FM Talk 1065 Podcasts
ALDOP Chairman John Wahl - Jeff Poor Show - Tuesday 9-24-24
(upbeat music) - Welcome back to the JetPor show. What if I talk about those six, five, thanks for sticking around on what's the left of this Tuesday morning. We do appreciate it. 2513430106, got a couple of texts. If I'm permitting, it's always kind of hurry up all fits and that last segment, we'll get to what we can. Joining us now on the line, he's chairman of the Alabama Republican Party. Always a pleasure and also the chairman of the Alabama Public Library Service now, John Wall is on the line with us. Chairman, good morning, how are you? - Yes, sir. I'm doing well. It's good to be on the show. - So you like double chairman now, I guess. - That's right. Well, and don't forget my regional spot with the RNC. I believe you can refer to me as chairman, chairman, chairman. - Oh, that's, that's a mouthful right there. Well, let's start with that. - Hey, you know what, you know what? You know what, I gotta interrupt because I am really just a farm boy from more Alabama. - A butterfly farmer. We haven't talked about the butterfly business in a while, have we? - No, you know in that, I always tell people that's actually how I got elected. People didn't really care about my political skill. They just thought it was cool that I was a butterfly farmer. - And yet, here you are and you've come all this way. - Talk about that, getting elected the head of the state library agency. What should we expect out of that? - Well, look, I mean, the first thing is, it's an incredible honor to have my fellow board members put that faith in trusting me. Because I think we're at a very pivotal point in our state libraries and especially the leadership that is needed from the APLS board with the controversy that we've seen over the last few years. It's pretty clear that our libraries have become a key part of the culture war that we're seeing played out. With, in my opinion, socialist pushing a socialist agenda that includes the sexualization of our children. And that's been a major discussion with libraries. And it's been something that I have immediately. Good afternoon, I find this inappropriate. I will not accept this narrative that we should sexualize the children that we should have sexualization of the material in children's sections. That's absolutely incorrect. We need to protect our children just as we do at video games, with TV ratings, with movies, libraries should be no different. Parents should make the decision of whether their children are exposed to. Government should not use taxpayer money to put this material, inappropriate material, in front of our children. And ever since that time, it's been, you know, it's been this conflict back and forth. I feel like the APLS board has taken those hard stands. We have stood up for which, right? We have listened to parents across the state of Alabama. And I think this is just one more sign that the APLS board, in my election, is just one more sign that the APLS board does care. And we are going to make a difference. - Well, and I mean, this doesn't happen without there being problems, right? The, your role with this, you becoming the chairman, it was just like, hey, I want to take on this new endeavor here. But like, clearly, there's a problem here and people can dismiss it or whatever. But it's a big enough problem. There's concern for people about it. And that has to be readily acknowledged, right? - That's what that's absolutely right. And we know it's a big issue because you see it by how the left responds. And I shouldn't even say left because, you know, I've seen polling the vast majority of you in Democrats. Do not want to sexually put some material in the children sections or libraries. This is not a partisan issue. This is very much an issue that concerns every single Alabama and especially our parents. And I think this is what the conversation is about. This was not a political issue. It's still not a political issue. This issue was a disappearance. Concerned parents across the state of Alabama who were finding pornography in libraries, bringing those concerns to the state agency and asking for a redress of grievance, just as a representative from the government should work. And that agency, the APLS board, took action to listen to those parents and to represent them with the policy changes to be made. And I think that's the key. When you look at the APLS, you know, and for some others, it took longer than we wanted. But I think at the end of the day, we saw a representative government at work with the APLS board and we saw those hard decisions made and we stood up for the parent that I'll do. - Well, all you said, this doesn't happen without, there being a deficiency there. Let's move on to politics. And we're a little removed from the dinner, but I guess the big event, Donald Trump coming to Alabama again all Saturday. What are you hearing out there? - No, that's absolutely right. I mean, and they kind of go together, right? Like the Alabama GOP, we hosted that dinner as a fundraiser for Donald Trump campaign as well as our annual meeting. Still getting the final count in. We'll, I'm sure we'll be doing it press really soon for everything done, but it looks like we'll be over a million dollars raised for Donald Trump at that event. And then yeah, Donald Trump coming back to the state of Alabama for the Alabama Georgia game. You know, one of my priorities as chairman has always been raising the state parties or the state profile. I think Alabama doesn't get the credit we deserve nationally. And you know, that's something that I've been working for. You know, we've had the first ever president of primary debate, we've had Donald Trump visit our state in the primary, several other of the primary candidates. I think this just continues that trend. What a great opportunity for the state of Alabama to welcome the former president back here to deal with him or state. For what I consider to be the best game of the SEC season. - It's going to be a zoo. I mean, I expect I will not be in attendance. I have obligations on the other side of the state that day, but you know, it seems like there's a lot of national media attention here. And I guess, well, I would think why this would make sense, chairman, to me, every eyeball in the state of Georgia is going to be watching this game. So he'll have to get some kind of exposure I would assume. - No, look, that's absolutely right. And I've had, you know, a lot of press talking about, you know, it's a political stunt. I mean, look, yeah, obviously he's going to the Georgia game, right? Like this is going to be a positive for what the campaign Georgia. But I want to highlight that after he was elected president, he attended the Alabama Bellagini University of Alabama. He's been to a college football game as a city president in Georgia. Donald Trump is a college football fan. He knows good and well, this is a big game. And I have literally had Trump's team tell me, they're worried about too many guests trying to come in because he actually wants to watch this game. And I love that. I think you're actually seeing, you know, Donald Trump come here to watch in person when he also considers an exciting football game. - Do you think Kamala Harris is even remotely aware of the... aspects of this game? - I don't know if Kamala Harris knows who the Georgia Bulldogs are. But you know what? She probably knows who the, the, the, the University of Alabama Cruz would tie this 'cause I don't know how you can live in America and not know what, know that Cruz would tie it. - Well, maybe it's that they were like the founder of some kind of DEI policy or something. And that's why it's on a radar, I don't know. But well, move along. So I'm at the state of the race right now. - Look, look, I got to come into that. If she does know about a university, it probably is because of diversity and equity inclusion programs instead of their football. - Yes, yes. You know, the, the, the daughter of a professor at Berkeley, I think it's reasonable to think she's aware of these things. - We were joined by Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wall here on the program. But back to, back to where we were talking about the, the state of race itself and, you know, the polling on this stuff, it just shows a deadlocked race. And before, and this is why people are, especially myself included, are bullish on Trump. It's like, all the polling in Trump's past races showed him playing from behind. And in this one, it shows a Trump ball making you think like, well, this, this is not a bad place for him to be, at least if you believe the polls. - I know, I think you're absolutely right. Look, we know that in both 16 and 20, Trump over performed his own. If that trend continues, and that isn't it, but if that trend continues and the Republican base, and let me take a pass Republican. Donald Trump has a wider appeal. He's not politically correct. The American people have seen the weaponization of the justice system against him. He pulls higher with African Americans than any other Republican in recent history. He's gonna pull into independence. They're just tired of the status, going to just tired of the DC swamp and the bureaucrats controlling their lives. And so he pulls people out to vote that don't always vote. And if that trend continues, him neck and neck and the polls and the swing stages, absolutely where he wants to be. He doesn't need a massive weight. Obviously, that would be nice. And he had one before the Democrat party realized that they were already beat once and replaced their candidate. So we're literally in the second presidential campaign. We won the first one. We're in the middle of the second one. And I'm incredibly optimistic about what we're Donald Trump is right now. I think the election will help the day he would win. Obviously, we still got, we saw five weeks left and that's an eternity in president of politics. There's a lot of things that could change. But right now I'm happy and I think the trend is good. - Well, I tell you what though. I mean, like the trend is the trend. And then I know, you know, everybody says the, the time left is an eternity. And then well, that's true. Martin Luther's no like seismic event that would disrupt this race. And I don't know what it would be at this point. I mean, obviously you got to make it through the month of October and the October surprise, but here Trump is on his third presidential run and you're still sitting on an October surprise, right? But if we're going to- - Yeah, Donald Trump does not have an October surprise. I think if you wish, the numbers are fairly baked. You know, we're talking about incredibly small margins that could even move in any of these states. - Yeah. So what I think it is though, Chairman, it's not even going to be really about Trump or Harris, but it's going to be about kind of the conditions on the ground. How do you feel about your life right now? Do you feel like the country's going in a good direction? Or do you think the economy's right? And I think it's a referendum on that. Harris is going to, I mean, that's what people will vote. And if it's, if it does stay that way, like you said, there's not like a terror attack or some seismic event that would really change things in this, this is Donald Trump's to lose. - I tend to agree. Now, you remember that this is not, fortunately, it's not just the campaign against small Harris or the Democrat Party. This is also a campaign against big tech, censorship and the mainstream media as a whole. And that does make it harder because look, over the next few weeks, the mainstream media is going to make this race about saving democracy. Donald Trump gets elected, democracy is gone. You know, all these talking points, the project 2025. And I find that so disingenuous because if you look at the, which group over the last year has done everything in their power to undermine the election process, it's been the Democrat Party. Whether that's trying to keep Donald from off ballots in states for the general election, not let the voters decide. Whether it's the weaponization of the justice system and using the power of government to influence elections. Or whether it's taking the Democratic Party's nominee who received tens of millions of votes and replacing him with someone who has never won a Democrat primary for President of the United States. And so I really think we as Republicans have to flip this narrative and say, look, if you want to see the enemies of democracy, we need to ask the Democrat Party to look themselves in the mirror because those are the enemies of the American election process. - Right, well, they're just blown right past that. And here's the thing, and I said this about Biden, but the difference is, with Harris, she's not the incumbent, well, she's a quasi-income because she's vice president, but essentially it's this. Like, Donald Trump has been impeached twice. He's been convicted on 34 counts by a New York judge. He has a very, very, very hostile media against him. He has all of these things stacked up against him. The best they could do is a 50/50 tie. I mean, what does that tell you? - Well, I tell you that the American people still believe in America. They still believe in the American dream, they still believe in freedom. And they know, at least 50% of them, know good and well what they're watching. They are watching a government go down an incredibly scary path towards totalitarian government, towards the elite, deciding what people should think is working in it should be, in terms of the socialist model and communist model where the party elite is taking control, and they tell the serfs what they should do and what they should think. And by the way, how they should live their life through draconian regulations and borders that are unconstitutional and un-American. - All while pay ellipse service to a woke ideology that is so far out of the American made stream that I don't even think that they believe, but for some reason, they find virtue in it. - Yeah, and I don't forget why also claiming that they're the party who stands up for the American people and quote unquote democracy, which we've had that conversation, I believe we're a republic, but we still have a democratic election process. And it's very disingenuous. And I hope and I pray that the American people see through it and they see the injustice, they see the hypocrisy and they vote for the American dream. - Thank you. - Freedom itself, it's on the ballot. - They really don't like it when you question the democracy thing. I don't know if you noticed this chairman, a lot of people get upset about that. - Yes, I know, it was actually this show that got me in trouble. We were talking about democracy versus republican. And I explained that there is a difference and we are not a democracy. And yeah, I made it all the way to MSNBC. So I was kind of proud of myself. You know you're doing something right when MSNBC tries to kick you in the back. But they got it wrong. And I know if you 19 print it my op-ed in response, where I really go deep and explain there is a difference in those two forming governments and why our founders were so proud of the fact that we have a report. And I, you know, I noticed that no one has said anything after I wrote that article because I think it's impossible to refute. It's very clear that our founders wanted us to be a Republican that there is a difference. - Yeah, I think so too. And the democracy narrative is for stupid people. Sorry, that's me saying that. - No, no, no, no, no, no, no, it's true. It's basically you're saying you're not intellectually intelligent enough to dig deep enough to understand that you can have a constitutional republic as our founders envisioned that uses a democratic election process. They are not mutually exclusive. You have both, but the democratic election process is what, how we elect our representatives, but they are still bound by the rule of law and the constitution that transcede anything else because they protect our God-given rights that no government, no man, has a power to paper on us. - Chairman John Wall, the Alabama Republican Party. Chairman, thanks again for making time for us. - No, it's always good to be on the show. I appreciate it, I look forward to being back. - John Wall, we'll be right back. This is Jeff Porchola, if you'll talk with us, six-five. ♪ I was a lie those three nights ♪ ♪ And pretty soon I'm wondering how I came to dark youth ♪ ♪ All you gotta do is smile and smile ♪ ♪ And they go all by defense ♪