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In this episode, Logan Sekula brings breaking news as the ACLJ challenges California Governor Gavin Newsom at the Supreme Court over unconstitutional fines imposed on churches during the COVID-19 pandemic. With deep dives into the particulars of the Calvary Chapel case, Logan is joined by Will Haynes to discuss the ongoing efforts to ensure religious freedoms and how the ACLJ is spearheading this monumental case. Get insights into how these legal battles have unfolded over the years and the stakes involved for religious institutions nationwide.
SPEAKER 08 :
We got breaking news. Gavin Newsom’s power faces a showdown with the ACLJ at the Supreme Court.
SPEAKER 06 :
Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Seculo. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now your host, Logan Sekula.
SPEAKER 08 :
Welcome to Sekula. We’ve got a packed show today. Will Haynes is joining me in studio, but my dad’s calling in in just a few minutes. My brother’s going to be calling in in just a few minutes, zooming in. It really is going to be jam-packed. We’re talking about a lot of the work of the ACLJ, and of course… Today is election day for a lot of you, Virginia, and for New York City. This is going to be a big day where all eyes are going to be on that later today. But for now, we have some big news of work that you, look, a lot of you engaged yesterday with our kickoff of our Freedom Drive. We want to say thank you to all of you who did. Of course, you can still get involved for the next month during this Freedom Drive, so be a part of it today at ACLJ.org. But a lot of you did, and look, the ACLJ work is hard work. At action, including today, Will, there is a big movement. We’re going to talk about this with my dad in the next segment, because usually it’s nice to hear the ACLJ, the Supreme Court, Gavin Newsom, all in the same sentence.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s right. So we are taking on what is one of the bigger cases we’ve taken on in quite some time. As we go to the Supreme Court, we’ll be filing a cert petition asking the Supreme Court to hear our challenge as we work with others and this church, Calvary Chapel in San Jose. As the Newsom regime in California is still trying to get $1.2 million in fines against this church under COVID restrictions. So it’s 2025. We’re just a couple months from 2026. And the Newsom regime in California is still fighting in court, trying to take the tithes away from this church to the tune of $1.2 million over what they allege were violations of COVID protocols back in 2020. Now, you also remember? that they were handing out exemptions left and right for secular activities you also remember that the governor himself famously went to french laundry high-end restaurant so that he could have a good time meanwhile if you wanted to exercise your first amendment right to worship god They are now coming after this church for $1.2 million. I don’t think that we can say that fine number enough because it is so egregious. You realize they are taking the tithes from the church, from the people that attend this church. that is going to the work of God, that is going to make California a better place and the world a better place and do ministry. And, you know, Jesus said, give to Caesar what is Caesar and to God what is God’s. But it appears that Gavin Newsom and his administration want both of those for themselves.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, absolutely. And look, I want you to be a part of this conversation. We’re talking about years later also. This isn’t talking about fines and they’re trying to collect on it in 2020 or 2021. We’re talking about five, six years almost later. And this is where they’re at being fined to the tune of millions. Right now, I want your thoughts at 1-800-684-3110. We’re going to break down all of what this means coming up also in the next segment as my dad joins us, Jay Sekula, to really discuss what the path at Supreme Court looks like, really walk you through all of that. And if you have questions or comments for him as well, you can call in at 1-800-684-3110. As we know, freedom doesn’t defend itself. The ACLJ team has got to be there. It requires for us to have the courage. to protect it. And that’s exactly what our legal team does. Like our media team, incredibly strong, very proud of our team. But remember the legal work. When you hear about what we’re doing right now, we got to make sure that we always remind you of what’s going on in the legal side of the ACLJ because it’s easy to get caught up in the news of the day. Not that we understand. Thousands of you join us each and every day to find out what’s happening in our world. But there is also the incredible work of the organization. And when you donate, you’re donating to all of it, to the media side. And of course, you’re donating to the legal work here at the ACLJ to make sure we have the ability to have the best of the best. They can travel around the world so we can have an ACLJ and European Center for Law and Justice, ACLJ Jerusalem, and so many more. We get background here from my dad, Jay Sekulow. But you can have your gift doubled today at ACLJ.org, ACLJ.org slash freedom. and scan the QR code that you see on your screen right now. All donations are doubled right now. We’ve launched this drive just this week. Yesterday was day one here on the show. Let’s have your gift doubled today at ACLJ.org. Help us have a really strong end of the year. We really could use your support. That’s at ACLJ.org. We’ll be right back. Welcome back to Seculo. Phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110. Adad J. Seculo, Chief Counsel for the ACLJ, is joining us live now via phone. Adad, of course, we are talking about the big news that the ACLJ is challenging Governor Gavin Newsom and taking it potentially to the Supreme Court of the United States. Why don’t you give us a brief breakdown of, I mean, we talked about in the last segment, but for those who are just joining us, of what that is and what it’s going to look like.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, we are taking it to the Supreme Court of the United States. We’re filing the petition for certiorari because what happened to the Calvary Chapel there was outrageous. And let me underscore something that Will said. There were all these exemptions that were given by Gavin Newsom in the state of California for retail stores. He had his famous dinner. Casinos were allowed to open, but churches had restrictions that made absolutely no sense. They were ultimately held to be unconstitutional. The one restriction that made no sense is they had, for every church, you couldn’t have a gathering of over 50 people, and that was true whether the sanctuary was 500 square feet, or 5,000 square feet, or 10,000 square feet. So none of it made sense. The courts in California, and even some of the California courts, and ultimately the Supreme Court, declared most of those restrictions unconstitutional. And the ones they did find unconstitutional were the ones that were applied to our client, the Calvary Chapel. Now you’ve got $1.2 million of fines being imposed on a church after the order was declared unconstitutional. I want everybody to think about this for a moment. The political machine in California, the Attorney General and the Governor, Gavin Newsom and then the Attorney General, believe that they can enforce fines on a church that’s in a case where those violations were held to be not applicable because they were unconstitutionally vague. Yet, California doesn’t stop. So we are asking the Supreme Court to take the case. Look, anytime you ask the Supreme Court to take a case, it’s an uphill battle. But the facts of this case are very, very strong. And I will tell you something else. And I want our ACLJ champions and our ACLJ members to understand this. This is one case at the Supreme Court. Next month, we’re announcing another one, equally as high profile. So our Supreme Court team is very active right now. The ramifications are very, very serious. This disproportionate treatment that was leveled at churches by the Gavin Newsom administration were held to be unconstitutional, yet, as Will said, and you, Logan, were talking about, they’ve continued to enforce or try to enforce and collect these These fines and these fines, as you all said, are coming from the tithes of the church. And that’s another thing. Think about that for a moment. I want you to envision the church’s checkbook with a debit of $1.2 million going to the state of California because the state of California said, that the members of the church and the church leadership violated an order which was held to be unconstitutional, yet they are asserting fines. That’s what this case is about.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and I think that this case also is ironic at the time where Gavin Newsom is obviously trying to raise his public profile, toying with the idea of after the midterms announcing he’s running for president, as well as pushing this no kings kind of idea that you’re seeing in the left, in the with hindsight and everything the fact that they are still trying to collect the fines it’s almost one thing if they they put that in place then they listen to the courts because of the rulings on and many of these restrictions and then said you know what we’re beyond that we’re past it we’re not going to still try and collect this 1.2 million dollars from this church But instead, they have fought it at every level of the state system, which is the entire reason we are now having to go to the United States Supreme Court to seek relief in this. Because the Gavin Newsom administration and those that are in the California Department of Justice are still thinking that this is what represents California to move forward and try to collect justice. this excessive fine against a church for something back in 2020, when so much has changed and so much of the fines and the structure of those orders were ruled unconstitutional.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s really the biggest part of this, is that the state of California is so bent on getting this money out of the church, from the donors of that church, to the coffers of the state of California to think about this, that they are willing to fight us at the Supreme Court and fight us all the way to get money for an order that was held unconstitutional. So this is exactly what you’re dealing with in Gavin Newsom. You know, they had these No Kings rally. They’re the ones that act like a monarchy. And I’m going to take it one step further here. And that is, if this is allowed to continue, I… Shutter to think. what these governments would do next. If they think they can collect money from an order that’s held unconstitutional and still collect money and still seek enforcement, what will they do when they’re in power or when they are appointing judges and justices to the courts? That’s the real danger on this. So for our ACLJ members, we need to be forward-looking. Yes, this is a case that originated several years ago, but we have to be forward-looking. The ramifications of this case are staggering for the future.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, Dad, I think one of the things that a lot of people are asking is what they can do. How can they support the ACLJ when they see that we’re still out there fighting? Knowing that these cases can take years and years and years, what can they do? We’re obviously in the middle of our, or the very beginning of our drive for the month of November where all donations are matched. But what can people do to get involved in making sure they are staying engaged in what we’re doing?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, number one, pray for us, pray for our team, pray for the legal team, pray for the media team who brings you this information and pray for the Supreme Court. So that’s number one. Number two, support the work of the American Center for Law and Justice. As Logan said, we’re a matching freedom drive. You talk about freedom. This is the ultimate freedom, the freedom of worship, the freedom of assembly, the freedom of speech. The freedom to be free from government interference in the affairs of religious organizations. This is what this case is about. So your support of the American Center for Law and Justice is critical. And yesterday was a big day. And I want to thank all of our ACLJ members and donors. and champions that supported our work. But this is like, Logan, you just said, this is the beginning of this drive. November and December are the two most important months for us at the ACLJ. And as we announce additional Supreme Court cases, remember, we’re fighting alongside of President Trump on the tariffs and all of these issues. We’ve got these two other cases that are coming up. Support the work of the ACLJ. Your gift will be doubled. If you can donate monthly, become an ACLJ champion.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, before we let you go, obviously a lot of eyes are on New York City tonight as well. as Virginia and New Jersey. But I want to get your thoughts on that. President Trump sort of made a half-hearted endorsement of Cuomo last night, just saying, really, you got no choice in this situation. I mean, I think the numbers are showing that it may not be a very close night. We may see a surprise, but who knows? You never know with New York City. But obviously things are a bit in flux right now.
SPEAKER 07 :
They are in flux. The most recent poll I saw yesterday was it was a four-point rate, which was just outside the margin of error. Look, the leading candidate is he’s at it. He’s a socialist, and he has made statements that to me, are outrageous. And I think what President Trump did yesterday with his tacit endorsement of Governor Cuomo, I understand the political, why they did that. He did that because it’s kind of the lesser of the problem, and he’d rather deal with Cuomo than Mondavi. That’s exactly the situation.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, and obviously the Jewish community is, you know, looking very closely at this. And one of the also things I think as we head into the break here, people maybe don’t understand because maybe like why so much attention being drawn to New York City is certainly a lot, you know, New York City is, you know, a lot of people say the heartbeat of America or will be the capital of the world. So if you are the mayor of New York City, it’s a little bit different than being the mayor of just about any other city in the country.
SPEAKER 07 :
It’s the financial capital of the world, not just in the United States, of the world. so the fact is that what happens in new york city affects the rest of the world uh and I mean, I could go on and on about the importance of the race, but the reality is that elections have consequences. So you’ll see consequences from this one way or another. And I think we’ll know the answer tonight. But again, support the work of the ACLJ because despite elections, we’re fighting for you on the front line.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yep, we never shut down. The government shutdown doesn’t affect us here. I mean, it may affect us in terms of all of you who support us, but it doesn’t affect our legal team who has always been on board always open 24 hours a day and we mean that all holidays the team is at work and you hear these cases that sometimes can last years and years you want to make sure that our team is there for you so as we head into break i do want to encourage you right now to support the work of the aclj financially of course this is one of our big drives so know that all your donations are doubled right now of course you’re not paying double there’s another great aclj champion ready to match your donation as soon as you make it to unlock that donation so if you make a hundred dollar donation it becomes two hundred dollars effectively so on and so on it could be five dollars it could be five hundred dollars know that really it is the most important time of the year to support the work of the ACLJ over the next few months and we know we need the resources to continue these fights these are not cheap again we want to have the best of the best we want to be able to pay for everyone’s travel we want to make sure our team can go where they need to go and our media team has those resources as well we’ll be right back with more on Sekulow Welcome back to Sekulow. Phone lines are open. I’d love to hear from you as we head into the second half hour of the broadcast. I like to try to take as many calls as we can. Of course, this first half has been packed. We had my dad on the last segment. Now my brother Jordan is joining us also remotely because Jordan, you got another big project. You’re heading up right now, but I wanted to give you a chance to share.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, this is something, of course, we talked about yesterday when I was in the studio with you, Logan, this new FOIA that we are sending to multiple departments within the Department of Justice. This relates directly to the U.S. senators and the one congressman who found out through Chuck Grassley and their investigation through the Judiciary Committee of Arctic Frost that their phones were tapped. They could see who they were calling. how long they were talking to that person, trace those numbers and trace their locations. So we actually that happened to eight senators and nine and a single so far member of the House. We believe it could just be the tipping point that this is just those who know what was done to them. And what’s very cool about this FOIA and very different from any that we filed before, Logan, So on behalf of the American Center for Law and Justice, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Tommy Tuberville, Senator Marsha Blackburn, Senator Bill Hagerty, Senator Cynthia Loomis, they’ve all endorsed the FOIA. So when it’s filed, as it has been today, it’s been endorsed by them. So you’ve got that double kind of support to say, this is newsworthy, this is worthy for our members and for what we do at the ACLJ. And of course, we will provide this data to the senators who had their phones, again, tapped by the FBI and as U.S. senators. I mean, if you were talking to them, they know you were talking to them through that period of time. This is egregious. And Logan, the FOIA is just the beginning. This could lead to the next step. Of course, you might have to go into court to get all the documents. So that’s kind of legal action. But there could even be more significant legal action against other players, be it the government or private companies.
SPEAKER 05 :
Jordan, that’s also what’s interesting about this. Last segment, we talked with your dad about this new cert petition we’ll be filing at the Supreme Court, pushing back, where the state of California is still trying to get $1.2 million in fines on Calvary Chapel, San Jose, for COVID restriction violations back almost six years ago at this point. But then you look at this. These stories and these cases and this work go hand in hand. It points to people in power that think that because of their power, they can do whatever they want, they can throw out the Constitution, and they can, whether it be take over a million dollars of parishioners’ tithes away from them, or whether it be going to a co-equal branch of government and subpoenaing records of their phones to try and go on this witch hunt and create something out of nothing, a phishing expedition, where there was no even basis for a criminal search, but they’re going after their political enemies. You see that in California, what we’re fighting there, and you see it here. And I think that’s what’s important is that Sometimes this corruption or this overreach manifests in different ways, but ACLJ is savvy. We have some of the smartest lawyers in the world, and that’s where we go. We run into those fights because we know that we can’t let that stand.
SPEAKER 09 :
And I think what you just brought up was the greatest point of this. If it goes from U.S. senators to a Calvary Chapel church in California, to what we saw was during the Biden administration with the IRS targeting Catholics, targeting people and parents who showed up at school board meetings to express their concern about either the COVID restrictions or the content of of their students, especially in the lower grades that they were receiving. And again, they were treated as potential criminals by the federal government. So if you’re a U.S. Senator and your phone can be basically tapped so easily by going through a simple legal process by the federal government, if it’s so easy to happen to a sitting U.S. Senator, how much easier What would it be for the government to do this to you and me and to everybody watching or listening our broadcast right now? It’s why this FOIA, I know we file lots of FOIAs. We don’t talk about each of them on the air, but it’s unique. And Will, you talked about the expertise we have on our team. You don’t have those U.S. senators joining the FOIA saying it’s on behalf of them that we are doing this, that they are endorsing our FOIA that we are filing to the DOJ as we filed today. You don’t get U.S. senators signing on to that if you don’t have true experts that they know the ACLJ is always going to produce evidence.
SPEAKER 05 :
excellent work that they can be proud to put their name on just like every one of our supporters and donors can be proud of their donations and to put their name down as a supporter of the american center for law and justice jordan before we let you go because i know you’re you’re actually about to be traveling today you were in studio here yesterday last week in dc but you’re headed somewhere else this week i want to give you an opportunity to let our audience know what you’re up to this week and where you’re headed
SPEAKER 09 :
People know we’ve partnered with CPAC on this very much a coalition effort to end Christian persecution. And part one was let’s get Nigeria back on the country as a particular concern list. We were able to accomplish that last week in Washington, D.C., with ultimately President Trump making that announcement. It was the Biden administration. The Trump administration put them on. Biden administration took them off immediately. Now the Trump administration has put them back on within the first term of this president because so many Christians are being killed there. This is in partnership with CPAC, an event actually at Mar-a-Lago for some of their top supporters. And what I’m going to be doing tomorrow is talking to those supporters about this very effort. This effort to end persecution, to fight for religious liberty, joining with CPAC to bring in new partners to this fight. So we’ll be in Florida at Mar-a-Lago to have kind of these high level discussions with top folks about each of these areas so that we can really make a difference as organizations on our own and collectively.
SPEAKER 08 :
Jordan, thanks for calling in and being a part of the show today. I know that you’re traveling, and it’s always good to hear from you, though, especially when you know our ACLJ team is in action. I think you want to hear where they are, what they’re doing, where we’re going. And you know our Washington, D.C. office has been expanding significantly. This is another layer to that. So, of course, your support right now during this Freedom Drive goes to support that as well. Like I said, even just the cost of travel for our crew, for our team. We have crews right now in Washington, D.C. We have crews traveling right now, obviously, now to Florida for this event. The ACLJ team is around the world, and none of that happens without you. So I encourage you to support the work as you can and support the ACLJ in general. If you can’t support financially, I ask for you to just pray for us. Pray for our team. It is a tough time to be doing some of this work and know that it comes with a lot of sleepless nights. So our team could really appreciate your prayers. As we head into break, I do want you to give me a call at 1-800-684-3110. Whether you have a comment about the Gavin Newsom situation or maybe you have a comment as we head into tonight as, of course, it’s election day once again in America. focused on New York City New Jersey and Virginia what are your thoughts if you’re in one of those places I’d love to hear from you or if you just have thoughts in general I’ve been talking to a lot of friends this morning who are who are definitely keeping their eyes on it and that are concerned maybe we can have more of a discussion on that that’s at 1-800-684-3110 but again I want you to think about supporting the work of the ACLJ as we head into the second half hour If you don’t get us in the second half hour on your local radio station, you can find us broadcasting live on ACLJ.org, on YouTube, on Rumble, on the ACLJ app. That’s from 12 to 1 p.m. Eastern time. Of course, you can find us archived later on wherever you get your podcasts. We’re there. I know a lot of you watch and listen later on and not live, but I love the people who watch live. They engage. They’re part of the chats on YouTube and on Rumble. Hey, if you’re in a chat right now, as we only have a one-minute break, if you’ve already made your donation, you’re like, what do I do now? Throw in the comments where you’re watching from. I love to see that from around the world, where our viewers come from. So do that for me today and I would really appreciate it. We’ll be right back with the second half hour of Sekulow coming right up.
SPEAKER 06 :
Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Sekulow. And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 08 :
Welcome to the second half hour of Sekulow. Of course, it is election day in America. A lot of people are keeping their eyes on New York City. And of course, it is the big one between Cuomo, Mamdami, and Sliwa. This is happening right now. Obviously, the polls, until very recently, showed a pretty big push for Mamdani to take it. But the polls have tightened, so we’ll keep an eye on that tonight. I know a lot of people will be watching. But, of course, we’re also talking about what’s going on in California, how the ACLJ is getting involved in the Supreme Court battle with Governor Newsom. And I wanted to kick this off with a phone call from Nancy, who is calling from California, who is also an ACLJ champion. And that is someone that gives a membership on a monthly recurring basis whenever you make a donation to the ACLJ. you can opt in to just make it a recurring automatic donation. Of course, you can cancel at any time. And if you do it during the months of November right now, if you do it during our Freedom Drive, your first donation will be doubled and matched. So we appreciate that. Nancy, go ahead.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hi, thanks for taking my call. I’ve actually been a champion for a long time, so God bless you guys for what you’re doing. So I live in California. I’m 72 years old. I’m a widow. And I want people to understand that today, more than anything, you really need to pray for the state of California, but you really need to pray for the ACLJ and support them. This whole thing with Gavin Newsom is way more than just a Supreme Court thing. Today is also the day we vote on this ridiculous redistricting thing that he spent millions of dollars on just because he basically threw a tantrum. This man is out of control and he’s unleashing chaos on our state. And so I just really want to encourage people to look at the stories, pay attention. I don’t know where people think all this tax money is going to come from. It’s my money. It’s your money. So please support the ACLJ. Pray for them. They’re doing good work. And that’s all I wanted to say.
SPEAKER 08 :
Nancy, first, I really appreciate it. I just want to tell you, thank you so much for not only being a longtime ACLJ champion, but just your thoughts and your push for people to support. Know that it means a lot. We are looking at, of course, that redistricting vote today, Will.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and Nancy said, I don’t know where all this money is going to come from. Well, we know that they’re still going after $1.2 million from Calvary Chapel in San Jose over those COVID restrictions. So I guess the governor has to find money somewhere. But Regarding the Proposition 50 fight, which she also referenced, and they are voting today in California on that. That’s something where Gavin Newsom decided that the laws passed for their independent commission weren’t good enough. So he decided to push for this to redraw their maps to try and fight the president. But here’s what he said last night. And I want you to think about his words in light of what you know we’re fighting, that we’re taking to the Supreme Court against what his administration is doing. This is bite three about Gavin Newsom talking about what the essence of Prop 50 is.
SPEAKER 04 :
The essence of this moment, what Proposition 50 represents to those that have been bullied, to those that have been demeaned, to those that feel powerless. to those that are concerned about not only themselves, but each other, our community, this city, our state, our nation, and for that matter, what we represent to the rest of the world. That’s what Prop 50 represents. Prop 50 is not about drawing lines on a map. It is about holding the line to what makes us who we are.
SPEAKER 05 :
I want to say this to Governor Gavin Newsom of California. He says that Prop 50 is to those who’ve been bullied, those who’ve been demeaned, to those who feel powerless. Put up the picture of him at French Laundry during the COVID restrictions. That’s him dining, not following any of the restrictions that now his administration is trying to get a church to pay $1.2 million in fines over. We’re almost in 2026. How do you think the people of your state and the people of Calvary Chapel San Jose feel? Do they feel demeaned by what you did as governor and what you’re trying to make them pay for, worshiping God?
SPEAKER 08 :
We’ve got to make sure people don’t actually see this. That’s why we’re here in our media operations, as much as a legal operation. We’ve got to have the legal team out there to go to the Supreme Court. We’ve got to make sure we have the media team ready to go because no one will ever hear about this. This is not going to break mainstream media. We’ve got to make sure we can do that for them. So I want you to support the work of the ACLJ, and when you do it, know you’re doing that. I want your calls, though, right now about the election tonight. 1-800-684-3110. We’re going to discuss it coming up, whether you’re in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, or just have comments and you’re somewhere around the country or around the world. I want to hear from you right now. 1-800-684-3110. We’ll be right back. Welcome back to Seculo. We’re screening some calls right now. We do have a few lines still open at 1-800-684-3110. You’ve heard about all the work of the ACLJ, all the stuff that we’re up to. But, of course, eyes tonight are on New York City as well as Virginia and New Jersey. Well, the New Jersey and Virginia maybe not quite getting as much nationwide attention. Still showing up. It’s right now on Fox News. They’re discussing it. Why don’t you give us, for people who don’t know what’s going on, first in Virginia and New Jersey, and then we’ll move to New York where sort of everyone is looking.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s right. We have two gubernatorial races going on today. So one is in New Jersey.
SPEAKER 08 :
I like the way you say gubernatorial.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, it’s the way you say it. No, I just like it. I like hearing it. It made me feel good. We have two gubernatorial races going on today. One is in Virginia, which has obviously been… More in the purple state, kind of lean blue for the last, at least for the presidential elections last few cycles, but there is currently a Republican governor. Virginia has a different system where you get a one four-year term as governor. I believe you can run again later, but you can only have one consecutive term as governor. Or one term. Right, one term, no consecutive. No consecutive. Yeah, just four years and then you’re out. I kind of like that. So what we’ve got here is we have a completely interesting dynamic where the state’s been going more blue in the nationwide elections, but they still have a Republican governor. And then you have two candidates that are both women candidates. And one side, the Democrats have said that the… People just aren’t ready to vote for a woman when they’ve realized that both candidates are. Literally, that’s been the argument of why it’s been closer than it should have been. We’ve also seen racist attacks against the lieutenant governor, current lieutenant governor, who has been running about eight to ten points behind the Democrat nominee in that race. It’s going to be tight. We’ll see what happens as the polls close.
SPEAKER 08 :
They’re going to get text messages from all of them.
SPEAKER 05 :
But we do know that this has been kind of a very race that has a lot of national attention because of what’s happened with the attorney general’s race there, where you had the Democrat candidate there that is race running against the incumbent Republican attorney general. who had these text messages revealed talking about political violence about wanting one the former speaker of the house of delegates of virginia to die multiple times these little hypotheticals about if you have hitler and mussolini and people like that i’d always and you have two bullets who would you do he’d take out the speaker of the house now the current speaker the former he at the time he was the speaker of the house of delegates in virginia a republican then that entire conversation it wasn’t as though it was a poor hypothetical joke kept doubling down and he even was saying in these conversations that he wants the children of that republican to die in his wife’s arms because maybe it would change their policy So the entire race in Virginia has been wild because you’ve had racism from liberals against Republicans. You’ve had political violence that has come out of this in the rhetoric that has been used. And so that race will be very interesting to see if the under ticket race, the Attorney General won, if that Democrat can win. Or if that has any effect on the governor as well. But then you go to New Jersey, historically a blue state. You have a Republican who is much more like a 90s Democrat style Republican. A very legal Republican. Yes, yes. He’s not super… People say that. I don’t know, but if you coined it, it’s a good term. He’s not super MAGA or right-wing, red state as you think. No, you can’t be in those states. But he is a Republican in New Jersey. You can be, but you can’t be elected typically. Running a very close race. We’ll see if there is a Republican governor there for the first time since Chris Christie. Yeah. New Jersey, oddly, always reliably blue in national elections. We saw that come down much tighter in the last presidential election, as well as Republican governors do get elected there.
SPEAKER 08 :
If you spend time in New Jersey, you do sometimes walk around and go, how is this a blue stranglehold that they’ve had on this? Because the people, I mean, sure, there are pockets everywhere where there are conservatives and liberals, but overwhelmingly, the people just feel like they would be more conservative voters. Just when you’re talking to people in the streets, who they are, but they’ve so historically voted blue. I think it’s like in their DNA to vote for the Democrat, but we are seeing it’s not actually in their DNA, but you know what I mean? It’s almost in their family legacy to vote Democrat. Same in Connecticut, some of these places that you are finally maybe starting to see some of that get peeled back where it’s no longer just, you know, Democrats are the union supporters or this kind of thing. We’ve seen such a drastic change in there. And of course, Can’t forget what’s going on in New York City. And that’s where the eyes are tonight. A week ago, I would have told you I thought it was a sure thing that Mamdami was going to take it. And now the polls have tightened. I still think if I had to bet, I would still probably be leaning that way just on seeing the way people are going. And look, I feel for non-political New Yorkers. who have to pick between these three candidates. Because if you don’t care about politics and you just watched a debate, you would see a young guy who’s a compelling speaker. You would see your former governor, who as much as people may have liked or disliked, certainly had his foibles towards the end of his run, whether that was with COVID or other issues. And then you have the outlier, of the guardian angel himself and though i would probably tend to agree more with him you know that that like that will not happen he will not be your winner so it’s gonna be one of these two and really if you are a even a traditional regular democrat voter in new york it’s probably not an easy decision for you. Because it’s like, do you vote with a future that is a Democrat socialist, or do you vote with a past that comes with so much baggage? And so much baggage, I mean, President Trump half-heartedly endorsed Cuomo last night. But then, of course, you go back and look at some of the things that President Trump had said about Cuomo, and this was not his political direct opponent. This wasn’t someone he was running against. This is when we’re talking about the nursing home situations. All of those mistakes. Now, has… Cuomo atoned for some of those. Has he apologized for a lot of that? Yeah, he has. But, you know, I understand this appeal of voting for a young upstart. Of course, if you look at what he believes, that should fall apart quickly. But that’s not how people vote.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, as well as Governor Cuomo was asked this morning about the Trump statement, he said, President Trump doesn’t like me. He doesn’t support me. He just knows that I’m not as bad as that guy. I think there is also a political irony here at the same time that Governor Newsom in California is trying to push forward this Prop 50 in light of what we even talked about with our case that we’re taking to the Supreme Court about Trump. things that that governor did with his executive power during the COVID pandemic. You also look at the contrast that there is another governor, COVID era governor, that has a big ballot race tonight, New York, like you said. Gavin Newsom is someone who is slick, a slick political operative, has been able to wiggle his way out of that in the mainstream. All the negative things that he did as a governor with his executive power during the COVID lockdowns. Governor Cuomo more old school politician, New York politician, has not been able to shake off those things he did with executive power during the COVID lockdown restrictions. But both of them will see a referendum of sorts on the ballot today with Prop 50 in California and with the mayoral election in New York. It will be very interesting to see what the history is on this with both of these governors
SPEAKER 08 :
behind tonight yeah i mean it’ll be a fun night to watch uh if you’re into politics it’ll be a fun night to see what is going on to be watching all of it we’ll of course i’ll keep you updated here tomorrow on what happened uh there is an interesting comment that came in i kind of want to bring this up as we had to break because i’d love your thoughts on this they go they mentioned jewish voters a lot in new york how long will the jewish voters continue to lean heavily on voting for democrats well here’s what i will tell you uh As someone who, my son had his bar mitzvah over the weekend, a lot of my family, a lot of my family of all different kinds of religious backgrounds, whether they were Orthodox, Jewish people, Reformed Jewish people, Atheist, Christians, all groups were in this room. And I will tell you, as long as there are people platforming and doing what’s been going on recently in this in the sort of right wing sphere that feels more mainstream than not to a lot of these characters who are the anti-Semitic and not just the anti-Israel group. I’m talking about the ones who are the ones who are the purely talking about if it’s in your blood. If those people still start showing up on your mainstream television, you’re not getting any of those people to vote for you. to vote Republican. So all the goodwill that may have been turned is going to be turned completely against you if you’re talking about traditional Jewish voters. I’m not talking about ones that are 19 or 20 or 25. I am talking about if you want the mass majority of the people that are living in New York City who are Jewish voters, you want them to vote Republican, it is time we call out all of this and put it into it. I’m actually very happy to see a lot of people doing that. I’m not blaming anyone who’s watching this show. I’m just saying that becoming mainstream cannot happen if you think that you’re going to win over the Jewish population who has. Yeah, a lot of them have historically voted blue, even when I disagreed with them and don’t think it’s right. I don’t think it is best for the for our people. But that’s certainly not helping. Phone lines are open for you. What do you think about that? I’d love to hear from you, of course. We’ll talk more about the election coming up, and we’ll wrap up the show with your voice, the most important voice in the room. As we head into break, support the work of the ACLJ at aclj.org if you can. Of course, it’s our Freedom Drive Day 2, kicking it off strong at aclj.org right now. All right, welcome back. Time to wrap up this show with, like I said, the most important voice, and that’s yours. Give me a call. We’ve got three lines open for you at 1-800-684-3110. If you’re joining us in the chat right now, I see a lot of debate going on about the Jewish community, about where they vote and how they should vote. That’s never discussed online a lot. You don’t see that a lot. I don’t get a lot of notifications on that. I don’t feel like my X feed sometimes feels like it’s only that. Right. Sadly, that’s where we are right now. I’d love to hear from you about that, though. You can give me a call at 1-800-684-3110. Also, let me know. We see a lot of people in Virginia, a lot of people in New Jersey, but where else are you watching from? Put in the chat where you’re watching from. I love to read those as we wrap up the show, just so I have a good idea, a good full scale of where people watch our show from. It’s really nice always to know that we’re not just in a room talking to ourselves, that we’re talking to thousands of you, even just on each platform, and millions of you throughout the day. Let’s go ahead and start with some phone calls. Let’s go to Kathleen, who is calling on line one, who’s an ACLJ champion. You’re on the air.
SPEAKER 03 :
Kathleen from Michigan. And you being pro-life cannot vote for anyone but Sliwa, the Republican. They’re pro-life, pro-common sense.
SPEAKER 08 :
Kathleen, like I said, there’s probably a lot of things I agree with with Sliwa. I don’t think that Look, I don’t vote in New York City, but I’m sure just based on purely if we were to look at topics and his issues and what he cares about, I don’t know his positions on life. But in general, I’m sure I probably would lean that direction. However, I do understand that he sadly has no chance. And when you have no chance, you start to go, okay, well, who are going to be the lesser of two evils you got to work with? I don’t like it, Kathleen. But the reason President Trump even said you really have no choice, he says you have no choice but to vote for Cuomo. And I understand that thought process. Someone you can actually work with, a traditional Democrat over a Democrat socialist. They asked Cuomo recently, they said, do you think you’re still a Democrat? And he said, of course I’m still a Democrat. They’re not Democrats. So I think that’s the kind of statement. Will, you got something to force?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I mean, to Kathleen’s point, actually, I don’t think there is a pro-choice, I mean, a pro-life candidate in New York’s mayoral race. Curtis Sliwa actually historically has been more of a moderate person and more of a populist, obviously, with his history in New York, but says that he is pro-choice. So that… Really, if you’re a one issue voter in New York, I don’t think you have really a good option if you are only trying to find someone who will support life. Sometimes you end up with bad choices like that. And I think the majority of people are looking for someone that can stop. an actually avowed socialist in that race so i think that is where the the choices of people who don’t agree with cuomo even what president trump said they don’t share policy ideas but he’s trying to stop what could be very bad for the uh both the american economy the global economy if some of the things that mamdani wants to put into place if he can do that Now, a lot of the stuff he wants to do, he can’t do unilaterally.
SPEAKER 08 :
Even Saturday Night Live decided… They parodied that in a great way. That was going to be their negative spin on Moab 9, which is, yeah, he’s a good-looking guy, good speaker, but he’s making a lot of promises he’s not going to be able to keep. They even said, like, can I do this? The answer is probably no. Right. You know, on all things, free everything, and the free bus services, the free healthcare, and free Wi-Fi. But look, Kathleen, I understand that frustration. But New York City and New York in general is very different in terms of their beliefs on a lot of the issues that we find very important. And sometimes, like Will said, there isn’t a great option on the table for that.
SPEAKER 05 :
I’m not even sure Sliwa has really made statements about it because his mayor… Well, that’s the thing is that actually I went to look it up because once again, you think of his history, what he did… Cuomo certainly does because he’s a… was the governor was the governor but he told uh new york one earlier this year uh actually this is just from september when they were talking about different issues and he said uh he doesn’t share the party’s ideology on a lot of things i’m not second amendment i believe in gun control lgbtq plus i’m at odds sometimes with the conservatives i’m not right to life i’m pro-choice Okay, well, that’s pretty clear. And I agree with you. I didn’t think maybe there would be a position statement out there because it’s the mayoral race. Sometimes they don’t get into that per se. But no, those are his statements. So if that is your conviction to vote, like if you cannot vote for someone, you may not have a choice in this mayoral election.
SPEAKER 08 :
Let’s go now to a caller coming from New York on YouTube. It’s William. William, you’re up.
SPEAKER 01 :
Hello. Yeah, I’m concerned about the effects that Mamdani or even Cuomo would have on the homeless crisis, especially up here where the ones in New York might get driven to. The ability to give them the assistance and recovery they need would be severely impacted.
SPEAKER 08 :
Look, William, I think that there is a major push to clean up what’s going on in the homeless situation. Homeless crisis is happening around the country, really. It’s not just limited to New York and New York City. But of course, it’s very, I mean, I haven’t been there in about three months. I think I was last there in September. And it was pretty obvious. how bad it has become. I’ll be there again in a couple weeks. It’s again one of my favorite places in the world is New York City. I want to see it return to what it once was. We went through some very seedy times from pretty much as far back as I can remember until the mid-90s where it was pretty rough and then there was a time period there pre-9-11 where Giuliani had come in, cleaned up Times Square, cleaned up a lot of the tourist areas and things were thriving and growing. Then 9-11 happened, took another hit. Then, though, it recovered again, had a massive comeback in New York City. We are still seeing the ramifications of COVID happen in New York City. I think if you drive around, you can just see it. You can see the buildings that are still boarded up, still stores that never recovered. And of course, the streets. Sadly, I mean, it is heartbreakingly filled with people who have nowhere to go or cannot seek help. And I don’t know if the city is doing near enough to help those people out. Hopefully, and this is just my prayer, is whoever wins, that that is one of the top things that they focus on. Whoever wins, you know, we don’t wish ill on anyone. I think that we will see the ramifications of some of these elections, sure. But maybe because it is a city that is needed to survive. It is needed for America to be what it always has been. That you can have a Cuomo or a Mamdami who can go in and get things done. I’m not holding my breath. But we will see. We’ll see how it all shakes out here tonight. I mean, that’s the thing is we are here. This is happening tonight. A lot of eyes are going to be on New York City as well as Virginia and in New Jersey as it is the first election since. I mean, it’s been one year now since President Trump was elected to his second term. And what a year it has been. With that being said. I know a lot of your eyes will be on New York City and will be on a lot of places. And look, we’ve had a struggle this year with the ACLJ because we know that your dollars and where your mind’s going is not necessarily always on us and what we’re doing. Whether you are needing to save money, we understand that. Or whether you’ve decided to put your money elsewhere. I would encourage you, though, to look no further than the ACLJ. We are doing incredible work. And that is work that is based on Christian principles. We’re not talking about work that’s just aligned with a certain political party. And this is not how it is here at the ACLJ. I want you to go and spend time on our website. Download the app. All these things that are free. This show is free. It’s not funded by major sponsors. It’s not funded by giant donors primarily. It is mainly funded by people like you who give on an individual basis. Some of you opt in and become champions. And look, know that I really love you guys and appreciate it. When people walk up to me and say I’m a champion, it brings a smile to my face. And I’m always deeply appreciative. You scan that QR code right now, your first donation today. And of course, you could have donated before. It doesn’t have to be your first donation to the organization. Your donation today will be doubled. All donations will be doubled. So if you make 20 donations during our Freedom Drive, they’ll be matched and doubled. Do it today. Scan the QR code, and we’ll talk to you tomorrow.
