Firefighter Wants To Put Out The “DUMPSTER FIRE” In Washington

Bob Brooks, welcome to PudSave America. How are you doing? Thank you very much for having me in. Absolutely. So you are in a very competitive race for Congress. It's the seventh district in Pennsylvania trying to flip a Republican seat here. You've been a dishwasher, a bartender, a landscaper, a truck driver, and a firefighter. Which of those jobs? A snowplow driver. Oh, and a slope. Okay. And it's a snowplow driver. Which of those jobs most prepared you to run for Congress? Being a union president. Union president. To be honest with you. So I'm also, so I'm the statewide union president, and I was a local union president for the firefighters. So I would have to say firefighters of those job has got me ready because I became a union leader. And what made you finally decide to jump into politics, like tour politics, and decide to run for office? I got some good encouragement from a gentleman about a name of Josh Shapiro. He offered his support if I decide to do this. You know, it kind of solidified to me that I was doing it for the right reasons. But I got tired of waking up in the morning feeling like I was getting kicked in the teeth. But people just don't care about working class people. So that's why I started thinking about this and talking to friends, such as governors, Shapiro's Congressman Chris Delusio, you know, just just testing the waters and see, you know, what it would be like. You know, I have multiple things to worry about. My mother is in her 70s, so she's relying on social security right now, and they're talking about cutting that. My children are in their 30s, late 20s and 30s, and I worry about them as young people. And then I have granddaughters that are two and four years old, and I'm scared to death for what this country looks like for them. So I'm not willing to fight who's gonna. I know you helped fight for mental health coverage for firefighters with post-traumatic stress injuries, and you've called your opponent, Ryan McKenzie, one of the biggest obstacles to getting that done. What happened in that fight? So it was in the committee that he was in, Labor and Industry, with a guy by name Jim Cox or Republicans were in control, and he did everything Jim Cox said. He was a laptop for Jim Cox, just like he's a laptop for Donald Trump and Mike Johnson now. And they just wouldn't get it out of committee, they wouldn't bring it for a vote. They continually stopped it and installed it. So once the Democrats took over, it got flipped over to Vets Affairs, which is run by Representative Jared Solomon, who took it on right away for Representative Jennifer O'Mara, whose father was a Philadelphia firefighter, local 22, who had killed himself, unfortunately. So it was really personal to her, and we were able to work with her, and then, but getting it out of committee, finally, was a relief. And we finally got Ryan McKenzie to vote yes for it, because if not, he would have been one of two in the whole state and Senate, House and Senate, that would have. So, and he was running for Congress, so now his whole team changed. Of course. Of course. You have a great ad you've been running. I just want to play it for everyone, and then maybe we can react to it, speaking of being a firefighter. Let's take a look. In 20 years of fine fires, I've never seen a dumpster fire like Washington. All additions like Ryan McKenzie keep adding fuel to the fire, hundreds of thousands from corporate packs in big tech. But his donors get rich, and your paycheck goes up in flames. Working people get burned. Me, I'll cut off the fuel, smoke out the billionaires, and they're lobbyists, paying corporate paid money, I'm Bob Brooks, and I approve this ad, I'm running for Congress to build something better for the ashes. I love that last line, building something better from the ashes. What does that mean to you? Where did that come from? So, my house burned down when I was a senior in high school, and we had to rebuild everything from the ashes. Years ago, 20 years ago, they want something better. They want something that works for them. So, if we take into account what's happened in my history, in my life, we've built them better from the ashes, and now we're going to build better from the ashes in Washington. The place is burned to the ground, like it's bad, you know, and we need to come up with something better that represents, and that works for working people, because right now, people just feel disenfranchised all over the place. What's the first thing you try to pass in Congress? There's a few of them that I like. I really would like to get to work on Medicare for all, some sort of form of Medicare for all, because healthcare, I think, is one of the most important things. That's a problem. In my life, I've had to make a decision whether I was going to pay the medical bills or pay the mortgage. Medical bills were the way to go, so, you know, I've struggled here and there. But I really would like to push the pro-act because I think everybody should have the right to organize. It's not saying you have to be, but it gives you the opportunity to organize. And minimum wage. So, minimum wage here in Pennsylvania is $7.25 an hour. I'd like to see federal minimum wage get up there, and, you know, I'd like to work on the number and figure out what we're expense. So, we're in the final weeks of the campaign, and Donald Trump is barren storming the country, and he's trying out a message that everything's actually going pretty well. I want to play a quick clip of him in Ohio last night, and then maybe you can tell me if this reflects what you're hearing from people on the ground in Pennsylvania, let's check it out. And then we did a little stopover in Iran and their whole country is, let's put it this way, they're never going to have a nuclear weapon, and it's going to end very soon. And as soon as it ends, your gasoline comes down. But remember, your prices, your gas prices are lower than when Biden was president, and he didn't do anything about Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran, didn't do anything. Gas prices are lower than when Biden was president, is that what you're hearing? Well, I can tell you from personal experience, I own three diesel pickup trucks because I own a small business that does snow plowing, and I had to fill up my one truck the other day, it cost me $220, that used to cost me 80. So I believe diesel is up $3 a gallon from where Joe Biden was. So I mean, I guess it's just like anything else with these guys, they feel if they tell it to you enough, you believe it, but unfortunately, every one of us is still pulling up to that gas pump, and we know what it costs, and it's not cheaper than when Joe Biden was president. Now you probably talk to working people all the time who are struggling, but also maybe don't trust Democrats or haven't trusted Democrats in the past to help. So what's a conversation you've had with a Trump voter that shows sort of what it would take to earn people's trust back? Well, I think, well, they got to deliver, we have to deliver a product, we can't keep going down here with a message and saying, oh, we're going to do this, so we're going to do that. We have to deliver something for them for a change, and we have to actually put something in their hands, make their lives better, and that's what we're talking about. I'm not yelling at people, you voted for Trump, you were wrong, blah, blah. It's not that way. I have open arms. Please come back, give me an opportunity to represent you, because the man in the office right now is just not doing it, Ryan McKenzie doesn't care about you. He never has. I mean, the guy's never had a job. He's gone from Harvard to the state house to Congress, and it's going to be fun to give him his first application he has to fill out. But that's what I'm saying to people, is we're just talking to him. We're going to provide you with a product, something that makes your life better, because if you ask them, is your life better now than it was a year and a half ago? The answer is definitely no. You count both Josh Shapiro and Bernie Sanders as allies, political allies. What are people who are watching this intraparty democratic debate from the outside? What do they get wrong about the reality of what's going on in this party from someone who is friends with Josh Shapiro and also Bernie Sanders? Well, I mean, when you talk to Josh Shapiro and Bernie Sanders, they both care about people, and that's what I care about, people, and that's what we all have in common. I think I'm proven not only with Josh and Bernie, but I have the CPC and the blue dogs, right? There's a common goal with all ideological spectrums that we have here, and that's what we have to concentrate on, and then we can work on the fringe stuff and the outside stuff. I talked to Josh, when I talked to Bernie, it was specifically about people, and how are we going to make people's lives better, and that's why they're both behind me. I mean, I'd love to claim that I'm a Josh Shapiro-type Democrat. I think Josh, as he says, gets shit done, and I'm very tight with Congressman Chris Delusio also, so when he's in the CPC, so I mean, I just think, listen, my job represents my firefighters has always been about working with whoever's willing to work with the firefighters. So that's what I think, I plan on doing. I love the build coalitions, and I think I'm proving that it can be done by being part of the different ends of the spectrum here. So last couple of weeks to go, for people listening who want to help win the seat, what would be most useful in these last weeks, especially for someone who's never volunteered before? We need door knockers, if you're interested in coming out or putting up signs, or any little bit helps. But the biggest thing I need you to do is make sure you, your family, your friends, they vote. Make sure everybody comes out and votes, because a lot of times, people stay home, like they look at numbers, and they see Josh Shapiro's winning day. Well, I don't have. to go out. Well, there's a lot of other people on that ballot that are running for you, hoping you come out and vote and hoping you tell your friends. So that's what I want you to do. Tell everybody you know about us down ballot and let's get this done. Let's let's, you know, take over this seat. Let's get a state trifect and make things happen. Bob Brooks, thank you so much for joining and good luck in these final weeks and everyone should know. This is one of the more competitive seats in the house. This is a seat that we can absolutely flip and it's not just about flipping a seat. We actually have someone running for this seat who really cares about working people because he's been of working people his entire life. So Bob Brooks, everyone who wants to go help go to his website, check it out and sign up to go vote. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Take care, Bob. you