Live from Music Row 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. – host Leahy welcomed California refugee and former Democrat Sheryl Longin in studio to discuss her political conversion.
Leahy: We are delighted to welcome to our microphones right now, ladies first, Sheryl Longin. Sheryl is on the executive committee of the Davidson County Republican Party. Do I have that right? What’s your exact title?
Longin: That is correct. I’m the Nashville Republican Women’s representative on the executive committee.
Leahy: Very good. And you’ve been very active since you moved here from California? Trying to make sure we don’t Californicate Tennessee.
Longin: Doing my best.
Leahy: And also in studio because it’s Friday morning at six o’clock. Lonnie Spivak, chairman of the Davidson County Republican Party. Good morning, Lonnie.
Spivak: Good morning, Michael.
Leahy: I see here a little plastic bag with the Waffle House insignia on it. There’s some waffles here.
Spivak: It wouldn’t be a trip to your studio without bringing you a wonderful waffle.
Leahy: He’s continuing to stay in my good graces even though, Sheryl, I’m adding some extra weight every time Lonnie comes in with those temptations of the waffles.
Longin: DCRP bearing gifts.
Leahy: Tell us a little bit about your involvement here, Sheryl. Did you move here from California four years ago?
Longin: Four and a half. June 1st, 2018.
Leahy: You remember the day?
Longin: Oh, yes.
Leahy: And now your background is, you’re a screenwriter.
Longin: Yes.
Leahy: A very accomplished screenwriter. And you lived in Los Angeles for how long?
Longin: Born and raised in Los Angeles. Left to go to college, moved to London to work briefly, then back to Los Angeles.
Leahy: So you’ve seen the world.
Longin: I’ve seen some of the world.
Leahy: Where did you go to college?
Longin: Princeton.
Leahy: Let’s see, do I know Princeton? Oh yes. That Ivy League school. Uh oh! An Ivy Leaguer.
Longin: An Ivy Leaguer. Here I am.
Leahy: Did you enjoy your time at Princeton?
Longin: I did. I really enjoyed my time at Princeton and it pains me greatly to see what it’s become.
Leahy: I have the same feeling about Harvard. I don’t think they would let me on campus these days. And by the way, speaking of camping, you saw your speaker at your group just recently, Riley Gaines?
Longin: Yes.
Leahy: When did she come and speak?
Longin: She came to Nashville, Republican Women to our last month’s meeting, and she was our guest speaker.
Leahy: And did anybody there assault her?
Longin: She was assaulted with kindness, I would say.
Leahy: (Chuckles) You saw the story breaking last night. She spoke at a Turning Point USA event at San Francisco State University. You probably know this, you’re from California. You’ve probably seen that part of San Francisco.
Longin: I’ve been there, yes—many times.
Leahy: A man wearing a dress assaulted her and she had to be barricaded for three hours in a hotel. Your thoughts on that?
Longin: I just heard it from you driving over here. We had an overflow crowd of people for her. She is truly a hero, and we all thought that before, but, It’s even more apparent now. It was clear that what she was doing was gonna rile people up, rile the wrong people. But she went ahead anyway. She is so brave.
Leahy: She’s a championship swimmer. She’s an excellent NCAA swimmer. She swam for the University of Kentucky. She’s from Sumner County and is a very compelling speaker. Lonnie, you were elected chairman of the Davidson County Republican Party back in February. Seems like even longer.
You were elected chairman, and I think one of your plans was to reach out and bring other people in. This is why Sheryl is being involved with the Daveon County Republican Party activities. There are others as well, right?
Spivak: Yes. And let me just say, Sheryl has been great. I’ve really just known her for a few months and one of the things that I really felt that I needed to do as chairman was to work on bringing all of the federated groups and the other ancillary groups that are Republican in Nashville back together.
Working with Sheryl has been great. The Republican Women are great to work with and I really look forward to the relationship that we’re gonna have for the next couple of years and beyond because their members are just tremendous. They’re very active and they’ve just been a joy to work with.
Leahy: Sheryl, you’re a joy to work with. (Chuckles)
Longin: Joy is my middle name. Seriously.
Leahy: (Laughs) So well, there you go. Now, Sheryl, four and a half years ago, when you were living in Los Angeles as it was beginning its descent into madness, not quite as mad as it is right now, were you engaged at all in, in any political activities there?
Longin: I used to be many years ago a Democrat I was engaged in political activities at that time.
Leahy: You and I have something in common because it’s the old saying, I was a Democrat until I was in my mid-twenties, I guess. The famous old saying by Winston Churchill, if you are not a liberal when you’re 20, you don’t have a heart, and if you’re not a conservative when you’re 40, you don’t have a brain. I am paraphrasing it,
Longin: Yes. Yes. So you’re in that same crowd. I’m in the same crowd. I’m probably one of those 9/11 conservatives who started drifting away from the party then. And I would say that I tried to be politically active in the way that you could be there when trying to change hearts and minds. And it was impossible in Los Angeles.
Leahy: Why was it impossible?
Longin: We see it now so clearly, but I would say I saw it back then. There’s cognitive dissonance. They cannot process information that doesn’t conform with the reality that they’ve created.
Leahy: In their phony reality, they have in their brain about how the world works. They just can’t process the new evidence, can they?
Longin: No. Their eyes glaze over. And then the conversation continues as if what fact was revealed or wasn’t revealed.
Listen to today’s show highlights, including this commentary:
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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 “Sheryl Longin” by Nashville Republican Women. Background Photo “Tennessee Capitol” by Andre Porter. CC BY-SA 3.0.
