Station:       KNUS, 710 am

Show:           Chuck & Julie

Guests:        Brauchler

Link:            https://chuckandjulie.podbean.com/

Date:            August 29, 2017

Topics:

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GUEST HOST RANDY COPORON: Right now, though, so very pleased to be joined by someone who over the last few years –even though we are often on opposite sides of the legal equation– George Brauchler, who is not only your district attorney if you live in the surrounding area — surrounding 710 KNUS. It’s the county that I live in, among the counties that I live – well, let me put that another way. I live in Arapahoe County. The 18th judicial has a bunch of other counties, including that one. And, uh, so, George, you just male me speechless, I guess. Welcome back to 710 KNUS, man!

DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR COLORADO’S 18^TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT, AND GOP CANDIDATE FOR COLORADO GOVERNOR, GEORGE BRAUCHLER:  It is great to be back on here, man! Thanks for having me. And congratulations on getting the Saturday morning gig. That is a great stepping stone.

CORPORON: Yeah! That is really going to be a blast. And you used to do Saturday morning talk radio and do fill-in at other stations before you launched into your political/law-enforcement/prosecution career, full force. Um, because – you were serving in the military and when you’d come home I’d hear you on the radio periodically. And I’ve got to tell you, I used to listen long before I met you, knew you, became friends with you, or anything else. So, that’s — that’s pretty cool. You know what?

BRAUCHLER:  That’s great.

CORPORON: You know how much fun it is.

BRAUCHLER:  It’s great! And for people that are out there, driving around – I used to be one of those guys that think to themselves, “Man, I could do that!”  That might be true. But the thing I found out early on – and you probably found this out – is is not as easy as it looks, especially if you’re not getting good callers or the topic seems to be dragging, or your guests don’t seem to be ready. It’s a lot more challenging than just, “Hey! I’m going to say things that come into my head.” It really takes some effort to get prepared for it and to pull it off well.

CORPORON: Yeah –

BRAUCHLER:  You do a great job with it.

CORPORON: Do you remember the first time you sat down and you thought, “Oh, it’s only 10 or 15 minutes till the next break.”

BRAUCHLER:  Oh, man!

CORPORON: And you had, you know, stacks of papers in front of you and you blast through them in five or six minutes, and the phone’s not ringing, and there’s just nothing going on. Now, it’s a little easier these days, because with Twitter and – yeah.

BRAUCHLER:  Or, the first time somebody says something they’re not supposed to say on an FCC regulated thing. And you know where the button is, but your heart skips and you start looking around, like, “Where’s the dump button?” [contriving a stammering panic]. But then, finally, someone smarter than you figures it out and you’re like, “Thank God!”

CORPORON: Yeah, because I don’t even think the dump button is in here. The producer has got to run that from behind the glass. Thank goodness we’ve got Captain Kirk back there.

BRAUCHLER:  Right on.

CORPORON: Let me tell you my “dump button that didn’t get dumped” story, real quick, before we get your take on what’s going on with sanctuary cities and other important Colorado issues. We’re talking with George Brauchler, who is your 18^th Judicial District Attorney, and gubernatorial candidate – one of many, now, and maybe more to come. We’ll certainly talk about that. But, back in the 80s, I thought I had an attraction to radio. And so, — this is true – I went to the Ron Bailey School of Broadcast and learned to talk like this. And the first job – I was in my – let’s see, if it was the early 80s, I would have been 23, 24, 25 years old, something like that.  And, uh, it was at a music station up in northern Colorado, hundred thousand watt FM. And you know, when you first get hired to a position like that, it’s midnight to six [am] — that’s where you’re going to start. And I remember the first night at midnight just sitting down, and relatively dark studio, the music stops, it’s the top of the hour, and the first time I have to say something. That was a moment!  But then I got comfortable with it. I was bringing my Doberman in there – it was DJ the Doberman Dog – kind of made fun with him, and promotions, when I’d go out I’d bring him with me, go out into public for public events and stuff like that. But one thing you would do, if you are a music DJ and it’s the middle the night, is you’d play really long songs because you could go and stretch out on the couch or, you know, make it to the restroom, make something to eat, and know you’ve got six, eight minutes of [The] Doors — some great, long song. And I threw on this Pretenders song that I picked because it was long. It was eight or nine minutes or so. I am literally out there lying on the couch, music blasting, keeping myself awake knowing I have got to go back in there. But no, I’ve got a few minutes just to stretch and shut down. And Chrissy Hynde shouts — hundred thousand watt FM across northern Colorado – “F—off!”  It’s part of the song

BRAUCHLER:  Oh, no!  [laughing]

CORPORON: Yeah! And so, it’s a great song, but there’s this pause where this guitar riff ends and then she goes, “F—off!”  Only she says the whole thing.

BRAUCHLER:  Oh, buddy!

CORPORON: And I just knew that my budding music DJ career was over. And I waited for the general manager or the program director, who’s the nicest guy in the world but very stern on how his station ran. [I] never got a call!

BRAUCHLER:  [incredulous] Oh! [then laughing]

CORPORON: [I] never heard a word, which probably meant nobody was listening. But regardless, I was scared for days. I thought that was it.

BRAUCHLER:  The four people listening thought, “This is the coolest radio station anywhere!”

CORPORON: [laughs] That’s a good point! Very good point. Anyway, we didn’t talk to reminisce about radio.  I mean, I didn’t have you call in to do that. And thanks for doing that, by the way. I, uh, — Denver, of course, City Council [on] Monday. And at 6 o’clock I’m going to be joined by my friend Dane Torbensen for a segment I used to call “Have a Liberal for Lunch” to get his take on sanctuary cities.  He lives in Denver. But, what are your thoughts about what Denver is doing with illegal aliens and their obligation to report things to the federal government?

BRAUCHLER: Well, a couple things: I mean, I think this is clearly political pandering for the purposes of benefiting those who think their constituency is strongly in favor of different immigration laws than we currently have. And so they’re taking whatever steps they can so they can run around the city proclaiming that they’re illegal immigrant friendly. And, uh, “But we’re not a sanctuary city!” I mean, they want to draw the line up to that point [inaudible].  That’s the only way that we have conducted ourselves over 200+ years, and that’s the only way we should moving forward. And we have laws on the books, and we’ve got the three things we know we can do with them. We can enforce them and follow them. We can amend them to make them something we like better. Or we can repeal them. And this is none of those. This is an attempt to discourage the enforcement of them. And they actually put language in the summary and even in the ordinance itself that suggests that we’re going to do as little as possible to encourage the sharing of information, other than something that is legally mandated that would actually allow for the enforcement of immigration law. It’s an attempt to really do end run around a law that they don’t like. And I wonder where they would draw the line on what other federal laws is it okay to try to thwart in the name of pandering to their constituency. It’s frustrating. I’m not sure it’s going make Denver any safer, but we’re going to find out.

CORPORON: And one of the things that — I have just been reading about this, this morning. Mayor Hancock –I guess, you know, trying to bump up his law enforcement / rule of law credentials — has instructed– forced the City Council, or encouraged them, anyway– to add a provision that says we in Denver will still notify the Feds if certain special interest, Illegal immigrants are about to be released. But there’s no provision — my understanding of it, at least, so far — there’s no provision that they have to give, or that they will give, the Feds a 48 hour notice. In other words, you know, five minutes before somebody’s gonna be released, “Okay, we’ll send our fax to the Feds.”  And then somebody gets out, and we’ve already had experiences in our city where someone gets killed because that happens.

BRAUCHLER: I think that’s true, and we just saw that. You’re right. We just saw that with that guy that killed an inmate in the jail that is not going to turn into a case, it looks like. You know, it looks like –. And again, the use of a fax – I’d love to know why that’s the standard, when we’re in 2017.  Can’t we at least page ICE, instead of send a fax?  Or something from the nineties? Um, but it seems to me, that there’s no provision in there that keeps them from saying, “Well, we’ll wait until ICE goes home for the evening, send a fax, and then we’ll give them 10, 12 hours, and when they come back in we’ll already have cut them loose.” And I’m just not sure what arrangement they have, but it doesn’t seem one designed to encourage the enforcement of federal immigration law. And I think that’s frustrating and I think it’s disappointing that the city would put its stamp of approval on the attempt to thwart federal law like that.

CORPORON: Yeah, they ought to just attach a note to a raven and send it to Washington DC, you know? Or put up a balloon, “We’re about to release somebody!” But not even 48 hours notice, it’s –.

BRAUCHLER: Semaphore!  Someone with flags on top of the City and County building, signaling, you know? Rapid arm movements, or something. I – it’s, um, it’s just frustrating! People in Colorado can have different opinions about what immigration law might be. That’s not the issue here. You can say, “Hey, for compassionate reasons I think it ought to be this or that.”  Those arguments and debates are irrelevant until they’re acted upon to change the existing law, and until that law is changed this is what we need to enforce. And I’m just not sure what message we’re sending to that next generation of citizens and those who might be civic-minded about the proper role of a city government in the context of enforcing federal law or trying to thwart federal law.

CORPORON: We’re talking with District Attorney George Brauchler, running to be your next Governor in 2018. Of course, it’s a very crowded Republican field and —

BRAUCHLER: Thank goodness!

CORPORON: Yeah! No, that really helps. I was in studio the other day and when I heard Tom Tancredo was talking about throwing his hat back into the ring for another run. And, you know, I don’t know if it’s your policy or practice to comment on other candidates in that regard or somebody new wanting to throw their hat in the ring.  I had just — I know, for me, when I have high respect and deep affection for two people who I know might be really great governors, it makes it a very complicated decision. What’s your take on Congressman Tancredo thinking about another run?

BRAUCHLER: Um, you know, you’re right. It’s difficult to want to comment on any other candidate jumping in the race, other than to say I guess I’m waiting for you, Randy, to announce. Because you are one of the only people that hasn’t announced, and maybe the reason you haven’t is because, like me, you didn’t get the memo that said you have to be a multimillionaire, a family member of some political dynasty, or a statewide elected official who is looking to transfer to another statewide elected position. I’m none of those things. But everybody else I see dropping into this race, I’m like, “Man, did I somehow squeak in here, with my bank account? Because I can’t stroke myself a check with seven figures in it unless there’s a decimal after the first three. It’s turning into quite a race. I still like our chances, very much. I’m still thrilled about the idea that we have carved out a path to be the grassroots conservative candidate in this state, to win Colorado back, and see if the kid from middle-class Lakewood can pull this thing off, or if you truly have to be one of the elite to do it.

CORPORON: Well, there is one thing that we know for sure. And that is, he who has the most money does not necessarily win the race. You know, Jeb Bush was the front runner. Fox News was touting him as the guy who could win. He had 150 gazillion dollars, was wiped out very early in the primary process. Go back to what Eric Cantor, who was running to be the — who was going to be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives, brought $10 million into his primary, and David Bratt — with the help of my buddy, Christopher Doss — beat him with $100,000 in a very well targeted campaign. So, money is important.

BRAUCHLER: Boy, that’s amazing!

CORPORON: And you have to have enough money to get the word out. But it’s not “he who has the most money wins”.  And I’ve got to tell you, George, I’ve had Republicans actually tell me that! You know, “Don’t support this guy or that guy because you have to have X millions of dollars to win and only this — only my guy can make that happen.” I just simply do not believe that. I refuse to believe it. And I think it’s up to every one of us to prove that it isn’t so.

BRAUCHLER: Well, if I believed that, I wouldn’t be in the race. I mean, I’ve must never been in the position to do that. I didn’t grow up in that neighborhood. I don’t have the ability to pick up the phone and call people off my dad’s Rolodex. Look, when I ask my friends for 200 bucks, I can hear dead silence on the phone as they mouth words like Chrissy Hynde did on the radio to their wives, like, “Who does this guy think we are?” You know? And $200 is Christmas money. That’s vacation money. I don’t have the ability to make people scratch me a check for 1150 bucks, and I’d need a ton of them to get to a million. Now, instead, we’re going to win the old-fashioned way, and we’re going to get little bits here and there from the good Coloradans around the state. And we’re going to show that you don’t have to be the richest guy in the race to pull this thing off.

CORPORON: Any places coming up — and only a minute or so left — anyplaces coming up where people can come and see if they don’t know you and want to get to know you little better?

BRAUCHLER: Absolutely. We’re going to be on the Western Slope out in Grand Junction — it’s either next week or the week after that. We are always hitting local events. I was just down in Pueblo on Saturday. I was out in Evergreen last night. [I’ve] got some school – a forum thing to talk to tonight. There’s a ton. In fact, you know who finds me a lot, are, uh – there are trackers from American Bridge, from George Soros’ group, who send out a tracker to follow me wherever I go and speak, and to try to record me saying something cuckoo for cocoa puffs, or something – I don’t know, something that they want to twist into it. So, we can be found and I’d love to see more and more people out there. Just reach out to us — George2018.com — and we would love to have you on the team.

CORPORON: Yeah, don’t you wish that some Republican billionaires would put up the kind of money that George Soros puts up for the other side to be able to afford all of these trackers, all of these protesters, all of that kind of thing. We have to do it the old-fashioned way, as you said. All right, George. Well, it’s really good to talk you, sir. I wish you good luck in the campaign. And you’ve got about a year to go now until the actual primaries, I think, if my calendar recollection is correct. But it’s always a pleasure to talk to you and I hope to see you real soon, man!

BRAUCHLER: Excellent. Talk to you soon! Bye now!

CORPORON: All right, gubernatorial candidate George Brauchler […]. About six minutes to go now until the top of the hour. We’ll hit some news, and when we come back we’re going to have a liberal for lunch, Dane Torbensen.