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 Congressman Tim Burchett (TN-02) to the newsmakers line.
During the first hour, Burchett weighed in on what he coined the “snap” impeachment of President Trump explaining why it was Republican Liz Cheney who screamed the loudest as a personal vendetta in the name of her father’s failed war policies and Trump’s cut off of the industrial war complex. He also explained the danger that using impeachment as a political tool would do to future presidents.
Leahy: Our next guest is on the newsmaker line. Congressman Tim Burchett from the Second Congressional District in Tennessee up in Knoxville joins us this morning. Good morning Congressman Burchett. Thanks for joining us.
Burchett: Thanks for having me, brother. You can call me Tim.
Leahy: (Chuckles) All right, Tim.
Burchett: Whenever have anybody ever says, hey congressman I usually just keep walking because they’re usually talking about some 80 or 80-year-old guy shuffling down the hall. They’re not talking about me. So I just go with Tim.
Leahy: You are a guy who understands how the federal and state government works. You worked you you were elected to the state legislature in Tennessee, Knox County Executive. Now a member of the House of Representatives. What on earth do you make of this lightning speed impeachment of the president? The Groundhog Day second impeachment of the president yesterday in the House chamber? What was that like being there?
Burchett: Well, I’d call it a snap impeachment. It really was. And it’s just Pelosi playing her game. She’s just selling memberships. Her leadership is so inept and she is so, I don’t know if disheveled is the right word. She’s just incapable of leading and she has to have controversy because if not, they’ll focus on her leadership style.
She can’t run meetings. She’s just not capable brother. I mean she is awful. And so this is her sticking her finger in the President’s eye, and we all know it. It’s just inexcusable the way she acts and all her little stunts she’s been pulling as of late. Democrats use the carrot and the stick a lot better than Republicans. I know people who don’t care for her and her angry because all she wants to do is stay in power and that’s what it’s all about in Washington D.C.
It’s not about Democrats or Republicans are right or wrong. It’s about power who’s got it, who wants it, and how do they get it? And She does that very well. She rewards people very well and she punishes people very well through her henchmen and they are blindly loyal. And so you can’t really find much good to say about her actually. With her selling out to The Squad she has proven that she’d be a conservative if it would keep her in power. I’m convinced of that because she has no moral compass.
Leahy: Tim, this is not exactly what the founders had in mind when the Constitution was passed and ratified.
Burchett: No it wasn’t. They were supposed to have hearings. I mean even the hearings that Adam Schiff allegedly, you know facilitated before he and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee which was really just a rival between those two, and that goes back to my power statement with them cutting ahead of each other in the previous impeachment. This is just not anything that was ever dreamed of in any shape, form, or fashion. When I was in the state legislature, I remember one time I told the Democrat chairman I said I’m afraid we’re going to open up Ponderosas box.
Leahy: (Chuckles) That’s funny. Ponderosa’s box.
Burchett: That’s exactly what the Democrats have done. They’ve used it as a political tool and they’re not going to get the toothpaste back in the tube brother. Because from here on out somebody is going to have a difference with the President and they are going to say let’s impeach him. And then that’s the way it’s going to be. We are rapidly approaching the appearance of a Banana Republic unless we get some serious control.
And if good conservative people don’t get back to the polls, you know, this last election and I read that 25 million Evangelical Christians and over two million sportsmen did not vote in the presidential election. And we’re getting ready for what becomes of that but with the overturn of all three branches radical Democrat Party.
Leahy: What do you make of Liz Cheney? She’s number three in the House leadership. She was one of 10 Republicans who joined the Democrats in this snap impeachment. What is she trying to accomplish?
Burchett: She doesn’t like the president. And it goes back to it’s more about defending her father’s in my opinion, failed war policies. The industrial war complex, people say it doesn’t exist but brother it does exist. Let’s go to war. There is no reason for us to be in these far-fetched wars all over the world. Under President Trump’s leadership, we actually export energy now, which is just unheard of. Unheard of!
And there’s no reason for us to be over there. Now, you can’t always tell people to show me one East Tennessee boy or girl whose life is worth losing over what’s going on overseas? And that’s what this is about. You know Democrats used to be against the war. President Trump’s against war and bringing our troops home.
And now all of a sudden the Democrats are rallying for war. And that’s what this is about. I think it’s preserving her father’s legacy and it’s unfortunate because American boys and girls are coming home either still in body bags or mentally incapacitated. Did you know our military is in over 100 countries right now? 100 countries!
I dare say most of the people I know in Congress probably couldn’t name 100 countries. But it’s just inexcusable. And you know, they are trying to label this as some sort of freedom caucus thing. I was in the airport yesterday and there were 11 of us standing there and there were all ends of the spectrum. If leader McCarthy calls the meeting she’s going to have her work cut out to stay in power. I’ll just give you that.
Leahy: Yeah, well, it won’t break my heart if you and others kick her out of leadership with the House minority group there. You’re a political analyst as well as being a member of the House. I thought that, in my view, they only got 10 Republicans to join them after all of this, you know media onslaught against the president’s speech at that rally. I thought that was not a very strong showing in terms of the number of Republicans had that joined this effort. What what’s your take on that?
Burchett: That’s not a groundswell. It was very predictable who went and why they went. If you look at them overall except for Liz, they are in very close districts. Everybody in this game is a political survivalist, you know, the political animals. And they’re reading the numbers. And I don’t question them because I know them all.
But you know, it’s obvious they were under a lot of pressure. And some people never held office before. When I was in the state legislature, we get three phone calls now and I considered that a Groundswell before Al Gore invented the internet. (Leahy chuckles) I used to get three phones in Knoxville and I’d start sweating.
Leahy: Hey, last question for you. When all these controversial bills that they want to jam through for the left-wing agenda come up…example, there are arguments that they’re going to want to add the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as states that would be one example. Of course, packing the courts would be another. Do you see any of the 222 Democrats breaking from the party line? Or are they going to all stick with the left-wing radical agenda?
Burchett: I don’t see any of them breaking from it. They’ll be in lockstep. Just like I said, carrot and the stick. The voters did you remember that because you’re going to see our power eroded just exponentially. It’s in warp speed right now because there’s nothing holding them back. And The Squad will be literally setting the agenda for the Democrat Party.
Leahy: Well we’ve got rough waters ahead. Congressman Tim Burchett, it’s great having you on the program, and look forward to having you back on again.
Burchett: You call me anytime brother. I love Nashville. I spent six years in the legislature and I love the radio. Keep it up, brother. The first amendment is a great thing when somebody says something you don’t like.
Listen to the full first hour:
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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.
