Podcast 494

Surprises. In an early spring shocker, Senator Ted Cruz suspends his campaign after losing the Indiana Republican Presidential Preference Primary to New Yorker Donald Trump. On the democrat side, Bernie Sanders bested Hillary Clinton in the Hoosier State Democratic Primary. The story of the week, however, is the shocking suspension of the Ted Cruz campaign. Surprises. Cruz supporters were preparing for a contested republican convention. Though stories appeared late last week suggesting — off the record of course — Cruz campaign officials were ‘demoralized’ due to polls showing at least double digit leads in Indiana for Trump, the Senator’s introduction of Californian Carly Fiorina as his ‘running mate’ would suggest the campaign was still thinking about the Golden State and its hundred plus delegates as late as two weeks ago. Media story lines have now shifted to the ‘inevitability’ of a Trump nomination, or that Trump is the ‘presumptive’ nominee for the GOP. These kinds of over reactions to Trump’s Indiana win are to be expected in a self serving Media, but it’s still premature. Certainly one cannot predict the future. While it’s true that Trump’s path to the nomination is clearer in the remaining state primaries, with the absence of Cruz, the actual delegate count in Cleveland remains to be determined. It would be unwise for the Trump campaign or the media to count the republican establishment out. Down? Yes. But not out. Surprises. Then there is the question of what happened to Cruz? Are self identifying ‘conservatives’ finally settling on Trump, as opposed to Cruz? Was it a mistake for Cruz to encourage talk show hosts to campaign with him and were all the fasts, comparisons to George Washington and religious exhortations a turn off for some? And, what about the #nevertrump crowd? Looks like another talk-show-blogger-host effort that failed miserably. Finally, to get a real sense of the surprise inside the Cruz campaign after tonight’s bombshell, we talk to one of the campaign’s state coordinators, Mandy Benz. A tough night for someone who has worked very hard for her candidate and what she believed in, which deserves respect regardless of your political views. (Editor’s Note: Late breaking news, rumors that John Kasich is out, and the RNC is supporting Donald Trump as the presumptive nominee. This changes the picture regarding Trump’s delegate count in upcoming primaries.)Sponsored by Hydrus Performance and Brush Studio in the West End, Saint Louis Park, Minnesota.

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Podcast 399 – Sturgis Part 2

Sturgis Part 2. If you listen to this podcast with headphones, you’ll be right in the middle of the biggest motorcycle rally in the world. Heading into Sturgis, South Dakota, on a warm August morning we are surrounded by every kind of motorcycle you can imagine. The highways are literally chock full of bikes, coming and going to the 75th Anniversary of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Despite its reputation as a rough event, Sturgis can sometimes feel like any other state fair, or big city event in late summer. What makes it unique are motorcycle enthusiasts who come from all over the United States and the world to convene. Sturgis is a town of 6600 people, and once a year the population swells to hundreds of thousands. This year, there were a million bikers. Some rode their motorcycles out, others trucked their bikes out and rented, or drove RV’s, still others camped in tents or trailers. Who comes and why? What are some of the drawbacks to the size of the event this year? For some, the the roots of what this rally means to them goes very deep. For others, motorcycling is part of family life. Others have just come for a good time and to hang with their best friends. From the big motorcycle manufacturers like Harley, Indian, Victory, and the after market companies like Ciro as well as people selling t-shirts, art, tattoos, leather goods, as well as the fun stuff like Body Painting, beer, and women who dance, this is a singular event. If you spent the week in Sturgis, you had no idea there was a big debate between Republican candidates for their party’s presidential nomination, and you didn’t care. From Main Street to the concerts and after hours partying, to the bikes, to the companies who come here to serve and sell to this singular cultural tribe of motorcycle enthusiasts, it is the people who make this very American, very real event what it is. Despite the inherent danger in motorcycling and its outlaw image, they are great people. And…Sturgis is really fun. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating Of Saint Paul. 

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Podcast 398 – Sturgis Part 1

Political Escape To Surgis. The first installment of the Sturgis 2015 Road Trip begins. After a 500 mile road trip from Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Rapid City, South Dakota we arrive at the Harley Davidson Dealer in Rapid City. First order of business? Let’s get the political stuff out of the way because in Part 2, we head into Sturgis itself in Mobile Podcast Command Unit 8. Podcast 398 is posted on the day of the first ‘debate’ of the 2016 political cycle. Well, maybe we should call it a cage match, rather than a debate. Not a single vote has been cast, yet the rocket scientists at Fox News have decided to pick the ‘top ten’ candidates based on the political polls. (Editor’s Note: I gave listeners a good primer on the negatives and positives of political polls in Podcast 397.) This is fine and well if your guy is in the top ten, but what if the first guy in the bottom seven or eight got Trumped by Trump, based on a poll? And how do you become number one in a poll? Say a bunch of stuff that gets a lot of news coverage. The decision to cover the Sturgis 2015 event versus the Republican ‘debate’ is detailed in this podcast. Without saying the debate is a disaster for the Republicans (it could be), it feels way to early for such a spectacle. It is dangerous for the Republican party and the American people when a television network decides who the top candidates are, before a vote has been cast. A minimum of a million people are due in Sturgis at some point during this week, in actual physical form. Not on line. Not watching it on Fox News, CNN or MSNBC. People in this country are doing what they do, while a tiny portion of the public is sitting in front of their TV’s hanging on every word. Somehow that feels very close to pathetic when the weather is amazing, and the open road beckons. So Sturgis it is. In this first road trip podcast in the Mobile Podcast Command Unit, recorded about 1 AM, a little slash and burn, some stories, and some comments about the ‘big debate’. Sponsored by X Government Cars. (Editor’s Note: In this podcast I refer to the Sturgis event as the 75th anniversary of Harley Davidson, which is obviously and painfully incorrect. I meant the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally event is 75 years old.)

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