Wake Up Live W/ Christopher DeSimone Ep. 429 - Hessam Rahimian, David Schweikert, John Winchester

Channel: Live The Dream Media

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

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[8:20] Heat.

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[8:44] I feel

[8:56] I feel

[9:45] Every night

[9:50] down.

[10:00] Heat. Heat.

[10:10] Heat. Heat. N.

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[11:06] I feel

[11:15] hey.

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[12:29] Nataly

[12:39] feel.

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[13:42] I won't be a part of any of

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[14:36] You're listening to Wake Up with

[14:38] Christopher D. Simone on the Live the

[14:40] Dream Media Network. Southern Arizona's

[14:43] premier live talk and online radio.

[14:58] Good morning and welcome to Wake Up with

[15:01] Chris Christopher D. Simone. Obviously,

[15:04] I am not Christopher D. Simone and

[15:06] neither is my guest host. So, you will

[15:09] be stuck with Ted Maxwell, president CEO

[15:12] of the Southern Air Leadership Council,

[15:14] and Shelley Kis. Uh, I'm sure Shelley

[15:18] will bring all the wisdom to the show

[15:19] today. We will make it uh work out, but

[15:22] we both are honored to sit in for Chris

[15:25] today. We've got a great show uh lined

[15:27] up for you. Uh at the bottom of the

[15:29] hour, we'll be joined by Hassim Remian.

[15:32] Uh and he's, as always, providing us

[15:34] with the latest. The thing is, Sam will

[15:37] not be here in the studio with us today

[15:40] and he won't be in his studio at home

[15:42] either. So, we'll we'll see where he's

[15:44] checking in from. We know uh he's doing

[15:46] big things uh continuing to

[15:49] keep everybody informed on the reality

[15:51] of uh the the the nation of Iran and

[15:54] what's going on over there. So, I look

[15:55] forward to talking to Assam. He's he's

[15:57] incredibly intelligent. That will be a

[15:58] great conversation. Speaking of

[16:00] intelligent, we'll be joined by

[16:02] Congressman David Schwiker at the top of

[16:04] the 8:00 or the top of the 7:00 hour.

[16:07] And then for the last closing segment,

[16:10] John Winchester, Republican candidate

[16:12] for LD17 House, will be with us to give

[16:15] us an update of where all that sits. So,

[16:17] how are you doing today, Shel?

[16:18] >> I'm doing great. How are you, Ted?

[16:20] >> I'm doing good. You know,

[16:21] >> this is exciting.

[16:22] >> This is This is like I think Chris is

[16:25] calling this the Shell Ted.

[16:27] >> Yes, he's he's trying to tag it. I

[16:29] haven't quite figured out how it is. I'm

[16:30] sure he's just sitting back chuckling

[16:31] somewhere. And uh Christopher will be

[16:34] back with you tomorrow for the show,

[16:36] >> but uh today he's asked us to come in

[16:37] and sit in. And I always appreciate this

[16:39] opportunity because there's nobody who

[16:41] has been uh quite as engaged as you have

[16:44] with the Republican party here in Puma

[16:46] County. So I'm always looking to you for

[16:48] an update on on what what's the latest

[16:50] and what's how you're feeling,

[16:52] especially heading into three weeks

[16:53] away. And you know, I'm going to I'm

[16:56] going to say it. We need to make sure

[16:57] everybody votes. There's not any reason

[17:01] to not vote. You need to get out there.

[17:03] You need to be heard. And uh if you

[17:06] don't, then as the old saying goes, you

[17:09] really shouldn't be complaining about

[17:10] the outcomes. So, you got to make sure

[17:11] if you've got your ballot and it's not

[17:13] in yet, please fill it out. You can take

[17:15] it down to a voting center. You can drop

[17:16] it in the mailbox until about the 27th.

[17:18] Uh there's a lot of different ways. And

[17:20] if you want to show up on November 3rd,

[17:21] you can do that, too. So, so what are

[17:23] you hearing on the front on how the uh

[17:25] vote in this this region and in the

[17:27] state's going so far?

[17:28] >> So, first off, if you if you look

[17:31] yesterday, Georgia broke broke all

[17:33] records over 180,000 people on the first

[17:36] day of voting. So, this midterm is so

[17:39] important and people are getting it. So,

[17:41] they're showing up to vote and I think

[17:42] we're going to see that here in Arizona,

[17:44] too. Uh I just came back from the

[17:46] Arizona Federation of Republican Women

[17:49] weekend conference up in Prescuit. It

[17:52] was amazing.

[17:54] Uh we had uh just just to kind of give

[17:56] you an idea of what a lineup at ACFRW

[17:59] looks like, we had Congressman Gosar

[18:02] Crane Buret from Tennessee and Clyde

[18:06] from Georgia. Uh we had a conversations

[18:10] with Congress. We had Representative

[18:12] Basuchi and Senator Finchum talking

[18:15] about the legislature. Uh, and then we

[18:18] spent the day stuffing over 2,000

[18:22] sleeves for distribution. We made 2,700

[18:26] phone calls. We sent out almost 600

[18:29] postcards. Uh, and by the way, to get

[18:32] postcard stamps, we had to go down to

[18:35] Tumakry, I think that's how you say it,

[18:37] and Rio Rico. There there are no

[18:40] postcard stamps. Wow.

[18:41] >> I mean, it's uh finding postcard stamps

[18:44] is something. So, you know what that

[18:46] tells me? Everybody is hard at work

[18:48] sending things out and we did texting.

[18:51] So, we had a huge effort and you know

[18:53] what? It was the first time I've seen

[18:56] the RNC, the AGOP and the AFRW all

[19:00] partner together to work on a campaign.

[19:03] And so, I'm really excited. I'm feeling

[19:05] good about this.

[19:06] >> Well, there's no doubts nationwide the

[19:08] midterms have gotten a lot of attention,

[19:09] but in Arizona, they're just as

[19:11] important as ever. I mean,

[19:14] >> I won't say everything's up for grabs.

[19:16] We know that in this state, 25 of the 30

[19:19] districts should be fairly safe for one

[19:22] party or the other. But, uh, LD17 is one

[19:25] down here. That's why I'm excited to

[19:26] have John Winchester in. It's It's one

[19:28] that's considered considered a little

[19:29] bit of a battleground for control of the

[19:32] the House and the Senate and the state

[19:33] of Arizona.

[19:34] >> Yeah. And I'm not sure about that. I

[19:36] don't understand that. We need all the

[19:38] Republicans up there at LG17 to just uh

[19:41] pull up your boots and get out there and

[19:43] go vote. And you know, I I think the

[19:46] thing that really frustrates me, Ted, is

[19:50] that you may not like the individual,

[19:53] okay? Uh but what happens is when they

[19:57] all get there in January, they go

[19:59] through and they put a little red stripe

[20:01] or a blue stripe on their nose. Then

[20:03] they count those stripes and those

[20:05] stripes decide who's going to be the

[20:07] chairman of those committees and that's

[20:10] decides what's going to get through.

[20:13] It's that simple.

[20:14] >> It it it actually it is. That's the best

[20:16] way to explain it. And all you have to

[20:18] do is look at the number of uh

[20:20] legislative actions and bills that

[20:22] actually pass and make it to the

[20:24] governor's sign uh governor's desk. They

[20:26] may all not get signed by the governor,

[20:28] but the number of bills that go up, the

[20:30] percentage is well north of 90%.

[20:33] >> Are coming from the majority party.

[20:35] >> Yep.

[20:35] >> And that's not going to matter if it's

[20:37] Republican or Democrat. That's how the

[20:38] game is played. And and the control

[20:41] exists in those uh committees like you

[20:44] mentioned. And the majority party will

[20:47] have the chair of all of those

[20:49] committees. And it makes a huge

[20:50] difference on not only the legislation

[20:52] you can talk about, but the legislation

[20:54] that even gets heard

[20:56] >> and and it's the chairman of those

[20:58] committee that make the decision. And so

[21:01] if the chairman of all those committees

[21:03] is a Democrat,

[21:05] we you know, Representative Basuchi,

[21:08] he's he's just a hoot. Uh he was sharing

[21:11] with us some examples of some Democrat

[21:14] bills and I mean he some of them are

[21:17] just funny. They're just funny. You

[21:20] can't even imagine that people would

[21:21] write that. Uh but so, you know, it's a

[21:25] math game. Uh we also had one of our

[21:27] speakers, Nathan Jackson, who's the

[21:29] political director for Restoration of

[21:31] America. He was talking about how he's

[21:34] just really not a math guy, but this is

[21:37] really all about math and he's learned

[21:40] that.

[21:40] >> That's that's very true.

[21:41] >> And that's where we are today. So, in

[21:43] LD17, let's look at the the

[21:46] registration. let's look at the numbers

[21:48] and then let's go out and vote. A

[21:50] >> and the and you know the thing people

[21:52] have to understand you hear that uh

[21:54] Arizona is becoming a purple state. And

[21:56] I think if you look at our politics and

[21:57] where it rolls out it's it's it's

[21:59] starting to to trend that but that's

[22:01] really more about the number of the rise

[22:03] of the independents necessarily than the

[22:05] rise of the Republicans. Republicans

[22:06] still have about a 320,000

[22:09] voter advantage in the state of Arizona.

[22:13] Yet, we've got so many of these races

[22:15] that are going to be incredibly tight.

[22:17] Um because there's there's only about a

[22:19] 20,000 30,000, you may have a better

[22:22] number than me, advantage between the

[22:23] Republicans and the independents.

[22:25] >> Right

[22:25] >> now, all independents, they're they're

[22:27] not independent. They most of them vote

[22:30] like the party they came from because,

[22:32] you know, that's been a a segment of the

[22:33] voting populace. Um, what have you seen

[22:36] as far as the Republicans outreach to

[22:38] those independents or try to at least

[22:40] ensure that the former Republican

[22:41] independents are are coming back to uh

[22:44] to roost?

[22:45] >> So, I live in the largest precinct in

[22:47] Pima County, precinct 84, u just by

[22:51] sheer number and also the largest

[22:53] Republican precinct. Um, what we're

[22:57] doing is we've gone through and we've

[22:59] hit all of our Republicans. We've we

[23:03] have quite an operation down there. Uh

[23:06] and now we're going through and we're uh

[23:08] hitting the de the independents and what

[23:11] we do is we focus on those independents

[23:13] that pulled a Republican ballot in the

[23:15] primary because we know they're coming

[23:16] out. They're 4x4 voters. So make sure

[23:20] that you go after those independents and

[23:23] remind them to come and vote. Uh, but I

[23:26] I actually think the independents as

[23:28] more and more stuff is coming out, I

[23:31] think they're going to lean over to the

[23:33] right. I really do. I think they're

[23:35] they're going to see the advantages of

[23:37] this. You know, there was a report that

[23:39] just came out and it's about, you know,

[23:42] where states are in their fiscal

[23:45] responsibility. And as you know, I am my

[23:48] my deal is fiscal responsibility. I am

[23:51] probably far more to the right than even

[23:54] you, Ted, uh, when it comes to fiscal

[23:56] responsibility. And North Dakota came

[23:58] out number one, but who do you see at

[24:02] the bottom? California, Illinois, New

[24:04] York, those people are not fiscally

[24:07] responsible. And who runs those states?

[24:10] >> Where was Arizona?

[24:11] >> You know what? I couldn't find Arizona

[24:12] on the list. Okay, that's a bad sign.

[24:16] >> We didn't make the list at all. That's

[24:18] not good. Well, I think we're on the

[24:19] list, but we're not number one and we're

[24:21] not number 50. So, that's the good news.

[24:24] Uh, but I mean, let's look at some of

[24:26] the stuff we're facing here in Arizona.

[24:29] It is an embarrassment

[24:31] that we are not able to do an audit of

[24:34] our agencies.

[24:36] How can you possibly consider voting for

[24:39] a governor who for four years has either

[24:42] been late on the submission of the audit

[24:45] or hasn't done it at all. She is now

[24:48] saying that she will get the TW I

[24:51] believe it's the 25 audit

[24:54] submitted one month after the 26 audit

[24:58] is due

[24:58] >> historically. Can you talk about that?

[25:00] When when when in the past have those

[25:03] audits been accomplished? They have they

[25:06] were accomplished under the Ducy

[25:07] administration

[25:08] >> and and uh you know timing sometimes

[25:11] sometimes we get wrapped up in the

[25:12] timing of everything but when you've

[25:14] only accomplished one over four years

[25:16] that's saying the focus isn't where it

[25:19] should be

[25:21] >> and and I agree with that. So I mean

[25:24] that's just the competence of that's

[25:26] just management. That's just good

[25:28] management. But here's the thing. Right

[25:30] now, the University of Arizona, ASU, um,

[25:33] Northern Arizona University, they are

[25:36] having missed opportunities

[25:38] because there are grants that they

[25:40] cannot apply for and and putting us in a

[25:44] position, you know, hand tying us so

[25:48] that we can't compete. That's what's

[25:51] going on right now. That's what we're

[25:53] seeing and that's what worries me the

[25:55] most. and even considering giving that

[25:59] governor another four years is is just

[26:02] it just doesn't make sense to me. Why?

[26:05] When you go to a restaurant and you get

[26:08] bad service, you don't keep going back

[26:11] to see if you continue to get bad

[26:13] service. And we've done that now for

[26:15] four years in a row. We've gotten bad

[26:18] service. We're not managing our

[26:20] resources. we're not managing our our

[26:23] the uh money that's coming into the

[26:26] state, the federal money. And you know

[26:27] what? Say what you want. For two more

[26:30] years, we're gonna have a Republican

[26:32] administration in Washington DC. And

[26:34] there is an assistant secretary sitting

[26:36] at HHS that is going to make a decision

[26:39] about Arizona.

[26:40] >> Well, that is that is very true. And

[26:42] again, this this all goes back to this

[26:45] is our opportunity to have our voice.

[26:48] We're, you know, three weeks away.

[26:50] You've got to get the ballots in. If

[26:52] you're if you're going to mail it in,

[26:53] please get it in before the 27th. If

[26:55] you're going to carry your ballot, your

[26:56] early voter ballot into any of the

[26:59] polling uh places, please show your ID.

[27:04] That means it doesn't go through the

[27:05] signature verification process. It

[27:07] immediately will get marked, especially

[27:09] the closer you get to election day. I

[27:11] mean, one of the things we've always

[27:12] been concerned about because in the

[27:13] nation we sometimes look foolish because

[27:16] we'll have an election and 7 days later

[27:18] we're still trying to tell you who won.

[27:20] >> Ask Juan Ciscoani.

[27:22] >> Exactly. And and speaking of close

[27:24] races, you know, we're we're going to

[27:25] have several close races in this uh in

[27:28] this county in Pima County, but

[27:30] throughout the state of Arizona. So, I'm

[27:33] personally this year decided I'm going

[27:35] to take my early voter ballot because

[27:37] I've voted by mail since I joined the

[27:38] military back in the in 1980. So, I've

[27:41] always been and I know scary. I'm old.

[27:44] I'm old. That's that's all there is to

[27:45] it.

[27:46] >> So, that I've I've always been a voter

[27:48] by mail and I believe it's important to

[27:50] have that as an option.

[27:52] >> So, so can I give a shout out?

[27:53] >> Absolutely.

[27:54] >> I want to give a shout out to Constance

[27:56] Hargrove.

[27:58] She is the director of

[27:59] >> Look, look at you giving a shout out to

[28:01] Puma County.

[28:03] >> Well, I'm gonna tell you why.

[28:04] >> Um, I am gonna say why. I I was probably

[28:10] the one that spoke out against hiring

[28:12] her several years ago. So, I've paid

[28:15] very close attention and she's done an

[28:18] excellent job. I just finished last

[28:20] night. I just finished my pole worker

[28:23] training

[28:25] and I did the online course and of

[28:28] course I have to go do an in-person

[28:29] course as well. So you're going to get

[28:32] about eight hours of training before you

[28:33] even

[28:34] >> That's good to hear.

[28:34] >> Okay. So now what you just said a lot of

[28:38] people don't know the ID verified drop

[28:41] off is new and she and and she addresses

[28:46] it in the online training. It's

[28:49] excellent online training if you're a

[28:51] pole worker and and it's um I I don't I

[28:55] I probably shouldn't say this, but

[28:58] you know how sometimes you try and skip

[29:00] ahead

[29:01] >> because you think you could pass the

[29:02] quiz without taking the training? You

[29:04] can't do that. You got to listen. You

[29:07] got to sit there and participate in the

[29:09] training. And after every module, and

[29:11] there's seven modules, you have to take

[29:13] a test.

[29:14] >> And if you miss the test, do you have to

[29:15] go watch the module again?

[29:17] >> Oh, yeah. because you have to get 80% or

[29:19] above but the ID verified. So what

[29:22] you're talking about what a great idea

[29:25] that our legislators passed and she has

[29:30] implemented and there will be a separate

[29:32] table that you'll go to with your ballot

[29:35] all sealed in the envelope. You'll go

[29:38] you'll show your ID and that will go in

[29:42] a separate box and it will go straight

[29:44] to tabulation instead of going through

[29:47] the signature verification process. So

[29:50] if you want to take your ballot in,

[29:52] don't just drop it off. Go get it

[29:54] verified.

[29:55] >> Absolutely. And especially if you're

[29:57] going to do it on election day.

[29:59] >> Oh my gosh.

[29:59] >> Because your vote your your ballots will

[30:01] be tabulated the same time every ballot

[30:03] that's that's coming in and getting

[30:05] voted for and verified. So you don't

[30:07] have to wait. If you want your vote to

[30:09] count, please do it right. Thank you for

[30:11] being a volunteer. How How is

[30:13] >> Oh, I'm not volunteering. I'll get paid

[30:16] minimum wage.

[30:17] >> You're going to get paid the minimum

[30:18] wage that So do all uh the folks who

[30:21] work at the polling places as observers.

[30:24] >> Not observers, poll workers. So I'm

[30:26] gonna There's

[30:27] >> Thank you for clarifying that. So if

[30:28] anybody's wants to sign up to be an

[30:30] observer, realize you're not going to

[30:31] make minimum wage,

[30:33] >> but but you will be there to be part of

[30:34] the process. And that process is is so

[30:37] important. So

[30:39] how many pole workers

[30:43] >> well

[30:44] >> are there and how how do you go about

[30:45] signing? That's something that I'm

[30:47] learning new stuff here today.

[30:48] >> Well, so when you think about it, at

[30:50] every poll, there is an inspector who's

[30:53] the boss, the marshall who maintains the

[30:56] marshall business, maintains law and

[30:59] order, if you will. uh you'll have two

[31:01] clerks, you'll have an equipment

[31:03] specialist, and you'll have two judges,

[31:07] and so there's I think 129 polls uh vote

[31:11] centers. So, times seven. I mean, it's

[31:14] it's a and there's rovers that are

[31:17] members of of the election staff that

[31:20] will come, but it's uh it's quite an

[31:22] operation. And yes, and last night on

[31:25] Next Door, I saw one of my neighbors

[31:28] post that she dropped her ballot off at

[31:31] the drive-thru in Saurita

[31:34] and by 3:00 she got noticed that it was

[31:37] going to tabulation.

[31:39] >> This the system works. I know there's a

[31:41] lot of folks that doubt it that think

[31:43] it's you know,

[31:46] every system will be played by people

[31:47] who want to influence outcomes. We know

[31:49] that. But it's if you get involved and

[31:51] if people like you, Shelley, step in and

[31:54] do the both the work and the

[31:55] observation.

[31:57] I I'm one of those that is 100%

[32:00] confident that our election outcomes are

[32:02] accurate. Does that mean there's fraud

[32:04] or there's folks that are doing things?

[32:06] Of course there is. There's always is.

[32:07] People will always try to get around the

[32:09] system, but it's not significant enough

[32:10] because of people like you

[32:12] >> who are willing to work and the

[32:14] observers that are out there willing to

[32:16] watch and make sure that everything

[32:17] goes. It it would be such a difficult

[32:20] thing to overcome. And I know some

[32:21] people probably listening are going,

[32:23] "Oh, it's not that hard to overcome." It

[32:25] I think it's a lot harder. And to your

[32:27] point on Concist Harrow, thank you for

[32:28] giving her a shout out. So many people

[32:31] don't understand the difference between

[32:32] the county recorder and the county

[32:33] elections director.

[32:35] One's to run the system.

[32:37] >> Yep.

[32:38] >> And the others to provide oversight.

[32:41] Different stories.

[32:42] >> Yep. Yep. I think she I think she's been

[32:44] here probably four years now. It's been

[32:46] about four years. And I, you know, the

[32:49] training that I went through last night,

[32:51] and this isn't my first election as a a

[32:54] worker,

[32:54] >> it's not your first rodeo.

[32:55] >> No. And I actually worked out in cells.

[32:58] I went to cells one year because they

[33:01] have such a hard time.

[33:02] >> Absolutely.

[33:03] >> Uh getting somebody out there because in

[33:05] my case, if I'm going to be a marshall,

[33:08] then the inspector has to be a Democrat.

[33:11] >> So what's a marshall? So, a marshall is

[33:13] I'm going to be the one that's goes and

[33:15] make sure sets the 75 ft line.

[33:18] >> Okay.

[33:18] >> I'm going to in a loud voice announce

[33:21] that the polls are open at 6.

[33:23] >> That's kind of like a ceremony. That

[33:25] could be fun.

[33:25] >> It is. It's going to be great fun. And

[33:27] then at 7:00 p.m. I will go stand behind

[33:31] the last person in line and that will be

[33:34] the last person that gets to vote. You

[33:37] are literally the person that's going to

[33:39] stand there and say it's all over and

[33:41] have to turn people away. Oh man, you

[33:43] could have some people that might get a

[33:44] little angry. But again, don't wait till

[33:46] 7 o'clock.

[33:47] >> Exactly. Don't show up at 6. Well, 7:01.

[33:50] >> Yeah. 7:01. Shel's going to do her job.

[33:52] Get your ballots in early. So, we have

[33:54] one thing we haven't done yet is we

[33:55] haven't gone and said say good morning

[33:56] to the wakies and and we've got a pretty

[33:58] pretty good turnout here on the live

[34:00] chat. That's the one I'm going through

[34:02] the YouTube live chat. Uh the Holdens

[34:04] are awake at 67 degrees at Moonshine

[34:07] Manor. That's actually a pretty decent

[34:08] uh temperature for Moonshine Manor. I

[34:10] mean, I come down farther and and Dr.

[34:12] Neil's got 36 a crisp 36 degrees in the

[34:14] Metroplex.

[34:16] >> Um Mother Mcker, thank you for being on

[34:17] board as always. The the Pares are are

[34:20] listening. Pat, good morning to you as

[34:22] well. Uh

[34:24] >> as I stroll through this, Katherine

[34:27] Weasel, it wouldn't be a morning without

[34:29] Weasel on the on the thing. Saying good

[34:31] morning to all all the wakies out there.

[34:32] So, it's good good to have you in there,

[34:34] Big Dave. We're we're hoping that you

[34:37] will all continue to comment and

[34:38] participate throughout the show. That's

[34:39] one thing Chris does a very good job at

[34:41] is keeping uh his his listeners and

[34:43] everybody engaged. And so, we appreciate

[34:46] you being here. Um,

[34:49] speaking speaking of Katherine Weasel,

[34:50] she'd like everybody to know CD7

[34:52] candidate Daniel Butierrez is having an

[34:54] event today out at the El Rico Park 6

[34:57] p.m. So, if you can show up at out at

[34:59] the El Rio Park and and enjoy him out

[35:01] there, she'd greatly appreciate that.

[35:03] And she too has done all of her

[35:05] training. Um, and she's a little bit

[35:09] more concerned about the fraud in the uh

[35:11] recorder's office and education. So,

[35:13] there, like I said, there are folks out

[35:14] there. And the important thing is what I

[35:16] appreciate about people like Katherine

[35:19] is she's going to complain but she's

[35:21] also going to get involved.

[35:22] >> She is a hard what we need to do. We

[35:24] need to have folks out there that are

[35:26] willing willing to get engaged and get

[35:28] involved.

[35:29] So, there's another thing that came out

[35:31] yesterday and we've I think got about 20

[35:33] minutes, Tony. So, I know you'll let me

[35:34] know when we need to go to our first

[35:36] break or maybe a little earlier than

[35:37] that before we are joined by Assam

[35:41] Raheem to talk a little bit about the

[35:44] what's going on in the the Middle East

[35:45] at this point. He's going

[35:50] well, let's re real quick. We want to

[35:51] throw out one thing. Uh let's give us

[35:53] about we'll go about five more minutes

[35:55] long if that's okay with you, Tony. All

[35:57] right. It's always good to have that

[35:58] voice in the ear keeping you on as as I

[36:01] like to say on time and on target, you

[36:03] know, if you if you stray.

[36:05] >> There was an op-ed yesterday written by

[36:07] supervisor Steve Christie in in the

[36:10] Arizona uh Daily Star

[36:12] >> and it was uh putting out for the no on

[36:16] Prop 425. 425 is the permanent and it is

[36:19] permanent um base increase to the

[36:23] expenditure limitation for Puma County.

[36:25] it uh the books will tell you it's going

[36:27] up $70 million. It's an increase, but

[36:29] that's because it's taking the $91

[36:31] million that was set as that limit in

[36:34] 1980 and making it $161 in $181.

[36:38] And that translates to about $610

[36:41] million that it will increase what is

[36:44] currently the Puma County uh limitation.

[36:46] That increase will occur right after. It

[36:48] doesn't result in immediate taxation,

[36:50] doesn't result in immediate

[36:51] expenditures, but it opens a door. And I

[36:54] the headline of Steve's uh op-ed was why

[36:57] give the county a blank check.

[37:00] >> What are your thoughts on Prop 425?

[37:02] >> No.

[37:03] >> That's an that's an easy answer.

[37:05] >> No. And it's not that I haven't thought

[37:07] about it. I I am a financial manager. I

[37:10] get it. I understand particularly

[37:12] government finance. And I think this is

[37:14] a very dangerous position to open the

[37:17] door as Supervisor Christie said. Uh you

[37:20] don't want to give them a blank check.

[37:22] Uh, and we we need more accountability

[37:26] than what we're seeing from our board of

[37:28] supervisors. And I'm very concerned that

[37:30] we would consider this. I think Puma

[37:32] County is bordering on a financial

[37:35] crisis. We're getting ready to uh change

[37:38] hands with the uh retirement of Jan

[37:42] Leer. And so, I think that this is not

[37:45] the time for us to uh just give them the

[37:49] keys to the kingdom. And and my op

[37:51] opinion on this is is I'm also a no on

[37:54] 425 personally. That's my that's my

[37:56] opinion. That's how I'll be voting. Uh I

[37:58] look at the 15 counties in the in the

[38:01] state of Arizona. Seven of them have

[38:03] already authorized increases in their

[38:05] expenditure limitations from those base

[38:06] numbers set in 1980. It goes up based on

[38:09] population, goes up based on uh the the

[38:13] economy, you know, with some of the the

[38:15] indexes that they use. But it it's been

[38:17] running behind and Pima County is up

[38:19] against their expenditure limitation

[38:21] right now. They are at the point

[38:22] >> there's the key

[38:23] >> and they are up against theirs. that

[38:25] prevents them from doing other things

[38:26] they may want to do like raise some

[38:29] taxes from some of the taxing districts

[38:30] they've got to do the things that as uh

[38:32] supervisor Christie points out are in

[38:34] their control and there's there is

[38:36] obviously a lot of programs they want

[38:38] and the challenge has been we've

[38:40] received so much COVID and federal

[38:41] funding since 2020 and that money is

[38:45] expiring or has is no longer coming in

[38:49] and there's a lot of programs and once

[38:50] programs are in place people don't like

[38:52] to give them up and the board of

[38:54] supervisors right now want to keep a lot

[38:56] of these programs that were funded,

[39:00] some needed, some maybe not back in the

[39:02] day um from by the federal government

[39:04] that aren't anymore. They want to turn

[39:06] it into a local funding stream which

[39:07] means ultimately if you do this there

[39:11] will be increases in taxes and funding

[39:13] that's going to come along with it

[39:14] whether they want to acknowledge that or

[39:15] not. That's not why I'm know as much. I

[39:17] know they've got to address the

[39:20] expenditure limitation. I'm against it

[39:22] because of the size of the increase.

[39:25] They looked at three different things,

[39:26] 25%, 50% or 75% increase and they picked

[39:30] 75%.

[39:32] Cookanino County just did one and they

[39:34] did 75%. It's a huge change. Maricopa

[39:37] County when they did theirs, they have

[39:38] passed into an increase. They increased

[39:41] theirs by I believe the actual number

[39:42] was 14% but 14 or 15%. And in

[39:46] discussions with the board of

[39:47] supervisors, I said, "Why didn't you

[39:49] consider that lower number?" Well, then

[39:51] we'd have to go back to the voters in

[39:53] five or 10 years. And I'm going, what's

[39:55] wrong with going back to the voters?

[39:57] >> We we are supposed to be able to provide

[39:59] oversight and

[40:02] control, some control to what our

[40:04] elected officials do, but not when you

[40:05] set up a number that they believe will

[40:08] be 20 to 25 years before they will butt

[40:10] up against the um expenditure limitation

[40:14] again at current growth rates. without

[40:17] increasing in taxes, but they've got

[40:19] limits on how much they can increase,

[40:21] but they can and you're already hearing

[40:23] talk about it. So, that's my my reason

[40:25] for it. But I appreciate Supervisor

[40:27] Christie as always stepping up and

[40:28] putting something in print and out there

[40:30] in front and telling everybody this this

[40:32] is not the right way to do this. There's

[40:34] a right way to raise the expenditure

[40:35] limitation. This is not it.

[40:36] >> This is not it. This is definitely not

[40:39] it. And and what has happened is all of

[40:42] that COVID money, I think you hit the

[40:44] nail right on the head. And whether it's

[40:45] in our school districts or in our county

[40:47] government, everybody just just got

[40:50] drunk on the money. And so now here we

[40:54] are and we've we're going to have to

[40:56] we're going to have to, you know,

[40:57] tighten our belt. This is like uh all

[41:00] this money going away and all of a

[41:02] sudden people just like you said, they

[41:05] don't want to give up these programs.

[41:07] >> Absolutely. So that's that's you've got

[41:08] you've got two nos on 425 from from the

[41:11] two of us. And again, vote how you feel

[41:14] you feel fit, but please vote. Real

[41:16] quick, popular national days today.

[41:18] You've got National Grouch Day. Hey,

[41:20] Chris. Uh, National Cheesecurd Day, I

[41:22] Love Lucy Day, the National Schwarma

[41:25] Day, uh, National Lemon Bar Day. Who

[41:27] knew that one? Roasted Feeasant Day. As

[41:30] always, there's a ton of uh, holidays

[41:32] being celebrated every single day, but

[41:34] today you've got Shell and Ted day, I

[41:36] guess, at uh, Wake Up Tucson with

[41:39] Christopher D. Simone. We'll be right

[41:41] back after uh going to our sponsors and

[41:44] getting some Albustos coffee.

[41:50] >> This is Wake Up with Christ D. Simone,

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[47:19] >> It's more of Wake Up with Christ. Simone

[47:22] on the Live the Dream Media Network. Now

[47:26] back to the show.

[47:33] Welcome back. You're joining us on Wake

[47:36] Up with Chris Christopher D. Simone, but

[47:38] today you've got uh Ted Maxwell and

[47:40] Shelley Kais. Shel, that was a We talked

[47:42] about if we'd be able to fill the first

[47:44] half hour, but as you told me, don't

[47:46] worry, if we needed to, we could fill

[47:47] all two hours. But luckily, we don't

[47:49] have to do that.

[47:50] >> That's a good thing. But we could

[47:52] >> that that that we could appreciate all

[47:54] the comments that are flowing through on

[47:56] the live chat. Uh one of the ones that

[47:58] uh was was dropped on the the live chat

[48:00] was there's really no limits on the

[48:01] special taxing districts like the

[48:03] library districts. I'm I'm going to have

[48:05] to go do a little more research on that.

[48:07] I thought they had limits too. I know

[48:08] there are the property tax what the

[48:10] county can do unilaterally, but uh you

[48:13] know that again it goes back to the

[48:15] premise on that one. It's just

[48:18] 25 20 to 25 years is too long to wait to

[48:20] come back to the taxpayers and ask them

[48:22] if they like what you're doing with

[48:23] their money. And it's a permanent

[48:25] increase. It does it doesn't it doesn't

[48:27] go down. So,

[48:29] >> all right. Well, what we have for you

[48:32] now, it's always great. I finally have

[48:34] had the opportunity to meet Hassam

[48:36] Raheem in person uh at one of the events

[48:40] that uh Christopher D. Simone was

[48:43] putting on and uh I was I was really

[48:45] honored to do it. Sir, thank you for

[48:47] joining us today. You don't have Chris,

[48:49] but you've got Ted and Shelley with you

[48:51] to talk about what uh what's going on

[48:53] and appreciate you you joining us on the

[48:55] stream.

[48:58] >> Ted and Shelly, it's a pleasure to be

[49:00] here with you and it is certainly an

[49:03] honor to be able to provide some insight

[49:07] while I'm traveling here in Washington

[49:09] DC. It's good to be here. Well, I

[49:12] appreciate you answering that question

[49:13] because that was going to be the next

[49:14] one is I I know you're not at your own

[49:16] uh office space and you're not here with

[49:18] us in the studio. We appreciate you uh

[49:20] taking the time to call in from

[49:22] Washington DC. So, let's just put that

[49:24] right on the table, sir. What What are

[49:26] What are you currently doing in

[49:28] Washington DC?

[49:30] >> Absolutely. As you and the listeners

[49:33] know, u the Islamic regime for 47 years

[49:37] has kidnapped Iran hostage, 90 million

[49:40] people. And throughout these years,

[49:43] President Trump finally was one of the

[49:47] only presidents that decided to actually

[49:50] make a difference and took this task on

[49:54] by attacking the Islamic regime with the

[49:57] hopes of dissolving this regime for once

[50:00] and for all. and hopefully provide a

[50:02] world a safer place and an ally like

[50:05] Iran was to us uh before the 1979

[50:11] um Islamic regime takeover. Having said

[50:13] that, there has been a lot of ups and

[50:15] downs. Um I am one of those uh people

[50:19] that decided to do what I can to be the

[50:22] voice of Iranians. Uh my brothers and

[50:25] sisters in Iran don't have the voice. uh

[50:28] often they don't have access to

[50:30] internet. Recently up to 90 days of

[50:33] complete darkness meaning no internet at

[50:36] all whatsoever. So not much comes out of

[50:38] Iran and uh when it does they are not

[50:42] free to talk meaning if they get on

[50:45] social media and if they share

[50:48] um any images or any updates they risk

[50:52] arrest persecution torture and in one of

[50:57] the most recent cases as of couple of

[51:00] days ago a young lady is going to be on

[51:03] a death row and this is only because She

[51:07] shared um videos about the latest uh

[51:11] uprisings and what's going on in Iran

[51:15] and how the Islamic regime is getting

[51:17] weak. So it it's it's a challenging

[51:19] time. Uh this is the second time that

[51:22] I'm coming to DC. Uh I have always

[51:25] firmly believed and that's one of the

[51:27] reasons that Iran Liberty Foundation was

[51:31] formed. raising awareness is the key in

[51:35] this uh matter. I always felt that

[51:38] Americans

[51:40] uh no disrespect, I consider myself an

[51:43] American. I've lived here for 37 years,

[51:45] but I'm talking about people that were

[51:47] born in this great nation. Don't value

[51:50] the freedom that they have and they are

[51:53] also very naive and they don't

[51:55] understand the concerns that it's coming

[51:59] uh towards them. For me, for my family,

[52:03] uh this is almost like a rerun of a

[52:06] movie. I can simply

[52:09] remember the days back in 1977

[52:13] and 79 when the uprising took place and

[52:16] with the Islamic regime took over. um

[52:19] the Islamist uh fundamentalist, the

[52:21] clerics joined forces with Marxist and

[52:25] the leftist not having anything in

[52:27] common in their ideology except they had

[52:30] one goal and that was to destroy Sha um

[52:34] and uh they did and they won and after

[52:38] that uh obviously the Islamic regime

[52:40] took over and I see the very same here

[52:43] in United States uh and we don't have to

[52:46] look far we can simply see what's going

[52:49] on in France and England right now. Uh

[52:51] those two uh nations are in deep

[52:54] trouble. Um and they brought it up to

[52:57] themselves and hopefully they can work

[52:59] it out. But this is my home. This is

[53:02] where I live. And I've often say this, I

[53:05] don't want another 9/11 here in my

[53:08] backyard. Um I get very ticked off when

[53:10] I hear about gas prices. Um I understand

[53:14] times are tough for some people. Having

[53:17] said that, uh it will be a whole lot

[53:19] more difficult to live if we had a

[53:22] nuclear bomb uh thrown at us or any

[53:26] other type of similar uh terrorist

[53:30] actions like the Islamic regime has done

[53:32] for 47 years. Um my goal in here in

[53:36] Washington DC is meet with members of

[53:40] Congress and Senate and there are three

[53:43] things that I have been pushing and

[53:45] these are three items that are truly

[53:49] uh bipartisan. The number one has been

[53:52] free and available internet to the

[53:55] Iranians.

[53:56] I've always felt that's something that

[53:58] it should have been long time ago and

[54:01] I'm doing whatever I can in my power to

[54:05] fight that and hopefully accomplish

[54:07] that. The second is the need for

[54:12] Iranians to have the right tools. It's

[54:15] very simple. If you're going to write,

[54:17] you're going to need a pen. If you're

[54:19] going hiking, you need hiking shoes. And

[54:22] if you're going to fight a regime that

[54:26] has been brutalized, terrorized

[54:28] uh the nation for 47 years, you are

[54:31] going to need certain tools. And those

[54:34] tools are guns. And it is one of the

[54:38] things that I am hoping somehow we're

[54:41] going to be able to get to the Iranian

[54:43] people. There are some chatter. there

[54:45] are some good um news that's popping out

[54:48] and hopefully we're going to be able to

[54:50] accomplish that in a large scale.

[54:53] And uh so and and the third item is one

[54:56] of the items that Christopher and I and

[54:59] uh Bob Wells talked about numerous times

[55:03] and that's for a uh propaganda that

[55:07] takes place by United States and uh

[55:10] that's by giving pamphlets that get uh

[55:14] basically thrown out of the planes all

[55:16] over Iran for Iranians especially uh not

[55:21] necessarily in the big cities But in

[55:23] places that they may not have access to

[55:26] any type of uh news from outside world

[55:29] letting Iranians know that United States

[55:32] loves Iranian people. United States does

[55:36] surgical attacks. United States is going

[55:39] after the Islamic regime to free Iranian

[55:43] people. So, these three items are three

[55:46] that are very uh bipartisan and I have

[55:50] to say I'm getting a great positive

[55:54] thumbs up so far from my meetings. Of

[55:57] course, I have two more full days ahead

[55:59] of me.

[56:00] >> So, appreciate uh all you do on this

[56:03] front. It uh I mentioned earlier I

[56:05] joined the military in 1980. So, I was a

[56:07] high school senior uh when the uh the

[56:10] Iran revolution occurred and the the

[56:13] throwing the dismantling of the Shaw and

[56:15] the the uh the country and everything.

[56:18] So, it's it's close to me, but the

[56:20] majority of folks in our nation

[56:23] are unaware. A lot of them are unaware

[56:24] of it. Just flat. It's it's it's

[56:27] history, you know. It's it's 30 or 50 45

[56:30] years 46 years now past. H you you're

[56:35] how do you are you able to go back and

[56:37] engage now with the legis the Congress

[56:40] and those folks back there and bring

[56:42] that story of how Iran's current

[56:46] government came to power and more

[56:48] importantly have held on to power for 45

[56:50] years

[56:52] >> that that that's a great question. Uh it

[56:54] it's very simple. We can actually see

[56:56] already what's taking place. Look at

[56:59] what happened in New York City. you have

[57:02] the largest and

[57:05] New York City, I mean we're talking

[57:07] globally it's recognized. Um, and you

[57:12] have a Islamist extremist

[57:15] uh leftist uh that is the mayor. That

[57:19] that to me is unbelievable. Look at

[57:22] what's happening in Michigan. Look at

[57:24] what's happening in uh Texas. You have

[57:27] the Islamic fundamentalist little by

[57:30] little gaining their footprint. Times

[57:33] have changed. Um there are uh Islamic uh

[57:37] terrorist and extremist that come after

[57:42] uh our peace and our um way of life uh

[57:46] with guns and torture and killing. But

[57:50] one of the newest methods that has been

[57:52] uh very successful is by immigration

[57:57] and becoming part of the community.

[58:01] That's how they did in France. That's

[58:03] how they did in England and that's how

[58:05] they're doing it United States. uh

[58:08] basically by increasing their numbers

[58:10] and the family size and uh buying out

[58:14] small communities, building a church, a

[58:17] mosque and uh little by little by having

[58:21] more people come to the neighborhood um

[58:23] a lot of people that don't necessarily

[58:26] care uh to have that in their

[58:29] neighborhood and to wake up to it and

[58:30] see large number of uh the Islamic

[58:35] extremist with the headscarf and the

[58:38] covering and all the backward things

[58:41] that is from thousands years ago. Um,

[58:45] you know, they decide to leave the

[58:47] neighborhood and they dropped the price

[58:48] of the value of the real estate and the

[58:51] Islamic communities and the Muslim

[58:53] Brotherhood continue to buy more

[58:55] properties and they're getting their

[58:57] foot in the door. Um look at the number

[59:00] of the Islamic

[59:03] um fundamentalists that now are members

[59:06] of our government. Uh the last count and

[59:10] we're talking about Congress, Senate,

[59:12] and of course uh a just normal state

[59:16] level, it's over 100

[59:20] uh Islamic leftist uh extremist that are

[59:25] now active. Um to me that's alarming and

[59:30] we need to understand that and we need

[59:33] to deal with it. Look at the amount of

[59:37] uh investments by gatar um gatar uh it's

[59:42] or gutter whatever they call it here uh

[59:46] that the billions of dollars has been

[59:48] invested in our IV school uh Ivy League

[59:52] schools um throughout the past years uh

[59:56] that that number is alarming and by the

[60:00] way that explains how we have this

[60:03] challenge with college campuses uh

[60:06] ruining, burning down and really nothing

[60:10] other than uh destruction

[60:13] uh of uh property uh under the uh cover

[60:18] of free Palestine and uh free Gaza.

[60:23] >> Well, that there's the uh everything

[60:24] going on in Gaza has obviously

[60:26] heightened some of the awareness of the

[60:28] Middle East and what all is going on

[60:30] there. As far as before we get into some

[60:32] of what your current assessment of the

[60:34] situation, I'd like to you're you're

[60:36] really an expert on so much more than

[60:38] just uh the Iran conflict. You you you

[60:40] understand that region, but thank you.

[60:43] >> I'd love to hear what's the reception

[60:45] you receive when you go back to

[60:46] Washington DC.

[60:48] >> It's great. Um it's it's wonderful. It

[60:52] it is the communication is there. Um

[60:55] unfortunately

[60:57] uh I get much better uh welcome from

[61:02] their right side of the aisle. Uh but

[61:06] I've always been open and transparent

[61:09] and will continue to speak to uh the

[61:14] left as well. I am firmly believer of

[61:18] this is not matter of politics. This is

[61:21] human rights and the most important part

[61:25] of this that we cannot forget is our

[61:29] safety and security. Uh forget the

[61:32] Iranian people. This is about our safety

[61:36] and security. The beauty of this is once

[61:39] we um topple the regime, the world will

[61:44] be a safer place and of course the

[61:47] Iranian people will be free and they

[61:49] have been fighting for it and they want

[61:51] that freedom and they will get it but we

[61:54] need to focus on our safety and our

[61:57] security and that's why this is crucial.

[62:00] Uh it does uh sadden me when I do have

[62:04] uh meetings with few members that are on

[62:07] the left and I clearly see that there is

[62:11] a wall uh that I cannot uh get over but

[62:15] I'm not giving up.

[62:17] >> Do quick followup and then Chile I want

[62:18] to make sure if you've got any thoughts.

[62:21] >> You talk about the wall. So you

[62:22] obviously they take the meetings with

[62:24] you, you get to see them. Do you think

[62:25] the wall is being created by the current

[62:28] political divide and their concern of of

[62:31] remaining office in office or or is do

[62:34] you think it's actually what they

[62:36] believe uh when you're talking to them?

[62:39] No, it's not what they believe. It is

[62:41] basically uh they are in the most part

[62:45] being bullied by few members that are

[62:48] outspoken. They're loud. They're rude.

[62:52] They're wrong. And they're

[62:54] disrespectful.

[62:56] And they lie and they cheat. And they're

[62:59] disgrace to this country. They're

[63:02] disgrace to United States. And those

[63:05] members are so loud and they're such a

[63:09] bully that the rest of the party must go

[63:13] along, unfortunately.

[63:15] >> Um, and that's why I'm not giving up.

[63:17] >> Well, I app I appreciate it. It's sad

[63:19] that it's it is a political thing versus

[63:21] people getting elected and then being

[63:23] who they are and what they believe.

[63:25] >> It is that's

[63:26] >> it is

[63:28] >> I I do have a question. I think what I'm

[63:31] interested in is is trying to understand

[63:34] better the what the relationship is with

[63:37] the people that are living in Iran and

[63:42] this Iranian

[63:44] government, if you'll call it that. Uh

[63:47] what what is it? What misconceptions do

[63:50] we as Americans have about what it's

[63:52] like over there? What are the Iranian

[63:54] people thinking?

[63:56] >> Shali, that's a great question and thank

[63:58] you for bringing that up. That's one of

[64:00] the talking points that almost I do my

[64:03] best to mention and bring up in every

[64:06] interview. The reality is, and this is

[64:09] very hard to understand, so follow me.

[64:11] The regime, the current regime is a

[64:15] terrorist group of criminal organization

[64:19] that has kidnapped the Iranians. They

[64:23] control what they can say. They control

[64:25] what they can wear. They control where

[64:29] they go, what to do, what music to hear,

[64:32] and the list goes on and on. The Iranian

[64:36] people are not the same as the regime.

[64:41] Meaning the regime is Islamic terrorist

[64:44] and the Iranians wanting to be free from

[64:48] the regime. That's why if you recall um

[64:51] there has been few uprisings in the past

[64:54] 10 years or so. But one of the most

[64:55] recent was about uh January 18th and

[64:59] night unfortunately that anniversary is

[65:00] coming up that uh millions of Iranian

[65:04] took the street and they had nothing but

[65:08] their fist

[65:11] and they were unarmed but they had the

[65:13] courage and all they wanted was freedom

[65:17] and unfortunately the regime opened fire

[65:22] and they've killed them in masses. They

[65:24] killed more than 50,000

[65:27] innocent unarmed protesters. And you can

[65:31] imagine that type of number creates um a

[65:36] concern and uh scares a lot of people.

[65:40] And uh so they're sort of sitting back

[65:43] waiting for that moment that they could

[65:46] take the streets again and hopefully

[65:48] this time for good to be able to get rid

[65:51] of this regime.

[65:53] Thank you. That that is exactly the kind

[65:57] of information I was looking for. You

[65:59] know, Ham, one of the things that I'm

[66:01] thinking right now, I'm sitting here as

[66:02] a woman and I know that more than 50% of

[66:07] the women in America, if they knew how

[66:11] women were being treated,

[66:14] they would not stand for this. How can

[66:17] we help you? Great question. And and I'm

[66:19] I'm asking you as a woman, how can we

[66:23] help you

[66:25] save not just the Iranian people, but

[66:28] save the women from the torture and

[66:31] degradation that they're facing.

[66:35] >> We have to raise awareness. That that's

[66:38] the only way. We have to make it clear

[66:40] and uh we have to let Americans know

[66:44] that what's going on in Iran is not

[66:48] Iranian. It is brought on to Iranians

[66:52] based on the principles of Islam. And

[66:57] that's the challenge. What are the

[66:59] principles of Islam?

[67:01] Simple. Woman has no right. They cannot

[67:04] wear whatever they like. They have to

[67:06] cover their hair. they had to cover

[67:08] their hand and this and that which is

[67:10] something that it's unbelievable. Um the

[67:14] woman has no right to even divorce their

[67:16] husband. Um if they divorce their

[67:19] husband uh when that comes they cannot

[67:23] have their children. Uh the it's just uh

[67:26] you know when it comes to um their right

[67:29] and their voting the woman is half the

[67:33] man when it comes to their um power when

[67:37] it comes to uh the society and decision

[67:41] making. Um when a woman gets raped often

[67:46] the woman gets punished. Uh this is

[67:49] what's happening every day in Iran. Um

[67:53] they stone them, they hang them because

[67:56] wanting to be alive, because wanting to

[68:00] live and have a better life. These are

[68:03] the new generation is educated. They're

[68:06] some of the smartest people out there.

[68:10] And when they have access, they see

[68:12] what's happening outside Iran. They see

[68:15] how women are powerful. They have

[68:17] rights. they have uh a opportunity to

[68:22] choose the life that they want for

[68:24] themselves and to have a better life for

[68:27] themsel for their family. So these are

[68:30] the things that women have no right. Um

[68:34] let's look at a very simple

[68:36] entertainment aspect. A woman cannot

[68:41] sing or perform in Iran. Uh, and this is

[68:47] 2026 we're talking about. We have some

[68:50] of the most beautiful talented

[68:54] um, entertainers

[68:56] and they have no right to perform. Just

[69:00] try to wrap your head around that simple

[69:03] thing. Imagine what power this regime

[69:08] has on their people that controls what

[69:12] they do for a living or as an artist.

[69:18] >> Well, thank you for that. I I I do think

[69:20] that this is a very big issue and

[69:22] there's a lot of women in America that I

[69:25] know when they get the awareness, when

[69:28] they understand what's going on, they

[69:30] will stand up. So thank you.

[69:34] >> And I think one of the important things

[69:35] and this is something that your

[69:37] organization again it's if you want more

[69:38] information it's the Iran Liberty

[69:40] Foundation and it is that simple to find

[69:43] ironlberty.org

[69:44] you can learn more about what Assam is

[69:47] is doing. I think this country doesn't

[69:49] really understand the enormity of the

[69:52] country of Iran. It's got n almost 94

[69:55] million people. It's the 17th largest

[69:58] country by population. Think about that.

[70:00] the 17th largest country by population.

[70:04] Yet, they really don't want anybody

[70:06] interacting with them or telling them

[70:07] what they need to do. And that's because

[70:08] they don't want you to know what they're

[70:10] doing.

[70:11] That That's correct. And you know, I

[70:14] maybe I should share one of hundreds and

[70:18] thousands of horrible um stories that's

[70:22] coming out of Iran uh with you and your

[70:25] audience just so we could understand the

[70:27] extreme

[70:28] part of this regime. Um during January

[70:31] 8th and 9th, there was a young man that

[70:34] uh took part in the uprising. Um he was

[70:39] shot

[70:41] uh a few times on his torso and on his

[70:44] leg.

[70:45] He did not go to the hospital. The

[70:48] reason he did not go to the hospital is

[70:50] because uh the regime will arrest them

[70:53] and he went home hiding. The regime was

[70:57] able to find this young man and remove

[71:01] them from the home. took him to the

[71:03] hospital just enough to do some minor uh

[71:08] treatment and they took him to jail.

[71:12] Throughout the last months he was

[71:16] tortured

[71:18] beyond imaginable.

[71:21] They brought his mom and sister

[71:25] and they had the parents, the mom and

[71:28] the sister in room next door as they are

[71:33] torturing this kid by directly pressing

[71:38] on and hitting the areas that was

[71:42] wounded.

[71:44] And that's how this regime

[71:48] operates. But let's not stop there.

[71:52] his girlfriend was arrested as well

[71:56] and um throughout this process

[71:59] he thought that they want to get married

[72:03] to sort of sets their life so when they

[72:07] get out they are a husband and wife. The

[72:12] regime allowed these two uh by using an

[72:16] attorney and phone lines to get the okay

[72:18] from their parents. And they allowed

[72:21] these two to connect and become husband

[72:24] and wife with the promise of a life

[72:28] ahead

[72:30] only the following day to hang this

[72:34] young man.

[72:38] >> That's the Islamic regime. And I thank

[72:41] so many people. I appreciate what you do

[72:43] some u getting out there and continuing

[72:46] to tell uh the story. It's a story

[72:48] that's not just of uh what's going on in

[72:50] Iran. It's a story of American history

[72:53] and from the from the early 80s as well

[72:55] as a warning for what you're seeing in

[72:58] this country that's got you as an

[73:01] American scared and worried about the

[73:03] direction we're going to. So, so we

[73:05] appreciate you taking the time. Best of

[73:07] luck in DC. I hope uh the the members of

[73:10] Congress or the staffers that you're

[73:12] back there dealing with now since I'm

[73:13] sure a lot of those members of Congress

[73:15] are out uh uh now campaigning for their

[73:18] reelection. I hope uh they they give you

[73:20] the the time of day and then take

[73:22] seriously the conversations you have

[73:24] with them. So that's uh Ham Raheemian

[73:27] joining us uh and a regular here with

[73:29] Bob Wells and those are some of the most

[73:31] incredible conversations because the two

[73:33] of you can really go deep and we

[73:35] appreciate you and uh uh travel safe.

[73:38] >> Thank you. I appreciate you both and

[73:40] look forward to seeing you soon. Take

[73:42] care. God bless.

[73:43] >> Thank you.

[73:43] >> Thank you very much. All right. Stay

[73:46] with us please on Wake Up with

[73:47] Christopher D. Simone. Uh, I believe we

[73:50] actually had somebody on the chat that

[73:51] said, "This show is so much better

[73:53] without that loudmouth D Simone." Oh,

[73:56] well that that was Chris. Uh, so he's

[73:58] obviously uh had a great uh opportunity

[74:01] last night in Phoenix and he's up there

[74:03] for the day and we'll be back with you

[74:04] tomorrow. But stay with us because when

[74:06] we come back we hope to be talking to

[74:07] Congressman David Schwacker.

[74:12] >> This is Wake Up with Chris D. Simone

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[79:01] Out of touch. You hear that phrase a lot

[79:03] when talking about politicians. And

[79:06] honestly, it's true. I'm John Winchester

[79:08] and I'm not a politician. I'm a family

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[79:13] Born and raised right here in southern

[79:14] Arizona. now raising our four kids with

[79:16] my wife Fernanda. Hard work is what I

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[79:25] points. I'm John Winchester and I'm

[79:27] asking for your vote for state house.

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[80:00] You're listening to Wake Up with

[80:02] Christopher D. Simone on the Live the

[80:04] Dream Media Network, Southern Arizona's

[80:08] premier live talk and online radio.

[80:23] Welcome back. You are with Ted Maxwell

[80:26] and Shelley Kis on Wake Up without

[80:29] Christopher D. Simone, but he will be

[80:31] back tomorrow uh to continue the the

[80:35] attitude that this show and this morning

[80:37] brings. And he definitely set us up with

[80:39] a great lineup today. always uh

[80:41] incredible listening to Assam talk and

[80:43] so that was just just

[80:45] >> it was an easy interview because we just

[80:47] had to throw little tidbits out there

[80:48] and he took it down the path for us.

[80:50] >> Yeah, that was phenomenal. That was that

[80:52] was a a a great interview. It's hard to

[80:55] say it's great, but

[80:57] >> the the topics the topic's tough.

[80:59] There's no doubt about it. But the uh

[81:01] the content and the expertise we had

[81:04] just there it was was eye opening and

[81:07] always learned something new. Shel,

[81:08] again, I got thank you for your

[81:10] question. I think that's one that

[81:11] probably he hasn't had to answer on this

[81:13] show before is from the woman's

[81:14] perspective. So, I appreciate you.

[81:16] Appreciate you bringing that question

[81:17] forward.

[81:18] >> Speaking of great interviews, we are now

[81:21] joined by Congressman David Schwikert,

[81:24] who is uh always brings his agame,

[81:27] wake up with Christopher D. Simone. And

[81:30] Congressman, great to see you this

[81:32] morning. How how are you doing,

[81:34] >> Shelley Ted? Um, well, it's the chaos at

[81:37] the Schwiker household. It's spring

[81:39] break, excuse me, fall break, so the

[81:42] four-year-old um uh demanded a different

[81:46] cereal and the um 11year-old um God

[81:51] heaven knows what she wanted.

[81:53] >> Well, it's always good, you know, fall

[81:55] breaks. I remember we were talking about

[81:57] uh you know my age and how old school

[81:59] you know we were lucky to get a spring

[82:00] break and then it was pretty much just

[82:02] us running around the neighborhoods most

[82:03] of the time but now it's you know it's

[82:05] the responsibility of the parents make

[82:07] sure the kids are entertained and and

[82:09] enjoy

[82:09] >> yeah apparently the old days when I was

[82:11] a kid where mom would just drop you off

[82:14] at the park you know we don't do that

[82:17] anymore that

[82:18] >> it's true and I mean and there's reasons

[82:20] in some of our communities uh being

[82:22] dropped off at the park not a good place

[82:24] to

[82:25] Well, but you also think about how many

[82:28] kids there were. Um, you know, there

[82:31] was, you know, so many kids in the whole

[82:33] neighborhood and it was the

[82:34] neighborhood. Yeah. Um, society is

[82:37] different today. Um, e even beyond

[82:41] actual crime statistics. Um, it's

[82:43] there's just so many fewer children,

[82:47] you know. So, yeah, I think that's a a

[82:50] situation we're starting to have to

[82:52] address and deal with. I mean, you've

[82:54] been talking about it forever, the

[82:55] impact it's having our financials.

[82:58] >> Yeah, Ted. Um, this is one that drives

[83:01] me a little nuts. Um, it's not starting.

[83:03] We should have started to deal with this

[83:05] a decade or two ago because you we see

[83:10] it in our numbers and it it is what we

[83:12] are. Um but it it infuriates people when

[83:15] you try to explain

[83:17] you know uh much of our economic

[83:20] headwind and one of the reasons you have

[83:22] so many people economists fixated on AI

[83:25] is they're using the technology as a

[83:28] substitution for the fact we have so few

[83:31] young people.

[83:33] Um you know we're as a country we're

[83:35] just a a couple ticks above zero

[83:37] population growth.

[83:39] And if you all remember your high school

[83:41] economics class, population was a

[83:44] substantial part of the formula of

[83:47] growing an economy. So it's just what we

[83:49] deal with.

[83:50] >> And so let's just jump to the that on

[83:52] the national the national budget, the

[83:54] debt, everything. I mean everything in

[83:56] our society has is based on the

[83:59] productivity of our citizens and with

[84:02] our citizens not growing

[84:04] all the pro programs or majority of the

[84:07] programs in uh the federal government

[84:09] system has been based on this continual

[84:11] growth.

[84:13] How what's next?

[84:16] >> Um look it's a broken record. It's what

[84:19] we talk about constantly with Chris and

[84:22] those sorts of things is just the basic

[84:24] math problem. um for every dollar in we

[84:27] spent a $140 last year and believe it or

[84:30] not that was an improvement

[84:32] but the reason it's so hard is every day

[84:36] we functionally have another 3,3500

[84:40] of us who turn 65

[84:43] >> right

[84:43] >> and move into their earned benefits and

[84:46] when you have a society where in about

[84:49] 20 22 months somewhere in there I have

[84:52] to redo the calculations

[84:54] half of all federal spending will go to

[84:56] those of us 65 and up. Um that's our

[85:00] math problem. It it's just and you know

[85:04] the politicians often the political

[85:07] class waste and fraud. Well, when you

[85:10] actually work through the numbers, you

[85:13] know there may be a couple hundred

[85:14] billion dollars of waste out there.

[85:16] Excuse me, fraud. There's a much more

[85:18] waste. But if you're borrowing two

[85:22] trillion plus another, you know, 400

[85:25] billion that you borrow from the trust

[85:26] funds, you got a math problem. And

[85:30] finally today, you're starting to see

[85:32] people willing to talk about saying,

[85:33] "Hey, in 5 years, 8 months or so, the

[85:37] Social Security trust fund is empty."

[85:39] And if we follow the law, that's about a

[85:42] 22 to 24% cut in people's checks. and

[85:47] several months later the math says

[85:48] you'll double poverty of seniors. And

[85:51] yet you'll see both on the left and the

[85:53] right um we're almost educated by our

[85:57] political consultants don't talk about

[85:59] these things um because they're

[86:02] functioning political traps but it's

[86:04] math. It's the reality of what's coming

[86:06] at us.

[86:08] So let's talk a little bit of the math

[86:10] that you might be seeing out there right

[86:11] now on the current situation with

[86:13] Congress. Obviously, you will go back to

[86:15] DC after the elections are over and

[86:17] finish finish the this year's uh

[86:20] session. Um, what kind of environment

[86:23] are you anticipating finding when you

[86:25] get back there based on your insight?

[86:27] >> Oh, that's a really Ted, that's a

[86:29] brilliant question. Um, first off, I was

[86:33] there a little bit this last week um

[86:36] packing up and doing some meetings with

[86:37] the economist. It was hysterical. Um, I

[86:41] packed up I have this big Havalina head

[86:44] on my office and put Javier the Havalina

[86:47] in a box and flew him back. I'm just

[86:49] wondering the TSA folks as they were

[86:51] doing the scanning looking going, "What

[86:53] the hell is But all right, but that's

[86:55] the humor part." Um, uh, I was the only

[87:02] actually urban suburban Republican to

[87:04] get reelected in 2018,

[87:06] >> right? Remember that year we lost what

[87:08] 40 41 seats

[87:11] >> and when you get back it's this

[87:12] combination of I can't believe what

[87:15] happened even though 2018 we saw what

[87:19] was coming and we lied to each other and

[87:23] and that's one of my rages I have often

[87:27] is

[87:29] we as as elected people in the political

[87:32] community uh sometimes because we want

[87:35] to raise money Sometimes we want to keep

[87:37] our volunteers motivated. We don't tell

[87:40] the truth about some of the information

[87:42] we're seeing. And yet that truth would

[87:44] have been the way you could have fixed

[87:46] your message. U fixed how you campaign

[87:49] to be able to have more people get

[87:52] elected. Um but uh the political class

[87:57] is often more concerned about the

[87:58] fundraising

[88:00] than the final outcome and and that's

[88:02] just an incredible frustration. So when

[88:04] we get back, we actually have some work.

[88:05] It has to be done.

[88:08] Will we have the stomach to do it if

[88:10] it's been a tough election? Um, we'll

[88:13] know in about a month. So, what are some

[88:16] of those issues that you know need to be

[88:18] addressed that it

[88:19] >> um

[88:21] and this one I despise. I cannot tell

[88:24] you. It it it it leaves this horrible

[88:27] ugly taste in my mouth. Um, but we're

[88:31] burning through so much money. Um, so

[88:34] we're about every 150 days we borrow

[88:36] another trillion dollars. We will hit

[88:39] the debt ceiling as a country. Um,

[88:42] probably next January, February, March.

[88:45] Um, if the left were to take the House

[88:51] um what would that negotiation be like

[88:54] with President Trump? And so, do you try

[88:57] to say, "Hey, Congress, we at least

[88:59] control the House and the Senate right

[89:01] now." Do you raise the borrowing limits?

[89:04] Remember, the borrowing limits you're

[89:06] raising is for things you've already

[89:08] spent or already authorized.

[89:11] Um, and there's people like me, uh,

[89:13] every time we've gotten to this, we

[89:16] demand spending fixes, you know, where

[89:19] where we where we see programs that just

[89:22] are ripe with bad acts. You know, in New

[89:24] York City, for the last five years, the

[89:27] number one job creator in New York City

[89:29] is a Medicaid program.

[89:32] You know, that's when we say that term

[89:34] waste and fraud, that's your waste. But

[89:37] turns out you have lots of businesses

[89:39] that make their money off this sort of

[89:41] stuff. So they send armies of lobbyists

[89:43] to fight you from doing the reforms.

[89:47] Um so it's going to be um a couple

[89:49] interesting weeks of battle.

[89:52] And I think you bring a great point up

[89:54] there, the difference between waste and

[89:56] fraud, because we we there's there's

[89:59] going to be fraud. There's going to be

[90:01] people trying to create fraud and take

[90:02] advantage of the systems all the time,

[90:03] but it's to me it's the waste that we

[90:06] know

[90:08] we're continuing to support that's

[90:10] driving these numbers.

[90:12] >> Well, okay. Um, this going to be a

[90:15] little higher level, but it will make

[90:16] sense. Um,

[90:20] Shelley Ted, you you run the state's

[90:22] Medicaid system.

[90:25] Any state, just pick any state. and

[90:28] you've been told over and over, hey,

[90:30] this is free money we're getting from

[90:32] the federal government.

[90:35] Do you really fixate on the scam

[90:38] artists, on the provider that may be

[90:41] scamming the medical system, the people

[90:44] signing up this and that? In a weird

[90:46] way, the way the federal government has

[90:48] set up that cost sharing in Medicaid,

[90:52] you have a number of states that it's a

[90:55] low priority to stop the bad acts

[90:57] because it's cash coming into their

[91:00] economy,

[91:01] >> right?

[91:02] >> It's federal money. So, we've this

[91:05] incentive system for

[91:07] not allowing bad acts, bad providers,

[91:10] bad this is all screwed up.

[91:13] And I've set off a firestorm over and

[91:16] over and over saying maybe the most

[91:19] powerful way we could get rid of that is

[91:21] say look look state here's the block of

[91:25] money you would spend instead of us

[91:27] micromanaging you we're going to give

[91:29] you this

[91:31] and so when there's the fraud it doesn't

[91:34] raise the federal's tab

[91:37] you you know the state gets the money

[91:38] that the state gets all of a sudden the

[91:41] states and everyone is incentivized to

[91:43] stop the the scam artists.

[91:47] >> I think that's an excellent point,

[91:49] Congressman. I think what happens if we

[91:51] move this to a managed to budget rather

[91:54] than pay per player,

[91:56] >> I going to see a huge change in how

[91:59] states lead and manage their federal

[92:02] programs. But we incentivize them by an

[92:06] outreach program. Get more people

[92:08] involved. Lower your thresholds. do

[92:10] anything you can and will give you more

[92:13] money. So, it incentivizes the waste and

[92:16] it encourages fraud.

[92:19] >> You you absolutely nailed it. You you're

[92:21] you're obviously very smart on this. Um

[92:24] and the fascinating thing is you find

[92:29] states like um the lobbyists from New

[92:31] York or Minnesota, particularly

[92:33] California,

[92:35] um they are almost enraged at this idea.

[92:38] Um, we in Arizona actually have an

[92:40] interesting opportunity because our

[92:42] access system is a managed care system.

[92:45] It's a lot of the other affiliated

[92:47] programs though that we know we have

[92:49] some um, you know, the math isn't lining

[92:52] up. um you know when you actually sort

[92:55] of see the audits

[92:59] >> and I think the challenge to your point

[93:00] there is we you can look stateto state

[93:03] and you're going to see the difference

[93:04] in states abilities or desires to run a

[93:07] tighter program but we need federal

[93:10] leadership on this.

[93:12] >> Um Ted I would you you're going

[93:15] absolutely the right path. Why does one

[93:18] state sometimes have double well almost

[93:21] double the cost of the providing the

[93:24] similar services? Now look, there's

[93:26] regional expense differences. It's more

[93:28] expensive in New York City than it might

[93:30] be in Iowa, but it shouldn't be double

[93:34] or close to it. And and so that's

[93:37] actually why sort of

[93:40] the concept is often referred to as

[93:42] almost a risk sharing, a capitated

[93:44] model. And that's just one of the things

[93:46] we're going to try to take one last run

[93:48] at. I don't

[93:52] my reforms

[93:55] I often can't even get a single member

[93:57] of Congress to sponsor them with me

[94:00] because you you got to understand it's

[94:02] an army of you know insurance company

[94:05] executives surprising Republican

[94:08] business people that often make their

[94:10] money on this. So it's always about the

[94:12] money. The Uganda said Washington DC is

[94:17] it's not about morality. It's not about

[94:19] following the Constitution. It's not

[94:20] about what's right. It's about the

[94:22] money.

[94:24] >> So, so based on your the first question

[94:26] we asked talked about this, it sounds to

[94:28] me like you expect when you go back

[94:29] after the election that it's going to be

[94:31] one of those situations that it's how

[94:34] much will people be willing to do based

[94:36] on the outcome of of the elections.

[94:40] For you personally, how

[94:43] do you believe you've got any

[94:44] opportunities to make any inroads on

[94:46] some of the things you've been uh

[94:48] working on so hard knowing that you're

[94:51] not?

[94:53] >> Um

[94:55] I don't know. There is a chance the bond

[94:59] market will still be punishing us.

[95:03] Um we're going to publish a paper today.

[95:05] my joint economic economists um we've

[95:08] been working on CBO responded to a

[95:11] request we gave them a month ago saying

[95:13] build a model of what happens if

[95:15] interest rates are up a half a percent

[95:16] from your baseline to a point and a half

[95:19] well we're already over that half a

[95:21] percent and their baseline if you went

[95:25] up a half a percent excuse me a point

[95:27] and a half a half one and a half% would

[95:29] be a 4.8%

[95:33] excuse me 5.8 eight. Sorry, I got to get

[95:35] my math right. 5.8% interest rate on US

[95:39] debt. Well, you know, if we're sitting

[95:40] at 52, 53, we're not that far away. And

[95:45] here's what was terrifying in the paper

[95:47] we're about to publish, and I'll get

[95:48] beaten up on this because people don't

[95:51] like it when you tell them the truth

[95:52] about math.

[95:54] in 2036. So nine budget years from now,

[95:58] you could have as much as 48 48 and a

[96:01] half% of all available taxes. So you

[96:05] can't use social security, Medicare

[96:06] taxes, the payroll taxes, but you're

[96:09] approaching almost half of all taxes

[96:11] will go just to interest.

[96:15] So there's no doubt I I mean our six

[96:18] largest uh largest programs are the

[96:22] interest on the national debt, defense,

[96:24] Medicare, Medicaid. That that's where

[96:26] our money's going. It's the entitlement

[96:28] programs.

[96:29] >> Yeah. Let let's actually walk through

[96:30] the hierarchy. Social Security is number

[96:33] one. Interest is number two.

[96:37] >> Medicare is number three. Medicaid and

[96:40] Obamacare subsidies is number four.

[96:43] defense is actually number five. So the

[96:45] thing that's in the constitution is

[96:48] actually number five. And if these

[96:51] interest rate increases that have

[96:53] happened particularly in the last two

[96:54] months start to weave into the

[96:57] refinancing of the US sovereign debt in

[97:01] a few years interest will be the number

[97:03] one expense in the United States. It

[97:04] will pass social security.

[97:08] And Congressman, I'm going to assume the

[97:10] only solution is to stop spending.

[97:13] >> Um, it's a combination of a number of

[97:16] things. Um, and and here's the problem

[97:18] is, uh, so often if when you run for

[97:21] office, you you you get educated say,

[97:24] well, just give two sentence answers or

[97:26] 30 second answers. Complex problem, it's

[97:29] going to be a complex solution. you're

[97:30] going to have to do things to um adopt

[97:34] the technology in healthcare to crash

[97:36] the price of healthcare because

[97:37] healthcare is actually um the thing

[97:39] that's moving up the fastest. Um

[97:41] incentives for folks to say, "Look,

[97:44] you're perfectly eligible to retire.

[97:46] Would you like an incentive in your

[97:48] social security check to stay in the

[97:49] labor market?" Um you're going to have

[97:52] to just be willing to touch everything.

[97:55] Um the thing it's like standing for a

[97:58] conservative on, you know, um quicksand

[98:02] is you're going to have to talk about

[98:03] how you want to redesign the entire

[98:06] immigration system of the United States

[98:08] and go to a talent-based system because

[98:10] we need people that grow the economy and

[98:12] pay lots of taxes. Um you can't import

[98:16] poverty anymore. Um and so so you have

[98:19] to think of it as a as

[98:22] I think on one of our lists we had 60 70

[98:26] things you sort of had to do all at once

[98:29] a holistic approach from you know what

[98:32] you're doing in the way you do education

[98:34] to adoption of technology to healthcare

[98:36] to immigration policies and you got to

[98:38] do them all all at once because they all

[98:41] interact with each other

[98:44] >> and I think that's that that's one of

[98:46] the big challenges is is people can take

[98:48] things in one at a time, but the it's a

[98:50] holistic solution. You're going to need

[98:52] a lot. It's kind of like

[98:53] infrastructuring infrastructure funding

[98:55] in state Arizona. It's there's no one

[98:57] golden uh arrow that's going to solve it

[98:59] all. There's going to be a lot of little

[99:00] pieces that have to have to change or

[99:02] have to be considered.

[99:04] >> Yeah. And they interlink with you. It's

[99:06] it's like the case where, hey, we built

[99:07] a new bridge, but we still have a

[99:09] two-lane road going to it. you don't get

[99:11] the value, you know, and and trying to

[99:14] explain that to people because so much

[99:16] of our politics have become so trit

[99:20] say something and makes me angry even

[99:22] though I know I'm getting conned

[99:25] um for my emotion instead of my

[99:27] intellect. But as you see in our

[99:29] elections, we often vote for people that

[99:32] spike our emotion, not for folks that

[99:35] actually have ideas that actually work

[99:37] and solve problems.

[99:39] There's no doubt we we need more problem

[99:41] solvers. Well, before we let you get

[99:43] back to fall break was

[99:46] mean chasing the kids,

[99:48] >> which makes me very nervous because

[99:50] they're in the next room over and

[99:51] suddenly I can't hear them anymore.

[99:54] >> Oh, that that's never a good sign. But

[99:55] before you go, I've got to ask. You've

[99:57] done such a magnificent job of holding

[99:59] on to your congressional district and

[100:01] district I think every single time they

[100:03] came into that district saying, "Hey,

[100:05] this is this one's at risk." Oh, yeah.

[100:07] >> Risk. and and every time, no matter how

[100:11] bad they said they were going to you

[100:13] were going to go down, it was going to

[100:14] happen, you preserved it. What's your

[100:16] sense right now? And I'm not asking you

[100:18] to make a prediction on the final

[100:20] outcome, but what are you hearing inside

[100:22] your district?

[100:24] Um,

[100:28] look, I'm blessed, but this sort of

[100:31] Scottsdale, North Phoenix district, it's

[100:35] very well educated.

[100:38] Um, so you don't get to pull the wool

[100:40] over these people's eyes. You know, you

[100:42] you you can't say some fancy things and

[100:45] that don't make sense. Um, you got to

[100:47] grind it out with facts. You got to you

[100:50] got to meet people where their intellect

[100:51] is. Um, it's tough because I've seen

[100:55] some of the data on um, uh, free market

[101:00] Republicans are unhappy with us.

[101:04] Independents, which remember

[101:06] independents are now our number one

[101:07] registration in Arizona.

[101:09] >> Yes, they are.

[101:09] >> Are are cranky with us. And

[101:14] in many ways for

[101:17] the both the the populist community in

[101:20] politics and the conservative community

[101:22] um we haven't done a particularly good

[101:24] job of talking to the independents and

[101:27] saying here's why we bring prosperity to

[101:30] Arizona

[101:32] and my fear is that lack of you know

[101:36] meeting people where their interest is

[101:39] um it's going to it's makes it makes the

[101:41] election tougher for everyone. And and

[101:44] you got to understand the hierarchy of

[101:46] everything from the governor's race, you

[101:48] know, if that's becoming a tough race,

[101:50] you you actually have this sort of we

[101:53] interlock with each other. Um the higher

[101:56] up in uh races when they're not doing

[101:59] well, it can affect even down to your

[102:01] state legislature. Oh yeah.

[102:02] >> And go heaven forbid heaven forbid we

[102:05] were to lose the state legislature and

[102:08] for you know some Ted I think you live

[102:11] in what do you live in 17?

[102:12] >> I do. I live in LD

[102:16] remarkably important that we as the

[102:19] conservatives as the Republicans um hold

[102:22] those seats um to be able to keep the

[102:24] Arizona legislature.

[102:27] >> Fully agree with you, Congressman. As

[102:29] always, we uh appreciate you joining

[102:31] this show. And as a regular uh person,

[102:34] I've valued uh since the first time I

[102:35] met you, probably eight years ago, I

[102:37] valued your insight on uh all the fiscal

[102:40] concerns because that is that you're

[102:42] speaking my language. That's my biggest

[102:43] my biggest worry. Uh great leadin for us

[102:47] because when we come back, we're going

[102:48] to be with LD17 Republican candidate for

[102:51] the state house, uh John Winchester. And

[102:54] Congressman, we wish you the best of

[102:55] luck going forward and good luck with

[102:56] whatever you find when you get back to

[102:58] DC. And I hope you can uh get a couple

[103:00] of things that that you know are

[103:01] important to get solved when you go back

[103:02] and we look forward to continue having

[103:04] you on this program with Christopher D.

[103:06] Simone.

[103:07] >> You're very kind. Take have a great day.

[103:09] Bye now.

[103:10] >> Thank you, Congress.

[103:10] >> Thank you, Congressman.

[103:12] >> All right, so we're going to go and pay

[103:13] a couple bills now, Shelley, and uh keep

[103:15] the lights on here at Live the Dream

[103:17] Media, and then we'll be back with John

[103:19] Winchester. He's uh sitting across uh

[103:22] >> I saw him in the sofa.

[103:24] >> I saw him.

[103:25] >> It's good.

[103:25] >> All right,

[103:26] >> we'll be right back with you. Stay with

[103:28] us.

[103:32] >> This is Wake Up with Chris D. Simone,

[103:36] only on the Live the Dream Media

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[106:11] DC is a mess, but Arizona Republicans

[106:14] are delivering. Cutting taxes, balancing

[106:16] the budget, protecting girls sports,

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[106:21] securing our border. Radical groups back

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[108:59] >> You're listening to Wake Up with

[109:01] Christopher D. Simone on the Live the

[109:04] Dream Media Network. Southern Arizona's

[109:07] premier live talk and online radio.

[109:22] Good morning and welcome back to Wake Up

[109:24] with Christopher D. Simone. We've uh

[109:27] we've had a great lineup of guests thus

[109:29] far

[109:30] with between the conversation with Assam

[109:32] and with Congressman Schweiker and it's

[109:36] it's been an easy show to co-host. So, I

[109:38] appreciate uh Chris reaching out to us

[109:40] and asking uh you to and I to join

[109:43] together on this one and it's been a a

[109:45] great opportunity. Speaking of great fun

[109:48] >> speaking of great opportunities, make

[109:49] sure you stay with uh Live the Dream

[109:51] Media after this is Southwest Flavor

[109:53] with Ron Arenas will be coming on and

[109:55] then after that it's we're talking

[109:56] sports with Ron and Will Pena. So there

[109:59] may be a little similarities in some of

[110:01] the conversations. So So if there's

[110:03] questions that you don't hear from our

[110:05] next guest, just stay because I believe

[110:06] he's going to be the opening act on

[110:08] Southwest Flavor when this is when this

[110:11] show is over. So uh we are joined now by

[110:14] John Winchester. Uh, we just heard

[110:16] Congressman Swiker say how important

[110:18] LD17 is and you are the one of the two

[110:23] candidates for the House in LD7. So,

[110:26] John, thanks for joining us today.

[110:28] Appreciate you being here.

[110:29] >> Thanks for having me. Lord, thanks

[110:30] Chris. Thanks. Thank you, Chris, for

[110:32] having me.

[110:33] >> Yeah, he he set up a lineup.

[110:35] >> I'm glad to be back.

[110:36] >> He he set up a lineup and gave us an

[110:37] easy shot. So, I'm going to turn over to

[110:39] Shel. Shel, let at this point, what do

[110:42] you think the most important thing John

[110:45] needs to do and then we can let him tell

[110:46] us how he's actually doing that to

[110:48] ensure he gets elected in LD7?

[110:50] >> You know what? There is no doubt that

[110:53] John is running the playbook that gets

[110:56] candidates elected and I suspect that

[110:59] you will be elected and so I think you

[111:02] need to clear your calendar for January.

[111:05] uh you may want to take a few days off

[111:07] in November, but I think I've been

[111:09] watching your campaign from the

[111:11] beginning as you know and uh I think

[111:13] you've done all the right things and

[111:15] everybody's been watching your

[111:16] commercials in between great

[111:18] commercials. Um you know it's it's about

[111:22] getting out there and knocking doors and

[111:24] I know you've done that and it's going

[111:26] and speaking and and participating in

[111:29] the community. So tell us how are you

[111:31] feeling? Uh, I mean, I I feel good about

[111:34] our chances. It is it is a Republican

[111:37] leaning district. Um, the most important

[111:39] thing is to get our our Republican

[111:42] voters out. Uh, we've done all the work

[111:45] that we can really since May to um touch

[111:49] swing voters and try to make the case to

[111:51] swing voters that that uh we're focused

[111:54] on um issues that support families. LD17

[111:58] is a family district. It's the densest

[112:00] family population in the county. Um, we

[112:02] have the most alternative school

[112:04] options. We have charters and we have

[112:07] private schools. We have home schools

[112:09] and we have the district schools. Uh, we

[112:11] have uh but that's where it's the place

[112:13] where families live. And my my message

[112:16] to folks has always been business

[112:18] owners, I want to make you make it

[112:20] easier for you to do business and so

[112:21] that families can can thrive here in

[112:23] Southern Arizona. And I I think that

[112:26] that's a simple message. Uh, you know,

[112:28] I'm I'm all about making government

[112:30] boring again. I just I want the

[112:32] government to focus on its job and and

[112:34] stay out of everything else. Um, and

[112:36] here in southern Arizona, we have a we

[112:38] have a government that overreaches a lot

[112:40] uh and creates barriers for businesses

[112:42] and for families. Um, so we want to roll

[112:44] back where the government shouldn't be

[112:46] and um but but have the government do

[112:49] its job like law enforcement and and uh

[112:52] uh u you know good good schools and and

[112:55] infrastructure. So,

[112:57] >> so

[112:58] what do you hear about law enforcement

[113:00] in southern Arizona?

[113:01] >> Well, well, we were just talking about

[113:03] this. So, Channel 4 uh put out a story

[113:06] yesterday that state troopers are coming

[113:08] down here, state police are coming down

[113:10] here uh to work on violent crime. And um

[113:15] I frankly that's it's the right idea

[113:17] because our local officials in the city

[113:19] of Tucson, by the way, we are a suburban

[113:22] district and we're all the people that

[113:24] don't want to live in LD17 or don't want

[113:26] to live in the city of Tucson. We don't

[113:28] want to live there. In fact, I of course

[113:29] being born and raised here, my wife and

[113:31] I were living in the heart of the city.

[113:33] We were living over in uh uh near St.

[113:35] Mary's and Silverbell, and we left

[113:37] explicitly because of the violence. Uh a

[113:40] young lady got raped right right behind

[113:42] our house. um uh and and the the drugs

[113:45] that were in Menllo Park and uh the

[113:48] homeless factor and we were we just

[113:49] wanted to get out. So we moved up to the

[113:51] northwest. So we we explicitly we are a

[113:55] population of people in LD7 that don't

[113:58] want to live in the city of Tucson

[113:59] specifically because of the public

[114:01] safety issues. And uh in fact and I went

[114:03] I was at a it was I had the funnest uh

[114:06] weekend. I I went to uh an Indian u uh

[114:10] celebration over the weekend. And I was

[114:12] out door knocking last week on Wednesday

[114:14] night, met a guy named Sunny Patel and

[114:16] he's like, "Oh, you should come to this

[114:18] festival." And I was like, "Okay." So I

[114:19] went to the Chinese community center and

[114:22] there was just I don't know two 300

[114:25] people from the Indian community from

[114:26] India, not not native uh population that

[114:29] were there and they were having a

[114:30] festival and it was phenomenal. But I

[114:32] was meeting business owners and their

[114:34] their whole everybody wanted to just

[114:35] talk to me about the homeless issue. All

[114:38] of them regardless of what their

[114:39] business was, regardless of what they

[114:40] were doing. like we we have to take care

[114:42] of the homeless issue. We have to take

[114:44] care of the crime element, uh the

[114:45] property damage element. And so it's

[114:48] always been on my mind, state

[114:50] intervention to secure my my hometown.

[114:53] And so we're seeing that happen now.

[114:55] According to Channel 4, the state is uh

[114:58] sending down troopers. Do you know if

[115:00] that I I did not see the announcement.

[115:02] Was that a request from this region,

[115:04] which I'm assuming it wasn't? Is that

[115:06] something that the police departments,

[115:08] local police departments reach out and

[115:10] ask for support? What? What? I can't say

[115:13] I know why. I can't say that I know what

[115:17] how it happened. Uh, of course,

[115:19] President Trump has been doing this in

[115:20] other places at a federal level, which

[115:22] was not welcome

[115:24] >> in in some of the inner cities. Welcome

[115:26] by some, but a lot of inner cities

[115:27] didn't want it. But it's we we're we

[115:30] have failed. Like law enforcement is the

[115:33] number one priority. Without secure

[115:35] community,

[115:37] business fails and families leave and

[115:40] it's the number one responsibility of

[115:42] government. The number one. I will take

[115:44] unpaved roads and have safety and

[115:47] security and and especially as a guy

[115:49] who's raising four kids in this town.

[115:51] And it it we have failed. We have failed

[115:53] miserably. People in Tucson know it.

[115:56] They sense it. and we're still going to

[115:58] spend $100 million a year on unfor on on

[116:01] uh you know low-income housing rather

[116:03] than put that money into law enforcement

[116:05] to secure our city here in the city of

[116:07] Tucson. It's about priorities. I mean

[116:09] Ted, you know this working with Shelley,

[116:12] you pay attention. Uh it's about

[116:14] priorities. So I don't know how it

[116:15] happened. I'm going to find out. But I

[116:18] just think it's I think it's indicative

[116:19] of where we're at.

[116:20] >> So let's jump to priorities for for some

[116:22] of the listeners that may I know you've

[116:24] been on the show. You're a regular on

[116:26] this. you're getting out as as Shelley

[116:27] said, you're doing all the things you

[116:28] need to to get your voice. What are the

[116:30] your priorities that you believe you can

[116:32] go up to the state not to solve the

[116:35] state's issues, but to bring back and

[116:37] help both LD17 and the southern Arizona

[116:40] region that you care about?

[116:42] >> Sure. So, I I I think uh as I've said,

[116:45] I've talked a lot about education, so

[116:46] I'll skip that one unless somebody wants

[116:49] another earful on my my my passion for

[116:52] for public education um or education in

[116:55] general, K through 12 and and the

[116:57] university systems. But, uh public

[116:59] safety is one. Um we we need uh safer

[117:03] communities. Uh if we want business to

[117:06] thrive, I've already said that, you have

[117:08] to have safe communities. You have to

[117:09] have predictability. And we don't have

[117:11] that in Tucson. We already have a tough

[117:13] economic environment and that's due to

[117:15] primarily to regulation. Uh some of

[117:18] these business owners I was talking to

[117:19] over the weekend at this celebration at

[117:21] this f Indian festival said why why we

[117:24] have to pay more fees because the city

[117:26] of Tucson can't pay their bills. Um and

[117:30] because that's the truth in the city of

[117:31] Tucson reflexively it's like well just

[117:34] raise fees raise the cost to do business

[117:36] in the city of Tucson. So we have a very

[117:38] fraught for a number of years uh uh

[117:41] economy here and part it's it's

[117:43] exacerbated with public public safety

[117:45] and people feel it uh especially

[117:47] families. I mean of course the powerful

[117:49] testimony from that young man stood

[117:51] before the city council uh earlier this

[117:53] year and said I can't even practice my

[117:55] with my football team in the park

[117:57] because there's a bunch of homeless

[117:59] people doing drugs uh in in the park and

[118:02] we can't we can't even play in our park.

[118:04] Um I I think that so people are just

[118:06] tired of it. But I think that there is a

[118:07] an exacerbation. So that's one. I and I

[118:09] think state police is is an option. I

[118:12] believe it should be exercised by the

[118:13] governor uh for towns that are not going

[118:15] to do their job. But it's also about

[118:18] funding. Uh state police are

[118:19] underfunded. I mean,

[118:21] >> it's not like it's just the city of

[118:22] Tucson. State police don't have we it's

[118:25] not like there's a sales tax or

[118:27] something that the legislature can levy

[118:28] to help support police. that comes out

[118:30] of the general fund and it's so there

[118:32] aren't the same options like that a city

[118:34] or or a county might have in funding

[118:36] their police there there are fewer fewer

[118:39] options few fewer streams of revenues we

[118:41] just we need to pay them uh and we need

[118:43] to hire more I was just talking with uh

[118:45] the troopers and they were like we're

[118:48] the roads are unsafe in certain areas of

[118:50] the of the of of of the state because we

[118:52] just don't have enough officers uh state

[118:54] troopers to to man them and so we need

[118:57] we need to do that but they are an

[118:58] option also for for local. So, I think

[119:00] that that's important. Uh, and so I do I

[119:02] do appreciate that that's happening. I

[119:03] appreciate that Katie Hobbs is sending

[119:05] sending those troopers down to secure

[119:06] our community, but it shouldn't be. It

[119:08] just shouldn't be. Absolutely.

[119:10] >> Um, uh, but the other is is

[119:12] deregulation. Uh, the city of Tucson,

[119:14] Pum County exercise a tremendous amount

[119:16] of of regulatory uh uh uh privilege and

[119:19] it is it is choking business. We talk

[119:22] about affordable housing. You know, a

[119:24] lot of my Democratic uh uh colleagues

[119:27] here in Tucson complain about housing

[119:29] affordability, but 30% of the cost to

[119:31] build is regulation. If you want to cut

[119:33] it or or land availability,

[119:37] then then stop making it so difficult,

[119:40] approve plat, lower the cost to build,

[119:42] stop requiring, you know, EV chargers

[119:45] and all of the new home builds that

[119:47] you're doing and and and and and get

[119:49] these projects moving forward. supply is

[119:51] the answer because supply is the

[119:53] problem. We need to increase supply and

[119:56] uh but but they you know affordable

[119:58] housing for for my for my Democratic

[120:00] colleagues is some kind of a another

[120:03] government uh subsidy where the

[120:05] government's paying taking tax dollars

[120:07] and paying for it. We don't need to do

[120:08] that. We can drive down costs by

[120:10] building supply. Um and we can build

[120:12] better. Uh right now they're I mean the

[120:14] lots that they're building in they're

[120:16] cramming so many houses in there. It's

[120:17] like the airplane seats, you know, where

[120:19] they're trying to squeeze in another two

[120:21] or three so they can make the p the

[120:23] project pencil. Um, and so those uh at

[120:27] the state level uh really working on on

[120:30] the regulatory environment that that

[120:32] exists elsewhere in the state. I'm

[120:33] hyperfocused here obviously, but that

[120:35] that exists elsewhere in the state.

[120:37] Those are those are some priorities.

[120:38] Well, I and I think there's

[120:39] opportunities there and I know because

[120:41] of how plugged in you are in the

[120:43] business community here and working with

[120:46] uh groups like SLC and others. Um you've

[120:50] heard Jim Topel talk about housing and

[120:52] and how it's not just the regulatory

[120:56] cost. It's the fact that we're using a

[120:58] model for how we determine what the

[121:01] taxes you have to pay when you build a

[121:03] house from the the 60s.

[121:05] >> Yep.

[121:06] >> Mhm. And it's it's

[121:07] >> well isn't that Arizona in general? I

[121:08] mean the gas tax from 1992

[121:11] four whatever one 91 so 35 years. I mean

[121:15] I mean it's like it's like this is our

[121:16] model. It's like we don't touch it after

[121:18] a long time. Even though our population

[121:20] has more than doubled even though you

[121:22] know things have changed we we don't do

[121:24] a good job at the state of revisiting

[121:26] our our structures and our models.

[121:28] >> But we want 425 to be permanent.

[121:31] >> Right.

[121:32] >> Think about it. Think about it. Uh, you

[121:34] know, I I hear what you're saying. I

[121:36] understand it. You're You guys are up

[121:38] north. I'm south of Tucson. Everybody is

[121:41] fleeing Tucson. It's affecting the

[121:43] schools. It's affecting the safety. When

[121:45] I moved here, I moved in the south part

[121:48] of of

[121:49] >> well into Saurita. And I remember saying

[121:52] to my husband, "This will be great

[121:54] because as we get older, we can go ahead

[121:56] and get a condo in Tucson and just have

[121:59] the ability to walk to theater." And so

[122:03] when I came here, I wanted base. Well,

[122:05] my husband wanted baseball, theater,

[122:07] opera, university, symphony. We had 14

[122:11] things.

[122:13] It's gone.

[122:15] >> Yeah.

[122:15] >> Within a a direct flight from it was one

[122:19] of my criteria, a direct flight from

[122:22] Tucson to DC. Even though it was going

[122:24] into IAD, I needed that flight. I hadn't

[122:28] been here a year and that flight was

[122:30] gone. time. Well, there's people miss

[122:33] the fact that a vibrant economy is what

[122:36] helps solve a lot of these solutions,

[122:40] but when the government gets to the

[122:41] point where they're going to solve it

[122:42] without helping that economy grow, it

[122:45] gets worse. So,

[122:48] >> here here's a challenge and and you've

[122:50] worked with a lot of people. You've

[122:51] worked with a lot of folks in the

[122:53] current legislature.

[122:54] When you go when you go up there, we'll

[122:56] just jump to the when. when you go

[122:58] there, do you believe you can bring the

[123:01] Arizona the the southern Arizona

[123:03] delegation, which is going to be

[123:04] predominantly Democrats, along with you

[123:06] on some of these?

[123:08] >> I think that there's opportunity. I

[123:09] think that there's opportunity to work

[123:10] together specifically on education. I

[123:12] mean, the Democrats are are, you know,

[123:14] that's been an issue that they've

[123:16] championed. I don't think that we agree

[123:18] on what that looks like because I'm not

[123:20] interested in just dumping a bunch of

[123:22] money into a system that that broadly

[123:24] doesn't seem to be functioning. Um, and

[123:27] we need to I but I am willing to

[123:29] consider putting more money into a

[123:30] system that if we take if the state

[123:32] takes more control and more oversight of

[123:35] a system that's working, then we can

[123:37] look at uh whether or not we need to put

[123:39] more money into it because I do believe

[123:41] that we need a fully uh funded and

[123:44] properly properly structured education

[123:46] system for the producing the things that

[123:48] the state needs. So I think that there's

[123:50] overlap. I do, but I do believe that my

[123:52] Democratic colleagues, you know, they

[123:54] want an education system that works. So,

[123:56] we're going to try I'm going to try to

[123:57] find uh the places uh where there is

[124:00] overlap that we can uh work on

[124:02] something. Education is going to take is

[124:03] is a big hall. It's not going to be one

[124:06] party. There's no supermajority in the

[124:08] legislature for either party. So, it's

[124:10] going to require,

[124:12] you know, people being able to work

[124:14] across the aisle for solutions. And I

[124:17] just think, you know, that we need to,

[124:19] you know, we need to be able to do that

[124:20] because education, I mean, we're leading

[124:21] this the the state in high school

[124:23] dropouts. I I mean, I don't

[124:26] >> another fine honor.

[124:28] >> Yeah. I Well, and we are minting I I I

[124:30] try to tell people this for Republicans.

[124:32] I try to tell my Republican colleagues,

[124:33] I said, "We are have industrialcale

[124:35] production

[124:37] through the education system of families

[124:39] that are going to need government

[124:40] assistance for the rest of their lives

[124:42] because they're failing. If if you can't

[124:44] get a high school diploma, what what are

[124:47] you going to get into? Minimum wage.

[124:49] Again, Tucson leading the charge $15.

[124:51] Now it's over $15 minimum wage is

[124:54] driving entry- level jobs out of the

[124:55] market. Meaning those jobs that might

[124:58] have been available uh for for people

[125:00] who are uh lower don't have that high

[125:03] school level education, they're

[125:04] disappearing. I know because we were at

[125:06] the YMCA. I was working I was running

[125:08] the Northwest YMCA when this happened

[125:10] and we couldn't make it pencil. So we

[125:12] said, well, all of these jobs now are

[125:14] going to require additional levels of

[125:17] work. So we're paying, you know, above

[125:19] minimum wage at the Y eventually, but

[125:23] not to do welcoming at the front desk

[125:25] anymore. Those entry level jobs that

[125:27] these high school kids were coming in

[125:28] and taking, that these early college

[125:29] kids were taking. Now it's you got to do

[125:32] routines in the in their bathrooms

[125:33] because we have to offset for facilities

[125:35] and now you're going to do X, Y, and Z.

[125:37] And we were adding to the load because

[125:38] we couldn't afford it. So these jobs are

[125:40] leaving the market.

[125:42] >> That that's that's a concept that I

[125:43] think people miss by things that minimum

[125:46] wage and other uh

[125:49] help to businesses drive is you're now

[125:52] employing what you just explained is you

[125:53] are now employing less people.

[125:55] >> Fewer people.

[125:56] >> Fewer people and those jobs are working

[125:57] more. So you're paying them more. But

[125:59] it's still an overall cost savings to

[126:02] you from trying to pay somebody the full

[126:04] minimum wage. You just add a dollar on

[126:06] an individual and give them more

[126:08] responsibility. Now it's earmarked to

[126:09] inflation.

[126:11] >> So it's it makes it even harder on

[126:13] service-based businesses and then we

[126:16] want to complain while these people

[126:17] aren't making a good living. Well, we're

[126:19] trying to do what we can, but that's

[126:20] also what helps to drive out jobs from

[126:22] the market.

[126:23] >> And I want to go back to education just

[126:24] because I heard you talk about it the

[126:26] other day when you're talking about

[126:28] you're thinking one of the things that

[126:29] we're missing in our education system is

[126:31] we don't have the northstar of what we

[126:34] want for our high school graduates.

[126:36] >> Yeah. and what we what are we trying to

[126:38] create in our education system? You you

[126:42] talk specifically about an increase I

[126:44] believe in civics and can you kind of

[126:46] talk to your thoughts on why we have to

[126:47] re

[126:48] >> so our education system is is just

[126:50] scattered. So we have district schools,

[126:52] we have charter schools, we have private

[126:54] schools, we have home schools, we have

[126:56] um and then we have the Jed or the CED

[126:58] programs which isn't required. So

[127:00] they're fighting to get kids that should

[127:02] be required

[127:04] creating intentionality. So if if if we

[127:06] work backwards graduation, we want

[127:08] students to have a skill set if they're

[127:09] not going to college or the or prepared

[127:12] to go to college right now. Your high

[127:15] school diploma does not mean that you've

[127:17] met the minimum requirements to go to

[127:18] any of the state universities, but state

[127:20] dollars are paying for all of it. I

[127:21] mean, that's absurd. I mean, it's just

[127:23] it's absolutely ridiculous. There's no

[127:24] alignment between K through 12 and

[127:27] postsecary. So now we have kids that are

[127:29] coming into to higher education. The

[127:31] amount of remediation that we have to do

[127:33] to get them to level in their first year

[127:35] is is is extensive. It's a lot. So,

[127:38] they're having to take more classes once

[127:39] they get into college just before they

[127:41] get into college level stuff. But, not

[127:44] everybody's going to go to college. And

[127:45] we've been pushing kids to everybody go

[127:46] into a four-year degree program. We need

[127:49] to be working with kids once they reach

[127:51] high school, if not earlier, on what are

[127:53] the paths. Are you gonna end up are your

[127:56] grades going to get you into college or

[127:57] are we gonna start working on getting

[127:59] you a job into one of these fine

[128:01] industries like aer airplane mechanics

[128:04] or vehicle mechanics or or or any of the

[128:07] trades or you want to get into beauty or

[128:09] or you know get your certifications in

[128:11] the salon businesses or things like

[128:13] that. We need to start working and we

[128:15] need to treat education as a pipeline

[128:18] into gainful employment. And this is

[128:20] bizarre that this doesn't seem to be the

[128:23] the driver. And if and and then the so

[128:26] the other one because once these people

[128:28] graduate, it's a cyclical system. If

[128:29] they get a job, once they get out,

[128:31] whether it's post-secary, they go to

[128:33] college and then they get a job or they

[128:34] get a job right out of high school, they

[128:36] pay taxes. And the more people paying

[128:38] taxes, the more people go back, money

[128:40] goes back into the system so that we can

[128:42] fund the next generation to come

[128:43] through. This is how it's supposed to

[128:44] work. And then uh the other is uh uh uh

[128:48] good citizens. We need people that are

[128:50] leaving with an appreciation for the

[128:52] American way of life and how we have our

[128:54] government and the intendent

[128:55] responsibilities

[128:57] >> that they have in order to perpetuate

[128:59] and secure it. And we just don't have

[129:00] it. We have kids that are leaving our

[129:02] system that think America sucks. And I'm

[129:04] sorry, but you should be we should be

[129:06] creating cheerleaders

[129:08] uh for for the American system and the

[129:10] American way of life. I don't want the

[129:12] complexity of the world being dumped on

[129:14] a bunch of high school kids. Uh they can

[129:16] learn that in college and they will

[129:18] learn it in college or elsewhere, but

[129:19] they don't need to learn it in the

[129:20] education system. We treat the education

[129:22] system as it's like, well, you know,

[129:25] we're here to make your dreams come

[129:26] true. No, we're not paying tax dollars

[129:28] so that people can live their dreams.

[129:30] They can go we're here to give them

[129:32] tools so that they can go make figure

[129:35] out how to make themselves happy. But we

[129:38] are we're failing on both of those. and

[129:40] the educ the the university system needs

[129:43] to be aligned as well. I will say this,

[129:44] working in the education system and

[129:46] higher education, it's underfunded.

[129:48] We're not putting enough money into

[129:50] state tuition. That is residents who

[129:52] decide to stay here and go to school in

[129:54] our universities. But there's also,

[129:56] here's the counterbalance, which

[129:57] Republicans are right on. There's not an

[129:59] alignment with industries. you know, why

[130:01] do so many kids are graduating from the

[130:03] University of Arizona when our top

[130:04] industries are uh uh aerospace uh and

[130:08] defense are uh health and mining and we

[130:11] have most of our kids are graduating

[130:12] with liberal arts degrees. We don't have

[130:15] a pipeline into the industries that

[130:17] locals residences res kids with in in

[130:20] that live here can go to college and

[130:22] then immediately move in to a sector

[130:24] that is relevant for them to earn a

[130:26] living. Again, the state's interest is

[130:27] people paying taxes. I mean that's

[130:30] that's our interest and we have it's

[130:32] like we don't we don't recognize it.

[130:34] >> The more people that are working also

[130:35] creates a better society. It just does.

[130:38] More people contributing

[130:40] >> to everything we want in the society

[130:43] whether it's the arts or whether it's

[130:46] enough folks using the airlines so that

[130:48] we've got the direct flights out of

[130:50] Tucson. We want it. The government can

[130:53] never prop up the society. The society's

[130:55] got to generate it itsms themselves. And

[130:57] I think that's

[130:57] >> we have to trust people, but you have to

[131:00] what the government does is give give

[131:02] skill sets to people so that they can

[131:04] live their lives and make good decisions

[131:06] and generate wealth. And I know that

[131:08] that's sometimes a bad word in politics.

[131:10] But government doesn't generate wealth.

[131:13] It spends it. That's it. It takes it

[131:15] from people who generate. Government

[131:16] doesn't generate wealth. People do. And

[131:19] we need that because we need we need uh

[131:21] because that's that's how people live

[131:23] their lives. Pay their bills. by I mean

[131:26] that's how I pay my bills. I go out and

[131:28] I I earn a living. I have a skill set

[131:30] and and and I get paid for that skill

[131:32] set. Uh and so that's that's where the

[131:34] education system in in the state of

[131:36] Arizona. And the problems with it is it

[131:38] is so dispersed and you have every

[131:41] district 236 districts making their own

[131:44] choices. You have all of the charters

[131:46] making their own choices. You have all

[131:47] the private schools making their own

[131:49] choices. You have all of the home

[131:50] schools making their own choices. And

[131:52] but the state's paying now for all of

[131:55] it. And it's like, but shouldn't the

[131:57] state be we call again I always say

[131:59] this, we call it an investment. What is

[132:01] our return? And I don't think anybody's

[132:03] happy with the return. I'm not. I don't

[132:06] think anybody's happy with the return.

[132:08] Um and and and and I I I just think it

[132:10] needs to be fixed.

[132:12] You know, everything that we've talked

[132:14] about today since six o'clock this

[132:16] morning has been segmented pieces of the

[132:20] economy. And the problem that we have is

[132:23] going back to Congressman Schwikert. The

[132:26] problem that we have is we need to take

[132:28] a more um kind of look at it as an

[132:31] umbrella and start looking at all the

[132:33] issues whether it's education, whether

[132:36] it's business. Um so I have a question

[132:39] for you. What committees do you want to

[132:40] be on? uh appropriations and I'm

[132:44] debating between um natural resources or

[132:47] education because we have huge barriers

[132:50] to the future economy in water, energy,

[132:53] and land use. Uh and those will strangle

[132:57] the economy in the future. Arizona's,

[132:59] you know, has tons of opportunity right

[133:01] now, but if we don't solve some problems

[133:03] and ease some restrictions, we're going

[133:05] to we're going to strangle the economy

[133:06] in the next 5 to 10 years. Well, we're

[133:08] going to get strangled in southern

[133:09] Arizona because we're losing population

[133:11] in Coochis. Greenley and Graham were

[133:14] never very big. Santa Cruz was never

[133:16] very big. Puma is suffering. And so, you

[133:21] are going to be one of the only

[133:25] representatives who lives in Puma County

[133:29] who goes to Phoenix. And we need to look

[133:34] at Panal,

[133:36] Puma, Coochis, Greenley, Graham, Santa

[133:39] Cruz, Yuma, or else we might as well

[133:42] just go ahead and rename ourselves. And

[133:45] President Trump's done this well. Maybe

[133:47] your job will be to go up there and

[133:49] change the state name to Maricopa.

[133:51] >> And and we're going to have to work on

[133:52] it. Now, John Winchester will be staying

[133:54] around with Ron Arenas right after this

[133:55] on Southwest Flavor. Unfortunately,

[133:57] we've hit the time. Umpire John. Yes, I

[134:00] heard you tell me that there was an A-10

[134:02] in my rearview mirror. But guess what? I

[134:04] looked over the shoulder and the F-16

[134:06] had pulled far away from it. No threat

[134:08] there. But here's one for you, Empire

[134:09] John. Tomorrow on Chris, you will have

[134:12] Matt Mark Van Beern coming in to

[134:14] countdown his top 10 movies dealing with

[134:16] military aircraft in military conflicts.

[134:21] >> So, that could be a good good show for

[134:23] that. And uh and Empire John, I know

[134:24] you'll be listening intently. We'll see

[134:26] if they've got any uh good A10 movies

[134:28] out there. Um can't recall one yet, but

[134:30] we'll we'll work on it. Uh it's always

[134:32] good having people here. Thank you to

[134:34] Chris. We appreciate you allowing

[134:36] Shelley and I to co-host. Shelley, as

[134:39] always, it's been a phenomenal

[134:40] opportunity with you.

[134:41] >> Pleasure to work with you.

[134:43] >> And we're going to go to the break now.

[134:44] When you come back, you will still see

[134:46] John Winchester. You won't see Ted and

[134:47] Shel. And you'll be joined by Ron Arenas

[134:49] for Southwest Flavor.