August 13, 2026 • 20 mins
BOB CHEW IS RUNNING FOR THE US SENATE And he’s running against an incumbent who just BARELY beat an insurgent in his own party, so does Bob have a chance? I have no clue, but he’s got some serious financial backing and he’s on the show today at 1. Find out more about Bob on his website here.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It may be the year that we talk to a
lot of independence in Colorado that are running for office,
because there are.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
A lot of people who have sort of realized.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
That maybe they're maybe we need options. I'm trying to
think of the best way to say this. I'm going
to try and say it delicately. I think Republicans are
going to have a really hard time getting elected. So
what do people who care about things that normally would
have been Republican, things like debt, deficits, spending, where do
(00:33):
they go? My next guest is hoping to offer an alternative,
and that's Bob Chu. He is running as an independent.
He is affiliated with the Forward Party. And Bob, I
want to ask you this because I said it earlier,
and after I said it, I thought, I don't know
if that's accurate. The Forward Party has yet to achieve
major party status yet in Colorado?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Is that accurate?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
That is accurate?
Speaker 4 (00:56):
They are a minor party, right recognized minor party, so
and I be a major party.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
I do believe that they will be.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I out of all of the third parties that it
popped up over the years, I feel like the Forward
Party has a solid structure and an infrastructure built, and
I do think that they have the best chance to
move forward to become a major party out of all
the minor parties that I've been aware of. How did
you get involved with the Forward Party? Tell me a
little bit about yourself and tell my audience a little
(01:26):
bit about you.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Well. First, thank you for having me on your show.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
I am running for the United States Senate because Colorado
needs an independent problem solver who will fight to make
life more affordable, defend democracy in our constitution, and put
the country on sound fiscal footing before the two major
parties completely destroy opportunity for the next generation.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
I believe in America.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
I am running to fix today's problems and prevent tomorrow crisis.
My campaign is centered on one goal, restoring American dream
for all generations. This means ensuring every American has the
opportunity to receive a quality education, find meaningful work, raise
(02:18):
a family, live in a safe and affordable community, obtain
high quality, affordable health care, and enjoy a better quality
of life and a standard of living than the generation
before them. Mandy I served on a nuclear submarine and
I later built a global business, creating hundreds of jobs.
(02:41):
I believe we can fix our dysfunctional government by moving
beyond partisan narratives and the constant political fighting. Instead, let's
focus on practical, data driven solutions that get to the
root causes of problems. My campaign is about bringing people
together to tackle difficult problems honestly and preserve the American
(03:07):
dream for generations to come. That's fundamentally why I got
in the race Forward. Party has values, they don't have
a platform, so I'm free to come up with my
own platform and policy items.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
So let me stop you there, Bob, because nothing I
don't disagree with everything you just said sounds fantastic, but
I'm gonna be honest. I've heard that exact same thing
from candidates for the last twenty five years. What I'm
looking for and what my listeners are looking for is,
let's talk about your plans. Let's talk about those values.
Let's talk about those ideas that you have that you
would like to drive forward. Let's get into some specifics.
(03:42):
And you know that I am very focused on debt.
I have no confidence in Democrats or Republicans to manage
or even even.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Pass a budget at this point. That's I mean, that's
how bad it is.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Right, So what is the Bob che plan to tackle
spending debt deficit?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
What would you want to see happen?
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Well, first, I don't want to get to policy wonkish
here on this show. My website bob che twenty twenty
six dot com has detailed policy positions on these and
other issues. And under the national debt issue, it's got
a fifteen page paper about what I want to do
(04:24):
about it. But let's talk about why this is important.
National debt is crowding out our ability to take care
of the basic needs of our citizens. The interest on
that debt is now fifteen percent of our overall budget.
It's driving up interest rates, which drive up the cost
(04:46):
of houses through mortgage rates, auto loan rates, student loan rates.
It's making life more unaffordable, and someday it's going to
come crashing down on us. Let's not wait for that crash.
Let's deal with it now.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Okay, So how do you deal with it?
Speaker 4 (05:06):
Well, the debt's about equal to our GDP not quite
forty trillion dollars, and over the next twenty five thirty years,
a whole lot of money is going to pass from
one generation to another, like one hundred.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
And thirty trillion dollars.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
We need to reform how that money is taxed when
it's passed from one generation to another. We have a
current scheme, but it doesn't generate very much revenue. If
we can earmark that revenue for national debt reduction from
the get go, it will start to whittle down our debt.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
I think we'll.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
See an immediate drop in interest rates, which will make
life more affordable for the average American in very short order. Separately,
we deal with the deficit spending, and I've got a
separate plan for that too.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
So that sounds like an estate tax ex.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
So fundamentally, the two major parties will not deal with
this issue because the solutions are not popular or easy.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
They're hard. So let me just get real courage for
real solutions.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
It sounds like you're talking about it a state tax.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Yeah, we got to change how we do that. Let's again,
let's not get.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Too wonk ash here on the show, but I do
want to get wonkish.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
I'm not trying to be disrespectful, but you know, there
are things that these things that when you bring up
in a state tax, that tells me a lot about
the way you view you.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Know, an American's dollars.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Let me just give you my view on a state
planning in a state taxes every dollar that I have
accumulated in my estate that I want to live to
leave to my children. A lot of that is directly
related to the hours of my life that I have
given up working for someone else, and decisions that I've
made in all of those things. What right does the
government have to take that after I'm dead.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
I have thought about this for three or four years,
and the debt is such a big problem that we
need a big solution.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
There are no.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Easy solutions, all right to me, this is the least
bad solution.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
You're going to die. You earned it.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
You can spend it as you want, all right, But
then you're going to die, and then it's going to
go wherever. Okay, we're all created equal, and the wealth
is being concentrated in a smaller and smaller fraction of
our society. The top twenty percent of us hold one
(07:50):
hundred and thirty trillion in wealth.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Okay, I have no problem if.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Eighty trillion of that goes to the airs and what,
But let's let the other go to reduce our national debt.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
My generation got us.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
Into this mess, and I feel a civic responsibility to
offer a real solution so that the next generation doesn't get.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Crushed by it. Okay, Yeah, that's integrity.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Okay, I see that. I hear that.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
I have a much different view of that. And I
don't even have that much wealth. I for me, I've
always attached that to It goes to the people who
you didn't spend time with over their lifetimes because you
were working for that money and you were accumulating that wealth.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Well, let's move on, let's move on. Let's not get
bogged down.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
What are some of the other issues that are very
important to you as you're running for the Usnate?
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Well, the affordability issue.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
Now, I've looked at a lot of elements that are
making life unaffordable, and most of them are due to
government actions. So government's the cause of unaffordability. Government can
fix on affordability and some examples, the tariffs drove up
(09:10):
cost of building materials. Okay, our national debt drives up
cost of mortgage interest rates. Regulation around building codes to
make homes more.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Energy efficient and fire resistant.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
Those are all good things, but they add up words
of twenty five percent to the cost of a new home.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Let's be honest with.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
The real causes and decide how we're going to address
those root causes. Localities zone things for bigger houses because
it's more tax revenue. Okay, So let's just be honest
with ourselves as to what's driving on affordability. Transportation, the
war in Iran obviously, tariffs and other factors. The weather
(09:59):
we can't control, the weather driving up food costs.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
All right, let's find the root causes. Energy. Colorado pays a.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
Lot more for energy than the surrounding states, and it's
because we've rushed the transition to greener, renewable energy sources.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
We need all of the above approach to energy.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
You know, I lived eight worked and slept twenty yards
from the core of a nuclear reactor for weeks on
end when I was underwater on a nuclear submarine.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
Forty years later, I don't have cancer. I don't even
glow in the dark. Okay.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
Anyways, nuclear power can be done safely and it's a
reliable source of energy.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
So let's embrace.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
An all the above approach and be honest with ourselves
the elements that are driving on affordability.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
So a lot of that stuff that you just mentioned
is a local issue.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Zoning is a local issue.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
The regulatory structure in Colorado that drives up the home prices,
that's a local issue. Now, on the nuclear issue, as
a member of the US Senate, you could clear the
decks a little bit to make more space or make
sure that regulations are not excessive that drive up the
cost of any kind of nuclear generation. And I'm all
for that, But it sounds like there's a lot of
issues there that would be locally driven. How does that
(11:29):
play into a US Senate race.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
Well, you're right, it doesn't, all right, But you know,
recently the House and the Senate passed an affordable housing bill,
and a lot of noise was made about private equity.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Owning homes and we're going to limit that.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Well, private equity owns a very tiny fraction of homes.
So again there's the narrative that sometimes people get all
worked up about in that drives policy that doesn't fix
the problem. Okay, let's look at what's really driving things
that fix the problem.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
At the national level. Again, it's our national debt.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
It's driving up interest rates, driving up the cost of mortgages,
and tariff policy driving up the cost of materials.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
So let's be honest with ourselves. I'm an engineer.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Engineers study and fix problems. I'm not a politician.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
So but here's the problem. You are a politician if
you're running for office. Now you're jumping into that phrase.
So I want you to think like a politician and
answer this question.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
You can elect to the US Senate.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
The House passes another continuing resolution with just giant poor
you know, packed with crap and garbage that's been in
there for years.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Do you vote against it?
Speaker 4 (12:47):
I've been working with a number of independent veterans running
across the country for the US Senate.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
There's six of us, all right, and four of us.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
Have come together and we've come up with a governing
plan form and one of those things is that we're
going to pass budgets on time. Another is that we're
not going to use reconciliation to jam through trillion dollar
packages of legislation. We're going to restore sixty votes for
(13:18):
federal judges and Supreme Court judges, and if enough of
us get elected, we will have outsized power.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
To make some of these changes real.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
So what would be the first thing that you would
want to tackle say you get elected, you're an independence,
so you don't necessarily you're not going to have chairmanships.
You know, your committee assignments are going to be more challenging.
What areas would you seek out to have influence?
Speaker 4 (13:45):
Well, first of all, ask Joe Manchin and he's now deceased,
Joe Lieberman. They became independence and they retained outsized power
for that one vote that they had because they were
able to be the unbiased, non party controlled swing vote. Okay,
(14:12):
So comes down issue by issue what's important. You got
to focus both on short term problems as I mentioned,
things like affordability, but we also have to focus on
our long term issues such as getting to a closer
balanced budget and solving our national debt.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Ok those are it's competing priorities.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
The fundamental thing, though, is listening to Colorado voters, not
party politics, not party narratives. That's where being an independent
really comes into play.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
I can listen to the voters.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
I can vote what is in their best interest, not
the interest of the party.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
B So you've been traveling the state. I'm assuming as
you're campaigning, as all good candidates do. What are people
telling you? What are you seeing as you're out there
talking to people because Colorado. I feel like Colorado we
have a very loud and vocal progressive majority. But I'm
not sure if every rank and file Democrat necessarily agrees
(15:21):
with melt Heiros or are the more extreme parts of
the Democratic Party. Are you meeting with Democrats that agree
with you or are you meeting with Republicans that agree with you?
What do you Who are you talking to out there, Bob?
Speaker 3 (15:32):
So I'll give you a couple of examples. The first, broadly,
I've been going to a lot.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
Of county fairs and handing out my little pamphlet and
chatting briefly with people, and they are so enthused to
know that there is a veteran running as an independent.
And by the way, he's an engineer and he built
a business and created jobs.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
They're all in for that.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
I would say nine of the people that I've been
meeting at county fairs are very.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
Welcoming, positive. Not all of them have said they're vote
for me, but they're more than happy to look into me.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
Recently, I had a meet and greet down in Jefferson
County with people who are very engaged and all and
we discussed policy and details, and they came away. Some
of them were right leaning and some of them were
(16:35):
left leaning. Several of them said they had in the
past supported hicken Looper, but they were looking for something different.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
So I am resonating with the vast middle.
Speaker 4 (16:49):
You know, fifty of Colorado's are not registered Republican or Democrat, so.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
The majority of us are independent minded.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
We just have to have the courage to move beyond
the party narratives, the fear that, oh, if you.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Vote for an independent, the other guy's going to win.
We can't have that, all right.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
We got to move beyond the fear and take the
plunge and tell America that we Colorado's are ready for
an independent voice that represents them, not the party bosses.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
So let me ask you a couple I'm thinking of
about the national issues that are sort of swirling around
right now. Of course, the number one is where are
you on the Iran War?
Speaker 3 (17:37):
Well?
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Donald Trump went off half cocked, went on his gut
instincts like he does with just about everything, didn't.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Have a real plan in place.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
All I can say is Iran is a bad actor.
Iran is the main cause of discontent. Iran is the
worst enemy of the Palestinians because it's made them pawns
in its quest for regional dominance. It kills thousands of
(18:11):
its own people. It's hell been on getting nuclear weapons.
So Iran is a bad actor. But we went about it,
obviously in a very unthought about way. We didn't get
a global coalition the way George Bush did back in
ninety ninety one when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
That's the playbook you gotta follow.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
And he didn't get any kind of consensus from Congress
or the American people before launching this ill advised adventure.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
So what do you do now?
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Well, if I were in the Senate, it's time to
invoke the War Powers Act and pair this back. I
will say that the blockade seems to which is pretty
much non tenetic at this point, seems to be the
one thing that gets the Iranian regime's attention. So given
(19:14):
where we are today, that's that's the chess piece that
we have to play.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Bob, you is Oh, sorry, Bob, we're out of time. Obviously,
we'll talk again before the election. Bob is the independent
candidate for the US Senate. He is affiliated with the
Forward Party, but running as an independent. If you want
to find out more information about Bob, go to Bob
che and that's chew like you show your food, bobch
(19:42):
six dot com. I also put a link on the
blog to his website, Bob I appreciate the time I'm
interested in. I'm going to do a deep dive on
all of your policy positions, and the next time you
come on, you better be ready for a nerdy wonky
policy conversation because that's what we're going to have.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
All right, all right, thank you, Mandy
Speaker 2 (19:58):
All right having you to day, sir, thank you you
for that
It may be the year that we talk to a
lot of independence in Colorado that are running for office,
because there are.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
A lot of people who have sort of realized.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
That maybe they're maybe we need options. I'm trying to
think of the best way to say this. I'm going
to try and say it delicately. I think Republicans are
going to have a really hard time getting elected. So
what do people who care about things that normally would
have been Republican, things like debt, deficits, spending, where do
(00:33):
they go? My next guest is hoping to offer an alternative,
and that's Bob Chu. He is running as an independent.
He is affiliated with the Forward Party. And Bob, I
want to ask you this because I said it earlier,
and after I said it, I thought, I don't know
if that's accurate. The Forward Party has yet to achieve
major party status yet in Colorado?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Is that accurate?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
That is accurate?
Speaker 4 (00:56):
They are a minor party, right recognized minor party, so
and I be a major party.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
I do believe that they will be.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I out of all of the third parties that it
popped up over the years, I feel like the Forward
Party has a solid structure and an infrastructure built, and
I do think that they have the best chance to
move forward to become a major party out of all
the minor parties that I've been aware of. How did
you get involved with the Forward Party? Tell me a
little bit about yourself and tell my audience a little
(01:26):
bit about you.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Well. First, thank you for having me on your show.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
I am running for the United States Senate because Colorado
needs an independent problem solver who will fight to make
life more affordable, defend democracy in our constitution, and put
the country on sound fiscal footing before the two major
parties completely destroy opportunity for the next generation.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
I believe in America.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
I am running to fix today's problems and prevent tomorrow crisis.
My campaign is centered on one goal, restoring American dream
for all generations. This means ensuring every American has the
opportunity to receive a quality education, find meaningful work, raise
(02:18):
a family, live in a safe and affordable community, obtain
high quality, affordable health care, and enjoy a better quality
of life and a standard of living than the generation
before them. Mandy I served on a nuclear submarine and
I later built a global business, creating hundreds of jobs.
(02:41):
I believe we can fix our dysfunctional government by moving
beyond partisan narratives and the constant political fighting. Instead, let's
focus on practical, data driven solutions that get to the
root causes of problems. My campaign is about bringing people
together to tackle difficult problems honestly and preserve the American
(03:07):
dream for generations to come. That's fundamentally why I got
in the race Forward. Party has values, they don't have
a platform, so I'm free to come up with my
own platform and policy items.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
So let me stop you there, Bob, because nothing I
don't disagree with everything you just said sounds fantastic, but
I'm gonna be honest. I've heard that exact same thing
from candidates for the last twenty five years. What I'm
looking for and what my listeners are looking for is,
let's talk about your plans. Let's talk about those values.
Let's talk about those ideas that you have that you
would like to drive forward. Let's get into some specifics.
(03:42):
And you know that I am very focused on debt.
I have no confidence in Democrats or Republicans to manage
or even even.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Pass a budget at this point. That's I mean, that's
how bad it is.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Right, So what is the Bob che plan to tackle
spending debt deficit?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
What would you want to see happen?
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Well, first, I don't want to get to policy wonkish
here on this show. My website bob che twenty twenty
six dot com has detailed policy positions on these and
other issues. And under the national debt issue, it's got
a fifteen page paper about what I want to do
(04:24):
about it. But let's talk about why this is important.
National debt is crowding out our ability to take care
of the basic needs of our citizens. The interest on
that debt is now fifteen percent of our overall budget.
It's driving up interest rates, which drive up the cost
(04:46):
of houses through mortgage rates, auto loan rates, student loan rates.
It's making life more unaffordable, and someday it's going to
come crashing down on us. Let's not wait for that crash.
Let's deal with it now.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Okay, So how do you deal with it?
Speaker 4 (05:06):
Well, the debt's about equal to our GDP not quite
forty trillion dollars, and over the next twenty five thirty years,
a whole lot of money is going to pass from
one generation to another, like one hundred.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
And thirty trillion dollars.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
We need to reform how that money is taxed when
it's passed from one generation to another. We have a
current scheme, but it doesn't generate very much revenue. If
we can earmark that revenue for national debt reduction from
the get go, it will start to whittle down our debt.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
I think we'll.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
See an immediate drop in interest rates, which will make
life more affordable for the average American in very short order. Separately,
we deal with the deficit spending, and I've got a
separate plan for that too.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
So that sounds like an estate tax ex.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
So fundamentally, the two major parties will not deal with
this issue because the solutions are not popular or easy.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
They're hard. So let me just get real courage for
real solutions.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
It sounds like you're talking about it a state tax.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Yeah, we got to change how we do that. Let's again,
let's not get.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Too wonk ash here on the show, but I do
want to get wonkish.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
I'm not trying to be disrespectful, but you know, there
are things that these things that when you bring up
in a state tax, that tells me a lot about
the way you view you.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Know, an American's dollars.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Let me just give you my view on a state
planning in a state taxes every dollar that I have
accumulated in my estate that I want to live to
leave to my children. A lot of that is directly
related to the hours of my life that I have
given up working for someone else, and decisions that I've
made in all of those things. What right does the
government have to take that after I'm dead.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
I have thought about this for three or four years,
and the debt is such a big problem that we
need a big solution.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
There are no.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Easy solutions, all right to me, this is the least
bad solution.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
You're going to die. You earned it.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
You can spend it as you want, all right, But
then you're going to die, and then it's going to
go wherever. Okay, we're all created equal, and the wealth
is being concentrated in a smaller and smaller fraction of
our society. The top twenty percent of us hold one
(07:50):
hundred and thirty trillion in wealth.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Okay, I have no problem if.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Eighty trillion of that goes to the airs and what,
But let's let the other go to reduce our national debt.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
My generation got us.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
Into this mess, and I feel a civic responsibility to
offer a real solution so that the next generation doesn't get.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Crushed by it. Okay, Yeah, that's integrity.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Okay, I see that. I hear that.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
I have a much different view of that. And I
don't even have that much wealth. I for me, I've
always attached that to It goes to the people who
you didn't spend time with over their lifetimes because you
were working for that money and you were accumulating that wealth.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Well, let's move on, let's move on. Let's not get
bogged down.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
What are some of the other issues that are very
important to you as you're running for the Usnate?
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Well, the affordability issue.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
Now, I've looked at a lot of elements that are
making life unaffordable, and most of them are due to
government actions. So government's the cause of unaffordability. Government can
fix on affordability and some examples, the tariffs drove up
(09:10):
cost of building materials. Okay, our national debt drives up
cost of mortgage interest rates. Regulation around building codes to
make homes more.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Energy efficient and fire resistant.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
Those are all good things, but they add up words
of twenty five percent to the cost of a new home.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Let's be honest with.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
The real causes and decide how we're going to address
those root causes. Localities zone things for bigger houses because
it's more tax revenue. Okay, So let's just be honest
with ourselves as to what's driving on affordability. Transportation, the
war in Iran obviously, tariffs and other factors. The weather
(09:59):
we can't control, the weather driving up food costs.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
All right, let's find the root causes. Energy. Colorado pays a.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
Lot more for energy than the surrounding states, and it's
because we've rushed the transition to greener, renewable energy sources.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
We need all of the above approach to energy.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
You know, I lived eight worked and slept twenty yards
from the core of a nuclear reactor for weeks on
end when I was underwater on a nuclear submarine.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
Forty years later, I don't have cancer. I don't even
glow in the dark. Okay.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
Anyways, nuclear power can be done safely and it's a
reliable source of energy.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
So let's embrace.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
An all the above approach and be honest with ourselves
the elements that are driving on affordability.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
So a lot of that stuff that you just mentioned
is a local issue.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Zoning is a local issue.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
The regulatory structure in Colorado that drives up the home prices,
that's a local issue. Now, on the nuclear issue, as
a member of the US Senate, you could clear the
decks a little bit to make more space or make
sure that regulations are not excessive that drive up the
cost of any kind of nuclear generation. And I'm all
for that, But it sounds like there's a lot of
issues there that would be locally driven. How does that
(11:29):
play into a US Senate race.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
Well, you're right, it doesn't, all right, But you know,
recently the House and the Senate passed an affordable housing bill,
and a lot of noise was made about private equity.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Owning homes and we're going to limit that.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Well, private equity owns a very tiny fraction of homes.
So again there's the narrative that sometimes people get all
worked up about in that drives policy that doesn't fix
the problem. Okay, let's look at what's really driving things
that fix the problem.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
At the national level. Again, it's our national debt.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
It's driving up interest rates, driving up the cost of mortgages,
and tariff policy driving up the cost of materials.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
So let's be honest with ourselves. I'm an engineer.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Engineers study and fix problems. I'm not a politician.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
So but here's the problem. You are a politician if
you're running for office. Now you're jumping into that phrase.
So I want you to think like a politician and
answer this question.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
You can elect to the US Senate.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
The House passes another continuing resolution with just giant poor
you know, packed with crap and garbage that's been in
there for years.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Do you vote against it?
Speaker 4 (12:47):
I've been working with a number of independent veterans running
across the country for the US Senate.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
There's six of us, all right, and four of us.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
Have come together and we've come up with a governing
plan form and one of those things is that we're
going to pass budgets on time. Another is that we're
not going to use reconciliation to jam through trillion dollar
packages of legislation. We're going to restore sixty votes for
(13:18):
federal judges and Supreme Court judges, and if enough of
us get elected, we will have outsized power.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
To make some of these changes real.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
So what would be the first thing that you would
want to tackle say you get elected, you're an independence,
so you don't necessarily you're not going to have chairmanships.
You know, your committee assignments are going to be more challenging.
What areas would you seek out to have influence?
Speaker 4 (13:45):
Well, first of all, ask Joe Manchin and he's now deceased,
Joe Lieberman. They became independence and they retained outsized power
for that one vote that they had because they were
able to be the unbiased, non party controlled swing vote. Okay,
(14:12):
So comes down issue by issue what's important. You got
to focus both on short term problems as I mentioned,
things like affordability, but we also have to focus on
our long term issues such as getting to a closer
balanced budget and solving our national debt.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Ok those are it's competing priorities.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
The fundamental thing, though, is listening to Colorado voters, not
party politics, not party narratives. That's where being an independent
really comes into play.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
I can listen to the voters.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
I can vote what is in their best interest, not
the interest of the party.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
B So you've been traveling the state. I'm assuming as
you're campaigning, as all good candidates do. What are people
telling you? What are you seeing as you're out there
talking to people because Colorado. I feel like Colorado we
have a very loud and vocal progressive majority. But I'm
not sure if every rank and file Democrat necessarily agrees
(15:21):
with melt Heiros or are the more extreme parts of
the Democratic Party. Are you meeting with Democrats that agree
with you or are you meeting with Republicans that agree with you?
What do you Who are you talking to out there, Bob?
Speaker 3 (15:32):
So I'll give you a couple of examples. The first, broadly,
I've been going to a lot.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
Of county fairs and handing out my little pamphlet and
chatting briefly with people, and they are so enthused to
know that there is a veteran running as an independent.
And by the way, he's an engineer and he built
a business and created jobs.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
They're all in for that.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
I would say nine of the people that I've been
meeting at county fairs are very.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
Welcoming, positive. Not all of them have said they're vote
for me, but they're more than happy to look into me.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
Recently, I had a meet and greet down in Jefferson
County with people who are very engaged and all and
we discussed policy and details, and they came away. Some
of them were right leaning and some of them were
(16:35):
left leaning. Several of them said they had in the
past supported hicken Looper, but they were looking for something different.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
So I am resonating with the vast middle.
Speaker 4 (16:49):
You know, fifty of Colorado's are not registered Republican or Democrat, so.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
The majority of us are independent minded.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
We just have to have the courage to move beyond
the party narratives, the fear that, oh, if you.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Vote for an independent, the other guy's going to win.
We can't have that, all right.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
We got to move beyond the fear and take the
plunge and tell America that we Colorado's are ready for
an independent voice that represents them, not the party bosses.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
So let me ask you a couple I'm thinking of
about the national issues that are sort of swirling around
right now. Of course, the number one is where are
you on the Iran War?
Speaker 3 (17:37):
Well?
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Donald Trump went off half cocked, went on his gut
instincts like he does with just about everything, didn't.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Have a real plan in place.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
All I can say is Iran is a bad actor.
Iran is the main cause of discontent. Iran is the
worst enemy of the Palestinians because it's made them pawns
in its quest for regional dominance. It kills thousands of
(18:11):
its own people. It's hell been on getting nuclear weapons.
So Iran is a bad actor. But we went about it,
obviously in a very unthought about way. We didn't get
a global coalition the way George Bush did back in
ninety ninety one when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
That's the playbook you gotta follow.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
And he didn't get any kind of consensus from Congress
or the American people before launching this ill advised adventure.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
So what do you do now?
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Well, if I were in the Senate, it's time to
invoke the War Powers Act and pair this back. I
will say that the blockade seems to which is pretty
much non tenetic at this point, seems to be the
one thing that gets the Iranian regime's attention. So given
(19:14):
where we are today, that's that's the chess piece that
we have to play.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Bob, you is Oh, sorry, Bob, we're out of time. Obviously,
we'll talk again before the election. Bob is the independent
candidate for the US Senate. He is affiliated with the
Forward Party, but running as an independent. If you want
to find out more information about Bob, go to Bob
che and that's chew like you show your food, bobch
(19:42):
six dot com. I also put a link on the
blog to his website, Bob I appreciate the time I'm
interested in. I'm going to do a deep dive on
all of your policy positions, and the next time you
come on, you better be ready for a nerdy wonky
policy conversation because that's what we're going to have.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
All right, all right, thank you, Mandy
Speaker 2 (19:58):
All right having you to day, sir, thank you you
for that
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