HuttCast
Tune in to the HuttCast Podcast where we explore an expansive array of topics—from life lessons and business insights to the latest in automotive trends and current events. As a seasoned leader in the business community, I bring practical perspectives to the table, breaking down complex issues with common sense that seems all too rare these days. Join us on HuttCast, where no topic is off limits and every conversation is an opportunity to learn something new.
HuttCast
Tim Walz’s Vice Presidential Bid and Paul Gazelka’s Reference: The Story Behind "Behind the Veil"
Is Governor Tim Walz's leadership a triumph or a tragedy? Join us as we sit down with S. e. n. Paul Gazelka to uncover the stories behind his compelling new book, "Behind the Veil: A Stand Against Governor Tim Walz". S. e. n. Gazelka’s offers an unfiltered account of his experiences during the pandemic, the battle over emergency powers, and the turmoil following George Floyd's death. Now that Governor Walz is a Vice Presidential contender, S. e. n. Gazelka’s argues that it's more crucial than ever for voters to understand the controversial policies and decisions that have defined Minnesota's recent history.
In another gripping segment, HuttCast checks all the political boxes with a sharp focus on fiscal missteps and leadership challenges. Our conversation kicks off with an examination of Minnesota's budget surplus mismanagement and the ripple effects it could have on federal fiscal policies. We then shift gears to analyze the DNC convention, scrutinizing Kamala Harris's unexpected rise and her performance as Vice President, particularly in handling border issues. This episode promises a thought-provoking look at political maneuvering and its far-reaching consequences, blending firsthand accounts with insightful critiques. Don't miss this deep dive into the intricacies of American politics!
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Thank you for listening to this episode of HuttCast, the American Podcast. We hope you enjoyed today's discussion and gained valuable insights. To stay updated on our latest episodes, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on your preferred listening platform. Don't forget to leave us a rating and review, as it helps others discover our show. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for future topics, please reach out to us through our website or social media channels. Until next time, keep on learning and exploring the diverse voices that make America great.
2, 3, 4. 2, 3, 4. Secretly recorded from deep inside the bowels of a decommissioned missile silo, we bring you the man, one single man, who wants to bring light to the darkness and dark to the lightness. Although he's not always right, he is always certain. So now, with security protocols in place, the protesters have been forced back behind the barricades and the blast doors are now sealed. Without further delay, let me introduce you to the host of HuttCast, mr Tim Huttner.
Speaker 2:Thank you, sergeant-at-arms. You can now take your post. The views and opinions expressed in this program are solely those of the individual and participants. These views and opinions expressed do not represent those of the host or the show. The opinions in this broadcast are not to replace your legal, medical or spiritual professionals. Broadcasts are not to replace your legal, medical or spiritual professionals. Welcome to that cast. Today is 9-22-2024.
Speaker 2:He's been on our show in the past. He's a superstar, senator Paul Kozlicka. He's authored several bills, co-authored a handful of just a ton of stuff this guy has done for the republican party and he's on the show. You need to listen to him, what he's got going on. He has got something that's going to rock your world as far as a new book coming out, and it's about tim waltz. So let's get this thing out there and let other people know what, uh what this guy does. We don't want waltz uh running away with this, and I'll tell you what this guy does. We don't want to run away with this and I'll tell you what. This is something you've got to listen to, so stand by. Huttcast will be right back.
Speaker 2:The current healthcare system is not meeting the needs of real people. People are demanding better, better care, better options and want results. So Gareth Care has launched and is advocating for those in the US and internationally. As people are realizing the controlled system has not been there for them. If you want your own independent advocate that is not controlled by big corporations, call or text and enroll today to get your advocate for your needs, serving all ages, for any healthcare needs you might have, you matter. Here's how you get started wwwgarethcarecom. That is G-R-A-I-T-H-C-A-R-Ecom. Call Gareth Care Direct at 469-864-7149,. Call or text the questions to HealthCareSucks and get an advocate with Gareth Care 469-864-7149,. Mention HUTCAST and you will get an additional 10% discount on your first advocacy bundle. The staff at Gareth Care will take care of you. Remember mention HUTCAST and get that extra 10% off your first bundle of time. And this is all brought to you from Gareth Care. Welcome back to HuttCast. Paul Kozelka is on the phone. Paul, thanks for taking your Sunday and just having that conversation with us. Are you there?
Speaker 3:Yeah, tim, and I think it's a good idea. It's been a while since I was on your podcast and it's good to be back.
Speaker 2:We're 100 countries now still well over 50 million listeners I don't know where they are, but they're out there and 7 language programs. Now we've got seven languages.
Speaker 3:That's pretty amazing.
Speaker 2:You know it sounds big, but in the global spec it's just not. But maybe we'll get there someday with the help of all our listeners.
Speaker 3:Well, hopefully this program will inspire people to learn something new and maybe get out there and buy my book.
Speaker 2:And maybe we know how to teach them how to vote too. How about that?
Speaker 3:Well and be informed about how they're going to vote. I mean, that's that's why I wanted to write the book in the first place is I wrote this manuscript behind the veil a stand against Governor Tim Walz? In January I was on a beach in Florida and I was just down there. I really felt like I should write it and wanted to remember all the stories of what I had to go through during the pandemic and emergency powers and the death of George Floyd and the riots that were after. And I wrote it in about six months and I just set it aside. I was glad I wrote it, but I didn't know if I was going to do much with it. And then suddenly Tim Walls is the VP candidate for the United States.
Speaker 3:And I'm thinking I did all these battles against him and so I rushed to get the book out so that people would have an informed decision about whether they thought he was a good leader or not.
Speaker 2:Right, we know better here in this state.
Speaker 3:Well, you know and he presents himself, you know a couple things that happened. Uh, so, at the democrat convention, they were bragging that he had the biggest tax cut in minnesota history and that was 2019, when he first became the governor, and he wanted big tax increases and he wanted a big, grand, aggressive agenda or progressive agenda. And I said we're not doing either one of those. We're going to lower taxes. And in the end, as we started to close out towards the end of session, he finally gave in and did the tax reductions that I fought for, and so they weren't his to take credit for, but that's what he tried to do, and so it's just interesting how the different things turn out and what he takes credit for.
Speaker 2:Another stolen valor. Right, he stole your valor.
Speaker 3:Well, in fact, in 2023, that was the first year he also had the Senate and the House under Democrat control OK, and we had an $18 billion surplus and he spent all of that. And then he raised taxes $10 billion, increased spending 40% in one year and now in Minnesota, the future shows a structural deficit. So what would he do with the federal purse strengths?
Speaker 2:Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, because I've got this quantified in my head how we're going to lay this out, because you have all the intel and I have all the questions.
Speaker 3:That sounds good. You're the boss.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, no. You're the superstar. We appreciate your time, so let's start in the beginning of this here. Let's go back to the DNC convention. We had 11 candidates up on stage and I thought they had some pretty good talent going on there. All of a sudden, camilla, number 11th in the running, totally comes in 1%. Now, if I was any one of those candidates AB Kulbuchar, you name it, all these guys and Magic and Delicious, our democratic process has failed them Wouldn't you be a little upset? Because she was installed, she didn't run, she lost.
Speaker 3:She lost badly.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:And then she wasn't. You know, her resume as vice president is, I think, terrible, especially on the border and not even barely visiting down there, and suddenly you just get placed into that position. I was actually shocked that that's how it was going to play out. But you know, maybe that was Biden's one request. I have no idea, but she's not a good choice.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm furious as a Republican saying really this is our process and she's installed Now, trump had to run against. I'm furious as a Republican saying really this is our process and she's installed. Now, trump had to run against. I'm a Trump fan, but I'm a common sense fan.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And Trump had to go up against the first guy, who was? He just sat back. Now, trump never shuts up, he just sits back and says okay, this guy's going to hang himself Very smart move, and then he walks away with that debate. And now he's going to hang himself very smart move, and then he, he walks away with that, with that debate, and now he's got to debate another one. Is that even remotely fair? That's, that's two debates for him and one for each of them honestly, it doesn't sound fair.
Speaker 3:And and then, where the debate took place against harris, uh, the fact that they constantly were correcting what former President Trump would say. Five times at least. They never, ever, said that about Harris's misstatements. You could tell the deck was stacked, but I think he did fine. I don't think he's a great debater. Like my wife says, he's not a great debater, but he sure is a great doer. He gets things done. Yep, he's a doer and very poor politician, but he's not a great debater, but he sure is a great doer.
Speaker 2:He gets things done. Yep, he's a doer and very poor politician, but he's a doer. You know, everybody says stupid stuff. I say stupid stuff all the time. You think about it in hindsight and go maybe I shouldn't have said that, but it's too late. Cat's out of the bag. He's one of those guys too.
Speaker 3:I get it, yeah. And what I tell people is look, look at the four years that he was president. Were you better off then? And it's absolutely safer streets, closed border, prosperous economy. Even when the pandemic hit, he responded right away. I mean, he shut down flights from China, he warped speed the vaccine for anybody that wanted it. And what he did is he did rather than sequential or yeah, rather than sequential testing, he did simultaneous some kind of a novel thought do all the tests at the same time. And just like he promised, he said I'll have the vaccine out by December. And guess what? He had it out by December. Everybody laughed. They said there's no way you're going to be able to do that, you know. But that was the kind of leader he was, and I think that's the kind of leader we need again.
Speaker 2:I had a cross my fingers moment for DeSantos. I kind of liked the guy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, desantis. You know I've got a condo down in Florida and DeSantis is great and they love them down there. There was a number of candidates I thought were very solid and I think would have done a great job and polled better against the Democrats. But Trump is formidable. You know people want to beat him but you know he's he's going to. I think he's going to make it. God willing that's going to happen. It's going to come down to just seven states and you know, like it or not, it all depends on what happens in those seven states. But I I think he's going to make it. I think it's going to be just barely and that's maybe it's hopeful thinking, but that's, that's what I think is going to happen.
Speaker 2:What you got to wonder now is now that they've got all these extra ballots printed up with Biden's name on there, do they have time to print the new ones extra ballots printed up with Biden's name on there?
Speaker 3:Do they have time to print the new ones? Yeah, I think they'll figure out a way, because they obviously they want to win, and what they don't have, compared to the last presidential election, is so many mail-in ballots I mean that that was a real problem in the last election and they don't. That's not the same issue this time, and so you know, know I, it's going to be interesting. I mean, I just texted somebody this morning. It feels like it's going to be just about like a flip of the coin as as far as who wins. But you know, we'll see I. That's part of the reason I'm put the book out too is I want people to know. You know, do you want a strong leader or do you want a weak leader?
Speaker 2:that's the only reason putin moved in when he did yep absolutely, and you know we had that discussion then about why putin is there and everybody says it's to grab this, to grab no come on. We know, we know what the real reason was, and it started back in raggins days. But let's fast forward this to camilla. So camilla's in, she's been installed, she's in this position. She does she go around the continental united states to go? Who's the who's the crappiest guy we can put as vice president and pick this dude well.
Speaker 3:so interesting because you know, as I think the media around minnesota didn't exactly uncover all the stories about Walls. It was kind of like it felt like they let him just pass and so I don't think she knew everything about him. That was negative. But even then, you know, as we kind of whittled down to the last three the Arizona Senator and Shapiro from the governor of Pennsylvania and Walls I thought you know, if she picks Walls, I think she's a weak leader because Shapiro of those three was the strong Shapiro. I mean, I just think you know.
Speaker 3:and and yet the fact that he's Jewish and the fact that part of her base really despises Israel, I think she went with walls, kind of like the last one standing, uh, but you know that that was her choice and suddenly I got a lot more involved after that happened so it wasn't a choice of a lack of options in her mind yeah, I mean I I don't, I'm not in her mind so I don't know for sure, but I I just thought it would have there, were there were better kick picks out there, partly because I I know governor tim walls pretty well and I thought man he's, he is not a strong lead, he's a weak leader in a crisis and he can't be trusted with power.
Speaker 3:And you know, when emergency powers were demanded by Governor Walz in Minnesota during COVID Right, he kept him. He kept him for 18 months and in the end in Minnesota it takes the House and Senate to agree to get rid of them and the House was controlled by Democrats so they didn't want to do it. But after 18 months even they agreed, against the governor's wishes, to take him away, and so I don't think he can be trusted with power.
Speaker 2:Fair point. Fair point and common sense at that. So now let's preface this book. You got here, you. You have this information. You've dealt with him a lot, you've worked with him a lot, you've sat in rooms across the table from him. Is that correct?
Speaker 3:yeah, I, I was the only republican uh in power when walls took over, and so, you know, for the first two two-year budgets, through all of covet and the riots, I was the one, and I'm you know, for the first two year budgets, through all of COVID and the riots, I was the one, and I'm you know, I kept all of my text strings because during COVID we didn't meet very much, so a lot of it was texting back and forth and phone calls, and so I'm the one that has all of the records through all of those crisis and the decisions he made that were bad.
Speaker 2:And what was your position at the time?
Speaker 3:crisis and the decisions he made that were bad. And what was your position at the time? I was the Senate majority leader, or the highest Republican leader in the Senate, and we had a one seat majority. The House was Democrat. The courts were completely almost completely appointed by Democrats. All of the state elected officials were Democrats. So it was me and my Republican team and we hung together.
Speaker 2:Wow, that just sounds weird, doesn't it? I mean all that, an unbalanced power.
Speaker 3:Well, yeah, I mean it's so interesting Since then Representative Gene Polowski, democrat in the Minnesota House, resigned. But he said in an open event, you know, just talk to everybody out loud. He just said I think Minnesota is better served when power is divided and Republicans have not had House, Senate and governor all at the same time. So basically he's saying Democrats having all power is not a good thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but we knew that, didn't we?
Speaker 3:We knew it, but it was nice to hear a Democrat say that.
Speaker 2:So you know, I always break up Democrats in two modes. I've got the Kennedy Democrats, which are today's Republicans, and they don't know it, and then you've got the socialist communist Democrats. That's kind of how I've been seeing it, and if you talk to people you can kind of know what side of their fence they're on and they have their own fence.
Speaker 3:And there's a growing number that lean heavy, heavy left and less and less. You know, we, some of the people, some of the moderate Democrats we ended up beating with Republicans, but very few that I would say are centric Democrats. They're all I mean they're. And just to give an example once once Jim Walz had complete control in 2023, he did an extreme left agenda, but the support of it came from the House and Senate. I mean by 2040, you have to have 100 percent renewable energy from utilities, and that means solar, which doesn't work well when the sun isn't shining. It means wind and if it's below 22 below and in Minnesota you can get to 60 below that doesn't work. And we don't have enough nuclear.
Speaker 2:Yes, and so it doesn't work and we don't have enough nuclear, yes, and so it.
Speaker 3:It doesn't work. But it was many issues that they you know every, they're all on the same page driven far to the left, and the few moderate democrats just ended up voting for it and keeping their head down that's a shame, isn't it?
Speaker 2:yeah?
Speaker 3:it really is, because some of them did talk to me privately. I wish we hadn't gone this far on this or that. Another example is Governor Walz went 100 percent abortion all the way to birth. And you know, over the last two decades in Act, if a young woman wanted to have the baby, we were providing resources, cribs, counseling, those kind of things through these organizations that wanted to help them. They took away all of that money. They just said you know it's going to all be all abortion and nothing else and we're going to try to fund it anyway. And you know, if you're a 16 year old girl, your parents are no longer notified in Minnesota that you're pregnant, I mean, you know, I mean that's why I say extreme energy, extreme, pro-life, extreme.
Speaker 3:On small business, they pass this, this paid family leave bill that taxes every employer, every employee, and if the employer has one employee, that employee is eligible for up to 20 weeks off every year. And if they milk the system, somebody is going to use that and that doesn't work for a small business, not at all. And so those are the kind of things that he did that I think are just really far, far out of left field.
Speaker 2:And it's a typical Democratic playbook you ask for the sky, you settle at the moon, you take the mountain, and all you really needed was the mohill.
Speaker 3:And, like I said, we had some decent compromise bills. You know I would have wanted to be more conservative, but most of minnesota was was, I think, reasonably satisfied when the government was divided, but when they took everything, one-sided and and yeah, and what I try to tell people is look, tim walls wanted to do that in 2019 and 20, 21, 22, I we just stopped him.
Speaker 3:But after that, and and I bring that up because the other thing, during the announcement that tim walls is their vp candidate, they try to portray him as this, this country gent, yeah, that, you know, is for rural america and it's like no, he's not. He's the opposite of that. Even when he ran for governor the second time he was a congressman, the district he represented did not vote for him, voted for the Republican against him running for governor, and so that should tell you something too. And even calling rural Minnesota just a bunch of rocks and cows I mean, I realize he's trying to be funny, but I'm from rural Minnesota and I think that's offensive.
Speaker 2:Well, like I said earlier in the show, we all say stupid things. I'm guilty, Dude, I am guilty. This is the next guy. Because you think it's funny. It comes out of your brain one way and it gets represented all totally wrong. I'm not offending him in a way, no, no.
Speaker 3:It comes out of your brain one way and it gets represented all, totally wrong.
Speaker 3:I'm not offending him in a way, but no, no, no, that's OK. I mean, we're human, we're all human. Yeah, In fact, you know there are. There are levels of grace that I give the Democrats and Republicans. You're in front of a microphone and you're surrounded by media and every, every word is captured. But I think if you do enough of them, it kind of reveals something underneath. For example, when the riots happened and we'll probably get into it more but he was so defensive when we pushed him. Why didn't you get the guard out sooner? And he said well, they're just a bunch of 19-year-old cooks anyway sooner. And he said well, they're just a bunch of 19 year old cooks anyway. Well, you know it's funny, but if you keep adding up these expressions, it's not so funny. And if you were a guard member, you didn't think that was funny. And so that's where you have, as a leader, you have to be smart about what you're saying, Otherwise you will get into trouble.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I get it. I mean I've not been in the chairs you have, but I have our chairs at the local level and, yep, I can say the wrong things on a regular basis. I don't know if I'd be doing the spatula thing with the guard, but so let's back up and let's start this book thing Now. You know I'm about fair and equal trade. You know I've got the lefts and the rights and the dems and the brebs. I just want to go right down the fence, but I got to lean because common sense is leaning on that side for me, tim.
Speaker 3:Waltz, what was your first mental currency? To say, okay, we're going to start punching letters in a book here. You know, I should just say when he first became governor I thought it was going to be OK. I mean, we tried to fix Minlar's that was the license and registration registration service with the prior Democrat Governor, dayton Sure, and he wouldn't do it. And Walls, you know, we kept pushing. We need a third party to look at this. We think a private sector solution is better and they'd already wasted $100 million. But Walls agreed to do that and we did end up with a private sector solution and I thought, well, this is good. And, like I said, that first budget where he wanted tax increases, he at least settled for the tax decreases that I agreed to and I thought, ok, I think this is going to be OK.
Speaker 3:Where it really turned was when he grabbed emergency powers. I mean, that was kind of the beginning and even the first month of that. You know, house and Senate, we passed three different bills for a lot of money almost a half a billion combined in all the three bills and so we showed that we could get money out right away for this pandemic. But but he kept hanging on to it. And then he started making all these unilateral decisions about closing surgical centers, but abortion clinics could be open. He wasn't looking at the numbers the way I was. He said 40,000 to 50,000 people will die if we shut everything down. And I put the exact quote in the book. But I texted out to a constituent or messaged and I said it's going to be about 5,000 people a year from now. And that's what it was. But every decision he bought a morgue and I said don't you think we should lease it or maybe use freezer trucks? And he had the power to do it and we never used the morgue.
Speaker 2:And that's for sale now, isn't it?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it might've even sold. But when they were closing down these surgical centers, I said, governor, look to New York. I said they have four times the population and they don't show the number of beds you say Minnesota is going to need? Right, but that was so. Emergency powers gave him king like powers, and I, just now, all I could do is give him advice, and he wasn't listening to much of it. And that that is where we began to part ways, I would say within 60 days of the pandemic, when it no longer was an emergency. Now we started to push and that got harder and harder. The riots came and it got even harder.
Speaker 2:Well, that's a fair statement came and it got even harder. Well, you know that's a fair statement. I mean, you quantified that you gave him the choice you gave him. The alternative didn't make sense to you and at that point I mean, why do you continue to beat a dead horse? I see it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I'm always respectful. I mean I'm known around Minnesota's capital, or at least when I was there, as somebody that was civil, respectful, measured. I mean I don't fly off the handle. In fact I did a TV interview and it came to somebody who had a daughter, an adult daughter, an adult daughter, adult daughter that was 40 years old. They said I and you know far left liberal. But she said at least gazelka doesn't use all the name calling and just lays it out and and that's, that was a compliment to me, because I don't, I don't like to get into, you know, all the the calling. I don't think it gets us anywhere.
Speaker 2:Eighth grade politics.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but I'm not afraid to confront.
Speaker 2:See, there's where our current guy running for president has that fallback. He tries to do that, he does that and I just wish if he would shut up once in a while, he'd win more.
Speaker 3:I'm sure you're not the first one to tell him that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, and obviously he didn't listen either.
Speaker 3:Right, yeah, you know. And Biden, you know, if you they're one and only debate. I mean he kept calling Trump the slimy names too. I mean it's just like, yeah, we're better than this. But you know, it is kind of the nature of of where politics is in America right now and you know we'll see how that changes over time.
Speaker 3:But on my part, you know, the book is very straightforward but you can read through the entire thing that it's civil, it's respectful. I got you know, like I said, the governor before Walls was Dayton and we still talk. He called me up within the last couple of months asking for help on something and I was happy to help him, you know. And so that's where you know I think that's how politics is meant to be.
Speaker 3:You know, if you look at Reagan and Tip O'Neill Tip O'Neill was the Speaker of the House Democrat Reagan built a relationship with him and they, you know they were on two sides of the aisle but they figured out that it actually worked well if they could have a decent working relationship. And you know, I don't know if you've seen the Reagan movie, but this is in my book too when there was the attempted assassination on Reagan. One of the first people he let into the hospital to see him was Tip O'Neill, and together they said the 23rd Psalm. Together, I mean it was just like well, this is how I hope it gets to be again in the future.
Speaker 2:It's a powerful, powerful statement the future. I'll do my part. Well, we would like to hope everybody could do their part.
Speaker 3:Well, you know, we need more statesmen and less politicians.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's women too, for that matter but how about some, just some common sense?
Speaker 3:well, there's a thought I'll settle with that?
Speaker 2:uh, what's your? What is your book open up at? I mean it, what's your first chapter? How do you? What does it say?
Speaker 3:well. You know the first few chapters about are about how I got into politics Behind the Veil in this political climate, is about looking at Governor Tim Walz and what was he like behind the scenes. But really the whole book is about what goes on behind the scenes, how you negotiate. Some know some of the players on the Democrat side and the Republican side. You know how we even got into politics and so you know because I wrote it pre-Tim Walz being the VP candidate I really wanted to help people understand how this process works.
Speaker 3:That, for example, that actually if it's divided government, you have to find some place in the middle that both sides can live with. And if on the Republican side, republicans will say, well, are our people caved in? Well, on the Democrat side, their people will say they caved in Right, I mean right, but that's, that's civics 101. How do you actually make the government work for all the people? And you know so I talk a lot about those kind of things and I also talk about stories of faith where I really felt like God was leading me, inspiring me, whether it is that was to forgive somebody or to give somebody the benefit of the doubt. So those kind of stories are in there too, because from our very beginning, some of our best leaders counted on Almighty God to help them, and that's what I want to do. So some of those stories are in there too. But by the time you get to the 10th chapter, then it all turns towards my relationship with Tim Walls and how that was.
Speaker 2:We are 26 minutes into this first segment. I got to take a commercial break. How about when we come back, we talk about the actual mechanics of the book and why Tim Walz was, in your opinion, calling the shots he was calling? I mean, some of these shots are like way off.
Speaker 3:That sounds good.
Speaker 2:Okay for HuttCast, paul Kozalka in the studio. Give us five minutes, we'll be right back and finish this up. Stand by. Buying a gun is no ordinary purchase. Whether you're a hunter, competitive shooter or self-defense is your priority. There are many kinds of guns and many kinds of training programs. You use your brain all the time. You will rarely need to use your gun Before you find yourself in a situation where you need to make a critical decision. Make sure your training is the best you can get. It could be the difference between life and death, or freedom or detention. For the best quality training, check out PermitToCarryus. If you live in Minnesota or Wisconsin or even Florida, give Gene German a call 612-388-2403. That's PermitToCarryus. Or call Gene German at 612-388-2403. Hot gas back at you. Paul E Kozelka, behind the veil. Did I get that right?
Speaker 3:Yep behind the veil, a stand against Governor Tim Walz.
Speaker 2:Things we should know as the american people. Now, you guys overseas, you're not going to get much of this, I get it, but we'll hit our local base here, our domestic base, and we should have listeners. So so, when we left the other section, the mechanics of this book, now setting this up, give me a, for instance, on one of your biggest moments in a meeting with him, and he's calling the wrong shots. Now, whether it's George Floyd, whether it's burning it down, whether it's go ahead.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think the biggest complaint I had for Tim Walz and his leadership took place after the death of George Floyd. I mean, that was where our interactions were most intense, because the death of George Floyd, everybody worldwide knows about that, and that was on a Monday and I watched the video and it grieved me. So I you know everybody was, I think, in some way traumatized by it. And the riots in Minneapolis started on Tuesday and that would have been a good time to think. You know, in some way traumatized by it. And the riots in Minneapolis started on Tuesday and that would have been a good time to think, you know, maybe we're going to need some more help. But by Wednesday the mayor of Minneapolis, the biggest city in Minnesota, asked Tim Walz for the National Guard. And that's the moment where Tim Walz is completely responsible. And he did not act and he just sat there, he sat on his hands so that when Thursday came, the Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct burned down by the rioters. That's the first one in America in over 100 years. And at that point I'm pushing the governor, I'm saying where are the guard? And he was very, very defensive. He just, you know it was like, and you know it's just very, very frustrating. He was, you know, blaming other people, blaming the mayor of Minneapolis that he had asked the governor for the National Guard on Wednesday. And so then we get to Friday and the governor says, okay, now I'm in charge, and they don't enforce the curfew. I think on Thursday they had a total of 190 guard members out. It was just like none. And now they burned down a Wells Fargo building and now it's up to 1,500 businesses damaged or destroyed, many minority-owned, and it's like this all could have been stopped.
Speaker 3:And so now I call the White House and I ask my contact there. Can you reach President Trump and ask if he will find a way to intervene because our governor is frozen, and ask if he will find a way to intervene because our governor is frozen? And then I went on our local TV station, care 11, and talked to the newscaster there and just said I'm just so upset he won't act. And she said what would you do? And I was already talking to the police of Minneapolis and they knew exactly what to do, but Tim Walz did not. And so finally, by Saturday the governor brought out the National Guard in full force and actually began to take control of the riots, but it was too late, it was five days too late and as a result of that it just spread around the whole world and then he wouldn't take responsibility for it, like I said.
Speaker 3:And so we did hearings in the Senate in Minnesota and we brought in the general of the National Guard in Minnesota and under testimony we asked him if you had been asked to come out earlier, could you have stopped these riots? Could you have stopped these riots? And so we have this documented. But he said, in my unprofessional police opinion, yes, in my professional military opinion, yes, and that was the end of the story.
Speaker 3:I mean, in the end Tim Walz failed to act, and I bring that up because if he's now second in command of the United States, if he's now second in command of the United States, you don't get a do-over with China or Russia or Iran or North Korea or all of our adversaries around the world. You've got to be ready right off the bat. And so that was. You know, there's plenty of situations during COVID and situations after, when they tore down the statue of Christopher Columbus, right, but really actions during the riots was the part that really I mean where I went very public because I was very upset and most of the time I try to act behind the scenes to get things done, but I had to go very public during that time.
Speaker 2:Now your voter base is in Blaine, Is that right?
Speaker 3:No, up in Brainerd, but I'm now retired, at least I think I'm totally retired. Okay. But I represented central Minnesota. But really, once I became leader of the Senate, I felt like I represented the entire state, and so I went everywhere to understand everybody's problems the best I could.
Speaker 2:Sure, sure, because I think Blaine is a pretty red city, is it not?
Speaker 3:It is and we had rioting up there and in four hours north of Minneapolis in a town called Bemidji.
Speaker 3:There were planned riots up there and the Minneapolis, or the police up there, got intel that there was not planned riots and they found Molotov cocktails and bricks set aside in different locations and a friend of mine was the sharpshooter over in the Middle East I forget which war, but they put him on top of the police precinct there and as he was up there he realized if somebody's coming at this building with a Molotov cocktail, I have no way down, I'm going to have to shoot him. Yes, you know, and in that case they discovered all of their, their plans, ahead of time and nothing came of it. But it's spread out everywhere, and had they stopped it in Minneapolis two days after the death of George Floyd, I'm not so sure it would have gone around the world.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:And one other thing about it is the number of police that have been killed from gunshot wounds or assault spiked way, way up. After that After that time and it hasn't come down, and that is a tragedy, because we need the police to keep our streets safe.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Now. Here's the fence I'm telling you about Now. I'm not condoning what Governor Walz did at the time. None of us and I mean none of us has been in that position. How would you know what to do when you're in that position? Do you listen to your trusted few? Do you listen to your trusted many? I mean, think about it. I've never been in that position. Do you listen to your trusted few? Do you listen to your trusted many? I mean, think about it. I've never been in that. You've never been in that spot. How would you just say, okay, I don't want to tip the saboteur, but I still want to make sure that we're not burning things down like third precinct breaking and entering, busting up all these businesses because he's not pro-small business. We know that. How would you sue that? How would you do that?
Speaker 3:Well, what I would say is I think he was trying to thread the needle between the vast majority of the protesters were part of his political side, and the other side of the issue is protecting the state of Minnesota. And you know, just like, a couple months later, mike Bursia said he was going to go up to the Capitol in Minnesota broad daylight and tear down the statue of Christopher Columbus, and so this again would be a political calculation. But the governor put one highway patrol out by the statue as roughly 50 to 100 people mob came up. Mike Perseo had a rope in his hand and that highway patrol. They were talking to each other and then he went. The highway patrol went into the capitol, mike Perseo put a rope around the the statue and pulled it down. And there's scores and scores of highway patrol in the capital, and so again, it was poor leadership. If you think that that statue should be pulled down, you don't have it pulled down by a mob. You have a legislative conversation about it, about whether that should stay there or not. And as far as the riots in Minneapolis, you do listen to your people.
Speaker 3:I talked to one of the leaders of the Minneapolis police in Minneapolis and I asked him what would you do? He told me exactly what needed to be done, days before the governor ever responded, and earlier the governor, I think they had some sort of a spat and the governor asked me if I would reach out to him and I think he was being sarcastic, this was in a text. But I did reach out to that guy, asked for his phone contact, asked permission if I could send it to the governor. He said yes, and had he listened to him he could have avoided a lot of the damage. And so I know what I would have done because I look back at my text strings about what I said to do when I said to do it. And so that's where, yeah you, sometimes you don't know what you're going to do. You know, in COVID, for example, when the governor said I'm going to lock everything down, Right.
Speaker 3:And if I do that, 40 to 50,000 people will die. I looked at the same data, but not just from the University of Minnesota, but all of the models around the country, and I said it's going to be 5,000 people and a year later, like I said, it was 5,000. But in this case, all of his decisions were made based on looking at the data wrong, and so you know, that's why I'm concerned about what he would be like as a national leader, and so that and I write about it in the book, so that I try to make that case that you know this is important for people to at least weigh what kind of leader he is, or at least was, and I think that's the best indication of what leader, what kind of leader, he would be in the future.
Speaker 2:It's not like we can recall him if he wins.
Speaker 3:No, and you know, as a Christian, I'll pray for his success If he's the elected leader. I want our leaders to be successful, but as we're coming into the election, I'm going to do my best to tell people who I think is the best candidate.
Speaker 2:This is your story. None of them are perfect. Yeah, there's no such thing as perfect Yep. And given the fact that this is your story and you have the most intimate contact with him on the Republican side, it would certainly make sense to listen to some of that information.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's why I wrote Behind the Veil. And you know, the other thing about it is I had a number of contacts with President Trump and so I contrast the two leaders you know. So I write a lot about Tim Walz and then I write a chapter about a number of times I spent with President Trump riding in the beast and at the Abraham Accords and different things like that, and at the Abraham Accords and different things like that, and how quickly he responds decisively, versus how Tim Walz does not do that. So Behind the Veil has that in there as well, because I want people to think about the kind of leader they want and I want them to be objective and rational, not emotional. Objective and rational, not emotional. Because in elections, the onslaught of all of the ads and all the revving up people I think causes us not to see things as we should.
Speaker 2:Kind of sets more polar to the polarization process.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and without a doubt, that's the hardest time to be a political leader is in the election cycle, you know, and then you hope that you can heal the. To be a political leader is in the election cycle, you know, and then you hope that you can heal the wounds after, you know. In this case, I'm not trying to run for anything right now, so I can just be a voice in the wilderness saying this is what we should do.
Speaker 2:But you're a voice that carries a lot of clout.
Speaker 3:Well, I hope so. You know I wanted to. You know, I know that when I was leader I said I was going to lower the tone at the Capitol in Minnesota and most people around there would say that that is what happened and many of the journalists that they would come up to me and say Republicans are in my time in leadership. You guys are the adults in the room because you know there were other Republican leaders in the House the governors. They, you know they. I don't think they did as well as we did, because there were other Republican leaders in the House the governors.
Speaker 2:I don't think they did as well as we did and I was very proud of what we ended up accomplishing there during that time. What is your biggest takeaway on this book? I mean, if you were to say to someone, pull this up, they don't have time to read it, what chapter would you want to hit? First or last or the only chapter?
Speaker 3:Well, the first chapter I would hit would be the chapter on the riots. The death of George Floyd is how I begin that the overall theme of the book beyond the election will be civility and government. How do you value people, do good, love, mercy, walk humbly? I share many, many stories of that throughout the book and in politics there is a place that you must confront but you can still do that in an honorable way.
Speaker 3:President Reagan, when he called the Soviet Union at the time the evil empire. But again he built a relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev and he could tell him, mr Gorbachev teared down that wall, you know, and so he was respectful, but he was firm and after it was all over, gorbachev came out to the Reagan Ranch in Southern California and visited with Ronald Reagan. I mean, you know, that's what we need and that's a theme that I have that is woven throughout the book is how do we do this thing called government in a way that works for everyone, and a big part of it is honoring people. Oath of office Absolutely A lot of people don't understand what anath of office.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:A lot of people don't understand what an oath of office is. In our little neck of the woods they say you're not. We sit on a board and they say you're not voted in, you're only appointed. And I say I missed the point of where your oath was different than mine, because it doesn't matter how you get there, it matters what you do when you're there.
Speaker 3:Well, that's really a good point. When I first became leader our minority leader who would virtually almost automatically become the leader when we were in the minority he lost and yet we won by one seat the first time. You know, I don't, you know, I gave the credit to the other guy, david Hand, you know, but it so it felt like a mantle that came on me. But you know, I just for a while people had to. You know they'd call me Paul or they'd call me senator and I wouldn't even, I wouldn't even answer until they said Paul. You know, I just want to be a guy that loves his wife and small business owner and loves family, loves God. And oh yeah, I'm going to be somebody in government and I want to do that.
Speaker 3:The same way I did family, the same way I did business. When I told a bunch of people and I said we're going to lower the tone, I said look, this constant fighting doesn't work in a marriage and family. It sure doesn't work in a business. So why do you think it's going to work in a marriage and family? It sure doesn't work in a business. So why do you think it's going to work in government? Because long term it doesn't. If you can't find a way to try to work together, you can't see the way to solve problems. And our country is very divided. And how do you make it work for everyone? Well, it starts with that.
Speaker 3:Excellent points behind the veil, behind the veil has all of that in there and if you don't know about walls and you want to know about walls behind the veil is stand against. Governor tim walls really lays that out and it's subjective, it's not mean-spirited but it. I hope it would make people think and and understand and know what they think, know what to do.
Speaker 2:And I'm sure from your tone and all the conversations we had before that it's not a, it's not an evil piece to spike back. It's just going to be a factual, almost like a documentary.
Speaker 3:Yeah, somebody even called it that. You know, and I don't. I don't dislike Tim Walz, I didn't dislike a Governor, mark Dayton. You know Speaker Hortman's a Democrat in Minnesota. We got along, you know, so it's. But it's also that what I tell some people is like look he's, he's trying to apply for the second highest, most powerful job in America and I'm a reference, and I'm a reference that says don't hire him Right. That doesn't mean I dislike him. Like I said, if he wins he's going to have my prayer support because I want him to be successful, if he wins, but I don't want him to be the candidate for the reasons I lay out in the book.
Speaker 2:But again, I bet the people that installed Camilla into that position didn't think this far ahead.
Speaker 3:Honestly, I think the media at the national level has just brought them a lot more out than what the Minnesota media did, for whatever reason I'm not saying it was diabolical, I don't know.
Speaker 3:If they just didn't work hard enough, I really don't know, but it's kind of been a constant stream of things that people bring up. You know about what he did as a leader, and when I wrote the book, I was on a Minneapolis talk radio, and so they glanced through the book and they said man, I didn't realize all of these things you have in the book. They said, man, I didn't realize all of these things you have in the book. I've never heard them before. Well, most of them were, at some point or the others, something I did in a press conference or whatever, but they, you know, they just didn't get out there, and so so the book reveals those things. It reveals the actual quotes I had with the, or texts, with the Minneapolis police officer that gave me the the street strategic plan, what to do during the riots, and you know. And just what I did not do, though, is all of these text strings. I considered releasing them all.
Speaker 2:That was my question, right there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, one of the national media uh, I won't say which one, but he said you really, for his history, should release those and I really thought about it a lot. But in the end, the behind the scene, private conversations between people that are on different sides of the aisle are really special and are there's great risk. You take risk to try to find solutions and you might say things that you know you maybe wouldn't want public and so and you know, and then there's conversations in there about you know, our kids, his kids, when they said something, kids that happened to me, you know in my family, and you know just stuff that you just I didn't, I don't want it out there, but but the things related to his leadership that I want to talk about and so so I kept them private, but it really reminded me about what happened when. So people can't spin the story and make it something that I know it isn't because I've got the data.
Speaker 2:Right, right, you're the one in control.
Speaker 3:Yep.
Speaker 2:And I see that you know, because people don't understand, that when you are talking with someone on the other side at least in our small world, in my politic world that you do talk those conversations. You don't want the world knowing it's a sacred conversation and one of the things that I've always held dear and true to my own thing is if you say this only happens in this room, it stays in this room forever.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I don't even talk to my wife about it.
Speaker 3:No, that's being a man of your word.
Speaker 3:And you know I, I am the same.
Speaker 3:You know one thing you know I, I uh, compromising is not an evil word, but some people think it is, and by compromise I mean in, you know, agreeing to a budget that neither side really really likes. But then, when I did decide to run for governor in Minnesota, I wasn't picked by my side and, and in the end it was because I had to make some of those decisions as the leader, but I wouldn't trade what I had the opportunity to be a part of for anything. I mean, it was so valuable to watch, as you have to work with somebody that you're often polar opposite with and find solutions, and so, yeah, but that's, you know, and that's some of those conversations that were just, you know, we had to share things to get to a place that we could. You know, yeah, and the left and right can just barely touch their fingertips in the middle somewhere and get that done, and then you move right and move left. You know so, but I love doing it. It was, uh, it was a real honor to serve the people in Minnesota.
Speaker 2:Well, we appreciate that and we thank you for your service. And, as for many times this is, the wife has given me a whole lot of heck for not telling her something that already happened, that you know in those conversations I really I got a chapping going on there. I'm I'm getting used to it now, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, it's been good, tim. I hope people get the book. I really think you know learning about Tim Walz, but also learning about government. You know behind the veil, a stand against Governor Tim Walz. You can get it on Amazoncom Right now. They're listing it as a bestseller.
Speaker 2:I've seen that.
Speaker 3:Yep, and you just go there, click it, buy it and tell me what you think. Are they doing any audiobooks on that? Not yet, I don't know. It's interesting the publisher. He said normally we take four months to do these. I said we don't have four months we have four weeks 45 days.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and they literally got it done in four weeks. But we we really pushed to get it done. And so you know, I don't know that I'll ever do an audio. We'll see. We'll see, um, you know, how much popular or how much interest people have. So far they have a lot of interest, but, um, you know, we'll see, but for now it's just Kindle book and then the paperbacks available.
Speaker 2:To now we had Liz Collins on the show and after her show here she went nationwide with all her books. I mean, it just went incredible. And she ended up making a movie? Any thoughts on a movie with this process? Because I tell you what.
Speaker 3:there's enough information here where you could process Because I tell you what, there's enough information here where you could you know that that is. That'd be an interesting thought. I mean, we'll see. Liz Collins did a great interview Alpha News laying out all the questions related to Tim Walls. She focused just on Tim Walls there and in my work with him, but she did a super job. And Bob Kroll, the lead police officer in Minneapolis that I worked with from the police union, what I found out when she did the interview she had said a little bit about it earlier talking to me when I'm asking for his contact to give to Governor Tim Walz, when I'm asking for his advice about what he would do. So it's so interesting. Even that would fit into a movie, right, right.
Speaker 2:Right and when Chauvin, derek Chauvin Chauvin Was on his neck with the approved use of force, I might add. He's on the phone. Do you know who he was on the phone with?
Speaker 3:Bob Kroll. I think he was Bob Kroll.
Speaker 2:Yes, he was. Yeah, it was on the horn with his police union because he knew this was going to be a crap show.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, you know, and it was unfortunate. I, I, um, I have a number of police officers that uh told me once. Uh, um, george Floyd was incapacitated. A standard procedure is to roll them over. Uh, you know, and so you know, but you got an angry crowd around you. It's, it's a nightmare, but, and in the end, you know, in the end he went before a jury of his peers and he was considered guilty. Those are tough situations, I mean.
Speaker 3:The other one I talk about in the book is Potter the police officer with Daunte Wright and that whole story, because she also went to jail and was like, look, this one is clearly a mistake. She thought it was a taser, instead she shot him. And I think a lot about doctors when they make a clear mistake, they don't go to jail, there's just a huge civil penalty if somebody dies. And you know, because she was, you know anyway, that's I didn't even put a lot. I put some of that in the book. I didn't put it all in the book. I mean, you know, literally they were going to move her from where she was incarcerated to to another place a long ways away and I had to intervene because it was just like you're not going to keep her away from her family. She's already been punished enough.
Speaker 3:But you know, and that whole anti-police movement I do talk about it in the book because people need to be aware of the consequences of being anti-police. I mean, in Minneapolis there were 800 police officers prior to the death of George Floyd and they were asking for 400 more and then after the death of George Floyd, after the anti-police push, they went down to just above 300 police officers, from 800 down to 300 something and they can't do their job. I mean, you know. So it was just a tragedy and I write more about that in the book related to police officers being kicked out of a union hall and kicked out of high schools. The SROs.
Speaker 3:And then all of the consequences of all of those actions and Tim Walz was pushing for those things and I just said we are not doing those anti-police measures. We did do about 10 reforms but I worked with the police because most police officers are good and honorable men and women. So I worked with those people to make sure we had good police procedures in place and not the anti-police things that the governor wanted.
Speaker 2:Right. I think the only thing that would have helped his case more, Governor Walz, is if he was with Mayor Fry crying over the coffin of George Floyd.
Speaker 3:One more story about it. You know, in the basement of the Capitol is where many police officers from around the region conservation officers, highway patrol they all staged in the basement of the Capitol and I saw it from my Senate office. It's across the road but there's a tunnel that goes underground, and so I went underground and went to see them and Mike Ledoux from the Highway Patrol took me from group to group and I just went around thanking each one of them for being there because it was very, very dangerous. And later I found out that the governor never went to see any of them. No, and they were deeply offended. So it shouldn't surprise you that none of those major police organizations did not endorse him for governor. They were very upset. You know the fact that he had chosen his side and the police.
Speaker 2:Yep, he made a choice.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he made a choice yeah, he made a choice, I made a choice. I was on the other side of that well, it sounds like the good side well, I think so.
Speaker 3:I. You know every, every group has a few bad apples, and you got to pluck them out with insurance agents like me, or attorneys, police etc. But the vast number of police officers, men and women, are just amazing and they're putting their lives on the line almost every day. And you know, I just think we should be thanking them a whole lot more for the, for the, what they do to keep our community safe.
Speaker 2:Yep, instead of demonizing them.
Speaker 3:Yep, exactly, well, remember, if this thing goes go ahead.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry.
Speaker 3:I I'll just say I put a lot of that in the book too, because I just, you know, these are so many different aspects that, uh, it's amazing that they all got crunched into just a few years. I mean, it was just like crisis after crisis, you know, and I lived through that and I governed through that well, if this goes to audiobook, remember HuttCast.
Speaker 2:Here I've got a radio voice.
Speaker 3:No, that sounds good, so I hope you buy the book Behind the Veil a stand against Governor Tim Walz, and let me know what you think.
Speaker 2:All right, can we find you on Facebook? Do you have a spot for that book? Can we find you on Facebook, do?
Speaker 3:you have a spot for that book. You can find me on Twitter as best, or X at Paul Gazelka on Facebook. It's just Senator Paul Gazelka.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:So either one I try to respond to people as best I can and then Gazelkacom G-A-Z-E-L-K-A Gazelka website, where you can. You can buy books there too, for that matter, but we just redirect you to Amazon anyway.
Speaker 2:Okay, it sounds like one heck of a book. I did get the manuscript a while back, uh, pre-reading and when I started reading I'm like Holy cow, this is incredible. So if you want to reach out, reach out to Paul Kazalka. Reach out to a system, Leave a note message, Tell him how you like the book Available. Download on Kindle. Was that what you said?
Speaker 3:Yeah, kindle, which is Amazon, and then you get a print copy from Amazon too, okay.
Speaker 2:Paperback. Well, I appreciate you coming on here on Sunday and telling us about this whole story. Again. You kind of rung a bell with me when you said you are his reference. You're his job reference. That's pretty real.
Speaker 3:I'm doing it.
Speaker 2:That's pretty real for me. I'm like holy cow. He's absolutely right. Well, okay, headcast again. You guys from across the world, you probably won't have much bite in this, but for us we got a sink or swim for us now. And, senator, thank you. Thank you for coming out and doing this today.
Speaker 3:I'm just, I'm humbled to hear your words. Well, it's an honor, Tim. I think you're doing a good work and I'm glad we could connect.
Speaker 2:Okay, sounds good. Huttcast signing off and you have a wonderful rest of your Sunday. And that's a wrap for HuttCast. Huttcast is again a pragmatic approach to seeing things how some people see them. If you like our show, give us a thumbs up on the Facebook site, again for HuttCast. Thank you again. Have a wonderful evening.
