Questioning America - B.X. Thomas

What happens when two friends with different perspectives sit down for an honest, no-holds-barred conversation? In this episode of I Just Wanted to Push Record, host JC welcomes author, entrepreneur, and conservative advocate Broderick Thomas to discuss his thought-provoking new book Five Questions for America from the Mind of a Black Conservative.

From his military service to his work in media and community advocacy, Broderick shares what inspired him to ask the tough questions shaping America’s future. He opens up about his experiences in politics, why he believes conservatism needs a rebrand, and the importance of questioning mainstream narratives. But this isn’t just about politics it’s about values, legacy, and how personal experiences shape our perspectives.

Expect candid moments, strong opinions, and a reminder that real conversations, especially the ones we may not always agree on, are what push us forward. Whether you’re conservative, liberal, or somewhere in between, this episode will challenge you to think critically and engage in meaningful dialogue.

Don’t forget to subscribe and follow at olasmedia.com

 #IJustWantedToPushRecord #PodcastConversations #PoliticalDialogue

Key moments in this episode include:

00:00:56 - A Black Conservative’s Perspective

00:03:30 - A Nation at a Crossroads

00:06:08 - Breaking the Narrative: Who is Broderick Thomas?

00:15:28 - Why I Wrote Five Questions for America

00:21:58 - Is the Media Controlling Your Perspective?

00:24:21 - The Five Questions That America Must Answer

00:37:58 - Can We Still Have Honest Conversations?

00:45:34 - What’s Next for Black Conservatives?

00:54:54 - The Future of America Under Trump

00:56:45 - Final Thoughts: The Conversation Isn’t Over

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

S1 (00:01):
Olas media.

S2 (00:03):
Mixed grounds is proud to present. I Just wanted to
Push Record celebrating arts, community and culture, part of the
Olas Media Network.

S3 (00:23):
Welcome to. I just wanted to push Record, a producer's
podcast where lifestyle, arts, community, culture and production meet two producers,
two cultures, and a whole lot of flavor. Join hosts
Lina and JC for fun conversations, cool interviews, sharing tips,
laughing through production hiccups, and celebrating the art of it all.

(00:45):
Ready to roll? It all starts with pushing record.

S4 (00:56):
Producers podcast where arts, community and culture can lie together. Uh,
I am your host, JC. Uh, and it's an honor,
once again, to be able to bring you some of
the things that most people may not know about. And
on this historic week in America, in the world, I
have to let you know that I have a very

(01:16):
special guest. And I know everybody always says that. They say, oh,
I've got a very special guest and this is somebody
for you. But I can say that with authenticity and
being unapologetic, because the guests that I have with us today, uh,
is not only a friend, I consider him a part
of the brotherhood with me. Um, and we've seen some things.
And so you get a very, very special opportunity to

(01:37):
kind of hear, uh, some of the people that, that,
that I've had to be a part of in my
life and have blessed me along the way. Uh, speaking
of blessings, I want to make sure that we give
give a nice blessing to our sponsor. Mixed grounds. Uh,
mixed grounds coffee, uh, located in Logan Heights in San Diego,
has provided a place for all of us to really

(01:57):
experience exactly what we do here. And I just want
to put your record, which is Celebrate arts, community and culture.
And I got breaking news, breaking news. They are going
to have the grand opening of their new location, uh,
in North Park on February the 1st. You need to
go check them out. They're in the building of AMP 30.
If you know, then, you know, um, but they've got

(02:19):
a brand new spot, and all they did is take
what they were doing over in Logan Heights for the
last two years, and they put it to another scale.
And so we're going to get back on and kind
of talk about what they're going to do. But today
I had to make sure that we mark, uh, a
special week, like I told you, for me personally. So
a lot of different notes, uh, one, um, you know,
within the last 25 days, we have, uh, laid to

(02:42):
rest and, and had an observance for Jimmy Carter, one
of the presidents of the United States of America, 37th
president of the United States. And in the same month,
we've actually had inauguration of our 47th president of the
United States. In addition to that, we have had on
multiple coasts, natural disasters throughout our country. And all of
these things are historic moments that have affected the country,

(03:06):
affected who we are, um, in so many different ways
of our lives. Many of us, especially those of us
that have family and friends in San Diego and in LA,
have been affected by the fires in California. Um, we're
looking at historic frigid temperatures and not only the East Coast,
but also in Louisiana and in Florida. At the time
of this recording, we are the week of the inauguration

(03:30):
where we are celebrating, uh, the president of the United States, uh,
number 47, Donald Trump, uh, coming into his era of
leadership for our great nation. And so it's an honor
to be able to have, uh, Mr. Broderick Thomas with
us today who has not only shown himself to be
a great author, but like I told you before, he's

(03:51):
a good friend of mine. Uh, and he and I
have spent hours over drinks sometimes, sometimes without a drink.
And we've agreed. We've disagreed. We've made great points. And
I can say in all honesty that he's changed my life.
And that's again why I feel like this is a
very special episode. Broderick, thanks for joining us on. I
just want to push record.

S5 (04:11):
My man, I appreciate you. Thank you for having me.

S4 (04:14):
You know, and I'd be remiss, normally, what I always
tell producers is the best way to let somebody, uh,
be introduced is to let them introduce ourselves. But I
just want to show you what I know about you. Right. Like,
of course I have. I have to do a little
bit of research, but a lot of the stuff I
already knew. And so when I started my outline, the
first thing I sat down and I said, the first

(04:35):
thing I want to bring to the table is that
this is a man of values. Right? And then what
that led to is that this is also a man
of faith as the minister that you are, this is
also a man of integrity, you know, as the father,
grandfather and husband that you are, that I know you
to be. Um, in addition to that, when we sit
there and talk about arts, community and culture, if you

(04:57):
don't check all the boxes, I don't know who does.
As as someone who advocates for the community, um, someone
who has affected the community in just being a serial entrepreneur,
like being able to affect buying power for people or
being able to supply things that otherwise wouldn't be celebrated.
And then just the arts. You know, one of the

(05:18):
things we're going to spend a lot of the time
talking about today, um, is that I've always known you
as an author. You're probably one of the first dudes
I know that came to me and introduced himself and said, hey,
you know what, man? I got a book. I got
a couple up. You you want a book? And I
got signed copies of that, and I even gave one
to my father. And and the other component that I
think people should know too, that how we met actually

(05:38):
was in the media world. Uh, you and I both
worked with what is now Nexstar. Um, you had a
local affiliate in one of the publishing fields that went
digital and one of the most pivotal times in the
media world. Uh, and you were there, and I got
I think that's where we got into most of where
we got a chance to kind of bounce things off
the wall for years for debate. So when I think

(05:59):
about the things of who Broderick Thomas is, to me,
those are the things that jump out filling some of
my gaps. How else would you want to be introduced?

S5 (06:08):
Man, I think you covered a lot of it. Um, I,
I remember back in those days when we were on
campus for Media General and, um, um, we just started
kind of hanging out with each other because I was
running the digital advertising department, and you were over in the, uh,
the production side. Um, and I needed help, you know,
and I remember you being one of the few people

(06:29):
that would sit me down and teach me about the
things that I didn't know, which made me better to
do my job. So from there, we just started to
collaborate a little bit. And next thing you know, we're
hanging out all the time, as you said, sometimes with drinks,
sometimes with not. Um, so I was a little nervous
when you said you were going to tell everything you
knew about me.

S4 (06:46):
So.

S5 (06:48):
I might not want everybody to know. Um, but it's cool, man.
You as well. You've been an asset in my life.
I appreciate our friendship. I appreciate the conversations we have.
I appreciate the fact that you're just always one of
those guys that just shows up, you know what I mean?
And so, um, that's important to me. Um, and so
when this space, man, anytime I think of somebody that

(07:10):
can actually help propel me to another level in any
type of projects that I'm doing, particularly if it's, uh,
in the space of media, you're one of those first
names because I trust you and and you're, you're an
expert at it. I mean, your work is phenomenal. So, um,
filling in the gaps is not many. Man. I love
my wife. I love my kids. I love my grandkids.

(07:30):
I love making money. Um, I love let me go back.
And so. And then there's no respective order. Um.

S4 (07:37):
Right. Right right right right right.

S5 (07:39):
I also, I love God, I love being able to
talk about God with people and being able to introduce
them into their lives as well. So those are the
things that outside of that, the only thing I can
say that this one might get you a little bit.
I love my Denver Broncos man. Um, I told him
on on my on my tombstone, I want him to
etch in. He loved he loved God. He loved his family,

(08:01):
and he loved his Denver Broncos. Yeah.

S4 (08:03):
Well, I purposely just so you know, I purposely left
off the part about it being, you know, within the
last historic 20 days that we also saw a unexpecting
Denver Broncos. I mean, not unexpected to you. Let let
the record reflect that this man that this man has
called that this Broncos team was going to be like
this all the way down to Bo Nix and making
sure we don't take a tangent. But that also came

(08:25):
to an end. So I, I want you to know
that I had some I had some compassion and I
didn't bring that up.

S5 (08:29):
If I can, if I can toot my own horn.
I also called that, in my opinion, this was before
the draft, that I thought Jayden Daniels was the best
quarterback in the draft. My wife, who was the commander's fan,
I told her once they had Dan Quinn and Kliff
Kingsbury in place. I watched some of the free agencies.
I made the call that if the if the Washington
commanders drafted Jayden Daniels, they would at minimum make the

(08:52):
playoffs this year. I couldn't even have imagined the AFC championship.
But that kid is something special. And I called him to.

S4 (09:00):
Yeah, listen, I listen. I give credit where credit is due.
I couldn't even spell Jayden. Right. If you had asked me, uh,
you know, a month ago. But, you know, it's interesting
that you that you bring up, uh, the commanders because,
I mean, that's even historic, right? Like, we're when you
start talking about leadership and you start talking about the things, uh,
you know, just the values. I was going to give

(09:20):
you more flowers about. You've always been very value centered,
like I've always I've always known you to be a
disciplined young man. Someone who says, If I'm going to
do something, then I'm going to do it. But if
I tell you I'm not going to do it, I'm
not going to do it. And then I, you know,
I was going to go and ask you about the military,
but but before I get all over the place, one
of the things that I look at is that you
are you, you sit in a place of you have

(09:41):
spent a great deal of your time investing your life,
your talents, your your wisdom into what the people call
the DMV. And I have to, for the privilege of
our audience back west who may not know what the
DMV is. It represents the district, which is Washington DC,
Maryland and Virginia. Despite what you might hear about other

(10:02):
things and you've had you've you've done a great job
in really being fluid within this space, right. Like, we
met obviously in, in the capital of, of the Commonwealth
in Virginia. Um, but then since then, you now reside
in the, in the DC area, um, which has allowed
you to also be, you know, very active in the
community in this time, like we're talking about coming off

(10:25):
an election year coming up, talk about some of the
things that you've done, um, as a community advocate, as
a political advocate in these spaces and how navigating that,
that this is a unique area, right? Like you're talking
below the Mason-Dixon line up to the Mason-Dixon line and
where the leader of the free world resides and reigns supreme. Yep. Help!
Help the people understand how that's kind of impacted your

(10:47):
life and where you are now.

S5 (10:49):
I mean, it's it's a it's a complex kind of
dynamic because you're you're right here at the seat of
power from a national perspective. But then when you look
at the the localities, like your Alexandria, your fredericksburg's, um,
you cross over into Maryland, into Fort Washington and Oxon Hill,
and then you also have the district. All of them

(11:11):
have their unique, um, personalities, uh, as, as localities. And
so just kind of working that so, so in Alexandria,
which is where most of my, um, political engagements happen at, uh,
I am the vice chair for the Alexandria GOP unit here. Um,

(11:32):
and I also sit on the, um, eighth district seat
for Virginia. Uh, the or the the board of of
the eighth district for Virginia. Um, and we kind of
oversee that's Alexandria, Arlington, um, some of Fairfax and Falls Church. Um,
and so you get into those areas, and one of
the things I've seen is that, um, it's a, a

(11:54):
heavily blue area. Um, it's it's a lot of liberals
and Democrats. However, you want to, you know, do the labels. Um,
and that's always been kind of odd to me because
I thought that, um, such an affluent area would have
more conservatives involved because most people that are wealthy are concerned,

(12:16):
if for nothing else, and being able to keep their
money and reduce taxes. So you know that that's big
for me. But, um, it's been an interesting mix since
I've been up here to be able to kind of
learn the area and the dynamics of it. Um, and
just kind of, kind of get my hands into it.
I think at the end of the day, one of
the things that I am working on, um, it both

(12:37):
in those capacities and I guess I should have mentioned
in my own capacity, I'm an executive director for a
PAC that I started with a partner, um, called Conservative
Voters Coalition. And so one of the things that I
get to do in that platform, uh, is just to
actually be able to do some freelance work. And in

(12:57):
my mind right now I'm really big in kind of
rebranding the Republican Party. I'm a conservative. I really don't
care about the party labels. Um, but the party the
party is the legal entity for conservatives. And so I'm
really kind of engaged in trying to change the brand
to make conservatives or the Conservative Party, uh, the party

(13:20):
of common sense. Right. I think that when people get
up and go to work every day, they're concerned about
traffic and how much traffic they'll be in, particularly in
this area, to get to their jobs. They're concerned about, uh,
safety in their communities and for their kids. They're concerned
about the education. Um, and again, I'm speaking primarily for Alexandria,
but I think it trickles out across the entire DMV. Um,

(13:43):
and they're concerned about affordable housing. You know, these are
the things that bother me when I wake up and
affect my household. When you get into the ideological principles of,
you know, gun rights, abortions, all of those types of things, yeah,
they matter, but they don't matter to me on a
daily basis. And so one of the things I want

(14:03):
to do is to kind of rebrand the Republican Party
as a party of common sense to where we give
sensible solutions to those things and help people understand how
we can make your life better, particularly at the lower level.
So that's kind of some of the work that I'm into. Um,
I feel like, you know, this is a special country,

(14:23):
and I feel like that you are starting to see
people be less and less loyal to the idea of
being an American, right? Like, they are just shifting to
things that are away from our core, our core cultures. Um,
and that's that's the problem for me. It bothers me.

(14:45):
I served my country in the United States Air Force
for a few years. And, um, when I look at
the things that people put their lives for every day,
I don't see that value being ingratiated by your everyday American.
So that's kind of where I'm at. Some of the
things I'm working on, um, I'm always, always an advocate, um,

(15:07):
for conservatism. I'm always exceptionally an advocate for black America. Um,
I do run an organization, an online community called Black
Brick Society, and that is about empowering and enhancing, um,
the black business owners across our country. So, um, we
can get more into that later if you want to. But, yeah,
it's things like that that I'm involved in.

S4 (15:28):
No, I think, I think the I think the beautiful
thing about it is that you've set the stage, because
one of the things that. You know, when you and
I finally caught up, most recently, you were talking about
the new release of the book. Right? Um, five questions
for America from the mind of a Black conservative. And
I think for me, I think it's just awesome because

(15:48):
it hits the construct of a lot of different pun
intended questions that people have right now. Um, so I
we're going to go there, you know, we're going to
go there. Uh, but, but, but one of the things
that I, that I want to look at, you talked
about your military service, I think, you know, from the
art component that I recognize out of you is that
you are a multi-published author. Right. And, and and I

(16:13):
think that to me, I think that speaks to your character, too, um,
where the discipline that it takes, the conviction, the courage,
dare I say that it takes to actually write your
thoughts down on paper and say, hey, and I want
to share it for your possible consumption? I think there's
something admirable about that. And I, you know, I don't

(16:34):
know that I've ever told you that, but that's something
that I admire about you, that that I think is awesome. Um,
but in this iteration of it, I think it even
holds true more of a gift that you've given to culture. So,
so your community, your community advocacy that you've done mixed

(16:54):
with your own personal art, which is the art that
you do. I see it immediately how it pours over
to enriching the culture, because what you've done is to
put down for those who don't want to say it
out loud, who don't want to say that, hey, this
is something that I'd be curious about. If nothing else.
You've done it, you've done it. And so I'd like

(17:15):
to dig into before we jump dead into the book.
I'd love to see what was the impetus like what? What?
Because you have other books that you what? What is
it that makes and let the people know? I call
you what makes books say, yeah, this is this is
book deserving. This is book deserving.

S5 (17:32):
So if I'm being honest, so so at this point
I only have two books that are published. Um, I've
written about five, but the other three are unpublished. Um,
but this is my second time publishing a book, and
the first time I did it was 2007. Um, and
I think for me, if I'm being perfectly honest, it
was it was just something to do, right? I was

(17:52):
going through, um, you know, it was because it was
a book about relationships. So I was going through, uh,
issues in my, uh, my relationship at the time, I
had family members that were, you know, on the verge
of divorce. And so and, and I have female family
members that would call me and say, you know, hey, uncle. Hey, brother. Um,
you know, what do you think about this from a

(18:13):
man's perspective? And so as I was just advising some
of these women in my circle at the time, um,
I just started to jot some of that stuff down,
and it was just like, hey, you know, this might
make a book. Um, let's just put this down and
see what happens. It was really just kind of something
to do. Um, my book that I that just released

(18:33):
on Monday, um, is far more significant to me because
it is there's a purpose to it. And I was
very strategic about it this time. Um, I put research
into the book and all of those different types of things,
a strategy for bringing it to market. Um, but I'll
share this with you, Jake, as we get older, because

(18:54):
I'm a little bit older than you. I'm 52 now,
and as men, as we get older, it becomes our.
My drive becomes a lot less about making money and
it becomes more about my legacy. What I am instilling
in my my kids and my grandkids. Um, what I'm
leaving for my family and what I'm leaving for the

(19:15):
earth to say, hey, I was here, right? Um, and
so this book has a lot more meaning because it
speaks about some truths of, of certain issues that I see.
And I've always been, um, one of those people. People
laugh at me when I do it, but if somebody
in a conversation, I'll just raise my hand. You know
what I mean? Um, and people laugh at it, but

(19:37):
I do it for a reason. Because we were taught
this in grade school. If you have something to say,
don't interrupt anybody else. Raise your hand and we'll get
to you. And so rather than cut across somebody, I
just throw my hand up and let them know, hey,
I got something to say. I got a question. When
you when you get done with what you're saying. But
I don't want to interrupt you, so I just give
you a symbol of, you know, I got something to say,

(19:57):
and I.

S4 (19:57):
And I have to say, let me verify that that
has happened. Sitting, sitting at the island in our men's gymnastics.
Shout out to our man Ralph, to brother, Brother Mathis.
It has happened where we're having either heated conversations, funny conversations,
and all of a sudden the room goes quiet because
everybody focuses in on Bob because he's got his hand raised.
So I can attest to that on many occasions.

S5 (20:19):
Yeah, man. Uh, that's just my way of saying I
got a question. And so, you know, as I was
looking at some things that that had really bothered me,
particularly over the last four years in the political space
and in our government. Um, I was kind of like,
I got a question about some of these things. And
so one night I was literally kind of, you know,
sitting around, uh, actually, I was up at 4:00 in
the morning. I took my phone and started jotting a

(20:41):
few questions down. A few days later, I put it
on Paper Man, and just started talking about some of
the things it needs to answer them. But to go
back to your question, um, there are there are things
that I think about all the time that I feel
like probably need to be heard, and I can't possibly
put all of that on paper. Um, but this was
one of those times, like I said, as it pertains

(21:02):
to my legacy, I wanted to have a voice in
this space, and I wanted to challenge people to actually
think about some stuff on a real level, like, let's
ask some real questions and let's not, you know, hide
around it or anything like that. Um, I want to
be able to have conversations. I want people to be
able to have conversations because I think that's what draws
us closer together rather than drives us apart. Uh, I

(21:25):
was in a meeting last week, and I was sitting
with two white gentlemen, and we were talking about something
that was very sensitive. And so I just stopped the
conversation and say, hey, guys, listen, it's okay with me
for us to talk about black issues at this table.
You don't have to tiptoe around it. There's walk like
you on, on on broken glass or anything like that.
Let's say we we got to say, because we'll probably

(21:45):
learn a lot more by having a conversation than trying
to be politically correct. So let's just say what we
got to say and let's have some conversations, because I
feel like that's what drives things forward. You know, when
you and.

S4 (21:58):
You say and then one of the things that the
that you say or that said about the book is
that this is a tool to confront the defining issues
that are shaping our nation's future. And I think like
because for, for, for me, I was totally immersed in
the inauguration events, um, one one because in full disclosure,

(22:20):
one of the things that I, that I just love
about this thing that we call politics is that for
every pundit that thinks that they know everything and how
it's going to go, and for every poll that exists, um,
every lobbyist that is out there for every PAC lot,
there is still a nuance that still makes us tune in.

(22:41):
It's almost like we're talking about the NFL before. Mhm.
There's a lot of things that happen in the background.
Everybody's like ah it's the NFL and it's this and
it's that. There's still an element of yeah, but I
need to participate and I need to be aware that
I still have and that that's either going to go
down in history as my naiveté or that's just yeah,

(23:02):
this is just who I am. I am still a
very active member in the political process. Right. And, you know,
we've talked about it before. You and I may not
align on all of our, you know, our values and
what we look at in a candidate or what have you.
But we've still been able to have those conversations. And
so when you when I, when I saw that you
released released this book, I thought it was awesome because

(23:25):
I think this is confronting some of those issues. This
is us as black men who may not agree, have
different views, be at different periods in our life, have
different things that mean you know where we are. So for,
you know, I'm sure you can remember at a certain
time maybe your profession was number one, right? And then
maybe at another time it was like, oh no, I
gotta take care of my youngins. But then now it's like, oh,

(23:47):
but now my youngins are good. So I'm going back
to my profession. But wait, now I got grand youngins.
So now. Yeah, like these things shift, right? Yeah. I
mean it's, it's dynamic. Right. And I and I think
a lot of times when we watch mass media and
we see how it's portrayed, it is almost a zero
sum game or an absolute type of conversation. And I

(24:08):
wonder sometimes, do we have the nuance of thought in,
in the next generation or those who are around us,
our contemporaries and I? And I think maybe when you
talk about confronting these issues, maybe that's what this book does.

S5 (24:21):
I think so. And you brought up a couple of
good things, because you talked about the idea that you
and I don't always agree on ideology or certain subjects
or whatever, and that's okay. You know, when I do
my podcast, I always want people to know I am
never trying to convert anybody to anything. Uh, my my
objective is to give you some thought provoking information to

(24:43):
possibly make you think about things differently. And if you
take the information I give you, you process that and
you still say, nah, I like my way. I'm okay
with that. If you're a Democrat, I show you some
conservative things and you say, no, my way is better.
I still believe in this. I'm okay with that, right?
If you're something other than a Christian and I tell
you about, you know, Jesus Christ and you say, nope,

(25:04):
not for me. You made that decision. But you've heard
my information. I'm okay with that. And so that leads
into your most recent point of we're watching television. Um.
Which one of my friends always talks about. Understand that
when you're watching, particularly as we call it, mass media
or mainstream media, you're getting information from someone from a

(25:26):
company that is owned by someone. And so there can
be narratives behind what the information that is coming from
that outlet. Uh, as far as what you're able to consume,
because somebody is trying to to drive a point, um,
whether it's politically charged, whether it's financially charged or whatever.

(25:47):
So understand, when you receive information, don't just take that hook,
line and sinker. Do some research. Think things through. Just
because someone tells you something doesn't mean you just have
to take that hook, line and sinker. Do some research.
Think about does it make sense to you? Like, does
it jive with your spirit? And then from there, make
your decisions on how you move from that. That's something

(26:07):
that's very important to me. And that's why I release
a lot of information sometimes. And if I am talking
about something, it's something that I feel like if I
provide this information to more people, maybe people can make
better decisions.

S4 (26:20):
No, I think it's I think it's awesome. I think
for me, that speaks to also in the book, like
being able to really go back and investigate some of
the history. Right. Like when we talk about doing the research,
sometimes research is just investigating the history of how you
felt in that moment versus where we are right now.
And I think and I think from what I've seen

(26:43):
from the book so far, you know, I think that
that you're going to do a great job in spelling
that out for, for a lot of people. I've always
been about just provoke the question. I get nervous, I
get nervous, and we've shared this when we were in
big Sky. I get nervous when people stop questioning, right?
If like when we just automatically go into this, this

(27:05):
autopilot of okay, well if you said it, then okay, fine.
And there's nothing that from our formative years or even
our preschool years has ever been that way. We've always,
as a being, have been inquisitive. As an infant, I
would sit there and say, huh? I'd pause. I'd wait.
I may not have the answer. I didn't have to

(27:26):
be disrespectful and throw a tantrum. Maybe not, but I
was able to be inquisitive and it was received as such.
It's only at a certain age and certain life experiences
where we get that if someone questions what it is
that we think we know to be true, that we
then immediately deem them not worthy of having a place
in this conversation, should let me shut you down. And

(27:47):
so I it's it's inspiring to see someone not saying, hey,
believe what I'm saying versus, hey, I just want to
let's just ask a question. And so I think I
want to get into, uh, question the, the title of
the book and how you came up with it and
what it means. Um, but first, as you know as
well as I do, we have to pay some bills.

(28:07):
So we're going to take a quick break. When we
come back, we're going to continue the conversation with Broderick Thomas,
author of the brand new book Five Questions for America
from the mind of a Black Conservative. You're listening to
I Just Want to Push record in oldest media podcast,
brought to you by Mixed Grounds. We'll be right back.

S3 (28:28):
Just taking a quick pause here. Enjoying the convo so far.
Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more fun
tips and stories from Lena and Jake.

S2 (28:40):
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(29:02):
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S3 (29:56):
And we are on. Oh wait, I almost forgot to
push record. Now over to Lena and Jesse.

S4 (30:05):
And welcome back to. I just want to push record.
This is Jake, and I have the privilege of sitting
with my dear brother and friend Broderick Thomas, author of
Five Questions for America From the mind of a Black Conservative.
And I mean, the first thing that probably comes up
that everybody's going to want to know if this is
a book that's going to confront the defining issues of
the nation, you know, move us beyond partisan divides. And

(30:28):
and it's coming from the idea of a black conservative.
What the hell are the five questions?

S5 (30:33):
Oh, man. Yeah, that's a really good question. Uh, like
I said, and there are so many more questions to
be answered, Jake, you know this than just five, but
these are five that just happened to come into my mind, uh,
middle of the morning. I'm up at 4 a.m. just
thinking about some stuff. And so, um, the first question is,
why is the most prevalent conversation in our country about

(30:55):
whether we should or should not be able to kill
unborn children? So for for me, that was a huge
thing because I worked on some campaigns up in the area,
and it seemed like we were doing a lot of
debate prep with the candidate and things like that, and
a lot of it centered around abortions. Here is a

(31:18):
local candidate that probably won't ever get to have a
vote on abortions, because that goes to the national level
in our Congress and the Supreme Court and things like that. Um,
but yet it was the hugest issue. And I'm like, well,
why do we always have to talk about this? Right? Like, like,
can you have an abortion? Can you not have an abortion?
Can you kill a baby? Not kill a baby? What

(31:39):
does that have to do with the economy of of
the city of Alexandria? What does that have to do
with the housing and all of those kinds of things?
So it was frustrating to me during that time, just
to see that that was so prevalent of a conversation.
And when it came down to doing elections, um, my
second question is, why is our government more concerned with

(32:00):
protecting and providing for the citizens of other countries than
its own. And so I think everybody can kind of
understand what that is. We've seen a lot of immigration
over the last few years and, um, undocumented immigrants, as
they call them, I still call them illegal immigrants. Um,
but being able to receive all of these benefits, they
were getting card, these debit cards that you can use

(32:23):
for food and housing and all of those kinds of things. Um,
their question is, why is sexual orientation and gender identity
such a prevalent issue in the home, schools, businesses and
government of our countries? Hey man, I think sexuality is, um,
should be a personal thing. It should be a private thing, right?
I don't need to know who you're sleeping with. I

(32:45):
don't need to know what your preferences are. Um, but
certainly not to the extent, even if you want to
share that. Certainly not to the extent where we're talking
about rights for a protected class. I think that's a
big issue of itself. And if you want to talk
about that later, I will. Um, but again, that's one
of those landmines I don't mind stepping on. Uh, let's see.

(33:05):
Question number four. Why are we, as citizens, taxed at
every level of earning and spending to the point that
we never truly own anything? I think every American, whether
you're a Democrat or Republican or otherwise, should be asking
this question. When you earn money, you go out and
earn money, and on that money you're taxed. Your income
is taxed at a certain percentage. If you make over

(33:27):
$236,000 somewhere in that area, let's just call it $230,000.
If you make it over, make over $230,000. You're taxed
at anywhere between 35 and 37% of your income. That's
almost 40% of what you work for every day. Last
time I checked, that was me doing this work one
nobody doing 40% of the work. How would someone taking 40%
of the money? But the problem is, it doesn't stop

(33:49):
there because once you have taken your income and paid
this tax, now when I go to buy food and
groceries and gas and things like that, there's an additional
sales tax that has to be paid on those things.
And then yet again, when I come home into my house,
if I own my home, I have a mortgage. There
is a property tax on both my house and my
car and any of those things you have excise taxes,

(34:12):
luxury taxes, everything is just taxed at such a high degree.
At the end of the day, you have to look
at what you're working for because that is your income,
your livelihood, and say, how much of this am I
able to keep? And to the extent that even if
I pay my house off, let's say I have a
$300,000 house and I pay the entire mortgage off in 15,

(34:33):
20 years, right? Once that house is paid off, if
I don't continue to pay the property taxes on it,
the government can still come and take my house away
from me that I paid for. So there's there's a
problem there with the taxation in this country. Um, I
think that's a question that needs to be asked. I
think it's a conversation that every American should be having

(34:54):
and talking to their representatives in Congress about, because I
think we've gone too far. I think the government is
overreaching dramatically in that area as far as how they
are taxing us as citizens and what they're doing with
our money. So that's another one. Last one, question number
five is what will it take for our government to
cease and desist in perpetuating systemic racism in America against

(35:17):
black America? Um, you and I know the conversation for that. So, uh,
we want to talk about what is it going to take?
And so there are those that are advocates for reparations. Um,
I tend to support reparations, uh, but with some, some

(35:38):
limitations to it. Um, and some structure to it, uh,
as well as who is deserving of it, uh, primarily
meaning a, uh, American descendants of slavery or it's a
synonym that's used for that. Um, but I think that's
a conversation to be had. I think it's time that
this country's government stood up and said, hey, yeah, there's
a segment of our population that has been done wrong

(36:02):
in our country historically, and that is a stain on
our history, and we need to make that right. I
think we need to make it right in order for
the country to move on. But you got to have
honest conversations about it, right? You can't have one side
trying to pretend like it doesn't exist or that wasn't me.
That was my great, great grandparents. So we had nothing
to do with that. Yeah, I understand that. But that

(36:24):
particular action has perpetuated itself throughout, throughout our history. And
so it's just still there and it won't go away. Um,
so I think that's a real conversation that needs to
be had, not as a political move or anything like that,
but a real conversation. Um, and then finally I threw
in a bonus question for anyone who hasn't seen the cover.
But the bonus question is, why does America continue to

(36:45):
pretend it is an empire that will never fail? Um,
people that don't pay attention to, you know, news. Some
people just don't pay attention to news and economics and
stuff like that. Um, our country is in a very
sensitive place right now. Uh, and we have been either
one of, or the only global superpower on the planet

(37:08):
for quite some time. But any of us that knows
history understands that every empire throughout history has always come
to an end. It has always failed. And I think
we are teetering with that. If we don't take some
some moral turpitude, if you will, uh, take some more
responsibility and look at some things, um, and, and and

(37:30):
act in a sensible manner. Um, that's my those are
my 5/6 questions. Um, with just a quick synopsis of
of what made me ask them and the things that
concerned me, uh, to the extent that I put it
on paper. Uh, but that's pretty much what the book
is about. And it talks about, uh, it gives some
data on some of those things, gives some, uh, some history. Um,

(37:52):
and it also gives some abstract ways of looking at
certain things. So that's a that's it in a nutshell.

S4 (37:58):
No, I think everyone can kind of see where it's
one of those things where again, I think individually each
one of those questions could could be, you know, one
of those cocktail question cocktail conversations of amongst three or
more people that would take all night long. You wouldn't
even get to the other questions. Right? Like each one
of them would, would get to that point. Um, again,

(38:19):
like like I said like I said at the top,
you and I don't necessarily agree on all the viewpoints of, of,
you know, some of the things you just said and
what we talked about outside of this interview. But at
the same time, I don't think it makes your questions
and your, your, your take less valid, right? And I
think that what I hope that we're doing right now
in this show is not necessarily an endorsement, but more

(38:40):
so of a demonstration of here's how each time you
have a podcast episode, it doesn't have to be that
you're doubling down on what, but giving a platform to
someone that can share a view that may otherwise affect
someone in your audience, even if it is, even if
it isn't. You as a host, I think has some value.

(39:00):
Like I said, I'm taking all this. You know, it's
funny as you're asking those questions, I'm taking them in
the context. Because here's the thing. The book was done
before Monday, right? And so that everyone knows Monday at
the time of this recording was the inauguration. And and
so I wonder, like, I won't ask you now and
put you on the spot, but I wonder, would any

(39:22):
of those change based on what has happened in the
last 72 hours? Right. Like these. These are how would
would there be certain words that would change? Would there
be certain ways that you'd ask the question? Understand? So
with that said part, part of the reason why I
thought was apropos for you to be on right now, um,
is because I where I think we do agree is

(39:42):
that as, as media professionals to see where our media
has gone to, to where even us having this conversation.
I can already see right now that there will be
the comments of, oh, you're promoting or oh, why would
you go? And you know, there's going to be that
type instead of the the provoked conversation of, hmm, well,

(40:05):
here's what I know. Here's what I'm sharing. Hey, that's
a great question. You know, and so I want to
be very clear, this is that that moment in the
show where I'm being very clear about my invitation to you,
first and foremost is not an endorsement, but as a
support in asking the questions, learning of a perspective, bringing

(40:26):
a community together to just feed you with more information.
I think, as you said before, we get to a
point where we just have one news channel, so it's
not us, but we have so many others that we
know they go through one news channel or that rely
on one news source not asking the question, who's underwriting
that spot? Who, who? Wait, who? Like, who is it?

(40:49):
That is the fellow of that company who put their
daughter in that newsroom that they had that was a
hire because, like all those different things, they look at
it myopically. And so I've always had fun just being
the grenade in the room. You know, that's my line, right?
I like I like to throw the grenade to make
somebody think and then them to circle back. And it

(41:09):
always happens where like, what do you believe that? And
my answer may be no, my answer may be yes.
But did we ask the question. So again, here on
this space, I want to commend you for, for even
the title I think is so profound to just say here,
just five questions. This is not this is not the
quintessential expertise of the black conservative for all black conservatives. Right, right.

(41:30):
And so so I again, that's that's my heart and
disclaimer of why I invited you on.

S5 (41:35):
And Jason, you make a good point with that. I
do want to be clear that I am a conservative.
And one of the statements I make in my book,
I am unapologetically black.

S4 (41:44):
But I don't.

S5 (41:44):
I don't speak for all black people. I don't speak
for all black conservatives. Uh, those are just my thoughts.
And the other thing to that is that, um, I
love learning, right. And I love and you. One of
the reasons you and I clicked so well is because
we both love debates. We don't have arguments. We have debates.
And from a debate, you could you, me, I can

(42:07):
ask those questions and maybe get some information that makes
me come away thinking differently than I did before I
asked the question. And every time I get to learn
something new, I absolutely love it. So the questions aren't
asked to to, to to be a debate, to be
an argument or to push or promote a narrative or
a view. The questions are asked just to be able

(42:28):
to get some answers, have people chime in with answers,
and maybe from that I get to learn something a
different perspective that I haven't considered before. Or maybe someone
else gets to learn from my perspective that they hadn't
considered before. Either way, if we got some new information
and we learned something, we became a better person that day.

S4 (42:45):
You know, I think for sure, you know, one of
the things speaking of debates, you know, I go back
and I think about a lot of times I've watched debates,
you know, the gotchas where they where they start talking
about flip flops. Right? Not the shoes, but like how
you go back and forth and, you know, any, any
operative will tell you that the coin line is like
time has passed, I have evolved and I've now seen

(43:07):
a different point of view. That is, it is it's
almost amazing how true that statement can be and how
vanilla or superficial it now presents itself to be. Right?
Like us having a debate. Of course, I'm going to
go in saying, this is what I know, this is

(43:27):
what I researched, this is what I. And then you
give me back your rebuttal and what you thought. I
get a chance to come back, but now I may
have just been opened up to an episode, and it
normally happens when I see it like this. Where? Where
someone's personal story. Mhm. Now is a point of view
I never even thought of. Right. You know. And, um,

(43:48):
you know, one of the quick one is like thinking
about I had opportunity to listen to some of some
of the hostages that were in Gaza and things like that. And, and,
you know, regardless of where I stood on the whole conflict,
just hearing that story and thinking about it. Wait, that's
a father. That's a mother that's there. They're speaking as

(44:08):
someone's grandparents, speaking on behalf of a parent who whose
child hasn't seen them in X amount of time like
that is enough or should be that is enough. That
should provoke some pause to say, okay, well, now I have.

S5 (44:22):
No here's the quote. Everything that you know is not
everything that there is to know.

S4 (44:29):
Oh yeah.

S5 (44:29):
That's facts.

S4 (44:31):
Oh that's easy. That's. Yeah.

S5 (44:32):
Right. Because because when I go into a conversation I'm
working on everything that I know that that's the only
thing I can talk to you about. But what you
can always find out in a good, decent conversation is
that everything that you know, that's not all there is
to know. You can always get some more information.

S4 (44:51):
Oh, that's for sure. That's for sure. Well I'm curious,
I'll move to I'll move to a component where I'm
interested to know, um, you know, the same way you
were able to prognosticate about the commanders, right? Uh, I
won't ask you to be as exact or as spot on,
but as much as you're willing to share, I'm very curious.
Like how how do you perceive, uh, the nation as

(45:14):
a whole going forward? Um, and specifically, since it's included
in your title from the perspective of the unapologetic black conservative. Yes.
How what what does that what is this forward looking
vision looking for you as of January 2025, for however
long you want to kind of, um, you know, share.

S5 (45:34):
I got you. Yeah. Um, and so for that question,
if I may, I'd like to go back and touch
on something else you said. I did write this book. Uh,
it took me a few months, but this was last year.
Even prior to the election. And so it the the
book's release date was strategically timed for Martin Luther King's
birthday and the inauguration. So to that end, now that

(45:58):
to answer your question, now that we are under a
new presidential administration, I'm very optimistic about that. And so
my thought was to release the book to ask some
questions for a new administration with a new four years
and a totally new outlook and say, hey, here's some
questions for you guys. What are you going to do
about these things? So that was the time, the strategic

(46:20):
timing of that. Um, but yes, I am very optimistic. Um, I,
you know, people can feel how they want to feel
about Donald Trump. Um, you know, I don't mind coming
out to say I am a supporter of Donald Trump,
but I'm I'm not a, um, fanatic, you know what
I mean? I know the guy can be a jerk.
I know he says things a certain ways that people

(46:41):
don't necessarily care for, but for for my purposes, the
last time he was president, those were the best four
years financially for me in my lifetime, just the way
that things were set up, how the economy was working.
I profited from that heavily. And so I thought that
was a strong thing. So to me, when I wake

(47:02):
up every day and I consider the things that are
best for my household, my family, my grandbabies, it is
how much money, how much resources can I put away
for them to have generational wealth? What conditions from a
national and state level and local level allow me to
be able to achieve that goal? And so, in my opinion,
Donald Trump sets up an economy where it's better to thrive.

(47:26):
I feel like as black America, some of those things
are what we should be looking at, as opposed to
someone that's telling you that he's a racist, right? Like
we're old enough to remember the 80s with Donald Trump
hanging out with Michael Jackson and Mike Tyson and all
of these people. Black people love Trump until he became

(47:46):
a Republican and ran for president. But the narrative now
suggests that he's a racist, but I digress. My my
point is, under this administration and with the staff that
he is putting in place, I believe we will have
a prosperous four years. Um, I think we'll have a
stable four years. One of the things that most people

(48:07):
never talked about was the fact that during Donald Trump's
first four years as president, we didn't have any wars,
we weren't shooting at anybody, and nobody was shooting at us.
And so he never gets credit for that. But with
that being said, I expect, uh, a return to stability
globally because of his presence. So we'll eliminate some of

(48:27):
the wars. We'll get a healthier, healthier economy. Um, and
one of his main goals is to kind of make
our government more efficient. I'm excited about all of those things.
And so I want people to just be able to
make as much money as they can, you know, store
your bag, build your bank account better, your retirement, any
of those things. Uh, during this time, because we change

(48:48):
every so often. So when that next change comes, take
advantage of the opportunities that are going to be presented
to you in this particular four year segment.

S4 (48:58):
But but I'm curious how how does that, um, what
does that prognostication look like from a local level? You
and the role that you sit in Alexandria and in
the Commonwealth, um, how does that look from a local
standpoint and looking at, you know, the makeup of Alexandria, uh,
looking at the makeup of Virginia, looking at the road

(49:19):
has been set prior to this point. What does that
what does legislation look like in in Virginia? Um, when
I say the Commonwealth, I'm sorry, I'm. Because I've spent
some time in Virginia. I just say the Commonwealth. Um,
but in Virginia. What What is that? What are you.
What do you think? What's the outlook that you have
for that? And and specifically, let me, let me let

(49:40):
me add another angle to that too, for the black conservative.

S5 (49:46):
Um, so when you talk about Virginia as a state,
I don't think there's any one answer for that because
each area has its own political dynamic. So, um, your,
your urban areas, your, your, your, your Richmond's your, uh,
Alexandria's your Virginia beaches. Those places are going to still

(50:06):
continue to be liberal. And by and large, they'll probably
resist any changes that come down from the federal level. Um,
your outerlying areas, southwestern Virginia, places like that. Um, uh,
Charlottesville and all of those places. Um, they will probably
accept any type of, um, uh, legal, uh, mandates that

(50:27):
are coming down, uh, and implement them. Well, and I
think it'll help the people at a at a local level,
most local and states that are of the same party
of the sitting president and Congress will generally just fall
in line. And so you'll see a lot more of
the of the legislation flow easily. Then you have some
that are not. And so they'll they'll resist it a
little bit. So um, I see in Alexandria that things,

(50:51):
things will remain pretty much the status quo for as
much as it can. Um, you have a, a one
party monopoly in Alexandria, and I don't think most people
understand that. But your your mayor is a Democrat. Your
entire city council is a Democrat. Your entire school board
is Democratic. Um, and so one of the things we
fought for there was to be able to make a

(51:14):
change to the voting system because they have at large voting.
And I believe that we should have voting by neighborhoods
or wards, if you will, to wear a system to
where each ward or community gets to send a delegate
to the city council. And so we have those pockets
of places that are conservative that would place some conservatives

(51:34):
on the city council. That's not what you wanted to know,
but I don't think it'll affect any change in those
heavy liberal areas, because they will probably resist implementing any
policies that, that, that the administration might send down.

S4 (51:47):
No, I think that I think that's good. I wouldn't
necessarily trying to get real, you know, into the weeds
with it from a political standpoint, it's just the, the,
the atmosphere, you know, when, when I mean, I wish
you could have seen me. You would have thought on
Monday that there was, you know, we were in the
playoffs and I had three and four. I had the
iPad up, I had the TV on a four square,

(52:08):
I had another, I had my phone, you know, like
just because I want to get a sense of where
all this is right and I'm listening to different things.
Go ahead, go ahead. You were going to say.

S5 (52:17):
Well, no, I was just going to say then to
answer that question. I think the sentiment has improved from
a conservative standpoint. I think people are um, I think
I think what happened is people got tired, um, or
as our parents got used to say, they got sick
and tired of being sick and tired. And when when
people have lived through four years of high prices on

(52:39):
everything from rent to to food to housing, all of
that to cars, um, they just got tired of, like,
being able to just make it with, with the income
that they were bringing in. And so the sentiment is that, uh,
the economy will lighten up and we'll start to see
prices come down and inflation come down, and all of
those things. So, so people are more open to a

(53:00):
conservative leadership at this point. So that that seems to
have shifted a little bit. Um, during the during the
election and the incoming inauguration.

S4 (53:10):
Well, I mean, I think it's one one again. Let me,
let me provide another salute to you for for the audacity,
the courage, the conviction, um, to, to actually say, hey,
you know what I need to make? I need to
make an impact in this moment in time, whether it's
for you or for the legacy of your family, for
the benefit of the community. Um, I again, I think

(53:32):
what what made it very much a cinch for me
to ask you to be on today is because where
we celebrate art, community and culture, you do all that.
You took your art to impact the community. And essentially
the offspring of that is that you're building a culture
that that is going to be more enriched by what
you've contributed to it than what you haven't. Um, I

(53:52):
think that I think the book is going to be
very successful. I, I actually have my order in to, to,
to receive it. Um, not just as a support, but
I think it's, I think it's one of those things where. Yeah.
Why not? I need to know, you know, the same
way that I'd flip over and I'd. And I'd listen
to News Nation. I listen listen to Fox, CNN or

(54:13):
Democracy Now! Or PBS or NPR or Joe Rogan. Why
would I not? Right. And so again, I again, I
have to be very, very clear just because of the
where we are in the media space? Not necessarily an
endorsement of all the things that are there, but the
curiosity is is what what is there? So no, no,
this has been great. You know, you know, we got

(54:33):
to go through the regular math. Please let the people know,
you know, how they can get in contact with you.
I know you have a lot of irons in the fire. Um,
feel free to share with them if they're looking like
I need more of this. Dude, I want to know
where to get the book. I want to know what
he's doing next. I want to get active in Alexandria.
I want to know where he's going to be in
the Commonwealth. Help us out. How can we get how

(54:53):
can we link up with you?

S5 (54:54):
The easiest way to catch me is my email. And
that's my name. Broderick. B r o d e r
I c k at the number three, followed by the
letters x, as in X-ray, g as in George Enterprises.
So Broderick at 3XG enterprises.com. Um, it's my email. I'm
in it all the time. Uh, so if you wanted

(55:16):
the easiest way to catch me, you can go to
any of the social media routes I'm on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn,
all of those things. But the quickest and most convenient
way to catch me is through that email.

S4 (55:28):
Oh that's great. Well, you know, I always like taking
the last shot at you, too. So no TikTok. You're
not on TikTok.

S5 (55:34):
Oh, I love TikTok.

S4 (55:35):
Okay. I just didn't know. You mentioned. You mentioned you
mentioned all the social medias, but you didn't say TikTok.
And as of this hour, we're good to go on TikTok.
So I'm good on TikTok. I just I just didn't know. Listen, man,
it's a blessing to for us to be able to
sit here and do this. Um, I hopefully what we've
been able to do in the last couple of minutes
is share with people, uh, the dynamic of our relationship. Uh,

(55:59):
this I just want to push record is all about
where community, art and culture collide. And you as my brother,
as someone who I support in terms of everything that
you do. Um, I want you to know that it's
an honor to have you on. Thank you for taking
the time. And if there's anything that we can do
to continue the conversation, um, you know, I want to

(56:21):
be clear about to continue the conversation. We're all here
for it. And for for those of you that are listening,
I want to thank you for taking the time to listen.
I just want to push record. Mixed grounds is happy
to be able to be our sponsor, to make sure
that we can spend time celebrating community, art and culture.
And until the next time, don't forget to push record.

(56:42):
Thank you.

S3 (56:45):
Thank you for listening to. I just wanted to Push
Record a producer's podcast. Be sure to follow and subscribe
wherever you get your podcasts. To hear other episodes or
read the associated blogs, visit Olas Media.com and be sure
to follow us on Instagram with the handle Olas Media Studio.
I Just wanted to push record. A producer's podcast is

(57:06):
produced in studios in San Diego, California and Tijuana, Baja California.
Olas media is an IVC media company.