* Jack Bergman, U.S. Congressman (R) Watersmeet

The stock market has set 53 all-time record highs since the election. Think of that. One year, boosting pensions, 401Ks, and retirement accounts for the millions and millions of Americans are all gaining everybody's up way up. U.S. Congressman Jack Bergman, the Republican from Northern Michigan. We're heard on WMKT, AMNFM, has deemed to call us this morning and speak about what we saw yesterday on national television, the state of the union from inside the Capitol Building. Thank you for being here in general. We sure appreciate it. Hey, good morning, Michael Patrick. All was wonderful to be with you. What was your experience last night and did you bring guests? I did. Thanks for asking. It's a great opportunity for anyone as a guest to really see. It'd be like sitting in the audience at Saturday Night Live when it's really happening only the data and the humor is more subtle for those who can appreciate someone with a good sense of humor, which unfortunately too many people can't these days. I brought Bo LaFave, who's from Iron Mountain, who, you know, term-limited out in the Michigan House, and he's now running for a state senate seat in the 38th district, and I'm supporting him to be that next U.P. representative down in Lansing, where you guys, I know have all the money hidden down there in Lansing, and both Bo's going to come down and get some of it, bring it back to the Western U.P. I'm told, by the way, you yourself have a heck of a primary going to other opponents. Yeah, I got to. I guess, you know, it's kind of fun to listen to people talk, especially if you're sitting, you can be sitting at an airport or a restaurant or a bar or wherever it here, or other people talk about different things, and it's funny, the perception that people have about what we do in DC, who we are, bottom line is, you know, I'm finishing my fifth term. I'm in a leadership role in the House of Representatives. I am continuing to grow that leadership presence mainly, of course, represent all the constituents, but my main focus is on serving veterans, through veteran self-care, veteran services, and so I'm eventually going to be the next chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee. Congratulations on that, and it's entirely suitable, that's for sure. Were you anywhere near yesterday Congressman Green when he was showing the door for the sign that said, oh yeah, black people are not eights? Yeah, you know, Congressman Green, you know, God love him, he, you know, life is a bell curve, and Congressman Green is, he's that guy, that family member, that you hope doesn't show up to Thanksgiving dinner. That's who Congressman Green is, and unfortunately, his lack of decorum sets a bad example for others, whether they be adults or especially young children. We could do better than his antics, but it could have been worse than that before. So yeah, but that happened, it happened on the front end, it happened quickly, and the president did, he did a spectacular job last night, and I tell you why, because we all know when we've heard him and seen him in person, he really minimized the amount of drift that he would go off sometimes and, you know, go off on a tangent. He did some of that, you're, you're going to do that, but his message was so strong, but let me give it to you, you got some card players in the crowd here, right? And when you think about you, you come, you come into a card game, and you sit, take somebody's seat, and there's a hand of cards that have been dealt, and you're going to pick up that hand, and you got to play that hand, you don't get to choose the hand, you don't even get to discard. A year ago when President Trump began a second term, he was handed a hand of cards that was, you know, let's say it was, whatever the game was, it doesn't make any difference, but that hand had been a result of four years of a really, really lackluster at best, but more of, I would suggest you, an economically security failed by the administration, but he's had to play the hand. That was his first year. We have set the table, now we'll get into pool. He has set the table to run the table to do this, because what we did with the, you know, with the working families tax cuts act, and you just, and when you look at, again, if you, and I love to play pool, I'm left handed, I'm a little different, but the point is, when you get a vision of the table, and you can see three or four shots ahead when you're trying to win the game, that's what the president was talking about last night, and all the things we have put in place through his administration, top the bottom. But what did you make of Congressman Mandingle not showing up, saying she's going to watch it at home, and also Rashida to leave the Democrat, also from Detroit, they're pointing and shouting next to Elon Omar. Yeah, that's, again, that's an embarrassment, you know, my, my mom was from the suburbs of the little farm town, actually, of Minnesota, so my first few years of life were spent where, where the likes of Omar live, and it's, I feel bad for the men, people in Minnesota, because basically, they've, they've elected a fraudster. There is nobody to die, not even the Democrats deny the Somali fraud and the depth to which it which it has gone. The challenge is whether it's Minnesota, Michigan, any other state, how does your leadership in that state, in this case, the governor, how does it deal with waste fraud and abuse, and Minnesota is a failed state, and well, I tell you what, I feel like a therapist at times, because I got family and friends who still live there calling me saying, oh, my God, I can't believe they uncovered this as well. They started back in the 60s, because I'm a child of the 60s, and I saw some of the people that just say, didn't welcome me and my, my buddies home from Vietnam. Those are now the grandparents. In Minneapolis and St. Paul in the surrounding areas, we've got three generations of budding socialism in the Minneapolis area, not the whole state, just in the Twin Cities. You mentioned Vietnam, General, Congressman, an American Airlines Boeing jet landing in Miami from Colombia had bullet holes in the wing, a puncture marks on the 737 MAX Wright Aileron, which I guess is responsible for lateral balance. I mean, you might get shot at and worried and think you were going to get shot at on a commercial jet. You know, it's kind of like, would you say that? When I was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, I expected to be shot at. When I got here to Congress, I didn't expect to be shot at on the baseball field back in 2017. That was, but the kudos to the pilot, because I'm sure they got, they or may not have gotten an indication because depending on what the round was and where it hit, if it didn't hit any electrical lines or sensors, they may not have known anything had happened and it didn't puncture the cabin, so there was no loss of pressurization. So there are, as we know, when you start going south of the border here, we are at war with the cartels. We have been at war with the cartels for decades back when I was in uniform. I had responsibilities for the Yucatan Peninsula and all of that with working with the Mexican Marine Corps Navy. And there's some bad actors, so tell you what, it was nice to see the operation taken out El Mencho or whatever his name was, their cartel, Kington. Kyle Malinter reminds me quickly that Matthew Denotter, who's running against you in the primary, he wants raised money for him at an Italian restaurant. I did. I did. 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