Station:   KNUS, 710AM

Show:      Jimmy Sengenberger Show

Guests:    Gardner

Link:        http://sengenberger.podbean.com/

Date:       August 2, 2014

Topics:            Youth Vote, Young People, “Millenials”, Israel-Gaza Conflict, United Nations, Human Rights Violations, Human Rights Commission, Tax Policy, Regulatory Certainty, Financial Service Options, Obamacare, Energy Industry, Small Business Owners, Mandate, Israel, San Luis Valley, Monte Vista, Jewish Community, Terrorist Organization, Border Crisis, Central American Children Refugees, General Amir Eschel, Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Middle East, Border Security, Guest Worker Program, ‘Iron Dome’ Missle Defense system, Visa, Entry-Exit System, Palestinian Authority, Secretary of State John Kerry, Department of Homeland Security, Humanitarian Assistance, Deportation, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Judicial Ambiguity, Ebola Virus, E-verify System, Visa Reform

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HOST JIMMY SENGENBERGER:   In studio now, as we are about to be joined by Congressman Cory Gardner momentarily, is Maggie Tate and also Izzie Novick, who are both just graduated from Cherry Creek High School.  Maggie is going to off to the University of South Carolina, just next weekend.  And Izzie, shortly thereafter, off to Smith College in Massachusetts. And you both seem pretty excited and looking forward to that, on the road, off to college, and to the new world.  It’s great to have you both in the studio.  […]  And I do want to bring on — and as it is always a pleasure to talk with my friend and the next senator from the United State of Colorado, U.S. Congressman Cory Gardner from the fourth Congressional District.  Congressman Gardner, welcome back to the Jimmy Sengenberger show.  It’s always great to have you on, sir.

CONGRESSMAN AND CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE CORY GARDNER:  Hey!  Thank you so much for having me.   I appreciate the opportunity.  We’re at a meet and greet down in — at San Luis valley, so we’re excited about it.

SENGENBERGER:  Oh, yes! These things are always important as you’re getting out there and introducing yourself directly to the voters.  Now, I’ve got a few questions of my own, but in studio, I was just mentioning, I’ve got Maggie Tate and Izzie Novick, who are both fresh graduates from high school who will be going off to college.

GARDNER:  Very good! And congratulations!

IZZIE NOVICK:  Thank you!

MAGGIE TATE:  Thank you so much!

SENGENBERGER:  And I wanted to give –.  They’ve been in the studio.  We’ve been talking about some of their perspectives on some things and I want to give each of them a chance to ask you a question.  And then I’ll go ahead and ask my own as we have Congressman Gardner here on the show.  And I want to start with Maggie, who’s particularly looking at this from the perspective of somebody who is young– the very first time going to be able to vote.  I bet that is exciting.

MAGGIE TATE:  It is, very exciting.  Um, one thing I’ve noticed among my peers and just people my age, is that there is a lot more pers– um, the negative stereotype for Republicans is a lot more pervasive than that of the Democrats.  And so, with people like me who are voting for the first time, I was wondering how you think that you and your campaign can appeal to the younger generation.

SENGENBERGER:  That’s a great question

GARDNER:  Well, thank you, Maggie.  Thank you.  That’s a very good question.  I think — [cut off]

SENGENBERGER:  Oh! Congressman, you are cutting out, right now.  We’ll, uh, — we’ll try to get you back in just one second, here on the Jimmy Sengenberger Show.  We’re working on it.  When you are in the San Luis valley, it certainly does provide a little bit more difficulty, in terms of keeping that connection.  And so we are working on getting him back, and we will have him momentarily. I think it’s a very good question that we want to answer.  I mean, especially as a younger person myself, looking at the issues of the day, you have to have Republicans and Democrats both addressing these issues, but Republicans –I mean, do you think that Republicans, Maggie, have done a decent job at being able to try to start appealing to young people, or are they still way behind?

MAGGIE TATE:  Um, I mean, I think they are pretty behind, just because, like what I’ve seen around, like, with people I know and especially on the internet with things that, um, just the bias of articles that I read that I am in the demographic of.  I think that maybe they’re trying, but I haven’t seen a lot of success. But that’s just my perspective and it may or may not be the actual truth going on.  But –.

SENGENBERGER:  All right, and Izzie, as somebody who described yourself as sort of leaning more to the liberal side, do you see any way that Republicans are appealing to you or some other young people?

IZZIE NOVICK:  Um, well, truthfully, I haven’t really been looking for it, but I’m sure it’s out there. I think that what I’ve just been seeing is that each side — the sides that come through for, like, every issue, including politics are the strongest, most extreme sides.

SENGENBERGER:  Yeah.

IZZIE NOVICK:  So, what I’ve heard from the Republican side is very scary.

SENGENBERGER:  Okay.

IZZIE NOVICK:  And what I’ve heard–

SENGENBERGER:  At least, what you’ve heard about the Republican side.

IZZIE NOVICK:  Yes!  Yes!  I’m not saying that’s true. I want to say that’s true.

SENGENBERGER:  All right, we want to go to Congressman Gardner. We have him back here to answer that question, especially since, of course, you are always on the end of some of these vicious attacks that have tried to paint you as extreme, even though you’re not, Congressman Gardner.  But, what do you have as we bring you back on, an answer in terms of being able to appeal to youth who are consistently bombarded with this idea that Republicans are extreme, terrible,–all of those kinds of things.  And it looks like you’ve dropped one more time.  We’ll try.  We’ll try one more time again on the Jimmy Sengenberger Show to see if we can get the signal back on the program.  These things always happen in politics and in live radio.  I think it’s interesting that you mention that, Izzie, because it’s much more, in my opinion, about the Democrats and the media painting a  picture about conservatives, hence, — what you’re talking about, Maggie, is being more pervasive.

IZZIE NOVICK:  Oh, yeah.  I have no doubt that that happens.  And I think that it happens just as much with Democrats as a more extreme perspective.

SENGENBERGER:  Yes.  Very interesting.  Congressman Gardner, your thoughts. [chuckles]

GARDNER:  Well, thank you.  One of the things we’re going to have to do to appeal to youth is get better cell service!

[laughter]

SENGENBERGER:  Yeah, absolutely!  We have to talk to some companies for that.  Go on, my friend.

GARDNER:  [laughing] Well, I think we’ve got this one going.  And Maggie, thank you for the question, again.  I think that, look, as I started to say, that the people who are graduating from high school, people going into college, people coming out of college are interested in freedom, determining their own future, figuring out what they want to do in life and starting anew for themselves.  And that means having a job that they want, having the opportunity to go out and work and build a life that they want.  And if you look at what has happened over the last several years under this administration, under the leadership of Mark Udall, the job situation coming out of colleges is worse –one of the worst times it’s been in history. People aren’t able to find work. People are coming out of college with more debt.  And people are coming out with less freedom, as they’re being told what they can do with their healthcare.  They’re being told what they have to do with their — in terms of their future jobs.  They’re being told what they can do in terms of regulations and where they want to start a job.  And then we have to talk about freedom in areas like making sure we have cyber freedom, making sure that we have freedom of [the] internet, making sure we have freedom in our emails, that we have that expectation of privacy, and that the NSA isn’t spying on us.  And those are all areas that I think would appeal to younger voters, by making sure that we’re pro-freedom, pro individual, and making sure that we are getting government out of the way to let America work.

SENGENBERGER:  And jobs, as well, when we’re talking about getting America working again, I want to follow up and ask you, Congressman Cory Gardner, our guest, what are the three top things that you think need to be done in order to get the jobs rolling again in this country?

GARDNER:  Well, there are several things.  Number one, we need economic certainty.  It’s not — that means that we have to have a regulatory system that is not pulling the rug out from underneath everybody, all the time.  And number two, we need to have a tax policy that is competitive around the globe — uh, excuse me — [correcting himself] with the United States around the globe, because right now we are uncompetitive with foreign countries in terms of their tax provisions.  And the third thing that we ought to be doing is reducing regulations. So, not only regulatory certainty, but actually reducing regulations, getting government out of the way, helping our banks be able to loan again into our communities. Making sure that we have a variety of options–financial service options for customers who may want to buy a home for the first time or a car for the first time, or start a business.  Those are three things we could be doing.  We could unleash the energy potential in the country.  We could repeal and replace Obamacare with something that actually works. In fact, just about twenty minutes ago at this meeting here, this meet and greet in–near Monte Vista– I met with a gentleman who said, “look, I have almost fifty employees and I am scared to death.  If my business continues to grow, what happens to the mandate of my company because of Obamacare?”

SENGENBERGER:  That is absolutely a great point.  I want to look to the international stage now, with our guest Congressman Cory Gardner.  We have Izzie Novick, just graduated from high school, here. On the international stage, she wanted to talk about Israel for a moment. Izzie?

IZZIE NOVICK:  Hi, Congressman Gardner.  Um, kind of a different note, um, this Israel-Gaza issue is really important to me.  I have a lot of friends over in Israel.  I have some family over in Israel — a big part of the Jewish community.  Um, and I was just wondering how do you think we should handle the Gaza-Israel conflict?

SENGENBERGER:  And how do you think it has been handled, as well?  I’ll add that in, too.

IZZIE NOVICK:  Yeah.

GARDNER:  Well, look, I think how it has been handled and that’s just — let me just go back several years ago when I was in Israel meeting with General Eschel, who was head of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] planning division–he’s now in a different position. One of the questions that we were asking of him was, “What do you think of U.S. foreign policy today?  And the bottom line is, he couldn’t answer the question because he said, “We don’t know where the United States stands.  We don’t know where they are today.  We don’t know where you’ll be tomorrow.”  And that’s what has led to this uncertainty in the Middle East.  We have to stand with Israel, to defend Israel.  We have to stand in a partnership with Israel, both militarily and economically.  And we have to make sure that Israel is in a position to determine its own security future and that we stand with them in that determination as their most important ally.  So, look, I think the President has shown a lack of leadership in the Middle East and beyond. I think he has projected weakness, not strength. And when we project weakness, our enemies are emboldened, and it is a dangerous situation to — not only for allies like Israel, when the U.S. projects weakness, but it’s dangerous for the very people of this country itself.

SENGENBERGER:  Now, it’s interesting, where Congress just voted to help add more to the Iron Dome missle defense system in Israel, providing $225 million in aid.  The United Nations has condemned Israel and the U.S. for not sharing Iron Dome with Hamas.  Congressman, I don’t know if you’ve heard about this but, how do you react to that, when the Human Rights Commission says, “Oh, you didn’t share it with Hamas, you didn’t share it with Gaza, therefore you could be violating human rights.”

GARDNER:  Look.  I think it’s simply ridiculous that the United Nations would try to put a terrorist organization on any footing with any nation, including Israel.  I think that what we have to do with Hamas, a known terrorist organization, whose goal is the destruction of the people and the nation of Israel, that the sort of governing agreement that the Palestinian Authority has entered into with Hamas should defund our aid to the P.A. immediately, because of this agreement –uh, cooperation that they have made with Hamas.  Look, I think we’ve allowed Hamas to be dealt with using kid gloves by the United Nations, and it has to stop.

SENGENBERGER:  Absolutely, we need to take this seriously. And unfortunately, we don’t have a President, or Secretary of State, or a United Nations who are really adamant about that. Now, one other key issue, that is facing this country,– I mean, everybody is talking about it and the House just voted on it yesterday, –was providing $700 million in dealing with this border crisis, which included $70 million in National Guard money, more than $400 million for the Department of Homeland Security to boost some of the border security, and nearly $200 million for housing and “humanitarian assistance”.  So the House pushed through this bill, and you were one of eleven Republicans to vote against that bill.  There are a lot of conservatives and Repujblicans who have been very curious as to why that is the case –some frustrated, some wondering what’s going on. And I wanted to give you a chance to explain that vote.

GARDNER:  Well, there were actually two votes: the vote on the border security bill I actually voted “for”– I voted ‘yes’ on that bill.

SENGENBERGER:  Okay.  Right.  Then it was the deportation component.

GARDNER:  And then the second bill had some serious legal ambiguities to it, and I think that’s, again, an entire different discussion. But the first part of the bill, of course, iss a border issue that — look, we dealt with border security in the bill.  We dealt with humane treatment of the children.  And third, we make sure that we have responsible Central American Allies when it comes to the use of our foreign aid and the protection of their borders so that we can reunite these families and make sure that we are protecting kids who need protection.  When it comes to the second vote, I think you create a significant legal ambiguity problem that’s going to lead to children having the rug pulled out from underneath them, winding up in court, and creating a judicial ambiguity that is unacceptable in this country.  And I –and, uh –.

SENGENBERGER:  So, to be clear, that this other bill would prevent President Obama from expanding a program that suspended deportations for some illegal immigrants who came to the US as children and so, you felt as though there were holes and gaps, is what you’re saying, in that.

GARDNER:  Well, what I’m saying is that this creates a legal system that children are going to get caught right in the middle of, and I believe that that is not the best policy for this country to pursue.  I think this administration has failed to lead on immigration reform in terms of a way to work together.  Has the administration talked about a need for immigration reform?  Yes.  Have they tried to say that we ought to move forward this way or that way?  Yes.  But have they actually been able to come to the House with an attitude of “let’s get this done” — I think you’ve seen a lot of politics, instead of actually people trying to find solutions.

SENGENBERGER:  We’ve got about a minute left with our guest, Congressman Cory Gardner, and thank you for clarifying about those two bills.  I thought you had voted for the first one. Uh, but, what do you think we realy need to be doing right now to address this crisis, especially, I’m really concerned about Ebola and the potential of that coming across the borders –even by terrorist means, for example.  I mean, we have so many people and we don’t know what they’re doing here.

GARDNER:  Look, I don’t think there’s any threat of that. Uh, I –.

SENGENBERGER:  I don’t think so, either, but —

GARDNER:  That’s something I would not be concerned about, including the comments made by CDC and some of the health organizations that have been involved in that.  But look, this just shows that leadership is required on immigration reform.  We need an immigration policy that starts with border security, a workable guest worker program, and making sure we have an e-verify system that works, addressing the entry-exit system of this country, recognizing the need for visa reform and beyond. But I think if we do that, then we can come together and find a solution that will protect our borders and create a system of immigration that will actually work. I fear that you have people who are simply trying to use this for political gain, and trying to play politics instead of actually saying, “Hey, how do we work together to find a solution.”

SENGENBERGER:  Piecemeal approach, or comprehensive approach?

GARDNER:  I think that you have people in the House who are going to want a step-by-step approach. And if that’s the way it happens, then let’s work on the step-by-step approach: secure the border, guest worker program, move along in a way that will actually show the American people that we can get the job done.  And I think, if that‘s the way the President would work, then he could have immigration reform, especially with some of the people who have been opposed to it so far.

SENGENBERGER:  Yeah, and I definitely think step-by-step, personally, is the approach to take.  Well, Congressman Cory Gardner, we are out of time, but thank you very much for working with us through those technical issues.  [I] appreciate it, and I’ll look forward to talking with you again down the line.

GARDNER:  Well, thank you and happy birthday!

SENGENBERGER:  Thank you very much, sir — appreciate it! And we’ll be right back on the Jimmy Sengenberger Show […]