Chronicle: Bacon vs. Frei

THE STORIES AND PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY. THIS IS KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S CHRONICLE. GOOD MORNING. I’M ROB MCCARTNEY. THANKS FOR JOINING US. IT IS ELECTION SEASON. NEBRASKA’S PRIMARY IS MAY 14TH, EXACTLY ONE MONTH FROM TODAY, AND KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN WANTS TO HELP YOU GET READY. SO TODAY WE’RE GOING TO SIT DOWN WITH THE CANDIDATES IN ONE OF THE HOTTEST RACES FOR THE RACE FOR SECOND DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL SEAT. INCUMBENT DON BACON IS BEING CHALLENGED BY DAN FRY AND LATER THE DOUGLAS COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSIONERS HERE WITH WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE HEADING TO THE POLLS. FIRST, CONGRESSMAN DON BACON IS LOOKING TO WIN HIS FIFTH TERMS IN OFFICE. HE WAS FIRST ELECTED TO THE SECOND DISTRICT SEAT IN 2016. SINCE THEN, HE’S KEPT IT DESPITE DESPITE NUMEROUS CLOSE RACES BEFORE HE RAN FOR OFFICE, BACON WAS IN THE AIR FORCE EVEN LEADING THE 55TH WING AT OFFUTT. HE RETIRED AS A BRIGADIER GENERAL WHILE IN CONGRESS, BACON HAS SERVED AS CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE. NOW, WE SPOKE LAST WEEK AND I BEGAN MY CONVERSATION WITH HIM ASKING, WHAT MAKES HIM DIFFERENT FROM HIS OPPONENT. I LIKE TO GOVERN AND I STUDIED THE CONSTITUTION AND THE FEDERALIST PAPERS. YOU CAN’T DEMAND. 100% AND SAY, I’M GOING TO TAKE ZERO OTHERWISE, JAMES MADISON DIDN’T LIKE IT THAT WAY. HE WROTE IT. SO YOU GOT TO WORK TOGETHER AND WHAT YOU GOT TO TRY TO DO IS OPTIMIZE YOUR WINS. SO, YOU KNOW, RONALD REAGAN SAID, IF YOU CAN GET 80%, THAT’S A VICTORY. AND. SO I WANT TO GOVERN. I WANT OUR COUNTRY TO MOVE FORWARD. I LOVE OUR COUNTRY, AND I FEEL LIKE THERE’S SOME ON THE OTHER PART OF OUR PARTY THAT FINDING CONSENSUS IS A DIRTY WORD. IT’S NOT IS THIS ELECTION THEN A VOTE BETWEEN WHAT KIND OF PARTY THE GOP SHOULD BE? WELL, I THINK THERE’S A LITTLE BIT OF THAT DEBATE. I THINK IN THE END, WE AGREE ON A LOT OF THINGS. I MEAN, FOR ME, I’M A REAGAN REPUBLICAN. I BELIEVE IN PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH. I BELIEVE IN KEEPING OUR TAXES REASONABLE. I BELIEVE IN KEEPING POWER AT THE STATE LEVEL OR THE LOCAL LEVEL AS MUCH AS WE CAN, OTHER THAN WHAT’S IN THE CONSTITUTION. I’M PRO-LIFE, PRO-FAMILY. LET’S LOOK AT SOME ISSUES. AID TO UKRAINE. HOW MUCH AND FOR HOW LONG? WELL, YOU KNOW, PUTIN HAS A VOICE IN THIS. HE INVADED AND IT WAS A BARBARIC INVASION. HE HAD NO RIGHTFUL REASON TO INVADE. AND SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT TRYING TO IN A BATTLE OF WILLS, THE BAD GUY HAS A VOICE IN THIS. SO WE DON’T HAVE ANY TROOPS THERE. I THINK WE SHOULD DO OUR SHARE IN THE FREE WORLD. WE SHOULDN’T BE THE THE ONLY COUNTRY CONTRIBUTING. BY THE WAY, THE EU JUST DID $50 BILLION. GERMAN IS TALKING ABOUT DOING ANOTHER LARGE AMOUNT. SO IT’S NOT JUST AMERICA. U.S. COMMITMENT AND INVOLVEMENT IN ISRAEL, HAMAS WAR. WHERE DO YOU STAND? I SUPPORT ISRAEL, UH, UNABASHEDLY. THEY’RE THE OUR SOLE ALLY IN THE MIDDLE EAST. AH, I SHOULD SAY OUR BEST ALLY IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THE ONLY DEMOCRACY. THEY WERE INVADED ON 7TH OCTOBER. 12,000 PEOPLE WERE MURDERED. WOMEN RAPED, BABIES BEHEADED. I TALKED TO A GUY WHO PULLED A BABY OUT OF AN OVEN THAT WAS KILLED BY A COOKED TO DEATH BY THESE HAMAS GUYS. IF IT HAPPENED TO US, WE WOULD HAVE GONE IN THERE TO DESTROY EVERY ONE OF THE ENEMY SO WE WOULDN’T ACCEPT HAVING SOMEONE TELL US IF WE WERE ISRAEL. YOU KNOW, YOU GOT TO STOP. THE BAD GUYS ARE STILL THERE WHO BUTCHERED, YOU KNOW, 1200 PEOPLE IN THE WALL BETWEEN U.S. AND MEXICO. DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC INDICATIONS THAT WHAT ANYTHING THAT HAPPENED IN NEBRASKA, BECAUSE THE BORDER WALL IS NOT COMPLETE, YOU KNOW, WE SEE LESS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, ALTHOUGH WE HAVE SOME. BUT YOU GO TO DENVER, THERE’S 700,000 PEOPLE IN DENVER, 40,000, UH, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARE THERE. AND THEY ARE STRUGGLING. THEY ARE HAVING TO CUT LOCAL CITY EMPLOYEES AND AID TO THEIR OWN CITIZENS. WE SAW THE SAME THING IN NEW YORK. WE SEE THE SAME THING IN CHICAGO. THANKFULLY, HERE IT’S NOT BEEN AS AS BAD. UH, BUT IT COULD BE, RIGHT? I MEAN, IT’S HAPPENED IN DENVER. IT’S HAPPENED IN CHICAGO. YOU KNOW, WE’RE SORT OF IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT. UH, BOTTOM LINE IS WE SHOULD BE A NATION OF LAWS, AND WE WANT LEGAL, UH, IMMIGRANTS TO COME HERE. I SUPPORT LEGAL IMMIGRATION. YOUR OPINION IS THE ECONOMY BE WORSE OR BETTER NOW THAN IT WAS FOUR YEARS AGO? OUR UNEMPLOYMENT IS BETTER. I WOULD SAY STOCKS ARE BETTER BECAUSE WE’RE COMING OUT OF COVID. BUT WHAT IS NOT BETTER IN THE WHITE HOUSE FAILS TO ACKNOWLEDGE I THINK THEY KNOW IT, BUT THEY DON’T WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT. THE AVERAGE CITIZEN HAS LESS SPENDING POWER THAN THEY DID FOUR YEARS AGO BECAUSE OF INFLATION. INFLATION EXCEEDED PAY RAISES, SO INFLATION WAS ABOUT 19%. OUR PAY RAISES ARE COME CLOSE TO THAT. BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS THEY CAN AFFORD LESS IN THE SUPERMARKETS, AFFORD LESS FOR OUR UTILITIES. SO THE AVERAGE PERSON IS WORSE OFF TODAY IN PURCHASING POWER. AND THEY KNOW IT. THEY SEE IT WELL. WHAT SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WOULD YOU PUSH FOR TO CHANGE THAT? WELL, WE HAVE TO GO BACKWARDS. WE SHOULD NEVER HAVE DONE THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN. THAT WAS ROUGHLY $2 TRILLION, AS WE WERE ALREADY COMING OUT OF COVID. OUR ECONOMY’S RECOVERING. SO WE SHOVED 10% MORE MONEY COMPARED TO OUR GDP, OUR ECONOMY. AND THEN WE WONDER WHY WE HAD 9% INFLATION, BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT WE HAD AT THE PEAK. RIGHT. SO IT MAKES SENSE. AND THEN WE ALSO HAD THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, WHICH I ALWAYS SUPPORTED. PORTIONS OF THAT. BUT THAT WAS ANOTHER NEAR TRILLION DOLLARS. AND THE EVEN DEMOCRAT ECONOMISTS WARNED THAT IF YOU DID ARPA PLUS THEY ADDED ON WITH THE IRA ACT, YOU’RE GOING TO GET BAD INFLATION. IT WAS THE WORST INFLATION IN 40 YEARS. SO THE MAIN THING WE HAVE TO DO IS CONTROL SPENDING. WHAT’S YOUR PERSONAL MEASURING STICK FOR BEING SUCCESSFUL IN WASHINGTON? WELL, FOR ME IT’S ABOUT BEING EFFECTIVE AND HAVING IMPACT. SO I’M GRATEFUL. OUTSIDE GROUPS LIKE THE CENTER FOR LAWMAKING EFFECTIVENESS, THAT’S A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN VANDERBILT AND UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, RATED ME THE MOST EFFECTIVE REPUBLICAN IN THE HOUSE. I HAD THE MOST BILLS PASSED OF ANY REPUBLICAN IN THE HOUSE IN THE LAST CONGRESS. AT THE SAME TIME, I WAS ALSO RATED THE MOST BIPARTISAN MEMBER IN ALL OF CONGRESS AND ALL THE SENATORS FOR THREE YEARS STRAIGHT. NOW, NUMBER TWO. SO I WENT BACK ONE ONE SPOT THIS YEAR. BUT I DO FIND WHEN YOU WORK ACROSS THE AISLE AND TRY TO BUILD FRIENDSHIPS, YOU GET MORE DONE. YOU MENTIONED HOW EFFECTIVE YOU ARE, YET SOME POLITICAL PUNDITS SAY YOUR SEAT IS ONE OF, IF NOT THE MOST VULNERABLE ONE IN THE COUNTRY. THAT’S BECAUSE WE’RE OUR ONE SEAT. I WISH YOU HOPE YOU EXPLAIN THAT TO MY PRIMARY OPPONENT, RIGHT? I MEAN, I REPLACED A DEMOCRAT TO COME IN. UH, WE HAD A DEMOCRAT PRESIDENT THAT WON HERE BY. ABOUT 6.5%. UH, OBAMA, HE WON ONE OF THE TWO ELECTIONS. THIS IS IF YOU LOOK AT THE PERCENTAGE OF REGISTERED VOTERS, IT’S 38% REPUBLICAN, 36% DEMOCRAT. AND THE BALANCE ARE INDEPENDENTS, SWING VOTERS. SO A LOT OF FOLKS WHO STUDY THIS DISTRICT WILL SAY, I’VE BEEN THE ONLY GUY THAT REPUBLICAN THAT COULD HAVE HELD THE SEAT BASED ON RECENT VOTING PATTERNS. DONALD TRUMP IS THE PRESUMPTIVE REPUBLICAN PARTY NOMINEE FOR PRESIDENT. UH, WILL YOU ACTIVELY SUPPORT HIM IN THE GENERAL? YOU KNOW, I PRETTY WELL SPOKEN ON THIS. I SAID DURING THE PRIMARIES, I HAD OTHER PREFERENCES BECAUSE I’VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 7 OR 8 YEARS. AND, YOU KNOW, I SAW I UNDERSTAND THIS DISTRICT, BUT HE IS OUR NOMINEE. AND THE CHOICE NOW IS BETWEEN PRESIDENT TRUMP OR PRESIDENT BIDEN. AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE KEY POLICY PRIORITIES FOR THIS DISTRICT, THE BORDER IS THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE. IN FACT, IT’S THE NUMBER ONE AND NUMBER TWO ISSUE CRIME IS ALSO A VERY BIG CONCERN IN THIS DISTRICT. AND THIS IDEOLOGY OF RELEASING VIOLENT CRIMINALS BACK ON THE STREETS TOO SOON. IT’S NOT WISE. IT’S NOT SMART. THE ECONOMY IS A TOP ISSUE AND IT’S ALL ABOUT INFLATION. YOU KNOW, I’M GLAD ABOUT OUR EMPLOYMENT NUMBERS AND STOCK MARKET, BUT PEOPLE ARE CAN AFFORD LESS TODAY UNDER THIS ADMINISTRATION. AND SO THESE ARE SOME CORE, UH, THINGS THAT I BELIEVE ARE IMPORTANT. AND MOST AND MANY IN OUR DISTRICT DO. PRESIDENT TRUMP ANSWERS THOSE IN THE RIGHT WAY. I’M ALSO VERY INTERESTED IN HOW YOU TREAT THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY WITH WITH A HYPER REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT OR A MORE CALM, STEADY REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT. PRESIDENT TRUMP PROVED THAT HE KEPT THE REGULATORY, THE BUREAUCRACY UNDER CONTROL, THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT UNDER PRESIDENT BIDEN. IT’S ON STEROIDS RIGHT NOW. FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP’S INSIGNIFICANT TROUBLE WITH THE COURTS. IF HE’S CONVICTED, WOULD YOU SUPPORT HIM? WELL, IT DEPENDS WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT. WHAT WHAT CONVICTIONS? CONVICTIONS. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT. UH, SO IT’S A HYPOTHETICAL. I’LL TAKE IT AS IT COMES. DO YOU THINK ANYBODY SHOULD BE PRESIDENT IF THEY’RE CONVICTED OF CRIMES? AGAIN, IT’S A HYPOTHETICAL. IT DEPENDS WHAT IT IS. BUT ORDINARILY NOT. WE WANT WE DON’T WANT SOMEONE CONVICTED. I WOULD SAY I AGREE WITH SOME OF THE LEGAL SCHOLARS I SEE SEE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW THAT A LOT OF SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN CHARGED AND HE’S BEEN BROUGHT UP ON CHARGES ON THE ORDINARY PERSON THAT WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING, WOULD NOT BE CHARGED ON. SO I SUPPORT THE LEGAL SYSTEM. IT WORKS, AND IT MAY NOT WORK. IN THE FIRST INCIDENT, BUT WITHDREW APPEALS TO THE JURY SYSTEM. I FIND IN THE END THE RIGHT THINGS HAPPEN AND WE SHOULD SUPPORT THOSE FINDINGS. SO NEXT HERE ON KETV, NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S CHRONICLE, BACON’S CHALLENGER, DAN FREI, YOU’LL HEAR WHY HE WANTS TH