Mo and David are back with another episode of Muck You!, and they’re diving deep into some wild political waters! Kicking things off with a bang, they share the juicy scoop about the newly minted "American Muckrakers University," a name so cheeky that it could probably earn a few giggles at graduation. The duo gets into the nitty-gritty of the upcoming political landscape, with Mo announcing his plans to challenge Chuck Edwards in the House of Representatives—yes, you heard that right! As they trade barbs about accountability in politics, they point out the absurdities of politicians skirting responsibility while the folks who actually pay the price are just trying to get by. Tune in as they banter about everything from campaign strategies to the chaos of Republican antics, and how Mo plans to bring real change to Western North Carolina! It's a lively ride filled with laughs, insights, and a hefty dose of real-talk.
>> Muck U is back, and boy, do David and Mo have a wild ride for their listeners! They kick things off with some banter about their new venture—American Muckrakers University, cheekily named 'Muck You.' It's clear right off the bat that these two are not just your average podcasters; they’re ready to dive into the muck of politics with a playful twist. The episode is packed with juicy updates, including Mo's plans to run against Chuck Edwards in the House of Representatives, and they don't shy away from the drama surrounding local politicians. They dissect Chuck's recent antics, including a cocktail-fueled speech gone wrong where he reportedly slapped a constituent—classic! The duo highlights the absurdity of political double standards, especially when it comes to accountability. It’s a hilarious yet serious dive into the murky waters of Western North Carolina politics, with Mo emphasizing the need for genuine representation over millionaire politicians who are more out of touch than a flip phone in 2023. By the end, listeners are left not just laughing but also pondering the real implications of political actions on everyday folks.
The second half of the show brings Sam Newton, of the Democratic Governors Association. Sam lays out why Dem Govs get shit done, who is up in 2025, and how you can help.
>> The dynamic duo of Muck U, David and Mo, takes a deep dive into the political landscape of Western North Carolina in this episode. The conversation is lively and filled with humor, starting with their light-hearted announcement about launching 'Muck You' University—a name that promises to raise eyebrows and maybe even a few laughs. Mo reveals his intent to challenge Chuck Edwards in the upcoming elections, and they dig into the details of the district's shifting demographics and political climate. From Mo's past campaigning experiences to the challenges posed by recent natural disasters, the discussion weaves through the complexities of local politics, voter engagement, and the stark realities faced by many constituents. The banter is peppered with anecdotes about past political misadventures, including comparisons to the notorious Madison Cawthorn. David and Mo shine a light on the importance of accountability and how politicians often evade responsibility. As they dissect the absurdity of political drama against the backdrop of real issues affecting local families, listeners are treated to a mix of humor and serious political discourse that makes them think about who truly represents their interests.
>> In this episode of Muck You!, David and Mo tackle the wild world of Western North Carolina politics with their signature blend of humor and insight. The show opens with the cheeky introduction of their new university, 'Muck You,' setting the tone for an engaging discussion. They launch into Mo's upcoming political campaign against Chuck Edwards, discussing the shifting political landscape and the impact of recent events, including a notorious cocktail-fueled...
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Welcome to Muck U. This isDavid Wheeler with my co host, Mo
Davis.
Hey, David, how are you?
I'm great. How are you, my friend?
Hey. Sun shining. It's anotherbeautiful day here in western North
Carolina. So it doesn't getany better than this.
It sure is. It sure is. Haveyou heard the news about American
Muckrakers?
What's the name of the group?
They're called AmericanMuckrakers. No, no, evidently we
(00:25):
started, we started a university.
Oh, wow.
You know what it's called?
I have no idea.
Muck you.
Ah, perfect name for auniversity that'll look great on
a diploma hanging onsomebody's wall.
Exactly, exactly. Well, Iappreciate you taking some time.
I thought it'd be a good timein our history here. I think we're
at our 21st or 22nd episodeand pretty proud of what we've done
(00:50):
so far. But you've got anannouncement that I think all of
our listeners will beinterested in hearing. What, what's
up in your life this coming year?
Well, I'm hoping to kick ChuckEdwards back to the drive thru wind
at McDonald's. So I'm going torun against him and see if we can't
look after the people ofwestern North Carolina for a change
(01:10):
in the House of Representative.
Oh, well, I saw that CookPolitical Reports has this at a plus
5 GOP advantage. What are yourthoughts on the winnability of the
district?
Well, I think it's certainlydoable. The district, you know, when
I ran in 20, well, a couplethings about the 2020 race. Since
(01:31):
then, you know, our formerspeaker of the State House, Tim Moore,
who is from Cleveland county,where I was born and raised, they
had to carve out, they had tocreate a district for him, you know,
so he could go to Congress.They had to make up a district and
to do that they took part ofwhat was in NC11 back in 2020. And
(01:53):
that's it took used to in theold days, this district included
all of Polk county and half ofRutherford, the western half. So
to make a district for TimMoore to win and go represent, they
took all of Rutherford and theeastern half of Polk and put it in
that new district. So, youknow, those were, you know, bright
(02:14):
red areas that got pulled outof this district, which makes it,
you know, it's still like,like you said, the Cook Political
Report says it's an R +5,which is better than it was, you
know, back in the day. Andthen I think the other big difference,
at least I hope you know, theway things go around here, you never
know. 2020, you know, the. Theweek after the primary in March of
(02:36):
2020 is suddenly when in theheadlines, you know, all we heard
about was Covid. And it reallyimpacted, I think, again, I think
the Democrats did the rightthing being responsible and not putting
people at risk over apolitical campaign. But, you know,
it made it impossible to reacha lot of parts of western North Carolina
where the only way to connectwith people out in some of the rural
(02:57):
counties is to be there. SoI'm hoping this time around we can.
We can, we can actually dothat. I know it was. It was, you
know, handicap not being ableto do it in 2020. I know in the last
race, Caleb Rudow. TheHurricane Helene hit September 27,
which is just a couple ofweeks before election Day, which
made it difficult to campaign.I'm hoping this time around there
(03:20):
won't be some other calam.But, you know, the way things go
around here, we've gone fromhurricane from. From COVID to Hurricane
Helene. We had a hail stormlast week. We had an earthquake over
the weekend. So, hell, whoknows what's going to happen between
now and 2026.
Yeah. And there was anotherearthquake over the weekend. I. It
was reported in the Charlottenewspaper. And. And Corey Valencourt
(03:43):
from Smoky Mountain News isfollowing the story of Chuck Edwards
assaulting a guy. The topheadlines on that are he spoke, evidently
walked to the podium with acocktail in his hand. So he'd been
drinking, had cocktails whilehe was speaking, and then got down
from the podium after bashingthe intelligence of the Rotarians
(04:06):
that were at this event bymaking it a partisan speech instead
of a speech about recovery inwestern North Carolina. From everything,
all the reports that I'veread, people were offended and somebody
gave him a piece of theirmind, and Chuck slapped him on the
back, evidently with aclipboard or something like that.
(04:28):
The guy filed a charge, andthen the men in blue, doing what
they normally do, is theyhelped it cover up for one of theirs.
So once again, Chuck Edwards,just like Madison Cawthorn, you remember
all this shit that MadisonCawthee tried to bring a gun into
the Asheville airport. Hebrought knives into schools. He sped,
(04:48):
you know, sometimes 20 to 30miles an hour over the speed limit,
and he never was heldaccountable. So once again, Chuck,
in the tradition of MadisonCawthorn, is not being held accountable.
And I just. I just find thatnot only nauseating, but infuriating
that these guys get away withthis shit all the time. What Are
your thoughts on all this, Mo?
Well, I agree. I mean, ChuckEdwards ought to be up in Washington
(05:11):
pounding the pavement for hisconstituents rather than down here
in Asheville pounding hisconstituents. Yeah, but you're right.
I mean, it's not, you know, one.
Of the things I used to be inthe event business, and one of our
rules of thumb was don't killthe client. And, you know, beating
up voters is probably not agood way to get votes.
(05:32):
Yeah, I never realized thatthe Rotary Club was the fight club,
but, yeah, quite, quite anevent on, on Saturday night. But
you're right about, you know,the comparison with Cawthorn. Apparently,
if you're a Republicancongressman means you never have
to take responsibility foryour own actions and you're never
held accountable. Anyway,Cawthorn's continued. In addition
(05:53):
to all the crap he did here,you probably saw, now he's down in
Florida and he rear ended astate trooper and again got a, you
know, slap on the wrist and noreal consequences for his act. But,
you know, if you're in aleadership position, you ought to.
You ought to be responsibleand accountable. And clearly our.
The members that we send toCongress from here aren't.
(06:14):
Yeah, and the other thing thatkills me is they never apologize.
You know, Chuck Edwards couldhave 86 this entire episode by going
to that guy's house on Sundaymorning and apologizing face to face,
man to man, and say, listen,I, you know, I, I got out of control
last night. Apologize for thatand, and I owe you an apology. Instead,
(06:35):
deny. They put out a pressrelease on Saturday night saying
the other guy started it andhe was drunk. So, you know, they're
just, they're using their ownplaybook of redirection when they're,
you know, at. At fault. And,you know, it's just another indication
of how much old lap dog ChuckEdwards is for Trump. I mean, he
(06:56):
just, he uses his playbook.And I, I just hope you can. You.
You may have a primary, itlooks like. Sounds like. So I hope
you get through that primaryand then whoop this guy in the fall
of 2020.
Well, we're going to give itour best shot. But again, you're
right. Remember, TeddyRoosevelt said, the buck stops here.
And, you know, the currentstate of affairs on the Republican
(07:18):
side is past the buck andnever being responsible. We can do
better than that.
I think you can, too. And, youknow, I just, I keep going back to
2020, and folks think aboutthis. If, if we had gotten rid of
Cawthorne and Mo, had Won howdifferent things would be in this
part of the state. We'd have amember of Congress that actually
gives a shit, that shows up,that gets stuff done and knows it's
(07:41):
not all about him all thetime. And it's a servant lever leader.
I mean you, you've been ateacher, you've been a judge, you've
been in the Jag and you've hadpeople under your command and good
leadership knows it's notabout you. So what are you going
to do to win this mo? I meanwhat, what's the strategy and how
do you think, how do you thinkyou can beat Edwards?
(08:03):
Well, I think he's going tobeat himself if you look at the policies
that are, you know, that he'sbehind. That's like when he was at
AV Tech, remember he stood upthere and said, you know that really
the Democrats were fearmongering about cuts to Medicaid.
Well, look at what they passedthis week, you know that out of committee,
you know, in order to get taxbreaks for multimillionaires like
(08:24):
Chuck Edwards, people on thebottom rungs of the ladder are going
to lose. Healthcare coverage,nutritional assistance, Head Start,
Meals on Wheels. And it'sordinary people are paying the price
for elites like Chuck Edwardsto live their lavish lifestyle. And
it's more for them and lessfor, for us. And I think that's gonna,
(08:46):
you know, as people feel thepain, I think that R +5 is going
to get closer and closer andcloser. You know, when I ran in 2020,
I got the second highestnumber of votes since he, Shuler
won a number of years ago. SoI had about 191,000 people that showed
up to vote for me. I mean if Ican get 87% of those people to show
(09:08):
up again, we win the seat. Sowe got to have a good strong turnout
on the Democratic side. Butagain, if you look at the makeup
of this district, if everyregistered Democrat showed up to
vote and I got all thosevotes, I would lose. So it's going
to take more than blue votesto win this, this race. So we've
(09:29):
got to reach out, we've gotto, we got to open up the aperture
to a broader audience. And Ithink when we talk about Medicaid
and you know, getting rid offema, getting rid of the Department
of Education, you know, theseare things that are going to hurt
not just Democrats, butRepublicans and independents and
folks that are just tuned outof the political process. So I'm
hoping that's going tomotivate people to, to turn out and
(09:52):
what will be an off yearelection, I mean, my best guess is
probably be somewhere around330,000 votes, Cap. So we need folks
that are wanting to have abetter future for themselves and
their families to show up andvote and not get distracted by, you
know, the other side's reallygood with one hand going, oh, you
(10:13):
get those scary immigrants andoh, you got trans women and you know,
all these social issues theyuse to distract ordinary folks, while
with the other hand they'repicking their pockets. So we're going
to concentrate on appealing tofolks that aren't like Chuck Edwards,
that aren't worth $16.6million and that work for a living.
(10:34):
Because I don't know if yousaw there was an article in the last
day or two saying that 60% ofAmerican households can't afford
to live a minimum, a minimum,a minimal quality of life. They can't
afford it. And in thisdistrict, about one out of every
five kids below the age of 18are living below the poverty line.
(10:54):
So taking away their healthcare, taking away food, taking away
support for their schools,that's not good for western North
Carolina. So we're going to,we're going to focus, you know, trying
to get people not to getdistracted by fear tactics on issues
that don't impact their dailylife and to focus on the ones that
really do matter. And we'regoing to go to Washington and try
(11:17):
to, rather than fight thepeople, we're going to fight for
the people.
Yeah, that's a good way to winis not to beat up other, beat up
your voters. I think the lastthing western North Carolina needs
is another millionaire inWashington. We've had, out of the
last three, we've had threemillionaires. And that's got to be
pounded home. I think that weneed somebody that actually understands
(11:38):
what's going on in people'slives. And, and Chuck, Chuck Edwards
is probably as disconnectedfrom reality as, as Madison Cawthorn
was.
Well, I'll take a look at it.You can go back and look at Cawthorn
or look at Chuck Edwards.Folks can go to the Federal Election
Commission website and theyhave the financial data. It's like
(11:59):
for me, I'll have to registerwith the FEC here soon and you have
to submit regular reports onwhere you're getting your money and
where you're spending it. Andif you look at Chuck, I think it
was 82% of the money he raisedin 2024 came from big donors and
pack and two point, I think itwas 2.8% came from small donors.
That's people that gave $200or less. But, I mean, take, for example,
(12:22):
General Dynamic. I mean, doyou think that General Dynamics is
investing in Chuck Edwardsbecause they love western North Carolina
or Steve Wynn, the billionairecasino owner out in Nevada? You know,
is he investing in ChuckEdwards because he loves western
North Carolina? Hell, no.They're. They're buying access. You
know, I hear a lot of peoplesay that, you know, they've tried
(12:43):
to contact Chuck, you know,particularly since Hurricane Helene.
Most never hear anything back.And those that do, it's usually a
form response. But I guaranteeyou General Dynamics or Steve Wynn
can pick up the phone andprobably talk to Chuck personally.
Yeah, and I'm on the firstring as well. Yeah, I mean, we've
invited him to this show, andwe're issuing that invitation again
(13:05):
to have a civil discussion.It's not going to be a. A nasty discussion
at all. But I don't know,he's. He's afraid of engaging with
reality, and. And these guys.I just don't understand it. Any good
politician would turn thatsituation like Buttigieg, you know,
he goes on Fox all the time,and he turns those stupid questions
they have upside down. And,you know, a good friend of mine lives
(13:27):
in Ohio, and he's in the. He'sin the insurance finance business.
And. And he's kind of the lastguy as a lawyer, last guy that I
would think he would beimpressed with. Pete Buttigieg. And
out of the blue the other day,he texted me a link to Buddha judge's
speech in Iowa saying this wasunbelievable. Incredible was the
(13:49):
word he used. All right, so,you know, a good politician turns
that stuff side up, turns itsideways and to your advantage, and
I don't understand why folksdon't do that. So. But how much.
How much. How much did Chuckraise last time around? Do you remember
from.
I don't recall. I just. Iremember the biggest chunk came from.
I think it was $390,000 froma. A pack that is run by Kevin McCarthy.
(14:15):
Oh, geez.
And again, you know, KevinMcCarthy's not dumping $390,000 into
Western North Carolina becausehe loves the mountains.
Right.
He's doing it because hewants, you know, somebody in Washington
that he can tell them what todo, and they'll salute and say, yes,
sir, and do it. Yeah, I think,you know, another. Another reason
I'm running is We've gotalmost 50,000 veterans that live
(14:36):
in western North Carolina, andour VA hospital, which, you Know,
where I'm sitting right now isabout a mile from the VA hospital,
and that's where I go to getmy health care. There are 170 VA
hospitals around the country.And the one here in Asheville, the
Patient Satisfaction Survey,it's ranked number two in America.
Wow. So we get greathealthcare at the va and Chuck, you
(14:58):
know, wants to defund the va.You know, he was defending the, I
think it was a 17% cut to theVA staffing, saying, you know, that
was going to make it moreeffective and more efficient. If
you, you know, if you believethat bullshit, you know, go down
to your high school and tellthe football coach that, hey, to
make your team more effectiveand efficient, just put nine players
(15:18):
on the field this year and seehow that goes. So, you know, cutting
the VA and getting the va,I've made the pledge that when I
get to Congress, I'm going todecline the congressional health
care plan and I'm going tocontinue getting my care at the Charles
George VA Medical Center. So,you know, when I'm talking to veterans,
this isn't just lip service.You know, I'm in it with you. And
(15:41):
I'm going to hopefully get aseat on the Veterans Affairs Committee
and also on the NaturalResources Committee. Veterans Affairs
Committee. I can fight for theva. And on natural resources, they're
the gatekeeper and pursekeeper for our national parks and
our national forests, whichagain, are getting cut by Chuck Edwards
and his friends so that theyget tax break. And we already had
(16:03):
a $32 billion backlog ofmaintenance in our national parks
and national forests. Andthat's before Hurricane Helene hit.
So that's the key to oureconomy around here is tourism. You
go downtown in Nashville on aSaturday night, now you. Not only
can you find a parking place,you can walk in a restaurant without
a reservation and get a table.And that's not going to change until,
(16:24):
you know, tourists are comingback. And right now, the Blue Ridge
Parkway, large segments arestill closed. You know, we got to
take care of our nationalparks and national forest and they
need more, not less.
Yeah. And ATR is AppalachianTrail, is. Sections are closed. Realize
that's not a Park foundationissue, but still, some federal money
(16:47):
in there on some work programswould open that back up. And yeah,
you're absolutely right. It'sessential. Even my little small town
up here in Spruce Pineapple,you know, we're down the road from
Rhone Mountain in the ATTrail, and the, you know, the community
has seen a huge drop off inovernighters coming down or asking
to be brought down from Roanfor the night. And those things matter.
But I, you know, I think, Ithink you're talking about the right
(17:10):
things. I think it's going totake a lot of work and raise a lot
of Money. You raised 2.3 lasttime, which that was a pretty good
chunk of change. And, andI'll, I bet you with help of our
listeners and others, we can,we can broach that or beat that amount
this time around. And sowe'll, we'll have more on this down
the road. MO has notofficially filed yet, so we're not
(17:32):
asking for donations. But keepan eye on this space. And Mo, thanks
for the update on your career move.
Yeah, absolutely. Stay tuned.
This is David Wheeler withAmerican Muckrakers. We'll be right
back after this message. Andwe're hoping you'll take a look at
our website and consider adonation today@americanmuckrakers.com
(17:55):
well, we're fortunate today to have.
Another great guest on MuckYou! Joining David and I. It's Sam
Newton is the communicationsdirector for the Democratic Democratic
Governors association, whichright now there are, I believe, 23
Democratic governors,including our own Josh Stein here
in North Carolina. I foundout, you know, doing a little research,
(18:17):
Sam and I have a lot incommon. We both attended George Washington
university up in D.C. and wealso have a, an educational connection
to the Dublin where Samattended the Clinton Institute at
the University College inDublin, which if you ever get a chance
to go to Ireland, it's abeautiful place. But my connection
(18:39):
is when I was there in Dublin,I did the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl
where you spend two and a halfhours hitting different pubs and
drinking. And at the endthere's a quiz and whoever wins the
quiz gets a T shirt. And I wasproud to come back to America with
my Dublin Literary Pub Crawl Tshirt. So, Sam, thanks for thanks
(19:00):
for joining us today.
Yeah, thanks so much forhaving me on, colonel I'm excited
to be here. And I did notrealize that we were both GW grads.
And what a coincidence that weboth were in Dublin. I think next
time we do this, we shouldjust be at a pub over there having
a Guinness. How about that?
Oh, I agree. Yeah, I remember,I think it was I ended up in a tie
with a Canadian guy. And sothe tiebreaker question was about
(19:24):
which of I think it's KittyKiernan, which of her parents owned
the Dukes, which was an oldpub there where Michael Collins,
the revolutionary hung out.And turned out it was her mother
and the other guy, I guessedthe father. So I came home with the
T shirt and the Canadian guywent home empty handed. So.
(19:44):
Well, I'm definitely nevergoing based off that alone, I'm definitely
never going up against you ontrivia, or at least we could be.
Or, or at least I'm going tobe on your team.
How about that?
All right.
All right. Well, I'm glad tohave you on the team and thanks for
the work you're doing. I mean,it's, the times we're living in are
really, you know, it'd be hardto fathom if you go back 10 or 20
years and describe what we'reliving today, people would think
(20:07):
you're, you should becommitted. But you saw where the
last, I guess yesterday theRepublicans passed the big beautiful
bill through the committees.And I was really surprised. I'm finding
myself more and more peoplethat I've just historically disagreed
with agreeing with. And it wasJosh Hawley who said this bill is,
(20:29):
quote, to quote him, taxingthe poor to give to the rich and
a lot of it's going to getdumped back on the states and on,
on the governors. And I'm justcurious, on, from a gov, the governor's
perspective, what's their takeon this big beautiful bill that's
making its way through Congress?
(20:51):
Yeah, thank you so much forbringing that up. And it does feel
like we're living in chaotictimes. And that really seems like
what you get when DonaldTrump's in the White House and Republicans
are in Congress. You know, Ibelieve that Democrats are the party
that's looking out for themiddle class and working people.
And this bill would do theexact opposite. And it's pretty frustrating
because Donald Trump won on apromise to lower costs on day one.
(21:14):
But since he's been in office,the terrorists have jacked up costs.
And now what this bill isgoing to do is rip people off health
care. And earlier this week,all 23 Democratic governors who represent
a majority of the USpopulation banded together and put
together a statement speakingout about how these cuts to Medicaid
and to SNAP would hurt thepeople in their states. And I think
(21:35):
it was really important thatthey did this for two reasons. I
think the first is a lot ofThe Republicans in D.C. are just
trying to say, oh, we're justshifting the costs back to the states.
There's not going to be cuts.But what the Democratic governors
who actually work across theaisle and our executives and have
to balance budgets is theysaid that's not true at all. The
notion that this is going tobe anything other than massive cuts
(21:58):
is ridiculous because it's notpossible to backfill this funding
with state resources. And sopeople are going to lose health care.
And you guys are in NorthCarolina, where Governor Cooper,
it took him years, but he gotit done and expanded Medicaid. I
believe there's over 600,000people on Medicaid in North Carolina
right now. It's been a hugesuccess. And this is going to be
(22:21):
particularly devastating forrural communities. Like, let's just
zero in. When Medicaid getsripped away, people lose their health
care. Less people in ruralcommunities are going to start going
to those hospitals. The ruralhospitals and health clinics are
going to close. We've seenthis in Republican states that haven't
expanded Medicaid. They haverural hospitals closure crisis. The
(22:44):
doctors and the nurses leavethose communities that that's losing
customers for smallbusinesses. It's a hit to the local
economy. And then even worse,grandparents, parents and kids have
to drive hours to get thehealth care that they need. Or even
worse, they won't get it atall. And so it's important that we
are talking about this everysingle day and holding the Republicans
(23:06):
accountable. And you can betthat if this bill becomes law, Americans
are going to be very angrywhen their health care is getting
ripped away. And we're goingto be holding the Republicans running
for Governor in the 38 raceswe have this year and next accountable.
And we're going to be makingthis a really big issue.
Yeah, it's a big deal here inwestern North Carolina. You know,
as you know, we got hit hardby Hurricane Helene, and it's going
(23:29):
to take a long time to getback to whatever the new normal is
going to be. But, you know,Donald Trump came down, said, you
know, he's going to buildback, you know, bigger and more beautiful
than ever. And people here arestill waiting. And the plan is to
eliminate fema. And I'll behonest with you, you know, fema,
(23:49):
the response was not perfect,but it was pretty damn good from,
from what I saw. And thisnotion of, of, you know, getting
rid of FEMA and dumping thatback on the states. North Carolina,
the mountains here, have anestimated $60 billion of damage from
Hurricane Aline. And our statebudget is $32 billion a year. So
(24:14):
if this got dumped on thestates, it would take two years of,
you know, if you did nothingelse in government, it would take
two years of the budget tocover the damage here. So Josh Stein
has spent a lot of time outhere in western North Carolina. And
I know folks appreciate it,but what are the governors saying
about this proposal to dump,to dump FEMA and make the states
(24:36):
pick up the disaster relief?
I'm glad you brought that upbecause this is really one of those
issues that should not beabout Republicans or Democrats. I
think everyone can agree,especially those hardest hit by these
devastating natural disastersthat just put the politics aside,
do the right thing and helppeople out. And I think Governor
(24:57):
Beshear in Kentucky is someonewho has been very outspoken about
the need to protect FEMA andhas been honest about the fact that
he's worked with the Trumpadministration to help eastern Kentucky
recover from the floods andhelp western Kentucky recover from
the tornadoes. And I know youguys are. I've been to Asheville
before. I think it'sbeautiful. Granted, I was mostly
(25:18):
there just for the hiking. Ithink that's why a lot of people
go there and probably livethere. So I hope you guys are doing
okay. It's great to see thatGovernor Stein has made it a top
focus. That's one of the bigthings he campaigned on. And I know
it was his day one priority. Ithink I saw just recently that he
announced $55 million ingrants for more than 2,000 Western
(25:39):
North Carolina businesses. SoI hope people continue to get the
help that they need. And ifDonald Trump tries to get rid of
FEMA and makes these hugecuts, that's just not going to hurt.
That's going to hurt people inred states and blue states. And so
it just really can't bepolitical. And it is the job of Democratic
governors to work with anyoneto deliver results. And that's exactly
(26:01):
what they do. And I thinkthat's why you've seen Democratic
governors have electoralsuccess, including in seven states
that Donald Trump won in 2024in states like North Carolina, as
you know, with Governor Stein.But then when they're in office,
they actually deliver realresults, too.
Well, Sam, Governor Stein isdoing a great job and we're big fans
(26:25):
of him, Mo and I. And, and,you know, folks think FEMA is not
doing their job. They shouldsee the 27 trucks out here that are
loading debris off statehighways and out of private property.
Governor Stein went to bat forfolks that have damage on their own
(26:47):
private property. And he'sgetting debris removed with FEMA
money. And that's in my littlecounty here. The county has. They
very smartly gave the money tothe county. The county. $20 million
for this small county, about12,000 people, Mitchell County. $20
million is being used to helpremove debris. So if folks think
(27:11):
Democrats and Democratgovernors aren't effective, they
aren't. They aren't living onthe same planet. I do, and I live
in this community and I seethese trucks all the time. I give
every one of them a thumbs upbecause thank goodness they're here
doing that. And thank goodnessJosh Stein is working his ass off
for us out here in westernNorth Carolina. But my question for
(27:32):
you, Sam, after my littlerant, is why is it that the Democrat
governor DNA is to get doneand the Republican DNA is drama and
politics? You look at Florida,you know DeSantis, he's admired or
enmeshed in a, in acontroversy around $10 million of
(27:54):
state money that his wife gotit for her foundation. J.B. pritzker
doesn't have those problems inIllinois. Governor Hochul doesn't
have crap like that going onup in New York. Why is it that the
Democrats have to be theadults in the room all the time,
but then we get all the blamewhen, you know, when election time
(28:15):
comes around?
You know, I think that is agreat question and I'm glad you brought
it up. I'm happy to talk aboutthe contrast between Democratic governors
and Republican governors everysingle day. One way I like to think
of it is function versusdysfunction or freedom versus extremism.
Right. You see Democraticgovernors focusing on creating jobs
(28:38):
for people whether or not theyhave a college degree. When Governor
Josh Shapiro went to office,one of the first things he did is
he got rid of a requirement, acollege degree requirement for tens
of thousands of stategovernment jobs. That created a bunch
of opportunity for people withall sorts of backgrounds to get a
good paying job and supporttheir family. Governor Hochul is
someone who is leading thenation by expanding prenatal care
(29:01):
for mothers. And in Kansas,Governor Kelly is helping families
out with the high cost ofgroceries by she got rid of, she
worked with Republicans toeliminate the grocery tax. That's
saving Kansas families anaverage of around 500 bucks a year.
And so Democratic governors doremain very laser focused on those
(29:22):
kitchen table issues that makepeople's lives better every single
day. And it's not just goodpolicy, it is good politics. And
we, I think, have hadelectoral success at the state level
because the Democraticgovernors are able to block out the
noise and really zero in onthose issues and then drive the contrast
with the Republicans, as yousaid, who, you know, really do feel
(29:46):
way more concentrated ondividing us, banning abortion. And
I think Governor Walz said itgreat. He was our chair in 2024 before
he was on the ticket when hewas saying that in Minnesota we're
banning hunger while they'rebanning books. Right. He was waking
up every day and he was makingit easier for kids to get free meals
(30:07):
at schools, which is, youknow, making sure kids don't get
hungry. But it's alsobasically a tax cut for middle class
families every single day whodon't need to worry about how they're
going to pay for their kidslunch. But the Republicans were focused
on all these divisive andchaotic culture wars. And so that's
a contrast that we're talkingabout every single day, the dga and
one that we're going to betalking about, the two big races
(30:28):
we have this year in Virginiaand New Jersey, which I'd be happy
to talk about, too.
Yeah. And that was going to bemy next question. You know, Tom Vilsack's
a very good friend of mine andI remember in his first election,
I think it was 98, the DGAcame in in October and saved his
ass with serious advice thatput him over the top. Who are our
(30:54):
candidates in this in NewJersey and in the other election
in Virginia this year?
For sure, I'll start inVirginia because we have a very strong
Democratic nominee and formerCongresswoman Abigail Spanberger.
She is someone who's alwaysput public service first and always
(31:15):
put Virginia first and justfocusing on doing the right thing
and getting real results,whether that's when she was a federal
law enforcement officer or inthe CIA focusing on keeping families
safe or when she was inCongress and was rated the most bipartisan
member of Congress in Virginiabecause she was working across the
aisle to help veterans andhelp strengthen Social Security.
(31:39):
And that's going to be a hugecontrast with the Republican who's
running, who's the lieutenantgovernor, Winsome Earl Sears, who,
you know, Donald Trump andElon Musk have put so many federal
jobs. That's having a hugeimpact in Virginia. People are in
Virginia where the economy istanking because of it. And Winsome
(32:02):
Earl Sears said it's not. Shedoesn't understand why it's a huge,
huge thing that people arelosing jobs. What are you talking
about? Everyone thinks theirjob's a huge deal. That's how you
pay your bills, that's how yousupport your family, that's how you
pay for your housing. Whensomeone loses their job, that is
a huge deal. And it's justabsolutely outrageous that someone's
running for governor as aRepublican in Virginia. But one supporting
(32:24):
this agenda that is rippingaway jobs from people in Virginia,
but then on the back endbasically mocking their concerns
about it. So it's going to bea close race. Virginia is always
close. There's going to be alot of eyes on it. We can't take
anything for granted, but wedo have a strong candidate and former
Congresswoman Spanberger,who's going to put Virginia first
and focus on affordability,whether it's health care or housing,
(32:47):
funding public schools andkeeping families safe first. Winsome
Earl Sears, who would drag thestate backwards, doesn't seem to
care about Virginia jobs andhas a record of supporting abortion
bans.
And would she be the firstfemale governor as well?
Yes.
Virginia. Yeah, that's cool.
And. Yeah, it is cool. Andright now, just as a quick side point,
(33:09):
we have eight women Democraticgovernors, which is historic and
the most we've ever had. Andso this is a big opportunity to add
number nine.
All right. And then Jersey.
Yeah, yeah. And then going upto New Jersey real quick, there still
is a primary. The DGA isneutral. In open Democratic primaries,
we have a big benchmark ofvery qualified leaders. We're going
(33:31):
to let the voters sort it out,but we're confident, no matter who
wins, we're going to have astrong nominee that's focused on
affordability and making lifebetter for people in New Jersey and
will also stand up to thechaos that's happening from Donald
Trump. And Republicans in D.C.like fighting to protect Medicaid
and SNAP and standing up forNew Jersey schools. And then, in
(33:53):
contrast, on the Republicanside, there's Jack Cittarelli, who's
want, who's run and lostbefore, and he has a few other opponents.
Cittarelli did get the Trumpendorsement this week, but I think
it came a little too late tosettle out the primary. There's still
a ton of infighting there, andthey're all trying to see who can
hug Trump the most. And thatjust shows that whoever wins that
(34:15):
Republican nomination will besomeone who's extreme and out of
touch and really just caresmore about loyalty to Trump than
New Jersey. So those are ourtwo really big races this year in
Virginia and New Jersey, andwe're excited about them.
Yeah. And the Democrat, Ihope, will build upon my good friend
Phil Murphy's hard work. Ithink Phil gets a lot of crap, but
(34:39):
people don't realize how muchTrump is messing with Jersey these
days because he wants to andbecause he wants to unsettle things
there. But over to you moving.
And I would just say sorry tojump in real quick, Governor Murphy
has been chair of the DGAtwice. He's done an outstanding job.
And I think a lot of peoplekind of forget that when he became
(35:01):
governor, he inherited a totaldisaster from Chris Christie. And
he really, he really got thestate back on track, focusing on
restoring fiscal sanity,getting credit upgrades, raising
the minimum wage, cuttingtaxes for the middle class. He's
been a really strong exampleof how a Democratic governor can
come in and kind of clean upthe mess of these Republicans.
(35:22):
Yeah. And again, no drama.Just get shit done, move on. Let's
make things work for thepeople. And, you know, God bless
Phil. He's a good guy.
Hey, Sam. There's a story onCBS News this week saying that 60%
of American households can'tafford a minimal quality of life,
you know, much less try tolive the American dream. How did
(35:44):
we manage to lose the bubbleon being the party that is for the,
for the working class, and howdo we get that back?
You know, that's somethingworth thinking about every day. So
I think it's a fair question.I'll be honest. I don't know. I have
the exact answer of how we, ofhow we seem to have lost right now,
(36:05):
that people don't associateDemocrats with being the party of
the middle class, but we needto right now. I think there's a real
opportunity focusing on, onthe economy every single day. Going
back to what I said at thetop, Donald Trump ran on a promise
to lower costs on day one.Since then, he's done nothing but
raise costs and try to ripaway health care. And so there's
(36:25):
a huge opening for Democrats,I think, especially Democratic governors,
to focus on being the leaderswho are trying to make life better
for the middle class andworking class people. And, you know,
a lot of our Democraticgovernors are talking about affordability
every single day. I mentionedGovernor Kelly cutting the grocery
tax. Governor Whitmer won areally tough reelection in 2022 by
(36:49):
10 points because she wastalking about making child care more
affordable. She was talkingabout bringing American manufacturing
jobs back from China intoMichigan, which is home, which was
the birthplace of the middleclass in many ways. And she was talking
about tuition free communitycollege. And so it is an important
thing that we need to bethinking about. And I think for people
(37:11):
who are out there, aren'ttotally sure where to look or what
to do at the dga, we say lookto the states, look to the Democratic
governors. We have 38 racesover the next two years. We have
23 Democratic governors whoare waking up every day and delivering
on the economy, delivering onpublic education, delivering on health
care. They are strongexecutives who truly do care about
(37:33):
the middle class and they getshit done. And so I think that is
the best path forward andwhere we need to look.
Well, that's terrific. And ourguest today has been Sam Newton with
the Democratic GovernorsAssociation. And our special thanks
to Julia Hammelberg forhelping set this up. Sam, if folks
want to donate to thesegovernors, what's the best way to
(37:54):
do it?
You should text demgov to30201 and sign up and join the DGA
and you'll get text from us.And you can also go to our website,
which is.
All right, terrific. Thankyou, Sam. Thank you, Mo. This has
been muck you.
Thanks so much for having me on.
Thanks, Sam. Really appreciate it.
(38:16):
This has been muck you. Cohosted by Colonel Mo Davis in Asheville,
North Carolina, and DavidWheeler in Spruce Pine, North Carolina.
Thanks to our guest today, SamNewton from the Democratic Governors
Association. Learn more aboutthe DGA at Democratic Governors Document.
Special thanks to JuliaHammelberg of the DGA for her help
with this episode. Muck YOU isproduced by American Muckrakers.
(38:39):
Copyright 2025. Follow us onBlue sky under AmericanMokrakers.com
and onsubstack@AmericanMokrakers.substack.com you
can learn more anddonate@AmericanMokrakers.com David
and Mo hope y' all come backsoon for a new episode. And remember
to never take shit fromanyone, especially Trump.
Welcome to Muck U. This isDavid Wheeler with my co host, Mo
Davis.
Hey, David, how are you?
I'm great. How are you, my friend?
Hey. Sun shining. It's anotherbeautiful day here in western North
Carolina. So it doesn't getany better than this.
It sure is. It sure is. Haveyou heard the news about American
Muckrakers?
What's the name of the group?
They're called AmericanMuckrakers. No, no, evidently we
(00:25):
started, we started a university.
Oh, wow.
You know what it's called?
I have no idea.
Muck you.
Ah, perfect name for auniversity that'll look great on
a diploma hanging onsomebody's wall.
Exactly, exactly. Well, Iappreciate you taking some time.
I thought it'd be a good timein our history here. I think we're
at our 21st or 22nd episodeand pretty proud of what we've done
(00:50):
so far. But you've got anannouncement that I think all of
our listeners will beinterested in hearing. What, what's
up in your life this coming year?
Well, I'm hoping to kick ChuckEdwards back to the drive thru wind
at McDonald's. So I'm going torun against him and see if we can't
look after the people ofwestern North Carolina for a change
(01:10):
in the House of Representative.
Oh, well, I saw that CookPolitical Reports has this at a plus
5 GOP advantage. What are yourthoughts on the winnability of the
district?
Well, I think it's certainlydoable. The district, you know, when
I ran in 20, well, a couplethings about the 2020 race. Since
(01:31):
then, you know, our formerspeaker of the State House, Tim Moore,
who is from Cleveland county,where I was born and raised, they
had to carve out, they had tocreate a district for him, you know,
so he could go to Congress.They had to make up a district and
to do that they took part ofwhat was in NC11 back in 2020. And
(01:53):
that's it took used to in theold days, this district included
all of Polk county and half ofRutherford, the western half. So
to make a district for TimMoore to win and go represent, they
took all of Rutherford and theeastern half of Polk and put it in
that new district. So, youknow, those were, you know, bright
(02:14):
red areas that got pulled outof this district, which makes it,
you know, it's still like,like you said, the Cook Political
Report says it's an R +5,which is better than it was, you
know, back in the day. Andthen I think the other big difference,
at least I hope you know, theway things go around here, you never
know. 2020, you know, the. Theweek after the primary in March of
(02:36):
2020 is suddenly when in theheadlines, you know, all we heard
about was Covid. And it reallyimpacted, I think, again, I think
the Democrats did the rightthing being responsible and not putting
people at risk over apolitical campaign. But, you know,
it made it impossible to reacha lot of parts of western North Carolina
where the only way to connectwith people out in some of the rural
(02:57):
counties is to be there. SoI'm hoping this time around we can.
We can, we can actually dothat. I know it was. It was, you
know, handicap not being ableto do it in 2020. I know in the last
race, Caleb Rudow. TheHurricane Helene hit September 27,
which is just a couple ofweeks before election Day, which
made it difficult to campaign.I'm hoping this time around there
(03:20):
won't be some other calam.But, you know, the way things go
around here, we've gone fromhurricane from. From COVID to Hurricane
Helene. We had a hail stormlast week. We had an earthquake over
the weekend. So, hell, whoknows what's going to happen between
now and 2026.
Yeah. And there was anotherearthquake over the weekend. I. It
was reported in the Charlottenewspaper. And. And Corey Valencourt
(03:43):
from Smoky Mountain News isfollowing the story of Chuck Edwards
assaulting a guy. The topheadlines on that are he spoke, evidently
walked to the podium with acocktail in his hand. So he'd been
drinking, had cocktails whilehe was speaking, and then got down
from the podium after bashingthe intelligence of the Rotarians
(04:06):
that were at this event bymaking it a partisan speech instead
of a speech about recovery inwestern North Carolina. From everything,
all the reports that I'veread, people were offended and somebody
gave him a piece of theirmind, and Chuck slapped him on the
back, evidently with aclipboard or something like that.
(04:28):
The guy filed a charge, andthen the men in blue, doing what
they normally do, is theyhelped it cover up for one of theirs.
So once again, Chuck Edwards,just like Madison Cawthorn, you remember
all this shit that MadisonCawthee tried to bring a gun into
the Asheville airport. Hebrought knives into schools. He sped,
(04:48):
you know, sometimes 20 to 30miles an hour over the speed limit,
and he never was heldaccountable. So once again, Chuck,
in the tradition of MadisonCawthorn, is not being held accountable.
And I just. I just find thatnot only nauseating, but infuriating
that these guys get away withthis shit all the time. What Are
your thoughts on all this, Mo?
Well, I agree. I mean, ChuckEdwards ought to be up in Washington
(05:11):
pounding the pavement for hisconstituents rather than down here
in Asheville pounding hisconstituents. Yeah, but you're right.
I mean, it's not, you know, one.
Of the things I used to be inthe event business, and one of our
rules of thumb was don't killthe client. And, you know, beating
up voters is probably not agood way to get votes.
(05:32):
Yeah, I never realized thatthe Rotary Club was the fight club,
but, yeah, quite, quite anevent on, on Saturday night. But
you're right about, you know,the comparison with Cawthorn. Apparently,
if you're a Republicancongressman means you never have
to take responsibility foryour own actions and you're never
held accountable. Anyway,Cawthorn's continued. In addition
(05:53):
to all the crap he did here,you probably saw, now he's down in
Florida and he rear ended astate trooper and again got a, you
know, slap on the wrist and noreal consequences for his act. But,
you know, if you're in aleadership position, you ought to.
You ought to be responsibleand accountable. And clearly our.
The members that we send toCongress from here aren't.
(06:14):
Yeah, and the other thing thatkills me is they never apologize.
You know, Chuck Edwards couldhave 86 this entire episode by going
to that guy's house on Sundaymorning and apologizing face to face,
man to man, and say, listen,I, you know, I, I got out of control
last night. Apologize for thatand, and I owe you an apology. Instead,
(06:35):
deny. They put out a pressrelease on Saturday night saying
the other guy started it andhe was drunk. So, you know, they're
just, they're using their ownplaybook of redirection when they're,
you know, at. At fault. And,you know, it's just another indication
of how much old lap dog ChuckEdwards is for Trump. I mean, he
(06:56):
just, he uses his playbook.And I, I just hope you can. You.
You may have a primary, itlooks like. Sounds like. So I hope
you get through that primaryand then whoop this guy in the fall
of 2020.
Well, we're going to give itour best shot. But again, you're
right. Remember, TeddyRoosevelt said, the buck stops here.
And, you know, the currentstate of affairs on the Republican
(07:18):
side is past the buck andnever being responsible. We can do
better than that.
I think you can, too. And, youknow, I just, I keep going back to
2020, and folks think aboutthis. If, if we had gotten rid of
Cawthorne and Mo, had Won howdifferent things would be in this
part of the state. We'd have amember of Congress that actually
gives a shit, that shows up,that gets stuff done and knows it's
(07:41):
not all about him all thetime. And it's a servant lever leader.
I mean you, you've been ateacher, you've been a judge, you've
been in the Jag and you've hadpeople under your command and good
leadership knows it's notabout you. So what are you going
to do to win this mo? I meanwhat, what's the strategy and how
do you think, how do you thinkyou can beat Edwards?
(08:03):
Well, I think he's going tobeat himself if you look at the policies
that are, you know, that he'sbehind. That's like when he was at
AV Tech, remember he stood upthere and said, you know that really
the Democrats were fearmongering about cuts to Medicaid.
Well, look at what they passedthis week, you know that out of committee,
you know, in order to get taxbreaks for multimillionaires like
(08:24):
Chuck Edwards, people on thebottom rungs of the ladder are going
to lose. Healthcare coverage,nutritional assistance, Head Start,
Meals on Wheels. And it'sordinary people are paying the price
for elites like Chuck Edwardsto live their lavish lifestyle. And
it's more for them and lessfor, for us. And I think that's gonna,
(08:46):
you know, as people feel thepain, I think that R +5 is going
to get closer and closer andcloser. You know, when I ran in 2020,
I got the second highestnumber of votes since he, Shuler
won a number of years ago. SoI had about 191,000 people that showed
up to vote for me. I mean if Ican get 87% of those people to show
(09:08):
up again, we win the seat. Sowe got to have a good strong turnout
on the Democratic side. Butagain, if you look at the makeup
of this district, if everyregistered Democrat showed up to
vote and I got all thosevotes, I would lose. So it's going
to take more than blue votesto win this, this race. So we've
(09:29):
got to reach out, we've gotto, we got to open up the aperture
to a broader audience. And Ithink when we talk about Medicaid
and you know, getting rid offema, getting rid of the Department
of Education, you know, theseare things that are going to hurt
not just Democrats, butRepublicans and independents and
folks that are just tuned outof the political process. So I'm
hoping that's going tomotivate people to, to turn out and
(09:52):
what will be an off yearelection, I mean, my best guess is
probably be somewhere around330,000 votes, Cap. So we need folks
that are wanting to have abetter future for themselves and
their families to show up andvote and not get distracted by, you
know, the other side's reallygood with one hand going, oh, you
(10:13):
get those scary immigrants andoh, you got trans women and you know,
all these social issues theyuse to distract ordinary folks, while
with the other hand they'repicking their pockets. So we're going
to concentrate on appealing tofolks that aren't like Chuck Edwards,
that aren't worth $16.6million and that work for a living.
(10:34):
Because I don't know if yousaw there was an article in the last
day or two saying that 60% ofAmerican households can't afford
to live a minimum, a minimum,a minimal quality of life. They can't
afford it. And in thisdistrict, about one out of every
five kids below the age of 18are living below the poverty line.
(10:54):
So taking away their healthcare, taking away food, taking away
support for their schools,that's not good for western North
Carolina. So we're going to,we're going to focus, you know, trying
to get people not to getdistracted by fear tactics on issues
that don't impact their dailylife and to focus on the ones that
really do matter. And we'regoing to go to Washington and try
(11:17):
to, rather than fight thepeople, we're going to fight for
the people.
Yeah, that's a good way to winis not to beat up other, beat up
your voters. I think the lastthing western North Carolina needs
is another millionaire inWashington. We've had, out of the
last three, we've had threemillionaires. And that's got to be
pounded home. I think that weneed somebody that actually understands
(11:38):
what's going on in people'slives. And, and Chuck, Chuck Edwards
is probably as disconnectedfrom reality as, as Madison Cawthorn
was.
Well, I'll take a look at it.You can go back and look at Cawthorn
or look at Chuck Edwards.Folks can go to the Federal Election
Commission website and theyhave the financial data. It's like
(11:59):
for me, I'll have to registerwith the FEC here soon and you have
to submit regular reports onwhere you're getting your money and
where you're spending it. Andif you look at Chuck, I think it
was 82% of the money he raisedin 2024 came from big donors and
pack and two point, I think itwas 2.8% came from small donors.
That's people that gave $200or less. But, I mean, take, for example,
(12:22):
General Dynamic. I mean, doyou think that General Dynamics is
investing in Chuck Edwardsbecause they love western North Carolina
or Steve Wynn, the billionairecasino owner out in Nevada? You know,
is he investing in ChuckEdwards because he loves western
North Carolina? Hell, no.They're. They're buying access. You
know, I hear a lot of peoplesay that, you know, they've tried
(12:43):
to contact Chuck, you know,particularly since Hurricane Helene.
Most never hear anything back.And those that do, it's usually a
form response. But I guaranteeyou General Dynamics or Steve Wynn
can pick up the phone andprobably talk to Chuck personally.
Yeah, and I'm on the firstring as well. Yeah, I mean, we've
invited him to this show, andwe're issuing that invitation again
(13:05):
to have a civil discussion.It's not going to be a. A nasty discussion
at all. But I don't know,he's. He's afraid of engaging with
reality, and. And these guys.I just don't understand it. Any good
politician would turn thatsituation like Buttigieg, you know,
he goes on Fox all the time,and he turns those stupid questions
they have upside down. And,you know, a good friend of mine lives
(13:27):
in Ohio, and he's in the. He'sin the insurance finance business.
And. And he's kind of the lastguy as a lawyer, last guy that I
would think he would beimpressed with. Pete Buttigieg. And
out of the blue the other day,he texted me a link to Buddha judge's
speech in Iowa saying this wasunbelievable. Incredible was the
(13:49):
word he used. All right, so,you know, a good politician turns
that stuff side up, turns itsideways and to your advantage, and
I don't understand why folksdon't do that. So. But how much.
How much. How much did Chuckraise last time around? Do you remember
from.
I don't recall. I just. Iremember the biggest chunk came from.
I think it was $390,000 froma. A pack that is run by Kevin McCarthy.
(14:15):
Oh, geez.
And again, you know, KevinMcCarthy's not dumping $390,000 into
Western North Carolina becausehe loves the mountains.
Right.
He's doing it because hewants, you know, somebody in Washington
that he can tell them what todo, and they'll salute and say, yes,
sir, and do it. Yeah, I think,you know, another. Another reason
I'm running is We've gotalmost 50,000 veterans that live
(14:36):
in western North Carolina, andour VA hospital, which, you Know,
where I'm sitting right now isabout a mile from the VA hospital,
and that's where I go to getmy health care. There are 170 VA
hospitals around the country.And the one here in Asheville, the
Patient Satisfaction Survey,it's ranked number two in America.
Wow. So we get greathealthcare at the va and Chuck, you
(14:58):
know, wants to defund the va.You know, he was defending the, I
think it was a 17% cut to theVA staffing, saying, you know, that
was going to make it moreeffective and more efficient. If
you, you know, if you believethat bullshit, you know, go down
to your high school and tellthe football coach that, hey, to
make your team more effectiveand efficient, just put nine players
(15:18):
on the field this year and seehow that goes. So, you know, cutting
the VA and getting the va,I've made the pledge that when I
get to Congress, I'm going todecline the congressional health
care plan and I'm going tocontinue getting my care at the Charles
George VA Medical Center. So,you know, when I'm talking to veterans,
this isn't just lip service.You know, I'm in it with you. And
(15:41):
I'm going to hopefully get aseat on the Veterans Affairs Committee
and also on the NaturalResources Committee. Veterans Affairs
Committee. I can fight for theva. And on natural resources, they're
the gatekeeper and pursekeeper for our national parks and
our national forests, whichagain, are getting cut by Chuck Edwards
and his friends so that theyget tax break. And we already had
(16:03):
a $32 billion backlog ofmaintenance in our national parks
and national forests. Andthat's before Hurricane Helene hit.
So that's the key to oureconomy around here is tourism. You
go downtown in Nashville on aSaturday night, now you. Not only
can you find a parking place,you can walk in a restaurant without
a reservation and get a table.And that's not going to change until,
(16:24):
you know, tourists are comingback. And right now, the Blue Ridge
Parkway, large segments arestill closed. You know, we got to
take care of our nationalparks and national forest and they
need more, not less.
Yeah. And ATR is AppalachianTrail, is. Sections are closed. Realize
that's not a Park foundationissue, but still, some federal money
(16:47):
in there on some work programswould open that back up. And yeah,
you're absolutely right. It'sessential. Even my little small town
up here in Spruce Pineapple,you know, we're down the road from
Rhone Mountain in the ATTrail, and the, you know, the community
has seen a huge drop off inovernighters coming down or asking
to be brought down from Roanfor the night. And those things matter.
But I, you know, I think, Ithink you're talking about the right
(17:10):
things. I think it's going totake a lot of work and raise a lot
of Money. You raised 2.3 lasttime, which that was a pretty good
chunk of change. And, andI'll, I bet you with help of our
listeners and others, we can,we can broach that or beat that amount
this time around. And sowe'll, we'll have more on this down
the road. MO has notofficially filed yet, so we're not
(17:32):
asking for donations. But keepan eye on this space. And Mo, thanks
for the update on your career move.
Yeah, absolutely. Stay tuned.
This is David Wheeler withAmerican Muckrakers. We'll be right
back after this message. Andwe're hoping you'll take a look at
our website and consider adonation today@americanmuckrakers.com
(17:55):
well, we're fortunate today to have.
Another great guest on MuckYou! Joining David and I. It's Sam
Newton is the communicationsdirector for the Democratic Democratic
Governors association, whichright now there are, I believe, 23
Democratic governors,including our own Josh Stein here
in North Carolina. I foundout, you know, doing a little research,
(18:17):
Sam and I have a lot incommon. We both attended George Washington
university up in D.C. and wealso have a, an educational connection
to the Dublin where Samattended the Clinton Institute at
the University College inDublin, which if you ever get a chance
to go to Ireland, it's abeautiful place. But my connection
(18:39):
is when I was there in Dublin,I did the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl
where you spend two and a halfhours hitting different pubs and
drinking. And at the endthere's a quiz and whoever wins the
quiz gets a T shirt. And I wasproud to come back to America with
my Dublin Literary Pub Crawl Tshirt. So, Sam, thanks for thanks
(19:00):
for joining us today.
Yeah, thanks so much forhaving me on, colonel I'm excited
to be here. And I did notrealize that we were both GW grads.
And what a coincidence that weboth were in Dublin. I think next
time we do this, we shouldjust be at a pub over there having
a Guinness. How about that?
Oh, I agree. Yeah, I remember,I think it was I ended up in a tie
with a Canadian guy. And sothe tiebreaker question was about
(19:24):
which of I think it's KittyKiernan, which of her parents owned
the Dukes, which was an oldpub there where Michael Collins,
the revolutionary hung out.And turned out it was her mother
and the other guy, I guessedthe father. So I came home with the
T shirt and the Canadian guywent home empty handed. So.
(19:44):
Well, I'm definitely nevergoing based off that alone, I'm definitely
never going up against you ontrivia, or at least we could be.
Or, or at least I'm going tobe on your team.
How about that?
All right.
All right. Well, I'm glad tohave you on the team and thanks for
the work you're doing. I mean,it's, the times we're living in are
really, you know, it'd be hardto fathom if you go back 10 or 20
years and describe what we'reliving today, people would think
(20:07):
you're, you should becommitted. But you saw where the
last, I guess yesterday theRepublicans passed the big beautiful
bill through the committees.And I was really surprised. I'm finding
myself more and more peoplethat I've just historically disagreed
with agreeing with. And it wasJosh Hawley who said this bill is,
(20:29):
quote, to quote him, taxingthe poor to give to the rich and
a lot of it's going to getdumped back on the states and on,
on the governors. And I'm justcurious, on, from a gov, the governor's
perspective, what's their takeon this big beautiful bill that's
making its way through Congress?
(20:51):
Yeah, thank you so much forbringing that up. And it does feel
like we're living in chaotictimes. And that really seems like
what you get when DonaldTrump's in the White House and Republicans
are in Congress. You know, Ibelieve that Democrats are the party
that's looking out for themiddle class and working people.
And this bill would do theexact opposite. And it's pretty frustrating
because Donald Trump won on apromise to lower costs on day one.
(21:14):
But since he's been in office,the terrorists have jacked up costs.
And now what this bill isgoing to do is rip people off health
care. And earlier this week,all 23 Democratic governors who represent
a majority of the USpopulation banded together and put
together a statement speakingout about how these cuts to Medicaid
and to SNAP would hurt thepeople in their states. And I think
(21:35):
it was really important thatthey did this for two reasons. I
think the first is a lot ofThe Republicans in D.C. are just
trying to say, oh, we're justshifting the costs back to the states.
There's not going to be cuts.But what the Democratic governors
who actually work across theaisle and our executives and have
to balance budgets is theysaid that's not true at all. The
notion that this is going tobe anything other than massive cuts
(21:58):
is ridiculous because it's notpossible to backfill this funding
with state resources. And sopeople are going to lose health care.
And you guys are in NorthCarolina, where Governor Cooper,
it took him years, but he gotit done and expanded Medicaid. I
believe there's over 600,000people on Medicaid in North Carolina
right now. It's been a hugesuccess. And this is going to be
(22:21):
particularly devastating forrural communities. Like, let's just
zero in. When Medicaid getsripped away, people lose their health
care. Less people in ruralcommunities are going to start going
to those hospitals. The ruralhospitals and health clinics are
going to close. We've seenthis in Republican states that haven't
expanded Medicaid. They haverural hospitals closure crisis. The
(22:44):
doctors and the nurses leavethose communities that that's losing
customers for smallbusinesses. It's a hit to the local
economy. And then even worse,grandparents, parents and kids have
to drive hours to get thehealth care that they need. Or even
worse, they won't get it atall. And so it's important that we
are talking about this everysingle day and holding the Republicans
(23:06):
accountable. And you can betthat if this bill becomes law, Americans
are going to be very angrywhen their health care is getting
ripped away. And we're goingto be holding the Republicans running
for Governor in the 38 raceswe have this year and next accountable.
And we're going to be makingthis a really big issue.
Yeah, it's a big deal here inwestern North Carolina. You know,
as you know, we got hit hardby Hurricane Helene, and it's going
(23:29):
to take a long time to getback to whatever the new normal is
going to be. But, you know,Donald Trump came down, said, you
know, he's going to buildback, you know, bigger and more beautiful
than ever. And people here arestill waiting. And the plan is to
eliminate fema. And I'll behonest with you, you know, fema,
(23:49):
the response was not perfect,but it was pretty damn good from,
from what I saw. And thisnotion of, of, you know, getting
rid of FEMA and dumping thatback on the states. North Carolina,
the mountains here, have anestimated $60 billion of damage from
Hurricane Aline. And our statebudget is $32 billion a year. So
(24:14):
if this got dumped on thestates, it would take two years of,
you know, if you did nothingelse in government, it would take
two years of the budget tocover the damage here. So Josh Stein
has spent a lot of time outhere in western North Carolina. And
I know folks appreciate it,but what are the governors saying
about this proposal to dump,to dump FEMA and make the states
(24:36):
pick up the disaster relief?
I'm glad you brought that upbecause this is really one of those
issues that should not beabout Republicans or Democrats. I
think everyone can agree,especially those hardest hit by these
devastating natural disastersthat just put the politics aside,
do the right thing and helppeople out. And I think Governor
(24:57):
Beshear in Kentucky is someonewho has been very outspoken about
the need to protect FEMA andhas been honest about the fact that
he's worked with the Trumpadministration to help eastern Kentucky
recover from the floods andhelp western Kentucky recover from
the tornadoes. And I know youguys are. I've been to Asheville
before. I think it'sbeautiful. Granted, I was mostly
(25:18):
there just for the hiking. Ithink that's why a lot of people
go there and probably livethere. So I hope you guys are doing
okay. It's great to see thatGovernor Stein has made it a top
focus. That's one of the bigthings he campaigned on. And I know
it was his day one priority. Ithink I saw just recently that he
announced $55 million ingrants for more than 2,000 Western
(25:39):
North Carolina businesses. SoI hope people continue to get the
help that they need. And ifDonald Trump tries to get rid of
FEMA and makes these hugecuts, that's just not going to hurt.
That's going to hurt people inred states and blue states. And so
it just really can't bepolitical. And it is the job of Democratic
governors to work with anyoneto deliver results. And that's exactly
(26:01):
what they do. And I thinkthat's why you've seen Democratic
governors have electoralsuccess, including in seven states
that Donald Trump won in 2024in states like North Carolina, as
you know, with Governor Stein.But then when they're in office,
they actually deliver realresults, too.
Well, Sam, Governor Stein isdoing a great job and we're big fans
(26:25):
of him, Mo and I. And, and,you know, folks think FEMA is not
doing their job. They shouldsee the 27 trucks out here that are
loading debris off statehighways and out of private property.
Governor Stein went to bat forfolks that have damage on their own
(26:47):
private property. And he'sgetting debris removed with FEMA
money. And that's in my littlecounty here. The county has. They
very smartly gave the money tothe county. The county. $20 million
for this small county, about12,000 people, Mitchell County. $20
million is being used to helpremove debris. So if folks think
(27:11):
Democrats and Democratgovernors aren't effective, they
aren't. They aren't living onthe same planet. I do, and I live
in this community and I seethese trucks all the time. I give
every one of them a thumbs upbecause thank goodness they're here
doing that. And thank goodnessJosh Stein is working his ass off
for us out here in westernNorth Carolina. But my question for
(27:32):
you, Sam, after my littlerant, is why is it that the Democrat
governor DNA is to get doneand the Republican DNA is drama and
politics? You look at Florida,you know DeSantis, he's admired or
enmeshed in a, in acontroversy around $10 million of
(27:54):
state money that his wife gotit for her foundation. J.B. pritzker
doesn't have those problems inIllinois. Governor Hochul doesn't
have crap like that going onup in New York. Why is it that the
Democrats have to be theadults in the room all the time,
but then we get all the blamewhen, you know, when election time
(28:15):
comes around?
You know, I think that is agreat question and I'm glad you brought
it up. I'm happy to talk aboutthe contrast between Democratic governors
and Republican governors everysingle day. One way I like to think
of it is function versusdysfunction or freedom versus extremism.
Right. You see Democraticgovernors focusing on creating jobs
(28:38):
for people whether or not theyhave a college degree. When Governor
Josh Shapiro went to office,one of the first things he did is
he got rid of a requirement, acollege degree requirement for tens
of thousands of stategovernment jobs. That created a bunch
of opportunity for people withall sorts of backgrounds to get a
good paying job and supporttheir family. Governor Hochul is
someone who is leading thenation by expanding prenatal care
(29:01):
for mothers. And in Kansas,Governor Kelly is helping families
out with the high cost ofgroceries by she got rid of, she
worked with Republicans toeliminate the grocery tax. That's
saving Kansas families anaverage of around 500 bucks a year.
And so Democratic governors doremain very laser focused on those
(29:22):
kitchen table issues that makepeople's lives better every single
day. And it's not just goodpolicy, it is good politics. And
we, I think, have hadelectoral success at the state level
because the Democraticgovernors are able to block out the
noise and really zero in onthose issues and then drive the contrast
with the Republicans, as yousaid, who, you know, really do feel
(29:46):
way more concentrated ondividing us, banning abortion. And
I think Governor Walz said itgreat. He was our chair in 2024 before
he was on the ticket when hewas saying that in Minnesota we're
banning hunger while they'rebanning books. Right. He was waking
up every day and he was makingit easier for kids to get free meals
(30:07):
at schools, which is, youknow, making sure kids don't get
hungry. But it's alsobasically a tax cut for middle class
families every single day whodon't need to worry about how they're
going to pay for their kidslunch. But the Republicans were focused
on all these divisive andchaotic culture wars. And so that's
a contrast that we're talkingabout every single day, the dga and
one that we're going to betalking about, the two big races
(30:28):
we have this year in Virginiaand New Jersey, which I'd be happy
to talk about, too.
Yeah. And that was going to bemy next question. You know, Tom Vilsack's
a very good friend of mine andI remember in his first election,
I think it was 98, the DGAcame in in October and saved his
ass with serious advice thatput him over the top. Who are our
(30:54):
candidates in this in NewJersey and in the other election
in Virginia this year?
For sure, I'll start inVirginia because we have a very strong
Democratic nominee and formerCongresswoman Abigail Spanberger.
She is someone who's alwaysput public service first and always
(31:15):
put Virginia first and justfocusing on doing the right thing
and getting real results,whether that's when she was a federal
law enforcement officer or inthe CIA focusing on keeping families
safe or when she was inCongress and was rated the most bipartisan
member of Congress in Virginiabecause she was working across the
aisle to help veterans andhelp strengthen Social Security.
(31:39):
And that's going to be a hugecontrast with the Republican who's
running, who's the lieutenantgovernor, Winsome Earl Sears, who,
you know, Donald Trump andElon Musk have put so many federal
jobs. That's having a hugeimpact in Virginia. People are in
Virginia where the economy istanking because of it. And Winsome
(32:02):
Earl Sears said it's not. Shedoesn't understand why it's a huge,
huge thing that people arelosing jobs. What are you talking
about? Everyone thinks theirjob's a huge deal. That's how you
pay your bills, that's how yousupport your family, that's how you
pay for your housing. Whensomeone loses their job, that is
a huge deal. And it's justabsolutely outrageous that someone's
running for governor as aRepublican in Virginia. But one supporting
(32:24):
this agenda that is rippingaway jobs from people in Virginia,
but then on the back endbasically mocking their concerns
about it. So it's going to bea close race. Virginia is always
close. There's going to be alot of eyes on it. We can't take
anything for granted, but wedo have a strong candidate and former
Congresswoman Spanberger,who's going to put Virginia first
and focus on affordability,whether it's health care or housing,
(32:47):
funding public schools andkeeping families safe first. Winsome
Earl Sears, who would drag thestate backwards, doesn't seem to
care about Virginia jobs andhas a record of supporting abortion
bans.
And would she be the firstfemale governor as well?
Yes.
Virginia. Yeah, that's cool.
And. Yeah, it is cool. Andright now, just as a quick side point,
(33:09):
we have eight women Democraticgovernors, which is historic and
the most we've ever had. Andso this is a big opportunity to add
number nine.
All right. And then Jersey.
Yeah, yeah. And then going upto New Jersey real quick, there still
is a primary. The DGA isneutral. In open Democratic primaries,
we have a big benchmark ofvery qualified leaders. We're going
(33:31):
to let the voters sort it out,but we're confident, no matter who
wins, we're going to have astrong nominee that's focused on
affordability and making lifebetter for people in New Jersey and
will also stand up to thechaos that's happening from Donald
Trump. And Republicans in D.C.like fighting to protect Medicaid
and SNAP and standing up forNew Jersey schools. And then, in
(33:53):
contrast, on the Republicanside, there's Jack Cittarelli, who's
want, who's run and lostbefore, and he has a few other opponents.
Cittarelli did get the Trumpendorsement this week, but I think
it came a little too late tosettle out the primary. There's still
a ton of infighting there, andthey're all trying to see who can
hug Trump the most. And thatjust shows that whoever wins that
(34:15):
Republican nomination will besomeone who's extreme and out of
touch and really just caresmore about loyalty to Trump than
New Jersey. So those are ourtwo really big races this year in
Virginia and New Jersey, andwe're excited about them.
Yeah. And the Democrat, Ihope, will build upon my good friend
Phil Murphy's hard work. Ithink Phil gets a lot of crap, but
(34:39):
people don't realize how muchTrump is messing with Jersey these
days because he wants to andbecause he wants to unsettle things
there. But over to you moving.
And I would just say sorry tojump in real quick, Governor Murphy
has been chair of the DGAtwice. He's done an outstanding job.
And I think a lot of peoplekind of forget that when he became
(35:01):
governor, he inherited a totaldisaster from Chris Christie. And
he really, he really got thestate back on track, focusing on
restoring fiscal sanity,getting credit upgrades, raising
the minimum wage, cuttingtaxes for the middle class. He's
been a really strong exampleof how a Democratic governor can
come in and kind of clean upthe mess of these Republicans.
(35:22):
Yeah. And again, no drama.Just get shit done, move on. Let's
make things work for thepeople. And, you know, God bless
Phil. He's a good guy.
Hey, Sam. There's a story onCBS News this week saying that 60%
of American households can'tafford a minimal quality of life,
you know, much less try tolive the American dream. How did
(35:44):
we manage to lose the bubbleon being the party that is for the,
for the working class, and howdo we get that back?
You know, that's somethingworth thinking about every day. So
I think it's a fair question.I'll be honest. I don't know. I have
the exact answer of how we, ofhow we seem to have lost right now,
(36:05):
that people don't associateDemocrats with being the party of
the middle class, but we needto right now. I think there's a real
opportunity focusing on, onthe economy every single day. Going
back to what I said at thetop, Donald Trump ran on a promise
to lower costs on day one.Since then, he's done nothing but
raise costs and try to ripaway health care. And so there's
(36:25):
a huge opening for Democrats,I think, especially Democratic governors,
to focus on being the leaderswho are trying to make life better
for the middle class andworking class people. And, you know,
a lot of our Democraticgovernors are talking about affordability
every single day. I mentionedGovernor Kelly cutting the grocery
tax. Governor Whitmer won areally tough reelection in 2022 by
(36:49):
10 points because she wastalking about making child care more
affordable. She was talkingabout bringing American manufacturing
jobs back from China intoMichigan, which is home, which was
the birthplace of the middleclass in many ways. And she was talking
about tuition free communitycollege. And so it is an important
thing that we need to bethinking about. And I think for people
(37:11):
who are out there, aren'ttotally sure where to look or what
to do at the dga, we say lookto the states, look to the Democratic
governors. We have 38 racesover the next two years. We have
23 Democratic governors whoare waking up every day and delivering
on the economy, delivering onpublic education, delivering on health
care. They are strongexecutives who truly do care about
(37:33):
the middle class and they getshit done. And so I think that is
the best path forward andwhere we need to look.
Well, that's terrific. And ourguest today has been Sam Newton with
the Democratic GovernorsAssociation. And our special thanks
to Julia Hammelberg forhelping set this up. Sam, if folks
want to donate to thesegovernors, what's the best way to
(37:54):
do it?
You should text demgov to30201 and sign up and join the DGA
and you'll get text from us.And you can also go to our website,
which is.
All right, terrific. Thankyou, Sam. Thank you, Mo. This has
been muck you.
Thanks so much for having me on.
Thanks, Sam. Really appreciate it.
(38:16):
This has been muck you. Cohosted by Colonel Mo Davis in Asheville,
North Carolina, and DavidWheeler in Spruce Pine, North Carolina.
Thanks to our guest today, SamNewton from the Democratic Governors
Association. Learn more aboutthe DGA at Democratic Governors Document.
Special thanks to JuliaHammelberg of the DGA for her help
with this episode. Muck YOU isproduced by American Muckrakers.
(38:39):
Copyright 2025. Follow us onBlue sky under AmericanMokrakers.com
and onsubstack@AmericanMokrakers.substack.com you
can learn more anddonate@AmericanMokrakers.com David
and Mo hope y' all come backsoon for a new episode. And remember
to never take shit fromanyone, especially Trump.
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