“The Issue Is”: The GOP’s future

LOS ANGELES - This week on "The Issue Is," the future of the Republican Party.

First, Elex Michaelson speaks with Congressman-Elect Kevin Kiley (R-CA).

Kiley, who last year challenged Governor Newsom in the recall election, is currently a member of the California State Assembly, where he has found himself in the minority party. Kiley, appearing via Zoom from the Congressional Freshman Orientation, is now headed to Washington to be in the Republican-led 118th Congress.

Kiley and Michaelson discuss what a GOP-led House will mean for the country, especially in terms of key issues like inflation and the border.

Next, Michaelson is joined by Politico’s Jonathan Martin.

Martin, whose latest column reveals his experience covering Newsom on Election Night, and a phone call overheard between California’s Governor and the President, discusses what’s to come in 2024, who could be on both parties’ tickets, something he sees as more uncertain than ever before.

Finally, a conversation with John McEntee, the former Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office under President Trump. McEntee reveals what it was like working for the former President, who he says he fully supports in his election bid, he also talks about his latest venture, which could influence the future of Republicans on a more personal level, it's a dating app for Conservatives, called "The Right Stuff."

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THE ISSUE IS: COMBATING INFLATION IN A GOP-LED HOUSE

KILEY’S CENTRAL TAKE: "I think you're going to see us take action immediately to address inflation in a number of ways, and that is by reversing the very harmful policies that caused inflation in the first place. So, first and foremost, that means reining in spending. You know, Nancy Pelosi's Congress went on a $4 trillion spending spree, even Larry Summers, who was Barack Obama's top economic adviser, said don't do that, it's going to create an inflation crisis, and, of course, that's exactly what happened. So that's number one, is reining in spending. Number two is rolling back all of these regulations that have been put in place and have raised the cost of doing business and those prices have been passed on to consumers have contributed to inflation.

"Number three is reactivating our workforce, giving folks an incentive to work when we've had too many incentives not to work. I'd say number four is fixing various issues with our supply chain, one of which, by the way, is a California law, AB5, that Joe Biden wants to make in the federal policy that essentially bans independent contracting and is taking truckers off the road. And then I'd say number five is making our country energy independent, increasing domestic energy production so that we're not reliant on foreign countries for our energy supply. If we can make progress in those five areas, it would do a great deal to curb inflation and get our economy back on track…"

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THE ISSUE IS: ADDRESSING THE CRISIS AT THE SOUTHERN BORDER

KILEY’S CENTRAL TAKE: "This is another area where we sort of have, you know, all time kind of bad results under this administration. We have record border crossings and it is truly an untenable situation, and so here again, it's not really that complicated, we just need to go back to the policies that were working that this administration got rid of, policies like "the Remain in Mexico policy," or beefing up our border patrols, or ending sanctuary policies like California has, and the incentives for illegal border crossings that have been put in place. And so, again, we have, you know, a pretty clear evidence of what works and what doesn't work, we need to go back to what works…"

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THE ISSUE IS: GOVERNOR NEWSOM’S ELECTION NIGHT PHONE CALL WITH BIDEN

MARTIN’S CENTRAL TAKE: "I just happened to leave the hotel at the same time as Newsom, after that press conference, and I caught Newsom on the sidewalk about to get into his motorcade, talking on his cell phone. I walked up, and sure enough, he was taking a congratulatory phone call from President Biden about his own reelection, so I was able to listen in, just for a couple of minutes on Newsom's side of the conversation. The governor didn't know I was there, his back was to the sidewalk where I was standing, but I overheard him tell Biden, you know, 'put me in, coach, I'm ready. Let's go.' Now, what he meant by that was, you know, sign me up to be a big Biden surrogate in '24. I'm a team player here. I want to be on your reelection campaign. I'm not a threat. I'm a supporter. And that was sort of delivered loud and clear from Newsom to Biden himself, on Election Night…"

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THE ISSUE IS: GOVERNOR NEWSOM’S POLITICAL FUTURE

MARTIN’S CENTRAL TAKE: "He's a politician. He is the Governor of the largest state in America, as he likes to remind us, I think it's the fourth biggest economy in the world. Of course he's got ambitions, and, of course, he would love to see, you know, the opportunities to run nationally - like most governors and certainly like most California governors. So I think he's tamping down speculation now. He does not want to be seen as somebody who is challenging Biden or undercutting Biden, in part because I think Democrats right now are kind of rallying to Biden because they they want to play it safe, keep Trump away from the White House again, and so I think Newsom's calculation is just bide some time, be a team player and then see what happens down the road…"

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THE ISSUE IS: A DATING APP FOR CONSERVATIVES

McENTEE’S CENTRAL TAKE: "It's a dating app for conservatives. If you're a single conservative in Los Angeles, New York, D.C., anywhere, it's tough. The organic ways don't really work as well anymore, and, you know, we live in a digital world, our lives are live through dating apps, social media, mobile apps, but the current platforms don't serve conservatives well, so we're putting all conservatives in one place and making it a lot easier to find each other…"

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The Issue Is: with Elex Michaelson is California's only statewide political show. For showtimes and more information, go to TheIssueIsShow.com.