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Matt Jones
This is Interrupted by Matt Jones on Newsradio840. Now here's Matt Jones. Welcome to episode 38 of Interrupted by Matt Jones.
Billy
It is a beautiful day here in
Matt Jones
Lexington, Kentucky, and I thought for this episode we'd kind of check in with what's going on in the world. You know, on my regular KSR show, I try not to give opinions too
Billy
much about specific issues because it gets derailed and people get mad and they,
Matt Jones
and you also just don't have time
Billy
to go into detail.
Matt Jones
So I thought I would do that. And I have five sort of issues,
Billy
things that have kind of come up in the last few months that I thought would be good to discuss.
Matt Jones
And you know, we're going to do this in the spirit of open conversation and if you disagree, that's okay. I'm glad to hear your other opinion
Billy
if you do it in a nice way. 772-7745254. That's our text machine. 772-774-5254. Billy is with me. And Billy is going to just, you
Matt Jones
know, maybe give some of his thoughts or ask questions. Because Billy, you said, you know, you
Billy
follow the news a little bit, but you don't go into great detail. Am I right?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
That's right. Yep. Great to be with you today.
Matt Jones
But now people sometimes get mad when we do this.
Billy
They go, you know, how does Billy not know this or that? I'm going to defend you on this
Matt Jones
because I think you are kind of
Billy
like the average voter or average, the
Matt Jones
kind of person that listens to political news or political podcasts. Their strong opinions may be very Informed. I think you represent what the vast majority of people are, which is you kind of know what's going on, but
Billy
you don't follow it in detail. Is that fair?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah, I'm very average. Good way to.
Matt Jones
Well, I'm not saying you're average. I think you're above average intelligence. But you just, you know.
Billy
You like sports, right? Golf?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah.
Matt Jones
What do you like.
Billy
What do you do when you're done? Like, what do you.
Matt Jones
What do you like to read, look at, watch?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I do a lot of golfing. That's my. Probably my biggest hobby.
Billy
That's a rich man's hobby.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah, a lot of sports. A lot of live tv. I don't watch live tv.
Matt Jones
What are we watching live tv?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Well, we talked about Storage wars the last time we did a show together. Kind of that. Like trash.
Matt Jones
Still doing that. Still doing Storage Wars.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I gotta be an auctioneer, so I gotta.
Billy
Okay, well, good.
Matt Jones
All right. So I thought we'd go through five things.
Billy
Let's just get started. Number one, Iran.
Matt Jones
So if you remember, Donald Trump bombed
Billy
Iran and said, billy, we would be done in two weeks.
Matt Jones
One of the interesting things, if you
Billy
watch Trump, everything's always two weeks.
Matt Jones
No, I mean, pay attention sometime. And look how many times he says
Billy
something will be over in two weeks. Two weeks, I think, is the magical amount for him.
Matt Jones
Where he thinks it's not immediately, it's in the future. It doesn't seem like a long time, but I don't have to deal with it today.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Kicking the can down the road.
Billy
Two weeks.
Matt Jones
And now we are seven or eight weeks in.
Billy
Gas prices have exploded to probably the second highest they've ever been absent that time right after Covid.
Matt Jones
And it doesn't look like there's much
Billy
of an ending inside.
Matt Jones
And as a matter of fact, this
Billy
week, a writer for the Atlantic wrote and said Donald Trump has kind of checkmated himself on Iran, that there's really no way for America to win this. Absent getting into a war like a real war that we don't want to do, with boots on the ground, et cetera.
Matt Jones
And I think it's fair to say.
Billy
I mean, again, as an average voter, I'd be interested in what you think.
Matt Jones
I think it's fair to say this
Billy
has kind of been a total failure in the sense of a. I'm not sure what the objective was, because every time he talks about it, he says a different objective. Was it to get rid of the nuclear material? Well, we haven't done that.
Matt Jones
Was it to disarm Iran?
Billy
Well, Some recent reports say they may have lost only, like, 10% of their missile capacities. Trump will say 97. But there's some stuff to suggest that may not be the case.
Matt Jones
And then, was it to create regime change?
Billy
That didn't really happen either.
Matt Jones
And the really, the one biggest legacy
Billy
is Iran has taken over what was the Strait of Hormuz, which at one point was open and ships could go
Matt Jones
in and out freely.
Billy
And they've basically taken it over and said they control it, and they've essentially shut it down. The only boats they let through are ones that they decide presumably have paid them off to let them through.
Matt Jones
So, just as you know, what do you think?
Billy
Have you watching this? Do you think this was a good decision in hindsight?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Well, initially, you hit the nail on the head for me about why did we get into this war? Because I've heard all three or even four of those reasons as a reason why they did it, but I'm not sure exactly what that reason.
Matt Jones
He said them all at some point.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah. So. And what impacts me the most is gas prices. So the gas prices are crazy, and it's unbelievable. I mean, I've got to think about going to Louisville a little differently if here in Lexington, just because.
Matt Jones
Do you do that? Do you, like, sit and think? Like, I can understand that.
Billy
I mean, I.
Matt Jones
To fill up my car, I have
Billy
to use premium, and it's now over $5, almost 550.
Matt Jones
And so to fill up my car
Billy
is now over $100, which is kind of striking, you know, when you actually, like.
Matt Jones
Because it was like, for the cheapest gallons of gas, they were like $2.40 six months ago, five months ago. And now it's, I think, in Lexington, 430 now. That's a huge rise quickly.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
And I was on board about regime change. That seemed to strike a chord for me, at least.
Matt Jones
Why?
Billy
Why was that?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Just because the things that that regime was doing was. Were things that I found unacceptable.
Billy
Like which of the things?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Like the treatment of women.
Matt Jones
Okay, so you're the way they treated their own country, correct? Yeah, I think that's fair to say.
Billy
I mean, the ayatollah and that regime, not just women, I mean, they, by some estimates, killed 10,000 of their own citizens in protest. You know, there were protests like a year ago, and they basically turned the Internet off, so it's hard to even know what happened. But most estimates, I think I saw the UN and said 10,000 people killed, which is just horrendous. So I have no love loss for the regime.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
So I was, I was all on board about that. But what is the exit strategy? How does this end? How does this not become Iraq again? This war that just prolongs goes on and on and on. And people have harsh feelings about.
Matt Jones
Yeah, so there's like a few ways
Billy
to look at this. One is how did we get into it?
Matt Jones
The New York Times had a huge
Billy
story about the decision to do it.
Matt Jones
Now I take these things with a
Billy
little bit of a grain of salt. Cause they're not in the room. Right.
Matt Jones
But I did notice that with the
Billy
exception of Trump, who I don't believe one word he says ever. So like there's nothing he can say that changes my mind on anything. He's lost that trust with me long ago.
Matt Jones
But I've noticed that the other people
Billy
involved have not disagreed with this story,
Matt Jones
which makes me think there is some
Billy
sense of truth in this story, that
Matt Jones
they were in a room full of
Billy
people, the Trump war room, essentially trying to decide whether or not to start this.
Matt Jones
And there were people for it, including
Billy
Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth and a couple of other people.
Matt Jones
And then there were people against it.
Billy
J.D. vance being the primary one and some of the generals going, we can do what you want here, but is this a good idea?
Matt Jones
J.D. vance?
Billy
Now that story could have been leaked from J.D. vance to make him look good. We don't really know. Right. But let's just assume that's true. The assumption a lot of people have is that Israel kind of was the country that pushed them to do it. If that's true, does that bother you?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
A little bit. We shouldn't be getting into wars based on what other countries think, what Israel wants. Right. So that's what I've heard as well is Netanyahu was the one that kind of pushed America into this war for his own reasons. Not for the good of us, but. But for the good of Israel.
Matt Jones
Yes, because they feel like they are
Billy
always potentially under attack there, which may actually be true, I don't know.
Matt Jones
But so the question becomes, okay, if they decide to do it, what are
Billy
they trying to do?
Matt Jones
I mean, I think here are the
Billy
various goals, whether or not I think they.
Matt Jones
I think making sure Iran cannot get
Billy
a nuclear weapon is a valuable goal.
Matt Jones
And I actually think that would be
Billy
a goal that would be worth some measure of strikes. Right.
Matt Jones
The problem is we were told a
Billy
year ago that they had done bombings that got rid of that, saw the
Billy (Listener/Guest)
camera or the video of it when it happened.
Matt Jones
And that clearly was untrue. Cuz they Couldn't have rebuilt their ability
Billy
to have a nuclear weapon in a year.
Matt Jones
Obama had a deal in place to
Billy
keep them from doing it, and Trump ripped it up.
Matt Jones
And, you know, I think I saw
Billy
it had gotten rid of 97% of Iranian nuclear capacity. He ripped it up. As I understand it, and I'm by no means an expert, the uranium that they can use for nuclear weapons is underground.
Matt Jones
And you can't simply, like, bomb it out of there.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Right.
Matt Jones
You would literally have to go and get it. Yeah. And you can't do that without boots on the ground. And I don't think anybody, myself included,
Billy
wants boots on the ground.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
You think that's the next step?
Matt Jones
I mean, I just don't think America will stand for it. Even Trump's own party, I mean, there are people that want it. Lindsey Graham, I think, wants that.
Billy
Maybe Marco Rubio, I don't know. But, like, I don't think the average American want.
Matt Jones
I mean, no war in the Middle
Billy
east where we've put boots on the ground has worked.
Matt Jones
No, none of them. Because that's not what we're built for.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Right.
Matt Jones
And people are going to die.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Do you still think that America should be, like, the protector of democracy and this police of the world?
Billy
It's a great question.
Matt Jones
I don't think they can do it alone.
Billy
I think there are things that America and the United nations can do.
Matt Jones
I do think, you know, if you
Billy
find out that a country like Somalia is killing their own people, you can go in and try to take out that regime.
Matt Jones
But there's also a react like a real part of this, which is Putin's awful, but we don't try to take him over.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah.
Matt Jones
You know, there are some things you just can't do. You can be a police force, but,
Billy
like, you can't police everybody.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Right.
Matt Jones
Because some people are too strong.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
They punch back.
Matt Jones
And I think what we've realized with Iran is we've continuously underestimated how strong they are. They can't beat us in a war, but they can put us in a war where we have to make losses
Billy
that we don't want.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Right.
Billy
You know what I mean?
Matt Jones
And I think that's what we've done here. Then the second thing is the oil part. So, as I understand it, I'm going
Billy
to give Donald Trump, like, the best possible motives, which I don't believe he
Matt Jones
has, but I think it's a good, like, thought exercise to think about. Like, what's the smartest person with Trump's opinion? What would they argue they thought if they bombed the leadership, if they got rid of the ayatollah and his family, that because there was so much discontent
Billy
with Iran, with the leadership in Iran,
Matt Jones
the people would rise up and create a revolution.
Billy
That's what they hoped.
Matt Jones
And then they saw this thing, this meeting where all the leadership of Iran
Billy
was in one place. And as I understand it, the decision
Matt Jones
was, here we go, we can kill
Billy
70 of them at once, and the country will now have no leadership and the people will rise up.
Matt Jones
I think that's what they thought was going to happen. Well, they bomb it.
Billy
They kill all of those people.
Matt Jones
But a lot of the people that they killed, there were people who could have been the people to take over. They essentially killed all the underlings.
Billy
And then the people didn't rise up.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Didn't work.
Billy
It didn't work.
Matt Jones
And so the same people took over. And as I understand it, some of whom were even harsher than the ones they blew up.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Oh, that was not the goal. How did they not see that, though?
Matt Jones
Like, how is that not great question? I don't know enough to. Somebody looked at that and said, there's, like, you know, because we've done that
Billy
in our history before, we've taken out a leader thinking that the people will then take over. And sometimes it's worked. And then in this case, it didn't.
Matt Jones
So that was mistake one. We took out. All these people, including potential Democratic reformers,
Billy
got taken out, too. And then the oil situation, it sounds
Matt Jones
like if you read the reporting on it, they just never thought that Iran
Billy
would cut off the oil supply because
Matt Jones
so much of the Iranian economy is from oil. They're like, they'll never do that.
Billy
They're essentially starving themselves. But then they did.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Could all this be about oil? I mean, with all the world's oil or a lot of it going through the Strait of Hormuz? I mean, we.
Billy
I think it's. It's all about.
Matt Jones
I think what we underestimate every time
Billy
we go to the Middle east is
Matt Jones
how much those people.
Billy
I don't know how to say this exactly.
Matt Jones
In some ways, they're a lot more
Billy
willing to die for this stuff than we are.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Okay. Could see that.
Billy
You know what I mean?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
It's their home, too.
Matt Jones
It's their home. And they also have a religious viewpoint
Billy
about martyrdom and things.
Matt Jones
I just don't know that, like Westerners, we are inconvenienced and angry about the price of gas. A lot of those folks are willing
Billy
to sacrifice for the thing.
Matt Jones
So, like, I just feel like they're willing to go more to the mat than we are. So their economy is getting tortured right now, like they, they, they are. From an economic perspective, this war is
Billy
hitting them much harder than it's hitting
Matt Jones
us, but I think they're much more willing to deal with it. Whereas we're upset if our iPhone doesn't work, but do you know what I mean by that?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
But I'd also understand if the war was on our soil, you know, there would be some concessions made. I'd be into it just like they are.
Matt Jones
Yes,
Billy
I agree, but they are like that. And so they are much more willing to handle it.
Matt Jones
And so now how high does the gas price have to get before the
Billy
American people say get out?
Matt Jones
If it gets to $6 a gallon.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah.
Billy
Then what happens?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Well, he can't run again. So, I mean, there's.
Matt Jones
But the other people in the party, J.D.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
vance, gonna be running.
Matt Jones
I mean, remember they just did a
Billy
vote about giving Trump the power to continue this in the Senate. And I don't know if you saw it only passed by one vote.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
It did pass.
Billy
Yes. But three Republicans voted against it.
Matt Jones
And the only reason it passed is
Billy
that John Fetterman voted for it. The Democrat.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah.
Matt Jones
Otherwise it would not have passed. You gotta think, as the longer it
Billy
goes, there are gonna be more and
Matt Jones
more Republicans defect because they all have
Billy
to run for election here in a few months. Yeah, he doesn't, but they do.
Matt Jones
So I think it's awful. You know, it's tough because I'm not like, I don't think I understand the
Billy
desire to get rid of the nuclear capability, but once again, in the Middle east, we bit off more than we can chew. When are we going to learn?
Matt Jones
I mean, this goes back to Napoleon. What?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
In the Middle east area?
Matt Jones
No one takes over the Middle east and it works. Yeah, I mean, the Russians in Afghanistan found their. That demise. You know, we learned in Iraq, we learned in Afghanistan.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Well, it goes back to that moral superiority. And you.
Matt Jones
I think we just. I think we think that, like. And we never learn the lesson. We never learn this lesson. And it happens over and over and over, and yet we never learn it.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Cal would say, you win or you learn. And we haven't been learning about this.
Matt Jones
We never learn about this. And then you throw in. Now Trump knows he's gotta end it, but he doesn't know how to do
Billy
it and save face.
Matt Jones
And the problem is, if you were to end it today, Iran is going to. They've realized their only leverage now is
Billy
the Strait of Hormuz.
Matt Jones
So they're not going to give that up.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Why would they?
Matt Jones
Why would they? And what's.
Billy
So you can make a strong argument, Billy. This is what I think is ultimately true. You can make a strong argument that not only did we not fix the problems, we might have made it worse.
Matt Jones
We actually, we.
Billy
We literally may have made it worse
Matt Jones
because now we have more fundamentalist people in charge
Billy
and we've closed the oil.
Matt Jones
And we've also. I mean, we can't skip over. We killed an orphanage full of young
Billy
girls, 120 kids, I think, and we didn't get to.
Matt Jones
I mean, it was a mistake. I don't think anybody did on purpose,
Billy
but it still happened. Those are still human beings.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Mm.
Billy
You know, and we didn't.
Matt Jones
It doesn't sound like we even got rid of the nuclear. So what did we accomplish?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
And so how much longer does this war last?
Billy
You know, I don't know.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
You think it's a long draw thing?
Matt Jones
I think they're just going to. I think right now they're just going
Billy
to have to give up.
Matt Jones
And the question is, how bad are
Billy
we going to look and give it up?
Matt Jones
That's the point of the Atlantic article that they wrote, was essentially Iran.
Billy
Now, they're not going to lose.
Matt Jones
So the question is, how does this end?
Billy
And we've put China closer with Iran. We've put Russia closer with Iran. That's why Trump, by the way, right now is in China.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah, right now.
Matt Jones
Right now, as we speak, he is in China. Because they got to find a way
Billy
to get out of this and not lose face. And we'll see what happens. All right, next one, let's do. Have you been following, Billy, the gerrymandering?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Kind of like, I know about it. I don't know many specifics. I knew the Louisiana stuff. Tennessee.
Billy
Do you know what gerrymandering is?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
It's like the moving of congressional lines.
Matt Jones
Yeah.
Billy
So this comes from. I think it was some guy who. Congressman, like in the early 1900s called something Jerry, and he learned that, like, if you draw the lines correctly, you can completely change how many congressmen you win in each state.
Matt Jones
Right.
Billy
So you.
Matt Jones
You could take a state that's like
Billy
40% Democrat or 40% Republican and has nine congressional seats. And if you draw the districts right,
Matt Jones
you can make it to where you win all nine or you win eight, because people tend to live with people
Billy
of the same political ideology.
Matt Jones
So you can draw it to where. I mean, let's take Kentucky. Most of the Democrats in Kentucky are
Billy
in Lexington or Louisville. Not all, but most.
Matt Jones
So the way they used to do it is they'd go, Louisville gets a congressional seat. Lexington in the surrounding area gets a
Billy
seat, and then we divide the rest of state.
Matt Jones
A gerrymander would be, let's take little part. Let's divide Louisville into three different zones, and there'll be just enough Democrats in
Billy
each one that it's not enough to beat the Republican. Does that make sense?
Matt Jones
So you. You spread them apart. The other thing you can do is you can say, okay, most of the Democrats are in, say, Atlanta, Georgia. Let's just make one seat that's all Democrats. They get one, and then we'll take
Billy
all the rest of them.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Okay. Confided into that.
Matt Jones
Confided. And I think it's called like, I think stacking and cracking or something.
Billy
Each of them have a different term.
Matt Jones
So they've been doing this for a long, long time. Then along came the Voting Rights Act. And the Voting Rights act basically looked at the south and said, okay, if you keep doing this, black people are
Billy
not going to be able to have any representatives.
Matt Jones
So they create a law that said if you use race to either split people up or pack them together like that, if the goal is to limit
Billy
black representation, then that's illegal.
Matt Jones
And since so many black people vote Democrat. But it became, you can't really do that to Democrats there specifically, because if you do, you're essentially doing it to black people.
Billy
Because in the Deep south, almost all the Democrats are black. Does that make sense?
Matt Jones
So Virginia, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, they've been under a court order for many, many years that they essentially couldn't gerrymander because they had a history of discriminating
Billy
against black people in congressional districts.
Matt Jones
Well, the Supreme Court this year overturned
Billy
that part and said essentially they've basically said no more considering race even to help.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Okay?
Matt Jones
Not only can you not consider race to harm, you can't consider it to help.
Billy
Now we can talk about whether that's correct or not. I would argue it's not, but it's
Matt Jones
not a ridiculous theory.
Billy
Okay?
Matt Jones
So now all of a sudden, the south can be gerrymandered too. So there were these handful of districts
Billy
that were predominantly for black representatives, and
Matt Jones
they are now states are considering taking
Billy
them away and gerrymandering them out.
Matt Jones
So they're. They. So Tennessee took the city of Memphis
Billy
and divided it in the three.
Matt Jones
It used to have one seat that
Billy
was theirs, and they've divided it now to where there is no Memphis seat. They're split amongst three different groups. It's pretty blatantly discriminatory in my mind, but they're able to do it, and they did it. I think, Billy, gerrymandering is the worst thing for democracy in America.
Matt Jones
Across the country, it's the worst when Republicans do it, but it's also the
Billy
worst when Democrats do it.
Matt Jones
It literally is the reason we have
Billy
such polarization in this country.
Matt Jones
I think it is. Honestly, I'll go so far as to say I think gerrymandering is literally the
Billy
worst thing in politics.
Matt Jones
The worst, number one. And I'll tell you why. When you live in a gerrymandered district, you have no incentive to be bipartisan. None. You have no incentive. As a matter of fact, if you live in a district that's all Republican or all Democrat, you know you're never
Billy
going to lose to the other side.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Right.
Matt Jones
You know you're never. If you're in a plus 30 Trump district or a plus 30 Biden district, you're never going to lose. So what's your only incentive? Not losing a primary. And how do you keep yourself from
Billy
losing in a primary? Be as extreme as you can.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Oh, be like, as liberal as possible.
Matt Jones
Be as liberal as possible or be as conservative as possible, because the only way you're ever going to lose is if somebody in your party challenges you. That's the only way you'll ever lose. So think about Thomas Massie here in Kentucky. He's in a district that is very Republican.
Billy
It's not as Republican as it used
Matt Jones
to be, but it's very Republican. He's not gonna lose in a general election. So the only way he can lose is if he loses in a primary. Which means when he wants to morally stand up against Trump, he has to consider it might cost him his job.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
That's why Trump has backed his opponent.
Matt Jones
Trump has backed his opponent. And so if Massie loses, it will only be because he wasn't conservative enough. And Massie has no incentive to reach out to the 40% of his district that's Democrat because he can't lose unless
Billy
he loses in a primary.
Matt Jones
And that's true, by the way, for Democrats, too. So there are 435 members of the House. Do you know how many of them in 2024 were in races that were considered competitive, meaning either side could win?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Not a lot. It's probably going to shock me how little it is.
Matt Jones
380 were not. So there were 55 races. Basically, there are 55 districts in America that decide who's going to be in charge of Congress. The other 380 literally have no power at all.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
They're either so red or blue. It's a.
Matt Jones
If your side wins, you have power, but if your side doesn't. Sorry.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah.
Matt Jones
So. And this has gone back years. Honestly, the most powerful districts in the country are the ones that have competitive races, because if you're a Democrat or Republican, you want to protect your congressman. So for a while, Lexington was one of those.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Really? I didn't know that.
Matt Jones
Lexington used to be one of those 55. And then the Kentucky legislature redistricted it, and now it's a safe Republican seat
Billy
because they basically have Lex just.
Matt Jones
They basically kicked out Frankfurt. So Frankfurt used to be part of this. They kicked them out, put them in a district that's all Republican. And so now that's why Andy Barr kept his seat. But back when it used to go back and forth, the government would give Lexington area a lot of stuff to protect whether or not there was a
Billy
Republican or Democrat in office.
Matt Jones
So now what they're doing is they can. With AI.
Billy
They can gerrymander.
Matt Jones
They can gerrymander to perfection.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
By the household?
Matt Jones
No, by the street. They literally do. In some states, they do it by the street. And by doing that, they can create. Like in California, there are 56.
Billy
56 districts.
Matt Jones
I have read that they would. They. That if the California Democrats wanted to push it to the extreme, they could gerrymander it where it was like, 515 Democrat.
Billy
Wow.
Matt Jones
That's how good they could do it. I think now it's just like 48
Billy
or 47 and whatever.
Matt Jones
But they could make it even better
Billy
if they wanted to.
Matt Jones
And what's happened is Texas decided, so they used to always gerrymander every decade when the census came out, but Texas decided this year because Trump's worried about losing the House. Let's do it mid decade.
Billy
Nobody's ever done that before.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
How do they justify doing something like that?
Matt Jones
They don't even try.
Billy
They just say, we want to help Trump.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Wow.
Billy
That's. No, that's what they've said. I mean, they.
Matt Jones
To be fair, they don't even try
Billy
to justify it, like, you know, with some sort of logical reasoning. It's just like, we want to help Trump.
Matt Jones
And they changed it to where now
Billy
there are four more Trump districts. Well, when that happened, Maryland and Virginia were like, all right, well, you're gonna do that now? We're gonna do it.
Matt Jones
And there's a race to the bottom. Okay, There's a race to the bottom because now every state has an Incentive to gerrymander as much as they can. Republicans are better at it because Democrats for a while had the. They. They were trying to have independent commissions
Billy
in states, which, by the way, is
Matt Jones
what every state should have, but really
Billy
it was mostly only Democrat states that passed it. So they cut their knees out from themselves. So, like, New York has one of those. There's a handful of states that have them. Well, they're all going to get taken away.
Matt Jones
And I think we're headed, Billy, in a few years to where there's going to. There's only going to be, like, 15
Billy
competitive districts in the country.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
That doesn't seem right.
Matt Jones
It's not right. It's the worst. It is the worst development for democracy. Like, it's helping Trump right now, but one day it won't and it shouldn't. Like, what. What people don't realize is they're only hurting themselves. So let me tell you about the
Billy
debate in South Carolina.
Matt Jones
There are eight Republican districts in South
Billy
Carolina, one Democrat, James Clyburn. They created basically a predominantly black district. When the Supreme Court decision came,
Matt Jones
South Carolina's Republican leaders were like, all right, let's make it nine.
Billy
Oh.
Matt Jones
Won't be hard.
Billy
Let's make it nine. Oh.
Matt Jones
And the leader of the Senate, who's a Republican, got up and said, no, because when a Democrat's president, South Carolina gets stuff sometimes because we have one Democrat district, and they mention all of this stuff over the years that has been given to South Carolina. He was like, the moment we don't have a Democrat district, the state of South Carolina will suffer. And that is actually exactly right, because if you get to a point where a president, let's say the Democrats elect
Billy
a president that is as partisan as
Matt Jones
Trump, and by that I mean only
Billy
wants to help the states that voted for him.
Matt Jones
You're hurting yourself.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yes. I just don't see the reason why you're able to do it.
Matt Jones
You shouldn't be able to.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
It's like people want to stay in power. So they, they redistrict these.
Matt Jones
Of course, Jamie, we redistricted Kentucky so that Jamie Comer could live in Frankfurt.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
That's.
Matt Jones
Pull. Pull up the. Pull up for yourself the Kentucky congressional map and go look at District one. I want you to look at District one right now.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
All right, look.
Matt Jones
Look at, look at District one.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Okay?
Matt Jones
It goes from the far western tip circles down by the bottom of the state, and then crawls all the way up to. What's that top county? Franklin to Franklin County. Look at that.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
It's Egregious it's ridiculous. I just don't know how you did that.
Matt Jones
For two reasons. One, to move Franklin county away from Lexington because the third most Democrats in
Billy
the state live in Franklin County. So they wanted to split Lexington and Franklin.
Matt Jones
But two, Jamie Comer, that's his district and there's a rule you have to live in your district. He wanted to move from Monroe county to Frankfurt. You think I'm kidding?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah, I'm looking at it.
Matt Jones
This is true. So by doing that, he could move from Monroe county to Frankfurt. So that district is ridiculous looking. But by the way, all across the
Billy
country there are other ones like this.
Matt Jones
Illinois, the most egregious one for Democrats is in Illinois. Illinois, if you look at theirs, it's got the same stuff. Ohio has got a terrible one for Republicans. The new California one is going to be like that for Democrats. And the thing is, everybody's thinking about this in the short term of trying
Billy
to win the 2026 elections.
Matt Jones
But long term, we are making it to where the entire. You know how in the presidential race, only five states matter?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Right.
Matt Jones
We're about to make it where for the House of representatives, only, like 10 districts matter.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
To see who has the majority.
Matt Jones
To see who has the majority. And you're gonna end up with these districts where like, imagine if in the
Billy
Lexington Congressional district
Matt Jones
people spent $100 million on ads. That's what's gonna happen.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Because they have to win those districts.
Matt Jones
Cause they have to win those districts.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Well, they're making decisions not based on logic, it's just based on, oh, we wanna help Trump or we want to help Democrats. Yeah.
Matt Jones
So look at the Kentucky one. All right, so the one in eastern Kentucky has always made sense to me.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
It's all kind of.
Matt Jones
It's all kind of together. It's eastern Kentucky. Right. Like they have sort. But look on the. In the top of the eastern Kentucky, you see how that one county is split? Some of it's blue and some of it's green.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah. What does that say? Carter?
Matt Jones
Yeah, that's Carter County.
Billy
No, no, no, down. Scoot your thing over right there. To the left.
Matt Jones
To the left.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Okay.
Matt Jones
Right there. Yeah, yeah. What county's that?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Bath County.
Matt Jones
Bath county is split into two different districts.
Billy
Why?
Matt Jones
Why? What is it about Bath county that it needs to be split in half?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Well, that one side's too valuable to the middle of Kentucky. And then the one right now that
Matt Jones
go to between the, the, the Lexington district and the yellow district, what's that
Billy
county split in half right there?
Matt Jones
Anderson, Anderson is split in half. What is it about Anderson county that makes it need to be split in half?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
It doesn't seem logical.
Matt Jones
All right, now I want you to look at Jefferson County. Jefferson county, is it home? But you see how the edge of Jefferson's in a different one. Well, guess who lives there. That's where all the rich white Republicans live in Louisville.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
So they want their.
Matt Jones
They want to be with people. They want to be with Brett Guthrie because they agree with him more. Now, if Kentucky wants to really get rid of all Democrats, they'll just take
Billy
Jefferson county and split it in half.
Matt Jones
And if they do that, then we'll
Billy
have six Republicans instead of five and one.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Oh.
Matt Jones
So the thing I'm showing you there is that can happen in every single state in America and that will be bad for democracy. Then there's the practical impact, which is when you do this, the Republicans get about three extra points, meaning if the election was divided 50, 50, the Republicans
Billy
will win because they have about a three point advantage when you gerrymander.
Matt Jones
So anyway, I think it's awful. I think it's.
Billy
Now the one counter to this is
Matt Jones
if you gerrymander too aggressively, you could
Billy
shoot yourself in the foot.
Matt Jones
So like in Texas, they gerrymandered so
Billy
aggressively for the Republicans.
Matt Jones
But now Trump is becoming less and less popular. There may be some seats that used to be safe. So what you'll do when you gerrymander is you take a Trump +20 state and you make it Trump +12.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
You'd still win, but then those not
Matt Jones
as much go somewhere else. But if things get bad for you, you could take a district that was
Billy (Listener/Guest)
safe and lose, but wouldn't they just change it again?
Matt Jones
Well, you used to only be able
Billy
to do it every 10 years.
Matt Jones
If you can do it every two years, then yes, they will. And imagine if your representative just changes every two years because you get put in a different district.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah, a lot of people.
Matt Jones
So it used to be there was, there was just a consensus we only do it every 10 years. But now they might do it every two years.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I mean, it just, it's jarring to look at some of these maps and see where the dividing lines are.
Billy
That map of Kentucky.
Matt Jones
And by the way, Kentucky is much
Billy
less egregious than some states.
Matt Jones
But that District 1 in Kentucky is ridiculous. And it's literally so Jamie Comer can live in Frankfurt.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah, like Graves county and Boyle county are in the same district in that. Crazy.
Billy
So anyway, that's why I think gerrymandering is, is awful.
Matt Jones
All right.
Billy
I had a couple questions people asked. Okay. One person wrote in and said, matt, who do you think will be as of today, the Democratic nominee for president in 2028? Just as long as it's not common layers.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I would be surprised if they ran her back out.
Matt Jones
Well, if you look at polls, she wins.
Billy
Winning now, but that's just because most people only know who she is. They don't know the other kids candidates. That would be a huge mistake. I hope they don't do that.
Matt Jones
I think if you were betting, you'd
Billy
probably say the favorite is Gavin Newsom.
Matt Jones
But I would tell you, Billy, next
Billy
to Kamala Harris, he's my least favorite candidate.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Is that because he's becoming more and more like Trump?
Matt Jones
Partially. All the things I don't like about
Billy
Trump, Newsome is the same, just on our side. Right. Confrontational, rude. I don't like the way he demeans.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Does his politics, maybe.
Matt Jones
Yeah, he does.
Billy
I mean, he's not, in my opinion,
Matt Jones
as bad as Trump, but he does
Billy
the same stuff and I don't like it.
Matt Jones
My choice today, people would want me
Billy
to say Andy, but I think if you made me pick today, I would say Josh Shapiro. Because if you pick him, you win Pennsylvania. And if you win Pennsylvania, you win the presidency. And if the most important thing is to win, you might win it with Andy Beshear, you might win it with
Matt Jones
a lot of people, but you would
Billy
definitely win it with him.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
He's a lot less profile, though, than he is Newsom.
Matt Jones
And, you know, there's a lot of
Billy
people that have become on both parties, but especially in the Democratic Party, anti Israel, he's Jewish. That will have an impact on him in the primary.
Matt Jones
But what I would say is he has like 63% approval in a state
Billy
that's a swing state.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Mm.
Matt Jones
You gotta be doing something right.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Gotta win those important races. We just learned in the congressional.
Matt Jones
And I would argue Andy Beshear, the reason he's the second choice is the exact same reason andy Beshear has 60% approval in a 20 plus Republican state. So to me, those are the two most obvious choices. But I worry we're going to end
Billy
up picking Gavin Newsom because it makes everybody feel good and that's a good way to lose.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
You probably see J.D. vance on the other side.
Billy
Well, I think Marco Rubio is becoming really.
Matt Jones
Because what's happening to J.D. vance is all the things people don't
Billy
like about Trump are rubbing off on him.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I could see that.
Billy
And for some reason, they're not rubbing off on Rubio. People are acting like he's the stable guy. You know what I mean?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah, I remember DeSantis was a popular name a few years ago. Is he not the same anymore?
Billy
I don't think people hear about him as much anymore.
Matt Jones
I think the Republican one will either
Billy
be Rubio or Vance. It'll probably be whoever Trump decides. I don't know if you saw a week ago he was doing something and he goes, all right, how many of
Matt Jones
you like JD Vance?
Billy
How many of you like Mark?
Matt Jones
Like, he's gonna love playing them against
Billy
each other for the next two years. Yeah.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
And let's hope he doesn't run as vp.
Matt Jones
And I think the reason that story
Billy
leaked about JD Vance and Iran is because he's gonna.
Matt Jones
He's trying to set himself up as
Billy
Rubio's the one that sent us to war. I tried to stop it.
Matt Jones
You remember I said that two years from now.
Billy
That's.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
That's interesting that two years from now,
Matt Jones
you're going to see J.D.
Billy
vance saying, the mistakes Trump made, it was Marco Rubio's fault, not mine.
Matt Jones
That's.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I just. I don't see a lot of the same Trump voters voting for JD Or Rubio. I think there's a phenomenon.
Matt Jones
Well, that's. The other thing is. You think there's like a Tucker Carlson or somebody like that?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
No, I think he's a little too extreme.
Matt Jones
So who. Who would. The people that you're talking about, who would they like?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I don't know. I think they're, like, torn. I think, you know, maybe some don't vote in that case.
Matt Jones
Well, it will be interesting to say, if I was there, if I were
Billy
the Republicans and you made me decide today, I would tell them they should nominate Marco Rubio. He would be the candidate that, as a Democrat, I'd be the most worried
Matt Jones
to see because he comes off a
Billy (Listener/Guest)
little bit more presidential.
Matt Jones
Yes. He comes off as the least crazy
Billy
person in a cabinet full of crazy
Matt Jones
people, which isn't hard when the other ones are Pete Hegseth, Ash Patel, rfk, you know.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah, they all may be fired by the time the next election comes through.
Billy
I would expect all those people we just mentioned will not be in their place by the time of the midterms.
Matt Jones
RFK is tough because there are people
Billy
that really like him, the Maha people. But we'll see.
Matt Jones
Of those. Of those candidates on both sides, who
Billy
would be the one that Billy was most likely to vote for in either party?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I mean, Bashir, I'm a little Biased about. I think he would do a good job. You know, I've related to your vanilla ice cream without sprinkles take.
Matt Jones
But he's gotten better.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
He's gotten a little better.
Matt Jones
I think he's gotten a lot better, actually.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
But you know, I don't know a lot about Gavin Newsom or Shapiro, but
Matt Jones
doesn't he just come off to you as kind of.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Ugh. Newsom? Yeah, yeah. Like the slicked back hair. Kind of like there's just something about
Billy
him that makes sense.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I want to get away from the kind of Trump politics of just, you know, shouting over people or demeaning.
Matt Jones
I agree. And I think most Americans do. Do you?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I think most Americans are brainwashed to. I think entertainment is what captivated them in 20.
Matt Jones
But that's why I would love to see like Marco Rubio and Andy Beshear because they're not entertaining.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
So opposite.
Matt Jones
Yes, but it. Wouldn't that be good for America to. For it not to be like that?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yes, I would like to see a return to that. But I don't think.
Matt Jones
But if you get Gavin Newsome and J.D. vance, we're still doing the same stuff. Right.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
It goes back to like, you know, short term attention spans and TikTok videos and who's going to go on the bro podcast. I mean that I feel like.
Matt Jones
I mean, the fact that Spencer Pratt
Billy
has a chance to be the mayor of Los Angeles.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah.
Billy
He can't win that, can he?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I think he can. I mean, I don't know.
Matt Jones
He's getting a lot of stuff. Did you see that from. But from who?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Republicans.
Billy
But there ain't that many Republicans in.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Right, that's the problem.
Matt Jones
Yeah.
Billy
I mean, there's a few.
Matt Jones
But I mean that mayor in la,
Billy
it seems like to me has done a pretty poor job.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
So let's just vote in all the actors to our presidential office.
Matt Jones
Which actor would.
Billy
If you had to have an actor as president, who would you think would be a good one?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Well, the first one comes to mind is DiCaprio, but I think he'd be bad.
Matt Jones
You want DiCaprio? You want DiCaprio and his 24 year old girlfriends in and out of the. Can you imagine, like every. Every two months he's got a new first lady.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yes, I would love that. That aspect of it.
Billy
Okay.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
That's my answer.
Billy
It would certainly be the most entertaining of all those. All right, last one.
Matt Jones
Somebody asked
Billy
the Kentucky races that are next week, what do we think happens?
Matt Jones
So I think the big race is the Senate and you got The Republican
Billy
one's the bigger one because the Republican's probably going to win the general. But let's just talk first about the Democrat. You've got Amy McGrath running again, Charles Booker running again, Dale Romans, the horse guy. And there's somebody else whose name. I'm sorry, I can't think of who
Matt Jones
it is, but it's going to be
Billy
Amy McGrath or Charles Booker. There's only been one poll, and in that poll, Booker had a lead.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Oh, he did?
Billy
Yeah.
Matt Jones
I kind of think Charles Booker's going to win.
Billy
That's just my guess.
Matt Jones
But it's hard to know because, like,
Billy
there are no ads.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Right.
Billy
None of them. Neither one of them can raise any money.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Felt like he was a lot closer the last time that he ran than Amy McGrath was. I felt like Amy was blown out. Was that not the case?
Matt Jones
Well, Amy won the primary last time.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Amy McGrath.
Matt Jones
Yeah, she won.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I mean, she beat Charles Booker and then lost.
Billy
Did you not remember that?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I had that flipped.
Matt Jones
I believe Charles Booker was much closer than people thought. He made it close.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
That's what I remember.
Matt Jones
Then Booker ran the next time against Rand Paul. So he won the nomination.
Billy
She won it against McConnell, the one that I thought about running, and.
Matt Jones
And then he won it two years later. So they've both lost.
Billy
But I'm not sure if Booker was
Matt Jones
closer to Paul than she was.
Billy
McConnell. I'm not sure. I think Booker will win because I think he'll get most of Louisville to vote for him, and I think that will make him probably win. And maybe Amy McGrath can keep running.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
She's not going to stop.
Billy
But neither one of them, I think, can win in general.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Right.
Billy
I mean, I like. I like Charles, but I don't. I don't think he can win in the general election.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
It's what makes Andy Beshear so interesting. A Democrat.
Matt Jones
Well, now, if he had run, I
Billy
think he could have won the Senate, but he decided not to.
Matt Jones
So the Republican, it looks.
Billy
It's now down to woke. Nate is gone. So it's Andy Barr and Daniel Cameron. Andy Barr has all the money and he's got Donald Trump's endorsement, despite the
Billy (Listener/Guest)
ads having somebody else. A picture of somebody else. Did you see that?
Billy
No. What was it?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
There was an ad for Andy Barr and it was not Andy Barr. It was one of those generated ads online, but.
Billy
Oh, it was like a different person.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Yeah. That's kind of funny, you know, Credit to him to coming in here and doing the interview with you a few months back.
Matt Jones
Yeah. But as a human Being, he's.
Billy
He's fine. Like, he's perfectly nice. And I, I think his ads were despicable. I think his ads about, like, it's
Billy (Listener/Guest)
not a sin to be.
Billy
Not a sin to be white.
Matt Jones
Like, there would have been a time
Billy
in America that you would have been like.
Matt Jones
Like, he.
Billy
I'll say this to him when I see him. That was embarrassing. He's too smart for that.
Matt Jones
That was plain to the worst of people.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
To the woke ideology.
Matt Jones
No, that's plain to the worst of
Billy
people going, hey, I'm white and it ain't sin to be white.
Matt Jones
Like, you're too good for that. Andy Bars and I disagree on politics,
Billy
but I think he's a good man. But, like, that was ridiculous.
Matt Jones
And they pulled those ads pretty quickly, remember?
Billy
I mean, they only ran for a couple days.
Matt Jones
But that was embarrassing. And it was embarrassing because one of your opponents is black. You know, that's just an embarrassment.
Billy
Andy should be ashamed for that. And I would say it to his face.
Matt Jones
That was.
Billy
That, that was ridiculous. Now, with that said, Daniel Cameron can't raise any money.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Lost Trump's endorsement.
Billy
Lost Trump's endorsement.
Matt Jones
He found a way to, in the Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump feud, make them both mad.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
He seemed like handpicked by McConnell.
Matt Jones
McConnell wanted him to wait and run
Billy
for this spot, but he chose to
Billy (Listener/Guest)
run for governor and that was jumped in too soon, you think?
Matt Jones
I think he chose to run for governor.
Billy
I don't think anyone else wanted him to do that. He did, and then he lost.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Made Trump
Billy
embarrass Trump, see him as a loser.
Matt Jones
You know, they had him speak at the Republican Convention and then he went lost.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Right.
Matt Jones
Embarrassed. Trump embarrassed. McConnell took a governor's race that was winnable, lost it.
Billy
So I think he was done then at that point.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
So Barr, then probably.
Billy
Barr's going to win, I think. I think it'll be closer than people think, but he'll win. And. Yeah, and then Barr will probably be the senator now, then you have. His spot here in Lexington is open and no one knows who's.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I was gonna say. I don't know.
Billy
I mean, you're gonna have to vote. Are you registered Republican or Democrat?
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I am an Independent.
Billy
So you can't vote.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
I don't get to vote.
Billy
Yeah, I'm a Democrat. I'm registered in Louisville, so I can't vote in this race. But I don't know who. I don't know these people. It's crazy to me. This is a congressional seat.
Matt Jones
Like, somebody's gonna win this and have
Billy
this job for 20 years and nobody knows who's running.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Guess you better see a yard sign on your way to the polling place.
Matt Jones
I guess I would vote probably for
Billy
the dimbo guy, but that's acknowledging I don't know anything about him.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Well, that's a problem, voting for people you don't know what they're about.
Billy
Yeah, no, I agree, but I don't live here so I can get away with it. I'll vote for Morgan McGarvey, and I do know him.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
So what about Massey, what do you think happens there?
Matt Jones
I think he wins. I think he wins, but I think it's going to be close and I think it is going to get a
Billy
ton of attention next week, no matter what happens.
Matt Jones
I mean, this would be. If Massey wins, it would be really the first Republican that has completely bucked Trump in one. And it would be a testament to what a skilled politician he is to be able to be in a district, have tens of millions of dollars spent
Billy
against you, the president targeting you, and then you win.
Matt Jones
And I think Trump thinks he's gonna
Billy
win or else he'd be here.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Oh, you think he'd be campaigning?
Billy
Yeah, he's not here cuz he's worried he'd lose. You know what would be better for Trump than to show up night before the election, campaign for this guy then beats his biggest critic in the House.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
But if he thinks it goes the
Matt Jones
other way, but if it goes the other way, it's an embarrassment.
Billy
Like it was when Matt Bevin lost here.
Matt Jones
Remember he came here the night before.
Billy
Yeah.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Now my opinion on Massey's changed quite a bit since then. Like I kind of saw him as like a fringe, you know, you know, all the food and eggs on his own farm. He was very talked about a lot about that a lot. And you know, him standing up to authority like that and I think it opened up the eyes for a lot of people.
Matt Jones
I
Billy
have a lot of respect for Massie. I still couldn't disagree with him on most things more. But he stands up for what he believes in and he is true to his ideology.
Matt Jones
He's anti corruption and all this and
Billy
he's true to it.
Matt Jones
You can't expect everybody to agree with you, but you should be able to
Billy
expect everybody to stand up for something and do what they say.
Matt Jones
And I think he does or not
Billy (Listener/Guest)
flip flop on issues based on.
Matt Jones
And I think he does. So I don't know how you can't
Billy
have respect for him.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Right.
Billy
So I hope he wins. We'll see. We'll find out. It's what, Tuesday? Tuesday, yeah. All right. Well, thank you all very much for this.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
Hope you enjoyed my average commentary.
Matt Jones
It was. It was stunningly average.
Billy (Listener/Guest)
That's what I was aiming for.
Matt Jones
And that's what. And that. That means it was a success. We will see you all next week here on Interrupted.
Episode 38 – News & Questions
Date: May 14, 2026
Host: Matt Jones
Co-host/Guest: Billy
In this wide-ranging episode, Matt Jones—joined by co-host Billy—dives into several pressing political and social issues dominating recent headlines. Framed as an open, accessible conversation (with Billy representing the “average voter” perspective), Matt addresses recent events in U.S. foreign policy, gerrymandering, upcoming elections, and listener questions, aiming to break down complex topics while inviting different viewpoints.
(Segment starts ~03:18, ends ~20:10)
Background: Discussion opens with a critique of the Trump administration’s military actions against Iran. Both hosts examine the shifting rationales for the intervention—denuclearization, regime change, oil security, and more.
Moving Goalposts: Matt and Billy highlight the confusion and inconsistency in reasoning for the war.
“Every time he talks about it, he says a different objective. Was it to get rid of the nuclear material? ...Was it to disarm Iran? ...Was it to create regime change?” – Matt Jones (05:06)
Economic Impact:
“To fill up my car is now over $100, which is kind of striking, you know, when you actually…” – Billy (06:33)
Moral Case for Intervention:
“How does this not become Iraq again?” – Billy (07:43)
Decision-Making & Lobbying:
“We shouldn’t be getting into wars based on what other countries think, what Israel wants.” — Billy (09:21)
Strategic Miscalculations:
“We killed an orphanage full of young girls, 120 kids, I think, and we didn’t get to…” – Matt Jones (19:03)
“They are a lot more willing to die for this stuff than we are.” – Matt Jones (15:12)
Political Fallout & Exit Strategies:
Memorable Moment:
“Once again, in the Middle East, we bit off more than we can chew. When are we going to learn?” – Matt Jones (17:22)
“No one takes over the Middle East and it works.” – Matt Jones (17:37)
(Segment starts ~20:10, ends ~38:34)
Definition & Practice:
Supreme Court Shift:
“They’ve basically said no more considering race even to help.” – Matt Jones (23:42)
Partisan Abuse:
Negative Consequences:
“There are 435 members…in 2024…55 were considered competitive…The other 380 literally have no power at all.” – Matt Jones (27:02)
“Be as liberal as possible or be as conservative as possible, because the only way you’re ever going to lose is if somebody in your party challenges you.” – Matt Jones (25:47)
Technological Precision:
Practical Illustration:
Economic Ramifications:
“The moment we don’t have a Democrat district, the state will suffer.” – Matt Jones summarizing a South Carolina Senator (32:08)
Big Picture:
Quote:
“We are making it to where…for the House of Representatives, only, like, 10 districts matter.” – Matt Jones (34:27)
(Segment starts ~38:34, ends ~45:54)
Democratic Side:
Republican Side:
“He comes off as the least crazy person in a cabinet full of crazy people…” – Matt Jones (43:03)
Other Names & Reflections:
(Segment starts ~45:59, ends ~54:32)
Democratic Senate Race:
Republican Primary:
“That was plain to the worst of people going, hey, I'm white and it ain't sin to be white… You’re too good for that.” – Matt Jones (49:03)
Massie’s Race:
“He stands up for what he believes in and he is true to his ideology.” – Billy (53:42) “You can’t expect everybody to agree with you, but you should be able to expect everybody to stand up for something and do what they say.” – Matt Jones (54:03)
Observations:
On War & History:
“No one takes over the Middle East and it works.” – Matt Jones (17:37)
“Once again, in the Middle East, we bit off more than we can chew.” – Matt Jones (17:22)
On Gerrymandering:
“Gerrymandering is literally the worst thing in politics.” – Matt Jones (25:00)
On Modern Politics:
“He comes off as the least crazy person in a cabinet full of crazy people…” – Matt Jones (43:03)
“[Beshear is] a little vanilla ice cream without sprinkles take. But he's gotten better.” – Billy (43:54)
On Campaign Ads:
“That was plain to the worst of people… You’re too good for that.” – Matt Jones on Barr’s ad (49:03)
| Time | Topic/Highlight | |-------------|---------------------------------------------------| | 03:18–20:10 | Iran war: rationales, mistakes, impacts | | 20:10–38:34 | Gerrymandering: mechanics, effects, Kentucky map | | 38:34–45:54 | 2028 presidential forecast & party futures | | 45:59–54:32 | Kentucky elections: Senate, Massie, local politics|
If you missed this episode, you’ll come away with sharp insights and pointed skepticism about U.S. foreign policy, the hidden dangers of gerrymandering, shifting party dynamics, and a preview of Kentucky’s vital races. Matt and Billy keep the tone light yet urgent, making challenging topics feel approachable without losing analytical depth.
End of summary.