← The Brett Cooper Show
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Guys, karma is a pain in my ass, because, of course, I would spend the last week laughing about the terrible political candidates in New York and California, and then, bam, I am slapped with one right here in Tennessee. All right, so if you are not a Tennessean, or maybe you are a Tennessean and you just don't know about this, we are having a special election next week on December 2nd here in middle Tennessee. I think it is the 7th district, which basically encompasses the entirety of middle Tennessee. It goes from, like, Clarkston up on the Kentucky border all the way down to the Alabama border. And basically that entire area just surrounds Nashville at large. Like, if you could commute to Nashville, you are most likely in this district. And now this local election is making national news because of how unhinged this candidate is. But unfortunately, I don't know if the GOP has the horsepower to get in her way. And we're gonna talk about it, but before we dive into that, make sure you head to BrettCooper.com to check out our new and improved Cooper Confidential. I just uploaded my birth story. We have a couple of farm blogs up there where we also have a New York City vlog from the last week that I was there with Fox. So all of that is up there for you guys to enjoy in addition to ad free episodes. Anyway, let's go ahead and dive into this story. So this candidate in the special election in Tennessee here, her name is Afton Bain. She is, by the way, I had to triple check that I was pronouncing that correctly because I probably read that 500 times, and I did not realize that it was a human being. Like, I think I had probably been seeing post on X about this woman, and I was like, what is. I have no idea who this is. It finally clicked for me. I was like, oh, no, this is a woman. Her name is afton. She is 33 years old, and she was born and raised in Tennessee. But unfortunately for all of us who live here, she does not seem to have a great fondness for her home. And so the first and most important thing we should talk about is how much she hates Nashville. Just watch. This clip is currently going viral on X. I've been heavily involved with the Nashville mayoral race because I hate the city. I hate the Bachelorettes. I hate the Pedal Taverns. I hate country music. I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently. And it's city to the rest of the country that I hate. Yeah, I'm that girl at the airport that all these bachelorettes are Giddy walking out in there in their two toned colored pantone pink shirts. Okay? This is like the embodiment of a pick me political candidate. Like if I have ever seen one, a pick me girl, she's like, oh, my God, I'm not like everybody else. I hate Nashville. I would never want to do a bachelorette party in Nashville. Oh, my God, I hate country music. I literally hate every single thing about Nashville. Everything that has made Nashville, Nashville. Oh, my God, it's just so boring. I hope somebody picks me and votes for me. That's basically what we are seeing here now. I do feel like it is one thing to, to maybe not love the tourism in Nashville and maybe be inconvenienced by the petal taverns and what I call like sparkle tits on Broadway, which are just like girls screaming on the petal taverns. They're like head to toe sequence. But you know what? They are funding our economy. They are coming here. They are having a good time. It's why I moved out of like Nashville centric area, to get away from that. They don't bother me all the way out here. That is totally fine. But it is a completely different thing to hate country music and hate everything that makes Nashville Nashville. Somebody commented and said, good grief. Why is Afton B. Sounds like a sexually transmitted disease running to represent Nashville if she hates Nashville so much? That, my friends, is the question that we need to answer today. Somebody else said, it's like running for mayor of New York saying that you hate the people, hate Times Square and hate Broadway. It will be staggeringly sad if she wins. Yeah, exactly. Another person said, why would you vote for somebody that hates everything you are? I mean, she should have like 3% support. Yes, you would think you would hope that. She has barely any support, but this race is much closer than anybody has expected. And this is coming from a district that Trump won by 22% points last year. And this woman who we're going to see is certifiably crazy and hates everything that Nashville is. She is pulling a very close race. Now after this clip started to circulate and make the rounds on X, people are like, oh, maybe this girl isn't as great as we thought she was. Afton herself then tried to walk back her statements by saying, oh, actually, guys, I love going to the Country Music hall of Fame. I cry every time I go. That is her explanation. Just watch. Hey, Representative Afton Bain here, the Democratic nominee for the seventh congressional special election in Tennessee. For those of you just joining in, I often Record segments in my Jeep Wrangler called Wrangling Time. Yes, there is a theme song, and no, I will not be singing it today. Okay, we're going to pause because, again, like, the Pick me Ness, it is, like, exhausting. Look at me. I'm in my Jeep Wrangler. I'm so cool. I'm not like all the other politicians. I'm so cool. I'm just, like, vlogging in my car. What is happening? What is happening? Okay, sorry, Just had to say that she's going on. But, yes, I will bring it back because I know a lot of you miss it. And you've said, I, I, I seem well, so I look a little rough. I have bags under my eyes because the Republican eye of Sauron has finally shifted towards moi. And I'm sure you've seen the commercials. I'm sure you've seen the onslaught of ads. And then today, the Republicans decided that they're going to start this narrative that me, the state representative who represents downtown Nashville, doesn't like the city. Now, I always want Nashville to be better, right? I want Nashville to be a place where working people can thrive, right? But sure, I get mad at the Bachelorette sometimes. I get mad at the Pedal Taverns, right? And you're talking to someone who has cried no less than 10 times in the Country Music hall of Fame, the girl that just goes to the Ryman to hang out. Okay? So now she is walking back all of this. She's like, the Republicans. Those damn Republicans are claiming that I don't like Nashville. Afton, you literally said it yourself. You didn't just say, I hate the tourists. You say, I literally hate Nashville. I hate everything that Nashville is. And I'm sorry, I think you, the Republicans didn't do that to you. That's a common thing in politics to be like, they've done this to me. Can you believe that they're making us do this. Those are words that came out of your actual mouth. And we're gonna see this is a pattern with Afton. Anyway, again, she's trying to convince everybody that she's now just a Nashville girly. She goes and just hangs out at the Ryman. Are you taking the tour every other day? Like, nobody goes and just hangs out at the Ryman. I don't think you have ever actually done that. But anyway, moving on. The point being, this just doesn't seem to add up. Like, I thought that you hated country music, and yet you are crying in the Country Music hall of Fame. Like, that's all you could muster up to describe your feelings about Nashville? I mean, I guess, guys, I guess she's too busy focusing on transing the kids. And no, guys, I am not joking about that, because after the covenant shooting took place in Nashville that wrecked our community, this is how she decided to respond. I had a snapped moment where I decided we need more people talking about the protections for trans kids in our trans communities. At the legislature every day and third every legislative session, I promised to carry a Trans Bill of Rights so that we could push back against the far right narrative that is being emanated by Matt Walsh and the Daily Wire, who have set up their home in Nashville. And I promise to do that. I promise to fight for our trans community. Great. That's what she's doing. She's not fighting for Nashvillians. She's just fighting against Matt Walsh in Daily Wire. That's great. That's a winning, Winning strategy. But of course, I'm saying that, and she might actually win. So what do I know, guys? What do I know? But as somebody who is going to be voting against her, I hear that. I'm like, you actually don't care about us. You hate the city. You hate the reason why it has grown to be what it is. You hate people who have moved here from California to find Sol. You hate our values, and you're going to be focusing on carrying around a Trans Bill of Rights. I mean, at the bare minimum, at least she's being honest. So who knows? Maybe it's not just the country music she hates. Maybe she hates the fact that we're keeping kids from doing irreversible damage to their bodies. Maybe she just hates the fact that this is a racist, godforsaken state. I'm sure people would love to know a little bit about you, who you are, how you. What you do@ruralorganizing.org and how you got into that line of work. Yeah, I love it. So I have unconventional background. I'm a social worker, but on the public policy side, and I was actually working in Europe when Trump was elected, and unlike a lot of my colleagues, decided to move back to East Tennessee, where I grew up. After Trump was elected. Yeah, after Trump was elected. Right, right. Not, not. Not quite the. The common route. And I remember taking my parents out to eat and telling them, I wanna get into Tennessee politics. And my mom started sobbing at the table, and she said, you're never supposed to move back to godforsaken East Tennessee. Great, okay, so godforsaken East Tennessee, that's how she has been raised to look at this stage. So no wonder she is very publicly and confidently saying that she doesn't love Nashville. She actually hates Nashville. She doesn't love the people. I mean, this is how she was raised. I mean, say what you want about Republicans and Republicans problems, but at least it seems conservatives love this country, love their states, and want to bring them to greatness. Democrats, on the contrary, are hell bent on ripping it to shreds, criticizing our history, our values, looking at half of the country down their noses with elitist disdain. This is what we see every single day. Whatever. I mean, moving on. That is not even the worst of what she has said, because back in 2020, Afton Bain literally said that she supported burning police stations. And yes, that is 100% real. So back in 2020, political polls posted. Do you think the anger led to these people Protests are justified. She retweeted that and she said good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans that believe that burning down a police station is justified. So by saying that, she's saying, these are my people. Good morning to you. You are my people who believe that burning down a police station is justified. Now this tweet has come back to bite her in the ass. She had a few other tweets similar to this that were violent in nature. She has been questioned about these tweets, obviously, and you will never believe how she's responding. Five years later in 2020, you made some tweets that have since been deleted that were very critical of police. You said in those since deleted tweets that the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department should be dissolved. Another cheered on a teachers union saying that defund the police should be a requirement for schools reopening. And another saying good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans that believe burning down a police station is justified. 2020 was obviously a very fraught year. Do you still stand by those comments? And if not, is there anything you want to clarify? I'm not going to engage in cable news talking points. Okay, hold on. I'm not going to engage in cable news talking points. You're not going to clarify your opinions that you previously posted publicly like you obviously posted them? You can't stand behind them. Or did you think that they would just automatically, poof, vanish out of thin air if you've deleted them before you ran for public office? I'm sorry, that is just a recipe for disaster. Because since you deleted them, obviously everybody's gonna work harder to dig them up, see what else you might be hiding. And obviously people are going to have questions. Those are not cable news talking points. Those are just actual things that voters want to know. And it's insane that MSNBC is even asking her that. That is a panel on MSNBC that they are even pushing this. They're like, hey, do you actually still believe these things? Like Nashville actually does have a lot of violent crime downtown, where you represent Nashvillians downtown. Do you actually want to dissolve Nashville PD when bachelorettes are coming into town, when there's drinking, when there are shootings, when there is violent crime that we need to address? Do you actually want to burn down police stations? And she's like, oh my God, these cable news talking points. I mean again, what world do you live in? Those are literally your words. Somebody commented and said, goes on cable news says during the interview, I'm not gonna engage in cable news talking points. You don't hate politicians enough. I mean, you really don't. This actually might be worse. What we talked about last week with Katie Porter doing her interview in California, saying that follow up questions were actually aggressive and combative. That the reporter just trying to get to the root of Katie Porter's answer, like that was just like too much. That was enough for her to rip off the microphone and try to walk off set. And obviously all of this is so ironic because. Because these people, their party, they are the aggressive ones, just like she proved by posting those tweets. Somebody pointed this out and said why does every single Democrat who runs for office these days seem to have some massive scandal regarding calls for violence? Honest question, what is going on at the dnc? And my honest question is why are they still getting elected? The fact that J. Jones was exposed in Virginia for wishing death upon his political opponents saying I hope that your children die in your wives arms so that you change your mind on policy. And that man was still supported by the Democrats, was still supported by the other Democrats running in Virginia and won. Like that is. That is my real question. I mean, and then they turn around and they have the gall to say that we actually are the Nazis, we're the bigots. We are the ones inciting violence and ripping this country apart. Like, please, like take a frickin look in the mirror. The writing is on the wall. It is as clear as the reasons why you should go to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. And GCU is a private Christian university that offers over 360 academic programs informed by industry and student learning outcomes. And it is affordable. They are here to work for you. And Help get your future started now. 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We even know where she stands on issues like ICE and deportations, because in one previous livestream, she bragged about stalking and bullying federal agents just trying to do their jobs. Take a look at this video. Okay, this is great. We've got our girl squad and we're bullying the ICE vehicles and state troopers. So this is like, this is a win. That's a win. You have your girl squad, your girl bosses, and you are harassing state troopers and ICE agents, people who are again, who are literally just trying to work and do their jobs. And what do you think you're actually going to get done later in this livestream? She's like, we follow them to the gas station. We cut them off and we pulled in and went to the gas station that they wanted to go to and they were so angry. Oh, what, you think that's gonna stop deportations? You think that's gonna protect illegal immigrants in Nashville? If you slide in and get to the gas nozzle that you want before the ICE agent? Like, I don't even have the words. Like, I'm struggling to even get out anything because of how absurd and ridiculous and performative that is. That's really what it is. At the end of the day, somebody commented and said, risking your political career and freedom for a few likes and attention on social media is wild af. Another person said, this level of self snitching is hilarious. Now, it might be hilarious if anything had been done about it. But no, because she's here. That was back in May and she is now running for higher political office. There have been no consequences and now she has the power of the DNC behind her and it certainly is behind her. In fact, the House Democrats super PAC just last week donated a million dollars to her campaign to try to bring it home. She's even been called the AOC Tennessee. And I have to say, just a couple of years ago, the idea of this woman taking over a deep red district in middle Tennessee would have been unthinkable. Even just last year with the presidential election, it would have been unfathomable. But after all the major Democrat wins last month, like, anything is possible. Like, I actually am quite concerned about this. I am very excited to wake up next week and go vote against her. And speaking of those previous elections, it does seem like she's following in Mamdani's footsteps by focusing on affordability and trying to disrupt the system. And what we know now is that this year, that is the messaging that is working. I think he helps. I mean, his message is one of helping working families across New York. My message is one of helping working families across Tennessee. And obviously, we know that messaging works. But the thing is, I actually think that Afton pales in comparison to Zoran Mamdani. Because it is clear, even if you hate him, it is clear that Mamdani has a fondness for New York. He loves the city. He loves its people. He had an amazing time on the campaign trail. He looks like he loved his constituents. But Afton, as you guys have now seen, has spent her career attacking Tennessee. Mamdani didn't do that. And I think that's why he was compelling, even for people who are across the island were like, okay, why not? Let's just shake it up? Let's just try something different. And so who knows if this will work for Afton or not? And I hate to say it, but, like, the GOP is not doing a good job fighting back against this race. Matt Van Epps is the Republican running against her. And this week was the first time that I started hearing anything from him or about him, because everything up until this point has been directed at at her while she's out there talking to people about affordability and the crazy Republicans and all of these things and really speaking to voters. Matt Van Epp's campaign seems to be centered on the fact that he will support the Trump agenda. He's gonna support everything that the Republican Congress wants to do and that he has, Trump's, you know, MAGA stamp of approval. He got that Trump endorsement. And that might have been great a couple of years ago. It might have been great even, you know, a year ago. But right now, people don't care about that. They care about money in their pockets. And unfortunately for Republicans, ads like this are, in fact, effective. Angry about high grocery prices, worried about health care costs, feeling burned by tariffs. Then December 2nd is your day to shake up Washington. I'm Afton Bain, and in Congress, I'll work for you, not the rich donors or special interests. Together, we can bring balance to Washington by making health care more affordable, bringing down the cost of living, and protect workers and small businesses from jobs, and killing tariffs. I'm Afton Bain, and I approve this message to shake up Washington. Now, obviously, I don't think that Afton Bain is actually going to shake up Washington. She's going to get there. She's going to be part of the same machine that everybody ends up entering into. She's also not shaking it up and fighting against the man because obviously the Democrats, the establishment Democrats, have flooded a million dollars into her campaign. So she's not really raging against the machine, but the message that she is presenting is indicative of that. And anybody who watches these ads is gonna go, oh, yeah, prices are really high. Like, I'm working on my Thanksgiving meal and it's, you know, it's really expensive. And man, healthcare costs are expensive right now. Like, that is going to speak to people. And again, what I keep saying, it feels like this messaging is, you know, two sides of the same coin with what we saw with Trump. Like, this is what brought a victory home for Trump in 2016 and what brought a victory home last year, and it did the same for Mamdani. It is affordability. It is a fresh voice, it's new, it's anti establishment. That is what Americans care about, even if they're not getting into the nitty gritty of like, is she actually gonna work for me? Are her policies actually interesting? Like, they hear affordability and they go, oh, my gosh, yes, that is what I need to hear. And so right now, for a lot of voters, I think that they care more about those messages than they do her views on ICE or BLM from five years ago. No matter how insane or incriminating those things objectively are to a lot of us. I mean, like, how can you fight against this woman when her slogans are literally, feed kids, fix roads, and fund hospitals. That's what she has on her social media. Like, fixing roads alone might drive, for lack of a better word, might drive Tennesseans out to the polls to vote for her. So who knows? Anyway, I will be out next Monday. I will be voting for her. If you live in middle Tennessee in the huge 7th district, I urge you to go out and vote if you have not done already. I think early voting ends tomorrow. Tennessee is such an incredible state. I feel so honored to have been raised here. I feel so lucky to have been able to move back here. It is a haven for people who are want to be left alone and want to have freedom and wide open spaces to raise their kids. Enjoy low taxes, enjoy. Just like a general sense of sanity if you do avoid the downtown Nashville area because it does get a little bit crazy. But here's the thing. If Afton Bain does win next week, this needs to be a wake up call for the gop. This is not New York City, it's not Virginia this is Tennessee. You cannot just rely on deep red voters to turn out. If she wins, that will be the lesson. You cannot just rely on a Trump endorsement and a vague promise to fulfill the MAGA agenda. Somebody commented and said GOP needs to take this race more seriously. They just assume that they have this in the bag in a historically safe district. But it's an off year and all the work to drive turnout that I'm seeing is coming from the Democratic side. Exactly. Maybe the red voters will turn out. I hope they do. I will be there. Maybe I'll see you guys. But this fall, just in general, it should be a lesson to the gop. It should be a lesson to its candidates. There is work to be done before the midterms and certainly before 2028. My therapist always asks me to transcribe my dreams when they happen. And the recurring dream I've had is standing up in a cafeteria full of women and saying, I don't want children. I want. Instead of going to a doctor because we won't have any doctors that provide abortions. How do you do it at home? That is unreasonable. But also the deeply patriarchal structures that these women are involved with because they've chosen marriage and they've chosen to raise children. We are really living in a dystopian reality. I tell you, ladies and gents, it's not great. We all should be ashamed.