Episode 238: Shutdowns, SNAP, And The Filibuster Fight In New Mexico

A budget fight in Washington shouldn’t decide whether families in New Mexico can buy groceries—but that’s exactly where we are. We open with the real-world fallout of the federal shutdown: SNAP delays for roughly 460,000 New Mexicans, TSA slowdowns, and unpaid military members, all tied up in a standoff over temporary ACA subsidies that were created during COVID. We break down how those subsidies work, who actually receives them, why insurers benefit, and what reform could look like if Congress focused on affordability instead of brinkmanship.

From there, we wrestle with the Senate’s biggest pressure valve: the filibuster. Trump wants it gone to power through a reopening and a faster agenda. Many Republicans balk, warning that killing the 60-vote threshold would turn the Senate into a smaller House and supercharge policy whiplash. We walk through the unintended consequences of past rule changes, the real risk of court packing, and one bold idea to stabilize the system: protect the filibuster with a constitutional amendment so the rules can’t swing with every majority.

We also talk politics on the ground: why affordability—not vibes—will decide 2026. Voters care about grocery bills, rent, energy, and healthcare, and they won’t reward leaders who minimize that pain. We push for a clear cost-of-living plan that’s measurable and fast. Then we zoom into Albuquerque, where rising crime has become the central question of the mayor’s race. We lay out the data, challenge “not my job” answers on public safety, and argue for accountability over party loyalty.

If you’re tired of spin and want practical fixes—on budgets, healthcare costs, and public safety—this conversation lays out the stakes and the options. Listen, share with a friend who’s feeling the pinch, and tell us where you stand: keep the filibuster or go simple majority? And what’s the first, most concrete step to lower costs where you live? Subscribe, rate, and leave a review to help more people find the show.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:14):
Mark punching again.

SPEAKER_04 (00:16):
Punching the heck out of this show.
Yeah, you are.

SPEAKER_00 (00:19):
It's oh dark thirty again.
Uh because it gets dark at liketwo every day now, basically.

SPEAKER_04 (00:24):
I know.
It's like we're living inAlaska.

SPEAKER_00 (00:27):
I I kinda already missed the sunshine.
So when's the day that we startgoing back?

SPEAKER_04 (00:31):
Uh March.

SPEAKER_00 (00:32):
Not so no, I thought it was like in December.
I thought like the December wasthe longest day.

SPEAKER_04 (00:37):
December's the shortest day of the year, guys.

SPEAKER_00 (00:38):
Shortest day.
And then we start gaining timeagain.

SPEAKER_04 (00:40):
Yeah.
So we're gonna we're gonna hitthe uh winter solstice.
Yeah.
And that's gonna be fun stuff.
Yeah, right around the 21st ofDecember.

SPEAKER_00 (00:49):
Yeah, and then we shift back.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (00:50):
Yeah, then we shift back.
We start to get the longer daysuntil we get to the summer
solstice on June 21st-ish.

SPEAKER_00 (00:58):
Yeah.
Well, for right now, we are uhconstantly shooting in the dark,
is what it feels like.

SPEAKER_04 (01:02):
Well, yeah, don't blame you.
That's exactly uh yeah, nodoubt.

SPEAKER_00 (01:06):
Well, you know, great turnout on our last show.
We did a post-election show.
Our shows just continue to keepclimbing.
We've gotten some recent data onour show ratings, and right now
we are the number one news-basedpodcast, number one podcast in
general in New Mexico, butdefinitely the news side of
things.
Our numbers are through theroof, and we really could not uh
be there without those of youthat tune in.

(01:28):
So we really appreciate youguys.

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Who have stuck with us?
Thank you so much.
It this is this is doing what wewant it to do.
We try to bring you as muchinformation as we can.
We've made some changes.
We're gonna make some morechanges.
We're gonna we're gonna tweakthe studio eventually a little
bit here.
We're gonna jazz it up.

SPEAKER_00 (01:43):
Maybe no duct tape on the chairs.
We're gonna move on to the back.

SPEAKER_04 (01:45):
That adds to the quality of kind of our hard
scrabble beginning.

SPEAKER_00 (01:48):
We are a hard scrabble screen.

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Yeah, so it, but it is, it has been it has been
great.
The numbers are huge.
YouTube numbers are through theroof, numbers on the podcast
itself, through podcastplatforms, are doing equally as
well.
So thank you so much for whatyou're doing.
Please keep spreading the wordhere.
We'll get the information out.
And I think today's show isactually gonna be fascinating.

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(02:30):
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Thanks so much, though.
We really appreciate everybodyout there who are so is
supporting us.
We really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_04 (02:37):
No, it is great, and we do.
And let's get right to it.
I'm not even gonna do a teasertoday.
I'm gonna tell you, there aretwo huge stories to start this
show.
They matter because they matterin so many different areas of
your life that it's gonnaactually have a huge impact.
The first one is the shutdown,but then even beyond that, we're
gonna talk about the filibuster.
And I don't think a lot ofpeople know what the filibuster

(02:58):
really is.
Right.
We're gonna break down what thatis and why you should definitely
care because it really isimportant here.
But I do want to start with theshutdown, which continues here.
And I'll have you read a littlebit of this article.
Dan Boyd just put out anarticle.
Governor Luan Grisham has calledanother special session.
Now she's out of the country.
Don't worry about it.
She's she's not actually gonnabe there because she's off on

(03:20):
some gallivante trip in SouthAmerica.

SPEAKER_00 (03:22):
Yeah, she did the climate thing or whatever.
Yeah.
Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 (03:25):
So she's doing that.
But there is another specialsession to pay for SNAP
benefits.
And obviously, those arebasically what used to call food
stamps, right?
And so right now, with thegovernment shutdown, there are
many New Mexicans who are notgetting food stamp payments
here.
So I want to talk about what'sgoing to happen with the special
very, very quickly.
But then we have a tremendous,and I mean tremendous breakdown

(03:47):
from a United States senator onwhy there has been a shutdown
and why it is absolutelyunforgivable that we have
politicians in Washington thatare not doing their job and why
they are holding things up.
Literally, we have thousands ofemployees in the state of New
Mexico right now that are notgetting paychecks and tens of

(04:08):
thousands across the country.
And then you have people thatrely on their SNAP benefits, not
getting those or could not getthose.
Yeah, and like now, the state ofNew Mexico, and the the reason
this is so infuriating isbecause what we're about to talk
about, and that is that we areliterally dealing with two
senators in the state of NewMexico who are basically saying,
Hey, New Mexico, you pay forthis.
We're gonna continue to sit out.

(04:29):
Remember, when the state of NewMexico fills in that void with
SNAP benefits, that's moneycoming right out of your pocket.
Okay.
Now, if if it's a federal dealand they're paying it across the
country, then that's spread outacross the country who's paying
for it.
But make no mistake, the billcoming to New Mexico is massive
right now.
And it's because we havesenators that aren't agreeing to

(04:50):
it.
And I promise you, once you hearwhat we're about to tell you, it
is fascinating stuff and it willarm you with the information
that you need when people say,why is the government still shut
down?
And is it worth it?
And the answer is a very clearno.

SPEAKER_00 (05:04):
Right.
And again, the the blame, theshift blaming of who's shutting
the government down is somethingthat we have to talk about as
well because it discontinues.
You you listen to one side ofthe aisle and it's like, oh,
it's Trump's fault.
And I'm just like, wait, no,they're not the one, he's not
the one that's voting for theshutdown.
So clarifying that, okay, let'sgo into this article really
fast.
Uh, for the second time in twomonths, Governor Michelle Lujan
Grisham is calling legislatorsback to the roundhouse for a

(05:26):
special session prompted byfederal funding concerns.
The governor's office saidThursday, the latest special
session, will take placeNovember 10th and will be
limited to appropriating morestate funding to pay for food
assistance benefits to more than460,000 state residents.

SPEAKER_04 (05:41):
Okay, and remember, we are the number one state in
the country for SNAP benefits asfar as a percentage of our
population goes.
Okay.
So you have almost 500,000people in the state of New
Mexico who are sitting therewondering what's going on here.
And part of the reason why, andreally the biggest reason why,

(06:02):
are our own two senators.
But let's get one moredisingenuous quote from the
governor.

SPEAKER_00 (06:06):
Okay.
Quote, we are fortunate thatseveral years of economic
prosperity and sound fiscalmanagement.

SPEAKER_04 (06:12):
Debatable.
In fact, not debatable, wrong.
But anyway, keep going.

SPEAKER_00 (06:16):
Have enabled us to support New Mexicans in this
time of need, the governoradded.
Quote, however, we will not beable to fund these state
supplements forever.
Republicans in Congress need tocome back to the table to end
the longest government shutdownin American history and get
everyone back to work.
I'm pretty sure Republicans inCongress have voted to open the

(06:37):
government.

SPEAKER_04 (06:38):
13 straight times.
Yeah.
I think we're up to 14,actually.

SPEAKER_00 (06:41):
And it is, what is it, five or six senators that
continue to vote no?
I mean, they're there.
I mean, we need five or six.

SPEAKER_04 (06:47):
No, no, we need five or six more.
Right.
Right.
You need five more to vote yes.
And if we had five, again, everyDemocrat, uh, with the exception
of Fetterman and Cortez Mastoand Angus King.
Those are three Democrats thatright now are voting to open the
government.
They're the only three.
That's it.
Every other Republican, all themajority, but you gotta have 60

(07:11):
votes.

SPEAKER_00 (07:12):
Right.
So we need the help of Democratsto open the government.
This is not a shutdown by theRepublicans or by Trump.
And that's maddening to keephearing that.
It's frustrating.
Okay.
Especially, wait, don't forget.
Yeah, yeah.
We're not gonna be able to payour military.
Um, in what?
By next week, we won't be ableto pay military members.
And additionally, you thinkabout the travel situation
that's getting ready to approachwith all the holidays.

(07:34):
TSA lines are already startingto creep up.
They're canceling flights as ofthis past Friday.
They're gonna continue to cancelflights.
Air traffic controllers are, youknow, it's a mess.

SPEAKER_04 (07:44):
So yeah, no, no, no.
You're absolutely right.
And so let's let's and we'vewe've hit on those before, but I
I listened to a soundbite fromSenator Steve Daines from
Montana.
And when he did this, and I waswatching it at the time, and he
finished, and I was like, holycow, no one has laid it out this

(08:04):
way, this clearly, as to why theDemocrats have said, listen, we
are we're done.
We're shutting down thegovernment, and here is why.
So Steve Daines laid out exactlythe reasons and how ridiculous
all of this is.
And it's it's about two minuteslong.
So I want you to be patient withthis.
But once he says all this andlays out, and again, went back

(08:27):
through, and I've known a fairamount of this, but then we went
back through and verifiedeverything.
He's not, there's no hyperbolein what Steve Daines is saying
here.
There's no, like, oh, that isn'ttrue.
It's absolutely all true whathe's about to say here.
But he does such a really goodjob of laying out why.
And everybody knows, everybodysays, well, it's healthcare,
it's healthcare, they're stayingout for healthcare.

(08:48):
And he's, and that's true.
That part of it is true.
But but the but the amount ofpeople affected by this and
what's happening here, it willinfuriate you once you listen to
what Steve Daines said.
So here's what we've got twominutes of Steve Daines talking
on Fox business about the reasonwhy the government is shut down
and the reason why theRepublicans are not doing

(09:10):
anything other than asking forcontinuing appropriations to
keep the government open.
That's all they're asking for.
Democrats are like, wait aminute, we we want to negotiate
more subsidies for Obamacare.
And what happens here is Daneslays out very clearly why that
is a horrific idea, just in andof itself.
So here's Steve Danes.

SPEAKER_06 (09:30):
Let me just step back for a moment and define the
problem.
Obamacare premiums have gone up220% since it was implemented in
2014.
Remember, Barack Obama saidObamacare is going to lower
health care costs by$2,500.
That was the promise.
It's up 221%.

(09:51):
These now subsidies that wereput in place temporarily by the
Democrats during COVID are setto expire.
They were never meant to bepermanent.
What Chuck Schumer's asking isto now extend these temporary
subsidies that are paid toAmericans, like we're a family
of two that make over$100,000 ayear.

(10:11):
But where do these subsidies go?
They go directly to theinsurance companies.
So it's doing nothing to addressthe issue of the unaffordability
of Obamacare and health care.
Their stock prices, Larry, ifyou look at the major health
care insurance companies overthat same period of time, going
back to 2014, are up 500% toover a thousand percent.

(10:34):
So the insurance companies aremaking out like bandits, while
the American people, frankly,are feeling the pain of
Obamacare.
And remember one final point.
When you think about how manyAmericans are on the exchange
receive Obamacare, it's 7%.
So 93% of the American peoplereceive their health care

(10:55):
through Medicare, throughMedicaid, through private health
care.
It's 7% that receive it throughObamacare.
And it's a much smaller subsetof that 7% that actually get the
subsidy paid to the insurancecompany, not even to the
consumer.
And so the Democrats, bottomline, are shutting down the
entire government, disruptingair travel, not paying the

(11:16):
troops because of thesesubsidies that were always meant
to expire.
That's the fight.
So what did Chuck Schumer justdo?
He says, let's extend themanother year.
We're not going to do thatwithout significant reforms at
best.
20% of these subsidies arefraudulent.
This is a terrible$50 billion ayear fraudulent subsidy program

(11:42):
that we have got to stop ordramatically reform.
We're not going to let ChuckSchumer extend it another year.
That's what he proposed hereabout an hour ago.
It's nonsense.

SPEAKER_04 (11:54):
Okay.
I want to go back through thatfor a second because it goes a
lot there.
So what he's basically saying isthere were additional subsidies
during COVID that were offeredto higher income Americans,
okay?
And said, hey, we want to helpyou out during COVID.
They always had a sunset clauseon them.
Okay.
And what's happening now is whatwe've seen is because Obamacare

(12:16):
just keeps climbing in price,Obama made all these promises
that it was going to be cheaper.
It's not, obviously.
So the point he's making is wehave to fix the system.
I don't think there's anybodywho's arguing that.
You've got to fix and makehealth care cheaper, but you
can't take a system whichincludes 7% of the people,
right?
That's that's all Obamacareincludes.
And we're actually two of them,right?

(12:37):
We're on Obamacare.
Um, but most Americans are noton Obamacare.
Okay.
But what they're saying is wewant to keep these subsidies
rolling, and we're going to tryto negotiate that here.
Meanwhile, all that subsidy goesto insurance companies and all
these fat cats and insurancecompanies that keep getting
richer and richer.
The whole point of what he'ssaying is you've got them piling
on all of this.

(12:57):
You're just shutting down thegovernment, creating a massive
amount of pain for somethingthat does not justify it.
So, what does justify it?
Sitting down face to face,Republicans and Democrats, and
coming up with a better systemthan the one that we have.
But right now, that's not whatthey're doing.
They're asking for more cash forinsurance companies and a system

(13:19):
that's clearly failing even thepeople that are in it.
And so it makes this ludicrousand it makes no sense.
So then you look back and yousay, who keeps voting to shut
this down?
And it is our very own senatorsin this state.
So if you are waiting on yourSNAP benefits and you're hoping
that the state fills the void,or if you're in the state of New

(13:39):
Mexico and you're like, wait aminute, why is all of our money
being flushed into this for agovernment shutdown over this?
And our senators don't careenough to say, this is
ludicrous.
We can't do it, but they're not.
And so Danes is really goodthere, in my opinion, just
explaining exactly where we are.

SPEAKER_00 (13:56):
Yeah, I think it was very clear.
I mean, he definitely clears upa lot of it.
And you wish that more media,even our local media, would have
our state senators on andsaying, or our uh our US
senators on, just to say, hey,listen, what about this?
What about this?
And how much is this costing uson a statewide level to keep
supplementing the SNAP benefitsfor the folks that live here in

(14:18):
New Mexico?
And really, do you think this isthe most appropriate way to go
about this?

SPEAKER_04 (14:23):
The amount of pain they're causing for what this is
in a broken system that thatthey're they are really putting
so many different people at riskfor something this especially
inappropriate because it's notworking, the system itself isn't
working.
Now, I do understand negotiatingsaying, wait, we've got to sit
down and figure out a solutionto health care because the

(14:44):
Obamacare exchanges areexploding in price.
They are.
And too many Americans and toomany New Mexicans pay too much
for their health care.
It really does, you know, it isan issue we absolutely have to
address.
But just when he lays it outthat way, you see how ludicrous
it is that all of this ishappening.
You're selling so manylow-income families up the river
just to be able to say, oh no,we're holding out.

(15:06):
It's all political.
It's a joke.
It's a joke.
It's terrifying to me that theseguys follow this thing over a
cliff this way and they theytake their own constituents and
say, I don't care what happensin your life.
Too bad we're fighting apolitical fight here.
I don't know how they sleep atnight.
I really don't.

SPEAKER_00 (15:21):
Well, and I think what's even more disingenuous is
when we see our our house reps,you know, posting, making making
comments about how, again, theRepublicans are closing down the
government and you know, likethey don't care about the state
of New Mexico and they don'tcare.
And I'm like, wait a minute,again, like, how about you call
up your fellow senators?
They know.
Oh, they do know.
But just to shift the blameinstead of saying, let's be

(15:42):
transparent about what'sactually going down here.
I mean, heaven forbid we haveanybody that does that.
So I think, you know, it's it'sbeneficial in states in which
you have representation that'sbeing honest with the public.
In our state, we have five repsthat are not being honest with
the public and you know, betweenHouse and the Senate.
They're not being, they're notbeing genuine about what's

(16:04):
actually transpiring.
And so I think people getconfused and then they start to
shift the blame and they saythings that aren't actually
true.

SPEAKER_04 (16:10):
No, and they try to fog it up, right?
That that's how politics works.
And again, that's why we have somuch, that's why we're so hard
on the media in this state.
And I get it, from the media'sperspective, this is tough, but
go dive in, do a little bit ofresearch.
Yeah, it's not that hard.
But but once you hear someonelay it out really clearly like
this, and you can't lay it outin a quick soundbite.
You do have to in in defense ofmedia in this state, like if

(16:33):
you're on a TV station and youdon't have two minutes to
explain or have Steve Gainesexplain to you the exactly
what's happening, but you got todive in and do the research.
And then maybe you do tell yourreporter on the story.
You get four minutes.
Tell me why.

SPEAKER_00 (16:47):
I was gonna say that I'm sorry, but this is affecting
more new Mexicans in our statethan any other state that's on
SNAP benefits.
This should be the lead story atnight, and they should be given
more time to actually explainthe program, what it's
impacting.
And then, I mean, are you gonnaget one of the U.S.
senators to even talk to you?
Probably not.
But again, you're trying to getthem on the phone.

SPEAKER_04 (17:07):
You you you know why they don't talk to them?
They don't talk to them becausethey don't think they have to.
Like if you're a U.S.
senator, you don't care if K O AT or K O B or K R Q E calls you.
You don't have to answer tothem.
They never hold you to account,they never rip you.
If they would honestly, if anyof these stations, the journal,
any of them, if they would shredthese guys when they do stuff

(17:28):
like this and hurt people, theywould eventually start answering
your phone calls.

SPEAKER_00 (17:32):
Well, I know because they'd be like, we can't have
this.
And you know, honestly, likethis is a great story for
Shacone because he's honestlyone of the most solid reporters
that I see politically for thefor the New Mexican.
And I would love for him to beable to get a hold of these guys
and and put the put their feetto the fire a little bit.

SPEAKER_04 (17:47):
But I would argue on the on the on them and even on
the journal, they just don'thave any reach anymore.
And so then you look at him andyou go, okay, what difference
does it make if the journalroasts you on something?
Their circulation isn't what itshould be.
I mean, it's a bummer becausethis is why I keep harping on
this.
The media has absolutely signedtheir own death warrant in this

(18:07):
state because they don't holdpeople to account, they don't
matter.
So when it comes time to getanswers, they don't get them and
it doesn't matter.
Yeah, it doesn't matter thatthey don't get them.
And had they demanded responsefrom leaders, no matter their
political party, just sayingyou're gonna answer to us
because we're gonna fight forwhat people want to know.
But instead, when you startgetting into the political world

(18:29):
of taking sides and evensometimes taking sides is not
covering stories because you'rejust like, oh, we don't want to,
I'm not gonna do that.
Right?
It's super insidious, right?
The stuff that doesn't getcovered.
But now it just doesn't matter.
So when you've got these twosenators who clearly are hanging
up funding for people whodesperately need it, why?
Because they want to keepfunding going from COVID era

(18:52):
that sunseted and affects asmall minority of people.
There's no question those thingsmatter, but you have to address
them in the proper way.
And so I just find this to becrazy.
And that's why I think thisstory really does matter.
Oh, it does matter.

SPEAKER_00 (19:05):
I mean, I think it absolutely matters.
And maybe, I don't know, maybewe'll call the US Nerds.
You think they will return ourphone calls?

SPEAKER_04 (19:11):
I'm pretty sure they will not.
They will not.
But but I but I'd be more thanwilling to have them on.
I we'd sit down here withHeinrich and we'll we'll have a
word with him.
Uh, Ben Ray, hey, look, I thinkBen Ray's a nice guy, but he's
just this is a disaster.

SPEAKER_00 (19:25):
Yeah.
Stop it.
And continuing to blame this onTrump and the Republicans is
really politics too.

SPEAKER_04 (19:29):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (19:29):
It's just disingenuous.
That's all.
I'm just saying, like, hey, whenif it was the Republicans that
were a fault with this one, we'dsay it, but they're not.

SPEAKER_04 (19:36):
So No, believe me, we're gonna rip, we're gonna rip
Republicans here in a minute forfor what I think is a terrible
mistake.
Okay, let's jump into thatreally fast because a different
mistake, too, but one beyondthat.
Anyway, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 (19:47):
Okay, so let's talk a little bit right now because
the latest news right now isRepublicans.
Um, do you or do you not in thefilibuster in the Senate?
Okay, so first off, explain thefilibuster for folks first, and
then we'll get to the articlebecause I think there's still
some confusion out there on whatis a filibuster.
People just know it's when youtalk a lot.
That's true.

(20:07):
That's basically what peoplethink of when you think of
filibuster.
So explain it, the breakdown,and why it matters so much for
us to not end the filibuster.

SPEAKER_04 (20:14):
Well, okay.
And again, I I will tell youwhat we're about to bring up
right now is an issue that I hadone opinion on, and now I'm sort
of spinning and trying to find asolution to bring to you because
I don't like to be spinning andnot have an answer for you.
So the filibuster is this itapplies to the United States
Senate.
And basically what it says is onmost bills, there are some

(20:35):
exceptions.
There are some um exceptions forespecially bills having to do
with the budget and things likethat.
But but but most times in theUnited States Senate, you need
60 votes to pass somethingthrough.
Okay.
That's the difference betweenthe Senate and the House.
The House is a bare majority.
You get one extra vote uh versusyour opponents in the House and

(20:56):
your bill passes.
Okay.
That's the way the House works.
House is vicious like that, andthat's the way it is.
The Senate is different.
Okay.
The Senate is called thegreatest deliberative body in
the world because you have toget people from both sides
oftentimes to come together andagree.
Now that slows down a lot oflegislation, right?
Some things just never passbecause you never get those 60

(21:18):
votes.
And in a lot of cases, that canbe good because you but you also
force people to work togetherand to compromise.
Okay.
So that is really important.
Well, about four or five yearsago, the Democrats started
saying, we want to get rid ofthe filibuster.
Okay.
Now, if you get rid of thefilibuster, what that means is
that bare 51 votes that it wouldneed to get through the Senate,

(21:39):
because there are 100 members ofthe Senate, that bare 51 votes
could mean massive changes.
Okay.
Now, there is one area where thefilibuster has been removed.
Okay.
You used to need 60 votes forjudicial nominations in the
United States Senate.
Harry Reid, Democrat majorityleader of the Senate, got rid of

(21:59):
it in 2013.
Okay.
Mitch McConnell told him at thetime, you will rue the day you
did this.
You will never live this onedown.
Okay?
McConnell was right.
Right now, we have sixconservative members of the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Okay?
Most of them did not get 60votes to be on that court.

(22:22):
They got the bare minimum 51.
Okay?
So you've seen and you've seen aton of lower court judges fly on
through getting their 51 votes.
Okay.
And it's happened on both sides.

SPEAKER_00 (22:33):
And yeah, and so right now, obviously, if you're
a conservative Republican,you're thinking, well, goodness,
I mean, this is so great for uson the Supreme Court side
because we have greatrepresentation for the
conservative body.
Right.
Not so fast.

SPEAKER_04 (22:45):
So and so so that's what you so that's what you look
at and you say, okay, if youdon't have that that real
forward-looking, you know,sensibility, like Harry Reid did
not, all of a sudden now youlook and Democrats say, Oh my
gosh, I can't believe theSupreme Court, right?
They don't like it.
They don't like the SupremeCourt.

SPEAKER_00 (23:01):
What happened?

SPEAKER_04 (23:02):
Now, what if you had needed 60 votes for every one of
them?
Would you have had the samemembers of the Supreme Court?
You probably would not.
Okay, but not the point.
Okay.
But but that does tell us atthis point that that's one of
those things that you can passsomething thinking you're doing
the right thing in the moment,and it could hurt you down the
road.
Well, now Trump has said, I wantthe filibuster gone.

(23:24):
Okay, so if the filibuster wasgone today, by the way, the
government would be open becauseRepublicans would vote to open
the government, Democratswouldn't have a role, be like,
nope, fine.
You don't want to open thegovernment.
We don't care, we're opening it.
Right?
They would pass a continuingresolution and you know, a CR
that would fund the governmentand you'd be all set to go.
And that's kind of what Trump'ssaying.
He's like, they're getting inthe way of all this stuff.

(23:46):
We need to move things alongfaster.
And so Trump has proposed doingaway with the filibuster.
And here's what the Wall StreetJournal says when Trump
announced this to senators lastweek.
Here's some of what the feedbackwas.

SPEAKER_00 (24:00):
So here's the headline Senate Republicans say
no to Trump after a year ofsaying yes.
GOP lawmakers reject President'splan to end the shutdown by
killing the 60-vote filibusterrule.

Key points (24:09):
President Trump urged Republican senators to
eliminate the filibuster's60-vote threshold to pass
legislation with a 53-47majority.
Many GOP senators resist endingthe filibuster, viewing it as
crucial for minority partyinfluence and Senate
distinctiveness.
In recent interviews, 15 SenateRepublicans pledged to preserve

(24:31):
the filibuster, while a halfdozen said that they would like
to see the rule changed ornixed.
Trump warned Republicans thatresisting would be a quote
tragic mistake, arguing thatDemocrats would eliminate it
anyway if Republicans didn't actfirst.
It was a tough sal.
The filibuster is an especiallysensitive issue for senators.
Many see it as the critical toolthat differentiates the Senate

(24:53):
from the House and ensures theminority party's concerns are
taken into account.
And while ending the filibusterwould pay off immediately for
Republicans now, they would befrozen out if Democrats won back
the Senate.
Back at the Capitol later thatday, Republican senators mostly
dug in.
Some declined to say how theywould vote personally, but
emphasized there weren't enoughRepublican votes to kill the

(25:16):
filibuster.
Other GOP lawmakers were adamantthat they would never flip from
no to yes, even if theyunderstood Trump's argument.

SPEAKER_04 (25:24):
Okay.
Interesting stuff.
Okay.
Now, at first, uh, believe me,and I and I still think I don't
want to see it go away.
I don't.
I think this is terrible for thecountry because you're going to
see massive shifts, right?
You're going to see massiveshifts.

SPEAKER_00 (25:39):
We have a big swing constantly.

SPEAKER_04 (25:41):
There's no question, right?
I mean, you're going to seethese massive changes.
JD Vance, though, came out.
He came out firing right away onthis obviously former member of
the Senate about getting rid ofthe filibuster.

SPEAKER_00 (25:51):
Here's his tweet.
Many of my friends and formercolleagues in the Senate are
against eliminating thefilibuster because they don't
think the Democrats will becausethey don't think the Democrats
will do it.
That is just obviously wrong.
The reason the filibuster existsis because of Democratic
senators, Manchin and Cinema,both of them had their careers
destroyed by the far left forprotecting the filibuster.

(26:12):
And you better believe everySenate Democrat internalized
that lesson.

SPEAKER_04 (26:16):
Okay.
So JD's point is pretty simple.
And that is if we don't do it,they will.
It may not be today, may not betomorrow, but the first chance
they get, every singleDemocratic senator will jump on
board, get rid of it, they willpack the Supreme Court, they'll
add states, they'll change theelectoral call.

SPEAKER_00 (26:36):
I mean, everything they can add Puerto Rico and
Washington, D.C.
So they'll have biggerrepresentations.
Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 (26:40):
So we'll we'll see about that.
But let's listen to Trump makethe case that wait a minute, you
better get rid of the filibusternow because this is your one
chance, because it's on the wayout anyway.

SPEAKER_02 (27:12):
They're gone.
Don't be weak, don't be stupidRepublicans.
Fight, fight, fight,win-win-win.
We will immediately end theextortionist shutdown, get all
of our agenda passed, and makelife so good for Americans that
these deranged Democratpoliticians will never again
have the chance to destroyAmerica.

(27:34):
They tried to destroy yourcountry.
Republicans, you will rue theday that you didn't terminate
the filibuster.
Be tough, be smart, and win.
This is much bigger than theshutdown.
This is the survival of ourcountry.
Terminate the filibuster andlet's live the great life that

(27:55):
this country is capable ofliving.

SPEAKER_04 (27:58):
Okay.
I get the point.
I do get the point.
And I'm definitely more open toit than I was even 24 hours ago.
But and I worry, though, that bygetting rid of the filibuster,
it's more of a sign of where weare in our politics today, which
is burn it to the groundpolitics.
You take your side and I take myside, and never the two shall

(28:20):
meet.
And I think that is a reallyrough place to be as a country.
But I do understand the point.

SPEAKER_00 (28:26):
And can I play one other thing before I Yeah, I
mean I just want to say, like itjust there's something about it
that really bothers me in thefact that, you know, we're a
democratic republic.
And I feel like when we startsaying one power one side of the
aisle gets all the power for theyears that the president is in,
I just that makes meuncomfortable because I feel
like that's what part of ourprocess is.

(28:49):
And I understand that, you know,the Democratic Republic type
style of government definitelydoesn't uh succeed very often in
other parts of the world, right?
There's I think the longest onebefore us was uh over 200 years,
something to that degree.
I feel like this starts to shadeaway a little bit, chip away a
little bit at how our systemworks.

(29:09):
And I know that that might beover exaggerating it, but I I
see that as a red flagpersonally.

SPEAKER_04 (29:15):
Well, I but I I do think so.
Here's the bulwark against whatyou're saying, which is that
you're right.
So in a presidential year, forexample, let's say 2028, okay,
oftentimes, especially when youhave a strong presidential
campaign, they carry in a Senateand a House with them, right?
It's coattails.
It happened with Trump in 2024,it happened with Biden in 2020.

(29:38):
Okay, it it did.
Those things absolutelyhappened.
It happened with Reagan.
So now the next congressionalelection, it flips.
You got you'll lose the Senatequickly, you'll lose the House
quickly.
And so when those things startto happen, then those things
back off, right?
Those are the governingprinciples against, you know,
but the one party rule it's thatfloating in with.

(30:00):
The president that you get twoyears.
And that's really all thepresident gets then.

SPEAKER_00 (30:04):
Okay, so let's take a listen to this clip with James
Carvel.
And it's just a weird tone, Ithink, coming from him.
But we'll play it and then wecan discuss it afterwards.

SPEAKER_01 (30:14):
I'm gonna tell you what's gonna happen.
A Democrat is gonna be electedin 2028.
You know that.
I know that.
Oh no.
It's gonna be a DemocraticHouse, it's gonna be a
Democratic Senate.
The Democratic president isgonna announce a special
transition advisory committee onthe reform reform of the Supreme

(30:36):
Court.
If we could have our thirdbranch of government has lost
faith and trusted Americanpeople, his president would not
are gonna do everything alright.
He's gonna appoint ablue-ribbon, maybe maybe Judge
Ludie to get into Dean of theyou know, just the usual fucking
suspects, right?
And they're going to recommendthat the number of Supreme Court
justices go from nine tothirteen.

(30:58):
That's gonna happen, people.
That's gonna happen to you.
They're going to win, they'regonna do some blue-ribbon panel
of distinguished jurists, andthey are going to recommend 13
and a democratic senate andhouse is going to pass it, and
the democratic president isgoing to decide it because they

(31:19):
have to do an intervention so wecan have a supreme court that
the American people trust again.
So just keep that in the back ofyour mind.
And I I I I would bet a lot ofmoney if that's what's gonna
happen.

SPEAKER_04 (31:34):
Okay.
When someone tells you who theyare, believe them.
And and there have been a ton ofDemocrats who who have advocated
for this.
There's no question.
They have, they've advocated forit.

SPEAKER_00 (31:45):
So this is why you've kind of turned your your
side, your side of the argumenton this a little bit, because
you think it's gonna happenregardless, so we might as well
do it while we can.
Is that kind of what you'rethinking?

SPEAKER_04 (31:56):
I'm not saying that right now.
What I'm about to propose to youis something different.

SPEAKER_00 (32:00):
Okay.

SPEAKER_04 (32:00):
Okay, and so I this may be Pollyanna and it may be
ridiculous, okay?
But I am gonna I am gonnapropose this uh to try to save
the filibuster.
Okay, because I want thefilibuster to be saved.
I just I I have this still,you're I still have this
Pollyanna like the United StatesSenate.

(32:20):
I do though, but but becauseit's I I just feel like we're a
better country when we areforced to talk to each other and
to grind it out.
Right.
I just do.

SPEAKER_00 (32:29):
Well, and it's why you and I we've talked about it,
you know, over and over and overhere on a state side.
Our state would be so muchbetter if we had equal
representation, even on a on ain our in our local house and
senate, you know, because whenit's one side, one power for 80
plus years, we're drivingourselves into the ground.
That's not true.
So it's it's very similar in thesame thing as saying, I just

(32:49):
think when one party hasultimate power, it's dangerous.
That's not how we're gonna beable to do that.

SPEAKER_04 (32:52):
Yeah, and even if it's two years at a time, right?
You elect a new president, he,you know, he or she gets their
things, their Senate, they gettheir Senate, their house.
They don't last any more thantwo years because it doesn't go
well, but that's what happens.
So, all right, here's my here'smy theory, and this is not
solely from me.
Uh, Jeremy Boring also has thistheory, so that I don't deserve

(33:13):
any credit for this.
I I ripped some of it off andthen pulled some of it in here.
But basically, here's how I tryto ensure the filibuster stays,
and that is make it aconstitutional amendment.
Add it in through article, thearticle five process of the
constitution.
Okay, so what would that mean?
What would we do?
Okay, the first thing you woulddo is draft the amendment, okay?

(33:34):
And it's defined the rule thatfor most legislation, the
currently the way we have it, itwould it would require a 60 vote
threshold to get out of clotureand put something out for a vote
in the Senate.
Basically, it would require 60votes to get something through
the Senate.

SPEAKER_00 (33:48):
Which is what we have right now.

SPEAKER_04 (33:49):
Which is what we have right now.
Okay.
So what would that require?
Well, it would requiretwo-thirds of both chambers of
Congress to support this.
Okay.
So roughly that's something like290 House members and 67
senators.
Okay.
Would come in and say, okay, yougot it.
We want to hold on to thisthing.
We don't want to blow up theSenate and turn it into a mini

(34:10):
version of the House, right?
Let let's do that.
Okay.
Then you got to ratify it andyou got to get three-fourths of
the states, meaning 38 of 50states to go through their state
legislatures and approve it.
And then it's into theConstitution.
Basically, okay.
Those are some of the basicdetails.
I'm leaving some parts of thisout, but those are the basic

(34:31):
details.
And then if I were the Trumpadministration, I would go to
Democrats and say, we got to dothis in three months.
All right now.
Admittedly, constitutionalamendments can take anywhere
from a couple of months to yearsand years and years and years.

SPEAKER_00 (34:45):
The where you might be Pollyanna on this, yeah, is
just how long this process mighttake.

SPEAKER_04 (34:50):
I totally agree.

SPEAKER_00 (34:51):
And Trump saying, listen, we have real crisis and
real need right now.
So let's end the filibuster.
I don't see Trump ever gettingon board for this idea.
I think this is a solid idea,actually.
I like this idea better thanjust eliminating the filibuster,
but also still protecting usfrom the other side trying to do
it.
Um, I think that that's a smartgame plan.
I just don't see Trump gettingon board for this.

(35:12):
I think he sees the immediateneed.
He's not running again.
So he's trying to get as much ashe can across the, you know,
across the bridge, basically,and try to improve American
lives right now.
I think that that's what he'strying to do.
And I can see his passion andobviously I understand it
because it's gotta be maddeningwhen you get put in into office
and you know, there's a shutdownthat makes zero sense to 90% of

(35:36):
the country if they actuallyknew what's going on.
So he's trying to override that.
But right.

SPEAKER_04 (35:40):
I I totally get that.
But that's why I go to Democratsand I say, look, you we have
three months to do this, and ifwe don't get it done, we're
finished.
Now, you want to know the truth?
Democrats don't want it anyway.
So I have a feeling they'regonna say, see you later.
It's not gonna happen.
Okay.
What do you mean?

SPEAKER_00 (35:55):
You think that they you think the Democrats don't
want the filibuster?

SPEAKER_04 (35:57):
No, they don't want the filibuster anymore.

SPEAKER_00 (35:59):
And they don't care if it bites them in the butt.

SPEAKER_04 (36:01):
Well, that's the question.
So you're gonna put them, thisis what this thing does, and
this thing actually puts them inthe hot seat on the hot seat.
Yeah, they got to make adecision.
Yeah, you look, you you wannagive me, I'm gonna I'm gonna
nuke it.
I'm gonna nuke it.
Or we can we can enshrine it inthe constitution.
What do you want to do?
Name, name your price.
You just do it.
And so that's where you're gonnahave to have Republican senators

(36:24):
stand up and say, okay, we'rewilling to do this.
I think this will get you atremendous amount of votes in
the United States Senate.
That's what I think this willdo.
This will allow you to go toyour Republican senators and
say, I've tried.
Now you know they don't wantthis thing.
They're going to get rid of it.
So you can stand here and stopus, but you're just enabling

(36:44):
them.

SPEAKER_00 (36:45):
Interesting.
Okay.
That's what I think.
Are you gonna try to get on thehorn with Trump and give him
this idea?
You can just do this littlegraphic.

SPEAKER_04 (36:51):
I'm gonna let them know.
Look, I look, I don't think it'sgonna happen.
I'm not gonna lie, but we'llwe'll see, we'll see how it
checks out.
Okay.
I don't know.
But I just I just am not okaywith just like, all right, get
rid of the doorbuster.
Let's do it.
Let's go fight it out.
Because I think we will hatethat day, because I think we
will pay in a massive way.
I think we as a country willpay.
I think we're a better countrywhen we fight it out.

(37:12):
And oftentimes we're a bettercountry when we argue so much,
nothing passes.
That actually can be really goodbecause too often things get,
you know, they get somemomentum.
And then the the the fat thefact is the minority in our
government should still have asay.
And I and I can't stand it.
So we'll see.
See what happens.
All right, we got to get to theelection and what's going on

(37:33):
with what happened last week inthe election.
We talked about it when we didour special here.
You can go back and listen oneepisode ago with Jay McCluskey
and Jessica Perez.
Look, there are real concernsout there.
We've been trumpeting this fromthe mountaintops on the show
that affordability is incrediblyimportant in this country.
And Trump has to wake up tothis.

(37:54):
He has to wake up to it.
And and I don't know that hehas, but I think he's gonna
start to because these resultsare horrendous in New Jersey and
in Virginia, meaning the gapsthat that Republicans lost by,
they should be terrified.
And by the way, it's not justthe governor's race, it's
especially in Virginia, it isthe House and the Senate in

(38:14):
Virginia as well that slid wayto the left.
Look, if you can't make lifemore affordable in this country,
you're gonna get boat raced in2026.
It's gonna be bad, and you canalready see that, and there are
a lot of people talking aboutit.

SPEAKER_00 (38:25):
Okay, so here's Josh Hammer's tweet.
It says Tuesday's exit pollswere clear enough.
The economy, cost of living,affordability, and inflation are
what Americans care the mostabout.
That makes complete sense.
Republicans must articulate aclear and compelling economic
vision, ASAP.

SPEAKER_04 (38:41):
Yep, absolutely true.
Okay.
So then I want you to justlisten to what Harry Enton says
about some of the polling thatwe've seen that has come out
since all of this and some ofthe gaps between Republicans and
Democrats.
And if Republicans don't wakeup, I'm telling you right now,
if you think that that the wholething is the economy is better
than you think, it didn't workfor Biden and it will not work

(39:04):
for Trump.

SPEAKER_05 (39:06):
Yeah, I think there are a lot of Republicans who saw
those polls that, you know,showed Donald Trump low
nationally, and they didn'tnecessarily believe him.
But for Democrats, those pollsare real and they are
spectacular.
And the reason I say that isbecause take a look here.
Voted for the Democratic nomineeamong Trump disapprovers.
I got 2017 Trump's first term in2025 in New Jersey and Virginia.

(39:28):
In 2017, among the Trumpdisapprovers, the Democratic
nominees got 82% in New Jersey,87% in Virginia.
Come over to this side of thescreen.
If there is any idea thatRepublicans are going to be able
to outrun Donald Trump's lowapproval ratings, this says
nah-uh.
They're gonna be like Impala'sgetting chased down in the
African desert by a big lion.
Look at this.

(40:09):
If you are in a state whereDonald Trump is underwater, you
are in big, big trouble.

SPEAKER_04 (40:14):
Okay.
So Trump can change this, but hehas to have a laser focus on
cost.
It has that has to be everythinghe talks about.
And while I appreciate a lot ofthe other things that have been
done by this administration, ifyou're not talking about
affordability, every singlechance you get, he's gonna get
destroyed.
The house is gonna be they'regonna lose the house.

(40:35):
I don't care who you redistrict.
You're going to lose the housein a big way.
You're not going to lose theSenate, but you are going to
lose the House, and it's a hugedeal.
So he has to address theseconcerns.
And I'm not sure he fully hascome around to that.

SPEAKER_00 (40:49):
Well, if you look at the Wall Street Journal headline
here, it says it says Trumpdismisses affordability concerns
and insists prices are comingdown.
President says notion that GOPperformed poorly in recent
elections because of the cost ofliving is democratic, is a
democratic con job, is what he'ssaying.
So it says here's Republicans inWashington came away from the
recent elections with a cleartakeaway.

(41:11):
Focus on the high cost of livingor risk big losses in the next
year's midterms.
President Trump isn't convinced.
The president said this weekthat Republicans aren't talking
enough about hisadministration's successes, and
he dismissed questions onvoters' concerns regarding the
economy.
Most prices are on thedownswing, he argued.
Quote, our energy costs are waydown, our groceries are way

(41:34):
down, everything is way down,and the press doesn't report it,
Trump said.
So I don't want to hear aboutthe affordability because right
now we're much less.

SPEAKER_04 (41:42):
Okay, that's incredibly tone-deaf and wrong.
It just is.
He's got to wake up.

SPEAKER_00 (41:47):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (41:48):
He has to wake up.
If he doesn't wake up, it itdoesn't matter what else he
does.
It uh literally 26 is going tobe a disaster.
And then he can forget any otherlegislation.
It will be done.
All that will happen is that theDemocrats will take over the
House and he will be the subjectof endless investigations.
And he probably will beimpeached yet again because it's

(42:09):
just what they do.
Okay.
That's all they do.
So this is so it's just one lastlittle piece of this.
Although there is someindication in this article from
the Wall Street Journal that hemay be getting the point.
And it's the last, it's the lastquote here.

SPEAKER_00 (42:22):
Okay, so it says here um White House officials
said Trump is expected to stepup his economic messaging in
coming weeks.
After Tuesday's election, theconservative activist and former
Trump administration officialSteve Bannon interviewed Bess
Bessett, who made the case thatthe economy will improve as
Trump's policies are fullyrealized.
Quote, the house got burned downand it takes a while to rebuild

(42:44):
it, Bessett said on Bannon'spodcast.

SPEAKER_04 (42:47):
Now, look, I get that point too, is that you know
you're less than a year in Trumpbeing in office.
And it's amazing because whenBarack Obama took office, he
blamed George Bush literally foryears and anything that went
wrong, and the media ran withit, right?
Donald Trump is less than a yearout, and all of a sudden it's
you can't blame, can't blameBiden anymore.

(43:08):
It's all yours.
That's not fair, right?
But it's real.
So it doesn't matter if it'sfair, right?
So, in other words, Trump has togo after affordability.
It has to be the main thing thathe does.
So we will see, but it is it isone of those things that if he
doesn't get his arms aroundthis, then I'll tell you what,
this is this is a disaster forhim.
It will be a disaster.

SPEAKER_00 (43:29):
Well, I mean, and let's look at his job approval
in New Mexico.
We just talked about this on anational level.

SPEAKER_04 (43:33):
Yep.

SPEAKER_00 (43:34):
But let's take a look at it just here in New
Mexico.

SPEAKER_04 (43:36):
I mean, he was at 45%, which actually is not a
horrible number in the state ofNew Mexico.
You want to know the truthbecause your your job approval
basically is your ballot number,is the way to look at it right
now for him.
And that's not a horriblenumber.

SPEAKER_00 (43:49):
I will say it's not a horrible number, it's just not
a winning number.

SPEAKER_04 (43:52):
No, no, no, it's not a winning number.
And you got a lot of people whoare wondering who's going to
jump into a race, you know, forgovernor and who's going to run
jump into a race for Senate andthe House, you know.
And you look at this and yousay, uh, I can understand why
some people have some realtrepidation.
Because if the economy does notimprove, you can forget it.
Like you can't outrun thepresident of your own party very

(44:12):
often.
A few people do.
It's hard to do.
You did do it.

SPEAKER_00 (44:15):
I will say that.

SPEAKER_04 (44:16):
Thank you.
But it is, I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_00 (44:19):
It's one of only a handful of people that have ever
done it in this in the in theelection.

SPEAKER_04 (44:23):
Right, but but but it's very hard to do.
Yes.
Okay.
So, so therefore, that's why youhave a lot of people that are
just kind of like, I don't knowif I want to get into the middle
of this.
So Trump has to address theseissues.
So we'll see what happens.

SPEAKER_00 (44:34):
See if he does or not.
Okay, now we're not gonna spenda lot of time on this election,
uh, the mayor's election race,because like we Mark said
earlier, we did talk about that.
So we've been saying uh from thelast show and on now that this
is gonna be a pretty tightmayor's race between Keller and
White because uh we think it'sgonna be a super close race.
Interestingly enough, Mark, Iran into a guy today um at the

(44:55):
grocery store of all places.
Look at you.

SPEAKER_04 (44:57):
Yeah, out in the community.

SPEAKER_00 (44:58):
Oh, but yeah, people always talk to me at the grocery
store.
It is like the place that peopleit is the place to go.

SPEAKER_04 (45:02):
I totally agree.

SPEAKER_00 (45:03):
It is kind of crazy, but like people, a lot of people
want to talk to me at thegrocery store, which is great.
I have, I'm like, let's hear it.
Let's hear what you have to say.
I like this.
Interesting one today.
This is a longtime Democrat, hasa longtime Democratic family.
Sure.
They actually did fundraisersfor Keller.
They helped, you know, they putsigns up with Keller, they've
been supporting him for years.
And they're saying now, enoughis enough.

(45:24):
Like, how do we elect this guythat has driven our city into
the ground?
And so I thought it was aninteresting uh back and forth.
He's like, I don't know Darrenvery well, but I I'm gonna vote
for Darren because at thispoint, like Keller is showing us
no improvement and no game planto do so, other than like, we're
gonna fight, fight, fightagainst Darren.

SPEAKER_04 (45:42):
And so uh Yeah, it was funny too, because on
election night, and that'sinteresting to hear.
Yeah, and I think what'sencouraging about that is
especially when you see whathappened in Virginia with Jay
Jones being elected after sayingsuch horrendous things.

SPEAKER_00 (45:55):
Horrible things.

SPEAKER_04 (45:55):
I think what you always hope for in your country,
in your state, or even in yourcity, and that is that I hope
that people who are elected areheld to account to so that their
results matter.
And when their results matter,that's better for everybody.
Because when you suck atsomething, why are we why should
we be prescribed to have you beour leader in perpetuity?

SPEAKER_00 (46:16):
And that's kind of what this guy would, this is
what this guy was saying is he'slike, how arrogant is he that he
wants to run for a third termwhen he's just driven our city
into the ground?

SPEAKER_04 (46:24):
No, and I think yeah, you want accountability.
Like you want people to, andagain, if you do a really good
job and you're in the otherparty, I don't care.
Like I benefit from that.
Yeah, but if you do a crappy joband then we just but because you
are from one party or the other,it doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter what you say,it doesn't matter what you do.
I think that's such a corrosivething.

(46:45):
And so with what he said to you,I think that's actually really
encouraging, especially fromsomebody who's not like now I'm
a Republican.
No, you're not necessarilysaying that.
No, he's not.

SPEAKER_00 (46:52):
He's he's saying, you know, I that he is a what he
said, I I was a KennedyRepublican based or a Kennedy
Democrat for all intents andpurposes.
My his parents were.
And he said, but this party isjust shifting so far that I
where where am I?
He's still a Democrat.
He's just like, but I'm notvoting for Keller again.
Like he how do you how do youreinstate somebody who has done
terrible at his job?
And so that is kind of theargument we've been making for

(47:14):
the last, I don't know, threeyears, two years.
When you see Keller just notmake any, he doesn't even seem
like he's in tune or self-awareenough to understand how bad
things have become here.
And so we want to play you thislittle quip, this little clip
from election night that wedidn't show you on Tuesday
night.
We want to show it now becauseagain, it's like he just doesn't

(47:36):
seem to be in tune with whatreality is and what we need from
our leaders.
So this sounds like a seventhgrade um student election to me.

SPEAKER_07 (47:45):
It actually doesn't even matter who gets first or
second.
Darren White, we are coming foryou.

unknown (47:51):
Come on.

SPEAKER_04 (47:54):
Okay.
I do want to talk about this fora second.
Um his little finger point,Darren White, I'm coming for
you.
Beyond like the performative,tough guy, stupid, like that's
dumb.
We all get that.
That's fine.
But it's not about you, mayor,and it's not about Darren White.
It's about the people you serve.

(48:15):
And when you sit there and tryto turn it into this mono imano
tough guy routine, which he'snot the guy for that, by the
way.
There there are people that aretough guys that are in public
service and stuff like that.
They do exist.
He's just not one of them.
And I think when you see thatsort of thing, it's that
tone-deaf part of him where he'sbeen in office and been

(48:35):
surrounded by people who don'teither tell him the truth or are
just completely delusional.
Uh, you just watch him and justgo, Are you kidding me?
Yeah.
And so that's what will be veryinteresting.
Because I don't think we totallyknow this yet.
I think it's a coin flip race.
I do.
I think it's a 55%.

SPEAKER_00 (48:51):
I think it's a coin race, but I think what you're
seeing is at least the peoplethat are I've been talking to,
not even just this guy in theparking lot today at the grocery
store, but other other peoplefrom both sides of the aisle,
right?
That are saying, we have greatpride in New Mexico.
We love our state, which Markand I have said this at nauseam.
It's a beautiful state, greatweather, great food, great

(49:11):
people, kind people, and it'sbeing driven into the ground.
And enough is enough, and peoplewant some real change.
And so I think what has tohappen, and what I hope people
are starting to get educated on,is the fact that if you want
real change, you have to electdifferent leaders, city leaders,
mayors, governors, everything.
Nothing changes.
State reps, by the way, nothingchanges until you change the

(49:35):
people that are in power, right?

SPEAKER_04 (49:37):
This is what makes it so hard if you're Tim Keller.
And I think this race, I thinkit will break late.
Okay.
I do think it will break late.
I don't think it's going to beone of these races we're going
to know a whole lot in the nextcouple weeks.
I think it will break late.
But I think ultimately whenyou're trying to defend things
like this, and this is the mostdangerous cities in the country,
and Albuquerque is number fournow in the country, most

(49:58):
dangerous cities in the country,the murder rate under Tim Keller
has quadrupled.
Okay.
He is he has overseen thelargest increase in violence of
any mayor in the history of thecity of Albuquerque.
Those are really tough things toexplain your way out of.
And I think now what'sinteresting about him is he's
even sort of stopped trying toexplain his way out of it.

(50:21):
He's trying to shift the blamesomewhere else.
And again, we have to show this.

SPEAKER_00 (50:25):
Yeah, this is my this is my favorite point part
of the entire debate that theyhad, the mayoral.

SPEAKER_04 (50:31):
The entire campaign to this point.

SPEAKER_00 (50:33):
Because here is the truth.
Here is this guy that's themayor who's like, I cannot stand
on what's happened because Ihave driven my city into the
ground.
So therefore, what am I gonnado?
I'm gonna make a joke of it andbe like, Well, what are you
looking at me for?
It's not my job to fix theproblems.

SPEAKER_04 (50:51):
This is flabbergasting what he says
here.
This is this is still great.
So everybody, I mean, if I'mDarren, this is what I run in
the app.

SPEAKER_00 (50:58):
Oh, all over and over and over.

SPEAKER_04 (50:59):
Okay, so here it is again.
We've played this for you, butwe've got to do it one more
time.
Tim Keller responding to crimein downtown.

SPEAKER_00 (51:07):
In downtown.

SPEAKER_04 (51:08):
And how do you deal with crime?
Now, a good mayor would say,listen, here's what we're doing,
X, Y, and Z, here's what we needto do better, and here's what
I'm implementing, and we willget this under control, and then
you show results.

SPEAKER_00 (51:18):
But he couldn't, he can't do that.
No, no, no.
He can't do that, Mark, becausehe can't stand on his records.

SPEAKER_04 (51:22):
No, no, no.
He's not even doing that.

SPEAKER_00 (51:24):
No.

SPEAKER_04 (51:24):
No, he's not.
This is the greatest answerever.

SPEAKER_07 (51:26):
The challenge around downtown, I think this is a good
one where at least those of uswho are born and raised here, uh
downtown has been a challengefor decades.
And part of the problem is thatwe look to mayors and
politicians to fix it.
I do think that's part of theproblem.
I agree with you, that's whatI'm saying.
I'm saying with our taxincrement district, they get
their own money and then theycan decide what to do with it.

(51:47):
The actual community, givingpower to the community, I think,
is leadership.
That is something that I'velistened and heard about for
decades, and it's something nopolitician has ever been willing
to do.
Time is up.

SPEAKER_04 (51:58):
No one's been willing to do it because they
actually take their jobseriously and they don't shift
blame to the TID.
Hey, we got a TID district here.
You guys, we got the TID, youguys can do what you want.
Are you this is so ludicrous tobe able to do that?

SPEAKER_00 (52:10):
Hey, get your flashlight, get your badge, and
you go fighting.
You go, you go protect us.
We don't need to, you know,taxpayers' money going to pay
for the police and paying for,you know, to keep us safe.
And by the way, mayor, maybelook up a definition under what
does a mayor do?
One of your number one jobs isto keep your community safe,
right?

SPEAKER_04 (52:29):
It's like, and he's like, Well, if people are
looking at me to do that, likebut I gotta admit, the huevos on
this guy to be like, Oh, yeah,this is exactly what I'm saying.
I'm saying you need to take careof it, not me.
It's unreal.
So that's why I think it's gonnatake a little while for this
thing to really settle out.
But I do think this can be afascinating race.
I think Darren's got a realchance to win, and we'll have to

(52:51):
wait and see what happens, andwe'll talk about some more
strategy with this as we goalong.
But it is, it's it is amazing.

SPEAKER_00 (52:57):
It's just it's unbelievable.
We did get a lot of comments,Mark.
I didn't put them in here.
Yeah.
People wanting to know how dothey help out Darren.
Um, just go to Darren White for,I think it's Darren White for
mayor, if I remember right.
You can sign up to be avolunteer, get a sign, donate to
his cause, or I mean, donate tothe campaign.
I mean, honestly, that's thefastest way you can help out.
I don't care if you've got 10bucks, 20 bucks,$100, whatever

(53:17):
you've got.
It's he will need it to be ableto get his message out to folks.
So if you really do care, itdoesn't matter what side of the
aisle you're on.
If you're tired of the waythings have gone, even if you
can't vote for Darren, you canseriously still donate to his
cause.

SPEAKER_04 (53:30):
So if you want to go.
Okay, all right.
We're gonna wrap with someSunday game day.

SPEAKER_00 (53:35):
Oh, I'm shocked.

SPEAKER_04 (53:36):
Here it is.

SPEAKER_00 (53:36):
I'm so surprised.

SPEAKER_04 (53:37):
Okay, that's good looking, Buck.

SPEAKER_00 (53:38):
I mean, I'm sort of look at the size of this guy.
Yeah, he's good size.

SPEAKER_04 (53:42):
I mean, the rack on him, I mean he's thick, he's
looks good.

SPEAKER_00 (53:47):
It's so he he's just posing for you.

SPEAKER_04 (53:49):
Oh, he's posing, yeah.
And then I got him here, justkind of I think it's the same
guy.
Okay, this was later in thenight.

SPEAKER_00 (53:55):
Well, he's just chilling.
Yeah, he's real happy rightthere.

SPEAKER_04 (53:57):
No, no, he's totally fine.

SPEAKER_00 (53:58):
And it's so funny because these are like it's
pitch black out there.
We I mean, obviously, you havethe the camera that shows it at
night, but it's a night vision,yeah.
It's it is pitch black out therefor this.

SPEAKER_04 (54:07):
Oh, no question.
And then there's so we got alittle uh we've definitely got
some bobcat action too.

SPEAKER_00 (54:12):
No, look at him.
He's back.
Yeah, he was I wonder if it'sthe same bobcat.

SPEAKER_04 (54:15):
I don't know because he because there's this guy too.
So that's another one.

SPEAKER_00 (54:19):
Oh, yeah, that one's bigger.

unknown (54:20):
He's bigger.

SPEAKER_00 (54:21):
He looks bigger.

SPEAKER_04 (54:22):
Look at him.

SPEAKER_00 (54:23):
Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_04 (54:25):
So yeah, so we're good on the game day.
It's pretty solid.

SPEAKER_00 (54:28):
Okay.

SPEAKER_04 (54:28):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (54:28):
Anything else you want to add?
Anything else you want to talkabout?
Maybe like the fact that Ispilled paint in your uh the
back of your car.
You want to talk about that alittle bit?
Do you want to forgive me?
Are you gonna forgive me yet?
So just so you know, everybody,uh, we're picking paint for a
house in the mountains.
I had four colors of greenpaint.

SPEAKER_04 (54:44):
For the show, too.
You'll be able to watch theshow, yeah.
Uh coming up, I think, inFebruary or March.

SPEAKER_00 (54:48):
Yeah.
Uh it would be called Markversus Mountain.
Shocking.
Right.
So I bring up four differentcolors of green paint.
Um, we put them in a box.
It's in the back of Mark'struck.
Uh yeah.
And then we get there in themiddle of the night.
It's dark, and uh, so I don'trealize the paint is spilled.
And so I'm starting to grab allthe bags out of the car.
And Mark comes around and hesees that apparently there's

(55:10):
paint everywhere and it's umit's green.
Yeah.
It's like the color of mysweater.

SPEAKER_04 (55:15):
Here's how this goes.
Um uh first of all, there werewhat Sherwin Williams, those
Sherwin Williams samples.
Okay.
Yes.
By the way, in Christie'sdefense, the the Sherwin
Williams cans that the samplesyou get are hard to put on.
They just are.
And it's easy to not fully putit on and not really realize it.
And so somehow one of them justwasn't put on enough.
So when I went and looked inthere and I pulled it out, there

(55:38):
was no top on it.
And I was like, oh my, and it'sall over.
So then all of a sudden I'mlike, Christy, what the?
I start freaking out.
She's like, it wasn't me.
And so she's like, and she'slike, I'm out of here.
Let me get our stuff out ofhere.
So she immediately gets somebags, goes running out of the
car, goes into the house.
Now, there is the house we'rewe're renting to do the show.

(55:59):
There's saltillo tile over mostof it.
But no, Christy runs back intothe bedroom where there's white
carpeting and sets the bag down.

SPEAKER_00 (56:06):
Because here's the thing.
In my defense, though, it waspitch black.
Okay, I can't see very well.
So people that know me know thatI have real problems with
vision.
I've had cornea surgery, so Idon't have great vision.
It's dark.
The bags are dark, my clothesare dark, everything's- You went
running to the white carpeting.

SPEAKER_04 (56:23):
I didn't know anything was on the bag.

SPEAKER_00 (56:24):
I didn't know anything was actually on the
bag.
So not only do I set the bagdown, I look at my side, my
jeans are wrecked, they've gotgreen all over them.

SPEAKER_04 (56:32):
Because she's in her on a roll, she loves her jeans.
She's like, I gotta get thesejeans off and get them in and
get them washed.

SPEAKER_00 (56:38):
This makes you sound like a total idiot.
I didn't mean for us to gothrough all the details.

SPEAKER_04 (56:42):
No, no, no.
So then she's like, okay, so shewhips off the jeans, chucks them
in the washing machine.
She's like, Well, I better makethis as cold as possible to get
these, to get this paint off.
Well, of course, you need to goas hot as possible.
It's water-soluble paint.
It all would have come out ofher jeans.
But she washed them on cold.
Yeah, I because I washedeverything on cold.

SPEAKER_00 (57:05):
Yeah, and paint just in Mark's car.
So yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (57:08):
And it's still there.

SPEAKER_00 (57:08):
My jeans will now become working jeans, but still,
at the end of the day, I it wasit was such a catastrophic, it
was such a disaster with thisgreen paint everywhere.
And I just made it worse.
I just kept making it worse.
Like it was fine.
No matter what I did, it justgot 10 times worse.

SPEAKER_04 (57:22):
Literally, once we stopped screaming about all the
paint, it was one of the funnierthings we've ever been through.

SPEAKER_00 (57:28):
But I did here's the good news I did pick some paint,
and I think it's gonna come offpretty amazing.
Find out.
We'll find out on Mark vs.
the mountain.
So thanks you guys so much forjoining and spending a little
time with us.
We'll be back on Wednesday.
So again, tune in, like,subscribe, and please make sure
that if you um are interested ingetting our emails, you go to no
doubtaboutitpodcast.com.
If you want to donate to ourshow and help support us there,

(57:49):
you can either buy swag or youcan actually just make a
donation online as well.
We appreciate all of yoursupport.
Biggest thing you can do, tellyour friends and family about
us.
Make sure you like andsubscribe.
Thanks so much, you guys.
God bless and have a greatnight.

SPEAKER_03 (58:03):
You've been listening to the No Doubt About
It podcast.
We hope you've enjoyed the show.
We know we had a blast.
Make sure to like, rate, andreview.
We'll be back soon.
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(58:23):
The No Doubt About It Podcast isa choose adventure media
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