August 1, 2025 • 30 mins
The latest episode of Left Face unveils the exciting formation of the Colorado Democrat Veterans Council, a vital new initiative aimed at advancing veterans' causes through state legislation. Hosts Dick Wilkinson and Adam Gillard share how this council has established a strategic partnership with the thriving New Mexico Veterans Caucus, creating an opportunity to learn from their success and avoid common pitfalls.
What makes this initiative particularly significant is its potential impact on El Paso County's substantial veteran population, which comprises approximately 15% of residents. The hosts explore how the council plans to leverage Colorado's four-month legislative session to champion veteran-focused bills, drawing inspiration from New Mexico's model while adapting to Colorado's unique landscape.
The conversation takes a thoughtful turn toward national politics, examining potential Democratic presidential candidates for upcoming elections. Pete Buttigieg emerges as a standout figure in their discussion, praised for his genuine approach, military background, and moderate policy positions that resonate across generational lines. By contrast, the hosts express skepticism about candidates who rely more on political theater than authentic leadership.
Locally, the competitive race for Colorado's 5th Congressional District captures attention with Jessica Killen's remarkable fundraising success—$750,000 on day one, outpacing the incumbent. This development, coupled with the potential relocation of Space Command, signals a potentially historic opportunity to flip a traditionally Republican seat.
Throughout the episode, Dick and Adam reflect on the challenges of political fundraising, the importance of genuine representation, and how organized veteran groups can influence both local and state politics. Their passionate discussion offers listeners valuable insights into the intersection of military service, political advocacy, and community impact.
Ready to make a difference for veterans in Colorado? Reach out to join the Colorado Democrat Veterans Council and help shape legislation that truly serves those who've served our country.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of
Left Face.
This is the Pikes Peaks Regionpodcast, where we talk about
veterans issues and politics atthe national and local level.
I am your co-host, dickWilkinson, and I'm joined this
morning with Adam Gillard.
Good morning, adam.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hey Dick, how are you doing, buddy?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I am having a great day.
I'm glad we're able to get thisepisode knocked out.
I am having a great day.
I'm glad we're able to get thisepisode knocked out.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I might have sounded a little strained when I was
saying that, because I wasactually trying to sit down and
I didn't realize how much paineverything was in as I was
sitting down.
So I was like I can't talk andsit at the same time yeah, how's
Florida?
it is overbearingly hot rightnow.
(00:46):
We've been down here for abouta week and it's oppressive this
heat and like humidity and thethunderstorms coming at night,
but it's been a phenomenal time.
You know me and the family justhanging out at Disney this week
.
Yeah, it's been a great time.
But yeah, the heat is justcrazy out here right now.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Well, apologies to our listeners.
We had a technical issue lastweek and, combining that with
travel, we were not able to putout an episode last week.
So this week we're going tocatch up on some topics that
carry over from our previousepisode, and then just the
standard what's going on withthe craziness of the federal
government these days?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
That is one thing that's been nice.
I've been pretty unplugged fromeverything, so it's actually
been nice to unwind and not getbombarded with things all the
time Not get mentally ramped upthree or four times a day.
Exactly, exactly.
Yeah, my biggest issue rightnow is if they're out of ice
cream.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I like it.
That's a crisis.
Yeah, I like it.
That's.
That's the kind of things wewant to you know, if that's the
worst thing, yeah right, that'sa good.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Right, that's what we should be focusing on.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah, that's awesome.
Well, one issue that we spokeabout in our last episode that
aired was that we are working ona Colorado Democratic Party
veterans group and that grouphas convened.
It is called the ColoradoDemocrat Veterans Council.
(02:18):
There we go.
We couldn't get that right inthe last time we tried to record
this, but that's it that rightin the last time we tried to
record this, but that's it.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
It's silly like the naming convention sometimes
becomes so difficult and it'sjust like man, you just try to
be clear.
But yeah, yeah, because wetried to be a caucus but, like
under state party rules, it's a,it's a committee or whatever.
Yeah, um, yeah, yeah, it'sfunny, but yeah, it's stood up
and and we're gonna, you know,really focus on pushing some
cool legislation and get thingsdone.
You have a lot of experiencefrom your time down in New
Mexico.
(02:47):
What are some of the thingsthat you look forward to getting
done with this?
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Well, to that end, I got in touch with the chair of
the caucus in New Mexico.
His name is Frank Smith.
I had a good conversation withhim.
He just recently took over fromDr Claudia, and now I'm going
to forget her last name eventhough I'm rising her.
I worked with her for a fewyears, but she was running it
(03:12):
for a few years there and thenshe's moved on or stepped down
and Frank Smith has taken over.
He agreed to meet with us.
He agreed to share notes onwhat has worked well, lessons
learned, and bring in theirreally active volunteers that
have been kind of like thedepartment leads or the
(03:33):
committee leads within thecaucus and that will give us the
chance to kind of springboardour efforts.
So I looked this morning thiswas something I had not educated
myself on yet.
The New Mexico legislature meetsonly, you know, in like January
or February, and they haveshort, very short sessions.
(03:57):
So I said well, you know they'vegot a rhythm of how they get
legislative priorities set upfor the veterans group down
there.
So what's the counterpart herein Colorado?
Well, our state legislaturemeets for four months, starting
in January every year, which istwice as long as the longest
session.
They have a 60-day session inNew Mexico and a 30-day session
in New Mexico.
They do those alternating yearsand so they don't have a lot of
(04:21):
time in session down there, butColorado does.
It has four months of sessionand then committees all year
long.
So the good news is that we canalign our efforts at the end of
the calendar year so that thesame things that they're going
to work on in New Mexico we cantry and promote those here in
Colorado.
So that alignment is great andI think it gets us a chance to
(04:41):
work basically side saddle, handin hand on this next
legislative cycle to stand upour own group.
So I'm looking forward to that.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, yeah, and the potential for us to have long
lasting impacts with this in thecommunity of Colorado Springs,
el Paso County, is 15 percentvets every day, and that's not
counting spouses and familymembers, things like that.
Percent vets, yeah, every daythat, and that's not counting
spouses and family members,things like that.
So, being able to have acommittee in the democratic
party that specifically focuseson this, and a lot of people you
(05:12):
know kind of you know whine andcomplain about the uh, having
to be a democrat to be a part ofthese things, but at the end of
the day, like it's the systemthat we live in and it's stuff
that has to be done like, likewe, you know we have to be
Democrats to be able to actuallyget things done in this sense,
um, actually, you know thelegislative aspect, so it's uh,
it's going to be a great group.
(05:33):
I'm excited for it.
Some legislators are already onit too.
Um, but, yeah, having a focuson veteran issues is going to be
huge for our community.
Uh, I think your connectionsdown in New Mexico are going to
be huge too, because we don'tneed to reinvent the wheel.
You know, we know things thatthey've they've been successful
with that they've passed and,yeah, we're going to move
forward and do some pretty coolthings.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
So I I have some.
I'm glad you mentioned what youjust did about needing to be a
registered Democrat to join thegroup.
So that is actually somethingthat Frank from New Mexico
talked to me about that thecaucus in New Mexico recognized
that veterans as a populationwe're going to focus
specifically on the behavior andvoting trends of veterans and
(06:16):
they said there's so many peoplethat register in New Mexico as
declined to state, meaning notaffiliated or independent right
and we have the same option herein Colorado and they said they
recognized that the person'sactual political views may align
with one party or the other,but they still register as a
(06:38):
declined state.
So they wanted to open up theopportunity for decline to state
people to join the caucus.
They just cannot be votingmembers, but they can
participate, they can volunteer,they can, you know, attend and
do basically everything thateveryone else does.
But when there needs to be avote that requires the body to
(06:59):
vote those folks have, they justhave to sit out and otherwise,
if they want to engage, if theywant to be participative in,
let's say, they want to go tothe legislature and speak on
behalf of a bill and they're aveteran, why would they not want
.
You know why?
Would we not want more peopleto participate?
Right, yeah, and so they.
(07:20):
They change their caucus bylawsto allow decline to states to
join the group, and that is inconflict with the state's bylaws
.
And there's a little bit ofinternal wrangling going on down
there right now to see howthat's going to shake out.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
So I think that's a pretty fair compromise just
having them not be able to drivethe group but but still be able
to participate, get othermembers and feel like they're
doing something, cause, yeah, elPaso County, I think we're like
51 or 52% independent voters,sure, uh, so.
So yeah, there's a hugedemographic that, uh, we missed
(07:58):
by.
You know, not outlawing, butyou know just.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Well, look at like the veterans lunch that we that
we attend here in ColoradoSprings, right, I'm sure that
some of the folks that haveattended that lunch, and
especially the people who hearabout it through word of mouth
and just drop in, are notregistered Democrats, right, and
sometimes they're just comingthrough to see what the group is
about or what kind of you knowthings are we working on, and
(08:25):
they want to either stick aroundor they're saying, hey, that's
not for me working on, and they,they want to either stick
around or they're saying, hey,that's not for me.
And so that's one of those sortof edge cases where we get to
interact with people that arenot, like, diehard Democrats,
and I think it makes sense thatif they showed up at to an event
like that a protest, a partymeeting and said, hey, I kind of
like what you guys are workingon, I don't, I don't know why we
(08:46):
would want to turn them away.
I can't see that there would besubversion or anything like that
.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
So well and that's why, you know, I have kind of a
couple of veins that I work in.
Uh, you know, the stuff with theDemocrat party, the progressive
vets uh, I consider it to bemore open to, you know,
everybody that wants to comejoin, have a conversation and
talk, um, and then talk, andthen even Indivisible is the
same way.
(09:14):
We're trying to get vets to joinIndivisible, because there's
Republicans in there that havesome really good ideas in
personal legislation.
I just talked to a guy.
His specialty is military forceon civilian populations, like
American civilians, and so Itook him into Crank's office and
he handed over a paper andideas and suggestions for
(09:35):
strengthening the InsurrectionAct that's up for.
I'm not sure where it is in theSenate or the House right now,
but there's folks out there thathave an Insurrection Act for
2025 that limits the power ofthe presidency and when they can
deploy it, but we have thoseexperts in our community that we
just need to bring out, and so,you know, this guy is a
(09:56):
lifelong Republican but, youknow, came and we were able to
get his words to therepresentative, you know.
So, yeah, everybody needs touse their voice as much as
possible right now.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Yep Agreed.
Yeah, that's a great example.
So we'll see.
You know, I know that's notsomething we're going to pick up
and run with right now on thein the committee or the council,
because you know, we just needto get established for now.
One thing that I was encouragedto hear is that they have down
in New Mexico something like 470registered members in the
caucus.
Now that's awesome.
Something like 470 registeredmembers in the caucus now that's
(10:30):
awesome.
Yeah, that's a man.
I mean we had maybe 150 in thefirst year or two there and you
know 50 of those were active and100 are just kind of signed up
and show up every now and thenkind of thing.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
So to have 400 people that are signed up and paying
attention to what you're doing.
That's huge people that aresigned up and paying attention
to what you're doing.
Yeah, I'm not sure what therules for standing up the group
were, but for in Colorado youneed to have like 25.
So you can start off as apretty small group and you have
to see that kind of growth.
And you know, five years that'spretty cool.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
So that that just tells us that bigger state,
bigger veteran population, weshould be able to pull those
interested folks.
You know it's one of those.
If you build it, they will come.
The situation like this is ifyou build it, the right people
will come.
The motivated people show upright and once they hear about
the effort, once they hear thatit's got some momentum, then you
(11:24):
know I think we'll get there.
We'll get to 100 people quick.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
So yeah, yeah, yeah, yes.
And as long as you keep showingresults, people will keep
coming back, you know, oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
I mean that's gotta be a part of the popularity of
the group down in New Mexico isthat.
You know it.
It works right Like directcommunity facing efforts that
people see in their tax bill andin their you know um medical
support and in the you know VAprograms, like that stuff is,
it's obvious, to the populationthere.
(11:56):
So I think that you know thatdrives recruitment, like you say
, better than anything else is,is showing results.
And if you say, hey, you canhelp with this, people want to
and, and that you know that'sthe local level, that state and
county stuff and that's that man, that's just the value, the
feedback, the personal rewardyou know is tangible and so and
(12:19):
not just speaking about myself,but the folks that want to help
they really get to see theresults of their efforts.
And it's not the same as likedoor knocking for a candidate is
great, especially, you know, onaround the presidential cycles,
people like to go out and dothat kind of stuff, but you
don't always get to, you don'tfeel as directly connected to
the result.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Right.
So yeah, yeah, yeah.
It is cool looking in yourcommunity and being able to
point to something and say I didthat.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Yeah, hey, you hear about.
I saw, you know you paid lesstaxes last year, right, like
your property tax went down.
You know that, right, yeah,yeah, democrats did that for you
.
What?
Speaker 2 (12:55):
The.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Democrats lowered taxes.
Yeah, we felt like you deservedit.
It happens, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah, and that's one thing like I get so frustrated
with the Biden administration,like and I don't even know how
to break through this for thembut like they did such a
terrible job of telling us allthe good things that they did.
If you look at like their likehit list of like things that
they accomplished, especially inthe first two years, like it
could have changed generationsand now it's kind of all been.
(13:27):
But yeah, they, they didn't doa good job of highlighting their
wins like that.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Well, thanks for bringing that up.
Let's transition off of that toKamala and the you know
announcement that she's notgoing to run for governor.
And now she's sort of she'swriting a book about the
campaign and it's supposed to bea little bit of an expose.
She's going out and talking topeople but she says she's not
(13:55):
running for president right now.
So what's your take on thewhole thing?
Speaker 2 (13:59):
So one thing that I just kind of want to shoot off
on in a second is like there'slike more information coming
about like, or more what is itInvestigations into?
Like elections, uh, fraud andstuff like that from last year,
sure, um, I haven't really doveinto it yet because I just don't
want to be like a mega personcrying for the next four years
(14:19):
that the election was stolen,you know so I'm really just
waiting for like hard evidence,but it sounds like some uh big
things might be coming out inthe next week or so, and that's
always one of those pushes thatpeople say you know but.
But I'm really kind of likegoing to start looking into that
stuff more, cause it's just,things are crazy.
But with her she's setting upfor quite the battle within her
(14:41):
own state, even Cause, you know,newsom's probably going to run.
But I don't think.
I don't think she'll like likerun, but I don't think she'll
get out of the primary.
There's a lot of people upsetlast time that there wasn't a
primary and that they didn't getto choose who ran, and so,
whether or not she's the mostqualified or the best candidate,
(15:04):
I think people just out ofspite will be like no, they
tried to shove her down ourthroes.
I didn't like that and thoseout of spite say no.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah, there's, there's definitely some of that,
for sure.
Um, I, everybody says, oh, I'mnot running for some period of
time, right?
Um, I mean, she's acting like acandidate again.
Anyway, she's got money, uh, ina war for sure, so she can pull
the trigger whenever.
I think she's watching thelandscape, I think she's
watching, for, you know, there'salways those early people that
(15:35):
try and strike out early on,yeah, build some momentum, and
then they punch out before theyou know, the bigger early
primary stages, right?
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
And then sometimes you're a strong candidate that
has a lot of money, shows uplate, right, and they say, hey,
we're going to push money, we'regoing to wait a few quarters.
Let's somebody else you know goout there and make noise, give
us a, basically a counterpointto talk about, and then we jump
into the race.
Race, you know, one quarter outfrom the primaries.
I don't see the kind of personthat would do that, but I don't
(16:07):
see her.
Be it like, I said my ownsentiment, I don't think she
could win the primary.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
So yeah, yeah, well, your idea about them letting
other candidates do the dirtywork then, like they don't like
to win the run races, they don't, they can't win.
You know what I mean?
If they don't think they canwin, they don't run.
Yeah, so having, like you said,candidates go out there and
kind of throw some ideas out andtest, you know, get some
polling data and things likethat, and then make a decision.
(16:32):
Um, yeah, yeah, it's gonna be athick field because you know,
you see, that senator fromgeorgia that won that runoff, uh
, a couple years ago, he's beenmaking his rounds around Pete
Mayor, pete's always on the news, newsom's always on the news.
Yeah, so there are definitelyfolks trying to jockey and get
that, you know, public appeal tothem.
(16:53):
It's just the whole thing.
Just disgusts me really, whenit comes down to, like, the
money involved in it and like,yeah, the need to like, have the
pomp and circumstance and kindof like, create moments to be
seen and heard.
Um, versus just having peoplego out there and lead and do
their job.
You know, they're going outthere and having to be talking
(17:14):
heads on tv, yeah yeah, you haveto play the game.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
You have to play the game.
Yeah, and newsom's playing thegame big time, uh, and he has
been he's probably the slimiestof all of them.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Like I like when I hear him talk, I just I don't
like it.
I don't like how he talks.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
I agree, that's.
I mean, I don't know much abouthim as far as what he's done in
California, but just as acandidate, when I see him doing,
when I do see him putting onthe stunt what to try and get
national level attention, I'mI've never once I been like I
want to clap for that guy.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
It just hasn't happened yet, you know, yeah,
yeah, yeah, it's like he may beright, but he's kind of still an
asshole.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Sure.
And then you know hey, you know, every now and then we talk
about conspiracy stuff.
Right, I didn't know this untilmaybe last year that he's Nancy
Pelosi's like nephew.
Oh, no way, yeah, he's.
He's like blood related to her,he's not like marriage related.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
I think he's blood related to her Really Wow.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
So that's an interesting little twist there.
Yeah, it makes sense that youknow he would be part of the
California political class ifhis aunt is Nancy Pelosi, right?
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Yeah, that would help you win your governorship, for
sure, you know oh yeah, yeah,I'm sure he got some good
donations early on in his career.
That really gave him a couplewins big.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Yeah.
So I mean, anybody wants toverify me and then go write a
note on Blue Sky that I probablywon't read.
But you know, go for it.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
No, I say we just let that one go.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
We're going to put it out there and claim it as true
and I mean I heard it once, so Ibelieve.
I mean it's obviously easy tofigure out.
I'm just not going to Google itin the middle of the episode.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, not worth the fact time.
No, it's not.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
But anyways, it's just another factor in the like
why he could.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
You know why he's got a strong base to run from and
why he's the darling of theparty and in a lot of ways, so
yeah, so yeah, he's got a ton ofmoney behind him?
Speaker 1 (19:09):
he does, and you know I've always been a fan of mayor
pete um I.
I just thought pete budaj islike, closer to our generation.
Right of like viewpoint on whatthe government is for,
viewpoint on war, viewpoint onthe military uh, what service is
about?
Speaker 2 (19:26):
you know, like you want to talk about somebody that
I do clap for when I hear himon tv.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Man pete is always speaking my language, always you
know it was.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Isn't he like a major or something like that in the
army?
Speaker 1 (19:36):
I thought he was served so yeah, uh, yeah, he
definitely had um some reservetime.
I think he had some active dutytime at one point, but I'm not
sure.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
So yeah, yeah, he definitely seems like somebody
that would put in the work withyou.
You know not, not just yell atyou to do the work, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
For sure.
And I mean, I just I don't knowhe's, I know it sounds, maybe
it sounds crazy, but I see himas a moderate Democrat honestly.
But I see him as a moderateDemocrat honestly, right, yeah,
yeah.
And you say, how's thatpossible?
Because you know, if anythingin this we're just going to
speak in external terms here thefact that he's a gay elected
(20:13):
official will make him popularwith the Democratic Party, just
at face value, right, like, andthat's fine, that's fine, right,
that's what people talk aboutas far as inclusion and
representation, and that's oneway that it gets done.
So I don't focus on that,because I just don't care about
how he does, you know hisintimate life.
You know I care about what hesays on TV and what he says in
(20:36):
the town halls and like when hespeaks about policy, that's what
I pay attention to, right.
And so when he speaks aboutpolicy, that's what I pay
attention to, right.
So when he speaks about thatnot his lifestyle but his policy
ideas he sounds extremelymoderate to me and that's, I
think, always why he's appealedto me, because he's of my
generation and he's a moderateguy.
But he's got his head screwedon straight, like a lot of
(20:57):
politicians don't.
Probably the opposite of Newsomfrom the like, like not wanting
to pull a stunt, right and not.
You know, when he was theSecretary of Transportation
there would have been a lot ofopportunities for him to have a
lot more camera time and hedidn't do that.
He did his job, you know.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Right, so yeah, and with that infrastructure a ton
of money got put into our roadsand failing bridges and things
like that.
And one thing I was going tosay is that when he because I
think him and Newsom both comeback really well when people
push them, but I think his is alot more genuine versus kind of
just you know the buzzword bingothat Newsom- can throw
(21:37):
sometimes, yeah, he's got hislittle slick sheet in his pocket
and he's like, oh, that one, Ithink Pete.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Yeah, he's got his little slick sheet in his pocket
and he's like, oh, that was, Ithink Pete has experience.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
Yeah, I think he just pulls from his own experiences
and speaks clearly andarticulately.
He's genuine.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Like you said, he's genuine.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Yeah, and I will take that all day long.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Oh yeah, I don't know man, I think he's a great
candidate.
I hope he stays in politics forthe long haul, even if he never
runs for president, so I wantto see him.
I think he's doing a good jobin governing when he's at the
opportunity.
He's done it really well.
So that's my take on it.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, some people are just good leaders, and he's one
of them.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
I often get my hackles up about what's
considered the qualifications ofsomeone to be president.
How does someone basically whatqualifies someone in my mind as
a good candidate, and usuallythe people that win the
primaries don't check very manyblocks for me you know I don't
like the experience that they'resaying makes them relevant to
(22:36):
be the president.
I just don't see the value inthat.
Right, pete is not.
Pete is the example of someonewho I would go man, I don't to
give me a list of things that Icare about as a candidate and I
don't know what he doesn't.
He checks all the blocks, youknow, and uh.
So again, another reason buthonestly that's why, that's why
he might not ever win is becausehe's a well-rounded dude.
(23:00):
You know he's not slimy andhe's not slanted or biased or
whatever.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
You know yeah, well, and that's the same thing that's
held, like bernie sanders downis that he's just too honest and
genuine, like he speaks hismind pretty, pretty clearly and
he's been doing it since the 60sand they're like, no, you're
gonna go sit over there yeah,you know that's a great example.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
uh, back when it was him versus hillary as much as I
do not like Bernie Sanders forbeing a socialist, I would have
called him much more qualifiedas a candidate than Hillary
Clinton was, and that didn'tmatter.
You know, yeah, that justdidn't matter.
Like you said, they told him togo color in the corner and yell
about whatever he wanted to onhis own time.
(23:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
And kind of like to take it full circle.
It kind of comes back to likewhen you register to be a
democrat, like bernie only is ademocrat when he like caucuses
with them and like, yeah, likehe knows how to use the system
in his favor, you know to caucuswith them and things like that,
and then you just talk shitabout him because he's pretty
safe where he is, yeah, and solike it is kind of like not
surprising that the dnc's likeno, we're not going to support
(24:07):
you because you just talk shitabout us.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
We know you're not really part of the team.
Yeah, yeah, and I mean, thehigher up you go in the um
apparatus that is the partyright the more that fealty and
loyalty is expected.
I think you know to the pointof you know being ostracized.
(24:31):
If you're really at that levelof like, hey, I want to run for
president or I'm running forSenate or I need national level
support so I can get this moneytogether and you know they're
going to put you through theringer and you're not, you can't
have too much daylight fromwhatever the national party and
the platform and everything elsethat you know is out there.
If you got some daylight on acouple of specific issues, yeah,
(24:54):
you know you're going to have ahard time.
So that's just.
The party is built to pushthose specific issues and, yeah,
bernie doesn't fit thatparadigm at all.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Well, and I think we're going to see this very
locally, in the El Paso CountyCD5 race, we have a big
candidate coming into it,jessica Killen, who's obviously
raised $750,000 on day one.
So she's got some bigsupporters and, and you know,
the DNC is going to be pushingfor her probably.
(25:25):
So the four or five candidatesthat are sitting there right now
looking at that big oldpaycheck, you know that she just
pulled in.
Uh, yeah, yeah, I think we'regoing to see it here locally
where they're going to put theircandidate who they want to run,
which you know right now.
I think is a good thing,because we've never had a
legitimate candidate really liketo put up the money like this.
(25:47):
Yeah, Because right now she'soutraced Crank, so she has more
money than Crank right now.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
So we actually have a chance to go after him.
So I'm kind of for it right now, but it's still.
It's just the system that it is, you know.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
It is And's still.
It's just the system that it is.
You know it is, and I meanthat's what the that's what the
national level party is for isto get out into the races where
there is a chance to, you know,flip a seat and put those
resources into that region.
One thing that you know willthat may happen and I would
predict would happen, is theDCCC will get involved in this
race and here's the little bitof like we'll call run over
(26:26):
benefit is they'll come here anddo quite a bit of campaign
training to get people ready tosupport this candidate that they
want to really get a big pushbehind.
So when we talk about trying toget precinct leadership
assigned, trying to get doorknocking campaigns assigned,
dccc kind of falls out of thesky and helps run a lot of that
stuff.
They train a lot of volunteersand they give you the tools and
(26:49):
resources to do that.
So I get the feeling that ifthis race gets hot and if
there's this much money involvedalready that it probably will,
then it's you know, it's verylikely that next year during the
calendar year, there'll bebasically quarterly inputs from
the DCCC to get stuff up andrunning and get people
volunteering going.
So it's a good thing from thelocal party perspective of
(27:13):
getting a lot of resources thatotherwise they're kind of hard
to come by.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Yeah, and if the executive order gets signed that
moves Space Command back toAlabama, I think Crank's
position becomes very, very inplay.
So I think that would be kindof the trigger.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
It's a great campaign talking point for like one
cycle.
Yeah, I mean it'll be wonderfulin one cycle.
I don't think it would carrymuch after that.
But you're right, right Locallyit'd be an excellent thing to
push on.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Yeah, because I mean it's like Doug Lambert kept it
here, you didn't get out.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Hey, that politics, right, you got to get a little
dirty every now and then, right,so say some things just because
, hey, it's true.
You know, technically it's true, he didn't have any way to do
anything about it, but it's true, technically it's true, he
didn't have any way to doanything about it, but it's true
.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Yeah, to say that the candidates or politicians are
like they're most vulnerable onthat first reelection.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Yeah, absolutely yeah , because you don't have that
deep pocket yet You've got not alot of.
You haven't really had anychance to make your name, unless
you're like AOC and you gotinternet famous, you know, um.
So, yeah, it's hard to get that, that traction, and you know
it's two years, man, it's anever ending cycle once you get
in it.
And I don't know, uh,republican Democrat, independent
Martian, I don't care.
(28:33):
I feel sad for the people that,like, have to do phone calls
all day long asking for money.
Yeah, that's a hard part of thejob, man, and like that's
something that I just don't knowhow.
If I ever do try to run back inthat direction, I don't know
how I'm going to, you know.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
Yeah, yeah.
That was the first thing Irealized was like I don't like
asking people for money,especially when you're like
you're asking for money forsomething that you haven't done
yet.
You're like if you give me thismoney, I can get elected and
then maybe I can help you.
Yeah, that's a tough ask for me.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
It's a heavy lift and it's a mode you have to switch
into and I never quite got there, but I know how to do it, but I
just it's hard.
So yeah, well we are.
We have to run the episode alittle and I both have the
commitments to get off to.
So thanks for joining us thisweek.
A little bit of a short episode, but we hope that you enjoyed
(29:26):
it.
Hopefully you're encouraged bythe updates on the veterans
initiatives here in Colorado and, of course, as the group grows.
If you are a listener of this,you probably want to get
involved and volunteer, soplease reach out to us and we'll
get you to tune in to thefuture meetings and find out a
way for you to help.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Yeah, yeah, there's always something to do.
You get to choose your level ofparticipation at this point.
So, yeah, that's excellent.
Get a hold of us, yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Yep.
All right, well, thanks forlistening and we will catch you
all again next week on Left Face.
Bye.
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of
Left Face.
This is the Pikes Peaks Regionpodcast, where we talk about
veterans issues and politics atthe national and local level.
I am your co-host, dickWilkinson, and I'm joined this
morning with Adam Gillard.
Good morning, adam.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hey Dick, how are you doing, buddy?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I am having a great day.
I'm glad we're able to get thisepisode knocked out.
I am having a great day.
I'm glad we're able to get thisepisode knocked out.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I might have sounded a little strained when I was
saying that, because I wasactually trying to sit down and
I didn't realize how much paineverything was in as I was
sitting down.
So I was like I can't talk andsit at the same time yeah, how's
Florida?
it is overbearingly hot rightnow.
(00:46):
We've been down here for abouta week and it's oppressive this
heat and like humidity and thethunderstorms coming at night,
but it's been a phenomenal time.
You know me and the family justhanging out at Disney this week
.
Yeah, it's been a great time.
But yeah, the heat is justcrazy out here right now.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Well, apologies to our listeners.
We had a technical issue lastweek and, combining that with
travel, we were not able to putout an episode last week.
So this week we're going tocatch up on some topics that
carry over from our previousepisode, and then just the
standard what's going on withthe craziness of the federal
government these days?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
That is one thing that's been nice.
I've been pretty unplugged fromeverything, so it's actually
been nice to unwind and not getbombarded with things all the
time Not get mentally ramped upthree or four times a day.
Exactly, exactly.
Yeah, my biggest issue rightnow is if they're out of ice
cream.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I like it.
That's a crisis.
Yeah, I like it.
That's.
That's the kind of things wewant to you know, if that's the
worst thing, yeah right, that'sa good.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Right, that's what we should be focusing on.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah, that's awesome.
Well, one issue that we spokeabout in our last episode that
aired was that we are working ona Colorado Democratic Party
veterans group and that grouphas convened.
It is called the ColoradoDemocrat Veterans Council.
(02:18):
There we go.
We couldn't get that right inthe last time we tried to record
this, but that's it that rightin the last time we tried to
record this, but that's it.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
It's silly like the naming convention sometimes
becomes so difficult and it'sjust like man, you just try to
be clear.
But yeah, yeah, because wetried to be a caucus but, like
under state party rules, it's a,it's a committee or whatever.
Yeah, um, yeah, yeah, it'sfunny, but yeah, it's stood up
and and we're gonna, you know,really focus on pushing some
cool legislation and get thingsdone.
You have a lot of experiencefrom your time down in New
Mexico.
(02:47):
What are some of the thingsthat you look forward to getting
done with this?
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Well, to that end, I got in touch with the chair of
the caucus in New Mexico.
His name is Frank Smith.
I had a good conversation withhim.
He just recently took over fromDr Claudia, and now I'm going
to forget her last name eventhough I'm rising her.
I worked with her for a fewyears, but she was running it
(03:12):
for a few years there and thenshe's moved on or stepped down
and Frank Smith has taken over.
He agreed to meet with us.
He agreed to share notes onwhat has worked well, lessons
learned, and bring in theirreally active volunteers that
have been kind of like thedepartment leads or the
(03:33):
committee leads within thecaucus and that will give us the
chance to kind of springboardour efforts.
So I looked this morning thiswas something I had not educated
myself on yet.
The New Mexico legislature meetsonly, you know, in like January
or February, and they haveshort, very short sessions.
(03:57):
So I said well, you know they'vegot a rhythm of how they get
legislative priorities set upfor the veterans group down
there.
So what's the counterpart herein Colorado?
Well, our state legislaturemeets for four months, starting
in January every year, which istwice as long as the longest
session.
They have a 60-day session inNew Mexico and a 30-day session
in New Mexico.
They do those alternating yearsand so they don't have a lot of
(04:21):
time in session down there, butColorado does.
It has four months of sessionand then committees all year
long.
So the good news is that we canalign our efforts at the end of
the calendar year so that thesame things that they're going
to work on in New Mexico we cantry and promote those here in
Colorado.
So that alignment is great andI think it gets us a chance to
(04:41):
work basically side saddle, handin hand on this next
legislative cycle to stand upour own group.
So I'm looking forward to that.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, yeah, and the potential for us to have long
lasting impacts with this in thecommunity of Colorado Springs,
el Paso County, is 15 percentvets every day, and that's not
counting spouses and familymembers, things like that.
Percent vets, yeah, every daythat, and that's not counting
spouses and family members,things like that.
So, being able to have acommittee in the democratic
party that specifically focuseson this, and a lot of people you
(05:12):
know kind of you know whine andcomplain about the uh, having
to be a democrat to be a part ofthese things, but at the end of
the day, like it's the systemthat we live in and it's stuff
that has to be done like, likewe, you know we have to be
Democrats to be able to actuallyget things done in this sense,
um, actually, you know thelegislative aspect, so it's uh,
it's going to be a great group.
(05:33):
I'm excited for it.
Some legislators are already onit too.
Um, but, yeah, having a focuson veteran issues is going to be
huge for our community.
Uh, I think your connectionsdown in New Mexico are going to
be huge too, because we don'tneed to reinvent the wheel.
You know, we know things thatthey've they've been successful
with that they've passed and,yeah, we're going to move
forward and do some pretty coolthings.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
So I I have some.
I'm glad you mentioned what youjust did about needing to be a
registered Democrat to join thegroup.
So that is actually somethingthat Frank from New Mexico
talked to me about that thecaucus in New Mexico recognized
that veterans as a populationwe're going to focus
specifically on the behavior andvoting trends of veterans and
(06:16):
they said there's so many peoplethat register in New Mexico as
declined to state, meaning notaffiliated or independent right
and we have the same option herein Colorado and they said they
recognized that the person'sactual political views may align
with one party or the other,but they still register as a
(06:38):
declined state.
So they wanted to open up theopportunity for decline to state
people to join the caucus.
They just cannot be votingmembers, but they can
participate, they can volunteer,they can, you know, attend and
do basically everything thateveryone else does.
But when there needs to be avote that requires the body to
(06:59):
vote those folks have, they justhave to sit out and otherwise,
if they want to engage, if theywant to be participative in,
let's say, they want to go tothe legislature and speak on
behalf of a bill and they're aveteran, why would they not want
.
You know why?
Would we not want more peopleto participate?
Right, yeah, and so they.
(07:20):
They change their caucus bylawsto allow decline to states to
join the group, and that is inconflict with the state's bylaws
.
And there's a little bit ofinternal wrangling going on down
there right now to see howthat's going to shake out.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
So I think that's a pretty fair compromise just
having them not be able to drivethe group but but still be able
to participate, get othermembers and feel like they're
doing something, cause, yeah, elPaso County, I think we're like
51 or 52% independent voters,sure, uh, so.
So yeah, there's a hugedemographic that, uh, we missed
(07:58):
by.
You know, not outlawing, butyou know just.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Well, look at like the veterans lunch that we that
we attend here in ColoradoSprings, right, I'm sure that
some of the folks that haveattended that lunch, and
especially the people who hearabout it through word of mouth
and just drop in, are notregistered Democrats, right, and
sometimes they're just comingthrough to see what the group is
about or what kind of you knowthings are we working on, and
(08:25):
they want to either stick aroundor they're saying, hey, that's
not for me working on, and they,they want to either stick
around or they're saying, hey,that's not for me.
And so that's one of those sortof edge cases where we get to
interact with people that arenot, like, diehard Democrats,
and I think it makes sense thatif they showed up at to an event
like that a protest, a partymeeting and said, hey, I kind of
like what you guys are workingon, I don't, I don't know why we
(08:46):
would want to turn them away.
I can't see that there would besubversion or anything like that
.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
So well and that's why, you know, I have kind of a
couple of veins that I work in.
Uh, you know, the stuff with theDemocrat party, the progressive
vets uh, I consider it to bemore open to, you know,
everybody that wants to comejoin, have a conversation and
talk, um, and then talk, andthen even Indivisible is the
same way.
(09:14):
We're trying to get vets to joinIndivisible, because there's
Republicans in there that havesome really good ideas in
personal legislation.
I just talked to a guy.
His specialty is military forceon civilian populations, like
American civilians, and so Itook him into Crank's office and
he handed over a paper andideas and suggestions for
(09:35):
strengthening the InsurrectionAct that's up for.
I'm not sure where it is in theSenate or the House right now,
but there's folks out there thathave an Insurrection Act for
2025 that limits the power ofthe presidency and when they can
deploy it, but we have thoseexperts in our community that we
just need to bring out, and so,you know, this guy is a
(09:56):
lifelong Republican but, youknow, came and we were able to
get his words to therepresentative, you know.
So, yeah, everybody needs touse their voice as much as
possible right now.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Yep Agreed.
Yeah, that's a great example.
So we'll see.
You know, I know that's notsomething we're going to pick up
and run with right now on thein the committee or the council,
because you know, we just needto get established for now.
One thing that I was encouragedto hear is that they have down
in New Mexico something like 470registered members in the
caucus.
Now that's awesome.
Something like 470 registeredmembers in the caucus now that's
(10:30):
awesome.
Yeah, that's a man.
I mean we had maybe 150 in thefirst year or two there and you
know 50 of those were active and100 are just kind of signed up
and show up every now and thenkind of thing.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
So to have 400 people that are signed up and paying
attention to what you're doing.
That's huge people that aresigned up and paying attention
to what you're doing.
Yeah, I'm not sure what therules for standing up the group
were, but for in Colorado youneed to have like 25.
So you can start off as apretty small group and you have
to see that kind of growth.
And you know, five years that'spretty cool.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
So that that just tells us that bigger state,
bigger veteran population, weshould be able to pull those
interested folks.
You know it's one of those.
If you build it, they will come.
The situation like this is ifyou build it, the right people
will come.
The motivated people show upright and once they hear about
the effort, once they hear thatit's got some momentum, then you
(11:24):
know I think we'll get there.
We'll get to 100 people quick.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
So yeah, yeah, yeah, yes.
And as long as you keep showingresults, people will keep
coming back, you know, oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
I mean that's gotta be a part of the popularity of
the group down in New Mexico isthat.
You know it.
It works right Like directcommunity facing efforts that
people see in their tax bill andin their you know um medical
support and in the you know VAprograms, like that stuff is,
it's obvious, to the populationthere.
(11:56):
So I think that you know thatdrives recruitment, like you say
, better than anything else is,is showing results.
And if you say, hey, you canhelp with this, people want to
and, and that you know that'sthe local level, that state and
county stuff and that's that man, that's just the value, the
feedback, the personal rewardyou know is tangible and so and
(12:19):
not just speaking about myself,but the folks that want to help
they really get to see theresults of their efforts.
And it's not the same as likedoor knocking for a candidate is
great, especially, you know, onaround the presidential cycles,
people like to go out and dothat kind of stuff, but you
don't always get to, you don'tfeel as directly connected to
the result.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Right.
So yeah, yeah, yeah.
It is cool looking in yourcommunity and being able to
point to something and say I didthat.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Yeah, hey, you hear about.
I saw, you know you paid lesstaxes last year, right, like
your property tax went down.
You know that, right, yeah,yeah, democrats did that for you
.
What?
Speaker 2 (12:55):
The.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Democrats lowered taxes.
Yeah, we felt like you deservedit.
It happens, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah, and that's one thing like I get so frustrated
with the Biden administration,like and I don't even know how
to break through this for thembut like they did such a
terrible job of telling us allthe good things that they did.
If you look at like their likehit list of like things that
they accomplished, especially inthe first two years, like it
could have changed generationsand now it's kind of all been.
(13:27):
But yeah, they, they didn't doa good job of highlighting their
wins like that.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Well, thanks for bringing that up.
Let's transition off of that toKamala and the you know
announcement that she's notgoing to run for governor.
And now she's sort of she'swriting a book about the
campaign and it's supposed to bea little bit of an expose.
She's going out and talking topeople but she says she's not
(13:55):
running for president right now.
So what's your take on thewhole thing?
Speaker 2 (13:59):
So one thing that I just kind of want to shoot off
on in a second is like there'slike more information coming
about like, or more what is itInvestigations into?
Like elections, uh, fraud andstuff like that from last year,
sure, um, I haven't really doveinto it yet because I just don't
want to be like a mega personcrying for the next four years
(14:19):
that the election was stolen,you know so I'm really just
waiting for like hard evidence,but it sounds like some uh big
things might be coming out inthe next week or so, and that's
always one of those pushes thatpeople say you know but.
But I'm really kind of likegoing to start looking into that
stuff more, cause it's just,things are crazy.
But with her she's setting upfor quite the battle within her
(14:41):
own state, even Cause, you know,newsom's probably going to run.
But I don't think.
I don't think she'll like likerun, but I don't think she'll
get out of the primary.
There's a lot of people upsetlast time that there wasn't a
primary and that they didn't getto choose who ran, and so,
whether or not she's the mostqualified or the best candidate,
(15:04):
I think people just out ofspite will be like no, they
tried to shove her down ourthroes.
I didn't like that and thoseout of spite say no.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah, there's, there's definitely some of that,
for sure.
Um, I, everybody says, oh, I'mnot running for some period of
time, right?
Um, I mean, she's acting like acandidate again.
Anyway, she's got money, uh, ina war for sure, so she can pull
the trigger whenever.
I think she's watching thelandscape, I think she's
watching, for, you know, there'salways those early people that
(15:35):
try and strike out early on,yeah, build some momentum, and
then they punch out before theyou know, the bigger early
primary stages, right?
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
And then sometimes you're a strong candidate that
has a lot of money, shows uplate, right, and they say, hey,
we're going to push money, we'regoing to wait a few quarters.
Let's somebody else you know goout there and make noise, give
us a, basically a counterpointto talk about, and then we jump
into the race.
Race, you know, one quarter outfrom the primaries.
I don't see the kind of personthat would do that, but I don't
(16:07):
see her.
Be it like, I said my ownsentiment, I don't think she
could win the primary.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
So yeah, yeah, well, your idea about them letting
other candidates do the dirtywork then, like they don't like
to win the run races, they don't, they can't win.
You know what I mean?
If they don't think they canwin, they don't run.
Yeah, so having, like you said,candidates go out there and
kind of throw some ideas out andtest, you know, get some
polling data and things likethat, and then make a decision.
(16:32):
Um, yeah, yeah, it's gonna be athick field because you know,
you see, that senator fromgeorgia that won that runoff, uh
, a couple years ago, he's beenmaking his rounds around Pete
Mayor, pete's always on the news, newsom's always on the news.
Yeah, so there are definitelyfolks trying to jockey and get
that, you know, public appeal tothem.
(16:53):
It's just the whole thing.
Just disgusts me really, whenit comes down to, like, the
money involved in it and like,yeah, the need to like, have the
pomp and circumstance and kindof like, create moments to be
seen and heard.
Um, versus just having peoplego out there and lead and do
their job.
You know, they're going outthere and having to be talking
(17:14):
heads on tv, yeah yeah, you haveto play the game.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
You have to play the game.
Yeah, and newsom's playing thegame big time, uh, and he has
been he's probably the slimiestof all of them.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Like I like when I hear him talk, I just I don't
like it.
I don't like how he talks.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
I agree, that's.
I mean, I don't know much abouthim as far as what he's done in
California, but just as acandidate, when I see him doing,
when I do see him putting onthe stunt what to try and get
national level attention, I'mI've never once I been like I
want to clap for that guy.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
It just hasn't happened yet, you know, yeah,
yeah, yeah, it's like he may beright, but he's kind of still an
asshole.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Sure.
And then you know hey, you know, every now and then we talk
about conspiracy stuff.
Right, I didn't know this untilmaybe last year that he's Nancy
Pelosi's like nephew.
Oh, no way, yeah, he's.
He's like blood related to her,he's not like marriage related.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
I think he's blood related to her Really Wow.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
So that's an interesting little twist there.
Yeah, it makes sense that youknow he would be part of the
California political class ifhis aunt is Nancy Pelosi, right?
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Yeah, that would help you win your governorship, for
sure, you know oh yeah, yeah,I'm sure he got some good
donations early on in his career.
That really gave him a couplewins big.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Yeah.
So I mean, anybody wants toverify me and then go write a
note on Blue Sky that I probablywon't read.
But you know, go for it.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
No, I say we just let that one go.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
We're going to put it out there and claim it as true
and I mean I heard it once, so Ibelieve.
I mean it's obviously easy tofigure out.
I'm just not going to Google itin the middle of the episode.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, not worth the fact time.
No, it's not.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
But anyways, it's just another factor in the like
why he could.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
You know why he's got a strong base to run from and
why he's the darling of theparty and in a lot of ways, so
yeah, so yeah, he's got a ton ofmoney behind him?
Speaker 1 (19:09):
he does, and you know I've always been a fan of mayor
pete um I.
I just thought pete budaj islike, closer to our generation.
Right of like viewpoint on whatthe government is for,
viewpoint on war, viewpoint onthe military uh, what service is
about?
Speaker 2 (19:26):
you know, like you want to talk about somebody that
I do clap for when I hear himon tv.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Man pete is always speaking my language, always you
know it was.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Isn't he like a major or something like that in the
army?
Speaker 1 (19:36):
I thought he was served so yeah, uh, yeah, he
definitely had um some reservetime.
I think he had some active dutytime at one point, but I'm not
sure.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
So yeah, yeah, he definitely seems like somebody
that would put in the work withyou.
You know not, not just yell atyou to do the work, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
For sure.
And I mean, I just I don't knowhe's, I know it sounds, maybe
it sounds crazy, but I see himas a moderate Democrat honestly.
But I see him as a moderateDemocrat honestly, right, yeah,
yeah.
And you say, how's thatpossible?
Because you know, if anythingin this we're just going to
speak in external terms here thefact that he's a gay elected
(20:13):
official will make him popularwith the Democratic Party, just
at face value, right, like, andthat's fine, that's fine, right,
that's what people talk aboutas far as inclusion and
representation, and that's oneway that it gets done.
So I don't focus on that,because I just don't care about
how he does, you know hisintimate life.
You know I care about what hesays on TV and what he says in
(20:36):
the town halls and like when hespeaks about policy, that's what
I pay attention to, right.
And so when he speaks aboutpolicy, that's what I pay
attention to, right.
So when he speaks about thatnot his lifestyle but his policy
ideas he sounds extremelymoderate to me and that's, I
think, always why he's appealedto me, because he's of my
generation and he's a moderateguy.
But he's got his head screwedon straight, like a lot of
(20:57):
politicians don't.
Probably the opposite of Newsomfrom the like, like not wanting
to pull a stunt, right and not.
You know, when he was theSecretary of Transportation
there would have been a lot ofopportunities for him to have a
lot more camera time and hedidn't do that.
He did his job, you know.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Right, so yeah, and with that infrastructure a ton
of money got put into our roadsand failing bridges and things
like that.
And one thing I was going tosay is that when he because I
think him and Newsom both comeback really well when people
push them, but I think his is alot more genuine versus kind of
just you know the buzzword bingothat Newsom- can throw
(21:37):
sometimes, yeah, he's got hislittle slick sheet in his pocket
and he's like, oh, that one, Ithink Pete.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Yeah, he's got his little slick sheet in his pocket
and he's like, oh, that was, Ithink Pete has experience.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
Yeah, I think he just pulls from his own experiences
and speaks clearly andarticulately.
He's genuine.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Like you said, he's genuine.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Yeah, and I will take that all day long.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Oh yeah, I don't know man, I think he's a great
candidate.
I hope he stays in politics forthe long haul, even if he never
runs for president, so I wantto see him.
I think he's doing a good jobin governing when he's at the
opportunity.
He's done it really well.
So that's my take on it.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, some people are just good leaders, and he's one
of them.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
I often get my hackles up about what's
considered the qualifications ofsomeone to be president.
How does someone basically whatqualifies someone in my mind as
a good candidate, and usuallythe people that win the
primaries don't check very manyblocks for me you know I don't
like the experience that they'resaying makes them relevant to
(22:36):
be the president.
I just don't see the value inthat.
Right, pete is not.
Pete is the example of someonewho I would go man, I don't to
give me a list of things that Icare about as a candidate and I
don't know what he doesn't.
He checks all the blocks, youknow, and uh.
So again, another reason buthonestly that's why, that's why
he might not ever win is becausehe's a well-rounded dude.
(23:00):
You know he's not slimy andhe's not slanted or biased or
whatever.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
You know yeah, well, and that's the same thing that's
held, like bernie sanders downis that he's just too honest and
genuine, like he speaks hismind pretty, pretty clearly and
he's been doing it since the 60sand they're like, no, you're
gonna go sit over there yeah,you know that's a great example.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
uh, back when it was him versus hillary as much as I
do not like Bernie Sanders forbeing a socialist, I would have
called him much more qualifiedas a candidate than Hillary
Clinton was, and that didn'tmatter.
You know, yeah, that justdidn't matter.
Like you said, they told him togo color in the corner and yell
about whatever he wanted to onhis own time.
(23:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
And kind of like to take it full circle.
It kind of comes back to likewhen you register to be a
democrat, like bernie only is ademocrat when he like caucuses
with them and like, yeah, likehe knows how to use the system
in his favor, you know to caucuswith them and things like that,
and then you just talk shitabout him because he's pretty
safe where he is, yeah, and solike it is kind of like not
surprising that the dnc's likeno, we're not going to support
(24:07):
you because you just talk shitabout us.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
We know you're not really part of the team.
Yeah, yeah, and I mean, thehigher up you go in the um
apparatus that is the partyright the more that fealty and
loyalty is expected.
I think you know to the pointof you know being ostracized.
(24:31):
If you're really at that levelof like, hey, I want to run for
president or I'm running forSenate or I need national level
support so I can get this moneytogether and you know they're
going to put you through theringer and you're not, you can't
have too much daylight fromwhatever the national party and
the platform and everything elsethat you know is out there.
If you got some daylight on acouple of specific issues, yeah,
(24:54):
you know you're going to have ahard time.
So that's just.
The party is built to pushthose specific issues and, yeah,
bernie doesn't fit thatparadigm at all.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Well, and I think we're going to see this very
locally, in the El Paso CountyCD5 race, we have a big
candidate coming into it,jessica Killen, who's obviously
raised $750,000 on day one.
So she's got some bigsupporters and, and you know,
the DNC is going to be pushingfor her probably.
(25:25):
So the four or five candidatesthat are sitting there right now
looking at that big oldpaycheck, you know that she just
pulled in.
Uh, yeah, yeah, I think we'regoing to see it here locally
where they're going to put theircandidate who they want to run,
which you know right now.
I think is a good thing,because we've never had a
legitimate candidate really liketo put up the money like this.
(25:47):
Yeah, Because right now she'soutraced Crank, so she has more
money than Crank right now.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
So we actually have a chance to go after him.
So I'm kind of for it right now, but it's still.
It's just the system that it is, you know.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
It is And's still.
It's just the system that it is.
You know it is, and I meanthat's what the that's what the
national level party is for isto get out into the races where
there is a chance to, you know,flip a seat and put those
resources into that region.
One thing that you know willthat may happen and I would
predict would happen, is theDCCC will get involved in this
race and here's the little bitof like we'll call run over
(26:26):
benefit is they'll come here anddo quite a bit of campaign
training to get people ready tosupport this candidate that they
want to really get a big pushbehind.
So when we talk about trying toget precinct leadership
assigned, trying to get doorknocking campaigns assigned,
dccc kind of falls out of thesky and helps run a lot of that
stuff.
They train a lot of volunteersand they give you the tools and
(26:49):
resources to do that.
So I get the feeling that ifthis race gets hot and if
there's this much money involvedalready that it probably will,
then it's you know, it's verylikely that next year during the
calendar year, there'll bebasically quarterly inputs from
the DCCC to get stuff up andrunning and get people
volunteering going.
So it's a good thing from thelocal party perspective of
(27:13):
getting a lot of resources thatotherwise they're kind of hard
to come by.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Yeah, and if the executive order gets signed that
moves Space Command back toAlabama, I think Crank's
position becomes very, very inplay.
So I think that would be kindof the trigger.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
It's a great campaign talking point for like one
cycle.
Yeah, I mean it'll be wonderfulin one cycle.
I don't think it would carrymuch after that.
But you're right, right Locallyit'd be an excellent thing to
push on.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Yeah, because I mean it's like Doug Lambert kept it
here, you didn't get out.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Hey, that politics, right, you got to get a little
dirty every now and then, right,so say some things just because
, hey, it's true.
You know, technically it's true, he didn't have any way to do
anything about it, but it's true, technically it's true, he
didn't have any way to doanything about it, but it's true
.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Yeah, to say that the candidates or politicians are
like they're most vulnerable onthat first reelection.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Yeah, absolutely yeah , because you don't have that
deep pocket yet You've got not alot of.
You haven't really had anychance to make your name, unless
you're like AOC and you gotinternet famous, you know, um.
So, yeah, it's hard to get that, that traction, and you know
it's two years, man, it's anever ending cycle once you get
in it.
And I don't know, uh,republican Democrat, independent
Martian, I don't care.
(28:33):
I feel sad for the people that,like, have to do phone calls
all day long asking for money.
Yeah, that's a hard part of thejob, man, and like that's
something that I just don't knowhow.
If I ever do try to run back inthat direction, I don't know
how I'm going to, you know.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
Yeah, yeah.
That was the first thing Irealized was like I don't like
asking people for money,especially when you're like
you're asking for money forsomething that you haven't done
yet.
You're like if you give me thismoney, I can get elected and
then maybe I can help you.
Yeah, that's a tough ask for me.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
It's a heavy lift and it's a mode you have to switch
into and I never quite got there, but I know how to do it, but I
just it's hard.
So yeah, well we are.
We have to run the episode alittle and I both have the
commitments to get off to.
So thanks for joining us thisweek.
A little bit of a short episode, but we hope that you enjoyed
(29:26):
it.
Hopefully you're encouraged bythe updates on the veterans
initiatives here in Colorado and, of course, as the group grows.
If you are a listener of this,you probably want to get
involved and volunteer, soplease reach out to us and we'll
get you to tune in to thefuture meetings and find out a
way for you to help.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Yeah, yeah, there's always something to do.
You get to choose your level ofparticipation at this point.
So, yeah, that's excellent.
Get a hold of us, yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Yep.
All right, well, thanks forlistening and we will catch you
all again next week on Left Face.
Bye.
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