March 5, 2025 • 53 mins
In this episode of A Political Talk Show, we’re diving into one of the most overused (and often misunderstood) phrases in politics: "the mandate of the people." Every newly elected president loves to claim they have it, but what does it actually mean? Does winning an election—whether by a landslide or a few thousand votes—automatically give a leader the right to push their entire agenda? Or is “the people’s mandate” just a convenient political tool to justify whatever comes next? We’ll explore how past presidents have defined (and stretched) the idea of a mandate, from Roosevelt’s overwhelming victories to razor-thin wins that somehow still led to sweeping policy changes. We’ll also break down how media narratives shape the perception of a mandate and why opposition parties are always quick to challenge it. With historical insights, sharp analysis, and a bit of humor, we’re unpacking the reality behind political mandates—who really grants them, who abuses them, and whether they actually matter once the campaign is over. Tune in for a lively discussion on power, perception, and the fine line between democratic legitimacy and political spin.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Hello, my fellow Americans, and good day to our friends
around the world. This is a political talk show. My
name is donis soon Ard Green. I'll be taking you
through the next two hours of political talk. Thanks for
being here, Thanks for being a part of the show.
Lots of different ways to be engaged. One of those
ways is, of course, what you're doing right now. You
(00:53):
can't possibly be engaged if you're not listening here, whether
that is the am dial YouTube, our online stream. Maybe
you got one of those smart speakers that you decided
to tell it to play. Am Dial, of course, is
always the first way to do that on WRMN fourteen ten.
But if you want to know some of the other
(01:15):
ways to watch or be a part of a political
talk show or the station itself, you can go to
WRMN fourteen ten dot com and find a schedule, find
all of the links to our social media and all
of those different places that are there. I recommend go
into the YouTube side, not just to go watch me
right now, but to watch the candidate forum, the Elgincity
(01:39):
Council candidate forum that we did last night. David Tes
took over the show a political talk show yesterday and
brought in some great guests. We're still putting those videos
together to make sure that we can get those out
to those candidates. But if you want to watch the
forum from last night, it is still living on YouTube.
(02:00):
Go over there. A couple hundred, one hundred of you
have already watched it, have already commented in. You get
to know a lot more about your candidates from there,
and uh, you get to see my new haircut. So
thanks for being here, thanks for being a part of
the show. It is Word Wednesday. But before I give
you the word, I'll let you know what's happening in
(02:21):
the second hour, and that is Bendemonium Boquest. We'll be
bringing some headlines and we will open up the phone line.
So eight four seven nine three one fourteen ten is
that number. If you are interested in jumping in line
eight four seven nine three one fourteen ten, you can
always text us on the text line five zero five
(02:42):
nine two six fourteen ten five zero five nine two
six fourteen ten. That is open Monday through Monday, twenty
four hours a day. Trust me, I get all of
the text messages at the top of the day at midnight,
when our beloved Linda Carter make sure that we get
(03:03):
that happy morning and happy day right off the bat.
If there is anything that you would like to promote,
maybe there's a flyer, maybe there's a picture, maybe there's
an event that's going on. The text line is perfect
for that because we can pull that up during our streams.
And just like we said during the forum, this is
your station. We want to make sure that we are
(03:25):
delivering the content and the things specifically for you. I
got to meet a whole bunch of great listeners over
there that like the changes, don't like the changes, and
we got some great feedback from meeting everybody at those
events and being over at Journey of Hope. So let
(03:45):
me let you know about the word of today. I've
got a intern here with me who's taken notes and
getting some learning in before I do that, Nick Stevenson.
If you see his face, pop in and there into
the you tube side. Also, if you're on the YouTube side,
you get to see the newly decorated I am as
(04:06):
Podcasting studio. We've got guitars, we've got couches, we've got posters,
we've got memorabilia, we've got vinyl, all kinds of different things.
Go ahead and check out over there. Of course, I
am broadcasting live from the Illinois Media School in the
O'Hare campus, where I am a night teacher. If you
(04:27):
would like to learn from us, the media professionals that
are here, go to beon air dot com. I know
I've buried it a few times. Finally, I'll give you
that word for word Wednesday. You've heard it a few times.
It is definitely a word that is moving into our
vernacular a little bit more. Not so much in the
Biden administration, but all the way back to like the
(04:51):
New Deal from Roosevelt is when people started using this
in a political sense. And of course that word is mandate. Right.
Mandatory means to just it has to be done, has
to be there, like the mandatory meeting that you have
(05:13):
to be at or the mandatory tax filing that you
have to do. Now, what they also do in the
political side of it is mandate really is doing some
really heavy lifting with the political side of it, because
a lot of people talk about a mandate, but not
(05:36):
in the side of this absolutely has to be done
because it has to be done. But more like the
American people wanted you to do this, They mandated that
you do this right, less and it's not one of
those things that are necessarily you know, it's well, when
we get into it, we're going we've got a whole
(05:57):
hour to break that down for here. But let me
just break it into just some simple side of the politics.
The word mandate in a political context refers to the
authority granted by voters to a political leader or party
to implement their policies and agendas. That's what that means.
It isn't like a mandatory thing or in the literal
(06:22):
sense of mandatory. It is more of a figurative. They
mandate that we do these things. They want me to
do it. They voted for me with these policies. So
it's a little bit construed because construed sorry, because a
(06:46):
lot of people don't vote for the candidate. A lot
of people don't necessarily they may win the popular vote,
but they may not necessarily end up with the most favoritism.
I mean, at the most, I think we can get
(07:08):
high sixties in voter participation. And then if you look
at a lot of the different ways that we calculate
those statistics, I mean, if one candidate has a mandate
with a surplus of two million people that they want
(07:28):
it from then, surely a candidate that had seven million
more votes than the other person would have more of
a mandate. Right, So that's what we're going to talk
to talk a little bit about. Let me first get
to electoral mandate. An electoral mandate occurs when a political
candidate or party wins an election. Let's see, easy enough, Okay,
(07:53):
game over, see you guys tomorrow. Now, significantly public support
for their is what they assume because they won. Right is,
if I win the vote, then I would assume that
the majority of Americans want me to do these things,
and then I can infer that the people gave me
(08:13):
a mandate. So after Franklin D. Roosevelt's landslide victory in
nineteen thirty two, he claimed a mandate to implement the
New Deal and a series of programs designed to combat
the Great Depression everybody was in. Everybody was in really
(08:34):
hard times and turmoil at that time. A legislative mandate
is the other side that you might hear this from.
That refers to laws or regulations passed by the governing
body that require certain actions. Now, this is where it
is a literal mandate, where it literally is a law
and is literally mandated by law. Now I can say
(08:58):
it was mandated by the people or a consensus as
some people would say for that. Thank you Ben for
that word as well. So the legislative mandate is an
actual literal law mandate. For example, the Affordable Care Act
(09:19):
included an individual mandate requiring most Americans to have health
insurance or face a tax penalty until the provision was
effectively nullified in twenty seventeen, so that's also part of
that mandate. That would be a literal mandate. You literally
(09:40):
are mandated to have those health insurance something, whether it
was private or if you were doing the Affordable Care
Act with it. The other mandate that you might see
as well are governmental mandates. And this is a regulatory
mandate where somebody turned around and said, you have have
to make sure there are only so many rat droppings
(10:06):
in Cereal. Right, that's a regulatory mandate. You have to
turn around and say, I need to make sure that
I am in compliance of these regulations. And of course
I'm going to give you those examples. A funded mandate
unfunded mandates or two of them that are there. A
funded mandate is when the federal government provides financial assistance
(10:27):
to help states and local governments comply with regulations. We're
starting to see some of that with the sewer and lead.
I guess renovations for the City of Elgin is doing
that mandate of removing the lead. That is both the
(10:47):
funded and slightly unfunded mandate as well. Where the funding stops,
the local governments have to pick it up. And that's
where the unfunded mandates come from, where governments are required
to comply with the regulations, but they've got to do
so without federal funding. Like maybe each county has to
(11:08):
have a certain position, or each police department has to
have a community type of engagement side of it. Those
are mandates that usually come from higher up, but don't
necessarily have a funding that's attached to it. They're just
(11:29):
saying you have to do these things. So we'll continue
with our mandate talk. I've got some mandates in the
presidential politics that we're going to go over. Once we
know what mandates are, the next step that we're going
to do is we're going to look at some numbers
and see if the mandate is really there. When you
(11:52):
talk about how you only win fifty some percent of
the vote and even then that vote is only comprised
of about sixty some percent of all registered voters. Now
you're looking at a mandate being upheld by maybe only
thirty some percent, I thirties percent of all registered voters
(12:15):
to begin with. So if that's a mandate, and if
that's the litmus test for it, I'm going to give
you a couple more presidents that should have had a
bit more support for their mandate. You're listening to a
political talk show. My name is Dennis Sonar Green, and
we will be right back.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Get ready for Around the House every Saturday night from
five to seven pm on WRMN AM fourteen ten. If
you're a homeowner or contractor looking to tackle those projects
that feel a bit too this is the show for you.
Join Eric along with his knowledgeable guests as they dive
(13:07):
deep into everything from DIY renovations to creating a healthy
home environment. We'll provide you with the tools and tips
you need to complete your projects with confidence and ease.
But it's not all work and no play. We believe
in having fun. Our passion for home improvement shines through
as we help you save time, money, and reduce the
(13:29):
stress of DIY. So whether you're a season pro or
just starting out, don't miss around the house. Tune in
every Saturday night and let's tackle those home projects together.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Thinning in shouldn't be hard. Whether in life, on the
court or in the classroom. At Algae Community College, you
could find your place alongside those expanding their horizons, exploring
boarding careers and achieving their dreams. A place for doers, thinkers,
and believers. At ECC, we see you, we believe in you,
(14:06):
and you'll fit right in. Learn more at Elgin dot
edu slash belong.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
I know we're out a at well State, but for
making a comment like hey, your hair is good, And
then I got a call from HR saying, hey, you
know what, you're under investigation.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
Do have any recordings?
Speaker 1 (14:22):
But were you fired? No? Not yeat. The problem at
you is they can fire you for any reason they want.
They literally can wake up in the morning and say,
you know what, I'm a little bored this morning. I'll
tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna fire Eddie
for no reason.
Speaker 6 (14:33):
Yep, he can do that.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
That's California.
Speaker 6 (14:35):
Yep. Welcome handle on the lock.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
If you're injured and need a lawyer, go to handle
on the law dot com.
Speaker 7 (14:42):
This is a Chef of Love Chef Gennard TV host
and restaurant tour. My grandparents harvested their land to sell
food and share this overflowing bounty with our community. Grandma said,
for every yam we pick, we get one away in
the world they cultivated. I love preparing and eating them
with my family on Sundays. When our resources changed, food
(15:04):
assistance programs sustained us. They gave me fuel to start
my first culinary business at sixteen years old and inspiration
to donate the extra food in my community. Through my life,
I've developed an appetite to work with others to ensure
everyone has access to the nutritious food we need to thrive. Together,
(15:25):
we can help in hunger. Come on join the movement
with Feeding America by volunteering, donating, and advocating. Learn more
at Feeding America dot org. Slash Act now.
Speaker 8 (15:36):
Brought to you by Feeding America in the AYE Council.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Welcome back to a political talk show here on w
r m N. My name is Dennis Son R. Green.
Thank you Wendy for telling me how handsome I looked
at the at the forum last night. You can definitely
look how handsome I was. But don't just go there
for that, go there to hear about the candidates. We
(16:19):
had some great questions last night, a lot about funding
both downtown and abroad of the City of Elgin, and
then also talking about what they plan on doing with
the lot by the Gail Borden Library, what do they
think about the city manager and council relationship, and also
(16:46):
we got a little bit into their financial side of it,
but mostly it was about checking their flavor. How do
they respond because this is what they're going to have
to do during the city council meetings. Now I gave
them upwards of two minutes to answer a question, but
(17:07):
when you go to the city council meetings, you'll have
three minutes or so to deliver your message and hopefully
they'll respond on that side of it. The way that
Elgin is set up is it's set up for almost
a part time type of city council. And what that
means is most of the people that are on the
(17:29):
city council isn't necessarily their primary objective. They work, they live,
they play in the area, and then because they are
voted by the rest of us, it's more of a
representation than it is necessarily like the Kane County Board
(17:51):
at that point where they've got a bit more of
that legislative power. And speaking of that, Madam Chair Correin
Peirog of Kane County Board will act actually be on
Mark's show, the WRMN Morning Show at nine o'clock tomorrow
along with Jamie Mosser, and we will have Mike reid In,
(18:12):
which is the president slash Mayor of Hampshire, who will
be there with us in the morning and listen to
Susie c as well who has joined the morning show.
And it's a fantastic time. We got a lot more
imaging for things. We're still feeling everything out to make
(18:34):
sure that we can deliver you the morning show that
you all deserve. But if you don't like my flavor
of politics, feel free to listen in the morning at
about nine o'clock and you'll get a different flavor of politics.
And that's the beauty of what we're trying to do
here at the station is we are trying to make
(18:57):
sure that we deliver as many viewpoints, whether it's political
viewpoints or it's somebody who says I like red wine
versus white wine. Let's get that discussion. Let's get that
information out and let you the listener contribute into it
if you'd like to contribute later on in the show.
Of course, that is going to be during our headlines
(19:19):
and phone lines eight four, seven, nine, three, one, fourteen
ten to go ahead and jump in online for that.
So we're going over the word for word Wednesday. Mandate.
So mandatory is something that a lot of people jump
into or demands right. Uh, it's still kind of the
(19:40):
same root words of man in having to uh that
physical side of it. For demands, a you could almost
say a demandate is almost what you could you could
kind of merge the two together in a in a
doctor Sussian type of type of way. But there's certain
(20:01):
things that are perceived mandates that aren't legislative or governmental mandates.
Or even then I was in the Navy, I had
mandatory muster for a lot of times. You got to
show up for that because it's it's mandatory, it's it's there,
you have to do it. So now it's not too
(20:24):
far of a stretch when you talk about presidential mandates.
Now for US presidents that frequently claim the mandate following
the election, which that's what most of them do. It's
especially when they win by a significant margin. So now
we want to talk about significant margin as one of
(20:46):
the first litmus tests of a mandate. Right, it's it's
not necessarily a mandate of the people to the president.
Isn't necessarily mandate toy, Right. Mandatory means that you have
to do it, it needs to be done. Now, if
(21:06):
you talk about the people have given somebody a mandate,
it is more of a It is more of a
figurative type of side because at the end of the day,
the people only have one course of action to correct
something that wasn't mandatory. Right, If I didn't show up
(21:27):
for mandatory muster, they docked my pay, they put me
on restriction or whatever else. If I don't meet the
mandates of the government, they're gonna throw me in jail
or find me or anything like that. A presidential mandate,
especially if you're not going to be able to run again,
(21:47):
is kind of a soft mandate in that figurative type
of thing. It is more of a demand. So now
let me give you the second litmus test of a
of a mandate by the people, is winning all three
or the Congress as well as the presidency. Now, what
(22:11):
you're able to do is not only you campaigned on
your policy and your platform, but the people gave you
the tools to actually do it. So if you look
at after winning the reelection in twenty I'm sorry, twenty
(22:31):
oh four, President George W. Bush claimed he had a
mandate to reform Social Security, but Congress resisted and his
proposal failed. And that was a lot because I don't
believe he actually controlled it at the time. So we're
going to talk about the debate over the mandate of
winning the narrow margin, and then we'll also go in
(22:54):
to what constitutes a mandate in which presidents have got
him based off of those to litmus tests, an incredibly
high margin of victory and winning Congress as well as
the presidency. You're listening to a political talk show here
on wrm N. I'll be right back after this.
Speaker 8 (23:45):
With your fourteen ten WRMN newsplash. I'm Sean Curdan, brought
to you by sky Rizzy b Gailboard and Public Library
will host a Nostalgic showcase, the Barbie Superstar Exhibit, highlighting
the iconic dolls of the late nineteen seventies to mid
nineteen eighties be free exhibit thanks to a local collector,
features around five hundred barbies at the downtown Elgin Library.
(24:05):
Elgin Community College set to kick off Women's History Month
with the Glow Up Healthfare on Thursday, March seventh. The
event will be taking place from ten am until one
pm in the Job Lounge, Building B on the Elgin
campus in Naperville. A series of arrests related to firearms
at resumed at the Top Golf Facility, ending eight brief
wall since October. Recent incidents involving three individuals, Malik Jacory
Gully of Chicago apprehended on Saturday, Jahad Yusef Yamen was
(24:29):
detained on February eleven, and boy Dion Perez arrested on
February first, all with firearm charges. With your fourteen to
ten WRMN news Flash, I'm Sean Kurnan.
Speaker 6 (24:43):
Confidence is no one. You're ready to handle whatever comes
your way. That's what it feels like to take on
your workday with centas. They make sure your AEDs are
up to date, your fire extinguishers are tested and inspected,
your floor mats are cleaned and delivered, and your workwear
looks good. It feels good and espressly laundered with the
Sentas Apparel Plus program. So are you ready to take
(25:05):
on today? Visit Centas dot Com, am ready and get
ready for the workday.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Progressive nos. If you have to choose between everyday life
and your RV RV wims, what are you gonna take
the r V to the mountains? Are go? Pick up
your dry cleaning RVY ways? Are we cleaning the gunners?
Are taking the RV cave Harvy ways? Are we getting
a new passport? Cruising up the coast RVY ways? Don't
forget you got that trip to Sweden coming up yoursporun RV.
(25:32):
With Progressive you can bundle your RV with your home Morado.
Speaker 6 (25:34):
And save with a discount and spend more time enjoying
those savings in your RV forgress speuty chants can pick
up l gets other insures not fab win now state
in situations.
Speaker 9 (25:42):
Are you dreaming of a getaway? Want to leave the
stress of daily life behind, Whether it's a relaxing recruise
or an adventurous landscape, Planning the perfect vacation doesn't have
to be a hassle. At Cruises International, they specialize in
vacation destinations Land and see making your dreams Come True.
Located seventeen twenty one Moonlake Boulevard in Hoffman estates Cruises
(26:04):
International isn't just about booking travel. They're your personal concierge,
trusted travel advisor and advocate. Your preferences are unique and
they'll take the time to understand exactly what you're looking for.
From personalized service to their global network of specialists, they
ensure that your vacation is tailor made just for you.
It's time to plan the vacation of a lifetime. Call
(26:25):
eight hundred two five five seven four four seven. That's
eight hundred two five five seven four four seven today
and speak to a cruise and vacation expert Cruises International.
It's time to set sail to your dream destination.
Speaker 5 (26:39):
This is Sarah Silver with your Fox Valley forecast. A
wind advisory is in effect until midnight tonight. This afternoon
snow with cloudy skies and a high near forty nine,
temperatures falling to around thirty gusty wins up to forty
five miles per hour. Tonight, Scattered snow showers before three am,
Mostly cloudy with a lower round twenty five. Currently it
(27:02):
is thirty three with moderate snowfall. I'm Sarah Silver on
the Talk of the Town WRMN.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
Progressive Nos. There are some surprisingly expensive things in life,
like frames. Because you found a classic seventies concert poster,
but when you went to get it framed, you realize
the frame will cost about four times the amounts of
the poster, which is actually absurd because no one will
be looking at the frame, and if they are, then
you severely overestimated how cool this poster is. But then
you remember by switching your home in auto to progressives,
(27:31):
you could save hundreds and put it towards a classic
seventies concert poster in an absurdly overpriced frame.
Speaker 6 (27:36):
Progress of Kathleen Trance Company.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
Foley, It's other jerk, It's not available all takes.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Welcome back to a political talk. Joe Here on WRMN.
I'm broadcasting live from the Illinois Media School. Come check
out my new podcast studio. It's so great. Look at
us on the YouTube YouTube dot com. You'll find WRM
and Radio over there. If you're looking for the media
(28:19):
school itself, that is bonair dot com. Because you get
to be on air, become a media professional and learn
from media professionals. Every single one of the instructors that
I work with has a job in media, whether it
is WBBM, WGN, or the Score, all of these different
(28:41):
places that are already media professionals. Now I know I
listed off all the radio stations, but there's a lot
of television and film, both from the independent side, and
even people that act as actors in other movies, whether
they're the star or supporting cast. Learn how to operate
(29:04):
a camera, Learn how to talk into a microphone, Learn
how to get your own media hustle on. You can
go ahead and find us at bonair dot com. Thank
you very much for being here. It is Word Wednesday
on a political talk show. I only got a few
more minutes to walk through some of this, and we'll
talk about mandates in history, presidential mandates, mandates from the people,
(29:30):
and what does that constitute? Where is the mandate? How
do you measure the mandate? Why does everybody keep saying mandate? Well,
that's why we built word Wednesday, so that we could
take a political word that is just being thrown around
everywhere and make sure that we're actually using it correctly.
And by the end of this you will know if
(29:52):
somebody is using it right or if they are just
full of hot air. And why we didn't here about
other president's mandates. We didn't hear about Clinton's mandate because
the Republicans had the House at the time. And there's
a lot of people that say that the reason that
the budget was put together is because of Gingrich and
(30:16):
a few other people, And I think, honestly, that's where
the perception of how Republicans are better with the economy
than the Democrats came from is honestly back from the nineties,
in that era where President Clinton, through his leadership, and
(30:36):
the Republicans on the congressional side actually worked together and
we finally had a surplus. Imagine that, not adding to
the debt every year, but having a surplus that we
could we could walk back down. But that's when that's
(30:56):
when the debt was was small potatoes. At that point.
I think in the nineties, if I could pull up
my stuff right, and by my stuff I mean my
own brain, I think it was close to maybe four
trillion dollars of the debt at that point in the nineties,
and then almost every single president after Clinton has added
(31:19):
another three, nine, ten trillion dollars to the side three
point two trillion. Thank you very much, Nick got right
on that. Good to have interns here. Nick Stevenson is
my intern for today over here at the school learning
how to do his own political show. Look out for
(31:40):
Delicate Constitution soon to hit your favorite podcasting platform, including
the one that you're listening to a political talk show on.
We'll make sure that we get those posted as well.
Thank you Wendy for watching the whole two hours of
the candidate forum that we put on last night. She
(32:00):
says she will be making her vote April first. You
should be making your vote to April first. If you
need to look at the candidates, if you need to
know where you're where to vote, how to register, you
can always go to the Caine County Clerk's Office. I
think it is clerk too dot Cain County dot gov.
(32:21):
If I had to get the URL right off the
top of my head. Most of the time, I literally
just type into my search engine Caine County Clerk's Office.
It takes me right there every single time, just like
you can put in a political talk show into your
favorite search engine and speaker will pull up. Because that's
(32:43):
how we send everything out from there. But let's get
a little bit into discussing discussing the word mandate. So
what usually happens in the presidential mandate or at least
a mandate from the people, And we've heard it. I mean,
I can't go two days without hearing the word mandate
(33:04):
from somebody. And now granted there is a mandate from
from the right side, is what they're saying, and the
Democrats are going to fight it. And that's what it's
always contentious to begin with, anyway, to start talking about
this ethereal type of mandate, because what are you going
to do with the mandate from the people? Did we
(33:25):
all sign a letter? Did we all say these are
the policies we like, these are the policies we don't know.
We voted for a person that had their policies, and
then we gave them the tools to get it done.
That's what constitutes a mandate from the people is even
though you maybe a single issue voter, maybe you didn't
(33:47):
like everything that a candidate has, but because the candidate
won in a large margin, then also won the Congress
to be able to kind of implement those and you
would assume that the presidency and the Congress should be
on the same page if they're in the same political party.
(34:11):
That's starting to kind of fracture a little bit right now.
And really you haven't seen this on the red side
since I would say the Tea Party there, and some
of you that are part of the Tea Party, I'm
sure part of MAGA as well. Now it's just a
different hat, a lot of the same principles, just different
I guess, a different jersey at this point. So, a
(34:33):
political mandate is perceived as the legitimacy to govern and
enact policies derived from the electoral support. This concept operates
on the assumption that the voters selected candidates whose parties
whose platforms align with their preferences, thereby endorsing specific policy agendas.
(34:56):
The clarity and strength of the mandate often hinge on
factors such as margin of victory and voter turnout. So
we're going to look at the three litmus tests as
we go through, and that is the margin of victory.
A substantial electoral win is often interpreted as a robust mandate,
(35:19):
suggesting widespread public support for the victor's policy. Conversely, a
narrow victory may lead to questions about the extent of
the mandate. Right, those single issue voters or those people
that like to stay home, or the people that vote
third party, that's where you may end up with the
(35:43):
not that large margin of victory for things on there
kind of a contentious contest. So voter turnout is the
other side. High voter turnout can enhance the perceived legitimacy
of the mandate, as it indicates public engagement and support.
Low turnout, however, may cast doubt on representatives of that mandate.
(36:09):
So if a lot of people don't turn up, a
lot of people aren't charged or passionate or ready to
go and support these policies. A lot of people stayed
home and they didn't vote at all, or didn't even
or only voted for the presidency, and not necessarily anybody
in Congress. It's back to that voter turnout. If you
(36:30):
can get a majority of the registered voters to actually
show up and vote, then they definitely are giving you
that mandate of hey, we're interested in these policies, we
want to make sure that you can get them done.
That's also the electoral integrity, the fairness and transparency of
the electoral process is critical. That's why we cannot keep
(36:54):
saying they was stolen or taken or any of these
other things. Now, hyperbole, and we talked about that, I
think it was last Wednesday. Was the hyperbole side of it.
And that's where that is incredibly dangerous hyperbole, because there
are ways that somebody could I guess not necessarily go
(37:19):
right in start flipping votes back and forth, but there
are ways to meddle in elections. And whether that constitute
stealing or not. I mean, if I give you a
whole bunch of ads for McDonald's and you go to McDonald's,
did I steal your business from Burger King? That doesn't
(37:39):
make any sense to me. That's the ad aspect of it.
It's up to you, the voter, to educate yourself that
burger King is better than McDonald's, regardless of what the
ad says. Now, I'm not saying that I prefer a
one of those burger chains. I'm a taco bell boy
over here. So let's talk a little bit about debates
(38:02):
that surround the concept of that mandate. The legitimacy of
political mandates is often contested, especially in closely fought elections
or those for the lower turnout. Critics argue that claiming
a mandate based solely on the electoral victory oversimplifies the
complexities of public opinion. For instance, the article the Challenges
(38:27):
of Democracy from Financial Times discusses concerns about the tyranny
of the majority. Now we've heard that before. That is
a direct quote from Benjamin Franklin, who famously said that
democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what is
(38:48):
for lunch. And that's where the tyranny of the majority
comes in. With a lot of this side, which again
is why we have the electoral college the way that
it's set up, and why we all just don't vote
directly on legislation. We vote for representatives that we hope
will then go out and represent us and therefore move
(39:11):
And even with my idea of moving the House of
Representatives into a full voting type of block of US
individuals instead of sending mister Smith down to Washington, we
are able to kind of the way I put it is,
if I can vote for an American idol, I can
surely vote for an American bill. But the checks and
(39:32):
balances of that tyranny would then come in as the Senate,
who even Greece had a Senate because you have to
have those professional politicians, and I know career politicians. Also,
what are you You're so for the establishment? You statused
like whatever. Okay, at the end of the day, you
(39:54):
need a professional in the loop somewhere. Now, by all means,
I can go on the internet. I can learn how
to remodel my bathroom. I can be the most educated
person on those things. But if I don't have the
experience behind it, all I'm going to do is waste
time and resources, and my bathroom is still going to
come out terribly. So if you want to read that,
(40:18):
it is called The Challenges of Democracy. It actually came
out just last week. It looks like on the twenty eighth,
so you can actually read that. It is from Financial
Times Challenges of Democracy, tyranny of the majority, and that's
where it kind of breaks down the complexities of mandates.
(40:39):
So now let's get some examples of some presidents that
have done it. And of course I love to look
into the past because the current presidency or modern day presidency,
going all the way back to as far as maybe
President Obama, everything is contentious, like it's just an insanity
that I have to go back to like the nineteen
(41:02):
thirties to talk about to talk about presidency, to actually
give you all examples. Otherwise I'm just being a big meanie.
So let's talk about Franklin D. Roosevelt nineteen thirty two's election.
Roosevelt defeated the incumbent, Herbert Hoover with a fifty seven
point four percent of the popular vote and four hundred
(41:25):
and seventy two out of the five hundred and thirty
one electoral votes. Wait a minute, sodar five hundred and
thirty one, they're supposed to be five hundred and thirty eight.
Well check their math over there. Five hundred and thirty
eight is what we had in the nineteen thirties, and
then we added more to the House of Representatives for there.
(41:48):
That's why we're sitting at five thirty eight right now.
So i'd love my fact checkers out there, and I
want to just give you that little bit of a
nugget to research too. So that was during the Great Depression.
It fueled public demand for change, and Roosevelt claimed a
mandate to implement the New Deal. In nineteen thirty six,
(42:10):
Roosevelt expanded his mandate, winning sixty point eight percent of
the popular vote and five hundred and twenty three out
of five hundred and thirty one electoral votes. That is
a landslide, one of the most dominant victories in US history.
(42:36):
We've also got Lyndon B. Johnson in nineteen sixty four,
following the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, Johnson ran against
Barry Goldwater and won by a landslide victory of sixty
one point one percent of the popular vote and a
whopping four hundred and eighty six electoral votes. The massive
(42:59):
win gave him a strong mandate to pursue the Great
Society programs, including civil rights legislation, medicare, and federal education funding,
all of those things that happened in the sixties. So
we're going to keep marching through time here, and of
course we're going to land in nineteen seventy two, where
(43:21):
Nixon won reelection against George McGovern with sixty point seven
percent of the popular vote. And are you ready for
this number of electoral votes, My goodness, five hundred and
twenty out of the five hundred and thirty eight. I
told you that number was going to show up. His
(43:42):
landslide victory suggested broad public approval of his foreign policy,
including with the Soviet Union and opening the relations with China. However,
his mandate was cut short. And you know why. We
went over a little bit ago. That is the Watergate scandal,
(44:06):
which led to his resignation in seventy four. So still
marching through history for that. We've got Ronald Reagan up next.
Ronald Reagan won with one against Walker Mondale Walter Mondale, sorry,
with fifty eight point eight percent of the popular vote
and five hundred and twenty five out of the five
(44:30):
hundred and thirty eight electoral votes. His Morning in America
campaign capitalized on the economic recovery from economic recovery and
Cold War strength, giving him a strong mandate to continue
conservative economic and foreign policies, which we are still living
(44:52):
under today. The next one up, of course, we talked
about Clinton. We haven't spoken about George W. Bush either.
But the next mandate that really came out, or at
least it's the majority of the popular vote, and it's close.
(45:18):
This is the bare minimum of a mandate, and it
comes from President Obama. In two thousand and eight, Obama
defeated John McCain with fifty two point nine percent. Now
it's still a majority, but is it a landslide majority. No,
I don't necessarily think so that that popular vote that's there.
(45:38):
But he won three hundred and sixty five electoral votes.
His victory fueled by high voter turnout. Right, we were
talking about that other litmus test. Even though it was
fifty two point nine percent of the overall popular vote,
it was the highest turnout since nineteen sixty eight, and
(46:01):
we already talked about the nineteen sixties with Johnson. So
it was seen as a mandate for healthcare reform. Of course,
we got the Affordable Care Act out of that economic
recovery after the two thousand and eight financial crisis, which
I will absolutely lay at the feet of President Clinton,
(46:25):
where he just let everybody have a house, regardless of
if they could pay for it or not, and it
really bit us in the bum seven years later after
he after he came out. So the other side of it,
too is ending the Iraq War. At that point, we
had spent so much money on it, trillions and trillions
(46:48):
of dollars, and what did we get. Honestly, we got,
I guess a son who got got to finally stick
it to the guy who made fun of his daddy.
So I don't know. I don't want to get too
mean about politics today. So let's finish it up from here,
(47:10):
because I am running a little bit out of time.
We're going to talk a little bit about the two
mandates that have happened recently. Now we have I'm sorry,
just looking through my notes. In the twenty twenty four
United States presidential election, former President Donald Trump achieved a
(47:30):
notable victory over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, making a significant
movement in US political history. So he ended up taking
three hundred and twelve electoral votes, highly highly surpassing the
(47:51):
two hundred and seventy that were there. Now, even though
Trump won the popular votes seven seven seventy seven point
three million votes, I don't know the change on that,
but seventy seven point three million, it only constituted seven,
(48:13):
I'm sorry, forty nine point eight percent of the vote.
So yes, he won the popular vote, but he did
not win the consensus of everything. So of all the
people who voted, more people voted not him than they
(48:34):
did for him. So that to me is not a landslide.
But I will give you the other litmus test of that,
because we talked about the Congress and how if you
can maintain the Congress and give the person you put
(48:54):
into office the tools to get the thing done, then yes,
you could by all means constituted as a mandate. Because
even though you won the popular vote and you didn't
cress the fifty percent, so you didn't really win the
majority of the or I guess they call it the consensus.
You didn't win that side of it, you were still
(49:18):
given the tools to get the job done. In comparison
to the previous elections, in twenty sixteen, Trump won the
presidency with three hundred and four electoral votes, but lost
the I'm sorry yeah, but lost the popular vote and
lost it to Clinton by nearly two point nine million votes.
(49:42):
So yes, he did win the two point three million
votes more than Harris in this last election. But even
though he won that three hundred and four electoral votes,
he did it shy of three million votes to bearagingly.
So that's why you didn't hear mandate mandate mandate on
(50:06):
everything on that first term. In twenty twenty, Trump lost
to Joe Biden, who secured the three hundred and six
electoral votes and won the popular vote by over seven
million votes. So now here is where I would like
to make the two comparisons. If it is a mandate
(50:30):
now with Loot, with having a two point sorry a
two point three or so victory of more people that
voted for you than the other person or the other
Democrat rather, and you still won the House. Why didn't
(50:51):
we give President Biden a mandate? He won it by
seven million more votes, and he kept the Congress blue. Now,
the Senate, by all means, was a fifty to fifty split,
and that may be where we would be splitting hairs.
Thank you very much for listening. We've got another hour
(51:13):
coming up. It's gonna be fantastic. We're gonna bring Bendemonium
Bequest over. If you would like to jump in, you
would like to talk about something, let us know by
call again eight four seven nine three one fourteen ten
eight four seven nine three one fourteen ten. Don't forget tomorrow.
(51:33):
Marky b has Madam Chair for the Kane County, the
Kine County Board on Corey pierrog and we'll have Jamie Mosser,
State's attorney over there as well, starting at nine, and
don't forget that. Our very own friend, Mayor Reid will
be here at seven thirty in the morning to kick
(51:57):
it off on the w RMN Morning Show. More political
talk show on after this.
Speaker 7 (52:11):
This is a Chef of Love Chef Gennard TV hosts
and restaurant tour.
Speaker 1 (52:16):
My grandparents harvested.
Speaker 7 (52:17):
They're laying to sell food and share this overflowing bounty
with our community. Grandma said, for every yam we pick,
we give one away in the world they cultivated. I
love preparing and eating dinner with my family on Sundays.
When our resources changed, food assistance programs sustained us. They
gave me fuel to start my first culinary business at
(52:39):
sixteen years old and inspiration to donate the extra food
in my community. Through my life, I've developed an appetite
to work with others to ensure everyone has access to
the nutritious food we need to thrive. Together, we can
help in hunger. Come on join the movement with Feeding
America by volunteering, don't and advocating. Learn more at Feedingamerica
(53:03):
dot org. Slash Act now brought to you by Feeding
America in the ad Council.
Speaker 1 (53:09):
Your hometown radio station since nineteen forty nine. We are
wrmn AM fourteen ten Elgin Time
Hello, my fellow Americans, and good day to our friends
around the world. This is a political talk show. My
name is donis soon Ard Green. I'll be taking you
through the next two hours of political talk. Thanks for
being here, Thanks for being a part of the show.
Lots of different ways to be engaged. One of those
ways is, of course, what you're doing right now. You
(00:53):
can't possibly be engaged if you're not listening here, whether
that is the am dial YouTube, our online stream. Maybe
you got one of those smart speakers that you decided
to tell it to play. Am Dial, of course, is
always the first way to do that on WRMN fourteen ten.
But if you want to know some of the other
(01:15):
ways to watch or be a part of a political
talk show or the station itself, you can go to
WRMN fourteen ten dot com and find a schedule, find
all of the links to our social media and all
of those different places that are there. I recommend go
into the YouTube side, not just to go watch me
right now, but to watch the candidate forum, the Elgincity
(01:39):
Council candidate forum that we did last night. David Tes
took over the show a political talk show yesterday and
brought in some great guests. We're still putting those videos
together to make sure that we can get those out
to those candidates. But if you want to watch the
forum from last night, it is still living on YouTube.
(02:00):
Go over there. A couple hundred, one hundred of you
have already watched it, have already commented in. You get
to know a lot more about your candidates from there,
and uh, you get to see my new haircut. So
thanks for being here, thanks for being a part of
the show. It is Word Wednesday. But before I give
you the word, I'll let you know what's happening in
(02:21):
the second hour, and that is Bendemonium Boquest. We'll be
bringing some headlines and we will open up the phone line.
So eight four seven nine three one fourteen ten is
that number. If you are interested in jumping in line
eight four seven nine three one fourteen ten, you can
always text us on the text line five zero five
(02:42):
nine two six fourteen ten five zero five nine two
six fourteen ten. That is open Monday through Monday, twenty
four hours a day. Trust me, I get all of
the text messages at the top of the day at midnight,
when our beloved Linda Carter make sure that we get
(03:03):
that happy morning and happy day right off the bat.
If there is anything that you would like to promote,
maybe there's a flyer, maybe there's a picture, maybe there's
an event that's going on. The text line is perfect
for that because we can pull that up during our streams.
And just like we said during the forum, this is
your station. We want to make sure that we are
(03:25):
delivering the content and the things specifically for you. I
got to meet a whole bunch of great listeners over
there that like the changes, don't like the changes, and
we got some great feedback from meeting everybody at those
events and being over at Journey of Hope. So let
(03:45):
me let you know about the word of today. I've
got a intern here with me who's taken notes and
getting some learning in before I do that, Nick Stevenson.
If you see his face, pop in and there into
the you tube side. Also, if you're on the YouTube side,
you get to see the newly decorated I am as
(04:06):
Podcasting studio. We've got guitars, we've got couches, we've got posters,
we've got memorabilia, we've got vinyl, all kinds of different things.
Go ahead and check out over there. Of course, I
am broadcasting live from the Illinois Media School in the
O'Hare campus, where I am a night teacher. If you
(04:27):
would like to learn from us, the media professionals that
are here, go to beon air dot com. I know
I've buried it a few times. Finally, I'll give you
that word for word Wednesday. You've heard it a few times.
It is definitely a word that is moving into our
vernacular a little bit more. Not so much in the
Biden administration, but all the way back to like the
(04:51):
New Deal from Roosevelt is when people started using this
in a political sense. And of course that word is mandate. Right.
Mandatory means to just it has to be done, has
to be there, like the mandatory meeting that you have
(05:13):
to be at or the mandatory tax filing that you
have to do. Now, what they also do in the
political side of it is mandate really is doing some
really heavy lifting with the political side of it, because
a lot of people talk about a mandate, but not
(05:36):
in the side of this absolutely has to be done
because it has to be done. But more like the
American people wanted you to do this, They mandated that
you do this right, less and it's not one of
those things that are necessarily you know, it's well, when
we get into it, we're going we've got a whole
(05:57):
hour to break that down for here. But let me
just break it into just some simple side of the politics.
The word mandate in a political context refers to the
authority granted by voters to a political leader or party
to implement their policies and agendas. That's what that means.
It isn't like a mandatory thing or in the literal
(06:22):
sense of mandatory. It is more of a figurative. They
mandate that we do these things. They want me to
do it. They voted for me with these policies. So
it's a little bit construed because construed sorry, because a
(06:46):
lot of people don't vote for the candidate. A lot
of people don't necessarily they may win the popular vote,
but they may not necessarily end up with the most favoritism.
I mean, at the most, I think we can get
(07:08):
high sixties in voter participation. And then if you look
at a lot of the different ways that we calculate
those statistics, I mean, if one candidate has a mandate
with a surplus of two million people that they want
(07:28):
it from then, surely a candidate that had seven million
more votes than the other person would have more of
a mandate. Right, So that's what we're going to talk
to talk a little bit about. Let me first get
to electoral mandate. An electoral mandate occurs when a political
candidate or party wins an election. Let's see, easy enough, Okay,
(07:53):
game over, see you guys tomorrow. Now, significantly public support
for their is what they assume because they won. Right is,
if I win the vote, then I would assume that
the majority of Americans want me to do these things,
and then I can infer that the people gave me
(08:13):
a mandate. So after Franklin D. Roosevelt's landslide victory in
nineteen thirty two, he claimed a mandate to implement the
New Deal and a series of programs designed to combat
the Great Depression everybody was in. Everybody was in really
(08:34):
hard times and turmoil at that time. A legislative mandate
is the other side that you might hear this from.
That refers to laws or regulations passed by the governing
body that require certain actions. Now, this is where it
is a literal mandate, where it literally is a law
and is literally mandated by law. Now I can say
(08:58):
it was mandated by the people or a consensus as
some people would say for that. Thank you Ben for
that word as well. So the legislative mandate is an
actual literal law mandate. For example, the Affordable Care Act
(09:19):
included an individual mandate requiring most Americans to have health
insurance or face a tax penalty until the provision was
effectively nullified in twenty seventeen, so that's also part of
that mandate. That would be a literal mandate. You literally
(09:40):
are mandated to have those health insurance something, whether it
was private or if you were doing the Affordable Care
Act with it. The other mandate that you might see
as well are governmental mandates. And this is a regulatory
mandate where somebody turned around and said, you have have
to make sure there are only so many rat droppings
(10:06):
in Cereal. Right, that's a regulatory mandate. You have to
turn around and say, I need to make sure that
I am in compliance of these regulations. And of course
I'm going to give you those examples. A funded mandate
unfunded mandates or two of them that are there. A
funded mandate is when the federal government provides financial assistance
(10:27):
to help states and local governments comply with regulations. We're
starting to see some of that with the sewer and lead.
I guess renovations for the City of Elgin is doing
that mandate of removing the lead. That is both the
(10:47):
funded and slightly unfunded mandate as well. Where the funding stops,
the local governments have to pick it up. And that's
where the unfunded mandates come from, where governments are required
to comply with the regulations, but they've got to do
so without federal funding. Like maybe each county has to
(11:08):
have a certain position, or each police department has to
have a community type of engagement side of it. Those
are mandates that usually come from higher up, but don't
necessarily have a funding that's attached to it. They're just
(11:29):
saying you have to do these things. So we'll continue
with our mandate talk. I've got some mandates in the
presidential politics that we're going to go over. Once we
know what mandates are, the next step that we're going
to do is we're going to look at some numbers
and see if the mandate is really there. When you
(11:52):
talk about how you only win fifty some percent of
the vote and even then that vote is only comprised
of about sixty some percent of all registered voters. Now
you're looking at a mandate being upheld by maybe only
thirty some percent, I thirties percent of all registered voters
(12:15):
to begin with. So if that's a mandate, and if
that's the litmus test for it, I'm going to give
you a couple more presidents that should have had a
bit more support for their mandate. You're listening to a
political talk show. My name is Dennis Sonar Green, and
we will be right back.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Get ready for Around the House every Saturday night from
five to seven pm on WRMN AM fourteen ten. If
you're a homeowner or contractor looking to tackle those projects
that feel a bit too this is the show for you.
Join Eric along with his knowledgeable guests as they dive
(13:07):
deep into everything from DIY renovations to creating a healthy
home environment. We'll provide you with the tools and tips
you need to complete your projects with confidence and ease.
But it's not all work and no play. We believe
in having fun. Our passion for home improvement shines through
as we help you save time, money, and reduce the
(13:29):
stress of DIY. So whether you're a season pro or
just starting out, don't miss around the house. Tune in
every Saturday night and let's tackle those home projects together.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Thinning in shouldn't be hard. Whether in life, on the
court or in the classroom. At Algae Community College, you
could find your place alongside those expanding their horizons, exploring
boarding careers and achieving their dreams. A place for doers, thinkers,
and believers. At ECC, we see you, we believe in you,
(14:06):
and you'll fit right in. Learn more at Elgin dot
edu slash belong.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
I know we're out a at well State, but for
making a comment like hey, your hair is good, And
then I got a call from HR saying, hey, you
know what, you're under investigation.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
Do have any recordings?
Speaker 1 (14:22):
But were you fired? No? Not yeat. The problem at
you is they can fire you for any reason they want.
They literally can wake up in the morning and say,
you know what, I'm a little bored this morning. I'll
tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna fire Eddie
for no reason.
Speaker 6 (14:33):
Yep, he can do that.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
That's California.
Speaker 6 (14:35):
Yep. Welcome handle on the lock.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
If you're injured and need a lawyer, go to handle
on the law dot com.
Speaker 7 (14:42):
This is a Chef of Love Chef Gennard TV host
and restaurant tour. My grandparents harvested their land to sell
food and share this overflowing bounty with our community. Grandma said,
for every yam we pick, we get one away in
the world they cultivated. I love preparing and eating them
with my family on Sundays. When our resources changed, food
(15:04):
assistance programs sustained us. They gave me fuel to start
my first culinary business at sixteen years old and inspiration
to donate the extra food in my community. Through my life,
I've developed an appetite to work with others to ensure
everyone has access to the nutritious food we need to thrive. Together,
(15:25):
we can help in hunger. Come on join the movement
with Feeding America by volunteering, donating, and advocating. Learn more
at Feeding America dot org. Slash Act now.
Speaker 8 (15:36):
Brought to you by Feeding America in the AYE Council.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Welcome back to a political talk show here on w
r m N. My name is Dennis Son R. Green.
Thank you Wendy for telling me how handsome I looked
at the at the forum last night. You can definitely
look how handsome I was. But don't just go there
for that, go there to hear about the candidates. We
(16:19):
had some great questions last night, a lot about funding
both downtown and abroad of the City of Elgin, and
then also talking about what they plan on doing with
the lot by the Gail Borden Library, what do they
think about the city manager and council relationship, and also
(16:46):
we got a little bit into their financial side of it,
but mostly it was about checking their flavor. How do
they respond because this is what they're going to have
to do during the city council meetings. Now I gave
them upwards of two minutes to answer a question, but
(17:07):
when you go to the city council meetings, you'll have
three minutes or so to deliver your message and hopefully
they'll respond on that side of it. The way that
Elgin is set up is it's set up for almost
a part time type of city council. And what that
means is most of the people that are on the
(17:29):
city council isn't necessarily their primary objective. They work, they live,
they play in the area, and then because they are
voted by the rest of us, it's more of a
representation than it is necessarily like the Kane County Board
(17:51):
at that point where they've got a bit more of
that legislative power. And speaking of that, Madam Chair Correin
Peirog of Kane County Board will act actually be on
Mark's show, the WRMN Morning Show at nine o'clock tomorrow
along with Jamie Mosser, and we will have Mike reid In,
(18:12):
which is the president slash Mayor of Hampshire, who will
be there with us in the morning and listen to
Susie c as well who has joined the morning show.
And it's a fantastic time. We got a lot more
imaging for things. We're still feeling everything out to make
(18:34):
sure that we can deliver you the morning show that
you all deserve. But if you don't like my flavor
of politics, feel free to listen in the morning at
about nine o'clock and you'll get a different flavor of politics.
And that's the beauty of what we're trying to do
here at the station is we are trying to make
(18:57):
sure that we deliver as many viewpoints, whether it's political
viewpoints or it's somebody who says I like red wine
versus white wine. Let's get that discussion. Let's get that
information out and let you the listener contribute into it
if you'd like to contribute later on in the show.
Of course, that is going to be during our headlines
(19:19):
and phone lines eight four, seven, nine, three, one, fourteen
ten to go ahead and jump in online for that.
So we're going over the word for word Wednesday. Mandate.
So mandatory is something that a lot of people jump
into or demands right. Uh, it's still kind of the
(19:40):
same root words of man in having to uh that
physical side of it. For demands, a you could almost
say a demandate is almost what you could you could
kind of merge the two together in a in a
doctor Sussian type of type of way. But there's certain
(20:01):
things that are perceived mandates that aren't legislative or governmental mandates.
Or even then I was in the Navy, I had
mandatory muster for a lot of times. You got to
show up for that because it's it's mandatory, it's it's there,
you have to do it. So now it's not too
(20:24):
far of a stretch when you talk about presidential mandates.
Now for US presidents that frequently claim the mandate following
the election, which that's what most of them do. It's
especially when they win by a significant margin. So now
we want to talk about significant margin as one of
(20:46):
the first litmus tests of a mandate. Right, it's it's
not necessarily a mandate of the people to the president.
Isn't necessarily mandate toy, Right. Mandatory means that you have
to do it, it needs to be done. Now, if
(21:06):
you talk about the people have given somebody a mandate,
it is more of a It is more of a
figurative type of side because at the end of the day,
the people only have one course of action to correct
something that wasn't mandatory. Right, If I didn't show up
(21:27):
for mandatory muster, they docked my pay, they put me
on restriction or whatever else. If I don't meet the
mandates of the government, they're gonna throw me in jail
or find me or anything like that. A presidential mandate,
especially if you're not going to be able to run again,
(21:47):
is kind of a soft mandate in that figurative type
of thing. It is more of a demand. So now
let me give you the second litmus test of a
of a mandate by the people, is winning all three
or the Congress as well as the presidency. Now, what
(22:11):
you're able to do is not only you campaigned on
your policy and your platform, but the people gave you
the tools to actually do it. So if you look
at after winning the reelection in twenty I'm sorry, twenty
(22:31):
oh four, President George W. Bush claimed he had a
mandate to reform Social Security, but Congress resisted and his
proposal failed. And that was a lot because I don't
believe he actually controlled it at the time. So we're
going to talk about the debate over the mandate of
winning the narrow margin, and then we'll also go in
(22:54):
to what constitutes a mandate in which presidents have got
him based off of those to litmus tests, an incredibly
high margin of victory and winning Congress as well as
the presidency. You're listening to a political talk show here
on wrm N. I'll be right back after this.
Speaker 8 (23:45):
With your fourteen ten WRMN newsplash. I'm Sean Curdan, brought
to you by sky Rizzy b Gailboard and Public Library
will host a Nostalgic showcase, the Barbie Superstar Exhibit, highlighting
the iconic dolls of the late nineteen seventies to mid
nineteen eighties be free exhibit thanks to a local collector,
features around five hundred barbies at the downtown Elgin Library.
(24:05):
Elgin Community College set to kick off Women's History Month
with the Glow Up Healthfare on Thursday, March seventh. The
event will be taking place from ten am until one
pm in the Job Lounge, Building B on the Elgin
campus in Naperville. A series of arrests related to firearms
at resumed at the Top Golf Facility, ending eight brief
wall since October. Recent incidents involving three individuals, Malik Jacory
Gully of Chicago apprehended on Saturday, Jahad Yusef Yamen was
(24:29):
detained on February eleven, and boy Dion Perez arrested on
February first, all with firearm charges. With your fourteen to
ten WRMN news Flash, I'm Sean Kurnan.
Speaker 6 (24:43):
Confidence is no one. You're ready to handle whatever comes
your way. That's what it feels like to take on
your workday with centas. They make sure your AEDs are
up to date, your fire extinguishers are tested and inspected,
your floor mats are cleaned and delivered, and your workwear
looks good. It feels good and espressly laundered with the
Sentas Apparel Plus program. So are you ready to take
(25:05):
on today? Visit Centas dot Com, am ready and get
ready for the workday.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Progressive nos. If you have to choose between everyday life
and your RV RV wims, what are you gonna take
the r V to the mountains? Are go? Pick up
your dry cleaning RVY ways? Are we cleaning the gunners?
Are taking the RV cave Harvy ways? Are we getting
a new passport? Cruising up the coast RVY ways? Don't
forget you got that trip to Sweden coming up yoursporun RV.
(25:32):
With Progressive you can bundle your RV with your home Morado.
Speaker 6 (25:34):
And save with a discount and spend more time enjoying
those savings in your RV forgress speuty chants can pick
up l gets other insures not fab win now state
in situations.
Speaker 9 (25:42):
Are you dreaming of a getaway? Want to leave the
stress of daily life behind, Whether it's a relaxing recruise
or an adventurous landscape, Planning the perfect vacation doesn't have
to be a hassle. At Cruises International, they specialize in
vacation destinations Land and see making your dreams Come True.
Located seventeen twenty one Moonlake Boulevard in Hoffman estates Cruises
(26:04):
International isn't just about booking travel. They're your personal concierge,
trusted travel advisor and advocate. Your preferences are unique and
they'll take the time to understand exactly what you're looking for.
From personalized service to their global network of specialists, they
ensure that your vacation is tailor made just for you.
It's time to plan the vacation of a lifetime. Call
(26:25):
eight hundred two five five seven four four seven. That's
eight hundred two five five seven four four seven today
and speak to a cruise and vacation expert Cruises International.
It's time to set sail to your dream destination.
Speaker 5 (26:39):
This is Sarah Silver with your Fox Valley forecast. A
wind advisory is in effect until midnight tonight. This afternoon
snow with cloudy skies and a high near forty nine,
temperatures falling to around thirty gusty wins up to forty
five miles per hour. Tonight, Scattered snow showers before three am,
Mostly cloudy with a lower round twenty five. Currently it
(27:02):
is thirty three with moderate snowfall. I'm Sarah Silver on
the Talk of the Town WRMN.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
Progressive Nos. There are some surprisingly expensive things in life,
like frames. Because you found a classic seventies concert poster,
but when you went to get it framed, you realize
the frame will cost about four times the amounts of
the poster, which is actually absurd because no one will
be looking at the frame, and if they are, then
you severely overestimated how cool this poster is. But then
you remember by switching your home in auto to progressives,
(27:31):
you could save hundreds and put it towards a classic
seventies concert poster in an absurdly overpriced frame.
Speaker 6 (27:36):
Progress of Kathleen Trance Company.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
Foley, It's other jerk, It's not available all takes.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Welcome back to a political talk. Joe Here on WRMN.
I'm broadcasting live from the Illinois Media School. Come check
out my new podcast studio. It's so great. Look at
us on the YouTube YouTube dot com. You'll find WRM
and Radio over there. If you're looking for the media
(28:19):
school itself, that is bonair dot com. Because you get
to be on air, become a media professional and learn
from media professionals. Every single one of the instructors that
I work with has a job in media, whether it
is WBBM, WGN, or the Score, all of these different
(28:41):
places that are already media professionals. Now I know I
listed off all the radio stations, but there's a lot
of television and film, both from the independent side, and
even people that act as actors in other movies, whether
they're the star or supporting cast. Learn how to operate
(29:04):
a camera, Learn how to talk into a microphone, Learn
how to get your own media hustle on. You can
go ahead and find us at bonair dot com. Thank
you very much for being here. It is Word Wednesday
on a political talk show. I only got a few
more minutes to walk through some of this, and we'll
talk about mandates in history, presidential mandates, mandates from the people,
(29:30):
and what does that constitute? Where is the mandate? How
do you measure the mandate? Why does everybody keep saying mandate? Well,
that's why we built word Wednesday, so that we could
take a political word that is just being thrown around
everywhere and make sure that we're actually using it correctly.
And by the end of this you will know if
(29:52):
somebody is using it right or if they are just
full of hot air. And why we didn't here about
other president's mandates. We didn't hear about Clinton's mandate because
the Republicans had the House at the time. And there's
a lot of people that say that the reason that
the budget was put together is because of Gingrich and
(30:16):
a few other people, And I think, honestly, that's where
the perception of how Republicans are better with the economy
than the Democrats came from is honestly back from the nineties,
in that era where President Clinton, through his leadership, and
(30:36):
the Republicans on the congressional side actually worked together and
we finally had a surplus. Imagine that, not adding to
the debt every year, but having a surplus that we
could we could walk back down. But that's when that's
(30:56):
when the debt was was small potatoes. At that point.
I think in the nineties, if I could pull up
my stuff right, and by my stuff I mean my
own brain, I think it was close to maybe four
trillion dollars of the debt at that point in the nineties,
and then almost every single president after Clinton has added
(31:19):
another three, nine, ten trillion dollars to the side three
point two trillion. Thank you very much, Nick got right
on that. Good to have interns here. Nick Stevenson is
my intern for today over here at the school learning
how to do his own political show. Look out for
(31:40):
Delicate Constitution soon to hit your favorite podcasting platform, including
the one that you're listening to a political talk show on.
We'll make sure that we get those posted as well.
Thank you Wendy for watching the whole two hours of
the candidate forum that we put on last night. She
(32:00):
says she will be making her vote April first. You
should be making your vote to April first. If you
need to look at the candidates, if you need to
know where you're where to vote, how to register, you
can always go to the Caine County Clerk's Office. I
think it is clerk too dot Cain County dot gov.
(32:21):
If I had to get the URL right off the
top of my head. Most of the time, I literally
just type into my search engine Caine County Clerk's Office.
It takes me right there every single time, just like
you can put in a political talk show into your
favorite search engine and speaker will pull up. Because that's
(32:43):
how we send everything out from there. But let's get
a little bit into discussing discussing the word mandate. So
what usually happens in the presidential mandate or at least
a mandate from the people, And we've heard it. I mean,
I can't go two days without hearing the word mandate
(33:04):
from somebody. And now granted there is a mandate from
from the right side, is what they're saying, and the
Democrats are going to fight it. And that's what it's
always contentious to begin with, anyway, to start talking about
this ethereal type of mandate, because what are you going
to do with the mandate from the people? Did we
(33:25):
all sign a letter? Did we all say these are
the policies we like, these are the policies we don't know.
We voted for a person that had their policies, and
then we gave them the tools to get it done.
That's what constitutes a mandate from the people is even
though you maybe a single issue voter, maybe you didn't
(33:47):
like everything that a candidate has, but because the candidate
won in a large margin, then also won the Congress
to be able to kind of implement those and you
would assume that the presidency and the Congress should be
on the same page if they're in the same political party.
(34:11):
That's starting to kind of fracture a little bit right now.
And really you haven't seen this on the red side
since I would say the Tea Party there, and some
of you that are part of the Tea Party, I'm
sure part of MAGA as well. Now it's just a
different hat, a lot of the same principles, just different
I guess, a different jersey at this point. So, a
(34:33):
political mandate is perceived as the legitimacy to govern and
enact policies derived from the electoral support. This concept operates
on the assumption that the voters selected candidates whose parties
whose platforms align with their preferences, thereby endorsing specific policy agendas.
(34:56):
The clarity and strength of the mandate often hinge on
factors such as margin of victory and voter turnout. So
we're going to look at the three litmus tests as
we go through, and that is the margin of victory.
A substantial electoral win is often interpreted as a robust mandate,
(35:19):
suggesting widespread public support for the victor's policy. Conversely, a
narrow victory may lead to questions about the extent of
the mandate. Right, those single issue voters or those people
that like to stay home, or the people that vote
third party, that's where you may end up with the
(35:43):
not that large margin of victory for things on there
kind of a contentious contest. So voter turnout is the
other side. High voter turnout can enhance the perceived legitimacy
of the mandate, as it indicates public engagement and support.
Low turnout, however, may cast doubt on representatives of that mandate.
(36:09):
So if a lot of people don't turn up, a
lot of people aren't charged or passionate or ready to
go and support these policies. A lot of people stayed
home and they didn't vote at all, or didn't even
or only voted for the presidency, and not necessarily anybody
in Congress. It's back to that voter turnout. If you
(36:30):
can get a majority of the registered voters to actually
show up and vote, then they definitely are giving you
that mandate of hey, we're interested in these policies, we
want to make sure that you can get them done.
That's also the electoral integrity, the fairness and transparency of
the electoral process is critical. That's why we cannot keep
(36:54):
saying they was stolen or taken or any of these
other things. Now, hyperbole, and we talked about that, I
think it was last Wednesday. Was the hyperbole side of it.
And that's where that is incredibly dangerous hyperbole, because there
are ways that somebody could I guess not necessarily go
(37:19):
right in start flipping votes back and forth, but there
are ways to meddle in elections. And whether that constitute
stealing or not. I mean, if I give you a
whole bunch of ads for McDonald's and you go to McDonald's,
did I steal your business from Burger King? That doesn't
(37:39):
make any sense to me. That's the ad aspect of it.
It's up to you, the voter, to educate yourself that
burger King is better than McDonald's, regardless of what the
ad says. Now, I'm not saying that I prefer a
one of those burger chains. I'm a taco bell boy
over here. So let's talk a little bit about debates
(38:02):
that surround the concept of that mandate. The legitimacy of
political mandates is often contested, especially in closely fought elections
or those for the lower turnout. Critics argue that claiming
a mandate based solely on the electoral victory oversimplifies the
complexities of public opinion. For instance, the article the Challenges
(38:27):
of Democracy from Financial Times discusses concerns about the tyranny
of the majority. Now we've heard that before. That is
a direct quote from Benjamin Franklin, who famously said that
democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what is
(38:48):
for lunch. And that's where the tyranny of the majority
comes in. With a lot of this side, which again
is why we have the electoral college the way that
it's set up, and why we all just don't vote
directly on legislation. We vote for representatives that we hope
will then go out and represent us and therefore move
(39:11):
And even with my idea of moving the House of
Representatives into a full voting type of block of US
individuals instead of sending mister Smith down to Washington, we
are able to kind of the way I put it is,
if I can vote for an American idol, I can
surely vote for an American bill. But the checks and
(39:32):
balances of that tyranny would then come in as the Senate,
who even Greece had a Senate because you have to
have those professional politicians, and I know career politicians. Also,
what are you You're so for the establishment? You statused
like whatever. Okay, at the end of the day, you
(39:54):
need a professional in the loop somewhere. Now, by all means,
I can go on the internet. I can learn how
to remodel my bathroom. I can be the most educated
person on those things. But if I don't have the
experience behind it, all I'm going to do is waste
time and resources, and my bathroom is still going to
come out terribly. So if you want to read that,
(40:18):
it is called The Challenges of Democracy. It actually came
out just last week. It looks like on the twenty eighth,
so you can actually read that. It is from Financial
Times Challenges of Democracy, tyranny of the majority, and that's
where it kind of breaks down the complexities of mandates.
(40:39):
So now let's get some examples of some presidents that
have done it. And of course I love to look
into the past because the current presidency or modern day presidency,
going all the way back to as far as maybe
President Obama, everything is contentious, like it's just an insanity
that I have to go back to like the nineteen
(41:02):
thirties to talk about to talk about presidency, to actually
give you all examples. Otherwise I'm just being a big meanie.
So let's talk about Franklin D. Roosevelt nineteen thirty two's election.
Roosevelt defeated the incumbent, Herbert Hoover with a fifty seven
point four percent of the popular vote and four hundred
(41:25):
and seventy two out of the five hundred and thirty
one electoral votes. Wait a minute, sodar five hundred and
thirty one, they're supposed to be five hundred and thirty eight.
Well check their math over there. Five hundred and thirty
eight is what we had in the nineteen thirties, and
then we added more to the House of Representatives for there.
(41:48):
That's why we're sitting at five thirty eight right now.
So i'd love my fact checkers out there, and I
want to just give you that little bit of a
nugget to research too. So that was during the Great Depression.
It fueled public demand for change, and Roosevelt claimed a
mandate to implement the New Deal. In nineteen thirty six,
(42:10):
Roosevelt expanded his mandate, winning sixty point eight percent of
the popular vote and five hundred and twenty three out
of five hundred and thirty one electoral votes. That is
a landslide, one of the most dominant victories in US history.
(42:36):
We've also got Lyndon B. Johnson in nineteen sixty four,
following the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, Johnson ran against
Barry Goldwater and won by a landslide victory of sixty
one point one percent of the popular vote and a
whopping four hundred and eighty six electoral votes. The massive
(42:59):
win gave him a strong mandate to pursue the Great
Society programs, including civil rights legislation, medicare, and federal education funding,
all of those things that happened in the sixties. So
we're going to keep marching through time here, and of
course we're going to land in nineteen seventy two, where
(43:21):
Nixon won reelection against George McGovern with sixty point seven
percent of the popular vote. And are you ready for
this number of electoral votes, My goodness, five hundred and
twenty out of the five hundred and thirty eight. I
told you that number was going to show up. His
(43:42):
landslide victory suggested broad public approval of his foreign policy,
including with the Soviet Union and opening the relations with China. However,
his mandate was cut short. And you know why. We
went over a little bit ago. That is the Watergate scandal,
(44:06):
which led to his resignation in seventy four. So still
marching through history for that. We've got Ronald Reagan up next.
Ronald Reagan won with one against Walker Mondale Walter Mondale, sorry,
with fifty eight point eight percent of the popular vote
and five hundred and twenty five out of the five
(44:30):
hundred and thirty eight electoral votes. His Morning in America
campaign capitalized on the economic recovery from economic recovery and
Cold War strength, giving him a strong mandate to continue
conservative economic and foreign policies, which we are still living
(44:52):
under today. The next one up, of course, we talked
about Clinton. We haven't spoken about George W. Bush either.
But the next mandate that really came out, or at
least it's the majority of the popular vote, and it's close.
(45:18):
This is the bare minimum of a mandate, and it
comes from President Obama. In two thousand and eight, Obama
defeated John McCain with fifty two point nine percent. Now
it's still a majority, but is it a landslide majority. No,
I don't necessarily think so that that popular vote that's there.
(45:38):
But he won three hundred and sixty five electoral votes.
His victory fueled by high voter turnout. Right, we were
talking about that other litmus test. Even though it was
fifty two point nine percent of the overall popular vote,
it was the highest turnout since nineteen sixty eight, and
(46:01):
we already talked about the nineteen sixties with Johnson. So
it was seen as a mandate for healthcare reform. Of course,
we got the Affordable Care Act out of that economic
recovery after the two thousand and eight financial crisis, which
I will absolutely lay at the feet of President Clinton,
(46:25):
where he just let everybody have a house, regardless of
if they could pay for it or not, and it
really bit us in the bum seven years later after
he after he came out. So the other side of it,
too is ending the Iraq War. At that point, we
had spent so much money on it, trillions and trillions
(46:48):
of dollars, and what did we get. Honestly, we got,
I guess a son who got got to finally stick
it to the guy who made fun of his daddy.
So I don't know. I don't want to get too
mean about politics today. So let's finish it up from here,
(47:10):
because I am running a little bit out of time.
We're going to talk a little bit about the two
mandates that have happened recently. Now we have I'm sorry,
just looking through my notes. In the twenty twenty four
United States presidential election, former President Donald Trump achieved a
(47:30):
notable victory over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, making a significant
movement in US political history. So he ended up taking
three hundred and twelve electoral votes, highly highly surpassing the
(47:51):
two hundred and seventy that were there. Now, even though
Trump won the popular votes seven seven seventy seven point
three million votes, I don't know the change on that,
but seventy seven point three million, it only constituted seven,
(48:13):
I'm sorry, forty nine point eight percent of the vote.
So yes, he won the popular vote, but he did
not win the consensus of everything. So of all the
people who voted, more people voted not him than they
(48:34):
did for him. So that to me is not a landslide.
But I will give you the other litmus test of that,
because we talked about the Congress and how if you
can maintain the Congress and give the person you put
(48:54):
into office the tools to get the thing done, then yes,
you could by all means constituted as a mandate. Because
even though you won the popular vote and you didn't
cress the fifty percent, so you didn't really win the
majority of the or I guess they call it the consensus.
You didn't win that side of it, you were still
(49:18):
given the tools to get the job done. In comparison
to the previous elections, in twenty sixteen, Trump won the
presidency with three hundred and four electoral votes, but lost
the I'm sorry yeah, but lost the popular vote and
lost it to Clinton by nearly two point nine million votes.
(49:42):
So yes, he did win the two point three million
votes more than Harris in this last election. But even
though he won that three hundred and four electoral votes,
he did it shy of three million votes to bearagingly.
So that's why you didn't hear mandate mandate mandate on
(50:06):
everything on that first term. In twenty twenty, Trump lost
to Joe Biden, who secured the three hundred and six
electoral votes and won the popular vote by over seven
million votes. So now here is where I would like
to make the two comparisons. If it is a mandate
(50:30):
now with Loot, with having a two point sorry a
two point three or so victory of more people that
voted for you than the other person or the other
Democrat rather, and you still won the House. Why didn't
(50:51):
we give President Biden a mandate? He won it by
seven million more votes, and he kept the Congress blue. Now,
the Senate, by all means, was a fifty to fifty split,
and that may be where we would be splitting hairs.
Thank you very much for listening. We've got another hour
(51:13):
coming up. It's gonna be fantastic. We're gonna bring Bendemonium
Bequest over. If you would like to jump in, you
would like to talk about something, let us know by
call again eight four seven nine three one fourteen ten
eight four seven nine three one fourteen ten. Don't forget tomorrow.
(51:33):
Marky b has Madam Chair for the Kane County, the
Kine County Board on Corey pierrog and we'll have Jamie Mosser,
State's attorney over there as well, starting at nine, and
don't forget that. Our very own friend, Mayor Reid will
be here at seven thirty in the morning to kick
(51:57):
it off on the w RMN Morning Show. More political
talk show on after this.
Speaker 7 (52:11):
This is a Chef of Love Chef Gennard TV hosts
and restaurant tour.
Speaker 1 (52:16):
My grandparents harvested.
Speaker 7 (52:17):
They're laying to sell food and share this overflowing bounty
with our community. Grandma said, for every yam we pick,
we give one away in the world they cultivated. I
love preparing and eating dinner with my family on Sundays.
When our resources changed, food assistance programs sustained us. They
gave me fuel to start my first culinary business at
(52:39):
sixteen years old and inspiration to donate the extra food
in my community. Through my life, I've developed an appetite
to work with others to ensure everyone has access to
the nutritious food we need to thrive. Together, we can
help in hunger. Come on join the movement with Feeding
America by volunteering, don't and advocating. Learn more at Feedingamerica
(53:03):
dot org. Slash Act now brought to you by Feeding
America in the ad Council.
Speaker 1 (53:09):
Your hometown radio station since nineteen forty nine. We are
wrmn AM fourteen ten Elgin Time
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.