In this episode of Rush to Reason, John Rush delves into the complexities of the Labor Peace Act and its implications for small businesses in Colorado. Joined by Michael Smith from NFIB, a deep discussion unfolds about the upcoming legislative session and the potential challenges small businesses might face. Listen to gain insights on how current and future policies could shape the business landscape in Colorado, affecting entrepreneurs’ ability to plan and invest confidently. The conversation extends to the broader political landscape, evaluating the influence of union legislation on individual agreements between employees and employers. Tune in as John
SPEAKER 14 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 13 :
You are going to shut your damn yapper and listen for a change because I got you pegged, sweetheart. You want to take the easy way out because you’re scared. And you’re scared because if you try and fail, there’s only you to blame. Let me break this down for you. Life is scary. Get used to it. There are no magical fixes.
SPEAKER 08 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 13 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did! Get a job, Turk!
SPEAKER 10 :
You haven’t made everybody equal. You’ve made them the same, and there’s a big difference!
SPEAKER 09 :
Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.
SPEAKER 10 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 14 :
It’s Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush, presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, we are back. Hour number three, Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Myself, Andy Pate, Michael Smith joining us now from NFIB. That is the National Federation of Businesses. Michael, welcome. How are you?
SPEAKER 16 :
Doing great, John. Thanks for having me on your program.
SPEAKER 11 :
Always a joy. All right. Talk to us about this upcoming legislative session we have here in Colorado and what we may be seeing that may or may not be good for us here in Colorado.
SPEAKER 16 :
Sure. Yeah, there’s kind of a bent at the legislature, if you will, to proposals that are anti-small business, unfortunately. So From NFIB’s perspective, we’re really playing a lot of defense on bills out there. There will be a bill this session, again, related to the Labor Peace Act, which, as you may recall, was up last year and would change the unique two-vote system that is today in Colorado that’s been on the books for over 80 years, I think 83 years now. where there’s uh two votes one to form the union and then the second which is a 75 threshold to to to have agreements to collect dues force all employees to pay dues and things of that nature and the bill again this year is the same as last year would get rid of that second vote And that is something that we strongly oppose. We think that’s bad for business. We really think it’s important for Colorado to start having a more sound environment for small businesses to thrive and succeed. It really hasn’t been going that way. As I mentioned, there’s been a number of proposals in the past and more this year that are not good for businesses. We need businesses to be able to… have confidence and certainty to plan for the future so they can invest in their businesses, invest in capital, and their employees. And so that’s really what we need for small businesses to thrive here. And there will be a number of other bills, I’m sure, as we’ve seen in the past, that put regulations and fees on small businesses, and we’ll be there pushing back against those.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, Michael, it just blows my mind. Everybody who right now is employed at a job in Colorado, guess what? You made a deal between you and that employer. You went in, you offered your services, they offered a fee, and you decided to agree on that. You have your job because of your agreement between you and that employer. And what this says is, hey, if a majority of the people at that place decide we want a union, that changes your entire agreement with your employer. That overrides your rights.
SPEAKER 16 :
Exactly. And with all due respect to the proponents of this bill, they’re on the wrong side of the issue. A solid 70 percent of Coloradans. opposed making changes to the Labor Peace Act. That’s pretty overwhelming. And like I said, I think that’s on the wrong side of this issue.
SPEAKER 11 :
And for those that are listening to him, I’ll make sure I explain this correctly, Michael, and make sure I’m following correctly. Basically, what they want to have happen is to allow unions to be able to force their fees upon everyone, whether you’re a part of that union or not, correct?
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, it would… it would force the employees to pay dues where they otherwise wouldn’t. would likely have the opportunity not to.
SPEAKER 11 :
Right.
SPEAKER 16 :
Because they would be getting rid of that second vote.
SPEAKER 11 :
That’s right.
SPEAKER 16 :
Today they need a 75% vote to do that.
SPEAKER 11 :
And NFIB, National Federation of Independent Business, those of you that are small business owners, I would encourage you to check things out. Michael, how do they do that? If there’s business owners listening that would like to be a part of what you’re doing and help in this fight, how do they do that?
SPEAKER 16 :
They can go to NFIB.org. on the website and find specific contacts there to reach out.
SPEAKER 11 :
Because I know you guys also do a lot of things down at the Capitol to help fight these things. Those are initiatives and things that you guys are doing that small business owners can get involved in. And by the way, it doesn’t have to be small business owners. It could be anybody that wants to fight this fight. So the reality is, yeah, owners help, but it can be anybody, right?
SPEAKER 16 :
Exactly.
SPEAKER 11 :
For sure. I appreciate you bringing us up to speed. Let us know how things go. If there’s any other issues or bills or anything that come up, by all means, let us know. We’ll get you back on air. Excellent. I appreciate it. Thank you, Michael. I appreciate it again. National Federation of Independent Businesses, NFIB.org is the website. Flesh Law coming up next. Criminal, civil, you name it. Kevin is there to help you with all of your legal needs. Find me today by just calling 303-806-8886.
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SPEAKER 08 :
Putting reason into your afternoon drive. This is John Rush.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, we are back, and just to finish up on our last hour, I had a text message that came in, said, on the Christian side of things, remember, Satan is in this world, and he wants nothing more than to destroy families, and debates like the one that we’re having, in a very careful way, are important to have. Otherwise, we keep separating families, and we end up helping Satan defeat God. And very well said. Yes, that’s exactly right. It’s why it’s important to have these conversations in your family, in a nice way, get everybody on the same page, and utilizing a lot of the things that Andy and I discussed in that last hour. It literally took an entire hour for that.
SPEAKER 15 :
A bit of a bunny trail here, but some people talk about how ICE separates families. I just want to remind them, and that’s a pretty easy one to answer. All crime separates families. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER 11 :
If you’re a drunk driver and there’s a kid in the back seat and you go to the clink, guess what? The kid’s not going with you. Right. Your kid’s not joining in jail.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. If you break a law, guess what? You will be separated from… Your children. Okay, that’s the way it is. If you break any law, you’re separated from your children. Do we have a caller, Charlie?
SPEAKER 11 :
Because I don’t have my screen up, but I don’t see a name. I’m just asking to make sure that we’re not missing anybody. Just double checking.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, one second. We’re going to find out if we have a caller.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, yeah, and we’ll come. Go ahead, Andy. Sorry.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, but getting back to what we were saying before. The number one thing you want to do, once again, is praise them, praise their motives. Praise their motives for why they hold this view, why they are against ICE. I’m telling you what, a lot of people who are against ICE, the young people, are not these raging lunatics in Minneapolis. They simply feel that we are being unfair. You can praise them for their motives, and then they’ll listen to your reasons.
SPEAKER 11 :
One last thing, too. The reason why this is happening in areas like Minnesota, I’ve said it many times, but a texter reminded me of this as well. I got a text message reminding me of this as well. It’s because of the way their government is run in those areas, the city, the state, their sanctuary. They’re not allowing even local law enforcement to handle some of these things, and they’re against ICE when they show up. So keep in mind, that’s what’s happening in these areas on purpose because it’s by design, folks. None of the violence is happening in the places that work with ICE. That’s right. Steve, go ahead.
SPEAKER 05 :
Good afternoon, gentlemen. How are you? Good. Just a quick thought. Did you ever go to B.J. Strawberry’s at the Erie International Airport?
SPEAKER 11 :
I did not.
SPEAKER 05 :
Back in the 80s? No. It was a big four-engine combat 990. It was a blast to fly up there. Good food. It’s the same airplane that Portugal used to use and Elvis had one. No. Just curious if you were there. At the end of the year, you’d appreciate this one. I’m working in the office when you were doing your review of Melania.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh.
SPEAKER 05 :
And my Persian… parenthesis of constant indulgence is a real bonafide trumpeter even though she would no longer vote democrat anymore from the way they screwed up this state and others and she’s calling melania this and then this and said what’s your source well she’s been thinking for a long time google’s a source i said no no no no google’s not a source so she shows me something from uh gq or whatever again unsourced undocumented but it just amazes me how easily People can be propagandized. That’s right. And her brother’s about the same. These are bright people, by the way. And I was having a discussion with him when we was over here for dinner. He’s a doctor here in town. And he was complaining about the Jewish Zionists. And I said, Ali, what’s your definition of a Zionist? And he looks at me blankly and he says, I don’t know. Look it up. I said, you need to look it up and know what you’re talking about. But… Just crazy, crazy stuff. You know, by the way, these protests in Minneapolis and others, these guys all have not read the protest for dummies, which is out 40 years ago. It’s a real short pamphlet. It starts out, whatever your encounter may be with law enforcement, whether it’s federal, local, state. A, be polite, courteous, respectful. B, don’t spit in their face, don’t aggravate them, and for Pete’s sake, Don’t make some move for your gun or their gun or you’re probably not going to get out. Well put.
SPEAKER 11 :
I mean, it’s just nuts. No, you’re right. And Steve, his comments, by the way, on Melania and all of that, yeah, Google’s not a source.
SPEAKER 15 :
No.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, that is not a source because, again, as I said earlier, they don’t like her because of, A, her ties to Trump, and, B, I think ultimately, Andy, my feeling is I think she intimidates him.
SPEAKER 15 :
I think she does, too.
SPEAKER 11 :
That would be my guess as to why they don’t like her. She’s very intimidating to them because she won’t put up with their nonsense, doesn’t buy in and feed into their nonsense.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, also, John, I think there’s a real problem with Melania in their eyes in that she is so unbelievably self-controlled.
SPEAKER 11 :
True.
SPEAKER 15 :
They don’t believe in self-control. They believe in controlling others. And so when they look at Melania, even though Melania is not a conservative by any means, they look at her and they see somebody who is in complete control of her faculties every step of the way, every day. And so what do they want to do? They want to say she’s scripted. No, she isn’t. She’s controlled.
SPEAKER 11 :
She’s herself.
SPEAKER 15 :
By herself, yeah.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, let’s move on to some local things happening, Andy. We’ve got time, I think, left to do that. We’ve got about 40 minutes left of the show. Let’s do that.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, Scott Bottoms.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes. Who, real quick, is running for governor of Colorado.
SPEAKER 15 :
He’s running for governor, and let me tell you something. I personally like Scott Bottoms. I enjoy him. I think he would make a wonderful governor, but… This is dealing with could he win? And I put out a post today, and I want you, I want you to interrupt me as I go along here, okay? So I’m going to read off the post. It’s not long. This is not one of my long ones. To all Scott Bottoms supporters, I want us to look hard at the numbers. Bottoms comes from El Paso County. where Republicans hold a 12-point advantage over Democrats. Okay, so very red-coney. This also means the unaffiliated voters there mostly lean right. And that’s true. Where you have a big advantage with a party, the unaffiliated are going to lean that way. It’s just natural. Statewide, Democrats hold a 2.5 registration point advantage with unaffiliated voters traditionally leaning solidly left. Okay, let’s give you a little piece of evidence for that. For instance, even with only a 2.5 point advantage, Jared Polis beat Heidi Ganahl not by 2.5 points. He beat her by 19.3 points statewide. While Ganahl won El Paso by 5%. So statewide ran over 24 points to the left of El Paso County. Now, why am I saying this? These people who support Scott Bottoms are saying, hey, he won there. He’ll be able to win statewide because he has the message that reaches across and it wins the independent voters. Folks.
SPEAKER 11 :
No, it doesn’t.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah. Independent voters in El Paso. Now, in El Paso, where Republicans have a 12-point advantage. Ganahl won by 5 points. So she only lost 7 points of that advantage in El Paso, right? Statewide, where Democrats only lead by 2.5 points, in the same race, Polis won that by 19.3%. So he won by over 14 points per acre. He won by twice the margin. He took twice as many unaffiliateds statewide as he did in El Paso. You see what I’m saying? So in El Paso, the unaffiliateds leaned to the right. And there was only a seven point margin in nationwide statewide. They lean to the left and there was a 14 point margin. You see what I’m saying here?
SPEAKER 11 :
I do.
SPEAKER 15 :
OK. In other words, the unaffiliated statewide that Scott Bottoms would have to win are very different from the ones in El Paso that he’s won there. Am I making sense?
SPEAKER 11 :
You’re making sense.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay. Now let me read again. That means Bottoms would have to win a statewide electorate with a 14.5 point reversal of his home county’s registration advantage. Worse yet, he would have to overcome a 24 point swing to the left overall since El Paso U voters, unaffiliated, are more conservative. So here’s my question. Scott Bottoms followers, please explain to me how Bottoms, a deep red Republican from a deep red county, will appeal statewide in a general election. I really want to know. Okay. Now, I did have some people try to answer this, and I won’t go into all the answers. I wouldn’t mind reading them. I’d be happy to. It would be bad radio. It would bore people. Okay. Well, it would. You know how that goes. But what they say is that, let me give one. She says, easy to explain. Number one, Jenna Griswold, Phil Weiser, and Polis won’t be able to alter our votes this year because they will most likely be indicted for sedition and voter fraud before the primary election and unable to interfere by electing their candidates of choice. Okay. In other words, we’re going to stop all the voter fraud. And that means that Scott is going to be able to be propelled to victory and win Colorado because we’re going to put those people in jail, mister. What do you think?
SPEAKER 11 :
I’ve talked about that one so many times.
SPEAKER 15 :
But Scott Bottom’s followers really believe.
SPEAKER 11 :
I’ve even had these text message strings back and forth with people that think that if you just fix the voting system in Colorado, get rid of mail-in ballots and do this and do that, that somehow or another at the end of the day, you know, we stand a chance of winning. And folks, please hear me when I say this. And I mean this sincerely. No, we don’t. No, we don’t. And the reason I say that is because I feel, and I’m not wrong, I feel, I know, let me say it that way, I know the makeup of Colorado. I can look at the data, by the way, to know the makeup of Colorado. The last texter that I had where I was arguing back and forth on this particular subject, I encourage, go download the spreadsheet. It’s at the Secretary of State’s website. You can determine registered voters. Where they’re at, how many they are, how many of them there are, and so on. And you can look there very easily to determine the makeup of Colorado. I’m not lying or exaggerating when I say I know the makeup of Colorado. So any of you out there that think just because you all of a sudden get rid of mail-in ballots that we’re all of a sudden going to have landslide wins as Republicans in this state, you’re smoking crack. I’m sorry to say you’re smoking crack. It’s not going to happen. That’s not the problem.
SPEAKER 15 :
And John, let me ask you a question here. If that is true, if the Democrats are winning just by cheating in Colorado, and by the way, don’t get me wrong, I think Democrats cheat everywhere they can. All right. But if that’s how they’re winning. Then why was the margin only switched over by 7% in El Paso? Why did unaffiliateds only go their way by 7% in El Paso and 14.5% statewide? What was the cheating more everywhere else but El Paso? Wouldn’t they cheat everywhere equally is what I’m saying. Do you see what I’m saying? Yes. Why did it change? Here’s why it changed, folks. Because that’s a redder district where unaffiliateds vote redder. Okay. Statewide, unaffiliateds vote bluer. Right. Do you see what I’m saying?
SPEAKER 11 :
There are pockets where – and some of you are listening and thinking, well, why is it different? Well, let me explain. We’ve got a little bit of time before we go to our bottom of the hour commercial break here. The reason why it’s different in different places is because keep in mind – one of the reasons why people become unaffiliated in other words they take the r or the d away from their name and they go unaffiliated is because something typically happens inside of the party democrat or republican whereby they’re saying now wait wait a minute i don’t agree with what the party’s doing i don’t agree with the direction that it’s headed so i’m going to go ahead and take that r off and i’m going to become unaffiliated or i’m going to take that d off and become unaffiliated now typically though the way they vote moving forward is still going to be the way they’ve always voted. In other words, if they’re a Republican, they’re going to vote Republican. And if they’re Democrat, they’re going to vote Democrat, even though there’s a U next to their name. So in pockets of the state where it’s a little more red or maybe a lot more red, typically speaking, those unaffiliated voters are still going to be more red than in other areas of the state whereby they would be more blue because of where they live and who they hang out with and their belief system and so on. And again, because they were disenfranchised maybe at times because of the party, they still believe in the foundational beliefs of the party and they’re still going to vote that way, but they took that designation away and put a U next to it. Right. Am I explaining that right, Andy? Absolutely.
SPEAKER 15 :
And this is why when you look at a place like El Paso County where he comes from, okay, Republicans don’t just have a 12% advantage in El Paso County, do they? Because the unaffiliated there are going to vote with about a 7% advantage for Republicans. So really, Republicans have a 19, you can round it up, about a 20-point advantage in El Paso County. That’s where he’s coming from. But Democrats statewide, on average, if you average out the races, the statewide races over the last couple elections, they have about a 15% to 17% advantage statewide. I’ll say 15%. I’ll be nice. Okay? So he is coming from a district where Republicans have a 20% advantage. He’s going statewide where Democrats have about a 15% voting advantage. Okay? How is he going to win? See, and here’s another thing. I’ll end this person’s comment with this. She goes, Scott Bottoms speaks about the issues that are concerning to Democrat voters, independents, unaffiliated to Republicans, and as a representative in the statehouse, he sees firsthand what’s happening, how processes work, and has plans and strategies in place to tackle the problems in common across the board. That’s a bunch of fluff.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, that’s all it is.
SPEAKER 15 :
Here’s the bottom line. Scott Bottoms… is pro-life. Okay, he believes in pro-life in all cases. Scott Bottoms is a hard right. social conservative in a deep red district right that is not going to sell statewide period end of story done he’ll get killed statewide and i by the way i like him i would vote for him but but here we really quick folks this whole argument that he understands how the the sausage is made if you would because he’s been at the capitol and he sees all these things and so on here’s the reality the voters aren’t going to care about that and as a and as governor
SPEAKER 11 :
That doesn’t mean diddly squat.
SPEAKER 15 :
No.
SPEAKER 11 :
At the end of the day, that doesn’t make a hell of a bit of difference when you become governor of the state. You learn those things really quickly. There is no advantage whatsoever of being in the Capitol already when it comes to running for governor. So those that are saying that, that’s a pipe dream. That’s a wish. It makes no difference at the end of the day. And here’s the reality. The average voter in Colorado could care less.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. Now, this person, by the way, is one of the leaders for campaigning for Scott everywhere on social media. And she says he’s appealing to those in the middle and right who are supporting him across the state. She has no evidence that he appeals to the middle in any way, shape or form anywhere. None. Zero zip, zilch, nada. I just want people to hear this because, folks, you’re going to get online and you’re going to see people supporting all these candidates who make these statements with nothing to support it.
SPEAKER 11 :
That’s right. You’re right. They’re full of it.
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SPEAKER 03 :
Stay up to date with Rush to Reason after the show on Twitter at Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, we are back again. And talking about local politics, which we do. I want to make sure we squeeze those in because we’re a local station and there’s lots of things that happen here locally and folks need to know where things are at and keep up to speed and so on. And yeah, there is a contingent of individuals, by the way, that want to see their candidate win the primary. I get that, okay? Folks, really, I do. I understand. You’re all in for your candidate. I get that. That’s all great. But my request… for those individuals, and I know it’s a tall request. I get this, okay? And I know this is probably not going to happen, Andy, but my request is, would you please look beyond your candidate and look beyond that in a way where you would say, okay, if my candidate were to get the primary, you know, win the primary and be our candidate for the governor of Colorado, does this person, because there’s male and female, so I’m saying this person, Does this person really have overall what it takes to go up against a Michael Bennett and have a chance of winning when it’s all said and done?
SPEAKER 15 :
Right.
SPEAKER 11 :
That’s the question. Am I right in saying it that way, Andy?
SPEAKER 15 :
You’re totally right. Let’s take a step back, shall we?
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay, go ahead.
SPEAKER 15 :
What should we be voting for in any election? And here’s what I think we need to be voting for because a lot of people say, well, the most conservative. The one who agrees with me the most. Well, that’s ridiculous. I’m one voter, all right? If I always support whatever candidate agrees with me the most, what kind of strategy is that? Okay. I’m one voter. Count me right now. Count me, John. How many of me are there? One. Okay. That is the dumbest strategy ever because you’re trying to win an election. You’re not trying to win an opinion.
SPEAKER 11 :
Your own. You can’t win your own opinion over, folks. That’s not going to win a state election.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah. No matter who you are, guess what? You already agree with all your opinions. I don’t care who you are. If you don’t agree with all your opinions, then why do you hold them? Right? You already agree with all your opinions, no matter who you are. You are a very opinionated person. Right now, driving in your car, you are an opinionated person. You agree with all your opinions. I got news for you. That’s not going to win an election. Here is what you should always think when you are voting. I want to advance the most liberty. From all viable options in whatever setting I’m voting. Okay. The setting could be a district. It could be a state. It could be a country. Right. It could be a city. Whatever. In whatever setting I’m in, how much liberty can I advance within that setting? How much can we? Okay. And so you’ve got to look at the setting. What are the voters like in this setting? Okay. As well as I can measure them, what are the voters like in this city? Okay, like in Aurora, could I put through Ted Cruz to win in a city race in Aurora? No, Aurora is blue. No. Deep blue.
SPEAKER 11 :
Andy, there’s very few places, and I want to make sure I say this to everybody listening, because we’re Scott Bottoms. Andy and I both are very similar to Scott, okay? Yes, we are in our views. In all of our views, and I like Scott. He’s a great guy. He thinks just like I do, like Andy does, but there are very few places in Colorado whereby Andy and I could even win a citywide council race. And I’m not exaggerating when I say that, folks. We’re too conservative. A mayoral race and things like that. Nonetheless, doing more than that. There’s very few places that Andy and I could go in this state and actually win an election. Am I right in saying that? Totally.
SPEAKER 15 :
You are 100% right. It’s just the way it is. Look, if we got right down to it, all the people who support Scott Bottoms, let’s be honest. If you were to sit them down and say, between me, you, and God, you have to tell me the truth right now. Why? Why do you like Scott Bottoms? And I want you to tell the truth before God. And you know, if they told the truth before God, you know what they would say? He agrees with me. Mm-hmm. I want liberty the way I believe in it. I look at the founding fathers. I believe in their vision for this country. I agree. Guess what? Most Colorado voters despise the vision of the founding fathers.
SPEAKER 11 :
They do. They vote for Marxism. Keep in mind, folks, we just spent, Andy and I, we literally spent the 4 o’clock hour, and we could have gone for three hours on that topic. We just spent literally an hour talking about how to talk to young people, Now, I could actually change that description instead of saying, you know, here’s what you need to talk about when you’re talking to that young person in your family or your neighbor or something along those lines, you know, somebody that’s close to you. I could easily say, here’s what you need to do to talk to the average voter in Colorado. I could retitle that entire hour on that very same thing, Andy, because at the end of the day, everything you and I talked about is what you could say about the average voter in Colorado. Am I right?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah. The average voter in Colorado votes like a teenager for the most part.
SPEAKER 11 :
So you could take that entire hour. Let me say it this way. For those of you that feel the way you do in the post that Andy read about Scott Bottoms and so on, let me challenge you with this. Listen to that entire hour of what Andy and I stated and apply that to your candidate. Yeah. Literally take the entire four o’clock hour and go apply that to your candidate and determine if after listening to that, your candidate could win governorship here in Colorado.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 11 :
Am I right, Andy? Yeah. And not just Scott Bottoms. That’s all of them. Take every candidate and apply that same litmus test to it.
SPEAKER 1 :
Look.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah. I mean, look at Marks. Okay. He’s a pastor guy.
SPEAKER 11 :
And again, not holding that against him, but can that sell to the middle here in Colorado?
SPEAKER 15 :
My degree is in the ministry, John. I have nothing against being a pastor.
SPEAKER 11 :
We have no problems with those people, Andy. We are those people. I’m not a pastor, but we are those people. Right. We are those people.
SPEAKER 15 :
Can Marks sell beyond the base to Colorado? I don’t know. I will say this. Marks goes much lighter on the social issues and much more open on the social issues than a Scott Bottoms. See, folks, here’s the thing. I think that you people who support Scott Bottoms, I love you. I do. I do. Why? Because you agree with me. We hold the same values. I would love… love going to Melania with a bunch of people like you. I would. Because we would agree. And I think it’s wonderful that you hold those values because you hold the right values of America the way it should be.
SPEAKER 11 :
I think it’s fantastic. I get it. I fully understand.
SPEAKER 15 :
But… You must be strategic. How much liberty can you advance in whatever setting you’re voting in? Okay, the setting is Colorado. Okay?
SPEAKER 11 :
And really quick, let’s make sure… That is the setting. Yeah, and let’s make sure we define that for a lot of you that are listening that want… us to be a different colorado which by the way i want us to be a different colorado and i feel like we could be a different colorado if we could start making some inroads into some of the things that we’re talking about but let me tell you what folks and i’m i want to be as crystal clear as i possibly can you don’t make inroads with scott bottoms Love the guy. Love the guy. He’s me. He’s Andy. But you’re not going to make inroads, politically speaking, in the governorship of Colorado with Scott Bottoms. It’s that simple, folks.
SPEAKER 15 :
Now, his supporters will say, but he’s very persuasive. Here’s the problem, folks. But that doesn’t matter. Yeah, here’s the problem, okay?
SPEAKER 11 :
You’re not going to get in front of every voter, Andy.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. 90% of the voters in Colorado are never going to hear Scott Bottoms. Certainly, they’re not going to hear him for any extended period of time when he can break through to them. And… Here’s the thing. His views are well to their right, and I mean way to their right. He’s Ted Cruz, okay? He is Ted Cruz here in Colorado, and I got news for you. Ted Cruz is a very persuasive speaker. Could Ted Cruz win 51% of the voters here in Colorado? Absolutely not. He would lose by 25%.
SPEAKER 11 :
No, Ted Cruz couldn’t beat John Hickenlooper.
SPEAKER 15 :
Ted Cruz couldn’t beat not only that. He would get beat by Hickenlooper in Colorado by 25 points.
SPEAKER 11 :
That’s why, by the way. And he is very persuasive. By the way, the best guy we’ve now got, I believe, going up against Hickenlooper is Bazley.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 11 :
Because guess what? Mark, even though he’s hardcore like Andy and I are and his principles and so on, he comes across. Much better, much softer. He doesn’t have that hard edge that a Ted Cruz has. He doesn’t have the hard edge that even Andy and I have. He’s much better at all of that, and he’s the perfect person to run in that particular race. Now, I’m going to say this, and Mark, if you’re listening, love you. It’s a long race. Hickenlooper is going to be tough to beat. He’s got that record of just sort of being mealy mouth and kind of quasi this quasi that he doesn’t rock the boat. The voters know that we are still a very deep blue state. And you’re going to have to really come out and say all the things that he hasn’t done for Colorado that he could have done to actually sway voters to vote for you. OK, am I right? Totally right.
SPEAKER 15 :
Now, let me tell you what the Scott Bottoms followers will say, and I want you to answer it after the break. Sound good?
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay. Sounds good to me.
SPEAKER 15 :
They’re going to say, you just want us to put forth these mealy-mouthed types like, and that failed with Beaupre, that failed with Stapleton, that failed with Ganahl, that fails with all of them, that failed with O’Day. Why? Because they don’t draw a clear line between the right and the left, and therefore people have nothing to inspire them to vote for us. You’re putting forth those moderates. That’s what put us in this place in the first place.
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I’ll answer that when I come back. Ridgeland Auto Brokers coming up next, by the way. And buy a new used car at Ridgeland today. Find them at RidgelandAutoBrokers.com.
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SPEAKER 08 :
It’s time to leave your safe space. This is Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Andy asked me a question before going to break in regards to some of our previous candidates who lost. Some fared better than others, but who lost trying to win the governorship here in Colorado Republicans. candidates and the question is you know or the response from some of these people and that Andy’s referring to is we’ll see what happens when you run these mealy mouth you know rhino type candidates they just can’t win so we need somebody that’s a lot stronger and farther right and draws that line harder between right and left well first of all Here’s my thoughts on why. Not all, but, well, let me say this. In some cases, wrong candidate, wrong time. I’ll just say that straight up.
SPEAKER 15 :
Sure.
SPEAKER 11 :
Period. Wrong candidate, wrong time. Then top that off with bad consultants and bad campaign managers that did not help them win their races. And, by the way, I think in all four… situations that Andy talked about a moment ago, I could pretty much label all four of those in that way. Bad campaign managers, badly run campaigns, and having no idea who they’re actually up against in Colorado.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah. In all cases, we thought all four people were good people. We didn’t like their campaigns. And you and I right here on the show said, here’s what’s wrong with the messaging here. Here’s what’s wrong with it here, and so forth. So it’s not like we are saying, weak candidates, you need moderates. That’s the way to win Colorado.
SPEAKER 11 :
No, we’re by no means saying that. What I’m saying is you need the right candidate that is going to be a little bit more to the middle than what some of you like. Got to be marketable. They’re not going to be the Scott Bottoms of the world, because to Andy’s point just now, it has to be a marketable candidate, and it has to be a campaign that is run really strong. Now, I’ll also add one more thing. It has to be somebody that has the ability, and I know some of you knuckleheads out there listening, the rhino watchers of the world, you’re not going to go for anybody that’s not your guy because you’re stupid and it is what it is, and I can’t change your mind.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and some of them actually want to destroy our party.
SPEAKER 11 :
They’re bitter. Thank you, Andy. They want candidates who will destroy us. Absolutely. You’re 100% right, Andy. So, yeah, some of you are total knuckleheads. You’re not going to listen to this anyway. So at the end of the day, I’m not talking to you. And you’re such a minority that you don’t have much impact on this anyway. So I’ll just say that straight up. Now, all that being said. We need a candidate that can reach to those that would probably be more to the right, not far, far right like the Rhino Watch guys are, but you do need a candidate that can reach across, I hate to say lines, but can reach across inside the party and say, listen, I know you might not like my stance on XYZ, but here’s why I need to take that stance in order for us to win in the state of Colorado. Will you get behind me so we can at least make inroads and start getting Colorado back to the other side?
SPEAKER 15 :
I agree.
SPEAKER 11 :
That’s what you have to say.
SPEAKER 15 :
And by the way, none of them are doing it. Right now, we’ve got Kirkmeyer as the moderate candidate. I know she would bristle at that, but I’m just saying, in terms of our party, she’s the moderate candidate.
SPEAKER 11 :
She is.
SPEAKER 15 :
What is she doing to try to reach out to the deeper red voter?
SPEAKER 11 :
Nothing.
SPEAKER 15 :
And what are the deep red voters doing to reach out to the more moderate Republican?
SPEAKER 11 :
And the reason Andy and I can say that is, how many of them, other than a couple, have actually asked to be on air?
SPEAKER 15 :
Next to none, yeah.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, two. Two out of the 15 or 18 or 20 that are running, two have. Right. That’s it. Now, one other one that’s a latecomer has asked to come on air. I’ve got to work through that and get somebody on. And again, this is a really, really, really, I’m sorry to say, but a huge latecomer that, I’m sorry, I’ll just say it straight up, has no chance, but that’s okay. We can still have a conversation and do an interview and do all of that. That’s not a problem. I’ll make all that happen. But again, we’ve got plenty of time before the primary to get all that done anyways, but… Again, I want to go back to what I said a moment ago. For all of you that are listening, that are those hardcore, you know, Scott Bottom supporters and so on, because a lot of you listen to this program, please go back and listen to the entire 4 o’clock hour. And what Andy and I were going through in trying to help people that have maybe young people in their family understand what’s going on in this country and how to overcome them, how to win them over to our side. And then apply that entire hour’s conversation to your gubernatorial candidate. And tell me how that fits. Because if it fits, great. We’re in good shape. We can move forward. But here’s the reality, folks. I’m sorry to say this. Out of the entire lineup of about 20 people… There’s maybe one or two that fit that. John, let me tell you. Am I saying that right, Andy? Yes. Maybe one or two.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yes. I would say Jason Mikesell is one who probably fits that.
SPEAKER 11 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay. But let me… And no, that wasn’t an endorsement.
SPEAKER 11 :
No, we’re just saying he fits that description better than the rest. Okay. Right?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah. John… We walked people through how to win somebody over on immigration, okay? And we gave you a lot of good hints. And by the way, those work. I’m telling you what, folks, those work. If you do the right lead-in and if you hit with the right points after the right lead-in, you’re going to win a lot of people over to our way of thinking on immigration. You really are. But let me ask you this, John. How many candidates are training their people to go out and do that and win voters?
SPEAKER 11 :
None.
SPEAKER 15 :
None. Not one single candidate that we have in the field is… Who at the party is training anybody to go out there right now and win voters? That whole hour that we just did on immigration.
SPEAKER 11 :
Good hour, by the way. I got lots of great comments from texters on that great hour, by the way. So those of you that are listening that may be just tuned in on this 5 o’clock hour, go back on our podcast, on our recordings, and re-listen to that 4 o’clock hour.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. How many Republicans across the state right now are being trained to speak the way we did in hour two?
SPEAKER 11 :
Zero.
SPEAKER 15 :
None. Zero, zip, zilch, nada, and that’s why we’re not winning them. Let me get back to the central point. Because I was asking, OK, those conservative red meat Republicans are going to say, you got us in this trouble with those moderate candidates who are a bunch of losers. And they all they did were they were squishes and they wrecked it. They put us in the place we are. And then you got the more moderate Republicans who are going to say it’s those Christian right nutso’s like Andy. Okay. And John. They’re the ones who put us, those Scott Bottoms types. They’re the ones who put us in the place we are. I got news for you. You’re both wrong. Right. We are not in the place we are because of the more moderate wing or the more conservative wing of the Republican Party. We are in the place we are because millions of blue state voters moved here over the last two decades. And it has nothing to do with you. So quit blaming each other.
SPEAKER 11 :
You’re blowing it. And in turn, run your campaign whereby you’re collectively bringing those two together so you have a higher chance of winning the way you’re doing it currently. That’s my answer back to you guys.
SPEAKER 15 :
Bring those two together and then look at that market and say, how are we going to win?
SPEAKER 11 :
Maybe I’m wrong in saying this. Andy can correct me if I am, but I’ll also say this. I don’t think there’s a political consultant out there that understands Colorado even the way Andy and I do, meaning all of them are worthless.
SPEAKER 15 :
Boy, a lot of them are.
SPEAKER 11 :
Am I saying that right, Andy? Yeah, although— I mean, you might find a diamond in the rough that understands Colorado, but all in all, I don’t think most, especially most outside the state consultants, they have the foggiest idea what Colorado consists of. I agree. You take an out-of-state consultant that doesn’t know this state, they’re going to lose.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, I know somebody who brought them in from Virginia, you know, because they won there.
SPEAKER 11 :
Oh, that’s the dumbest thing ever. That area is completely different than Colorado. Right. Completely different.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, and by the way, what just happened with Virginia? Yeah. They got creamed. Okay, folks, these consultants, and by the way, I don’t want to come down on them too much because there are some good people who are consultants, okay? They understand a lot of the nuts and bolts and how to run a campaign and a lot of good things that you have to do in fundraising, a lot of things you have to do in organization.
SPEAKER 11 :
I’ll give them credit there. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 15 :
And ground game and so forth.
SPEAKER 11 :
Timing and so on. I get that.
SPEAKER 15 :
And that’s all wonderful.
SPEAKER 11 :
The problem is they don’t know the messaging side of it for beans.
SPEAKER 15 :
They don’t know how to message to a blue state.
SPEAKER 11 :
They do not. You’re 100% correct, Dane. That’s my complaint.
SPEAKER 15 :
Mine too.
SPEAKER 11 :
That is my complaint. Yeah. Mechanically speaking, I think the majority of consultants understand the mechanics of a campaign and how to run things and the timing of and how to get that done and what you need to do here and there and what marks you need to be made, what you need to be making on certain marks and levels at certain times and so on. I get that. Okay. That part I understand. The mechanics, yes, they understand. Right. But the makeup of Colorado and how you message here, they don’t have the foggiest idea. They’re clueless.
SPEAKER 15 :
Not a clue. Look at Heidi Ganahl. Heidi Ganahl was a good candidate, John, a very good candidate. Okay, but the message— Mad moms? Yeah, but mad moms. My gosh. It was the polar opposite of what you would want to do. Right. And also, what did they do? They talked all about the candidate, not about the market. Right. Now, here you had a wonderful candidate and product to sell to the market, and a good person, by the way, and the message was 180 degrees wrong.
SPEAKER 11 :
She hired the wrong people.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 11 :
The wrong people. It’s just plain and simple. And they’re good people. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying they’re bad people. Stapleton and Beaupre and so on. Yep, same thing. Wrong campaigns run the wrong way, not the strategy that they should have been, not the messaging they should have had, and they blew it. They blew it. Plain and simple.
SPEAKER 15 :
But it’s not because, ooh, they’re a bunch of mushy moderates.
SPEAKER 11 :
No, no, no, that’s not it at all. They just ran bad campaigns.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah. And also, let’s keep one last thing in mind. Even if you run good campaigns, don’t forget, we’ve been overrun by millions of blue state voters.
SPEAKER 11 :
Like I said earlier, please, for the love of God, go look at the voter rolls and tell me that Andy and I are wrong. If you look at those and download the Excel spreadsheet and spend just 10 minutes researching it, you’ll understand what Andy and I are saying. It’s not that hard, folks.
SPEAKER 15 :
Or if you’re really brave. If you’re really brave, go to the mall, spend two hours in the food court.
SPEAKER 11 :
Oh, man.
SPEAKER 15 :
Act like you’re reading a book. You’re lying to everyone. And listen to everybody just talking. And you tell me that these are red state voters.
SPEAKER 11 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
We don’t yell at you. We inform you.
SPEAKER 11 :
Now, back to Rush to Reason. All right, as we close out today, yes, please, for those of you that are hardcore, solid, in the party, which, by the way, is fabulous. I’m glad that you are. Please, though, listen to a lot of the things that Andy and I said. Go back, listen to that 4 o’clock hour. Apply those things to your particular candidate and then determine, is this something that we can use? Is this winnable or not?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yep, listen to Hour 2. Can I say one last thing?
SPEAKER 11 :
Go for it.
SPEAKER 15 :
And folks, by the way, the movie Melania, don’t wait until you can see it on Amazon.
SPEAKER 11 :
Go see it.
SPEAKER 15 :
Go see it with your fellow peeps. It’s a lot of fun in the theaters.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, that’s it, guys. Have a great evening. Drive safe. We’ll see you tomorrow. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
