Democrat SMACKS DOWN Republican After Ridiculous AI Ad

- My guest today is a sixth generation Wisconsinite. Do you say Wisconsinite? - Wisconsin. - It's a mission ganger over there in Michigan. She's running against Derek Van Orden. He's one of the biggest creeps in Congress, maybe in Washington, maybe in the country, in my opinion. Rebecca Cook, welcome to the show. - Thanks for having me, appreciate it. - It's great to meet you. It's great to talk to you on what, apparently is a bit of a cold and rainy Wisconsin day. - It's a cold rainy fall day. Fall is officially here. It was an unseasonably 80 degrees over the weekend, but it's very nice, it's 95. - It's the campsing weather, so. - In LA, we're sweating out here. So I want to ask you all about yourself and your campaign, but I do have to start with something genuinely disturbing that I read about your opponent as I was preparing for this. Listeners probably know that the Secretary of Defense Pete Heggseth had proposed live streaming the execution of Nidalis on the Fort Hood shooter. Earlier today, we're talking on Thursday, Trump shut that idea down, probably because it would give Al Qaeda a massive propaganda win and also because last time I checked, we're not the Taliban or the United States government. But your opponent, Congressman Van Orden, literally volunteered to be part of the firing squad. He tweeted these radio, I think he meant radical, Islamist singular, need to get the message. He later quoted Heggseth saying, "I volunteer," which he spelled, V-O-L-L-E-N-T-E-E-R, curious if he was a little tipsy. This was a post 10 p.m. tweet. Possibly. He's been known for that. What's wrong with this guy? That's my first question. What is this? This is just how he is. This is his character. This is, I think, a radical representation of who he actually is. I mean, and he's participated in January 6th's insurrection. He's got drunk in his official office and yelled at Senate pages. He's carried a loaded gun through TSA. This is just another example of this sort of person that's representing us in Wisconsin 3 who's out of touch and who I think is definitely a true believer and a true follower of President Trump in this administration and is ready to sign up for whatever. It's just like in this country, we're like divided 50, 50 on so many things. There was a pull out today where Americans opposed live streaming Hassan's execution by 80 to 18. And yet your opponent is so radical that he has to be part of the firing squad. That's crazy. Let me just say he doesn't represent Wisconsin Sir Congressional District. I think the vast majority of people here would also feel the same way about that. I think he represents this sort of fringe part of politics that people hate nowadays and this sort of radicalism that is taking over some of our country and is taking some of the soul of our country away. And I think that's part of why I decided to step up to run. He just does not represent who we are in this very rural, very agricultural, very working class district that I'm from. And it's just rubbing a lot of people the wrong way. I mean, this is just a serious, to me, it's not surprising, which is kind of a horrible thing to say, but like this is just how he behaves. Yeah, I mean, it is remarkable. I mean, it's like part of the pattern you mentioned some of it, like he flipped out and started yelling in a public library in 2021 because he saw a fried book display. Like checked all the books, like that'll get him, you know. Yeah, I'll show those LGBTQ communities. I tried to bring a loaded gun onto an airplane. As you said earlier, he like screamed at Senate pages, like literally teenagers in the Capitol. Like again, I know a lot of folks from Wisconsin, I've been in Wisconsin a countless times. It's not Midwest nice. That's for sure. He's not showing how we usually are. Yeah, it's just, it's very strange. Okay, let's talk about you and your campaign. You grew up on a dairy farm. You were the president of the 4-H club. You've been called a Bernie dog Democrat because you've been dors by Senator Sanders, but also the blue dog Democrats, which is like not a combination you always see. You bucked the kind of Democratic party orthodoxy on a bunch of issues. Tell us about your approach to politics. And like if you're elected, what do you want to do when you get to Washington? My approach is like very place-based and very from my lived experience. And I feel like you have so many people in DC that are there because they went to the right school or they have the sort of right resume. And I feel like you find a lot of people that are very out of touch with regular families, with working families, with the places that they actually represent. And I'm very of and a part of this district. I'm a six-generation Wisconsinite. I grew up here in just outside of a Claire on a dairy farm. Like you said, the first office I ever held was president of my 4-H club, which I think bears a lot of clout in a district like this. And I grounded and rooted here. I ran a small business here for a number of years, a retail store. We sold Made in America goods. It was called Reds Mercantile. That was my nickname growing up, waitressing. Been a waitress on and off my whole life through college in high school. I'm waitressing now while I'm running for Congress at a restaurant called The Good Wives in a Claire. And I'm proud of that. I'm proud of my background coming from hospitality, coming from small business, coming from a dairy farm family, and those unique lived experiences that I hope to bring to legislate in DC. And I think I've lived a lot of failed policies. There's a lot of things that DC career politicians don't understand when it comes to Main Street and what some of their legislation helped might impact small business owners. Because if you go through a lot of Western Wisconsin, you'll see a lot of dollar generals. And that's not what makes our community special. It's our Main Street businesses. You go throughout Western Wisconsin, you also see a lot of vacant barns. And you'll see a lot of what's been really difficult to see is a lot of our heritage that's not part of the landscape anymore. It's broken down barns. And our family has had a farm in the district for 150 years. So we sold our cattle when I was in high school, which was hard because it wasn't just selling parts of our land, but it was a part of our tradition in way of life. And so I'm bringing a lot of that of who we are here in Western Wisconsin and that spirit of hard work and grit and work ethic to hopefully lead people and make people's lives better. And you ask about the endorsements that I have of being a Bernie person and also being endorsed by the blue dogs. And it's not something that I calculated thinking about what to do. But Bernie Sanders was somebody that I admired because he felt like the only politician that really has a spine that's really stood up to special interest that doesn't speak out of both sides of his mouth. And it is like a real champion for the working class and the things that he wants to do, I believe in. And he is an independent at the end of the day. And that's something I also try to remind people. He's not necessarily part of this big democratic town. He's an independent. And I think there's a through thread and a lot of the things he believes in that's anti-establishment that the blue dogs also believe. And that the blue dogs are all people that very much represent the communities that they're from in a place-based way and think about policymaking of what's best for where I'm from and recognizing the heritage of where we are from. And as a very pro-worker, anti-trust sort of caucus as well, which I think is something people forget about the blue dogs. So I think all that kind of together, I mean, my ethos and the things that I'm running for if I could narrow it down is like, I think we need more working class voices in Congress. That's uniquely who I am. And we need people that want to work across the aisle to get things done and pulling our party together to be able to do that. And I hope that in the first 100 days of hopefully the Democrats winning back the house, we can deliver on some good things that people feel in their bones and feel in their pocket books that when they vote for a Democrat, their lives improve, you know. - Pots of America breaking news is brought to you by Zippercrooter. Let's be honest, Zippercrooter is everywhere. Why? Because top talent is everywhere too. Just like you, your ideal candidates are tuning into business sports and podcasts, just like this one. When these candidates hear all these ads, it increases the chances of them going to Zippercrooter and responding to your job posts. So ultimately, you meet them sooner. Of course, you can't meet them unless you go to zippercrooter.com/cricod to try it for free. Once you post your job, Zippercrooter's matching technology finds top talent quickly. And Zippercrooter has a new feature that shows you the most interested qualified candidates first so you meet them faster. No wonder four out of five employers who post on Zippercrooter get a quality candidate within the first day. But you've got to go to zippercrooter.com/cricod to post your job for free. Again, that zippercrooter.com/cricod. Oh, and if you forget where to go, don't worry. You'll hear another Zippercrooter ad soon enough. So I grew up outside of Boston. The four Hs there are like hockey and cocks. Havin, if you're a nerd. What is the four Hs club exactly for us? Yeah, I could do the pledge for you. Please. Do you want to know what the four Hs club is? I would love to know the four Hs. I pledge my head to clear thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living for my club, my community, my country, and my world. Nice. It's a pledge. I mean, man, if we could have a pledge that some politicians could take, that would be one of them. But yeah, so four Hs is a community organization. City kids are in it, country kids are in it. I did four H projects at the fair. Like I made a quilt, I did ceramics. I also showed cows. It's not just about the livestock portion of it, but it's about showcasing sort of the best of your community. It kind of culminates usually around a county fair every year. but we did all sorts of stuff. Hey, Rides. community service projects, those sorts of things. - There's big debates over which state has the best state fair. Where's Wisconsin Rankin in there? The Minnesotans go nuts on this. - Number one. - Number one. And I've been to both. I worked at a beer standing college that my friend's dad had at the Minnesota State Fair. So I got to see that fair up close, but I stayed in the dorms down at the Wisconsin State Fair for a week. So I really saw that up close when I was showing cows there. And I would say it's very, very high. We've got some incredible cream puffs. - Nice. - And sometimes there is an entire cow made of butter, which is also a fun thing. - Yes, there's a-- - If you're in, if you're in. - Yes, we got our state fair, but then we also have all these great county fairs, which is what I've spent most of my summer going around. I have a 19 county district here. It's very large, very agricultural. So the last county fair here was in September and we went to the livestock auction and bought a pig. - Nice. - Our team did. Yeah, from a young forecher and then donated the meat back to area food pantries. So you have a lot of farmers in your district. They are getting hit pretty hard right now because the price of diesels through the roof, thanks to the Iran War. What are you hearing from them? A lot of rural communities have been pretty rock solid in support of Trump. I'm wondering if that will remain the case because we're just so polarized as a country or whether these economic hardships that people are going through. I was talking to a friend and I with the other day who said they could lose 20% of their farmers before the harvest because it's not worth the cost to actually harvest this year because of the price of diesels. So what are you hearing from folks and do you think it's actually like changing political affiliation? - It is. It's absolutely changing hearts and minds because of how deeply it's impacting people's pocketbooks. And, you know, I've been hosting round tables with farmers for the last couple of weeks here on the third congressional district. So I've been hearing these things really up close in a big way. I was in actually held around table in a gas station with a number of area farmers in Vernon County rural part of my district. And they are just getting hammered. I mean, between the impact that reciprocal tariffs have also had on our soybean producers, our cranberry producers, now this trade war with Canada. And then you look at the impact the war in Iran has had on diesel prices, on fertilizer prices. People are getting squeezed. And, you know, it's not just those pieces to it, right? There's also the failure to expand the ACA tax credit premium. You know, when I was growing up, we didn't have healthcare unless my mom could get a good job in town. And so when the ACA was passed, a lot of folks got better insurance and farmers, small business owners. And now people are seeing their premiums go up from $400 to $1,800 a month. And so folks uniquely are getting squeezed. And, you know, I brought Senator John Tester out to the district last Friday and we had another round table. I'm actually at my parents' farm in the Chippewa Valley and it's sort of the same thing, any group that you gather. And some of those people were probably more bigger supporters of me. But also when I'm out, you know, just knock indoors, doing some rural canvassing. I just knocked Melrose Population 524 a couple of weeks ago. That's what I'm hearing from people that said, "Look, I voted for Ray and Orden twice but I did not vote for this war in Iran." And there's a lot of people that voted for President Trump because of his America First Agenda and his promise for no more foreign forever wars. And this is the opposite of that. And it's not just farmers. Everybody's getting squeezed, right? It's cost more to get goods to the grocery store. So you're seeing prices increase at the supermarket. And, you know, so I just think as we look forward and people are like, you know, what's one of the biggest things that we can do to bring down prices, I was like, and this war that nobody voted for. And then, and there's people that have said, you know, they're two-time van orn voters, and they're voting for me. And I'm welcome them into this Democratic tent. A lot of people have been asking me too. You know, we talked about some of the inner party support that I have. Big tent to me means bringing people back in. This district is a district that went for Obama before it went for Trump. And so we need to give people who maybe used to vote for Democrats to soften any space back here. And then, and not shame people too. It's like nobody could foresee what was gonna happen with tariffs, with this war in Iran when they passed their votes in 2024. And so we welcome those people in for sure. - Yeah, and they were lied to, by the way, right? Trump said he were like-- - They were lying to you. - Yeah, Trump said no more wars. He started another war, right? I mean, the up, the shaming someone-- - And it's just like continuing to go on. You know, and that's the thing. So. - So your opponent seemed to touch desperate. He released an AI deep-fit video showing you saying things you didn't say. He suggested you owned a luxury lake front property, a claim that fell apart pretty quickly when you released a video giving a tour of your home on a play a bit of that, yeah, your crib. I wanna play a bit of your crib's crib, your crib video. Let's watch. - Welcome to my crib, on Tanner Lake. You might have seen Derek Van Orden has been talking about the lavish lake front property that I have on Tanner Lake. This is actually the house that I live in. It's a property that I bought back in 2019 and have renovated it. I rented it out for a few years to recoup the cost that I put into it. And it's not luxurious or lavish by any means. Let's go down to the water and see the boat and the dock that I don't have. Welcome to inside of my house. My home is heated by wood. This is my wood stove. I've got some small little heaters on them, the bathroom and the bedroom. But primarily is heated by wood. - Was it, was it expensive to put in that-- - If I were not here, yeah. - Yeah, the fire looks really quite cozy. - Was it expensive to put in that other house just for your jet skis? - Oh, yeah, totally. You know, no, it's to me amusing. I think the attacks, like the AI ads. And it's frustrating. I'm always going to stand up for my character and who I am and when people try to push me. But I think it's ludicrous to say that I'm living some lavish lifestyle when I'm certainly not. And I think anybody that knows me knows where I come from, knows where I live, knows who I am. But it's been, I think it sort of represents everything that's wrong with politics these days, you know? He's been making these AI slop videos about me and lying about who I am and lying about my record. And it's like, if he's willing to lie this much about me, all of his ads on TV right now are just attack ads. There's not a single one that talks about his platform and that's 'cause they haven't gotten anything done. They haven't, there isn't anything to show for the last couple of years under this administration and Mike Johnson's leadership in Congress. And so all they can do is just slap shit together and it's like, people aren't buying that here. And I talk to a lot of folks, you know, we actually go out and talk to voters. He's never held an in-person town hall. So when we're out in communities, we're hearing directly from people like, well, we know that that's not you. But we sent him a cease and desist anyways and press him back on that. - So. - So, suggest a touch of fear and insecurity about this state of the race, frankly. - Certainly. - So, last question for you. You worked on a dairy farm, you've waited tables, you run for Congress, let's rank those in order of difficulty. - Oh, number one would be the farm. I mean, when you go up on a farm, there are no days off, it's 365 days a year, it's seven days a week. You don't get to stop when you're tired, you stop when the work is done, right? And I think that that's where I get a lot of the tenacity and perseverance that I bring to everything that I do and the way that I was raised. On my first race, we still had cattle on our farm and it was unthonged drinking cups when it was like 20 below all my parents were out of town because that's what you gotta do. You have to show up and do those things. And that's, I think, what I want to bring to office is you don't get to pick and choose. Like, this is the job. You have to work to represent people on the left and on the right when you're a representative. You have to have tough conversations. And I'd say farming number one. I'd say waitressing number two. And I'd say running for Congress number three. So. - Are there more jerks waiting tables or running for Congress? - More jerks running for Congress, for sure. At least people keep some, you know, politeness and but the customer is always right. And that's something you always have to remember for sure on the restaurant floor. - Fewer tips in Congress too, unless you're, you know, a member of the Trump family. - Unless you're getting, you know, unless you're getting, yeah, tax tips on insider training. That's why I believe in banning stock trading for members of Congress. - There you go, that excellent pivot. Yeah, or you know, you're selling your crypto company to the Emirates or maybe Russian oligarchs paying for your wedding. There's lots of ways to get paid these days in politics if you are a Trump. If folks listen to this, like the Cut of Your Gib, they want to support your campaign. Where can they go, what can they do? You can go to cookforwisconsin.com. I need your support. They are dumping tons of money into this race. 10 different cabinet officials have come out here of the president himself. Two million bucks just got dumped into the race this week. And so we need to push back on these lies on TV. I'm gonna shake everybody's hand that I can, but we have to communicate across 19 counties. So if you can ship in five, 10, $25 to cookforwisconsin.com, I'd appreciate it. - Rebecca Cook, I think we have a great opportunity to win your race and also win a lot of races in Wisconsin this year. I hope that people will think about investing because we could win the governor's race. You could win a trifecta in the state legislature. If we do things right, we could win a bunch of important congressional seats. So there's just a huge opportunity. I hope we don't leave anything on the table here. So thank you. - Well, and I'll both try it together. Some of those really competitive state assembly and state senate races are within my district. And we're doing a hell of a lot to try to make sure that we can win majorities up and down the ticket. So supporting me helps support them as well. - Amen.