Good morning once again everyone and welcome back.
It is mornings with Pat Kratlow on 98.9 WXC OPE on Chad Holmes.
And at 22 and 52 after the hour, we get an opportunity to focus in here in Central Wisconsin from our studios at the corner of Washington Street and North Third Street.
And this morning, coming in bright and early to talk about what's going on is the chairperson of the Marathon County Democratic Party, Nancy Stencil.
Nancy, good morning.
Good
morning.
Boy, there's always a lot to talk about.
Let's jump right in because I think, you know, last day or so, there's been a lot of talk about, again, there's a lot of, I would call it
plural, pearl clutching, because holy cow, a left-leaning candidate defeated the mainstream Democrat who has a lot of baggage in New York City.
And you are at the grassroots of politics right here in Marathon County.
I wanted to, first of all, take what?
As somebody that's, you know, knee-deep in politics, what was your takeaway from that Democratic primary in New York City on Tuesday?
That's actually pretty excited about it.
I think, you know, here's a person that ran a highly digital campaign and not only that, but I think the big thing is he shut up and he listened and he spoke about what the values were that the people were talking about.
I wanted to ask you as well because
Holy cow in yesterday.
It was amazing that you would have thought that The world was coming to an end in some quarters number one, of course the mega right was just again using the racist language.
Yeah, because oh Muslim
I
think these are a lot of fear to keep people in line.
But it wasn't just the mega right.
It's what I call the middle or the
conservative
Democrats even oh because I mean a lot of the we call establishment Democrats
are
afraid of change well Bill Clinton lined up behind Andrew Cuomo Jim Clyburn and a whole bunch of others who just Refused to I think in some ways acknowledge a lot of the
And I think we've talked about this.
There's this need for a lot of folks in the Democratic Coalition to see more fight, to see more talk about issues that involve their lives and not trying to placate so
many in the middle.
That matter, the everyday issues.
We don't need to act like we're better than anybody else.
There's a lot of candidates that have told me, on doors, the issues that they are hearing
are much different than the issues they're told to talk about.
And also, I think, and I was telling you, I was looking at an article on The Hill, TheHill.com, today, talking about a number of bullet points, what people take away, or what they were learning from this election, and one of the ones that jumped out at it.
to me is this wasn't a case of just of Mandani just getting the far left of the party.
It was a broad-based coalition.
He did.
He got a
real varied amount of people that voted for him.
But you obviously talked to a lot of people and I think there is a lot of misunderstanding that this group is going to feel this way.
There is I think a lot of different issues that cross
come across economic lines, social lines, racial lines.
I think sometimes people make it way too simplistic and try to overthink a lot of things and that
comes to
messaging and language,
doesn't it?
They do and I think the biggest thing that we do need to work on is messaging and probably starting with just shut up and listen.
You've said that all the time.
Yep.
Could you give me...
Maybe an example of maybe a campaign in Wisconsin that you feel like, man, they're tone deaf, that they actually have maybe some ideas, but they're almost afraid to talk about it, or maybe somebody that you've seen recently that, hey, they do, they have their finger on the pulse of the people that you're talking to.
Maybe an example that more people should think about.
I
know
it's a hard question.
That is a really hard question.
Yeah, cause I didn't want to really name names or anything.
But you know, in a certain, let's just say state race, somebody who's doing doors is hearing people talk about everyday issues that are really bothering them, issues that need to be solved, issues of rent, issues of food security.
And they're told to go out there and talk about things like, you know.
Well, let them know that we're with it for abortion and this and this and this.
And I think the majority of Democrats know already that the basic things that we do stand for, but we're not addressing those issues that bother them every day.
We're not listening to them.
And frankly, there's complete opposites when you say something like that.
Compared to what a lot of I would call the the chattering class of the the consultant class says because there is this constant Feel that you have to go to the center
Republicans are proven you don't have to go to the center.
You've got the most racist and I would
think
the farthest out of the mainstream Party that you've ever seen and right now they control all three branches of the federal government and two of the three branches of the state government here in Wisconsin that Do you when you when you talk to beyond the people but maybe within the party?
What do you hear?
Do you hear a lot of people say, oh, we got to reach out to the center?
Or the people agree with you that, hey, we got to listen to what the people are saying.
And hey, we got to stop being afraid to talk
about some of these
issues.
That's exactly what I hear.
We need to stop being afraid to talk about these issues.
And I think in general, WASA area is a pretty decent giving community.
Is there racism here?
Yes, there is.
Is it like the most prevalent thing?
No, I think we are a good, helpful community.
But maybe what the other side is doing is there at least being real.
And
I know that if you vote mega, it does not necessarily mean you are racist, but.
It does make me, again, wonder.
I do tend to categorize.
And I sometimes may be pushing in that direction, but at the same time, we all see it.
And then when you push back against it, I want to talk a little bit more along
this
line.
defensive right but also it just feels like man you don't if you if you step up and say hey i want a community for all holy cow you're out of the mainstream and i don't understand that and that's
on the word i don't
either we're gonna continue to discuss uh coming up in 22 minutes we'll be back at 752 with more with nancy stencil but coming up an information update and then more of mornings with pack right law coming up here on 98.9 wxco
And welcome back it is morning the pack right here on 98.9 WXO is the wasp a morning report with me Chad Holmes We'll talk to Ian Welsh a little bit later on But we got a few more minutes with Nancy Stencil the Democratic Party chair of Marathon County I want to read a real quick part of this Hill article because I think it's really I think it says a lot and I think it's what Democratic leadership needs to think about as well
Says, the mayoral election may also prompt some members of the party to reconsider voters' appetites towards voting for new and diverse candidates.
Many establishment and centrist Democrats align themselves with Cuomo, despite his controversies, as Mandami was viewed as politically too far left by some.
But if Tuesday Night demonstrated anything, is that Democrats aren't shy about disrupting the status quo and rejecting powerful Democratic brands.
What do you take about that?
I mean, I do think that there is an appetite for those of us that want to throw an elbow or two.
There is.
I don't want things to remain the same.
What
are you going to do?
Within your position, within your discussions with other Democrats that have leadership positions, what are you going to
say?
Then we need to listen.
We need to listen to what the people are saying, not what we think they want to hear, not what we think are the hot button issues.
Just shut up and listen.
People have a lot to say.
I'm going to be, I'm
going
to, again, I am somebody that has not been thrilled with the, the article and the talk of Tony Evers being pushed aside, but I'm going to say for a moment, say Tony decides on his own, the step away.
What do you want to see from Democratic candidates?
I mean, I mean Tony's gonna run the way Tony runs and he's a very very likeable guy and he's honest man
But there's, there's that scary aspect when you bring in, you know, somebody new, you know, campaign to probably be five, six, seven, who knows how many people that would run.
I
hate too many.
It's just
too saturated.
We saw in New York, there were a lot of folks there and yet this young man was able to come out.
What do you think in the state of Wisconsin for Democrats, a candidate would need to do to stand out?
Tell the truth.
I just tell the truth, be yourself.
You seem to be on a very, a lot of the honest messaging, right?
Very honest messaging.
And I think that's where we are totally missing it.
Our messaging, we're playing catch up all the time.
Just say what it is.
You don't have to sugarcoat it.
A couple of weeks ago, you were down in the Dells for the Wisconsin party convention.
Yeah.
Let's start with the first thing again Remaker was named the new party chair.
Obviously you would put in behind Joseph Heckey.
Yeah What did you hear from Remaker?
What do you expect now because obviously you the decision has been made now you move forward.
Okay, what do you need from the new party chair?
Better messaging for sure.
I mean, I wish Devin all the best, but
That was my divide in why I went for Joe because I felt Joe was more of the average guy.
He brought along good messaging, and I just felt that Devin was just more of the same, the corporate Democrat.
And that's what I based my decision on.
What else were you hearing?
I'm kind of curious because you're around a lot of other Democrats, obviously.
And I don't mean this as a slight but establishment Democrats.
Yeah.
You know, what was the what was the discussions like?
Because obviously it's probably different than say because, you know,
I was
hanging out I
was hanging out when I was hanging out on that Saturday over at the no Kings rally
And
you're down in the Dells with
I know that really killed me I
imagine that the talk was a little different than it would have been if you were hanging out with me down in remount
and
What were you hearing what was the discussion points?
Maybe open up the door a little bit for those of us who were not there What do these establishment Democrats talk about when you get together?
What do you try to?
talk about with others that you know because you obviously have a lot of ideas on what to do.
I sometimes see a disconnect because I go to the caucus meetings and and there's real people there like the same as what you would see at the No Kings rally but then you know we had Ben Wickler who endorsed Devon and and I like them both very much but it just seemed like so much more of the same nothing should ever
change
it also felt so political yeah I mean just average because when you see the the grassroots
It doesn't feel as political when you feel like hey something at some because of the the rising passions of the people Right, it's
very different people as
opposed to a cold political calculus with
so
many times it feels
exactly Let me
ask you because we haven't actually talked about you said it you obviously were watching what was going on with the note Kings I
was all over the country.
Yeah, but even here in in
North Central Wisconsin, I thought to, I mean, it was blocks of people.
I mean, it was, it was really
impressive.
Maybe your thoughts on that rally and where we are now and where do we go?
Well, the sizes of these rallies continue to grow.
Donald Trump's parade did not.
I know even at the convention, no, even at the convention, they did offer the opportunity for, they had a bus that people could go to a rally and bearable at that one.
And.
a lot of people left and went.
So yeah, what is that telling you?
And these people have a message and they're turning up in just droves for this kind of thing.
I think the main thing that we can do is just make sure that these same people want to register to vote and they get to the polls and they vote is going to send a much bigger message.
It is sending a bigger message.
about the reality of what is.
And again, it's always a snapshot, but one thing that jumped out to me as well was that even the folks that were driving by, it felt like there was a greater percentage of folks that were showing
some sort of support.
They give you thumbs up than the ones that give you the fingers for sure.
Right, there were a few of
those, but it just felt like from previous.
Events that there is and I think maybe it's being underestimated by some of the national media of some of
the very much
disconnect that Donald Trump's administration right now has with the American
people Yes, very much and you have those people to go by to give you a thumbs up that are probably maybe they're afraid to come to a protest or whatever Maybe they just don't have the time they're on their way to work
and it also to me real
quick to wrap
it up I think something you've been saying if we are honest with the voters
Be honest.
That they are open to argument.
Yes, they are.
Because they're not
liking what they're seeing and hearing
from the current administration.
No, they are not.
No, they are not.
Nancy Stenton.
On either
side.
And time to take advantage of that, right?
Yes.
Nancy Stenton's always good to talk to you.
Very good to talk to
you.
Hey, coming up, I will be joining.
Morning to the pack, right?
Well, after an information update, as I do on Tuesday and Thursday, so stick around.
And then we'll be back locally at 822.
You're on 98.9 WXCO.
This morning's with Hacked Bright Low on 98.9 WXCO, online at wxco.fm mobile devices and Alexa by searching WXCO and on the Civic Media app.
We are live from our studios in downtown Wausau, the corner of Washington Street and North Third Street.
Overcast, guys.
I don't think it's raining right now, but it's dark enough that it looks like it could be raining.
We have to do what this morning is.
I was getting ready for work.
Yeah, our car was soaked 59 degrees is the temperature.
It was a drencher yesterday in North Central, Wisconsin our American Legion softball matchup was postponed due to the rain and there's no doubt about it There was raining throughout the course of the afternoon and just again one of those drenters and as we've talked about before no No worries about a drought right now here because we've been getting plenty of wet weather Coming up we will be
at the end of the program doing our number for the day quiz with Ian Welsh and we'll give him the topic coming up here in just a few minutes.
Awesome.
But I wanted to talk a little bit more about again where the Democratic Party is and maybe where it needs to be in order to win elections.
I think there is a disagreement in terms of what the party needs to do in order to combat mega and Republicans and Trump in this era.
And I did hear yesterday here on 90
And on the civic media radio network segment of the Todd all bus show and Todd does a fantastic job in terms of talking about the issues and talking about the important aspects both in terms of politics and also in terms of how it does affect our everyday lives and I was tuned in as he was talking to trick v Olson of the Lincoln project and You can go back and listen on the on the podcast of his show from yesterday
The title of our number one was will Wisconsin Democrats get trapped into populism and I think in a lot of ways It's the wrong question or maybe at least to the wrong answers But Trigby was talking about how based on polling here in Wisconsin That mega ism is more popular than black lives matter that neither has 50% support but the idea that when when Democrats
Talk about black lives matter and and some of the issues socially that it's not winning politically I Disagree and it's not because the numbers I don't agree with I think it's something that Nancy was talking about and of course we had Nancy Stencil for segments in the first hour but talking about the messaging that I think that you could have a winning issue
And it could be a loser if you don't message properly and democratic messaging has not been good in recent years because I've said this often that I think the record that Joe Biden had in office was outstanding It was but I think the democratic party messaging to get out the The success stories was not good over the past four years and it led to a disconnect where people's lives were getting better
in a lot of ways, in yet the Democratic Party and the President and his allies were not given proper credit because, yes, while there were some issues and there were issues all over the world in the aftermath, math of a global pandemic.
So messaging is so vitally important.
But also, and I taught Nancy about this article I read in The Hill and it really caught my attention because it really kind of delved in to
Some of the lessons or maybe some of the items that people should be thinking about to take away from what we saw in that upset victory in the Democratic primary in New York for the the more Progressive candidate the Democratic socialist candidate over the mainstream Democrat Andrew Cuomo, but One of the questions that was asked in this article was a Democratic Party
that is still looking for the best ways to counter mega-ism and Donald Trump in his second term because it's more than just trying to say, hey, we're going to wait for Donald Trump's popularity to hit rock bottom.
There also has to be reasons for folks to be excited about candidates, about policies of the Democratic Party.
And you can't just sit back and do nothing.
And that's been one of the frustrations I've seen with people like Chuck Schumer over the last number of months.
You have to not just say, we're going to wait for Donald Trump to hit rock bottom and then take advantage.
You have to have some sort of positive reason for people to connect with the party or else it's going to continue to be up and down.
Hey, maybe the unpopularity of a person like Trump next year will lead to Democratic gains in the midterms.
But if we want to have
gains that are sustainable you have to give people positive reasons to vote for you and to support your party because otherwise then the following election there'll be a bounce back back for the Republicans because if you don't stand for anything there's really no reason for you to become a an active member of a political party so again
I think we saw in New York there were people that found reasons up and down in different socioeconomic groups, racial groups, political groups, whether you're more moderate or not, that were excited about voting for a positive vision that talked about freezing rent prices.
I mean again, everyday aspects of people's lives that they can actually understand.
So again, I think Democrats need to be more proactive with their messaging in terms of what they have done and what they want to do in the future.
Talking about rich folks, our number for the day quiz is going to be involving a story that I think many people are going to be hearing about over the weekend.
There's a man named Jeff Bezos.
Amazon.com and Blue Origin, the Washington Post.
He's getting married this weekend over in Europe to Lauren Sanchez.
And they're doing it big time.
And a number of the day will involve the wedding of Jeff Bezos.
and Lauren Sanchez.
It's going to be a big number.
I'll tell you that much.
Okay.
So we're going to hear about that again.
Talk about going over the top.
It's going to be over the top of this number.
Yeah, I'm sure I focused on this one.
There you go.
So we'll be back at 8.52 coming up next.
More of warnings with pack right low after an information update.
News, weather and sports coming up here on 98.9 WXCO.
And welcome back.
It is mornings with Pat Kratlow here on 98.9 WXCO.
Cloudy skies and 60 degrees is the temperature here at our downtown studios at the corner of Washington Street and North Third Street.
Time is 8.52 and much of this morning we've been talking about messaging with the Democratic Party and then trying to look at what the Zoran
Mandani win in New York City this week means because there's been a lot of conversation a lot of uh plural pearl clutching and especially from the mega right but also discussions even on this radio network yesterday about whether the democrats are going to go too far into populism and the like and been trying to talk about the
the positive aspects, the passionate aspects of what is being done here with the Democratic Party, finding the reasons to vote for Democrats, and also getting a younger voice is showing some traction as well.
But this morning, in fact, in the last hour or so, I've been looking at some of the discussions that are going on around the country in terms of media and likewise, and on CNBC.
CNBC this morning.
Massachusetts Senator Warren Elizabeth Warren spoke to Joe Kernan.
He is a Donald Trump cheerleader and I thought the messaging that Senator Warren gave to Joe Kernan of CNBC was brilliant.
I want to play that right now and then discuss it briefly afterwards
We don't have a lot of time.
Do you think he's he's a socialist.
He's a self-avowed socialist.
Do you think?
Socialism is the correct path to do what you just said you wanted to do for working Americans.
I mean, that's what he is.
Let's just talk about, and we're the center of the universe for capitalism in New York City.
And Wall Street, whether you love it or hate it, I know it has a connotation in certain areas, but it's the financial engine for all the great things that happen in the US in terms of the private sector.
and raising money for companies and the stock market.
All these great things that provide all the jobs, that's where you get the tax money to spend on all these great things you want to spend it on.
Do you think that's the right thing for
New York City?
I have to push me.
I believe in markets.
I love markets.
I think markets are fabulous when they're honest markets.
As you know, because we've had these discussions before, for example, we need markets with rules.
Markets without rules are just theft.
And that's part of why we need strong antitrust enforcement.
But what our new mayor, I hope will be mayor-elect in New York City is talking about is how to make that economy work for families.
Where is your outrage over a Republican party that is saying we want to fund even more tax giveaways to billionaires?
We want to make sure that meta gets a check if this bill passes.
for $15 billion, not for anything they do in the future, but for investments they made three years ago.
We want to give them a check for $15 billion while we take away healthcare from everyone else, while we drive up utility costs for everyone else.
That's not how we build a strong economy.
You believe in markets, then you should believe in participation by the employees,
so that they get some of the wealth that they help create.
And part of that means that through government, we create opportunities, not just for the billionaires, to be able to come in and help build these buildings, but also to the workers who help build them as well.
That's what this whole fight is about.
Exactly.
She's absolutely right.
Exactly.
I mean,
Republicans go crazy if you spend a little bit of money on any programs that help the poor in middle class.
And yet they're willing to give $15 billion to Mark Zuckerberg for doing nothing in the future.
I mean, again, that's the kind of messaging that Democrats need not to back away to get into the mushy middle because that's what the Lincoln project thinks we should be doing.
No.
Time to start fighting for working people and putting it in ways that people understand when it comes to your rent, when it comes to your utilities, when it comes to the programs that help you get health care.
That is what the Democrats need to do to get excitement.
Because if you have no excitement, people are not going to go out and vote just because you are the other people on the ballot.
You need to get people invested in what you're trying to accomplish as
political party.
So again, I thought Elizabeth Warren hit it on the head in a great way this morning on CNBC to the right-wing anchor, Joe Kernan.
All right.
Well, let's see if you can make a three out of four this week You've been
on a
roll when it comes to the number for the day quiz what we do at the end of the show is give Ian Welsh an opportunity to take the number for the day quiz and Based on the math we give them three choices one of which is right.
So based on the math one out of three Just by guessing 33% so anything above 33% is a winning week anything below 33% is a losing week a failing grade grade
Uh, getting more right than wrong is a winning week.
Uh, getting four out of five is an A grade and five out of five is a perfect week, which is always the goal.
And so far he's already clinched a passing grade because he's got two out of three.
67% the worst it could be is 40%.
But get it right today.
You'll clinch a winning week.
Awesome.
And today we're going to talk about another rich guy that gets a lot of money from a government sources.
Jeff Bezos.
And coming up this weekend, Jeff Bezos is getting married to former television newscaster and sportscaster Laurence Sanchez.
The number for the day is, what is the estimated cost of the Bezos Sanchez wedding and related festivities?
Okay.
Is the correct answer $26 million.
Is the correct answer $76 million.
Is the correct answer $126 million.
26 76 or 126
million dollars
million Okay, I'm gonna say 126 million just shoot for the biggest number today.
It seems the most like him
The estimated cost is 76 million
dollars two
for four so tomorrow is on the line See you then absolutely
