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In this insightful episode of Rush to Reason, host John Rush welcomes Matthew Gonzalez, the Consumer Energy Alliance Southwest Executive Director, to discuss the pressing energy demands driven by advancements in AI. As technology progresses, the energy requirements are skyrocketing, and Colorado stands at a critical juncture to meet these demands. John and Matthew delve into the challenges the state faces, such as a complex permitting process and reliance on traditional energy sources, and discuss the consequences of not adapting quickly enough.
SPEAKER 10 :
This is Rush to Reason. 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. With your host, John Rush. My advice to you is to do what your parents did. Get a job, sir. You haven’t made everybody equal. You’ve made them the same and there’s a big difference.
SPEAKER 08 :
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 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 09 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush. Presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, hour two, Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Matthew Gonzalez joining us now, Consumer Energy Alliance Southwest Executive Director. Welcome. How are you? Hey, I’m doing great, John.
SPEAKER 07 :
Thanks for having me on.
SPEAKER 04 :
Always a joy. AI, which I talk about quite a bit on our program, unlike maybe other programs, because I understand where we’re headed, how big it’s going to get, and so on. But the reality is it’s going to take a lot of energy. As we all know, Matthew, I don’t think there’s any secrets there. It’s going to take a lot of energy to continue down that path with AI. Am I right or wrong?
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s right. Yeah. You’re looking at anywhere from three to five times as much just to do your old typical Google search. You’re talking about a lot more energy to do that. Yes, sir.
SPEAKER 04 :
So where do we get that from?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, so right now, you know, for a long time we had this competition between energy sources. I would say now with the growing demand, there’s really not that competition anymore. It’s a matter of how quickly can we get energy online. We’ve got an incredibly slow permitting process. So it’s going to be really, really important that we start to streamline some of those processes to allow for this infrastructure to get online. Because with data centers and AI coming online, states like Colorado, here in the Southwest, they’re looking at the Southwest heavily. We have an opportunity to attract those, but we’re going to have to make sure that we have the energy demand they need. So it’s going to mean all of it, especially things like natural gas. Natural gas right now is a clean fuel in the state of Colorado. It fuels out of three out of four homes. So it’s a big, big part, and it’s going to be important that we make sure that people have access to that.
SPEAKER 04 :
I agree, and I’m native here, grown up my whole life, and remember even at an early stage, my dad talking about we have some of the cheapest energy in the country, and for the longest time here in Colorado, we enjoyed that. It’s gotten progressively higher and higher, which I’m not going to go down. Well, I guess I could go down that path, Matthew. There’s no reason for it. We have an abundance of here in Colorado, and frankly, there’s no reason why we’re not tapping into more of it. And in turn, since we’re not, it does push the prices up. It’s the old supply and demand.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s right. That’s right. Well, you know, the other thing, too, is we’ve also got some of the cleanest energy. The Rocky Mountains produce some of the cleanest energy molecules anywhere around. I mean, sometimes our regulatory environment can be difficult for operators, but at the same time, we also can be proud of the fact that we operate under the strictest environmental standards. So when it comes to energy that we’re producing in these Rocky Mountain states, like we’re doing it better than anyone and we really are leading the way.
SPEAKER 04 :
So how do we get more of it? I know one of the challenges here in Colorado, one of the things that frustrates me to no end, is we have a philosophy governmentally and activist-wise whereby coal, natural gas, oil itself, all bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. We need to have solar and wind, which, by the way, there’s no way can keep up with even what you and I are talking about, not only in the AI world, end of things, not only in that race, but it can’t keep up even on a day-to-day basis, powering the homes we have in Colorado. And yet we’ve got these groups, if you would, and government included, which, by the way, listens to a lot of these groups and shouldn’t, but they do. But we’ve got these groups, which I consider to be nothing more than a bunch of knuckleheads because they really don’t, how should I say this? I think they know full well what they’re doing, but at the end of the day, don’t care. Am I saying that right?
SPEAKER 07 :
I think you’re spot on. I mean, they’re performative at best. I call them performative environmental groups. They’ll tell you that they want to accomplish X, and for a long time it was, we need to get our carbon emissions down. Now that we’ve figured out a way to really drive down emissions, now you’re hearing that story change, that narrative is changing, and they’re shifting it. And for them, it’s really about no longer utilizing traditional fuels like oil and gas, no longer having mining in our country. And that’s really what they’re focused on. And sadly, We see this a lot. The areas that are producing the energy and producing the minerals are at odds with your urban areas because the urban areas are so far removed that they forget what it takes to put into these industries. And so they don’t realize that they’re hurting jobs. They’re hurting local economies. And I live in New Mexico. We closed down the San Juan Generating Station. And we saw childhood homelessness in that region, which is largely Navajo, go up almost 600%. You don’t see that headline. You don’t hear them talking about that when they shutter these coal plants. And so we’ve got to do a better job. And that’s what CEA does. We focus on highlighting those voices, those consumer voices in the regions, helping them be at the table, helping them come up with smart energy policies that work for them because we’re never going to – there’s so many people with too much time on their hands that are going to oppose everything, and that’s all they want to do is just say no. We’ve got to make sure we’re giving our politicians or our elected officials cover to say these are good things. Here’s how we’re going to meet environmental regulations. Here’s what it’s going to mean for jobs. Here’s what it’s going to mean for local school districts. We can do that, but we have to be more active. We can’t continue to sit at home idling.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, I agree with you 100%, and you are spot on. And this whole, you know, not in my backyard, the whole NIMBY approach, which, by the way, to your point, doesn’t work. I mean, people that are just sitting in their own little glass house, if you would, saying, well, you know, we don’t need this, and we don’t need that, and we should have this, and we should have that. And not to, you know, clear off topic, but much like the reintroduction of wolves, these are coming from people that, frankly, Matthew, have no clue, no idea about. how the big picture of things actually works. Most of these folks, by the way, have no idea how the natural gas and electricity even enter their home, but yet they’re going to make decisions on how that is done that affects everybody.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s exactly right. I saw a statistic once that said there’s tens of millions of Americans that think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. And it gets back to that point that people are far removed from the farms. They’re far removed from these places that the production is happening. And it hurts us when they are happy to push a narrative that doesn’t impact their bottom line or impact them in any way, shape, or fashion. So, yeah, it makes it difficult, and it’s hard because I deal with these communities that – People like to they love to hold them up and say these are frontline communities. But when those same frontline communities, if you will, are saying we want more economic opportunity, we want more jobs, we want to look at how we transition to new industries. There’s roadblocks every step of the way. And so incredibly difficult. But that’s exactly what we’re up against. And we try to help those groups in those communities really be at the table and make sure their voice is louder than than the opposition.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I appreciate what you guys are doing. How do we find you guys and even support Consumer Energy Alliance?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, so it’s real easy. Go to consumerenergyalliance.org. That’s our website. We recently released a report called Powering Progress, How Natural Gas Fuels Colorado’s Communities. But let me be clear about this. We support all energy types. We don’t pick winners and losers. We think they all have a place in this energy mix. I like to give the example that you think of those puzzle pieces. Puzzle pieces, they don’t always fit together, and it makes the puzzle look wonky. It takes all of these puzzle pieces working together for the puzzle to be complete. So we need all the energy types, so we try to advocate for that, talk about cleaner, talk about affordable, reliability. All that’s got to be front of mind because we’ve got those within our communities that are the most vulnerable. We’ve got to make sure we’re thinking about them, too. So check out our website. Connect with us. We’d love to help you engage in the energy conversation.
SPEAKER 04 :
You’re awesome. I appreciate it. You guys are welcome anytime, Matthew. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hey, John, thanks so much for your time.
SPEAKER 04 :
You bet. Have a great night. We’ll be right back. Golden Eagle Financial. And Al did a great interview of late. Listen in. We’ll be right back. And, by the way, to reach Al, just go to klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 12 :
TJ here with KLZ and Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial. And Al, I have a question for you. I’ve been putting money away for a while in a savings account or maybe a couple of investment accounts. But what am I doing wrong and what can you do better than that?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, I think a savings account is important because all the financial gurus, including myself, agree you should have three to six months savings that you have ready liquid access to. But retirement planning is a bit more long term and it’s a bit more strategic. We want to take a look at the sum of money you’ll need way into the future. And we want to look at how that money can last by providing you income for as long as you live.
SPEAKER 12 :
What kind of planning or strategy do you provide for folks with that that have a big savings but haven’t made that next step?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, that’s a good question. If someone has a large amount in savings, one of the things I do is we have a conversation about their risk tolerance. Nobody’s comfortable losing money, but having money in the market over a long period of time is a mechanism to accumulate wealth. And so we talk about the different levels of risk and the different products that are available. And we don’t put everybody into one box, but I have an enormous assortment of financial products. And it’s not that there’s good ones or bad ones. It’s there are some that are more appropriate for some people, but not for others.
SPEAKER 12 :
And that sounds excellent. How can folks get in touch with you for that meeting?
SPEAKER 09 :
You can reach me at 303-744-1128. And if I’m not there, it goes to voicemail, but I return my voicemails promptly. And we could have a conversation in the office. If you live a considerable distance away, we can have a long phone conversation or a Zoom call, whichever you would prefer.
SPEAKER 12 :
And as always, you can find him at klzradio.com slash money. Al, thanks so much for joining us today.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, thank you, TJ. Thanks for the conversation.
SPEAKER 12 :
You bet.
SPEAKER 16 :
Putting reason into your afternoon drive. This is John Rush.
SPEAKER 04 :
We are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Bob, you’re next. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 15 :
I think you know that I’m originally from Buffalo, New York, and I want to talk a little bit about cheap energy. The cleanest, uninterruptible, and greenest energy energy comes out of right near those seven miles from where I lived as a child, Niagara Falls. Well, the problem with that is that New York State and that whole region has collapsed the industrial base of that western New York. For instance, when I was born in 1950-ish, The population of Buffalo was 750,000. It’s now 250,000. And all the industries are gone. So the electricity that they were producing from Niagara Falls, most of it now goes to Toronto. So that’s one thing that New York has done. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Kathy Holcomb. Yeah. Yeah, she’s buddy-buddy with these two, this married couple, Terry and Kim Pagula. And they made all their money, billions and billions of dollars, from drilling natural gas in Pennsylvania, even though there’s an enormous pool over New York State, but they can’t drill it there. And they were able to buy the Buffalo Bills, the Buffalo Sabres, a couple other sports teams. and get Kathy Hochul to kick in state and county money for their new football stadium for the Bills. Now, the Broncos are talking about building another one. No government money, none. So that’s what New York is doing to themselves. It’s just they drive out, you know, they could drill their own natural gas plant
SPEAKER 04 :
uh in new york state but oh no no no that that’s no no we’re not far from that here in colorado that’s the whole point of you know last conversation bob is you know we’ve got this oh you know this this bigger need for energy in regards to not just ai but just you know the growth of everything else that’s going on and the simple fact that you know wind and solar aren’t cutting it and the reality is we live in a state right now that don’t want to see that
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, yeah, I mean, I left that area 52 years ago, and I didn’t have any of this knowledge then. But looking back on it, I can see what they have done to their industry base. The biggest employer when I was a kid was Bethlehem Steel, and they employed 40,000 people at one location. They’ve been abandoned, bankrupt, and gone 30 years.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, that’s right. You’re spot on. Absolutely. Bob, appreciate it. As always, thank you very much. Appreciate that. Along those lines, there was an announcement, I believe, yesterday. It might have been today. If it was yesterday, I might have missed it, but there was a lot of news on this today. There’s another person that has thrown their hat into the ring on the Republican side for the gubernatorial race. This particular individual’s name is Victor Marks, which I didn’t know a lot about Victor until I started doing a little bit of research on him. I saw a social media post the other day that he was going to make a big announcement on. Again, I think it was yesterday, October 1st. So Victor made an announcement. Yes, he’s going to toss his hat in the ring. And for those of you that might not know, his background. He runs an organization, a ministry in Colorado Springs that basically rescues kids and folk that have been involved in the sex trafficking end of things, they’re abused, whatever the case. He’s got quite a history himself of being abused as a child, and he took all of that after coming to know the Lord, took all of that and started a ministry, and by the way, has had A great success in that and saved kids from ISIS, has saved them from, again, the sex traffic end of things, cartels and so on. And he’s got a great story, a testimony that, quite frankly, I don’t think there’s anybody else running right now for a governor of Colorado that has a story like his now. Is that all it takes to run for governor? Of course not. I fully understand that. Now, I will say this. I do think that his story in regards to a lot of folks that are in the middle, even though he’s a solid, hardcore Christian and has a great message along those lines, I think because of – his background and what he’s come from will resonate differently, especially with folks in the middle, than maybe a lot of the other candidates, even some really hardcore Christian candidates that are also running. And I’m not saying this because I’m putting my hat in the ring behind him, folks. It’s too early for me to do any of that along any lines for any particular candidate. I’m just giving you who he is. Now, I also will say this. This is probably one thing, though, that I do like about him is all the Davidians that Andy calls, they hate him. They don’t like Victor. Hate maybe isn’t the right word, but, you know, I might go as far as to say that when it comes to him because they are so mean, especially on social media. They are dead set against him because he’s not doing this the proper way. He’s not going through caucus and assembly. He’s going to petition on, basically. And they don’t like that because they feel like he’s buying his way onto the ballot, which, by the way, that’s not how this works at all. And Andy and I have talked about this many, many, many times. He will actually have to persuade and get in front of more people to get his name on the ballot than going through caucus and assembly. OK, it’s that simple. Any of you that would like to differ with me on that, feel free. That one I can argue all day long. You’re not going to be right because you’re wrong. If you feel like somebody that goes through the primary process and and ballot petitions on, if you would, or petitions their way on, not ballot, but if they petition their way on. that they somehow have bought their way onto the primary ballot, and that’s just, folks, it’s not the case. You’re sorely mistaken if that’s what you believe and feel. Again, you have bought into the whole, you know, Kool-Aid of the hardcore Davidians that are out there, and you really, I’m going to be straight up honest, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re really mistaken when you say things like that. And by the way, you look really stupid when you say that, so stop doing that. If you want to have any credibility on that side of the aisle, I know it’s an aisle inside of the Colorado GOP. I understand it’s not right or left. It’s really nutty people that are on the far right in Colorado versus sane voters that are in Colorado. That’s what I’m going to start saying. I don’t know how else to say it because you’re total nutjobs. Some of you guys that are on that Davidian far right end of things, you’re total nutjobs. And I don’t know any other way to say it, but here’s another example. I continue to see posts on social media from the likes of them where they talk about how we’ve got to end mail-in voting in Colorado or we’re never going to win again. No. Again, that’s got to be one of the dumbest comments out there. Would I love to see regular in-person voting show an ID and do it that way in Colorado? Absolutely. But is mail-in voting the reason why we lose in Colorado? No. No. And some of you would say, well, John, how can you prove that? How do you know? Folks, I picked in the last gubernatorial race, Andy and I even had a little contest on who would be closer in our picks as to who would win by what margin, and I was only a point off. Now, how could I only be a point off in the governor’s race especially, but I picked even some of the other races, but how could I only be a point off in the spread of if mail-in voting was the reason we lose. You know, I’m not cheating. I don’t know what’s going on when it comes to people and their votes and so on. There’s no way for me to know what’s happening on that level, but I know from the candidates that we run and how well they debate and how well they perform in public and so on, that part I do know. And I can tell you based on that how well are they going to do in the upcoming election. Folks, this isn’t rocket science. So why is it that so many of you on that Davidian side of the aisle can’t understand what I just said? And why do you post literally ignorant things that say, if we don’t get rid of mail-in voting, we’ll never win again in Colorado? That’s an ignorant statement. I’m sorry to say that, but it is. It’s ignorance. You’re dumb. You’re not looking at the full picture when you say things like that. And you’re in denial. You’re in denial of the fact that we don’t run the right candidates to win. Now, is Victor the right candidate? Folks, I don’t know. I can’t answer that. Time will tell. I do like, I will say this, I do like not only his background, I like his speaking style. How well will he do in debates? I don’t know. That part we haven’t got to yet, so I don’t know. Although I will tell you that I think he’s enough of a fighter in what he’s had to do in his own life internally to even get where he’s at, that I don’t think any kind of a debate or anything like that’s going to ever scare this guy and or worry him and or chase him off. I think he’ll, frankly, I think he’ll do just fine. Again, time will tell. I really have no idea. But time will tell. And my point is there’s another person now that’s thrown their hat into the ring. I think that now makes – I’ve got to count again, Charlie. I apologize. 16 or 17 that have thrown their hat in. I think there’s been two of late that have thrown their hat in the ring. One I didn’t even mention because some of these are – some of these – and Charlie mentions this to me because I always ask him, why do some people even put their name in? And it’s simply – and Charlie says it all the time – it’s simply to get name recognition. They know that they don’t have a snowball’s chance of winning. But even if they get a little bit of press out of having their name out there, even for three, four, six months, whatever it happens to be, they get some name recognition that in the future, when it comes to running for office, any way, shape, or form, could be dog catcher, but they now get some name recognition because people have known their name from before, and it helps them in that way. Believe me, they know they don’t have a chance of winning. But it gives them a larger platform, and it’s free press for the most part. You throw your hat in the ring, and you’re going to get some press out of it one way or the other, and you’re not paying for it. Victor’s not paying me right now to talk about him. He’s getting free press. That’s what I’m talking about. So some of these people that throw their hat in the ring, frankly, they know they don’t have the slightest chance of winning. Yet they still throw their hat in the ring because they know at the end of the day they’ll get some recognition out of it that they wouldn’t get otherwise. It’s fairly smart on their part, although you have to kind of wonder at what point, you know, are we going to have 20, 25 candidates running for governor as Republicans? I mean, that’s just ridiculous. As it is, we’ve got far too many. Right now we should have three, four people that we should be choosing from, not 15 or 16. Now, I will say this. There’s probably only a handful that actually have even the slightest chance of winning. And by the way, I will say this. From everything I’ve read and seen about Victor, he’s right up there. Even though he’s putting his name in kind of late, it’s really not late, but we’re a year away. But it’s late considering everybody else that’s already put their hat in, has put their name in. He’s late in that regard. But everything I’ve read and the videos that I’ve seen and so on, does he have as good a chance as anybody else that’s put their hat in the ring? Yes, he does. I will say that. not taking anything away from anybody else that’s put their hat in the ring. I’ve interviewed a couple of candidates already. Scott Bottoms, Mark Baisley, I’ve already interviewed both of those. I’ve known Greg Lopez for, you know, gosh, last several years. So do I consider Victor to be kind of in the midst of all of those individuals and have a chance? Yes, I do. Now, there’s already been some criticism out there that, you know, why is Victor doing that when there’s some other solid Christians running? If he’s really a good, solid Christian, he should be putting his name behind somebody else. Folks, again, that’s another lame, lame thing to say. Just because you’re a fellow Christian and you like another individual, if you don’t feel like they’re strong enough to win, of course you’re going to put your hat in the ring. Again, these are dumb statements by those of us that are on the right. I get it. The entire world doesn’t see these particular posts, but enough people do that some of you really need to think twice about what you’re posting before you post it, before you hit that post button, the send button, whatever it is. You should be really careful about what you’re actually typing out and think twice about hitting the, you know, let’s post this button. So anyways, just an announcement. Victor Marks, he’s out of Colorado Springs. He has thrown his hat into the ring. I’m sure Andy and I’ll have more to say about that here in the coming days. Mile High Coin is up next. 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SPEAKER 04 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
All right. Somebody sent me a text message also stating that Barb Kirkmeyer had put her hat in the ring for the governor’s race. Yeah, I announced that two weeks ago. And what I really said was, unfortunately for Barb, she did her announcement the same day Charlie Kirk was assassinated, which she may be reannouncing because that probably got buried with everything that happened. The day, you know, Charlie was assassinated. So and I feel bad for Barb. I’m not saying that any mean spirited way. But, yeah, she announced her candidacy, I believe, that morning and by noon or so. Anything that anybody had said literally went out the window. And so thank you for sending that. But, yes, I had announced that Barb had thrown her hat in the wing. ring literally two weeks ago because I’m not joking. She literally announced that the same day that Charlie Kirk was assassinated. Somebody also called in and said that I am being paid off to not talk about nuclear. By the way, nothing could be farther from the truth. I talk about nuclear constantly from the small nuclear power plants that I have even given Bill Gates credit for because he’s invested a lot of his own money into some of the smaller plants to help run AI and so on. And I don’t like Bill Gates. But I do like that aspect of things. The biggest problem nuclear has across the board is getting approval from state, city, agencies, federal, all of that. In fact, what I think might have to happen, and I’m not a big proponent of this because I like state and local rights to a point until it starts to affect a lot of us on a day-to-day basis. For example, the energy sides of things. And this is an area where I’m OK with the federal government coming in and saying, you know what, guys, you’re going to loosen up regs when it comes to even oil and gas and also on top of that nuclear. You’re going to have to get more friendly when it comes to these three sources, oil, gas, nuclear. and by the way, even hydro can get held up when it comes to permitting and so on in a big deal. Bob was talking about hydro being the cheapest form, and he’s correct, but even it can get held up with all of the goofy permitting and everything else that has to happen. That’s one area where I do feel like federal government should come in and say, wait a minute, time out. This is affecting more than just you because the grid outside of Texas, the grid, well, even Texas, you know, it spans nationwide, but Texas has its own quote-unquote grid. you guys know what I’m talking about. So power is shared. It’s sort of like roads and transportation, like interstate roads. Okay, and I get it that there’s co-ops and there’s, you know, Xcel Energy and so on that own distribution and so on, and it’s not necessarily like the highway system that is owned publicly. I get that, but public utilities, quote unquote, which are managed by the PUC, the Public Utility Commission, I get it. They’re not necessarily public, but they’re providing services to the public. So they’re regulated differently. And I’m not going to go down that path. But I do think this is an area where the feds can come in and say, guys, time out. Yeah, we need some small nuclear plants around some of these major areas that are going to have some of these big server farms and so on for AI. Some of you that are struggling to have enough power, we need some supplemental power in the grid. And yes, you guys need to put a nuclear station in, even if it’s one of these mini stations. So Whoever said that I’m being paid off to not talk about nuclear, you need to call Charlie back and apologize, by the way, because you’re sorely mistaken. In fact, you’re a moron. You haven’t listened to me very long at all to know where my stance is on nuclear because I’ve even interviewed people over the years from the Nuclear Commission. Yes, I’ve interviewed people that most anybody else in town has not along those lines. So you’re completely wrong in stating that I’m somehow against it and I’m being paid off to not talk about it. You’re a fool. I’m sorry to say, but you’re a fool. I don’t normally talk to you guys directly this way, but whoever called in and talked to Charlie, you’re a fool. You have no idea what you’re talking about, and you haven’t listened to me for any length of time whatsoever. Because, yes, I am probably, when it comes to somebody on air, I’m probably one of the largest proponents of nuclear as to anybody else out there. And I mean that sincerely. So whoever sent that, you’re completely wrong. I want to read another text message. Let me see if I can grab this. Some prospective candidates also want to raise issues and bring attention to their causes. Yes, I can’t argue that. In other words, some people that throw their hat into the ring are doing so because they’ve got their own little pet project or pet whatever it is. that they want to make that more well-known, and so they throw their hat in the ring as well. Yes, you are 100% correct. I cannot disagree with that. You’re right. What is—I do think this— What’s Victor’s motivation? I think he stated it pretty well. His motivation is he doesn’t like the direction that Colorado is headed, spiritually speaking, politically speaking, economically speaking. He doesn’t like it, and he wants to see a reversal of it, and that’s what he said. Is it because he wants to promote his own ministry? Frankly, I doubt it because he’s already done that so well and he’s already got a pretty good name built for himself along those lines that I don’t really see that being an issue for him in particular. I just had a good friend of mine message me, by the way, and said that they heard him speak not long ago at a particular function that they had. And by the way, he’s a very close friend or was a very close friend of Charlie Kirk. Victor was. So he’s actually spoken here of late along those lines and might have been another reason why he’s just now decided to throw his hat into the ring sort of late in retrospect to all of the others that have already put their name out there. So Dan and Blackhawk, go ahead.
SPEAKER 06 :
Hey, so if you’re against nuclear and you’re being paid off, who would be paying you off? And I’m not – what group of people would be paying you off not to talk about nuclear? It would be the greenies, right? The environmentalists.
SPEAKER 04 :
Who I badmouth almost daily, Dan.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right, right. And that’s my point. The global warming, climate change yahoos is what I call them, idiots, zealots, they would be the ones paying you off, but yet you would be speaking out against the money that’s paying you off because you don’t agree with them enough. at all in their climate change stuff. So if you’re being paid off, those are the people who would pay you off. Because the other side, the people that are for nuclear oil and gas, they wouldn’t pay you off to have you not endorse nuclear. So whoever called Charlie and told you you’re being paid off, didn’t think this through, or like you said, haven’t been listening to what you stand for.
SPEAKER 05 :
And it’s
SPEAKER 06 :
And unfortunately, that’s how a lot of people in this country think, is they’re quick on the trigger without taking time.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
To verify their target.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. And unfortunately, Dan, it’s not just the other opposing side, the left, for example, that does that. Our side, unfortunately, as you know, is as quick to do some of that as the left is. And I wish we would be smarter on our side than to do that, because really, like I said a few minutes ago, we should be slow to post reading everything that we’re actually saying about a topic or someone before. But we just fly off the cuff and do it, Dan. It’s ridiculous. I don’t know why we do that.
SPEAKER 06 :
I think it’s just human nature. It doesn’t matter if you’re right, left, or in the middle. I think that’s just how we are as individuals. And you’re right. I mean, we want to emphasize the left and then flying off, but at the same time we’ve got people in our camp that do the same thing. And, you know, we try to think that we’re more— logically thinking and thinking through, but not necessarily on something.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I think, Dan, and you bring up a great point. I think what I desire for our side is for us to be more analytical, be a little less slow on the trigger. Let’s make sure that what we’re saying really matters. You know, those sorts of things. You know, for example, let me read you this. This one you’re going to laugh at. I got this off social media today as well. We’re being reminded for future disclosure that 45-47, the dash matters. In other words, that’s Trump’s, you know, Trump 45, Trump 47, but the dash matters. He acknowledged it in his recent speech. Trump did, I guess. Trump did not lose the 2020 election. He staged the laws to expose the system while under emergency powers and military continuity and that protocol. He maintained control behind the scenes while Brandon acted as the visible head of state. Trace it back to Executive Order 13-848. Do your research. Dan, I can’t think of a more idiotic thing to go post.
SPEAKER 06 :
Um… Yeah, I can’t… I have no words. I don’t know where the… It makes no sense. It really doesn’t, because they want to… I mean, look, things happen the way they happened in 2020, and hopefully we, as conservatives, learned our lessons and learned how to deal with it. It’s like you want to shortcut things because you don’t want to take the time, like you say, to research.
SPEAKER 04 :
So this whole idea that the that the dash means that Trump was in power throughout, you know, Biden’s presidency. I mean, Dan, again, this is coming from folks on our side. And these are I hate to say this, but these are mentally ill people on our side, because if that’s truly what you believe, you got to screw loose.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. I mean, why? Whatever. I have no words.
SPEAKER 04 :
I know. I don’t either. I mean, literally, these are the sorts of things, Dan, and I’m trying to be nice here, but these are the sorts of things that literally psychotic, mentally ill people say, and if that’s truly what you believe… You need help in a very bad way. I don’t know how else to say it, Dan, but you really need some mental help if that’s what you believe, because it’s not the truth. It’s not there at all.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, it isn’t. I guess it’s just a way of them to find that. They liked Trump or something, so he was still in power behind the scenes.
SPEAKER 04 :
I liked Trump, too, but he wasn’t in power. I mean, you can look at the executive orders and a lot of the other things that came down the pike through the four years. You can look at what happened with the economy and on and on we go. And, Dan, I can tell you right now that if Trump were really in power and he really wanted to do the things that he wanted to do, he wouldn’t have allowed those things to happen because it hurt a lot of Americans. He wouldn’t do that. Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right, it doesn’t fall in line with his character. No, it does not. You’re exactly right. Because he cares about, even though the left and the liberals want to say that he’s a dictator and fascist and Nazi, the reason why they do it is because they can’t defend, they cannot argue a point to, I don’t want to say convince, but their arguments don’t hold water. So they just end up being… childish and calling people names, you know. Right. You know, sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me. But yet they’ve got enough people that are not thinking logically or let’s call it what it is, critically think, not being critical of what you’re thinking, but critical thinking to think these things through and say, this does not hold water, does not make sense. It’s just You know, they do that in the financial world. If the return seems too good to be true, it probably is not true.
SPEAKER 04 :
Good point. Oh, you’re right. You’re right. And, you know, that statement that, you know, Donald Trump’s been president all along, that he never, you know, he really won the 2020 election. He did stay in power. He did that through some sort of an executive order that, you know, in the military and so on. OK, again, Dan. We now have a complete overhaul of the military. We saw that with the meeting that he had, you know, he and Pete had here just a few days ago. We saw exactly what they did when it came to the internal workings of military and how these guys are now going to look and act and so on, you know, the physical sides of it included. At the end of the day, Dan, if he was really in power those last four years, why did he just now institute that? Yeah, he should have done that on day one. Thank you. Precisely. I mean, again, just simple fact that, no, he wasn’t in power. Trump was not. And, no, this wasn’t some sort of a shell game that he was playing. I know Trump does a lot of things. He makes a lot of maneuvers. He’s thinking far ahead. I get that, and I’ll give him credit for that. But, no, he did not stay president those four years from 2020 to 2024. It didn’t happen. Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
I don’t care what anybody says, Dan. All the lawfare against him in that four years.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you. Absolutely. I mean, that’s just… Again, the problem, though, Dan, is these are people that are on our side of the aisle that there are probably some out there that look at and know that, man, there’s a conservative for you. And then, frankly, we’re the butt of all jokes at that point, Dan.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. And then we got what’s going on in Colorado and, you know, like the small percentage and… there’s a lot of people that probably don’t want to vote Republican because of it. Correct. So they end up voting for Democrat or they vote for some independent, and we end up losing the elections because of a small group of people.
SPEAKER 04 :
That are nutjobs. Yes, absolutely.
SPEAKER 06 :
And like Andy said on Tuesday, we all have a common goal. It’s how you go about it. And I don’t think the way they’re going about it is the way to do it because we’re pushing people away. I mean, we’ve got… I don’t know how the young base is here in Colorado. It’s probably more liberal-leaning than anything. But the assassination of Charlie Kirk is a perfect opportunity for the conservatives in Colorado. And I hate to say it, but it’s an opportunity for us to get things changed in this state. But yet we’ve got a small group of people that want to be fanatical about what they believe in, that they’re willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yep. Yep, absolutely. Spot on, Dan.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, so I don’t know. Hopefully, I don’t know. I was thinking when I was listening to you guys on Tuesday, I wonder if we can get a younger… There’s got to be… Well, my three kids, you know, I imagine your kids are probably more on the conservative side. Oh, absolutely. But they have a perspective… With the younger generation that we may not have, that they might be able to communicate with them. I mean, I run in conservative circles, so I see all the younger generation, my kids’ age, and they’re all pretty much conservative. But there’s got to be, you know, there’s other people, younger generations that are liberal, but they probably have more of a platform approach. to discuss with them the issue that they… Right, right.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, you’re right. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 06 :
And that’s what we need in the Republican Party. I’ve dealt with some higher-ups out pheasant hunting, and, well, I’m going to go in and I’m going to fix it. I don’t remember the guy’s name, but, you know, you’re right. They’re rich people that just keep getting rich off of people, the normal working people that are trying to make a living. They don’t have time to get involved in… Well, we can, but that’s one comment I heard is we’ll go back to making money and then the liberals will get back into power because we’re too busy trying to make money and make a living. That’s right. Yep. You’re right.
SPEAKER 04 :
And their machine is more well-oiled than ours is. I’ll say that straight up. That’s true. Dan, I appreciate you, man. As always, thank you for your comments. Always great. Always good to hear from you. I appreciate that greatly. Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning. Again, the Furnace Tune-Up Special going on right now. Talk to Cub Creek. Find them at klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 16 :
Now back to Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560, closing out this hour. I was going to talk about this yesterday, but I didn’t get a chance to, and that is the city of Denver buying… Shopping areas on 16th Street Mall. The renaissance of the pavilions is what this particular article is titled. So the pavilions, which has been on the 16th Street Mall for, gosh, since I was a kid probably, Charlie, two blocks long. Those of you that have been on the 16th Street Mall, I have not been for a number of years because of everything that happens there. That’s another conversation probably for another day. But the Denver Downtown Development Authority – was joined by Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on the 16th Street Mall on Tuesday to announce that the board was well on its way to purchasing the Denver Pavilions. It’s a shopping district that takes up two city blocks between 15th and 16th Streets, between Welton and Tremont Streets. On Tuesday afternoon, the leaders announced that the Denver Downtown Development Agency plans to purchase the site for $37 million. Another $8 million in DDA funds has also been made available for property improvements, leasing, and redevelopment planning, according to the city release. Now, Here’s my problem with all of this. Not only the money sides of it, which Denver’s already laying off people, they’re cutting back on staffing and salaries and police officers and so on and so forth. We’re feeding the homeless and illegal immigrants and so on and so forth. I mean, that’s one side of it. This, in my opinion, doesn’t help with any of that and frankly shouldn’t be done. But even if everything there were peachy keen, everything was great budgetarily speaking. We weren’t feeding and dinking around with the homeless and the illegals and so on. Let’s just say that everything in Denver was perfect. Would I still be okay with them buying this property? Absolutely not. And here’s the reason why. Not the proper role of government, period. Period. I’ve said this. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 100 times. Government entities, cities especially, should not own anything that they’re competing with their own taxpayers on. Period. Period. Shouldn’t happen. Meaning, cities should not own shopping malls. They should not own any type of amusement parks. They shouldn’t own any kind of a park whereby you’re charging admission. Now, I get it. They shouldn’t own Winter Park, the resort. Thank you, Charlie. I know there’s others that would even say, well, what about the zoo? The zoo. Again, no. Sorry. Those are things that should be privately owned. Not the proper role of government, period. You guys have even heard me say this. I don’t think they should own the airport. I think every airport that’s owned by a city should be privatized. A, it would be run better. B, your cost of travel would go down. I can go down the list of the benefits of having it privately run versus government run. I should probably write those out at some point in time and go through all of them because there’s many. You literally, you would go to the airport and see your cost of everything, including concessions, go down if it was privately run versus government run. So I don’t believe government should be in the business of doing any of that, period. There are a few things government should be doing, and that’s it. Nothing else. And this is not one of them. I am hardcore on this. This is not the proper role of government. Denver should not be owning anything on the 16th Street Mall, period, other than the streets and the maintenance of. That’s it. That’s all they should own. Maybe the sidewalks, depending upon how things are structured, as far as that goes. But the asphalt… In this case, 16th Street Mall has all the cobblestone and so on. And, yes, that’s a common area. Yes, they should own that. And, frankly, all of the tenants there should actually be pitching in to help take care of and maintain and handle that. Again, that’s another conversation for another day. But they should not be owning and leasing property out to tenants and so on. Just like City of Westminster has done over the years and other cities around town have done, not the proper role of government is not what government is supposed to be doing, period. As I’ve said before, government should not be competing with their private sector taxpayers. Period. End of discussion. Yet they do it continually. This is a great example of, and it shouldn’t be happening. Those of you that are in the city of Denver that are paying city of Denver taxes, you should be irate like I am. This is absolute total garbage. And I know there’s people like in this case, this is a Fox 31 news announcement. I’m sure there’s people inside of the media that are just applauding this thing. Oh, it’s the greatest thing ever. We’ll now get some improvements we wouldn’t have had otherwise. Not true, by the way. Not true. So I could go into more of this, might talk about this a little bit more with Andy on Tuesday. But yeah, this is a bad idea and frankly should not be happening. Hour three is next. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you. Rich guy.
