Live from Music Row Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Democrat Caller Carl to the newsmaker line to weigh in on Nancy Pelosi’s future as Speaker of the House, her recent comments to athletes regarding the Olympics and China, and elements of the NFL racial discrimination lawsuit.
Leahy: We welcome to our newsmaker line, our very good friend Carl, who’s been listening and a longtime caller. Welcome to The Tennessee Star Report. Thanks so much for calling in.
Carl: Listen, man, first of all, be careful driving home. Everybody else, be careful. Thank you for the invite.
Leahy: Hey, Carl, some of our listeners may not be familiar with the bet that you and I had. And you stomped me on the bet.
Carl: I did.
Leahy: And I paid it off, didn’t I? (Chuckles)
Carl: Yes, you did. And you were respectful of the time period in which I wanted to take care of it. And we did.
Leahy: The bet that we had when the new President was inaugurated on January 20, 2021, you bet five months before it that it would be Joe Biden and I bet it would be Donald Trump, and the loser would have to pay for a steak dinner at Rafferty’s. I lost and we had a great lunch, didn’t we?
Carl: Absolutely. What a great lunch.
Leahy: Crom Carmichael is here and wants to say hello.
Carmichael: Hey, Carl, how are you doing?
Carl: Good.
Carmichael: Carl, now my question is on behalf of Mike. He doesn’t know I’m doing this, but do you want to place a lunch bet on who will be the next Speaker of the House? Which party?
Carl: No, because I don’t know who will be the Speaker, but if it trends the way they’re supposed to be, the way it always has gone, it will go back to the party that’s out of power, out of the White House, but that’s yet to be seen.
Leahy: Carl, something about the program or something in the news prompted you to call because you’ve got something to say. What is it that prompted you to call in today and what is it you’d like to say?
Carl: I don’t disagree to be disagreeable. I do agree with your take on Nancy Pelosi. I believe that you have to be respectful of being a good guest. I was taught that. I’m pretty sure all parents taught the same thing.
Be a good guest. But still, in the spirit of the Olympics, especially with the precedent of the ’68 Olympics, protest your ass off.
Leahy: (Chuckles) So you disagree with Nancy Pelosi on that?
Carl: Yes, yes, yes. Protest your ass off. Now here’s the thing, though. When I found out the Miami coach was fired, that was shocking.
I was stunned because I thought that if the coaching staff, with the job they did here in Nashville, if he didn’t get the coach of the year, I thought it was going to go to the guy in Miami.
Leahy: I agree with you completely, Brian Flores. I was shocked that he was fired.
Carl: Fired. And then when I listened to the lawsuit, first of all, the lawsuit is long overdue. Very long overdue. That’s number one.
Number two, when I listen to the things that were in it, it’s believable because you don’t fire an up-and-coming young, hot, head coach that turned your team around two years in a row unless you’re pissed at him. And the owner was mad at him for not taking those games and getting a better draft pick a couple of years ago.
Leahy: I saw that in the complaint. And that is obviously inappropriate behavior. And if true, inappropriate. But here’s the big question just on the Miami incident for a moment.
If that’s true, if you tell your coach to tank the games, that’s kind of a violation of some NFL rules. But here’s my big question: how is that evidence of racism?
Carl: That’s just one part of the thing. That’s one part of the suit. Then the other part is the giant thing that’s the most damning – you have this man come in for an interview after you knew you hired someone else. That’s not cool at all.
Leahy: He sued three teams, right? Miami, Denver and Giants. I don’t see the claim of racism in Miami. But let’s go to New York now for a moment. So walk the audience through what you’ve read about that.
Carl: So what happened was his name is Brian. Another former coordinator. Bill Belichick’s named Brian as well. Bill Belichick texted him and thought he was talking to the other Brian and texted him and said, “Hey, congratulations on getting the Giants.”
And Brian was like, well, did you hear something? Because I don’t interview with them until Thursday, two days later. And he was like, oh, well, damn, I made a mistake. Brian then takes it back and says, “Are you talking about me or the other Brian coordinator in Buffalo?”
And then Bill Belichick said, “Man, I f’d up.” This is literally what he said, “I f’d up. My bad.” The lawsuit part of that is valid because he learned about it through Bill Belichick for congratulating the guy.
What is Bill Belichick doing knowing about what’s going on with the New York Giants and that hire in the first place? Number one. And number two, you don’t bring someone in as a token interview when you already hired someone else. At the very least, it’s not cool, right?
Leahy: Yes. I see the line of reasoning there.
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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.
Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist and senior editor-at-large at The Epoch Times, Roger Simon, in-studio to weigh in on Liz Cheney’s anti-Republican actions siding with Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats Wednesday.
(Jim Jordan clip plays)
Leahy: That’s Jim Jordan and Jim is at the center of this kind of controversy. I mean, it’s all to be expected. The regime of Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House, wants to do an investigation or cover-up, shall we say, with what happened on January six.
Lots of questions here. Tucker Carlson last night talked about it. Roger, what’s your take on this? Queen Nancy, the Despot, who is the speaker of the House, basically elected Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jim Banks of Indiana as members of this, the word really is going to be a Kafkaesque propaganda event.
Simon: Straight out of an Alice in Wonderland kind of thing with Liz Cheney as the titular Republican.
Leahy: Liz Cheney. I saw a clip of her talking on Tucker Carlson’s show last night. I couldn’t believe that this was a Republican.
She said, well, I’m totally supportive of Speaker Pelosi. The minority leader is just totally wrong at the head of her party, by the way.
And, you know, these guys are, well, you can’t have somebody who’s a potential witness be on and so I agree with the Speaker. What is going on with Liz Cheney?
Simon: All right. I see Liz Cheney in a slightly different manner than everybody else. Let’s say, a different angle. And it’s purely psychological.
And what we are looking at with Liz Cheney is what old Sigmund Freud used to call a very severe Electra complex.
Leahy: Okay, now elaborate for those who are psychiatrists.
Simon: Right. An Electra complex is sort of the polar opposite of the Oedipus complex. And it’s a young woman who is not so young anymore. Let’s say a middle-aged woman who has a thing for her Dad.
Leahy: She’s trying to Curry favor with her dad. That’s a polite way to put it.
Simon: It’s kind of a love affair with the father anyway, and not consummated, of course, I’m talking about psychologically. And as we know, I interviewed both. I interviewed Dick Cheney.
Leahy: Oh. When did you interview Dick Cheney?
Simon: I interviewed Dick Cheney just after, I guess, after Obama first came in.
Leahy: Where was this interview?
Simon: It was at the Reagan Library.
Leahy: In-person?
Simon: Yes. It was a very fancy interview physically because you set up a camera above the Air Force One that they have in the regular library.
So you’re looking down at Air Force. And I’m sort of at that point in awe of Dick Cheney because I agreed, sadly and incorrectly, with some of his policies.
Simon: He’s a bright man, though. There’s no question about it. And in with Dick walked Liz because they were always inseparable.
And, in fact, I hadn’t known that Liz would come there. But I became friendly and talked with her and all. And it was very clear that she was the sidekick to her father and his policy.
And, of course, his most famous policy was the Iraq War. Which many of us favored in those days. I don’t know where you were on it.
I was for it. And I was wrong. And Dick Cheney in a more important manner. But now roll forward many years.
Leahy: Let me just go back to that interview. What was it like interviewing Dick Cheney?
Simon: It was not a good interview on my end. Dick Cheney was fine. My interview didn’t probe very much because I wanted to interview the vice president and that’s a very big deal.
Leahy: It is a big deal. And perceptions of Dick Cheney – of Cheney dramatically…
Simon: Absolutely.
Leahy: Since he left office, his star has not declined quite as much as George W. Bush’s because he himself has been silent about a lot of things.
Simon: True.
Leahy: George W. Bush has just jabbered on like an idiot on immigration.
Simon: Well, it was always said that Dick Cheney was the brains of that administration. And it’s probably true.
Leahy: You look at George W. Bush talking today and you say, how did we elect that guy president? Not the brightest bulb.
Simon: Not the brightest bulb. But Cheney was a smart guy. He just made a very bad decision, which happens. And in any case, it was something that everybody learned.
We all thought maybe that if you win a war in Iraq, they’ll turn it to Denmark. But somehow it didn’t.
Leahy: Gee. Now that’s a funny line, because Iraqis, Danish people, they’re a little different. Culture, a little different.
Simon: To say the least. Anyways, what Liz Cheney is trying to do at all costs is to preserve the reputation of her dad. And that’s what we’re watching, and it’s destroying everything. I mean, she’s nuts. (Chuckles)
Leahy: She really is. And it’s a sad thing to watch. And thankfully, she’s gonna be gone. And once she loses her position in Congress, no one’s gonna pay attention to her.
Leahy: I got one person who might pay attention to her. You ready?
Simon: Go for it.
Leahy: Jeff Bezos, because, you know, he gave $100 million to Van Jones to do civility. Van Jones. Mr. I-love-Critical-Race-Theory Van Jones. That guy.
Simon: Jeff Bezos can afford to do anything he wants, but I don’t think Liz Cheney is good enough on TV and radio to preserve, frankly.
Leahy: (Laughter) So now let me explore your theory a little bit more. She’s there. How is she preserving her father’s legacy by siding with Nancy Pelosi and against the leader of the Republicans in the House? Explain that?
Simon: Okay, here it is. Donald Trump trashed her father and trashed the Iraq war all the time. The enemy of my enemy is my enemy.
The Republican Party is now Trump. Let’s be real. And she hates him. He trashed her father. I’m talking really primitive stuff.
Leahy: That’s an explanation that makes sense. I think from what I’ve read, that her father does despise Donald Trump.
Simon: Oh yeah.
Leahy: But in a defensive way. If we were having a private conversation with Dick Cheney right now, and if he was being honest, he would say that. I’m sure he would say that.
Simon: Oh, I’m sure he would. And now he doesn’t have to say it publicly because he’s got his daughter doing it for him.
Leahy: And it’s not serving her well.
Simon: It’s serving Nancy Pelosi.
Leahy: And it’s not serving her father.
Simon: Not really.
Leahy: But he’s like 80 or something like that?
Simon: When I interviewed him, the most interesting part of the interview was when he was showing all his heart maintenance things. He’s had several operations, and he opened them up for us on camera.
Leahy: No kidding.
Simon: Yeah, it was interesting. That part was actually medically interesting. He was treated with the most modern equipment.
Leahy: So he’s not in sufficient robust health to go out and be very active. He’s in maintenance mode.
Simon: This is some time ago, that interview. I mean, he’s done very well physically, actually.
Leahy: Considering everything. But still, he’s a behind-the-scenes guy right now, but he clearly hates Donald Trump. And his daughter hates Donald Trump. And she cares nothing about anything but that.
Simon: Yeah, because he’s trashed her father.
Listen to the full third hour here:
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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.
Photo “Dick Cheney” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed former Tennessee Speaker Beth Harwell in studio to discuss the importance of being proud of America and the economic consequences of illegal immigration.
Leahy: We are joined in studio by the former speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Beth Harwell. Beth, it is really great to have you in studio.
Harwell: Thank you. It’s good to be here. It truly is.
Leahy: When you were a speaker, we just didn’t have the opportunity for an extended conversation because that’s a pretty hectic job from what I can tell.
Harwell: It is. It is. It’s a great job. I enjoyed it tremendously, worked hard at it, and wanted us to have a successful state government and always tried to be a speaker, unlike the one we have at the national level, Nancy Pelosi. Whatever she was doing, I tried to do the opposite. (Laughs)
Leahy: Don’t even get me started on her. Let’s talk a little bit about your career. You were born in Pennsylvania.
Harwell: Correct.
Leahy: Moved here to Nashville to attend David Lipscomb.
Harwell: That’s correct.
Leahy: Did you along the way, when you graduated from Lipscomb, did you get a Ph.D.?
Harwell: I did. From Vandy. And I have taught for a number of years at Belmont University science and government and how that is.
Leahy: What was your Ph.D. in?
Harwell: Political science. And I enjoyed teaching, especially at the college level. Teaching young people about the basics of government and the history of our great nation. And that’s something that’s lacking in our curriculum today.
Leahy: You think? (Laughs) I don’t know if you know this. We do a National Constitution Bee here. We have a little foundation and we do it and the winners get educational scholarships. Claudia Henneberry now is our executive director for that. We’re going to do it again in October in Brentwood.
Harwell: Wonderful.
Leahy: And you’re more than welcome to attend. Maybe we’ll talk you into being a judge.
Harwell: There you go.
Leahy: But what we found is most public schools – is – that I think they’d rather teach Critical Race Theory than the Constitution.
Harwell: Isn’t that sad?
Leahy: It really is sad.
Harwell: We’re taking a generation of young people and teaching them to be embarrassed that they’re Americans instead of proud of being American.
Everybody knows the country has its flaws, but there’s no other country in the world that I see people fleeing, trying to get into like they are the United States.
Leahy: Well, illegals, according to the Tucker Carlson report, last night, we’ve had one million illegal aliens cross the border into the United States since January, and since the legal but not legitimate current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue took office.
Harwell: I saw that segment last night.
Leahy: Did you see that segment?
Harwell: Yes. And I thought to myself, he’s spot-on on two things. Number one, what they find administrations doing is illegal.
They don’t have the authority to do what they’re doing. And two, when you don’t have your borders, you don’t have a country. And we’re losing our borders. It’s scary.
Leahy: The specifics that Tucker Carlson uncovered and reported since, is that in January of this year, the U.S. Air Force, the military from Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas has been flying unvaccinated illegal aliens who haven’t been tested for COVID into the heartland of America.
Some of them apparently have been flown in the dark of night into Tennessee, among other places.
Harwell: And they have the footage of it. And we know that it’s happening. What we all have to be aware of is citizens, and no one wants to be cruel, but on the other hand, this is a tremendous burden on our economy. These people come here and they have to be educated. They don’t have work. You’ve got to provide health care. It is a true burden on the state government as well as the federal government. But we can’t afford it. We simply can’t.
Leahy: And while you were a speaker back in 2015, I believe the House and the Senate passed a resolution basically suing the federal government on Tenth Amendment grounds on the NFIB Sebelius case that said it was taking from the citizens of Tennessee to force them to pay for all these benefits for illegal aliens placed here, though not illegally. But through the refugee program that they didn’t want.
Harwell: Right. I absolutely believe that was a valid lawsuit. The Tenth Amendment reserves the rights to the states, not the federal government. And we’ve got this reverse. We’ve allowed the federal government to get way too powerful. And that was never the intention of our founding fathers.
Leahy: Federal courts threw the case out. And I think it was because they said that the Tennessee General Assembly didn’t have standing because the governor at first was Governor Bill Haslam. And then it was Governor Bill Lee who refused to sign on to the lawsuit. Do I have that right?
Harwell: I believe that is correct. And that was a disappointment because I really did think the legislature had taken the right step.
Leahy: Did you have a conversation with then-Governor Haslam and say, you know, you ought to sign on to this. How did he respond?
Harwell: He’s a wonderful man. He was a very good governor for our state. He just philosophically disagreed with us on this. As did Governor Lee. I mean, Governor Lee could have had the opportunity under President Trump to get us out of it as well. And he didn’t.
Leahy: Yeah. That really rankles me, by the way. It was a big mistake on their part. That was a very significant thing that you did there as speaker. When were you first elected to the Tennessee House Representatives?
Harwell: 1988. So a long time. I was speaker for eight years.
Leahy: You were a speaker from 2011-2019. That’s a long time as speaker.
Harwell: Right. It’s a political position, and it’s a tough territory. The House is unique. It’s a rowdy body. But again, I wouldn’t have done anything else. I enjoyed it tremendously.
Leahy: And the House seems to be more active and the Senate is sort of laid back and staid, shall we say. (Laughter)
Harwell: Right.
Listen to the second hour here:
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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.
