"Electile" Dysfunction

"Electile Dysfunction"

Blair and Thomas give an election breakdown, have a breakdown (no, really), talk about voter turnout, Flock resistance, the Biggest Loser, and more!

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you may be. This is WFUZ TV's the People's Voice podcast. I'm Thomas Jenkins, and I would say something funny today, but on the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. Blair, what's the breakdown?

SPEAKER_01 0:22

So tonight we're going to talk about the results of the special congressional primaries here in Alabama and actually across the country, but we're not country. Talking about here in Baldwin County, Mobile County, Wiregrass, all that.

SPEAKER_00 0:35

It was pitiful. Y'all were pitiful.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

It was very bad. 5% voter turnout. When he went to the precinct, he was number nine.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Number nine.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

I was number 178, but I have to drive all the way to Foley because they have my precinct up in Timbuk, too. It's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

I was love potion.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Yeah. It was very poor turnout. And weirdly, my precinct signs, like the signage was all blocked, and there was one Jerry Carl sign out front. That was it. And like a little bitty thing that said, vote here. Like it was really hard to tell where the precinct was, even though I've been there before. It was just like hidden away. But, anyways, um, Jerry Carl won by a large sweeping margin, like 74% or something like that.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

Almost 20,000 votes.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

That's a lot of votes.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

And that is telling that people of telling of a lot of things. But for number one, we like Jerry Carl, okay? Do I think Jerry Carl is the world's most perfect candidate? Do I love him to death and have him picture up on a frame on the mantle of the fireplace? No.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Not anymore.

unknown 1:33

No.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

But I like the guy. He's a nice person. He's a kind person. He came and talked to us even after we made fun of him and kind of ragged on him and talked a little bit of crap. He he didn't care. He didn't let that get to him. He was very good spirited and he doesn't take it personal. And I appreciate that about people.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

That's also reflected in the uh attitudes and personalities of his staff as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Yes, excellent staff. When you see somebody with strong staff that is just very, you know, put together, that says a lot. And his team had that. Like, say what you want to say about him. You don't like APAC, I don't either. I agree with you. You don't like, you know, some of the things that he votes on, I agree with you too. But that's why we as voters have to stay engaged and hold their feet to the fire. It's our job to see that he's voting on something and know that a vote's coming up and call his office and say, don't do that. We really don't want this and like see if he actually listens. To my you know experience with him, I was not here when he was a congressman. I was here when Barry Moore was the congressman. So I never had that opportunity to engage with him. I'm willing to give him that chance. I mean, we we kind of like that's what we got right now as Republicans. And he is going to the general against Clyde Jones. So if you don't like what he stands for, vote for Clyde. We like Clyde too. Nothing against Clyde. Um, I think a Democrat has an uphill battle to win that seat, but he comes from a place of compassion. He's a veteran. He also is a good choice. So it's a matter of your preference of who you think deserves to represent us in Congress. So you make that decision, you get to know them and do your research.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

And for the sore losers that are saying, oh, it's money, it's the votes don't count. Money follows viability. It follows the candidate that's likely to win. So that's an indicator if a candidate's not able to raise a lot of money.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Absolutely. And also it's your fault. Like you sit here complaining about stuff on the internet, but did you actually go down to the poll no matter how inconvenient it was and cast your vote? And I felt so kind of bad for those eight staffers that were in my precinct and I was the only person in there, probably for like an hour. They were so excited that someone walked through the door. Like, come on, people, it cost more to hold these elections than like dollars per ballot. If we made that, you know, accounting there. I'd be very shocked if it wasn't a very high amount per ballot. It's ridiculous. We need to make it worth their time to come out and vote, or else we're not going to have this process that we hold so dear to just go to our precinct. They're going to find some other way for us to vote. And then you guys are going to complain that we didn't do the paper ballots and in person and all that stuff. You know how expensive that is, and you know how low voter turnout is. Like it doesn't make sense. It's not feasible to continue the way we're going. So you have to show up and do your part. It's a system and you're a part of it. Don't complain unless you took part in the process.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

We should vote by flock camera.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

Perhaps. So going on to flock cameras, by the way, for those of you that saw our coverage of the flock camera thing in Gulf Shores, um, we didn't we didn't set that up. We didn't encourage the protest, just putting that out there. Those people were out there protesting as we left the meeting. It was actually after the meeting and we saw them coming up, and we were like, oh snap, we have a camera, let's interview them so they can say their piece, because they didn't come inside the meeting. There was another group of people in the meeting that did say their piece, and then the yes, he did say something.

SPEAKER_00 4:45

Yeah, for all those of you out there saying, you know, blah, blah, blah. I I actually go to meetings and say stuff when I have something on my mind. I don't do it very often, but when I do, I actually do, and that I can say, you know, more than most, I've actually done it.

SPEAKER_01 5:01

I still got that traffic signal on my mind because as of yesterday, when they said it was going to be operational, it was not operational. So what's up with that, people?

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Still got black covers on it.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

Or as of yesterday I did. Uh we didn't go through there today.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Yeah, I didn't see. But these are the burning questions I want to know, City of Gulf Shores, and I hope you have an update Monday. But anyways, the young people that were outside protesting, um, I was happy to give them an opportunity to say what they wanted to say on a microphone in front of a camera, a little practice run, and hopefully they get up the courage to go to meetings and engage. And if you're somebody out there who's dissuading people from taking your two to three minutes of public forum comment time, then you know, kind of shame on you because everybody deserves that time. And people were really scared. I remember my first county commission meeting, I was like 20 years old, and I was telling you I was 21, and I was in law school, and I went to the Orlando uh Orange County Commission meeting and talked about an ordinance that I had actually helped draft with my law school peers, and it ended up getting passed, and it was really empowering to go up there and do that. And I was terrified. And when it all got done, we took a picture, we were super proud. And after that, I was like addicted to it. I was like, I'm always gonna try to engage now and make a difference because the first time I did it, you know, I did make a difference. Not everybody is that lucky. Sometimes, you know, whatever you want is gonna fall on its face and get shot down. But eventually, you know, things that you fight for will get passed, and it's a really good feeling. So keep doing it, keep engaging, and don't let anyone dissuade you. It's okay if you mess up a little bit, it's okay if you're not perfectly scripted, it's okay if you're afraid and if you're jittery and if you're nervous. It's okay.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

It's okay if you're angry.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

Yes. Sometimes it is an angry discussion.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

Sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

So going back to that, um the election results. So we do a lot of stuff, okay? We're going to city council meetings, we're going to town hall meetings, we're going to fully, we're going to Gulf Shores, we're going to Orange Beach, we're going to the county, we're going to Mobile. And this is just in the past like two weeks. We've been all these places, plus more. We're trying to give people a voice, and we're happy to, but there's a real cost to that. So, example, we were at Jerry Carl's election night party doing the live coverage, which you may have seen, which was really awesome. He was super nice to do like a little special interview with us and welcome us, even though we sometimes can be critical of people in office. He does not care, and I think that's cool. Um, so, anyways, we're doing that, and our car breaks down on the pretty much. Yes, on the way. We were able to limp mode it into the event and get it there. And, you know, that's a cost of driving around so much and doing this.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

We And we're an hour away from home, mind you.

SPEAKER_01 7:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:30

Had to get that towed.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

And thank you to the people out there that helped us with that. Shout out to them. They know who they are. Good folks. Um, we were lucky that we had friends there that were able to give us a ride back and help with the situation. But like right now, we have a car that doesn't work just sitting out there that we can't use at the moment.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

And it may cost us up to $7,000 full engine replacement. We don't know yet because we were unwilling to pay a $500 diagnostic fee.

SPEAKER_01 7:55

So there are it it's a real cost, the wear and tear of our vehicle, the gas mileage to go to things. I mean, people ask us, go to mobile do this, do that. Like, we can't sometimes because we literally can't pay out of pocket non-stop for these things. I wish we could, and we are working towards a place where we can.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

But in summary, we're without the news van, basically, right now. And we could use your help if you choose to do so. We're not begging. We don't need, you know, pity dollars or anything, but we do want you to understand that we are not making any profit, and it still wears and tears on our time and our money.

SPEAKER_01 8:35

If you want, quote, independent citizen journalists or you know, independent news networks that aren't bought and paid for by Alabama Power or whatever else, somebody's gotta pay for them. You have the opportunity, but we gotta pitch in, it's really got to be grassroots and normal people have to contribute because how else are we supposed to do it? Like financially.

SPEAKER_00 8:53

And we are trying to foster a community here.

SPEAKER_01 8:56

We are so you know, if you feel inclined, our website, WFUZTV.com, you can go there and you can go to the little donate contribute section, you can make a contribution anytime.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Or you can hit us up on Facebook, Facebook. I don't care how you do it.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

Yeah. Venmo, Zell, Cash App, Gold Bullion, Coins, Pirate Money, 9mm, Monopoly Money, whatever you want to give. We'll take it. Um, so yes, just putting that out there because there is a real cost to this, and we love doing it. We want to keep doing it, we want it to be a living for us, and I think we will get there. And we appreciate everyone who has helped make it what it is today. And we hope in a year from now we're looking back at this going like, wow, Reno, remember when we did that? Just like we were doing the year before, and every year it grows and grows. So I look forward to that day. And uh for anybody else watching, frequently asked questions, yes, this is my real hair, and this is my natural skin tone. I get asked sometimes about that. Um, people ask what race I am, people ask what color my hair is. People like to know these things. So I uh am part Native American. I don't mean Elizabeth Warren style. I mean my grandma actually is Native American, so that's why I have the dark skin. And sometimes it looks white when I wear blonde, and sometimes I look whiter, but this is my natural state, so curiosity-filled people.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Speaking of Native American, you want to tell him how bad Josh McKee lost?

SPEAKER_01 10:20

Oh yes. Just a little update on our friend. Um, he came in fourth, got about 1,500 votes, which was only 200 votes more than me when I ran in a city election for like six counties in a whole district. He got, you know, an a pretty equal amount.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

So um parallel next time, little buddy.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

Um drink and drive.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

Yeah, I shouldn't have done that, little buddy. There we go. Um looking forward to the next race coming up, which should be our circuit clerk and our um probate judge race, and 2028.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Oh my lord. Well, I mean, only two years away. We got the main election coming up in November then.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

Right. We got the general election election, we got you know Doug Jones and Tupperville. There's there's stuff happening. But for our local, we got 2028, and that people will start filing very soon, probably after November. I think January, February, you'll see people jumping in, you'll see fundraising start, and we'll start having those guests on. In the meantime, we're having community guests on, people that care about different issues. We have some lined up, we got some filming this weekend, we got exciting things happening, community spotlights, meetings, stay engaged, stay involved. There's a lot happening. It's up to you to make our community better. So, you know, do it. Get off your ass.

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Yeah, what she said.

SPEAKER_01 11:42

That's all I got for tonight. Thanks for tuning in.

SPEAKER_00 11:45

That's it. We will see you next time. Y'all have a bluebell country day. Ciao