TRANSCRIPT
Michael Patrick Leahy: 6:18 AM; broadcasting live from our studios on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee.
In studio, Clint Brewer: all-star panelist, recovering journalist.
Clint, you are a native Tennessean.
Clint Brewer: I am. I am, yeah.
Michael Patrick Leahy: And native means you were born here.
Clint Brewer: I was.
Michael Patrick Leahy: And you’ve lived here all your life.
Clint Brewer: I was born in Memphis, and raised in Knoxville, and spent most of my adult life in Nashville. See, I have all three Grand Divisions covered.
Michael Patrick Leahy: I regret that I’m not a native of Tennessee. I wish I had been.
Clint Brewer: I think we’ve grandfathered you in at this point.
Michael Patrick Leahy: Am I? I’ve lived here.
Clint Brewer: Yeah.
Michael Patrick Leahy: I was born in upstate New York – in Oswego, New York. First 18 years in upstate New York. Upstate New York–
Clint Brewer: Not dissimilar to Tennessee.
Michael Patrick Leahy: Topographically, it’s got the same lay of the land. But it’s, it’s constrained by–
Clint Brewer: People are equally contrary in many ways, as Tennesseans.
Michael Patrick Leahy: But it’s, you know, been constrained by a horrible, horrible state government that is just authoritarian.
Unlike in Tennessee, where we have, I think, the greatest, it’s the greatest state in the Union. We’ve got, I think, the best state government in the Union.
Clint Brewer: It’s a remarkably well run state government.
Michael Patrick Leahy: It’s got great financial ratings; good people – nice people. Tennessee’s a great place.
As I said, I’ve lived here 31 years, but some people – there’s a phenomenon where some recent arrivals in Tennessee kind of think their idea of being conservative is the only way to go. And some of these people are a little sketchy.
Now, one of them is a fellow by the name of Gary Humble. And Gary ran for state senate here after, we don’t exactly know what he did before he arrived in Tennessee seven years ago.
But he kind of bounced around, he was a preacher for a while, he’s been in a number of states, he had some kind of business in Texas for a while that apparently no longer exists. But he arrived here and is, you know, pronounced himself as the arbiter of conservatism, lost the race for state senate back in August, a year ago Jack Johnson beat him.
But it was a close race, 51-48.
But he is more than a little bit bizarre.
We did a story about him.
Headline: “Tennessee GOP State Legislature’s Blast Fringe Theory Lobbyist.” This was published earlier this week. “Tennessee General Assembly members reacted strongly to a bizarre tweet from an organization headed by a former political candidate on Monday.”
Here’s what he tweeted – this was on 9/11. He sent this tweet out:
Like the plandemic. 9 11 was probably just a coincidental opportunity for the elites to continue their takedown of our Constitution. Probably not.
Now, then, underneath that, he had an image of George W. Bush with a paper airplane and some, you know, playing blocks that had been knocked down, simply implying that George W. Bush was somehow involved in this.
This is craziness, and the members of the Tennessee General Assembly just torched him on this. Jason Zachary criticized him, Jody Barrett, Rusty Grills, John Reagan.
So yesterday, yesterday, Gary Humble doubled down on this. I’m going to play this clip for you.
You’ve not heard it. Okay. Let me play this. Our headline called him a “fringe theory lobbyist,” you tell me after you listen to this, if you think our description of Gary Humble was understated.
Here is Gary Humble:
Number one. Do I believe that our government on a consistent basis conspires with media and corporations to lie to the American people, destroy our constitution, and usurp our liberties? Yes.
Do I believe they did that? During the JFK assassination? Yes.
Do I believe they did that during the Oklahoma city bombing? Yes.
Do I believe they did that during the operation in Benghazi just a few short years ago? Yes.
Do I believe they did that throughout the last three years during the COVID “plandemic?” Yes.
Do I believe they did that during 9/11? Yes.
Do I believe that factions of our government coordinated with other foreign entities to attack Americans on 9 11? Yes. Do I believe the CIA was involved? Yes.
Do I believe Bush knew about 9/11 before it happened? Yes.
Do I believe that the towers coming straight down in a straight line fashion was not the work of planes crashing into the buildings but a controlled demolition? Yes.
Do I believe that building 7, just next door, also fell during a controlled demolition, while the other two buildings purportedly fell because of airliners? Yes.
I believe those things, unequivocally.
And I believe them to be true, wholeheartedly.
Michael Patrick Leahy: Clint, you just heard in his own words Gary Humble. We’ve described him as a “fringe theory lobbyist.”
Are we being too kind to him?
Clint Brewer: Yes. To use his word, “yes.”
I mean, that’s unhinged.
It’s, and it’s disgusting, frankly.
I mean, you know, to take a national tragedy like 9/11, where so many Americans lost their lives, where our government reacted very quickly to go after the people who did it.
You know, and American servicemen and women spent decades over there chasing the terrorists who did it.
I mean, can’t really find the words to explain just how abhorrent that is, and un-American, frankly.
You know, our government, certainly, like any government, does things that we don’t like; gets involved in things that we don’t like and that we don’t know about. It’s not new to government in this century or the last.
But, you know, I think that at some point you have to draw the line with what you’re willing to accept as political dialogue. At some point, as voters, as taxpayers, we have to say, ‘You know, that’s too much.’ And that is way, way too much. I mean, you said it earlier.
I don’t know where this gentleman came from. I don’t know what his background is. I didn’t know much about him other than he ran for office in Williamson County and lost.
But we do have this really, really annoying trend of people coming from parts unknown to Tennessee and trying to tell one of the most conservative states in the country how to be ‘real conservatives.’
And it’s crap is what it is.
This state has been conservative far longer than these people have been here. And for them to come and try to tell us how to do things, you know, go back to Louisiana or Texas or wherever you came from and run for office.
I mean, I just don’t know what business he has coming here and branding our politics this way. People in Tennessee don’t feel this way.
Do you know how many people’s sons and daughters went off to war over 9/11 and to sit there and to tell them that it was because something our government did?
It’s beyond offensive.
Michael Patrick Leahy: Yeah, it’s kooky – it’s really kooky.
And, I don’t see how somebody who advances.
And we called it a fringe theory – it’s beyond fringe. This is a kooky conspiracist guy.
Now, he is articulate in advancing craziness and in basically attacking institutions here that, although imperfect, haven’t done any of the stuff that he claims that they did.
Clint Brewer: Well, it’s this, it’s this sort of really dum-dum trend in conservative politics where you have people who are clearly conservatives, clearly Republicans, clearly fighting for that cause. And then somebody like this shows up and says, ‘You’re not conservative. I am.’
They just make these claims and it’s disproving a negative.
And then you’re rolling around in the mud fighting with somebody you’ve never heard of about whether you’re a conservative or not. I mean, I just think that people ought to–
Michael Patrick Leahy: Who advances a kooky conspiracy theory and I guess the question is, for you, can this group that he heads up – Tennessee Stands – can they actually walk into and talk to any group in the state of Tennessee, or talk to any state legislator or member of Congress and be taken with any degree of credibility?
Clint Brewer: No, they can’t; and I believe that a state office already has an inquiry into them.
The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, I think it’s been well reported, is looking into the use of Tennessee Stands, which is a 501(c)(4) under the IRS code, and the involvement in the last campaign in Williamson County.
You know, it’s something that needs to be done.
Michael Patrick Leahy: We’ll have more when we get back. Clint Brewer is with us.
When we get back on the Newsmaker Line, mayoral candidate Alice Rolli.
Back after this.
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio or Spotify.
Photo “Gary Humble” by Gary Humble.
