Used to be the mayor of hazleton. Trump supposedly said, i want you to run in this race. Does he clear the field now . Is he the big gun . I dont think so. First of all, you know, he doesnt have much name i. D. The mayor of hazleton isnt as known, as you can imagine. Trump won this state by less than one point, too. I mean, it was super close. I think out of 6 million votes, about 60,000, 70,000 votes total. So i think it will be a complicated field. I think there will be a lot of opportunity for people to kind of get their name out there, but i have a hard time, given todays environment, thinking how you beat bob casey. Really . With casey moving more and more to the left, and heres barletta, who made his name on antiimmigration. People may not know him a lot now, but if you are a trump supporter, somebody in the middle of the state, it seems to me that he looks a lot more appealing to you than, perhaps, somebody else. I understand, but the way you win an election is 50 plus one, and im not saying this wont be a very tight race, but i think the trump phenomenon was really i mean, it was super, super close last time. I dont think hes gotten any stronger, and polling has shown that he hasnt gotten stronger in pennsylvania, and theres something about bob casey who and that name, obviously, going back, et cetera, that i think has a lot of equity. And remember, while hes moved to the left, hes still someone whos gonna appeal to some of the same element and some of the constituencies that lou barletta appeals to, more of a caucasian workingclass voter. Bob caseys prounion, hes prolife. Mmhmm. So he takes away some of the other hotbutton issues. Hes also these guys are both from the scrantonwilkesbarre area, so you cant look and say, well, barletta gets everybody there, and barletta was a precursor to trump. Yeah. And i think i agree with brian. Its the timing of the race as if it were today thats gonna be tough to beat casey. So it sounds as though it would be pretty hard for anybody except for maybe a giant out of the west of the state to come through. And i think thats because this is looking like it may be a wave election, right . Trump trump is really the referendum, and, you know, in the latest quinnipiac poll, hes down to 33 , so hes shedding support, and is that what you really want to hang your hat on . But, ajay, can you look at the numbers today with the race being at least a year out and say, thats where were gonna be in a year . He might get some stuff passed and be looking great. Are you talking about trump . About trump, yeah. Look, i think it depends on what he gets passed. Im surprised that he went after healthcare reform first and then he went to Immigration Reform next. What he could have gone after was corporate reform, tax reform. You have corporate earnings at an alltime high even if the multiples are historical highs. You have a lowinterestrate climate. You have low unemployment, cheap dollar. If you can expatriate some of those monies even president obama and the democrats were for Corporate Tax reform so they can expatriate more funds and have a dow that is at 22,000. It could go up to 24,000, have that long but is he getting any of this out there . Hes not getting out there. Thats whats odd. What he should have done is corporate reform. He should be talking about opioids, where the trump county is affected by. Im surprised at the priorities of this administration its funny that you bring that up. Lets look at these things. In the last two weeks, hes brought up kicking out transgender people out of the military. The dod said, we dont respond to tweets. Thats not policy. They brought up affirmative action, this idea that maybe they would go against antiwhite discrimination. Then they came out the next day and said, no, this was just one case, not a change in policy, and then cutting Legal Immigration in half, and the senate said, thats a nonstarter. Our states wont go for that. Is this a good idea now . His base likes these ideas. Is that a good idea when, after the summer, he needs to try for tax reform with many people saying, if he doesnt win on tax reform, hes in a lot of trouble . I think that is the larger point i think not just tax reform. Just to go back to the opioid. You talk about 28 of the electorate that is always consistently supporting trump, if you look at the appalachian and the midwest regions, where some of them are resident in, 52,000 deaths from opioidrelated cases alone in 2015, but if youre gonna do that, you have to have discipline about that, and the biggest problem we have early on in my career when i was working in washington, i worked at the Republican National committee, and i ran all the Campaign Schools as a young man, and one of the things all over the country, we would have these schools, and we would talk to people and say, you have to keep repeating the same thing, and by the time youre so sick of saying it, its just starting to get through. But is he repeating the same right thing . He isnt. He says five Different Things in the same day. He has a week where hes talking about jobs, and then he talks about something else. Hes confusing his own message, and hes confusing hes stepping on his own message. Theres no message discipline. There is an opioid problem, but then you have to have opioid week, and you cant my larger point and sorry about the long windup, brian. My larger point is that there are bigger issues that his constituents actually should care about, that theyre suffering from, and hes not talking about it, is that a distraction . Thats what im getting at. When you bring up the divisive issues, do you have what you need for congress to come back and say, heres a taxreform bill that we can get through, that you can maybe pick up some votes . He is addicted to the base because the base is what gives him adulation, and hes our narcissist in chief. To ajays point, i think what he should have began with is a Marshall Plan for infrastructure, which would be gamechanging economically for all the people who voted for him and for the rest of the country, but he doesnt have the vision to come up with Something Like that. And thats where you get democrat votes, and the democrats are not going to run away their infrastructure, therefore, tax reform in many reverse that and get some wins under his belt. Now he has no wins, he has no juice. But i do have to make this note. Are they getti aout other than , we dont want him . No. No, and here is a real problem for the president in the last two or three weeks. In the house and in the senate, republicans are coming to a moment ofit, but they dont personally trust him. They think that he is erratic, they think that hell say, congratulations on passing the healthcare reform bill in the house, and two weeks later calling it meanspirited. They see what hes doing to sessions, so if youre a u. S. Senator, and youve been in there for, say, two or three terms, this guy was basically a democrat two years ago, okay . T now. Is he gonna have my back . And if you want people to take tough votes, you have to feel and, unfortunately, particularly in the last few weeks when you talk to people, think, i cant trust him. Lets try and talk a little bit about some of the other races. Philadelphia, the surrounding collar counties, its looking as though there could be a number of races here that will be competitive. Politicspa is saying there are a number of republicans in the state. Emilys list is starting to say, we want to run some people against philadelphia area republicans. Will we not be able to turn on the tv next fall without seeing the political ad . I always was mad that we didnt get newspaper ads out of this. You get all the tv ads. But anyway, yeah. I think there will be, but i think that people like pat meehan, people talk about that. Yes, costello, meehan, smucker, lobiondo those are the names they keep raising. Well, meehan, in particular, i think, is one of those folks who is a middleoftheroad. He really reflects that district. He won 6040 last time. I think hes a safe seat. I think some of the other races you look at what about costello . Hes always number one on the list that people say is gonna be vulnerable. Yeah, costellos in some trouble. He has a really credible challenger in Chrissy Houlahan, who is a military vet, an entrepreneur. She was part of that group that started the basketballapparel company and1, and has worked in the nonprofit sector. She could be this areas amy mcgrath, who is running in kentucky as a military veteran. If you havent seen the political ad, it may be the best political ad ive ever seen. Go look it up on youtube. Yeah. And i think Chrissy Houlahan might be that kind of candidate. You got to look at its the most gerrymandered district in the country. I think costello, like meehan, middleoftheroad republican, tough opponent, but hes taken some tough votes. He certainly comes around on issues like the environment, supporting the renewableenergy sector. Hes gonna have no shortage of money, and while it will be tough, i think hes still leans republican. This number jumped out at me from emilys list. They said in the 2016 cycle, they had 900 women who said, i want to run. They say already this cycle, they have 16,000 women who say, consider me. Its as though there could be an incredible field next year of just a number of changing pieces. Thats quite a difference yeah, well. Yeah, thats great. I think its about building the infrastructure, creating the pipeline, feeding the pipeline, and its about time that is being developed. Not to beat a dead horse, but its also about whether this is a wave election or not, whether trump where trump is in terms of popularity is gonna determine a lot of this. Lets talk about bob brady, who, for three decades has been a kingmaker in the city. A young man named omar woodard, a nonprofit director hes in his 30s is saying you know, he put out a facebook message saying, enough is enough, and im considering. Ill let you know in the next few weeks if im gonna run in the primary. Something needs to change. The thinking is, even if he doesnt win, his running might cause a number of people to jump in. Now, lets remember, were in a cycle where we saw Rebecca Rhynhart and Larry Krasner win in probable races. What does this say about the potential for bob brady . I think bradys still in a pretty good position, and heres why. Those are citywide races. Bob brady is in the first congressional district, which he benefited very much when republicans were in control of redistricting in the last census because they made his district more favorable. Its more caucasian, and its more looks like the type of issues that he supports are the ones that his constituents support, and i just think whats going on its depressing saying this is people dont follow the intricacies of was it illegal what he did, was his Campaign Finance its ugly, its terrible, but i dont know if its gonna break through. Look, ive written often about the perils of the Democratic Party machine, right, and how we dont have true democracy often. That said and i know omar woodard, and weve written about him at the citizen. Hes an upandcoming young rising star, but running against bob brady in congress does nothing to fix the problems in philadelphia in terms of political reform. Bob brady was the head of the Democratic Party before he was a u. S. Congressman, so i think if you want to change philadelphia politics, run for ward leader and run for committee person. Lets talk about new jersey politics. Cory booker came out with a bill wanting to legalize marijuana across the country, saying that if we see you targeting certain people for marijuana offenses, well withhold federal funding. He calls it part of criminal justice, saying that minorities are prosecuted a lot more than other people. Its a nonstarter, no cosigners at this point, but many people see it as a placeholder, putting his name out there for 2020. Does it, and does it really get him where he wants to be . Is this the place to hang your hat in 2020 . Its part of the cory booker story. He also has the mayor of newark story and all those sorts of things, and this is pieces of it. Hes got an incredible socialmedia presence, as you probably know, but this is a nonstarter, but this is definitely and, also, you can get down to one layer. Shouldnt utah be able to decide how they want to handle marijuana versus the state of california and company . Why is it a nonstarter, brian . I mean, last year alone 537,000 arrests related to marijuana. Thats more than all violent crimes, including murder and rape. Colorado had half a billion dollars in revenue from marijuana. You have a whole class and population of africanamericans from 80s on, mostly entrepreneurial, whove been arrested. Now there are certain states that its legal. Families, communities have been destroyed but medical is different than recreational. Well, we can go back to opioid. The opioid is community compassion, but if its marijuana, lock them up. Where is the standard . If you have uneven standard, and you have communities destroyed that way, it should not just be a nonstarter. It should be a National Conversation about race and history. But this is a question of political possibilities. If the country is dealing with the fallout from opioids, and youre saying you want to legalize the drug, even if theres an argument for it, is it the right place for him to stand . Wait, wait, wait. Tamala, whites and blacks equally use marijuana, but blacks are four times in more likelihood to go to jail for it. So why is it a nonstarter . That is a much larger conversation that america should be having. Well, i should say nonstarter in terms of politics. As an issue, i think its absolutely an issue, but the question becomes, if he using this to outbernie bernie, is it the right place . If the issue is only concerning a small population that dont matter, then its not politics. What im saying is, it should be politics as well as an issue, because opioid affects people like us, the other one does not. I think it should be politics at a national level. I think his eyes looked funny when he was saying that, too. [ laughter ] no, im just kidding. Just kidding. I have one concern about cory booker when you talk about him for running for president. Theres a great book called the prize by Dale Russakoff about Mark Zuckerbergs 100million gift to the newark schools that, according to this book, that cory booker frittered away and gave it to his friends. I think what has he accomplished . Hes a great speaker, but what has he accomplished . This is more example of show horse. Well, he also gets a lot of fire from the left on some of the stances hes taken, and its not across the board that people think his stances are great, and you wonder if this was a move to shore up that Political Part of the. And one, in particular, tamala, is School Choice and education reform in newark. Hes been very, very good about a proponent of charter schools. All right. Well, weve got to take a break. Well come back to more inside story. Inside story is presented by temple university. Remarkable change isnt easy, but for those who take charge, it comes naturally. Explore temples impact. Visit temple. Edu impact. Its blinds to gos anniversary summer bogo sale. Buy any blinds or shades and take half off your next item. All blinds all shades the entire store buy one get one half off. Its our biggest sale of the year Come Celebrate and save. Blinds to go. Blinds for life. Welcome back to inside story. Im tamala edwards. The poor people of margate, new jersey. Theyre building these dunes, told this is what we need to do in order to deal with any other sort of superstorm. Big rain they call it a 100year rain came last week. They, all of a sudden, had a massive you see it there pool of water. Theyd have to swim it to get over to their beach, and it became fetid and backed up with bacteria. Right. And so they went to the judge and said, you got to stop this, and he said, yes, im stopping this, and were bringing everybody into federal court. You need to come up with a remedy. What do they do . Theyre halfway through this project. What do they do for the residents of margate . Well, ill tell you one thing. I live in avalon, so we agree to these dunes, which are horrendous because they block the view, et cetera, and friends of mine in margate were like, you guys should fight it. You should fight it. They fought it, and you have to feel like this is a bit of a payback by the state and the feds saying, were gonna do your beach right in the middle of the summer oh, and sorry about the fetid pools of water. So it is a bit of a payback. Thats not fair or right, either, because they did it through the proper procedures, and i think what theyre doing now is but, again, paybacks are a pain sometimes. But how do you think it ends up . How do they fix it . Do they stop the dune project . I think they stop the dune project right now, but they wind up having the dunes in the offseason. And its 100 million more to do it, but too bad. Exactly. Yeah. All right. Lets go on to this. City hall, a young man made his way here while the scaffolding was still up around the top of city hall, shot a video him and billy penn hanging out on top of city hall. He just posted it. He doesnt live here, so its not like they can run into a neighborhood and get him, and some people might find it funny, but there was no restraints there. He could have fallen out of something and killed himself, and it also sends a message to other daredevils. Yeah. What should and can the city do . I want to say, where was the guard . How did he get up there . I think there are two issues. One is the daredevil mentality and the voyeurism six Million People on youtubes gopro channel alone who like to see these things from a voyeurism standpoint, and you need a daredevil to do it. But there is also a post9 11 different issue. If its that easy for somebody to scale the most valuable asset in our city, where the heart of our government sits and where the town square where people come and children come to enjoy, and if that is that accessible, what does that say about our security and where we are as a society . Well, thats right, and, actually, the last two stories were talking about, this one and the margate dunes, and all the stuff were hearing out of washington, is it any wonder that people have lost faith in the basic competence of government to get things done . You cant keep a daredevil out of city hall, you cant do the dunes in margate, youre passing legislation trying t