Rick Wilson

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to the episode of Behind the
Numbers with the Wilsons. I am joined today by my
son Andrew Wilson, the smart one in the family. We
were going to talk about polling because that is what
we talk about on Fridays, and man, it has been
a hell of a week.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
I want to lead out Andrew.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
With what's on everybody's mind right now, which is the
Epstein stuff. We are seeing the very very very first
numbers come out of the polling world on Epstein.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
Yeah, so this is this is from this from pak yesterday.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
There's no good news.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
This will be Wednesday when you're when you're watching this
on Friday, right, There's no good news here. And Trump
is only making it worse. He's opening his own wounds.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Ye.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah, reason I expect this number will tick up. Will
this number be the top issue for any voters in
the next election, I don't know, but it is just
glorious to watch them.

Speaker 4 (00:52):
Carry each other apart.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
So, Andrew, I have the theory of this case about
about a lot of the MAGA voters who were the
and I you don't have any data on this, so
just ride with my theory of the case. For a second,
I have a theory of the case that a lot
of Trump's voters, which we can say, we can say
this assertively, were low propensity voters. Sure, I have a
theory of the case that a lot of those low

(01:14):
propensity voters were drawn in by weird boutique issues, yes,
like Jeffrey Epstein's pedophile ring and conspiracy theory stuff and
anti Vack stuff. I wonder if the corrosion in that
low propensity voter pool is a double whammy for twenty
twenty six. You're gonna lose some of those low propenscit

(01:36):
voters who wouldn't be there for with Trump not on
the ballot. Then you're gonna lose even more of them
because Trump has really nuked his own base.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
It's it's amazing to watch. I'm loving every second of it.
The thing is that Democrats are doing a great job
forcing the issue in Congress right now. They're making this
a big deal. They're going to attach every Republican's name
to it. Oh yeah, use this as a cudgel. And
when you bring Trump into the race that when you're

(02:05):
where he's not running, you've suddenly nationalized it in a
way that.

Speaker 4 (02:08):
Is more effective for diograts. I mean it is.

Speaker 3 (02:13):
It is a recipe two to definitely peel off some
of those mega voters. And the reason is, you know,
we can we can talk about this at infinitum. But
the reason this is happening, the reason that these mega
voters are breaking off, is because the Jeffrey Epstein story
is core to the worldview of those original MAGA voters

(02:35):
who brought Trump to office into it. Yeah, it is,
is it? It is the central central theme of the
conspiracism that we saw in early Trump. So, I mean,
it's it's devastating for him, it's devastating for his base,
and he is not helping himself.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
Well, I think that's exactly right. Is that that identity question?
And this is something you guys have been studying behind
the scenes, in all of our guys, folks, as much
as you think the Lincoln Project are a bunch of
fucking cowboys and pirates, Andrew and the rest of the
team behind the scenes in the political side run.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
A giant big data operation.

Speaker 1 (03:11):
They are parsing, polling and parsing voter and file information
and parsing our own in house, massive in house database
of voter behavior for five years now, which.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
Is pretty good longitudinal studies. It is.

Speaker 4 (03:24):
And one of the things we've learned is that.

Speaker 3 (03:27):
That Americans generally, not just voters as a block, sort
of the their biggest concern about the people who are.

Speaker 4 (03:34):
In government is corruption and incompetence.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (03:37):
The difference for people on the left and right is
how they sort of view those how they how they
sort of view those two that that issue corruption and.

Speaker 4 (03:46):
Competence through their own lens.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
Sure, Republicans or especially Magas that was all about Jeffrey.

Speaker 4 (03:54):
Epstein, true believer, they.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
Are that whole corruption incompetence linked to Democrats and Jeffrey
Epstein and all that stuff.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
It is.

Speaker 4 (04:05):
It is so central that article of faith.

Speaker 3 (04:08):
Baby, we take that party, you take that piece away,
and a huge piece of Trump's coalition falls off.

Speaker 4 (04:14):
Yeah, we're continuing to see, I.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
Mean, and and you think about it.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
This poll, this Q pole from from the from Wednesday
of this week has the Republicans forty percent approve of
Trump's handling of Epstein, thirty six percent disapproved.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
Guys in that time, that is so narrow for Trump.

Speaker 1 (04:35):
That is really really dangerous for his base now and
and more broadly Democrats eighty three percent disapproved, two percent
approved of handing. I want to know who the two
Democrats in the country two percent are who approved of
Trump's handling of Epstein can imagine and and dependent seventy
one eleven. So I mean that that builds out a
coalition that is super ugly for for his base. I

(04:58):
I just think that that, you know, and he's upside
down on everything. He's upside down on everything now, right,
there's nothing nothing's up right side up, including.

Speaker 3 (05:07):
American that we don't have the images here, but there's
been a major reversal in American's views on immigration.

Speaker 4 (05:12):
Too, if you want to talk about that, right, you know, it.

Speaker 3 (05:15):
Was just months ago where where you see the trend
line people saying immigration is a good thing going down
and down and down, and just recently it has spiked.
Both Republicans and Democrats are now saying immigration is good
for the country. So the political environment, the whole narrative
sort of shifting on Trump.

Speaker 1 (05:34):
Steven Miller Hardest hit Yeah, sorry, you know you you
were talking this morning. There's a new some new data
that only twenty five percent of Americans say that Trump's
policies have helped them.

Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yeah, I mean it's it's hard to express how bad
this week has been for Trump in the polls.

Speaker 4 (05:54):
In the last two weeks.

Speaker 3 (05:56):
And this, I mean, this is this is what we've
been talking about with the Big Beautiful bill. Right, most
of the provisions the Big Beautiful Bill havn't kicked in yet,
most of the cuts don't kick in until after twenty
twenty six, right. Strategically planned by Republicans, of course, But
what matters is the narrative, and what matters is what
people feel. And people feel like Trump is kicking them

(06:18):
in the head every day. So it sucks and they
all hate him, and it's going to be devastating for Republicans.
I've been having a great week, if you can tell.
Just so gratifying.

Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, no, it is gratifying because because look, what we've
always talked about inside Lincoln and inside the part Demoxy
movement is why is Trump immune to everything? Why is
Trump bulletproof to everything? Why doesn't anything break off his space?
That number, that twenty five percent number, also indicates massive
wee that and Nork's a good poll.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
That ap Nork's a good poll.

Speaker 1 (06:55):
That number indicates there is a collapse inside the raport
Republican base about the economic benefits of Donald Trump, which
is another one of those it's what I call a
gentry predicate. A lot of Republicans will say, oh, I'm
voting on economic matters, even though a lot of it's race, culture, war, class, anxiety, whatever.

(07:17):
But if you're down to twenty five percent total of
the population saying that Trump is good for them, that
his policies have helped them, that reflects the gentry side
of the Republican I don't like Trump's tweets, but I
like the tux cuts. Even those people are now being
lost to the Trump coalition, which I think is absolutely fascinating.

Speaker 3 (07:39):
Yeah, I mean, he'll this is this is another big
problem for Trump.

Speaker 4 (07:45):
His coalition is was already really fracticed.

Speaker 3 (07:48):
He you know, got into twenty twenty four on a
miracle that his coalition didn't tear itself to pieces.

Speaker 2 (07:54):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (07:54):
Once, you know, and he's doing things that nobody likes.
So you're gonna this Jerome Powell situation, right, He's going
to fire Jerome Palell and he's going to send the
economy into a tailspin right when or the stock market
at least when he does that, he's going to lose
the you know, wealthy sort of upper upper middle class

(08:14):
people that he had dragged along on tax cuts. M h.
And you know he's going to lose those gentry Republicans
like you talked about. He's he's losing at every angle,
I would say. And the people who are sticking with
him are the Trump loyalists from the very beginning, and
even they might be at risk.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
And those people are the Epstein people exactly.

Speaker 1 (08:37):
And folks, when we talk about the Trump coalition, it
still matters he does because A, he's going to try
to run again, or at least pretend to try to
run again. And B we have elections this year coming
up in Virginia and New Jersey and elsewhere, and we
have the most consequential mid terms of my lifetime coming
up next year. So let's talk a little bit about

(09:00):
before we get to next year. I want to talk
about Virginia right now, because when Glenn Youngkin won in Virginia,
there was a perception on the on the on the
in the Republican Party that they had flipped the state
red forever, that they had done their magic. Now the
Lincoln Project, folks, just so you know, on the outside,
this is then LS show, but it's on the Lincoln Project.

(09:22):
We are going in hard in Virginia this year. We
have a major program building out in Virginia. We're going
to spend a major, major, major trunk of kwan in
Virginia this year to ensure we get Abigail Spanberger elected
governor and to take back majorities in the state legislative body,
keep them and expand and expand the ability to stop

(09:43):
the MAGA movement. It's Elon Musk's dosee cuts have killed
Republicans in Virginia.

Speaker 3 (09:51):
So the thing about Virginia and I want to go
through a lot of these numbers, Yeah, let's do that.
Uhberg is up twelve. You know, I think she's really
positioned to win. The reality is that that Spenberger's race
is important because it has implications for next year, but
also for the Lincoln Project because humiliating Trump is always

(10:15):
what we want to be doing, right and if we
can drag him into this is the mud in Virginia,
it'd be wonderful. You look at the top issues, they're
not the culture war issues that Glenn Youngkin skated in
on in twenty eighteen or twenty twenty one. These are
issues that are generally better for Democrats. And I want

(10:36):
to look at the bottom one here, the federal workforce productions.
It might seem small, so only seven percent of people
say that federal workforce reductions are their biggest issue. But
this is a newly minted issue. And we know just
intuitively that if somebody says federal workforce reductions are my
biggest concern, they're going to vote for Democrats. I mean

(10:58):
nine times out of ten. So it doesn't it doesn't
take a lot. I mean, Glenn Youngkin didn't win by
won by it. We should probably check out. But if
you were able to pull these seven percent of voters
off of Republicans, you can win Virginia handily.

Speaker 1 (11:19):
And and in the three major congressional seats we're targeting
in Virginia, the cuts have been much larger, right and
and and the and the magic of modern campaigns. And
this is part of Andrew's job is to go in
and find those people in our survey work and in
our data analytics work. So we're going to talk to
those people who lost their jobs, talk to those families

(11:39):
who lost their jobs, talk to the communities where these
jobs cuts, where these job cuts have harmed I mean
including places like Norfolk and Hampton Roads where that where
those cuts have been absolutely brutal.

Speaker 3 (11:52):
And then these big ripple effects throughout the state economy. Right,
Like the the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce just came
some some recent survey work that they did forty four
percent restaurant owners in the area are worried about closures.

Speaker 2 (12:09):
Right.

Speaker 3 (12:10):
Seventy percent of all the hospitality in that in that
part of the part of the state is all along
on DC, So that's international travel, hotel stays, convention, all
that sort of stuff. The whole state economy is threatened
by Trump. Right when when this when this race is
about Trump, that puts Democrats a massive advantage, and it's

(12:35):
about the cuts.

Speaker 4 (12:36):
It's about Trump and the cuts.

Speaker 1 (12:38):
And when you look at that top those top seven
counties in Northern Virginia that make up like almost sixty
percent of the total vote pull, right, you can see
why whin some earl sears is not performing on a
statewide basis, where where where people are going to invest
in that race twelve back even a year out or

(12:58):
even six months out, twelve back is a bad place
to be.

Speaker 4 (13:01):
Right, you know.

Speaker 3 (13:03):
And it's I think to talk about the twenty twenty
six implications for a second. The two seats, two of
the seats that we're targeting are Kiggins and Whitman, two Republicans.
Democrats have to take Republican seats in states that Donald
Trump won to win back the majority.

Speaker 4 (13:19):
That is correct, And we can talk about Virginia and
we can talk about Iowa if you want.

Speaker 3 (13:25):
There were some recent news this week that it was
a rumor swirling that that JOHNI. Ernst was planning on retiring.

Speaker 2 (13:31):
Right.

Speaker 3 (13:32):
I don't know how true that is. She's denied it, honestly,
but it does put these two toss up districts in
a similar position to these Virginia races.

Speaker 4 (13:41):
Yeah, this, you gotta was. I was going to be stacked.

Speaker 3 (13:44):
We've got a governor's race, a Senate race, and these
two toss up districts.

Speaker 4 (13:48):
Democrats can make good use of their money.

Speaker 2 (13:50):
And Iowa's cheap folks.

Speaker 3 (13:53):
Right, And that's by no means an easy lift for
Democrats to win these seats, yep, that they've got to
play in states that Trump won.

Speaker 2 (14:00):
Mm hmm.

Speaker 4 (14:00):
It's it's the only way to win back majority.

Speaker 2 (14:04):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (14:05):
I mean, uh, And and we may have to work
harder because Texas is playing fuck around and they're gonna
add They're gonna redistrict and try to add five Republican seats,
which text fledgelature could do it.

Speaker 4 (14:19):
They might get away with it.

Speaker 1 (14:20):
I think they might get away with it. I think
there'll be a lot of lawsuits. But but that won't matter.
And I did you know, as much as I have
been a Gavin Newsome skeptic in the past, his troll
game is magnificent. Now he's really got He's on point
on the troll game. After Abbot and talked about it,
he retweeted it. He retweeted Abbot and said two can
play at that game.

Speaker 3 (14:42):
Well, it's certainly true. Yeah, it probably produced seven more
democratic dist I.

Speaker 2 (14:48):
Mean, I don't want to.

Speaker 1 (14:49):
I don't want us to fight that way in the
country rather non redistricting and and and go fight it out.

Speaker 2 (14:55):
But the real way.

Speaker 1 (14:57):
But I mean that is that is not an impossibility
that we're going to see the need to go outside
of New York in California where we where we will
get pickups this year, we will definitely get pick ups
in New York and California. We might even get a
pick up in South Florida. Salazar is getting very shaky.
Her people are very pissed off. A third of her constituency,

(15:19):
I'm sorry, excuse me. A third of the population of
her district could be deported by next year. Not just
not not they're not voters, but their family members are
all voters. But a third of her district could be deported.
A third, I mean, three hundred thousand people could be
deported from her district.

Speaker 2 (15:36):
That is insanity.

Speaker 3 (15:38):
But it's laffing. I can't even, I can't even. It's
hard to what that would do. And it's everybody.

Speaker 1 (15:49):
But so so we've got these this Virginia space that
we're going to play in here in twenty five, which
is I think I'm not worried about New Jersey. I
think I think think Erl's gonna be fine. I think
that's I mean, I think that's New Jersey. It's it
is not the Red state and the Republicans like to
think it is now.

Speaker 2 (16:10):
But into twenty six. Uh.

Speaker 1 (16:14):
You know Tony Fabrizio, who is Trump's polster. We used
to call him Fat Tony when he was fat. But
but Tony Fabrizio is already belt for twenty six to
the Trump world, isn't he?

Speaker 4 (16:25):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (16:26):
In fact, his most recent poll found that Democrats were
up three in the generic ballot. And you know it's
not going to surprise me if this, If you know,
Tony Ferrizzio finds, you know, in a couple of months
that Democrats are five, right, and you know Trump's approval
rating numbers sort of aligned with this too. Sure you

(16:48):
looked at the approval from that that pole in Virginia,
he's at fifty five A disprove excuse me, he's.

Speaker 4 (16:55):
At fifty five.

Speaker 3 (16:57):
If your approval rating is in the mid forties and
you're going into midterms, your party's screwed.

Speaker 4 (17:05):
I mean, it's there's pretty much no way around this.

Speaker 1 (17:09):
Ask ask Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush
if your parties, if your approval rating is at that
point in the midterms, ask them what happens? Because nineteen
ninety four, two thousand and six, twenty ten all played
to that exact scorekeeping metric.

Speaker 3 (17:29):
And it will be it remains to be seen whether
or not Democrats will will you know, put up the
right candidates for the right racist, but I think.

Speaker 4 (17:37):
There are promises about.

Speaker 3 (17:41):
I think we're we're Democrats are so well positioned in
many ways, but in other ways they are totally unprepared,
which makes it scary and exciting.

Speaker 1 (17:52):
But yeah, I mean I'm worried about the money because
the Republican financial machine right now. I heard from somebody
yesterday from it from a let me, let me couch.
This appropriately from a person who represents a large trade association,
we'll say it that way in Washington, who old friend
of mine called me and said, we're, we're, we're all

(18:15):
all of our people are getting fucked by big by
the bill, they're getting fucked worse by the trade war stuff.
But we're going to end up having to write the
checks and make them write the checks so he won't
exercise retribution on our people. Which and this is a big, big,

(18:37):
big trade association.

Speaker 2 (18:39):
This is somebody.

Speaker 1 (18:39):
Who is who's like should be fearless, but you know,
has sort of broken and bowed down to the Trump
sort of mafia style. And and I think that's really
important that Democrats focus on raising money as well as
getting good candidates. They need to have a big war
chest next year and a lot of Democratic donors for

(19:01):
the last year have been like, oh, right, we'll.

Speaker 3 (19:06):
Say there's some promising signs out of Virginia. I think
Spanberger has outraised.

Speaker 1 (19:10):
Yes by it's I mean, here's the thing about Seiars.
She's tried to moderate on a couple of issues, and
it's just and and it it shows you the trap
the MAGA voters are are have put their candidates in
because she's gotten more anger from her base about trying
to moderate some of her positions like abortion than then

(19:33):
then she got in picking up moderate votes.

Speaker 3 (19:37):
Right, And so yeah, she she took her sort of
hardline abortion stance off the platform.

Speaker 4 (19:44):
And I think it's tactical and I don't know, I mean,
very cynical. Wants to get in this seat. Seventy one people.

Speaker 3 (19:52):
In Virginia say that that, you know, abortion, they should
have access to abortion.

Speaker 4 (19:56):
Right, It becomes you know, there.

Speaker 3 (20:00):
Are a lot of these side issues, like I think
for Magas, there are a lot of side issues. It's
abortion is one thing, you know, immigration is one thing,
but getting the pedophiles out of the government is the
most important thing.

Speaker 2 (20:12):
For it.

Speaker 4 (20:13):
A very large subset of mega.

Speaker 1 (20:15):
Man if they're looking for pedophiles. I can direct them
to a number of MAGA youth pastors, elected officials, the
head of SEAPAC, and variety of other places where where
there are there are real structural I mean, every weirdo
pedo I've ever known has ended up being from the

(20:37):
Republican Party originally or or currently.

Speaker 4 (20:43):
You know, per Elon Muster, there's one in the Oval
office apparently. So that's what I've heard.

Speaker 1 (20:48):
So let's talk about Musk for a second, because people,
I got some questions after one of our last shows
about the America Party, and Yu and I talked about
how difficult it is to.

Speaker 2 (20:56):
Build a third party.

Speaker 1 (20:58):
It seems to have a bigger draw than I anticipated
for some voters.

Speaker 2 (21:02):
Talk to it talks about that for a mimute.

Speaker 4 (21:04):
Well, Musk has a big name. I mean, everybody knows
who he is.

Speaker 3 (21:07):
He's quoting a party with a sort of patriotic name,
on the American Party. He'll get a certain number of
people just right off the top. They don't have to
know anything about it.

Speaker 5 (21:16):
Now.

Speaker 4 (21:16):
Most of those people are going to be Republicans there.

Speaker 3 (21:21):
I imagine maybe he'll pull something like two percent of Democrats,
but it'll be marginal compared to the amount that the
American Party would pull off of Republican candidates.

Speaker 4 (21:31):
And Musk has a lot of money. That really is
what what this comes is.

Speaker 1 (21:35):
That's the difference right between all flat prior third parties.

Speaker 2 (21:38):
There's real money.

Speaker 4 (21:39):
Here, and it's not Bloomberg money.

Speaker 3 (21:41):
Like Bloomberg has money, right, but he wasn't sort of
party he knew that wasn't even feasible, right, Musk.

Speaker 4 (21:47):
Has more money by orders of magnitude.

Speaker 3 (21:50):
And forming a party and getting on the ballot in
certain states is almost always at the very very beginning
a matter.

Speaker 2 (21:57):
Of money, lawyers, guns and money. Not the gun this part.

Speaker 3 (22:00):
But you know, yeah, America packs should be scary for
Trump or America Party.

Speaker 2 (22:07):
Party, Yeah, party, good lord, whatever it is it. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (22:13):
So before we wrap up, I want to go into
a little bit of this twenty twenty six environment. So
we have we have the big, big bad bill has
delayed a lot of the worst impacts.

Speaker 4 (22:23):
Sure, but.

Speaker 1 (22:27):
The global economic system that Trump is, the global economic
mistakes Trump is making across everything they're bragging over. We've
got one hundred billion dollars of revenue coming in which
is being paid for by the American taxpayers. Yeah, we've
got states really pissed off about it disrupted completely on

(22:47):
the big beautiful bill side. We already have rural hospitals
and healthcare providers saying we're not waiting to get screwed.
We're out before that. Right in November of this year,
Affordable Care Act pop policies go up dramatically because of
the big bad bill, right, and that's going to affect
a lot of Republican voters.

Speaker 2 (23:07):
You know these people in Miami.

Speaker 1 (23:08):
Who go, you know, no, silly communista, but where's my
Where's my ACA?

Speaker 2 (23:13):
Is astounding.

Speaker 1 (23:14):
Folks drive through Miami at any time and you will
see signs for ACA healthcare plans and in places like Hyaleah,
which is to the.

Speaker 2 (23:22):
Right of of of of Moscow.

Speaker 1 (23:27):
But you know, look, I just I that landscape. It
really is going to come down. You see it in
New York, you saw it in Virginia. What's the number
one issue? Increasing cost of living? Inflation going up, cost
of living, rents going up dramatically across the country, cost
of living, food prices have continued to rise because of
the immigrations of cost of living.

Speaker 2 (23:48):
I mean, yes, we're gonna.

Speaker 1 (23:50):
Have these like like things that fish are off some
of the Republicans.

Speaker 2 (23:54):
But it really is going to come down to being
an economic selection, isn't it.

Speaker 3 (23:57):
And as always as the consumer price, you know, taking steadily,
and it feels to me that it's going to take
up pretty significantly here ye here, soon that'll be the
only thing people are talking about for the most part,
and you'll you'll hear about inflation all over again if

(24:18):
Democrats do their job.

Speaker 2 (24:19):
Right, right, And I hear my granddaughter in the background, Yes, she's.

Speaker 1 (24:24):
A Where were we Democrats doing their job right?

Speaker 2 (24:30):
Which is always a dicey proposition.

Speaker 3 (24:33):
Yeah, you know it, it will be.

Speaker 4 (24:37):
Oh, here we go, we have a question.

Speaker 2 (24:39):
Oh good, Democratic twenty six.

Speaker 1 (24:42):
I'll start somebody who fits.

Speaker 2 (24:46):
The district, Yes that's what, and who does not?

Speaker 1 (24:49):
And who does not sound like they come out of
a machine in Washington. That focus grouped twenty seven answers
about climate change, gun control, and other ship people will
will care about in some areas but globally do not
care about in a lot of these swing districts.

Speaker 2 (25:05):
Right, the economy. They should be on the economy.

Speaker 1 (25:08):
Like like like like like flies on stink.

Speaker 3 (25:11):
Yes, I was, I was, I was going to say
more or less the exact same thing. You always should
pick a candidate for the district. And you know this
has been a problem for Democrats for a while. We
know that functionally the Democratic Party is a big coalition
of different interests. Sure, let those interests play themselves out
in the different districts.

Speaker 2 (25:32):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (25:32):
If you're going to be a coalition, you act like one,
you know, don't there there is not a national democratic
narrative except for the economy.

Speaker 2 (25:41):
Yeah, that should be yep.

Speaker 4 (25:44):
If you want to win races, pick the candidate for
the district. It's just a universal trip.

Speaker 1 (25:49):
You know that that, Diane. I mean look generically. I
also think you look at Spamberger and Cheryl right now
as two state wides.

Speaker 2 (25:58):
What's unique about them?

Speaker 1 (26:00):
And good military or or CIA experience, military or government
experience That has become a calling card on the right
where they say, oh, only we love our country, only
we serve our country, and it's not true.

Speaker 2 (26:14):
But showing that it's.

Speaker 1 (26:15):
Not true is really important, right, And I think that
I think having candidates, I mean, if you can pick
a veteran as a candidate in a lot of these
swing districts, absolutely do so.

Speaker 2 (26:25):
I think that's a big thing.

Speaker 3 (26:27):
You do see you do see democrats doing that across
the country. Oh yeah, with in Arizona joining in. Yeahmaspanburger.

Speaker 4 (26:35):
It is. It is a promising trend for candidate quality.

Speaker 2 (26:39):
Yeah, yes, yeah, I think, but I think I think.
You know, you gotta have you gotta.

Speaker 1 (26:44):
Have candidates like Mike Davey running in South Florida is
a moderate Democrat in a conservative district. He needs to
be that Aga who I adore is running in a
very liberal district and she can go buck Wold and
do what she needs to do the trick if it
is a district. And the other thing Diane I would
say is be good at communicating. Yeah, you should look

(27:08):
at candidates. Don't look at them for their resume alone.
Like I was the chairman of the toilet seed standards
committee in the North Carolina State Senate. No, you can
people who can go, talk, walk, communicate, connect with people.

Speaker 2 (27:22):
That's a it's hard to quantify, but it's a real thing.
He doesn't let the gift have the gift it does give.

Speaker 3 (27:28):
I think also a younger generation of a slight edge.
You know, digital natives are always gonna even if you
know you hire a affirm.

Speaker 4 (27:37):
To do all of your your presence.

Speaker 3 (27:40):
A digital native is always going to have an easier
time with that form of communication, and that so much
more important in a lot of these races.

Speaker 2 (27:48):
One hundred percent.

Speaker 1 (27:50):
So I have a I was told by David litt Is,
a writer from a Obama speech writer. Yes, I interviewed him.
We had a great conversation. But he told me a
great joke that you, Andrew is a former crew guy.

Speaker 2 (28:00):
We'll get.

Speaker 1 (28:02):
So one school is going to go up and row
against Harvard. Okay, and it's Yeshiva University.

Speaker 2 (28:14):
It's gonna row against Harvard. I don't even know if
you should have a crew team, but that's the joke.

Speaker 1 (28:18):
So they say to the Yeshiva cox and go up
there to Harvard and watch these guys come back and
tell us what you learned. He comes back and he says,
he says, well, here's the weird thing. They have one
Coxon who sets the pace and as he's the one yelling,
and we have all the other rowers yelling at the
coxin and that's like, oh my god, that's perfect, because

(28:42):
you know, it really is there. The Democrats could use
a little more hierarchical control over their messaging apparatus from
time to time.

Speaker 4 (28:50):
Yeah, yeah, but for sure.

Speaker 2 (28:52):
Well, folks, yeah, go ahead, go go go.

Speaker 1 (28:55):
Don't say I don't even know what I was gonna say.
All right, well, folks, it's been great as always. Andrew,
thank you again for all your analytics and your insights.

Speaker 2 (29:08):
Folks. We will be back again next Friday.

Speaker 1 (29:09):
With another edition of Behind the Numbers with the Wilson's
Tune into my nineteen podcasts. I have the Lincoln Project podcast,
I have the Enemies List podcast. Every Friday, you get
the Elephant in the Room where we peel back the
curtain on a little bit of the secret sauce happening
inside of a political scandal or issue. This week's topic
is is Trump Dying? So you can also catch me

(29:34):
on substack at the Rick Wilson all the socials at
the Rick Wilson. Andrew is also on Substeck. He writes
there occasionally and it's brilliant and incisive stuff, so you
should check it.

Speaker 2 (29:43):
Out, subscribe to it.

Speaker 1 (29:45):
Also join ls if you get a chance, we would
appreciate it. We're growing really fast. We're one of the
top political substacks now and That is a real honor,
and we're delighted with the folks who supported us both
just by subscribing and the folks who've gone to the
paid membership basis that it really helps. Also, uh, we're
gonna ring it out this week with a little video

(30:06):
treat for you. It is a brand new Lincoln Project
video that broke on Thursday and has caused nothing but
trouble for the bad guys.

Speaker 2 (30:14):
Talk to you soon, folks, Thanks again. I see mad.

Speaker 5 (30:19):
People catch up on he catch up on the wall, y'all,
finally says they're runner. Just read it day go Pam
down in the shred of broom.

Speaker 2 (30:30):
That's what we know.

Speaker 5 (30:31):
Your story has my holes and you're got to ma
law go, what's up with these lame excuses blame and Obama?
Your whole body hates you, your hat and your mama.
How many names you got?

Speaker 1 (30:40):
What cat got?

Speaker 3 (30:40):
Your tongue?

Speaker 5 (30:41):
You forget your b At fifth Jack would like some
young come to your best and have to bow that you.
So come on, Donny boy, let's take a look. Can
we take a beek in that little black book?

Speaker 3 (30:53):
Can't cover up a cover up? It really makes you think.

Speaker 5 (30:55):
For Dak though, you want, boy, you running out of ink,
said Trump.

Speaker 4 (30:58):
I hear you like I'm young.

Speaker 3 (31:00):
So what cat got your tongue?

Speaker 4 (31:02):
You thought the story ended?

Speaker 5 (31:03):
Now that old jets. That's better prayer, prison cell, hesitating
in But you know the best, one of the best
people everything, the best is spill the tea on your
best is from the low leader express not the only
politics with freaking freak of miles certified, come up certified,
every devious walk.

Speaker 4 (31:18):
Trump really sucks.

Speaker 5 (31:20):
I'm gonna get myself. You know, everyone's the players, the designer,
but your Trump's in the bousing bed with a minor.
Trump not like us, Trump not like US, Trump not
like US, Trump not like us, Trump not like us.
Trump not like us.

Speaker 4 (31:41):
Trump not like us.

Speaker 5 (31:42):
Trump not like us, Trump not like us, Trump not
like us, Trump not like us, Trump not like us.