1 00:00:01,300 --> 00:00:02,270 Starting now. 2 00:00:02,890 --> 00:00:07,150 Commonalities where guests find common ground through uncommon 3 00:00:07,150 --> 00:00:10,790 conversations, politics, religion, finances, 4 00:00:10,890 --> 00:00:14,430 all the topics your grandmother told you not to discuss with friends. 5 00:00:14,770 --> 00:00:17,390 And now your host, Matthew Dowling, 6 00:00:17,730 --> 00:00:20,470 and today's guests commonalities. 7 00:00:22,300 --> 00:00:26,350 Well, hello everyone, and thank you for tuning in to, uh, 8 00:00:26,350 --> 00:00:28,510 our first episode of Commonalities. 9 00:00:28,660 --> 00:00:33,070 This is a show where we want to have people that have different mindsets, 10 00:00:33,070 --> 00:00:37,350 whether it be in the world of politics or otherwise, um, 11 00:00:37,350 --> 00:00:42,230 where they have a conversation and try to come up with what they can 12 00:00:42,230 --> 00:00:46,670 agree on. So we wanna find a, a common placeholder, um, 13 00:00:46,780 --> 00:00:51,070 that everyone kind of lives by and abides by. And, uh, 14 00:00:51,070 --> 00:00:53,550 I think these conversations are extremely important. 15 00:00:53,820 --> 00:00:58,310 I have two fantastic guests with me today. First is Chuck Pasal, 16 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:03,590 um, and I'm gonna let him introduce himself in just a moment. He is a, 17 00:01:03,590 --> 00:01:07,830 a progressive, he's a Democrat. And then, uh, a name that you, 18 00:01:07,830 --> 00:01:12,310 you may have heard because he just, uh, ran for Lieutenant Governor. 19 00:01:12,310 --> 00:01:15,470 And our primary race is, uh, Jeff Coleman. 20 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:17,430 He is a conservative Republican. 21 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:20,750 So we're coming at it from two different angles and, uh, 22 00:01:20,750 --> 00:01:25,470 gonna have our conversation today. Chuck will let you open up with, uh, 23 00:01:25,470 --> 00:01:29,190 with kind of a little bit of your background in some of the things you're known 24 00:01:29,190 --> 00:01:30,023 for. 25 00:01:30,970 --> 00:01:35,390 All right. Thank you, Matt. And it's an honor to be here on your first, uh, 26 00:01:35,390 --> 00:01:38,750 show. I, I appreciate the invitation and, and, uh, 27 00:01:38,750 --> 00:01:42,750 obviously appreciate the invitation to speak with my old friend, Jeff Coleman. 28 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:47,910 Um, I am, um, uh, an active Democrat. 29 00:01:47,910 --> 00:01:51,190 I'm currently the county chairman of the Democratic Party in Armstrong County. 30 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:56,950 Um, but going back in time, I was, um, a school board member in, 31 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:01,190 um, uh, Leechburg for 16 years. I was the mayor of Leechburg for four. 32 00:02:01,780 --> 00:02:05,190 I currently on, uh, council in Leechburg. That's by the way, 33 00:02:05,190 --> 00:02:10,000 that's in Armstrong County. Um, and, um, uh, 34 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:13,320 I, I'm an attorney. Uh, I'm a criminal defense attorney, 35 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:17,880 as well as I do election law and as well as some other things. And, um, 36 00:02:18,730 --> 00:02:21,560 uh, been involved in the party since the Democratic Party, 37 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,480 since I was 16 years old. Uh, 38 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:29,440 was represented by Jeff Coleman for a while here in Armstrong County. Uh, 39 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:32,640 until, uh, there a rumor, uh, uh, uh, 40 00:02:32,790 --> 00:02:34,600 came up that I might run against Jeff. 41 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:39,000 And then all of a sudden I was redistricted out of his district. And, and, uh, 42 00:02:39,330 --> 00:02:40,320 uh, I was the only, 43 00:02:40,350 --> 00:02:43,600 I was in the only municipality in Armstrong County that wasn't in his district. 44 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,600 So I'm sure that was a coincidence. But in any case, uh, 45 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:50,000 Jeff and I have always had a good, uh, uh, 46 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,680 respectful relationship and always had fun, uh, 47 00:02:52,930 --> 00:02:57,480 on some local cable shows here in Armstrong County. Uh, and, uh, it's, 48 00:02:57,660 --> 00:03:02,640 I'm just happy to be here with, with, uh, uh, Jeff and, uh, you, Matt. And, 49 00:03:02,640 --> 00:03:07,480 uh, uh, we could talk about my, some of my legal things. Uh, I've, 50 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:09,480 I've done election law. I've done, uh, 51 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:13,600 a lot of petition challenges on behalf of Democrats. And, um, of course, 52 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:15,080 I'm a leader in, in the Democratic Party. 53 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:16,440 Been on state committee for a long time, 54 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:18,160 and I'm currently the county chairman here. 55 00:03:19,350 --> 00:03:23,120 Well, thank you so much, uh, Chuck, and then Jeff, uh, 56 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:25,800 if you wanna tell us a little bit about your background. 57 00:03:27,030 --> 00:03:31,480 Well, I guess a little bit like Chuck. Uh, I started, uh, my political life in, 58 00:03:31,850 --> 00:03:36,000 uh, as a teenage Republican and then a young Republican and, uh, 59 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:39,000 a Republican committee man. And, uh, I was, 60 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:43,480 I was 13 years old when I signed up for my first, uh, campaign. 61 00:03:44,130 --> 00:03:48,040 Um, my dad was a pastor of a little Presbyterian church in, uh, 62 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:52,240 in Southern Armstrong County in Apollo. And, uh, my mom is where, 63 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:56,200 where I get my hair from is a Filipino, and, uh, 64 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:59,120 there weren't that many Filipinos in Armstrong County. 65 00:03:59,500 --> 00:04:02,920 And so it wasn't a natural starting point, uh, 66 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:07,240 for Republic office. But, uh, went, went away to Liberty University, 67 00:04:07,290 --> 00:04:12,120 it came home and, uh, challenged, uh, an incumbent Democrat, uh, 68 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:16,640 who had been in office in some form, uh, for the better part of my lifetime. 69 00:04:17,180 --> 00:04:21,760 And, uh, was fortunate enough to be able to, to win an election, 70 00:04:21,830 --> 00:04:26,120 a couple of points, um, over the 50% line. 71 00:04:26,780 --> 00:04:30,760 And, uh, really just meeting people, knocking on doors, um, 72 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:32,920 asking for their support. And I needed to, 73 00:04:33,330 --> 00:04:36,960 to get a significant number of Democrats to cross over and vote for me. 74 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:41,560 So this isn't a new conversation from me. Chuck and I, uh, our friendship, 75 00:04:42,010 --> 00:04:46,160 uh, I mean, he was at my wedding. So we're, we're more than than just, uh, 76 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:48,160 occasional sparring partners. You know, 77 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:51,640 this is a person that I have a lot of respect for, um, knows, 78 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:56,640 know that at the end of a conversation we can really disagree on some, 79 00:04:56,670 --> 00:05:01,560 some core things about how we view budgets or taxes or social issues 80 00:05:01,650 --> 00:05:05,640 or, um, education. But in the end, 81 00:05:06,140 --> 00:05:08,880 say that there is a lot more that we have in common. 82 00:05:08,890 --> 00:05:11,800 We care a lot about the same things, uh, 83 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:16,080 but maybe where we come at it is a little different. Um, so as you mentioned, 84 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:20,640 Matt, I ran for Lieutenant Governor this past year after being out of, um, 85 00:05:20,790 --> 00:05:24,160 office for about 17 years. And, uh, 86 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,520 politics had changed a lot significantly, 87 00:05:27,670 --> 00:05:32,560 just in that little span where it is not just trill and 88 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,320 loud and name calling, but it's gotten so deeply bitter. 89 00:05:37,180 --> 00:05:42,080 And there are very few places that you can travel anywhere where you 90 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,880 will have a conversation with a Democrat or a Republican. Um, 91 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:48,600 you're not gonna find a Democrat in a, in a church. 92 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,480 Often that's predominantly Republican, vice versa. Um, 93 00:05:52,590 --> 00:05:54,720 very few working environments now. 94 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:59,240 People can't even talk about politics because it gets so bitter. Uh, 95 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:03,600 and then our Thanksgiving day, um, is divided in America. 96 00:06:03,730 --> 00:06:08,360 So we're, we're, we're Chuck and I, and I know you are, uh, 97 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:08,760 Matt, 98 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:13,720 looking for ways to stitch together a conversation where at least we 99 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:17,920 can get back to civil and reasonable debate on things that really matter. 100 00:06:19,550 --> 00:06:20,320 Yeah, and, 101 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:24,680 and Chuck and I were talking before we went live here with the show today. Uh, 102 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:29,520 a little bit about, uh, working across the aisle, and I was just saying, um, 103 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:33,240 you know, I'm retiring this year, but also retiring is, uh, 104 00:06:33,370 --> 00:06:36,160 my neighbor in the legislature, Pam Snyder, 105 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:39,320 and Pam and I have had a great working relationship. 106 00:06:39,780 --> 00:06:44,120 And sometimes having a conversation with someone from across the aisle actually 107 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:49,040 makes you think a little bit harder about why your priorities are where 108 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:53,040 they are. And that's why I think it's so important for us to have, uh, 109 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:54,720 conversations like this today. 110 00:06:55,050 --> 00:06:59,400 We do have to get a quick sponsorship break in, and, uh, 111 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:01,840 we'll be back in just a couple minutes when we come back, 112 00:07:01,840 --> 00:07:05,960 we're gonna be talking about kind of the ideal setting, what we're looking for, 113 00:07:06,450 --> 00:07:09,720 uh, in the political landscape here in the future. 114 00:07:09,970 --> 00:07:11,840 So we'll be back in just a moment. 115 00:07:15,190 --> 00:07:19,960 You're listening to commonalities or guests find common ground through 116 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:21,480 Uncommon Conversations. 117 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,480 We'll be back after this brief break to recognize our sponsors. 118 00:07:29,220 --> 00:07:31,110 When it comes to buying a home, 119 00:07:31,460 --> 00:07:34,430 what you see isn't exactly what you get. 120 00:07:34,780 --> 00:07:39,390 That's why home buyers should call Dave Dowling At Grandview 121 00:07:39,390 --> 00:07:44,350 Inspections at 7 2 4 2 0 8 4 1 0 8. 122 00:07:44,700 --> 00:07:47,910 You'll see colorful flowers, freshly painted walls, 123 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:52,430 granite countertops, fleeing hardwood floors, and other touches. 124 00:07:52,740 --> 00:07:56,550 What you can't see is the cracks, ancient plumbing, 125 00:07:56,910 --> 00:07:58,070 dangerous wiring, 126 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:03,470 or broken appliances that might be revealed when you hire a 127 00:08:03,470 --> 00:08:07,150 home inspector. 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Find us also on Facebook, 154 00:09:50,460 --> 00:09:51,860 Instagram, and Twitter, 155 00:09:52,190 --> 00:09:55,980 or email info coordinated three sixty.com. 156 00:09:58,140 --> 00:10:03,110 Well, you're listening to commonalities on WBS five 90 am 157 00:10:03,170 --> 00:10:07,950 1 0 1 0.1 fm, and any place you download your podcasts, 158 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:12,910 uh, find us in the Apple Podcast store or on Amazon. Um, 159 00:10:13,130 --> 00:10:17,150 I'm with Jeff Coleman today. Uh, he's a Republican that, uh, 160 00:10:17,390 --> 00:10:20,910 recently ran for Lieutenant Governor and Chuck Pasco. 161 00:10:20,910 --> 00:10:25,190 Chuck is a Democrat and chair of his county party. 162 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:30,510 Um, so gentlemen, we wanna talk a little bit about the ideal, and, 163 00:10:30,510 --> 00:10:33,590 uh, Jeff, maybe I'll, I'll let you start our conversation. 164 00:10:34,660 --> 00:10:39,630 Well, I think the ideal is that you have two, uh, two, maybe three, maybe four, 165 00:10:39,630 --> 00:10:41,590 but at least two, uh, 166 00:10:41,590 --> 00:10:45,910 schools have thought that are represented on borough councils and legislatures 167 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:47,990 at the national level, uh, 168 00:10:47,990 --> 00:10:52,030 where you have a philosophical divide where you look at the a problem and you 169 00:10:52,030 --> 00:10:54,430 say, all right, we can go this way. We can go that way. And then, 170 00:10:54,810 --> 00:10:59,310 and then you begin to say, uh, each side, uh, 171 00:10:59,310 --> 00:11:03,630 has to find out how do you get to at least a little bit of what the other side 172 00:11:03,630 --> 00:11:06,230 wants that you have. There's a bit of a tug of war, 173 00:11:06,490 --> 00:11:10,870 and then you have a civil process with rules that govern it, decorum, 174 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:15,350 uh, there are Gavels and Roberts rules of order. And, um, 175 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:19,350 in our case, uh, Matthew, um, the, uh, 176 00:11:19,350 --> 00:11:24,230 Mason's manual that are the guardrails around the debate that 177 00:11:24,230 --> 00:11:29,150 keep it from turning personal, you know, the, the rules that say, um, 178 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:34,150 we have to say the gentleman from, or the gentle lady from, or Mr. Speaker, 179 00:11:34,380 --> 00:11:35,270 Madame Chairman. 180 00:11:35,990 --> 00:11:40,110 Those are the kinds of things that people are often saying, well, 181 00:11:40,370 --> 00:11:44,590 why do we have to be so nice and kind to each other? You know, 182 00:11:44,590 --> 00:11:48,110 why can we just get down to the heart of the issue and put gloves on? 183 00:11:48,730 --> 00:11:53,190 The problem is the people that were sworn to represent Borough Council 184 00:11:53,980 --> 00:11:57,120 Legislature, Congress, um, 185 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:01,440 don't have any action on the issues that they are looking to have resolved. 186 00:12:02,060 --> 00:12:06,680 And so the ideal is working cooperative, controlled fighting, 187 00:12:07,370 --> 00:12:09,560 uh, fighting with rules that don't, 188 00:12:09,630 --> 00:12:14,480 that don't aim to destroy the other person or eliminate them from the 189 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:15,320 discussion. 190 00:12:16,580 --> 00:12:21,040 And Chuck, what does the ideal in the political landscape look like to you? 191 00:12:23,690 --> 00:12:25,800 As Jeff was kind of alluding to, you know, 192 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:27,400 those of us that are in local government, 193 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:31,760 and Jeff was in local government before he, he, he went to the legislature, 194 00:12:32,650 --> 00:12:36,720 uh, on school boards. Well, I mean, school board is less so now, but, 195 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,120 but for the most part, but Borough Council, et cetera, 196 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:44,200 there is no Democrat or Republican way to fix a playground 197 00:12:44,370 --> 00:12:49,120 or to fix a pothole or to pave a street, right? Uh, on my council, 198 00:12:49,560 --> 00:12:54,400 there are four Democrats and three Republicans. Okay? We all get along. 199 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:56,720 We're all there for one purpose, 200 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,960 and that's to do what's the best thing for our community and the people in our 201 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:05,440 community. And we talk to each other. And, you know, 202 00:13:06,310 --> 00:13:10,080 when we see each other, you know, out somewhere, we'll have a beer together, 203 00:13:10,090 --> 00:13:13,760 or we, after the meetings, we'll go out for a drink together. 204 00:13:14,140 --> 00:13:17,080 And that's the way it should be. We're all there for the same purpose. 205 00:13:17,460 --> 00:13:18,800 Now in the legislature, 206 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:22,960 and I know a lot of people in the legislature on both sides of the aisle and in 207 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:27,880 Congress lately, in the last 10, 20 years, maybe a little longer, 208 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:33,080 we've started to get to the point where the sides really don't talk to each 209 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:37,400 other anymore. It used to be when I, when I first got involved years ago, I, 210 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:41,160 you know, in, in the, in the eighties, I knew in the nineties, 211 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:44,360 I knew that that legislators on both sides of the aisle, 212 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:47,720 they would fight like hell on the floor and in committee, 213 00:13:48,540 --> 00:13:51,920 and then they'd be able to go out for dinner together and go out and have a, 214 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:56,320 have a drink together and talk to each other, and they were friends, right? 215 00:13:56,700 --> 00:13:58,600 And that's how it needs to be. Again, 216 00:13:58,990 --> 00:14:03,640 what we've gotten to now is there's so much vitriol and so much like 217 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:06,360 distrust to the other side and, and, 218 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:11,360 and making the other side a demonn or whatever, and it starts in the campaigns. 219 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:15,120 But it, but for some reason, you know, we've always had tough campaigns, 220 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:16,760 but then it, it, 221 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:21,280 but now it translated over into distrust among colleagues in the house 222 00:14:21,860 --> 00:14:25,240 and, and, and the senate and, and both the state and federal level. 223 00:14:25,660 --> 00:14:28,680 And nothing gets done. Nothing of value gets done, 224 00:14:29,260 --> 00:14:33,280 and bills are ramp brew on party line votes without real discussion 225 00:14:34,060 --> 00:14:37,560 and votes. And, and, and then we, you know, 226 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,800 then we read the bills and we're like, well, they missed this. 227 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:44,320 There's the hole in this, this thing's badly drafted, whatever. 228 00:14:44,850 --> 00:14:49,320 Whereas if everybody talked to each other along the way, 229 00:14:50,130 --> 00:14:54,880 as friends, as colleagues who disagree, no doubt, 230 00:14:55,140 --> 00:14:57,560 who have philosophical differences, no doubt. 231 00:14:58,380 --> 00:15:01,960 But if they talked to each other and trusted each other and liked each other as 232 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:06,480 friends, we could, we could have much better legislation with, 233 00:15:06,670 --> 00:15:11,120 with, you know, with much less drafting errors, much less holes, 234 00:15:11,670 --> 00:15:16,040 much less problems. Because when you, when when you pass bad legislation, 235 00:15:16,300 --> 00:15:19,280 you may have fixed one problem that you've created five more. 236 00:15:20,990 --> 00:15:21,480 Well, 237 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:26,080 and and so I want to shift our conversation a little bit and talk about 238 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:28,120 where the system is broken. 239 00:15:28,300 --> 00:15:32,480 And I want both of you to give your perspective, but, you know, 240 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,520 as someone who is, is just leaving the legislature, 241 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:40,120 something that I absolutely hated was the weaponization 242 00:15:40,250 --> 00:15:44,800 of the amendment process. Uh, and what I mean, what I mean by that is, 243 00:15:44,940 --> 00:15:47,040 you know, we refer to him as a gotten replace. 244 00:15:47,130 --> 00:15:51,480 If I'm a Republican running an extremely conservative bill, 245 00:15:51,830 --> 00:15:54,320 a Democrat will run a, uh, 246 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:58,640 an amendment that is a gut and replace that takes all of the language of my bill 247 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:02,080 away and puts in his or hers. And, uh, 248 00:16:02,140 --> 00:16:06,800 the process of talking out problems in legislation 249 00:16:07,530 --> 00:16:10,440 is ignored because, you know, further than talk, 250 00:16:10,650 --> 00:16:14,720 we have the ability to amend and vote on amending an A bill. 251 00:16:14,860 --> 00:16:19,000 But when we've rep weaponized that process, then we, 252 00:16:19,170 --> 00:16:23,760 we don't have the ability to have that conversation and make functional 253 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:27,160 changes to make legislation better. Instead, 254 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:31,400 we're simply grandstanding on one side or the other side of the issue. 255 00:16:31,740 --> 00:16:34,680 And I'll, I'll be honest with you, in my six years experience, 256 00:16:34,990 --> 00:16:39,280 I've seen both parties do it. So it's not just a, a, a, 257 00:16:39,310 --> 00:16:42,600 a hack of one party or the other. So, uh, Jeff, 258 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:46,880 let's go to you and talk a little bit about where you've identified that the, 259 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:47,920 the process is broken. 260 00:16:48,750 --> 00:16:53,360 I think you talked about one of the symptoms, the amendment process there, it, 261 00:16:53,980 --> 00:16:58,360 the, the vote on, um, um, the speaker, the, I mean, any, 262 00:16:58,380 --> 00:17:03,040 any vote in the legislative process or any vote at the local borough council 263 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:07,080 level can be turned into a weapon. And the weapon is, 264 00:17:07,180 --> 00:17:10,480 I'm going to expose you or embarrass you in your local newspaper, 265 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:14,000 or I'm gonna make sure that, you know, I'm giving, um, 266 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:19,000 giving a line or two in your opponent's next mail or TV commercial. 267 00:17:19,810 --> 00:17:22,080 Um, and so all of it though, 268 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:27,040 comes down to the lack of personal respect, uh, between people. If, 269 00:17:27,050 --> 00:17:30,440 if, you know, look over the, the last many, many years, 270 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:34,720 there has been a major effort to recruit, I'm just gonna say this broadly, 271 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:39,560 people of faith to come into the political process. So what, 272 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:44,440 what exactly does that mean, especially for those who identify as Christians? 273 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,360 Shouldn't that mean there's a lot more, uh, 274 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:52,360 love and patience and kindness and generalists in this process? 275 00:17:52,670 --> 00:17:53,920 What you have though, 276 00:17:54,170 --> 00:17:58,840 is you have people who are coming in to make a name for themselves as a, 277 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,320 whatever the interest group they represent, uh, 278 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:07,120 and then they find opponents in the legislative body who instead of 279 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:07,950 making friends, 280 00:18:07,950 --> 00:18:12,840 become examples of people who they can go back to raise 281 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:17,040 money on, they can go back to their, you know, their legislative districts. I, 282 00:18:17,190 --> 00:18:21,880 I think a lot about this scene on the steps of the US 283 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:23,360 capital after, uh, 284 00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:28,040 nine 11 when you had people like Nancy Pelosi and Rick Santorum 285 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:32,120 and all of the Republican and Democratic members of the, 286 00:18:32,330 --> 00:18:37,040 of the House and Senate standing on the capital steps singing 287 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:38,000 God Bless America. 288 00:18:38,860 --> 00:18:43,760 And then fast forward to a couple years ago when you had, 289 00:18:44,130 --> 00:18:44,780 um, 290 00:18:44,780 --> 00:18:49,240 one of the fire firebrand conservative congresswoman and, 291 00:18:49,460 --> 00:18:52,680 and, uh, a firebrand democrat, uh, 292 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:55,960 two women standing on the, on the same steps, 293 00:18:56,520 --> 00:19:00,680 screaming at each other in front of about 294 00:19:01,100 --> 00:19:05,880 200 photographers. And both of them, I asked people, so who won that? 295 00:19:06,270 --> 00:19:10,720 Well, both of them won because both of them were able to raise money 296 00:19:11,460 --> 00:19:16,040 off of this theatrical moment. That's why you have young people saying, 297 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:20,880 I don't, I don't believe politics is a serious business. It's all a game. 298 00:19:21,220 --> 00:19:25,120 And you will say whatever you need to say to raise money and get elected. 299 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:31,380 You know what, one of the things that I've always wished was, uh, 300 00:19:31,380 --> 00:19:36,380 that there was an on off switch for campaigning because we come out of 301 00:19:36,380 --> 00:19:40,060 a campaign and, uh, you know, you fought tooth and nail, 302 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:43,860 and then it's time to actually do the people's work. 303 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:48,980 And if we can't get outta campaign mode where I'm always trying to get a 304 00:19:48,980 --> 00:19:50,860 one line or a gotcha on you, 305 00:19:51,130 --> 00:19:55,540 then we can't have realistic change happen. And really, 306 00:19:55,540 --> 00:20:00,420 I think that that drags government to a halt. And, uh, you know, Jeff, I know, 307 00:20:00,910 --> 00:20:05,700 uh, instead of having an on off switch for your campaigning, you talked, uh, 308 00:20:05,700 --> 00:20:10,340 a lot in your recent race for Lieutenant Governor about having a different 309 00:20:10,580 --> 00:20:14,740 type of campaign where you didn't go negative. And, uh, and, 310 00:20:14,740 --> 00:20:17,140 and if you wanna just elaborate on that for a second, 311 00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:20,620 and then we'll get to Chuck with some of his feelings on where things are broken 312 00:20:20,620 --> 00:20:21,250 as well. 313 00:20:21,250 --> 00:20:25,700 Yeah, I don't think you can, there's, there's, I don't think you can now, uh, 314 00:20:25,700 --> 00:20:28,740 transition from a campaign where, you know, 315 00:20:29,910 --> 00:20:32,380 if a campaign is spending 20, 30, 40, 316 00:20:32,380 --> 00:20:35,700 50 million destroying another person, 317 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:40,660 and then you say, just kidding, or Let's shake hands, 318 00:20:40,660 --> 00:20:42,020 or let's get back to work. 319 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:47,060 The leadership test that you have as a governor or a, 320 00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:51,320 a US senator or as a legislator happens in the campaign. 321 00:20:51,780 --> 00:20:54,280 The way that you campaign the, the, 322 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:58,800 whether or not you veto the mailer that has the dumb picture 323 00:20:59,590 --> 00:21:04,520 that was photoshopped by a young designer somewhere thought it would 324 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:08,680 be funny to put a silly picture of the opponent with some silly words next to 325 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:13,360 it. That candidate needs to have the maturity and the temperament to say, 326 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:17,200 vetoed not gonna go out with my name on it. In fact, if you put that, 327 00:21:17,590 --> 00:21:22,000 that mailer out with my name on it, I'll condemn it. And, uh, so, 328 00:21:22,380 --> 00:21:25,400 and people sometimes are saying, but look, uh, 329 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,320 this is how the professionals say that I have to win. 330 00:21:28,790 --> 00:21:32,440 I have to raise their negatives and raise my positives. 331 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:36,880 And the only way to raise their negatives is to spend, you fill in the blank, 332 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:41,240 whatever the amount of blank check in, in many cases, to defeat this person, 333 00:21:41,660 --> 00:21:46,560 you have to be convinced in your heart that that person is an evil 334 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:51,440 person, and that you, you are the only person who can stop them. And that's why, 335 00:21:51,530 --> 00:21:55,480 eh, we've gotta get a little dirty, we've gotta do some things we didn't like. 336 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:59,280 And then you're gonna go shake their hand, look their spouse in the eye, 337 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:02,960 look their child in the eye after and say, it was all a joke. 338 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,640 Or it was just business not personal. No, nobody believes that. 339 00:22:08,150 --> 00:22:08,690 You know, 340 00:22:08,690 --> 00:22:13,370 in gone are the days where you can throw away a piece of political mail and 341 00:22:13,370 --> 00:22:15,730 it's, it's gone. Um, you know, 342 00:22:15,730 --> 00:22:19,370 for those of us that have young kids and are involved in politics, 343 00:22:19,370 --> 00:22:21,970 I have a nine and a 10 year old. Um, 344 00:22:22,270 --> 00:22:26,970 the negatives that were sent about me will exist on Facebook 345 00:22:27,020 --> 00:22:31,610 or Twitter. They, the internet someplace for years and years to come. 346 00:22:32,140 --> 00:22:34,410 Um, you know, so I, I think, uh, 347 00:22:34,410 --> 00:22:38,050 we as the people who are saying yes or no to those mail pieces that come from 348 00:22:38,050 --> 00:22:41,210 our consultants, you know, and, and I'll be the first to say, 349 00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:46,090 I've okayed a couple mail pieces that I wish that I didn't in the past because 350 00:22:46,090 --> 00:22:50,850 they were just sill or foolish. Um, and, and, you know, took a, 351 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:53,970 a pot shot at someone. Um, you know, 352 00:22:53,970 --> 00:22:55,930 but those of us that are okaying, 353 00:22:55,930 --> 00:23:00,210 those mail pieces need to think about our ability to work with that other person 354 00:23:00,660 --> 00:23:03,970 in the future. So, Chuck, what do you think about, uh, 355 00:23:03,970 --> 00:23:05,410 the system and where it's broken? 356 00:23:06,580 --> 00:23:10,010 Uh, first of all, I wanna say that I agree with everything that Jeff just said, 357 00:23:10,010 --> 00:23:14,490 and that, you know, the, you're talking about the amendment process, right? 358 00:23:14,670 --> 00:23:18,570 But, but not just the amendment process, but like, look, 359 00:23:18,570 --> 00:23:20,530 everybody's vote is fair game. 360 00:23:20,530 --> 00:23:25,050 Everybody's record is fair game when it comes to a campaign. 361 00:23:25,270 --> 00:23:27,730 The personal stuff is not in my opinion, but the, but, 362 00:23:27,730 --> 00:23:31,690 but the record is fair game. But when you're talking about, 363 00:23:33,230 --> 00:23:38,170 say for example, the school code bill or the fiscal code bill, right? 364 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:42,820 That has 700 provisions in it that all do different things, 365 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:48,090 you know, that no matter how the person person votes on that, you can attack it, 366 00:23:48,090 --> 00:23:48,490 right? 367 00:23:48,490 --> 00:23:52,530 Because there's something in there that you can attack because they put so many 368 00:23:52,530 --> 00:23:56,450 things in there that, that, you know, is like, okay, well, 369 00:23:56,450 --> 00:23:57,690 I'm against this thing and this thing, 370 00:23:57,690 --> 00:24:00,450 but I think I have to vote for it because overall, whatever. 371 00:24:00,870 --> 00:24:03,450 But some people have the courage to vote against it, 372 00:24:04,350 --> 00:24:08,010 and they vote against it because there's something in there that to them is so 373 00:24:09,490 --> 00:24:11,120 against their, their, 374 00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:14,640 their belief system that it overwhelms the majority of the stuff. 375 00:24:14,820 --> 00:24:19,320 And then you say, well, this person voted against, you know, 376 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,800 record school funding. Well, yeah, but they also voted, 377 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:25,400 but the reason they voted for against it was this other thing. 378 00:24:25,530 --> 00:24:26,760 So it's gamesmanship. 379 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:30,800 We know we put everything in there so that we can attack somebody on something 380 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:35,640 no matter how they vote. That's what the legislator, the legislature does. 381 00:24:35,660 --> 00:24:40,040 And it's, and it's the kind of thing that gets back to not trusting and not, 382 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:43,240 and not liking your colleagues because it, 383 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:45,640 because everybody knows that those are omnibus bills. 384 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:47,400 Everybody knows that everything's in there. 385 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:50,600 Everybody knows that people should be able to vote how they want on them, 386 00:24:50,940 --> 00:24:55,400 and yet they are the source of attack time. And again, I mean, in the, in, 387 00:24:55,400 --> 00:25:00,240 in the recent election here, we've seen that over and over and over again, that, 388 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:04,200 that people are attacked on bills that are omnibus bills by pulling out one 389 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:08,840 sentence out of the bill and saying they voted against this popular thing that, 390 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:12,920 now going on with that, with that, um, 391 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:17,080 theme and what Jeff said earlier, you know, a, 392 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:18,640 a very good friend of mine is, is, 393 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:22,280 is running for an office next year in Allegheny County. And as part of that, 394 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:25,440 we've been out talking to some 395 00:25:27,380 --> 00:25:32,150 long retired legislators, okay? And from, 396 00:25:32,150 --> 00:25:33,030 from Allegheny County, 397 00:25:34,010 --> 00:25:38,830 and I remember these guys from back when I know Jeff served 398 00:25:38,830 --> 00:25:43,750 with some of them. And back then, right? Back then, 399 00:25:44,490 --> 00:25:46,910 you had some incredibly intelligent, 400 00:25:49,210 --> 00:25:49,560 um, 401 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:54,520 thoughtful people who were all about good policy regardless 402 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:56,120 of where it fell on the spectrum, right? 403 00:25:56,120 --> 00:25:57,680 And they worked with the other side to get there. 404 00:25:58,310 --> 00:26:00,040 They were people who developed, 405 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:05,000 once they got their subject matter expertise in 406 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:06,520 a particular thing, they got on a committee, 407 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:08,760 they become the subject matter expert in that thing. 408 00:26:10,260 --> 00:26:12,600 And they were serious about policy. 409 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:15,760 And they're so much fun to talk to about that even now. 410 00:26:16,820 --> 00:26:19,960 And what we have now in the legislature, and I'm not talking about you Matt, 411 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,080 but, but I'm just talking about overall watching the legislature. 412 00:26:23,430 --> 00:26:26,240 What we have now is a, is on both sides, 413 00:26:26,890 --> 00:26:31,100 people who are performative, performative politics, 414 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:34,940 but who don't, who, who believe in certain things policy-wise, 415 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:39,220 but who never accomplish any of it because they're doing performative politics, 416 00:26:39,420 --> 00:26:40,253 right? 417 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:43,520 And they won't work with the other side to actually get done what they want to 418 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:44,353 get done. 419 00:26:44,500 --> 00:26:48,880 And it's a real shame because the losers in that are the people 420 00:26:49,330 --> 00:26:52,600 of Pennsylvania, the losers on it on a national level in Congress, 421 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:56,800 are the people of the country that we cannot get anything done. Every, 422 00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:00,280 every vote is not every vote clearly in the legislature, 423 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:04,640 but every vote in Congress almost is party line, right? Um, 424 00:27:05,500 --> 00:27:09,560 and I know Democrats and the legislature complain they can't get any of their 425 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:14,440 bills up on the floor because whatever people are just holding press conference 426 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:17,320 after press conference, after press conference in Harrisburg, 427 00:27:17,810 --> 00:27:22,560 as opposed to doing the real work and getting the job done and doing legislation 428 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:26,520 because they will not talk to the other side. And it's a problem on both sides, 429 00:27:26,860 --> 00:27:30,840 but I think the majority has to be open to it first, right? I mean, 430 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:33,760 the majority has to, whoever the majority is, 431 00:27:34,020 --> 00:27:36,840 has to be willing to talk to the other side to try to get stuff done. 432 00:27:36,980 --> 00:27:39,240 The minority can be willing to talk to the other side, 433 00:27:39,420 --> 00:27:43,360 but if the majority isn't willing to talk back, it doesn't really matter's. 434 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:47,020 And I know people are hearing this, Matt, and they're, 435 00:27:47,020 --> 00:27:49,780 and hearing what Chuck and I are saying and saying, oh, oh. 436 00:27:49,780 --> 00:27:52,980 But what you're really talking about is going back to the days of, 437 00:27:53,270 --> 00:27:56,220 of smoke filled rooms and politicians cutting deals, 438 00:27:56,220 --> 00:27:58,100 and they're not being any transparency and all that. 439 00:27:58,100 --> 00:28:00,500 That's not at all what we're talking about. We're, 440 00:28:00,650 --> 00:28:05,100 what we're really saying is the same rules that you would have in a classroom, 441 00:28:06,750 --> 00:28:11,180 uh, in your home with your parents, with your grandparents, 442 00:28:11,330 --> 00:28:14,740 with your neighbors, uh, when you go into a store, 443 00:28:15,450 --> 00:28:20,060 just the common decencies of being honest 444 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:24,820 and, and keeping your word and showing up on time, and, um, 445 00:28:24,820 --> 00:28:29,660 having discussions about important issues with just a baseline of 446 00:28:29,660 --> 00:28:30,060 respect. 447 00:28:30,060 --> 00:28:34,980 You don't go in to people you care about and try to mock them or make fun 448 00:28:34,980 --> 00:28:39,060 of them on social media because, you know, that would destroy the relationship. 449 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:43,320 You know, you don't set people up, uh, 450 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:48,140 with comments in another environment that's not political or 451 00:28:48,140 --> 00:28:52,300 legislative and just set them up so that you can go viral on TikTok. 452 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:56,820 But in politics, what, what Chuck is talking about, 453 00:28:56,820 --> 00:29:01,660 performative people on the stage performing for people. Uh, 454 00:29:01,660 --> 00:29:05,380 I I, I've been meeting with, uh, some, some young, uh, 455 00:29:05,380 --> 00:29:08,660 juniors and seniors in high school, and, um, 456 00:29:09,430 --> 00:29:12,260 ev to a person, I, very few of them, 457 00:29:12,390 --> 00:29:15,300 of the 200 or so kids that I've met with, 458 00:29:15,740 --> 00:29:18,820 maybe four or five of them think politics is a serious business. 459 00:29:19,010 --> 00:29:21,020 They all think government is serious, 460 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:23,780 and the work that's done in government is serious, 461 00:29:23,780 --> 00:29:28,580 but they don't think that the commercials and what they see on tv, 462 00:29:28,580 --> 00:29:33,020 what they read about, they, they think it's all a, a play. It's all a joke. 463 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:34,380 Entertainment. 464 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:36,740 Entertainment. Yeah. You. 465 00:29:36,740 --> 00:29:40,660 Know, I, I, I wanna get to how we fix this issue, 466 00:29:40,660 --> 00:29:42,320 but before we get there, 467 00:29:42,550 --> 00:29:47,520 I wanna talk about who has the power to fix this issue. Uh, 468 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:52,040 you would think that, uh, as, as a politician, my boss is, uh, 469 00:29:52,210 --> 00:29:56,960 is always the people that have elected me and put me there and, uh, 470 00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:01,880 you know, they have the control to vote me out. Um, unfortunately, 471 00:30:02,300 --> 00:30:07,160 and we could get into a long conversation about how maps are drawn, um, 472 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:11,240 because our, our maps favor definitely one party over another. 473 00:30:11,570 --> 00:30:13,840 So maybe the people don't have, uh, 474 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:18,480 as much power all the time as they think they do in congressional or legislative 475 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:22,880 districts, um, because that district leans heavily one way or the other. 476 00:30:23,020 --> 00:30:27,200 But isn't it the people that have the power through the election process? 477 00:30:30,710 --> 00:30:35,340 Uh, look, I, I think people have the power, uh, but people are, 478 00:30:35,340 --> 00:30:39,300 need to be very careful to not be manipulated by 479 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:43,890 people that are running for office. And, and what do I mean by that? 480 00:30:43,890 --> 00:30:46,050 I mean that when you, 481 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:50,770 when you hear politicians speaking to the things that you are 482 00:30:50,770 --> 00:30:51,603 afraid of, 483 00:30:52,150 --> 00:30:57,020 but they're positioning themselves as the answer and not 484 00:30:57,020 --> 00:31:01,700 saying, well, let's talk about how we can solve this problem together. Or when, 485 00:31:01,700 --> 00:31:05,140 if you listen carefully to what a politician is saying, 486 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:10,140 and if the majority of what they're saying is actually to get you mad at the 487 00:31:10,140 --> 00:31:12,700 person they are running against, so they'll actually benefit. 488 00:31:13,230 --> 00:31:15,780 If you vote against that person, then your, 489 00:31:15,780 --> 00:31:17,940 your warning lights have to go on when, 490 00:31:17,940 --> 00:31:21,700 and here's one little tell when a politician is sarcastic 491 00:31:22,990 --> 00:31:24,860 or, and there's just some subtleties there. 492 00:31:24,860 --> 00:31:28,940 When somebody makes up a nickname or a rhyme for your political opponent, 493 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:33,820 and both sides are doing it, that that alert should go off and you should say, 494 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:37,660 Hey, I have a lot of respect for you, Mr. Or Mrs. Politician, 495 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:39,500 but I'm, 496 00:31:39,530 --> 00:31:43,940 I want somebody who will be serious about these issues and not just enter, 497 00:31:43,940 --> 00:31:47,220 entertain me or make me laugh because you can appeal to my base instinct, 498 00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:51,700 but I want you to appeal to something in me that wants me to, 499 00:31:51,830 --> 00:31:54,140 to be inspired, uh, 500 00:31:54,140 --> 00:31:57,620 about fixing my community or fixing my state or my country. 501 00:31:59,010 --> 00:32:03,060 Yeah, I mean, I mean, every once in a while, a laugh is good, right? And it, 502 00:32:03,060 --> 00:32:07,260 and it lightens the, that it can lighten the mood and whatever, 503 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:09,340 but overall, they want somebody who wants, 504 00:32:09,340 --> 00:32:13,740 who wants to be serious about policy and fixing the problem, humor's good. 505 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:18,140 But it's a question of what that humor is, how, how personal, 506 00:32:18,140 --> 00:32:22,980 how biting the, that humor is. Uh, but look, so, so, so Matt, 507 00:32:22,980 --> 00:32:27,020 you asked a question who, right? Yeah. The people are in charge, 508 00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:28,780 but you know, 509 00:32:29,010 --> 00:32:33,460 it's high time that people who are elected, right? 510 00:32:34,100 --> 00:32:38,380 Actually show leadership on, on, on this kind of thing, saying, look, 511 00:32:39,100 --> 00:32:39,933 you know, 512 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:45,080 we're not gonna just agree with somebody because they're the leader of the 513 00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:48,680 party, because they're the whatever. We're just not gonna agree. We're, 514 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:52,920 we're not gonna just walk in lockstep to whatever 515 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:58,310 we're going, you know, we believe and, and tell the truth. You know, 516 00:32:58,310 --> 00:33:03,270 tell the truth. If, if, if there's a leader, you know, 517 00:33:03,540 --> 00:33:05,150 I can't imagine who I'm talking about, 518 00:33:05,150 --> 00:33:10,030 who's saying things that are completely untrue and misleading people, okay? 519 00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:14,450 If the elected people of that person's party 520 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:20,150 at all levels, right? Uh, uh, from down, uh, 521 00:33:20,220 --> 00:33:24,560 down the whole way, had the courage, had the backbone, 522 00:33:24,900 --> 00:33:29,480 had a spine, and said, you know, that's not true. 523 00:33:30,100 --> 00:33:34,770 That's not true. Was this whole thing about is the election? Are the, 524 00:33:34,770 --> 00:33:39,290 are our elections fair? Was the election stolen? Was this election stolen? 525 00:33:39,430 --> 00:33:43,490 Was this, was this fraud? Was that fraud? Okay, look, I'm a lawyer. 526 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:46,810 I litigate those things in court. If there's evidence of it, 527 00:33:46,810 --> 00:33:49,450 if there's evidence of fraud, I'm gonna say there's evidence of fraud. 528 00:33:49,500 --> 00:33:54,450 No matter who benefits from that, okay? As a, as an election attorney, 529 00:33:54,740 --> 00:33:59,690 as somebody who, who cares about that a lot, I want our elections to be fair, 530 00:33:59,900 --> 00:34:04,850 if I lose and, and there's fraud that helps me be, 531 00:34:04,850 --> 00:34:09,170 and I, and because I say it's fraud, so be it. The point is, 532 00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:14,370 it's not about what side you're on, it's about what the facts are. 533 00:34:14,670 --> 00:34:18,770 And the people who are elected to office at all levels 534 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:22,210 have to say when they're, when, when, 535 00:34:22,210 --> 00:34:26,490 when somebody of influence in their party is saying something that is false, 536 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:29,010 that is misleading, that is dangerous, 537 00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:34,090 they have to have the courage to stand up and say what that person's saying is 538 00:34:34,090 --> 00:34:35,530 false. There's no evidence of that. 539 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:39,780 And then what happens is the few people that, that have done, 540 00:34:39,780 --> 00:34:44,100 that have gotten their lives threatened, have got, has been, been, you know, 541 00:34:44,340 --> 00:34:47,420 violence threatened against them. We have to stop that. 542 00:34:47,830 --> 00:34:51,660 We have to stop having the kind of discourse that is violent. 543 00:34:52,140 --> 00:34:54,260 We're not a third world country yet. 544 00:34:54,540 --> 00:34:58,180 Chuck. Here's what I hear people yelling at us right now, 545 00:34:58,430 --> 00:35:00,180 because they're saying, yeah, 546 00:35:00,180 --> 00:35:05,180 but we tried nice before we tried civil getting along. 547 00:35:05,180 --> 00:35:08,740 And you know what? It doesn't get us anywhere. So when, 548 00:35:09,070 --> 00:35:11,820 so what I'm hearing people, cause I heard this on the campaign, 549 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:16,740 you need somebody who's a little rough around the edges, who isn't, you know, 550 00:35:16,750 --> 00:35:20,100 so straight laced on, you know, on in their personal life, 551 00:35:20,100 --> 00:35:20,933 and they're a little bit, 552 00:35:21,010 --> 00:35:25,820 a little bit willing to take risks with their words and rough people up 553 00:35:25,820 --> 00:35:30,540 a little bit, because that's the only way we get things done. Now, 554 00:35:30,540 --> 00:35:33,420 I know that people who are listening, there are some who are cheering. 555 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:38,040 I'm saying yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. I think we have to help people, 556 00:35:39,010 --> 00:35:39,360 uh, 557 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:44,280 understand that what we sacrifice when we allow 558 00:35:44,300 --> 00:35:49,000 for certain kinds of behavior is that not only does 559 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:51,200 everybody try to imitate that behavior, 560 00:35:51,860 --> 00:35:56,080 but it becomes impossible to do all the good things you actually cared about 561 00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:59,800 long term. Because if you do it the wrong way, if you don't persuade people, 562 00:36:01,060 --> 00:36:03,880 the tidal wave comes in, you get thrown out, 563 00:36:03,980 --> 00:36:06,600 all of the things that you thought you won, 564 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:11,440 <laugh> are suddenly gone because there's no, you haven't persuaded the public, 565 00:36:12,290 --> 00:36:16,760 uh, that, that your idea is the right way. If you get it by hook or by crook, 566 00:36:16,810 --> 00:36:18,160 there's a consequence. 567 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,390 There's nothing wrong with unconventional rhetoric and unconventional 568 00:36:23,390 --> 00:36:28,390 politicians and roughing people up. And, and by that I mean verbally not, 569 00:36:28,390 --> 00:36:30,750 not physically, right? And, and. 570 00:36:30,820 --> 00:36:32,830 Clarifying that. Yeah. Right? 571 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:38,680 There's nothing wrong with any of that if you're telling the truth, right? 572 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:42,000 Yeah. But if you're making up facts, if you're, if you're telling lies, 573 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:42,833 if you're whatever, 574 00:36:42,900 --> 00:36:46,280 and you somehow get a bunch of people to actually believe those lies, 575 00:36:46,550 --> 00:36:51,040 it's dangerous. Listen, as I said, I as an attorney, 576 00:36:51,250 --> 00:36:55,440 as an election attorney, I'm a partisan short, but above all, I'm, I'm, 577 00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:57,800 I'm for a fair election, right? 578 00:36:58,340 --> 00:37:03,240 And if I looked at every one of those things 579 00:37:03,240 --> 00:37:06,090 that was said about, you know, 580 00:37:06,090 --> 00:37:08,810 the election and all of that stuff, and, 581 00:37:08,810 --> 00:37:11,610 and whether is it fraud and this was done, this was this and this and that, 582 00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:15,810 fine, bring it to a courtroom. That's what we're there for. 583 00:37:15,810 --> 00:37:19,530 That's what courtrooms are for. Nobody brought evidence. So, 584 00:37:19,530 --> 00:37:21,890 and here we are two years later, 585 00:37:22,610 --> 00:37:26,250 still saying the same things that there's still no evidence for, 586 00:37:26,510 --> 00:37:29,970 and it's a disservice. Let's debate issues. 587 00:37:29,970 --> 00:37:31,930 Let's debate where we want the country to go. 588 00:37:31,970 --> 00:37:33,770 Let's debate where we want the state to go. 589 00:37:33,970 --> 00:37:38,450 Let's stop the performative nonsense. Let's stop lying to people and, and, 590 00:37:38,450 --> 00:37:41,850 and let's start solving problems. Cause there was a lot of problems to be fixed. 591 00:37:42,310 --> 00:37:46,730 And, and, you know, uh, Congress goes and does very little, 592 00:37:46,950 --> 00:37:50,530 the legislature goes up there to, to Harrisburg and does very little. 593 00:37:50,530 --> 00:37:54,930 And what they do do, in my view, they screw up and, and you know, it, 594 00:37:54,980 --> 00:37:57,970 it needs to stop. We need to start working together again like we used to. 595 00:37:59,340 --> 00:38:03,150 Well, I wanna get in, uh, one more commercial break before the end of the show. 596 00:38:03,150 --> 00:38:06,870 When we come back, the question I'm going to ask, uh, is, 597 00:38:06,940 --> 00:38:11,590 what is an issue or a couple issues, uh, that either of, 598 00:38:11,590 --> 00:38:15,310 you know, the other would disagree with you on? And, uh, 599 00:38:15,310 --> 00:38:20,110 and after we have that conversation, after we have that conversation, 600 00:38:20,110 --> 00:38:24,470 I wanna see how we can get to, uh, to some common ground. 601 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:26,430 So we'll be back right after this message. 602 00:38:29,220 --> 00:38:33,870 You're listening to commonalities where guests find common ground through 603 00:38:34,190 --> 00:38:35,190 uncommon conversations. 604 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:39,400 We'll be back after this brief break to recognize our sponsors. 605 00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:47,070 Is your business using analog strategies in a digital marketing world? 606 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:48,190 If so, 607 00:38:48,190 --> 00:38:52,750 then contact Matthew or Rebecca Dowling at Coordinated 360 for a 608 00:38:52,750 --> 00:38:57,030 professional consultation where we bring in depth knowledge and functional 609 00:38:57,030 --> 00:38:58,950 expertise with a holistic perspective. 610 00:38:59,750 --> 00:39:04,430 Coordinated 360 provides digital marketing, paid ad and media buying services, 611 00:39:04,490 --> 00:39:09,310 web design, social media management, video production, and more for businesses, 612 00:39:09,310 --> 00:39:13,750 organizations, and political campaigns with decades of experience. 613 00:39:13,790 --> 00:39:18,630 Matte and Becky at Coordinated 360 can help you craft your unique message 614 00:39:18,850 --> 00:39:23,790 and share it with the world. For a no risk media evaluation and recommendations, 615 00:39:24,060 --> 00:39:28,070 call 7 2 4 3 2 0 22 12, 616 00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:30,350 or visit us online at 617 00:39:30,970 --> 00:39:35,870 www.coordinatedthreesixty.com. Find us also on Facebook, 618 00:39:35,870 --> 00:39:37,270 Instagram, and Twitter, 619 00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:41,230 or email info coordinated three sixty.com. 620 00:39:43,780 --> 00:39:45,750 When it comes to buying a home, 621 00:39:46,100 --> 00:39:49,110 what you see isn't exactly what you get. 622 00:39:49,460 --> 00:39:53,790 That's why home buyers should call Dave Dowling at Grandview 623 00:39:53,790 --> 00:39:55,150 Inspections at 624 00:39:55,150 --> 00:39:58,910 7 2 4 2 0 8 4 1 0 8. 625 00:39:59,260 --> 00:40:02,470 You'll see colorful flowers, freshly painted walls, 626 00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:07,070 granite countertops, fleeing hardwood floors, and other touches. 627 00:40:07,380 --> 00:40:11,150 What you can't see is the cracks, ancient plumbing, 628 00:40:11,510 --> 00:40:12,630 dangerous wiring, 629 00:40:13,040 --> 00:40:17,710 or broken appliances that might be revealed when you hire 630 00:40:17,780 --> 00:40:21,710 a home inspector. And when it comes to home inspectors, 631 00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:26,110 knowing yours has the qualifications and experience needed, 632 00:40:26,180 --> 00:40:28,270 should be your number one concern. 633 00:40:28,740 --> 00:40:33,350 Dave Dowling with Grand View Inspections is an architectural engineer 634 00:40:33,420 --> 00:40:38,350 with over 30 years of commercial construction experience and hundreds 635 00:40:38,350 --> 00:40:40,070 of inspections under his belt. 636 00:40:40,980 --> 00:40:45,830 A home inspection is an opportunity for you to hire an expert to walk 637 00:40:45,830 --> 00:40:50,750 through the home and prepare a report out lining the home's major components. 638 00:40:50,940 --> 00:40:55,910 What needs immediate attention and what will require maintenance after you move 639 00:40:55,910 --> 00:40:59,390 in your home is one of your biggest investments. 640 00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:03,590 So make sure your investment is everything you hoped it to be. 641 00:41:03,860 --> 00:41:07,510 Call Dave Dowling at Grandview Inspections at 642 00:41:07,510 --> 00:41:11,190 7 2 4 2 0 8 4 1 0 8. 643 00:41:11,560 --> 00:41:16,050 You're listening to commonalities on WBS five 90 am 1 0 1 644 00:41:16,050 --> 00:41:17,330 0.1 fm, 645 00:41:17,430 --> 00:41:21,850 and any place you download your favorite podcasts. Uh, 646 00:41:21,850 --> 00:41:25,050 I'm with Jeff Coleman, who is a conservative Republican, 647 00:41:25,550 --> 00:41:30,170 and Chuck Pasco, who is a progressive Democrat. Now, before the break, 648 00:41:30,170 --> 00:41:32,210 I said my next question was going to be, 649 00:41:32,210 --> 00:41:36,400 what's an issue that you guys disagree on and how do you come to some common 650 00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:39,680 ground? We have just under four minutes to wrap up the show, 651 00:41:39,970 --> 00:41:44,160 so we're gonna have to speak in, uh, in sound bites. But gentlemen, 652 00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:45,080 tell me what you think. 653 00:41:45,830 --> 00:41:47,680 Well, Chuck is wrong on all the issues, 654 00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:50,160 but the first one that he is wrong on is, is I, 655 00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:54,920 I'd say probably education reform. I support, um, a competitive system. 656 00:41:54,950 --> 00:41:59,080 I think school choice is a good idea and, uh, he thinks it's a bad idea. 657 00:41:59,540 --> 00:42:02,360 And, uh, we, we can start there. And there are many others. 658 00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:09,120 <Laugh> and Jeff is wrong on everything, but, um, no, I, you know, I mean, 659 00:42:09,180 --> 00:42:10,200 you know, seriousness, 660 00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:14,320 we have a public school system that is meant to bring this community, 661 00:42:14,570 --> 00:42:15,600 to bring our, our, 662 00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:20,480 our communities together to educate people who are rich and poor, 663 00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:25,200 black and white, all races, all backgrounds together, and learn to get along. 664 00:42:25,350 --> 00:42:26,800 Part of, part of the, 665 00:42:27,140 --> 00:42:32,080 the problem in my view recently is that we have allowed 666 00:42:32,080 --> 00:42:32,960 and, and, 667 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:37,880 and perpetuated and promoted that separation to the point where we do 668 00:42:37,880 --> 00:42:40,080 not have, you know, the, the, 669 00:42:40,080 --> 00:42:44,080 the kind of diversity in a lot of public schools that we need to, 670 00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:47,000 so that all people can work together and learn to work together, 671 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:49,760 learn to get along, learn to understand each other's cultures, 672 00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:53,360 learn to understand each other's backgrounds, and respect it. 673 00:42:53,940 --> 00:42:58,360 And we've set up a system not only where we have, 674 00:42:58,810 --> 00:43:03,600 uh, uh, allowed, uh, that that sort of thing to occur, 675 00:43:03,900 --> 00:43:05,680 but also to, 676 00:43:06,330 --> 00:43:10,440 to subsidize that choice, subsidize that choice. 677 00:43:11,010 --> 00:43:14,240 It used to be that people could make that choice, but it was on their own dime. 678 00:43:14,240 --> 00:43:16,480 And now the, the, the, the, the, 679 00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:21,360 the people who live in poor communities who live in poor school districts whose 680 00:43:21,360 --> 00:43:26,160 school districts need resources are being made to subsidize those choices made 681 00:43:26,160 --> 00:43:30,760 by, by wealthier more, more ad uh, advantaged, uh, 682 00:43:30,850 --> 00:43:32,120 uh, people. And it's, 683 00:43:32,120 --> 00:43:36,040 and it's not allowing the understanding to that we used to have, 684 00:43:36,690 --> 00:43:37,720 we all went to school, 685 00:43:37,720 --> 00:43:40,880 those of us who went to public school with people of all backgrounds, 686 00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:42,240 and we learned to respect that. 687 00:43:42,620 --> 00:43:46,600 But you know, what I hear in Chuck is substantively, 688 00:43:46,770 --> 00:43:49,560 he and I would agree that, um, 689 00:43:49,560 --> 00:43:51,960 there are challenged areas in Pennsylvania, 690 00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:55,520 especially in the urban areas that have underperforming schools. 691 00:43:56,010 --> 00:43:59,760 If we can both agree on that, we can both debate the solution. 692 00:43:59,990 --> 00:44:01,560 I would say it's a competitive system. 693 00:44:01,850 --> 00:44:05,240 He would say it is getting more resources to public schools. 694 00:44:05,750 --> 00:44:10,000 That's where you have the debate and that's how you can have a legitimate 695 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:14,960 outcome, uh, where, where both sides can come to some kind of an agreement. 696 00:44:15,020 --> 00:44:19,160 But we have to agree on some of the problems and on this issue, I know we do. 697 00:44:20,450 --> 00:44:24,400 We used to be able to as, as parties and as, as as elected officials, 698 00:44:24,680 --> 00:44:28,000 whatever used to be able to agree on what the problem was and then, 699 00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:29,280 and then argue about the solution. 700 00:44:29,470 --> 00:44:33,240 It's gotten to the point we can't even agree on what, on what the problem is. 701 00:44:33,240 --> 00:44:34,073 That's true. 702 00:44:34,950 --> 00:44:38,280 Well, guys, we have, uh, come to the end of our time here together. 703 00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:43,280 You guys have been great guests and, uh, I really appreciate you signing on for, 704 00:44:43,280 --> 00:44:47,680 uh, for our inaugural episode of Commonality. So thank you so much. 705 00:44:47,730 --> 00:44:52,120 In just, uh, uh, under 10 seconds each, any final thoughts? 706 00:44:52,710 --> 00:44:56,120 Well, this is an important show. I wish you the best and I hope you have many, 707 00:44:56,120 --> 00:44:58,280 many more conversations just like this one. 708 00:44:59,030 --> 00:45:03,840 Matt, it's been an honor to be on your first show. Uh, I wish you the best, uh, 709 00:45:03,930 --> 00:45:06,440 uh, thank you for trying to do this. It is, it's awesome. 710 00:45:07,380 --> 00:45:09,100 Thank you both. And, uh, 711 00:45:09,100 --> 00:45:13,820 hopefully we will have you tuning in for more episodes of commonalities. 712 00:45:14,300 --> 00:45:16,700 Everyone have a great weekend. May God bless you all. 713 00:45:23,010 --> 00:45:24,900 This has been commonalities, 714 00:45:25,210 --> 00:45:29,300 a show where guests find common ground through uncommon conversations. 715 00:45:29,500 --> 00:45:32,460 Copyright 2022 coordinated 360, 716 00:45:32,640 --> 00:45:36,180 all public rebroadcast should be done with prior written approval from Matthew 717 00:45:36,180 --> 00:45:41,100 Dowling. All requests should be sent to info@coordinatedthreesixty.com. 718 00:45:41,100 --> 00:45:43,460 Thank you for listening to commonalities.
21Nov, 2022
