Or country we just shoot our guns off or whatever it is we do up the back woods, and all that stuff they have all the stereotypes about us but none of it is true. There actually a lot of issues that flyover country nation has with east and west coast but theres a lot of issues we look at incredibly differently. Part of it is explaining that perspective, that leinster which myself and everybody else has overcome the midwest of flyover nation. That perspective that we look at issues but it also gets into how we are kind of tired of being kicked around and tired of taking it all of this time. It explains why so many people have risen up why this election cycle is as weird as it is. We cannot even trend or predict anything, anticipate anything anymore. It explains all of that. One of the things to that to point this out as well, i was in the middle of writing this book it actually had finished it with that, at about new york values happen. Remember how everybody was so angry about new york values. I love new york and i think people youre really cool. The people in new york to not get made fun of the way people in flyover nation do. People in new york do not get viewed as being related to their cousin betty. They dont looked at that same manner. They got so mad over one little remark and they wanted everybody to defend them. I was sitting there with rest my flyover nation family and i was thinking you dont get to be mac, we are always made fun of, we are always the people were passed up, passed around, were underestimated in taken for granted expected to shop and vote and expected to stand up and be there whenever where needed. You dont get to be angry because we have been downtrodden enough, we been underestimated enough. Let me show you what we have been through for my entire life and before that. So i actually had an addendum. I went back and i added an addendum to this book effort or it was already written and gone through editing. I call my publisher and i said we have to add this. It perfectly explains why i wrote this book. Host the tired make sense for me, sort of a meme on the centerright. Flyover country, flyover country, flyover nation, we know what that means and what your he bring to. For the uninitiated and the cspan audience, how would you define the term flyover nation. Who is a part of that. Guest is the area between new york and l. A. That is 30,000 feet be low your plane window winner going from d. C. To l. A. Or wherever, is that huge expanse of patchwork, it looks like a quilt whenever he looked out. You have no idea whats going on down there. A small town america. Its momandpop shops. Its the people who middleclass america, people were farmers, union workers, have an uncle who owns a quarry. Its people quarry. Its people who work in the quarries comments people just everyday people who are not on the coast, who they value family, they have different values which i get into in the book as well. We look into a different issues. Its all of those people that dont get the attention that the coast gets. The beltway gets. Host will get to the politics really, but you are still live in flyover nation, tell is personally about your journey, your your american story that brought you to the studio with your second book. Guest its a weird one too. I have always wanted to write but i never wanted to be in front of the camera. I never had any design when that didnt last. I winning kicking and screaming. I just wanted to be behind the scenes and freelance into my thing. Where i come from in Rural Missouri all my family lives in missouri, we have a huge family have 24 cousins. And that is just a my moms eye. We are big family. It is a close knit family, tightknit family we all know or do them for the town that my family comes from our literally 301 people in theres one restaurant called the restaurant. There is a quick mark and that is where all the action happens for thats where you want to go and get like a little debbie snack cakes are not a slurpie but you want to get the next best thing to a slurpie. Host a slushy maybe. Guest is not even that, the generic version of a slushy. But you go down to the quick mark. Everybody knows everybody. I was raised by a single mother who left the area to get job. That townie quirk in the school as a hairdresser, maybe feel like you can get a job at the bank that is there. You can work as a waitress in the restaurant or you can go work in the quarries. Thats about it. Theres not a lot of jobs there. And people down there is a different way of life. Everybodys not striving to have something. Theres no we no we have to keep up with the joneses kind of thing. Since people are just happy with what they have. Theyre happy just being out on their property been able to go fishing in the river. Its a really scaledback, downsize lowdown way of life. It still completely different. My mom left and went to the city to get a job. I went with her and i was really isolated and really alone in the city. It was so weird because you think that would not be the case because theres so many people around everywhere. But i found that being a big city is used easiest way to feel lonely is because youre isolated by all of these people that you dont know. So in the city nobody cares we last name is. Nobody cares for your family does. Nobody knows your family, nobody knows nobody knows if you resemble each other. Nobody knows that stuff. Back in small town where my family came from everybody knew everybody. We all knew who you were and what your familys last name was because you resembled your grandpa are you resemble it was just in different. Then i eventually stayed in the city enough to go to school and to work myself. I would always i love going back to visit family. Visit family in the ozarks and reconnect and get away from everything. I live in dallas now so we moved from missouri to dallas. I like it there, i would still classify it as flyover because everybody still thinks its like the wild west in dallas. Host texas accounts. Guest texas totally counts. People is a different aesthetic. As i was was telling you earlier that lifestyle is different. I dont know, i have friends from l. A. And whenever they would visit in st. Louis when we used to live there and i took one of my friends to l. A. Down to where some of my family lived and they said its another world down here. We have to get a documentary camera crew here because this is another world. You dont have stop lights. Theres one stop sign. You dont have stop lights down here. Where do the kids go to have fun, while they have bonfires or they go to the river. It was just beyond their comprehension that people just live there and its very scaledback and downsize. And relax. But i think i like to can you take that aesthetic with me with work. What i do is very far as you know, you live in d. C. And youre the beltway now. You dont seem like the beltway die. Guest up such a city slicker. Guest you dont seem that way. You tend to have that aesthetic of that five where youre open and appreciate flyover nation and you appreciate the people in that relaxed slowmotion living for lack of better way to describe it. I like to visit new york but i cannot live here. I get claustrophobic. It like the buildings full dover like hands clasping and i cant see the sky. In dc, while i drive i drive much like everybody d. C. , it is ready to look at and great to visit but there is something that im missing. When theres something im missing in new york and even something in it im missing in l. A. So we have chances where he couldve moved to new york or d. C. , and i cant. I cant do it. I miss the way of life in the middle of the country. And im isolated from all the drama. So when someone is like did you hear i didnt hear what happened. Im in the middle of the country. Host gossip is universal. Staying with the personal, think what may be intriguing to some readers of flyover nation is they are familiar with your work on fox news. Your regular on the megyn kelly show for example. You have your own programs, your soda known and i dont think you are disagree has a bit of a conservator brawler. You come out and fight, you, you have your game face on. Flyover nation there passages that were extremely personal that i was not expecting from you and into your family and your history and you alluded your single mother situation some abuse, was that difficult for you to write about and be public about to a broader audience . Guest way back when i think was about 2001 when i first started blogging. I wanted an outlet to write about stuff that i was not writing about when ice freelancing. I wanted to just mess around on the internet and write whatever and have fun with it. And most of that is still out there. I explored a lot of that online. I dont think it was because it was honest and was just raw. It doesnt for people of where i come from, where my tone is, why i take the tone that i take because of what you see is what you get. I dont want, if i go on television or youve been out with me before, i think it informs the reader of where i come from and how i operate the way i operate and why i am so passionate about certain things. Why im passionate about the family unit because ive seen firsthand what happens when it breaks down, have lived that. Why am i such a champion of supporting single moms, because i had had a single mom. All of these issues ive lived them in some respect. For instance issue of abortion or the issue of unexpected my husband and i werent married and i was in college when i had my first child. I had every pressure and every invitation in the world to have an abortion. So dana you could go ahead and continue freelancing and continue on this path in college. This is is not the best time to have a baby. Thought he would accept a consequences of your choices. Im just very frank about it. I think that also people relate to a story and they relate to your open fire experiences where you come from people relate to that because they think, i think a lot of hearts and minds are more easily changed when youre reaching out to people and trying to connect with them on that real level as opposed to lecturing them. So im not perfect, this is where i come from and these are the decisions that i made and this is why i view things the way i do. Maybe you can kinda save for my way little bit. Host when the public see someone on tv its just almost dehumanizing, thats just a perfect tv person, and nobodys perfect. You go through that in the book, you open, you open with a reference to thomas frank his famous book from years ago, whats the matter with kansas, where he cannot figure out why people in kansas would vote republican, against their interest. Talk about how that book shaped flyover nation. Was this at all spring does a reputation or a conservative come back . Guest in a way, wasnt intended to be but that was one of the things in my mind when i added it to my repository of people and writings that i wanted to tell off. And push back against, it it did factor in that way. So much as been said about we can understand why somebody would vote this way or why people would think this way. And i just disagreed with this premise seven disagreed with what the president said, i disagreed with the reaction of the new york values. In a way i guess for the lack of a better way to put it or just put it in a way that my family would appreciate, i guess you could kind of say it was like in her responding to neil young. Guest sort of in the same vein. Host boohoo. Host southern man dont need him around anyhow. Host you made reference to this and i want to explore more deeply. This disconnect in the polarization as for having this conversation the book is out available for purchase over the country. We are still reeling for the orlando terrace attack at a gay nightclub. It was inspired by a and we are still tracking down the details. There was a poll after the gallup poll would ask whether the attack was more about islam as terrorism or more about domestic gun violence in the country was split right down the middle on this with republicans on same terrorism, and democrats overwhelmingly saying guns. How do you address that massive canyon that seems to separate not just the things that we believe that almost the premises, the facts from which we approach issues. Host this is a problem that we have is that people want to be right and they dont really so much care about the actual debate at hand. The poll you are referencing your right it was split right down the middle. There is no gray area at all. It should not be that way. Of course i believe that whole situation was a terrorist situation. The matter how you look at it. But i wish that instead of people taken a partyline that they could immediately remove that its a variable from this discussion i just look look at the basic facts of the matter. This is a person who has fast with the belief system that is in compatible with the western culture. Its completely intolerant of everything that in which he does not believe. He does not like women, he does not like gays, he does not like western culture, he doesnt like western christianity or any of the things that here in the United States people are allowed to be who they are. They are allowed to worship how they want to worship. Women cam vote in the country, we can drive it cars unlike in saudi arabia. That it was so poorly restrict has something to do with the political rhetoric as well. It seems in so many ways that notch is so much people in flyover nation although they are targeted, you have this yanking back and forth. You have the right and the left that are pulling them in one direction or another and it goes back to we need you to shop a certain way to vote or to support this particular issue. That divide is kind of scary. Now politics is affecting weather not were going to be equally defend ourselves against the major threat in domestic terror attacks are increasing in the United States whether we want to realize or not. We dont live in a perfect mayberry, kittens and sunshine world where we dont have to worry we go out to a club where we go to a baseball game we dont have to worry. If we go to mall we dont have to worry. We dont live in that world anymore. Unfortunately we have to protect ourselves at home because not enough has been done to contain it overseas. Unfortunately we have people who dont want to acknowledge this is a terrorist issue because that means sacrificing another part of their narrative and they would rather be right on an issue, they would rather win the argument then actually address what is happening be morally and ethically correct on how to handle it. Host you argue that people who do not live in flyover nation do not understand it and have really deepseated misunderstandings, even biased in some ways against people who do live in what youre characterizing us fiber nation. You talk talk about the church, talk about guns in the military. How would you explain the foreign country as you said. How would you explain the misconceptions and how you try to correct them in the book . Guest there are these crazy stereotypes about flyover nation and middle america. The people that have a genuine interest in understanding what makes flyover different from the west coast or the east coast, those people when they visit flyover nation they think this is amazing, this this is great, i took a road trip with a friend and my friend passed away a few years ago and we are in a road trip from indianapolis back to st. Louis before he went back to los angeles. He wanted to plot the highway go to all of these little momandpop towns. He said they dont have this in la. This is amazing. We went to one place where you could get deepfried anything and he thought it was the most amazing thing of the world. He said look at this, you get a gate fryer and you deep fry everything and you sell it, god bless america, this is so amazing. Host was the craziest he try something you have every . Guest on my gosh, i actually got got a deep fryer as a wedding gift. And like for the first two months my husband i defied everything. Host were you asking for one or some of just new one. Guest i think we register for it. Its one of the things you do. And i thought i had to have a deep fire. I had a defied dingdong, dingdong, deepfried twinkie, deepfried every vegetable, i think i did it deepfried pizza roll, im trying to think what have a wii deepfried, i think everything. You cant make it weird. Its all delicious when it deepfried. Horrible for your. Horrible for your help but its all delicious when you deepfried. Host is a must like some on the left are some people in the coastal elite, however you would describe them look at bible believing christians from the heartland as a sociological phenomenon. Explain what the church has actually meant in your life, daytoday, not as i have the bible and i quit because of these issues, what is your relationship with christ mean to you . What is your Church Community mean to you and your family . Guest growing up, the church is where, theres three churches in the town where i family live. Host no stoplight three churches. Guest and they are all on the same road. You can go in the park in mind you can see the other two from the park and not in his the funniest thing. Theyll compete. When my grandmother was on hospice, is the church that sent, brother jim, they sent someone there to be with my grandmother and help the family. It is that church that stepped in when my uncle was a drug addict and he was dying fluid from jacksonville broke, he had not a nickel to his name. He had nothing, he was by himself, strange from his kids and it was the church that stepped in to make sure he had a respectable funeral because thats what you do in flyover nation. In flyover nation the church is not there to board a religion over you because we are all imperfect. And especially when you live in small towns like that you have imperfections on display every single day. The church is there to assist in the church is there thats where you get together for fellowship and worship and help each other out. That is with the churches in flyover nation. The churches that i have attended i have see them throw baby showers for teenage unwed mothers. Ive ive seen them help my fatherinlaw with hospice and he sees patients on her deathbeds were professing faith in christ. So ive seen the church in action. That is the church that have grown up with. It is a cornerstone in the community. It helps keep the community together. Its not there is some sort of its not the way it has been made out to be. There has been a lot of effort by progressives and east coast, west coast and the beltway to divide people to really be the divide between the church and the people. So i feel badly for the people who fall for them for the people who have a bad impression of the church because that is not the church and that the faith that ive grown up with. Thats not the faith that ive seen every day of my life. I wish that they would come to flyover nation and see it in action and some of the small towns. Host were having a delightful conversation. It is so much fun. I do not want potential readers to be misled though. You definitely throw some punches in this book. It this book. It is not you are coming from a strong perspective and there are some hot button issues. You have made a few comments earlier about abortion, you get into physicianassisted suicide as well and you write on page 27, physicianassisted suicide is a groggy term for euthanasia or more plainly, a very late term abortion. Is that fair . In abruption, im prolife, and abortion part of the argument is that it is the human whose life is being and it has no say in the matter whatsoever. But in many cases physicianassisted suicide, someone is making a choice from from the cells and their lipase other circumstances, isnt that an important distinction . Guest i think its a distinction but not a qualified one. When i look at it its not their decision to make. Its not anybodys decision to make as to whether or not to end a life. I can look at this from a christian perspective two. Its a god thing. Its god decision and youre completely eliminating him from the equation. When youre saying you know what i think im done now and im gonna go up when im gonna go out. Im finished. Well, knows, finished. Well, who knows, maybe it is in those last couple of days that life actually directly impacts someone elses. Ive seen that happen. I gave the example of my uncle, drug, drug addict who came in from jacksonville and died in st. Louis. He actually because the drug addicts tend to have gigantic friends, it was in his dying days and on his deathbed that his friends had said, it hit me. I saw what he was doing what with his life and it impacted me. It changed me. You never know how something is going to affect someone else. I think its for that reason that i view it differently. I think you are on gods time not your own timeline. Thats not a decision for you to make. Host another front in the culture war boiled over a small establishment in indian. You discuss memories pizza, this is an issue that he think a lot of people feel strongly about on both sides. Talk about what happened there and why you think its emblematic of some of the things that you get out in flyover nation. Guest i cannot think of a more important story that really describe how people view flyover nation. You had a reporter from bloomington it, indiana who really went out of her way to find some sort of christian mom and pop shop that he she could stereotype. Guest that was basically allowing people that if you own a business and you want to choose how you want to run your business thats fine. If you dont want to violate your religious there are limitations. If youre actively engaged in discrimination then youre going to run afoul of the law. But if you are securely prevented her faith insane on this one instance of a wedding ceremony i dont want to give you my artistic skill or my labor or my expression, than that is understandable and thats what its about. This reporter actually went out of her way and went to this really little tiny town, one of the small towns we have the storefront windows and people still park in the middle of the street. She went in and she saw some crosses on the wall of the species shop and thought here it is, she walked inside, crystal was the daughter of the proprietor was at the Cash Register that day. She asked her, what would you cater a gay wedding . And they were thing was, there was no Actual Service done, no goods or money was exchanged or anything, its just a hypothetical question. Crystal said well we serve gay and lesbian customers every day, thats one thing but the active a wedding ceremony goes against what we believe as christians. We. We probably would not participate in that. I think that the reporter was gonna go to a quick trip next or something and just akamai for some wedding cake or Something Like that or hors doeuvre or whatever, it was where that they went to a pizza shop. I wrote about this too because i have gay friends and gave family members. Im sorry, im from the ozarks, we would never cater a wedding with pizza. Im not throwing shame on anybody who ever has, but do these people not understand like our neighbors through a block party in st. Louis, gay neighbors, fabulous, and they had bottle service. Nobodys going to cater their wedding with a pizza for crying out loud. Anyway, that became a a big story in this restaurant all of a sudden was at the center of all of this many debate. They had to close up shop, close their blinds, they are are getting death threats, all this for a hypothetical question. It was many because not only of it was it something that nothing happened, no discrimination that took place except the discrimination against proprieties of a position. This is more than an issue of whether or not you are serving the cake at a gay wedding or photograph in a gay wedding or giving pizza to a gay wedding reception. Take that variable out of it. This is ultimately about who your labor. Can a government coming to say no you dont get to determine how you work, when you when you were, and who you provide your services to. We do. Thats exactly it, its about association which we have had Supreme Court decisions on this. When you remove all of the windowed dressing of identity politics this is on indentured servitude. People are too involved in all of these identity politics to realize ultimately what path theyre being led down with his argument. Thats a scary thing about it. And the fact that he had a reporter that went to the smalltown and sought someone out to prove a narrative that she was building that is exactly why people in flyover nation have just had it. Host one of the bills in that story, the memories pizza was the media. That is one of the villains in the book, overall in flyover nation where you have it in or out for the mainstream media. You talk about the deep distrust of the media among the american people. Comment on that briefly just about the loss of trust and why you think that has been the case that there is anything people in the media can do to regain it . Spee2 i dont know there is. I know i know with full irony that what i do is consider part of the media. That turns my butter. I dont like it. It is what it is. First off i dont dont ever think that there is then anything is objective media. It got its start in the United States because ben franklin wanted to talk smack about others using name. Some people have more decency than others and more committed to giving you this story while minimizing your editorial input is much as possible. That i can appreciate it. I can appreciate were some but, flyover nation is the same way. We dont care if youre republican or democrat, dont pretend that youre not why youre delivering the story they see it on the anchors and the news channels. The anchor who used to invite into your home whenever things hit the fan and it got bad and you wanted to hear trusted voice, we dont have that anymore. People dont even desire that anymore because they dont trust the media. These people they had at least not that they could be some kind of watchdog for the government had they dont even do that anymore. But you you have cbs that goes and violates federal law where it concerns gun purchases because they want to lecture to people about gun control. You have documentary filmmakers the same thing. We dont expect to not have lives or not have biases. Her preference is one where the other about an issue, but dont like like you dont and delivers a story story in your narrative while pretending to be objective. Thats why nobody trusts the media anymore. Host part of your critique in the media, you have this chart here where you have salaries listed of some of the top news anchors in the millions of dollars annually. A i was interested in some of these numbers, but all really come but i did have this thought, we are are capitalist, we believe the people early and it seems like the left that obsesses with unfair, illgotten gains, millions of dollars were people or demonize. You you feel like you might be doing the left, not over ceo pay but over media pay. Guest not really. Were not not once were trying to shame the 1 for doing well. Were not trying to go after them. I remember the occupy wall street and the media personalities were out there making it as though its a horrible of your Business Owner today. Why dont you increase your hourly wages to 15 per hour . If you really love them bring it to 25 per hour. Were not the one demonizing success. I love in the United States of america there are people who can make millions of dollars a year. Im not jealous of them come i dont want to take anything of them. I think it proves that you can still do it in the United States. However, those same people apparently dont want anybody else getting up to their level so want anybody else getting up to their level so they demonize all of the things about capitalismmy capitalism has raised communities from the ash. They penalize fitness owners for wanting to keep the doors open. They penalize people for not artificially raising wages beyond what the market is going to organically support. They demonize the very things that they use and climbed up to get to the success that theyre out now. Thats the progress in this. We dont do that. Host lets talk about rhetoric and violence. Weve heard from from some on the left in the wake orlando that setting aside the facts and what actually inspired this monster to murder people at the gay club is the rhetoric anti gay rhetoric, christian conservatives, the same fall guys that they want to blame everybody. They conservative issues have contributed to a Culture Climate where theres hatred so therefore we should watch what was in the right. Can you go a little bit on the flipside with black lives matter, is the right guilty of this too . You do need to know those examples. Guest i dont think it is. Particularly what i think of our sharpton, theres been time when i recalled and went on one on the right has ever said that his insight to burn down the fashion mart and has actually gone out there to try to antagonize and increase violence and hope that rhetoric will plant the seed that burn some sort of violent protests. We actually speak out against that is what we do. And comparing that to anything that is being said about gay and lesbian rights as well. Nobody talks like that on the right. To say things that would be will every side has its french. You have the westborough that gets out there. I have some things that are probably not acceptable for fcc regulator ride cast but thats for another day. Cspan thank you very much for that, thats thats a church or faith, thats an entity that reminds me of, ill bring this tugboat back for sure coming on the movie poltergeist where they have the kind the big cat he loves the cult and all that. That is who he reminds me of. The poltergeist from poltergeist three. Anyway, the cult leader i havent seen it, but im sure back to shore. When i see Something Like black lives matter activists. Icing the protests, their violet. I dont know what the objective is. Usually when you go on protest you want to have an objective, you want to gain attention for something but at the same time you want to gain attention for something but at the same time you want to advance what youre fighting for forward so you can gain from that. I dont see where black lives matter is doing that. I dont see where causing violence is doing that are running no caps is doing that. Unless the goal is chaos and then thats another discussion. Host all of black lives matter . Spee2 ive yet yet to see an example of not. Host theres an assertion you make in the book better leaders of Political Class hate us. You quote the Outgoing Senate democratic leader, harry reid famously talked about nelly in washington dc. You certainly take your shots at democrats. But republicans are republicans are not spared either in flyover nation. Eric cantor his name comes up. The opening door and get out and get voted by the people and then you make bank as a lobbyist influencing the situation you used to be a part of. Is that part of the disc that . To rise people over this country. Guest its one of the reasons were in the situation where in now. The republican nominee has raised a middle finger to washington d. C. Because people are fed up and dont know what to do. They want someone who is just going to take a mallet to the whole system. Regardless of the consequences. They just have lost faith not only in the way that washington works but they have lost faith in the vehicle that they have believed until for so many years , this is going to be the best way to get your conservative ideals and practice in washington and thats the Republican Party. And theyve seen the compromise on budget issues and on taxation, they have seen them compromise on issue after issue or not do anything on issue after issue. Theyve seen the leaders of the Republican Party fight was some of the more grassroot members of the Republican Party. Who in here is representing us anymore . Smp rated them. They they have gone so far outside the system, there are discussions as to whether the nominee that they have as part of the system, but is not a politician for sure. Its not the politician in the way that we have normally gone about electing politicians. But they are mad. Its only calls everyday on my Radio Program for people, and its conservative and it skews a little bit more young of female and never in the past couple of years ive noticed a huge shift. People are equally angry and sometimes more so at republicans because they expect this stuff and democrats. He says you know what i expect harry reid to be training, and pelosi to do this, i did not and should not expect it from the Republican Party leaders. I had people come in and said they left the Republican Party because they do not want to feel like theyre being betrayed in the same manner that they have been with democrats. So their finish. They dont even one hearing more. Theyre not more. Theyre not even at a spot where there open to hearing anything else about it. Thats a really tough position to be inches yes me early about what the media can do to regain trust with folks . I things thats the least of the countrys worries. Host to what extent, we both work in the conservative media world, town hall and all of our various associations. To what extent do we as a community or as an industry view and a call that bear some responsibility in terms of setting expectations for example repealing obama care and obama care still the law, will they won the house, they won the senate, they wanted to repeal it got to the president s desk and it vetoed and thats the way the constitution works, do we bear some responsibility and like why people are so angry because i thought things could work in ways that literally could not . Guest i think they are. I started out and ive been blogging for a long time, i think theres people were straight journalists and they want to be with reporters and ive never claimed not to have any bias and im biased as you can get, but there are some people who want to mesh that activism with journalism. And ive done that as well. Ive gone out protested in 2009. I thousand nine. I have cocreated tea party of my town back in 2009. I think some of it focusing on populist soundbites and not focusing enough on solution really contributed to the and one of the reasons why were in the position the first place. I think it helps set apart for High Expectations on how washington d. C. Works. Its not compromise or forfeit, but we, and i told people this for a long time, this is a marathon not a sprint. I think as people mentioned the High Expectations. They think it can get done in short order washington, they cant. Its not designed to work at that. It takes long time to get things done washington, particularly when youre looking at changing the soul and operation of Political Party and having that impact washington as a whole. That takes long time. It takes one or two or three election cycles. People dont have the patience for that anymore. And the rhetoric that we have heard from both sides have contributed to that. Host one of the buzz phrases that have percolated on your air , on our blog for years now during the obama administrations american exceptionalism. You have is tire chaptered defending american exceptionalism. The the famous or perhaps a misquote from president obama where he said im sure the brits they british exceptionalism and greeks s, he is is downplaying the whole point of american exceptionalism. First part of the question is what he you feel it was so important to have an entire chapter about why america is exceptional and the second part of the question deals with the republican nominee. First lets talk about the issue itself, american exceptionalism, whether that warrant in your mind an entire chapter of flyover nation . Guest i think that discussion has been absent in the past eight years. It seems as though were supposed to feel ashamed to be an exceptional. That that we should feel ashamed of having a country that is a beacon to the rest of the world. Every device in america where do people go . Where do people go after that . Nowhere. This is it. Every country you can say that other countries are also freer and they have a lot more limitations but the United States really was this great experiment and exercise and republicanism in independence and when you lose that what is that go . We have have been made to feel ashamed of just frankly backtoback world word chance. Were backtoback world word chance. We have been made to feel bad about being great, but being a great nation. Thats not nationalism or just blatant patriotism for we are great country. Guest i purposely not is on a slow. What nation on this earth has done more for other countries. We step in and i think sometimes too much and thats another discussion. We are absolutely, were everywhere. I went on vacation in the caribbean a few weeks ago and while i was down there rechartered this boat were going to go fishing. I dont know the captain and first mate thought that a regard to far out they said the u. S. Coast guard comes all the way down here. Were in the west indies. The u. S. Coast guard, said yeah theyre everywhere. You guys are guys are everywhere. I have to admit, theres little part of that echoes how we are. I really felt that way. Where an exceptional come country. We should feel bad about that. We shouldnt feel bad about being great and offering People Freedom and independence to live their life the way they choose. They have the ability to raise himself up if they want to. Theres nothing nothing wrong with that and its that refusal to celebrate what makes this country great that has frustrated a lot of people. I get into like a military when you look at who sends more of its sons and daughters in the the military service its flyover nation. We send, disproportionately, we send our sons and daughters to go probably serve and to fulfill these obligations and what our government asked for them overseas and elsewhere. When we hear and see their objectives spoken down by the president , or like is that if we acknowledge that we were doing is good or keep america safe is good. That make people of flyover angry. Ive known those who have sacrificed more one child out of their family. I know families who have had everyone of their children serve and when were supposed to feel ashamed of our accomplishments and ashamed to be an exceptional and ashamed of everything their values have one for this country . Thats another reason why this book needs be reason. Host the presumptive nominee republican nominee the silicate is make america great, get. Theres something underline about the premise that perhaps we have lost some greatness or greatness altogether. Donald trump is asked about american exceptionalism and his response was not exactly the same as president obamas but some striking similarities in their pressure on this. Is that a face paul moment for you . Guest what i heard the slogan and i was trying to think is this a response to obama of the past eight years . Because this president has gone on apology tours, he has apologized, where has he not gone, everywhere his gun his apologize for country. And apologizing for a country he would make some remark when he was in egypt he would say talk about the accomplishments of the arab world as almost as if to slight the United States and everything the United States had accomplished. When you do that on an International Stage it does sort of feel like you are trying to reduce america to not being so fantastic. In the past eight years with the passage of is cutting us down to size with the Affordable Care act, a lot of the graphs that they have been making nine guns and so much more, america is not as free as it was eight years ago, thats thats for sure especially after the on Affordable Care. America is not as free as it was eight years ago. I think there is a certain truth in recovering some of the rights that we have lost. Terms of whether or not as a country we have lost that animated spirit, that drives us towards freedom, that drives us towards independence and drives us towards everything that me the country great, whether not we had lost that. I do i do believe we have because theres too many people in this country that still believe in the entire reason why this country was founded and they believe in all the things that our constitution and everything the founders believed it. I dont think its lost but i think its been obscured by a lot of antics weve seen in the past eight years. Host when i picked up flyover nation one thing is most curious to see thumbing through and flipping through, how how much is dana going to talk about her relationship with the Trump Campaign . One of Donald Trumps arduous supporters. What i did knows the Trump Campaign early stages reached out to to possibly be an onair surrogate for them or to speak on their behalf and you declined. Slain with that interaction was like and your relationship with trump and how that seems to have really declined over the last number of months . Guest this even goes to cruise commonly in all the politicians, i always view politicians as being different people. Almost as if the moment someone announces they are running for office i feel antagonistic towards them. Even if i do agree with them on those things. I feel like we should kinda be. If i dont want to have a cozy relationship with a politician, i dont really care for friends and be friends with him. I dont do any of that stuff, honesty doesnt give you friends in washington, ive learned that. But i feel as though i need to be antagonistic and not unnecessarily so but i want to ask a question. I want to know what form the opinions what you have, i want to know what changed you. When you look at life people have change its a great tool of witness, not gonna do it as i gotcha, if you change monumentally on an issue, i want to know what would your heart and mind. Because when you talk about that, who knows hominy people you might reach out to and how that might resonate with others. Its an amazing tool for witness. Theres a saying that god doesnt call you to the quick, he acquits to call. How great of a tool with that be if you would be able to talk about it. Thats what ive always wanted to hear. From trump on in different issues. Just drop all the other stuff and just look at people and be real with that. It was a a few years ago his camp had reached up because we have a mutual friend that worked with him. They wanted to be interviewed on the cpac my wasnt able to for i had radio a few other engagements. The year before last day introduced and met him. His very nice and amiable. We got along and i got along with his folks and his staff. I never had a oneonone with anyone staff that was particularly contentious. I have just never been particularly preferential. Ive even gone after ted cruz on a few issues pretty hard. On that and the number of other issues. Ive ive gotten a lot of pushback for that. I think you are supposed to do that and you should do that. I have never had any ill will toward anybody running. Host but you did nsa at National Review among many prominent conservatives supply. Guest it was on policy points. These were some of the most important to me. I wanted to know where does this candidate stand on this issue, what changed him on this issue. I want to know more about this issue before i can come to a decision to make a decision. I just dont believe think i can do this unless i know what is happening. I wrote that out, i would do it again. I would do it for any candidate where i felt felt like i still has more questions or concerns. Theres a major issues here. Were talking about Supreme Court nominations, we may actually, we can stand depending on how the selection goes, to, to lose our right to carry semi automatic rifles, thats where we are right now. We could lose reciprocity, thats where we are right now because of the Appeals Court california. These are key issues. Its not show friends, show business and we have the business of the country to attend to. And. And i want these questions answer. Host have a bed . Guest on a couple of issues. On a couple of issues that have been whether or not others but to my satisfaction is one thing but i think that could be made more clear. Host two more points on this. Its all anyone wants to talk about. Guest i will say this. I view whats coming with Hillary Clinton in 2016 it terrifies me as someone whose life has been protected by a firearm to lose that ability. I do not get scared and intimidated much but that does scare me. Host in a previous bookends off my gun back trump and this whole episode since he did mention her name to that effort at National Review, the socalled never trump youre critical of him on television and elsewhere. Guest im never never anything. Ive ive never for anything and im never never anything. Host never hillary . Spee2. Guest never hillary. The two issues guns are my make or break. Host ive seen some criticism you have endured those critical from the right of principle with trump, the attacks especially directed at a woman pretty nasty, but some of the idea behind the attack is that you have been accused of this is the rich irony of being an out of touch elitist that your critical of trump and here you have written flyover nation which is the antithesis of that. You are are not sitting around at cocktail parties in manhattan guest ive never been to a Cocktail Party in manhattan. Ive been to one Cocktail Party in d. C. And i was really tired and went back to my hotel and went to bed. Host is that a weird feeling . Your the antithat preview literally written the book on this and yet because of some concerns over a candidate and the personality, that assumption is be made about you and it sort of an attack at your motives i feel like. How would you respond to that . Guest i get peoples anger because ive been there. My gosh i protested outside of elected official offices. I think think some people are at different stages in this marathon than i am. Everybody starts at some point. We are setting up a political battle that our kids and our grandkids are going to be fighting. That is how long, that is a privilege of living in a free society. You must constantly attend to this. We are just getting it to the next level. This is not to be decided in our lifetime. Were not going to finally get everything we won in our in our lifetime. Its not how it works. Progressives has been working at a for generations. As a result result some people are at a different point than others. When i first got involved in politics it was before 2001. I was not for george bush. I was raised raised in a family park were democrats. As prolife and always have been unequivocally pro come from a family who had my life protected by a gun. Guest when the more educated i got a more mature i became in my eyes opened a little more and i realize the need for responsibility. I threw myself into it. I was angry. I was angry because i felt i then betrayed by the ideology that brought me up. You might even remember this i was you do and some of the people that are out there right now are where i was eight years ago. They are exactly where i was. Because of that i want to give them grace. Theyre going to see in time and under the weight is. I remember being absolutely unrelenting and going after some of these elected officials. I went to their offices, organize people to disbarment men and then when you realize theres better ways to go about it maybe more calculating ways to go about it you grow in it. I think that is what some of these people are experiencing. As a result of that i give them i give them grace because i have been given grace. There are people out there who have everything in the world and every reason to hate me because of some of the things id let against them eight years ago. Yet, they dont. I think that comes into it. Host many conservatives, traditional, hardcore will agree with a lot of the content of flyover nation. In a 22nd sales pitch, why should somebody who might be what you sort of disdain as a coastal elite lefty who dont get it, why should they buy and read the book . Guest if they ever want to win an election or debate they need to get the book. What those issues these people pride and why they feel the way they do about these issues and how you can talk to these people without being condescending. You can also find some Common Ground. I do get into that and the book. Theres a lot of Common Ground in the book that they might actually have. You can actually build a lot of stuff on Common Ground. Thats not compromise thats building a coalition. Thats why they need this book. Host flyover nation, thank you so much. Think you