In the latest installment of Rush to Reason, John Rush is joined by Jim Paff for a riveting discussion on the inner workings of political feuds and their impact on America. The episode takes you through the drama between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, analyzing the potential consequences and the significance of their actions on the broader political scene. The dialogue is rich with analysis on why political disagreements are vital and what we can learn from them. As the discourse unfolds, listeners are invited to question the status quo and reflect on the essence of leadership and governance
SPEAKER 13 :
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, Turk! You haven’t made everybody equal. You’ve made them the same, and there’s a big difference!
SPEAKER 09 :
Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.
SPEAKER 13 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 14 :
It’s Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush, presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, Hour 2, Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Thanks for joining us today. Jim Paff joining us now. Jim, conservative caucus, welcome. How are you?
SPEAKER 15 :
I’m doing well. How are you doing, my friend? I’m doing very well. The simulation has given us a little fun day today.
SPEAKER 11 :
It’s been a little interesting today. Talked a little bit about that this last hour, although not in a lot of detail. And I think my comment to everybody listening is, you know, sit back, watch. I wouldn’t get too excited over anything at this point in time. How this all shakes out even by Monday, who knows, Jim?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, absolutely. Cooler heads will prevail, and we’re thankful for what both of them are doing, and we should express it.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, and again, you know, do I agree with the way they’re handling things in the public eye? Of course not. I wouldn’t do what they’re doing, Jim. But, you know, I also don’t know everything else going on behind the scenes, and even Charlie and I were talking before the program today that, you know, is this some sort of a distraction? Not saying that, you know, they’re both on the same page, but, you know, Are they? I mean, again, I don’t know everything going on behind the scenes. I don’t know what’s really been talked about, what may be being trying to be done outside of this particular squabble they’re having, and or are they really having one? Again, I don’t know, Jim. I’m not privy for any of that stuff. I don’t know.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, listen, these are both smart guys. They both endured a lot to try to make America great, frankly. And, you know, whatever the fallout is between the two of them, frankly, we’re going to still be moving forward in a positive way that’s going to benefit America. I mean, that’s the good news in all of this. And listen, it’s easy to get all caught up in it and all worried about it. And obviously, I mean, that actually hit me because I was busy with some stuff today, and it started to blow up, and I missed it for about an hour or two. And one of my staff says, hey, did you see this thing? And your initial reaction is, oh, my gosh, the world’s falling apart. But you know what? The world’s not falling apart.
SPEAKER 11 :
No, it’s not.
SPEAKER 15 :
First of all, God is sovereign over all the universe. And secondly— we still have the ability to act as individuals and to get things done. And that’s our role and goal. We’re not dependent upon Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
SPEAKER 11 :
No, we are not.
SPEAKER 15 :
But we certainly are grateful for their efforts.
SPEAKER 11 :
No, that’s exactly right. That’s exactly what I was thinking today. I’m glad you’re along the same lines. I am. I mean, would I prefer this be handled differently? Absolutely. On the same token, you know, there’s been other squabbles among individuals, even presidents in the past. Won’t be the first time this has ever happened. Won’t be the last time, Jim, that it ever happens. Reality is these things happen and sometimes things get aired in public that probably shouldn’t be. This is what also, though, to alpha males, I mean, that’s what we have here. And these are some of the things that happen at times. And, again, what really is going to be the outcome of all of this? And, you know, a week from now, will they be, you know, best buddies again? I don’t have any idea, Jim. And, frankly, I’ll be real honest with you. I don’t care one way or the other if they are or aren’t.
SPEAKER 15 :
Listen, and that’s the whole clue here. We absolutely need players on the stage at their level of influence to doing things that are useful. To be candid, at the end of this, that’s never going to change. They’re still going to do things that are useful. They’re still going to get things done. But though we’re thankful for that, we still go on as a nation. Donald Trump will be gone at the end of a four-year period, and I wish him continued success in everything he’s doing along the way. Elon Musk is still going to be running Tesla. He’s still going to be running SpaceX. He’s still going to be trying to go to Mars and and making our air travel better with better Internet. I mean, all this is going to still proceed. So it’s really important. And I hope that it doesn’t really go into the kind of conflagration. It could go into a conflagration. That’s very negative and gives, for example, Democrats an advantage. I mean, that’s the risk when you have people with this high profile going.
SPEAKER 11 :
And again, given where we’re at in the cycle of things, again, I’m one of those where, again, this will all blow over. That will not be a big deal. Cooler heads will prevail when it’s all said and done. Both of them will settle down at some point and look back on things and figure out what to do. And, you know, Elon’s threats of a third party, if you sit down and had any kind of sense about you, which he does. He’ll figure out really quick that, yeah, that’s not going to work either because that’s not going to go anywhere at the end of the day. And he’s also somebody that has to realize, and I believe he does, that the party that he used to be affiliated with left him high and dry and wanted to burn up all of his cars and his factory and everything else. So at the end of the day, you can’t go back there. So I hate to tell Elon, but he really doesn’t have any choice but to stick with it.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, and listen, there have been people who have had money who have attempted to fund third-party efforts. Case in point is Ross Perot. I mean, he literally funded the attempt at a third party, and it kind of lingered for a little bit. Even Donald Trump got involved a little bit in the past. It didn’t go anywhere. It is sad. We do have this self-imposed two-party system because the laws benefit both parties.
SPEAKER 11 :
It’s not going to change. It’s not going to change, Jim. To your point, that is one thing. And the frustration of what they do, Jim. That’s right. It isn’t going to change for those that, you know, in… I will tell you, as a young man myself, Jim, I was one of those that thought, yeah, we need another party because the two we have suck. And I still feel that way at times that sometimes they do. But the reality is it is what it is. And other countries that have multi-party systems, it doesn’t work out very well for them either. So at the end of the day, those people that run around and say we need a third party are, you know, They might be wise, but they’re not very wise politically speaking. And by the way, that’s how I look at look at Elon. I mean, I love the guy. I think he’s done a lot of things that have been great for this country, especially here of late. I will tell you early on, I wasn’t his biggest fan. I think he took advantage, which I almost need to remind him of with subsidies and things like that and all of the companies that he. he owns, so I think he needs to be really quick before he starts pointing fingers at the big beautiful bill, because the reality is he’s benefited from a lot of the things that he’s now complaining about, so I would be the first one to sit down in a room and have that conversation with him and straighten him out if I were somebody, but I’m not, I don’t have that ability, I don’t rub elbows with billionaires, Jim, so I don’t have that ability, but at the end of the day, it will all pan out, and Elon is not looking at this correctly either, neither one of them are, but in this particular case, I’ll just be straight up honest, This is Elon who started a lot of this. Elon needs to understand how politics work. He doesn’t. He thinks you can go to Washington and wave a magic wand just like he does at his companies. And while I wish you could, Jim, you can’t.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and the reason for that is that 6,000 years of recorded human history proves the radical corruption of mankind. That’s right. That combined with the fact that when you build out these bureaucratic systems, which politicians on both sides of the aisle love to do because they feel it gives them long-term political power, and in some sense that’s right, these things are hard to break up. And Elon Musk has done yeoman’s work to get us down the path of exposing the problem, which Doge has done quite effectively, and to give some path out of it, which Doge has also done. And I think Donald Trump will continue because, listen, at the end of the day, their interests align on some key areas, and one of them is getting rid of this government bureaucratic system.
SPEAKER 11 :
But I’m still going to stand by my statements that, you know, and I’m sorry to say, again, I don’t know the internal workings. And maybe that’s where I’m wrong, Jim. And I would admit it if I thought, you know, if something comes out and says otherwise, I would admit my wrong. But Elon has started this. He’s upset over the big, beautiful bill, which, frankly, I mean, is it my favorite bill? No. But, you know. I’ve also looked at all of the alternatives, and the reality is you can look at every alternative there is, and none of them work despite what a lot of the politicians, even the Rand Pauls of the world, say. And I admire Rand a lot, but the problem is you can’t do it the way they’re trying to get it done. It flat out will not work no matter what they say. It’s not how politics in Washington, D.C. works. I wish it would, Jim. I wish it would work the way that Elon wants it to work and the way that Massey wants it to work and the way that that Rand Paul wants it to work, but the reality, Jim, is it doesn’t, and anybody that thinks otherwise, I’m sorry to say, is just as misguided.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, and by the way, I’m going to one-up that by saying this. We want this kind of rancor over these issues. We do, absolutely. I’m more with Elon’s side of the frustration of this bill. I’ve been in the inner workings of this place before. And you’re seeing a whole lot of the same bull crap happening. That’s where I lean. I lean with Rand and Thomas and Chip Roy in terms of the concern. But on the other side of this, and Elon has to recognize this, and Donald Trump wins on this. there are aspects of this bill that actually will make the end result far better than what CBO is projecting, because the tax policy continuing on and the added tax policy, the ramped-up expensing for businesses, and then even though they’re very modest cost taxes, The no tax on tips, no tax on overtime will actually end up benefiting people and benefiting the economy. And we will do better because of it. And that’s where Donald Trump is right. But we were sitting here in the middle of those two arguments. And I think that in the Musk side of this argument is a better one in terms of critique. But in terms of the reality of what you got to do in politics, that critique needs to always be constructively used to get something better than what you presently have. Chip Roy and Andy Harris were successful at making that happen when the bill went from the House to the Senate. Now we don’t need to be throwing Rand Paul and Ron Johnson or Rick Scott and Mike Lee under the bus on this. They need to push for better over in the Senate. And then the net effect…
SPEAKER 11 :
hopefully will be much better than what we’re seeing right now and that benefits america it really does and that’s where the arguing going back and forth doesn’t bother me so much because that may actually charlie and i were talking before the show today that may actually some of what’s happening today may spur some of that along and you know jim i i I’m even worse than Elon Musk. If I had my ability to go into Washington and start thrashing and cutting man alive, people would hate me to no end because I would I would just flat out eliminate certain things. They wouldn’t exist, period, not even on a small scale. So the cutting that I would do is even far more than what an Elon Musk would probably want to do, because I would also go in and attack Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, the whole bunch, Jim, which a lot of people out there, including conservatives, wouldn’t like. So at the end of the day, I would be everybody’s enemy.
SPEAKER 15 :
No, you and I are on exactly the same page there, but let me add to that and say this. Fortunately for Congress, all of this feud is taking away from the real… bad actors in this situation. As I’ve been saying, I think I’ve said when we’ve been on in the past, that the weak part of the Trump agenda is Republicans in Congress. I mean, those are really the problem children here, not Elon Musk and Donald Trump. It’s Congress that are the problem children. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to make To put a major austerity, so they call it, into a government that is not anywhere near as austere as it needs to be and to make massive cuts and to get rid of major agencies. There is no need in this country, for example, for a Department of Education. And I can pick… five more departments, that if we entirely got rid of them, the country would be running just perfectly fine, the federal government would meddle less in our lives, and we would all be more prosperous and free. And that is an opportunity that Republicans in Congress have missed. They could have stood unanimously. They have the tools. Right now, through reconciliation, this current bill, and then these rescission packages, all they need is a majority vote. Like, the biggest obstruction to doing anything good is the cloture rule over in the Senate that requires 60 votes to move legislation. Well, they’ve got all the tools to do exactly these things right now.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, they don’t have the 60 votes, though, Jim. You and I will have to disagree there. They don’t have the 60 votes. They do for what you’re talking about. They can’t do it with just 50 votes.
SPEAKER 15 :
No, they can. Listen, the way that rescission works, this package, this modest package that Russ Vogt just sent over to the Senate, it’s a fast-track process. You have to get it done within about 60 days, but you only need a majority vote to cut this spending in the House. and in the Senate. You do not need cloture on the rescission packages. You also don’t need it with this current bill that we’re fighting over, which is a reconciliation bill. It goes through the Byrd rule. So there’s a lot of cutting that can be done. Donald Trump could send over $2 trillion of cuts today. And if the Republicans would just vote on it, it would be done. In terms of getting rid of the agencies, that is a 60-vote rule. But in terms of the funding, we could make a massive, massive difference very quickly. And just like with every government shutdown, everyone realized this wasn’t a big deal to begin with. That’s the opportunity that Republicans are missing. Really, Donald Trump’s not missing it, and neither is Elon Musk. It’s the Republicans.
SPEAKER 11 :
That one I’ll agree with you on, and that I think is what the – that’s the frustrating part I know that Elon Musk has. And by the way, I feel his frustrations. I also understand Donald Trump. He doesn’t back down. He tends to just, you know, at times say some things that I probably wouldn’t say. Although this is one of those areas that I’m going to give him some credit on. Elon has been badgering and pushing on the Trump side far more than Trump’s been pushing Elon. Would I have said the things to Elon that Trump has said? I probably wouldn’t. But you know what? He’s one of those guys, Jim, where you push him far enough and that’s going to happen. And I’m sorry to say Elon has pushed him to that point. That’s on Elon.
SPEAKER 15 :
No, I do agree with that. And bringing up the Epstein-Files thing, which I have to tell you, I don’t care what Elon says or anyone else says.
SPEAKER 11 :
Wrong way to do it.
SPEAKER 15 :
Donald Trump was never caught up in that. Donald Trump has his errors and flaws as a human being, but that’s definitely not one of them. So that goes way overboard.
SPEAKER 11 :
I do agree with you. I agree. And that’s where I’m saying that I love Elon. Again, I’ll continue to say it. I love all the things he’s done. I love the fact that he helped in the election. And I also will disagree with him in his boastful sayings that if it wasn’t for him, Donald Trump wouldn’t be elected. That’s not true. I’m sorry to say, Elon. yes, you helped a lot, yes, I’m thankful that you did, but no one single person, Jim, including Donald Trump, can take credit for Donald Trump’s win. It was a collective effort by a lot of people, you and I included, and a lot of other supporters that got him across the finish line. It was not just Elon Musk. When guys like he say things like that, He goes down a notch in my book because it’s like, Elon, hang on, time out. I know you’re the richest guy in the world, but you don’t get to take all the credit. I’m sorry, because when you do, you’re taking it away from guys like me.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, the kind of levity we’ll give Elon is to say that he is definitely no political animal. He’s not superior in his political skills. Donald Trump is. So there was some benefit to it, but I do have to agree more with Donald Trump. Donald Trump would have won anyway. This happened because of Donald Trump’s courage. Even Elon’s participation happened because of Donald Trump’s courage.
SPEAKER 11 :
That’s exactly right.
SPEAKER 15 :
And that is the leg up, I think, that Donald Trump has.
SPEAKER 11 :
That’s exactly right. Fully agree. Well, it’s been a good conversation. I know not quite probably the way we planned it a few days ago, but, you know, hey, things happen, and here we are.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, well, listen, you’ve got the right message out there, and, John, I’m just telling you, I love what you’re doing on the radio all the time. You know it. For years, we’ve been connected here. This is the kind of discussion that must be had. People need to understand what’s going on, particularly in Colorado where we’ve got our backs against the wall. I think we can work through it and just got to do it.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you, Jim. I appreciate that. How do folks find the conservative caucus, sir?
SPEAKER 15 :
Go to theconservativecaucus.org. That’s the, the word the, theconservativecaucus.org.
SPEAKER 11 :
Appreciate you, man, very much. Thanks, Jim. Okay, brother. You bet. Have a great night. And Jim Pfaff, again, it’s P-F-A-F-F. Pfaff is how it’s actually sounded out, though. Conservative caucus. Golden Eagle Financial coming up next. Al Smith, hang tight. We’ll come back right after this interview.
SPEAKER 04 :
Al Smith from Golden Eagle Financial and the show you love, Retirement Unpacked, is here with me. How are you today, Al? I’m doing great. How are you, TJ? I’m doing great as well. I have a couple questions for you. As a financial advisor, do you also do taxes?
SPEAKER 10 :
No, I don’t prepare my clients’ taxes. I do, however, spend a lot of time talking to them about taxes. To use a sports analogy, tax preparation is like doing a recap of the game. What I do is more like creating a game plan and then following up over time to see how it’s working.
SPEAKER 04 :
And how much are taxes a part of that game plan that you create?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, with so many different taxes we’re faced with, it becomes an important thing to take into consideration. It’s not how much income you have, but how much you get to keep. In addition to federal and state income taxes, there’s property taxes, state and local sales tax, and fees. And they all play a part in shrinking our income.
SPEAKER 04 :
What about people who already have really healthy balances in 401ks, IRAs? Won’t they be facing significant taxes as they draw income from those accounts?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, it depends. Everybody’s situation’s a little bit different. There’s no one size that fits all when it comes to tax planning. But often when I work with people, we’ll create a strategy where we will convert traditional IRAs to Roth over time. And that not only reduces taxes in the future, but it will also lower the tax they’ll be paying on their Social Security.
SPEAKER 04 :
Is that kind of strategy really only for the wealthy?
SPEAKER 10 :
Not at all. Many of my clients who have modest IRAs have chosen to convert to Roth over time. They enjoy the freedom of having a tax-free nest egg that they can access on their own timeline rather than an RMD schedule.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, that is excellent. And how can people reach you if they want to learn about their own taxation in retirement?
SPEAKER 10 :
You can reach me through KLZ or contact my office at 303-744-1128. And when you call, I’ll provide you with a summary of all the tax changes for 2025.
SPEAKER 04 :
You heard it here, folks. Good things from Golden Eagle Financial and Al Smith. Again, you can reach them at 303-744-1128 or just find them on the advertisers page at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 06 :
Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC, a registered investment advisor. BCM and Golden Eagle Financial Limited are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents. Putting reason into your afternoon drive. This is John Rush.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right. We are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. And I, unlike others, Andy and I are even texting back and forth. I, unlike a lot of others, I’m going to side with Trump on this one. I’m sorry. I think Elon is out of line. He doesn’t understand politics. And I get it. He doesn’t have to. He’s a billionaire. He went to Washington. He tried to make all sorts of changes with Doge and so on. And I’m thankful for that. And I get that. And I’m very thankful for Elon for doing so. But Elon doesn’t understand politics and he doesn’t necessarily understand how the wheels of Washington works. And he went too far today in his whole nonsense of the Epstein files and telling Donald Trump that he wouldn’t have won without him and so on. And I’ll be I’ll be real honest with you. Had I been Donald Trump, I would have told Elon to go back into his billionaire playpen and suck on his pacifier. And that would have been my response. So Donald Trump is a lot kinder, by the way, right now to Elon than I would be. So that’s where Andy and I are going to disagree because Andy thinks Donald Trump has gone too far. And I disagree. I would have told Elon, go suck it. Literally. End of discussion. I think Donald Trump did very, very well until you get pushed to the point where you’re told that I’m the reason you won. Yeah, no, no. That’s where it gets over the line. And that’s where it gets over the line with me. And at some point in time, you got to put the guy in his place. Now, should you do it publicly? Should you do it privately? That’s probably a different discussion. Again, at the end of the day, it’s all going to blow over. By the time we get even into the end of next week, it ain’t going to make a hell of a bit of difference. Most people aren’t even paying any attention. There are still so many people out there on the left that hate Elon Musk that I hate to tell Elon, but he’s probably not helping his own popularity by doing what he’s doing on either side of the aisle. The left already hates him. If he’s not careful, he’s going to have those on the right not liking him a whole lot. And when it’s all said and done, he’s going to wish he’d have just stayed out of it. And maybe he should have. Maybe he should have. I’ll just leave it at that because, again, I’m not there. I’m not hearing some of the other things that go on because there’s always things that happen behind the scenes that nobody knows about, especially me. So I’m always slow to judge in this. But knowing some of the comments that have been thrown around publicly from Elon Musk, he’s out of line. And he was out of line first. Period. Now, does that mean that you should retaliate the way Donald Trump has? In my book, when you start telling me that I couldn’t have won without you, yeah, I’m going to retaliate. It’s just human nature. And that’s what an alpha male does. And I am one and I would do the same thing. Sorry, Elon. That’s where you’re wrong. You can’t tell me that I wouldn’t have won without you because you’re wrong. And he is wrong. Donald Trump would have won without Elon Musk. Did Elon help? Yes. Did Elon Musk maybe help even with that young male vote? I think to a large extent he did, although I think when it’s all said and done, some of those young men, because of the whole Joe Rogan MMA, all of the other things that were going on, probably would have done it anyways. Elon just helped out a little bit. But I would not give Elon all of the credit for that. Did he have an influence in it? Absolutely. Do we want to blow that influence? Of course not. And believe me, folks, cooler heads will prevail. This will all blow over. Those two will get the hatchet buried. It’ll all come back to square one because, again, at the end of the day, Elon knows that when it’s all said and done, this is where my bread gets buttered when it’s all said and done. Trust me. Jim, go ahead.
SPEAKER 16 :
Hey, this is getting kind of ridiculous. You know, I remember a couple of months ago, we were talking about… You were one, though, that back in the day, let me remind you, that said Trump would never win.
SPEAKER 11 :
Are you going to eat your words now, Jim, or tell me that you didn’t say that? Because you did tell me that at one time, that Trump didn’t have a snowball’s chance of winning. Or did you forget that?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I voted for him, but I typically vote for the losers because I’m not all that popular politically.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay, anyways, continue on with Elon Musk. I just wanted to remind you that you said Trump would never win.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, he won twice, and I voted for him. Me too. Yeah, and I didn’t think it was possible because I typically vote for the losers.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, and I think in this, well, keep in mind, you have to remember who he was running against. That’s the other thing I think Elon Musk is forgetting about right now. No offense, Jim, but who they ran on their side, you and I could have won.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I agree. I mean, Marvin the Martian could have won back after George W. Bush.
SPEAKER 11 :
That’s right.
SPEAKER 16 :
And honestly, we had a Hussein that ran the country just a few years after the planes, the Muslims crashed the planes into our building. So I think politics is completely out the door now. America is screaming for some actual real leadership.
SPEAKER 11 :
I agree with that.
SPEAKER 16 :
After the… I agree with that.
SPEAKER 11 :
No, you and I, I am in. You hear me talk about that constantly, Jim. I will second you there all day long. We do. People are are, you know, literally your words screaming for it. They want it. They’re shouting it from the mountaintops. We’re not delivering that like we should. We have a grand opportunity even as a party right now to deliver on that leadership. And literally, Jim, we’re blowing it.
SPEAKER 16 :
Oh, we are blowing it. I mean, we are inviting, we’re holding the White House doors open for the next Obama or the next popularity contest. This is just getting ridiculous. I mean, I just called about the Tesla Chargers. how long until everybody’s out there? How long until Trump is telling people to go out there and run over the Tesla chargers?
SPEAKER 11 :
I don’t think Trump and or us on our side will ever do that because we’re not that type of individuals. But as I said a moment ago, Jim, I think the one thing that Elon – is tending to forget, and he works off of his emotions as well. He’s not really at times thinking about what he’s doing before he puts out a post because, again, he’s not liked on the left. That’s been proven by the amount of cars that have been burned up and scratched and so on, you know, keyed and so on. So at the end of the day, he’s not well liked on one side. He probably should tread a little lighter on this side.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, he’s playing his game. He’s not taking America seriously. Well, maybe he is because he’s talking about yanking his spacecraft from NASA. And Trump is talking about, you know, they’re both emotional right now. And it’s distracting from what we should have.
SPEAKER 11 :
I agree with you. And keep in mind, too, and you just brought up a great point. Part of what Elon is mad about is the NASA appointee. He wanted somebody else. Trump and the administration appointed somebody that Elon doesn’t particularly care for, I believe. And so that’s where a lot of this is coming from as well but again jim i think this is where elon has to also understand that and this by the way i i think this is the plus side for us as americans just because you’re the richest guy in the world doesn’t mean you always get what you want when it comes to washington dc and politics and other countries run if that were the case we’re in big trouble
SPEAKER 16 :
Oh, no, that’s exactly why they’re acting the way they’re acting, is because he thinks he can control the country and the nation and the purse strings.
SPEAKER 11 :
And by the way, I think it’s a proper signal to send to him that he’s not.
SPEAKER 16 :
Oh, yeah, yeah. It’s clear that he needs to be brought to heel. And if Donald Trump doesn’t do that immediately and he continues this freak show that we have in Washington with our leaders, I mean, we’ve got this Elon Musk who knows a little bit about money telling us that Trump is going to crash the economy and outspend all the other governments combined. It’s gotten ridiculous, and we’ve liked it up until now because we thought that we could make hay out of it. But in reality, this country… is being distracted by our leaders at this point.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, and so then you’ve got to go back and ask the question that I was even talking to Charlie about before coming on air today. Is this just that? And then you’ve got to ask, what else is going on that, in this particular case, Trump and the administration might be working on, that this is a great distraction? And so while everybody’s looking over here, they’re doing something else over on the other side. That’s the other question you’ve got to ask.
SPEAKER 16 :
I’m glad you brought that up because that is my overall point. This is merely a distraction from something different. This country is fundamentally changing faster than I could ever imagine. And it’s quite entertaining, but this entertainment is going to destroy our great-grandchildren.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, and that’s the other thing where, and I know this is part of what Musk is upset about as well, is the debt, where we’re headed with that. That’s also going to have a huge effect upon future generations, which I am concerned about as well. Again, though, I think one thing that Musk isn’t considering in all of this is while he can go into Tesla, SpaceX, and other companies that he’s been involved in and sit up there at the top of the boardroom and say, we’re going to do this, and it gets done. It doesn’t work that way in America, Jim, as you know, and that’s something that he doesn’t understand.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, yeah, I suppose.
SPEAKER 11 :
He doesn’t. I mean, no, honestly, Jim, he doesn’t understand that because he felt like he could go to Washington. He could set up Doge. He could go in and make all these cuts, which, by the way, I wish he could have. I really wish he could have just the stroke of a pen eliminated a lot of these things. The reality is that’s not how our government works and how our government is set up. And really deep down inside, Jim, nor do I want it to be set up that way.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, I agree. Maybe maybe this clown show will force Congress to actually do their job.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, that’s the other thing Charlie and I were talking about before the show today is maybe this actually will. And maybe some of them will really sit down and reconsider some of what they’re doing, even in the big, beautiful bill and some of the other slashing that needs to happen when it comes to spending. And maybe this will be a wake up call, Jim.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, I agree. And I don’t even refer to it as a big, beautiful bill. I call it a spending bill. It’s a big, beautiful spending bill. It’s going to increase our taxes, and we can call it a tax decrease, but overall it’s going to increase generations of future Americans’ taxes.
SPEAKER 11 :
Oh, it will.
SPEAKER 16 :
And there’s no getting around that.
SPEAKER 11 :
No, and you’re right, and it’s one of the concerns I’ve had. I mean, I’ve been talking about that part of it for years. I mean, I’d have to go back and look and see what the national debt was when I started this program 11, 12 years ago versus where it is today, but it has increased by trillions upon trillions upon trillions, and it’s ridiculous.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, I mean, we have who we call a conservative right now who quite literally is going to outspend both FDR and Reagan combined. I mean, Donald Trump was number three in spending after only four years. And now he’s got the reins again, and he’s talking a big, beautiful spending bill, and it’s going to tax. Ten generations of future Americans have yet to be born.
SPEAKER 11 :
No, you and I will have to disagree on that. You also have to look at the part of the bill that generates revenue to offset some of that. And, no, I don’t believe it’s going to be any kind of a huge tax bill. It’s going to be a deficit spend, no doubt, always will be. That’s not going to stop. But as far as actually taxing future generations, unless you’re referring to the debt, no, that’s not going to happen.
SPEAKER 16 :
Listen, this is spending. But, of course, all private wealth basically comes from government spending, because that dollar is never going to have my name on it. That dollar’s got the government and God’s name paired together on it, and it creates wealth. Every single time the deficit goes up, the society gets wealthier. and there is a multiplier effect that financially goes along with that.
SPEAKER 11 :
That’s true.
SPEAKER 16 :
Free markets and capitalism and socialism and all these things, we’re throwing terms out there that have become quite literally meaningless when every sector of society has to have a lobbyist. just to stay in business. And it’s a sick, sick country that we live in when we call it free markets. It’s truly capitalism. And capitalism has a life cycle. And I think we might be starting to see a little bit of a… peak of the life cycle before it does what other societies have done when they trended downward.
SPEAKER 11 :
We’ll see what happens. Jim, appreciate you very much. Have a good rest of your day. Roof savers, or no, my like coin coming up next. Speaking of wealth and savings and all of that, you may have a collection of coins and jewelry and watches and all sorts of other things kicking around the house. You want to know what the value is, and if you want to turn that into cash, David Gonzalez can help you with that as well. Free appraisals, by the way, for KLZ listeners. 720-370-3400.
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SPEAKER 11 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Several text messages from you all, which I appreciate very much. One of you said that, you know, if really it was a big deal with Donald Trump being on the Epstein list, don’t you think that the Biden administration would have, you know, unfolded that and handled things, you know, way differently? And by the way, great comment. That is true. And I agree with you. And it’s a nothing burger. I’m sorry, Elon, but it’s a nothing burger. A lot of people’s names, by the way, will be on that list. And I’ll just say this, too. Not that I don’t think they should get into details with the Epstein list, but I’ll just be straight up honest. Nothing’s going to happen with that thing. those that are waiting for that thing to come out and look through it and figure out what’s going on and so on, there are so many. This is my belief. There are so many politicians in Washington, D.C., that are entrenched in things like that, wrongfully, by the way. I’m not agreeing with that, and wrongfully so, but there are just so many that are entrenched with it that, yeah, good luck. Good luck. And that’s on both sides of the aisle. It’s not just one side. It’s both sides. Do I think Donald Trump was involved with any of that? No, I do not. Now, I will say that did Donald Trump rub elbows with a lot of different people? And I’ve said this before on this program. Did he rub elbows with a lot of different people and could his name be on all sorts of lists for all sorts of things? Sure. Sure. No different than anybody else that is a high profile business person that ends up with all sorts of people that get close to them and leave and get pictures and do this and do that. And hey, come see me here and Come see me there. Hey, why don’t you join me in this and join me in that? And those things happen on that level constantly. Constantly. And no, when you’re at that level and doing the things that at that time Donald Trump was doing, are you going to vet, quote unquote, every single person that you go and hang out with? No, you’re not. You’re not, especially when, in the case of Jeffrey Epstein, where he appears to be this above-the-board guy, and he knows this person, he knows that person, and he’s flying this person and that person, and he’s rubbing elbows here and there and so on. Yeah, I’m not faulting anybody along those lines that didn’t have anything to do with what was actually happening on the island. And I do believe there’s some people that probably got there and said, oh, man, this is yuck. Get me out of here. I’m not hanging around this. I’m not participating in any of this. I’m out of here. Why some of those haven’t come out and said things, that’s a whole other conversation. I can’t answer that. Who knows? Several different reasons. Who knows? I don’t know. And I can’t speculate. Could be anything from, you know, somebody trying to blackmail them to you name it. And I have no idea. Not going there, not speculating. My point is this. There are so many other things out there to worry about than that, and that even includes Elon Musk’s comment. And again, do I like Elon? Yes. Has he done a lot of great things? Yes. Is Elon in it just for Elon? I think a lot of times, yes. Has he done a lot of great things to help the country? Yes, he has. But as I said earlier, one of the things that I would caution Elon on is even in the big, beautiful bill, he’s the first one to criticize all of the overspending and this, that and the other. And yet, if I go all the way back to when he first started his companies and the kickbacks, quote unquote, that he was getting from government in regards to subsidies and so on. And it’s the only way that even Tesla was built back in the day was through the tax credits that a lot of people were getting by buying his car. He wouldn’t have the company he has today without that. And I would be the first one to let him know that. And he must have a very short memory, which I know he doesn’t. And he knows these things I’m talking about. But I think sometimes you can have selective memory. And you can sometimes forget those things. And that’s exactly what Elon is doing. He’s got selective memory. He’s forgetting about some of those. Now, he’s come out publicly and said, you know, we should just do it with all subsidies. Nobody should get anything now. Okay, well, great. But what about the ones you’ve already received? Are you going to pay those back? Am I a taxpayer going to get that money back, Elon? Of course not. So what’s that old saying? When you’re pointing the finger at someone else, just remember there’s three pointing back. I think Elon needs to be reminded of that. He can point the finger at Donald Trump in regards to the big, beautiful bill, but Elon, there’s three fingers pointing back at you. So be careful. Be careful who you’re pointing at and what you’re saying. And now, if I were Donald Trump, would that have been one of my responses to him versus some of the way that Donald Trump has responded? Yeah, I would probably be a little bit more tactful in my response, but I would literally put Elon in his place because he’s wrong. He’s out of line and he’s wrong. And you can’t just let a billionaire get by with that because he’s a billionaire. because he’s the richest guy in the world. Which, by the way, for all of you on the left, that all I’ve heard, and I’ve even had extended family members talk about how Elon’s running the country, and he’s the guy doing this, and he’s the guy doing that, and he’s the guy pulling the strings. What say all of you now, by the way? What say all of you on the left now? If there’s any good that comes out of this feud between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, should be the fact that it’s shooting down all the lefties that thought Elon was running the country, because he’s not. He’s not. So those of you on the left, and I know some of you listen to me, what say you now? Because that was the accusations flying around for the longest time that, you know, Donald Trump wasn’t, you know, we elected Elon president. I can remember the left saying that specifically. We didn’t elect Donald Trump. We elected a billionaire. We elected a billionaire that’s going to come in and just, you know, reign all over the rest of us with his billion dollars that he’s got and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You know, the richest man in the world just became president. That’s what you heard the left say. What are they going to say now, by the way? So there’s always a silver lining to anything that’s happening. And I guess for me, that would be the silver lining coming out of this right now. Does it look good for us as Republicans? Of course not. But it sure shuts up those that are on the left that were saying Elon was president, doesn’t it? At the end of the day, it sure shuts them up. Because it really shows that no, he wasn’t. No, he isn’t. And he never was. So if there’s any good, again, those of you listening where you might even have a conversation along these lines and you hear somebody on the left accusing us of this inner fighting, if there’s anything you can say out of this would be, well, I guess it shows you that you were wrong when you said Elon was president, doesn’t it? So there’s always something good that comes out of these that you can use. And I just gave you all something you can now use because there are people out there on the left that think exactly that way. that Elon’s been running the country. Well, Elon hasn’t been running the country. In fact, if I were Donald Trump, I would be telling a lot of the folks in Washington, those that were accusing Elon of running things, I would be telling them that, yeah, I think you can tell from the feud that we’re having that, no, that wasn’t the case. I didn’t let Elon just do whatever he wanted to do. In fact, Elon wanted me to do things in this bill that, frankly, we just can’t do, that we’re not going to do, and he doesn’t get a say in it. And that, by the way, is really what’s happening right now. And this is my frustration with Elon. He’s throwing a billionaire’s tantrum. He’s used to getting his own way, which when you’re the richest man in the world, you do. He’s not getting his own way when it comes to what’s happening in Washington, D.C. right now. So he’s throwing a billionaire tantrum. That’s why I said earlier he needs to go back to his billionaire playpen and suck on his billionaire pacifier. because that’s how he’s acting right now. And again, if he were sitting across from me right now, I’d tell him the same thing. He’s wrong. Not saying Trump is perfect in the way he’s handled things or anything along those lines, but I tell you what, when you’re the president of the United States and somebody is attacking you that way publicly, there’s only so much of that you’re going to put up with before you retaliate. And it’s been going on for weeks now. Keep that in mind. It’s been going on for weeks. And Trump did a really good job a couple of weeks ago of kind of settling that all down. And, you know, we’re good. Elon and I are good and so on. And then Elon keeps firing back things like this. What do you expect Trump to do, by the way? For those of you that don’t think he handled it correctly, what do you expect him to do? He’s an alpha male. You think he’s just going to sit back there forever and let Elon keep throwing darts? It’s not going to work that way, folks. Not going to happen. You didn’t vote for that as president, by the way. You voted for somebody that would be a fighter, that would go in, that would handle things, that would take care of things, that would deal with China, that would handle these tariffs, that would handle foreign countries, that would deal with Hamas, that would deal with Putin. You get my drift. You all voted for that. But then when he does things like this with Elon, you don’t like it. You can’t have both. You don’t get both, folks. Some of you only want one side of Donald Trump. It doesn’t work that way. You don’t hire an alpha male and only get one side. You get the whole package. And in turn, this is the package that you’re now receiving. Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning is next. If you’ve had any problems at all when it comes to your AC unit or your furnace, because some of you might still be using that depending upon what your elevation is, give Cub Creek a call today. Find them at klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 11 :
All right, Roof Savers of Colorado still having some stormy weather that will start to taper off. And if you’ve been putting off, by the way, getting your roof inspected because of a recent storm, please don’t put that off any longer. Don’t call your insurance agent. That’s what I mean to say there. Don’t call your agent. Don’t call your insurance company. Call Dave Hart from Roof Savers of Colorado first. 303-710-6916.
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SPEAKER 07 :
Now back to Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, we are back. Minute left of this hour. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. And one of you asked me a particular question on a guest I had on recently. I will get that back to you as soon as I can. I think the person you’re asking for, though, is Centurion Labs. Centurion Labs, Troy Duell. I think that’s who you’re looking for. So if you get that, let me know and I won’t respond. Somebody else said, man, I wish we could do some of the things that Elon wants done as far as cuts go. You know what? I do, too. I mean, I, Andy, Charlie, all of us here. Would love to see that happen. We spend far too much money. Andy and I both would love to see changes to Social Security, which a lot of people listening don’t even want to see that. But I’m willing to do that because that’s what it’s going to take to save some of these things. And if we don’t, we’re going to be in a world of hurt. So, yeah, I’m right there with Elon, but… That’s not how our system works. You can’t just go in and make certain cuts in certain areas without having it go through proper channels. And we want it that way because that’s the way our government was formed. Unfortunately, we’ve got activist judges that are really killing even what’s going on in the executive branch at times. That’s another conversation I may get into next hour. But hang tight. Another flower coming your way. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 1 :
Bye. I’m a rich guy.
