tv Brad and Dallas Woodhouse CSPAN December 18, 2024 12:48pm-1:16pm EST
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>> are you thinking this is just a community sensor? >> no, it's way more than that. >> comcast is partnering with a thousand community centers. shin" continues. host: 10 years ago, we invited ten years ago we invited them on to the program to talk about the political divide in america. you might recall a viral moment when their mother called in. brad woodhouse, remind viewers what that 2014 documentary woodhouse divided was about. >> well, that documentary was about the time that dallas and i squared off in 2009, 2010, over the passage of the affordable care act. he had a documentarian follow our activity. he was running americans for
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prosperity in north carolina. i was at the dnc helping president obama, the white house pass the act. we had this documentary was coming out around then. i think we were doing a pretty mediocre segment with steve scully when mom shocked the world and mom called in and told us to stop bickering. >> is the family, the country less divided than in 2014? >> i mean, probably not. i mean, there was certainly a lot of things that were posted on twitter, everything about thanksgiving after, you know, president trump's election. i think the election returns were a little more unified in that we had, you know, a republican president win the popular vote, which hadn't happened in a long time. >> that's no longer true. >> well, yeah, because y'all
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just keep counts votes. >> he won the plurality, but didn't win the majority. that's something that we talk about. >> well, let's see what that does for you. but, hey, look, you know, i was thinking about things that have not changed over the last ten years. i mean, they passed the affordable health care act. brad thinks it's a success. i don't. that hasn't changed. our mother -- >> the american -- >> our matter -- >> the american people -- >> sharp as ever. she doesn't get around quite as good, but, you know, she is the same, you know, the other week i was with her, and she -- and she, you know, brad called her and she asked when brad was coming home for christmas. and she is really excited to see him, you know. as i am. it's very different. he lives in d.c. >> are you going to be spending the holidays -- christmas holidays -- >> yeah, yaulg, we will be together at christmas. he is coming to my house for
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christmas eve. but the funny thing is, you know, when mom talks to brad, you know, i mean, she just lights up and gets so happy. she then starts calling robert preston and getting 76 trombones ready and a marching band and celestial choirs. >> isn't the same for you. >> the next day i have to run some errands for her, bring her some coffee or whatever else, you know. she told me twice she was gonna cut me out of the will. >> come on. that's not -- >> she did. you ask her. told me twice she was gonna cut meow out of the will. i said, that's fine. what you can't do, brad, what i have said, mom, you can't do, you can't stop me from being your pallbearer. and she said, why would you want to do that? i said i won't miss my opportunity to let you down one more time. >> explain what you do now. >> i work with two sister organizations, american majority and american majority action.
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a great grass roots organization that started in north carolina about 18 months ago. i was the first director. you know, brad is, you know, got a big national platform and works on that. i stay home close to, you know, the important state of north carolina. and i train candidates and i trained a lot of activists it this year on the conservative side about north carolina's election integrity, which is pretty good in north carolina, and actually the importance of early voting and voting by mail, which, as you know, republicans, you know, somewhat led by trump this taken a sour look on. that puts us at a strategic advantage. thanks to our work at american majority, our activists, our paid staff, also the president -- the president-elect on that, we were able to turn that around and have, you know, the first time in north carolina's history, republicans
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actually outvoted the democrats in early voting, which was really phenomenal. >> and brad, explain what you do now. >> first of all, john, this is exactly how the holidays go. -dallas doesn't let anyone else say a word and he constantly interrupts. this is what i'm looking forward to on christmas eve. my primary job right now, one that i am very dedicated to, that goes back to -- this job does not go back, but back to my experience in working to fas the affordable care act is i am the executive director to protect our care. that was a group put in place to stop trump from repealing the affordable care act. we were successful in doing that. we went on to make health care a potent political issue, to expand the affordable care act, to get medicare, the power to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices, to protect medicaid and, you know, then we're in that fight again. right now we have added -- we
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have added to that line of work in that we are trying to stop, you know, rfk jr. from becoming secretary of health and human services for a host of reasons. one we, you know, we care -- we care deeply about the affordable care act and medicare and medicaid, which is all under the auspices of hhs -- and cms. we also, we care about the lives of the american people and robert f. kennedy's views on infectious diseases, research, scientific research and on vaccines. not only will kill people, but has killed people. so we are fighting that nomination tooth and nail. >> you mentioned you are in that fight again. if the two of you get into a fight around christmastime, who is the one that usually separates you? is there any chance you avoid talking politics? >> i will -- there is no -- hold on. there is no chance we will avoid
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talking politics. and i am always the one that will walk away because i just can't take it so much, of dallas woodhouse. >> well, actually, there is some truth to that. but i think it's a little different. if you are going to be honest about it, you know, we may raz each other a little bit in person. i think he does have less tolerance for sort of pickering than he did ten years ago. i think that's because he gets it from his republican wife, jessica -- >> don't bring my wife into this. don't bring her into this. >> i think that's it. i want to say this, right? i mean, but we are just as likely to bicker about other things besides politics. you know? and we are able to talk politics. yeah, we argue sometimes. and let me say this. i am going to say something about my brother, right? i am a lot of what i am just the good parts, brad p if there are any, you know, because of my
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brother. i mean, he is older, you know. you know, i became a television reporter in part, that's because i started in a performance background acting in plays, being in show choir. my brother did that first. you know, my taste in music, you know, i love springsteen. i still listen to huey lewis and the news, even though he doesn't sing me more. where did those tastes come from? my brother. i was a journalist a number of years and started covering politics. when i decided to make the switch, even though i was on the other side, my brother was very helpful. so today a lot of times, like during the campaign, you know, there is no point in us talking who is better, trump or, well, whoever they are running, biden, kamala, whoever they figured out. but we can talk tactics and other things. and i still watch my -- he didn't tell me any trade secrets. i didn't understand why somebody
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did something, why a campaign might do that or just call up to laugh about it. so, yes, there is always bickering. but we get along and, you know, i still -- i still learn a lot from my brother. >> for viewers who want to learn lot from you two, the phone lines are open for viewers to call in, phone lines, democrats, republicans, independents. we will put the numbers on the screen. brad woodhouse, you said you are the one who is most likely to walk away at some point. but there are a lot of people in america who choose not even to engage in the first place with family members that they disagree with politically. it was an american psychological association survey, it was last month. 72% of americans hope to avoid any political discussion this holiday with family members they don't agree with. 38% said they actually plan to avoid family members that they disagree with politically this holiday season. so why is it better to engage in maybe walk away than not engage
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at all? >> i think it's important to engage. i think the problem i think that exists and it was interesting, i was listening to some of your callers before we came on, and you know this. you deal with it and listen and talk and moderate these calls every single day, is that we have, with respect to people who are active politically or pay attention to politics, we have people just living with separate sets of facts. i mean, there are people that still believe after, you know, after a burke of, you know, people in the government and senators and members -- you know, members of congress and neutral observers said those are airplanes over new jersey. people believe for what reason, mostly on the right, people believe those are drones. we just are operating with two separate sets of facts. i think that the results in that survey are sad. if we could operate with the same set of facts and disagree
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on the policy solutions, which is what i think we were doing, you know, in the not way recent past, in the last 15 or 20 years, but now we are not even agreeing on the same set of facts. we are not agreeing on the efficacy of vaccines, even though they have been plochb -- you know, the polio vaccine. rfk's own allies want to withdraw, you know, the approval for the polio vaccine, even though the efficacy of that has been proven over and over and over again. that institutes a whole new set of not real facts, but a different -- people are operating with different set of beliefs.
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>> one thing is, when you have an administration that is so bald-faced light, joe biden is fine, his health is great. he is tap dancing. that's a problem. >> hold on, -- >> i mean, i've got to tell you, assuming he makes it other 15 days no one is going to have a merrier christmas than jimmy, republicans ran against him for 30 years and will be running against the disgraceful end of the biden administration. >> john -- >> with that said, -- >> dallas wants to get in here. >> -- other than the president- elect. there is a different perspective other people have, we make a living.
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we have to be able to turn it off. we can't be consumed by it all the time. i love my brother. i think he is misguided, i don't think he's evil. he is a good man. it's a little different here in north carolina. i ran the republican party, i tried to defeat a lot of democrats. i have friendly relationships with my democrats across the aisle in the legislature. i have friendships with democrats pick i don't think they are bad people. brad and i were talking about it. ever since george h.w. bush won in 1988, just kind of a third ronald reagan term, otherwise the parties of looked back and forth. clinton, bush, obama, trump, biden, trump, it's cyclical. and, neither one of us, i don't believe that this past election
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was the most important in my lifetime. i don't believe 2016 was. and i don't think 2024. they are all important. i do believe in the fundamental greatness of the american people. >> you ever take a breath? >> no. and i think, you know, i thought biden was a horrific president. >> you made that point. let me come back to brad. and i have plenty of colors waiting to talk to you as well. >> here's exactly why people do want to engage in political discussions, it is the craft that came out of his mouth. what about -- is in. >> you can't believe the government singles airplanes and not drones because you think the joe biden or his administration may have lied about something else.
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which by the way is not true. >> hold on, dallas. >> so people had eyes and president biden. everyone can make that assessment for themselves. i the way, i hope you try to run against joe biden. he has put in place the best economy of any industrialized country in the world. we have lowest unemployment we have had in 50 years. lowest on plymouth amongst blacks, latinos, we passed in infrastructure bill which was a running joke in the trump administration. here's my prediction. two months from now, one month after he is sworn in as president, donald trump will be trying to take credit for joe biden's successes. for infrastructure, for the economy, for the chips manufacturing, for low unemployment. by the way, the other thing joe biden did, he ended the pandemic the trump exacerbated through his failure. >> let me get you guys some
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calls. >> i want to say one final thing. >> -- >> we had an election and it's over and he lost. the american voters did not agree with anything. >> let me get calls for you. we will start in honolulu hawaii. up early this morning. good morning, you are on with the woodhouse brothers. >> hello. how are you doing? i guess -- you know i don't think it is a matter of any political divide, this last election showed us anything, it's the topic in the previous segment, the press really went up against trump and he still won. the people of this nation, they made him president for sure. and i think, if there is a political divide it's going to
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exist and i think it is working in the sense that the american people are still going to make their own decision. they say trump is not a political party, it's a movement. and we are seeing it now. he got his second term. and he is going to do -- he doesn't have to take credit for anything, biden or anyone else did. he got validation with this reelection. is going to do what he wants to it looks like he has started already. is going to pardon the j6 people. that's big. it it's going to get bigger. >> brad woodhouse, a let you start on this one. >> that sounded much like the independent line. first of all let's start with that. that would be a travesty for this country and the rule of law if he pardons the people who ransacked the capital, who crapped on nancy pelosi's death, injured 140 officers. some of whom died.
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that would be an absolute travesty for the american people. donald trump was elected, he gets a shot, this was no mandate. this was no romp. he is now behind in the popular vote to the other candidates in the race,, harris and third- party candidates, he won in the key battleground states by a point, less than appointing wisconsin. the democrats won four senate races in states he won. we ran the candidate off the field in the governor's race in north carolina. we narrowed the majority that republicans have in the house. and at some point the people, when he is nominated, they will be down to about a one seat majority in the house for a number of months. he is the president elect, he will be the president, he will
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get to run his agenda. that this was no mandate for him , as the caller said, what the caller said is exactly what the problems. he said donald trump cannot do whatever he wants. that's not how it works. >> let me give you johnny on the democratic line from cincinnati. go ahead. >> yes, this is john, i'm just trying to understand why at these dinner tables, people and all the smart people, you have two smart guys up there now, and throughout the campaign, you all have never really looked or try to connect the dots. the republican party came on the same and said the border is
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wide open. every republican has always said the border was wide open. as long as joe biden was there. and, once they got here, they said, joe biden -- to vote for him. that is absolutely crazy. >> dallas, what happened? >> a couple of things, i do want to say, sort of the whole reason for biden's candidacy was to and trump and and trumpism. sort of in this clandestine way, donald trump is stronger than he has ever been. he is the biggest force in american politics by far and the biggest force in politics in the world. i agree with my brother that he can't do everyone. in some ways i feel like biden did that. like the voters didn't sign up
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for this big spending bills the raised inflation, they didn't sign up to be humiliated in afghanistan. and it's interesting what my brother said and i agree with him. sort of getting back to policy debate, in a lot of ways we kind of did that. the democrats had to replace president biden with harris, they already know donald trump's flaws and they know the things they don't like about him. but what drove the election, immigration, inflation, the economy and crime. and those are important issues. and happens to be the democrat position as perceived by the american public were on the losing side of that. >> humming up at 9:30 am, we are chatting this morning with brad and dallas woodhouse. two brothers on opposite side of the political divide. >> john, if i can add one thing. previous caller, i think brad would agree with me. sort of this mystery of wanting
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to bridge the political divide. i think that is what a legislative body does. a republican house and democrat senate have to bridge the divide to figure out how to fund the government. it's not that brad and i need to bridge the political divide. and we have to work at it. the ability to have a rational conversation, maybe get animated about it and disagree and walk away as friends, and not think that the other person is evil or bad because we disagree politically. building bridges a political divide is kind of a misnomer. >> how did you end up on opposite sides? how did you become a republican and your brother a democrat ? >> my brother is older and he was certainly more conservative when he was younger. i grew up in the reagan years, he was my personal hero.
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and brad went to washington. i think he was always favored -- i never thought of them as a liberal. by the way, i think my brother is good at what he does. he would never say this, but i suspect when they were having these calls around washington, d.c., the biden people and harris, if they would've listened him more they would've done a little better. maybe a lot better. maybe not enough to win, he could've helped the more. i'm just a more conservative person. you know? he went to washington, and as i have said many times when this question comes up, nothing good comes when someone goes to washington. >> i mean, i started in politics as a democrat. my mom is a democrat. are parents of been democrats. my father changed parties over the years. he was with the democrats, it
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became a republican, with ross perot, independent. he's like i'm going to vote for the best person. what he thought was the best person he kind of migrated to that political party. i began as a volunteer for david price who is now a member of congress from north carolina. i have been a democrat my entire career. i'm a democrat. i don't even think about ideology as much, conservative, liberal, progressive. i think the government is here to do a few things, one is to protect and defend, to provide for security. but i think it is to help the least among us. if government is not help leveling the playing field, right now, dallas, you want to
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defend this position, we have, and this is one reason i am a democrat, we have the republican party drafting budget bill for next year right now which will take a decade away from poor people so that elon musk gets the benefit of the trap -- trump tax cuts being extended. to me that is the wrong priorities for the american people. the people on medicaid, i'm with them, not elon musk. that's what makes me a democrat. >> one minute ago you mentioned your mother. the exact time you were appearing on this program 10 years ago, your mother called into this program. joyce woodhouse is earning. this is that moment from 10 years ago. >> you are right, i am from down south. i am your mother. i disagree that all families are like hours. i don't know many families that are fighting at thanksgiving. i was very glad that this
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thanksgiving was the year that you two were supposed to go to your in-laws. and i am hoping you will have some of this out of your system when you come here for christmas. >> we were not together this thanksgiving. >> i would really like a tasteful christmas and i love you both. >> december 16, 2014. dallas, you mentioned mom, how is she doing? >> still sharp as a tack. doesn't quite get along as good as she did, but neither do brad and i. i noticed on that clip, she said, she loves us both. she didn't say she loves us both equally. just for the record. one thing i want to say about that clip, i always remember it , it did not sound to me
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