberty
Score to make sure that Republican politicians in my state
aren't going along with libtard policies. I love that you
(11:57):
said libtard. Is there any other? Is there any any
other or better website like that to track how people
are voting in DC and on state level stuff? Also,
do we have a chance of winning the governor's mansion
in Wisconsin replacing Tony Evers? Or do you have any
of the stories about Wisconsin other than why Tom Tiffany
is the best elected representative Wisconsin. Thanks so much. Okay, Andy, No,
(12:21):
there is not a better website. And I know this
because I have told so many people like Amy Kramer
and John Magantee and people, and I'm like, make this website,
make a Magascore website for politicians. It would be a
huge hit, right. Take big topics trade, foreign policy, you know, infrastructure, whatever,
(12:41):
immigration obviously, and rank how people vote and make sure
people know how they're voting, how the representatives are voting
in terms of things that you like, and include amendments
and stuff like this. And a lot of people been interested,
but no, one has done it, and I don't understand why,
and I'm too busy to do it. But someone should
do it. Someone should have been doing it for a
year years. As far as Wisconsin goes, my friend is
(13:04):
Rebecca Cleafish. She does a lot of school board stuff
with me, like our nonprofits do, so I respect her
a lot. I really like her. I think she'd be
a great governor. I told her on the phone to run,
and she didn't really give me a clearance when she
was going to do it or not. Wisconsin is a
very tough state, and a lot of people from Illinois
and Minnesota have moved there and taken their politics there.
(13:26):
It was the closest swing state that voted for Trump.
In terms of the raw vocoes. You have to either
get someone who has the Trump effect in the rural
counties or runs decent numbers in the cities like Dane
and Milwaukee, or you turn out the wow counties with
huge numbers. So Wisconsin's a tough state to win. I
mean it's possible. For sure. Tony Evers is going to
(13:49):
be a prime target for a flip in Republican for
the RGA in twenty twenty six, and I think they'll
put a lot of money there, but I don't know.
I mean, I have to see the nominee as first.
As far as Wisconsin stories go, it's tough. I've only
for the school board races. I've never actually visited the state.
Of a lot of friends from Wisconsin who will always
tell me come up there for the beer, the cheese
(14:10):
and the lakes, and I have not had a chance to.
It should be my bucket list, though, to go to Wisconsin.
I heard it's a beautiful state, but I haven't been.
Next question is from Olivia Hutchins. Okay, this is a
very long question. I'm going to try to condense it. Olivia, Ryan,
I'm a huge fan of the podcast. I've been meaning
to email you to cover some things about polling for
(14:31):
my background on my evolution. We are around the same age.
I'm thirty nine, she's thirty nine. I'm thirty eight, but
i'm thirty nine. I'll be forty next year. I canvassed
for Hillary in two thousand and seven, voted for Obama
in eight and twelve Hillary, and sixteen cry when Trump won,
then voted for Trump and twenty and twenty four and
couldn't be happy with how things are going. She's lived
(14:53):
all around the country, from Philly to San Francisco to
now Denver. I'm moving back east. A couple of things.
I'm pretty radicalizednse beingcoming a mom, and I have no
tolerance for BS, which is basically the entire left right now.
Absolutely anything that puts my kids at risk is a
no from me. And I'm wondering if you've seen any research, commentary,
or polling related to women with kids. I know married
(15:16):
women tend to vote Republican, but I'm curious about why
that is. I grew up pretty liberal, went to a
private liberal arts school, and then went to law school
when the economy collapsed in eight graduated with lots of debt.
I paid diligently for a decade plus and now considered
a highly educated voter with a degree. But I'm not
particularly religious, so I don't think I fully fit the
(15:37):
mold of a conservative woman voter. Interested to see if
you've covered this or have any insight. She also asked
about the birth rate for immigrants about people who have
self deported. Okay, so, Olivia, thank you for your question. First,
I will say this, I am a low education voter
(15:58):
because I don't have a college degree, a college shropout
when I say low education, and when people say low education,
it should not be interpreted as low intelligence or low information.
Those are two very separate things. And I think that
that's very important, because people get very tightly wound when
they hear low education as if it means low information
(16:19):
or low intelligence. It's not comparable. It's not the same
thing at all. When it comes to women with children
under eighteen, I actually did this research for you. So
this is according to exit polling, which is not the
most accurate thing in the world, but it is the
only thing that actually examined this specific question. Women with
children under eighteen voted more Republican than women without children
(16:41):
under eighteen in the last election. According to Seen and
Exit Polls, which was done by the Edison Foundation, White
women with children under eighteen voted for Trump by a
margin of eighteen points compared to one point for women
without children under eighteen. Among Latina women, they voted double
digits more for Trump than women without children did. Even
(17:02):
though he didn't win them, he got a lot closer
because of children. Women and the only group that appears
to be an outlier to that trend is black women. Now,
remember I said this is exit polling, so Pew Research
and other organizations that did this research they didn't include
that question. But there are numbers for black women. And
how Trump performed was actually better than the sampling in
(17:23):
the exit poling, So maybe he did do better. But
it seems obvious that the trend for a Latino women
and for white women, especially which there was a large
sample size, is that he did significantly better. His margins
were double digits better for both demographics when it came
to do they have children under eighteen or not? Why
is that? Why do women with a with a spouse
(17:45):
and with children vote differently than those without because their
priorities are different, their life experiences are different, and I
think that there is something to women who don't And
this is no listen, everyone's their own choices in life.
Don't get married, get married, have kids, don't have kids.
I'm not putting you down for what I'm going to say,
(18:06):
but I think it's worth's saying there is something for women,
especially liberal women who are middle aged or older, who
don't have children, who are politics and they tend not
to be religious either, except for the nuns. Politics becomes
their family, their kids, their church, their QVC. It's where
(18:28):
they put money, it's where they put time, it's where
they put energy, it's where they volunteer. I respect that immensely.
You're part of the democratic process, that's great, but that
is very much their world. And I have friends in
who fall in that bracket who are liberal, and I
maintain friendships with them because I think they're good people overall,
(18:48):
and I like them, but they become exhausting about politics.
Sometimes they really like to talk about it quite a
bit more than I do. I don't like to talk
about politics because I work in it, so it's not
the same thing for me. But I think that's partly why.
On the second thing with supporting people, I read the
full paragraph that I'm not going to read out loud.
(19:09):
It's very hard for me to sit there and give
you analysis on self deportation stories because there's no hard numbers.
As I said in the previous question, a lot of
it is just the New York Times or NPR interviewed
this person or that person, they cried and they went home.
There's we just don't collected data like that, and until
an organization does that, I don't have the answers. Eventually,
(19:33):
hopefully I will. Okay, this next question comes from Ryan,
best name in the best name in the English language. Ryan,
I say that, I say what you said on this
podcast on Thursday, all the time you want Nancy Pelosigan.
Whoever replaces her will be ten times worse. Same with
Schumer Naler. Look at me in New Jersey Republicans hate
(19:54):
him Menendez, then we got Kim Way worse. Your podcast
is fantastic, getting better and better. Keep it up, Ryan,
Bryan a big fan of the name. Thank you so much.
I know it wasn't a correct question, but thanks for
the shout out. Yeah, the progresses that are coming forward,
like the Mendanis of the world, will make Build A.
Blasio look like Ronald Reagan. They are, you know, saturated
(20:16):
in wokeness, in identity politics, in that Marxism. It's going
to not be great. It's just not going to be great.
So I completely agree. Okay, last question, this one I'm reading,
is from Patty. I love your It's a Numbers Game podcast.
I've been a listener since you were on Clay and Buck.
(20:39):
I really liked your New York's New Normal podcast even
though I am from California, so interesting to hear you
lay up what's happening in New York, which I believe
is also filtering across the country and into California. Interesting
to hear how people are voting based on race, gender, nationally,
and education. However, it's hard to hear the words lower
education and less educated because that's me as a middle
(21:00):
class person, even though I have a college degree, just
not a higher degree. I think where the people with
real life experiences, forethought, and common sense believe your podcast
will get some New York Conservatives voting in the polls.
My vote is for you to do an in depth
podcast on California, how they vote and who's voting. We
have such a strong feeling California that it's really a
purple state, but it always comes up with such strong
(21:22):
blue state. Our representatives seemed very lazy. They just vote
with the Democratic Party no matter what the issue is.
Would love to hear your analysis in California. I expect
Kamala Harris be our next governor because the DNC will
pick her and Democrats's vote in line. Also, I expect
Gavin Newsom's running for president, even though he's made it
a mess of California. Love your podcast response to an
email or tidbits. Keep up the good work. Thank you
(21:44):
Patty for that. Okay, you want a whole California episode,
I will bring you a whole California episode. I will
ask the people. I will get people on who are
expossed on California. Patty, your wish will be my command.
I will get an episode this summer all in California.
I have some data in my head. I know California
is to a lot of new Republicans. So first and
foremost about the education thing. Once again, when you have
(22:05):
a college degree, you're actually not a low education voter.
You're actually a college educative voter. So if you have
a degree, you do not represent a low education voter.
I represent a low education voter. I went to Queen's
College and dropped out with studying art. I was really
not trying in school. I am the low education voter,
(22:25):
but I'm not a low inform voter, and I'm a
very high active voter. The problem with low education voters,
often times people without a college degree is they don't
vote frequently, and they have If you're looking at overall
demographic things, they have a lot of anti social behaviors
(22:45):
in the sense they don't attend churches or nonprofits, they
don't give to charity as much, they're less likely to
have many friends. All of these things are not great
for them their health and the health of the country.
And I want non college educated voters to be more engaged,
like you know, like myself. And that's a lot of
(23:06):
middle class behaviors come from those kinds of things, like
participation in things like church and nonprofits and groups, and
closeness to family. All of that stuff really doesn't matter.
Savings and all the rest of it. All that is
very tied together as far as race and education. How
they vote is race, religion, and gun ownership. Those are
(23:29):
the three biggest indicators. Gun ownership still huge indicator, race
less so because of the political realignment, it's becoming more
education than race related. But I will give you a
whole episode in California and I will talk all about
it and we will go into it. I will bring
experts on and that's what I will do for you, Patty.
We'll do it for a future episode. Okay, I have
(23:50):
one more segment I know I usually do and ask
me anything. Segment for the show for the last segment,
but that's kind of redundant since this whole episode has
been I have a very cool story about Nancy Pelosi's
daughter and me sharing a bus ride, which I will
share with you coming up next. Welcome back to our
(24:10):
final segment of this episode. Okay, So I have a
funny story that kind of crawl back in my memory
a while ago, and I was like, I got to
share this with the podcast. I've never talked about this
in real life. I was just like in conversation, but
never on like a show. In twenty thirteen, there's something
in New York called the megabus and basically, if you
booked a ride early enough, you could get a ride
(24:31):
from New York to DC for a dollar. And that
was like the enticing thing. And if you were broke
like I was in twenty thirteen. I don't know how
old I was, but I was definitely broken. Twenty thirteen,
you can get a cheap ride for a dollar to Washington,
d C. So I booked my ride. I think it
was like for five dollars. And I'm waiting on some
corner in Manhattan waiting for this bus to show up,
and this woman dressed all in purple, comes and stands
(24:54):
next to me and is just chatting my ear off,
asking how much I paid. I paid five dollars, she
paid nine dollars. Whatever it was. Her bicycle was just stolen.
She's heartbroken about this purple bicycle. I mean, just you know,
one of those times you're traveling and you don't want
to talk to anybody and you find someone who will
not stop talking to you. It was that. So the
bus arrives, we get on it, and she says to me,
(25:17):
what do you do for a living? And I said,
and I hate giving the correct answer, so usually I
just lie. But I didn't have the energy to make
up a lie like that. I was, you know, a
dermatologist or something, because if they asked me a real question,
I'm not going to know anything. I'll start singing the
song like the you know, the elbow bones connected to
the armbone. I have no idea. I literally don't know
about science anyway. So I say, work in politics. And
(25:40):
at this time, I am I am in ripped up jeans,
I am in flannel, I am in a I am
in a like hoodie. Uh no, I was in a
cart again, and I definitely look like a hipster. I
was giving off very hipster vibes and she said, oh,
what party? And I was like, all right, here you go.
I'm a Republican and she said, oh, you don't look
(26:02):
like a Republican. And I was like, well, my armband's
in the washing machine right now, so that's why you
can't recognize me. And she laughed and I said what
do you do? And she was, I'm a documentary filmmaker.
And I was like, oh, I watched those Alexander Pelosi
documentaries on HBO. She was, I'm Alexandra Pelosi. I was like, okay,
now I am dying to talk to you. The conversation
has just increased in interest by seven million percent. I
(26:25):
was like, what are you doing on a megabus going
to Washington, d C. And she was, I'm going to
go see the Anchorman two premiere at the Newseum with
my mom and her mom is it's Nancy Pelosi. Like
it's like, okay, this is interesting, and she's like, do
you like hate my mom? And I was like, no, no,
I don't hate anybody like. I mean, I don't agree
with her and stuff, but whatever. So I just started
(26:46):
talking to her, and she was like, fascinating woman because
she worked for NBC News for years before becoming a
documentary filmmaker. And I'm like, oh, this is the good gossip.
She says to me. This is a couple of good gusps.
But one thing she said to me, she was, you know,
I'm not one of my moms zombies. Those are the
exact words that she said to me. And I was like, oh, okay,
And I think I believe she said this, that one
(27:08):
of Nancy's children who lived in Texas was actually votes Republican.
I believe she said that. I don't think my memory
starts me wrong. The zombies thing definitely doesn't serve me wrong,
because I was shocked when she said it. Anyway, So
she says to me, I said, I was a writer too,
and she goes, would you want to read a screenplay
I'm working on? And she had made a documentary call
(27:31):
like on the Bus with George, about her time working
for NBC News with George W. Bush. So she hands
me her screenplay and I'm reading it right, and it's
about her relationship with her mother, and it's it's very good.
It was well written. She wanted she was there because
she wanted Will Farrow play George Bush in this movie
that I guess was never made because it was twelve
years ago. And she's she's going, I'm going through it.
(27:54):
There's a lot of personal stories about you know, mother
daughter relationship. And we started talking about her mom and
her relationship a little bit. I actually was like, I
didn't want to be like rude and be like, you know,
what's your mom think about Obamacare? But I was like,
I said, I was like, Oh, what's your mom's like
best Thanksgiving Day recipe that she cooks? And she said
(28:15):
she makes amazing homemade cranberry sauce. Anyway, well, we're on
the bus and she started telling me a story with
George W. Bush, and this was great. First, she said
that her mother personally enjoyed working with Bush more than Obama.
I mean because this is pre Trump. So she said, oh,
they had. She really enjoyed working with Bush. She liked
(28:35):
him a lot as a person. She didn't have the
same enjoyment of working with Obama. Secondly, she tells me
a story that when she was working at MBC, she
was with she was dating a guy I want to
say from ABC, but in my CBS, but she was
dating another producer or person who worked behind the scenes,
and they were both on the media bus together in
(28:58):
for the George covering the George W. Bush campaign. And
they went to a roadside stop somewhere in the Midwest
or you know, I don't know what state was, Iowa, Pennsylvania, pick,
you know, take your pick, and they're covering it, and
they're at a gas station. They're all getting food and
going to the bathroom. And George W. Bush, who, by
the way, I am no fan of, but this is
a cool freaking story. George W. Bush pulled her aside
(29:21):
and he said to her, I want you to know
your boyfriend is cheating on you and every person on
the bus nose besides you. And she said to me,
I will always respect that man, because I was so
head over heels from my boyfriend and everyone was lying
to me, and he was the only one with the
(29:42):
guts to sit there and tell me the truth. And
she said, I think it's because he's the dad of
two girls, but he had he was such a stand
up guy to her, and that was a really cool story.
And we shared the bus ride for the whole four
and a half five hours and we got off and
we exchanged emails and she never came on me back
story of my life. I did run into her husband
(30:04):
a couple of years later, and I recounted how nice
she was. She was very, very, very nice, but she
was interesting and that was a cool story, a little
tidbit of somebody in the political public eye. Anyway, thank
you again for listening to this episode of the podcast.
Tune in on Thursday. I'll be back. We'll have a
regular episode more ask Me Anything segments on the end
of the podcast. But thank you. Please like and subscribe
(30:26):
on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, wherever you get your podcast.
I will see you guys on Thursday.
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Clay Travis
Buck Sexton
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