One Country Project's Hot Dish

Heidi Heitkamp [00:00:04]:
Welcome to the Hot Dish, Comfort food for rural America. I'm Heidi Heitkamp.

Joel Heitkamp [00:00:08]:
And I'm Joel Heitkamp. Before we get to our guest, we want to remind you that your thoughts and opinions matter to us. Tell us, tell us what's going on in your neck of the woods and what you want to hear us talk about.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:00:21]:
Email us really seriously. Reach out and email. We read every one of them. Our email address is podcast@onecountryproject.org and follow.

Joel Heitkamp [00:00:33]:
The One Country Project on Bluesky and Substack too.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:00:37]:
Well, we've got a great guest today. A lot of you may have seen this pop up in your Twitter feed or your Bluesky feed: The Tennessee Holler, Justin Kanew. Justin used to work in LA in the entertainment industry as a writer and film producer before he returned to his home state of Tennessee where he founded the Tennessee Holler, which is an audience supported progressive news channel that reports on what's happening in Tennessee, AKA the Volunteer State.

Joel Heitkamp [00:01:06]:
You know, and we're going to talk about the GOP and why they're hell bent on making life tougher for average folks, not just in Tennessee, but everywhere. Welcome to the Hot Dish, Justin.

Justin Kanew [00:01:17]:
Thank you, Heitkamps, for having me. I appreciate it very much.

Joel Heitkamp [00:01:21]:
I want to begin by pointing out that my producer is a groupie of yours. She loves what you're doing and she loves how you're doing it. So great job job in doing the same type of thing we're doing because I think it matters a lot. I want to talk a little bit, if we can, about something that Hyde, I know you feel very strongly about as well. In North Dakota, we have one lone congressman. We obviously have two centers like everybody else. We for a long time those were Democrats. Those were Democrats.

Joel Heitkamp [00:01:52]:
And you know, since then we've been able to elect Heidi, obviously. But we're pretty red in North Dakota, but not as red, I think, as Tennessee. I mean, Justin, what's going on there?

Justin Kanew [00:02:03]:
How long do you have? Well, I mean, what sets Tennessee apart? I think the story to me starts with that it's the highest percentage of evangelicals in the whole country. So, you know, a lot of what we see here is very faith based. I consider Tennessee to be kind of an operating theocracy. And it's not a secret. I mean, they'll just tell you if you ask them, a Republican super majority here, you know, that's where they're coming from. And now we're seeing that exported to the federal government. I mean, Speaker Johnson, you know, he'd be a rank and file here. He's considered a radical in Congress.

Justin Kanew [00:02:35]:
We have 90 of those in the House in Tennessee and the Senate. So, you know, I just think that's a big part of what we're seeing here. And, you know, what we tend to say here is that Project 2025 was Project 2024 in Tennessee. Tennessee is not a swing state, but we're the tip of the spear when it comes to the culture war. And a lot of what you see here get passed in our legislature, which is, as you're saying, is very extreme, is coming your way next. So I think people should pay attention.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:03:02]:
When you look at Tennessee and some of the issues that are happening, what do you see emerging, Justin, that gives you hope that people will listen to a different perspective, people will share your concerns, maybe vote a little differently and get some better balance?

Justin Kanew [00:03:20]:
Well, it's just how extreme things have gotten. You know, it's just really out of control. A lot of the moderate voices, even in the Republican Party, are gone. You know, names that you wouldn't recognize, guys like Sam Whitson, people like that, who, you know, they were, the moderates, have been replaced by extremists. And the hope is that eventually people around here will get sick of the people's business being conducted as an attack and realize that they're not being helped, that they're actually being hurt by what their own people that they're sending up there are doing. So, you know, I think the hope comes from how extreme things have gotten. The hope comes from a lot of the young people. More and more, we're seeing protests at the Capitol, people in the Rotunda that are young, that are running for office, especially in the Memphis area.

Justin Kanew [00:04:04]:
So, you know, there are some green shoots here and there in terms of, you know, what we can hope for in the future. But I don't want to oversell it. I mean, it's. We've gone a long way from reason and rationality. And, you know, a big part of the problem is most of what people hear in our state is one side of the story. And that's kind of why we started the Holler in 2019, is so people would hear and understand more of what's actually happening in our state. You know, we're at the bottom and infinite maternal mortality. We underfund our education.

Justin Kanew [00:04:35]:
You know, we're number one in medical bankruptcies. And these are just things that people don't hear.

Justin Kanew [00:04:39]:
When Governor Lee is running around talking about how great everything is, I just.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:04:42]:
We want to make this point that there was a point where Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander were your Senators. And I used to tell people I'd have a hard time voting against either one of those guys. I would have no trouble voting against your current team.

Justin Kanew [00:04:57]:
Well, and those guys ran for the hills. I mean, Lamar, I guess, was a little bit older, but Corker especially, you know, he had a long way to go. And, you know, he saw Trump coming around the corner and he decided to. He wanted no part of it and ended up leaving. So, you know, I think that spoke volumes. And we've come, you know, eight years since then, more to the extreme, and it's headed in one direction. The Republican Party is just not the same party that, you know, you served with or, you know, most people think of when they think of the people that you're talking about, but they haven't spoken up. I mean, you know, Corker and to me, Lamar Alexander deserves a lot of blame because they have not taken a stand against what's happening to their own party.

Joel Heitkamp [00:05:35]:
I want to bring up the fact that the Democrats don't know how to develop a bench. And you develop a bench through the legislature, the local legislature, Iowa got that. I mean, you want to talk about glimpses, windows of hope in a solid red legislative district, a young woman from Iowa won, taking away the supermajority. Do you see the Democrats understanding that and focusing on those races as well?

Justin Kanew [00:06:03]:
Yeah, I mean, look, I think everybody understands that. I think there's a general grasp that you have to start, you know, with people in county commissions, city council, school board even, and build their way up. It's just tough. It's more of a fractured, fragmented apparatus than I think the Republicans are working with. And everybody's kind of scrapping for what little resources there are in our state because we're not considered, you know, a state that's, know, on the lists of places that the big resources get sent to. So could Democrats in Tennessee do a better job of working hand in glove to develop a bench? Absolutely. I don't think it's because they don't realize it's important. I think it's just because we're up against it here.

Justin Kanew [00:06:45]:
And the Republican supermajority is much more coordinated and better resourced.

Joel Heitkamp [00:06:51]:
Well, let me add one other thing to that, which is do we talk enough about the issues that matter? Because it seems to me that the Republican Party gets us to talk about the issues they want us to talk about, whereas the Democrats can't stay focused and on message. You come from an agricultural state, just like I do. We've got problems in ag right now, but yet I'm not seeing Democrats push that narrative out there. And so I'm curious from you what you think about that.

Justin Kanew [00:07:24]:
Yeah, I think that's valid. Since Trump got elected, I've just been waiting for the next farmer bailout. I think it's important for people to remember that the farmer bailout happened. You know, we had our ag commissioner, Charlie Hatcher come out and basically talk about how damaging his trade war was to farmers, and I don't think they ever really recovered. So could Dems do a better job of talking about that 100%? Absolutely they could. But like you said, you know, Republicans are pretty good at keeping it about the divisive culture war issues. And I will say, you know, I, I know the, the prevailing wisdom is Dems need to avoid that topic, but I think it's important to fight that fight too. So, you know, I, I, my kind of general attitude about it is you got to fight all the fights.

Justin Kanew [00:08:07]:
You know, we can't concede the ground and leave people behind. And I think it's, we have more in common than we realize on all the issues. You know, when it comes to farmers, especially when it comes to raising the wage, when it comes to equal rights, when it comes to democracy, Democrats just need to get louder and less afraid and more, I think, more confident in their ability to reach people and go to the places where people are. So when I see people showing up on Fox News and showing up on, you know, Tomi Lahren show, for the most part, like depending on what's happening on those shows, I think it's a good thing. People need to be hearing and Republicans have this right wing echo chamber that needs to be penetrated.

Joel Heitkamp [00:08:47]:
Well, I want to add faith is an issue because you mentioned that is one of the big issues in Tennessee. I go to church. I don't go to church as what my mom, as much as what my mom and dad raised me to go to church, but I go to church. How did we get perceived as being a party that has no hand whatsoever, doesn't believe in faith?

Justin Kanew [00:09:08]:
I think this is a really important point and I think there's a few voices out there that are talking about, first of all, I'm Jewish, I'm not even Christian, but I believe you got to meet people where they are. We're like a 75% Christian country. You know, our state, as I mentioned earlier, is especially evangelical. I think it's important to speak to people about matters of faith. You can still believe in the separation of church and state, but that doesn't mean don't talk about it. And when you don't talk about it, they paint you as the anti God party. There are people like James Talarico in Texas, who's a son of a grandson of a Baptist preacher, who I think is doing a really good job of this. They, the Justins here in Tennessee, Justin Jones, Justin Pearson are both divinity school, you know, basically preachers.

Justin Kanew [00:09:49]:
They can speak about scripture better than most of the Republicans in the legislature. So Pete Buttigieg, even, who's gay, he spoke this language of faith with people. So I think Democrats tend to say keep God out of government and don't talk about it and separate church and state. I think that leaves an opportunity for Republicans to step in and say Democrats or non believers. And that's just not the country we are. So I do believe it's important to be able to speak that language and do it more intentionally.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:10:18]:
Well, and when you look at faith, it turns right away to patriotism. And one of the things, obviously the south has an interesting history, but all of the symbols of the old south, there is this sense that anyone who opposes the Confederate flag, for instance, is not a patriot in the South. How do you overcome that and recognizing that that flag is symbolic of something that was very injurious to a big portion of our population?

Justin Kanew [00:10:50]:
Right. Well, first, I just want to start with the point you made initially, which is talking about God and Christianity. It's important to retake the message and what Jesus actually said. And I think someone like Reverend Barber, who's out there talking about how it's about taking care of the poor, taking care of the stranger, taking care of your neighbor. You know, I think that is the core message of Jesus's teaching. So it's not just about talking about Christianity. It's also about retaking what the message actually was. I think that's really important.

Justin Kanew [00:11:19]:
And then, you know, on the Confederate issue. Yeah, I mean, that is something that we still deal with on a regular basis. There was a KKK grand wizard statue in our capitol until a couple of years ago. This is how Justin Jones was, was on the map. He was leading protests against it and eventually got it removed. Democrats in Tennessee have been fighting this fight to, to redefine what it means. And, you know, Republicans have not let go of, of that, you know, lost cause issue to try to tell us that that's about heritage. So the Confederate flag, and it's still on the county seal here where I live.

Justin Kanew [00:11:53]:
You know, Democrats are trying to stand up to it, and I think it's important to not let them rewrite that history. And a big part of what we're seeing with, with library books and public schools and the Confederate flag and our museums, they're trying to write whitewash and rewrite history, and we really cannot let them do it.

Joel Heitkamp [00:12:08]:
Justin, how do you take on people that lie, that are okay lying and have the platform to go ahead and make people believe that lie?

Justin Kanew [00:12:17]:
Yeah, I mean, it's just constant, it's non stop. You just got to keep calling it out and you can't ignore it because then the lie takes hold. Right. So for every time they tell it, you got to yell the truth. And that's what our, our logo, our mott is literally always yell the truth. Feel like all day. That's my, basically my job is to find the lies and counter it with the truth. And luckily there are enough people out, not enough, but there are more and more people out there like this podcast who are doing that.

Justin Kanew [00:12:48]:
And, you know, collectively, voices are growing. I, I think a big, big part of why they're attacking TikTok is because a lot of young voices on TikTok were growing and telling the truth in different ways. We got to find different ways to tell it. You know, we cannot rely on legacy media to do it. They're just, they're not up to the task. They're afraid of their own shadow. So it's really about finding independent voices, places that, that are singing your song, supporting them, lifting them up and, and sort of paddling in the same direction. And, you know, if there's hope out there, to me, it's, it's that, it's that there are more and more independent sources that are really taking root.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:13:26]:
One of the things that's happening across rural America is the growth of these AI centers, these data centers, what that means. It's like this promise of jobs. Lots of jobs during construction, not a lot of jobs after construction, but yet we're seeing increases in electricity prices, we're seeing noise pollution, we're seeing the consequences of this. You've got a pretty high profile installation going on right now that involves somebody who's fairly famous these days, Elon Musk. How are those kinds of issues about the utilization of rural America, but not a lot of benefit to rural America? How, how do they play and how can you advance those as a potential kind of issue that demonstrates that Democrats are concerned?

Justin Kanew [00:14:14]:
Yeah, you're talking about X AI in Memphis, Elon Musk's, you know, supercomputer, which is in Memphis for a reason. It's in Memphis because it easy for him to steamroll the community. They did it with no public input. The people of Memphis are still fighting back against this thing. There's like something like 65 gas turbines that are burning at all times with no permits that are poisoning the air in Memphis. And you made a point when you started that, which is, you know, they claim that they're creating all these jobs and pumping all this money into the community, but really the jobs are really in the construction phase. And then the question is, how many of these jobs that they're talking about are actually going to Memphians and how many are going to people who he's giving these, you know, H1B visas to that are coming from outside Memphis? So it's actually been really sad to watch how easily Memphis leadership has let this happen. The Memphis mayor has been on board, the county mayor has been on board, the city council.

Justin Kanew [00:15:08]:
There's really only been, like, one of the city council members that has spoken up against it. So, you know, I guess it's money talks, and the chamber has been behind them, and they've really steamrolled the community. But there has been a lot of pushback. Justin Pearson, Representative Justin Pearson has really led the charge, and his brother, Keyshawn. And Memphis, there's been a bunch of student groups that have spoken up against it. And then we had another thing happen in East Tennessee where there was sort of like a bitcoin farm that was going to come in, and the people spoke up and took a stand, and they actually beat it back in East Tennessee. So I think more and more people are realizing that the harm outweighs the benefits with things like this. And we're just trying to lift up their voices as much as we can shine a light on the people that are speaking up.

Justin Kanew [00:15:52]:
You know, some of the most powerful speeches and voices happen in these tiny little community meetings where students stand up and speak. It's just not a lot of people see them. So a big part of what we try to do at the holler is pull out, you know, those one to two minute speeches and lift them up and show people that they're happening. And it's not just that. I mean, you probably want to talk about this also, but there's a tunnel that Elon's tunneling into Nashville to try to tunnel from the Capitol to the airport, which is absolutely ridiculous. And so it's just more and More privatization and damage that the richest people in the world are doing at any cost to rural and urban Tennesseans. And it's, it's pretty gross.

Joel Heitkamp [00:16:29]:
Okay, but let's use somebody that you're very familiar with. Ran a race against Marsha Blackburn. She's running for governor now. Yeah, and my wife said, I gotta. I've got to start cussing less. So I'll just use the word chicken instead of the end of that word. Yeah, but she's chicken shit. She won't hold a meeting.

Joel Heitkamp [00:16:47]:
She won't hold a town hall meeting. I mean, how do we fix that?

Justin Kanew [00:16:52]:
Well, I don't think you're going to fix it because she is a coward. And she's been doing this for since 2017. The last town hall she had was 2017. It was in Fairview. And she got it pretty bad. People were up in arms about a lot of. And so she went on CNN and said, those people weren't even from my district. And then there was video of them having been ID'd at the door.

Justin Kanew [00:17:14]:
She had lied. And then she had to go on and tell Wolf Blitzer that, oh, we have bigger things to worry about than me lying about that. So her integrity obviously is not. She's untethered from the truth and has been since then. She has not done a town hall. She does these like tele town halls where you'll get a phone call at 6pm saying, hey, Marsha's gonna be on this phone call for 20 minutes. And then they pre screen all the questions. That does not count.

Justin Kanew [00:17:36]:
They just had an empty chair town hall for her in East Tennessee where a woman in a chicken suit came out and pretended to be her. So people are calling it out more and more. She's refusing to even debate John Rose, who's her Republican primary competition in her as she's running for Governor. But you know, the truth is, chances are she's still going to end up being our governor, which is a sad thing. The one again, I'm looking for silver linings. The one silver lining I'll give you is that she's going to have a lot harder time hiding from me when she's at the Capitol than she does in D.C. so I will be all the way up her ass when she comes to Tennessee and she works out of the Capitol.

Joel Heitkamp [00:18:11]:
Good for you. Now here's another one I want you to tell me how we can fix. Okay? When I drive up and down the interstate, I drive 130some miles every day to go to work and come Back. All right. Which isn't hard where I live because I hop on the interstate and drive 84 miles an hour. But. But my point is this. The minute I see an American flag in a rear window, on a bumper, whatever, I instantly think they're.

Joel Heitkamp [00:18:37]:
They're Republican.

Justin Kanew [00:18:38]:
Yeah.

Joel Heitkamp [00:18:38]:
How the hell do you fix that? How, how did they take my country away so they own the flag?

Justin Kanew [00:18:45]:
Yeah. It's sad, you know, And. And it's so performative. You know, everything they do is so performative. And really what you're getting at there is that's kind of this ongoing discussion that we're having is like, we're trying to define what that symbol means in some way. Like, that's what's going on here. Like, what does that symbol mean? And, you know, I think it has to mean freedom in a real way for everybody. I think it has to mean taking care of our kids and giving them a brighter future.

Justin Kanew [00:19:10]:
I think it has to mean democracy, which is very much in peril right now. So I hope we will get to a day where that flag doesn't immediately trigger the response that you had. And, you know, I think we have to be intentional about it, but we can't be performative about it. You know, we have to do it in a way that really serves what we all know that that should mean, and not just, like, pay it lip service. So I don't have a clean answer for you there, but I do think it's important, and I think it is underlying everything that's going on right now.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:19:38]:
Well, I think when you. When you look at what you've been able to accomplish, I mean, I follow you. A lot of people throughout the country follow you because you're kind of speaking truth to power and you bringing a common sense kind of vibe to what needs to happen in a state that needs a lot of common sense, but a country that needs a lot of common sense. How does your work translate to other states? What advice would you give to somebody who wants to do what you're doing in another state?

Justin Kanew [00:20:08]:
Yeah, I mean, look, we would love to see stuff like this in every state, and especially the red ones. When we first started in 2019, we grew pretty fast because there was kind of a need for it. We have a thing here. They're called the Tennessee Star, which is sort of our little version of Breitbart. And there just wasn't that on what I would say was the truthful side of this discussion. So. And after we started, people started saying, are you going to go to Other states. And instead of getting bigger, going to other states, we decided to get smaller and have more regional hollers.

Justin Kanew [00:20:35]:
So we have one in Knoxville, one in Memphis, one in Chattanooga, Tri Cities. And, you know, they're really focused on the city council and county commissions and school boards there. But I do think something like this would be useful in all these other states. And I'm happy to discuss, you know, anybody that wants to do it. I'm happy to sort of impart whatever wisdom we have. But to me, it's just really important to have outlets that focus on social media, which I think is really where the fight is right now that are video based, because I think, you know, that's what I'm a big believer in, in the power of video and storytelling. And you can argue with a, you know, an article, you can say that's just your opinion. You can't really argue with the video when you're watching it.

Justin Kanew [00:21:15]:
So that's sort of how we grew. And, and also a big part of it to me is, you know, making them famous. So when we're at the capitol and something crazy happens at the capitol, like we need to put their name on it. We need people to see who is doing this to them, who is saying these things. And our Capitol especially, you know, they live stream every hearing and every floor session. So we, we're able to go in and make these sort of boring, long videos more interesting with our editing and our curation. So I think it's really ripe for the taking in every state. I would love to see it happen in every state.

Justin Kanew [00:21:50]:
And, you know, we're not reinventing the wheel here, and I'm happy to talk to anybody that wants to do it.

Joel Heitkamp [00:21:55]:
Well, Justin, you got a problem. We've got your cell number and we're, we're going to call it often. So I want to thank you for coming on the Hot Dish today.

Justin Kanew [00:22:05]:
Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it. I'm glad you guys are doing this.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:22:08]:
And keep, keep modeling this behavior because I love what you just said. We didn't go national, we went regional in our own state. And that is so critical. Congratulations on a, on your commitment. But your product as well, it's really remarkable.

Joel Heitkamp [00:22:25]:
Thanks, man.

Justin Kanew [00:22:25]:
Thank you so much for having me.

Joel Heitkamp [00:22:32]:
Well, Hyde, I gotta tell you, conversations like the ones we get to have here on the Hot Dish are what make the week go great for me. I want to, I want to throw this out at you. And we've been talking about this a long time at every pinochle game we play, which is how do you fight back against a bunch of lies? Right. I mean, how do you do that? Well, Gavin Newsom is doing just that. There isn't a day goes by that I don't look at what he said today and then the next hour, what he said then. And is that the way America expects you to fight back?

Heidi Heitkamp [00:23:05]:
It's so hard because I think there's so many people who want the Democratic Party to be the party of rational common sense. And then there's people who say, well, everything Gavin Newsom's doing that's just repulsive to me. I'm like, man, you know, what we've been doing in the past hasn't been working. Good on him for trying to. I don't know how it's reading, but, you know, he's. He's a smart guy. And guess what? He isn't doing this without understanding exactly what he's doing. So I don't know what the answer is, because it used to be telling the truth was the way to fight a lie, but that's not true anymore.

Joel Heitkamp [00:23:41]:
Yeah. You know, both you and I are football fans, and when we grew up, you weren't going to win a game unless you had somebody that ran for over 100 yards. And now you're not going to win a game unless you got a quarterback that throws for over 300. The game plan changed it. How you play the game changed. Donald Trump figured that out, and he won because of it. He changed the game. He's a personality.

Joel Heitkamp [00:24:05]:
And it's personalities to me that are going to get elected in this country. Now, how you govern after that can be exactly as you just described. But Newsom, nationwide now is a personality, and I love it.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:24:19]:
Well, the other thing, and you know, my bant is always, look, you got to understand what's happening to American families. And so I was spending a lot of time talking about credit card debt, a lot of time talking about repossessing cars out there, a lot of time about stagnant wages, a lot of insecurity about what's happening with AI. And I recognize that that's really kind of wonky, and it doesn't have a personality to it, but it also speaks to people who are experiencing those kinds of challenges in their life and saying, we see you, and we have a better idea on how we. And that, to me, is why Donald Trump got elected. He basically said, I see you when they didn't think the Democrats were seeing him. You know, how. How do you bring kind of a Economic message into that personality driven politics, Joel.

Joel Heitkamp [00:25:11]:
Well, I want to throw this at you Height. I saw you on Meet the Press the other day. The whole family did. We were like watching out at the lake where we all share some property. And you did amazing because what you did was you segged to the economy. You made the conversation about the economy here in the middle of this country. We can't sell soybeans. We're losing money on soybeans, we're losing money on corn.

Joel Heitkamp [00:25:36]:
And nobody would be talking about it except people like you are Democrats failing on getting the message out about what's happening with the economy.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:25:46]:
Absolutely. Absolutely. Donald Trump, talk about a master salesman. When you ask somebody about a car, how's the transmission? And he starts kicking the tires. Maybe you ought to pay attention to the transmission, right? Because, you know, those tires look pretty good. He is a master at diversion and he knows that this economy for the average American family has a great deal of uncertainty. So he is just hammering away, hammering away at law and order and all the things that he thinks he can win on. And you know, what he's not talking about is what the Democrats should be talking about.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:26:23]:
And I think they're just, you know, in that movie, Joel, that movie up where the, where the dogs are in the pilots, you know, and someone says squirrel, and they immediately turn. That's the Democratic Party where the dogs in the plane, you know, with somebody yell squirrel. We completely lose our attention span. We've got to stay myopically and just directly focused on the things that are affecting middle class and working class families.

Joel Heitkamp [00:26:52]:
Well, I have a daughter that's an attorney, as you know, and in her legal practice a lot of times they handle divorce. And I said to her one time, I said recently, I said, ash, how much personal property do they fight over? I mean, how much, you know, who gets the guns, who gets the pickup, that kind of thing. And she just broke out laughing. She said, dad, most of the time right now they're, they're fighting over who gets the credit card debt. And so that's what's going on with many couples today. They're knee deep in it and they don't know how to get out of it. And because of it, they're fighting.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:27:27]:
Yeah. And you know, the Democrats capped fees at $8, I think a month. So late fees. The Republicans wiped that out. Elizabeth Warren, you know, God love her, I don't always agree with her, but when they asked her could she agree with Donald Trump on anything, she said, yeah, capping interest rates on credit cards. Where are those discussions? Where's the pushback against this president on the things that he promised for middle class America? And by the way, when you go and buy a can of coffee, whether it's Folgers or Maxwell House, which is my two favorite brands, you take a look at what that costs. And that's being driven by these, these tariffs that the president is imposing on working class families. We have to give people some hope that political change can change that.

Joel Heitkamp [00:28:16]:
Well, you know, I went and filled up with gas today. And you know, I'm sitting there being economical, like always, driving 135 miles every day to and to and back home and getting about 16, 17 miles a gallon in my pickup. But I went and picked up gas today and it was under $2. It was one. Oh, wait, that's a lie. It wasn't even close. I was promised my gas was gonna. I mean, geez, Heidi, what the hell? How come we can't even use that argument?

Heidi Heitkamp [00:28:50]:
But also the dirty little secret of drill, baby, drill. It's looking like we're going to produce less oil in this country than we did under Joe Biden.

Joel Heitkamp [00:28:59]:
Yeah, exactly. And I'll tell you something else. I hunt underneath wind towers. I do. They make some noise, I get it. But I walk right under them when we're chasing deer around. And I can tell you.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:29:12]:
So that's what's wrong with you. So that's what's wrong with you. Wind towers.

Joel Heitkamp [00:29:18]:
No more deer sausage for you. But I'm going to, I'm going to tell you this. There aren't a bunch of dead birds, right? I mean, for the Democrats out there, here's a thought. Go take some pictures, take some video, because there aren't. I just. We are so bad at calling out the bullshit.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:29:37]:
Well, and Joel, we have somebody who is the Secretary of Interior, who is from North Dakota, who knows better. And you saw that, that horrible Cabinet meeting where it was nothing short of Dear Leader. I mean, that's not what cabinet. That's supposed to be your opportunity of raising issues, elevating issues, talking about the problems. And man, that is pathetic. That was pathetic.

Joel Heitkamp [00:30:03]:
Some people here were calling it porn, I will tell you that.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:30:07]:
No, that's. That's what, that's what they were calling that. The what. What he's done to the White House.

Joel Heitkamp [00:30:16]:
Well, you'd think that he could get the war shut down, because you know what? He's turned the White House into Russia. I mean, that's about how much gold they throw around in all their photos and everything else. Hyde, always good to talk to you.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:30:30]:
Man. It is really good to mention pinochle.

Joel Heitkamp [00:30:32]:
I want my 34 bucks.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:30:34]:
You got it. I venmoed it, Joel.

Joel Heitkamp [00:30:36]:
That's right.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:30:37]:
It was a marathon. It was so pathetically bad.

Joel Heitkamp [00:30:39]:
Dad, on a buck, a five bucks a game and a buck a set, how do you lose 30, $34?

Heidi Heitkamp [00:30:49]:
It took a long time and it was absolutely miserable. And our sister Julie who is always the luckiest card player and I love playing with her cuz she's so darn lucky. Guess she was not lucky.

Joel Heitkamp [00:31:01]:
And she, and she doesn't even drink.

Heidi Heitkamp [00:31:04]:
No, I know. Well, I want to. I want to thank you all for joining us at the Hot Dish. It's brought to you by One Country Project. Making sure the voices of the rest of us are heard in Washington.

Joel Heitkamp [00:31:15]:
You bet. See you soon.