Friday morning on the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by all-star panelist Crom Carmichael.
During the second hour, Carmichael weighed in Mayor Cooper reopening phases for Nashville noting the 65 years of age or older must stay in their homes. Towards the end of the segment, he commented on Nancy Pelosi’s recent appearance where she showed off of her million-dollar kitchen and expensive ice cream which evidenced her attitude that the “private sector are not humans. They are not people. They don’t matter.”
Leahy: We are joined now by our very good friend. The original all-star panelist, Crom Carmichael. Good morning Crom.
Carmichael: Michael, how are you, sir?
Leahy: We are one week and three days away from Studio Freedom Day. (Chuckles)
Carmichael: Now Michael, with all due respect, I’m not sure that you have read Mayor Cooper’s four-phased reopening Nashville.
Leahy: That’s a very good point. You saw that announcement. What did you make of it? And what does that mean for Studio Freedom Day?
Carmichael: Well, the first item is what he says to protect the people who are the most potentially effected in phase one where people over 65 (Leahy chuckles) must stay at home. And that is true through all four phases. That people over 65 must stay home.
Leahy: Must stay home.
Carmichael: Here’s what’s interesting. Mayor Cooper is 63. (Leahy chuckles) So Mayor Cooper gets to go out to dinner and I don’t.
Leahy: (Laughs) We’ll have to get a special dispensation.
Carmichael: I’ve emailed a couple of my buddies over 65 and asked does this mean we’ll never get to go out again? (Laughs) Let me say this, I’m not picking on Mayor Cooper other than a funny way because by the time you get to phase four in his program large events can convene.
But people in over 65 are still supposed to stay home (Laughing). So I am crushed. I am. I’m wondering will I ever get out of my house? (Leahy laughs) When Kathy and I decide where want to go on vacation it will have to be the living room or the media room.
Leahy: Well, one place that you won’t go on vacation is the state of Michigan.
Carmichael: Ohh yes.
Leahy: This is a lengthy segment but since we’re talking about tinpot dictator governors who are exercising unconstitutional authority. Obviously the poster child for that is Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. And here’s a long clip of her on of all places MSNBC yesterday.
(Gretchen Whitmer clip plays)
The good part of the story that is hard to focus on but that I always want to point out is that the vast majority of people in Michigan are doing their part. We have seen the stay at home order impact the number of cases that we have. You know, we had to take more aggressive steps than other states because even though we’ve got the 10th largest population in this country we have the third highest death rate.
We have a uniquely tough problem and it requires a uniquely tough solution. And that’s what we’ve done. And certainly there are people dissenting my orders just like there are people dissenting orders in Indiana, Ohio, Colorado, and all across the country. That’s OK.
I respect people’s ability and right to dissent. But what we need to make sure that everyone of us does is to observe the CDC best practices so we are not unwillingly spreading the COVID-19. The worst irony that could come about from these demonstrations is that they forced us to stay in this posture longer than we were already planning to.
Leahy: So according to Governor Whitmer, the reason that she’s extending these draconian measures isn’t because she’s done a poor job of controlling the spread of coronavirus. No, no, no. It’s because these people who are protesting her policies that are draconian are out there protesting. That’s her rational.
Carmichael: Here’s the problem in Michigan. First of all, we now know that Governor Whitmer is taking government money and giving it to her campaign operatives and she’s gotten caught by that. And the Michigan Legislature is now looking into that. But here’s the problem.
This so typical with these monarchical Democrat governors to use the term that Jon Meacham likes to apply to Donald Trump. (Leahy laughs)
Leahy: Yes.
Carmichael: But it really does apply here. Michigan has a problem in five of its 83 counties. Five. And even the problems in those five counties are nothing, nothing compared to New York and New Jersey. So she claims that they’re the third-worst.
After the first two, for the rest of the states, it’s not that bad. But in Michigan its only bad in five out of 83 counties. So she can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. All you have to do is say alright, we’re going to really concentrate on these five counties and we’re going to do something similar to what John Cooper is doing in Nashville by having a phased opening of the rest of the state. But she’s not doing that.
And Cuomo, by the way, showed what a fool he is when he was asked a question, how many people have to lose their businesses and their livelihood and everything they’ve spent their lives building? How many of those people would you compare to a single death? And here’s what his answer was.
His answer was, the illness is death. The illness is death. How can you compare death to anything? OK, now that is an interesting question and it’s going to take longer than this session. Here’s what I dug up. The average male, and by the way the most vulnerable population is by far the nursing home population.
Now I would like you to poll the audience. Poll the Tennessee Star people who are under 70 and you just say, if you are under 70 and in good health or at least reasonable health, please take this poll. How many of you aspire if you are male to spend the last 90 days of your life in a nursing home?
How many of you all would prefer if you had a choice to die peacefully in your sleep before being put in a nursing home where you will stay until you die? And the average male who goes into a nursing home is there for 90 days. The average female is there for six months.
And so the most vulnerable population we have and all these people being forced to stay at home and lose their businesses and livelihoods, I can tell you as someone who is 71 and in good health, I would prefer to die in my sleep rather than end up in a nursing home than have the rest of the population’s net worth and lose their businesses so I can live an extra six weeks. Does that make any sense at all?
Leahy: That’s a very good point, Crom.
Carmichael: It does to everybody except Democrats, (Leahy laughs) especially at the national level.
Leahy: You know what I find Crom that is very bothersome is this. What we’re talking about here is really issues of public health and science and the Constitution and the law. But every Democrat that I’ve seen at the national level has made this a partisan issue that translates into the following: bad man orange.
Carmichael: Well not just bad man orange. I don’t care about that Michael. That’s politics. But the policies that they are doing are hurting millions of people. Millions of people! And let me say what is so indicative. You’ve seen the little clip of Nancy Pelosi with her sweater wrapped around her neck with her multi-million dollar home in one of the most expensive private kitchens I’ve ever seen being asked what message does she have for the rest of the question.
And her answer was chocolate. Chocolate. (Leahy laughs) Then she opens her freezer to show $15 quarts of ice cream in her freezer. If you’re talking about a Marie Antoinette, Nancy Pelosi optimizes, optimizes the liberal left. And the reason is, who are the liberal lefts’ constituents? The liberal lefts’ constituents are the are government unions. The thugs that run the unions.
Not government employees. The union thugs. That’s who does it. Who has seen no pay cut through this entire deal? Government employees. I’ve not seen a pay cut. And who else hasn’t seen a pay cut? The media apparatus that supports the Democratic Party.
Leahy: That’s exactly right.
Carmichael: So these are people who are not affected. And government employees many of them are working their butts off through this. But the way that Nancy Pelosi looks at it is that the private sector are not humans. They are not people. They don’t matter.
That’s why she and Schumer act the way they do. Cuomo calling the illness as death. Well, that’s a lie. Cuomo himself in the very same press conference acknowledged that there are many many people in New York who have tested positive and that have shown no symptoms.
Leahy: Absolutely.
Listen to the full second hour here:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “Nancy Pelosi” by AFGE. CC BY 2.0. Background Photo “Office” by Phil Whitehouse. CC BY 2.0.
