← Andy Beshear Podcast
Andy Beshear Podcast
Episode 11: Governor Wes Moore, The Big Beautiful Bill, & Addressing Political Violence
00:50:42
Loading summary
Transcript132 lines
- [00:00]
Andy Beshear
Foreign welcome to episode 11 of the Andy Beshear Podcast. That's right, we've made it 11 episodes in. You can download the podcast on all major platforms, but also subscribe to our YouTube channel @andy Beshear Podcast Today we've got a great episode. We're going to talk to Maryland Governor Wes Moore. We're going to have the return of both Johns. You're going to hear in my Kentucky accent how political violence is wrong. This is going to be a good episode. So let's get to it. This is the Andy Beshear Podcast and our guest this week I'm excited about, he is the governor of Maryland and a good friend of mine, Wes Moore, in his first term, just killing it with an economy that is on fire there in Maryland. Wes, welcome to the podcast.
- [01:04]
Wes Moore
It's great to see you, man. Congratulations. This is awesome.
- [01:07]
Andy Beshear
Well, we're excited to have you. I want to start out by pointing out your background's different than a lot of other certainly Democratic governors, if not other governors. You know, I came from the attorney general world. Other people have come from Congress or their state legislator. You have a different path. Tell us about it.
- [01:28]
Wes Moore
Yeah, you know, it really is. It's pretty unusual. And I say I'm probably the most improbable governor that I know our state has seen. Where to your point, like I come from a family, as people have said, that is not used to making policies and more used to having the policies done to us, where I'm literally a person who had handcuffs on my wrist by the time I was 11 years old. I was raised by an immigrant single mom because my dad died in front of me when I was three. I joined the army when I was 17. I went to a two year college and my background was I was in the military, I was in the private sector, I worked in finance and I ran one of the largest poverty fighting organizations in this country. And what was interesting was that I was doing a lot of work with the former governor and we're doing work on child poverty, which is one of the big reasons why I got into this work, man. I mean, as you know, it's just that's one of the reasons I love your leadership is that I just do not understand how a civilized society allows so many children to grow up in poverty. I just do not. Fundamentally, it's something I'll never get my head wrapped around. And we were working with a former governor on the issue of the child tax credit and how to enhance it because it could have a deep impact on child poverty. And I told him, you should talk about it in your state of the state. And so I even gave him a line he should use. I mean, it was great. And then I got an advanced copy of the speech. There was nothing in there about child poverty, nothing in there about the child tax credit. So I was pissed off. And so I called up the head of Public Policy, their organization that I ran. And I was just like, going off and. And after I finally breathed, after a couple minutes, he said to me, he said, listen, we worked for months to try to get him to include a line of speech, but what if you could write the whole speech? And that was kind of the point, right? It's like, you know, that's the. One of the beautiful things that we get to do as governors is, is we get to write the whole speech. And so I decided to make a run at governor. And There was like 11 people, 12 people running statewide, elected officials, two Obama cabinet secretaries. The former head of DNC was. The former head of the Democratic Party, was running for governor. And then me, the guy who had no political background, and you beat them all. And we ended up getting more individual votes than anyone who'd ever run for governor in the history of the state of Maryland.
- [04:05]
Andy Beshear
So you just nailed one of our podcast rules. One of our podcast rules is Tell your why. What got you into this? What motivated you? I remember Amy Klobuchar, who we're all thinking about right now with what happened in Minnesota, talked about getting kicked out of the hospital a day after giving birth while her daughter is still in the icu. Your. Why so many children in poverty and suffering? I guess not only got you to run for this job, but right now is so important in speaking out with the damage that big, anything but beautiful bill could cause, especially to our children.
- [04:48]
Wes Moore
It's like, in a word, this bill is just cruel.
- [04:52]
Andy Beshear
Yes.
- [04:53]
Wes Moore
It's just heartless. I mean, you're literally talking about. I mean, Andy, this. This bill if. If passed as is right, you're talking about kicking about 76,000 of my children into poverty overnight. There is. There is such a. There is a heartlessness that exists in the way this bill is pulled together. And I just do not understand how we can be a civilized society when we are. When the future of our children is being determined before they even have a say, before they even have a chance. And so when people. The reason that, that, that, that, you know, that you and that. That I and so many of our other governors have actually taken this all of the above approach when it comes to supporting our children is because when people say, well, how does. So how does child poverty show itself? What should we do? You know, is it. You know, is it. Is it. You know, is it education? Is it the environment? Is it transportation? Is it. It's like education. The answer is yes, guys. The answer is yes, because poverty is like water. It just water. When water flows in, it does not choose to go left or right. Water goes everywhere where there's a hole, and it just leaves mold and mildew and decay and death everywhere it goes, Right? And so it's. How does poverty show itself? How does child poverty show itself? It shows itself in the air that we're asking our children to breathe, in the water that we are asking them to drink, in the homes we are asking them to grow up in, in the way that they are policed, in the schools that they attend, in the transportation assets they have or do not have. It is everything. It's water. And so I just think that when you look at this bill that is talking about things like cutting Medicaid for.
- [06:40]
Andy Beshear
16 million people, it's insane.
- [06:43]
Wes Moore
It is insane, and it is so heartless, and it doesn't have to be done. And that's the thing that I think is so brutally abusive about the way this bill was pulled together and why I'm so thankful to stand with you and so many others just to push back and fight back against this.
- [07:00]
Andy Beshear
Well, maybe one of the reasons that it also fires us up so much is it doesn't work. We are both common sense, common ground, get things done. Public officials and governors, and this adds to the federal debt and then blows a hole in both of our budgets that we have to balance under state law.
- [07:22]
Wes Moore
That's exactly right. It makes our job immeasurably more difficult. Because what it's essentially saying is that the relationship between the federal government and our states is severed. You're on your own. That's essentially what it is saying to each and every one of us. And we take our jobs very seriously. We take our governance very seriously. We take the fact that we are both fiscally disciplined and the fact that we are morally conscious, that we take those two things and say, you don't have to choose between those two aspects and those two elements. But what it's also saying is, is that we have always prided ourselves on the idea that we move in partnership with the federal government. That whether we're talking about children in Kentucky or children in Maryland or children in Florida or in Mississippi, or children In Iowa, they are all our children. And the federal government has a unique responsibility to not just take a place of support for, for, for the kids, but support for the leaders whose job it is to also help protect our children as well. And what they are saying is that relationship is now severed and you are on your own. And so when we're talking about a bill to your point that is going to explode the national deficit again, by a group was also talking about fiscal responsibility that is going to destroy a measure of supports for people and particularly the most vulnerable in our society. And doing it while at the same time, because you're trying to create space so you can provide cuts, tax cuts to the most wealthy in our society, I cannot express enough how against this bill that I am. And to your point, not because of a political ideology, not because, oh, this is a Democratic talking point, but it's because I know math and I know what this is going to do to the people of my state. And I know what it's going to do to the prospects and the hopes for everyone who calls the state of Maryland and Kentucky and all these other states, all these other states home.
- [09:25]
Andy Beshear
You're listening to the Andy Beshear podcast. Our guest, Mr. Maryland Governor Wes Moore. So, Wes, you're now more than halfway through your first term, very excited that I know you're gonna seek a second term.
- [09:39]
Wes Moore
That's right.
- [09:41]
Andy Beshear
You were tested really early in your governorship. With the bridge and the loss of life and property and it being such a major thoroughfare. I thought you did a great job in not only how quickly it was repaired, but, but how you communicated about it. Tell us about being tested so early.
- [10:05]
Wes Moore
Thank you, brother. And, and also I, I do want to say publicly also as well, that one of the first outreaches that I got from any state chief executive was you. And I'm never going to forget it. And, and just how much I appreciate it. You know, it is, it's, it's one thing that I know we all learned at, at, at, at baby governor school when we first were said, if, if you have not been tested yet with a tragedy, just give it a second. Yours is coming.
- [10:34]
Andy Beshear
I'm an awesome. Yeah, they didn't do a school for me. I didn't know there was one.
- [10:43]
Wes Moore
And you've had to deal with them over and over and over again, so God bless you. But it was, I mean, and I think one thing we've all learned in these jobs is, is, you know, when your phone rings in the middle of the night, you're never about to get good news. Yeah, I would say no one ever calls me at 3 o' clock in the morning and says hey Gov, great news. Because the good news waits until the morning. It's the bad news that, that wakes you up in the middle of the night. And it was at 2:02 in the morning when my phone rang and my chief of staff told me that the, the Key Bridge was gone. And the Key Bridge is, is almost a two mile long bridge that really stood guard over Baltimore. I, I did not know what the Baltimore skyline looked like without the Key Bridge because it's been there since I've been alive. And we found out that a ship the size of three football fields had slammed into the Key Bridge and it collapsed instantaneously. And in addition to now seeing 13% of my state's economy shut down and thousands of port workers who were hours away from waking up and realized they no longer had a job, I also found out that there were six workers who were fixing potholes in the middle of the night who when that bridge collapsed fell 180ft into cold, frigid and dark waters and lost their lives. And so it was something that that first morning, you know, we immediately put the state on a state of emergency but then had to get in front of the state and get in front of the world. And I let the people of my state know that we were going to be okay because we were Maryland tough when we were Baltimore strong and that we would work around the clock if necessary to do four to accomplish four objectives. We needed to make sure we were providing comfort and closure to those six families who lost individuals that morning. We needed to make sure that we provided support to all of our everyone impacted, our workers, their families, the small businesses that served, that served the area that we're going to make sure we clear the federal channel as quickly as possible. And you're right and thank you. We're able to, they told us going to take 11 months to get that federal channel cleared. And we got it cleared in 11 weeks. And the fourth objective was we're going to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge. And so I think about the collection of the state because I was really proud of our state. The way we stood together, the way we banded together, the way there was no daylight between ourselves, our local leaders, our private sector leaders, the work of the federal government. And again I give a huge amount of thankfulness and credit to our federal leadership, the Biden administration, for how they just stood with us the entire time. And it was a trying, really difficult and trying time for our state. But I'm just deeply grateful for the fact that Maryland really showed how to. How to. How to respond in these moments of crisis.
- [13:38]
Andy Beshear
Isn't it amazing how you see the good in people, the humanity? And in the times of greatest difficulty, you know, some of our leaders want to turn us against each other, but that's not who we are. And I think you saw that in that moment, and I've seen that after storm after storm after storm.
- [13:57]
Wes Moore
That's right. And I tell you, Andy, it's. It's something that's so powerful because, you know, I think back to, you know, people ask. They're like, how did. What. What prepared you for this? They're like, you were never a mayor. You were never a county executive. You were never, you know. You know, how did you. What prepared you for. To be able to lead in that moment? And my answer was simple. You know, I was a soldier. You know, I led soldiers in combat in Afghanistan as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, and. And one of the most powerful things that I remember over there was how on every single mission, the way that we worked together, and to your point, without a political bent, where every single one of the soldiers that I serve with a question, I never once asked a single one of them. What's your political party? I'm not built that way. Or asking, how did you vote in the last election? I never once asked any of my soldiers that question. The only thing that we knew was when times were tough, we banded together and we took care of each other, and we made sure that it was our job to not just accomplish the mission, but it was my job to make sure that my brothers and sisters made it home to their families. And so I just. I love how in these times of triumph and tragedy, in these times of conflict and celebration, we are one. We band together, and it is really beautiful to see the way that our jurisdictions really pull together. And remember, at the end of the day, if we are all truly God's children, then by definition, we are brothers and sisters. So it's important that we act accordingly.
- [15:41]
Andy Beshear
We're in the middle of our conversation with Maryland Governor Wes Moore. Wes, I've always found that when you get through the challenging times and you get through them together, you get to some good times and you get to those together. Tell us about the economy in Maryland.
- [15:58]
Wes Moore
Yeah. You know, I'm so grateful because, you know, one of the things we really wanted to push was that one, some of the biggest challenges we had within our state was, was I just inherited a sluggish economy where if you look at the seven years before I became the governor, we saw how spending in our state increased by 70%, but our GDP increased in less than half of the national average. So the problem was we were spending, but we weren't growing. And what we had to do was make sure we were getting people back into the economy, making sure we're removing the barriers that were keeping people from getting back into the economy and ensuring that we can use that as a way of getting our economic engine going again. And not only have we seen now how Maryland's economy is now moving and moving at a clip that we have not seen in a long period of time, we're having population increases in the state of Maryland, but we've also been able to do things that I think were really important. So we were able to do things like making Maryland the first state in the country that now has a service year option for all of our high school graduates. So now our high school graduates have a chance to have a year of service. But what it's also done is it's allowed them to get back into the workforce or get into the workforce in a way that they're being trained in a way. They're actually having these pipelines that we're able to do the largest mass pardon in the history of the United States of America, where I pardoned 175,000 misdemeanor cannabis convictions, because we had a lot of people who, who could not get a barber's license, could not get a student loan, could not get a home loan for a misdemeanor cannabis conviction from the 1990s. And so we got rid of that, that we've quadrupled the amount of people in apprenticeship programs and trade programs in the state of Maryland saying that we have some of the best four year colleges in America, and we love that. But we need to end this myth that every single one of our students need to attend one of them in order to be economically successful. So what's been the result? Maryland. When I was first Inaugurated, Maryland was 43rd in the country in unemployment. Now we're going on 15 straight months of amongst the lowest unemployment rates in the entire country. Our unemployment rate right now is 3.1%, more than a full point lower than the national average. And so the thing that I love about this is saying this really is about. It's about the economy. It's about work, wages and wealth. How can you get people into the workforce? How can you increase their wages to make sure they're getting paid in a fair way and not disincentivizing work? And how can you give them an opportunity at wealth? And when I say wealth, that just simply means having the ability to pass something off to your children besides debt. And so that's been our North Star that we have for economic growth in the state of Maryland. And even despite the headwinds that we are now seeing from the federal government like this arbitrary and in many cases illegal firing of federal workers, that we've been able to keep our eyes on the prize and really stay focused and being able to drive, you know, to your point that you made earlier, you know, you know that what we do as governors we drive real results for the people of our state.
- [18:57]
Andy Beshear
And I think you're giving great examples, and I could give some, some great examples about how Democratic leadership, especially in that governor's seat, have built these great economies when there's this myth out there that somehow Republicans do that better. I think we've seen the exact opposite, certainly you from your predecessor and me from mine. But where I want to shift to now is exactly what you're talking about, is what I think we've got to be focused on as a Democratic Party and the national Democratic Party addressing people's everyday needs. And I know you've been out traveling just like I have, trying to make sure that we are focused as a, as a party. I know you're just down in South Carolina. Tell us a little bit about, about the message you're spreading out there.
- [19:47]
Wes Moore
Yeah, well, well, you know, it's interesting because the first message I was spreading was we met with. We met with a handful of businesses because I was trying to get them to come to the state of Maryland. So the first message we're spreading is come to Maryland, as I know you're doing. What can you.
- [20:01]
Andy Beshear
We may be competing there.
- [20:05]
Wes Moore
No, but, but, but it's actually, but this is a good thing because that's part of our job, right? Part of our job is to go out and make sure that every single corner of the state, every single corner of the country knows that our states are the places that people should, you know, come to and grow and build. So, so we wouldn't be doing our jobs if we were not going out other places and pitching for our state.
- [20:26]
Andy Beshear
I believe that wholeheartedly in that our first job isn't to be a Democratic governor, but to be the best governor that we can be for our people. And I've seen you've taken some stances just like I have, where sometimes you might not agree with the national party or even your state party, but you gotta do what you think's right.
- [20:45]
Wes Moore
And one of the things I really and I appreciate about your leadership too, Andy, is that, you know, I always tell about I don't take my talking points from a party. I don't even know what that means. And the fact that there's something that I take very seriously and very personally, and I know you do as well, is a party did not elect me governor. People did. The party did not cast a ballot. The people did. In fact, in many cases, I was not the party's choice during the primary. So I take that responsibility very seriously that it was the people who decided. And if you look at the numbers, it wasn't just because I won Democrats, we won Democrats, we won Independents, we won a good real chunk of Republicans who ended up voting for us. And so our work is not to take a talking point or a policy position from this amorphous the party. Our job is to make sure every single decision is clearly aligned with what do we think is the vision and the values of, of the people of our state. And is that at times going to put me at odds with the party? Yeah. And I'm good with it because I will never forget who put me in office in the first place.
- [22:02]
Andy Beshear
That's a really good point because we get asked so many times what should be the focus of the Democratic Party when we're out there talking about what should be the focus of the United States of America. I always think when I talk about focusing on jobs, health care, infrastructure, public education and public safety, I say yes, I want Democrats to do it, but I want Republicans to do it too. And just think about how much we get done on this podcast and the Andy Beshear Podcast with our guest Wes Moore. We like to have a little fun in ways that our viewers can get to know you. So I'm thinking about some similarities that we have. You are a New York Times best selling author and I've been rejected for a book deal twice. But my dog is published too. So tell us about your success as an author and give me some tips.
- [23:01]
Wes Moore
You don't need any tips, man. I am not the one to give you tips on that. You have an amazing story. But it's wild because it's funny. When I first I have more of a quantitative mind than a qualitative mind. I like numbers and data. Words are much harder for me. Numbers are much easier for my brain than words are. And so I remember when I first started writing, my mother was even like, I don't know if he can actually do this. And she was very skeptical of my ability to actually sit down and write a book. But I was really thankful because. And one of the reasons I really encourage you to do it, too, is one thing I found about the book writing process is actually very cathartic, and it's very. It's very peaceful because not often do you get a chance to really be at one and at peace with your ideas and your thoughts and process everything. And I also really believe if you don't write this stuff down any, you're going to forget it. And some of this stuff is just good for you to have. And even if you never plan on publishing anything, I'm talking about, like, you know, even for, like, your kids watching, I would have.
- [24:12]
Andy Beshear
I would have two readers.
- [24:17]
John Rabinowitz
I actually.
- [24:18]
Andy Beshear
I actually doubt either of my kids would fully get through my book. And please don't ask me if I've read every chapter of my dad's. All right, if you have, what is your secret superpower that people don't know? I'll tell you mine. Mine is cooking the Thanksgiving turkey. So I can do it better than just about anybody I know, but it's only useful one day a year.
- [24:40]
Wes Moore
I need to come through to your house, then there you go.
- [24:42]
Andy Beshear
Come on over for Thanksgiving.
- [24:44]
Wes Moore
I would love that. I'd love that. I would say, honestly, I'd probably stay in that. In that. In that neighborhood. And it's cooking. It's not necessarily Thanksgiving, but I learned how to cook Jamaican food from the best. From my grandmother, who was actually born in Cuba and raised in Jamaica. And when I was getting. When I was getting in trouble, when I was coming up, like, what she would do was she would make me basically be her sous chef because that was her way of keeping me off the streets. That was her way of keeping me out of trouble. And so when I come back from school, she'd force me. She'd be like, you have to come help me cook dinner. And so she taught me how to, like, cut things up and how to, you know, really help her. But that was the time when I just. I fell in love with Jamaican food. And. And so if you want to have an amazing Jamaican meal, I'm talking, like, curry chicken and curry goat and oxtail and jerk chicken and aki and salt fish and all of it. Like, I'm kind of. I'm kind of your guy on your.
- [25:45]
Andy Beshear
Guy to close us out. If you could go back in time and tell yourself to not participate in one fashion trend that you went all in on, what would it be?
- [25:57]
John Rabinowitz
Oh, that's such a good question.
- [26:00]
Wes Moore
You know. You know what I'd have to say. In fact, I can't believe I'm even acknowledging that I did this. Do you remember the group Crisscross?
- [26:06]
Andy Beshear
Oh, yeah.
- [26:07]
Wes Moore
And how they wore their pants backwards?
- [26:09]
Andy Beshear
Oh, yeah. They're gonna make you jump.
- [26:10]
Wes Moore
Yeah, they gonna. They gonna make you jump. That was one where I have seen pictures of myself with my jeans on backwards. And I'm like, yo, what the hell were you thinking, man? Like, that was just some crazy.
- [26:24]
Andy Beshear
Just to be fair. So you got it on me. I had a bowl cut. And, man, if I could go back in time. This has been the Andy Beshear Podcast with our guest, Wes Moore, the best sous chef governor that we know of, that we've loved having you on. Wes, thanks for your time.
- [26:43]
Wes Moore
You're the best, Andy. Thank you, man. Congratulations again, foreign.
- [26:51]
Andy Beshear
You're listening to the Andy Beshear Podcast. Now it's time for the segment called In My Kentucky Accent. This week, we've got to talk about a sad but necessary topic, and that's political violence. What we saw over the weekend was the political assassination of a state representative in Minnesota, also the murder of that individual's spouse and the attempted murder of two other individuals. Political violence and all violence is wrong, and it hurts those families so badly. I lost one of My closest friends 2 1/2 years ago in a shooting. And I know that the grief journey is all that much harder, especially when someone is ripped from you in that kind of way. But political violence is avoidable, and it's avoidable if our leaders are more responsible. We can disagree with each other, we can even disagree strongly. But we have to make sure that we are not putting out the rhetoric that suggests someone else is the enemy, is evil, or is any less of an American than we are. When you say that the left or the right is trying to tear down and destroy our country, when you talk about somebody else being not patriotic because of their views, you're attempting to make them an enemy. There was a time in this country where we were Americans first and Democrats and Republicans second, third or fourth. And we've got to get back to that place. We cannot have a chilling effect on good people who are unwilling to serve in government because they're afraid of their own safety. And we can't encourage people to take the law into their own hands. That means it's wrong to pardon the insurrectionists from January 6th. That sends a message that political violence is okay. And it's also wrong to come out on social media just a couple days after this shooting claiming that the left or that Democrats are Marxists hate this country and are trying to tear it down and must be defeated. That's the type of rhetoric that's dangerous, and I certainly won't participate in it. If you disagree with me on any issue, you're still my neighbor. And that golden rule says I love you as I love myself. Folks, let's be better. Let's remember our neighbors and our friends can be our neighbors and our friends first and members of a political party second or third. Let's make sure that we speak up, say political violence is not okay, and it's time to turn down that rhetoric so that our leaders actually sound like leaders.
- [29:43]
John Rabinowitz
You're listening to the Andy Beshear Podcast. Next up, my weekly conversation with the Johns. John Rabinowitz, an attorney and small business owner, and John McConnell, who owns an insurance company and gets involved in a.
- [29:58]
Andy Beshear
Lot of other things as well.
- [30:00]
John Rabinowitz
As we're going to talk about what happened this last week, things we may see in the weeks to come, with a goal to lift you up, to.
- [30:07]
Andy Beshear
Give you a little more hope, but.
- [30:09]
John Rabinowitz
Also to give our direct analysis without debating reality about the things that we're seeing this week. We'll start off with by far the oldest member of this panel, John McConnell. There we go.
- [30:21]
John McConnell
That starts. You just have a birthday.
- [30:23]
Unnamed Panelist
It's happy belated birthday.
- [30:25]
John McConnell
Thank you.
- [30:26]
Unnamed Panelist
I mean, do you feel different?
- [30:27]
Wes Moore
Yeah.
- [30:28]
John McConnell
Everything hurts. I'm tired and I think I have no more pepper left. I think it's just all salt now.
- [30:33]
Unnamed Panelist
A little hair.
- [30:34]
John McConnell
Yeah, just. I got a little bit of hair left. But hey, good. Everybody back on set again this week. Going to kick it off with a little bit of news that we're all seeing out there in the headlines of news.
- [30:44]
John Rabinowitz
Tough week.
- [30:44]
Wes Moore
Yeah.
- [30:45]
John McConnell
Tough nicks. Really, really tough news. Minnesota, the. The attacks that appear to be motivated and kind of how that's affecting us as, as a country now we look.
- [30:56]
Unnamed Panelist
At it, you know, it's horrific. I would like to say that it's shocking, but it seems like every few weeks we're either talking about a shooting in a school or we're talking about a shooting involving legislators. And what's kind of really concerning on it. When I first heard about it, of course I was shocked, even though we do hear about it a lot. But where I was only had two or three channels. And ironically enough, the two or three channels were cnn, BBC, and Fox News. And instead of, like, when I flipped on one channel, instead of, like, hearing about the facts immediately on every channel, it was slanted one way or the other. And I thought it was just, it was awful to watch, it was awful to see, awful to hear about. And it's really scary for people that want to get into politics. And I, I know we talked about this with Shapiro, Andy. I don't know how you deal with it day to day, quite frankly. And, you know, is it worth it? Is it, like, when you think about it, and it's just a. It's a scary thing.
- [32:08]
John Rabinowitz
We're talking about the assassination of the former speaker of the House of Minnesota and her husband, and then the attempted murder of another legislator and his wife. And for listeners of the podcast, this is actually pretty close. US Senator Andy Klobuchar had dinner with them either that night or the night before. These are good friends of Tim Walsh who was on the program, what, just last week? Last episode. So these are people that are just, you know, one. One relationship removed from me or even from listeners on the podcast. And being somebody that's lost one of his closest friends in a mass shooting, I feel for Senator Klobuchar, I feel for Tim because I know what their grief journey is going to be like, and it's hard.
- [32:59]
Andy Beshear
And so I first want to make.
- [33:00]
John Rabinowitz
Sure that we're saying all violence is wrong and all families go through terrible things when they have to experience this. But the chilling effect that this has, being absolutely politically motivated, it means we got to do so much better. I hated to see rhetoric just two days later calling the other side enemies of the United States. And that came from the president. Or then to see the senator from Utah seeming to make light of it or to even lift it up is just wrong. And it's wrong against anyone. And we lose ourselves when we don't condemn it and all violence outright.
- [33:46]
Andy Beshear
And then people try to find an.
- [33:47]
John Rabinowitz
Advantage or an angle to it, and.
- [33:49]
Andy Beshear
That just compounds how wrong it is.
- [33:51]
Unnamed Panelist
And these are public servants who are trying to. You may not agree with them and.
- [33:56]
Andy Beshear
Then vote them out.
- [33:57]
Unnamed Panelist
Right? You're, you're. They're voicing what their constituents put them in office to voice. And it is, I'll tell you, it's. It's scary and it is chilling. Like, good candidates are not going to run because they don't want to put their family in harm's way. I don't know what the answer is. I don't know. Do, do we offer protection for all these legislators? It just seems, but even with the president, there is an assassination attempt.
- [34:21]
John Rabinowitz
Well, we need to do more. And whether that's safety audits on legislators homes, certainly a good security system and.
- [34:29]
Andy Beshear
A dog go a long way though.
- [34:30]
John Rabinowitz
There are times that more is needed.
- [34:32]
Andy Beshear
But we've also just got to turn the temperature down. I think we've done a good job.
- [34:38]
John Rabinowitz
Of that in Kentucky overall. But we can't be talking about our disagreements in politics, suggesting this side or that side hates America or is coming for your family. None of that is helpful. None of it's right. None of it comports with our faith and values. And I talk about this a little more in the my Kentucky Accent segment.
- [35:01]
John McConnell
It's scary and it's going to make it more difficult like what you said, John, to point out to get more people to run for those state and those local offices.
- [35:09]
John Rabinowitz
So right around this time, we had an interesting Saturday where all of this had been going on. You had protests going on nationwide, primarily peaceful. There were a couple people who got out of line and will be held accountable. But you saw a lot of people show up and make sure that they exercise their constitutional right to say that they disagreed with things going on in this country. And at the same time, we had a military parade through Washington, D.C. to celebrate the anniversary of the formation of the U.S. army that happened to fall on the president's birthday. You know, just some major coincidence or so he says. What would y' all think of that?
- [35:53]
John McConnell
Well, also too, I mean, the Navy and the Marines both have birthdays as well, and I've yet to hear about their parade. As John said, I had a belated birthday. There were no parades for me.
- [36:02]
John Rabinowitz
You do not get a giant military parade.
- [36:05]
John McConnell
I did not.
- [36:05]
Unnamed Panelist
Well, listen, I'm all about celebrating the military and what this is 250, right? Almost as old as you. Close, close.
- [36:12]
John McConnell
I was there.
- [36:14]
Unnamed Panelist
I have heard that the president was inspired in 200717 with Bastille Day to have something like this. I want your thoughts on whether you think, whether both of you guys think this was a good recruiting tool, because I know it was messaged a lot that way to show our military strength and to promote our military.
- [36:36]
John Rabinowitz
I think it could possibly be if maybe what had happened at Fort Bragg hadn't happened right before, which was the president giving a highly partisan political speech on a military base. Now, I think where you're coming from is embracing patriotism is an amazing thing. And we've got to make sure that we don't politicize patriotism. We need people from all backgrounds to be willing to serve in the army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines. We need to make sure that we are fostering a love for our country. And listen, it is patriotic to speak out when you disagree with someone, but to do so peacefully. It's patriotic to support the military. I just think it's important in all of this to recognize that patriotism is about supporting the country. The pledge is to the flag. None of it is to one individual person. And we should never confuse that because that can only increase the divide in our country.
- [37:35]
Unnamed Panelist
Yeah. And I'm curious also, guys, when I was watching one of those three television stations, there was one station that was saying, listen, we think this is an attempt to scare our own citizens. You talked a little bit about some of the protests going on, the no King protest across the country. Did you look at it that way, John, or.
- [37:57]
John McConnell
I didn't.
- [37:58]
Unnamed Panelist
Okay.
- [37:58]
John McConnell
I mean, I think it was probably there to make a big deal out of a celebration to get everyone together. If you're going to lift up the military branches, lift them all up and do it away.
- [38:08]
John Rabinowitz
The media tried to make this about immigration when all the protests were originally scheduled as a response to the, to. To the military parade on the birthday, which, by the way, $140 million estimated cost is about half of what Kentucky needs from the federal government to, to respond to our last flooding event that they haven't yet granted. And so all the other things said, if they are trying to preserve tax dollars and they're going to spend 140 million, helping us recover from a natural disaster would have been helpful. But I think when they tried to cast it, the media with the background of immigration is where that scare idea came in. And I think that comes in from the difference between believing we should enforce our laws and how we enforce them. I believe that border security is national security and we have to enforce our laws on immigration, but how we enforce them show our humanity. Do we want people's legs shackled? Do you want a military Humvee pulling up in your neighborhood in the middle of the night and people jumping out in body armor with masks? Is that the type of enforcement we want? Because I can tell you from somebody who has to lead a police unit in this job and the others, sometimes they get the address wrong.
- [39:39]
John McConnell
So you're thinking maybe if Elon wouldn't have broke up, this would have been a Doge target to not have the freight.
- [39:44]
Unnamed Panelist
I don't know. What about the rallies in Kentucky? Were they all peaceful? I was not in state.
- [39:50]
John Rabinowitz
They were. They attracted a large number of people, but they all broke off and broke up at that time.
- [39:55]
Andy Beshear
You know what I encourage people is.
- [39:57]
John Rabinowitz
When you protest, keep it peaceful. Do it during the daytime hours. Don't let someone hijack your protest, put their voice on top of yours, and turn what could be the expression of constitutional rights into something that you don't support.
- [40:14]
Unnamed Panelist
Sure.
- [40:15]
John McConnell
Well, hopping over to the big beautiful bill and its latest changes. Eddie, you've been keeping up with this. I know. I'm watching it on behalf of Kentucky for sure.
- [40:24]
John Rabinowitz
Now, to me, this is a big, ugly bill. Maybe I should coin a term like our president.
- [40:29]
Andy Beshear
It's the Bugly bill.
- [40:31]
Wes Moore
But.
- [40:31]
John Rabinowitz
But all humor aside, current version kicks 16 million people off their health care coverage. It's projected to close 35 rural hospitals in Kentucky. Thousands, tens of thousands of people are going to go hungry. It's going to blow a hole in.
- [40:49]
Andy Beshear
The budget of our states.
- [40:50]
John Rabinowitz
And yes, it adds to the federal deficit and trillions of dollars.
- [40:53]
Unnamed Panelist
But some form of this bill you believe will pass?
- [40:57]
John Rabinowitz
We'll see. You know, a different version will come out of the Senate and then it'll come back to the House. But if they want to hurt the American people in those everyday concerns of being able to see a doctor when you're sick and being able to feed your family, it's not going to be positive for them electorally. And I know that's where all the analysis goes. But mainly it's just going to hurt a lot of families that are trying that strubber.
- [41:23]
John McConnell
Now kick it over. There's some baseball games still going on. I'd like to say congratulations to a certain team.
- [41:30]
Unnamed Panelist
Listen, Go Kart. We're pretty excited about their win. And now I guess tomorrow they face Oregon State, who they lost to already. So it's going to be a tough game. And then after that, if they happen to pull off the win, they, I think, then play Coastal Carolina. So it's going to be some tough games, but we're excited. And what about your Murray State racers?
- [41:55]
John McConnell
I mean, Murray State is Cinderella story and baseball of the year by far. I mean, playing unbelievable ball, getting to the very end of this, finding themselves in the World Series in Omaha. What experience in 82 teams from the state.
- [42:08]
John Rabinowitz
Two teams from the state. And to wrap it up, John Rabinowitz missed our last episode because he was on a trip with his daughters. Given one had just graduated to Alaska. John always talks about fishing. We figured they Were always stories. But if you're watching on YouTube, you're seeing John and his prize catches.
- [42:30]
Unnamed Panelist
I'd like to see these picks. We got film with this.
- [42:33]
Andy Beshear
I don't know what's going on.
- [42:34]
John Rabinowitz
Is going to get his first knee.
- [42:35]
Unnamed Panelist
I love it.
- [42:36]
John Rabinowitz
Listen.
- [42:37]
Unnamed Panelist
He crushed it in Alaska. Listen. Kentucky is a beautiful state, but Alaska was something else. You know, I think that I wasn't expecting to see such beautiful topography. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was awe inspiring. And if you ever get a chance to go, I would go and I would go fishing because the salmon and halibut fishing are amazing.
- [42:57]
John Rabinowitz
All right, that's our conversation this week with John and John where we learned a little and also now know that John Rabinowitz in line about all the fish he catches.
- [43:13]
Andy Beshear
You're listening to the Andy Beshear Podcast. Our next segment is one I look forward to and dread all at the same time. It's the next edition of Ask Andy. We've got our producer Breland Tilford from Media Pros. He's going to read off the questions and then judge me for my answers.
- [43:30]
Breland Tilford
What's the food? You tried once and absolutely refused to eat ever again.
- [43:33]
Andy Beshear
So I like a lot of different food and I like calamari, but I was once served grilled octopus and that was tough. That was actually tough. And it just wasn't for me.
- [43:45]
Breland Tilford
What's the most ridiculous thing you've ever panic Googled?
- [43:48]
Andy Beshear
As a parent, I was definitely about sleep when my kids were young. Will and Lila were born a year and three days apart. Don't do that. And both struggled to sleep. Will struggled for about a year and then Lila was here and Lila struggled for longer. And so it was googling. How much sleep do you need to survive? How much sleep do you need before you go crazy? And we made it. And so can every other parent. So, parents, you will survive.
- [44:20]
Breland Tilford
What were those moments you remember that got you into politics?
- [44:23]
Andy Beshear
I'd say it's two sets of things that happened. The first was the birth of my kids. Talk about a miracle that just changes your life. I remember first Will came into our life and then Lila and I had the same moment. Epiphany. You choose the word where I looked at them and I thought about the world they were growing up in. And I asked myself, was I doing everything I could to make that the best world possible and were they better off if I just continued as a lawyer and maybe they'd be more comfortable or did I have a greater obligation to Them and to other kids to try to change the things out there that needed changing. The other is when I saw what it could do. So my dad was serving in a first term as governor. He had the chance to put the Affordable Care act in Kentucky, to expand Medicaid. All of a sudden, you couldn't lose your coverage for preexisting conditions. And we're in an elevator, I think, in Lexington, and a woman walks onto the elevator and bursts into tears. And when she can finally catch her breath, she looks at him and says, I'm alive today because of you. She could not get coverage. She could not get treatment that she was going to need. She was going to die because of the problems in our health care system. And this job as governor that he had, man, he could do something about it. And there are so many more individuals just like that that survived because of it. And then I think you fast forward years later and I'm governor during the pandemic. And thank God he'd made those decisions because our rural hospitals were open when others had closed. We had more beds for people. That his decision then not only saved her life, but helped me save lives so many years later.
- [46:11]
Breland Tilford
That's powerful. What's something you used to swear you'd never do when you got older but catch yourself doing all the time now?
- [46:17]
Andy Beshear
Well, first you're saying, I'm older, but the answer is so, so much. You will become your parents. At least in part. It happens. I remember being 18 during a summer. My dad was running for U.S. senate, and I was the driver because he didn't have to pay me. I was about to go off to college and just wanted to spend that time with my dad. But what I learned is, as my dad traveled all around the state, we spent so much time in the car. He wouldn't turn on the radio. He was making calls. He was reading something. And I thought, I am not going to survive this summer. And now what do I do? I'm in the car doing work now that you have these phones where you can get updates on everything. I'm doing work, and I never turn on the radio. And it drives my kids crazy. Now they have these things called phones where they can listen on their own. So I think it's a little less painful for them than for me, but that's certainly one that I still remember. I will never be that guy, and I most definitely am. So if you're in the car, the way you solve this is turning on the Andy Beshear podcast, and everyone will agree.
- [47:30]
Breland Tilford
I Would agree with that too. What's a fashion choice you made in high school that's still haunts you?
- [47:35]
Andy Beshear
I think if you start a little bit earlier. My generation made a lot of interesting fashion choices when we were younger. There were jam shorts. I even played on a soccer team named after jam shorts. And we were decent. Then. Then you go into the face that I had the bowl cut. I definitely regret that one. I think we're creating a meme right now. Never going to do that again. That's why I've had the same haircut since I was about 14 years old that I have right now. Then there was the Kurt Cobain phase where we all had so much flannel it could be 90 degrees in the summer. And we were all wearing flannel because that's who we were and we were going to push back on society. But now flannel's coming back in. So maybe if I can dig through the closet, I can wear it again.
- [48:26]
Breland Tilford
What's something your kids tease you about? Non stop everything.
- [48:31]
Andy Beshear
So with my son Will, he is finally taller than me and. And by a decent amount. I wouldn't admit it until it just became so obvious. And it drove him crazy that, that I. That I kept saying, now Will, you'll get there one day. And he kept saying, what? And standing next to the mirror by me with my daughter. It's where she wants to go to college. So she found or I told her about my college experience. Listen, I was fortunate, but I think I thought I was a lot smarter than at least a lot of colleges thought I was. When I applied, I think I applied to 10 and I got into 2. It was pretty humbling for someone who thought that they were going to get into all these. And the only two I got into were the ones I hadn't visited. Now I ended up going to an amazing university. It was the right thing for me. But my daughter teases me about it because she wants to go to any of the eight that I couldn't get into just to prove that she can do what I couldn't. And you know, I'm all for it, Lila.
- [49:33]
Breland Tilford
I wouldn't be surprised if she follows in your footsteps. You know Vanderbilt, right?
- [49:36]
Andy Beshear
Vanderbilt was a great experience for me. But a scholarship to any of those and she's done better than I did. Scholarship, yeah. That's a wrap on episode 11 of the Andy Beshear Podcast. I hope you enjoyed our interview with Wes Moore. We certainly learned that he's probably the best sous chef to serve as governor. In the country. Also, hope you enjoyed the conversation with the Johns and got something out of my Kentucky accent where I talked about how political violence is never the answer. We've dealt with a whole lot over the last week, so I hope watching or listening to this episode lifted you up, gave you just a little bit of hope, and prepared you for the week to come. Just remember, no matter what we face, we'll make it through it as long as we stick together. Remember, you can download us on all major platforms or subscribe to our YouTube channel @andy Beshear Podcast. Your downloads and your subscriptions are what keep us going and keeps this conversation going. So make sure you're a part of it and let's do this together.