JR Romano Politics Podcast #10 | John Whitbeck 'Ralph Northam should resign'

they're joined today by jr. Romano what a weekend well actually I should say what a week for the state of Connecticut I don't know whether to say was it was disappointing actually that's probably good word to describe the last few weeks here in the state of Connecticut I guess what should we tackle first let's let's we're going to touch on what's what's going on in Virginia actually have a good buddy of mine he's the former Republican Party Chairman the state chairman in Virginia he's gonna be calling in John Whitbeck he's got a some insight on what's happening out there but we're gonna we're gonna touch on that a little later first I want to talk a little bit about this one of the big things I think is forced regionalization of schools that's that's something that has been proposed by the Democrats in the General Assembly now they're they're claiming it's a cost-saving measure which in reality it's a backdoor way to create county government and and frankly it takes choice away from parents the state is going to further and further control not only you know the idea they're gonna take more money from us and you'll get it back which we never do I think right now the state of Connecticut pays about 35% of pilot which is payment in lieu of taxes to municipalities and there's actually a state law that mandates they pay 75% they don't they pay about thirty five percent reimbursement to towns and cities so whenever you see these forced regionalization and let me play you a quote by a Democrat state legislator right here look into this if if regionalism is what we have to do to make education in the state of Connecticut work then we need to figure out how to make that work and I know that forcing people to do things is not always the right way to go but sometimes we have to help people get there because they're not going to get there on their own that is the epitome of the Democratic Party we are going to tell you what's best for you and if you don't agree we'll force you to do it and that doesn't matter whether it's constitutional rights whether it's education quality of education the food we eat this is how Democrats view the world they're now basically emboldened and have this what they believe moral superiority and have the right to tell us all how to live and tell us all what's right for us and what needs to be done meanwhile they don't paint responsibility for the failures that has led us to the point of bankruptcy which so it's almost as like we as legislators we have Democrats who've led this state for the last 35 years are not going to take responsibility that we didn't pay into the Teachers Retirement Fund we didn't cultivate a an environment for successful businesses so our tax receipts are down our debt is up so we're gonna force you to regional as I regionalize and if you don't like it too bad and it's literally what they're saying to every parent in the state if you don't like this too bad we know what's best for you I mean it's appalling and frankly what what is even more disturbing and I get criticized for saying this all the time a lot of these communities that now have newly elected Democrats are wealthier communities who are going to be or who are the ones that are me forced into realization they're gonna be the ones paying the high price of state mandate or state governed school systems which I'm not even go down that road because they can't even they can't even pave the roads properly right they run out of money doing that how they gonna be able to anyway but these communities that thought they were punishing Trump right all of these wealthy people who are so the line that I was used is that they're there they can afford to be offended they're the ones that are now going to pay by the Democrat legislature is going to strip them of choices when it comes to the to the children's education they're going to strip municipal budgets right because the the reimbursement rates going to drop because Ned Lamont can't can't nearly give the municipal aid that he was so you know there's all these things that are that are going to affect communities like Wilton reading Richfield Glastonbury Madison I mean these are communities who voted in protest of Donald Trump and all they ended up doing was punishing themselves in the middle class because obviously the the Democrats are pushing for things that are going to be more expensive and and my favorite and in this fight cuz there's so many I mean we're talking grocery tax Ned Lamont is floating the idea of a grocery tax you know 2% tax and and what we looked at in our office is that if you're if you're single mom working you live in Meriden and you work in Hartford we actually calculated how you know if your I think it was like $149 a week in groceries and tolls just those two things so there's a the American tax on Dacian list Connecticut is the second most burdensome tax state in the country for state and local taxes we pay about a twelve point six percent of our earnings in state and local taxes so when you do the calculation and I don't have the exact number in front of me but it's something like seventy three hundred dollars of this single mom if she owns a condo say in Meriden Connecticut and she lives in Hartford so she pays on average about seventy three hundred dollars a year because actually did the calculation if she's a teacher and Hartford for example I did it I looked at what the average teacher salary was look and then looked at the the mild the mileage and four cents a mile which is that's the medium of where the state is projecting that the tolls will cost this single mom will pay from seventy three hundred dollars a year in state and local taxes up to eighty two hundred dollars so just from groceries and tolls just from groceries and polls the state is going to take about a thousand dollars more from from a single mom living in Meriden driving a Hartford I mean this is where we are and this is all a byproduct of bad public policy that has been forced down our throats by the Democratic Party I am calling on all of you anyone listening to this even if you are in the Democratic Party even if you disagree with me to not see how devastating these policies are I get the adeno we all we always talk about tribalism the Democrat versus Republican but the the facts are the facts I mean it is what it is that the state is becoming more and more expensive because the Democrats refuse to accept responsibility and cut things and come up with different strategies it's just tax tax tax and people can't afford to live here and the funniest part about it in my favorite is a guy that literally went to Ned Lamont Joe Scarborough who lives in he's a congressman of Florida you know he's on MSNBC he lives in New Canaan can I think so cannon were one of those one of those towns he went to Ned Lamont's inaugural ball sporting that at least it would seem that way to me and now he's leaving for Florida he is going to be one of these guys that never sells us can I get home but they're literally living he's doing his show from Florida now so that he can get the six month plus one day so that to me this is like a really rich guy who's out at dinner with his friends and family this is Ned Lamont right so you be a big dinner table and everyone's out and they're all eating and then when the bill comes they all walk out and they look at the Busboys and they say you got a paypal sorry you you can't afford to leave because that's what's happening right now to the middle class of this state I hope people wake up to that fact but on to let's talk about what's happening with the Virginia governor I'm going to bring on on my buddy John went back the former state party chairman out in Virginia to talk a little bit about the nuance but but what I want to highlight and and I mean I can't even describe over the weekend I had called on Ned Lamont to one call on the the governor of Virginia to resign and if you refuse to resign to put in a travel ban now there's all these Democrats that are arguing and they're all saying all these things you know that frankly it doesn't change the racist actions of this governor right they're all arguing over this one and this one and some in some instances it you know these these references are are all up for interpretation but this one is not this photo and and it's anyone that can be defending this guy it's literally like four people and Ned Lamont quote in regards to this is so milquetoast it's so I can't even I can't even explain how weak this comment is in the face of racism let me read it to him my and by the way the sentence for a guy that went to Harvard is just it doesn't even make sense to me it's kind of an odd sentence you ready my focus is on advocating on behalf of every resident of Connecticut I ask Governor North Room to search his conscience to see if he believes he is in a position to do the same for Virginia I have a hard time given everything that we've learned over the past three days believing that he is Ned I don't even say I wish that you know on Twitter some you know there's a grammar or an English teacher out there that would correct this but for a Harvard guy you kind of scratch her head in the worst part he falls short of calling for his resignation Nancy Pelosi's called for this guy to resign governor Raimondo in Rhode Island has called so uh it's not even like Ned has to go out on a limb here right there are the National n-double-a-cp in Virginia the the Democratic Party of Virginia is called for him there's like you know what I'm gonna I'm gonna end up repeating myself I'm getting fired up over this because of how weak and and lack of leader leadership that net is shown one of the other things I want to point out and this is the hypocrisy of this whole thing is is the idea that you know dan malloy based on a public policy out in Indiana that they morally disagree with you know they'd been travel and you know these reporters on Twitter were talking about how was a partial ban and on it doesn't matter partial but thanks for pointing out but at the end of the day what this governor of Virginia did was wrong and he needs to be held accountable and this is where everyone is falling short and they want a nitpick but but the truth of the matter is the more that we stay focused on nonsense it's it's it's such so hypocritical and here's nettle menthe ran on this idea of Connecticut values and we have to stand for something and on yeah any full short he falls short every time when it comes to making me making tough decisions and this one isn't even that tough he's one of like four people that haven't called for him to resign I mean it is absolutely ludicrous I mean how about the fact when when his the same guy that when he finally decided to leave a country club that had restrictions based on race in Greenwich I mean he and by the way we're talking like 2006 that we're not talking like 1986 right we're talking 2016 Edelman he chose to leave this country club down in Greenwich because and because obviously he had political ambitions but here's what he said and this is from the New York Times mr. Lamont said the club excluded people because it was so expensive and also said he was a big concern that many of its members were white it's not as diverse as it should be mr. Lamont said I didn't pay as much attention to that before the race began to tell you the truth I mean this is instead of saying it's wrong he just he keeps playing this soft game where he's not willing to kind of take a stand is this is ludicrous absolutely ludicrous let me let me bring on my my dear friend former state party chair chairman John whitbeck from the state of Virginia [Music] all right so joining me now former Virginia Republican state party chairman John Whitbeck so John tell me what is going on in Virginia well you know I don't think anybody has missed the story that broke on Friday there was a absolutely horrendous racist photographed that was placed in the yearbook on the page of our governor Ralph Northam he initially apologized admitting that it was him in the picture and has now since walked it back picture and he's been wrong and he intends to push it so it's everybody has called on him to resign Republican I was just gonna ask that I was just gonna say everyone from Nancy Pelosi to the N double AC to the Oh didn't the Virginia Democratic Party your counterpart in Virginia coffers again is that true yeah there they put out a tweet on Saturday that basically said actually I think it's Friday we no longer support our governor and of course you know he's a Democrat so the actual Virginia Democrat Party disavowed and so he is a man without a party and he's been exposed for being a racist essentially and with all the identity politics that he's played in the last couple years it's pretty amazing to watch this unfold well so that's actually I was I was actually a joke the only the CNN did identify him as a Republican but I know big news so can you just explain everyone in Connecticut that that Virginia actually has an interesting rule when it comes to their governors right they it's not like other states well first of all it's a one-term governor we have a term limit of one child so if the governor resigns which we expect him still to do we don't think he can hang on but if the governor resigns then the lieutenant governor takes his place and the President Pro Tem of the Senate becomes the acting in how or only what I mean by that is we don't have a succession plan to attend the governor the President Pro Tem of the Senate just has the boat and presides over the Senate so it's we would be without a lieutenant governor for three years at this point oh wow yes energy czar the governor resigns Attorney General in other words if both of them resign the Attorney General takes over and as governor the next and I guess some what happened today wasn't there something that broke today this would be obviously Monday you had mentioned that something just happened well so the latest is that all the kind of Governors just in first box who would be he being acting what I think of it yes it would be sworn in as governor he had a press conference to address an obligation and in 2004 to the sexual assault on a woman while at the Democratic National Convention he denies it says it was a consensual relationship and so now world is sort of sitting here in Virginia on all sides of the aisle thinking that I don't know how much we can see happen I've never seen it like it and Virginia politics can get pretty crazy at times so it what does it mean if this lieutenant governor doesn't survive what does that mean you guys will have a special how does that work the Attorney General would take over as governor the President Pro Tem would take over as doing the job of lieutenant governor's even though he wouldn't technically do to the governor and the Deputy Attorney General would fill out the remainder of the Attorney General's term so there's not really a special election part of this now our Constitution has a weird twist in it that yes we have a statute that says the President Pro Tem takes over again lieutenant governor's powers but the Constitution says that the the governor appoints and a governor so you're two conflicting parts of Virginia law they're not really sure exactly how it will play out but we're not gonna have any special elections anytime soon we know that it's unfortunate so you uh you think he will resign and I do I don't see how you can possibly effectively do Republicans control the state Senate the Statehouse and so what is the governor going to do even though he won by a landslide unfortunately you know what is he gonna do Hebrews and what moral high-ground does he have to cut deals basically he has no party in American community is absolutely decided to decide itself from the n-double-a-cp and very vocal Lamont Bagby the Virginia legislative Black Caucus chair as a very vocal you know I'm rightfully so I mean if governor Northam is a racist - he should have resigned Friday when it's broke nobody believes and it wasn't him at the photograph and you know for all the accusations made against the Republican nominee Ed Gillespie for governor thousands of commemoration for attacking M s unique as you say didn't he have a kid controversial ad John wasn't there some ad that heat that North I'm ready to put out he didn't put out an ad of basically a tote with a glass sticker chasing minority children like to run them over it was the most appalling thing I've ever seen in politics and and that was that was the ad but but no and and pretty much everybody dis about it but we all know what was really going on there well well and I have to just have to tell you John so you and I had spoken Friday I wanted to kind of get the scoop on what was happening and here in Connecticut I actually challenged our governor cuz you had told me you didn't think he was going to resign so I challenged our governor to not only call for his resignation but if he failed to resign to do the you know the travel ban you know the thing that Democrats were doing to try to make a some point against Mike Pence I don't know if you remember that or not but what I find so fascinating here in Connecticut and I'd be curious your opinion to this the Democrats here are actually defending your governor they there you know if you look at Ned Lamont's tweet and and we're gonna be sending a graphic out about it but it was this milquetoast thing like he should really take in consideration and take in a stock if he can be an effective leader but there was no call for him to resign there was no there was no outrage over this this photo and and just from your perspective being in Virginia and seeing what's happened with Virginia's with Democrats in Virginia what would you say to these Democrats here in Connecticut well you know it there were two layers of this the first layer was everybody and their brother saying you got to get out of the governor's mansion resign now except for our senators Mark Warner in Canaan and then after northen held his press conference on Saturday which was an utter disaster yeah for those that having watched it I strongly encourage it's no I oftentimes very critical the White House and their ability to crisis management this is the worst crisis management I've ever seen it's not really then I hate analyzing this political perspective because it's so horrifically racist and you're every you know fiber in my being despises what what well for four days with this disgusting display but right there's no misinterpretation right that that's why I keep trying explain it there's no misinterpretation you know if someone someone says something or confusing something you can argue what the intent wasn't they there is no way to delineate what this was was racist and and I think that's where you know makes me laugh when you're fighting with the Democrats on the rigging in my state about how they're defending this guy I just can't believe it right well and so if your governor is really seriously not calling saws buzzing designation he's one of maybe two people the governor's wife included that hasn't called on him to resign Wow and well I made just a quote on that John you maybe in a tweet well it is unbelievable that we are where we are it's just embarrassing for our state we need to expect more from our leaders and probably back to this place other than the fact that well believe that it's okay to appear in black and that's unfortunately where we're at well anyway I appreciate you jumping on you know we have a lots of problems here in Connecticut and I'm sure Virginia similarly with Democrat governors but again as always and you're gonna be missed at the RNC man well it's I was tough not being there for the winter meeting and out you know it's it's great organization for doing I'm really excited for the party's chances this year at our officer elections in Virginia in light of all that's happened and in 2020 as well all right man well I appreciate it thank you again John Whitbeck our Party Chairman in Virginia [Music] [Music]