Station:    KNUS, 710 am

Show:       Wake Up! with Patrick Neville

Guests:    Neville, Patrick

Link:        https://omny.fm/shows/wake-up-with-randy-corporon/wake-up-with-randy-corporon-aug-17-2019-hr-2

Date:       August 17, 2019

Topics:           ColoradoPols, Jared Polis, Dismiss Polis, Recall Polis, Fundraising Efforts, Red Flag Laws, Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GRVO), Right to Self-Defense, Trump Supporters, Parkland FL, School Shootings, Columbine High School, Assault Weapons Bans, Background Checks, Veterans Administration, PTSD, Roosevelt Room at the White House, President Trump,

Click Here for Audio

HOST RANDY CORPORON [00:00:00] We have Republican politicians who are always looking for, you know, media favoritism, how to get along, something that sounds reasonable. And the only tool that people like you and me — and you’re an elected official, but you also vote for others — the only tool that we actually have at the end of the day is our vote. And these politicians have to earn it. They have to be reminded that they work for us, not the other way around.

COLORADO HOUSE MINORITY LEADER, PATRICK NEVILLE [00:00:28] Yep, that’s right. You know, like you said, the other side fights continuously, year- round. I think we need to do the same thing. That is what we’ve started doing, and definitely amped up our efforts on the grassroots side and tried building up the foundation there, because the Democrats have been beating us on that for decades in Colorado. And we aim to change that. And it’s pretty amazing, you watch how some of this stuff happens. You do this stuff and they start getting scared and you’ll see this story in ColoradoPols that immediately gets attention from other media outlets, and it’s almost like they’re looking for things to attack us on. And the way they’re trying to go after the large donor base now, making it seem like it’s somehow outrageous that Pat Neville would write an email to folks asking them to support us and asking to help us stop the Polis agenda. It’s like, “Really, it’s no secret that I’m not really a fan of the Polis agenda.”  [laughs] They’re trying to make it, like, “Oh, this is outrageous!  This is new stuff!”  And maybe it is new stuff, because Republicans haven’t done this in the past. But I think it needs to be done and I don’t think that’s outrageous at all. It’s not a surprise to me that Republicans would oppose a Democrat governor. [It is] certainly not a surprise to me that Democrats are opposing the president right now. But that doesn’t seem outrageous to the mainstream media.

CORPORON [00:01:43] Well,.that’s to be expected, because anyone who supports the president is a racist. And that’s because the president is a racist, didn’t you know?

NEVILLE [00:01:53] [Laughs] Right, it’s amazing how that’s the narrative.  But, yes “You don’t support Polis’ agenda? And you don’t support Polis? This is outrageous!. You work with him! How can you work with him and not support his agenda?”

CORPORON [00:02:04] [chuckles] Yeah, it’s pretty crazy.  And a reminder to folks: DismissPolis.com — DismissPolis.com — is one place to go to get a petition, to find out where to sign a petition. The petition gathering is still — the signature gathering is still ongoing. And then you — the Republicans, or one of your political committees — has set up a website as well. Let’s give — let’s have that, and then we’ll jump in on guns.

NEVILLE [00:02:26] Yes, it’s RecallColorado-dot-com.  And we support any recalls against Democrats. And we are willing to give you the tools you need, whether it’s — if you want to recall a legislator, if you want to do that, we’ll give you the idea of what we think is the best chance you have in that district. But if you want to still go forward, we’ll give you the platforms to do that on. We’d be willing to help you out with fundraising efforts, things like that. So we’re willing to work with any of the different groups out there. We’re not trying to control it all, but just kind of be a resource for all the groups that are out there.

[…] 

HOST RANDY CORPORON  [00:00:00] The reason that I wanted to have you on is because of a conversation you had with the president about red flag. President [Trump] gave another great rally in New Hampshire a couple of nights ago, and here’s what he said about the Second Amendment, a very short clip.

COLORADO HOUSE MINORITY LEADER, PATRICK NEVILLE [00:00:13] “And people can’t get proper care. They’re seriously ill people and they’re on the streets. We can’t make it harder for a good, solid, law-abiding citizens to protect themselves. We will always uphold the right to self-defense, and we will always uphold the Second Amendment.  We will.”

CORPORON [00:00:38] And just before that, in a longer clip I didn’t want to play, he talked about the fact that it’s not the gun that kills somebody, it’s the person that pulls the trigger. You’ve actually talked with the president about red flag. When you hear that kind of campaign rhetoric — obviously very, very big among Trump supporters and hunters and legal gun owners across the country — do you believe him?

NEVILLE [00:01:04] I do. You know, it’s one of those things that when — like I said, the first time I met with him, we had this kind of private meeting with the staff, and there was a bunch of us in the Roosevelt Room. And the staff was trying to talk about [how] we need — and they were calling it GVR, it was gun violence restraining orders, which is basically the same thing as a red flag [law].  And they were saying, you know, “Hey, look! We have to do something!  We’ve had a lot of success talking about these, so maybe talk about this!” And you know, the meeting kind of got cut off really because the president walked in and left the media come in. I mean, you can actually watch the portion from that whole portion of when the media comes in. And it was — you know, I took — I think I had an interview at 4:00 in the morning the previous morning, and then was in session up until 10:00, and took a redeye flight out there. So, I’m on literally no sleep for probably over 40 hours, and I’m just sitting there, going, “Wow!”  And I’m sitting here, the president walks in, starts bashing the media, starts calling lightweight reporters out by name, right in the Roosevelt Room with me. [I’m thinking,] “Is this really happening?”  They started going around, they’re talking about different stuff. And then it gets to me, and I talked about the need to get rid of gun free zones and let teachers and other armed people protect our students in schools. And he really latched onto that, and really went out on that idea in a big way. And then, um, it’s — you know, that was pretty enlightening to be there, and that, and the way to hear him talk about that and really support that idea. And then, about a week goes by–.

CORPORON [00:02:34] So, Patrick, since we’re coming up on the break, and you’re about to get to the real meat of the matter, can we take a pause here, and have you finish that story [after the commercial break]?

NEVILLE [00:02:38] Yeah.

CORPORON [00:02:38] I don’t want to cut you short.  This is very, very important. All right, very good!  […]. But we’re going to continue our conversation first with the state minority leader Republican Patrick Neville and [talk about] his conversation with the president on red flag laws, et cetera. So, don’t you go anywhere! It’s Wake Up! with Randy Corporon, and you’re listening to 710 KNUS.

[00:03:13] [commercial break].

CORPORON [00:03:13] […] Right now, we continue our conversation with one of those rock stars, Patrick Neville.  And Patrick, you were getting into your conversation with President Trump — the exhaustion, the media, the president immediately going on the attack. And before we get into the meat of the conversation, when President Trump became president and was still, you know, being vilified every day — 92% negative coverage on TV and in newspaper[s], et cetera — and simply took on the media aggressively. Were you taken back by that did you think it was a bad strategy or did you recognize it at the time for the crucial change in kind of politicking that more Republicans need to learn if we’re going to win elections in 2019 2020 and beyond.

NEVILLE [00:04:04] Oh, no, I recognized it right away. I mean I know how the press works — even here, locally — and it’s not too far off from the way it is nationally. But you see it nationally, it’s even worse. So it’s surreal seeing it in person.

[00:04:16] For sure in that meeting when he just walked in started calling out lightweight reporters personality he is a force of nature isn’t he.

[00:04:26] Is is certainly all right.

[00:04:29] So you said it was about a week later you received a phone call.

[00:04:35] Yeah a week later we received another phone call. Similar thing. Invited invited back out to the White House. You know just like this time I really don’t know what to expect to hear it’s a meeting of people so you show up to the White House get checked in. This one was actually more private than this one had some other different people that wasn’t all the same people that was in the first meeting that I had they had some other different people in there and basically they started off the meeting we didn’t wait too long didn’t have too much staff and they kind of in the staff the people they invited were a mixed bag of people. I got to meet some really good people that actually did lose lose children at Parkland who were just basically saying they don’t care about guns. There wasn’t even wasn’t there it wasn’t their issue at all. They just wanted to fix this. And you know basically hey riskier of course riskier everything else. Why can’t we secure our schools just don’t care about going to leave it out of the conversation. You guys can have that discussion later on. That was basically their message to the president. They got to a few others that now we’re more on the liberal side of it. Some school board members from other areas kept pushing gun registration and red flag laws and then kind of other people just started talking about even how Mike Pence had signed one of those and he was in the room so that kind of conversation kind of kept getting more and more pro. Red Flag was. And then he got me in and I did. I knew I didn’t have much time but I knew that I had a little bit of time and had to use it properly and so I basically told the president remind the president that everything they were talking about besides red flag was actually in place at Columbine High School and wouldn’t have stopped Columbine. You know whether the assault weapons bans whether it be background checks. None of that would’ve stopped Columbine because the assault weapons ban was in place during Columbine.

[00:06:29] The background checks went to stop Columbine because they actually had their guns purchased through straw purchases so it wouldn’t stop them at all and just and just for just for people who don’t know or maybe just joining the show say Representative Patrick never was a high school student during the time of the Columbine was a high school student at Columbine and you were there during the Columbine shooting.

[00:06:55] That’s right. And so I reminded him all that and basically told me red flag wouldn’t have to stop this either because there’s really no way to identify these people in the manner that would actually keep in due process.

[00:07:11] But then the other thing I told him too is that the biggest thing that’s not being talked about is what this is going to do for the stigma for those actually seeking mental health treatment. And I told him about a story about a friend of mine who was seeking treat mental health treatment through the V.A. and when Obama put in his policies administratively the V.A. saying people that had mental illnesses can obtain their firearms. His response was to stop seeking treatment entirely. So I told him you’re gonna drive more people underground and not they’re going to be afraid to come out and actually seek mental health treatment. You’re gonna have that that are labeled with PTSD as though there’s some sort of crazy people that need to have their guns taken away when really they’re just trying to get some help for their PTSD and they’d probably never hurt anyone in reminding him of all that and that’s that all the time I had and this meeting was different. He didn’t really respond or any of the media wasn’t there so he just sat there and listened and then went on to the next person and then he’d made sure afterwards I tried to talk to the staff and different cabinet members and stuff and really try to push that. This is a bad idea. This is a dangerous law. I think it could be turned deadly and try to get a little bit as much influence as I could while I was there and left and that was really it. So I can’t say that I’m the guy that talked him out of it or anything and I don’t even know if he’s still talked out of it. I think it’s you know last week I was a little concerned but that’s kind of the way President Trump is he thinks out loud. This week he’s kind of changed his tune on some of these things so he I think he people would give him credit but he’s not just a bull in a china shop. He actually does things pretty strategically and doesn’t listen to people but he’s like a business guy. He thinks out loud says what he’s thinking. And everyone just takes that because they’re so used to politicians being so very scripted that OK this is what we’re going to say. These are the talking points that we want to get out and that’s it. So they’re used to that by the time it gets to the public. We’re just so scripted where President Trump really isn’t. He thinks out loud and I saw that firsthand in the first meeting. He came in office by about three pages of you could tell he was talking points and stuff probably given to him by the staff and kind of started off with that for really like the first sentence and then looked up and then just went totally off script well and started calling him white right wing reporters and White not so he thinks out loud listens to people and I think he does carefully make decisions.