In this thought-provoking conversation, Britta Horn sheds light on the complexities of modern political landscapes in Colorado. As the state GOP Chair, she delves into financial audits, spreading influence with new office locations, and galvanizing grassroots efforts to ensure Republican success in future elections. Tune in to hear how the GOP plans to redefine its presence across the state, and tackle pressing issues like education and parental control, all while staying true to their values and reaching out to garner public support.
SPEAKER 08 :
This is Rush to Reason.
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SPEAKER 04 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 07 :
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SPEAKER 07 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
It’s Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush. Presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 12 :
Filling in is Andy Pate, party of choice.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I’m your host, Andy Pate, filling in for John Rush today. Welcome to everybody coming back from your Memorial Day weekend. And joining me today, of course, is Tanner Cole. Man. And we’re going to have a lot of fun today. On the line right now, joining us to kick it off is Colorado Republican State Chair Britta Horn. Britta, did you have a great weekend?
SPEAKER 16 :
Oh, I’m having a great weekend. It’s hard to say that it’s over already.
SPEAKER 06 :
I know. It was incredible. Let me guess, you were running around as usual.
SPEAKER 16 :
As usual, you’re right. I didn’t take the pedal off, my foot off the pedal. Is that how it’s called? Yeah, it’s been that kind of a weekend.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I want to ask you, Britta, as many barbecues as you’ve had to go to, have you eaten anything from a stove?
SPEAKER 16 :
That’s pretty funny. A little bit more now. Like I said, the weekend, it did slow down a little, but I still managed to get work done. But you’re right. Every time I’m on the road, I seem to like beef jerky, so send more beef jerky and sparkling waters.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay. Beef jerky and sparkling waters. You know, you can survive the apocalypse on that. It’s going to be Britta Horn and the cockroaches. That is it. That’s all who’s going to live on this planet after the bomb drops. Okay, well, Britta, I got some questions. Let’s jump right in. Obviously, there’s a big controversy. It isn’t so big to me, but it is for a lot of people, and that is the satellite offices. You’ve moved out of your central office here in Denver, and you’ve moved to a number of branch offices throughout the state. How does that work? What are the kind of the costs? Can you kind of walk us through it and why you decided to go with that?
SPEAKER 16 :
Sure, sure. I’ve been, like, very vocal about this from the very beginning. It was part of my campaign to say, we don’t need this central office anymore. And I know people agree or disagree. It’s been around for 15-plus years. It’s, you know, I get these questions. They’re like, it’s a low rental rate. No, it wasn’t. It was just about $4,900 plus, plus, plus with Internet and then one employee and one volunteer. It just… It didn’t do anything. It was storage. It just wasn’t doing anything. And maybe it did years ago, Andy, maybe it really did. So it’s fine. But now we’re a much more mobile community, much more mobile, even culture. So we’ve been looking at and getting offices across the state and they’re not virtual, they’re physical offices. So let’s go, you know, throw that rumor out the way either. So we have our first one down and we opened it up last week and it was the Colorado Republicans. At the Peak Republicans office down at 4141 Sinton Avenue in Colorado Springs off of North Academy. We’re sharing an office there.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 16 :
And then we’re looking at other ones. And other ones we’re still in negotiations with. But still, the multiple ones we’re going to have are still not going to cost the total cost of the one.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, Tanner’s really upset, though, because he was actually living on a cot in the back of the Colorado GOP office. You probably didn’t notice him back there.
SPEAKER 16 :
The door was always shut. But there was a Christmas tree over there.
SPEAKER 14 :
That was in the closet, actually.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, he was in a closet, actually. The tree hid the door. And that was really, really handy for him. But you’re saying that these offices, they’re actually going to cost less combined? In the total of one. Why is that? Is that because of just the expensive nature of the Denver Metro? Or is it because of the size of the spaces or the usage? How’s that going to work?
SPEAKER 16 :
I mean, because not only the size, but also what we need and what we’re going to be able to work with with other counties as well. So, like I said, Kick Republicans is a business, and we’re able to work with them together and just take a portion of the cost because we’re sharing it. The other ones we’re talking about, we’re talking to county chairs, and it is legal. That’s another rumor we have to put out. It is legal for sports. state party and county parties to cohabitate and have the same office. I mean, it happens all the time.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, so the Colorado Republican Party believes in cohabitation. Is that kind of what you’re saying? Let me see if I can get the headline out here. Okay, I’ll send that out to Colopoles right away.
SPEAKER 16 :
What’s the other word we use? We can co-share, okay. We’re allowed to have the same key and go in an office and get work done.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, actually, Britt, I saw quite a bit of that. There’s been a lot of usage, even by the state party, in the past of the Jeffco office because they have such an enormous meeting room, for instance. There you go. Yeah, I mean, if somebody just has a really good property and can share it with you, and this gives you greater reach into those areas of the state that had gone unnoticed in the past, why not?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, not like unnoticed. Well, first of all, just let me clear also, when Trump victory came in both times, 16 and 20, they also shared the space with the state party. So this is allowed. And here’s what we’re working on as well. When we get to the ones that are the ones of the CDs that we want to make sure we hold on to, like all four of them, when we put an office in that area, there’s a really good wink, wink, nod, nod, 99-plus percent chance that the RNC will pay for it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh. Oh.
SPEAKER 16 :
There you go.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, that would be because it’s going to be helping right in an area hold one of those four seats. Now, wait a minute. Are all four of these going to be located in those districts, CD3?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, there will be more than four, but we’re working towards that goal. Or some are going to be. There’s been an idea. Well, more than four. I’m sorry. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 06 :
I’m sorry. I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I had heard four satellites. But you’re saying more than four possibly?
SPEAKER 16 :
Four CDs. Yeah, there’s going to be more than four. There’s four CDs that we have Republicans in, right? Now, how are you going to man them with your staffing? That’s exactly it. With field directors, with regional field directors, we’re paying people to be in these offices to do the work. Knocking on doors, making phone calls, building community, having pizza parties, having coffee parties, getting volunteers to work for all the candidates in that area. I mean, all politics are local. So why wouldn’t we do this? Get out there, boots on the ground, and get to work. And then we’re also getting help at the RNC with that as well.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, Tanner has already expressed interest in the pizza parties. And is there a room in the back with a cot?
SPEAKER 16 :
I would have to look at it. We’ll look for that for him and see if there’s a room for Cannon. We’ll figure it out.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay. Well, anyway, it sounds like a pretty good idea. I don’t know about it yet. I’ve got to see it actually happen in action, just so you know. I mean, there was an advantage to having that central location. However, let’s face it, it wasn’t that central. Okay, it’s a big state. But do you know exactly what cities that you are targeting right now or are you still negotiating?
SPEAKER 16 :
We’re just still negotiating. There’s a couple in Denver now. We’re looking, like you said, Montezuma is offered for us. We’re looking at that one as well. But we know we need to be in Grand Junction. I’m going to be there next week and be looking at a couple of places. We’re looking up in Larimer County, working with Larimer County GOP. We’re working with Welk County, Welk GOP. Great people. Looking for places up there. Yeah, like you said, we’re working for places that, you know, that definitely have, you know, want to work together. Let’s go forward and let’s get this plan together, which is that focus that we want to talk about for 25 and 26 and our summer plan.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, well, let’s get to another topic that’s very important to me, as you know, the forensic audit. I wanted. OK, and this isn’t just to beat up your predecessors. Forget that for a second. I just want to know where the money is. I want to know exactly where all the money has been going. What’s happening? What do you expect to find with your forensic audit? Do you know yet who’s going to conduct it or does that even matter at this point? What are we looking at?
SPEAKER 16 :
We’re looking at that. We definitely are committed to making sure we’re doing it right. So when we do it right, and you know this, it takes time to do it right. So, yes, we’re looking at a lot of different pieces. You have an audit committee that’s part of the bylaws committee. Then you have an auditor, the person that looks at the audit. We have the people at RedCurve that’s doing the financial audit. compliance firm that’s moving forward, but we decided, based on their their professional advice and also doing it right. We didn’t want to just go month to month and putting out information, because one of that information was going to be accurate they’re still looking back the last two years to try to make sure that number is accurate. So we’re going from quarter to quarter, which is legally allowed by the FEC to report out. So we’re doing it because we want to report out accurate information. As for going backwards, oh, sorry.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, that’s actually where I was going. You’re ahead of me. I want to know how far back you’re going to go.
SPEAKER 16 :
Hold on. When you see that line of demarcation of what happened after April 1 and we’re going back, we are working on an auditor to work with that, still working on negotiations with that. And whether that’s going to include a forensic audit or do we need a forensic auditor, a separate person to do that? Because we’re going to go back to two years because that’s the job. The job is to have an audit. But we’re finding out it hasn’t been done for many every two-year terms. It just hasn’t happened for a long time.
SPEAKER 06 :
I’ve heard it’s been like a decade or something.
SPEAKER 16 :
Right right so like we’re going to keep going back as far as we can, but we don’t really find some answers, but we have to keep looking and being focused forward and 25 and 26 so there’s a balancing act of how far we’re going to go back. and the money it’s going to take to go back to do all the work that these other chairs were all supposed to do and haven’t done.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay. Summer plans. Obviously, you know, the campaigns never end, and summer is coming up. What is the party planning on doing to start getting people excited this summer?
SPEAKER 16 :
So this summer, exactly. Having these regional offices open, making sure we’re getting politics as local, and working on all committed Republican candidates in non-partisan races. That’s for school board, that’s for water board, that’s for fire board, that’s for rec board, all those different things. So we’re going to be able to do a soft launch, a soft way of how we’re going to be doing 26 in a big way, but definitely get it started, get boots on the ground and show the plan with regional fire field directors, which with regional or just not just regional, but then the regular field directors and volunteers to help all those candidates that are committed Republican conservative candidates.
SPEAKER 06 :
Britt, really quick here, looking at the school boards, how can we get our school board candidates, how can we break through to this Colorado public and let them know basically this, and this is a line I always say, but use whatever message you want, but it’s got to be something like this. Your child’s success is our only agenda. OK, and I think that’s what really sets us apart from the Democrats. And that’s what I don’t think Coloradans understand. They think Republicans want to come in and shove our agenda down their kids’ throats while Democrats want to. And then Coloradans just sit back and say, well, let’s just pick the agenda we like. And Colorado socially leans left for the most part. And so they go with the Dems. How can we help them understand? No, no, no, no, no. We don’t want anyone’s agenda on your kids except your kid going out there and kicking ass in the free market.
SPEAKER 16 :
Absolutely. I think that’s a definitely overarching one that we could definitely all use because you’re right. We want the success of the Colorado children growing up and being proficient in all their classes because we’re finding out the percentages or we’re in like single digits for so many. But I know also there’s no way we can get away with not having that issue of 1312. you know, that we’re fighting back on the trans issue because we don’t want this in our school. So I think there’s still a fight in everybody, even though there’s not legislation going on. This is national. I mean, people are coming in from all over the nation wanting to come into Colorado and help us fight back on that.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, yeah, but you see, there’s a Britta Britta. There’s another. Sorry to interrupt, but we got time here. There’s another example, though, the left shoving their agenda into the schools. Okay? And basically pushing parents out and shoving their agenda in. Look, as you may know, I’m a born-again right-wing evangelical Christian, okay? I’m a right-wing wacko. I’m the scariest person on planet Earth. I understand that, okay? I don’t want to force your kids to learn my values, okay? You know what I’m saying? In your schools. I don’t want to make your kids me, so why does the other polis and all the people on the other side want to make your kids them?
SPEAKER 16 :
Right. And I think that’s the fight that we need to find and find a more school board director for school board candidates, because I think everybody’s like frustrated and their parents and they haven’t run before and they don’t know how. And we just need to help find them and and help them say we’ll be here. Whatever resources we can get you and get your training, we can get your tools, we can get you. Like I said, people boots on the ground to help knock on doors with that, because really that’s what we should be doing in our communities is talking to everybody and having those conversations. Because I was thinking about the other part, about the other rule. Remember that one where their law about the summer camps. I mean, that’s happening right now.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right.
SPEAKER 16 :
Summer camps are closing down if they can’t get this, you know, lawsuits reversed and these bills reversed because no one’s going to send their kids to these these camps. And so the parents have got to be getting fed up enough and saying, OK, what do I need to do? And we’ll be there to help.
SPEAKER 06 :
Can you explain to me why don’t Democrats want parents in charge? Sorry to ask you to go political, but you’re leading a political party, so I’m going to do it. I’m going to put you on the spot. Okay?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I mean, I think there’s just like, you know, they know better than us. And I think that’s just change. And that’s not true. We’re seeing in Gen X. are Gen Z now, the younger ones that are just right now, they’re all getting very, very faith-based. They’re looking for family. They want to have a lot of kids. They’re homeschooling. They’re doing a lot of different ways of educating because they’re finding out that what’s been going on at school, they don’t want any part of that public school. So I just see a change going back to it, but there just seemed to be a time there that, you know, here’s my kid, you take care of them. But I’m not from that. I don’t think you’re from that. And when I raised my daughters, we didn’t do that. It was our responsibility to raise our children, you know, to give the values we wanted. We didn’t send them to school for values. We just sent them to school for reading, writing, and arithmetic. And it wasn’t anything else. And I saw that towards the high school years. And like you said, one’s 28, one’s 30. But when they were in high school, I started seeing the last few years of high school that it was changing to that. Like you said, there was just like not only just the school, but the teachers’ union knew better than the parents. I think that’s where it probably came from.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I just don’t think a bureaucrat should be raising your kid, okay? And this could be the greatest bureaucrat or teacher or whatever in the world. That’s okay. But guess what? You’ve got 10 kids in front of you. They all have 10 sets of parents, and those parents all see life differently. Okay, which way are you going to pick and impose on them? I just don’t think it’s fair. Britta, I think you’ve got a phenomenal message. I love the fact that you’re targeting the schools coming this fall because that is so important. Really quick here, how can people help you guys out? How can they throw a little money in the kitty, which I did today, by the way? How can they do that?
SPEAKER 16 :
Thank you very much for doing that. So, yeah, it’s going over to our website, cologop.org, and there’s a click-on button there. You can definitely click and contribute there. If you’d like to be at our Capital Club lunch, we’re going to be at Maggiano’s this Thursday, and that’s always a big fundraiser for us as well as everybody hearing updates not only from me but also legislators that will be visiting us. So if you need an RFVP link, that’s at info, I-N-F-O, at go.org. Oh, no, C-O-L-O-G-O-P.org. and we’ll send over the reservation link. We’d love to see everybody there talk about these questions, talk about these regional offices. This is something really different, Andrew. You’ve got to really think about that. This is not coming from a central office. This is having regional offices, boots on the ground across the state, and to elect more Republicans, grow the party, and raise massive amounts of money for that.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, basically you’re doing what Kash Patel is doing with the FBI. Get them out in the field.
SPEAKER 16 :
Amen. Amen. And this is the way it’s always been in other states. And when I worked for Trump 2020 down in New Mexico, this is how it was done.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, Britta Horn, Colorado GOP chair, thank you so much for joining us. Can we get you back next month? Sure. Happy to come back. See how I get you? I lock you in like that. Britta, thank you so much. You take care. Thank you, gentlemen. Bye now. You bet. Bye. Okay, folks, I’ll take a quick break. Up next is Dr. Scott Faulkner. Get a doctor who listens only to you, not big pharma, not big insurance, just you. For a total approach to your total health, call Dr. Scott at 303-663-6990.
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SPEAKER 04 :
God. Country. Reason. Now back to John Rush.
SPEAKER 06 :
And welcome back to Rush to Reason. Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. John Rush is out today. He will be back tomorrow. This is Andy Pate filling in for John Rush along with Tanner Cole. And Tanner, really quick, we’ve just got a couple minutes because after the break we’ve got Richard Rush coming. We’re going to talk a little Broncos, a little Nuggets the rest of the hour. It’s going to be a lot of fun. A little NFL. But first… No tax on tips. That is going to happen now, okay? All of the Senate has approved it. The House is putting it through. Trump is obviously going to sign it. He’s led the way. Let me ask you something. When this goes through and you know that everywhere you go and you tip somebody, they don’t have to pay taxes on it, are you going to tip less?
SPEAKER 14 :
I mean, I already feel like with, I was at brunch this weekend, I’m trying to think of another time, but even at a baseball game, you go and buy a beer, they ask for a tip. And like, if I go to the same person, I might tip them a couple, or let’s say I go three times for three beers. I’ll probably tip them two out of three times because I feel almost obligated. It’s a lot of money just on tips for something like that.
SPEAKER 1 :
$14, $15.
SPEAKER 14 :
How much are the beers? $14 probably, which is the problem. But then even I went to brunch and I’m like spending almost $10 on tips. I had a plate of breakfast food and a drink and I’m paying almost $10. So if you could just type in your own tip, it’d be easier. And I think people, I’m sure some people do it. I just feel bad about not giving them, you know, 15% minimum, even if they didn’t do anything.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, you just hit on something. You feel bad about not giving them 15% minimum, which means that you normally tip more than that. And I got to tell you something. First of all, and some people are going to get angry at me. Go ahead and get angry. Republicans tip more on average. I know there’s no question. OK, I managed at a casino for a better part of a decade. Trust me. On average, the more conservative it’s not an absolute. But on average, the more conservative customers tip very well. My now my my dad and sister, of course, are Democrats and tip spectacularly well. So it’s not an absolute. But me, I’m a big tipper. Okay, I tip like 30%. I do. I’m crazy. And the reason is this. We Republicans love… The person who works and earns their living and doesn’t sit at home waiting for a government check. They’re out there busting their ass. We appreciate that. However, now they’re going to keep a much higher percentage of that. And I’m going to be honest, I don’t personally think they should. I don’t like this plan. I don’t think that we should have targeted tax cuts where this group gets to keep more and that group doesn’t. You don’t work for tips here at KLZ. You’re not going to get a dime more and you’re busting your tail.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, you see, and that’s the second you give that kind of a break to somebody, you don’t give it to somebody else who’s worth it just as much. It’s not that you’re saying they’re not worth it. It’s not that you don’t care about them. It’s that they work really hard and so do you.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, what kind of still I’m I mean, maybe it’s just more me because I try to save as much money as I can, especially still trying to get out of this terrible economy we’re in. But if they’re making eighteen dollars an hour, but then also receiving tips and they’re doing about five, six, I mean, five to ten tables, let’s say an hour. That’s a lot of money per hour compared to what I might be making or what their base salary is. Grand, you get the restaurants where the tip is a collective pool or there’s that scumbag owner or manager who happens to take a majority of it. But for the most part, they’re getting, like, you know, they could be getting $40, $50 an hour, which is great money.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know what the minimum is now in L.A.?
SPEAKER 1 :
$38.
SPEAKER 06 :
Dollars an hour? Yeah. Something like that. I saw the article in passing, so I’m not exactly sure of the amount, but it’s something absolutely crazy. They’re going to crush business there. Tell you what, let’s go to break because when Richard comes back, I want to ask him this. I want to ask Richard and you how you guys think tips are going to be affected by this law. Sound good?
SPEAKER 14 :
Sounds good.
SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
The best export we have is Common Sense. You’re listening to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 06 :
And welcome back to Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560, Andy Pate filling in for John Rush, along with Tanner Cole. And on the line right now, we’ve got Richard Rush. Richard, before we even go into the sports, I’ve got questions for you. But really quick, on our topic we were just discussing. You know, no tax on tips just went through. And I want to ask you two questions. Number one, Richard, do you expect to, will this affect how much you tip people knowing that they don’t have to pay taxes on their tips? And number two, do you think nationwide maybe tips will go down a little?
SPEAKER 08 :
I do think they’ll go down, Andy. I don’t know if it’s a lot, but I do think it’ll go down because people, it’s just a natural thing, right? You hear about it, oh, you know, I’m going to tip a little bit less or whatever it might be. However, Andy, I will say this, and this has nothing to do with the people that earn the tips, but the tipping nonsense, and the only reason I say nonsense is, Andy, you go to, you put an order in online for pickups. and you there’s a spot for tipping which i get you know they’re still tipped workers and such but isn’t the whole point of like tipping and i know you worked in an industry where tipping was a thing in the casino industry oh i thought you meant when i was i thought you meant when i was dancing to put myself through school but go ahead andy two two two separate lives two separate lives but yet like i think it you know tipping like i’ll just say like you sort of have to earn it, right? Like, there’s this idea that, you know, you’re serving someone as you’re doing an extra, you know, right, you’re making sure that your water glass is full and you don’t have to ask for a refill and these sorts of things. And again, I don’t want to, you know, because it sounds bad, right? Well, you’re just being a, you know what, because you’re wanting this
SPEAKER 06 :
Richard, at a casino or at a restaurant where it’s a sit-down restaurant and somebody’s taking care of you, that person who’s helping you at the casino or at the restaurant, they are part of your total experience there. When you’re just getting takeout and going in and grabbing the food and leaving, nothing against that person working the counter. They are a bit of your experience, but only for a second. How are they really part of your total experience?
SPEAKER 08 :
I don’t think that they are. So I think, again, kind of combined, I think, honestly, I think these stores, because they have the ability to change, like, if you order online, whether you put a tip or whatever else it is. I’ll be honest, I think some of these restaurants are doing a disservice to their employees because people are just getting bombarded with the requests for tips, whether it was deserved or not, and you almost feel like you need to. And so I think combined, I do think, I think you will see a drop, but I don’t think it’s solely attributed to the no tax on tips and no tax on overtime sort of thing.
SPEAKER 06 :
It’s also tip fatigue.
SPEAKER 08 :
It’s fatigue. There you go. So I think it’ll be a combination. I do think it’s a good thing. Well, less taxes in general is always a good thing, although I think it may have a little bit of a dip for these folks at times.
SPEAKER 06 :
I’ll be interested to see what happens. I really don’t know what’s coming. But let’s talk sports because I got a few questions for you. And let’s lead in with Shadur Sanders. And Richard, I know everybody sees he plummeted all the way to the fifth round. And now suddenly everybody’s talking, saying he’s got a rag arm. He’s not mobile enough. He’s just going to get sacked, sacked, sacked every time he turns around. This guy’s actually lousy. He’s worthless. Is that true? Because, you know, I understand he had the biggest fall from his projection of any quarterback I’ve seen. But let me give you somebody who came close. Malik Willis. Remember, Malik Willis was supposed to go in the first round. He went in, I don’t know, third, fourth round, maybe he dropped to the third or fourth round. So up until now, he dropped the furthest. And everybody was saying, oh, he just has no instincts, can’t read the field. He’s no good. This last year, he was the backup to Jordan Love in Green Bay. He outplayed Jordan Love, flat out. He started twice and came into other games, looked great, and now we’ve got him one more year, and there are teams, I guarantee you, lining up to give this guy the bag and take him from us after this year. We already know we have absolutely no chance to extend and keep Malik Willis. Malik Willis should have been at least a second-round pick. At least. Okay, he’s the real deal. Is he worth a high first? No. But, I mean, did he belong in the third or fourth? No. I look now at Shadur. Is he really a fifth-round pick? I don’t think so. What do you think?
SPEAKER 08 :
I agree. Some of his concerns, Andy, are the same concerns that you and I kind of mentioned before the draft, right, which is I don’t know if he’s got – the mobility was a concern, but it was more of the taking of the sacks, right? And he does do that because he tries to extend plays, and you can argue what it was for, Andy, right? You could argue that it was for maybe taking, not wanting to have a sack on your, not record, but yeah, on the stat sheet, right? Or maybe not have one, or sorry, I should say, not wanting to have an incompletion on the stat sheet, right? He wanted that completion percentage up.
SPEAKER 06 :
But he had a lousy line. Yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely, he did have a lousy line. Some of the sacks were attributed to him. There’s no question about it. Andy, the biggest thing with him, and honestly, I would be excited if I was him and if I was Cleveland. Because to me, Andy, they have nothing to lose. You know Deshaun Watson isn’t the future. You know Joe Flacco’s not the future. You know that… I think they got Kenny Pickett as well. You know he’s not the future. And so between Dylan Gabriel and Shador Sanders, you should put both of them out there. I actually think Shador is a better long-term fit, to be honest with you, Andy, because I think that he provides a lot more value. Or I should say this. Well, value because I think he has the upside. Because to me, Shador, if he comes in and plays well, Andy, and really shows that he should have been a first or at the very least a second-round pick, To me, Andy, you got an absolute steal because you got a guy on a very cheap four-year contract that you can now go and invest in the rest of your team over the next few years and maybe get back to respectability. And I think some of his habits can be taught out of him. I actually think Kevin Stefanski is a great coach to do it because he is in that Shanahan mindset. you know, that mold, right? You know, the Shanahan, Sean McVay mold of sort of quick decisions. I do think that that is something that Shador can do. I just, I don’t see the rag arm, Andy. I think, is it the strongest arm you’ll see? No, it’s absolutely not. But I also think that his accuracy more than makes up for it. And the question is, is can you get some of those bad habits? The, I don’t want to take an incompletion habit out of his sort of his repertoire and And if you can do that, I really think that they’ve got a field and something that they can work with.
SPEAKER 06 :
Personally, I think the kid has the it factor. I really do. I think he’s very accurate. I think he is an average arm. Not great, but not terrible. He’s fine. He can make the throws. I think his mobility, he’s not Tom Brady. Geez, he’s not that slow. I mean, come on. This guy can play football. I was really surprised, and I guess we’ll just have to see. I agree with you. I think he was much better than a fifth, and if nothing else, he was a steal at that pick. Okay, let’s look at the Broncos. They are looking different. They got a steal in the first round with their cornerback. He should not have been there. He should have gone in the high teens. Okay, I mean low teens. You know what I mean? Yep. What will look different for the Broncos this year? What’s exciting? Some fans right now are listening. They want to know what’s really exciting about this team. Because I think there’s a lot. I mean…
SPEAKER 08 :
I was going to say, to me, Andy, it is the OTA start, which, as you know, you and I are football junkies. We follow along. And for folks that don’t know, it’s basically off-season practice, right? It’s kind of like a – basically you get the guys together, you sort of install some plays, it gives the rookies time to work with some guys, and then there’s the long summer break and then training camp. And so to me, Andy, it’s how do the new weapons that Sean Payton got for Bo Nix and Evan Ingram – R.J. Harvey, even the new receiver, Bennett, that we got out of Illinois. How do those come together? And then, Andy, for me, how does Bo Knicks, because we got him weapons, how does he progress in year two? Because we saw with C.J. Stroud, Andy, last year a regression, and a lot of times you get a little bit of a regression from these rookie quarterbacks because teams have all offseason, right? They have a whole season. season with against NFL competition to see where they may struggle and I know you and I exactly Bo Nix is on tape now he is but I know you also think that he may succeed and may actually step up his game he will in year two and that that to me is probably the most exciting thing is okay You’ve likely found at least a quarterback for the next 10 years, hopefully next 15. I know that would take until he’s about 40. But at least the next 10 years, you’ve hopefully found your guy. The question is, can he get incrementally better every year? Because I don’t think he’s Patrick Mahomes. He’s not Josh Allen. But can he be one of these guys? Andy, can he be your Jalen Hurts? Can he be the guy that can come in, kind of guide your team in the areas that you need to be? You’ve got a stud defense. And so for me, it’s how does Bo Nix develop into that franchise guy?
SPEAKER 06 :
Can I disagree a little? He reminds me more of Mahomes than Hurts. I think he’s more of a pure passer who is a good athlete but not a great athlete because Hurts is a great athlete. I think he’s more of a pure passer. I think he’s got the vision. I think he’s got the moxie. Yes, I’m bringing back the word moxie.
SPEAKER 14 :
I think he’s kind of like Justin Herbert. I mean, he’s a lot like Justin Herbert. Tall, big arm.
SPEAKER 06 :
Tanner, way in here. I mean, how do you see him? Because personally, I think he’s going to progress just nicely. That doesn’t mean he won’t have struggles because they do have a year of tape. And let’s face it, these defensive coordinators are pretty smart. But what do you think?
SPEAKER 14 :
A second year is always tough, like you and Richard mentioned. They have tape on you, but I think bringing in R.J. Harvey, who I saw something where he had the most rushes over 10 yards in college football, and that was above Jenty, surprisingly enough. You bring in another receiver in the third round, Pat Bryant, who’s pretty good. Their defense isn’t going to cause any problems for them unless it’s a fluke game somehow. So basically all he has to do is score more points than the other team’s offense, which shouldn’t score more than 17 a game. I think he’ll be fine, especially R.J. Harvey out of the backfield. They didn’t have that with Javante Williams and the two other running backs. I can’t remember their names, Este or something.
SPEAKER 06 :
I agree. Richard, do you remember in the movie Rocky when to train he had to chase the chicken around the yard? That’s what it’s like trying to chase Harvey.
SPEAKER 08 :
Maybe that’s it. Andy, that’s me every Saturday. I’ve got to chase the chickens around to get them back where they’re supposed to be. But, yes, that should be how it is with R.J. Harvey. And I think, Andy, again, I don’t want to put Darren Sproles or Alvin Kamara, but that’s who he should be. He should be a guy that Sean Payton can move around, create the mismatch, and to go along with Evan Ingram. By the way, Andy, I don’t think Evan Ingram is going to fix all of the Broncos’ problems. The main reason is because I think he’s, Well, he’s not a blocker. He never has been. He’s sort of an extended wide receiver, and he’s kind of a slow wide receiver at that. But can he make contested catches? Can he go against linebackers and create the mismatches? And so if Bo Nix is Patrick Mahomes, like you said, This is fantastic. Then he is a home run. I just think, to me, can he beat Jalen Hurts, which is he doesn’t force unneeded turnovers. He drives you down the field when he needs to, and he makes the right read and the correct throw when he needs to. And if he can do that, like Tanner said, with the defense that the Broncos have, it’s kind of like Peyton Manning when he was here his last year. We just had a defense that was so good that as long as you didn’t make the big mistake, they would be able to carry you along. And I think that there’s some elements of that team to this team, albeit with some more offensive firepower.
SPEAKER 06 :
Richard, I don’t want to beat up Jalen Hurts, but let me be honest. There are 20 NFL quarterbacks who win the Super Bowl on that team last year.
SPEAKER 14 :
You are not.
SPEAKER 06 :
Their talent was so overwhelming.
SPEAKER 14 :
Kenny Pickett was one of them. You are correct. Okay. Well, let’s not get carried away now.
SPEAKER 06 :
Let’s not get carried away. Yeah, you know, Tanner really drinks too much in the afternoons, and I shouldn’t have let him on the air.
SPEAKER 08 :
I understand.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. Well, okay, here’s the thing. I am looking at Denver and I want you to just take one minute because we’ve got to go to break. We come back, talk a little NBA. But I look at Denver. What scares me the most is the defense. You just got a corner in the first round. You should not have gotten in the first round. I think you guys bribed somebody at the NFL. You know, I have no idea what kind of bribery. Did you bribe the Bidens? I mean, I’m not sure what you pulled off here, but your secondary is going to be sick. Talk about your defense. Spend a minute.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, Andy, I think they are. I mean, I actually saw kind of a video where someone was like, who’s the best secondary in the NFL? And the Broncos were right up there, and they absolutely are. Oh, yeah. You’ve got Riley Moss, shout out to the white corner. Obviously, Patrick Sertan on the other side. And in the slot, you’ve got John A. Barron. And, Andy, there’s so much that everyone made of Sean Payton wanting a joker, right, wanting this tight end. that you can move all over the offense like Taysom Hill. Well, they basically got that same player, Andy, just for the defense. Right. Because that’s who Jadé Barron is. He can play safety for you. He can play outside corner. He can play your nickel if you want to. Now, I will say this. He is going to have some growing pain. Most rookie cornerbacks do. It’s one of the hardest positions. to play in the NFL, Andy, right, a cornerback, because you’re going against these top wide receivers. But I think he will be helped by not having to go against the other team’s best wide receiver, right? That’s going to be, in theory, Patrick Sertan on a week-in, week-out basis. Outside of that, Andy, we’ve got really deep pass rushers. Our defensive line got better. Linebacker is one area where we could struggle, although we did, as long as Dre Greenlaw, the linebacker we got, from the 49ers. If he stays healthy, which I know he’s got kind of an injury that flared up, but if he can stay healthy along with the safety we just got from the 49ers, we really have a lot. And Alex Singleton is coming back. We’ve got a lot of great pieces, Andy, that I feel like set us up for success. and we now have the ability where if we do have an injury, at least in a few spots, we can make up for it, and that’s kind of what happened last year. Unfortunately, Sertan was banged up at the end of the year, Riley Moss with it, and so at corner we ended up kind of having to go to our third and fourth deep, and I think that’s what ended up costing us. So as long as we can stay relatively healthy, Andy, I’m really excited about their potential.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, but Richard, you were not targeting a corner coming into this draft. There’s no way. He just wasn’t supposed to be there. You were going to take the running back who went on the next pick to the Chargers. Okay, by the way, Tanner, congratulations. You’re going to love Omarion Hampton. He’s a wrecking ball. Okay, but Jadé Barron should have been gone in the teens. Okay, we all know it. And Richard, I think your GM was sitting there saying he was there ready with his Omarion Hampton card. Okay, and he had no idea Jaday was going to be there, and I think that’s what happened. You had a beautiful hamburger in front of you. You were going to order it, and somebody gave you a T-bone.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, hey, I’ll take a T-bone for the price of a hamburger, Andy.
SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
Now back to Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 06 :
And welcome back to Rush to Reason. Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560 online. We’ve got Richard Rush. Richard, really quick here before we get to the nuggets. Giannis Adedokunbo, I’m going to just give you my opinion really quick. He must leave Milwaukee. And I don’t say that because I want him out. I love the guy. Great guy, but he deserves better. He’s got to go to a team where he can compete. He is a one-man team. Every time he walks on the floor, three guys form a row and keep him from driving. Okay? I mean, he’s so great, so good. But whose fault is that, Andy? And he’s great at both ends of the court. And, well, our GM. We made some stupid trades, man.
SPEAKER 08 :
For him, though. They did it for him. When you bring in Damian Lillard, and I don’t disagree with you that I think Giannis could do better as far as the team goes, but part of him leaving… is is a result of decisions that he wanted them to make right you know he wanted a better team he wanted a more complete team and so they they got rid of chris middleton and they got rid of some of these guys and it just goes to show you players in as much as i like yana sandy players just like lebron james are terrible gf
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, no, no, no, no. Wait a minute. But he wasn’t crafting the deals. He was saying, you know, build a good team around me. He wasn’t saying how he the GM and I know this is a Bucks fan. The GM doesn’t consult Giannis on any of the moves. He actually makes the moves. And that’s there are teams where the GM actually consults a star player. They didn’t do that in Milwaukee. Our GM just sucks, okay? And he made ridiculous moves, and he gave away… We don’t have a first-round pick that we control for five years. We have nothing that we can use to build a team around him. The team is gone. Milwaukee is completely finished now for several years. And the only way we can even start a rebuild is to trade him and get the bank for him. But more importantly… Look, he is a great defensive player. I mean, if he focused more on defense because he wasn’t saving his energy because we have nobody who can score, he would be maybe the best defensive player in the league, certainly top two or three. He’s that good everywhere he is on the court, okay? And yet, he’s on a team where they can’t do it. And look, I’m going to tell you right now, he’s going to go to the West. Do you think it’s going to shake up the West?
SPEAKER 08 :
Andy, the West is just a stinking juggernaut as is. I mean, out east, which, again, I know they’re going to. Really, the only spot for him to potentially go, maybe the Clippers, but I doubt they’re. maybe the Lakers, but it’s all going to be about the package and can a team absorb it, especially with all the new apron rules.
SPEAKER 06 :
What about the Texas teams? Not Dallas. What about San Antonio and Houston?
SPEAKER 08 :
I could see San Antonio because they do have that second pick, Andy, plus they have some players. To me, though, that would be weird because to me, San Antonio, I know you said Houston, but to me, San Antonio would be weird because Wemby and Giannis seem like the same player to me. Very, you know, very rangy, lengthy European, you know, player. And granted, I know they’re a little bit different. And Wemby’s not as physical as Giannis is. And that would just be odd. But they have the most to offer. I mean, you know, how many chances are you going to have to get the second pick in the draft plus probably other first round picks?
SPEAKER 06 :
It would be the best Twin Towers we have seen probably in our lifetime. But you know what? I hate to move you on, but you only got a minute left. And I want you to say you are now the Nuggets GM. What do you do this offseason?
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, Andy, I love it. I would trade – I would almost burn it down, Andy. I think there’s three untouchables on this roster. Yeah, I think there’s three untouchables. Jokic, Brown, and Aaron Gordon. And depending on who you even get for Aaron Gordon, I may trade him too. I would get rid of Murray. I would get rid of Michael Porter Jr., but it obviously all kind of depends on value. There’s actually this really good article out. I just think, Andy, honestly, I’m even down to trade Murray for a Trey Young out of Atlanta.
SPEAKER 06 :
Murray scores a lot, and so does everybody he guards. Yeah, you are.
SPEAKER 08 :
You are correct. And so does Trey Young. Right. But I just think Trey Young maybe. I don’t know. Yes. To me, Andy, you can’t waste another year of Jokic’s prime by trying to do the same same thing over and over again. And as painful as that is, I know people are going to say, well, you know, they just showed up at the playoffs. Well, it’s now two playoffs in a row where people didn’t show up. So, yes, Andy, to me, if I’m the GM, I burn it mostly down. Let’s build it right back up and you’re on to the next.
SPEAKER 06 :
Denver Nuggets, Richard Rush has just auditioned to be your GM, and I actually agree. I think you would fix it. What do you think, Tanner?
SPEAKER 14 :
I agree. Michael Porter has to leave.
SPEAKER 06 :
Good job, Richard. We’ll see you next time. Take care. Okay, that is the end of hour number one. Boy, that was fast, wasn’t it?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
Hey, in hour number two, we are going to be talking about, wow, Trump, the military, and lots more. So keep it right here on Rush to Reason, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 07 :
I’m a rich guy.
